Psychoactive Plant Database - Neuroactive Phytochemical Collection

1. Front Plant Sci. 2024 Oct 8;15:1452072. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1452072. 
eCollection 2024.

Phytohormonal dynamics in the abscission zone of Korla fragrant pear during 
calyx abscission: a visual study.

Zheng L(1), Wen Y(1), Lin Y(1), Tian J(1), Shaobai J(1), Hao Z(1), Wang C(2), 
Sun T(1), Wang L(1), Chen C(1).

Author information:
(1)College of Horticulture, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 
China.
(2)Korla Fragrant Pear Research Centre, Korla, Xinjiang, China.

INTRODUCTION: Phytohormones play a crucial role in regulating the abscission of 
plant organs and tissues.
METHODS: In this study, the ultrastructure of the sepals of Korla fragrant pears 
was observed using a transmission electron microscope, and high-performance 
liquid and gas chromatography were used to analyze the dynamic changes of 
phytohormones in the abscission zone during the calyx abscission process of 
Korla fragrant pears, and mass spectrometry imaging was applied to ascertain the 
spatial distribution of phytohormones.
RESULTS: The results revealed that the mitochondria in the abscission zone of 
the decalyx fruits were regularly distributed around the cell wall, and the 
chloroplasts were moderately present. In contrast, in the persistent calyx 
fruit, the corresponding parts of the abscission zone showed a scattered 
distribution of mitochondria within the cells, and there was a higher number of 
chloroplasts, which also contained starch granules inside. Mass spectrometry 
imaging revealed that ABA was enriched in the abscission zone of the decalyx 
fruit, and their ionic signal intensities were significantly stronger than those 
of the persistent calyx fruit. However, the ionic signal intensities of 
Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and Gibberellin A3 (GA3) of the persistent calyx 
fruit were significantly stronger than those in the abscission zone of the 
decalyx fruit and were concentrated in the persistent calyx fruit. 
1-Aminocyclopropanecarboxylic Acid (ACC) did not show distinct regional 
distribution in both the decalyx and persistent calyx fruits. Furthermore, 
before the formation of the abscission zone, the levels of IAA, GA3, and zeatin 
(ZT) in the abscission zone of the decalyx fruits were significantly lower than 
those in the persistent calyx fruits by 37.9%, 57.7%, and 33.0%, respectively, 
while the levels of abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene (ETH) were significantly 
higher by 21.9% and 25.0%, respectively. During the formation of the abscission 
zone, the levels of IAA, GA3, and ZT in the abscission zone of the decalyx 
fruits were significantly lower than those in the persistent calyx fruits by 
41.7%, 71.7%, and 24.6%, respectively, while the levels of ABA and ETH were 
significantly higher by 15.2% and 80.0%, respectively. After the formation of 
the abscission zone, the levels of IAA and GA3 in the abscission zone of the 
decalyx fruits were lower than those in the persistent calyx fruits by 20.8% and 
47.8%, respectively, while the levels of ABA and ETH were higher by 271.8% and 
26.9%, respectively. In summary, during the calyx abscission process of Korla 
fragrant pears, IAA and GA3 in the abscission zone inhibited abscission, while 
ABA and ETH promoted calyx abscission. These research findings enrich the 
understanding of the regulatory mechanism of plant hormones on calyx abscission 
and provide a theoretical basis for the study of exogenous plant growth 
regulators for regulating calyx abscission in Korla fragrant pear.

Copyright © 2024 Zheng, Wen, Lin, Tian, Shaobai, Hao, Wang, Sun, Wang and Chen.

DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1452072
PMCID: PMC11493647
PMID: 39439514

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that the research was 
conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could 
be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


2. J Plant Physiol. 2024 Sep 19;303:154359. doi: 10.1016/j.jplph.2024.154359. 
Online ahead of print.

Comparative analysis of element and hormone content in zygotic embryos of Pinus 
elliottii and P. elliottii × P. caribaea.

Liu Y(1), Xue L(1), Wang Z(1), Che X(1), Deng L(2), Xie W(2), Guo W(3).

Author information:
(1)Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, China; Guangdong Provincial 
Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangzhou, 510520, 
China.
(2)Taishan Hongling Seed Orchard, Taishan, Guangdong, 529200, China.
(3)Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, China; Guangdong Provincial 
Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangzhou, 510520, 
China. Electronic address: wbguo@sinogaf.cn.

