Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Genetics, Genomics, Breeding, and Biotechnology (G2B2)".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 27469

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Guest Editor
College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
Interests: developmental biology of fruit trees; regulation of flowering induction

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Among the plant-based products, wild fruits were a primary source of food for humans prior to agricultural civilization. At present, fruits possess a great deal of importance in a balanced diet and fruit trees are planted as commercial crops worldwide. Fruits have changed dramatically in many traits (e.g., shape, color, taste, aroma, tree form, and environmental adaptation) compared to their wild ancestors, with a long period of intensive domestication and breeding practice. The genetic research and conventional breeding of fruit trees have long been hampered by their perennial nature, long juvenile phase and generation time, large plant size, and high heterozygosity. Encouragingly, recent advancements in genomic analysis and molecular biotechnology have greatly promoted genetic research and accelerated the breeding process of fruit trees. The trends for fruit breeding in the future include diversified cultivars to meet different demands of consumers and processing, better resistance to environmental stresses, and a less labor-intensive culture practice.

This Special Issue of Horticulturae will present a comprehensive overview of the most interesting and significant research on the genetics and breeding of fruit trees. We cordially invite researchers to submit articles to this Issue focusing on the following fields of fruit research: collection and evaluation of germplasm resources, functional gene mining and exploration, theoretical methods and technologies of breeding, new variety breeding, and vegetative propagation. Reviews providing a summary of past works around this theme and forward-looking perspectives will also be appreciated.

Prof. Dr. Dong Zhang
Dr. Libo Xing
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • fruit trees
  • genetics
  • breeding
  • germplasm resources
  • cultivars

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 177 KiB  
Editorial
Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees
by Dong Zhang and Libo Xing
Horticulturae 2023, 9(1), 88; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9010088 - 10 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1646
Abstract
“Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees”, published in Horticulturae, is a collection of 11 manuscripts focusing on commercially important fruit crops, such as apple, peach, pear, kiwi, persimmon, blueberry, and red bayberry [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)

Research

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12 pages, 2019 KiB  
Article
Dwarfing Rootstock ‘Yunnan’ Quince Promoted Fruit Sugar Accumulation by Influencing Assimilate Flow and PbSWEET6 in Pear Scion
by Xiaoli Wang, Liu Cong, Jianwen Pang, Yu Chen, Zhigang Wang, Rui Zhai, Chengquan Yang and Lingfei Xu
Horticulturae 2022, 8(7), 649; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8070649 - 17 Jul 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1614
Abstract
‘Yunnan’ quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) is used as the dwarfing rootstock for pear (Pyrus spp.). Here, we reported that the sugar contents in mature ‘Zaosu’ pear fruit grafted on ‘Yunan’ quince (Z/Q) were higher than that in ‘Zaosu’ pear fruit grafted [...] Read more.
‘Yunnan’ quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) is used as the dwarfing rootstock for pear (Pyrus spp.). Here, we reported that the sugar contents in mature ‘Zaosu’ pear fruit grafted on ‘Yunan’ quince (Z/Q) were higher than that in ‘Zaosu’ pear fruit grafted on ‘Duli’ (Pyrus betulifolia) (Z/D). To investigate the underlying mechanism, the leaf photosynthetic capacity and the leaf-to-fruit assimilate transport capacity were initially analyzed. The leaf photosynthetic capacity was similar between Z/Q and Z/D, but the assimilate transport capacity was greater for Z/Q than for Z/D. Sugar transporters mediate the distribution of assimilates; therefore, changes in PbSWEET transcriptional patterns were examined. PbSWEET6 was highly expressed in Z/Q fruit. Thus, the PbSWEET6 function related to assimilate transport was further verified. Sucrose and glucose contents increased in transgenic tomato fruit and pear fruit calli overexpressing PbSWEET6. Taken together, these results suggest that ‘Yunnan’ quince positively regulated fruit sugar contents by influencing the flow of PbSWEET6-involved assimilates in the scion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)
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14 pages, 1719 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Changes of Fruit Physiological Quality and Sugar Components during Fruit Growth and Development of Actinidia eriantha
by Junjie Tao, Mengting Wu, Xudong Jiao, Shuangshuang Chen, Dongfeng Jia, Xiaobiao Xu and Chunhui Huang
Horticulturae 2022, 8(6), 529; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8060529 - 15 Jun 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1555
Abstract
‘Ganlv 1’ is a new cultivar of Actinidia eriantha selected from the wild natural population, which has the advantages of moderate taste, high yield, easy peeling and high ascorbic acid (AsA) content. In this study, ‘Ganlv 1’ was used to explore the changes [...] Read more.
