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The New Phytologist Jun 2024In recent years, the idea has flourished that plants emit and perceive sound and could even be capable of exchanging information through the acoustic channel. While... (Review)
Review
In recent years, the idea has flourished that plants emit and perceive sound and could even be capable of exchanging information through the acoustic channel. While research into plant bioacoustics is still in its infancy, with potentially fascinating discoveries awaiting ahead, here we show that the current knowledge is not conclusive. While plants do emit sounds under biotic and abiotic stresses such as drought, these sounds are high-pitched, of low intensity, and propagate only to a short distance. Most studies suggesting plant sensitivity to airborne sound actually concern the perception of substrate vibrations from the soil or plant part. In short, while low-frequency, high-intensity sounds emitted by a loudspeaker close to the plant seem to have tangible effects on various plant processes such as growth - a finding with possible applications in agriculture - it is unlikely that plants can perceive the sounds they produce, at least over long distances. So far, there is no evidence of plants communicating with each other via the acoustic channel.
Topics: Sound; Acoustics; Plants; Plant Physiological Phenomena
PubMed: 38424727
DOI: 10.1111/nph.19648 -
Bioorganic Chemistry Feb 2023The use of medicinal plants has gained renewed wide popularity in Africa, Asia, and most parts of the world because of the decreasing efficacy of synthetic drugs. Thus,... (Review)
Review
The use of medicinal plants has gained renewed wide popularity in Africa, Asia, and most parts of the world because of the decreasing efficacy of synthetic drugs. Thus, natural products serve as a potent source of alternative remedy. Tetrapleura tetraptera is a medicinal plant with cultural and traditional significance in West Africa. In addition to the plant being commonly used as a spice in the preparation of traditional spicy food for postpartum care it is also widely used to constitute herbal concoctions and decoctions for treatment of diseases. This review aimed to provide an up-to-date information on the ethnomedicinal uses, pharmacological activities and phytoconstituents of T. tetraptera. Preclinical studies regarding the plant's toxicity profile were also reviewed. For this updated review, literature search was done on PubMed, Science Direct, Wiley, and Google Scholar databases using the relevant keywords. The review used a total of 106 papers that met the inclusion criteria from January 1989 - February 2022 and summarised the bioactivities that have been reported for the rich phytoconstituents of T. tetraptera studied using various chemical methods. Considering the huge report, the review focused on the antimicrobial and antiinflammatory activities of the plant extracts and isolated compounds. Aridan, aridanin and several bioactive compounds of T. tetraptera have shown pharmacological activities though their mechanisms of action are yet to be fully understood. This study also highlighted the influence of plant parts and extraction solvents on its biological activities. It also presented data on the toxicological profile of the plant extracts using different models. From cultural uses to modern pharmacological research the bioactive compounds of T. tetraptera have proved effective in infectious disease management. We hope that this paper provided a robust summary of the biological activities and toxicological profile of T. tetraptera, thus calling for more research into the pharmacological and pharmacokinetic activities of natural products to help combat the growing threat of drug resistance and provide guidelines for their ethnomedicinal uses.
Topics: Phytochemicals; Plant Extracts; Plants, Medicinal; Tetrapleura
PubMed: 36470194
DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2022.106288 -
Nature Reviews. Microbiology May 2018Lipid research represents a frontier for microbiology, as showcased by hopanoid lipids. Hopanoids, which resemble sterols and are found in the membranes of diverse... (Review)
Review
Lipid research represents a frontier for microbiology, as showcased by hopanoid lipids. Hopanoids, which resemble sterols and are found in the membranes of diverse bacteria, have left an extensive molecular fossil record. They were first discovered by petroleum geologists. Today, hopanoid-producing bacteria remain abundant in various ecosystems, such as the rhizosphere. Recently, great progress has been made in our understanding of hopanoid biosynthesis, facilitated in part by technical advances in lipid identification and quantification. A variety of genetically tractable, hopanoid-producing bacteria have been cultured, and tools to manipulate hopanoid biosynthesis and detect hopanoids are improving. However, we still have much to learn regarding how hopanoid production is regulated, how hopanoids act biophysically and biochemically, and how their production affects bacterial interactions with other organisms, such as plants. The study of hopanoids thus offers rich opportunities for discovery.
