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The overall goal of this research was to develop plant protein-based lipid composite films by examining the effect of shear (mechanical shear; MS vs. high pressure shear; HPS) and type of legume protein isolates (pea, lentil, soy, and faba bean). Compared to MS, HPS emulsions had smaller droplet size, and HPS emulsions from pea and lentil were more viscous than soy and faba bean. The HPS films were lighter and more green and yellow in colour compared to MS films. HPS also improved the mechanical properties of the films resulting in higher tensile and puncture strength for pea and soy and higher tensile elongation and puncture deformation for most of the legumes. There was an inverse relationship between legumes where overall stronger and less flexible films were prepared from pea and soy, and vice versa from lentil and faba bean. HPS resulted in pea and soy films with less swelling ability and higher water vapour permeability (WVP), indicative of a poorer moisture barrier when homogenized this way. The MS films had similar WVP regardless of legume type, while under HPS it was the lowest for faba bean and highest for soy, despite the high swelling ability for both legumes. In short, pea, lentil, and faba bean protein isolates prepared emulsion films with good mechanical properties and water resistance, suggesting the potential to replace soy as edible packaging materials. HSP films had better mechanical attributes but poorer vapor barrier properties then those produced using MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was designed to assess the allelopathic potential of invasive weed Ageratina adenophora leaf extracts on seed germination and seedling development efficiency of native tree [viz. Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus (Oak) and Pinus roxburghii Sarg. (Pine)] and crop [(Triticum aestivum L. (Wheat) and Lens culinaris Medik. (Lentil)] species of Kumaun Himalaya. Pot experiments were conducted in the glasshouse of the Botany Department, D.S.B. Campus, Kumaun University Nainital, following a Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) with three treatments (C1-25%, C2-50%, and C3-100% of aqueous leaf extract) and one control, each with five replicates. The experiment lasted one year for tree species and continued until the seed maturation phase for crop species. Parameters such as seed germination proportion, root and shoot measurements, biomass, and crop productivity traits were recorded accordingly. Our bioassay results indicated that the inhibitory effect of leaf extracts on the measured traits of the selected native species was proportional to the applied extract concentrations of A. adenophora. Overall, lentil among crops and oak among tree species exhibited more inhibition compared to wheat and pine, respectively. At the highest concentration, reductions of 44%, 34%, 36%, and 24% in biomass production capacity were recorded for wheat, lentil, pine, and oak, respectively, while wheat and lentil productivity decreased by up to 33% and 45%, respectively. These results suggest that water-soluble allelochemicals produced by A. adenophora may impede the establishment of selected crop and tree species in agroecosystems and forest ecosystems invaded by this weed species. However, further studies on the characterization of phytochemicals and their specific role in seed germination and growth are warranted. Furthermore, the allelopathic potential of A. adenophora can be explored for the preparation of biopesticides and nature-friendly option to improve soil health, crop productivity, and reduce environmental pollution and management of this invasive weed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agrochemicals are substances used to prevent, destroy, or mitigate any pest. Their indiscriminate use can cause serious problems in ecosystems, contaminating surface and groundwater and affecting surrounding biota. However, in the environment, various natural processes such as biological degradation and photodegradation can mitigate their persistence and, consequently, their ecotoxicological impact. In this regard, this study aimed to obtain relevant data on the cytotoxic effects produced by pesticides on bioindicator plants. As observed in the literature review, cellular inhibition, nuclear anomalies, and micronucleus index are some of the different impacts commonly known from pesticides. These chemical substances can cause cytogenetic alterations in a plant bioassay. Plant bioindicators such as Allium cepa L, Vicia faba L, Pisum sativum L, Lactuca sativa L, and Lens culinaris Med are very important and effective experimental models for identifying the cytogenotoxicity of pesticides. These have been available for many years. However, they are still used today for their effectiveness in detecting and monitoring chemical substances such as agrochemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upsurge of stemphylium blight disease noticed during recent cropping years is the prime global threat for lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) production. Identification of factors that influence lentil yield with the help of an advanced regression model will speed up the progress of lentil crop improvement for biotic stress tolerance. In this context, an experiment was undertaken to identify the key control factors of lentil yield under stemphylium blight stress. The field experiment was laid out under alpha lattice design using fifty lentil genotypes with two replications. An advanced dimension reduction cum regression approach Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) was employed to mitigate the effect of multi-collinearity among 23 yield-influencing traits along with traditional Stepwise Multiple Linear Regression (SMLR). The results of SMLR analysis indicated that pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, hundred seed weight, superoxide dismutase and pod yield per plant had considerable effects on seed yield per plant with the R-squared value of 0.940. The first four PLSR components were considered to be optimum which were cumulatively explained 93.10% of the total variance towards lentil seed yield. The trait pods per plant was recorded with the highest PLSR regression coefficient devoid of multi-collinearity effects among the independent yield attributing variables under stemphylium blight environment and hence concluded to be the most influencing trait towards lentil seed yield followed by seeds per pod, hundred seed weight, pod yield per plant and superoxide dismutase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Microvascular invasion (MVI) is a risk factor for postoperative recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), even in early-stage HCC. In small HCC ≤ 3 cm, treatment options include anatomical resection or non-anatomical resection, and MVI has a major effect on treatment decisions. We aimed to identify the predictors of MVI in small HCC ≤ 3 cm. Methods: We retrospectively studied 129 patients with very early or early-stage HCC ≤ 3 cm who had undergone 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography and subsequent hepatic resection from January 2016 to August 2023. These patients were divided into the derivation cohort (n = 86) and validation cohort (n = 43). We examined the risk factors for MVI using logistic regression analysis, and established a predictive scoring system in the derivation cohort. We evaluated the accuracy of our scoring system in the validation cohort. Results: In the derivation cohort, a Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP-L3), prothrombin induced by vitamin K deficiency or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II), and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) were independent predictors of MVI. We established the scoring system using these three factors. In the validation test, there were no MVI-positive cases with a score of 0 and 1, and all cases were MVI-positive with a score of 4. Moreover, with a score ≥ 2, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of our scoring system were 100%, 71.4%, and 81.4%, respectively. Conclusions: Our scoring system can accurately predict MVI in small HCC ≤ 3 cm, and could contribute to establishing an appropriate treatment strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, our objective was to show the effects of pH and calcium on the techno functional properties of four pulse flours (chickpea, lentil, red lentil, and white bean) and the rheological properties of their pastes and gels. Five conditions were considered: a natural condition and four modifications (pH 3 and pH 5; with or without calcium addition). All measured properties varied with the type, condition, and the interaction among them. All flours exhibited high foaming capacity (44.3 − 78.8%) and emulsifying capacity (46.6 − 49.9%). The white bean flour showed a high water holding capacity (1.6 – 2.0 g/g), and the red lentil, lentil, and chickpea formed strong gels and high viscosity pastes. For the four pulses, the water holding capacity and foaming capacity of the flours and the viscosity of the pastes were improved by decreasing the pH (at 3 or 5) plus the addition of calcium. The hardness, elasticity, and resistance of gels obtained from pulse flours (except for white bean) were high when using natural conditions. Lowering pH resulted in a reduction of these parameters. Highlights: The properties of the flours were affected by pH and Ca differently depending on the pulse. The water holding capacity and foaming properties of pulse flours are improved by lowering pH and adding calcium. The viscosity of pulse flour pastes is improved by lowering the pH to 5 and 3. The strengths and elasticity of the pulse gels were reduced when the pH was decreased and calcium was added except for white beans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abiotic factors, including heat stress, significantly impact the growth and development of lentil across the globe. Although these stresses impact the plant's phenotypic, genotypic, metabolic, and yield development, predicting those traits in lentil is challenging. This study aimed