SummaryIn this study, we characterized the role of an apple cytosolic malate dehydrogenase gene (MdcyMDH) in the tolerance to salt and cold stresses and investigated its regulation mechanism in stress tolerance. The MdcyMDH transcript was induced by mild cold and salt treatments, and MdcyMDH‐overexpressing apple plants possessed improved cold and salt tolerance compared to wild‐type (WT) plants. A digital gene expression tag profiling analysis revealed that MdcyMDH overexpression largely altered some biological processes, including hormone signal transduction, photosynthesis, citrate cycle and oxidation–reduction. Further experiments verified that MdcyMDH overexpression modified the mitochondrial and chloroplast metabolisms and elevated the level of reducing power, primarily caused by increased ascorbate and glutathione, as well as the increased ratios of ascorbate/dehydroascorbate and glutathione/glutathione disulphide, under normal and especially stress conditions. Concurrently, the transgenic plants produced a high H2O2 content, but a low O2·− production rate was observed compared to the WT plants. On the other hand, the transgenic plants accumulated more free and total salicylic acid (SA) than the WT plants under normal and stress conditions. Taken together, MdcyMDH conferred the transgenic apple plants a higher stress tolerance by producing more reductive redox states and increasing the SA level; MdcyMDH could serve as a target gene to genetically engineer salt‐ and cold‐tolerant trees.

The signal molecules melatonin and ethylene play key roles in abiotic stress tolerance. The interplay between melatonin and ethylene in regulating salt tolerance and the underlying molecular mechanism of this interplay remain unclear. Here, we found that both melatonin and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC, a precursor of ethylene) enhanced the tolerance of grapevine to NaCl; additionally, ethylene participated in melatonin-induced salt tolerance. Further experiments indicated that exogenous treatment and endogenous induction of melatonin increased the ACC content and ethylene production in grapevine and tobacco plants, respectively. The expression of MYB108A and ACS1, which function as a transcription factor and a key gene involved in ethylene production, respectively, was strongly induced by melatonin treatment. Additionally, MYB108A directly bound to the promoter of ACS1 and activated its transcription. MYB108A expression promoted ACC synthesis and ethylene production by activating ACS1 expression in response to melatonin treatment. The suppression of MYB108A expression partially limited the effect of melatonin on the induction of ethylene production and reduced melatonin-induced salt tolerance. Collectively, melatonin promotes ethylene biosynthesis and salt tolerance through the regulation of ACS1 by MYB108A.

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Background Organic acid secretion is a widespread physiological response of plants to alkalinity. However, the characteristics and underlying mechanism of the alkali-induced secretion of organic acids are poorly understood. Results Oxalate was the main organic acid synthesized and secreted in grapevine (a hybrid of Vitis amurensis , V. berlandieri and V. riparia ) roots, while acetate synthesis and malate secretion were also promoted under NaHCO 3 stress. NaHCO 3 stress enhanced the H + efflux rate of grapevine roots, which is related to the plasma membrane H + -ATPase activity. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that carbohydrate metabolism was the most significantly altered biological process under NaHCO 3 stress; a total of seven genes related to organic acid metabolism were significantly altered, including two phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylases and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinases. Additionally, the expression levels of five ATP-binding cassette transporters , particularly ATP-binding cassette B19 , and two Al-activated malate transporter 2 s were substantially upregulated by NaHCO 3 stress. Phosphoproteomic profiling demonstrated that the altered phosphoproteins were primarily related to binding, catalytic activity and transporter activity in the context of their molecular functions. The phosphorylation levels of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase 3, two plasma membrane H + -ATPases 4 and ATP-binding cassette B19 and pleiotropic drug resistance 12 were significantly increased. Additionally, the inhibition of ethylene synthesis and perception completely blocked NaHCO 3 -induced organic acid secretion, while the inhibition of indoleacetic acid synthesis reduced NaHCO 3 -induced organic acid secretion. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that oxalate was the main organic acid produced under alkali stress and revealed the necessity of ethylene in mediating organic acid secretion. Additionally, we further identified several candidate genes and phosphoproteins responsible for organic acid metabolism and secretion. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12870-019-1990-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Berry qualities of the grafted 'Gold Finger' grapevines were determined to evaluate the impacts of the resistant rootstocks on fruit quality. Compared to the own-rooted vines, berry and cluster weights and skin color were altered by the rootstocks to varying extents. The rootstock of 101-14M maintained TSS/TA and the contents of fructose, glucose, and sucrose, and SO4 decreased these parameters. 101-14M and 3309C increased and reduced the resveratrol content, respectively. SO4, 5BB, and 3309C decreased the total free amino acid content, along with the changes in amino acid composition. The amounts of aroma components were widely altered by the rootstocks. Additionally, a digital gene expression tag profiling revealed that the biological processes were largely altered by 3309C and 101-14M, including sugar, amino acid, and aroma metabolisms. In summary, the rootstock of 101-14M generally maintained berry quality, and SO4, 5BB, and 3309C imparted varying influences on different quality parameters.