The seed production technology (SPT) system based on genic male sterility (GMS) has been successfully developed in several crop species like rice and maize, providing a novel idea and powerful tool for the heterosis utilization in crops. In present review, the recent researches on genic male sterility in soybean from several aspects, including the achieved male sterile mutants, cytological abnormities in male sterile anther development, male sterile gene mapping and functions were summarized.The present applications of GMS were reviewed and its broad potential in soybean heterosis utilization in the future were prospected.

Under the influence of complex global climate change and industrial globalization, plants with fixed growth characteristics face the threats of diverse abiotic stresses. The successful germination of seeds under various abiotic stresses is of great important for plant reproduction, geographical distribution, crop yield and quality. With the development of plant molecular biology, significant progress has been achieved in the regulatory mechanisms of seed germination under abiotic stresses. In this review, the molecular mechanisms of regulating seed germination under salt stress, extreme temperature stress (high and low temperatures), drought stress, shade stress, osmotic stress and waterlogging stress were summarized in terms of phytohormone, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and energy metabolism pathways. The crosstalk network among these cascades and the potential research hotspots in this field were discussed，so as to elucidate the main modulators/gene functions in response to abiotic stresses during seed germination, and provide references for breeding design in agricultural production and environmental modification.

Tartary buckwheat is a kind of minor cereal crops with rich flavonoids and strong stress-resistance ability. In this study, a NAC transcription factor FtNAC11 was selected and cloned from the transcriptome data of Tartary buckwheat, which is 774 bp long and encodes 275 amino acids. Bioinformatics analysis showed that FtNAC11 belongs to TERN subgroup and has highly conserved domains of 150 amino acids at N-terminal and highly specific C-terminal. It is an unstable hydrophilic protein with no transcriptional activation activity. Predictive analysis of the promoter elements showed that FtNAC11 promotor has a variety of cis-elements, such as light response elements, ABA (abscisic acid) response elements and MeJA (methyl jasmonate) response elements. The expression of FtNAC11 in different tissues of Tartary buckwheat had spatial specificity，and it was highly expressed in root and the seed of pre-grout stage (S1) and grout stage (S2). The expression levels of FtNAC11 decreased under ABA、MeJA、NaCl、SA(salicylic acid) stresses compared with the control. Overexpression of FtNAC11 significantly inhibited the germination rate and ratio of Arabidopsis seeds under the stresses of salt, drought and ABA. The results indicated that FtNAC11 has negative regulatory effects in response to the exogenous abiotic stresses, and provides a theoretical basis for further analyzing the stress response mechanism and regulatory function of FtNAC11 in buckwheat.

Ascorbic acid (AsA) is an important factor to remove reactive oxygen when plants response to environment stresses. The antioxidant enzyme mononodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) catalyzes the reduction of ascorbic acid and plays a vital role in maintaining the dynamic balance of ascorbic acid in plant cells. In this study, four MDHAR family genes (SmMDHARS) were identified based on the genome database of Salvia miltiorrhiza. Bioinformatic tools were used to analyze the gene structures, conserved domains, cis-acting elements in promoters of the four genes, to add to the physical and chemical properties, subcellular localization and spatial structures of their encoded proteins. In addition, expression patterns of SmMDHARs in different tissues and different stress environments were determined using qRT-PCR. The results showed that SmMDHARs encode 384~558 amino acids and contain the conserved Pyr_redox-2 domain. SmMDHAR1、2、3 locate in chloroplast while SmMDHAR4 locates in cytoplasm. The cis-acting elements responding to hormones and stresses were found in the promoters of SmMDHARs. The results of SmMDHARs expression patterns showed that SmMDHAR3 was highly expressed in root, and SmMDHARs displayed diverse expression patterns under different stress treatments. Our study preliminarily revealed the structural characteristics and expression patterns of SmMDHARs in Salvia miltiorrhiza and provides an important reference for further elucidating the SmMDHARs function.

In this study, targeted screening and quantitation of phenolic acids, flavonoids and coumarins in the flavedo, albedo and pulp of six pummelo varieties were performed based on a rapid UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS method. The contents of eight phenolic acids, twenty flavonoids and eleven coumarins were obtained, and the multi-angle analysis and difference research were carried out based on these data. Results showed that the eight phenolic acids and twenty flavonoids were all detected in the three parts of the six pummelo varieties, including 4 polymethoxylated flavonoids of nobiletin, tangeretin, sinensetin and 5-hydroxy-7,8,4′-trimethoxyflavone. The 5-hydroxy-7,8,4′-trimethoxyflavone was detected for the first time in Wendanyou, Tongxianyou, Humiyou and Chandler fruits.p-Coumaric acid and ferulic acid were the main phenolic acids in the flavedo and albedo, while sinapic acid and ferulic acid were predominant in the pulp. The total content of phenolic acids in the flavedo was higher than those in the albedo and pulp. Naringin was the flavonoid with the highest content in the three parts of the six pummelo fruits, followed by rhoifolin, and the total content of flavonoids in the albedo was higher than those in the flavedo and pulp. All the eleven coumarins could be detected in the flavedo of the pummelo fruits, and eight coumarins were detected in the albedo. In the flavedo and albedo, the contents of isoimperatorin and isomeranzin ranked the top list for coumarins. While in the pulp, only seven coumarins were detected with bergaptol and 6′,7′-epoxybergamottin showed higher contents. From the perspective of pummelo varieties, Tongxianyou contained the highest content of the detected phenolic acids, and Wendanyou was the one with the highest content of coumarins. Guanximiyou contained the highest content of the detected flavonoids, followed by Wendanyou. This study confirmed that pummelo fruits were rich in bioactive components with peel contents higher than pulp contents, and there was a big difference in types and contents of the bioactive compounds between flavedo and albedo, which is significant for pummelo processing and utilization as well as its industrial development.

Considering the current situation of the disordered germplasm resources, the shortage of high quality varieties and the quality unevenness in the market of Bletilla striata(Thunb. ex A. Murray) Rchb. f and Bletilla ochracea Schltr, new variety breeding was carried out in this study based on collection, sorting, identification and evaluation of Bletilla striata and Bletilla ochracea germplasm resources from different regions of Shaanxi province. Asexual reproduction was applied to propagate the excellent lines, and further selection of superior plants to add to the strain comparison and regional trials were conducted. Finally, the Bletilla striata(Thunb. ex A. Murray) Rchb. f. ″Qinbai 1″ and Bletilla ochracea Schltr.″Qinhuang 1″ were successfully bred using the yielding ability (average pseudobulb fresh weight/667 m2), quality (polysaccharide yield) and resistance (disease resistance, insect resistance, stress resistance) as screening indicators. Both of the two new varieties have the characteristics of good yielding ability, strong resistance, wide adaptability and high content of iconic active ingredients, and are suitable for promotion in the south area of Qinling in Shaanxi province. They are also the only new Bletilla striata and Bletilla ochracea varieties in Shaanxi province at present. The biological characteristics of ″Qinbai 1″ are as follow: three-year-old plant height is 60~75 cm, leaf length is 40~55 cm, leaf width is 8~10 cm, number of branches is 25~32 and the average yield of pseudobulb fresh weight is 2 243.45 kg/667 m2.The biological characteristics of ″Qinhuang 1″ are as follow: three-year-old plant height is 100~105 cm, leaf length is 60~70 cm, leaf width is 4~6 cm, number of branches is 20~25 and the average yield of pseudobulb fresh weight is 2 432.40 kg/667 m2. The breeding of the two new varieties is of great significance to the protection, development and utilization of Bletilla striata and Bletilla ochracea germplasm resources.