MaizeGDB: The Maize Model Organism Database for Basic, Translational, and Applied Research

In 2001 maize became the number one production crop in the world with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reporting over 614 million tonnes produced. Its success is due to the high productivity per acre in tandem with a wide variety of commercial uses. Not only is maize an excellent source of food, feed, and fuel, but also its by-products are used in the production of various commercial products. Maize's unparalleled success in agriculture stems from basic research, the outcomes of which drive breeding and product development. In order for basic, translational, and applied researchers to benefit from others' investigations, newly generated data must be made freely and easily accessible. MaizeGDB is the maize research community's central repository for genetics and genomics information. The overall goals of MaizeGDB are to facilitate access to the outcomes of maize research by integrating new maize data into the database and to support the maize research community by coordinating group activities.

Download Full-text

PedigreeNet: a web-based pedigree viewer for biological databases

Bioinformatics ◽

10.1093/bioinformatics/btz208 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (20) ◽

pp. 4184-4186

Author(s):

Bremen L Braun ◽

David A Schott ◽

John L Portwood ◽

Carson M Andorf ◽

Taner Z Sen

Keyword(s):

Model Organism ◽

Pedigree Analysis ◽

Supplementary Information ◽

Biological Databases ◽

Model Organism Database ◽

Web Based ◽

Online Tool ◽

Wide Range ◽

Maize Genetics ◽

Genetics And Genomics

Abstract Motivation Plant breeding aims to improve current germplasm that can tolerate a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses. To accomplish this goal, breeders rely on developing a deeper understanding of genetic makeup and relationships between plant varieties to make informed plant selections. Although rapid advances in genotyping technology generated a large amount of data for breeders, tools that facilitate pedigree analysis and visualization are scant, leaving breeders to use classical, but inherently limited, hierarchical pedigree diagrams for a handful of plant varieties. To answer this need, we developed a simple web-based tool that can be easily implemented at biological databases, called PedigreeNet, to create and visualize customizable pedigree relationships in a network context, displaying pre- and user-uploaded data. Results As a proof-of-concept, we implemented PedigreeNet at the maize model organism database, MaizeGDB. The PedigreeNet viewer at MaizeGDB has a dynamically-generated pedigree network of 4706 maize lines and 5487 relationships that are currently available as both a stand-alone web-based tool and integrated directly on the MaizeGDB Stock Pages. The tool allows the user to apply a number of filters, select or upload their own breeding relationships, center a pedigree network on a plant variety, identify the common ancestor between two varieties, and display the shortest path(s) between two varieties on the pedigree network. The PedigreeNet code layer is written as a JavaScript wrapper around Cytoscape Web. PedigreeNet fills a great need for breeders to have access to an online tool to represent and visually customize pedigree relationships. Availability and implementation PedigreeNet is accessible at https://www.maizegdb.org/breeders_toolbox. The open source code is publically and freely available at GitHub: https://github.com/Maize-Genetics-and-Genomics-Database/PedigreeNet. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Download Full-text

Characterization of food bars manufactured with agroindustrial by-products and waste

Ciência e Agrotecnologia ◽

10.1590/s1413-70542012000300009 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 333-340 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Andréa Paolucci Paiva ◽

Maria de Fátima Píccolo Barcelos ◽

Juciane de Abreu Ribeiro Pereira ◽

Eric Batista Ferreira ◽

Sueli Ciabotti

Keyword(s):

Dietary Fiber ◽

Water Activity ◽

Soluble Solids ◽

Human Consumption ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Functional Value ◽

