Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

New Phytol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China.

• Transport and homeostasis of transition metals in chloroplasts, which are accurately regulated to ensure supply and to prevent toxicity induced by these metals, is thus crucial for chloroplasts function and photosynthetic performance. However, the mechanisms that maintain the balance of transition metals in chloroplasts remain largely unknown. • We have characterized an albino-revertible green 1 (arg1) rice mutant. Read More

J Plant Physiol 2020 May 11;250:153184. Epub 2020 May 11.

Integrated Molecular Plant Physiology Research, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt.

Although it is well known that parasitic weeds such as Orobanche (broomrape) significantly reduce the yield of economically important crops, their infection-induced oxidative changes need more exploration in their host plants. Moreover, applying an eco-friendly approach to minimize the infection is not yet available. This study was conducted to understand the effect of Orobanche ramosa infection on oxidative and redox status of tomato plants and the impact of hormonal (indole acetic acid (IAA); 0. Read More

Microbiol Res 2020 May 1;238:126486. Epub 2020 May 1.

Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, 60800 Multan, Pakistan. Electronic address:

Agricultural manipulation of potentially beneficial rhizosphere microbes is increasing rapidly due to their multi-functional plant-protective and growth related benefits. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are mostly non-pathogenic microbes which exert direct benefits on plants while there are rhizosphere bacteria which indirectly help plant by ameliorating the biotic and/or abiotic stress or induction of defense response in plant. Regulation of these direct or indirect effect takes place via highly specialized communication system induced at multiple levels of interaction i. Read More

Phytochemistry 2020 May 25;176:112401. Epub 2020 May 25.

UMR Qualisud, Université de La Réunion, 15 Avenue René Cassin, CS 92 003, 97 744, St Denis Cedex 9, La Réunion, France. Electronic address:

Psiadia arguta (Asteraceae) is endemic to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. The species is traditionally used to treat various ailments, such as its use as an expectorant or for the treatment of bronchitis and asthma. Preliminary biological screenings have displayed the antimalarial (Plasmodium falciparum) and anticancer (HeLa human cell line) potential of P. Read More

Plant Physiol Biochem 2020 May 16;153:20-29. Epub 2020 May 16.

Key Laboratory of Arable Land Conservation (Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River), Ministry of Agriculture, Micro-elements Research Center, College of Resource and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for New Fertilizers, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Department of Crop Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China. Electronic address:

Soil phosphorus (P) occurs in pools of lower availability due to soil P fixation and therefore, it is a key constrain to crop production. Long term molybdenum-induced effects in wheat and rhizosphere/non-rhizosphere soil P dynamics have not yet been investigated. Here, a long term field experiment was conducted to explore these effects in wheat consisting of two treatments i. Read More

Eur J Med Chem 2020 May 16;200:112463. Epub 2020 May 16.

Plant Protection College of Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China; Provincial Key Laboratory of the Discovery and Application of Novel Pesticide, Zhengzhou, 450002, China.

Two series of novel 1, 2, 4-triazole benzoyl arylamine derivatives were prepared and screened for their activities against three pathogens of Gaeumannomyces graminis var.tritici, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Fusarium graminearum using the mycelium growth inhibition method in vitro. The results indicated that most of the synthesized derivatives displayed antifungal activities. Read More

Curr Opin Plant Biol 2020 May 25;56:56-64. Epub 2020 May 25.

Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201602, China. Electronic address:

As intracellular parasites, viruses co-opt the molecular machinery of the cells they infect in order to multiply and spread, and the extensiveness and effectiveness of this manipulation ultimately determine the outcome of the interaction between virus and host. Members of the Geminiviridae family, causal agents of devastating diseases in crops, encode only a handful of multifunctional, fast-evolving proteins, which efficiently target host proteins to re-wire plant development and physiology and enable replication and spread of the viral genome. In this review, we offer an overview of the different steps in the geminiviral invasion of the host plant, and explore the knowns and unknowns in geminivirus biology. Read More

Food Chem 2020 May 19;327:127045. Epub 2020 May 19.

Department of General and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Istanbul University, 34116 Istanbul, Turkey.

