Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca
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Biochar: A promising soil amendment to mitigate heavy metals toxicity in plants
Get PDFHeavy metals (HMs) toxicity is serious abiotic stress that is significantly reducing crop productivity and posing a serious threat to human health, soil and environmental quality. Therefore, it is urgently needed to find appropriate measures to mitigate the adverse impacts of HMs on soil, plants, humans and the environment. Biochar (BC) has emerged as an excellent soil amendment to minimize the adverse impacts of HMs and to improve soil fertility and environmental quality. Biochar application decreases HMs uptake and their translocation to plant parts by forming complexes and precipitation. Biochar also has improved soil pH, soil fertility and soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) and it also increases adsorption of HMs thus reduces their mobility and subsequent availability to plants. BC application also maintains membrane stability and improves uptake of nutrients, osmolytes accumulation, antioxidant activities, and gene expression, therefore, improves the plant performance under HMs stress. Biochar application also improves the photosynthetic performance by increasing the synthesis of photosynthetic pigments, stomata conductance and increasing the water uptake by plants. Besides this, BC also scavenges ROS by increasing the antioxidant activities, gene expression, and accumulation of proline in HMs contaminated soils. This review highlights the role of BC to mitigate the HMs toxicity in plants. We have discussed the role of BC in the modification of soil properties to induce tolerance against HMs toxicity. Moreover, we have discussed various mechanisms mediated by BC at the plant level to induce tolerance against HMs. Additionally, we also identified research gaps that must be fulfilled in future research studies
Trehalose induced drought tolerance in plants: physiological and molecular responses
Get PDFDrought stress is significant abiotic stress that limits crop growth and productivity across the globe. The intensity of drought stress continuously rises due to rapid climate change. Drought-induced alterations in physiological and bio-chemical processes by generating membrane dis-stability, oxidative stress, nutritional imbalance and leading to substantial reduction in growth and productivity. Plants accumulate various osmolytes that protect themselves from abiotic stresses' harmful effects. Trehalose (Tre) is a non-reducing sugar found in multiple microbes ranging from bacteria to yeast and in plants and it possesses an excellent ability to improve drought tolerance. Trehalose appreciably enhanced the plant growth, and counter the drought induced damages by maintaining cellular membranes, plant water relations, stomatal regulation, photosynthetic activities, nutrient uptake, osmolyte accumulation, activating stress proteins and detoxifying the reactive oxygen species (ROS) by strengthening the anti-oxidant system. Therefore, it is essential to understand the mechanism of exogenous and endogenous Tre in mitigating the drought-induced damages and to identify the potential research questions that must be answered in the future. Therefore, to better appraise the potential benefits of Tre in drought tolerance in this review, we discussed the diverse physiological and molecular mechanisms regulated by Tre under drought stress. We have a complete and updated picture on this topic to orientate future research directions on this topic
Research article Characterization of broad-spectrum biocontrol efficacy of Bacillus velezensis against Fusarium oxysporum in Triticum aestivum L.
Get PDFFungi are the most important phytopathogens that cause yield losses. The mycotoxins released by fungi cause spoilage of stored food consumed by humans and feed supplied to animals. Fungi-antagonistic microbes are gaining attention as potential biocontrol agents (BCAs). This study was designed to isolate bacterial isolates from different crops and evaluate their in vitro antifungal assay against three phytopathogens, plant growth promoting (PGP) characteristics, molecular identification, and in vivo efficiency against the most devastating phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum Schltdl. In the in vitro experiment, the 3 isolates BA, GL-1, and 5a out of 360 isolates showed more than 60% inhibitory activity against the selected fungi in this study. On the basis of 16S rRNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, BA isolate was identified as Bacillus velezensis. All three isolates produced indole acetic acid (IAA), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and cellulase enzymes, while the BA and GL-1 isolates also produced siderophores and the BA isolate also produced ammonia. BA was selected on basis of not only Biocontrol efficacy but also maximum PGPR activity compared to GL-1 and 5a. In vivo assay, the isolate BA showed a significant decrease in disease severity caused by Fusarium oxysporum by 64.97% after 100 days of inoculation on wheat (FD-08) seedlings in a greenhouse assay and enhanced the shoot root height, fresh and dry mass. The wide-ranging antagonistic action of Bacillus velezensis isolated from the phyllosphere of wheat crops showed promising fungicidal and plant growth-promoting capabilities, suggesting it can be used as a biofungicide
Seasonal variation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in ecotone forests of the northern region of Brazilian Amazonia
