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This study selected Dendrobium officinale protocorms as the experimental material and used different light-quality treatments and calcium signalling inhibitors to explore the mechanism of the biological response of calcium to light quality. The results indicate that a 1:3 red:blue (R:B) light ratio promotes the accumulation of biomass and polysaccharides in the protocorm. Nevertheless, this effect can be entirely counteracted by calmodulin (CaM) inhibitors and calcium ion-chelating agents. The possible mechanisms of this effect are as follows: (1) The Ca2+-CaM signal-regulated photosynthetic apparatus is improved by the R:B 1:3 light, increasing the CaM content and Ca2+-ATPase activity. Thus, R:B 1:3 light increases the development of the photosynthetic apparatus in the D. officinale protocorm, enhances its photosynthetic productivity, and promotes the activities of sucrose phosphatase; accordingly, biomass and sucrose accumulation increase. (2) R:B 1:3 light enhances Ca2+-CaM signalling and regulates glycometabolic processes to promote the activities of sucrose synthase, thus increasing fructose and glucose levels and providing sufficient synthetic precursors to promote polysaccharide production.

Dwarf bamboo Sasa argenteostriata (Regel) E.G. Camus has previously been considered as potential plant for metal phytoremediation. However, the dynamic responses and correlations among physiological resistances to high-concentration Pb exposure have not been described to date. This study conducted four Pb treatments (0, 1500, 3000, and 4500 mg kg–1) to examine the physiological resistance responses at days 7, 14, and 21. The findings showed that S. argenteostriata can regulate both the enzymatic system and the nonenzymatic system to synergistically overcome Pb damage. In addition, a significant positive correlation was found between enzymes and nonenzymatic substances, which were particularly apparent with regard to the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities with phytochelatins (PCs) levels, peroxidase (POD), and glutathione reductase (GR) activities with glutathione (GSH) levels, as well as catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities with soluble protein (SP) levels. Furthermore, Pb concentration was the main factor that induced the physiological responses of S. argenteostriata to Pb stress. The antioxidant enzyme system and the AsA–GSH cycle were dominant resistance mechanisms under 1500 mg kg–1 Pb. AsA–GSH cycle and plant cell chelation were dominant resistance mechanisms under 3000 mg kg–1 Pb. Antioxidant enzymes and plant cell chelation were dominant resistance mechanisms under 4500 mg kg–1 Pb. This study provides comprehensive evidence regarding how both enzymatic and nonenzymatic systems of S. argenteostriata cooperate to alleviate the high-concentration soil Pb stress. The results highlight the environmental remediation potential of this species for Pb-contaminated media.

Visual characteristics (e.g., the color and shape) of ornamental plants can significantly affect their beneficial influence on humans. Prior research, however, has largely focused on the effects of the color or shape of flowers and the impact of differences in the visual appearance of foliage plants and plants with ornamental stalks has not yet been fully explored. This study examined the psychophysiological effects of urban ornamental bamboos that expressed different colors on different organs. Three hundred Chinese college students participated in the experiment. They were randomly assigned to view images of five ornamental bamboo landscapes with the following different visual characteristics: green stalks (GS) non-green stalks (NGS) multicolored stalks (MS) green leaves (GL) and multicolored leaves (ML). Before and after viewing the images, their EEG, blood pressure, pulse, profile of mood states (POMS) score, and state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) score were measured. The results showed that ornamental bamboo landscapes have extremely significant beneficial psychophysiological effects as compared to urban landscapes. After viewing landscapes in the NGS and MS groups, EEG, blood pressure, and pulse rate of subjects showed more beneficial changes. Significant gender differences were observed only in systolic blood pressure and in the vigor score. In addition, an extremely significant interaction between color and organ of color expression was observed on systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Organ of expression had significant main effects on all the physiological indicators and the fatigue, vigor, and irritability scores, while color only had a main effect on systolic blood pressure. Our study concluded that viewing urban ornamental bamboo landscapes with different visual characteristics has different effects on humans. With regards to ornamental bamboo, the organ expressing the color had a greater impact on psychophysiological responses than did the type of color itself. These study results can provide guidance for landscape construction of urban greening.

