Plant pathogens pose a significant threat to the food industry and food security accounting for 10-40% crop losses annually on a global scale. Economic losses from plant diseases are estimated at $300B for major food crops and are associated with reduced food availability and accessibility and also high food costs. Although strategies exist to reduce the impact of diseases in plants, many of these introduce harmful chemicals to our food chain. Therefore, it is important to understand and utilize plants' immune systems to control plant pathogens to enable more sustainable agriculture. Lipids are core components of cell membranes and as such are part of the first line of defense against pathogen attack. Recent developments in omics technologies have advanced our understanding of how plant membrane lipid biosynthesis, remodelling and/or signalling modulate plant responses to infection. Currently, there is limited information available in the scientific literature concerning lipid signalling targets and their biochemical and physiological consequences in response to plant pathogens. This review focusses on the functions of membrane lipid derivatives and their involvement in plant responses to pathogens as biotic stressors. We describe major plant defense systems including systemic-acquired resistance, basal resistance, hypersensitivity and the gene-for-gene concept in this context. 1 | INTRODUCTION The advancement in global agricultural production, the food industry and food security necessitates consideration of the impact of infectious pathogens on plants. This is because pathogens are widely recognized as significant obstacles to important and dependable food systems (Savary et al., 2019). Recent reports have demonstrated that plant diseases pose a significant threat to the food industry and to food security accounting for 10 to 40% crop losses annually on a global scale. Economic losses from plant diseases are estimated at $300B for major food crops, and diseases are associated with reduced food production, availability and accessibility as well as high food costs (Fletcher et al., 2006; Savary et al., 2019). Plants face different biotic stresses during their life cycle. For instance, a variety of diseases are caused by fungi, bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, viruses and phytoplasmas. These pathogens change favourable growing environments for plants into unfavourable conditions, particularly during susceptible growth stages. These cause significant yield losses both in greenhouses and under field conditions. Therefore, it is important to understand and utilize plants' innate immune systems to control plant pathogens to enable more sustainable agriculture (Brackin, Atkinson, Sturrock, & Rasmussen, 2017). Natural defense mechanisms involve a variety of signalling events and responses, which serve to combat intruding pathogens. The defense mechanism is categorized into constitutive and induced defense mechanisms. As the first line of defense, constitutive mechanisms utilize pre-formed chemicals and barriers such as ce...

Saponification is the process in which triglycerides are combined with a strong base to form fatty acid metal salts during the soap-making process. The distribution of unsaturated and saturated fatty acid determines the hardness, aroma, cleansing, lather, and moisturizing abilities of soaps. Plant extracts, such as rosemary, vegetable, and essential oils are frequently added to soaps to enhance quality and sensory appeal. Three natural soaps were formulated using cold saponification to produce a base or control bar (BB), hibiscus rosehip bar (H), and a forest grove bar (FG). Rosemary extract (R) or essential oil (A) blends were added as additives to each formulation prior to curing to evaluate the effects of natural plant additives on the lipid composition and sensory characteristics of these natural herbal soaps. A total of seven natural soaps, three without additives (BB, H, FG) and four with additives (BBR, HA, FGR, FGA), were manufactured and studied. The majority (86–99%) of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (5.0–7.0 µg/mg) remained unsaponified in the manufactured natural soaps regardless of feedstock used. Principal component analysis (PCA) analyses showed the unsaponifiable fatty acids were different in the hibiscus bar compared to the other bars. There was a very strong correlation between the content of unsaponified C18:3n3 and C18:1n9 in all natural soaps. These results indicate that unsaponified fatty acids are important contributors to the quality and overall sensory perception and preference of natural herbal soaps following manufacturing by cold saponification.

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Plasmalogens are important phospholipids essential for maintaining cardiovascular and brain health. Ruminant meats are excellent dietary sources of plasmalogens. Globally, grilling remains a popular technique for preparing meats. However, little is known concerning how marination affects retention and quality of plasmalogens in grilled ruminant meats. Here we present information on effects of two unfiltered beer-based marinades infused with herbs and spices on plasmalogens in grilled beef and moose meats. Although total plasmalogen contents of marinated grilled meats were lower compared to unmarinated controls; compositionally, wheat ale- and India session ale-based marinades retained higher levels of PUFA plasmalogen PC (phosphatidylcholine) and PE (phosphatidylethanolamine) species enriched with ω3 and ω6 fatty acids in grilled moose meats. In grilled beef, significantly higher levels of plasmalogen PC species enriched with monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and PUFA were retained by Wheat ale-based marinade. Furthermore, strong positive correlations were observed between antioxidants, polyphenols, oxygenated terpenes and plasmalogens retained in the marinated grilled meats which contrasted negative correlations with total oxidation status of the marinated grilled meats. These findings appear to suggest that the phenolics, oxygenated terpenes and antioxidants present in the beer-based marinades preserved these plasmalogens in marinated meats against degradation during grilling. In view of the benefits associated with plasmalogens and essential fatty acid consumption, marination of beef and moose meats with unfiltered beer-based marinades could be useful for retaining MUFA and PUFA-enriched plasmalogens, as well as preserving the nutritional quality of grilled beef and moose meats.

Root membrane lipids are important biomolecules determining plant's ability to adapt to different growing environmental or climatic conditions. Herein, we demonstrate the potential use of root membrane lipids as biomarkers to discriminate silage‐corn genotypes based on herbicide and insect/pest resistance genetic traits when cultivated on podzolic soils under short growing and moderately warm summer season in boreal climate. Lipids in root membranes of field grown silage‐corn genotypes were previously quantified at crop maturity by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography‐hydrophilic interaction chromatography‐heated electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The lipid identified and quantified in silage‐corn roots were phospholipids, glycolipids and sphingolipids. Following hierarchical cluster analysis, three groups of membrane lipids were observed to be very effective in segregating the five silage‐corn genotypes. The first group consisted of hexosylceramide (HexCer), phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylinositol (PI). The second group consisted of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA16:0) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC16:0), while the third group consisted of 37 molecular species from observed lipids (phospholipids, glycolipids, sphingolipids). Partial least squares‐discriminant analysis (PLS‐DA) based on 37 membrane lipid species, as well as principal component analysis using the variables important in projection derived from the PLS‐DA segregated the five silage‐corn genotypes into three groups according to their pesticide/herbicide resistant traits. This study is second to none using root lipidomics in discriminating different silage‐corn genotypes based on their herbicide and insect/pest resistance genetic traits for cultivation in boreal climates. The segregated genotypes possess three different genetic traits for herbicide and insect/pest resistance including VT Double Pro (VT2P), VT Triple Pro Roundup Ready (VT3P/RR) and Roundup Ready‐2 corn (RR2). These findings demonstrate that root membrane lipids could serve as appropriate chemical biosignatures to identify silage‐corn genotypes based on herbicide and insect/pest resistance genetic traits suitable for cultivation in boreal climates.