Single Plant Research Articles

Genome-wide association study in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) for yield and nutritional components

The increase in the global human population and the accompanying challenges in meeting nutritional needs amidst climate change are a worldwide concern. Widespread protein and micronutrient deficiencies contribute to a significant number of individuals experiencing malnutrition, leading to severe health repercussions. This issue can be addressed through genomics-assisted breeding, particularly in enhancing the nutritional profile of vital staple crops like chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Chickpea, beyond being a rich source of protein, provides a diverse nutritional spectrum encompassing carbohydrates, fats, and minerals. To explore and improve the genetic basis of nutritional traits in chickpea, a study was conducted using 93 kabuli-type single plant derived lines and five cultivars in 2018, 2022, and 2023. Genotyping by sequencing revealed a total of 165K single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within this kabuli chickpea mini-core collection. After filtering for a minor allele frequency greater than 5%, 113,512 SNPs were utilized, distributed across eight chromosomes of the chickpea genome. Marker-trait associations were analyzed using genome wide association study, leading to the identification of 27 significantly associated SNPs from across all eight chromosomes linked to three seed nutritional concentrations and 100-seed weight. To unravel the molecular mechanisms governing seed protein, fiber, fat concentrations, and 100-seed weight, 31 candidate genes were determined within a 30 kb window size. This comprehensive approach holds promise for advancing crop breeding strategies to combat malnutrition and improve global food security.

Radical scavenging potential of spectrophotometric, spectroscopic, microscopic, and EDX observed zinc oxide nanoparticles from leaves, buds, and flowers extract of Bauhinia Variegata Linn: A thorough comparative insight.

The present study incorporated an environment-friendly and cost-efficient green synthesis method for fabricating zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) using various parts (leaves, buds, and flowers) of Bauhinia Variegate Linn. UV-Spectrophotometric analysis was used to confirm the synthesis of ZnO-NPs, which showed an absorption band within 360-380 nm range. Further techniques like FT-IR spectroscopy and (SEM) scanning electron microscopy equipped with a novel EDX were also included to confirm the synthesis, size, and shape of ZnO-NPs. Results obtained by FT-IR showed that the phytochemicals present in the ethanolic extract successfully acted as a capping agent. SEM micrographs confirmed irregularly shaped nanoparticles with an average size of 70-80 nm. The presence of Zinc and Oxygen peaks in EDX also confirmed the successful synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles. The radical scavenging (antioxidant) potential of prepared nanoparticles was also evaluated by DPPH radical assay. The ZnO-NPs obtained from the ethanolic extract of buds showed the highest %RSA (86%) as compared to the flowers (79%) and leaves (76%). The current study findings showed the versatile morphology of all parts of the plant with significant antioxidant potential, establishing the use of Bauhinia Variegate in biological systems for various biomedical applications. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: A thorough comparative analysis of the radical scavenging power of major parts of the Bauhinia Variegate, which is 1st of its kind. Extensive characterization using UV-Vis spectrophotometry, FT-IR, SEM, and EDX to observe the conformational and morphological changes. Analysis of the reduction potential of leaves, buds, and flowers of a single plant for future directions in green synthesis.

Threshold dynamics scenario of a plants-pollinators cooperative system with impulsive effect on a periodically evolving domain

Abstract Flowering plants depend on some animals for pollination and contribute to nourish the animals in natural environments. We call these animals pollinators and build a plants-pollinators cooperative model with impulsive effect on a periodically evolving domain. Next, we define the ecological reproduction index for single plant model and plants-pollinators system, respectively, whose threshold dynamics, including the extinction, persistence and coexistence, is established by the method of upper and lower solutions. Theoretical analysis shows that a large domain evolution rate has a positive influence on the survival of pollinators whether or not the impulsive effect occurs, and the pulse eliminates the pollinators even when the evolution rate is high. Moreover, some selective numerical simulations are still performed to explain our theoretical results.

