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Int J Mol Sci 2019 Feb 13;20(4). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Federal Scientific Center of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity (Institute of Biology and Soil Science), Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 159 Stoletija Str., 690022 Vladivostok, Russia.

Alkaloids attract great attention due to their valuable therapeutic properties. Stepharine, an aporphine alkaloid of plants, exhibits anti-aging, anti-hypertensive, and anti-viral effects. The distribution of aporphine alkaloids in cell cultures, as well as whole plants is unknown, which hampers the development of bioengineering strategies toward enhancing their production. Read More

Nutrients 2019 Feb 13;11(2). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Medicinal Plants Research Center, Federal University of Piaui, Teresina, PI 64.049-550, Brazil.

This work assessed the effects of a 28-day treatment with lycopene-rich extract (LRE) from red guava fruit ( L.) on the lipid profile and oxidative stress in an experimental model of dyslipidemia. Male hamsters (116. Read More

Genes (Basel) 2019 Feb 13;10(2). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG25 0 QF, UK.

The case for improving crop phosphorus-use-efficiency is widely recognized. Although much is known about the molecular and regulatory mechanisms, improvements have been hampered by the extreme complexity of phosphorus (P) dynamics, which involves soil chemistry; plant-soil interactions; uptake, transport, utilization and remobilization within plants; and agricultural practices. The urgency and direction of phosphate research is also dependent upon the finite sources of P, availability of stocks to farmers and reducing environmental hazards. Read More

Genes (Basel) 2019 Feb 13;10(2). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as important regulators in plant stress response. Here, we report a genome-wide lncRNA transcriptional analysis in response to drought stress using an expanded series of maize samples collected from three distinct tissues spanning four developmental stages. In total, 3488 high-confidence lncRNAs were identified, among which 1535 were characterized as drought responsive. Read More

Insects 2019 Feb 13;10(2). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 3rd floor, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.

and (phylum Entomophthoromycota) are important fungal pathogens on cereal aphids, and . Here, we evaluated and compared for the first time the virulence of these two fungi, both produced in cadavers, against the two aphid species subjected to the same exposure. Two laboratory bioassays were carried out using a method imitating entomophthoralean transmission in the field. Read More

Foods 2019 Feb 13;8(2). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council (CNR), Via G. Amendola 122/O, 70126 Bari, Italy.

The aim of this study was the characterization and selection of bacterial strains suitable for the production of a "yeast-free" bread. The strains C2.27 and C5. Read More

Cells 2019 Feb 13;8(2). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Morphology, Institute of Biosciences at Botucatu, Sao Paulo State University (UNESP), CEP 18618689, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.

Supernumerary B chromosomes (Bs) are extra karyotype units in addition to A chromosomes, and are found in some fungi and thousands of animals and plant species. Bs are uniquely characterized due to their non-Mendelian inheritance, and represent one of the best examples of genomic conflict. Over the last decades, their genetic composition, function and evolution have remained an unresolved query, although a few successful attempts have been made to address these phenomena. Read More

Materials (Basel) 2019 Feb 13;12(4). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Botany Area, Faculty of Science, Extremadura University, Avd Portugal 0, 06006 Badajoz, Spain.

Water Hyacinth () is a dangerous and invasive aquatic species, of which global concern has sharply risen due to its rapid growth. Despite ample research on its possible applications in the construction field, there are no clear references on the optimal use of the plant in finding the most efficient-use building material. In this paper, a microstructural and chemical characterization of the Water Hyacinth petiole was performed, in order to find the most efficient use as a construction material. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Feb 13;20(4). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

National Engineering Laboratory of Crop Stress Resistance Breeding, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.

RAD51 (DNA repair gene) family genes play ubiquitous roles in immune response among species from plants to mammals. In this study, we cloned the gene (a member of ) in maize and generated overexpression (-OE) in rice, tobacco, and . The expression level of was remarkably induced by salicylic acid (SA) application in maize, and the transient overexpression of in tobacco induced a hypersensitive response. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Feb 13;20(4). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Plant Genetics, Breeding and Biotechnology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland.

In natural and agricultural conditions, plants are attacked by a community of herbivores, including aphids and mites. The green peach aphid and the two-spotted spider mite, both economically important pests, may share the same plant. Therefore, an important question arises as to how plants integrate signals induced by dual herbivore attack into the optimal defensive response. Read More

Animals (Basel) 2019 Feb 13;9(2). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.

