Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) are an excellent dietary source of phytochemicals that include flavonol glycosides, anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins (condensed tannins), and organic and phenolic acids. Using C-18 and Sephadex Lipophilic LH-20 column chromatography, HPLC and tandem LC-ES/MS, we have analyzed, quantified and separated total cranberry extract (TCE) into fractions enriched in sugars, organic acids, total polyphenols, proanthocyanidins and anthocyanins (39.4, 30.0, 10.6, 5.5, 1.2% composition, respectively). Using a luminescent ATP cell viability assay, the antiproliferative effects of TCE (200 g/mL) vs. all fractions were evaluated against human oral (KB, CAL27), colon (HT-29, HCT116, SW480, SW620) and prostate (RWPE-1, RWPE-2, 22Rv1) cancer cell lines. The total polyphenol fraction was the most active fraction against all cell lines with 96.1 and 95% inhibition of KB and CAL27 oral cancer cells, respectively. For the colon cancer cells, the antiproliferative activity of this fraction was greatest against HCT116 (92.1%) than HT-29 (61.1%), SW480 (60%) and SW620 (63%). TCE and all fractions, showed 50% antiproliferative activity against prostate cancer cells with total polyphenols being the most active fraction (RWPE-1, 95%; RWPE-2, 95%; 22Rv1, 99.6%). Cranberry sugars (78.8 g/mL) did not inhibit the proliferation of any cancer cell lines. The enhanced antiproliferative activity of total polyphenols compared to TCE and its individual phytochemicals suggests synergistic or additive antiproliferative interactions of the anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins and flavonol glycosides within the cranberry extract.

Total Cranberry Extract vs. its Phytochemical Constituents: Antiproliferative and Synergistic Effects against Human Tumor Cell Lines

Characterization of a new natural fiber from Arundo donax L. as potential reinforcement of polymer composites

Society relies heavily on inorganic phosphorus (P) compounds throughout its food chain. This dependency is not only very inefficient and increasingly costly but is depleting finite global reserves of rock phosphate. It has also left a legacy of P accumulation in soils, sediments and wastes that is leaking into our surface waters and contributing to widespread eutrophication. We argue for a new, more precise but more challenging paradigm in P fertilizer management that seeks to develop more sustainable food chains that maintain P availability to crops and livestock but with reduced amounts of imported mineral P and improved soil function. This new strategy requires greater public awareness of the environmental consequences of dietary choice, better understanding of soil-plant-animal P dynamics, increased recovery of both used P and unutilized legacy soil P, and new innovative technologies to improve fertilizer P recovery. In combination, they are expected to deliver significant economic, environmental, and resource-protection gains, and contribute to future global P stewardship.

Feed the crop not the soil: rethinking phosphorus management in the food chain.

Arundo donax L.: a non-food crop for bioenergy and bio-compound production.

Giant reed (Arundo donax) and Miscanthus spp. were tested to evaluate their tolerance and phytoremediation capacity in soils contaminated with heavy metals. Giant reed was tested under 450 and 900 mg Zn kg−1, 300 and 600 mg Cr kg−1, and 450 and 900 mg Pb kg−1 contaminated soils, while the Miscanthus genotypes M. × giganteus, M. sinensis, and M. floridulus were tested on 450 and 900 mg Zn kg−1 contaminated soils, along 2 years. Giant reed biomass production was negatively affected by the contamination; however, yield reduction was only significant under 600 mg Cr kg−1 soil. Zn contamination reduced significantly M. × giganteus production but not M. sinensis or M. floridulus yields. Yet, M. × giganteus was also the most productive. Both grasses can be considered as indicators, once metal concentration in the biomass reflected soil metal concentration. Regarding giant reed experiments, higher modified bioconcentration factors (mBCFs, 0.3–0.6) and translocation factors (TFs, 1.0–1.1) were obtained for Zn, in the contaminated soils, followed by Cr (mBCFs, 0.2–0.4, belowground organs; TFs, 0.2–0.4) and Pb (mBCFs, 0.06–0.07, belowground organs; TFs, 0.2–0.4). Metal accumulation also followed the same pattern Zn > Cr > Pb. Miscanthus genotypes showed different phytoremediation potential facing similar soil conditions. mBCFs (0.3–0.9) and TFs (0.7–1.5) were similar among species, but highest zinc accumulation was observed with M. × giganteus due to the higher biomass production. Giant reed and M. × giganteus can be considered as interesting candidates for Zn phytoextraction, favored by the metal accumulation observed and the high biomass produced. A. donax and Miscanthus genotypes showed to be well suited for phytostabilization of heavy metal contamination as these grasses prevented the leaching of heavy metal and groundwater contamination.

