Sugar Loading Research Articles

Understanding the effect of reaction parameters on the production of levulinic acid from glucose

AbstractA significant and sustainable feedstock for many value added products is levulinic acid, which is basically a short‐chain fatty acid. The current study aims to comprehend how multiple factors affect the hydrothermal reactions that convert glucose to levulinic acid. Glucose can be readily obtained from lignocellulosic biomass and hence it is selected in the work as representative sustainable source. The effect of various operating parameters, including time (0–180 min), temperature (140–180°C), nitrogen pressure (0–25 bar), glucose concentration (3%–10%), agitation speed (100–300 RPM), and acid concentration (2%–6%); use of different salts (NaCl, AlCl3 6H2O, FeCl3); and different acids (HCl, H3PO4, H2SO4) on the reaction progress has been studied in a batch autoclave reactor. It was elucidated that pressure (only nitrogen purge was essential for reaction progress) or salt content changes did not affect sugar conversion significantly. The process was seriously influenced by the presence of acids, mostly in the form of homogeneous catalysts, and the most significant results were obtained for H2SO4. The highest levulinic acid yield (39.7 g/g) at 90 min, with nearly complete sugar conversion, was obtained under the ideal conditions of 160°C, 5% sugar loading, and 5% H2SO4 concentration. The current study indicates that the two primary operating parameters in this conversion process are temperature and time, with higher temperature and lower sugar concentration showing a rising tendency in sugar conversion. Overall, the study establishes a sustainable process for levulinic acid synthesis.

Integrating myocardial metabolic imaging and stress myocardial contrast echocardiography to improve the diagnosis of coronary microvascular diseases in rabbits.

Persistent challenges associated with misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis of coronary microvascular disease (CMVD) necessitate the exploration of noninvasive imaging techniques to enhance diagnostic accuracy. Therefore, we aimed to integrate multimodal imaging approaches to achieve a higher diagnostic rate for CMVD using high-quality myocardial metabolism imaging (MMI) and myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE). This combination diagnostic strategy may help address the urgent need for improved CMVD diagnosis. In this study, we established five distinct pretreatment groups, each consisting of nine male rabbit: a fasted group, a nonfasted group, a sugar load group, an acipimox group, and a combination group of nonfasted rabbits administered insulin. Moreover, positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) scan windows were established at 30-, 60-, and 90-minute intervals. We developed 10 CMVD models and conducted a diagnosis of CMVD through an integrated analysis of MMI and MCE, including image acquisition and processing. For each heart segment, we calculated the standardized uptake value (SUV) based on body weight (SUVbw), as well as certain ratios of SUV including SUV of the heart (SUVheart) to that of the liver (SUVliver) and SUVheart to SUV of the lung (SUVlung). Additionally, we obtained three coronary SUVbw uptake values. To clarify the relationship between SUVbw uptake values and echocardiographic parameters of the myocardial contrast agent more thoroughly, we conducted a comprehensive analysis across different pretreatment protocols. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was employed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of each parameter in the context of CMVD. In the context of MMI, the nonfasted-plus-insulin group, as observed during the 60-minute examination, exhibited a noteworthy total 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake of 47.44±6.53 g/mL, which was found to be statistically different from the other groups. To ascertain the reliability of the results, two double-blind investigators independently assessed the data and achieved a good level of agreement, according to the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) (0.957). The SUVbw of the nonfasted-plus-insulin group exhibited a moderate correlation with the microvascular blood flow reserve (MBFR) parameters derived from the MCE examination, as evidenced by a r value of 0.686. For the diagnosis of CMVD disease, the diagnostic accuracy of the combined diagnostic method [area under the curve (AUC) =0.789; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.705-0.873] was significantly higher than that of the MBFR (AUC =0.697; 95% CI: 0.597-0.797) and SUVbw (AUC =0.715; 95% CI: 0.622-0.807) methods (P<0.05). Our study demonstrated the feasibility of a simple premedication approach involving free feeding and intravenous insulin in producing high-quality gated heart 18F-FDG PET/CT images in adult male New Zealand white rabbits. This technique holds considerable potential for ischemic heart disease research in rabbits and can enhance CMVD diagnosis via the comprehensive assessment of myocardial metabolism and perfusion.

