Combined metabolome and transcriptome reveal HmF6'H1 regulating simple coumarin accumulation against powdery mildew infection in Heracleum moellendorffii Hance.

BACKGROUND: Powdery mildew, caused by Eeysiphe heraclei, seriously threatens Heracleum moellendorffii Hance. Plant secondary metabolites are essential to many activities and are necessary for defense against biotic stress. In order to clarify the functions of these metabolites in response to the pathogen, our work concentrated on the variations in the accumulation of secondary metabolites in H. moellendorffii during E. heraclei infection. RESULTS: Following E. heraclei infection, a significant upregulation of coumarin metabolites-particularly simple coumarins and associated genes was detected by RNA-seq and UPLC-MS/MS association analysis. Identifying HmF6'H1, a Feruloyl CoA 6'-hydroxylase pivotal in the biosynthesis of the coumarin basic skeleton through ortho-hydroxylation, was a significant outcome. The cytoplasmic HmF6'H1 protein was shown to be able to catalyze the ortho-hydroxylation of p-coumaroyl-CoA and caffeoyl-CoA, resulting in the formation of umbelliferone and esculetin, respectively. Over-expression of the HmF6'H1 gene resulted in increased levels of simple coumarins, inhibiting the biosynthesis of furanocoumarins and pyranocoumarins by suppressing PT gene expression, enhancing H. moellendorffii resistance to powdery mildew. CONCLUSIONS: These results established HmF6'H1 as a resistance gene aiding H. moellendorffii in combatting E. heraclei infection, offering additional evidence of feruloyl-CoA 6'-hydroxylase role in catalyzing various types of simple coumarins. Therefore, this work contributes to our understanding of the function of simple coumarins in plants' defense against powdery mildew infection.

Cleaner production of Chinese cabbage by intercropping from Cd contaminated soil: Effects of hyperaccumulator variety and planting strip width.

The utilization of Cd-contaminated soil in vegetable crop production can lighten the food crisis and improve the soil environmental resilience. Intercropping is a reliable technology in safety production from contaminated soil. A field-scale experiment was carried out to unravel how plant species and pattern affect the growth and Cd uptake of Chinese cabbage from Cd contaminated land. Among all the intercropping systems designed in this study, one row of Chinese cabbage intercropping with one row of Solanum nigrum L. is the best planting mode (high yields (2.78 kg/m2) and low Cd accumulation (0.02 mg/kg) of Chinese cabbage). Combined with the in-depth joint analysis of diverse soil physicochemical features (soil nutrient characteristics and microbial community structure), biomass yield and quality, and soil microbiological properties, we elaborated that two measures (screening hyperaccumulation types and controlling planting strip width) were the major factors in determining the growth of the aboveground and underground parts of Chinese cabbage respectively, thus directly regulating the application effectiveness of intercropping technology. The intertwined mechanisms (interspecific and intraspecific relationship) of different intercropping systems are summarized, which include better utilization of space, light and other resources in the aboveground part, bioavailability of nutrient, drive of soil bacteria and alleviated soil Cd stress in the underground part, etc. Our research outputs indicate the effectiveness and feasibility of intercropping can be improved by optimizing the streamline configuration and plant mode, which provide theory of reference and practical evidence for warranting the food safety and agricultural soil remediation simultaneously.

Effects of biochars derived from four crop straws on a Cd-polluted cinnamon soil.

Crop straw biochar is an efficient and low-cost alternative amendment for heavy metal immobilization in acidic soil. However, reports on the effect of these biochars on the amendment of actual Cd-polluted calcareous soil are limited. Therefore, four biochars, derived from peanut, rice, maize, and wheat straws, were applied to determine the changes in the chemical properties of alkaline cinnamon soil and effects on Cd immobilization. The results showed that the cation exchange capacity and the contents of organic C, Mehlich-3 K, and Mehlich-3 P in the biochar-amended soil increased by 4.87-22.02%, 68.78-218.83%, 1.9-10.3 times, and 19.18-74.40%, respectively, indicating the potential high performance of biochar in improving soil fertility and productivity. The Community Bureau of Reference sequential extraction results showed that decrease in acid-extractable Cd resulted in a reduced availability of Cd. Thus, crop straw biochar could be a promising alternative for soil Cd decontamination and fertilization.

Improved performance and applicability of copper-iron bimetal by sulfidation for Cr(VI) removal.

The reactivity of zero-valent iron (ZVI) for the Cr(VI) removal in groundwater is mainly limited by the formation of a passivation layer during its application in permeable reactive barrier (PRB). A kind of sulfidated copper-iron bimetal (S-ZVICu) with high reactivity for Cr(VI) removal was prepared by depositing FeSx onto copper modified ZVI via a one-pot method. The surface characteristic, reactivity and Cr(VI) removal performance of S-ZVICu were investigated. It was found that S-ZVICu had a Cr(VI) removal capacity as high as 67.5 mg/g and little risk of secondary contaminant of Cu(II). The optimal Cu/Fe mass ratio and S/Fe molar ratio were 0.0125 and 0.084, respectively. The S-ZVICu exhibited great superiority of Cr(VI) removal compared with ZVI, sulfidated ZVI (SZVI) and coper-iron bimetal (ZVICu). Mineralogy and morphology analysis showed that S-ZVICu had a hierarchical structure of Fe0/Cu0/FeSx, which could effectively reduce the risk of secondary contaminant of copper ions. The mechanism analysis suggested that the copper and FeSx successively plated on the surface of ZVI played a dual role in promoting the corrosion of zero-valent iron, and was facilitated to electron transfer between Fe0, Cu0, FeSx and Cr(VI). In addition, the loose FeSx layer had a positive effect on alleviating the oxidation of ZVI in air, which was helpful in maintaining the reactivity of S-ZVICu in the air. S-ZVICu is an environmentally friendly material for sustainable and effective removal of Cr(VI) in groundwater.

