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Wine fermentation processes are driven by complex microbial systems, which comprise eukaryotic and prokaryotic microorganisms that participate in several biochemical interactions with the must and wine chemicals and modulate the organoleptic properties of wine. Among these, yeasts play a fundamental role, since they carry out the alcoholic fermentation (AF), converting sugars to ethanol and CO2 together with a wide range of volatile organic compounds. The contribution of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the reference organism associated with AF, has been extensively studied. However, in the last decade, selected non-Saccharomyces strains received considerable commercial and oenological interest due to their specific pro-technological aptitudes and the positive influence on sensory quality. This review aims to highlight the inter-specific variability within the heterogeneous class of non-Saccharomyces in terms of synthesis and release of volatile organic compounds during controlled AF in wine. In particular, we reported findings on the presence of model non-Saccharomyces organisms, including Torulaspora delbrueckii, Hanseniaspora spp, Lachancea thermotolerans, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Pichia spp. and Candida zemplinina, in combination with S. cerevisiae. The evidence is discussed from both basic and applicative scientific perspective. In particular, the oenological significance in different kind of wines has been underlined.

Which is the microbial diversity behind the production of biogenic amines in foods and beverages? What is the food-related significance of this specific subset of micro-biodiversity? Which is the influence of physical, chemical and biological determinants associated to food and beverages matrices that can, directly and indirectly, modulate the concentration of these low molecular weight organic bases? This chapter aims to summarize several aspects that appear to be crucial for a renewed management of the levers susceptible to minimize the content of biogenic amines in edible matrices, highlighting the present main trends and possible future perspectives in the field.

The granary weevil, Sitophilus granarius (L.) (Coleoptera, Dryophthoridae), is a primary pest of stored cereals worldwide. To identify possible sources of wheat resistance toward this pest, two commercial durum and bread wheat varieties with yellow pericarp were compared with anthocyanin-pigmented durum and bread wheat genotypes that have never entered commercial production. The composition of the kernel head-space volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the olfactory responses of granary weevil adults to these kernel VOCs were investigated. Head-space solid-phase micro-extraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis highlighted 17 and 13 kernel VOCs from durum and bread wheats, respectively. These compounds mainly included aldehydes and alcohols, and to a lesser extent, terpenes and benzene derivatives. Quantitative and qualitative differences were seen between the odor profiles of yellow and pigmented wheat kernels. In two-choice behavioral bioassays, granary weevil adults were significantly attracted by the kernel odors from the yellow commercial wheat varieties and their hexane extracts, but not by those of the pigmented wheat genotypes and their hexane extracts. Electroantennography confirmed the presence of VOCs in all of the hexane extracts that stimulated the olfactory system of both sexes of the granary weevil in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, differences among the odor blends were responsible for the different olfactory responses of granary weevils to the yellow and pigmented wheat kernels. These differences in VOC emissions and olfactory responses induced in granary weevils by the yellow and pigmented wheat kernels can be exploited to characterize resistance mechanisms associated with different genotypes and to incorporate resistance into improved varieties.

Selected biological resources used as raw materials in beer production are important drivers of innovation and segmentation in the dynamic market of craft beers. Among these resources, local/regional ingredients have several benefits, such as strengthening the connection with territories, enhancing the added value of the final products, and reducing supply costs and environmental impacts. It is assumed that specific ingredients provide differences in flavours, aromas, and, more generally, sensory attributes of the final products. In particular, of interest are ingredients with features attributable and/or linked to a specific geographical origin. This review encompasses the potential contribution and exploitation of biodiversity in the main classes of beer inputs, such as cereals, hops, microbes, and adjuncts, with a specific emphasis on autochthonous biological resources, detailing the innovative paths already explored and documented in the scientific literature. This dissertation proposes an overview of the impact on beer quality for each raw material category, highlighting the benefits and limitations that influence its concrete applications and scale-up, from the field to the stain. The topics explored promote, in the sector of craft beers, trends already capitalised in the production of other alcoholic beverages, such as the preservation and revalorisation of minor and autochthonous varieties, the exploitation of yeast and bacteria strains isolated from specific sites/plant varieties, and the valorisation of the effects of peculiar terroirs on the quality of agricultural products. Finally, the examined tendencies contribute toward reducing the environmental impacts of craft beer manufacturing, and are in line with sustainable development of food systems, increasing the economic driver of biodiversity preservation.

