Low Sucrose Concentrations Research Articles

Parental dietary sucrose affects metabolic and antioxidant enzyme activities in Drosophila

ABSTRACTThe influence of parental nutrition as a key environmental factor that can influence offspring performance has become a hot topic for modern investigations. In the current study using fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster, we found the sucrose concentration of the diet in the parental generation had a significant influence on the metabolism and antioxidant defense of the next generation, even when that subsequent generation had been shifted to a standard diet. We found that low concentrations of dietary carbohydrate in the parental generation led to higher activities of lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and alanine transaminase (ALT) enzymes and increased urea content in their progeny. Moreover, higher activities of the first‐ and second‐line antioxidant defense enzymes were detected in F1 males generated from parents fed a low‐carbohydrate diet. Low sucrose concentration in the parental diet resulted in increased levels of protein thiols but decreased the low‐molecular‐weight thiol group content in F1 males. The influence of different dietary sucrose concentrations also resulted in sex‐dependent differences, where MDH, ALT, glutathione‐S‐transferase, glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase and isocitrate dehydrogenase activities and levels of thiol groups were unaffected in F1 females. The results highlight the transgenerational influence that specific dietary macronutrients provided in the parental diet, namely carbohydrates, can have on the next generation, influencing enzyme activities, metabolic pathways and antioxidant defenses in progeny Drosophila.

Ice recrystallization inhibition effect of cellulose nanocrystals: Influence of sucrose concentration

Stabilizers are commonly used to inhibit the ice recrystallization process that leads to the formation of large ice crystals, decreasing consumer acceptance of ice cream. However, the ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) effect of stabilizers is very dependent on measurement conditions. The cause of this dependence is not clear, which imposes problems in comparing the IRI activity and understanding the IRI mechanism of stabilizers. This study investigated the influence of sucrose concentration on the IRI effect of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), which are newly identified IRI active materials. A splat assay and a sandwich assay were used to determine IRI activities of CNCs at sucrose concentrations from 2.0% to 49.0% w/w and incubation temperature of −8 °C for 30 min. The IRI activities of CNCs were higher at low sucrose concentrations, almost disappeared at medium sucrose concentrations, and restored slightly at high sucrose concentrations. The IRI effect of CNCs is correlated with the ratio between CNCs concentration in the unfrozen phase and total surface area of ice crystals. This surface area-related IRI effect was also observed with guar gum, locust bean gum, and poly(vinyl alcohol). It is a strong evidence of an ice-binding mechanism for the IRI effect of stabilizers. These research findings offer a new perspective in comparing and understanding the measurement condition-dependent IRI effect of stabilizers, which could potentially benefit the ice cream industry in developing new materials and recipes to control ice recrystallization.

How does moderate drought affect quantum yield and the regulation of sugar metabolism at low temperature in durum wheat (Triticum durum L.)?

Currently, limited knowledge is available about the combined effects of drought and light in case of cold stress. The investigation of quantum yield kinetics may help understand how plants utilize light under adverse environmental conditions. In the present study, mild drought helped preserve quantum yield in durum wheat (Triticum durum L.). The time necessary to reach the steady-state actual quantum yield corresponded with the cold sensitivity. Possible underlying mechanisms induced by drought, such as the reduction of malondialdehyde content, accumulation of D-sorbit, and glycine betaine, may have protected photosynthetic apparatus and integrity of light reactions. Low sucrose content at normal growth light might have caused stomatal closing and promoted photorespiration. In contrast to growth light, low light and moderate drought positively affected the sucrose accumulation and maintained glycolysis and energy production at low temperature. Present results emphasized the role of moderate drought as a sufficient acclimation factor against cold in durum wheat.

