茄科蔬菜花青素苷分子调控研究进展

花青素苷是一种分布广泛的水溶性色素,不仅赋予了果实多彩的外表,还是天然食用色素的重要来源。近年来有关茄科蔬菜花青素苷的研究逐渐增多,文中从花青素苷结构及其生物合成途径、茄科蔬菜中花青素苷合成代谢的结构基因和调节基因、影响合成的环境因素等方面进行回顾和总结,为进一步阐明茄科蔬菜花青素苷的合成及调控机理、更好利用花青素苷进行果色品质育种的创新提供一些参考。     

Different host plant species modifies the susceptibility of Bactericera cockerelli to the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana

Bactericera cockerelli (Sulc.) is a serious pest of solanaceous crops and a vector of the plant pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter psyllaurous. Entomopathogenic fungi are the most important biological control alternatives for this pest. Host plant species, however, can modify the outcomes of insect–pathogen interactions. We conducted laboratory experiments to quantify the virulence of two isolates of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Bals. [Vuill.]), BB40 and BB42, against third instar B. cockerelli nymphs maintained on chilli pepper plants. Owing to the lack of difference in virulence against B. cockerelli nymphs on chilli pepper between the two B. bassiana isolates, only BB42 was used to: compare virulence against nymphs maintained on either chilli pepper, potato or tomato; and in vivo conidia production from nymphs maintained on different host plants. Virulence of the two B. bassiana isolates against B. cockerelli nymphs was similar. Bactericera cockerelli nymphs maintained on tomato were more susceptible to B. bassiana than nymphs maintained on potato or chilli peppers. Infected nymphs maintained on chilli peppers produced the greatest number of conidia followed by infected nymphs maintained on tomato and potato. Host plant affected the susceptibility of B. cockerelli to B. bassiana isolate BB42 and subsequent conidia production. The implications of our results for microbial control of B. cockerelli by B. bassiana are discussed.     

Tritrophic interactions reinforce a negative preference–performance relationship in the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta)

1. Host plants that promote development of insect herbivores are sometimes less preferred to more toxic plants, which are co-opted for protection from natural enemies, resulting in higher fitness in communities with strong top-down control. However, the degree to which variation in growth rate and risk of natural enemy attack drive insect plant preferences is an open question, with little field data available across diverse plant families.
2. The present study investigated the preference–performance relationship and tritrophic interactions involving the hornworm Manduca sexta, its natural enemies, and plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) using a 2-year common garden containing 18 wild and domesticated species. The degree to which natural enemy pressure explained field patterns in the laboratory was then tested using targeted assays involving parasitism by the wasp Cotesia congregata.
3. In the field, the most preferred plants for female oviposition tended to be inversely correlated with the species providing optimal larval growth. Hawkmoths preferred plants in the subgenus Potatoe, Nicotiana, and Datura compared with Capsicum, Physalis, and the other Solanum subgenera. However, larval parasitism by C. congregata was only significant for hornworms on Potatoe /Datura and not Nicotiana (i.e. 33% vs. 12% vs. 4% parasitism on Potatoe, Datura, and Nicotiana, respectively). Experimental laboratory rearing confirmed that wasp survival is lower on Nicotiana sp. than Solanum lycopersicum, which could be driven by nicotine.
4. The data obtained in the present study show that the negative preference-performance relationship in hornworms across solanaceous plants is maintained in part because by utilising noxious food plants M. sexta gains protection against parasitism.

     

Efficient Cas9 multiplex editing using unspaced sgRNA arrays engineering in a Potato virus X vector

Systems based on the clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas) have revolutionized genome editing in many organisms, including plants. Most CRISPR-Cas strategies in plants rely on genetic transformation using Agrobacterium tumefaciens to supply the gene editing reagents, such as Cas nucleases or the synthetic guide RNA (sgRNA). While Cas nucleases are constant elements in editing approaches, sgRNAs are target-specific and a screening process is usually required to identify those most effective. Plant virus-derived vectors are an alternative for the fast and efficient delivery of sgRNAs into adult plants, due to the virus capacity for genome amplification and systemic movement, a strategy known as virus-induced genome editing. We engineered Potato virus X (PVX) to build a vector that easily expresses multiple sgRNAs in adult solanaceous plants. Using the PVX-based vector, Nicotiana benthamiana genes were efficiently targeted, producing nearly 80% indels in a transformed line that constitutively expresses Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9. Interestingly, results showed that the PVX vector allows expression of arrays of unspaced sgRNAs, achieving highly efficient multiplex editing in a few days in adult plant tissues. Moreover, virus-free edited progeny can be obtained from plants regenerated from infected tissues or infected plant seeds, which exhibit a high rate of heritable biallelic mutations. In conclusion, this new PVX vector allows easy, fast and efficient expression of sgRNA arrays for multiplex CRISPR-Cas genome editing and will be a useful tool for functional gene analysis and precision breeding across diverse plant species, particularly in Solanaceae crops.     

The pherophorins: common, versatile building blocks in the evolution of extracellular matrix architecture in Volvocales

Green algae of the order Volvocales provide an unrivalled opportunity for exploring the transition from unicellularity to multicellularity. They range from unicells, like Chlamydomonas, through homocytic colonial forms with increasing cooperation of individual cells, like Gonium or Pandorina, to heterocytic multicellular forms with different cell types and a complete division of labour, like Volvox. A fundamental requirement for the evolution of multicellularity is the development of a complex, multifunctional extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM has many functions, which can change under developmental control or as a result of environmental factors. Here molecular data from 15 novel proteins are presented. These proteins have been identified in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Gonium pectorale, Pandorina morum and Volvox carteri, and all belong to a single protein family, the pherophorins. Pherophorin-V1 is shown to be a glycoprotein localized to the 'cellular zone' of the V. carteri ECM. Pherophorin-V1 and -V2 mRNAs are strongly induced not only by the sex inducer, which triggers sexual development at extremely low concentrations, but also by mechanical wounding. Like the extensins of higher plants, which are also developmentally controlled or sometimes inducible by wounding, the pherophorins contain a (hydroxy-)proline-rich (HR) rod-like domain and are abundant within the extracellular compartment. In contrast to most extensins, pherophorins have additional globular A and B domains on both ends of the HR domains. Therefore pherophorins most closely resemble a particular class of higher plant extensin, the solanaceous lectins (e.g. potato lectin), suggesting multivalent carbohydrate-binding functions are present within the A and B domains and are responsible for cross-linking. Our results suggest that pherophorins are used as the building blocks for the extracellular scaffold throughout the Volvocales, with the characteristic mesh sizes in different ECM structures being a result of the highly diverse extensions of the HR domains. Pherophorins have therefore been a versatile element during the evolution of ECM architecture in these green algae.