As sessile organisms, plants must tolerate various environmental stresses. Plant hormones play vital roles in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Among these hormones, jasmonic acid (JA) ...and its precursors and derivatives (jasmonates, JAs) play important roles in the mediation of plant responses and defenses to biotic and abiotic stresses and have received extensive research attention. Although some reviews of JAs are available, this review focuses on JAs in the regulation of plant stress responses, as well as JA synthesis, metabolism, and signaling pathways. We summarize recent progress in clarifying the functions and mechanisms of JAs in plant responses to abiotic stresses (drought, cold, salt, heat, and heavy metal toxicity) and biotic stresses (pathogen, insect, and herbivore). Meanwhile, the crosstalk of JA with various other plant hormones regulates the balance between plant growth and defense. Therefore, we review the crosstalk of JAs with other phytohormones, including auxin, gibberellic acid, salicylic acid, brassinosteroid, ethylene, and abscisic acid. Finally, we discuss current issues and future opportunities in research into JAs in plant stress responses.
Plants have various self-defense mechanisms against biotic attacks, involving both physical and chemical barriers. Physical barriers include spines, trichomes, and cuticle layers, whereas chemical ...barriers include secondary metabolites (SMs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Complex interactions between plants and herbivores occur. Plant responses to insect herbivory begin with the perception of physical stimuli, chemical compounds (orally secreted by insects and herbivore-induced VOCs) during feeding. Plant cell membranes then generate ion fluxes that create differences in plasma membrane potential (Vm), which provokes the initiation of signal transduction, the activation of various hormones (e.g., jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and ethylene), and the release of VOCs and SMs. This review of recent studies of plant–herbivore–infection interactions focuses on early and late plant responses, including physical barriers, signal transduction, SM production as well as epigenetic regulation, and phytohormone responses.
Floral scents and fruit aromas are crucial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in plants. They are used in defense mechanisms, along with mechanisms to attract pollinators and seed dispersers. In ...addition, they are economically important for the quality of crops, as well as quality in the perfume, cosmetics, food, drink, and pharmaceutical industries. Floral scents and fruit aromas share many volatile organic compounds in flowers and fruits. Volatile compounds are classified as terpenoids, phenylpropanoids/benzenoids, fatty acid derivatives, and amino acid derivatives. Many genes and transcription factors regulating the synthesis of volatiles have been discovered. In this review, we summarize recent progress in volatile function, composition, biosynthetic pathway, and metabolism regulation. We also discuss unresolved issues and research perspectives, providing insight into improvements and applications of plant VOCs.
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Mitochondria play a crucial role in cellular metabolism and bioenergetics, orchestrating various cellular processes, including energy production, metabolism, adaptation to stress, and ...redox balance. Besides, mitochondria regulate cellular metabolic homeostasis through coordination with multiple signaling pathways. Importantly, the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway is a key player in the intricate communication with mitochondria, influencing various functions. This review explores the multifaced interaction between the mitochondria and p38 MAPK signaling and the consequent impact on metabolic alterations. Overall, the p38 MAPK pathway governs the activities of key mitochondrial proteins, which are involved in mitochondrial biogenesis, oxidative phosphorylation, thermogenesis, and iron homeostasis. Additionally, p38 MAPK contributes to the regulation of mitochondrial responses to oxidative stress and apoptosis induced by cancer therapies or natural substances by coordinating with other pathways responsible for energy homeostasis. Therefore, dysregulation of these interconnected pathways can lead to various pathologies characterized by aberrant metabolism. Consequently, gaining a deeper understanding of the interaction between mitochondria and the p38 MAPK pathway and their implications presents exciting forecasts for novel therapeutic interventions in cancer and other disorders characterized by metabolic dysregulation.
Melatonin is a multi-functional molecule that is ubiquitous in all living organisms. Melatonin performs essential roles in plant stress tolerance; its application can reduce the harmful effects of ...abiotic stresses. Plant melatonin biosynthesis, which usually occurs within chloroplasts, and its related metabolic pathways have been extensively characterized. Melatonin regulates plant stress responses by directly inhibiting the accumulation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and by indirectly affecting stress response pathways. In this review, we summarize recent research concerning melatonin biosynthesis, metabolism, and antioxidation; we focus on melatonin-mediated tolerance to abiotic stresses including drought, waterlogging, salt, heat, cold, heavy metal toxicity, light and others. We also examine exogenous melatonin treatment in plants under abiotic stress. Finally, we discuss future perspectives in melatonin research and its applications in plants.
The Bric-a-Brac/Tramtrack/Broad Complex (BTB) gene family plays essential roles in various biological processes in plants. These genes encode proteins that contain a conserved BTB domain, which is ...involved in protein-protein interactions and regulation of gene expression. However, there is no systematic reports on the BTB gene family in G.max. In total, 122 soybean BTB genes were identified, which were classified into four groups based on the phylogenetic analysis. Gene structures analysis indicated that the number of exon-intron in GmBTBs ranges from 0 to18. Cis-element analysis revealed that most GmBTB genes contained cis-elements related to an abiotic stress response. In addition, qRT-PCR analyses indicated that most GmBTBs are significantly up-regulated under salinity, drought, and nitrate stresses. They suggested their potential for targeted improvement of soybean response to multiple abiotic stresses and nitrate availability. These results provide valuable information for identifying the members of the GmBTB gene family in soybean and could provide a functional characterization of GmBTB genes in further research.
