Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina (CBQF)
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Percorrer Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina (CBQF) por Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS) "08:Trabalho Digno e Crescimento Económico"
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- Enhancing maize growth and reducing irrigation needs with extracellular polymeric substances and microbial inoculantsPublication . Overall, Alexandra; Moreira, Helena; Sousa, Ana S. S.; Wilfert, Philipp; Loosdrecht, Mark van; Castro, Paula M. L.; Pereira, Sofia I. A.Soil amendments and microbial inoculants can affect plant growth, water retention, and crop resilience. This study investigated the effects of two amendments, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and biochar, with and without bacterial inoculation, on maize (Zea mays) growth, irrigation needs, and physiological responses. Maize was cultivated in soil with 2.5 % and 5 % (w/w) of wet EPS (Kaumera®) or biochar and inoculated with a bacterial consortium consisting of Arthrobacter nicotinovorans EAPPA and Rhodococcus sp. EC35. EPS-treated plants exhibited significantly higher shoot biomass, larger stem thickness, while soil plant analysis development (SPAD) values suggest improved nutrient availability and photosynthetic efficiency. In non-inoculated plants, EPS supplementation increased shoot dry biomass by 78 % and stem thickness by 9 % compared to control plants grown without amendments. This enhancement strongly correlated with nutrient uptake, especially in plants supplemented with 5 % of EPS. Particularly, Mg and Ca concentrations increased by 195 % and 73 %, respectively, compared to non-amended controls. Inoculation further amplified these benefits, underscoring its key role in plant development and resilience. In contrast, biochar-treated plants exhibited reduced growth, suggesting stress effects at the tested addition doses. Electrolyte leakage, a key indicator of plant stress, was significantly lower in soils amended with EPS, suggesting that EPS provides a protective effect to the plants. EPS also demonstrated remarkable water retention benefits, reducing irrigation requirements by 30 % with 5 % of EPS application, compared to 9 % reduction with biochar. The use of EPS, combined with microbial inoculants, represents a sustainable agricultural strategy for optimizing maize production in water-limited environments.
- The impact of climate change-induced abiotic stresses on the nutritional quality of legume seedsPublication . Machado, Joana; Silva, Marta Nunes da; Vasconcelos, Marta W.; Santos, Carla S.Legumes are integral to agricultural sustainability, offering multifaceted benefits ranging from enhanced yields to companion crops and improved soil health. Despite their recognized advantages, challenges such as technological lock-ins, limited breeding resources, and adverse environmental conditions pose threats to their cultivation. In this review, the complex interaction between climate change stressors, specifically drought, high temperatures, and elevated CO 2 levels, and their individual and combined impacts on the nutritional quality of legumes will be discussed. This topic has not been thoroughly reviewed across multiple legume crops despite its importance under climate change. Here, we critically examine the impacts of environmental stresses on the nutritional quality of legume seeds and explore the underlying regulatory mechanisms, encompassing protein, amino acids, minerals, carbohydrates, lipids, and bioactive compounds. Key insights indicate a general need to shift legume cultivation practices, and the necessity of field studies beyond controlled environments for results that are more readily translated to the target population of environments for legume cultivation.
- Mass tourism, cultural heritage, and traditional values within citizen lifestyle in Porto (Portugal): an overview through the HAC4CG projectPublication . Vieira, Eduarda; Pelaez, Ana; Rosa, Inês; Lemos, Teresa; Bordalo, Rui; Vasconcelos, Marta; Moreira, PatríciaPorto has a rich urban mesh and unique cultural identity, whose preservation has been the basis of its historic centre classification as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (1996). The increase in demand of Porto as a tourism destination since 2015 was simultaneously favoured by the opening of Porto’s airport new terminal that greatly powered low-cost companies and the licensing for the rehabilitation of houses for hostels and restaurants. These were factors of opportunity that allowed an exponential growth of tourism and a for-profit rehabilitation process in the entire city without proper control. Beyond the impact on housing and gentrification, mass tourism has had a great impact on the city’s lifestyle. The local community is currently confronted with these rapid metamorphoses, becoming the agent of a process of acculturation that is complex and unsustainable in the long run and with implications in the construction of Identity and future Collective Memory. Furthermore, to attract the newly arrived costumers and their diverse culinary preferences, the traditional local gastronomy has been changed, remodelled, and repackaged. Deep changes were observed either in traditional food consumption value chains as well in the grocery’s stores, markets, and restaurants. This communication aims to highlight the preliminary results of the research conducted under the HAC4GC project.