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Plants (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024Water scarcity is a significant constraint on agricultural practices, particularly in Colombia, where numerous palm cultivators rely on rainfed systems for their...
Water scarcity is a significant constraint on agricultural practices, particularly in Colombia, where numerous palm cultivators rely on rainfed systems for their plantations. Identifying drought-tolerant cultivars becomes pivotal to mitigating the detrimental impacts of water stress on growth and productivity. This study scrutinizes the variability in drought responses of growth, physiological, and biochemical variables integral to selecting drought-tolerant oil palm cultivars in the nursery. A comprehensive dataset was compiled by subjecting seedlings of eleven cultivars to four soil water potentials (-0.05 MPa, -0.5 MPa, -1 MPa, and -2 MPa) over 60 days. This dataset encompasses growth attributes, photosynthetic parameters like maximum quantum yield and electron transfer rate, gas exchange (photosynthesis, transpiration, and water use efficiency), levels of osmolytes (proline and sugars), abscisic acid (ABA) content, as well as antioxidant-related enzymes, including peroxidase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and superoxide dismutase. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) elucidated two principal components that account for approximately 65% of the cumulative variance. Noteworthy enzyme activity was detected for glutathione reductase and ascorbate peroxidase. When juxtaposed with the other evaluated cultivars, one of the cultivars (IRHO 7001) exhibited the most robust response to water deficit. The six characteristics evaluated (photosynthesis, predawn water potential, proline, transpiration, catalase activity, sugars) were determined to be the most discriminant when selecting palm oil cultivars with tolerance to water deficit.
PubMed: 38931030
DOI: 10.3390/plants13121598 -
Plants (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024L. is a potential source of raw material for biodiesel fuel due to the high oil content in its grains. In Brazil, this species is cultivated in the low rainfall...
L. is a potential source of raw material for biodiesel fuel due to the high oil content in its grains. In Brazil, this species is cultivated in the low rainfall off-season, which limits the productivity of the crop. The present study investigated the effects of water restriction on the physiological and biochemical responses, production components, and oil quality of at different development stages. The treatments consisted of 100% water replacement (control), 66%, and 33% of field capacity during the phenological stages of vegetative growth, flowering, and grain filling. We evaluated characteristics of water relations, gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, chloroplast pigment, proline, and sugar content. The production components and chemical properties of the oil were also determined at the end of the harvest cycle. Drought tolerance of was found to be mediated primarily during the vegetative growth stage by changes in photosynthetic metabolism, stability of photochemical efficiency, increased proline concentrations, and maintenance of tissue hydration. Grain filling was most sensitive to water limitation and showed a reduction in yield and oil content. However, the chemical composition of the oil was not altered by the water deficit. Our data suggest that is a drought-tolerant species.
PubMed: 38931015
DOI: 10.3390/plants13121583 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024Secondary metabolites, bioactive compounds produced by living organisms, can unveil symbiotic relationships in nature. In this study, soilborne entomopathogenic...
Preliminary Screening on Antibacterial Crude Secondary Metabolites Extracted from Bacterial Symbionts and Identification of Functional Bioactive Compounds by FTIR, HPLC and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.
Secondary metabolites, bioactive compounds produced by living organisms, can unveil symbiotic relationships in nature. In this study, soilborne entomopathogenic nematodes associated with symbiotic bacteria ( and ) were extracted from solvent supernatant containing secondary metabolites, demonstrating significant inhibitory effects against , , , , , and . The characterization of these secondary metabolites by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy revealed amine groups of proteins, hydroxyl and carboxyl groups of polyphenols, hydroxyl groups of polysaccharides, and carboxyl groups of organic acids. Furthermore, the obtained crude extracts were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography for the basic identification of potential bioactive peptides. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of ethyl acetate extracts from identified major compounds including nonanoic acid derivatives, proline, paromycin, octodecanal derivatives, trioxa-5-aza-1-silabicyclo, 4-octadecenal, methyl ester, oleic acid, and 1,2-benzenedicarboxylicacid. Additional extraction from yielded functional compounds such as indole-3-acetic acid, phthalic acid, 1-tetradecanol, nemorosonol, 1-eicosanol, and unsaturated fatty acids. These findings support the potential development of novel natural antimicrobial agents for future pathogen suppression.