Get PDFThe ecotone forests in the northern region of Brazilian Amazonia are important areas representing transition zones between forest and non-forest ecosystems. These areas have soils nutrient-poor that poorly drain. Under these environmental conditions, Peltogyne gracilipes (Leguminoseae), an endemic tree species, can form natural monodominant forests. Here, we assessed the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) community in three forest types on the eastern side of Maracá Island and the relationship of these microorganisms with the monodominance of P. gracilipes. In this study, soil samples were collected in two seasons (dry and rainy). The samples were collected in 9 plots, in rich areas, poor areas and areas without P. gracilipes. Soil samples were evaluated for chemical and particle size analysis, spore density and morphology, and identification of AMF. AMF species were identified using two approaches: spores collected in the field and trap cultures. Eighteen and 13 AMF species were identified in the dry and rainy seasons, respectively, for spores extracted from the field. Six total species were detected exclusively in trap cultures in the dry season. AMF communities were co-dominated by members of the Gigasporaceae, Acaulosporaceae and Glomeraceae families. Redundancy analyses indicated that several soil attributes, such as pH, Fe, Mg, and sand content associated with the AMF species richness in both seasons. We conclude that the ecotone forests in the eastern region of Maracá Island are home to important richness and diversity of AMF species and that various soil factors influence the composition of the AMF community in this ecosystem
Effect of acetic acid treatments and storage on the quality of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seeds
No full textSeedborne fungi negatively affect the quality of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seeds and they are impact on their storability. Using the acetic acid can be an alternative to chemical treatment. Seeds were soaked for 30 minutes in a solution of acetic acid at concentrations of 0.25%, 0.5%, and 2%. Untreated seeds, seeds soaked for 30 minutes with distilled water and seeds treated with Dithane NeoTec 75 were controls. Seeds germination, vigour and seed health before and after 18 months of storage at 4 and 20 °C were tested. Before storage the acetic acid solution at concentrations of 0.25 and 0.5% significantly decreased number of dead seeds and increased germination at first and final counts, 2.0% solution worsened germination and vigour of seeds of both samples. Generally acetic acid solutions limited occurrence of fungi. Seeds stored at a lower temperature (4 °C) were characterized by significantly higher percentages of total germinating seeds (Gmax) and percentage of germination at first and final counts. Deterioration of the germination at first and final counts was found only after soaking the seeds in acetic acid solution at a concentration of 2%. Acetic acid solutions at concentration 0.5 and 2.0% effectively reduced occurrence of Alternaria alternata
Identifying strawberry DOF family transcription factors and their expressions in response to crown rot
Get PDFCrown rot is one of the most destructive diseases of cultivated strawberry. The DOF family transcription factors, which involved in biotic stress, has not been studied in responding to strawberry crown rot. In this study, the DOFs of Fragaria × ananassa, F. iinumae, F. nilgerrensis, F. viridis, and F. vesca were characterized. One hundred and eighteen FaDOFs, twenty-two FiDOFs, twenty-three FnDOFs, twenty-five FviDOFs and thirty-seven FvDOFs were identified. Gene cluster analysis showed nearly seventy segmental duplication and seventeen tandem duplications for DOF family expansion in octaploid strawberry. In addition, 59 FaDOFs showed syntenic relationships with 32 AtDOFs, which were located on all F.×ananassa chromosomes except Fvb4-1 and Fvb4-2. Except for five DOFs of diploid strawberries had syntenic relationships to one FaDOF, most of them corresponded to multiple FaDOFs. Gene expression analysis revealed that 107 FaDOFs were expressed in crown, and most of them were downregulated by crown rot, while some FaDOFs such as FaDOF107, 12, 82, 91, 90 and 101 were upregulated, whose regulation was not always consistent with the cis-elements in their promoters. Together, these results provided a basis for further functional studies of the FaDOFs
CRISPR/Cas9 applications for improvement of soybeans, current scenarios, and future perspectives
No full textThe soybean is one of the most widely grown legume crops which serves as a source of protein and oil. Soybean production has increased in recent years due to several breeding techniques. The use of conventional breeding approaches does not fulfil the rapidly growing demand of the world population. Newly developed genomic approaches opened the windows of opportunities to bring more genetic variation in soybean germplasm. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) has emerged as a renowned gene-editing tool that has broadened soybean research. CRISPR/Cas9 has been extensively applied to improve several essential traits in soybeans. Soybean yield, quality, and other agronomic traits have been enhanced, and research is being conducted to revolutionize the genomic area of soybeans. The development of specific soybean mutants has shown better yield and quality. In this review, we have enlisted the potential use of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) in soybean improvement and highlighted the significant future prospective. Research of applied sciences revealed that CRISPR/Cas9 could improve the traits of the commercially essential soybean crop, including yield, quality, and resistance to certain biotic and abiotic factors. The use of this tool has lifted the scope of genome editing and laid a foundation for the bright future of human beings. This updated review will be helpful for future research studies focusing on the successful use of CRISPR/Cas9 in soybeans
