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Topic Review
Morel Cultivation Industry in China
Morels are one of the most highly prized edible and medicinal mushrooms worldwide. Therefore, historically, there has been a large international interest in their cultivation. Numerous ecological, physiological, genetic, taxonomic, and mycochemical studies have been previously developed. At the beginning of 21th century, China finally achieved artificial cultivation and started a high-scale commercial development in 2012. Due to its international interest, its cultivation scale and area expanded rapidly in this country. However, along with the massive industrial scale, a number of challenges, including the maintenance of steady economic profits, arise. In order to contribute to the solution of these challenges, formal research studying selection, species recognition, strain aging, mating type structure, life cycle, nutrient metabolism, growth and development, and multi-omics has recently been boosted.
  • 1.2K
  • 29 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Semaphorins Effects in Metabolic Disorders
       Semaphorins are a family originally identified as axonal guidance molecules. They are also involved in tumor growth, angiogenesis, immune regulation, as well as other biological and pathological processes. Recent studies have shown that semaphorins play a role in metabolic diseases including obesity, adipose inflammation, and diabetic complications, including diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic neuropathy, diabetic wound healing, and diabetic osteoporosis. Evidence provides mechanistic insights regarding the role of semaphorins in metabolic diseases by regulating adipogenesis, hypothalamic melanocortin circuit, immune responses, and angiogenesis. In this review, we summarize recent progress regarding the role of semaphorins in obesity, adipose inflammation, and diabetic complications.
  • 1.2K
  • 28 Aug 2020
Topic Review
Nanofibers in Agriculture and Water Treatment
Natural fibers are an important source for producing polymers, which are highly applicable in their nanoform and could be used in very broad fields such as filtration for water/wastewater treatment, biomedicine, food packaging, harvesting, and storage of energy due to their high specific surface area. These natural nanofibers could be mainly produced through plants, animals, and minerals, as well as produced from agricultural wastes. For strengthening these natural fibers, they may reinforce with some substances such as nanomaterials. Natural or biofiber-reinforced bio-composites and nano–bio-composites are considered better than conventional composites. The sustainable application of nanofibers in agricultural sectors is a promising approach and may involve plant protection and its growth through encapsulating many bio-active molecules or agrochemicals (i.e., pesticides, phytohormones, and fertilizers) for smart delivery at the targeted sites. The food industry and processing also are very important applicable fields of nanofibers, particularly food packaging, which may include using nanofibers for active–intelligent food packaging, and food freshness indicators. The removal of pollutants from soil, water, and air is an urgent field for nanofibers due to their high efficiency. Many new approaches or applicable agro-fields for nanofibers are expected in the future, such as using nanofibers as the indicators for CO and NH3. The role of nanofibers in the global fighting against COVID-19 may represent a crucial solution, particularly in producing face masks.
  • 1.2K
  • 30 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Sulfur in Plant Defense
Sulfur (S) is an essential plant macronutrient and the pivotal role of sulfur compounds in plant disease resistance has become obvious in recent decades. These compounds include sulfur containing amino acids such as cysteine and methionine, the tripeptide glutathione, thionins and defensins, glucosinolates and phytoalexins and, last but not least, reactive sulfur species and hydrogen sulfide. SDCs play versatile roles both in pathogen perception and initiating signal transduction pathways that are interconnected with various defense processes regulated by plant hormones (salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Importantly, ROS-mediated reversible oxidation of cysteine residues on plant proteins have profound effects on protein functions like signal transduction of plant defense responses during pathogen infections. Indeed, the multifaceted plant defense responses initiated by SDCs should provide novel tools for plant breeding to endow crops with efficient defense responses to invading pathogens.
  • 1.2K
  • 17 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Insect Rearing Techniques for Biological Control Programs
It is important to rear insects, whether on a small scale for research or a large scale for mass rearing, for use in biological control (BC) programs with macro-organisms.
  • 1.2K
  • 14 Feb 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Mucormycosis—Emerging Fungal Threats
Mucormycosis is an opportunistic fungal infection due to organisms of the Zygomycetes class and the order of Mucorales that can cause various types of infections. In recent years, an increasing phenomenon has been observed—invasive fungal infections especially in the healthcare setting. Among immucompromised patients, an important clinical emergency could be represented by mucormycosis. The epidemiology of mucormycosis has shown an alarming trend and its incidence is rising globally. Four elements are fundamental for a successful treatment: rapid diagnosis, reduction of predisposing factors (if possible), surgical debridement of infected tissues, and appropriate antifungal therapy. 
