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Rotavirus, a dsRNA virus in the Reoviridae family, shows a segmented genome. The VP1 gene encodes the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). This study aims to develop a multiepitope-based vaccine targeting RdRp using immunoinformatic approaches. In this study, 100 available nucleotide sequences of VP1-Rotavirus belonging to different strains across the world were retrieved from NCBI database. The selected sequences were aligned, and a global consensus sequence was developed by using CLC work bench. The study involved immunoinformatic approaches and molecular docking studies to reveal the promiscuous epitopes that can be eventually used as active vaccine candidates for Rotavirus. In total, 27 highly immunogenic, antigenic, and non-allergenic T-cell and B-cell epitopes were predicted for the Multiepitope vaccine (MEV) against rotavirus. It was also observed that MEV can prove to be effective worldwide due to its high population coverage, demonstrating the consistency of this vaccine. Moreover, there is a high docking interaction and immunological response with a binding score of -50.2 kcal/mol, suggesting the vaccine's efficacy. Tolllike receptors (TLRs) also suggest that the vaccine is physiologically and immunologically effective. Collectively, our data point to an effective MEV against rotavirus that can effectively reduce viral infections and improve the health status worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity adversely affects the plant's morphological characteristics, but the utilization of aqueous algal extracts (AE) ameliorates this negative impact. In this study, the application of AE derived from Chlorella vulgaris and Dunaliella salina strains effectively reversed the decline in biomass allocation and water relations, both in normal and salt-stressed conditions. The simultaneous application of both extracts in salt-affected soil notably enhanced key parameters, such as chlorophyll content (15%), carotene content (1%), photosynthesis (25%), stomatal conductance (7%), and transpiration rate (23%), surpassing those observed in the application of both AE in salt-affected as compared to salinity stress control. Moreover, the AE treatments effectively mitigated lipid peroxidation and electrolyte leakage induced by salinity stress. The application of AE led to an increase in GB (6%) and the total concentration of free amino acids (47%) by comparing with salt-affected control. Additionally, salinity stress resulted in an elevation of antioxidant enzyme activities, including superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, and glutathione reductase. Notably, the AE treatments significantly boosted the activity of these antioxidant enzymes under salinity conditions. Furthermore, salinity reduced mineral contents, but the application of AE effectively counteracted this decline, leading to increased mineral levels. In conclusion, the application of aqueous algal extracts, specifically those obtained from Chlorella vulgaris and Dunaliella salina strains, demonstrated significant efficacy in alleviating salinity-induced stress in Phaseolus vulgaris plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity and drought are among the major abiotic stresses, leading to decreased crop productivity. Fungi are notorious for their detrimental effects on crop growth and development. In light of these circumstances, the primary objective of this project is to assemble a collection of endophytic fungi to develop new organic bio-stimulants that can effectively combat salinity and drought. To achieve this goal, diverse soil types, including cultivated, desert, and salt marshes, were sampled (five samples each) from different habitats and locations in the southern part of Sinai, the Saint Katherine Protectorate (SKP) is part of the upper Sinai massif, spanning specific coordinates (33°550 to 34°300 E and 28°300 to 28°350 N). Additionally, 80 samples of the predominant medicinal plant species from ten localities in the SKP were collected. The results of survey showed that the highest abundance of endophytic fungi was observed in Artemisia judaica L. and Alkanna orientalis (L.) Boiss., with both species exhibiting 61.1 % endophytic fungi. Five isolates of fungi labeled as SAF41, SAF46, SAF51, SAF57, and SAF63, were assessed for their tolerance to salinity stress by exposing them to different NaCl concentrations. Isolate SAF63 had the most substantial negative and significant correlation with salinity stress (R2=0.9565; p<0.001), followed by SAF51 (R2=0.9432; p<0.001) and SAF41 (R2=0.9351; p<0.001). The results indicate that different fungi isolates exhibited distinct responses to varying salinity levels and drought stress, as measured by their growth in different NaCl concentrations. Isolate SAF63 demonstrated the most significant negative correlation with salinity stress, followed by SAF51 and SAF41. These findings suggest that specific endophytic fungi isolates exhibit enhanced tolerance to both salinity and drought stress, underscoring their promising potential in mitigating metabolic and physiological damage in date palm plants, ultimately leading to increased growth and yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of dry leachates of Acasia saligna was tested on the seedling growth, photosynthesis, biochemical attributes, and gene expression of the economically important crops, including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), radish (Raphanus sativus L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and arugula (Eruca sativa L.). Different concentrations (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%) of stem extract (SE) and leaf extract (LE) of