Identification, validation and quantification of thymoquinone in conjunction with assessment of bioactive possessions and GC-MS profiling of pharmaceutically valuable crop Nigella (Nigella sativa L.) varieties.

Background: Plants have been pivotal in traditional and modern medicine globally, with historical evidence supporting their therapeutic applications. Nigella (Nigella sativa L.) is an annual herbaceous plant of the Ranunculaceae family and is cultivated in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Western and Central Asia. The medicinal use of plants dates back thousands of years, documented in ancient writings from various civilizations. Alkaloids, phenolics, saponins, flavonoids, terpenoids, anthraquinones, and tannins found in plants exhibit antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial, and antidiabetic activities. Methodology: This study specifically examines the pharmacological potential of Nigella sativa L., emphasizing thymoquinone-a compound with diverse nutraceutical benefits. The extraction, characterization, and quantification of thymoquinone, alongside other physicochemical parameters, were carried out using ethanol through Soxhlet extraction procedures on five nigella varieties. HPLC analysis was performed to determine the maximum accumulation of thymoquinone in the released variety of the plant and the chemical composition of the seed oil isolated from Nigella sativa L., varieties utilized in the study was determined through GC-MS analysis. Results: The research revealed that the Ajmer nigella-20 variety stands out, exhibiting elevated levels of thymoquinone (0.20 ± 0.07%), antioxidants (76.18 ± 1.78%), and substantial quantities of total phenols (31.85 ± 0.97 mg GAEg-1 seed) and flavonoids (8.150 ± 0.360 mg QE 100 g-1 seed) compared to other varieties. The GC-MS profiling showed the presence of 11 major compounds in the studied varieties, with p-cymene, longifolene, and myristic acid identified as the major chemical compounds present in the oil. Conclusion: The observed variations among Nigella varieties indicate the Ajmer nigella-20 variety as particularly promising for thymoquinone and bioactive compound extraction. This study underscores Nigella's potential as a source of pharmacologically active compounds, highlighting the need for further exploration in therapeutic applications.

Can genome editing help transitioning to agroecology?

Meeting the challenges of agroecological transition in a context of climate change requires the use of various strategies such as biological regulations, adapted animal and plant genotypes, diversified production systems, and digital technologies. Seeds and plants, through plant breeding, play a crucial role in driving these changes. The emergence of genome editing presents a new opportunity in plant breeding practices. However, like any technological revolution involving living organisms, it is essential to assess its potential contributions, limits, risks, socio-economic implications, and the associated controversies. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of scientific knowledge on genome editing for agroecological transition, drawing on multidisciplinary approaches encompassing biological, agronomic, economic, and social sciences.

Soil salinization in agriculture: Mitigation and adaptation strategies combining nature-based solutions and bioengineering.

Soil salinization is among the most critical threats to agriculture and food security. Excess of salts adversely affects soil structure and fertility, plant growth, crop yield, and microorganisms. It is caused by natural processes, such as dry climates and low precipitations, high evaporation rate, poor waterlogging, and human factors, such as inappropriate irrigation practices, poor drainage systems, and excessive use of fertilizers. The growing extremization of climate with prolonged drought conditions is worsening the phenomenon. Nature-based solutions (NBS), combined with precision or conservation agriculture, represent a sustainable response, and offer benefits through revitalizing ecosystem services. This perspective explores NBS that can be adopted, along with their challenges and implementation limitations. We also argue that NBS could not be enough to combat hunger in the world's most vulnerable regions and fully achieve the Sustainable Development Goal - Zero Hunger (SDG2). We therefore discuss their possible combination with salt-tolerant crops based on bioengineering.

Agricultural machinery automatic navigation technology.

In this paper, we review, compare, and analyze previous studies on agricultural machinery automatic navigation and path planning technologies. First, the paper introduces the fundamental components of agricultural machinery autonomous driving, including automatic navigation, path planning, control systems, and communication modules. Generally, the methods for automatic navigation technology can be divided into three categories: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Machine Vision, and Laser Radar. The structures, advantages, and disadvantages of different methods and the technical difficulties of current research are summarized and compared. At present, the more successful way is to use GNSS combined with machine vision to provide guarantee for agricultural machinery to avoid obstacles and generate the optimal path. Then the path planning methods are described, including four path planning algorithms based on graph search, sampling, optimization, and learning. This paper proposes 22 available algorithms according to different application scenarios and summarizes the challenges and difficulties that have not been completely solved in the current research. Finally, some suggestions on the difficulties arising in these studies are proposed for further research.

[Exploration and practice of innovative teaching of molecular biology experiment course under the context of new agricultural science].