to construct a machine learning-based yield prediction model for lentil using various yield attributes under two different sowing conditions. Twelve genotypes were planted in open-field conditions, and images were captured 45 days after sowing (DAS) and 60 DAS to make predictions for agro-morphological traits with the assessment for the influence of high-temperature stress on lentil growth. Greening techniques like Excess Green, Modified Excess Green (ME × G), and Color Index of Plant Extraction (CIVE) were used to extract 35 vegetative indices from the crop image. Random forest (RF) regression and artificial neural network (ANN) models were developed for both the normal-sown and late-sown lentils. The ME × G-CIVE method with Otsu's thresholding provided superior performance in image segmentation, while the RF model showed the highest level of model generalization. This study demonstrated that yield per plant and number of pods per plant were the most significant attributes for early prediction of lentil production in both conditions using the RF models. After harvesting, various yield parameters of the selected genotypes were measured, showing significant reductions in most traits for the late-sown plants. Heat-tolerant genotypes like RLG-05, Kota Masoor-1, and Kota Masoor-2 depicted decreased yield and harvest index (HI) reduction than the heat-sensitive HUL-57. These findings warrant further study to correlate the data with more stress-modulating attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater resources play an important role in meeting the water needs of agriculture and industry. Therefore, identifying the factors affecting the potential challenges of groundwater resources can be key to proper implementation and management, considered the main goal of the current research. In this study, agricultural groundwater poverty index (AGPI) and industrial groundwater poverty index (IGPI) were developed based on General, Effective, and Data mining methods for the study period 2012–2020 in the West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Both agricultural and industrial sectors were classified into five categories with 17 and 15 associated variables, respectively. The total scores of AGPI and IGPI were obtained (48.63, 47.80, 49.67) and (33.35, 33.60, 33.37), respectively, for General, Effective, and Data mining methods in the West Azerbaijan Province. In 2012–2020, the qualitative classification of the sustainability status of groundwater resources for the agriculture and industry sectors was at a good and very good level. The crop cultivation patterns of Pea, Beans, and Lentils products require management reforms to avoid the relative unsustainability in groundwater resources. Also, Production of Food and Beverages, Tobacco products, Production of Coke fuel, Oil refineries, and Nuclear fuels, Chemical Products, Rubber and Plastic products, and Non-Metallic Mineral Products could face management challenges in the West Azerbaijan Province. As the agricultural sector puts more pressure on groundwater resources than the industrial sector, it is expected that the southern part of the province will be more affected by water crises in the future. Also, the countries' internal management plans and international relations, such as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), could have a significant impact on the status of their water resources. Due to saving time and money, it is highly recommended to use the Data mining method to develop the AGPI and IGPI in practical projects. The results of current study will have a critical impact on improving and optimizing the performance of implemented groundwater resource management projects in various temporal–spatial levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal-based foods have a large impact on the environment; for this reason, plant-based meat analogous are now in the spotlight. Although protein concentrates/isolates from soy are the most used raw materials for meat analogues, some concerns about allergenicity, loss of biodiversity, and low sustainability of their production rise from their uses. In this context, high protein fractions obtained by air classification of pulse flours are here proposed as substitutes of protein concentrates. Thus, this work is aimed at understanding the aptitude of high protein fraction from pulses to be transformed into meat analogous through high moisture extrusion process. Differences in functional and rheological properties among high protein fractions resulted in different high moisture extrusion properties and thus products with different appearance. Specifically, the foaming capacity of high protein fraction from red lentil resulted in expansion at the end of the extruder creating a heterogeneous structure, whereas the high lipid content of high protein fraction from chickpea can account for the unsuitability of this raw material to high moisture extrusion. On the contrary, high protein fraction from both fava bean and yellow pea presented a fibrous structure. However, the structure and textual properties of the final products need to be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the impact of co-ingesting cereals and legumes on starch and protein during simulated infant in vitro digestion. Various legumes (chickpeas, lentils, peas) were added to cereals (durum wheat, brown rice, white maize), and their effects on starch and protein hydrolysis were analyzed. Substituting 50% of cereal with legumes increased proteins, minerals, and dietary fiber. Infant food with legumes exhibited smoother pasting properties. Legumes in cereal purées led to varying starch hydrolysis trends, with the lowest values in durum wheat with chickpea and all cereal blends with peas. Resistant starch levels exceeding 50% were found in infant food samples. Digested protein hydrolysis increased with legumes in durum wheat, except for peas. Brown rice mixtures decreased significantly compared to the control with chickpeas (61%) and peas (42%), while lentil blends increased by 46%. Legumes generally did not significantly affect starch bioavailability, even with α-amylase inhibitors. Lentil-cereal purées could enhance infant food nutritional value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of our study was to ensure that comparing the mineral content of the lentil and the amount of nutrients published by the world's leading organizations. The samples were randomly and subjectively selected from different retail outlets. Fifteen types of medium seed brown lentil from fifteen different distributors were obtained and analyzed for moisture, protein, Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, and S content. Descriptive statistics were done and for comparisons. Shapiro–Wilk test was first conducted to assess normality. When data followed a normal distribution, T-test was used, and when not, Wilcoxon signed rank test (P-values = 0.05). The results of the measurements were compared with data from several FAO/INFOODS food composition databases, as well as the Canadian National Food Composition Database, USDA Food Data Central, United Kingdom, Australian Food Composition Database, and Indian food composition tables. The evaluation of the measurement results showed significant differences (p = 0.05) in the amount of Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, Fe, and Cu compared to the amounts listed in the world's leading databases in most cases. Our results were also examined from a dietary perspective to determine if the differences had practical significance. The results of the Canadian samples were compared with the Canadian database, there was a significant difference amount of Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, Fe, Cu, and Mn. For each discrepancy, more than the quantitative values published in the databases were measured, in the case of Ca, Mg, and Fe almost double. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chickpea is the world's second most widely grown pulse. This legume will become increasingly important due to its natural drought and heat tolerance ability, and its capacity to fix atmospheric N2 in symbiosis with rhizobia what makes this pulse a low-water and carbon fingerprint crop. The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional value, the mineral composition, and the phenolic compound profiles of ten Spanish chickpea genotypes. Seed morphological characteristics were also determined as useful traits for analyzing plant biodiversity. Most of these advanced lines and/or recombinant inbred lines (RILs) were derived from intraspecific crosses among kabuli-type chickpeas genotypes. The variety Kasin and two RILs, namely 5-RIL-33 and 5-RIL-92, shared the same parental lines, one of them from India (WR315) of desi type. Only one genotype (5-RIL-33) has colored grains and pink flowers (common desi-type traits). These three genotypes were resistant to both ascochyta blight [Ascochyta rabiei (Pass.) Labr] and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris race 5. The protein content of all genotypes was higher than 20% with some outstanding lines having > 25%. Other functional components such as crude fat, fiber, and carbohydrates contents and minerals were broadly uniform across the studied material. The analysis of the phenolic compounds on methanolic seed extracts reveals common features as the presence of gentisic and 4-hydroybezoic acids, besides l-glutamic, citric, and succinic organic acids. In contrast, some compounds such as gallic acid, gallocatechin, and rutin are exclusively present in the colored 5-RIL-33 line, in addition to the reference Apulian black chickpea variety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comparative evaluation of grain legumes is essential for the effective planning of legume-based agricultural systems in a given environment. The goal of this work was to contrast the growth, translocation of assimilates, and grain yield of spring-planted common vetch (Vicia sativa L.), red pea (Lathyrus cicera L.), lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), and field pea (Pisum sativa L.) under rainfed Mediterranean conditions. Two cultivars of each species were