Yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolium) is an excellent economic tree species in northern China, but its main distribution area often suffers from drought stress, which seriously affects its yield and the expansion of suitable growth area. The increase of ABA content and wax accumulation in plants are both measures to cope with drought stress, but the interaction mechanism between ABA and wax is currently unclear. We found that the high wax variety ‘Zhongshi 4’ has higher ABA level compared with the low-wax variety, and the XsMYB30 transcription factor which can positively regulate leaf wax synthesis was also up-regulated in the high-wax variety. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the relationship between ABA and XsMYB30 in the wax accumulation of yellowhorn. It was found that ABA synthesis inhibitor reduced the deposition of wax on the leaves of yellowhorn. Moreover, overexpression of XsMYB30 increased the ABA contents, affecting the stomatal aperture in response to drought. Biological analysis confirmed that XsMYB30 could directly bind to the promoter of XsNCED3 and promote its expression. We further showed that the inhibition of the ABA level resulted in the reduced wax accumulation and weakened drought resistance in XsMYB30 overexpression lines. Our research indicates that ABA plays an important role in XsMYB30-mediated cuticular wax accumulation and drought resistance, and provides new insights into the underlying mechanism between ABA and wax.
{"title":"ABA is involved in XsMYB30-mediated leaf wax accumulation and drought resistance in yellowhorn","authors":"Zhuo Ban, Huihui Xu, Yingying Yang, Chenxue Wang, Quanxin Bi, Xiaojuan Liu, Libing Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.hpj.2025.07.009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpj.2025.07.009","url":null,"abstract":"Yellowhorn (<ce:italic>Xanthoceras sorbifolium</ce:italic>) is an excellent economic tree species in northern China, but its main distribution area often suffers from drought stress, which seriously affects its yield and the expansion of suitable growth area. The increase of ABA content and wax accumulation in plants are both measures to cope with drought stress, but the interaction mechanism between ABA and wax is currently unclear. We found that the high wax variety ‘Zhongshi 4’ has higher ABA level compared with the low-wax variety, and the XsMYB30 transcription factor which can positively regulate leaf wax synthesis was also up-regulated in the high-wax variety. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the relationship between ABA and XsMYB30 in the wax accumulation of yellowhorn. It was found that ABA synthesis inhibitor reduced the deposition of wax on the leaves of yellowhorn. Moreover, overexpression of <ce:italic>XsMYB30</ce:italic> increased the ABA contents, affecting the stomatal aperture in response to drought. Biological analysis confirmed that XsMYB30 could directly bind to the promoter of <ce:italic>XsNCED3</ce:italic> and promote its expression. We further showed that the inhibition of the ABA level resulted in the reduced wax accumulation and weakened drought resistance in <ce:italic>XsMYB30</ce:italic> overexpression lines. Our research indicates that ABA plays an important role in XsMYB30-mediated cuticular wax accumulation and drought resistance, and provides new insights into the underlying mechanism between ABA and wax.","PeriodicalId":13178,"journal":{"name":"Horticultural Plant Journal","volume":"108 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145228937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-23DOI: 10.1016/j.hpj.2024.03.018
Hossein Gorgini Shabankareh, Sarah Khorasaninejad, Hasan Soltanloo, Vahid Shariati
Drought, as the most catastrophic abiotic stress, poses a significant threat to the growth and development of plants. Among the mechanisms employed by plants to cope with drought-induced stress, abscisic acid (ABA) which is the sesquiterpene hormone, occupies a pivotal role. A hypothesis has emerged that the exogenous application of ABA can positively influence the terpenoid content of Lavandula angustifolia cv Hidcote essential oil (EO), thereby conferring enhanced resilience to drought stress. A randomized complete block design experiment was conducted with three replications and four irrigation regimes, including I4 [30 %–40 % of field capacity (FC)], I3 (50 %–60 % FC), I2 (70 %–80 % FC), and I1 (90 %–100 % FC) as control. Application of ABA spraying included three concentrations, A3 (30 μmol L−1 ABA), A2 (15 μmol L−1 ABA), and A1 as control (distilled water). Results revealed that drought significantly affected all studied traits except for relative water content (RWC) and shoot dry mass. The ABA impact application on the observed traits was found to be dependent upon the level of drought to which the plants were exposed. Specifically, the highest levels of flavonoid content, total antioxidant activity, peroxidase (POX) activity, and EO percentage were observed under I4A2 conditions. Conversely, the highest levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity, and proline were recorded under I4A3 conditions, while the highest EO yield was obtained under I3A2 conditions. Analysis of the EO revealed that there were common indicative compounds across the varying levels of drought and ABA application, including linalool, camphor, borneol, bornyl formate, and caryophyllene oxide. The production pattern of monoterpene and sesquiterpene compounds demonstrated a distinct trend, with the highest concentration of monoterpene hydrocarbon compounds (average of 12.92 %) being observed in the I2A3 treatment group, and the highest concentration of oxygenated monoterpene compounds (average of 64.76 %) being recorded in the I1A1 group. Conversely, the most significant levels of sesquiterpene hydrocarbon compounds (14.98 %) and oxygenated sesquiterpene compounds (10.46 %) were observed in the I4A3 and I4A1 groups, respectively, showing the efficacy of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes from the action of ABA under drought conditions. The observed results indicated that the concentration of oxygenated monoterpene compounds decreases with an increase in drought level. Conversely, the application of ABA at any given drought level appears to resulted in increased concentrations of oxygenated monoterpene compounds in the same conditions. It may be concluded that plants under high-stress drought conditions allocate more terpene precursors to the production of sesquiterpene hydrocarbon compounds, aided by ABA with the same properties.
