To explore the difference of volatile compounds between the watercore and normal tissue of Qianxuan No.3 apple， and to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the formation of characteristic aroma substances in apple watercore， gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （GC-MS/MS） and Illumina HiSeq^TM high-throughput sequencing techniques were conducted to obtain the metabolome and transcriptome data of the watercore and normal tissue of Qianxuan No.3. Transcriptomics analysis revealed 1 795 differentially expressed genes （DEGs）， including 671 down-regulated genes and 1 124 up-regulated genes. Additionally， 7 genes related to fatty acid synthesis pathway and 8 genes related to alcohol dehydrogenase were explored. In this study， 353 metabolites were detected through widely targeted metabolomics， identifying 20 differential accumulated metabolites， including 8 up-regulated metabolites and 12 down-regulated metabolites. Notably， the relative contents of ethyl hexanoate and nonanal in the apple watercore tissue were significantly higher than those in the normal tissue. The transcriptome-metabolomics association analysis illustrated that 11 DEGs were positively correlated with ethyl hexanoate and nonanal， while 2 DEGs were negatively correlated with ethyl hexanoate within fatty acid synthesis pathway and the alcohol dehydrogenase family. MdFAD6， MdADH2， MdADH3， and MdADH4 were found to be expressed exclusively in watercore tissues. Quantitative real-time PCR （qRT-PCR） results showed that the relative expression levels of these genes in watercore tissues were significantly up-regulated compared to those in normal tissues， suggesting that these genes may play a crucial role in the synthesis pathway of volatile compounds in watercore apples. The differential metabolites and genes identified in this study will not only provide preliminary insights into the biological basis of flavor changes in watercore tissues， but also provide reference information for the quality improvement of watercore apples.

In recent years， the pre-made dishes industry has developed rapidly， providing more convenient and diverse choices for the catering industry and consumers. Pre-made dishes cover a wide range of food raw materials and auxiliary materials such as livestock and poultry， aquatic products， fruits and vegetables， and involve multiple research directions including flavor development， quality control， and process improvement. Based on the current definition and scope of pre-made dishes， this paper summarizes the application of emerging processing key technologies in pre-prepared foods， including storage and preservation technology， freezing and thawing technology， drying technology， sterilization technology， and packaging technology. The paper also sorts out the main processing technology problems such as flavor， nutrition， and equipment， the cold chain logistics problem throughout the process， and the standard system construction problem， with the aim of providing references for the high-quality development of Pre-made dishes.

Astragalus membranaceus is a traditional food-medicine homologous substance in China， which has the remarkable characteristics of regulating immunity and assisting treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In recent years， the development of the field of drug and food homology makes it a very influential product. Understanding and mastering the research status and development trends of Astragalus membranaceus can provide new ideas for the sustainable development of the Astragalus membranaceus industry. Using bibliometrics （sources： CNKI， Web of Science， etc.） and keyword analysis as methods， this study analyzed the number of articles published on Astragalus membranaceus in the year， core journals in the field of medicine and food， and the number of patents. A total of 7 458 Chinese and English literature and 3 320 patents related to the study of Astragalus membranaceus were retrieved from 2003 to 2023. The results showed that the researches on Astragalus membranaceus in China were significantly higher than that in foreign countries. The research object had formed a diversified development trend with ‘pharmacological effects’ and ‘medicinal food homology’， and the research content was gradually deepening towards the mechanism of action， functional activity. At present， Astragalus membranaceus is in the developing stage. Based on the industrial innovation and the change of the concept of nutrition and health consumption， the research of Astragalus membranaceus should pay attention to the development of functional activity， product diversification and nutrition and health. This study can provide a basis for the innovation and development of Astragalus membranaceus industry.

