A chromosome-level genome assembly for Erianthus fulvus provides insights into its biofuel potential and facilitates breeding for improvement of sugarcane

Transcriptome analysis and genome-wide identification of the dehydration-responsive element binding gene family in jackfruit under cold stress

BACKGROUND

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) is the world's largest and heaviest fruit and adapts to hot, humid tropical climates. Low-temperature injury in winter is a primary abiotic stress, which affects jackfruit growth and development. Therefore, breeding cold-resistant varieties and identifying the vital genes in the process of cold resistance are essential. The dehydration-responsive element binding (DREB) gene family is among the subfamily of the APETALA2/ethylene response factor transcription factor family and is significant in plant abiotic stress responses.

METHODS

In this study, a comparative analysis of the cold resistance property of 'GuangXi' ('GX') and 'Thailand' ('THA') jackfruit strains with different cold resistance characteristics was performed through chlorophyll fluorescence and transcriptome sequencing.

RESULTS

We found that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are significantly enriched in the metabolic processes. Here, 93 DREB genes were identified in the jackfruit genome, and phylogenetic analysis was used to classify them into seven groups. Gene structure, conserved motifs, chromosomal location, and homologous relationships were used to analyze the structural characteristics of the DREB family. Transcriptomics indicated that most of the AhDREB genes exhibited down-regulated expression in 'THA.' The DEGs AhDREB12, AhDREB21, AhDREB29, and AhDREB34 were selected for quantitative real-time PCR, and the results showed that these genes also had down-regulated expression in 'THA.'

CONCLUSIONS

The above results suggest the significance of the DREB family in improving the cold resistance property of 'GX.'

Genetic Engineering for Enhancing Sugarcane Tolerance to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses

Sugarcane, a vital cash crop, contributes significantly to the world's sugar supply and raw materials for biofuel production, playing a significant role in the global sugar industry. However, sustainable productivity is severely hampered by biotic and abiotic stressors. Genetic engineering has been used to transfer useful genes into sugarcane plants to improve desirable traits and has emerged as a basic and applied research method to maintain growth and productivity under different adverse environmental conditions. However, the use of transgenic approaches remains contentious and requires rigorous experimental methods to address biosafety challenges. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) mediated genome editing technology is growing rapidly and may revolutionize sugarcane production. This review aims to explore innovative genetic engineering techniques and their successful application in developing sugarcane cultivars with enhanced resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses to produce superior sugarcane cultivars.

The complete chloroplast genome of Saccharum fulvum (Poaceae)

Saccharum species are of great importance as fruit crops due to their economic and food value. S. fulvum is a wild relative of sugarcane that has a wide geographic distribution and is well-adapted to various environmental conditions. It exhibits high resistance to pests, diseases, drought, cold, and degraded soils, making it a valuable resource for sugarcane research. Here, we report the chloroplast genome of S. fulvum. This chloroplast genome was 141,151 bp in length with a GC content of 38.41%. The large single-copy, small single-copy, and inverted repeat regions were 83,030 bp, 12,533 bp, and 22,794 bp in length, respectively. The chloroplast genome contained 111 different genes, including 77 protein-coding genes, 4 rRNA genes, and 30 tRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that S. fulvum was closely related to S. narenga. This study not only enriches the genome information of Saccharum, but also will be useful for the evolutionary study of the family Poaceae.

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Pattern of MYB Family Transcription Factors in Erianthus fulvus

MYB family genes have many functions and are widely involved in plant abiotic-stress responses. Erianthus fulvus is an important donor material for stress-resistance genes in sugarcane breeding. However, the MYB family genes in E. fulvus have not been systematically investigated. In this study, 133 EfMYB genes, including 48 Ef1R-MYB, 84 EfR2R3-MYB and 1 Ef3R-MYB genes, were identified in the E. fulvus genome. Among them, the EfR2R3-MYB genes were classified into 20 subgroups. In addition, these EfMYB genes were unevenly distributed across 10 chromosomes. A total of 4 pairs of tandemly duplicated EfMYB genes and 21 pairs of segmentally duplicated EfMYB genes were identified in the E. fulvus genome. Protein-interaction analysis predicted that 24 EfMYB proteins had potential interactions with 14 other family proteins. The EfMYB promoter mainly contains cis-acting elements related to the hormone response, stress response, and light response. Expression analysis showed that EfMYB39, EfMYB84, and EfMYB124 could be significantly induced using low-temperature stress. EfMYB30, EfMYB70, EfMYB81, and EfMYB101 responded positively to drought stress. ABA treatment significantly induced EfMYB1, EfMYB30, EfMYB39, EfMYB84, and EfMYB130. All nine genes were induced using MeJA treatment. These results provide comprehensive information on EfMYB genes and can serve as a reference for further studies of gene function.

Sorghum: A Multipurpose Crop

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) is one of the top five cereal crops in the world in terms of production and planting area and is widely grown in areas with severe abiotic stresses such as drought and saline-alkali land due to its excellent stress resistance. Moreover, sorghum is a rare multipurpose crop that can be classified into grain sorghum, energy sorghum, and silage sorghum according to its domestication direction and utilization traits, endowing it with broad breeding and economic value. In this review, we mainly discuss the latest research progress and regulatory genes of agronomic traits of sorghum as a grain, energy, and silage crop, as well as the future improvement direction of multipurpose sorghum. We also emphasize the feasibility of cultivating multipurpose sorghum through genetic engineering methods by exploring potential targets using wild sorghum germplasm and genetic resources, as well as genomic resources.