GRAS is a plant-specific transcription factor, which plays an important regulatory role in plant growth and development, and abiotic stress response. GRAS gene family has not been reported in Hevea brasiliensis. In this study, bioinformatics tools were used to analyze the physicochemical properties, phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, chromosome positions, and cis-acting elements of promoters of GRAS gene family members in H. brasiliensis. The expression patterns of HbGRAS were analyzed by transcriptome data and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). A total of 91 GRAS family members were identified from H. brasiliensis genome, named HbGRAS1–HbGRAS91, with molecular weights ranging from 14.07–89.46 kDa. The results of subcellular localization prediction showed that HbGRAS was mainly localized in the nucleus and chloroplast. Those proteins were divided into 14 subfamilies based on phylogenetic analysis. The gene structures and motif compositions within the same subfamily were relatively conserved. The 91 GRAS family members were distributed in 17 chromosomes and two scaffolds except for chromosome 11 in rubber tree. We found that 17 HbGRAS genes were involved in 10 tandem repeat events. Collinearity analysis revealed the segmental duplication regions containing 87 HbGRAS genes, suggested that gene fragment duplication may be the major driver of GRAS gene expansion in H. brasiliensis. Cis-acting element prediction showed that HbGRAS family contained multiple phytohormone and stress-responsive elements. The expression patterns of HbGRAS genes had tissue specificity and were associated with leaf development. The expressions of DELLA genes, a member of the GRAS subfamily, were related to the xylem development and were repressed by gibberellin (GA). Those results provide a reference for functional research on the GRAS genes in rubber trees.

Drought, high salinity and low temperature severely damage plant cells, inhibit plant growth, and significantly reduce crop yields. Ethylene-responsive factors (ERFs) in the AP2/ERF superfamily play a key role in plant growth and development, and in stress responses. To investigate the role of MeERF127 in the response of cassava to abiotic stress, this study cloned the MeERF127 gene from cassava and conducted sequence alignment, subcellular localization, transcriptional activity analysis, and expression pattern analysis. A gene-edited vector for MeERF127 was constructed to obtain transgenic cassava, and the phenotype and physiological indicators after drought, salt and cold stress treatments were analyzed, along with the expression of stress-responsive genes. The results showed that the full-length CDS region of the MeERF127 gene was 711 bp, and the amino acid sequence contained YRG and RAYD elements at the N- and C-termini, respectively, with alanine and aspartic acid at positions 14 and 19, indicating that MeERF127 belonging to the ERF subfamily. MeERF127 was localized in the nucleus and had transcription factor activity. MeERF127 was most highly expressed in stems, with the lowest expression in callus tissues, and its expression peaks during the tuber formation stage (80 days after planting). Its expression level increased after drought and salt stress and slightly decreased after cold stress. A gene-edited vector was constructed, and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of cassava callus tissues resulted in MeERF127 gene-edited lines with 22 and 3 base pair deletions, as confirmed by Hi-TOM high-throughput sequencing. After drought and salt stress treatments, the gene-edited cassava did not wilt, while the wild-type cassava showed significant wilting. The gene-edited cassava had significantly higher SOD and POD enzyme activities and Pro content, and significantly lower MDA content compared to the wild-type cassava. The leaf color of the gene-edited cassava was lighter, and the expression levels of stress-responsive genes SOD and WRKY31 were significantly higher in the gene-edited cassava than those in the wild-type. After cold stress, both gene-edited and wild-type cassava wilted, with no significant differences in SOD and POD enzyme activities, MDA content, leaf color and stress-responsive gene expression between the gene-edited and wild-type cassava. These results suggest that the gene-edited MeERF127 enhances the drought and salt tolerance of cassava but does not respond to cold stress, indicating that MeERF127 may regulate the SOD and WRKY31 genes to respond to drought and salt stress. The findings of this study would provide insights into the role of the MeERF127 gene in cassava's response to drought and salt stress.

SWEET (sugars will eventually be exported transporter) plays an important role in pant flowering. However, the mechanism of flower was unclear in pineapple. In this study, the interacting proteins of AcSWEET11 were identified, in order to lay a foundation for analysis of the flowering mechanism of pineapple. In this study, the interacting proteins of AcSWEET11 were screened from the pineapple flowering cDNA membrane library by co-transformed, and then the expression levels of the candidate proteins during flowering were analyzed. pBT3-STE-AcSWEET11+pPR3-N was nontoxicity for NMY51 yeast cells but had autonomous activation. Further study showed that autonomous activation was restrained after adding 3ʹAT in TDO and QDO. A total of 81 positive clones were screened by yeast two-hybrid, and 48 proteins were identified by sequencing which were probably interactive with AcSWEET11. The proteins were contained E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase RING1-like, Trehalose-phosphate synthase 7, Cytochrome P450 90A1-like and Transcription factor LUX. GO and KEGG revealed that 48 proteins may participate in lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, signal transduction and transport and catabolism. And the expression of Trehalose-phosphate synthase 7 (XP_020105459.1), Protein TIFY 3-like (XP_020082835.1), 40S ribosomal protein S27 (XP_020092770.1) and Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein 1-like (XP_020112516.1) were down regulated during flowering induction that consistent with AcSWEET1 while the expression of Dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase 2 (XP_020113798.1), Putative lipid-transfer protein DIR1 (XP_020086640.1), Clathrin assembly protein At4g32285 (XP_020108161.1) were up regulated. AcSWEET11 might interact with the proteins such as Trehalose-phosphate synthase 7 to participate in pineapple flowering. The protein interaction network of AcSWEET11 was plentiful to provide a foundation for analysis the regulatory mechanism of AcSWEET11 in pineapple flowering.