In order to obtain the basic mechanical properties parameters of apple fruit and fruit stem， the puncture mechanical parameters of different parts of Granny Smith， Luochuan Fuji， Linyi Fuji， and Huaguan apple， as well as the stem tensile and stem shear mechanical parameters were measured using the biomechanical tester. The critical torque of separating the apple from the branch was obtained using a self-made torsion device. The maximum tensile force of the stem was measured using a digital tension meter in orchards. The static and dynamic friction coefficients of apple with different materials were tested by friction test device. The results indicated that there were significant differences in the actual transverse diameter and weight of apples from different varieties. The distribution of transverse diameter was basically consistent with the normal distribution. There were significant differences in the puncture mechanical properties of apples between varieties and puncture sites. The maximum puncture force from large to small was the bottom， the top， and the equator， indicating that the apple was not isotropic. The maximum tensile force and the tensile stress increased with the increase of the tensile speed. The maximum tensile force measured by laboratory and field tensile tests was 30.95 and 30.03 N， respectively. And the location of the tensile fracture of stem was obtained through the experiment. The shear force range of the middle part and the upper part of stem was 43.44-81.61 and 46.18-103.87 N， respectively. The maximum torque of Fuji and Huaguan apple was 0.373 and 0.364 N·m， respectively. The static friction coefficients of apple equator with silica gel， stainless steel， organic glass and rubber are 1.000， 0.332， 0.696 and 1.026， respectively. The research results provide basic parameters for the research of intelligent apple picking machinery and related machinery.

Cyclic nucleotide-gated channels （CNGCs） play crucial roles in regulating plant growth， development， and responses to abiotic and biotic stress serving as Ca²⁺ channels. To identify the CNGC gene family in foxtail millet， the biological functions of CNGC gene family were firstly investigated. Using bioinformatics technologies， the physicochemical properties， gene localization pattern， family subclasses， conserved motifs， cis-acting elements， expression patterns， subcellular localization， protein channel structures， and Ca²⁺-binding residues of CNGC family proteins from foxtail millet were analyzed. A total of 23 family members were identified， which were classified into 5 subclasses， along with 15 conserved motifs. Transcriptome analysis revealed that Seita.2G305500， Seita.3G18810 and Seita.7G259800 showed significant induction in leaves and panicle following Sclerospora graminicola infection. Quantitative real-time PCR （qRT-PCR） further demonstrated that Seita.3G188100 exhibited 6.6-fold and 8.6-fold higher expression levels to the control at 36 and 48 h postinfection， respectively. Structural prediction of Ca²⁺-binding signatures indicated that these three genes could form a Ca²⁺ channel， with specific binding residues at Ser361， Thr397 and Gln427 respectively. Subcellular localization assays in tobacco cells confirmed their plasma membrane localization. This study provides a reference for further exploring the functions of CNGC family genes and lays a foundation for genetic improvement of disease resistance in foxtail millet.

To investigate the impact of enzyme hydrolysis on Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua rhizome （PC）， this study analyzed the effects of six enzymes （cellulase， papain， pectinase， β-dextranase， xylanase， and hemicellulase） on PC’s total polysaccharides， total saponins， total phenols， and phenolic composition to establish an optimal multi-enzyme combination. Subsequently， the biological activity of PC’s alcohol extract was measured， and correlation analysis was conducted with the main differential substances. The results showed that， papain， β- dextranase， and xylanase notably enhanced the release of phenols and saponins in PC. Furthermore， the antioxidant activity and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of PC’s alcohol extract were significantly improved by the treatment with the multi-enzyme hydrolysis （papain∶β-dextranase∶xylanase=3∶2∶1，P<0.001）. Thirteen phenols and one saponin were closely associated with the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of PC and increased significantly following multi-enzyme hydrolysis （P<0.05）. These findings confirmed that enzyme hydrolysis was an effective method to enhance the release of components and improve the biological activity of PC， which can provide a method reference for the optimization of PC’s extract.

