Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) and its wild ancestor, sour jujube (Z. acidojujuba C.Y. Cheng & M.J. Liu), is a Ziziphus genus in the Rhamnaceae family. ZJ and ZA are rich in a variety of active ingredients, with triterpenoids being a unique active ingredient, which are present in the fruit, leaves, branches, and roots. More than 120 triterpenoids have been identified in ZJ and ZA, and have various biological activities. For example, betulinic and ursolic acids have anticancer, antioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral activities. ceanothic, alphitolic, and zizyberanalic acids possess anti-inflammatory activities. The MVA pathway is a synthetic pathway for triterpenoids in ZJ and ZA, and 23 genes of the MVA pathway are known to regulate triterpene synthesis in ZJ and ZA. In order to better understand the basic situation of triterpenoids in ZJ and ZA, this paper reviews the types, content dynamic changes, activities, pharmacokinetics, triterpenoid synthesis pathways, and the effects of domestication on triterpenoids in ZJ and ZA, and provides some ideas for the future research of triterpenoids in ZJ and ZA. In addition, there are many types of ZJ and ZA triterpenoids, and most of the studies on their activities are on lupane- and ursane-type triterpenes, while the activities of the ceanothane-type and saponin are less studied and need additional research.

Microtubules are dynamic cytoskeleton structures playing fundamental roles in plant responses to salt stress. The precise mechanisms by which microtubule organization is regulated under salt stress are largely unknown. Here, we report that Arabidopsis thaliana MICROTUBULE‐DESTABILIZING PROTEIN 25 (MDP25; also known as PLASMA MEMBRANE‐ASSOCIATED CATION‐BINDING PROTEIN 1 (PCaP1)) helps regulate microtubule organization. Under salt treatment, elevated cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration caused MDP25 to partially dissociate from the plasma membrane, promoting microtubule depolymerization. When Ca²⁺ signaling was blocked by BAPTA‐AM or LaCl₃, microtubule depolymerization in wild‐type and MDP25‐overexpressing cells was slower, while there was no obvious change in mdp25 cells. Knockout of MDP25 improved microtubule reassembly and was conducive to microtubule integrity under long‐term salt treatment and microtubule recovery after salt stress. Moreover, mdp25 seedlings exhibited a higher survival rate under salt stress. The presence microtubule‐disrupting reagent oryzalin or microtubule‐stabilizing reagent paclitaxel differentially affected the survival rates of different genotypes under salt stress. MDP25 promoted microtubule instability by affecting the catastrophe and rescue frequencies, shrinkage rate and time in pause phase at the microtubule plus‐end and the depolymerization rate at the microtubule minus‐end. These findings reveal a role for MDP25 in regulating microtubule organization under salt treatment by affecting microtubule dynamics.

SUMMARY: Photosynthesis impairment and the accompanying leaf yellowing represent a prominent and physiologically critical symptom of phytoplasma infection. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified the Jujube Witches' Broom pathogenic effector PHYL1 _JWB , which was previously reported to induce phyllody in jujube, as a key inducer of photosynthesis impairment. Overexpression of PHYL1 _JWB in sour jujube and Arabidopsis thaliana disrupted photosynthesis by causing severe disorganization of chloroplast ultrastructure. PHYL1 _JWB directly interacts with the integral thylakoid membrane protein ZjCURT1A and promotes its 26S proteasome‐dependent degradation independently of lysine ubiquitination, leading to disruption of thylakoid structure and photosynthetic dysfunction. The conserved two α‐helices of PHYL1 _JWB and the C‐terminal segment of ZjCURT1A containing the thylakoid membrane curvature‐related CAAD motif are essential for their interaction. Together, these findings reveal that PHYL1 _JWB impairs photosynthesis by disrupting chloroplast ultrastructural in addition to inducing phyllody, thereby contributing to abnormal plant growth. This work highlights the functional pleiotropy of pathogenic effectors and underscores the need to consider their impacts on multiple physiological processes in the context of phytoplasma pathogenicity.