Sucrose synthase: An enzyme with multiple roles in plant physiology.

Sucrose synthase (SuS) is a key enzyme in the regulation of sucrose metabolism in plants and participates in the reversible reaction of sucrose conversion to uridine diphosphate-glucose and fructose. It plays an important role in promoting taproot development, starch synthesis, cellulose synthesis, improving plant nitrogen fixation capacity, sugar metabolism, and fruit and seed development. Recent studies have shown that SuS responds to abiotic stresses such as drought stress, cold stress and waterlogging stress, especially in waterlogging stress.

Bending away from salt: a SMB-AUX1 story.

The study by Zheng et al. (2024) identifies a NAC transcription factor, SOMBRERO (SMB), localized in the root cap of Arabidopsis, which is essential for root halotropism. SMB influences root halotropism by establishing asymmetric auxin distribution in the lateral root cap (LRC) and maintaining the expression of the auxin influx carrier gene AUX1.

Cucumber JASMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN 6 interaction with transcription factor MYB6 impairs waterlogging-triggered adventitious rooting.

Waterlogging is a serious abiotic stress that drastically decreases crop productivity by damaging the root system. Jasmonic acid (JA) inhibits waterlogging-induced adventitious root (AR) formation in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.).

Reviving resilience: MEcPP-mediated ASK1-IMPα-9-TRP2 stress-responsive module.

Chloroplasts are not only critical photosynthesis sites in plants, but they also participate in plastidial retrograde signaling in response to developmental and environmental signals. MEcPP (2-C-Methyl-D-erythritol-2,4-cyclopyrophosphate) is an intermediary in the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway in chloroplasts. It is a critical precursor for the synthesis of isoprenoids and terpenoid derivatives, which play crucial roles in plant growth and development, photosynthesis, reproduction, and defense against environmental constraints.

Surviving a Double-Edged Sword: Response of Horticultural Crops to Multiple Abiotic Stressors.

Climate change-induced weather events, such as extreme temperatures, prolonged drought spells, or flooding, pose an enormous risk to crop productivity. Studies on the implications of multiple stresses may vary from those on a single stress. Usually, these stresses coincide, amplifying the extent of collateral damage and contributing to significant financial losses.

microRNA regulates cytokinin induced parthenocarpy in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.).

Parthenocarpy is one of the most important agronomic traits for fruit yield in cucumbers. However, the precise gene regulation and the posttranscriptional mechanism are elusive. In the presented study, one parthenocarpic line DDX and non-parthenocarpic line ZK were applied to identify the microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in parthenocarpic fruit formation.

R2R3-MYB transcription factor CsMYB60 controls mature fruit skin color by regulating flavonoid accumulation in cucumber.

Skin color is an important trait that determines the cosmetic appearance and quality of fruits. In cucumber, the skin color ranges from white to brown in mature fruits. However, the genetic basis for this important trait remains unclear.

Effects of Supplemental Lighting on Flavonoid and Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Strawberry Flesh Revealed via Metabolome and Transcriptome Co-Analysis.

The spectral composition of light influences the biosynthesis of flavonoids in many plants. However, the detailed composition of flavonoids and anthocyanins and the molecular basis for their biosynthesis in strawberry fruits under two light-quality treatments, red light supplemented with blue light (RB) and ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation, remain unclear. In this study, the content of flavonoids and anthocyanins was significantly increased in strawberry fruits under RB light and UVB, respectively.

RNA-seq-based comparative transcriptome analysis reveals the role of in waterlogging-triggered adventitious root formation in cucumber.

Abiotic stressors like waterlogging are detrimental to cucumber development and growth. However, comprehension of the highly complex molecular mechanism underlying waterlogging can provide an opportunity to enhance cucumber tolerance under waterlogging stress. We examined the hypocotyl and stage-specific transcriptomes of the waterlogging-tolerant YZ026A and the waterlogging-sensitive YZ106A, which had different adventitious rooting ability under waterlogging.

Directionally Illuminated Autostereoscopy with Seamless Viewpoints for Multi-Viewers.

Autostereoscopy is usually perceived at finite viewpoints that result from the separated pixel array of a display system. With directionally illuminated autostereoscopy, the separation of the illumination channel from the image channel provides extra flexibility in optimizing the performance of autostereoscopy. This work demonstrates that by taking advantage of illumination freedom, seamless viewpoints in the sweet viewing region, where the ghosting does not cause significant discomfort, are realized.

Directional and Eye-Tracking Light Field Display with Efficient Rendering and Illumination.

Current efforts with light field displays are mainly concentrated on the widest possible viewing angle, while a single viewer only needs to view the display in a specific viewing direction. To make the light field display a practical practice, a super multi-view light field display is proposed to compress the information in the viewing zone of a single user by reducing the redundant viewpoints. A quasi-directional backlight is proposed, and a lenticular lens array is applied to achieve the restricted viewing zone.

