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Tuber dormancy in Solanum tuberosum L. (potato) significantly limits early growth and yield potential, highlighting the need for effective dormancy-breaking strategies. Gibberellic acid (GA₃) is widely used to stimulate sprouting, but its optimal concentration and exposure time require further evaluation. This study, conducted in 2023 at the Department of Horticulture, University of Haripur, employed a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) to investigate the effects of four GA₃ concentrations (0, 50, 100, and 150 ppm) and four dipping durations (6, 12, 18, and 24 h), totaling 20 treatment combinations. Key parameters measured included sprouting percentage, time to sprout, number of sprouts per tuber, sprout length and diameter, fresh and dry sprout weight, and relative water content. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA at P  < 0.05. The most effective treatment—150 ppm GA₃ with a 24-hour dipping duration—achieved a 98.33% sprouting rate and the shortest sprouting time (20.45 days). This combination also resulted in the highest number of sprouts (5.63), longest sprout length (10.23 cm), maximum sprout diameter (5.7 mm), greatest fresh (1.18 g) and dry weights (0.31 g), and highest relative water content (83.31%). These findings suggest that high-concentration GA₃ treatments with extended exposure durations effectively break dormancy and enhance sprouting vigor. Future research should explore the biochemical pathways involved and evaluate economic feasibility and field performance under varied agro-climatic conditions for large-scale application.

Background The flowering and tuberization are controlled by common determinants that mediate the regulation of both processes. Among transcription regulators involved in light-dependent aspects of growth and development are B-box zinc finger proteins. To gain a better understanding of the StBBX24 role in flowering and tuber formation, we aimed to investigate the regulatory network of StBBX24 in apical shoot parts at different stages of development and in stolons at the hook stage of tuber formation in StBBX24 -silenced and -overexpressed lines using RNA-seq. In addition, we intended to identify StBBX24-targeted genes specific to the light-dark cycle and potentially involved in potato reproduction by performing CHIP-seq. Results The genome-wide analysis of StBBX24 binding sites identified numerous light- and dark-specific targets, among them those participating in the induction of flowering and floral development. RNA-seq analysis of the apical shoot parts of StBBX24 -silenced and -overexpressed lines revealed substantial modifications in the expression of genes functioning in the flowering process. Furthermore, hook-stage stolons transcriptomics of the transgenic lines revealed that the StBBX24 protein also affects the tuberization process through alteration of the expression of genes participating in stolon-to-tuber transition. Conclusions Altogether, these data reveal that StBBX24 is involved in potato flowering repression and impedes the formation of tubers. Our results provided a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular basis of potato reproduction and the participation of the StBBX24 protein in this process.

In this study, members of the BvDof transcription factor family were identified in the beet genome data ( Beta vulgaris L.) Through systematic analysis, 22 BvDof family genes were found in the beet genome, and they were divided into nine groups by phylogenetic analysis. Fifteen members of the BvERF family were involved in the transition to rapid root tuber growth. There was a tandem replication during the generation of the Dof gene family in sugar beet. Bv1_zfms , Bv_ofna , Bv5_racn , and Bv6_augo may be involved in the regulation of secondary cambium development in the beet root tuber. Bv9_nood , Bv1_zfms , and Bv6_cdca may be related to the growth rate of root tubers. The results provide a reference for further elucidating the molecular mechanism of the BvDof transcription factor, which regulates the development of beet root tubers.

The tubers of Curcuma kwangsiensis are regarded as an important medicinal material in China. In C. kwangsiensis cultivation, tuber expansion is key to yield and quality, but the regulatory mechanisms are not well understood. In this study, metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses were conducted to elucidate the mechanism underlying tuber expansion development. The results showed that auxin (IAA), jasmonic acid (JA), gibberellin (GA 3) , ethylene (ETH), and brassinolide (BR) levels increased during tuber expansion development. Metabolomic analysis showed that 197 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) accumulated during tuber expansion development and these also play important roles in the accumulation of carbohydrates and secondary metabolites. 6962 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in plant hormone signal transduction, starch and sucrose metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, MAPK signaling pathway as well as sesquiterpenoid and triterpenoid biosynthesis. Comprehensive analysis revealed that DEGs and DAMs of plant hormone signal transduction, ABC transporters and biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids and terpenoids are critical pathways in regulating tuber expansion. In addition, some transcription factors ( ARF , C2H2 , C3H , NAC , bHLH , GRAS and WRKY ) as well as hub genes ( HDS , HMGR , ARF7 , PP2CA , PAL and CCOMT ) are also involved in this process. This study lays a theoretical basis for the molecular mechanism of tuber expansion in C. kwangsiensis .

