CCCH-type zinc finger protein plays an important regulatory role in plant growth, development, and response to stress. In this study, a zinc finger protein gene MiZFP11 was isolated from macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia) variety JW and Guire No.1 by RT-PCR, and the structural characteristics and subcellular localization of its encoded protein was analyzed. Expression levels of MiZFP11 in drought and high temperature treatments and the tissues of macadamia were investigated by quantitative real-time PCR. RT-PCR cloning showed that a new gene MiZFP11 from macadamia was highly homologous to CCCH zinc finger protein genes, with GenBank registration number MT332641. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that MiZFP11 belonged to C3H13 subclass zinc finger protein with an LCCL domain at relatively conservative C-terminus. Analysis of protein basic properties indicated that MiZFP11 was an unstable hydrophilic protein without signal peptide and transmembrane segment, which was mainly phosphorylated with serine. Protein structure analysis showed that the secondary and tertiary structures of MiZFP11 were mainly composed of random coil,α-helix and extended strand. Transient expression of tobacco leaves and the confocal microscopy detection indicated that MiZFP11 was localized in the nucleus, which was consistent with the subcellular localization predicted results. qRT-PCR analysis showed that expression of MiZFP11 gene was highest in leaves of macadamia variety JW and Guire No.1, next was in roots, small flowers and small fruits, with the lowest in stems. Under drought stress for 1-36 hours, expression level of MiZFP11 gene in leaves increased with an “up-down-up-down” pattern in JW and an “up-down” pattern in Guire No.1. Under high temperature stress for 1-36 hours, expression level of MiZFP11 in leaves increased with “up-down” patterns in JW and Guire No.1, and expression level in JW was significantly higher than that of Guire No.1. Therefore, MiZFP11 was significantly expressed in different tissues of macadamia, and was significantly up-regulated under drought and high temperature stresses, which speculated that MiZFP11 gene plays an important role in the growth and development of macadamia tissues and the response to drought and high temperature stresses.

Dickeya fangzhongdai is one of the main pathogens causing the devastating disease (soft rot disease) of Orchidaceae. Pathogenic genes play a crucial role in the infection process. Dickeya fangzhongdai Onc5 was isolated from the diseased plant (Oncidium, Gower Ramsey) in Fujian province. Pathogenic gene play an important role in the interaction between pathogens and plants. The purpose of this study was to larify the molecular biological characteristics of D. fangzhongdai Onc5 vfmE gene and analysis its role in the infection process, so as to provide theretical basis for further reveal the pathogenic mechanism of D. fangzhongdai Onc5 vfmE gene in the infection process. Using the D. fangzhongdai Onc5 DNA as template, of vfmE gene was amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and its bioinformatics were analyzed. The expression of vfmE gene was analyzed during D. fangzhongdai Onc5 infecting Oncidium by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR). The result showed that the ORF sequence of vfmE gene was 564 bp, encoding 187 amino acids with a molecular weight of 21.93 kDa and isoelectric point of 9.01 and a conserved AraC-superfamily domain. The vfmE protein was an unstable hydrophilic protein without signal peptide and transmembrane structure. The secondary structure of protein was mainly composed of α-helix (58.29%) and random coil (40.64%). Sequence similarity analysis revealed that the translated molecules showed high homology with other pathogens in the genus Dickeya (>86%). RT-qPCR analysis showed that vfmE gene was highly expressed continuously throughout the infection process of D. fangzhongdai Onc5, and the highest expression level was at 12 h. vfmE protein plays an important role in the infection of D. fangzhongdai Onc5. Research on the pathogeneisis-related gene vfmE in D. fangzhongdai Onc5 provide a theoretical basis for further research on the vfmE gene function and pathogenic regulation mechanism in Dickeya genus. Furthermore, such studies may be useful for finding new target to control plant soft rot disease.