{"title":"Changes in essential oil-content and composition of Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ in response to abscisic acid under irrigation regimes","authors":"Hossein Gorgini Shabankareh, Sarah Khorasaninejad, Hasan Soltanloo, Vahid Shariati","doi":"10.1016/j.hpj.2024.03.018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpj.2024.03.018","url":null,"abstract":"Drought, as the most catastrophic abiotic stress, poses a significant threat to the growth and development of plants. Among the mechanisms employed by plants to cope with drought-induced stress, abscisic acid (ABA) which is the sesquiterpene hormone, occupies a pivotal role. A hypothesis has emerged that the exogenous application of ABA can positively influence the terpenoid content of <ce:italic>Lavandula angustifolia</ce:italic> cv Hidcote essential oil (EO), thereby conferring enhanced resilience to drought stress. A randomized complete block design experiment was conducted with three replications and four irrigation regimes, including I4 [30 %–40 % of field capacity (FC)], I3 (50 %–60 % FC), I2 (70 %–80 % FC), and I1 (90 %–100 % FC) as control. Application of ABA spraying included three concentrations, A3 (30 μmol L<ce:sup loc=\"post\">−1</ce:sup> ABA), A2 (15 μmol L<ce:sup loc=\"post\">−1</ce:sup> ABA), and A1 as control (distilled water). Results revealed that drought significantly affected all studied traits except for relative water content (RWC) and shoot dry mass. The ABA impact application on the observed traits was found to be dependent upon the level of drought to which the plants were exposed. Specifically, the highest levels of flavonoid content, total antioxidant activity, peroxidase (POX) activity, and EO percentage were observed under I4A2 conditions. Conversely, the highest levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity, and proline were recorded under I4A3 conditions, while the highest EO yield was obtained under I3A2 conditions. Analysis of the EO revealed that there were common indicative compounds across the varying levels of drought and ABA application, including linalool, camphor, borneol, bornyl formate, and caryophyllene oxide. The production pattern of monoterpene and sesquiterpene compounds demonstrated a distinct trend, with the highest concentration of monoterpene hydrocarbon compounds (average of 12.92 %) being observed in the I2A3 treatment group, and the highest concentration of oxygenated monoterpene compounds (average of 64.76 %) being recorded in the I1A1 group. Conversely, the most significant levels of sesquiterpene hydrocarbon compounds (14.98 %) and oxygenated sesquiterpene compounds (10.46 %) were observed in the I4A3 and I4A1 groups, respectively, showing the efficacy of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes from the action of ABA under drought conditions. The observed results indicated that the concentration of oxygenated monoterpene compounds decreases with an increase in drought level. Conversely, the application of ABA at any given drought level appears to resulted in increased concentrations of oxygenated monoterpene compounds in the same conditions. It may be concluded that plants under high-stress drought conditions allocate more terpene precursors to the production of sesquiterpene hydrocarbon compounds, aided by ABA with the same properties.","PeriodicalId":13178,"journal":{"name":"Horticultural Plant Journal","volume":"99 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145181273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Citrus exhibits polyembryony, a form of sporophytic apomixis, which involves development of nucellar cells into embryos. Recent genetic mapping identified CitRWP, an RWP-RK transcription factor as a key regulator of polyembryony, however, there is lack of homozygous genotype of CitRWP and its promoter in nature. The mechanism of this phenomenon remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that overexpression of CitRWP induces somatic embryogenesis in Arabidopsis roots and leads to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell death in vegetative tissues of Fortunella hindsii. Transcriptomic analysis of CitRWP-overexpressing leaves revealed enrichment of differentially expressed genes involved in ROS metabolism, redox regulation, and antioxidant defense pathways. Analysis of the CitRWP promoter with miniature inverted-repeat transposable element (MITE) insertion revealed that no homozygous genotypes were detected among the artificially generated hybrid progeny, which is indicative of lethality of the CitRWP-overexpressing genotype. Luciferase assay, Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay, and CUT&Tag-qPCR confirmed that CitRWP directly binds to and activates the alternative NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDA) promoter. Overexpression of NDA in F. hindsii resulted in H2O2 accumulation, leaf chlorosis, and growth inhibition. Our results indicate that CitRWP promotes H2O2 production via NDA activation, providing new insights into its regulatory role in citrus polyembryony.