Knowledge and practices of traditional management of child malnutrition and associated pathologies in Benin

BackgroundChild malnutrition is a major public health challenge, affecting millions of children worldwide, with alarming proportions of children under five in Benin. The complexity of managing this condition is increased by its potential association with opportunistic pathologies. An interesting approach arises from the use of medicinal plants, to address child malnutrition and its associated pathologies. This study aimed to document the knowledge and practices of Beninese mothers and traditional practitioners with regard to the use of medicinal plants to treat child malnutrition and associated diseases.MethodsA total of 844 Beninese mothers and 201 traditional healers were surveyed between March 2022 and August 2023 in the communes of Karimama, Bopa and Za-Kpota in Benin. The respondents’ knowledge of child malnutrition and associated pathologies was explored. The ethnobotanical data collected from the subjects concerned the medicinal recipes used to treat child malnutrition, the medicinal plants that make them up and the methods of use. These data were analyzed using ethnobotanical indices such as the Informant Consensus Factor, the frequency of citation of medicinal recipes types and medicinal plants, and the contribution of plants to medicinal recipes.ResultsAll respondents cited a total of 82 plant species used to treat child malnutrition and associated diseases. These plants were grouped into 37 botanical families, the most common of which were Fabaceae, Malvaceae and Annonaceae. The leaves were the most commonly used part of the plant species identified. The mothers shared 122 medicinal recipes, ranging from recipes based on a single plant to more complex compositions involving five plants. The most notable plants were Moringa oleifera Lam, Phyllanthus amarus Schumach & Thonn, Senna siamea (Lam.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby, Carica papaya L. and Ocimum gratissimum L. Traditional healers provided 52 plants in 71 recipes, with Moringa oleifera featuring prominently in both single-plant and multiplant formulations.ConclusionThis study made it possible to constitute a rich base of medicinal recipes used against malnutrition and associated pathologies, with the preponderant involvement of certain plant species. It is therefore necessary to deepen research on these different identified species in order to scientifically assess their potential.

Commodity risk assessment of Tilia cordata and Tilia platyphyllos plants from the UK.

The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to prepare and deliver risk assessments for commodities listed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/2019 as 'High risk plants, plant products and other objects'. This Scientific Opinion covers plant health risks posed by plants of Tilia cordata and T. platyphyllos imported from the United Kingdom (UK) as: (a) bundles of budwood/graftwood; (b) 1- to 2-year-old whips, seedlings or transplants; (c) bundles of 1- to 2-year-old cell grown plants; (d) 1- to 7-year-old bare root single plants; and (e) up to 25-year-old single plants in pots, taking into account the available scientific information provided by the UK. A list of pests potentially associated with the commodities was compiled. The relevance of any pest was assessed based on evidence following defined criteria. None of the pests on the list fulfilled all relevant criteria and therefore none were selected for further evaluation. As a result, risk mitigation measures proposed in the technical dossier from the UK were listed, but not further evaluated.

Rootstock scion interaction studies on various horticultural attributes of pomato grafts under protected structures

Pomato is a horticultural wonder plant, as tomato and potato can be produced from a single plant. This experiment explored the influence of diverse graft combinations of tomato scions grafted onto potato rootstocks on various growth and yield-attributing traits. The investigation outcomes confirmed the significantly positive influence of scion grafted onto rootstock on various yielding attributes of tomato and potato harvested from pomato grafts. Scion “Rakshita” grafted onto the rootstock of Kufri Himalini had the maximum fruit length. In contrast, the fruits harvested from the graft combination of Avtar grafted onto Kufri Khyati had the maximum number of fruits per cluster and the number of fruits per plant. The highest average fruit weight, fruit yield per meter square, and total fruit yield quintal per hectare were recorded with control “Avtar. The longest harvest duration was noticed with the graft combination of Heemsohna grafted onto Kufri Himalini. Moreover, on, rootstock Kufri Himalini with scion Rakshita resulted in maximum tuber length, and average tuber weight, while Kufri Himalini with Avtar had maximum fruit width. The maximum number of tubers per plant was also noticed with Kufri Pukhraj with Palam Tomato hybrid −1. The potato harvested from the rootstock of Kufri Pukhraj with Avtar had the highest tuber yield per plant, total tuber yield quintal per hectare, and tuber equivalent yield. The highest survival percentage of grafted plants was noted in Heemsohna onto Kufri Jyoti. In context to the cumulative yield of tomato fruits and potato tubers obtained from the pomato graft was found to be incremented in grafts of Avtar grafted onto Kufri Pukhraj followed by Rakshita grafted onto Kufri Rakshita, which also resulted in the maximum benefit-cost ratio with highest net return and gross return. The graft combination of scion Avtar and Rakshita onto Rootstock Kufri Pukhraj resulted in a positive increment in yield attributing traits of the pomato plant than of control of un-grafted tomato and potato.

