A Journey to the West: The Ancient Dispersal of Rice Out of East Asia

Rice is one of the most culturally valued and widely grown crops in the world today, and extensive research over the past decade has clarified much of the narrative of its domestication and early spread across East and South Asia. However, the timing and routes of its dispersal into West Asia and Europe, through which rice eventually became an important ingredient in global cuisines, has remained less clear. In this article, we discuss the piecemeal, but growing, archaeobotanical data for rice in West Asia. We also integrate written sources, linguistic data, and ethnohistoric analogies, in order to better understand the adoption of rice outside its regions of origin. The human-mediated westward spread of rice proceeded gradually, while its social standing and culinary uses repeatedly changing over time and place. Rice was present in West Asia and Europe by the tail end of the first millennium BC, but did not become a significant crop in West Asia until the past few centuries. Complementary historical, linguistic, and archaeobotanical data illustrate two separate and roughly contemporaneous routes of westward dispersal, one along the South Asian coast and the other through Silk Road trade. By better understanding the adoption of this water-demanding crop in the arid regions of West Asia, we explore an important chapter in human adaptation and agricultural decision making

A Journey to the West: The Ancient Dispersal of Rice Out of East Asia.

Funder: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human HistoryRice is one of the most culturally valued and widely grown crops in the world today, and extensive research over the past decade has clarified much of the narrative of its domestication and early spread across East and South Asia. However, the timing and routes of its dispersal into West Asia and Europe, through which rice eventually became an important ingredient in global cuisines, has remained less clear. In this article, we discuss the piecemeal, but growing, archaeobotanical data for rice in West Asia. We also integrate written sources, linguistic data, and ethnohistoric analogies, in order to better understand the adoption of rice outside its regions of origin. The human-mediated westward spread of rice proceeded gradually, while its social standing and culinary uses repeatedly changing over time and place. Rice was present in West Asia and Europe by the tail end of the first millennium BC, but did not become a significant crop in West Asia until the past few centuries. Complementary historical, linguistic, and archaeobotanical data illustrate two separate and roughly contemporaneous routes of westward dispersal, one along the South Asian coast and the other through Silk Road trade. By better understanding the adoption of this water-demanding crop in the arid regions of West Asia, we explore an important chapter in human adaptation and agricultural decision making

When did the chicken cross the road: archaeological and molecular evidence for ancient chickens in Central Asia

The origins and dispersal of the chicken across the ancient world remains one of the most enigmatic questions regarding Eurasian domesticated animals1,2. The lack of agreement regarding the timing and center of origin is due, in large part, to issues with morphological identifications, a lack of direct dating, and poor preservation of thin bird bones. Historical sources attest to the prominence of chickens in southern Europe and southwest Asia by the last centuries BC3. Likewise, art historical depictions of chickens and anthropomorphic rooster-human chimeras are reoccurring motifs in Central Asian prehistoric and historic traditions4-6. However, when this ritually and economically significant bird spread along the trans-Eurasian exchange routes has remained a mystery. Here we show that chickens were widely raised by people at villages across southern Central Asia from the third century BC through medieval periods for their eggs and likely also meat. In this study, we present archaeological and molecular evidence for the cultivation of chickens for egg production from 12 different Central Asian archaeological sites spanning a millennium and a half. These eggshells were recovered in high abundance at all of these sites, suggesting that chickens were widely raised by people at villages across southern Central Asia from the third century BC through medieval periods and that they were an important part of the overall diet. Contrary to views that ancient peoples of Central Asia were primarily herding sheep, goat, and cattle, these data show that chicken was also important in the subsistence economy and that it was widely spread along the ancient Silk Road.Introduction - Rapid Dissemination across the Ancient World Results - Archaeological Eggshells - Peptide Mass Fingerprinting Discussion - Evidence for Non-Seasonal Egg Laying - The Rise in Symbolic and Economic Prominence of the Chicken in Central Asia Conclusion

Влияние интенсивности светодиодного освещения на биохимический состав микрозелени капусты белокочанной