Topics: Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Symbiosis; Secondary Metabolism; Photorhabdus; Xenorhabdus; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Animals
PubMed: 38930979
DOI: 10.3390/molecules29122914 -
Microorganisms May 2024Considering current global climate change, drought stress is regarded as a major problem negatively impacting the growth of soybeans, particularly at the critical stages...
Drought-Tolerant Bacteria and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Mitigate the Detrimental Effects of Drought Stress Induced by Withholding Irrigation at Critical Growth Stages of Soybean (, L.).
Considering current global climate change, drought stress is regarded as a major problem negatively impacting the growth of soybeans, particularly at the critical stages R3 (early pod) and R5 (seed development). Microbial inoculation is regarded as an ecologically friendly and low-cost-effective strategy for helping soybean plants withstand drought stress. The present study aimed to isolate newly drought-tolerant bacteria from native soil and evaluated their potential for producing growth-promoting substances as well as understanding how these isolated bacteria along with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) could mitigate drought stress in soybean plants at critical growth stages in a field experiment. In this study, 30 isolates and 30 rhizobacterial isolates were isolated from the soybean nodules and rhizosphere, respectively. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 was used for evaluating their tolerance to drought, and then the production of growth promotion substances was evaluated under both without/with PEG. The most effective isolates (DTB4 and DTR30) were identified genetically using 16S rRNA gene. A field experiment was conducted to study the impact of inoculation with DTB4 and DTR30 along with AMF (, , and ) on the growth and yield of drought-stressed soybeans. Our results showed that the bioinoculant applications improved the growth traits (shoot length, root length, leaf area, and dry weight), chlorophyll content, nutrient content (N, P, and K), nodulation, and yield components (pods number, seeds weight, and grain yield) of soybean plants under drought stress ( ≤ 0.05). Moreover, proline contents were decreased due to the bioinoculant applications under drought when compared to uninoculated treatments. As well as the count of bacteria, mycorrhizal colonization indices, and the activity of soil enzymes (dehydrogenase and phosphatase) were enhanced in the soybean rhizosphere under drought stress. This study's findings imply that using a mixture of bioinoculants may help soybean plants withstand drought stress, particularly during critical growth stages, and that soybean growth, productivity, and soil microbial activity were improved under drought stress.
PubMed: 38930505
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12061123 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Jun 2024Although both L-glutamate (Glu) and L-glutamine (Gln) have long been considered nutritionally nonessential in ruminants, these two amino acids have enormous nutritional... (Review)
Review
Although both L-glutamate (Glu) and L-glutamine (Gln) have long been considered nutritionally nonessential in ruminants, these two amino acids have enormous nutritional and physiological importance. Results of recent studies revealed that extracellular Gln is extensively degraded by ruminal microbes, but extracellular Glu undergoes little catabolism by these cells due to the near absence of its uptake. Ruminal bacteria hydrolyze Gln to Glu plus ammonia and, intracellularly, use both amino acids for protein synthesis. Microbial proteins and dietary Glu enter the small intestine in ruminants. Both Glu and Gln are the major metabolic fuels and building blocks of proteins, as well as substrates for the syntheses of glutathione and amino acids (alanine, ornithine, citrulline, arginine, proline, and aspartate) in the intestinal mucosa. In addition, Gln and aspartate are essential for purine and pyrimidine syntheses, whereas arginine and proline are necessary for the production of nitric oxide (a major vasodilator) and collagen (the most abundant protein in the body), respectively. Under normal feeding conditions, all diet- and rumen-derived Glu and Gln are extensively utilized by the small intestine and do not enter the portal circulation. Thus, de novo synthesis (e.g., from branched-chain amino acids and α-ketoglutarate) plays a crucial role in the homeostasis of Glu and Gln in the whole body but may be insufficient for maximal growth performance, production (e.g., lactation and pregnancy), and optimal health (particularly intestinal health) in ruminants. This applies to all types of feeding systems used around the world (e.g., rearing on a milk replacer before weaning, pasture-based production, and total mixed rations). Dietary supplementation with the appropriate doses of Glu or Gln [e.g., 0.5 or 1 g/kg body weight (BW)/day, respectively] can safely improve the digestive, endocrine, and reproduction functions of ruminants to enhance their productivity. Both Glu and Gln are truly functional amino acids in the nutrition of ruminants and hold great promise for improving their health and productivity.
