Multi-omics and physiological traits analysis revealed the regulatory mechanism of selenium reducing cadmium toxicity in Desmodesmus abundans.

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic non-essential heavy metal. Cd pollution has emerged as a serious environmental issue. Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for human health.

Innovative Strategies for Plant Protection: The Combination of Spray-Induced Gene Silencing and Nanotechnology.

Chemical pesticides have traditionally been a primary strategy for controlling plant diseases. With the mounting issues in disease control arising from the prolonged use of pesticides, the three ″R″ issues (resistance, residues, and resurgence) and the three ″risks″ (disability, teratogenicity, and mutagenicity) have become more prominent, significantly hindering agricultural development. There is an urgent need to develop sustainable and environmentally friendly approaches to prevent and control plant diseases.

Guard cell and whole plant expression of AtTOR improves performance under drought and enhances water use efficiency.

Water use efficiency is an important target for breeding of improved drought resistance. Minimizing leaf transpirational water loss plays a key role in drought resistance. But this reduces CO levels in leaves, which often reduces photosynthetic efficiency and yield.

Antibacterial Mechanism and Flavour Impact of Ultrasound and Plasma-Activated Water Combination on in Crayfish.

is a foodborne pathogen commonly found in contaminated crayfish. In this study, the effects of ultrasound combined with plasma-activated water (US-PAW) against and on the flavour of crayfish were investigated to evaluate their impact on crayfish preservation. In vitro, US and PAW showed a significantly synergistic inhibition against growth and biofilm reformation at 7 min.

Transcriptomic and morphologic vascular aberrations underlying FCDIIb etiology.

Focal cortical dysplasia type II (FCDII) is a major cause of drug-resistant epilepsy, but genetic factors explain only some cases, suggesting other mechanisms. In this study, we conduct a molecular analysis of brain lesions and adjacent areas in FCDIIb patients. By analyzing over 217,506 single-nucleus transcriptional profiles from 15 individuals, we find significant changes in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and astrocytes.

Crop Wild Relatives (CWRs) in the United Arab Emirates: Resources for Climate Resilience and Their Potential Medicinal Applications.

Global climate change threatens the production, growth, and sustainability of plants. Crop wild relatives (CWRs) offer a practical and sustainable solution to these climatic issues by boosting genetic diversity and crop resilience. Even though CWRs are wild relatives of domesticated plants, they are nevertheless mostly neglected.

From Taxus to paclitaxel: Opportunities and challenges for urban agriculture to promote human health.

Conifers of the genus Taxus are environmentally friendly plants with significant medicinal and ecological value, contributing to the enhancement of urban living environments. Paclitaxel, a compound found in Taxus, has garnered particular research interest owing to its potent anti-cancer effects. However, traditional methods of extracting paclitaxel from Taxus are not only inefficient, but also destructive and unsustainable, posing the major risk of Taxus extinction.

Effects of Culture Medium Enrichment with Zinc on Astaxanthin Accumulation in a New Strain of the Microalga .

High Zn concentrations in microalgal cells that produce astaxanthin as a feed additive can reduce the symptoms of malnutrition in aquatic animals. Therefore, in this study, we analysed the effect of Zn in the culture medium on the growth of a newly isolated microalgal strain ZY24. Zn and white light stress altered the pigment content in microalgal cells.

Industrial Production of Functional Foods for Human Health and Sustainability.

Functional foods significantly affect social stability, human health, and food security. Plants and microorganisms are high-quality chassis for the bioactive ingredients in functional foods. Characterised by precise nutrition and the provision of both nutritive and medicinal value, functional foods serve a as key extension of functional agriculture and offer assurance of food availability for future space exploration efforts.

Microalgae: A good carrier for biological selenium enrichment.

Selenium is a crucial micronutrient for human well-being, with significant contributions to antioxidant, anti-ageing, and antiviral activities. However, over one billion people globally struggle with selenium deficiency, leading to a pressing need for selenium supplementation. Conventional selenium-enrich food from plants and animals provides challenges in achieving precise selenium supplementation.

Identification and Application of CQUSh011 against Potato Late Blight.

Using chemical fungicides is the main strategy for controlling potato late blight (PLB), a devastating pre- and postharvest disease caused by , resulting in environmental pollution and health risks. It is of great importance to develop a biofungicide from microorganisms. Through isolating potato rhizosphere microorganisms, CQUSh011 was found to have antioomycete activity with strong inhibition on vegetative growth and virulence of .

The TOR signalling pathway in fungal phytopathogens: A target for plant disease control.

Plant diseases caused by fungal phytopathogens have led to significant economic losses in agriculture worldwide. The management of fungal diseases is mainly dependent on the application of fungicides, which are not suitable for sustainable agriculture, human health, and environmental safety. Thus, it is necessary to develop novel targets and green strategies to mitigate the losses caused by these pathogens.

