Advances in innovative agricultural technology could allow to satisfice the production of fresh foods. The use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) indoor farming production could, modify biological responses increasing the functional value of vegetable food like lentil sprouts, offering higher antioxidants content and to promote the bioavailability of their nutrients. Lentil growth under blue, violet, green, orange and red light in a dark growing chamber. As internal and external controls, seeds were germinated under white and natural (outdoor) light. Morphological, physiological and biochemical variables were evaluated. Green light enlarged the sprouts stem, reduced the biomass and the concentration of chlorophyll. Violet and white lights increased the protein concentration. Blue wavelength increased the seeds germination, concentration of β-carotenes, phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity. The experimental evidence suggest blue LED light could be useful to produce functional lentil sprouts with a high nutritional value.

Due to its geological origin and the intense agro-industrial activity, regions whose vocation is the agri-food production present a high level of contamination by heavy metals as the arsenic that induces toxicity in the crops of economic importance as in the case of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). The evaluation of the response of different cultivars and genotypes in the first phenological stages is indispensable to generate technical information regard the tolerance to arsenic and the same time theoretical knowledge about how this metal is absorbed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological response of barley seedlings to arsenic V (AsV) toxicity and deduce how this metal could be absorbed by the plants. Seedlings of the cultivars Alina and Esperanza were evaluated under the concentrations of 100, 200, 500 and 700 mg L-1. Besides, models for the proteins PHT1 and HvHMA1 were performed by homology with affinity assays for AsV. The seedlings of Alina presented higher degree of tolerance to the toxicity whereby potentially the productive plots of this cultivar Alina could tolerate higher concentrations of this heavy metal. Also, the AsV could be transported by its competence with the endogenous ions as Mg2+ and PO43-.

Introduction. Seedlings formation under controlled conditions is crucial for cultivating species like strawberry. With LED artificial lighting technology allowing greater control over light, variations in components such as wavelength and intensity can be manipulated to generate seedlings with different characteristics. However, there is a need to generate information for the development of precise and efficient light control practices. Objective. The evaluate strawberry seedling formation under different intensities of violet, blue, and red LED light. Material and methods. The study was conducted in 2020 at the Plant Genetics Laboratory of the Department of Agronomy at the Universidad de Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Mexico. Seeds from San Andreas variety fruits were collected, and seedlings were grown under violet, blue, and red LED light at high, medium, and low intensities. Color determinations of cotyledon area, Chroma saturation index, and Hue angle were performed. Additionally, physio-technical, chemical, and antioxidant activity variables were measured. Results. The most suitable treatments were high and medium intensity violet light, as well as high intensity blue light, with germination range exceeding 60 %. Seedlings did not elongate or thin out and exhibited the largest cotyledons areas and chlorophyll concentrations. Furthermore, these light treatments consumed, on average, 31.2 % less electrical energy. Conclusions. In addition to white light, the most suitable treatments for strawberry seedlings formation were high and medium intensity violet light, as well as high intensity blue light. It is suggested to evaluate violet and blue light treatments in other cultivars to confirm their positive effect on strawberry seedlings. Red light limited germination and showing higher antioxidant activity.

Agricultural and agro-industrial waste are good adsorbents of heavy metals, whether used naturally, pretreated or immobilized in other biopolymers, due to their content of functional groups with positive and/or negative charges. In addition, they are characterized for being biodegradable and for their compatibility with other materials, and for their opportunity of reuse for the design of alternative technologies for the treatment of water contaminated with heavy metals, for example: cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), among other metals, with negative impact on society and the environment. In this sense, the objective of the present work was to evaluate the adsorption capacity of hexavalent chromium, Cr(VI), by using three organic adsorbent materials (derived from residual materials from the production of Pleurotus djamor) and immobilized on alginate in continuous adsorption processes to evaluate the adsorption capacity of Cr(VI) on the adsorbents. For this purpose, the adsorption capacity of chromium ions in aqueous phase in a glass tank (glass reactor) with a controllable stirring system was evaluated, as well as the rate of Cr(VI) increase and the adsorption load of the metal on the adsorbents. The results show a better adsorption capacity on the adsorbent composed of depleted wheat substrate and immobilized on sodium alginate. In relation to the lowest Cr(VI) rate of increase in the tank volume, it was 0.1251 and 0.0072 mg Cr(VI) min-1, respectively, 60 and 5 mg L-1 of Cr(VI) in the feed stream to the tank. Both results for depleted and immobilized substrate in sodium alginate. Finally, for the same adsorbent, the adsorbent loading capacity was higher. The adsorbents preliminarily analyzed showed good adsorption capacity.

