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Adaptations of Plant Metabolism and Their Consequences on Nutritive Potential and Bioactivity, 2nd Edition

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 2909

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation of our previous Special Issue “Adaptations of Plant Metabolism and Their Consequences on Nutritive Potential and Bioactivity” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms/special_issues/E897V53F70).

Increasingly pronounced changes in environmental conditions that occur due to climate change (high/low temperatures, drought/flooding), anthropogenic influence (such as the use of pesticides, planting monocultures, enriching the soil with minerals, water pollution, etc.), and the appearance of various pathogens (bacteria, viruses, viroids, fungi, phytoplasmas, etc.) inevitably affect plant organisms. In order to survive these conditions, plants adapt their primary (gene expression, protein, carbohydrate and lipid profile) and specialized metabolism (phenolics, glucosinolates, vitamins, etc.). Such adaptations could have profound consequences on the nutritional value of plants and bioactivity of their extracts as well.

In this Special Issue, the contributing authors explore changes in plants’ primary and specialized metabolisms under the influence of environmental pressure. They investigate the potential of adaptation in different stages of plant development, among different plant varieties, under the influence of short or constant, sudden or gradual stress, etc. The approaches employed include different techniques and methods, such as HPLC, LC-MS/MS, GC-MS/MS, NMR, ICP-MS, spectrophotometry, RT-PCR, qRT-PCR, NGS, etc. They also investigate potential consequences of such changes on the nutritional value of plant material, as well as the biological effects of its extracts using methods like MTT assay, neutral red, comet assay, effects on enzymes activity, etc. Manuscripts describing different models of prediction are welcome.

Dr. Ivana Sola
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • plant primary metabolism
  • plant specialized metabolism
  • phytochemistry
  • plant bioactive components
  • plant metabolic plasticity
  • plant nutritional value
  • bioactivity of plant extracts
  • plant–stress response
  • abiotic stress
  • climate change
  • global warming
  • environmental pressure
  • biotic stress
  • anthropogenic influence on plant metabolites
  • predictive models

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 2843 KiB  
Article
Phytochemical Composition and Functional Properties of Brassicaceae Microgreens: Impact of In Vitro Digestion
by Ivana Šola, Valerija Vujčić Bok, Maja Popović and Sanja Gagić
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(21), 11831; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252111831 - 4 Nov 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1041
Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the concentration of phenolic compounds, glucosinolates, proteins, sugars and vitamin C between kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. acephala gongylodes), Savoy cabbage (B. oleracea sabauda), Brussels sprouts (B. oleracea gemmifera), cauliflower ( [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to compare the concentration of phenolic compounds, glucosinolates, proteins, sugars and vitamin C between kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. acephala gongylodes), Savoy cabbage (B. oleracea sabauda), Brussels sprouts (B. oleracea gemmifera), cauliflower (B. oleracea botrytis), radish (Raphanus sativus) and garden cress (Lepidium sativum) microgreens for their antioxidant and hypoglycemic potential. In addition, we applied an in vitro-simulated system of human digestion in order to track the bioaccessibility of the selected phenolic representatives, and the stability of the microgreens’ antioxidant and hypoglycemic potential in terms of α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition after each digestion phase. Using spectrophotometric and RP-HPLC methods with statistical analyses, we found that garden cress had the lowest soluble sugar content, while Savoy cabbage and Brussels sprouts had the highest glucosinolate levels (76.21 ± 4.17 mg SinE/g dm and 77.73 ± 3.33 mg SinE/g dm, respectively). Brussels sprouts were the most effective at inhibiting protein glycation (37.98 ± 2.30% inhibition). A very high positive correlation (r = 0.830) between antiglycation potential and conjugated sinapic acid was recorded. For the first time, the antidiabetic potential of microgreens after in vitro digestion was studied. Kohlrabi microgreens best inhibited α-amylase in both initial and intestinal digestion (60.51 ± 3.65% inhibition and 62.96 ± 3.39% inhibition, respectively), and also showed the strongest inhibition of α-glucosidase post-digestion (19.22 ± 0.08% inhibition). Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and radish had less stable α-glucosidase than α-amylase inhibitors during digestion. Kohlrabi, Savoy cabbage, and garden cress retained inhibition of both enzymes after digestion. Kohlrabi antioxidant capacity remained unchanged after digestion. The greatest variability was seen in the original samples, while the intestinal phase resulted in the most convergence, indicating that digestion reduced differences between the samples. In conclusion, this study highlights the potential of various microgreens as sources of bioactive compounds with antidiabetic and antiglycation properties. Notably, kohlrabi microgreens demonstrated significant enzyme inhibition after digestion, suggesting their promise in managing carbohydrate metabolism and supporting metabolic health. Full article
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Review

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19 pages, 3173 KiB  
Review
Research Progress and Application of Miniature CRISPR-Cas12 System in Gene Editing
by Qiangbing Xuan, Junjie Wang, Yuanqing Nie, Chaowei Fang and Weihong Liang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(23), 12686; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252312686 - 26 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1427
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas system, a natural acquired immune system in prokaryotes that defends against exogenous DNA invasion because of its simple structure and easy operation, has been widely used in many research fields such as synthetic biology, crop genetics and breeding, precision medicine, and so [...] Read more.
CRISPR-Cas system, a natural acquired immune system in prokaryotes that defends against exogenous DNA invasion because of its simple structure and easy operation, has been widely used in many research fields such as synthetic biology, crop genetics and breeding, precision medicine, and so on. The miniature CRISPR-Cas12 system has been an emerging genome editing tool in recent years. Compared to the commonly used CRISPR-Cas9 and CRISPR-Cas12a, the miniature CRISPR-Cas12 system has unique advantages, such as rich PAM sites, higher specificity, smaller volume, and cytotoxicity. However, the application of miniature Cas12 proteins and the methods to improve its editing efficiency have not been systematically summarized. In this review, we introduce the classification of CRISPR-Cas system and summarize the structural characteristics of type V CRISPR-Cas system and the cleavage mechanism of five miniature Cas12 proteins. The application of a miniature CRISPR-Cas12 system in the gene editing of animals, plants, and microorganisms is summarized, and the strategies to improve the editing efficiency of the miniature CRISPR-Cas12 system are discussed, aiming to provide reference for further understanding the functional mechanism and engineering modification of the miniature CRISPR-Cas12 system. Full article
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