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Response of Toyonoka strawberry to AgNO3 was studied. Types and combinations of plant growth regulators had significant effects on shoot regeneration efficiency. Explants cultured for 10 days in shoot regeneration medium in the presence of AgNO3 not only enhanced shoot regeneration efficiency but also expedited the initiation of adventitious buds. Highest regeneration (87.38%) and number of shoots per explant (11.67) were achieved in shoot regeneration media containing 1.5 mg·L–1 TDZ, 0.4 mg·L–1 IBA and 1.0 mg·L–1 AgNO3. Half-strength MS containing 1.0 mg·L–1 AgNO3 was an optimum medium for rooting. AgNO3 advanced root emergence and increased percent rooting, root length, dry weight and activity. Lower concentrations of AgNO3 inhibited ethylene production and promoted shoot regeneration and growth. It had a significant stimulatory effect on chlorophyll, soluble protein contents and antioxidant enzyme activities. Chlorophyll and soluble protein contents, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities were increased in the presence of AgNO3 and reached maximum at 1.0 mg·L–1 AgNO3. Root water content, superoxide free radicals (O2 .-), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, proline accumulation and IAA-oxidase activity in leaves were increased while (IAA) content was decreased in the presence of AgNO3. Chemical names used: indole-3-butyric acid (IBA); silver nitrate (AgNO3); thidiazuron (TDZ); N6-benzyladenine (BA); 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D); indole-3-acetic acid (IAA); α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA); gibberellic acid (GA3); bovine serum albumin (BSA); 2,3,5-triphenyl-2H-tetrazolium chloride (TTC).
A study on multipass harvesting using a mechanical harvesting prototype was proposed for mechanical harvesting of fresh market sweet cherries. Fruit damage rate, fruit removal rate, and fruit maturity level were three of the measures used to compare the performance of the multipass harvesting method against single-pass harvesting. The multipass harvesting was conducted in four consecutive days with short duration of 2.5 seconds at each day, while the single-pass harvesting was one-time harvesting with long duration of 10 seconds at a single day. To generate baseline information for comparison, single-pass harvestings were performed on the first and the last days of the multipass harvesting. Fruit maturity level was determined by comparing the fruit skin color against a standard color chart with seven color levels. Field test results showed that the percentage of under-mature fruit (maturity levels ≤ 5) was substantially lower with multipass harvesting than that with day 1 single-pass harvesting. Similarly, the percentage of over-mature fruit (maturity level 7) was noticeably lower with multipass harvesting than that with day 4 single-pass harvesting. Multipass harvesting achieved a fruit removal rate of 83.4% ± 10.3% and a harvest-induced fruit damage rate of 5.0% ± 4.4%. The corresponding fruit removal rates from single-pass harvesting tests were 48.0% ± 16.1% on day 1 and 66.7% ± 16.2% day 4. Harvest-induced fruit damage rates with single-pass harvesting were 20.1% ± 9.9% on day 1 and 11.8% ± 6.0% on day 4. The results supported the hypothesis that multipass of short-duration shaking offer a potential to achieve a higher overall harvesting efficiency with better fruit quality, and therefore could lead to an optimal solution for mechanical harvesting of fresh market sweet cherries. It is noted that comprehensive economic analysis will be necessary to establish commercial viability of the system in comparison with single-pass solutions.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) related to phytohormone signal transduction and self-incompatibility may play an important role in the xenia effect. However, associated research in this area is still lacking in rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei). In this study, we identified miRNAs, predicted their target genes, performed functional enrichment analysis of the target genes, and screened for miRNAs related to phytohormone signaling and self-incompatibility. A total of 491 miRNAs were identified, of which 27 and 67 known miRNAs as well as 274 and 416 new miRNAs were found in the rabbiteye blueberry cultivars Brightwell and Premier, respectively. Compared with ‘Premier’, 31 miRNAs were upregulated and 62 miRNAs were downregulated in ‘Brightwell’. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional enrichment analysis indicated that the 4985 target genes predicted were involved in biosynthesis of amino acids, plant–pathogen interaction, and spliceosome pathways. A total of 10, one, one, five, two, five, and two candidate miRNAs related to auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin, abscisic acid, ethylene, brassinosteroid, and salicylic acid signaling, respectively, in rabbiteye blueberry pollen were identified. Further analysis indicated that novel_miR_49 was a candidate miRNA related to self-incompatibility, and their target gene was maker-VaccDscaff21-snap-gene-21.37. In addition, the KEGG enrichment analysis of the target genes of novel_miR_49 showed that they were involved in the ribosome, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, and glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor biosynthesis pathways. The results revealed that the microRNAs of rabbiteye blueberry pollen regulated to phytohormone signal transduction and self-incompatibility signal transduction based on related to auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin, abscisic acid, ethylene, brassinosteroid, and salicylic acid signaling. Results suggest that more research of the effects of miRNAs on regulation of hormone signal transduction and self-incompatibility is necessary for elucidating the molecular mechanism of the xenia effect.
