Effect of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes and Manganese and Zinc Doped Ferrites on the Development of Capsicum annuum.

Nanotechnology applied to agriculture (nanoagriculture) represents a watershed in the study and development of novel alternatives that could strongly influence agricultural practices. In this research, we documented the comparative study with multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and ferrites doped with zinc-manganese in C. annuum development, due to the nanoparticles study in plant crops has been showing beneficial effects.

Effect of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes Functionalized with Indol-3-butyric Acid on the Development of Avena sativa.

In pioneering research, it has been documented that the CNT influences the development of plants through the balance of phytoregulators. Therefore, in this work the objective is to evaluate the effects of CNT functionalized by non-covalent method with indole-3-butyric acid that they have on Avena sativa. The CNT was characterized by FTIR and Raman to confirm functionalization. It was observed that in the germination stage the seeds treated with IBA inhibited germination, however, when functionalizing the CNT with IBA it was observed that the CNT is contributing to counteract this inhibition.

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles: An Environmentally Friendly Alternative to Improve Early Germination of Zea mays.

The application of nanoparticles (NPs) in the field of agriculture represents a novel, efficient and low-cost alternative to replace supplies of conventional agriculture. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (NpsZnO) have been shown to have a positive effect on the development of various vegetable species. For this study, NpsZnO were synthesized by the sol-gel method, and subsequently, its absorption in Zea mays seeds and its effect on germination were evaluated. The results showed mesoporous nanoparticles were obtained. In addition, the seeds exposed to the nanoparticles showed a significantly higher concentration of zinc compared to the seeds control, showing values of up to 275 ppm compared to the control which contained an average of 75 ppm. An increase in germination was also observed, obtaining the best effect in the concentration of 16 µg/mL. The growth-promoting effect of the applied NPs on seed germination could be due to the activity of zinc as a precursor in the synthesis of phytoregulators. However, there is a lack of studies in research such as this one to confirm this inference.

Effect of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes Functionalized with Kinetin on the Development of Avena sativa.

In pioneering research, it has been documented that the CNT influences the development of plants through the balance of phytoregulators. Therefore, in this work the objective is to evaluate the effects of the CNT functionalized by non-covalent method with kinetin that have in Avena sativa. CNT was characterized by FTIR and Raman to confirm functionality. The results showed that the application of CNT with phytoregulators modified plant development.

Synthetic Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes Affect Arabidopsis thaliana Growth through Blocking the TOR Signaling Pathway.

The phytotoxicity of synthetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on plant growth has been documented. However, the physiological mechanisms associated with it are not clear. The activity of TOR signaling pathway and phytoregulators balance play key roles in plant growth regulation and their stress response.

Sporulation on blood serum increases the virulence of Mucor circinelloides.

Mucor circinelloides is an opportunistic human pathogen that is used to study mucormycosis, a rare but lethal infection in susceptible immunosuppressed patients. However, the virulence characteristics of this pathogen have not been fully elucidated. In this study, sporangiospores (spores) produced on YPG medium supplemented with native blood serum increased the virulence of M. circinelloides compared with spores produced on YPG supplemented with denatured blood serum or on YPG alone. The spores produced from YPG supplemented with native blood serum increased nematode death and led to significant increases in interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1ß, macrophage inhibitory protein-2, and tumour necrosis factor α mRNA levels in liver and lung tissues from infected diabetic mice compared with those in tissues from animals infected with spores produced in the presence of YPG supplemented with denatured blood serum or of YPG alone. Moreover, spores produced from cultures supplemented with native blood serum showed increased germination rates and longer hyphae compared with other spores. The spores produced in YPG supplemented with native blood serum also enhanced resistance to stress factors and H2O2 and increased thermotolerance compared with spores produced under other conditions. In addition, spores produced in presence of blood serum increased the ability of the pathogen to survive in the presence of macrophages. Taken together, our results showed that these factors were important features for fungal virulence in humans and suggested that thermolabile components in the blood serum may induce M. circinelloides virulence.

Nitrogen availability drives the effect of Glomus intraradices on the growth of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) plants.

BACKGROUND: On the one hand, the critical nitrogen (N) content curve allows the minimal N content necessary for maximum growth rate at any stage of crop development to be predicted. On the other hand, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) transfer N from the soil to the plants and its growth and activity depends on the availability of soil N. Our objective was to investigate how the availability of N in the soil affects growth and the accumulation of N in inoculated strawberry plants. Root colonisation, dry matter accumulation and the critical N% curve were studied during growth of inoculated and non-inoculated strawberry plants grown at several N levels. RESULTS: (1) The increase in the availability of N augmented root colonisation by AMF. (2) The effect of AMF on plant growth depended on N availability and the plant developmental status. (3) The critical %N curves were fitted by the following equations: %N = 2.81× (DM)(-0.21) (r² = 0.81) and %N = 2.89× (DM)(-0.32) (r² = 0.80) for inoculated and non-inoculated plants, respectively (where DM is the weight of leaf dry matter, in g plant⁻¹). CONCLUSION: N availability was a key factor for root colonisation by AMF and for its contribution to plant growth. The patterns of the critical %N curves suggest that AMF modified the photosynthetic N use efficiency.