X-ray computed tomography for 3D plant imaging KU Leuven
Agnese Piovesan, Valérie Vancauwenberghe, Tim Van De Looverbosch, Pieter Verboven, Bart Nicolai
X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a valuable tool for 3D imaging of plant tissues and organs. Applications include the study of plant development and organ morphogenesis, as well as modeling of transport processes in plants. Some challenges remain, however, including attaining higher contrast for easier quantification, increasing the resolution for imaging subcellular features, and decreasing image acquisition and processing time for ...
Microstructural changes enhance oxygen transport in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit during maturation and ripening KU Leuven
Hui Xiao, Agnese Piovesan, Suzane Pols, Pieter Verboven, Bart Nicolai
Climacteric ripening of tomato fruit is initiated by a characteristic surge of the production rate of ethylene, accompanied by an increase in respiration rate. As both activities consume O2 and produce CO2 , gas concentration gradients develop in the fruit that cause diffusive transport. This may, in turn, affect respiration and ethylene biosynthesis. Gas diffusion in fruit depends on the amount and connectivity of cells and intercellular spaces ...
Maximizing genetic representation in seed collections from populations of self and cross-pollinated banana wild relatives KU Leuven
Simon Kallow, Bartholomeus Panis, Dang Toan Vu, Tuong Dang Vu, Janet Paofa, Arne Mertens, Rony Swennen, Steven Janssens
BackgroundConservation of plant genetic resources, including the wild relatives of crops, plays an important and well recognised role in addressing some of the key challenges faced by humanity and the planet including ending hunger and biodiversity loss. However, the genetic diversity and representativeness of ex situ collections, especially that contained in seed collections, is often unknown. This limits meaningful assessments against ...
Functional Characterization of the Nemertide alpha Family of Peptide Toxins KU Leuven
Erik Jacobsson, Steve Peigneur, Hakan S Andersson, Quentin Laborde, Malin Strand, Jan Tytgat, Ulf Goransson
Peptide toxins find use in medicine, biotechnology, and agriculture. They are exploited as pharmaceutical tools, particularly for the investigation of ion channels. Here, we report the synthesis and activity of a novel family of peptide toxins: the cystine-knotted α nemertides. Following the prototypic α-1 and -2 (1 and 2), six more nemertides were discovered by mining of available nemertean transcriptomes. Here, we describe their synthesis ...
Biochar-enhanced resistance to Botrytis cinerea in strawberry fruits (but not leaves) is associated with changes in the rhizosphere microbiome Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Biochar has been reported to play a positive role in disease suppression against airborne pathogens in plants. The mechanisms behind this positive trait are not well-understood. In this study, we hypothesized that the attraction of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) or fungi (PGPF) underlies the mechanism of biochar in plant protection. The attraction of PGPR and PGPF may either activate the innate immune system of plants or help the ...
Comparative Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Reveal an Intricate Priming Mechanism Involved in PGPR-Mediated Salt Tolerance in Tomato KU Leuven
Ifigeneia Mellidou, Aggeliki Ainalidou, Anastasia Papadopoulou, Kleopatra Leontidou, Savvas Genitsaris, Evangelos Karagiannis, Bram Van de Poel, Katerina Karamanoli
Plant-associated beneficial strains inhabiting plants grown under harsh ecosystems can help them cope with abiotic stress factors by positively influencing plant physiology, development, and environmental adaptation. Previously, we isolated a potential plant growth promoting strain (AXSa06) identified as Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, possessing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase activity, producing indole-3-acetic acid and siderophores, as ...
Cytotoxic, Antioxidant, and Antidiabetic Activities versus UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS Chemical-Profile Analysis of Ipomoea aquatica Fractions Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Mahmoud Hefny Gad Hussein, Kristiaan Demeyer, Yvan Vander Heyden, Debby Mangelings
Ipomoea aquatica is a common green leafy vegetable that has numerous uses in traditional medicine. This study focused on the determination of the cytotoxic, antiradical, and antidiabetic properties of various fractions of the I. aquatica methanolic extract, as well as on the tentative identification of some bioactive compounds in the same fractions. The cytotoxicity was determined by the brine shrimp lethal test. The antioxidant activities of ...
56. Gnadensee KU Leuven
Natalia Ryabogina, Elena Marinova Wolff, Manfred Roesch
Cytotoxicity and Antiviral Activities of Haplophyllum tuberculatum Essential Oils, Pure Compounds, and Their Combinations against Coxsackievirus B3 and B4 Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Assia Hamdi, Aymen Halouani, Ines Aouf, Johan Viaene, Belsem Marzouk, Jamil Kraiem, Hela Jaïdane, Yvan Vander Heyden
Haplophyllum tuberculatum is a plant commonly used in folk medicine to treat several diseases including vomiting, nausea, infections, rheumatism, and gastric pains. In the current study, H. tuberculatum essential oils, hydrosols, the pure compounds R-(+)-limonene, S-(-)-limonene, and 1-octanol, as well as their combinations R-(+)-limonene/1-octanol and S-(-)-limonene/1-octanol, were screened for their cytotoxicity on HEp-2 cells after 24, 48, ...
Carapa wohllebenii (Meliaceae), a new tree species from montane forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi KU Leuven
Eberhard Fischer, Dorothee Killmann, Burkhard Leh, Steven Janssens