  • 1.1K
  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Effects of High Hydrostatic Pressure on Fungal Spores and Plant Bioactive Compounds
Fungi, and their spores, are responsible for the spoilage of several foods and plants and are susceptible to contamination with mycotoxins, which have associated health hazards. In this context, proper methodologies for inactivating such fungi and controlling mycotoxin production are critical. High-pressure processing (HPP) has recently become popular as a nonthermal alternative to conventional thermal pasteurization processes. Even though HPP can effectively eliminate some fungal spores, some species, such as those from the genera Byssochlamys, Talaromyces, and Aspergillus, are quite resistant to this treatment. Additionally, high pressure can also be used as a cold extraction technique for bioactive compounds from medicinal plants and other matrices (termed high pressure-assisted extraction, HPE). With this method, safe use for food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical applications is guaranteed. This method simultaneously works (depending on the applied pressure level) as an extraction technique and induces the pasteurization effect on the extracts. This encyclopedia entry aims to highlight the effects of nonthermal HPP on fungal spores, the prevalence of mycotoxins in plant materials and how high pressure can be used as an extraction technique to produce high-value cold pasteurized extracts with biological activity.
  • 1.2K
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Citrus Breeding 2.0 in Japan
Developing varieties with diverse features that satisfy varied commercial needs, improving overall fruit quality, and quickly releasing them, are prerequisites in citrus breeding. However, these three goals require trade-offs in conventional breeding, even with the application of the marker-assisted selection technique. Conventional breeding cannot achieve these three goals simultaneously and it has been regarded as a breeding trilemma. Integrating a genomics-assisted breeding (GAB) approach that relies on quantitative trait locus detection by genome-wide association study and genome-wide prediction of a trait by genomic selection using enriched marker genotypes enhances breeding efficiency and contributes to eliminating the trilemma. Besides these efforts, the analysis of the genealogy of indigenous citrus varieties revealed that many high-quality indigenous varieties were selected within a few generations. It suggested that selecting a new premium quality hybrid is possible by integrating it with the GAB technique and helps avoid the trilemma. Researchers describe an ongoing comprehensive approach for integrating genomic-assisted breeding (GAB) with citrus genealogy on citrus breeding, called Citrus Breeding 2.0. This method can develop new cultivars with premium quality in a short period.
  • 1.2K
  • 11 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Soybean Tocopherols
Tocopherols are natural antioxidants that increase the stability of fat-containing foods and are well known for their health benefits. The inclination of tocopherol concentrations with various MGs provided further evidence of the significance of MG in soybean breeding for seed tocopherol components. Furthermore, the correlation between the seed tocopherol components and geographical factors revealed that α-, γ-, and total tocopherols had significant positive correlations with latitude, while δ-tocopherol showed an opposite trend. The elite accessions with high and stable tocopherol concentrations determined could be used to develop functional foods, industrial materials, and breeding lines to improve tocopherol composition in soybean seeds.
  • 1.2K
  • 01 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Passive Electrolocation in Fish
Passive electrolocation is a process where certain species of fish or aquatic amphibians can detect electric fields using specialized electroreceptors to detect and to locate the source of an external electric field in its environment creating the electric field. These external electric fields can be produced by any bioelectrical process in an organism, especially by actions of the nerves or muscles of fish, or indeed by the specially developed electric organs of fish. Other fields are induced by movement of a conducting organism through the earth's magnetic field, or from atmospheric electricity. Electrolocating fish use this ability to detect prey, locate other fish, avoid predators, and perhaps to navigate by the Earth's magnetic field. Electroreceptors probably evolved once or twice early in vertebrate evolution, but the sense was apparently lost in amniotes, and in a large number of the Actinopterygii (ray finned fishes) only to reappear independently in two teleost clades. In fish, the ampullary receptor is a specialized receptor that it uses to sense these electric fields and allows the fish to follow electric field lines to their source. Sharks primarily use specialized receptors, called Ampullae of Lorenzini, to detect their prey's low frequency DC fields and may also use their receptors in navigation by the Earth's magnetic field. Weakly electric fish use their ampullary receptors and tuberous receptors to detect the weakly electric fields produced by other fish, as well as for possible predator avoidance. Passive electrolocation contrasts with active electrolocation, in which the animal emits its own weak self generated electric field and detects nearby objects by detecting the distortion of its produced electric field. In active electrolocation the animal senses its own electromotor discharge or reafference instead of some externally generated electric field or discharge.
  • 1.2K
  • 17 Oct 2022
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