A. saligna were prepared, and seedlings were allowed to grow in Petri plates for 8 days. The results showed that all plant species exhibited reduced germination rate, plant height, and fresh and dry weight due to leachates extracts of A. saligna. Moreover, the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), exhibited differential regulation due to the extract treatment. The SOD was increased with increasing the concentration of extracts, while CAT and APX activities were decreased with increasing the extract concentrations. In addition, leachate extract treatment decrease chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, PSII activity, and water use efficiency, with evident effects at their higher concentrations. Furthermore, the content of proline, sugars, protein, total phenols, and flavonoids were reduced considerably due to leachates extract treatments. Furthermore, seedlings treated with high concentrations of LE increased the expression of genes. The present results lead to the conclusion that A. saligna contains significant allelochemicals that interfere with the growth and development of the tested crop species and reduced the crops biomass and negatively affected other related parameters. However, further studies are suggested to determine the isolation and purification of the active compounds present in A. saligna extracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought and heat stress are two dominant abiotic stress factors that often occur simultaneously in nature causing oxidative damage in plants and thus decline in yield. The present study was conducted to examine the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-induced heat and drought tolerance in sunflower through physiological, biochemical and molecular analysis. The results showed that drought and heat stress triggered oxidative stress as revealed by enhanced level in hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage. Moreover, the photosynthetic attributes such as photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and quantum efficiency declined when subjected to drought and heat stress. In this study, GABA treatment effectively alleviated the drought and heat-induced stress as reflected by significantly higher levels of proline, soluble sugar and total protein content. Besides, the data also revealed the direct relationship between antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, glutathione reductase, monodehydroascorbate peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase) and the relative expression of genes (Heat Shock Proteins, Dehydrin, Osmotin, Aquaporin, Leaf Embryogenesis Protein), under drought and heat stress. Moreover, a significant increase in gene expression was observed upon GABA treatment with respect to control. This data suggest that GABA-induced drought and heat tolerance in sunflower could involve the improvement in osmolyte metabolism, gene expression and antioxidant enzyme activities and thus a rise in the GABA shunt which in turn provides intermediates during longterm drought and heat stress, thus maintaining homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kombucha has become a flavored tea drink fermented with a symbiotic community of fungi, yeast, and bacteria. Kombucha has been reported to show functional medicinal importance attributed to the presence of some critical metabolites and bioactive compounds. We developed kombucha on three different substrates like black tea, green tea, and Psidium guajava (guava) juice extract. Kombucha enriched with guava extract showed maximal growth in terms of weight (fresh and dry) and moisture percentage. Further, the total phenol, total flavonoid, and characterization of different phenolic compounds like gallic acid, catechin, guaiacol and coumaric acid with guava juice extract fermented kombucha exhibiting maximal production. Also, the high DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate) radical scavenging activity over the control. The kombucha tea fermented on guava extract showed significant antimicrobial activi ty against eleven human pathogenic bacterial strains and four pathogenic fungi. From the current study, we conclude that the preparation of kombucha tea using guava juice extract might be used as a supplementary food product due to its high nutritional value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medicinal plants are considered a very important source of natural crude materials which are used in pharmaceutical industries. Nowadays, many investigators focused their studies for medicinal plants in order to extract components which have effects as antibacterial and antioxidant activities, also, some diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular, diarrhea, antitumor and anticancer, etc. Our study focused in the biochemical characterization of Portulaca oleracea and Carthamus tinctorius to study their antidiabetic activity in alloxan induced diabetes in rats. Methods: Extracts from Portulaca oleracea leaves and Carthamus tinctorius flowers were prepared then their total phenolic and flavonoid content and identification by HPLC technique were analyzed. Moreover, the antioxidant activity using (FRAP and DPPH radical) were determined. Randomly allocated male white Wistar rats into four groups of five each: non-diabetic control; diabetic control; diabetic treated with Carthamus tinctorius extract (200 mg kg-1 BW); diabetic treated with Portulaca oleracea extract daily (250 mg/kg), then pancreatic tissues were collected and routinely processed for histopathological examination. Results indicate that methanolic extract of Portulaca oleracea leaves had the largest total polyphenols and flavonoids content, which were 129.03 mg GAE/g