Background: Propagation of cuttings is frequently used in various plant species, including blueberry, which shows special root characteristics that may hinder adventitious root (AR) formation. AR formation is influenced by various factors, and auxin is considered to play a central role; however, little is known of the related regulatory mechanisms. In this study, a comparative transcriptome analysis of green cuttings treated with or without indole-butyric acid (IBA) was performed via RNA_seq to identify candidate genes associated with IBA-induced AR formation. Results: Rooting phenotypes, especially the rooting rate, were significantly promoted by exogenous auxin in the IBA application. Blueberry AR formation was an auxin-induced process, during which adventitious root primordium initiation (rpi) began at 14 days after cutting (DAC), root primordium (rp) was developed at 21 DAC, mature AR was observed at 28 DAC and finally outgrowth from the stem occurred at 35 DAC. Higher IAA levels and lower ABA and zeatin contents might facilitate AR formation and development. A time series transcriptome analysis identified 14,970 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) during AR formation, of which there were 7467 upregulated and 7503 downregulated genes. Of these, approximately 35 candidate DEGs involved in the auxin-induced pathway and AR formation were further identified, including 10 auxin respective genes (ARFs and SAURs), 13 transcription factors (LOB domain-containing protein (LBDs)), 6 auxin transporters (AUX22, LAX3/5 and PIN-like 6 (PIL6s)) and 6 rooting-associated genes (root meristem growth factor 9 (RGF9), lateral root primordium 1 (LRP1s), and dormancy-associated protein homologue 3 (DRMH3)). All these identified DEGs were highly upregulated in certain stages during AR formation, indicating their potential roles in blueberry AR formation. Conclusions: The transcriptome profiling results indicated candidate genes or major regulatory factors that influence adventitious root formation in blueberry and provided a comprehensive understanding of the rooting mechanism underlying the auxin-induced AR formation from blueberry green cuttings.

Pear (Pyrus L.) is an important commercial fruit in the world. The fruit size is one of the important characters in fruit quality. The previous research reported that the fruit size of pear was mainly caused by the number of cell in about 40 days after blossom (DAB) in nature. However, studies about the mechanisms underlying cell division in young fruit development are very limited in pear. Two pear accessions codenamed ‘GH59B’ with big fruit and ‘GH81S’ with small fruit in three stages were sampled and the RNA-seq high-throughput sequencing was used to evaluate changes of gene transcription levels in the early stage of fruit development. The difference of cell size among two samples was little in 40 DAB, implying that the difference of the fruit size was caused by the number of the cell. More than 274,517,982 high quality reads from six libraries of fruit development were sequenced. A total of 797 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Three cytokinin dehydrogenase genes and two gibberellin 2-beta-dioxygenase gene were identified in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways related to zeatin and gibberellin. Their expression was upregulated at 20 DAB in ‘GH81S’ and at 30 DAB in ‘GH59B’, suggesting that the small fruit size might be related to the early degradation of cytokinin and gibberellin inducing a short period of cell division. A total of 38 DEGs of transcription factors were found and 23 DEGs including NAC, ERF and bHLH transcription factors were highly related with cytokinin dehydrogenase and gibberellin dioxygenase genes. Altogether, the results of the present study provide information from a comprehensive gene expression analysis and insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the difference of fruit size in Pyrus pyrifolia.

Flowering is an important phenophase of plant species, however, knowledge about the regulatory mechanism controlling flowering cues in loquat is limited. To identify candidate genes regulating flowering time in loquat, we used RNA-Seq technology to conduct a comparative transcriptome analysis of differentiating apical buds collected from the early-flowering variety ‘Baiyu’ and the late-flowering variety ‘Huoju’. A total of 28,842 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) were identified. Of these, 42 DETs controlled flowering time while 17 other DETs were associated with the ABA signaling pathway. Compared with those in ‘Huoju’, EjFT, EjFY, EjFLK, and EjCAL1-like were significantly upregulated in ‘Baiyu’. Moreover, transcripts of the ABA 8′-hydroxylases (EjABH2, EjABH4, and EjABH4-like2), the ABA receptors (EjPYL4/8), and the bZIP transcription factor EjABI5-like were upregulated in ‘Baiyu’ compared with ‘Huoju’. Hence, they might regulate loquat flowering time. There was no significant difference between ‘Baiyu’ and ‘Huoju’ in terms of IAA content. However, the ABA content was about ten-fold higher in the apical buds of ‘Baiyu’ than in those of ‘Huoju’. The ABA:IAA ratio sharply rose and attained a peak during bud differentiation. Thus, ABA is vital in regulating floral bud formation in loquat. The results of the present study help clarify gene transcription during loquat flowering.

