The Impact of Salinity on Crop Yields and the Confrontational Behavior of Transcriptional Regulators, Nanoparticles, and Antioxidant Defensive Mechanisms under Stressful Conditions: A Review.

One of the most significant environmental challenges to crop growth and yield worldwide is soil salinization. Salinity lowers soil solution water potential, causes ionic disequilibrium and specific ion effects, and increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) buildup, causing several physiological and biochemical issues in plants. Plants have developed biological and molecular methods to combat salt stress. Salt-signaling mechanisms regulated by phytohormones may provide additional defense in salty conditions. That discovery helped identify the molecular pathways that underlie zinc-oxide nanoparticle (ZnO-NP)-based salt tolerance in certain plants. It emphasized the need to study processes like transcriptional regulation that govern plants' many physiological responses to such harsh conditions. ZnO-NPs have shown the capability to reduce salinity stress by working with transcription factors (TFs) like AP2/EREBP, WRKYs, NACs, and bZIPs that are released or triggered to stimulate plant cell osmotic pressure-regulating hormones and chemicals. In addition, ZnO-NPs have been shown to reduce the expression of stress markers such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) while also affecting transcriptional factors. Those systems helped maintain protein integrity, selective permeability, photosynthesis, and other physiological processes in salt-stressed plants. This review examined how salt stress affects crop yield and suggested that ZnO-NPs could reduce plant salinity stress instead of osmolytes and plant hormones.

Emerging Trends in Non-Protein Amino Acids as Potential Priming Agents: Implications for Stress Management Strategies and Unveiling Their Regulatory Functions.

Plants endure the repercussions of environmental stress. As the advancement of global climate change continues, it is increasingly crucial to protect against abiotic and biotic stress effects. Some naturally occurring plant compounds can be used effectively to protect the plants. By externally applying priming compounds, plants can be prompted to trigger their defensive mechanisms, resulting in improved immune system effectiveness. This review article examines the possibilities of utilizing exogenous alpha-, beta-, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (AABA, BABA, and GABA), which are non-protein amino acids (NPAAs) that are produced naturally in plants during instances of stress. The article additionally presents a concise overview of the studies' discoveries on this topic, assesses the particular fields in which they might be implemented, and proposes new avenues for future investigation.

Proximate Analysis of Moringa oleifera Leaves and the Antimicrobial Activities of Successive Leaf Ethanolic and Aqueous Extracts Compared with Green Chemically Synthesized Ag-NPs and Crude Aqueous Extract against Some Pathogens.

Research on the use of different parts of the Moringa oleifera plant as a nutritional and pharmaceutical resource for human and animals has increased in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the chemical composition and the TPCs and TFCs of Moringa leaves, the antimicrobial activities of Moringa successive ethanolic, aqueous, crude aqueous extracts, and green-chemically synthesized characterized Ag-NPs. The results indicated that the ethanolic extract recorded the highest activity against E. coli. On the other side, the aqueous extract showed higher activity, and its effects ranged from 0.03 to 0.33 mg/mL against different strains. The MIC values of Moringa Ag-NPs against different pathogenic bacteria ranged from 0.05 mg/mL to 0.13 mg/mL, and the activity of the crude aqueous extract ranged from 0.15 to 0.83 mg/mL. For the antifungal activity, the ethanolic extract recorded the highest activity at 0.04 mg/mL, and the lowest activity was recorded at 0.42 mg/mL. However, the aqueous extract showed effects ranging from 0.42 to 1.17 mg/mL. Moringa Ag-NPs showed higher activity against the different fungal strains than the crude aqueous extract, and they ranged from 0.25 to 0.83 mg/mL. The MIC values of the Moringa crude aqueous extract ranged from 0.74 to 3.33 mg/mL. Moringa Ag-NPs and their crude aqueous extract may be utilized to boost antimicrobial attributes.

Transcriptome datasets of maize plant cultures treated with humic- and amino acids.

