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For Selected: Download Citations EndNote Ris BibTeX Toggle Thumbnails Select Plastic-film-side seeding, an alternative technology of traditional film mulching, improves yield stability and income for maize production in semi-arid region ZHANG Bing-chao, HU Han, GUO Zheng-yu, GONG Shuai, SHEN Si, LIAO Shu-hua, WANG Xin, ZHOU Shun-li, ZHANG Zhong-dong Online: 19 May 2022 Abstract （9）   PDF （2706KB）（3）    ater conservation and soil warming.  To ameliorate issues including plastic-film residual and additional labors during “release seedlings” in spring maize production, we have developed a plastic-film-side seeding (PSS) technology with supporting machinery.  In the semi-arid regions of North-west China, a 7-year trial demonstrated that compared with traditional way of seeding under plastic-film mulch (PM), PSS increased 6547 plant numbers per hectares and maize yield by 1686 kg ha-1.  To further understand the effects of PSS on (i) the moisture and temperature of soil, (ii) maize development, yield output, water use efficiency (WUE) and (iii) revenue and plastic-film residual in comparison with that of flat planting (CK) and PM, we conducted a two-year experiment at two semi-arid regions.  Continuous monitoring of soil status demonstrated that, compared with CK, the PSS treatment significantly increased the temperature and moisture of 0-20 cm soil of the seeding row at the early stage of maize development, promoted grain yield (for 884-1089 kg ha-1) and WUE, achieving a similar effect by the PM treatment.  Economically, labor inputs of PSS were equal to CK, whereas the PM cost an additional 960 CNY ha-1 in labor for releasing seedlings from below the film.  Overall, the PSS increased profits by 5.83% (547 CNY ha-1 yr-1) and 8.16% (748 CNY ha-1 yr-1) compared with CK and PM, respectively.  Environmentally, PSS achieved a recovery rate of nearly 100% for residual film and prevented 96 to 130 kg ha-1 of residual plastic-film in PM in 3- to 5-year of maize production. Collectively, we concluded that PSS is an eco-friendly technique to improve yield stability and incomes for sustainable production of maize in semi-arid region. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Potassium sulphate induces resistance of rice against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola LIU Mao-Yan, PENG De-liang, SU Wen, XIANG Chao, JIAN Jin-zhuo, ZHAO Jie, PENG Huan, LIU Shi-ming, KONG Ling-an, DAI Liang-ying, HUANG Wen-kun, LIU Jing Online: 17 May 2022 Abstract （11）   PDF （2906KB）（1）    Potassium (K), an important nutrient element, can improve the stress resistance/tolerance of crops. The application of K in resisting plant-parasitic nematodes shows that the K treatment can reduce the occurrence of nematode diseases and increase crop yield. However, data on K2SO4 induced rice resistance against the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola are still lacking. In this work, K2SO4 treatment reduced galls and nematodes in rice plants and delayed the development of nematodes. Rather than affecting the attractiveness of roots to nematodes and the morphological phenotype of giant cells at feeding sites, such an effect is achieved by rapidly priming hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) accumulation and increasing callose deposition. Meanwhile, galls and nematodes in rice roots were more in the potassium channel OsAKT1 and transporter OsHAK5 gene-deficient plants than in wild-type, while the K2SO4-induced resistance showed weaker in the defective plants. In addition, during the process of nematode infection, the expression of jasmonic acid (JA)/ethylene (ET) / brassinolide (BR) signaling pathway-related genes and pathogenesis-related (PR) genes OsPR1a/OsPR1b was up-regulated in rice after K2SO4 treatment. In conclusion, K2SO4 induced rice resistance against M. graminicola. The mechanism of inducing resistance was to prime the basal defense and required the participation of the K+ channel and transporter in rice. These laid a foundation for further study on the mechanism of rice defense against nematodes and the rational use of potassium fertilizer on improving rice resistance against nematodes in the field. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Characterization of the microbial community response to replant diseases in peach orchards LI Wei-hua, CHEN Peng, WANG Yu-zhu, LIU Qi-zhi Online: 17 May 2022 Abstract （7）   PDF （1708KB）（2）    This study attempted to monitor the development of microbial communities and reveal the correlation between the soil microbial community and soil nutrient factors over different years following the replanting of peach trees. The replanted soil (RS) and nonreplanted soil (NRS) were collected from peach orchards with different growth years (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 years) in the same region. The soil bacterial and fungal community diversities were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing technology. RDA was used to show the correlation between the soil microbial