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Drought is one of the main factors affecting sweet cherry yields, and cherry rootstocks can provide a range of tree vigor levels to better match sweet cherries with the characteristics of the soil. To investigate the molecular events of the cherry to water deficiency, we performed transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of Prunus mahaleb CDR-1 (drought-tolerant cherry rootstock (DT)) and P. cerasus × P. canescens Gisela 5 (drought-susceptible cherry rootstock (DS)), respectively. The results revealed 253 common drought-responsive genes in leaves and roots in DT and 17 in DS; 59 upregulated metabolites were explored in leaves in DT and 19 were explored in DS. Differentially expressed metabolites related to the cyanoamino acid metabolism pathway and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway may be key factors in the difference in drought resistance in the two rootstocks. Moreover, six central metabolites—3-cyanoalanine, phenylalanine, quinic acid, asparagine, p-benzoquinone, and phytosphingosine—were identified as potential biological markers of drought response in cherries and may be key factors in the difference in drought resistance, along with caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid. We also selected 17 differentially expressed genes as core candidate genes and the mechanism of DT in response to drought is summarized.

Mahaleb cherry (Prunus mahaleb L.), an introduced variety in Central China, is generally planted for seed propagation while their fruit pulps were wasted. This study investigated the phytochemical and volatile composition of mahaleb cherry. The results showed it is rich in mineral elements, especially trace ones as like iron, copper, and zinc etc., with 5–10 times the content higher than sweet cherry. In addition, the extract of mahaleb cherry showed strong antioxidant capacity, and 62 components were identified through the UPLC–ESI–MS/MS, which contained three kinds of organic acids and 45 polyphenol compounds. Particularly, 29 compounds were first reported in cherry varieties. While for its strong aroma-related volatile composition, a SPME–GC/MS analysis indicated that aldehydes were the major volatile compounds (36.7%) with a content of 5.67 μg/100 g FW. Furthermore, coumarin and hydrocoumarin are first found in cherry fruit pulp as its unique aroma compounds. The clear identification of the basic compounds in mahaleb cherry is of great significance to reduce the waste of resources and promote its further rational processing and utilization.

Mahlab cherry (Prunus mahaleb L.) is a plant native to the Mediterranean basin and Eastern Europe, with several health benefits and culinary uses. We explored the compositional heterogeneity in the aroma profile and nutrients of three P. mahaleb seeds in the context of its cultivar type, i.e., white and red, and in response to roasting. A holistic untargeted metabolomics approach was employed for the first time using solid-phase microextraction (SPME–GC–MS) profiles of seed volatiles and primary metabolites coupled with chemometrics. Around 65 peaks belonging to sugars, fatty acids, esters and organic acids were identified by GC–MS. White mahlab from Egypt is rich in fatty acids, e.g., oleic and α-linolenic acids. Some acyl esters, e.g., glycerylmonostearate and n-butylcaprylate, characterized mahlab cultivars from various origins. A total of 135 volatiles were identified, with organic acids and aldehydes the most abundant. Aldehydes were the most discriminatory in seed origin and in accounting for its distinct aroma. Several roasting indices were identified, viz. 1-octanol, γ-caprolactone and isomintlactone. A direct relationship between furans and fatty acids was rationalized by cyclic transformation of the latter into furan derivatives. This study provides the first chemical evidence supporting the nutritional and flavor determinants of mahlab seeds, suggesting novel uses as a functional food.

There is an increasing consumer and retailer demand for new natural colorants. Anthocyanins are a class of molecules already used as water-soluble natural colorant and for their health effects. Prunus mahaleb L. is a tree native to the Mediterranean area, producing highly pigmented small-stone fruits currently not used for fresh consumption due to their astringent and sour taste. In the present study, we set up a protocol to obtain a “mahaleb fruit concentrated extract” (mfce) and characterized it chemically by high-performance liquid chromatography/diode array detection. Anthocyanins, flavonols, flavanols, coumarin, sugars, ascorbic acid and organic acids were identified and quantified. After characterization, the antioxidant capacity of the mfce was assayed in vitro by three different methods: Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity and Folin–Ciocalteu assays. The concentrated extract produced and characterized in this study showed a high content of anthocyanins, flavonols and coumarin and a strong antioxidant capacity. Therefore, mfce may be of interest as a natural food colorant and as an ingredient in the formulation of functional foods.

