Search Results (428)

Cliff habitats are characterized by limited and heterogeneous water availability, requiring plants to develop adaptive strategies to cope with drought stress. Opisthopappus longilobus, a cliff-endemic Asteraceae species restricted to the Taihang Mountains of northern China, has evolved under persistent water-limited conditions and represents a valuable model for investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying drought adaptation. However, the transcriptional regulatory networks involved in its drought response remain largely unexplored. In this study, we performed RNA sequencing of O. longilobus leaves under control and drought conditions to investigate drought-responsive regulatory networks. Six RNA-seq libraries were generated, and a total of 5260 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in response to drought stress. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses revealed that these DEGs were mainly associated with phytohormone signal transduction, stress-responsive regulation, defense responses, metabolic reprogramming, and transcriptional regulation. Notably, multiple transcription factor families, including MYB, ERF, and ABF, were enriched among drought-responsive genes, suggesting their involvement in drought adaptation. Furthermore, quantitative RT-PCR was used to validate the RNA-seq results. Among the drought-responsive transcription factors, an R2R3-MYB transcription factor, OlMYB35, was identified as a candidate regulator and was further demonstrated to play a positive role in drought response through transient transformation assays. Taken together, this study provides new insights into drought-responsive regulatory mechanisms in O. longilobus and identifies OlMYB35 as a promising candidate gene for further functional validation and potential application in stress-resilient chrysanthemum breeding. Full article

To evaluate how composted agricultural and forestry organic materials function as components of horticultural growing media, a pot experiment was conducted with chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) grown in a cinnamon-soil-based medium. The composted material, produced from chestnut shells, chicken manure, and spent mushroom substrate, was incorporated at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, and 50% (v/v). Water-extractable dissolved organic matter (WE-DOM) was characterized by excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy coupled with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC), together with the fluorescence index (FI), biological index (BIX), humification index (HIX), and fluorescence regional integration (FRI). Growing-medium physicochemical properties, chrysanthemum traits, and an entropy-weighted comprehensive evaluation were also assessed. Compost amendment increased soil organic matter (SOM), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total nitrogen, and total phosphorus, lowered pH, and was associated with improved porosity and water-retention characteristics. FI ranged from 1.810 to 2.371 and exceeded 1.9 at amendment rates of 30–35%, suggesting a greater contribution from microbially derived DOM. BIX, HIX, and P_V,n/P_Ⅲ,n were generally higher in amended treatments than in the control, although their responses were non-monotonic across amendment rates, suggesting greater contributions from recently produced DOM and stronger humification-related fluorescence signals. EEM-PARAFAC resolved five fluorescent components. C1, C2, C3, and C5 were predominantly humic-like, whereas C4 displayed both protein-like and humic-like features. With increasing amendment rate, the relative contributions of C1–C4 generally increased, whereas that of C5 declined, suggesting a shift from the native soil fluorescence profile toward a more complex DOM composition influenced by compost inputs and subsequent biological transformation. Chrysanthemum height, stem diameter, flower number, and biomass were generally more favorable at amendment rates of 30–40%. The entropy-weighted evaluation yielded the highest overall response score at 30%, while the 35% treatment also maintained a high score. Considering WE-DOM fluorescence characteristics, growing-medium properties, and plant performance together, a volumetric amendment rate of 30–35% represents a relatively favorable range for the tested composted material under the present pot-experiment conditions. Full article

Plateau environments are characterized by low temperatures, intensive radiation and drastic diurnal temperature fluctuations, all of which greatly suppress rooting and seedling establishment of tea chrysanthemum cuttings. To compare the regulatory effects of different rooting regulators on tea chrysanthemum cuttings under plateau cultivation conditions, this study conducted a 60-day plug-tray cultivation experiment from late July to late September with three biological replicates. All the cuttings, including the IBA-pre-treated control (CK), were uniformly pretreated with 500 mg·L⁻¹ indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). On this basis, four treatments, including 5-aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride (5-ALA, T1), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA, T2), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (T3) and Bacillus velezensis (T4), were applied to determine root morphology, seedling growth, physiological stress metabolism, photosynthetic capacity and rhizosphere substrate characteristics. The different rooting promoters exerted distinct regulatory effects on cutting performance. The GABA treatment significantly improved leaf gas exchange, seedling growth, antioxidant status and rhizosphere nutrient conditions, with net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate improved by 316.34%, 92.31% and 168.00%, respectively, and significantly increased seedling vigor index, plant height and stem diameter by 21.74%, 60.85% and 46.08%, respectively. It also elevated the soluble sugar content and the ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity, reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) accumulation, and optimized rhizosphere available nitrogen and phosphorus levels, as well as related enzyme activities. Nevertheless, the 5-ALA treatment exhibited unique advantages in improving rooting rate and seedling survival. Mantel tests confirmed that the seedling vigor index closely correlated with the root architecture, the total chlorophyll and the transpiration rate. A principal component analysis (PCA) and a cluster heatmap both identified GABA as the treatment with relatively balanced overall performance. A comprehensive D-value evaluation ranked the treatments as GABA > B. amyloliquefaciens > 5-ALA > B. velezensis > control. The treatment with 5-ALA mainly improved the antioxidant capacity, the B. amyloliquefaciens treatment favored root elongation and total nutrients, and the B. velezensis treatment only produced mild improvements. This study indicates that the different exogenous regulators target divergent growth and physiological processes, and the GABA treatment could coordinately boost root development, photosynthetic performance, antioxidant defense and rhizosphere nutrient cycling, thus presenting great application potential for tea chrysanthemum cutting propagation under plateau cultivation conditions. Full article

