Recent developments in multi-omics and breeding strategies for abiotic stress tolerance in maize (Zea mays L.).

High-throughput sequencing technologies (HSTs) have revolutionized crop breeding. The advent of these technologies has enabled the identification of beneficial quantitative trait loci (QTL), genes, and alleles for crop improvement. Climate change have made a significant effect on the global maize yield. To date, the well-known omic approaches such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics are being incorporated in maize breeding studies. These approaches have identified novel biological markers that are being utilized for maize improvement against various abiotic stresses. This review discusses the current information on the morpho-physiological and molecular mechanism of abiotic stress tolerance in maize. The utilization of omics approaches to improve abiotic stress tolerance in maize is highlighted. As compared to single approach, the integration of multi-omics offers a great potential in addressing the challenges of abiotic stresses of maize productivity.

Assessing the Environmental Effects Related to Quantum Dot Structure, Function, Synthesis and Exposure.

Quantum dots (QDs) are engineered semiconductor nanocrystals with unique fluorescent, quantum confinement, and quantum yield properties, making them valuable in a range of commercial and consumer imaging, display, and lighting technologies. Production and usage of QDs are increasing, which increases the probability of these nanoparticles entering the environment at various phases of their life cycle. This review discusses the major types and applications of QDs, their potential environmental exposures, fates, and adverse effects on organisms. For most applications, release to the environment is mainly expected to occur during QD synthesis and end-product manufacturing since encapsulation of QDs in these devices prevents release during normal use or landfilling. In natural waters, the fate of QDs is controlled by water chemistry, light intensity, and the physicochemical properties of QDs. Research on the adverse effects of QDs primarily focuses on sublethal endpoints rather than acute toxicity, and the differences in toxicity between pristine and weathered nanoparticles are highlighted. A proposed oxidative stress adverse outcome pathway framework demonstrates the similarities among metallic and carbon-based QDs that induce reactive oxygen species formation leading to DNA damage, reduced growth, and impaired reproduction in several organisms. To accurately evaluate environmental risk, this review identifies critical data gaps in QD exposure and ecological effects, and provides recommendations for future research. Future QD regulation should emphasize exposure and sublethal effects of metal ions released as the nanoparticles weather under environmental conditions. To date, human exposure to QDs from the environment and resulting adverse effects has not been reported.

Recent Developments in Plasmonic Nanostructures for Metal Enhanced Fluorescence-Based Biosensing.

Metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) is a unique phenomenon of surface plasmons, where light interacts with the metallic nanostructures and produces electromagnetic fields to enhance the sensitivity of fluorescence-based detection. In particular, this enhancement in sensing capacity is of importance to many research areas, including medical diagnostics, forensic science, and biotechnology. The article covers the basic mechanism of MEF and recent developments in plasmonic nanostructures fabrication for efficient fluorescence signal enhancement that are critically reviewed. The implications of current fluorescence-based technologies for biosensors are summarized, which are in practice to detect different analytes relevant to food control, medical diagnostics, and forensic science. Furthermore, characteristics of existing fabrication methods have been compared on the basis of their resolution, design flexibility, and throughput. The future projections emphasize exploring the potential of non-conventional materials and hybrid fabrication techniques to further enhance the sensitivity of MEF-based biosensors.

Exposure Route of TiO2 NPs from Industrial Applications to Wastewater Treatment and Their Impacts on the Agro-Environment.

The tremendous increase in the production and consumption of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) in numerous industrial products and applications has augmented the need to understand their role in wastewater treatment technologies. Likewise, the deleterious effects of wastewater on the environment and natural resources have compelled researchers to find out most suitable, economical and environment friendly approaches for its treatment. In this context, the use of TiO2 NPs as the representative of photocatalytic technology for industrial wastewater treatment is coming to the horizon. For centuries, the use of industrial wastewater to feed agriculture land has been a common practice across the globe and the sewage sludge generated from wastewater treatment plants is also used as fertilizer in agricultural soils. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of possible exposure pathways of these NPs, especially in the perspective of wastewater treatment and their impacts on the agro-environment. This review highlights the potential exposure route of TiO2 NPs from industrial applications to wastewater treatment and its impacts on the agro-environment. Key elements of the review present the recent developments of TiO2 NPs in two main sectors including wastewater treatment and the agro-environment along with their potential exposure pathways. Furthermore, the direct exposure routes of these NPs from production to end-user consumption until their end phase needs to be studied in detail and optimization of their suitable applications and controlled use to ensure environmental safety.

