Project description:Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is sensitive to drought stress, which largely affects its transplantation survival rate, fruit yield and quality. Abscisic acid (ABA) treatment can reduce the drought-induced adverse impacts on plants. However, no studies have ever applied ABA as an exogenous supply to alleviate the drought stress on pomegranates. In this study, we performed comparative transcriptome analysis between the ABA-treated and untreated pomegranates to reveal the ABA-induced mechanisms in response to drought-stress. Our results showed that exogenous ABA application substantially enhanced pomegranate drought resistance by strengthening metabolic pathways, such as BRs synthesis, peroxisome biogenesis, photosynthesis and hemicelluloses synthesis. Furthermore, treatments with different ABA concentrations may provoke different transcriptional responses and, once the concentration exceeds the optimal (60 μM), it might induce some potential adverse impacts on plant growth and stress resistance.
Project description:Dwarfed stature is a desired trait for modern orchard production systems. One effective strategy of dwarfing is exogenously applying plant growth retardants (PGRs) to plants. However, for many economic fruit trees, the current knowledge on the regulatory mechanisms underlying the dwarfing effect of PGRs were limited, which largely restricts their agricultural application. In this study, we exogenously applied three kinds of PGRs (paclobutrazol, B9 and mannitol) to the seedlings of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) and performed comparative transcriptome analysis to elucidate the molecular features of PGR-induced dwarfing in pomegranates. Our results showed that all the three PGRs could significantly suppress auxin biosynthetic and metabolic processes, as well as auxin-mediated shoot development, which may be the main reason for the dwarfing. Besides, different PGRs were also found to induce dwarfing via specially mechanisms. Cellular response to strigolactone were downregulated by the application of paclobutrazol, while carbohydrate homeostasis and metabolism were specifically suppressed in conditions of either B9 or mannitol treatments. Furthermore, exogenous PGR application was supposed to causes adverse impacts on the normal physiological process of pomegranate seedlings, which may bring extra burden to stress adaptation of pomegranate plants. These novel findings unveiled the genetic basis underlying the dwarfing in pomegranates.
2022-02-13 | GSE195722 | GEO
Project description:Whole Genome Sequencing of Saudi Arabia Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.)
Project description:Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and associated lower urinary tract symptoms affect a large percentage of the male population and places a substantial burden on the world health system. Current therapies include 5-alpha reductase inhibitors and alpha-blockers that are only partially effective and pose a huge economic burden, emphasizing the urgent need for effective, economical therapies. We isolated nanovesicles from pomegranate juice (Punica Granatum) (referred to as ‘POM-NVs’) and report to our knowledge for the first time, that these vesicles possess therapeutic potential against BPH. Following extensive characterization of POM-NVs, we tested their therapeutic potential in vitro using BPH1 cell line and identified a potential anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effect. We further tested these vesicles using a clinically relevant xenograft mouse BPH model derived from human BPH tissues. Remarkably, POM-NVs could reverse the BPH phenotype conferred by TGF-β mediated signaling and induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal (EMT) reversal, leading to the restoration of prostate epithelial states in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, these vesicles attenuated bone morphogenic protein 5 (BMP5) signaling, a cardinal alteration that is instrumental in driving BPH. Considering the large incidences of BPH and its associated economic burdens, our study has important implications and can potentially improve the clinical management of BPH.