Phenotypic and Genetic Characterization of Botrytis cinerea Population from Kiwifruit in Sichuan Province, China.

Botrytis cinerea (anamorph of Botryotinia fuckeliana) causes gray mold on numerous plants, including kiwifruit. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the phenotypic and genetic characteristics of the Botrytis cinerea population from kiwifruit in Sichuan Province, China. In all, 176 isolates were collected from kiwifruit orchards from eight geographic regions in Sichuan. All isolates were identified as B. cinerea sensu stricto based on the combined datasets, including morphological criteria, determination of the Bc-hch allele, and phylogenetic analysis of the genes RPB2, G3PDH, and HSP60. Three colony types (i.e., sclerotial, mycelial, and conidial) were observed on potato dextrose agar after 2 weeks, with sclerotial isolates, the predominant category, accounting for 40.91%. No obvious differences in microscopic characteristics were observed among the three types. Three genotypes of transposable elements were identified in the B. cinerea population: boty, flipper, and transposa types. The most prevalent genotype from different geographic populations of B. cinerea was transposa; in contrast, the flipper genotype accounted for only 3.98% of the total population, whereas the vacuma genotype was absent. According to MAT locus amplification, 87 and 89 isolates are MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 type, respectively, and the two mating types were found to be balanced overall in the population. Forty-eight representative isolates were all able to cause gray mold to some extent, and disease severities were significantly different between the cultivars Hongyang and Hort16A (P < 0.01). Disease severity was significantly greater on young leaves than on mature leaves (P < 0.01). No significant relationship was found between pathogenicity and geographical region, colony type, or transposon distribution. The results obtained in the present study suggest a relatively uniform species diversity of Botrytis but rich phenotypic and genetic differentiation within the B. cinerea population on kiwifruit in China. Utilizing resistant cultivars and rain-shelter cultivation instead of fungicides may be an effective approach to delaying pathogen variability.

Multi-omics analysis provides new insights into the changes of important nutrients and fructose metabolism in loquat bud sport mutant.

Bud sport is a common and stable somatic variation in perennial fruit trees, and often leads to significant modification of fruit traits and affects the breeding value. To investigate the impact of bud sport on the main metabolites in the fruit of white-fleshed loquat, we conducted a multi-omics analysis of loquat fruits at different developmental stages of a white-fleshed bud sport mutant of Dongting loquat (TBW) and its wild type (TBY). The findings from the detection of main fruit quality indices and metabolites suggested that bud sport resulted in a reduction in the accumulation of carotenoids, fructose, titratable acid and terpenoids at the mature stage of TBW, while leading to the accumulation of flavonoids, phenolic acids, amino acids and lipids. The comparably low content of titratable acid further enhances the balanced and pleasent taste profile of TBW. Expression patterns of differentially expressed genes involved in fructose metabolism exhibited a significant increase in the expression level of S6PDH (EVM0006243, EVM0044405) prior to fruit maturation. The comparison of protein sequences and promoter region of S6PDH between TBY and TBW revealed no structural variations that would impact gene function or expression, indicating that transcription factors may be responsible for the rapid up-regulation of S6PDH before maturation. Furthermore, correlation analysis helped to construct a comprehensive regulatory network of fructose metabolism in loquat, including 23 transcription factors, six structural genes, and nine saccharides. Based on the regulatory network and existing studies, it could be inferred that transcription factors such as ERF, NAC, MYB, GRAS, and bZIP may promote fructose accumulation in loquat flesh by positively regulating S6PDH. These findings improve our understanding of the nutritional value and breeding potential of white-fleshed loquat bud sport mutant, as well as serve as a foundation for exploring the genes and transcription factors that regulate fructose metabolism in loquat.