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Background: Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is highly esteemed for its therapeutic properties and is widely used in traditional medicine and modern pharmacology. Enhancing its genetic traits and phytochemical profile, particularly its trigonelline content, can significantly increase its medicinal and agricultural value. This study aims to investigate the effects of gamma rays and Ethyl Methane Sulphonate (EMS) as mutagenic agents on the genetic and phytochemical characteristics of the M2 generation of fenugreek, focusing on genetic diversity and desirable trait enhancement., Methods and Results: To achieve this, various concentrations of EMS and gamma rays were administered to fenugreek seeds, and 27 traits were assessed in the resulting M2 generation. These traits were analyzed for variance, mean values, and correlations. The genetic diversity of 23 M2 offspring was investigated using nine Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) markers. The genetic diversity assessment involved Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) and cluster analysis, utilizing the Dice similarity coefficients and the Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA). A Bayesian model provided deeper insights into the genetic structure. Results revealed that lower doses of gamma rays (100 Gy) and EMS (0.2%) positively impacted specific traits. In comparison, higher doses (200 Gy and 0.4% EMS) increased seed trigonelline content to 0.71 mg/g dry weight. Among the SCoT markers, SCoT-9 was the most efficient, segregating the populations into three clusters. The first three principal components in the PCoA explained 20% of the total variance, leading to seven subgroup populations distinction., Conclusions: These findings underscore the potential of induced mutagenesis in enhancing desirable traits in fenugreek., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background: This study investigated the effects of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) combined with ultrasonic stress germination (AUG) treatment on the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of highland barley (HB). Key variables, including germination times (ranging from 0 to 96 h), ultrasonic power (200-500 W), and GABA concentration (5-20 mmol/L), were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) to enhance the enrichment of phenolic compounds. Furthermore, the study assessed the content, composition, and antioxidant activities of phenolic compounds in HB under various treatment conditions such as germination alone (G), ultrasonic stress germination (UG), and AUG treatment., Results: The study identified optimal conditions for the phenolic enrichment of HB, which included a germination time of 60 h, an ultrasound power of 300 W, and a GABA concentration of 15 mmol L -1 . Under these conditions, the total phenolic content (TPC) in HB was measured at 7.73 milligrams of gallic acid equivalents per gram dry weight (mg GAE/g DW), representing a 34.96% enhancement compared to untreated HB. Notably, all treatment modalities - G, UG, and AUG - significantly increased the phenolic content and antioxidant activity in HB, with the AUG treatment proving to be the most effective., Conclusion: These obtained results suggest that AUG treatment is a promising processing method for enriching phenolic compounds and improving antioxidant activity in HB. Subsequently, the AUG-treated HB can be used to develop phenolic-rich germinated functional foods to further broaden the application of HB. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Gamma irradiation-based mutant creation is one of the most important methods for rice plant mutagenesis breeding and molecular biology research. Although median lethal dose irradiation severely damages rice seedlings, applying brassinolide (BR) can increase the survival rate of irradiated seedlings. In this study, we investigated the effects of soaking seeds in solutions containing different BR concentrations (0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, and 5.0 μmol/L) and then spraying the resulting seedlings twice with 0.1 μmol/L BR. The combined BR treatments markedly decreased the superoxide anion (O 2 •- ), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), and malondialdehyde contents but increased the chlorophyll content. An appropriate BR treatment of gamma-irradiated samples substantially increased the activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase as well as the proline, ascorbic acid, and glutathione contents in rice seedling shoots. The BR treatment also promoted the growth of seedlings derived from irradiated seeds and increased the shoot and root fresh and dry weights. Most notably, soaking seeds in 0.01 or 0.1 μmol/L BR solutions and then spraying seedlings twice with 0.1 μmol/L BR significantly increased the final seedling survival rate and decreased mutant loss. The study results suggest that exogenous BR treatments can protect rice seedlings from gamma irradiation stress by enhancing antioxidant metabolism.

Perilla [Perilla frutescens (L.) var frutescens] is a traditional oil crop in Asia, recognized for its seeds abundant in α-linolenic acid (18:3), a key omega-3 fatty acid known for its health benefits. Despite the known nutritional value, the reason behind the higher 18:3 content in tetraploid perilla seeds remained unexplored. Gamma irradiation yielded mutants with altered seed fatty acid composition. Among the mutants, DY-46-5 showed a 27% increase in 18:2 due to the 4-bp deletion of PfrFAD3b, and NC-65-12 displayed a 16% increase in 18:2 due to the loss of function of PfrFAD3a through a large deletion. Knocking out both copies of FATTY ACID DESATURASE3 (PfrFAD3a and PfrFAD3b) simultaneously using CRISPR/Cas9 resulted in an increase in 18:2 by up to 75% and a decrease in 18:3 to as low as 0.3% in seeds, emphasizing the pivotal roles of both genes in 18:3 synthesis in tetraploid perilla. Furthermore, diploid Perilla citriodora, the progenitor of cultivated tetraploid perilla, harbors only PfrFAD3b, with a fatty acid analysis revealing lower 18:3 levels than tetraploid perilla. In conclusion, the enhanced 18:3 content in cultivated tetraploid perilla seeds can be attributed to the acquisition of two FAD3 copies through hybridization with wild-type diploid perilla., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site–for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

DNA rearrangements, including inversions, translocations, and large insertions/deletions (indels), are crucial for crop evolution, domestication, and improvement. The rearrangements are frequently induced by ion beams via the mis-repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Unfortunately, how ion beam-induced DSBs are repaired has not been comprehensively analyzed and the mechanisms underlying DNA rearrangements remain unclear. In this study, clonal sectors originating from single mutated cells in carbon ion-irradiated plants were used for whole-genome sequencing analyses after Arabidopsis seeds and seedlings were irradiated. Comparative analyses of the induced mutations (e.g., size and frequency of indels and microhomology at the junctions of the rearrangements) in the irradiated materials suggested that the broken/rejoined DSB ends were more extensively processed in seedlings than in seeds. A mutation to canonical non-homologous end-joining (c-NHEJ), which is a DSB repair pathway with minimal processing of DSB ends, increased the sensitivity to ion beams more in the seeds than in the seedlings, which was consistent with the junction analysis results, indicative of the minor contribution of c-NHEJ to the carbon ion-induced DSB repair in seedlings. Considering the characteristics of the large templated insertions in irradiated seedlings, ion-beam-induced DSBs in seedlings are likely repaired primarily by a polymerase theta-mediated pathway. Polymerase theta-deficient seedlings were more sensitive to ion beams than the c-NHEJ-deficient seedlings, consistent with this hypothesis. This study revealed the key characteristics of ion beam-induced DSBs and the associated repair mechanisms related to the physiological status of the irradiated materials, with implications for elucidating the occurrence and induction of rearrangements., (© 2024 Society for Experimental Biology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The dose effect of radiation has long been a topic of concern, but the molecular mechanism behind it is still unclear. In this study, dried pea seeds were irradiated with 252 Cf fission neutron source. Through analyzing the transcriptome and proteome of M 1 generation pea (Pisum sativum L.) leaves, we studied the molecular rule and mechanism of neutron dose effect. Our results showed three important rules of global gene expression in the studied dose range. The rule closely related to the neutron absorbed dose at the transcription and translation levels is: the greater the difference in neutron absorbed dose between two radiation treatment groups, the greater the difference in differential expression between the two groups and the control group. We also obtained important sensitive metabolic pathways of neutron radiation, as well as related key genes. Furthermore, the overall molecular regulation mechanism of dose effect was revealed based on the main functional items obtained. Our research results can be applied to appropriate radiation dose estimation and agricultural production practice., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No conflicts of interest exist., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is a major vegetable crop grown globally, with a cultivation history of more than 3000 years. The limited genetic diversity, low rate of intraspecific variation, and extended periods of traditional breeding have resulted in slow progress in their genetic research and the development of new varieties. Gamma (γ)-ray irradiation potentially accelerates the breeding progress; however, the biological and molecular effects of γ-ray irradiation on cucumbers are unknown. Exposing cucumber seeds to 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 Gy doses of 60 Co-γ-ray irradiation, this study aimed to investigate the resulting phenotype and physiological characteristics of seedling treatment to determine the optimal irradiation dose. The results showed that low irradiation doses (50-100 Gy) enhanced root growth, hypocotyl elongation, and lateral root numbers, promoting seedling growth. However, high irradiation doses (150-250 Gy) significantly inhibited seed germination and growth, decreasing the survival rate of seedlings. More than 100 Gy irradiation significantly decreased the total chlorophyll content while increasing the malondialdehyde (MDA) and H 2 O 2 content in cucumber. Transcriptome sequencing analysis at 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 Gy doses showed that gene expression significantly differed between low and high irradiation doses. Gene Ontology enrichment and functional pathway enrichment analyses revealed that the auxin response pathway played a crucial role in seedling growth under low irradiation doses. Further, gene function analysis revealed that small auxin up-regulated gene CsSAUR37 was a key gene that was overexpressed in response to low irradiation doses, promoting primary root elongation and enhancing lateral root numbers by regulating the expression of protein phosphatase 2Cs (PP2Cs) and auxin synthesis genes., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