FORMULATION OF RTS FROM PINEAPPLE (ANANAS COMOSUS) AND ALOE VERA (ALOE BARBADENSIS) PULP: EVALUATION OF NUTRACEUTICAL PROFILE AND SHELF-LIFE STUDIES

Pineapple and aloe vera are rich sources of nutraceutical compounds such as flavonoids, ascorbic acid, and phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties, making them highly appealing to both consumers and processors. Aloe vera’s beneficial qualities are attributed to its polysaccharide content. Ready-to-serve (RTS) beverages are popular non-fermented drinks that are appreciated for their flavor and therapeutic potential. This study focused on developing RTS drinks from blends of aloe vera and pineapple pulp with varying sugar content (10 °Brix, 12 °Brix, 14 °Brix, and 16 °Brix) and evaluating their physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory properties over 45 days. Storage at 9 °C resulted in a slight increase in TSS, titratable acidity, reducing sugar, and microbial load, while significant decreases were observed in total sugar, pH, phenolic content, and DPPH content. Among the formulations, the RTS beverage with 12 O Brix exhibited superior physicochemical and sensory qualities. Combining aloe vera and pineapple in RTS beverages offers not only an appealing flavor profile but also potential health benefits, making them an ideal choice for product innovation.

Glycemic Index and glycemic load for different types of cooked rice for healthy volunteers

The effect of eating different types of rice was studied, including basmati rice, local amber rice, brown rice and diet rice, in addition to bulgur and mung bean on the glycemic response and glycemic Index values. The effect of eating rice cooked by pressing and Boiled methods on the blood sugar response of healthy volunteers was studied, where the results of the study included ten volunteers. The highest increase in blood sugar level response occurred after consuming amber rice cooked by pressing method, which reached 160.3 (mg / 100 ml). After thirty minutes of eating it, while bulgur rice cooked by Boiled method has raised the level of blood sugar response less than rice of all kinds and at a rate of 121.7 (mg / 100 ml) after eating it by thirty, the study determined the glycemic index and blood sugar load for each sample of raw, mixed and cooked rice (pressing and boiled) in addition to bulgur. The results showed a variation in the values of the glycemic index at the level of (p≥0.05) for different types of rice. The results showed that the highest glycemic index was for amber rice cooked by pressing method with a percentage of (88.8) and the lowest glycemic index was for bulgur cooked by Boiled method by (37). While the glycemic index of white basmati rice in the ways of pressing and Boiled was 66.6 and 53 respectively, and the additions that were added to basmati rice, which included mash, cinnamon and turmeric, had a clear role in reducing the blood sugar index, as the values of the glycemic Index for basmati rice pressed and mixed with mash, cinnamon and turmeric are 60, 56 and 57 respectively, while the values of the glycemic Index for basmati rice mixed with mash, cinnamon and turmeric are 49.2. 48 and 46, respectively.

The Impact of Plateletcrit on the Diagnosis and Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Aim: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a condition that can cause serious maternal and fetal complications. Platelets are one of the cells that play an important role in inflammation in our body. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether there is a relationship between platelet values obtained by a simple blood count and GDM. Materials and Methods: Two groups consisting of 60 individuals with GDM and 250 healthy populations were created. Demographic characteristics, the sugar loading test results performed between 24th-28th weeks and simple complete blood count results including platelets, plateletcrit (PCT), platelet distribution width (PDW), and mean platelet volume (MPV)) were analyzed with SPSS. Results: When comparing the ages, BMI, average blood pressure, heights, and gestational weeks of both groups, there was no any significant differences (p&gt;0.05). In terms of the hemoglobin, platelet, and white blood cell counts, there wasn’t any significant differences between the two groups (p&gt;0.05). MPV, PDW and PCT values were significantly increased in patients with GDM compared to healthy pregnant women (p&lt;0.02, p&lt;0.009, and p&lt;0.001, respectively). Specifically, there was a significant positive correlation was found between PCT and the 1st hour glucose level (r: 0.585, p=0.001). Conclusion: We predict that a simple blood count (especially MPV, PDW and PCT values) performed during the first routine visit of pregnant women may be useful in predicting the risk of GDM.