Food And Agriculture Organization ◽

Soybean Extract ◽

Chemical Score ◽

By Products

Food bars are products obtained from the union of a number of components, standing out in the snack category due to their portability attribute with a focus on convenience and health. Utilization of by-products and agroindustrial food waste as ingredients in the making of food bars is highly important due to the utilization of leftovers of marked nutritional and functional value and decrease of the production cost. This work intended to evaluate the chemical and physicochemical aspects of food bars made with the by-products broken rice (BR) and pequi nut (PN), soybean extract residue (SER), and pineapple waste (PW). Distinct proportions of BR: SER respectively were used, amounting to five treatments: 1:0 (A); 3:1 (B); 1:1 (C); 1:3 (D) and 0:1(E) and fixed amounts of the other components. For the statistical analysis, variance analysis and the Tukey test were performed to 5% significance. The moisture, protein, lipid, ash, mineral, and dietary fiber contents were directly increased as the SER was increased and the amount of BR was decreased. However, the opposite was found with both carbohydrates and calories. The soluble solids, pH and water activity values presented increases with the increased soybean extract residue. All the treatments presented slightly acidic pH and water activity bellow 0.6, favoring microbiological safety. In the chemical score, treatment A presented lysine as the limiting aminoacid in relation to the Food and Agriculture Organization - FAO/WHO reference (1990). The food bars can be considered rich in dietary fiber and with considerable nutritional support. Treatments D and E proved better in the set of the variables studied for human consumption.

Download Full-text

Food and Agriculture Organization

International Organization ◽

10.1017/s0020818300025121 ◽

1963 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 261-266 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Developed Countries ◽

General Analysis ◽

Less Developed Countries ◽

Emergency Relief ◽

International Assistance ◽

High Productivity ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Food And Agriculture Organization ◽

General Recognition

The eleventh session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAQ) was held in Rome on November 4–24, 1961, under the chairmanship of Mr. Georges Hraoui (Lebanon). The Conference had before it the Director-General's report, The State of Food and Agriculture 1961. The Conference endorsed the general analysis of the situation and outlook presented in this document. There was general agreement as to the importance of raising the level of international assistance for the economic development of less developed countries, and it was felt that increased use of available food surpluses should be made for that purpose. There was also general recognition of the desirability of establishing a multilateral approach both for emergency relief and for the use of food surpluses for economic development on an initial experimental scale. Due to high productivity and low expansion of demand in developed countries, substantial and possibly even increasing supplies of food would be generated for these purposes.

Download Full-text

Valorization Technologies of Marine By-Products

10.5772/intechopen.95031 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Amar Kaanane ◽

Hind Mkadem

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Production ◽

New Technologies ◽

World Population ◽

World Food ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Food And Agriculture Organization ◽

World Food Security ◽

Improve Food Security ◽

By Products

Generally, in different countries, strategies to improve food security have focused on increasing food production, which contributes to climate pollution and increases stress on scarce natural resources such as water and land. Due to the increase of world population (estimated to be 9 milliards in 2050), to the limited biological resources and to the increase of environmental pollution, there is a need in innovation in food industry. This can be done by improving food quality through new technologies for valorization of food and food by-products. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one third of world food production is lost or wasted along the food supply chain. In the sector of fisheries and aquaculture, 35% of the world’s harvest is lost or wasted each year. Thus, the valorization of marine by-products should be an obligation to assure the world food security and to satisfy the growing demand for fishery products. The objectives of this study are: First to review the sources of by-products and their characteristics and second to describe and evaluate the different technologies that are or can be used to valorize marine by-products in production of marine oils and concentrated fatty acids.

Download Full-text

Food waste and dynamic complex systems: The case of Peru and a solution model proposal Part 1: Peruvian Anchoveta (Engraulis ringens)

10.31234/osf.io/3bjpv ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Carlos A Almenara

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Complex Systems ◽

Revenue Management ◽

Food Waste ◽

Intelligent Systems ◽

Solution Model ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Food And Agriculture Organization ◽

Engraulis Ringens ◽

The United Nations

[THE MANUSCRIPT IS A DRAFT] According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 2020), food waste and losses comprises nearly 1.3 billion tonnes every year, which equates to around US$ 990 billion worldwide. Ironically, over 820 million people do not have enough food to eat (FAO, 2020). This gap production-consumption puts in evidence the need to reformulate certain practices such as the controversial monocropping (i.e., growing a single crop on the same land on a yearly basis), as well as to improve others such as revenue management through intelligent systems. In this first part of a series of articles, the focus is on the Peruvian anchoveta fish (Engraulis ringens).

