Variation in flavonoids in a collection of peppers (Capsicum sp.) under organic and conventional cultivation: effect of the genotype, ripening stage, and growing system

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ribes-Moya, A.M., Adalid, A.M., Raigón, M.D., Hellín, P., Fita, A. and Rodríguez-Burruezo, A. (2020), Variation in flavonoids in a collection of peppers (Capsicum sp.) under organic and conventional cultivation: effect of the genotype, ripening stage, and growing system. J Sci Food Agric, 100: 2208-2223, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10245. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.[EN] BACKGROUND In recent years, the acreage used for organic agriculture and the demand for organic fruit and vegetables have increased considerably. Given this scenario, landraces, such as Capsicum landraces, can provide valuable germplasm. Capsicum peppers are very interesting because of their high phenolic content, and particularly their flavonoid content, which provides a high added value. Moreover, the broad genetic diversity in local varieties expands the opportunities for adaptation to organic production and for exploiting genotype x environment interactions to select peppers with the highest phenolic content. RESULTS In this work, the main flavonoids of peppers were exhaustively evaluated over 2 years in a wide collection of heirlooms, both unripe and fully ripe, under organic and conventional cultivation. The genotype and ripening stage contributed to a high degree to the variation in flavonoids. The growing system influenced this variation to a lesser extent. Luteolin and quercetin showed the highest contributions to total phenolic content (70% and > 20%, respectively) at both ripening stages, while myricetin, apigenin, and kaempferol showed lower contributrions. The average flavonoid content was higher in ripe fruits, and organic management significantly increased the accumulation of total flavonoids and luteolin. Positive correlations between flavonoids were found at both ripening stages, especially between main flavonoids luteolin and quercetin and between kaempferol and quercetin (rho > 0.7). CONCLUSION Genotype x environment interaction enabled the identification of accessions with high flavonoid content grown under organic conditions at both ripening stages, particularly total flavonoids and luteolin at the fully ripe stage. Our results reinforce the importance of a wide genetic variation and of considering different ripening stages and growing conditions for breeding high-quality peppers.This work has been funded by the Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA) project RTA2014-00041-C02-02, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) funds. A.M. Ribes-Moya expresses her gratitude to the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) for her scholarship FPI-UPV-2017 (PAID-01-17). The authors also thank the farmers' association Unio de Llauradors i Ramaders (LA UNI) for the arrangement and management of fields - specifically Manuel Figueroa, Rafael Hurtado, Ricard Ballester, and Antonio Munoz, and seed providers P.W. Bosland, S. Lanteri, Francois Jourdan, Santiago Larregla, and the Regulatory Boards of the PDOs and PGIs included in this work. The authors are also grateful for the support of Professor Jaime Prohens with statistical methods.Ribes Moya, AM.; Adalid-Martinez, AM.; Raigón Jiménez, MD.; Hellín, P.; Fita, A.; Rodríguez Burruezo, A. (2020). Variation in flavonoids in a collection of peppers (Capsicum sp.) under organic and conventional cultivation: effect of the genotype, ripening stage, and growing system. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 100(5):2208-2223. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10245S220822231005WillerH European organic market grew by double digits and organic area reached 13.5 million hectares in2016 [Online]. 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Revealing the respiratory system of the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei; Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) using micro-computed tomography

The coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) is the most economically important insect pest of coffee globally. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) was used to reconstruct the respiratory system of this species for the first time; this is the smallest insect (ca. 2 mm long) for which this has been done to date. Anatomical details of the spiracles and tracheal tubes are described, images presented, and new terms introduced. The total volume and the relationship between tracheal lumen diameter, length and volume are also presented. The total length of the tracheal tubes are seventy times the length of the entire animal. Videos and a 3D model for use with mobile devices are included as supplementary information; these could be useful for future research and for teaching insect anatomy to students and the public in general.This paper benefitted from the sub-award agreement S15192.01 between Kansas State University (KSU) and the University of Granada, as part of a USDANIFA Award 2014-70016-23028 to S.J. Brown (KSU), “Developing an Infrastructure and Product Test Pipeline to Deliver Novel Therapies for Citrus Greening Disease” (2015–2020)

Mahanine exerts in vitro and in vivo antileishmanial activity by modulation of redox homeostasis

