A meta-analysis of photosynthetic efficiency and stress mitigation by melatonin in enhancing wheat tolerance.

BACKGROUND: Our meta-analysis examines the effects of melatonin on wheat under varying abiotic stress conditions, focusing on photosynthetic parameters, chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf water status, and photosynthetic pigments. We initially collected 177 publications addressing the impact of melatonin on wheat. After meticulous screening, 31 published studies were selected, encompassing 170 observations on photosynthetic parameters, 73 on chlorophyll fluorescence, 65 on leaf water status, 240 on photosynthetic pigments. RESULTS: The analysis revealed significant heterogeneity across studies (I² > 99.90%) for the aforementioned parameters and evidence of publication bias, emphasizing the complex interaction between melatonin application and plant physiological responses. Melatonin enhanced the overall response ratio (lnRR) for photosynthetic rates, stomatal conductance, transpiration rates, and fluorescence yields by 20.49, 22.39, 30.96, and 1.09%, respectively, compared to the control (no melatonin). The most notable effects were under controlled environmental conditions. Moreover, melatonin significantly improved leaf water content and reduced water potential, particularly under hydroponic conditions and varied abiotic stresses, highlighting its role in mitigating water stress. The analysis also revealed increases in chlorophyll pigments with soil drenching and foliar spray, and these were considered the effective application methods. Furthermore, melatonin influenced chlorophyll SPAD and intercellular CO2 concentrations, suggesting its capacity to optimize photosynthetic efficiency. CONCLUSIONS: This synthesis of meta-analysis confirms that melatonin significantly enhances wheat's resilience to abiotic stress by improving photosynthetic parameters, chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf water status, and photosynthetic pigments. Despite observed heterogeneity and publication bias, the consistent beneficial effects of melatonin, particularly under controlled conditions with specific application methods e.g. soil drenching and foliar spray, demonstrate its utility as a plant growth regulator for stress management. These findings encourage focused research and application strategies to maximize the benefits of melatonin in wheat farming, and thus contributing to sustainable agricultural practices.

Biochar enhances the growth and physiological characteristics of Medicago sativa, Amaranthus caudatus and Zea mays in saline soils.

Biochar is a promising solution to alleviate the negative impacts of salinity stress on agricultural production. Biochar derived from food waste effect was investigated on three plant species, Medicago sativa, Amaranthus caudatus, and Zea mays, under saline environments. The results showed that biochar improved significantly the height by 30%, fresh weight of shoot by 35% and root by 45% of all three species compared to control (saline soil without biochar adding), as well as enhanced their photosynthetic pigments and enzyme activities in soil. This positive effect varied significantly between the 3 plants highlighting the importance of the plant-biochar interactions. Thus, the application of biochar is a promising solution to enhance the growth, root morphology, and physiological characteristics of plants under salt-induced stress.

Pan-cancer analysis of HS6ST2: associations with prognosis, tumor immunity, and drug resistance.

OBJECTIVES: In this comprehensive study spanning 33 malignancies, we explored the differential expression and prognostic significance of Heparan sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase 2 (HS6ST2). METHODS: TIMER2, UALCAN, and GEPIA2 were used for the expression analysis. cBioPortal was used for mutational analysis. CancerSEA, STRING, and DAVID, were employed for the single cell sequencing data analysis, protein-protein interaction network development, and gene enrichment analyses, respectively. GSCAlite and RT-qPCR were used for drug sensitivity and expression validation analysis. RESULTS: HS6ST2 exhibited significant (P < 0.05) overexpression in multiple cancers. Prognostically, elevated HS6ST2 expression was significantly associated with poor overall survival (OS) in patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CESC), kidney chromophobe (KICH), lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), and stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD), emphasizing its potential as a prognostic indicator in these cancers. Moreover, HS6ST2 expression correlated with pathological stages in CESC, KICH, LUAD, and STAD patients. Exploration of genetic alterations using cBioPortal unveiled distinct mutational landscapes, with low mutation frequencies in CESC, KICH, LUAD, and STAD. Additionally, reduced DNA methylation in CESC, KICH, LUAD, and STAD suggested a potential link between hypomethylation and heightened HS6ST2 expression. Analysis of immune cell infiltration revealed a positive correlation between HS6ST2 expression and the infiltration of CD8+ T and CD4+ T cells in CESC, KICH, LUAD, and STAD, highlighting its involvement in the tumor immunology processes. Single-cell functional states analysis demonstrated associations between HS6ST2 and diverse cellular processes. Moreover, gene enrichment analysis revealed the involvement HS6ST2 in crucial cellular activities. GSCAlite analysis underscored the potential of HS6ST2 as a therapeutic target, showing associations with drug sensitivity. Finally, experimental validation through reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry in LUAD tissues confirmed elevated HS6ST2 expression. CONCLUSION: Overall, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of HS6ST2 in CESC, KICH, LUAD, and STAD, emphasizing its potential as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target.

Up-regulated and hypomethylated genes are causative factors and diagnostic markers of osteoporosis.

