Complete chloroplast genome assembly and phylogenetic analysis of blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum), red and white currant (Ribes rubrum), and gooseberry (Ribes uva-crispa) provide new insights into the phylogeny of Grossulariaceae.

Background: Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum), red currant (R. rubrum), white currant (R. rubrum), and gooseberry (R. uva-crispa) belong to Grossulariaceae and are popular small-berry crops worldwide. The lack of genomic data has severely limited their systematic classification and molecular breeding. Methods: The complete chloroplast (cp) genomes of these four taxa were assembled for the first time using MGI-DNBSEQ reads, and their genome structures, repeat elements and protein-coding genes were annotated. By genomic comparison of the present four and previous released five Ribes cp genomes, the genomic variations were identified. By phylogenetic analysis based on maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods, the phylogeny of Grossulariaceae and the infrageneric relationships of the Ribes were revealed. Results: The four cp genomes have lengths ranging from 157,450 to 157,802 bp and 131 shared genes. A total of 3,322 SNPs and 485 Indels were identified from the nine released Ribes cp genomes. Red currant and white currant have 100% identical cp genomes partially supporting the hypothesis that white currant (R. rubrum) is a fruit color variant of red currant (R. rubrum). The most polymorphic genic and intergenic region is ycf1 and trnT-psbD, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the monophyly of Grossulariaceae in Saxifragales and the paraphyletic relationship between Saxifragaceae and Grossulariaceae. Notably, the Grossularia subgenus is well nested within the Ribes subgenus and shows a paraphyletic relationship with the co-ancestor of Calobotrya and Coreosma sections, which challenges the dichotomous subclassification of the Ribes genus based on morphology (subgenus Ribes and subgenus Grossularia). These data, results, and insights lay a foundation for the phylogenetic research and breeding of Ribes species.

Genus Ribes Linn. (Grossulariaceae): A comprehensive review of traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology and clinical applications.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The genus Ribes Linn., which belongs to the Grossulariaceae family, contains 160 species distributed mainly in temperate and cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere. There are 59 species in southwest, northwest and northeast China. Some species of Ribes have been used as traditional and local medicines for the treatment of glaucoma, cardiovascular disease, stomachache, hepatitis, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and other ailments. However, the data provided in recent years have not been collated and compared. AIM OF THE STUDY: This review aims to summarize the current status of ethnopharmacological uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, clinical applications, and pharmacokinetics of the genus Ribes to better understand the therapeutic potential of the genus Ribes in the future and hope to provide a relatively novel perspective for further clinical application on the genus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The literature on Ribes was collected through a series of scientific search engines including Elsevier, ACS, Springer, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, Wiley, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and books. RESULTS: Ribes species have been used for detoxification, glaucoma, cardiovascular disease, stomachache, hepatitis, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and other ailments. These plants mainly contain phenolic glycosides, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, polysaccharides, etc. Most traditional uses are related to biological activity and have been confirmed by modern research. Pharmacological studies in vitro and in vivo revealed that the extracts and pure compounds possessed significant hypolipidemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antibacterial, and antiviral activity, eyesight protection and other effects. CONCLUSIONS: The traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and clinical applications described in this article explained that the Ribes species has numerous activities, and these findings will promote further action in the area of mechanism research. However, very few preclinical and clinical studies have focused on the toxicology and pharmacokinetics of crude extracts and pure compounds from the genus Ribes. Moreover, several clinical evidence to support the health benefits of Ribes plants. The development of new medicines based on Ribes species as ingredients may be restricted. The pharmacological activity, clinical efficacy and safety of Ribes species need to be verified by systematic and comprehensive preclinical studies and clinical trials.

The potency of commercial blackcurrant juices to induce relaxation in porcine coronary artery rings is not correlated to their antioxidant capacity but to their anthocyanin content.

OBJECTIVE: Polyphenol-rich products such as fruit juices have been found to have strong antioxidant capacities and to induce potent endothelium-dependent relaxation. We evaluated whether the commercial blackcurrant juices induced endothelium-dependent relaxation of isolated coronary arteries can be related to their antioxidant capacity and/or phenolic content. METHODS: Six different commercial blackcurrant juices were selected. Their main phenolic compounds were measured by ultra-performance liquid chromatography and antioxidant capacity was evaluated by spectrometric methods. Vascular reactivity studies with these juices were done using isolated porcine coronary arteries. RESULTS: The six different commercial blackcurrant juices induced relaxation ranging from 21% to 100% at the concentration of 0.5% volume per volume (v/v). The relaxation induced at 0.5% v/v was not correlated to their antioxidant capacity measured by either oxygen radical antioxidant capacity or DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) assays and also not to the ascorbic acid, total polyphenols, total flavanols, and total phenolic acid contents. In contrast, the amplitude of the relaxation was correlated to the total anthocyanins content and the individual anthocyanin concentration. CONCLUSIONS: Correlations between relaxation amplitude and total anthocyanin or individual anthocyanin contents are of interest for the development of functional blackcurrant beverages with the potential to promote vascular protection.

