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Soil salinization is one of the major challenges for modern agriculture, posing a great threat to soil health and food security. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of seed coating on soil environment and maize growth in saline soils. Three treatments were applied to maize seeds: coating with a microencapsulated microbial agent (ME), coating with microbial only (MB), and no coating (CK). High-throughput sequencing of soil bacterial and fungal 16S and ITS rRNA genes was performed using the Illumina HiSeq platform to analyze the effects of these treatments on soil bacterial and fungal diversity and community structure. Additionally, the influence of different treatments on endogenous hormones and yield of maize were investigated. It was found that the coating with a microencapsulated microbial agent led to decreases in pH and electrical conductivity (EC), while increasing the content of soil available phosphorus. This coating improved soil microbial diversity, significantly increasing the relative abundance of the main bacteria genera, Bacillus (34.9%), and the main fungal genera, Mortierella (190.4%). The treatment also significantly enhanced indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) by 51.2%, contributing to improvements in resistance to salt stress. The germination rate increased by 22.9%, the 100-grain weight increased by 12.7%, and grain yield increased by 14.3%. The use of the microencapsulated microbial agent effectively mitigated the adverse effects of salt stress on maize plants. This approach is beneficial for promoting sustainable agriculture in saline soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single amyloidogenic protein is implicated in multiple neurological diseases and capable of generating a number of aggregate "strains" with distinct structures. Among the amyloidogenic proteins, α-synuclein generates multiple patterns of proteinopathies in a group of diseases, such as Parkinson disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). However, the link between specific conformations and distinct pathologies, the key concept of the strain hypothesis, remains elusive. Here we show that in the presence of bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), α-synuclein generated a self-renewable, structurally distinct fibril strain that consistently induced specific patterns of synucleinopathies in mice. These results suggest that amyloid fibrils with self-renewable structures cause distinct types of proteinopathies despite the identical primary structure and that exposure to exogenous pathogens may contribute to the diversity of synucleinopathies.

Enhancing root development is pivotal for boosting crop yield and augmenting stress resilience. In this study, we explored the regulatory effects of xylooligosaccharides (XOSs) on lettuce root growth, comparing their impact with that of indole-3-butyric acid potassium salt (IBAP). Treatment with XOS led to a substantial increase in root dry weight (30.77%), total root length (29.40%), volume (21.58%), and surface area (25.44%) compared to the water-treated control. These enhancements were on par with those induced by IBAP. Comprehensive phytohormone profiling disclosed marked increases in indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), zeatin riboside (ZR), methyl jasmonate (JA-ME), and brassinosteroids (BRs) following XOS application. Through RNA sequencing, we identified 3807 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the roots of XOS-treated plants, which were significantly enriched in pathways associated with manganese ion homeostasis, microtubule motor activity, and carbohydrate metabolism. Intriguingly, approximately 62.7% of the DEGs responsive to XOS also responded to IBAP, underscoring common regulatory mechanisms. However, XOS uniquely influenced genes related to cutin, suberine, and wax biosynthesis, as well as plant hormone signal transduction, hinting at novel mechanisms of stress tolerance. Prominent up-regulation of genes encoding beta-glucosidase and beta-fructofuranosidase highlights enhanced carbohydrate metabolism as a key driver of XOS-induced root enhancement. Collectively, these results position XOS as a promising, sustainable option for agricultural biostimulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of the combined application of water-retaining agents and nitrogen fertilizers on soil physicochemical properties, bacterial communities, and root growth under winter wheat planting mode in the Guanzhong area of Shaanxi Province. Based on the positioning experiment of dry farming in the loessal soil area of Shaanxi Province, four treatments were set up by using the tillage method of subsoiling + rotary tillage and straw returning: only fertilization (U), only water retention agent sodium polyacrylate (C3H3NaO2)n (S), combined use of water-retaining agent sodium polyacrylate (C3H3NaO2)n and fertilizer (US), and control group CK (no treatment). The ultra-high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes of soil bacteria was performed by the Illumina Hiseq platform, and the effects of different tillage measures on soil bacterial diversity and community structure were analyzed. In addition, the effects of these tillage measures on soil physicochemical properties and winter wheat root length density at booting and flowering stages were evaluated. The results indicated that the combination of the water-retaining agent and fertilizer markedly enhanced the contents of ammonium nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium in the 0~20 cm soil layer, significantly increased the soil moisture content, and promoted the deep growth of roots. The root length density was 4.70 times higher than that of the control group at the booting stage. In addition, the combined application alleviated the decrease in soil microbial diversity caused by individual fertilization, especially significantly increasing the abundance of Gemmatimonadetes, Acidobacteria, and Planctomycetes in the 0~10 cm soil layer. This study reveals the potential of the combined use of water retention agents and fertilizers to optimize the soil environment and enhance winter wheat yield, which provides a scientific basis for improving local agricultural practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]