Mapping of Purple Gene in Spears of Asparagus(Asparagus officinalis L.)

[Objectives]This study was conducted to find out regulatory genes related to purple in spears of asparagus(Asparagus officinalis L.).[Methods]The stable asparagus inbred line JX1513-5(the base of the spear is purple)and JLV1718-7(the base of the spear is green)were used as parents to study the genetic law of purple/green traits in their offspring.[Results]The results showed that the purple in the basal part of asparagus spear was controlled by a pair of alleles,and purple was dominant over green.The F 2 segregation population was resequenced by the bulk segregation analysis(BSA)method,and the purple trait in the basal part of asparagus spear was located in the interval of 24.51-25.08 Mb on Chr07 chromosome,which included 47 genes.According to the annotation information,three candidate genes were screened out:LOC109849403,LOC109849430 and LOC109849442.The candidate genes were verified by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR),and finally LOC109849442 was obtained as the candidate gene for controlling the purple/green trait in the basal part of asparagus spear.[Conclusions]This study lays a foundation for the breeding of new asparagus varieties and molecular marker-assisted breeding.

Phenotypic Image Recognition of Asparagus Stem Blight Based on Improved YOLOv8

Asparagus stem blight,also known as“asparagus cancer”,is a serious plant disease with a regional distribution.The widespread occurrence of the disease has had a negative impact on the yield and quality of asparagus and has become one of the main problems threatening asparagus production.To improve the ability to accurately identify and localize phenotypic lesions of stem blight in asparagus and to enhance the accuracy of the test,a YOLOv8-CBAM detection algorithm for asparagus stem blight based on YOLOv8 was proposed.The algorithm aims to achieve rapid detection of phenotypic images of asparagus stem blight and to provide effective assistance in the control of asparagus stem blight.To enhance the model’s capacity to capture subtle lesion features,the Convolutional Block AttentionModule(CBAM)is added after C2f in the head.Simultaneously,the original CIoU loss function in YOLOv8 was replaced with the Focal-EIoU loss function,ensuring that the updated loss function emphasizes higher-quality bounding boxes.The YOLOv8-CBAM algorithm can effectively detect asparagus stem blight phenotypic images with a mean average precision(mAP)of 95.51%,which is 0.22%,14.99%,1.77%,and 5.71%higher than the YOLOv5,YOLOv7,YOLOv8,and Mask R-CNN models,respectively.This greatly enhances the efficiency of asparagus growers in identifying asparagus stem blight,aids in improving the prevention and control of asparagus stem blight,and is crucial for the application of computer vision in agriculture.

Manipulation of plant height in garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated aspSPL14 allele editing

Dear Editor,Reduction in plant height has been associated with yield increases and yield stability in a number of important crop species,such as wheat and rice[1].In these plants,dwarfing is mainly attributed to the inability to synthesize or respond to certain phytohormones,predominantly gibberellin(GA)[2].Ideal Plant Architecture 1(IPA1),an miR156 target gene,encodes SPL14 and it is able to bind directly to the promoters of multiple GA biosynthetic,signal,and deactivating genes in rice[3].Moreover,IPA1 loss-of-function mutants exhibit dwarf phenotypes[4].

Biosynthesis of Copper Nanoparticles using an Extract of the root of Asparagus racemosus:Basic Synthesis,Antimicrobial,and Anti-oxidant Potentials

Copper nanoparticles(CuNPs)have emerged as a promising alternative due to their unique antimicrobial properties.The synthesis of CuNPs using Asparagus racemosus,commonly known as Shatavari,offers a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to producing nanomaterials.Moreover,the resulting CuNPs have been found to possess excellent antibacterial,and antioxidant properties,which further expands their potential applications in medicine and environmental remediation.In this article,we discussed the in vitro characterization of the CuNPs.In vitro studies revealed that CuNPs have the potential for biomedical applications and as a base nanomaterial for the construction of drug delivery and targeting vehicles.

Greenhouse Intercropping of Green Asparagus(Asparagus officinalis Linn) and Coriander(Coriandrum sativum L.)