{"title":"Citrus polyembryony gene CitRWP activates alternative NAD(P)H dehydrogenase and triggers H2O2 accumulation","authors":"Chunming Tan, Wanqi Ai, Meizhen Song, Gang Hu, Xiang Zhang, Huilan Liu, Huihui Jia, Zhixiong Rao, Xia Wang, Zongcheng Lin, Yuantao Xu, Qiang Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.hpj.2025.07.008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpj.2025.07.008","url":null,"abstract":"Citrus exhibits polyembryony, a form of sporophytic apomixis, which involves development of nucellar cells into embryos. Recent genetic mapping identified CitRWP, an RWP-RK transcription factor as a key regulator of polyembryony, however, there is lack of homozygous genotype of <ce:italic>CitRWP</ce:italic> and its promoter in nature. The mechanism of this phenomenon remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that overexpression of <ce:italic>CitRWP</ce:italic> induces somatic embryogenesis in <ce:italic>Arabidopsis</ce:italic> roots and leads to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cell death in vegetative tissues of <ce:italic>Fortunella hindsii</ce:italic>. Transcriptomic analysis of <ce:italic>CitRWP</ce:italic>-overexpressing leaves revealed enrichment of differentially expressed genes involved in ROS metabolism, redox regulation, and antioxidant defense pathways. Analysis of the <ce:italic>CitRWP</ce:italic> promoter with miniature inverted-repeat transposable element (MITE) insertion revealed that no homozygous genotypes were detected among the artificially generated hybrid progeny, which is indicative of lethality of the <ce:italic>CitRWP</ce:italic>-overexpressing genotype. Luciferase assay, Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay, and CUT&Tag-qPCR confirmed that CitRWP directly binds to and activates the alternative NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (<ce:italic>NDA</ce:italic>) promoter. Overexpression of <ce:italic>NDA</ce:italic> in <ce:italic>F. hindsii</ce:italic> resulted in H<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>O<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf> accumulation, leaf chlorosis, and growth inhibition. Our results indicate that CitRWP promotes H<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf>O<ce:inf loc=\"post\">2</ce:inf> production via <ce:italic>NDA</ce:italic> activation, providing new insights into its regulatory role in citrus polyembryony.","PeriodicalId":13178,"journal":{"name":"Horticultural Plant Journal","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145181225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-19DOI: 10.1016/j.hpj.2025.06.011
Yanguo Ke, Farhat Abbas, Fuchu Hu, Zhe Chen, Huicong Wang
Auxin is a phytohormone that is critical for plant growth and development. The molecular mechanisms underlying auxin biosynthesis, transport, and signaling are well understood. However, the complex mechanism by which auxin regulates plant volatile biosynthesis has seldom been studied. A growing array of unique auxin-related plant volatiles have recently been discovered. This study comprehensively reviews recent findings on auxin and auxin-related genes and their roles in the formation of plant volatiles. This study highlights the implications of exogenous auxin application, genes involved in auxin signaling transduction, and hormonal crosstalk during volatile compound biosynthesis in plants. Plant hormones facilitate the integration of multiple volatile signals to enable specific and appropriate responses to environmental changes. This will improve our overall understanding of the role of auxins in plant volatile compound metabolic pathways. Recent studies have delineated the considerable advancements in elucidating the intricate methods by which plants employ auxin regulatory pathways to modulate the release of volatile chemicals during development and growth, along with prospective research paths.
