Otto Appel and his contributions to food quality and safety at the beginning of the 20th century

Otto Appel (1867-1952) is best known for his research in the field of phytopathology, in particular for his discoveries on bacterial and fungal diseases of crops such as potato and cereals. His work ranged from fundamental research, like the discovery and description of pathogens and their ways to affect their host plants, to applied research on cultivation practices and storage methods. He published numerous scientific articles as well as practical recommendations for farmers in form of flyers and pocket books with the aim to improve yield and quality and to reduce losses and, thus, securing the supply with plant based food and materials. His commitment to applied research was also reflected in his long-term membership in the boardof the Association for Applied Botany and later on in the awarding of Honorary Presidency of the Association. As director of the Federal Biological Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry in Berlin, he was the key player in setting up an efficient and well-organized plant protection service in Germany.Otto Appel’s achievements significantly influenced agricultural practices and generally enhanced food quality and safety in Germany and beyond. They are still remembered today, when the Deutsche Phytomedizinische Gesellschaft awards the Otto Appel Medal to outstanding researchers in phytomedicine every two years

Arabidopsis thaliana nucleosidase mutants provide new insights into nucleoside degradation

A central step in nucleoside and nucleobase salvage pathways is the hydrolysis of nucleosides to their respective nucleobases. In plants this is solely accomplished by nucleosidases (EC 3.2.2.x).To elucidate the importance of nucleosidases for nucleoside degradation, general metabolism, and plant growth, thorough phenotypic and biochemical analyses were performed using Arabidopsis thaliana T-DNA insertion mutants lacking expression of the previously identified genes annotated as uridine ribohydrolases (URH1 and URH2).Comprehensive functional analyses of single and double mutants demonstrated that both isoforms are unimportant for seedling establishment and plant growth, while one participates in uridine degradation. Rather unexpectedly, nucleoside and nucleotide profiling and nucleosidase activity screening of soluble crude extracts revealed a deficiency of xanthosine and inosine hydrolysis in the single mutants, with substantial accumulation of xanthosine in one of them. Mixing of the two mutant extracts, and by in vitro activity reconstitution using a mixture of recombinant URH1 and URH2 proteins, both restored activity, thus providing biochemical evidence that at least these two isoforms are needed for inosine and xanthosine hydrolysis.This mutant study demonstrates the utility of in vivo systems for the examination of metabolic activities, with the discovery of the new substrate xanthosine and elucidation of a mechanism for expanding the nucleosidase substrate spectrum

Preface to the FRUTIC- 2019 Symposium

Fresh fruit and vegetables are the major source of essential vitamins and minerals, which are needed for human health and well-being. They are, however, perishable living products that request continuous measures for quality keeping by growers, storage operators, processors, and retailers. Sampling of fresh produce for assessing appearance, texture, flavour, and nutritional value have been established quality criteria, whereas non-invasive measurements on each individual product pre- and postharvest with traceability along the supply chain are becoming important for all role players. The FRUTIC-2019 provided a platform for researchers and practitioners to engage in technical discussions about innovations and new technologies, and explore further areas of research needed in the industry to promote quality and safety of fruit and vegetables. The first symposium of the FRUTIC series took place in Israel 1983, followed by USA, Spain, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Chile. In 2017 and 2018 FRUTIC was organized in cooperation with FRUIT LOGISTICA in Berlin, Germany, in September 2019 FRUTIC was held in Hong Kong in cooperation with ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA. Scientists presented their topics at the site of the ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA trade fair at the AsiaWorld-EXPO of Hong Kong, in industry-oriented sections. Some of the selected talks are now published as full articles in this Special Issue. The FRUTIC-2019 event provided a concerted action that brought together academic scientists and the role players from fresh produce industry, to interact with each other for the purpose of information dissemination, sharing practical experience and developing road maps for the most effective way to reach the common goals. We would like to thank all participants for their contributions to the symposium program and for their contributions to this special issue. We also express our sincere thanks to the Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality team for publishing this special issue on time

