Polyploidy has pivotal influences on rice (Oryza sativa L.) morphology and physiology, and is very important for understanding rice domestication and improving agricultural traits. Diploid (DP) and triploid (TP) rice shows differences in morphological parameters, such as plant height, leaf length, leaf width and the physiological index of chlorophyll content. However, the underlying mechanisms determining these morphological differences are remain to be defined. To better understand the proteomic changes between DP and TP, tandem mass tags (TMT) mass spectrometry (MS)/MS was used to detect the significant changes to protein expression between DP and TP. Results indicated that both photosynthesis and metabolic pathways were highly significantly associated with proteomic alteration between DP and TP based on biological process and pathway enrichment analysis, and 13 higher abundance chloroplast proteins involving in these two pathways were identified in TP. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis demonstrated that 5 of the 13 chloroplast proteins ATPF, PSAA, PSAB, PSBB and RBL in TP were higher abundance compared with those in DP. This study integrates morphology, physiology and proteomic profiling alteration of DP and TP to address their underlying different molecular mechanisms. Our finding revealed that ATPF, PSAA, PSAB, PSBB and RBL can induce considerable expression changes in TP and may affect the development and growth of rice through photosynthesis and metabolic pathways.

Dendrobium officinale is an edible medicinal herb. Its flowers contain various nutrients and active compounds, the abundance of which differs significantly across developmental stages. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these variations remain poorly understood. This study employed combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses to investigate changes in gene expression and metabolite concentrations in Dendrobium flowers and buds. The analysis identified 2767 differentially expressed genes between the bud (group B) and flower (group F) stages, with 902 up-regulated and 1865 down-regulated in group B relative to group F. The number of differentially abundant secondary metabolites was 221, including 113 up-regulated and 108 down-regulated metabolites. The differential metabolites primarily consisted of lipids and lipid-like molecules, organic heterocyclic compounds, organic acids, and their derivatives, phenylacetones and polyketides, organic oxides, benzene ring-type compounds, hydrocarbons, and alkaloids with their derivatives. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis of the differentially expressed genes and metabolites revealed enrichment in pathways related to phytohormone signaling, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and zeaxanthin biosynthesis. Verification of 15 genes through quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) confirmed the accuracy of the transcriptomic analysis. Taken together, these findings contribute to an improved understanding of the nutritional and pharmacological characteristics of Dendrobium officinale flowers at different developmental stages.

Background/Objectives: To elucidate how flower retention regulates leaf quality formation in Dendrobium officinale and to provide a theoretical basis for high-quality leaf cultivation and high-value utilization of byproducts, D. officinale leaves were subjected to two treatments: flower retention (FR) and flower removal (FT). Methods: Quantitative analysis revealed significant differences in quality-related compounds between the two treatments. Specifically, the polysaccharide content in the FR group (8.72%) was significantly lower than that in the FT group (9.37%). Conversely, the FT group exhibited a significantly higher total flavonoid content (1.74%) compared to the FR group (1.41%). Additionally, the total phenol content in the FR group (0.90%) was significantly higher than that in the FT group (0.69%) (n = 3). Results: Compared with the FR group, the FT group exhibited significantly higher levels of total flavonoids, polysaccharides, tyrosine (Tyr), hydroxylysine (Hylys), lysine (Lys), histidine (His), and arginine (Arg). A total of 1999 (39.5%) of the 5062 annotated metabolites were accumulated significantly differently. The FT group was mainly characterized by upregulated secondary metabolites, including flavonoids. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis indicated that nucleotide metabolism, purine metabolism, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis were the core differential pathways. Furthermore, the differential metabolites exhibited a metabolic trade-off of “upregulated secondary metabolism and downregulated primary metabolism”. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that flower removal can significantly increase the active flavonoid components and amino acids in D. officinale leaves and optimize the quality of this medicinal leaf by regulating the source–sink relationship, carbon–nitrogen partitioning, and key metabolic pathways.