Metabolite profiling of the carnivorous pitcher plants Darlingtonia and Sarracenia

Sarraceniaceae is a New World carnivorous plant family comprising three genera: Darlingtonia, Heliamphora, and Sarracenia. The plants occur in nutrient-poor environments and have developed insectivorous capability in order to supplement their nutrient uptake. Sarracenia flava contains the alkaloid coniine, otherwise only found in Conium maculatum, in which its biosynthesis has been studied, and several Aloe species. Its ecological role and biosynthetic origin in S. flava is speculative. The aim of the current research was to investigate the occurrence of coniine in Sarracenia and Darlingtonia and to identify common constituents of both genera, unique compounds for individual variants and floral scent chemicals. In this comprehensive metabolic profiling study, we looked for compound patterns that are associated with the taxonomy of Sarracenia species. In total, 57 different Sarracenia and D. californica accessions were used for metabolite content screening by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The resulting high-dimensional data were studied using a data mining approach. The two genera are characterized by a large number of metabolites and huge chemical diversity between different species. By applying feature selection for clustering and by integrating new biochemical data with existing phylogenetic data, we were able to demonstrate that the chemical composition of the species can be explained by their known classification. Although transcriptome analysis did not reveal a candidate gene for coniine biosynthesis, the use of a sensitive selected ion monitoring method enabled the detection of coniine in eight Sarracenia species, showing that it is more widespread in this genus than previously believed.Peer reviewe

Wohin geht's dieses Jahr?

Auf Initiative der NGO ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) wurde der Child-Protection Code der Tourismusbranche ins Leben gerufen. 2001 wurde dieser Verhaltenskodex sowohl vom Österreichischen Verein für Touristik (ÖVT) als auch vom Österreichischen Reiseverband (ÖRV) unterzeichnet. Zusätzlich ist dieser aktuell in 4 Tourismuszertifizierungen ein verpflichtendes Element – TourCert oder CSR-Tourism, Umweltzeichen, Travelife und FTTSA. Die vorliegende Arbeit geht der Frage nach, wie AkteurInnen in Österreich am besten zur Umsetzung des Child-Protection Codes beitragen können. Wo liegen deren Stärken und Schwächen und unter welchen Rahmenbedingungen kann die Urlaubsberatung nachhaltig zur Prävention von Kinder-Prostitutions Tourismus beitragen? Unter dem Stichwort Corporate Social Responsibilty stehen diesen ein Ensemble an Maßnahmen und Instrumenten zur Verfügung, doch fehlt es weitgehend wissenschaftlicher Analyse welche als Grundlage für Entscheidungen in der Praxis liefern kann. Da es sich um ein wenig erforschtes Feld handelt, wird theoriegenierend gearbeitet. Die Methode der Datenerhebung und –analyse orientiert sich am Problem Zentrierten Interview (PZI). Die Ergebnisse der Arbeit liefern zum einen die Möglichkeit Child-Protection Codes in Österreich zu evaluieren, zum anderen einen Beitrag zur Entwicklungsforschung.Initiated by Non-Governmental-Organisation ECPAT End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) the Cild-Protection Code of the Tourism Industry had been launched. In 2001 both the Österreichischen Verein für Touristik (ÖVT) and the Österreichischen Reiseverband (ÖRV) signed this Code of Conduct. Additionally the Child-Protection Code is embedded currently as a mandatory element in 4 tourismseals- TourCert oder CSR-Tourism, Umweltzeichen, Travelife and FTTSA. This thesis is curious about the how the Actors can successfully contribute to implement this Code. Which are their strengths, which their weaknesses and under which conditions can travel-consulting foster prevention of child-prostitution tourism sustainably? The keyword Corporate Social Responsibility gathers a variety of actions and instruments, whereas scientific profound analyses providing practitioners with meaningful data for decisions is scarce. Because of this lack of coverage this analyses is working towards generating theory. The method of Data analyses and –interpretation is based on the Problem Zentrierten Interview (PZI). The results shall enable the evaluation of the child-protection code and provide findings for Development Studies

De novo transcriptome assembly of Conium maculatum L. to identify candidate genes for coniine biosynthesis

Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum L.) is a notorious weed containing the potent alkaloid coniine. Only some of the enzymes in the coniine biosynthesis have so far been characterized. Here, we utilize the next-generation RNA sequencing approach to report the first-ever transcriptome sequencing of five organs of poison hemlock: developing fruit, flower, root, leaf, and stem. Using a de novo assembly approach, we derived a transcriptome assembly containing 123,240 transcripts. The assembly is deemed high quality, representing over 88% of the near-universal ortholog genes of the Eudicots clade. Nearly 80% of the transcripts were functionally annotated using a combination of three approaches. The current study focuses on describing the coniine pathway by identifying in silico transcript candidates for polyketide reductase, l-alanine:5-keto-octanal aminotransferase, gamma-coniceine reductase, and S-adenosyl-l-methionine:coniine methyltransferase. In vitro testing will be needed to confirm the assigned functions of the selected candidates.Peer reviewe

Proof of Concept for Cell Culture-Based Coffee

The global coffee production is facing serious challenges including land use, climate change, and sustainability while demand is rising. Cellular agriculture is a promising alternative to produce plant-based commodities such as coffee, which are conventionally produced by farming. In this study, the complex process of drying and roasting was adapted for bioreactor-grown coffee cells to generate a coffee-like aroma and flavor. The brews resulting from different roasting regimes were characterized with chemical and sensory evaluation-based approaches and compared to conventional coffee. Roasting clearly influenced the aroma profile. In contrast to conventional coffee, the dominant odor and flavor attributes were burned sugar-like and smoky but less roasted. The intensities of bitterness and sourness were similar to those of conventional coffee. The present results demonstrate a proof of concept for a cellular agriculture approach as an alternative coffee production platform and guide future optimization work

Euglena gracilis growth and cell composition under different temperature, light and trophic conditions

BackgroundEuglena gracilis, a photosynthetic protist, produces protein, unsaturated fatty acids, wax esters, and a unique β-1,3-glucan called paramylon, along with other valuable compounds. The cell composition of E. gracilis was investigated in this study to understand how light and organic carbon (photo-, mixo- and heterotrophic conditions) affected growth and cell composition (especially lipids). Comparisons were primarily carried out in cultures grown at 23 °C, but the effect of growth at higher temperatures (27 or 30 °C) was also considered.Cell growthSpecific growth rates were slightly lower when E. gracilis was grown on glucose in either heterotrophic or mixotrophic conditions than when grown photoautotrophically, although the duration of exponential growth was longer. Temperature determined the rate of exponential growth in all cultures, but not the linear growth rate during light-limited growth in phototrophic conditions. Temperature had less effect on cell composition.Cell compositionAlthough E. gracilis was not expected to store large amounts of paramylon when grown phototrophically, we observed that phototrophic cells could contain up to 50% paramylon. These cells contained up to 33% protein and less than 20% lipophilic compounds, as expected. The biomass contained about 8% fatty acids (measured as fatty acid methyl esters), most of which were unsaturated. The fatty acid content of cells grown in mixotrophic conditions was similar to that observed in phototrophic cells, but was lower in cells grown heterotrophically. Heterotrophic cells contained less unsaturated fatty acids than phototrophic or mixotrophic cells. α-Linolenic acid was present at 5 to 18 mg g-1 dry biomass in cells grown in the presence of light, but at [less than] 0.5 mg g-1 biomass in cells grown in the dark. Eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids were detected at 1 to 5 mg g-1 biomass. Light was also important for the production of vitamin E and phytol

Raspberry Ketone Accumulation in Nicotiana benthamiana and Saccharomyces cerevisiae by Expression of Fused Pathway Genes

Raspberry ketone has generated interest in recent years both as a flavor agent and as a health promoting supplement. Raspberry ketone can be synthesized chemically, but the value of a natural nonsynthetic product is among the most valuable flavor compounds on the market. Coumaroyl-coenzyme A (CoA) is the direct precursor for raspberry ketone but also an essential precursor for flavonoid and lignin biosynthesis in plants and therefore highly regulated. The synthetic fusion of 4-coumaric acid ligase (4CL) and benzalacetone synthase (BAS) enables the channeling of coumaroyl-CoA from the ligase to the synthase, proving to be a powerful tool in the production of raspberry ketone in both N. benthamiana and S. cerevisiae. To the best of our knowledge, the key pathway genes for raspberry ketone formation are transiently expressed in N. benthamiana for the first time in this study, producing over 30 μg/g of the compound. Our raspberry ketone producing yeast strains yielded up to 60 mg/L, which is the highest ever reported in yeast