Analysis of Flavor Quality of Two Cherry Tomatoes After Refrigeration

To investigate the differences in the types and relative contents of refrigerated volatile flavor substances between 'Chitose' and 'Ji Tian No.1' cherry tomatoes, the effect of cold storage at 4 ℃ for 16 d on the flavor quality of cherry tomatoes ('Chitose' and 'Ji Tian No.1') was analyzed by using electronic nose and headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography. The results showed that electronic nose analysis results displayed, the volatile substances that undergo significant changes before and after refrigeration in two cherry tomatoes were inorganic sulfides, nitrogen oxides, and aromatic substances, a total of 93 volatile substances were detected by HS-SPME-GC-MS technique, including 27 aldehydes, 23 alcohols, 4 esters, 11 ketones, 3 furans, 9 alkanes, 12 olefins and 4 other substances. Compared to 0 d, the relative content of total volatile substances in 'Chitose' and 'Ji Tian No.1' after cold storage decreased by 7.08% and 3.68% respectively. The relative content of the main volatile compounds hexanal and trans-2-hexenal in two cherry tomatoes decreased after refrigeration, the relative content of trans 2-pentenal, heptanal, 1-pentanol, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, and 1-penten-3-one increased after refrigeration. Compared with 'Chitose', 'Ji Tian No.1' could retain higher contents of main volatile substances of cherry tomato such as aldehydes, esters and ketones after cold storage. Therefore, 'Ji Tian No.1' was more suitable for post-harvest storage and transportation and low-temperature refrigeration, which would provide a theoretical basis for high-quality cherry tomato post-harvest storage and transportation technology

Ecosystem Services Management Based on Differentiation and Regionalization along Vertical Gradient in Taihang Mountain, China

The regulation and management of ecosystem services are fundamental for sustainable development in mountain areas. Although no obvious vertical band spectrum exists in Taihang Mountain region, vertical differentiation of ecological characteristics in the region is obvious. The ecosystem characteristics of vertical differentiation were analyzed using 4 typical ecological indices (land use, temperature, net primary productivity, and water yield). The ecosystem service functional pattern was determined based on analysis of the ecosystem services value per unit area. The 2 ecosystem critical zones of vertical differentiation (500–600 m and 1400–1500 m) were determined. The mountain area was divided into 3 ecological zones—sub-alpine zone (>1500 m), mid-mountain zone (600–1400 m) and hilly zone (<500 m). The ecosystem services functional pattern was as follows: provisioning services was the main ecosystem services function in the hilly zone, 4 ecosystem service functions were equally important in the mid-mountain zone, regulating, supporting and cultural services were the main ecosystem service functions in the sub-alpine zone. The model of ecosystem service regulation and management in 3 ecological zones was built based on the functional patterns to promote sustainable development

Comparative Analysis of DNA Methylation Reveals Specific Regulations on Ethylene Pathway in Tomato Fruit

DNA methylation is an essential feature of epigenetic regulation and plays a role in various physiological and biochemical processes at CG, CHG, and CHH sites in plants. LeERF1 is an ethylene response factor (ERF) found in tomatoes which plays an important role in ethylene signal transduction. To explore the characteristics of DNA methylation in the ethylene pathway, sense-/antisense-LeERF1 transgenic tomato fruit were chosen for deep sequencing and bioinformatics parsing. The methylation type with the greatest distribution was CG, (71.60–72.80%) and CHH was found least frequently (10.70–12.50%). The level of DNA methylation was different among different tomato genomic regions. The differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were conjointly analyzed and 3030 different expressed genes were found, of which several are involved in ethylene synthesis and signaling transduction (such as ACS, ACO, MADS-Box, ERFs, and F-box). Furthermore, the relationships between DNA methylation and microRNAs (miRNAs) were also deciphered, providing basic information for the further study of DNA methylation and small RNAs involved in the ethylene pathway

Using Modified Remote Sensing Imagery to Interpret Changes in Cultivated Land under Saline-Alkali Conditions

Managing the rapidly changing saline-alkali land under cultivation in the coastal areas of China is important not only for mitigating the negative impacts of such land on the environment, but also for ensuring long-term sustainability of agriculture. In this light, setting up rapid monitoring systems to assist decision-making in developing sustainable management plans is therefore an absolute necessity. In this study, we developed a new interpretation system where symbols are used to grade and classify saline-alkali lands in space and time, based on the characteristics of plant cover and features of remote sensing images. The system was used in combination with the maximum likelihood supervised classification to analyze the changes in cultivated lands under saline-alkali conditions in Huanghua City. The analysis revealed changes in the area and spatial distribution of cultivated under saline-alkali conditions in the region. The total area of saline-alkali land was 139,588.8 ha in 1992 and 134,477.5 ha in 2011. Compared with 1992, severely and moderately saline-alkali land areas decreased in 2011. However, non/slightly saline land areas increased over that in 1992. The results showed that the salinization rate of arable lands in Huanghua City decreased from 1992 to 2011. The moderately saline-alkali land southeast of the city transformed into non/slightly saline-alkaline. Then, severely saline-alkali land far from the coastal zone west of the city became moderately saline-alkaline. Spatial changes in cultivated saline-alkali lands in Huanghua City were such that the centers of gravity (CG) of severely and non/slightly saline-alkali land moved closer the coastline, while that of the moderately saline-alkali land moved from southwest coastal line to northwest. Factors influencing changes in cultivated lands in the saline-alkali ecosystem included climate, hydrology and human activity. Thus, studies are required to further explore these factors in order to build a better understanding into the relative contributions of the changes saline-alkali state on the functions of coastline ecosystems

