Corrigendum to "Analysis of reduced and oxidized antioxidants in Hevea brasiliensis latex reveals new insights into the regulation of antioxidants in response to harvesting stress and tapping panel dryness" [Heliyon 8 (7) (June 2022) Article e09840].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09840.].

Analysis of reduced and oxidized antioxidants in Hevea brasiliensis latex reveals new insights into the regulation of antioxidants in response to harvesting stress and tapping panel dryness.

Latex diagnosis (LD) is applied to optimize the natural rubber production and prevent tapping panel dryness (TPD), a physiological syndrome affecting latex production in Hevea brasiliensis. The reduced thiol content (RSH) is one of the biochemical parameters associated with the risk of TPD. However, RSH is difficult to interpret because of the influence of the environment. In order to better understand the regulation of antioxidants and to better interpret RSH, a key parameter of LD, this study analysed in latex both oxidised and reduced forms of ascorbic acid (AsA) and glutathione, and their cofactors as well as other latex diagnosis parameters in response to harvesting stress (tapping and ethephon stimulation) and TPD occurrence. The content of antioxidants in latex had a high variability among five rubber clones. The concentration in AsA was about ten times higher than GSH in laticifer, GSH accounting for about 50% of RSH. For short-term harvesting stress, RSH increased with tapping frequency and ethephon stimulation. TPD is associated with high latex viscosity and bursting of lysosomal particles called lutoids, as well as for several rubber clones with lower RSH and GSH contents. These results suggest that a high level of RSH shows the capacity of laticifer metabolism to cope with harvesting stress, while a drop in RSH is the sign of long stress related to lower metabolic activity and TPD occurrence. RSH remains an essential physiological parameter to prevent TPD when associated with reference data under low and high harvesting stress. This study paves the way to understand the role of AsA and GSH, and carry out genetic studies of antioxidants.

Overexpression of Hevea brasiliensis ethylene response factor HbERF-IXc5 enhances growth and tolerance to abiotic stress and affects laticifer differentiation.

Ethylene response factor 1 (ERF1) is an essential integrator of the jasmonate and ethylene signalling pathways coordinating a large number of genes involved in plant defences. Its orthologue in Hevea brasiliensis, HbERF-IXc5, has been assumed to play a major role in laticifer metabolism and tolerance to harvesting stress for better latex production. This study sets out to establish and characterize rubber transgenic lines overexpressing HbERF-IXc5. Overexpression of HbERF-IXc5 dramatically enhanced plant growth and enabled plants to maintain some ecophysiological parameters in response to abiotic stress such as water deficit, cold and salt treatments. This study revealed that HbERF-IXc5 has rubber-specific functions compared to Arabidopsis ERF1 as transgenic plants overexpressing HbERF-IXc5 accumulated more starch and differentiated more latex cells at the histological level. The role of HbERF-IXc5 in driving the expression of some target genes involved in laticifer differentiation is discussed.

Increased light-use efficiency sustains net primary productivity of shaded coffee plants in agroforestry system.

In agroforestry systems, shade trees strongly affect the physiology of the undergrown crop. However, a major paradigm is that the reduction in absorbed photosynthetically active radiation is, to a certain extent, compensated by an increase in light-use efficiency, thereby reducing the difference in net primary productivity between shaded and non-shaded plants. Due to the large spatial heterogeneity in agroforestry systems and the lack of appropriate tools, the combined effects of such variables have seldom been analysed, even though they may help understand physiological processes underlying yield dynamics. In this study, we monitored net primary productivity, during two years, on scales ranging from individual coffee plants to the entire plot. Absorbed radiation was mapped with a 3D model (MAESPA). Light-use efficiency and net assimilation rate were derived for each coffee plant individually. We found that although irradiance was reduced by 60% below crowns of shade trees, coffee light-use efficiency increased by 50%, leaving net primary productivity fairly stable across all shade levels. Variability of aboveground net primary productivity of coffee plants was caused primarily by the age of the plants and by intraspecific competition among them (drivers usually overlooked in the agroforestry literature) rather than by the presence of shade trees.

Genetic Determinism of Sensitivity to Corynespora cassiicola Exudates in Rubber Tree (Hevea brasiliensis).

An indirect phenotyping method was developed in order to estimate the susceptibility of rubber tree clonal varieties to Corynespora Leaf Fall (CLF) disease caused by the ascomycete Corynespora cassiicola. This method consists in quantifying the impact of fungal exudates on detached leaves by measuring the induced electrolyte leakage (EL%). The tested exudates were either crude culture filtrates from diverse C. cassiicola isolates or the purified cassiicolin (Cas1), a small secreted effector protein produced by the aggressive isolate CCP. The test was found to be quantitative, with the EL% response proportional to toxin concentration. For eight clones tested with two aggressive isolates, the EL% response to the filtrates positively correlated to the response induced by conidial inoculation. The toxicity test applied to 18 clones using 13 toxinic treatments evidenced an important variability among clones and treatments, with a significant additional clone x treatment interaction effect. A genetic linkage map was built using 306 microsatellite markers, from the F1 population of the PB260 x RRIM600 family. Phenotyping of the population for sensitivity to the purified Cas1 effector and to culture filtrates from seven C. cassiicola isolates revealed a polygenic determinism, with six QTL detected on five chromosomes and percentages of explained phenotypic variance varying from 11 to 17%. Two common QTL were identified for the CCP filtrate and the purified cassiicolin, suggesting that Cas1 may be the main effector of CCP filtrate toxicity. The CCP filtrate clearly contrasted with all other filtrates. The toxicity test based on Electrolyte Leakage Measurement offers the opportunity to assess the sensitivity of rubber genotypes to C. cassiicola exudates or purified effectors for genetic investigations and early selection, without risk of spreading the fungus in plantations. However, the power of this test for predicting field susceptibility of rubber clones to CLF will have to be further investigated.