Lipoxygenases （LOXs） are pivotal enzymes in the plant lipid metabolic pathway， exerting a crucial role in plant growth and development， fruit ripening， and response to external environment along the whole life cycle. The essential role of LOXs in quality formation and regulation of horticultural crops has been elucidated with further exploration on the function of LOXs. This paper comprehensively reviewed the structural types， biological functions， and underlying mechanism of LOXs in plant metabolic pathways. The multi-faceted impacts of LOXs on formation of quality traits such as appearance， flavor， and nutritional quality in horticultural crops were highlighted. Furthermore， it also discussed the effective pre-harvest managements and post-harvest treatments used to improve the quality of horticultural products and extend their shelf-life based on the regulation of LOXs. Finally， prospective research directions of LOXs were suggested， aimed to provide new theoretical perspectives and practical guidance for quality regulation of horticultural crops.

‍In order to improve the quality of low sugar blueberry jam， fresh blueberries were used as raw materials and the proportions of sodium alginate， pectin， sucrose， and calcium ions in low sugar blueberry jam were optimized using response surface methodology. The changes in physicochemical properties， nutritional functional substances， microorganisms， and other qualities of low sugar blueberry jam during storage （68 days at 4 ℃ and 14 days at 25 ℃） under pasteurization and high hydrostatic pressure （HHP） processes were studied. The results showed that the optimal formula for low sugar blueberry jam was a low methoxyl pectin and sodium alginate mass ratio of 7 and 3 g·kg^-1， respectively， with a sucrose addition of 160 g·kg^-1 and a CaCO₃ addition of 6 g·kg^-1. With the increase of storage days， compared with the storage of 1 d， there was no significant change in the physicochemical properties such as pH value and soluble solids content of all samples， while the content of nutritional components such as vitamin C （VC）， total phenols， total flavonoids， and total anthocyanins decreased. Among them， the retention rate of nutritional functional substances in the HHP treated group was significantly higher than that of other groups. After storage at 4 ℃ for 68 days， the content of VC， total phenols， total flavonoids， and anthocyanins in the HHP treated group jam were 14.17， 1.15， 4.77 and 0.45 mg·mL^-1， respectively. In conclusion， the non thermal processing technology based on pectin compound gel and HHP treatment can be used to prepare high-quality， healthy and low-sugar blueberry jam. The results of this study provide scientific reference for improving the quality of traditional jam.

Peanut is an important oil crop in China. Current research focuse on developing new peanut cultivars that exhibit early maturity， high yield， elite quality， and suitability for machine harvesting. This study presented an overview of peanut breeding for early maturity in China， addressing aspects such as flowering characteristics， the relationship between flowering date and yield， and the screening and improvement of early-maturing or extremely early-maturing peanut germplasm. A collection of valuable materials demonstrating early maturity including Qike， Shitouqi， Silihong， Luhua 6， Jihua 23， and Yuanza 9102， has laid a solid foundation for broadening the genetic diversity of peanuts in China and for breeding new precocious peanut varieties with stable characters. This review summarizes the latest progress on quantitative trait locus （QTL）/gene mapping for important yield traits and flowering date-related traits of peanut， both domestically and internationally. Finally， we explore the potential applications of new technologies such as linkage analysis， genome-wide association studies， and BSA-seq， in resource mining， gene mapping， functional marker development， and the breeding of early maturity peanuts. These advancements may provide a theoretical basis for scientific research and production of peanuts in China.

In order to clarify the effects of controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer on greenhouse gas emissions and yield， five treatments were set up in the rice fields in northern Jiangsu， including conventional nitrogen fertilizer， sulfur-coated urea， polymer-coated urea， polyurethane-coated urea， urea formaldehyde slow-release nitrogen. The results showed that the emission fluxes of CO₂， CH₄ and N₂O were generally similar across all treatments. Compared with conventional nitrogen fertilizer， controlled-release nitrogen treatment could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions （P<0.05）， with polyurethane-coated urea having the best effect， reducing the total emission of CO₂， CH₄ and N₂O by 17.8%， 49.5% and 49.4%， respectively. The global warming potential （GWP） and greenhouse gas emission intensity （GHGI） of controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer treatments were significantly lower than those of conventional nitrogen fertilizer treatments （P<0.05）， with polyurethane-coated urea being the lowest. In terms of rice yield and quality， compared with conventional nitrogen fertilizer， controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer treatments increased the total number of grains per panicle， percentage of brown rice and head rice， while decreased the chalky rice rate and chalkiness. Overall， controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer treatments significantly reduced emissions of CO₂， CH₄ and N₂O. The GWP and GHGI were the lowest for polyurethane-coated urea treatment， and rice yield was the highest. The results of this study provide technical references for controlled-release nitrogen fertilizer application on the rice yield balancing and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