Mutation breeding is one of the most promising approaches for increasing genetic and phenotypic variability in a short period of time. In order to explore the feasibility of creating a mango mutant gene library through mutagenesis. The study used Keitt mango as test materials, irradiated branches with ⁶⁰Co-γ ray and soaked seeds in EMS solution to create a mutagenesis population, and analyzed the Genetic diversity by SC-SSR molecular markers. The results indicated that the seemi-lethal dose of ⁶⁰Co-γ ray radiation is 31.37 Gy, and the semi-lethal time of immersion in 0.2% EMS solution is 5.9 hours. The genetic diversity of 100 mutagenized materials and Keitt material was analyzed through 16 pairs of SC-SSR primers, and a total of 117 polymorphic sites were detected. The average values of sexual locus, primer percentage of polymorphism bands, polymorphism information content (PIC), number of observed alleles (N_a), number of effective alleles (N_e), Nei's gene diversity index (H) and Shannon's information index (I) were 93.18%, 0.610, 1.923,1.583,0.334 and 0.493, respectively. The genetic similarity coefficient among test materials ranged from 0.373 to 0.984, with an average of 0.779. The study indicated that mutagenesis significantly enhanced genetic diversity in mango, among which EMS mutagenesis seed variation was greater, and the results lay a solid theoretical foundation for mango mutation breeding.

The study was aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of detoxification of prochloraz by Lasiodiplodia theobromae from mango and to screen related functional genes. In this study, RNA-seq technology was used to analyze the transcriptome sequencing and functional annotation of prochloraz-treated and untreated strains of L. theobromae. Prochloraz had significant inhibitory activity against the sensitive strain with an EC₅₀ value of 0.12 mg/L. The EC₅₀ value of the two resistant strains was 7.67 and 32.67 times higher than that of the sensitive strain, respectively. GO functional enrichment and KEGG signaling pathway enrichment analyses were performed for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between prochloraz-sensitive strains (DF04) and -resistant strains (HL02 and M108). Compared with the untreated (CK) with prochloraz, there were 5342, 1148, and 2568 DEGs in DF04, HL02, and M108, respectively, after 10 mg/L prochloraz treatment. Among them, a total of 566 DEGs were overlapped among the three strains. Compared with the sensitive strains, the resistant strains had 2078 and 3096 DEGs up-regulated and 1527 and 1793 down-regulated expression, respectively. GO enrichment showed that the highest number of genes were involved in cellular process and metabolic process between resistant and sensitive strains after prochloraz treatment, accounting for 18% and 16%, 17% and 15% in HL02 and M108, respectively. KEGG enrichment showed that DEGs were significantly enriched in metabolic pathways between resistant and sensitive strains after prochloraz treatment, with 64.98% and 63.39% in HL02 and M108, respectively. The analysis for DEGs related to detoxification metabolism identified 27, 17 and 59 cytochrome P450 (Cytochrome P450), glutathione transferase (GST) and ABC transporter protein (ABC transporter) genes, respectively. Eight genes were randomly screened for quantitative real-time PCR validation, and the results confirmed that the trends in the relative expression of these genes were consistent with the transcriptome data. Based on the significantly up-regulated expression of DEGS in the resistant strains, the final screening of 7 P450s genes, 8 GSTs genes and 11 ABC transporter protein genes may be related to the metabolic resistance mechanism of L. theobromae to prochloraz. The results would provide new insights into the mechanism of fungicide resistance and lay the foundation for in-depth analysis of the molecular mechanism of metabolic resistance to prochloraz.

Tonoplast intrinsic proteins (TIPs), which comprise a subfamily of aquaporin (AQP) mediating the water balance within plant cells, could be divided into five phylogenetic groups on the basis of sequence similarity, i.e., TIP1–TIP5. Based on the full-length transcriptome previously described in tigernut (Cyperus esculentus), a tuber-abundant TIP gene named CeTIP4;1 was cloned and characterized in this study. Sequence analyses revealed that CeTIP4;1 contained two conservative introns with a complete coding sequence of 753 base pairs (bp), putatively encoding 250 amino acids with the theoretical molecular weight of 25.57 kDa, the isoelectric point (pI) value of 6.02, and the grand average of hydropathicity (GRAVY) value of 0.884, implying its acidic and hydrophobic features. The deduced peptide possessed one conservative major intrinsic protein (MIP) domain and exhibited similar structural features with the structure resolved AtTIP2;1. Classification of CeTIP4;1 into the TIP4 group was supported by the phylogenetic analysis, which showed that CeTIP4;1 clusters with AtTIP4;1, OsTIP4;1, OsTIP4;2 and OsTIP4;3 with sequence similarities of 69.62%–82.94%. After gene cloning, a plant expression vector for subcellular localization, i.e., pNC-Cam1304-CeTIP4;1, was successfully constructed. When transiently overexpressed in tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) leaves, confocal laser scanning microscopy imaging showed that CeTIP4;1 was unexpectedly localized to the cell membrane. Further expression analysis indicated that CeTIP4;1 exhibited an apparent tissue-specific expression patter, predominately expressed in tuber, root, rhizome, and shoot apex. Moreover, among the four typical stages of developmental tuber examined in this study, i.e., initiation, medium swelling, late swelling, and maturation, CeTIP4;1 exhibited a bell-like expression pattern, peaking in medium swelling tubers and lowest in maturation tubers. These results lay a solid foundation for further uncovering the mechanism of water balance in tigernut tubers.

