Quinoa Plants Research Articles

The effect of cultivar and stage of growth on the fermentation, aerobic stability and nutritive value of ensiled Quinoa

Quinoa can be an important source of silage as an alternative forage crop. However, there is limited information on the ensiling of quinoa. This study aimed to investigate the silage fermentation quality, nutritive value and aerobic stability of quinoa cultivars harvested at different plant growing stages. The experiment was carried out in experimental area of the Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Agriculture in 2019 and 2020 growing seasons. The experiment was laid out in a split plot in randomized block design with three replications, three main plots were harvesting times (flowering, milky and dough stages) and five sub-plots were cultivars (Mint Vanilla, Cherry Vanilla, French Vanilla, Red Head and Titicaca). Traits such as pH, ammonia nitrogen, lactic acid bacteria, lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, propionic acid, ethanol, dry matter, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin, crude protein, ash, ether extract, water soluble carbohydrate and relative feed value were investigated to determine silage fermentation quality and nutritive value. In addition, all silages were evaluated in terms of aerobic stability. Among the evaluated quinoa cultivars in terms of fermentation quality, cv. Titicaca and cv. French Vanilla provided superior results compared to other cultivars. It was also determined that it would be more appropriate to harvest these superior quinoa cultivars during the dough stage for quality silage. Among the silages, the cv. Titicaca had the best aerobic stability. As a result of this study, it was concluded that cv. French Vanilla and cv. Titicaca should be harvested during the dough stage to obtain better silage quality. According to the results of this study, it was deduced that the quinoa plant could be an alternative ensiling crop.

The epidermal bladder cell-free mutant of the salt-tolerant quinoa challenges our understanding of halophyte crop salinity tolerance.

Halophytes tolerate high salinity levels that would kill conventional crops. Understanding salt tolerance mechanisms will provide clues for breeding salt-tolerant plants. Many halophytes, such as quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa), are covered by a layer of epidermal bladder cells (EBCs) that are thought to mediate salt tolerance by serving as salt dumps. We isolated an epidermal bladder cell-free (ebcf) quinoa mutant that completely lacked EBCs and was mutated in REBC and REBC-like1. This mutant showed no loss of salt stress tolerance. When wild-type quinoa plants were exposed to saline soil, EBCs accumulated potassium (K+ ) as the major cation, in quantities far exceeding those of sodium (Na+ ). Emerging leaves densely packed with EBCs had the lowest Na+ content, whereas old leaves with deflated EBCs served as Na+ sinks. When the leaves expanded, K+ was recycled from EBCs, resulting in turgor loss that led to a progressive deflation of EBCs. Our findings suggest that EBCs in young leaves serve as a K+ -powered hydrodynamic system that functions as a water sink for solute storage. Sodium ions accumulate within old leaves that subsequently wilt and are shed. This mechanism improves the survival of quinoa under high salinity conditions.

Plant density effects on quinoa yield, leaf anatomy, ultrastructure and gas exchange

AbstractTo study the impact of plant density onChenopodium quinoa(c.v. CICA-17) achene yield and its relationship with morphology, leaf anatomy and gas exchange in the absence of water stress, field trials were conducted at 1995 m asl in Northwestern Argentina. Two plant densities were evaluated; low density (LD) 7.2 plants/m (120 240 pl/ha) and high density (HD) 27.9 plants/m (465 930 pl/ha). HD treatment caused light competition, inducing morphological and anatomical changes in Quinoa plants. Plants grown under HD conditions showed decreases in plant height and stem diameter, lower stomatal dimensions and densities, and thinner leaf blades. Compensation strategies such as increases in specific leaf area and a higher number chloroplasts per palisade cell were observed, nevertheless these changes did not fully compensate C absorption and gas exchange limitations, therefore limiting the uptake of N and P and resulting in a 53.2% lower yield of HD compared to LD. Considering the ability of quinoa plants to change its morphology and anatomy, further studies with intermediate plant densities are necessary in order to determine if it is possible to achieve higher yields and to increase the efficiency in the use of the resources.

