Lead-induced changes in plant cell ultrastructure: an overview.

Lead (Pb) is one of the most harmful toxic metals and causes severe damage to plants even at low concentrations. Pb inhibits plant development, reduces photosynthesis rates, and causes metabolic disfunctions. Plant cells display these alterations in the form of abnormal morphological modifications resulting from ultrastructural changes in the cell wall, plasma membrane, chloroplast, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and nuclei.

Native plant species growing on the abandoned Zaida lead/zinc mine site in Morocco: Phytoremediation potential for biomonitoring perspective.

This study aims to assess the level of metal contamination and the ecological risk index at the abandoned Zaida Pb/Zn mining site in eastern Morocco and identify native plant species found on the site that can be used in site rehabilitation through phytoremediation strategies. Samples from seven native and abundant plant species at the site, along with their rhizospheric soils, were collected and analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine the concentrations of various metal(loid)s, including As, Cu, Ni, Cd, Sb, Zn, and Pb. Indicators of soil pollution and ecological risks were also assessed, including the enrichment factor (EF), pollution index (PI), and ecological risk index (ERI).

Meta-analysis of microarray data in relation to heat stress response.

Introduction: Increasing global warming has made heat stress a serious threat to crop productivity and global food security in recent years. One of the most promising solutions to address this issue is developing heat-stress-tolerant plants. Hence, a thorough understanding of heat stress response mechanisms, particularly molecular ones, is crucial.

Metabolic Mechanisms Underlying Heat and Drought Tolerance in Lentil Accessions: Implications for Stress Tolerance Breeding.

Climate change has significantly exacerbated the effects of abiotic stresses, particularly high temperatures and drought stresses. This study aims to uncover the mechanisms underlying heat and drought tolerance in lentil accessions. To achieve this objective, twelve accessions were subjected to high-temperature stress (32/20 °C), while seven accessions underwent assessment under drought stress conditions (50% of field capacity) during the reproductive stage.

The Knockdown of Confers Enhanced Tolerance to Salt and Drought Stresses in Tomato ( L.).

Auxin response factors () act as key elements of the auxin-signaling pathway and play important roles in the process of a plant's growth, development, and response to environmental conditions. We studied the implication of the gene in the tomato response to salt (150 mM of NaCl) and drought (15% PEG 20000) stresses. The functional characterization of knockdown tomato mutants revealed that the downregulation of this gene enhanced primary root length and root branching and reduced plant wilting.

Salt stress responses and alleviation strategies in legumes: a review of the current knowledge.

Salinity is one of the most significant environmental factors limiting legumes development and productivity. Salt stress disturbs all developmental stages of legumes and affects their hormonal regulation, photosynthesis and biological nitrogen fixation, causing nutritional imbalance, plant growth inhibition and yield losses. At the molecular level, salt stress exposure involves large number of factors that are implicated in stress perception, transduction, and regulation of salt responsive genes' expression through the intervention of transcription factors.

Management of Plant Beneficial Fungal Endophytes to Improve the Performance of Agroecological Practices.

By dint of the development of agroecological practices and organic farming, stakeholders are becoming more and more aware of the importance of soil life and banning a growing number of pesticide molecules, promoting the use of plant bio-stimulants. To justify and promote the use of microbes in agroecological practices and sustainable agriculture, a number of functions or services often are invoked: (i) soil health, (ii) plant growth promotion, (iii) biocontrol, (iv) nutrient acquiring, (v) soil carbon storage, etc. In this paper, a review and a hierarchical classification of plant fungal partners according to their ecosystemic potential with regard to the available technologies aiming at field uses will be discussed with a particular focus on interactive microbial associations and functions such as Mycorrhiza Helper Bacteria (MHB) and nurse plants.

De Novo Transcriptome Assembly, Gene Annotations, and Characterization of Functional Profiling Reveal Key Genes for Lead Alleviation in the Pb Hyperaccumulator Greek Mustard ( L.).

Lead (Pb) contamination is a widespread environmental problem due to its toxicity to living organisms. L., a member of the Brassicaceae family, commonly found in the Mediterranean regions, is characterized by its ability to tolerate and accumulate Pb in soils and hydroponic cultures.

Effect of High Temperature Stress During the Reproductive Stage on Grain Yield and Nutritional Quality of Lentil ( Medikus).

High temperature during the reproductive stage limits the growth and development of lentil ( Medikus). The reproductive and seed filling periods are the most sensitive to heat stress, resulting in limited yield and nutritional quality. Climate change causes frequent incidents of heat stress for global food crop production.

Assessment of the Transfer of Trace Metals to Spontaneous Plants on Abandoned Pyrrhotite Mine: Potential Application for Phytostabilization of Phosphate Wastes.

The abandoned Kettara pyrrhotite mine (Marrakech region, Morocco) is a real source of acid mine drainage (AMD) and heavy metal pollution from previous mining operations-which has spread, particularly because of wind erosion. A store-and-release cover system made of phosphate wastes was built on the site for preventing AMD. To ensure the integrity of this cover and its durability, it is desirable to revegetate it (phytostabilization) with plants adapted to the edaphoclimatic conditions of the region.