Plasticity of red wine sensory profiles: improved understanding through grape berry sugar loading profiles

Reproducible aromatic red wine styles can be predicted based upon the measurement of grape berry sugar accumulation (corresponding to the quantity of sugar that accumulates per berry; mg/berry/day) and berry fresh mass. Distinct maturity stages, “Fresh Fruit” reminiscent of fresh/red fruits notes and “Mature Fruit” associated with dark fruit and plum characters could be correlated to berry sugar accumulation (mg/berry) and berry fresh mass evolution without any direct relationship with berry sugar concentration. After berry sugar accumulation plateaued, wine aromatic and phenolic maturity were uncoupled from technological maturity.

Noninvasive Brachial Artery Mechanics and Endothelial Function

I t has been recognized that endothelial dysfunction is an early indication of Arterial disease. Endothelial function can be noninvasively evaluated by Inducing a temporary increase in blood flow and then observing the degree of vasodilation response or flow-mediated dilation. Impaired flow mediated vasodilation is then an indication of impaired endothelium. Vascular ultrasound Imaging has been the typical approach to access vasodilation by flow-mediated dilation most often at the brachial artery. Together with other measures of cardiovascular risk, the flow-mediated dilation response provides a very early noninvasive screen for cardiovascular disease. The skill and equipment required for brachial artery ultrasound imaging have limited the use of flow-mediated dilation as a routine medical test. Moreover, it has been recognized that other vascular parameters such as vessel size and blood pressure may influence the test itself. We have introduced a potential solution to the routine measurement of flow-mediated dilation by Analyzing the response of a simple occlusive arm cuff to obtain the Brachial Artery diameter in a noninvasive way. The analysis for occlusive cuff Plethysmography was provided here in a calibrated manner. This approach is an alternative to ultrasound flow-mediated dilation testing. It requires no special operator skills and may be automated for precision. Two experimental evaluations of the proposed cuff method are provided. First, The cuff- based brachial diameters were compared to Ultrasound obtained diameters. Second, as a sensitivity test, the cuff-based dilation test was used to measure the dilation response of several subjects to blood sugar loading. For further evaluation, the cuff-based measurements were applied to a mechanical model of the brachial artery to reveal a standard error of estimate less than 5%. The results show that the cuff-based diameters compare well to those obtained via ultrasound imaging. Moreover, the cuff-based dilation testing showed the expected reduction in endothelial function response due to a blood sugar load. Additionally, cuff-based flow-mediated dilation testing provides measurements as a function of the subject blood pressure, which Ultrasound generally cannot.

Sugar loading of crop seeds - a partnership of phloem, plasmodesmal and membrane transport.

Sugar loading of developing seeds comprises a cohort of transport events that contribute to reproductive success and seed yield. Understanding these events is most advanced for grain crops (Brassicaceae, Fabaceae and Gramineae) and Arabidopsis. For these species, 75-80% of their final seed biomass is derived from phloem-imported sucrose. Sugar loading consecutively traverses three genomically distinct, and symplasmically isolated, seed domains: maternal pericarp/seed coat, filial endosperm and filial embryo. Sink status of each domain co-ordinately transitions from growth to storage. The latter is dominated by embryos (Brassicaceae and Fabaceae) or endosperms (Gramineae). Intradomain sugar transport occurs symplasmically through plasmodesmata. Interdomain sugar transport relies on plasma-membrane transporters operating in efflux (maternal and endosperm) or influx (endosperm and embryo) modes. Discussed is substantial progress made in identifying, and functionally evaluating, sugar symporters (STPs, SUTs or SUCs) and uniporters (SWEETs). These findings have underpinned a mechanistic understanding of seed loading. Less well researched are possible physical limitations imposed by hydraulic conductivities of differentiating protophloem and of subsequent plasmodesmal transport. The latter is coupled with sugar homeostasis within each domain mediated by sugar transporters. A similar conclusion is ascribed to fragmentary understanding of regulatory mechanisms integrating transport events with seed growth and storage.