In order to screen for Neopyropia yezoensis with excellent growth and reproductive traits， this study analyzed the growth and reproductive traits of shell-boring conchocelis and thallus across 13 cultivated strains of N. yezoensis. The results showed that there were differences in the same trait among different strains. Among them， the length growth rate of shell-boring conchocelis （CLGR） exhibited the smallest coefficient of variation of 21.62%， and the daily release of conchospores （DAR） showed the largest coefficient of variation of 172.69%. Correlation analysis of traits across two generations of N. yezoensis demonstrated a significant positive correlation among DAR， thallus length growth rate （TLGR）， and width growth rate （TWGR）. Cluster analysis identified three strains （Y-9904， Y-2301， and Y-2201） of shell-boring conchocelis and one strain （Y-9904） of thallus with fast growth rate and strong reproductive ability. The consistency of traits between generations within the same strain was evaluated by comprehensive D value assessment. The Y-9904 strain exhibited fast growth and strong reproductive ability in both generations， with TLGR， TWGR， length-to-width growth rate （TL/WGR） and DAR exceeding those of other strains. This study establishes a comprehensive method for assessing the growth and reproductive traits of N. yezoensis， which can provide a theoretical basis for breeding high-quality N. yezoensis varieties.

To investigate plant growth-promoting effects of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic （ACC） deaminase-producing strains on crops under saline-alkali stress， three ACC deaminase-producing strains， including Bacillus arachidis E1-6， Enterobacterpseudoroggenkampii. E1-8， and Bacillus cereus j2-4 were used to investigate the effects of inoculation on the growth of maize. The strains were previously isolated from the plants rhizosphere in saline-alkaline areas of southern Xinjiang. The results showed that compared to neutral conditions， treatment with alkaline salt containing Na⁺ （pH values were 8.23 and 9.15， respectively） for 28 d had no significant effects on plant height， aboveground dry weight， and underground dry weight， but significantly inhibited stem diameter of maize （P<0.05）. Compared to the neutral condition， no significant changes were observed in aboveground and underground dry weight and root system architecture of potted maize of different saline-alkali stresses. However， under high saline-alkali stress at pH 9.15， plant height and stem diameter were significantly decreased， while malondialdehyde （MDA） content was increased. After inoculation treatment， all tested conditions enhanced plant height， stem diameter， and aboveground and underground dry weight of potted maize. Notably， under high saline-alkali stress at pH 9.15， inoculation with strain E1-8 improved root morphology and enhanced peroxidase activity. The results demonstrated that inoculation with ACC deaminase-producing growth-promoting rhizobacteria alleviated the inhibitory effects of saline-alkali stress on maize， highlighting their potential for development as microbial fertilizers. This study expands the resource of salt-alkali tolerant and plant growth-promoting bacteria and provides an efficient microbial remediation strategy for stress-resistant cultivation of crops in saline-alkali soils.

