No abstract

Clubroot is one of the major diseases adversely affecting Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) yield and quality. To precisely characterize the Plasmodiophora brassicae infection on Chinese cabbage, we developed a dual fluorescent staining method for simultaneously examining the pathogen, cell structures, and starch grains. The number of starch (amylopectin) grains increased in B. rapa roots infected by P. brassicae, especially from 14 to 21 days after inoculation. Therefore, the expression levels of 38 core starch metabolism genes were investigated by quantitative real-time PCR. Most genes related to starch synthesis were up-regulated at seven days after the P. brassicae inoculation, whereas the expression levels of the starch degradation-related genes increased at 14 days after the inoculation. Then genes encoding the core enzymes involved in starch metabolism were investigated by assessing their chromosomal distributions, structures, duplication events, and synteny among Brassica species. Genome comparisons indicated that 38 non-redundant genes belonging to six core gene families related to starch metabolism are highly conserved among Arabidopsis thaliana, B. rapa, Brassica nigra, and Brassica oleracea. Genome sequencing projects have revealed that P. brassicae obtained host nutrients by manipulating plant metabolism. Starch may serve as a carbon source for P. brassicae colonization as indicated by the histological observation and transcriptomic analysis. Results of this study may elucidate the evolution and expression of core starch metabolism genes and provide researchers with novel insights into the pathogenesis of clubroot in B. rapa.

Efficient nitrogen (N) fertilizer management is crucial for ensuring the maximum economic yield and reducing the risk of environmental pollution. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of N fertilizer management on root yield and N uptake of radish in southern China by using 15N isotope tracing. A 2-year field experiment was conducted with three N rates (0, 60, and 120 kg N/ha) and two different application proportions, viz, A [50% at basal, 20% at 15 days after seeding (DAS), 30% at 30 DAS] and B (30% at basal, 20% at 15 DAS, 50% at 30 DAS) for each N rate, which were expressed as N0, N60A, N60B, N120A, and N120B, respectively. The results showed that root yields were significantly increased with N rates increasing from 0 to 120 kg N/ha. The root yields for N120A and N120B were 67.60 t·ha−1 and 72.50 t·ha−1 at harvest, 64.07% and 66.67% higher than those for the treatments of N60A and N60B, respectively. Mean radish recovery of N fertilizer ranged from 25.90% at N120A to 32.60% at N60B, and N fertilizer residual rate in the soil ranged from 11.50% at N120A to 14.90% at N60B. About 17.50% to 35.70% of total uptake of 15N derived from basal fertilizer was absorbed at seeding stage. However, 61.87% to 80.18% of total uptake of 15N derived from topdressing fertilizer absorbed at root expanding stage. Therefore, appropriate nitrogen application with increasing topdressing nitrogen amount could increase root yield of radish and the nitrogen recovery efficiency. Nitrogen fertilizer application recommended was 120 kg N/ha with 30% for basal, 20% for 15 DAS and 50% for 30 DAS in this study.

Clubroot is a devastating disease that causes substantial yield loss worldwide. However, the inheritance and molecular mechanisms of clubroot resistance during pathogen infection in radish remain largely unclear. In this study, we investigated the inheritance of clubroot resistance in the F2 population derived from crossing clubroot-resistant (CR) and clubroot-susceptible inbred lines “GLX” and “XNQ,” respectively. Genetic analysis revealed that a single dominant gene controlled the clubroot resistance of “GLX” with a Mendelian ratio of resistance and susceptibility of nearly 3:1. Bulked segregant analysis combined with whole-genome resequencing (BSA-seq) was performed to detect the target region of RsCr6 on chromosome Rs8. Linkage analysis revealed that the RsCr6 locus was located between two markers, HB321 and HB331, with an interval of approximately 92 kb. Based on the outcomes of transcriptome analysis, in the RsCr6 locus, the R120263140 and R120263070 genes with a possible relation to clubroot resistance were considered candidate genes. In addition, three core breeding materials containing the two reported quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and our novel locus RsCr6 targeting clubroot resistance were obtained using marker-assisted selection (MAS) technology. This study reveals a novel locus responsible for clubroot resistance in radishes. Further analysis of new genes may reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying the clubroot resistance of plants and provide a theoretical basis for radish resistance breeding.