Yeast optimisation has been crucial in improving the quality and efficiency of beer production, one of the world\'s most widely consumed beverages. In this context, rare mating hybridisation is a promising technique for yeast optimization to generate novel and improved non-GMO strains. The limitation of this technique is the lack of knowledge and comparable data on yeast strains hybridisable to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, probably the most important yeast species in beer production. Yeast from the genera Saccharomyces, Naumovozyma, Nakaseomyces and Kazachstania have been described to be able to form hybrids with S. cerevisiae. In the present study, 242 yeast strains were analysed under brewing conditions, including Saccharomyces species (S. cerevisiae, S. kudriavzevii, S. uvarum, S. eubayanus, S. paradoxus, S. mikatae, S. jurei and S. arboricola) and non-Saccharomyces species (Naumovozyma, Nakaseomyces and Kazaschtania), representing the full genetic variability (species and subpopulations) described up to the start of the study. The fermentation profile was analysed by monitoring weight loss during fermentation to determine kinetic parameters and CO2 production. Metabolic analysis was performed to determine the concentration of sugars (maltotriose, maltose and glucose), alcohols (ethanol, glycerol and 2,3-butanediol) and organic acids (malic acid, succinic acid and acetic acid). Maltose and maltotriose are the predominant sugars in beer wort. The ability to consume these sugars determines the characteristics of the final product. Dataset comparisons were then made at species, subpopulation and isolation source level. The results obtained in this study demonstrate the great phenotypic variability that exists within the genus Saccharomyces and within each species of this genus, which could be useful in the generation of optimised brewing hybrids. Yeasts with different fermentative capacities and fermentative behaviours can be found under brewing conditions. S. cerevisiae, S. uvarum and S. eubayanus are the species that contain strains with similar fermentation performance to commercial strains.

Alzheimer\'s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that leads to cognitive decline and memory impairment. It is characterized by the accumulation of Amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques, the abnormal phosphorylation of tau protein forming neurofibrillary tangles, and is often accompanied by neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, which contribute to neuronal loss and brain atrophy. At present, clinical anti-AD drugs are mostly single-target, improving the cognitive ability of AD patients, but failing to effectively slow down the progression of AD. Therefore, research on effective multi-target drugs for AD has become an urgent problem to address. The main derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acid, caffeic acid, and ferulic acid, are widely present in nature and have many pharmacological activities, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anti-Aβ deposition, and so on. The occurrence and development of AD are often accompanied by pathologies, such as oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and Aβ deposition, suggesting that caffeic acid and ferulic acid can be used in the research on anti-AD drugs. Therefore, in this article, we have summarized the multi-target anti-AD derivatives based on caffeic acid and ferulic acid in recent years, and discussed the new design direction of cinnamic acid derivatives as backbone compounds. It is hoped that this review will provide some useful strategies for anti-AD drugs based on cinnamic acid derivatives.

Complete chloroplast genomes of 17 samples from six species of Colocasia (Araceae) were sequenced, assembled, and aligned together with two previously reported complete genome sequences from taro (Colocasia esculenta). Analysis provides a well-supported phylogenetic tree for taro and closely-related wild Colocasia species in Southeast Asia. Two chloroplast lineages (CI and CII) form a well-defined haplotype group and are found in cultivated taros known as var. esculenta (dasheen, CI), var. antiquorum (eddoe, CII), and in a widespread, commensal wild form known as var. aquatilis (CI). A third lineage (CIII) is also found in wild taros known as var. aquatilis and in the wild species C. lihengiae, C. formosana, and C. spongifolia. We suggest three different scenarios to explain the grouping of CIII wild taros (C. esculenta) with other wild Colocasia species. Chloroplast lineages CI and CIII in C. esculenta and an unknown parent species may be involved in an as yet undated history of hybridization, chloroplast capture, and range extension. Substantial taxonomic revision may be needed for C. esculenta after further studies of morphological and genetic diversity within the crop, in wild populations, and in closely related wild species. The results also point to the Bengal delta as a region of key interest for future research on the origins of tropical wetland taros.

Photocurable hybrid organic-inorganic composites were prepared via surface modification and 3D-patterned structures were fabricated by utilizing a continuous roll-to-roll manufacturing strategy. The surfaces of nanocrystals were engineered with a bifunctional ligand that is a 2-carboxyethyl acrylate, which possesses a carboxylic acid moiety at one end and an acrylate functionality moiety at the other end, yielding acrylate-functionalized nanocrystals. Micro-scale 3D patterns (protruding pyramidal shapes with each side measuring 147 μm) were continuously manufactured at a speed of 2.5 m/min via UV curing with a soft engraved mold. The surface properties of the functionalized nanocrystals and their UV curing condition were explored with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The morphology of the 3D film was measured using scanning electron microscopy. A pin-on-disk tribometer measurement revealed an improved interaction between the functionalized particles and resins.

