Sophora tonkinensis: response and adaptation of physiological characteristics, functional traits, and secondary metabolites to drought stress.

The medicinal plant Sophora tonkinensis is a characteristic Chinese shrub of karst areas. The arid climate in karst areas produces high-quality S. tonkinensis; however, the mechanisms of drought tolerance are not clear, which restricts sustainable plantings of S. tonkinensis. This study involved a 20-day drought stress experiment with potted S. tonkinensis and threee soil water regimes: control (CK), mild drought (MDT), and severe drought (SDT). Plant morphology, biomass, physiological indicators, alkaloid content, and other changes under drought stress were monitored. The content of soluble sugars and proteins, and activity of antioxidant enzymes in leaves and roots were higher under drought than CK, indicating that S. tonkinensis is tolerant to osmotic stress in early drought stages. Content of matrine and oxymatrine increased gradually with increasing drought duration in the short term. The epidermis of S. tonkinensis leaves have characteristics of desert plants, including upper epidermal waxy layer, lower epidermal villi, and relatively sunken stomata, suggesting that S. tonkinensis has strong drought tolerance. In conclusion, drought stress changed the cell structure of S. tonkinensis, induced antioxidant enzyme activity and increased its resistance to drought.

[Effect of sowing dates on physiological characteristics, yield, and quality of Carthamus tinctorius].

A field experiment was conducted to measure the physiological characteristics, yield, active ingredient content, and other indicators of Carthamus tinctorius leaves undergoing 13 sowing date treatments. The principal component analysis(PCA) and redundancy analysis were used to analyze the correlation between these indicators to explore the effect of sowing date on the yield and active ingredient content of C. tinctorius in Liupanshan of Ningxia. The results illustrated that the early sowing in autumn and spring had significant effects on leaf photosynthetic parameters, SPAD value, antioxidant enzyme activity, nitrogen metabolism enzyme activity, filament yield, grain yield, and hydroxy safflower yellow A(HYSA) of C. tinctorius. Sowing in mid-November and late March had the best effect. Leaf transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, glutamine synthetase, and glutamate synthase increased by 44.9%, 52.4%, 15.9%, 60.8%, 10.3%, and 38.3%, respectively. The activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase decreased by 10.8%, 4.1%, and 20.9%, respectively. The improvement of photosynthetic physiological characteristics promoted the dry matter accumulation and reproductive growth of C. tinctorius. The yield of filaments and seeds increased by 15.5% and 11.7%, and the yield of HYSA and kaempferol increased by 17.9% and 20.0%. In short, the suitable sowing date can promote the growth and development of C. tinctorius in Liupanshan of Ningxia, and significantly improve the yield and quality, which is conducive to the high quality and efficient production of C. tinctorius.

Impact of dormancy periods on some physiological and biochemical indices of potato tubers.

Background: Storage of potato tubers is an essential stage of the supply chain, from farm to consumer, to efficiently match supply and demand. However, the quality and yield of potatoes are influenced by physiological changes during storage. Methods: This study tested the physiological and biochemical indices in three potato varieties (YunSu 108, YunSu 304 and YunSu 306) during their dormancy periods. Results: Three potato varieties with different dormancy periods were used to follow changes in starch, protein and several enzymes during storage. The starch and sugar content of the long-dormant variety (YunSu 108, LDV) were stable, whereas those of the short-dormant variety (YunSu 306, SDV) were variable. Starch synthase activity in the three varieties was initially high, then decreased; the starch content of LDV was relatively stable, that of the medium-dormant variety (YunSu 304, MDV) increased with storage time and peaked at sprouting, and that of SDV was low but variable. The sucrose synthase activity of LDV was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than MDV and SDV in the middle storage period. Two spikes were observed in the invertase activity of SDV, whereas those of MDV and LDV were stable. The reducing sugar content of LDV increased significantly before sprouting, that of MDV slowly decreased and that of SDV dropped sharply. During the whole storage period, pectinase activity in LDV did not change significantly, whereas pectinase in MDV and SDV decreased. The cellulase and protein contents initially increased and then decreased in LDV, and steadily decreased in MDV and SDV. Conclusion: The metabolic indices related to starch and sugar in the LDV were relatively stable during storage, whereas those of the SDV varied greatly. SDV showed increased sucrose, reducing sugars and cellulose; LDV PCA plots clustered in the positive quadrant of PC1 and the negative quadrant of PC2, with increased protein, sucrose synthase and starch; MDV had increased soluble starch synthase.

