Native Species Facing Climate Changes: Response of Calafate Berries to Low Temperature and UV Radiation

Phenotypic Plasticity and Stability in Plants: Genetic Mechanisms, Environmental Adaptation, Evolutionary Implications, and Future Directions

The phenotypic display, survival, and reproduction of organisms depend on genotype-environment interactions that drive development, evolution, and diversity. Biological systems exhibit two basic but paradoxical features that contribute to developmental robustness: plasticity and stability. However, the understanding of these concepts remains ambiguous. The morphology and structure of plant reproductive organs-flowers and fruits-exhibit substantial stability but display a certain level of plasticity under environmental changes, thus representing promising systems for the study of how stability and plasticity jointly govern plant development and evolution. Beyond the genes underlying organ formation, certain genes may maintain stability and induce plasticity. Variations in relevant genes can induce developmental repatterning, thereby altering stability or plasticity under light and temperature fluctuations, which often affects fitness. The regulation of developmental robustness in plant vegetative organs involves transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation, epigenetics, and phase separation; however, these mechanisms in the reproductive organs of flowering plants remain poorly investigated. Moreover, genes that specifically determine phenotypic plasticity have rarely been cloned. This review clarifies the concepts and attributes of phenotypic plasticity and stability and further proposes potential avenues and a paradigm to investigate the underlying genes and elucidate how plants adapt and thrive in diverse environments, which is crucial for the design of genetically modified crops.

Influence of chitin nanofibers and gallic acid on physical-chemical and biological performances of chitosan-based films

In this work, chitosan films loaded with gallic acid and different content of chitin nanofibers were prepared and subjected to different characterization techniques. The results showed that the inclusion of gallic acid to chitosan films caused moderate decrease in water vapor permeability (by 29 %) and increased tensile strength of films (by 169 %) in comparison to the neat chitosan films. Furthermore, it was found that the addition of chitin nanofibers up to 30 % into chitosan/gallic acid films additionally improved tensile strength (by 474 %) and reduced plasticity of films (by 171 %), when compared to the chitosan/gallic acid films. Increased concentration of chitin nanofibers in films reduced the overall water vapor permeability of films by 51 %. In addition, gallic acid and chitin nanofibers had synergic effect on high chitosan film's antioxidant and antifungal activity toward Botrytis cinerea (both above 95 %). Finally, chitosan/gallic acid/chitin nanofibers films reduced decay incidence of strawberries, increased total soluble solid content, and promoted high production of some polyphenols during cold storage, in comparison to the control chitosan films and uncoated strawberry samples. Hence, these results suggest that chitosan/gallic acid/chitin nanofibers can present eco-sustainable approach for preservation of strawberries, giving them additional nutritional value.

Mass spectrometry-based metabolite profiling reveals functional seasonal shifts in the metabolome of Zygophyllum dumosum Boiss and its relation to environmental conditions

MAIN CONCLUSION

A multi-year study of perennial Z. dumosum shows a consistent seasonal pattern in the changes of petiole metabolism, involving mainly organic acids, polyols, phenylpropanoids, sulfate conjugates, and piperazines. GC-MS and UPLC-QTOF-MS-based metabolite profiling was performed on the petioles of the perennial desert shrub Zygophyllum dumosum Boiss (Zygophyllaceae). The petioles, which are physiologically functional throughout the year and, thus, exposed to seasonal rhythms, were collected every month for 3 years from their natural ecosystem on a southeast-facing slope. Results showed a clear multi-year pattern following seasonal successions, despite different climate conditions, i.e., rainy and drought years, throughout the research period. The metabolic pattern of change encompassed an increase in the central metabolites, including most polyols, e.g., stress-related D-pinitol, organic and sugar acids, and in the dominant specialized metabolites, which were tentatively identified as sulfate, flavonoid, and piperazine conjugates during the summer-autumn period, while significantly high levels of free amino acids were detected during the winter-spring period. In parallel, the levels of most sugars (including glucose and fructose) increased in the petioles at the flowering stage at the beginning of the spring, while most of the di- and tri-saccharides accumulated at the beginning of seed development (May-June). Analysis of the conserved seasonal metabolite pattern of change shows that metabolic events are mostly related to the stage of plant development and its interaction with the environment and less to environmental conditions per se.

