Identification of Structural Differentiation and Differentially Expressed Genes between Sulcus and Culm of Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This study provides interesting insights into the structural and developmental differences between the culm and sulcus of Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata bamboo. The authors used a variety of techniques, including histological analysis, FT-IR analysis, and transcriptomic data, to investigate the differences between these two structures. The results of the study suggest that the vascular bundle structure and lignin content differ significantly between the culm and sulcus, and that Pv4CL and PvC4H genes may play a critical role in their development. One potential limitation of the study is that it focuses solely on Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata bamboo, and it is unclear whether these findings would be generalizable to other species of bamboo. Additionally, the authors did not investigate the functional implications of the observed structural and developmental differences between the culm and sulcus, which could be an interesting avenue for future research.

There are some grammatical errors in the passage that could have been avoided with more careful proofreading. The sentence structure could also be improved for better readability.

Line 38: "Bambusoideae" should be "Bambusoideae subfamily."

Line 43: "ornamental features about bamboo" should be "ornamental features of bamboo."

Line 45: "pointed that plants" should be "have pointed out that plants."

Line 52: "the variationin" should be "the variation in."

"revealing the bamboo internode development pattern in bamboo" is repetitive and should be revised.

 

The figure 3 and 4 should be reconstructed for better clarity and the legends should also be modified. 

Minor typographical errors and grammatical errors. 

Author Response

Dear Editor,

Thank you for giving us a chance to revise the current version of our manuscript (MS). We would like to submit our revised MS entitled "Identification of structural differentiation and differentially expressed genes between sulcus and culm of Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata", to be considered for publication in "Forests".

Dear Reviewers,

Thank you for providing comprehensive and detailed suggestions to improve our MS. We have carefully followed your suggestions, and the current version of MS is extensively revised according to your valuable guidelines. Thank you for helping to improve this manuscript.

 

Reviewer 1

Open Review

 

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study provides interesting insights into the structural and developmental differences between the culm and sulcus of Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata bamboo. The authors used a variety of techniques, including histological analysis, FT-IR analysis, and transcriptomic data, to investigate the differences between these two structures. The results of the study suggest that the vascular bundle structure and lignin content differ significantly between the culm and sulcus, and that Pv4CL and PvC4H genes may play a critical role in their development. One potential limitation of the study is that it focuses solely on Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata bamboo, and it is unclear whether these findings would be generalizable to other species of bamboo. Additionally, the authors did not investigate the functional implications of the observed structural and developmental differences between the culm and sulcus, which could be an interesting avenue for future research.

There are some grammatical errors in the passage that could have been avoided with more careful proofreading. The sentence structure could also be improved for better readability.

(1) Line 38: "Bambusoideae" should be "Bambusoideae subfamily."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have changed "Bambusoideae" to "Bambusoideae subfamily" in line 34.

(2) Line 43: "ornamental features about bamboo" should be "ornamental features of bamboo."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We changed "ornamental features about bamboo" to "ornamental features of bamboo" in line 47.

(3) Line 45: "pointed that plants" should be "have pointed out that plants."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We completely rewrote the introduction. So the contest is changed.

(4) Line 52: "the variationin" should be "the variation in."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We changed "the variationin" to "the variation in" in line 60.

(5) "revealing the bamboo internode development pattern in bamboo" is repetitive and should be revised.

Response: Thank you for your advice. This sentence has been replaced by " Here, we also analyzed the transcriptomic data between the sulcus and culm to reveal the sulcus and culm developmental mechanism in bamboo."

(6) The figure 3 and 4 should be reconstructed for better clarity and the legends should also be modified.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have reconstructed Figures 3 and 4. And the legends also were improved.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

 

Minor typographical errors and grammatical errors

 

We have improved the English language quality as per the reviewer's suggestion

 

 

Reviewer 2

 

The work appears to be interesting because it focuses on a structural composition analysis of culm and sulcus in bamboo (particularly, in Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisculata) and on gene expression in these two parts. However, the manuscript need improvements, before its publication:

(1) First of all, the sentences are sometimes not clear and needs further processing. Furthermore, depending on the case, they can be either redundant or not sufficiently detailed.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have improved the abstract and entirely rewritten introduction. Further, we also reorganized some confusing sentences.