To analyse the effect of nutrient management on the growth, physiology, energy utilization, production and quality of black gram, a field trial on black gram was conducted at eastern Indian Gangetic alluvium during the autumn of 2020 and 2021. Treatments were two soil applications of cobalt (Co) and foliar spray of potassium (K) and boron (B) in five combinations. All treatments were arranged in a split-plot design and repeated three times. Two soil applications of cobalt (Co) were assigned in the main plots and foliar spray of potassium (K) and boron (B) in five combinations were assigned in sub-plots. Applications of Co in soil and foliar K+B facilitated significantly higher (p≤0.05) values for aerial dry matter (ADM), leaf area index (LAI), nodules per plant, total chlorophyll, net photosynthetic rate and nitrate reductase content in both 2020 and 2021, with a greater realization of photosynthetically active radiation interception, and use efficiency (IPAR and PARUE respectively), seed yield, seed nutrients and protein contents. Differences in LAI exhibited positive and linear correlation with IPAR explaining more than 60% variations in different growth stages. The innovative combination of soil Co (beneficial nutrient) application at 4 kg ha-1 combined with foliar 1.25% K (macronutrient) + 0.2% B (micronutrient) spray is a potential agronomic management schedule for the farmers to sustain optimum production of autumn black gram through substantial upgradation of growth, physiology, energy utilization, production and quality in Indian subtropics., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Banerjee et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The prevalence of inorganic pollutants in the environment, including heavy metals (HMs), necessitates a sustainable and cost-effective solution to mitigate their impacts on the environment and living organisms. The present research aimed to assess the phytoextraction capability of spinach (Spinach oleracea L.), under the combined effects of ascorbic acid (AA) and microwave (MW) irradiation amendments, cultivated using surgical processing wastewater. In a preliminary study, spinach seeds were exposed to MW radiations at 2.45 GHz for different durations (15, 30, 45, 60, and 90 seconds). Maximum germination was observed after the 30 seconds of radiation exposure. Healthy spinach seeds treated with MW radiations for 30 s were cultivated in the sand for two weeks, after which juvenile plants were transferred to a hydroponic system. Surgical industry wastewater in different concentrations (25 %, 50 %, 75 %, 100 %) and AA (10 mM) were provided to both MW-treated and untreated plants. The results revealed that MW-treatment significantly enhanced the plant growth, biomass, antioxidant enzyme activities and photosynthetic pigments, while untreated plants exhibited increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and electrolyte leakage (EL) compared with their controls. The addition of AA to both MW-treated and untreated plants improved their antioxidative defense capacity under HMs-induced stress. MW-treated spinach plants, under AA application, demonstrated relatively higher concentrations and accumulation of HMs including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni). Specifically, MW-treated plants with AA amendment showed a significant increase in Pb concentration by 188 % in leaves, Cd by 98 %, and Ni by 102 % in roots. Additionally, the accumulation of Ni increased by 174 % in leaves, Cd by 168 % in roots, and Pb by 185 % in the stem of spinach plant tissues compared to MW-untreated plants. These findings suggested that combining AA with MW irradiation of seeds could be a beneficial strategy for increasing the phytoextraction of HMs from wastewater and improving overall plant health undergoing HMs stress., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Key Message: In Cyrtanthus mackenii, development of embryo and endosperm were differentially affected by fertilization of male gametes with DNA damage and mutations. Pollen irradiation with ionizing radiations has been applied in plant breeding and genetic research, and haploid plant induction has mainly been performed by male inactivation with high-dose irradiation. However, the fertilization process of irradiated male gametes and the early development of embryo and endosperm have not received much attention. Heavy-ion beams, a type of radiation, have been widely applied as effective mutagens for plants and show a high mutation rate even at low-dose irradiation. In this study, we analyzed the effects of male gametes of Cyrtanthus mackenii irradiated with a carbon-ion beam at low doses on fertilization. In immature seeds derived from the pollination of irradiated pollen grains, two types of embryo sacs were observed: embryo sac with a normally developed embryo and endosperm and embryo sac with an egg cell or an undivided zygote and an endosperm. Abnormalities in chromosome segregation, such as chromosomal bridges, were observed only in the endosperm nuclei, irrespective of the presence or absence of embryogenesis. Therefore, in Cyrtanthus, embryogenesis is strongly affected by DNA damage or mutations in male gametes. Moreover, various DNA contents were detected in the embryo and endosperm nuclei, and endoreduplication may have occurred in the endosperm nuclei. As carbon-ion irradiation causes chromosomal rearrangements even at low doses, pollen irradiation can be an interesting tool for studying double fertilization and mutation heritability., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Increasing the seed germination potential and seedling growth rates play a pivotal role in increasing overall crop productivity. Seed germination and early vegetative (seedling) growth are critical developmental stages in plants. High-power microwave (HPM) technology has facilitated both the emergence of novel applications and improvements to existing in agriculture. The implications of pulsed HPM on agriculture remain unexplored. In this study, we have investigated the effects of pulsed HPM exposure on barley germination and seedling growth, elucidating the plausible underlying mechanisms. Barley seeds underwent direct HPM irradiation, with 60 pulses by 2.04 mJ/pulse, across three distinct irradiation settings: dry, submerged in deionized (DI) water, and submerged in DI water one day before exposure. Seed germination significantly increased in all HPM-treated groups, where the HPM-dry group exhibited a notable increase, with a 2.48-fold rise at day 2 and a 1.9-fold increment at day 3. Similarly, all HPM-treated groups displayed significant enhancements in water uptake, and seedling growth (weight and length), as well as elevated levels of chlorophyll, carotenoids, and total soluble protein content. The obtained results indicate that when comparing three irradiation setting, HPM-dry showed the most promising effects. Condition HPM seed treatment increases the level of reactive species within the barley seedlings, thereby modulating plant biochemistry, physiology, and different cellular signaling cascades via induced enzymatic activities. Notably, the markers associated with plant growth are upregulated and growth inhibitory markers are downregulated post-HPM exposure. Under optimal HPM-dry treatment, auxin (IAA) levels increased threefold, while ABA levels decreased by up to 65 %. These molecular findings illuminate the intricate regulatory mechanisms governing phenotypic changes in barley seedlings subjected to HPM treatment. The results of this study might play a key role to understand molecular mechanisms after pulsed-HPM irradiation of seeds, contributing significantly to address the global need of sustainable crop yield., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The study aimed to investigate the effect of microwave heating combined with hot air (70 °C) at different application times (0, 90 &180 s,) on the colour, digestible a soluble protein, functional and pasting properties, antioxidant capacity of Samh seeds (8, 12 & 16 % moisture content). The results indicated that microwave heating caused a significant change in Samh seed's colour and enhanced the protein solubility of the seeds, and the functional properties and viscosities of the Samh seeds. Moreover, the results showed that the moisture content of the Samh seeds and application time significantly impact the seeds' quality parameters. However, the partial least square (PLS) model validated that the microwave treatments of the samh seed with (16 %, 180 s) were treated with microwave energy combined with hot air circulation Accordingly, microwaves may offer the potential of being an effective emerging technology for improving the quality and functional characteristics of Samh seeds., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study comparatively studied the effects of three thermal pretreatment methods, i.e., wet-heat (WT), roasting (RT) and microwave (MT), on the quality attributes and irradiation markers of sesame oil obtained from sesame seeds without and with gamma irradiation. Results showed that gamma irradiation had negligible effect on the quality of sesame seeds and their extracted oils. The effects of thermal pretreatments on irradiated and non-irradiated sesame seeds and their oils were similar, little synergistic effects were observed. The RT-treated oils had more carotenoids, chlorophyll, total phenols, tocopherols, and heterocyclic volatiles content, as well as longer oxidation induction time, but darker color compared with their WT- and MT-treated counterparts. All oil samples had identical FTIR spectra. Eight radiolytic hydrocarbons were identified in the irradiated sesame oils. Thermal pretreatments reduced the content of radiolytic hydrocarbons, but did not significantly change their composition. Our study helps to identify products from irradiated sesame seeds., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aluminum (Al) may be beneficial to crops, but in excess becomes detrimental to the germination and initial development of seedlings. The main determining indicators are the type of crop and exposure duration. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of Al and of UV-C light on the germination and initial growth of white oats. Seeds were sown on germitest paper in a solution of 100, 200, 300, 400, or 500 mg/L of aluminum chloride and kept in a germination chamber at 20°C for a 12-hr photoperiod. Germination and seedling growth parameters were determined after 5 and 10 days. The seeds were also exposed to two doses of UV-C (0.85 and 3.42 kJ m -2 ) under aluminum chloride stress (200 mg/L). Data demonstrated that treatment with aluminum chloride significantly decrease in germination at 200 mg/L and total seedling length at 100 mg/L. Exposure of seeds to UV-C light under excess Al (200 mg/L) did not show a significant effect on germination and growth compared to control (non-irradiated). Results indicated that exposure to high concentration of Al in the medium adversely altered germination and initial growth of white oat seedlings. Although UV-C light alone was not detrimental to the germination process, treatment with UV-C light also failed to mitigate the toxic effects of Al.