‘Ganlv 1’ is a new cultivar of Actinidia eriantha selected from the wild natural population, which has the advantages of moderate taste, high yield, easy peeling and high ascorbic acid (AsA) content. In this study, ‘Ganlv 1’ was used to explore the changes in fruit quality, soluble sugar components, sucrose metabolism-related enzymes activities and sucrose metabolism-related enzyme genes’ expression during the fruit’s development. The results showed that, except for AsA, the changes in the fruit quality index and fruit growth and development during the development of ‘Ganlv 1’ basically exhibited the same trend. The fruit shape index was different in the different development stages of the fruit, and tended to be stable with fruit growth and development. The dynamic changes of the dry matter content indicated that the best time for fruit harvest was about 160 days after full bloom. The main sugar components in the fruit were fructose, glucose and sucrose, and sucrose and glucose were the main sugars in the soft-ripening stage. The trend of sucrose accumulation, the activities of the sucrose metabolism-related enzymes and the expression of the sucrose metabolism-related genes indicated that 130–145 days after full bloom (DAFB) might be the critical period of sucrose metabolism. The results are of great significance for clarifying the developmental characteristics and dynamic changes in the sugar components in A. eriantha fruits, and lay a foundation for further studying of the mechanism of sugar metabolism in A. eriantha. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)
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19 pages, 2355 KiB  
Article
PpSAUR43, an Auxin-Responsive Gene, Is Involved in the Post-Ripening and Softening of Peaches
by Jiahui Wang, Weijing Su, Kun Liu, Ze Xu, Kamran Shah, Juanjuan Ma, Dong Zhang, Yanan Hu and Caiping Zhao
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 379; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050379 - 26 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2012
Abstract
Auxin’s role in the post-ripening of peaches is widely recognized as important. However, little is known about the processes by which auxin regulates fruit post-ripening. As one of the early auxin-responsive genes, it is critical to understand the role of small auxin-up RNA [...] Read more.
Auxin’s role in the post-ripening of peaches is widely recognized as important. However, little is known about the processes by which auxin regulates fruit post-ripening. As one of the early auxin-responsive genes, it is critical to understand the role of small auxin-up RNA (SAUR) genes in fruit post-ripening and softening. Herein, we identified 72 PpSAUR auxin-responsive factors in the peach genome and divided them into eight subfamilies based on phylogenetic analysis. Subsequently, the members related to peach post-ripening in the PpSAUR gene family were screened, and we targeted PpSAUR43. The expression of PpSAUR43 was decreased with fruit post-ripening in melting flesh (MF) fruit and was high in non-melting flesh (NMF) fruit. The overexpression of PpSAUR43 showed a slower rate of firmness decline, reduced ethylene production, and a delayed fruit post-ripening process. The MADS-box gene family plays an important regulatory role in fruit ripening. In this study, we showed with yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BIFC) experiments that PpSAUR43 can interact with the MADS-box transcription factor PpCMB1(PpMADS2), which indicates that PpSAUR43 may inhibit fruit ripening by suppressing the function of the PpCMB1 protein. Together, these results indicate that PpSAUR43 acts as a negative regulator involved in the peach post-ripening process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)
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15 pages, 2760 KiB  
Article
Rapid Identification of Apple Maturity Based on Multispectral Sensor Combined with Spectral Shape Features
by Mengsheng Zhang, Maosheng Shen, Yuge Pu, Hao Li, Bo Zhang, Zhongxiong Zhang, Xiaolin Ren and Juan Zhao
Horticulturae 2022, 8(5), 361; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8050361 - 21 Apr 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2409
Abstract
The rapid and convenient detection of maturity is of great significance to determine the harvest time and postharvest storage conditions of apples. In this study, a portable visible and near-infrared (VIS/NIR) analysis device prototype was developed based on a multispectral sensor and applied [...] Read more.
