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Processing sustainability and the concept of zero waste discharge are of great interest for many industries. Every year, fruit and vegetable processing industries generate huge amounts of by-products, which are often intended for animal feed or discarded as waste, posing a problem to both environmental and economic points of view. However, to minimize the waste burden, the valorization of these residues received increased interest. In fact, fruit and vegetable by-products are an excellent source of valuable compounds, such as proteins, dietary fibers, lipids, minerals, vitamins, phenolic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, carotenoids, and pigments, which can be recovered and reused, creating new business prospects from a circular economy perspective. Understanding the chemical characteristics of these materials is a key concern for their valorization and the identification of their most appropriate intended use. In this study, the phytochemical and functional properties of fruit and vegetable processing by-products (peel and pomace) were investigated. Samples of different plants (i.e., apple, black and orange carrot, cucumber, kumquat, mango, parsnip, peach, black plum) were analyzed using chemical analytical methods and characterized using Fourier Transform Mid-Infrared spectroscopy (FT-MIR). The results highlighted their high nutritional composition in terms of protein, lipids, fiber, and ash, as well as bioactive and antioxidant profiles. These characteristics make these residues suitable as natural ingredients for the development of high-added-value products in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Durum wheat breeding relies on grain yield improvement to meet its upcoming demand while coping with climate change. Kernel size and shape are the determinants of thousand kernel weight (TKW), which is a key component of grain yield, and the understanding of the genetic control behind these traits supports the progress in yield potential. The present study aimed to dissect the genetic network responsible for kernel size components (length, width, perimeter, and area) and kernel shape traits (width-to-length ratio and formcoefficient) as well as their relationships with kernel weight, plant height, and heading date in durum wheat. Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) mapping was performed on a segregating population of 110 recombinant inbred lines, derived from a cross between the domesticated emmer wheat accession MG5323 and the durum wheat cv. Latino, evaluated in four different environments. A total of 24 QTLs stable across environments were found and further grouped in nine clusters on chromosomes 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4B, 6B, and 7A. Among them, a QTL cluster on chromosome 4B was associated with kernel size traits and TKW, where the parental MG5323 contributed the favorable alleles, highlighting its potential to improve durum wheat germplasm. The physical positions of the clusters, defined by the projection on the T. durum reference genome, overlapped with already known genes (i.e., BIG GRAIN PROTEIN 1 on chromosome 4B). These results might provide genome-based guidance for the efficient exploitation of emmer wheat diversity in wheat breeding, possibly through yield-related molecular markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocimum basilicum (sweet basil) is an economically important aromatic herb; in Italy, approximately 1000 ha of "Genovese-type" basil are grown annually in greenhouses and open fields and are subjected to Downy Mildew (DM) disease, caused by Peronospora belbahrii, leading to huge crop losses. Mutation of the Susceptibility (S) gene DMR6 (Downy Mildew Resistant 6) has been proven to confer a broad-spectrum resistance to DM. In this work, an effective Genome Editing (GE) approach mediated by CRISPR/Cas9 in O. basilicum 'Italiko', the élite cultivar used to produce "Pesto Genovese D.O.P", was developed. A highly efficient genetic transformation method mediated by A. tumefaciens has been optimized from cotyledonary nodes, obtaining 82.2% of regenerated shoots, 84.6% of which resulted in Cas9+ plants. Eleven T0 lines presented different type of mutations in ObDMR6; 60% were indel frameshift mutations with knock-out of ObDMR6 of 'FT Italiko'. Analysis of six T1 transgene-free seedlings revealed that the mutations of T0 plants were inherited and segregated. Based on infection trials conducted on T0 plants, clone 22B showed a very low percentage of disease incidence after 