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Reproductive and Developmental Mechanisms of Vegetable Crops
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Reproductive and Developmental Mechanisms of Vegetable Crops

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 1933

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wenxing Pang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Horticulture, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Interests: genetics; gene function; molecular breeding; cytology; omics; disease resistance in brassica
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Honghao Lv

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: vegetable crops; molecular genetic breeding; germplasm innovation; genome design; gene editing; multi-omics techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Tong Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an 271018, China
Interests: cell biology; developmental biology; self-incompatibility

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues，

This Special Issue on "Reproductive and Developmental Mechanisms of Vegetable Crops" aims to comprehensively explore the fundamental processes underlying the reproduction and growth of vegetable crops. It focuses on elucidating the genetic, molecular, and physiological mechanisms that govern flower formation, pollination, fertilization, and subsequent embryo and seed development. Additionally, it will investigate how environmental cues and hormonal regulations impact the overall developmental trajectory from seedling establishment to the maturation and biotic and abiotic stress response of vegetable plants. The research presented in this Special Issue is expected to provide valuable insights for improving crop breeding strategies, enhancing productivity, and ensuring the sustainable cultivation of vegetable crops by a deeper understanding of their reproductive and developmental intricacies.

Dr. Wenxing Pang
Dr. Honghao Lv
Dr. Tong Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fertilization
  • hormonal regulations
  • stress response
  • vegetable crops
  • mechanism

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 5581 KiB  
Article
Genetic Analysis and Fine Mapping of Spontaneously Mutated Male Sterility Gene in Chinese Cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis)
by Qian Xu, Xiaochun Wei, Yanyan Zhao, Jianqi Feng, Peiyun Wang, Cong Ding, Wenjing Zhang, Henan Su, Weiwei Chen, Fang Wei, Yuxiang Yuan and Xiaowei Zhang
Plants 2025, 14(5), 779; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14050779 - 3 Mar 2025
Viewed by 471
Abstract
Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis), an important traditional vegetable indigenous to China, is a typical cross-pollinated Brassica crop exhibiting pronounced heterosis. However, its small flower organs make artificial pollination for hybrid seed production highly challenging. The use of male-sterile [...] Read more.
Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis), an important traditional vegetable indigenous to China, is a typical cross-pollinated Brassica crop exhibiting pronounced heterosis. However, its small flower organs make artificial pollination for hybrid seed production highly challenging. The use of male-sterile lines has emerged as a crucial approach in hybrid seed production. Therefore, understanding the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying male sterility in Chinese cabbage holds profound theoretical and economic importance and is pivotal for advancing Chinese cabbage crossbreeding. Here, cytological comparative analysis of anthers from sterile line 366-2S and fertile line 366-2F revealed abnormalities in 366-2S during the late tetrad stage, including delayed tapetum degradation and the aggregation of tetrad microspores without separation, which prevented pollen production and caused male sterility. Construction of the F2 segregating population, with 366-2S as the female parent and genetically diverse fertile material Y636-9 as the male parent, indicated that male sterility in 366-2S is controlled by a single recessive gene. Using bulked segregant analysis sequencing and kompetitive allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (KASP) technology, the sterile gene was mapped to 65 kb between the PA11 and PA13 markers, with 11 genes in the candidate region. Functional annotation, expression, and sequence variation analyses identified BraA09g012710.3C, encoding acyl-CoA synthetase 5, as a candidate gene for 366-2S male sterility. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed minimal expression of BraA09g012710.3C in 366-2S but high expression in the flower buds of 366-2F. Further analysis of candidate gene DNA sequences identified a large deletion encompassing BraA09g012710.3C, BraA09g012720.3C, BraA09g012730.3C, and BraA09g012740.3C in sterile line 366-2S (A09: 7452347–7479709). Cloning and verification of the other three deleted genes in the F2 population via agarose gel electrophoresis confirmed their presence in F2 sterile individuals, indicating that their deletion was not associated with male sterility, underscoring BraA09g012710.3C as the key gene driving male sterility in 366-2S. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive and Developmental Mechanisms of Vegetable Crops)
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15 pages, 13868 KiB  
Article
GA3-Induced SlXTH19 Expression Enhances Cell Wall Remodeling and Plant Height in Tomatoes
by Junfeng Luo, Xi Wang, Wenxing Pang and Jing Jiang
Plants 2024, 13(24), 3578; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13243578 - 21 Dec 2024
Viewed by 762
Abstract
Plant height represents a pivotal agronomic trait for the genetic enhancement of crops. The plant cell wall, being a dynamic entity, is crucial in determining plant stature; however, the regulatory mechanisms underlying cell wall remodeling remain inadequately elucidated. This study demonstrates that the [...] Read more.
Plant height represents a pivotal agronomic trait for the genetic enhancement of crops. The plant cell wall, being a dynamic entity, is crucial in determining plant stature; however, the regulatory mechanisms underlying cell wall remodeling remain inadequately elucidated. This study demonstrates that the application of gibberellin 3 (GA3) enhances both plant height and cell wall remodeling in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plants. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) results of GA3 treatment showed that the DEGs were mostly enriched for cell wall-related pathways; specifically, GA3 treatment elicited the expression of the cell wall-associated gene XYLOGLUCAN ENDOTRANSGLUCOSYLASE/HYDROLASE 19 (SlXTH19), whose overexpression resulted in increased plant height. Comparative analyses revealed that SlXTH19-overexpressing lines exhibited larger cell dimensions and increased XTH activity, along with higher contents of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, thereby underscoring the gene’s role in maintaining cell wall integrity. Conversely, treatments with ethephon (ETH) and 1-Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) led to suppressed plant height and reduced SlXTH19 expression. Collectively, these findings illuminate a competitive interplay between GA and ethylene/auxin signaling pathways in regulating cell wall remodeling via SlXTH19 activation, ultimately influencing tomato plant height. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive and Developmental Mechanisms of Vegetable Crops)
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Review

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17 pages, 847 KiB  
Review
Research Advances and Perspectives on Early Flowering Traits in Cucumber
by Meidi Zhang, Ming Ma, Hong Lang and Mingliang Jiang
Plants 2025, 14(8), 1158; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14081158 - 8 Apr 2025
Viewed by 343
Abstract
Early flowering refers to the phenomenon in which the first flower appears in fewer days than normal, regardless of the sex of the flower. It is a significant feature impacting the early maturity and economic yield of cucumbers. The early flowering trait of [...] Read more.
Early flowering refers to the phenomenon in which the first flower appears in fewer days than normal, regardless of the sex of the flower. It is a significant feature impacting the early maturity and economic yield of cucumbers. The early flowering trait of cucumber is influenced by several factors. Considering its heritability, technologies such as whole-genome sequencing, genetic modification, bioinformatics analysis, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, molecular marker-assisted selection, and gene editing are widely used to explore the regulatory genes and molecular mechanisms of the early flowering trait in cucumbers. This review aimed to summarize the factors, QTL mapping, molecular regulation mechanisms, and omics analysis related to early flowering traits in cucumbers. This review contributes theoretical insights to support both cucumber breeding for early flowering and fundamental research on early flowering traits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Reproductive and Developmental Mechanisms of Vegetable Crops)
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