Molecular Breeding and Stress Physiology in Horticultural Crops

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural Science and Ornamental Plants".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 7854

Special Issue Editors

Department of Horticulture, National Chung Hsing University, 145 Xingda Road, South District, Taichung City 402, Taiwan
Interests: stress physiology; bioengineering; postharvest

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Guest Editor
Department of Plant Industry, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung 91201, Taiwan
Interests: orchid biotechnology; plant micropropagation; precision breeding technology
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Guest Editor
Academia Sinica, Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Taipei, Taiwan
Interests: systems biology; molecular plant nutrition
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Horticultural crops play an irreplaceable role in the human diet and health, also bringing considerable economic benefits; they are widely grown all over the world, but their yield and quality are largely influenced by the limitation of breeding technology and climate changes. Therefore, developing novel breeding strategies, improving the agronomic traits of horticultural crops and enhancing resistance to environmental stresses have been hot research topics in recent years.

Thanks to the development of molecular biotechnology, the underlying mechanisms that regulate the biological development and stress response of horticultural crops have been gradually elucidated. This has laid the foundation for us to develop excellent horticultural crops.

This Special Issue aims to collect scientific works (original research articles, reviews, opinions and communications) related to molecular breeding, quantitative genetics, stress physiology in horticultural crops and research studies that address the main constraints of horticultural crop production.

Dr. I-Chun Pan
Dr. Jian-Zhi Huang
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schmidt
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • horticultural crop
  • molecular breeding
  • stress physiology
  • biotechnology
  • environmental stresses