Betaine is an organic osmolyte sourced from sugar beet that accumulates in plant cells undergoing osmotic stress. Since the accumulation of betaine lowers the energy requirements of animals and, therefore, metabolic heat production, the aim of this experiment was to investigate if betaine supplementation improved milk yield in grazing dairy cows in summer. One hundred and eighteen Friesian × Holstein cows were paired on days in milk and, within each pair, randomly allocated to a containing treatment of either 0 or 2 g/kg natural betaine in their concentrate ration for approximately 3 weeks during February/March 2015 (summer in Australia). Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 13;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

School of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa.

Nutritional manipulations in the neonatal period are associated with the development of negative or positive health outcomes later in life. Excessive fructose consumption has been attributed to the increase in the global prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the development of oxidative stress. Oleanolic acid (OA) has anti-diabetic and anti-obesity effects. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 13;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Agriculture Victoria Research, AgriBio, Centre for AgriBioscience, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia.

Medicinal cannabis is used to relieve the symptoms of certain medical conditions, such as epilepsy. Cannabis is a controlled substance and until recently was illegal in many jurisdictions. Consequently, the study of this plant has been restricted. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Feb 13;20(4). Epub 2019 Feb 13.

School of Agronomy, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China.

Salinity is an ever-present major constraint and a major threat to legume crops, particularly in areas with irrigated agriculture. Legumes demonstrate high sensitivity, especially during vegetative and reproductive phases. This review gives an overview of legumes sensitivity to salt stress (SS) and mechanisms to cope with salinity stress under unfavorable conditions. Read More

Noncoding RNA 2019 Feb 18;5(1). Epub 2019 Feb 18.

State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, Center for Bioinformatics, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.

Transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) are an emerging class of regulatory non-coding RNAs that play important roles in post-transcriptional regulation across a variety of biological processes. Here, we review the recent advances in tsRNA biogenesis and regulatory functions from the perspectives of functional and evolutionary genomics, with a focus on the tsRNA biology of . We first summarize our current understanding of the biogenesis mechanisms of different categories of tsRNAs that are generated under physiological or stressed conditions. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 18;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Molecular Topology and Drug Design Unit, Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Valencia, Avenida V.A. Estelles s/n, Burjassot, 46100 Valencia, Spain.

A web application, DesMol2, which offers two main functionalities, is presented: the construction of molecular libraries and the calculation of topological indices. These functionalities are explained through a practical example of research of active molecules to the formylpeptide receptor (FPR), a receptor associated with chronic inflammation in systemic amyloidosis and Alzheimer's disease. Starting from a data(base) of 106 dioxopiperazine pyrrolidin piperazine derivatives and their respective constant values of binding affinity to FPR, multilinear regression and discriminant analyses are performed to calculate several predictive topological-mathematical models. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 18;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Medicinal Plants and Economic Development (MPED) Research Centre, Department of Botany, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa.

is a valuable medicinal plant species among different ethnic groups in tropical Africa. The aim of the current study was to review existing literature on the ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of in an effort to evaluate the therapeutic potential of the species. The relevant information on the ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of was generated from several sources including books, book chapters, theses, scientific reports and journal articles obtained from the library and internet sources such as SciFinder, Wiley, Web of Science, American Chemical Society publications, PubMed, BMC, Elsevier, Science Direct, Scielo and Scopus. Read More

Medicines (Basel) 2019 Feb 18;6(1). Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, I-53100 Siena, Italy.

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables contributes to lowering the risk of chronic diseases. The fruits of Malus x domestica are a rich dietary source of bioactive compounds, namely vitamins and antioxidants, with recognized action on human health protection. Tuscany is known for its rich plant biodiversity, especially represented by ancient varieties of fruit trees. Read More

Materials (Basel) 2019 Feb 18;12(4). Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Key Laboratory of Special Area Highway Engineering, MOE, Xi'an 710064, China.

The adhesion bonding between asphalt and aggregate significantly influences field performance and durability of asphalt pavement. Adhesion promoters are typically used to improve asphalt-aggregate bonding and minimize moisture-related pavement damage, such as cracking and raveling. This study evaluated the effectiveness of plant ash byproduct as adhesion promoter to improve asphalt-aggregate adhesion performance. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 17;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 17.

College of Traditional Mongolian Medicine, Inner Mongolia Uaniversity for Nationalities, Tongliao 028000, China.

L (Compositae) is a medicinal and edible plant. To investigate its antihyperlipidemic effect, a crude lipophilic extract and the composing compounds were isolated and fractioned from the petroleum ether extract of aerial parts of using column chromatography on silica gel. The anti-hyperlipidemia effect was studied in a rat model of acute hyperlipidemia, which was induced by triton WR-1339. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 17;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 17.