cultivated on a silty clay soil in northeastern Greece for 2 years (2014 and 2015) with contrasting rainfall patterns. Chickpea and field pea exhibited better early crop growth rate than any other legume. Species differences in assimilates availability prior to grain filling affected the remobilization of assimilates to seed, which increased by 45% for every kg ha−1 rise in early dry matter accumulation. Dry matter translocation efficiency varied from 9 to 51% depending on species and year. Red pea was the best option in terms of seed yield, regardless of the seasonal rainfall. Chickpea in the drier year (2015) and field pea in the wetter year (2014) produced seed yields that were comparable to that of red pea. Lentil and common vetch were generally less productive species in terms of seed yield. Species seed yield was associated with their ability to accumulate biomass either before podding (r = 0.52, P < 0.05) or at maturity (r = 0.51, P < 0.05), but not with harvest index or translocation of dry matter. Findings provide new knowledge regarding growth attributes and reallocation of assimilate in five legume species grown simultaneously in the same environment, which has never been studied before. In addition, results highlight that selecting species with enhanced early or final biomass potential as well as adopting cultural practices that promote biomass accumulation in the growing season appear to be effective management strategies for improving seed yield of the tested grain legumes under Mediterranean conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentils, which are scientifically known as Lens culinaris Medik., are an important component of traditional diets and belong to the Fabaceae family. The germination of lentil seeds was investigated during the experiment using the halo thermal time model. The study consisted of five constant cardinal temperatures: 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35°C, and various water potentials ranging from 0 to –1 MPa. The study concluded that the seeds had the highest moisture content (–0.75 MPa) and germination rate at a temperature of 30°C, while the lowest germination rate was recorded at 15°C. The germination rate was highest at temperatures above 30°C. The GP, GRI, GI, CVG, GE, Seed Vigor Index II and I, as well as the RSR (root shoot ratio), were at their maximum when exposed to –0.75 MPa at 30°C. Meanwhile, the lowest values were recorded at 0 MPa and 15°C. The halo thermal time model effectively forecasted the germination period of lentils when exposed to NaCl. Lentils being salt tolerant plants are well suited for growth in dry and semi-dry areas, owing to their remarkable resilience to saline conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overarching goal of this research was to investigate the effect of trypsin hydrolysis on the functional properties, protein quality, and flavour of chickpea and lentil protein isolates (CPI and LPI, respectively) at varying levels of hydrolysis (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%). The protein content remained in the range of ~ 69-74% and ~ 80-83%, and lipid was increased from 2.1% to 0.5% to ~ 17% and ~ 2% for CPI and LPI, respectively. The surface charge and hydrophobicity were generally enhanced while changes to surface and interfacial tension varied greatly. The solubility of CPI and LPI increased by 10 and 30 times, respectively. The oil holding capacity also improved from ~ 1 to ~ 1.5–2.6 g/g. Most hydrolysates maintained emulsion stability at pH 7.8, whereas decreases were observed at pH 4.5. Modifications to water holding capacity and foaming properties varied between pulses with CPI having reductions in the attributes while those for LPI were generally positive. However, the LPI protein quality decreased (from 55 to 32%), while it improved for CPI (from 55 to 60%), with the limiting amino acid for both being tryptophan. Flavour compounds including aldehydes, alcohols and ketones were present before and post hydrolysis. Based on the findings, the present pulse hydrolysates could be applied into liquid-based formulations and processed meats for their enhanced solubility and fat retention, while LPI and CPI could also find use as a foaming agent or to improve amino acid nutrition, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among legumes, lentil serves as an imperative source of dietary proteins and are considered an important pillar of global food and nutritional security. The crop is majorly cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions and exposed to different abiotic stresses. Drought stress is a polygenic stress that poses a major threat to the crop productivity of lentils. It negatively influenced the seed emergence, water relations traits, photosynthetic machinery, metabolites, seed development, quality, and yield in lentil. Plants develop several complex physiological and molecular protective mechanisms for tolerance against drought stress. These complicated networks are enabled to enhance the cellular potential to survive under extreme water-scarce conditions. As a result, proper drought stress-mitigating novel and modern approaches are required to improve lentil productivity. The currently existing biotechnological techniques such as transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/cas9), and detection of QTLs (quantitative trait loci), proteins, and genes responsible for drought tolerance have gained appreciation among plant breeders for developing climate-resilient lentil varieties. In this review, we critically elaborate the impact of drought on lentil, mechanisms employed by plants to tolerate drought, and the contribution of omics approaches in lentils for dealing with drought, providing deep insights to enhance lentil productivity and improve resistance against abiotic stresses. We hope this updated review will directly help the lentil breeders to develop resistance against drought stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the response of plants to varied gravitational conditions is vital for developing effective food production in space bioregenerative life support systems. This study examines the impact of altered gravity conditions on the growth and morphological responses of Wolffia globosa (commonly known as "water lentils" or "duckweed"), assessing its potential as a space crop. Although an experiment testing the effect of simulated microgravity on Wolffia globosa has been previously conducted, for the first time, we investigated the effect of multiple gravity levels on the growth and morphological traits of Wolffia globosa plants. The plant responses to simulated microgravity, simulated partial gravity (Moon), and hypergravity environments were evaluated using random positioning machines and the large-diameter centrifuge. As hypothesized, we observed a slight reaction to different gravitational levels in the growth and morphological traits of Wolffia globosa. The relative growth rates (RGR) of plants subjected to simulated microgravity and partial gravity were reduced when compared to those in other gravity levels. The morphological analysis revealed differences in plant dimensions and frond length-to-width ratios under diverse gravity conditions. Our findings showed that Wolffia globosa is responsive to gravitational changes, with its growth and morphological adaptations being slightly influenced by varying gravitational environments. As for other crop species, growth was reduced by the microgravity conditions; however, RGR remained substantial at 0.33 a day. In conclusion, this study underscores the potential of Wolffia globosa as a space crop and its adaptability to diverse gravitational conditions, contributing to the development of sustainable food production and bioregenerative life support systems for future space exploration missions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-cost microbial remediation strategies serve as a viable and potent weapon for curbing the arsenic menace. In the present study, two arsenic-resistant bacteria were isolated from the contaminated lentil rhizosphere in Gangetic plain of eastern India. LAR-21 (Burkholderia cepacia, MW356875) and LAR-25 (Burkholderia cenocepacia, MW356894) could remove 87.6% and 85.9% of arsenite (10 mM) from the liquid culture medium in laboratory condition. They were highly resistant to arsenate and arsenite and also had a high arsenite oxidase activity. LAR-21 showed the highest level of minimum inhibitory concentration value of 390 mM for arsenate and 31 mM for arsenite. The same strain was found to show highest arsenite oxidase activity, i.e., 5.2 nM min−1 mg−1of protein. These two strains further possess potential plant growth-promoting characteristics like indole acetic acid production (5–15 mM IAA mL−1), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (8–21 nM α-keto butyrate mg protein−1 h−1), nitrogenase activity (3–8.99 nM ethylene mg cell protein−1 h−1), siderophore production (17–22.1 µM deferoxamine mesylate mL−1), phosphate solubilization (261–453 µg mL−1) under arsenic stress condition. The plant growth promotion of the strains was further validated by pot study of lentil by assessing their agronomic and growth-related traits, and potential to recover from arsenic stress (17.2–21.2% arsenic reduction in root and shoot, 16–19.2% in leaf and pod, and 15–23% reduction in seeds). The LAR-21 strain, thus, emerged as the most suited candidate for bioremediation and plant (lentil) growth promotion in arsenic polluted environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum L., is a forensically important plant due to the medicinal and illegal uses for the milky latex stored in the pods. This latex contains the alkaloids morphine, codeine, and thebaine that are used for their analgesic properties and/or for synthesizing other opioids. However, these compounds are highly addictive and have caused a national opioid epidemic. Two other Papaver species, P. setigerum DC. and P. bracteatum Lindl., are also of forensic interest because they pose both forensic and legal issues. They are largely uncontrolled under the Controlled Substances Act, making these species a common defense strategy. Current