Viruses Infecting Trees and Herbs That Produce Edible Fleshy Fruits with a Prominent Value in the Global Market: An Evolutionary Perspective.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Rodriguez-Verastegui LL
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8778216 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Background Alternative splicing (AS) is an important mechanism of posttranscriptional modification and dynamically regulates multiple physiological processes in plants, including fruit ripening. However, little is known about alternative splicing during fruit development in fleshy fruits. Results We studied the alternative splicing at the immature and ripe stages during fruit development in cucumber, melon, papaya and peach. We found that 14.96–17.48% of multiexon genes exhibited alternative splicing. Intron retention was not always the most frequent event, indicating that the alternative splicing pattern during different developmental process differs. Alternative splicing was significantly more prevalent at the ripe stage than at the immature stage in cucumber and melon, while the opposite trend was shown in papaya and peach, implying that developmental stages adopt different alternative splicing strategies for their specific functions. Some genes involved in fruit ripening underwent stage-specific alternative splicing, indicating that alternative splicing regulates fruits ripening. Conserved alternative splicing events did not appear to be stage-specific. Clustering fruit developmental stages across the four species based on alternative splicing profiles resulted in species-specific clustering, suggesting that diversification of alternative splicing contributes to lineage-specific evolution in fleshy fruits. Conclusions We obtained high quality transcriptomes and alternative splicing events during fruit development across the four species. Dynamics and nonconserved alternative splicing were discovered. The candidate stage-specific AS genes involved in fruit ripening will provide valuable insight into the roles of alternative splicing during the developmental processes of fleshy fruits. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-08111-1.
| S-EPMC8547070 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Looking for a biological fingerprint relative to new aspects of the relationship between humans and natural environment during prehistoric times is challenging. Although many issues still need to be addressed in terms of authentication and identification, microparticles hidden in ancient dental calculus can provide interesting information for bridging this gap of knowledge. Here, we show evidence about the role of edible plants for the early Neolithic individuals in the central Apennines of the Italian peninsula and relative cultural landscape. Dental calculi from human and animal specimens exhumed at Grotta Mora Cavorso (Lazio), one of the largest prehistoric burial deposits, have returned an archaeobotanical record made up of several types of palaeoecological proxies. The organic fraction of this matrix was investigated by a multidisciplinary approach, whose novelty consisted in the application of next generation sequencing to ancient plant DNA fragments, specifically codifying for maturase K barcode gene. Panicoideae and Triticeae starches, together with genetic indicators of Rosaceae fruits, figs, and Lamiaceae herbs, suggested subsistence practices most likely still based on wild plant resources. On the other hand, pollen, and non-pollen palynomorphs allowed us to outline a general vegetational framework dominated by woodland patches alternated with meadows, where semi-permanent settlements could have been established.
| S-EPMC9763411 | biostudies-literature
Project description:How plants arrived to originally sterile oceanic islands has puzzled naturalists for centuries. Dispersal syndromes (i.e., diaspore traits that promote dispersal by long-distance dispersal vectors), are generally considered to play a determinant role in assisting island colonization. However, the association between diaspore traits and the potential vectors by which diaspores are dispersed is not always obvious. Fleshy fruits, in particular, are considered to have evolved to promote the internal dispersal of seeds by frugivores (endozoochory), however some fleshy fruits can also float in saltwater, and thus be potentially transported by oceanic current (thalassochory). We performed saltwater floatation and viability experiments with fruits of the 14 European fleshy-fruited species that naturally colonized the Azores archipelago (North Atlantic Ocean). We show that only Corema album (a berry) and Juniperus oxycedrus (a fleshy cone) floated for as long as 60 days, the estimated minimum time needed to reach the Azores by oceanic currents. Regardless the floatation potential, exposure to saltwater largely reduced the viability of most seeds of the 14 species (46% of viability decline within 15 days and 77% within 60 days of immersion), including those of Corema album (61%) and Juniperus oxycedrus (83%). Floatability and viability trials suggest that while some fleshy-fruited species might have arrived to the Azores by oceanic currents, such would have required extreme meteorological events that could largely reduce the duration of the trip. Thus, the alternative hypothesis that fleshy-fruited species were mostly dependent on animal dispersers (endozoochory) to colonize these remote islands is reinforced.
