As the fastest growing plant, duckweed can thrive on anthropogenic wastewater. The purple-backed duckweed, Landoltia punctata, is rich in starch and flavonoids. However, the molecular biological basis of high flavonoid and low lignin content remains largely unknown, as does the best method to combine nutrients removed from sewage and the utilization value improvement of duckweed biomass.

Light is a key environmental factor in regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. Through a large number of bagging screenings, we obtained non-photosensitive eggplants that still have decent amount of anthocyanin synthesized after bagging. In the present study, transcriptome was made to explore the molecular mechanism of dark-regulated anthocyanin synthesis in non-photosensitive eggplant.

The anthocyanins are highly enriched in eggplants (Solanum melongena L.) with purple peel. However, our previous study showed that anthocyanins biosynthesis in eggplant cultivar 'Lanshan Hexian' was completely regulated by light and color becomes evident at most 2 days after exposure to light. In the present investigation, transcriptome study was made to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms of light-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) before color becomes evident.

Predatory syrphid larvae are an important natural enemy of aphids in cotton agro-ecosystems in China. Their behaviors in prey foraging, localization and oviposition greatly rely on the perception of chemical cues. As a first step to better understand syrphid olfaction at the molecular level, we have performed a systematic identification of their major chemosensory genes.

Walking catfish (Clarias batrachus) is a freshwater fish capable of air-breathing and locomotion on land. It usually inhabits various low-oxygen habitats, burrows inside the mudflat, and sometimes "walks" to search for suitable environments during summer. It has evolved accessory air-breathing organs for respiring air and corresponding mechanisms to survive in such challenging environments. Thereby, it serves as a great model for understanding adaptations to terrestrial life.

Tall fescue is a widely used cool season turfgrass and relatively sensitive to high temperature. Chemical compounds like melatonin (MT) and 24-epibrassinolide (EBL) have been reported to improve plant heat stress tolerance effectively.

Mitochondrial genomes of flowering plants (angiosperms) are highly dynamic in genome structure. The mitogenome of the earliest angiosperm Amborella is remarkable in carrying rampant foreign DNAs, in contrast to Liriodendron, the other only known early angiosperm mitogenome that is described as 'fossilized'. The distinctive features observed in the two early flowering plant mitogenomes add to the current confusions of what early flowering plants look like. Expanded sampling would provide more details in understanding the mitogenomic evolution of early angiosperms. Here we report the complete mitochondrial genome of water lily Nymphaea colorata from Nymphaeales, one of the three orders of the earliest angiosperms.

SWEET (MtN3_saliva) domain proteins, a recently identified group of efflux transporters, play an indispensable role in sugar efflux, phloem loading, plant-pathogen interaction and reproductive tissue development. The SWEET gene family is predominantly studied in Arabidopsis and members of the family are being investigated in rice. To date, no transcriptome or genomics analysis of soybean SWEET genes has been reported.

In contrast to the highly labile mitochondrial (mt) genomes of vascular plants, the architecture and composition of mt genomes within the main lineages of bryophytes appear stable and invariant. The available mt genomes of 18 liverwort accessions representing nine genera and five orders are syntenous except for Gymnomitrion concinnatum whose genome is characterized by two rearrangements. Here, we expanded the number of assembled liverwort mt genomes to 47, broadening the sampling to 31 genera and 10 orders spanning much of the phylogenetic breadth of liverworts to further test whether the evolution of the liverwort mitogenome is overall static.