Somatic embryogenesis is a crucial method for achieving clonal forestry in 
conifers. Understanding the development of zygotic embryos is essential not only 
for enhancing the efficiency and quality of somatic embryogenesis, but also for 
advancing forestry breeding programs. This study investigated dynamic changes of 
element and hormone contents during ZE development of Pinus elliottii and its 
hybrid P. elliottii × P. caribaea. Significant differences in embryo development 
speed among different clones were observed. Elemental analysis was conducted 
using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and identified 68 
elements, including major, minor, and beneficial elements. In both species, the 
contents of potassium (K), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), boron (B) and five 
beneficial elements decreased during early ZE development, while phosphorus (P) 
and copper (Cu) increased. Significantly higher levels of K, Ca and Fe at the 
initial stage, and sulfur (S) and nickel (Ni) decreased at later stages were 
detected in P. elliottii than in the hybrid. For the other elements, except for 
very few significant differences at certain stages, most differences between the 
two species did not reach a significant level. The contents of endogenous 
hormones were determined and different accumulation patterns were detected in 
most hormones between the two species, except abscisic acid (ABA) which 
simultaneously decreased with developments by stage 8. Significant differences 
were found in indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) contents at most stages between 
species, while higher levels of total cytokinin (CK) at each stage were detected 
in the hybrid in comparison with those in P. elliottii. As a result, lower IAA 
to CK ratios in the hybrid than in P. elliottii. Methyl jasmonate (JA-me) and 
gibberellin A3 (GA3) contents showed a similar pattern and exhibited an M-shaped 
fluctuation in the hybrid. Furthermore, JA-me, GA3, gibberellin A4 (GA4) and 
brassinolide (BR) showed significantly higher levels in the hybrid than in P. 
elliottii. K-means clustering and correlation analyses were used to explore 
relationships between elements and hormones during embryo development, revealing 
complex interplay in both species. These data indicate different requirement in 
element and hormone contents for embryogenesis and suggest species-specific 
media composition for each step in somatic embryogenesis. The findings provide 
insights into their developmental processes and informing future research and 
applications in somatic embryogenesis and forestry breeding.

Copyright © 2024 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2024.154359
PMID: 39332320

Conflict of interest statement: Declaration of competing interest The authors 
declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal 
relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this 
paper.


3. Plants (Basel). 2024 Aug 30;13(17):2430. doi: 10.3390/plants13172430.

Physiological and Proteomic Analysis of Various Priming on Rice Seed under 
Chilling Stress.

Zhang H(1)(2)(3), Hui G(1), Gao G(1), Ali I(2), Tang M(1), Chen L(1), Zhong 
X(1), Jiang L(2), Liang T(1), Zhang X(1).

Author information:
(1)Guangxi Key Laboratory of Rice Genetics and Breeding, Rice Research 
Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning 530007, China.
(2)Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Physiology, Education Department of 
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
(3)College of Agronomy, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation using direct seeding is susceptible to 
chilling stress, particularly during seed germination and early seedling growth 
in the early season of a double cropping system. Alternatively, seed priming 
with various plant growth-promoting hormones is an effective technique to 
promote rapid and uniform emergence under chilling stress. Therefore, we 
evaluated the impact of gibberellin A3 (GA3) and brassinolide (BR) priming on 
rice seed emergence, examining their proteomic responses under low-temperature 
conditions. Results indicated that GA3 and BR increased the seed germination 
rate by 22.67% and 7.33% at 72 h and 35% and 15% at 96 h compared to the control 
(CK), respectively. Furthermore, proteomic analysis identified 2551, 2614, and 
2592 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in GA, BR, and CK, respectively. 
Among them, GA exhibited 84 upregulated and 260 downregulated DEPs, while BR 
showed 112 upregulated and 102 downregulated DEPs, and CK had 123 upregulated 
and 81 downregulated DEPs. Notably, under chilling stress, both GA3 and BR are 
involved in peroxide metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and inositol 
phosphate metabolism, enhancing antioxidant capacity and providing energy 
substances for germination. In addition, GA3 triggers the specific regulation of 
stress responsive protein activation, GTP activation, and ascorbic acid 
biosynthesis and promotes the stability and integrity of cell membranes, as well 
as the synthesis of cell walls, providing physical defense for seeds to resist 
low temperatures. At the same time, BR triggers specific involvement in ribosome 
synthesis and amino acid synthesis, promoting biosynthetic ability and metabolic 
regulation to maintain plant life activities under low-temperature stress. 
Furthermore, the various genes' expression (OsJ_16716, OsPAL1, RINO1) confirmed 
GA3 and BR involved in peroxide metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and 
inositol phosphate metabolism, enhancing antioxidant capacity and providing 
energy substances for germination. This study provides valuable insights into 
how rice seed embryo responds to and tolerates chilling stress with GA3 seed 
priming.

DOI: 10.3390/plants13172430
PMCID: PMC11396840
PMID: 39273913

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts 
of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the 
collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the 
manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.


4. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Aug 23;25(17):9161. doi: 10.3390/ijms25179161.

Genome-Wide Association Studies Reveal That the Abietane Diterpene Isopimaric 
Acid Promotes Rice Growth through Inhibition of Defense Pathways.

