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Background Stauntonia chinensis DC. belongs to subfamily Lardizabaloideae, which is widely grown throughout southern China. It has been used as a traditional herbal medicinal plant, which could synthesize a number of triterpenoid saponins with anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the wild resources of this species and its relatives were threatened by over-exploitation before the genetic diversity and evolutionary analysis were uncovered. Thus, the complete chloroplast genome sequences of Stauntonia chinensis and comparative analysis of chloroplast genomes of Lardizabaloideae species are necessary and crucial to understand the plastome evolution of this subfamily. Results A series of analyses including genome structure, GC content, repeat structure, SSR component, nucleotide diversity and codon usage were performed by comparing chloroplast genomes of Stauntonia chinensis and its relatives. Although the chloroplast genomes of eight Lardizabaloideae plants were evolutionary conserved, the comparative analysis also showed several variation hotspots, which were considered as highly variable regions. Additionally, pairwise Ka/Ks analysis showed that most of the chloroplast genes of Lardizabaloideae species underwent purifying selection, whereas 25 chloroplast protein coding genes were identified with positive selection in this subfamily species by using branch-site model. Bayesian and ML phylogeny on CCG (complete chloroplast genome) and CDs (coding DNA sequences) produced a well-resolved phylogeny of Lardizabaloideae plastid lineages. Conclusions This study enhanced the understanding of the evolution of Lardizabaloideae and its relatives. All the obtained genetic resources will facilitate future studies in DNA barcode, species discrimination, the intraspecific and interspecific variability and the phylogenetic relationships of subfamily Lardizabaloideae.

Background Akebia trifoliata , belonging to the Lardizabalaceae family, is a well-known Chinese traditional medicinal plant, susceptible to many diseases, such as anthracnose and powdery mildew. WRKY is one of the largest plant-specific transcription factor families and plays important roles in plant growth, development and stress response, especially in disease resistance. However, little was known about the numbers, characters, evolutionary relationship and expression of WRKY genes in A. trifoliata in response to plant disease due to lacking of A. trifoliata genome. Results A total of 42 putative AktWRKY genes were identified based on the full-length transcriptome-sequencing data of A. trifoliata . Then 42 AktWRKY genes were divided into three major groups (Group I-III) based on the WRKY domains. Motif analysis showed members within same group shared a similar motif composition, implying a functional conservation. Tissue-specific expression analysis showed that AktWRKY genes could be detected in all tissues, while few AktWRKY genes were tissue specific. We further evaluated the expression of AktWRKY genes in three varieties in response to Colletotrichum acutatum by qRT-PCR. The expression patterns of AktWRKY genes were similar between C01 and susceptible variety I02, but distinctly different in resistant variety H05. In addition, it showed that more than 64 percentages of AktWRKY genes were differentially expressed during fungal infection in I02 and H05. Furthermore, Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that AktWRKY genes were categorized into 26 functional groups under cellular components, molecular functions and biological processes, and a predicted protein interaction network was also constructed. Conclusions Results of bioinformation analysis and expression patterns implied that AktWRKYs might play multiple function in response to biotic stresses. Our study could facilitate to further investigate the function and regulatory mechanism of the WRKY in A. trifoliata during pathogen response.

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) is the core branch-point enzyme connecting plant primary aromatic amino acid metabolism to the phenylpropanoid pathway, which determines carbon flux redistribution between growth and defense and is essential for plant adaptation to various environments. Extensive research has clarified PAL’s conserved homotetrameric structure, MIO cofactor-dependent catalytic mechanism, and its roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. However, there is a lack of comprehensive review studies focusing on PAL-mediated carbon metabolic flux redistribution, specifically covering its structural and evolutionary foundations, the links between this flux regulation and plant growth/development, its multi-layered regulatory network, and its roles in stress adaptation, limiting a comprehensive understanding of its evolutionary and functional diversity. This review systematically covers four core aspects: first, the molecular foundation, encompassing PAL’s structural features and catalytic specificity governed by the MIO cofactor; second, evolutionary diversity spanning from algae to angiosperms, with emphasis on unique regulatory mechanisms and evolutionary significance across lineages; third, the multi-layered regulatory network, integrating transcriptional control, post-translational modifications, epigenetic regulation, and functional crosstalk with phytohormones; and fourth, functional dynamics, which elaborate PAL’s roles in organ development, including root lignification, stem mechanical strength, leaf photoprotection, flower and fruit quality formation, and lifecycle-wide dynamic expression, as well as its mediated stress adaptations and regulatory networks under combined stresses. These insights provide a theoretical basis for targeted manipulation of PAL to optimize crop carbon allocation, thus improving growth performance, enhance stress resilience, and promote sustainable agriculture.