Department of Plant Physiology, Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra, 94976 Nitra, Slovak.

Coumarins and essential oils are the major components of the Apiaceae family and the genus. The present study reports anticholinesterase and antioxidant activities of extracts and essential oils from aerial parts, roots, flowers, fruits and coumarins-bergapten (); imperatorin (), pimpinellin () and umbelliferone ()-isolated of the roots from . The investigation by light and scanning electron microscopy of the structures of secretory canals found different chemical compositions in the various types of secretory canals which present in the aerial parts, fruits and flowers. Read More

Nutrients 2019 Feb 17;11(2). Epub 2019 Feb 17.

Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Via Salaria 1, 63030 Monsampolo del Tronto, Italy.

In the last decade, there has been an increase in the use of sprouted grains in human diet and a parallel increase in the scientific literature dealing with their nutritional traits and phytochemical contents. This review examines the physiological and biochemical changes during the germination process, and the effects on final sprout composition in terms of macro- and micro-nutrients and bioactive compounds. The main factors affecting sprout composition are taken into consideration: genotype, environmental conditions experimented by the mother plant, germination conditions. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Feb 17;20(4). Epub 2019 Feb 17.

Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.

Plants and pathogens are entangled in a continual arms race. Plants have evolved dynamic defence and immune mechanisms to resist infection and enhance immunity for second wave attacks from the same or different types of pathogenic species. In addition to evolutionarily and physiological changes, plant-pathogen interaction is also highly dynamic at the molecular level. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 16;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Botany Department, Institute of Bioscience, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo 05508-060, Brazil.

(Cham.) Cogn. is a plant native to Brazil whose genus and family (Melastomataceae) are poorly studied with regards to its metabolite profile. Read More

Plants (Basel) 2019 Feb 16;8(2). Epub 2019 Feb 16.

College of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) at a high concentration is among the most common and harmful air pollutants. The present study aimed to explore the physiological responses of plants exposed to NO₂. A total of 41 plants were classified into 13 functional groups according to the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification system. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 16;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 16.

College of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Physiology and Molecular Biology, Hohhot 010018, China.

, a leguminous shrub widely distributed in cold and arid regions, is rich in secondary metabolites and natural active substances, with high nutritional and medical values. It is interesting that the pods of often show different colors among individual plants. In this study, 10-, 20- and 30-day-old red and green pods of were used to identify and characterize important metabolites associated with pod color. Read More

Plants (Basel) 2019 Feb 16;8(2). Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Center for Biological Research of Northwest México (CIBNOR S.C.), La Paz 23096, B.C.S. Mexico.

The aim of this research is to evaluate the effect of foliar application of salicylic acid (SA) on the yield and phytochemical content in hydroponically grown cucumber ( L.). (1) Background: The importance of Mexico's cucumber production is based on its cultivation in recent decades as one of the major winter crops; in addition, the production of vegetables under hydroponic systems has increased significantly during the last few years, with cucumber being one of the vegetables with a high economic potential. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 16;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 18 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore.

(Vitaceae) is a Southeast Asian medicinal plant. In this study, an ethyl acetate fraction of leaves was studied for its phytoconstituents using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-microTOF-Q-MS/MS) analysis. A total of 31 compounds of different classes, including benzoic acid derivatives, phenolics, flavonoids, catechins, dihydrochalcones, coumarins, megastigmanes, and oxylipins were identified using LC-MS/MS. Read More

Plants (Basel) 2019 Feb 15;8(2). Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Department of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, University of Khartoum, Khartoum North, Postal Code 13314, Shambat, Sudan.

The present investigation aimed to assess the impact of copper (Cu) stress on the physiological and proteomic behavior of is likely a potential phytoremediator in areas vulnerable to Cu contamination, such as the industrial areas of Riyadh. To realize this objective, young seedlings of were potted in an open area with soil comprised of clay and sand. Different doses of Cu (30, 50, and 100 µM) were applied to the plants as CuSO₄. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Feb 15;20(4). Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Tuber and Root Crop, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100081, China.

Potato ( L.) is one of the three most important food crops worldwide; however, it is strongly affected by drought stress. The precise molecular mechanisms of drought stress response in potato are not very well understood. Read More

Genes (Basel) 2019 Feb 15;10(2). Epub 2019 Feb 15.

School of Life Science, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650550, China.

Late embryogenesis-abundant (LEA) proteins are a large and highly diverse family believed to function in normal plant growth and development, and in protecting cells from abiotic stress. This study presents a characterisation of 74 LEA (StLEA) proteins belonging to nine groups. genes have few introns (≤2) and are distributed on all chromosomes, occurring as gene clusters on chromosomes 1, 2, and 10. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Feb 15;20(4). Epub 2019 Feb 15.