morphological and chemical identification methods have been moderately successful but have drawbacks. There is also a lack of sequencing data available. Therefore, exploiting the genome using chloroplast DNA barcoding markers could help to accurately identify these species of interest when plant material is taken. This study screened and assessed the genetic variation both between species and within populations of P. somniferum in nine cpDNA barcode regions (ndhF-rpl32, petA-psbJ, rpl32-trnL, rps16-trnQ, trnE-trnT, trnH-psbA, trnL-trnF, rpl16 intron, and psbE-petL). Published reference genomes from the NCBI GenBank database were aligned and compared for an initial in silico screening. Additionally, ten P. somniferum seed samples from various vendors were sequenced and compared across samples and to published reference data at the various barcode regions of interest. This study showed that the regions trnH-psbA and petA-psbJ have promise for utility in individualization for both inter- and intra-species individualization of P. somniferum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of two different extraction methods (alkaline extraction isoelectric precipitation––AEIP and salt extraction dialysis––SE) on the production of protein isolates from four different pulse types grown in Canada (yellow pea-YP, green lentil-GL, chickpea-CH and navy bean-NB) were studied for their physicochemical, functional, and nutritional properties. The extraction method and type of pulse had an effect on protein and extraction yields. The method used for extraction had an influence on the surface properties as well as the functionality of the isolated proteins. SE-produced isolates presented higher solubility, foaming capacity and emulsion activity than those prepared through AEIP. Protein quality results showed that higher in-vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) and in-vitro protein digestibility corrected amino-acid scores (IV-PDCAAS) were achieved for proteins obtained through AEIP than those prepared for SE samples. The current study contributes to a better understanding of the effects of extraction methods on the resulting protein characteristics and properties of different pulses grown in Canada, which can impact their suitability for different product applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main conclusion: SMAX/SMXL family genes were successfully identified and characterized in the chickpea and lentil and gene expression data revealed several genes associated with the modulation of plant branching and powerful targets for use in transgenesis and genome editing. Strigolactones (SL) play essential roles in plant growth, rooting, development, and branching, and are associated with plant resilience to abiotic and biotic stress conditions. Likewise, karrikins (KAR) are "plant smoke-derived molecules" that act in a hormonal signaling pathway similar to SL playing an important role in seed germination and hairy root elongation. The SMAX/SMXL family genes are part of these two signaling pathways, in addition to some of these members acting in a still little known SL- and KAR-independent signaling pathway. To date, the identification and functional characterization of the SMAX/SMXL family genes has not been performed in the chickpea and lentil. In this study, nine SMAX/SMXL genes were systematically identified and characterized in the chickpea and lentil, and their expression profiles were explored under different unstressless or different stress conditions. After a comprehensive in silico characterization of the genes, promoters, proteins, and protein-protein interaction network, the expression profile for each gene was determined using a meta-analysis from the RNAseq datasets and complemented with real-time PCR analysis. The expression profiles of the SMAX/SMXL family genes were very dynamic in different chickpea and lentil organs, with some genes assuming a tissue-specific expression pattern. In addition, these genes were significantly modulated by different stress conditions, indicating that SMAX/SMXL genes, although working in three distinct signaling pathways, can act to modulate plant resilience. Most CaSMAX/SMXL and partner genes such as CaTiE1 and CaLAP1, have a positive correlation with the plant branching level, while most LcSMAX/SMXL genes were less correlated with the plant branching level. The SMXL6, SMXL7, SMXL8, TiE1, LAP1, BES1, and BRC1 genes were highlighted as powerful targets for use in transgenesis and genome editing aiming to develop chickpea and lentil cultivars with improved architecture. Therefore, this study presented a detailed characterization of the SMAX/SMXL genes in the chickpea and lentil, and provided new insights for further studies focused on each SMAX/SMXL gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentils are a significant source of plant protein and are cultivated across Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Plants are subjected to various environmental stresses, which can hinder growth, yield, and productivity. 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a compound that acts as a precursor in the biosynthesis of tetrapyrroles and can increase plant tolerance to different abiotic stressors. However, the effects of exogenously applied ALA on lentil growth, yield, and physiological parameters under rain-fed and supplemental irrigation conditions are not well-known. In this study, a split plot experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of ALA foliar application and supplemental irrigation on lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.). The experiment was designed based on a randomized complete block with three replications. The main plot included four levels of supplemental irrigation [(supplementary irrigation in the flowering and early seed-filling stages, supplementary irrigation in the flowering stage, supplementary irrigation in the early seed-filling along with rain-fed conditions (no irrigation)]. The subplot considered foliar application of ALA at varying levels [(0 (control), 50 and 100 ppm)]. The results showed that water regimes and foliar spray with ALA significantly (P ˂ 0.01) affected plant height, number of pods per plant, pod weight, number of seeds per pod and weight of 1000 seeds, biological yield, seed yield, and harvest index. The highest total chlorophyll content was observed in plants that were subjected to supplementary irrigation in flowering and early seed filling stages and foliar sprayed with 100 ppm ALA. The study also found that exogenous ALA improved drought tolerance in lentil plants under rain-fed conditions mainly by regulating antioxidant enzymes, which ultimately protected the cellular membranes against overproduction of H2O2. Furthermore, ALA application increased total carbohydrate contents at all supplemental irrigation levels, but the rate was higher in complementary irrigation conditions during flowering and early seed-filling stages. Malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2, and proline contents were increased in field-grown plants under rain-fed conditions without exogenous ALA application. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the effects of ALA foliar spray and supplemental irrigation on lentil growth, yield, and physiological parameters. The findings suggest that exogenous ALA can improve plant tolerance to various abiotic stressors and enhance plant growth, yield, and physiological parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilizes a system dynamics approach (SD) to assess the effects of water productivity improvement strategies on the Qazvin plain, Iran, and the uncertainty of the individual and interactive effects. The key indicators included in the important strategies are cropping pattern scenarios (CPS), deficit irrigation (DI), and modern irrigation systems development (MISD). Plain-scale results show that CPS 7, CPS 4, and CPS 8 had the highest physical water productivity (WPp) at 2.11, 1.99, and 1.95 kg/m3, respectively, representing a 21, 14, and 12 percent increase over CPS 1. Compared with CPS 1, CPS 4, CPS 6, and CPS 8 showed the highest values of WPe (5678, 5568, and 5503 Rials/m3, respectively). At the field scale, under DI, WPp increased for all crops (except corn, which was the most sensitive), but WPe is only increased for tomato, canola, pea, and barley and reduced for corn, potato, beans, lentils, and sugar beet. The WPe was affected by the DI, the irrigation system type, and the CPS. CPS 7 and CPS 6 had the highest and lowest water requirements, respectively, with 11,699 and 8207 m3/ha. Volume decline in aquifers is significantly affected by both CPS and DI. The CPS6, CPS8, and CPS2 were better than other scenarios. By modifying the cropping pattern, it is possible to prevent aquifer decline, thus improving the aquifer status (CPS5). MISD increased both field and plain WPp for all crops. The MISD improved groundwater resources and reduced demand by increasing efficiency to improve aquifer condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pulses are cultivated across a range of soil and climatic conditions that often have many abiotic constraints to production. Whilst water stress has been identified as the greatest constraint in Australian pulse cultivation, other limitations include heat, frost, nutrient deficiency, and a variety of soil physiochemical constraints. Several studies on various pulses have examined shoot and root architecture and their ability to mitigate specific abiotic constraints. However, these studies have been conducted independently of each other, and there is a lack of amalgamated information combining both shoot and root responses that can address production constraints. Scope: This review examines the shoot and root system architecture of key pulses used for human consumption grown in Australia including chickpea, lentil, faba bean, field pea and lupin; and where possible it provides a comparison with relevant research from other crops, especially cereals. It examines research conducted on adaptations to drought, waterlogging, temperature extremes, soil chemical toxicities and high soil strength. Conclusion: The review utilises