Physiological Roles of Polyols in Horticultural Crops

Metabolic Aspects of Lentil-Fusarium Interactions

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lentis (Fol) is considered the most destructive disease for lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) worldwide. Despite the extensive studies elucidating plants' metabolic response to fungal agents, there is a knowledge gap in the biochemical mechanisms governing Fol-resistance in lentil. Τhis study aimed at comparatively evaluating the metabolic response of two lentil genotypes, with contrasting phenotypes for Fol-resistance, to Fol-inoculation. Apart from gaining insights into the metabolic reprogramming in response to Fol-inoculation, the study focused on discovering novel biomarkers to improve early selection for Fol-resistance. GC-MS-mediated metabolic profiling of leaves and roots was employed to monitor changes across genotypes and treatments as well as their interaction. In total, the analysis yielded 178 quantifiable compounds, of which the vast majority belonged to the groups of carbohydrates, amino acids, polyols and organic acids. Despite the magnitude of metabolic fluctuations in response to Fol-inoculation in both genotypes under study, significant alterations were noted in the content of 18 compounds, of which 10 and 8 compounds referred to roots and shoots, respectively. Overall data underline the crucial contribution of palatinitol and L-proline in the metabolic response of roots and shoots, respectively, thus offering possibilities for their exploitation as metabolic biomarkers for Fol-resistance in lentil. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first metabolomics-based approach to unraveling the effects of Fol-inoculation on lentil's metabolome, thus providing crucial information related to key aspects of lentil-Fol interaction. Future investigations in metabolic aspects of lentil-Fol interactions will undoubtedly revolutionize the search for metabolites underlying Fol-resistance, thus paving the way towards upgrading breeding efforts to combat fusarium wilt in lentil.

Sorbitol induces flower bud formation via the MADS-box transcription factor EjCAL in loquat

Sorbitol is an important signaling molecule in fruit trees. Here, we observed that sorbitol increased during flower bud differentiation (FBD) in loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.). Transcriptomic analysis suggested that bud formation was associated with the expression of the MADS-box transcription factor (TF) family gene, EjCAL. RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that EjCAL was enriched in flower primordia but hardly detected in the shoot apical meristem. Heterologous expression of EjCAL in Nicotiana benthamiana plants resulted in early FBD. Yeast-one-hybrid analysis identified the ERF12 TF as a binding partner of the EjCAL promoter. Chromatin immunoprecipitation-PCR confirmed that EjERF12 binds to the EjCAL promoter, and β-glucuronidase activity assays indicated that EjERF12 regulates EjCAL expression. Spraying loquat trees with sorbitol promoted flower bud formation and was associated with increased expression of EjERF12 and EjCAL. Furthermore, we identified EjUF3GaT1 as a target gene of EjCAL and its expression was activated by EjCAL. Function characterization via overexpression and RNAi reveals that EjUF3GaT1 is a biosynthetic gene of flavonoid hyperoside. The concentration of the flavonoid hyperoside mirrored that of sorbitol during FBD and exogenous hyperoside treatment also promoted loquat bud formation. We identified a mechanism whereby EjCAL might regulate hyperoside biosynthesis and confirmed the involvement of EjCAL in flower bud formation in planta. Together, these results provide insight into bud formation in loquat and may be used in efforts to increase yield.

Mobile forms of carbon in trees: metabolism and transport

Plants constitute 80% of the biomass on earth, and almost two-thirds of this biomass is found in wood. Wood formation is a carbon (C)-demanding process and relies on C transport from photosynthetic tissues. Thus, understanding the transport process is of major interest for understanding terrestrial biomass formation. Here, we review the molecules and mechanisms used to transport and allocate C in trees. Sucrose is the major form in which C is transported in plants, and it is found in the phloem sap of all tree species investigated so far. However, in several tree species, sucrose is accompanied by other molecules, notably polyols and the raffinose family of oligosaccharides. We describe the molecules that constitute each of these transport groups, and their distribution across different tree species. Furthermore, we detail the metabolic reactions for their synthesis, the mechanisms by which trees load and unload these compounds in and out of the vascular system, and how they are radially transported in the trunk and finally catabolized during wood formation. We also address a particular C recirculation process between phloem and xylem that occurs in trees during the annual cycle of growth and dormancy. A search of possible evolutionary drivers behind the diversity of C-carrying molecules in trees reveals no consistent differences in C transport mechanisms between angiosperm and gymnosperm trees. Furthermore, the distribution of C forms across species suggests that climate-related environmental factors will not explain the diversity of C transport forms. However, the consideration of C-transport mechanisms in relation to tree-rhizosphere coevolution deserves further attention. To conclude the review, we identify possible future lines of research in this field.

