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Iris (Iris sp.) is a popular and widely planted herbaceous perennial. However, most iris species go dormant without any aesthetic quality for 5–6 months in the transition zone between the temperate and subtropical climates. To investigate the effects of species/cultivars, leaf shape, and air temperature conditions on the ability to stay green, 12 popular species and cultivars in the transition zone were evaluated. Iris tested included the following species: roof iris (I. tectorum), japanese iris (I. japonica), long leafed flag (I. halophila), yellow flag (I. pseudacorus), blood iris (I. sanguinea), japanese water iris (I. ensata), and small-flower iris (I. speculatrix) and the following cultivars: ‘Chinensis’ milky iris (I. lactea var. chinensis), ‘Bryce Leigh’ louisiana iris (I. hexagonae), ‘Black Swan’ german iris (I. germanica), ‘Careless Sally’ siberian iris (I. sibirica), and ‘Loyalty’ japanese water iris (I. ensata). We conducted a 2-year field study on mature iris populations and evaluated the percentage of green leaves during winter retention and spring recovery using a digital image analysis (DIA). Green period during this study was calculated using predicted sigmoid curves based on the percentage of green leaves. The present study revealed that iris species/cultivars and air temperatures had considerable influence on the duration of the green period. Both evergreen and deciduous iris phenotypes exist with three different leaf shapes, among which the average green period of fan-shaped leaf iris species and cultivars was the longest. Because there was no significant (P = 0.205) relationship between green period during this period and leaf lethal temperature (LT50), new cultivars with long green periods may be achieved without a simultaneous loss of cold tolerance in iris.
Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are universal signal-transduction modules, but the available information is limited in pear (Pyrus). In this study, 87 MAPK genes were identified from five Rosaceae species: chinese white pear (Pyrus ×bretschneideri cv. Dangshansuli), peach (Prunus persica), apple (Malus domestica), strawberry (Fragaria vesca), and plum (Prunus mume), 23 of which came from chinese white pear, designated as PbrMAPK. Based on the phylogenetic analysis and the architectures of conserved protein motifs of these gene sequences, MAPK family genes of five Rosaceae species were classified into two primary types (I and II) or four groups (Classes A–D). We have indicated that both segment and tandem duplications significantly contributed to the expansion of the MAPK family in Rosaceae by analysis of genomic evolution. In chinese white pear pollen, the expression analysis revealed that all PbrMAPKs could respond to temperature stresses (high/low temperature) and phytohormones, except PbrMAPK8 and PbrMAPK19 that displayed lower expressions, which suggested that PbrMAPKs play pivotal roles in signal-transduction pathways. In addition, we determined that PbrMAPK13 is located in the nucleus and plasma membranes. The lengths of pollen tubes became shorter when PbrMAPK13 was silenced by antisense oligonucleotide transfection. Our results provided an evolutionary foundation and functional characterization for MAPK gene families in chinese white pear and other plant species so as to elucidate their biological roles.
The marginal soil temperature on the south side of a greenhouse remains at low temperatures in winter for long periods, which affects crop growth and land-use efficiency, it is of great significance to grasp the influencing factors of soil temperature change to improve the marginal soil temperature on the south side of the greenhouse. This study was conducted in at typical greenhouse in the cold and arid area of northern China and used the Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) method, the relational degree between the marginal soil temperature on the south side of the greenhouse and environmental factors under different lining structures was analyzed, and established the soil temperature transfer function. The results show that soil temperature had the greatest correlation with the soil humidity and air humidity inside and outside the greenhouse, and the second greatest correlation was the relation with the air temperature inside and outside the greenhouse and the outdoor soil temperature; the lining structure could effectively reduce the relation between soil temperature and humidity inside and outside the greenhouse. Polystyrene extruded board (PEB) had a greater degree of relational reduction than other lining materials in the test. Through verification analysis, the mean absolute error of soil temperature of 5 cm was less than 0.85 °C, the average absolute error of soil temperature at 15 cm was less than 0.57 °C, and the average absolute error of soil temperature at 25 and 55 cm was less than 0.2 °C. In conclusion, the constructed soil temperature transfer function could be used to predict the variation trend of soil temperature, and the PEB material lining structure had good thermal insulation.
The mechanism regulating procyanidin (PA) accumulation in banana (Musa acuminata) fruit is not understood. During this study, the effects of PA treatment on the activities of banana PA biosynthetic enzymes and transcriptomic profiles were investigated. The results showed that PA treatment delayed the decreases in leucoanthocyanidin reductase and anthocyanidin reductase activities, which affected the accumulation of PA. Furthermore, the peel samples of the control fruit and the PA-treated fruit on day 1 were selected for transcriptomic analysis. The results revealed that PA treatment induced 1086 differentially expressed genes. Twenty-one key genes, including those encoding biosynthetic enzymes and regulatory factors involved in PA biosynthesis, were validated using a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that these genes were upregulated by PA treatment during banana storage. Taken together, our study improves current understanding of the mechanism underlying PA-regulated banana senescence and provide new clues for investigating specific gene functions.