Synergistic Action of Mild Heat and Essential Oil Treatments on Culturability and Viability of ATCC 25922 Tested In Vitro and in Fruit Juice.

The strengthening effect of a mild temperature treatment on the antimicrobial efficacy of essential oils has been widely reported, often leading to an underestimation or a misinterpretation of the product’s microbial status. In the present study, both a traditional culture-based method and Flow Cytometry (FCM) were applied to monitor the individual or combined effect of Origanum vulgare essential oil (OEO) and mild heat treatment on the culturability and viability of Escherichia coli in a conventional culture medium and in a fruit juice challenge test. The results obtained in the culture medium showed bacterial inactivation with an increasing treatment temperature (55 °C, 60 °C, 65 °C), highlighting an overestimation of the dead population using the culture-based method; in fact, when the FCM method was applied, the prevalence of injured bacterial cells in a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state was observed.

Modifying Anthocyanins Biosynthesis in Tomato Hairy Roots: A Test Bed for Plant Resistance to Ionizing Radiation and Antioxidant Properties in Space.

Gene expression manipulation of specific metabolic pathways can be used to obtain bioaccumulation of valuable molecules and desired quality traits in plants. A single-gene approach to impact different traits would be greatly desirable in agrospace applications, where several aspects of plant physiology can be affected, influencing growth. In this work, MicroTom hairy root cultures expressing a MYB-like transcription factor that regulates the biosynthesis of anthocyanins in (), were considered as a testbed for bio-fortified tomato whole plants aimed at agrospace applications.

Identification of Beneficial Microbial Consortia and Bioactive Compounds with Potential as Plant Biostimulants for a Sustainable Agriculture.

A growing body of evidence demonstrates the potential of various microbes to enhance plant productivity in cropping systems although their successful field application may be impaired by several biotic and abiotic constraints. In the present work, we aimed at developing multifunctional synthetic microbial consortia to be used in combination with suitable bioactive compounds for improving crop yield and quality. Plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs) with different functional attributes were identified by a bottom-up approach.

Omics approaches on fresh-cut lettuce reveal global molecular responses to sodium hypochlorite and peracetic acid treatment.

Background: Lettuce is a leafy vegetable that is extensively commercialized as a ready-to-eat product because of its widespread use in human nutrition as salad. It is well known that washing treatments can severely affect the quality and shelf-life of ready-to-eat vegetables. The study presented here evaluated the effect of two washing procedures on fresh-cut lettuce during storage.

Genomic Characterization of Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase Gene in Buckwheat.

Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase (PAL) gene which plays a key role in bio-synthesis of medicinally important compounds, Rutin/quercetin was sequence characterized for its efficient genomics application. These compounds possessing anti-diabetic and anti-cancer properties and are predominantly produced by Fagopyrum spp. In the present study, PAL gene was sequenced from three Fagopyrum spp.

Ionic content in plant extracts determined by ion chromatography with conductivity detection.

A simple method is described for the determination of the ionic content of vegetable samples by ion chromatography with suppressed conductivity detection. Extracts of leaves of cucumber (Cucumis sativus), leaves and cotyledons of watermelon (Citrullus lanantus), cotyledons of zucchini (Cucurbitapepo), and leaves and roots of olive (Olea europaea) obtained at room temperature yielded chromatographic profiles with substantial differences in the relative contents of Cl-, NO3-, HPO4(2-) and SO4(2-) as well as of Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+. Although NO3-, Cl- and K+ were common to each extracted sample and accounted for most of the ions present, two additional anion peaks (i.