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Despite the demonstrated importance of gibberellins (GAs) as regulators of fruit tree stature, information on their in vivo metabolism in apple vegetative tissues is still lacking. To determine whether the GA content and metabolism differs between dwarf and standard phenotypes and the influence of rootstocks, [14C]GA12, a common precursor of all GAs in higher plants, was applied to vigorously growing apple (Malus ×domestica) shoots collected from the scion cultivar Redcort on MM.106, a growth-promoting rootstock, and dwarf and standard seedlings on their own roots from progeny 806 (a cross between a breeding selection with reduced stature and an advanced breeding selection with a standard tree form). Twenty-one metabolites were identified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and used as tracers for the purification of endogenous GAs. The existence of endogenous and [2H]-labeled GA12, GA15, GA53, GA44, GA19, GA20, and GA3 was demonstrated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS); GA20 was the major GA present, with slightly less GA19 and GA44, and with GA3 present at approximately one-third the level of GA20. Despite specific searching, neither GA4, GA7, GA1, nor GA29 was found, showing that [14C]GA12 is metabolized mainly through the 13-hydroxylation pathway and that GA3 is a bioactive GA in apple vegetative tissues. The invigorating rootstock led to a slow GA metabolic rate in ‘Redcort’. For self-rooted plants, the same GAs were identified in dwarf and standard seedlings from progeny 806, although standard plants metabolized at twice the speed of dwarf plants. Young branches of dwarf 806 plants treated with GA3 were one-third longer with more nodes but similar in internode length. We conclude that the dwarf phenotype in progeny 806 is not caused by a lack of certain GAs in the GA biosynthesis pathway downstream of GA12.
The stolon is the main asexual reproductive organ of the medicinal plant Tulipa edulis and has special morphology. In the greenhouse experiment presented herein, the dynamic changes in carbohydrates and related enzymes, proteins, and endogenous hormones of stolons during T. edulis stolon formation were investigated. The results showed that the content of total soluble sugar, sucrose, reducing sugar, fructose, and starch were all significantly enhanced in the middle period when stolon emerged and maintained at relatively high levels until the later period of stolon formation, while protein content decreased during stolon formation. The activities of amylase (AMY), sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), and sucrose synthase (SS) peaked in the initial period and were negatively correlated with soluble sugars. However, adenosine diphosphoglucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) activity increased as stolon formation progressed, and the changes in soluble starch synthase (SSS), granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS) activities presented a single peak, reaching their maximums in the middle period. AGPase, SSS, and GBSS activities were all positively related to starch content. Moreover, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) verified the changes in SS and SSS activities via the expression levels of the SS, SSSI, and SSSII genes. The gibberellin (GA) and zeatin riboside (ZR) content attained their maximum in the initial period of stolon formation. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA) remained at high levels during the initial and middle period and decreased significantly during the later period of stolon formation, inversely to the ratio of ABA:IAA. Analysis of the physiological changes in T. edulis stolon indicated that the accumulation of soluble sugars and starch via various enzymes, a high level of IAA and a low ABA to IAA ratio mainly contributed to stolon development of T. edulis. This paper explored carbohydrate levels and endogenous hormones profiles during stolon formation, which provided the theory basis for further regulating stolon growth of T. edulis.
Colors of flower and seedcoat are interesting traits of asparagus bean, a cultivated subspecies of cowpea grown throughout Asia for its tender, long green pods. Little is known about the inheritance of these traits including their genome location. We report here the genetic analysis and mapping of the genes governing flower and seedcoat color in asparagus bean based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Analysis of the F1 and F7:8 generation of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) population showed a monogenetic inheritance of both traits. Purple flower and brown seedcoat are dominant over white flower and cream seedcoat, respectively. We further show that genes governing flower color and seedcoat color are tightly linked on LG8, ≈0.4 cM apart. Synteny analysis showed that the gene controlling seedcoat color in our study is syntenic to the soybean T locus. The use of the mapping information in asparagus bean breeding is discussed.