Salinity Stress in Potato: Understanding Physiological, Biochemical and Molecular Responses

Among abiotic stresses, salinity is a major global threat to agriculture, causing severe damage to crop production and productivity. Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is regarded as a future food crop by FAO to ensure food security, which is severely affected by salinity. The growth of the potato plant is inhibited under salt stress due to osmotic stress-induced ion toxicity. Salinity-mediated osmotic stress leads to physiological changes in the plant, including nutrient imbalance, impairment in detoxifying reactive oxygen species (ROS), membrane damage, and reduced photosynthetic activities. Several physiological and biochemical phenomena, such as the maintenance of plant water status, transpiration, respiration, water use efficiency, hormonal balance, leaf area, germination, and antioxidants production are adversely affected. The ROS under salinity stress leads to the increased plasma membrane permeability and extravasations of substances, which causes water imbalance and plasmolysis. However, potato plants cope with salinity mediated oxidative stress conditions by enhancing both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant activities. The osmoprotectants, such as proline, polyols (sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, lactitol, and maltitol), and quaternary ammonium compound (glycine betaine) are synthesized to overcome the adverse effect of salinity. The salinity response and tolerance include complex and multifaceted mechanisms that are controlled by multiple proteins and their interactions. This review aims to redraw the attention of researchers to explore the current physiological, biochemical and molecular responses and subsequently develop potential mitigation strategies against salt stress in potatoes.

Different carbon sources and their concentrations change alkaloid production and gene expression in Catharanthus roseus shoots in vitro

To compare the effects of different carbon sources on physiological aspects, especially medicinal alkaloid biosynthesis and related gene expression in Catharantus roseus (L.) G.Don, we employed sucrose and sorbitol with two concentrations (87.64 mM, the equimolar concentration of sucrose in MS basal medium, and 150 mM) on the plant's shoots in vitro in presence of 100 μM methyl jasmonate. The production of plant alkaloids including vincristine, vinblastine, ajmalicine, vindoline and catharantine and their biosynthetic and regulatory gene expression was measured. Both treatments had incremental effects on alkaloid production, upregulated the mitogen-activated protein kinase3 (MAPK3) and a downstream responsive transcription factor, ORCA3, which resulted in elevated transcript contents of the important genes in terpenoid indol alkaloids biosynthetic pathway including peroxidase1 (PRX1), geissoschizine synthase (GS), strictosidine synthase (STR) and deacetylvindoline acetyltransferase (DAT). Defensive responses such as antioxidant enzymes (catalase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) activities and non-enzymatic metabolites (total phenolics, flavonoids and carotenoids) contents increased under both treatments but the effects of sorbitol were stronger. Reduced fresh weight and chlorophylls contents, increased malondialdehyde (MDA) and carotenoid contents were shown after a week under all employed treatments. It seems that replacement of sucrose with sorbitol and also, increased concentrations of both carbon sources via increasing osmotic pressure make stressful conditions for the plant especially in longer times.

Olive mill wastewater: From a pollutant to green fuels, agricultural and water source and bio-fertilizer - Hydrothermal carbonization

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is considered as a promising technique for wastes conversion into carbon rich materials for various energetic, environmental and agricultural applications. In this work, the HTC of olive mill wastewater (OMWW) was investigated at different temperatures (180-220 °C) and both, the solid (i.e., hydrochars) and the final process liquid derived from the thermal conversion process were deeply analyzed. Results showed that the solid yield was affected by the temperature, i.e., decrease from 57% to 25% for temperatures of 180 °C and 220 °C, respectively. Furthermore, the hydrochars presented an increasing fixed carbon percentage with the increase of the carbonization temperature, suggesting that decarboxylation is the main reaction driving the HTC process. The decrease in the O/C ratio promoted an increase of the high heating value (HHV) by 32% for hydrochar prepared at 220 °C. The process liquids were sampled and their organic contents were analyzed using GC-MS technique. Acids, alcohols, phenols and sugar derivatives were detected and their concentrations varied with carbonization temperatures. The assessment of the physico-chemical properties of the generated HTC by-products suggested the possible application of the hydrochars for energetic insights while the liquid fraction could be practical for in agricultural field.

