Qixiang Zhang

• Zhejiang A & F University

The cultivation and domestication of roses reflects cultural exchanges and shifts in aesthetics that have resulted in today’s most popular ornamental plant group. However, the narrow genetic foundation of cultivated roses limits their further improvement. Wild Rosa species harbour vast genetic diversity, yet their utilization is impeded by taxonomi...

Key message The JA and ICE-CBF-COR signaling pathways play important roles in the low-temperature response of Rosa persica, with RpMYC2 interacting with multiple transcription factors and positively regulating tolerance to low-temperature stress. Abstract Rosa persica is highly resilient to cold and drought, making it a valuable resource for breed...

To efficiently produce polyploid Lagerstroemia, the development process of the female and male gametes of Lagerstroemia cultivar ‘Whit III’ was observed. It was found that when the diameter of the flower bud was from 5.1 to 5.6 mm, the length of the anther was from 0.8 to 1.2 mm, the color of the anther was light yellow-green, and the diameter of t...

Prunus mume, an important ornamental woody plant in the Rosaceae family, contains many interspecific hybridizations. Purple colour is a breeding trait of aesthetic value for P. mume, but little is known about the origin and genetic architecture of this trait. Here we address these issues by producing a haplotype‐resolved genome from an interspecifi...

Walnut (Juglans regia), an important contributor to oil production among woody plants, encounters research constraints due to difficulties in the subcellular localization and functional analysis of its proteins. These limitations arise from the protracted fruiting cycle and the absence of a reliable transient gene transformation system and organell...

Lagerstroemia speciosa is a famous medicinal and ornamental plant of the Lagerstroemia genus, with large and gorgeous flowers and a flowering period of 3 to 5 months. L. speciosa extracts have been used for many years in folk medicine to treat diabetes. Here, we used PacBio and Hi-C sequencing technologies to obtain a high-quality whole genome map...

Artificial selection of the flowering strategy makes the rose one of the most successful ornamental plants. The genus Rosa is a good model for studying flowering strategies. We employed rose hybrid populations to investigate the segregation rates of recurrent and non-recurrent blooming traits. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants and local...

With their high economic value and cultural significance, modern roses are one of the most important ornamental plants. Because of their complicated genetic background and tetraploid nature, the creation of high-density genetic maps of roses has been a challenge that has slowed the pace of molecular breeding for modern roses. The current constructi...

Given the increasing consumer demand for natural and functional foods, rose petals offer a promising novel ingredient for food innovation, especially yellow and orange rose petals rich in carotenoids, making them ideal for food processing and color retention. Despite their potential, the metabolic profile of carotenoids in roses has not yet been fu...

Rose is an important ornamental crop cultivated globally for perfume production. However, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying scent production and molecular breeding for fragrance is hindered by the lack of a reference genome for tea roses. We present the first complete telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome of Rosa gigantea, with high qualit...

MYB transcription factors play pivotal roles in various facets of plant morphogenesis, maturation, and essential physiological functions. Despite the essential nature of MYB family genes (MYBs) in plant biology, their functions and expression patterns in Rosa persica remain incompletely characterized. This poses an obstacle for the further identifi...

Gibberellins (GAs), enzymes that play a significant role in plant growth and development, and their levels in plants could be regulated by gibberellin-oxidases (GAoxs). As important fruit trees and ornamental plants, the study of the mechanism of plant architecture formation of the Prunus genus is crucial. Here, 85 GAox genes were identified from P...

Artificial selection of the flowering strategy makes the rose one of the most successful ornamental plants. The genus Rosa is a good model for studying flowering strategies. We employed rose hybrid populations to investigate the segregation rates of recurrent and non-recurrent blooming traits. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variants and local...

Targeted regulation using transgrafting technology has become a trend. However, the mechanisms of transgene-derived signal communication between rootstocks and scions remain unclear in woody plants. Here, we grafted wild-type (WT) walnut (Juglans regia L.) on WT (WT/WT), JrGA20ox1 (encodes a gibberellin 20-oxidase)-overexpressing (WT/OE), and JrGA2...

Rosehips are a prominent source of numerous bioactive compounds. However, despite their extensive potential, the metabolic profiles among different rosehip species have not been fully elucidated. In this study, 523 secondary metabolites from rosehips of 12 Rosa species were identified using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass s...

Rosaceae plants are widely distributed worldwide. These plants, including well-known ornamental plants and those producing temperate fruits, have significant economic value. The utilization of omics technologies has significantly advanced the research progress on Rosaceae plants in various areas, including germplasm resources, molecular breeding, a...

Rose black spot disease, caused by Marssonina rosae (syn. Diplocarpon rosae), is one of the most widespread diseases of field-grown roses worldwide. Pathogens have been found to interfere with or stimulate plant immune response through the secreted effectors. However, the molecular mechanism involved in inhibition of rose immune response by M. rosa...