In this study, the inhibitory potentials of food originated 34 phenolic acids, and flavonoid compounds were screened against acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase, urease, and tyrosinase enzymes. All compounds included in this study exhibited high antioxidant activity with an ignorable cytotoxic activity. In general, they also showed poor anti-urease and anti-tyrosinase activities. Read More

Food Chem 2020 May 7;327:127012. Epub 2020 May 7.

Laboratório de Eletro Espectro Analítica, Escola de Química e Alimentos, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Avenida Itália, km 8, Bairro Carreiros, Rio Grande, RS CEP 96203 900, Brazil. Electronic address:

Coffee is considered an important source of organic nutrients and minerals, and these resources are strongly affected by agricultural management. Among the minerals, the element Mg is important, which is essential for both plants and humans. In this work, the effects of agricultural management on the absorption and storage of Mg by commercial, ground, roasted Arabica coffee were investigated. Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2020 May 25;200:110721. Epub 2020 May 25.

CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, 226001, India; Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India. Electronic address:

Glutaredoxins (Grxs) are small (10-15 kDa) glutathione (GSH) - dependent redox proteins. The role of Grxs are well documented in tolerance to heavy metal stress in prokaryotic and mammalian systems and a few plant genera, but is poorly understood in plants against drought. In the present study, two rice glutaredoxin (Osgrx) genes (LOC_Os02g40500 and LOC_Os01g27140) responsible for tolerance against heavy metal stress have been studied for investigating their role against drought. Read More

Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2020 May 25;200:110718. Epub 2020 May 25.

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8569, Japan. Electronic address:

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been frequently found in surface waters worldwide, and its estrogenic effects in humans are well documented. Nevertheless, less is known about other bisphenol analogues (BPs), such as bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF) which are alternative to BPA. There have been few environmental investigations on BPs in developing countries, especially India. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 5;734:139154. Epub 2020 May 5.

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, Via Branze, 38, 25123 Brescia, Italy. Electronic address:

Drinking water contamination by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is an issue of relatively recent concern. The literature indicates that anion exchange resins and granular activated carbon (GAC) are suitable technologies for removing these compounds. While several laboratory-scale and pilot-scale experiments have been conducted to study activated carbon adsorption/desorption mechanisms of a number of PFASs, little data on full-scale plants are available. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 15;734:139397. Epub 2020 May 15.

Department of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umea, Sweden; Department of Agronomy, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Electronic address:

Climate change is the variability of the climate system that includes the atmosphere, the biogeochemical cycles (Carbon cycle, Nitrogen cycle and Hydrological cycle), the land surface, ice and the biotic and abiotic components of the planet earth. Significant impact of climate change is seen in the form of rise in temperature called as global warming. Carbon dioxide (CO), methane (CH), and nitrous oxide (NO) are the primary greenhouse gases (GHGs) mainly responsible for the global warming and climate change. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 14;734:139389. Epub 2020 May 14.

University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC 29802, USA; University of Georgia, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Athens, GA 30602, USA.

One of the largest releases of radioactive contamination in history occurred at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). Although the accident happened in 2011, questions still persist regarding its ecological impacts. For example, relatively little is known about radiocesium accumulation in snakes, despite their high trophic status, limited home range sizes, and close association with soil where many radionuclides accumulate. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 8;734:139266. Epub 2020 May 8.

Hebei Key Lab of Power Plant Flue Gas Multi-Pollutants Control, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003, PR China; MOE Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Systems Optimization, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, PR China. Electronic address:

The core for simultaneous removal of SO, NO and Hg is the oxidation of NO and Hg. Radical induced oxidation of NO and Hg is considered to be the most efficient method. We develop a novel gas phase advanced oxidation process (AOP) of UV-Heat/HO-NaClO to simultaneously remove SO, NO and Hg due to a great synergism between HO and NaClO under thermal and ultraviolet (UV) co-catalysis. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 13;734:139416. Epub 2020 May 13.

School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. Electronic address:

This paper reports upon and analyses vehicle emissions measured by the Emissions Detecting and Reporting (EDAR) system, a Vehicle Emissions Remote Sensing System (VERSS) type device, used in five UK based field campaigns in 2016 and 2017. In total 94,940 measurements were made of 75,622 individual vehicles during the five campaigns. The measurements are subset into vehicle type (bus, car, HGV, minibus, motorcycle, other, plant, taxi, van, and unknown), fuel type for car (petrol and diesel), and EURO class, and particulate matter (PM), nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO) are reported. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 11;734:139323. Epub 2020 May 11.