Phytoremediation of Heavy Metal-Contaminated Soils Using the Perennial Energy Crops Miscanthus spp. and Arundo donax L.

Giant reed (Arundo donax) is a perennial rhizomatous grass which is widely diffused in subtropical and warm temperate regions From its native area, probably Eastern Asia, it has been dispersed all over the world by humans who use it for multiple purposes such as roof thatching, reeds in woodwind instruments, fishing rods, etc Its spontaneous and rapid growth allows A donax to be considered as an invasive weed But more recently, due to its high biomass production and great adaptability to marginal land, it is being seen as one of the most promising energy crops for lignocellulosic bioethanol production A donax is a sterile plant because it is a hybrid with uneven ploidy or triploid specie Therefore, its propagation is strictly agamic by rhizome fragmentation and sprouting from cane nodes The lack of sexual reproduction is a negative characteristic when we consider A donax as an energy crop, since it makes genetic improvement difficult, and this is further limited by the absence of genome sequence information and the lack of specific molecular tools In this review we will summarize and discuss recent data on A donax, specifically its origins, genetics and possible utilization as a source of biomass

	 

	Key words: Arundo donax, vegetative propagation, polyploidy, energy crop, biomass, ethanol fermentation

https://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1381136031_Pilu et al.pdf

Giant reed (Arundo donax L.): A weed plant or a promising energy crop?

The “green revolution” involving mainly wheat and rice was based on the use by breeders of semidominant mutations involved in the signal transduction pathway of Gibberellin (GA). In particular, mutations in the Reduced height (Rht) gene of wheat have been used to reduce plant height and consequently to avoid storm damage and lodging. These genes have been cloned and they encode for DELLA proteins which contain an N-terminal DELLA and a VHYNP domain essential for GA-dependent degradation of these proteins. In maize several mutations have been isolated which affect gibberellin biosynthesis and perception and in particular, mutations in Dwarf8 (D8) gene cause a severe dwarfing phenotype. D8 gene has been identified as an orthologue of Rht (Reduced height), Slr1(Slender rice 1) and Gibberellic Acid Insensitive (GAI) genes, this latter is a negative regulator of GA response in Arabidopsis. In this work, for the first time, we isolated and characterized a single amino acid insertion in the VHYNP domain of D8 maize gene causing the appearance of a dominant dwarf mutation. This spontaneous mutation, named D8-1023, showed a phenotype which is less severe in comparison with the other D8 mutants previously isolated which have modifications in the DELLA domain. This mutant appears to be an useful tool either to study the mechanism of GA-modulated growth in plants or to lower the height of maize tropical germplasm for breeding purposes.

Characterization of the first dominant dwarf maize mutant carrying a single amino acid insertion in the VHYNP domain of the dwarf8 gene

