Ethylene-releasing plant growth regulators promote ripening initiation by stimulating sugar, acid and anthocyanin metabolism in blueberry (Vaccinium ashei).

Background: Fruit ripening is a coordinated process that leads to an increase in sugars, decrease in acids and accumulation of pigments. Blueberry fruit exhibit an atypical climacteric ripening behavior. These fruit display an increase in respiration and ethylene production during ripening, however ethylene synthesis is developmentally regulated.

Sustained carbon import supports sugar accumulation and anthocyanin biosynthesis during fruit development and ripening in blueberry (Vaccinium ashei).

Fruit ripening is a highly coordinated process involving molecular and biochemical changes that collectively determine fruit quality. The underlying metabolic programs and their transitions leading to fruit ripening remain largely under-characterized in blueberry (Vaccinium sp.), which exhibits atypical climacteric behavior.

Ethylene promotes fruit ripening initiation by downregulating photosynthesis, enhancing abscisic acid and suppressing jasmonic acid in blueberry (Vaccinium ashei).

Background: Blueberry fruit exhibit atypical climacteric ripening with a non-auto-catalytic increase in ethylene coincident with initiation of ripening. Further, application of ethephon, an ethylene-releasing plant growth regulator, accelerates ripening by increasing the proportion of ripe (blue) fruit as compared to the control treatment. To investigate the mechanistic role of ethylene in regulating blueberry ripening, we performed transcriptome analysis on fruit treated with ethephon, an ethylene-releasing plant growth regulator.

PbrbZIP15 promotes sugar accumulation in pear via activating the transcription of the glucose isomerase gene PbrXylA1.

The composition and abundance of soluble sugars in mature pear (Pyrus) fruit are important for its acceptance by consumers. However, our understanding of the genes responsible for soluble sugar accumulation remains limited. In this study, a S1-group member of bZIP gene family, PbrbZIP15, was characterized from pear genome through the combined analyses of metabolite and transcriptome data followed by experimental validation.

Cadmium exposure is associated with increased transcript abundance of multiple heavy metal associated transporter genes in roots of hemp ( L.).

Industrial hemp ( L.) has demonstrated promise for phytoremediation due to an extensive root system, large biomass, and ability to survive under relatively high levels of heavy metals. However, little research has been conducted to determine the impact of heavy metal uptake in hemp grown for medicinal use.

Indigenous and commercial isolates of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi display differential effects in roots and elicit divergent transcriptomic and metabolomic responses.

Background: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are beneficial soil fungi which can effectively help plants with acquisition of mineral nutrients and water and promote their growth and development. The effects of indigenous and commercial isolates of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on pear () trees, however, remains unclear.

Methods: was used to propagate indigenous AMF to simulate spore propagation in natural soils in three ways: 1.

Carbon dioxide and light curves and leaf gas exchange responses to shade levels in bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).

Vegetable crops grown under shade nets typically show increased yield and quality. However, little is known about the photosynthetic responses at various CO and light levels under nets. This study aimed to determine carbon dioxide (A/Cc) and light (A/I) curves and leaf gas exchange response of bell pepper plants grown under nets at various shade levels.

Full-length fruit transcriptomes of southern highbush (Vaccinium sp.) and rabbiteye (V. virgatum Ait.) blueberry.

Background: Blueberries (Vaccinium sp.) are native to North America and breeding efforts to improve blueberry fruit quality are focused on improving traits such as increased firmness, enhanced flavor and greater shelf-life. Such efforts require additional genomic resources, especially in southern highbush and rabbiteye blueberries.

Atypical Climacteric and Functional Ethylene Metabolism and Signaling During Fruit Ripening in Blueberry ( sp.).

Climacteric fruits display an increase in respiration and ethylene production during the onset of ripening, while such changes are minimal in non-climacteric fruits. Ethylene is a primary regulator of ripening in climacteric fruits. The ripening behavior and role of ethylene in blueberry ( sp.

Blossom-end rot: a century-old problem in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and other vegetables.

Blossom-end rot (BER) is a devastating physiological disorder affecting vegetable production worldwide. Extensive research into the physiological aspects of the disorder has demonstrated that the underlying causes of BER are associated with perturbed calcium (Ca) homeostasis and irregular watering conditions in predominantly cultivated accessions. Further, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are critical players in BER development which, combined with unbalanced Ca concentrations, greatly affect the severity of the disorder.

Temporal expression patterns of fruit-specific α- EXPANSINS during cell expansion in bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).

Background: Expansins (EXPs) facilitate non-enzymatic cell wall loosening during several phases of plant growth and development including fruit growth, internode expansion, pollen tube growth, leaf and root development, and during abiotic stress responses. In this study, the spatial and temporal expression patterns of C. annuum α- EXPANSIN (CaEXPA) genes were characterized.

Nexus Between Spermidine and Floral Organ Identity and Fruit/Seed Set in Tomato.

Polyamines (PAs) constituting putrescine (Put), spermidine (Spd), and spermine (Spm) are ubiquitous in all organisms and play essential roles in the growth and developmental processes in living organisms, including plants. Evidences obtained through genetic, biochemical, and transgenic approaches suggest a tight homeostasis for cellular PA levels. Altered cellular PA homeostasis is associated with abnormal phenotypes.

Association mapping in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) reveals independent control of apical vs. basal branching.

Background: Shoot branching is an important determinant of plant architecture and influences various aspects of growth and development. Selection on branching has also played an important role in the domestication of crop plants, including sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.).