Comprehensive identification and expression analysis of the TIFY gene family in cucumber
No full textThe TIFY family, a plant-specific gene family with the conserved motif of TIF[F/Y]XG, plays important roles in plant growth, development and abiotic stress response. This family encodes four subfamilies of proteins, including ZIM-like (ZML), TIFY, PPD and JASMONATE ZIM-domain (JAZ). In this study, 17 TIFY family genes were identified in cucumber through genome-wide analysis, including one PPD, two TIFYs, four ZMLs, and 10 JAZs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that TIFY proteins from cucumber and other plant species can be divided into seven groups, which were designated as TIFY, JAZ I–IV, ZML and PPD. An analysis of conserved domain distribution demonstrated that there are four other domains (Jas, CCT, PPD and GATA domains) in CsTIFY proteins. Tissue expression profiling of the CsTIFY genes revealed that some of them displayed development- and tissue-specific expression patterns. Expression analysis based on transcriptome data and qRT-PCR revealed that the expression levels of some cucumber TIFY genes were altered under multiple abiotic stresses. In addition, several CsJAZ genes were downregulated in cucumber plants under root-knot nematode (RKN) infection, suggesting that they negatively affect the resistance response of cucumber to RKN. Our findings lay a foundation for further functional studies of the TIFY family genes in cucumber
Transcriptome analysis revealed that grafting improves the resistance of pepper to Phytophthora capsici by fine-tuning growth-defense tradeoff
No full textDOI 10.15835/nbha50212705
Grafting has been widely used to defense soil borne diseases and nematodes in vegetables production. However, the underlying mechanism of grafting-improved disease resistance is largely unknown. In this study, grafting cv. ‘Ledu’ scion to cv. ‘Jingxin No. 5’ rootstocks improved the resistance of pepper to Phytophthora capsici. To gain insights into the regulatory networks related to grafting, we performed transcriptome analysis of grafting and control pepper plants with or without P. capsici inoculation. RNA-seq analysis revealed that P. capsici infection largely re-programmed the pepper transcriptome and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) functionally annotated to metabolism processes including photosynthesis, response to stimulus, enzyme activity, and transcription were significantly enriched. Furthermore, the expression levels of most DEGs induced by P. capsici infection, such as genes functionally related to plant hormone signal transduction, plant-pathogen interaction, photosynthesis, reactive oxygen species, tend to recover to the control levels in grafting pepper plants, which help pepper maintain moderate plant defense response and considerable accumulation level of assimilation product, therefore fine-turning the dynamic balance between pepper growth-defense tradeoffs. Taken together, our results suggest the dynamic transcriptional programming in grafting pepper that underpin P. capsici disease and providing insight that the fine-tuning balance between growth and defense of grafting pepper
Cytotoxicity and antiproliferative activity of essential oils from lemon, wild orange and petitgrain against MCF-7, HepG2 and HeLa cancer cells
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to determine the chemical composition and biological properties of the citrus essential oils (EOs) derived from orange rinds (peels) of lemon (Citrus limon), wild orange (Citrus sinensis) from Brazil extracted by the cold pressed/expressed method, and leaves and twigs of petitgrain (Citrus aurantium) from Paraguay extracted by steam distillation. These food grade EOs were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity in breast, liver, and cervical cancer cells (MCF-7, HepG2 and HeLa) via MTT assay, antiproliferative activity via colony formation assay, and antimigratory activity via wound healing assay, and apoptosis via DNA fragmentation and morphology assessment. The major compounds found in lemon EO were D-limonene (66.75%), beta-pinene (12.82%), and gamma-terpinene (11.57%), totaling over 90% of the identified compounds. For wild orange, the only predominant compound was limonene (96.60%), and the rest, found in minor amounts, included alpha-pinene, bicyclohexane, beta-pinene, beta-myrcene, 3-carene, and o-cymene. For petitgrain EO, linalyl isobutyrate (51.76%) and linalool (26.86%) were mainly detected. Based on the MTT assay, petitgrain EO was the most effective against MCF-7, HepG2 and HeLa. However, wild orange EO was the most antiproliferative and antimigratory against all three cells using the anticolony formation assay and wound healing assay, respectively. The results showed that cell death is associated with the apoptotic process, with morphological hallmarks of apoptosis including membrane blebbing and DNA fragmentation. These findings imply that the three citrus EOs might be used as active components in functional food products for chemopreventive benefits