{"title":"Auxin-mediated regulation of volatile organic compounds in plants","authors":"Yanguo Ke, Farhat Abbas, Fuchu Hu, Zhe Chen, Huicong Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.hpj.2025.06.011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpj.2025.06.011","url":null,"abstract":"Auxin is a phytohormone that is critical for plant growth and development. The molecular mechanisms underlying auxin biosynthesis, transport, and signaling are well understood. However, the complex mechanism by which auxin regulates plant volatile biosynthesis has seldom been studied. A growing array of unique auxin-related plant volatiles have recently been discovered. This study comprehensively reviews recent findings on auxin and auxin-related genes and their roles in the formation of plant volatiles. This study highlights the implications of exogenous auxin application, genes involved in auxin signaling transduction, and hormonal crosstalk during volatile compound biosynthesis in plants. Plant hormones facilitate the integration of multiple volatile signals to enable specific and appropriate responses to environmental changes. This will improve our overall understanding of the role of auxins in plant volatile compound metabolic pathways. Recent studies have delineated the considerable advancements in elucidating the intricate methods by which plants employ auxin regulatory pathways to modulate the release of volatile chemicals during development and growth, along with prospective research paths.","PeriodicalId":13178,"journal":{"name":"Horticultural Plant Journal","volume":"196 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145181180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This review provides a comprehensive analysis of recent advancements in the regeneration and genetic transformation of Capsicum species, focusing on overcoming the challenges posed by biotic and abiotic stresses. It critically examines optimized regeneration protocols, including explant selection, media composition, and plant growth regulators, while highlighting innovations such as light-emitting diodes, nanoparticle applications, and the integration of artificial intelligence to improve in vitro regeneration efficiency. The review also addresses the challenges in genetic transformation, summarizing strategies that have been applied to enhance pathogen resistance and tolerance to environmental stresses like drought, salinity, and extreme temperatures in Capsicum species. By integrating contemporary research, this review highlights the need for sustainable biotechnological solutions to improve Capsicum cultivation, enhance crop resistance, and enhance agricultural productivity.
{"title":"Emerging approaches for overcoming Capsicum recalcitrance in regeneration and genetic transformation to accelerate crop improvement","authors":"Beenish Naeem, Shamsullah shams, Lingling Ma, Zhenghai Zhang, Yacong Cao, Hailong Yu, Huamao Wu, Lihao Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.hpj.2025.05.017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpj.2025.05.017","url":null,"abstract":"This review provides a comprehensive analysis of recent advancements in the regeneration and genetic transformation of <ce:italic>Capsicum</ce:italic> species, focusing on overcoming the challenges posed by biotic and abiotic stresses. It critically examines optimized regeneration protocols, including explant selection, media composition, and plant growth regulators, while highlighting innovations such as light-emitting diodes, nanoparticle applications, and the integration of artificial intelligence to improve <ce:italic>in vitro</ce:italic> regeneration efficiency. The review also addresses the challenges in genetic transformation, summarizing strategies that have been applied to enhance pathogen resistance and tolerance to environmental stresses like drought, salinity, and extreme temperatures in <ce:italic>Capsicum</ce:italic> species. By integrating contemporary research, this review highlights the need for sustainable biotechnological solutions to improve <ce:italic>Capsicum</ce:italic> cultivation, enhance crop resistance, and enhance agricultural productivity.","PeriodicalId":13178,"journal":{"name":"Horticultural Plant Journal","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145181179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sinocrassula (Crassulaceae), a small genus of Crassulaceae, distributed mainly in the Himalayan-Hengduan Mountains (HHM). In this study, with an extensive taxon samples of Sinocrassula to date, we utilized both plastomes and single-copy nuclear genes from genome skimming and transcriptome approaches to reconstruct a well-supported phylogeny and infer historical biogeographical processes, along with current distributional data. Our major results include: (1) the monophyly of Sinocrassula; (2) significant cytonuclear discordance and gene tree conflict were detected within Sinocrassula, and can be explained by incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization; (3) the genus Sinocrassula exhibits significant genome size variations, but chromosome counts suggested that they are all diploid, which may be related to hybridization and post-polyploid genome diploidization (PPD); (4) the dating result showed that Sinocrassula did not originate before the Miocene; (5) the early rapid diversification and rapid radiation of Sinocrassula in the HHM is most likely associated with the warm climate of the mid Miocene, the mountain building of the HHM, the East Asian monsoons, and environmental heterogeneity caused by the rapid incision of rivers. Our study presented here will help understand the evolution of flora of HHM and provide robust references for the speciation and evolutionary history of Crassulaceae.
