Effects of sericin on oxidative stress and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signal pathway in cryopreserved mice ovarian tissue.

Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is an effective fertility protective strategy for preadolescent female cancer patients, whose tumor treatment cannot be delayed. In the present study, the effects of sericin, as an antioxidant, on mice ovarian tissue freezing and thawing were investigated. Mice ovarian tissues were cryopreserved and thawed in medium containing 0.5% or 1%sericin (w/v), and 0.1 mM melatonin. Then, the follicular morphology was observed. The levels of antioxidant enzymes were determined, including glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and catalase (CAT). Moreover, the levels of nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were also tested. Besides, apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2 and Bax were determined. Our results showed that 1% sericin maintained follicular morphology, inhibited apoptosis, decreased MDA and NO levels, and boosted endogenous antioxidant enzyme levels, while had no significant effect on LDH levels. Furthermore, these effects may be related with the activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of Rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway, as demonstrated by increased PI3K, p-AKT and mTOR levels. These findings demonstrate that 1% sericin may reduce oxidative stress and protect ovarian tissues during freezing and thawing via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

High aquaporin expression correlates with increased translocation of quinclorac from shoots to roots in resistant Echinochloa crus-galli var. zelayensis.

BACKGROUND: Echinochloa crus-galli var. zelayensis is a troublesome weed in rice fields and can be controlled by using quinclorac. However, over-reliance on quinclorac has resulted in resistant (R) barnyardgrass, which differs significantly in its ability to transport quinclorac compared to susceptible (S) barnyardgrass. This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms for this different translocation between R and S barnyardgrass. RESULTS: Larger amount of quinclorac was transferred from shoots to roots in R compared to S barnyardgrass. After 1 day of quinclorac [300 g active ingredient (a.i.) ha-1 ] foliar treatment, its content in shoots of R was 81.92% of that in S barnyardgrass; correspondingly, in roots of R was 1.17 fold of that in S barnyardgrass. RNA-sequencing and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) confirmed the expression levels of PIPs belonging to aquaporins (AQPs) in R were higher than in S barnyardgrass, with or without quinclorac treatment. With co-application of quinclorac and AQPs inhibitors [mercury(II) chloride (HgCl2 )] treatment, even though the expression levels of PIPs and the transport rates of quinclorac were both suppressed in R and S barnyardgrass, this process was less pronounced in R than in S barnyardgrass. CONCLUSION: This report provides clear evidence that higher PIPs expression results in rapid quinclorac translocation from shoots to roots and reduces the quinclorac accumulation in the shoot meristems in R barnyardgrass, thus reducing the control efficacy of quinclorac. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Cyperus rotundus L. drives arable soil infertile by changing the structure of soil bacteria in the rhizosphere, using a maize field as an example.

Rhizosphere microorganisms can greatly affect plant growth, especially the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which can improve plant root development and growth because they contain various biological functions including nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, and phytosiderophore production. This study demonstrates that Cyperus rotundus L. is capable of developing and forming complex underground reproductive systems at arbitrary burial depths and cutting modes due to its extremely strong multiplication and regeneration ability. With the densities of C. rotundus increasing, the abundance of PGPR, soil enzymes invertase and urease, the nutrient contents of the field soil, and maize quality were impacted. Notably, more abundance of PGPR-most notably, the nitrogen-fixing microorganisms (NFMs) such as Azospirillum, Burkholderia, Mycobacterium, and Rhizobium-enriches in the rhizosphere of C. rotundus than in that of maize. In addition, the activities of soil enzymes invertase (S_SC) and urease (S_SU) were significantly higher in its rhizosphere than in maize, further proving that more NFMs enrich the C. rotundus rhizosphere. The nutrient contents of the field soil of TN, SOM, and SOC were reduced, indicating that the presence of C. rotundus made the soil infertile. Hence, these pieces of evidence indicate that C. rotundus may drive the field soil infertile as reflected by reduced soil nutrients via altering rhizosphere bacteria community structure.