Brettanomyces bruxellensis is a common and significant wine spoilage microorganism. B. bruxellensis strains generally detain the molecular basis to produce compounds that are detrimental for the organoleptic quality of the wine, including some classes of volatile phenols that derive from the sequential bioconversion of specific hydroxycinnamic acids such as ferulate and p-coumarate. Although B. bruxellensis can be detected at any stage of the winemaking process, it is typically isolated at the end of the alcoholic fermentation (AF), before the staring of the spontaneous malolactic fermentation (MLF) or during barrel aging. For this reason, the endemic diffusion of B. bruxellensis leads to consistent economic losses in the wine industry. Considering the interest in reducing sulfur dioxide use during winemaking, in recent years, biological alternatives, such as the use of tailored selected yeast and bacterial strains inoculated to promote AF and MLF, are actively sought as biocontrol agents to avoid the “Bretta” character in wines. Here, we review the importance of dedicated characterization and selection of starter cultures for AF and MLF in wine, in order to reduce or prevent both growth of B. bruxellensis and its production of volatile phenols in the matrix.

Climate change threatens food systems, with huge repercussions on food security and on the safety and quality of final products. We reviewed the potential of food microbiology as a source of biotechnological solutions to design climate-smart food systems, using wine as a model productive sector. Climate change entails considerable problems for the sustainability of oenology in several geographical regions, also placing at risk the wine typicity. The main weaknesses identified are: (i) The increased undesired microbial proliferation; (ii) the improved sugars and, consequently, ethanol content; (iii) the reduced acidity and increased pH; (iv) the imbalanced perceived sensory properties (e.g., colour, flavour); and (v) the intensified safety issues (e.g., mycotoxins, biogenic amines). In this paper, we offer an overview of the potential microbial-based strategies suitable to cope with the five challenges listed above. In terms of microbial diversity, our principal focus was on microorganisms isolated from grapes/musts/wines and on microbes belonging to the main categories with a recognized positive role in oenological processes, namely Saccharomyces spp. (e.g., Saccharomyces cerevisiae), non-Saccharomyces yeasts (e.g., Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Lachancea thermotolerans, and Starmerella bacillaris), and malolactic bacteria (e.g., Oenococcus oeni, Lactobacillus plantarum).

This study reports the first application of a next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis. The analysis was designed to monitor the effect of the management of microbial resources associated with alcoholic fermentation on spontaneous malolactic consortium. Together with the analysis of 16S rRNA genes from the metagenome, we monitored the principal parameters linked to MLF (e.g., malic and lactic acid concentration, pH). We encompass seven dissimilar concrete practices to manage microorganisms associated with alcoholic fermentation: Un-inoculated must (UM), pied-de-cuve (PdC), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC), S. cerevisiae and Torulaspora delbrueckii co-inoculated and sequentially inoculated, as well as S. cerevisiae and Metschnikowia pulcherrima co-inoculated and sequentially inoculated. Surprisingly, each experimental modes led to different taxonomic composition of the bacterial communities of the malolactic consortia, in terms of prokaryotic phyla and genera. Our findings indicated that, uncontrolled AF (UM, PdC) led to heterogeneous consortia associated with MLF (with a relevant presence of the genera Acetobacter and Gluconobacter), when compared with controlled AF (SC) (showing a clear dominance of the genus Oenococcus). Effectively, the SC trial malic acid was completely degraded in about two weeks after the end of AF, while, on the contrary, malic acid decarboxylation remained uncomplete after 7 weeks in the case of UM and PdC. In addition, for the first time, we demonstrated that both (i) the inoculation of different non-Saccharomyces (T. delbrueckii and M. pulcherrima) and, (ii) the inoculation time of the non-Saccharomyces with respect to S. cerevisiae resources (co-inoculated and sequentially inoculated) influence the composition of the connected MLF consortia, modulating MLF performance. Finally, we demonstrated the first findings of delayed and inhibited MLF when M. pulcherrima, and T. delbrueckii were inoculated, respectively. In addition, as a further control test, we also assessed the effect of the inoculation with Oenococcus oeni and Lactobacillus plantarum at the end of alcoholic fermentation, as MLF starter cultures. Our study suggests the potential interest in the application of NGS analysis, to monitor the effect of alcoholic fermentation on the spontaneous malolactic consortium, in relation to wine.