In order to clarify the situation of macrofungal resources in Haikou, the analysis on species diversity of macrofungi in Haikou was carried out based on the samples collected by the authors in 2022 and deposited in Fungarium of the Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (FCATAS). A total of 110 species of macrofungi, belonging to 69 genera, 32 families, 10 orders, and 2 phyla, were identified based on morphological and molecular evindence. Two new species, 10 new Chinese records, and 33 new records in Hainan were found. Five dominances with more than 5% in total species were Polyporaceae, Hypoxylaceae, Agaricaceae, Xylariaceae, Omphalotaceae and Pleurotaceae, including 55 species, accounting for 50.00% of the total species. The assessment of the utilization value of the macrofungi showed that there were 8 edible species, 14 medicinal species, and 3 poisonous species in Haikou, indicating the resources have good application prospects. According to the records of “Redilist of China’s Biodiversity-Macrofungi”, 44 species of macrofungi in Haikou were assessed. Among them, Macrocybe gigantea was near to be threatened (NT), 27 species were least concerned (LC), and 16 species were data deficient (DD). The present study would provide important scientific basis for the protection, utilization and management of macrofungal resources in this area.

To evaluate the functional germplasm resources of Cymbopogon citratus, the differences in betaine, alkaloid and flavone contents were analyzed. 45 C. citratus from Hainan, Fujian, Guizhou and Yunnan were evaluated by analyzing the content of betaine, alkaloids and flavonoids. The water extract of C. citratus mainly contained flavonoids (24.30%), alkaloids (13.53%) and betaine monomers (10.52%). The betaine content of HK-2 was the highest, reaching 5.65 mg/g. The alkaloid content of HK-1-1 was the highest, reaching 8.66 mg/g. The flavonoid content of YX-1 was the highest, reaching 43.15 mg/g. There were significant differences in the content of betaine, alkaloid and flavonoid in different storage locations, regions and altitudes of the resources. The mouse model of constipation induced by loperamide demonstrated that betaine had the effect of moistening the intestines and promoting bowel movements. Finally, based on the established functional resource evaluation method for C. citratus, first-class C. citratus resources YX-1, WN-2, GM-1, ZZ-1, RL-1 and YJ-4 were selected. The results of this study are helpful for the screening, evaluation and breeding utilization of functional resources of C. citratus, and could also provide scientific basis for the study of functional mechanisms and the development and utilization of functional products.

Fruit abscission in off-season longan is very serious during fruit development in Hainan, China, and severely affectse the formation of production. However, the research on the regulation of longan fruit abscission mainly is focused on fruit thinning, and there are very few studies on fruit preservation. The mechanism of abscission is mainly focused on hydrolase genes and reactive oxygen species, there is no report of fruit respiration on carbohydrate metabolism affecting fruit abscission. Previous studies showed that the decrease in carbohydrate level in fruit was closely related to fruit abscission. In order to further understand the relationship of carbohydrate metabolism and abscission, fruit clusters of off-season Chuliang longan were detached from tree body, the peduncles were immediately inserted into pure water and defoliation treatmented after detachment, which caused starvation stress and induced fruit abscission. Therefore, detachment of the fruit clusters from the tree served as starvation stress treatment. Change in the fruit abscission rate in the starvation stressed fruit clusters, respiratory oxygen consumption rate and fruit removal force in the three developmental stages under detachment were examined, and the effects of different light intensity on fruit respiration in the three stages were analyzed. It was found that longan fruit at different developmental stages differed in sensitivity to starvation stress, which rapidly initiated the fruit abscission response in all the three stages, but there were large differences in speed of fruit shedding. Young fruits responded to starvation stress for two days later than those in the middle and the late fruit development stage would lead to more intense fruit abscission response in the middle and the late stages. Respiratory oxygen consumption rate was the lowest in the young fruit stage. With the increase of light intensity, the respiration of young fruits did not cause a decrease in oxygen, but rather a release of oxygen. The decrease in the fruit removal force was also slower than that in the middle and late stages of fruit development. Therefore, it is concluded that fruit respiration was closely related to fruit abscission under starvation stress. Stronger fruit respiration intensity would result in faster fruit abscission under starvation stress and faster fruit removal force decreases. Young green fruits may carry out photosynthesis, which partially compensates for the respiratory consumption of carbohydrates in fruit, resulting in slower fruit abscission under starvation treatment. In the longan young fruit stage, the main reasons of slow fruit abscission under starvation stress are low respiratory oxygen consumption rate and certain photosynthetic capacity. Therefore, it is conclude that the young longan fruit is a partially autotrophic organ.

