Fermented dairy products

The microbiota of fermented dairy products contributes to the safety, flavor, and organoleptic qualities of the products. Moreover, metabolites obtained from the fermentation process enhance the milk nutritive value and digestibility, whereas dairy microorganisms could be the perfect carriers for reseeding the gut microbiota. The structural food matrix of fermented milk facilitates the delivery of viable microorganisms to the intestinal tract. Fermented dairy products may be beneficial to human health by improving lactose intolerance symptoms and for the production of bioactive compounds such as vitamins, gamma-amino butyric acid, exopolysaccharides, and bioactive peptides, among others. Also, fermented dairy products contribute to the modulation of the gut microbiota and the prevention of infections, inflammation, and cardiometabolic diseases. Furthermore, fermented dairy products constitute the hallmark of probiotics supply in the food market.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry (Project AGL2016-75951-R), CDTI (INDEKA IDI-20190077) and CYTED (Project P917PTE0537/PCIN-2017-075).Peer reviewe

Genomic Approaches for Climate Resilience Breeding in Oats

Editors: Chittaranjan Kole.Oat (Avena sativa L.), ranking sixth in world cereal production, is primarily produced as a multipurpose crop for grain, pasture, and forage or as a rotation crop in many parts of the world. Recent research has elevated its potential dietary value for human nutrition and health care. Oats are well adapted to a wide range of soil types and can perform on acid soils. World oat production is concentrated between latitudes 35–65º N, and 20–46º S. Avena genomes are large and complex, in the range of 4.12–12.6 Gb. Oat productivity is affected by many diseases, although crown rust (Puccinia coronate f. sp. avenae) and stem rust (Puccinia graminis f. sp. avenae) are the key diseases worldwide. The focus of this chapter is to review the major developments and their impacts on oat breeding, especially on the challenges posed by climate or environmental changes (biotic and abiotic stresses mainly) for oat cultivation. Next-generation breeding tools will help to develop approaches to genetically improve and manipulate oat which would aid significantly in oat enhancement efforts. Although, oat biotechnology has been advanced at a similar pace as the rest of cereals, it lags still behind. More genomic tools, from genomic assisted breeding to genome editing tools are needed to improve the resources to improve oats under climate change in the next few decades