Greenhouse cultivation in northern China has the characteristic of single mode, and the intercropping mode is not common. Greenhouse intercropping of green asparagus （Asparagus officinalis Linn） and coriander （Coriandrum sativurn L.） not only could increase vegetable kinds, but also could improve cropping index, and the asparagus growers＇ income could also be improved. This paper introduced the intercropping technique of green asparagus and coriander, so as to provide technical support for large-area extension of greenhouse green asparagus cultivation and break the situation of single mode for .qreenhouse cultivation.

Physiological and biochemical characteristics of boscalid resistant isolates of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum from asparagus lettuce

Laboratory mutants of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum(Lib)de Bary,resistant to boscalid,have been extensively characterized.However,the resistance situation in the lettuce field remains largely elusive.In this study,among the 172 S.sclerotiorum isolates collected from asparagus lettuce field in Jiangsu Province,China,132 isolates(76.74%)exhibited low-level resistance to boscalid(Bos^(LR)),with a discriminatory dose of 5μg mL-1.In comparison to the boscalid-sensitive(BosS)isolates,most Bos^(LR)isolates demonstrated a slightly superior biological fitness,as evidenced by data on mycelial growth,sclerotium production and pathogenicity.Moreover,most Bos^(LR)isolates showed comparable levels of oxalic acid(OA)accumulation,increased exopolysaccharide(EPS)content and reduced membrane permeability when compared to the BosS isolates.Nevertheless,their responses to distinct stress factors diverged significantly.Furthermore,the effectiveness of boscalid in controlling Bos^(LR)isolates on radish was diminished compared to its efficacy on BosS isolates.Genetic mutations were identified in the SDH genes of Bos^(LR)isolates,revealing the existence of three resistant genotypes:I(^(A11V)at SDHB,SDHB^(A11V)),II(^(Q38R)at SDHC,SDHC^(Q38R))and III(SDHB^(A11V)+SDHC^(Q38R)).Importantly,no cross-resistance was observed between boscalid and other fungicides such as thifluzamide,pydiflumetofen,fluazinam,or tebuconazole.Our molecular docking analysis indicated that the docking total score(DTS)of the type I resistant isolates(1.3993)was lower than that of the sensitive isolates(1.7499),implying a reduced affinity between SDHB and boscalid as a potential mechanism underlying the boscalid resistance in S.sclerotiorum.These findings contribute to an enhanced comprehension of boscalid’s mode of action and furnish valuable insights into the management of boscalid resistance.

Preparation and Characterization of Activated Carbons from Asparagus Palm (Laccosperma robustum) Bark by Chemical Activation with H3PO4 and KOH

The present work deals with the preparation and characterization of activated carbons from the bark of the asparagus palm (Laccosperma robustum) by chemical activation with phosphoric acid and potassium hydroxide. The process was optimized on the basis of the analysis of the iodine number, methylene blue number and activated carbons yield as a function of the preparation parameters (concentration of the activating agents and the pyrolysis temperature). It emerges that the pyrolysis temperature and the concentration of activating agents influence the activated carbons preparation process. Their values were 500°C and 20% respectively for activated carbon with H3PO4 (ACP) and 700°C and 1.5% for activated carbon with KOH (ACK). The iodine numbers obtained were 850.26 mg/g for ACP and 865.49 mg/g for ACK. The methylene blue numbers obtained were 149.35 mg/g for ACP and 149.25 mg/g for ACK. The activated carbons yields obtained were 25% for ACP and 5.9% for ACK. The activated carbons prepared under optimal conditions have shown the pH of zero-point charge (pHzpc) of 4.4 and 7.0 for ACP for ACK respectively. The determination of the surface functions revealed that ACP had a strong acidic character while ACK had neutral character. The Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy also showed the presence of different functional groups on the surface of the precursor and activated carbons.