Download Full-text

To the Empire and Beyond

10.1093/oso/9780199642533.003.0007 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Gregory A. Barton

Keyword(s):

Second World War ◽

World War ◽

Chemical Fertilizers ◽

Basic Principles ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Food And Agriculture Organization ◽

Organic Farmers ◽

Southern Rhodesia ◽

The Government ◽

Second World

This chapter traces the expansion of industrial agricultural methods after the Second World War. Western governments and the Food and Agriculture Organization pushed for increased use of chemical fertilizers to aid development and resist Soviet encroachment. Meanwhile small groups of organic farmers and gardeners adopted Howard’s methods in the Anglo-sphere and elsewhere in the world. European movements paralleled these efforts and absorbed the basic principles of the Indore Method. British parliament debated the merits of organic farming, but Howard failed to persuade the government to adopt his policies. Southern Rhodesia, however, did implement his ideas in law. Desiccation theory aided his attempts in South Africa and elsewhere, and Louise Howard, after Albert’s death, kept alive a wide network of activists with her publications.

Download Full-text

Ensuring Agricultural Sustainability through Remote Sensing in the Era of Agriculture 5.0

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11135911 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (13) ◽

pp. 5911

Author(s):

Vanesa Martos ◽

Ali Ahmad ◽

Pedro Cartujo ◽

Javier Ordoñez

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Sustainable Agriculture ◽

Information Acquisition ◽

Industrial Revolution ◽

Structural Parameters ◽

Special Focus ◽

World Population ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Food And Agriculture Organization ◽

Zero Hunger

Timely and reliable information about crop management, production, and yield is considered of great utility by stakeholders (e.g., national and international authorities, farmers, commercial units, etc.) to ensure food safety and security. By 2050, according to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates, around 70% more production of agricultural products will be needed to fulfil the demands of the world population. Likewise, to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the second goal of “zero hunger”, potential technologies like remote sensing (RS) need to be efficiently integrated into agriculture. The application of RS is indispensable today for a highly productive and sustainable agriculture. Therefore, the present study draws a general overview of RS technology with a special focus on the principal platforms of this technology, i.e., satellites and remotely piloted aircrafts (RPAs), and the sensors used, in relation to the 5th industrial revolution. Nevertheless, since 1957, RS technology has found applications, through the use of satellite imagery, in agriculture, which was later enriched by the incorporation of remotely piloted aircrafts (RPAs), which is further pushing the boundaries of proficiency through the upgrading of sensors capable of higher spectral, spatial, and temporal resolutions. More prominently, wireless sensor technologies (WST) have streamlined real time information acquisition and programming for respective measures. Improved algorithms and sensors can, not only add significant value to crop data acquisition, but can also devise simulations on yield, harvesting and irrigation periods, metrological data, etc., by making use of cloud computing. The RS technology generates huge sets of data that necessitate the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to extract useful products, thereby augmenting the adeptness and efficiency of agriculture to ensure its sustainability. These technologies have made the orientation of current research towards the estimation of plant physiological traits rather than the structural parameters possible. Futuristic approaches for benefiting from these cutting-edge technologies are discussed in this study. This study can be helpful for researchers, academics, and young students aspiring to play a role in the achievement of sustainable agriculture.

Download Full-text

Strengthening implementation of antimicrobial resistance national action plans

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.1200 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

M Anderson ◽

K Schulze ◽

A Cassini ◽

D Plauchoras ◽

E Mossialos

Keyword(s):

Antimicrobial Resistance ◽

Policy Design ◽

Animal Health ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

Basic Structure ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Action Plans ◽

Governance Framework ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Food And Agriculture Organization

