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The Plant Cell Apr 2022The apoplast is a continuous plant compartment that connects cells between tissues and organs and is one of the first sites of interaction between plants and microbes....
The apoplast is a continuous plant compartment that connects cells between tissues and organs and is one of the first sites of interaction between plants and microbes. The plant cell wall occupies most of the apoplast and is composed of polysaccharides and associated proteins and ions. This dynamic part of the cell constitutes an essential physical barrier and a source of nutrients for the microbe. At the same time, the plant cell wall serves important functions in the interkingdom detection, recognition, and response to other organisms. Thus, both plant and microbe modify the plant cell wall and its environment in versatile ways to benefit from the interaction. We discuss here crucial processes occurring at the plant cell wall during the contact and communication between microbe and plant. Finally, we argue that these local and dynamic changes need to be considered to fully understand plant-microbe interactions.
Topics: Cell Wall; Communication; Plant Cells; Plants
PubMed: 35157079
DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koac040 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Jun 2022Floral nectar is prone to colonization by nectar-adapted yeasts and bacteria via air-, rain-, and animal-mediated dispersal. Upon colonization, microbes can modify... (Review)
Review
Floral nectar is prone to colonization by nectar-adapted yeasts and bacteria via air-, rain-, and animal-mediated dispersal. Upon colonization, microbes can modify nectar chemical constituents that are plant-provisioned or impart their own through secretion of metabolic by-products or antibiotics into the nectar environment. Such modifications can have consequences for pollinator perception of nectar quality, as microbial metabolism can leave a distinct imprint on olfactory and gustatory cues that inform foraging decisions. Furthermore, direct interactions between pollinators and nectar microbes, as well as consumption of modified nectar, have the potential to affect pollinator health both positively and negatively. Here, we discuss and integrate recent findings from research on plant-microbe-pollinator interactions and their consequences for pollinator health. We then explore future avenues of research that could shed light on the myriad ways in which nectar microbes can affect pollinator health, including the taxonomic diversity of vertebrate and invertebrate pollinators that rely on this reward. This article is part of the theme issue 'Natural processes influencing pollinator health: from chemistry to landscapes'.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Plant Nectar; Plants; Smell
PubMed: 35491594
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0155 -
International Journal of Molecular... Mar 2021Adaptation and response to environmental changes require dynamic and fast information distribution within the plant body. If one part of a plant is exposed to stress,... (Review)
Review
Adaptation and response to environmental changes require dynamic and fast information distribution within the plant body. If one part of a plant is exposed to stress, attacked by other organisms or exposed to any other kind of threat, the information travels to neighboring organs and even neighboring plants and activates appropriate responses. The information flow is mediated by fast-traveling small metabolites, hormones, proteins/peptides, RNAs or volatiles. Electric and hydraulic waves also participate in signal propagation. The signaling molecules move from one cell to the neighboring cell, via the plasmodesmata, through the apoplast, within the vascular tissue or-as volatiles-through the air. A threat-specific response in a systemic tissue probably requires a combination of different traveling compounds. The propagating signals must travel over long distances and multiple barriers, and the signal intensity declines with increasing distance. This requires permanent amplification processes, feedback loops and cross-talks among the different traveling molecules and probably a short-term memory, to refresh the propagation process. Recent studies show that volatiles activate defense responses in systemic tissues but also play important roles in the maintenance of the propagation of traveling signals within the plant. The distal organs can respond immediately to the systemic signals or memorize the threat information and respond faster and stronger when they are exposed again to the same or even another threat. Transmission and storage of information is accompanied by loss of specificity about the threat that activated the process. I summarize our knowledge about the proposed long-distance traveling compounds and discuss their possible connections.