The effect of Asparagus officinalis polysaccharide on erythrocyte of S_(180) mice played in immunological reaction of lymphocytes

Objective To contrast the roles of Asparagus officinalis polysaccharide on erythrocyte of S180 mice played in immunological reaction of lymphocytes.To study the effect of Asparagus officinalis polysaccharide on the erythrocyte function of S180 mice.Methods Suspensions of lymphocytes(1×106/mL)and autologous plasma were respectively separated from anticoaguted whole blood of healthy mice with the lymphocyte separation medium.The erythrocytes(1×108/mL)were separated from whole blood of Asparagus officinalis polysaccharide mice.Using the autologous plasm as reactive medium,the role of erythrocytes in regulating the immunological reaction of lymphocytes was appraised.The expression of CD25 on lymphocytes was detected using flow cytometry.Results The immunogical regulating ability of erythrocyte in mice with control groups is much lower than that of normal groups,and the immunogical regulating ability of erythrocyte in mice with Asparagus officinalis polysaccharide groups is much higher than that of control groups.Conclusions According to the effects of erythrocyte CD35 on the immuno-response of lymphocyte and the different of the expression of CD25 on lymphocytes,we prove that Asparagus officinalis polysaccharide can improve the erythrocyte function of S180 mice.

Effects of Salt Stress on Growth and Ion Distribution in Seedlings of Asparagus officinalis L.

An Asparagus officinalis L. cultivar NJ978 was used to study the growing rate, salt ion content and mineral ion uptake and distribution in plants under salt stress. The results showed that salt stress significantly inhibited seedling growth and there was a negative relationship between seedling growth and salt concentration. The seedlings growth showed no significant decrease under low salt stress （NaCl≤50 mmol/L）, while high concentrations of NaCl led to detrimental effects on the growth of A. officinalis L.. With the increase of NaCl concentration, the Na ＋ content increased gradually in A. officinalis L. roots, stems and leaves while the K^＋ and Ca^2＋ contents had slow decreases. Under low salt stress, the seedlings of A. officinalis L. could prevent Na ＋ from transporting to aerial part by withholding Na ＋ in root, which could keep the balance of ions in aerial part, but under high salt stress （NaCl 〉 100 mmol/L）, the aerial part of seedlings accumulated superabundance of Na ＋, which limited the uptake of K^＋ and Ca^2＋ , so seedlings were damaged heavily, which manifested as the gradual decrease of K^＋/Na ＋ and Ca^2＋ /Na ＋ in the roots and aerial part of the seedlings. The selective absorption of K^＋, Ca^2＋ and Na ＋ （AS K,Na and AS Ca,Na ） was significantly increased with increased salinity, while the selective transportation （TS K,Na and TS Ca,Na ） increased at first and then decreased with the increased salinity. Therefore, the strong ability of salt exclusion and the regionalized distribution of ions in roots, stems and leaves could be one of the salt tolerance mechanisms of A. officinalis L.

Precocious In-Vitro Flowering of Perennial Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) Regenerants with a Chemical Inducer

A precocious flowering system of regenerants in asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) was achieved by treatment with a chemical inducer. Somatic embryos withered completely by being processed for 8 - 12 days with 200 μM n-propyl N-(3,4-dichloro-phenyl)carbamate that had been dissolved in distilled water. In contrast, precocious flowering occurred at an extremely low rate (3.4%) when somatic embryos were processed in carbamate dissolved in Murashige and Skoog’s liquid medium. To encapsulate the female and male embryos, we surveyed the optimum conditions of viscosity and concentration of sodium alginate for encapsulating the seeds, and we screened the values of 80 - 120 cps and 2% - 3%, respectively. The synthetic seeds produced also withered when they were processed with the carbamate dissolved in distilled water. However, when Murashige and Skoog’s liquid medium was used for the solvent, the flowering frequency of the synthetic seeds was enhanced (13.3%). Based on our morphological and histological observations, female and male regenerants that were processed with the carbamate solution produced individual flower organs. The conversion of sex expression did not occur. A precocious flowering system would allow a significant reduction in the time required for perennial seedlings to flower and can, therefore, save time required for further experiments that employ floral homeotic mutants.

Rapid Determination of Seed Number and Thousand Kernel Weight of Asparagus officinalis L.Using Image Processing Method

Asparagus officinalis L.is favored by its high health function,but its hybrid seeds are expensive.The amount of seed,seed plumpness and germination rate are related to the production costs of breeding enterprises and large growers.Therefore,it is necessary to investigate the seed number and thousand kernel weight of A.officinalis L.This study developed a quick and accurate method to measure the seed number and thousand kernel weight of A.officinalis L.using image processing technology.Seed sample of A.officinalis L.was scanned with 200 dpi resolution,and the seed number was then obtained using Image-ProPlus software.After weighing the seeds,thousand kernel weight was finally calculated.By recording‘macro’,the batch processing of the samples can also be realized.This method is simple and accurate,and can greatly save the time of investigation.

