Metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses of yellow-flowered crocuses to infer alternative sources of saffron metabolites.

Background: The increasing demand for saffron metabolites in various commercial industries, including medicine, food, cosmetics, and dyeing, is driven by the discovery of their diverse applications. Saffron, derived from Crocus sativus stigmas, is the most expensive spice, and there is a need to explore additional sources to meet global consumption demands. In this study, we focused on yellow-flowering crocuses and examined their tepals to identify saffron-like compounds.

Improvement of the Quality of Wild Rocket () with Respect to Health-Related Compounds by Enhanced Growth Irradiance.

For healthier human nutrition, it is desirable to provide food with a high content of nutraceuticals such as polyphenolics, vitamins, and carotenoids. We investigated to what extent high growth irradiance influences the content of phenolics, α-tocopherol and carotenoids, in wild rocket (), which is increasingly used as a salad green. Potted plants were grown in a climate chamber with a 16 h day length at photosynthetic photon flux densities varying from 20 to 1250 μmol m s.

Metabolic changes during wheat microspore embryogenesis induction using the highly responsive cultivar Svilena.

Androgenetically-derived haploids can be obtained by inducing embryogenesis in microspores. Thus, full homozygosity is achieved in a single generation, oppositely to conventional plant breeding programs. Here, the metabolite profile of embryogenic microspores of Triticum aestivum was acquired and integrated with transcriptomic existing data from the same samples in an effort to identify the key metabolic processes occurring during the early stages of microspore embryogenesis.

A New Fluorescence Detection Method for Tryptophan- and Tyrosine-Derived Allelopathic Compounds in Barley and Lupin.

Barley () is one of the most widely cultivated crops for feedstock and beer production, whereas lupins ( spp.) are grown as fodder and their seeds are a source of protein. Both species produce the allelopathic alkaloids gramine and hordenine.

How do barley plants with impaired photosynthetic light acclimation survive under high-light stress?

WHIRLY1 deficient barley plants surviving growth at high irradiance displayed increased non-radiative energy dissipation, enhanced contents of zeaxanthin and the flavonoid lutonarin, but no changes in α-tocopherol nor glutathione. Plants are able to acclimate to environmental conditions to optimize their functions. With the exception of obligate shade plants, they can adjust their photosynthetic apparatus and the morphology and anatomy of their leaves to irradiance.

Multilayered regulation of developmentally programmed pre-anthesis tip degeneration of the barley inflorescence.

Leaf and floral tissue degeneration is a common feature in plants. In cereal crops such as barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), pre-anthesis tip degeneration (PTD) starts with growth arrest of the inflorescence meristem dome, which is followed basipetally by the degeneration of floral primordia and the central axis.

Combined nitrogen and drought stress leads to overlapping and unique proteomic responses in potato.

Nitrogen deficient and drought-tolerant or sensitive potatoes differ in proteomic responses under combined (NWD) and individual stresses. The sensitive genotype 'Kiebitz' exhibits a higher abundance of proteases under NWD. Abiotic stresses such as N deficiency and drought affect the yield of Solanum tuberosum L.

Fast and Reproducible Matrix Deposition for MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging with Improved Glass Sublimation Setup.

Sublimation is one of the preferred methods of choice for matrix deposition in high spatial resolution MALDI mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) experiments. However, reproducibility and time are the major concerns for this setup. Here we present a lab-made glass sublimator with significant improvements in fine control of the vacuum with real-time monitoring and a rapid sublimation process of only 22 min.

Unraveling metabolic patterns and molecular mechanisms underlying storability in sugar beet.

Background: Sugar beet is an important crop for sugar production. Sugar beet roots are stored up to several weeks post-harvest waiting for processing in the sugar factories. During this time, sucrose loss and invert sugar accumulation decreases the final yield and processing quality.

Characterization of Catechol-1,2-Dioxygenase (Acdo1p) From and Investigation of Its Role in the Catabolism of Aromatic Compounds.

Gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, catechol, and pyrogallol are only a few examples of industrially relevant aromatics. Today much attention is paid to the development of new microbial factories for the environmentally friendly biosynthesis of industrially relevant chemicals with renewable resources or organic pollutants as the starting material. The non-conventional yeast, , possesses attractive properties for industrial bio-production processes such as thermo- and osmotolerance.

Dynamics and genetic regulation of leaf nutrient concentration in barley based on hyperspectral imaging and machine learning.

Biofortification, the enrichment of nutrients in crop plants, is of increasing importance to improve human health. The wild barley nested association mapping (NAM) population HEB-25 was developed to improve agronomic traits including nutrient concentration. Here, we evaluated the potential of high-throughput hyperspectral imaging in HEB-25 to predict leaf concentration of 15 mineral nutrients, sampled from two field experiments and four developmental stages.

Immunomodulatory Properties of Blackberry Anthocyanins in THP-1 Derived Macrophages.

An anthocyanin-rich diet is considered to protect against chronic inflammatory processes although the bioavailability of anthocyanins is regarded as rather low. Moreover, the immunomodulatory role of anthocyanins is not fully understood yet. In the present study, fractions of blackberry () juice were investigated in plasma-relevant concentrations with respect to their immunomodulatory properties in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged THP-1-derived macrophages.

