Latest ArticlesDendrobium kingianum belongs to Orchidaceae family, which is widely grown as an ornamental plant in China. In recent years, a blight disease in D. kingianum is observed in Guangdong province, China. This disease infects the stems and leaves of D. kingianum, causing brown rot and plant death. It has a serious impact on production. A fungus was isolated from the diseased plants of D. kingianum. The pathogenicity test showed that this fungus could infect healthy potted plants and cause the disease. The symptoms on inoculated plants were similar to field symptoms. Morphological characteristics of the fungus from the inoculated plants were consistent with that of the original fungus from field samples. The pathogen was identified by both morphological characteristics and β-tubulin (tub) gene sequence analysis. The morphological characteristics of the isolates were similar to Phytophthora palmivora. BLAST results showed both the sequences of two isolates in this study were 99% identical to the sequence of P. palmivora. In the maximum likelihood (ML) tree based on tub gene sequences, the strains in this study clustered with P. palmivora with 100% support. Therefore, P. palmivora was identified as the pathogen of Phytophthora blight on D. kingianum based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis. This is the first report of P. palmivora causing Phytophthora blight on D. kingianum in China and worldwide. The inhibitory effect of 10 fungicides on P. palmivora was determined using the mycelial growth rate method. The results showed that four fungicides, namely diacetylomyamide, dimethomorph, metalazepine and metalazepine · mancozeb, were the top four toxic to P. palmivora, and the EC50 value was 0.000 03 μg/mL, 0.0628 μg/mL, 0.2381 μg/mL and 0.5457 μg/mL, respectively. It was followed by chlorothalonil, pyrimethole and mancozeb, the EC50 was less than 10 μg/mL. However, the effect of downy mildew hydrochloride and triethylphosphonate was poor, and the EC50 was more than 100 μg/mL. Carbendazim showed no inhibitory effect, the EC50 was more than 1000 μg/mL. The result would provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of Phytophthora blight in Dendrobium.
Phosphatidyl ethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) widely exist in plants and play important roles in regulating flowering, seed dormancy and the formation of underground storage organs (e.g. potato tubers and onion bulbs). However, up to now, there is few studies conducted on PEBP genes in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), and there is also no research published to reveal the key members of PEBP gene family that regulate the development of storage root of sweet potato. Our study first identified the number and types of the PEBP gene family in sweet potato through bioinformatics analysis. Then, to screen the candidate members of the PEBP gene family that regulate the development of storage root of sweet potato, the tissue specificity of PEBP gene expression and the dynamic changes of PEBP gene expression level in storage roots at different development stages were analyzed. To explore possible regulatory mechanism, the correlation between PEBP gene expression level and SWEET gene expression level in storage roots were also examined. The results are as follows: (1) A total of 15 putative PEBP genes were identified from the sweet potato genome, which were classified into 4 subfamilies: 5 of FT-like genes (IbFT1-5), 6 of TFL1-like genes (IbTFL1-6), 2 of MFT-like genes (IbMFT1-2), and 2 of PEBP-like genes (IbPEBP1-2). (2) Clustering analysis revealed that IbFT5 may promote the development of storage root of sweet potato, while IbTFL3 may inhibit the development. (3) The tissue specificity analysis of sweet potato PEBP gene expression showed that IbFT5, IbTFL4 and IbTFL6 not only showed higher expression levels in the diverse root tissues than in other tissues, but also had higher expression levels in roots than other PEBP genes. Therefore, it is speculated that the three PEBP genes may promote root enlargement. (4) The expression levels of the four candidate PEBP genes (IbFT5, IbTFL3, IbTFL4 and IbTFL6) obtained from the above two methods were determined in storage roots at different developmental stages (30, 60, 90 and 120 days after planting). It was found that the expression levels of IbFT5, IbTFL4 and IbTFL6 significantly increased with the development of root tubers, especially during the rapid expansion period (60-90 days), while the expression level of IbTFL3 rapidly de-creased during the rapid expansion period (60-90 days). Therefore, all the above measurement results indicate that IbFT5, IbTFL4 and IbTFL6 may promote root development, while IbTFL3 may inhibit root development. (5) With the increase of expression levels of IbFT5, IbTFL4 and IbTFL6, the expression levels of four out of the five highly ex-pressed SWEET genes (IbSWEET4, IbSWEET11, IbSWEET16 and IbSWEET19) in storage roots showed a continuous decreasing trend. This result is similar to the findings in potatoes, indicating that the PEBP gene of sweet potato may also inhibit SWEET activity and thus promotes the transportation of sugar to the storage roots through more efficient symplasmic pathway, which ultimately promotes the development of storage roots. In conclusion, this study not only determined the number and types of members of the PEBP gene family in the sweet potato genome, but also systematically identified four candidate PEBP genes affecting the development of sweet potato storage roots, which can provide a theoretical basis for further improvement of sweet potato yield in China.