Thermally insulating robust carbon composite foams with high EMI shielding from natural cotton

• Conversion of biomass, medical-grade cotton and sucrose, into carbon foams by filter-pressing. • Foams exhibit density in the range of 0.06 to 0.31 g cm −3 . • Foams possess reasonable compressive strength in the range 5 kPa to 1.4 MPa. • Foams possess partial compressibility. • Low thermal conductivity (0.069 to 0.185 W m − 1 K −1 ) and good flame resistance. • carbon composite foams are amenable to machining using conventional machines and tools. • CCFs materials showed good electrical and EMI shielding properties. • The rigid CCFs showed shielding effectiveness in the ranges of 21.5 to 38.9 dB with adsorption dominant shielding properties. Thermally insulating and fire-resistant carbon composite foams are prepared by consolidating natural cotton fibre dispersed in aqueous sucrose solution by filter-pressing followed by drying and carbonization. The compressive strength (5 kPa to 1.4 MPa) and thermal conductivity (0.069 to 0.185 W m − 1 K − 1 ) depend on the foam density (0.06 to 0.31 g cm −3 ) which is modulated by varying the sucrose solutions concentration (100 to 700 g L − 1 ). Partially flexible to the rigid transition of the carbon composite foams occurs at sucrose concentration above 200 g L − 1 . The tubular carbon fibre formed from cotton is welded at their contact points by the amorphous carbon produced from sucrose leading to partial flexibility at low sucrose concentration and advancement of fibre- to- fibre bonding area at higher sucrose concentration results in rigid foam. The porosity in the inter-fibre space and lumen of the carbonized cotton fibre contributes to the low thermal conductivity. The carbon composite foams prepared at a sucrose solution concentration of 500 g L − 1 and above are amenable to machining using conventional machines and tools. The rigid carbon foams show EMI shielding effectiveness and specific shielding effectiveness in the ranges of 21.5 to 38.9 dB and 108–138 dB cm 3 g − 1 , respectively.

Differential expression of starch and sucrose metabolic genes linked to varying biomass yield in Miscanthus hybrids

BackgroundMiscanthus is a commercial lignocellulosic biomass crop owing to its high biomass productivity and low chemical input requirements. Within an interspecific Miscanthus cross, progeny with high biomass yield were shown to have low concentrations of starch and sucrose but high concentrations of fructose. We performed a transcriptional RNA-seq analysis between selected Miscanthus hybrids with contrasting values for these phenotypes to clarify how these phenotypes are genetically controlled.ResultsWe observed that genes directly involved in the synthesis and degradation of starch and sucrose were down-regulated in high-yielding Miscanthus hybrids. At the same time, glycolysis and export of triose phosphates were up-regulated in high-yielding Miscanthus hybrids. These differentially expressed genes and biological functions were regulated by a well-connected network of less than 25 co-regulated transcription factors.ConclusionsOur results evidence a direct relationship between high expression of essential enzymatic genes in the starch and sucrose pathways and co-expression with their transcriptional regulators, with high starch concentrations and lower biomass production. The strong interconnectivity between gene expression and regulators, chemotype and agronomic traits opens the door to use the expression of well-characterised genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism, particularly in the starch and sucrose pathway, for the early selection of high biomass-yielding genotypes from large Miscanthus populations.

Exploring the Sources of Red Rot Resistance Available in National Breeding Gene Pool and their Potential Utilization for Sugarcane Improvement in India

The breeding gene pool maintained in ICAR-SBI, Coimbatore serves as the prime source for generating genetic variability for sugarcane varietal development in India. About 417 parents from five different zones of sugarcane cultivation in India, exotic hybrids and interspecific hybrids, were initially tested for their resistance against the tropical (mixed inoculums of the tropical pathotypes CF06 [Cf671] and CF12 [Cf94012]) of Colletotrichum falcatum, followed by the subtropical pathotype CF08 (Cf64) in order to identify stable red rot resistant parents. Among them, mixed inoculums of CF 06 and CF 12 were found more virulent than CF 8. The highest number (48 of 155) of resistant (R) or moderately resistant (MR) parents to the mixed virulent inoculums was from North West Zone (30.97%) followed by North Central and North East Zone (18 of 37), Peninsular Zone (16 of 134) and East Coast Zone (2 of 34). Only one exotic parent (CP 61–23) among the 18 was found to be MR to all the tested pathotypes of C. falcatum. Overall, the subtropical parents had higher proportion of R types due to high accumulation of stress tolerant genes, while the tropical parents had more susceptible types. In case of interspecific hybrids, nine out of 39 were moderately resistant to the subtropical pathotypes. Among the 417 parents screened, 83 parents were stable in their resistance against tropical and subtropical pathotypes. Since selection for red rot resistance may lead to low sucrose content, the potential parents having high sucrose combining red rot resistance were identified from different sources and efforts were made to collect other characters of breeding importance of these stable resistance parents. Red rot resistant parents identified in this study have a greater potential in breeding for red resistance in the sugarcane improvement in the country.