Chrysanthemum morifolium is an important ornamental crop whose flowering is strictly regulated by photoperiod. However, the molecular mechanisms linking photoperiod signals to floral meristem identity and organ development in Asteraceae remain unclear. In this study, we identified and characterized CmAFL1, a FUL-like MADS-box gene specific to the Asteraceae family, in the short-day cultivar ‘Jinba’. CmAFL1 expression is upregulated under short-day conditions, primarily expressed in the shoot apical meristem during flower bud differentiation and predominantly in the receptacle during organ development. RNA interference-mediated silencing of CmAFL1 resulted in delayed flowering, arrested inflorescence development, malformed tubular florets, plant dwarfism, and excessive lateral branching, indicating its pleiotropic roles in flowering time, plant architecture, and floral organ patterning. At the molecular level, yeast one-hybrid assays revealed that the photoperiod pathway transcription factor CmCOL4 directly binds to the promoter region of CmAFL1. Furthermore, yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase assays confirmed that CmAFL1 directly interacts with and activates the promoter of the E-class floral organ identity gene CmSEP3. Together, our findings identify a novel transcriptional regulatory module CmCOL4-CmAFL1-CmSEP3 that potentially links photoperiod signaling to floral meristem identity and organ specification in Chrysanthemums. While further in planta validation is warranted, these findings provide novel insights into photoperiodic flowering regulation in Asteraceae and may serve as a theoretical foundation for molecular breeding strategies targeting flowering time manipulation in ornamental Chrysanthemums. Full article

Auricularia heimuer is an important cultivated edible mushroom in China. This study used the early maturity, chrysanthemum-shaped, high yield strain “8808” and the late-maturity, single-shaped, high-quality strain “HW15” as parental strains. The objective was to develop a new strain of A. heimuer combining early maturity with excellent quality through protoplast fusion. Protoplasts from the parental strains were fused using a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated method. The obtained hybrids were identified through clamp connection, antagonism tests, esterase isozyme analysis, and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) molecular marker techniques, followed by ultimate selection through cultivation. Among the evaluated hybrids, strain R33 exhibited desirable agronomic traits: primordium formation occurred 4 days earlier than the parental strain HW15, harvest time was advanced by 6 days, yield increased by 14.7%, and the ratio of absorbed water improved by 29.8%. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that starch and sucrose metabolism as well as amino acid metabolism pathways were significantly upregulated in R33, which may be associated with its early maturity and high-yield phenotype. Overall, protoplast fusion technology can be used to create promising candidate strains that combine early maturity, high yield, and excellent quality. Full article