Phytoremediation potential and vegetation assessment of plant species growing on multi-metals contaminated coal mining site

This study aims to evaluate the plant species potential to accumulate, concentrate and translocate the heavy metals around the coal mining contaminated site with heavy metals at Harnoi, Abbottabad. The phytosociological surveys involve the systematic study of plant communities within the particular area to show their composition, structure and distribution showed that the contaminated coal mining-associated area was poor in vegetation. Among these, 11 plant species with higher important values (IV) are collected with associated soil and analyzed for the total concentrations of Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb) and Nickel (Ni) using Atomic Spectrophotometer. The phytoremediation indices (BAF, BCF, TF and TI) were used to evaluate the multi-metals hyperaccumulator and stabilizer plant species. Dodonaea viscosa was evaluated as multi-metals (Cd, Cu and Ni) stabilizer. While the Ajuga bracteosa and Sonchus espera, Sisybrium officinale and Platango ovata stabilize Cd and Cr respectively. The other plant species that can stabilize as single heavy metal are Ajuga bracteosa and Sonchus espera (Cd), Sisybrium officinale and Platango ovata (Cr) and Amaranthus spinosus (Ni) respectively. While the multi-metals accumulator plant species are Bidens pilosa (Cu, Pb and Ni), Chenopodium ambrosioides (Cd, Cu and Ni), Amaranthus spinosus (Cd, Cu and Cr), Ajuga bracteosa (Pb and Ni) and Rumex hastatus (Cd and Ni). However, the single heavy metal accumulator plant species are Sonchus espera (Pb), Conyzea Canadensis (Ni), Platango ovata and Malvastrum coromandelianum (Cu) respectively. These plants could find valuable applications in practical phytoremediation for the remediation near mining tailings at Abbottabad. Moreover, the use of local plants is a promising approach not only for in situ accumulation and stabilization of heavy metals but also for tolerance and environmental adaptations in the contaminated area.

Effect of plant density on total oil quality and fatty acid compositions in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars

Research in the Eastern Mediterranean Transition Region of Türkiye has demonstrated that plant density impact yield of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars differentially. It is suspected that interactions of plant density and cultivar could also impact oil quality and fatty acid composition when grown in this region. This topic has not been addressed in the country; therefore, the objective of this research was to determine if plant density can affect those variables. The study was conducted in 2020 and 2021 in the zone of Osmaniye to determine total oil content of kernels, and contents of oleic acid, palmitic acid, arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, stearic acid, and lignoceric acid, as well as iodine value and oleic/linoleic ratio for the cultivars Halisbey, Rigel, Aysehanım, NC 7, and Masal. Plant response was in most instances different regardless of plant populations made up of a single row planting pattern with rows spaced 70 cm apart (95.000 plants ha-1) compared with a twin row planting pattern with rows spaced 20 cm apart on 90 cm centers with an intra-row distance of 15 cm (148.000 plants ha-1). It is concluded that no differences in oil quality and fatty acid composition were noted when comparing cultivars established at various combinations of planting pattern and plant population, but there were notable differences among the cultivars.