Selenium-induced modulations in growth, productivity and physiochemical responses to water deficiency in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) grown in sandy soil

Water stress is one of the major global problems that limits the growth and production of various crops. The current investigation aims to study the possibilities of mitigating the effect of drought stress on Quinoa plant grown under sandy soil by foliar treatment with selenium through assessment growth, productivity, and many physiological and biochemical measurements. Selenium (SE) was exogenously-applied as a foliar treatment with concentrations SE25 mg/L and SE50 mg/L to Quinoa plants grown under (full irrigation I100 = 100%) and (deficit irrigation I60 = 60%) in open field in growing seasons (2019/2020 and 2020/2021). Exposure of Quinoa plants to water stress led to significant decreases in shoot growth, yield, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids and indole acetic (IAA) comparing with full irrigation (I100). While, increased root length, fresh and dry weight, total phenolics, total soluble sugars TSS, proline and free amino acids (FAA). Furthermore, water deficit decreased yield and its components as well as carbohydrates, protein, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents of the yielded Quinoa grains compared with those plants grown under normal irrigation (I100). However, foliar spraying with selenium particularly at 50 mg/L to stress plants significantly improved growth and productivity of Quinoa plants. Moreover, treatment Quinoa plant with different levels of selenium reduced the effect of water stress by enhancing growth and productivity of Quinoa plants through improving photosynthetic pigments, IAA, total phenolics, TSS, proline and FAA contents. As a result, this findings suggest using 25 or 50 mg/L selenium as a foliar application strategy for Quinoa plants grown under drought stress to maintain higher growth and the studied biochemical aspects and yield as well as yield components and mitigate the inhibitory action of water stress on plant growth and productivity.

Optimizing quinoa height to counter stem lodging risks in the three main production regions of China

• A criterion for grading lodging risk levels based on probability was established. • The wind speed risks in three main quinoa production areas of China were analyzed. • Optimizing plant height to counter lodging risks under high-yielding conditions. • The spatial distribution of recommended plant height in study areas was drawn. Stem lodging is a major restriction for further quinoa yield improvement under high-yielding conditions. Plant height is one of the most important factors to affect stem lodging resistance, but how to determine the optimal plant height to meet specific lodging resistance requirements in different areas is rarely discussed. This study analyzed the long-term wind speed data in three main quinoa production regions of China (Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, and Gansu), and calculated the wind speed under different risk conditions (probability = 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5). Then, three high yielding conditions were selected based on a field experiment, and their optimal quinoa plant heights were calculated to ensure adequate lodging resistance in every specific area by using the generalized crop lodging model. Results showed that during the susceptible lodging period, 70–97% of the study regions experienced a maximum daily wind speed of 4–6 m s –1 with a probability of 0.3–0.5. As the probability decreased to 0.1, a higher maximum daily wind speed of 6–8 m s –1 would prevail in 69–75% of the study regions. Besides, central Inner Mongolia, western Qinghai, and northern Gansu experienced higher maximum daily wind speeds than other regions during the susceptible lodging period. To achieve adequate lodging resistance under a probability of 0.3–0.5, quinoa height should be decreased to be lower than 1.2–1.6 m in 72–99% of the study regions. Furthermore, under a probability of 0.1, quinoa height needed to be lower by at least another 0.2 m more in 86–98% of the study regions.

Forms of application of silicon in quinoa and benefits involved in the association between productivity with grain biofortification

Multiple aspects of the physiological and nutritional mechanisms involved with silicon (Si) absorption by quinoa plants remain poorly investigated, as well as the best way of supplying this element to crops. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating whether the application of Si increases its uptake by quinoa plants and consequently the use efficiency of N and P, as well as the levels of phenolic compounds in the leaves, crop productivity and the biofortification of grains. For this purpose, the concentration of 3 mmol L−1 of Si was tested, according to the following procedures: foliar application (F), root application in the nutrient solution (R), combined Si application via nutrient solution and foliar spraying (F + R), and no Si application (0). The provision of Si through the leaves and roots promoted the highest uptake of the element by the plant, which resulted in an increased use efficiency of N and P. Consequently, such a higher uptake favored the productivity of grains. The optimal adoption of the application of Si through leaves and roots promoted the highest Si concentration and ascorbic acid content in quinoa grains.