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance is one of the major challenges of our time. Countries use national action plans as a mechanism to build engagement among stakeholders and coordinate a range of actions across human, animal, and environmental health. However, implementation of recommended policies such as stewardship of antimicrobials, infection prevention and control, and stimulating research and development of novel antimicrobials and alternatives remains inconsistent. Improving the quality of governance within antimicrobial resistance national action plans is an essential step to improving implementation. To date, no systematic approach to governance of national action plans on AMR exists. To address this issue, we aimed to develop the first governance framework to offer guidance for both the development and assessment of national action plans on AMR. We reviewed health system governance framework reviews to inform the basic structure of our framework, international guidance documents from WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health, and the European Commission, and sought the input of 25 experts from international organisations, government ministries, policy institutes, and academic institutions to develop and refine our framework. The framework consists of 18 domains with 52 indicators that are contained within three governance areas: policy design, implementation tools, and monitoring and evaluation. Countries must engage with a cyclical process of continuous design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to achieve these aims.

Download Full-text

Plasma and Urinary Amino Acid-Derived Catabolites as Potential Biomarkers of Protein and Amino Acid Deficiency in Rats

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13051567 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 1567

Author(s):

Joanna Moro ◽

Nadezda Khodorova ◽

Daniel Tomé ◽

Claire Gaudichon ◽

Catherine Tardivel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Amino Acid ◽

Dietary Intakes ◽

Analysis Model ◽

Factorial Method ◽

New Methods ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Food And Agriculture Organization ◽

Weanling Rats ◽

Urinary Amino ◽

One Way Anova

Objective: Dietary intakes must cover protein and essential amino acid (EAA) requirements. For this purpose, different methods have been developed such as the nitrogen balance method, factorial method, or AA tracer studies. However, these methods are either invasive or imprecise, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 2013) recommends new methods and, in particular, metabolomics. The aim of this study is to determine total protein/EAA requirement in the plasma and urine of growing rats. Methods: 36 weanling rats were fed with diets containing 3, 5, 8, 12, 15, and 20% protein for 3 weeks. During experimentation, urine was collected using metabolic cages, and blood from the portal vein and vena was taken at the end of the experiment. Metabolomics analyses were performed using LC-MS, and the data were analyzed with a multivariate analysis model, partial least Squares (PLS) regression, and independent component-discriminant analysis (ICDA). Each discriminant metabolite identified by PLS or ICDA was tested by one-way ANOVA to evaluate the effect of diet. Results: PLS and ICDA allowed us to identify discriminating metabolites between different diet groups. Protein deficiency led to an increase in the AA catabolism enzyme systems inducing the production of breakdown metabolites in the plasma and urine. Conclusion: These results indicate that metabolites are specific for the state of EAA deficiency and sufficiency. Some types of biomarkers such as AA degradation metabolites appear to be specific candidates for protein/EAA requirement.

Download Full-text

Analysis of Antioxidant and Antiallergic Active Components Extracted From the Edible Insect Oxya yezoensis

Natural Product Communications ◽

10.1177/1934578x211023363 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (5) ◽

pp. 1934578X2110233

Author(s):

Masahiro Saiki ◽

Naomichi Takemoto ◽

Maki Nagata ◽

Masako Matsumoto ◽

Yhiya Amen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antioxidant Activity ◽

Phenolic Compounds ◽

Unsaturated Fatty Acids ◽

Soluble Fraction ◽

Total Phenolic ◽

Key Factors ◽

Active Components ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

Food And Agriculture Organization

In recent years, entomophagy has attracted increased attention, as it was recommended as a potential source of food by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In Japan, Oxya yezoensisis one of the most widely eaten insect species, but studies of its functionality as a food are limited. In this study, we reported the optimal characterization of the total phenolic compounds in methanolic extract (OME) and different fractions of OME. Additionally, the antioxidant and antiallergic activities of the OME fractions were evaluated. The results showed that the ethyl acetate-soluble fraction of OME has potential antioxidant activity, whereas the n-hexane-soluble fraction showed the strongest inhibition of β-hexosaminidase, which is one of the key factors in allergic reactions. It was concluded that phenolic compounds might contribute to the antioxidant activity while unsaturated fatty acids contribute to the antiallergy activity.

Download Full-text