a physiological framework to identify trait combinations that define theoretical ideotypes of pulse crops that would be better able to mitigate abiotic constraints currently limiting Australian pulse productivity. This framework can be extended directly to other similar environments globally or be used to develop new ideotypes that are better adapted to a wider range of regions within Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fusarium wilt is a major threat to lentil production in India and worldwide. The presence of evolving virulent races has imposed the necessity of reliable management practices including breeding for resistance using unexplored germplasms. The magnitude of resistance by the plant is determined by rapid recognition of the pathogen and induction of defence genes. Resistance gene analogues have been key factors involved in the recognition and induction of defence response. In the present study, the expression of key RGA previously cloned was determined in three resistant accessions (L65, L83 and L90) and a susceptible accession (L27). The expression was assessed via qPCR at 24, 48 and 72 hpi against virulent race5 (CG-5). All the RGAs differentially transcribed in resistant and susceptible accession showed temporal variation. RGA Lc2, Lc8, Ln1 and Lo6 produced cDNA signals during early infection (24 hpi) predicting its involvement in recognition. LoRGA6 showed significant upregulation in L65 and L83 while downregulating in L27 and the full length of LoRGA6 loci was isolated by 5′ and 3′ RACE PCR. In-silico characterization revealed LoRGA6 loci code for 912 amino acids long polypeptide with a TIR motif at the N terminal and eight LRR motifs at the C terminal. The tertiary structure revealed a concave pocket-like structure at the LRR domain potentially involved in pathogen effectors interaction. The loci have ADP binding domain and ATPase activity. This has further paved the path for functional analysis of the loci by VIGS to understand the molecular mechanism of resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future European agriculture should achieve high productivity while limiting its impact on the environment. Legume-supported crop rotations could contribute to these goals, as they request less nitrogen (N) fertilizer inputs, show high resource use efficiency and support biodiversity. However, legumes grown for their grain (pulses) are not widely cultivated in Europe. To further expand their cultivation, it remains crucial to better understand how different cropping and environmental features affect pulses production in Europe. To address this gap, we collected the grain yields of the most cultivated legumes across European countries, from both published scientific papers and unpublished experiments of the European projects LegValue and Legato. Data were integrated into an open-source, easily updatable dataset, including 5229 yield observations for five major pulses: chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), faba bean (Vicia faba L.), field pea (Pisum sativum L.), lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.), and soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). These data were collected in 177 field experiments across 21 countries, from 37° N (southern Italy) to 63° N (Finland) of latitude, and from ca. 8° W (western Spain) to 47° E (Turkey), between 1980 and 2020. Our dataset can be used to quantify the effects of the soil, climate, and agronomic factors affecting pulses yields in Europe and could contribute to identifying the most suitable cropping areas in Europe to grow pulses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Domestication and crop breeding has improved plants for human use, but may have unintended consequences for traits that are not selected upon. Disruption in the mycorrhizal mutualism has been observed in crops; possibly due to breeding in fertilised soil. Little is known about whether the legume-rhizobia mutualism can be disrupted by domestication and crop evolution, despite the importance of symbiotic nitrogen fixation. We aimed to identify differences in mutualistic outcomes between five legume cultivars and their wild progenitors in terms of their reactions across varying nitrogen levels. Methods: With five greenhouse experiments, we characterised symbiosis traits in chickpea, lentil, pea, peanut, and soybean across a gradient of N fertilisation to characterise whether symbiosis traits differ context specifically between wild and domesticated lines. Results: At lower levels of N addition, wild soybean benefited more from rhizobia than domesticated soybean. Chickpea cultivars abandoned symbiosis at lower N than wild chickpea accessions. Chickpea cultivars reduced per-nodule colony forming units (CFU) in response to N addition more than wild chickpeas, but lentil cultivars reduced CFU less than lentil accessions. The lentil, pea, and peanut cultivars did not differ from their wild relatives in rhizobial benefit, nor in nodulation response to N addition. Conclusions: Differences in the regulation of the root nodule symbiosis are evident between domesticated and wild chickpea and soybean, but not lentil, pea, or peanut. This indicates that mutualism disruption—a decrease in the magnitude of the mutually symbiotic interaction—is a possible, but not necessary, consequence of domestication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing demand for nutritionally dense foods warrants the investigation of high fiber and protein ingredients in snack food applications. In this study, blends of barley (22.9% dietary fiber, db) and green lentil (26.4% protein, db) flours were extruded at five blending ratios (barley: green lentil, 100: 0, 75: 25, 60: 40, 45: 55, 0: 100, db), two barrel temperature profiles (60–130 °C and 70–140 °C from feeder to die) and three feed moisture contents (15, 18 and 21%) to produce puffed snacks. Extrusion significantly improved in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) of all blends by up to 10%. Decreasing feed moisture and increasing die temperature improved IVPD. Blending increased the limiting amino acid score and hence improved the in vitro protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (IVPDCAAS) of extrudates. On average, the blend 45:55 showed the highest average IVPDCAAS (68.62%) among the blends studied and lower glycemic index scores compared to the blend 60: 40. In general, extrusion did not substantially affect the soluble, insoluble or total dietary fiber contents of the blends. All extrudates from blends 60: 40 and 45:55 met the requirement to be labelled as "good source of dietary fiber" in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lens lamottei is a member of the Fabaceae family and the second gene pool of the genus Lens. The environmental factors that drove the divergence among wild and cultivated species have been studied extensively. Recent research has focused on genomic signatures associated with various phenotypes with the acceleration of next-generation techniques in molecular profiling. Therefore, in this study, we provide the complete sequence of the chloroplast genome sequence in the wild Lens species L. lamottei with a deep coverage of 713 × next-generation sequencing (NGS) data for the first time. Compared to the cultivated species, Lens culinaris, we identified synonymous, and nonsynonymous changes in the protein-coding regions of the genes ndhB, ndhF, ndhH, petA, rpoA, rpoC2, rps3, and ycf2 in L. lamottei. Phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast genomes of various plants under Leguminosae revealed that L. lamottei and L. culinaris are closest to one another than to other species. The complete chloroplast genome of L. lamottei also allowed us to reanalyze previously published transcriptomic data, which showed high levels of gene expression for ATP-synthase, rubisco, and photosystem genes. Overall, this study provides a deeper insight into the diversity of Lens species and the agricultural importance of these plants through their chloroplast genomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrow genetic base in Indian lentil genotypes serves as a bottleneck in the quest for breeding improved cultivars. In this study, 43 lentil genotypes were analyzed using newly developed simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to assess genetic diversity and population structure. Twenty polymorphic SSRs yielded a total of 71 alleles with an average of 3.55 alleles per locus. The average gene diversity was 0.51 and polymorphic information content ranged from 0.11 (Lc_Mcu6) to 0.86 (Lc_Mcu30) with an average value of 0.45. Lc_MCu30, Lc_MCu19, Lc_MCu45a and Lc_MCu12b were the most informative and discriminative SSRs. The Jaccard similarity coefficient between all pairwise genotypes ranged from 0.436 to 1. Cluster analysis discriminated the genotypes into six clusters of contrasting sizes. Maximum genetic difference (56.4%) was found between Pant L-8 and LL 1373 and, thus, these genotypes showed highest level of diversity. First three principal coordinates accounted for 51.73% of total variation. Population structure revealed four subpopulations with low genetic differentiation as evident by high admixture. Overall, low genetic variation was observed. Reasons for such results might be due to breeding programs as improved elite breeding lines such as Precoz were constantly used as parents in crosses to generate segregating populations, exhibiting limited gene flow and diversity. These findings imply that the genotypes under investigation have narrow genetic base. Thus, there is a need to introgress superior genes from diverse material, macrosperma type or related wild species to broaden the genetic base of Indian lentil genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of pesticide content in pulses at various stages of the supply chain is important in order to manage the maximum residue level (MRL) set by different government agencies. The objective of this study was to develop a non-destructive detection system to determine the glyphosate content in 6 pulses (chickpea, yellow pea, red lentil, large green lentil, French green lentil, and black beluga