Metabolomics is increasingly being applied in various fields offering a highly informative tool for high-throughput diagnostics. However, in plant sciences, metabolomics is underused, even though plant studies are relatively easy and cheap when compared to those on humans and animals. Despite their importance for human nutrition, cereals, and especially wheat, remain understudied from a metabolomics point of view. The metabolomics of durum wheat has been essentially neglected, although its genetic structure allows the inference of common mechanisms that can be extended to other wheat and cereal species. This review covers the present achievements in durum wheat metabolomics highlighting the connections with the metabolomics of other cereal species (especially bread wheat). We discuss the metabolomics data from various studies and their relationships to other "-omics" sciences, in terms of wheat genetics, abiotic and biotic stresses, beneficial microbes, and the characterization and use of durum wheat as feed, food, and food ingredient.

What is the microbial diversity behind the production of biogenic amines in foods and beverages? What is the food-related significance of this specific subset of micro-biodiversity? What is the influence of physical, chemical and biological determinants associated with food and beverages matrices that can, directly and indirectly, modulate the concentration of these low molecular weight organic bases? This chapter aims to summarize several aspects that appear to be crucial for a renewed management of the levers susceptible to minimize the content of biogenic amines in edible matrices, highlighting the present main trends and possible future perspectives in the field.

One of the main targets of sustainable development is the reduction of environmental, social, and economic negative externalities associated with the production of foods and beverages. Those externalities occur at different stages of food chains, from the farm to the fork, with deleterious impacts to different extents. Increasing evidence testifies to the potential of microbial-based solutions and fermentative processes as mitigating strategies to reduce negative externalities in food systems. In several cases, innovative solutions might find in situ applications from the farm to the fork, including advances in food matrices by means of tailored fermentative processes. This viewpoint recalls the attention on microbial biotechnologies as a field of bioeconomy and of ‘green’ innovations to improve sustainability and resilience of agri-food systems alleviating environmental, economic, and social undesired externalities. We argue that food scientists could systematically consider the potential of microbes as ‘mitigating agents’ in all research and development activities dealing with fermentation and microbial-based biotechnologies in the agri-food sector. This aims to conciliate process and product innovations with a development respectful of future generations’ needs and with the aptitude of the systems to overcome global challenges.

The winemaking results from several elaborate biochemical processes that see as protagonist either yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of oenological interest. In particular, LAB have a fundamental role in determining the qual-ity chemical and aromatic properties of wine. They are essential not only for the malic acid conversion but also for the production of several desired by-products due to their important enzymatic activities that can release vol-atile aromatic compounds during malolactic fermentation (e.g. esters, car-bonyl compounds, thiols, monoterpenes). In addition, LAB in oenology can act as bio-protectors and reduce the content of undesired compounds. On the opposite, LAB can affect wine consumers' health as they can produce harmful compounds such as biogenic amines and ethyl carbamate under certain con-ditions during fermentation. Several of these positive and negative proper-ties are species- and strain-dependent characteristics. This review focuses on these aspects, summarising the current state of knowledge on the LAB's oe-nological diversity, highlighting their influence on the quality and safety of the final product. All reported information is of high interest to orient new selections, looking for new candidate strains to design starter cultures, mi-crobial resources for traditional/typical products, and green solutions in winemaking. In reason of the continuous interest in LAB as oenological bio-resources, we also underline the importance of inoculation timing. The considerable variability among LAB species/strains associated with sponta-neous consortia and the continuous advances in the characterisation of new species/strains of interest for applications in wine suggest that the exploita-tion of biodiversity belonging to this heterogeneous group of bacteria is still rising.

Whole grains were characterised using a metabolite profiling approach for 11 genotypes that belonged to five modern and ancient Triticum sub-species, briefly distinguished as: monococcum, dicoccum, spelta, durum and aestivum. Hydrophilic and lipophilic metabolites were extracted separately, and about 51 compounds of different classes were analysed: sugars, alcohols, amino acids, organic acids, plant sterols, phenolic lipids, tocopherols and fatty acids. Differences in the metabolite content among sub-species were statistically significant for 22 compounds out of 51. On the basis of multivariate analysis, the metabolites that provide the greatest contributions to discrimination among these five sub-species were identified. Galacturonic acid (precursor of ascorbic acid) was detected only in dicoccum. Alkylresorcinol homologues AR17 and AR19 were greatly accumulated by aestivum and spelta. Aspartic acid and asparagine were highest in monococcum. Asparagine was not detected in durum and aestivum, but these instead had the highest levels of the correlated essential amino acid tryptophan. The alkylresorcinol homologue composition, and in particular the AR17/AR23 ratio, can be used to distinguish between the monococcum, hexaploid and tetraploid species. Vice versa, the distinctions (in terms of these metabolites), between the two tetraploid species and between the hexaploid sub-species were difficult to clearly sort out.

