Divergent colonization traits, convergent benefits: different species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alleviate Meloidogyne incognita damage in tomato.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can increase plant tolerance and/or resistance to pests such as the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita. However, the ameliorative effects may depend on AMF species. The aim of this work was therefore to evaluate whether four AMF species differentially affect plant performance in response to M.

A General One-Step Synthesis of Alkanethiyl-Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles with Control over Core Size and Monolayer Functionality.

In spite of widespread interest in the unique size-dependent properties and consequent applications of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), synthetic protocols that reliably allow for independent tuning of surface chemistry and core size, the two critical determinants of AuNP properties, remain limited. Often, core size is inherently affected by the ligand structure in an unpredictable fashion. Functionalized ligands are commonly introduced using postsynthesis exchange procedures, which can be inefficient and operationally delicate.

The fine-tuning of mycorrhizal pathway in sorghum depends on both nitrogen-phosphorus availability and the identity of the fungal partner.

Sorghum is an important worldwide source of food, feed and fibres. Like most plants, it forms mutualistic symbioses with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), but the nutritional basis of mycorrhiza-responsiveness is largely unknown. Here, we investigated the transcriptional and physiological responses of sorghum to two different AMF species, Rhizophagus irregularis and Funneliformis mosseae, under 16 different conditions of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) supply.

Constitutionally Selective Dynamic Covalent Nanoparticle Assembly.

The future of materials chemistry will be defined by our ability to precisely arrange components that have considerably larger dimensions and more complex compositions than conventional molecular or macromolecular building blocks. However, exerting structural and constitutional control in the assembly of nanoscale entities presents a considerable challenge. Dynamic covalent nanoparticles are emerging as an attractive category of reaction-enabled solution-processable nanosized building block through which the rational principles of molecular synthetic chemistry can be extended into the nanoscale.

The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal species and taxonomic groups on stressed and unstressed plants: a global meta-analysis.

The great majority of plants gain access to soil nutrients and enhance their performance under stressful conditions through symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The benefits that AMF confer vary among species and taxonomic groups. However, a comparative analysis of the different benefits among AMF has not yet been performed.

Strigolactones: New players in the nitrogen-phosphorus signalling interplay.

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are among the most important macronutrients for plant growth and development, and the most widely used as fertilizers. Understanding how plants sense and respond to N and P deficiency is essential to optimize and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers. Strigolactones (SLs) are phytohormones acting as modulators and sensors of plant responses to P deficiency.

Rapidly Adaptive All-covalent Nanoparticle Surface Engineering.

Emerging nanotechnologies demand the manipulation of nanoscale components with the same predictability and programmability as is taken for granted in molecular synthetic methodologies. Yet installing appropriately reactive chemical functionality on nanomaterial surfaces has previously entailed compromises in terms of reactivity scope, functionalization density, or both. Here, we introduce an idealized dynamic covalent nanoparticle building block for divergent and adaptive post-synthesis modification of colloidal nanomaterials.

Programmable dynamic covalent nanoparticle building blocks with complementary reactivity.

Nanoparticle-based devices, materials and technologies will demand a new era of synthetic chemistry where predictive principles familiar in the molecular regime are extended to nanoscale building blocks. Typical covalent strategies for modifying nanoparticle-bound species rely on kinetically controlled reactions optimised for efficiency but with limited capacity for selective and divergent access to a range of product constitutions. In this work, monolayer-stabilized nanoparticles displaying complementary dynamic covalent hydrazone exchange reactivity undergo distinct chemospecific transformations by selecting appropriate combinations of 'nucleophilic' or 'electrophilic' nanoparticle-bound monolayers with nucleophilic or electrophilic molecular modifiers.

Pb accumulation in spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

Heavy metal (HM) pollution of soils is one of the most important and unsolved environmental problems affecting the world, with alternative solutions currently being investigated through different approaches. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are soil inhabitants that form symbiotic relationships with plants. This alleviates HM toxicity in the host plant, thereby enhancing tolerance.

Continuum tuning of nanoparticle interfacial properties by dynamic covalent exchange.

Surface chemical composition is fundamental to determining properties on the nanoscale, making precise control over surface chemistry critical to being able to optimise nanomaterials for virtually any application. Surface-engineering independent of the preparation of the underlying nanomaterial is particularly attractive for efficient, divergent synthetic strategies, and for the potential to create reactive, responsive and smart nanodevices. For monolayer-stabilised nanoparticles, established methods include ligand exchange to replace the ligand shell in its entirety, encapsulation with amphiphilic (macro)molecules, noncovalent interactions with surface-bound biomolecules, or a relatively limited number of covalent bond forming reactions.