Constant-frequency ultrasonic treatment helped to improve seed germination. However, variable-frequency ultrasonic treatment on maize seed germination were rarely reported. In this study, maize seeds were exposed to 20-40 kHz ultrasonic for 40 s. The germination percentage and radicle length of maize seeds increased by 10.4% and 230.5%. Ultrasonic treatment also significantly increased the acid protease, α-amylase, and β-amylase contents by 96.4%, 73.8%, and 49.1%, respectively. Transcriptome analysis showed that 11,475 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found in the ultrasonic treatment and control groups, including 5,695 upregulated and 5,780 downregulated. Metabolic pathways and transcription factors (TFs) were significantly enriched among DEGs after ultrasonic treatment. This included metabolism and genetic information processing, that is, ribosome, proteasome, and pyruvate metabolism, sesquiterpenoid, triterpenoid, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and oxidative phosphorylation, as well as transcription factors in the NAC, MYB, bHLH, WRKY, AP2, bZIP, and ARF families. Variable-frequency ultrasonic treatment increased auxin, gibberellin, and salicylic acid by 5.5%, 37.3%, and 28.9%, respectively. Abscisic acid significantly decreased by 33.2%. The related DEGs were upregulated and downregulated to varying degrees. Seed germination under the abiotic stress conditions of salt stress (NaCl solution), drought (PEG solution), and waterlogging (water-saturated sand bed) under ultrasonic treatment were promoted, radicle length was significantly increased by 30.2%, 30.5%, and 27.3%, respectively; and germination percentage by 14.8%, 20.1%, and 21.6%, respectively. These findings provide new insight into the mechanisms through ultrasonic to promote maize seed germination., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The long-term cultivation of higher plants in space plays a substantial role in investigating the effects of microgravity on plant growth and development, acquiring valuable insights for developing a self-sustaining space life supporting system. The completion of the Chinese Space Station (CSS) provides us with a new permanent space experimental platform for long-term plant research in space. Biological Culture Module (GBCM), which was installed in the Wentian experimental Module of the CSS, was constructed with the objective of growing Arabidopsis thaliana and rice plants a full life cycle in space. The techniques of LED light control, gas regulation and water recovery have been developed for GBCM in which dry seeds of Arabidopsis and rice were set in root module of four culture chambers (CCs) and launched with Wentian module on July 24, 2022. These seeds were watered and germinated from July 28 and grew new seeds until November 26 within a duration of 120 days. To this end, both Arabidopsis and rice plants completed a full life cycle in microgravity on the CSS. As we know, this is the first space experiment achieving rice complete life cycle from seed-to-seed in space. This result demonstrates the possibility to cultivate the important food crop rice throughout its entire life cycle under the spaceflight environment and the technologies of GBCM have effectively supported the success of long-term plant culture experiments in space. These results can serve as invaluable references for constructing more expansive and intricate space plant cultivation systems in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Seed conditioning with ultraviolet light (UV-C) might (1) improve crop yield and quality, (2) reduce the use of agrochemicals during cultivation, and (3) increase plant survival in high salinity environments. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of UV-C conditioning of white oat seeds at two doses (0.85 and 3.42 kJ m -2 ) under salinity stress (100 mM NaCl). Seeds were sown on germination paper and kept in a germination chamber at 20°C. Germination and seedling growth parameters were evaluated after 5 and 10 days. Data demonstrated that excess salt reduced germination and initial growth of white oat seedlings. In all the variables analyzed, exposure of seeds to UV-C under salt stress exerted a positive effect compared to non-irradiated control. The attenuating influence of UV-C in germination was greater at 0.85 than at 3.42 kJ m -2 . Thus, data indicate that conditioning white oat seeds in UV-C light produced greater tolerance to salt stress. These findings suggest that UV-C conditioning of white oat seeds may be considered as a simple and economical strategy to alleviate salt-induced stress.

DNA damage response (DDR), a complex network of cellular pathways that cooperate to sense and repair DNA lesions, is regulated by several mechanisms, including microRNAs. As small, single-stranded RNA molecules, miRNAs post-transcriptionally regulate their target genes by mRNA cleavage or translation inhibition. Knowledge regarding miRNAs influence on DDR-associated genes is still scanty in plants. In this work, an in silico analysis was performed to identify putative miRNAs that could target DDR sensors, signal transducers and effector genes in wheat. Selected putative miRNA-gene pairs were tested in an experimental system where seeds from two wheat mutant lines were irradiated with 50 Gy and 300 Gy gamma(γ)-rays. To evaluate the effect of the treatments on wheat germination, phenotypic and molecular (DNA damage, ROS accumulation, gene/miRNA expression profile) analyses have been carried out. The results showed that in dry seeds ROS accumulated immediately after irradiation and decayed soon after while the negative impact on seedling growth was supported by enhanced accumulation of DNA damage. When a qRT-PCR analysis was performed, the selected miRNAs and DDR-related genes were differentially modulated by the γ-rays treatments in a dose-, time- and genotype-dependent manner. A significant negative correlation was observed between the expression of tae-miR5086 and the RAD50 gene, involved in double-strand break sensing and homologous recombination repair, one of the main processes that repairs DNA breaks induced by γ-rays. The results hereby reported can be relevant for wheat breeding programs and screening of the radiation response and tolerance of novel wheat varieties., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

As a physical mutagen, carbon ion beam (CIB) irradiation can induce high-frequency mutation, which is user-friendly and environment-friendly in plant breeding. In this study, we resequenced eight mutant lines which were screened out from the progeny of the CIB-irradiated dehulled rice seeds. Among these mutants, CIB induced 135,535 variations, which include single base substitutions (SBSs), and small insertion and deletion (InDels). SBSs are the most abundant mutation, and account for 88% of all variations. Single base conversion is the main type of SBS, and the average ratio of transition and transversion is 1.29, and more than half of the InDels are short-segmented mutation (1-2 bp). A total of 69.2% of the SBSs and InDels induced by CIBs occurred in intergenic regions on the genome. Surprisingly, the average mutation frequency in our study is 9.8 × 10 -5 /bp and much higher than that of the previous studies, which may result from the relatively high irradiation dosage and the dehulling of seeds for irradiation. By analyzing the mutation of every 1 Mb in the genome of each mutant strain, we found some unusual high-frequency (HF) mutation regions, where SBSs and InDels colocalized. This study revealed the mutation mechanism of dehulled rice seeds by CIB irradiation on the genome level, which will enrich our understanding of the mutation mechanism of CIB radiation and improve mutagenesis efficiency.