Effects of shading on triterpene saponin accumulation and related gene expression of Aralia elata (Miq.) Seem.

Aralia elata (Miq.) Seem is widely used as a medicinal plant and functional food in China. In this study, A. elata plants were exposed to full sunlight (CK), 40% shading (LS), 60% shading (MS), and >80% shading (ES) condition to investigate the effects of shading treatments on growth, stress levels, antioxidant enzymes activity, araloside content and related gene expression. The greatest growth and leaf biomass were achieved in 40% shading, and leaf biomass per plant increased by 16.09% compared to the non-shading treatment. Furthermore, the lowest reactive oxide species (ROS) production and lipid peroxidation resulting from increasing antioxidant enzyme activity were also observed in LS treatment. Overall, shading percentage negatively regulated the expression of key enzymes (squalene synthase, SS; squalene epoxidase, SE and ß-amyrin synthase, bAS) involved in the saponin biosynthesis, resulting in the greatest yields of total and four selected aralosides in A. elata leaves were achieved in sunlight group. However, the greatest yield of total saponin in the leaves was observed in the 40% shading group due to higher leaf biomass. The results suggest that optimizing the field growing conditions would be important for obtaining the greatest yield of bioactive components. Total saponin and selected aralosides also have a significant correlation with ROS production and antioxidant enzyme activity, these indicated the increased yield of these saponins may be part of a defense response. The study concludes that the production of saponin was the interaction of oxidative stress and photosynthesis.

Identification and analysis of CYP450 and UGT supergene family members from the transcriptome of Aralia elata (Miq.) seem reveal candidate genes for triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis.

BACKGROUND: Members of the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) and UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT) gene superfamily have been shown to play essential roles in regulating secondary metabolite biosynthesis. However, the systematic identification of CYP450s and UGTs has not been reported in Aralia elata (Miq.) Seem, a highly valued medicinal plant. RESULTS: In the present study, we conducted the RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis of the leaves, stems, and roots of A. elata, yielding 66,713 total unigenes. Following annotation and KEGG pathway analysis, we were able to identify 64 unigenes related to triterpenoid skeleton biosynthesis, 254 CYP450s and 122 UGTs, respectively. A total of 150 CYP450s and 92 UGTs encoding > 300 amino acid proteins were utilized for phylogenetic and tissue-specific expression analyses. This allowed us to cluster 150 CYP450s into 9 clans and 40 families, and then these CYP450 proteins were further grouped into two primary branches: A-type (53%) and non-A-type (47%). A phylogenetic analysis of 92 UGTs and other plant UGTs led to clustering into 16 groups (A-P). We further assessed the expression patterns of these CYP450 and UGT genes across A. elata tissues, with 23 CYP450 and 16 UGT members being selected for qRT-PCR validation, respectively. From these data, we identified CYP716A295 and CYP716A296 as the candidate genes most likely to be associated with oleanolic acid synthesis, while CYP72A763 and CYP72A776 were identified as being the most likely to play roles in hederagenin biosynthesis. We also selected five unigenes as the best candidates for oleanolic acid 3-O-glucosyltransferase. Finally, we assessed the subcellular localization of three CYP450 proteins within Arabidopsis protoplasts, highlighting the fact that they localize to the endoplasmic reticulum. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents a systematic analysis of the CYP450 and UGT gene family in A. elata and provides a foundation for further functional characterization of these two multigene families.

Benzene homologues contaminants in a former herbicide factory site: distribution, attenuation, risk, and remediation implication.

Benzene homologues often used as organic raw materials or as detergents in chemical industry are prone to accidental release into the environment which can cause serious long-term soil pollutions. In a large former herbicide factory site, we investigated 43 locations for benzene homologues contaminations in soil, soil gas, and groundwater and studied the hydrogeological conditions. An inverse distance weighted interpolation method was employed to determine the pollutants three-dimensional spatial distribution in the soils. Results showed that benzene homologues residues were mainly originated from the herbicide production workshop and that the pollution had horizontally expanded at the deeper soil layer. Contaminants had already migrated 15 m downward from ground surface. Contaminant phase distribution study showed that NAPL was the primary phase (> 99%) for the pollutants accumulated in the unsaturated zone, while it had not migrated to groundwater. The primary mechanism for contaminant transport and attenuation included dissolution of "occluded" NAPL into pore water and pollutant volatilization into soil pore space. Risk assessment revealed that the pollutants brought unacceptable high carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks to public health. In order to convert this former chemical processing factory site into a residential area, a remediation to the polluted production workshop sites is urgently required.

Removal of Cu(II) from acidic electroplating effluent by biochars generated from crop straws.

The removal efficiency of copper (Cu(II)) from an actual acidic electroplating effluent by biochars generated from canola, rice, soybean and peanut straws was investigated. The biochars simultaneously removed Cu(II) from the effluent, mainly through the mechanisms of adsorption and precipitation, and neutralized its acidity. The removal efficiency of Cu(II) by the biochars followed the order: peanut straw char > soybean straw char > canola straw char > rice straw char >> a commercial activated carbonaceous material, which is consistent with the alkalinity of the biochars. The pH of the effluent was a key factor determining the removal efficiency of Cu(II) by biochars. Raising the initial pH of the effluent enhanced the removal of Cu(II) from it. The optimum pyrolysis temperature was 400 degrees C for producing biochar from crop straws for acidic wastewater treatment, and the optimum reaction time was 8 hr.