33533 research outputs found
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Sustainable and available sources of omega-3 fatty acids for health: are the current dietary recommendations, food sources and legislation fit for purpose?
No full textThe health benefits of the long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have been known for over 50 years and underpin the UK population recommendation to consume >450 mg EPA þ DHA per day. These recommendations, last revised in 2004, are based mainly on epidemiological evidence. Much research has been conducted in the interim. Most randomised controlled trials (RCT) use doses of EPA þ DHA of 840 mg/d or more. For anti-inflammatory, triacylglycerol lowering and anti-hypertensive effects, >1.5 g EPA þ DHA per day is needed. Cognitive benefits are also likely to require these higher intakes. Farmed salmon now contains considerably less EPA þ DHA relative to farmed fish of 20 years ago, meaning one portion per week will no longer provide the equivalent of 450 mg EPA þ DHA per day. Oily fish alone can only provide a fraction of the EPA þ DHA required to meet global needs. Furthermore, there is low global oily fish consumption, with typical intakes of <200 mg EPA þ DHA per day, and limited intakes in vegans and vegetarians. Therefore, there is an urgent need for affordable, acceptable, alternative EPA þ DHA sources, including vegan/vegetarian friendly options, such as bio-enriched poultry, red meat and milk products; fortified foods; enriched oilseeds (for example, genetically modified Camelina sativa); algae and algal oils; and approaches which enhance endogenous EPA/DHA synthesis. In this narrative review, we suggest that current EPA þ DHA intake recommendations are too low, consider EPA/DHA from a holistic health sustainability perspective and identify research, policy and knowledge mobilisation areas which need attention
Towards a sustainable phosphorus network in Africa
No full textGlobal collaborative action for sustainable management of phosphorus is vital to ensure food production and the
protection of water quality. This requires balancing competing phosphorus demands and a growing population
through coordinated actions at local, national, regional and international scales. Phosphorus is mainly used in
the agricultural sector as an essential nutrient for plant growth and animal feed. It is also used to a lesser extent in
the food industry as an additive, as an additive in steel production and most recently in the production of lithium
batteries for electric cars. Phosphorus is a finite resource, making its sustainable use a global priority. Yet, losses
from the global phosphorus system risk pollution of aquatic ecosystems associated with biodiversity loss and
human health risks associated with harmful algal blooms. While phosphorus supplies from reserves are not of
immediate concern, there is nonetheless a need to ensure sustainable phosphorus use at the global level. Africa’s
use of phosphorus fertilisers is sub-optimal, with a reported decline in phosphorus fertiliser use of about 233 %
by the turn of the 21st century, and remains low. The Sustainable Phosphorus Summit (SPS) is the only global
conference series supporting discourse on phosphorus sustainability spanning across the academic, agriculture,
environmental, wastewater, policy and industry sectors. Since its inception in 2010, the SPS series has been held
every 2–4 years on all continents – except Africa. The hosting of the 8th SPS (SPS8) in Accra, Ghana, will present
an opportunity to set the agenda for sustainable phosphorus management in Africa, and to place African contexts
into the global discussion. Being organised by different teams led by an African Local Organising Committee,
SPS8 aims to pave the way towards the establishment of an African Sustainable Phosphorus Network, serving as a
platform for collaboration, networking and knowledge co-creation and exchange to ensure sustainable phosphorus
use in the region and beyond. Sustainable phosphorus management in Africa is feasible in the medium to
long-term, with a focus on ensuring adequate phosphorus fertiliser availability, access and use, while minimising
the environmental impacts from losses by matching soil-crop phosphorus needs and enhancing circular phosphorus
use systems, and informing ecosystem recovery planning
A highly conserved ABCG transporter mediates root–soil cohesion in Arabidopsis
No full textIdentifying plant molecular mechanisms that mediate root–substrate interactions might offer potential solutions to soil erosion, especially in crop fields, where agricultural practices lead to soil loss. Mutants of the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) ATP-Binding Cassette G 43 (ABCG43) transporter gene show enhanced root–substrate cohesion, even though their root micro- and macro-structures are similar to those of wild-type Arabidopsis. We used genetic, biochemical, and functional methods to characterise the substrate-binding effects of changes in ABCG43 expression, including differences in exudate composition, and phylogenetic analyses to explore the evolutionary history of ABCG43 in land plants. Exudates from roots of the abcg43 mutant bound more soil and growing medium, and there were significant differences in abcg43 root exudate composition compared with the wild type. These results suggest that ABCG43 normally functions to mediate root exudates that affect root–substrate cohesion. Phylogenetic analysis showed that ABCG43 is highly conserved in plants, including in agriculturally important crop species. These results provide evidence that ABCG43 is a promising molecular target for developing crop plants with enhanced root–soil cohesion
Identifying the opportunities and challenges for monitoring terrestrial biodiversity in the robotics age
