Scientia Horticulturae最新文献

{"title":"Synergistic effects of melatonin and abscisic acid on salinity tolerance of bell pepper","authors":"Mahla Khalili, Maryam Haghighi, Nematollah Etemadi, Maryam Mozafarian","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114429","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114429","url":null,"abstract":"The productivity of bell pepper (<ce:italic>Capsicum annuum</ce:italic> L.), a globally important vegetable, is compromised by soil salinity. Both melatonin (MT) and abscisic acid (ABA) have been reported to improve tolerance to environmental stresses; however, their combined influence on pepper has yet to be clarified. This study examined the individual and synergistic effects of 50 µM ABA (ABA50), 100 µM MT (MT100), and their combination (ABA50+MT100) on the salt tolerance of green and red bell pepper varieties under 0 mM (S0) and 100 mM (S100) NaCl. A completely randomized factorial design was used with six replicates. Salinity stress significantly reduced the root biomass, fruit size, firmness, chlorophyll content, and overall yield. However, the ABA50+MT100 treatment notably improved the plant height, fruit diameter, firmness, chlorophyll a content, and total fruit number under saline conditions. This combined application also enhanced total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), vitamin C, magnesium content, and antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, POD, DPPH), while markedly reducing oxidative stress markers such as MDA, H₂O₂, proline, and electrolyte leakage. Moreover, it maintained potassium and calcium homeostasis and limited sodium accumulation. Heat map analysis confirmed that ABA50+MT100 was the most effective treatment for preserving physiological, biochemical, and quality traits under salinity stress. Red peppers responded more favorably than green ones. Endogenous ABA and MT levels increased with salinity, suggesting a coordinated hormonal interaction that underlies enhanced stress adaptation.","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145228913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"End-of-production light treatments as a tool for controlling chemical composition of herbs and lettuce","authors":"Karl-Johan Bergstrand ,&nbsp;Vilhelmiina Harju ,&nbsp;Marika Tossavainen","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114428","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114428","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Growing plants in indoor environments (“Vertical farms”/”Plant factories”) provides good opportunities of controlling all climatic factors, including light intensity, daily light integral, and light quality. Thus, it is possible to control the quality of the produce to a great extent. The present study examines the possibilities to use “end-of-production” treatments with narrow band light to control the quality of leafy vegetables. Two different experiments were performed, comprising different types of leafy vegetables which were grown in sole multi-wavelength LED light, or in a greenhouse with high-pressure sodium light, for the first weeks of the production cycle. At the end of the production cycle, plants were subjected to narrow-band light at different peak wavelengths for the last four days before harvest. Four different narrow-band light treatments (peak wavelengths 456, 520, 596, and 663 nm) were included in the study. The leafy vegetables were analysed with respect to their content of chlorophylls, carotenoids, and total phenolic content, in addition to biometric data (fresh- and dry weight). The results indicated the potential of end-of-production treatments to modify the concentration of secondary metabolites in leafy vegetables, with especially blue and yellow light treatments having the potential of increasing the concentration of phenolic compounds and lutein/<em>ϐ-</em>carotene. However, for some of the treatments and cultivars, fresh- and/or dry weight was significantly reduced by the end-of-production treatment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"352 ","pages":"Article 114428"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145223146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of green light replacing some red and blue light on the healing and growth of two-stage-grafted tomato seedlings","authors":"Guoxiu Wu ,&nbsp;Zhe Li ,&nbsp;Jiazi Zhang ,&nbsp;Shuhua Liu ,&nbsp;Xueying He ,&nbsp;Dandan Cui ,&nbsp;Yang Li ,&nbsp;Yanman Li ,&nbsp;Fan Wang ,&nbsp;Shengli Li","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114420","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114420","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rapid healing in high-density environments and rooting during the cutting stage are the main challenges in two-stage grafted tomato seedling cultivation. Previous studies have indicated that green light may have a growth-promoting effect on plants. To verify the role of green light, white light (W), red:blue light at a 7:3 ratio (R7B3), and R7B3 supplemented with 10%, 20%, or 30% green light (R7B3G1, R7B3G2, and R7B3G3, respectively) were used during the healing period of the two-stage grafting. The results showed that the grafted seedlings treated with R7B3G2 and R7B3G3 exhibited the highest survival rates. R7B3G3 treatment promoted the fastest healing, with better-developed isolation layers and healing tissues, higher antioxidant enzyme activities and carotenoid content, and lower superoxide anion content at the wound site. There was a higher survival rate of cuttings after 3 d of high-density healing treatment. Among them, R7B3G2 and R7B3G3 treatments exhibited the highest survival rates. After 1, 3, and 5 d of treatment with R7B3G2 and R7B3G3, the root systems and aboveground growth of the grafted cuttings were good, which were significantly affected by light quality, healing time, and their interaction. The correlation between the various growth indicators of the grafted cuttings after high-density