The rapid and convenient detection of maturity is of great significance to determine the harvest time and postharvest storage conditions of apples. In this study, a portable visible and near-infrared (VIS/NIR) analysis device prototype was developed based on a multispectral sensor and applied to ‘Fuji’ apple maturity detection. The multispectral data of apples with maturity variation was measured, and the prediction model was established by a least-square support vector machine and linear discriminant analysis. Due to the low resolution of the multispectral data, regular preprocessing methods cannot improve the prediction accuracy. Instead, the spectral shape features (spectral ratio, spectral difference, and normalized spectral intensity difference) were used for preprocessing and model establishment, and the combination of the three features effectively improved the model performance with a prediction accuracy of 88.46%. In addition, the validation accuracy of the optimal model was 84.72%, and the area under curve (AUC) value of each maturity level was higher than 0.8972. The results show that the multispectral sensor is an appliable choice for the development of the portable detection device of apple maturity, and the data processing method proposed in this study provides a potential solution to improve the detection accuracy for multispectral sensors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)
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17 pages, 3388 KiB  
Article
Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Sex-Biased Expression of Hormone-Related Genes at an Early Stage of Sex Differentiation in Red Bayberry (Morella rubra)
by Huimin Jia, Lan Zhao, Yan Wang, Hongxia Wu, Haibo Zhao, Yifan Zhu, Yun Jiao, Guoyun Wang, Chaochao Zhou, Chunhui Huang, Huijuan Jia and Zhongshan Gao
Horticulturae 2022, 8(2), 183; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8020183 - 21 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2149
Abstract
The molecular mechanism of sex development and differentiation in the economically important dioecious fruit tree, red bayberry (Morella rubra), was revealed using next-generation transcriptome sequencing (NGS), and comparative analyses were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in female and male [...] Read more.
The molecular mechanism of sex development and differentiation in the economically important dioecious fruit tree, red bayberry (Morella rubra), was revealed using next-generation transcriptome sequencing (NGS), and comparative analyses were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in female and male flower buds. A total of 7029 of these DEGs were identified at two early development stages. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that plant hormone signal transduction was significantly overrepresented, and 91 genes related to hormones were identified. An analysis of 7029 DEGs revealed 161 hormone-related genes, with the 42 related to auxin and 26 related to ethylene being the most highly represented. A total of 62 genes were significantly up-regulated in females and 29 were in males, with 18 of them specifically expressed in females and 10 in males. A total of 415 transcription factors were identified, with 129 genes up-regulated in females and 53 in males. Moreover, 38 had female-specific expression and 18 had male-specific expression. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), two modules were found to be associated with sexual type. In the module coded light-green, there were five genes related to hormones, one to flower development and ten transcription factors with four genes specifically expressed in the males and four in females. The hub gene in the light-green module is MR0TCONS_00017483.1 (ACO), which is involved in ethylene biosynthesis and had male-specific expression. Among the transcription factors, three of the four male-specific expressed genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, including the MYB gene MR1TCONS_00020658.1 and two BHLH genes, MR6G001563.1 and MR8G020751.1, played important roles in male floral differentiation. In the dark-cyan module, six hormone-related genes, five transcription factors and three flower development genes were identified with the hub gene MR1G019545.1 (ETR1), which participates in the ethylene signaling pathway, and MR4G023618.1, which encodes the C3H zinc finger transcription factor. These results indicate that ethylene is the key hormone that interacts with other hormones and transcription factors to regulate sex differentiation in the red bayberry, which also provides new insights into the mechanism of sex determination and differentiation in the red bayberry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)
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18 pages, 14765 KiB  
Article
Identification of New Sources of Resistance to Anthracnose Caused by Colletotrichum horii among Persimmon Germplasms
by Changfei Guan, Jie Hu, Yongkuan Li, Qinghui Che and Yong Yang
Horticulturae 2022, 8(2), 180; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8020180 - 21 Feb 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2035
Abstract
Persimmon (Diospyros kaki) anthracnose, predominantly caused by Colletotrichum horii, is a destructive disease of persimmon. Thus, the evaluation of resistance resources is imperative for persimmon breeding and resistant variety deployment. In this study, the isolate from persimmon branches was identified [...] Read more.
