Tsaballa Aphrodite, Xanthopoulou Aliki, Madesis Panagiotis, Tsaftaris Athanasios, Nianiou-Obeidat Irini
Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Hellenic Agricultural Organization (ELGO-Dimitra), Thessaloniki, Greece.
Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Plants, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece.
Front Plant Sci. 2021 Jan 7;11:621999. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.621999. eCollection 2020.
Vegetable grafting is extensively used today in agricultural production to control soil-borne pathogens, abiotic and biotic stresses and to improve phenotypic characteristics of the scion. Commercial vegetable grafting is currently practiced in tomato, watermelon, melon, eggplant, cucumber, and pepper. It is also regarded as a rapid alternative to the relatively slow approach of breeding for increased environmental-stress tolerance of fruit vegetables. However, even though grafting has been used for centuries, until today, there are still many issues that have not been elucidated. This review will emphasize on the important mechanisms taking place during grafting, especially the genomic interactions between grafting partners and the impact of rootstocks in scion's performance. Special emphasis will be drawn on the relation between vegetable grafting, epigenetics, and the changes in morphology and quality of the products. Recent advances in plant science such as next-generation sequencing provide new information regarding the molecular interactions between rootstock and scion. It is now evidenced that genetic exchange is happening across grafting junctions between rootstock and scion, potentially affecting grafting-mediated effects already recorded in grafted plants. Furthermore, significant changes in DNA methylation are recorded in grafted scions, suggesting that these epigenetic mechanisms could be implicated in grafting effects. In this aspect, we also discuss the process and the molecular aspects of rootstock scion communication. Finally, we provide with an extensive overview of gene expression changes recorded in grafted plants and how these are related to the phenotypic changes observed. Τhis review finally seeks to elucidate the dynamics of rootstock-scion interactions and thus stimulate more research on grafting in the future. In a future where sustainable agricultural production is the way forward, grafting could play an important role to develop products of higher yield and quality in a safe and "green" way.
如今，蔬菜嫁接在农业生产中被广泛应用，以控制土传病原体、非生物和生物胁迫，并改善接穗的表型特征。目前，番茄、西瓜、甜瓜、茄子、黄瓜和辣椒都有商业化的蔬菜嫁接实践。它也被视为一种快速替代方法，相对于通过育种来提高果蔬环境胁迫耐受性这种相对缓慢的方法而言。然而，尽管嫁接已经使用了几个世纪，但直到今天，仍有许多问题尚未阐明。本综述将重点关注嫁接过程中发生的重要机制，特别是嫁接伙伴之间的基因组相互作用以及砧木对接穗表现的影响。将特别强调蔬菜嫁接、表观遗传学以及产品形态和品质变化之间的关系。植物科学的最新进展，如下一代测序，提供了关于砧木和接穗之间分子相互作用的新信息。现在有证据表明，砧木和接穗之间的嫁接连接处正在发生基因交换，这可能会影响已在嫁接植物中记录到的嫁接介导效应。此外，在嫁接接穗中记录到DNA甲基化有显著变化，这表明这些表观遗传机制可能与嫁接效应有关。在这方面，我们还将讨论砧木与接穗交流的过程和分子层面。最后，我们对嫁接植物中记录到的基因表达变化以及这些变化与观察到的表型变化之间的关系进行了广泛概述。本综述最终旨在阐明砧木 - 接穗相互作用的动态过程，从而激发未来对嫁接的更多研究。在可持续农业生产是未来发展方向的情况下，嫁接可以发挥重要作用，以安全和“绿色”的方式开发出产量更高、品质更好的产品。