To explore the optimal in vitro sporulation conditions for the pathogen causing chrysanthemum black spot disease， Alternaria alternata CJ3 was used as the test strain to study the effects of single factors， including temperature， photoperiod， incubation period and ultraviolet irradiation duration on pathogen sporulation. In addition， an orthogonal experiment was designed to establish the optimal inoculation system by investigating the effects of inoculation temperature， inoculation concentration and inoculation method on isolated leaves of the garden chrysanthemum Lingyan Huang. The optimal inoculation system was subsequently verified on living plants. The results showed that the optimal sporulation conditions of CJ3 were irradiating with ultraviolet light for 15 min after mycelial damage and incubating at 22 ℃ in complete darkness for 28 d. When isolated leaves of the garden chrysanthemum were inoculated by rubbing them with spore suppension of 1×10⁸ CFU·mL^-1 and placed under 22 ℃， the incidence rate reached 93.33% and the disease index was 80.33， significantly higher than that of other treatments. These suggested that inoculating with spore suspension was the most effective method for identifying resistant to black spot disease in garden chrysanthemum. The incidence rate on the living plants was 90.00%， and the disease index was 71.58. The correlation coefficient between in vitro and in vivo inoculations was 0.83 （P<0.01）， indicating this inoculation system was suitable for both in vitro and in vivo identification of disease resistance in garden chrysanthemums. This study optimized the sporulation conditions of the pathogen causing chrysanthemum black spot disease and the disease resistance identification system using spore suspension inoculation， which will provide references and technical support for sporulation induction， disease prevention and control， and disease-resistant breeding.

To investigate the effects of different ⁶⁰Co-γ irradiation doses on the traits， chemical composition and antioxidant activity of Ermiao Pills， the non-irradiated group （0 kGy） and 10， 20， 50 and 100 kGy irradiation dose groups were set up in this experiment. The colorimeter and electronic nose were used to compare the characteristics of each group of samples. The physical structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy， fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. Non-volatile and volatile components were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）， ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q/TOF-MS） and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS）. Antioxidant activity of the samples from each group was compared by 1，1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl （DPPH） radical scavenging method. The results of characteristic observation showed that compared with the unirradiated samples， the yellowness value of Ermiao Pills increased after irradiation， and the concentration of sulfides， terpenes and aromatic substances decreased； irradiation will damage the surface and internal structure of Ermiao Pills. The contents of berberine hydrochloride and atractylodin in Ermiao Pills after irradiation were higher than that of unirradiated samples. After being irradiated at 50 and 100 kGy， the content of phellodendrine hydrochloride decreased compared to the unirradiated samples. There was no significant change in the content of palmatine hydrochloride before and after irradiation. Irradiation could lead to a decrease in the content of terpenes in Ermiao Pills. The antioxidant activity of Ermiao Pills in the 100 kGy irradiation dose group was higher than that in the non-irradiation group， and no radiolysis products of Ermiao Pills were found in all irradiation groups. This study provides a scientific basis for the quality control of irradiation sterilization Ermiao Pills， and also provides ideas and methods for the establishment of irradiation sterilization standards for other traditional Chinese medicine preparations.

Glucosinolates （GSLs） are a class of important secondary metabolites produced in cruciferous plants such as broccoli. Among them， indole GSLs and their hydrolysates have been confirmed to play important roles in plant resistance to biotic stresses. PEN2 is a key gene regulating the hydrolysis of indole GSLs. However， the roles of PEN2 in regulating the hydrolysis of GSLs and responding to the biotic stresses in broccoli remains unrevealed. In this study， the PEN2 gene （BolPEN2） in broccoli was cloned， and the transcriptional expression characteristics and functions of BolPEN2 in response to soft rot infection stress were studied. The results showed that the coding region of BolPEN2 was 1 668 bp in length， encoding 555 amino acids. BolPEN2 was highly expressed in seeds， and its expression level showed an upward trend under soft rot infection stress in broccoli. In order to further explore the function of BolPEN2，transgenic broccoli lines were developed for both BolPEN2 overexpression and RNAi silencing. Physiological and phenotypic analysis showed that overexpression of BolPEN2 significantly improved the resistance of broccoli to soft rot infection， while BolPEN2 silencing lines were more susceptible to soft rot infection than that of the control broccoli. Consistent with these results， the total content of GSLs in leaves of BolPEN2-overexpressingbroccoli lines was significantly lower than that of the control broccoli， while the GSLs content in BolPEN2 silencing plants was significantly higher than that of the control. The results indicated that BolPEN2 may play an important role in increasing tolerance of broccoli to soft rot infection by regulating the hydrolysis process of GSLs， especially indole GSLs. These findings provide new insights into the roles of BolPEN2， and suggest potential applications of BolPEN2 in breeding crops with high tolerance to soft rot infection by genetic engineering.