This study illustrated the physiological and psychological effects of watching videos of different durations showing bamboo forests with varied structures. Physiological indicators, including EEG (electroencephalogram), blood pressure, skin conductance, and pulse, were monitored in 180 Chinese university students (mean age: 20.72 &plusmn, 2.56 years) while they were watching bamboo videos. Before and after watching the videos, their psychological indicators, including positive and negative moods, were measured using the Profile of Mood States questionnaire. After watching the bamboo videos of different durations, all of the physiological indicators responded to the stimulation after only 1 min. The indicators showed different trends at 1, 3 and 5 min. EEG decreased and then was maintained at a stable level after 1 min, and the high &beta, low &beta, and &alpha, waves had no significant differences between 1, 3 and 5 min. Blood pressure dropped to a stable state after 3 min, and the decline was significantly different greater after 3 min than after 1 min. Skin conductance increased for 1 to 5 min, and it did not stabilize after a long time (5 min). Pulse decreased after 1 min but increased after 5 min. After watching the videos with bamboo of varying structures, the physiological and psychological indicators showed significantly different changes. Skin conductance significantly increased (mean value: 6.78%), and the amount of sweat was more effectively reduced, thereby reducing tension, when the students viewed videos of sympodial bamboo forests compared with monopodial bamboo forests. Bamboo forests with a higher canopy density (0.83&ndash, 0.85) could significantly decrease &alpha, waves (mean value: 1.50 Hz), relaxing the human body. High &beta, and low &beta, waves showed greater decreases, with tension reduced more effectively, when bamboo forests with a low tilt ratio (&lt, 1.5%) were viewed. Bamboo forests with neat undergrowth could have more beneficial physiological and psychological effects on the human body.

The significant influence of •NO on the stress response is well established; however, the precise metabolic pathways of •NO and RNS under metal stresses remain unclear. Here, the key components of ROS and RNS metabolism under Cd stress were investigated with multi-level approaches using high-quality forage white clover (Trifolium repens L.) plants. For the studied plants, Cd disturbed the redox homeostasis, affected the absorption of minerals, and exacerbated the degree of lipid peroxidation, thus triggering oxidative stress. However, •NO was also involved in regulating mineral absorption, ROS-scavenger levels and mRNA expression in Cd-treated white clover plants. In addition, GSNOR activity was up-regulated by Cd with the simultaneous depletion of •NO generation and GSNO but was counteracted by the •NO donor sodium nitroprusside. Response to Cd-stressed SNOs was involved in generating ONOO- and NO2-Tyr in accordance with the regulation of •NO-mediated post-translational modifications in the ASC-GSH cycle, selected amino acids and NADPH-generating dehydrogenases, thereby provoking nitrosative stress. Taken together, our data provide comprehensive metabolite evidence that clearly confirms the relationships between ROS and RNS in Cd-stressed plants, supporting their regulatory roles in response to nitro-oxidative stress and providing an in-depth understanding of the interaction between two families subjected to metal stresses.

Lilium sargentiae E.H. Wilson (Liliaceae) is an ornamental and economic flowering bulb in China. Unfortunately, due to low natural bulb multiplication rates or long juvenile phases, commercial release of a new genotype may take 10 or even 20 years. In this study, bulbs were expanded in test tubes by adding sucrose, to shorten the duration of the commercial production cycle. Results indicated that when sucrose, with a concentration of 60 g l−1, was supplied to the culture medium, the bulblets could be most effectively induced and expanded. The effect of sucrose on the formation and expansion of L. sargentiae was obvious and dominant. It was not connected to the osmotic potential of sucrose, nor entirely explained by the function of sucrose as an energy and carbon source. We used sugar analogues in the culturing of explanted materials to research the effect of sucrose-specific signaling on bulblet formation and expansion. Results showed that exogenous 3-O-methyl glucose could not induce and expand test-tube bulblets, which was similar to mannose, whereas isomaltulose could generate similar results to those obtained with sucrose. The results further indicated that the specific signalling of sucrose could be responsible for the effect on bulblets formation and swelling. We used the exclusion method to confirm above results and hypothesis, and observed that only a small part of sucrose was transformed by cell wall invertase and entered the cells through hexose transporters, playing a certain effect on bulbelt growth and development through hexose or hexose signaling systems. Overall, the effect of sucrose on bulblet induction and swelling could be explained by sucrose-specific signaling. Furthermore, this effect has a direct correlation with the sucrose-specific vector.

