Different Phenylalanine Pathway Responses to Cold Stress Based on Metabolomics and Transcriptomics in Tartary Buckwheat Landraces.

Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) is strongly adapted to growth in adverse environments. In Liangshan, the Yi people cultivate different Tartary buckwheat landraces in different habitats. In this study, we aimed to understand the molecular differences in transcriptomic and metabolomic responses underlying cold tolerance between two Tartary buckwheat landraces (TM and RG) cultivated at different altitudes. After cold treatment, TM showed normal growth in the seedling stage and had significantly higher total flavonoids (16.53 mg/g, 1.47 times), rutin (5.73 mg/g, 1.32 times), and quercetin (0.08 mg/g, 2.67 times), which were higher than those in RG. In addition, TM showed higher-level changes in carbon and nitrogen metabolism than RG. Combined transcriptome and metabolomic analyses showed that phenylpropanoid biosynthesis was upregulated after cold treatment, and in TM, rutin synthesis was upregulated with a higher-level response to cold stress. RG showed higher expression in anthocyanins in response to cold stress. In addition, 24 structural genes involved in flavonoid synthesis, including 6 PAL, 3 C4H, 2 4CL, 2 CHS, 1 CHI, 3 F3H, 3 DFR, 1 FLS, 1 F3'H, and 4 GTR genes, were identified. These results will provide sufficient information for breeding Tartary buckwheat with high cold tolerance and constructing rutin high-yield varieties based on genetic engineering.

Changes in traditional ecological knowledge of forage plants in immigrant villages of Ningxia, China.

BACKGROUND: Ecological migration serves as an important measure for poverty eradication as well as for the protection, inheritance, and utilization of traditional ecological knowledge. This study investigated and cataloged the traditional forage plant resources and recorded the associated traditional knowledge of immigrant villages in Hongsibu District of Ningxia, China. The diversity of traditional forage plant resources and the changes in associated traditional ecological knowledge were compared among ecological immigrant villages from different emigration areas, with a hope of providing a reference for forage development, the conservation of wild forage plant resources, and the development of regional animal husbandry. METHODS: From March 2018 to May 2019, a field investigation was conducted in six villages in Ningxia. Through the snowball technique, a total of 315 immigrants were interviewed using various methods, including semistructured interviews and key person interviews, which included opportunities for free listing. The changes in the utilization of traditional forage plants were compared between the ecological migrants and the original inhabitants, and the causes underlying the changes were analyzed. In addition, the major forage plant species in the research area were investigated and evaluated. RESULTS: (1) The six investigated villages reported 224 traditional forage plant species that belong to 42 families and 150 genera. Compared with their original living areas, the number of traditional forage plant species used in the immigrant villages decreased with the increase in the relocation distance. (2) The utilization of traditional forage plants varied among the immigrants who moved to Hongsibu District from forest areas, loess hilly areas, and semiarid desertified areas. The smaller the difference was in ecological environment between the immigration and emigration areas, the more the traditional forage plant knowledge had been retained. (3) The diversity and associated knowledge of traditional forage plants retained by ecological migrants are closely correlated to gender, age, education level, and occupation. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that the diversity of traditional forage plants and associated knowledge retained after migration vary among ecological immigrants from different areas; generally, the immigrants that relocated from a closer place retained more ecological knowledge. In the immigrant villages with significantly different natural resources and a long distance from the migrants' original locations, the diversity of traditional forage plants decreased, and the traditional knowledge about forage plants showed signs of being forgotten and abandoned by the younger generation. Therefore, measures are urgently needed to document and protect the forage plant resources and preserve the traditional knowledge of ecological immigrants.

Sesquiterpenoids from Artemisia vestita and Their Antifeedant and Antifungal Activities.

Four new sesquiterpenoids, named artemivestinolide D-G (1-4) and three known sesquiterpenoids (5-7), were isolated from Artemisia vestita. The structures of these new compounds were determined based on extensive spectroscopic data analyses. Furthermore, the electronic circular dichroism data determined the absolute configurations of the new compounds. The antifeedant and antifungal activities of the isolates were evaluated against third-instar larvae of Plutella xylostella and three plant pathogenic fungi. Compounds 1-7 showed moderate antifeedant activities and compounds 1-4 and 6-7 exhibited antifungal activities.

Identification of miRNAs and Their Response to Cold Stress in Astragalus Membranaceus.