healing for 3 d was relatively high, and was followed by healing for 5 d. In conclusion, the most favorable healing was achieved with R7B3G3 treatment. The best performance in terms of survival rate and quality of grafted seedlings was obtained when cutting was performed within 3 d, while reducing the cost and space requirements associated with conventional plug seedling healing and transportation processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"352 ","pages":"Article 114420"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145195889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trichoderma asperellum M7 stimulates resident rhizobacterial consortia and alters the tomato fruit metabolic profile to enhance the sugar-acid ratio in postharvest tomatoes","authors":"Xiaojuan Li, Dengbo Zhou, Junting Feng, Yufeng Chen, Yankun Zhao, Bingyu Cai, Yongzan Wei, Miaoyi Zhang, Dengfeng Qi, Kai Li, Kaibing Zhou, Wei Wang, Jianghui Xie","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114366","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114366","url":null,"abstract":"Tomato (<ce:italic>Solanum lycopersicum</ce:italic> L.), a globally cultivated fruit crop of the nightshade family, is highly valued for its broad dietary applications and health-promoting properties. In recent years, escalating consumer preferences for nutritious food options, coupled with rising disposable incomes and heightened awareness of dietary wellness, have significantly driven market demand for superior-grade tomato varieties. Consequently, enhancing fruit quality has emerged as a critical determinant in securing competitive advantages within the agricultural and horticultural sectors. Although using <ce:italic>Trichoderma</ce:italic> to improve fruit quality is an environmentally friendly approach, the microbial ecological mechanisms and the fruit metabolic profile by which <ce:italic>Trichoderma</ce:italic> inoculation affects fruit quality remain unclear. This study primarily explores the role of <ce:italic>Trichoderma asperellum</ce:italic> M7 in improving tomato quality from the perspectives of rhizosphere soil microbial communities and fruit metabolism, revealing its potential mechanisms. It was found that <ce:italic>T. asperellum</ce:italic> M7 enhanced the sugar-acid ratio of tomato fruits through the action of soil microorganisms, and this increase was significantly correlated with the genera <ce:italic>TM7a</ce:italic> and <ce:italic>Candidatus</ce:italic>_<ce:italic>Saccharimonas</ce:italic>. Furthermore, the application of <ce:italic>T. asperellum</ce:italic> M7 was observed to significantly modulate metabolite synthesis pathways in tomato fruits. It notably enhanced the biosynthesis of carbohydrates and organic acid derivatives, with marked increases in specific compounds such as CDP-ribitol, d-glucose, cellobiose, and oxalosuccinate. Furthermore, strain M7 enhanced both the enzyme activity and gene expression associated with sugar metabolism in tomato fruits. Our research findings provided a new perspective on potential strategies for using microorganisms to enhance fruit quality.","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145059350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comprehensive analysis of WRKY gene family in yellowhorn (Xanthoceras sorbifolium Bunge) and functional characterisation of XsWRKY30 in salt stress","authors":"Yu Hui,&nbsp;Weijie Gao,&nbsp;Gaiping Wang,&nbsp;FangFang Fu,&nbsp;Guibin Wang,&nbsp;Fuliang Cao,&nbsp;Xiaoming Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114376","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114376","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>WRKY transcription factors, as evolutionarily conserved regulators in higher plants, orchestrate transcriptional reprogramming that maintains metabolic homeostasis and facilitates adaptive responses under salinity stress. However, a comprehensive identification, characterisation, and functional analysis of XsWRKY transcription factors (TFs) in response to salt stress remains lacking in yellowhorn (<em>Xanthoceras sorbifolium</em>), a perennial woody oilseed species renowned for its remarkable salt tolerance. We employed a genome-wide mining approach to investigate the expression profiles and biological functions of XsWRKY TFs in response to salt stress. This analysis identified 43 XsWRKY TFs, all possessing a highly conserved domain. Phylogenetic analysis classified these TFs into three distinct subgroups, with genes within the same subgroup displaying similar motif compositions. Collinearity analysis revealed that some <em>XsWRKY</em> genes originated from segmental duplications, highlighting the conservation of their domains. Promoter <em>cis</em>-element analysis of <em>XsWRKY</em> genes revealed regulatory elements associated with hormonal signalling, abiotic stress responses, and developmental processes. Transcriptomic profiling under salt stress conditions highlighted distinct expression patterns, with <em>XsWRKY30</em> emerging as a key regulator in the salt stress response. Experimental validation confirmed that XsWRKY30 exhibited transcriptional activation activity and was localised to the nucleus. Transient expression of <em>XsWRKY30</em> in tobacco significantly reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, while stable overexpression in Arabidopsis seedlings and yellowhorn calli enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities and proline levels, accompanied by a marked decrease in MDA content compared to wild-type controls. In addition, <em>XsWRKY30</em>-overexpressing Arabidopsis seedlings and yellowhorn calli exhibited a reduced Na⁺/K⁺ ratio, reflecting improved ion homeostasis under salt stress. Several salt stress-responsive genes were also upregulated in the transgenic lines and calli, suggesting that <em>XsWRKY30</em> played a positive regulatory role in salt tolerance. Overall, these findings demonstrated that <em>XsWRKY30</em> overexpression alleviated