Main conclusion IAA cooperates with JA to inhibit SA and negatively regulates rose black spot disease resistance. Abstract Black spot disease caused by the fungus Marssonina rosae is the most prevalent and severe ailment in rose cultivation, leading to the appearance of black spots on leaves and eventual leaf fall, significantly impacting the util...

Petal blotch is a specific flower color pattern commonly found in angiosperm families. In particular, Rosa persica is characterized by dark red blotches at the base of yellow petals. Modern rose cultivars with blotches inherited the blotch trait from R. persica. Therefore, understanding the mechanism for blotch formation is crucial for breeding ros...

Mei (Prunus mume) is an excellent garden tree highly praised in China, possessing both ornamental and cultural values. Breeding Mei with distinctive characteristics and high resistance has become a long-term goal to meet the visual and spiritual demands in the new era. With the rapid development of biotechnology, researchers have successively compl...

Transcription factors (TFs) encoded by the lateral organ boundaries domain (LBD) gene family are known to control many plant-specific developmental processes. However, the comparative analysis of the LBD gene family in Rosaceae species and its expression pattern in mei remains unclear. Here, we identified a total of 406 LBDs in nine Rosaceae specie...

Background and Aim Style dimorphism is one of the polymorphic characteristics of flowers in heterostyly plants, which includes two flower types: Pin morph with long styles and shorter anthers, and Thrum morph with short styles and longer anthers. The formation of dimorphic styles has received attention in the plant world. Previous studies showed th...

BACKGROUND The fruits of the genus Rosa, commonly known as rosehips, have attracted significant attention owing to their rich content of various bioactive compounds. However, their utility is generally secondary to the ornamental appeal of their flowers. This study aimed to explore the quality differences among tea‐scented rosehips found in Yunnan,...

The double flower is an important trait with substantial ornamental value. While mutations in PETALOSA TOE-type or AG (AGAMOUS) genes play a crucial role in enhancing petal number in ornamental plants, the complete mechanism underlying the formation of double flowers remains to be fully elucidated. Through the application of bulked segregant analys...

Callose is an important polysaccharide composed of beta-1,3-glucans and is widely implicated in plant development and defense responses. Callose synthesis is mainly catalyzed by a family of callose synthases, also known as glucan synthase-like (GSL) enzymes. Despite the fact that GSL family genes were studied in a few plant species, their functiona...

The CCD gene family plays a crucial role in the cleavage of carotenoids, converting them into apocarotenoids. This process not only impacts the physiology and development of plants but also enhances their tolerance toward different stresses. However, the character of the PmCCD gene family and its role in ornamental woody Prunus mume remain unclear....

Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) is a globally used ornamental woody plant and is the representative species of Lagerstroemia. However, studies on the evolution and genomic breeding of L. indica were hindered by the lack of a reference genome. Here, we assembled the first high-quality genome of L. indica using PacBio combined with Hi-C scaffoldi...

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPK) are known to mediate plant growth and development and respond to various environmental changes. Here, we performed whole-genome identification of CDPK families in cultivated and wild mei (Prunus mume). We identified 14 and 17 CDPK genes in P. mume and P. mume var. Tortuosa genomes, respectively. All 270 CPDK...

Protein kinases of the MAPK cascade family (MAPKKK–MAPKK–MAPK) play an essential role in plant stress response and hormone signal transduction. However, their role in the cold hardiness of Prunus mume (Mei), a class of ornamental woody plant, remains unclear. In this study, we use bioinformatic approaches to assess and analyze two related protein k...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1013822.].

The branching phenotype is an extremely important agronomic trait of plants, especially for horticultural crops. It is not only an important yield character of fruit trees, but also an exquisite ornamental trait of landscape trees and flowers. The branching characteristics of plants are determined by the periodic initiation and later development of...

The leaves of Forsythia koreana 'Suwon Gold' are yellow under natural light condition and can revert to green when the light intensity is reduced. To understand the molecular mechanism of leaf color changes in response to light intensity, we compared the chlorophyll content and precursor content between yellow- and green-leaf Forsythia under shade...

Branching is an important agronomic and economic trait in cut chrysanthemums. The axillary meristem (AM) formation of the axillary buds of cut chrysanthemums has a decisive role in its branching characteristics. However, little is known about the regulation mechanism of axillary meristem formation in chrysanthemums at the molecular level. Members o...

Background: With advancing economic development, people are becoming more health-conscious and as a consequence, the demand for functional foods and health products is growing. Therefore, identifying and developing natural food sources, such as plants containing bioactive compounds providing nutritional and health benefits, is highly necessary. One...