There has been a global surge in the need for commercially accessible plant conditioners that are derived from natural ingredients and are therefore environmentally benign. Currently, sustainable agriculture and minimizing the ecological impact are of great importance. Preparations that contain commonly used humic acids and/or natural amino acids are ideal for meeting these criteria. An investigation was conducted to examine the impact of three plant foliar fertilizers containing humic acid and one fertilizer containing a combination of humic and amino acids on maize crops. By employing the shallow mRNA sequencing technique, we acquired datasets that, once processed, are ideal for investigating the impacts of the foliar fertilizers examined in the study. Five SRA datasets were uploaded to NCBI. These datasets include the TSA (Transcriptome Shotgun Assembly), the contigs that were blasted, mapped, and annotated from the pre-processed datasets, as well as the count table obtained from the RNA-seq read quantification. All of these data are included in the Mendeley database. In the future, the databases will enable the investigation of alterations in plant biochemical processes at the gene expression level.

Interventional Effect of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles with Zea mays L. Plants When Compensating Irrigation Using Saline Water.

High salinity reduces agriculture production and quality, negatively affecting the global economy. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) enhance plant metabolism and abiotic stress tolerance. This study investigated the effects of 2 g/L foliar Zinc oxide NPs on Zea mays L. plants to ameliorate 150 mM NaCl-induced salt stress. After precipitation, ZnO-NPs were examined by UV-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, and particle size distribution. This study examined plant height, stem diameter (width), area of leaves, chlorophyll levels, hydrolyzable sugars, free amino acids, protein, proline, hydrogen peroxide, and malondialdehyde. Gas chromatographic analysis quantified long-chain fatty acids, and following harvest, leaves, stalks, cobs, seeds, and seeds per row were weighed. The leaves' acid and neutral detergent fibers were measured along with the seeds' starch, fat, and protein. Plant growth and chlorophyll concentration decreased under salt stress. All treatments showed significant changes in maize plant growth and development after applying zinc oxide NPs. ZnO-NPs increased chlorophyll and lowered stress. ZnO-NPs enhanced the ability of maize plants to withstand the adverse conditions of saline soils or low-quality irrigation water. This field study investigated the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles on maize plant leaves when saline water is utilized for growth season water. This study also examined how this foliar treatment affected plant biochemistry, morphology, fatty acid synthesis, and crop production when NaCl is present and when it is not.

The Influence of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Salt Stress on the Morphological and Some Biochemical Characteristics of Solanum lycopersicum L. Plants.

Salinity reduces crop yields and quality, causing global economic losses. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) improve plant physiological and metabolic processes and abiotic stress resistance. This study examined the effects of foliar ZnO-NPs at 75 and 150 mg/L on tomato Kecskeméti 549 plants to alleviate salt stress caused by 150 mM NaCl. The precipitation procedure produced ZnO-NPs that were characterized using UV-VIS, TEM, STEM, DLS, EDAX, Zeta potential, and FTIR. The study assessed TPCs, TFCs, total hydrolyzable sugars, total free amino acids, protein, proline, H2O2, and MDA along with plant height, stem width, leaf area, and SPAD values. The polyphenolic burden was also measured by HPLC. With salt stress, plant growth and chlorophyll content decreased significantly. The growth and development of tomato plants changed by applying the ZnO-NPs. Dosages of ZnO-NPs had a significant effect across treatments. ZnO-NPs also increased chlorophyll, reduced stress markers, and released phenolic chemicals and proteins in the leaves of tomatoes. ZnO-NPs reduce salt stress by promoting the uptake of minerals. ZnO-NPs had beneficial effects on tomato plants when subjected to salt stress, making them an alternate technique to boost resilience in saline soils or low-quality irrigation water. This study examined how foliar application of chemically synthesized ZnO-NPs to the leaves affected biochemistry, morphology, and phenolic compound synthesis with and without NaCl.

Dataset of conditioning effect of herbal extract-based plant biostimulants in pea (Pisum sativum).

