Biological Activities of Chickpea in Human Health (Cicer arietinum L.). A Review

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Chickpea is one of the most consumed legumes worldwide. Among their benefits are the high protein concentration that reflects not only at the nutritional level but...     

St. John’s Wort Herbal Teas – Biological Potential and Chemometric Approach to Quality Control

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - St. John’s wort has been used for centuries in traditional medicine of many cultures, and nowadays it is well-known as a clinically important antidepressant...     

Sorghum Pasta and Noodles: Technological and Nutritional Aspects

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Sorghum is a major cereal crop with various agronomic advantages, contains health-promoting compounds and is gluten-free. There is a growing tendency to use...     

Enzyme Bioprospection of Marine-Derived Actinobacteria from the Chilean Coast and New Insight in the Mechanism of Keratin Degradation in Streptomyces sp. G11C

Marine actinobacteria are viewed as a promising source of enzymes with potential technological applications. They contribute to the turnover of complex biopolymers, such as pectin, lignocellulose, chitin, and keratin, being able to secrete a wide variety of extracellular enzymes. Among these, keratinases are a valuable alternative for recycling keratin-rich waste, which is generated in large quantities by the poultry industry. In this work, we explored the biocatalytic potential of 75 marine-derived actinobacterial strains, focusing mainly on the search for keratinases. A major part of the strains secreted industrially important enzymes, such as proteases, lipases, cellulases, amylases, and keratinases. Among these, we identified two streptomycete strains that presented great potential for recycling keratin wastes—Streptomyces sp. CHA1 and Streptomyces sp. G11C. Substrate concentration, incubation temperature, and, to a lesser extent, inoculum size were found to be important parameters that influenced the production of keratinolytic enzymes in both strains. In addition, proteomic analysis of culture broths from Streptomyces sp. G11C on turkey feathers showed a high abundance and diversity of peptidases, belonging mainly to the serine and metallo-superfamilies. Two proteases from families S08 and M06 were highly expressed. These results contributed to elucidate the mechanism of keratin degradation mediated by streptomycetes.     

Application to soil of disinfectants through irrigation reduces Verticillium dahliae in the soil and verticillium wilt of olive

The application of disinfectants through drip irrigation could be a feasible practice against verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae) of olive. OX-VIRIN (activated peroxide) and OX-AGUA AL25 (quaternary ammonium compounds) are two disinfectants that have shown efficacy against V. dahliae in irrigation water and potential for reducing the disease in young olive plants. In this work, various post-planting application strategies incorporating OX-VIRIN (once a month, or twice a month on alternate or successive weeks) or OX-AGUA AL25 (once a month, or twice a month on alternate weeks) were assessed for their effect on V. dahliae in soil, disease in olive trees, and olive yield, in a 2-year pot-experiment under natural environmental conditions. The disinfectants were injected via metering pumps into a drip irrigation system that irrigated olive trees planted in V. dahliae-inoculated soil. All the application strategies significantly reduced the total inoculum density in soil compared to controls with no disinfectants and noninoculated soil. The microsclerotia density was also significantly reduced in disinfested soils by 73.6–86.8%, depending on the strategy. The symptoms and infection incidence were always lower in treatments subjected to disinfestation. The treatment with OX-AGUA AL25 applied twice a month on alternate weeks most reduced the symptoms (by 53.0%) and colonization index (by 70.8%) with respect to untreated water control. This soil disinfestation also significantly strengthened the symptom remission. Tree growth and production were negatively affected by soil inoculation (reduced by 45.6% and 88.7%, respectively), but not so by disinfectants, which even relieved the reduction in inoculated soils, especially when OX-AGUA AL25 was applied.     

Strategy to identify resistance to white mould associated with high yield for irrigated common bean in Brazil

Development of common bean cultivars with partial white mould resistance through breeding techniques has been a challenge in Brazil. As yet, lines/cultivars from breeding programmes have not been investigated for resistance; therefore, this study screened 107 lines/cultivars for their reactions to white mould in 14 preliminary trials conducted under irrigation. Thirteen resistant lines/cultivars (three of Andean origin) and six Mesoamerican cultivars (three intermediately resistant and three susceptible) were selected for further investigation. These lines/cultivars and the resistant control A195 were evaluated in six advanced trials and two straw tests to assess the effectiveness of the screening procedure. In 11 preliminary trials, screenings were performed under moderate/high or higher disease pressure. These pressures occurred in two advanced trials in which, when yields were averaged across moderate/high and high pressures, 10 Mesoamerican lines/cultivars selected for resistance yielded 14%, 23%, and 38% more than intermediately resistant cultivars, A195, and susceptible cultivars, with median disease ratings (1–9 scale) of 4.5, 5.7, 5.7, and 6.7, respectively. In the straw test, three Andean lines/cultivars (A195 included) and two susceptible cultivars in the field were among those with the highest levels of physiological resistance. Thus, field rating under high disease pressure and greenhouse rating did not correlate significantly, suggesting that field trials are critical to evaluating resistance and to identifying high-yielding beans. Therefore, lines/cultivars from breeding programmes assessed in field trials may provide a low cost and fast way to identify high-yielding bean cultivars with partial resistance to white mould in the subtropical southern hemisphere.     

Comparison between vegetation indices for detecting spatial and temporal variabilities in soybean crop using canopy sensors

Precision Agriculture - Crop monitoring through remote sensing techniques enable greater knowledge of average variability in crop growth. Canopy sensors help provide information on the variability...