Dept. of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.

Reclamation watersheds that integrate fen peatlands into the design require the inclusion of uplands that are capable of supporting forest development while concurrently supplying sufficient groundwater recharge to downgradient wetland ecosystems. This necessitates selecting materials with suitable soil hydraulic properties and identifying the appropriate thickness and layering to fulfill the dual function of uplands as water storage, and water conveyance features. Currently, these systems incorporate tailings sand - a mine waste material - overlain by a cover soil of fine forest-floor material. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 23;736:139652. Epub 2020 May 23.

Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.

Several studies have demonstrated the advantages of environmental surveillance through the monitoring of sewage for the assessment of viruses circulating in a given community (wastewater-based epidemiology, WBE). During the COVID-19 public health emergency, many reports have described the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in stools from COVID-19 patients, and a few studies reported the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewaters worldwide. Italy is among the world's worst-affected countries in the COVID-19 pandemic, but so far there are no studies assessing the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in Italian wastewaters. Read More

Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids 2020 May 25:158743. Epub 2020 May 25.

Kazan Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, FRC Kazan Scientific Center of RAS, P.O. Box 30, 420111 Kazan, Russia. Electronic address:

The CYP74B subfamily of fatty acid hydroperoxide transforming cytochromes P450 includes the most common plant enzymes. All CYP74Bs studied yet except the CYP74B16 (flax divinyl ether synthase, LuDES) and the CYP74B33 (carrot allene oxide synthase, DcAOS) are 13-hydroperoxide lyases (HPLs, synonym: hemiacetal synthases). The results of present work demonstrate that additional products (except the HPL products) of fatty acid hydroperoxides conversion by the recombinant StHPL (CYP74B3, Solanum tuberosum), MsHPL (CYP74B4v1, Medicago sativa), and CsHPL (CYP74B6, Cucumis sativus) are epoxyalcohols. Read More

J Ethnopharmacol 2020 May 25:113012. Epub 2020 May 25.

Department of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Wild Plant Resources, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China; Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan, 666303, China. Electronic address:

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: People in Southern Xinjiang, China have been consuming medicinal teas for healthcare since before the ancient Silk Road markets began. Several pharmaceutical studies have illustrated the potential healthcare benefits of medicinal teas used in Southern Xinjiang, China. However, little information is available from the literature about the diversity of the species used and related traditional knowledge of these medicinal teas. Read More

J Ethnopharmacol 2020 May 25:112937. Epub 2020 May 25.

School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Parklands Drive, Southport, Queensland, 4222, Australia; Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Quality Use of Medicines Network, Queensland, 4222, Australia. Electronic address:

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Triphala is used in Ayurveda to treat a wide variety of diseases, including numerous bacterial infections. Interestingly, the plant components of triphala (Terminalia bellirica, Terminalia chebula and Emblica officinalis) are also good inhibitors of bacterial growth when used individually, yet plant preparations are generally used in combination in traditional medicine. Surprisingly, no previous studies have addressed the reason why the combination is preferred over the individual components to treat bacterial infections. Read More

Fitoterapia 2020 May 25:104635. Epub 2020 May 25.

State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of Natural Medicinal Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, People's Republic of China. Electronic address:

Six previously undescribed cycloartane triterpenes glycosides, cimimanols A-F (1-6), together with thirteen known analogues (7-19) were isolated from the rhizomes of Cimicifuga foetida. Among them, cimimanol A (1) was the first example of cycloartane triterpene glycoside featuring a unique cyclic carbonate, and cimimanol B (2) was a rare trinortriterpene glycoside. The chemical structures and absolute configurations of new compounds were determined on the basis of comprehensive spectroscopic analysis, chemical method, and X-ray crystal diffraction, as well as quantum chemistry calculations. Read More

Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2020 May 25:115074. Epub 2020 May 25.