oxidative damage and Na⁺ toxicity under osmotic stress, providing new insights into the evolutionary conservation and functional significance of XsWRKY TFs in yellowhorn salt tolerance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 114376"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145005391","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"LED interlighting: a cost-effective strategy to increase yield and chemical uniformity of Cannabis sativa at commercial scale","authors":"Justin Bohemen ,&nbsp;Sabrina Carvalho ,&nbsp;Céline C.S. Nicole ,&nbsp;Donald Smith ,&nbsp;Mark Lefsrud","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114406","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114406","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cannabinoid uniformity plays an important role in the quality and marketability of cannabis products. Light is an important environmental factor determining increased yield and improved secondary compound production, while energy consumption is a primary concern as lighting is one of the main input costs for controlled environment cannabis production systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate lighting strategies and compare these to commercial cultivation methods that maximize yield and uniformity of cannabinoids in cannabis plants. Four lighting treatments were investigated, including high pressure sodium (HPS) toplight, light-emitting diodes (LED) toplight, HPS toplight + interlight and LED toplight + interlight. Plants grown under HPS toplight displayed increased plant height. LED treatments significantly increased dry inflorescence mass compared to HPS treatments. The addition of interlighting increased biomass produced in the lower canopy, resulting in a significant increase in biomass produced per cannabis plant. When comparing light use efficiency (grams per mol), HPS toplight significantly increased inflorescence mass produced per mol of light received. However, analysis of power use efficiency expressed in grams per kilowatt-hour (kWh) revealed that LEDs provided increased yield at lower energy cost. LED toplight led to a 7 % improvement over HPS, with a 2 % increase in secondary metabolite production for Δ-<em>9</em>-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). Interlighting did not significantly impact the lower canopy inflorescence THC values. LED treatments were more energy efficient at producing grams THC when analyzing THC power use efficiency. Cannabigerol concentrations significantly increased with LED treatments compared to HPS. Major terpenes showed no significant differences between treatments. This study has demonstrated the added benefit of implementing interlighting and LED toplighting in an indoor controlled environment cannabis production system. Importantly, LED toplight and interlight strategies show potential in competing with conventional HPS lighting strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 114406"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Investigating the impact of cracking and size on quality changes in jujube during on-tree drying","authors":"Chao Xu ,&nbsp;Jiale Guo ,&nbsp;Qiaonan Yang ,&nbsp;Xiaokang Yi ,&nbsp;Can Hu ,&nbsp;Haoran Wu ,&nbsp;Jie Li","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114399","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114399","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Large fruit size variation and high cracking rates constrain the development of China's jujube industry. To investigate the impact of fruit size and cracking on quality, four types of jujubes were examined: large uncracked (DW), small uncracked (XW), large cracked (DL), and small cracked (XL). Using pre-marking and equal-time sampling, we monitored changes in cracking and quality indicators during on-tree drying. Results indicated no significant increase in cracking rate (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05), but initial moisture content differed significantly among the four types (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). The drying process exhibited a decelerating trend, with hardness initially decreasing and then increasing due to moisture changes. Soluble solids, titratable acid, ascorbic acid, total flavonoids, and total phenolic content all decreased during air-drying. However, reducing sugar content increased significantly in uncracked jujubes (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), suggesting that both cracking and fruit size influence quality changes. Comprehensive evaluation revealed that uncracked jujubes scored higher in later stages of on-tree drying, while cracked jujubes had the lowest scores. These findings indicate that tree-based air-drying enhances jujube quality, but cracked jujubes are more suitable for early harvesting and processing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 114399"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrated transcriptomic and phytohormonal insights across developmental time points to decipher floral sex determination in Zanthoxylum armatum","authors":"Yan Chen ,&nbsp;Jialing Liang ,&nbsp;Zhenshan Liu ,&nbsp;Gang Wang ,&nbsp;Shanbo Chen ,&nbsp;Shijing Feng ,&nbsp;Anzhi Wei","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114415","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114415","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Floral sex differentiation is a pivotal biological process with implications for species evolution and biodiversity. <em>Zanthoxylum armatum</em>, a economically important pseudo-dioecious species, exhibits remarkable sexual plasticity, including a rare female-to-male sex transition, yet the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. To decipher the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, we conducted a high-resolution temporal analysis integrating transcriptomics and phytohormone profiling across seven critical floral developmental stages. Our results revealed that sexual fate is