14 days post infection. The aromatic profile of all in vitro edited plants was also reported; all of them showed oxygenated monoterpenes as the major fraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.; Fam. Lamiaceae) is an annual herbaceous plant with a high economic value used in folk medicine, pharmacology, and food production. In Italy, most of the varieties are used to produce the famous "pesto" sauce; however, almost all of them are susceptible to basil downy mildew (BDM) disease, strongly decreasing the growth of the fresh leaves and the survival of the whole plant. Nowadays, CRISPR/Cas9 technology is recognized to be a prominent way to enhance basil genetic breeding. In this work, we present an optimized protocol for in vitro direct regeneration of an elite cultivar, which is the major limiting factor for the transformation of O. basilicum. Regeneration has been obtained from different explants (leaves, cotyledons, cotyledonary nodes); the highest frequency has been obtained from cotyledonary nodes of seedlings germinated on MS medium containing TDZ. This protocol may be used for biotechnological applications as genome editing techniques to obtain basil-downy-mildew-disease-resistant clones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More healthy and sustainable food are nowadays desirable to improve human health and protect the planet's resources. From this perspective, the aim of this study is to investigate artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) by-products as a potential source of phenolic compounds and to use these compounds to design new fresh egg pasta formulation. Sustainable extraction was carried out using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and chemometric techniques, such as the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). UAE process parameters (temperature and time) and solvent composition (ethanol aqueous mixtures) were optimized using a three-level Box–Behnken design, in order to carry out the maximum yield in phenols. Under the optimal conditions (temperature: 60 °C; time: 60 min; solvent: 50% ethanol:water), the amount of phenolics (TPC) was 22.4 ± 0.2 mg GAE g−1 d.w., characterized mainly by dicaffeoylquinic acid (32.8 ± 0.6 mg CAE g−1 d.w.) and chlorogenic acid (14.1 ± 0.2 mg CAE g−1 d.w.). Hence, the polyphenols extract was used as an ingredient to design a new formulation of functional fresh egg pasta. Four recipes with soft wheat and semolina (P1 and P2) and with soft wheat alone (P3 and P4) were prepared. Compared with control pastas (P1 and P3), the enriched ones (P2 and P4) showed a higher polyphenol content, especially for P4 (1.86 ± 0.03 mg GAE g−1 d.w. for P1, 2.05 ± 0.02 mg GAE g−1 d.w. for P2, 1.92 ± 0.03 mg GAE g−1 d.w. for P3, 2.04 ± 0.02 mg GAE g−1 d.w. for P4). A high decrease in TPC was observed as a result of the cooking process, especially for the two control formulations (−71% for P1 and −70% for P3) in comparison with P2 (−64%) and P4 (−55%). At last, to assess the antimicrobial effect of artichoke by-products on fresh pasta and to monitor its spoilage, we used image analysis. Corresponding to a higher TPC content, P2 and P4 showed an extended shelf life of 16% and 33%, respectively, probably due to the antioxidant activity of artichoke. The new fresh egg pasta enriched with polyphenols extracted from artichoke by-products showed very good nutritional and technological characteristics, even after cooking, confirming the good potentiality of artichoke by-products in the design of new, healthy, and sustainable food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prompted by recent changes in climate trends, cropping areas, and management practices, Fusarium head blight (FHB), a threatening disease of cereals worldwide, is also spreading in unusual environments, where bread wheat (BW) and durum wheat (DW) are largely cultivated. The scarcity of efficient resistance sources within adapted germplasm is particularly alarming for DW, mainly utilized for human consumption, which is therefore at high risk of kernel contamination by health-dangerous mycotoxins (e.g., deoxynivalenol = DON). To cope with this scenario, we looked outside the wheat primary gene pool and recently transferred an exceptionally effective FHB resistance QTL (Fhb-7EL) from Thinopyrum elongatum 7EL chromosome arm onto a Thinopyrum ponticum 7el1L arm segment, containing additional valuable genes (including Lr19 for leaf rust resistance and Yp for yellow pigment content), distally inserted onto 7DL of BW lines. Two such lines were crossed with two previously