Evaluation of quality characteristics of coconut drinks during refrigerated storage

In today's fast-paced world, food and beverages need to be preserved by applying innovative processing techniques. The research was carried out to make ready-to-serve beverages from a green coconut, and the impact of vacuum, microwave, and combined vacuum-microwave treatment on those samples was also examined based on physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory quality. Four samples namely fresh, vacuum (at pressure −200mm/Hg or −26.7Kpa at 30 °C for 10 min), microwave (treated at power level 720 W for 10 min at 80 °C temperature), and combined vacuum-microwave treated were prepared, and analyzed for pH, total soluble solids (°Brix), acidity, total sugar, protein, color, mineral content, and microbial load at 5 days intervals during refrigerated storage. In the storing period of coconut drinks, the pH value decreases from (5.08–5.39) to (4.21–3.51) and thus, the acidity increases from (0.08–0.09) to (0.41–0.22) %. The analysis demonstrates that, the lowest amount of total soluble solid (8.04%), total sugar (10.67%), protein (34.25%), potassium (1.43%), calcium (12.93%), magnesium (51.93%), and iron (6.97%) loss were observed in the combined vacuum-microwave treated sample during storage than the other samples. During the time of storing, the lowest color change (15.2 ± 0.59) and the highest overall acceptability (7.80 ± 0.46) were observed in the combined vacuum-microwave treated sample. Moreover, the shelf-life of the combined vacuum-microwave treated sample was greater (25 days) than the other treated and untreated samples. Therefore, the result revealed a considerable effect of the processing treatment on the samples. In conclusion, the combined vacuum-microwave treated sample presumed with superior quality; thus, it is recommended that, combined vacuum-microwave treatment can be used industrially as a novel processing method to produce the best quality and the safest coconut drinks.

Evidence of the predominance of passive symplastic phloem loading and sugar transport with leaf ageing in Camellia oleifera

Phloem loading and transport of sugar from leaves to sink tissues such as fruits are crucial for yield formation. Camellia oleifera is an evergreen horticultural crop with high value; however, its low production limits the development of the C. oleifera industry. In this study, using a combination of ultrastructural observation, fluorescence loss in photobleaching (FLIP) and inhibitor treatment, we revealed that C. oleifera leaves mainly adopt a symplastic loading route from mesophyll cells to the surrounding vascular bundle cells in minor veins. HPLC assays showed that sucrose is the main sugar transported and only a small amount of raffinose or stachyose was detected in petioles, supporting a passive symplastic loading route in C. oleifera leaves. Compared to leaves grown this year (LT), the carbohydrate synthesis capacity in leaves grown last year (LL) was decreased while LL retained more soluble sugar, suggesting a decrease in transport capacity with leaf ageing. TEM and tissue staining showed that a reduction in plasmodesmata density leads to a decline in the degree of cellular coupling and is responsible for the weakening transport capacity in older leaves. RNA-seq revealed several differentially expressed genes (DEGs) including CoPDCB1-1, CoSUT1 and CoSWEET12, which are likely involved in the regulation of phloem loading and sugar transport. An expression correlation network is constructed between PD-callose binding protein genes, sugar transporter genes and senescence-associated genes. Collectively, this study provides the evidence of the passive symplastic phloem loading pathway in C. oleifera leaves and constructs the correlation between sugar transport and leaf ageing.

Aşı Tereddüdü ve Reddi: Bir Amasya Örneği

Objective: This study conducted with parents who have vaccination hesitation or refused to be vaccinated in Amasya is aimed to determine the factors that affected their decision. Material and Methods: In this study, the characteristics of families who refused to vaccinate their children in Amasya in 2019–2020 were questioned and compared with a group of families who had their children vaccinated. Results: In the study group, thinking that there are harmful substances in the vaccine, thinking that the vaccine will harm the child, and not giving confidence because all childhood vaccines come from abroad were stated as the three most expressed reasons for not vaccination. The rate of prenatal screening tests, sugar loading and tetanus vaccine was found to be significantly higher in the study group who refused vaccination compared with the control group. Having negative experiences related to vaccination (OR = 6.57) and not taking measures for communicable diseases (OR = 32.64) were positively associated with not having the vaccine. Conclusion: This study is one of the limited number of studies evaluating parents’ sociodemographic characteristics and attitudes toward vaccination. Due to the provision and financing of vaccines, families have concerns related to confidence in vaccines. The fact that vaccination is necessary not only for individuals but also for social immunity should be explained to all individuals in society considering modern scientific knowledge.