{"title":"Exploring the evolutionary history of Sinocrassula (Crassulaceae) to provide a case study for the tree of life in succulent plants","authors":"Jing Zhao, Chao Chen, Zhenlong Liang, Miao Luo, Rongjuan Li, Lingnan Wei, Yijia Guo, Shifeng Liang, Hong Yu, Zhaorong He, Xinmao Zhou, Jiaguan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.hpj.2025.06.012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpj.2025.06.012","url":null,"abstract":"<ce:italic>Sinocrassula</ce:italic> (Crassulaceae), a small genus of Crassulaceae, distributed mainly in the Himalayan-Hengduan Mountains (HHM). In this study, with an extensive taxon samples of <ce:italic>Sinocrassula</ce:italic> to date, we utilized both plastomes and single-copy nuclear genes from genome skimming and transcriptome approaches to reconstruct a well-supported phylogeny and infer historical biogeographical processes, along with current distributional data. Our major results include: (1) the monophyly of <ce:italic>Sinocrassula</ce:italic>; (2) significant cytonuclear discordance and gene tree conflict were detected within <ce:italic>Sinocrassula</ce:italic>, and can be explained by incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization; (3) the genus <ce:italic>Sinocrassula</ce:italic> exhibits significant genome size variations, but chromosome counts suggested that they are all diploid, which may be related to hybridization and post-polyploid genome diploidization (PPD); (4) the dating result showed that <ce:italic>Sinocrassula</ce:italic> did not originate before the Miocene; (5) the early rapid diversification and rapid radiation of <ce:italic>Sinocrassula</ce:italic> in the HHM is most likely associated with the warm climate of the mid Miocene, the mountain building of the HHM, the East Asian monsoons, and environmental heterogeneity caused by the rapid incision of rivers. Our study presented here will help understand the evolution of flora of HHM and provide robust references for the speciation and evolutionary history of Crassulaceae.","PeriodicalId":13178,"journal":{"name":"Horticultural Plant Journal","volume":"96 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145181178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anthocyanins play a crucial role in shaping the visual appeal and nutritional quality of fruits. Previous research on anthocyanin biosynthesis in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) has primarily relied on single-omics approaches or focused on a limited range of metabolites, leaving the regulatory mechanisms and dynamic metabolism of anthocyanins during ripening inadequately characterized. This study integrated anthocyanin-targeted metabolomics and transcriptomics to identify key anthocyanins in sweet cherry and construct a transcriptional regulatory network for anthocyanin biosynthesis. A novel bHLH transcription factor, Prunus avium bHLH transcription factor 102 (PavbHLH102), was identified, and its role in regulating cyanidin levels was validated through overexpression and silencing experiments. Both in vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated that PavbHLH102 activates key anthocyanin biosynthetic genes, including PavF3H, PavDFR, and PavUFGT, thereby enhancing fruit coloration. Notably, PavF3′H upregulation significantly increased cyanidin accumulation. This study provides new insights into anthocyanin regulation in sweet cherry and offers valuable resources for improving fruit quality.
{"title":"PavbHLH102 functions as a positive regulator of anthocyanin biosynthesis in sweet cherry fruit by targeting multiple key genes","authors":"Wanjia Tang, HongFen Li, Yidi Huang, Wenyi Niu, Quanyan Du, Yizhe Chu, Yujie Gao, Runmei He, Yunjia Tang, Hongxu Chen, Yangang Pei, Ronggao Gong","doi":"10.1016/j.hpj.2025.07.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpj.2025.07.007","url":null,"abstract":"Anthocyanins play a crucial role in shaping the visual appeal and nutritional quality of fruits. Previous research on anthocyanin biosynthesis in sweet cherry (<ce:italic>Prunus avium</ce:italic> L.) has primarily relied on single-omics approaches or focused on a limited range of metabolites, leaving the regulatory mechanisms and dynamic metabolism of anthocyanins during ripening inadequately characterized. This study integrated anthocyanin-targeted metabolomics and transcriptomics to identify key anthocyanins in sweet cherry and construct a transcriptional regulatory network for anthocyanin biosynthesis. A novel bHLH transcription factor, <ce:italic>Prunus avium</ce:italic> bHLH transcription factor 102 (PavbHLH102), was identified, and its role in regulating cyanidin levels was validated through overexpression and silencing experiments. Both <ce:italic>in vitro</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>in vivo</ce:italic> assays demonstrated that PavbHLH102 activates key anthocyanin biosynthetic genes, including <ce:italic>PavF3H</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>PavDFR</ce:italic>, and <ce:italic>PavUFGT</ce:italic>, thereby enhancing fruit coloration. Notably, <ce:italic>PavF3′H</ce:italic> upregulation significantly increased cyanidin accumulation. This study provides new insights into anthocyanin regulation in sweet cherry and offers valuable resources for improving fruit quality.","PeriodicalId":13178,"journal":{"name":"Horticultural Plant Journal","volume":"53 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145181226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The blueberry (Vaccinium L.) fruit is known for its light-blue appearance, attributed to its blue-black skin covered with a white waxy layer. This layer is crucial for the growth and storage of blueberry fruits. This study established an F1 mapping population of 166 plants derived from ‘Chandler’ (wax-rich) and ‘Black Pearl’ (wax-poor). Bulk segregated analysis sequencing was used to identify the candidate region associated with cuticular wax, which was finally narrowed to a 1.85 Mb segment on chromosome 11, including ten candidate genes. Further transcriptome analyses and qRT-PCR revealed that the relative expression levels of five candidate genes (VcMYB36, VcDXS, VcCAMS1, VcCER2, and VcKCS19) were different between ‘Chandler’ and ‘Black Pearl’. Combined with gene function annotation, we hypothesized that VcKCS19 and VcCER2 are key candidate genes for wax synthesis in blueberry, potentially accounting for the variations in wax content between ‘Chandler’ and ‘Black Pearl’. Transient overexpression and virus-induced gene silencing in blueberry fruit revealed that VcCER2 and VcKCS19 positively regulate wax accumulation in blueberry fruits. This study provided key insights into the molecular basis of wax synthesis in blueberry fruits, which provides new avenues for enhancing wax quality in genetic breeding programs.
