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\"Ficus carica, the fig, is one of the ancient crop plants originated from Anatolia. This is one of the most precious fruit crops beneficial to human health. It contains vitamins, minerals, protective compounds, and high carbohydrate content for human diet. On the one hand some people are starving in remote areas in the world, and on the other hand some people are getting obese. The more global climate change affects agricultural production and the food chain, the more the divide between the poor and the rich opens. While some experts draw attention to food security from farm to fork, some others advocate sustainable energy usage. When we are combating a global Covid-19 pandemic nowadays, remembering to help and back each other up has never been so important and striking in human history. Therefore, fig fruit can be considered as a functional food for human consumption. This noteworthy piece of work is composed of 10 chapters and covers the following subjects: Chapter 1, ancient history and cultural heritage; Chapter 2, production, trade, and marketing; Chapter 3, genetic diversity; Chapter 4, characteristics and caprification potentials; Chapter 5, gender identification using molecular markers; Chapter 6, effect of cordon pruning system; Chapter 7, virus diseases; Chapter 8, arthropod pests and nematodes; Chapter 9, postharvest handling and storage; and Chapter 10, modified atmosphere packaging and edible surface coating of fig plant\"--

1. In the fig (Moraceae) and fig-wasp (Agaonidae) mutualism, scent is believed to be of primary importance in pollinator attraction and maintenance of species specificity. Scent divergence between closely related Ficus species seems sufficient in promoting reproductive isolation through pollinator behaviour, starting the process of speciation. 2. We investigated volatile organic compound (VOC) variation from figs in several Ficus species endemic to Papua New Guinea. Sister species of section Papuacyse and subspecies of Ficus trichocerasa substitute each other along the continuously forested Mt. Wilhelm elevational gradient. We placed these species in a phylogenetic context to draw conclusions of scent divergence between close relatives. In addition, pollinator response to VOCs emitted by figs of different species was tested. 3. Volatile profiles differed significantly between focal species, although with a varying degree of overlap between (sub)species and elevations. Pollinators were generally attracted to VOCs emitted only by their hosts except in one case where pollinating fig wasps were also attracted to the sister species of its host. Waspmorphological traits, however, indicate that it is mechanically impossible for this species to oviposit in figs of this atypical encounter. 4. Synthesis. This study demonstrates that while scent is an effective signal for partner recognition, there are multiple barriers which help maintain prepollination isolation in fig and pollinating fig-wasp interactions. Speciation along this elevational gradient is reinforced by divergence in key reproductive isolation mechanisms on both sides of the mutualism.

Virus-like symptoms on fig tree leaves are a common occurrence worldwide and has mostly been attributed to fig mosaic disease (FMD). Even though only fig mosaic virus (FMV) has been shown to cause FMD, many other viruses have been identified in diseased fig trees. In 2021, total RNA was extracted from fig leaf samples displaying symptoms of mosaic and chlorotic mottling and was subjected to high-throughput sequencing (HTS) to construct the first virome profile of a South African fig tree. Bioinformatic analyses identified FMV, fig leaf mottle-associated virus 1 (FLMaV1), fig leaf mottle-associated virus 2 (FLMaV2), fig latent virus 1 (FLV1), fig badnavirus 1 (FBV1) and grapevine badnavirus 1 (GBV1) in the data. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was conducted, for these viruses, on 24 additional fig leaf samples collected in the Western Cape. FBV1, GBV1, FMV, FLMaV1, FLV1, FLMaV2, and fig fleck-associated virus (FFkaV) were detected in 100%, 96%, 92%, 54%, 46%, 21%, and 12.5% of the samples, respectively. This is the first report on the presence of FMV, FLMaV2, FLV1, FFkaV, FBV1 and GBV1 in South Africa and offers a preliminary insight into the virus status of fig trees in the country.