and 22.55 mg QE/g, followed by Carthamus tinctorius flowers methanolic extract, which were 102.44 mg GAE/g and 13.94 mg QE/g, respectively. Identification of total polyphenols and flavonoids were estimated by HPLC. The methanolic extract of Portulaca oleracea leaves, had the highest reducing power which was 1.921 at the concentrations of 80 mg/ml. followed by Carthamus tinctorius flowers extract. Also, by using (DPPH+), the highest antioxidants activity was for Portulaca oleracea leaves extract. Microscopic examination of pancreatic tissues from rats treated with Portulaca oleracea and Carthamus tinctorius revealed their anti-diabetic activity with improved histological tissue changes compared with alloxan induced diabetic group. Moreover, antidiabetic activity of Portulaca oleracea recorded more histological improvement than that of Carthamus tinctorius compared with the control non diabetic group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming contributes to higher temperatures and reduces rainfall for most areas worldwide. The concurrent incidence of extreme temperature and water shortage lead to temperature stress damage in plants. Seeking to imitate a more natural field situation and to figure out responses of specific stresses with regard to their combination, we investigated physiological, biochemical, and metabolomic variations following drought and heat stress imposition (alone and combined) and recovery, using Mentha piperita and Catharanthus roseus plants. Plants were exposed to drought and/or heat stress (35 °C) for seven and fourteen days. Plant height and weight (both fresh and dry weight) were significantly decreased by stress, and the e ects more pronounced with a combined heat and drought treatment. Drought and/or heat stress triggered the accumulation of osmolytes (proline, sugars, glycine betaine, and sugar alcohols including inositol and mannitol), with maximum accumulation in response to the combined stress. Total phenol, flavonoid, and saponin contents decreased in response to drought and/or heat stress at seven and fourteen days; however, levels of other secondary metabolites, including tannins, terpenoids, and alkaloids, increased under stress in both plants, with maximal accumulation under the combined heat/drought stress. Extracts from leaves of both species significantly inhibited the growth of pathogenic fungi and bacteria, as well as two human cancer cell lines. Drought and heat stress significantly reduced the antimicrobial and anticancer activities of plants. The increased accumulation of secondary metabolites observed in response to drought and/or heat stress suggests that imposition of abiotic stress may be a strategy for increasing the content of the therapeutic secondary metabolites associated with these plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myo-inositol has gained a central position in plants due to its vital role in physiology and biochemistry. This experimental work assessed the effects of salinity stress and foliar application of myo-inositol (MYO) on growth, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis, antioxidant system, osmolyte accumulation, and gene expression in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa L. var. Giza1). Our results show that salinity stress significantly decreased growth parameters such as plant height, fresh and dry weights of shoot and root, leaf area, number of leaves, chlorophyll content, net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, transpiration, and Fv/Fm, with a more pronounced effect at higher NaCl concentrations. However, the exogenous application of MYO increased the growth and photosynthesis traits and alleviated the stress to a considerable extent. Salinity also significantly reduced the water potential and water use efficiency in plants under saline regime; however, exogenous application of myo-inositol coped with this issue. MYO significantly reduced the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide, superoxide, reduced lipid peroxidation, and electrolyte leakage concomitant with an increase in the membrane stability index. Exogenous application of MYO up-regulated the antioxidant enzymes' activities and the contents of ascorbate and glutathione, contributing to membrane stability and reduced oxidative damage. The damaging effects of salinity stress on quinoa were further mitigated by increased accumulation of osmolytes such as proline, glycine betaine, free amino acids, and soluble sugars in MYO-treated seedlings. The expression pattern of OSM34, NHX1, SOS1A, SOS1B, BADH, TIP2, NSY, and SDR genes increased significantly due to the application of MYO under both stressed and non-stressed conditions. Our results support the conclusion that exogenous MYO alleviates salt stress by involving antioxidants, enhancing plant growth attributes and membrane stability, and reducing oxidative damage to plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endophytic bacteria are useful for their safe services in plant growth improvement and for ameliorating abiotic and biotic stresses. Salt-tolerant plant-growth-promoting Kocuria rhizophila 14asp (accession number KF 875448) was investigated for its role in pea plants under a saline environment. Salt stress (75 mM and 150 mM NaCl) was subjected to two pea varieties, peas2009 and 9800-10, in a greenhouse under a complete randomized design. Different parameters such as plant growth promotion, relative water content, chlorophyll, antioxidants, and mineral contents were analyzed to elucidate the extent of tolerance persuaded by PGPB (plant-growth-promoting bacteria). Exhibition of adverse effects was noticed in uninoculated varieties. However, inoculation of K. rhizophila improved the