Prunus mahaleb L. kernel is defined as spice and used in food industry as flavouring agent. The aim of this study was the optimization of equilibrium time, extraction temperature, and extraction time conditions of HS-SPME for volatile compounds of Prunus mahaleb L. kernel. The optimization was implemented using response surface methodology and central composite design. A total of 21 volatile compounds from terpene, aldehyde, ketone, and alcohol chemical classes were determined in Prunus mahaleb L. kernel. The equilibrium time, extraction temperature, and extraction time had effect on area of α-pinene, β-pinene, sabinene, 3-carene, β-myrcene, α-phellandrene, limonene, 1,8-cineole, γ-terpinene, p-cymene, α-terpinolene, benzaldehyde, linalool, (E, E)-2,4-nonadienal, d-carvone, 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl) ethanone, and benzyl alcohol. Bornylene area was affected only from extraction time. The extraction of β-thujene, cinnamaldehyde, and coumarin were influenced by extraction temperature and time. The optimum HS-SPME conditions for Prunus mahaleb L. kernel volatiles were determined as 22.15 min equilibrium time, 69.99 °C extraction temperature and 51.79 min extraction time. At optimum extraction conditions coumarin was determined as the key volatile compound of Prunus mahaleb L. kernel.

The carried out investigations evaluated ovicidal activity of mahlab, L. kernel oil against cotton leafworm, (Boisd.). The chemical constituents of the fixed oil of mahlab were analyzed using gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). Timnodonic (33.07%), oleic (28.71%) and linoleic (24.35%) were the basic fatty acids, while the major hydrocarbon and sterol were found to be heneicosane (62.57%) and -sitosterol (10.57%). The LC values for the one-day-old egg masses were found to be more susceptible than 3-day-old ones. Moreover, the leaf dip technique occurred to be more efficient than spraying technique. The results also showed abnormalities in the external morphology of egg shell, chorion surface, shell imprints and aeropyles of eggs treated with mahlab and KZ oils as compared to a control by using scanning electron microscope. Generally, the tested oils significantly reduced the activities of transaminase enzymes (AST and ALT), acid and alkaline phosphatases and total soluble protein except mahlab oil on acid phosphatase as compared to a control. Additionally, the oils of both mahlab and KZ oil affected some biological aspects such as incubation period, larval duration, larval mortality and pupal weight comparing to a control.

1. Dispersal is a key individual-based process influencing many life-history attributes and scaling up to population-level properties (e.g. metapopulation connectivity). A persistent challenge in dispersal ecology has been the robust characterization of dispersal functions (kernels), a fundamental tool to predict how dispersal processes respond under global change scenarios. Particularly, the rightmost tail of these functions, that is the long-distance dispersal (LDD) events, are difficult to characterize empirically and to model in realistic ways. 2. But, when is it a LDD event? In the specific case of plants, dispersal has three basic components: (i) a distinct (sessile) source, the maternal plant producing the fruits or the paternal tree acting as a source of pollen; (ii) a distance component between source and target locations; and (iii) a vector actually performing the movement entailing the dispersal event. Here, I discuss operative definitions of LDD based on their intrinsic properties: (i) events crossing geographic boundaries among stands; and (ii) events contributing to effective gene flow and propagule migration. 3. Strict-sense long-distance dispersal involves movement both outside the stand geographic limits and outside the genetic neighbourhood area of individuals. Combinations of propagule movements within/outside these two spatial reference frames result in four distinct modes of LDD. 4. Synthesis. I expect truncation of seed dispersal kernels to have multiple consequences on demography and genetics, following to the loss of key dispersal services in natural populations. Irrespective of neighbourhood sizes, loss of LDD events may result in more structured and less cohesive genetic pools, with increased isolation by distance extending over broader areas. Proper characterization of the LDD events helps to assess, for example, how the ongoing defaunation of large-bodied frugivores pervasively entails the loss of crucial LDD functions.

