Root endophytic fungus Serendipita indica modulates barley leaf blade proteome by increasing the abundance of photosynthetic proteins in response to salinity.

AIMS: The present study aimed at analysing the proteome pattern of the leaf blade of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in Serendipita indica-colonised plants to decipher the molecular mechanism of S. indica-mediated salt stress. This work is aligned with our previous research on barley leaf sheath to study proteomic pattern variability in leaf blade and sheath of barley plant in response to salinity and S. indica inoculation. METHODS AND RESULTS: The experiment was conducted using a completely randomised factorial design with four replications and two treatments: salinity (0 and 300 mmol l-1 NaCl) and fungus (noninoculated and S. indica-inoculated). The leaf blades of the salt-treated S. indica-colonised and noninoculated plants were harvested after 2 weeks of salt treatment for the physiological and proteomic analyses. After exposure to 300 mmol l-1 NaCl, shoot dry matter production in noninoculated control plants decreased 84% which was about twofold higher than inoculated plants with S. indica. However, the accumulation of sodium in the shoot of S. indica-inoculated plants was significantly lower than the control plants. Analysis of the proteome profile revealed a high number of significantly up-regulated proteins involved in photosynthesis (26 out of 42 identified proteins). CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrated how the enhanced plant growth and salt stress resistance induced by S. indica was positively associated with the up-regulation of several proteins involved in photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism. In fact, S. indica improved photosynthesis in order to reach the best possible performance of the host plant under salt stress. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Current research provides new insight into the mechanism applied by S. indica in reducing the negative impacts of salt stress in barley at physiological and molecular levels.

Diversity and abundance of culturable nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the phyllosphere of maize.

AIMS: The present study aimed at gaining an insight into the abundance and genetic diversity of culturable N-fixing epiphyte bacteria on the phyllosphere of maize in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. METHODS AND RESULTS: Leaf samples of the maize variety, 'single cross 704' (Zea mays L.) were collected from different locations in Iran. The community of culturable N-fixing epiphyte bacteria present was examined by 16S rRNA sequencing, BOXAIR-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restricted fragment length polymorphisms analysis of 16S rRNA gene (16S-RFLP). Approximately, 31·82% of the 242 isolates were identified as N-fixers by cultivation of bacteria in Rennie medium and detection of their nifH gene. The N-fixers were affiliated with four bacterial phyla: Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes. 16S rRNA sequencing detected 16 genera and 24 different species in the identified phyla. The most dominant genus was Bacillus and the species identified were B. pumilus, B. amyloliquefaciens, B. subtilis, B. paralicheniformis, B. licheniformis, B. niabensis and B. megaterium. In total, 22 RFLP groups were present among the isolates originally identified as N-fixing bacteria. BOXAIR-PCR showed that there was a low similarity level among the N-fixing bacteria isolates, and genetic differentiation of individual strains was relatively great. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that nitrogen-fixing epiphyte bacteria on the phyllosphere of maize may provide significant nitrogen input into arid and semi-arid ecosystem. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This research implies that phyllosphere epiphyte diazotrophs have much to offer in sustainable agriculture and can be an alternative to chemical N-fertilizers for providing nitrogen to crops arid and semi-arid regions.

Retention modes of manure-fecal coliforms in soil under saturated hydraulic condition.