Anacardium occidentalie Linn is a typical tropical fruit tree, which is mainly planted in Yunnan and Hainan provinces of China. Cashew cultivation has important economic, social and ecological values. It is of great value to realize realize the strategy of rural revitalization in China, increase farmers' production and income, and achieve common prosperity. Cashews are very sensitive to low temperatures, and they will be severely damaged at 8 ℃and the growth will stop. Therefore, lowtemperature stress is an important abiotic stress that restricts cashew growth. CBF transcription factors play important roles in plant response to abiotic stresses such as low temperature, drought and salt. However, the role of CBF gene family in cashews has not been elucidated, and the expression pattern of this family in response to low temperature stress is unknown. In this study, in order to explore the basic characteristics of the CBF gene family in cashew nuts, six AoCBF gene family transcription factors were identified and obtained from the cashew transcriptome by bioinformatics methods, and the physical and chemical properties, protein structure, phylogeny, promoter action elements and expression patterns under low temperature induction were analyzed. The length of the six AoCBF proteins ranged from 189 to 334 aa, and the molecular weight of the proteins ranged from 21.31 to 37.89 kDa. The isoelectric points of the six AoCBF proteins were less than 7, indicating that the proteins were acidic. The proteins all contained an AP2/ERF domain. Motif analysis showed that there were five motifs in AoCBF genes, and the absence of different AoCBF gene motifs implied the absence of related functions. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that the six AoCBF genes could be divided into two subgroups, A and B, in which group A contained one gene and group B only contained five genes. The analysis of homeotropic elements of promoter showed that AoCBF gene might be involved in the response to hormone and abiotic stress. Fluorescence quantitative expression analysis showed that all the six AoCBF genes responded to low temperature and cold stress to different degrees, indicating that AoCBF played a role in the biological process of cashew nut in response to low temperature stress. The results summarized the basic characteristics of the AoCBF gene family and accumulated basic data for further molecular resistance research and application of cashews AoCBF genes.
