Hangzhou Botanical Garden

Flower pigmentation is a critical trait in plants, influencing ecological interactions and ornamental value. This study investigates the mechanisms underlying petal coloration in Prunus campanulata and its hybrids, Prunus ‘Okame’ and Prunus ‘Yoko’. Morphological analysis revealed consistent flower size across varieties, indicating that color variation is not linked to structural differences. Physiological and biochemical analyses identified stages III and IV as critical for pigmentation, characterized by the significant accumulation of flavonoids and anthocyanins. Metabolomic profiling highlighted flavonoids as the dominant metabolites, with key compounds including chalcones, flavones, and anthocyanins contributing to color formation. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) further identified several hub genes, including RPL34, NUDT12, and CYP78A9, within modules strongly correlated with pigment accumulation, suggesting their potential non-canonical roles in the coloration process. Environmental factors such as temperature and pH were found to influence pigment stability. Overall, this study provides insights into the genetic and biochemical regulation of flower pigmentation in P. campanulata, emphasizing the central role of flavonoid and anthocyanin biosynthesis.

Background: Rosa L. is an economically significant genus with species that are notable for their rich content of phenolic compounds. Despite its importance, the taxonomy of Rosa remains complex and unresolved. Methods: We sequenced, assembled, and performed comparative analyses of the complete plastomes of four Rosa species: R. acicularis, R. iliensis, R. laxa, and R. spinosissima. In addition to the plastome, we sequenced the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS). Results: Plastomes ranged in size from 157,148 bp (R. iliensis) to 157,346 bp (R. laxa). In each plastome, 136 genes were annotated, comprising 90 protein-coding, 38 tRNA, and eight rRNA genes. A total of 905 SSRs were identified, ranging from 224 (R. acicularis) to 229 in R. spinosissima. Nine highly variable regions were detected, including two coding genes (rps16 and ycf1) and seven intergenic spacers (ycf3-trnS(GGA), trnT(UGU)-trnL(UAA), rpl14-rpl16, trnR(UCU)-atpA, trnD(GUC), trnG(UCC)-trnfM(CAU), and psbE-petL). Maximum Likelihood (ML) phylogenetic analyses based on the complete plastome and ycf1 gene datasets consistently resolved the Rosa species into three major clades, with strong bootstrap support. In contrast, the ML tree based on ITS resolved species into four clades but showed lower bootstrap values, indicating reduced resolution compared to plastid datasets. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the value of plastome data in resolving phylogenetic relationships within the genus Rosa.

The genus Lycoris Herb., belonging to the family Amaryllidaceae, was established by Herbert in 1819, with Lycoris aurea designated as the type species (Herbert 1819).Currently, this genus includes more than 30 species, distributed primarily across the temperate and subtropical regions of East Asia, ranging from southwestern China to Japan and the Korean Peninsula (Zhang et al. 2024).The Yangtze River Basin of China serves as the distribution center for Lycoris germplasm resources, with endemic species accounting for nearly 80% of the total (Ji and Meerow 2000).Lycoris species, as bulbous ornamentals, were introduced to Europe as early as the 18th century.This is evidenced by the fact that L. aurea and Lycoris radiata were named and placed within the genus Amaryllis in 1788 (L'H eritier de Brutelle et al. 1788).American horticulturists began hybridization breeding work with Lycoris in the 1930s and 1940s (Culpepper 1940).However, as a result of limited knowledge of Lycoris characteristics at the time, the success rate of hybridization was low.According to Caldwell (1958), William Wood conducted hybridization experiments in 1941 using Lycoris traubii as the maternal parent and L. radiata as the paternal parent, obtaining progeny with flower color and form similar to the maternal parent, which was named Lycoris woodii.This is considered the first successful instance of interspecific hybridization in Lycoris (Caldwell 1958).

