Puccinia tuberosa, a new species of rust fungus on Allium tuberosum in Asia

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Determination of reliable reference genes for gene expression studies in Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) based on the transcriptome profiling

Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) is widely cultivated around the world for its unique flavor, nutrient, and medicinal values, yet its molecular mechanism on flavor formation and other metabolic pathways remains intangible. The elucidation of these complex processes begins with investigating the expression of the genes of interest, however the appropriate reference genes (RGs) for normalizing the gene expression are still unavailable in A. tuberosum. To fill this lacuna, transcriptome-wide screening was undertaken to identify the most stable genes according to the analysis of their FPKM values. The expression stability of the RGs was further evaluated using geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and RefFinder algorithms. The comprehensive analysis showed that GLY1 and SKP1, instead of two traditionally used RGs (eIF1α and ACT2), were the most stable genes across diverse A. tuberosum tissues, indicating the necessity to carefully validate the stability of RGs prior to their use for normalizations. As indicated by geNorm, the normalizations with at least two RGs could give more accurate results. qRT-PCR experiments were conducted with randomly selected genes, demonstrating that normalization with a combination of GLY1 and SKP1 resulted in reliable normalization results. Our finding represents the first attempt toward establishing a standardized qRT-PCR analysis in this economically important vegetable.

Phytochemicals in Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) Induce the Skeletal Muscle Cell Proliferation via PI3K/Akt/mTOR and Smad Pathways in C2C12 Cells

Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) is a medicinal food that is cultivated and consumed mainly in Asian countries. Its various phytochemicals and physiological effects have been reported, but only a few phytochemicals are available for skeletal muscle cell proliferation. Herein, we isolated a new compound, kaempferol-3-O-(6″-feruloyl)-sophoroside (1), along with one known flavonoid glycoside (2) and six amino acid (3–8) compounds from the water-soluble fraction of the shoot of the Chinese chive. The isolated compounds were identified using extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR, and evaluated for their proliferation activity on skeletal muscle cells. Among the tested compounds, newly isolated flavonoid (1) and 5-aminouridine (7) up-regulated PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathways, which implies a positive effect on skeletal muscle growth and differentiation. In particular, compound 1 down-regulated the Smad pathways, which are negative regulators of skeletal muscle growth. Collectively, we suggest that major constituents of Chinese chive, flavonoids and amino acids, might be used in dietary supplements that aid skeletal muscle growth.

Effect of dietary supplementation of a phytogenic blend containing Schisandra chinensis, Pinus densiflora, and Allium tuberosum on productivity, egg quality, and health parameters in laying hens

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the supplementary effect of a phytogenic blend (SPA: a mixture containing fermented <i>Schisandra chinensis</i> pomace, fermented <i>Pinus densiflora</i> needle extract, and <i>Allium tuberosum</i> powder in the ratio of 2:2:1) on egg production, egg quality, blood constituents, and visceral organs in laying hens.Methods: A total of 135 Hy-line brown laying hens (48-wk-old) were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments with 5 replicates of 9 hens. The control group (CON) was fed a basal diet (no exogenous SPA addition) and the experimental groups were fed the basal diet containing SPA at the level of 0.1% and 0.3% for 6 weeks.Results: The feed intake was significantly improved in SPA supplemented groups as compared with the control (p<0.05). However, egg production, daily egg mass, and feed conversion ratio were not different among the dietary treatments (p>0.05). For egg quality traits, only Haugh unit (HU) was significantly improved in SPA (0.3%) (p<0.05) as compared with other groups. However, HU was not affected during 4-wk of storage at 18°C among the dietary treatments (p>0.05). Furthermore, SPA supplementation did not affect the blood biochemical constituents except for the phosphate content, which was significantly higher in SPA groups than the CON group (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in visceral organ characteristics and immune indicators (immunoglobulin A [IgA], IgG, and IgM) in SPA or CON groups.Conclusion: This study suggested that the supplementation of SPA may have beneficial effects on feed intake and egg quality in laying hens.