Bacillus subtilis Edible Films for Strawberry Preservation: Antifungal Efficacy and Quality at Varied Temperatures.

Fungal infestations, particularly from Rhizopus stolonifer, pose significant post-harvest challenges for strawberries, compromising their shelf life and quality. Traditional preservation methods, including refrigeration, offer limited protection against such pathogens. This study introduces an innovative approach, utilizing edible films infused with Bacillus subtilis strains GOS 01 B-67748 and HFC 103, known for their antifungal properties. We demonstrate that these bioactive films not only inhibit fungal growth effectively but also enhance the preservation of strawberries at varying temperatures. The inclusion of Bacillus subtilis in edible films represents a significant advancement in extending the viability of strawberries, surpassing the efficacy of conventional methods. Our findings suggest a promising avenue for natural, safe food preservation techniques, aligning with current consumer preferences for additive-free products. This research contributes to the broader understanding of microbial-based food preservation strategies, offering potential applications across a range of perishable commodities.

Sargassum spp. Ethanolic Extract Elicits Toxic Responses and Malformations in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Embryos.

The amount of Sargassum spp. arriving in the Caribbean Sea has increased steadily in the last few years, producing a profound environmental impact on the ecological dynamics of the coasts of the Yucatan Peninsula. We characterized the toxicological effects of an ethanolic extract of Sargassum spp. on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos (ZFEs) in a 96-h static bioassay using T1 (0.01 mg/L), T2 (0.1 mg/L), T3 (1 mg/L), T4 (10 mg/L), T5 (25 mg/L), T6 (50 mg/L), T7 (75 mg/L), T8 (100 mg/L), T9 (200 mg/L), and T10 (400 mg/L). In this extract, we detected 74 compounds by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), of which hexadecanoic acid methyl ester, and 2-pentanone 4-hydroxy-4-methyl, were the most abundant. In ZFEs, a median lethal concentration of 251 mg/L was estimated. Exposed embryos exhibited extensive morphological changes, including edema in the yolk sac, scoliosis, and loss of pigmentation, as well as malformations of the head, tail, and eyes. By integrating these abnormalities using the Integrated Biological Response (IBRv2) and General Morphological Score (GMS) indices, we were able to determine that ZFEs exposed to 200 mg/L (T9) exhibited the most pronounced biological response in comparison with the other groups. In the comparative transcriptomic analysis, 66 genes were upregulated, and 246 genes were downregulated in the group exposed to 200 mg/L compared with the control group. In the upregulated genes, we identified several gene ontology-enriched terms, such as response to xenobiotic stimuli, cellular response to chemical stimulus, transcriptional regulation, pigment metabolic process, erythrocyte differentiation and embryonic hemopoiesis, extracellular matrix organization, and chondrocyte differentiation involved in endochondral bone morphogenesis, among others. In the down-regulated genes, we found many genes associated with nervous system processes, sensory and visual perception, response to abiotic stimulus, and the nucleoside phosphate biosynthetic process. The probable connections among the morphological changes observed in the transcriptome are thoroughly discussed. Our findings suggest that Sargassum spp. exposure can induce a wide negative impact on zebrafish embryos. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1075-1089. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

A Trip Back Home: Resistance to Herbivores of Native and Non-Native Plant Populations of Datura stramonium.

When colonizing new ranges, plant populations may benefit from the absence of the checks imposed by the enemies, herbivores, and pathogens that regulated their numbers in their original range. Therefore, rates of plant damage or infestation by natural enemies are expected to be lower in the new range. Exposing both non-native and native plant populations in the native range, where native herbivores are present, can be used to test whether resistance mechanisms have diverged between populations. Datura stramonium is native to the Americas but widely distributed in Spain, where populations show lower herbivore damage than populations in the native range. We established experiments in two localities in the native range (Mexico), exposing two native and two non-native D. stramonium populations to natural herbivores. Plant performance differed between the localities, as did the abundance of the main specialist herbivore, Lema daturaphila. In Teotihuacán, where L. daturaphila is common, native plants had significantly more adult beetles and herbivore damage than non-native plants. The degree of infestation by the specialist seed predator Trichobaris soror differed among populations and between sites, but the native Ticumán population always had the lowest level of infestation. The Ticumán population also had the highest concentration of the alkaloid scopolamine. Scopolamine was negatively related to the number of eggs deposited by L. daturaphila in Teotihuacán. There was among-family variation in herbivore damage (resistance), alkaloid content (scopolamine), and infestation by L. daturaphila and T. soror, indicating genetic variation and potential for further evolution. Although native and non-native D. stramonium populations have not yet diverged in plant resistance/constitutive defense, the differences between ranges (and the two experimental sites) in the type and abundance of herbivores suggest that further research is needed on the role of resource availability and adaptive plasticity, specialized metabolites (induced, constitutive), and the relationship between genealogical origin and plant defense in both ranges.

Diversity of Herbicide-Resistance Mechanisms of Avena fatua L. to Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase-Inhibiting Herbicides in the Bajio, Mexico.

Herbicide resistance is an evolutionary process that affects entire agricultural regions' yield and productivity. The high number of farms and the diversity of weed management can generate hot selection spots throughout the regions. Resistant biotypes can present a diversity of mechanisms of resistance and resistance factors depending on selective conditions inside the farm; this situation is similar to predictions by the geographic mosaic theory of coevolution. In Mexico, the agricultural region of the Bajio has been affected by herbicide resistance for 25 years. To date, Avena fatua L. is one of the most abundant and problematic weed species. The objective of this study was to determine the mechanism of resistance of biotypes with failures in weed control in 70 wheat and barley crop fields in the Bajio, Mexico. The results showed that 70% of farms have biotypes with target site resistance (TSR). The most common mutations were Trp-1999-Cys, Asp-2078-Gly, Ile-2041-Asn, and some of such mutations confer cross-resistance to ACCase-inhibiting herbicides. Metabolomic fingerprinting showed four different metabolic expression patterns. The results confirmed that in the Bajio, there exist multiple selection sites for both resistance mechanisms, which proves that this area can be considered as a geographic mosaic of resistance.