The changing patterns of soil chemical properties, enzyme activity, and microbial diversity in rubber plantations intercropped with three potato varieties (Jianchuanhong or JCH, Zishu or ZS, Daniujiao or DJN) were studied in this study. The results showed that rubber plantation intercropped with potatoes could significantly increase the soil organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total potassium, alkaline dissolved nitrogen, effective phosphorus, soil β-glucosidase, N-acetyl β-D-glucosidase, acid phosphatase and aryl sulfatase activities, compared with rubber monoculture. There were significant differences among different potato varieties, with nutrient contents ranked as JCH>ZS>DJN, and enzyme activity ranked as DJN>JCH>ZS. Potatoes intercropped significantly increased the richness and diversity indexes of soil microorgnisms, and no significant differences among potato varieties. However, there was significant difference in the influence of different potato varieties on the abundance of specific microorgnisms in soil. The overall trend was that the abundance of specific bacterial such as Chloroflexi, Desulfobacterota were significantly decreased; the abundance of specific fungal such as Mortierellomycota, Chytridiomycota, and Kickxellomycota were significant increased. LEfSE analyses revealed that some beneficial microorganisms involved in material cycle or antagonistic to plant pathogens were enriched in the intercroppedg soil. DJN, ZS and JCH enriched 16, 26 and 31 marker microorganisms, respectively. Redundancy and correlation analysis showed that soil nutrient and enzyme activity were significantly correlated with the abundance of specific bacteria and fungi in the soil of rubber plantation. The increase of soil nutrients and enzyme activity decreased the abundance of specific bacterial and significantly increased the abundance of specific fungi. In conclusion, potato intercropped significantly increased soil nutrients, enzyme activity and soil microbial community diversity, but decreased the abundance of specific bacteria and increased the abundance of specific fungi. There were significant differences in the effects of different potato varieties on soil nutrients and enzyme activity, which may be related to the enrichment of different beneficial microorganisms. This study would provide a new idea and data support for the intercropping in rubber plantation.

In order to clarify the application effect of controlled-release urea combined with common urea on rubber trees, a 2-year field experiment was conducted to study the effects of different proportions of controlled-release urea combined with common urea on the yield, leaf and latex mineral nutrients and soil nitrogen content of rubber trees under the condition of nitrogen reduction, and to provide a reference base for reasonable nitrogen application in the cultivation of rubber trees. The results showed that the combined application of controlled-release urea and common urea increased the dry rubber yield and the nitrogen content of leaves. Compared with conventional fertilization, the dry rubber yield increased by 16.28%-39.13% (2021) and 7.94%-9.69% (2022), nitrogen content in leaves increased by 10.54%-19.17% (2021) and 10.24%-21.50% (2022), and the leaf nitrogen content of the combined application of controlled-release urea combined and common urea was above normal value. Combined application of controlled-release urea and common urea also increased the soil alkali-hydrolytic nitrogen content in the fertilization hole of rubber plantation by 11.27%-80.36% compared with conventional fertilization. When the ratio of controlled release urea and common urea was 50:50, the dry rubber yield (2022), leaf nitrogen content (2021—2022) and soil alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen content (2021—2022) were significantly higher than those of conventional fertilization. Overall, under the conditions of this experiment, the combination of controlled-release urea and common urea at a ratio of 50∶50 could obtain a higher dry rubber yield, improve the nutritional status of leaves, maintain soil nitrogen level, and help to achieve green and efficient fertilizer management of rubber trees.

The anther regeneration system is the earliest in vitro tissue culture regeneration plant system of Hevea brasiliensis established in China, and the regenerated plants were named self-rooted juvenile clone, which have the advantages of rapid growth, high resistance as seedlings and genetic homogeneity as grafted seedlings, and yield increase by more than 20% due to rejuvenation. However, the buds collection period is only about 60 d per year, which does not allow for a year-round supply of callus formed by dedifferentiation anther wall cells, resulting in unsustainable research relying on this material. In this study, Reyan73397 stamens were utilized to study the callus induction and somatic embryogenesis of anther callus at different developmental periods (0 d, 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, 28 d, 35 d and 42 d), which were stored at two low temperatures of 15 ℃ and 20 ℃ for 15 d. The results showed that temperature 15 ℃ and 20 ℃ had no significant effect on the stages of callus induction and somatic embryogenesis after preservation, except that the number of embryogenic callus was significantly lower than that of the control the developmental period had significant effect on callus induction and somatic embryogenesis after preservation, and showed the greatest effect on the stage of cotyledonary embryo formation, of which the anther callus at 21 d and 35 d responded strongly, the number of cotyledonary embryos of 21 d anther callus was significantly higher than that of the control, and the number of cotyledonary embryos of 35 d anther callus was significantly lower than that of the control after preservation; the preservation of anther callus with different developmental periods for 15 d at 15 ℃ and 20 ℃ could extend the supply time of anther callus for 15~60 d, and primary cotyledonary embryos for 27-95 d compared to the control; the optimal solution was to keep the anther callus with developmental periods at 21 d at 15 ℃ and 20 ℃ for 15days, which could prolong the supply of anther callus and primary cotyledonary embryo for 60 days and 60-95 days separately. Although the treatment reduced the number of callus by 46.61%, it promoted the formation of cotyledon embryo by 27.18% in number. In this study, the short-term preservation of H. brasiliensis anther callus was realized, which would greatly alleviate the difficulty of insufficient source of genetic transformation receptors due to the short flowering period, the study time could be carried out for the whole year from 60 days to 240 days, which could help to speed up the research on optimization of the genetic transformation system of anther callus in Hevea brasiliensis.

