Madhu Kamle

Aflatoxins: A Global Concern for Food Safety, Human Health and Their Management

The aflatoxin producing fungi, Aspergillus spp., are widely spread in nature and have severely contaminated food supplies of humans and animals, resulting in health hazards and even death. Therefore, there is great demand for aflatoxins research to develop suitable methods for their quantification, precise detection and control to ensure the safety of consumers’ health. Here, the chemistry and biosynthesis process of the mycotoxins is discussed in brief along with their occurrence, and the health hazards to humans and livestock. This review focuses on resources, production, detection and control measures of aflatoxins to ensure food and feed safety. The review is informative for health-conscious consumers and research experts in the fields. Furthermore, providing knowledge on aflatoxins toxicity will help in ensure food safety and meet the future demands of the increasing population by decreasing the incidence of outbreaks due to aflatoxins.

Recurrent Somatic Embryogenesis and Plantlet Regeneration in Psidium guajava L.

A simple and efficient protocol for recurrent somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration is one of the prerequisites for genetic improvement of guava. An efficient reproducible regeneration somatic embryogenesis protocol was developed in four genotypes of Psidium guajava L. using immature zygotic embryo as starter explant. Somatic embryogenesis induction was obtained on MS basal medium supplemented with 2.0 mgL-1 2, 4-D, 400 mgL-1 L-glutamine, 6% sucrose and 500 mgL-1 Malt extract. Following SE induction different developmental stages of somatic embryos (Globular, heart-shaped, torpedo, cotyledonary) was directly obtained and further recurrent embryogenesis also obtained upon prolonged incubation in induction media. Addition of polyethylene glycol (50 mgL-1) significantly improved the embryos maturation in MS supplemented with and 3% sucrose. The regeneration in MS medium supplemented with BAP (0.5 mgL-1), NAA (0.2 mgL-1), casein hydrolysate (100 mgL-1) and 3% sucrose. High plant regeneration frequency and intensity of somatic embryos (58.5%) obtained. Plant maturation on MS medium supplemented with BAP 2.0 mgL-1 with 2% sucrose. The rooted plants was successfully acclimatize in the greenhouse with a survival rate of 85%. This somatic embryogenesis protocol developed would be helpful in establishment of genetically modified guava aimed at seedlessness, increased shelf life and wilt disease.

Prospects of using nanotechnology for food preservation, safety, and security

The rapid development of nanotechnology has transformed many domains of food science, especially those that involve the processing, packaging, storage, transportation, functionality, and other safety aspects of food. A wide range of nanostructured materials (NSMs), from inorganic metal, metal oxides, and their nanocomposites to nano-organic materials with bioactive agents, has been applied to the food industry. Despite the huge benefits nanotechnology has to offer, there are emerging concerns regarding the use of nanotechnology, as the accumulation of NSMs in human bodies and in the environment can cause several health and safety hazards. Therefore, safety and health concerns as well as regulatory policies must be considered while manufacturing, processing, intelligently and actively packaging, and consuming nano-processed food products. This review aims to provide a basic understanding regarding the applications of nanotechnology in the food packaging and processing industries and to identify the future prospects and potential risks associated with the use of NSMs.

Somatic embryogenesis in guava (Psidium guajava L.): current status and future perspectives

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is a highly perishable fruit crop comparable to mango owing to its high medicinal value and intense aroma. The presence of high genetic variability limits the chances of further expansion of guava improvement using biotechnological interventions. Conventional methods of guava improvement encountered with restricted achievement in progress of disease resistant varieties because of existing high genetic variability in the germplasm. There is a considerable demand for the establishment of successful and efficient regeneration protocols via somatic embryogenesis. Plants regenerated through somatic embryogenesis could be more useful than plants obtained through organogenesis because, in most cases, somatic embryos are of single-cell origin, and have a low frequency of chimeras and a high number of regenerations. This review is a snapshot of the recent status of somatic embryogenesis as a basis for expanding genetic improvement in guava for quality traits and future perspectives using advanced technologies.

Current perspectives on genetically modified crops and detection methods

Genetically modified (GM) crops are the fastest adopted commodities in the agribiotech industry. This market penetration should provide a sustainable basis for ensuring food supply for growing global populations. The successful completion of two decades of commercial GM crop production (1996–2015) is underscored by the increasing rate of adoption of genetic engineering technology by farmers worldwide. With the advent of introduction of multiple traits stacked together in GM crops for combined herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, drought tolerance or disease resistance, the requirement of reliable and sensitive detection methods for tracing and labeling genetically modified organisms in the food/feed chain has become increasingly important. In addition, several countries have established threshold levels for GM content which trigger legally binding labeling schemes. The labeling of GM crops is mandatory in many countries (such as China, EU, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Chile, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand), whereas in Canada, Hong Kong, USA, South Africa, and Argentina voluntary labeling schemes operate. The rapid adoption of GM crops has increased controversies, and mitigating these issues pertaining to the implementation of effective regulatory measures for the detection of GM crops is essential. DNA-based detection methods have been successfully employed, while the whole genome sequencing using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies provides an advanced means for detecting genetically modified organisms and foods/feeds in GM crops. This review article describes the current status of GM crop commercialization and discusses the benefits and shortcomings of common and advanced detection systems for GMs in foods and animal feeds.

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides: Pathogen of Anthracnose Disease in Mango (Mangifera indica L.)

The Mango is severely affected with anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides belongs to order melanoconiales. C. gloeosporioides affects mango crop as the most threatening malady that results in huge economic losses about 30–60 % damage which sometimes increased up to 100 % in fruit produce under wet or very humid conditions. The optimum temperature for conidial germination and infection is around 25–30 °C when free moisture is available. The anthracnose pathogen is found present on the host tissues as endophyte and remain in quiescent stage but, with the onset of moist and rainy season causes serious infection. Pathogen produced lesions on leaves, fruits and panicles and with increasing penetration of pathogen to host tissue the lesions become dark and form concentric ring pattern. The blossom as well as peduncle blight is the most destructive phase of this disease, as it affects fruit set and ultimately the yield. C. gloeosporioides display a range of nutritional strategies and lifestyles, including plant associations that occupy a continuum from necrotrophy to hemibiotrophy and endophytism. During the anamorph (asexual) stage the pathogen is typically haploid and becomes diploid during transition towards teleomorph (sexual = Glomerulla) stage. With the advances in genomics and transcriptomics in future there would be more new vistas in exploration of molecular mechanism of anthracnose disease occurrence. How certain signal molecules activated and leads to changes in lifestyle of C. gloeosporioides from biotrophic to necrotrophic stage especially during fruit ripening.

Identification and characterization of Fusarium mangiferae as pathogen of mango malformation in India

Fusarium mangiferae (=F. subglutinans) isolates collect from malformed samples from major mango-growing area of North India. Molecular identification and characterization of eleven most virulent isolates of F. mangiferae, based on pathogenicity tests used for the present study. Species-specific, genus specific ITS-PCR and PCR-RFLP performed for the accurate and easy detection of F. mangiferae. The rDNA-ITS 28S region sequences used for phylogenetic analysis of Fusarium isolates from India and other countries for homology search between them. The phylogenetic tree divided the isolates into three clades (i.e., American, Asian and African) and showed the high level of sequence based similarity (69-99%) among all Fusarium sequences from Asia. Thus, claimed Fusarium mangiferae as dominant pathogen of mango malformation. Furthermore, we conclude that exploiting the nested PCR coupled with PCR-RFLP will help in rapid and accurate detection of F. mangiferae pathogen of mango malformation.