Gut Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic gastrointestinal disorders characterised by relapsing and remitting inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The two most common types of IBDs are ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Patients with glycogen storage disease (GSD) type Ia present with gastrointestinal symptoms such as recurrent abdominal pain, bloating and changes in stool form or frequency, which is clinically difficult to distinguish from IBD. We report the case of a 36-year-old man with GSD type Ia and IBD-like disease. A commercial probiotic (VSL#3®) was chosen as a nutritional supplement treatment because of its high content of microbial species and strains. Three different tests were performed: normal-dose, no-dose and half-dose tests. The study periods for the normal-dose, no-dose and half-dose tests were 4 weeks from the treatment initiation, 72 h from the end of the previous period and 4 weeks to 6 months after the end of the 72-h period, respectively. When the probiotic treatment was stopped, he experienced several symptoms similar to those before the start of the treatment. The intestinal symptoms were less severe with the half-dose nutritional supplement treatment than with no treatment. Probiotics may reduce the number of irritable gut episodes and improve the patient’s well-being and overall quality of life. More studies are needed to determine whether the improvement in more severe cases of GSD is due mainly to changes in the composition of the gut microbiota, as in this patient.

Citrus chilling injury causes 25% postharvest losses by shortening its storage life and lowers its market value in developed countries. In citrus fruits, chilling injury is characterized by increased moisture loss and disease susceptibility. The present study was conducted with the objective to evaluate the effects of pre-storage heat treatments (HTS: control, 5, 10, 15 and 20 min), heat treatment methods (HTM: wet heat treatment [WHT], vapor heat treatment [VHT]), and exposure temperatures (ET: chilled [2.5 °C], non-chilled [10 °C]) on citrus fruits (cv. Blood Red having sour orange rootstock) during 2015–2016 at the University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan. Sweet orange fruits and fruit discs of 10 mm diameter were simultaneously treated with WHT and VHT. The heat treated fruits and fruit discs were separated into two lots. One lot was held at non-chilling temperature (10 ± 1 °C), while the other lot was exposed to chilling temperature (2.5 ± 1 °C) for 75 days and packed in fiber board packages. The fruits and fruit discs after 75 days storage at both storage temperatures (10 ± 1 °C and 2.5 ± 1 °C) were incubated at ambient temperature for 7 days (simulated marketing time) and analyzed for different chilling injury parameters. Heat treatment periods (HTS), exposure temperature (ET) and their interactions (HTS × ET) showed significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences for the majority of the traits. The interaction of HTS × HTM was significant (p ≤ 0.05) for weight loss and surface pitting. However, heat treatment methods (HTM) and interaction of ET × HTM × HTS was significant for surface pitting and weight loss, respectively. The non-chilled (10 ± 1 °C) fruits revealed lower weight loss (6.80%), surface pitting (4.40%), disease incidence (7.07%), disease expansion (3.97 mm), ion leakage (15.77%) while the ascorbic acid increased (32.38 mg 100 g⁻¹). However, chilling (2.5 °C) triggered the increase in weight loss (8.32%), surface pitting (16.13%), disease incidence (14.59%), lesion diameter (10.37 mm) and ion leakage (27.96%) in sweet orange. Heat treatments with WHT and VHT for 5–10 min resulted in reduced weight loss (6.07%), surface pitting (3.33%), disease incidence (2.00%), disease expansion (5.00 mm) and ion leakage (20.23%) in sweet oranges. Heat treatments with WHT and VHT for 15–20 min, accelerated the fruit senescence by increasing the weight loss (8.98%), surface pitting (15.67%), disease incidence (15.33%), disease expansion (8.33 mm) and ion leakage (23.62%). In comparison to heat treatment methods, highest weight loss (7.57%), surface pitting (11.53%), ion leakage (21.94%) and disease incidence (10.86%) were recorded in VHT, whereas WHT treatments had lowest weight loss (7.55%), surface pitting (9.00%), ions leakage (21.80%) and disease incidence (10.79%). Therefore, modest WHT pre-storage heat treatment (5–10 min) is recommended for storage of sweet orange.

An imbalance between the production and clearance of macromolecules such as proteins, lipids and carbohydrates can lead to a category of diseases broadly known as macromolecule storage disorders. These include, but not limited to, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease associated with accumulation of aggregation-prone proteins, Lafora and Pompe disease associated with glycogen accumulation, whilst lipid accumulation is characteristic to Niemann-Pick disease and Gaucher disease. One of the underlying factors contributing to the build-up of macromolecules in these storage disorders is the intracellular degradation pathway called autophagy. This process is the primary clearance route for unwanted macromolecules, either via bulk non-selective degradation, or selectively via aggrephagy, glycophagy and lipophagy. Since autophagy plays a vital role in maintaining cellular homeostasis, cell viability and human health, malfunction of this process could be detrimental. Indeed, defective autophagy has been reported in a number of macromolecule storage disorders where autophagy is impaired at distinct stages, such as at the level of autophagosome formation, autophagosome maturation or improper lysosomal degradation of the autophagic cargo. Of biomedical relevance, autophagy is regulated by multiple signaling pathways that are amenable to chemical perturbations by small molecules. Induction of autophagy has been shown to improve cell viability and exert beneficial effects in experimental models of various macromolecule storage disorders where the lysosomal functionality is not overtly compromised. In this review, we will discuss the role of autophagy in certain macromolecule storage disorders and highlight the potential therapeutic benefits of autophagy enhancers in these pathological conditions.