Optimization of liver glycogen extraction when considering the fine molecular structure

Liver glycogen is a branched glucose polymer that functions as a blood-sugar buffer in animals. Previous studies have shown that glycogen’s molecular structure affects its properties. This makes it important to develop a technique that extracts and purifies a representative sample of glycogen. Here we aim to optimize the sucrose density gradient centrifugation method for preserving glycogen’s molecular structure by varying the density of the sucrose solution. The preservation of glycogen’s structure involves: 1) minimizing molecular damage and 2) obtaining a structurally representative sample of glycogen. The addition of a 10-minute boiling step was also tested as a means for denaturing any glycogen degrading enzymes. Lower sucrose concentrations and the introduction of the boiling step were shown to be beneficial in obtaining a more structurally representative sample, with the preservation of smaller glycogen particles and decreased glycogen chain degradation.

Proboscis behavioral response of four honey bee Apis species towards different concentrations of sucrose, glucose, and fructose

Honey bees forage for pollen and nectar. Sugar is an important stimulus for foraging and a major source of energy for honey bees. Any differential response of bees to different concentrations of sugary nectar can affect their foraging. The sugar responsiveness of Apis species (Apis dorsata, Apis florea, and Apis cerana) was determined in comparison to that of Apis mellifera by evaluating the proboscis extension response (PER) with eight serial concentrations (0.00001, 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 M) of sucrose, glucose and fructose. Nectar foragers of bee species (A. dorsata, A. florea, A. cerana, and A. mellifera) exhibited an equal response for sucrose, glucose, and fructose, with no significant differences in their PER at all tested concentrations of these sugars within the same species. The inter-species comparison between Apis species revealed the differential responsiveness to the different concentrations of sugars, and the lowest concentration at which a response occurs was considered as the response threshold of these bee species for sugar solutions. A. mellifera presented significantly higher responsiveness than A. dorsata to low concentrations (0.00001, 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, and 0.1 M) of sucrose, glucose and fructose. A. mellifera displayed a significantly higher response to water than A. dorsata. A. florea and A. mellifera presented no significant difference in their responsiveness to sucrose, glucose, and fructose at all tested concentrations, and their water responsiveness was also significantly at par but relatively higher in A. mellifera than in A. florea. Likewise, the responsiveness of A. cerana and A. mellifera to different concentrations of sucrose, glucose and fructose was significantly at par with no difference in their water responsiveness. This study represents preliminary research comparing the response of different honey bee species to three sugar types at different concentrations. The results imply that the native species are all better adapted than A. mellifera under local climate conditions.

Recombinant overexpression of the Escherichia coli acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene in Synechocystis sp. boosts lipid production.

Microalgae have received continued attention as a potential source for biofuel production. However, the lack of suitable strains that provide a lipid-rich biomass and tolerate harsh condition inhibits their industrial application. This report describes an effort to transform Synechocystis sp. with genes encoding acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), a key regulatory enzyme in the lipogenesis pathway, from the white mustard plant (Sinapis alba) and the bacterium Escherichia coli DH5α using chitosan nanoparticles. Although a recombinant plasmid encoding S. alba ACC failed to express, successful transformation was achieved with a recombinant plasmid encoding E. coli DH5α ACC. The successful transformant, Synechocystis sp. PAK13, exhibited increased ACC expression compared with its wild-type parent (11.8 vs. 7.2 ng), which significantly increased its lipid content (by 3.6-fold). Synechocystis sp. PAK13 also exhibited a significant (20%) reduction in photosynthetic pigments, a 1.52-fold higher glucose content and a 3.5-fold lower sucrose content than the wild-type. In conclusion, this report introduces a useful strategy to overexpress the ACC gene in microalgae, creating strains with improved lipid production that are suited to industrial applications.