High-Temperature and Drought Stress Effects on Growth, Yield and Nutritional Quality with Transpiration Response to Vapor Pressure Deficit in Lentil.

High temperature and water deficit are among the major limitations reducing lentil ( Medik.) yield in many growing regions. In addition, increasing atmospheric vapor pressure deficit (VPD) due to global warming causes a severe challenge by influencing the water balance of the plants, thus also affecting growth and yield.

Microalgae as promising source for integrated wastewater treatment and biodiesel production.

Microalgae have been studied for their potential of wastewater treatment as well as a promising source for biodiesel production. This study investigates the potential of microalgae to remove nutrients from domestic wastewater (DWW) while producing lipids-rich biomass for biodiesel production. Eight microalgae were cultivated in (DWW) to evaluate their nutrients removal capacity and biomass production.

Phytostabilization of Phosphate Mine Wastes Used as a Store-and-Release Cover to Control Acid Mine Drainage in a Semiarid Climate.

The abandoned Kettara pyrrhotite mine, located near Marrakech, Morocco, is an acid mine drainage (AMD) producer site. A store-and-release cover system made of phosphate wastes was built to prevent water infiltration and the formation of AMD. This cover system should be vegetated with appropriate plants to ensure its long-term sustainability and allow its reintegration in the surrounding ecosystem.

Heat and Drought Stress Impact on Phenology, Grain Yield, and Nutritional Quality of Lentil ( Medikus).

Lentil ( Medikus) is a protein-rich cool-season food legume with an excellent source of protein, prebiotic carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. With climate change, heat, and drought stresses have become more frequent and intense in lentil growing areas with a strong influence on phenology, grain yield, and nutritional quality. This study aimed to assess the impact of heat and drought stresses on phenology, grain yield, and nutritional quality of lentil.

Screening of Native Plants Growing on a Pb/Zn Mining Area in Eastern Morocco: Perspectives for Phytoremediation.

Screening of native plant species from mining sites can lead to identify suitable plants for phytoremediation approaches. In this study, we assayed heavy metals tolerance and accumulation in native and dominant plants growing on abandoned Pb/Zn mining site in eastern Morocco. Soil samples and native plants were collected and analyzed for As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Sb, Pb, and Zn concentrations.

Zinc Hyperaccumulation in Plants: A Review.

Zinc is an essential microelement involved in many aspects of plant growth and development. Abnormal zinc amounts, mostly due to human activities, can be toxic to flora, fauna, and humans. In plants, excess zinc causes morphological, biochemical, and physiological disorders.

Down Regulation and Loss of Function Using CRISPR/Cas9 Alters Plant Growth, Stomatal Function and Improves Tomato Tolerance to Salinity and Osmotic Stress.

Auxin controls multiple aspects of plant growth and development. However, its role in stress responses remains poorly understood. Auxin acts on the transcriptional regulation of target genes, mainly through Auxin Response Factors ().

Nitrate Reductase Inhibition Induces Lipid Enhancement of Dunaliella Tertiolecta for Biodiesel Production.

Nitrogen stress increases lipids content in microalgae, the main feedstock for algal biodiesel. Sodium tungstate was used in this study to implement nitrogen stress by inhibiting nitrate reductase (NR) in . The reduction of NR activity was accompanied by reduction of chlorophyll and accumulation of lipids.

Auxin Response Factors (ARFs) are potential mediators of auxin action in tomato response to biotic and abiotic stress (Solanum lycopersicum).

Survival biomass production and crop yield are heavily constrained by a wide range of environmental stresses. Several phytohormones among which abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene and salicylic acid (SA) are known to mediate plant responses to these stresses. By contrast, the role of the plant hormone auxin in stress responses remains so far poorly studied.

TomExpress, a unified tomato RNA-Seq platform for visualization of expression data, clustering and correlation networks.

The TomExpress platform was developed to provide the tomato research community with a browser and integrated web tools for public RNA-Seq data visualization and data mining. To avoid major biases that can result from the use of different mapping and statistical processing methods, RNA-Seq raw sequence data available in public databases were mapped de novo on a unique tomato reference genome sequence and post-processed using the same pipeline with accurate parameters. Following the calculation of the number of counts per gene in each RNA-Seq sample, a communal global normalization method was applied to all expression values.

Transcriptome Changes in Hirschfeldia incana in Response to Lead Exposure.

Hirschfeldia incana, a pseudometallophyte belonging to the Brassicaceae family and widespread in the Mediterranean region, was selected for its ability to grow on soils contaminated by lead (Pb). The global comparison of gene expression using microarrays between a plant susceptible to Pb (Arabidopsis thaliana) and a Pb tolerant plant (H. incana) enabled the identification of a set of specific genes expressed in response to lead exposure.

Effect of lead on root growth.

Lead (Pb) is one of the most widespread heavy metal contaminant in soils. It is highly toxic to living organisms. Pb has no biological function but can cause morphological, physiological, and biochemical dysfunctions in plants.