Food and drug design for gut microbiota-directed regulation: Current experimental landscape and future innovation.

Most diets and medications enhance host health via microbiota-dependent ways, but it is in the present situation of untargeted regulation. Non-targeted regulation may lead to the ineffectiveness of dietary supplements or drug treatment. Microbiota-directed food, aiming to improve diseases by targeting specific microbes without affecting other bacteria, have been proposed to deal with this problem. However, there is currently no universally applicable method to explore such foods or drugs. In this review, thirty studies on recent efforts in microbiota directed diets and medications are summarized from various databases. The methods used to find new foods and medications are primarily divided into four groups depending on the experimental models: in vivo and in vitro, as well as predictions based on bioinformatics. We also discuss their implementation, interpretation, and respective limitations, and describe the present situation. We further put forward a framework for microbiota-directed foods and medicine according to above methods and other microbiome manipulation, which will spur precision medicine.

Effects of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on growth indicators and physiological characteristics of Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn leaves.

As a kind of medicinal plant, Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn has been over-harvested in the wild population, which leads to its artificial cultivation. The present study aims to analyze the effects of different plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) on the growth and physiological characteristics of P. Praeruptorum leaves. Compared with the CK, the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was drastically reduced in the leaves of P. Praeruptorum in different treatment groups (P < 0.05), and with S6 showing the most significant reduction in MDA content (content was only about 1/3 that of the CK). The indicators of leaf area, length and width were found to be the highest in group S9, reaching a level that is 3.75, 3.08 and 1.48 times higher than those in group CK, respectively. Group S8 has the largest plant height, which is 1.22 times higher than that in group CK. S2 has the largest stem diameter, which is 1.69 times higher than that in group CK. Group S1 has the largest petiole length, which is 1.74 times higher than that in group CK. Group S6 has the largest chlorophyll content, which is 1.63 times higher than that in group CK. Group S2 has the highest content of soluble sugar and soluble protein, which are 2.02 times and 3.82 times higher than those in group CK. Group S9 exhibits the strongest CAT activity, which is 3.71 times higher than that in group CK. S5 exhibits the strongest SOD activity, which is 2.32 times higher than group CK. Group S1 exhibits the strongest POD activity, which is 5.94 times higher than that in group CK. In conclusion, the inoculation with PGPR is effective in improving the growth of P. Praeruptorum leaves and their physiological indicators, which provides guidance on the application of PGPR to achieve the high quality and yield of P. Praeruptorum.

A Recognition Method for Road Hypnosis Based on Physiological Characteristics.

Road hypnosis is a state which is easy to appear frequently in monotonous scenes and has a great influence on traffic safety. The effective detection for road hypnosis can improve the intelligent vehicle. In this paper, the simulated experiment and vehicle experiment are designed and carried out to obtain the physiological characteristics data of road hypnosis. A road hypnosis recognition model based on physiological characteristics is proposed. Higher-order spectra are used to preprocess the electrocardiogram (ECG) and electromyography (EMG) data, which can be further fused by principal component analysis (PCA). The Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA), and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) models are constructed to identify road hypnosis. The proposed model has good identification performance on road hypnosis. It provides more alternative methods and technical support for real-time and accurate identification of road hypnosis. It is of great significance to improve the intelligence and active safety of intelligent vehicles.

Artemisia baimaensis allelopathy has a negative effect on the establishment of Elymus nutans artificial grassland in natural grassland.

