Durum Wheat at Risk in a Climate Change Scenario: The Carotenoid Content is Affected by Short Heat Waves.

Short heat waves (SHW), defined as periods of several consecutive days with high temperatures above the developmental optimum, will become more frequent due to climate change. The impact of SHW on yield and yield-related parameters has received considerable interest, but their effects on grain quality remain poorly understood. We employed a simulation approach to investigate the impact of SHW on durum wheat quality over a 7 day period, starting 1 week after anthesis.

Evaluation of the Impact of the Ripening Stage on the Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Fruits from Organically Grown Tomato ( L.) Spanish Varieties.

Tomato ( L.) is a widely cultivated horticultural crop. It belongs to the Solanaceae family and is known for its high concentration of essential nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties.

Interspecific differences in plasma carotenoid profiles in nestlings of three sympatric vulture species.

Carotenoids are diet-based micronutrients important in health and coloration signaling. Related species with similar diets can differ in the kinds and levels of circulating carotenoids, which suggests specific physiological mechanisms to efficiently utilize these micronutrients, regardless of their availability. We explored whether diet and parental provisioning of unusual sources of carotenoids (fresh vegetal matter and vertebrate feces) can explain the occurrence and concentrations of carotenoids in the cinereous vulture , griffon vulture , and Egyptian vulture nestlings, even when these pigments appear to not be deposited in their integumentary system.

Bioavailability and provitamin A activity of neurosporaxanthin in mice.

Various species of ascomycete fungi synthesize the carboxylic carotenoid neurosporaxanthin. The unique chemical structure of this xanthophyll reveals that: (1) Its carboxylic end and shorter length increase the polarity of neurosporaxanthin in comparison to other carotenoids, and (2) it contains an unsubstituted β-ionone ring, conferring the potential to form vitamin A. Previously, neurosporaxanthin production was optimized in Fusarium fujikuroi, which allowed us to characterize its antioxidant properties in in vitro assays.

Lutein esterification increases carotenoid retention in durum wheat grain. A step further in breeding and improving the commercial and nutritional quality during grain storage.

Carotenoid esterification is a common mechanism for carotenoid sequestration, accumulation and storage in plants. Carotenoids are responsible for the bright yellow colour of pasta. Therefore, carotenoid retention during storage is of great importance in the durum wheat food chain.

Functional Characterization of Four Olive Squalene Synthases with Respect to the Squalene Content of the Virgin Olive Oil.

The release of new olive cultivars with an increased squalene content in their virgin olive oil is considered an important target in olive breeding programs. In this work, the variability of the squalene content in a core collection of 36 olive cultivars was first studied, revealing two olive cultivars, 'Dokkar' and 'Klon-14', with extremely low and high squalene contents in their oils, respectively. Next, four cDNA sequences encoding squalene synthases (SQS) were cloned from olive.

Towards carotenoid biofortification in wheat: identification of XAT-7A1, a multicopy tandem gene responsible for carotenoid esterification in durum wheat.

Yellow pigment content, mainly due to the accumulation of carotenoids, is a quality trait in durum wheat grain as it confers the bright yellow color to pasta preferred by consumers. Also, carotenoids are essential nutrients exerting important biological functions in human health. Consequently, biofortification strategies have been developed in many crops to increase carotenoid content.

Bread Wheat Biofortification for Grain Carotenoid Content by Inter-Specific Breeding.

Bread wheat has traditionally been selected for whitish derived flours. As a consequence, the current varieties carry carotenogenic alleles associated with low grain carotenoid. In contrast, high grain yellow pigment content (YPC) has been a major target in durum wheat programs since yellow colour is an important aesthetic factor for pasta production.

The squalene route to C30 carotenoid biosynthesis and the origins of carotenoid biosynthetic pathways.

Carotenoids are isoprenoid lipids found across the tree of life with important implications in oxidative stress adaptations, photosynthetic metabolisms, as well as in membrane dynamics. The canonical view is that C40 carotenoids are synthesized from phytoene and C30 carotenoids from diapophytoene. Squalene is mostly associated with the biosynthesis of polycyclic triterpenes, although there have been suggestions that it could also be involved in the biosynthesis of C30 carotenoids.

Marker-Trait Associations for Total Carotenoid Content and Individual Carotenoids in Durum Wheat Identified by Genome-Wide Association Analysis.

Yellow pigment content is one of the main traits considered for grain quality in durum wheat ( L.). The yellow color is mostly determined by carotenoid pigments, lutein being the most abundant in wheat endosperm, although zeaxanthin, α-carotene and β-carotene are present in minor quantities.

The breeder's tool-box for enhancing the content of esterified carotenoids in wheat: From extraction and profiling of carotenoids to marker-assisted selection of candidate genes.

Carotenoid esterification is a new target for cereal biofortification since esterification increases both accumulation and stability of carotenoids. A xanthophyll acyl transferase is responsible for carotenoid esterification in the endosperm of wheat and related cereals. In this chapter we describe the procedures for transferring the carotenoid esterification attribute into wheat using the wild barley Hordeum chilense as donor of the esterification trait, the outline of the breeding program and the protocols for marker assisted selection and the analysis of carotenoids in grain.

Distinct Roles of N-Terminal Fatty Acid Acylation of the Salinity-Sensor Protein SOS3.