A large proportion of the genome of ‘Suli’ pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) contains long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR-RTs), which suggests that LTR-RTs have played important roles in the evolution of Pyrus. Further analysis of retrotransposons, particularly of high-copy-number LTR-RTs in different species, will provide new insights into the evolutionary history of Pyrus. A total of 4912 putative LTR-RTs classified into 198 subfamilies were identified in the ‘Suli’ pear genome. Six Asian pear accessions, including cultivars and wild species, were resequenced. The comparison of copy number for each LTR-RT subfamily was evaluated in Pyrus accessions, and data showed up to four-fold differences for some subfamilies. This contrast suggests different fates for retrotransposon families in the evolution of Pyrus. Fourteen high-copy-number subfamilies were identified in Asian pears, and more than 50% of the LTR-RTs in the genomes of all Pyrus accessions were from these 14 identified LTR-RT subfamilies. Their average insertion time was 3.42 million years ago, which suggests that these subfamilies were recently inserted into the genome. Many homologous and specific retrotransposon insertion sites were identified in oriental and occidental pears, suggesting that the duplication of retrotransposons has occurred throughout almost the entire origin and evolution of Pyrus species. The LTR-RTs show high heterogeneity, and their copy numbers vary in different Pyrus species. Thus, our findings suggest that LTR-RTs are an important source of genetic variation among Pyrus species.

Sweet and sour flavors are the most important indicators of loquat fruit quality; they are determined not only by variety but also by the flesh type and the concentration and change patterns of sugars, organic acids, related enzyme activities, and endogenous phytohormones. This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the physiological and biochemical characteristics associated with loquat fruit flavor formation by analyzing the changes and correlation in sugars, organic acids, enzyme activities, and endogenous hormones during fruit development in the white-fleshed, high-sugar cultivar ‘Qixing’ and the red-fleshed, sour–sweet cultivar ‘Huoju’. The results indicated a significant increase in total soluble sugars and individual sugars (mainly fructose, glucose, and sucrose), and a sharp decrease in organic acids (mainly malic acid). Correlation analysis revealed that the activities of sucrose synthase (SS), sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), and phosphofructokinase (PFK) were positively associated with sugar accumulation. In contrast, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), NADP-malic enzyme (NADP-ME), and NAD-malate dehydrogenase (NAD-MDH) were crucial for organic acid metabolism. Phytohormone analysis indicated that indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and gibberellic acid (GA₃) play vital roles in fruit enlargement, while abscisic acid (ABA) is important for fruit ripening in loquats. These findings provide insights into the physiological mechanisms underlying loquat fruit quality formation, reveal the enzymatic or hormonal regulatory effects on sugar accumulation and acid degradation, and provide a theoretical basis for improving the fruit flavor quality.

Background: Fire blight caused by Erwinia amylovora severely impairs pear cultivation globally. To uncover the molecular defense mechanisms of P. betulifolia against fire blight, this study conducted integrated transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic analyses on healthy and infected leaf and branch tissues. Results: A large number of differentially expressed genes, proteins and metabolites were identified in infected leaves and branches, respectively. The 36 common differently expressed gene/protein pairs and 89 differently expressed metabolites were isolated in both of leaves and branches. KEGG enrichment demonstrated that infected leaves mainly activated plant-pathogen interaction pathway, while branches relied on terpenoid, amino acid and lipid metabolism reprogramming. Transcription factor WRKY25 , pathogenesis-related ( PR ) genes and mitogen-activated protein kinase MPK3 , and their corresponding proteins might play critical regulatory functions in plant-pathogen interaction pathway. Multi-omics analysis revealed that flavonoid biosynthesis pathways were strongly induced, leading to massive accumulation of antibacterial flavonoids following pathogen infection. Key structural genes, including PAL , 4CL , CHS and CHI , were substantially upregulated. Consistently, flavones such as chrysin and galangin exhibited uniform and robust induction in both leaves and branches, with markedly higher induction levels in branches. Conclusions: This study systematically elucidates the conserved and tissue-specific molecular mechanisms of P. betulifolia defending against fire blight, providing vital multi-omics insights and a theoretical basis for breeding fire blight-resistant pear varieties.