The management of the alcoholic fermentation (AF) in wine is crucial to shaping product quality. Numerous variables (e.g., grape varieties, yeast species/strains, technological parameters) can affect the performances of this fermentative bioprocess. The fact that these variables are often interdependent, with a high degree of interaction, leads to a huge ‘oenological space’ associated with AF that scientists and professionals have explored to obtain the desired quality standards in wine and to promote innovation. This challenge explains the high interest in approaches tested to monitor this bioprocess including those using volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as target molecules. Among direct injection mass spectrometry approaches, no study has proposed an untargeted online investigation of the diversity of volatiles associated with the wine headspace. This communication proposed the first application of proton-transfer reaction-mass spectrometry coupled to a time-of-flight mass analyzer (PTR-ToF-MS) to follow the progress of AF and evaluate the impact of the different variables of wine quality. As a case study, the assessment of VOC variability associated with different combinations of Saccharomyces/non-Saccharomyces was selected. The different combinations of microbial resources in wine are among the main factors susceptible to influencing the content of VOCs associated with the wine headspaces. In particular, this investigation explored the effect of multiple combinations of two Saccharomyces strains and two non-Saccharomyces strains (belonging to the species Metschnikowia pulcherrima and Torulaspora delbrueckii) on the content of VOCs in wine, inoculated both in commercial grape juice and fresh grape must. The results demonstrated the possible exploitation of non-invasive PTR-ToF-MS monitoring to explore, using VOCs as biomarkers, (i) the huge number of variables influencing AF in wine, and (ii) applications of single/mixed starter cultures in wine. Reported preliminary findings underlined the presence of different behaviors on grape juice and on must, respectively, and confirmed differences among the single yeast strains ‘volatomes’. It was one of the first studies to include the simultaneous inoculation on two non-Saccharomyces species together with a S. cerevisiae strain in terms of VOC contribution. Among the other outcomes, evidence suggests that the addition of M. pulcherrima to the coupled S. cerevisiae/T. delbrueckii can modify the global release of volatiles as a function of the characteristics of the fermented matrix.

The key mechanisms of salinity tolerance (ST) in durum wheat were investigated, with five genotypes used to determine changes in morpho-physiological traits and mineral and metabolite contents after exposure to 50, 100 and 200 mM NaCl. Plant growth impairment was evident at the highest salt level. Under this condition, a wide range of shoot Na+ contents and ST were observed within genotypes. However, no significant correlation was seen between ST and Na+ exclusion from the shoots, which indicates that tissue tolerance also has a role. Consistent with this, there was significant correlation between ST and the Na+:K+ ratio in the shoots. Indeed, the maintenance of the shoot Na+ and K+ homeostasis was found to be essential to achieve osmotic adjustment, which relied substantially on inorganic osmolytes, and to avoid toxicity symptoms, such as chlorophyll loss, which appeared only at the highest salinity level. Consistently, the metabolite changes occurred mainly in the shoots, with a dual response to salinity: (i) a conserved response that was common to all the genotypes and resulted in the accumulation of proline and in the depletion of organic acids, including some intermediates of the Krebs cycle; and (ii) a genotype-specific response that involved the accumulation of GABA, threonine, leucine, glutamic acid, glycine, mannose and fructose and appeared related to the different tolerance of genotypes to salinity. The lower magnitude of response to salinity detected in the roots confirmed the major role of the shoots in the determination of ST of durum wheat.

The concentrations of 10 minerals were investigated in the grain of 12 durum wheat genotypes grown under free air CO 2 enrichment conditions, and in four of their derived pasta samples, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Compared to ambient CO 2 (400 ppm; AMB), under elevated CO 2 (570 ppm; ELE), the micro-element and macro-element contents showed strong and significant decreases in the grain: Mn, −28.3%; Fe, −26.7%; Zn, −21.9%; Mg, −22.7%; Mo, −40.4%; K, −22.4%; and Ca, −19.5%. These variations defined the 12 genotypes as sensitive or non-sensitive to ELE. The pasta samples under AMB and ELE showed decreased mineral contents compared to the grain. Nevertheless, the contributions of the pasta to the recommended daily allowances remained relevant, also for the micro-elements under ELE conditions (range, from 18% of the recommended daily allowance for Zn, to 70% for Mn and Mo).