Guava leaf (Psidium guajava Linn.) is a common folk medicine in China. Modern pharmacological studies have confirmed its remarkable antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities, which has broad prospects in the development of natural antioxidants and hypoglycemic agents. The release of non-volatile active components of plants or herbs were greatly affected by extraction ways. The extraction effects on guava leaves of macerated extraction (ME), heat reflux extraction (HRE), ultrasound-assisted alcohol extraction (UAAE) and ultrasound-assisted deep eutectic solvents extraction (UADEE), microstructure were evaluated. The content of total saponins, total flavonoids, total phenols in the extract was respectively determined by vanillin-glacial acetic acid colorimetric method, NaNO₂-Al(NO₃)₃ colorimetric method and folin phenol method. The content of flavonoid components was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The metabolites were analyzed by liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer (LC-MS). In vitro antioxidant activity and α-glycosidase inhibitory ability of the extract were also evaluated. In UADEE group, internal structure of guava leaves was most completely damaged, the content of total saponins, total flavonoids, total phenols and guaijaverin, avicularin, reynoutrin was respectively determined to be 79.28 mg/g, 80.51 mg/g, 120.52 mg/g,7.96 mg/g, 7.74 mg/g and 3.99 mg/g, which significantly higher than those of the other three groups (P<0.05). Flavonoids, triterpenoids and phenols accounted for 9.830%, 27.267% and 1.013% of all metabolites in the extract, respectively. The IC₅₀ value of scavenging 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals and inhibiting α-glycosidase in UADEE group was 45.18 μg/mL and 904.67 μg/mL, respectively, significantly superior than those of the other three groups (P<0.05). In summary, UADEE has the best effect on the extraction of active components in the extract, attributed to the mechanical and chemical effects of ultrasound and the polarity tunability and solubilization of solvents. The results would provide experimental basis for the efficient extraction of effective components from guava leaves and the development of processed products.

The study was aimed to explore the relationship between the root distribution at different growth angles and the ratooning ability in sugarcane, and to screen the iconic root indexes of strong ratooning in sugarcane. Three sugarcane varieties with different ratooning ability, Yunzhe 08-1609 (A), Yunzhe 05-51 (B), Yuetang 93-159 (C) and strong ratooning sugarcane germplasm Erianthus arundinaceus (D) and Saccharum spontaneum (E), were used as the materials. The root morphology of plant and ratoon crops was continuously measured under the conditions of conventional planting in field. The root biomass and quantity of sugarcane varieties with strong ratoon ability increased continuously during elongation stage of plant crop, and the highest was in the angle range 0°-30° from the vertical direction, followed by that of 30°-45°. The root biomass and numbers in ratoon crop were significantly higher than those in plant crop. The root biomass and numbers in varieties A and B were the highest in the angle range 30°-45°, and that in variety C was the highest in 45°-65°. The root biomass in E. arundinaceus and S. spontaneum was much higher than that in sugarcane varieties in both plant and ratoon crops, the root number in S. spontaneum was the largest while that in E. arundinaceus was close to that in sugarcane varieties. The root biomass of the two wild germplasm materials in plant crop was the highest in the angle range of 0°-30°, while in ratoon crop, the root number distribution in E. arundinaceus was similar at three angle ranges, and of whitch in S. spontaneum was similar in the ranges of 30°-45° and 45°-65°. The root number in variety A was the highest (46.43%) in the angle range of 0°-30° at late elongation stage of plant crop, followed by the range of 30°-45° (42.74%) at late elongation stage of ratoon crop. The root number proportion of S. spontaneum and E. arundinaceus was the highest in the range of 0°-30° at elongation stage of plant crop, followed by the range 45°-65° at elongation stage of ratoon crop. The top five indicators correlated with the ratooning ability were the root surface area, root volume, root length, root fresh weight, and root number within the angle range of 0°-30° to the vertical direction. For evaluating the ratooning ability of sugarcane, it is suggested to refer to the root index in the angle range of 0°-30° from the vertical direction in plant crop, and the root fresh weight could be used as a key index for preliminary screening of the ratooning ability. In addition, if there was no rhizomes, the ratooning ability can be predicted by the ratio of average single root weight in ratoon to that in plant crop.