Fujian Shuixian belongs to the semi-tree form of tea plant (Camellia sinensis), which is the main variety for processing Wuyi Rock Tea (WRT). At present, there is a widely phenomenon that Shuixian grows naturally (no-pruning) in the management of tea gardens of Wuyishan, and its quality is obviously different from that of pruned Shuixian. In order to clarify the basis and differences of aroma and flavor substances WRT under natural growth and pruning conditions, this study used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technology, combined with multivariate statistical analysis, to explore the internal relationship among aroma substances, flavor components and quality of WRT before baking (raw tea) and after baking (finished tea) under natural growth and pruning conditions. The results showed that 261 volatile compounds were identified by GC-MS technology. It reveals that there are obvious differences in aroma substances between raw tea and finished tea of the natural growth Shuixian and pruned Shuixian with the help of principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). Compared with the raw tea of pruning Shuixian, the raw tea of natural growth Shuixian showed significant differences in 41 volatile substances (Selection standard: VIP>1, and the FC≥1.5 or the FC≤0.67), in which the relative content of hexyl hexanoate, plant alcohol, isophytol, trans-nerolidol are higher, however, the relative content of β-cedrene, γ-junitene and 2-methoxyfuran are lower. Compared with the finished tea of pruning Shuixian, the finished tea of natural growth Shuixian showed significant differences in 71 volatile substances, such as hexyl hexanoate, methyl caproate, trans-nerolidol, (Z)-β-farnesene, 1-heptanol, 2-heptanone with fruity aroma, and 3-ethyl-1H-pyrrole, 2-formyl-4with baking aroma, whose relative content are higher. There are also great differences in aroma substances between natural growth Shuixian and pruned Shuixian before and after baking, with 91 and 70 different substances respectively. The analysis of aroma activity value (OAV) showed that (E)-3-hexenol, indole, trans-nerolidol, epoxy-β-ionone, (E)-linalool oxide, 2-phenylethanol and methyl salicylate may be important substances for the aroma formation of natural growth Shuixian. Analysis of the main flavor substances showed that there were obvious differences in catechin components and caffeine between natural growth Shuixian and pruned Shuixian. The results of sensory evaluation are consistent with the results of physical and chemical test, showing that natural growth Shuixian with rich fruit fragrance, mellow taste and better quality. This study has a guiding role in scientific management of tea gardens and tea quality control.
Colletotrichum siamense is the main pathogen of anthracnose in many crops in tropical and subtropical regions. SSK1 is a response regulator protein of the two-component system. Studies have shown that SSK1 in pathogenic fungi is related to the morphogenesis, stress response, drug resistance and pathogenicity of pathogens, but SSK1 homologues have distinct functions in different fungi. In order to understand the function of CsSSK1 in C. siamense, the CsSSK1 gene deletion mutant ΔCsSSK1 and the complement strain ΔCsSSK1 (CsSSK1) were constructed and phenotypically observed. The results showed that the deletion mutant ΔCsSSK1 showed slightly retarded mycelial growth, shorter conidia, lower sporulation and conidial germination rate. ΔCsSSK1 significantly increased the sensitivity of C. siamense to NaCl, sorbitol, sucrose, glucose and Congo red, and the sensitivity to fluconazole and tebuconazole, but decreased the sensitivity to fludioxonil. The pathogenicity of ΔCsSSK1 was significantly reduced. The results showed that CsSSK1 gene was involved in the regulation of C. siamense morphogenesis, response to salt stress, osmotic stress, Congo red stress and fungicide stress, affecting the pathogenicity of C. siamense. The results would lay a foundation for further understanding the function of CsSSK1 gene in C. siamense and analyzing the molecular mechanism of pathogenic fungi response to stress.
Reasonable planting density and depth are the common cultivation techniques to increase sugarcane yield per unit area. However, the effect on sugarcane lodging is often neglected when the yield is increased. Sugarcane variety Zhongtang 3 was used as the experimental material to determine the effect of different planting density and depth on the yield and lodging. Four planting density 3.0, 4.5, 6.0 and 7.5 buds/m2 and two planting depth of shallow planting (30 cm) and deep planting (40 cm) were designed in the experiment. The agronomic characters, lodging related index (root lodging and stalk lodging) and yield of sugarcane were measured. The results showed that as the growth period of sugarcane continued to advance, the safety factor of sugarcane root and stem gradually decreased, and the risk of root lodging and stem lodging of sugarcane was higher at 180 days after planting, which was in a sensitive period. When the planting density increased from 3 buds/m2 to 6 buds/m2, sugar yield (+32%) and yield (+36%) of sugarcane were significantly increased, and the stem lodging resistance of sugarcane was also increased. However, when the planting density was further increased to 7.5 buds/m2, the sugar yield and yield did not increase significantly, but the risk of root lodging was increased. Compared with planting depth of 30 cm, planting depth of 40 cm had a tendency to increase sugar yield (+2.8%) and yield (+4.8%), although there was no significant difference between them. Therefore, considering sugar yield, yield and lodging resistance of sugarcane, we believe that planting depth of 40 cm and planting density of 6 buds/m2 can improve lodging resistance of sugarcane while ensuring yield and sugar yield.
Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the most efficient oil-producing plant in the world. Fruit development is the basis of yield formation, but rancidity occurs after 24 h of harvesting, which seriously affecting the quality of palm oil. At present, the key regulatory genes and pathways for the differences in the synthesis of free fatty acid metabolism in pulp development and postharvest fruits have not been identified. In this study, oil palm fruits were collected from 95 days (MS1), 125 days (MS2), 185 days (MS3), 24 h (MS4) and 36 h (MS5) after pollination. The second generation high-throughput transcriptomics (RNA-Seq) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were used to analyze the transcriptomes and metabolomes of the fruits during the development and postharvest storage. The unsaturated fat of oil palm was significantly higher than that of fatty acid during the middle and late stages of fatty acid accumulation, LACS4, LACS4-X1, FATA, FATB, KASⅠ, KASII, SAD1 were highly expressed in pulp and were positively correlated with oleic acid, linoleic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid acid, stearic acid and linolenic acid, DGAT and PDAT were over-expressed in the pulp and negatively correlated with the content of the six fatty acids, indicating that the expression of the above-mentioned genes may promote and inhibit the synthesis and accumulation of the fatty acids in oil palm fruit, respectively, suggesting that LACS4, LACS4-A1, FATA, FATB, KASⅠ, KASII and SAD1 may be the key genes with high content of unsaturated fat during postharvest storage. GDSL2, GDSL7, SAD2, LACS9 genes and GDSL1, KAT were positively and negatively correlated with oleic acid, and negatively and positively correlated with palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid, respectively, suggesting that GDSL2, GDSL7, SAD2 and LACS9 might promote oleic acid production and inhibit palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid acid, stearic acid, linoleic acid and linolenic acid production during rancidity, while GDSL1 and KAT might inhibit linolenic acid production, suggesting that GDSL2, GDSL7, SAD2 and LACS9 are the key genes causing oil palm rancidity after harvest. The aim of this study is to provide candidate genes for improving unsaturated fat content and altering fatty acid composition by using molecular biotechnology, and to provide theoretical reference for screening unsaturated fat and storability varieties.
Banana plant has the characters of fruiting in high position and of hanging in non-fixed orientation, which is not conducive to the flower removal, bud removal breaking, pesticide spraying, bagging and harvesting of banana fruit in production, and make it vulnerable to wind damage, causing lodging and breaking. In order to reduce the height position of banana fruit, make it hang fruit directionally, facilitate management, realize mechanized harvest and improve field management efficiency, a guide outlet was excavated at the lower position on one side of banana pseudostem by physical method to guide banana to fruit at the lower position and predetermined direction, and the differences in fruit characters between physically induced fruit and naturally formed fruit were studied. The results showed that opening the outlet by physical method could guide the banana fruit grow in a low position and a predetermined direction. The average fruit yield per plant was 21.47 kg (with a variation range of 11.5 kg to 36.15 kg), the average number of fruit fingers per plant was 187(with a variation range of 137 to 237), the average weight of single fruit finger was 120 g (with a variation range of 60 g to 190 g), the average length of fruit axis was 41.82 cm (with a variation range of 27.5 cm to 54.5 cm), the average length of outer arc of fruit finger was 17.88 cm (with a variation range of 13.4 cm to 21.1 cm), the average perimeter of fruit finger was 11.44 cm (with a variation range of 9.6 cm to 12.9 cm). Correlation and regression analysis showed that the fruit weight per plant, fruit axis length and fruit finger length were significantly negatively correlated with the time interval from opening outlet day to heading fruit day, respectively. Compared with the natural heading fruit, there was no significant difference in average fruit weight per plant, average total number of fruit fingers per plant and average number of fruit fingers per comb, there was no significant difference in the thickness of the fruit fingers and the curvature of the fruit fingers; but there was significant difference in average weight of single fruit and of fruit axis respectively; The length of fruit axis and the length of fruit finger and the spacing between fruit combs was significantly shortened respectively, the differences are all very significant.