BACKGROUND Several studies have demonstrated that metabolomics has a definite place in food quality, nutritional value, and safety issues. The aim of the present study was to determine and compare the metabolites in different pasta samples with fibre, and to investigate the modifications induced in these different kinds of pasta during cooking, using a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry-based metabolomics approach. RESULTS Differences were seen for some of the amino acids, which were absent in control pasta, while were present both in the commercially available high-fibre pasta (samples A–C) and the enriched pasta (samples D–F). The highest content in reducing sugars was observed in enriched samples in comparison with high-fibre pasta. The presence of stigmasterol in samples enriched with wheat bran was relevant. Cooking decreased all of the metabolites: the high-fibre pasta (A–C) and Control showed losses of amino acids and tocopherols, while for sugars and organic acids, the decrease depended on the pasta sample. The enriched pasta samples (D–F) showed the same decreases with the exception of phytosterols, and in pasta with barley the decrease of saturated fatty acids was not significant as for tocopherols in pasta with oat. Principal component analysis of the metabolites and the pasta discrimination was effective in differentiating the enriched pasta from the commercial pasta, both uncooked and cooked. CONCLUSIONS The study has established that such metabolomic analyses provide useful tools in the evaluation of the changes in nutritional compounds in high-fibre and enriched pasta, both before and after cooking. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry

Domestication has induced major genetic changes in crop plants to satisfy human needs and as a consequence of adaptation to agroecosystems. This adaptation might have affected root exudate composition, which can influence the interactions in the rhizosphere. Here, using two different soil types (sand, soil), we provide an original example of the impact of domestication and crop evolution on root exudate composition through metabolite profiling of root exudates for a panel of 10 wheat genotypes that correspond to the key steps in domestication of tetraploid wheat (wild emmer, emmer, durum wheat). Our data show that soil type can dramatically affect the composition of root exudates in the rhizosphere. Moreover, the composition of the rhizosphere metabolites is associated with differences among the genotypes of the wheat domestication groups, as seen by the high heritability of some of the metabolites. Overall, we show that domestication and breeding have had major effects on root exudates in the rhizosphere, which suggests the adaptive nature of these changes.

Fermented foods and beverages are a heterogeneous class of products with a relevant worldwide significance for human economy, nutrition and health for millennia. A huge diversity of microorganisms is associated with the enormous variety in terms of raw materials, fermentative behavior and obtained products. In this wide microbiodiversity it is possible that the presence of microbial pathogens and toxic by-products of microbial origin, including mycotoxins, ethyl carbamate and biogenic amines, are aspects liable to reduce the safety of the consumed product. Together with other approaches (e.g., use of preservatives, respect of specific physico-chemical parameters), starter cultures technology has been conceived to successfully dominate indigenous microflora and to drive fermentation to foresee the desired attributes of the matrix, assuring quality and safety. Recent trends indicate a general return to spontaneous food fermentation. In this review, we point out the potential risks for human health associated with uncontrolled (uninoculated) food fermentation and we discuss biotechnological approaches susceptible to conciliate fermented food safety, with instances of an enhanced contribution of microbes associated to spontaneous fermentation.

Smell and aroma are important determinants of consumer acceptance, so gaining deeper insight into bread smell and aroma perception is a research goal. Sixteen combinations of four variables were investigated, to evaluate the contributions of bread chemical and rheological properties and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) towards sensory acceptability of breads: genotypes (landrace vs. modern); types of flour (wholemeal vs. semolina); leavening agents (brewing yeast vs. sourdough starter); and baking modes (gas-fired vs. wood-fired). Milling had the greatest impact over the other treatments for the rheological and chemical properties, including for VOCs, with great impact on the sensory traits of the flours and breads. The processing phases had great impact on smell and aroma, as defined through formation of alcohols, aldehydes, terpenes, and other compounds (e.g., ethylbenzene, 2-pentylfuran, methoxyphenyl oxime). Leavening agent had great impact on sensory perception, although breads from the sourdough starter were perceived as with lower taste and colour than the brewing yeast. Baking mode had no relevant role on sensory perception. These data strongly undermine the belief of a ‘better product’ that is frequently attributed to old genotypes versus modern cultivars, and indicate that the milling and the bread-making processes determine the quality of the end product.

The concentrations of 10 minerals were investigated in the grain of 12 durum wheat genotypes grown under free air CO

Domestication and breeding have influenced the genetic structure of plant populations due to selection for adaptation from natural habitats to agro-ecosystems. Here, we investigate the effects of selection on the contents of 51 primary kernel metabolites and their relationships in three Triticum turgidum L. subspecies (i.e., wild emmer, emmer, durum wheat) that represent the major steps of tetraploid wheat domestication. We present a methodological pipeline to identify the signature of selection for molecular phenotypic traits (e.g., metabolites and transcripts). Following the approach, we show that a reduction in unsaturated fatty acids was associated with selection during domestication of emmer (primary domestication). We also show that changes in the amino acid content due to selection mark the domestication of durum wheat (secondary domestication). These effects were found to be partially independent of the associations that unsaturated fatty acids and amino acids have with other domestication-related kernel traits. Changes in contents of metabolites were also highlighted by alterations in the metabolic correlation networks, indicating wide metabolic restructuring due to domestication. Finally, evidence is provided that wild and exotic germplasm can have a relevant role for improvement of wheat quality and nutritional traits.

