Project description:Bull’s eye rot is one of the most severe diseases that may affect apples during storage. It is caused by the fungus Neofabraea vagabunda, and the mechanism by which the pathogen infects the fruits is only partially understood. In particular, very little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating the interaction between the pathogen and the host during symptoms development. Despite different apple cultivars show different levels of resistance to the pathogen, the genetic basis of these responses are unknown. In order to understand the molecular mechanisms occurring in the apple fruit during N. vagabunda infection, a large-scale transcriptome study by RNA-Seq analysis was performed, comparing fruits of the sensitive ‘Roho’ cultivar and the resistant cultivar ‘Ariane’ after artificial infection with N. vagabunda and a storage period of 4 months.
Project description:<p>BACKGROUND: In China, a majority of apple orchards were initially planted under arboriculture. Noteworthy, as the trees age, there is an increase in the number of branches and the degree of orchard depression and deterioration of the canopy light conditions. This phenomenon results in in blockage of bud differentiation, causing yield decrease and overall deterioration in fruit quality. Intercropping is an effective strategy for addressing the issue of orchard depression. However, the impact of intercropping on bud differentiation remains unclear. This study thus analyzed the physiological and metabolic aspects of flower bud differentiation after thinning and reshaping an overcrowded orchard. METHODS: A series of physiological and metabolomic analyses were conducted on terminal flower bud samples collected during early (T1) and late (T2) bud differentiation following thinning and reshaping alongside their controls CK1 and CK2. RESULTS: The T1 group had significantly higher amounts of sucrose, glucose, fructose and sorbitol compared to its control. Metabolomic analyses yielded 845 metabolites. Among these metabolites, 72 were significantly different in CK1 vs T1. In contrast, 73 metabolites were different in CK2 vs T2, while 26 metabolites were common between the two comparison groups. CK1 vs T1 and CK2 vs T2 had 20 and 16 enhanced metabolic pathways, respectively. Bud differentiation was closely associated with the phenylpropane and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Thinning and reshaping of the apple orchard improved light penetration and increased the content of coumarins and eriodictyol, thereby promoting flower bud differentiation. This study provides new insights into how orchard management practices, such as thinning, pruning and shaping, promote flower bud development in apple trees.</p>
Project description:Gene expression associated with apple fruit ripening and postharvest treatments was studied to identify transcripts that are regulated by ethylene signaling.