Tea pruning litter is frequently added to soil to improve soil fertility and the C pool in tea plantations. However, the effects of different methods of incorporating tea pruning litter, such as direct return to the field, processing to organic fertilizer, and biochar, on soil organic carbon mineralization and its underlying mechanisms, especially microbial mechanisms, are still poorly understood. Therefore, we conducted an incubation experiment to explore the efficacy of tea pruning litter and its derivatives, biochar, and organic fertilizer, on the mineralization and chemical composition of soil organic C (SOC), labile organic C, functional gene abundance, microbial community composition, and activities of enzymes associated with C cycling in tea plantation soil. The results indicated that cumulative soil CO 2 emissions were ranked as pruned litter > organic fertilizer > biochar > control soil. The cumulative soil CO 2 emissions was decreased significantly by decreasing of the content of O-alkyl C and microbial biomass carbon, β-glucosidase/cellobiohydrolase activities, and the abundance of GH48 and cbh I ( P < 0.05). This indicates that lower CO 2 emissions following organic fertilizer and biochar addition (cf. pruned litter) were associated with a decrease in O-alkyl C content, β-glucosidase and cellobiohydrolase activities, as well as the abundance of GH48 and cbh I. More interestingly, changes in the microbial community structure, especially in some key species, such as Acidobacteria , Actinobacteria , Sordariomycetes , and Mortierellomycetes , can significantly affect the rate of SOC mineralization. Our study demonstrates that applying organic fertilizer and biochar derived from pruned litter significantly mitigated SOC mineralization compared to pruned litter application alone, and both have great potential for maintaining soil C stock in tea plantation soil. • Organic fertilizer and biochar can mitigate the SOC mineralization than pruned litter. • Lower SOC mineralization was related to lower the content of O-alkyl C and MBC. • Lower SOC mineralization was related to lower abundance of GH48 and cbh I. • Lower SOC mineralization was related to lower β-glucosidase/cellobiohydrolase.

As an excellent variety of Camphora glanduliferum, Honganzhang has high essential oil content and can be used as industrial and pharmaceutical raw materials to extract essential oil, which has high development value. In this study, fresh branches and leaves of C. glanduliferum ’Honganzhang’ were used as materials. After extracting C. glanduliferum ’Honganzhang’ essential oils (CGHEO) by steam distillation, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to analyze its chemical components. On this basis, the antibacterial effect of CGHEO and its potential physiological mechanism were further explored. The results showed that the main components of CGHEO were Cineole (46.57%), α-terpineol (9.93%), Sabinene (8.02%), β-terpinene (6.04%), and α-pinene (4.49%), these compounds can be used in medicine, food and other industries. In terms of antibacterial effect, CGHEO has significant antibacterial effects on three Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and two Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus). CGHEO can reduce Na+K+-ATPase activity and SDH activity and further interfere with the operation of the bacterial respiratory chain, thereby achieving the effect of inhibiting bacterial reproduction. Based on the main chemical components contained in C. glanduliferum ’Honganzhang’ and its remarkable antibacterial effect, this study is expected to provide a theoretical basis for the wide application of C. glanduliferum ’Honganzhang’ in multiple fields such as medicine, health care, food, and industry.

Periodontitis is one of the most common diseases and primary causes of tooth loss. The main factor that causes periodontitis is an overactive host immunological response. An in-depth investigation into the molecular pathways that cause periodontitis can aid in creating novel therapeutic approaches for periodontitis and its related systemic disorders. Several immunologic cell death (ICD) pathways have been implicated in advancing periodontitis. Nevertheless, there is still a substantial lack of understanding surrounding the precise molecular mechanisms of ICD in periodontitis. Additionally, the beneficial feature of ICD in periodontitis, which involves its ability to eliminate pathogens, needs further confirmation. According to this, a comprehensive literature search utilizing the Web of Science™, PubMed®, and Scopus® databases was conducted. Only items published in the English language up until October 2024 were taken into account, and finally, 65 relevant papers were selected to be included in this review. In this article, we present a comprehensive analysis of the processes and outcomes of ICD activation in the progression of periodontitis. Lastly, the present difficulties linked to ICDs as a viable treatment option for periodontitis are emphasized.

