Vernicia

Abstract: The three closely related genera Aleurites J. R. Forst. & G. Forst., Reutealis Airy Shaw and Vernicia Lour., together constituting the subtribe Aleuritinae of the tribe Aleuritideae (Euphorbiaceae subfamily Crotonoideae), are revised. Originally included in Aleurites, Reutealis and Vernicia are considered generically distinct on account of differences in the indumentum, leaf base, inflorescences, number of stamens and fruit type. This distinction has also been confirmed by a recent phylogenetic analysis. Aleurites (2 species) differs from Reutealis and Vernicia by the more numerous stamens arranged in 4 rather than in 2 whorls, and the indehiscent fruits. The monotypic genus Reutealis can easily be distinguished from Aleurites and Vernicia by its five-angular or five-ribbed rather than terete twigs, the presence of rather persistent, hooded bracts, and spatulately flattened rather than terete stigmas. Vernicia (3 species) differs from the other two genera by its large and showy flowers arranged in corymbiform rather than in pyramidal thyrses and the lack of stellate hairs. Moreover, in Vernicia lobed leaves show conspicuous glands at the nadir of each sinus while in Aleurites these glands are absent (leaves of Reutealis are never lobed).

Abstract: The fatty acid compositions of Jatropha oil and Vernicia oil are strikingly different, which leads to a great difference in combustion performance, low temperature performance and oxidation stability. A comparative transcriptomic study was made in Vernicia and Jatropha, with a focus on the gene regulation of differential oil accumulation process. Transcriptome sequencing was conducted with seeds at the initialand faststage of oil accumulation from both. More than 24 billion bases of cDNA sequence were obtained, with 49,583 and 45,414 high-quality unigenes identified for Vernicia and Jatropha seeds, respectively. Multiple comparative transcriptome approaches revealed a number of species-specific fatty acid desaturases (FAD2, FADX, FAH12 etc.) contributing to their differentiated fatty acid compositions in seeds of Vernicia and Jatropha. Meanwhile, the results suggested that DGAT majorly regulates TAG synthesis than PDAT in Vernicia seed, and PDAT may have more important role regulating TAG synthesis in Jatropha seed than in Vernicia seed. It was also implied that specific oleosins involving in oil bodies may have member bias and may affect lipid contents in seeds of Vernicia and Jatropha, as some of which were 30-50 fold up-regulated (with their RPKM values over 10,000 at fast-stage). Some important factors were identified and can differentially regulate lipid pathways in seeds of Vernicia and Jatropha. © 2016 Friends Science Publishers

Abstract: Abstract As a developing country with the world’s largest population, China faces a serious challenge in satisfying its continuously increasing energy demands. Tung trees (Vernicia sp., especially V. fordii and V. montana), are multipurpose, perennial plants belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family. The unique chemical properties of tung seed oil make it one of the best known industrial drying oils. In this review, the breeding status of tung trees in China and some factors which limit the development of tung tree breeding will be summarised. Improvements in ecological performance and pathogen resistance, through to improved breeding methods, will help to rapidly expand the development and use of tung trees and their oil products in China. It is essential for tung tree breeding to advance in the future to keep pace with the increased demand.

Abstract: Tung oil tree (Vernicia fordii) is a promising industrial oil crop; however, this tree is highly susceptible to Fusarium wilt disease. Conversely, Vernicia montana is resistant to the pathogen. The APETALA2/ethylene-responsive element binding factor (AP2/ERF) transcription factor superfamily has been reported to play a significant role in resistance to Fusarium oxysporum. In this study, comprehensive analysis identified 75 and 81 putative Vf/VmAP2/ERF transcription factor-encoding genes in V. fordii and V. montana, respectively, which were divided into AP2, ERF, related to ABI3 and VP1 (RAV) and Soloist families. After F. oxysporum infection, a majority of AP2/ERF superfamily genes showed strong patterns of repression in both V. fordii and V. montana. We then identified 53 pairs of one-to-one orthologs in V. fordii and V. montana, with most pairs of orthologous genes exhibiting similar expression in response to the pathogen. Further investigation of Vf/VmAP2/ERF gene expression in plant tissues indicated that the pairs of genes with different expression patterns in response to F. oxysporum tended to exhibit different tissue profiles in the two species. In addition, VmAP2/ERF036, showing the strongest interactions with 666 genes, was identified as a core hub gene mediating resistance. Moreover, qRT-PCR results indicated VmAP2/ERF036 showed repressed expression while its orthologous gene VfAP2/ERF036 had the opposite expression pattern during pathogen infection. Overall, comparative analysis of the Vf/VmAP2/ERF superfamily and indication of a potential hub resistance gene in resistant and susceptible Vernicia species provides valuable information for understanding the molecular basis and selection of essential functional genes for V. fordii genetic engineering to control Fusarium wilt disease.