Two field experiments were conducted over three growing seasons (2006-07, 2008-09 and 2009-10) to evaluate Se-enriched pasta through foliar fertilization at various rates and timing of application on 4 durum wheat varieties. Our findings confirm the effectiveness of foliar Se fertilization to increase Se concentrations in durum wheat grain, even at high Se rates (120gSeha(-1)). Se fortification was significant across different genotypes, with greater Se accumulation in landraces ('Timilia') and obsolete varieties ('Cappelli'), with respect to modern varieties. The Se content in the grain was increased by up to 35-fold that of the untreated control. The Se concentration decreased during milling (11%), while processing and cooking of pasta did not show significant decreases. This biofortification stategy had no effects on grain quality parameters, except for reduced gluten index in the high-gluten variety PR22D89, as well as for the sensorial properties of the spaghetti.

Agronomic and seed-quality traits in 17 quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) accessions grouped according to seed colour (i.e. ochre and yellow) were investigated and compared with the white commercial cultivar Regalona-Baer. These accessions were previously selected from a range of accessions of diverse origin and seed colour for their potential value in a breeding program for cultivars adapted to the southern Italian environment. Field trials were conducted over 2 years in Foggia, southern Italy. The aim was to identify elite genotypes suited to the Mediterranean Basin in terms of high yields and seed quality, by using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis. The genotype and year effects were statistically significant for most parameters investigated, whereas the genotype×year interaction was significant only for seed quality. There were significant differences between the two seed-colour groups for most of the investigated traits, but not for total dry weight, days to flowering, and soluble and insoluble fibre. The major difference between the accessions and cv. Regalona-Baer was lower seed yield for the ochre seed group (30% lower, on average); this was associated with increased plant height (13% higher, on average), greater number of days to maturity (+6 days, on average) and shorter panicle length (21% shorter, on average). These results were observed for both growing seasons. The seed yield of the yellow seed group was similar to Regalona-Baer. Focusing on individual accessions, PCA indicated that accessions Q12, Q18 and Q26 were similar to Regalona-Baer for seed yield, 1000-seed weight, seed area and seed perimeter, and accession Q4 had the highest protein and kaempferol contents for both years. Seed area and perimeter, harvest index, and 1000-seed weight showed positive associations with seed yield, whereas days to flowering, days to maturity and quality traits were negatively correlated with seed yield for both years. Cluster analysis carried out on all of the agronomic and seed-quality traits did not show clear clustering of the accessions based on seed colour alone. The results of this study confirm that both the ochre and yellow quinoa seed groups included elite accessions that can be used directly in future selection programs for the development of high-yielding varieties well adapted to the Mediterranean environment.

Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum (L.) subsp. turgidum (L.) convar. durum (Desf.)) is momentous for human nutrition, and environmental stresses can strongly limit the expression of yield potential and affect the qualitative characteristics of the grain. The aim of this study was to determine how heat stress (five days at 37 °C) applied five days after flowering affects the nutritional composition, antioxidant capacity and metabolic profile of the grain of two durum wheat genotypes: “Primadur”, an elite cultivar with high yellow index, and “T1303”, an anthocyanin-rich purple cultivar. Qualitative traits and metabolite evaluation (by gas chromatography linked to mass spectrometry) were carried out on immature (14 days after flowering) and mature seeds. The effects of heat stress were genotype-dependent. Although some metabolites (e.g., sucrose, glycerol) increased in response to heat stress in both genotypes, clear differences were observed. Following the heat stress, there was a general increase in most of the analyzed metabolites in “Primadur”, with a general decrease in “T1303”. Heat shock applied early during seed development produced changes that were observed in immature seeds and also long-term effects that changed the qualitative and quantitative parameters of the mature grain. Therefore, short heat-stress treatments can affect the nutritional value of grain of different genotypes of durum wheat in different ways.

