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Background The availability of the peach genome sequence has fostered relevant research in peach and related Prunus species enabling the identification of genes underlying important horticultural traits as well as the development of advanced tools for genetic and genomic analyses. The first release of the peach genome (Peach v1.0) represented a high-quality WGS (Whole Genome Shotgun) chromosome-scale assembly with high contiguity (contig L50 214.2 kb), large portions of mapped sequences (96%) and high base accuracy (99.96%). The aim of this work was to improve the quality of the first assembly by increasing the portion of mapped and oriented sequences, correcting misassemblies and improving the contiguity and base accuracy using high-throughput linkage mapping and deep resequencing approaches. Results Four linkage maps with 3,576 molecular markers were used to improve the portion of mapped and oriented sequences (from 96.0% and 85.6% of Peach v1.0 to 99.2% and 98.2% of v2.0, respectively) and enabled a more detailed identification of discernible misassemblies (10.4 Mb in total). The deep resequencing approach fixed 859 homozygous SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) and 1347 homozygous indels. Moreover, the assembled NGS contigs enabled the closing of 212 gaps with an improvement in the contig L50 of 19.2%. Conclusions The improved high quality peach genome assembly (Peach v2.0) represents a valuable tool for the analysis of the genetic diversity, domestication, and as a vehicle for genetic improvement of peach and related Prunus species. Moreover, the important phylogenetic position of peach and the absence of recent whole genome duplication (WGD) events make peach a pivotal species for comparative genomics studies aiming at elucidating plant speciation and diversification processes.

Perennial grains, which remain productive for multiple years, rather than growing for only one season before harvest, have deep, dense root systems that can support a richness of beneficial microorganisms, which are mostly underexplored. In this work we isolated forty-three bacterial strains associated with the rhizosphere of the OK72 perennial wheat line, developed from a cross between winter common wheat and Thinopyrum ponticum . Identified using 16S rDNA sequencing, these bacteria were assessed for plant growth-promoting traits such as indole-3-acetic acid, siderophores and ACC-deaminase acid production, biofilm formation, and the ability to solubilize phosphate and proteins. Twenty-five strains exhibiting in vitro significant plant growth promoting traits, belong to wheat keystone genera Pseudomonas , Microbacterium , Variovorax , Pedobacter , Dyadobacter , Plantibacter , and Flavobacterium. Seven strains, including Aeromicrobium and Okibacterium genera, were able to promote root growth in a commercial annual wheat cultivar while strains from Pseudomonas genus inhibited the growth of Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium species, using direct antagonism assays. The same strains produced a high amount of 1-undecanol a volatile organic compound, which may aid in suppressing fungal growth. The study highlights the potential of these bacteria to form new commercial consortia, enhancing the health and productivity of annual wheat crops within sustainable agricultural practices.

Background Perennial grain roots grow continuously, enhancing soil carbon sequestration and forming a “holobiont” with the microbiome, essential for nutrient acquisition and stress resilience. Consequently, perennial grains serve as ideal models for investigating long-term dynamics between root systems and the rhizosphere environment. Despite their potential, the rhizosphere environment of perennial grains remains underexplored. This research utilizes an untargeted metabolomic approach to characterize the root–rhizosphere molecular signals in four new perennial grain (NPGs) lines named 235a, 280b, 11,955, and OK72, across four years of growth. Results Metabolomic analysis annotated 2,527 metabolites, most of which originated from fungi (30.3%), bacteria (23%), and plants (15.5%). Principal component analysis explained 54.8% of the variation between rhizosphere and root metabolites, with 8.7% variation separating 1st and 4th year root metabolites, while rhizosphere metabolites showed less variation between years. The comparison between the annual durum wheat variety and NPGs revealed 616 differentially abundant metabolites in roots and 15 in the rhizosphere, already at the 1st year of growth. In the 4th year, NPGs metabolomes diverged significantly from Thinopyrum intermedium , which stood in the soil for 11 years, with 184 root and 138 rhizosphere differentially abundant metabolites. Comparison between genotypes diversified NPGs in the 1st year, showing a higher abundance of root metabolites for OK72 compared to the other lines, including key modulators of root architecture like glutathione and serotonin, and compounds from α-linoleic acid metabolism, which are known to induce systemic resistance against pathogens and herbivore defense. Differences among NPGs also emerged in the 4th year, with OK72 separating from the other three, sharing with Thinopyrum intermedium a higher abundance of purine nucleosides and diazanaphthalenes. Conclusions The metabolomic analysis revealed that starting from the 1st year, the roots of NPGs produce a set of metabolites distinct from those of the annual durum species, many of which are defense molecules against biotic and abiotic stresses (e.g., syringic acid, glutathione, and α-linoleic acid pathway compounds). The OK72 genotype, which exhibits below-ground traits more aligned with perennialism, differs from the other lines in the abundance of several interesting metabolites, confirming it as an ideal parental candidate for developing new perennial wheat lines.

This review aims to give evidence of the current developments and potential applications of emerging technological methods to improve the technological performance and the sensorial acceptability of wholegrain products. The review explores the technologies based on physical, i.e., micronization, steam explosion, high hydrostatic pressure, extrusion cooking, ohmic heating, and 3D printing, and biotechnological methods, such as fermentation and enzymatic treatments in the pre-milling, milling, and transformation steps of wholegrain products. The literature from the past decade for this review article was collected from electronic databases such as ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science.

Since the second half of the 20th century, the intensification of agriculture by increasing external inputs (fertilizers, pesticides), cropland expansion, and the cultivation of only a few selected cereal species or varieties have caused the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services on farmland [...]