{"title":"Bulk segregated analysis, transcriptome, and functional analyses reveal the involvement of VcKCS19 and VcCER2 in regulating blueberry fruit wax accumulation","authors":"Liwei Chu, Xueting Wang, Wanting Li, Siyu Zuo, Yawen Kang, Wenji Zhang, Hexin Wang, Rongli Gai, Guohui Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.hpj.2025.07.006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpj.2025.07.006","url":null,"abstract":"The blueberry (<ce:italic>Vaccinium</ce:italic> L.) fruit is known for its light-blue appearance, attributed to its blue-black skin covered with a white waxy layer. This layer is crucial for the growth and storage of blueberry fruits. This study established an F<ce:inf loc=\"post\">1</ce:inf> mapping population of 166 plants derived from ‘Chandler’ (wax-rich) and ‘Black Pearl’ (wax-poor). Bulk segregated analysis sequencing was used to identify the candidate region associated with cuticular wax, which was finally narrowed to a 1.85 Mb segment on chromosome 11, including ten candidate genes. Further transcriptome analyses and qRT-PCR revealed that the relative expression levels of five candidate genes (<ce:italic>VcMYB36</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>VcDXS</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>VcCAMS1</ce:italic>, <ce:italic>VcCER2,</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>VcKCS19</ce:italic>) were different between ‘Chandler’ and ‘Black Pearl’. Combined with gene function annotation, we hypothesized that <ce:italic>VcKCS19</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>VcCER2</ce:italic> are key candidate genes for wax synthesis in blueberry, potentially accounting for the variations in wax content between ‘Chandler’ and ‘Black Pearl’. Transient overexpression and virus-induced gene silencing in blueberry fruit revealed that <ce:italic>VcCER2</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>VcKCS19</ce:italic> positively regulate wax accumulation in blueberry fruits. This study provided key insights into the molecular basis of wax synthesis in blueberry fruits, which provides new avenues for enhancing wax quality in genetic breeding programs.","PeriodicalId":13178,"journal":{"name":"Horticultural Plant Journal","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-12DOI: 10.1016/j.hpj.2025.06.009
Yuan Wan, Lu Lin, Hongning Wang, Lu Yu, Xiaogai Cheng, Zhiqiang Li, Zhongding Wu, Zimian Niu
Open-central canopy (OCC) has become the popular tree shape for arboreal apple orchards in full fruit period in the Loess Plateau of China. This study aimed to elucidate the physiological regulation mechanisms related to planting density optimization, photosynthetic performance enhancement, and fruit quality improvement in dense-canopy OCC apple orchards in the Loess Plateau of China through tree thinning practices at different intensities. This study used three planting densities of OCC apple trees as experimental materials. These include no thinning [NT, 3 m (plant) × 4 m (row)], low-intensity thinning [LT, i.e., first thinning based on NT: 4 m (plant) × 6 m (row)], and high-intensity thinning [HT, i.e., second thinning based on LT: 6 m (plant) × 8 m (row)]. In three successive experimental years, changes in spatiotemporal variations of photosynthetically active radiation (<ce:italic>PAR</ce:italic>) intercepted by canopy, leaf gas exchange, gross photosynthetic rate (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc="post">g</ce:inf>), photorespiration rate (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc="post">r</ce:inf>), nonphotochemical quenching (<ce:italic>NPQ</ce:italic>) dark relaxation curves, antioxidant enzyme activity [ascorbate peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD)], and fruit quality were carefully measured and compared. Results showed that compared with NT, LT increased <ce:italic>PAR</ce:italic> by 36 %, maximum net photosynthetic rate under light saturation (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc="post">nmax,P</ce:inf>) by 30 %, carboxylation efficiency (<ce:italic>CE</ce:italic>) by 37 %, fruit soluble solid content (SSC) by 4 %, and peel anthocyanin content (AC) by 20 %. Moreover, LT enhanced the photoprotective capacity through elevated ratio of <ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc="post">r</ce:inf> to <ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc="post">g</ce:inf> under <ce:italic>PAR</ce:italic> of 2 000 μmol m<ce:sup loc="post">−2</ce:sup> s<ce:sup loc="post">−1</ce:sup> (52 %), the reversible component in <ce:italic>NPQ</ce:italic> [r(<ce:italic>q</ce:italic>E), 9 %], and antioxidant enzymes (SOD 10 %). Compared with NT, HT enhanced <ce:italic>PAR</ce:italic> by 71 %, <ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc="post">nmax,P</ce:inf> by 67 %, <ce:italic>CE</ce:italic> by 65 %, SSC by 9 %, and AC by 37 % and boosted photoprotection through increased <ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc="post">r</ce:inf>/<ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc="post">g</ce:inf> (116 %), r(<ce:italic>q</ce:italic>E) (11 %), and SOD activity (29 %). The Pearson Correlation Coefficients between <ce:italic>PAR</ce:italic> and the fruit quality indices (including single fruit weight, SSC, and AC) were 0.89, 0.73, and 0.96, respectively. Single fruit weight and SSC were significantly and positively correlated with photosynthetic parameters (such as <ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc="post">nmax,P</ce:inf> and <ce:italic>CE</ce:italic>). In summary, after tree thinning, the light e