Morpho-physiological responses of potato cultivars under weed competition

Morpho-physiological responses of potato cultivars under weed competition

Association Analysis in Rice Germplasm Lines for High Temperature Tolerance

Background: Relative to other abiotic factors like salinity and drought, breeding rice cultivars that are resistant of high temperatures has received a little attention. The purpose of this study is to find parents and genotypes that are suitable for utilizing in high temperature stress breeding program. Methods: The genetic material for this study comprised of a set of germplasm collections (293 accessions) from different sources such as International Rice Research Institute germplasm. These populations were raised at the Department of Rice, Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. The Heat tolarance Indices (TOL) viz., Heat tolerance index (HTI) and Heat susceptibility index (HSI) and association analysis were estimated among germplasm lines for yield attributes under normal and high temperature stress condition. Result: Out of 293 genotypes, sixty nine genotypes significantly exceeded for both HTI and HSI. Association studies revealed that, single plant yield had highly significant and positive association with panicle exertion, number of total tillers per plant, number of productive tillers per plant, panicle length, number of filled grains per panicle and total dry matter production. Spikelet sterility and high temperature susceptibility index had highly significant and negative association with single plant yield. Number of productive tillers had significant and positive correlation with total dry matter production, panicle length, number of filled grains per panicle, days to maturity, hundred grain weight, grain breadth and high temperature susceptible index. Hence these traits may be considered as selection indices for yield and high temperature tolerance improvement programme. Hence it may be possible to combine single plant yield and heat susceptibility index by specific breeding programme for high temperature tolerance in rice.

The more microplastic types pollute the soil, the stronger the growth suppression of invasive alien and native plants

Abstract The ecological consequences of microplastic pollution for plants remain largely unknown, and the few studies that tested the effects usually focused on a single type of microplastic and a single plant species. However, most plants will be exposed to multiple microplastic types simultaneously, and the effects may vary among species. To test the effects of microplastic diversity on plants, we grew single plants of eight invasive and eight native species in pots with substrate polluted with 0, 1, 3 and 6 types of microplastics. We found that the growth suppression by microplastic pollution became stronger with the number of microplastic types the plants were exposed to. This tended to be particularly the case for invasive species, as their biomass advantage over natives diminished with the number of microplastic types. The biomass responses coincided with a positive effect of the number of microplastic types on root allocation and thickness, which was also stronger for invasive than for native species. In addition, the results of hierarchical diversity–interaction models suggest that the negative impact of microplastic diversity on the total biomass of invasive plant species was influenced by both the identities of the microplastic and certain types of microplastic with strong pairwise interactions. In contrast, the effect on native species was determined solely by the microplastic identities. Synthesis. Our multispecies study thus shows for the first time that the negative effects of microplastic pollution on plant growth increase with the number of microplastic types. We also found tentative evidence that the negative impacts of microplastic diversity were more pronounced for invasive plants compared to native plants, and that this might be due to differences in the responses of root allocation and thickness.

Distinguishing individual photobodies using Oligopaints reveals thermo-sensitive and -insensitive phytochrome B condensation at distinct subnuclear locations

Photobodies (PBs) are membraneless subnuclear organelles that self-assemble via concentration-dependent liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of the plant photoreceptor and thermosensor phytochrome B (PHYB). The current PHYB LLPS model posits that PHYB phase separates randomly in the nucleoplasm regardless of the cellular or nuclear context. Here, we established a robust Oligopaints method in Arabidopsis to determine the positioning of individual PBs. We show surprisingly that even in PHYB overexpression lines – where PHYB condensation would be more likely to occur randomly – PBs positioned at twelve distinct subnuclear locations distinguishable by chromocenter and nucleolus landmarks, suggesting that PHYB condensation occurs nonrandomly at preferred seeding sites. Intriguingly, warm temperatures reduce PB number by inducing the disappearance of specific thermo-sensitive PBs, demonstrating that individual PBs possess different thermosensitivities. These results reveal a nonrandom PB nucleation model, which provides the framework for the biogenesis of spatially distinct individual PBs with diverse environmental sensitivities within a single plant nucleus.

