Under non-cold-chain ambient shelf conditions, flat peach (Prunus persica var. compressa) softens rapidly while developing its characteristic lactone aroma, making it difficult to preserve texture while maintaining flavor formation. Although fatty-acid-derived metabolism is central to lactone biosynthesis, how postharvest lipid remodeling is associated with lactone aroma formation remains unclear. Using 1-MCP to probe ethylene-associated ripening, we conducted concurrent lipidomics and transcriptomics on 1-MCP-treated and control ‘Yulu’ flat peach across a 10-day ambient storage period and integrated these data with previously published flavoromics from the same biological replicates. The lipidome, comprising 280 molecular species, underwent extensive remodeling, including a 2.5-fold increase in total glycerophospholipids, accumulation of lysophospholipids, phosphatidic acid, and ceramides, and a decline in plastidial galactolipids. Within structural phospholipids, low-unsaturation species declined whereas polyunsaturated species accumulated, increasing the membrane lipid unsaturation index by approximately 30%. This remodeling was tightly associated with γ-lactone accumulation: membrane lipid unsaturation index correlated strongly with five major γ-lactones (r = 0.85–0.99), and these correlations remained significant in complementary analyses accounting for ethylene-related covariation, storage day, and treatment. Chain-resolved acyl-pool analysis showed that the PC-bound 18:2 pool declined by 78%, consistent with possible consumption during lactone accumulation, whereas 18:3 accumulated continuously. A co-expression gene module corresponding to a “desaturation–phospholipase–β-oxidation” pathway corroborated this link and was suppressed by 1-MCP. These multi-omics association results suggest that membrane phospholipids may constitute a candidate precursor pool for flat peach lactone aroma and identify candidate targets for preserving flavor formation while managing texture loss during postharvest handling.
Photoperiod plays a pivotal role in regulating plant physiological cycles and photosynthetic processes via the circadian clock. Celery is an important leafy vegetable with high sensitivity to photoperiod. However, how photosynthesis and circadian rhythms respond to different photoperiod patterns remains to be fully explored in this species. To investigate the effects of different photoperiods on photosynthesis and circadian rhythm in celery, we applied equinoctial photoperiod (12 h of light/12 h of dark, 12L12D), continuous light (24 h of light, 24L) and two skeleton photoperiods (6 h of light/6 h of dark, 6L6D and 3 h of light/3 h of dark, 3L3D). Under the 12L12D, stomatal aperture, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic parameters, and the expression pattens of circadian rhythm-related genes all exhibited robust 24-h rhythmic patterns. Continuous light (24L) increased the daily mean chlorophyll and nitrogen contents to 1.1-fold than those observed under 12L12D, while stabilizing photosynthetic parameters and stomatal apertures with minimal daily variation. Conversely, skeletal photoperiods (6L6D and 3L3D) rapidly disrupted these established patterns, the expression of circadian rhythm-related genes and photosynthetic parameters exhibited arrhythmic fluctuations. Our findings demonstrated that extended light exposure within a 24-h framework optimized photosynthetic performance in celery, whereas skeleton photoperiods impaired circadian rhythm and photosynthesis-related output.
Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is an emerging enteropathogenic coronavirus that causes severe diarrhea in swine industries worldwide. However, the interactions between PDCoV and host cells remain poorly understood. In this study, we employed transcriptomic and proteomic analyses to investigate host responses to PDCoV infection. Our results identified 1448 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at 1.5 h post-PDCoV infection and 11,753 DEGs, along with 898 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) at 18 h post-PDCoV infection. Furthermore, several signaling pathways, including innate immunity, autophagy, and ferroptosis, were primarily enriched following an integrated analysis of the transcriptome and proteome. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis indicated that proteins closely associated with these pathways, such as interferon-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeats 1 (IFIT1), myxovirus resistance 2 (MX2), interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15), radical S-adenosyl methionine domain containing 2 (RSAD2), 2 '-5 '-oligoadenylate synthetase like (OASL), autophagy related 14 (ATG14), and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), were central to the interaction network. Importantly, we demonstrated that autophagy and ferroptosis were induced upon PDCoV infection, and that inhibition of autophagy significantly suppressed the induction of PDCoV-induced ferroptosis, which decreases the viral proliferation. Overall, our findings provide a comprehensive overview of transcriptomic and proteomic changes following PDCoV infection and enhance the understanding of PDCoV pathogenesis, which will be beneficial for improving strategies for the prevention and control of PDCoV infection.
This study examines the impact of plant extracts from traditional Chinese medicinal herbs on water quality, microbial communities, and pathogen dynamics in pond-based aquaculture systems. Conducted over 40 days at an ecological aquaculture farm in Jinshan District, Shanghai, the experiment involved six ponds—three serving as controls and three as treatment groups, each stocked with 1000 crucian carps (Carassius auratus). Regular applications of plant extracts and water sampling every ten days were performed. Results showed significant enhancements in water quality parameters, including increased pH, dissolved oxygen, and ammonia nitrogen, alongside reductions in total nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, and chlorophyll a. Microbial diversity analysis indicated a shift towards beneficial taxa, such as Planctomycetota and Bacillariophyta, correlating with improved water quality. Notably, the abundance of opportunistic pathogens, including Streptococcus suis, decreased significantly, suggesting a healthier aquatic environment. Analysis of the intestinal microbiota in cultured crucian carp also revealed a reduction in pathogenic species, including Streptococcus suis and Aeromonas hydrophila. These findings underscore the potential of plant extracts to enhance aquaculture health by optimizing water quality and promoting microbial balance, thereby mitigating pathogen risks.
Developing technologies for saline-alkali soil reclamation is crucial for enhancing global soil productivity and improving the ecological environment. This study developed a novel ball-milled biochar composite (DGBC) using desulfurized gypsum and wheat straw biochar to remediate coastal saline-alkali soil. Elemental sulfur (S) was combined with biochar to enhance amelioration efficiency. Soil column leaching and pot experiments evaluated the ameliorative effects of different biochars on saline-alkaline soils. Leaching experiments demonstrated the ability of DGBC to accelerate Na+ removal, reducing soil salinity. Pot experiments showed that DGBC significantly decreased soil pH (by 1.17 units), increased soil cation exchange capacity, nutrient availability, and decreased soil exchange sodium percentage (ESP, by 93.4 %). However, combination of DGBC and S (DGBC+S) significantly reduced soil bacterial diversity, favoring the dominance of Ralstonia (65.8 %), impairing soil ecological balance. Biochar materials significantly alleviated salt stress in plants by reducing oxidative damage and enhancing chlorophyll content, particularly when combined with sulfur. However, combination of pristine biochar with sulfur (BC+S) achieved the highest soil quality index (SQI, 0.76), resulting the highest biomass of Chinese cabbage growing in the saline-alkaline soils. These findings highlighted the trade-offs between physicochemical improvements and microbial impacts in a short term when using modified biochar. While DGBC alone effectively mitigated salinity, its combination with sulfur required optimization to avoid adverse microbial shifts. The present short-term pot experiments demonstrate that the combination of pristine biochar with sulfur is more beneficial for vegetable cultivation in saline-alkali soil, while long-term effects, particularly on soil microbial ecology, require further investigation.