Phylogenetic relationships among the six Iris subgenera were reconstructed by chloroplast trnL-F sequences data using maximum likelihood. The entire matrix of aligned bases analyzed includes 1043 characters and the length of all sequences varied from 747 bp to 893 bp, and mutation sites accounted for 18.79% of the total length. The cluster analysis results accorded well with the subgeneric classification of Chinese Iris species. Results suggested rhizomes and sepals lacking ornament are ancestral characters, and subg. Xyridion and subg. Limniris are more primordial than another four subgenera. Subgenus Nepalensis and subg. Xyridion were resolved as monophyletic.

Dwarf bamboo is a woody plant with potential for use in the remediation of Pb-contaminated soil. Due to its clonal growth habit, there are two keys to its application for continuous soil Pb remediation: 1) its ability to form shoots and grow into new bamboo normally under Pb stress and 2) the Pb tolerance and accumulation characteristics of this new bamboo. Here, 5 species of dwarf bamboo were treated with 2 levels of soil Pb stress (0 and 1500 mg kg−1). In the roots of 3 of the species (Sasa argenteostriata, Sasaella glabra, and Indocalamus decorus), Pb tended to be distributed along the cell wall and transported to vacuoles. In the other 2 species (Sasa auricoma and Sasa fortunei), Pb was arranged linearly along the cell wall. Under Pb treatment, the new bamboo of all species showed gradual physiological adaptation to Pb stress. Correlations of the net photosynthetic rate, superoxide dismutase activity, and free proline levels with Pb content in new leaves in November were all higher than those in July, though that of malondialdehyde content decreased, suggesting that new dwarf bamboo exhibits good soil Pb stress tolerance. Sasa argenteostriata and Indocalamus decorus consistently maintained higher antioxidant enzyme activities and free proline levels than the other species under Pb treatment, and the total biomass per pot of the new bamboo decreased the least compared to that in the Pb-free treatment for these two species. Therefore, these bamboo species may be used in the long-term continuous remediation of Pb-contaminated soil.

Fargesia Franchet emend. Yi is closely allied with Thamnocalamus Munro but differs in many major morphological characteristics. Based on traditional morphological characters, it is difficult to differentiate these two genera. The current study measured 19 species in these two genera to determine whether variations in 12 categories of major characters are continuous. In addition, a self-organizing map (SOM) and cluster analysis were used together to reveal whether the known species of Fargesia represent discontinuous sampling of Thamnocalamus. The results show that 46 morphological characteristics exhibited high variation at the generic and species levels. In addition, the cluster analysis showed that 32 morphological characteristics of Thamnocalamus and Fargesia were divided between two species and well separated from the outgroup. Additionally, significant differences (P Fargesia is not a result of discontinuous sampling of Thamnocalamus; thus, Fargesia should not be treated as a synonym for Thamnocalamus.

Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential metallic element with potentially deleterious effects on plants, animals, and human health. Many studies have indicated that nitrogen (N) application can effectively alleviate Cd toxicity in plants. However, the function of nitrogen in this process remains unclear. In this study, high-throughput RNA sequencing and comparative analysis were carried out on poplar (Populus cathayana Rehd) trees treated with only Cd or co-treated with N and Cd, and both treatments were compared against a negative control (no Cd or N) and plants treated with only N. The results showed that approximately 48045828, 46712688, 46681202, and 48076990 clean reads were obtained in the control, Cd, N + Cd, and N treatments. Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis (KEGG) indicated that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) could be classified primarily into 144 pathways, among which 19 were related to heavy metal transportation and cell detoxification. The up- and down-regulated DEGs were predominately involved in glutathione (GSH) synthesis, cysteine (Cys), glycine (Gly), brassinosteroid (BR), and salicylic acid (SA)-related pathways. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) revealed that the expression profiles of DEGs were consistent with the results from RNA sequencing analysis. Eight candidate genes encoding GSH, Cys, Gly, BR, and SA were associated with detoxification of Cd and were selected for further screening. A schematic model to explain the involvement of DEGs and N in the Cd-responsive regulatory network is proposed. This study represents the first comprehensive transcriptome-based characterization of N- and Cd-responsive DEGs in poplar. These results provide fundamental insight into the molecular mechanism of N assistance in Cd detoxification. In addition, the results of this study build a solid foundation for further genetic manipulation of Cd accumulation in plants and for the development of phytoremediation approaches to reclaim Cd-contaminated soils.

Cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) coexist in the environment but interact differently in plants. Cosmos bipinnatus has been potentially considered as a Cd-accumulator. Thus, this study investigated the detoxification mechanism in C. bipinnatus seedlings under Cd, Zn and Cd + Zn stresses. In the present study, the presence of Zn inhibited Cd uptake and translocation, whereas Cd merely hindered Zn uptake. The concentration of Cd in soluble fraction significantly decreased and Cd was bounded to the cell wall in root under Cd + Zn stress. Meanwhile, Zn and Cd mutually decreased their concentrations in the ethanol extractable form (FE) and water extractable form (FW) in roots and shoots. Furthermore, Cd + Zn stress enhanced the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1), peroxidase (POD, EC 1.11.1.7) and catalase (CAT, EC 1.11.1.6) compared to Cd stress alone. These results suggested that Zn effectively decreased Cd uptake and translocation, changed their subcellular distributions, regulated their chemical forms composition and increased antioxidative enzyme activities, thereby enhancing the tolerance to Cd in C. bipinnatus. This study physiologically revealed the interactive effect of Cd and Zn on the detoxification mechanism of Cd in C. bipinnatus and provided new information on phytoremediation of the heavy metal contaminated soils.

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers) turf is the most widely used turfgrass in urban landscapes. Large amounts of fertilizer are usually applied for maximum turf performance, while relatively little attention has been paid to efficient nutrient management of bermudagrass turf. The design opted for was a 3-factor and 5-level Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD) consisting of 24 experimental runs in the greenhouse with response surface methodology (RSM) and simulated regression modeling. The experiment covered in this study was carried out at Sichuan Agricultural University with the objectives of understanding the interactive effects of nitrogen, (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilization on the bermudagrass integrated turf performance (ITP) and optimizing the amount of N, P, and K required for optimum turf performance during establishment. The qualitative and quantitative relationships between bermudagrass and fertilization significantly affected the ITP. The N, P, and K Fertilization significantly influenced the percent grass cover, turf height, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, and total chlorophyll content. Fertilization with N and P significantly enhanced the tiller length, turf density, color, and total protein levels. Root length was augmented with the application of P and K. We found that 3-D surface plots indicated significant interactive effects of NP, NK, and PK on the ITP. A simulation optimization and frequency analysis indicated that the optimal combined amounts of these nutrients were N: 26.0&ndash, 27.6 g m&minus, 2, P: 24.2&ndash, 26.4 g m&ndash, 2, and K: 3.1&ndash, 5.0 g m&ndash, 2 during the establishment phase. The results suggest that optimized fertilization is key to sustainable nutrient management of bermudagrass integrated turf performance.