Topics: Bacteria; Cell Membrane; Lipid Metabolism; Lipids; Plants
PubMed: 29456243
DOI: 10.1038/nrmicro.2017.173 -
International Journal of Molecular... May 2018Calcium is one of the most pleiotropic second messengers in all living organisms. However, signalling specificity is encoded via spatio-temporally regulated signatures... (Review)
Review
Calcium is one of the most pleiotropic second messengers in all living organisms. However, signalling specificity is encoded via spatio-temporally regulated signatures that act with surgical precision to elicit highly specific cellular responses. How this is brought about remains a big challenge in the plant field, in part due to a lack of specific tools to manipulate/interrogate the plant Ca toolkit. In many cases, researchers resort to tools that were optimized in animal cells. However, the obviously large evolutionary distance between plants and animals implies that there is a good chance observed effects may not be specific to the intended plant target. Here, we provide an overview of pharmacological strategies that are commonly used to activate or inhibit plant Ca signalling. We focus on highlighting modes of action where possible, and warn for potential pitfalls. Together, this review aims at guiding plant researchers through the Ca pharmacology swamp.
Topics: Calcium Channel Blockers; Calcium Signaling; Plants
PubMed: 29783646
DOI: 10.3390/ijms19051506 -
Archives of Microbiology May 2019Bacterial endophytes are the internal association of bacteria with the plants, cherished whole or any part of their life cycle inside the plant. They are reported to... (Review)
Review
Bacterial endophytes are the internal association of bacteria with the plants, cherished whole or any part of their life cycle inside the plant. They are reported to improve plant health against the biotic stresses via de novo synthesis of structural compounds and stimulation of plant immunity. They are found to be vital in development of host resistance against phytopathogens and capable in reducing and elimination of deleterious effects of plant pathogens. Fungal-, bacterial-, viral-, insect- and nematode-associated negative effect can be reduced by the bacterial endophytes. They are also reported to control plant pathogens through several defense mechanisms such as by producing antimicrobial compounds and antibiotics, de novo synthesis of structural compounds, keeping out of pathogens by niche competition and induction of plant immunity or induced systemic resistance. In this review, an effort is made to summarize the exploitation of endophytic bacteria as a biological substitute to control biotic stresses in agricultural practices.
Topics: Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; Endophytes; Plants; Stress, Physiological; Symbiosis
PubMed: 30834947
DOI: 10.1007/s00203-019-01642-y -
Current Biology : CB Apr 2021Circadian regulation has a pervasive influence upon plant development, physiology and metabolism, impacting upon components of fitness and traits of agricultural... (Review)
Review
Circadian regulation has a pervasive influence upon plant development, physiology and metabolism, impacting upon components of fitness and traits of agricultural importance. Circadian regulation is inextricably connected to the responses of plants to their abiotic environments, from the cellular to whole plant scales. Here, we review the crosstalk that occurs between circadian regulation and responses to the abiotic environment from the intracellular scale through to naturally fluctuating environments. We examine the spatial crosstalk that forms part of plant circadian regulation, at the subcellular, tissue, organ and whole-plant scales. This includes a focus on chloroplast and mitochondrial signalling, alternative splicing, long-distance circadian signalling and circadian regulation within natural environments. We also consider mathematical models for plant circadian regulation, to suggest future areas for advancing understanding of roles for circadian regulation in plant responses to environmental cues.
Topics: Alternative Splicing; Circadian Clocks; Circadian Rhythm; Environment; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Plant Development; Plants; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 33905701
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.046 -
International Journal of Molecular... Aug 2021The generation of oxygen radicals and their derivatives, known as reactive oxygen species, (ROS) is a part of the signaling process in higher plants at lower... (Review)
Review
The generation of oxygen radicals and their derivatives, known as reactive oxygen species, (ROS) is a part of the signaling process in higher plants at lower concentrations, but at higher concentrations, those ROS cause oxidative stress. Salinity-induced osmotic stress and ionic stress trigger the overproduction of ROS and, ultimately, result in oxidative damage to cell organelles and membrane components, and at severe levels, they cause cell and plant death. The antioxidant defense system protects the plant from salt-induced oxidative damage by detoxifying the ROS and also by maintaining the balance of ROS generation under salt stress. Different plant hormones and genes are also associated with the signaling and antioxidant defense system to protect plants when they are exposed to salt stress. Salt-induced ROS overgeneration is one of the major reasons for hampering the morpho-physiological and biochemical activities of plants which can be largely restored through enhancing the antioxidant defense system that detoxifies ROS. In this review, we discuss the salt-induced generation of ROS, oxidative stress and antioxidant defense of plants under salinity.