Earlier we have established a carbazole alkaloid (mahanine) isolated from an Indian edible medicinal plant as an anticancer agent with minimal effect on normal cells. Here we report for the first time that mahanine-treated drug resistant and sensitive virulent Leishmania donovani promastigotes underwent apoptosis through phosphatidylserine externalization, DNA fragmentation and cell cycle arrest. An early induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) suggests that the mahanine-induced apoptosis was mediated by oxidative stress. Additionally, mahanine-treated Leishmania-infected macrophages exhibited anti-amastigote activity by nitric oxide (NO)/ROS generation along with suppression of uncoupling protein 2 and Th1-biased cytokines response through modulating STAT pathway. Moreover, we have demonstrated the interaction of a few antioxidant enzymes present in parasite with mahanine through molecular modeling. Reduced genetic and protein level expression of one such enzyme namely ascorbate peroxidase was also observed in mahanine-treated promastigotes. Furthermore, oral administration of mahanine in acute murine model exhibited almost complete reduction of parasite burden, upregulation of NO/iNOS/ROS/IL-12 and T cell proliferation. Taken together, we have established a new function of mahanine as a potent antileishmanial molecule, capable of inducing ROS and exploit antioxidant enzymes in parasite along with modulation of host’s immune response which could be developed as an inexpensive and nontoxic therapeutics either alone or in combination

Oral tongue cancer gene expression profiling: Identification of novel potential prognosticators by oligonucleotide microarray analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The present study is aimed at identifying potential candidate genes as prognostic markers in human oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) by large scale gene expression profiling.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The gene expression profile of patients (n=37) with oral tongue SCC were analyzed using Affymetrix HG_U95Av2 high-density oligonucleotide arrays. Patients (n=20) from which there were available tumor and matched normal mucosa were grouped into stage (early vs. late) and nodal disease (node positive vs. node negative) subgroups and genes differentially expressed in tumor vs. normal and between the subgroups were identified. Three genes, <it>GLUT3</it>, <it>HSAL2</it>, and <it>PACE4</it>, were selected for their potential biological significance in a larger cohort of 49 patients via quantitative real-time RT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Hierarchical clustering analyses failed to show significant segregation of patients. In patients (n=20) with available tumor and matched normal mucosa, 77 genes were found to be differentially expressed (P< 0.05) in the tongue tumor samples compared to their matched normal controls. Among the 45 over-expressed genes, <it>MMP-1</it> encoding interstitial collagenase showed the highest level of increase (average: 34.18 folds). Using the criterion of two-fold or greater as overexpression, 30.6%, 24.5% and 26.5% of patients showed high levels of <it>GLUT3</it>, <it>HSAL2</it> and <it>PACE4</it>, respectively. Univariate analyses demonstrated that <it>GLUT3</it> over-expression correlated with depth of invasion (P<0.0001), tumor size (P=0.024), pathological stage (P=0.009) and recurrence (P=0.038). <it>HSAL2</it> was positively associated with depth of invasion (P=0.015) and advanced T stage (P=0.047). In survival studies, only <it>GLUT3</it> showed a prognostic value with disease-free (P=0.049), relapse-free (P=0.002) and overall survival (P=0.003). <it>PACE4</it> mRNA expression failed to show correlation with any of the relevant parameters. </p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The characterization of genes identified to be significant predictors of prognosis by oligonucleotide microarray and further validation by real-time RT-PCR offers a powerful strategy for identification of novel targets for prognostication and treatment of oral tongue carcinoma.</p

Anatomical study of the female reproductive system and bacteriome of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, (Insecta: Hemiptera, Liviidae) using micro-computed tomography

Huanglongbing (HLB) (citrus greening disease) is one of the most serious bacterial diseases of citrus. It is caused by (1) Candidatus Liberibacter africanus, transmitted by Trioza erytreae and (2) C.L. asiaticus and C.L. americanus, transmitted by Diaphorina citri. As part of a multidisciplinary project on D. citri (www.citrusgreening.org), we made a detailed study, using micro-computed tomography, of the female abdominal terminalia, reproductive system (ovaries, accessory glands, spermatheca, colleterial (= cement) gland, connecting ducts, and ovipositor) and bacteriome, which we present here. New terms and structures are introduced and described, particularly concerning the spermatheca, ovipositor and bacteriome. The quality of images and bacteriome reconstructions are comparable, or clearer, than those previously published using a synchrotron or fuorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH). This study: reviews knowledge of the female reproductive system and bacteriome organ in D. citri; represents the frst detailed morphological study of D. citri to use micro-CT; and extensively revises existing morphological information relevant to psylloids, hemipterans and insects in general. High quality images and supplementary videos represent a signifcant advance in knowledge of psylloid anatomy and are useful tools for future research and as educational aids.Kansas State University (KSU) S15192.01University of Granada, USDA-NIFA S15192.01 2014-70016-2302