Recent Advances on Key Enzyme Genes in Metabolic Pathways Related to the Synthesis of Aroma Compounds in Tobacco

This article summarized three main kinds of metabolic pathways related to the synthesis of aroma compounds in plants, concluded the roles and expres- sion patterns of key enzyme genes catalyzing the formation of major intermediate products in phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway, isoprene metabolic pathway and alkaloid biosynthetic pathway respectively, highlighted the latest developments of these key enzyme genes in tobacco, and accordingly proposed that in-depth study at the protein level and analysis of metabolic network interaction should be carried out in tobacco besides the expression regulation and transgenic crop improvement at the genetic level. Based on the above analysis, further improvement of tobacco aroma quality through metabolic engineering and its application prospect in agricultural production were prospected.

Effects of Drought Stress on Key Enzymes of Carbon Metabolism, Photosynthetic Characteristics and Agronomic Traits of Soybean at the Flowering Stage under Different Soil Substrates

Soybean is an important legume food crop,and its seeds are rich in nutrients,providing humans and animals with edible oil and protein feed.However,soybean is sensitive to water requirements,and drought is an important factor limiting soybean yield and quality.This study used Heinong 84(drought resistant variety)and Hefeng 46(intermediate variety)as tested varieties planted in chernozem,albic,and black soils.The effects of drought stress on the activities of key enzymes in carbon metabolism and photosynthetic characteristics of soybean were studied during the flowering stage,most sensitive to water.(1)The activities of SS-1,6PGDH,and G6PDH enzymes in soybean leaves first increased and then decreased under drought stress.The enzyme activity was the highest under moderate drought stress and weakest in the blank group.(2)Drought stress increased Phi2,PhiNO,and Fm in soybean leaves and reached the highest value under severe drought;with the increase in drought stress,PhiNPQ and Fv/Fm of soybean leaves gradually decreased,reaching the lowest under severe drought.(3)With the increase in drought stress,F0 and Fs of soybean leaves showed a single peak curve,and the maximum was at moderate drought.(4)Correlation analysis showed that F0 was greatly affected by varieties and soil types;Fs,F0,and Fm soil varieties had a great influence,and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were affected differently under drought stress with different drought degrees.(5)Drought stress changed the agronomic traits and yield of soybean.With the increase of drought degree,plant height,node number of main stem,effective pod number,100-seed weight and total yield decreased continuously.(6)Drought stress affected the dry matter accumulation of soybean.With the increase of drought degree,the dry matter accumulation gradually decreased.Among them,the leaf was most seriously affected by drought,and SD decreased by about 55%compared with CK.Under the condition of black soil,the dry matter accumulation of soybean was least affected by drought.

Ciprofloxacin stress changes key enzymes and intracellular metabolites of Lactobacillus plantarum DNZ-4

Ciprofloxacin(CIP)is an antibiotic used to treat infections caused by bacteria.In this experiment,key enzymes and intracellular metabolites of Lactobacillus plantarum DNZ-4 was researched under CIP stress.The results showed that the activities of hexokinase,pyruvate kinase,β-galactosidase and Na^(+),K^(+)-ATPase after 1/2 minimum bacteriostatic concentration(MIC)CIP treatment were significantly decreased(P<0.01).Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to analysis the changes of main metabolites in the cells and principal component analysis and partial least square model were constructed.The results indicated that CIP could cause changes in intracellular fatty acids,carbohydrates and amino acids,and the mechanism of amino acid metabolism under CIP stress was significantly inhibited.L.plantarum DNZ-4 made stress response to CIP by regulating the ratio of saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fats.This experiment revealed the changes of growth and metabolism mechanism of L.plantarum DNZ-4 under CIP stress,which help to provide technical means for the development of effective probiotics preparation products.

Effects of Sodium Nitroprussiate on the Metabolites and Key Enzyme Activities of Carbon-nitrogen Metabolism from Seed Germination to Seedling Period of Cherry Tomato

This study was conducted to elucidate the regulating mechanism of sodium nitroprussiate on seed germination and seedling growth of cherry tomato. After the treatment with different concentrations of sodium nitroprusside, the effects on the metabolites and key enzyme activities in carbon-nitrogen metabolism of cherry tomato cuhivar Zhuyun as an experimental material were investigated. The results showed that from seed germination to seedling period, the contents of starch and total nitrogen decreased, but the contents of soluble sugar, reducing sugar, sucrose and soluble protein increased firstly and then decreased; and free amino acids content increased gradually. Sodium nitroprusside made the contents of starch, sucrose and free amino acids higher than CK. From seed germination to seedling period in cherry tomato, the activities of amylase, glutamine synthetase （GS） and sucrose phosphate synthase （SPS） decreased; the activities of nitrate reductase （NR） and glutamate synthase （GOGAT） increased at first and decreased then; and the CK and the 0.25 mmol/L sodium nitroprusside treatments exhibited de- creased sucrose synthase （SS） activity, and the trend was increasing at first and decreasing then after the treatment with 0.50 and 1.00 mmol/L sodium nitroprus- side. Sodium nitroprusside treatment improved amylase activity; and the carbon-nitrogen ratio of the CK increased at first and decreased then, while the values of other treatments tended to decrease. In addition, sodium nitroprusside did not affect seed germination potential and germination rate, but significantly improved biomass accumulation, root length and height of seedlings. These data suggest that sodium nitroprusside could affect the conversion of starch and sugar accumulation, delay the decomposition of total nitrogen and soluble protein, and achieve the effects of accelerating the accumulation of free amino acids, and promoting seed germination and seedling growth, and 0.50 mmol/L sodium nitroprusside has the best effect.

Nitrogen Concentration in Subtending Cotton Leaves in Relation to Fiber Strength in Different Fruiting Branches

Nitrogen（N） fertilizer experiments were conducted to investigate the optimal subtending leaf N concentration for fiber strength,and its relationship with activities of key enzymes（sucrose synthase and β-1,3-glucanase） and contents of key constituents（sucrose and β-1,3-glucan） involved in fiber strength development in the lower,middle and upper fruiting branches of two cotton cultivars（Kemian 1 and NuCOTN 33B）.For each sampling day,we simulated changes in fiber strength,activity of sucrose synthase and β-1,3-glucanase and levels of sucrose and β-1,3-glucan in response to leaf N concentration using quadratic eqs.;the optimal subtending leaf N concentrations were deduced from the eqs.For the same fruiting branch,changes in the optimal leaf N concentration based on fiber development（DPA） could be simulated by power functions.From these functions,the average optimal subtending leaf N concentrations during fiber development for the cultivar,Kemian 1,were 2.84% in the lower fruiting branches,3.15% in the middle fruiting branches and 3.04% in the upper fruiting branches.For the cultivar,NuCOTN 33B,the optimum concentrations were 3.04,3.28 and 3.18% in the lower,middle and upper fruiting branches,respectively.This quantification may be used as a monitoring index for evaluating fiber strength and its related key enzymes and constituents during fiber formation at the lower,middle and upper fruiting branches.