The Jacalin-Related Lectin HvHorcH Is Involved in the Physiological Response of Barley Roots to Salt Stress.

Salt stress tolerance of crop plants is a trait with increasing value for future food production. In an attempt to identify proteins that participate in the salt stress response of barley, we have used a cDNA library from salt-stressed seedling roots of the relatively salt-stress-tolerant cv. Morex for the transfection of a salt-stress-sensitive yeast strain ( YSH818 mutant).

Antioxidant Effects of Elderberry Anthocyanins in Human Colon Carcinoma Cells: A Study on Structure-Activity Relationships.

Scope: Glycosylation is a way to increase structure-stability of anthocyanins, yet compromises their bioactivity. The study investigates the antioxidant activity of purified cyanidin (Cy)-based anthocyanins and respective degradation products in Caco-2 clone C2BBe1 aiming to identify structure-activity relationships.

Results And Methods: Cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (Cy-3-glc) and cyanidin 3-O-sambubioside (Cy-3-sam) proved to be most potent regarding antioxidant properties and protection against hydrogen peroxide (H O )-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS)-levels measured with the dichloro-fluorescein (DCF) assay.

Untargeted metabotyping to study phenylpropanoid diversity in crop plants.

Plant genebanks constitute a key resource for breeding to ensure crop yield under changing environmental conditions. Because of their roles in a range of stress responses, phenylpropanoids are promising targets. Phenylpropanoids comprise a wide array of metabolites; however, studies regarding their diversity and the underlying genes are still limited for cereals.

Function and Regulation of Chloroplast Peroxiredoxin IIE.

Peroxiredoxins (PRX) are thiol peroxidases that are highly conserved throughout all biological kingdoms. Increasing evidence suggests that their high reactivity toward peroxides has a function not only in antioxidant defense but in particular in redox regulation of the cell. Peroxiredoxin IIE (PRX-IIE) is one of three PRX types found in plastids and has previously been linked to pathogen defense and protection from protein nitration.

Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhization on Fruit Quality in Industrialized Tomato Production.

Industrialized tomato production faces a decrease in flavors and nutritional value due to conventional breeding. Moreover, tomato production heavily relies on nitrogen and phosphate fertilization. Phosphate uptake and improvement of fruit quality by arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are well-studied.

The transcription factor WRKY22 is required during cryo-stress acclimation in Arabidopsis shoot tips.

Storage of meristematic tissue at ultra-low temperatures offers a mean to maintain valuable genetic resources from vegetatively reproduced plants. To reveal the biology underlying cryo-stress, shoot tips of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana were subjected to a standard preservation procedure. A transcriptomic approach was taken to describe the subsequent cellular events which occurred.

Proteomic Approaches to Identify Proteins Responsive to Cold Stress.

Changing environmental conditions greatly affect the accumulation of many proteins; therefore, the analysis of alterations in the proteome is essential to understand the plant response to abiotic stress. Proteomics provides a platform for the identification and quantification of plant proteins responsive to cold stress and taking part in cold acclimation. Here, we describe the preparation of proteins for LC-MS measurement to monitor the changes of protein patterns during cold treatment in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Redox Conformation-Specific Protein-Protein Interactions of the 2-Cysteine Peroxiredoxin in Arabidopsis.

2-Cysteine peroxiredoxins (2-CysPRX) are highly abundant thiol peroxidases in chloroplasts and play key roles in reactive oxygen species (ROS) defense and redox signaling. Peroxide-dependent oxidation of cysteines induces conformational changes that alter the ability for protein-protein interactions. For regeneration, 2-CysPRXs withdraw electrons from thioredoxins (TRXs) and participate in redox-dependent regulation by affecting the redox state of TRX-dependent targets, for example, in chloroplast metabolism.

Cellulose defects in the Arabidopsis secondary cell wall promote early chloroplast development.

Lincomycin (LIN)-mediated inhibition of protein synthesis in chloroplasts prevents the greening of seedlings, represses the activity of photosynthesis-related genes in the nucleus, including LHCB1.2, and induces the phenylpropanoid pathway, resulting in the production of anthocyanins. In genomes uncoupled (gun) mutants, LHCB1.

Barley cysteine protease PAP14 plays a role in degradation of chloroplast proteins.

Chloroplast protein degradation is known to occur both inside chloroplasts and in the vacuole. Genes encoding cysteine proteases have been found to be highly expressed during leaf senescence. However, it remains unclear where they participate in chloroplast protein degradation.

Purple corn extract induces long-lasting reprogramming and M2 phenotypic switch of adipose tissue macrophages in obese mice.

Background: Obesity is a chronic and systemic inflammatory disorder and an important risk factor for the onset of several chronic syndromes. Adipose tissue (AT) plays a crucial role in the development of obesity, promoting the infiltration and accumulation of leukocytes in the tissue and sustaining adipocyte expansion. Anthocyanins exert a broad range of health benefits, but their effect in improving obesity-related inflammation in vivo has been poorly characterized.