community and environmental variables. The alpha diversities of the bacterial and fungal communities indicated that RS contained a higher abundance of bacterial and fungal Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) than NRS. NMDS and ANOSIM analyses showed that the soil bacterial and fungal communities were significantly (p<0.01) affected by planting years, and that the main changes occurred in the first and ninth planting years. The presence of the bacterial orders Sphingobacteriales, Burkholderiales and Actinomycetales changed significantly after replanting. Some bacteria associated with bioremediation, such as Burkholderiales and Intrasporangiaceae, and some harmful pathogens, such as Penicillium and Ophiostomatales, significantly increased after replanting (LDA score>3.0). In addition, the soil nutrient contents were lower in RS than in NRS in the early stage (1-5 years), and the RDA showed that bacterial and fungal phyla are closely associated with environmental variables, including the potential of hydrogen (pH), ammonium nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK). These results lead to a deeper understanding of the microbial responses to replanting in peach orchards.  Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Neopestalotiopsis eucalypti, a causal agent of grapevine shoot rot in cutting nurseries in China MA Xuan-yan, JIAO Wei-qi, LI Heng, ZHANG Wei, REN Wei-chao, WU Yan, ZHANG Zhi-chang, LI Bao-hua, ZHOU Shan-yue Online: 17 May 2022 Abstract （9）   PDF （1269KB）（1）    Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is an economically important fruit crop in the world, and China ranks first in the production of grapes with approximately 15% of the world’s total yield. However, diseases that cause the death of grapevine shoots pose a severe threat to the production of grapes. In this study, the fungus Neopestalotiopsis eucalypti was identified as a causal pathogen of grapevine shoot rot based on the morphology of conidia and a phylogenetic analysis. The phylogenetic analysis was performed with three isolates based on the combined sequence of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA, part of the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (Tef) and the β-tubulin (Tub2) genes. The three isolates were all identified as N. eucalypti. Pathogenicity tests of the three fungal isolates were conducted on grapevines shoots in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that all three fungal isolates caused severe rot lesions on the inoculated grapevine shoots, and N. eucalypti was reisolated from the inoculated grapevine shoots. Therefore, N. eucalypti was confirmed as a causal agent of the grapevine shoot rot. This is the first report of N. eucalypti causing grapevine shoot disease in China. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Influence of preceding crop and tillage system on forage yield and quality of selected summer grass and legume forage crops under arid conditions Hend H. M. HASSAN, El-Sayed E. A. EL-SOBKY, Elsayed MANSOUR, Ahmed S. M. El-KHOLY, Mohamed F. AWAD, Hayat ULLAH, Avishek DATTA Online: 17 May 2022 Abstract （22）   PDF （3536KB）（17）    Among the crop production factors, preceding crop and tillage management ‎affect the sustainable use of soil resources and ultimately crop growth and productivity. This study aimed at investigating the impact of preceding winter crops (grass or legume) and different tillage systems on forage yield, quality and nutritive values of three summer grass (Sudan grass, pearl millet and teosinte) and two legume forage crops (cowpea and guar) under arid conditions. The results exhibited that growing forage crops after legumes (as berseem clover) produced the highest fresh and dry forage yields and quality attributes compared with grasses (as wheat) with the exception of crude fiber content, which was decreased. Moreover, tillage practices showed positive impact on forage yields and quality attributes. The maximum forage yields and quality parameters were recorded under conventional tillage (CT) practice compared with reduced tillage (RT) and no-tillage (NT) systems. Among the evaluated crops, the highest yields of fresh forage, dry forage, crude fiber, crude protein and total digestible nutrient were exhibited by grass forage crops (Sudan grass, pearl millet and teosinte), whereas the highest crude protein content and the digestible energy values were produced by legume forage crops (cowpea and guar). The maximum fresh forage, dry forage, crude fiber, crude protein, total digestible nutrient and digestible crude protein yields were produced by pearl millet followed by Sudan grass under CT and RT after berseem clover. The highest net return was recorded by sowing pearl millet after berseem clover and applying CT followed by RT practices, which could be recommended for the commercial production. Moreover, it could be assumed that the combination ‎of ‎growing grass forage crops after legume crops under CT or RT systems ‎could enhance forage crop yield and quality with an improvement in soil properties ‎for sustainable agriculture with low cost and the highest net income. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Genome-wide detection for runs of homozygosity analysis in three pig breeds from Chinese Taihu Basin and Landrace pigs by SLAF-seq data TONG Shi-feng, ZHU Mo , XIE Rui , LI Dong-feng , ZHANG Li-fan , LIU Yang Online: 17 May 2022 Abstract （7）   PDF （2979KB）（1）    Erhualian (E), Meishan (MS) and Mi (MI) pigs are excellent indigenous pig breeds in Chinese Taihu Basin, which have made great contributions to the genetic improvement of commercial pigs. Investigation of the genetic structure and inbreeding level of the 3 pig breeds is of great significance for the sustainable breeding of commercial pigs. The length and number of runs of homozygosity (ROH) as well as the frequency of genomes covered by ROH can be used as indicators to evaluate the level of inbreeding and the origin of the population. In this study, the ROH characteristics of E, MS, MI and Landrace (L) pigs were analyzed by SLAF-seq data, and the inbreeding coefficient was calculated according to ROH (FROH). In addition, we have identified candidate genes in the genomic regions associated with ROH. A total of 10,568 ROH were detected in 116 individuals of 4 pig breeds. The analysis showed that there were significant differences in genetic structure between 3 Taihu Basin pig breeds and L, and the genetic structure of E and MI was similar. The results of FROH showed that the inbreeding level of MS was the highest (0.25±0.07), while E and MI were lower than L. Compared with the other 3 pig populations, MS showed a higher frequency of long ROH (>5 Mb), indicating higher inbreeding in MS in recent times. A large number of candidate genes related to reproductive traits are located in the high frequency genomic region of ROH, and these genes are expected to be used as candidate genes in marker-assisted selection (MAS) breeding programs. Our findings can provide theoretical support for genetic conservation and genetic improvement of 3 pig breeds in Chinese Taihu Basin. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Late sowing enhances lodging resistance of wheat plant via improving biosynthesis and accumulation of lignin and cellulose DONG Xiu-chun, QIAN Tai-feng, CHU Jin-peng, ZHANG Xiu, LIU Yun-jing, DAI Xing-long, HE Ming-rong Online: 16 May 2022 Abstract （14）   PDF （3236KB）（4）    Delayed sowing mitigates lodging in wheat.  However, the mechanism underlying enhanced lodging resistance in wheat has yet to be elucidated fully.  Field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of sowing date on lignin and cellulose metabolism, stem morphological characteristics, lodging resistance, and grain yield.  Seeds of Tainong 18, a winter wheat variety, were sown on October 8 (normal sowing) and October 22 (late sowing) during the 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 growing seasons.  The results showed that late sowing enhanced the lodging resistance of wheat by improving the biosynthesis and accumulation of lignin and cellulose. Under late sowing, the expression levels of key genes (TaPAL, TaCCR, TaCOMT, TaCAD, and TaCesA1, 3, 4, 7, and 8) and enzyme activities (TaPAL, TaCAD) related to lignin and cellulose biosynthesis peaked 4–12 days earlier, and were significantly higher, except for the TaPAL, TaCCR, and TaCesA1 genes and TaPAL, in most cases than under normal sowing.  As a result, lignin and cellulose accumulated quickly during the stem elongation stage.  The mean and maximum accumulation rates of lignin and cellulose increased, the maximum accumulation contents of lignin and cellulose were higher, and the cellulose accumulation duration was prolonged.  Consequently, the lignin/cellulose ratio and lignin content were increased from 0 days and the cellulose content was increased from 11 days after jointing onward.  Our main finding is that the improved biosynthesis and accumulation of lignin and cellulose were responsible for increasing the stem filling degree, breaking strength, and lodging resistance.  The major functional genes enhancing lodging resistance in wheat induced by delayed sowing need to be determined. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Raised bed planting promotes grain number per spike of wheat grown after rice by improving spike differentiation and enhancing photosynthetic capacity DU Xiang-bei, XI Min, WEI Zhi, CHEN Xiao-fei, WU Wen-ge, KONG Ling-cong Online: 16 May 2022 Abstract （97）   PDF （3514KB）（12）    The yield of wheat in wheat-rice rotation cropping systems in the Yangtze River Plain, China, is adversely impacted by increased waterlogging.  A raised bed planting (RBP) pattern may reduce waterlogging and increase the wheat yield after rice cultivation by improving the grain number per spike.  However, the physiological basis for grain formation under RBP conditions remains poorly understood.  The present study was performed over two growing seasons (2018/2019 and 2019/2020) to examine the effects of the planting pattern (i.e., RBP and flat planting (FP)) on the floret and grain formation features and leaf photosynthetic source characteristics of wheat.  