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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2025, Vol. 61 ›› Issue (1): 115-125.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.LYKX20240088

• Research papers • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Quota Water Addition on Anatomical Changes and Gene Expression in Aril Cracking of Torreya grandis cv. ‘Merrilii’ During Near Maturity Stage

Cuiping Wu1,Caoliang Jin1,Jianping Ying2,Jinwei Suo1,Jiasheng Wu1,Yuanyuan Hu1,*()   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture Zhejiang A & F University Hangzhou 311300
    2. Hangzhou Raw Seed Growing Farm Hangzhou 311115
  • Received:2024-02-15 Online:2025-01-25 Published:2025-02-09
  • Contact: Yuanyuan Hu E-mail:hyy_1985@zafu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Objective: The mechanism of quota water addition on the the aril cracking of Torreya grandis cv.‘Merrilii’ in the near mature period was discussed, and the theoretical basis for promoting the cracking rate of aril and reducing the harvesting cost was provided. Method: During the near maturity stage, by setting the quota water addition (the soil moisture content is approximately 26.5% at a depth of 25 cm) and control treatment (without water addition), then measuring the aril cracking rate, firmness of T. grandis cv.‘Merrilii’ in different periods, combined with paraffin sections observe the anatomic structure and analyzing the ethylene production volume and the cell wall components, and based on the transcriptome and RT-qPCR analysis to further reveal the intrinsic mechanism of water addition promotes the aril cracking. Result: 1) Water addition treatment significantly increased the cracking rate of the aril in T. grandis cv.‘Merrilii’ to 72.55%, decreased the firmness by 40.40% ( P ≤ 0.05 ), and increased the ethylene release by 1.32 times. The microstructure showed that the resin canals in the parenchyma cell layer of the aril treated with irrigation were obviously broken and separated, and the thickness of the parenchyma tissue layer increased significantly by 20.12%. 2) Water addition treatment significantly increased the water-soluble pectin (WSP) in aril, while the contents of CDTA soluble pectin (CSP), cellulose and hemicellulose decreased significantly. The cracking rate of aril was significantly positively correlated with WSP and significantly negatively correlated with CSP. 3) The expression levels of cell wall metabolism-related genes TgEXPs, TgPMEs and ethylene synthesis-related genes TgACOs were significantly up-regulated after irrigation treatment. Among them, the expression levels of TgEXP1, TgEXP2, TgPME1, TgPME2 and TgACO1 were significantly negatively correlated with firmness and CSP, but were significantly positively correlated with cracking rate, ethylene release and WSP. Conclusion: In the near mature period, quota water addition significantly promoted the cracking of the aril of T. grandis cv.‘Merrilii’ and shortened the cracking period by increasing the ethylene release and changing the cell wall components and related gene expression, which provided a reliable theoretical basis for the cultivation measures to improve the cracking rate.

Key words: Torreya grandis cv.‘Merrilii’, soil water content, aril cracking, cell wall metabolism, gene expression

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