A Review of Classification, Biosynthesis, Biological Activities and Potential Applications of Flavonoids.

Flavonoids represent the main class of plant secondary metabolites and occur in the tissues and organs of various plant species. In plants, flavonoids are involved in many biological processes and in response to various environmental stresses. The consumption of flavonoids has been known to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases due to their antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties.

Cucumber abscisic acid 8'-hydroxylase Csyf2 regulates yellow flesh by modulating carotenoid biosynthesis.

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) flesh is typically colorless or pale green. Flesh with yellow or orange pigment, determined mainly by carotenoid content and composition, is mostly found in semi-wild Xishuangbanna cucumber, which has a very narrow genetic background.

A Complete Genome Sequence of Isolate YZU573, the Causal Agent of Powdery Mildew Isolated from Cucumber in China.

is a well-known obligate biotrophic pathogen that causes powdery mildew (PM) disease on cucurbitaceous plants and is one of the most important limiting factors for cucumber production worldwide. To better understand the avirulence effector proteins in this species that are known to be involved in host-pathogen interaction, the draft genome assembly of isolate YZU573 from cucumber leaves with symptoms of PM was obtained with a hybrid approach, combining nanopore long-read and llumina paired-end sequencing. The final YZU573 genome assembly of 152.

A CsEIL3-CsARN6.1 module promotes waterlogging-triggered adventitious root formation in cucumber by activating the expression of CsPrx5.

The formation of adventitious roots (ARs) derived from hypocotyl is the most important morphological adaptation to waterlogging stress in Cucumis sativus (cucumber). Our previous study showed that cucumbers with the gene CsARN6.1, encoding an AAA ATPase domain-containing protein, were more tolerant to waterlogging through increased AR formation.

Cucumber () encodes the zinc finger protein 6 that regulates fruit glossiness by enhancing cuticular wax biosynthesis.

Cucumber glossiness is an important visual quality trait that affects consumer choice. Accumulating evidence suggests that glossy trait is associated with cuticular wax accumulation. However, the molecular genetic mechanism controlling cucumber glossiness remains largely unknown.

Harnessing the plenoptic function for a directionally illuminated autostereoscopic display.

The plenoptic function is ideal to describe three-dimensional displays. We propose and demonstrate in this work that plenoptic function is a particularly suitable scenario in the directionally illuminated autostereoscopic display. Guided by this function, backlight structures and functional thin films are designed and applied for wave-vector and amplitude control so that homogeneous viewing is achieved in large viewing volume while display functionality with optical focusing and diverting can be fulfilled.

A 2-bp deletion in the protein kinase domain region of the ERECTA-like receptor kinase gene in cucumber results in short internode phenotype.

Cucumber varieties with shortend internodes require less space than regular vining varieties, thus have great significance for germplasm improvement. Here, we found a novel spontaneous cucumber mutant si107 that exhibited short intenodes (si), smaller leaves, fruits, and seeds. The decrease in longitudinal cell length led to the shortened internodes of si107.

Comparative Biochemical and Transcriptomic Analyses Provide New Insights into Phytoplasma Infection Responses in Cucumber.

Flat stem and witches' broom phytoplasma-like symptoms in the cucumber inbred line C17 were observed in a greenhouse at Yangzhou University, China for three consecutive planting seasons; these symptoms resulted in a decreased yield. To better understand the cause of these symptoms, 16S rRNA PCR, plant hormones, mineral elements, and RNA-seq profiling were performed using symptomatic and normal stem samples. The results showed that the causal agent was classified as the phytoplasma asteris strain, a plant pathogenic prokaryote that could not be cultured in vitro.

Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Peanut Skin Proanthocyanidins on Growth Performance and Lipid Metabolism of the Juvenile American Eel ().

As a functional feed additive, grape seed proanthocyanidin extract has received a lot of attention due to its biological activity in the health of aquatic animals, but its high cost limits the application of this feed additive in the diet of many fish species. It is thus urgent to develop a new resource of proanthocyanidin extract. We aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with peanut skin proanthocyanidins (PSPc) on growth parameters and lipid metabolism of juvenile American eel ().

Characterization of Differences in the Composition and Content of Volatile Compounds in Cucumber Fruit.

The cucumber is characterized by the presence of a wide range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are recognized as the main responsible for its unique flavor. However, research on the types and contents of VOCs in different cucumber cultivars remains fragmentary. Here, using an automatic headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method, the VOCs were analyzed in three representative cucumber cultivars, including YX, KX, and GX, with the best, middle, and worst flavor quality, respectively, which were selected from 30 cultivars after flavor quality evaluation.