Several studies have demonstrated that metabolomics has a definite place in food quality, nutritional value, and safety issues. The aim of the present study was to determine and compare the metabolites in different pasta samples with fibre, and to investigate the modifications induced in these different kinds of pasta during cooking, using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics approach.Differences were seen for some of the amino acids, which were absent in control pasta, while were present both in the commercially available high-fibre pasta (samples A-C) and the enriched pasta (samples D-F). The highest content in reducing sugars was observed in enriched samples in comparison with high-fibre pasta. The presence of stigmasterol in samples enriched with wheat bran was relevant. Cooking decreased all of the metabolites: the high-fibre pasta (A-C) and Control showed losses of amino acids and tocopherols, while for sugars and organic acids, the decrease depended on the pasta sample. The enriched pasta samples (D-F) showed the same decreases with the exception of phytosterols, and in pasta with barley the decrease of saturated fatty acids was not significant as for tocopherols in pasta with oat. Principal component analysis of the metabolites and the pasta discrimination was effective in differentiating the enriched pasta from the commercial pasta, both uncooked and cooked.The study has established that such metabolomic analyses provide useful tools in the evaluation of the changes in nutritional compounds in high-fibre and enriched pasta, both before and after cooking. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

The effect of increasing concentration of ethanol (0, 4, 7.5 and 13 %) and contact time (respectively 1, 4, 7 and 10 days) on the extraction of phenolics from berry skins and seeds of the grape, Vitis vinifera 'Aglianico' and 'Uva di Troia', were examined. Two assays of post-fermentative maceration in two hydroalcoholic solutions at 11 and 13 % ethanol, were also performed. Chromatic properties and phenolics of medium were analyzed by HPLC and spectrophotometric methods. The extraction of total phenolics, anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and vanilline reactive flavans (VRF) from berry skins reached the maximum on the 4th day of maceration. Quercetin and gallic acid were gradually extracted from grape skins. The maximum release of flavan-3-ols from the skins was achieved on the first day of maceration. Total phenolics, tannins and VRF were gradually extracted from seeds. During the postfermentative maceration, higher the content of ethanol, higher the extraction of total polyphenols and tannins from 'Uva di Troia' skins and the extraction of total polyphenols and tannins from 'Aglianico' seeds. These results clearly indicate that the grape cultivar mainly influences the release of phenolic compounds from the solid parts of berry to the must especially during postfermentative maceration., VITIS - Journal of Grapevine Research, Vol. 48 No. 4 (2009): Vitis

The process of domestication has led to dramatic morphological and physiological changes in crop species due to adaptation to cultivation and to the needs of farmers. To investigate the phenotypic architecture of shoot- and root-related traits and quantify the impact of primary and secondary domestication, we examined a collection of 36 wheat genotypes under optimal and nitrogen-starvation conditions. These represented three taxa that correspond to key steps in the recent evolution of tetraploid wheat (i.e. wild emmer, emmer, and durum wheat). Overall, nitrogen starvation reduced the shoot growth of all genotypes, while it induced the opposite effect on root traits, quantified using the automated phenotyping platform GROWSCREEN-Rhizo. We observed an overall increase in all of the shoot and root growth traits from wild emmer to durum wheat, while emmer was generally very similar to wild emmer but intermediate between these two subspecies. While the differences in phenotypic diversity due to the effects of primary domestication were not significant, the secondary domestication transition from emmer to durum wheat was marked by a large and significant decrease in the coefficient of additive genetic variation. In particular, this reduction was very strong under the optimal condition and less intense under nitrogen starvation. Moreover, although under the optimal condition both root and shoot traits showed significantly reduced diversity due to secondary domestication, under nitrogen starvation the reduced diversity was significant only for shoot traits. Overall, a considerable amount of phenotypic variation was observed in wild emmer and emmer, which could be exploited for the development of pre-breeding strategies.

The process of domestication has led to dramatic morphological and physiological changes in crop species due to adaptation to cultivation and to the needs of farmers. To investigate the phenotypic architecture of shoot- and root-related traits and quantify the impact of domestication and post-domestication, we examined a collection of 36 wheat genotypes under optimal and nitrogen-starved conditions. These represented three taxa that correspond to key steps in the recent evolution of tetraploid wheat (i.e., wild emmer, emmer, and durum wheat). Overall, nitrogen starvation reduced shoot growth of all genotypes, while it induced the opposite effect on root traits quantified using the automated phenotyping platform GROWSCREEN-Rhizo. We observed an overall increase in all shoot and root growth traits from wild emmer to durum wheat, while emmer was generally very similar to wild emmer, but intermediate between these two subspecies. While the differences in phenotypic diversity due to the effects of domestication were not significant, the post-domestication transition from emmer to durum wheat was marked by a large and significant decrease in the coefficient of variation. In particular, this reduction was very strong at optimal condition, and less intense under nitrogen starvation. Moreover, while at optimal condition both root and shoot traits showed significantly reduced diversity due to post-domestication, under nitrogen starvation the reduced diversity was significant only for shoot traits. Overall, a considerable amount of phenotypic variation was observed in wild emmer and emmer which could be exploited for the development of pre-breeding strategies.

