Exploitation of Tartary Buckwheat as Sustainable Ingredient for Healthy Foods Production

AbstractTartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn) is a minor crop belonging to the Polygonaceae family that can be considered as sustainable crop thanks to its low input requirements. It is a pseudo-cereal known for its high healthy value related to antioxidant compounds present in its grains. For this reason it could be employed for the production of functional foods. This paper as well as reviewing about the agronomical and nutritional traits of buckwheat also provides the latest experimental results achieved by ENEA research activities

Structural and functional fingerprint of the mitochondrial ATP-binding cassette transporter Mdl1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The ATP-binding cassette half-transporter Mdl1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been proposed to be involved in the quality control of misassembled respiratory chain complexes by exporting degradation products generated by the m-AAA proteases from the matrix. Direct functional or structural data of the transport complex are, however, not known so far. After screening expression in various hosts, Mdl1 was overexpressed 100-fold to 1% of total mitochondrial membrane protein in S. cerevisiae. Based on detergent screens, Mdl1 was solubilized and purified to homogeneity. Mdl1 showed a high binding affinity for MgATP (Kd = 0.26 μm) and an ATPase activity with a Km of 0.86 mm (Hill coefficient of 0.98) and a turnover rate of 2.6 ATP/s. Mutagenesis of the conserved glutamate downstream of the Walker B motif (E599Q) or the conserved histidine of the H-loop (H631A) abolished ATP hydrolysis, whereas ATP binding was not affected. Mdl1 reconstituted into liposomes showed an ATPase activity similar to the solubilized complex. By single particle electron microscopy, a first three-dimensional structure of the mitochondrial ATP-binding cassette transporter was derived at 2.3-nm resolution, revealing a homodimeric complex in an open conformation

Consumer Awareness and Acceptance of Biotechnological Solutions for Gluten-Free Products

Celiac disease is an immune-mediated disorder caused by the ingestion of gluten proteins. The gluten-free diet is currently the only therapy to achieve the symptoms’ remission. Biotechnological approaches are currently being explored to obtain safer and healthier food for celiacs. This article analyzes consumer awareness and acceptance of advanced biotechnologies to develop gluten-free products. An online snowball sampling questionnaire was proposed to 511 Italian participants, selected among celiac and non-celiac people, from December 2020 to January 2021, during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, 64% of respondents favor food biotechnology, as long as it has benefits for health or the environment. Moreover, biotechnology perception differs according to education level and type. A total of 65% of the survey participants would taste gluten-free products obtained through a biotechnological approach, and 57% would buy them at a higher price than the current market price. Our results show a change in public opinion about the usefulness of food biotechnology and its moral acceptability compared to 20 years ago. However, the study of public opinion is very complex, dealing with individuals with social, economic, and cultural differences. Undoubtedly, the scientific dissemination of genetic biotechnologies must be more effective and usable to increase the level of citizens’ awareness

Time tree describing the relative divergence time between <i>Fagopyrum spp</i>. and other dicot species.

<p>Time tree describing the relative divergence time between <i>Fagopyrum spp</i>. and other dicot species.</p

Phylogenetic tree with SNP consistency of each species and accessions.

<p>Figure shows that the SNPs in LD with PIS sharing identity among <i>F</i>. <i>tataricum</i>, <i>F</i>. <i>esculentum</i> and <i>F</i>. <i>dibotrys</i>.</p

Amplification of PAL gene fragment (approximately 2.6 kb size) from <i>F</i>. <i>tataricum</i> genotypes (Gol-Golden, Don-Donan, Jak-Jakar, Chy-Chumey, Cha- N7605Chumoa, PI73-PI481673, PI35-PI427235, FAG50-FAG50, PI72-PI481672).

<p>Amplification of PAL gene fragment (approximately 2.6 kb size) from <i>F</i>. <i>tataricum</i> genotypes (Gol-Golden, Don-Donan, Jak-Jakar, Chy-Chumey, Cha- N7605Chumoa, PI73-PI481673, PI35-PI427235, FAG50-FAG50, PI72-PI481672).</p

Gel picture differentiating between homozygous and heterozygous alleles at the 949^th bp position in <i>F</i>. <i>tataricum</i> at intra- varietal level.

<p>Accessions utilized: M1-M4: C8816Malong, C1-C4: N7605Chumoa, P1-P4: PI481672, D1-D5: Donan, G1-G5: Golden, I1-I4-: Ishisoba, K1-K5: C9717 Kuer, X1-X5: Xinong 9909, Q1-Q5: Q0001120, W1-W4: Wei 93–8, L1-L5: N8614 Lukla, H1-H5:Hei Feng, P51-P55: PI427235, R1-R3: RCAT061058, Hq1-Hq4: Hei Qiao-4, Z1-Z4: 01Z100014, P31-P32: PI481673, F1-F2: FAG 50, F33: FAG 33, Cy: Chumey, J: Jakar, K: Kuer, M: Malong, C5: Chumoa.</p

Buckwheat varieties and accessions utilized for the screening of inter- and intra-specific diversity: origin and seed source.

<p>Buckwheat varieties and accessions utilized for the screening of inter- and intra-specific diversity: origin and seed source.</p

Parsimony Informative Sites (PIS) and other sites among three species.

<p>Legend: PS: Parsimony Informative Sites (PIS), MS: Monomorphic Sites (MS), SV: Singleton Variable, Sites, SV2V: Singleton Variable Sites with Two Variants (SV2V), PIS2V: Parsimony Informative Sites with Two Variants, SV3V: Singleton Variable with Two Variants, PIS3V: Parsimony Informative sites with Three Variants.</p