The development of new agricultural science is a new idea and a new measure that aims to deepen the reform of higher education in agriculture and forestry for the development of new agriculture, new countryside, new farmers and new ecosystem. It is therefore essential for the current undergraduate experimental teaching reform to timely introduce new technologies and new methods used in the development of agriculture and forestry industry into the experimental course teaching, and promote the integration of professional education with innovation and entrepreneurship education, according to the requirements of the new agricultural science. In view of this, the exploration and practice of molecular biology experiment course was carried out from the perspective of experimental projects, teaching modes and evaluation methods, according to the teaching requirements and characteristics of molecular biology experiment and teachers' scientific research achievements. The results showed that this reform greatly improved the students' comprehensive quality and innovation ability and may facilitate the innovation experiment teaching of other courses.

Seasonal weather impacts wine quality in Bordeaux.

Critics judge quality based upon subjective characteristics of wine. These judgments are converted by critics into quantitative scores, which allow for comparison of vintages. This paper uses high resolution discrete and continuous time-based weather estimates at both a local and regional level to determine the role of weather conditions on producing high quality Bordeaux vintages, as determined by critics scores. By using discrete-time weather variables across local AOCs, this study reveals climate-quality relationships across the whole year, including previously ignored season effects. By using continuous time weather variables, we reinforce the evidence for these local effects by finding higher quality wine is made in years with higher rainfall, warmer temperatures; and earlier, shorter seasons. We propose management impacts of our results and suggest that as the climate continues to change, the quality of Bordeaux wines may continue to improve.

Distribution characteristics and potential risks of bioaerosols during scattered farming.

In most economically underdeveloped areas, scattered farming and human‒livestock cohabitation are common. However, production of bioaerosols and their potential harm in these areas have not been previously researched. In this study, bioaerosol characteristics were analyzed in scattered farming areas in rural Northwest China. The highest bacteria, fungi, and Enterobacteria concentrations were 125609 ± 467 CFU/m³, 25175 ± 10305 CFU/m³, and 4167 ± 592 CFU/m³, respectively. Most bioaerosols had particle sizes >3.3 µm. A total of 71 bacterial genera and 16 fungal genera of potential pathogens were identified, including zoonotic potential pathogenic genera. Moreover, our findings showed that the scattered farming pattern of human‒animal cohabitation can affect the indoor air environment in the surrounding area, leading to chronic respiratory diseases in the occupants. Therefore, relevant government departments and farmers should enhance their awareness of bioaerosol risks and consider measures that may be taken to reduce them.

Agroecology, technology, and stakeholder awareness: Implementing the UN Food Systems Summit call for action.

The global food system must meet the increasing demand for food, fiber, and energy while reducing environmental impacts. The UN Food System Summit (UNFSS) has made a clear call to action for a global food systems transformation. We argue that three major discrepancies remain, potentially delaying the urgent implementation of the call to action. First, Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are not sufficiently focused on agriculture, leading to funding allocation issues. Second, a mismatch of agroecology with technology innovations may slow scaling agroecological farming. Lastly, agricultural diversification must move beyond organic landscapes and into conventional agriculture. As a solution, principles of NbS should be clear on agricultural integration. Moreover, stakeholder awareness must increase that agroecology does not necessarily conflict with agricultural technologies. Future agricultural models must apply measures such as agricultural diversification in conjunction with technology innovations to then ascertain an overall timely and successful implementation of the UNFSS call to action.

Global identification of natural antisense transcripts in Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense under chilling stress.

Natural antisense transcripts (NATs) in model plants have been recognized as important regulators of gene expression under abiotic stresses. However, the functional roles of NATs in crops under low temperature are still unclear. Here, we identified 815 and 689 NATs from leaves of Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense under chilling stress. Among those, 224 NATs were identified as interspecific homologs between the two species. The correlation coefficients for expression of NATs and their cognate sense genes (CSG) were 0.43 and 0.37 in G. hirsutum and G. barbadense, respectively. Furthermore, expression of interspecific NATs and CSGs alike was highly consistent under chilling stress with correlation coefficients of 0.90-0.91. Four cold-associated NATs were selected for functional validation using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS). Our results suggest that CAN1 engage in the molecular regulation of chilling stress by regulating SnRK2.8 expression. This highly conserved NAT have valuable potential for applications in breeding cold-tolerant cotton.

Stress response and tolerance mechanisms of spirobudiclofen exposure based on multiomics in Panonychus citri (Acari: Tetranychidae).

