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1. Cooperative Kinetics of the Glucan Phosphatase Starch Excess4

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00307  

   Mak, Claudia A.; Weis, Kenyon; Henao, Tiffany; Kuchtova, Andrea; Chen, Tiantian; Sharma, Savita; Meekins, David A.; Thalmann, Matthias; Vander Kooi, Craig W.; Raththagala, Madushi (July 2021, Biochemistry)
2. Optimized Spectrophotometry Method for Starch Quantification

   https://doi.org/10.3390/analytica3040027  

   Bahdanovich, Palina; Axelrod, Kevin; Khlystov, Andrey Y.; Samburova, Vera (December 2022, Analytica)

   Starch is a polysaccharide that is abundantly found in nature and is generally used as an energy source and energy storage in many biological and environmental processes. Naturally, starch tends to be in miniscule amounts, creating a necessity for quantitative analysis of starch in low-concentration samples. Existing studies that are based on the spectrophotometric detection of starch using the colorful amylose–iodine complex lack a detailed description of the analytical procedure and important parameters. In the present study, this spectrophotometry method was optimized, tested, and applied to studying starch content of atmospheric bioaerosols such as pollen, fungi, bacteria, and algae, whose chemical composition is not well known. Different experimental parameters, including pH, iodine solution concentrations, and starch solution stability, were tested, and method detection limit (MDL) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were determined at 590 nm. It was found that the highest spectrophotometry signal for the same starch concentration occurs at pH 6.0, with an iodine reagent concentration of 0.2%. The MDL was determined to be 0.22 μg/mL, with an LOQ of 0.79 μg/mL. This optimized method was successfully tested on bioaerosols and can be used to determine starch content in low-concentration samples. Starch content in bioaerosols ranged from 0.45 ± 0.05 (in bacteria) to 4.3 ± 0.06 μg/mg (in fungi). 

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3. Effects of Cationic Polyacrylamide and Cationic Starch on Aquatic Life

   https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HZ.2153-5515.0000467  

   Duggan, Katie L.; Morris, Martina; Bhatia, Shobha K.; Khachan, Mahmoud M.; Lewis, Katharine E. (October 2019, Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste)

   null (Ed.)
4. Preparation and characterization of corn flours with variable starch digestion

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130609  

   Peng, Yu; Yao, Tianming; Xu, Qin; Janaswamy, Srinivas (January 2022, Food Chemistry)
5. PHYTOCHROME‐INTERACTING FACTORS are involved in starch degradation adjustment via inhibition of the carbon metabolic regulator QUA‐QUINE STARCH in Arabidopsis

   https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.16124  

   Lee, Sang Woo; Choi, Dasom; Moon, Heewon; Kim, Sujeong; Kang, Hajeong; Paik, Inyup; Huq, Enamul; Kim, Dong‐Hwan (March 2023, The Plant Journal)

   SUMMARY As sessile organisms, plants encounter dynamic and challenging environments daily, including abiotic/biotic stresses. The regulation of carbon and nitrogen allocations for the synthesis of plant proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids is fundamental for plant growth and adaption to its surroundings. Light, one of the essential environmental signals, exerts a substantial impact on plant metabolism and resource partitioning (i.e., starch). However, it is not fully understood how light signaling affects carbohydrate production and allocation in plant growth and development. An orphan gene unique toArabidopsis thaliana, namedQUA‐QUINE STARCH(QQS) is involved in the metabolic processes for partitioning of carbon and nitrogen among proteins and carbohydrates, thus influencing leaf, seed composition, and plant defense in Arabidopsis. In this study, we show that PHYTOCHROME‐INTERACTING bHLH TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS (PIFs), including PIF4, are required to suppressQQSduring the period at dawn, thus preventing overconsumption of starch reserves.QQSexpression is significantly de‐repressed inpif4andpifQ, while repressed by overexpression ofPIF4, suggesting that PIF4 and its close homologs (PIF1, PIF3, and PIF5) act as negative regulators ofQQSexpression. In addition, we show that the evening complex, including ELF3 is required for active expression ofQQS, thus playing a positive role in starch catabolism during night‐time. Furthermore,QQSis epigenetically suppressed by DNA methylation machinery, whereas histone H3 K4 methyltransferases (e.g., ATX1, ATX2, and ATXR7) and H3 acetyltransferases (e.g., HAC1 and HAC5) are involved in the expression ofQQS. This study demonstrates that PIF light signaling factors help plants utilize optimal amounts of starch during the night and prevent overconsumption of starch before its biosynthesis during the upcoming day. 

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