A constitutive serine protease inhibitor suppresses herbivore performance in tea(Camellia sinensis)

Protease inhibitors promote herbivore resistance in diverse plant species.Although many inducible protease inhibitors have been identified,there are limited reports available on the biological relevance and molecular basis of constitutive protease inhibitors in herbivore resistance.Here,we identified a serine protease inhibitor,CsSERPIN1,from the tea plant(Camellia sinensis).Expression of CsSERPIN1 was not strongly affected by the assessed biotic and abiotic stresses.In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that CsSERPIN1 strongly inhibited the activities of digestive protease activities of trypsin and chymotrypsin.Transient or heterologous expression of CsSERPIN1 significantly reduced herbivory by two destructive herbivores,the tea geometrid and fall armyworm,in tea and Arabidopsis plants,respectively.The expression of CsSERPIN1 in Arabidopsis did not negatively influence the growth of the plants under the measured parameters.Our findings suggest that CsSERPIN1 can inactivate gut digestive proteases and suppress the growth and development of herbivores,making it a promising candidate for pest prevention in agriculture.

Induction of priming by cold stress via inducible volatile cues in neighboring tea plants^FA

Plants have evolved sophisticated defense mechanisms to overcome their sessile nature.However,if and how volatiles from cold‐stressed plants can trigger interplant communication is still unknown.Here,we provide the first evidence for interplant communication via inducible volatiles in cold stress.The volatiles,including nerolidol,geraniol,linalool,and methyl salicylate,emitted from cold‐stressed tea plants play key role(s)in priming cold tolerance of their neighbors via a C‐repeatbinding factors‐dependent pathway.The knowledge will help us to understand how plants respond to volatile cues in cold stress and agricultural ecosystems.

Contribution of Asian dust to soils in Southeast China estimated with Nd and Pb isotopic compositions

Asian dust has been identified in subtropical soils of China.Neodymium(Nd)and lead(Pb)elemental and isotopic geochemistry of soils in Southeast China were used to assess the significance of local versus extraneous sources.The εNd(0)values were close to the parent rocks(+2.9)in the young soils(NSJ);while their values were always negative(〜—3.7)in the old soils(OMJ),implying dust deposition.The young soils contained less Asian dust contribution(<8%)while the old soils contained more than 50%Asian dust contribution.This implied that dust contributions were gradually increasing with the soil development stage and Asian dust input had become the principal Nd source for the old soils in this area.On the other hand,Pb excesses and low 207Pb/206Pb values(〜0.8503)in near-surface soils indicated a significant anthropogenic Pb addition onto surface soils.The close relationship between the Pb content and isotopic ratios in the soil profile indicated that the excessive lead in the surface soil was exogenous.These results suggested that Asian dust made up a significant fraction in the old soils,but that local sources(i.e.,basalt and anthropogenic)were not trivial in Southeast China.