Date palm is hermaphroditic and highly heterogeneous in genetics, resulting in severe phenotypic variation. Propagation of seedlings depends on asexual reproduction, and tissue culture technology is the main means of commercializing date seedling production at present. However, the difficulty in inducing embryogenesis and the long induction cycle lead to difficulties in system construction and high tissue culture costs. Therefore, it is urgent to study the effects of hormone regulation on the endogenous metabolic substances of date embryos and optimize the embryogenesis system. This study is based on the selection of date explants, induction of callus and embryogenic callus in the previous studies, and uses orthogonal experimental design to screen and match the plant growth regulators and concentrations in the MS culture medium to induce embryogenesis from callus. The study statistically recorded the embryogenesis rate, induction cycle, and survival rate; date embryos with different levels of hormone were sampled; the morphological changes of date embryos in a regular manner were observed; and the changes in the content of total protein (Cpr), soluble sugar (WSS), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), amino acids (AA), auxin, cytokinin (CTK), abscisic acid (ABA), and gibberellin (GA) were measured. The results showed that the embryogenic rate of C₉ was higher than that of C₅, C₄, C₆, and the time for embryogenesis was the shortest in the C₅ treatment. In the C₉ treatment, the highest content of catalase and amino acids was found in the embryos, and the highest protein content was found in the C₅ treatment. The coefficient of variation was the largest for glutathione reductase content, and the maximum difference was found in amino acid content. The correlation analysis showed that thiocyanate and gibberellin had the strongest correlation with glutathione reductase, and soluble sugar had the strongest correlation with protein and amino acid. Principal component analysis showed that the first four principal components accounted for 88.714% of the total variance, with an eigenvalue of 3.877 for the first principal component, a contribution rate of 43.076%, and the first principal component was mainly influenced by thiocyanate content, soluble sugar content, protein content, and gibberellin content, with the highest eigenvalue of 0.921 for thiocyanate content, reflecting the impact of thiocyanate on embryogenesis. The study would provide theoretical support for optimizing the embryogenesis system and laying a technical foundation for achieving efficient and rapid propagation of date palm.

In order to screen cocoa breeding materials with excellent fruit traits, pulp and cocoa bean quality, 17 indicators including fruit quality, fruit shell quality, fruit length, fruit width, fresh quality of seeds, pulp content, soluble sugar, total acid, pH, sugar-acid ratio, pulp sensory evaluation (aroma, sour-sweet taste, acceptance), cocoa butter, theobromine, caffeine, and polyphenols were measured for 11 cocoa germplasm. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to comprehensively evaluate the 17 indicators of different cocoa germplasm fruits. The results indicated that the coefficients of variation (CV) for the 17 indicators ranged from 4.16% to 52.91%, with an average of 16.73%. Notably, caffeine exhibited the highest CV among all indicators. The CVs for pulp content, total acid, sugar-acid ratio, and caffeine were all above 20%, suggesting significant variations in fruit traits and quality among the 11 cocoa germplasms. This rich genetic diversity indicates a vast potential for the selection and improvement of cocoa cultivars with desirable characteristics. In the sensory evaluation of cocoa pulp, variety Xiangke 16 scored the highest, followed by TAS420 and TAS1413. Furthermore, the acceptability among testers was primarily influenced by the balance of sweetness and sourness in the pulp. Correlation analysis revealed that there were mainly positive correlations between fruit traits and pulp quality, while there were primarily negative correlations between cocoa bean quality traits and both fruit traits and pulp quality. In the principal component analysis, a total of five principal components with eigenvalues greater than 1 were extracted, accounting for a cumulative contribution rate of 89.521%. Based on the principal component scores of each indicator, a comprehensive ranking was conducted, with TAS420, Xiangke 16, and TAS414 scoring the highest. The three cocoa germplasm exhibited superior performance in fruit traits, pulp quality, and cocoa bean quality. Principal components 1 and 2 played crucial roles in the comprehensive evaluation. Among them, indicators such as pH, sugar-acid ratio, sensory evaluation, fruit quality, fruit shell quality, and fruit width contributed significantly to the evaluation of cocoa fruits. Based on the cluster analysis, the 11 cocoa germplasms were subdivided into four groups. Group I consisted of TAS1413, which exhibited superior fruit traits and pulp quality but had the poorest cocoa bean quality. Groups II and III comprised the top four germplasm in the comprehensive ranking, demonstrating excellent overall indicators and serving as important materials for breeding superior varieties. The remaining six germplasm belonged to Group IV, which had relatively average fruit traits and quality. This study would provide a foundation for the breeding of superior cocoa varieties, contributing to the diversification and development of the cocoa industry.