Lagerstroemia speciosa is an important ornamental plant, and there is only one double-petaled variety, ‘Yunshang’, produced by natural mutation, in the whole genus of Lagerstroemia. The members of the MADS-box family play important roles in floral organ development. However, little is known about the biological function of the MADS-box gene in L. s...

The color and fragrance of rose flowers affect their commercial value. However, several rose varieties with new floral colors developed by the bud mutation method lost their fragrance during the breeding process, raising the question: Is there a relationship between floral color and aroma traits? Rose cultivar 'Yellow Island' (YI) with intensely ar...

To improve plant quality and fertilizing efficiency, we conducted a study to elucidate the effects of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K) fertilizers on the growth, nutrient accumulation, and quality of Lagerstroemia indica plants grown in containers and determine the optimal fertilization levels. Both single-factor and multifactor exp...

Low temperature is one of the most important abiotic factors limiting the growth, development and geographical distribution of plants. Prunus mume is a special woody ornamental plant that blooms in early spring in Beijing. However, the molecular mechanism underlying cold hardening to enhance freezing tolerance in Prunus genus remains elusive. This...

This study aimed to conduct a systematic evaluation of the morphological characteristics, phytochemical components, antioxidant activity, and secondary metabolites of rosehips (Rosa L.) distributed in Xinjiang, China. They have significant differences in morphology and phytochemical composition and darker rosehips had higher phytochemical concentra...

Lagerstroemia caudata is a rare aromatic species native to southeastern China, but its floral scent properties and release dynamics remain unclear. This study is the first systematic analysis of spatial-temporal variation in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from L. caudata by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) with gas chromat...

Low temperature is a primary factor limiting the distribution of Prunus mume. In order to produce a variety that has both cold tolerance and the characteristic fragrance of true mume, previous researchers crossbred a strong-tolerance variety apricot mei, P. mume ‘DF’ (‘Dan Fenghou’) and the weak-tolerance variety of true mume, P. mume ‘BY’ (‘Beijin...

Reblooming bearded iris (Iris spp.) could bloom in both spring and autumn, which has extended the ornamental periods. Our previous transcriptome analysis has indicated the possible regulatory role of SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) in reblooming of bearded iris. Moreover, it has been revealed that the mutations of TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) led to the c...

AUXIN/INDOLE ACETIC ACIDs (Aux/IAAs), an early auxin-responsive gene family, is important for plant growth and development. To fully comprehend the character of Aux/IAA genes in woody plants, we identified 19 PmIAA genes in Prunus mume and dissected their protein domains, phylogenetic relationship, gene structure, promoter, and expression patterns...

Daylily (Hemerocallis) is a perennial with high ornamental value. It is difficult to obtain innovative daylily germplasm by conventional crossbreeding. To enrich the genetic variation of Hemerocallis, daylily was used as male parent to cross with lycoris (Lycoris). Artificial pollination and embryo rescue were performed to overcome reproductive iso...

Transcription factors encoded by the three-amino-acid-loop-extension (TALE) gene family play a key role in regulating plant growth and development, and are involved in plant hormone regulatory pathways and responses to various environmental stresses. Researchers are currently studying TALE genes in different species, but Prunus mumeTALE genes have...

The main objective of the present study was to identify chromosome number variation in the progenies from triploid × diploid (3x × 2x) crosses in daylilies to analyze the survival of aneuploid embryos and the trait variation of progeny (e.g., plant height, flower diameter, and flower opening and closing time), and fully tap into the potential of tr...

The Gibberellic Acid Stimulated Arabidopsis/Gibberellin Stimulated Transcript (GASA/GAST) gene family is a group of plant-specific genes encoding cysteine-rich peptides essential to plant growth, development, and stress responses. Although GASA family genes have been identified in various plant species, their functional roles in Prunus mume are sti...

Leaf color is one of the most important features for plants used for landscape and ornamental purposes. However, the regulatory mechanism of yellow leaf coloration still remains elusive in many plant species. To understand the complex genetic mechanism of yellow-leaf Forsythia, we first compared the pigment content and leaf anatomical structure of...

The circadian clock allows plants to synchronize their flower opening and closing rhythms with daily environmental changes to enhance fertility and adaptability. Flowers of Iris dichotoma, I. domestica and their hybrids are ephemeral and present robust opening and closing rhythms. To reveal the key genes regulating flower opening and closing, trans...

Chinese narcissus (Narcissus tazetta var. chinensis) was introduced to China 1300–1400 years ago, and has grown naturally in southeastern China. It is a popular Chinese traditional potted flower and a well-known flowering bulb cultivated worldwide with only two white-tepal triploid cultivars, ‘Jinzhan Yintai’ and ‘Yulinglong’. Recently, a mutant wi...

Background: Primula forbesii is a biennial herb of the genus Primula, with short growth cycle and long flowering period. It is an excellent material for investigating the phenomenon of heterostyly. However there is no stable genetic transformation system so far. In order to provide tool for molecular research of P. forbesii, we provide a simple, co...