The toxicity of insecticides used in the field decreases gradually to sublethal concentrations over time. Therefore, it is necessary to study sublethal effects of pesticides for controlling population explosion. Panonychus citri is a global pest which control is based on insecticides. This study explores the stress responses of spirobudiclofen on the P. citri. Spirobudiclofen significantly inhibited survival and reproduction of P. citri, and the effects aggravated as concentration increased. The transcriptomes and metabolomes of spirobudiclofen-treated and control were compared to characterize spirobudiclofen molecular mechanism. Transcriptomics indicated stress induced by spirobudiclofen stimulated immune defense, antioxidative system, cuticle formation, and lipid metabolism, as deduced from RNA-seq analysis. Meanwhile, our study found that tolerance metabolism in P. citri was regulated by promoting the metabolism of glycerophospholipids, glycine, serine, and threonine. The results of this study can provide a basis for exploring the adaptation strategies of P. citri to spirobudiclofen stress.

Characterizing the 2020 summer floods in South China and effects on croplands.

Floods occur more frequently in the context of climate change; however, flood monitoring capacity has not been well established. Here, we used a synergic mapping framework to characterize summer floods in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain and the effects on croplands in 2020, from both flood extent and intensity perspectives. We found that the total flood extent was 4936 km2 from July to August, and for flood intensity, 1658, 1382, and 1896 km2 of areas experienced triple, double, and single floods. A total of 2282 km2 croplands (46% of the flooded area) were inundated mainly from Poyang and Dongting Lake Basins, containing a high ratio of moderate damage croplands (47%). The newly increased flooding extent in 2020 was 29% larger than the maximum ever-flooded extent in 2015-2019. This study is expected to provide a reference for rapid regional flood disaster assessment and serving mitigation.

Projecting global oil palm expansion under zero-deforestation commitments: Direct and indirect land use change impacts.

In the last three decades, global production of oil palm has boomed, which has partly come at the expense of tropical rainforests. Recognizing this, many companies operating in the palm oil industry have committed to eliminate deforestation from their operations, often referred to as zero-deforestation commitments (ZDCs). Here, we estimate that if ZDCs are fully adopted and enforced across all sectors and geographies, the global extent of oil palm plantations may be 11 M ha or 40% smaller in 2030 than in a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario that assumes no compliance with ZDCs. As a result of such land-sparing effects, we estimate that 96 M ha of forests are saved from conversion, of which, 17% would otherwise have been converted (directly or indirectly) due to expanding oil palm plantations. Overall, these figures suggest that ZDCs have the potential to deliver major environmental benefits if they are fully adopted and enforced.

Coupling of crop and livestock production can reduce the agricultural GHG emission from smallholder farms.

Ensuring global food security and environmental sustainability is dependent upon the contribution of the world's hundred million smallholder farms, but the contributions of smallholder farms to global agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been understudied. We developed a localized agricultural life cycle assessment (LCA) database to calculate GHG emissions and made the first extensive assessment of the smallholder farms' GHG emission reduction potentials by coupling crop and livestock production (CCLP), a redesign of current practices toward sustainable agriculture in China. CCLP can reduce the GHG emission intensity by 17.67%, with its own feed and manure returning to the field as an essential path. Scenario analysis verified that greater GHG emission reduction (28.09%-41.32%) will be achieved by restructuring CCLP. Therefore, this mixed farming is a mode with broader benefits to provide sustainable agricultural practices for reducing GHG emissions fairly.

Fulfilling global climate pledges can lead to major increase in forest land on Tibetan Plateau.

The UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow spawned the enhancement and updating of many nations' climate pledges. Previous research has investigated the effects of these pledges on limiting planetary warming, but their spatially explicit effects on land use/cover are unknown. Here, we linked the Glasgow pledges and the spatially explicit responses of the Tibetan Plateau's land systems. We found that while fulfilling global climate pledges may not significantly affect the global shares of forestland, grassland/pasture, shrubland, and cropland, it needs a 9.4% increase in the forest area of the Tibetan Plateau. This need is an area 11.4 times the increase of the plateau's forest in the 2010s, or greater than the size of Belgium. The new forest comes mainly from the medium-density grassland in the Yangtze River basin, calling for more proactive environmental management for the headwaters area of this longest river in Asia.

The soil microbiome: An essential, but neglected, component of regenerative agroecosystems.

Regenerative agriculture (RA) is gaining traction globally as an approach for meeting growing food demands while avoiding, or even remediating, the detrimental environmental consequences associated with conventional farming. Momentum is building for science to provide evidence for, or against, the putative ecosystem benefits of RA practices relative to conventional farming. In this perspective article, we advance the argument that consideration of the soil microbiome in RA research is crucial for disentangling the varied and complex relationships RA practices have with the biotic and abiotic environment, outline the expected changes in soil microbiomes under RA, and make recommendations for designing research that will answer the outstanding questions on the soil microbiome under RA. Ultimately, deeper insights into the role of microbial communities in RA soils will allow the development of biologically relevant monitoring tools which will support land managers in addressing the key environmental issues associated with agriculture.