Associations between opioid dependence and sweet taste preference.

Past research suggests that people with opioid dependence show increased consumption of sweet food, but it is unclear if this is influenced by altered taste preference and/or taste perception. We tested whether people prescribed opioid substitution therapy (OST) exhibited a shift in preference towards sweeter flavours, and altered perception of sweetness, and explored whether these measures of taste preference/perception were associated with measures of opioid use. Three groups of participants (people prescribed OST, n=36; people with past opioid dependence, but now abstinent from all opioids, n=18; and controls with no history of substance dependence other than nicotine, n=29) provided ratings of "sweetness", "liking", and "desire" of 4 solutions with varying concentrations of sucrose. We did not find significant differences between groups in the effect of sucrose concentration on "sweetness", "liking", or "desire" ratings. However, among those prescribed OST, frequency of recent illicit opioid use was associated with reduced perception of "sweetness" of low sucrose concentrations. Higher methadone dose was associated with a shift towards liking sweeter concentrations. Among those with past opioid dependence, longer duration of abstinence from opioids was associated with a shift towards liking sweeter concentrations. Among people currently dependent on opioids, reduced sensitivity to low levels of sweetness and increased preference for sweeter flavours may be associated with increased dependence on opioids. Among those who have ceased opioid use, the association between preference for sweeter flavours and duration of abstinence is a novel finding that deserves further investigation.

Inoculation with Clariodeoglomus etunicatum improves leaf food quality of tea exposed to P stress

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF), Clariodeoglomus etunicatum, on leaf food quality and relevant gene expression levels of tea (Camellia sinensis cv. ‘Fuding Dabaicha’) seedlings exposed to 0.5 μM P (P0.5) and 50 μM P (P50) levels. Twenty-four weeks later, the seedlings recorded higher root mycorrhizal fungal colonization in P50 than in P0.5. AMF-inoculated tea plants represented significantly higher leaf fructose and glucose contents and lower sucrose content than non-inoculated plants, irrespective of substate P levels. AMF treatment also increased total amino acids content in P0.5 and P50, accompanied with higher expression of glutamate dehydrogenase (CsGDH) and lower expression of glutamine synthetase (CsGS) and glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase (CsGOGAT). The total flavonoid content was higher in mycorrhizal versus non-mycorrhizal plants under P0.5 and P50, together with induced expression of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (CsPAL) and cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase (CsC4H). Mycorrhizal fungal inoculation improved catechins content, which is due to the up-regulated expression of flavanone 3-hydroxylase (CsF3H), flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase (CsF3'H), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (CsDFR), leucoanthocyanidin reductase (CsLAR), anthocyanidin reductase (CsANR), and chalcone isomerase (CsCHI) under P0.5. However, under P50, the gene involved in catechins synthesis was not affected or down-regulated by mycorrhization, implying a complex mechanism (e.g. nutrient improvement). AMF also inhibited the tea caffeine synthase 1 (CsTCS1) expression regardless of P levels. Therefore, the results of this study concluded that inoculation with C. etunicatum improves leaf food quality of tea exposed to P stress, but the improved mechanisms were different between P0.5 and P50.

Lipopolysaccharide does not alter behavioral response to successive negative contrast in mice.

