Food and nutraceutical functions of sesame oil: An underutilized crop for nutritional and health benefits.

Sesame is the oldest oilseed crop known to humanity, though it contributes a small share in the global vegetable oil production. Sesame oil contains nutrients, including lignans, tocopherols, phytosterols, natural antioxidants, and bioactive compounds. It provides various health benefits such as anti-lipogenic, hypo-cholesterolemic, anti-degenerative, and neural health-promoting properties. Being an under-utilized minor crop, it has not received enough research attention for its food and nutraceutical potential. The sesame crop is a potential candidate to maintain the diversity of food oils and harness its benefits for improving human health. The present review will provide detailed research on sesame oil contents, health effects, nutraceuticals, oil quality, and value addition strategies. Also, the sesame oil nutritional quality was compared with other vegetable oils, highlighting the potential health and nutrition-related benefits. The way forward for further sesame improvement through value addition traits was also discussed.

Genotypic variation in root architectural traits under contrasting phosphorus levels in Mediterranean and Indian origin lentil genotypes.

The development of phosphorus-efficient crop cultivars boosts productivity while lowering eutrophication in the environment. It is feasible to improve the efficiency of phosphorus (P) absorption in lentils by enhancing phosphorus absorption through root architectural traits. The root architectural traits of 110 diverse lentil genotypes of Indian and Mediterranean origin were assessed, and the relationships between traits were investigated. In a hydroponics experiment, the lentil lines were examined at the seedling stage under two conditions: adequate P supply and deficient P supply. The Pearson correlation coefficients between root architectural traits and genetic diversity among lentil lines were assessed. To estimate variance components, a model (fixed factor) was used. In this experiment, both phosphorus (P) and genotype were fixed variables. Our lentil lines showed significant genetic variability and considerable genetic diversity for all traits under both treatments. The TRL (total root length) and PRL (primary root length) showed strong positive associations with all other characteristics excluding root average diameter (RAD) in both P treatments. In both P treatments, the RAD revealed a negative significant association with Total Root Tips (TRT), as well as total root volume (TRV) and total root forks (TRF) in the deficit conditions of P. Total root volume (TRV), total surface area (TSA), and total root tips had higher coefficient variance values. The first two principal components represented 67.88% and 66.19% of the overall variance in the adequate and deficit P treatments respectively. The Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H') revealed that RAD, PRL, and TSA had more variability than TRT and TRF under both treatments. According to the Comprehensive Phosphorus Efficiency Measure (CPEM), the best five highly efficient genotypes are PLL 18-09, PLS 18-01, PLL 18-25, PLS 18-23, and PLL 18-07, while IG112131, P560206, IG334, L11-231, and PLS18-67 are highly inefficient genotypes. The above contrasting diverse lentil genotypes can be utilized to produce P-efficient lentil cultivars. The lentil germplasm with potentially favorable root traits can be suggested to evaluated for other abiotic stress to use them in crop improvement programme. The scientific breakthroughs in root trait phenotyping have improved the chances of establishing trait-allele relationships. As a result, genotype-to-phenotype connections can be predicted and verified with exceptional accuracy, making it easier to find and incorporate favourable nutrition-related genes/QTLs in to breeding programme.

Foliar nutrient supplementation with micronutrient-embedded fertilizer increases biofortification, soil biological activity and productivity of eggplant.

Micronutrient malnutrition or hidden hunger remains a major global challenge for human health and wellness. The problem results from soil micro- and macro-nutrient deficiencies combined with imbalanced fertilizer use. Micronutrient-embedded NPK (MNENPK) complex fertilizers have been developed to overcome the macro- and micro-element deficiencies to enhance the yield and nutritive value of key crop products. We investigated the effect of foliar applications of an MNENPK fertilizer containing N, P, K, Fe, Zn and B in combination with traditional basal NPK fertilizers in terms of eggplant yield, fruit nutritive quality and on soil biological properties. Applying a multi-element foliar fertilizer improved the nutritional quality of eggplant fruit, with a significant increases in the concentration of Fe (+ 26%), Zn (+ 34%), K (+ 6%), Cu (+ 24%), and Mn (+ 27%), all of which are essential for human health. Increasing supply of essential micronutrients during the plant reproductive stages increased fruit yield, as a result of improved yield parameters. The positive effect of foliar fertilizing with MNENPK on soil biological parameters (soil microbial biomass carbon, dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase) also demonstrated its capacity to enhance soil fertility. This study suggests that foliar fertilizing with a multi-nutrient product such as MNENPK at eggplant flowering and fruiting stages, combined with the recommended-doses of NPK fertilizers is the optimal strategy to improve the nutritional quality of eggplant fruits and increase crop yields, both of which will contribute to reduce micronutrient malnutrition and hunger globally.

Cilia signaling and obesity.