Topics: Antioxidants; Oxidative Stress; Plants; Reactive Oxygen Species; Salinity; Signal Transduction; Stress, Physiological
PubMed: 34502233
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22179326 -
Journal of Genetics and Genomics = Yi... Nov 2018Epigenetics refers to the study of heritable changes in gene function that do not involve changes in the DNA sequence. Such effects on cellular and physiological... (Review)
Review
Epigenetics refers to the study of heritable changes in gene function that do not involve changes in the DNA sequence. Such effects on cellular and physiological phenotypic traits may result from external or environmental factors or be part of normal developmental program. In eukaryotes, DNA wraps on a histone octamer (two copies of H2A, H2B, H3 and H4) to form nucleosome, the fundamental unit of chromatin. The structure of chromatin is subjected to a dynamic regulation through multiple epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone posttranslational modifications (PTMs), chromatin remodeling and noncoding RNAs. As conserved regulatory mechanisms in gene expression, epigenetic mechanisms participate in almost all the important biological processes ranging from basal development to environmental response. Importantly, all of the major epigenetic mechanisms in mammalians also occur in plants. Plant studies have provided numerous important contributions to the epigenetic research. For example, gene imprinting, a mechanism of parental allele-specific gene expression, was firstly observed in maize; evidence of paramutation, an epigenetic phenomenon that one allele acts in a single locus to induce a heritable change in the other allele, was firstly reported in maize and tomato. Moreover, some unique epigenetic mechanisms have been evolved in plants. For example, the 24-nt siRNA-involved RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway is plant-specific because of the involvements of two plant-specific DNA-dependent RNA polymerases, Pol IV and Pol V. A thorough study of epigenetic mechanisms is of great significance to improve crop agronomic traits and environmental adaptability. In this review, we make a brief summary of important progress achieved in plant epigenetics field in China over the past several decades and give a brief outlook on future research prospects. We focus our review on DNA methylation and histone PTMs, the two most important aspects of epigenetic mechanisms.
Topics: DNA Methylation; Epigenesis, Genetic; Epigenomics; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Histones; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Plant Proteins; Plants
PubMed: 30455036
DOI: 10.1016/j.jgg.2018.09.004 -
Current Biology : CB Oct 2023Plant roots originated independently in lycophytes and euphyllophytes, whereas early vascular plants were rootless. The organization of the root apical meristem in...
Plant roots originated independently in lycophytes and euphyllophytes, whereas early vascular plants were rootless. The organization of the root apical meristem in euphyllophytes is well documented, especially in the model plant Arabidopsis. However, little is known about lycophyte roots and their molecular innovations during evolution. In this study, spatial transcriptomics was used to detect 97 root-related genes in the roots of the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii. A high number of genes showed expression patterns similar to what has been reported for seed plants, supporting the idea of a highly convergent evolution of mechanisms to control root development. Interaction and complementation data of SHORTROOT (SHR) and SCARECROW (SCR) homologs, furthermore, support a comparable regulation of the ground tissue (GT) between euphyllophytes and lycophytes. Root cap formation, in contrast, appears to be differently regulated. Several experiments indicated an important role of the WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX13 gene SmWOX13a in Selaginella root cap formation. In contrast to multiple Arabidopsis WOX paralogs, SmWOX13a is able to induce root cap cells in Arabidopsis and has functionally conserved homologs in the fern Ceratopteris richardii. Lycophytes and a part of the euphyllophytes, therefore, may share a common mechanism regulating root cap formation, which was diversified or lost during seed plant evolution. In summary, we here provide a new spatial data resource for the Selaginella root, which in general advocates for conserved mechanisms to regulate root development but shows a clear divergence in the control of root cap formation, with a novel putative role of WOX genes in root cap formation in non-seed plants.
Topics: Plant Roots; Arabidopsis; Transcriptome; Meristem; Plants; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
PubMed: 37683643
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.030 -
Phytochemistry Apr 2015Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been studied for their role in plant development as well as in plant immunity. ROS were consistently observed to accumulate in the... (Review)
Review
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been studied for their role in plant development as well as in plant immunity. ROS were consistently observed to accumulate in the plant after the perception of pathogens and microbes and over the years, ROS were postulated to be an integral part of the defence response of the plant. In this article we will focus on recent findings about ROS involved in the interaction of plants with pathogenic fungi. We will describe the ways to detect ROS, their modes of action and their importance in relation to resistance to fungal pathogens. In addition we include some results from works focussing on the fungal interactor and from studies investigating roots during pathogen attack.
Topics: Fungi; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Plant Leaves; Plant Roots; Plants; Reactive Oxygen Species
PubMed: 25264341
DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2014.08.027