In recent years, there has been a trend in Belarus towards a significant increase in demand for the products of microgreens of vegetable crops, including white cabbage, as a source of a wide range of useful substances. At the same time, an important aspect when growing microgreens in a closed controlled environment is lighting, which is both a signal for growth and development and a source of energy for higher plants. Plants adapt to the conditions of the light environment not only via changes in morphophysiological parameters, but also via restructuring their light-collecting complex. One of the most important parameters of the lighting mode is the photon flux density – the intensity of illumination, which significantly affects both the growth of biomass and the accumulation of secondary metabolites. The results of a comparative study of the influence of the intensity of LED lighting are presented (50, 100, 150, 200, 250 μm/m2·s) for the content of chlorophylls, carotenoids and ß-carotene, dry, tannin and pectin substances, free organic, ascorbic and hydroxy acids in the samples of white cabbage microgreens, soluble sugars, the main groups of bioflavonoids – mainly anthocyanins, leucoanthocyanins, catechins, flavonols and the indicator of the sugar acid index. It has been determined that the leading position in the experiment in terms of the integral level of nutritional vitamin value of this product, exceeding that in the control by 1.4 times, belonged to the variant of the experiment with a minimum intensity of LED lighting of 50 μm/m2·s, whereas for the variant with an intensity of lighting of 150 μm/m2·s, a lag in this regard from the control by 1.1 times and, accordingly, from more successful variants of the experiment by 1.2–1.6 times, which allowed to consider it ineffective. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time in the conditions of the republic, a comprehensive biochemical study of samples of white cabbage grown at different intensities of LED lighting was carried out, which made it possible to recommend this vegetable crop for industrial production of micro-greenery.В последние годы в Беларуси наметилась тенденция к существенному увеличению спроса на продукцию микрозелени овощных культур, в том числе капусты белокочанной, как источника широкого спектра полезных веществ. Вместе с этим значимый аспект при выращивании микрозелени в условиях закрытой контролируемой среды – освещение, которое для высших растений одновременно является сигналом к росту и развитию и источником энергии. Растения адаптируются к условиям световой среды не только изменениями морфофизиологических показателей, но и перестройкой своего светособирающего комплекса. Одним из наиболее важных параметров режима освещения является величина плотности потока фотонов – интенсивность освещения, которая значительно влияет как на рост биомассы, так и накопление вторичных метаболитов. Приведены результаты сравнительного исследования влияния интенсивности светодиодного освещения (50, 100, 150, 200, 250 мкм/м2·с) на содержание в образцах микрозелени капусты белокочанной хлорофиллов, каротиноидов и ß-каротина, сухих, дубильных и пектиновых веществ, свободных органических, аскорбиновой и гидроксикоричных кислот, растворимых сахаров, основных групп биофлавоноидов – собственно антоцианов, лейкоантоцианов, катехинов, флавонолов и показатель сахарокислотного индекса. Установлено, что лидирующее положение в эксперименте по интегральному уровню питательной витаминной ценности данной продукции, превосходившему таковой в контроле в 1,4 раза, принадлежало варианту опыта с минимальной интенсивностью светодиодного освещения – 50 мкм/м2·с, тогда как для варианта с интенсивностью освещения 150 мкм/м2·с было показано отставание в этом плане от контроля в 1,1 раза и, соответственно, от более успешных вариантов опыта в 1,2–1,6 раза, что позволило считать его неэффективным. Новизна исследований заключается в том, что впервые в условиях республики проведено комплексное биохимическое изучение образцов капусты белокочанной, выращенной при различной интенсивности светодиодного освещения, что дало возможность рекомендовать данную овощную культуру для использования при промышленном производстве микрозелени.

Peat-Inhabiting <i>Verrucomicrobia</i> of the Order <i>Methylacidiphilales</i> Do Not Possess Methanotrophic Capabilities

Methanotrophic verrucomicrobia of the order Methylacidiphilales are known as extremely acidophilic, thermophilic or mesophilic bacteria that inhabit acidic geothermal ecosystems. The occurrence of verrucomicrobial methanotrophs in other types of acidic environments remains an open question. Notably, Methylacidiphilales-affiliated 16S rRNA gene sequences are commonly retrieved from acidic (pH 3.5–5.5) peatlands. In this study, we compared the patterns of verrucomicrobial diversity in four acidic raised bogs and six neutral fens located in European North Russia. Methylacidiphilales-like 16S rRNA gene reads displaying 83–86% similarity to 16S rRNA gene sequences of currently described verrucomicrobial methanotrophs were recovered exclusively from raised bogs. Laboratory incubation of peat samples with 10% methane for 3 weeks resulted in the pronounced increase of a relative abundance of alphaproteobacterial methanotrophs, while no response was detected for Methylacidiphilales-affiliated bacteria. Three metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of peat-inhabiting Methylacidiphilales bacteria were reconstructed and examined for the presence of genes encoding methane monooxygenase enzymes and autotrophic carbon fixation pathways. None of these genomic determinants were detected in assembled MAGs. Metabolic reconstructions predicted a heterotrophic metabolism, with a potential to hydrolyze several plant-derived polysaccharides. As suggested by our analysis, peat-inhabiting representatives of the Methylacidiphilales are acidophilic aerobic heterotrophs, which comprise a sister family of the methanotrophic Methylacidiphilaceae

