Ectopic Expression of Jatropha curcas TREHALOSE-6-PHOSPHATE PHOSPHATASE J Causes Late-Flowering and Heterostylous Phenotypes in Arabidopsis but not in Jatropha

Trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) phosphatase (TPP), a dephosphorylating enzyme, catalyzes the dephosphorylation of T6P, generating trehalose. In Jatropha, we found six members of the TPP family. Five of them JcTPPA, JcTPPC, JcTPPD, JcTPPG, and JcTPPJ are highly expressed in female flowers or male flowers, or both, suggesting that members of the JcTPP family may participate in flower development in Jatropha. The wide expression of JcTPPJ gene in various organs implied its versatile roles and thus was chosen for unraveling its biological functions during developmental process. We constructed an overexpression vector of JcTPPJ cDNA driven by the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter for genetic transformation. Compared with control Arabidopsis plants, 35S:JcTPPJ transgenic Arabidopsis plants presented greater sucrose contents in their inflorescences and displayed late-flowering and heterostylous phenotypes. Exogenous application of sucrose to the inflorescence buds of wild-type Arabidopsis repressed the development of the perianth and filaments, with a phenocopy of the 35S:JcTPPJ transgenic Arabidopsis. These results suggested that the significantly increased sucrose level in the inflorescence caused (or induced) by JcTTPJ overexpression, was responsible for the formation of heterostylous flower phenotype. However, 35S:JcTPPJ transgenic Jatropha displayed no obvious phenotypic changes, implying that JcTPPJ alone may not be sufficient for regulating flower development in Jatropha. Our results are helpful for understanding the function of TPPs, which may regulate flower organ development by manipulating the sucrose status in plants.

IDENTIFIKASI KADAR GLUKOSA DAN SUKROSA PADA MADU HUTAN

Glucose and sucrose tests are performed as one of honey’s standard quality. Meanwhile the process of honey production by bees itself is a complex process, so there is a high probability of differences in the levels and composition of glucose and sucrose among the types of honey circulating in the community. The composition of glucose and sucrose of each honey can affect its efficacy mainly when it is used for treatment process. The aim of this research is to know glucose and sucrose level in forest honey and compare it with honey’s standard quality according to Indonesian national standard (SNI 01-3545-2013). The samples were 3 forest honey from different village. Sample A is forest honey from Kubu Simbelang Village, Sample B from Bunuraya Village, and Sample C from Suka Village, Tigapanah District. The determination of glucose and sucrose levels was performed by Luff Schoorl method. The result of this study was glucose average level of each sample A, B and C is 71,42%, 66,24%, and 71,21%. The sucrose average levels of sample A, B, and C is 3,09%, 4,51, and 3,04%. It can be stated that all forest honey used in this study has fulfilled the requirements according to SNI 01-3545-2013 which set that glucose level of honey must be at least 65% while the sucrose level is maximum 5%.

IDENTIFIKASI KADAR GLUKOSA DAN SUKROSA PADA MADU HUTAN

Glucose and sucrose tests are performed as one of honey’s standard quality. Meanwhile the process of honey production by bees itself is a complex process, so there is a high probability of differences in the levels and composition of glucose and sucrose among the types of honey circulating in the community. The composition of glucose and sucrose of each honey can affect its efficacy mainly when it is used for treatment process. The aim of this research is to know glucose and sucrose level in forest honey and compare it with honey’s standard quality according to Indonesian national standard (SNI 01-3545-2013). The samples were 3 forest honey from different village. Sample A is forest honey from Kubu Simbelang Village, Sample B from Bunuraya Village, and Sample C from Suka Village, Tigapanah District. The determination of glucose and sucrose levels was performed by Luff Schoorl method. The result of this study was glucose average level of each sample A, B and C is 71,42%, 66,24%, and 71,21%. The sucrose average levels of sample A, B, and C is 3,09%, 4,51, and 3,04%.It can be stated thatall forest honey used in this study has fulfilled the requirements according to SNI 01-3545-2013 which set that glucose level of honey must be at least 65%while the sucrose level is maximum 5%.