Powdery mildew (Erysiphe quercicola) can infect a variety of economically important crops, and seriously threatens the rubber industry. In order to explore the molecular mechanism of the pathogenesis, the genome of E. quercicola (HO-73 strain) was sequenced and 133 candidate secreted effector proteins (candiate secreted effector proteins, CSEPs), which have homologous proteins only in other powdery mildew, were identified. An effector protein, CSEP02974, which is conserved in powdery mildew, was identified. The function of the signal peptide in secreted protein was assayed using the yeast secretion system. CSEP02974 was a cytoplasmic effector protein verified by using the Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system and localization analysis. Further, CSEP02974 expression in Arabidopsis thaliana inhibited chitin- or flg22-induced callose deposition and ROS accumulation. The result suggests that CSEP02974 is a virulence factor in suppressing plant immunity. CSEP02974 was silenced by spraying exogenous double-stranded RNA on E. quercicola. Pathogenicity analysis showed that this gene silencing led to inhibitions of extended growth and infection. In conclusion, this study identified a key E quercicola virulence factor, which would provide an important clue on the mechanism of interaction between rubber tree and E. quercicola.

Conopomorpha sinensis is a main pest for litchi and longan. Currently, chemical pesticide control is still the primary technique on C. sinensis, which brings negative effects on the environment and increases insect pesticide resistance. Therefore, one imminent task is to develop new control strategies. The insecticidal plant glyceride oil, a new developed agricultural spray oil with no pesticide resistance, has a similar insecticidal effect compared with mineral oil. The contact insecticidal effects on C. sinensis eggs, pupae, adults and oviposition deterrent effect on adults of plant spray oil were evaluated by the spray method, and the evaluation of the field control effect was also conducted. The eggs, pupae, and adults were all susceptible to the oil. With 4.55 g/L of plant spray oil, the mortality rate of adult worms reached 100%, the emergence rate of pupae was less than 20%, the hatching inhibition rate of 1-day-old eggs was over 40%, and the plant spray oil had a certain repelling impact on spawning. Furthermore, the rate of fruit decay in the litchi orchard was greatly decreased by the oil treatment at the concentration of 4.55 g/L. The oil mixed with pesticides could reduce pesticide usage by half, while the rate of fruit decay was reduced to 1%. The results suggested that plant spray oil could be utilized to control C. sinensis in orchards, lessen the application of chemical pesticides, greatly enhance the control effect of C. sinensis, and offer a research foundation for the long-term, healthy growth of the litchi industry.

Meloidogyne enterolobii has developed into the most devastating root-knot nematode species due to its wide host range and strong infection ability, by which pepper production in Hainan province is greatly affected. The usage of inheritance resistance of crops is an economic and environmental friendly approach to control M. enterolobii. In previous studies, we identified one resistant germplasm CF25 from thirty local Capsicum frutescens resources. To better utilize this germplasm for disease resistance breeding, it is necessary to deepen the understanding of its resistance memechanism. Hence, resistant germplasm CF25 and susceptible germplasm CF29 were inoculated with M. enterolobii, and the histological characteristics were detected by the methods of acidic magenta staining and paraffin section. In terms of intrusion amount, the resistant germplasm CF25 was found to have smaller number of M. enterolobii that invaded into the roots. In terms of nematode morphology, the juveniles of M. enterolobii in CF25 developed slower than in CF29, and the female adult in CF25 presented abnormal morphology. In terms of root anatomical structure, the content of giant cells gradually decreased and cavitation phenomenon occurred in the resistant germplasm CF25. The POD and PAL activity of CF25 and CF29 was measured to explore the biochemical bases of M. enterolobii resistance. The POD and PAL activity measured in most time points after inoculation in CF25 was significantly higher than in CF29. In summary, from the perspective of histology, the resistance to M. enterolobii in CF25 was mainly presented as anti-invasion and feeding restriction. The reduction of giant cell cellular content might restrict the feeding of juveniles, which led to the slow and poor development of M. enterolobii. From the perspective of biochemistry, higher POD activity in CF25 might be good for the elimination of the active oxygen accumulated by the invasion of root-knot nematode. Besides that, higher POD and PAL activity might lead to the generation of more phenylpropanoid secondary metabolites, including lignin, which might resulted in higher resistance in CF25. The histological and biochemical bases of M. enterolobii resistance in CF25 were analyzed in our studies. The results would provide certain basis for further exploring the mechanism of M. enterolobii resistance in C. frutescens.

