BACKGROUND: Strawberries are perishable fruits that decay quickly after harvest, but are valued for their distinctive taste and aroma. Melatonin is involved in plant resistance against stress, plant senescence and fruit ripening, and was shown to delay post-harvest spoilage of strawberries. OBJECTIVE: The effects of melatonin postharvest treatment on shelf-life and volatile organic compound profile were assessed in strawberry fruits cv “Luca”. METHODS: Strawberry fruit were treated with 100 μM melatonin and stored at 4°C for 12 days to assess whether melatonin treatment could delay spoilage without adversely affecting aroma. RESULTS: Melatonin treatment delayed fruit deterioration by reducing weight loss and incidence of decay as well as maintaining total soluble solids, titratable acidity, anthocyanin, and taste. Melatonin treatment also significantly reduced CO ₂ production compared to control fruits. The relative abundance of the majority of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was not affected, however abundance of two VOCs that are important components of strawberry aroma were affected by melatonin treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Post-harvest treatment of strawberries with 100 μM melatonin improved strawberry quality and conserved bioactive compounds after 12 d of storage. However, components of the aroma profile were altered in a way which may affect consumer perception of quality.

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.), also known as hemp, is one of the oldest cultivated crops, grown for both its use in textile and cordage production, and its unique chemical properties. However, due to the legislation regulating cannabis cultivation, it is not a well characterized crop, especially regarding molecular and genetic pathways. Only recently have regulations begun to ease enough to allow more widespread cannabis research, which, coupled with the availability of cannabis genome sequences, is fuelling the interest of the scientific community. In this review, we provide a summary of cannabis molecular resources focusing on the most recent and relevant genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches and investigations. Multi-omics methods are discussed, with this combined approach being a powerful tool to identify correlations between biological processes and metabolic pathways across diverse omics layers, and to better elucidate the relationships between cannabis sub-species. The correlations between genotypes and phenotypes, as well as novel metabolites with therapeutic potential are also explored in the context of cannabis breeding programs. However, further studies are needed to fully elucidate the complex metabolomic matrix of this crop. For this reason, some key points for future research activities are discussed, relying on multi-omics approaches.

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) is one of the earliest cultivated crops, valued for producing a broad spectrum of compounds used in medicinal products and being a source of food and fibre. Despite the availability of its genome sequences, few studies explore the molecular mechanisms involved in pathogen defense, and the underlying biological pathways are poorly defined in places. Here, we provide an overview of Cannabis defence responses against common pathogens, such as Golovinomyces spp., Fusarium spp., Botrytis cinerea and Pythium spp. For each of these pathogens, after a summary of their characteristics and symptoms, we explore studies identifying genes involved in Cannabis resistance mechanisms. Many studies focus on the potential involvement of disease-resistance genes, while others refer to other plants however whose results may be of use for Cannabis research. Omics investigations allowing the identification of candidate defence genes are highlighted, and genome editing approaches to generate resistant Cannabis species based on CRISPR/Cas9 technology are discussed. According to the emerging results, a potential defence model including both immune and defence mechanisms in Cannabis plant–pathogen interactions is finally proposed. To our knowledge, this is the first review of the molecular mechanisms underlying pathogen resistance in Cannabis.

Biomass is one of the most important sources of renewable energy and plays an important role in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. Efficient biomass production is essential to obtain large amounts of sustainable energy with minimal environmental cost. However, the biochemical and molecular processes behind the synthesis of the main components of biomass are still not fully understood. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the most relevant studies on cell wall biosynthesis and degradation mechanisms, focusing on the lignocellulosic component, in which the conversion process to fermentable sugars is expensive, due to its recalcitrant nature. A focus is placed on multi-omics research involving genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and phenomics, since multi-omics approaches offer a unique opportunity to investigate the biological pathways underlying the genotype traits characterizing cell wall energy crops. Furthermore, our study highlights the advances in genome editing approaches and proposes the modification of the genes that are involved in the complex cell wall structure as a feasible solution to an efficient biomass production. Several key points for future research activities based on these emerging technologies are also discussed, focusing on the combination of multi-omics and gene editing approaches, which offer potential for improved biomass valorization and the development of tangible bioproducts.