Microbiology and Biotechnology Research: An Overview Vol. 12

Fermentation: Assisted Improvement of Plant-Based Foods: Flavour, Texture, Nutrition, and Digestibility

Rachna R. Desai, Vinay M. Patel, Nidhi H. Patel, Ravi J. Prajapati — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Fermentation is increasingly used to address several limitations that constrain the sensory and nutritional performance of plant-based foods, particularly products rich in cereals, pulses, seeds and their protein-enriched fractions. Yet the literature is often organised around a single commodity or outcome, which can obscure trade-offs between flavour, texture, nutrient quality and digestibility. This critical narrative review integrates evidence across these four interdependent domains and evaluates the conditions under which fermentation is beneficial, neutral or detrimental. Literature published from 2000 to 10 July 2026 was identified through multidisciplinary and food-science-oriented scholarly sources, supplemented by citation searching; earlier foundational work was retained where conceptually necessary. The evidence indicates that microbial acidification, proteolysis, carbohydrate metabolism, exopolysaccharide production, phytase activation and bioconversion of volatile and phenolic compounds can substantially modify plant matrices. Controlled fermentation frequently reduces aldehyde-associated beany or green notes, but strain-specific formation of acids, sulphur compounds or other metabolites can create new sensory defects. Acid-induced network formation and in situ exopolysaccharides can improve viscosity, water binding and bread structure, although excessive proteolysis or acidification may reduce solubility, weaken gels or increase crumb hardness. Reductions in raffinose-family oligosaccharides, trypsin inhibitors, tannins, vicine-convicine and, in some systems, phytate can improve nutritional accessibility, but effects are strongly dependent on substrate, pretreatment and fermentation duration. Evidence for improved protein digestibility is compelling in many in vitro models, while human evidence for enhanced micronutrient status remains much less certain. The most defensible conclusion is therefore not that fermentation intrinsically improves plant-based foods, but that it is a programmable bioprocess whose value depends on matching microbial function to matrix composition and product objectives. Future studies should combine sensory validation, process-resolved metabolomics, realistic digestion models and human outcomes to define reproducible, multi-objective fermentation strategies.

Beyond Morphology: Molecular Taxonomy, DNA Barcoding and Cryptic Diversity of Fish-Parasitic Isopods

Santanu Mitra — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Fish-parasitic isopods present an unusually demanding taxonomic problem because environmentally responsive morphology, sexual and ontogenetic transformations, abbreviated historical descriptions and life cycles that disconnect parasitic and diagnostic stages can all obscure species boundaries. This critical narrative review evaluates how molecular taxonomy and DNA barcoding have changed species identification, life-stage matching and recognition of cryptic diversity, with emphasis on Cymothoidae and Gnathiidae. Literature published from 2000 to 10 July 2026 was searched in multidisciplinary, biological and agricultural scholarly sources, supplemented by taxonomic and sequence-reference resources and by backward and forward citation searching; foundational earlier studies were retained where necessary. The reviewed evidence indicates that mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) has become the principal identification marker for cymothoids, while 16S ribosomal RNA and, less frequently, nuclear markers such as 18S ribosomal RNA and internal transcribed spacer 2 provide complementary resolution. Molecular evidence has exposed substantial overlooked diversity in morphologically conservative groups, most convincingly within Anilocra, and has corrected several morphology-based identifications. In gnathiids, DNA data have been especially transformative because adult males, females and blood-feeding juveniles differ so markedly that rearing or molecular matching is often required to connect life stages. Yet the literature remains constrained by single-locus designs, small and geographically restricted samples, incomplete voucher-to-sequence linkage, sparse representation of valid species in reference libraries and occasional discordance among database labels. Consequently, barcode divergence alone is insufficient evidence for a new species, and nearest-neighbour matches can reproduce rather than resolve taxonomic error. The strongest current practice is integrative taxonomy centred on expert morphology, deposited vouchers, explicit host and locality data, multiple specimens, at least one complementary locus where feasible and critical comparison with type material or reliably identified topotypic material. A transition from "barcode confirmation" to voucher-centred, hypothesis-driven molecular taxonomy is required if molecular data are to reveal rather than merely relabel cryptic diversity.

The Plant “Cry for Help” under Pathogen Attack: Root Exudates, Microbial Recruitment and Disease Suppression

S. Phanindra, V. K. Bindu — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Plants do not confront pathogens as isolated organisms. Their roots are embedded in microbial communities whose composition and activity can alter the probability, severity and persistence of disease. The 'cry for help' hypothesis proposes that pathogen attack can reprogramme plant root exudation and other host traits in ways that favour protective microorganisms, creating an indirect defence layer that may operate through antagonism, resource competition, immune priming or disease-suppressive soil legacies. This critical narrative review evaluates how strongly the available evidence supports that causal sequence. Literature was selected through transparent searches of multidisciplinary, biomedical and agricultural scholarly sources, with emphasis on experiments that linked pathogen perception, changes in root chemistry, microbiome assembly and disease outcomes. The evidence is strongest where chemical perturbation, host genetics, microbial isolation or synthetic-community experiments, transplantation and disease phenotyping converge. Studies in Arabidopsis thaliana, tomato and wheat show that pathogen challenge or defence activation can alter root exudates and enrich microorganisms that subsequently reduce disease. Yet the generality of a host-adaptive recruitment programme remains uncertain. Many influential experiments use simplified substrates, hydroponic exudate collection, relative-abundance sequencing or controlled-environment systems that do not reproduce the sorption, diffusion, microbial transformation and ecological competition operating in field soils. Pathogens can also manipulate host metabolism, and disease-associated microbial shifts may be by-products of tissue damage, nutrient leakage or altered plant physiology rather than adaptive recruitment. Root exudates therefore function less as unambiguous 'signals' than as context-dependent chemical filters whose ecological effects depend on microbial traits, soil chemistry, host genotype and prior community assembly. The most defensible interpretation is that plants possess mechanisms capable of biasing microbiome assembly during disease, but only a subset of documented cases currently demonstrates the full causal chain required by a strong cry-for-help model. Progress will depend on in situ metabolite flux measurements, absolute and activity-based microbiome quantification, causal genetic tests, multikingdom community reconstruction and replicated field validation across soils and crop genotypes.