Background The loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae that is widely cultivated in Asian, European, and African countries. It blossoms in the winter and ripens in the early summer. The genome of loquat has to date not been published, which limits the study of molecular biology in this cultivated species. Here, we used the third-generation sequencing technology of Nanopore and Hi-C technology to sequence the genome of Eriobotrya. Findings We generated 100.10 Gb of long reads using Oxford Nanopore sequencing technologies. Three types of Illumina high-throughput sequencing data, including genome short reads (47.42 Gb), transcriptome short reads (11.06 Gb), and Hi-C short reads (67.25 Gb), were also generated to help construct the loquat genome. All data were assembled into a 760.1-Mb genome assembly. The contigs were mapped to chromosomes by using Hi-C technology based on the contacts between contigs, and then a genome was assembled exhibiting 17 chromosomes and a scaffold N50 length of 39.7 Mb. A total of 45,743 protein-coding genes were annotated in the Eriobotrya genome, and we investigated the phylogenetic relationships between the Eriobotrya and 6 other Rosaceae species. Eriobotrya shows a close relationship with Malus and Pyrus, with the divergence time of Eriobotrya and Malus being 6.76 million years ago. Furthermore, chromosome rearrangement was found in Eriobotrya and Malus. Conclusions We constructed the first high-quality chromosome-level Eriobotrya genome using Illumina, Nanopore, and Hi-C technologies. This work provides a valuable reference genome for molecular studies of the loquat and provides new insight into chromosome evolution in this species.

Vegetative propagation by cuttings is a very popular method. However, blueberry propagation using cuttings is still a main factor limiting its expansion because its results can vary according to the blueberry cultivar and environmental factors. This study aimed to evaluate the rooting abilities of hardwood cuttings for six blueberry cultivars (O’Neal, Misty, Diana, Biloxi, Bluebeauty, and Coville) using three different exogenous indole-butyric acid (IBA) concentrations (1000, 2000, and 3000 ppm), and to determine if the cutting position (basal, central, apical) affects rooting performance. A control treatment (0 ppm IBA) was also performed. After 90 days of each treatment, rooting percentage, average root length, and average root number per cutting were assessed and used to calculate rooting index, which is a measure of rooting ability. The rooting percentages of hardwood cuttings differed largely among cultivars and were highest for ‘Bluebeauty’ (68.55%), followed by ‘Biloxi’ (68.01%). The rooting index values of these two cultivars (33.59 and 35.18, respectively) were significantly higher than those of the other four cultivars. The rooting response of blueberry hardwood cuttings to IBA concentrations was quadratic, and 1000 and 2000 ppm IBA were sufficient to express the maximum rooting percentage in most cultivars. The rooting abilities of basal, central, and apical cuttings were similar with treatments with high IBA concentrations. The effects of the cultivar, IBA concentration, and interaction between them on rooting percentage, average root length, and average root number were significant; however, the effects of the cutting position on the rooting percentage and average root length were not. This suggested that the rooting abilities of blueberry hardwood cuttings were significantly influenced by the cultivar and IBA concentration rather than by the cutting position.

Background: Propagation of cuttings is frequently used in various plant species, including blueberry, which shows special root characteristics that may hinder adventitious root (AR) formation. AR formation is influenced by various factors, and auxin is considered to play a central role; however, little is known of the related regulatory mechanisms. In this study, a comparative transcriptome analysis of green cuttings treated with or without indole-butyric acid (IBA) was performed via RNA_seq to identify candidate genes associated with IBA-induced AR formation. Results: Rooting phenotypes, especially the rooting rate, were significantly promoted by exogenous auxin in the IBA application. Blueberry AR formation was an auxin-induced process, during which adventitious root primordium initiation (rpi) began at 14 days after cutting (DAC), root primordium (rp) was developed at 21 DAC, mature AR was observed at 28 DAC and finally outgrowth from the stem occurred at 35 DAC. Higher IAA levels and lower ABA and zeatin contents might facilitate AR formation and development. A time series transcriptome analysis identified 14, 970 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) during AR formation, of which there were 7467 upregulated and 7503 downregulated genes. Of these, approximately 35 candidate DEGs involved in the auxin-induced pathway and AR formation were further identified, including 10 auxin respective genes (ARFs and SAURs), 13 transcription factors (LOB domain-containing protein (LBDs)), 6 auxin transporters (AUX22, LAX3/5 and PIN-like 6 (PIL6s)) and 6 rootingassociated genes (root meristem growth factor 9 (RGF9), lateral root primordium 1 (LRP1s), and dormancy-associated protein homologue 3 (DRMH3)). All these identified DEGs were highly upregulated in certain stages during AR formation, indicating their potential roles in blueberry AR formation. Conclusions: The transcriptome profiling results indicated candidate genes or major regulatory factors that influence adventitious root formation in blueberry and provided a comprehensive understanding of the rooting mechanism underlying the auxin-induced AR formation from blueberry green cuttings.

