Cadmium (Cd) is a common agricultural soil pollutant, which does serious harm to the environment and the human body. In this study, Brassica juncea was treated with different concentrations of CdCl₂ and Na₂SeO₃. Then, physiological indexes and transcriptome were measured to reveal the mechanisms by which Se reduces the inhibition and toxicity of Cd in B. juncea. The results showed that Se alleviated the inhibitive Cd effects on seedling biomass, root length, and chlorophyll, and promoted the adsorption of Cd by pectin and lignin in the root cell wall (CW). Se also alleviated the oxidative stress induced by Cd, and reduced the content of MDA in cells. As a result, SeCys and SeMet alleviated the transport of Cd to the shoots. Transcriptome data showed that the bivalent cation transporter MPP and ABCC subfamily participated in the separation of Cd in vacuoles, CAL1 was related to the chelation of Cd in the cytoplasm of cells, and ZIP transporter 4 reduced the transport of Cd to the shoots. These results indicated that Se alleviated the damage of Cd in plants and decreased its transport to the shoots by improving the antioxidant system, enhancing the ability of the CW to adsorb Cd, reducing the activity of Cd transporters, and chelating Cd.

It is an important way for healthy Selenium (Se) supplement to transform exogenous Se into organic Se through crops. In the present study, Vigna unguiculata was selected as a test material and sprayed with biological nano selenium (SeNPs) and Na₂SeO₃, and its nutrient composition, antioxidant capacity, total Se and organic Se content were determined, respectively. Further, the response of ABC transporter family members in cowpea to different exogenous Se treatments was analyzed by transcriptome sequencing combined with different Se forms. The results show that the soluble protein content of cowpea increased after twice Se treatment. SeNPs treatment increased the content of cellulose in cowpea pods. Na₂SeO₃ treatment increased the content of vitamin C (Vc) in cowpea pods. Se treatments could significantly increase the activities of Peroxidase (POD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and catalase (CAT) in cowpea pods and effectively maintain the activity of Superoxide dismutase (SOD). SeNPs can reduce the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in pods. After Se treatment, cowpea pods showed a dose-effect relationship on the absorption and accumulation of total Se, and Na₂SeO₃ treatment had a better effect on the increase of total Se content in cowpea pods. After treatment with SeNPs and Na₂SeO₃, the Se species detected in cowpea pods was mainly SeMet, followed by MeSeCys. Inorganic Se can only be detected in the high concentration treatment group. Analysis of transcriptome data of cowpea treated with Se showed that ABC transporters could play an active role in response to Se stress and Se absorption, among which ABCB, ABCC and ABCG subfamilies played a major role in Se absorption and transportation in cowpea. Further analysis by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) showed that the content of organic Se in cowpea treated with high concentration of SeNPs was significantly and positively correlated with the expression level of three transporters ABCC11, ABCC13 and ABCC10, which means that the ABCC subfamily may be more involved in the transmembrane transport of organic Se in cells.

Chestnut (Castanea mollisima) is an important woody food crop, but its yield has been low in cultivation, mainly due to the problems of fewer female flowers and more male flowers. Therefore, regulating the transition of chestnut flowers and effectively balancing the proportion of male and female to improve the yield are key factor to be solved in production. In this study, the chestnut floral buds in pre- and post-winter were used as materials. The data of metabolites, hormones, and gene expression during flower bud differentiation of chestnut were analyzed by transcriptomics and metabolomics to preliminarily reveal the possible reason of male and female flower bud transformation in pre- and post-winter. The analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) showed that there were 6323 DEGs in the Complete mixed flower bud (CMF) group in pre- and post-winter, of which 3448 genes were up-regulated and 2875 genes were down-regulated. There were 8037 DEGs in the Incomplete mixed flower bud (IMF) in pre- and post-winter, of which 4546 genes were up-regulated and 3491 genes were down-regulated. A total of 726 genes from the two flower buds were enriched into 251 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways in post winter, of which plant hormone signal transduction accounted for 4.13%. The analysis results of differential metabolites showed that the differential metabolites of the two flower buds were mainly concentrated in the secondary metabolic synthesis pathway. The difference of hormone content showed that the content of Gibberellin 9 (GA9) and GA19 in CMF was higher than that in IMF in pre-winter, but the opposite in post-winter. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) content was only very high in CMF in pre-winter, while Jasmonoyl-(l)-Isoleucine (JA-ILE) showed high content in CMF in post-winter. In post-winter, higher concentration of JA-ILE was positively correlated with the expression of Flowering Locus T (CmFT), and CmFT gene was significantly positively correlated with the expression levels of MYC2-1, MYC2-2 and LFY 3 (LEAFY 3). The higher concentration of JA-ILE was negatively correlated with the transcription level of JAZ1-3. In vitro experiments further verified that Jasmonate-Zim 1–3 (JAZ 1–3) combined with MYC2-1 inhibited the transcription of CmFT gene, while MYC2-1 alone promoted the expression of FT. The results suggested that a higher concentration of GA is conducive to breaking the dormancy of flower buds and promoting the development of male flower buds, while a lower concentration of GA and a higher concentration of JA-ILE are conducive to the differentiation and formation of female flower buds in post-winter, in which JAZ1-3 and MYC2-1 play a key role in the differentiation of female flower buds of chestnut.