Camellia oleifera is a unique oil plant of Theaceae, which has important ornamental value and economic value. With the intensive planting of Camellia, many diseases and pests occur. In addition, the delayed breeding of improved varieties seriously restricts the development of the Camellia industry. INDETERMINATE DOMAIN (IDD) family is a kind of conservative transcription factors in higher plants, which regulate the basic immune response of plants by mediating plant endogenous hormones. In order to identify the members of IDD gene family in C. oleifera, 29 members of CoIDD gene family were identified through the conserved domain of IDD gene family with reference to the whole genome information of C. oleifera, and further clarified the structure, physical and chemical properties, phylogenetic relationship, and sub cell localization of each gene. The CoIDD4 gene homologous to AtIDD4/5/6 was cloned by RT-PCR, and its physicochemical properties, expression mode and nuclear localization signal were clarified. At the same time, the types of cis acting elements in its promoter region were analyzed. The results showed that 29 CoIDD gene family members were divided into 4 subgroups, with average hydrophilicity coefficients less than 0, belonging to hydrophilic proteins, and subcellular localization was located in the nucleus; The full-length ORF frame cloned into CoIDD4 gene contained 1620 bp base and encoded 539 amino acids, which were mainly expressed in leaf and flower organs; The cis acting elements in the promoter region of the gene were mainly involved in light response and plant hormone response elements. In conclusion, this study identified 29 IDD gene family members in C. oleifera, among which CoIDD4 gene was closely related to AtIDD4/5/6. It is speculated that CoIDD4 gene may be involved in the process of hormone signal transduction and basic immune response regulation of C. oleifera, which would provide a theoretical basis for the functional analysis of IDD transcription factors in C. oleifera and provide a reference basis for the selection and molecular breeding of superior resistant varieties of C. oleifera.
In this paper, the seedlings of 27 inbred lines of bitter gourd with four leaves and one heart were used as materials. After pre-cultivated one day, the seedlings were subjected to 39 ℃ temperature stress. And the 27 germplasm resources were divided into three types: high heat resistance, medium heat resistance and heat sensitivity screened by the heat damage index (TDG) after 72 hours of high temperature stress. Among them, six inbred lines with different heat tolerance were selected to measure 12 morphological and physiological indexes subjected to 39 ℃ stress for 0 h and 48 h, respectively, including plant height (PH), stem diameter (SD), plant fresh matter (SFW) and dry matter (SDW) and leaf relative chlorophyll content (SPAD), electrical conductivity (REL), peroxidase activity (POD), catalase activity (CAT), superoxide dismutase activity (SOD), malondialdehyde content (MDA)), proline content (Pro) and soluble sugar content (SS). The comprehensive evaluation values were obtained by the principal component analysis of heat resistance coefficients (α) of 12 morphological and physiological indexes to evaluate heat resistance of the seedlings. The mathematical model of heat resistanc evaluation was established by the stepwise regression analysis to obtain the heat resistance evaluation index system of bitter gourd. According to TDG, among the 27 bitter gourd inbred lines, three were heat-resistant, 18 were medium-heat-resistant and six were heat-sensitive. A mathematical evaluation model of heat tolerance of bitter gourd was established using the stepwise regression equation, which is Y=–0.426+0.049X1–0.011X2–0.009X3–0.018X4. The established optimal regression equation was used to predict the heat resistance of the tested materials, and the predictive values were basically consistent with the comprehensive heat tolerance value. Therefore, the heat resistance coefficients of SFW (X1), POD activity (X2), CAT activity (X3) and SS content (X4) could rapidly and accurately estimate bitter gourd heat resistance and were suggested to be used as evaluation indexes for heat resistance of bitter gourd. In order to provide a basis for the breeding of new heat-resistant bitter gourd varieties in Hainan in summer season, the heat-resistant bitter gourd germplams were screened and a heat-resistant evaluation system was constructed.