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl. ) is one of the most economically important evergreen fruit crops in China, while it often suffered the injury of cold stress in winter and earlier spring, and the annual yield loss of loquat fruits caused by cold or freezing stress was immeasurable. However, knowledge about the physiological response and molecular mechanism under cold stress is still limited. To investigate the potential regulation mechanism pre- and post-cold stress in loquat and the changes in physiological indicators, a comparative transcriptome analysis was performed against a cold-resistant cv. “Huoju” and a cold-sensitive cv. “Ninghaibai”. The results of physiological indicators related to cold resistance indicated that rachis was most sensitive to cold stress and was considered as the representative organ to directly evaluate cold resistance of loquat based on subordinate function analysis. Here, we compared the transcriptome profiles of rachis pre- and under cold stress in “Huoju” and “Ninghaibai”. A total of 4,347 and 3,513 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in “Ninghaibai” and “Huoju”, among which 223 and 166 were newly identified genes, respectively, most of them were functionally enriched in plant hormone signal transduction (Huoju: 142; Ninghaibai: 200), and there were higher plant hormone content and related DEG expression levels in “Huoju” than that of “Ninghaibai”. Moreover, a total of 3,309 differentially expressed transcription factors (DETFs) were identified, and some DEGs and DETFs were screened to be subjected to co-expression network analysis based on the gene expression profile data. Some candidate DEGs, including UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT), glycosyltransferase (GT), sugar phosphate/phosphate translocator (SPT), sugar transport protein (STP), proline-rich receptor-like protein kinase (PERK), and peroxidise (POD), were significantly affected by cold stress, and the expression level of these genes obtained from real-time quantitative RT-PCR was consistent with the pattern of transcriptome profile, which suggested that these genes might play the vital roles in cold resistance of loquat. Our results provide an invaluable resource for the identification of specific genes and TFs and help to clarify gene transcription during the cold stress response of loquat.

Grafting is a common method of variety propagation in loquat breeding, the slow growth of rootstocks is a main factor limiting the expansion of this technique. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of seven different fertilizer formulas on the growth of loquat rootstock seedlings, five water-soluble fertilizer formulas, as well as organic fertilizer and controlled-release fertilizer were evaluated. An unfertilized control (CK) was also performed. Growth indicators including plant height, stem thickening and lignification, leaf area, root development, dry matter accumulation, spatial distribution of nutrient elements, and cross-sectional anatomy of stem were measured. The results showed that the addition of microelements in fertilizer could significantly delay the lignification process of the cambium, which exhibiting the greatest improvement in stem thickening. Phosphorus nutrition could significantly promote the occurrence of fibrous roots, while excessive phosphorus supply might disturb the absorption and utilization of nitrogen of roots, intensify the lignification process of the main stem, and then affect the growth of the aboveground part. The findings of this research could provide a theoretical basis for identifying an optimum fertilization formula and technique for promoting the rapid growth and accelerating the lignification process at different stages of loquat rootstock seedling growth. Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl., Maloideae, Rosaceae) is indigenous to China and represents one of the most important fruit species in subtropical areas of China 1. Traditionally, there are several problems existed that limiting the propagation of loquat varieties, one is that seed reproduction takes too long juvenescent phase and seedling progeny cannot maintain variety characteristics due to genetic variation 2 , another problem is that explants are prone to browning in loquat asexual propagation system due to the higher content of phenols as compared with other Rosaceae fruit trees, therefore, callus proliferation needs strict selection of explants and proper medium. For example, Zhang 3 reported that in tissue culture of loquat, leaf explants collected 5 days after bud sprouting were prone to severe browning and the highest mortality rate, whereas 10-day-old leaf explants showed minor browning symptoms and rapidly induced large quantity of granular light-green tight, high quality calluses, 15-day-old leaf explants also showed minor browning symptoms, but the generated calluses were yellow and loose, with lower proliferation efficiency. What is more, different varieties and ploidy materials of loquat have different requirements on medium formulation, especially hormone concentration and composition 4 , the asexual propagation system suitable for one loquat variety can not be directly copied and extended to other varieties, most importantly, even if asexual plant regeneration is successful, it will take another 7-8 years to grow into adult fruit trees. Therefore, grafting is still one of the most import...