lentil) based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Organically grown pulses were artificially spiked with glyphosate at 5 concentrations (0 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, 15 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg) and used for the development and testing of FTIR spectroscopy and associated chemometric models. Principal component analysis (PCA) led to the discrimination and clustering in the pulse samples based on the applied glyphosate levels. Various preprocessing and variable selection techniques were applied on the spectral dataset and partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to predict the glyphosate levels in pulses. The correlation coefficient for prediction (Rp2) of glyphosate was 0.93, 0.92, 0.96, 0.91, 0.96, and 0.92 for yellow pea, chickpea, large green lentil, red lentil, black beluga, and French green lentil, respectively with optimized preprocessing and variable selection techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stemphylium blight caused by Stemphylium botryosum, is a foliar disease of lentil. It affects the productivity and milling quality of lentil crops, mainly in South Asia and Canada. Development of stemphylium blight resistant cultivars by introgression of resistance alleles from crop wild relatives of lentil, such as Lens ervoides, is one strategy of disease control. The objective of this study was to identify genomic regions associated with stemphylium blight resistance by combining linkage mapping and marker-trait association analysis. A total of 182 genotypes of a lentil advanced backcross population (LABC-01) developed from the backcross of the interspecific L. culinaris × L. ervoides line LR-59-81 (donor) and cultivar CDC Redberry (recurrent) and 101 diverse lentil accessions selected by stratified random sampling from a lentil diversity panel were genotyped and evaluated for stemphylium blight reactions. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis identified four loci contributing to stemphylium blight resistance on lentil chromosomes 2, 4 and 5. Marker trait association analysis detected five significant single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with stemphylium blight resistance within QTLs regions and seven SNP markers outside the QTLs regions on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7. The markers associated with stemphylium blight resistance may be useful for marker-assisted selection of resistant cultivars after validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentil is an important annual food legume crop, nitrogen fixer and provides a substantial amount of protein, carbohydrate, minerals, and vitamin content. The use of molecular markers to assess genetic diversity is crucial for crop improvement, efficient management, and conservation of plant genetic resources. The current study aimed to determine the genetic diversity among lentil genotypes using sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers. Therefore, we evaluated a collection of 36 lentil genotypes, including 20 from Yemen, Saudi Arabia (7), Egypt (4), and Bangladesh (3), and (2) genotypes from the International Center for Research in Dry Area (ICARDA) using 21 SRAP primer combinations. The amplified fragments showed a high level of useful polymorphic amplified fragments (775 out of 782) indicating a higher degree of variation. The polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.31 to 0.39 with an average of 0.33 for each primer. The UPGMA trees, based on Jaccard similarity index matrices, separated the genotypes into four main clusters according to their geographical origin. The population structure supported the major groups and attested to their great degree of differentiation. The highest lentil population was found at K = 3, K = 5, and K = 7 levels, showing purity and admixture ancestry among the lentil population. This study highlighted the wide genetic diversity among the studied lentil genotypes and demonstrated the effectiveness of the SRAP technique in determining the genetic variability of lentil. Furthermore, it could be used to establish the genetic peculiarity of ecotypes when applying for the obtainment of origin and agro-morphological characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to produce lentil flour with reduced antinutritional factors, acceptable color, and improved techno-functional properties. To obtain lentil flour, red and green lentil seeds were subjected to soaking in distilled water (with/without ultrasound at 80, 100% amplitude for 2 or 4 h) and drying treatments [oven-drying (50, 100 °C) or microwave-drying (600, 900 W)]. The influence of process parameters on phytic acid content (PAC), trypsin inhibitor content (TIC), water absorption capacity (WAC), oil absorption capacity (OAC), and color of lentil flours were investigated. During soaking, the water absorption and hardness of the seeds and pH, soluble solid content, and turbidity of the soaking water varied depending on the soaking parameters and the type of lentil. Lentil flours had WAC and OAC values ranging from 108.5 to 358.9 g water/100 g and from 80.2 to 98.7 g oil/100 g, respectively. Microwave-dried lentil flours had 2.0–2.8 times higher WAC compared to oven-dried ones. Higher microwave power level and oven drying temperature provided higher WAC values. Effect of soaking treatment on color and techno-functional properties of flours varied depending on the type of lentil flour and the applied drying method. Soaking and subsequent drying of lentil seeds yielded 14.5–43.8% reduction in PAC and 58.2–80.1% reduction in TIC. Soaking followed by microwave drying at 900W may be recommended as a rapid and effective method to obtain lentil flour with good color, high WAC, reduced PAC, and TIC. Application of ultrasound during soaking for 4 h prior to drying further enhances the potential of reducing antinutritional factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper (Cu), an essential micronutrient, can generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) at its supra-optimal level in living cells as a transition metal, thus producing oxidative stress in plants. Therefore, protecting plants from Cu-induced oxidative stress via the exogenous application of chemical substances, particularly L-glutamic acid (L-Glu), could be a viable strategy for mitigating the toxicity of Cu. The aim of our present study was to investigate how ʟ-Glu protects lentil seedlings from oxidative stress produced by toxic Cu and allows them to survive under Cu toxicity. The results exhibited that when lentil seedlings were exposed to excessive Cu, their growth was inhibited and their biomass decreased due to an increase in Cu accumulation and translocation to the root, shoot, and leaves. Exposure to toxic Cu also depleted photosynthetic pigments, imbalanced water content, and other essential nutrients, increased oxidative stress, and reduced enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. However, pre-treatment of ʟ-Glu improved the phenotypic appearance of lentil seedlings, which was distinctly evidenced by higher biomass production, maintenance of water balance, and an increase in photosynthetic pigments when exposed to toxic Cu. ʟ-Glu also protected the seedlings from Cu-induced oxidative stress by reducing the oxidative stress marker, specifically by the efficient action of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, particularly ascorbate, catalase, monodehydroascorbate, and glutathione peroxidase and maintaining redox balance. Furthermore, ʟ-Glu assisted in maintaining the homeostasis of Cu and other nutrient in the roots, shoots, and leaves of lentil. Collectively, our results provide evidence of the mechanism of ʟ-Glu-mediated protective role in lentil against Cu toxicity, thus proposed as a potential chemical for managing Cu toxicity not only in lentil but also other plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An aptamer-functionalized stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) coating is described for the first time devoted to selective isolation and preconcentration of an allergenic food protein, concavanalin A (Con A), followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) determination. For this purpose, the polytetrafluoroethylene surface of commercial magnetic stir bars was properly modified and vinylized to immobilize a thiol-modified aptamer against Con A via straightforward "thiol-ene" click chemistry. The aptamer-functionalized stir bar was employed as SBSE sorbent to isolate Con A, and several parameters that can affect the extraction efficiency were investigated. Under the optimized conditions, Con A was extracted and desorbed during 30 and 45 min, respectively, at 25 °C and 600 rpm. The SBSE MALDI-TOF-MS method provided limits of detection of 0.5 μg mL−1 for Con A. Furthermore, the SBSE coating was highly selective to Con A compared to other lectins. The developed method was successfully applied to the determination of low levels of Con A in several food matrices (i.e., white beans as well as chickpea, lentils, and wheat flours). Recoveries ranged from 81 to 97% with relative standard deviations below 7%. The aptamer-based stir bars presented suitable physical and chemical long-term stability (1 month) and a reusability of 10 and 5 extraction cycles with standards and food extracts, respectively. The developed aptamer-affinity extraction devices open up the possibility of developing novel highly selective SBSE coatings for the extraction of proteins and peptides from complex samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paracetamol is one of the most widely used drugs worldwide, yet its environmental presence and hazardous impact on non-target organisms could rapidly increase. In this study, the possible cytotoxic effects of paracetamol were evaluated using two bioindicator plants Lens culinaris and Pisum sativum. Concentrations of 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, 50, 25, 5, 1 mg L−1, and a control (distilled water) were used for a total of 10 treatments, which were subsequently applied on seeds of Lens culinaris Med. and Pisum sativum L.; after 72 h of exposure, root