Planting Elymus nutans artificial grassland to replace degraded Artemisia baimaensis grassland on the Qinghai Tibetan plateau (QTP) can effectively alleviate local grass-livestock imbalance. However, it is unknown whether the allelopathy of natural grassland plant A. baimaensis on E. nutans affects grassland establishment. Accordingly, we examined the effects of varying concentrations of aqueous extracts of A. baimaensis litter on the seed germination and early seedling growth of E. nutans, and the effects of A. baimaensis volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on the growth parameters and physiological characteristics of E. nutans. The results indicate that the aqueous extract inhibited the force, percentage, and index of germination of E. nutans and affected early seedling growth, particularly at high concentrations. Further, the VOCs significantly reduced the aboveground and root biomass of E. nutans and increased malondialdehyde concentrations. Additionally, these VOCs altered the antioxidant enzyme activities and increased the superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, ascorbic acid peroxidase, soluble sugar, and proline content but significantly decreased glutathione reductase levels. Our results indicate that the allelopathy of A. baimaensis significantly inhibited the germination and seedling growth of E. nutans . Thus, the leaching of A. baimaensis may produce allelochemicals in the soil that inhibit the germination of E. nutans seeds. Moreover, the VOCs of A. baimaensis may disrupt the growth process, resulting in a decrease in biomass and a disruption of the physiological metabolism of seedlings under field conditions.

Seed Vigour and Morphological and Physiological Characteristics of Epimedium brevicornu Maxim: In Different Stages of Seed Development.

Epimedium brevicornu Maxim is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant with important value for curing several diseases, including liver cancer. Seed germination, field seedling emergence, and morphological and physiological traits were measured in developing seeds of E. brevicornu, which were collected at 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 days after flowering. The results showed that with the fruit pericarp changing from lime green to dark red, the seed volume increased. Furthermore, the dry mass of seeds gradually increased from 0.011 g at 7 d to 0.275 g at 35 d, which was a significantly positive correlation with seed vigour (r = 0.980). The soluble protein content initially increased and then decreased to 11.09 mg/g and presented a maximum at 28 d; however, the soluble sugar content gradually declined to a minimum of 30.45 mg/g at 35 d, which was also significantly negatively correlated with seed vigour (r = -0.915). Furthermore, the unsaturated fatty acids (oleic acid and linoleic acid) increase with seed development. Abscisic acid (ABA) reached a maximum value of 18.45 ng/g at 28 d, and gibberellin (GA3), 3-Indoleacetic acid (IAA) and zeatin-riboside (ZR) initially increased and then decreased. These results suggest that the vigour of E. brevicornu seeds is closely associated with their stage of development, with the highest vigour observed at 28~35 d after flowering.

Effect of indole-3-acetic acid supplementation on the physiology of Lolium perenne L. and microbial activity in cadmium-contaminated soil.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution has led to a serious deterioration in soil quality, plant growth, and human health. Therefore, restoration of soil quality is imperative. Phytoremediation is inexpensive and yields acceptable outcomes. Phytoremediation involves interaction between plant physiology and microbial activity and has been widely used in the remediation of Cd-contaminated soil. In the present study, Lolium perenne L. (perennial ryegrass) was planted in Cd-spiked soil and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) was used to explore the physiological and biochemical characteristics of ryegrass as well as soil enzyme activity to remove Cd. The present study provides a theoretical basis for the phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soil. The study investigated the effect of 30-mg/kg Cd-spiked soil on ryegrass (C) and 30-mg/kg Cd-spiked soil on ryegrass treated with 10-mg/kg IAA (CI) compared with uncontaminated soil and ryegrass as the control. At the end of the experiment, the ryegrass biomass, total chlorophyll, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and soil invertase activity in C group were decreased by 33.7%, 23.0%, 29.7%, and 18.3%, respectively, whereas the peroxidase (POD) activity and soil basal respiration increased by 17.1% and 87.9%, respectively, compared with the control. In the CI group, the biomass of ryegrass, chlorophyll content, SOD activity, sucrase activity, fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolase activity, and Cd removal rates increased by 14.5%, 19.9%, 24.3%, 12.1%, 20.4%, and 15.1%, respectively, whereas the POD activity, soil basal respiration, and Cd residues in the soil declined by 8.0%, 15.0%, and 17.0%, respectively, compared with the C group. Therefore, exposure to exogenous IAA alleviated the Cd stress on ryegrass and soil microorganisms and improved Cd absorption by ryegrass from the contaminated soil.

Understanding of the relations of metabolic syndromes and abnormal Bianzheng based on the physiological characteristics of the liver and spleen in children / 国际中医中药杂志

Bianzheng was a special gasification law, closely related to metabolism Physiologically. The children's Bianzheng was the internal basis for sound physical and mental development and the dynamic balance of the five internal organs. As to the pathology, children's Bianzheng disorders had an adverse effect on the body. The ancient books found that children's Bianzheng disorders were closely related to the dysfunction of liver and spleen. It was manifested as malnutrition, developmental disorders, and even metabolic syndrome in adulthood. The principle of soothing the liver, relieving depression and strengthening the spleen were proposed to treat the metabolic syndrome, in order to enrich the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theoretical understanding of the metabolic syndrome. The prevention and treatment ideas provide theoretical reference.

