Interplay of heavy metal accumulation, physiological responses, and microbiome dynamics in lichens: insights and future directions.

Lichens are increasingly recognised as valuable bioindicators for environmental heavy metal pollution due to their sensitivity to spatial and temporal variations in pollution levels and their ability to adapt to diverse and often harsh habitats. This review initially examines the mechanisms of metal absorption in lichens, including particulate entrapment, ion exchange, and intracellular absorption, as well as their physiological responses to abiotic stressors such as heavy metal exposure and desiccation. In the latter part, we compile and synthesise evidence showing that secondary metabolites in lichens are significantly influenced by metal concentrations, with varying impacts across different species.

Defensive glands in Stylotermitidae (Blattodea, Isoptera).

The large abundance of termites is partially achieved by their defensive abilities. Stylotermitidae represented by a single extant genus, Stylotermes, is a member of a termite group Neoisoptera that encompasses 83% of termite species and 94% of termite genera and is characterized by the presence of the frontal gland. Within Neoisoptera, Stylotermitidae represents a species-poor sister lineage of all other groups.

The Trail-Following Communication in Stylotermes faveolus and S. halumicus (Blattodea, Isoptera, Stylotermitidae).

Stylotermitidae appear peculiar among all termites, feeding in trunks of living trees in South Asia only. The difficulty to collect them limits the ability to study them, and they thus still belong to critically unknown groups in respect to their biology. We used a combination of microscopic observations, chemical analysis and behavioural tests, to determine the source and chemical nature of the trail-following pheromone of Stylotermes faveolus from India and S.

Therapeutic compounds from medicinal plant endophytes: molecular and metabolic adaptations.

During the last few decades, endophytes have attracted increased attention due to their ability to produce a plethora of bioactive secondary metabolites. These compounds not only help the endophytes to outcompete other plant-associated microbes or pathogens through quorum sensing, but also enable them to surmount the plant immune system. However, only a very few studies have described the interlink between various biochemical and molecular factors of host-microbe interactions involved in the production of these pharmacological metabolites.

Microbial Metabolites Beneficial to Plant Hosts Across Ecosystems.

Plants are intimately connected with their associated microorganisms. Chemical interactions via natural products between plants and their microbial symbionts form an important aspect in host health and development, both in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. These interactions range from negative to beneficial for microbial symbionts as well as their hosts.

Modulation of insect-induced oxidative stress responses by microbial fertilizers in Brassica juncea.

Microbial fertilizers have increasingly gained popularity as environmentally sustainable nutritional supplement for plant growth. However, the effect of these microbes on plant-induced responses and the resultant effect on late-arriving herbivores are still unclear. Following insect herbivory, oxidative stress is one of the earliest responses induced in plants.

Differences in plant metabolites and microbes associated with Azadirachta indica with variation in air pollution.

Mitigation of air pollution by plants is a well-established phenomenon. Trees planted on the roadside are known to reduce particulate matter pollution by about 25%. In an urban ecosystem, especially in a metropolitan city such as Delhi, roadside trees are constantly exposed to air pollution.

An ecogenomic analysis of herbivore-induced plant volatiles in Brassica juncea.

Upon herbivore feeding, plants emit complex bouquets of induced volatiles that may repel insect herbivores as well as attract parasitoids or predators. Due to differences in the temporal dynamics of individual components, the composition of the herbivore-induced plant volatile (HIPV) blend changes with time. Consequently, the response of insects associated with plants is not constant either.

A novel indirect defence in Brassicaceae: structure and function of extrafloral nectaries in Brassica juncea.

While nectaries are commonly found in flowers, some plants also form extrafloral nectaries on stems or leaves. For the first time in the family Brassicaceae, here we report extrafloral nectaries in Brassica juncea. The extrafloral nectar (EFN) was secreted from previously amorphic sites on stems, flowering stalks and leaf axils from the onset of flowering until silique formation.