Various genetic and biochemical characteristics exist in tea plant cultivars, and they largely determine production suitability and tea quality.  Here, we performed transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of young shoots of seven tea cultivars and identified major regulatory transcription factors (TFs) for the characteristic metabolites in different cultivars based on weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA).  Phenotypically, we found that ‘Tieguanyin’ (TGY) and ‘Fujian Shuixian’ (FJSX), which are suitable for oolong tea, had higher catechin contents.  The metabolites of ‘Jinxuan’ (JX) were more prominent, especially the contents of phenolic acids, flavonoids, terpenes, and tannins, which were higher than those of the other six cultivars.  Moreover, ‘Fudingdabai’ (FDDB), which is suitable for white tea, was rich in amino acids, linolenic acid, and saccharides.  At the molecular level, hydroxycinnamoyl CoA quinate hydroxycinnamoyl transferase (HCT) (CsTGY12G0001876, and CsTGY06G0003042) led to the accumulation of chlorogenic acid in TGY.  The main reason for the higher l-ascorbic acid content in FJSX was the high expression levels of L-galactono-1,4-lactone hydrogenase (GalLDH) (CsTGY13G0000389) and Myo-inositol oxygenase (MIOX) (CsTGY14G0001769, and CsTGY14G0001770), which were regulated by WRKY (CsTGY11G0001197).  Furthermore, FDDB, ‘Longjing 43’ (LJ43), ‘Shuchazao’ (SCZ)  and ‘Baihaozao’ (BHZ) had higher free fatty acid contents, among which MYB (CsTGY14G0002344) may be a hub gene for the regulation of palmitoleic acid accumulation.  More importantly, we found that the shoots of TGY were green with purple, mainly due to the accumulation of anthocyanins and the downregulation of the Mg-protoporphyrin IX nonomethyl ester cyclase (MPEC) (CsTGY10G0001989) gene that affects chlorophyll synthesis.  These results will provide a theoretical reference for tea cultivar breeding and suitability.

Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth and development.  The skeletal muscle in MSTN–/– mice is significantly hypertrophied, with muscle fiber type II increasing significantly while muscle fiber type I decreasing.  However, it is still not clear how the skeletal muscle types change in MSTN^–/– pigs, and how the mechanism for MSTN regulates fiber types, especially in large animals like pigs.  This study conducted a comprehensive analysis of the composition of skeletal muscle fibers in MSTN^–/– pigs produced in our laboratory.  It was observed that, compared with wild-type (WT) pigs, both the total mass of skeletal muscle and type IIb muscle fibers increased significantly (P<0.01), while the type I and type IIa muscle fibers decreased significantly (P<0.01), in MSTN^–/– Meishan pigs.  In addition, to explore the influence of MSTN on muscle fiber type and its regulation mechanism in the embryonic stage, this study selected a few genes (Myf5, Mef2d, MyoD and Six1) associated with muscle fiber type and validated their expression by quantitative RT-PCR.  Herein, it was found that Myh7, Myh2, Myh4 and Myh1 can be detected in the skeletal muscle of pigs at 65 days of gestation (dg).  Compared with WT pigs, in MSTN^–/– Meishan pigs, Myh7 decreased significantly (P<0.01), while Myh4 (P<0.001) and Myh1 (P<0.05) increased significantly.  Meanwhile, the increased expression of Myf5 (P<0.05), Mef2d (P<0.01) and Six1 (P<0.05) in MSTN^–/– Meishan pigs suggested that MSTN should regulate the directional development of muscle fiber types in the early stage of embryonic development.  Thus, at the embryonic stage, the type II muscle fibers began to increase in MSTN^–/– pigs.  These results can provide valuable information not only for pig meat quality improvement, but also for the study of human skeletal muscle development and disease treatment.  

Changes in the vascular cylinder of wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. et Zucc) roots under alkaline stress were investigated in an experiment that applied 90 mmol L-1 alkaline stress for 10 d at the five-trifoliate plant growth stage in Huinan County, Jilin Province, China. Root samples were collected and paraffin-cut sections were made, and the root structure was observed under an optical microscope. There were significant changes in the vascular cylinder of G. soja roots under alkaline stress. Root diameter was reduced and the vascular cylinder changed from tetrarch to triarch pattern. Alkaline stress resulted in reduced, diameters of root vessels, and a large amount of residual, alkaline solution was stained cyaneous in vessels. The paratracheal parenchymatous cells of the vessels were large and there was little secondary xylem. Thus, alkaline stress caused structural changes in the vascular cylinder of G. soja.