As a fast-growing, woody grass plant, Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) can supply edible shoots, building materials, fibrous raw material, raw materials for crafts and furniture and so on within a relatively short time. Rapid growth of Moso bamboo occurs after the young bamboo shoots are covered with a shell and emerge from the ground. However, the molecular reactions of bioenergetic processes essential for fast growth remain undefined. Herein, total and mitochondrial transcriptomes and proteomes were compared between spring and winter shoots. Numerous key genes and proteins responsible for energy metabolism were significantly upregulated in spring shoots, including those involved in starch and sucrose catabolism, glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, the tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. Accordingly, significant decreases in starch and soluble sugar, higher ATP content and higher rates of respiration and glycolysis were identified in spring shoots. Further, the upregulated genes and proteins related to mitochondrial fission significantly increased the number of mitochondria, indirectly promoting intracellular energy metabolism. Moreover, enhanced alternate-oxidase and uncoupled-protein pathways in winter shoots showed that an efficient energy-dissipating system was important for winter shoots to adapt to the low-temperature environment. Heterologous expression of PeAOX1b in Arabidopsis significantly affected seedling growth and enhanced cold-stress tolerance. Overall, this study highlights the power of comparing total and mitochondrial omics and integrating physiochemical data to understand how bamboo initiates fast growth through modulating bioenergetic processes.

Ammopiptanthus mongolicus, a xerophyte plant that belongs to the family Leguminosae, adapts to extremely arid, hot, and cold environments, making it an excellent woody plant to study the molecular mechanisms underlying abiotic stress tolerance. Three dehydrin genes, AmDHN132, AmDHN154, and AmDHN200 were cloned from abiotic stress treated A. mongolicus seedlings. Cytomembrane-located AmDHN200, nucleus-located AmDHN154, and cytoplasm and nucleus-located AmDHN132 were characterized by constitutive overexpression of their genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. Overexpression of AmDHN132, AmDHN154, and AmDHN200 in transgenic Arabidopsis improved salt, osmotic, and cold tolerances, with AmDHN132 having the largest effect, whereas the growth of transformed plants is not negatively affected. These results indicate that AmDHNs contribute to the abiotic stress tolerance of A. mongolicus and that AmDHN genes function differently in response to abiotic stresses. Furthermore, they have the potential to be used in the genetic engineering of stress tolerance in higher plants.