Long-distance hormone transport via the phloem

Several key plant hormones are synthesised in the shoot and are advected within the phloem to the root tip. In the root tip, these hormones regulate growth and developmental processes, and responses to environmental cues. However, we lack understanding of how environmental factors and biological parameters affect the delivery of hormones to the root tip. In this study, we build on existing models of phloem flow to develop a mathematical model of sugar transport alongside the transport of a generic hormone. We derive the equations for osmotically driven flow in a long, thin pipe with spatially varying membrane properties to capture the phloem loading and unloading zones. Motivated by experimental findings, we formulate solute membrane transport in terms of passive and active components, and incorporate solute unloading via bulk flow (i.e. advection with the water efflux) by including the Staverman reflection coefficient. We use the model to investigate the coupling between the sugar and hormone dynamics. The model predicts that environmental cues that lead to an increase in active sugar loading, an increase in bulk flow sugar unloading or a decrease in the relative root sugar concentration result in an increase in phloem transport velocity. Furthermore, the model reveals that such increases in phloem transport velocity result in an increase in hormone delivery to the root tip for passively loaded hormones.

Delayed grape ripening by intermittent shading to counter global warming depends on carry-over effects and water deficit conditions

Grapevine phenology is continuously advancing due to global warming, exposing berry ripening to increasingly drier and hotter episodes that can dramatically affect yield and berry quality. This study aimed to analyse whether intermittent shading produced by panels placed over the plants can delay berry ripening to counter the impact of global warning on phenology. A two-year outdoor trial repeated on two batches of young potted grapevine (cv. Syrah) was conducted in Montpellier (South of France). Shading was created in a row using 2 m-wide horizontal panels placed 2.4 m above the ground. A moderate water deficit was also applied at the start of veraison to half the plants in both full sun (without panels) and shaded conditions to mimic usual field conditions. Variables related to budburst, flowering, veraison and sugar at harvest were analysed in all treatments. Although intermittent shading did not significantly modify air temperature within the canopy when cumulated over the growing season, the panels substantially delayed veraison by up to more than 30 days under well-watered conditions. The most marked phenological shifts were noted in the second year of treatment between flowering and veraison when carbon demand sharply increased during berry formation, suggesting there was a carry-over effect likely due to limited carbon assimilation. This was accompanied by sharp decreases in berry diameter and sugar content per berry at harvest. Higher berry growth and sugar loading were maintained when shading was combined with water deficit. However, the trigger effect of water deficit on veraison almost halved the phenological delay caused by the panels. Overall, a cooler period for ripening could be achieved with panels over the vines but at the expense of berry size and sugar amount in berries. It can be concluded that shading intensity and duration should be adapted to evaporative and soil water conditions to benefit from the phenological delay caused by panels, without altering production in the long term.

Pectin-Based Nanomaterials as a Universal Polymer for Type 2 Diabetes Management

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by insufficient tissue insulin sensitivity, insufficient compensatory insulin secretory response, and insufficient insulin production by pancreatic islet cells, which account for more than 90% of all instances of diabetes mellitus, and defects in any of the mechanisms at play may cause a metabolic imbalance that results in the development of T2DM. By getting around several delivery limitations, nanomedicine can effectively increase the efficacy of oral drug administration. According to reports, nanostructures are absorbed 15–250 times more readily than microparticles. Furthermore, nanostructures are constantly used to maintain the release of drugs that are encapsulated to lower doses and dosage frequency, improving patient compliance and reducing adverse effects. Pectin is a biocompatible polysaccharide with a natural biological activity, which pectin in rats with type 2 diabetes was discovered to have potent hypoglycemic, antioxidant, immunomodulating, and anticancer properties that improved diabetic conditions and consequences, reduced insulin resistance, improved blood lipid levels, and reduced liver glycogen content, glucose tolerance, and glucose levels. As a result, the purpose of this article was to evaluate the background materials on the current condition of the scientific literature in this field of study and to review the employment feasibility as well as pectin-modified nanomaterial toward T2DM treatment because it has the ability to reduce insulin secretion and/or blood glucose levels following a sugar load.

Dairy and Wine Industry Effluents as Alternative Media for the Production of Bacillus-Based Biocontrol Agents.