| S-EPMC4605496 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Plant species with fleshy fruits offer animals rewards such as sugar, protein, and fat, to feed on their fruits and disperse their seeds. They have also evolved visual and olfactory signals indicating their presence and ripeness.In some systems, fruit color serves as a reliable visual signal of nutrient content. Yet even though many volatile chemicals used as olfactory signals derive from nutrients animals seek, it is still unknown whether fruit scent encodes information regarding nutrient content in wild fruits.We examine the relationship between olfactory signals and nutrient rewards in 28 fruiting plant species in Madagascar. We measured the relative amounts of four chemical classes in fruit scent using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, as well as the relative amounts of sugar and protein in fruit pulp.We found that protein levels are not associated with elevated amounts of chemically related volatile compounds in fruit scent. In contrast, sugar content is strongly associated with the chemical composition of fruit scent.To our knowledge, this is the first research to explore the connection between fruit chemical signals and nutrient rewards. Our results imply that in the case of sugar, fruit scent is predictive of nutrient content and hence an honest signal.
| S-EPMC6787828 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The soluble sugar concentration of fleshy fruit is a key determinant of fleshy fruit quality. It affects directly the sweetness of fresh fruits and indirectly the properties of processed products (e.g., alcohol content in wine). Despite considerable divergence among species, soluble sugar accumulation in a fruit results from the complex interplay of three main processes, namely sugar import, sugar metabolism, and water dilution. Therefore, inter-species comparison would help to identify common and/or species-specific modes of regulation in sugar accumulation. For this purpose, a process-based mathematical framework was used to compare soluble sugar accumulation in three fruits: grape, tomato, and peach. Representative datasets covering the time course of sugar accumulation during fruit development were collected. They encompassed 104 combinations of species (3), genotypes (30), and growing conditions (19 years and 16 nutrient and environmental treatments). At maturity, grape showed the highest soluble sugar concentrations (16.5-26.3 g/100 g FW), followed by peach (2.2 to 20 g/100 g FW) and tomato (1.4 to 5 g/100 g FW). Main processes determining soluble sugar concentration were decomposed into sugar importation, metabolism, and water dilution with the process-based analysis. Different regulation modes of soluble sugar concentration were then identified, showing either import-based, dilution-based, or import and dilution dual-based. Firstly, the higher soluble sugar concentration in grape than in tomato is a result of higher sugar importation. Secondly, the higher soluble sugar concentration in grape than in peach is due to a lower water dilution. The third mode of regulation is more complicated than the first two, with differences both in sugar importation and water dilution (grape vs. cherry tomato; cherry tomato vs. peach; peach vs. tomato). On the other hand, carbon utilization for synthesis of non-soluble sugar compounds (namely metabolism) was conserved among the three fruit species. These distinct modes appear to be quite species-specific, but the intensity of the effect may significantly vary depending on the genotype and management practices. These results provide novel insights into the drivers of differences in soluble sugar concentration among fleshy fruits.
| S-EPMC4872523 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe main aim of the study was to analyse the influence of fleshy fruits (plums) on the post-metamorphic growth and feeding behaviour of the green toad Bufotes viridis. We tested the following two hypotheses: (1) juveniles of the green toad are characterised by faster growth in conditions involving fallen plums Prunus cerasifera due to the associated presence of more varied food such as invertebrates; (2) green toads exhibit more active feeding behaviour in the presence of fleshy fruits.MethodsA total of 120 fresh metamorphs of the green toad were randomly assigned to one of four groups: two experimental groups with fleshy plums and two other groups as controls (without fruits). Each group was kept in an enclosure to which wild invertebrates had free access. Each individual toad was measured for snout-vent length (mm) and body mass (g) every other day for 30 days. In order to determine whether fallen plums influence the feeding behaviour of toads, the number of active and hidden (under an artificial shelter) individuals was also noted.ResultsThe results showed that green toads from both enclosures with plums were characterised by more rapid growth than individuals from the control treatments. Simultaneously, in the enclosure with fleshy fruits, greater species richness of wild invertebrates was observed. No differences in active feeding behaviour were noted between control groups and groups with plums.DiscussionFleshy fruits, upon falling, attract many types of invertebrates; thus they may represent good dietary supplements for fresh amphibian metamorphs. Therefore, the presence of fruit trees close to a breeding site might influences the post-metamorphic growth of amphibians, but not their feeding behaviour. The presence of insects associated with fallen fruit seems to favour the occurrence of amphibian populations, which is particularly important, since, due to political and social pressure, numbers of fruit trees are currently being reduced. To our knowledge, no previous study has investigated the potential influence of the presence of fruit trees on the growth and behaviour of anurans.
| S-EPMC6359899 | biostudies-literature
Project description:We used phytochemical profiling techniques to generate a list of compounds present in each of 13 Equisetum arvense samples sourced globally. We used microarrays to detail the global programme of gene expression underlying the treatment of the model system Saccharomyces cerevisiae to a chosen number of these extracts. A thorough bioinformatic analysis was performed to identify the relationship between phytochemical and gene expression response profiles.
