Phytic acid (PA) is an anti-nutritional factor for monogastrics and contributes to phosphorus pollution. The low phytic acid (lpa) trait can provide several benefits to the nutritional quality of foods/feeds and to environmental sustainability. In maize, four lpa1 mutants have been isolated, and lpa1-1 is the most promising. Nevertheless, these mutations are frequently accompanied by many negative pleiotropic effects affecting plant performance. One of these is a greater susceptibility to drought stress, probably caused by an alteration in the root system. In this work, we set up an experiment in hydroponics and two in mesocosms, where pots were built using transparent PVC sheets to better access the roots. The results suggested that neither root architecture nor root depth are limiting factors in mutant plants. In hydroponics, the dry weight of the mutant and the root area per unit of length were twice that of B73. However, lpa1-1 exhibited a reduced efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm, 0.810 vs. 0.800) and a reduced leaf temperature (−0.5 °C compared to wild-type), probably due to increased water loss. Furthermore, molecular analysis performed on genes involved in root development (rtcs, rtcl, rum1, and BIGE1) revealed the abundance of rtcs transcripts in the mutant, suggesting an alteration in auxin polar transport.
Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) originated in East Africa and then diffused to warm-temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions of the world. The high lipid content in the castor beans is extracted for use in pharmaceutical and industrial applications. The castor oil lipid profile is naturally composed of 90% ricinoleic acid and the remaining 10% is mainly composed of linoleic, oleic, stearic, and linolenic fatty acids. The highly toxic compound ricin within the seeds is insoluble in oil, making castor oil free from this toxin and safe to use for industrial and cosmetic applications. Among the main uses of castor oil are reported industrial uses such as component for lubricants, paints, coatings, polymers, emulsifiers, cosmetics, and medicinal uses as a laxative. There is also significant commercial potential for utilization of the whole castor bean plant such as animal feed, fertilizer, biofuel, and also for phytoremediation. Several breeding programs have been planned to improve the castor’s characteristics needed for its current or potential uses. In this review, after summarizing data on castor bean agronomy and uses, we focus on the main advances in Castor bean classical and biotechnological breeding programs, underlining the high potential of this oil crop. In particular, the main challenges of castor breeding programs are to increase yield, mainly through the selection of growth habits allowing mechanized harvest, and beneficial compound content, mainly the oil, and to decrease the toxic compounds content, mainly ricin.
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