Scientia Horticulturae最新文献

{"title":"Integrative analysis of transcriptome and alternative splicing uncovers the regulatory network of Alternaria alternata resistance in sweet cherry","authors":"Xiaoyu Zhou ,&nbsp;Hanfeng Gao ,&nbsp;Huaning Yuan ,&nbsp;Xiuru Yang ,&nbsp;Shupeng Duan ,&nbsp;Liang Cheng ,&nbsp;Hongwei Ren ,&nbsp;Zhenzhen Zheng ,&nbsp;Qingyun Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114867","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114867","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Transcription and post-transcriptional regulation of RNA in plants play a pivotal role in their interactions with microorganisms. In particular, changes in transcription and alternative splicing (AS) of immune genes are involved in the disease resistance process in plants. The objective of this study was to mine immune-related genes in sweet cherry and investigate their mechanism of resistance to <em>Alternaria alternata</em> at the transcriptional and AS levels. Here, by employing RNA sequencing and AS analysis, we identified distinct patterns in the expression of immune pathway-related genes and AS of <em>LOX5</em> gene in resistant and susceptible sweet cherry genotypes upon pathogen infection. Our results show that <em>A. alternata</em> infection induces global transcriptomic changes in the leaves of the resistant cultivar Q8 and the susceptible cultivar Q9 of sweet cherry. Notably, key genes involved in unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis (<em>desA3, FAD2, ACOT1_2_4</em>) and critical genes in linoleic acid metabolism (<em>LOX5</em>) were upregulated in cultivar Q8 at 3 and 9 days post-inoculation (dpi), whereas only a subset of these genes exhibited slight upregulation in cultivar Q9 at the same time points. Additionally, retention of the first intron of <em>LOX5</em> gene was markedly (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) increased in the susceptible cultivar Q9 at 3 and 9 dpi, whereas such retention showed no significant increase in the resistant cultivar Q8 and even decreased significantly (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) at 9 dpi. Our results suggest that sweet cherry may confer disease resistance by modulating both the expression level and AS of <em>LOX5</em> gene. This study advances our understanding of the interaction between sweet cherry and <em>A. alternata</em>, and reveals that modulation of expression levels and AS of immune-related genes in sweet cherry constitutes a critical adaptive strategy in the dynamic interaction between the host and pathogenic microbes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"362 ","pages":"Article 114867"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147854485","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":"Monitoring of apple tree comprehensive growth indicator using UAV multispectral remote sensing and CV method","authors":"Juxia Wang ,&nbsp;Yu Zhang ,&nbsp;Yusheng Jin ,&nbsp;Jincheng Yu ,&nbsp;Huixia Wang ,&nbsp;Xinxin Duan ,&nbsp;Fei Han ,&nbsp;Rong Fan","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114857","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114857","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Apple trees exhibit a complex canopy architecture, a long phenological cycle, and strong spatial heterogeneity, which challenges timely and accurate growth regulation using conventional orchard management. To provide an interpretable vigor metric for precision management, we constructed a coefficient-of-variation–weighted comprehensive growth indicator (CGIcv) by integrating three complementary field traits: SPAD, Leaf Area Index (LAI), and tree height, and linked CGIcv to UAV multispectral observations across five key growth stages. Multispectral imagery was radiometrically calibrated, canopy and soil separation was performed, and vegetation indices were extracted as predictors. Five algorithms (MLR, PLSR, SVR, RF, and XGBoost) were evaluated to invert CGIcv and to identify stage-appropriate modeling strategies. Model performance was stage-dependent: RF achieved the best monitoring accuracy at the fruit enlargement stage (<em>R</em>²= 0.84; <em>RMSE</em> = 0.15), whereas MLR performed best at the fruit coloring stage (<em>R</em>²= 0.82; <em>RMSE</em> = 0.14). In contrast, early stages (flower falling and fruit setting) showed lower accuracy (<em>R</em>² &lt; 0.60), likely due to sparse canopy coverage and stronger soil-background interference in spectral signals. These results demonstrate that a CV-weighted CGI combined with stage-adaptive modeling can provide practical technical support for UAV-based orchard growth monitoring and precision management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"362 ","pages":"Article 114857"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147827595","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":"CiWRKY12 interacts with CiWRKY33 to co-regulate CiNCED3 and enhance cold tolerance in Chrysanthemum indicum var. aromaticum","authors":"Yujia Yang ,&nbsp;Jianuo Li ,&nbsp;Fan Kang ,&nbsp;Ning Xu ,&nbsp;Bin Chen ,&nbsp;Zihe Fan ,&nbsp;Yingxin Zhang ,&nbsp;Miao He ,&nbsp;Qiang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114873","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114873","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cold stress significantly limits the growth and productivity of plants. WRKY transcription factors play crucial roles in response to a variety of abiotic stimuli by modulating abscisic acid (ABA) signaling. Nevertheless, their specific role in regulating cold tolerance in <em>Chrysanthemum indicum</em> var. <em>aromaticum</em> (<em>Ci. aromaticum</em>) remains to be further explored. In this study, we demonstrated that <em>CiWRKY33</em>, a member of the WRKY-I group, positively regulates cold tolerance in <em>Ci. aromaticum</em>. Expression of <em>CiWRKY33</em> was induced by ABA treatment and cold stress, and the protein was primarily localized in the nucleus. By facilitating the accumulation of ABA and antioxidant capability under cold stress, <em>CiWRKY33</em> overexpression in tobacco dramatically improved cold tolerance. Meanwhile, transient silencing of expression in <em>Ci. aromaticum</em> reduced cold tolerance. CiWRKY33 directly binds to the promoter of <em>CiNCED3</em> and activates its transcription, and this activation was strengthened through interaction with CiWRKY12. These findings reveal that the CiWRKY33-CiWRKY12-<em>CiNCED3</em> module enhances cold tolerance by promoting ABA biosynthesis. This mechanism also provides a crucial molecular basis for genetically engineering plants to improve cold resistance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"362 ","pages":"Article 114873"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147854416","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":"Creation of a novel, higher-ploidy, drought-tolerant Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) germplasm","authors":"Kaixin Zheng ,&nbsp;Wenjun Gao ,&nbsp;Ruichong Jin ,&nbsp;Lingyun Liu ,&nbsp;Ke Teng ,&nbsp;Runzhi Li ,&nbsp;Xifeng Fan ,&nbsp;Guochang Ding ,&nbsp;Yuesen Yue ,&nbsp;Le Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114864","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114864","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Kentucky bluegrass (<em>Poa pratensis</em> L.) is a widely utilized cool-season turfgrass species in landscape architecture and ecological restoration projects. Nevertheless, the majority of commercially available cultivars currently exhibit insufficient drought tolerance, necessitating frequent irrigation during hot and arid seasons to sustain optimal turf performance and aesthetic quality. Here, we established a reliable chromosome doubling protocol for octaploid (8X) Kentucky bluegrass seeds, successfully generating hexadecaploid (16X) progeny. Drought stress experiments were conducted to evaluate the stress resistance of the polyploid lines, and the results demonstrated that 16X plants displayed significantly enhanced drought tolerance relative to their 8X counterparts. After drought stress, the 16X plants exhibited significantly higher relative water content, chlorophyll content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, catalase (CAT) activity, soluble sugar content, and free proline content than the 8X plants, whereas malondialdehyde (MDA) content and electrolyte leakage (EL) were significantly lower than those of the 8X plants.To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the improved drought tolerance in 16X Kentucky bluegrass, transcriptome sequencing was performed. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were significantly enriched in three key metabolic and signaling pathways, namely plant–pathogen interaction, carbon metabolism, and plant hormone signal transduction. In addition, we performed in vitro protein pull-down assays to explore the pathways regulated by a 14-3-3 protein of interest that may be associated with drought stress. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first systematic report on the artificial induction of polyploidy in Kentucky bluegrass via chromosome doubling. This innovative breeding strategy not only provides a promising approach to broaden the application of Kentucky bluegrass in arid and semi-arid regions but also holds significant potential for reducing irrigation-related costs in municipal landscape management practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"362 ","pages":"Article 114864"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147854420","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":"Aux/IAA gene family in Lagerstroemia indica: Phylogeny, structural features, and roles in developmental regulation and stress adaptation","authors":"Hui Wei ,&nbsp;Xintong Chu ,&nbsp;Gan Peng ,&nbsp;Wei Xu ,&nbsp;Cao Yi ,&nbsp;Guoyuan Liu ,&nbsp;Bolin Lian ,&nbsp;Fei Zhong ,&nbsp;Meng Cai ,&nbsp;Jian Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114826","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114826","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Auxin, primarily