UNASSIGNED: Hybridization and polyploidization are common in vascular plants and important drivers of biodiversity by facilitating speciation and ecological diversification. A primary limitation to making broad synthetic discoveries in hybrid and allopolyploid biodiversity research is the absence of a standardized framework to compare data across studies and biological scales.
UNASSIGNED: Here, I present a new quantitative framework to investigate and interpret patterns in hybrid and allopolyploid biology called the divergence index (DI). The DI framework produces standardized data that are comparable across studies and variables. To show how the DI framework can be used to synthesize data, I analyzed published biochemical, physiological, and ecological trait data of hybrids and allopolyploids. I also apply key ecological and evolutionary concepts in hybrid and polyploid biology to translate nominal outcomes, including transgression, intermediacy, expansion, and contraction, in continuous DI space.
UNASSIGNED: Biochemical, physiological, ecological, and evolutionary data can all be analyzed, visualized, and interpreted in the DI framework. The DI framework is particularly suited to standardize and compare variables with very different scales. When using the DI framework to understand niche divergence, a metric of niche overlap can be used to complement insights to centroid and breadth changes.
UNASSIGNED: The DI framework is an accessible framework for hybrid and allopolyploid biology and represents a flexible and intuitive tool that can be used to reconcile outstanding problems in plant biodiversity research.

To increase the success rate of drug discovery, one practical strategy is to begin molecular hybridisation. The presence of two or more pharmacophores in a single unit leads to a pharmacological potency greater than the sum of each individual moiety\'s potency. Heterocyclic compounds are very widely distributed in nature and are essential for life activities. Benzimidazole and oxadiazole are privileged structures in medicinal chemistry and are widely used in drug discovery and development due to their vast biological properties. The drug-like properties (like pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics) of the individual scaffolds can be improved by benzimidazole-oxadiazole chimeric molecules via a molecular hybridisation approach. Benzimidazole and oxadiazole cores can either be fused or incorporated using either functional groups/bonds. Over the last few decades, drug discovery scientists have predicted that these moieties could be interconnected to yield a novel or modified hybrid compound. Benzimidazole and oxadiazole hybrids were identified as the most potent anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticonvulsant, antidepressant, antihypertensive and antitubercular agents. In this context, the present review describes the biological properties of benzimidazole-oxadiazole (1,3,4 and 1,2,4) hybrids, their possible structure-activity relationship and the mechanism of action studies presented. This review article is intended to stimulate fresh ideas in the search for rational designs of more active and less toxic benzimidazole-oxadiazole hybrid prospective therapeutic candidates, as well as more effective diagnostic agents and pathologic probes.

Thanks to several Vitis vinifera backcrosses with an initial V. vinifera L. × V. rotundifolia (previously Muscadinia rotundifolia) interspecific cross, the MrRUN1/MrRPV1 locus (resistance to downy and powdery mildews) was introgressed in genotypes phenotypically close to V. vinifera varieties. To check the consequences of introgressing parts of the V. rotundifolia genome on gene expression during fruit development, we conducted a comparative RNA-seq study on single berries from different V. vinifera cultivars and V. vinifera × V. rotundifolia hybrids, including \'G5\' and two derivative microvine lines, \'MV102\' (resistant) and \'MV32\' (susceptible) segregating for the MrRUN1/RPV1 locus. RNA-Seq profiles were analyzed on a comprehensive set of single berries from the end of the herbaceous plateau to the ripe stage. Pair-end reads were aligned both on V. vinifera PN40024.V4 reference genome, V. rotundifolia cv \'Trayshed\' and cv \'Carlos\', and to the few resistance genes from the original V. rotundifolia cv \'52\' parent available at NCBI. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) led to classifying the differentially expressed genes into 15 modules either preferentially correlated with resistance or berry phenology and composition. Resistance positively correlated transcripts predominantly mapped on the 4-5 Mb distal region of V. rotundifolia chromosome 12 beginning with the MrRUN1/MrRPV1 locus, while the negatively correlated ones mapped on the orthologous V. vinifera region, showing this large extremity of LG12 remained recalcitrant to internal recombination during the successive backcrosses. Some constitutively expressed V. rotundifolia genes were also observed at lower densities outside this region. Genes overexpressed in developing berries from resistant accessions, either introgressed from V. rotundifolia or triggered by these in the vinifera genome, spanned various functional groups, encompassing calcium signal transduction, hormone signaling, transcription factors, plant-pathogen-associated interactions, disease resistance proteins, ROS and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. This transcriptomic insight provides a foundation for understanding the disease resistance inherent in these hybrid cultivars and suggests a constitutive expression of NIR NBS LRR triggering calcium signaling. Moreover, these results illustrate the magnitude of transcriptomic changes caused by the introgressed V. rotundifolia background in backcrossed hybrids, on a large number of functions largely exceeding the ones constitutively expressed in single resistant gene transformants.