Manures are important soil nutrient conditioners and source of several pathogenic bacteria that potentially contribute to groundwater and surface water pollution. The best management practices need a solid understanding of manure sources, concentrations, and strategies to limit the number of bacteria in natural soil environment. In this study, a series of soil column experiments were conducted to investigate how bacteria mobility can potentially be influenced by retention mechanisms while moving through undisturbed saturated soil. This was assessed by bacteria retention profiles and mobility indices including the maximum transported (Cmax-T) and retained (Cmax-R) concentrations, filtration coefficient (λf) and the maximum depth of bacteria transport (Zmax). Three different soil samples (sandy, loamy and silty clay loam) were enriched with three types of manures (cow, sheep, and poultry), placed on top of three soil columns (16 cm diameter, 30 cm height) with an equivalent of 10 Mg ha-1 (dry basis) summing up to a total of 36 columns. Leaching was performed under saturated steady-state conditions (i.e., 1.62 cm min-1) for a duration of 4 pore volumes. After percolation, soil columns were sliced into six 5-cm interval layers and slices were characterized for retained bacteria. Results showed irregular exponential or quasi-exponential bacteria retention profiles for cow and sheep manures, whereas uniform-shaped profiles occurred for poultry manure. The latter variant also switched to exponential shape for the sandy soil at the highest and lowest Cmax-T and Cmax-R values due to higher pore water velocity. The λf and the Zmax values were also found to be affected by soil texture and manure origin. The λf was higher for poultry manure due to higher free-cell transport of bacteria most probably induced by higher amount of soluble mobile components. However, the greater amounts of transported wooden materials released from cow and sheep manures acted as harbors for bacteria. Accordingly, the filtration rate decreased and tailing effects for bacteria transport increased. The results also suggest that the practices and strategies for using manures could be optimized according to the respective transport behavior to manage the bacteria retention with respect to soil and manure types to reduce soil and water pollution.

Pharmacological therapy selection of type 2 diabetes based on the SWARA and modified MULTIMOORA methods under a fuzzy environment.

Medication selection for Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is a challenging medical decision-making problem involving multiple medications that can be prescribed to control the patient's blood glucose. The wide range of hyperglycemia lowering agents with varying effects and various side effects makes the decision quite difficult. This paper presents computer-aided medical decision support using a fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model that hybridizes a Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) method with a modification of Fuzzy Multi-Objective Optimization on the basis of a Ratio Analysis plus the full multiplicative form (FMULTIMOORA) method for pharmacological therapy selection of T2D. It makes the use of SWARA for obtaining the relative significance of every selected criterion by soliciting experts' opinions and FMULTIMOORA method for evaluation of each alternative according to all criteria based on a published clinical guideline. In this paper, an extended reference point approach is considered in the proposed hybrid MCDM model that resolves the classic reference point limitations and improves the FMULTIMOORA ranking procedure. Computational results indicate that Metformin is confirmed as the first-line medication and Sulfonylurea as the second-line add-on therapy. The Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, and Insulin are placed 3rd, 4th, and 5th, respectively. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to validate the model performance by comparing its result with studies in the literature, other fuzzy MCDM techniques and an interval MULTIMOORA method based on an observational dataset. The close correspondence between the final rankings of anti-diabetic agents resulted from the proposed hybrid model and other methodologies provide significant implications for endocrinologists to refer.

Allergic reactions in red tattoos: Raman spectroscopy for 'fingerprint' detection of chemical risk spectra in tattooed skin and culprit tattoo inks.

AIM: The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of Raman spectroscopy as a screening technique for chemical characterisation of tattoo pigments in pathologic reacting tattoos and tattoo ink stock products to depict unsafe pigments and metabolites of pigments. MATERIALS/METHODS: Twelve dermatome shave biopsies from allergic reactions in red tattoos were analysed with Raman spectroscopy (A 785-nm 300 mW diode laser). These were referenced to samples of 10 different standard tattoo ink stock products, three of these identified as the culprit inks used by the tattooist and thus by history the source of the allergy. Three primary aromatic amine (PAA) laboratory standards (aniline, o-anisidine and 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine) were also studied. RESULTS: Application of Raman spectroscopy to the shave biopsies was technically feasible. In addition, all ten inks and the three PAA standards could be discriminated. 10/12 shave biopsies provided clear fingerprint Raman signals which differed significantly from background skin, and Raman spectra from 8/12 biopsies perfectly matched spectra from the three culprit ink products. The spectrum of one red ink (a low cost product named 'Tattoo', claimed to originate from Taiwan, no other info on label) was identified in 5/12 biopsies. Strong indications of the inks 'Bright Red' and 'Crimson Red' were seen in three biopsies. The three PAA's could not be unambiguously identified. CONCLUSION: This study, although on a small-scale, demonstrated Raman spectroscopy to be feasible for chemical analysis of red pigments in allergic reactions. Raman spectroscopy has a major potential for fingerprint screening of problematic tattoo pigments in situ in skin, ex vivo in skin biopsies and in tattoo ink stock products, thus, to eliminate unsafe ink products from markets.