Comparative Physiological, Biochemical, and Leaf Proteome Responses of Contrasting Wheat Varieties to Drought Stress.

Drought stress severely affects crop productivity and threatens food security. As current trends of global warming are predicted to exacerbate droughts, developing drought-resilient crops becomes urgent. Here, we used the drought-tolerant (BW35695) and drought-sensitive (BW4074) wheat varieties to investigate the physiological, biochemical, and leaf proteome responses underpinning drought tolerance.

-Coumaric Acid Differential Alters the Ion-Omics Profile of Chia Shoots under Salt Stress.

-Coumaric acid (-CA) is a phenolic compound that plays a crucial role in mediating multiple signaling pathways. It serves as a defense strategy against plant wounding and is also presumed to play a role in plant development and lignin biosynthesis. This study aimed to investigate the physiological and ionomic effect of -CA on chia seedlings under salt stress.

Mechanistic insight into the anti-alternaria activity of bimetallic zinc oxide and silver/zinc oxide nanoparticles.

is an opportunistic phytopathogen that negatively impact the growth and production of a wide variety of host plants. In this study, we evaluated the antifungal potential of biogenic ZnO, and bimetallic silver and zinc oxide (Ag/ZnO) nanoparticles synthesized using seed extract of and characterized using different analytical tools. antifungal potentials of ZnO and Ag/ZnO nanoparticles were carried out using the food poison technique.

Heavy metal stress and mitogen activated kinase transcription factors in plants: Exploring heavy metal-ROS influences on plant signalling pathways.

Due to their stationary nature, plants are exposed to a diverse range of biotic and abiotic stresses, of which heavy metal (HM) stress poses one of the most detrimental abiotic stresses, targeting diverse plant processes. HMs instigate the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and to mitigate the adverse effects of ROS, plants induce multiple defence mechanisms. Besides the negative implications of overproduction of ROS, these molecules play a multitude of signalling roles in plants, acting as a central player in the complex signalling network of cells.

Insights into the Effects of Hydroxycinnamic Acid and Its Secondary Metabolites as Antioxidants for Oxidative Stress and Plant Growth under Environmental Stresses.

Plant immobility renders plants constantly susceptible to various abiotic and biotic stresses. Abiotic and biotic stresses are known to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which cause comparable cellular secondary reactions (osmotic or oxidative stress), leading to agricultural productivity constraints worldwide. To mitigate the challenges caused by these stresses, plants have evolved a variety of adaptive strategies.

Methylglyoxal improves zirconium stress tolerance in Raphanus sativus seedling shoots by restricting zirconium uptake, reducing oxidative damage, and upregulating glyoxalase I.

Raphanus sativus also known as radish is a member of the Brassicaceae family which is mainly cultivated for human and animal consumption. R. sativus growth and development is negatively affected by heavy metal stress.

Recent Progress in the Characterization, Synthesis, Delivery Procedures, Treatment Strategies, and Precision of Antimicrobial Peptides.

Infectious diseases are constantly evolving to bypass antibiotics or create resistance against them. There is a piercing alarm for the need to improve the design of new effective antimicrobial agents such as antimicrobial peptides which are less prone to resistance and possess high sensitivity. This would guard public health in combating and overcoming stubborn pathogens and mitigate incurable diseases; however, the emergence of antimicrobial peptides' shortcomings ranging from untimely degradation by enzymes to difficulty in the design against specific targets is a major bottleneck in achieving these objectives.

Biocontrol Potential of and against Four Species.

The use of biological control agents as opposed to synthetic agrochemicals to control plant pathogens has gained momentum, considering their numerous advantages. The aim of this study is to investigate the biocontrol potential of plant bacterial isolates against , , and . Isolation, identification, characterization, and in vitro biocontrol antagonistic assays of these isolates against species were carried out following standard protocols.

discovery of biomarkers for the accurate and sensitive detection of .

is worrisome because it severely threatens the agricultural productivity of certain crops such as tomatoes and peas, causing the general decline, wilting, and root necrosis. It has also been implicated in the infection of the human eye cornea. It is believed that early detection of the fungus could save these crops from the destructive activities of the fungus through early biocontrol measures.

Seaweed-Derived Phenolic Compounds in Growth Promotion and Stress Alleviation in Plants.

Abiotic and biotic stress factors negatively influence the growth, yield, and nutritional value of economically important food and feed crops. These climate-change-induced stress factors, together with the ever-growing human population, compromise sustainable food security for all consumers across the world. Agrochemicals are widely used to increase crop yield by improving plant growth and enhancing their tolerance to stress factors; however, there has been a shift towards natural compounds in recent years due to the detrimental effect associated with these agrochemicals on crops and the ecosystem.

Draft Whole-Genome Sequence of A4, a Putative Endophyte from .

We report the draft whole-genome sequence of the putative endophytic fungus Penicillium simplicissimum A4, isolated from the roots of Echium plantagineum plants. The genome was sequenced using PacBio technology with an estimated genome size of 39 Mb.

Analytical Studies of Antimicrobial Peptides as Diagnostic Biomarkers for the Detection of Bacterial and Viral Pneumonia.

