Research Publications (Food Safety)

Cadmium (Cd) is a major environmental contaminant due to its widespread industrial use. Cd contamination of soil and water is rather classical but has emerged as a recent problem. Cd toxicity causes a range of damages to plants ranging from germination to yield suppression. Plant physiological functions, i.e., water interactions, essential mineral uptake, and photosynthesis, are also harmed by Cd.

At present, the alleviation of stress caused by climate change and environmental contaminants is a crucial issue. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a persistent organic pollutant (POP) and an organochlorine, which causes significant health problems in humans. The stress caused by cadmium (Cd) and the toxicity of DDT have direct effects on the growth and yield of crop plants.

Exploiting consistent differences in radiation and average air temperature between two experimental vineyards (Ramat Negev, RN and Mitzpe Ramon, MR), we examined the impact of climate variations on total carotenoids, redox status, and phenylpropanoid metabolism in the berries of 10 white wine grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cultivars across three consecutive seasons (2017–2019). The differences in carotenoid and phenylpropanoid contents between sites were seasonal and varietal dependent.

The common ice plant, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L., has recently been found as a good candidate for phytoremediation of heavy-metal polluted soils. This semi-halophyte is a C3/CAM (Crassulacean acid metabolism) intermediate plant capable of tolerating extreme levels of cadmium in the soil. The aim of the work was to obtain and characterize novel, Cd-tolerant microbial strains that populate the root zone of M.

The utilization of nanoparticles to potentially reduce toxicity from metals/metalloids in plants has increased in recent years, which can help them to achieve tolerance under the stressful conditions.

Latex flow in Hevea brasiliensis (the Para rubber tree), the sole commercial source of natural rubber (cis-1,4-polyisoprene, NR), renders it uniquely suited for the study of plant stress responses. Calcineurin B-like interacting protein kinases (CIPK) serving as calcium-sensor protein kinases react with calcineurin B-like proteins (CBL) to play crucial roles in hormone signaling transduction and response to abiotic stress in plant developmental processes.

Vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides L.) has been used to remediate cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soil, while there have been few studies on the influence of Cd exposure on the rhizospheric microbial community and transcriptional expression of C. zizanioides. In this study, we investigated the response of the rhizospheric microbial community and transcriptional expression of C. zizanioides in 20 mg/kg Cd-contaminated soil. The results showed that Cd levels in the roots and shoots of C.

Many fruits and vegetables suffer from unwanted discolorations that reduce product quality, leading to substantial losses along the supply chain. Witloof chicory (Cichorium intybus L. var. foliosum), a specialty crop characterized by its unique bitter taste and crunchiness, is particularly sensitive to various types of red and brown discolorations. The etiolated vegetable suffers from three predominant color disorders, i.e., core browning, internal leaf reddening, and leaf edge browning.

The rice–wheat cropping system (RWCS) is the backbone of Indian farming, especially in the north-western region. But continuous adoption of the RWCS in northwest India has resulted in major challenges and stagnation in the productivity of this system. Additionally, the Indo-Gangetic Plains of Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh are also facing similar challenges for sustainable production of the RWCS.

It has been established that wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has a higher Cd absorption capacity than other cereal crops causing an excess daily Cd intake and a huge threat for public health. Therefore, the reduction of Cd accumulation in wheat from the soil is a crucial food-security issue.

Xyloglucan is a quantitatively major polysaccharide in the primary cell walls of flowering plants and has been reported to affect plants’ ability to tolerate toxic elements. However, it is not known if altering the amounts of xyloglucan in the wall influences the uptake and translocation of inorganic arsenic (As). Here, we identified two Nicotiana tabacum genes that encode xyloglucan-specific xylosyltransferases (XXT), which we named NtXXT1 and NtXXT2.

Fusarium graminearum is one of the primary causal agents of Fusarium head blight (FHB) on wheat and barley. FHB reduces grain yield and contaminates grain with various mycotoxins, including deoxynivalenol (DON). DON acts as a virulence factor to promote the fungus passing the rachis node and spreading throughout the head of wheat but not barley. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are one of the earliest defense responses during plant and pathogen interactions.

