{"title":"5-Aminolevulinic acid promotes cell division and young fruit development by suppressing the PpARF9-PpGH3.1 auxin-conjugation module in peach.","authors":"Xing Gan, Jianting Zhang, Longbo Liu, Liuzi Zhang, Mohsin Iqbal, Qingze Zhao, Liangju Wang","doi":"10.1186/s43897-026-00262-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43897-026-00262-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is an emerging plant growth regulator, yet its mechanisms in fruit development remain unclear. Here, we show that ALA promotes early growth and ultimate size in peach (Prunus persica) fruits. ALA treatment significantly enhanced the mesocarp area and the cell number, accompanied by elevated levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and trans-zeatin riboside. Transcriptomic analysis identified PpARF9 as a key transcriptional factor, regulating auxin homeostasis and responsive to ALA treatment. Functional studies with yeast-one-hybrid (Y1H), dual-luciferase (DLR), electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and homogenous genetic transformation revealed that PpARF9 directly transcriptionally activates PpGH3.1, a crucial gene which encodes chloroplastic auxin amide synthetase to conjugate free IAA and repress cell division. Overexpression of PpGH3.1 reduced free IAA with more IAA conjugate accumulation, thereby suppressing cell cycle. Conversely, silencing PpGH3.1 with RNA interference had opposite effects. Notably, exogenous ALA alleviated the inhibitory effects of PpARF9 and PpGH3.1 on cell proliferation. These findings indicate that ALA promotes cell division by downregulating the PpARF9-PpGH3.1 module to maintain higher levels of active IAA, facilitating cell division, increasing cell number and fruit size. These provide a mechanistic insight into ALA-regulated fruit development and support its application in improving fruit production.</p>","PeriodicalId":29970,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Horticulture","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13548669/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148901103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Histone deacetylation links jasmonic acid signaling to flower size control in rose.","authors":"Yufei Chang, Jun Lu, Yali Li, Xin Jin, Chunguo Fan, Hmmam Zarif, Guozhen Yuan, Rui Zhou, Hongchi Liu, Jingjing Sun, Changquan Wang, Jinyi Liu","doi":"10.1186/s43897-026-00261-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43897-026-00261-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Flower size is a key ornamental trait in roses (Rosa spp.), determined by coordinated regulation of cell proliferation and expansion. Although jasmonic acid (JA) influences plant growth, its role in flower size control remains unclear. Here, we showed that methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatment reduces flower size in Rosa chinensis, accompanied by elevated expression of the JA-responsive transcription factor RcMYC2. Silencing RcMYC2 resulted in larger flowers due to enhanced petal cell expansion and upregulation of cell expansion-related genes. Mechanistically, RcMYC2 directly bound to the promoter of the expansin gene RcEXPA8 and repressed its transcription via its interaction with the Mediator subunit RcMED25. Consistently, MeJA failed to reduce flower size in RcMED25-silenced plants. Upon JA signal activation, RcMYC2 recruited RcMED25 and the histone deacetylase RcHDA8 to the RcEXPA8 promoter, leading to transcriptional repression via histone deacetylation and restriction of petal cell expansion. These findings demonstrate that histone deacetylation links JA signaling to flower size control, providing new insights into hormone-mediated regulation of organ growth in ornamental plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":29970,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Horticulture","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13543527/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148888474","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhancing cold tolerance through HubZIP6-mediated CBF activation and salicylic acid signaling in pitaya.","authors":"Xinglong Hu, Irfan Ali Sabir, Zeliu Xu, Zhike Zhang, Jietang Zhao, Guibing Hu, Yonghua Qin","doi":"10.1186/s43897-026-00258-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43897-026-00258-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cold stress severely limits the yield and quality of fruit crops, yet its regulatory mechanisms in pitaya remain poorly understood. Here, we identified a cold-inducible bZIP transcription factor, HubZIP6, that plays a central role in enhancing cold tolerance in pitaya. HubZIP6 is a nuclear-localized protein with transcriptional activation activity, and its overexpression in Arabidopsis and tomato significantly improved cold tolerance, as reflected by higher survival rates, reduced ion leakage, and lower reactive oxygen species accumulation. Mechanistically, HubZIP6 directly binds to ACGT motifs in the promoters of HuCBF1 and HuCBF3, thereby activating their expression under cold stress. In addition, HubZIP6 physically interacts with the salicylic acid-binding protein HuSABP2, which synergistically enhances the transcriptional activation of HuCBF genes. Notably, HubZIP6 also directly activates HuSABP2, forming a regulatory loop that connects CBF transcriptional control with salicylic acid signaling. Consistently, overexpression of HuSABP2 further enhances cold tolerance in transgenic plants. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that cold tolerance is enhanced through HubZIP6-mediated integration of CBF activation and salicylic acid signaling, providing a promising genetic target for improving stress resilience in fruit crops.</p>","PeriodicalId":29970,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Horticulture","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13540873/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148881952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Deciphering podophyllotoxin-mediated defense against downy blight in Litchi chinensis Sonn. via integrated metabolomics and transcriptomics.","authors":"Hailun Liu, Fachao Shi, Yingjie Wen, Yonghua Jiang, Qian Yan, Hua Huang","doi":"10.1186/s43897-026-00257-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43897-026-00257-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is a commercially important subtropical fruit. Lychee downy blight (LDB), caused by Peronophythora litchii, poses a major threat to lychee production. Here, we identified the LDB-resistant cultivar Yurong (YR) and the susceptible cultivar Guiwei (GW) from 288 global lychee germplasms. Widely targeted metabolomics analysis revealed a striking accumulation of podophyllotoxin (PTOX) in YR. Both in vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated that PTOX effectively inhibited the growth of P. litchii. Further investigation identified LcOMT1 as a key gene encoding an O-methyltransferase (OMT) in the phenylpropanoid pathway. In resistant cultivars, a 773-bp insertion mutation (Hap3 haplotype) in the LcOMT1 promoter enhanced its transcriptional activity. Transgenic approaches using hairy roots in lychee showed that the overexpression of either LcOMT1 or the Hap3 haplotype led to increased PTOX biosynthesis and enhanced resistance to P. litchii. These results demonstrate that the Hap3-mediated upregulation of LcOMT1 drives PTOX accumulation, establishing a crucial defense mechanism against LDB. This study provides new insights into the genetic and metabolic regulatory network underlying lychee resistance to LDB. This study may also lay a theoretical foundation for the development of PTOX-based biopesticides and offer valuable genetic resources for breeding LDB-resistant lychee cultivars.</p>","PeriodicalId":29970,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Horticulture","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13536555/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148875782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dual regulation of anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins by PpBL and its linkage to acidity in peach.","authors":"Hongyang Xing, Jiaqi Fan, Guizhi Li, Ke Cao, Yong Li, Gengrui Zhu, Weichao Fang, Changwen Chen, Xinwei Wang, Jinlong Wu, Lirong Wang","doi":"10.1186/s43897-026-00255-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43897-026-00255-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Red-fleshed peach exhibits attractive anthocyanin (AN) pigmentation but is often accompanied by undesirable proanthocyanidin (PA)-derived astringency and high fruit acidity (FA), limiting its commercial value. The genetic mechanisms underlying this co-occurrence remain unclear. Using an F<sub>1</sub> population derived from 'wen30' and 'wen48', we identified co-localized QTLs for AN, PA, and FA within a 0.32-4.74 Mb region on chromosome 5. Integrating transcriptomics with Y1H, EMSA, and dual-luciferase assays, we demonstrated that PpBL functions as a key regulator of both AN and PA accumulation. PpBL directly activates PpUGT73C3, independently of PpMYB10.1, to promote AN biosynthesis, and enhances PA accumulation by directly upregulating PpLAR and PpANR; PpUGT73C3 also contributes to PA accumulation via an unclear mechanism. In contrast, FA is not directly regulated by PpBL but is associated with a high-acidity PpTST1 allele tightly linked to a blood-TE insertion in the PpBL promoter. The haplotype carrying both the insertion and PpUGT73C3 coding variants confers elevated AN and PA but also increased FA due to linkage drag. These findings reveal pleiotropic control of color and astringency and a linkage-based association with acidity, providing insights for peach breeding.