PubMed: 38929408
DOI: 10.3390/ani14121788 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jun 2024While the genomics era has allowed remarkable advances in understanding the mechanisms driving the biology and pathogenesis of numerous blood cancers, including acute...
While the genomics era has allowed remarkable advances in understanding the mechanisms driving the biology and pathogenesis of numerous blood cancers, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), metabolic studies are still lagging, especially regarding how the metabolism differs between healthy and diseased individuals. T-cell ALL (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematological neoplasm deriving from the malignant transformation of T-cell progenitors characterized by frequent NOTCH1 pathway activation. The aim of our study was to characterize tumor and plasma metabolomes during T-ALL development using a NOTCH1-induced murine T-ALL model (ΔE-NOTCH1). In tissue, we found a significant metabolic shift with leukemia development, as metabolites linked to glycolysis (lactic acid) and Tricarboxylic acid cycle replenishment (succinic and malic acids) were elevated in NOTCH1 tumors, while metabolites associated with lipid oxidation (e.g., carnitine) as well as purine and pyrimidine metabolism were elevated in normal thymic tissue. Glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, glutathione metabolism, as well as valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis were enriched pathways in tumor tissue. Phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism was highly enriched in plasma from leukemia-bearing mice compared to healthy mice. Further, we identified a metabolic signature consisting of glycine, alanine, proline, 3-hydroxybutyrate, and glutamic acid as potential biomarkers for leukemia progression in plasma. Hopefully, the metabolic differences detected in our leukemia model will apply to humans and contribute to the development of metabolism-oriented therapeutic approaches.
Topics: Animals; Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Mice; Receptor, Notch1; Metabolomics; Biomarkers, Tumor; Metabolome; Disease Models, Animal
PubMed: 38928249
DOI: 10.3390/ijms25126543 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jun 2024Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1A) is a key transcription factor aiding tumor cells' adaptation to hypoxia, regulated by the prolyl hydroxylase family (EGLN1-3) by...
Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1A) is a key transcription factor aiding tumor cells' adaptation to hypoxia, regulated by the prolyl hydroxylase family (EGLN1-3) by directing toward degradation pathways. DNA methylation potentially influences EGLN and HIF1A levels, impacting cellular responses to hypoxia. We examined 96 HNSCC patients and three cell lines, analyzing gene expression of , , , , and at the mRNA level and EGLN1 protein levels. Methylation levels of and were assessed through high-resolution melting analysis. Bioinformatics tools were employed to characterize associations between and expression and methylation. We found significantly higher mRNA levels of , , , , and ( = 0.021; < 0.0001; < 0.0001; = 0.004, and < 0.0001, respectively) genes in tumor tissues compared to normal ones and downregulation of the mRNA level in tumor tissues ( = 0.0013). In HNSCC patients with hypermethylation of in normal tissue, we noted a reduction in mRNA levels compared to tumor tissue ( = 0.04). In conclusion, the differential expression of and genes in HNSCC tumors compared to normal tissues influences patients' overall survival, highlighting their role in tumor development. Moreover, DNA methylation could be responsible for suppression in the normal tissues of HNSCC patients.
Topics: Humans; DNA Methylation; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; Female; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Male; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Cell Line, Tumor; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-Proline Dioxygenases; Middle Aged; Prolyl Hydroxylases; Aged; Carcinogenesis; Adult
PubMed: 38928200
DOI: 10.3390/ijms25126495 -
Genes May 2024MYB transcription factors (TFs) play vital roles in plant growth, development, and response to adversity. Although the MYB gene family has been studied in many plant...
MYB transcription factors (TFs) play vital roles in plant growth, development, and response to adversity. Although the MYB gene family has been studied in many plant species, there is still little known about the function of R2R3 MYB TFs in sweet potato in response to abiotic stresses. In this study, an R2R3 MYB gene, was isolated from sweet potato (). was ectopically expressed in tobacco and the functional characterization was performed by overexpression in transgenic plants. The IbMYB330 protein has a 268 amino acid sequence and contains two highly conserved MYB domains. The molecular weight and isoelectric point of IbMYB330 are 29.24 kD and 9.12, respectively. The expression of in sweet potato is tissue-specific, and levels in the root were significantly higher than that in the leaf and stem. It showed that the expression of was strongly induced by PEG-6000, NaCl, and HO. Ectopic expression of led to increased transcript levels of stress-related genes such as , , , and . Moreover, compared to the wild-type (WT), transgenic tobacco overexpression of enhanced the tolerance to drought and salt stress treatment as CAT activity, POD activity, proline content, and protein content in transgenic tobacco had increased, while MDA content had decreased. Taken together, our study demonstrated that plays a role in enhancing the resistance of sweet potato to stresses. These findings lay the groundwork for future research on the R2R3-MYB genes of sweet potato and indicates that may be a candidate gene for improving abiotic stress tolerance in crops.