Nowadays, many researchers, farmers and companies focus on the development of an environmentally friendly approach for enhancing field vegetable production and protection. Using next-generation plant biostimulants (PBs) could be effective to enhance tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, vegetable crop quality or nutrient efficiency which is particularly important for vegetables with a short growing season, such as Pisum sativum. Two herbal drug-containing plant conditioners Elice16Indures® (supercritical carbon dioxide extract SC-CO2) and Fitokondi® (aqueous extract) developed in the RIMPH Ltd (Hungary) were used in pea field experiments to monitor the potential of enhancing crop quality and defense response against different stress factors. Fresh leaves were collected after treatments for QuantSeq 3' mRNA sequencing at Illumina NextSeq 550 platform and libraries were investigated by genome-wide transcriptional profiling focusing on genes associated with defense response pathways. RNA quantification datasets are presented and 86 bp long sequence reads were pre-processed and assembled that were deposited in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), Sequence Read Archive (SRA) and Transcriptome Shotgun Assembly (TSA) databases under the BioProject PRJNA870114. Functional annotation of transcripts and pairwise differential expression with enrichment analyses are presented here to support gene expression analysis experiments.

Natural immunity stimulation using ELICE16INDURES® plant conditioner in field culture of soybean.

Recently, climate change has had an increasing impact on the world. Innate defense mechanisms operating in plants - such as PAMP-triggered Immunity (PTI) - help to reduce the adverse effects caused by various abiotic and biotic stressors. In this study, the effects of ELICE16INDURES® plant conditioner for organic farming, developed by the Research Institute for Medicinal Plants and Herbs Ltd. Budakalász Hungary, were studied in a soybean population in Northern Hungary. The active compounds and ingredients of this product were selected in such a way as to facilitate the triggering of general plant immunity without the presence and harmful effects of pathogens, thereby strengthening the healthy plant population and preparing it for possible stress effects. In practice, treatments of this agent were applied at two different time points and two concentrations. The conditioning effect was well demonstrated by using agro-drone and ENDVI determination in the soybean field. The genetic background of healthier plants was investigated by NGS sequencing, and by the expression levels of genes encoding enzymes involved in the catalysis of metabolic pathways regulating PTI. The genome-wide transcriptional profiling resulted in 13 contigs related to PAMP-triggered immunity and activated as a result of the treatments. Further analyses showed 16 additional PTI-related contigs whose gene expression changed positively as a result of the treatments. The gene expression values of genes encoded in these contigs were determined by in silico mRNA quantification and validated by RT-qPCR. Both - relatively low and high treatments - showed an increase in gene expression of key genes involving AOC, IFS, MAPK4, MEKK, and GST. Transcriptomic results indicated that the biosyntheses of jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), phenylpropanoid, flavonoid, phytoalexin, and cellular detoxification processes were triggered in the appropriate molecular steps and suggested that plant immune reactions may be activated also artificially, and innate immunity can be enhanced with proper plant biostimulants.

'Garlic-lipo'4Plants: Liposome-Encapsulated Garlic Extract Stimulates ABA Pathway and PR Genes in Wheat (Triticum aestivum).

Recently, environmentally friendly crop improvements using next-generation plant biostimulants (PBs) come to the forefront in agriculture, regardless of whether they are used by scientists, farmers, or industries. Various organic and inorganic solutions have been investigated by researchers and producers, focusing on tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, crop quality, or nutritional deficiency. Garlic has been considered a universal remedy ever since antiquity. A supercritical carbon dioxide garlic extract encapsulated in nanoscale liposomes composed of plant-derived lipids was examined as a possible PB agent. The present study focused on the characterization of the genes associated with the pathways involved in defense response triggered by the liposome nanoparticles that were loaded with supercritical garlic extracts. This material was applied to Triticum aestivum in greenhouse experiments using foliar spraying. The effects were examined in a large-scale genome-wide transcriptional profiling experiment by collecting the samples four times (0 min, used as a control, and 15 min, 24 h, and 48 h after spraying). Based on a time-course expression analysis, the dynamics of the cellular response were determined by examining differentially expressed genes and applying a cluster analysis. The results suggested an enhanced expression of abscisic acid (ABA) pathway and pathogenesis-related (PR) genes, of which positive regulation was found for the AP2-, C2H2-, HD-ZIP-, and MYB-related transcription factor families.

