The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of bergamot polysaccharide (BP) and Laoxianghuang polysaccharides (LPs, fermented bergamot) on the microbiome and metabolome during the in vitro fermentation of gut microbiota from patients with hyperlipidemia. Results indicated that both BP and LPs were able to increase the production of acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid. However, only LPs could decrease the content of isobutyric acid and isovaleric acid, which are detrimental to gut health. A 16S rRNA analysis showed that both BP and LPs could reduce the proportion of Fusobacterium, whereas they increased the Bacteroides content in hyperlipidemia. Untargeted UPLC-MS/MS metabolomic profiling found six bio-markers that were significantly changed after BP and LPs intervention, and four of the down-regulated metabolites were long-chain fatty acids associated with vascular diseases. These findings provide new evidence that BP and LPs have the potential to regulate imbalances in the gut microbiota in patients with hyperlipidemia and ameliorate its metabolic abnormalities.

Anthocyanins are important secondary metabolites in fruits, and anthocyanin accumulation in the flesh of peach exhibits a spatial pattern, but the relevant mechanism is still unknown. In this study, the yellow-fleshed peach, cv. ‘Jinxiu’, with anthocyanin accumulation in the mesocarp around the stone was used as the experimental material. Red flesh (RF) and yellow flesh (YF) were sampled separately for flavonoid metabolite (mainly anthocyanins), plant hormone, and transcriptome analyses. The results showed that the red coloration in the mesocarp was due to the accumulation of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, with an up-regulation of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes (F3H, F3′H, DFR, and ANS), transportation gene GST, and regulatory genes (MYB10.1 and bHLH3). Eleven ERFs, nine WRKYs, and eight NACs were also defined as the candidate regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis in peach via RNA-seq. Auxin, cytokinin, abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC, ethylene precursor) were enriched in the peach flesh, with auxin, cytokinin, ACC, and SA being highly accumulated in the RF, but ABA was mainly distributed in the YF. The activators and repressors in the auxin and cytokinin signaling transduction pathways were mostly up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively. Our results provide new insights into the regulation of spatial accumulation pattern of anthocyanins in peach flesh.

Charcoal-based fertilizer could be used extensively and is environmentally friendly. An experiment was designed to investigate the effects of different charcoal-based fertilizer application methods on soil microbiology and grape quality in a vineyard to guide the cultivation of ‘Shine-Muscat’. A control treatment without fertilization and six other treatments were set up. Four treatments applied carbon-based fertilizer as a base fertilizer with or without potassium fulvic acid, a complex microbial agent, or Bacillus subtilis, and two treatments were only applied with two applications of carbon-based fertilizer or compound fertilizer during the expansion period. The results showed that the bacterial phyla were mainly Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mortierellomycota dominated the fungal community. At the genus level, the composition of fungi, compared to bacteria, varied significantly, while the dominant flora differed among fertilization practices. Application of charcoal-based fertilizer enriched beneficial microorganisms, while chemical fertilizers enriched pathogenic microorganisms. The addition of microbial fungicides and biostimulants for a period reduced the size of the microbial network, lowered positive correlations, and enhanced resistance to adverse conditions and diseases and there was no significant correlation between agronomic traits and microbial network topology. A combination of soil microbial and grape agronomic traits suggests that a charcoal-based fertilizer base, with microbial fungicides applied, is the optimal fertilization regimen for grape.

Finger citron (Citrus medica ‘Fingered’) is used as a raw material for essential oil extraction due to its distinctive fragrance. Studies have predominantly focused on the fruit, but the aroma components of the leaves have not yet been systematically compared. This study used headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry combined with the relative odor activity value (ROAV) and molecular docking to analyze the volatile compound composition, aroma characteristics, and interactions with human olfactory receptor OR1A1 in leaves of different finger citron cultivars. Based on pooled samples of six individual plants per cultivar, a total of 394 compounds were tentatively identified among all of the cultivars, with terpenoids being the most abundant class. (+)-Sylvestrene, geranial, and neral were the three components with the highest relative contents. Analysis of the pooled samples preliminarily revealed differences in volatile composition among cultivars. Yunfoshou had the relatively highest total volatile content. The volatile profiles of QingyiTongzi, Xiuzhen, Tianci, Cuiyu, Kaixin, and Guangfoshou were relatively similar to each other but differed from those of Yangguang and Yunfoshou. Thirteen key aroma-active compounds were screened using ROAV analysis, and linalool exhibited the highest ROAV across all of the cultivars. The aroma profiles of all of the cultivars were predominantly floral. Molecular docking predictions showed that the binding energies of the 13 key aroma compounds with OR1A1 ranged from −5.859 to −8.652 kcal/mol, with Asn109 and Tyr258 involved in hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions, respectively. This study preliminarily reveals the aroma characteristics of leaves from different finger citron cultivars and provides a preliminary theoretical basis for finger citron breeding and the development of deep-processed leaf products.