developed DW- Th. ponticum recombinants, having 7el1L distal portions on 7AL arms. Genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) analysis showed homologous pairing, which is enabled by 7el1L segments common to the BW and DW recombinant chromosomes, to occur with 42-78% frequency, depending on the shared 7el1L amount. Aided by 7EL/7el1L-linked markers, 7EL+7el1L tetraploid recombinant types were isolated in BC1 progenies to DW of all cross combinations. Homozygous 7EL+7el1L recombinant plants and null segregates selected in BC2F2 progenies were challenged by Fusarium graminearum spike inoculation to verify the Fhb-7EL efficacy in DW. Infection outcomes confirmed previous observations in BW, with >90% reduction of disease severity associated with Fhb-7EL presence vs. its absence. The same differential effect was detected on seed set and weight of inoculated spikes, with genotypes lacking Fhb-7EL having ∼80% reduction compared with unaffected values of Fhb-7EL carriers. In parallel, DON content in flour extracts of resistant recombinants averaged 0.67 ppm, a value >800 times lower than that of susceptible controls. Furthermore, as observed in BW, the same Fhb-7EL also provided the novel DW recombinants with resistance to Fusarium crown rot (∼60% symptom reduction) as from seedling infection with Fusarium culmorum. Through alien segment stacking, we succeeded in equipping DW with a very effective barrier against different Fusarium diseases and other positive attributes for crop security and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutritional and commercial value of the apricot fruits depends on the interaction among several factors, including the management strategies, the environmental conditions, and the genotype. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of orchard management and pedoclimatic conditions on apricot fruit quality traits (soluble solids, titratable acidity, dry matter and soluble solids and titratable acidity ratio) and phytochemical content (total phenolic content and antioxidant activity). Two apricot cultivars (Kioto* and Pieve*) were subjected to three different organic systems: (i) a standard management (BAU), (ii) an innovative diversified system with reduced tillage based on the natural cover conservation (INC) and (iii) an innovative diversified system with introduction of different cover crops (ICC), for two consecutive years (2019–2020). Overall, besides the effect of the climatic conditions, the multivariate analysis revealed the role of management systems, rather than genotype, on the quality of apricot fruits. In particular, INC soil management positively affected soluble solids, titratable acidity and dry matter parameters, especially in environments with low precipitation and high solar radiation (20.7 ± 1.7 g 100 g−1 FW, 19.9 ± 2.5 g MA 100 g−1 FW and 0.23 ± 0.2 g 100 g−1 FW respectively). In addition, the results indicate that ICC management showed the highest antioxidant values (1.45 ± 0.19 μg of Trolox equivalent (TE) 100 mg−1 FW), especially in the environment with high precipitation. This study was a useful tool for farmer to choose an effective organic system management in order to obtain fruits with high quality parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pomological traits are the major factors determining the quality and price of fresh fruits. This research was aimed to investigate the feasibility of using two hyperspectral imaging (HSI) systems in the wavelength regions comprising visible to near infrared (VisNIR) (400-1000 nm) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) (935-1720 nm) for predicting four strawberry quality attributes (firmness-FF, total soluble solid content-TSS, titratable acidity-TA, and dry matter-DM). Prediction models were developed based on artificial neural networks (ANN). The entire strawberry VisNIR reflectance spectra resulted in accurate predictions of TSS (R 2 = 0.959), DM (R 2 = 0.947), and TA (R 2 = 0.877), whereas good prediction was observed for FF (R 2 = 0.808). As for models from the SWIR system, good correlations were found between each of the physicochemical indices and the spectral information (R 2 = 0.924 for DM; R 2 = 0.898 for TSS; R 2 = 0.953 for TA; R 2 = 0.820 for FF). Finally, data fusion demonstrated a higher ability to predict fruit internal quality (R 2 = 0.942 for DM; R 2 = 0. 981 for TSS; R 2 = 0.976 for TA; R 2 = 0.951 for FF). The results confirmed the potential of these two HSI systems as a rapid and nondestructive tool for evaluating fruit quality and enhancing the product's marketability.