represented by indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), is a crucial hormone regulating plant growth, development, and stress responses. The Aux/IAA gene family plays a key role in auxin signaling by modulating downstream gene expression. Although extensively studied in model species, the roles of <em>Aux/IAA</em> genes in woody perennials such as <em>Lagerstroemia indica</em> remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified 40 <em>Aux/IAA</em> genes in <em>L. indica</em> (<em>LiIAAs</em>) through genome-wide analysis. Phylogenetic analysis classified them into six groups, with significant expansion in Groups III and VI. Structural analysis showed conserved motifs and variable exon-intron organization. Collinearity analysis identified 23 duplicated <em>LiIAA</em> gene pairs, suggesting that segmental duplication was the primary driver of family expansion. Comparative collinearity analysis across species revealed strong conservation of <em>LiIAAs</em> in dicots, whereas fewer collinearity relationships were observed with monocots. Promoter analysis revealed abundant hormone-responsive and stress-related <em>cis</em>-elements, suggesting roles in both development and stress adaptation. Tissue-specific expression analysis showed that <em>LiIAAs</em> are preferentially expression in roots, stems, leaves, and fruits, with distinct expression patterns associated with organ development. Moreover, differential expression and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified key <em>LiIAAs</em>, such as <em>LiIAA1, LiIAA8</em>, and <em>LiIAA15</em>, which are involved in bud-to-branch development and salt stress responses. The results provide insights into the molecular basis of auxin-mediated development and stress tolerance in <em>L. indica</em>, and offer potential genetic resources for the improvement of <em>L. indica</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"361 ","pages":"Article 114826"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147749668","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":"Exploring the influence of pruning training systems on photosynthetic characteristics and fruit quality of Chinese bayberry using multi-omics approach","authors":"Zheping Yu ,&nbsp;Yang Zhang ,&nbsp;Li Sun ,&nbsp;Haiying Ren ,&nbsp;Xingjiang Qi ,&nbsp;Shuwen Zhang ,&nbsp;Senmiao Liang","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114841","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114841","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Chinese bayberry (Myrica rubra) is a characteristic fruit tree in China, known for its high nutritional values. Pruning is an essential horticultural practice for improving photosynthetic performance and fruit quality characteristics. In this study, the effects of three pruning training systems Flat-top Type (FT), V-shaped Type (VT), and Round-shaped Type (RT) on Chinese bayberry of 'Dongkui' through integrated physiological and transcriptome analysis were performed. The results demonstrated that both VT and FT training increased the transmission coefficient of diffuse radiation (<em>TCDP</em>) and canopy porosity (<em>CP</em>), while effectively reducing the leaf area index (<em>LAI</em>). Additionally, VT and RT promoted the accumulation of chlorophyll pigments (Chl a, Chl b and carotenoids), and enhanced chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, net photosynthetic rate (<em>P</em>_n), stomatal conductance (<em>G</em>_s), and transpiration rate (<em>T</em>_r), with VT showing superior outcomes. Furthermore, VT training significantly improved fruit quality characteristics, including soluble solids content, firmness, total flavonoids, amino acids, and total sugars. Transcriptome analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between CK and VT were primarily enriched in KEGG pathways such as starch and sucrose metabolism and photosynthesis. Key DEGs involved in the photosynthesis pathway, including MrLhcb1, MrMYB4, and MrCOP1 were upregulated under VT system. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that pruning training, particularly the VT system, significantly optimizes internal light conditions within the canopy, enhances leaf photosynthetic efficiency, and markedly improves fruit quality characteristics, and the identified pathways and genes provide a valuable foundation for developing high-light-efficiency training systems in Chinese bayberry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"361 ","pages":"Article 114841"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147804853","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":"Using CSM-CROPGRO as a template for perennial tree crop phenology modeling – TreeGRO","authors":"Júlia Boscariol Rasera ,&nbsp;Henrique Boriolo Dias ,&nbsp;Kelly T. Morgan ,&nbsp;Cheryl H. Porter ,&nbsp;Kenneth J. Boote ,&nbsp;Patricia Angélica Alves Marques ,&nbsp;Francisco de Assis Alves Mourão Filho ,&nbsp;Gerrit