The catabolism of ganglioside GM2 is dependent on three gene products. Mutations in any of these genes result in a different type of GM2 gangliosidosis (Tay-Sachs disease, Sandhoff disease, and the B1 and AB variants of GM2 gangliosidosis), with GM2 as the major lysosomal storage compound. GM2 is also a secondary storage compound in lysosomal storage diseases such as Niemann-Pick disease types A–C, with primary storage of SM in type A and cholesterol in types B and C, respectively. The reconstitution of GM2 catabolism at liposomal surfaces carrying GM2 revealed that incorporating lipids into the GM2-carrying membrane such as cholesterol, SM, sphingosine, and sphinganine inhibits GM2 hydrolysis by α-hexosaminidase A assisted by GM2 activator protein, while anionic lipids, ceramide, fatty acids, lysophosphatidylcholine, and diacylglycerol stimulate GM2 catabolism. In contrast, the hydrolysis of the synthetic, water-soluble substrate 4-methylumbelliferyl-6-sulfo-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-α-d-glucopyranoside was neither significantly affected by membrane lipids such as ceramide or SM nor stimulated by anionic lipids such as bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate added as liposomes, detergent micelles, or lipid aggregates. Moreover, hydrolysis-inhibiting lipids also had an inhibiting effect on the solubilization and mobilization of membrane-bound lipids by the GM2 activator protein, while the stimulating lipids enhanced lipid mobilization.—

Flooding of sweetpotatoes in the field leads to development of soft rot on the storage roots while they remain submerged or on subsequent harvest and storage. Incidences of flooding after periods of intense rainy weather are on the rise in the southeastern United States, which is home to the majority of sweetpotato production in the nation. In an effort to characterize the causative agent(s) of this devastating disease, here we describe two distinct bacterial strains isolated from soft-rotted sweetpotato storage roots retrieved from an intentionally flooded field. Both of these anaerobic spore-forming isolates were identified as members of the genus Clostridium based on sequence similarity of multiple housekeeping genes, and both were confirmed to cause soft rot disease on sweetpotato and other vegetable crops. Despite these common features, the isolates were distinguishable by several phenotypic and biochemical properties, and phylogenetic analysis placed them in separate well-supported clades within the genus. Overall, our results demonstrate that multiple plant-pathogenic Clostridium species can cause soft rot disease on sweetpotato and suggest that a variety of other plant hosts may also be susceptible.

Abstract Background Sugar loss due to storage rot has a substantial economic impact on the sugar industry. The gradual spread of saprophytic fungi such as Fusarium and Penicillium spp. during storage in beet clamps is an ongoing challenge for postharvest processing. Early detection of shifts in microbial communities in beet clamps is a promising approach for the initiation of targeted countermeasures during developing storage rot. In a combined approach, high-throughput sequencing of bacterial and fungal genetic markers was complemented with cultivation-dependent methods and provided detailed insights into microbial communities colonizing stored roots. These data were used to develop a multi-target qPCR technique for early detection of postharvest diseases. Results The comparison of beet microbiomes from six clamps in Austria and Germany highlighted regional differences; nevertheless, universal indicators of the health status were identified. Apart from a significant decrease in microbial diversity in decaying sugar beets (p ≤ 0.01), a distinctive shift in the taxonomic composition of the overall microbiome was found. Fungal taxa such as Candida and Penicillium together with the gram-positive Lactobacillus were the main disease indicators in the microbiome of decaying sugar beets. In contrast, the genera Plectosphaerella and Vishniacozyma as well as a higher microbial diversity in general were found to reflect the microbiome of healthy beets. Based on these findings, a qPCR-based early detection technique was developed and confirmed a twofold decrease of health indicators and an up to 10,000-fold increase of disease indicators in beet clamps. This was further verified with analyses of the sugar content in storage samples. Conclusion By conducting a detailed assessment of temporal microbiome changes during the storage of sugar beets, distinct indicator species were identified that reflect progressing rot and losses in sugar content. The insights generated in this study provide a novel basis to improve current or develop next-generation postharvest management techniques by tracking disease indicators during storage.

Peaches are in high demands because of their nutritional value and delicious flavor, but often become unmarketable due to the fungus infection. In this study, carvacrol and eugenol were used to preserve peaches. Rhizopus stolonifer growth was completely inhibited by carvacrol at 32 µl/Lair and eugenol at 64 µl/Lair. Carvacrol at 0.5 µl/Lair and eugenol at 1 µl/Lair significantly reduced the incidence and severity of soft rot decay in artificially inoculated peaches. Also, carvacrol and eugenol significantly reduced the natural incidence of soft rot disease and maintained high sensory acceptance and quality of peaches during storage. The activities of defense‐related enzymes were enhanced by carvacrol and eugenol fumigation, and the contents of phenolics, flavonoids, lignin, and hydroxyproline‐rich glycoprotein in these two oils treated fruit, were much higher than untreated control during storage. These observations indicted that carvacrol and eugenol could preserve peach fruit during postharvest storage. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Carvacrol and eugenol showed great potential application in the preservation of peach fruit during postharvest storage, exhibiting high antifungal activity against Rhizopus stolonifer and enhancing defense response to soft rot disease.

In this study, the polyphenols content, α‐amylase, α‐glucosidase and cholinesterase‐inhibiting activities of cloudy peach (Prunus persica) juices, were measured immediately after thermal treatment and after storage (6 months at 4 and 30 °C). The study showed that some cultivars were more useable for industry than others. Due to the high content of polyphenols and a high ability to inhibit enzymes linked to type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, noteworthy are the juices obtained from ‘Redheaven early’ and ‘Redheaven’ cultivars. The content of total phenolics ranged from 1109.7 to 390.7 mg/L of juice, and the dominant fraction was polymeric procyanidins. Following 6 months of storage a significant change was observed in the content of polyphenols, especially flavonols and anthocyanins. The data compiled from the conducted study indicate that peach juice could be useful for the juice industry as a promising source of bioactive compounds.