Food industry effluents represent one of the major concerns when it comes to environmental impact; hence, their valorization through different chemical and biological routes has been suggested as a possible solution. The vast amount of organic and inorganic nutrients present in food industry effluents makes them suitable substrates for microbial growth. This study suggests two valorization routes for whey as dairy industry effluent and flotation wastewater from the wine industry through microbial conversion to biocontrol agents as value-added products. Cultivations of the biocontrol strain Bacillus sp. BioSol021 were performed in a 16 L bioreactor to monitor the bioprocess course and investigate bioprocess kinetics in terms of microbial growth, sugar substrate consumption and surfactin synthesis, as an antimicrobial lipopeptide. The produced biocontrol agents showed high levels of biocontrol activity against mycotoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus, followed by a significant reduction of sugar load of the investigated effluents by the producing microorganisms. With proven high potential of whey and winery flotation wastewater to be used as substrates for microbial growth, this study provides grounds for further optimization of the suggested valorization routes, mostly in terms of bioprocess conditions to achieve maximal techno-economical feasibility, energy saving and maximal reduction of effluents' organic and inorganic burden.

Optimization studies about efficient biobutanol production from industrial tea waste by Clostridium beijerinckii

The current study aims to evaluate industrial tea waste (ITW), which generated massive quantities annually, on biobutanol production by Clostridium beijerinckii. Some critical parameters for biobutanol production such as initial ITW sugar loading (20,40,60,80 g/L), fermentation time (24–120 h), type of nitrogen sources (whey powder and yeast extract) and concentrations (1,2,4,8 g/L), mineral salts such as MgSO4·7H2O (0.05–0.4 g/L), FeSO4·7H2O (0.005–0.04 g/L), ZnSO4·7H2O (0.001–0.02 g/L) were optimized. C. beijerinckii produced the highest total ABE and biobutanol as 9.73 g/L and 6.21 g/L in the presence of 0.1 g/L MgSO4·7H2O, 0.01 g/L FeSO4·7H2O and 0.001 g/L ZnSO4·7H2O with 40 g/L ITW sugar. Furthermore, at optimized conditions, the biobutanol productivity and yield improved approximately 2 and 2.4 times at the end of 96 h compared with standard P2 medium, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about using ITW which is a promising feedstock for biobutanol production.

Assessment of vine shoots and surplus grape must for succinic acid bioproduction.

Vine shoots and surplus grape must were assessed as feedstocks for succinic acid production with Actinobacillus succinogenes and Basfia succiniproducens. After acidic and enzymatic hydrolysis, vine shoots released 35-40g/L total sugars. Both bacterial species produced 18-21g/L succinic acid from this hydrolysate in 120h. Regarding grape must fermentation, A. succinogenes clearly outperformed B. succiniproducens. Yeast extract (a source of organic nitrogen and vitamins) was the only additional nutrient needed by A. succinogenes to grow on grape must. Under mathematically optimized conditions (145.7g/L initial sugars and 24.9g/L yeast extract), A. succinogenes generated 88.9 ± 1.4g/L succinic acid in 96h, reaching a succinic acid yield of 0.66 ± 0.01g/g and a sugar consumption of 96.64 ± 0.30%. Substrate inhibition was not observed in grape musts with 125-150g/L initial sugars, provided that an adequate amount of yeast extract was available for bacteria. Alternative nitrogen sources to yeast extract (red wine lees, white wine lees, urea, NH4Cl, and choline chloride) were not suitable for A. succinogenes in grape must. KEY POINTS: • Vine shoots and surplus grape must were assessed for succinic acid bioproduction. • Succinic acid bioproduction was 21g/L with vine shoots and 89g/L with grape must. • Fermentation was efficient at high sugar loads if organic N supply was adequate.