Root and tuber crops are of great importance. They not only contribute to feeding the population but also provide raw material for medicine and small-scale industries. The yield of the root and tuber crops is subject to the development of stem/root tubers, which involves the initiation, expansion, and maturation of storage organs. The formation of the storage organ is a highly intricate process, regulated by multiple phytohormones. Gibberellins (GAs) and abscisic acid (ABA), as antagonists, are essential regulators during stem/root tuber development. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the roles of GA and ABA during stem/root tuber development in various tuber crops.

The soluble protein fraction of fully developed potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers is dominated by patatin, a 40 kD storage glycoprotein, and protease inhibitors. Potato multicystatin (PMC) is a multidomain Cys-type protease inhibitor. PMC effectively inhibits degradation of patatin by tuber proteases in vitro. Herein we show that changes in PMC, patatin concentration, activities of various proteases, and their gene expression are temporally linked during tuber development, providing evidence that PMC has a role in regulating tuber protein content in vivo. PMC was barely detectable in non-tuberized stolons. PMC transcript levels increased progressively during tuberization, concomitant with a 40-fold increase in PMC concentration (protein basis) as tubers developed to 10 g fresh wt. Further increases in PMC were comparatively modest (3.7-fold) as tubers developed to full maturity (250 g). Protease activity declined precipitously as PMC levels increased during tuberization. Proteolytic activity was highest in non-tuberized stolons and fell substantially through the 10-g fresh wt stage. Cys-type proteases dominated the pre-tuberization and earliest stages of tuber development. Increases in patatin transcript levels during tuberization were accompanied by a notable lag in patatin accumulation. Patatin did not begin to accumulate substantially on a protein basis until tubers had reached the 10-g stage, wherein protease activity had been inhibited by approximately 60%. These results indicate that a threshold level of PMC (ca. 3 μg tuber⁻¹, 144 ng mg⁻¹ protein) is needed to favor patatin accumulation. Collectively, these results are consistent with a role for PMC in facilitating the accumulation of proteins in developing tubers by inhibiting Cys-type proteases.

Plasma membrane proton pumps (PM H+-ATPases) are involved in several physiological processes, such as growth and development, and abiotic stress responses. The major regulators of the PM H+-ATPases are proteins of the 14-3-3 family, which stimulate its activity. In addition, a novel interaction partner of the AHA1 PM H+-ATPase, named PPI1 (proton pump interactor, isoform 1), was identified in Arabidopsis thaliana. This protein stimulates the activity of the proton pump in vitro. In this work, we report the characterization of an A. thaliana PPI1 homolog in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) named StPPI1. The full-length coding sequence of StPPI1 was obtained. The open reading frame (ORF) encodes a protein of 629 amino acids showing 50% identity with A. thaliana PPI1 protein. The StPPI1 ORF is divided into seven exons split by six introns. Southern blot analysis suggests that StPPI1 belongs to a family of related genes. Recombinant StPPI1 stimulates H+-ATPase activity in vitro. Basal levels of StPPI1 transcripts are observed in all tissues, however, StPPI1 expression is higher in proliferative regions (shoot apex and flower buds), flowers and leaves than in shoots and roots. StPPI1 mRNA levels significantly increase during tuber development. StPPI1 is induced by salt stress and cold. Drought and mechanical wounding slightly increase StPPI1 transcript levels. In addition, the expression of SlPPI1, the tomato homolog of StPPI1, was determined under adverse environmental conditions in tomato plants. SlPPI1 mRNA levels are increased by drought and cold, but are unaffected by salt stress. Mechanical wounding slightly increases SlPPI1 expression.