Dwarf bamboo Sasa argenteostriata (Regel) E.G. Camus is considered as potential plants for metal phytoremediation in previous filed observations. However, the mechanisms of lead (Pb) detoxification has not been described. The objective of this study was to explore the difference strategies or mechanisms of Pb detoxification in plant tissues. In this regard, four Pb treatments with hydroponics including 0 (control), 300, 600, and 900 mg L−1 were conducted to examine subcellular compartmentalization, Pb accumulation/species and antioxidant-assisted chelation. Our findings showed the retention of Pb by the whip-root system is one of its detoxification mechanisms to avoid damage the shoots. In addition, the cell wall retention is the dominant detoxification strategy of whips, new roots, old roots and new/old stems, while vacuolar compartmentalization is for new/old leaves. Interestingly, four low-mobility/-toxicity Pb species (i.e., FNaCl, FHAc, FHCl and FR) are distributed in roots, whips and stems, while two high-mobility/-toxicity Pb species (FE and FW) in leaves. The conversion of Pb to low-toxicity/-migration is a Pb-detoxification strategy in roots, whips and stems but not in leaves. Besides, the new/old roots and leaves can alleviate Pb damage through the synthesis of non-protein thiol, glutathione and phytochelatins. Among these, phytochelatins play a leading role in the detoxification in new/old roots, while glutathione is in new/old leaves. This study provides the first comprehensive evidence regarding the different strategies for Pb detoxification in dwarf bamboo tissues from physiological to cellular level, supporting that this plant could be rehabilitated for phytoremediation in Pb-contaminated media.

Bamboos are considered as potential plants for phytoremediation. However, the mechanisms of EDTA-assisted bamboo for lead (Pb) control has not been described. The objective of this study was to examine the tolerance and behaviors of Pb to screen bamboos for Pb-contaminated soil and to explore the effects of EDTA on their phytoremediation. In this regard, five dwarf bamboos were treated with various doses Pb (0–1500 mg kg−1) and/or EDTA (500 or 250–1000 mg kg−1) to investigate antioxidant systems and Pb accumulation/species. Our findings showed that different doses of Pb significantly affect lipid peroxidation and antioxidant compounds in studied bamboos. EDTA increased the absorption of soil Pb2+ in all tissues with increasing Pb doses, while the Pb concentrations in all bamboo roots was higher than those in other tissues. Among these plants, Arundinaria argenteostriata (AA) and A. fortunei (AF) showed greater oxidative tolerance than other bamboos. Moreover, Pb accumulation showed the highest values in AA and AF plants relative to other bamboos. With increasing EDTA doses, levels of reducible and residual Pb decreased but the weak acid-soluble and total Pb increased in Pb-stressed AA/AF soils. Similarly, EDTA increased Pb2+ concentration in both bamboo tissues, while the Pb2+ level in leaves was higher than that in other organs at the highest EDTA dose. This study provides the first comprehensive evidence regarding EDTA enhancing the availability, absorption, and translocation of Pb in bamboo/soil, suggesting the application of EDTA may be an effective strategy for phytoremediation with two Arundinaria bamboos in Pb-contaminated soils.

To date, several species of Asteraceae have been considered as Cd-accumulators. However, little information on the Cd tolerance and associated mechanisms of Asteraceae species Cosmos bipinnatus, is known. Presently, several physiological indexes and transcriptome profiling under Cd stress were investigated. C. bipinnatus exhibited strong Cd tolerance and recommended as a Cd-accumulator, although the biomasses were reduced by Cd. Meanwhile, Cd stresses reduced Zn and Ca uptake, but increased Fe uptake. Subcellular distribution indicated that the vacuole sequestration in root mainly detoxified Cd under lower Cd stress. Whilst, cell wall binding and vacuole sequestration in root co-detoxified Cd under high Cd exposure. Meanwhile, 66,407 unigenes were assembled and 41,674 (62.75%) unigenes were annotated in at least one database. 2,658 DEGs including 1,292 up-regulated unigenes and 1,366 down-regulated unigenes were identified under 40 μmol/L Cd stress. Among of these DEGs, ZIPs, HMAs, NRAMPs and ABC transporters might participate in Cd uptake, translocation and accumulation. Many DEGs participating in several processes such as cell wall biosynthesis, GSH metabolism, TCA cycle and antioxidant system probably play critical roles in cell wall binding, vacuole sequestration and detoxification. These results provided a novel insight into the physiological and transcriptome response to Cd in C. bipinnatus seedlings.

