Sweet potato is a multifunctional root crop and a source of food with many essential nutrients and bioactive compounds. Variations in the flesh color of the diverse sweet potato varieties are attributed to the different phytochemicals and natural pigments they produce. Among them, carotenoids and anthocyanins are the main pigments known for their antioxidant properties which provide a host of health benefits, hence, regarded as a major component of the human diet. In this review, we provide an overview of the major pigments in sweet potato with much emphasis on their biosynthesis, functions, and regulatory control. Moreover, current findings on the molecular mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis and accumulation of carotenoids and anthocyanins in sweet potato are discussed. Insights into the composition, biosynthesis, and regulatory control of these major pigments will further advance the biofortification of sweet potato and provide a reference for breeding carotenoid-and anthocyanin-rich varieties.

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] is a predominant edible plant and a major supply of plant protein worldwide. Global demand for soybean keeps increasing as its seeds provide essential proteins, oil, and nutraceuticals. In a quest to meet heightened demands for soybean, it has become essential to introduce agro-technical methods that promote adaptability to complex environments, improve soybean resistance to abiotic stress , and increase productivity. Plant growth regulators are mainly exploited to achieve this due to their crucial roles in plant growth and development. Increasing research suggests the influence of plant growth regulators on soybean growth and development, yield, quality, and abiotic stress responses. In an attempt to expatiate on the topic, current knowledge, and possible applications of plant growth regulators that improve growth and yield have been reviewed and discussed. Notably, the application of plant growth regulators in their appropriate concentrations at suitable growth periods relieves abiotic stress thereby increasing the yield and yield components of soybean. Moreover, the regulation effects of different growth regulators on the morphology, physiology, and yield quality of soybean are discoursed in detail.

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The genetic complexity and the lack of genomic resources in sweet potato make genetic improvement extremely challenging. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) offer an effective molecular marker technology for molecular-based breeding and for locating important loci in crop plants, but only a few have previously been developed in sweet potato. To explore new SSR markers and accelerate its use in sweet potato, we developed a set of 2,431 primer pairs from 133,727 SSRs identified in the sweet potato genome using the Perl script MISA software. The average frequency was one SSR per 6.26 kb with dinucleotides (38.5%) being the most dominant repeat motif. The main motif types in all repeats were AT/AT, AAT/ATT, A/T, AAAT/ATTT, AAAAT/ATTTT and AAAAAT/ATTTTT accounting for 78.29% of the total SSRs. Out of the 100 randomly selected primer pairs, 50% produced clear bands and amplified 251 alleles. On average, the number of alleles was 5.02 per locus for values ranging from 1 to 13 alleles. The UPGMA cluster analysis grouped the 24 sweet potato materials into four clusters at a similarity coefficient of 0.68 showing no relationship between the genotypes and the geographic sources of germplasm. The SSR markers currently developed will provide valuable genetic resources for germplasm identification, and accelerate studies on genetic diversity in sweet potato and related species.

Background: Sweetpotato is a multifunctional root crop with many essential nutrients and bioactive compounds. Due to its genetic complexity and lack of genomic resources, efficient genetic studies, and cultivar development lags far behind other major crops. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) offer an effective molecular marker technology for molecular-based breeding and for locating important loci in crop plants, but only a few have previously been developed in sweetpotato. Results: To further explore new SSR markers and accelerate its use in sweetpotato genetic studies, genome-wide characterization and development of SSR markers were performed using the recently published genome of sweetpotato cultivar, Taizhong6. In this study, a set of 2,431 primer pairs were developed from 133,727 SSRs identified in the sweetpotato genome using the Perl script MISA software. The average frequency was one SSR per 6.26 kb with dinucleotides (38.5%) being the most dominant repeat motif. The main motif types in all repeats were AT/AT, AAT/ATT, A/T, AAAT/ATTT, AAAAT/ATTTT and AAAAAT/ATTTTT accounting for 78.29% of the total SSRs. 50% of the 100 randomly selected primer pairs amplified 251 alleles and the average number of alleles was 5.02 alleles per locus with a range of 1 to 13 alleles. The UPGMA cluster analysis grouped the 24 sweetpotato materials into four clusters at a similarity coefficient of 0.68. Conclusion: The SSR markers currently developed will provide valuable genetic resources for germplasm identification, genetic diversity analysis, and functional genomics studies in sweetpotato and related species.