Chemotaxonomic Screening of Seed Oils from the Family Saxifragaceae and Comparison with Data on Seed Oils from Grossulariaceae Obtained from Literature.

Seeds of 25 members of the family Saxifragaceae, 1 × Astilbe, 1 × Darmera, 1 × Leptarrhena, 1 × Tellima, 3 × Mitella, and 18 × Saxifraga were investigated regarding oil content, as well as composition and content of fatty acids and vitamin E active compounds. The results were compared with results obtained from literature for members of the genus Ribes belonging to the closely related family Grossulariaceae to find chemometric differences between the different genera and between members of the family Saxifragaceae and Grossulariaceae, respectively. Members of the family Saxifragaceae are dominated by high amounts of linoleic and α-linolenic acid which together account for about 80% of the total fatty acids. While α-linolenic acid is characteristic for members of the genus Saxifraga, in other genera, linoleic acid is predominant. In comparison to members of the family Saxifragaceae members of the family Grossulariaceae also contain γ-linolenic acid and stearidonic acid which allow a significant differentiation between both families. By principle component analysis, members of both families were divided into three distinct groups, i) species with a high content of α-linolenic acid (genus Saxifraga), ii) species with high amounts of γ-linolenic acid and stearidonic acid (genus Ribes), and iii) species with higher amounts of linoleic acid (other members of the family Saxifragaceae). The composition of the vitamin E active compounds was characterized by a high content of γ-tocopherol in most members of the family Saxifragaceae, but no chemotaxonomic relevance.

Conservation genetics of two island endemic Ribes spp. (Grossulariaceae) of Sardinia: survival or extinction?

Measuring levels of population genetic diversity is an important step for assessing the conservation status of rare or endangered plant species and implementing appropriate conservation strategies. Populations of Ribes multiflorum subsp. sandalioticum and R. sardoum, two endangered endemic species from Sardinia, representing the whole genus on the island, were investigated using ISSR and SSR markers to determine levels and structure of genetic variability in their natural populations. Results indicated medium to low genetic diversity at the population level: Nei's gene diversity for ISSR markers ranged from 0.0840 to 0.1316; the expected heterozygosity (HE ) for SSR ranged from 0.4281 to 0.7012. In addition, only one remnant population of R. sardoum showed a high level of inbreeding, in accordance with its very small size. Regarding the structure of the six R. sandalioticum populations, both principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) and STRUCTURE analysis of ISSR and SSR data highlighted low population structure, although two populations appeared to be clearly distinct from the others. The genetic pattern of the two taxa associated with their different ecological positions indicated resilience of R. sandalioticum populations in fresh and humid habitats and uncertain future resistance for the residual R. sardoum population in xeric calcareous stands. Hence, this study highlights the importance of an integrated conservation approach (genetic plus in situ and ex situ conservation studies/measures) for activating management programmes in these endemic and threatened taxa that can be considered as crop wild relatives of cultivated Ribes species.

Estudio etnobotánico del "chilin-fruta" ribes sp. (Grossulariaceae) altoandina cañón de Suykutambo de la provincia de Espinar-Cusco / Ethnobotanical study of chilin-fruit Ribes sp. (Grossulariaceae) altoandina cannon Suykutambo Espinar province-Cusco

El presente trabajo, se realizó en la localidad de Cañon de Suykutambo, provincia alto-andina de Espinar, departamento de Cusco, a una altitud de 3,987 a 4,000 m. Se realizó desde diciembre 2011 a abril 2012. Es una planta arbustiva, atractiva durante la fructuación frutos en boya de color rojo. La encuesta se realizó a 30 personas, acerca del conocimeinto de la importancia biológica de la especie y etnobotánica ("chilinfruta" Ribes sp. Grossulariaceae), en sus diferentes usos y tradiciones: Aspecto social: 100% manifiestan, los frutos maduros por su sabor dulce ácida es comestible; indican el 50%, 40% los frutos, hojas y la raíz, tienen propiedades medicinales, utilizan para bajar la fiebre, para evitar la gripe y la tos consumiendo los frutos, para el reumatismo; El 7% indican que es muy buena la infusión de la raíz, es fortificante para los nervios. Como combustible, el 100% informan que la usan las ramas secas. En tintórea el 10% manifiestan las hojas frescas son utilizadas para obtener el color amarillo. Aspecto ecológico: Juega un rol muy importante para la fauna como alimento, lugar de nidificación, protección y refugio. es buen pronosticador del tiempo.

