Natural rubber (NR) is an irreplaceable biopolymer of economic and strategic importance owing to its unique physical and chemical properties.  The Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex A. Juss.) Müll. Arg.) is currently the exclusive commercial source of NR, and it is primarily grown in plantations restricted to the tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia.  However, current Pará rubber production barely meets the sharply increasing global industrial demand for rubber.  Petroleum-based synthetic rubber (SR) has been used to supplement the shortage of NR but its industrial performance is not comparable to that of NR.  Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new productive rubber crops with broader environmental adaptability.  This review summarizes the current research progress on alternative rubber-producing plants, including horticultural plants (Taraxacum kok-saghyz Rodin and Lactuca L. species), woody plants (Parthenium argentatum A. Gray and Eucommia ulmoides Oliv.), and other plant species with potential for NR production.  With an emphasis on the molecular basis of NR biosynthesis revealed by a multi-omics approach, we highlight new integrative strategies and biotechnologies for exploring the mechanism of NR biosynthesis with a broader scope, which may accelerate the breeding and improvement of new rubber crops. 

O3 is not only greenhouse gas but also a primary gaseous contaminant in the atmosphere. It has long-lasting effects on crop growth, yield and quality, and brings a series of ecological and environmental problems. A free-air controlled enrichment (FACE) system was applied to study the effect of elevated ozone concentration on activities of key enzymes of starch synthesis of Yangmai 16 in 2009-2010. The main-plot treatment had two levels of O3: ambient level (A-O3) and 50% higher than ambient level (E-O3). The main results were that accumulation rate of amylose, amylopectin and starch were represented in a single peak curve, and their content and accumulation amount rose gradually. The O3 elevation decreased the accumulation rate of amylose, amylopectin and starch amylase, reduced the accumulation amount of amylopectin and starch, and decreased the content of amylopectin and starch, but increased the content of amylose. With the increase of O3 concentration, the enzyme activity of grain granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS), soluble starch synthase (SSS) and starch branching enzyme (SBE) decreased after anthesis. The activities of GBSS and SSS had highly significant correlations with amylose, amylopectin and starch accumulation rate, and the activity of SBE had significant correlations with these items. So the O3 elevation decreased the activity of key enzymes of starch synthesis, which led to the variation of starch synthesis. Key words: