Publications by authors named "Carlos Casal"

Direct seeded rice (DSR) is a mainstay for planting rice in the Americas, and it is rapidly becoming more popular in Asia. It is essential to develop rice varieties that are suitable for this type of production system. ASD1, a landrace from India, possesses several traits desirable for direct-seeded fields, including tolerance to anaerobic germination (AG).

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Background: Anaerobic germination is one of the most important traits for rice under direct-seeded conditions. The trait reduces risk of crop failure due to waterlogged conditions after seeding and allows water to be used as a means of weed control. The identification of QTLs and causal genes for anaerobic germination will facilitate breeding for improved direct-seeded rice varieties.

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Anaerobic germination (AG) is an important trait for direct-seeded rice (DSR) to be successful. Rice usually has low germination under anaerobic conditions, which leads to a poor crop stand in DSR when rain occurs after seeding. The ability of rice to germinate under water reduces the risk of poor crop stand.

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A heavy-metal-resistant, carotenoid-enriched novel unicellular microalga was isolated from an acidic river in Huelva, Spain. The isolated ribosomal 18S subunit rDNA sequence showed homology with known sequences from green microalgae, the closest sequence (98% homology) belonging to the genus Coccomyxa. The isolated microalga therefore was an up to now uncultured microalga.

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Coccomyxa acidophila is an extremophile eukaryotic microalga isolated from the Tinto River mining area in Huelva, Spain. Coccomyxa acidophila accumulates relevant amounts of β-carotene and lutein, well-known carotenoids with many biotechnological applications, especially in food and health-related industries. The acidic culture medium (pH < 2.

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Cultivation of extremophile microorganisms has attracted interest due to their ability to accumulate high-value compounds. Chlamydomonas acidophila is an acidophile green microalga isolated by our group from Tinto River, an acidic river that flows down from the mining area in Huelva, Spain. This microalga accumulates high concentrations of lutein, a very well-known natural antioxidant.

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beta-carotene is an antioxidant molecule of commercial value that can be naturally produced by certain microalgae that mostly belong to the genus Dunaliella. So far, nitrogen starvation has been the most efficient condition for enhancing beta-carotene accumulation in Dunaliella. However, while nitrogen starvation promotes beta-carotene accumulation, the cells become non-viable; consequently under such conditions, continuous beta-carotene production is limited to less than 1 week.

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