Ajania achilleoides, a wild species with strong environmental adaptability, is a valuable germplasm resource for genetic improvement and functional gene studies. However, efficient in vitro regeneration and genetic transformation systems for this species remain undeveloped, limiting functional gene characterization and genetic improvement of this valuable germplasm resource. In this study, leaf explants were used to establish an efficient regeneration system by evaluating different combinations of plant growth regulators and to develop an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation system for A. achilleoides. MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L 6-benzyladenine (6-BA) and 1.0 mg/L α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) achieved the highest adventitious shoot regeneration rate (99%), while 1/2 MS medium containing 0.5 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) was optimal for rooting, resulting in a 100% rooting rate. Critical hygromycin concentrations for shoot regeneration and rooting selection were determined to be 25 mg/L and 10 mg/L, respectively. For transformation, the best results were obtained with a 3-day preculture, bacterial suspension at OD₆₀₀ = 0.2, 30 min infection, and 2-day co-cultivation. PCR and sequencing confirmed the successful integration of the target genes into the genome, yielding three positive transgenic lines with a molecular confirmation rate of 30%. This study establishes a stable and efficient regeneration and transformation system for A. achilleoides, providing a platform for functional gene analysis and molecular breeding of wild chrysanthemum species. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different light-emitting diode (LED) light-quality combinations on the growth and development of Chrysanthemum morifolium tissue-cultured plantlets and to identify the optimal light-quality combinations for adventitious shoot induction and rooting. Six LED light-quality combinations consisting of red (R), blue (B), and far-red (Fr) light (80%R + 20%B, 70%R + 30%B, 60%R + 40%B, 80%R + 20%B + Fr, 70%R + 30%B + Fr, and 60%R + 40%B + Fr) were evaluated, with a fluorescent lamp serving as the control (CK). The responses to different light-quality combinations varied markedly between the adventitious shoot induction and rooting stages. During adventitious shoot induction, the carotenoid content, soluble protein content, and POD activity were highest under the 70%R + 30%B treatment, whereas chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, and CAT activity reached their highest levels under the 70%R + 30%B + Fr treatment. The highest soluble sugar content and SOD activity were observed under the 60%R + 40%B + Fr treatment. These results suggest that the incorporation of far-red light into red–blue light combinations promoted photosynthetic pigment synthesis, photosynthate accumulation, and antioxidant capacity, thereby facilitating adventitious shoot induction. During the rooting stage, the greatest leaf number and SOD activity were observed under the 70%R + 30%B treatment, while the highest chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll contents were obtained under the 60%R + 40%B + Fr treatment. Plant height, leaf length, root length, fresh mass, dry mass, carotenoid content, soluble protein content, and CAT activity were highest under the 60%R + 40%B treatment. These findings indicate that red–blue mixed light effectively promoted leaf and root development, photosynthetic pigment synthesis, biomass accumulation, and maintenance of antioxidant capacity. Therefore, the 70%R + 30%B + Fr and 60%R + 40%B + Fr treatments were identified as the most suitable light-quality combinations for adventitious shoot induction, whereas the 60%R + 40%B treatment was the most suitable for rooting of C. morifolium tissue-cultured plantlets. Full article

Periodontitis, driven by Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) biofilms, is a global health burden with limited treatment options due to antibiotic resistance. Chrysanthemum lavandulifolium is traditionally used in China for clearing heat and reducing swelling, yet its anti-periodontitis potential remains uncharacterized. This study evaluated the antibacterial and therapeutic effects of its essential oil (CLEO) against periodontitis. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of CLEO against P. gingivalis were determined by broth microdilution. Anti-biofilm activity was assessed via XTT assay. Network pharmacology, molecular docking, and 100 ns molecular dynamics simulations were employed to identify active compounds and core targets. Experimental periodontitis was induced in C57BL/6 mice by molar ligation. Mice received topical CLEO at concentrations of 2, 3, and 4 mg/mL, 2% minocycline, or vehicle once daily for 14 days. Periodontal inflammation, alveolar bone loss, collagen organization, osteoclast activity, and serum levels of MMP-9 and COX-2 were evaluated. CLEO exhibited potent anti-P. gingivalis activity, with an MIC of 2 mg/mL and MBC of 4 mg/mL. At the MIC, CLEO disrupted 57.5% of pre-formed P. gingivalis biofilms. Network pharmacology and molecular docking identified α-bisabolol, chamazulene, and 1,8-cineole as key active compounds, with the chamazulene-HSP90AA1 complex showing the strongest binding affinity (−10.0 kcal/mol). The 100 ns MD simulation confirmed the stability of this complex (RMSD < 1 nm). In the mouse periodontitis model, topical application of CLEO at 3 and 4 mg/mL significantly reduced gingival inflammation, alveolar bone resorption, and the number of TRAP-positive osteoclasts compared with the vehicle-treated periodontitis group (all p < 0.05). Furthermore, CLEO treatment dose-dependently lowered serum MMP-9 levels (from 24.15 ± 0.24 pg/mL in the model group to 12.36 ± 0.54 pg/mL in the high-dose group) and COX-2 levels (from 15.38 ± 0.62 pg/mL to 8.99 ± 0.57 pg/mL). The therapeutic efficacy of the high-dose CLEO group was comparable to that of the 2% minocycline group. CLEO exerts anti-P. gingivalis and anti-biofilm effects in vitro and ameliorates periodontitis in vivo through multi-target mechanisms, providing pharmacological evidence for its traditional use in inflammatory conditions. Full article