(2) The abbreviations aren't explained the first time they are introduced. An acronyms table, at the end of the manuscript, could help.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have provided the descriptions of the abbreviations for the first time.

(3) About contents, the correlations between the structural composition and gene expression should be further detailed.

Response: Thank you for your advice. We added correlations between the structural composition and gene expression in lines 200-205.

(4) Finally, the following sentence needs to be further clarified: "Although many enzymes related to lignin biosynthesis may promote lignin biosynthesis in the bamboo internode, the low expression of Pv4CL and PvC4H genes might lead to the smaller size, higher density of vascular bundles and higher lignin content in the sulcus".

Response: Thank you for your advice. The following sentences have been replaced by " Many enzymes related to lignin biosynthesis may promote lignin biosynthesis in the bamboo internode. Here, the lignin accumulated more in the sulcus than in the culm. Therefore, the low expression of Pv4CL and PvC4H genes might lead to a smaller size, higher density of vascular bundles and higher lignin content in the sulcus."

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

English level is rough and needs to be improved.

We have improved the English language level as per the reviewer's suggestion

Adverbs are often overused.

We reduced the use of adverbs

 

Reviewer 3

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

(1) Abstract: Repeated use of Moreover throughout abstract. Need more clarification on the flow of information (Line 25, 27,29)

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have improved the abstract.

(2) Introduction: The effect of internode color variation on bamboo quality should be discussed in the introduction.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's advice, we have rewritten the introduction and included the internode colour variation on bamboo quality.

(3) Line 61: bamboo internode development pattern in bamboo, not clear?

Response: Thank you for your advice. This sentence has been replaced by " Here, we also analyzed the transcriptomic data between the sulcus and culm to reveal the sulcus and culm developmental mechanism in bamboo." in lines 69-70.

(4) Method: Please provide the microscopy scale (SEM and light) in the method description.

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have added the microscopy scale in lines 89 and 92.

(5) Result: While explaining the quantification results (either section 3.1,  3.2), please use % increase or decrease

For instance, in line 171: This result showed that lignin accumulated more (%??)  in the sulcus and was consistent with the higher absorbance of the 171 sulcus in the FT-IR spectra

Response: Thank you for your advice. The following sentences have been replaced by " The structural properties of vascular bundles, like the maximum length of vascular bundles in the sulcus and culm, were approximately 0.28 and 0.38 mm (an increase in the size of 35.7% in the culm), respectively. The maximum width of vascular bundles in the sulcus and culm was 0.29 and 0.32 mm (an increase in the size of 10.35% in the culm), respectively (Table 1). The vascular bundle's length and width were relative to the vascular bundle's area. Therefore, the culm average vascular bundles' area also increases by 26.2% more than in the sulcus (Figure 2A). Moreover, we also measured the cell wall thickness of bamboo fibre cells, and the result showed that the cell wall thickness in the culm is approximately 30 % thicker than in the sulcus (Figure 2B). These observations indicate that the fibre cells in the culm might be more mature than that in the sulcus." (lines 130-140)

(7) Result 3.3. can be expanded with more information about DEGs, GO analysis, and pathway enrichment, as well as the potential discovery of any TFs/hormones. Then you proceed to compare the transcript of the lignin biosynthesis pathway gene with QRT-PCR. Expression of lignin biosynthetic pathways genes through transcriptome analysis is completely missing.

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have expanded more information about transcriptome analysis in lines 200-205 and the expression of lignin biosynthetic pathways genes through transcriptome analysis were given in Supplementary Table 2.

(8) Table: The mean and standard deviation can be placed to two decimal places.

Response: Thank you for your advice. The mean and standard deviation in Table 1 have been placed to two decimal places.

(9) Text in Figures 3, 4, and 5 is too small and should be enlarged.

Response: Thank you for your advice. The text in Figures 3, 4, and 5 has been enlarged.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

The work appears to be interesting because it focuses on a structural composition analysis of culm and sulcus in bamboo (particularly, in Phyllostachys vio-3 lascens cv. Viridisculata) and on gene expression in these two parts. However, the manuscript need improvements, before its publication:

- First of all, the sentences are sometimes not clear and needs further processing. Furthermore, depending on the case, they can be either redundant or not sufficiently detailed.

- The abbreviations aren't explained the first time they are introduced. An acronyms table, at the end of the manuscript, could help.