Prunus mume is a traditional Chinese ornamental and fruit tree crop with a long history of cultivation and wide use in gardens. With the rapid development of biotechnology, the researchers have successively completed the whole genome sequencing and resequencing of P. mume. They have analyzed the formation mechanism of flower aroma, flower color, fl...

MicroRNAs is one class of small non-coding RNAs that play important roles in plant growth and development. Though miRNAs and their target genes have been widely studied in many plant species, their functional roles in floral bud break and dormancy release in woody perennials is still unclear. In this study, we applied transcriptome and small RNA se...

Most rose cultivars are susceptible to black spot disease caused by Marssonina rosae. To elucidate the effect of leaf structure, callose deposition and H2O2 metabolism on black spot disease resistance, we measured the wax content and cuticle thicknesses of leaves, the callose, H2O2 accumulation, and the SOD, POD, APX and CAT activity and their rela...

Simple Summary The olfactory system is key for insects to receive external chemical signals, and various chemosensory genes are involved in this process. Thus, research focused on the olfactory mechanisms of insects can provide theoretical guidance for the development of effective green pest-control measures. In this study, an antennal transcriptom...

The chrysanthemum aphid Macrosiphoniella sanborni is one of the most severe crop pests for the cultivated chrysanthemum. It is urgent to find efficient and eco‑friendly control strategies to promote the chrysanthemum industry's sustainable development. In this study, an aromatic wild species Chrysanthemum aromaticum were introduced to hybrid with C...

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play important roles in plant growth, development, and stress response. However, the pattern of how they are expressed in response to cold stress in the ornamental woody plant Prunus mume is poorly understood. Here, we identify 121 RoHDACs from eight Rosaceae plants of which 13 PmHDACs genes are from P. mume. A phylogen...

Rose hips are rich in various nutrients and have long been used for food and medicinal purposes. Owing to the high phenolic content, rose hips can be used as natural antioxidants. In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was used to conduct a widely targeted metabolomics analysis on the polyphenol...

Prunus mume var. purpurea, commonly known as “Red Bone”, is a special variety with pink or purple-red xylem. It is famous due to gorgeous petals and delightful aromas, playing important roles in urban landscaping. The regulation mechanism of color formation in P. mume var. purpurea stem development is unclear. Here, we conducted a comprehensive ana...

The Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporter (SWEET) gene family encodes a family of sugar transporters that play essential roles in plant growth, reproduction, and biotic and abiotic stresses. Prunus mume is a considerable ornamental wood plant with high edible and medicinal values; however, its lack of tolerance to low temperature has sever...

With the rapid development of sequencing technologies, followed by the reduction of sequencing cost, numerous ornamental plants have been sequenced, resulting in their genomic studies shifting from gene cloning and marker development to whole genome profiling. A profound understanding of genome structure and function at the whole genome level can n...

The reblooming bearded iris (Iris germanica L.) could bloom in not only spring, but also autumn. The additional blooming seasons bring the phenotypic differences between the once-bloomers and the rebloomers. However, the lack of studies on the rebloomers’ phenotypic variations largely hinders the process of breeding. In this study, ten F1 populatio...

Floral scent is an important economic and ornamental trait of Prunus mume. The floral volatiles from most cultivars of P. mume in composition exist significant differences. Cinnamyl alcohol was one of the main floral volatile compounds with distinct abundances in different cultivars, namely, ‘Zaohua Lve,’ ‘Zao Yudie,’ ‘Fenpi Gongfen,’ ‘Jiangsha Gon...

The circadian clock can entrain to forced light-dark cycles by adjusting the phases and periods of flower opening and closing in ephemeral flowers. The responses of circadian rhythms to the same light conditions differ from species. However, the differences in internal genetic mechanisms underlying the different responses between species remain unc...

Floral traits are both evolutionarily and economically relevant for ornamental plants. However, their underlying genetic architecture, especially in woody ornamental plants, is still poorly understood. We perform mapping experiments aimed at identifying specific quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that control the size, shape, architecture, color, and t...

Mei (Prunus mume) is a traditional fruit and ornamental woody plant. P. mume cultivars with dwarf and dense intersecting branched tree architecture are essential for enhancing the ornamental value and application diversity, such as bonsai, flower arrangement and potted plants. However, little is known about the mechanism of branching in P. mume. Th...

To breed excellent cultivars with prosperous fragrant flowers, long flowering period, and high resistance to hardiness, three Primula forbesii (Sect. Monocarpicae) cultivars (2n=2x=18) and P. saxatilis (Sect. Cortusoides) (2n=2x=24) were used as parents for hybridization. Fourteen progenies were obtained from three cross combinations of P. forbesii...