Black lentils contain protein, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins, as well as phytochemicals and various bioactive compounds. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and ultrasound (US) methods are innovative technologies that can be used to increase the efficiency of the germination process in grains and legumes. To improve the nutritional value and bioactive compounds of the cookies, black lentils germinated by applying UV radiation and US technology were used in the cookie formulation. Before the germination process, UV, US, and their combination (UV+US) were applied, and pretreated and unpretreated germinated black lentil flours were used at a level of 20% in the cookie formulation. The results revealed that pretreatment application increased the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity more than the lentil sample germinated without any treatment. In addition, the pretreatments applied further reduced the amount of phytic acid in black lentils and the lowest phytic acid content was obtained with the UV-US combination. Compared to cookies containing unpretreated germinated black lentil flour, higher L* values and lower a* values were obtained in the cookie samples containing pretreated germinated black lentil flour. Cookies containing all pretreated germinated lentils generally exhibited higher Ca and K content. This study demonstrated that UV radiation and US improved the nutritional value and bioactive components of the germinated black lentil flour and the cookies in which it was used, compared to the black lentils germinated without any treatment. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Pretreatment of black lentils with UV/US application before germination resulted in a greater increase in total phenolic content and antioxidant activity compared to the control sample. The applied pretreatments caused a further decrease in the amount of phytic acid in black lentil samples. Black lentils germinated with the UV+US combination revealed higher Ca, Fe, K, and Mg content compared to the sample germinated without any treatment., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Food Science published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Institute of Food Technologists.)

The effect of UV-B radiation exposure on transgenerational plasticity, the phenomenon whereby the parental environment influences both the parent's and the offspring's phenotype, is poorly understood. To investigate the impact of exposing successive generations of rice plants to UV-B radiation on seed morphology and proanthocyanidin content, the local traditional rice variety 'Baijiaolaojing' was planted on terraces in Yuanyang county and subjected to enhanced UV-B radiation treatments. The radiation intensity that caused the maximum phenotypic plasticity (7.5 kJ·m -2 ) was selected for further study, and the rice crops were cultivated for four successive generations. The results show that in the same generation, enhanced UV-B radiation resulted in significant decreases in grain length, grain width, spike weight, and thousand-grain weight, as well as significant increases in empty grain percentage and proanthocyanidin content, compared with crops grown under natural light conditions. Proanthocyanidin content increased as the number of generations of rice exposed to radiation increased, but in generation G3, it decreased, along with the empty grain ratio. At the same time, biomass, tiller number, and thousand-grain weight increased, and rice growth returned to control levels. When the offspring's radiation memory and growth environment did not match, rice growth was negatively affected, and seed proanthocyanidin content was increased to maintain seed activity. The correlation analysis results show that phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL), cinnamate-4-hydroxylase (C4H), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), and 4-coumarate:CoA ligase (4CL) enzyme activity positively influenced proanthocyanidin content. Overall, UV-B radiation affected transgenerational plasticity in seed morphology and proanthocyanidin content, showing that rice was able to adapt to this stressor if previous generations had been continuously exposed to treatment.

Gamma radiation ( 60 Co)-induced mutagenesis offers an alternative to develop rice lines by accelerating the spontaneous mutation process and increasing the pool of allelic variants available for breeding. Ionizing radiation works by direct or indirect damage to DNA and subsequent mutations. The technique can take advantage of in vitro protocols to optimize resources and accelerate the development of traits. This is achieved by exposing mutants to a selection agent of interest in controlled conditions and evaluating large numbers of plants in reduced areas. This chapter describes the protocol for establishing gamma radiation dosimetry and in vitro protocols for optimization at the laboratory level using seeds as the starting material, followed by embryogenic cell cultures, somatic embryogenesis, and regeneration. The final product of the protocol is a genetically homogeneous population of Oryza sativa that can be evaluated for breeding against abiotic and biotic stresses., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Hypothesis: Because reactive oxygen species are involved in the regulation of biological rhythms, we hypothesized that intra-annual variability of seed progeny quality at low doses of ionizing radiation (LDIRs) would differ from that of background plants., Materials and Methods: We conducted 12 consecutive experiments using the roll culture method by germinating seeds (monthly for 3 weeks) of six herbaceous plant species ( Bromus inermis , Geum aleppicum , Plantago major , Rumex confertus , Silene latifolia , and Taraxacum officinale ) growing under conditions of chronic radiation in the East Ural Radioactive Trace (EURT). We assessed physiological (seed viability and abnormality frequency) and biochemical (low-molecular-weight antioxidants, LMWAs) parameters of seedlings., Results: Total absorbed dose rates of maternal plants (TADR plants ) and seed embryos (TADR seeds ) in the EURT exceeded background levels by 1-3 and 1-2 orders of magnitude, respectively. Nonlinear dependencies on TADR were mainly characteristic of physiological and biochemical parameters. For most populations of the studied species ( B. inermis , G. aleppicum , R. confertus , and S. latifolia ), seedling survival and root length decreased in the autumn-winter period, while the frequency of abnormal seedlings increased. The content of LMWAs could be ranked as R. confertus  > B. inermis  > G. aleppicum  > S. latifolia , in good agreement with the presence of anthocyanin pigmentation in the plants. The lowest synthesis of antioxidants in seedlings was observed in winter. A high LMWA content promoted growth and reduced the frequency of abnormal seedlings., Conclusions: These results underscore a multistage nature of the impact of LDIRs on intra-annual biological rhythms in plants. High heterogeneity in reference group 'wild grasses' and diversity of their radiobiological effects should help to develop methods of radiation protection for natural ecosystems and facilitate approaches used by the International Commission on Radiological Protection.HighlightsAbsorbed dose rates for six plant species in the East Ural Radioactive Trace (EURT) area range from 0.11 to 73.89 µGy h -s (plants) and 0.11 to 6.88 µGy h -s (seed embryos).Intra-annual rhythms of physiological and biochemical parameters in the EURT zone differ from those in background seedlings.Plants in the EURT area exhibit a wide range of trait variability, asynchrony of the manifestation of the effects, nonlinear dose-response relations, and hormesis.A high content of low-molecular-weight antioxidants (LMWAs) is associated with low frequency of developmental abnormalities and high viability of seed progeny.

Geomagnetic field (GMF) protects living organisms on the Earth from the radiation coming from space along with other environmental factors during evolution, and it has affected the growth and development of plants. Many researchers have always been interested in investigating these effects in different aspects. In this chapter, we focus on the methods of using different types of magnetic fields (MFs) to investigate the dimensions of their biological effects on plants. The aim is to increase seed germination, growth characters, and yield of plants using the following methods: (1) Using MFs lower than GMF to study effects of GMF on the growth and yield of plants. (2) Using reversed magnetic fields (RMFs) lower than GMF to study its effects on the growth and development of plants during evolution. (3) Using static magnetic fields (SMFs) higher than GMF and reversed SMFs to study effects of the south (S) and north (N) magnetic pole on plants. (4) Using electromagnetic fields (EMFs) to increase and accelerate seed germination, growth, and yield of plants, and establish the status of plants against other environmental stresses. (5) Using magnetized water (MW) to improve plant seed germination, growth, and yield. (6) Using high gradient magnetic field (HGMF) to study magneto-tropism in plants. In this chapter, we recommend application of various types of MFs to study their biological effects on plants to improve crop production., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: Ionizing radiation is a harsh environmental factor that could induce plant senescence. We hypothesized that radiation-related senescence remodels proteome, particularly by triggering the accumulation of prion-like proteins in plant tissues. The object of this study, pea ( Pisum sativum L.), is an agriculturally important legume. Research on the functional importance of amyloidogenic proteins was never performed on this species., Materials and Methods: Pea seeds were irradiated in the dose range 5-50 Gy of X-rays. Afterward, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to investigate changes in the secondary structure of proteins in germinated 3-day-old seedlings. Specifically, we evaluated the ratio between the amide I and II peaks. Next, we performed protein staining with Congo red to compare the presence of amyloids in the samples. In parallel, we profiled the detergent-resistant proteome fraction by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS). Differentially accumulated proteins were functionally analyzed in MapMan software, and the PLAAC tool was used to predict putative prion-like proteins., Results: We showed a reduced germination rate but higher plant height and faster appearance of reproductive organs in the irradiated at dose of 50 Gy group compared with the control; furthermore, we demonstrated more β-sheets and amyloid aggregates in the roots of stressed plants. We detected 531 proteins in detergent-resistant fraction extracted from roots, and 45 were annotated as putative prion-like proteins. Notably, 29 proteins were significantly differentially abundant between the irradiated and the control groups. These proteins belong to several functional categories: amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, cytoskeleton organization, regulatory processes, protein biosynthesis, and RNA processing. Thus, the discovery proteomics provided deep data on novel aspects of plant stress biology., Conclusion: Our data hinted that protein accumulation stimulated seedlings' growth as well as accelerated ontogenesis and, eventually, senescence, primarily through translation and RNA processing. The increased abundance of primary metabolism-related proteins indicates more intensive metabolic processes triggered in germinating pea seeds upon X-ray exposure. The functional role of detected putative amyloidogenic proteins should be validated in overexpression or knockout follow-up studies.