Hoogenboom","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114805","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114805","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>DSSAT is a widely recognized tool for crop modeling that has been utilized worldwide. However, the system currently lacks a model for perennial fruit trees. Sweet orange cultivation is of great importance to many countries, including both Brazil and the USA, and a process-based model could provide invaluable support for planning and decision-making. Hence, the goal of this study was to adapt the CSM-CROPGRO module in DSSAT for sweet oranges, potentially enhancing its representation for the simulation of tree fruit phenology. Model adaptation was divided into three phases: (i) literature search for basic physiological data, along with experimental data and observations for calibration; (ii) model development and adaptation through modifications of TreeGRO, a first version of a model for sweet orange, and (iii) a sensitivity analysis of the critical parameters that define phenology. Model adaptations were made in (1) model code for season initialization, (2) cardinal temperatures for development processes, and (3) model code for flower induction. TreeGRO has been incorporated into the CSM-CROPGRO Version 4.8.5 of DSSAT showing promising results after phenology and perennial representation improvements. There was a good simulation of anthesis (MAE of 14 days), which is consistent with the natural variability of citrus flowering that typically occurs over a multi-day to multi-week window within field orchards. Additionally, the sensitivity analysis demonstrated coherent and site-specific responses of simulated anthesis dates to changes in minimum air temperature and the precipitation threshold. However, maturity simulation still requires further refinement, as this phenological phase is characterized by a prolonged harvest window rather than a discrete phenological event. This limitation is further intensified by the scarcity of complete citrus phenological datasets and by the data requirements of process-based models such as CROPGRO, which relies on detailed physiological and environmental observations for robust calibration. Future work should seek detailed high-quality data for model improvement and further evaluation with data representing different production environments and cultivars for growth and yield estimation. The CSM-TreeGRO is a promising, robust, and ready-to-use tool for simulating sweet orange development within the open-source DSSAT framework.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"361 ","pages":"Article 114805"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147736473","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":"Bioimpedance spectroscopy highlights bioelectrical mechanisms of nitrogen and water interactions in cucumber leaves","authors":"Flórián Kovács ,&nbsp;Ákos Odry ,&nbsp;Zoltán Vizvári ,&nbsp;Ingrid Melinda Gyalai ,&nbsp;Gideon Adu Donyina ,&nbsp;Péter Odry ,&nbsp;Adrienn Szarvas ,&nbsp;Katalin Juhos","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114810","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114810","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nitrogen (N) and water together significantly influence plant cell electrophysiology and stress responses, but monitoring these effects in soil-grown plants remains challenging. The aim of this study was to test whether bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) can detect changes in leaf electrical properties caused by different N supplies and water availability in soil-grown cucumber plants. We used BIS to measure leaf electrical properties in cucumber plants exposed to four N treatments: nitrate (NO₃⁻), mixed ammonium-nitrate (NH₄NO₃), wool pellets containing NH₄ and organic N (WP), and no N (CTRL), across four phases: full nutrition, limited nutrition, drought stress, and rehydration. BIS spectra were interpreted within a Double-Shell model, in which the fitted parameters were treated as indirect electrical descriptors with compartment-level physiological relevance. BIS spectra were recorded from 1 Hz to 100 kHz. Under full and limited nutrition, NO₃⁻and wool pellets treatment reduced extracellular fluid resistance and increased cell membrane capacitance compared to the control. The NH₄NO₃ treatment maintained higher extracellular fluid resistance. Wool pellet treatment increased intracellular and vacuole fluid resistance, consistent with slow N release. Drought stress increased extracellular fluid resistance and lowered cell membrane capacitance; changes were smaller with NH₄NO₃. Vacuole fluid resistance increased in control and wool pellet treatment and remained lowest under NO₃⁻. After rehydration, extracellular fluid resistance decreased in NO₃⁻and wool pellet-treated plants; recovery was moderate in NH₄NO₃ and weak in the control. In addition, strong associations were observed among N supply, leaf pigments, and vacuole fluid resistance. This study provides insight into the potential application of BIS for monitoring N and water