Identification of candidate genes that regulate the trade-off between seedling cold tolerance and fruit quality in melon (Cucumis melo L.)

Trade-offs between survival and growth are widely observed in plants.Melon is an annual,trailing herb that produces economically valuable fruits that are traditionally cultivated in early spring in China.Melon seedlings are sensitive to low temperatures,and thus usually suffer from cold stress during the early growth period.However,little is known about the mechanism behind the trade-offs between seedling cold tolerance and fruit quality in melon.In this study,a total of 31 primary metabolites were detected from the mature fruits of eight melon lines that differ with respect to seedling cold tolerance;these included 12 amino acids,10 organic acids,and 9 soluble sugars.Our results showed that concentrations of most of the primary metabolites in the cold-resistant melons were generally lower than in the cold-sensitive melons;the greatest difference in metabolite levels was observed between the cold-resistant line H581 and the moderately cold-resistant line HH09.The metabolite and transcriptome data for these two lines were then subjected to weighted correlation network analysis,resulting in the identification of five key candidate genes underlying the balancing between seedling cold tolerance and fruit quality.Among these genes,CmEAF7 might play multiple roles in regulating chloroplast development,photosynthesis,and the ABA pathway.Furthermore,multi-method functional analysis showed that CmEAF7 can certainly improve both seedling cold tolerance and fruit quality in melon.Our study identified an agriculturally important gene,CmEAF7,and provides a new insight into breeding methods to develop melon cultivars with seedling cold tolerance and high fruit quality.

A demand side controller of electrolytic aluminum industrial microgrids considering wind power fluctuations

Direct wind power purchase for large industrial users is a meaningful way to improve wind power consumption and decrease industrial production costs.Short-term wind power fluctuations may lead to large-scale wind power curtailment problems.To promote use of wind energy,a demand side control method is proposed based on output regulator theory for a grid-connected industrial microgrid with electrolytic aluminum loads to continuously track and respond to wind power fluctuations.The control model of the EALs and the dominant frequencies of the wind power fluctuation signals are analyzed and incorporated into the demand side control plant.The feedback control signals with active power deviations on the tie-line are used to design the demand side controller.Simulations are conducted for an actual industrial microgrid to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.The results demonstrate that the proposed controller based on output regulator theory is able to effectively track wind power fluctuations.