College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.

Unsaturated fatty acids are the main components of vegetable oils. Fatty acid desaturase 2 (FAD2) catalyzes oleic acid (OA) into linoleic acid (LA) transformations, which are essential to the profile of FAs in seeds. To further understand the roles of FAD2s in the synthesis of oil, the evolution and biocatalysis of FAD2s were comprehensively analyzed. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Feb 15;20(4). Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Institute of Industrial and Forage Crops, HAO-DEMETER, 41335 Larissa, Greece.

Livestock production in the European Union EU is highly dependent on imported soybean, exposing the livestock farming system to risks related to the global trade of soybean. Lupin species could be a realistic sustainable alternative source of protein for animal feeding. is a very diverse genus with many species. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 15;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medicinal Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China.

Phellodendri Amurensis Cortex (PAC) is a well-known herbal medicine in China with complex components, but the previous research has mostly focused on its alkaloids analysis. For the first time, a simpler and more efficient method was proposed in this paper to simultaneously determine the content of three different kinds of compounds-phenolic acids, alkaloids and limonoids-in PAC. The phenolic acids included 3--feruloylquinic acid, 4--feruloylquinic acid and syringin. Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 15;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Centro de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Av. Universidad 940, 20131 Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Chromatographic separation combined with mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for the characterization of plant metabolites because of its high sensitivity and selectivity. In this work, the phytochemical profile of aerial and radicular parts of (Engelm.) Britton & Rose growing under greenhouse conditions was qualitatively investigated for the first time by means of modern ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography⁻tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-PDA-HESI-Orbitrap-MS/MS). Read More

Molecules 2019 Feb 15;24(4). Epub 2019 Feb 15.

College of Life Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, China.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activities of extracts from olive leaves (EOL). The main contents of EOL were determined by colorimetric methods. The antioxidant activities were assessed by measuring the scavenging free radicals in vitro. Read More

Cells 2019 Feb 15;8(2). Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Plants for Human Health Institute, Animal Science Department, NC Research Campus, NC State University, 600 Laureate Way, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA.

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a human neurodevelopmental disorder, whose pathogenesis has been linked to both oxidative stress and subclinical inflammatory status (OxInflammation). Methylglyoxal (MG), a glycolytic by-product with cytotoxic and pro-oxidant power, is the major precursor in vivo of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are known to exert their detrimental effect via receptor- (e.g. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2019 Feb 15;20(4). Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Key Laboratory of High Magnetic Field and Ion Beam Physical Biology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230000, Anhui, China.

Recent studies have demonstrated that strigolactones (SLs) also participate in the regulation of stress adaptation; however, the regulatory mechanism remains elusive. In this study, the homolog of , which encodes a key component in SL signaling, in the perennial oil plant was identified and functionally characterized in . The results showed that the expression of in seedlings was stress-responsive, and overexpression (OE) in significantly promoted resistance to drought, osmotic, and salt stresses. Read More

Phys Rev E 2019 Jan;99(1-1):012406

Centre for Mathematical Biology and Ecology, Department of Mathematics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700032, India.

Mathematical modeling may be an excellent tool to analyze and explain complex biological phenomena. In this paper, we use a mathematical model to reveal various interesting dynamical features of phytoplankton-zooplankton interaction and attempt to explain the reason for contrasting dynamics shown by different laboratory and field experiments. Our study shows that the phytoplankton-zooplankton interaction in a pelagic system is very complex and the plankton dynamics, including the bloom phenomenon, strongly depends on the selective predation of zooplankton and the nutritional value of phytoplankton. Read More

Biomed Pharmacother 2019 Feb 16;112:108600. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Pharmacognosy Research Laboratories & Herbal Analysis Services, University of Greenwich, Chatham, Maritime Kent, ME4 4TB, UK.

Liver diseases such as hepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma are one of the major health challenges in the world and many conditions such as inadequate nutrition, viral infection, ethanol and drug abuse, xenobiotic exposure, and metabolic diseases have been implicated in the development and progression of liver diseases. Several factors including lipid peroxidation, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), peroxynitrite formation, complement factors and proinflammatory mediators, such as cytokines and chemokines, are involved in hepatic diseases. Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a natural phenolic compound found mainly in the family Lamiaceae consisting of several medicinal plants, herbs and spices. Read More

Plant Physiol Biochem 2019 Feb 5;137:130-143. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Girona, Campus Montilivi, C/ Maria Aurèlia Capmany i Farnés 69, E-17003, Girona, Spain.