Journal of Cultivated Plants: A 100-year history

Das Journal für Kulturpflanzen blickt auf eine 100-jährigeHistorie zurück. Angefangen als Nachrichtenblatt für den Deutschen Pflanzenschutzdienst hatte es von Beginn an die Aufgabe, die Pflanzenschutzdienststellen und die Landwirtschaft über aktuelle Entwicklungen der Pflanzenschutzforschung zu informieren und so zu einer Ertragssteigerung und damit besseren Versorgung der Bevölkerung mit Nahrungsmitteln beizutragen. Während seiner Geschichte erlebte die Zeitschrift häufigere Titeländerungen, was zum einen der durch Krieg und Teilung gekennzeichneten Historie Deutschlands und zum anderen der damit verbundenen dynamischen Entwicklung der deutschen Ressortforschung geschuldet ist. Seiner Rolle als Mittler zwischen Wissenschaft, Beratung und Praxis ist das Journal für Kulturpflanzen aber bis heute treu geblieben.The Journal of Cultivated Plants looks back on a 100-year history. Starting out as Nachrichtenblatt für den Deutschen Pflanzenschutzdienst, it had the task from the outset ofinforming plant protection services and agriculture about current developments in plant protection research and thus contributing to an increase in yields and a better supply of food for the population. During its history, the journal experienced more frequent title changes, due on the one hand to Germany's history, which was marked by war and division, and on the other hand to the associated dynamic development of German departmental research. However, the Journal of Cultivated Plants has remained true to its role as a mediator between agricultural scientists, consultants and users

Phase transformation and characterization of 3D reactive microstructures in nanoscale Al/Ni multilayers

Reactive multilayer systems represent an innovative approach for potential usage in chip joining applications. As there are several factors governing the energy release rate and the stored chemical energy, the impact of the morphology and the microstructure on the reaction behavior is of great interest. In the current work, 3D reactive microstructures with nanoscale Al/Ni multilayers were produced by alternating deposition of pure Ni and Al films onto nanostructured Si substrates by magnetron sputtering. In order to elucidate the influence of this 3D morphology on the phase transformation process, the microstructure and the morphology of this system were characterized and compared with a flat reactive multilayer system on a flat Si wafer. The characterization of both systems was carried out before and after a rapid thermal annealing treatment by using scanning and transmission electron microscopy of the cross sections, selected area diffraction analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The bent shape of multilayers caused by the complex topography of silicon needles of the nanostructured substrate was found to favor the atomic diffusion at the early stage of phase transformation and the formation of two intermetallic phases Al0.42Ni0.58 and AlNi3, unlike the flat multilayers that formed a single phase AlNi after reaction

A functional analysis of the pyrimidine catabolic pathway in Arabidopsis

Reductive catabolism of pyrimidine nucleotides occurs via a three-step pathway in which uracil is degraded to β-alanine, CO2 and NH3 through sequential activities of dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (EC 1.3.1.2, PYD1), dihydropyrimidinase (EC 3.5.2.2, PYD2) and β-ureidopropionase (EC 3.5.1.6, PYD3).A proposed function of this pathway, in addition to the maintenance of pyrimidine homeostasis, is the recycling of pyrimidine nitrogen to general nitrogen metabolism. PYD expression and catabolism of [2-14C]-uracil are markedly elevated in response to nitrogen limitation in plants, which can utilize uracil as a nitrogen source.PYD1, PYD2 and PYD3 knockout mutants were used for functional analysis of this pathway in Arabidopsis. pyd mutants exhibited no obvious phenotype under optimal growing conditions. pyd2 and pyd3 mutants were unable to catabolize [2-14C]-uracil or to grow on uracil as the sole nitrogen source. By contrast, catabolism of uracil was reduced by only 40% in pyd1 mutants, and pyd1 seedlings grew nearly as well as wild-type seedlings with a uracil nitrogen source. These results confirm PYD1 function and suggest the possible existence of another, as yet unknown, activity for uracil degradation to dihydrouracil in this plant.The localization of PYD-green fluorescent protein fusions in the plastid (PYD1), secretory system (PYD2) and cytosol (PYD3) suggests potentially complex metabolic regulation

Correction to Harbart et. al (2022)

