Improving Rice Grain Quality: State-of-the-Art and Future Prospects

Acetoin is an important four-carbon compound that has many applications in foods, chemical synthesis, cosmetics, cigarettes, soaps, and detergents. Its stereoisomer (S)-acetoin, a high-value chiral compound, can also be used to synthesize optically active drugs, which could enhance targeting properties and reduce side effects. Recently, considerable progress has been made in the development of biotechnological routes for (S)-acetoin production. In this review, various strategies for biological (S)- acetoin production are summarized, and their constraints and possible solutions are described. Furthermore, future prospects of biological production of (S)-acetoin are discussed.

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Efficacy of Irrigation Interval after Anthesis on Grain Quality, Alkali Digestion, and Gel Consistency of Rice

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11040325 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 325

Author(s):

Ramin Rayee ◽

Tran Dang Xuan ◽

Tran Dang Khanh ◽

Hoang-Dung Tran ◽

Kifayatullah Kakar

Keyword(s):

Protein Content ◽

Grain Quality ◽

Cooking Quality ◽

Amylose Content ◽

Rice Grain ◽

Gelatinization Temperature ◽

Rice Varieties ◽

Irrigation Interval ◽

Gel Consistency ◽

Alkali Digestion

The management of amylose and protein contents and cooking quality are the main challenges in rice macronutrients and quality improvement. This experiment was conducted to examine the rice grain quality, alkali digestion, and gel consistency responses to irrigation interval after anthesis. Three rice varieties (K1, K3, and K4) were subjected to different irrigation intervals (1, 2, and 3 d) after anthesis. The findings of this study showed that the protein content was markedly increased from 6.53–6.63% to 9.93–10.16%, whilst the amylose content was decreased significantly from 22.00–22.43% to 16.33–17.56% under stressed treatments at irrigation intervals, whilst the quantity of fatty acids was not affected. The 3-d irrigation interval recorded the highest protein content but the lowest amylose value. In addition, this treatment shows lower gelatinization temperature, but it is negatively associated with hard gel consistency under irrigation interval. This study highlights that the water management following a 3-d irrigation interval from anthesis is a useful and simple treatment to improve rice nutrients and grain cooking quality.

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Quantum Computing for Finance: State-of-the-Art and Future Prospects

IEEE Transactions on Quantum Engineering ◽

10.1109/tqe.2020.3030314 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 1-24

Author(s):

Daniel J. Egger ◽

Claudio Gambella ◽

Jakub Marecek ◽

Scott McFaddin ◽

Martin Mevissen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quantum Computing ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Future Prospects

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Novel Wx alleles generated by base editing for improvement of rice grain quality

Journal of Integrative Plant Biology ◽

10.1111/jipb.13098 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaorui Huang ◽

Fei Su ◽

Sheng Huang ◽

Fating Mei ◽

Xiaomu Niu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Grain Quality ◽

Rice Grain ◽

Base Editing

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A molecular switch in sulfur metabolism to reduce arsenic and enrich selenium in rice grain

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-21282-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sheng-Kai Sun ◽

Xuejie Xu ◽

Zhong Tang ◽

Zhu Tang ◽

Xin-Yuan Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Grain Quality ◽

Sulfur Metabolism ◽

Physical Interaction ◽

Rice Grain ◽

Yield Losses ◽

Serine Acetyltransferase ◽

Cysteine Synthase ◽

Arsenic Tolerance ◽

Arsenic Accumulation ◽

Low Levels

AbstractRice grains typically contain high levels of toxic arsenic but low levels of the essential micronutrient selenium. Anthropogenic arsenic contamination of paddy soils exacerbates arsenic toxicity in rice crops resulting in substantial yield losses. Here, we report the identification of the gain-of-function arsenite tolerant 1 (astol1) mutant of rice that benefits from enhanced sulfur and selenium assimilation, arsenic tolerance, and decreased arsenic accumulation in grains. The astol1 mutation promotes the physical interaction of the chloroplast-localized O-acetylserine (thiol) lyase protein with its interaction partner serine-acetyltransferase in the cysteine synthase complex. Activation of the serine-acetyltransferase in this complex promotes the uptake of sulfate and selenium and enhances the production of cysteine, glutathione, and phytochelatins, resulting in increased tolerance and decreased translocation of arsenic to grains. Our findings uncover the pivotal sensing-function of the cysteine synthase complex in plastids for optimizing stress resilience and grain quality by regulating a fundamental macronutrient assimilation pathway.

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