About contents, the correlations between the structural composition and gene expression should be further detailed.

Finally, the following sentence needs to be further clarified: “Although many enzymes related to lignin biosynthesis may promote lignin biosynthesis in the bamboo internode, the low expression of Pv4CL and PvC4H genes might lead to the smaller size, higher density of vascular bundles and higher lignin content in the sulcus”.

English level is rough and needs to be improved.

Adverbs are often overused.

Author Response

Dear Editor,

Thank you for giving us a chance to revise the current version of our manuscript (MS). We would like to submit our revised MS entitled "Identification of structural differentiation and differentially expressed genes between sulcus and culm of Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata", to be considered for publication in "Forests".

Dear Reviewers,

Thank you for providing comprehensive and detailed suggestions to improve our MS. We have carefully followed your suggestions, and the current version of MS is extensively revised according to your valuable guidelines. Thank you for helping to improve this manuscript.

 

Reviewer 1

Open Review

 

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study provides interesting insights into the structural and developmental differences between the culm and sulcus of Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata bamboo. The authors used a variety of techniques, including histological analysis, FT-IR analysis, and transcriptomic data, to investigate the differences between these two structures. The results of the study suggest that the vascular bundle structure and lignin content differ significantly between the culm and sulcus, and that Pv4CL and PvC4H genes may play a critical role in their development. One potential limitation of the study is that it focuses solely on Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata bamboo, and it is unclear whether these findings would be generalizable to other species of bamboo. Additionally, the authors did not investigate the functional implications of the observed structural and developmental differences between the culm and sulcus, which could be an interesting avenue for future research.

There are some grammatical errors in the passage that could have been avoided with more careful proofreading. The sentence structure could also be improved for better readability.

(1) Line 38: "Bambusoideae" should be "Bambusoideae subfamily."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have changed "Bambusoideae" to "Bambusoideae subfamily" in line 34.

(2) Line 43: "ornamental features about bamboo" should be "ornamental features of bamboo."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We changed "ornamental features about bamboo" to "ornamental features of bamboo" in line 47.

(3) Line 45: "pointed that plants" should be "have pointed out that plants."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We completely rewrote the introduction. So the contest is changed.

(4) Line 52: "the variationin" should be "the variation in."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We changed "the variationin" to "the variation in" in line 60.

(5) "revealing the bamboo internode development pattern in bamboo" is repetitive and should be revised.

Response: Thank you for your advice. This sentence has been replaced by " Here, we also analyzed the transcriptomic data between the sulcus and culm to reveal the sulcus and culm developmental mechanism in bamboo."

(6) The figure 3 and 4 should be reconstructed for better clarity and the legends should also be modified.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have reconstructed Figures 3 and 4. And the legends also were improved.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

 

Minor typographical errors and grammatical errors

 

We have improved the English language quality as per the reviewer's suggestion

 

 

Reviewer 2

 

The work appears to be interesting because it focuses on a structural composition analysis of culm and sulcus in bamboo (particularly, in Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisculata) and on gene expression in these two parts. However, the manuscript need improvements, before its publication:

(1) First of all, the sentences are sometimes not clear and needs further processing. Furthermore, depending on the case, they can be either redundant or not sufficiently detailed.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have improved the abstract and entirely rewritten introduction. Further, we also reorganized some confusing sentences.

(2) The abbreviations aren't explained the first time they are introduced. An acronyms table, at the end of the manuscript, could help.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have provided the descriptions of the abbreviations for the first time.

(3) About contents, the correlations between the structural composition and gene expression should be further detailed.

Response: Thank you for your advice. We added correlations between the structural composition and gene expression in lines 200-205.

(4) Finally, the following sentence needs to be further clarified: "Although many enzymes related to lignin biosynthesis may promote lignin biosynthesis in the bamboo internode, the low expression of Pv4CL and PvC4H genes might lead to the smaller size, higher density of vascular bundles and higher lignin content in the sulcus".

Response: Thank you for your advice. The following sentences have been replaced by " Many enzymes related to lignin biosynthesis may promote lignin biosynthesis in the bamboo internode. Here, the lignin accumulated more in the sulcus than in the culm. Therefore, the low expression of Pv4CL and PvC4H genes might lead to a smaller size, higher density of vascular bundles and higher lignin content in the sulcus."