The aim of this study was to screen out insecticides that exhibit higher toxicity to Ferrisia virgata, thereby establishing a scientific foundation for controlling F. virgata. The toxicity of 14 insecticides on F. virgata was assessed indoors at 6 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h after application by a spraying method, among which the median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) values of the 7 insecticides showing greater efficacy against the 3rd nymph F. virgata were determined specifically at 24 h and 48 h post-application. Based on the recommended dosage of each insecticide, the field control efficacy of acetamiprid, sulfoxaflor, fenpropathrin, diazinon, thiamethoxam, profenofos·lufenuron, flonicamid·bifenthrin against F. virgata was evaluated by artificial spraying in the areca field of Yazhou, Sanya, Hainan in May 2024. The preliminary screening results showed that acetamiprid, sulfoxaflor, fenpropathrin, diazinon, thiamethoxam, profenofos·lufenuron, flonicamid·bifenthrin had good toxicity against the 3rd nymph F. virgata, with the mortality rate of more than 70% at 48 h after treatment. The results of laboratory toxicity determination showed that 24 h and 48 h after treatment, the relative virulence of the seven agents ranked from highest to lowest as follows: Thiamethoxam, fenpropathrin, sulfoxaflor, acetamiprid, diazinon, flonicamid·bifenthrin, profenofos·lufenuron. The results of field efficacy test showed that thiamethoxam, fenpropathrin, sulfoxaflor and acetamiprid exhibited the superior field control effect, and the corrected control effect was more than 60% during 1-7 days after treatment, while that of diazinon, flonicamid·bifenthrin, profenofos. lufenuron was less than 60% on 7 days after treatment. Thiamethoxam had the highest field control effect on mealybug bistripe, achieving a corrected control effect of 90.13% after 1 day of application, peaking at 94.53% after 3 days, and maintaining a substantial efficacy of 87.20% after 7 days, which was significantly higher than that of the other insecticides. The results of this study demonstrated that thiamethoxam, fenpropathrin, sulfoxaflor had good laboratory insecticidal activity and field control efficacy against F. virgata. The findings would provide a scientific basis for selecting suitable pesticides for controlling F. virgata, and also offer technical support for the prevention and control strategy of areca palm yellow leaf disease.

Tetranychus urticae is a dangerous agricultural pest worldwide. Abamectin is a widely used acaricide in the prevention and control of T. urticae. However, the resistance caused by inappropriate application of acaricide has become an increasing challenge. Explorating the resistant mechanisms of T. urticae against abamectin can provide the theoretical basis for prolonging lifespan and perform a comprehensive prevention and control strategy. In this study, we conducted an abamectin bioassays on field population, laboratory-derived resistant-and sensitive populations. It was found that the 24 h median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) values of the three populations was 7.19 µg/mL, 2061.43 µg/mL and 0.10 µg/mL, respectively, while the LC₅₀ values of the 48 h was 6.32 µg/mL, 1971.55 µg/mL and 0.09 µg/mL, respectively. In addition, the resistance ratio of the field population and the laboratory resistant population exceeded 70-fold and 20 000-fold respectively, which belonged to the medium resistance level and the high resistance level. Detoxification enzyme activity of surviving T. urticae following exposure to LC₅₀ treatment showed that the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GSTs) and uridine diphosphate glycosyltransferase (UGTs) in the resistant population was the highest, followed by the field populations, and both two population were significantly higher than those of sensitive population. In comparison, prior to the acaricide treatment, the enzyme activity of the highly resistant population and the medium resistant population increased over time, while the enzyme activity of the sensitive population were inhibited. Quantitative PCR was used to compare the expression differences of the coding gene of the above enzyme detoxification enzymes. It revealed that prior to the treatment, the expression level of GSTm09, GSTd10, UGT204a2 and UGT201d3 in the highly resistant population and the medium resistant population in the field was significantly higher than that in the sensitive population, and the difference in the expression of detoxification enzyme genes between the resistant population and the sensitive population increased further with the extension of treatment time. Correlation analysis showed that the detoxification enzyme activity and the expression of the coding genes were significantly positively correlated with the resistance level to abamectin. The study would provide a theoretical reference for in-depth exploration of T. urticae resistant target genes and the development of resistance management strategies.