Reduced motivation is one of the main symptomatic features of inflammation-induced depression. However, the exact nature of inflammation-induced alterations in motivation remains to be fully defined. As inflammation has been shown to increase sensitivity to negative stimuli, the present series of experiments was initiated to determine whether systemic inflammation induced by infra-septic doses of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice influences consummatory and instrumental responding to successive negative contrast. Successive negative contrast was operationally defined by a shift to a lower value reward than the one mice were trained with. Mice were trained to drink a high sucrose concentration solution and exposed to an acute shift to a lower concentration of sucrose. In another series of experiments, mice were trained to nose poke for chocolate pellets according to a fixed reinforcement schedule 10 (10 nose pokes for the food reinforcement) and exposed to a shift to a lower reward value (decreased number of chocolate pellets or replacement of chocolate pellets by less preferred grain pellets). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was administered at the dose of 0.33 1 mg/kg 24 h before the shift. Mice trained to drink a high sucrose concentration responded to the shift in reward value by a reduction in the volume of sucrose consumed and a decrease in lick numbers and bout durations. Mice trained to nose poke for chocolate pellets responded to the shift by alterations in their total number of nose pokes. In both conditions, LPS had no consistent effect on the response to the shift in reward value. These findings indicate a high variability in the effects of LPS on successive negative contrast and fail to provide evidence in favor of the hypothesis that LPS increases sensitivity to decreases in expected rewards.

A Detailed Protocol for Preparing Millimeter-sized Supergiant Liposomes that Permit Efficient Eukaryotic Cell-free Translation in the Interior.

Liposomes have been used as a pseudo cell membrane for encapsulating biomolecules and creating an artificial cell in the interior where biochemical reactions can occur. Among the several methods used to prepare biomolecule-encapsulating liposomes, the spontaneous emulsion transfer method is superior to others in that it allows us to readily prepare relatively large liposomes whose sizes are controlled (from micrometer- to millimeter-sized liposomes) without special equipment. However, conventional protocols for this method require liposomes to contain a considerably high concentration of sucrose (high-density solute), which severely inhibits gene expression, one of the most important biochemical reactions. Thus, we optimized the preparation conditions to develop a wheat germ extract (WGE)-based protocol that requires a much lower concentration of sucrose and has almost no effect on eukaryotic cell-free translation. Our protocol allows us to successfully prepare millimeter-sized, moderately stable, WGE-encapsulating liposomes in which WGE translation takes place efficiently. Since a broad range of genes derived from various types of organisms can be efficiently translated in a WGE-based translation system, liposomes prepared using our protocol would be useful as a versatile research tool for artificial cells.

IN VITRO SEED GERMINATION AND PLANT GROWTH OF “CABEÇA-DE-FRADE” (CACTACEAE)

ABSTRACT The genus Melocactus (“cabeça-de-frade”) comprises 32 species in Brazil, of which M. glaucescens and M. paucispinus are threatened with extinction. The present work evaluated the effects of different concentrations of Murashige & Skoog (MS, MS/2 and MS/4) culture medium and sucrose (15 g L-1 and 30 g L-1) on in vitro seed germination and plant growth of M. glaucescens and the efficiency of sterilization with sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) on in vitro seed germination and plant growth of M. glaucescens when using seeds and M. glaucescens and M. paucispinus when using apical segment of cladode. In M. glaucescens, the final germination at the different MS and sucrose concentrations varied between 53.5 and 68.1% and the best results for in vitro growth were observed with the lowest mineral salt (MS/2 and MS/4) and sucrose (15 g L-1) concentrations, with lengths of the aerial portion of 9.70 and 10.76 mm, respectively. There was no difference in seed germination and plant growth in chemical and autoclave medium. It is concluded that the use of chemical sterilization with NaOCl at low concentrations of salts (MS/2 and MS/4) and sucrose (15 g L-1) are quite advantageous for producing ornamental plants germinated in vitro and/or apical segment of cladode of M. glaucescens andM. paucispinus, representing a reduction of costs for in vitro cultivation of this species.

Nutrition and antioxidant profiling in the unpolished and polished grains of eleven indigenous aromatic rice cultivars.