Evaluation of the Adaptability of 28 Green Asparagus Cultivars

[Objective] This study aimed to evaluate the adaptability of 28 green asparagus cultivars under the climatic conditions in Poland and to select cultivars most suitable for growing in Poland. [Method] Based on an overview of asparagus, spears of 28 cultivars from the six year’s harvest in 2008 were evaluated at the Marcelin Experimental Station. During the harvest period, spears were cut daily and trimmed to 22 cm, followed by grading and weigh. In addition, general appearance, anthocyan discolouration, head tightness, colour and smoothness of the spears were also evaluated. [Result] In terms of total yield, ‘Gynlim’ was the best cultivar, followed by ‘Hannibal’, ‘Ravel’, ‘Grolim’ and ‘Ramada’; ‘Gloria’ was the worst cultivar, followed by ‘Tsuki-kho 3’, ‘Purple Passion’, ‘Jacq. Ma 2014’, ‘Sartaguda’, and ‘Jacq. Ma 2004’. ‘Gynlim’, ‘Hannibal’, ‘Ravel’, ‘Ramada’ and ‘Ariane’ were the top five cultivars in early yield, and the worst cultivar concerning early yield was ‘PLA-2132’, followed by ‘Ramos’, ‘Tsuki-kho 3’ and ‘Purple Passion’. ‘Ariane’, ‘Cipress’, ‘Grolim’, ‘Gynlim’ and ‘Hannibal’ were five best culivars considering spear quality, and the four worst cultivars were ‘Jacq. Ma 2004’, ‘Gloria’, ‘Jacq. Ma 2014’ and ‘Tsuki-kho 3’. [Conclusion] Taken both the yield and quality of spears into consideration, the most suitable cultivars of green spears for growing under the climatic conditions in Poland should be ‘Gynlim’, ‘Hannibal’, ‘Ravel’ and ‘Grolim’, while ‘Gloria’, ‘Tsuki-kho 3’, ‘Purple Passion’, ‘Jacq. Ma 2014’ and ‘Sartaguda’ were not suitable for growing in Poland.

Stress Physiology and Virulence Characterization of Phomopsis asparagi (Sacc.) Bubák isolated from Asparagus in Jiangxi Province of China

Fungal pathogen of asparagus stem blight was isolated. No significant genetic difference was detected among the three strains with 492 bp long ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 sequence. It was then identified through colony growth, conidia morphology, and molecular characterization. The physiological response to oxidation and osmosis stress, and virulence to Asparagus officinalis L. were analyzed. The results showed that the pathogen causing asparagus stem blight for A. officinalis L. in Jiangxi Province is Phomopsis asparagri (Sacc.) Bubák. Under pure culture conditions, the conidia were oval-shaped (α-type), with colorless single spore and single nucleus, containing 0-2 oil balls. Its vegetative growth rate was higher when cultured on 0.2 × potato dextrose agar (0.2 × PDA) medium than that on oatmeal agar (OA) medium. However, the pycnidia appeared earlier on OA medium than on 0.2 earlier PDA medium. The vegetative growth rate was depressed under oxidation (H2O2) or osmosis (NaCl) stress conditions, and totally inhibited under 7 mmol/L H2O2 or 2.4 mol/L NaCl. All the strains caused typical pathogenic symptoms to Asparagus officinalis L. at 7 days-post-inoculation (dpi) with conidia.

Study on Biological Characters of Asparagus macowanii Baker.

Asparagus macowanfi Baker, is a climbing herbaceous foliage species in genus Asparagus of Liliaceae, This paper summarized its multiple uses, morphologi- cal characteristics, biological habit, reproduction methods, management after cultiva- tion, prevention and control of pests and disease, as well as harvest and grading, with the objective to provide references for the exploitation and utilization of As- paragus macowanii Baker.