The present study assessed the control efficiency of a predator, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (Mulsant), on four mealybugs damaging tropical crops, including Paracoccus marginatus (Williams & Granara de Willink), Planococcus minor (Maskell), Planococcus citri (Risso), and Dysmicoccus neobrevipes (Beardsley). The daily predation of the 1st-4th instar larvae and adult C. montrouzieri on the 1st-3rd instar nymphs and adults of the four mealybug species, was observed indoors. The adult and high-age larvae of C. montrouzieri exhibited a high predation rate on the early instar nymphs of the four mealybug species. Notably, the predation rates were significantly higher on P. minor and P. marginatus compared to P. citri and D. neobrevipes. The first instar nymphs of C. montrouzieri did not prey on the adult and third instar nymphs of the four mealybug species, while the second instar nymphs lacked the ability to prey on mealybug adults. The predation ability of C. montrouzieri was ranked as follows: adults>fourth instar larvae>third instar larvae>second instar larvae>first instar larvae. Correspondingly, for the same instar of the ladybird, the predation rate on mealybugs of different instars followed the order: first instar nymphs>second instar nymphs>third instar nymphs>adults. In conclusion, C. montrouzieri demonstrates strong control capabilities on the four mealybugs damaging tropical crops.

Chelonus formosanus is an important parasitic natural enemy of Noctuidae pests in Lepidoptera. In order to clarify the effects of different treatment of antennae on the behavioral response of C. formosanus, and the number of sensilla in antennae, the effects of antennae-excision of C. formosanus on the search for the honey sources and hosts, the longevity of the male and female wasps, the parasitism rate of the female wasps and the hatching rate of the host offspring were investigated, and the number of antennae receptors in different treatments was compared by using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The search time for honey sources of both the male and female wasps was the fastest when 1/3 of the flagella was removed, (79.59±23.22)s for female wasps and (106.52±26.71)s for male wasps. The search time for hosts of the female wasps was the fastest in the control group (204.38±24.01)s. However, no host could be found by wasps in the treatment groups with all antennae and all flagellum excised. In addition, compared with the control groups, the longevity of male and female wasps, the parasitism rate of female wasp, and the hatching rate of offspring were not significantly different under the different proportions of antennae excision. The SEM results showed that there were significant differences in the sensilla trichodea, the sensilla placodea, the sensilla basiconica, and the sensilla squamiformia between the different excision treatments. The results indicate that higher proportion of antennae removed would lead to greater impact on the search for honey source and host, indicating antennal sensilla played an important role in the search, localization and parasitism behaviors of C. formosanus.

Pitaya contains abundant nutrients and is highly preferred by consumers. However, this fruit is prone to quality deterioration problems such as yellowing of fruit scales, fruit dehydration, peel shrinkage and decay during the postharvest storage period, which seriously affect its commercial value. Jindu No.1 variety was used to investigate the effect of gibberellin composite chitosan treatment on the postharvest quality and antioxidant capacity of pitaya. Pitayas of uniform size, consistent maturity and intact condition were randomly selected for six types of treatments: water (control group), 5 g/L chitosan, 50 mg/L gibberellin, 25 mg/L gibberellin + 5 g/L chitosan, 50 mg/L gibberellin + 5 g/L chitosan, and 100 mg/L gibberellin + 5 g/L chitosan treatments. The pitayas were stored at a constant temperature of 25 ℃ after treatment, and postharvest quality indicators including lipoxygenase activity (LOX), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, antioxidant substance content and antioxidant enzyme activity were measured regularly. The results showed the well-maintained storage quality of pitayas treated with 50 mg/L gibberellin + 5 g/L chitosan. After 12 days of storage, the rate of fruit scale yellowing and water loss was reduced by 15.91% and 20.75% respectively compared with those of the control. The soluble sugar content, color a^* value and L^* value of the fruit were substantially higher than those of the other groups and the soluble pectin content was considerably lower than those in the other groups. The 50 mg/L gibberellin + 5 g/L chitosan treatment could also maintain the improved antioxidant capacity of pitaya. After 12 days of storage, MDA content and LOX activity in the fruit decreased by 16.04% and 19.23% respectively compared with the control. The content of antioxidant substances such as flavonoids, total phenols, reduced glutathione (GSH) and reduced ascorbic acid (AsA) increased by 10.07%, 10.00%, 31.43% and 12.93%, respectively. The activity of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) increased by 17.61%, 79.22% and 15.00% respectively compared with those of the control. The gibberellin composite chitosan treatment with appropriate concentrations could effectively maintain the postharvest quality of pitaya, increase the fruit’s antioxidant capacity, reduce membrane damage caused by lipid peroxidation, delay the ripening and aging of pitaya, and extend the preservation period. In addition, composite treatments could be considered a green, environmentally friendly, economical and effective preservation method that can serve as an application reference for pitaya storage, transportation and preservation industry after harvest.