The results indicated that implementation of the RBP pattern improved the soil–plant nitrogen (N) supply during floret development, which facilitated balanced floret development, resulting in a 9.5% increase in the number of fertile florets per spike.  Moreover, the RBP pattern delayed wheat leaf senescence and increased the photosynthetic source capacity by 13.9%, which produced more assimilates for grain filling.  Delayed leaf senescence was attributed to the resultant high leaf N content and enhanced antioxidant metabolism.  Correspondingly, under RBP conditions, 7.6–8.6% more grains per spike were recorded, and the grain yield was ultimately enhanced by 10.4–12.7%.  These results demonstrate that improvement of the spike differentiation process and enhancement of the leaf photosynthetic capacity were the main reasons for the increased grain number per spike of wheat under the RBP pattern, and this technique should be improved through further investigation. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Root pruning is effective in alleviating the inhibition of soybean growth caused by anaerobic stress for a short period Koji Yamane, Miki Mariyama, Yoshihiro Hirooka, Morio Iijima Online: 16 May 2022 Abstract （5）   PDF （1441KB）（0）     Soybean is an important upland crop, but its productivity has been largely limited by anaerobic stress caused by waterlogging.  The ability to adjust root growth under environmental constraints is an important physiological trait to adapt to an ever-changing environment.  Root pruning is an artificial technique to regenerate the root system.  In the present study, we investigated whether root pruning in soybean is effective in alleviating the inhibitory effects of anaerobic stress.  Soybean plants were affected by anaerobic stress at germination, V1, and R1 stages, and then the plants were treated with root pruning just after the stress treatment.  Soybean plants at germination stage were treated with root cap and tip removals after hypoxia (N2 treatment).  Root cap removal was more effective in suppressing the inhibitory effects of hypoxia than root tip removal (5 mm from the tip).  The shoot dry weights of the soybean with and without root cap removal after hypoxia were 51.2 and 73.8% of the control, respectively.  The root dry weight of the soybean with and without root cap removal after hypoxia were 43.2 and 62.8% of the control, respectively.  As root cap removal effectively enhanced the soybean growth after anaerobic stress, the root cap may be the candidate portion of the stress memory mechanism. When soybean at the V1 stage of growth was affected by anaerobic stress, the branch number, the pod weight in the main stem, root length, and root surface area of the soybean treated with anaerobic stress at the R1 stage significantly decreased compared with those of the control.  In contrast, root pruning (2 mm from the tip) immediately after the stress treatment enhanced root growth, branch number, and pod weight.  The branch number, pod weight, root length, and root surface area of the soybean treated with the root pruning were 1.13, 1.14, 1.12, and 1.13 times higher than those of anaerobic stress.  Plasmolysis was observed in root meristem, columella, and cortical cells in soybean roots subjected to anaerobic condition.  However, damage was not observed in newly emerged roots after root pruning in soybean treated with anaerobic stress.  These results suggested that root pruning is effective in enhancing soybean growth after anaerobic stress.  This effectiveness may be owing to the regeneration and elongation of healthy lateral roots during recovery period.  When soybean was affected by anaerobic stress at the R1 stage, root pruning just after the stress treatment was ineffective.  Thus, it may be difficult to suppress growth reduction owing to anaerobic stress at reproductive stages using only root pruning. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select MiR-140 downregulates fatty acid synthesis by targeting transforming growth factor alpha (TGFA) in bovine mammary epithelial cells CHU Shuang-feng, ZHAO Tian-qi, Abdelaziz Adam Idriss Arbab, YANG-Yi, CHEN-Zhi, YANG Zhang-ping Online: 16 May 2022 Abstract （22）   PDF （2708KB）（4）    Fat is an indispensable nutrient and basic metabolite for sustaining life, and milk is particularly rich in fatty acids, including a variety of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. miRNA and mRNA play an important role in the regulation of milk fat metabolism in mammary gland tissue. It has been shown that lipid metabolism has a complex transcriptional regulation, but the mechanism by which milk fat synthesis is regulated through miRNA-mRNA interactions is poorly understood. In this study, we performed transcriptome sequencing with bovine mammary gland tissue in the late lactation (270 days and 315 days after parturition) to identify the key gene that regulating milk fat metabolism. A total of 1207 differentially coexpressed genes