The Nujiang Dry-hot Valley region in Yunnan is an ideal area for the cultivation of Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica L.). However, the continuous occurrence of coffee leaf diseases has a significant impact on the health, yield and quality of coffee trees, causing considerable losses to local agricultural production. To effectively manage the diseases, this study focused on the isolation and identification of the pathogens associated with coffee leaf diseases in the Nujiang Dry-hot Valley region. Typical diseased leaf samples were collected from various coffee plantations, and through pathogen isolation, purification, verification using Koch’s postulates, morphological observation and ITS gene sequence analysis. Seven pathogenic strains, Lu 11-2, Lu 9-1, Xin 5-2, Xin 7-5, Xin 8-2, Xin 15-2 and Lu 23-1, were identified. Lu 11-2, Lu 9-1, Xin 5-2 and Xin 7-5 were identified as Alternaria sp., Xin 15-2 and Lu 23-1 were identified as Colletotrichum sp., and Xin 8-2 was identified as Pestalotiopsis sp. The primary pathogens causing coffee leaf diseases in this region could be categorized into three types, Alternaria sp., Pestalotiopsis sp. and Colletotrichum sp.. Specifically, Alternaria sp. and Pestalotiopsis sp. were the primary pathogens responsible for coffee leaf spot disease, while Colletotrichum sp. was the causative agent of coffee anthracnose disease. The findings of this study would not only provide a scientific basis for a deeper understanding of the types of coffee leaf diseases in the Nujiang Dry-hot Valley region of Yunnan but also offer theoretical support for effective disease management in the area. This research plays a significant guiding role for local coffee cultivation and serves as a reference for disease control in coffee-growing regions elsewhere.

Coffee is one of three major beverage plants in the world, which is an important economic crop serving the revitalization and construction of rural areas in hot areas and national “the Belt and Road” initiative. Hainan coffee has good quality, high prices and good earnings. Currently, there is a phenomenon of using inferior products and impersonating others in the market, which is seriously damaged the brand image of Hainan coffee. Therefore, the development of Hainan coffee origin traceability identification technology is of great significance for promoting identification of Hainan coffee. In this study, we used inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry technology to determine the content of 13 mineral elements (K, Mg, Ca, Cu, Fe, Ba, Co, Mo, Ni, Zn, Se, Cd, As) in 68 coffee bean samples from main production areas of robusta coffee both domestically and internationally. Principal component analysis, orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis and cluster analysis were used to classify the production areas of medium grain coffee beans in Hainan and abroad. A model for identifying the origin of medium grained coffee was established using linear discriminant analysis. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between different mineral element. And content of elements As, Ca, Fe, K, and Zn between Hainan and foreign production areas were significantly different; OPLS-DA analysis divided coffee samples into two groups, Hainan and foreign areas, based on composition characteristics of five elements. Fisher discriminant model established by using content of elements As, K, and Ca could distinguish robusta coffee beans from Hainan and abroad. The correct discriminant rates of cross test and back generation test were 92.3% and 96.2%, respectively. The accuracy of cluster analysis in identifying product origin was 89.7%. The above research results demonstrated that fingerprint characteristics of mineral elements could be used for origin tracing of Hainan coffee, which provided key technical support for brand protection of Hainan coffee in the future.