</p>","PeriodicalId":29970,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Horticulture","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13531910/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148867052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mitali Singh, Manohar S Bisht, Abhijith M G, Shruti Mahajan, Vineet K Sharma
{"title":"Correction: Chromosome‑level genome assembly of Tamarindus indica provides new insights into the evolution of triterpenes and tartaric acid biosynthetic pathway.","authors":"Mitali Singh, Manohar S Bisht, Abhijith M G, Shruti Mahajan, Vineet K Sharma","doi":"10.1186/s43897-026-00256-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43897-026-00256-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29970,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Horticulture","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13501792/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148814256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lijun Jiang, Dan Chen, Qianqian Shi, Tao Huang, Runmao Lin, Jiangzhou Li, Kuai Dai, Chenyang Wang, Wenzheng Ling, Chao Feng, Haichao Cao, Robert Y L Wang, Bingyan Xie, Jinguang Yang
{"title":"A spatiotemporal atlas of giant-cell formation during Meloidogyne incognita infection in tomato roots.","authors":"Lijun Jiang, Dan Chen, Qianqian Shi, Tao Huang, Runmao Lin, Jiangzhou Li, Kuai Dai, Chenyang Wang, Wenzheng Ling, Chao Feng, Haichao Cao, Robert Y L Wang, Bingyan Xie, Jinguang Yang","doi":"10.1186/s43897-026-00272-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43897-026-00272-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Root-knot nematodes (RKNs; Meloidogyne spp.) are destructive agricultural parasites, but although giant cell formation is required for establishing parasitism, the mechanism of action has not been fully elucidated. Spatial transcriptomics enables precise spatiotemporal analyses of gene expression, facilitating studies of cell heterogeneity. We performed spatial transcriptomic sequencing on Moneymaker tomato root galls caused by M. incognita infection at 3, 5, and 7 days post-inoculation to investigate RKN-induced giant cell formation. Five major cell types were identified; of these, giant cell clusters were localized predominantly in the xylem, stele, and meristem. Four novel giant cell-specific marker genes were confirmed through RNA in situ hybridization. Pseudotime analysis revealed genes potentially associated with giant cell formation. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of four genes encoding a cyclin-dependent kinase, two cell division cycle-associated proteins, and a MYB3R-1-like transcription factor-hypothesized to maintain the cell cycle or gene expression during mitosis-resulted in significantly fewer galls and significantly smaller giant cells. This study established the first spatiotemporal atlas of RKN-infected tomato roots and identified genes associated with giant cell formation, laying a foundation for further research on the establishment of RKN feeding sites, providing novel insights into RKN pathogenic mechanisms, and potentially guiding novel control strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":29970,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Horticulture","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13459382/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148713821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yoonseo Lim, Jeong-Tak An, So Jin Park, Yeeun Han, Ho-Young Jeong, Chanhui Lee, Soon Ju Park, Dae-Hyun Jung, Choon-Tak Kwon
{"title":"Designing rapid-cycling, compact architecture in tomato for vertical farming.","authors":"Yoonseo Lim, Jeong-Tak An, So Jin Park, Yeeun Han, Ho-Young Jeong, Chanhui Lee, Soon Ju Park, Dae-Hyun Jung, Choon-Tak Kwon","doi":"10.1186/s43897-026-00248-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s43897-026-00248-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29970,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Horticulture","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13450506/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148686290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}