Transporters and transcription factors gene families involved in improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and assimilation in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Nitrogen (N) as a macronutrient is an important determinant of plant growth. The excessive usage of chemical fertilizers is increasing environmental pollution; hence, the improvement of crop's nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is imperative for sustainable agriculture. N uptake, transportation, assimilation, and remobilization are four important determinants of plant NUE. Oryza sativa L. (rice) is a staple food for approximately half of the human population, around the globe and improvement in rice yield is pivotal for rice breeders. The N transporters, enzymes indulged in N assimilation, and several transcription factors affect the rice NUE and subsequent yield. Although, a couple of improvements have been made regarding rice NUE, the knowledge about regulatory mechanisms operating NUE is scarce. The current review provides a precise knowledge of how rice plants detect soil N and how this detection is translated into the language of responses that regulate the growth. Additionally, the transcription factors that control N-associated genes in rice are discussed in detail. This mechanistic insight will help the researchers to improve rice yield with minimized use of chemical fertilizers.

The Evolving Faces of the SARS-CoV-2 Genome.

Surveillance of the evolving SARS-CoV-2 genome combined with epidemiological monitoring and emerging vaccination became paramount tasks to control the pandemic which is rapidly changing in time and space. Genomic surveillance must combine generation and sharing sequence data with appropriate bioinformatics monitoring and analysis methods. We applied molecular portrayal using self-organizing maps machine learning (SOM portrayal) to characterize the diversity of the virus genomes, their mutual relatedness and development since the beginning of the pandemic. The genetic landscape obtained visualizes the relevant mutations in a lineage-specific fashion and provides developmental paths in genetic state space from early lineages towards the variants of concern alpha, beta, gamma and delta. The different genes of the virus have specific footprints in the landscape reflecting their biological impact. SOM portrayal provides a novel option for 'bioinformatics surveillance' of the pandemic, with strong odds regarding visualization, intuitive perception and 'personalization' of the mutational patterns of the virus genomes.

The use of Neem biomass for the biosorption of zinc from aqueous solutions.

An adsorbent was developed from mature leaves and stem bark of the Neem (Azadirachta indica) tree for removing zinc from water. Adsorption was carried out in a batch process with several different concentrations of zinc by varying pH. The uptake of metal was very fast initially, but gradually slowed down indicating penetration into the interior of the adsorbent particles. The data showed that optimum pH for efficient biosorption of zinc by Neem leaves and stem bark was 4 and 5, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity showed that the Neem biomass had a mass capacity for zinc (147.08 mg Zn/g for Neem leaves and 137.67 mg Zn/g Neem bark). The experimental results were analyzed in terms of Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The thermodynamic assessment of the metal ion-Neem tree biomass system indicated the feasibility and spontaneous nature of the process and DeltaG degrees values were evaluated as ranging from -26.84 to -32.75 (Neem leaves) kJ/mol and -26.04 to -29.50 (Neem bark) kJ/mol for zinc biosorption. Due to its outstanding zinc uptake capacity, the Neem tree was proved to be an excellent biomaterial for accumulating zinc from aqueous solutions.