Physiological Response of Genotypes and Sowing Dates in the Growth and Yield of Chenopodium Quinoa Willd

A field experiment was carried out at the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences - University of Baghdad- Iraq, where the research station is located at latitude 33.2°N and longitude 44.38°E at the agricultural season 2019-2020. The study aimed to investigate the physiological behavior of genotypes and sowing dates in the growth and yield of quinoa in a factorial experiment using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates. The first factor included two quinoa genotypes; the first one is QW as white seed’s and QR the red seed. On the other hand, the second factor included four sowing dates, which are 1/10, 15/10, 1/11, and 15/11, symbolized by T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively. The results showed the superiority of the white seeds genotype by giving the highest average leaves number, leaf area, and heads weight was 131.70 leaves. plant-1, 31.90 cm2. plant-1, and 21.68 gm/ head respectively. However, the second sowing date, 15/10, was exceeded by giving the highest plant height, number of branches per plant, leaf area, chlorophyll content, and heads weight, which reached 95.50 cm and 17.79 branches. plant-1 and 28.90 cm2.plant-1, 98.40 SPAD, and 26.26 gm. head-1 respectively. As for the interaction between varieties and sowing dates, the white variety exceeded in the second date by giving the highest dry weight per plant, which amounted to 30.00 gm. plant-1. The study results showed that it is preferred to plant the white variety early in the quinoa plant in Iraq to increase production.

Effect of Evapotranspiration and Tillage Pattern on Water Use Efficiency and Growth, Yield of Chenopodium quinoa

The field experiment is conducted in sandy loam soil during the spring season of 2021 in western Iraq, Hit district, Anbar Governorate. It is located at longitude 95° 42ꞌ 25ʺ N and latitude 68° 33ꞌ 42ʺ E at 71 m.asl. This study aims to study the effect of irrigation and plough on the yield and efficiency of water use of the Chenopodium quinoa plant in desert soil in western Iraq. The experiment layout includes three tillage patterns ) No-tillage To, minimum tillage T1, and conventional tillage T2), three irrigation treatments )ET 0.75 -ET 1.00 - ET 1.25(, and a randomized complete block design is used with three replicates. Treatment T2 ET 1.00 has the highest drought resistance of 0.1793 and the highest plant length of 118.4 cm for T2 ET 1.25 treatment with an increase of 70% compared to the lowest value of plant length in the treatment To ET 0.75. The highest value of plant branches is 22 for T2 ET 1.25. The highest value of leaf area is 32.87 cm2 for T2 ET 1.25 treatment. Seed yield has reached the highest value of 5.25 tons ha-1 for the treatment T2 ET 1.25. Root length characteristic has reached the highest root length value with 41.67 cm for T2 ET 1.25. The water use efficiency characteristic has reached the highest value of 0.204 kg.m-3 for the treatment T2 ET 1.00. The highest crop coefficient value has been reached in the ET 1.25 treatment during the germination and growth phase.

Microencapsulation of quinoa extract (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) in response surface methodology conditions: preparation and characterization

Phenolic compounds found in plants have an unstable structure and can easily exhibit degradation reactions in external environmental factors. It is important to protect these active ingredients from environmental conditions. The encapsulation process emerges as an effective solution to this situation. In this study, microencapsulation studies of quinoa plant extract, which is known to have useful active ingredients, were carried out. Microcapsules loaded with quinoa extract (QE) were prepared by the complex coacervation method using two natural polymers, gelatin, and gum Arabic, as wall material. A response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the conditions for encapsulation efficiency. The encapsulation efficiency of the microencapsulated quinoa extract (MQE) was investigated in terms of three variables: stirring speed, core material amount, and surfactant concentration. The highest efficiency obtained as a result of experiments was found at 70.895%. Morphological analysis images of the microcapsules confirmed the capsule structure. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis confirmed the interaction between gelatin and gum Arabic and similarities in the quinoa extract and microcapsule bands showed that the extract was encapsulated. Thermogravimetric analysis results also proved the thermal stability of microcapsules. The microcapsules obtained with the experimental design formulation were observed to have general sizes of ∼4–120µ. HIGHLIGHTS Quinoa extract containing phenolic compounds was microencapsulated. The effects of three different variables (mixing speed, core material amount, and surfactant concentration) on encapsulation efficiency were investigated. The highest encapsulation efficiency was obtained at 1500 rpm, 5.00 g core material amount, and 0.5% surfactant concentration, and the yield was achieved at 70.895%. Microcapsules were prepared under optimum conditions in the reaction surface methodology and the obtained microcapsules were characterized morphologically and chemically.