Due to its potential applications in cultivated plants, ionizing radiation (IR) and its effect on organisms is increasingly studied. Here we measured the effects of ionizing radiation on Eruca sativa by analyzing plants from irradiated seeds (1 and 10 Gy) grown in hydroponics. We measured several morpho-physiological traits and genotoxicity. Radiation stress induced a noticeable variability of the morpho-physiological traits highlighting decreased plant vigor. Shoot length and leaf number were significantly higher in 1 Gy-treated samples, whereas root length was significantly higher in 10 Gy treated plants. Stomata number significantly increased with IR dose, whereas both pigment and Rubisco content decreased under radiation stress. Phenol content significantly increased in 1 Gy treated samples, otherwise from total antioxidants, which were not different from control. Most results could find a feasible explanation in a hormesis-like pattern and in a decreased plant vigor under radiation stress. IR induced genotoxic damage, evaluated by ISSR markers, in 15 day old leaves; specifically, a severe decrease in the genome template stability was observed. However, a partial recovery occurred after 2 weeks, especially under the lowest dose ( i.e ., 1 Gy), suggesting that DNA damage detection and repair mechanisms are active. Pigment content and genotoxic damage may serve as proxies for evaluating plant responses to IR stress, since they show univocal dose-dependent trends. The use of more checkpoints for analyses and more doses over a wider range, as well as the focus on different metabolites, could help elucidate plant response in terms of morpho-physiological changes., Competing Interests: Fiore Capozzi and Valeria Spagnuolo are Academic Editors for PeerJ., (© 2023 Sorrentino et al.)

Hypothesis: The differences in viability, root length, and pro/antioxidant features of Plantago major seedlings identified in seed progeny formed in areas of radioactive and chemical contamination can persist in subsequent generations after the elimination of the stress., Materials and Methods: The seed mixtures of F1 generation were collected from P. major natural populations (P plants) growing for a long time in the East Ural Radioactive Trace, the Karabash Copper Smelter zone, and background area. The seeds of F2 generation were obtained from F1 generation plants grown on experimental plots with 'clean' agricultural background; F3 generation was grown from F2 generation on the same plots. The viability of seed progeny was estimated by survival rate and root length. Pro/antioxidant features were determined spectrophotometrically by malondialdehyde content, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, and total content of low molecular weight antioxidants in seedlings., Results and Conclusions: The hypothesis about the persistence of effects from chronic exposure to ionizing radiation and chemical contamination in the generations' sequence of P. major after the removal of stress was confirmed only partially. The data obtained indicated that changes in the prooxidant and antioxidant features of plants in response to low doses of ionizing radiation can persist for at least in two generations after the stress removal. In the case of long-term exposure to chemical contaminants, we observed the persistence of the effect in a succession of generations only on the morphological indicator of root length.

Purpose: The current study investigated the effects of gamma irradiation on biochemical parameters and secondary metabolite accumulation in Summer Savory under field conditions., Materials and Methods: The dry seeds of Summer Savory (with a moisture content of 12%) were exposed to gamma radiation at the doses of 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 Gy. Non-irradiated seeds (0 Gy) were used as control., Results: Our findings showed that gamma radiation at low doses (20-40 Gy) had no effect on biochemical parameters and secondary metabolites accumulation in S. hortensis . These parameters are steadily and significantly increased by raising gamma irradiation doses from 40 to 100 Gy. The highest amount of chlorophyll a and b, carotenoids, anthocyanin, and total phenolic and flavonoid content were observed in 80 and 100 Gy treatments. Plants exposed to 80 and 100 Gy treatments accumulated the maximum amounts of rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid, respectively. Furthermore, the analysis of S. hortensis essential oil revealed that gamma radiation significantly alters its components. Carvacrol, α-Pinene, and α-Thujene levels raised dramatically compared to control with an increase in gamma irradiation dose from 20 to 100 Gy, while Thymol and α-Terpinene levels lowered., Conclusions: Our results showed that treatment of Summer Savory seeds with gamma radiation at 80 and 100 Gy doses could significantly be raised biochemical parameters and secondary metabolites accumulation under field conditions. The current study showed that gamma irradiation could be used as a pre-sowing elicitor to improve the quantity and quality of phytochemicals in Summer Savory.

Purpose: Salt stress is a significant issue in corn cultivation leading to corn yield reduction, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions. Nuclear technologies, along with other standard methods, can be used as an efficient method for mitigating salt stress effects on plants., Materials and Methods: In this research, gamma irradiation (GI) was studied on seeds in the salt stress amelioration of corn in laboratory and field conditions. A total of five doses of gamma rays (25, 50, 100, 150 and 200 Gy) were applied to corn seeds (SC.703) at the laboratory under saline and control conditions. The best gamma-ray treatment (25 Gy) was selected for studying corn under salt stress in the field condition., Results: The length of the radicle, seminal roots and shoot, dry weight of radicle, and seminal roots were affected by salt stress (p <.001). However, GI affected only the radicle and seminal root length (p < .001). The radicle length was decreased as much as 3, 11, 17, 25, and 27% in 25, 50, 100, 150 and 200 Gy of GI, respectively. In addition, the seminal root length was decreased in all GI treatments except 25 Gy ( p  < .05). Plants derived from seeds exposed to GI (25 Gy) had a higher chlorophyll content of 1, 17, and 29% at V3 (third leaf stage), R1 (silk stage, p  < .001), and R4 (dough stage, p  < .001), respectively. In GI treatment, the soluble carbohydrate content was significantly higher ( p  < .001) at all three measurement stages and the soluble protein was significantly higher ( p  < .001) only at the R4 stage. Moreover, proline content was higher in GI (25 Gy) at V3 (58%, p  < .05) and R1 (98%, p  < .001) treatment stages., Conclusion: Since plants from gamma-irradiated seeds had a greater plant weight and their economic traits (cob and grain weight) were higher compared to control plants under salt stress conditions, it can be concluded that a low dose of GI may ameliorate the effect of salt stress on the corn plants.