Genotype-environment interaction consists of the different response of individual genotypes resulting from changing environmental conditions. Its significance is a phenomenon that makes the breeding process very difficult. On the one hand, the breeder expects stable genotypes, i.e., yielding similarly regardless of environmental conditions. On the other hand, selecting the best genotypes for each region is one of the key challenges for breeders and farmers. The aim of this study was to evaluate genotype-by-environment interaction for grain yield in new maize hybrids developed by Plant Breeding Smolice Co. Ltd., utilizing the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model. The investigation involved 69 maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids, tested across five locations in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Grain yield varied from 8.76 t ha-1 (SMH_16417 in Smolice) to 16.89 t ha-1 (SMH_16043 in Płaczkowo), with a mean yield of 13.16 t ha-1. AMMI analysis identified significant effects of genotype, environment, and their interaction on grain yield. Analysis of variance indicated that 25.12% of the total variation in grain yield was due to environment factor, 35.20% to genotypic differences, and 21.18% to genotype by environmental interactions. Hybrids SMH_1706 and SMH_1707 are recommended for further breeding programs due to their high stability and superior average grain yield.

Chemical pollutants and/or climate change have the potential to break down reproductive barriers between species and facilitate hybridization. Hybrid zones may arise in response to environmental gradients and secondary contact between formerly allopatric populations, or due to the introduction of non-native species. In freshwater ecosystems, field observations indicate that changes in water quality and chemistry, due to pollution and climate change, are correlated with an increased frequency of hybridization. Physical and chemical disturbances of water quality can alter the sensory environment, thereby affecting chemical and visual communication among fish. Moreover, multiple chemical compounds (e.g. pharmaceuticals, metals, pesticides, and industrial contaminants) may impair fish physiology, potentially affecting phenotypic traits relevant for mate selection (e.g. pheromone production, courtship, and coloration). Although warming waters have led to documented range shifts, and chemical pollution is ubiquitous in freshwater ecosystems, few studies have tested hypotheses about how these stressors may facilitate hybridization and what this means for biodiversity and species conservation. Through a systematic literature review across disciplines (i.e. ecotoxicology and evolutionary biology), we evaluate the biological interactions, toxic mechanisms, and roles of physical and chemical environmental stressors (i.e. chemical pollution and climate change) in disrupting mate preferences and inducing interspecific hybridization in freshwater fish. Our study indicates that climate change-driven changes in water quality and chemical pollution may impact visual and chemical communication crucial for mate choice and thus could facilitate hybridization among fishes in freshwater ecosystems. To inform future studies and conservation management, we emphasize the importance of further research to identify the chemical and physical stressors affecting mate choice, understand the mechanisms behind these interactions, determine the concentrations at which they occur, and assess their impact on individuals, populations, species, and biological diversity in the Anthropocene.

Molecular hybridization is a widely used strategy in drug discovery and development processes that consists of the combination of two bioactive compounds toward a novel entity. In the current study, two libraries of hybrid derivatives coming from the linkage of sesquiterpene counterparts dihydroartemisinin and artesunic acid, with a series of monoterpenes, were synthesized and evaluated by cell viability assay on primary and metastatic melanoma cell lines. Almost all the obtained compounds showed micromolar antimelanoma activity and selectivity toward the metastatic form of this cancer. Four hybrid derivatives containing perillyl alcohol, citronellol, and nerol as monoterpene counterpart emerged as the best compounds of the series, with nerol being active in combination with both sesquiterpenes, dihydroartemisinin and artesunic acid. Preliminary studies on the mechanism of action have shown the dependence of the pharmacological activity of newly synthesized hybrids on the formation of carbon- and oxygen-centered radical species. This study demonstrated the positive modulation of the pharmacodynamic effect of artemisinin semisynthetic derivatives dihydroartemisinin and artesunic acid due to the hybridization with monoterpene counterparts.