Rhododendron delavayi Franch. is an important ornamental plant and often plays a role in natural hybridization with other sympatric species in Rhododendron subgenus Hymenanthes. Fifteen microsatellite loci were developed and characterized in this species. The average allele number of these microsatellites was four per locus, ranging from three to six. The ranges of expected (HE ) and observed (HO ) heterozygosities were 0.0365 to 0.7091 and 0.0263 to 0.9512, respectively. Cross-species amplification in R. agastum and R. decorum showed that a subset of these markers holds promise for congeneric species study. These sets of markers are potentially useful to investigate the genetic structure and gene flow of R. delavayi and other congeneric species.
Ascorbic acid (AsA) is a major antioxidant and redox buffer in plants. Dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR; EC 1.8.5.1) catalyzes the conversion of dehydroascorbate (DHA) to AsA and is crucial for AsA regeneration. In this study, we developed transgenic tomato plants that overexpressed PbDHAR2 to investigate whether PbDHAR2 could limit the deleterious effects of salt and chilling stresses. These transgenic plants contained significantly higher AsA levels than the wild-type (WT) plants. Overexpression of PbDHAR2 increased the expression of the AsA-glutathione (GSH) cycle genes in transgenic lines under salt and chilling stresses. In addition, the transgenic lines subjected to salt and chilling stresses showed higher levels of antioxidant enzyme activity, lower malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and higher chlorophyll contents than the WT. Thus, our results demonstrate that the regulation of PbDHAR2 during AsA regeneration contributes to enhanced salt and chilling tolerance in tomato.
Genetic diversity of Narcissus was systematically studied on both morphological and molecular levels. Twenty-four characteristics of nine narcissi were observed and their differences evaluated by clustering method. The results showed that nine narcissi can be divided into two subclusters: one comprised by Narcissus pseudonarcissus, the other by Chinese Narcissus. The morphological diversity among five cultivars of N. pseudonarcissus is higher than that among four ecotypes of Chinese Narcissus (Narcissus tazetta var. chinensis). There are seven morphological characteristics in N. pseudonarcissus presenting obvious variations with coefficients from 33.33% to 91.67%. Only five morphological characteristics in Chinese Narcissus present certain variations with coefficients from 37.04% to 51.79%. On DNA level, two clusters are distantly related too. Based on the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, 13 out of 40 random primers yielded scorable polymorphisms between samples. Wide variations in banding profiles between cultivars or between ecotypes were observed with nearly every primer tested. Among 95 band positions that were scored for all the 9 narcissi, 81 are polymorphic (85.26%). Cluster analysis of the calculated similarity matrix revealed that the genetic diversity between these individuals within the same section is low. However, the genetic diversity between two sections is obviously higher. Taken together, the methods combined morphological characteristics and RAPD technique allow a deep evaluation of the variation of Narcissus on both section level and cultivar/ecotype level.
Although atmospheric evaporative demand mediates water flow and constrains water-use efficiency (WUE) to a large extent, the potential to reduce irrigation demand and improve water productivity by regulating the atmospheric water driving force is highly uncertain. To bridge this gap, water transport in combination with plant productivity was examined in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) grown at contrasting evaporative demand gradients. Reducing the excessive vapor pressure deficit (VPD) decreased the water flow rate, which reduced irrigation consumption significantly by 16.4%. Reducing excessive evaporative demand moderated plant water stress, as leaf dehydration, hydraulic limitation, and excessive negative water potential were prevented by maintaining water balance in the low-VPD treatment. The moderation of plant water stress by reducing evaporative demand sustained stomatal function for photosynthesis and plant growth, which increased substantially fruit yield and shoot biomass by 20.1% and 18.4%, respectively. From a physiological perspective, a reduction in irrigation demand and an improvement in plant productivity were achieved concomitantly by reducing the excessive VPD. Consequently, WUE based on the criteria of plant biomass and fruit yield was increased significantly by 43.1% and 40.5%, respectively.
Big fruit size and nice red pigmentation combined with good flavor should be the major target for red-fleshed kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) breeding programs. Genetic diversity and plant characteristics were evaluated on a set of kiwifruit accessions with predominantly red flesh to identify the superior individuals for further breeding or study of commercial application. The leading phenotypic characters varied widely among the accessions. Accession R reached average fruit weight ≈100 g, whereas it ranged from 43.15 to 84.71 g for the other accessions. Fruits of L and Q were flatter in shape than the others. The core volume accounted for fruit proportions ranging from 2.33% to 11.42%. ‘Chuhong’, ‘Honghua’, and K exhibited a round fruit apex, whereas most others showed a depressed apex. R, L, and Q had the highest a* values in the inner pericarp and also the most appealing visual coloration. Results revealed significantly higher soluble solid content (SSC), total sugar, and sugar/acid ratio in Q, R, and L. The 12 pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were successfully used to characterize the genetic variability and confirm true-to-type identity for four accessions. However, the limited number of markers had no ability to discriminate among the other 11 accessions. Based on additional 28 SSRs, six of the indistinguishable accessions were confirmed to be genetically different, and three seemed to belong to the same clone vine. The results demonstrated that application of SSR data could improve the efficiency of identifying red-fleshed kiwifruit germplasm.