Explore the vast range of titles available.

Syngonium podophyllum Schott. cv. ‘White Butterfly’ is recognized as a valuable ornamental plant, and today it is also an important plant species of medicinal interest due to its high contents of phenolic compounds. The purpose of this article is to review the main scientific publications from our laboratory with regard to new scientific achievements dealing with Syngonium species or topics of interest, such as callus formation and further de novo shoot regeneration. The principles and stages necessary to start an industrial-level micropropagation protocol are discussed based on our experience. Different media compositions induced different morphogenetic responses inside the callus—particularly those related to the development of xylematic elements in the organogenetic areas, such as those for rooting, protocorms, and de novo shoot formation. The re-evaluation of old histological images revealed for the first time that xylematic elements are constantly closely positioned to all organogenetic centers, and that their development is closely dependent on the composition of the culture medium. Separate protocorms can be identified only when xylematic tracheary elements are well developed and closely connected to them. The formation of protocorms is strongly dependent on the mineral composition of the culture medium and the balance of plant growth regulators.

Modern biotechnology entered the world science arena after 1972, and in less than 22 years the first genetically modified crop was placed on the market. The analysis of relevant biosafety portals and official and scientific documents was applied in this study to reveal positive and negative issues of the Romanian biosafety framework before and after the European Union (EU) accession. The success in cultivating highly productive GM soybean was rapidly embraced by Romania between 1999 and 2005. Before 2007, Romania was cited among the Mega Biotech Countries, with a cultivation of 87.500 ha. After the accession to the European Union, Romania stopped any GM crop cultivation. There was an immense effort to harmonize with the EU regulatory framework between 2005 and 2007. The monitoring system for GM crops has been in place since 2007. Public research on aspects of GMOs started before 1996 and continues to develop. The analysis of our results supports the idea that Romania is a perfect example of a country committed to embracing GM crop cultivation for 7 years, followed by almost complete phasing out of GM crop cultivation to comply with all requirements for EU accession in less than 1 year.

Crops drought tolerance is a trait of outmost importance for agriculture especially today when climate change is affecting more the production for food and feed. The scope of this article is to evaluate in vitro drought stress response of Nicotiana tabacum L., “Baladi”. The experiment was set up for four successive stages starting with in vitro seedling development, hypocotyl cultivation, three generations of micropropagation, pre-acclimatization and acclimatization. The effect of abscisic acid (ABA) and/or polyethylene-glycol 6000 (PEG) on tobacco hypocotyl caulogenesis and micropropagation were investigated. Superoxide-dismutases (SODs) and peroxidases (POXs) are more active and different isoforms patterns have been identified compared to the control for cualogenesis. A decrease of internodes length and a higher shoots multiplication rate were observed. However, under PEG treatment plantlets expressed hyperhydration and ceased rooting. Pre-treatments effects study of ABA and/or PEG were finalized in acclimatization phase for 18 tobacco clones. A summary of our results revealed that ABA and/or PEG induce among others a higher oxidative stress compared to the control in the first stage that is not maintained for all clones until acclimatization. Certain clones expressed a lower SOD activity compared to the control during acclimatization but maintaining higher POX activity.

A list of 300 wild plant species for medicinal and food use, published in 1991 by Constantin Drăgulescu, is analysed to evaluate the needs for in situ conservation of endangered plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA). The study considers the survey of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, the Appendix of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Annex I of the Plant Treaty, the data base of the Gene Bank Suceava, scientific publications (i.e. the Red List for vascular plants in Romania published in 2009 and The Romanian Flora published in 1977) and the current regulatory framework. Based on the results of this analysis it can be concluded that at least four PGRFA are not officially protected in the wild in Romania, such as: Barbarea lepuznica (critically endangered and confined to a single one protected area), Barbarea stricta (critically endangered, not protected in any of the current protected areas in Romania), Crambe maritima (endangered, identified in two protected areas) and Lepidium graminifolium (critically endangered, not protected in any of the current protected areas in Romania). The results of this study may be used for improving the conservation management of PGRFA based on an integrated approach when different political commitments regarding the biodiversity conservation are addressed.

Current estimates indicate that the global terrestrial flora comprises approximately 500,000 plant species [...]

Dendrochronology, the study of tree-ring growth patterns, is a powerful tool for reconstructing past human–environment interactions. This review examines its role within archaeology, focusing on how tree-ring studies contribute to dating wooden artifacts, reconstructing past climates, and understanding timber use in historical buildings and cultural heritage. To explore these applications, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of studies indexed in Web of Science. Our results reveal a marked increase in dendrochronological research over the past 15 years, alongside a broadening of its impact across related fields such as anthropology and environmental sciences. We classify the literature into major thematic areas, including methodological developments, historical and environmental disruptions, art and architecture, mining history, and the ancient timber trade. By highlighting both the advantages and limitations of dendrochronology—such as issues of reference coverage, the need for non-destructive sampling, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration—we show how this approach extends beyond archaeology to illuminate wider cultural and environmental contexts. Ultimately, our findings demonstrate the significance of dendrochronology not only for understanding ancient civilizations and cultural heritage, but also for tracing the complex interactions between humans and natural resources across time.