Astragalus membranaceus is an important medicinal plant widely cultivated in East Asia. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous regulatory molecules that play essential roles in plant growth, development, and the response to environmental stresses. Cold is one of the key environmental factors affecting the yield and quality of A. membranaceus, and miRNAs may mediate the gene regulation network under cold stress in A. membranaceus. To identify miRNAs and reveal their functions in cold stress response in A. membranaceus, small RNA sequencing was conducted followed by bioinformatics analysis, and quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis was performed to profile the expression of miRNAs under cold stress. A total of 168 conserved miRNAs belonging to 34 families and 14 putative non-conserved miRNAs were identified. Many miRNA targets were predicted and these targets were involved in diversified regulatory and metabolic pathways. By using qRT-PCR, 27 miRNAs were found to be responsive to cold stress, including 4 cold stress-induced and 17 cold-repressed conserved miRNAs, and 6 cold-induced non-conserved miRNAs. These cold-responsive miRNAs probably mediate the response to cold stress by regulating development, hormone signaling, defense, redox homeostasis, and secondary metabolism in A. membranaceus. These cold-corresponsive miRNAs may be used as the candidate genes in further molecular breeding for improving cold tolerance of A. membranaceus.

Oleanane-Type Saponins from the Roots of Ligulariopsis shichuana and Their α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activities.

Five new oleanane-type saponins, named ligushicosides A-E, and three known oleanane-type saponins were isolated from the roots of Ligulariopsis shichuana. Their structures were established by a combination of spectroscopic techniques, including 1D and 2D NMR and high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy (HR-ESI-MS). Furthermore, all isolates were evaluated for their yeast α-glucosidase inhibitory effects and exhibited potent inhibition against α-glucosidase, while compounds 1 and 2 showed excellent inhibitory activities. The 3-O-glycoside moiety in oleanane-type saponin is important for the α-glucosidase inhibitory effects.

Two new compounds from Comastoma pedunlulatum.

Two new compounds, a xanthonoid and a flavonoid C-glycoside, were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the dried herb of Comastoma pedunlulatum. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated, respectively, as 1,8-dihydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyxanthone 1-O-[2-(4'-hydroxy-3',5'-dimethoxy-E-cinnamoyl)]-ß-D-xylopyranosyl-(1-6)-ß-D-glucopyranoside (1) and 6″-O-acetylisoorientin (2) on the basis of their spectroscopic and physicochemical properties.

[Application study of biotechnology in Artemisia annual].

Artemisinin is a kind of effective antimalarial drug being extracted from Artemisia annual, in which the artemisinin concentration is very low. So increasing artemisinin concentration is a hotspot in the research field, and it will be possible that biotechnology is applied to the study of Artemisia annual. It involved the following three aspects. First, DNA molecular marker assisted breeding. The genetic diversity of Artemisia germplasm was analyzed by the molecular maker, which provided the molecular biology basis for accelerating the breeding time of fine varieties with high artemisinin concentration. Second, artemisinin concentration was increased by genetic engineering. By transgenic technology overexpressing the key genes in artemisinin biosynthesis directly promoted the accumulating of artemisinin; inhibiting the expression of the gene, which competed with the genes in artemisinin biosynthesis for reduction substrate, indirectly increased the artemisinin concentration. Third, through synthetic biology method artemisinin precursor or artemisinin was produced in the host.

[Determination of nutrients in 7 species of desert plants for raising livestock in inner Mongolia].

In order to accumulate the foundational information about the nutrients related to 7 species of desert plants, chemical and instrumental methods for determination were used and quantitative results were obtained as follows (%, in dry mass): calcium 0.73-3.89, phosphorus 0.043-0.34, selenium 0.026-2.8, protein 3.38-13.92, lipid 3.97-15.03, total sugar 14.89-35.78, ash 0.61-14.33, medium washing fiber 26.66-79.72, and acid washing fiber 27.03-69.01. Among the 7 species of desert plants, the total content of amino acid in the leaf and caudex ranges from 2.30% to 11.26%. Apart from Elaeagnus angusti folia, the ratios of the calcium and phosphorus both in the leaves and caudexes of the rest 6 kinds of desert plants are higher than those in the leaf powder and caudex powder of clover blossom. The selenium content is greater than the usual amount in plants; the protein content reaches the level of excellent grains; the lipid contents in leaf, caudex and whole plant are higher than those in straws of corn and wheat; the leaves have more total sugar than the caudex and the whole plant, and the high level of ash content exists in the 7 species of desert plants; and the medium washing fiber content in leaf of those plants is lower than that in clover blossom leaf powder, which is opposite to the content in caudex. Except for Haloxylon ammodendron, the acid washing fiber content in caudexes is beyond that in the caudex powder of the clover blossom. As is indicated in the data above, the 7 species of desert plants not only do meet the demands of raising livestock, but also are ideal feeding resources for the husbandry development in sandy areas.