Analysis of the Coding and Non-Coding RNA Transcriptomes in Response to Bell Pepper Chilling

Increasing evidence suggests that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), and microRNAs (miRNAs) have roles during biotic and abiotic stress, though their exact contributions remain unclear. To explore their biological functions in response to chilling in bell pepper, we examined their accumulation profiles by deep sequencing and identified 380 lncRNAs, 36 circRNAs, 18 miRNAs, and 4128 differentially expressed mRNAs in the chilled versus the non-chilled fruit. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses revealed differentially expressed genes and putative ncRNA targets, including transcription factors of multiple classes, such as myeloblastosis (MYB), basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH), and ethylene response factor (ERF) transcription factors (TFs), enzymes involved in bio-oxidation and oxidative phosphorylation (serine/threonine-protein kinase, polyphenol oxidase, catalase, peroxidase, lipoxygenase, and ATPase), and cell wall metabolism-related enzymes (beta-galactosidase, pectate lyase, pectinesterase, and polygalacturonase). On the basis of the accumulation profiles, a network of putatively interacting RNAs associated with bell pepper chilling was developed, which pointed to ncRNAs that could provide the foundation for further developing a more refined understanding of the molecular response to chilling injury

Systematic characterization of Brassica napus UBC13 genes involved in DNA-damage response and K63-linked polyubiquitination

Abstract Background Ubc13 is the only known ubiquitin conjugating enzyme (Ubc/E2) dedicated to promoting Lys (K)63-linked polyubiquitination, and this process requires a Ubc/E2 variant (UEV). Unlike conventional K48-linked polyubiquitination that targets proteins for degradation, K63-linked polyubiquitination, which is involved in several cellular processes, does not target proteins for degradation but alter their activities. Results In this study we report the identification and functional characterization of 12 Brassica napus UBC13 genes. All the cloned UBC13 gene products were able to physically interact with AtUev1D, an Arabidopsis UEV, to form stable complexes that are capable of catalyzing K63-linked polyubiquitination in vitro. Furthermore, BnUBC13 genes functionally complemented the yeast ubc13 null mutant defects in spontaneous mutagenesis and DNA-damage responses, suggesting that BnUBC13s can replace yeast UBC13 in mediating K63-linked polyubiquitination and error-free DNA-damage tolerance. Conclusion Collectively, this study provides convincing data to support notions that B. napus Ubc13s promote K63-linked polyubiquitination and are probably required for abiotic stress response. Since plant Ubc13-UEV are also implicated in other developmental and stress responses, this systematic study sets a milestone in exploring roles of K63-linked polyubiquitination in this agriculturally important crop

Effects of putrescine on the postharvest physiology characteristics in cowpea

The effects of putrescine (Put) treatment on postharvest physiology characteristics in cowpea during cold storage have been investigated. The results indicated that Put with 8 mmol/L treatment greatly delayed aging of the cowpea; the sensory quality of cowpea was well maintained; the increase in weight loss was also inhibited, and the decrease in the content of ascorbic acid, chlorophyll, and total phenol was reduced efficiently. Antioxidant enzyme activities containing POD, CAT, and APX were preserved at higher levels in treated groups than the control during cold storage. In addition, the activity of PPO was restrained with Put. Overall, the quality of cowpea was maintained by 8 mmol/L Put treatment during cold storage

<b>Genetic variation and metabolic pathway intricacy govern the active compound content and quality of the Chinese medicinal plant</b><b><it>Lonicera japonica</it></b><b>thunb</b>

Abstract Background Traditional Chinese medicine uses various herbs for the treatment of various diseases for thousands of years and it is now time to assess the characteristics and effectiveness of these medicinal plants based on modern genetic and molecular tools. The herb Flos Lonicerae Japonicae (FLJ or Lonicera japonica Thunb.) is used as an anti-inflammatory agent but the chemical quality of FLJ and its medicinal efficacy has not been consistent. Here, we analyzed the transcriptomes and metabolic pathways to evaluate the active medicinal compounds in FLJ and hope that this approach can be used for a variety of medicinal herbs in the future. Results We assess transcriptomic differences between FLJ and L. japonica Thunb. var. chinensis (Watts) (rFLJ), which may explain the variable medicinal effects. We acquired transcriptomic data (over 100 million reads) from the two herbs, using RNA-seq method and the Illumina GAII platform. The transcriptomic profiles contain over 6,000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for each of the three flower development stages from FLJ, as well as comparable amount of ESTs from the rFLJ flower bud. To elucidate enzymatic divergence on biosynthetic pathways between the two varieties, we correlated genes and their expression profiles to known metabolic activities involving the relevant active compounds, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and fatty acids. We also analyzed the diversification of genes that process the active compounds to distinguish orthologs and paralogs together with the pathways concerning biosynthesis of phenolic acid and its connections with other related pathways. Conclusions Our study provides both an initial description of gene expression profiles in flowers of FLJ and its counterfeit rFLJ and the enzyme pool that can be used to evaluate FLJ quality. Detailed molecular-level analyses allow us to decipher the relationship between metabolic pathways involved in processing active medicinal compounds and gene expressions of their processing enzymes. Our evolutionary analysis revealed specific functional divergence of orthologs and paralogs, which lead to variation in gene functions that govern the profile of active compounds.</p