Persimmon (Diospyros kaki) anthracnose, predominantly caused by Colletotrichum horii, is a destructive disease of persimmon. Thus, the evaluation of resistance resources is imperative for persimmon breeding and resistant variety deployment. In this study, the isolate from persimmon branches was identified as C. horii by using molecular and morphological characteristics. A total of 142 varieties were tested for anthracnose disease response by inoculation with the conidial suspension of C. horii. A significant variability was observed among the studied accessions. Only two accessions, which had a hypersensitive reaction with a slight lesion at the infection site at 14 days post inoculation, were highly resistant to anthracnose. A total of 7 and 24 accessions exhibited resistant and susceptible responses, respectively, to anthracnose. A total of 109 varieties with the highest proportion (76.76%) of accessions showed high susceptibility to C. horii. A total of 43 persimmon main cultivars were selected for the re-evaluation of the resistance level by counting the natural disease incidence of branches and fruits that showed similar resistant response. Moreover, nine of highly resistant or resistant accessions possessed desirable agronomic characters, including high fruit weight and strong growth potential. These resistant accessions could be used in the breeding of anthracnose-resistant persimmon varieties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)
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21 pages, 3144 KiB  
Article
Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis Provides Insight into the Key Regulatory Pathways and Differentially Expressed Genes in Blueberry Flower Bud Endo- and Ecodormancy Release
by Yongqiang Li, Rui Ma, Ruixue Li, Qi Zhao, Zhenzhen Zhang, Yu Zong, Linbo Yao, Wenrong Chen, Li Yang, Fanglei Liao, Youyin Zhu and Weidong Guo
Horticulturae 2022, 8(2), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8020176 - 20 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2058
Abstract
Endodormancy is the stage that perennial plants must go through to prepare for the next seasonal cycle, and it is also an adaptation that allows plants to survive harsh winters. Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) are known to have high nutritional and commercial value. [...] Read more.
Endodormancy is the stage that perennial plants must go through to prepare for the next seasonal cycle, and it is also an adaptation that allows plants to survive harsh winters. Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) are known to have high nutritional and commercial value. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of bud dormancy release, the transcriptomes of flower buds from the southern highbush blueberry variety “O’Neal” were analyzed at seven time points of the endo- and ecodormancy release processes. Pairwise comparisons were conducted between adjacent time points; five kinds of phytohormone were identified via these processes. A total of 12,350 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained from six comparisons. Gene Ontology analysis indicated that these DEGs were significantly involved in metabolic processes and catalytic activity. KEGG pathway analysis showed that these DEGs were predominantly mapped to metabolic pathways and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in endodormancy release, but these DEGs were significantly enriched in RNA transport, plant hormone signal transduction, and circadian rhythm pathways in the process of ecodormancy release. The contents of abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) decreased in endo- and ecodormancy release, and the jasmonic acid (JA) level first decreased in endodormancy release and then increased in ecodormancy release. Weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) of transcriptomic data associated with hormone contents generated 25 modules, 9 of which were significantly related to the change in hormone content. The results of this study have important reference value for elucidating the molecular mechanism of flower bud dormancy release. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)
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15 pages, 6264 KiB  
Article
Pathogenic Fungi Diversity of ‘CuiXiang’ Kiwifruit Black Spot Disease during Storage
by Yaming Yang, Lijuan Chen, Chenyu Wang, Honghui Peng, Weijie Yin, Rui Li, Cuihua Liu, Xiaolin Ren and Yuduan Ding
Horticulturae 2022, 8(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8010013 - 23 Dec 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2949
Abstract
Kiwifruit black spot disease has become increasingly widespread in many ‘CuiXiang’ kiwifruit plantings regions. This research was aimed at the pathogenic microorganisms of black spot of the ‘CuiXiang’ cultivar. Physiological, morphological and transcriptional characteristics between black spot fruit and healthy fruits were evaluated. [...] Read more.