Pneumonia remains one of the leading causes of infectious mortality and significant economic losses among our growing population. The lack of specific biomarkers for correct and timely diagnosis to detect patients' status is a bane towards initiating a proper treatment plan for the disease; thus, current biomarkers cannot distinguish between pneumonia and other associated conditions such as atherosclerotic plaques and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are potential candidates for detecting numerous illnesses due to their compensatory roles as theranostic molecules.

Plant Antimicrobial Peptides (PAMPs): Features, Applications, Production, Expression, and Challenges.

The quest for an extraordinary array of defense strategies is imperative to reduce the challenges of microbial attacks on plants and animals. Plant antimicrobial peptides (PAMPs) are a subset of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). PAMPs elicit defense against microbial attacks and prevent drug resistance of pathogens given their wide spectrum activity, excellent structural stability, and diverse mechanism of action.

Biofertilizer: The Future of Food Security and Food Safety.

There is a direct correlation between population growth and food demand. As the global population continues to rise, there is a need to scale up food production to meet the food demand of the population. In addition, the arable land over time has lost its naturally endowed nutrients.

Piperonylic acid alters growth, mineral content accumulation and reactive oxygen species-scavenging capacity in chia seedlings.

-Coumaric acid synthesis in plants involves the conversion of phenylalanine to -cinnamic acid via phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), which is then hydroxylated at the para-position under the action of -cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase. Alternatively, some PAL enzymes accept tyrosine as an alternative substrate and convert tyrosine directly to coumaric acid without the intermediary of -cinnamic acid. In recent years, the contrasting roles of coumaric acid in regulating the growth and development of plants have been well-documented.

Biomedical Relevance of Novel Anticancer Peptides in the Sensitive Treatment of Cancer.

The global increase in cancer mortality and economic losses necessitates the cautious quest for therapeutic agents with compensatory advantages over conventional therapies. Anticancer peptides (ACPs) are a subset of host defense peptides, also known as antimicrobial peptides, which have emerged as therapeutic and diagnostic candidates due to several compensatory advantages over the non-specificity of the current treatment regimens. This review aimed to highlight the ravaging incidence of cancer, the use of ACPs in cancer treatment with their mechanisms, ACP discovery and delivery methods, and the limitations for their use.

The Relationship between Cadmium Toxicity and the Modulation of Epigenetic Traits in Plants.

Elevated concentrations of heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd) have a negative impact on staple crop production due to their ability to elicit cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on plants. In order to understand the relationship between Cd stress and plants in an effort to improve Cd tolerance, studies have identified genetic mechanisms which could be important for conferring stress tolerance. In recent years epigenetic studies have garnered much attention and hold great potential in both improving the understanding of Cd stress in plants as well as revealing candidate mechanisms for future work.

PR-1-Like Protein as a Potential Target for the Identification of : An In Silico Approach.

remains one of the leading causes of economic losses and poor crop yields; its detection is strained due to its presentation in various morphological and physiological forms. This research work sought to identify novel biomarkers for the detection of using in silico approaches. Experimentally validated anti- antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were used to construct a profile against .

Exogenous 3,3'-Diindolylmethane Improves Vanadium Stress Tolerance in Seedling Shoots by Modulating Antioxidant Enzyme Activities.

3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM) belongs to a family of indole glucosinolate compounds that have been shown to improve growth through the modulation of reactive oxygen species when applied exogenously. The cultivar AV Garnet was previously identified as a vanadium-sensitive cultivar. Therefore, in this study we investigated whether exogenous DIM could improve the vanadium tolerance of AV Garnet.

Draft Genome Sequence of the Putative Endophytic Bacterium Pantoea agglomerans R6, Associated with Lactuca serriola from South Africa.

Here, we present the draft genome sequence (∼4.7 Mb) of the endopyhtic bacterium strain R6, which was isolated from surface-sterilized roots of (prickly lettuce).

Decoding Heavy Metal Stress Signalling in Plants: Towards Improved Food Security and Safety.

The mining of heavy metals from the environment leads to an increase in soil pollution, leading to the uptake of heavy metals into plant tissue. The build-up of toxic metals in plant cells often leads to cellular damage and senescence. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to produce plants with improved tolerance to heavy metals for food security, as well as to limit heavy metal uptake for improved food safety purposes.

Exogenous -Coumaric Acid Improves L. Seedling Shoot Growth.

-Coumaric acid (-CA) belongs to a family of natural esters of hydroxycinnamic acid compounds that have been shown to modulate plant growth and metabolism. In this study, we investigated the effect of exogenous -CA on plant growth, reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative damage, photosynthetic metabolism, osmolyte content and changes in superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymatic activity. Exogenous -CA improved (chia) growth by significantly enhancing shoot length, fresh and dry weights coupled with augmented levels of total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents.

Keep talking: crosstalk between iron and sulfur networks fine-tunes growth and development to promote survival under iron limitation.

Plants are capable of synthesizing all the molecules necessary to complete their life cycle from minerals, water, and light. This plasticity, however, comes at a high energetic cost and therefore plants need to regulate their economy and allocate resources accordingly. Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters are at the center of photosynthesis, respiration, amino acid, and DNA metabolism.