Background Ca 2+ played as a ubiquitous secondary messenger involved in plant growth, development, and responses to various environmental stimuli. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPK) were important Ca 2+ sensors, which could directly translate Ca 2+ signals into downstream phosphorylation signals. Considering the importance of CDPKs as Ca 2+ effectors for regulation of plant stress tolerance and few studies on Brachypodium distachyon were available, it was of interest for us to isolate CDPKs from B. distachyon . Results A systemic analysis of 30 CDPK family genes in B. distachyon was performed. Results showed that all BdCDPK family members contained conserved catalytic Ser/Thr protein kinase domain, autoinhibitory domain, and EF-hand domain, and a variable N-terminal domain, could be divided into four subgroup (I-IV), based upon sequence homology. Most BdCDPKs had four EF-hands, in which EF2 and EF4 revealed high variability and strong divergence from EF-hand in AtCDPKs. Synteny results indicated that large number of syntenic relationship events existed between rice and B. distachyon , implying their high conservation. Expression profiles indicated that most of BdCDPK genes were involved in phytohormones signal transduction pathways and regulated physiological process in responding to multiple environmental stresses. Moreover, the co-expression network implied that BdCDPKs might be both the activator and the repressor involved in WRKY transcription factors or MAPK cascade genes mediated stress response processes, base on their complex regulatory network. Conclusions BdCDPKs might play multiple function in WRKY or MAPK mediated abiotic stresses response and phytohormone signaling transduction in B. distachyon . Our genomics analysis of BdCDPKs could provide fundamental information for further investigation the functions of CDPKs in integrating Ca 2+ signalling pathways in response to environments stresses in B. distachyon .

Background Tea geometrid Ectropis grisescens (Geometridae: Lepidoptera), is one of the most destructive defoliators in tea plantations in China. The MAPK cascade is known to be an evolutionarily conserved signaling module, acting as pivotal cores of host–pathogen interactions. Although the chromosome-level reference genome of E. grisescens was published, the whole MAPK cascade gene family has not been fully identified yet, especially the expression patterns of MAPK cascade gene family members upon an ecological biopesticide, Metarhizium anisopliae , remains to be understood. Results In this study, we have identified 19 MAPK cascade gene family members in E. grisescens , including 5 MAPKs, 4 MAP2Ks, 8 MAP3Ks, and 2 MAP4Ks. The molecular evolution characteristics of the whole Eg-MAPK cascade gene family, including gene structures, protein structural organization, chromosomal localization, orthologs construction and gene duplication, were systematically investigated. Our results showed that the members of Eg-MAPK cascade gene family were unevenly distributed in 13 chromosomes, and the clustered members in each group shared similar structures of the genes and proteins. Gene expression data revealed that MAPK cascade genes were expressed in all four developmental stages of E. grisescens and were fairly and evenly distributed in four different larva tissues. Importantly, most of the MAPK cascade genes were induced or constitutively expressed upon M. anisopliae infection. Conclusions In summary, the present study was one of few studies on MAPK cascade gene in E. grisescens . The characterization and expression profiles of Eg-MAPK cascades genes might help develop new ecofriendly biological insecticides to protect tea trees.