Departamento de Produtos Farmacêuticos, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG 31.270-901, Brazil. Electronic address:

The natural naphthoquinones lapachol, α- and β-lapachone are found in Bignoniaceous Brazilian plant species of the Tabebuia genus (synonym Handroanthus) and are recognized for diverse bioactivities, including as antimalarial. The aim of the present work was to perform in silico, in vitro and in vivo studies to evaluating the antimalarial potential of these three naphthoquinones in comparison with atovaquone, a synthetic antimalarial. The ADMET properties of these compounds were predicted in silico by the preADMET program. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2020 May 25. Epub 2020 May 25.

Department of Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 2824809, Karaj, Iran.

Recently, specific interaction of anthrax protective antigen domain 4 (PAD4) and lethal factor domain 1 (LFD1) have been considered for the design of novel diagnostic and therapeutic systems in medicine. In this study, theoretical and experimental approaches were used to monitor the interactions of PAD4 and LFD1. CLusPro server and Dimplot software were used to predict the interaction of these domains. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2020 May 25. Epub 2020 May 25.

Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India. Electronic address:

Chikungunya virus; the pathogen for chikungunya febrile and arthritic disease, having 11.8 kb positive-sense RNA genome encodes polyproteins for structural and non-structural regions. The polyprotein (P1234) corresponding to the non-structural part from 5' end gets auto-cleaved by the action of nsP2 protease, which leads to the generation of individual functional enzymatic proteins like nsP4, nsP1, nsP2 and nsP3. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2020 May 25. Epub 2020 May 25.

Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Sindh 74200, Pakistan. Electronic address:

In the present study, commercially available six plants leave extracts such as Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Azadirachta indica, Murraya koenigii, Avicennia marina, Rosa rubiginosa and Datura stramonium were utilized for the production of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs). The characterization of particles was performed by UV/Vis, TEM, SEM, EDX and FTIR spectroscopy. TEM images showed the creation of CuNPs having mean size ranged from 48 to 29 nm corresponding to different plant extracts. Read More

Biochimie 2020 May 25. Epub 2020 May 25.

Department of Chemistry, State University of Ponta Grossa, Brazil. Electronic address:

Chagas disease is one of seventeen neglected tropical diseases according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The histidine-glutamate metabolic pathway is an oxidative route that has shown to be relevant for the bioenergetics in Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent for Chagas disease. Histidine ammonia-lyase participates in the first stage of the histidine catabolism, catalyzing the conversion of l-histidine into urocanate. Read More

Dev Comp Immunol 2020 May 25:103743. Epub 2020 May 25.

Biological Control of Insect Research Laboratory, USDA/Agricultural Research Service, Colombia, MO, USA.

Prostaglandins (PGs) mediate various physiological processes in insects and other invertebrates, but there is very little information on PG receptors. This study identified a PGE receptor (SePGER) in the lepidopteran insect, Spodoptera exigua, and addressed its functional association with cellular immunity, development, and reproduction. SePGER is expressed in most developmental stages and tissues. Read More

Dev Comp Immunol 2020 May 25:103754. Epub 2020 May 25.

Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; Innovative Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China. Electronic address:

Bt protein, produced by Bacillus thuringiensis, can bind receptors to destroy the physiological functions of the insect midgut. It is unknown whether Bt can also target the hindgut and influence its defense against fecal bacteria. Here we show that Crystal protein 1Ab (Cry1Ab), a Bt protein, was detected in the larval hindgut contents of Bombyx mori after ingestion of this toxin protein. Read More

Behav Brain Res 2020 May 25:112710. Epub 2020 May 25.

Research Center for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development (IMPLAD), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China. Electronic address:

20 (S)-protopanaxadiol (PPD) possesses a variety of biological activities, including antioxidant, antifatigue and anti-inflammatory properties. This study was aimed to investigate the antidepressant-like effects of PPD and potential mechanisms in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) model. Results showed that chronic treatment with PPD for 14 days ameliorated depressive-like behaviour, as indicated by the increase in sucrose preference in the sucrose preference test and decrease in immobility in the forced swim test and tail suspension test. Read More

Funct Plant Biol 2020 May 29. Epub 2020 May 29.

Seedling recruitment and growth of forage grasses in flood-prone grasslands is often impaired by submergence. We evaluate the responses of Thinopyrum ponticum (Podp.) Barkw. Read More

Int J Med Mushrooms 2020 ;22(1):55-63

College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Xincheng Str. 2888, 130118, Changchun, China.