Quinoa is one of the crops well-adapted to high altitude regions that can grow relatively well under drought, humid, and high UV radiation conditions. This study was performed to investigate the effects of gamma-radiation on quinoa. Seeds were treated with various doses of 50 Gy, 100 Gy, 200 Gy, 300 Gy, 400 Gy, 600 Gy, 800 Gy, and 1000 Gy. We investigated germination, as well as plant height, chlorophyll content, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) at 0, 30, 44, 58, and 88 days after transplanting (DAT) and panicle weight at 88 DAT. The plants grown from the seeds treated at radiation doses greater than 200 Gy showed reduced values in most growth and physiological characteristics. The germination rate and germination speed were higher in the 50 Gy-treated seeds than in 0 Gy-treated (control) seeds. Plant height and panicle weight were highest in the plants from 50 Gy-treated seeds. Chlorophyll content was higher in all treated samples than in the controls. NDVI value showed the highest value in 0 Gy controls and plants treated with 50 Gy. The antioxidant activity was also higher in the plants from the seeds treated with 50 Gy and 100 Gy, showing a steady increase as the radiation dose increased even at 200 Gy. The plants from seeds treated with 0 Gy showed higher expression of proteins related to photorespiration and tubulin chains. The plants from seeds treated with 50 Gy induced more stress-responsive proteins., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The structural and functional properties of Citrus grandis Osbeck (CGO) seed mucilage by different extraction practices, including conventional citrate buffer, ultrasonic-assisted (UAE), enzymatic-assisted extraction (EAE) with cellulase or Celluclast ® 1.5 L and various ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic extraction (UAEE) procedures were investigated. It was found that CGO seed from agricultural and processing byproducts is an excellent new source of high methoxyl pectin with quite high intrinsic viscosity (about 108.64 dL/g) and molecular weight (about 1.9 × 10 6 ) as compared with other pectin sources. UAEE with Celluclast ® 1.5 L enhanced the extraction yield most pronouncedly (about 2.3 times). Moreover, the monosaccharide composition of CGO seed mucilage is least affected by EAE with Celluclast ® 1.5 L. In contrast, EAE with cellulase dramatically reduces the galacturonic acid (GalA) content to less than 60 molar%, and increases the glucose (Glc) content pronouncedly (to about 40 molar%), which may be considered as an adverse effect in terms of pectin purity. Though extraction procedures involved with ultrasound and cellulolytic enzymes generally show a decrease in GalA contents, weight average molar mass and intrinsic viscosity, EAE with Celluclast ® 1.5 L is least affected, followed by UAE and UAEE with Celluclast ® 1.5 L. These features can be leveraged in favor of diversified applications.

Background: Stevia rebaudiana is a high value crop due to the strong commercial demand for its metabolites (steviol glycosides) but has limited geographical cultivation range. In non-native environments with different daylength and light quality, Stevia has low germination rates and early flowering resulting in lower biomass and poor yield of the desired metabolites. In this study, artificial lighting with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) was used to determine if different light quality within and outside of the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) range can be used to improve germination rates and yields for production of steviol glycosides for the herbal supplement and food industry., Results: Plants treated with red and blue light at an intensity of 130 μmol m -2  s -1 supplemented with 5% of UV-A light under a 16-h photoperiod produced the most desirable overall results with a high rate of germination, low percentage of early flowering, and high yields of dry leaf, stevioside and rebaudioside A, 175 days after planting., Conclusion: While red and blue light combinations are effective for plant growth, the use of supplemental non-PAR irradiation of UV-A wavelength significantly and desirably delayed flowering, enhanced germination, biomass, rebaudioside A and stevioside yields, while supplemental green light improved yield of biomass and rebaudioside A, but not stevioside. Overall, the combination of red, blue and UV-A light resulted in the best overall productivity for Stevia rebaudiana. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.)

This study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of the non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma produced with dielectric barrier discharge (APPD) using air as a processing gas and microwave energy to control Tribolium castaneum and Trogoderma granarium adults and larvae in wheat grains. Insects' mortality was found to be power and time-dependent. The results indicated that non-thermal APPD and the microwave have enough insecticidal effect on the target pests. From the bioassay, LT50's and LT90's levels were estimated, T. granarium larvae appeared more tolerant to non-thermal APPD and the microwave energy than adults 7 days post-exposure. The germination percentage of wheat grains increased as the time of exposure to the non-thermal APPD increased. On the contrary, the germination percentage of wheat grains decreased as the time of exposure to the microwave increased. In addition, changes in antioxidant enzyme activities, catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and peroxidase, in adults and larvae were examined after 24 h post-treatment to non-thermal APPD at 15.9 W power level, which caused 50% mortality. The activity of CAT, GST and lipid peroxide in the treated larvae showed a significant increase post-exposure to the non-thermal APPD at 15.9 W power level. On the other hand, no significant change in GSH-Px activity was observed. Reductions in the level of glutathione (GSH) and protein content occurred in treated larvae in comparison with the control.

Heavy-ion irradiation is a powerful mutagen and is widely used for mutation breeding. In this study, using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) techniques, we comprehensively characterized these dynamic changes caused by mutations at three time points (48, 96, and 144 h after irradiation) and the expression profiles of rice seeds irradiated with C ions at two doses. Subsequent WGS analysis revealed that more mutations were detected in response to 40 Gy carbon ion beam (CIB) irradiation than 80 Gy of CIB irradiation at the initial stage (48 h post-irradiation). In the mutants generated from both irradiation doses, single-base substitutions (SBSs) were the most frequent type of mutation induced by CIB irradiation. Among the mutations, the predominant ones were C:T and A:G transitions. CIB irradiation also induced many short InDel mutations. RNA-seq analysis at the three time points showed that the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was highest at 48 h post-irradiation. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis of the DEGs showed that the "replication and repair" pathway was enriched specifically 48 h post-irradiation. These results indicate that the DNA damage response (DDR) and the mechanism of DNA repair tend to quickly start within the initial stage (48 h) after irradiation.

The expression profiles of the PAP genes, encoding proteins associated with plastid multisubunit RNA polymerase, were studied in dry seeds, during germination, and at the early stages of Arabidopsis thaliana seedling formation. A detailed analysis of the PAP transcript levels by RT-PCR showed that the transition of seeds from dormancy to active growth is accompanied by a drastic increase in the transcript accumulation of all studied genes on the first day of germination, both in the light and in the dark. Further changes in transcript levels differed among PAP genes and were apparently determined by their functional specificity. It was established for the first time that the expression of individual PAP genes is regulated by circadian rhythms, in addition to factors of ontogenetic and light nature., (© 2021. Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.)