The aim of the study was to explore the anti-inflammatory activity of Qi-Nan essential oil (QEO) based on component analysis combined with the cellular inflammation model. The volatile components of QEO were analyzed by GC-MS. The antioxidant activity of QEO was detected by the measurement of DPPH radical scavenging and total antioxidant capacity. Bioinformatics was used to predict the targets and signaling pathways of QEO related to inflammation. NO and ROS levels were detected by fluorescent probe method. ELISA was used to detect the levels of inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β. Western blot was used to detect the expressions of P-P65, P65, IκB-α and P-IκB-α. The main components of Qinan essential oil were 2-phenethyl-4H-chromen-4-one (50.08%), (-)-caryophyllene oxide (8.45%), patchulane (6.46%), elemol (3.88%), 2-methyl-6-(2-propenyl)-phenol (2.78%). The DPPH radicals scavenging of QEO was 51.98% at a concentration of 1 mg/mL and the total antioxidant capacity increased with the increase of QEO in the concentration range of 1-10 mg/mL. There were 533 intersecting targets of QEO and inflammation, and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the main signaling pathways involved were MAPK, NF-κB and PI3K-Akt pathways. QEO significantly reduced the production and expression levels of NO, ROS, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β (P<0.001). Meanwhile, the results of western blot showed that QEO also inhibited the expression of P-P65 and P-IκB-α proteins (P<0.001). Therefore, QEO can achieve anti-inflammatory activity through reducing the production of ROS, thereby inhibiting the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway and further drastically decrease the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The results demonstrate that QEO has the potential to be developed as an inflammation inhibitor.

Some soil in the coal mining area of Western Panzhihua has high Pb and Cd contents, and there are certain food safety risks in the development of the plantation. In this paper, we compared and analyzed the trends of Pb and Cd uptake in mango in the region before and after the application of three groups of organic amendment materials (mango grass straw, mushroom residue, mushroom residue+mango grass straw) through a large field experiment, and investigated the degradation of Pb and Cd in the mango in the region by different dosages of organic amendment materials and their influence effects on the quality of mango. Three groups of organic amendment materials improved the organic matter content and pH value of the soil, among which the fungus residue+mango straw group had the most significant effect (P<0.05), and the effect increased by 10.85%-25.66% and 3.55%-8.06%, respectively, compared with that of the control. All three groups of organic improvement materials had certain effects on reducing Pb and Cd content in mango. The effect of reducing Pb in mango was shown as mushroom residue+mango straw>mango straw>mushroom residue; the effect of reducing Cd in mango was shown as mushroom residue+mango straw>mushroom residue>mango straw; the effect of applying mushroom residue+mango straw was most significant, the reduction of Pb and Cd in mango for the mushroom residue+mango straw was 13.80%-27.87% and 6.32%-27.58%, respectively; there were some differences in the effect of different application amounts of organic amendment materials on degrading Pb and Cd in mango. Within the experimental interval, applying 8 kg/plant of mushroom residue+mangrove straw material could reduce Pb and Cd in mango by 27.87% and 27.58%, respectively, which was the best effect (P<0.05). The health risk evaluation showed that the HQi values produced by consumption of mango in each treatment group were less than one, and there was no health risk, so it could be safely consumed. In conclusion, applying 8 kg/plant of mushroom residue+mango grass straw in the experimental range can better inhibit the absorption of Pb and Cd in mango, effectively reducing the enrichment of Pb and Cd in mango. It can be used as an ideal material for the agronomic control of mango cultivation in the coal-mining area of western Panzhihua.

Normal rats and diabetes model mice were used to explore the effects of Yunnan Yuanjiang noni juice and other noni juice on blood pressure of normal rats and blood sugar of diabetes model mice. The changes of blood pressure in normal rats and blood sugar in diabetes model mice were observed before and after the test. After anesthesia in normal rats, medication or fruit juice was infused into the duodenum, using direct pressure measurement method to measure blood pressure, reading blood pressure values before and after the experiment and conducting data analysis. The model of diabetes mice was established by intraperitoneal injection of alloxan, and the successful mice were given corresponding drugs or juice, continuous administration or juice for nine days. Mouse blood was collected on the 10th day to measure the fasting blood glucose values for comparative analysis. As the analysis of rat blood pressure revealed, there was no significant difference in blood pressure values between the high dose group of Yunnan Yuanjiang noni juice before and after injection; there was a very significant difference in blood pressure values before and after 90 minutes of injection in the medium dose group; there was a significant difference in blood pressure values between the low dose group before and after 240 minutes of injection; the medium dose group had the best blood pressure lowering effect. Analysis of blood sugar in diabetes model mice found that the low, medium and high dose groups of Yunnan Yuanjiang noni juice could reduce blood sugar to varying degrees, and the low-dose group had the best hypoglycemic effect, the hypoglycemic rate of Tahiti noni juice was 0.00%. Yunnan Yuanjiang noni juice has the dual effect of lowering blood sugar and blood pressure, and the low dose group has the best effect of reducing blood sugar. Noni introduced from Hawaii to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan and Yuanjiang, Yunnan has no significant effect on its blood sugar lowering effect.