Perennial grains provide various ecosystem services compared to the annual counterparts thanks to their extensive root system and permanent soil cover. However, little is known about the evolution and diversification of perennial grains rhizosphere and its ecological functions over time. In this study, a suite of -OMICSs - metagenomics, enzymomics, metabolomics and lipidomics - was used to compare the rhizosphere environment of four perennial wheat lines at the first and fourth year of growth in comparison with an annual durum wheat cultivar and the parental species Thinopyrum intermedium . We hypothesized that wheat perenniality has a greater role in shaping the rhizobiome composition, biomass, diversity, and activity than plant genotypes because perenniality affects the quality and quantity of C input – mainly root exudates – hence modulating the plant-microbes crosstalk. In support of this hypothesis, the continuous supply of sugars in the rhizosphere along the years created a favorable environment for microbial growth which is reflected in a higher microbial biomass and enzymatic activity. Moreover, modification in the rhizosphere metabolome and lipidome over the years led to changes in the microbial community composition favoring the coexistence of more diverse microbial taxa, increasing plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Despite the dominance of the perenniality effect, our data underlined that the OK72 line rhizobiome distinguished from the others by the increase in abundance of Pseudomonas spp., most of which are known as potential beneficial microorganisms, identifying this line as a suitable candidate for the study and selection of new perennial wheat lines.

[...]the strategy of pasta innovation, along with the identification of functional ingredients, required suitable technological process to obtain novel pasta products, able to retain their beneficial properties, keeping, meanwhile, high cooking and sensorial quality to be attractive to consumers [3,6,10,11]. The consumption of high-fiber pasta contributes to reducing blood pressure, cholesterol levels, risk of colon cancer and coronary heart disease and improving the feeling of satiety. [...]the enrichment with dietary fiber also reduces the glycemic index of pasta, a health aspect often considered in this Special Issue [6,7,8,10,11]. The technological procedures useful to overcome the negative effect of wheat bran enrichment include micronization [3,6], air classification, debranning, fermentation [10] and enzymatic hydrolysis. Besides the presence of dietary fiber, the importance of wholegrain consumption is also related to the presence of health-promoting antioxidant compounds, mostly present in the outer kernel layers.

Nectarines play a key role in peach industry; the fuzzless skin has implications for consumer acceptance. The peach/nectarine (G/g) trait was described as monogenic and previously mapped on chromosome 5. Here, the position of the G locus was delimited within a 1.1 cM interval (635 kb) based on linkage analysis of an F2 progeny from the cross 'Contender' (C, peach) x 'Ambra' (A, nectarine). Careful inspection of the genes annotated in the corresponding genomic sequence (Peach v1.0), coupled with variant discovery, led to the identification of MYB gene PpeMYB25 as a candidate for trichome formation on fruit skin. Analysis of genomic re-sequencing data from five peach/nectarine accessions pointed to the insertion of a LTR retroelement in exon 3 of the PpeMYB25 gene as the cause of the recessive glabrous phenotype. A functional marker (indelG) developed on the LTR insertion cosegregated with the trait in the CxA F2 progeny and was validated on a broad panel of genotypes, including all known putative donors of the nectarine trait. This marker was shown to efficiently discriminate between peach and nectarine plants, indicating that a unique mutational event gave rise to the nectarine trait and providing a useful diagnostic tool for early seedling selection in peach breeding programs.

Brewers’ spent grain (BSG), the major by-product of the brewing industry, can be used as a functional ingredient to increase the nutritional value of cereal-based products. In this work, micronized BSG from the einkorn and tritordeum brewing processes were characterized and used to produce four macaroni pasta formulations enriched with BSG at ratios of 5 g and 10 g/100 g of semolina. Einkorn BSG showed the highest values for all the parameters analyzed—proteins, total dietary fiber (TDF) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC)—except for β-glucan. TDF increased up to 42 and 68% in pasta samples enriched with 10% of BSG from tritordeum and einkorn, respectively. The replacement of 10% of semolina with BSG from both cereals significantly increased the β-glucan content and TAC values. Finally, the addition of BSG from einkorn and tritordeum affected to a minimal extent the sensory properties of cooked pasta, which showed higher values of optimal cooking time and cooking loss, but lower total organic matter compared to semolina pasta. Results from the sensorial judgment fell in the good quality ranges for durum wheat pasta; the incorporation of 10% of einkorn BSG resulted in the best compromise in terms of technological, nutritional and sensorial aspects of enriched pasta.

The increased demand for healthier foods, the recognition of dry pasta as an ideal carrier of functional ingredients, and the current interest for ancient wheats such as einkorn motivated the present research. Two varieties of Triticum monococcum, namely cv Norberto and the free-threshing cv Hammurabi, were milled by ultra-fine milling process (micronization) to produce wholegrain spaghetti. Einkorn pasta was assessed in terms of technological and biochemical properties and cooking and sensorial quality and compared to durum wheat semolina pasta. Wholewheat einkorn pasta showed a threefold increase in total dietary fibre content as well as in total antioxidant capacity in comparison to the control. The level of resistant starch in cv Norberto resulted significantly higher respect to semolina and einkorn cv Hammurabi pasta. Despite the very weak einkorn gluten network, the sensory and instrumental assessment of pasta quality highlighted that einkorn spaghetti presented good sensorial properties related to their technological quality, in particular, for the overall judgment and firmness. Cultivar Hammurabi emerged as the preeminent compromise on the basis of technological performances together with chemical and sensorial aspects.