To investigate the effects of various microbial agents on enhancing the soil nutrient environment and improving the yield and quality of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.， continuous G. uralensis was used as material， four treatments were implemented： Bacillus amyloliquefaciens powder （J）， Bacillus subtilis granules （K）， and a microbial liquid bacterial agent （W）， alongside a control group utilizing conventional fertilizer application （CK）. The effects of different microbial agents on the yield and quality of G. uralensis， anditsroot and soil nutrient content were assessed. Furthermore， the mechanisms by which different microbial agents influence the yield and quality of G. uralensis were elucidated， and the microbial agent with the most effective application was identified. The results indicated that， compared with CK， the J， K， and W treatments increased the yield of G. uralensis by 16.17%， 41.94%， and 23.73%， respectively. Additionally， the J， K， and W treatments enhanced the content of glycyrrhizin by 0.32， 0.54， and 0.77 percentage points， the content of liquiritin by 0.12， 0.26， and 0.30 percentage points， the content of soil organic matter by 42.71%， 28.00%， and 14.71%， soil total potassium content by 25.18%， 24.04%， and 13.23%， and soil total phosphorus content by 15.33%， 24.67%， and 14.67%， respectively. Notably， the overall performance of Bacillus subtilis granules exhibited the most significant effect （P<0.05）. Compared with CK， the J and K treatments significantly enhanced the total phosphorus and potassium uptake efficiencies of G. uralensis root by 12.99 and 35.24 percentage points， as well as by 6.03 and 19.82 percentage points， respectively. This improvement was attributed to the increased soil total phosphorus and potassium content， which enhanced yield and quality of G. uralensis. Compared with CK， the W treatment significantly enhanced the total phosphorus and potassium uptake efficiency of G. uralensis root by 27.31 and 11.51 percentage points， respectively. This improvement can be attributed to the increase in soil organic matter， available phosphorus， and total potassium content facilitated by the W treatment. Consequently， these changes in soil composition led to an increase of the yield and quality of the G. uralensis. Among these agents， the application of Bacillus subtilis granules showed the most effective results in continuous cropping G. uralensis. This study provides a theoretical basis for the wider application of microbial agents in the cultivation of continuous cropping G. uralensis.

In order to confirm the pathogen of anthracnose in Qinan Aquilaria sinensis， and characterize its biological characteristics while screening effective agents against to anthracnose， the pathogen was isolated through tissue separation method and its pathogenicity was determined with Koch postulates. Combining morphological and molecular biological analysis， BMXYB1 was identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Biological characteristics revealed that the optimum temperature for mycelial growth was 28 ℃， the optimum pH value was 6.0， the optimum medium was potato dextrose agar medium （PDA）. The optimal nitrogen source for pathogen growth was potassium nitrate and the optimal carbon source was glucose. The results of fungicide virulence showed that 430 g·L^-1 tebuconazole and 250 g·L^-1 propiconazole had strong inhibitory effects on the fungal， with the EC₅₀ of 0.773 ‍1 and 0.451 ‍2 ‍mg·L^-1， respectively. This study provides scientific basis for effective prevention and control of anthracnose.