Corrigendum to "Natural immunity stimulation using ELICE16INDURES® plant conditioner in field culture of soybean" [Heliyon 9 (1), (January 2023) Article e12907].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e12907.].

Different Tactics of Synthesized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles, Homeostasis Ions, and Phytohormones as Regulators and Adaptatively Parameters to Alleviate the Adverse Effects of Salinity Stress on Plants.

A major abiotic barrier to crop yield and profitability is salt stress, which is most prevalent in arid and semi-arid locations worldwide. Salinity tolerance is complicated and multifaceted, including a variety of mechanisms, and to adapt to salt stress, plants have constructed a network of biological and molecular processes. An expanding field of agricultural research that combines physiological measures with molecular techniques has sought to better understand how plants deploy tolerance to salinity at various levels. As the first line of defense against oxidative damage brought on by salt stress, host plants synthesize and accumulate several osmoprotectants. They (osmoprotectants) and other phytohormones were shown to serve a variety of protective roles for salt stress tolerance. Intrinsic root growth inhibition, which could be a protection mechanism under salty conditions, may be dependent on phytohormone-mediated salt signaling pathways. This article may also make it easier for scientists to determine the precise molecular processes underlying the ZnO-NPs-based salinity tolerance response for some plants. ZnO-NPs are considered to improve plant growth and photosynthetic rates while also positively regulating salt tolerance. When plants are under osmotic stress, their administration to zinc nanoparticles may also affect the activity of antioxidant enzymes. So, ZnO-NPs could be a promising method, side by side with the released osmoprotectants and phytohormones, to relieve salt stress in plants.

Transcriptome profiling dataset of different developmental stage flowers of soybean (Glycine max).

The dynamic of flower development is a key agronomic characteristic affecting soybean yield. RNA-seq dataset of field-cultivated soybean flowers in four developmental stages including flower buds, and early, mature, and overblown stage flowers are reported in this paper. Gene Expression (Gex) library construction and Illumina NextSeq550 sequencing were carried out to produce 86 bp long forward reads. Reads were preprocessed and deposited in the National Center for Biotechnology Information Sequence Read Archive (NCBI SRA) database. These SRA depositions are under the BioProject accession: PRJNA807844. A reference transcriptome dataset was de novo assembled using these SRA reads. Annotation, differential expression, and gene set enrichment analyses were performed and deposited in the Mendeley Data.

RNA-seq datasets of field rapeseed (Brassica napus) cultures conditioned by Elice16Indures® biostimulator.

Elice16Indures® Plant Conditioner combines the effects of a number of herbs to increase the yield of dicotyledonous plants in the field. This crop enhancer can also be used in organic farming applying low doses with ULV spraying by drone. Reducing the ecological footprint is the basis for sustainable crop production. By using the crop enhancer, a better crop can be achieved with less impact on the environment. EU Member States attach great importance to rapeseed (Brassica napus). Due to its versatility, it is one of the supported plants. Plant conditioner applied in different phenological phases (BBCH 51 and BBCH 67) of winter oilseed rape at a dose of 240 g/ha of. By using Elice16Indures, the value of the vegetation index and the yield can be increased. RNA-seq data set of field Elice16Indures-treated and non-treated (control) rapeseed plants are presented. For RNA-seq experiments, two samples were taken from leaf tissues in the phenological phase of BBCH 69 from control and treated plots, 2 days after treatment. Illumina NextSeq 550 sequence reads were uploaded to the NCBI SRA database after preprocessing. Combined read sets were de novo assembled and functional annotation with the output transcripts were performed. The entire dataset of identified coding sequences (transcripts) was deposited in the NCBI TSA database. The SRA and TSA datasets are under the BioProject access PRJNA838472. The data series reported in this study may open up new opportunities to increase the efficiency of organic rapeseed production.