Brassica sprouts exposed to microplastics: Effects on phytochemical constituents

Microplastics (MPs) can affect plant biomass, tissue composition, and root traits. However, the effects of MPs on the synthesis of secondary metabolites and on the accumulation of bioactive compounds remain poorly studied. The objective of this work was to analyze accumulation of bioactive compounds in broccoli and radish sprouts grown hydroponically in a substrate containing seven different toxic amounts (from very low to extremely high) of low-density polyethylene (PE). Radish was more severely affected by microplastic pollution than broccoli. The effect on the phytochemical composition was statistically significant in both species compared to control. In this aspect, glucosinolate (GSL) content was negatively affected by MPs decreasing from 182 to 124 mg 100 g^-1 at medium doses of MPs in broccoli, whereas these compounds drastically decreased from 253 to 151 mg 100 g^-1 at the same doses in radish. Anthocyanin content significantly increased until medium doses of MPs ranging from 6.28 to 11.44 mg 100 g^-1 in broccoli whereas in radish was from 2.44 to approximately 4 mg 100 g^-1. In addition, other morphological and physiological parameter were considered. The analysis of malondialdehyde (MDA) showed significant effects on broccoli and radish in all the MP treatments. The results revealed that high loads of MPs in the substrate affect growth parameters, lipid peroxidation rate estimated by MDA, and phytochemicals of broccoli and radish sprouts, with differences in response to MPs pollution and intensity between species.

Phenotypic variation of fruit and ecophysiological traits among maqui (Aristotelia chilensis [Molina] Stuntz) provenances established in a common garden

The domestication of forest species has traditionally relied on productivity issues. However, today there are concerns about the potential responses of natural populations and new cultivars to extreme climatic conditions derived from climate change and how to incorporate this knowledge into the domestication programs. Aristotelia chilensis (Molina) Stuntz ('Maqui') is a widely distributed native species in Chile. Its berry is considered a "super fruit" with an increasing interest in the food industry. This study investigated the phenotypic variation of growth, fruit, and ecophysiological traits of 20 A. chilensis clones originated from six provenances along the latitudinal gradient and established in a common-garden experiment in the Mediterranean zone of central Chile (center part of the species distribution). Differences among provenances were observed for most of the  traits under study, especially between the northern and southernmost provenances (i.e., San Fernando versus Entre Lagos). Northern provenances showed higher development of vegetative tissue and fruit yield but lower intrinsic water use efficiency (WUE_int) compared with southern ones. Clonal variation within provenances was found significant for the ripening index, WUE_int, and fruit number and weight but not significant for traits related to the crown and leaf morphology. A genetic differentiation due to latitudinal cline was not evident in this study, but differences among provenances suggest local adaptation for some traits. The genotypic variation in productive traits must be considered in the outgoing domestication of the species and future selection programs.

Phenolic Compounds in Calafate Berries Encapsulated by Spray Drying: Neuroprotection Potential into the Ingredient

Calafate is a berry rich in anthocyanins that presents higher content of polyphenols than other fruits. Its compounds have been described previously, however, the potential thereof in preventing and treating degenerative disorders has not yet been studied. Due to its astringency, the consumption of this berry in its natural state is limited. To profit from the aforementioned properties and reduce palatability issues, calafate berry extracts were microencapsulated by spray drying, a rapid, cost-effective and scalable process, and were then compared with freeze drying as a control. The stability of its contents and its in-vitro potential, with respect to AChE activity and neuroprotection, were measured from the obtained microcapsules, resulting from temperature treatments and different encapsulant contents. The results indicated that the spray-dried powders were stable, despite high temperatures, and their encapsulation exhibited nearly 50% efficiency. The highest quantity of polyphenols and 3-O-glycosylated anthocyanins was obtained from encapsulation with 20% maltodextrin, at 120 °C. Temperature did not affect the microcapsules’ biological action, as demonstrated by their antioxidant activities. The prevention of Aβ peptide cytotoxicity in PC12 cells (20%) revealed that encapsulated calafate can confer neuroprotection. We conclude that spray-drying is an appropriate technique for scaling-up and producing new value-added calafate formulations with anti-neurodegenerative effects and vivid colors.

Effect of Freeze Crystallization on Quality Properties of Two Endemic Patagonian Berries Juices: Murta (Ugni molinae) and Arrayan (Luma apiculata)

This work studied the effects of centrifugal block freeze crystallization (CBFC) on physicochemical parameters, total phenolic compound content (TPCC), antioxidant activity (AA), and process parameters applied to fresh murta and arrayan juices. In the last cycle, for fresh murta and arrayan juices, the total soluble solids (TSS) showed values close to 48 and 54 Brix, and TPCC exhibited values of approximately 20 and 66 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 grams dry matter (d.m.) for total polyphenol content, 13 and 25 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents/100 grams d.m. for total anthocyanin content, and 9 and 17 mg quercetin equivalents/100 grams d.m. for total flavonoid content, respectively. Moreover, the TPCC retention indicated values over 78% for murta juice, and 82% for arrayan juice. Similarly, the AA presented an increase over 2.1 times in relation to the correspondent initial AA value. Thus, the process parameters values were between 69% and 85% for efficiency, 70% and 88% for percentage of concentrate, and 0.72% and 0.88 (kg solutes/kg initial solutes) for solute yield. Therefore, this work provides insight about CBFC on valuable properties in fresh Patagonian berries juices, for future applications in health and industrial scale.