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Androgenesis-based methods of doubled haploid (DH) production show considerable variation in efficiency in different barley genotypes. Arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) have been shown to play a key role in several developmental processes, including embryogenesis, in different plant species. In this study we investigated the effect of exogenous AGPs from gum arabic on androgenesis and the regeneration efficiency in barley anther culture. Supplementation of the induction medium with 10 mg l−1 gum arabic increased the total plant regeneration rate up to 2.8 times; when exposure to GA was extended to also include the pretreatment step, the regeneration rate was up to 6.6-times higher than in control. The effect of gum arabic was reversed by the Yariv reagent, an AGPs antagonist. This suggests a direct involvement of AGPs in androgenic development from barely microspores. Addition of gum arabic reduced cell mortality, increased the frequency of mitotic divisions of microspores and the number of multicellular structures (MCSs) when compared to control. The positive effect of gum arabic also included reduction in time required for the androgenic induction and substantially improved the quality of formed embryos. Observations made in this study imply a complex role of AGPs during androgenic development and confirmed the usefulness of gum arabic in production of barley androgenic plants.

Steviol glycosides (SvGls) are plant secondary metabolites belonging to a class of chemical compounds known as diterpenes. SvGls have been discovered only in a few plant species, including in the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. Over the last few decades, SvGls have been extensively researched for their extraordinary sweetness. As a result, the nutritional and pharmacological benefits of these secondary metabolites have grown increasingly apparent. In the near future, SvGls may become a basic, low-calorie, and potent sweetener in the growing natural foods market, and a natural anti-diabetic remedy, a highly competitive alternative to commercially available synthetic drugs. Commercial cultivation of stevia plants and the technologies of SvGls extraction and purification from plant material have already been introduced in many countries. However, new conventional and biotechnological solutions are still being sought to increase the level of SvGls in plants. Since many aspects related to the biochemistry and metabolism of SvGls in vivo, as well as their relationship to the overall physiology of S. rebaudiana are not yet understood, there is also a great need for in-depth scientific research on this topic. Such research may have positive impact on optimization of the profile and SvGls concentration in plants and thus lead to obtaining desired yield. This research summarizes the latest approaches and developments in SvGls production.Key points• Steviol glycosides (SvGls) are found in nature in S. rebaudiana plants.• They exhibit nutraceutical properties.• This review provides an insight on different approaches to produce SvGls.• The areas of research that still need to be explored have been identified.

The aim of this study was to identify and examine the expression pattern of the ortholog of SOMATIC EMBRYOGENESIS RECEPTOR-LIKE KINASE gene from Trifolium nigrescens (TnSERK) in embryogenic and non-regenerative cultures of immature cotyledonary-stage zygotic embryos (CsZEs). In the presence of 1-naphthaleneacetic acid and N⁶-[2-isopentenyl]-adenine, the CsZE regenerated embryoids directly and in a lengthy culture produced callus which was embryogenic or remained non-regenerative. As revealed by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the TnSERK was expressed in both embryogenic and non-regenerative cultures, but the expression level was significantly higher in embryogenic ones. An in situ RNA hybridization assay revealed that the expression of TnSERK preceded the induction of cell division in explants, and then, it was maintained exclusively in actively dividing cells from which embryoids, embryo-like structures (ELSs), callus or tracheary elements were produced. However, the cells involved in different morphogenic events differed in intensity of hybridization signal which was the highest in embryogenic cells. The TnSERK was up-regulated during the development of embryoids, but in cotyledonary embryos, it was preferentially expressed in the regions of the apical meristems. The occurrence of morphological and anatomical abnormalities in embryoid development was preceded by a decline in TnSERK expression, and this coincided with the parenchymatization of the ground tissue in developing ELSs. TnSERK was also down-regulated during the maturation of parenchyma and xylem elements in CsZE and callus. Altogether, these data suggest the involvement of TnSERK in the induction of various developmental programs related to differentiation/transdifferentiation and totipotent state of cell(s).

Iron oxide nanoparticles with a mean size of approximately 5 nm were synthesized by irradiating micro-emulsions containing iron salts with energetic electrons. The properties of the nanoparticles were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selective area diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometry. It was found that formation of superparamagnetic nanoparticles begins at a dose of 50 kGy, though these particles show low crystallinity, and a higher portion is amorphous. With increasing doses, an increasing crystallinity and yield could be observed, which is reflected in an increasing saturation magnetization. The blocking temperature and effective anisotropy constant were determined via zero-field cooling and field cooling measurements. The particles tend to form clusters with a size of 34 nm to 73 nm. Magnetite/maghemite nanoparticles could be identified via selective area electron diffraction patterns. Additionally, goethite nanowires could be observed.