To explore the differences in yield， quality， and metabolites of upper leaves of flue-cured tobacco with different plant architecture， Yunyan 87 was used as material. A comprehensive analysis combing non-targeted metabolomics with chemical， sensory， and economic trait evaluation was conducted to compare the differences between umbrella-type and tube-type plants. The results showed that umbrella-type plants had lower plant height and fewer effective leaf number but larger stem circumference than tube-type plants. While tube-type plants exhibited 30.92%， 23.17%， and 18.71% higher densities of long-stalked glandular hairs， protective glandular hairs， and total glandular hairs respectively， compared to umbrella-type plants. Furthermore， tube-type plants demonstrated more balanced chemical composition and superior sensory quality score. Umbrella-type plants had a 3.43% higher yield， yet tube-type plants showed a higher output value by 22.13%， a higher proportion of high-grade tobacco by 10.72 percentage points， and higher average price by 21.50%. A total of 137 differential metabolites were identified between the two plant types. Among them， organic acids were the most abundant， including sinapic acid， guanidinosuccinic acid， phenylpyruvic acid， 2-pentanedioic acid， jasmonic acid， and palmitic acid； Amino acids included 2-oxoarginine， L-kynurenine， N-methyl-L-glutamic acid， gamma-aminobutyric acid， L-aspartic acid， tryptophanol， L-lysine， and leucine were also differentially expressed. Additionally， alkaloids like confertifolin， cytisine， L-carnitine， and resveratrol showed significant variations. The differential metabolites in mature leaves of the two plant types were mainly enriched in pathways such as alanine metabolism. In addition， the tricarboxylic acid （TCA） cycle and related metabolic pathways exhibited distinct metabolic profiles between umbrella-type tobacco plants and tube-type. In conclusion， tube-type Yunyan 87 plantsin the Nanyang region produce better quality and higher economic benefits than that of umbrella-type plants. These findings provide a theoretical basis for plant type improvement in Nanyang area.

To evaluate the efficiency of quantitative trait locus （QTL） mapping using different single-nucleotide polymorphism （SNP） chips， this study used a population of 271 recombinant inbred lines （RILs） derived from a cross between the inbred lines R08 and Ye478. Using the complete interval mapping method， these lines were genotyped with the Maize SNP 3K and 48K chips to identify QTL associate with maize plant height-related traits across four environments and under two planting densities. The findings indicated that the genetic map constructed with the 48K SNP chip exhibited greater resolution compared to the genetic map generated with the 3K chip. This disparity is illustrated by several metrics， including the number of markers （2 804 bins with the 48K SNP chip compared to 683 SNPs with the 3K SNP chip）， the length of the genetic map （3 863.77 cM versus 1 786.06 cM）， and the average genetic interval between adjacent markers （1.38 cM versus 2.65 cM）. The genetic map constructed using the 48K SNP chip identified nearly 40% more QTLs than the map generated with the 3K chip， detecting 86 QTLs identified with the high-density map， compared to 62 QTLs with the 3K chip. Additionally， 28 QTLs were found to be co-located in the genetic maps derived from both the 3K and 48K SNP chips under high and low planting densities， representing approximately 32.6% of the total QTLs detected by the 48K chip， while 45.2% were identified by the 3K chip genetic map. Specifically， the genetic map generated with the 48K SNP chip detected 51 QTLs under high planting density and 60 QTLs under low planting density. Among these， 25 QTLs were detected across both planting densities. In conclusion， QTL mapping using a high-density marker chip offers greater mapping resolution and can be effectively utilized for dissecting complex traits in maize. The results of the present study offer support for the subsequent fine mapping of maize candidate genes associated with high-planting-density tolerance.

In order to investigate the interaction between zein and pectin during pH-driven self-assembly， the effects of pH value， protein-polysaccharide ratio and salt ion concentration on the formation of zein and pectin complexes were characterized by turbidity titration， ζ-potential and particle size analysis， and the solubility， relative molecular weight， sulfhydryl content， ultraviolet spectra and fluorescence spectra were determined to define the interaction mechanism between zein and pectin. The results showed that the turbidity of zein-pectin solution increased first and then decreased upon the decrease of pH， reaching the maximum value at pH 7.25. The rise of the proportion of pectin led to the decrease of the pH value of the maximum turbidity， and reached the minimum value when the ratio of zein to pectin was 4∶1， and the particle size distribution of the system was relatively uniform. Salt ions significantly affected the stability of the system， suggesting that the main driving force for the formation of zein-pectin complexes was electrostatic interaction. Moreover， the coating effect of pectin reduced the content of free sulfhydryl groups in the complex， produced a color-enhancing effect by the ultraviolet spectrum and quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of zein， indicating that hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonding were also involved in the formation of the complex. There was covalent binding of zein and pectin at the same time. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis and reference for the rational design of zein-pectin complex for the encapsulation of bioactives by pH-driven treatment.