Soil conditions and the plant microbiome boost the accumulation of monoterpenes in the fruit of Citrus reticulata ‘Chachi’

Abstract

Background The medicinal material quality of Citrus reticulata ‘Chachi’ differs depending on the bioactive components influenced by the planting area. Environmental factors, such as soil nutrients, the plant-associated microbiome and climatic conditions, play important roles in the accumulation of bioactive components in citrus. However, how these environmental factors mediate the production of bioactive components of medicinal plants remains understudied. Results Here, a multi-omics approach was used to clarify the role of environmental factors such as soil nutrients and the root-associated microbiome on the accumulation of monoterpenes in the peel of C. reticulata ‘Chachi’ procured from core (geo-authentic product region) and non-core (non-geo-authentic product region) geographical regions. The soil environment (high salinity, Mg, Mn and K) enhanced the monoterpene content by promoting the expression of salt stress-responsive genes and terpene backbone synthase in the host plants from the core region. The microbial effects on the monoterpene accumulation of citrus from the core region were further verified by synthetic community (SynCom) experiments. Rhizosphere microorganisms activated terpene synthesis and promoted monoterpene accumulation through interactions with the host immune system. Endophyte microorganisms derived from soil with the potential for terpene synthesis might enhance monoterpene accumulation in citrus by providing precursors of monoterpenes. Conclusions Overall, this study demonstrated that both soil properties and the soil microbiome impacted monoterpene production in citrus peel, thus providing an essential basis for increasing fruit quality via reasonable fertilization and precision microbiota management.

Geographically associated endophytic fungi contribute to the tropane alkaloids accumulation of Anisodus tanguticus

“…However, the unique ecological environment of Tibetan areas cannot be ignored. The unique high salt soil environment of Citrus reticulata core production area breeds unique microbial taxa that promote the accumulation of monoterpene ( Su et al., 2023 ). Differences in plant microbiomes are often the result of environmental factors.…”

An integrated multi-omics approach reveals polymethoxylated flavonoid biosynthesis in Citrus reticulata cv. Chachiensis

“…The transcriptome data of citrus peels from the core region and other regions were produced in our previous study 92 . Three representative orchards (Tianma, Wubao and Maichong) in Xinhui (geo-authentic product region) of Guangdong Province were selected as the core region.…”

Overall control of the quality consistency of Citri Retriculatae Pericapium by combining HPLC fingerprint, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and chemometrics

“…This suggested that geography had a significant impact on the chemical makeup of CRP, but other elements including weather, soil, harvesting season, processing technique, and storage temperature also have an impact. [24][25][26][27] In order to relate the five measured components to overall quality, this study combined the average percentage of fingerprint peak area (PA) with the average percentage of the content (P 5C ) to show the necessity for the development of Q-markers. 28 To examine the quality of CRP thoroughly, this paper also suggested establishing terahertz fingerprinting and combining it with HPLC fingerprinting.…”