Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum is a common landscape plant. Because of the preference for the ‘red leaf’ trait, the ‘flower color’ trait was ignored in breeding, and the genetic diversity of L. chinense var. rubrum was replaced by a few genotypes. Therefore, the potential value of flower color traits was affected, and the genetic diversity was not fully exploited. In this study, we utilized a cultivar with mosaic-colored flowers and leaves and observed 15 phenotypic traits in its flower organs and its progeny, as well as a total of 60 different flower color materials. We analyzed the variation characteristics and diversity of flower colors, and qualitatively described and preliminarily classified flower colors using the ISCC-NBS and CIELab systems to explore the correlation with the flower color phenotype from the distribution and content of anthocyanins. The phenotypic diversity of the flower organs was enriched, and genetic differences in flower color were significant for the L.chinense var. rubrum, with most of the 15 phenotypic traits showing significant positive correlations, and the most critical phenotypes are sepal, petal and nectary color, as well as petal length. According to the CIELab color system and anthocyanin content and distribution characteristics, it is considered more accurate and convenient to classify the color phenotypes of L. chinense var. rubrum flowers into five categories. In this study, for the first time, the flower organ phenotype of L. chinense var. rubrum has been systematically analyzed, and it is explored as a reference method for breeding new cultivars of a diverse range of colors in L. chinense var. rubrum.

NF-Y transcription factor consists of three subsets, A, B, and C, which play various roles during biological processes in plants, particularly in growth and development, stress response, and microorganism interactions. The current study was exhaustively conducted on the NF-Y gene family in Prunus mume (Japanese apricot). We identified 27 PmNF-Y genes that were distributed on eight chromosomes of the Japanese apricot genome, and which were divided into three subgroups according to their phylogenetic relationship. Protein replication analysis showed that the Ka/Ks ratio of one pair of tandem repeats and two pairs of segmental repeats was less than 1. Cis-acting elements upstream of PmNF-Y genes were divided into four distinct categories: light response, growth metabolism, stress, and hormones, among which the numbers of hormone and light-responsive cis-acting elements were higher. RNA-seq analysis revealed that most of the genes were expressed with slight variation in various tissues. Interestingly, some genes were expressed differently during dormancy. During dormancy with exogenous hormones and low temperature, the qRT-PCR results showed that these differentially expressed genes had specific expression responses under GA4, ABA, MeJA, and low-temperature treatments. Therefore, these findings could provide a novel theoretical foundation for future research into the function and molecular regulation mechanism of the NF-Y gene family in the Prunus species.

Prunus mume is a traditional Chinese plant with high ornamental and application values due to its very early blooming and unique fragrance. Long-term breeding and cultivation have resulted in a variety of P. mume blossoms and have made their exploitation more possible. Existing studies on the volatile metabolome and aroma of P. mume blossoms are limited. In this study, six extensively planted cultivars of P. mume blossoms, including Gulihong (GLH), Yudie (YD), LvE (LE), Dongfang Zhusha (DFZS), Jiangmei (JM), and Gongfen (GF), were investigated for their differences in terms of volatile metabolome, as well as their aroma characteristics based on the strategies and methods of metabolomics. The volatile metabolites were analyzed using HS-SPME-GC-MS technique. A total of eighty-nine compounds were detected and sixty-five of them were tentatively identified, including thirty-seven phenylpropanoids/benzenes, seventeen fatty acid derivatives, ten terpenoids, and one other compound. YD contains the most volatile metabolites in terms of number and amounts, which impart more abundant aromas to this cultivar. Fifteen differential compounds were screened through the untargeted metabolic analysis of twenty-nine samples by principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), while nine compounds were screened based on the odor activity value (OAV) analysis of the sixty-five identified compounds. GLH and GF, JM and LE were found to be more similar to each other based on chemometrics analysis of both volatile contents and OAVs, while YD and DFZS were markedly different from other cultivars. Six main metabolites, including benzaldehyde, methyl benzoate, benzyl acetate, eugenol, (E)-cinnamic alcohol, and 4-allylphenol, together with 2-nonenal, 3,4-dimethoxytoluene, and trans-β-Ionone were screened as differential compounds, owing to their higher contents and/or lower olfactory threshold, which endow an almond, cherry, phenolic, wintergreen, cananga odorata, floral, jasmine, hyacinth, cinnamon, clove, woody, medicinal, and violet fragrance to each variety, and greatly contribute to the aroma differences of six cultivars of P. mume blossom.

楸树是我国中部地区重要的珍贵阔叶用材和著名的园林观赏树种，已有2 600多年的栽培历史。研究其花性状多样性与变异性旨在揭示花表型性状在楸树种内存在的巨大变异，为新花色育种和优良观花新品种的选育及新品种的鉴定和保护提供理论依据。以1985~1990年收集的优良单株和杂种F₁共27株为材料，测定了花性状中的2个质量性状和7个数量性状，并采用方差分析、聚类分析等方法进行统计分析。①27株的开花物候期差异可达5 d，花大小、花序长短和单株花量均有较大差异，并且由于叶柄长度和花枝长度的差异导致不同单株表现出显花和隐花特征。②楸树为二强雄蕊，分为雄性可育和败育，调查的27株中有12株为雄性可育，且花粉量差异较大。③花冠檐部5裂，上唇3瓣，下唇2瓣，上唇瓣长度大于下唇瓣。27株的花枝长度、花序长度、单花枝花数、花上唇瓣长度、花下唇瓣长度和花冠直径均存在极显著差异，单株间的变幅分别为10.7~16.4 cm、5.6~9.6 cm、2~13朵、3.8~5.2 cm、3.0~4.3 cm、3.9~5.4 cm，表型变异系数分别为12.8%、12.5%、36.7%、7.5%、9.1%和9.2%。④16株间花色L^*值（亮度值）、a^*值（红绿值）、b^*值（黄蓝值）、C^*值（彩度）和h值（色相）均存在极显著差异，a^*值、b^*值以及彩度C^*值的表型变异系数分别为35.1%、52.5%和29.8%；以L^*、a^*和b^*值度量花色，通过聚类分析将16株聚为3类，红色系、粉红色系和白色系。楸树27株的花枝长度、花序长度、花大小差异极显著，16株的花色也具有明显的差别，依据L^*、a^*和b^*值进行聚类分析，当欧氏距离为15时可将16株聚为3类：红色系、粉红色系和白色系。

