Semi-viviparous embryo development and dehydrin expression in the mangrove Rhizophora mucronata Lam.

Rhizophora mucronata Lam. is a tropical mangrove with semi-viviparous (cotyledon body protrusion before shedding), non-quiescent and non-desiccating (recalcitrant) seeds. As recalcitrance has been thought to relate to the absence of desiccation-related proteins such as dehydrins, we for the first time systematically described and classified embryogenesis in R. mucronata and assessed the presence of dehydrin-like proteins. Embryogenesis largely follows the classic pattern till stage eight, the torpedo stage, with the formation of a cotyledonary body. Ovule and embryo express radical adaptations to semi-vivipary in the saline environment: (1) A large, highly vacuolated and persistent endosperm without noticeable food reserves that envelopes the developing embryo. (2) Absence of vascular tissue connections between embryo and maternal tissue, but, instead, transfer layers in between endosperm and integument and endosperm and embryo. Dehydrin-like proteins (55–65 kDa) were detected by the Western analysis, in the ovules till stage 10 when the integuments are dehisced. An additional 50 kDa band was detected at stages 6–8. Together these results suggest a continuous flow of water with nutrients from the integument via the endosperm to the embryo, circumventing the vascular route and probably suppressing the initially induced dehydrin expression

Mechanics rules cell biology

Cells in the musculoskeletal system are subjected to various mechanical forces in vivo. Years of research have shown that these mechanical forces, including tension and compression, greatly influence various cellular functions such as gene expression, cell proliferation and differentiation, and secretion of matrix proteins. Cells also use mechanotransduction mechanisms to convert mechanical signals into a cascade of cellular and molecular events. This mini-review provides an overview of cell mechanobiology to highlight the notion that mechanics, mainly in the form of mechanical forces, dictates cell behaviors in terms of both cellular mechanobiological responses and mechanotransduction

Food grade polymers for the gelation of edible oils envisioning food applications

Oleogels are systems traditionally produced by the self-assembly of materials called gelators, which are responsible for inducing viscosity and solid-like capabilities to oil-based systems. The emergent interest concerning oil structuring strategies in food applications is related to oleogels' capacity to undergo structural and textural tailoring, and the possibility of their use in delivery of bioactive compounds.This research was supported by Norte Regional Operational Program 2014–2020 (Norte2020) through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Nanotechnology based functional solutions (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000019). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The authors acknowledge the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP01-0124-FEDER-027462). Artur Martins is recipient of a fellowship supported by a doctoral advanced training (call NORTE- 69-2015-15) funded by the European Social Fund under the scope of Norte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Structural properties of protein and their role in polymer nanocomposites

The growing concern over the environment raises the question of\u3cbr/\u3ebiodegradability and renewability in numerous fields, including materials and\u3cbr/\u3eenergy. Therefore, industries and researchers focus more on the development of biomaterials generated from natural sources. In this context, proteins and their unique properties made them ideal candidates to be used in different novel applications and are not limited to films, hydrogels, biological tissue engineering, and polymer composites. In this chapter, authors highlight the different sources of protein and their structural properties. Then, the extraction methods are discussed in detail. Further, the different processing methods to prepare the protein-based composites were explained. In overall, this chapter aims to highlight the recent developments of protein-based materials in different fields, based on the literature