The Salt-Overly-Sensitive (SOS) pathway controls the net uptake of sodium by roots and the xylematic transfer to shoots in vascular plants. SOS3/CBL4 is a core component of the SOS pathway that senses calcium signaling of salinity stress to activate and recruit the protein kinase SOS2/CIPK24 to the plasma membrane to trigger sodium efflux by the Na/H exchanger SOS1/NHX7. However, despite the well-established function of SOS3 at the plasma membrane, SOS3 displays a nucleo-cytoplasmic distribution whose physiological meaning is not understood.

Effect of fertilisation with black table olive wastewater solutions on production and quality of tomatoes cultivated under open field conditions.

This study was aimed at making progress on the valorisation of table olive wastewater that currently represent a big environmental problem for factories. Concentrates from vacuum evaporation of the wastewater generated during processing of black ripe olives treated with KOH were tested as fertilisers of tomato plants in open field assays for three consecutive crops. Fertilisation was performed by drip irrigation every 15 days; the first treatment being 15 days after transplanting, and a total of five fertilisation treatments were carried out.

Durum Wheat ( L.) Landraces Reveal Potential for the Improvement of Grain Carotenoid Esterification in Breeding Programs.

Carotenoids are essential in the human diet for their important functions in health. Besides, they are responsible for the yellow pigments desirable for industrial quality in durum wheat. The remarkable carotenoid content of durum wheat endosperm is mostly due to lutein.

Mediation of a GDSL Esterase/Lipase in Carotenoid Esterification in Tritordeum Suggests a Common Mechanism of Carotenoid Esterification in Triticeae Species.

Carotenoids are essential in human diet, so that the development of programs toward carotenoid enhancement has been promoted in several crops. The cereal tritordeum, the amphiploid derived from the cross between Roem. et Schulz.

A comprehensive review on carotenoids in foods and feeds: , applications, patents, and research needs.

Carotenoids are isoprenoids widely distributed in foods that have been always part of the diet of humans. Unlike the other so-called food bioactives, some carotenoids can be converted into retinoids exhibiting vitamin A activity, which is essential for humans. Furthermore, they are much more versatile as they are relevant in foods not only as sources of vitamin A, but also as natural pigments, antioxidants, and health-promoting compounds.

Plasma carotenoids and immunity in a despotic avian scavenger.

Carotenoids are pigmented compounds acquired through diet that have important functions as antioxidants and immune modulators. We studied the association between immunity and circulating carotenoids in Andean condors (Vultur gryphus). We evaluated the relationship between α-, β-, and γ-globulin blood concentrations and different circulating carotenoids in two groups of Andean condors that differ in their mean health status, rehabilitating (suffering different pathologies), and wild individuals (trapped when displaying their physiological behavior).

Neurosporaxanthin Overproduction by and Evaluation of Its Antioxidant Properties.

Neurosporaxanthin (NX) is a carboxylic carotenoid produced by some filamentous fungi, including species of the genera and . NX biosynthetic genes and their regulation have been thoroughly investigated in , an industrial fungus used for gibberellin production. In this species, carotenoid-overproducing mutants, affected in the regulatory gene , exhibit an upregulated expression of the NX pathway.

Biotechnological production of zeaxanthin by an Antarctic Flavobacterium: Evaluation of culture conditions.

Statistical experimental designs were used to formulate a culture medium for zeaxanthin production by an Antarctic Flavobacterium sp. P8 strain. Eleven nutritional factors were assayed in shaken flasks.

A Routine Method for the Extraction and HPLC-DAD Profiling of Major Plant and Food Carotenoids.

Carotenoids are ubiquitously present in Nature, and especially in plants and derived foods. The carotenoid profiling is necessary to understand relevant aspects in relation to their biochemistry and genetics, as well as their important roles on human health and animal ecophysiology. Here we propose a simple methodology for the routine extraction and efficient HPLC separation of the most common plant and food carotenoids from plant and animal origins.

Carotenoid content in tritordeum is not primarily associated with esterification during grain development.

Tritordeums show a significant proportion of lutein esters which increases carotenoid stability and retention throughout the food chain. Esterification is a common means of carotenoid sequestration. A putative association between lutein esters formation acting as a metabolic sink during early stages of grain development and the high carotenoid content of tritordeums is analyzed in this work.

Carotenoids from heterotrophic bacteria isolated from Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica.

Carotenoids are isoprenoid pigments used by pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food and feed industry as antioxidants and colorants. Although traditional sources of carotenoids are fruits, vegetables and chemical synthesis, prospecting for alternative sinks of common and/or unusual carotenoids is important for the development of natural carotenoid industry. In this work, 30 pigmented bacterial strains from Fildes Peninsula in King George Island, Antarctica, were isolated and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and classified in three phyla, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria.

HPLC Analysis of Carotenoids in Neurosporaxanthin-Producing Fungi.

The ascomycetous fungi Fusarium fujikuroi and Neurospora crassa are widely used as research models in the study of secondary metabolism and photobiology, respectively. Both fungi exhibit a similar carotenoid pathway, for which all the genes and enzymes have been identified. Under standard laboratory conditions, either F.

β-Cryptoxanthin is more bioavailable in humans from fermented orange juice than from orange juice.

Carotenoids, especially β-cryptoxanthin, exert multiple biological activities in the organism. Various processing techniques can improve carotenoid bioavailability in relation to the food matrix. The study objective was to compare the bioavailability of carotenoids from orange juice (OJ) with that from a beverage obtained by alcoholic fermentation of orange juice (FOB).