growth, mitotic index, percentage of chromosomal abnormalities, and the presence of micronucleus were evaluated. The cytotoxic effect of paracetamol on L. culinaris and P. sativum was demonstrated, reporting the inhibition of root growth, the presence of abnormalities, and a significant micronucleus index at all concentrations used, which shows that this drug has a high degree of toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Increasing temperatures are generating heat and drought stress, especially for the cool-season crops such as lentil,; selenium can mitigate the adverse effects of various abiotic stresses but has never been tested in plants facing combined heat and drought stress. Methods: In this study, contrasting heat-sensitive and heat-tolerant lentil genotypes were grown in the absence (control) or presence of selenium (1, 2.5, 5.0 mg kg–1 dry soil). At the onset of flowering, plants were subjected to combined heat and drought stress by moving in a controlled environment [32/20 °C day/night (12/12 h), 50% soil field capacity, 500 µmol m–2 s–1 light intensity, 65–70% RH] for 20 days, up to completion of maturity stress. Results: The results revealed that lentil plants exposed to the combined stress + Se significantly increased endogenous leaf Se concentration, pod number (32–36% in sensitive, 19–24% in tolerant genotypes), and seed yield (21–35% in sensitive, 21–25% in tolerant genotypes), compared to the combined stress treatment alone. Se supplementation significantly improved leaf water status and osmolyte accumulation (such as proline, glycine betaine, and reducing sugars), which stabilized membranes and photosynthesis-related traits, enhanced the expression of various enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase) and non-enzymatic (ascorbate and reduced glutathione) antioxidants and flower function, and improved pollen function, pod set, pod number, and seed number. Conclusions: Our study showed the potential benefits of using selenium as a supplement in the low-Se soils to protect against combined heat and drought stress in lentil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, image classification methods are widely utilized on agricultural products or in agricultural applications. However, many of these methods based on traditional approaches remain unsatisfactory in terms of obtaining effective results. Within this context, this study aimed to classify lentil images by machine learning algorithms, a current and effective method. In line with this purpose, first of all, a camera system was prepared primarily and a dataset was created by recording lentil grains at 225 × 225 resolution via this system. The dataset contains a total of 33,938 data obtained from 3 lentil species as green, yellow, and red. SqueezeNet, InceptionV3, DeepLoc, and VGG16 architectures, among the CNN methods, were used in order to extract features from the recorded images. Lastly, Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Naive Bayes (NB), Random Forest (RF), Adaptive Boosting (AB), and Decision Tree (DT) algorithms were utilized with the aim of creating models for lentil images' classification. The classification success of the created machine learning models was calculated and the results were analyzed. The highest classification success with the deep features obtained from the SqueezeNet model, 99.80%, was achieved in the ANN algorithm. The results also revealed that grain size and shape features in image classification can yield much more detailed and precise data than can be obtained practically with manual quality assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study is to estimate the water requirement of crops such as wheat, barley, alfalfa, lentils, and chickpeas in the northern half of Ardabil province, Iran. For this purpose, remote sensing methods such as SEBAL (Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land) and SEBS (Surface Energy Balance System) were used, and the results were compared with Penman-Monteith, Hargreaves-Samani, and pan evaporation methods. The results showed that wheat yield at 2018.11.30 with numerical values of 1.52 in SEBAL method and 1.09 mm/day in SEBS method had the lowest and lentil product at 2013.7.3 with numerical values of 7.86 and 8.14 mm/day had the highest water requirement among the studied products. Also, based on the results, the SEBAL method has the lowest error with RMSE of 0.893 and MAD of 0.843 compared to Penman-Monteith and Hargreaves-Samani methods; it has the highest error rate with RMSE of 1.112 and MAD of 1.215. The SEBS method also has the lowest error rate with RMSE of 0.930 and MAD of 0.833 compared to Hargreaves and the highest error rate with RMSE of 1.691 and MAD of 1.49 compared to the Penman-Monteith method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current work is an extensive review addressing the effects of heavy metals in major pulse crops such as Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), Pea (Pisum sativum L.), Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.), Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.), Black gram (Vigna mungo L.) and Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.). Pulses are important contributors to the global food supply in the world, due to their vast beneficial properties in providing protein, nutritional value and health benefits to the human population. Several studies have reported that heavy metals are injurious to plants causing inhibition in plant germination, a decrease in the root and shoot length, reduction in respiration rate and photosynthesis. Properly disposing of heavy metal wastes has become an increasingly difficult task to solve in developed countries. Heavy metals pose one of the substantial constraints to pulse crops growth and productivity even at low concentrations. This article attempts to present the morphological, biochemical and various physiological changes induced on the pulse crops grown under various heavy metal stress such as As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Ni. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is one of the major pulse crops in the world. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of Trichoderma isolates to control the charcoal rot disease caused by Macrophomina pseudophaseolina recently reported on lentil plants. Results: In this study, antagonistic effects of seven isolates of Trichoderma spp. isolated from the rhizosphere of lentil were evaluated in vitro against Macrophomina pseudophaseolina M1. All isolates of Trichoderma significantly reduced the mycelial growth of M1 in vitro. Maximum reduction of the pathogen growth was observed at T10 (72.53%), followed by T5 (63.7%) and T6 (62.88%), while T2 caused the minimum reduction (37.33%). Likewise, Trichoderma isolates significantly reduced the size and number microsclerotia. M1 produced the minimum number of microsclerotia in the presence of T10, followed by T1 causing reduction of 68.56 and 53.37% over control, respectively. The maximum reduction of microsclerotia's size was observed in the presence of T10 (54.92%), followed by T1 (49.84) and T8 (48.68%). Results also revealed that production of volatile metabolite, components and inhibition of the test pathogen by volatile metabolites varied among different antagonistic Trichoderma. T1 produced the most volatile compounds, followed by T2 and T3 and T10 causing mycelial growth inhibition of 41.66, 33.88, 30.55 and 30.37%, respectively. The efficacy of the antagonistic biocontrol agents on charcoal rot was evaluated in vivo. Seed treatment with T10 significantly protected lentil seedlings from M. pseudophaseolina as compared to untreated plants and also improved their growth. T10 isolate was identified based on molecular tools, using internal transcribed spaces and Translation elongation factor of ribosomal DNA. The results identified T10 as Trichoderma longibrachiatum with accession number MW818102 and OK500004 deposited in NCBI GenBank database. Conclusion: The study revealed the first report of using Trichoderma longibrachiatum as a promising biological agent against M. pseudophaseolina causing charcoal rot disease of lentil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentils (Lens culinaris spp.) are promising legumes whose seed coats, the by-products produced from dehulling, can represent a valuable source of functional components. This work aimed at valorizing lentils seed coat as functional ingredients, by investigating its profile across 11 genotypes grown in two different growing locations in Italy. The total phenolic, flavonoids, and condensed tannins contents (mg/g dry weight,) ranged from 30.60 to 70.37 gallic acid equivalents, 0.86 to 2.21 catechin equivalents, and 22.34 to 77.49 catechin equivalents, respectively. The untargeted phenolic profiling through UHPLC/QTOF-MS, followed by multivariate statistics, revealed differences in the quality and quantity of polyphenols. A broad and diverse profile could be highlighted, including 420 compounds, mainly ascribable to flavonoids, phenolic acids, and low-molecular-weight phenolic compounds. Unsupervised cluster analysis highlighted that origin is hierarchically more important than genotype in determining the phenolic profiles. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that color was only partially related to phenolic content, while the geographic location and the genotype were more relevant. The significant accumulation of phenolics in some genotypes suggests that the genetic background should be taken into account, when lentils seed coat is to be included in food design as a sustainable source of phenolic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhizobium leguminosarum is a rhizospheres' nitrogen fixing microbe that improves plant growth and productivity by releasing sufficient nutrient sources from the root, by biological nitrogen fixation, solubilization of phosphorous, acquisition of iron, and enhancement of antioxidant activity in plants. On this account, a greenhouse experiment was carried out to assess the feasibility of growing lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) on fly ash (FA) amended soil (0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%) in combination with R. leguminosarum inoculation. The data was recorded at 45 day after sowing to evaluate the plant growth characteristics, photosynthetic variables (total chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments, carbonic anhydrase activity, nitrate reductase activity), damage markers (ROS, MDA, and cell viability), and defensive factors (proline and antioxidants). Among the FA-proportions tested, 20% proved most favorable in all the mentioned attributes while 30% concentration had negative repercussions on all the variables. Rhizobium inoculation had synergistic effect on all the concentrations being maximum on 20% FA. Thus, Rhizobium and 20% FA caused a significant increase on growth characteristics, photosynthetic pigments; stomatal behavior (aperture shape, size, and frequency of stomata); and activity of CA and NR, and cell viability. Application of Rhizobium on 20% FA was corroborated with decline in MDA and ROS contents and a coordinated enhancement of the activity of SOD, CAT, and POX. Therefore, 20% FA with fly ash-tolerant strain of Rhizobium in Lens culinaris may be utilized as an integrated approach towards sustainable agriculture and an impulse of management of fly-ash. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Commercial production and the use of liquid vermicompost extract (LVE) is gaining attention as a technique that supports integrated soil-microbial-crop management for sustainable agriculture. However, the interaction effects of LVE, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), and host plants on the delivery of agroecosystem services in alkaline soil have been less studied. Methods: We carried out a 3-year field experiment in Central Italy, to investigate the short-term effect of LVE on soil mycorrhizal inoculum potential (MIP), AMF root colonization, and productivity of berseem clover, lentil, and sunflower. LVE produced in different years were screened for microbial properties using Illumina Miseq sequencing. LVE was applied at seeding, crop stem elongation and flowering stages. Control crops received water as a placebo. Results: LVE bacterial communities were more diverse and showed a higher turnover between 2019 and 2020 than fungal communities. Diverse microbial groups, the majority of which belonged to phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Mucoromycota, were detected, including N-fixers (Flavobacterium, Malikia, and Citrobacter), P-solubilizers (Pseudomonas), and C-degraders (Tolumonas, Arcobacter, and Mucor). Notably, LVE treatment enhanced soil MIP and AMF root colonization in most crops, but selectively improved shoot biomass of berseem clover (+ 32%) and sunflower (+ 34%), and grain yield (+ 37%) and oil concentration (+ 5%) in sunflower, compared to the corresponding non-treated controls. Conclusions: LVE had diverse groups of bacteria and a few fungal taxa, and its application enhanced mycorrhizal properties and selected growth- and yield-related variables in lentil, berseem clover, and sunflower. This could be due to LVE's biostimulating effect arising from the vermicompost-associated microbiome and biomolecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of hydrolysis by commercial food-grade proteases on the physicochemical and techno-functional properties of lentil protein concentrate were investigated. Lentil protein concentrate was hydrolysed with Alcalase, Novozym 11028 or Flavourzyme, and a control was prepared without enzyme addition under the same conditions. Differences in specificity between the three proteases were evident in the electrophoretic protein profile, reversed-phase HPLC peptide profile, and free amino acid composition. Alcalase and Novozym were capable of extensively degrading all the major protein fractions. Alcalase or Novozym treatment resulted in considerably higher solubility under acidic conditions compared to the control. Flavourzyme treatment resulted in moderately improved solubility in the acidic range, but slightly lower solubility at pH 7. Alcalase treatment resulted in slightly larger particle size and slightly higher viscosity. The foaming properties of the protein concentrate were not significantly affected by hydrolysis. Increased solubility in acidic conditions with hydrolysis could broaden the range of food and beverage applications for lentil protein concentrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation was carried out to elucidate the effect of soaking, boiling and germination on the nutritional, antinutritional, functional and thermal characteristics of the lentils (Lens culinaris) (LL 1373 and LL 931). A considerable (p < 0.05) effect on nutritional composition was observed wherein protein and ash contents as well as mineral profile enhanced with germination, while fat content reduced with all the treatments. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and radical scavenging activities enhanced (p < 0.05) with germination while reducing trend was observed with soaking and boiling. Antinutritional factors, tannins and phytates reduced (p < 0.05) with all the processing treatments while saponins increased (p < 0.05) with soaking and germination. Functional properties such as water and oil absorption capacities, water solubility index, emulsion capacity and stability, foaming capacity and stability, swelling power, and in vitro protein digestibility significantly (p < 0.05) modified with processing. Thermal properties of the lentil flours revealed significant (p < 0.05) changes in the peak, onset and endset temperatures as well as enthalpy values. The study concluded that the processing of lentils, especially germination, led to nutritional and functional modifications for potential utilization in the preparation of value added food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study simulated the gastrointestinal digestion (GID) of black chickpeas (BC) and brown lentils (BL). BC phenolics increased from 105.01 to 141.86 mg GAE/100 g DW) while the BL phenolics decreased from 143.26 to 132.70 mg GAE/100 g DW after cooking. In contrast, the remaining flavonoids after cooking were higher in BL (325.55 mg RE/100 g DW). After in vitro GID, moderate levels of flavonoids were detected in the colon (OUT) fractions (144.36 and 104.22 mg RE/100 g DW for cooked BC and BL, respectively). The highest TAA levels were detected as by CUPRAC assay, in cooked and in vitro GID BC (517.03 mg TEAC/100 g DW) and BL (604.98 mg TEAC/100 g DW) samples. Catechin was the most abundant compound detected in BC samples, while gallic acid was the most abundant in BL. BC and BL have unique and superior benefits for health when compared with conventional legumes. The possible interactions between their remaining phenolics and other bioactive components in the colon are promising for their widespread consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salt stress is a critical environmental element contributing to the growth and productivity of different crops like lentils. In this study, to better understand the mechanism of lentil response to salt stress, gene expression alterations in lentil roots and leaves were investigated using the RNA-seq technique. By performing gene expression analysis, it was shown that salt stress had greater impacts on the gene expression regulation in the root (5420 DEGs) than leaf tissue (1050 DEGs), which consequently complicates the salt stress response mechanisms highlighted in the root tissue. In addition, gene ontology (GO) and metabolic pathways analyses also showed that the root and leaf tissues had very different enriched GO terms and metabolic pathways; however, some GO terms, such as carbohydrate metabolic process, response to stress and hydrolase activity and acting on glycosyl bonds, were similar in both tissues. Additionally, as revealed by the functional analysis in both tissues, the salt stress response could be primarily obtained through sensing and signaling pathways, transcriptional reprogramming, ionic homeostasis stabilizing, increased ROS inhibition, and the transporter system and photosynthesis activation. Some candidate genes involved in hormone (such as PP2C, CKX5, ETR2, GASA1, and LOX1) and kinase signaling pathways (such as MKD1, CRK3, LECRK-IX.1, and LRK10L1.2) as well as several transcriptions (such as bHLH, AP2/ERF, MYB, and WRKY) and transporter factors (such as ABC, AAP3, PIP1B, PNC1, and NHX3) were identified to contribute to salt stress response. Considering insufficient genetic information and accurate knowledge of lentil response to salt stress, it can be said that our transcript profiling and integrated bioinformatics analyses provide some necessary information for further functional studies of candidate genes and their regulatory factors affecting response to salt stress in lentil plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercropping, based on the interplay between cereals and legumes, might be an encouraging approach to improve soil fertility and crop productivity and to guarantee more sustainable farming systems. However, plant consociation is also influenced by the interaction between roots and soil microbial communities, and different plant genotypes might differently respond to this management. Here, a 2-year field study was carried out, verifying the impact of intercropping and the inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on two varieties of durum wheat, using a lentil variety as intercropped plant species, on wheat agronomic parameters and grain features, as well as on microbial communities of soil, rhizosphere and wheat roots. Results showed a genotype effect on diverse agronomic parameters, gluten quality and grain elemental concentrations. Additionally, intercropping and AM fungal inoculation affected and shaped the microbial alpha diversity and composition, especially for the AMF community, at root level. Overall, the effects of the considered treatments (intercropping with lentil and AM fungal inoculation) were noticeably influenced by the specific wheat genotype, suggesting the importance to conduct a careful selection of intercropped genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]