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

English level is rough and needs to be improved.

We have improved the English language level as per the reviewer's suggestion

Adverbs are often overused.

We reduced the use of adverbs

 

Reviewer 3

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

(1) Abstract: Repeated use of Moreover throughout abstract. Need more clarification on the flow of information (Line 25, 27,29)

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have improved the abstract.

(2) Introduction: The effect of internode color variation on bamboo quality should be discussed in the introduction.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's advice, we have rewritten the introduction and included the internode colour variation on bamboo quality.

(3) Line 61: bamboo internode development pattern in bamboo, not clear?

Response: Thank you for your advice. This sentence has been replaced by " Here, we also analyzed the transcriptomic data between the sulcus and culm to reveal the sulcus and culm developmental mechanism in bamboo." in lines 69-70.

(4) Method: Please provide the microscopy scale (SEM and light) in the method description.

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have added the microscopy scale in lines 89 and 92.

(5) Result: While explaining the quantification results (either section 3.1,  3.2), please use % increase or decrease

For instance, in line 171: This result showed that lignin accumulated more (%??)  in the sulcus and was consistent with the higher absorbance of the 171 sulcus in the FT-IR spectra

Response: Thank you for your advice. The following sentences have been replaced by " The structural properties of vascular bundles, like the maximum length of vascular bundles in the sulcus and culm, were approximately 0.28 and 0.38 mm (an increase in the size of 35.7% in the culm), respectively. The maximum width of vascular bundles in the sulcus and culm was 0.29 and 0.32 mm (an increase in the size of 10.35% in the culm), respectively (Table 1). The vascular bundle's length and width were relative to the vascular bundle's area. Therefore, the culm average vascular bundles' area also increases by 26.2% more than in the sulcus (Figure 2A). Moreover, we also measured the cell wall thickness of bamboo fibre cells, and the result showed that the cell wall thickness in the culm is approximately 30 % thicker than in the sulcus (Figure 2B). These observations indicate that the fibre cells in the culm might be more mature than that in the sulcus." (lines 130-140)

(7) Result 3.3. can be expanded with more information about DEGs, GO analysis, and pathway enrichment, as well as the potential discovery of any TFs/hormones. Then you proceed to compare the transcript of the lignin biosynthesis pathway gene with QRT-PCR. Expression of lignin biosynthetic pathways genes through transcriptome analysis is completely missing.

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have expanded more information about transcriptome analysis in lines 200-205 and the expression of lignin biosynthetic pathways genes through transcriptome analysis were given in Supplementary Table 2.

(8) Table: The mean and standard deviation can be placed to two decimal places.

Response: Thank you for your advice. The mean and standard deviation in Table 1 have been placed to two decimal places.

(9) Text in Figures 3, 4, and 5 is too small and should be enlarged.

Response: Thank you for your advice. The text in Figures 3, 4, and 5 has been enlarged.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Abstract: Repeated use of Moreover throughout abstract. Need more clarification on the flow of information (Line 25, 27,29)

Introduction: The effect of internode color variation on bamboo quality should be discussed in the introduction.

Line 61: bamboo internode development pattern in bamboo, not clear?

Method: Please provide the microscopy scale (SEM and light) in the method description.

Result: While explaining the quantification results (either section 3.1,  3.2), please use % increase or decrease

For instance, in line 171: This result showed that lignin accumulated more (%??)  in the sulcus and was consistent with the higher absorbance of the 171 sulcus in the FT-IR spectra

Result 3.3. can be expanded with more information about DEGs, GO analysis, and pathway enrichment, as well as the potential discovery of any TFs/hormones. Then you proceed to compare the transcript of the lignin biosynthesis pathway gene with QRT-PCR.

Expression of lignin biosynthetic pathways genes through transcriptome analysis is completely missing.

Table: The mean and standard deviation can be placed to two decimal places.

 

Text in Figures 3, 4, and 5 is too small and should be enlarged.

English needs to be improved

 

Author Response

Dear Editor,

Thank you for giving us a chance to revise the current version of our manuscript (MS). We would like to submit our revised MS entitled "Identification of structural differentiation and differentially expressed genes between sulcus and culm of Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata", to be considered for publication in "Forests".