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 5190 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Identification of the β-Amylase (BAM) Gene Family in Response to Cold Stress in White Clover
by Manman Li, Xiuhua Chen, Wangqi Huang, Kaiyue Wu, Yan Bai, Donglin Guo, Changhong Guo and Yongjun Shu
Plants 2024, 13(2), 154; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13020154 - 5 Jan 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1799
Abstract
White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is an allopolyploid plant and an excellent perennial legume forage. However, white clover is subjected to various stresses during its growth, with cold stress being one of the major limiting factors affecting its growth and development. Beta-amylase [...] Read more.
White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is an allopolyploid plant and an excellent perennial legume forage. However, white clover is subjected to various stresses during its growth, with cold stress being one of the major limiting factors affecting its growth and development. Beta-amylase (BAM) is an important starch-hydrolyzing enzyme that plays a significant role in starch degradation and responses to environmental stress. In this study, 21 members of the BAM gene family were identified in the white clover genome. A phylogenetic analysis using BAMs from Arabidopsis divided TrBAMs into four groups based on sequence similarity. Through analysis of conserved motifs, gene duplication, synteny analysis, and cis-acting elements, a deeper understanding of the structure and evolution of TrBAMs in white clover was gained. Additionally, a gene regulatory network (GRN) containing TrBAMs was constructed; gene ontology (GO) annotation analysis revealed close interactions between TrBAMs and AMY (α-amylase) and DPE (4-alpha-glucanotransferase). To determine the function of TrBAMs under various tissues and stresses, RNA-seq datasets were analyzed, showing that most TrBAMs were significantly upregulated in response to biotic and abiotic stresses and the highest expression in leaves. These results were validated through qRT-PCR experiments, indicating their involvement in multiple gene regulatory pathways responding to cold stress. This study provides new insights into the structure, evolution, and function of the white clover BAM gene family, laying the foundation for further exploration of the functional mechanisms through which TrBAMs respond to cold stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Breeding and Stress Physiology in Horticultural Crops)
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12 pages, 2337 KiB  
Article
Genetic Dissection of Seasonal Changes in a Greening Plant Based on Time-Series Multispectral Imaging
by Taeko Koji, Hiroyoshi Iwata, Motoyuki Ishimori, Hideki Takanashi, Yuji Yamasaki and Hisashi Tsujimoto
Plants 2023, 12(20), 3597; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12203597 - 17 Oct 2023
Viewed by 986
Abstract
Good appearance throughout the year is important for perennial ornamental plants used for rooftop greenery. However, the methods for evaluating appearance throughout the year, such as plant color and growth activity, are not well understood. In this study, evergreen and winter-dormant parents of [...] Read more.
Good appearance throughout the year is important for perennial ornamental plants used for rooftop greenery. However, the methods for evaluating appearance throughout the year, such as plant color and growth activity, are not well understood. In this study, evergreen and winter-dormant parents of Phedimus takesimensis and 94 F1 plants were used for multispectral imaging. We took 16 multispectral image measurements from March 2019 to April 2020 and used them to calculate 15 vegetation indices and the area of plant cover. QTL analysis was also performed. Traits such as the area of plant cover and vegetation indices related to biomass were high during spring and summer (growth period), whereas vegetation indices related to anthocyanins were high in winter (dormancy period). According to the PCA, changes in the intensity of light reflected from the plants at different wavelengths over the course of a year were consistent with the changes in plant color and growth activity. Seven QTLs were found to be associated with major seasonal growth changes. This approach, which monitors not only at a single point in time but also over time, can reveal morphological changes during growth, senescence, and dormancy throughout the year. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Breeding and Stress Physiology in Horticultural Crops)
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23 pages, 9820 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Identification of 2-Oxoglutarate and Fe (II)-Dependent Dioxygenase (2ODD-C) Family Genes and Expression Profiles under Different Abiotic Stresses in Camellia sinensis (L.)
by Jingxue Han, Xiaojing Wang and Suzhen Niu
Plants 2023, 12(6), 1302; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12061302 - 14 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2104
Abstract
The 2-oxoglutarate and Fe (II)-dependent dioxygenase (2ODD-C) family of 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases potentially participates in the biosynthesis of various metabolites under various abiotic stresses. However, there is scarce information on the expression profiles and roles of 2ODD-C genes in Camellia sinensis. We identified [...] Read more.
The 2-oxoglutarate and Fe (II)-dependent dioxygenase (2ODD-C) family of 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases potentially participates in the biosynthesis of various metabolites under various abiotic stresses. However, there is scarce information on the expression profiles and roles of 2ODD-C genes in Camellia sinensis. We identified 153 Cs2ODD-C genes from C. sinensis, and they were distributed unevenly on 15 chromosomes. According to the phylogenetic tree topology, these genes were divided into 21 groups distinguished by conserved motifs and an intron/exon structure. Gene-duplication analyses revealed that 75 Cs2ODD-C genes were expanded and retained after WGD/segmental and tandem duplications. The expression profiles of Cs2ODD-C genes were explored under methyl jasmonate (MeJA), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and salt (NaCl) stress treatments. The expression analysis showed that 14, 13, and 49 Cs2ODD-C genes displayed the same expression pattern under MeJA and PEG treatments, MeJA and NaCl treatments, and PEG and NaCl treatments, respectively. A further analysis showed that two genes, Cs2ODD-C36 and Cs2ODD-C21, were significantly upregulated and downregulated after MeJA, PEG, and NaCl treatments, indicating that these two genes played positive and negative roles in enhancing the multi-stress tolerance. These results provide candidate genes for the use of genetic engineering technology to modify plants by enhancing multi-stress tolerance to promote phytoremediation efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Breeding and Stress Physiology in Horticultural Crops)
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16 pages, 4408 KiB  
Article
Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Differentially Expressed Genes Involved in Cadmium and Arsenic Accumulation in Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis)
by Shiqi Liu, Xuqian Peng, Xiaojing Wang and Weibing Zhuang
Plants 2023, 12(5), 1182; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12051182 - 5 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2372
Abstract
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is the second most consumed drink in the world. Rapid industrialization has caused various impacts on nature and increased pollution by heavy metals. However, the molecular mechanisms of cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) tolerance and accumulation in tea [...] Read more.
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is the second most consumed drink in the world. Rapid industrialization has caused various impacts on nature and increased pollution by heavy metals. However, the molecular mechanisms of cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) tolerance and accumulation in tea plants are poorly understood. The present study focused on the effects of heavy metals Cd and As on tea plants. Transcriptomic regulation of tea roots after Cd and As exposure was analyzed to explore the candidate genes involved in Cd and As tolerance and accumulation. In total, 2087, 1029, 1707, and 366 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in Cd1 (with Cd treatment for 10 days) vs. CK (without Cd treatment), Cd2 (with Cd treatment for 15 days) vs. CK, As1 (with As treatment for 10 days) vs. CK (without Cd treatment), and As2 (with As treatment for 15 days) vs. CK, respectively. Analysis of DEGs showed that a total of 45 DEGs with the same expression patterns were identified in four pairwise comparison groups. One ERF transcription factor (CSS0000647) and six structural genes (CSS0033791, CSS0050491, CSS0001107, CSS0019367, CSS0006162, and CSS0035212) were only increased at 15 d of Cd and As treatments. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) revealed that the transcription factor (CSS0000647) was positively correlated with five structural genes (CSS0001107, CSS0019367, CSS0006162, CSS0033791, and CSS0035212). Moreover, one gene (CSS0004428) was significantly upregulated in both Cd and As treatments, suggesting that these genes might play important roles in enhancing the tolerance to Cd and As stresses. These results provide candidate genes to enhance multi-metal tolerance through the genetic engineering technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Breeding and Stress Physiology in Horticultural Crops)
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