Yunnan University

A large U.S. study suggests that not getting enough lycopene—the antioxidant that gives tomatoes their red color—may seriously raise the risk of severe gum disease in older adults. Researchers found that seniors with adequate lycopene intake had about one-third the risk of severe periodontitis compared with those who fell short.A recent study suggests that older Americans who do not get enough lycopene in their diets face a much higher risk of developing severe periodontitis. The analysis focused on U.S. adults ages 65 to 79 and found that risk levels varied by both race and sex. The findings were published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging. The research was led by Katherine Kwong from the Department of Human Development at Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. She worked with scientists from Tulane University, the University of California San Diego, Yunnan University, Southern Illinois University and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Large National Survey Reveals Widespread Deficiency Researchers examined health and nutrition data from 1,227 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2009-2014). Nearly half of the older adults included in the study, about 48.7%, showed signs of periodontitis. At the same time, more than three quarters, or 77.9%, were not consuming enough lycopene. Lycopene is a carotenoid found mainly in tomatoes and other red fruits. Lower Lycopene, Higher Risk After accounting for factors such as age, sex, race, smoking habits and education level, the researchers found a strong association between lycopene intake and gum health. Older adults who met recommended lycopene intake levels had roughly one third the odds of severe periodontitis compared with those whose intake was insufficient. Differences by Race and Sex The study also identified clear disparities. Severe periodontitis appeared more frequently in men and in non-Hispanic Black adults than in other groups. Key findings include: What the Findings Mean According to the authors, the results suggest that dietary lycopene could be an important factor that can be changed to help prevent severe gum disease in older adults. However, they caution that the study design was cross-sectional, meaning it cannot prove that low lycopene intake directly causes gum disease. The researchers also emphasize the broader issue of racial and sex differences in periodontal disease, noting that non-Hispanic Black adults and men experience higher rates of severe disease. They recommend that future prevention efforts take these differences into account and call for long term or randomized controlled studies to determine whether increasing lycopene intake can reduce the risk or slow the progression of severe gum disease.

Re-establishing plantings of trees, grasses and other vegetation is essential for restoring degraded ecosystems, but a new survey of almost 2,600 restoration projects from nearly every type of ecosystem on Earth finds that most projects fail to recognize and control one of the new plants' chief threats: hungry critters that eat plants. Re-establishing plantings of trees, grasses and other vegetation is essential for restoring degraded ecosystems, but a new survey of almost 2,600 restoration projects from nearly every type of ecosystem on Earth finds that most projects fail to recognize and control one of the new plants' chief threats: hungry critters that eat plants. "While most of the projects took steps to exclude competing plant species, only 10% took steps to control or temporarily exclude herbivores, despite the fact that in the early stages these plants are like lollipops -- irresistible little treats for grazers," said Brian Silliman, Rachel Carson Distinguished Professor of Marine Conservation Biology at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment. By not protecting plants in their early states, conservationists are missing out on great opportunity to significantly speed restoration, improve its outcomes, and lower its costs, he said. "Our analysis of the surveyed projects shows that introducing predators to keep herbivore populations in check or installing barriers to keep them at bay until plantings become more established and less vulnerable, can increase plant re-growth by 89% on average," said Silliman, who helped conceptualize the study and was one of its coauthors. Those gains are equal to or greater than the gains realized by excluding competing plant species, the new survey shows. "This begs the question: Why aren't we doing it more?" he asks. The new survey was conducted with input from an international team of researchers affiliated with 20 universities and institutions. They published their peer-reviewed findings Nov. 3 in Science. Qiang He, professor of coastal ecology at Fudan University and a former postdoctoral research associate of Silliman's at Duke, co-led the study with Changlin Xu, a member of He's Coastal Ecology Lab at Fudan. The survey's findings have far-reaching implications for efforts to restore vegetation at a time of climate change, He said. "Herbivores' effects were particularly pronounced in regions with higher temperatures and lower precipitation," He noted. All of which leads to one inescapable conclusion, Silliman said. "If we want more plants, we have to let more predators in or restore their populations," Silliman said. "Indeed, the decline of large predators, like wolves, lions, and sharks, that normally keep herbivore populations in check, is likely an important indirect cause of high grazing pressures." "Conventional restoration is slowing our losses, but it's not expanding vegetation in many places, and climate change could make that even more difficult," he said. Using predators to keep herbivores in check at restored sites is a relatively untapped approach that could help us boost plant diversity and restore ecosystems that are vital to human and environmental health, in less time and at lower costs," Silliman said. "It's like learning a new gardening trick that doubles your yield." Once a planting is established, the herbivores are essential too, he added. "Plants just need a small break from being eaten to get restarted making ecosystems. Once they establish, herbivores are key to maintaining plant ecosystem diversity and function." Researchers from the University of Canterbury (N.Z.); Aarhus University; Northeastern University; Pusan National University; the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; the University of Maryland; the Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; and Sonoma State University coauthored the study with the Duke and Fudan scientists. Coauthors also came from Northern Illinois University; East China Normal University; Peking University; Nanjing University; the University of Florida; the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research; the University of Groningen; the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Lanzhou University; and Yunnan University. Primary funding was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (#32271601) and the National Key Basic Research Program (#2022YFC2601100 and 2022YFC3105402).

Buckwheat's high-precision chromosomal-level genome sequence has been deciphered, a key step toward unraveling the evolution of the buckwheat genome and the origins of the cultivated crop. By altering specific genes using a method independent of common genome-editing techniques, the researchers successfully developed a self-fertile buckwheat variety as well as a new type of the crop with a sticky, mochi-like texture. This breeding method may contribute to a more diverse range of orphan crops than what is possible with existing genome editing technologies. A research group led by Kyoto University's Graduate School of Agriculture has deciphered buckwheat's high-precision chromosomal-level genome sequence, a key step toward unraveling the evolution of the buckwheat genome and the origins of the cultivated crop. By altering specific genes using a method independent of common genome-editing techniques, the researchers successfully developed a self-fertile buckwheat variety as well as a new type of the crop with a sticky, mochi-like texture. This breeding method may contribute to a more diverse range of orphan crops than what is possible with existing genome editing technologies. With the world's population predicted to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, increasing dependence on three major grain crops -- rice, wheat, and corn -- has raised interest in less-common orphan crops. Deciphering these crop genomes using next-generation sequencing technologies may promote their efficient breeding, representing a crucial step toward achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals of 'Zero Hunger', 'Good Health and Well-Being', and 'Responsible Consumption and Production'. The international research team that made these findings is,led by Yasuo Yasui from the Graduate School of Agriculture at Kyoto University, includes RIKEN, Japan's National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Chiba University, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kazusa DNA Research Institute, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies or SOKENDAI, Yunnan Agricultural University, and the University of Cambridge.