The present work, was made in the locality of Canon de Suykutambo, high-Andean province of Pricking, department of Cusco, to an altitude of 3987 to 4000 M.s It was made from December 2011 to April 2012. It is a abusive, attractive plant during the fruition fruits in berry of red color. The survey was made 30 people, about the knowledge of the biological importance of the species and etnobotánica ("chilin-fruit" Ribes sp. Grossulariaceae), in its different uses and traditions: Social aspect: 100% declare, the fruits mature by its acid sweet flavor he is eatable, the fruits, leaves and the root indicate 50% 40% the fruits, leaves and the root, have properties medicinal, they use to lower the fever; in order to avoid the influenza and the cough consuming the fruits; for the rheumatism; 7% indicate that the infusion is very good by the root, he is fortificante for the nerves. Like fuel, 100% inform that use the dry branches. Ecological aspect: A very important role for the fauna like food plays, place of nest building, protection and refuge. It is good prognosticator of the time.

[Influence of freezing and storage on food value of berries of the red currant].

The red currant is perspective culture for use in industry functional pectin foodstuff. Freezing use as an effective way of conservation, allows to keep as much as possible vitamin properties of raw materials within all year and to expand assortment of fruit production.

Advances in functional research of antioxidants and organoleptic traits in berry crops.

Berry species are economically-important crops worldwide and represent an invaluable source of vitamins and other health-related compounds. Species belonging to the families Rosaceae, Ericaceae and Grossulariaceae provide the most popular fruits, showing a strong diversity in natural and breeding populations as to berry traits (fruit type, size, color, flavor, antioxidant capacity), resistance to a/biotic stress, adaptation to different environment/culture conditions. The small genome size of most diploid berry genera is a remarkable feature for last-generation genomics technologies, molecular genetics and functional studies. This review will cover the literature dealing with molecular research in berry crops, focusing on antioxidant- and flavor-related compounds.

Respiration characteristics in temperate rainforest tree species differ along a long-term soil-development chronosequence.

We measured the response of dark respiration (R(d)) to temperature and foliage characteristics in the upper canopies of tree species in temperate rainforest communities in New Zealand along a soil chronosequence (six sites from 6 years to 120,000 years). The chronosequence provided a vegetation gradient characterised by significant changes in soil nutrition. This enabled us to examine the extent to which changes in dark respiration can be applied across forest biomes and the utility of scaling rules in whole-canopy carbon modelling. The response of respiration to temperature in the dominant tree species differed significantly between sites along the sequence. This involved changes in both R(d) at a reference temperature (R(10)) and the extent to which R(d) increased with temperature (described by E(o), a parameter related to the energy of activation, or the change in R(d) over a 10 degrees C range, Q(10)). Site averaged E(o) ranged from 44.4 kJ mol(-1) K(-1) at the 60-year-old site to 26.0 kJ mol(-1) K(-1) at the oldest, most nutrient poor, site. Relationships between respiratory and foliage characteristics indicated that both the temperature response of respiration (E(o) or Q(10)) and the instantaneous rate of respiration increased with both foliar nitrogen and phosphorus content. The ratio of photosynthetic capacity (Whitehead et al. in Oecologia 2005) to respiration (A(max)/R(d)) attained values in excess of 15 for species in the 6- to 120-year-old sites, but thereafter decreased significantly to around five at the 120,000-year-old site. This indicates that shoot carbon acquisition is regulated by nutrient limitations in the retrogressing ecosystems on the oldest sites. Our findings indicate that respiration and its temperature response will vary according to soil age and, therefore, to soil nutrient availability and the stage of forest development. Thus, variability in respiratory characteristics for canopies should be considered when using models to integrate respiration at large spatial scales.

Distribution and contents of phenolic compounds in eighteen Scandinavian berry species.

Berries contain a wide range of phenolic compounds in different conjugated forms, a fact that makes their simultaneous analysis a difficult task. In this work, soluble and insoluble phenolic compounds were identified and quantified in 18 species of berries by reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography combined with diode array detection. The analytical results and literature data were used for the identification of the predominant conjugated hydroxycinnamic acids, flavonol glycosides, and anthocyanins in berries from six families, viz. Grossulariaceae, Ericaceae, Rosaceae, Empetraceae, Elaeagnaceae, and Caprifoliaceae. The study showed distinctive similarities among berry species of the same family in the distribution of conjugated forms of phenolic compounds but differences in chromatographic profiles of conjugates and compositions of aglycones especially in the case of anthocyanins. The chromatographic profiles of chokeberry and the related sweet rowanberry (Rosaceae) were exceptionally similar. These data are informative to studies on the authenticity of berry raw materials as well as to those on the evaluation of berries as sources of phenolic compounds.

Ether-linked biflavonoids from Quintinia acutifolia.

The New Zealand tree Quintinia acutifolia has yielded four biflavonoids, the new 2,3,2'',3''-tetrahydroochnaflavone (3), and its 7,7''-di-O-methyl derivative (1). The rare 7-O-methyl-2,3,2'',3''-tetrahydroochnaflavone (2) and 2'',3''-dihydroochnaflavone (4), both previously identified only from members of the Ochnaceae, were also isolated. Structures were determined by spectroscopic methods. This is the first report of biflavonoids from the Grossulariaceae.