The present study emphasized on the yet-unexplored exhaustive analyses of nutritional and antioxidant parameters in the unpolished and polished grains of eleven indigenous aromatic rice varieties. Tulaipanji appeared to be a highly demanding variety by virtue of having sufficient levels of micronutrients like Fe, Zn and Cu (linked with higher expression of fer2, ZIP and NAS3), inorganic phosphorus, hexose sugars, total amino acids and lysine (correlated with higher expression of glutelin and RLRH1), tocopherol (due to higher HGGT expression), total phenolic content, flavonoids, anthocyanins (concomitant with higher expression of PPO, PAL and ANS), LOX activity and LOX1 gene expression, and overall higher total antioxidant capacity, particularly in the polished grains. The importance of IET-21261, with regard to higher content of phytic acid and total phosphorus (with high IPK1 expression), β-carotene (with high PSY expression) and tocopherol (with high HGGT expression), and of Kalonunia, with respect to cysteine and γ-oryzanol in the polished grains, was also significant. Lower α-amylase enzyme activity and α-amylase expression led to considerable starch accumulation, with lower sucrose content, in the unpolished grains of Radhunipagal and polished grains of Pusa Basmati-1. Paramanya registered the highest content of thiamine and TH1 expression, together with minimum methylglyoxal level (low TPI expression). Paramanya and Radhunipagal maintained a higher pool of majority of the nutritional and antioxidant components in their unpolished grains. The polished grains of all the genotypes showed strikingly lower nutritional constituents, as compared to unpolished grains. The knowledge gained from this study will largely provide a road map to the farmers and rice consumers for making proper choice of the aromatic genotypes for large-scale cultivation and dietary consumption to derive maximum nutritional benefits.

Viscosity as a key factor in decision making of nectar feeding ants

It is well known that viscosity reduces the intake rates in nectar-feeding insects, such as nectivorous ants, though it remains unclear whether viscosity imposes a higher energy investment in these insects, and how this affects their feeding motivation. To address this issue, we studied feeding behavior, metabolism, and pharyngeal pump activity in the carpenter ant Camponotus mus during ingestion of ad libitum sucrose solutions. In some solutions tylose was added to modify viscosity without changing its sucrose concentration, in a way that allowed comparing: (1) two solutions with the same viscosity and different sucrose concentration (10 T and 50), and (2) two solutions with different viscosity and the same sucrose concentration (50 and 50 T). The viscosity increase was detrimental to the metabolic rate and energy balance. Ants feeding on a solution with high sucrose concentration and increased viscosity (50 T) spent extra-time until reaching a crop load similar to that reached by ingesting the solution without tylose (50). For all solutions offered, ants started feeding with the same pharyngeal pump frequencies, reflecting a similar motivation. Interesting, when ants fed on a low sucrose concentration and increased viscosity solution (10 T), their pump frequencies dropped rapidly respect to the pure-sucrose solution (50). On the contrary, pump frequencies for 50 and 50 T remained similar until the end of the intake. Since the pump frequency is strongly modulated by the ant motivation, an increase in viscosity with low sucrose content, demotivates the ants rapidly, suggesting a rapid integration of different kinds of information about the food value. Our results helped to understand how nectivorous ants could modulate their foraging decision-making.

Graphene Oxide Sensitized No-Core Fiber Step-Index Distribution Sucrose Sensor

By coating graphene oxide (GO) onto the surface no-core fiber (NCF), we designed a single-mode no-core single-mode (SNS) fiber Step-Index Distribution sucrose sensor. With wavelength demodulation and the beam propagation method (BPM), the sensor without a GO coating was studied in the low RI range of 1.33~1.389, and the high RI range of 1.389~1.4185. The experiments show that the RI sensitivity of the sensor respectively reaches 132.9 nm/RIU and 292.22 nm/RIU. Both the numerical simulation and the experiments are highly consistent with the theoretical analysis results. Especially, having coated GO on the NCF for sensitization, a high sensitivity was achieved for the response to sucrose concentration solutions. The sensor’s RI sensitivity was increased from 132.9 nm/RIU up to 1348.67 nm/RIU in the ultra-narrow range of 1.33 to 1.3385. This result provides a theoretical and experimental basis for the enrichment and development of sensor detection with a low threshold sucrose concentration.