As one of the fast-growing species, bamboo plays an important role in ecological stability and wood processing industry. However, low temperature limitation is the basic problem for the cultivation and introduction of bamboo. In this study, the symptoms of cold stress influence on the native bamboo (Neosinocalamus affinis (Rendle) Keng f.) and hybrid bamboo (Bambusa pervariabilis × Dendrocalamopsis grandis) were observed under transmission electron microscope, and the dynamic responses of FAD7, Cu/Zn-SOD, and Mn-SOD genes to cold stress were identified in bamboo by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. Observation by electron microscopy indicated that bamboo is one of the most chilling-sensitive species with severe ultrastructural injury induced by chilling, but the native bamboo (N. affinis) is more cold-tolerant compared with the hybrid bamboo. Results obtained by real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that FAD7, Cu/Zn-SOD, and Mn-SOD were all cold-inducible genes in N. affinis. In addition, dynamic response patterns of N. affinis Cu/Zn-SOD and Mn-SOD under cold stress were similar. This work is a fundamental research of hardiness physiology of bamboo and may contribute to the breeding program on obtaining transgenic bamboo species.

The worsening of Cadmium (Cd) pollution has intensified the urban ecological environment deterioration in the world. Purifying contaminated environment using the tall, colored-leaf woody plants has been proved as an aesthetically pleasing approach. However, the effects of Cd stress on colored-leaf woody plants have been little reported. Present hydroponic experiments were carried out to study the physiological and related anthocyanin biosynthesis genes responses to Cd stress in “Quanhong Poplar” plants. The experiments consisted of four Cd levels (0, 50, 100 and 150 μM). Leaves were sampled at 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 days after the first treatment for detection of related enzyme activities and genes expression. The results showed that the plants treated with 100 or 150 μM Cd presented obvious toxicity symptom, i.e. the inhibition of growth and the decrease of chlorophyll and anthocyanin contents. However, plants growth was enhanced and the synthesis of chlorophyll, anthocyanin were promoted when the plants were subject to 50 μM Cd stress. Furthermore, the activities of relative enzymes as well as their genes expression were induced, which indicated that low concentration of Cd induced the anthocyanin accumulation in “Quanhong Poplar” plants, which suggested that using “Quanhong Poplar” to purify contaminated environment would be an aesthetically pleasing approach, which would not only remediate contaminated environments but also bring landscape effects.

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins have been identified in a wide range of organisms and are believed to play a role in the adaptation of plants to stress conditions. In this study, we performed genome-wide identification of LEA proteins and their coding genes in Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) of Poaceae. A total of 23 genes encoding LEA proteins (PeLEAs) were found in P. edulis that could be classified to six groups based on Pfam protein family and homologous analysis. Further in silico analyses of the structures, gene amount, and biochemical characteristics were conducted and compared with those of O. sativa (OsLEAs), B. distachyon (BdLEAs), Z. mays (ZmLEAs), S. bicolor (SbLEAs), Arabidopsis, and Populus trichocarpa. The less number of PeLEAs was found. Evolutionary analysis revealed orthologous relationship and colinearity between P. edulis, O. sativa, B. distachyon, Z. mays, and S. bicolor. Analyses of the non-synonymous (Ka) and synonymous (Ks)substitution rates and their ratios indicated that the duplication of PeLEAs may have occurred around 18.8 million years ago (MYA), and divergence time of LEA family among the P. edulis-O. sativa and P. edulis-B. distachyon, P. edulis-S. bicolor, and P. edulis-Z. mays was approximately 30 MYA, 36 MYA, 48 MYA, and 53 MYA, respectively. Almost all PeLEAs contain ABA- and (or) stress-responsive regulatory elements. Further RNA-seq analysis revealed approximately 78% of PeLEAs could be up-regulated by dehydration and cold stresses. The present study makes insights into the LEA family in P. edulis and provides inventory of stress-responsive genes for further functional validation and transgenic research aiming to plant genetic improvement of abiotic stress tolerance.