Drought stress induces biosynthesis of flavonoids in leaves and saikosaponins in roots of Bupleurum chinense DC.

Drought stress affects vegetative and reproductive growth processes and synthesis of secondary metabolites in plants. We assessed relevant indicators of vegetative and reproductive growth in Bupleurum chinense DC. during drought stress. Samples were collected on days 4, 8, 12, 20, and 24 of a drought treatment according to drought stress severity in order to elucidate potential effects on synthesis of flavonoids in leaves and saikosaponins in roots of B. chinense. The results showed that B. chinense can adapt to drought stress mainly by increasing concentrations of osmoregulatory substances (soluble protein and proline) and increasing activity of protective enzymes (superoxide dismutase and catalase), as observed on days 12 and 20 of the treatment. Secondary metabolite concentrations in B. chinense roots and leaves showed significant differences-drought stress increased saikosaponin concentrations in roots by 9.85% and 6.41% during vegetative and reproductive growth, respectively, on day 20, and saikosaponin concentrations in roots were higher during vegetative growth than during reproductive growth. In leaves, large amounts of antioxidants were consumed owing to drought stress, which decreased leaf rutin concentrations by 38.79% and 30.11% during vegetative and reproductive growth, respectively, as observed on day 20; overall, leaf rutin concentrations were lower during vegetative growth than during reproductive growth. Changes in soil water content are known to affect synthesis of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants by altering gene transcription, and affected genes may synergistically respond to soil water changes and alter concentrations of flavonoid in leaves and of saikosaponin in roots. The gene F3H down-regulates flavonoid production in leaves. Squalene epoxidase and ß-amyrin synthase genes may be key genes regulating saikosaponin accumulation, and changes in their expression corresponded to accumulation of saikosaponins. Our results provide insights in B. chinense adaptation to drought stress through physiological changes and regulation of secondary metabolite production in different plant tissues.

Effects of phosphorous fertilizers on growth, Cu phytoextraction and tolerance of Leersia hexandra swartz under different Cu stress levels.

In this study, the effects of Ca(H2PO4)2, KH2PO4 and (NH4)2HPO4 on growth, Cu phytoextraction and tolerance of Leersia hexandra swartz (L. hexandra) under different Cu stress levels were investigated. The results showed that KH2PO4 could most significantly increase the plant height of L. hexandra (p < 0.05), while (NH4)2HPO4 had the most significant promoting effect on its biomass (p < 0.05) by enhancing photosynthesis (chlorophyll content) (p < 0.01). The application of Ca(H2PO4)2 could most significantly improve the Cu contents in roots, stems and leaves of L. hexandra (p < 0.05). In addition, (NH4)2HPO4 could enhance the tolerance of L. hexandra to Cu by obviously reducing the content of MDA and increasing the contents of SP and MTs (p < 0.05), while Ca(H2PO4)2 could evidently improve the activity of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, CAT and APX) to reduce the damage of Cu to L. hexandra (p < 0.05). Although KH2PO4 could increase the contents of SP and MTs, the L. hexandra in KH2PO4 treatment groups had the highest MDA contents, which was unfavorable to the resistance to Cu stress. These suggested that the application in combination of Ca(H2PO4)2 and (NH4)2HPO4 may be more advantageous for Cu phytoextraction by L. hexandra.

Amino Acid Supplementations Enhance the Stress Resistance and Fermentation Performance of Lager Yeast During High Gravity Fermentation.