2011-12-31 | GSE24888 | GEO
Project description:Seed dispersal is a key process in plant spatial dynamics. However, consistently applicable generalizations about dispersal across scales are mostly absent because of the constraints on measuring propagule dispersal distances for many species. Here, we focus on fleshy-fruited taxa, specifically taxa with large fleshy fruits and their dispersers across an entire continental rainforest biome. We compare species-level results of whole-chloroplast DNA analyses in sister taxa with large and small fruits, to regional plot-based samples (310 plots), and whole-continent patterns for the distribution of woody species with either large (more than 30 mm) or smaller fleshy fruits (1093 taxa). The pairwise genomic comparison found higher genetic distances between populations and between regions in the large-fruited species (Endiandra globosa), but higher overall diversity within the small-fruited species (Endiandra discolor). Floristic comparisons among plots confirmed lower numbers of large-fruited species in areas where more extreme rainforest contraction occurred, and re-colonization by small-fruited species readily dispersed by the available fauna. Species' distribution patterns showed that larger-fruited species had smaller geographical ranges than smaller-fruited species and locations with stable refugia (and high endemism) aligned with concentrations of large fleshy-fruited taxa, making them a potentially valuable conservation-planning indicator.
| S-EPMC4685777 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In vitro meat is a novel concept of food science and biotechnology. Methods to produce in vitro meat employ muscle cells cultivated on a scaffold in a serum-free medium using a bioreactor. The microstructure of the scaffold is a key factor, because muscle cells must be oriented to generate parallel alignments of fibers. This work aimed to develop a new scaffold (microstructured film) to grow muscle fibers. The microstructured edible films were made using micromolding technology. A micromold was tailor-made using a laser cutting machine to obtain parallel fibers with a diameter in the range of 70-90 µm. Edible films were made by means of solvent casting using non-mammalian biopolymers. Myoblasts were cultured on flat and microstructured films at three cell densities. Cells on the microstructured films grew with a muscle fiber morphology, but in the case of using the flat film, they only produced unorganized cell proliferation. Myogenic markers were assessed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. After 14 days, the expression of desmin, myogenin, and myosin heavy chain were significantly higher in microstructured films compared to the flat films. The formation of fiber morphology and the high expression of myogenic markers indicated that a microstructured edible film can be used for the production of in vitro meat.
| S-EPMC7073543 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Banana trees, citrus fruit trees, pome fruit trees, grapevines, mango trees, and stone fruit trees are major fruit trees cultured worldwide and correspond to nearly 90% of the global production of woody fruit trees. In light of the above, the present manuscript summarizes the viruses that infect the major fruit trees, including their taxonomy and morphology, and highlights selected viruses that significantly affect fruit production, including their genomic and biological features. The results showed that a total of 163 viruses, belonging to 45 genera classified into 23 families have been reported to infect the major woody fruit trees. It is clear that there is higher accumulation of viruses in grapevine (80/163) compared to the other fruit trees (each corresponding to less than 35/163), while only one virus species has been reported infecting mango. Most of the viruses (over 70%) infecting woody fruit trees are positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA), and the remainder belong to the -ssRNA, ssRNA-RT, dsRNA, ssDNA and dsDNA-RT groups (each corresponding to less than 8%). Most of the viruses are icosahedral or isometric (79/163), and their diameter ranges from 16 to 80 nm with the majority being 25-30 nm. Cross-infection has occurred in a high frequency among pome and stone fruit trees, whereas no or little cross-infection has occurred among banana, citrus and grapevine. The viruses infecting woody fruit trees are mostly transmitted by vegetative propagation, grafting, and root grafting in orchards and are usually vectored by mealybug, soft scale, aphids, mites or thrips. These viruses cause adverse effects in their fruit tree hosts, inducing a wide range of symptoms and significant damage, such as reduced yield, quality, vigor and longevity.
| S-EPMC6631394 | biostudies-other