Topics: Biological Transport; Biomarkers; Calcium; Disease Resistance; Electrophysiological Phenomena; Environment; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Light; Organ Specificity; Photosynthesis; Phytochrome; Plant Diseases; Plant Physiological Phenomena; Plants; RNA, Plant; Reactive Oxygen Species; Signal Transduction; Volatile Organic Compounds
PubMed: 33808792
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22063152 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Mar 2021Medicinal plants are still the major source of therapies for several illnesses and only part of the herbal products originates from cultivated biomass. Wild harvests... (Review)
Review
Medicinal plants are still the major source of therapies for several illnesses and only part of the herbal products originates from cultivated biomass. Wild harvests represent the major supply for therapies, and such practices threaten species diversity as well as the quality and safety of the final products. This work intends to show the relevance of developing medicinal plants into crops and the use of micropropagation as technique to mass produce high-demand biomass, thus solving the supply issues of therapeutic natural substances. Herein, the review includes examples of in vitro procedures and their role in the crop development of pharmaceuticals, phytomedicinals, and functional foods. Additionally, it describes the production of high-yielding genotypes, uniform clones from highly heterozygous plants, and the identification of elite phenotypes using bioassays as a selection tool. Finally, we explore the significance of micropropagation techniques for the following: a) pharmaceutical crops for production of small therapeutic molecules (STM), b) phytomedicinal crops for production of standardized therapeutic natural products, and c) the micropropagation of plants for the production of large therapeutic molecules (LTM) including fructooligosaccharides classified as prebiotic and functional food crops.
Topics: Crops, Agricultural; Plants, Medicinal
PubMed: 33800970
DOI: 10.3390/molecules26061752 -
PeerJ 2023Unlike conventional drug substances, herbal medicines are composed of a complex of biologically active compounds. Therefore, the potential occurrence of herb-drug... (Review)
Review
Unlike conventional drug substances, herbal medicines are composed of a complex of biologically active compounds. Therefore, the potential occurrence of herb-drug interactions is even more probable than for drug-drug interactions. Interactions can occur on both the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic level. Herbal medicines may affect the resulting efficacy of the concomitantly used (synthetic) drugs, mainly on the pharmacokinetic level, by changing their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. Studies on the pharmacodynamic interactions of herbal medicines and conventional drugs are still very limited. This interaction level is related to the mechanism of action of different plant constituents. Herb-drug interactions can cause changes in drug levels and activities and lead to therapeutic failure and/or side effects (sometimes toxicities, even fatal). This review aims to provide a summary of recent information on the potential drug interactions involving commonly used herbal medicines that affect the central nervous system () and conventional drugs. The survey databases were used to identify primary scientific publications, case reports, and secondary databases on interactions were used later on as well. Search keywords were based on plant names (botanical genera), officinal herbal drugs, herbal drug preparations, herbal drug extracts.
Topics: Herb-Drug Interactions; Plants, Medicinal; Plant Extracts; Phytotherapy; Central Nervous System
PubMed: 38025741
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16149 -
Current Opinion in Biotechnology Apr 2022Plants have been used as sources of food, feed and medicine for millennia. The ever-increasing population has, however, dramatically increased the burden on our arable... (Review)
Review
Plants have been used as sources of food, feed and medicine for millennia. The ever-increasing population has, however, dramatically increased the burden on our arable land to meet nutritional demand. Concomitantly, and in part due to poor nutrition, we are faced with massive increases in chronic diseases, meaning the need for medicine has also increased. Here, we look back on research in these areas, surveying the polyphenols as a case study for health-conferring metabolites. We conclude that the tools that will allow us to breed more nutritious crops are all at hand. We stress that collaboration between plant and medical research needs to be intensified in order to improve our understanding of the bioactivities. In doing so, we attempt to draw a roadmap for the use of plants for mid-21st Century human health.
Topics: Crops, Agricultural; Humans; Nutritional Status; Plant Breeding; Prospective Studies
PubMed: 34942505
DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2021.11.010 -
The Journal of Nutrition Mar 2023A large part of the existential threat associated with climate change is the result of current human feeding patterns. Over the last decade, research evaluating the... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
A large part of the existential threat associated with climate change is the result of current human feeding patterns. Over the last decade, research evaluating the diet-related environmental impacts of plant-based diets has emerged, and a synthesis of the available data is now due.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the study were as follows: 1) to compile and summarize the literature on diet-related environmental impacts of plant-based dietary patterns; 2) to assess the nature of the data on impacts of plant-based dietary patterns on both environmental parameters and health (e.g., if land use is reduced for a particular diet, is cancer risk also reduced?); and 3) to determine where sufficient data exist for meta-analyses, in addition to identifying gaps within the literature.
METHODS
Global peer-reviewed studies on the environmental impacts of plant-based diets were searched in Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science. After removing duplicates, the screening identified 1553 records. After 2 stages of independent review by 2 reviewers, 65 records met the inclusion criteria and were eligible to be used in synthesis.
RESULTS
Evidence suggests that plant-based diets may offer lower greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs), land use, and biodiversity loss than offered by standard diets; however, the impact on water and energy use may depend on the types of plant-based foods consumed. Further, the studies were consistent in demonstrating that plant-based dietary patterns that reduce diet-related mortality also promote environmental sustainability.