Potentials of truffles in nutritional and medicinal applications: a review.

Truffles, the symbiotic hypogeous edible fungi, have been worldwide regarded as a great delicacy because of their unique flavor and high nutritional value. By identifying their bioactive components such as phenolics, terpenoids, polysaccharides, anandamide, fatty acids, and ergosterols, researchers have paid attention to their biological activities including antitumor, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and hepatoprotective activities. In addition, numerous factors have been investigating that can affect the quality and productivity of truffles to overcome their difficulty in culturing and preserving. To provide the information for their potential applications in medicine as well as in functional food, this review summarizes the relevant literature about the biochemical composition, aromatic and nutritional benefits, and biological properties of truffles. Besides, various factors affecting their productivity and quality as well as the preservation methods are also highlighted.

Changes in fluorescent dissolved organic matter and their association with phytoavailable phosphorus in soil amended with TiO2 nanoparticles.

This study presents the impacts of TiO2 nanoparticles (TNPs) amendment on plant growth, phosphorus (P) content, and dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition in the rhizosphere. For this work, wheat plants (Galaxy-2013) were exposed to soil amended by different amounts of TNPs (i.e., 0, 50, and 100 mg TNP/kg of soil) for 40 days and harvested. The maximum increase in the shoots and roots lengths reached 15.9 ±â€¯0.3% and 3.8 ±â€¯0.3% respectively, which was concurrent with improved P content in the plants. Compared with the control, the P content in the shoots and roots was enriched by 23.4% and 17.9% at 50 mg TNP/kg of soil respectively. The increased electrical conductivity (EC) and decreased pH of the rhizosphere implied that the added TNPs might induce the enhancement of the P dissolution. Fluorescence spectroscopy revealed the increase of microbial activity as depicted by the humification index (HIX) changing from 0.88 ±â€¯0.02 to 0.92 ±â€¯0.01, with increasing TNPs amendments. Excitation-emission matrix coupled with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) showed the presence of four fluorescent components (C1 to C4) in the rhizosphere. Three of them (C1-C3) were related to humic-like substances, while the C4 was associated with protein-like fluorescence. EEM-PARAFAC results revealed the degradation of C4, and the enhancement of the other three components, which supported the stimulation of microbial activity by the TNPs amendment. This study provided new insights into the relation between improved phytoavailble P in plants and the changes in the rhizosphere soil solution chemistry and the DOM composition upon TNPs amendments.

Phytochemicals Targeting VEGF and VEGF-Related Multifactors as Anticancer Therapy.

The role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in cancer cells is not limited to angiogenesis; there are also multiple factors, such as neuropilins (non-tyrosine kinases receptors), tyrosine kinases receptors, immunodeficiencies, and integrins, that interact with VEGF signaling and cause cancer initiation. By combating these factors, tumor progression can be inhibited or limited. Natural products are sources of several bioactive phytochemicals that can interact with VEGF-promoting factors and inhibit them through various signaling pathways, thereby inhibiting cancer growth. This review provides a deeper understanding of the relation and interaction of VEGF with cancer-promoting factors and phytochemicals in order to develop multi-targeted cancer prevention and treatment.

Phycobiliproteins Production Enhancement and Lipidomic Alteration by Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 Culture.

This study aimed to improve the production of phycobiliproteins using TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. The growth characteristics of Synechocystis cells were not affected by TiO2 NPs treatment, but this treatment increased the chlorophyll content significantly by 62.2% (14.6 mg/L) compared to that of control (9.0 mg/L) on day 16. Phycocyanin production was increased by 33.8% (29.3 g/L) compared to that of control (21.9 g/L) on day 8. Allophycocyanin production was increased by 55.0% (6.2 g/L) compared to that of control (4.0 g/L) on day 8, and by 22.4% (16.4 g/L) compared to that of control (13.4 g/L) on day 16. Direct infusion mass spectrometry revealed that TiO2 NPs treatment significantly increased the levels of major thylakoid membranes of monogalactosyldiacylglycerols (18:2/18:3, 18:2/18:2, 18:1/18:2), phosphatidylglycerol (16:0/16:1), and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerols (16:0/16:1, 16:0:18:4) on day 8. These findings indicate that TiO2 NPs have potential for commercial applications in Synechocystis species or other microalgal strains.