The change in microstructure of petioles and peduncles and transporter gene expression by potassium influences the distribution of nutrients and sugars in pear leaves and fruit

Potassium (K) is one of the most important mineral nutrients required for fruit growth and development and is known as a 'quality element'. To investigate the role of K in more detail, we performed experiments in which seven-year-old pot-grown 'Huangguan' pear trees were treated with three levels of K (0, 0.4, or 0.8 g K₂O kg^-1 soil). K supply improved the development of vascular bundles in pear petioles and fruit peduncles and enhanced expression of genes involved in nutrients and sugar transport. Different from K and calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) concentrations in the leaves, petioles, and fruit peduncles were significantly higher under low K but lower under high K. However, the concentrations of K, Ca, and Mg in fruit all increased as more K was applied. Correspondingly, the expression of leaf Mg transporters (MRS2-1 and MRS2-3) increased under low K, indicating that Mg had an obvious compensation effect on K, while their expression decreased under medium and high K, showing that K had an obvious antagonistic effect on Mg. Except for NIPA2, the expressions of fruit K, Ca, and Mg transporters increased under high K, implying a synergistic effect among them in fruit. The concentration of sorbitol, sucrose, and total sugar in leaves and fruit at maturity significantly increased in response to the supply of K. The increase in sugar concentration was closely related to the up-regulated expression of sucrose transporter (SUT) and sorbitol transporter (SOT) genes. Together, these effects may promote the transport of nutrients and sugar from sources (leaves) to sinks (fruit) and increase the accumulation of sugar in the fruit.

Foliar application of microdoses of sucrose to reduce codling moth Cydia pomonella L. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) damage to apple trees

BACKGROUND

The effects of foliar applications of microdoses of sucrose to reduce the damage by the codling moth have been reported from nine trials carried in France and Algeria from 2009 to 2014. The activity of sucrose alone was assessed by comparison with an untreated control and some treatments with the Cydia pomonella granulovirus or a chemical insecticide. The addition of sucrose to these different treatments was also investigated.

RESULTS

The application of sucrose at 0.01% reduced the means of infested fruits with a value of Abbott's efficacy of 41.0 ± 10.0%. This involved the induction of resistance by antixenosis to insect egg laying. Indeed, it seems that acceptance of egg laying on leaves treated with sucrose was reduced. The addition of sucrose to thiacloprid improved its efficacy (59.5% ± 12.8) by 18.4%. However, the sucrose had no added value when associated with C. pomonella granulovirus treatments.

CONCLUSION

Foliar applications of microdoses of sucrose every 20 days in commercial orchards can partially protect against the codling moth. Its addition to thiacloprid increases the efficacy in integrated control strategies, contrary to C. pomonella granulovirus treatments. This work opens a route for the development of new biocontrol strategies. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Genome-Wide Analysis of Sorbitol Dehydrogenase (SDH) Genes and Their Differential Expression in Two Sand Pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) Fruits

Through RNA-seq of a mixed fruit sample, fourteen expressed sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) genes have been identified from sand pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai). Comparative phylogenetic analysis of these PpySDHs with those from other plants supported the closest relationship of sand pear with Chinese white pear (P. bretschneideri). The expression levels varied greatly among members, and the strongest six (PpySDH2, PpySDH4, PpySDH8, PpySDH12, PpySDH13 and PpySDH14) accounted for 96% of total transcript abundance of PpySDHs. Tissue-specific expression of these six members was observed in nine tissues or organs of sand pear, with the greatest abundance found in functional leaf petioles, followed by the flesh of young fruit. Expression patterns of these six PpySDH genes during fruit development were analyzed in two sand pear cultivars, “Cuiguan” and “Cuiyu”. Overall, expression of PpySDHs peaked twice, first at the fruitlet stage and again at or near harvest. The transcript abundance of PpySDHs was higher in “Cuiguan” than in “Cuiyu”, accompanied by a higher content of sugars and higher ratio of fructose to sorbitol maintained in the former cultivar at harvest. In conclusion, it was suggested that multiple members of the SDH gene family are possibly involved in sand pear fruit development and sugar accumulation and may affect both the sugar amount and sugar composition.

