ALBERT

Description: Background In China, double-seed (DS) sowing (i.e., sowing two seeds per hole) has been conventionally performed towards the erect-plant-type peanuts to increase the low germination rate due to poor seed preservation conditions. However, the corresponding within-hole plant competition usually limits the subsequent plant growth and the final yield. We developed a high-yield cultivation system of single-seed (SS) precision sowing to solve this paradox, saving 20% of seeds and increasing yields by more than 10% relative to the conventional DS sowing. Methods To explore the mechanisms of these two different cropping patterns in peanut yields, we conducted transcriptomic and physiological comparisons in the seeding plant leaf and root tissues between SS precision sowing and standard DS sowing treatments. Results After assembly, each library contained an average of 43 million reads and generated a total of 523,800, 338 clean reads. After GO and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, we found the key genes for biotic and abiotic stress showed higher expression in roots of plants grown under the SS precision sowing treatment, including genes encoding disease resistance, oxidation-reduction, hormone related, and stress response transcription factors and signaling regulation proteins. In particular, the resveratrol synthesis genes related to stress and disease resistance appeared induced in roots under the SS sowing treatment. Conclusion These data indicated that Aspergillus flavus resistance and stress tolerance in roots under SS precision sowing were enhanced compared with roots under the DS sowing treatment. This work benefits the development of underground pods and thus increasing peanut yields.

Description: Cold stress is one of the major abiotic stresses that limit crop production. The ICE-CBF-COR pathway is associated with cold stress response in a wide variety of crop species. However, the ICE-CBF-COR genes has not been well characterized in wheat (Triticum aestivum). This study identified, characterized and examined the expression profiles of the ICE, CBF and COR genes for cold defense in wheat. Five ICE (inducer of CBF expression) genes, 37 CBF (C-repeat binding factor) genes and 11 COR (cold-responsive or cold-regulated) genes were discovered in the wheat genome database. Phylogenetic trees based on all 53 genes revealed that CBF genes were more diverse than ICE and COR genes. Twenty-two of the 53 genes appeared to include 11 duplicated pairs. Twenty rice (Oryza sativa) genes and 21 sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and maize (Zea mays) genes showed collinearity with the wheat ICE, CBF and COR genes. Transcriptome data and qRT-PCR analyses revealed tissue-specific expression patterns of the ICE, CBF and COR genes, and identified similarities in the expression pattern of genes from the same family when subjected to drought, heat, drought plus heat, and cold stress. These results provide information for better understanding the biological roles of ICE, CBF, COR genes in wheat.