Transcriptome datasets of ß-Aminobutyric acid (BABA)-primed mono- and dicotyledonous plants, Hordeum vulgare and Arabidopsis thaliana.

The non-protein amino acid ß-Aminobutyric acid (BABA) may trigger the immune responses of plants to various biotic and abiotic stresses leading to a long-term resistance (primed state). We present RNA-seq datasets of BABA - primed mono- and dicotyledonous plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana and Hordeum vulgare. Illumina NextSeq550 sequencing were carried out after 72 h of BABA exposure. 87 bp long sequence reads were preprocessed of treated and control samples and deposited in the NCBI SRA database. Transcriptome datasets were de novo assembled of each species and deposited in the NCBI TSA database. These SRA and TSA depositions are under the Bioproject accession: PRJNA791573. Pairwise differential expression with enrichment analyses were performed and the most specific DEGs were determined and annotated in both plants.

Time-course gene expression profiling data of Triticum aestivum treated by supercritical CO2 garlic extract encapsulated in nanoscale liposomes.

The biostimulant phytochemicals as alternatives to synthetic chemicals are gaining ground in sustainable agricultural production nowadays. The medicinal herb, garlic (Allium sativum) has a spectacular therapeutic reputation due to its antimicrobial properties. The effectiveness of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction of A. sativum could help preserve bioactive compounds and be used as a biostimulant agent. The SC-CO2 garlic was formulated in liposomes and used as a nanoscale drug delivery system to reach better efficiency of penetration and translocation. The SC-CO2 garlic extracts were used in Triticum aestivum time-course experiments to monitor conditioning effects such as improving crop quality and priming its defense responses against different pathogens. Fresh leaves were collected after SC-CO2 garlic exposure at 15 min, 24, and 48 hours for QuantSeq 3' mRNA sequencing at Illumina NextSeq 550 platform. RNA quantification datasets are presented. Raw data such as Illumina 85bp single-end read sequences and reconstructed transcripts were deposited in the NCBI SRA and TSA databases under the BioProject PRJNA808851. Functional annotation of transcripts and time-course expression data are presented here to support gene expression analysis experiments.

RNA-seq datasets of field soybean cultures conditioned by Elice16Indures® biostimulator.

The herbal drug-containing plant conditioner Elice16Indures® may help elicit plant immune responses in field dicotyledonous cultures. Application of this conditioner is also allowed in organic farming and recommended its drone spraying application in small doses. In this way, even distribution and better yields may be reached leading to economical and safe plant growing. The high protein content soy is an important food both in animal and human aspects which ecological cultivation is gaining prominence over GMO technology in the European Union. We present RNA-seq datasets of control and Elice16Indures treated soybean plants cultivated in field conditions from 01/05/2020 to 20/07/2020. For RNA seq experiments six samples were collected from vegetative tissues two times during the vegetation cycle: before and in flowering after 48 h of drone exposure. The 86 bp long Illumina NextSeq 550 reads were preprocessed and deposited in the NCBI SRA database. De novo assembly of combined read sets was performed and transcripts were deposited in the NCBI TSA database. Data of functional analysis of annotated transcripts are presented. The SRA and TSA datasets are under the Bioproject accession PRJNA778970. The presented datasets may help new strategies of ecological production of soy.

Liposomal Formulation of Botanical Extracts may Enhance Yield Triggering PR Genes and Phenylpropanoid Pathway in Barley (Hordeum vulgare).