Batch to Continuous: From Laboratory Recycle Trickle Bed Test Reactor Data to Full-Scale Plant Preliminary Design—A Case Study Based on the Hydrogenation of Resorcinol

The fine chemical and pharmaceutical sectors are starting to advocate for the use of flow chemistry due to reasons such as the environment, health and safety, efficiency, cost saving, and regulatory compliance. The use of a trickle bed or fixed bed system could replace a batch autoclave typically used for hydrogenation reactions. However, there are few studies that detail the process from laboratory proof of concept through design to commercial realization. This study, using the production of 1,3-cyclohexanedione from the catalytic hydrogenation of resorcinol as a case study, demonstrates how the laboratory-scale recycle trickle bed can be used for catalyst screening and selection. Further, design data are generated by operation over a range of design superficial velocities and operating pressures that are used to derive a design correlation that is then used to specify a single stream plant at a level of definition consistent with a Preliminary Design for capital cost estimation. Finally, the further actions required in terms of data generation to increase the level of definition and confidence to a sanction grade or final design are discussed.

The influence of poultry manure on the yield and crop structure of spring rapeseed

The research was carried out to identify the optimal dose of bedding bulk poultry manure on the influence of the crop structure and the yield of spring rape seeds of Lunedi variety. The work was carried out in 2022-2023 in the forest-steppe zone of the Nizhny Novgorod region. Poultry manure loose (GOST 31461-2012) was applied in doses of 4, 6 and 8 t/ha (control - without fertilizers). The experiment was conducted on light gray forest loamy soil with low humus content, neutral reaction and mobile forms of phosphorus and potassium. Statistically proven changes in the structure of rape yield were noticed on the manured variants: the increase in length of the fruit (pod) was 0.40–0.67 cm, in pod weight – 0.04–0.12 g, the number of pods per plant increased by 1.4–2.1 times, the number of seeds in a pod increased by 2.5–4.6 seeds, seed productivity of a single plant increased by 1.9–3.0 times, the weight of 1000 seeds exceeded by 0.66–0.94 g. The application of poultry manure on all variants revealed a reliable increase in the yield of above-ground phytomass and seeds, the increase in rape biomass was 6.03–8.70 t/ha (LSD05 = 1.30), seeds – 0.94–1.26 t/ha (LSD05 = 0.46). The maximum increase in the biomass of rapeseed and seeds (6.03 and 0.94 t/ha) was established in the variant with a manure dose of 4 t/ha, since with an increase in the manure dose (6 and 8 t/ha) in excess of the minimum increase by 1.42–2.67 t/ha of plant biomass and 0.22–0.32 t/ha of seeds. The obtained results suggest that the optimum dose of poultry manure application to spring rapeseed on light grey forest soil (Alfisol) is 4 t/ha.

First Report of Cytospora ailanthicola Causing Canker on cherry blossom (Cerasus serrulata) in China.

Cherry blossom (Cerasus serrulata) is a plant with important garden applications. It is a newly introduced exotic plants in the Arar region of Xinjiang, China (40°41'18.19″N,81°43'50.55″E). In October 2022, it was discovered that about 30% of cherry blossoms had a canker disease. The leaves of the sick branches were dired, the branches themselves were damaged, with dark brown color inside. Orange-yellow conidia horns were produced in humid condition. Samples were collected from fifteen trees exhibiting notable symptoms. The diseased junctions of the infected shoots were chopped into small pieces and subjected to surface sterilization by using 70% ethanol for 30s, 1% NaClO solution for one minute, and sterile distilled water three times (Chen et al. 2016). The representative strain YINGHUA-1 was chosen for identification by molecular biology and morphology. After five days of incubation at 26℃ on PDA media, colonies of white fluffy mycelium were produced from the YINGHUA-1 strain. After 25 days of PDA culture, the production of pycnidia was first observed, circular, black. The pycnidia began to produce conidia at 30 days. The conidia was translucent without septum, with a slightly curved single cell and smooth surface. Pycnidia was spherical and flat, with a single black aperture at the top that resembles a nearly round hole, the chamber was made up of several tiny chambers separated by a shared wall, and its diameter ranges from 900-1900 µm. The size of the conidium was 3.7-6.6×1.1-1.9 μm (n=20). The intrinsic transcriptional spacer (ITS), transcriptional elongation factor (tef-1α), and β-tubulin (tub2) gene moieties of rDNA were sequenced using ITS1/ITS4, EF1-728F/EF1-986R, and Bt2a/Bt2b primers, respectively(Zhang et al. 2014). The amplified sequences of ITS region (Accession No. OR855907), tub2 (Accession No. OR865863) and tef-1α (Accession No. OR865864) were deposited in the GenBank. BLAST searches of the sequences revealed 99.59% identity (474/476 bp) of the ITS sequence, 98.63% identity (216/219 bp) of the tef-1α sequence, and 98.55% identity of the tub2 sequence (339/344 bp) with C. ailanthicola CFCC59446 (accessions OR826163, OR832040, and OR832062, respectively.) Phylogenetic analyses were performed with Iqtree v.1.6.12 for maximum likelihood (ML). Confidence levels for the nodes were determined using 1000 replicates of bootstrapping methods. Based on phylogenetic analysis and morphological characteristics, the pathogen was identified as C. ailanthicola. The pathogenicity of C. ailanthicola was confirmed by inoculation of 1-year-old shoots (5 replicates of this experiment). After 7 days, symptoms of inner bark discoloration were visible on xylem of branches and the same fungus was re-isolated from the inoculated shoots, with no lesions on the control shoots. C. ailanthicola is only known from a single host plant, Ailanthus altissima,in China (Fan et al.2020). As far as we know, this is the first report of C. ailanthicola harmings C. serrulata in China.

