Limnospira maxima is a remarkable organism showing great potential as a versatile and sustainable food source, offering a powerful solution to address the pressing issues of malnutrition and undernourishment worldwide. L. maxima contains high amounts of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids. It can be grown in both bioreactors and open systems; however, before considering industrial production, optimization studies of the cultivation must be conducted to obtain knowledge about the ideal environmental conditions. Additionally, for the molecular typing of L. maxima strains and their industrial scaling, high-quality and large quantity DNA extraction is required. Notwithstanding, DNA extraction from L. maxima can be challenging due to the low amount of DNA in cells and the presence of difficult-to-remove substances such as polysaccharides and polyphenols. In this study, the quality and quantity of DNA extracted from two types of L. maxima samples (Limnospira maxima strain SISCA accession GenBank: OR195505.1) were evaluated using three commercially available DNA extraction kits and two types of input biological material. The results showed that Pbact-P kit had the highest quantity and quality of DNA, while CTAB-P allowed for a higher quantity and quality of RNA, making them optimal protocols for nucleic acid extraction to improve PCR, rt-PCR, and genome sequencing of L. maxima compared with other extraction methods.

As sessile organisms, plants face a wide range of abiotic stresses, with salinity being a prominent constraint affecting their growth, development, and productivity, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. This study focused on understanding how salinity impacts Jatropha curcas, an important oilseed plant for biodiesel production. By examining the anatomy and ultrastructure of stomata and chloroplasts, we investigated the effects of prolonged salinity stress on J. curcas. This stress led to changes in stomatal density, stomatal index, and ostiole aperture, which case an imbalance of water conductivity in the xylem. Through transmission electron microscopy, we explored the subcellular organization of J. curcas chloroplasts and their contribution to plant photosynthetic efficiency, providing insights into their role in this process. Notably, salinity treatment resulted in a significant increase in starch granules accumulation, leading to impaired the granal and stromal grana lamellae, destroying this ultrastructure. Our findings indicate that the anatomy and ultrastructure of chloroplasts play a crucial role in influencing photosynthetic efficiency and hydraulic conductivity. This study offers new perspectives on the structure and function of chloroplasts in J. curcas, presenting innovative opportunities to develop strategies that enhance biofuel production in areas with high soil salinity.

The Germplasm Bank of Stevia rebaudiana segregants of the University of Córdoba is a strategy for the use of genetic variability and efficient crop yield. There are genotypes with important characteristics such as: high tolerance to salt stress and climatic change (high CO2 in the Earth surface), late flowering, erect architecture, and high contents of steviol glycosides. However, there is a lack of in-depth studies of morphophysiological and biochemical indicators such as gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, chloroplast pigments, and antioxidant systems, which allow us to develop early selection tools for elite genotypes. The genotypes (L020, Morita II, and L102) were found to have elite characteristics such as high efficiency in water use, excellent biomass production, and a more robust antioxidant system than the genotypes (L057 and L082). The L020 genotype presented the highest content of stevioside and rebaudioside A, followed by the Morita II genotype. We found a close correlation between the electron transport rate and the mechanisms that increase photosystem complexes. In this sense, non-photochemical cooling modulated by the release of heat by the leaves is a fact that is confirmed by the greater activity of the xanthine pool to protect the photochemical complexes in S. rebaudiana.

Aerial seed banks facilitate population persistence by extending the temporal range of seed dispersal. Knowing the temporal range of germination will improve our understanding of the relationship between seed germination dynamics and aerial seed bank storage duration. We tested the effects of temperature (12/12 h of 5/10, 10/20, 20/30 and 25/35 °C) and light variation (12 h light/12 h darkness and 24 h darkness per day) on germination of Rumex obtusifolius L. seeds retained in an aerial seed bank for 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 months. Freshly harvested R. obtusifolius were non-dormant and exhibited germination rates of up to 92%. Overall, seeds of R. obtusifolius germinated reliably at all but the lowest temperature (5/10 °C). Seeds maintained high viability throughout the collection period, indicating that fluctuating weather conditions had little influence on seed germination. Thus, the species can maintain viable seeds in aerial storage for up to 10 months and contribute viable seeds to the soil seed bank year-round. This ability to maintain a renewed soil seed bank contributes to the species’ strong resilience in colonizing disturbed areas and makes it a difficult weed to control.