The sugarless grape trait characterised by single berry phenotyping

In grape production, the selection of varieties well-adapted to climate fluctuations, especially warming, is based on achieving a balance between fruit sugars and acidity. In recent decades, temperature has been constantly rising during ripening causing excessive sugar concentrations and insufficient acidity in wine grapes in the warmest regions. There is thus an increasing interest in breeding new cultivars able to ripen at lower sugar concentration while preserving fruit acidity. However, the phenotyping of berry composition challenges both methodological and conceptual issues. Indeed, most authors predetermine either average harvest date, ripening duration, thermal time or even the hexoses concentration threshold itself to compare accessions at a hopefully similar ripe stage. In this study, we phenotyped the fruit development and composition of 6 genotypes, including 3 new disease-tolerant varieties known to produce wines with low alcoholic contents. The study was performed at single berry level from the end of the green growth stage to the end of phloem unloading, when water and solute contents reach a maximum per berry. The results confirm that sugarless genotypes achieve fruit ripening with 20-30 % less hexoses than the classical varieties, Grenache N and Merlot N, without impacting berry growth, total acidity or cation accumulation. The sugarless genotypes displayed a higher malic acid/tartaric acid balance than the other genotypes, but similar sucrose/H+ exchanges at the onset of ripening. Data suggest that the sugarless phenotype results from a specific plasticity in the relationship between growth and the turgor imposed by organic acid accumulation and sugar loading. This opens interesting perspectives for the understanding of the mechanism of grapevine berry growth and for breeding varieties that will cope better with climate warming.

Genome-wide identification and expression profiling of sugar transporter genes in tobacco

Sugars are both nutrients and important signal molecules in higher plants. Sugar transporters (STs) are involved in sugar loading and unloading and facilitate sugar transport across membranes. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) is a model plant and one of the most significant plants economically. In our research, 92 N. tabacum ST (NtST) genes were identified and classified into eight distinct subfamilies in the tobacco genome based on phylogenetic analysis. Exon–intron analysis revealed that each subfamily manifested closely associated gene architectural features based on a comparable number or length of exons. Tandem repetition and purifying selection were the main factors of NtST gene evolution. A search for cis-regulatory elements in the promoter sequences of the NtST gene families suggested that they are probably regulated by light, plant hormones, and abiotic stress factors. We performed a comprehensive expression study in different tissues, viarious abiotic and phytohormone stresses. The results revealed different expression patterns and the functional diversification of NtST genes. The resulting data showed that NtSFP1 was highly expressed all measured five tobacco tissues, and also regulated by the MeJA, and temperature stress. In addition, the virus-induced NibenSFP1 silencing in tobacco and detected dramatically enhanced glucose content, indicating the NtSFP1 might regulate the glucose content and involved in MeJA signaling way to response the temperature stress. In general, our findings provide useful information on understanding the roles of STs in phytohormone signaling way and abiotic stresses in N. tabacum.

Production of acetone-butanol-ethanol and lipids from sugarcane molasses via coupled fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum and oleaginous yeasts

Acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) and lipids were produced from sugarcane molasses via coupled fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum and oleaginous yeasts. ABE fermentation of sugarcane molasses with varying sugar concentrations (50–100 g/L) was investigated, and the wastewaters were analyzed and classified into two types based on their carbon source content and structure. Then, four oleaginous yeasts were cultured on the two types of ABE fermentation wastewaters respectively, and their lipid productions, removals of COD and ammonia were investigated and evaluated. It was found that via coupling with lipid-producing fermentation process, the ABE fermentation wastewaters rich in organic acids could be effectively treated, the added value of the products obtained could be increased, meanwhile, the sugar load and treatment efficiency of the whole system could be improved. Specifically, ABE fermentation by C. acetobutylicum CH012 could be carried out normally on 50–80 g/L of total sugars. The maximum solvents production, which was 19.640 g/L (5.580 g/L acetone, 13.159 g/L butanol and 0.901 g/L ethanol) with a corresponding yield of 0.335 g/g, was obtained at 70 g/L sugars. Wastewater (from the ABE fermentations performed at 50–60 g/L sugars) containing low concentrations (＜3 g/L) of sugars and taking organic acids as dominant carbon source was defined as Type-1, while wastewater (from the ABE fermentations performed at 70–80 g/L sugars) containing high concentrations (10–20 g/L) of sugars and taking sugars as dominant carbon source was defined as Type-2. Trichosporon dermatis could performed well on both Type-1 and Type-2 wastewaters in terms of lipids production and removals of COD and ammonia. Lipomyces starkeyi did not adapt to Type-1 wastewater, but when culturing on Type-2 wastewater, it achieved the highest lipid production of 2.37 g/L with COD and ammonia nitrogen removal rate of 64.62 % and 57.09 % respectively.