Leaf anatomical characteristics in safflower genotypes as affected by drought stress

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a drought-tolerant species that grows in arid and semi-arid environments exposing to long periods of water deficit stress. Structure and functions of the plant organs including leaf anatomy are affected by drought stress. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of drought stress on some leaf anatomical traits including leaf thickness, upper and lower epidermal thickness, xylem width, metaxylem diameter, and vascular bundle width and their relationship with grain yield using 20 safflower genotypes under field conditions. A randomized complete block design was used in each of the non-stress and drought stress field conditions. Analysis of variance showed that drought stress significantly reduced all variables measured except vascular bundle width. The results also revealed the positive and significant correlations between grain yield with leaf thickness (r = 0.53**) and xylem width (r = 0.51**) under drought stress conditions. Due to this fact, the leaves thickness and xylem width could be considered key structural features of leaves that manage the ability of a safflower genotype to tolerate water deficit stress. Therefore these traits could be used as criteria to select tolerant genotype that were more tolerant to drought

Genetic Analysis of Agronomic Traits in Safflower (Carthamus tinctorious L.)

Genetics of agronomic traits in safflower was determined using 6×6 full diallel population. Data were recorded on days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, primary branches per plant, head diameter, number of heads per plant, number of seeds per head, 1000-seed weight and seed yield per plant. Variance components showed that days to maturity and heads per plant were largely controlled by dominance gene effects, whereas 1000-seed weight, plant height and seeds per head were governed by additive type of gene action. The results also revealed both additive and non-additive types of gene actions for remaining traits. The significant mean squares of reciprocal crosses for days to flowering, head diameter, number of seeds per head, 1000-seed weight and seed yield per plant suggested that maternal inheritance also played an important role in the inheritance of these traits. Significant general combining ability for yield revealed that genetic improvement through accumulation of desirable alleles from parents in the target genotype using appropriate selection methods would be desirable in safflower

The effects of salt stress on physio-biochemical traits, total phenolic and mucilage content of <i>Plantago ovata</i> Forsk under <i>in vitro</i> conditions

Plantago ovata Forsk (psyllium) is an important source of mucilage which is an ingredient in certain drugs and foodstuffs. The calli of 14 genotypes of psyllium were cultured on MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) medium containing 0, 100, and 200 mM NaCl, for four weeks, and the effects of salt stress on the following callus traits were evaluated: growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR), relative water content (RWC), Na+ concentration, K+ concentration, K+/Na+ ratio, proline content, total phenolic compounds (TPC), and mucilage content. A reducing trend was observed in GR, RGR, RWC and K+/ Na+ of the callus cultured in the medium with 100 mM NaCl, comparing to NaCl-free medium, while an increasing trend was observed in Na+ content, proline content, and TPC under the same conditions. Mucilage content of callus was found to increase in the medium containing 100 mM NaCl (0.13 g g-1 DW) but decreased afterwards at 200 mM NaCl (0.117 g g-1 DW), albeit with significant variations among genotypes. The results showed that among evaluated genotypes, Isfahan-1 was the most salt tolerant genotype at cellular level. In addition, the highest mucilage content was obtained in Khor-Biabanak genotype when the calli grown at 100 mM NaCl. It was postulated that mucilage content likely to be associated with salt tolerance and could be exploited to counteract the negative osmotic potential in callus affected by salt stress in P. ovata

Do ancient wheats contain less gluten than modern bread wheat, in favour of better health?

