Oxidative stress is a pathological condition occurring due to an imbalance between the oxidants and antioxidant defense systems in the body. Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (NRF2), encoded by the gene NFE2L2, is the master regulator of phase II antioxidant enzymes that protect against oxidative stress and inflammation. NRF2/ARE signaling has been considered as a promising target against oxidative stress-mediated diseases like diabetes, fibrosis, neurotoxicity, and cancer. The consumption of dietary phytochemicals acts as an effective modulator of NRF2/ARE in various acute and chronic diseases. In the present review, we discussed the role of NRF2 in diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), cancer, and atherosclerosis. Additionally, we discussed the phytochemicals like curcumin, quercetin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate, apigenin, sulforaphane, and ursolic acid that have effectively modified NRF2 signaling and prevented various diseases in both in vitro and in vivo models. Based on the literature, it is clear that dietary phytochemicals can prevent diseases by (1) blocking oxidative stress-inhibiting inflammatory mediators through inhibiting Keap1 or activating Nrf2 expression and its downstream targets in the nucleus, including HO-1, SOD, and CAT; (2) regulating NRF2 signaling by various kinases like GSK3beta, PI3/AKT, and MAPK; and (3) modifying epigenetic modulation, such as methylation, at the NRF2 promoter region; however, further investigation into other upstream signaling molecules like NRF2 and the effect of phytochemicals on them still need to be investigated in the near future.

Genetic transformation has emerged as an important tool for the genetic improvement of valuable plants by incorporating new genes with desirable traits. These strategies are useful especially in crops to increase yields, disease resistance, tolerance to environmental stress (cold, heat, drought, salinity, herbicides, and insects) and increase biomass and medicinal values of plants. The production of healthy plants with more desirable products and yields can contribute to sustainable development goals. The introduction of genetically modified food into the market has raised potential risks. A proper assessment of their impact on the environment and biosafety is an important step before their commercialization. In this paper, we summarize and discuss the risks and benefits of genetically modified plants and products, human health hazards by genetically transformed plants, environmental effects, Biosafety regulations of GMO foods and products, and improvement of medicinal values of plants by the genetic transformation process. The mechanisms of action of those products, their sources, and their applications to the healthcare challenges are presented. The present studies pointed out the existence of several controversies in the use of GMOs, mainly related to the human health, nutritions, environmental issues. Willingness to accept genetically modified (GM) products and the adoption of biosafety regulations varies from country to country. Knowledge about the gene engineering technology, debate between the government agencies, scientist, environmentalist and related NGOs on the GM products are the major factors for low adoptions of biosafety regulation. Therefore, the genetic transformation will help in the advancement of plant species in the future; however, more research and detailed studies are required.

Background: Segregation distortion (SD) is a frequently observed occurrence in mapping populations generated from crosses involving divergent genotypes. In the present study, ten genetic linkage maps constructed from reciprocal F₂ and BC₁F₁ mapping populations derived from the parents Dasanbyeo (indica) and Ilpumbyeo (japonica) were used to identify the distribution, effect, and magnitude of the genetic factors underlying the mechanisms of SD between the two subspecies. Results: SD loci detected in the present study were affected by male function, female function, and zygotic selection. The most pronounced SD loci were mapped to chromosome 3 (transmitted through male gametes), chromosome 5 (transmitted through male gametes), and chromosome 6 (transmitted through female gametes). The level of SD in BC₁F₁ populations which defined by chi-square value independence multiple tests was relatively low in comparison to F₂ populations. Dasanbyeo alleles were transmitted at a higher frequency in both F₂ and BC₁F₁ populations, suggesting that indic a alleles are strongly favored in inter-subspecific crosses in rice. SD loci in the present study corresponded to previously reported loci for reproductive barriers. In addition, new SD loci were detected on chromosomes 2 and 12. Conclusion: The identification of the distribution of SD and the effect of genetic factors causing SD in genetic mapping populations provides an opportunity to survey the whole genome for new SD loci and their relationships to reproductive barriers. This provides a basis for future research on the elucidation of the genetic mechanisms underlying SD in rice, and will be useful in molecular breeding programs.

Although a great deal of rice proteomic research has been conducted, there are relatively few studies specifically addressing the rice grain proteome. The existing rice grain proteomic researches have focused on the identification of differentially expressed proteins or monitoring protein expression patterns during grain filling stages.

In rice, the stage of development most sensitive to high temperature stress is flowering, and exposure at this stage can result in spikelet sterility, thereby leading to significant yield losses. In this study, protein expression patterns of rice anthers from Dianxi4, a high temperature tolerant Japonica rice variety, were compared between samples exposed to high temperature and those grown in natural field conditions in Korea. Shotgun proteomics analysis of three replicate control and high-temperature-treated samples identified 3,266 nonredundant rice anther proteins (false discovery rate < 0.01). We found that high levels of ATP synthase, cupin domain-containing proteins, and pollen allergen proteins were present in rice anthers. Comparative analyses of 1,944 reproducibly expressed proteins identified 139 differentially expressed proteins, with 95 increased and 44 decreased in response to high temperature conditions. Heat shock, DnaK family, and chaperone proteins showed highly increased expression, suggesting that the high temperature tolerance of Dianxi4 is achieved by stabilization of proteins in pollen cells. Trehalose synthase was also highly increased after heat treatment, suggesting a possible role for trehalose in preventing protein denaturation through desiccation.

Background: Tongil (IR667-98-1-2) rice, developed in 1972, is a high-yield rice variety derived from a three-way cross between indica and japonica varieties. Tongil contributed to the self-sufficiency of staple food production in Korea during a period known as the `Korean Green Revolution'. We analyzed the nucleotide-level genome structure of Tongil rice and compared it to those of the parental varieties. Results: A total of 17.3 billion Illumina Hiseq reads, 47× genome coverage, were generated for Tongil rice. Three parental accessions of Tongil rice, two indica types and one japonica type, were also sequenced at approximately 30x genome coverage. A total of 2,149,991 SNPs were detected between Tongil and Nipponbare varieties. The average SNP frequency of Tongil was 5.77 per kb. Genome composition was determined based on SNP data by comparing Tongil with three parental genome sequences using the sliding window approach. Analyses revealed that 91.8% of the Tongil genome originated from the indica parents and 7.9% from the japonica parent. Copy numbers of SSR motifs, ORF gene distribution throughout the whole genome, gene ontology (GO) annotation, and some yield-related QTLs or gene locations were also comparatively analyzed between Tongil and parental varieties using sequence-based tools. Each genetic factor was transferred from the parents into Tongil rice in amounts that were in proportion to the whole genome composition. Conclusions: Tongil was derived from a three-way cross among two indica and one japonica varieties. Defining the genome structure of Tongil rice demonstrates that the Tongil genome is derived primarily from the indica genome with a small proportion of japonica genome introgression. Comparative gene distribution, SSR, GO, and yield-related gene analysis support the finding that the Tongil genome is primarily made up of the indica genome.