Background: Jatropha is an oilseed crop with high kernel oil (55-58%) and protein (26-29%) contents, which makes it a good source of biodiesel and animal/aqua-feed. However, the presence of anti-nutritional toxins, such as phorbol esters, lectins, trypsin inhibitor, phytate, and saponins, restricts its use as feed. This paper describes chemical, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and biological treatments for detoxification of jatropha kernel meal. Raw, defatted, and one-time and two-times mechanically expressed oil samples were analyzed for toxins. Chemical treatment involved heating with 90% methanol and 4% sodium hydroxide. UV treatment was carried out at UV light intensity of 53.4 mW cm -2 for 30 min. For biological treatment, cell-free extract from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (strain PAO1) was mixed with kernel meal for detoxification., Results: Among treatments, chemical treatment was most effective in reducing all toxins, with phorbol esters in the range 0.034-0.052 mg g -1 , lectin 0.082-10.766 mg g -1 , trypsin inhibitor 10.499-11.350 mg g -1 , phytate 2.475-5.769 mg g -1 , and saponins 0.044-0.098 mg g -1 . Biological treatment reduced all toxins except phytate, whereas UV treatment could not reduce any of toxins and, hence, cannot be used for aqua-feed preparation. Pellets prepared from chemically detoxified kernel meal with the least oil content (defatted) resulted in the highest strength (70.93 N)., Conclusion: Chemically treated jatropha kernel meal can be used for aqua-feed pellet preparation because of its low toxin content. The highest compressive strength was obtained for pellets with the least oil content (defatted). Biological treatment time must have been extended for many hours instead of 24 h. Jatropha kernel meal treated chemically can be recommended for aqua-feed manufacturing. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Key Message: Cross-talk between light and ABA signaling is mediated by physical interaction between HY5 and ABI5 Arabidopsis. Plants undergo numerous transitions during their life-cycle and have developed a very complex network of signaling to integrate information from their surroundings to effectively survive in the ever-changing environment. Light signaling is one of the crucial factors that govern the plant growth and development from the very first step of that is from seedling germination to the flowering. Similarly, Abscisic acid (ABA) signaling transduces the signals from external unfavorable condition to the internal developmental pathways and is crucial for regulation of seed maturation, dormancy germination and early seedling development. These two fundamental factors coordinately regulate plant wellbeing, but the underlying molecular mechanisms that drive this regulation are poorly understood. Here, we identified that two bZIP transcription factors, ELONGATED HYPOCOTYLE 5 (HY5), a positive regulator of light signaling and ABA-INSENSITIVE 5 (ABI5), a positive regulator of ABA signaling interacts and integrates the two pathways together. Our phenotypic data suggest that ABI5 may act as a negative regulator during photomorphogenesis in contrast, HY5 acts as a positive regulator of ABA signaling in an ABA dependent manner. We further showed that over-expression of HY5 leads to ABA-hypersensitive phenotype and late flowering phenotype. Taken together, our data provides key insights regarding the mechanism of interaction between ABI5-HY5 that fine tunes the stress and developmental response in Arabidopsis., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background: Priming of seed prior chilling is regarded as one of the methods to promote seeds germination, whole plant growth, and yield components. The application of biostimulants was reported as beneficial for protecting many plants from biotic or abiotic stresses. Their value was as important to be involved in improving the growth parameters of plants. Also, they were practiced in the regulation of various metabolic pathways to enhance acclimation and tolerance in coriander against chilling stress. To our knowledge, little is deciphered about the molecular mechanisms underpinning the ameliorative impact of biostimulants in the context of understanding the link and overlap between improved morphological characters, induced metabolic processes, and upregulated gene expression. In this study, the ameliorative effect(s) of potassium silicate, HA, and gamma radiation on acclimation of coriander to tolerate chilling stress was evaluated by integrating the data of growth, yield, physiological and molecular aspects., Results: Plant growth, yield components, and metabolic activities were generally diminished in chilling-stressed coriander plants. On the other hand, levels of ABA and soluble sugars were increased. Alleviation treatment by humic acid, followed by silicate and gamma irradiation, has notably promoted plant growth parameters and yield components in chilling-stressed coriander plants. This improvement was concomitant with a significant increase in phytohormones, photosynthetic pigments, carbohydrate contents, antioxidants defense system, and induction of large subunit of RuBisCO enzyme production. The assembly of Toc complex subunits was maintained, and even their expression was stimulated (especially Toc75 and Toc 34) upon alleviation of the chilling stress by applied biostimulators. Collectively, humic acid was the best the element to alleviate the adverse effects of chilling stress on growth and productivity of coriander., Conclusions: It could be suggested that the inducing effect of the pretreatments on hormonal balance triggered an increase in IAA + GA 3 /ABA hormonal ratio. This ratio could be linked and engaged with the protection of cellular metabolic activities from chilling injury against the whole plant life cycle. Therefore, it was speculated that seed priming in humic acid is a powerful technique that can benefit the chilled along with non-chilled plants and sustain the economic importance of coriander plant productivity., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Harnessing heterosis is one of the major approaches to increase rice yield and has made a great contribution to food security. The identification and selection of outstanding parental genotypes especially among male sterile lines is a key step for exploiting heterosis. Two-line hybrid system is based on the discovery and application of photoperiod- and thermo-sensitive genic sensitive male sterile (PTGMS) materials. The development of wide-range of male sterile lines from a common gene pool leads to a narrower genetic diversity, which is vulnerable to biotic and abiotic stress. Hence, it is valuable to ascertain the genetic background of PTGMS lines and to understand their relationships in order to select and design a future breeding strategy., Results: A collection of 118 male sterile rice lines and 13 conventional breeding lines from the major rice growing regions of China was evaluated and screened against the photosensitive (pms3) and temperature sensitive male sterility (tms5) genes. The total gene pool was divided into four major populations as P1 possessing the pms3, P2 possessing tms5, P3 possessing both pms3 and tms5 genes, and P4 containing conventional breeding lines without any male sterility allele. The high genetic purity was revealed by homozygous alleles in all populations. The population admixture, principle components and the phylogenetic analysis revealed the close relations of P2 and P3 with P4. The population differentiation analysis showed that P1 has the highest differentiation coefficient. The lines from P1 were observed as the ancestors of other three populations in a phylogenetic tree, while the lines in P2 and P3 showed a close genetic relation with conventional lines. A core collection of top 10% lines with maximum within and among populations genetic diversity was constructed for future research and breeding efforts., Conclusion: The low genetic diversity and close genetic relationship among PTGMS lines in P2, P3 and P4 populations suggest a selection sweep and they might result from a backcrossing with common ancestors including the pure lines of P1. The core collection from PTGMS panel updated with new diverse germplasm will serve best for further two-line hybrid breeding.

Effects of infrared ray roasting (IRR) on the oxidation stability and flavors of virgin rapeseed oil (VROs) at 110-170°C were investigated and compared with traditional roller roasting (TRR). Results showed that IRR samples showed lower acid and peroxides values, higher oxidation stability index, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity than TRR ones. IRR samples displayed better thermal expansion of rapeseed for internal fragmentation from microstructures, which facilitated the release of tocophenols (652.63-748.78 mg/kg) and 4-vinylsyringol (7.54-678.19 mg/kg), compared with TRR ones with tocophenols (652.63-689.28 mg/kg) and 4-vinylsyringol (7.54-524.18 mg/kg) contributing to better oxidation stability. Moreover, important volatile compounds, including pyrazines, isothiocyanates, nitriles and aldehydes, were formed quantitatively more in IRR than TRR samples, which was attributed to better heat transfer efficiency and internal fragmentation promoting complex reactions inside rapeseed. Therefore, IRR has more positive roasting effects on VROs than TRR. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Virgin rapeseed oil is a massively consumed flavor vegetable oil, but the traditional high-temperature roller seed roasting process can cause serious quality problems. Our work applied a novel roasting technology, infrared ray roasting to rapeseed pretreatment. The results show that this new type of roasting technology is more efficient and stable and has important applications in the production of virgin rapeseed oil with better oxidative stability and flavor., (© 2021 Institute of Food Technologists®.)

The objective of this study was to use high-energy electron beam (HEEB) treatments to find surrogate microorganisms for enteric viruses and to use the selected surrogates as proof of concept to investigate low-energy electron beam (LEEB) treatments for enteric virus inactivation at industrial scale on frozen blueberries. Six food matrices inoculated with HAV (hepatitis A virus), MNV S99 (murine norovirus), bacteriophages MS2 and Qβ, and Geobacillus stearothermophilus spores were treated with HEEB at 10 MeV using 4, 8 and 16 kGy doses. G. stearothermophilus spores showed the highest inactivation on all matrices except on raisins, with a dose-dependent effect. HAV reached the maximum measurable log 10 reduction (> 3.2 log 10 ) when treated at 16 kGy on raisins. MNV showed the highest resistance of all tested microorganisms, independent of the dose, except on frozen blueberries. On frozen blueberries, freeze-dried raspberries, sesame seeds and black peppercorns, HAV showed a mean inactivation level in between those of MS2 and G. stearothermophilus. Based on this, we selected both surrogate organisms as first approximation to estimate HAV inactivation on frozen blueberries during LEEB treatment at 250 keV using 16 kGy. Reductions of 3.1 and 1.3 log 10 were measured for G. stearothermophilus spores and MS2, respectively, suggesting that a minimum reduction of 1.4 log 10 can be expected for HAV under the same conditions.

Sound waves affect plants at the biochemical, physical, and genetic levels. However, the mechanisms by which plants respond to sound waves are largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of sound waves on Arabidopsis thaliana growth. The results of the study showed that Arabidopsis seeds exposed to sound waves (100 and 100 + 9k Hz) for 15 h per day for 3 day had significantly longer root growth than that in the control group. The root length and cell number in the root apical meristem were significantly affected by sound waves. Furthermore, genes involved in cell division were upregulated in seedlings exposed to sound waves. Root development was affected by the concentration and activity of some phytohormones, including cytokinin and auxin. Analysis of the expression levels of genes regulating cytokinin and auxin biosynthesis and signaling showed that cytokinin and ethylene signaling genes were downregulated, while auxin signaling and biosynthesis genes were upregulated in Arabidopsis exposed to sound waves. Additionally, the cytokinin and auxin concentrations of the roots of Arabidopsis plants increased and decreased, respectively, after exposure to sound waves. Our findings suggest that sound waves are potential agricultural tools for improving crop growth performance.