Urban parks not only enhance urban ecology but also play a crucial role in providing cultural ecosystem services (CESs) for the well-being of urban residents. Both artificial and natural landscape factors within parks contribute significantly to the supply of cultural ecosystem services. To explore public perceptions of landscape factors and CESs, this study focused on 25 urban parks in Hangzhou. Social media data uploaded by park visitors from 2018 to 2023 were collected to establish a corresponding CES indicator framework. Combining computer vision with text mining, we assessed the preferences and correlations between visitor-perceived CESs and park landscape factors. The results indicated that the majority of park visitors perceive CESs (80.00%) with overall satisfaction higher than importance. Among them, aesthetic experiences and recreation showed both high satisfaction and importance. In shared social media photos, arbors (19.01%), herbaceous flowers (8.99%), and groves (8.22%) were frequently presented as landscape factors. The study revealed close correlations between user gender, landscape factors, and perceived CES categories, with females contributing more to the perception of both. There were internal correlations within CES categories, with spiritual services, aesthetic experiences, and recreation showing the most significant associations. Different landscape factors impacted CES categories to varying degrees, and biological landscapes formed by plant and animal factors were considered to provide more CESs. These findings are significant for enhancing the quality of ecological services and biodiversity in parks.

The <i>Aux/IAA</i> (<i>auxin/indole-3-acetic acid</i>) gene family plays a crucial role in regulating various aspects of plant growth, development, and abiotic tolerance in the auxin transduction pathway. However, limited information is available about the <i>Aux/IAA</i> family in <i>Osmanthus fragrans</i>. This study aims to comprehensively analyze the <i>Aux/IAA</i> gene family on a genome-wide scale. A total of 39 <i>OfIAA</i> genes containing four conserved domains were identified. These genes were unevenly distributed across 19 chromosomes and grouped into six clades based on phylogenetic analysis, showing conserved gene structure and motif composition. The expansion of <i>OfIAA</i> genes in the <i>O. fragrans</i> genome was partially due to segmental duplication events. Analysis of <i>cis</i>-regulatory elements (CREs) in the promoters of the <i>OfIAA</i> genes revealed the presence of many CREs related to different hormones and abiotic stresses. Through transcriptome and expression pattern analysis, we found that the majority of <i>OfIAA</i> genes were expressed in the stem tissue. Moreover, during the flower opening process, 18 <i>OfIAA</i> genes exhibited differential expression, while three and 11 <i>OfIAA</i> genes, respectively, showed altered expression patterns after salt and drought treatments. These differentially expressed genes are likely involved in the regulation of flower opening and abiotic stress response. This study provides new insights into the potential roles of <i>OfIAAs</i> and contributes to a better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of flower opening and abiotic stress tolerance in <i>O. fragrans</i>.

Castanea henryi is a monoecious woody food tree species whose yield and industrialization potential are limited by its low female-to-male flower ratio. Here, the male flowers on the male inflorescence of C. henryi were converted to female flowers by triple applications of exogenous cytokinin (CK) (N-(2-chloro-4-pyridyl)-N'-phenylurea, CPPU). To study the role of exogenous CK in flower sex determination, cytological and transcriptomic analyses were performed on samples from the five stages after CK treatment. Cytological analysis showed that stage 3 (nine days after the last CK treatment) was the critical stage in the differential development of the pistil primordium and stamen primordium. On this basis, one key module and two modules with significant positive correlations with stage 3 were identified by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), combined with transcriptome data. The CK and GA biosynthesis- and signaling-related genes, three transcription factor (TF) families, and 11 floral organ identity genes were identified in the related modules. In particular, the TFs WRKY47, ERF021, and MYB4, and floral organ identity genes AGL11/15, DEF, and SEP1 with large differences are considered to be critical regulators of sex determination in C. henryi. Based on these results, a genetic regulatory network for exogenous CK in the sex determination of flowers in C. henryi is proposed. This study contributes to the understanding of the role of CK in the sex regulation of flowers and provides new insights into the regulatory network of sex determination in C. henryi.