To address the low efficiency and high subjectivity of manual inspection of Astragalus slices, as well as the limited fine-grained detection accuracy caused by the visual similarity between the characteristic radial “chrysanthemum heart” texture and minor defects such as insect damage and mold, this study proposes a lightweight intelligent detection model named Astra-YOLO. A dataset consisting of 622 original Astragalus slice images from four categories was divided into training, validation, and test sets at a ratio of 8:1:1. Data augmentation was applied exclusively to the training set, resulting in a total of 3110 images. Based on YOLOv11n, three targeted improvements were introduced: GhostConv lightweight convolution was employed to reduce model parameters and computational cost; the parameter-free SimAM attention mechanism was integrated to suppress interference from complex textures and enhance defect feature representation; and Wise-IoU v3 was adopted to improve bounding box regression for precise localization of small defects. The experimental results demonstrate that Astra-YOLO achieves superior performance with only 2.53 million parameters and 6.20 GFLOPs. The model attains an mAP@0.5 of 92.7%, an mAP@0.5:0.95 of 73.8%, a precision of 92.4%, and a recall of 92.1%. These results indicate that Astra-YOLO effectively balances lightweight design and detection accuracy, outperforming the baseline model and other improved variants, thereby providing reliable technical support for industrial online inspection and automated quality grading of Astragalus slices. Full article

Low temperature constitutes a critical abiotic stress that significantly impairs plant growth and development, particularly for species in cold regions. In Northeast China, the persistently low winter temperatures over an extended period pose significant challenges to the survival of chrysanthemums. This study employed the ground cover plant ‘Yingjie’ as the experimental material and cloned CmMYBS3. The CmMYBS3 protein lacks transcriptional activity and is localized exclusively in the nucleus. Under low-temperature treatment, the activities of SOD, CAT, and POD were significantly lower in chrysanthemums overexpressing CmMYBS3 than in the wild-type line. Additionally, the MDA content in the CmMYBS3 overexpression lines was higher than in the wild-type lines. To elucidate the mechanism by which CmMYBS3 regulates the response to low temperature, we conducted transcriptome sequencing analysis and identified a total of 5425 differentially expressed genes, comprising 2646 upregulated genes and 2779 downregulated genes. The GO analysis reveals that the primary enrichment occurs in the “biological process”, “cellular component”, and “molecular function”. The KEGG enrichment analysis identified significant alterations in several pathways associated with plant growth and development, as well as stress responses. Through yeast single-hybrid analysis, it was demonstrated that CmMYBS3 specifically binds to the promoter region of CmDREB1 and inhibiting the expression of the CmDREB1. This study demonstrates that CmMYBS3 reduces the cold tolerance of ground cover chrysanthemums by suppressing the expression of the CmDREB1 gene, providing an important theoretical basis for the breeding of cold-tolerant ground cover chrysanthemum varieties. Full article

High summer temperatures can reduce growth and flower quality in standard chrysanthemum, while whole-greenhouse cooling requires substantial energy input. This study evaluated whether localized root-zone cooling could improve growth and suppress open-center malformed capitula in standard chrysanthemum ‘Baekgang’ while considering energy use. Rooted cuttings were grown in a commercial hydroponic greenhouse during summer and subjected to a non-cooled control (NC) or root-zone cooling activation thresholds of 28 °C (HT), 25 °C (MT), or 22 °C (LT). Root-zone temperature, vegetative growth, gas exchange, flower quality, open-center incidence, and electricity consumption were measured. Mean root-zone temperatures were 27.8 °C in NC, 26.6 °C in HT, 24.4 °C in MT, and 23.3 °C in LT. Root-zone cooling improved vegetative growth, particularly stem diameter and shoot and root biomass, whereas leaf-level gas-exchange parameters were not consistently affected. Open-center incidence was highest in NC (67%) and was reduced to 33%, 11%, and 33% in HT, MT, and LT, respectively. Electricity consumption was 321, 783, and 1088 kWh bed⁻¹ in HT, MT, and LT, respectively. These results indicate that moderate root-zone cooling, particularly MT, provides a practical balance between flower quality and energy use for summer chrysanthemum production. Full article