{"title":"Tree thinning intensity modulates photosynthetic performance, photoprotection, and fruit quality in open-central canopy apple orchards of the Loess Plateau","authors":"Yuan Wan, Lu Lin, Hongning Wang, Lu Yu, Xiaogai Cheng, Zhiqiang Li, Zhongding Wu, Zimian Niu","doi":"10.1016/j.hpj.2025.06.009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpj.2025.06.009","url":null,"abstract":"Open-central canopy (OCC) has become the popular tree shape for arboreal apple orchards in full fruit period in the Loess Plateau of China. This study aimed to elucidate the physiological regulation mechanisms related to planting density optimization, photosynthetic performance enhancement, and fruit quality improvement in dense-canopy OCC apple orchards in the Loess Plateau of China through tree thinning practices at different intensities. This study used three planting densities of OCC apple trees as experimental materials. These include no thinning [NT, 3 m (plant) × 4 m (row)], low-intensity thinning [LT, i.e., first thinning based on NT: 4 m (plant) × 6 m (row)], and high-intensity thinning [HT, i.e., second thinning based on LT: 6 m (plant) × 8 m (row)]. In three successive experimental years, changes in spatiotemporal variations of photosynthetically active radiation (<ce:italic>PAR</ce:italic>) intercepted by canopy, leaf gas exchange, gross photosynthetic rate (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\">g</ce:inf>), photorespiration rate (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\">r</ce:inf>), nonphotochemical quenching (<ce:italic>NPQ</ce:italic>) dark relaxation curves, antioxidant enzyme activity [ascorbate peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase (SOD)], and fruit quality were carefully measured and compared. Results showed that compared with NT, LT increased <ce:italic>PAR</ce:italic> by 36 %, maximum net photosynthetic rate under light saturation (<ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\">nmax,P</ce:inf>) by 30 %, carboxylation efficiency (<ce:italic>CE</ce:italic>) by 37 %, fruit soluble solid content (SSC) by 4 %, and peel anthocyanin content (AC) by 20 %. Moreover, LT enhanced the photoprotective capacity through elevated ratio of <ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\">r</ce:inf> to <ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\">g</ce:inf> under <ce:italic>PAR</ce:italic> of 2 000 μmol m<ce:sup loc=\"post\">−2</ce:sup> s<ce:sup loc=\"post\">−1</ce:sup> (52 %), the reversible component in <ce:italic>NPQ</ce:italic> [r(<ce:italic>q</ce:italic>E), 9 %], and antioxidant enzymes (SOD 10 %). Compared with NT, HT enhanced <ce:italic>PAR</ce:italic> by 71 %, <ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\">nmax,P</ce:inf> by 67 %, <ce:italic>CE</ce:italic> by 65 %, SSC by 9 %, and AC by 37 % and boosted photoprotection through increased <ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\">r</ce:inf>/<ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\">g</ce:inf> (116 %), r(<ce:italic>q</ce:italic>E) (11 %), and SOD activity (29 %). The Pearson Correlation Coefficients between <ce:italic>PAR</ce:italic> and the fruit quality indices (including single fruit weight, SSC, and AC) were 0.89, 0.73, and 0.96, respectively. Single fruit weight and SSC were significantly and positively correlated with photosynthetic parameters (such as <ce:italic>P</ce:italic><ce:inf loc=\"post\">nmax,P</ce:inf> and <ce:italic>CE</ce:italic>). In summary, after tree thinning, the light e","PeriodicalId":13178,"journal":{"name":"Horticultural Plant Journal","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-09-11DOI: 10.1016/j.hpj.2025.04.022
Xiaohui Chen, Xiaojun Yan, Hongyang Pan, Manman Sheng, Jinhui Bao, Muhammad Atif Muneer, Liangquan Wu, Xinxin Ye
Excessive fertilization (NPK) and the depletion of soil organic carbon (C) have become growing concerns in subtropical orchard production, posing a threat to agricultural sustainability. To address these challenges, an integrated soil nutrient management strategy is crucial. Using pomelo orchard as a case, a two-year field experiment was conducted with three treatments, i.e., FP (NPK fertilizer overused), OPT (balanced NPK fertilization), and OPT + C (balanced NPK with organic amendments). The aim was to assess the potential benefits of balancing nutrient inputs and incorporating organic amendments for enhancing efficiency and quality production. The results revealed that, compared to the FP treatment, the OPT treatment significantly reduced environmental footprints: 92.7% for carbon, 85.4% for nitrogen, and 99.9% for phosphorus, while simultaneously improving the benefit-cost ratio by 80.8%. Furthermore, the OPT + C treatment outperformed the OPT treatment by improving fruit yield (by 8.7%) and fruit quality, as indicated by the lowest titratable acidity (0.62%) and highest vitamin C content (403.2 mg kg−1). Structural equation modeling revealed that balanced NPK fertilization improved root morphology, achieving a synergistic balance between economic and environmental efficiency while maintaining pomelo yield. Additionally, organic amendments positively influenced soil properties and enzyme activities, promoting a synergistic increase in both pomelo yield and quality. In conclusion, the combination of balanced NPK and organic amendments led to synergistic improvements in pomelo yield, fruit quality, environmental footprints, and benefit-cost ratio. These findings provide a valuable framework for improving orchard efficiency and quality production through an integrated soil nutrient management strategy.
