Impact of Huanglongbing Pathogen Infection on the Amino Acid Composition in Both Citrus Plants and the Asian Citrus Psyllid

The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri is the main vector of the pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), which is the causal agent of citrus Huanglongbing disease. Feeding by both ACP nymphs and adults on host plants allows them to obtain nutrition. Therefore, the nutritional content within the plant phloem is of much importance for the development and reproduction of ACP. The infection by pathogenic microbiomes may affect the amino acid contents of their host plants and then indirectly affect the biology of sap-feeding insects. In this study, we investigated the amino acid contents and their proportions in both CLas-infected and CLas-free citrus plants, ACP adults, and also in honeydew produced by ACP nymphs. Results showed that infection by CLas had a large impact on the amino acid species and proportion in all the tested target plants, ACP adults, and in the honeydew of ACP nymphs. The content of total amino acids in CLas-infected citrus was much higher than that of CLas-free citrus. However, CLas infection significantly reduced the proportion of essential amino acids (EAAs) in these plants. When feeding on CLas-infected citrus plants, ACP adults absorbed less total amino acids than those adults feeding on healthy plants, but the proportion of EAAs was significantly higher when they fed on CLas-infected citrus plants. The proportion of EAAs also significantly increased in the honeydew secreted by ACP nymphs that fed on CLas-infected citrus plants. However, EAA detection in the honeydew of ACP nymphs indicated that the utilization rate of EAAs by CLas positive ACP nymphs was reduced. Our study has revealed that CLas infection significantly affects the contents, proportion, and utilization efficiency of different amino acids in citrus plants, ACP adults, and nymphs, leading to a developmental pattern of ACP that is more conducive to CLas transmission.

The Effect of Endophytic Talaromyces pinophilus on Growth, Absorption and Accumulation of Heavy Metals of Triticum aestivum Grown on Sandy Soil Amended by Sewage Sludge

Sewage sludge improves agricultural soil and plant growth, but there are risks associated with its use, including high heavy metal content. In this study, experiments were carried out to investigate the role of endophytic Talaromyces pinophilus MW695526 on the growth of Triticum aestivum cultivated in soil amended with sewage sludge and its phytoremediation ability. T. pinophilus could produce gibberellic acid (GA) and stimulate T. aestivum to accumulate GA. The results showed that inoculation with T. pinophilus boosted plant growth criteria, photosynthetic pigments, osmolytes (soluble proteins, soluble sugars and total amino acids), enzymatic antioxidants (catalase, superoxide dismutase and peroxidase), K, Ca and Mg. On the other hand, it reduced Na, Na/K ratio, Cd, Ni, Cu and Zn in the growth media as well as in the shoot and root of T. aestivum. The results suggest that endophytic T. pinophilus can work as a barrier to reduce the absorption of heavy metals in T. aestivum cultivated in soil amended with sewage sludge.

Changes of Main Nutrient Components and Volatile Flavor Substances in Processing of Canned Bamboo Shoots

Canned bamboo shoots, a popular endurable storage product preserved by canning, can be used directly as a raw material for preparing dishes and processing many other downstream products. Fermentation and high temperature sterilization are decisive for product quality. During 3 days of fermentation at 25 °C, the protein and total amino acids of bamboo shoots increased remarkably and the total phenols changed a little. After steam sterilization, the total sugar decreased by 56.82%, and the protein of bamboo shoots decreased from 2.41 ± 0.04 g/100 g to 2.03 ± 0.30 g/100 g. The process significantly increased from zero the total sugar, protein and total amino acids in sterilization bamboo shoots soaking solution. GC-MS-ROAV was used for the detection of volatile flavor substances (VFCs) of bamboo shoots and soaking solution in the four processing stages. Fermented bamboo shoots after 72 h showed a strong aroma of orange oil, which was the evaluator’s preferred aroma. In the process of sterilization, Maillard reaction leads to the increase of pyrazines and furans in bamboo shoots and soaking solution, including dibenzofuran, furaneol, trimethyl-pyrazine and 2,3-dimethyl-pyrazine. Due to these volatile flavor components, the sterilized bamboo shoots spread a light caramel and cocoa flavor.

The Content Analysis of Amino Acids in Auricularia auricula from Heilongjiang and Jilin

The content of amino acids in Auricularia auricula was analyzed by the method of acid hydrolysis and automatic online analysis. The content of total amino acids in A. auricula produced in Heilongjiang was between 68.287 and 110.949 mg/g, and the average was 90.848 mg/g. The content of essential amino acids in A. auricula from Heilongjiang was between 28.847 and 45.757 mg/g, and the average was 37.987 mg/g. The proportion of essential amino acids (EAA) to total amino acids (TAA) in A. auricula from Heilongjiang was between 41.24% and 42.26%. However, the content of total amino acids in A. auricula from Jilin was between 71.716 and 124.143 mg/g, and the average was 94.318 mg/g. The content of essential amino acids in A. auricula from Jilin was between 29.775 and 52.063 mg/g, and the average was 38.498 mg/g. The ratio of essential amino acids (EAA) to total amino acids (TAA) in A. auricula from Jilin was between 39.75% and 41.94%. The content of total amino acids and essential amino acids in A. auricula from Jilin was higher than that from Heilongjiang. However, EAA/TAA in A. auricula from Heilongjiang was higher than that of Jilin. The content of total amino acids in different batches of A. auricula in the same production area was quite different, but the ratio of essential amino acids content to total amino acids content was basically the same.

