A chromosome-level genome assembly for Chinese plum‘Wushancuili'reveals the molecular basis of its fruit color and susceptibility to rain-cracking

Chinese plum(Prunus salicina Lindl.)originates from China and makes a large contribution to the global production of plums.The P.salicina‘Wushancuili'has a green coloration and high fruit quality and is economically important in eliminating poverty and protecting ecology in the Yangtze River Three Gorges Reservoir.However,rain-induced cracking(rain-cracking,literally skin cracking caused by rain)is a limitation to‘Wushancuili'fruit production and causes severe losses.This study reported a high-quality‘Wushancuili'genome assembly consisting of a 302.17-Mb sequence with eight pseudo-chromosomes and a contig N50 of 23.59 Mb through the combination of Illumina sequencing,Pacific Biosciences HiFiⅢsequencing,and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture technology.A total of 25109 protein-coding genes are predicted and 54.17%of the genome is composed of repetitive sequences.‘Wushancuili'underwent a remarkable orthoselection during evolution.Gene identification revealed that loss-of-function in four core MYB10 genes results in the anthocyanin deficiency and absence of red color,revealing the green coloration due to the residual high chlorophyll in fruit skin.Besides,the occurrence of cracking is assumed to be closely associated with cell wall modification and frequently rain-induced pathogen enrichment through transcriptomic analysis.The loss of MYB10 genes might render fruit more susceptible to pathogen-mediated cracking by weakening the epidermal strength and reactive oxygen species(ROS)scavenging.Our findings provided fundamental knowledge regarding fruit coloration and rain-cracking and will facilitate genetic improvement and cultivation management in Chinese plums.

Insights into flavonoid biosynthesis during cucumber fruit peel coloration based on metabolite profiling and transcriptome analyses

The fruit peel color is a crucial trait of cucumber.To better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying cucumber peel coloration,we compared the UPLC-ESI-MS/MS-based flavonoid metabolomic and RNA sequencing-based transcriptomic profiling of the brown peeled cucumber line‘PW’at six developmental stages.A total of 210 flavonoid metabolites were identified.Of which,117 flavonoid metabolites were differentially accumulated.In this study,weighted gene co-expression network analysis combined with Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genomes enrichment analysis revealed key genes coding for seven enzymes and eight transcription factors(TFs)associated with flavonoid biosynthesis.Among them,the R2R3MYB CsaV3_4G001130 is the best candidate gene that is responsible for controlling mature fruit colors in cucumber.Sanger sequencing revealed one nonsynonymous SNP in the exon of CsaV3_4G001130 among the selected 11 cucumber lines,which introduced a premature stop codon,generating a truncated protein in pale yellow or creamy peeled fruits.Yeast two-hybrid assays showed a direct interaction of CsaV3_4G001130 with the bHLH TF CsaV3_1G002260 and the WD40 protein CsaV3_5G001800.However,the interactions were influenced by the nonsynonymous SNP we identified.Our finding revealed that the integrated transcriptome and metabolome analysis further demonstrated that the abundance of some pigmented flavonoids(especially anthocyanins and chalcones)contributed to the coloration of‘PW’fruits.These findings pave the way for elucidation of flavonoid biosynthesis and improvement of cucumber peel color in the future.

Modeling Study of Fruit Morphological Formation in Melon

Modeling of fruit morphological formation in melon is important for realizing virtual and digital plant growth.The objective of this study was to characterize the changes in patterns of fruit growth characters during plant development.In cultivar experiments,a high-resolution wireless vision sensor network has been developed to realize non-contact automatic uninterrupted measurement of the fruit shape micro-change （fruit size,color,and net）.Results showed that the fruit swelling process （vertical and horizontal diameters） exhibited a slow-rapid-slow pattern,which could be well described with a logistic curve against growing degree days （GDD）;fruit color changes based on the RGB values could be represented by quadratic relationship to cumulative GDD;the fruit net changes over growth progress could be partitioned into three phases according to the time interval.The first phase was from 1 to 30 days after pollination （DAP）,in which the vertical stripe appeared at fruit middle part and the horizontal stripe at fruit petiole and hilum part as well;the second phase was from 30 to 40 DAP,the horizontal stripe occurred at fruit middle part and the net was formed;the third phase was the process started from 40 DAP,the netted breadth and thickness were gradually increased.The model was validated with the independent data from the experiment,and the mean RMSE （root mean square error） of fruit were 0.36 and 0.28 cm for vertical and horizontal diameters,11.9 for fruit color,and 0.45 cm for stripe length and diameter at varied GDD,respectively.This work is beneficial to a reliable foundation for study the relationship between morphological formation and physiological change of the melon fruit internally and then realize the intelligent precision management to improve the yield and quality of greenhouse melon production.

Inter-specific and intra-specific variability in fruit color preference in two species of Turdus

One of the main hypotheses proposed to explain the evolution of fruit color deals with a preference of avian frugivores for specific colors,mainly black and red,which are the most common fruit colors in many of the studied habitats.I analyzed fruit color preferences by wild birds belonging to 2 species of the highly frugivorous genus Turdus(Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula Linnaeus,1758 and Redwing Turdus iliacus Linnaeus,1758)by means of captivity experiments with artificial fruits.Despite important within-individual(i.e.temporal)and among-individual variability,consistent patterns of species-specific color preferences emerged.Eurasian Blackbirds tended to prefer red over blue,green and black,whereas Redwings seemed to prefer black over the rest.Green was systematically avoided by both species,suggesting that it might signal unripeness of fruits.Both preferred colors have been previously reported as the most common among fleshy-fruited plants.The high variability,both within and between individuals,in preferences suggests that they can be subject to changes through experience and learning and,therefore,are not likely to drive the evolution of fruit color.The main differences between both species could be related to the most common fruit color they fed upon during the last months before capture.

An ACCUMULATION AND REPLICATION OF CHLOROPLASTS 5 gene mutation confers light green peel in cucumber

The peel color of fruit is an important commercial trait in cucumber, but the underlying molecular basis is largely unknown. A mutant showing light green exocarp was discovered from ethyl methane sulfonate （EMS） mutagenized cucumber line 406 with dark green exocarp. Genetic analysis showed the mutant phenotype is conferred by a single recessive gene, here designated as lgp （light green peel）. By re-sequencing of bulked segregants, we identified the candidate gene Csa7Go51430 encoding ACCUMULATION AND REPLICATION OF CHLOROPLASTS 5 （ARCS） that plays a vital role in chloroplast division in Arabidopsis. A single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP） causing amino acid alteration in the conserved GTPase domain of Csa7Go5143o showed co-segregation with the altered phenotype. Furthermore, the transient RNA interference of this gene resulted in reduced number and enlarged size of chloroplasts, which were also observed in the Igp mutant. This evidence supports that the non-synonymous SNP in Csa7G051430 is the causative mutation for the light green peel. This study provides a new allele for cucumber breeding for light green fruits and additional resource for the study of chloroplast development.