Plant exposure to metals is associated with the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, which mediate the oxidation of various molecules including lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. The aim of the present study is the evaluation of the impact of short-term Cu and Pb treatment on oxidative events in the roots of soybean seedlings, with special emphasis on RNA oxidation.

Heavy metals are an increasing problem due to contamination from human sources that and can enter the food chain by being taken up by plants. Understanding the genetic basis of accumulation and tolerance in plants is important for reducing the uptake of toxic metals in crops and crop relatives, as well as for removing heavy metals from soils by means of phytoremediation.

Cadmium (Cd) contamination of croplands jeopardizes sustainable crop production and human health. However, curtailing Cd transfer and mobility in the rhizosphere-plant system is challenging. Sole application of biochar (BC) and thiourea (TU) has been reported to restrain Cd toxicity and uptake in plants. However, the combined applications of BC and TU in mitigating the harmful effects of Cd on plants have not yet been thoroughly investigated.

Plants recognize molecular patterns unique to a certain group of microbes to induce effective resistance mechanisms. Elicitins are secretory proteins produced by plant pathogenic oomycete genera including Phytophthora and Pythium. Treatment of INF1 (an elicitin produced by P.

The double cropping system has been widely applied in many subtropical viticultural regions. In the 2-year study of 2014–2015, four grape varieties were selected to analyze their fruit volatile compounds in four consecutive seasons in the Guangxi region of South China, which had a typical subtropical humid monsoon climate.

Cadmium (Cd) accumulation in agricultural soils constitutes a serious problem for crop yields and food safety. It is known that proline (Pro) can rapidly accumulate in plant tissues in response to abiotic stress.

Large and premature organ abscission may limit the industrial development of fruit crops by causing serious economic losses. It is well accepted that ethylene (ET) is a strong inducer of organ abscission in plants. However, the mechanisms underlying the control of organ abscission by ET are largely unknown.

Induced mutagenesis is a powerful approach for the creation of novel germplasm and the improvement of agronomic traits. The evaluation of mutagenic effects and functional variations in crops is needed for breeding mutant strains. To investigate the mutagenic effects of gamma-ray irradiation in wheat, this study characterized genomic variations of wheat early heading mutant (eh1) as compared to wild-type (WT) Zhongyuan 9 (ZY9).

Food safety has emerged as a high-urgency matter for sustainable agricultural production. Toxic metal contamination of soil and water significantly affects agricultural productivity, which is further aggravated by extreme anthropogenic activities and modern agricultural practices, leaving food safety and human health at risk. In addition to reducing crop production, increased metals/metalloids toxicity also disturbs plants’ demand and supply equilibrium.

Salt stress severely threatens the growth and productivity of Glycyrrhiza uralensis. Previous results found that Bacillus cereus G2 enhanced several carbohydrate contents in G. uralensis under salt stress. Here, we analyzed the changes in parameters related to growth, photosynthesis, carbohydrate transformation, and the glycolysis Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway-tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle by G2 in G. uralensis under salt stress. Results showed that G2 helped G.

To date, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have been widely used in precision agriculture (PA) for crop monitoring and crop spraying, allowing farmers to increase the efficiency of the farming process, meanwhile reducing environmental impact. However, to spray pesticides effectively and safely to the trees in small fields or rugged environments, such as mountain areas, is still an open question.

Grafting typically offers a shortcut to breed tree orchards throughout a multidimensional space of traits. Despite an overwhelming spectrum of rootstock-mediated effects on scion traits observed across several species, the exact nature and mechanisms underlying the rootstock-mediated effects on scion traits in cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) plants often remain overlooked.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) incited by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe is a devastating disease of barley and other cereal crops worldwide. Fusarium head blight is associated with trichothecene mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol (DON), which contaminates grains, making them unfit for malting or animal feed industries. While genetically resistant cultivars offer the best economic and environmentally responsible means to mitigate disease, parent lines with adequate resistance are limited in barley.