Effects of sucrose on pasting, thermal, rheological and textural properties of native and alcohol-alkali-treated waxy rice starch

In this work, the physicochemical properties of native waxy rice starch (WRS) and alcohol-alkali-treated waxy rice starch (AAT-WRS) were studied in the presence of sucrose. The results indicated that the addition of sucrose improved the transparency and freeze-thaw stability of WRS pastes and AAT-WRS pastes. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that the gelatinization temperatures of WRS increased with increased sucrose concentration, but the gelatinization enthalpy increased at low concentration of sucrose and decreased at high concentration. Rheological measurements indicated that sucrose addition had no significant effect on the pseudoplastic shear-thinning behaviors of WRS pastes and AAT-WRS pastes, but changed the apparent viscosity. Dynamic moduli (G′ and G″) values of WRS pastes and AAT-WRS pastes with or without sucrose showed frequency dependency and sucrose addition dependency. The elastic behavior was dominant over viscous in the WRS-sucrose mixed pastes, while the AAT-WRS-sucrose mixed pastes was the opposite. The textural paraments of WRS and AAT-WRS before or after retrogradation increased with the increasing concentration of sucrose. These results suggested that sucrose potentially changed the physicochemical properties of WRS and AAT-WRS.

Rapid high-throughput determination of major components and amino acids in a single peanut kernel based on portable near-infrared spectroscopy combined with chemometrics

The quality traits of peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) are fundamental to the whole peanut industry. However, many common analyses require the sample to be brought to the laboratory. Therefore, this research explores the feasibility of portable near-infrared spectroscopy combined with a single detection accessory to analyse the composition of peanuts in a single seed level quantitatively. The single detection accessory was specifically designed for spectral data collection considering the internal and external characteristics of single peanuts. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that the oil body and protein body were randomly distributed at cell of single peanuts. The external characteristics of single peanuts were also determined and considered length (11.32–24.25 mm) and width (7.49–12.25 mm). The chemical compositional data (i.e. fat, sucrose, protein, and 16 amino acids) were determined by conventional wet-chemical methods and showed large variation. Principal component analysis on the compositional data showed that peanuts with higher fat contents usually have higher hydrophobic amino acids contents, lower sucrose contents, and lower protein contents. The composition prediction models of single peanuts were estimated using partial least squares regression models that were integrated with different spectral pre-treatments and validated by external sets. The results showed that the prediction models have good performance with a correlation coefficient above 0.88 (calibration) and 0.83 (prediction) and a residual prediction deviation above 1.5 except for a few indicators. Overall, the portable near-infrared spectroscopy offered reliable methods to assess the major components and amino acids quantitatively in a single peanut, which will improve the raw material quality in the peanut industry through the simultaneous and short-term determination of multiple indicators.

Energy cane vs sugarcane: Watching the race in plant development

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) grows in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world, being cultivated in more than 100 countries. Modern cultivars are the results of interspecific crosses, having S. officinarum as the main genetic source, which results in high sucrose production. Energy cane is still a less rigorous definition, applied to cane cultivars that have higher biomass, although lower sucrose concentration. Despite the practical advance, little is known about the molecular and physiological basis of the energy cane productivity and robustness, a knowledge that can be very helpful for the development of cane varieties in general. In this work, we have explored the sprouting process, which is very irregular in sugarcane plantation and thereby a main cost factor. Our results could be summarized in three main contributions: first, we observed that energy cane has a physiological strategy very different from that one observed for sugarcane, starting with the shoot development and only thereafter beginning the root growth. After 10 days, the energy cane had a shoot height of 14.19 cm against of 4.24 cm of sugarcane. Nevertheless, we noticed the energy cane root presents a fast and vigorous development, overcoming the sugarcane root volume after 50 days, with 24.36 and 14.79 cm3, respectively. Second, we observed that the energy cane has homogeneity in the sprouting rate of the different internodes, regardless of their age. Finally, our data allowed us to propose that the greater growth seen in energy cane might be attributed to a vigorous rate of nocturnal growth with angulation in relation to the time of 11.89°, which is lower in sugarcane, with angulation of 5.47°.