The effects of different wort gravity or ethanol concentration in initial wort on the fermentation performance of lager yeast and assimilation of free amino acids (FAAs) were studied. Results showed that compared with high wort gravity (24°P), high ethanol concentration (10%, v/v) decreased yeast growth, cell viability, and wort fermentability significantly. The assimilation of FAAs was changed dramatically by high ethanol toxicity, and positive correlations between the assimilation amounts of 10 FAAs (Asp, Ser, Gly, Arg, Tyr, Val, Met, Lys, Ile, and Leu) and fermentation performance (cell viability, fermentability, and ethanol production) were identified, especially for Arg and Lys exhibiting extremely significant positive correlations. Furthermore, confirmatory testing was carried out by supplementing 24°P worts with 10 FAAs of 0.5, 1, and 2 times of their standard concentrations, respectively. Results exhibited that 10 FAA supplementations improved physiological characteristics and fermentation performance of lager yeast significantly, especially for 1 times FAA supplementation increasing wort fermentability and ethanol yield by 6 and 17%, respectively, and upregulated the expression level of HSP12 and increased more intracellular trehalose accumulation in yeast cells, indicating that stronger protective function was stimulated in yeast cells. Therefore, it was suggested that these 10 FAAs could regulate yeast cells to adapt to high gravity environmental stresses.

Assessing the effect of industrial wastewater on soil properties and physiological and nutritional responses of Robinia pseudoacacia, Cercis siliquastrum and Caesalpinia gilliesii seedlings.

The main aim of this study is to investigate the physical and chemical properties, including soil salinity, acidity, concentrations of macro-nutrients (phosphorus, potassium, and Calcium-Magnesium) and sodium adsorption ratio to the soil, physiological and nutritional traits of three plant species including Caesalpinia gilliesii, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Cercis siliquastrum. First, some sample were taken from the agricultural soils irrigated with wastewater. The results of initial soil test revealed that the irrigation with wastewater significantly increased sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), electrical conductivity (ECe), cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soil (p < 0.05). Secondly, the effect of industrial wastewater on the responses of three plants were investigated. According to the results, the highest shoot fresh weight was observed in C. gilliesii seedlings treated with T100%, which is 35% higher than the control treatment. The highest concentration of shoot phosphorus in the three plants was respectively 0.54, 0.72, and 1% in those treated with T100% and 0.41, 0.48, and 0.83% in the control treatment. The amount of shoot potassium in the three plants treated with T100% was respectively 0.84, 0.48, and 1%, while it was 0.43, 0.4, and 0.1 in the control treatment, respectively (p < 0.05). According to the current concerns about increased EC, SAR, and Na in C. gilliesii treated with T100%, as compared to the control treatment (50, 386, and 412), and the positive effects of wastewater on soil properties (CEC, pH, and K) and morpho-physiological responses of the plant, it is recommended to use wastewater with continuous monitoring to prevent the pollution of water and soil resource.

Identification of drought-responsive miRNAs and physiological characterization of tea plant (Camellia sinensis L.) under drought stress.

BACKGROUND: Drought stress is one of the major natural challenges in the main tea-producing regions of China. The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is a traditional beverage plant whose growth status directly affects tea quality. Recent studies have revealed that microRNAs (miRNAs) play key functions in plant growth and development. Although some miRNAs have been identified in C. sinensis, little is known about their roles in the drought stress response of tea plants. RESULTS: Physiological characterization of Camellia sinensis 'Tieguanyin' under drought stress showed that the malondialdehyde concentration and electrical conductivity of leaves of drought-stressed plants increased when the chlorophyll concentration decreased under severe drought stress. We sequenced four small-RNA (sRNA) libraries constructed from leaves of plants subjected to four different treatments, normal water supply (CK); mild drought stress (T1); moderate drought stress (T2) and severe drought stress (T3). A total of 299 known mature miRNA sequences and 46 novel miRNAs were identified. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis revealed that most of the differentially expressed-miRNA target genes were related to regulation of transcription. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis revealed that the most highly enriched pathways under drought stress were D-alanine metabolism, sulfur metabolism, and mineral absorption pathways. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to validate the expression patterns of 21 miRNAs (2 up-regulated and 19 down-regulated under drought stress). The observed co-regulation of the miR166 family and their targets ATHB-14-like and ATHB-15-like indicate the presence of negative feedback regulation in miRNA pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Analyses of drought-responsive miRNAs in tea plants showed that most of differentially expressed-miRNA target genes were related to regulation of transcription. The results of study revealed that the expressions of phase-specific miRNAs vary with morphological, physiological, and biochemical changes. These findings will be useful for research on drought resistance and provide insights into the mechanisms of drought adaptation and resistance in C. sinensis.