The red-leaf coloration of Quanhong poplar (QHP) (Populus deltoides), resulting from a bud sport, is a distinctive trait conferring high ornamental value. However, the underlying molecular coloration mechanism of the red-leaf poplar remains unknown. In this study, tissue buds and leaves from mutant QHP(red)and its wild-type progenitor L2025 (green) were used to study the coloration mechanism by high-throughput RNA sequencing and comparative analysis of the transcriptomes. A total of 12,000 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained. Functional enrichment using Gene Ontology (GO) and, Genes and Genomes (KEGG) annotations showed that 4951 bud DEGs and 1927 leaf DEGs participate in many important biological and metabolic pathways, including anthocyanin biosynthesis. Importantly, some structural genes that contribute to photosynthesis were down-regulated, and some candidate genes involved in the biosynthesis of abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene and anthocyanin were up-regulated in the QHP mutant. The DEGs identified provided insight into the novel traits of the mutant. The unigene dataset that was used to discover candidate genes provides a comprehensive resource for molecular research in red-leaf poplar and may provide insight into coloration of other woody plants.

The relationships between floral morphology and the particular pollinator, flower shelter function and reproductive success as well as details of the breeding system of Dendrobiuin jiajiangense were investigated at Fotang Mountains in Jiajiang County, Sichuan Province, China. D. jiajiangense is pollinator-specific, being pollinated by Andrena parvula. There exists considerable mechanical fit between the floral morphology of D. jiajiangense and A. parvula. Importantly, A. parvula uses D. jiajiangense flowers as shelter both during rainy weather and at night during sunny weather. This significantly increase the pollination success of D. jiajiangens. D. jiajiangense is self-compatible but pollinator-dependent for fruit set. Fruit set of D. jiajiangens was 100% after hand-self-pollination, but seed viability was normally greatly reduced. (C) 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

An unusually severe snow disaster in southern China in 2008 exposed variation among different species of bamboo: some species were highly tolerant to low-temperature damage, but some suffered extensive damage or death. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the effects of cold stress on endogenous hormones and the expression of homologs of CBF 1 in four bamboo species differing in their tolerance to cold. All four bamboo species were subjected to cold stress with a temperature gradient (10, 5, 0, −5, and −10°C), and each low temperature treatment was maintained for 48 h. Results showed that ABA, GA1, and GA4 were significantly affected by cold stress: ABA increased with cold stress in all species, while GA1 and GA4 reduced with cold stress. ABA levels and the ratio of ABA/(GA1 + GA4) in leaves of Neosinocalamus affinis and Bambusa rigida were both higher than those of hybrid bamboo (Bambusa pervariabilis × Dendrocalamopsis grandis) and Dendrocalamus latiflorus for all treatments, while GA1 and GA4 were conversely lower as compared to the hybrid variety and D. latiflorus. Moreover, CBF 1 homolog was up-regulated during cold stress, with higher expression levels in the leaves of cold-tolerant species than cold-sensitive ones. Results revealed that high levels of ABA and CBF 1 , as well as the ABA/GAs balance, are important in increased plant resistance to cold stress.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. The authors have plagiarized part of a paper that had appeared in Plant, CellEnvironment, 29 (2006) 1532-1544. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2006.01531.x The images that were reused were: Fig. 1e, 1f, 1g, 1h, 2a, 2b, 2e, 2f. One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately cited. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.

Despite numerous reports implicating nitric oxide (NO) in the environmental-stress responses of plants, the specific metabolic and ionic mechanisms of NO-mediated adaptation to metal stress remain unclear. Here, the impacts of copper (Cu) and NO donor (SNP, 50 μM) alone or in combination on the well-known medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus L. were investigated. Our results showed that Cu markedly increased Cu 2+ accumulation, decreased NO production, and disrupted mineral equilibrium and proton pumps, thereby stimulating a burst of ROS; in addition, SNP ameliorates the negative toxicity of Cu, and cPTIO reverses this action. Furthermore, the accumulations of ROS and NO resulted in reciprocal changes. Interestingly, nearly all of the investigated amino acids and the total phenolic content in the roots were promoted by the SNP treatment but were depleted by the Cu + SNP treatment, which is consistent with the self-evident increases in phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity and total soluble phenol content induced by SNP. Unexpectedly, leaf vincristine and vinblastine as well as the total alkaloid content (ca. 1.5-fold) were decreased by Cu but markedly increased by SNP (+38% and +49% of the control levels). This study provides the first evidence of the beneficial behavior of NO, rather than other compounds, in depleting Cu toxicity by regulating mineral absorption, reestablishing ATPase activities, and stimulating secondary metabolites.

