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The leaf morphology is an important agronomic trait in crop production. Our study identified a maple leaf type (mlt) cucumber mutant and located the regulatory gene for leaf shape changes through BSA results. Hybrid F1 and F2 populations were generated by F1 self-crossing, and the candidate mlt genes were identified within the 2.8 Mb region of chromosome 2 using map cloning. Through the sequencing and expression analysis of genes within the bulk segregant analysis (BSA) region, we identified the target gene for leaf shape regulation as CsWOX4 (CsaV3_2G026510). The change from base C to T in the original sequence led to frameshift mutations and the premature termination of translation, resulting in shortened encoded proteins and conserved WUSCHEL (WUS) box sequence loss. The specific expression analysis of the CsWOX4/Cswox4 genes in the roots, stems, leaves and other tissue types of wild-type (WT) and mutant plants revealed that CsWOX4 was higher in the root, but Cswox4 (mutant gene) was significantly higher in the leaf. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that CsWOX4 was localized in the nucleus. RNA-seq analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in the mitochondrial cell cycle phase transition, nucleosome and microtubule binding pathways. Simultaneously, the quantitative analysis of the expression trends of 25 typical genes regulating the leaf types revealed the significant upregulation of CsPIN3. In our study, we found that the conserved domain of CsWOX4 was missing in the mutant, and the transcriptome data revealed that the expression of some genes, such as CsPIN3, changed simultaneously, thereby jointly regulating changes in the cucumber leaf type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinization severely limits the quality and productivity of economic crops, threatening global food security. Recent advancements have improved our understanding of how plants perceive, signal, and respond to salt stress. The discovery of the Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) pathway has been crucial in revealing the molecular mechanisms behind plant salinity tolerance. Additionally, extensive research into various plant hormones, transcription factors, and signaling molecules has greatly enhanced our knowledge of plants' salinity tolerance mechanisms. Cucurbitaceae plants, cherished for their economic value as fruits and vegetables, display sensitivity to salt stress. Despite garnering some attention, research on the salinity tolerance of these plants remains somewhat scattered and disorganized. Consequently, this article offers a review centered on three aspects: the salt response of Cucurbitaceae under stress; physiological and biochemical responses to salt stress; and the current research status of their molecular mechanisms in economically significant crops, like cucumbers, watermelons, melon, and loofahs. Additionally, some measures to improve the salt tolerance of Cucurbitaceae crops are summarized. It aims to provide insights for the in-depth exploration of Cucurbitaceae's salt response mechanisms, uncovering the roles of salt-resistant genes and fostering the cultivation of novel varieties through molecular biology in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because rice is native to tropical and subtropical regions, it is generally more sensitive to cold stress compared to other cereals. Low-temperature stress has a strong influence on the growth, development, and yield of rice. Plant NAM, ATAF1/2 and CUC(NAC) transcription factors (TFs) play significant regulatory roles in stress response. In our research, we found that OsNAC050 (LOC_Os03g60080) is mainly expressed in leaves. Cold (4 °C), heat (42 °C), PEG 6000 (20%, w/v), NaCl (200 mM), H2O2 (1%), IAA (100 μM), ABA (100 μM) and GA3 (100 μM) were used to treat wild type (WT) plants. A low temperature further up-regulated OsNAC050 expression. OsNAC050 mutants created using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology showed significantly enhanced tolerance to the low-temperature treatment. The measurement of enzyme activities related to the redox pathway also showed that mutants have stronger viability under low-temperature stress. Comparative transcriptome analysis showed that photosynthesis and soluble sugar metabolism were significantly affected in OsNAC050 mutant lines, suggesting that OsNAC050 may participate in the above molecular pathways in response to low-temperature stress. The results expand our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the responses to cold stress in rice and can provide new strategies for engineering cold tolerance in high-yielding rice varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of industrialization, the problem of air pollution is becoming more and more serious all around the world, and PM2.5 pollution is one of the unsafe factors that seriously endanger human health. PM2.5 can damage the lungs in many ways, but there are not many effective treatments available for PM2.5-induced lung injury, and there is not much research in this area. Natural active compounds extracted from plants, microorganisms and so on have various physiological activities and can be used as possible preventive measures for lung injury. This study introduces the basic properties of PM2.5 and its injury mechanisms involved in lung damage. Then, the physiological functions of flavonoids, polyphenols and alkaloids are introduced, and the possible mechanism of their alleviating PM2.5-induced lung injury is discussed in order to provide new thinking and reference for natural active components in alleviating lung injury and maintaining health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Rice is one of the most globally important food crops. More than half of the world's population depends on rice as a source of food. In recent years, with the deterioration of the ecological environment and the frequent occurrence of extreme weather, drought, high temperature, cold damage, salinity, and other stress factors have become increasingly prominent, seriously affecting rice production. Drought is one of the factors that seriously affects the growth and yield of rice. After cross breeding, molecular breeding slowly stepped onto the historical stage. Our experiment aimed to study the gene function of members of the transcription family, thus providing ideas and theoretical support for molecular breeding under stress. Environmental drought stress threatens rice production. Previous studies have reported that related NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC) transcription factors play an important role in drought stress. Herein, we identified and characterized OsNAC092, encoding an NAC transcription factor that is highly expressed and induced during drought tolerance. OsNAC092 knockout lines created using the clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system exhibited increased drought resistance in rice. RNA sequencing showed that the knockout of OsNAC092 caused a global expression change, and differential gene expression is chiefly associated with "response to light stimulus," "MAPK signaling pathway," "plant hormone signal transduction," "response to oxidative stress," "photosynthesis," and "water deprivation." In addition, the antioxidants and enzyme activities of the redox response were significantly increased. OsNAC092 mutant rice exhibited a higher ability to scavenge more ROS and maintained a high GSH/GSSG ratio and redox level under drought stress, which could protect cells from oxidant stress, revealing the importance of OsNAC092 in the rice's response to abiotic stress. Functional analysis of OsNAC092 will be useful to explore many rice resistance genes in molecular breeding to aid in the development of modern agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This review comprehensively analyzes the molecular mechanism of Suaeda species under salt stress from aspects of physiology, biochemistry, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, providing a theoretical basis for understanding the salt tolerance of Suaeda. The unique genetic and physiological characteristics of Suaeda support their high potential for utilization as promising biological resources to improve agriculture under saline conditions. Plant growth and development are inevitably affected by various environmental factors. High salinity is the main factor leading to the reduction of cultivated land area, which seriously affects the growth and yield of plants. The genus Suaeda is a kind of euhalophyte herb, with seedlings that grow rapidly in moderately saline environments and can even survive in conditions of extreme salinity. Its fresh branches can be used as vegetables and the seed oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which has important economic value and usually grows in a saline environment. This paper reviews the progress of research in recent years into the salt tolerance of several Suaeda species (for example, S. salsa, S. japonica, S. glauca, S. corniculata), focusing on ion regulation and compartmentation, osmotic regulation of organic solutes, antioxidant regulation, plant hormones, photosynthetic systems, and omics (transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics). It helps us to understand the salt tolerance mechanism of the genus Suaeda, and provides a theoretical foundation for effectively improving crop resistance to salt stress environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global food crisis has led to a great deal of attention being given to microalgal oil as a sustainable natural food source. This article provides an overview of the progress and future directions in promoting the commercialization of microalgal edible oils, including microalgal triglyceride accumulation, suitable edible oil culture strategies for high nutritional value, metabolic engineering, production, and downstream technologies. The integration of the production process, biosafety, and the economic sustainability of microalgal oil production are analyzed for their critical roles in the commercialization of microalgal edible oil to provide a theoretical and scientific basis for the comprehensive development and utilization of microalgal edible oil. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microalgae are considered an interesting candidate for the sustainable production of edible oils. Because microalgae contain abundant polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and have high photosynthetic rates and high oil productivity, they are superior to terrestrial oleaginous crops for producing edible oils. Microalgae are cultivated in aquatic environments, and thus, oil extraction methods for microalgae must consider the influence of water. This paper provides an overview of the suitability of microalgal lipid compositions and proposes a selection of species for edible oil production. The numerous technologies currently available for pretreatment, wet extraction and the refining of edible oils from microalgae are collated and presented, with a primary focus on the key parameters influencing process performance. Furthermore, the paper presents a proposed solution for a microalgae integrated system for edible oil production, which is a possible future direction to develop an economical and environmentally friendly process for the resource utilization of microalgal biomass. Practical Application: Microalgae might be the most promising source of edible oils, with potential applications in food industrialization, due to its rich oil content and its characteristic fatty acid composition. The review provides a selection criterion of microalgal species to help researchers exploit microalgae to produce superior edible oils for human consumption. Various process parameters and wet extraction methods are discussed that may be conducive to improving process performance and achieving high oil recovery yields. By considering the maximum utilization of microalgal biomass, an integrated system in this review would assist in economical production during further studies. Microalgae are the most promising candidates for edible oil production. Cell disruption, extraction, and refining are important processes for microalgal oils and on this basis, wet extraction and resource utilization can further promote the economic feasibility of microalgal process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumption of edible fungi, which are rich in nutritional and bioactive components, plays an important role in human health. A gradual decline in moisture, sensory properties, quality of edible fungi is observed after harvest. The recent studies on the changes of nutritional quality and biological activities of edible fungi during processing and postharvest storage have been summarized in this review. In addition, the study discusses the recycling of waster that is produced in processing. The action of bioactive components and their proposed mechanisms of action have also been discussed to accelerate the further exploration and utilization of edible fungi. Practical Applications Nutritional contents and bioactive components of edible fungi have a direct dependence on the type of processing and storage preservation technique used, which influences the chemical composition and commercial value of edible fungi. Therefore, the aim of this review is to summarize the information described to date about the effects of processing and storage on edible fungi, to give further detailed guidance for obtaining a technological and economic alternative for use with edible fungi, with special emphasis on the various mechanisms potentially involved. It is clear that further scientific studies need incorporate these technologies into the value-added edible fungi and edible fungi-related products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer demand for safe and nutritious fruits and vegetables has given rise to the development of a number of nonthermal food preservation techniques. Recent studies have highlighted that antioxidant activity of fruits and vegetables plays an important role in human health. In this paper, the influences of nonthermal preservation technologies, including pulsed electric field, radiation processing, dense phase carbon dioxide, ozone processing, and edible coatings, on the antioxidant capacity and related compounds in fruits and vegetables are reviewed. The proposed mechanisms and future trends are also discussed to accelerate the further commercialization and exploration of these novel technologies, which will, in turn, help to promote human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

P leurotus eryngii ( P . eryngii), also known as the king oyster mushroom, contains many bioactive substances, including polysaccharides, lipids, peptides, sterols and triterpenoids. The aim of this study was to explore the antitumor and immunomodulatory activities of P . eryngii extract. The fresh P . eryngii material was extracted with MeOH (methanol) and then partitioned with EtOAc (ethyl acetate). The study showed that the P . eryngii EtOAc extract ( EAe) not only has antitumor effects by in vitro and in vivo methods but also significantly increases some immune activities. In addition, histopathological observations showed that EAe-treated mice exhibited much lower cancerization throughout the liver and lung. EAe can also promote antioxidant activity, which may regulate the body's antioxidant capacity and activate the antitumor mechanism. Practical Applications Our study revealed the anticancer and immunomodulatory activity of P leurotus eryngii extract, and identified the key components of the P . eryngii extract with HPLC-MS. These findings explain the antitumor activity of P . eryngii, which is very useful for developing the potential antitumor drugs for clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Oxford Nanopore and Illumina sequencing technologies, we reported the first complete mitochondrial genome of the important medicinal and edible plant Coriandrum sativum. The complete mitogenome was assembled into two circular-mapping forms of 82,926 bp (cir1) and 224,590 bp (cir2), respectively. There were 28 genes identified in the cir1 mitogenome, which included 14 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes and 12 tRNA genes. There were 62 genes identified in the cir2 mitogenome, which included 41 protein-coding genes, 5 rRNA genes and 16 tRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Coriandrum sativum was most closely related to Daucus carota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]