Qianming Zheng

Apple (Malus × domestica) trees suffer from low-temperature-induced cold stress, leading to huge production and economic losses. Understanding the molecular mechanism of apple plants under cold stress is the basis of cold-resistance improvement. Here, we report that a basic region/leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor gene, ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE 5 (MdABI5), involved in ABA signaling can positively contribute to cold tolerance in apple. MdABI5 directly binds to the promoters of C-Repeat Binding Factor 3 (MdCBF3) and jasmonate ZIM domain 1/3 (MdJAZ1/3), activating the expression of MdCBF3 but inhibiting the expression of MdJAZ1/3 to regulate cold responses in apple. Because previous studies have verified that MdABI5 can interact with the transcriptional factor TEOSINTE BRANCHED/CYCLOIDEA/PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR 15 (MdTCP15) and histone deacetylase 6 (MdHDA6), we investigated the coordinated regulations of MdTCP15-MdABI5 and MdHDA6-MdABI5 on MdCBF3 and MdJAZ1/3. MdTCP15 suppressed the transcriptional regulation of MdABI5 on MdCBF3 and MdJAZ1/3, corresponding with the negative regulatory role of MdTCP15 in response to cold stress. MdHDA6 enhanced the repression of MdABI5 on MdJAZ1/3 expression to positively regulate cold response in apple. However, MdABI5 also interacted with and recruited MdHDA6 to the promoter regions of MdJAZ1/3, resulting in histone deacetylation around MdJAZ1/3, reinforcing the repression of MdABI5 on MdJAZ1/3, and enhancing cold tolerance in apple. Our findings provide insights into the involvement of MdABI5 in apple response to cold stress, providing the basis of genetic improvement for cold-resistant germplasm using a molecular approach.

Soluble sugars, including glucose, fructose and sucrose, are the most important determinants that affect the flavor and quality of red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) fruit. Vacuolar invertase (VIN), which catalyzes sucrose hydrolysis into glucose and fructose, is a key type of enzyme responsible for soluble sugar metabolism in plant growth and development. Herein, we conducted genome-wide identification, gene expression analysis, subcellular localization and an enzymatic properties assay for the VIN-encoding genes from red pitaya. During red pitaya fruit development towards ripening, the enzymatic activities of VIN showed an up-regulated trend towards ripening. In total, four isoforms (HpVIN1–4) of the VIN-encoding gene were identified from the pitaya genome. Sequence alignment results revealed that the HpVIN1, HpVIN3 and HpVIN4 proteins contained essential motifs for targeting the vacuole and conserved motifs or residues responsible for sucrose binding and hydrolysis. Gene expression pattern analyses revealed that the level of HpVIN4 was obviously increasing during fruit development and acted as the most abundant VIN isoform towards ripening. Subcellular localization detection via transient expression in Arabidopsis thaliana mesophyll protoplasts revealed that the HpVIN4 protein was localized in the vacuole. Growth complementation tests of heterologous expression in the invertase-deficient baker’s yeast strain suggested that the HpVIN4 protein had a sucrose hydrolysis activity and could restore the yeast growth in vivo. The identification of enzymatic properties in vitro demonstrated that the HpVIN4 protein could degrade sucrose into glucose and fructose with an optimum pH of 4.0. Specifically, the HpVIN4 protein had an estimated Km value of 5.15 ± 1.03 mmol·L⁻¹ for sucrose hydrolysis. Ultimately, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the potential roles of VINs during fruit development and towards ripening and provides functional gene resources for regulating soluble sugar accumulation in red pitaya fruit.

The optimal load capacity provides sustainable production and high quality in 'Fuji' apple production. Determining optimal crop loads with simple and affordable thinning methods is critical for apple. We set different load capacities on different apple tree rootstocks and evaluated their effects on tree development, fruit yield and quality. The optimal load capacity for vigorous stock, dwarfing rootstock, and dwarfing interstock were 240, 90, and 100 for apples above 80 mm in diameter, respectively. To explore the optimal strategies of diverse fruit thinning agents (carbaryl, 6-BA, NAA, and Metamitron) used in the 'Fuji' apple tree, we assess from thinning agents' types, varying spraying concentrations, and application time in the most widely used dwarfing interstock. The results showed that the best use of fruit thinning agents is 2,000 mg/L carbaryl at 10 d after flowering could significantly reduce fruit set rate and improve the fruit quality in the dwarfing interstock. During the research, only the fruit thinner NAA treatment suppresses fruit development. Thus, we performed the transcriptome analysis on the NAA-treated and control fruits at 60 (FS1), 90 (FS2), 120 (FS3), and 150 (FS4) days after flowering stages to investigate the potential transcriptional regulations of NAA on fruit development and ripening. Transcriptome results showed that genes related to fruit expansion (expansin A15, expansin B3), phytohormone-related genes (HVA22C, PRE1, AHP1, etc.), fruit coloring-related genes (PAL), and many ripening-related transcription factors (EIN3, ERF, ARF, etc.) might be regulated by exogenous NAA. Our results provide an important reference for the sustainable production and optimal use of fruit thinning agents.

Albino seedlings that arise during seed reproduction can have a significant impact on plant growth and breeding. In this research, we present the first report of albino occurrences in the seed reproduction process of Prunus salicina and describe the cytological, physiological, and transcriptomic changes observed in albino seedlings. The albino seedlings which were observed in several plum cultivars exhibited abnormal chloroplast ultrastructure and perturbed stomatal structure. Compared to normal seedlings, the photosynthetic pigment contents in albino seedlings decreased by more than 90%, accompanied by significant reductions in several chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. Furthermore, substantially changed photosynthetic parameters indicated that the photosynthetic capacity and stomatal function were impaired in albino seedlings. Additionally, the activities of the antioxidant enzyme were drastically altered against the background of higher proline and lower ascorbic acid in leaves of albino seedlings. A total of 4048 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified through transcriptomic sequencing, and the downregulated DEGs in albino seedlings were greatly enriched in the pathways for photosynthetic antenna proteins and flavonoid biosynthesis. GLK1 and Ftsz were identified as candidate genes responsible for the impaired chloroplast development and division in albino seedlings. Additionally, the substantial decline in the expression levels of examined photosystem-related chloroplast genes was validated in albino seedlings. Our findings shed light on the intricate physiological and molecular mechanisms driving albino plum seedling manifestation, which will contribute to improving the reproductive and breeding efforts of plums.

Here, we report a circular double-stranded DNA virus from red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus). The complete genome sequence is 7,837 nt in length and shares 98.7% nucleotide sequence identity with epiphyllum mottle-associated virus (EpMoaV) and 40.4–54.6% with other members of the genus Badnavirus. It has four open reading frames (ORFs), encoding putative proteins of 19.9, 14.8, 225.7 and 14.2 kDa, respectively. The reverse transcriptase (RT)-ribonuclease H (RNase H) region exhibits less than 70.5% nucleotide sequence identity to RT-RNase H of other badnaviruses, and 99.7% to that of EpMoaV. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the virus from this study and EpMoaV form a single group. Consequently, we propose this virus as a new member of the genus Badnavirus in the family Caulimoviridae and have named it “pitaya badnavirus 1” (PiBV1). PiBV1 and EpMoaV should be considered two isolates of a badnavirus that infects members of the family Cactaceae.