interactions in plants, particularly under soil-grown conditions; however, the biological specificity of the fitted model parameters requires further validation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"361 ","pages":"Article 114810"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147736186","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":"Far-red-enriched ultra-long-day conditions induce constitutive FT expression and rapid flowering in radish rootstocks, promoting graft-mediated floral induction in Brassicaceae crops","authors":"Ko Motoki ,&nbsp;Nami Kakita ,&nbsp;Tanjuro Goto ,&nbsp;Ken-ichiro Yasuba","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114818","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114818","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Efficient floral induction is essential for breeding and seed production in Brassicaceae crops, particularly for late-bolting cultivars and plant-vernalization–type species such as cabbage (<em>Brassica oleracea</em> L.), which require substantial time and labor for artificial flower induction. A graft-mediated floral induction method was recently developed for cabbage, enabling flowering without vernalization treatment by grafting cabbage scions onto radish (<em>Raphanus sativus</em> L.) rootstocks. Although high expression of florigen gene <em>FLOWERING LOCUS T</em> (<em>FT</em>) in the rootstocks is a key determinant of success, environmental conditions capable of inducing strong <em>FT</em> expression in radish have remained unclear. Here, we demonstrate that a far-red-enriched ultra-long-day photoperiod (ULD-FR) markedly upregulates expression of radish <em>FT</em> homolog <em>RsFTa</em> and greatly enhances graft-mediated floral induction in cabbage. Under the ULD-FR condition, <em>RsFTa</em> expression remained constitutively high throughout the day, with daily transcript abundance increasing more than tenfold compared with standard high red/far-red (R/FR) ratio long-day conditions that employed fluorescent lamps. FT protein accumulation in cabbage scions grafted onto radish rootstocks was also strongly elevated, resulting in rapid flowering approximately 30 days after grafting. ULD-FR also promoted flowering in rapid-cycling <em>Brassica rapa</em> and <em>B. oleracea</em> accessions, and induced flowering in a vernalization-requiring <em>R. sativus</em> cultivar without low temperature treatment, suggesting that the response may be broadly conserved across Brassicaceae. Because ULD-FR can be implemented using standard lighting equipment by adding an FR light source, it presents potential utility as a versatile tool for breeding-related applications, including generation advancement and flowering synchronization among divergent accessions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"361 ","pages":"Article 114818"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147749045","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":"Unlocking the high-value potential of kiwifruit through integrated metabolomic, transcriptomic, and anti-inflammatory analyses","authors":"Huabing Liang ,&nbsp;Mengli Chen ,&nbsp;Nazir Ahmad ,&nbsp;Zhanchang Wang ,&nbsp;Fazhi Chen ,&nbsp;Jingwen Yang ,&nbsp;Zhiwei Chen ,&nbsp;Wei Huang ,&nbsp;Xiuli Li ,&nbsp;Xiaomei Ji","doi":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114854","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scienta.2026.114854","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Kiwifruit is a globally popular fruit recognized for its nutritional and functional value. Here, we quantified phenolic compounds in four kiwifruit cultivars during fruit-thinning stages and found that total phenolic content peaked at 15 days after pollination (DAP) in most cultivars. Widely targeted metabolomic profiling at 15 DAP identified 735 phenolic compounds, among which numerous functional components are reported in kiwifruit for the first time. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed substantial inter-cultivar variation and distinct metabolic traits. Correlation analysis between gene expression and metabolite accumulation, coupled with qRT-PCR validation, identified seven genes that may be highly involved in the biosynthesis of their corresponding metabolites. Molecular docking analysis demonstrated strong binding affinities between representative high-abundance kiwifruit phenolic compounds and key inflammation-related proteins. These results suggest that kiwifruit phenolic compounds may modulate inflammatory responses by targeting key regulatory proteins. Taken together, this study highlights the rich diversity of kiwifruit phenolic compounds and their potential as high-value functional components, providing valuable resources for kiwifruit breeding and functional utilization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":21679,"journal":{"name":"Scientia Horticulturae","volume":"361 ","pages":"Article 114854"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147804899","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}