Morchella is a kind of precious edible, medicinal fungi with a series of important effects, including anti-tumor and anti-oxidation effects. Based on the data of 18 environmental variables and the distribution sites of wild Morchella species, this study used a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model to predict the changes in the geographic distribution of Morchella species in different historical periods (the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Mid Holocene (MH), current, 2050s and 2070s). The results revealed that the area under the curve (AUC) values of the receiver operating characteristic curves of different periods were all relatively high (>0.83), indicating that the results of the maximum entropy model are good. Species distribution modeling showed that the major factors influencing the geographical distribution of Morchella species were the precipitation of the driest quarter (Bio17), elevation, the mean temperature of the coldest quarter (Bio11) and the annual mean temperature (Bio1). The simulation of geographic distribution suggested that the current suitable habitat of Morchella was mainly located in Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and other provinces in China. Compared with current times, the suitable area in Northwest and Northeast China decreased in the LGM and MH periods. As for the future periods, the suitable habitats all increased under the different scenarios compared with those in contemporary times, showing a trend of expansion to Northeast and Northwest China. These results could provide a theoretical basis for the protection, rational exploitation and utilization of wild Morchella resources under scenarios of climate change.

Abiotic stresses negatively affect plant growth and flower production. In plants, P5CS proteins are key enzymes that catalyzed the rate-limiting steps of proline synthesis, and proline is a well-known osmoprotectant that is closely related to abiotic stress tolerance. However, information about the P5CS genes, their effects on proline accumulation, and their role in abiotic stress tolerance in Lilium is still lacking. We isolated and characterized a novel gene (LhSorP5CS) from Oriental hybrid lily cultivar Sorbonne. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that LhSorP5CS is a member of the P5CS family. The three-dimensional structure of LhSorP5CS predicted by homology modeling showed high similarity to its correspondant human P5CS template. Further gene expression analysis revealed that LhSorP5CS expression was up-regulated by NaCl, mannitol, and ABA, and that stress-exposed plants accumulated proline at a significantly higher level than in the control. LhSorP5CS characterized in this study is involved in proline synthesis in lily, and that it might play an important role in abiotic stress tolerance. However, there should be other P5CS homologues in the lily genome, and some of them could be highly stress-induced and more important for proline accumulation. Future studies on P5CS family genes would be of great importance to proline-related stress tolerance in lily.

Non-expressor of pathogenesis-related genes 1 (NPR1) regulates expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes by interacting with TGA family proteins during systemic acquired resistance (SAR). However, no TGA-like proteins or their interacting partners have been characterized in lily. In the present study, LhSorTGA2, a novel TGA-like protein, was identified as an interacting partner of LhSorNPR1 (an NPR-like protein) by bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BIFC) and yeast two-hybrid assay (Y2H). Subcellular localization of GFP-tagged proteins targeted LhSorTGA2 to the nucleus, whereas GFP-labeled LhSorNPR1 was observed both in the nucleus and at the cytomembrane. Sequence alignment revealed that LhSorTGA2 was featured with a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) domain and two glutamine rich acid domains (QI and QII). Further phylogenetic analysis showed that TGA family proteins can be grouped into three subclades, within which LhSorTGA2 was clustered into subclade I, together with AtTGA2/5/6. Expression of LhSorTGA2 was investigated in different tissues by qPCR, and the highest expression level was observed in stem. Besides, when treated with phytohormones (SA, MeJA, ETH and ABA) or fungal pathogen Botrytis elliptica, LhSorTGA2 expression was also induced at different time points post treatments. Collectively, these results suggested that LhSorTGA2 was an interacting partner of LhSorNPR1, which might function in regulating expression of PR genes in lily during SAR.

This study used typical chestnut soil from Huangyuan County, Qinghai Province as the experimental soil, and selected three oat varieties, “Baiyan 7”, “Qingyan 2”, and “Qinghai 444”, for mixed sowing. A blank control (CK) and five treatments with different ratios of exogenous nutrient bag waste (PF-R-1 to PF-R-5) were established. Through soil physicochemical analysis, microbial biomass determination, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), the effects of exogenous nutrient bag waste with different ratios soil nutrient availability, microbial activity and root gene expression in oats were systematically evaluated. The results showed that most treatments enhanced soil organic matter, nitrogen content, and microbial activity. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the comparison between PF-R-3 and PF-R-2 treatments exhibited the highest total number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with enrichment in pathways related to ribosomal protein translation, oxidative phosphorylation energy metabolism, and DNA damage repair. These enrichment patterns suggest potential changes in energy metabolism and protein synthesis, although direct functional validation was not performed. Moreover, DEGs uniquely identified in PF-R-3 were significantly enriched in nitrogen metabolism and secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathways; WGCNA identified the coral2 module as the core regulatory module, with its genes predominantly enriched in functions related to transmembrane transport and plant hormone signal transduction, which were highly consistent with efficient root nutrient acquisition and the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis. Fluorescence staining confirmed the successful colonization of oat root tissues by Morchella mycelium. Taken together, based on the integration of soil nutrient supply stability, root gene expression regulation, and fungal colonization evidence, the PF-R-3 treatment (wheat + corncob + oat) emerged as a promising candidate among the tested formulations under the experimental conditions. However, further field trials incorporating yield and quality data are needed before a definitive recommendation can be made. This study provides a theoretical basis and technical support for the resource utilization of exogenous nutrient bag waste and the green cultivation of oat in alpine regions.