Data on rhizosphere pH, phosphorus uptake and wheat growth responses upon TiO2 nanoparticles application.

In this study, the data sets and analyses provided the information on the characterization of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs), and their impacts on rhizosphere pH, and soil-bound phosphorus (P) availability to plants together with relevant parameters. For this purpose, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was cultivated in the TiO2 NPs amended soil over a period of 60 days. After harvesting, the soil and plants were analyzed to examine the rhizosphere pH, P availability in rhizosphere soil, uptake in roots and shoots, biomass produced, chlorophyll content and translocation to different plant parts monitored by SEM and EDX techniques in response to different dosages of TiO2 NPs. The strong relationship can be found among TiO2 NPs application, P availability, and plant growth.

Comparing different non-invasive methods in assessment of the effects of curcumin on hepatic fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of curcumin supplementation on hepatic fibrosis using different fibrosis assessment methods. BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) may progress to hepatic fibrosis. Detection of hepatic fibrosis should be measured by liver biopsy, which is an invasive method. Thus, some non-invasive methods are suggested. METHODS: Hepatic fibrosis was evaluated in forty six patients with NAFLD before and three months after supplementation with 1.5 gram curcumin or placebo. Methods of assessments included fibroscan, and calculating non-invasive marker panel including FIB-4 (Fibrosis4), NFS (NAFLD fibrosis score), APRI (AST (Aspartate aminotransferase) Platelet Ratio Index), and BARD (body mass index, AST/ALT (Alanine aminotransferase ratio, diabetes). RESULTS: Fibrosis score was reduced significantly after curcumin supplementation using fibroscan (p<0.01), FIB-4 (p<0.05) and APRI (p<0.05) tests, while fibrosis score did not change significantly using BARD and NFS methods (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results revealed that fibroscan, FIB-4, and APRI are similar in assessment of hepatic fibrosis changes after curcumin supplementation. Future studies with higher sample sizes are needed to confirm these results.

Growth and Metabolic Responses of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivated in Phosphorus-Deficient Soil Amended with TiO2 Nanoparticles.

Plants have the natural ability to withstand stress conditions through metabolic adjustments. The present study aimed at investigating the effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) application (0, 25, 50, 150, 250, 500, and 750 mg kg-1) in phosphorus-deficient soil in terms of growth responses, P contents, and metabolic alterations in rice. TiO2 NPs application increased shoot length up to 14.5%. Phosphorus contents in rice roots, shoots, and grains were increased by 2.6-, 2.4-, and 1.3-fold, respectively, at 750 mg kg-1 of TiO2 NPs. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolomics revealed increased levels of amino acids, palmitic acid, and glycerol content in grains resulting from plants grown in 750 mg kg-1 TiO2 NPs-treated soil. Furthermore, no translocation of TiO2 NPs from the treated soil to rice grains was detected by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), which suggests no risk of TiO2 NPs intake via grain consumption. The observed data indicates the strong relationship among NPs application, P contents, and metabolic alterations.

Metallic Nanoparticle (TiO2 and Fe3O4) Application Modifies Rhizosphere Phosphorus Availability and Uptake by Lactuca sativa.

Application of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) with respect to nutrient uptake in plants is not yet well understood. The impacts of TiO2 and Fe3O4 NPs on the availability of naturally soil-bound inorganic phosphorus (Pi) to plants were studied along with relevant parameters. For this purpose, Lactuca sativa (lettuce) was cultivated on the soil amended with TiO2 and Fe3O4 (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 mg kg(-1)) over a period of 90 days. Different techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Raman, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to monitor translocation and understand the possible mechanisms for phosphorus (P) uptake. The trends for P accumulation were different for roots (TiO2 > Fe3O4 > control) and shoots (Fe3O4 > TiO2 > control). Cystine and methionine were detected in the rhizosphere in Raman spectra. Affinities of NPs to adsorb phosphate ions, modifications in P speciation, and NP stress in the rhizosphere had possibly contributed to enhanced root exudation and acidification. All of these changes led to improved P availability and uptake by the plants. These promising results can help to develop an innovative strategy for using NPs for improved nutrient management to ensure food security.