Magnetic seed enhancement has been practicing as a promising tool to improve germination and seedling growth of low vigor seeds stored under suboptimal conditions, but there is still ambiguity regarding the prospects for magnetism in oilseeds. Present study elucidates the potential of magnetic seed stimulation to improve sunflower germination, growth and yield. Germination and emergence tests were performed to optimize the strength of the magnetic field to sunflower seed enhancement. The seeds were directly exposed to magnetic field strengths of 50, 100 and 150 millitesla (mT) for 5, 10 and 15 min (min) and then standard germination tests were performed. Secondly, the emergence potential of untreated seeds was compared with seed exposed to hydropriming, priming with 3% moringa leaf extract (MLE), priming with magnetically treated water (MTW) for 10 min and priming with 3% MLE solution prepared in magnetically treated water (MTW + MLE). Germination, emergence, seedling growth and seed biochemical properties were used to select the best treatment for field evaluation. The results of the study revealed that magnetic seed treatment with 100 mT for 10 min and seed priming with 3% MLE solution in magnetically treated water (MTW + MLE) significantly improved emergence, crop growth rate and sunflower yield.

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal, generally well-known as Ashwagandha, is part of Indian traditional medicinal systems like Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani for over 3000 years for treating an array of disorders. The chief bioactive component of this plant is the withanolides, a group of C 28 -steroidal lactone triterpenoids. These compounds are present in very low concentrations and hence cell culture methods have been used to enhance their production. Low-level laser irradiation has been reported to have elicited the seed germination, agronomical characters, biosynthesis of bioactive compounds in some plants. Therefore, the objective of the study was to investigate the effect of red (He-Ne) laser irradiation on seed germination, growth characters, pigment contents and withanolide content in W. somnifera. The seeds were inoculated onto two different combinations of Murashige and Skoog (MS) media and incubated for germination. The highest germination percentage was observed in ½ MS with pH 6.5 and GA 3 presoaking followed by ½ MS with different pH. Four different doses of Helium-Neon (He-Ne) laser (10, 15, 20 and 25 J/cm 2 ) were used to irradiate the seeds at 632.8 nm and germinated in vitro on ½ MS with pH 6.5. The maximum germination percentage, 63.88% was noted from seeds irradiated with 25 J/cm 2 (P = 0.04). The highest total length of 13.33 cm was observed in the seedlings irradiated with 25 J/cm 2 groups (P = 0.008). The highest total chlorophyll content of 329.5 μg/g fresh weight (FW) was observed for seedlings irradiated with 15 J/cm 2 (P = 0.02) and the highest carotenoid content of 49.6 μg/g FW was observed for 25 J/cm 2 treated seedlings. Further, primary root length was measured and found to be highest (11.14 cm) in seedlings irradiated with 10 J/cm 2 and the highest number of lateral roots were observed for 15 and 25 J/cm 2 groups. The significant amount of Withanolide A (WA) 0.52 μg/g dry weight (DW) and 0.60 μg/g DW was noted in 15 (P = 0.01) and 20 J/cm 2 (P = 0.002) groups, respectively than control. The present investigation thus reveals the positive impact of red laser on the germination of seeds, growth characters and withanolide contents under in vitro environment., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Electromagnetic energy is the "backbone" of wireless communication systems, and its progressive use is considered to have a low but measurable impact on a wide range of biological systems. Even though a growing amount of data has reported electromagnetic energy absorption in humans along with subsequent biological effects, the consequences of electromagnetic energy absorption on plants have been insufficiently addressed. The higher surface to volume ratio along with the enormous water-ion concentrations makes the plant an ideal model to interact with non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. In this study, controlled and periodic electromagnetic exposure of 1837.50 MHz, 2.75 W/m 2 for 6 h a day on a popular rice variety (var. Satabdi) reduced the seed germination rate. The same dose of periodic electromagnetic exposure upregulated phytochrome B and phytochrome C gene transcripts in 12-day-old seedlings, whereas, in 32-day-old plants, the dose upregulated calmodulin and phytochrome C while the bZIP1 gene showed repression. However, the transcript abundance of bZIP1, phytochrome B, and phytochrome C genes was enhanced even in 12-day-old Satabdi seedlings following instantaneous short-duration (2 h 30 min) controlled electromagnetic exposure to 1837.50 MHz, 2.75 W/m 2 . The reported responses in rice were observed below the international electromagnetic regulatory limits. Thus, rice plants perceived electromagnetic energy emitted by the wireless communication system as abiotic stress as per its response by upregulation or repression of known stress-sensing genes. Bioelectromagnetics. © 2020 Bioelectromagnetics Society., (© 2021 Bioelectromagnetics Society.)

The Arabidopsis dormancy-germination transition is known to be environmentally cued and controlled by the competing hormones abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin (GA) produced by the seed. Recently, new molecular details have emerged concerning the propagation of red light through a complex gene regulatory network involving PhyB, PIF1, and RVE1. This network influences the formation of the PIF1-RVE1 complex [1,2]. The PIF1-RVE1 complex is a transcription factor that regulates the production of ABA and GA and helps shift the balance to high concentration of ABA and low concentration of GA, which corresponds to a dormant seed state. This newly discovered gene regulatory network has not been analyzed mathematically. Our analysis shows that this gene regulatory network exhibits switch-like bistability as a function of the red light input and makes a suite of biologically testable predictions concerning seed dormancy and germination in response to the amplitude and periodicity of an oscillatory red light input.

Background: Peas are an inexpensive yet nutritious and sustainable source of protein. However, it is challenging to incorporate pea proteins into food formulations owing to their beany or green off-flavours and their limited water solubility., Results: Vacuum microwave dehydration (VMD) of pea protein with an initial moisture content of 425% (dry basis, db) at 2 W g -1 specific microwave energy and 200 Torr vacuum level for 88 min led to an 83% reduction in total volatile compound concentration. VMD processing at high initial moisture contents facilitated the Maillard reaction, enhancing the extent of protein cross-linking, leading to a marked decrease in soluble protein content, to 11 g kg -1 . Reducing the initial moisture content to 56% db greatly retained protein solubility (112-113 g kg -1 ), but it only led to a minor reduction in total volatile compound concentration (2-11% reduction). A high microwave energy (20 W g -1 )-short time (2 min) treatment at 200 Torr vacuum level was found optimal, reducing both volatile levels and soluble protein content by ~50%., Conclusion: Evidently, it is difficult to employ VMD without reduction of pea protein solubility and corresponding changing in functionality. Yet, if optimized, VMD has the capability to decrease volatile concentrations while retaining protein solubility. Future sensory analysis should be conducted to determine whether the aforementioned reductions in total volatile compound concentration may have a notable effect on consumer palatability. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.)

The transition from a dormant to a germinating seed represents a crucial developmental switch in the life cycle of a plant. Subsequent transition from a germinating seed to an autotrophic organism also requires a robust and multi-layered control. Seed germination and seedling growth are multistep processes, involving both internal and external signals, which lead to a fine-tuning control network. In recent years, numerous studies have contributed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes: from light signaling and light-hormone crosstalk to the effects of abiotic stresses, from epigenetic regulation to translational control. However, there are still many open questions and molecular elements to be identified. This review will focus on the different aspects of the molecular control of seed dormancy and germination, pointing out new molecular elements and how these integrate in the signaling pathways already known.

Several photorespiratory bypasses have been introduced into plants and shown to improve photosynthesis by increasing chloroplastic CO 2 concentrations or optimizing energy balance. We recently reported that an engineered GOC bypass could increase photosynthesis and productivity in rice. However, the grain yield of GOC plants was unstable, fluctuating in different cultivation seasons because of varying seed setting rates. In this study, we designed a synthetic photorespiratory shortcut (the GCGT bypass) consisting of genes encoding Oryza sativa glycolate oxidase and Escherichia coli catalase, glyoxylate carboligase, and tartronic semialdehyde reductase. The GCGT bypass was guided by an optimized chloroplast transit peptide that targeted rice chloroplasts and redirected 75% of carbon from glycolate metabolism to the Calvin cycle, identical to the native photorespiration pathway. GCGT transgenic plants exhibited significantly increased biomass production and grain yield, which were mainly attributed to enhanced photosynthesis due to increased chloroplastic CO 2 concentrations. Despite the increases in biomass production and grain yield, GCGT transgenic plants showed a reduced seed setting rate, a phenotype previously reported for the GOC plants. Integrative transcriptomic, physiological, and biochemical assays revealed that photosynthetic carbohydrates were not transported to grains in an efficient manner, thereby reducing the seed setting rate. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the GCGT photorespiratory shortcut confers higher yield by promoting photosynthesis in rice, mainly through increasing chloroplastic CO 2 concentrations., (Copyright © 2020 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)