Diversity of cultivable microorganisms associated with Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and their potential for plant growth-promotion

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) has grown since ancestral times in the Andean mountains and Altiplano, which are the center of origin of this pseudo-cereal. The interaction of Quinoa with native microorganisms may have contributed to the success of this plant in very adverse climatic and soil conditions. This study addressed the microbial diversity associated with Quinoa plants growing in traditional lands. We employed a cultivable-dependent approach to characterize the communities and identify bacterial strains with potential application in agriculture. We identified bacterial isolates belonging to phyla Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria. The genera Bacillus and Rhizobium/Agrobacterium were the predominant groups in the Quinoa bacterial communities, while various Trichoderma species were also found in the fungi group. The plant growth-promoting ability of selected bacterial strains was assessed by culturing them on media and the in planta test. We used different assays to test the capabilities of the isolates for nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, and production of the phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid. We inoculated Quinoa seeds with some Bacillus strains and then evaluated plant growth and grain production. Plants inoculated with bacterial strains usually show increased growth parameters and grain yield. Altogether, this work reveals that Quinoa harbors many diverse cultivable bacteria and fungi, which could be used as biological amendments to promote plant growth in a chemical-free way. Avoiding chemical fertilizers helps reduce environmental pollution and maintains the organic character of Quinoa production. International Quinoa markets highly appreciate the organic quality of Quinoa. Keywords. Plant growth-promoting bacteria, Microbial diversity, Rhizosphere bacteria, Andean Altiplano, Trichoderma

Potassium and Silicon Synergistically Increase Cadmium and Lead Tolerance and Phytostabilization by Quinoa through Modulation of Physiological and Biochemical Attributes

Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) contaminated soils have increased recently, resulting in limited crop productivity. The ameliorative role of potassium (K) and silicon (Si) is well established in plants under heavy metals stress; however, their combined role under the co-contamination of Cd and Pb is not well understood. We hypothesized that the synergistic application of K and Si would be more effective than their sole treatment for increasing the Pb and Cd tolerance and phytostabilization potential of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.). In the current study, quinoa genotype ‘Puno’ was exposed to different concentrations of Cd (0, 200 µM), Pb (0, 500 µM) and their combination with or without 10 mM K and 1.0 mM Si supplementation. The results revealed that the combined stress of Cd and Pb was more detrimental than their separate application to plant biomass (66% less than the control), chlorophyll content and stomatal conductance. Higher accumulation of Pb and Cd led to a limited uptake of K and Si in quinoa plants. The supplementation of metal-stressed plants with 10 mM K and 1.0 mM Si, particularly in combination, caused a significant increase in the growth, stomatal conductance and pigment content of plants. The combined stress of Cd and Pb resulted in an overproduction of H2O2 (11-fold) and TBARS (13-fold) and a decrease in membrane stability (59%). Oxidative stress induced by metals was lessened by 8-fold, 9-fold, 7-fold and 11-fold increases in SOD, CAT, APX and POD activities, respectively, under the combined application of K and Si. It is concluded that the exogenous supply of K and Si in combination is very promising for increasing Cd and Pb tolerance and the phytostabilization potential of quinoa.

Image processing and area estimation of chia (Salvia hispanica L.), quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), and bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) leaves based on statistical and intelligent methods

The leaf area (LA) is essential for interception of solar radiation and is determinant factor in plant photosynthesis and penetration of light in the canopy and the plant growth rate. In this research, we assessed the robustness of models on an independent set of data in chia (Salvia hispanica L.), quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd), and bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.). The number of 1000 leaves from each plants were selected from different levels of the canopy during the growth period and immediately transferred to the laboratory and prepared for imaging. After the LA was calculated using image processing system, regression and artificial intelligence methods were considered to LA estimation. Out of 47 evaluated regression models, a+b((L+W) 2 model explained more than 95% of phenotypic variation of LA for three plants (L and W represented length and width of leaf respectively). Among the various training algorithms studied, the trained neural network with Levenberg-Marquardt backpropagation training algorithm had the lowest MSE error and R2 value more than 0.98 in estimating the LA of quinoa, chia and bitter melon plants. In this study, prediction of LA of chia and quinoa with ANFIS (Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) system indicated that using this system LA is estimated with high accuracy (R2 > 98%). Generally, results showed that methods based on artificial intelligence can estimate the LA in an acceptable manner. This research application codes can be used to generate an application on a smartphone to calculate the LA of chia, quinoa, and bitter melon.

