Research on the Differences in Phenotypic Traits and Nutritional Composition of Acer Truncatum Bunge Seeds from Various Regions.

Acer truncatum Bunge (ATB) is an excellent edible woody oil tree species since it bears a huge amount of fruit and has strong adaptability to be widely cultivated. Selecting an optimal cultivation region for ATB is crucial to improving China's woody oil industrialization. Chemical analysis, correlation analysis, and affiliation function values were used in the present research to systematically analyze the phenotypic traits, organic compound content, and seed oil chemical composition of the seeds of ATB from nine regions. The average contents of oil, protein, and soluble sugar in ATB seeds were 43.30%, 17.40%, and 4.57%, respectively. Thirteen fatty acids were identified from ATB seed oil, the highest content of which was linoleic acid (37.95%) and nervonic acid content was 5-7%. The maximum content of unsaturated fatty acids in ATB seed oil was 90.09%. Alpha-tocopherol content was up to 80.75 mg/100 g. The degree of variation in seed quality traits (25.96%) was stronger than in morphological traits (14.55%). Compared to environmental factors, the phenotypic traits of seeds contribute more to organic compounds and fatty acids. Combining the values of the indicator affiliation functions, Gilgarang, Tongliao, Inner Mongolia was selected as the optimal source of ATB for fruit applications from nine regions.

Photoluminescent lignin hybridized carbon quantum dots composites for bioimaging applications.

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have attracted considerable interests because of their unique luminescence properties and promising applications in bioimaging. Lignin hybridized CQDs (L-CQDs) are facilely synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal method with different molar ratios of citric acid and ethanediamine. The morphology and chemical structures of L-CQDs are investigated by TEM, FT-IR, XPS, 2D-HSQC NMR spectra. The resultant L-CQDs with near spherical morphology are less than 10 nm in diameter, which are essentially composed of main interunit linkages and aromatic ring structures. The L-CQDs exhibit the excitation-dependent photoluminescence behavior with emission maximum ranging from 454 to 535 nm under excitation at 375-460 nm. The maximum emission of the L-CQDs red-shift to a longer wavelength with a decrease in intensity as the excitation wavelengths are gradually increased. L-CQDs show the low cytotoxicity and good cellular biocompatibility, demonstrating the great potential of the L-CQDs for bioimaging applications.

Comparative transcriptome analysis two genotypes of Acer truncatum Bunge seeds reveals candidate genes that influences seed VLCFAs accumulation.

The Acer truncatum Bunge is a particular widespread forest tree species in northern China. VLCFAs are important to eukaryotes survival and play diverse roles throughout the development. So far, there are reports that the Acer truncatum seeds fatty acid (FA) rich in VLCFAs, but little is known about the physiological mechanism responsible for the biosynthesis. A total of approximately 37.07 Gbp was generated, it was comprehensive enough to determine the majority of the regulation VLCFAs biosynthesis genes. The 97,053 different unigenes were assembled and identified, and large numbers of EST-SSRs were determined. The expression profiles of crucial genes (KCS, KCR, HCD and ECR) involved in VLCFAs elongation of fatty acids were also studied. To our knowledge, the present study provides the first comprehensive of the transcriptome of Acer truncatum seeds. This transcriptome dataset have been made publicly available NCBI, we believe that it may provide new resource for future high-throughput gene expression of Acer truncatum seeds growth and development and will provide theoretical basic information for improving the yield of VLCFAs, especially nervonic acid.

Preharvest ultraviolet-C irradiation: Influence on physicochemical parameters associated with strawberry fruit quality.

Postharvest ultraviolet-C (UV-C) hormesis has been shown effective for the treatment of the edible part of several horticultural crops such as strawberry fruit; however, there is a lack of information on its potential preharvest impact. In the present study three strawberry cultivars (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. 'Albion', 'Charlotte' and 'Seascape') were exposed to UV-C during two growth seasons for a period of three weeks. Treatment begins when the first flowers were wide open and fruits at commercial maturity were harvested within one week after UV treatment. The physicochemical quality parameters of the fruits harvested from the treated plants were compared to those of the fruits of the untreated control plants. Preharvest UV-C treatment tended to increase fruit firmness in all cultivars with significant differences declared only for 'Albion' and 'Seascape' in season 2. Fruits from treated plants were generally redder but a significant difference was observed only for cultivar 'Charlotte' in the second growing season. Other color attributes were not affected by UV-C, neither were organic acids, simple sugars, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and pH, although in most cases slight decreases were noticed. Cultivar and growing season were the factors that mostly influenced on the parameters under study. The present study show that cumulative preharvest UV-C treatment of 3.6 kJ m-2 did not adversely affected important strawberry quality parameters.

Effects of preharvest ultraviolet-C irradiation on fruit phytochemical profiles and antioxidant capacity in three strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cultivars.

BACKGROUND: Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) has proven effective in extending shelf-life, reducing disease incidence and increasing the levels of health-promoting compounds in several crops. While most studies were conducted at the postharvest stage, our study examined the effect of preharvest UV-C application in three strawberry cultivars (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. 'Albion', 'Charlotte' and 'Seascape'). UV-C treatment was applied from the onset of flowering until the fruits reached commercial maturity on plants grown for two consecutive seasons under greenhouse conditions. The phytochemical profiles and antioxidant capacity of the fruits were assessed at harvest. RESULTS: The ellagic acid and kaempferol-3-glucuronide contents were significantly increased only in fruits of the cultivar 'Albion' collected from UV-C-treated plants in season 1. UV-C did not consistently affect the other phenolic compounds that were measured. Based on the results of the ferric-reducing antioxidant power, oxygen radical absorbance capacity and total phenolic content assays, the antioxidant capacity of the three strawberry cultivars was not affected by UV-C. Season and cultivar had a decisive impact on these parameters. CONCLUSION: The effect of preharvest UV-C on the levels of bioactive compounds in strawberry fruits appears to be cultivar- dependent, with season or growing conditions having a significant impact.

[Physioecological characteristics of walnut under different soil water conditions].

The study with completely randomized design on Loess Plateau showed that soil water storage, water consumption, and water profit and loss had a positive correlation with the amount of irrigation. Managed with light, moderate and excessive pruning, soil water storage was increased by 0.2%, 0.5% and 0.9%, soil water consumption was reduced by 0.5%, 2.0% and 2.5%, while soil water profit and loss was increased by 150%, 190% and 210%, respectively. Under treatments with irrigation, covering with grass, mulching with plastic film, and pruning, soil water storage was increased by 4.4%, 1.2%, 1.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Irrigation, moderate pruning, covering with grass, and mulching with plastic film could increase leaf water potential and the angle between little leaf and stem, and excessive pruning could increase the chlorophyll content at most extent (0.27 mg x dm(-2)). The angle between little leaf and stem had a positive correlation with leaf water potential, which could be a reliable, direct and punctual index in evaluating the water condition of walnut and soil, and applied extensively in practice.