Search Results
Prairie junegrass (Koeleria macrantha) is a native cool-season C3 grass that has shown potential as a low-input turfgrass. An increased understanding of the physiological and molecular responses of prairie junegrass to water-deficit conditions is important for developing cultivars with enhanced drought tolerance. The objective of this study was to characterize the antioxidative responses and candidate gene expression in prairie junegrass subjected to drought stress. Two drought-tolerant (TOL-1 and TOL-2) and two drought-susceptible (SUS-1 and SUS-2) genotypes of prairie junegrass were subjected to 7 days of drought stress. Leaf relative water content (RWC) of SUS-1 and SUS-2 was 72.1% and 73.8% and RWC of TOL-1 and TOL-2 was 90.1% and 85.4% in drought-stressed plants, respectively. Drought stress did not affect chlorophyll fluorescence, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidative enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase (APX), or glutathione reductase for tolerant or susceptible genotypes. The TOL-2 and SUS-2 genotypes were further examined for candidate gene expression. Drought stress did not alter expression levels of CAT and chloroplastic copper/zinc SOD (Cu/ZnSOD), but increased levels of APX in either genotype, compared with their relative controls. Expression of P5CS encoding Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase and P5CR encoding Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase for proline biosynthesis were up-regulated under drought stress for both genotypes; however, expression of P5CR was more strongly induced under drought stress for TOL-2, compared with its control. The expression of 1-FFT encoding fructan:fructan 1-fructosyltransferase, which is involved in fructan biosynthesis, was strongly induced under drought stress for TOL-2 but not detected under either control or drought stress conditions for SUS-2. These results indicate that the genes involved in proline and fructan biosynthesis may play an important role in drought tolerance in prairie junegrass.
The appropriate timing of bolting and flowering is one of the keys to the reproductive success of Isatis indigotica. Several flowering regulatory pathways have been reported in plant species, but we know little about flowering regulatory in I. indigotica. In the present study, we performed RNA-seq and annotated I. indigotica transcriptome using RNA from five tissues (leaves, roots, flowers, fruit, and stems). Illumina sequencing generated 149,907,857 high-quality clean reads and 124,508 unigenes were assembled from the sequenced reads. Of these unigenes, 88,064 were functionally annotated by BLAST searches against the public protein databases. Functional classification and annotation assigned 55,991 and 23,072 unigenes to 52 gene ontology (GO) terms and 25 clusters of orthologous group (COG) categories, respectively. A total of 19,927 unigenes were assigned to 124 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, and 80 candidate genes related to plant circadian rhythm were identified. We also identified a number of differentially expressed genes (DEG) and 91 potential bolting and flowering-related genes from the RNA-seq data. This study is the first to identify bolting and flowering-related genes based on transcriptome sequencing and assembly in I. indigotica. The results provide foundations for the exploration of flowering pathways in I. indigotica and investigations of the molecular mechanisms of bolting and flowering in Brassicaceae plants.
There exist large accumulations of natural genetic diversifications under the natural and artificial selections on the flower among the Chinese tree peony cultivars incited by ornamental and medicinal uses in the past over 1500 years in China. Paeonia suffruticosa `Xiao Ci Wei' is a unique Chinese tree peony cultivar possessing special bicolored petals with tubular tip structure (Paeoniaceae). This natural mutant is not only a unique ornamental, but also a valuable material for scientific researches in Evodevotics.
This study explored the effects of different colored bags (blue, green, white, yellow, orange, and red) on russet deposition on the peel of semi-russet ‘Cuiguan’ pears 10 days after full bloom (DAFB). The process of russeting of the peel and structure of the cork layer were characterized by microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), followed by the detection of lignin and the activity of enzymes involved in lignin synthesis. The expression of cinnamate-4-hydroxylase, 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase, cinnamoyl-CoA reductase, and peroxidase, which were related to phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, was determined via real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Russeting of the outer peel of ‘Cuiguan’ pear accumulated rapidly at 80 DAFB, and a positive relationship between the russet index and lignin content was observed. Red and infrared (IR) ray, partial far-IR light (600–800 nm), and ultraviolet-A light (350–400 nm) promoted russeting in ‘Cuiguan’ pear peel, whereas green light decreased russeting, the russet index, enzymatic activities, and the expression levels of enzymes involved in lignin synthesis. Values of all these factors were higher for ‘Cuiguan’ pears in red bags than for those in bags of other colors. These findings suggested that spectral components affected the synthesis of lignin and the formation of fruit russet. Storage in green bags reduced russeting and improved fruit appearance.