CONCLUSIONS
Overall, there was agreement across the studies regarding the impact of plant-based dietary patterns on GHGE, land used, and biodiversity loss despite varied plant-based diets assessed.
Topics: Humans; Diet; Environment; Feeding Behavior; Plants
PubMed: 36809853
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.02.001 -
The New Phytologist Mar 2023The terrestrial biota is a crucial part of the long-term carbon cycle via the deposition of biomass as coal and other sedimentary organic matter and the impact of... (Review)
Review
The terrestrial biota is a crucial part of the long-term carbon cycle via the deposition of biomass as coal and other sedimentary organic matter and the impact of plants, fungi, and microbial life on the weathering of silicate minerals. Understanding these processes and their changes through time requires both geochemical modeling of the system as well as expertise in the living and fossil biotas and their ecological interactions, but details of these components are often lost in translation between disciplines. Here, we highlight misconceptions of the long-term carbon cycle that most frequently infiltrate the literature and hamper progress: mass balance requirements, the nature and duration of perturbations, opposing timescale constraints on biological and geological processes, and the role of models.
Topics: Silicates; Minerals; Plants; Biomass; Carbon Cycle; Carbon
PubMed: 36484141
DOI: 10.1111/nph.18665 -
The New Phytologist Mar 2020Canonical plant phytochromes are master regulators of photomorphogenesis and the shade avoidance response. They are also part of a widespread superfamily of... (Review)
Review
Canonical plant phytochromes are master regulators of photomorphogenesis and the shade avoidance response. They are also part of a widespread superfamily of photoreceptors with diverse spectral and biochemical properties. Plant phytochromes belong to a clade including other phytochromes from glaucophyte, prasinophyte, and streptophyte algae (all members of the Archaeplastida) and those from cryptophyte algae. This is consistent with recent analyses supporting the existence of an AC (Archaeplastida + Cryptista) clade. AC phytochromes have been proposed to arise from ancestral cyanobacterial genes via endosymbiotic gene transfer (EGT), but most recent studies instead support multiple horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events to generate extant eukaryotic phytochromes. In principle, this scenario would be compared to the emerging understanding of early events in eukaryotic evolution to generate a coherent picture. Unfortunately, there is currently a major discrepancy between the evolution of phytochromes and the evolution of eukaryotes; phytochrome evolution is thus not a solved problem. We therefore examine phytochrome evolution in a broader context. Within this context, we can identify three important themes in phytochrome evolution: deletion, duplication, and diversification. These themes drive phytochrome evolution as organisms evolve in response to environmental challenges.
Topics: Biological Evolution; Cyanobacteria; Gene Duplication; Gene Transfer, Horizontal; Genes, Plant; Phylogeny; Phytochrome; Plant Physiological Phenomena; Plants; Sequence Deletion; Symbiosis
PubMed: 31595505
DOI: 10.1111/nph.16240 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Aug 2023Metals can accumulate in different parts of plant species in high concentrations, which gives the basis for the plant-based technology called phytoremediation. Among... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Metals can accumulate in different parts of plant species in high concentrations, which gives the basis for the plant-based technology called phytoremediation. Among annual species, Amaranthus is a well-studied, potential metal accumulator genus; however, some conflicts are found among published results. Thus, we studied the metal (Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn) accumulation potential of Amaranthus plant parts (root, stem, and leaf) by meta-analysis, furthermore, by calculation of bioaccumulation factor (BAF) values. After the extensive literature search and the calculation of relative interaction intensity (RII) values, we found significant accumulation for each metal by Amaranthus individuals growing on contaminated soils compared to plants collected from uncontaminated ones. Differences among plant parts were significant for Cu and Fe, minor for Ni, Pb, and Zn, and negligible for Cd. The BAF values indicated high accumulation in the leaf, moderate in root and stem for Cd, moderate in each plant part for Pb, and very low in each plant part for Fe, Ni, and Zn. We highlight that Amaranthus species are good prospects for metal phytoremediation projects, although, due to specific plant part-metal patterns, special attention should be paid to the harvesting practice.
Topics: Humans; Cadmium; Amaranthus; Lead; Soil Pollutants; Soil; Metals, Heavy; Biodegradation, Environmental; Plants
PubMed: 37369905
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-28374-3