The soil ecological restoration and land recycling of the closed tailings reservoir not only avoid the risk of random discharge, but also increase the land use area. Mulberry has strong root system, strong stress resistance, large biomass and wide application. It has great potential in the remediation and reuse of heavy metals in mines. In this study, the growth of one-year-old seedlings of three mulberry varieties (Y120, G12 and G62) after 60 days of planting in arsenic and nickel combined pollution soil in the mining area and the enrichment of arsenic and nickel in different parts were compared by the original soil pot method. At the same time, the difference of rhizosphere soil microorganisms was analyzed by metagenomics to preliminarily elucidate the adaptability of different mulberry varieties to arsenic and nickel combined pollution mine soil and its relationship with rhizosphere soil microbial diversity. The results showed that after 60 days of planting, the pollution index of nickel in the rhizosphere soil of the three varieties decreased from moderate to mild before planting, and the pollution index of arsenic in the rhizosphere soil of G62 decreased from severe pollution to moderate pollution. The shoot and root growth of the three mulberry varieties were inhibited, but the growth of G62 was better than that of Y120 and G12, and the growth of G12 was worse. The transport coefficient and enrichment coefficient of arsenic in the three mulberry varieties were less than that of nickel. The enrichment ability of arsenic was root>leaf>stem. The accumulation of arsenic in roots accounted for 47.33%-50.52% of the total plant, and the difference between varieties was not significant. However, the enrichment ability of nickel was different among different varieties. The accumulation of nickel in roots accounted for 25.67% (G12), 38.46% (G62) and 47.14% (Y120) of the total plant, and the difference between varieties was significant. The richness of Nocardioides, Thiomonas and Rhizobium in the rhizosphere soil of G62 with better growth was significantly higher than that of G12 and Y120, and the richness of Thiomonas sp. in G62 was the highest. Combined with the fact that the arsenic pollution index of G62 rhizosphere soil decreased more, these genera and species may be more involved in the barrier absorption or detoxification of arsenic in mulberry rhizosphere. The richness of Sphingopyxis sp. was the highest in G12, and the variety had the lowest arsenic and nickel transferred and enriched in the body, which may be related to its more participation in the detoxification of arsenic and nickel combined pollution in mulberry. The results of this study will lay a foundation for the screening of mulberry varieties resistant to compound heavy metals that are suitable for the growth of mining areas and the screening and utilization of strains that can promote the growth of mulberry in the soil of arsenic and nickel combined pollution mines.

A comparative analysis of the fungal community in the seedling roots of Dendrobium nobile formed by in situ symbiotic seed germination was conducted. The fungal composition and abundance dynamics were investigated to reveal the similarities and differences between the fungal treatments and the control, on three seedling developmental stages based on ITS amplicon sequencing technology and further analysis using QIIME 2 and DADA 2 methods. A total of 1 029 977 valid sequences were obtained and grouped into 876 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs). The fungal treatments had more ASVs than the control, but no significant differences in fungal community richness and diversity. The number of fungal ASVs and the fungal community richness and diversity in seedling roots increased with development, and the Chao1 index was significantly higher at the 6-month seedlings than the 4- and 5-month seedlings. The principal coordinates analysis showed dissimilarities on fungal community between the fungal treatments and the control, and there were significant differences in seedlings at different developmental stages. Fungal ASVs identification showed that the dominant fungal genera in both the fungal treatments and the control were Serendipita and Sebacina, which belong to Sebacinales, while Tulasnella (Tulasnellaceae) was exclusively found in the control. Among the different month-staged seedlings, the relative abundance of the dominant genera, Serendipita and Sebacina, decreased with seedling growth, and the proportion of non-orchid mycorrhizal fungi progressively increased. The research results revealed the dynamics of the fungal communities in the artificial seedling roots of D. nobile, which was of theoretical significance for its reintroduction and ecological recovery.

As global temperature rises and international trade becomes more frequent, the world is facing increasing pressure from invasive species. Therefore, it is crucial to have a deep understanding of the types of invasive species and the possible distribution ranges to take effective prevention and control measures. This paper reported a new record invasive plant species in Hainan, Acmella uliginosa, and MaxEnt maximum entropy ecological niche modeling combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was used to predict the primary potential suitable areas for A. uliginosa under current and future climatic conditions in China, ROC curve analysis method was used to validate, knife-edge method to was used to analyze the major environmental variables influencing the distribution of the A. uliginosa. A. uliginosa had a large distribution space and invasion potential in China, with the main distribution areas concentrated in southern, central and southwestern regions such as Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan and Taiwan. The low suitable area was mainly concentrated in Jiangxi, Hunan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan and Zhejiang. By 2070, the overall suitable area of A. uliginosa in China is expected to decrease from 20.64% to 11.98%, with a decrease of 5.38% in low suitable areas and 3.28% in medium and high suitable areas. The area of low suitable areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and Zhejiang has significantly reduced. The ROC curve analysis method showed that the average area under the curve (AUC) value is 0.968 with a standard deviation of 0.004, indicating that the prediction results are reliable. The knife-cutting method analysis showed that the four key environmental variables that have the greatest impact on the potential geographical distribution of A. uliginosa in China are Bio13 (precipitation of the wettest month), Bio16 (precipitation of the wettest season), Bio2 (mean diurnal temperature range), and Bio11 (mean temperature of the coldest season) are 27.6%, 22.5%, 11.1% and 8.0% respectively, indicating that precipitation and temperature range have a significant impact on the distribution of Viola palustris. The four key environmental variables that have the least impact on the potential geographical distribution of Viola palustris in China are Sq2 (soil nutrient retention capacity), Sq6 (soil toxicity), Bio9 (mean temperature of the driest season), and Sq5 (soil salinity). The four key environmental variables with the least impact on the potential geographical distribution of aquatic golden buttons in China are Sq6 toxicity, Sq7 operability, Bio1 annual average temperature, and Sq5 soil salt content. The potential suitable area for A. uliginosa is large in southern China and needs to be monitored to prevent further spread.