Leaf rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia triticina, is a common disease in the wheat (Triticum aestivum) crop that generate significant economic losses. Currently, there are cultivars that show resistance to specific races of the fungus; however, the pathogen often breaks the resistance in a short time. An alternative strategy is the accumulation of resistance genes with additive effect. To achieve this it is necessary to find molecular markers that facilitate the selection of new genotypes with genetic resistance. Therefore, the objective of this research was to isolate and identify new genes for resistance to P. triticina through the generation of a subtractive suppressive ADNc library of the resistant cultivar Monarca F2007. The general response of Monarca to the presence of the fungus was mainly the activation of genes that encode proteins related to pathogenesis and to mild drought. The induction of these genes is crucial in order to keep the leaf tissue in healthy conditions upon infection by P. triticina. On the other hand, it was shown that wheat resistant lines to rust induce the expression of a greater number of genes than susceptible lines, indicating that they can have additive effects. The expression of differential transcripts is an indicator of wheat response against infection of leaf rust and the expression profiles of these genes can be used as molecular markers for selecting genotypes with greater resistance. La roya de la hoja, ocasionada por el hongo Puccinia triticina, es una enfermedad común en trigo (Triticum aestivum) que causa pérdidas económicas significativas. Actualmente se cuenta con variedades que presentan resistencia a razas específicas del hongo; sin embargo, el patógeno frecuentemente vence la resistencia en corto tiempo. Una estrategia alterna es la acumulación de genes de resistencia con efecto aditivo. Para lograrlo es necesario encontrar marcadores moleculares que faciliten la selección de nuevos genotipos con resistencia genética. Por lo anterior, el objetivo de esta investigación fue aislar e identificar nuevos genes para la resistencia a P. triticina a través de la generación de una biblioteca sustractiva supresiva de ADNc de la variedad resistente Monarca F2007. La respuesta general de Monarca ante la presencia del hongo fue la activación de genes que codifican principalmente proteínas relacionadas con patogénesis y con sequía moderada. La inducción de estos genes es crucial para mantener en buen estado el tejido foliar ante la infección por P. triticina. Por otra parte, se demostró que líneas de trigo resistentes a roya inducen la expresión de un mayor número de genes que las líneas susceptibles, lo que indica que pueden tener efectos aditivos. La expresión de transcritos diferenciales es un indicador de la respuesta del trigo contra la infección de la roya de la hoja y los perfiles de expresión de estos genes se pueden emplear como marcadores moleculares para la selección de genotipos con mayor resistencia.

This paper presents a contrast of two different observation strategies viz a nonlinear observer and a classical extended Luenberger observer applied to a bioreactor system for Bacillus thuringiensis production. The performance of the two observers was evaluated under different conditions, both with and without state perturbations. Firstly, equal initial conditions were considered without the presence of white noise in the measurement of dissolved oxygen concentration in the culture medium. The performance was then analyzed by perturbing the maximum cell growth rate with equal and different initial conditions, and, finally, the performance of the observer with the presence of white noise was evaluated. The proposed observer performed better than the extended Luenberger observer against initial conditions different from the model. The results of this study are of great interest, as they provide insight into the estimation of the state of the dynamics for the B. thuringiensis bioreactor in a batch mode. In addition, these results provide valuable information for future research in the design of observers for B. thuringiensis bioprocessing.