Galactagogue activity of poly-herbal decoction from Indonesia: a randomized open label controlled trial.

Indonesia have several herbs empirically used as galactagogue. However there are limited clinical evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of this herbs especially poly-herb. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of polyherbal galactagogue (PHG) consist of katuk leaves, torbangun leaves and papaya leaves compared to commercial galactagogue capsules (CGC) that contain a single plant extract, katuk leaves. This study was an open label randomized controlled trial with 120 subjects that randomly assigned into two groups, PHG and CGC. This study was conducted at the herbal medicine research house (Rumah Riset Jamu/RRJ) Hortus Medicus and 30 subsites in Central Java and Jogjakarta provinces from July to November 2018. Duration ofintervention 28days. Parameter of efficacy breast milk volume, baby weight, prolactin level and parameter of safety ALT, AST, Urea, Creatinin were performed at baseline, day 14 and 28. The symptom of side effects also recorded every week. Breast milk volume and infant's weight increased at day-14 and 28 in both groups. However, prolactin level in both groups decreased. There were no significant differences of efficacy parameters at baseline in both groups. At three times measurement of ALT, AST, Urea and Ceratinin average levels were within the normal range. About 3-5% mothers experience higher ALT, AST and nausea that can tolerated well. No side effect was found in infants. PHG and CGC have the equal efficacy and safety as a galactagogue. The optimal used is for 14days.

Analyzing genetic diversity in luffa and developing a Fusarium wilt-susceptible linked SNP marker through a single plant genome-wide association (sp-GWAS) study

BackgroundLuffa (Luffa spp.) is an economically important crop of the Cucurbitaceae family, commonly known as sponge gourd or vegetable gourd. It is an annual cross-pollinated crop primarily found in the subtropical and tropical regions of Asia, Australia, Africa, and the Americas. Luffa serves not only as a vegetable but also exhibits medicinal properties, including anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anticancer effects. Moreover, the fiber derived from luffa finds extensive applications in various fields such as biotechnology and construction. However, luffa Fusarium wilt poses a severe threat to its production, and existing control methods have proven ineffective in terms of cost-effectiveness and environmental considerations. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop luffa varieties resistant to Fusarium wilt. Single-plant GWAS (sp-GWAS) has been demonstrated as a promising tool for the rapid and efficient identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with target traits, as well as closely linked molecular markers.ResultsIn this study, a collection of 97 individuals from 73 luffa accessions including two major luffa species underwent single-plant GWAS to investigate luffa Fusarium wilt resistance. Utilizing the double digest restriction site associated DNA (ddRAD) method, a total of 8,919 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. The analysis revealed the potential for Fusarium wilt resistance in accessions from both luffa species. There are 6 QTLs identified from 3 traits, including the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC), a putative disease-resistant QTL, was identified on the second chromosome of luffa. Within the region of linkage disequilibrium, a candidate gene homologous to LOC111009722, which encodes peroxidase 40 and is associated with disease resistance in Cucumis melo, was identified. Furthermore, to validate the applicability of the marker associated with resistance from sp-GWAS, an additional set of 21 individual luffa plants were tested, exhibiting 93.75% accuracy in detecting susceptible of luffa species L. aegyptiaca Mill.ConclusionIn summary, these findings give a hint of genome position that may contribute to luffa wild resistance to Fusarium and can be utilized in the future luffa wilt resistant breeding programs aimed at developing wilt-resistant varieties by using the susceptible-linked SNP marker.

