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This study investigates the potential of ellagic acid (EA) to mitigate the effects of drought and aluminum (Al3+) stresses in maize by examining various morpho-physiochemical parameters and gene expressions. Maize (Zea mays L.) serves as a crucial global food source, but its growth and productivity are significantly hindered by drought and aluminum (Al3+) stresses, which lead to impaired root development, elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), diminished photosynthetic efficiency, and reduced water and mineral absorption. Recently, ellagic acid (EA), a polyphenolic compound with potent antioxidant properties, has been identified for its role in regulating plant growth and enhancing stress tolerance mechanisms. However, the specific mechanisms through which EA contributes to Al3+ and/or drought tolerance in plants remain largely unknown. The present study was conducted to examine the defensive role of EA (100 μg/mL) in some morpho-physiochemical parameters and the expression profiles of some stress-related genes (ZmCPK22, ZmXTH1, ZmHIPP4, ZmSGR, ZmpsbA, ZmAPX1, and ZmGST1) in drought (polyethylene glycol-6000 (PEG-6000), − 0.6 MPa) and aluminum chloride (AlCl3, 60 μM) stressed Zea mays Ada 523 grown in nutrient solution. Our results indicated that drought and aluminum chloride stresses affected root length, shoot height, H2O2 content, chlorophyll content (SPAD), electrolyte leakage (EL), and relative water content (RWC) of maize with several significant (P < 0.05) shifts up and down. Conversely, EA (100 μg/mL) treatment had a mitigating effect on these parameters. Moreover, EA also mitigated the antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX)), and regulated the expressions of aforementioned genes. These findings determined that EA treatment could efficiently improve the gene expressions and morpho-physiochemical parameters under drought and/or Al3+ stresses, thereby increasing the seedlings' adaptability to these stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salt stress is a worldwide major threat to agricultural production. The aim was to investigate the effects of exogenous dopamine (DA) treatments on physiological, morphological and biochemical characteristics of tomato seedlings under salinity stress. Salt stress was created using a 100 mM NaCl solution. Dopamine solutions (0, 50, 100 and 200 µM) were applied with 7-day intervals. Salt stress significantly suppressed plant growth and DA treatments alleviated the negative effects of salt stress on the growth of tomato seedlings. 100 µM DA treatment increased plant and root dry weights, plant stem diameter, plant height and, leaf area by 286.84%, 150.00%, 108.37%, 160.89%, and 158.28%, respectively, compared to the control. Under salinity LRWC, SPAD, chl-a, chl-b, and total chlorophyll contents decreased; membrane permeability (MP), H2O2, MDA, proline and sucrose contents, CAT, POD and SOD activities increased. Under salt stress, when 100 µM DA was applied, LRWC, SPAD, chl-a, chl-b, and total chlorophyll contents of plants increased by 13.64%, 18.62%, 43.08%, 64.90%, and 50.00%, while MP reduced by 21.08% compared to the control. When 200 µM DA was applied under salt stress, H2O2, MDA, proline and sucrose contents, and CAT, POD and SOD activities were reduced by 31.86%, 18.66%, 56.00%, 38.24%, 11.16%, 17.81% and 10.80%, respectively, compared to non-DA-treated plants. Exogenous application of DA increased IAA content, decreased ABA content and increased ratio of K+/Na+ and Ca2+/Na+ under salt stress as well. In conclusion, exogenous dopamine treatments effectively prevent cellular damage in tomato seedlings and improve plant tolerance to salt stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction notice was issued for an article titled "Ellagic acid alleviates aluminum and/or drought stress through morpho-physiochemical adjustments and stress-related gene expression in Zea mays L." The correction involved updating the name of the 2nd author to Semra Yagci Ergul. The original article has been corrected, and Springer Nature maintains neutrality regarding jurisdictional claims and institutional affiliations. The authors of the article are Guleray Agar, Semra Yagci Ergul, Merve Yuce, Esra Arslan Yuksel, Murat Aydin, and Mahmut Sinan Taspinar. [Extracted from the article]

Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) are unique molecules with the ability to pass through biological membranes as they carry their cargoes into the cells. Endocytosis and direct penetration have been proposed as the two major mechanisms for their internalization. However, the involvement of oligo peptide permease (Opp) in bacterial CPP uptake is an issue that yet remains to be elucidated. Here, a microfluidic platform coupled with live cell imaging was used to monitor CPP uptake in Escherichia coli. The set-up enabled imaging on a single-cell basis, helped to capture cell dynamics at a micro-scale and provided quantitative real-time information. The constructed platform also provided evidence on the contribution of Opp to peptide uptake. Additional high-resolution visualization under confocal microscopy confirmed that in the absence of Opp, the internalized peptides accumulated in the periplasm. Here, we have shown that microfluidic platforms, which have successful applications in different areas, can be used as a highly reliable and versatile tool for studying peptide uptake in bacterial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal pollution, which is one of the most important environmental problems, has a significant effect on plant growth and development. Plants influence all living things because of their role in the food chain. Therefore, in this study, antioxidant enzyme activities and metallothionein (MT) gene expression levels were investigated to determine the protective role of copper (Cu) and ascorbic acid (AsA) against chromium (Cr) stress. In order to determine these parameters, sunflower seeds were grown in hydroponic system after germination. Two weeks later, AsA (200 mg/L) treatment was made as foliar spray. After 24 h of the treatment, the hydroponic nutrient medium was used as the treatment solution containing different concentrations of metals (0.25 mM Cu (CuSO4·5H2O); 1 mM Cr (K2Cr2O7). The results have reduced the overall growth of plants with Cr heavy metals. Cr stress increased the amount of malondialdehyde. Furthermore, while superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities were increased, no significant change in catalase activity was observed. Cu and AsA applied with Cr treatment significantly reduced Cr toxicity. Expression levels of MT genes (HanMT2-1 and HanMT4) were determined by qRT-PCR analysis. From the study result, it was determined that the expression levels of MT genes under Cr stress changed according to the plant tissues and were upregulated in the roots. The protective roles of Cu and AsA against Cr stress were observed. From the results of this study, it was confirmed that MT2-1 could be an effective gene resource in Cr remediation-related plant breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abiotic stresses, such as heavy metals, adversely affect the living groups including plants. It should be ensured that plants are resistant to environmental stresses in order to increase their growth and development. In this sense, it is an important step for agriculture identify stress-related genes whose tolerance against environmental stresses can be increased. NAC transcription factor (TF) genes provide plant growth and development as well as regulate abiotic stress responses. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine expression levels of NAC TF genes (TF ID: Han682, Han2027 and Han2724) against chromium (Cr; 1 mM) stress in sunflower tolerant to heavy metals. The effects of copper (Cu; 0,25 mM), which are micronutrient elements, and exogenous ascorbic acid (AsA; 200 mg/L) treatments on the expression of these genes and some stress parameters such as chlorophyll amount, leaf relative water content, cell membrane damage are examined. According to the results obtained, Cr stress decreased chlorophyll content and leaf water content and increased cell membrane damage. Treatment of AsA and Cu in combination with Cr reduced toxicity by decreasing cell membrane damage by increasing chlorophyll content and leaf relative water content. The results obtained show that Cu and AsA can equally improve Cr stress. Expression profiles of NAC TF genes obtained by quantitative real-time PCR (q-PCR) were changed with plant tissues. NAC TF genes, which are upregulated with Cr stress in the root, have been determined to be a heavy metal response gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]