Dear Reviewers,

Thank you for providing comprehensive and detailed suggestions to improve our MS. We have carefully followed your suggestions, and the current version of MS is extensively revised according to your valuable guidelines. Thank you for helping to improve this manuscript.

 

Reviewer 1

Open Review

 

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This study provides interesting insights into the structural and developmental differences between the culm and sulcus of Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata bamboo. The authors used a variety of techniques, including histological analysis, FT-IR analysis, and transcriptomic data, to investigate the differences between these two structures. The results of the study suggest that the vascular bundle structure and lignin content differ significantly between the culm and sulcus, and that Pv4CL and PvC4H genes may play a critical role in their development. One potential limitation of the study is that it focuses solely on Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisulcata bamboo, and it is unclear whether these findings would be generalizable to other species of bamboo. Additionally, the authors did not investigate the functional implications of the observed structural and developmental differences between the culm and sulcus, which could be an interesting avenue for future research.

There are some grammatical errors in the passage that could have been avoided with more careful proofreading. The sentence structure could also be improved for better readability.

(1) Line 38: "Bambusoideae" should be "Bambusoideae subfamily."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have changed "Bambusoideae" to "Bambusoideae subfamily" in line 34.

(2) Line 43: "ornamental features about bamboo" should be "ornamental features of bamboo."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We changed "ornamental features about bamboo" to "ornamental features of bamboo" in line 47.

(3) Line 45: "pointed that plants" should be "have pointed out that plants."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We completely rewrote the introduction. So the contest is changed.

(4) Line 52: "the variationin" should be "the variation in."

Response: Thank you for your advice. We changed "the variationin" to "the variation in" in line 60.

(5) "revealing the bamboo internode development pattern in bamboo" is repetitive and should be revised.

Response: Thank you for your advice. This sentence has been replaced by " Here, we also analyzed the transcriptomic data between the sulcus and culm to reveal the sulcus and culm developmental mechanism in bamboo."

(6) The figure 3 and 4 should be reconstructed for better clarity and the legends should also be modified.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have reconstructed Figures 3 and 4. And the legends also were improved.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

 

Minor typographical errors and grammatical errors

 

We have improved the English language quality as per the reviewer's suggestion

 

 

Reviewer 2

 

The work appears to be interesting because it focuses on a structural composition analysis of culm and sulcus in bamboo (particularly, in Phyllostachys violascens cv. Viridisculata) and on gene expression in these two parts. However, the manuscript need improvements, before its publication:

(1) First of all, the sentences are sometimes not clear and needs further processing. Furthermore, depending on the case, they can be either redundant or not sufficiently detailed.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have improved the abstract and entirely rewritten introduction. Further, we also reorganized some confusing sentences.

(2) The abbreviations aren't explained the first time they are introduced. An acronyms table, at the end of the manuscript, could help.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have provided the descriptions of the abbreviations for the first time.

(3) About contents, the correlations between the structural composition and gene expression should be further detailed.

Response: Thank you for your advice. We added correlations between the structural composition and gene expression in lines 200-205.

(4) Finally, the following sentence needs to be further clarified: "Although many enzymes related to lignin biosynthesis may promote lignin biosynthesis in the bamboo internode, the low expression of Pv4CL and PvC4H genes might lead to the smaller size, higher density of vascular bundles and higher lignin content in the sulcus".

Response: Thank you for your advice. The following sentences have been replaced by " Many enzymes related to lignin biosynthesis may promote lignin biosynthesis in the bamboo internode. Here, the lignin accumulated more in the sulcus than in the culm. Therefore, the low expression of Pv4CL and PvC4H genes might lead to a smaller size, higher density of vascular bundles and higher lignin content in the sulcus."

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

English level is rough and needs to be improved.

We have improved the English language level as per the reviewer's suggestion

Adverbs are often overused.

We reduced the use of adverbs

 

Reviewer 3

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

(1) Abstract: Repeated use of Moreover throughout abstract. Need more clarification on the flow of information (Line 25, 27,29)

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's suggestion, we have improved the abstract.

(2) Introduction: The effect of internode color variation on bamboo quality should be discussed in the introduction.

Response: Thank you for your advice. As per the reviewer's advice, we have rewritten the introduction and included the internode colour variation on bamboo quality.

(3) Line 61: bamboo internode development pattern in bamboo, not clear?