过量施肥（NPK）和土壤有机碳(C)耗竭已成为亚热带果园生产中日益突出的问题，对农业的可持续性构成威胁。为了应对这些挑战，一项综合土壤养分管理战略至关重要。以柚子果园为例，进行了为期2年的大田试验，采用过量施用磷钾肥（FP）、平衡施用磷钾肥（OPT）和平衡施用有机肥（OPT + C） 3种处理。目的是评估平衡养分投入和纳入有机改良剂以提高生产效率和质量的潜在效益。结果表明，与FP处理相比，OPT处理显著降低了环境足迹：碳足迹为92.7%，氮足迹为85.4%，磷足迹为99.9%，同时将效益成本比提高了80.8%。此外，OPT + C处理在提高果实产量（8.7%）和果实品质方面优于OPT处理，可滴定酸度最低（0.62%），维生素C含量最高（403.2 mg kg - 1）。结构方程模型表明，氮磷钾平衡施用改善了柚子根系形态，在保持产量的同时实现了经济效益和环境效益的协同平衡。此外，有机改良对土壤性质和酶活性有积极影响，促进了柚子产量和品质的协同提高。综上所述，平衡氮磷钾与有机改剂配施在柚子产量、果实品质、环境足迹和效益成本比方面具有协同改善作用。这些发现为通过土壤养分综合管理策略提高果园效率和优质生产提供了有价值的框架。
{"title":"Improving the environmental and economic sustainability of citrus orchard systems through optimization of fertilization and organic carbon amendment","authors":"Xiaohui Chen, Xiaojun Yan, Hongyang Pan, Manman Sheng, Jinhui Bao, Muhammad Atif Muneer, Liangquan Wu, Xinxin Ye","doi":"10.1016/j.hpj.2025.04.022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpj.2025.04.022","url":null,"abstract":"Excessive fertilization (NPK) and the depletion of soil organic carbon (C) have become growing concerns in subtropical orchard production, posing a threat to agricultural sustainability. To address these challenges, an integrated soil nutrient management strategy is crucial. Using pomelo orchard as a case, a two-year field experiment was conducted with three treatments, i.e., FP (NPK fertilizer overused), OPT (balanced NPK fertilization), and OPT + C (balanced NPK with organic amendments). The aim was to assess the potential benefits of balancing nutrient inputs and incorporating organic amendments for enhancing efficiency and quality production. The results revealed that, compared to the FP treatment, the OPT treatment significantly reduced environmental footprints: 92.7% for carbon, 85.4% for nitrogen, and 99.9% for phosphorus, while simultaneously improving the benefit-cost ratio by 80.8%. Furthermore, the OPT + C treatment outperformed the OPT treatment by improving fruit yield (by 8.7%) and fruit quality, as indicated by the lowest titratable acidity (0.62%) and highest vitamin C content (403.2 mg kg<ce:sup loc=\"post\">−1</ce:sup>). Structural equation modeling revealed that balanced NPK fertilization improved root morphology, achieving a synergistic balance between economic and environmental efficiency while maintaining pomelo yield. Additionally, organic amendments positively influenced soil properties and enzyme activities, promoting a synergistic increase in both pomelo yield and quality. In conclusion, the combination of balanced NPK and organic amendments led to synergistic improvements in pomelo yield, fruit quality, environmental footprints, and benefit-cost ratio. These findings provide a valuable framework for improving orchard efficiency and quality production through an integrated soil nutrient management strategy.","PeriodicalId":13178,"journal":{"name":"Horticultural Plant Journal","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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