Organophosphates (OPs) and synthetic pyrethroids (SPs) are the most popular broad spectrum pesticides, used in agriculture as they have a strong pesticidal activity while also being biodegradable in ...the environment. The present study aimed to demonstrate the effects of these pesticides on the Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in brain, gills and body muscles of Oreochromis niloticus - an important enzyme for the assessment and biomonitoring pollution caused by neurotoxins in the environment. The fish were exposed for 24 and 48 h to the LC
0
concentrations of the malathion (1.425 mg/L), the chlorpyrifos (0.125 mg/L) and the λ-cyhalothrin (0.0039 mg/L), respectively. The activity of the AChE was significantly increased (p < 0.05) at 24 h and decreased at 48 h (except for the chlorpyrifos-treated brain and gills while tissues had shown no activity at 48 h's exposure) in all pesticides-treated tissues. The maximum increase in the activity and inhibition in the AChE activity were recorded as +92% and −52% in the chlorpyrifos and the lambda-cyhalothrin exposed brain tissues, respectively. Thus, the alterations in the AChE activities indicated that the applied pesticides are highly neurotoxic to fish and the enzyme (AChE) could be used as a useful biomarker for estimation of water pollution.
Abstract
Medicago polymorpha
is a nutritious and palatable forage and vegetable plant that also fixes nitrogen. Here, we reveal the chromosome-scale genome sequence of
M. polymorpha
using an ...integrated approach including Illumina, PacBio and Hi-C technologies. We combined PacBio full-length RNA-seq, metabolomic analysis, structural anatomy analysis and related physiological indexes to elucidate the important agronomic traits of
M. polymorpha
for forage and vegetable usage. The assembled
M. polymorpha
genome consisted of 457.53 Mb with a long scaffold N50 of 57.72 Mb, and 92.92% (441.83 Mb) of the assembly was assigned to seven pseudochromosomes. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that expansion and contraction of the photosynthesis and lignin biosynthetic gene families, respectively, led to enhancement of nutritious compounds and reduced lignin biosynthesis in
M. polymorpha
. In addition, we found that several positively selected nitrogen metabolism-related genes were responsible for crude protein biosynthesis. Notably, the metabolomic results revealed that a large number of flavonoids, vitamins, alkaloids, and terpenoids were enriched in
M. polymorpha
. These results imply that the decreased lignin content but relatively high nutrient content of
M. polymorpha
enhance its edibility and nutritional value as a forage and vegetable. Our genomic data provide a genetic basis that will accelerate functional genomic and breeding research on
M. polymorpha
as well as other
Medicago
and legume plants.
•Natural foods are potential therapeutics in the management of the metabolic syndrome (MetS).•The subjects having MetS have more risks of type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.•Lifestyle has ...an important role in progression of numerous risk factors of MetS.•Metabolic abnormalities are characterized by high crown-like structures, insulin resistance, and activated macrophages.
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a bunch of metabolic defects comprising hypertension, insulin resistance, visceral obesity, fatty liver, and atherogenic cardiovascular diseases. Lifestyle modification is the first step for controlling the MetS progression. If left untreated, MetS is significantly related to a high danger of evolving type 2 diabetes and atherogenic cardiovascular diseases. Thus, MetS is a prominent cause of morbidity and mortality internationally and has been become very important to investigate novel therapies in this context to decrease the heavy burden of the disease. Though, there is no single treatment for MetS and the currently available pharmacotherapy and related comorbidities demand the continued use of multiple drugs that is challenging for patients as the polypharmacy and reduced accordance. There is increasing concern in the use of nutraceuticals in the management of MetS. This review follows MetS with an emphasis on the risk factors and how to control it, epidemiology, pathogenesis, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatments. Moreover, the review recaps on the health benefits of natural products in the management of the MetS to give a complete guide to other researchers for new natural products investigation.
Breast cancer (BC) is one of the major health problems affecting females in Egypt. Certain chromosomal loci abnormalities were proved to be associated with BC in different populations. One of them is ...chromosomal locus 6q25.1, that affects estrogen receptor gene (ESR) which controls ER receptor expression. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate locus 6q25.1 among group of Egyptian female BC patients and compare the results to healthy matched age controls.
Formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) samples of sixty newly diagnosed BC patients were sequenced for locus 6q25.1 using genetic analyzer with capillary electrophoresis (3500 GA). The identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were compared to blood samples of forty controls. Realtime PCR using TaqMan probes was used for validation.
Two SNPs rs2046210 and rs2046211 were significantly associated with BC. Frequency of rs2046210-A minor allele was 30% in controls, while the frequency of rs2046211-G minor allele was 15%. Rs2046210-A allele was associated with increased risk of BC (P=0.0001), while rs2046211-G allele was associated with reduced risk of BC (P=0.021). Combined analysis of both SNPs showed that haplotype A/C was associated with increased risk of BC (P = 0.042). No significant correlation was found between rs2046210-A allele and ER status, while positive association was observed between rs204621-C allele and ER status (p= 0.005).
Our data confirmed the important association between locus 6q25.1 and risk of BC in other populations. The frequencies of minor alleles of both significant SNPs will pave the way for a wider large-scale genome study and to be investigated with other BC risk factors.
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