Fig leaf, an environmentally friendly byproduct of fruit plants, has been used for the first time to treat of methylene blue dye. The fig leaf-activated carbon (FLAC-3) was prepared successfully and used for the adsorption of methylene blue dye (MB). The adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET). In the present study, initial concentrations, contact time, temperatures, pH solution, FLAC-3 dose, volume solution, and activation agent were investigated. However, the initial concentration of MB was investigated at different concentrations of 20, 40, 80, 120, and 200 mg/L. pH solution was examined at these values: pH3, pH7, pH8, and pH11. Moreover, adsorption temperatures of 20, 30, 40, and 50 °C were considered to investigate how the FLAC-3 works on MB dye removal. The adsorption capacity of FLAC-3 was determined to be 24.75 mg/g for 0.08 g and 41 mg/g for 0.02 g. The adsorption process has followed the Langmuir isotherm model ( R 2  = 0.9841), where the adsorption created a monolayer covering the surface of the adsorbent. Additionally, it was discovered that the maximum adsorption capacity (Qm) was 41.7 mg/g and the Langmuir affinity constant (KL) was 0.37 L/mg. The FLAC-3, as low-cost adsorbents for methylene blue dye, has shown good cationic dye adsorption performance. Graphical Abstract

• Interactions between mutualists, competitors, and antagonists have contrasting ecological effects that, sustained over generations, can influence micro- and macroevolution. Dissimilar benefits and costs for these interactions should cause contrasting co-diversification patterns between interacting clades, with prevalent co-speciation by mutualists, association loss by competitors, and host switching by antagonists. • We assessed these expectations for a local assemblage of 26 fig species (Moraceae: Ficus), 26 species of mutualistic (pollinating), and 33 species of parasitic (galling) wasps (Chalcidoidea). Using newly acquired gene sequences, we inferred the phylogenies for all three clades. We then compared the three possible pairs of phylogenies to assess phylogenetic congruence and the relative frequencies of co-speciation, association duplication, switching, and loss. • The paired phylogenies of pollinators with their mutualists and competitors were significantly congruent, unlike that of figs and their parasites. The distributions of macroevolutionary events largely agreed with expectations for mutualists and antagonists. By contrast, that for competitors involved relatively frequent association switching, as expected, but also unexpectedly frequent co-speciation. The latter result likely reflects the heterogeneous nature of competition among fig wasps. • These results illustrate the influence of different interspecific interactions on co-diversification, while also revealing its dependence on specific characteristics of those interactions.

• Furanocoumarins (FCs) are plant-specialized metabolites with potent allelochemical properties. The distribution of FCs is scattered with a chemotaxonomical tendency towards four distant families with highly similar FC pathways. The mechanism by which this pathway emerged and spread in plants has not been elucidated. • Furanocoumarin biosynthesis was investigated in Ficus carica (fig, Moraceae), focusing on the first committed reaction catalysed by an umbelliferone dimethylallyltransferase (UDT). Comparative RNA-seq analysis among latexes of different fig organs led to the identification of a UDT. The phylogenetic relationship of this UDT to previously reported Apiaceae UDTs was evaluated. • The expression pattern of F. carica prenyltransferase 1 (FcPT1) was related to the FC contents in different latexes. Enzymatic characterization demonstrated that one of the main functions of FcPT1 is UDT activity. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that FcPT1 and Apiaceae UDTs are derived from distinct ancestors, although they both belong to the UbiA superfamily. These findings are supported by significant differences in the related gene structures. • This report describes the identification of FcPT1 involved in FC biosynthesis in fig and provides new insights into multiple origins of the FC pathway and, more broadly, into the adaptation of plants to their environments.

• Furanocoumarins are phytoalexins often cited as an example to illustrate the arms race between plants and herbivorous insects. They are distributed in a limited number of phylogenetically distant plant lineages, but synthesized through a similar pathway, which raised the question of a unique or multiple emergence in higher plants. • The furanocoumarin pathway was investigated in the fig tree (Ficus carica, Moraceae). Transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches led to the identification of CYP76F112, a cytochrome P450 catalyzing an original reaction. CYP76F112 emergence was inquired using phylogenetics combined with in silico modeling and site-directed mutagenesis. • CYP76F112 was found to convert demethylsuberosin into marmesin with a very high affinity. This atypical cyclization reaction represents a key step within the polyphenol biosynthesis pathway. CYP76F112 evolutionary patterns suggests that the marmesin synthase activity appeared recently in the Moraceae family, through a lineage-specific expansion and diversification. • The characterization of CYP76F112 as the first known marmesin synthase opens new prospects for the use of the furanocoumarin pathway. It also supports the multiple acquisition of furanocoumarin in angiosperms by convergent evolution, and opens new perspectives regarding the ability of cytochromes P450 to evolve new functions related to plant adaptation to their environment.

