Lilies (Lilium sp.) are commercially important horticultural crops widely cultivated for their flowers and bulbs. Here, we conducted large-scale data mining of the lily transcriptome to develop transcription factor (TF)-associated microsatellite markers (TFSSRs). Among 216,768 unigenes extracted from our sequence data, 6966 unigenes harbored simple sequence repeats (SSRs). Seventy-one SSRs were associated with TF genes, and these were used to design primers and validate their potential as markers. These 71 SSRs were accomplished with 31 transcription factor families; including bHLH, MYB, C2H2, ERF, C3H, NAC, bZIP, and so on. Fourteen highly polymorphic SSRs were selected based on Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) values and used to study genetic diversity and population structure in lily accessions. Higher genetic diversity was observed in Longiflorum compared to Oriental and Asiatic populations. Lily accessions were divided into three sub-populations based in our structure analysis, and an un-rooted neighbor-joining tree effectively separated the accessions according to Asiatic, Oriental, and Longiflorum subgroups. Finally, we showed that 46 of the SSR-associated genes were differentially expressed in response to Botrytis elliptica infection. Thus, our newly developed TFSSR markers represent a powerful tool for large-scale genotyping, high-density and comparative mapping, marker-aided backcrossing, and molecular diversity analysis of Lilium sp.

Biotic and abiotic stresses are the major causes of crop loss in lily worldwide. In this study, we retrieved 12 defense-related expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the NCBI database and cloned, characterized, and established seven of these genes as stress-induced genes in Lilium formolongi. Using rapid amplification of cDNA ends PCR (RACE-PCR), we successfully cloned seven full-length mRNA sequences from L. formolongi line Sinnapal lily. Based on the presence of highly conserved characteristic domains and phylogenetic analysis using reference protein sequences, we provided new nomenclature for the seven nucleotide and protein sequences and submitted them to GenBank. The real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) relative expression analysis of these seven genes, including LfHsp70-1, LfHsp70-2, LfHsp70-3, LfHsp90, LfUb, LfCyt-b5, and LfRab, demonstrated that they were differentially expressed in all organs examined, possibly indicating functional redundancy. We also investigated the qPCR relative expression levels under two biotic and four abiotic stress conditions. All seven genes were induced by Botrytis cinerea treatment, and all genes except LfHsp70-3 and LfHsp90 were induced by Botrytis elliptica treatment; these genes might be associated with disease tolerance mechanisms in L. formolongi. In addition, LfHsp70-1, LfHsp70-2, LfHsp70-3, LfHsp90, LfUb, and LfCyt-b5 were induced by heat treatment, LfHsp70-1, LfHsp70-2, LfHsp70-3, LfHsp90, and LfCyt-b5 were induced by cold treatment, and LfHsp70-1, LfHsp70-2, LfHsp70-3, LfHsp90, LfCy-b5, and LfRab were induced by drought and salt stress, indicating their likely association with tolerance to these stress conditions. The stress-induced candidate genes identified in this study provide a basis for further functional analysis and the development of stress-resistant L. formolongi cultivars.

The Lily database is an online genomic resource which is composed of a Korean Lily germplasm collection, transcriptome sequences, molecular markers, transcription factors (TFs) and DEGs (Differentially Expressed Genes) data. A total of ~0.23 gb of RNA-sequencing data were used for gene identification, marker development and gene expression analysis. As a result, 103,929 genomic, 47,863 EST-SSR, 20,929 SNP and 1213 COS-marker were developed. A total of 1327 TF genes were identified and characterized. This is the first unique, user-friendly, genomic resource database for Lilium species. It is a relational database based on a ‘three-tier architecture’ that catalogs all the information in a MySQL table and a user-friendly query interface and data visualization page developed using JavaScript, PHP and HTML code. The search parameters are highly flexible; users can retrieve data by using either single or multiple search parameters. Data present in this database can be used for germplasm characterization, gene discovery, population structure analysis, QTL mapping, and accelerating lily variety improvements.

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of varieties and boron (B) levels on growth and yield of summer tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) at the Germplasm Centre in the Department of Horticulture, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali during the period from May, 2018 to September, 2018. Fifteen treatments were comprising (i) three summer tomato varieties (BARI hybrid tomato 4, 8 and 10) and (ii) five levels of boron as boric acid (0, 1, 2, 3 and 5 kg B ha-1) in all combinations. Randomized complete block design with three replications was used in the earthen pot (0.79 ft3) experimentation. The effects of varieties and boron levels showed significant variations (p <0.05) on growth and yield of summer tomato at different days after transplanting. Among the varieties at final count plant-1, delayed flowering (32.6 days), the highest plant height (93.8 cm), number of leaves (99.93), no. of branches (26.27), no. of flower clusters (18.53), no. of flowers (82.73), no. of fruits (51.87), longest fruit length (41.87 mm) and maximum fruit width (48.0 mm), weight of individual fruit (55.71 g) and total weight of fruits (2892.88 g) were observed in BARI hybrid tomato 8. In contrast, the lowest plant height (87.3 cm), no. of leaves (86.47), no. of branches (24.06), no. of flower clusters (15.87), no. of flowers (66.07), no. of fruits (37.33), weight of individual fruit (43.60 g) and total weight of fruits (1630.57 g) were found in BARI hybrid tomato 4; and early flowering (31.93 days), shortest fruit length (33.07 mm) and maximum fruit width (34.60 mm) were noticed in BARI hybrid tomato 10. Among the boron levels at final count plant-1, early flowering (29.67 days), the maximum no. of flower clusters (18.44), no. of flowers (89.11), no. of fruits (46.22) and total weight of fruits (2364.29 g) were recorded in 2 kg B ha-1 treatment; the maximum plant height (96.50 cm), no. of leaves (102.89), no. of branches (28.11), longest fruit length (42.89 mm) and maximum fruit width (46.78 mm) and weight of individual fruit (51.74 g) were obtained in 3 kg B ha-1 treatment. Conversely, delayed flowering (34.67 days), minimum plant height (83.50 cm), no. of leaves (87.56), no. of branches (21.78), no. of flower clusters (15.89), no. of flowers (63.56), no. of fruits (40.33), shortest fruit length (31.78 mm) and minimum fruit width (34.67 mm), weight of individual fruit (47.47 g) and total weight of fruits (1936.00 g) were recorded in control (0 kg B ha-1) treatment. Our results suggest that the inclusion of B (2–3 kg ha-1) with the current fertilization practice will enhance the growth and yield of summer tomato grown at AEZ (agro-ecological zone) 13 while BARI hybrid tomato 8 could be recommended as one of the promising varieties.