ABSTRACT
Objective: To understand the geographic differences and variations in the functional components of brown rice cores collected from global rice germplasms. Methods: Four functional components, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), resistant starch (RS), total flavonoids, and alkaloids, in brown rice from 690 mini-core collections from 31 countries from five continents and the International Rice Research Institute, were analyzed using a spectrophotometry colorimetric method, and the results were statistically validated. Conclusion: The highest average amounts of functional components were obtained in Asian germplasms, except for GABA, and total flavonoids were highest in brown rice from Europe and Oceania, followed by Asia. The highest coefficient of variation for GABA was observed in Asia; that for RS and total flavonoids was observed in Africa, followed by Asia; and that for alkaloids was observed in America, followed by Asia. Overall, Asian countries were the most prominent and representative zones with the highest genotypic potential for functional components of brown rice. Forty-one rice accessions with enriched functional components originated mostly from biodiversity-rich areas in China, followed by those in the Philippines. Late sowing favored the enrichment of these components in brown rice. The current study provides a reference for rice breeding with enriched functional constituents, and guidelines for screening functional rice that could be used for human chronic disease research.
ABSTRACT
Chilling stress at booting stage can cause floret deterioration and sterility by limiting the supply of food chain and the accumulation of essential mineral elements resulting in reduction of yield and grain quality attributes in rice. Genomic selection of chilling tolerant rice with reference to the accumulation of mineral elements will have great potential to cope with malnutrition and food security in times of climate change. Therefore, a study was conducted to explore the genomic determinants of cold tolerance and mineral elements content in near-isogenic lines (NILs) of japonica rice subjected to chilling stress at flowering stage. Detailed morphological analysis followed by quantitative analysis of 17 mineral elements revealed that the content of phosphorus (P, 3,253 mg/kg) and potassium (K, 2,485 mg/kg) were highest while strontium (Sr, 0.26 mg/kg) and boron (B, 0.34 mg/kg) were lowest among the mineral elements. The correlation analysis revealed extremely positive correlation of phosphorus (P) and copper (Cu) with most of the cold tolerance traits. Among all the effective ear and the second leaf length correlation was significant with half of the mineral elements. As a result of comparative analysis, some QTLs (qBRCC-1, qBRCIC-2, qBRZC-6, qBRCHC-6, qBRMC-6, qBRCIC-6a, qBRCIC-6b, qBRCHC-6, and qBRMC-6) identified for calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr) and magnesium (Mg) on chromosome number 1, 2, and 6 while, a novel QTL (qBCPC-1) was identified on chromosome number 1 for P element only. These findings provided bases for the identification of candidate genes involved in mineral accumulation and cold tolerance in rice at booting stage.
ABSTRACT
Inner ear hair cells are mechanosensory receptors that perceive mechanical sound and help to decode the sound in order to understand spoken language. Exposure to intense noise may result in the damage to the inner ear hair cells, causing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Particularly, the outer hair cells are the first and the most affected cells in NIHL. After acoustic trauma, hair cells lose their structural integrity and initiate a self-deterioration process due to the oxidative stress. The activation of different cellular death pathways leads to complete hair cell death. This review specifically presents the current understanding of the mechanism exists behind the loss of inner ear hair cell in the auditory portion after noise-induced trauma. The article also explains the recent hair cell protection strategies to prevent the damage and restore hearing function in mammals.