An Outlook on the Chenopodium Quinoa Willd (Quinoa) Plant and the Role of the in Vitro Culture and Nanotechnology in Mitigation of Salinity Stress: A Review

Climate change and scarcity of water resources in many countries of the Middle East have led to a drastic decline in the quantities of the main crops and exacerbated the problem of soil salinity. Therefore, it is imperative to find alternative crops that would enhance food security and can tolerate abiotic stresses such as soil salinization. Quinoa is a multi-purpose crop, grown mainly because of its historical, ecological, economic, and high nutritional value. The plant is highly adapted to different environments, and it can be grown in areas with marginal soils that are poor in rainwater. The emergence of this crop's importance and its distinctive properties began in the seventies of the last century. So, there is a need to increase this crop production under salinity conditions using new technology. The plant tissue culture can play an important role to give suitable conditions to study the plant responses to salinity stress via using different factors such as nanoparticles and others. Beside that, the other factors and environmental conditions can be easily controlled in vitro which makes the study easier. In this review, the description and response of the quinoa plant to salinity stress were summarized. Furthermore, the ability to use plant tissue culture and study the effect of adding nanoparticles (NPs) to the culture media to increase salt tolerance was the hot spot of this review. This was to find out the importance of nanoparticles and the in vitro plant tissue culture to increase the quinoa tolerance against salinity stress.

Experimental investigation of the effect of a quinoa-derived saponin-based green natural surfactant on enhanced oil recovery

In this study, a unique surfactant extracted from a quinoa plant was introduced for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The physico-chemical characteristics of extracted saponin as the surfactant agent were confirmed by 1H NMR, FESEM, and FT-IR analyses. The natural surfactant extracted from quinoa exhibited appropriate thermal stability at reservoir temperature, even at very high temperatures, according to TGA test. Then, the efficiency of the quinoa-derived surfactant was compared against two common commercial surfactants, TR-880 and NX-610. Interfacial tension (IFT) and contact angle tests were performed, and the obtained results show that the novel surfactant, at its critical micelle concentration (CMC), contributes to an additional 24.1% of the original oil in place (OOIP) due to a significant reduction in contact angle from 146° to 26.3°, and a substantial reduction in IFT from 33.2 to 8.7 mN/m. Moreover, at the CMC point, contact angles of 72° and 58.8° were obtained for TR-880 and NX-610, respectively, which were higher than the natural surfactant value, although NX-610 and TR-880 surfactants both resulted in lower IFT values of 4.9, and 3.4 mN/m, respectively. Contact angle and zeta potential measurement confirmed that all three tested surfactants could change the wettability of the reservoir rock from oil-wetting to water-wetting, with natural surfactant achieving the most promising results in both tests. Emulsion tests showed that the quinoa surfactant produced more stable and denser emulsions compared to commercial surfactants. Therefore, this study introduces a novel surfactant that not only is cost effective and environmentally friendly, but also performs promisingly for EOR purposes.

Market Harms and Market Benefits

Market Harms and Market Benefits

Differential Uptake and Translocation of Cadmium and Lead by Quinoa: A Multivariate Comparison of Physiological and Oxidative Stress Responses.

Contamination of soils with cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) has emerged as a serious environmental issue that reduces crop productivity. However, the metals tolerance and accumulation potential of quinoa (Chenopodium Quinoa Willd) under the combined stress of Cd and Pb has not yet been explored. In the present hydroponic study, the physiological and biochemical characteristics of quinoa exposed to Cd and Pb were explored. Four-week-old plants of quinoa genotype ‘Puno’ were grown under different concentrations of Cd (0, 50 and 100 µM), Pb (0, 250 and 500 µM) alone as well as in combinations. The results showed that with increasing Cd and Pb levels in the nutrient solution, the plant biomass, stomatal conductance and chlorophyll contents were decreased. However, the concurrent application of higher concentrations of Cd (100 µM) and Pb (500 µM) caused even more reduction in the plant biomass (more than 50% than the control) and physiological attributes. The combined application of Pb and Cd caused oxidative stress through an overproduction of H2O2 (10-fold) and TBARS (12.5-fold), leading to decrease in membrane stability (52%). The oxidative stress was alleviated by a 7-fold, 10-fold and 9-fold overactivation of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), respectively. An excessive uptake of Cd resulted in a limited uptake of Pb and K in the roots and shoots of quinoa plants. The Cd and Pb tolerance and uptake potential of Puno showed its ability to stabilize Cd and Pb in co-contaminated soils.