Effects of supplemented UV radiation and diminished water supply on the leaf concentrations of phenols and antioxidants of two Mediterranean resprouter species, Arbutus unedo and Quercus suber, were assessed before and after entire aerial biomass removal. Potted seedlings of both species were grown outdoors for 8 months with enhanced UV-A + UV-B, enhanced UV-A or ambient UV, in combination with two watering conditions (field capacity or watering reduction). After this period, all aerial biomass was removed and new shoots (resprouts) developed for a further 8 months under the two treatments. Read More

Chemosphere 2019 Feb 13;223:196-203. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.

In this study, peroxydisulfate (PDS) was successfully activated by nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) for the degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX, antibiotic frequently detected in the environment) in agricultural soils. The results indicated that the degradation of SMX was affected by the nZVI dose, the ratio of SMX/PDS, the ratio of soil/water and reaction temperature, and in cinnamon soils 87.6% of SMX degradation can be achieved within 4 h at 30 °C when the initial nZVI dose was 0. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Feb 4;665:698-708. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

School of Science and Environmental Research Institute, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand.

Pastoral agriculture is important for supplying global demand for animal products but pasture productivity is often water limited. Increased plant diversity has been shown to increase water use efficiency (ω) and productivity under water limitation but the optimal mix of species varies spatially, dependent on climate, soil type, and plant water requirements. Consequently, a cost-effective method to screen for high ω plant species and mixes in situ at farm scale is needed. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Feb 11;665:690-697. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Bioproducts Research Chair, Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt. Electronic address:

Actinobacteria have received much attention due to their capacity for plant growth promotion, a promising approach in sustainable development of agriculture. Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important crop, particularly in semi-arid regions of the world, due to the high nutritional and health-promoting values of its fruits. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, University Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 1A, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland.

Trehalase plays an important role in catabolism of trehalose, disaccharide which is one of the most widespread carbohydrates in nematode tissues. This enzyme might be a major adaptation of the nematode to parasitic lifestyle. The current study revealed five trehalase isotypes of A. Read More

Behav Brain Res 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Behavioral Pharmacology Group, Laboratory of Animal Morphology and Pathology, State University of North Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro, Avenida Alberto Lamego, 2000, Campos dos Goytacazes, 28013-602, RJ, Brazil. Electronic address:

Increases in medial prefrontal cortex ERK have been linked to learning and memory processes. In the present study separate groups of rats initially underwent testing in an open-field paired with either 2.0 mg/kg apomorphine or vehicle injections. Read More

N Biotechnol 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań, Poland. Electronic address:

The comparatively low adoption rate of GMO products in the European Union (EU) market seems to be connected with the strictness of authorization regulations and inefficiency of the authorization process itself. These problems will apply to any product deemed to be a GMO that could potentially be marketable in the EU. Since modern methods of plant breeding involving oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis (ODMs) or site-directed nucleases (SDNs), including Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR), are becoming ever more popular, it is crucial to establish whether the products of such new breeding techniques (NBTs), in particular those which involve precise methods of mutagenesis, are exempted from the EU legislation on GMOs or not. Read More

Biotechnol Adv 2019 Feb 16. Epub 2019 Feb 16.

Nutrition and Food Science Area, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Food Science, Toxicology and Forensic Medicine Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitat de València, Avda.Vicent Andrés Estellés, s/n, 46100, Burjassot, València, Spain. Electronic address:

The recent progress in genetic engineering has brought multiple benefits to the food and agricultural industry by enhancing essential characteristics of agronomic traits. Powerful tools in the field of genome editing, such as siRNA-mediated RNA interference for targeted suppression of gene expression and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) for DNA repair have been widely used for commercial purposes. However, in the last few years, the discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 system has revolutionized genome editing and has attracted attention as a powerful tool for several industrial applications. Read More

Curr Biol 2019 Feb;29(4):R118-R119

Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, UK.

Termite-mediated decomposition is an important, but often overlooked, component of the carbon cycle. Using a large-scale suppression experiment in Borneo, Griffiths et al. found that termites contribute between 58 and 64% of mass loss from dead wood. Read More

Conserv Biol 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, TW9 3AE, Richmond, Surrey, U.K.

The value of natural history collections for conservation science research is increasingly recognized, despite their well-documented limitations in terms of taxonomic, geographic, and temporal coverage. Specimen-based analyses are particularly important for tropical plant groups for which field observations are scarce and potentially unreliable due to high levels of diversity-amplifying identification challenges. Specimen databases curated by specialists are rich sources of authoritatively identified, georeferenced occurrence data, and such data are urgently needed for large genera. Read More