BACKGROUND: Due to the lack of sensitive diagnostic biomarkers for osteoporosis (OP), there is an urgent need to identify and uncover biomarkers associated with the disease in order to facilitate early clinical diagnosis and effective intervention strategies. METHODS: GEO2R was employed to conduct a screening of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) within the transcriptome sequencing data obtained from blood samples of OP patients within the GSE163849 dataset. Subsequently, we conducted expression confirmation of the identified DEGs using an additional dataset, GSE35959. To further explore Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment, MicroRNA (miRNA) interactions, and drug predictions, we employed the DAVID, miRTarBase, and DrugBank databases. For validation purposes, clinical OP samples paired with normal controls were collected from the Pakistani population. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was employed to assess the expression levels of DEGs and miRNA, while targeted bisulfite sequencing (bisulfite-seq) analysis was used to investigate methylation patterns. DNA and RNA from clinical OP and normal control samples were extracted using appropriate methods. RESULTS: Out of total identified 269 DEGs, EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor), HMOX1 (heme oxygenase-1), PGR (progesterone receptor), CXCL10 (C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10), CCL5 (C-C motif chemokine ligand 5), and IL12B (interleukin 12B) were prioritized as top DEGs in OP patients. Expression validation of these genes on additional Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset and Pakistani OP patients revealed consistent significant up-regulation of these genes in OP patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated that these DEGs displayed considerable diagnostic accuracy for detecting OP. Targeted bisulfite-seq analysis further revealed that EGFR, HMOX1, PGR, CXCL10, CCL5, and IL12B were hypomethylated in OP patients. Moreover, has-miR-27a-5p, a common expression regulator of the EGFR, HMOX1, PGR, CXCL10, CCL5, and IL12B was also significantly down-regulated in OP patients. CONCLUSION: The DEGs that have been identified hold significant potential for the future development of diagnostic and treatment approaches for OP in preclinical and clinical applications.

Efficacy of Naphthyl Acetic Acid Foliar Spray in Moderating Drought Effects on the Morphological and Physiological Traits of Maize Plants (Zea mays L.).

The threat of varying global climates has greatly driven the attention of scientists, as climate change increases the odds of worsening drought in many parts of Pakistan and the world in the decades ahead. Keeping in view the forthcoming climate change, the present study aimed to evaluate the influence of varying levels of induced drought stress on the physiological mechanism of drought resistance in selected maize cultivars. The sandy loam rhizospheric soil with moisture content 0.43-0.5 g g-1, organic matter (OM) 0.43-0.55 g/kg, N 0.022-0.027 g/kg, P 0.028-0.058 g/kg, and K 0.017-0.042 g/kg was used in the present experiment. The findings showed that a significant drop in the leaf water status, chlorophyll content, and carotenoid content was linked to an increase in sugar, proline, and antioxidant enzyme accumulation at p < 0.05 under induced drought stress, along with an increase in protein content as a dominant response for both cultivars. SVI-I & II, RSR, LAI, LAR, TB, CA, CB, CC, peroxidase (POD), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) content under drought stress were studied for variance analysis in terms of interactions between drought and NAA treatment and were found significant at p < 0.05 after 15 days. It has been found that the exogenous application of NAA alleviated the inhibitory effect of only short-term water stress, but yield loss due to long-term osmotic stress will not be faced employing growth regulators. Climate-smart agriculture is the only approach to reduce the detrimental impact of global fluctuations, such as drought stress, on crop adaptability before they have a significant influence on world crop production.

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using Penicillium verrucosum and analysis of their antifungal activity.

The present study describes the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles, using the fungus Penicillium verrucosum. The silver nanoparticles were synthesised by reacting silver nitrate (AgNO3) with the cell free filtrates of the fungal culture, and were then characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive, and X-ray diffraction analysis to further evaluate their successful biosynthesis, optical and morphological features (size and shape), and crystallinity. The bioactivity of the synthesized nanoparticles against two phytopathogenic fungi i.e: Fusarium chlamydosporum and Aspergillus flavus was evaluated using nanomaterial seeding media. These biogenic silver nanoparticles were polydisperse in nature, with a size of 10-12 nm. With regard to the antifungal activity, 150 ppm of the nanoparticles suppressed the growth of F. chlamydosporum and A. flavus by about 50%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the use of P. verrucosum to synthesise silver nanoparticles. The present study demonstrates a novel, simple, and eco-friendly process for the generation of biofunctionally useful biogenic nanoparticles.

Efficiency of different types of biochars to mitigate Cd stress and growth of sunflower (Helianthus; L.) in wastewater irrigated agricultural soil.

Cadmium contamination in croplands is recognized one of the major threat, seriously affecting soil health and sustainable agriculture around the globe. Cd mobility in wastewater irrigated soils can be curtailed through eco-friendly and cost effective organic soil amendments (biochars) that eventually minimizes its translocation from soil to plant. This study explored the possible effects of various types of plants straw biochar as soil amendments on cadmium (Cd) phytoavailability in wastewater degraded soil and its subsequent accumulation in sunflower tissues. The studied biochars including rice straw (RS), wheat straw (WS), acacia (AC) and sugarcane bagasse (SB) to wastewater irrigated soil containing Cd. Sunflower plant was grown as a test plant and Cd accumulation was recorded in its tissues, antioxidant enzymatic activity chlorophyll contents, plant biomass, yield and soil properties (pH, NPK, OM and Soluble Cd) were also examined. Results revealed that addition of biochar significantly minimized Cd mobility in soil by 53.4%, 44%, 41% and 36% when RS, WS, AC and SB were added at 2% over control. Comparing the control soil, biochar amended soil effectively reduced Cd uptake via plants shoots by 71.7%, 60.6%, 59% and 36.6%, when RS, WS, AC and SB. Among all the biochar, rice husk induced biochar significantly reduced oxidative stress and reduced SOD, POD and CAT activity by 49%, 40.5% and 46.5% respectively over control. In addition, NPK were significantly increased among all the added biochars in soil-plant system as well as improved chlorophyll contents relative to non-bioachar amended soil. Thus, among all the amendments, rice husk and wheat straw biochar performed well and might be considered the suitable approach for sunflower growth in polluted soil.