Luo X(1), Bai L(1), Huang J(1), Peng L(1), Hua J(1), Luo S(1).

Author information:
(1)College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, 
Shenyang 110866, China.

Plants are an important source for the discovery of novel natural growth 
regulators. We used activity screening to demonstrate that treatment of 
Nipponbare seeds with 25 μg/mL isopimaric acid significantly increased the 
resulting shoot length, root length, and shoot weight of rice seedlings by 11.37 
± 5.05%, 12.96 ± 7.63%, and 27.98 ± 10.88% and that it has a higher activity 
than Gibberellin A3 (GA3) at the same concentration. A total of 213 inbred lines 
of different rice lineages were screened, and we found that isopimaric acid had 
different growth promotional activities on rice seedlings of different 
varieties. After induction with 25 μg/mL isopimaric acid, 15.02% of the rice 
varieties tested showed increased growth, while 15.96% of the varieties showed 
decreased growth; the growth of the remaining 69.02% did not show any 
significant change from the control. In the rice varieties showing an increase 
in growth, the shoot length and shoot weight significantly increased, accounting 
for 21.88% and 31.25%. The root length and weight significantly increased, 
accounting for 6.25% and 3.13%. Using genome-wide association studies (GWASs), 
linkage disequilibrium block, and gene haplotype significance analysis, we 
identified single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) signals that were significantly 
associated with the length and weight of shoots on chromosomes 2 and 8, 
respectively. After that, we obtained 17 candidate genes related to the length 
of shoots and 4 candidate genes related to the weight of shoots. Finally, from 
the gene annotation data and gene tissue-specific expression; two genes related 
to this isopimaric acid regulation phenotype were identified as OsASC1 
(LOC_Os02g37080) on chromosome 2 and OsBUD13 (LOC_Os08g08080) on chromosome 8. 
Subcellular localization analysis indicated that OsASC1 was expressed in the 
plasma membrane and the nuclear membrane, while OsBUD13 was expressed in the 
nucleus. Further RT-qPCR analysis showed that the relative expression levels of 
the resistance gene OsASC1 and the antibody protein gene OsBUD13 decreased 
significantly following treatment with 25 μg/mL isopimaric acid. These results 
suggest that isopimaric acid may inhibit defense pathways in order to promote 
the growth of rice seedlings.

DOI: 10.3390/ijms25179161
PMCID: PMC11395554
PMID: 39273109 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.


5. Plants (Basel). 2024 Aug 17;13(16):2289. doi: 10.3390/plants13162289.

Paclobutrazol Enhanced Stem Lodging Resistance of Direct-Seeded Rice by 
Affecting Basal Internode Development.

Liu W(1), Cui J(1), Ran C(1)(2), Zhang Y(1), Liang J(1), Shao X(1)(3), Zhang 
Q(1), Geng Y(1)(3), Guo L(1)(3).

Author information:
(1)Agronomy College, Jilin Provincial Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Resources 
Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China.
(2)Heyuan Branch, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Heyuan 
517000, China.
(3)National Crop Variety Approval and Characterization Station, Jilin 
Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China.

The objectives of this study were to explore the mechanism of stem mechanical 
strength in direct-seeded rice (DSR) as affected by paclobutrazol, especially 
its related endogenous hormone and cell wall component changes in culm tissue 
and response to the application of paclobutrazol. Field experiments were 
conducted in Changchun County, Jilin Province, China, by using two japonica rice 
varieties, Jiyujing and Jijing305, with soaking seeds in paclobutrazol at 
concentrations of (0 mg L-1, S0; 50 mg L-1; S1; 100 mg L-1; S2; 150 mg L-1, S3; 
200 mg L-1, S4) in 2021 and 2022. The results suggest that the application of 
paclobutrazol increased the grain yield and reduced the lodging rate of DSR. 
Compared with the S0 treatments, soaking the seeds in paclobutrazol treatments 
rapidly shortened the length of the basal internode by decreasing the endogenous 
indole acetic acid (IAA) and gibberellin A3 (GA3) contents in culm tissue. The 
larger breaking strength (M) was attributed to a higher section modulus (SM) and 
bending stress (BS). The higher mechanical tissue thickness in culm tissue under 
paclobutrazol treatments, which was raised by higher endogenous zeatin and 
zeatin riboside (Z+ZR) content in culm tissue, increased the culm diameter, culm 
wall thickness, and section modulus (SM) of the internode. Compared with the S0 
treatments, soaking the seeds in paclobutrazol treatments increased the 
cellulose content, lignin content, activities of lignin-related enzymes, and 
expression of key genes in lignin biosynthesis, as well as resulted in a higher 
bending stress (BS) to enhance the culm breaking strength (M).

DOI: 10.3390/plants13162289
PMCID: PMC11359414
PMID: 39204725

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no known 
competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared 
to influence the work reported in this paper.