Heat stress changes mineral nutrient concentrations in Chenopodium quinoa seed.

Quinoa is a popular seed crop, often consumed for its high nutritional quality. We studied how heat stress in the roots or the shoots of quinoa plants affected the concentrations of 20 elements (aluminum, arsenic, boron, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, sodium, nickel, phosphorous, rubidium, sulfur, selenium, strontium, and zinc) in quinoa seed. Elemental concentrations in quinoa seed were significantly changed after an 11‐day heat treatment during anthesis. The type of panicle (main, secondary, and tertiary) sampled and the type of heat treatment (root only, shoot only, or whole plants) significantly affected elemental profiles in quinoa seed. Plants were also divided into five sections from top to bottom to assess the effect of panicle position on seed elemental profiles. Plant section had an effect on the concentrations of arsenic, iron, and sodium under control conditions and on copper with heat treatment. Overall, the time of panicle development in relation to the time of heat exposure had the largest effect on seed elemental concentrations. Interestingly, the quinoa plants were exposed to heat only during anthesis of the main panicle, but the elemental concentrations of seeds produced after heat treatment ended were still significantly changed, indicating that heat stress has long‐lasting effects on quinoa plants. These findings demonstrate how the nutritional quality of quinoa seeds can be changed significantly even by relatively short heat spells.

Enriching Urea with Nitrogen Inhibitors Improves Growth, N Uptake and Seed Yield in Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) Affecting Photochemical Efficiency and Nitrate Reductase Activity.

Quinoa is a climate resilience potential crop for food security due to high nutritive value. However, crop variable response to nitrogen (N) use efficiency may lead to affect grain quality and yield. This study compared the performance of contrasting quinoa genotypes (UAF Q-7, EMS-line and JQH1) to fertilizer urea enriched with urease and nitrification inhibitors (NIs; 1% (w/w) thiourea + boric acid + sodium thiosulphate), ordinary urea and with no N as control. Application of NIs-enriched urea improved plant growth, N uptake and chlorophyll values in quinoa genotype UAF-Q7 and JHQ1, however, highest nitrate reductase (NR) activity was observed in EMS-line. Quinoa plants supplied with NIs-enriched urea also completed true and multiple leaf stage, bud formation, flowering, and maturity stages earlier than ordinary urea and control, nevertheless, all quinoa genotypes reached true and multiple leaf stage, flowering and maturity stages at same time. Among photosynthetic efficiency traits, application of NIs-enriched urea expressed highest photosynthetic active radiations (PAR), electron transport rate (ETR), current fluorescence (Ft) and reduced quantum yield (Y) in EMS line. Nitrogen treatments had no significant difference for panicle length, however, among genotypes, UAF-Q7 showed highest length of panicle followed by others. Among yield attributes, NIs-enriched urea expressed maximum 1000-seed weight and seed yield per plant in JQH-1 hybrid and EMS-line. Likely, an increase in quinoa grain protein contents was observed in JQH-1 hybrid for NIs-enriched urea. In conclusion, NIs-enriched urea with urease and nitrification inhibitors simultaneously can be used to improve the N uptake, seed yield and grain protein contents in quinoa, however, better crop response was attributed to enhanced plant growth and photosynthetic efficiency.

Presence of a Mitovirus Is Associated with Alteration of the Mitochondrial Proteome, as Revealed by Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) and Co-Expression Network Models in Chenopodium quinoa Plants.