Kiwifruit black spot disease has become increasingly widespread in many ‘CuiXiang’ kiwifruit plantings regions. This research was aimed at the pathogenic microorganisms of black spot of the ‘CuiXiang’ cultivar. Physiological, morphological and transcriptional characteristics between black spot fruit and healthy fruits were evaluated. Then, it applied a high-throughput internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing to analyze the black spot disease microbial community. The cell structure showed that mycelium was attached to the surface of the kiwifruit through black spot, and that consequently the mitochondria were damaged, starch particles were reduced, and shelf life was shortened. Transcriptome revealed that different genes in kiwifruit with black spot disease were involved in cell wall modification, pathogen perception, and signal transduction. ITS sequencing results described the disease-causing fungi and found that the microbial diversity of black spot-diseased fruit was lower than that of healthy fruit. We predict that candidate pathogenic fungi Cladosporium cladosporioides, Diaporthe phaseolorum, Alternaria alternata, and Trichothecium roseum may cause black spot. This study was to explore the pathogenic fungal community of ‘CuiXiang’ kiwifruit black spot disease and to provide essential information for field prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)
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16 pages, 5886 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Identification and Bioinformatics Analysis of Auxin Response Factor Genes in Highbush Blueberry
by Yu Zong, Lili Gu, Zhuli Shen, Haiting Kang, Yongqiang Li, Fanglei Liao, Lishan Xu and Weidong Guo
Horticulturae 2021, 7(10), 403; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7100403 - 15 Oct 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1927
Abstract
Auxin response factors (ARFs) are a transcription factor family that regulates the expression of auxin phase-responsive genes. Here, we performed a genome-wide investigation of the tetraploid blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum cv. ‘Draper’) genome sequence. Physical and chemical properties, phylogenetic evolution, gene structure, conservative [...] Read more.
Auxin response factors (ARFs) are a transcription factor family that regulates the expression of auxin phase-responsive genes. Here, we performed a genome-wide investigation of the tetraploid blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum cv. ‘Draper’) genome sequence. Physical and chemical properties, phylogenetic evolution, gene structure, conservative motifs, chromosome location, and cis-acting elements of blueberry ARF genes were comprehensively evaluated. A total of 70 blueberry ARF genes (VcARF) were found in its genome, which could be divided into six subfamilies. VcARF genes were unevenly distributed on 40 chromosomes and were observed to encode protein sequences ranging in length from 162 to 1117 amino acids. Their exon numbers range from 2 to 22. VcARF promoter regions contain multiple functional domains associated with light signaling, aerobic metabolism, plant hormones, stress, and cell cycle regulation. More family members of VcARF genes were discovered in blueberry than in previously studied plants, likely because of the occurrence of whole-genome duplication and/or tandem duplication. VcARF expression patterns were analyzed at different stages of fruit development, and VcARF3, VcARF4, VcARF14, VcARF37, and VcARF52 were observed to play important roles. VcARF3 and VcARF4 appeared to function as repressors, while VcARF14 acted as an essential factor in fruit firmness differences between firm and soft flesh cultivars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)
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14 pages, 3467 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Identification of the 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic Acid Synthase (ACS) Genes and Their Possible Role in Sand Pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) Fruit Ripening
by Jing-Guo Zhang, Wei Du, Jing Fan, Xiao-Ping Yang, Qi-Liang Chen, Ying Liu, Hong-Ju Hu and Zheng-Rong Luo
Horticulturae 2021, 7(10), 401; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7100401 - 14 Oct 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1923
Abstract
Ethylene production is negatively associated with storage life in sand pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai), particularly at the time of fruit harvest. 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase (ACS) is the rate-limiting enzyme in ethylene biosynthesis and is considered to be important for fruit storage life. [...] Read more.