传粉者的选择作用是花表型性状进化的重要驱动力, 解析选择作用的强度是理解花进化的关键。通过表型操控实验和表型选择研究能够分析花性状与其适合度的关系, 探究花性状的表型选择作用。为揭示花性状变化对雌性适合度的影响, 本研究处理展毛翠雀(Delphinium kamaonense var. glabrescens)花萼片大小, 并进行表型选择分析。结果表明: 人为减小展毛翠雀花萼片显著降低了传粉者的访花频率, 但是并没有影响种子产量(种子数和结籽率), 说明展毛翠雀花萼片的大小不影响种子产量, 可能主要吸引传粉昆虫输出花粉。通过雌性适合度(种子数量)估计表型选择梯度, 发现花萼片大小(长和宽)没有受到显著的直接选择梯度。但是, 花距长受到显著的线性选差和选择梯度, 表明花距的延长能够增加种子产量。本研究表明展毛翠雀花性状受到选择的作用, 但萼片和花距有不同的功能, 分别影响传粉者访问频率和种子产量。

A basic theme in the study of plant-pollinator interactions is that pollinators select not just for single floral traits, but for associations of traits. Responses of pollinators to sets of traits are inherent in the idea of pollinator syndromes. In its most extreme form, selection on a suite of traits can take the form of correlational selection, in which a response to one trait depends on the value of another, thereby favouring floral integration. Despite the importance of selection for combinations of traits in the evolution of flowers, evidence is relatively sparse and relies mostly on observational approaches.Here, methods for measuring selection on multivariate suites of floral traits are presented, and the studies to date are reviewed. It is argued that phenotypic manipulations present a powerful, but rarely used, approach to teasing apart the separate and combined effects of particular traits. The approach is illustrated with data from studies of alpine plants in Colorado and New Zealand, and recommendations are made about several features of the design of such experiments.Phenotypic manipulations of two or more traits in combination provide a direct way of testing for selection of floral trait associations. Such experiments will be particularly valuable if rooted in hypotheses about differences between types of pollinators and tied to a proposed evolutionary history.

This research communications addresses the hypothesis that a part of iso 17:0 and anteiso 17:0 in milk fat could come from endogenous extraruminal tissue synthesis. In order to confirm this a linear regression model was applied to calculate the proportions of iso 17:0 and anteiso 17:0 in milk fat that could come from elongation of their putative precursors iso 15:0 and anteiso 15:0, respectively. Sixteen dairy goats were allocated to two simultaneous experiments, in a crossover design with four animals per treatment and two experimental periods of 25 d. In both experiments, alfalfa hay was the sole forage and the forage to concentrate ratio (33 : 67) remained constant. Experimental diets differed on the concentrate composition, either rich in starch or neutral detergent fibre, and they were administered alone or in combination with 30 g/d of linseed oil. Iso 15:0, anteiso 15:0, iso 17:0 and anteiso 17:0, the most abundant branched-chain fatty acids in milk fat, were determined by gas chromatography using two different capillary columns. The regression model resolved that 49% of iso 17:0 and 60% of anteiso 17:0 in milk fat was formed extraruminally from iso 15:0 and anteiso 15:0 elongation.

植物花性状的多样化是植物长期进化及自然选择的结果, 不同植物种间花性状的变异与生境存在一定的相关性。北热带喀斯特季节性雨林具有生境异质性强、群落结构复杂、特有成分丰富等特点, 分析该森林植物性状的变化特征及其与生境的关联性, 有助于理解物种共存、协同进化过程和对生境的适应, 可为阐明喀斯特植物的生态适应性、理解生物多样性维持机理提供依据。本研究在弄岗15 ha森林动态监测样地木本植物开花相对集中的时间段进行, 记录并分析了21个物种花性状的变化。根据物种空间分布及其与生境的关联特性, 将21个物种分成偏好谷底、山坡、山顶的3种类型, 分析了这3种类型植物的花性状差异; 另外又根据花性状对21个物种进行聚类分析, 探讨了聚类分组结果和根据偏好生境分组结果的异同。结果表明: 花大小、花色鲜艳度均与物种优势度存在显著的负相关关系, 花小而不鲜艳的物种在群落中更有优势, 表现出更好的适应性; 不同偏好生境的植物花色明度有显著差异, 其他的花性状差异不显著; 聚类分组与根据偏好生境的分组有较好的一致性, 反映出物种的花性状变化响应了生境的变化。综上结果, 我们认为北热带喀斯特季节性雨林植物花性状与物种的优势度及生境条件有密切联系, 在该区域中生境对花性状的影响可能比传粉者更为深刻。