Extending shelf life of food products is a major concern of the producers, and the food industry requires ‘greener’ alternatives to the current technologies. Ozone-based food preservation may suit this niche. Ozone is an attractive alternative preservative that food industry needs due to its properties such as quick decomposition and little residual effect during food preservation. Ozone is the strongest molecule available for the disinfection of water and is second only to elemental fluorine in oxidizing power. Ozone is being used in the food industry in various applications such as decontamination of water and equipment surfaces. Several researchers have focused on the application of ozone to inactivate microorganisms on fresh produce, like fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, and eggs, and dry produce, such as cereals, pulses, and spices. This review comprehensively analyses appropriate ozone concentrations and exposure times and discusses various factors that affect the quality and safety of food products during ozonation.

Ozone processing is one of the encouraging non-thermal and bio-friendly techniques in the food processing sector. The applicability of ozone technology in food industry is increasing due to its antimicrobial action and modification of functional properties of the foods. The structural modifications of starches have major applications in the food and bakery industry for producing products with increased shelf life, improved texture, and retention of moisture content. The positive response of ozonation in carboxyl and carbonyl group alters the viscosity of starch molecules. Rheological characteristics like low viscosity even at an increased concentration, desirable binding properties, and film-forming ability have increased its use in the food processing industry. The influence of ozonation in the physicochemical properties is mainly retrogradation and cross-linking of amylose and amylopectin molecules and enzymatic modifications. Ozonation cause change in crystallinity, viscosity, expansion ratio, and gelatinization temperatures. Finally, ozonation induces many possible changes in native starches for the effective utilization in the processing sectors. In this review, starch modifications utilizing ozone and various research achievements and scientific reports focusing on the effect of ozonation in terms of physical, chemical, and thermal properties of native starches and on the possible modifications have been summarized and discussed. In conclusion, ozone is a green technology that can be effectively used as an alternative oxidation technique for starch modification.

Geminiviruses are plant-infecting viruses characterized by a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genome. Geminivirus-derived proteins are multifunctional and effective regulators in modulating the host cellular processes resulting in successful infection. Virus-host interactions result in changes in host gene expression patterns, reprogram plant signaling controls, disrupt central cellular metabolic pathways, impair plant’s defense system, and effectively evade RNA silencing response leading to host susceptibility. This review summarizes what is known about the cellular processes in the continuing tug of war between geminiviruses and their plant hosts at the molecular level. In addition, implications for engineered resistance to geminivirus infection in the context of a greater understanding of the molecular processes are also discussed. Finally, the prospect of employing geminivirus-based vectors in plant genome engineering and the emergence of powerful genome editing tools to confer geminivirus resistance are highlighted to complete the perspective on geminivirus-plant molecular interactions.