Arundo donax is a perennial rhizomatous plant growing spontaneously all over the world as an invasive plant reaching more than 8 m in height. It is a sterile plant which reproduces itself only agamically, through rhizomes and cane fragments which are transported by water or through human action. Although A. donax is an invasive plant it is considered one of the most promising energy crops, as it is characterized by a high energy balance. In this work we collected 87 A. donax clones from around Italy and with the aim of characterizing the genetic structure of the population, we studied the genetic diversity by using molecular markers (a survey of SSRs and genes from maize) and, for the first time, by sequence comparison using the purple plantl1 maize homologous orthologous gene. The results obtained showed a low genetic diversity as expected for an agamic plant. However, although MANTEL analysis did not show any statistical difference regarding the geographical distribution of these clones, we noticed by PCA/AMOVA analysis the presence of three different genotypes. Among a survey of eight clones studied in detail we found a high correlation between parent–progeny for the traits culm height and culm diameter and a heritability (h2) of the same traits respectively of 0.21 and 0.34 which appeared promising for clonal selection. Finally based on data collected regarding molecular analysis, chromosome number, epidermal cell size and chlorophyll content, we advance the hypothesis that A. donax may be a polyploid derived from Arundo plinii.

Genetic characterization of an Italian Giant Reed ( Arundo donax L.) clones collection: exploiting clonal selection

Phytic acid (PA), myo-inositol 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate, is the main storage form of phosphorus in plants. It is localized in seeds, deposited as mixed salts of mineral cations in protein storage vacuoles; during germination, it is hydrolyzed by phytases. When seeds are used as food/feed, PA and the bound cations are poorly bioavailable for human and monogastric livestock due to their lack of phytase activity. Reducing the amount of PA is one strategy to solve these problems and is an objective of genetic improvement for improving the nutritional properties of major crops. In this work, we present data on the isolation of a new maize (Zea mays L.) low phytic acid 1 (lpa1) mutant allele obtained by chemical mutagenesis. This mutant, named lpa1-7, is able to accumulate less phytic phosphorus and a higher level of free inorganic phosphate in the seeds compared with wild type. It exhibits a monogenic recessive inheritance and lethality as homozygous. We demonstrate that in vitro cultivation can overcome lethality allowing the growth of adult plants, and we report data regarding embryo and leaf abnormalities and other defects caused by negative pleiotropic effects of this mutation.

Study of Low Phytic Acid1-7 (lpa1-7), a New ZmMRP4 Mutation in Maize

The lpa1 mutations in maize are caused by lesions in the ZmMRP4 (multidrug resistance-associated proteins 4) gene. In previous studies (Raboy et al. in Plant Physiol 124:355–368, 2000; Pilu et al. in Theor Appl Genet 107:980–987, 2003a; Shi et al. Nat Biotechnol 25:930–937, 2007), several mutations have been isolated in this locus causing a reduction of phytic acid (myo-inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate, or InsP6) content and an equivalent increasing of free phosphate. In particular, the lpa1-241 mutation causes a reduction of up to 90% of phytic acid, associated with strong pleiotropic effects on the whole plant. In this work, we show, for the first time to our knowledge, an interaction between the accumulation of anthocyanin pigments in the kernel and the lpa mutations. In fact the lpa1-241 mutant accumulates a higher level of anthocyanins as compared to wild type either in the embryo (about 3.8-fold) or in the aleurone layer (about 0.3-fold) in a genotype able to accumulate anthocyanin. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these pigments are mislocalised in the cytoplasm, conferring a blue pigmentation of the scutellum, because of the neutral/basic pH of this cellular compartment. As a matter of fact, the propionate treatment, causing a specific acidification of the cytoplasm, restored the red pigmentation of the scutellum in the mutant and expression analysis showed a reduction of ZmMRP3 anthocyanins’ transporter gene expression. On the whole, these data strongly suggest a possible interaction between the lpa mutation and anthocyanin accumulation and compartmentalisation in the kernel.

Francesco Cerino Badone

Papers

Giant reed (Arundo donax L.): A weed plant or a promising energy crop?

Characterization of the first dominant dwarf maize mutant carrying a single amino acid insertion in the VHYNP domain of the dwarf8 gene

Genetic characterization of an Italian Giant Reed ( Arundo donax L.) clones collection: exploiting clonal selection

Study of Low Phytic Acid1-7 (lpa1-7), a New ZmMRP4 Mutation in Maize

The low phytic acid1-241 (lpa1-241) maize mutation alters the accumulation of anthocyanin pigment in the kernel