A corrected version of the article "Antifogging additives for greenhouse covers - effects on phytochemicals and nutritional quality of lettuce" by Vanessa Harbart, Hans-Peter Kläring and Susanne Baldermann has been issued. Although every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of the information, an  intentional error was overlooked during the rigorous review process and incorrect data for Daily light integral (DLI) was printed in Tab. 1 of the published version from Jun 15, 2022. The authors sincerely apologize for any confusion or inconvenience caused by this oversight. The corrected data for Daily light integral (DLI) is published in the corrected version from June 12, 2023. The change does not affect other data in this article or its overall conclusions. Both versions are available at https://doi.org/10.5073/JABFQ.2022.095.01

Editorial - 100 years Journal of Applied Botany

This year we want to celebrate the 100th birthday of our journal, which was first published as Angewandte Botanik (= Applied Botany) in 1919. It started as journal for members of the “Vereinigung für Angewandte Botanik (German Society for Applied Botany)” only. On a monthly basis, it delivered the newest research results in the field of applied botany as well as short communications, literature reviews and reports from scientific meetings to the German speaking research community. After a short publication hiatus in the 1940ies, society members continued to report their findings, quickly exhausting the available print pages. Throughout the years, English titles and summaries where added, making the journal accessible for a wider, non-German speaking audience. The final step into the international research community was the opening of the journal for authors, who were not society members in the 1980ies. In 2004, the “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Qualitätsforschung - Pflanzliche Lebensmittel (German Society for Quality Research in Plant Foods)” joined the journal due to partial overlap in their research focus, thus, making it the Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality as we know it today. The latest change happened in 2013, with the switch from a subscription based print journal to an online-only gold open access journal.  This once again broadened the readership and gained the attention of even more international researchers, which nowadays make up the majority of our journal authors. The first article in "Angewandte Botanik" published in 1919 was submitted by Otto Appel, a phytopathologist well known for his discoveries on bacterial and fungal diseases of crops such as potato and cereals. His work ranged from fundamental research to applied research and reflected in his long-term membership in the board of the Association for Applied Botany. In the first contribution of this special jubilee section Hartwig Schulz and Heike Riegler report about "Otto Appel and his contributions to food quality and safety at the beginning of the 20th century" and give insights into the major challenges in phytopathology at the early years of the 20th century and discoveries by Otto Appel in this field. Maik Kleinwächter and Dirk Selmar prepared a contribution about "Modern Applied Botany - Changes in the perception of applied botanists to themselves and others during the last century. Three recent examples of the scientific potential of this field". They give a short outline on the history of applied research in plant biology in Germany and illustrate the relevance of modern Applied Botany in three relevant post-harvest processes. They state that interdisciplinary work and intensive cooperation with growers and producers is an integral part of developing feasible and economically acceptable solutions that can be successfully transferred into practice. The major challenge in Applied Botany today is the implementation of new concepts and ideas into product-related research. In the third article in the special section Claudia Bahmann, Thomas Rinas, Nicolas Niemenak, Elsa Hegmann, Bernward Bisping, David Seigler and Reinhard Lieberei describe how "Cacao seed tests controls transport processes during germination and fermentation-like incubation". The contribution of Muna Ali Abdalla and Karl H. Mühling leads us to "Plant-derived sulfur containing natural products produced as a response to biotic and abiotic stresses. A review of their structural diversity and medicinal importance" and reveals the diversity in structure and function of secondary compounds in plants. In the article written by Wolfgang Kreis "Exploiting plant cell culture for natural product formation" we get insights into the high expectations researchers and industry had on the exploitation of plant cell cultures from a historical and personal point of view. Imke Hutter and Carolin Schneider report on the current state of "Commercial micropropagation in Germany" from the applied site. In an interdisciplinary project, Jan Philipp Schuchardt, Andreas Hahn, Theresa Greupner, Paulina Wasserfurth, María Rosales-López, Johann Hornbacher and Jutta Papenbrock work on different aspects concerning "Watercress – cultivation methods and health effects". Georg Langenkämper and Christian Zörb submit an article about "Modern aspects of wheat grain storage proteins". Finally, on the interaction of plants with microorganisms, in this case fungi, is shed light on by Oluwatosin Abdulsalam, Erika Kothe and Katrin Krause in "The parasitic-neutral-mutual continuum of plant-fungal interactions"