Metabolic changes upon flower bud break in Japanese apricot are enhanced by exogenous GA4

Gibberellin (GA4) has a significant effect on promoting dormancy release in flower buds of Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc). The transcriptomic and proteomic changes that occur after GA4 treatment have been reported previously; however, the metabolic changes brought about by GA4 remain unknown. The present study was undertaken to assess changes in metabolites in response to GA4 treatment, as determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and principal component analysis. Fifty-five metabolites that exhibited more than two-fold differences in abundance (P < 0.05) between samples collected over time after a given treatment or between samples exposed to different treatments were studied further. These metabolites were categorized into six main groups: amino acids and their isoforms (10), amino acid derivatives (7), sugars and polyols (14), organic acids (12), fatty acids (4), and others (8). All of these groups are involved in various metabolic pathways, in particular galactose metabolism, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, and starch and sucrose metabolism. These results suggested that energy metabolism is important at the metabolic level in dormancy release following GA4 treatment. We also found that more than 10-fold differences in abundance were observed for many metabolites, including sucrose, proline, linoleic acid, and linolenic acid, which might play important roles during the dormancy process. The current research extends our understanding of the mechanisms involved in budburst and dormancy release in response to GA4 and provides a theoretical basis for applying GA4 to release dormancy.

Characterization of an uncharacterized aldo-keto reductase gene from peach and its role in abiotic stress tolerance

The aldo-keto reductase (AKR) superfamily is a large enzyme group of NADP-dependent oxidoreductases with numerous roles in metabolism, but many members in this superfamily remain uncharacterized. Here, PpAKR1, which was cloned from the rosaceous peach tree (Prunus persica), was investigated as a member of the superfamily. While PpAKR1 had amino acids that are important in AKRs and which belonged to the AKR4 group, PpAKR1 did not seem to belong to any of the AKR4 subgroups. PpAKR1 mRNA abundance increased with abscisic acid, oxidative stress, and cold and salt stress treatments in peach. NADP-dependent polyol dehydrogenase activity was increased in Arabidopsis thaliana transformed with PpAKR1. Salt tolerance increased in Arabidopsis transformed with PpAKR1. PpAKR1, which was a previously uncharacterized member of the AKR superfamily, could be involved in the abiotic stress tolerance.

Transcriptome analysis of Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai) flower buds transitioning through endodormancy

The transcriptomes of endodormant and ecodormant Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai 'Kosui') flower buds were analyzed using RNA-seq technology and compared. Among de novo assembly of 114,191 unigenes, 76,995 unigenes were successfully annotated by BLAST searches against various databases. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that oxidoreductases were enriched in the molecular function category, a result consistent with previous observations of notable changes in hydrogen peroxide concentration during endodormancy release. In the GO categories related to biological process, the abundance of DNA methylation-related gene transcripts also significantly changed during endodormancy release, indicating the involvement of epigenetic regulation. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis also showed the changes in transcript abundance of genes involved in the metabolism of various phytohormones. Genes for both ABA and gibberellin biosynthesis were down-regulated, whereas the genes encoding their degradation enzymes were up-regulated during endodormancy release. In the ethylene pathway, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase (ACS), a gene encoding the rate-limiting enzyme for ethylene biosynthesis, was induced towards endodormancy release. All of these results indicated the involvement of phytohormones in endodormancy release. Furthermore, the expression of dormancy-associated MADS-box (DAM) genes was down-regulated concomitant with endodormancy release, although changes in the abundance of these gene transcripts were not as significant as those identified by transcriptome analysis. Consequently, characterization of the Japanese pear transcriptome during the transition from endormancy to ecodormancy will provide researchers with useful information for data mining and will facilitate further experiments on endodormancy especially in rosaceae fruit trees.