Simple SummaryPlants often harbor persistent plant virus infection transmitted only vertically through seeds, resulting in no obvious symptoms (cryptic infections). Several studies have shown that such cryptic infections provide resilience against abiotic (and biotic) stress. We have recently discovered a new group of cryptic plant viruses infecting mitochondria (plant mitovirus). Mitochondria are cellular organelles displaying a pivotal role in protecting cells from the stress of nature . Here, we look at the proteomic alterations caused by the mitovirus cryptic infection of Chenopodium quinoa by Systems Biology approaches allowing one to evaluate data at holistic level. Quinoa is a domesticated plant species with many exciting features of abiotic stress resistance, and it is distinguished by its exceptional nutritional characteristics, such as the content and quality of proteins, minerals, lipids, and tocopherols. These features determined the growing interest for the quinoa crop by the scientific community and international organizations since they provide opportunities to produce high-value grains in arid, high-salt and high-UV agroecological environments. We discovered that quinoa lines hosting mitovirus activate some metabolic processes that might help them face drought. These findings present a new perspective for breeding crop plants through the augmented genome provided by accessory cryptic viruses to be investigated in the future.Plant mitoviruses belong to Mitoviridae family and consist of positive single-stranded RNA genomes replicating exclusively in host mitochondria. We previously reported the biological characterization of a replicating plant mitovirus, designated Chenopodium quinoa mitovirus 1 (CqMV1), in some Chenopodium quinoa accessions. In this study, we analyzed the mitochondrial proteome from leaves of quinoa, infected and not infected by CqMV1. Furthermore, by protein–protein interaction and co-expression network models, we provided a system perspective of how CqMV1 affects mitochondrial functionality. We found that CqMV1 is associated with changes in mitochondrial protein expression in a mild but well-defined way. In quinoa-infected plants, we observed up-regulation of functional modules involved in amino acid catabolism, mitochondrial respiratory chain, proteolysis, folding/stress response and redox homeostasis. In this context, some proteins, including BCE2 (lipoamide acyltransferase component of branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase complex), DELTA-OAT (ornithine aminotransferase) and GR-RBP2 (glycine-rich RNA-binding protein 2) were interesting because all up-regulated and network hubs in infected plants; together with other hubs, including CAT (catalase) and APX3 (L-ascorbate peroxidase 3), they play a role in stress response and redox homeostasis. These proteins could be related to the higher tolerance degree to drought we observed in CqMV1-infected plants. Although a specific causative link could not be established by our experimental approach at this stage, the results suggest a new mechanistic hypothesis that demands further in-depth functional studies.

Synergistic Association With Root Endophytic Fungi Improves Morpho-Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Chenopodium quinoa to Salt Stress

Symbiotic associations with microbes can contribute to mitigating abiotic environmental stress in plants. In this study, we investigated individual and interactive effects of two root endophytic fungal species on physiological and biochemical mechanisms of the crop Chenopodium quinoa in response to salinity. Fungal endophytes (FE) Talaromyces minioluteus and Penicillium murcianum, isolated from quinoa plants that occur naturally in the Atacama Desert, were used for endophyte inoculation. A greenhouse experiment was developed using four plant groups: (1) plants inoculated with T. minioluteus (E1+), (2) plants inoculated with P. murcianum (E2+), (3) plants inoculated with both fungal species (E1E2+), and (4) non-inoculated plants (E-). Plants from each group were then assigned to either salt (300 mM) or control (no salt) treatments. Differences in morphological traits, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration, superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), peroxidase, (POD), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), phenolic content, and lipid peroxidation between plant groups under each treatment were examined. We found that both endophyte species significantly improved morphological and physiological traits, including plant height, number of shoots, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and transpiration, in C. quinoa in response to salt, but optimal physiological responses were observed in E1E2+ plants. Under saline conditions, endophyte inoculation improved SOD, APX, and POD activity by over 50%, and phenolic content by approximately 30%, with optimal enzymatic responses again observed in E1E2+ plants. Lipid peroxidation was significantly lower in inoculated plants than in non-inoculated plants. Results demonstrate that both endophyte species enhanced the ability of C. quinoa to cope with salt stress by improving antioxidative enzyme and non-enzyme systems. In general, both FE species interacting in tandem yielded better morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses to salinity in quinoa than inoculation by a single species in isolation. Our study highlights the importance of stress-adapted FE as a biological agent for mitigating abiotic stress in crop plants.