Topics: Ipomoea batatas; Nicotiana; Plants, Genetically Modified; Transcription Factors; Plant Proteins; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Droughts; Salt Tolerance; Stress, Physiological; Salt Stress
PubMed: 38927629
DOI: 10.3390/genes15060693 -
Biology Jun 2024KT2440 is a popular platform for bioremediation due to its robust tolerance to environmental stress and strong biodegradation capacity. Limited research on the salt...
KT2440 is a popular platform for bioremediation due to its robust tolerance to environmental stress and strong biodegradation capacity. Limited research on the salt tolerance of KT2440 has hindered its application. In this study, the strain KT2440 was tested to tolerate a maximum of 4% / NaCl cultured with minimal salts medium. Transcriptomic data in a high-salinity environment showed significant expression changes in genes in membrane components, redox processes, chemotaxis, and cellular catabolic processes. -encoding betaine-aldehyde dehydrogenase was identified from the transcriptome data to overexpress and enhance growth profile of the strain KT2440 in minimal salts medium containing 4% / NaCl. Meanwhile, screening for exogenous salt-tolerant genes revealed that the Na/H antiporter from significantly increased the growth of the strain KT2440 in 4% / NaCl. Then, co-expression of and (KT2440-) increased the maximum salt tolerance of strain KT2440 to 5% / NaCl. Further addition of betaine and proline improved the salt tolerance of the engineered strain to 6% / NaCl. Finally, the engineered strain KT2440- was able to degrade 56.70% of benzoic acid and 95.64% of protocatechuic acid in minimal salt medium containing 4% / NaCl in 48 h, while no biodegradation was observed in the normal strain KT2440 in the same conditions. However, the strain KT2440- failed to degrade catechol in minimal salt medium containing 3% / NaCl. This study illustrated the improvement in the salt tolerance performance of KT2440 and the feasibility of engineered strain KT2440 as a potential salt-tolerant bioremediation platform.
PubMed: 38927284
DOI: 10.3390/biology13060404 -
Biology May 2024Flooding and drought are the two most devastating natural hazards limiting maize production. Exogenous glycinebetaine (GB), an osmotic adjustment agent, has been...
Flooding and drought are the two most devastating natural hazards limiting maize production. Exogenous glycinebetaine (GB), an osmotic adjustment agent, has been extensively used but there is limited research on its role in mitigating the negative effects of different abiotic stresses. This study aims to identify the different roles of GB in regulating the diverse defense regulation of maize against drought and flooding. Hybrids of Yindieyu 9 and Heyu 397 grown in pots in a ventilated greenhouse were subjected to flooding (2-3 cm standing layer) and drought (40-45% field capacity) at the three-leaf stage for 8 d. The effects of different concentrations of foliar GB (0, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0, and 10.0 mM) on the physiochemical attributes and growth of maize were tested. Greater drought than flooding tolerance in both varieties to combat oxidative stress was associated with higher antioxidant activities and proline content. While flooding decreased superoxide dismutase and guaiacol peroxidase (POD) activities and proline content compared to normal water, they all declined with stress duration, leading to a larger reactive oxygen species compared to drought. It was POD under drought stress and ascorbate peroxidase under flooding stress that played crucial roles in tolerating water stress. Foliar GB further enhanced antioxidant ability and contributed more effects to POD to eliminate more hydrogen peroxide than the superoxide anion, promoting growth, especially for leaves under water stress. Furthermore, exogenous GB made a greater increment in Heyu 397 than Yindieyu 9, as well as flooding compared to drought. Overall, a GB concentration of 5.0 mM, with a non-toxic effect on well-watered maize, was determined to be optimal for the effective mitigation of water-stress damage to the physiochemical characteristics and growth of maize.
PubMed: 38927240
DOI: 10.3390/biology13060360