Abstract:Propolis is a honeybee product with broad clinical applications. Current literature describes that propolis is collected from plant resins. From a systematic database search, 241 compounds were identified in propolis for the first time between 2000 and 2012; and they belong to such diverse chemical classes as flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, terpenenes, stilbenes, lignans, coumarins, and their prenylated derivatives, showing a pattern consistent with around 300 previously reported compounds. The chemical characteristics of propolis are linked to the diversity of geographical location, plant sources and bee species.

Fusarium head blight (FHB), a fungal disease caused by Fusarium species that produce food toxins, currently devastates wheat production worldwide, yet few resistance resources have been discovered in wheat germplasm. Here, we cloned the FHB resistance gene Fhb7 by assembling the genome of Thinopyrum elongatum, a species used in wheat distant hybridization breeding. Fhb7 encodes a glutathione S-transferase (GST) and confers broad resistance to Fusarium species by detoxifying trichothecenes through de-epoxidation. Fhb7 GST homologs are absent in plants, and our evidence supports that Th. elongatum has gained Fhb7 through horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from an endophytic Epichloë species. Fhb7 introgressions in wheat confers resistance to both FHB and crown rot in diverse wheat backgrounds without yield penalty, providing a solution for Fusarium resistance breeding.

The global distribution of the optimum air temperature for ecosystem-level gross primary productivity (Topteco) is poorly understood, despite its importance for ecosystem carbon uptake under future warming. We provide empirical evidence for the existence of such an optimum, using measurements of in situ eddy covariance and satellite-derived proxies, and report its global distribution. Topteco is consistently lower than the physiological optimum temperature of leaf-level photosynthetic capacity, which typically exceeds 30 °C. The global average Topteco is estimated to be 23±6 ºC, with warmer regions having higher Topteco values than colder regions. In tropical forests, particularly, Topteco is close to growing-season air temperature and is projected to fall below it under all scenarios of future climate, suggesting a limited safe operating space for these ecosystems under future warming.

Despite the dissimilar polyphenol compositions of CP and BP, their ability to protect against DSS-induced colitis is similar. Nevertheless, some different physiological impacts were observed.