The objectives of this study were to determine the pattern of dry matter (DM) accumulation and the evolution of phenolic compounds in the rhizosphere soil from tillering to the ripe seed stages of wild oat (Avena fatua L.), a widespread annual grassy weed. Plants were grown under controlled conditions and harvested 13 times during the growing season. At each harvest, shoot and root DM and phenolic compounds in the rhizosphere soil were determined. The maximum DM production (12.6 g/plant) was recorded at 122 days after sowing (DAS; kernel hard stage). The increase in total aerial DM with age coincided with reductions in the leaf/stem and source/sink ratios, and an increase in the shoot/root ratio. HPLC analysis shows production of seven phenolic compounds in the rhizosphere soil of wild oat, in order of their decreasing levels: syringic acid, vanillin, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, syringaldehyde, ferulic acid, p-cumaric acid and vanillic acid. The seasonal distribution for the total phenolic compounds showed two peaks of maximum concentrations, at the stem elongation stage (0.71 μg/kg; 82 DAS) and at the heading stage (0.70 μg/kg; 98 DAS). Thus, wild oat roots exude allelopathic compounds, and the levels of these phenolics in the rhizosphere soil vary according to plant maturity.

Wheat-derived foodstuffs represent about one-fifth of the calories consumed by humans worldwide. Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important crops throughout the world, and it has been extensively studied for its allelopathic potential. In contrast, for allelopathy in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum), our knowledge is partial and fragmentary. Through highlighting recent advances in using allelopathy as a crop breeding tool, we provide an overview of allelopathy in Triticum spp., to stimulate further coordinated breeding-oriented studies, to favour allelopathy exploitation for the sustainable cultivation of wheat, and in particular, to achieve improved biological weed control.

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design, http://www.ted.com/) can be considered one of the most popular online producers of scientific and technical videos (5). The main goal of TED organization is spreading ideas worldwide, with more than 60% of talks dealing with science and technology (6). Four major reasons lead us to suggest the TED talk platform as a lateral resource to introduce ethics in scientific research and, more generally, topics in scientific education: i) the presence of scientists as members of the scientific community; ii) the quality of selected ideas and topics; iii) the broad audience-oriented communication, and iv) the number of additional languages (subtitles). TED talks are engaging, as manifest by the large number of views on the TED website and YouTube (6). Every talk has subtitles in English and in a number of additional languages. In addition, TED is a think tank that stimulates facets of instruction among the JMBE instructional community, such as critical thinking (2), entrepreneurism (3), transdisciplinarity (1), and creativity (4). Beyond those TED talks focused on ethics in science, your class can see videos of selected ‘ideas holders’ in biology, such as James Watson (‘How we discovered DNA’), Craig Venter (‘On the verge of creating synthetic life’), Paul Ewald (‘Can we domesticate germs?’), and David Bolinsky (‘Visualizing the wonder of a living cell’). Here is our proposed playlist of talks for your instructional activities on ethics in scientific research, including a range of scientific disciplines: Optional introduction: The playlist ‘The 7 talks to make you love science’ (http://www.ted.com/playlists/163/7_talks_to_make_you_love_scien) Optional introduction: Naomi Oreskes: Why we should trust scientists (http://www.ted.com/talks/naomi_oreskes_why_we_should_believe_in_science) Ben Goldacre: Battling bad science (http://www.ted.com/talks/ben_goldacre_battling_bad_science) Lee Smolin: Science and democracy (http://www.ted.com/talks/lee_smolin_on_science_and_democracy) Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions (http://www.ted.com/talks/sam_harris_science_can_show_what_s_right) Ellen Jorgensen: Biohacking—you can do it, too (http://www.ted.com/talks/ellen_jorgensen_biohacking_you_can_do_it_too) These TED talks touch on crucial points such as science and society, the science community, science and human values, and participation in science. All are relevant to introduce the importance of ethics in scientific research. The proposed playlist is appropriate for graduate students, although it is also recommended for a wide range of scholars, from the undergraduate level up to doctoral students. Turn off the lights, turn up the volume, and it will be like having a special introductory workshop for your students!