Climate change maladaptation for health: Agricultural practice against shifting seasonal rainfall affects snakebite risk for farmers in the tropics.

Snakebite affects more than 1.8 million people annually. Factors explaining snakebite variability include farmers' behaviors, snake ecology and climate. One unstudied issue is how farmers' adaptation to novel climates affect their health. Here we examined potential impacts of adaptation on snakebite using individual-based simulations, focusing on strategies meant to counteract major crop yield decline because of changing rainfall in Sri Lanka. For rubber cropping, adaptation led to a 33% increase in snakebite incidence per farmer work hour because of work during risky months, but a 17% decrease in total annual snakebites because of decreased labor in plantations overall. Rice farming adaptation decreased snakebites by 16%, because of shifting labor towards safer months, whereas tea adaptation led to a general increase. These results indicate that adaptation could have both a positive and negative effect, potentially intensified by ENSO. Our research highlights the need for assessing adaptation strategies for potential health maladaptations.

Moss-dominated biocrust-based biodiversity enhances carbon sequestration via water interception and plant-soil-microbe interactions.

We investigated a nature-based solution (NbS) via incorporating biocrust into alfalfa-maize intercropping system to test carbon sequestration in seriously eroded agricultural soils. Field investigation showed that the NbS (moss-dominated biocrust + intercropping) massively lowered surface soil erosion by 94.5% and soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) loss by 94.7 and 96.8% respectively, while promoting rainwater interception by 82.2% relative to bare land (CK). There generally existed positive interactions between biocrust and cropping in the integrated standing biodiversity system. Enhanced plant biomass input into soils substantially promoted soil fungal community diversity and abundance under NbS (p < 0.05). This enabled NbS to evidently improve soil macroaggregate proportion and mean weight diameter. Critically, topsoil carbon storage was increased by 2.5 and 10.7%, compared with CK and pure intercropping (p < 0.05). Conclusively, the standing diversity under such NbS fostered soil C sequestration via water interception and plant-soil-microbe interactions in degraded agricultural soils.

Nutrient-doped synthetic silicates for enhanced weathering, remineralization and fertilization on agricultural lands of global cold regions - A perspective on the research ahead.

There is now a dire demand for negative emissions technologies (which sequester CO2 from the atmosphere) that can be rapidly deployed, are scalable, and are demonstrably safe and effective. Enhanced weathering of silicate minerals has demonstrated a significant potential for CO2 capture and sequestration by the formation of pedogenic carbonates in soils, subsoils, and sediments. This technique has also been shown to deliver fruitful results in terms of improving soil health, and in turn plant health, through remineralization. The silicate minerals that possess the highest weathering rates (e.g., wollastonite), are relatively rare in nature, whereas the abundant ones (e.g., anorthite and forsterite) have a slower pace of weathering, especially in colder and drier climates such as found in the extensive agricultural lands of Western Canada and the Western United States. Herein, we offer a perspective on the opportunities for computational studies targeting atomic-scale interaction of CO2 with silicates and synthesis of fast-weathering silicates (such as larnite and bredigite), whose composition can be tuned to also support soil fertilization and remineralization, and whose production must be integrated with green and carbon-neutral technologies to ensure net-negative life cycle emissions.

Agriculture and food security under a changing climate: An underestimated challenge.

Pathways to eradicate global hunger while bending the curve of biodiversity loss unanimously suggest changing to less energy-rich diets, closing yield gaps through agroecological principles, adopting modern breeding technologies to foster stress resilience and yields, as well as minimizing harvest losses and food waste. Against the background of a brief history of global agriculture, we review the available evidence on how the global food system might look given a global temperature increase by 3°. We show that a moderate gain in the area suitable for agriculture is confronted with substantial yield losses through strains on crop physiology, multitrophic interactions, and more frequent extreme events. Self-amplifying feedback are unresolved and might lead to further losses. In light of these uncertainties, we see that complexity is underestimated and more systemic research is needed. Efficiency gains in agriculture, albeit indispensable, will not be enough to achieve food security under severe climate change.

The impacts of spatial resolutions on global urban-related change analyses and modeling.

Various global land use/land cover (LULC) products have been developed to drive land-relevant climate and hydrological models for environmental assessments. However, systematic studies remain scarce that assess the uncertainties of using these products. By using a total of 16 commonly used global LULC products, we find a logarithm law of upscaling with the spatial resolution. The law reveals spatial details of urban features will be majorly distorted when using LULC products with coarser resolutions. A tipping point of the law around the 30-m resolution was identified by additional analysis of the 1-m and 10-m local land use dataset. Through the example of assessing crop production loss, we further find that most of these products will yield a significant underestimation of crop production losses, globally and locally. We conclude that the underestimated urban land rooted in most of these products would cause vital impacts on global change analyses and modeling.