This work aimed to study the plant conditioning effect and mode of action of a plant-based biostimulant used in organic farming. This new generation plant biostimulant, named ELICE16INDURES®, is rich in plant bio-active ingredients containing eleven supercritical botanical extracts encapsulated in nano-scale liposomes. The dose-response (10 to 240 g ha-1) relationship was tested in a field population of autumn barley (Hordeum vulgare) test crop, and underlying molecular mechanisms were studied. Applying nanotechnology, cell-identical nanoparticles may help the better uptake and delivery of active ingredients increasing resilience, vitality, and crop yield. The amount of harvested crops showed a significant increase of 27.5% and 39.9% interconnected to higher normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of 20% and 25% after the treatment of low and high dosages (20 and 240 g ha-1), respectively. Illumina NextSeq 550 sequencing, gene expression profiling, and KEGG-pathway analysis of outstanding dosages indicated the upregulation of pathogenesis-related (PR) and other genes-associated with induced resistance-which showed dose dependency as well.

Different expression pattern of flowering pathway genes contribute to male or female organ development during floral transition in the monoecious weed Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. (Asteraceae).

The highly allergenic and invasive weed Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. is a monoecius plant with separated male and female flowers. The genetic regulation of floral morphogenesis is a less understood field in the reproduction biology of this species. Therefore the objective of this work was to investigate the genetic control of sex determination during floral organogenesis. To this end, we performed a genome-wide transcriptional profiling of vegetative and generative tissues during the plant development comparing wild-growing and in vitro cultivated plants. RNA-seq on Illumina NextSeq 500 platform with an integrative bioinformatics analysis indicated differences in 80 floral gene expressions depending on photoperiodic and endogenous initial signals. Sex specificity of genes was validated based on RT-qPCR experiments. We found 11 and 16 uniquely expressed genes in female and male transcriptomes that were responsible particularly to maintain fertility and against abiotic stress. High gene expression of homologous such as FD, FT, TFL1 and CAL, SOC1, AP1 were characteristic to male and female floral meristems during organogenesis. Homologues transcripts of LFY and FLC were not found in the investigated generative and vegetative tissues. The repression of AP1 by TFL1 homolog was demonstrated in male flowers resulting exclusive expression of AP2 and PI that controlled stamen and carpel formation in the generative phase. Alterations of male and female floral meristem differentiation were demonstrated under photoperiodic and hormonal condition changes by applying in vitro treatments.

Re-visiting phylogenetic and taxonomic relationships in the genus Saga (Insecta: Orthoptera).

Twelve of the 13 bushcricket species of the Saga genus are bisexuals and diploids, except the parthenogenetic and tetraploid bush cricket, Saga pedo. Despite a continuous research effort stretching through the 1900s, the taxonomic relationships of the Saga species are still disputed. In this study, our primary aim was to reveal natural relationships of the European Saga species and three of their Asian relatives, with special attention to the problematic taxonomy of two subspecies: S. campbelli campbelli and S. c. gracilis. Following a phylogenetic analysis of eight species, a comprehensive study was carried out on the above three taxa by using acoustic and morphometric approaches in parallel. Our phylogenetic data showed that European Saga species evolved from a monophyletic lineage. The geographical transitional species S. cappadocica was positioned between European and Asian lineages supporting the idea that the European Saga lineage originated phylogeographically from the Asian clade. The above results showed better agreement with the morphological data than with earlier ones based either on karyology or acoustic information only. After reviewing our data, we concluded that Saga pedo has most likely evolved from S. c. gracilis and not from S. rammei or S. ephippigera, as proposed by earlier studies. S. c. gracilis shares the same ITS2 haplotype with S. pedo, indicating that the latter could have evolved from populations of the former, probably through whole genome duplication. Based on acoustic and morphometric differences, we propose to elevate the two subspecies, S. campbelli campbelli and S. c. gracilis, to species level status, as Saga gracilis Kis 1962, and Saga campbelli Uvarov 1921. The present work sets the stage for future genetic and experimental investigations of Saginae and highlights the need for additional comprehensive analysis involving more Asian Saga species.