The yield formation of sweet cherries occurs in a relatively short time and has been influenced by various factors. Shortly after blooming, the incompletely fructified fruits drop off the trees. Later, the second fruit drop is mostly is related to resource availability and sink-source relations in the trees. The aim of the study was to evaluate the initial fruit density, fruit drop and final fruit density for eleven sweet cherry cultivars and the impact of rootstocks, year-to-year differences and growing systems. Fruit density on a sample branches was detected in 2022 – 2024 after the initial fruit drop and the second fruit drop. Generally, the number of fruits reduced by 24 – 86% during their development and it was affected by growing season, cultivar and rootstock. The lowest level of fruit drop was shown by the cultivars ‘Paula’ in growing system with VOEN cover and drip irrigation. Fruit drop was significantly less for the trees grown on the rootstock ‘Latvijas Zemais’ (Prunus cerasus L.) comparing to the trees on the rootstocks P7 and Mahaleb cherry (Prunus mahaleb L.).

Frugivores are highly variable in their contribution to fruit removal in plant populations. However, data are lacking on species-specific variation in two central aspects of seed dispersal, distance of dispersal and probability of dispersal among populations through long-distance transport. We used DNA-based genotyping techniques on Prunus mahaleb seeds dispersed by birds (small- and medium-sized passerines) and carnivorous mammals to infer each seed's source tree, dispersal distance, and the probability of having originated from outside the study population. Small passerines dispersed most seeds short distances (50% dispersed <51 m from source trees) and into covered microhabitats. Mammals and medium-sized birds dispersed seeds long distances (50% of mammals dispersed seeds >495 m, and 50% of medium-sized birds dispersed seeds to > 110 m) and mostly into open microhabitats. Thus, dispersal distance and microhabitat of seed deposition were linked through the contrasting behaviors of different frugivores. When the quantitative contribution to fruit removal was accounted for, mammals were responsible for introducing two-thirds of the immigrant seeds into the population, whereas birds accounted for one-third. Our results demonstrate that frugivores differ widely in their effects on seed-mediated gene flow. Despite highly diverse coteries of mutualistic frugivores dispersing seeds, critical long-distance dispersal events might rely on a small subset of large species. Population declines of these key frugivore species may seriously impair seed-mediated gene flow in fragmented landscapes by truncating the long-distance events and collapsing seed arrival to a restricted subset of available microsites.

Cherry fruit is a natural food that has been consumed since ancient times due to its remarkable nutritional and therapeutic properties. In this study, total phenolic, total flavonoid, total monomeric anthocyanin contents, total antioxidant capacity and polyphenolic contents of fruit samples belonging to 14 (two of them endemic) different Prunus (cherry) taxa naturally distributed in Turkey were compared. Qualitative and quantitative determination of 23 individual phenolic compounds (fourteen phenolic acids, five flavonols, one flavan-3-ol, one flavone, one dihydrochalcone and one phytoalexin) was performed by LC–MS/MS (liquid chromatography technique coupled with tandem mass spectrometry). Antioxidant activities of fruit samples were determined using CERAC, CUPRAC and ABTS test methods. According to the results obtained, it was found that Prunus mahaleb var. alpina (107.57 mg cyanidin 3-glucoside/100 g FW) and Prunus mahaleb var. mahaleb (90.95 mg cyanidin 3-glucoside/100 g FW) had higher anthocyanin content compared to other fruit samples. It was determined that Prunus incana var. velutina, one of the endemic species, has a remarkable total phenolic content (10.76 mg gallic acid/g FW), individual phenolic content (641.58 mg/ 100 g, a total of individual phenolics with LC–MS/MS) and total antioxidant capacity (25.1 mg Trolox/100 g FW with CERAC assay). This article is the first study to report the comparative phytochemical content of different Prunus taxa in Turkey and the phytochemical properties of Prunus incana var. velutina. It has been concluded that endemic Prunus incana var. velutina has the potential to be used as an alternative to the taxa Prunus mahaleb, Prunus avium and Prunus vulgaris as a health-protective food and as a food additive due to its remarkable polyphenolic content, anthocyanin content and total antioxidant capacity.