Highly Distinct Microbial Communities in Elevated Strings and Submerged Flarks in the Boreal Aapa-Type Mire

Large areas in the northern hemisphere are covered by extensive wetlands, which represent a complex mosaic of raised bogs, eutrophic fens, and aapa mires all in proximity to each other. Aapa mires differ from other types of wetlands by their concave surface, heavily watered by the central part, as well as by the presence of large-patterned string-flark complexes. In this paper, we characterized microbial diversity patterns in the surface peat layers of the neighboring string and flark structures located within the mire site in the Vologda region of European North Russia, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The microbial communities in raised strings were clearly distinct from those in submerged flarks. Strings were dominated by the Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria. Other abundant groups were the Acidobacteriota, Bacteroidota, Verrucomicrobiota, Actinobacteriota, and Planctomycetota. Archaea accounted for only 0.4% of 16S rRNA gene sequences retrieved from strings. By contrast, they comprised about 22% of all sequences in submerged flarks and mostly belonged to methanogenic lineages. Methanotrophs were nearly absent. Other flark-specific microorganisms included the phyla Chloroflexi, Spirochaetota, Desulfobacterota, Beijerinckiaceae- and Rhodomicrobiaceae-affiliated Alphaproteobacteria, and uncultivated groups env.OPS_17 and vadinHA17 of the Bacteroidota. Such pattern probably reflects local anaerobic conditions in the submerged peat layers in flarks

New coumarin from the roots of <i>Prangos pabularia</i>

<p>The new coumarin <b>1</b>, yuganin A (7-methoxy-8-((1<i>S</i>,2<i>S</i>)-1,2,3-trihydroxy-3-methylbutyl)-2<i>H</i>-chromen-2-one) along with nine known coumarins, heraclenol 3′-<i>O</i>-β-D-glucopyranoside (<b>2</b>), oxypeucedanin hydrate 3′-<i>O</i>-β-D-glucopyranoside (<b>3</b>), heraclenol (<b>4</b>), oxypeucedanin hydrate (<b>5</b>), osthole (<b>6</b>), oxypeucedanin (<b>7</b>), heraclenin (<b>8</b>), isoimperatorin (<b>9</b>), imperatorin (<b>10</b>) and the disaccharide sucrose (<b>11</b>), have been isolated from the roots of <i>Prangos pabularia</i>, and the structures of these isolated compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic means, especially, UV, HR-ESIMS, and 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. Furthermore, the anti-melanogenic effect of yuganin A and its inhibitory effect on B16 cells were evaluated. Yuganin A may be useful in the treatment of hyperpigmentation and as a skin-whitening agent in the cosmetics industry.</p

Homoarginine Supplementation Prevents Left Ventricular Dilatation and Preserves Systolic Function in a Model of Coronary Artery Disease

Background Homoarginine ( hA rg) has been shown to be cardioprotective in a model of ischemic heart failure; however, the mechanism remains unknown. hA rg can inhibit tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase ( TNAP ), an enzyme that promotes vascular calcification. We hypothesized that hA rg will exert beneficial effects by reducing calcification in a mouse model of coronary artery disease associated with TNAP overexpression and hypercholesterolemia. Methods and Results TNAP was overexpressed in the endothelium in mice homozygous for a low-density lipoprotein receptor mutation (wicked high cholesterol [ WHC ] allele). WHC and WHC -endothelial TNAP mice received placebo or hA rg supplementation (14 mg/L in drinking water) starting at 6 weeks of age simultaneously with an atherogenic diet. Outcomes were compared between the groups after 4 to 5 weeks on treatment. Experiments were performed in males, which presented a study limitation. As expected, WHC -endothelial TNAP mice on the placebo had increased mortality (median survival 27 days, P<0.0001), increased coronary calcium and lipids ( P<0.01), increased left ventricular end-diastolic diameter ( P<0.0001), reduced ejection fraction ( P<0.05), and increased myocardial fibrosis ( P<0.0001) compared with WHC mice. Contrary to our hypothesis, hA rg neither inhibited TNAP activity in vivo nor reduced coronary artery calcification and atherosclerosis in WHC -endothelial TNAP mice; however, compared with the placebo, hA rg prevented left ventricular dilatation ( P<0.01), preserved ejection fraction ( P<0.05), and reduced myocardial fibrosis ( P<0.001). Conclusions The beneficial effect of hA rg supplementation in the setting of calcified coronary artery disease is likely due to its direct protective actions on the myocardial response to the ischemic injury and not to the inhibition of TNAP activity and calcification