Miscanthus, a member of the Saccharinae subtribe that includes sorghum and sugarcane, has been widely studied as a feedstock for cellulosic biofuel production. Here, we report the sequencing and assembly of the Miscanthus floridulus genome by the integration of PacBio sequencing and Hi-C mapping, resulting in a chromosome-scale, high-quality reference genome of the genus Miscanthus. Comparisons among Saccharinae genomes suggest that Sorghum split first from the common ancestor of Saccharum and Miscanthus, which subsequently diverged from each other, with two successive whole-genome duplication events occurring independently in the Saccharum genus and one whole-genome duplication occurring in the Miscanthus genus. Fusion of two chromosomes occurred during rediploidization in M. floridulus and no significant subgenome dominance was observed. A survey of cellulose synthases (CesA) in M. floridulus revealed quite high expression of most CesA genes in growing stems, which is in agreement with the high cellulose content of this species. Resequencing and comparisons of 75 Miscanthus accessions suggest that M. lutarioriparius is genetically close to M. sacchariflorus and that M. floridulus is more distantly related to other species and is more genetically diverse. This study provides a valuable genomic resource for molecular breeding and improvement of Miscanthus and Saccharinae crops.
Six new phragmalin limonoids, named moluccensin Z1 (1), moluccensin Z2 (2), carapanolide Y (3), tabulalin N (4), chukvelutilide A1 (5), and velutinasin J (6), as well as two known compounds, chukvelutilide A (7) and velutinasin D (8) were isolated from the stems of Chukrasia tabularis A. Juss. The structures of the new compounds 1–6 were confirmed by spectroscopic methods, including IR and HRESIMS, as well as 1D and 2D NMR, and by comparisons with the data of known analogues. All compounds were tested for α-glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities. However, none of the compounds was active against α-glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase in vitro.
Lignocellulose content is an important factor affecting the conversion efficiency of biomass energy plants. In this study, 179 Miscanthus accessions in China were used to determine the content of lignocellulose components in stems via acid hydrolysis and high-performance liquid chromatography. Results showed that the average lignocellulose content of wild Miscanthus germplasm resources was 80.27
Salvia miltiorrhiza is a significant source of bioactive compounds providing human health effects. Here, we surveyed root yield and the active constituents' divergences of second generation S. miltiorrhiza (SP2) responding to a spaceflight environment. High-performance liquid chromatography was conducted for the comprehensive constituents' characterizations of 28 SP2 lines (224 individuals) and the ground control (eight individuals). The results showed that the mean fresh and dry weight of roots ranged from 116 to 172 g and 25 to 119 g, respectively, in SP2 lines. In addition, the mean contents of four tanshinone compounds (tanshinone I, tanshinone IIA, cryptotanshinone, and dihydrotanshinone I) of 28 SP2 lines varied from 0.32 to 1.04 mg · g(-1), 0.47 to 2.39 mg · g(-1), 0.25 to 1.60 mg · g(-1), and 0.53 to 1.67 mg · g(-1), respectively. Except for salvianolic acid B, which varied drastically from 72 % to 201 % of the ground control treatment, the other six phenolic acid contents of the 28 SP2 lines all increased after spaceflight. Principal component analysis was performed to obtain an overview of the distribution of all samples, and score plots clearly separated the SP2 accessions from ground controls. Moreover, a positive relationship was observed between tanshinone I and tanshinone IIA (r = 0.790, p < 0.01), and rosmarinic acid was positively correlated with salvianolic acid B (r = 0.728, p < 0.01). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that a spaceflight environment induced SP2 accessions remarkably in the variation of root yield and active constituent content.
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