Computational Molecular Biology 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 26-37 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/cmb 29 2024). It's interesting that ABA is particularly cautious. As soon as the tubers mature, they frantically brush their presence and turn off all the genes that may cause the tubers to sprout. But when the environmental conditions are suitable, ABA will tactfully withdraw, and then cytokinins dare to emerge, urging the tubers to sprout and grow quickly. These two hormones work together seamlessly, as if discussed: ABA is responsible for 'don't move now', and cytokinin is responsible for 'move now'. If it weren't for them singing like this, the tubers would either oversleep or wake up too early, and it would be a mess. 3.3 Ethylene and maturation processes 3.3.1 Ethylene’s role in tuber dormancy Ethylene and ABA, this pair of enemies who manage the tubers while sleeping, are quite interesting. ABA is like a strict gatekeeper, guarding against the early awakening of tubers; Ethylene is like a troublemaker, always wanting to secretly wake up the tubers (although it depends on the weather). When the temperature and humidity change, ethylene's temper also changes-sometimes it helps ABA make the tubers sleep longer, and sometimes it urgently shakes the tubers awake. The most amazing thing is that these two are clearly competing with each other, yet they have to work together. Ethylene is like a fickle judge, its words are much more effective than ABA when it comes to whether tubers should sleep or wake up, but the specific judgment depends entirely on the environmental conditions at that time. So, ABA really doesn't decide when the tuber will sprout. It depends on which side of the "wall grass" ethylene will fall. 3.3.2 Regulation of tuber maturation Speaking of the final sprint stage of tuber maturity, ethylene, the "versatile", has once again begun to work hard. It not only cares about sprouting, but also has to worry about how starch is stored, how tissues develop, and other miscellaneous tasks. Interestingly, just before the tubers enter dormancy, the ethylene content suddenly increases, acting as a supervisor to urge various storage proteins and starch metabolism enzymes to work quickly (Saidi and Hajibarat, 2021). However, it is not fighting alone-ABA is responsible for controlling the timing of dormancy, cytokinins monitor growth progress, and ethylene mainly manages logistics reserves. These three people gathered together like a construction team: ethylene was busy stocking up in the "warehouse", ABA was holding a watch to see when "work" would end, and cytokinins were always ready for the next "start". The most amazing thing is their coordinated rhythm. It doesn't matter whether it's a little more or less, they have to hold on a bit to make the tubers grow full and durable. 4 Environmental and Nutritional Influences on Tuberization 4.1 Environmental factors affecting tuber development If the weather is too hot or too cold, the potato tubers will suffer. Especially in hot weather, the good substances in the tubers-such as carotenoids and anthocyanins-will decrease, and instead more potentially harmful steroidal glycoalkaloids will emerge (Fogelman et al., 2019). This is quite infuriating. The high temperature is like an unruly butler, messing up the nutrient synthesis route of the tubers. Too strong or too weak light is also a problem, which can disrupt the normal development rhythm of the tubers. The most fatal thing is that once these environmental factors cause trouble, the key biosynthetic pathways in the tubers will also go on strike, and the nutritional value of the tubers that eventually grow out will be greatly reduced. So, when it comes to growing potatoes, the most dreaded thing is encountering extreme weather. If the temperature is just a little off, the quality of the tubers will be affected. The potato is extremely sensitive to light, just like a living light timer. When the days get shorter, it quickly initiates the tuber formation program as if receiving an alarm clock reminder (Kondhare et al., 2021). But if the day is too long, it will pretend not to hear and refuse to grow tubers no matter what. Interestingly, exposure to UV-B radiation is quite effective-it doesn't have to be too strong. With just a moderate amount of exposure, the starch and protein in the tubers will increase, and even the good stuff like anthocyanins will rise (Qi et al., 2020). However, this matter requires proper moderation. A large dose of UV-B can actually be counterproductive. So, growing potatoes is quite particular. The duration of light exposure should be short and the amount of ultraviolet rays should be moderate. Only in this way can the tubers that grow be both nutritious and healthy.
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