The proteins containing the TIFY domain belong to a plant-specific family of putative transcription factors and could be divided into four subfamilies: ZML, TIFY, PPD and JAZ. They not only function as key regulators of jasmonate hormonal response, but are also involved in responding to abiotic stress. In this study, we identified 24 TIFY genes (PeTIFYs) in Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) of Poaceae by analyzing the whole genome sequence. OnePeTIFYbelongs to TIFY subfamily, 18 and five belong to JAZ and ZML subfamilies, respectively. Two equivocal gene models were re-predicted and a putative retrotransposition event was found in a ZML protein. The distribution and conservation of domain or motif, and gene structure were also analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis with TIFY proteins ofArabidopsisandOryza sativaindicated that JAZ subfamily could be further divided to four groups. Evolutionary analysis revealed intragenomic duplication and orthologous relationship betweenP. edulis,O. sativa, andB. distachyon. Calculation of the non-synonymous (Ka) and synonymous (Ks) substitution rates and their ratios indicated that the duplication ofPeTIFYmay have occurred around 16.7 million years ago (MYA), the divergence time of TIFY family among theP. edulis-O. sativa,P. edulis-B. distachyon,andO. sativa-B. distachyonwas approximately 39 MYA, 39 MYA, and 45 MYA, respectively. They appear to have undergone extensive purifying selection during evolution. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that more than 50% ofPeTIFYgenes could be up-regulated by cold and dehydration stresses, and somePeTIFYsalso share homology to know TIFYs involved in abiotic stress tolerance. Our results made insights into TIFY family of Moso bamboo, an economically important non-timber forest resource, and provided candidates for further identification of genes involved in regulating responses to abiotic stress.

Paeonia decomposita is a perennial deciduous shrub with great ornamental and medicinal values. Unfortunately, the distribution region, population size and individual numbers of P. decomposita rapidly decrease in the wild. It is a particularly rare, highly endangered, protective plant endemic to Southwest China. To understand the causes of seed dormancy of P. decomposita, the effects of aqueous extracts of the seed coat, endosperm of P. decomposita on germination, seedling growth and amylases activities of wheat seeds were examined in this paper. The results showed that the seed, especially the endosperm tissue of P. decomposita contained substances that strongly suppressed seed germination. The crude extract of endosperm of P. decomposita, which significantly reduced the activities of α and β-amylase, showed a more significant inhibition than that of seed coat at the same dose. It was concluded that the presence of inhibitory substances in seed, especially in endosperm tissue, seem to be responsible for P. decomposita seed dormancy.

Ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences are commonly used for phylogenetic reconstruction because they are highly reiterated as components of rDNA repeats, and hence are often subject to rapid homogenization through concerted evolution. Concerted evolution leads to intragenomic uniformity of repeats even between loci on nonhomologous chromosomes. However, a number of studies have shown that the ITS polymorphism within individuals is quite common. The molecular systematics of Bambusinae and related species were recently assessed by different teams using independently generated ITS sequences, and the results disagreed in some remarkable features. Here we compared the ITS sequences of the members of Bambusa s. l., the genera Dendrocalamus, Dinochloa, Gigantochloa, Guadua, Melocalamus, Monocladus, Oxytenanthera, Thyrsostachys, Pleioblastus, Pseudosasa and Schizostachyum. We have reanalysed the ITS sequences used by different research teams to reveal the underlying patterns of their different results. After excluding the sequences suspected to represent paralogous loci, a phylogenetic analysis of the subtribe Bambusinae species were performed using maximum parsimony and maximum-likelihood methods. The implications of the findings are discussed. The risk of incorporating ITS paralogues in plant evolutionary studies that can distort the phylogenetic signal should caution molecular systematists.