morphological parameters, antioxidant enzymes, and minimized the uptake of Na+ in plants under various saline regimes. Pea variety 9800-10 exhibited more tolerance than peas2009 in all traits, such as root and shoot length, fresh and dry biomass, chlorophyll contents, and antioxidant enzymes. Our results showed that halotolerant K. rhizophila inoculation plays a vital role in enhancing plant growth by interacting ingeniously with plants through antioxidant systems, enduring saline conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novelty Statement: The hidden ability of S. sesban against multi-metal contaminated soils was investigated in Pakistan. The increased tolerance of S. sesban against metals in association with B. xiamenensis; and B. gibsonii is reported the first time. The inoculation of plants with B. xiamenensis and B. gibsonii had positive effects on the growth and metal accumulation of S. sesban. The technology used in current study is cost-effective for the management and reuse of contaminated soil. The symbiotic association between plants and bacteria decreased the toxic effects of heavy metals on plants and enhanced the plants' growth and biomass. The release of harmful wastes via different industrial activities is the main cause of heavy metal toxicity. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of heavy metal stress on the plant growth traits, antioxidant enzyme activities, chlorophyll content and proline content of Sesbania sesban with/without the inoculation of heavy-metal-tolerant Bacillus gibsonii and B. xiamenensis. Both PGP strains showed prominent ACC-deaminase, indole acetic acid, exopolysaccharides production and tolerance at different heavy metal concentrations (50–1000 mg/L). Further, in a pot experiment, S. sesban seeds were grown in contaminated and noncontaminated soils. After harvesting, plants were used for the further analysis of growth parameters. The experiment comprised of six different treatments. The effects of heavy metal stress and bacterial inoculation on the plant root length; shoot length; fresh and dry weight; photosynthetic pigments; proline content; antioxidant activity; and absorption of metals were observed at the end of the experiment. The results revealed that industrially contaminated soils distinctly reduced the growth of plants. However, both PGPR strains enhanced the root length up to 105% and 80%. The shoot length was increased by 133% and 75%, and the fresh weight was increased by 121% and 129%. The proline content and antioxidant enzymes posed dual effects on the plants growing in industrially contaminated soil, allowing them to cope with the metal stress, which enhanced the plant growth. The proline content was increased up to 190% and 179% by the inoculation of bacterial strains. Antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD, increased to about 216% and 245%, while POD increased up to 48% and 49%, respectively. The results clearly show that the utilized PGPR strains might be strong candidates to assist S. sesban growth under heavy metal stress conditions. We highly suggest these PGPR strains for further implementation in field experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biochar is carbonized biomass obtained from sustainable sources detained in soil to improve the fertility of agricultural soil. The porous nature and absorptive properties of biochar have the potential to immobilize elements, which provide an ideal environment for the soil biota that helps to enhance the growth of plants. In this study, different feedstocks such as sugarcane bagasse (SB), plant material (PM), and manure biomass (MB) were pyrolyzed for the production of biochar. Elemental contents of the feedstock's and voucher were determined with the help of the atomic absorption mass spectrometer. Elemental concentration was significantly increased in biochars compared to raw materials. A pot experiment with 2% and 4% of each biochar was conducted on chili plant to elucidate the beneficial effects on plant growth as compared to control soil, the elemental analysis of the plant soil contained each biochar showed to progressively increase in the concentration of manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) as these are trace elements and have important role in plant growth system. Microbial population in biochar amended soil was also evaluated to check the impact on bacterial populations. Soil with 2% biochar showed 16% increase in the microbial load while biochar with 4% increased the microbial population up to 50%. Furthermore, biochar treatments to red soil increased the elemental Cu, Mn, and Zn concentrations, respectively, and also increased the soil pH. Consequently, soil productivity increased in terms of plant growth by balancing the concentration of elements and also increased the microbial population. It is concluded that biochar use in agriculture could be effective for the soil fertility and increasing plant growth and soil bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the effects of jasmonic acid (100 nmol, JA) priming and foliar application of spermidine (1 mM, Spd), both individually and combined, on mitigating cadmium (100 μM, Cd) stress- induced oxidative damage in wheat. Cadmium stress reduced plant height and dry mass, but JA priming and/or Spd treatment increased resistance. Cd stress significantly decreased carotenoids, total chlorophylls, glutamate 1-semialdehyde (GSA), and δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), but JA and Spd treatments counteracted these reductions. Photosynthetic parameters improved under JA and Spd treatments, with combined treatment showing greater alleviation. Cd exposure increased lipid peroxidation, hydrogen peroxide, electrolyte