Popular media messaging has led to increased public perception that gluten-containing foods are bad for health. In parallel, ‘ancient grains’ have been promoted with claims that they contain less gluten. There appears to be no clear definition of ‘ancient grains’ but the term usually includes einkorn, emmer, spelt and Khorasan wheat. Gluten is present in all wheat grains and all can induce coeliac disease (CD) in genetically susceptible individuals. Analyses of ‘ancient’ and ‘modern’ wheats show that the protein content of modern bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) has decreased over time while the starch content increased. In addition, it was shown that, compared to bread wheat, ancient wheats contain more protein and gluten and greater contents of many CD-active epitopes. Consequently, no single wheat type can be recommended as better for reducing the risks of or mitigating the severity of CD. An estimated 10% of the population of Western countries suffers from gastrointestinal symptoms that lack a clear organic cause and is often referred to as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Many of these patients consider themselves gluten sensitive, but in most cases this is not confirmed when tested in a medical setting. Instead, it may be caused by gas formation due to fermentation of fructans present in wheat or, in some patients, effects of non-gluten proteins. A significant overlap of symptoms with those of CD, IBS and inflammatory bowel disease makes a medical diagnosis a priority. This critical narrative review examines the suggestion that ‘ancient’ wheat types are preferred for health and better tolerance

Genetic Variation in Safflower (Carthamus tinctorious L.) for Seed Quality-Related Traits and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) Markers

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorious L.) is an oilseed crop that is valued as a source of high quality vegetable oil. The genetic diversity of 16 safflower genotypes originated from different geographical regions of Iran and some with exotic origin were evaluated. Eight different seed quality-related traits including fatty acid composition of seed oil (stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid), the contents of, oil, protein, fiber and ash in its seeds, as well as 20 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) polymorphic primers were used in this study. Analysis of variance showed significant variation in genotypes for the seed quality-related traits. Based on ISSR markers, a total of 204 bands were amplified and 149 bands (about 70%) of these were polymorphic. Cluster analysis based on either biochemical or molecular markers classified the genotypes into four groups, showing some similarities between molecular and biochemical markers for evaluated genotypes. A logical similarity between the genotype clusters based on molecular data with their geographical origins was observed

Do ancient wheats contain less gluten than modern bread wheat, in favour of better health?

Popular media messaging has led to increased public perception that gluten‐containing foods are bad for health. In parallel, ‘ancient grains’ have been promoted with claims that they contain less gluten. There appears to be no clear definition of ‘ancient grains’ but the term usually includes einkorn, emmer, spelt and Khorasan wheat. Gluten is present in all wheat grains and all can induce coeliac disease (CD) in genetically susceptible individuals. Analyses of ‘ancient’ and ‘modern’ wheats show that the protein content of modern bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) has decreased over time while the starch content increased. In addition, it was shown that, compared to bread wheat, ancient wheats contain more protein and gluten and greater contents of many CD‐active epitopes. Consequently, no single wheat type can be recommended as better for reducing the risks of or mitigating the severity of CD. An estimated 10% of the population of Western countries suffers from gastrointestinal symptoms that lack a clear organic cause and is often referred to as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Many of these patients consider themselves gluten sensitive, but in most cases this is not confirmed when tested in a medical setting. Instead, it may be caused by gas formation due to fermentation of fructans present in wheat or, in some patients, effects of non‐gluten proteins. A significant overlap of symptoms with those of CD, IBS and inflammatory bowel disease makes a medical diagnosis a priority. This critical narrative review examines the suggestion that ‘ancient’ wheat types are preferred for health and better tolerance

Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4–40·7) to 50·3% (50·0–50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1–46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5–29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2–89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664–711) of the 1830 (1797–1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6–80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6–59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation

Anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2018

Anemia is a globally widespread condition in women and is associated with reduced economic productivity and increased mortality worldwide. Here we map annual 2000–2018 geospatial estimates of anemia prevalence in women of reproductive age (15–49 years) across 82 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), stratify anemia by severity and aggregate results to policy-relevant administrative and national levels. Additionally, we provide subnational disparity analyses to provide a comprehensive overview of anemia prevalence inequalities within these countries and predict progress toward the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) to reduce anemia by half by 2030. Our results demonstrate widespread moderate improvements in overall anemia prevalence but identify only three LMICs with a high probability of achieving the WHO GNT by 2030 at a national scale, and no LMIC is expected to achieve the target in all their subnational administrative units. Our maps show where large within-country disparities occur, as well as areas likely to fall short of the WHO GNT, offering precision public health tools so that adequate resource allocation and subsequent interventions can be targeted to the most vulnerable populations.Peer reviewe

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic