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Rice is one of the most important staple plant foods that provide a major source of calories and nutrients for tackling the global hunger index especially in developing countries. In terms of nutritional profile, pigmented rice grains are favoured for their nutritional and health benefits. The pigmented rice varieties are rich sources of flavonoids, anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin that can be readily incorporated into diets to help address various lifestyle diseases. However, the cultivation of pigmented rice is limited due to low productivity and unfavourable cooking qualities. With the advances in genome sequencing, molecular breeding, gene expression analysis and multi-omics approaches, various attempts have been made to explore the genetic architecture of rice grain pigmentation. In this review, we have compiled the current state of knowledge of the genetic architecture and nutritional value of pigmentation in rice based upon the available experimental evidence. Future research areas that can help to deepen our understanding and help in harnessing the economic and health benefits of pigmented rice are also explored.

The present study investigated the molecular changes induced by germination in cowpea cultivars by spectroscopic techniques. The ATR FT-IR, Intrinsic fluorescence, and UV spectroscopic techniques revealed that germination shows alteration in cowpea cultivars. The ATR-FTIR showed slight differences in band intensities corresponding to carbohydrates, lipids, and protein regions at 700 to 4000 cm-1 wavenumbers. Starch order structure understanding their functionality showed a reduction of short-range ordered structures in Black cowpea flour and long ordered starch fraction in White cowpea flour under germination. The study quantified the degree of ordered starch and their alteration in amorphous/crystallinity nature concerning germination and cowpea cultivars. The secondary structures revealed a reduction of β-sheets and α-helix content, representing decreased ordered protein structures and their shifting into random coils and turn structures. The germinated flours showed decreased fluorescence intensities with the shift from 347 to 348, reflecting the redshifts due to decreased concentrations of fluorescent compounds during germination in cowpea flour. UV spectrum revealed a similar spectrum with an increase in absorption of cowpea flour under germination. The electrophoresis showed variations in the intensities of high (25 to 225 kDa) and low (19 to 10 kDa) molecular weight proteins in germinated cowpea cultivars than the native one. Overall, this study demonstrated the potential of ATR-FTIR, fluorescence and UV-based spectroscopy as non-destructive techniques to assess the alteration of pulses at the molecular level and structural changes under the germination process.

Nematodes are non-segmented roundworms evenly distributed with various habitats ranging to approximately every ecological extremity. These are the least studied organisms despite being the most diversified group. Nematodes are the most critical equilibrium-maintaining factors, having implications on the yield and health of plants as well as well-being of animals. However, taxonomic knowledge about nematodes is scarce. As a result of the lack of precise taxonomic features, nematode taxonomy remains uncertain. Morphology-based identification has proved inefficacious in identifying and exploring the diversity of nematodes, as there are insufficient morphological variations. Different molecular and new evolving methodologies have been employed to augment morphology-based approaches and bypass these difficulties with varying effectiveness. These identification techniques vary from molecular-based targeting DNA or protein-based targeting amino acid sequences to methods for image processing. High-throughput approaches such as next-generation sequencing have also been added to this league. These alternative approaches have helped to classify nematodes and enhanced the base for increased diversity and phylogeny of nematodes, thus helping to formulate increasingly more nematode bases for use as model organisms to study different hot topics about human well-being. Here, we discuss all the methods of nematode identification as an essential shift from classical morphometric studies to the most important modern-day and molecular approaches for their identification. Classification varies from DNA/protein-based methods to the use of new emerging methods. However, the priority of the method relies on the quality, quantity, and availability of nematode resources and down-streaming applications. This paper reviews all currently offered methods for the detection of nematodes and known/unknown and cryptic or sibling species, emphasizing modern-day methods and budding molecular techniques.