Osmanthus fragrans is an evergreen shrub or tree of the Oleaceae family with a long history of cultivation in Asian countries and is one of the ten traditionally famous flowers in China, with important cultural and economic value. The unique floral color and fragrance of O. fragrans are formed by a variety of endogenous metabolites that distinguish it from other flowers and exhibit extraordinary ornamental value. However, many studies on the flower color and fragrance of this plant have been mainly based on bioactive extracts and physiological characteristics, leading to a notable lack of molecular machinery and systematic research. In this review, recent advances in bioactive ingredients associated with the underlying regulatory mechanisms, as well as the prospect for industrial utilization, are comprehensively presented and critically evaluated. In particular, the isolated components and essential genes required for flower color and fragrance are also well summarized, which will provide a scientific basis for molecular breeding for ornamental applications and facilitate the discovery of novel natural products for the future industrial development of O. fragrans. In prospect, we plan to use genetic research and high-throughput omics to analyze the genes related to the flower color and fragrance of O. fragrans, and at the same time, we will hybridize and breed excellent O. fragrans varieties that are resistant to low temperature.

The Ilex L. (hollies) genus of Aquifoliaceae shows high species diversity in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and South America. Throughout the range of the genus, Ilex species have been widely used in beverage and medicine production and as ornamentals. Here, we assembled a high-quality, chromosome-level genome of Ilex latifolia, which has extremely high economic value because of its useful secondary metabolite production and the high ornamental value of its decorative red berries. The 99.8% genome sequence was anchored to 20 pseudochromosomes, with a total length of 766.02 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 33.45 Mb. Based on the comparative genomic analysis of 14 angiosperm species, we recovered I. latifolia as the sister group to all other campanulids. Two whole-genome duplication (WGD) events were identified in hollies: one shared ancient WGD in the ancestor of all eudicots and a recent and independent WGD in hollies. We performed a genome-wide search to screen candidate genes involved in the biosynthesis of pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins in I. latifolia. Three subfamilies of CYP450 (CYP71A, CYP72A, and CYP716A) appear to have expanded. The transcriptomic analysis of I. latifolia leaves at five developmental stages revealed that two CYP716A genes and one CYP72A gene probably play important roles in this biosynthetic pathway. In addition, we totally identified 12 genes in the biosynthesis pathways of pelargonidin and cyanidin and observed their differential expression in green and red fruit pericarps, suggesting an association between pelargonidin and cyanidin biosynthesis and fruit pericarp color change. The accumulation of pelargonidin and cyanidin is expected to play an important role in the ornamental value of I. latifolia. Altogether, this study elucidated the molecular basis of the medicinal and ornamental value of I. latifolia, providing a data basis and promising clues for further applications.

The Wuyi Mountains in China are one of the largest and most complete subtropical forest ecosystems at the same latitude in the world. However, our limited understanding of the function of this distinctive ecosystem means that the interrelationship between species diversity and ecosystem functioning needs to be investigated if evergreen broadleaf forests (EBLFs) are to be protected. Here, we calculated species richness, the Shannon–Wiener index, and the Pielou index in large-, medium-, and small-scale (20 m × 20 m, 10 m × 10 m, and 5 m × 5 m) forest dynamics plots (FDPs). We also investigated the interrelationships between species diversity and aboveground biomass (AGB)/productivity in FDPs at the different scales using the generalized linear regression model. The results showed that species diversity and AGB positively interrelated with each other, whereas there was no species diversity-productivity interrelationship in the subtropical BLF on the Wuyi Mountains. The structural equation model (SEM) showed that elevation was a key factor directly affecting AGB. These findings lead to the conclusion that productivity is not solely correlated with species diversity and that abiotic factors probably mediate the positive interrelationship between species diversity and ecosystem functioning. This study provides theoretical basis that can be used to protect EBLFs in subtropical areas and the results can be used to improve the construction of artificial forest communities and vegetation restoration at the same latitude.

Sinojackia Hu represents the first woody genus described by Chinese botanists, with all species classified as endangered ornamental plants endemic to China. Their characteristic spindle-shaped fruits confer high ornamental value to the plants, making them favored in gardens and parks. Nevertheless, the fruits likely pose a germination obstacle, contributing to the endangered status of this lineage. Here we report the chromosome-scale genome of S. xylocarpa, and explore the mechanisms underlying its endangered status, as well as its population dynamics throughout evolution. Population genomic analysis has indicated that S. xylocarpa experienced a bottleneck effect following the recent glacial period, leading to a continuous population reduction. Examination of the pericarp composition across six stages of fruit development revealed a consistent increase in the accumulation of lignin and fiber content, responsible for the sturdiness of mature fruits’ pericarps. At molecular level, enhanced gene expression in the biosynthesis of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose was detected in pericarps. Therefore, we conclude that the highly lignified and fibrotic pericarps of S. xylocarpa, which inhibit its seed germination, should be its threatening mechanism, thus proposing corresponding strategies for improved conservation and restoration. This study serves as a seminal contribution to conservation biology, offering valuable insights for the study of other endangered ornamental plants.

Alternative splicing refers to the process of producing different splicing isoforms from the same pre-mRNA through different alternative splicing events, which almost participates in all stages of plant growth and development. In order to understand its role in the fruit development of Osmanthus fragrans, transcriptome sequencing and alternative splicing analysis was carried out on three stages of O. fragrans fruit (O. fragrans “Zi Yingui”). The results showed that the proportion of skipping exon events was the highest in all three periods, followed by a retained intron, and the proportion of mutually exclusive exon events was the lowest and most of the alternative splicing events occurred in the first two periods. The results of enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes and differentially expressed isoforms showed that alpha-Linolenic acid metabolism, flavonoid biosynthesis, carotenoid biosynthesis, photosynthesis, and photosynthetic-antenna protein pathways were significantly enriched, which may play an important role in the fruit development of O. fragrans. The results of this study lay the foundation for further study of the development and maturation of O. fragrans fruit and further ideas for controlling fruit color and improving fruit quality and appearance.

A new spikemoss species, Selaginella wuyishanensis, is described and illustrated based on materials collected from Fujian Province, East China. The new species can be distinguished from S. lutchuensis Koidzumi and S. albociliata P. S. Wang by its leaves with extremely long cilia (up to 8 mm) and distinctly white margins, ovate ventral sporophylls, and sporophyll-pteryx completely inverted on dorsal sporophylls. In the present work, a molecular phylogeny, taxonomic description, distribution information, line drawing, and photographs of this new species are presented. A morphological comparison is also given to distinguish it from morphologically similar species in Selaginella sect. Tetragonostachyae (Hook. & Grev.) Hieron. & Sadeb.