Ethylene production is negatively associated with storage life in sand pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai), particularly at the time of fruit harvest. 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase (ACS) is the rate-limiting enzyme in ethylene biosynthesis and is considered to be important for fruit storage life. However, the candidate ACS genes and their roles in sand pear remain unclear. The present study identified 13 ACS genes from the sand pear genome. Phylogenetic analysis categorized these ACS genes into four subgroups (type I, type II, type III and putative AAT), and indicated a close relationship between sand pear and Chinese white pear (P. bretschneideri). According to the RNA-seq data and qRT-PCR analysis, PpyACS1, PpyACS2, PpyACS3, PpyACS8, PpyACS9, PpyACS12 and PpyACS13 were differently expressed in climacteric and non-climacteric-type pear fruits, ‘Ninomiyahakuri’ and ‘Eli No.2’, respectively, during fruit ripening. In addition, the expressions of PpyACS2, PpyACS8, PpyACS12 and PpyACS13 were found to be associated with system 1 of ethylene production, while PpyACS1, PpyACS3, and PpyACS9 were found to be associated with system 2, indicating that these ACS genes have different roles in ethylene biosynthesis during fruit development. Overall, our study provides fundamental knowledge on the characteristics of the ACS gene family in sand pear, in addition to their possible roles in fruit ripening. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)
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Review

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19 pages, 8039 KiB  
Review
Insights into Factors Controlling Adventitious Root Formation in Apples
by Muhammad Mobeen Tahir, Jiangping Mao, Shaohuan Li, Ke Li, Yu Liu, Yun Shao, Dong Zhang and Xiaoyun Zhang
Horticulturae 2022, 8(4), 276; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae8040276 - 22 Mar 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3220
Abstract
Adventitious root (AR) formation is required for the vegetative propagation of economically important horticultural crops, such as apples. Asexual propagation is commonly utilized for breeding programs because of its short life cycle, true-to-typeness, and high efficiency. The lack of AR formation from stem [...] Read more.
Adventitious root (AR) formation is required for the vegetative propagation of economically important horticultural crops, such as apples. Asexual propagation is commonly utilized for breeding programs because of its short life cycle, true-to-typeness, and high efficiency. The lack of AR formation from stem segments is a barrier to segment survival. Therefore, understanding the AR regulatory mechanisms is vital for the prolonged and effective use of biological resources. Several studies have been undertaken to comprehend the molecular and physiological control of AR, which has greatly extended our knowledge regarding AR formation in apples and other crops. Auxin, a master controller of AR formation, is widely used for inducing AR formation in stem cutting. At the same time, cytokinins (CKs) are important for cell division and molecular reprograming, and other hormones, sugars, and nutrients interact with auxin to control excision-induced AR formation. In this review, we discuss the present understandings of ARs’ formation from physiological and molecular aspects and highlight the immediate advancements made in identifying underlying mechanisms involved in the regulation of ARs. Despite the progress made in the previous decades, many concerns about excision-induced AR formation remain unanswered. These focus on the specific functions and interactions of numerous hormonal, molecular, and metabolic components and the overall framework of the entire shoot cutting in a demanding environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Breeding of Fruit Trees)
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