A New Enolate Furostanoside from Asparagus Filicinus

A new enolate derivative of furostanol glycoside, named asparagusin A, was isolated from the roots of Asparagus filicinus and established as 3-O-beta-D-xylopyranosyl(1-->4)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl (25S)-furost-20(22)-ene-3 beta, 26-diol 26-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1) by spectroscopic and chemical methods. Asparagusin A (1) exhibited a cytotoxic activity effect on PC12 cells.

Chromosome-level genome assembly,annotation and evolutionary analysis of the ornamental plant Asparagus setaceus

Asparagus setaceus is a popular ornamental plant cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions globally.Here,we constructed a chromosome-scale reference genome of A.setaceus to facilitate the investigation of its genome characteristics and evolution.Using a combination of Nanopore long reads,Illumina short reads,10×Genomics linked reads,and Hi-C data,we generated a high-quality genome assembly of A.setaceus covering 710.15 Mb,accounting for 98.63%of the estimated genome size.A total of 96.85%of the sequences were anchored to ten superscaffolds corresponding to the ten chromosomes.The genome of A.setaceus was predicted to contain 28,410 genes,25,649(90.28%)of which were functionally annotated.A total of 65.59%of the genome was occupied by repetitive sequences,among which long terminal repeats were predominant(42.51%of the whole genome).Evolutionary analysis revealed an estimated divergence time of A.setaceus from its close relative A.officinalis of~9.66 million years ago,and A.setaceus underwent two rounds of whole-genome duplication.In addition,762 specific gene families,96 positively selected genes,and 76 resistance(R)genes were detected and functionally predicted in A.setaceus.These findings provide new knowledge about the characteristics and evolution of the A.setaceus genome,and will facilitate comparative genetic and genomic research on the genus Asparagus.

Furostanol Saponins from Asparagus cochinchinensis and Their Cytotoxicity

Phytochemical investigation on the roots of Asparagus cochinchinensis led to the isolation of one new furostanol saponin,named 26-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-22α-hydroxyl-(25R)-Δ5(6)-furost-3β,26-diol-3-O-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→2)-[β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→4)]-β-d-glucopyranoside(1),along with three known congeners(2‒4).The structure of new saponin was elucidated via comprehensive inspection of its HRMS and NMR spectral data as well as chemical technology,whereas those of known ones were identified by comparison of their NMR and MS spectral data with those reported in literatures.All isolated saponins were evaluated for their cytotoxic effects on two human liver(MHCC97H)and lung adenocarcinoma(H1299)cancer cells in vitro.Among them,both 1 and 2 showed significant cytotoxicity against above mentioned cell lines.Further studies revealed that these two saponins could significantly inhibit their proliferation of MHCC97H and H1299 cells.

Two New Furostanol Glycosides from Asparagus cochinchinensis

Two new furostanol oligoglycosides named as aspacochioside A (1) and B (2) were isolated from the roots of Asparagus cochinchinensis (Lour.) Merr.. Their structures were elucidated to be 3-O-[{a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(14)}{b-D-glucopyranosyl}]-26-O-[b-D-glucopy- ranosyl]-(25S)-5b-furostane-3b,22a,26-triol 1 and 3-O-[{a-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(14)}{b-D-glu- copyranosyl}]-26-O-[b-D-glucopyranosyl]-22a-methoxy-(25S)-5b-furostane-3b,26-diol 2 on the basis of spectroscopic techniques and chemical methods.

A new Furostanoside from Asparagus filicinus

A new furostanoside, aspafilioside D (1) has been isolated from the root of Asparagus filicinus. Its structure was determined by spectral and chemical methods.

Preparation and physicochemical/antimicrobial characteristics of asparagus cellulose

Due to the increased potential for application of natural biopolymers in the food industry,the goal of this study was to prospectively produce antimicrobial films using asparagus residue.In this study,cellulose was extracted from asparagus residue,and then 3 cellulose solutions of 0.008,0.01 and 0.025 g/mL were applied to prepare films using a phase inversion process.Films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),X-ray diffraction(XRD),thermal gravimetric analysis(TGA)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The film produced by 0.01 g/mL asparagus cellulose solution exhibited a swelling ratio of 125.4%and excellent antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus using the disk agar diffusion method.This study presents a promising method for producing antimicrobial films with asparagus residue.