10,000-Times Diluted Doses of ACCase-Inhibiting Herbicides Can Permanently Change the Metabolomic Fingerprint of Susceptible Avena fatua L. Plants.

Intentional use of low dosage of herbicides has been considered the cause of non-target resistance in weeds. However, herbicide drift could be a source of low dosage that could be detected by weeds and change their metabolism. Furthermore, the minimum dose that a plant can detect in the environment is unknown, and it is unclear whether low doses could modify the response of weeds when they are first exposed to herbicides (priming effects). In this study, we determined the metabolomic fingerprinting using GC-MS of susceptible Avena fatua L. plants exposed to a gradient of doses (1, 0.1, 0.001, 0.0001, and 0x) relative to the recommended dose of clodinafop-propargyl. Additionally, we evaluated the primed plants when they received a second herbicide application. The results showed that even a 10,000-fold dilution of the recommended dose could induce a significant change in the plants' metabolism and that this change is permanent over the biological cycle. There was no evidence that priming increased its resistance level. However, hormesis increased biomass accumulation and survival in A. fatua plants. Better application methods which prevent herbicide drift should be developed in order to avoid contact with weeds that grow around the crop fields.

Interspecies conservation of organisation and function between nonhomologous regional centromeres.

Despite the conserved essential function of centromeres, centromeric DNA itself is not conserved. The histone-H3 variant, CENP-A, is the epigenetic mark that specifies centromere identity. Paradoxically, CENP-A normally assembles on particular sequences at specific genomic locations. To gain insight into the specification of complex centromeres, here we take an evolutionary approach, fully assembling genomes and centromeres of related fission yeasts. Centromere domain organization, but not sequence, is conserved between Schizosaccharomyces pombe, S. octosporus and S. cryophilus with a central CENP-ACnp1 domain flanked by heterochromatic outer-repeat regions. Conserved syntenic clusters of tRNA genes and 5S rRNA genes occur across the centromeres of S. octosporus and S. cryophilus, suggesting conserved function. Interestingly, nonhomologous centromere central-core sequences from S. octosporus and S. cryophilus are recognized in S. pombe, resulting in cross-species establishment of CENP-ACnp1 chromatin and functional kinetochores. Therefore, despite the lack of sequence conservation, Schizosaccharomyces centromere DNA possesses intrinsic conserved properties that promote assembly of CENP-A chromatin.

Plant-Specific Histone Deacetylases HDT1/2 Regulate GIBBERELLIN 2-OXIDASE2 Expression to Control Arabidopsis Root Meristem Cell Number.

Root growth is modulated by environmental factors and depends on cell production in the root meristem (RM). New cells in the meristem are generated by stem cells and transit-amplifying cells, which together determine RM cell number. Transcription factors and chromatin-remodeling factors have been implicated in regulating the switch from stem cells to transit-amplifying cells. Here, we show that two Arabidopsis thaliana paralogs encoding plant-specific histone deacetylases, HDT1 and HDT2, regulate a second switch from transit-amplifying cells to expanding cells. Knockdown of HDT1/2 (hdt1,2i) results in an earlier switch and causes a reduced RM cell number. Our data show that HDT1/2 negatively regulate the acetylation level of the C19-GIBBERELLIN 2-OXIDASE2 (GA2ox2) locus and repress the expression of GA2ox2 in the RM and elongation zone. Overexpression of GA2ox2 in the RM phenocopies the hdt1,2i phenotype. Conversely, knockout of GA2ox2 partially rescues the root growth defect of hdt1,2i These results suggest that by repressing the expression of GA2ox2, HDT1/2 likely fine-tune gibberellin metabolism and they are crucial for regulating the switch from cell division to expansion to determine RM cell number. We propose that HDT1/2 function as part of a mechanism that modulates root growth in response to environmental factors.

Migration by seed dispersal of ACCase-inhibitor-resistant Avena fatua in north-western Mexico.

BACKGROUND: Biotypes of Avena fatua resistant to ACCase-inhibiting herbicides have been reported in the States of Baja California (BC) and Sonora (SON), Mexico. We hypothesised that resistant biotypes present in SON (Valle de Hermosillo and Valle del Yaqui) are derived from a resistant population from BC (Valle de Mexicali) via gene flow through the transport and exchange of contaminated wheat seed. This study aimed to determine (1) the resistance of A. fatua to ACCase-inhibiting herbicides in populations from BC and SON, (2) the mutation at the site of action and (3) the genetic structure and gene flow among populations. RESULTS: DNA sequencing showed that all biotypes shared the same mutation (Leu × Ile at codon 1781). Microsatellites showed evidence of a genetic bottleneck in SON, and spatial analysis of molecular variance grouped one biotype from the Valle de Mexicali with two biotypes from the Valle de Hermosillo. Migration analysis suggested gene flow from the Valle de Mexicali to the Valle de Hermosillo, but not to the Valle del Yaqui. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of resistant biotypes of A. fatua in the Valle de Hermosillo, SON, are likely derived from seeds from BC, possibly through the transport of contaminated wheat seeds. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.