Effect of drought and waterlogging on saccharides and amino acids content in potato tubers

The study was focused on the effect of drought and waterlogging stresses in two-year pot experiments in the peat substrate on the content of glucose, fructose and sucrose and free amino acids in potato tubers of four cultivars (yellow-fleshed Laura, Marabel, Milva and blue-fleshed Valfi) after 71 days of exposure to stresses conditions (BBCH 909). Drought and waterlogging increased levels of fructose, glucose, and sucrose in three potato cultivars except for cv. Laura. Drought stress increased l-proline (+248.4%), l-hydroxyproline (+135.3%), l-arginine (+29.97%), l-glutamic acid (+29.09%) and l-leucine (+22.58%) contents in all analysed cultivars. Moreover, the high effect of drought stress on an increase of l-phenylalanine, l-histidine, l-threonine, and total free amino acids content of the cvs. Laura, Valfi and Marabel has been observed. A comparison of the effects of drought and waterlogging stresses on the content of total amino acids showed an increase under drought and a decrease under waterlogging conditions. On average, of all cultivars, waterlogging stress caused an increase of l-tyrosine content, whereas drought stress decrease. In addition, drought stress caused a significant increase of l-proline in all cultivars while waterlogging its decrease. Obtained results confirmed different responses of susceptible or resistant cultivars to abiotic stresses.

Free and Total Amino Acids in Human Milk in Relation to Maternal and Infant Characteristics and Infant Health Outcomes: The Ulm SPATZ Health Study

Free amino acids (FAAs) are important regulators of key pathways necessary for growth, development, and immunity. Data on FAAs in human milk (HM) and their roles in infant development are limited. We investigated the levels of FAAs and total amino acids (TAA, i.e., the sum of conjugated amino acids and FAAs) in HM in relation to infant and maternal characteristics and immunological conditions. FAA and TAA levels in HM sampled at 6 weeks (n = 671) and 6 months (n = 441) of lactation were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography. Child growth was ascertained at 4–5 weeks and at 6–7 months of age. Child allergy and lower respiratory tract infections were assessed in the first years of life. Associations of amino acid (AA) levels in HM with child growth and health outcomes were determined by Spearman correlation and modified Poisson regression, respectively. Free glutamine, glutamate, and serine in 6-week HM positively correlated with infant weight gain in the first 4–5 weeks of age. Maternal pre-pregnancy weight and body mass index (BMI) were negatively correlated with free glutamine and asparagine in 6-week and 6-month HM and positively correlated with the sum of TAAs in 6-month HM, but significance was lost following confounder adjustment. Free glutamine was lower in 6-month HM of mothers with an allergy (either active or non-active). No consistent associations were found between FAAs in HM and child health outcomes. However, potential negative associations were observed between specific FAAs and the risk of food allergy. These results suggest that specific FAAs play a role in infant growth. Moreover, these findings warrant further investigations into the relation of FAAs in HM with infant health outcomes and maternal allergy.

Effects of cadmium stress on physiological indexes and fruiting body nutritions of Agaricus brasiliensis

In this study, 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 4, 6 and 8 mg·kg−1 of cadmium were added to the cultivation materials. In order to study the effects of different concentrations of Cd stress on J1 and J77, the contents of antioxidant enzymes, proline and malondialdehyde, Cd content, agronomic traits and yield of fruiting bodies of Agaricus brasiliensis were determined, and the nutritional components such as polysaccharide, triterpene, protein, total sugar and total amino acid were determined. The results showed that the physiological indexes of strain J1 and J77 changed regularly under different concentrations of Cd stress. J1 was a high absorption and low tolerance variety, while J77 was a low absorption and high tolerance variety. Low concentration of Cd promoted the growth of strain J1, and higher concentration of Cd promoted the growth of strain J77. The contents of protein and total amino acids in the two strains changed greatly, followed by polysaccharides, which indicated that Cd stress had the greatest impact on the three nutrients, and other nutrients were not sensitive to Cd stress.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE UROLOGY COLLECTION

In order to identify the main biologically active complex, there were carried out a chemical analysis of the urological collection. As a result of the study, there were established the presence of water-soluble polysaccharides in the urological collection 3.2±0.3%, amino acids – 406.3±0.01 nmol, ascorbic acid 45.0±0.5 mg%, carotenoids 0.50±0.04 mg%, organic acids 1.87±0.2%, essential oil – 0.79±0.1%, flavonoids – 0.43±0.04%, coumarins – 0.18±0.2%, phenolcarboxylic acids – 0.41±0.2%, tannins – 5.3±0.4%, saponins (glycyrrhizic acid) – 1.15±0.2%, as well as macro- and micronutrients – 19596.65±0.002 mg/kg. The elemental composition of the collection is represented by 17 vital elements (K, Ca, Mg, Na, P are the dominant components). During studies have also shown the presence of 14 amino acids, 7 of which are essential (44.6% of the total amino acids). It can be clearly stated that the indicator components of the collection are polyphenolic compounds (flavonoids, tannins, etc.) and saponins (glycyrrhizic acid) predominantly passing into aqueous extracts (the proposed dosage form) of the collection, the complex of which determines the specific activity of the studied urological collection. The obtained data were used to develop the authenticity and criteria of the quality of the studied collection.