The Carpathian Mountains are an important hotspot of European biodiversity, where geological history, climatic diversity, and altitudinal heterogeneity have determined a great diversity and endemism of vascular plants. The study was conducted in the national park of Piatra Craiului, a distinctive limestone massif in the Southern Carpathians. The dataset included 731 vascular plant species from the study area, of which 35 taxa are endemic to the Carpathians (of the 47 reported in this area), and 18 are classified as species of conservation interest in the Management Plan of the National Park (MP). The distribution of endemic species showed different habitat and altitudinal specificity across 15 vegetation types, including 14 Natura 2000 habitats and one outside the EUR 28 classification. The endemic species showed a bell-shaped altitudinal distribution, peaking at 1600–1700 m and concentrated in high-altitude open habitats rather than forested mid-elevations. The PCA separates endemic species along a main gradient from open, disturbed, light-rich habitats to stable, nutrient- and moisture-rich forest environments, and a secondary gradient related to temperature and soil reaction linked to altitude. Endemic species are predominantly associated with calcareous rocky and grassland habitats and are almost absent from mesophilic and hygrophilous habitats. A positive association between endemic species frequency and the total number of species of conservation interest per plot was detected. We concluded that species of conservation interest (such endemic species) are unevenly distributed among habitat types in the Carpathians, with the greatest diversity and abundance in subalpine rocky and grassland habitats, shaped by altitude and isolation. Although the threatened endemic species are not officially listed by national law, they are indirectly protected by management zonation. In Piatra Craiului the richest habitats in endemic species are included in the designated zones of the national park with the highest protection regime, according to the National Park’s Management Plan. Moreover, this territory is included in a Natura 2000 site (ROSAC0194 Piatra Craiului) ensuring an additional level of protection for the habitats where endemic species are found.

Purple-fleshed potatoes (PFP) are varieties of Solanum tuberosum L., which recently have been recorded to be more and more cultivated and consumed in all European countries, including Romania, as they are promoted for their content in bioactive compounds and benefits to human health. This paper presents a micropropagation protocol study for PFP varieties already traded into the Romanian market, namely Blue Danube (BD), Salad Blue (SB), Violet Negretin (VN), and Violet Queen (VQ). These varieties were tested for in vitro micropropagation also considering asepsis, initiation, callus formation, and microtuberization. To establish the optimum asepsis treatment, a preliminary experiment was performed and, the best results were obtained by using 70% EtOH (1 min) followed by 20% (v/v) Domestos® (20 min). The MS formula (Murashige and Skoog 1962) was tested as the basic culture medium without growth regulators for all tested stages except for callus initiation and its further multiplication stages. The effect of glycine on direct organogenesis and shoot multiplication was evaluated for propagated micro-cuttings. We emphasize that the addition of glycine at a concentration of 15 mg/L to the culture medium induced a better plantlet vigor for all four varieties. Regarding the indirect organogenesis, culture medium supplemented with NAA (5.00 mg/L), GA3 (1.00 mg/L), TDZ (1.00 mg/L) and glycine (15.00 mg/L) induced the best results for shoot cluster regeneration as well as turning of white callus from control to purple callus. Further, the microtuberization was successfully produced when sucrose was supplemented at 8% (w/v) into the culture medium. Among all four tested PFP varieties, SB has proven to give the best results regarding the adaptability for in vitro cultivation.

Animal Welfare Attitudes (AWA) are defined as human attitudes towards the welfare of animals in different dimensions and settings. Demographic factors, such as age and gender are associated with AWA. The aim of this study was to assess gender differences among university students in a large convenience sample from twenty-two nations in AWA. A total of 7914 people participated in the study (5155 women, 2711 men, 48 diverse). Participants completed a questionnaire that collected demographic data, typical diet and responses to the Composite Respect for Animals Scale Short version (CRAS-S). In addition, we used a measure of gender empowerment from the Human Development Report. The largest variance in AWA was explained by diet, followed by country and gender. In terms of diet, 6385 participants reported to be omnivores, 296 as pescatarian, 637 ate a vegetarian diet and 434 were vegans (n = 162 without answer). Diet was related with CRAS-S scores; people with a vegan diet scored higher in AWA than omnivores. Women scored significantly higher on AWA than men. Furthermore, gender differences in AWA increased as gender inequality decreased.

In the last 10 years traditional orchards became more and more important for biodiversity conservation as priority habitats on one hand and for in situ conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture in supporting the food security resilience of local communities on the other hand. Fântânele is a small village positioned at the foot of Cândrel Mountain, belonging to the Romanian Carpathians, in the buffering zone of the protected area ROSCI0085 ‘Frumoasa’ which is famous in the region for its traditional orchards established for more than four centuries. The main scope of this article is to survey these traditional orchards for the existing old fruit tree species and varieties. As a result from a total of 401 surveyed trees, 20 old apple tree varieties have been recorded and 55.74 % are estimated to be older than 100 years. Only two modern apple tree varieties have been recorded in the village area older than 40 years (i.e. ‘Florina’ and ‘Starkrimson delicious’) with a low infusion rate (i.e. 16.17 %). Walnut trees, plum trees, cherry trees and sour cherry trees complete the structure of traditional fruit orchards. No rejuvenating activities or pesticides use have been registered for more than 25 years. A protected habitat at European level was recorded in the area of this village for the first time (i.e. habitat of Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench subsp. arundinacea ) and also protected species according to the European Union regulatory framework for Natura 2000 have been observed.