It is an essential method for healthy Selenium (Se) supplementation to convert exogenous Se into organic Se via crops. Brassica juncea (L.) Czern (leaf mustard) was employed as plant material in this investigation and was treated with sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃). Its physiological indicators, nutritional quality, antioxidant enzyme activity, total Se content, and Se morphology were all evaluated. The absorption, transportation, and transformation mechanisms of Se in mustard were studied using transcriptome data. The results revealed that low concentration of Se treatment promoted the growth of mustard, while high concentration Se treatment inhibited it. The concentration of 10 mg/L Na₂SeO₃ treatment had the best growth parameters for mustard. Compared to the control group, the content of vitamin C (Vc) and anthocyanins in the treatment group increased to varying degrees, while the content of flavonoids, total phenols, soluble sugar, and soluble protein increased first and then decreased. Five Se forms, Se (IV), Se (VI), selenocystine(SeCys2), selenomethionine (SeMet), and methylselenocysteine (MeSeCys), were detected in the Na₂SeO₃ treatment group, with organic Se accounting for over 95%. Na₂SeO₃ treatment can significantly reduce the accumulation of ROS in mustard plants and enhance their stress resistance. Transcriptome data and metabolite association analysis showed that PHO1-H8 promoted the absorption of Na₂SeO₃ by mustard roots, while SULTR3;3 and SULTR4;1 promoted the transport of Se from roots to the aboveground portion and chloroplasts. Se in mustard was transformed into SeMet, SeCys, MeSeCys, and selenoprotein through the action of genes such as APS, APR, and SEP1, and stored in plant leaves.

Ginkgolide is a unique terpenoid natural compound in Ginkgo biloba, and it has an important medicinal value. Proper selenium has been reported to promote plant growth and development, and improve plant quality, stress resistance, and disease resistance. In order to study the effects of exogenous selenium (Se) on the physiological growth and the content of terpene triolactones (TTLs) in G. biloba seedlings, the seedlings in this work were treated with Na₂SeO₃. Then, the physiological indexes, the content of the TTLs, and the expression of the related genes were determined. The results showed that a low dose of Na₂SeO₃ was beneficial to plant photosynthesis as it promoted the growth of ginkgo seedlings and increased the root to shoot ratio. Foliar Se application significantly increased the content of soluble sugar and protein and promoted the content of TTLs in ginkgo leaves; indeed, it reached the maximum value of 7.95 mg/g in the ninth week, whereas the application of Se to the roots inhibited the synthesis of TTLs. Transcriptome analysis showed that foliar Se application promoted the expression levels of GbMECPs, GbMECT, GbHMGR, and GbMVD genes, whereas its application to the roots promoted the expression of GbDXS and GbDXR genes. The combined analysis results of metabolome and transcriptome showed that genes such as GbDXS, GbDXR, GbHMGR, GbMECPs, and GbCYP450 were significantly positively correlated with transcription factors (TFs) GbWRKY and GbAP2/ERF, and they were also positively correlated with the contents of terpene lactones (ginkgolide A, ginkgolide B, ginkgolide M, and bilobalide). Endogenous hormones (MeJA-ILE, ETH, and GA7) were also involved in this process. The results suggested that Na₂SeO₃ treatment affected the transcription factors related to the regulation of endogenous hormones in G. biloba, and further regulated the expression of genes related to the terpene synthesis structure, thus promoting the synthesis of ginkgo TTLs.

Pueraria lobata (wild.) Ohwi is a leguminous plant and one of the traditional Chinese herbal medicines. Its puerarin extract is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. This study reported a chromosome-level genome assembly for P. lobata and its characteristics. The genome size was ~939.2 Mb, with a contig N50 of 29.51 Mbp. Approximately 97.82% of the assembled sequences were represented by 11 pseudochromosomes. We identified that the repetitive sequences accounted for 63.50% of the P. lobata genome. A total of 33,171 coding genes were predicted, of which 97.34% could predict the function. Compared with other species, P. lobata had 757 species-specific gene families, including 1874 genes. The genome evolution analysis revealed that P. lobata was most closely related to Glycine max and underwent two whole-genome duplication (WGD) events. One was in a gamma event shared by the core dicotyledons at around 65 million years ago, and another was in the common ancestor shared by legume species at around 25 million years ago. The collinearity analysis showed that 61.45% of the genes (54,579 gene pairs) in G. max and P. lobata had collinearity. In this study, six unique PlUGT43 homologous genes were retrieved from the genome of P. lobata, and no 2-hydroxyisoflavanone 8-C-glucoside was found in the metabolites. This also revealed that the puerarin synthesis was mainly from the glycation of daidzein. The combined transcriptome and metabolome analysis suggested that two bHLHs, six MYBs and four WRKYs were involved in the expression regulation of puerarin synthesis structural genes. The genetic information obtained in this study provided novel insights into the biological evolution of P. lobata and leguminous species, and it laid the foundation for further exploring the regulatory mechanism of puerarin synthesis.