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Ethylene (ET) is an important phytohormone that regulates plant growth, development and stress responses. The ethylene-insensitive3/ethylene-insensitive3-like (EIN3/EIL) transcription factor family, as a key regulator of the ET signal transduction pathway, plays an important role in regulating the expression of ET-responsive genes. Although studies of EIN3/EIL family members have been completed in many species, their role in doubled haploid (DH) poplar derived from another culture of diploid Populus simonii × P. nigra (donor tree, DT) remains ambiguous. In this study, a total of seven EIN3/EIL gene family members in the DH poplar genome were identified. Basic physical and chemical property analyses of these genes were performed, and these proteins were predicted to be localized to the nucleus. According to the phylogenetic relationship, EIN3/EIL genes were divided into two groups, and the genes in the same group had a similar gene structure and conserved motifs. The expression patterns of EIN3/EIL genes in the apical buds of different DH poplar plants were analyzed based on transcriptome data. At the same time, the expression patterns of PsnEIL1, PsnEIN3, PsnEIL4 and PsnEIL5 genes in different tissues of different DH plants were detected via RT-qPCR, including the apical buds, young leaves, functional leaves, xylem, cambium and roots. The findings presented above indicate notable variations in the expression levels of PsnEIL genes across various tissues of distinct DH plants. Finally, the PsnEIL1 gene was overexpressed in DT, and the transgenic plants showed a dwarf phenotype, indicating that the PsnEIL1 gene was involved in regulating the growth and development of poplar. In this study, the EIN3/EIL gene family of DH poplar was analyzed and functionally characterized, which provides a theoretical basis for the future exploration of the EIN3/EIL gene function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aralia elata (Miq.) Seem is a medicinal plant that shares a common pathway for the biosynthesis of triterpenoid saponins with Panax ginseng. Here, we transferred the dammarenediol-II synthase gene from P. ginseng (PgDDS; GenBank: AB122080.1) to A. elata. The growth of 2-year-old transgenic plants (L27; 9.63 cm) was significantly decreased compared with wild-type plants (WT; 74.97 cm), and the leaflet shapes and sizes of the transgenic plants differed from those of the WT plants. Based on a terpene metabolome analysis of leaf extracts from WT, L13, and L27 plants, a new structural skeleton for ursane-type triterpenoid saponins was identified. Six upregulated differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were detected, and the average levels of Rg3 and Re in the leaves of the L27 plants were 42.64 and 386.81 μg/g, respectively, increased significantly compared with the WT plants (15.48 and 316.96 μg/g, respectively). Thus, the expression of PgDDS in A. elata improved its medicinal value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eleutherococcus senticosus is a medicinal plant with prominent potential for pharmaceutical preparation that is naturally distributed in Northeast China. Its dried roots, stems, and fruits can be used as herbal medicine with anti-aging, anti-fatigue, anti-inflammatory, and other health benefits. With the continuous increasing of E. senticosus planting areas, some problems, such as a reduction in growth rate, fruit yield, and medicinal substances content, have become serious restricting factors for the long-term stable development of the E. senticosus industry. Therefore, the screening and selection of superior provenances, families or clones with high growth rates and high contents of medicinal substances, is urgent. In this study, 13 provenances of E. senticosus were analyzed and evaluated for growth, leaf, photosynthetic, and medicinal traits. The results showed that the majority of traits exhibited highly significant differences (p < 0.01) among provenances. The phenotypic coefficient of the variation of each trait ranged from 4.8% for leaf water content to 70.9% for total flavonoid content. The narrow-sense heritability of each trait ranged from 0.20 ± 0.23 for WUE to 0.39 ± 0.14 for DB. The variance component of all traits reached a high level, with a range of 62.9% (DB) to 99.6% (SC). The correlation analysis showed significant positive correlations between tree height, total flavonoid content, and syringin content. A multi-trait comprehensive evaluation approach enabled the selection of two provenances with 10% acceptance rate (XQ and QY). The subsequent genetic gains for tree height, total flavonoid content, and syringin content were 1.7%, 9.2%, and 20.1%, respectively. In conclusion, the present study provides a fundamental basis for the cultivation and promotion of the superior materials of E. senticosus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]