Persimmon leaves are used for making persimmon leaf tea or as functional ingredients due to their enrichment in flavonoids, the beneficial mineral contents, and favorable flavors contributed by volatile aroma compounds. The varieties/cultivars had a significant influence on the quality and flavor of persimmon leaf tea. In this study, the integrated metabolomic-transcriptomic analysis was conducted to investigate the potential in flavonoid biosynthesis, mineral absorption, and degradation of aromatic compounds from tender leaves of “Diospyros kaki. Heishi” (HS), “Diospyros kaki Thunb. Nishimurawase” (NM), and “Diospyros kaki Thunb. Taifu” (TF), using rootstock “Diospyros Lotus Linn” (DL) as the control. The metabolomic analysis showed that 382, 391, and 368 metabolites were differentially accumulated in the comparison of DL vs. HS, DL vs. NM, and DL vs. TF, respectively, and 229 common metabolites were obtained by comparative analysis. By RNA sequencing, 182,008 unigenes with 652 bp of mean length were annotated and 2,598, 3,503, and 3,333 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected from the comparison of DL vs. HS, DL vs. NM, and DL vs. TF, respectively. After the Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment, 6, 6, and 3 DEGs [with | log2(fold change)| ≥ 1 simultaneously in the three comparisons] involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, mineral absorption, and degradation of aromatic compounds, respectively, were selected for quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) validation and the consistent trends of the relative expression level of each DEG with RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data were observed. Based on the transcriptomic analysis and qRT-PCR validation, it was observed that the leaves of HS, NM, and TF had the greatest level of mineral absorption, flavonoid biosynthesis, and degradation of aromatic compounds, respectively. In addition, a positive correlation between the 15 DEGs and their metabolites was observed by the conjoint analysis. Thus, the tender leaves of HS, NM, and TF could be recommended for the production of persimmon leaf tea rich in mineral elements, flavonoid, and aroma compounds, respectively.

Three diseased trees were found in 2 ha of cultivated area surveyed, indicating this disease may be sporadic and rare. To identify the causal agent, total genomic DNA was extracted from leaves and stems of three symptomatic trees and two asymptomatic trees using the SurePlant DNA Kit (CWBIO, Beijing, China). From the genomic DNA, phytoplasma specific 16SrRNA gene and tuf gene fragment was amplified using phytoplasma specific universal primers, P1/P7 and R16F2n/R16R2 (Lee et al. 1998), fTuf1/rTuf1 and fTufu/rTufu (Schneider et al. 1997), respectively. Specific fragments, approximately 1.25 kb and 0.8 kb in length, were amplified from symptomatic plants, respectively, while no fragment was amplified from asymptomatic samples. After cloned into the pMD18-T vector (Takara Bio Inc., Dalian, China) and sequenced, sequences of 1 244 bp and 841 bp were obtained (GenBank accession number: KY828850 and MF174060). Phylogenetic analysis of phytoplasma 16S rDNA sequences or tuf gene sequences based on the maximum like...

Colletotrichum horii is a main causal agent of persimmon (Diospyros kaki) anthracnose and is distributed widely in persimmon-producing areas of the world. Here, we report the first high-quality draft genome sequence of C. horii strain SD010. This will provide a reference for understanding adaptive evolution of genome structure, genes, and population diversity among members of the C. gloeosporioides species complex, and also help in understanding the mechanisms of host–pathogen interactions and improve management strategies of anthracnose.