No full textWith biodiversity loss escalating globally, a step-change is needed in our capacity to accurately monitor species populations across ecosystems. Robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) offer technological solutions that may significantly advance terrestrial biodiversity monitoring, but this potential is yet to be considered systematically. We used a modified Delphi technique to synthesise knowledge from 98 biodiversity and 31 RAS experts from around the world, identifying the major methodological barriers that currently hinder monitoring, and exploring the opportunities and challenges that RAS offer to overcome these barriers. Biodiversity experts identified four barrier categories: site access, species/individual identification, data handling/storage and power/network availability. RAS experts highlighted currently available technologies and capabilities that could overcome these barriers. Some existing RAS could be optimised relatively easily to survey species, but would require development to monitor more ‘difficult’ taxa and be robust enough to work in the uncontrolled, and often extreme, conditions within ecosystems. Other nascent technologies (e.g., novel sensors, biodegradable robots) need accelerated research. Overall, it was felt that RAS could lead to major progress in monitoring terrestrial biodiversity by supplementing, rather than supplanting, existing methods. Transdisciplinarity needs to be fostered between biodiversity and RAS experts, so future ideas and technologies can be co-developed effectively
Fusarium graminearum and zearalenone in wheat: A water activity–temperature model
No full textZearalenone (ZEN) is a nonsteroidal estrogenic mycotoxin produced primarily by Fusarium graminearum, posing
significant threats to agricultural grain production. When ZEN levels exceed regulatory limits, grains face rejection, and its harmful effects on the female reproductive system raise health concerns. Despite its importance, there is a lack of information on the ecophysiological conditions that promote F. graminearum colonisation and ZEN production in wheat grains. This study aimed to develop and validate predictive models for the growth of F. graminearum and ZEN accumulation in wheat. For this purpose, two strains isolated from wheat were inoculated in agar wheat-based medium supplemented with glycerol to adjust the water activity (aw) to five different values of 0.88, 0.91, 0.94, 0.97 and 0.99. The cultures were incubated at 4, 6, 8.5, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 ◦C, the colony growth was measured daily, and ZEN accumulation assessed at day 10, 20 and 30. To analyse the growth kinetics of F. graminearum, the fungal growth rate (μ) and lag time (λ) were calculated, applying the Cardinal/Rosso, Davey, and Gibson models. These techniques, commonly used in secondary modelling, were enhanced through variable transformation, with the square root transformation yielding optimal results in the Cardinal models. The outcome showed probabilistic model accuracy for growth ranging 65–79 % and ZEN production ranging 45–77 % on internal and external data set. Optimum temperature for ZEN production was 25–30 ◦C in media and wheat. In wheat, a higher aW was required for both growing (0.92 aw) and ZEN production compared to media (0.90 aw). Probabilities of growth over 80 % were predicted in the range of 0.90–0.95 aw at 16–34 ◦C after 30 days. In conclusion, to avoid mycotoxin contamination in wheat an aw < 0.89 should be maintained, and temperatures in the range 18–31 ◦C should be avoided (P < 0.5). The integration of predictive models into decision support systems could assist farmers in identifying pre-harvest contamination risks and in optimising harvesting and drying practices to minimise post-harvest contamination. This study highlights the importance of understanding the ecophysiological profiles of mycotoxigenic species like F. graminearum to mitigate contamination risks and optimise storage conditions in wheat
Effect of High Temperatures on the Growth and Disease Development of Erysiphe quercicola on Rubber Trees
No full textPowdery mildew is a serious disease of rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) worldwide. Tem-perature is the main climatic factor that influences the development of this disease. In this study, the effects of five high temperatures (30, 32, 34, 36, and 38°C) at each of six exposure durations (0.5, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h) were measured for the pathogen at 0, 3, 12, and 48 hr post-inoculation (hpi), which represented four life stages of the fungus (conidia, conidial germination, infection, and hyphal growth). The results indicated that the germination, infection and disease severity was reduced with the increasing temperature and exposure duration. Temperature and exposure duration also significantly interacted to affect all life stages (P< 0.001). The relationships of inhibition rate of conidial germination, infection and disease severity with duration of exposure time (et) and high temperature (T) were described by logistic equations with the percentage variance accounted for above 68%. Ungerminated conidia were found to be the most resistant stage to high-temperature for E. quercicola from rubber tree out of the four stages tested in this study. Only con-trolled-environmental experiments were conducted and field studies are needed to en-hance disease forecasting of rubber tree powdery mildew
A dataset of large ensemble of CMIP6-based transient climate scenarios for impact assessment in Great Britain