governed by a dynamic hormonal antagonism: male flower development is promoted by a surge of bioactive cytokinins (e.g., tZR, cZR) and gibberellins (e.g., GA1, GA9), while female fate is associated with auxin conjugation (e.g., IAA-Asp) and cytokinin inactivation. Concurrent transcriptomic analyses identified key transcription factors—including MADS-box, AP2/ERF, WRKY, and GRF families—that are differentially expressed between sexes and orchestrate organ identity and development. Furthermore, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) linked specific hormonal signatures to distinct genetic modules, and alternative splicing analysis uncovered post-transcriptional regulation of genes critical for meiosis and pollen function. Additionally, alternative splicing analysis uncovered a complex network of splicing events that contribute to the regulation of gene expression during flower development. This study provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for floral sex determination in Z. armatum, highlighting the intricate interplay between phytohormones and transcriptional networks. Our findings offer foundational insights into the mechanisms of sex determination in plants and pave the way for manipulating sexual expression to enhance yield stability in horticultural crops.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 114415"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145220988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification of BoFLC2 as a major gene controlling flowering time in cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)","authors":"JiaWei Hou ,&nbsp;Xu Cai ,&nbsp;Yihan Xu ,&nbsp;Jungen Kang ,&nbsp;Xiaowu Wang ,&nbsp;Jian Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114407","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114407","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cabbage (<em>Brassica oleracea</em> var. <em>capitata</em>), a world-widely cultivated leafy vegetable, is characterized by its dense-leaved head formation. Premature bolting, where flowering occurs before head formation significantly reduces cabbage quality and yield. In this study, we employed bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and linkage analysis to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with flowering time variation in cabbage. Our analysis revealed a major QTL - designed as <em>qFT2.1</em>, located on chromosome C02. The QTL spans a 12.8 kb region that encompasses five genes. Further analysis identified <em>BoFLC2</em> (an ortholog of <em>AtFLC</em>) as the candidate gene for <em>qFT2.1</em>. Comparative sequence analysis revealed a 215 bp-insertion in the first intron of <em>BoFLC2</em> in the early-flowering parental line, along with a 3 bp-insertion and three missense mutations in the second exon. RNA-sequencing revealed that <em>BoFLC2</em> expression in non-flowering individuals (extremely late flowering) was significantly higher than that in the early-flowering individuals. Analysis of the <em>BoFLC2</em> sequence across 37 published <em>B. oleracea</em> genomes revealed six haplotypes that are likely associated with flowering time domestication in <em>B. oleracea</em>. Our results suggest that <em>BoFLC2</em> as a major regulator in flowering time control, has been under selection during the domestication of <em>B. oleracea</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 114407"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145158594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Construction of synthetic microbial community associated with host metabolite accumulation and root rot control of Codonopsis pilosula","authors":"Minhui Yang ,&nbsp;Ziqian Gao ,&nbsp;Ning Zhu ,&nbsp;Hui Wang ,&nbsp;Shuo Ni ,&nbsp;Xinjian Wang ,&nbsp;Xiaoxu Lv ,&nbsp;Xiaopeng Guo ,&nbsp;Wen Luo ,&nbsp;Yonggang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114321","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114321","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Codonopsis pilosula</em> is a traditional medicinal plant known for its significant medicinal value. <em>C. pilosula</em> primarily contains a range of secondary metabolites, including phenylpropanoids and flavonoids, and their accumulation within the body is influenced by various environmental factors. In this study, the soil and roots of <em>C. pilosula</em> were monitored at various growth stages over three consecutive years. The analysis included environmental factors, root microbial community composition, and metabolite variations in metabolites across different growth years. The results revealed that the physical and chemical properties of the soil underwent dynamic changes throughout the growth of the plant. The microbial communities in the rhizosphere soil varied significantly across different growth years, with the biennial rhizosphere soil samples predominantly inhabited by <em>Bacillus</em> species. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that <em>Bacillus</em> significantly influenced the overall content of chlorogenic acid. Subsequently, isolate the Bacillus species of bacteria present in <em>C. pilosula</em>. A synthetic microbial community specifically targeting <em>C. pilosula</em> was constructed, with five <em>Bacillus</em> species as the core microorganisms. The results demonstrated that the synthetic microbial community was effective in preventing fungus infections and promoting plant growth. In conclusion, this study highlights the comprehensive influence of environmental factors and soil microbial communities on metabolite accumulation in <em>C. pilosula</em>. The establishment of a synthetic microbial community in co-culture with the plant led to a notable increase in root weight, offering novel insights for the cultivation of medicinal plants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"351 ","pages":"Article 114321"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145093810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}