Response: Thank you for your advice. This sentence has been replaced by " Here, we also analyzed the transcriptomic data between the sulcus and culm to reveal the sulcus and culm developmental mechanism in bamboo." in lines 69-70.

(4) Method: Please provide the microscopy scale (SEM and light) in the method description.

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have added the microscopy scale in lines 89 and 92.

(5) Result: While explaining the quantification results (either section 3.1,  3.2), please use % increase or decrease

For instance, in line 171: This result showed that lignin accumulated more (%??)  in the sulcus and was consistent with the higher absorbance of the 171 sulcus in the FT-IR spectra

Response: Thank you for your advice. The following sentences have been replaced by " The structural properties of vascular bundles, like the maximum length of vascular bundles in the sulcus and culm, were approximately 0.28 and 0.38 mm (an increase in the size of 35.7% in the culm), respectively. The maximum width of vascular bundles in the sulcus and culm was 0.29 and 0.32 mm (an increase in the size of 10.35% in the culm), respectively (Table 1). The vascular bundle's length and width were relative to the vascular bundle's area. Therefore, the culm average vascular bundles' area also increases by 26.2% more than in the sulcus (Figure 2A). Moreover, we also measured the cell wall thickness of bamboo fibre cells, and the result showed that the cell wall thickness in the culm is approximately 30 % thicker than in the sulcus (Figure 2B). These observations indicate that the fibre cells in the culm might be more mature than that in the sulcus." (lines 130-140)

(7) Result 3.3. can be expanded with more information about DEGs, GO analysis, and pathway enrichment, as well as the potential discovery of any TFs/hormones. Then you proceed to compare the transcript of the lignin biosynthesis pathway gene with QRT-PCR. Expression of lignin biosynthetic pathways genes through transcriptome analysis is completely missing.

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have expanded more information about transcriptome analysis in lines 200-205 and the expression of lignin biosynthetic pathways genes through transcriptome analysis were given in Supplementary Table 2.

(8) Table: The mean and standard deviation can be placed to two decimal places.

Response: Thank you for your advice. The mean and standard deviation in Table 1 have been placed to two decimal places.

(9) Text in Figures 3, 4, and 5 is too small and should be enlarged.

Response: Thank you for your advice. The text in Figures 3, 4, and 5 has been enlarged.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

All the queries were properly addressed. 

Author Response

Dear Reviewers,

Thank you for further suggestions to improve our MS. We have carefully followed your recommendations and incorporated these minor revision comments into our manuscript. Thank you for helping to improve this manuscript.

 

Comments:

Please check gramma of this sentence - "Moreover, the differentially expressed genes were identified DESeq2 R package [18] - Line 111.

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have changed the sentence to "Moreover, the differentially expressed genes were identified through the DESeq2 R package [18]" in line 111.

 

Figure 5 is of particularly bad quality and unacceptable in its present form. Please improve it as it will be impossible to read in printed copy of the paper. You could for instance try to modify Figure B and put it below the lignin biosynthesis pathway graph.

 

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have modified Figure 5B, put it below the lignin biosynthesis pathway graph, and improved the quality of Figure 5 to 600 dpi quality. Further, we have also uploaded our figures to the journal website, where the reviewer can find the 600 dpi figure.

Reviewer 3 Report

The manuscript has been greatly improved by the authors. I recommend the editor to go ahead and accept this manuscript.

 

 

Inspect the manuscript for grammatical errors. 

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewers,

Thank you for further suggestions to improve our MS. We have carefully followed your recommendations and incorporated these minor revision comments into our manuscript. Thank you for helping to improve this manuscript.

 

Comments:

Please check gramma of this sentence - "Moreover, the differentially expressed genes were identified DESeq2 R package [18] - Line 111.

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have changed the sentence to "Moreover, the differentially expressed genes were identified through the DESeq2 R package [18]" in line 111.

 

Figure 5 is of particularly bad quality and unacceptable in its present form. Please improve it as it will be impossible to read in printed copy of the paper. You could for instance try to modify Figure B and put it below the lignin biosynthesis pathway graph.

 

Response: Thank you for your advice. We have modified Figure 5B, put it below the lignin biosynthesis pathway graph, and improved the quality of Figure 5 to 600 dpi quality. Further, we have also uploaded our figures to the journal website, where the reviewer can find the 600 dpi figure.