were selected, 828 upregulated genes and 379 downregulated genes were identified. The transforming growth factor-α (TGFA) gene was selected as the target gene, and luciferase reporter assay, Western blotting and qRT-PCR were used for further study. The results demonstrated that miR-140 was an upstream regulator of TGFA, and miR-140 could inhibit (P<0.01) unsaturated fatty acid and triglyceride (TAGs) production in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs). In contrast, TGFA promoted (P<0.01) unsaturated fatty acid and TAG production. Rescue experiments further indicated the miR-140/TGFA regulatory mechanism. Taken together, these results suggest that the miR-140/TGFA pathway can inhibit (P<0.01) milk fat metabolism and improve milk quality by genetic means. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Evaluation of early defoliation trait and identification of resistance genes through comprehensive transcriptome analysis in pears SHAN Yan-fei, LI Meng-yan, WANG Run-ze, LI Xiao-gang, LIN Jing, LI Jia-ming, ZHAO Ke-jiao, WU Jun Online: 13 May 2022 Abstract （13）   PDF （4306KB）（9）    Early defoliation, which usually occurs during summer in pear trees, is gradually becoming a major problem that poses a threat to the pear industry in southern China. However, there was no system evaluation of different cultivars response to early defoliation, and the potential molecular regulation of genes underlying this phenomenon is still limited. In this study, we conducted field investigations of 155 pear accessions to assess their resistance and susceptibility to early defoliation. A total of 126 accessions were found to be susceptible to early defoliation, and only 29 accessions were resistant. Among them, 19 resistant accessions belong to sand pears (Pyrus pyrifolia). To identify the resistance genes related to early defoliation, the healthy and diseased samples of two sand pear accessions, namely, the resistant early defoliation accession ‘Whasan’ and the susceptible early defoliation accession ‘Cuiguan,’ were further used to perform RNA sequencing. Compared with ‘Cuiguan,’ a total of 444 genes were uniquely differentially expressed in ‘Whasan.’ Combined with GO and KEGG enrichment analyses, we found that early defoliation was closely related to stress response. Furthermore, weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed that high correlation of WRKY and ERF transcription factors with early defoliation resistance. This study provides useful resistance germplasm and new insights into potentially essential genes responding to early defoliation in pears, which may facilitate understanding of resistance mechanism and molecular breeding of resistant pear cultivars. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Identification of chorion genes and RNA interference-mediated functional characterization of chorion-1 in Plutella xylostella DONG Shi-jie, LIU Bo, ZOU Ming-min, LIU Li-li, CAO Min-hui, HUANG Meng-qi, LIU Yan, Liette VASSEUR, YOU Min-sheng, PENG Lu Online: 13 May 2022 Abstract （15）   PDF （4338KB）（7）    Choriogenesis is the last step of insect oogenesis, a process by which the chorion polypeptides are produced by the follicular cells and deposited on the surface of  oocytes in order to provide a highly specialized protective barrier to the embryo. The essential features of chorion genes have yet to be clearly understood in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, a worldwide Lepidoptera pest attacking cruciferous crops and wild plants. In this study, complete sequences for fifteen putative chorion genes were identified, and grouped into A and B classes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that both classes were highly conserved and within each, branches are also species-specific. Chorion genes from each class were located in pairs on scaffolds of the P. xylostella genome, some of which shared the common promoter regulatory region. All chorion genes were highly specifically expressed in the P. xylostella adult females, mostly in the ovary with full yolk, which is a crucial period to build the shells of the eggs. RNAi-based knockdown of chorion-1, which is located on the Px_scaffold 6 alone, although had no effect on yolk deposition, resulted in smaller eggs and sharply reduced hatchability. Additionally, inhibition of PxCho-1 expression caused a less dense arrangement of the columnar layers, reduced exochorion roughness and shorter microvilli. Our study provides the foundation for exploring molecular mechanisms of female reproduction in P. xylostella, and for making use of chorion genes as the potential genetic-based molecular target to better control this economically important pest. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Development of a Texture Evaluation System for Dongzao (Ziziphus jujuba cv. Dongzao) Fruit KONG Xia-bing, XU Min, WAN Hao-liang, HAN Ling-xi, LIU Xiao-li, LI Qing-jun, HAO Bian-qing, ZHANG Shao-jun, LI Xiao-ming, LIU Yi-hui, NIE Ji-yun Online: 12 May 2022 Abstract （6）   PDF （2181KB）（1）    Dongzao (Ziziphus jujuba cv. Dongzao) is an excellent late maturing variety of fresh-eating jujube in China. Fruit texture is an important indicator of its sensory quality. To investigate the relationship among texture indices and establish an evaluation system for Dongzao fruit texture, a texture profile analysis (TPA) was performed on 1150 Dongzao fruit from three main Dongzao producing areas in China with the TMS-Touch instrument. A total of eight indices and their best-fit distribution were obtained, including fracture (Pearson), hardness (Inv Gauss), adhesive force (Weibull), adhesiveness (Log Logistic), cohesiveness (Log Logistic), springiness (Beta General), gumminess (Inv Gauss) and chewiness (Inv Gauss). Based on the best-fit distribution curve, each index was divided into five grades (lower, low, medium, high and higher) by the 10th, 30th, 70th and 90th percentiles. Among the texture indices, 82% of the correlation coefficients were highly significant (p<0.01), meanwhile chewiness was significant (p<0.01) positively correlated with springiness and gumminess, of which the correlation coefficients were up to 0.8692 and 0.8096 respectively.  However, adhesiveness was significant (p<0.01) negatively related to adhesive force with a correlation coefficient of –0.7569. Among hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess and chewiness, each index could be well fitted by multiple linear regression with the remaining four indices, with the coefficients of above 0.94 and the mean fitting error and mean prediction error lower than 10%. Then, a comprehensive evaluation model was established based on the factor analysis to evaluate the texture quality of Dongzao. The results demonstrated that Dongzao fruit with higher comprehensive scores generally exhibited higher springiness and chewiness while lower adhesive force and adhesiveness. By factor analysis and clustering analysis, the eight studied texture indices could be divided into four groups (cohesive factor, adhesive-soft factor, tough-hard factor and crispness factor), whose representative indices were springiness, adhesiveness, hardness and fracture, respectively. Overall, this study investigated the variation in each index of Dongzao fruit texture, explored the association among these indices, screened the representative indices, and established a texture evaluation system for Dongzao fruit. The results may provide a methodological basis and technical support for the texture evaluation of Dongzao. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Plant-based meat substitutes by high-moisture extrusion: Visualizing the whole process in data systematically from raw material to the products ZHANG Jin-chuang, MENG Zhen, CHENG Qiong-ling, LI Qi-zhai, ZHANG Yu-jie, LIU Li, SHI Ai-min, WANG Qiang Online: 10 May 2022 Abstract （18）   PDF （2369KB）（3）    High-moisture extrusion technology should be considered one of the best choices for producing plant-based meat substitutes with the rich fibrous structure offered by real animal meat products. Unfortunately, the extrusion process has been seen as a ‘black box’ with limited knowledge of what occurs inside it, which has caused serious obstacles for controlling the extrusion process for developing meat substitutes. Here, we first designed the high-moisture extrusion process and ten new plant-based meat substitutes have been successfully developed, which were comparable to real animal meat as for the fibrous structure. To visualize and understand the whole extrusion process in three ways systematically and accurately, the Feature Augmented Principal Component Analysis (FA-PCA) method was proposed here and six sets of mathematical models of the high-moisture extrusion process have been established based on 8000 data including five types of parameters. It was found that R2 values have been improved significantly by the FA-PCA method compared with those by the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method. The WAY 3 was the best to predict the product quality (Z), demonstrating that the gradually molecular conformational changes (Yn´) were critical in controlling the final quality of the plant-based meat substitutes. Moreover, the first visualization platform software for the high-moisture extrusion process has been established to clearly show the “black box” by combining the virtual simulation technology. Through the software, some practice works such as equipment installation, parameter adjustment, equipment disassembly, and data prediction can be easily achieved. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Identification of peanut oil origins based on Raman spectroscopy combined with multivariate data analysis methods ZHU Peng-fei, YANG Qing-li, ZHAO Hai-yan Online: 10 May 2022 Abstract （9）   PDF （1205KB）（1）    This study aimed to use Raman spectroscopy to identify the producing areas of peanut oil and build a robust discriminant model to further screen out the characteristic spectra closely related to the origin. Raman spectra of 159 peanut oil samples from different provinces and different cities of the same province were collected. The obtained data were analyzed by stepwise linear discriminant analysis (SLDA), k-nearest neighbor analysis (k-NN) and multi-way analysis of variance. The results showed that the overall recognition rate of samples based on full spectra was higher than 90%. The producing origin, variety and their interaction influenced Raman spectra of peanut oil significantly, and 1400-1500 cm-1 and 1600-1700 cm-1 were selected as the characteristic spectra of origin and less affected by variety. The best classification model established by SLDA combined with characteristic spectra could rapidly and accurately identify peanut oil’s origin. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Transcriptional search to identify and assess reference genes for expression analysis in Solanum lycopersicum under stress and hormone treatment conditions DUAN Yao-ke, HAN Rong, SU Yan, WANG Ai-ying, LI Shuang, SUN Hao, GONG Hai-jun Online: 10 May 2022 Abstract （7）   PDF （1329KB）（1）    Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a model plant for research on fruit development and stress response, in which gene expression analysis is frequently conducted. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is a widely used technique for gene expression analysis, and the selection of reference genes may affect the accuracy of results and even conclusions. Although there have been some frequently used reference genes in tomato, it has been shown that the expressions of some of these genes are not constant in different tissues and environmental conditions. Moreover, little information on genomic identification of reference genes is available in tomato. Here, we mined the publicly available transcriptional sequencing data and screened out fifteen candidate reference genes, and the expression stability of these candidate genes and seven traditionally used ones were evaluated under stress and hormone treatment. The results showed that over half of the selected candidate references were housekeeping genes in tomato cells. Among the candidate reference genes and the traditionally used ones, the most stably expressed genes varied under different treatments, and most of these genes were recommended as preferred reference genes at least once except Solyc04g009030 and Solyc07g066610, two traditionally used reference genes. This study not only provides some novel reference genes in tomato, but also provides the preferred references genes under different environmental stimuli, which may be useful for future research. Our study suggests that excavating stably expressed genes from transcriptome sequencing data is a reliable approach to screen reference genes for qPCR analysis.  Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Establishment of an efficient regeneration and genetic transformation system for Malus prunifolia Borkh. ‘Fupingqiuzi’ LIU Yu-song, WANG Hong-ying, ZHAO Yong-juan, JIN Yi-bo, LI Chao, MA Feng-wang Online: 09 May 2022 Abstract （8）   PDF （2312KB）（2）    Malus prunifolia Borkh. ‘Fupingqiuzi’ has significant ecological and economic value and plays a key role in germplasm development and resistance research. However, its long juvenile phase and high heterozygosity are barriers to the identification of ‘Fupingqiuzi’ progeny with excellent traits. In-vitro regeneration techniques and Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation systems can efficiently produce complete plants and thus enable studies of gene function. However, optimal regeneration and genetic transformation systems for ‘Fupingqiuzi’ have not yet been developed. Here, we evaluated the factors that affect the in-vitro regeneration and transformation of ‘Fupingqiuzi’. The best results were obtained when transverse leaf sections were used as explants; they were grown in dark culture for three weeks with their adaxial sides contacting the culture medium (MS basal salts, 30 g L−1 sucrose, 8 g L−1 agar, 5 mg L−1 6-BA, 2 mg L−1 TDZ, and 1 mg L−1 NAA, pH 5.8). A genetic transformation system based on this regeneration system was optimized: after inoculation with A. tumefaciens solution for 8 min, 4 days of co-culture, and 3 days of delayed culture, cultures were screened with cefotaxime (150 mg L−1) and kanamycin (15 mg L−1). We thus established an efficient regeneration and genetic transformation system for ‘Fupingqiuzi’, enabling the rapid production of transgenic material. These findings make a significant contribution to apple biology research. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select QTL-seq analysis of seed size trait in grape provides new molecular insight on seedlessness WANG Li, ZHANG Song-lin, JIAO Chen, LI Zhi, LIU Chong-huai, WANG Xi-ping Online: 09 May 2022 Abstract （6）   PDF （2749KB）（2）    Seedlessness in grape (Vitis vinifera) is an important commercial trait for both the fresh and drying markets. However, despite numerous studies, the mechanisms and key genes regulating grape seedlessness are mostly unknown. In this study, we sequenced the genomes of the V. vinifera seeded cultivar ‘Red Globe’, the seedless cultivar ‘Centennial’, as well as the derived hybrids. Nonsynonymous SNPs were identified by genome sequencing and analyzed with published transcriptome data. Nonsynonymous SNPs happened in genes related to seed development, which identified to be protein kinase, transcription factors, cytochrome P450 and showed differential expression during seeded and seedless grape ovule development. These nonsynonymous SNP associated genes were mainly involved in biological processes like hormone balance, seed coat and endosperm development, reproductive organ development, oxidation and reduction, senescence and cell death. A potential QTL region associated with seed size was characterized based on SNP-index, and expression analysis of candidate genes in the QTL region during ovule development in multiple seeded and seedless grape cultivars were conducted. A number of 3 SNPs were further subjected to SNaPshot analysis and a SNP in G8 showed 67.5% efficiency in the grape progeny validation. Overall, the data cast light on the differences of seed development between seeded and seedless progeny in genomic level, which provides valuable resources for future functional study and grape breeding. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Long-term straw addition promotes moderately labile phosphorus formation, decreasing phosphorus downward migration and loss in greenhouse vegetable soil ZHANG Yin-Jie, GAO Wei, LUAN Hao-an, TANG Ji-wei, LI Ruo-nan, LI Ming-Yue, ZHANG Huai-zhi, HUANG Shao-wen Online: 09 May 2022 Abstract （10）   PDF （3478KB）（6）    Phosphorus (P) leaching is a major problem in greenhouse vegetable production with excessive P fertilizer application. Substitution of inorganic P fertilizer with organic fertilizer is considered a potential strategy to reduce leaching, but the effect of organic material addition on soil P transformation and leaching loss remains unclear. The X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy technique can determine P speciation at the molecular level. Here, we integrated XANES and chemical methods to explore P speciation and transformation in a 10-year field experiment with four treatments: 100% chemical fertilizer (4CN), 50% substitution of chemical fertilizer nitrogen with manure (2CN+2MN), straw (2CN+2SN), and combined manure and straw (2CN+2MSN). Compared with the 4CN treatment, the organic substitution treatments increased the content of labile P by 13.7−54.2% in the 0−40 cm soil layers, with newberyite and brushite being the main constituents of the labile P. Organic substitution treatments decreased the stable P content; hydroxyapatite was the main species and showed an increasing trend with increasing soil depth. Straw addition (2CN+2SN and 2CN+2MSN) resulted in a higher moderately labile P content and a lower labile P content in the subsoil (60−100 cm). Moreover, straw addition significantly reduced the concentrations and amounts of total P, dissolved inorganic P (DIP), and particulate P in leachate. DIP was the main form transferred by leaching and co-migrated with dissolved organic carbon and NO3−-N. Partial least squares path modeling revealed that straw addition decreased P leaching by decreasing labile P and increasing moderately labile P in the subsoil. Overall, straw addition is beneficial for developing sustainable P management strategies due to increasing labile P in the upper soil layer for the utilization of plants, and decreasing P migration and leaching. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics Select Mining of candidate genes for grape berry cracking using a genome-wide association study ZHANG Chuan WU Jiu-yun, CUI Li-wen, FANG Jing-gui Online: 09 May 2022 Abstract （8）   PDF （1534KB）（3）    Fruit cracking is a common phenomenon during the growth and development of horticultural crops that seriously affects fruit yield and quality. However, there are few studies on the mining of candidate genes related to berry cracking. To better understand the genetic basis of grape berry cracking, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of grape varieties. Based on the mixed linear model (MLM), we detected five and two single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci associated with berry-cracking index and berry-cracking type in two years, respectively; these loci were mainly distributed on four chromosomes, namely 1, 2, 3, and 18. These correlated SNP loci were associated with ten unique candidate berry-cracking genes. The gene expression patterns indicated that the candidate genes in the susceptible berry-cracking variety were more abundant than in the resistant berry-cracking variety. Grape berry-cracking is a complex trait controlled by multiple genes, mainly including genes involved in polygalacturonase, copper transporter, and receptor-like proteins. The high expression of the candidate berry-cracking genes may promote the occurrence of berry cracking. The present study helps elucidate the genetic mechanism of berry cracking. Reference | Related Articles | Metrics page Page 1 of 15 Total 281 records First page Prev page Next page Last page