The heat shock protein 70s (Hsp70s) and heat shock factors (Hsfs) play key roles in protecting plant cells or tissues from various abiotic stresses. Brachypodium distachyon, recently developed an excellent model organism for functional genomics research, is related to the major cereal grain species. Although B. distachyon genome has been fully sequenced, the information of Hsf and Hsp70 genes and especially the regulatory network between Hsfs and Hsp70s remains incomplete. Here, a total of 24 BdHsfs and 29 BdHsp70s were identified in the genome by bioinformatics analysis and the regulatory network between Hsfs and Hsp70s were performed in this study. Based on highly conserved domain and motif analysis, BdHsfs were grouped into three classes, and BdHsp70s divided into six groups, respectively. Most of Hsf proteins contain five conserved domains: DBD, HR-A/B region, NLS and NES motifs and AHA domain, while Hsp70 proteins have three conserved domains: N-terminal nucleotide binding domain, peptide binding domain and a variable C-terminal lid region. Expression data revealed a large number of BdHsfs and BdHsp70s were induced by HS challenge, and a previous heat acclimation could induce the acquired thermotolerance to help seedling suffer the severe HS challenge, suggesting that the BdHsfs and BdHsp70s played a role in alleviating the damage by HS. The comparison revealed that, most BdHsfs and BdHsp70s genes responded to multiple abiotic stresses in an overlapping relationship, while some of them were stress specific response genes. Moreover, co-expression relationships and predicted protein-protein interaction network implied that class A and B Hsfs played as activator and repressors, respectively, suggesting that BdHsp70s might be regulated by both the activation and the repression mechanisms under stress condition. Our genomics analysis of BdHsfs and BdHsp70s provides important evolutionary and functional characterization for further investigation of the accurate regulatory mechanisms among Hsfs and Hsp70s in herbaceous plants.

The tea geometrid (Ectropis grisescens) is a significant pest in Chinese tea plantations. Although Metarhizium anisopliae serves as an environmentally friendly biocontrol agent against E. grisescens, the molecular mechanisms underlying the insect’s immune response remain unclear. This study investigates changes in immunity-related genes and metabolites in E. grisescens larvae infected with a virulent strain of M. anisopliae through transcriptome sequencing and metabolome analysis. We identified 2409 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at 48 h post-infection, with 1611 genes up-regulated. GO analysis revealed that 119 DEGs were significantly enriched in immune-related processes. Additionally, 1860 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were detected, including 652 up-regulated and 1208 down-regulated metabolites, with 236 significantly enriched in 82 KEGG pathways. These findings indicate the activation of immunity-related and detoxifying enzyme-related genes, providing new insights into the physiological and biochemical responses of insects to biopesticides and potential targets for controlling tea geometrid.

The autonomous navigation capability of USVs in complex water environments relies on Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technology. However, water surface perturbations and reflections generate numerous dynamic invalid feature points, causing low localization accuracy and poor robustness in VSLAM. To this end, we propose a monocular VSLAM algorithm considering dynamic invalid features of the water surface for USV, named WS-SLAM. Firstly, the ORBSLAM3 framework is improved by adding the PP-LiteSeg semantic segmentation thread to distinguish between dynamic invalid feature points of the water surface and feature points on shore. Secondly, semantic information is used to generate a mask to cull dynamic invalid feature points of the water surface, reducing the impact of water current perturbation on visual localization. Then, further culling of potentially residual dynamic feature points on shore is performed in conjunction with the epipolar geometric constraint. Finally, the camera position is estimated using only static feature points. The experimental results based on the public USVInland dataset show that WSSLAM improves the positioning accuracy by an average of 43.47% in straight line sailing compared with ORBSLAM3. It can effectively inhibit the position drift caused by the dynamic invalid features of the water surface and has higher positioning accuracy and stronger robustness.

var. 'Jinsihuang', an ornamental chrysanthemum with notable medicinal and edible value, had its complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequenced, assembled, and annotated in this study. The cp genome is 151,060 bp long, exhibiting a typical quadripartite structure: an 82,858 bp large single-copy (LSC) region, an 18,294 bp small single-copy (SSC) region, and two inverted repeat (IR) regions (24,954 bp each). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that it is most closely related to  ×  . This study provides valuable genomic resources for understanding its phylogenetic relationships and genetic diversity, contributing to future research on its evolution and conservation.