An emerging number of rare genetic disorders termed ciliopathies are associated with pediatric obesity. It is becoming clear that the mechanisms associated with cilia dysfunction and obesity in these syndromes are complex. In addition to ciliopathic syndromic forms of obesity, several cilia-associated signaling gene mutations also lead to morbid obesity. While cilia have critical and diverse functions in energy homeostasis including their roles in centrally mediated food intake as well as in peripheral tissues, many questions remain. Here, we briefly discuss the syndromic ciliopathies and monoallelic cilia signaling gene mutations associated with obesity. We also describe potential ways cilia may be involved in common obesity. We discuss how neuronal cilia impact food intake potentially through leptin signaling and changes in ciliary G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling. We highlight several recent studies that have implicated the potential for cilia in peripheral tissues such as adipose and the pancreas to contribute to metabolic dysfunction. Then we discuss the potential for cilia to impact energy homeostasis through their roles in both development and adult tissue homeostasis. The studies discussed in this review highlight how a comprehensive understanding of the requirement of cilia for the regulation of diverse biological functions will contribute to our understanding of common forms of obesity.

Bioengineered 3D Models to Recapitulate Tissue Fibrosis.

Fibrosis, characterized by progressive tissue stiffening resulting in organ failure, is a growing health problem affecting millions of people worldwide. Currently, therapeutic options for tissue fibrosis are severely limited and organ transplantation is the only effective treatment for the end-stage fibrotic diseases with inherent limitations. Recent advancements in engineered 3D in vitro human disease mimic models, recapitulating the tissue pathophysiology, have provided unique state-of-the-art platforms for: (i) understanding the biological mechanisms involved in the disease pathogenesis; and (ii) high-throughput and reproducible drug screening. This review focuses on the recent multidisciplinary developments made towards advanced 3D biomimetic fibrotic tissue (liver, kidney, and lung) models that combine highly precision manufacturing techniques with high cellular functionality and biophysical (mechanical) properties.

The carboxylate-releasing phosphorus-mobilizing strategy can be proxied by foliar manganese concentration in a large set of chickpea germplasm under low phosphorus supply.

Root foraging and root physiology such as exudation of carboxylates into the rhizosphere are important strategies for plant phosphorus (P) acquisition. We used 100 chickpea (Cicer arietinum) genotypes with diverse genetic backgrounds to study the relative roles of root morphology and physiology in P acquisition. Plants were grown in pots in a low-P sterilized river sand supplied with 10 µg P g-1 soil as FePO4 , a poorly soluble form of P. There was a large genotypic variation in root morphology (total root length, root surface area, mean root diameter, specific root length and root hair length), and root physiology (rhizosheath pH, carboxylates and acid phosphatase activity). Shoot P content was correlated with total root length, root surface area and total carboxylates per plant, particularly malonate. A positive correlation was found between mature leaf manganese (Mn) concentration and carboxylate amount in rhizosheath relative to root DW. This is the first study to demonstrate that the mature leaf Mn concentration can be used as an easily measurable proxy for the assessment of belowground carboxylate-releasing processes in a range of chickpea genotypes grown under low-P, and therefore offers an important breeding trait, with potential application in other crops.

A CreER mouse to study melanin concentrating hormone signaling in the developing brain.

The neuropeptide, melanin concentrating hormone (MCH), and its G protein-coupled receptor, melanin concentrating hormone receptor 1 (Mchr1), are expressed centrally in adult rodents. MCH signaling has been implicated in diverse behaviors such as feeding, sleep, anxiety, as well as addiction and reward. While a model utilizing the Mchr1 promoter to drive constitutive expression of Cre recombinase (Mchr1-Cre) exists, there is a need for an inducible Mchr1-Cre to determine the roles for this signaling pathway in neural development and adult neuronal function. Here, we generated a BAC transgenic mouse where the Mchr1 promotor drives expression of tamoxifen inducible CreER recombinase. Many aspects of the Mchr1-Cre expression pattern are recapitulated by the Mchr1-CreER model, though there are also notable differences. Most strikingly, compared to the constitutive model, the new Mchr1-CreER model shows strong expression in adult animals in hypothalamic brain regions involved in feeding behavior but diminished expression in regions involved in reward, such as the nucleus accumbens. The inducible Mchr1-CreER allele will help reveal the potential for Mchr1 signaling to impact neural development and subsequent behavioral phenotypes, as well as contribute to the understanding of the MCH signaling pathway in terminally differentiated adult neurons and the diverse behaviors that it influences.

Leaf transpiration plays a role in phosphorus acquisition among a large set of chickpea genotypes.

Low availability of inorganic phosphorus (P) is considered a major constraint for crop productivity worldwide. A unique set of 266 chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes, originating from 29 countries and with diverse genetic background, were used to study P-use efficiency. Plants were grown in pots containing sterilized river sand supplied with P at a rate of 10 µg P g-1 soil as FePO4 , a poorly soluble form of P. The results showed large genotypic variation in plant growth, shoot P content, physiological P-use efficiency, and P-utilization efficiency in response to low P supply. Further investigation of a subset of 100 chickpea genotypes with contrasting growth performance showed significant differences in photosynthetic rate and photosynthetic P-use efficiency. A positive correlation was found between leaf P concentration and transpiration rate of the young fully expanded leaves. For the first time, our study has suggested a role of leaf transpiration in P acquisition, consistent with transpiration-driven mass flow in chickpea grown in low-P sandy soils. The identification of 6 genotypes with high plant growth, P-acquisition, and P-utilization efficiency suggests that the chickpea reference set can be used in breeding programmes to improve both P-acquisition and P-utilization efficiency under low-P conditions.