leakage, and superoxide, but these oxidative stress indicators were significantly reduced after JA and Spd treatment. Antioxidant enzyme activity was upregulated by JA priming and Spd application, both under unstressed and Cd-stressed conditions. JA and/or Spd treatments also increased ascorbic acid, lowered glutathione concentration, and upregulated glyoxylase activity, reducing methylglyoxal accumulation. Additionally, secondary compounds (phenols and flavonoids) and osmolytes (proline and glycine betaine) levels improved. Proline oxidase activity decreased, indicating controlled proline buildup, while γ-glutamyl kinase activity increased. JA and/or Spd treatments significantly reduced Cd accumulation in seedlings. The study concluded that JA and Spd treatments enhance the plant's defensive mechanisms against oxidative stress by boosting antioxidant enzymes and secondary metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High and low temperatures constitute the most damaging type of abiotic stress and limit the survival, and productivity of plants. The present study aimed to evaluate the role of exogenous applications of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in reducing the deleterious effects of cold stress. Phaseolus vulgaris L. seedlings were treated with foliar-sprayed ASA at concentrations of 0–3 mM and then subjected to chilling stress at 4 °C for 2 or 4 days.Results: Growth, photosynthesis, biochemical alterations, oxidative damage and antioxidant enzyme activities as well as the expression of cold-responsive genes (CBF3–COR47), were monitored during the experiment. ASA applications substantially improved several growth and photosynthetic parameters, including shoot biomass, dry weight, and photosynthetic pigments, of P. vulgaris seedlings exposed to different durations of chilling stresses. The ASA foliar spray treatments significantly (p < 0.05) rescued the growth and photosynthetic pigments of P. vulgaris seedlings under different chilling stresses. The total soluble sugars markedly increased during 0–4 days of chilling stress following ASA foliar spraying. The exogenous application of ASA significantly (p < 0.05) increased the accumulation of proline in P. vulgaris seedlings under chilling stress. At the gene expression level, ASA significantly (p < 0.05) upregulated the cold-responsive genes CBF3 and COR47.Conclusions: As a result, we speculate that, the application of exogenous ASA alleviated the adverse effects of chilling stress on all measured parameters, and 1 and 2 mM ASA exhibited the greatest effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improved plant nutrition to get high productivity is under severe influence of human activities drastically impacting the soil-plant ecosystem. In the scenario of increased global socio-economic demand for food, the changes in land use systems to gain higher agricultural productivity are disrupting the soil properties as well as the associated soil services. This work investigated the impact of different land use systems on phosphorus (P) and associated soil nutrients including K, Ca and Mg across six different land use systems in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Phosphorous fractions were determined by the modified sequential extraction procedures and the concentration of nutrients was measured by double acid digestion. Results revealed the significant variations across different land use systems for P where different P fractions were found considerably varying in order of HCL>NaOH>NaHCO3>H2O extractable phosphorus. Interestingly, nutrients were found to be varying from thick forest to cultivated lands. Results demonstrate that the shift from the thick forests to thin forests or arable lands may increase the P losses and ultimately disturb the associated soil-plant nutrient status thus should remain intact to promote the plant productivity in a sustainable way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought and heat stress are two dominant abiotic stress factors that often occur simultaneously in nature causing oxidative damage in plants and thus decline in yield. The present study was conducted to examine the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-induced heat and drought tolerance in sunflower through physiological, biochemical and molecular analysis. The results showed that drought and heat stress triggered oxidative stress as revealed by enhanced level in hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage. Moreover, the photosynthetic attributes such as photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and quantum efficiency declined when subjected to drought and heat stress. In this study, GABA treatment effectively alleviated the drought and heat-induced stress as reflected by significantly higher levels of proline, soluble sugar and total protein content. Besides, the data also revealed the direct relationship between antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, glutathione reductase, monodehydroascorbate peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase) and the relative expression of genes (Heat Shock Proteins, Dehydrin, Osmotin, Aquaporin, Leaf Embryogenesis Protein), under drought and heat stress. Moreover, a significant increase in gene expression was observed upon GABA treatment with respect to control. This data suggest that GABA-induced drought and heat tolerance in sunflower could involve the improvement in osmolyte metabolism, gene expression and antioxidant enzyme activities and thus a rise in the GABA shunt which in turn provides intermediates during long-term drought and heat stress, thus maintaining homeostasis., (© 2020 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)