Fruit cracking or splitting is a severe physiological disease that significantly affects appearance and quality, compromising the commodity value of fruit and causing substantial economic losses to the producers of several fleshy fruit crops. The growth-promoting plant hormone gibberellins (GAs) and growth-inhibiting abscisic acid (ABA) antagonistically regulate numerous processes throughout the plant life cycle. The homeostasis of GA and ABA plays a significant role in the normal growth and development of fruits, and the imbalance of them may lead to the occurrence of cracking or splitting during the process of fruit growth, development, ripening and postharvest storage. The pathways of GA and ABA metabolism and signaling have been studied widely, and the major components are well characterized, including the genes encoding major biosynthesis and catabolism enzymes and the key signaling components. Nevertheless, our knowledge of the mechanisms of GA and ABA governing fruit cracking is not comprehensive enough. In this review, we summarize the advances in understanding the effects of endogenous GAs and ABA contents in fruits and exogenous GAs and ABA treatments on fruit cracking, and we endeavor to provide some genetic cues on the function of GAs and ABA responsible for fruit cracking modulation. The progress in understanding the molecular bases underlying the actions of GAs and ABA in fruit cracking coordination control will facilitate breeding strategies of cracking-resistant ideotypes of fruits, and also carry great theoretical significance in guiding the establishment of integrated prevention and control measures in fruit cracking.

Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) stands as a pivotal fruit tree with significant economic, ecological, and social value. Recent years have witnessed remarkable strides in multi-omics-based biological research on jujube. This review began by summarizing advancements in jujube genomics. Subsequently, we provided a comprehensive overview of the integrated application of genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics to explore pivotal genes governing jujube domestication traits, quality attributes (including sugar synthesis, terpenoids, and flavonoids), and responses to abiotic stress and discussed the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms underlying these traits. Furthermore, challenges in multi-omics research on jujube biological traits were outlined, and we proposed the integration of resources such as pan-genomics and sRNAome to unearth key molecules and regulatory networks influencing diverse biological traits. Incorporating these molecules into practical breeding strategies, including gene editing, transgenic approaches, and progressive breeding, holds the potential for achieving molecular-design breeding and efficient genetic enhancement of jujube.

Fruit cracking or splitting, a severe physiological disease that highly affects appearance and quality, compromise the commodity value of fruit and also causes huge economical losses to the producers of several fleshy fruit crops. The growth-promoting phytohormone gibberellic acid (GA) and growth-inhibiting phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) antagonistically regulate numerous developmental processes throughout the plant life cycle. Homeostasis of endogenous GA and ABA play a significant role in the normal growth of fruits, and its imbalance may lead to the occurrence of cracking or splitting during the process of fruit growth, development, ripening and postharvest storage. The pathways of GA and ABA metabolism and signaling have been studied widely, and the major components were well characterized, which including the genes encoding major biosynthesis and catabolism enzymes and the key signaling components. Nevertheless, our knowledge of the mechanisms of GA and ABA governing fruit cracking is not comprehensive enough. In this review, we not only focus on the scenarios of effects of endogenous GA and ABA contents in the fruit and exogenous plant growth regulators GA and ABA treatments, but also endeavor to provide some genetic cues on the function of GA and ABA responsible for fruit cracking modulation. Information from this review aims to strengthen the understanding of potential molecular bases underlying GA and ABA in fruit cracking control and provide guidance in breeding of fruit cultivars with cracking-resistant ideotypes, and also make great theoretical significance in guiding the establishment of integrated prevention and control measures to fruit cracking or splitting.

Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) stands as a pivotal fruit tree with significant economic, ecological, and social value. Recent years have witnessed remarkable strides in multi-omics-based biological re-search on jujube. This review began by summarizing advancements in jujube genomics. Subse-quently, we provided a comprehensive overview of the integrated application of genomics, tran-scriptomics, and metabolomics to explore pivotal genes governing jujube domestication traits, quality attributes (including sugar synthesis, terpenoids, and flavonoids), and responses to abiotic stress, and discussed the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms underlying these traits. Further-more, challenges in multi-omics research on jujube biological traits were outlined, and we pro-posed the integration of resources such as pan-genomics and sRNAome to unearth key molecules and regulatory networks influencing diverse biological traits. Incorporating these molecules into practical breeding strategies, including gene editing, transgenic approaches, and progressive breeding, holds the potential for achieving molecular-design breeding and efficient genetic en-hancement of jujube.