Emulsion stability enhancement against storage and environment stresses using complex plant protein and betanin

Complex plant protein has been proved to be a novel protein with high solubility and comprehensive amino acids. The ability to form and stabilize oil-in-water emulsions of rice protein-pea protein and rice protein-soy protein isolate (RP-PP and RP-SPI) prepared through pH-driven method was investigated. Complex plant protein emulsions, especially RP-SPI emulsion, showed better performance on storage stability and environment stress stability than the single plant protein emulsion. According to laser confocal microscopy and particle size analysis, single protein emulsions aggregated rapidly in a short time, and the particle size increased significantly, while the complex plant protein emulsion maintained good dispersibility within 42 days, and the particle size remained around 570 nm. Furthermore, the bioactive natural pigment betanin was added to explore its effect on the stability of the RP-SPI emulsion. The addition of betanin caused a significant reduction in the surface hydrophobicity of RP-SPI and a promotion in the adsorption of protein on the oil-water interface. Betanin have a tendency to enhance the stability of the emulsion with pleasant red color. This study may provide a promising way to develop functional plant-based food emulsion.

Histopathological and Biochemical Assessment of Annona muricata and Allium sativum Pooled Extract on Testosterone Induced Prostate Hyperplasia in Albino Rats

Aims: To investigate the effect of pooled extract of Annona muricata (A. muricata) and Allium sativum (A. sativum) on testosterone-induced prostate hyperplasia in male albino rats.
 Experimental Procedure: Male albino rats for the study were divided into seven groups identified as A-G groups. Group A and G were used as negative and positive controls with 12 and 5 rats respectively. Male rats in group B-G were induced with 3mg/kg body weight of testosterone propionate injection subcutaneously for 28 days. Animals in group B and C received 100mg/kg body weight of individual Annona muricata and Allium sativum extract respectively, while animals in group D-F received 100mg/kg, 300mg/kg and 600mg/kg body weight of the pooled extracts. We evaluated relative prostate weight(PI),serum prostate specific antigen(PSA),interleukins-6(IL-6), total protein, and histological changes including KI 67 and BCL2 expressions.
 Results and Conclusion: The study revealed that pooled extracts of A. muricata and A. sativum significantly inhibited prostatic hyperplasia; decreased PI,serum PSA,IL-6, total protein, and expression of KI 67, far better than the any of the single plant extract in this study. This suggests that pooled extract of A, muricata and A, sativum may be used as a therapeutic agent for prostatic hyperplasia, as a result of the influence of the phytochemical constituents.

Construction of a Hair Implantation Needle Using Injection Needles and Assessment of its Efficiency Compared with Other Planting Methods.

Hair transplantation surgery requires the efficient completion of hair follicles and thus appropriate hair implantation needles. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of self-made hair implantation needles using injection needles and evaluate the speed of different hair implantation methods. Four patients were randomly assigned to four groups. A gem knife pre-punching planting method was used for the patient in Group A, while Group B received immediate implantation after punching with ordinary injection needles, Group C was treated with synchronized punching and planting using hair implanters, and Group D was treated with a self-made hair implantation needle. The speed of the different implantation methods for single and double hair follicles and the differences between the planting of single and double hair follicles were assessed. Group D was found to have the fastest hair planting speed for both single and double hair follicles, followed by Groups C and A, with the slowest speed observed in Group B. Groups A and B were associated with significantly lower speeds of double hair planting than single hair planting, There was no significant difference between Groups C and D. The self-made hair implantation needle is a novel and efficient tool for synchronized punching and planting. It has a faster planting speed and does not require assistance. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .