Agaricus is a genus of macrofungi containing species with high edible and medicinal values. A survey of Agaricus species carried out around the Ebinur Lake, in Xinjiang Province of China, in 2012, yielded 19 collections that exhibited a red discolouration when bruised. Morphological and phylogenetic comparison with species of five sections of Agaricus possessing the red discolouration trait showed that the specimens belonged to four species. Two species, A. sinodeliciosus sp. nov. and A. bitorquis in section Bivelares and A. desjardinii sp. nov. and A. padanus in section Nigrobrunnescentes, both sections being monophyletic. The two new species proposed are described and illustrated and all species are compared with similar taxa or previous records. Agaricus padanus is reported outside Italy for the first time. All species are edible and consumed by locals, and appear to be adapted to relatively dry, cold and sandy habitats. Like A. bitorquis, A. sinodeliciosus produces large, delicious semihypogeous basidiomata in such conditions; it is therefore a good potential candidate for domestication and industrial production.

Background: The fibrillin (FBN) gene family is highly conserved and widely distributed in the photosynthetic organs of plants. Members of this gene family are involved in the growth and development of plants and their response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Wheat (Triticum aestivum), an important food crop, has a complex genetic background and little progress has occurred in the understanding of its molecular mechanisms. Methods: In this study, we identified 26 FBN genes in the whole genome of T. aestivum through bioinformatic tools and biotechnological means. These genes were divided into 11 subgroups and were distributed on 11 chromosomes of T. aestivum. Interestingly, most of the TaFBN genes were located on the chromosomes 2A, 2B and 2D. The gene structure of each subgroup of gene family members and the position and number of motifs were highly similar. Results: The evolutionary analysis results indicated that the affinities of FBNs in monocots were closer together. The tissue-specific analysis revealed that TaFBN genes were expressed in different tissues and developmental stages. In addition, some TaFBNs were involved in one or more biotic and abiotic stress responses. These results provide a basis for further study of the biological function of FBNs.

The objectives of the current study were to isolate and identify the pathogen responsible for citrus canker and investigate the efficacy of sulfone derivatives containing 1,3,4-oxadiazole moiety on controlling citrus canker caused by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc) under in vitro and field conditions. In an in vitro study, we tested eight sulfone derivatives against Xcc and the results demonstrated that compound 3 exhibited the best antibacterial activity against Xcc, with a half-maximal effective concentration (EC₅₀) value of 1.23 μg/mL, which was even better than those of commercial bactericides Kocide 3000 (58.21 μg/mL) and Thiodiazole copper (77.04 μg/mL), respectively. Meanwhile, under field experiments, compound 3 treatments demonstrated the highest ability to reduce the disease of citrus canker in leaves and fruits in two different places relative to an untreated control as well as the commercial bactericides Kocide 3000 and Thiodiazole copper. Meanwhile, compound 3 could stimulate the increase in peroxidase (POD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activities in the navel orange leaves, causing marked enhancement of plant resistance against citrus canker. Moreover, compound 3 could damage the cell membranes, destruct the biofilm formation, inhibit the production of extracellular polysaccharide (EPS), and affect the cell membrane permeability to restrain the growth of the bacteria.

In order to breed virus-free plantlets of the kiwifruit cultivar Guichang, which belongs to Actinidia deliciosa, in this study, stem segments with buds were used as explants, the establishment of a tissue culture rapid propagation system was carried out, and then the virus status of tissue culture plantlets was detected via the real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method. The tissue culture rapid propagation system proved that the contamination and browning rates could be controlled below 20 and the survival rate could be exceeded by 70 when the single bud stem segment of Guichang kiwifruit was sterilized with 70 alcohol for 3060s and 15 NaClO for 15min, respectively. Meanwhile, we screened the hormone concentration to get better results, and the appropriate medium for adventitious bud induction was MS + 6-BA (1.0mg/L)+IBA (0.2mg/L); for proliferation, it was MS+6-BA (1.0mg/L)+IBA (0.1mg/L); and for rooting, it was 1/2 MS+IBA (0.3mg/L), and the efficiency of induction, proliferation, and rooting could reach 74.07, 79.63, and 85.18, respectively. In addition, the RT-qPCR results demonstrated that the infection rate of 9 viruses: apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Actinidia virus X (AVX), cucumber necrosis virus (CNV), ribgrass mosaic virus (RMV), citrus leaf blotch virus (CLBV), Actinidia virus B (AcVB), Pelargonium zonate spot virus (PZSV), and cherry leaf roll virus (CLRV) in the Guichang kiwifruit tissue culture plantlets was 0. This study could lay a foundation for the production of Guichang kiwifruit tissue culture seedlings, and the medium formula provided in this study was useful for the industrial rapid propagation of Guichang plantlets.

In this study, the physiological response of the annual branches of three varieties of pitaya (Xianmi, Fulong, and Zihonglong) in cold stress was investigated using a multivariate statistical method. Physiological change results showed that cold stress could decrease the moisture and chlorophyll contents, on the contrary, increase the relative electric conductivity, the contents of malonadehyde, soluble protein, soluble sugar, and free proline, and enhance the enzyme activities of peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase. Meanwhile, a comparative proteomic approach was also conducted to clarify the cold resistance-related proteins and pathways in annual pitaya branches. Proteomics results concluded that the cold tolerance of annual pitaya branches could be improved by modulating autophagy. Therefore, we hypothesized that an increased autophagy ability may be an important characteristic of the annual pitaya branches in response to cold stress conditions. Our results provide a good understanding of the physiological responses and molecular mechanisms of the annual pitaya branches in response to cold stress.