Thioredoxin Reductase Is Involved in Development and Pathogenicity in Fusarium graminearum

Fusarium graminearum is one of the causal agents of Fusarium head blight and produces the trichothecene mycotoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON). Thioredoxin reductases (TRRs) play critical roles in the recycling of oxidized thioredoxin. However, their functions are not well known in plant pathogenic fungi. In this study, we characterized a TRR orthologue FgTRR in F. graminearum. The FgTRR-GFP fusion protein localized to the cytoplasm. FgTRR gene deletion demonstrated that FgTRR is involved in hyphal growth, conidiation, sexual reproduction, DON production, and virulence. The ΔTRR mutants also exhibited a defect in pigmentation, the expression level of aurofusarin biosynthesis-related genes was significantly decreased in the FgTRR mutant. Furthermore, the ΔTRR mutants were more sensitive to oxidative stress and aggravated apoptosis-like cell death compared with the wild type strain. Taken together, these results indicate that FgTRR is important in development and pathogenicity in F. graminearum

The bracteatus pineapple genome and domestication of clonally propagated crops

Domestication of clonally propagated crops such as pineapple from South America was hypothesized to be a 'one-step operation'. We sequenced the genome of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus CB5 and assembled 513 Mb into 25 chromosomes with 29,412 genes. Comparison of the genomes of CB5, F153 and MD2 elucidated the genomic basis of fiber production, color formation, sugar accumulation and fruit maturation. We also resequenced 89 Ananas genomes. Cultivars 'Smooth Cayenne' and 'Queen' exhibited ancient and recent admixture, while 'Singapore Spanish' supported a one-step operation of domestication. We identified 25 selective sweeps, including a strong sweep containing a pair of tandemly duplicated bromelain inhibitors. Four candidate genes for self-incompatibility were linked in F153, but were not functional in self-compatible CB5. Our findings support the coexistence of sexual recombination and a one-step operation in the domestication of clonally propagated crops. This work guides the exploration of sexual and asexual domestication trajectories in other clonally propagated crops

A Model Free Adaptive Scheme for Integrated Control of Civil Aircraft Trajectory and Attitude

The adaptive trajectory and attitude control is essential for the four-dimensional (4D) trajectory operation of civil aircraft in symmetric thrust flight. In this work, an integrated trajectory and attitude control scheme is proposed based on the =multi-input multi-output (MIMO) model free adaptive control (MFAC) method. First, the full-form dynamic linearization technique is adopted to build the equivalent data model of aircraft. Also, the MIMO MFAC scheme with saturation constraint is designed to achieve an accurate tracking control for a given 4D trajectory and attitude. Besides, the performance limitations of aircraft are taken into consideration, and the MIMO MFAC scheme with hard constraints is designed. In addition, to improve the simulation efficiency, a control scheme with mixed constraints, i.e., saturation and hard constraints, is further proposed. It can be seen from the simulation results that the proposed method can perform an integrated control of the aircraft 4D trajectory and attitude without precise modeling, and the control performance is better than that of the model-based control method in terms of flight altitude and yaw angle control. The integrated data-driven control scheme proposed in this paper provides a theoretical solution for the precise operation of aircraft under 4D trajectory

Possibility of immediate treatment to soybean processing by-products using screw extrusion: a mini review

Soybeans are an important oil and protein supply crop, but the utilization of by-products from its processing products has never been effectively resolved, while a large number of nutritional resources have been wasted and environmental pollution is serious, restricting the sustainable development of the industry. The critical problem of soybean processing by-products includes excessive levels of microorganisms, residual proteins, metal ions, and other substances. Because the screw extrusion process has potentially advantageous processing characteristics, it appears that it’s just the right solution to the above problem of soybean processing by-products. We propose that this technology may be a potentially scalable technology for the immediate processing of soybean by-products. This paper reviews the theoretical foundations in existing research, briefly discusses the technological advantages, feasibility, and potential risks of this process, and hopes that researchers may pay attention to this technique and conduct feasibility studies

An Investigation on Phenolic and Antioxidant Capacity of Under-utilized Food Legumes Consumed in China

China is a major producer of various kinds of food legumes. Some of the under-utilized food legumes are consumed by the local society from different areas in China. The antioxidant capacity and phytochemical profile of these under-utilized food legumes haven’t been investigated until now. In this study, colorimetric and high-performance liquid chromatography was employed to explore the antioxidant capacity and phytochemical profile of 21 under-utilized food legumes. Different legumes under investigation exhibit a wide range of variations in their total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoids content (TFC) and condensed tannins content (CTC). Among all the legume samples, the velvet bean from Hechi, Guangxi exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity while the white flat bean from Shangrao, Shanxi presented the least antioxidant capacity. Gallic acid was observed to be a major phenolic acid and its content in the velvet bean was significantly higher compared to the other legume samples explored in this study. The composition of flavonoids was different among all the legumes. Kaempferol was observed to be the most predominant flavonoid. The findings of this study will be beneficial for plant breeders, food scientists and consumers for the better selection of germplasm with a high level of phytochemicals that in turn possess maximum health benefits

Research on the Properties of Polysaccharides, Starch, Protein, Pectin, and Fibre in Food Processing

As food components, polysaccharides, starch, protein, pectin, and fibre are often used in the food industry due to their particular functional properties, as well as their efficient, safe, and green characteristics [...

Some Nutritional Characteristics of a Local Landrace of Tepary Bean Seed from the Republic of Benin

The study was led to investigate the proximate nutritional value of white tepary bean from Benin, Africa. The proximate nutritional composition of Tepary bean seed such as crude protein, fat, and carbohydrate were determined by the use of standard methods of analysis, and minerals such as iron, manganese, calcium and magnesium were also determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The result shows that white tepary bean contains 25.69% protein, 0.96% fat and 73.35% total carbohydrates, Iron (Fe) 0.6mg/100g; Manganese (Mn) 2.3 mg/100g; Magnesium (Mg) 51.8 mg/100g and Calcium (Ca) 48 mg/100g. Keywords: Proximate, minerals, fatty acids, white tepary bea

Hydrophobic ionic liquids-assisted polymer recovery during penicillin extraction in aqueous two-phase system

In this study, terminal modified poly(ethylene glycerol) (PEG) was employed as the phase-forming polymer to construct aqueous two-phase (ATP). After the phase equilibrium, 95.8% penicillin could be extracted into imidazole-terminal PEG-rich phase efficiently. Imidazole-terminal PEG (I-PEG) was separated from the aqueous phase containing penicillin to hydrophobic ionic liquid phase at basic pH, and a weak acidic aqueous phase was then employed to recover the I-PEG from the hydrophobic ionic liquid phase into water at pH 5.5-6. The recycle of the polymer was achieved with the aid of hydrophobic ionic liquids. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

ORDERED POROUS ANODIC ALUMINUM OXIDE FILMS MADE BY TWO-STEP ANODIZATION

Porous Anodic Aluminum Oxide (AAO) films were prepared by two-step anodizing in sulfuric and oxalic acid solutions and observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction. The results show that the form of AAO film is affected by the varieties and concentrations of electrolyte, anodizing voltage, and the anodizing time; the formation and evolution processes of the AAO film are relative with the anodizing voltage severely, and the appropriate voltage is helpful to the ordering of the holes. The formation of the AAO film could be explained based on the present experiment and some former models.Porous, anodic aluminum oxide, anodizing, two-step anodization