Cordyceps militaris is a type of food and medicinal species and is widely cultured in Asia. Substrate and strain are important factors for the production of fruiting bodies and bioactive components contents in fruiting bodies of C. militaris. Read More

Int J Med Mushrooms 2020 ;22(1):45-54

Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3DS, UK.

The well-known and widely cultivated lingzhi has had a significant impact on Chinese culture and is now an important fungal crop providing medicinal benefits to human health and economic value to social development within China and around the world. The European mushroom name, Ganoderma lucidum, has been misapplied to this species for over 100 years until recently reidentified as G. sichuanense. Read More

Plant J 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Centre for Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.

Rhizosheaths function in plant-soil interactions and are proposed to form due to a mix of soil particle entanglement in root hairs and the action of adhesive root exudates. The soil-binding factors released into rhizospheres to form rhizosheaths have not been characterised. Analysis of the high molecular weight root exudates of both wheat and maize plants indicate the presence of complex, highly branched polysaccharide components with a wide range of galactosyl, glucosyl and mannosyl linkages that do not directly reflect cereal root cell wall polysaccharide structures. Read More

New Phytol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.

Fruit development involves chloroplast development, carotenoid accumulation and fruit coloration. Although genetic regulation of fruit development has been extensively investigated, epigenetic regulation on fruit coloration remains largely unexplored. Here, we report a naturally occurring epigenetic regulation of TAGL1, and its impact on chloroplast development and fruit coloration. Read More

New Phytol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

BPMP, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, INRAE, Institut Agro, 34060, Montpellier, France.

•In Arabidopsis thaliana, NRT2.1 codes for a main component of the root nitrate high-affinity transport system. Previous studies revealed that post-translational regulation of NRT2. Read More

Glob Chang Biol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá.

Tropical forests are a key determinant of the functioning of the Earth system, but remain a major source of uncertainty in carbon cycle models and climate change projections. In this study, we present an updated land model (LM3PPA-TV) to improve the representation of tropical forest structure and dynamics in Earth system models (ESMs). The development and parameterization of LM3PPA-TV drew on extensive datasets on tropical tree traits and long-term field censuses from Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama. Read More

New Phytol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.

Foliar functional traits are widely used to characterize leaf and canopy properties that drive ecosystem processes and to infer physiological processes in Earth system models. Imaging spectroscopy provides great potential to map foliar traits to characterize continuous functional variation and diversity, but few studies have demonstrated consistent methods for mapping multiple traits across biomes. With airborne imaging spectroscopy data and field data from 19 sites, we developed trait models using partial least squares regression, and mapped 26 foliar traits in 7 NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network) ecoregions (domains) including temperate and subtropical forests and grasslands of eastern North America. Read More

New Phytol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Millennium Seed Bank, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Wakehurst, West Sussex, RH17 6TN, UK.

Seed coat and seed reserve show substantial mass variation, play different roles in plant life strategies and are shaped by different selective forces. However, remarkably little is known about the macroevolution of the relative allocation in seed components and its influence on important ecophysiological processes. Using phylogenetic comparative methods and evolutionary modelling approaches, we modelled mass changes in seed components along individual lineages for 940 species and compared the patterns across seed desiccation responses. Read More

Biochem J 2020 May;477(10):1865-1878

Biochemistry and Physiology of Plants, Bielefeld University, University Str. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.

The antagonism between thiol oxidation and reduction enables efficient control of protein function and is used as central mechanism in cellular regulation. The best-studied mechanism is the dithiol-disulfide transition in the Calvin Benson Cycle in photosynthesis, including mixed disulfide formation by glutathionylation. The adjustment of the proper thiol redox state is a fundamental property of all cellular compartments. Read More

Ann Bot 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

INRAE, Univ. Bordeaux, BIOGECO, Cestas, France.

Background And Aims: Highly controlled experiments document that plant genetic diversity and relatedness can shape herbivore communities and patterns of herbivory. Evidence from the field is however scarce and inconsistent. We assessed whether a genetic signal underlying herbivory can be detected in oak woodlands when accounting for variation at smaller (within-tree) and larger (among-stand) scales. Read More

Ann Bot 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Center for Theoretical Study, Joint Research Institute of Charles University and Czech Academy of Sciences, Husova, Praha, Czech Republic.

Background And Aims: The relative contributions of inter- and intraspecific variation in phytolith shape and size have only been investigated in a limited number of studies. However, a detailed understanding of phytolith variation patterns among populations or even within a single plant specimen is of key importance for the correct taxonomic identification of grass taxa in fossil samples and for the reconstruction of vegetation and environmental conditions in the past. In this study, we used geometric morphometric analysis for the quantification of different sources of phytolith shape and size variation. Read More

PLoS Genet 2020 May 28;16(5):e1008681. Epub 2020 May 28.

Institute of Molecular Plant Science, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Daniel Rutherford Building, Max Born Crescent, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

A large fraction of plant genomes is composed of transposable elements (TE), which provide a potential source of novel genes through "domestication"-the process whereby the proteins encoded by TE diverge in sequence, lose their ability to catalyse transposition and instead acquire novel functions for their hosts. In Arabidopsis, ANTAGONIST OF LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN 1 (ALP1) arose by domestication of the nuclease component of Harbinger class TE and acquired a new function as a component of POLYCOMB REPRESSIVE COMPLEX 2 (PRC2), a histone H3K27me3 methyltransferase involved in regulation of host genes and in some cases TE. It was not clear how ALP1 associated with PRC2, nor what the functional consequence was. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020 May 28;14(5):e0008228. Epub 2020 May 28.

Aix-Marseille Univ., IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.

Background: Mycobacterium ulcerans is an environmental mycobacterium responsible for an opportunistic, noncontagious tropical infection named Buruli ulcer that necrotizes the skin and the subcutaneous tissues. M. ulcerans is thought to penetrate through breached skin after contact with contaminated wetland environments, yet the exact biotopes where M. Read More

Med Sci Monit 2020 May 28;26:e921957. Epub 2020 May 28.

Department of Orthopedics, Yucheng People's Hospital, Yucheng, Shandong, China (mainland).

BACKGROUND Avicularin is a plant-derived flavonoid used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat conditions that include ankle fracture. Bradykinin stimulated MG-63 human osteoblastic osteosarcoma cells has previously been studied in an in vitro model. This study aimed to investigate the effects of avicularin on bradykinin-treated MG-63 human osteoblastic osteosarcoma cells in vitro. Read More

Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, PR China.

Two novel strains, designated SYSU L10167 and SYSU L10180, were isolated from sediment sampled at Dabancheng saline lake in Xinjiang, PR China. A polyphasic approach was used to clarify the taxonomic positions of the two strains. Cells of the isolates were curved ring-like, horseshoe-shaped or rod-shaped, non-motile and non-spore-forming. Read More

J Agric Food Chem 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Banana plants (Musa spp.) are susceptible to infection by many plant-parasitic nematodes, including Meloidogyne incognita. In this study, a mixed fermentation broth of chicken manure (CM) and cassava ethanol wastewater (CEW) inhibited M. Read More

J Agric Food Chem 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

Despite a number of excellent studies in detoxification enzyme mediated the interaction between insect and plant allelochemical, there are no reports on the pathway of transferrin effect in insect response to host plant allelochemical. Our research indicates that () inhibited the apoptotic cell death treated by 2-tridecanone, a host plant allelochemical present in tomato species (), by cellular redox-related transcription factor nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). Nrf2 can defend organisms against the detrimental effects of oxidative stress, and play pivotal roles in preventing host plant allelochemical-related toxicity. Read More

Conserv Biol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

University Rennes 1, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Research Unit Ecosystèmes Biodiversité, Evolution (UMR 6553), Campus Beaulieu, Bâtiment 14 A, Rennes, 35042, France.

Present biodiversity comprises the evolutionary heritage of Earth's epochs. Lineages from particular epochs are often found in particular habitats, but whether current habitat decline threatens the heritage from particular epochs is unknown. We hypothesized that within a given region, humans threaten specifically habitats that harbor lineages from a particular geological epoch. Read More

New Phytol 2020 May 28. Epub 2020 May 28.

School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia.

Transfer cells (TCs) support high nutrient rates into, or at symplasmic discontinuities within, the plant body. Their transport capacity is conferred by an amplified plasma membrane surface area, enriched in nutrient transporters, supported on an intricately-invaginated wall labyrinth (WL). Thus, development of the WL is at the heart of TC function. Read More