Food and Energy Security最新文献

This article explores the fundamental right to food, examining its legal framework, its relationship with other human rights, and the efforts being made globally to improve this right. It begins by looking at international and national laws that protect the right to food and examining their importance in ensuring food security and sovereignty. It then explores how food rights intersect with other rights, such as health, education, and labor, revealing the interrelated web of human rights. The article further highlights how the right to food is closely tied to the objectives of reducing poverty and promoting social justice, which are crucial components in the collective effort to achieve food security for all. Additionally, it evaluates the effectiveness of current policies and strategies in promoting the right to food, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The novelty of the article is that it brings into perspective, the encumbrance of food sovereignty in sub-Saharan Africa and concludes with potential solutions.

Genome editing technology has become part and parcel of biotechnological approach to understand the genetic basis of different biological processes in an organism and for its application in different fields. The basic need of world food production demands a highly variable population of plants with maximum diversity of agronomic traits of interest. Genome editing is unique in the sense that it provides a direct approach to generate targeted variability. The worldwide availability of genome-edited crop varieties in the global market is approaching, whereas the decision to deal with genome-edited (GE) crops differently from genetically transformed crop varieties is under discussion all around the world. GE may add allochthonous or autochthonous sequences into the genome much like traditional transgenesis or cisgenesis. Considering this fact, the United States declared genome-edited crops as conventional. Many countries such as Japan, UK, China, and Brazil have already legislated their GE products and their products are near to get entry to the market. In Pakistan, academic and research-based scientific institutions have been working on genome-edited crops by using CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) Cas technology. As being a signatory of the Cartagena protocol, every case of GM (Genetically modified) or GE (Genetically Engineered) should be passed through the Technical Advisory Committee which will be decided on case-to-case bases depending upon its nature of random or targeted mutation. Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan Act, Seed amendment act, and PBR (The Plant Breeders' Rights Act) are the major constitutional acts employed and working for the regulations of GM alongside GE crops. Now, discussions of scientists, academicians and officials from regulatory body are in process for the design of GE crop commercialization policy in Pakistan. The CRISPR-Cas9 system is now the most in-demand piece of technology and has become an indispensable component of research and development in the field of life sciences.

Botrytis cinerea is the causative agent of grey mould disease in grapes, which was linked to significant postharvest losses. This study examined three grape-isolated yeasts (Metschnikowia aff. fructicola, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, and Hansenispora uvarum) through in vitro and in vivo tests on detached grape berries against grey mould, as well as the elucidation of their possible mechanisms of action. The antifungal mechanism of action of yeasts was determined by the lytic enzyme activity, inhibition of spore germination, biofilm activity, iron depletion, diffusible metabolites, wound-site colonisation, mycocin, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) production. The highest in vitro efficacy (83.13%) was observed on M. aff. fructicola, followed by M. pulcherrima (82.10%) and H. uvarum (71.66%). Metschnikowia yeasts exhibited comparable enzyme activities, including protease, β-1,3 glucanase, gelatinase chitinase, and cellulase, while H. uvarum had a poor enzymatic activity with chitinase and gelatinase. M. aff. fructicola showed relatively higher iron depletion activity than M. pulcherrima, while M. pulcherrima outperformed via diffusible metabolites. All yeast cultures significantly reduced spore germination by at least 86%. Overall, M. aff. fructicola exhibited the highest biocontrol activity with its iron depletion, inhibition of conidial germination, biofilm formation, VOCs, and well colonisation on grape berries. M. aff. fructicola 1-UDM outperformed all other yeasts by significantly reducing disease incidence and lesion diameter values (93.4% and 94.3%, respectively). Remarkably, H. uvarum VOCs demonstrated potential as a biofumigant for suppressing grey mould. All yeasts are well adapted to their ecological niche to bio-protect grapes from grey mould disease.

Climate change-induced drought stress (DS) poses a significant threat to crop production, emphasizing the need for innovative strategies to mitigate its adverse effects. Prior studies have demonstrated the distinct capacities of salicylic acid (SA) and sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) to augment plant resilience against drought-related stressors. However, little is known about how they work together or the specific processes by which they increase DS tolerance. The purpose of this research was to determine how SA and NaHS affected the performance of wheat plants during the growing seasons of 2021–2022 and 2022–2023, when there was a drought. The research employed a block-randomized experimental layout with split plots, where the primary factors included two irrigation levels: full irrigation (IW1, 100% of water requirement) and deficit irrigation (IW2, 50% of water requirement). Secondary factors included the application of mock control, 0.5 mM SA, and 0.3 mM NaHS, an H₂S donor, either individually or in combination, administered before the onset of DS. The application of SA, NaHS, or their combination significantly enhanced wheat plant resistance to DS. Significant increases in a number of physiological markers, including proline content, relative water content (RWC), Fv/Fm, chlorophyll content, and antioxidant enzyme activity, demonstrated this improvement. Furthermore, in drought-stressed wheat plants, SA and NaHS treatments decreased the amounts of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and electrolyte leakage (EL). In conclusion, our study highlights the possibility of SA and NaHS, whether applied individually or in combination, to improve drought resistance in wheat plants, presenting a viable approach to lessen the effects of climate change on agricultural yield.

Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz is a low-input oilseed crop that has great potential in providing sustainable feedstock for biofuels and bioproducts. Climate change is threatening production of camelina with rising global temperatures. Elucidating the genetic response to high temperatures is essential for successful breeding of heat-tolerant camelina varieties. Here, we report a combinatorial approach to identifying candidate genes associated with heat stress by quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and comparative transcriptome profiling. A population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was grown in a controlled growth chamber under the high-temperature regimes for 14 days beginning at the onset of the reproductive stage. Several traits related to seed production were evaluated at maturity. The QTL analysis identified several regions with co-located traits on chromosomes 8, 10, and 12. Two RILs with contrasting phenotypic responses to heat stress were chosen for gene expression profiling via RNA sequencing. Multiple pathways and genes were found to be strongly affected by heat stress, and many genes expressed differently between the two RILs. Several genes identified within the QTL regions were considered strong candidates that may control heat tolerance during reproduction in camelina. These studies provide resources for future studies that may assist in improving the heat tolerance of camelina.

This article assesses the effect of climate change on livestock production in Sub-Saharan Africa, for a sample of 45 countries over the period 2000–2021. Using a two-factor fixed effects panel data model, our results obtained by the two-way fixed effects estimator show that (i) climate change negatively influences livestock production through high temperatures, while abundant rainfall is beneficial. (ii) Through transmission channels, we find that maize price volatility exacerbates the negative effect of rising temperatures on livestock production, while it reduces the beneficial effect of abundant rainfall. Furthermore, we find that water availability mitigates the adverse effect of rising temperatures on livestock, while enhancing the beneficial effect of rainfall on livestock. Finally, we concede that conflicts reduce the beneficial effect of rainfall on livestock production. To increase livestock production in Sub-Saharan Africa, we recommend: the practice of pastoralism, based on the production of plants and fodder adapted to climate change, the improvement of animal nutrition, and the inclusion of breeders in the decision-making process in the cattle industry.

Sweet potato stem nematode disease is a devastating disease, which seriously affects the yield and quality of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.). At present, soil treatment with pesticides is mainly used to prevent sweet potato stem nematode disease. In this study, Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the diversity of soil bacterial and fungal communities treated with different pesticides. At the same time, high performance liquid chromatography was used to determine the pesticide residues in soil and sweet potato, and the impact on sweet potato yield was investigated. Kruskal–Wallis test was used to analyze the four α-diversity indexes of soil under different pesticide treatments, and the differences were not significant (p > 0.05), indicating that there was no significant difference in the diversity and abundance of bacterial and fungal communities in soil under different pesticide treatments. The results of principal coordinate analysis showed that there was no significant difference in bacterial and fungal community structure among different pesticide treatments (p > 0.05). Pesticide residue analysis and yield statistics of sweet potato showed that the residual amount of three kinds of pesticides in sweet potato did not exceed the maximum limit stipulated by the current National Standards for Food safety (GB2763-2021). When 5% chlorpyrifos phoxim particles were applied at 15.18 kg/acre, sweet potato was unaffected by pests and diseases basically, and the yield was the highest.

The integrated farming system (IFS) is a holistic farming approach specially designed for small/marginal farmers to enhance the system productivity, profitability, and employment generation of their farm, ultimately ensuring their food and nutrition security for their livelihood. The mechanism of IFS offers various ecosystem services making farms environment-friendly, sustainable, and climate-resilient. IFS is characterized by the allocation of different agricultural components systematically in a single farm performing synergistically among themselves making the farm more productive, healthy, biodiversity enriched, and eco-friendly than simplified farms. Therefore, this review paper represents an extensive analysis of existing literature on IFS exploring its concept, components, and need, and emphasizing its potential for higher system productivity, profitability, and employment generation in a sustainable manner. Moreover, it develops a conceptualization of the relationship among different agricultural components in a single farm exploring its role in ecosystem services (reducing greenhouse gases, carbon sequestration, nutrient recycling, improving soil health, and biodiversity conservation).

Improving seed germination under drought stress has the potential to increase crop yield in dry direct-seeded rice. In this study, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted to determine the genetic basis of seed germination under drought stress in a panel of 165 rice accessions using a multi-locus compressed variance-component mixed model, 3VmrMLM. A total of 33 quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) were identified in association with drought tolerance during seed germination. Around these QTNs, eight were found to be co-localized with known drought-related genes. Furthermore, a causal candidate gene, OsGA2ox5, which encodes a gibberellin (GA) 2-oxidase, was identified for QTN-Chr07_242906 by integrating linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis and gene expression analysis. Knockout mutation of OsGA2ox5 resulted in delayed seed germination and retarded seedling growth under drought stress. RNA-seq analysis revealed that OsGA2ox5 regulates drought tolerance during seed germination mainly by modulating carbohydrate metabolism. Additionally, a non-synonymous coding variant in OsGA2ox5, SNP-Chr07_218893, was found to be strongly associated with drought tolerance level during seed germination. These findings provide valuable information for further exploration of novel drought-related genes and genetic improvement of rice drought tolerance in the future.

Estimating wheat yield accurately is crucial for efficient agricultural management. While canopy spectral information is widely used for this purpose, the incorporation of canopy volumetric features (CVFs) remains underexplored. This study bridges this gap by utilizing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral imaging to capture images and elevation data of wheat at key developmental stages—gestation and flowering stages. We innovatively leveraged the elevation differences between these stages to calculate canopy height, develop a novel CVF, and refine the wheat yield prediction model across various wheat varieties, nitrogen fertilizer levels, and planting densities. The integration of canopy volume information significantly enhanced the accuracy of our yield prediction model, as evidenced by an R² of 0.8380, an RMSE of 313.3 kg/ha, and an nRMSE of 11.33%. This approach not only yielded more precise estimates than models relying solely on spectral data but also introduced a novel dimension to wheat yield estimation methodologies. Our findings suggest that incorporating canopy volume characteristics can substantially optimize wheat yield prediction models, presenting a groundbreaking perspective for agricultural yield estimation.