The interaction between proteins and salts in aqueous solutions represents a compelling scientific problem in both biophysical and medical research. One manifestation of the interaction in the bovine serum albumin (BSA)–NaCl–H₂O system is the formation of ordered patterns upon droplet drying. In our experiments, the topographic features of the deposited particles as well as their elemental composition were studied using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In this work, we experimentally investigated the stepwise change in the characteristic structures of the precipitate with an increase in the BSA concentration from 0.005 to 35 mg/mL. The formation of discrete BSA–NaCl ring deposits near the droplet edge and around crystallization centers in the interior at BSA concentrations of 0.05–1 mg/mL proved particularly interesting. We demonstrated the sequence of ring structure formation: the process primarily begins with the formation of BSA aggregates arranged in sectors around the circumference, which in turn serve as nucleation sites for NaCl crystallization. We propose a qualitative conceptual–phenomenological interpretation of the observed experimental effects. Concentration-dependent patterns in the emergence and development of other patterns (such as spikes, fractal structures, and chrysanthemum-like formations) were established. These results expand our understanding of protein behavior in aqueous-salt solutions. This can be used in medical diagnostics as biomarkers. The characteristic patterns presented in the work can serve as a useful experimental basis for further studies of the impact of physicochemical factors on proteins and other biopolymers. Full article

Chrysanthemum is one of the world’s four main cut flowers. However, postharvest drought stress severely disrupts water homeostasis, triggering reactive oxygen species burst and membrane lipid peroxidation, thereby reducing its ornamental quality and vase life. Melatonin serves as a multifunctional antioxidant and stress regulator. This study demonstrated that 200 μmol L⁻¹ melatonin effectively alleviated drought-induced leaf wilting, maintained relative water content, decreased the accumulation of MDA, H₂O₂, and O₂^•−, and enhanced the activities of SOD, CAT, POD, and APX. Concurrently, non-enzymatic antioxidants (proline, GSH, ASA) accumulated to high levels. RNA-seq analysis revealed that drought affects pathways closely related to the production of antioxidant and osmoprotectant metabolites, while melatonin initiated extensive transcriptional reprogramming and responded to drought stress through distinct pathways at the early (12 h) and late (24 h) treatment stages. Melatonin also modulated key transcription factor families, including bHLH, NAC, ERF, MYB, and bZIP. Collectively, exogenous MT mitigates drought damage in chrysanthemum cut flowers by coordinating antioxidant systems and complex transcriptional regulatory networks. This study provides a theoretical foundation for improving postharvest drought tolerance and prolonging the vase life of cut flowers. Full article

Gibberellins (GAs) are key endogenous hormones regulating chrysanthemum flowering, and Gibberellin INSENSITIVE DWARF1 (GID1) is the core receptor of the gibberellin (GA) signaling pathway. However, the functional mechanism of CmGID1A remains unelucidated. Here, we constructed CmGID1A-RNAi silencing lines and characterized the biological function of CmGID1A by phenotypic identification, protein interaction assays, qRT-PCR and RNA-seq. The results of RT-qPCR showed that CmGID1A responds to short days and gibberellins. Inhibition of the expression of CmGID1A can significantly promote the transition of chrysanthemum from the vegetative growth stage to the reproductive growth stage and accelerate its flowering process. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assays confirmed that CmGID1A interacts with the DELLA protein CmRGL1 in a gibberellin-dependent manner. RNA-seq results revealed that silencing of CmGID1A leads to a significant up-regulation of downstream Ethylene Response Factor 6 (ERF6) expression. Collectively, CmGID1A acts as a GA receptor to mediate GA signal transduction via interacting with CmRGL1, and regulates the expression of CmERF6 and other downstream genes, thereby participating in the regulation of floral transition in chrysanthemum. This study clarifies the core role of CmGID1A in the GA signaling pathway and provides novel experimental data for enriching the molecular regulatory mechanism of GA in floral transition in chrysanthemum. Full article

Tear staining is a common yet often underestimated condition in dogs that affects appearance and may reflect underlying disease. This study evaluated dietary supplementation with the traditional Chinese herbs Chrysanthemum morifolium (CM), Cassia semen (CS), and Poria cocos (PC) in dogs predisposed to tear staining and investigated potential mechanisms. Forty Poodle and Bichon dogs were fed diets supplemented with 0.5% CM, CS, or PC. Tear staining indices were measured biweekly, together with blood indicators of iron status, immune and inflammatory markers, and antioxidant capacity. All three supplements reduced tear staining (p < 0.05), as shown by lower scores and shorter stain length versus control. CM and PC improved iron status and porphyrin metabolism by increasing serum iron and ferritin and modulating δ-aminolevulinic acid and porphobilinogen deaminase. They also enhanced humoral immunity and antioxidant status by increasing serum immunoglobulins, reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines, and moderately improving antioxidant activities. CM and PC increased fecal Allobaculum abundance, which correlated with tear staining indices and porphyrin-related measures. In conclusion, CM, CS, and PC are promising dietary strategies for reducing tear staining in dogs, with CM and PC possibly acting via Allobaculum-associated modulation of iron and porphyrin metabolism, while improving iron status, immunity, and antioxidant defense. Full article