Browsing by Author "Vasconcelos, Marta W."
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- A água e a nutrição-veículo deinteracção com o HomemPublication . Vasconcelos, Marta W.; Malcata, F. Xavier
- Alimentos transgénicosPublication . Vasconcelos, Marta W.
- Are there any Pinus pinaster trees resistant to Bursaphelenchus xylophilus? Studies implemented in Portugal to address this questionPublication . Costa, R.; Ribeiro, P.; Evaristo, I.; Ribeiro, B.; Aguiar, A.; Carrasquinho, I.; Santos, C.; Vasconcelos, Marta W.
- Assessing the effectiveness of different Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae pre-inoculation procedures to promoting disease visual symptoms in adult kiwifruit plantsPublication . Santos, Miguel G.; Silva, Marta Nunes da; Gallego, Pedro P.; Vasconcelos, Marta W.; Carvalho, Susana M. P.
- Assessing the potential of a sustainable bean leaf extract with abscisic acid in pear ripening restorationPublication . Dias, Cindy; Sousa, Clara; Ferrante, António; Pintado, Manuela; Vasconcelos, Marta W.Introduction: Rocha pear (Pyrus communis L. cv Rocha) is a Portuguese cultivar stored with 1-MCP in controlled atmosphere to extend storage life and prevent postharvest issues. However, 1-MCP obstructs the normal ripening, impacting pear quality for consumers. Several strategies have been applied to reboot the ripening of pear under 1-MCP effect, such as the application of higher temperatures, exogenous ethylene or a combination of both. However, these treatments demand high energy consumption. Some phytohormones, like abscisic acid (ABA), have been shown to accelerate ripening by stimulating ethylene production, firmness loss, coloring, among other ripening markers. Objective: In this study, leaves from bean plants derived from agri-food wastes were explored to extract phytohormones with focus on ABA, using a sustainable approach. Further the study aimed to investigate the potential of this green extract as a ripening inducer for pears under the 1-MCP effect. Time course physiological and biochemical analysis comparison with ‘Rocha’ pear treated with synthetic ABA was performed. Conclusions: The extraction approach developed in this study extracted ABA from bean leaves using only water under cold conditions. This suggests a sustainable approach by repurposing agricultural by-products; Bean leaves extract and synthetic ABA treatment of pears, under the influence of 1-MCP, resulted in increased respiration and ethylene production after 15 days. This was accompanied by higher SSC, color and firmness loss suggesting that ABA may be inducing the ripening process; Evaluating natural and synthetic ABA on pear ripening is essential to determine the effectiveness of the natural source relative to the conventional synthetic version. Despite lower ABA concentration in the natural extract, similar responses to synthetic ABA suggest the involvement of not only ABA but other bioactive compounds; The results of this study could have implications for the development of eco-friendly and sustainable practices in agri-food waste utilization and fruit post-harvest management.
- Avaliação da susceptibilidade da flora autóctone Portuguesa ao nemátode da madeira do pinheiro (Bursaphelechus xylophilus)Publication . Silva, Marta A. N.; Lima, Marta R. M.; Vasconcelos, Marta W.
- Biochemical basis of CO2-related internal browning disorders in pears (Pyrus communisL. cv. Rocha) during long-term storagePublication . Deuchande, Teresa; Larrigaudière, Christian; Giné-Bordonaba, Jordi; Carvalho, Susana; Vasconcelos, Marta W.This study aimed at understanding the biochemical basis of internal browning disorders (IBDs) in 'Rocha' pear. For this purpose, the effects of storage under normal controlled atmosphere (CA) (3 kPa of O2 + 0.5 kPa of CO2) and IBD-inducing CA (1 kPa of O2 + 10 kPa of CO2) on the antioxidant and fermentative metabolisms and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity and phenolics concentration were studied. The higher IBD incidence in high CO2-stored fruits was positively correlated with fermentative metabolites and negatively with ascorbate and H2O2 concentrations, and it was linked to PPO activation. These results indicate that both the antioxidant and fermentative metabolisms are involved in the occurrence of IBD in 'Rocha' pear. From the integration of the biochemical and enzymatic data, a schematic model illustrating the effects of high CO2 and low O2 in 'Rocha' pears during long-term storage was constructed.
- Biochemical markers to predict internal browning disorders in ‘Rocha’ pear during storage under high CO2Publication . Deuchande, Teresa; Larrigaudière, Christian; Guterres, Umbelina; Carvalho, Susana M. P.; Vasconcelos, Marta W.BACKGROUND: The aim of this studywas to identify biochemical markers to predict internal browning disorders (IBD) in 'Rocha' pear. Fruits from five orchards were stored for 45 days under cold air followed by 100 days in browning-inducing controlled atmosphere (CA) conditions (1 kPaO(2) + 10 kPaCO(2)). RESULTS: Relationships between concentrations of ethanol (EtOH), acetaldehyde (AcDH) and ascorbic acid (AA), activities of peroxidase (POX) and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) and IBD incidence were established. The partial least square (PLS) model using the most promising markers, EtOH and AcDH, explained 89% of the variance in IBD incidence, whereas the univariate models based on the same markers explained between 89 and 94%. In contrast, the models based on AA levels and AA depletion rate only explained 57 and 82% of the variance in IBD incidence respectively. Model validation confirmed the robustness of EtOH for the prediction (R-2 = 0.91, RMSE= 11.1) and allowed proposing a threshold level of 30 mu L EtOH L-1 above which IBD may occur. Using this threshold value, the storage time limit associated with the occurrence of the first IBD symptoms was predicted with an acceptable RMSE of 9 days. CONCLUSION: Thiswork clearly identifies biochemical IBDmarkers for ` Rocha' pear and shows that dynamic changes in ethanol concentration during the beginning of storagemay be used to predict IBD development. Therefore the results presented herein represent a major step forward in the prediction of IBD in 'Rocha' pear.
- Biostimulant effect of two fucus sp. algal residues on pea, rice, and tomato germination and growthPublication . Sperotto, Raul A.; Rosa-Martínez, Elena; Martins, Valter F. R.; Pintado, Manuela; Morais, Rui M. S. C.; Morais, Alcina M. M. B.; Vasconcelos, Marta W.Introduction: Seaweed-based bioproducts are increasingly recognized for their phytostimulatory properties, promoting plant growth and enhancing resistance to various stresses. Notably, Fucus vesiculosus, a brown seaweed, has shown promise as a biostimulant1. Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) constitute different classes of organic macromolecules that can have multiple applications. This study investigates the bioestimulant effects of Fucus sp. on the germination and early growth of pea, rice, and tomato, utilizing two algal extracts—one with EPS and another without EPS. The goal was to assess the impact of the algal residues on seed germination and initial plant development and provide insights into their potential as sustainable biostimulants. Conclusions: The three crops responded differently to applying algae extracts in the substrate as a biostimulant. The most promising results were obtained for rice and tomato since they showed a biostimulating effect on crop growth in the early stages of development, which was demonstrated mainly in the significant increase in plant dry biomass. Ultimately, the algae residue without EPS (BS-EPS at both concentrations) gave better results than the algae residue with EPS, as it significantly promoted the development of rice and tomato seedlings.
- Biotechnological strategies for resistance induction to the pine wilt nematodePublication . Rodrigues, Rui; Reis, Andreia; Franco, Albina; Santos, Carla; Markowski, Maciej; Vasconcelos, Marta W.