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Jute (Corchorus capsularis L.) is the second most important natural plant fiber source after cotton. However, developing an efficient gene editing system for jute remains a challenge. In this study, the transgenic hairy root system mediated by Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain K599 was developed for Meifeng 4, an elite jute variety widely cultivated in China. The transgenic hairy root system for jute was verified by subcellular localization and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays. The CHLOROPLASTOS ALTERADOS 1 (CcCLA1) gene, which is involved in the development of chloroplasts, was targeted for editing at two sites in Meifeng 4. Based on this hairy root transformation, the gRNA scaffold was placed under the control of cotton ubiquitin GhU6.7 and -GhU6.9 promoters, respectively, to assess the efficiency of gene editing. Results indicated the 50.0% (GhU6.7) and 38.5% (GhU6.9) editing events in the target 2 alleles (gRNA2), but no mutation was detected in the target 1 allele (gRNA1) in transgenic-positive hairy roots. CcCLA1 gene editing at gRNA2 under the control of GhU6.7 in Meifeng 4 was also carried out by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Two CcCLA1 mutants were albinic, with a gene editing efficiency of 5.3%. These findings confirm that the CRISPR/Cas9 system, incorporating promoter GhU6.7, can be used as a gene editing tool for jute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper (Cu), with many documented cases of Cu toxicity in agriculture lands, is becoming an increasingly common issue in and elsewhere in China. However, fibrous crop such as jute is being used as phytoremediation candidate in Cu-contaminated soils due to its huge biomass. A pot experiment was conducted using four different varieties (HT, C-3, GC, and SH) of jute grown in highly Cu-contaminated soil (2221 mg kg−1), collected from Hubei Province, China. Results from this study showed that C-3 and HT were more resistant to Cu stress, while GC and SH had a serious effect due to high concentration of Cu and a significant decrease in growth and biomass. Furthermore, Cu in roots, leaves, stem core, and bast were higher in C-3 and HT compared with GC and SH. Likewise, at post-harvesting stage, maximum Cu concentration from Cu-contaminated soil was extracted by C-3 and HT while small amount was accumulated by GC and SH. The high content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the leaves of GC and SH indicated that Cu induced oxidative damage while the antioxidative enzyme activities of superoxidase dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) were increased to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) formed during oxidative stress in the plants. Conclusively, it can be identified that when grown in Cu-contaminated soil, C-3 and HT have greater ability to grow in polluted soils and possible phytoremediation materials to revoke a large amount of Cu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil in mining areas is typically highly contaminated with heavy metals and lack essential nutrients for plants. Phosphorus reduces oxidative stress, improves plant growth, composition, and cellular structure, as well as facilitates the phytoremediation potential of fibrous crop plant species. In this study, we investigated two jute (Corchorus capsularis) varieties HongTieGuXuan and GuBaChangJia cultivated in copper (Cu)-contaminated soil (2221 mg kg−1), under different applications of phosphorus (0, 30, 60, and 120 kg ha−1) at both anatomical and physiological levels. At the same Cu concentration, the tolerance index of HongTieGuXuan was higher than that of GuBaChangJia, indicating that HongTieGuXuan may be more tolerant to Cu stress. Although the normal concentration of P (60 kg ha−1) in the soil improved plant growth, biomass, chlorophyll content, fibre yield and quality, and gaseous exchange attributes. However, high concentration of P (120 kg ha−1) was toxic to both jute varieties affected morphological and physiological attributes of the plants under same level of Cu. Moreover, Cu toxicity increased the oxidative stress in the leaves of both jute varieties was overcome by the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Furthermore, the high concentration of Cu altered the ultrastructure of chloroplasts, plastoglobuli, mitochondria, and many other cellular organelles in both jute varieties. Thus, phytoextraction of Cu by both jute varieties increased with the increase in P application in the Cu-contaminated soil. This suggests that P application enhanced the phytoremediation potential jute plants and can be cultivated as fibrous crop in Cu-contaminated sites. Image 1 • External application of P is pre-requisite for the better growth in jute under stress condition. • The variety HongTieGuXuan was proved more tolerant as compared to GuBaChangJia. • Application of P assisted phytoextraction of Cu in both jute varieties. • Phytotoxicity of Cu destroy ultra-structure of chloroplast. • Plant has strong antioxidant defence system to tolerate Cu-stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]