Response of Bioactive Metabolite and Biosynthesis Related Genes to Methyl Jasmonate Elicitation in Codonopsis pilosula

Bioactive metabolites in Codonopsis pilosula are of particular interest as an immunostimulant. Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) plays an important role in the elicitation of metabolite biosynthesis. Here, we explored the response of metabolites to MeJA elicitation in C. pilosula adventitious roots and multiple shoots. The results showed that the biomass, polysaccharide, and lobetyolin content of adventitious roots exhibited the highest increases with 100 µmol·L−1 MeJA at the 16th day of subculture, whereas the atractylenolide III (a terpenoid) content increased extremely with 50 µmol·L−1 MeJA treatment at the 7th day of subculture. In addition, the biomass and lobetyolin content significantly increased at the 4th day after treatment. Similarly, the polysaccharide and lobetyolin content increased in multiple shoots. Further identification of different metabolites responding to MeJA by 1H-NMR showed an extremely significant increase of the lobetyolinin level, which coincided with lobetyolin. Accordingly, the precursor, fatty acids, showed a highly significant decrease in their levels. Furthermore, a significant increase in β-d-fructose-butanol glycoside was detected, which was accompanied by a decrease in the sucrose level. Accordingly, the enzyme genes responsible for terpenoid and carbohydrate biosynthesis, CpUGPase, and CpPMK, were up regulated. In conclusion, MeJA promoted culture growth and accelerated bioactive metabolite accumulation by regulating the expression of the metabolite biosynthesis related genes, CpUGPase and CpPMK in C. pilosula.

Karakteristik Mutu Sirup Bit dengan Penambahan Carboxymethyl Cellulose

This research aimed to study the influence of addition of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and to get the best CMC concentration in making of beet syrup. The research was conducted with five treatments and three replications. The treatments in this study were CMC addition of 0.3%, 0.6%, 0.9%, 1.2%, and 1.5%. Data were statistically analyzed by using analysis of variance and followed by duncan new multiple range test at level 5%. The result of analysis of variance showed that the influence of CMC had significantly affected pH, total dissolved solid, sucrose level, and viscosity. The treatment also significantly effected aroma and hedonic test, but didn’t significantly affected colour and flavor of beet syrup. Based on this research, the best treatment was syrup with 0.9% CMC addition which had pH 5.75, total dissolved solids 71.16°brix, viscosity 351.56 cP, and sucrose level 69.68%. Characteristics of best treatment syrup based on descriptive test were red purple colour, beet root flavor, sweet taste, thick, and on hedonic test was favored by panelists.Keywords: Syrup, beet root, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)

South African Sucrose Quality in Sugar: Determinants and its Empirical Implications

The study investigates which factors determine sucrose quality in the South African sugar cane production process. Though South Africa is the 8th largest producer of sugar cane in the world and the highest in Africa, a decline has been observed in the production of high quality sugar in the country. The study adopts the Auto Regressive Distributive Lags (ARDL) technique to analyze sugar cane production time series data from 1980 to 2016 in South Africa. Ten variables were tested, including Average Temperature, Stalk growth, Evaporation, and Soil Water Content (100mm). Our findings revealed that on both the short and long run, some of the variables investigated have the tendency of increasing sucrose level in sugar cane while an increase in other variables would decrease sucrose level altogether. However, the impact of Soil Water Content (100mm) appears not to be statistically significant on sucrose production in our regression model in the short and long run. Of special interest are Stalk growth (Reference sugar cane) and average temperature, as their values are more significantly germane as regards the quantity of sucrose obtained during sugar cane processing in South Africa.

South African Sucrose Quality in Sugar: Determinants and its Empirical Implications

The study investigates which factors determine sucrose quality in the South African sugar cane production process. Though South Africa is the 8th largest producer of sugar cane in the world and the highest in Africa, a decline has been observed in the production of high quality sugar in the country. The study adopts the Auto Regressive Distributive Lags (ARDL) technique to analyze sugar cane production time series data from 1980 to 2016 in South Africa. Ten variables were tested, including Average Temperature, Stalk growth, Evaporation, and Soil Water Content (100mm). Our findings revealed that on both the short and long run, some of the variables investigated have the tendency of increasing sucrose level in sugar cane while an increase in other variables would decrease sucrose level altogether. However, the impact of Soil Water Content (100mm) appears not to be statistically significant on sucrose production in our regression model in the short and long run. Of special interest are Stalk growth (Reference sugar cane) and average temperature, as their values are more significantly germane as regards the quantity of sucrose obtained during sugar cane processing in South Africa.