No full textUnder the extant threat of climate change, impact assessment studies are essential to investigate and quantify the severity of the potential impacts, and support recommendations for mitigation strategies with foresight. Future climate change scenarios are therefore crucial for underpinning impact studies. Here, transient climate scenarios are important as they provide a more realistic and dynamic evolution of future climate conditions over time, rather than only static equilibrium climate scenarios. It is also important to downscale climate projection of Global Climate Models (GCMs) from coarse spatial and temporal resolution to local scale site-specific daily climate scenarios which have a sufficiently large number of years or realisations for accounting for inter-annual variability and detecting rare extreme climatic events. In the new dataset presented herein, transient future climate scenarios were generated at 26 representative sites across Great Britain (GB) using a stochastic weather generator (LARS-WG 8.0), based on climate projections from a subset of five GCMs from the latest CMIP6 ensemble and two emission scenarios. For each site, 100 realisations of continuous transient time series of daily weather over the period 2020 to 2090 were generated. The use of a subset of five GCMs reduces computational requirements substantially for impact assessments, while allowing quantification of uncertainties in impacts related to uncertainty in future climate projections arising from GCMs. The dataset can be used to underpin assessments of future climate change risk and vulnerability, and their temporal patterns and progressive changes over time. Our data are designed to be used as a time series of climatic input to impact models for climate change assessments continuously over time related to various fields and disciplines, including land and water resources, agriculture and food production, soil carbon cycle, ecology and epidemiology, and human health and welfare. Various key stakeholders, viz., researchers, breeders, farm managers, social and public sector advisers, policymakers and planners, may benefit from this new transient dataset for investigating, forecasting, designing and prioritising adaptive and mitigation strategies under changing climate
Population genetics show that aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are limited by summer host-plant distribution at the regional scale
No full textNasonovia ribisnigri (Mosley) is a severe aphid pest of outdoor lettuce, and the combination of sporadic and unpredictable colonisation on outdoor lettuce, along with the breakdown of cultivar resistance, has left few effective control methods. The population structure (spatially and temporally) of N. ribisnigri is currently unknown in England, and therefore microsatellite markers were designed to estimate the impacts of hostplant selection pressure (including host plant resistance) and environmental change. Biological samples collected between 2003-2020 from 10 sites across England were typed with microsatellite markers. The analysis of eight microsatellites indicated a clear East-West divide between N. ribisnigri populations which corresponds with current outdoor lettuce cultivation distribution in England, one of the aphid's summer hosts. Analysis of gene flow indicated that aphids did not leave the eastern region; instead, there was strong evidence for aphids migrating from the West into the secondary host eastern region, possibly from the winter host (Ribes spp.) in Spring. This result suggests that although N. ribisnigri has the potential for long-distance migration, strong ties to the summer host (lettuce) determine migratory behaviour at the population level. Nasonovia ribisnigri are mostly holocyclic and show a high level of inbreeding. Long-term trends revealed relatively stable populations, despite a recent breakdown of host plant resistance and other environmental changes, including favourable temperatures. The geographic and temporal structure of the N. ribisnigri population is discussed in relation to future pest management strategies
Topological interactions account for border dynamics of murmurations and transit flocks
No full textMurmurations are one of nature’s most striking examples of collective behaviour. Despite extensive research the dynamics of individuals at the borders of these flocks remain poorly understood. These dynamics result in two unexplained phenomena: the tendency of birds to remain longer at the border than the way internal birds keep their position inside the flock; and the hardness (sharpness) of the borders. It has been suggested that the border dynamics can be attributed to selection pressures for advantageous behaviours such as prey evasion. Here with the aid of stochastic models we show that the observed border dynamics are an accidental but potentially advantageous by-product of topological interactions (when birds interact with a fixed number of neighours) and that they do not arise with metric interactions (when birds coordinate with neighbours based on spatial distance). I find support for these predictions in an analysis of pre-existing telemetry data for flocks of jackdaws (Corvus monedula)
Global soil pollution by toxic metals threatens agriculture and human health
Full text linkToxic metal pollution is ubiquitous in soils, yet its worldwide distribution is unknown. We analyzed a global database of soil pollution by arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, nickel, and lead at 796,084 sampling points from 1493 regional studies and used machine learning techniques to map areas with exceedance of agricultural and human health thresholds. We reveal a previously unrecognized high-risk, metal-enriched zone in low-latitude Eurasia, which is attributed to influential climatic, topographic, and anthropogenic conditions. This feature can be regarded as a signpost for the Anthropocene era. We show that 14 to 17% of cropland is affected by toxic metal pollution globally and estimate that between 0.9 and 1.4 billion people live in regions of heightened public health and ecological risks