1. In the nursery pollination system of figs (Ficus, Moraceae), flower-bearing receptacles called syconia breed pollinating wasps and are units of both pollination and seed dispersal. Pollinators and mammalian seed dispersers are attracted to syconia by volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In monoecious figs, syconia produce both wasps and seeds, while in (gyno)dioecious figs, male (gall) fig trees produce wasps and female (seed) fig trees produce seeds. 2. VOCs were collected using dynamic headspace adsorption methods on freshly collected figs from different trees using Super Q® collection traps. VOC profiles were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). 3. The VOC profile of receptive and dispersal phase figs were clearly different only in the dioecious mammal-dispersed Ficus hispida but not in dioecious bird-dispersed F. exasperata and monoecious bird-dispersed F. tsjahela. 4. The VOC profile of dispersal phase female figs was clearly different from that of male figs only in F. hispida but not in F. exasperata, as predicted from the phenology of syconium production which only in F. hispida overlaps between male and female trees. Greater difference in VOC profile in F. hispida might ensure preferential removal of seed figs by dispersal agents when gall figs are simultaneously available. 5. The VOC profile of only mammal-dispersed female figs of F. hispida had high levels of fatty acid derivatives such as amyl-acetates and 2-heptanone, while monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and shikimic acid derivatives were predominant in the other syconial types. A bird- and mammal-repellent compound methyl anthranilate occurred only in gall figs of both dioecious species, as expected, since gall figs containing wasp pollinators should not be consumed by dispersal agents.

Fig mosaic is the most serious viral disease affecting figs. A fig germplasm collection from the Nikita Botanical Garden on the Crimean Peninsula was surveyed for viruses using high-throughput sequencing and RT-PCR with primers specific to known fig viruses. Reads related to fig umbra-like virus (FULV) were generated in samples from Ficus carica caprifig (pollinator) trees of the cultivar Belle dure. F. carica trees of other cultivars, as well as F. afghanistanica, F. palmata, and F. virgata trees, tested negative for FULV. Near-complete genomes of five Crimean fig umbra-like virus (FULV-CR) isolates shared 99.4% to 99.9% identity and were most closely related (85.2% identity) to the Hawaiian FULV isolate Oahu1 (MW480892). Based on their genome structure and a phylogenetic analysis, the FULV-CR isolates were determined to be dicot-infecting Class 2 umbra-like viruses and seem to be highly divergent forms of the same virus found recently in Hawaii, USA. This is the first report of an umbra-like virus found on figs in Crimea and outside of Hawaii, expanding information on the geographical distribution and genetic diversity of FULV. All of the Crimean FULV-positive plants were also co-infected with fig mosaic virus, fig badnavirus 1, and grapevine badna FI virus.

This paper describes the validation of an LC-MS/MS-based method for the quantification of > 500 secondary microbial metabolites. Analytical performance parameters have been determined for seven food matrices using seven individual samples per matrix for spiking. Apparent recoveries ranged from 70 to 120% for 53–83% of all investigated analytes (depending on the matrix). This number increased to 84–94% if the recovery of extraction was considered. The comparison of the fraction of analytes for which the precision criterion of RSD ≤ 20% under repeatability conditions (for 7 replicates derived from different individual samples) and intermediate precision conditions (for 7 technical replicates from one sample), respectively, was met (85–97% vs. 93–94%) highlights the contribution of relative matrix effects to the method uncertainty. Statistical testing of apparent recoveries between pairs of matrices exhibited a significant difference for more than half of the analytes, while recoveries of the extraction showed a much better agreement. Apparent recoveries and matrix effects were found to be constant over 2–3 orders of magnitude of analyte concentrations in figs and maize, whereas the LOQs differed less than by a factor of 2 for 90% of the investigated compounds. Based on these findings, this paper discusses the applicability and practicability of current guidelines for multi-analyte method validation. Investigation of (apparent) recoveries near the LOQ seems to be insufficiently relevant to justify the enormous time-effort for manual inspection of the peaks of hundreds of analytes. Instead, more emphasis should be put on the investigation of relative matrix effects in the validation procedure.