The Co Fe alloys where x ranges from 0.01 to 0.06 were measured at room temperature using transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy (TMS). The analysis of the obtained data allowed the determination of the short-range order (SRO), the binding energy E between two iron atoms in the studied materials using the extended Hrynkiewicz-Królas idea and the enthalpy of solution H of Fe in Co. The results showed that the Fe atoms dissolved in a Co matrix interact repulsively and the estimated value of H = -0.166(33) eV/atom. Finally, values of the enthalpy of solution were used to predict the enthalpy of mixing for the Co-Fe system. These findings were compared with corresponding data given in the literature, which were derived from calorimetric experiments and from the cellular atomic model of alloys described by Miedema.

Mechanical alloying method was applied to prepare nanocrystalline iron-based Fe Zn solid solutions with in the range 0.01 ≤ ≤ 0.05. The structural properties of the materials were investigated with the Mössbauer spectroscopy by measuring the room temperature spectra of Fe for as-obtained and annealed samples. The spectra were analyzed in terms of parameters of their components related to unlike surroundings of the iron probes, determined by different numbers of zinc atoms existing in the neighborhood of iron atoms. The obtained results gave clear evidence that after annealing process, the distribution of impurity atoms in the first coordination spheres of Fe nuclei is not random and it cannot be described by binomial distribution. The estimated, positive values of the short-range order parameters suggest clustering tendencies of Zn atoms in the Fe-Zn alloys with low zinc concentration. The results were compared with corresponding data derived from Calphad calculation and resulting from the cellular atomic model of alloys by Miedema.

The Fe Mössbauer spectra for the iron-based solid solutions Fe Cr and Fe Cr were measured at different temperatures ranging from 300 K to 900 K. Analysis of the obtained spectra shows that the distribution of impurity atoms in the two first coordination shells of Fe nuclei is not random and it cannot be described by the binomial distribution. Quantitatively, the effects were described in terms of the atomic short-range order (SRO) parameters and the pair-wise interaction energy with the help of a quasi-chemical type formulation introduced by Cohen and Fine. The obtained results reveal strong clustering-type correlations in the studied samples (a predominance of Fe-Fe and Cr-Cr bonds). Moreover, the changes in SRO values observed during thermal processing suggest that the distribution of Cr atoms in an α-iron matrix is strongly temperature dependent.

The room temperature Fe Mössbauer spectra for binary iron-based solid solutions Fe Os , with in the range 0.01 ≤ ≤ 0.05, were analyzed in terms of binding energy between two Os atoms in the Fe-Os system. The extrapolated values of for = 0 were used for computation of enthalpy of solution of osmium in iron. The result was compared with that resulting from the cellular atomic model of alloys by Miedema. The comparison shows that our findings are in qualitative agreement with the Miedema's model predictions.

Callus was obtained from hypocotyls of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum seedlings cultured on two types of medium--germination medium (GM) and callus induction medium (CIM). Following subculture on shoot induction medium SIM1, the callus formed on CIM medium regenerated roots or somatic embryos, while that obtained on GM medium was non-regenerative. The activities of CuZn-superoxidase dismutase (SOD) were comparable in all calli, but the activities of FeSOD and MnSOD varied according to the activity of photosystem II and the regenerative potential of the tissues. Catalase (CAT) activity was related to H2O2 concentration and affected by both the culture conditions and the morphogenic potential of the calli. The possible role of CAT, SODs and H2O2 in the regeneration of M. crystallinum from callus is discussed.

The surface segregation process and its influence on high-temperature corrosion of five alloys—Fe0.95Al0.05, Fe0.95V0.05, Fe0.90Al0.05V0.05, Fe0.95Ti0.05 and Fe0.95Ge0.05—were studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and 57Fe Transmission Mössbauer Spectroscopy (TMS). To prepare the alloys with the highest surface concentration of solutes, the samples were annealed at elevated temperatures to induce the surface segregation process. After that, they were exposed to air at 870 K for 1 and 5 h. It was found that the Fe0.95Ti0.05 sample annealed at 1073 K had much better anti–corrosion properties than other alloys studied. This finding can be correlated with the extremely high concentration of titanium on the surface, which was more than four times that of iron. In contrast to other alloys studied in this work, the passive layer formed on the surface of Fe0.95Ti0.05 greatly enhanced its resistance to corrosion.