Brassica rapa displays enormous morphological diversity, with leafy vegetables, turnips and oil crops. Turnips (Brassica rapa subsp. rapa) represent one of the morphotypes, which form tubers and can be used to study the genetics underlying storage organ formation. In the present study we investigated several characteristics of an extensive turnip collection comprising 56 accessions from both Asia (mainly Japanese origin) and Europe. Population structure was calculated using data from 280 evenly distributed SNP markers over 56 turnip accessions. We studied the anatomy of turnip tubers and measured carbohydrate composition of the mature turnip tubers of a subset of the collection. The variation in 16 leaf traits, 12 tuber traits and flowering time was evaluated in five independent experiments for the entire collection. The effect of vernalization on flowering and tuber formation was also investigated. SNP marker profiling basically divided the turnip accessions into two subpopulations, with admixture, generally corresponding with geographical origin (Europe or Asia). The enlarged turnip tuber consists of both hypocotyl and root tissue, but the proportion of the two tissues differs between accessions. The ratio of sucrose to fructose and glucose differed among accessions, while generally starch content was low. The evaluated traits segregated in both subpopulations, with leaf shape, tuber colour and number of shoots per tuber explaining most variation between the two subpopulations. Vernalization resulted in reduced flowering time and smaller tubers for the Asian turnips whereas the European turnips were less affected by vernalization.

Background Potato (Solanum tuberosum ) breeding is severely hindered by its highly heterozygous autotetraploid genome, where complex allelic interactions impede precise trait selection. Reconstructing complete haplotype-resolved assemblies is crucial for genome-assisted breeding. However, current assembly methods for autopolyploids often generate fragmented sequences, haplotype-switch errors, and gaps in complex regions such as centromeres. Results To address these challenges, we develop PHap, a haplotype assembly pipeline tailored for autopolyploids, using only standard sequencing data, including long-reads and Hi-C. Applying PHap to the autotetraploid potato cultivar HuaShu4, we generate a haplotype-resolved, near telomere-to-telomere assembly of 3.12 Gb with an N50 of 32.7 Mb and 99.7% haplotype accuracy. Comparisons with alternative methods and existing assemblies highlight PHap’s advantages in assembly quality and cost-effectiveness. Integration of transcriptomic and epigenomic data demonstrates that the genomic and methylation divergence across haplotypes drives substantial allelic expression differentiation. Time-course RNA-seq further reveals, for the first time, that 55% of genes exhibit divergent allelic expression, with dynamic shifts in dominant or suppressed alleles during tuber development. Additionally, our assembly resolves high-resolution haplotype-specific structures in centromeres and subtelomeres, as well as haplotype divergence of structural rearrangements. It also shows neocentromere formation via the expansion of megabase-scale satellite arrays. Conclusions These findings provide insights into the architecture of autopolyploid genomes and establish a foundation for genomics-assisted breeding of polyploid potatoes.

Transcription factors containing a CCCH structure (C3H) play important roles in plant growth and development, and their stress response, but research on the C3H gene family in potato has not been reported yet. In this study, we used bioinformatics to identify 50 C3H genes in potato and named them StC3H-1 to StC3H-50 according to their location on chromosomes, and we analyzed their physical and chemical properties, chromosome location, phylogenetic relationship, gene structure, collinearity relationship, and cis-regulatory element. The gene expression pattern analysis showed that many StC3H genes are involved in potato growth and development, and their response to diverse environmental stresses. Furthermore, RT-qPCR data showed that the expression of many StC3H genes was induced by high temperatures, indicating that StC3H genes may play important roles in potato response to heat stress. In addition, Some StC3H genes were predominantly expressed in the stolon and developing tubers, suggesting that these StC3H genes may be involved in the regulation of tuber development. Together, these results provide new information on StC3H genes and will be helpful for further revealing the function of StC3H genes in the heat stress response and tuber development in potato.