Biofortification of potato nutrition.

Background: Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the fourth most important food crop after rice, wheat and maize in the world with the potential to feed the world's population, and potato is a major staple food in many countries. Currently, potato is grown in more than 100 countries and is consumed by more than 1 billion people worldwide, and the global annual output exceeds 300 million tons.

Astaxanthin biosynthesis for functional food development and space missions.

Astaxanthin (AXT), a natural carotenoid, has strong antioxidant and anti-ageing effects and can reduce ultraviolet light-induced damage to cells and DNA, stimulate the immune system, and improve cardiovascular disease prognosis. Despite its wide applications in the: nutraceutical, cosmetic, aquaculture, and pharmaceutical industries, AXT industrial production and application are hindered by natural source scarcity, low production efficiency, and high requirements. This review compares the qualitative differences of AXT derived from different natural sources, evaluates the upstream procedures for AXT expression in different chassis organisms, and investigates synthetic biology- and cell factory-based strategies for the industrial production of natural AXT.

Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analysis Reveal the Effects of Light Quality on the Growth and Lipid Biosynthesis in .

Light quality has significant effects on the growth and metabolite accumulation of algal cells. However, the related mechanism has not been fully elucidated. This study reveals that both red and blue light can promote the growth and biomass accumulation of , with the enhancing effect of blue light being more pronounced.

Microalgae: towards human health from urban areas to space missions.

Space exploration and interstellar migration are important strategies for long-term human survival. However, extreme environmental conditions, such as space radiation and microgravity, can cause adverse effects, including DNA damage, cerebrovascular disease, osteoporosis, and muscle atrophy, which would require prophylactic and remedial treatment . Production of oral drugs is therefore critical for interstellar travel and can be achieved through industrial production utilizing microalgae, which offers high production efficiency, edibility, resource minimization, adaptability, stress tolerance, and genetic manipulation ease.

Cell Penetrating Peptide Enhances the Aphidicidal Activity of Spider Venom-Derived Neurotoxin.

HxTx-Hv1h, a neurotoxic peptide derived from spider venom, has been developed for use in commercial biopesticide formulations. Cell Penetrating Peptides (CPPs) are short peptides that facilitate the translocation of various biomolecules across cellular membranes. Here, we evaluated the aphidicidal efficacy of a conjugated peptide, HxTx-Hv1h/CPP-1838, created by fusing HxTx-Hv1h with CPP-1838.

Ribosomal S6 kinases 2 mediates potato resistance to late blight, through WRKY59 transcription factor.

Potato late blight is the most devastating pre- and post-harvest crop disease in the world, which is widespread and difficult to control, causing serious economic losses. Cultivating resistant varieties is a major way to prevent and control late blight in a green way. However, due to the rapid evolution of pathogens, the plant resistance is losing.

Therapeutic Potential of Alkaloids with Special Emphasis on Cancer: A Comprehensive Review.

Cancer has emerged as a formidable global health challenge, with treatment methods like chemotherapy and radiation often exacerbating the situation due to their associated side effects. Opting for natural sources like plants as a safer and environmentally friendly alternative seems promising. Historically, plants have served as valuable sources for treating diverse health conditions, attributable to their rich composition of therapeutic phytochemicals.

Genetic diversity, clinical uses, and phytochemical and pharmacological properties of safflower ( L.): an important medicinal plant.

Safflower ( L.), a member of the Asteraceae family, is widely used in traditional herbal medicine. This review summarized agronomic conditions, genetic diversity, clinical application, and phytochemicals and pharmacological properties of safflower.

iJAZ-based approach to engineer lepidopteran pest resistance in multiple crop species.

The fall armyworm (FAW) poses a significant threat to global crop production. Here we showed that overexpression of jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZ) protein GhJAZ24 confers resistance to cotton bollworm and FAW, while also causing sterility in transgenic cotton by recruiting TOPLESS and histone deacetylase 6. We identified the NGR motif of GhJAZ24 that recognizes and binds the aminopeptidase N receptor, enabling GhJAZ24 to enter cells and disrupt histone deacetylase 3, leading to cell death.

Heterologous expression of taxane genes confers resistance to fall armyworm in Nicotiana benthamiana.

Taxadiene synthase, taxadiene-5α-hydroxylase, and taxane 13α-hydroxylase genes were introduced into Nicotiana benthamiana, and the improved resistance to lepidoptera pest fall armyworm was reported. Fall armyworm (FAW) is a serious agricultural pest. Genetic engineering techniques have been used to create pest-resistant plant varieties for reducing pest damage.

microRNAs: Key Regulators in Plant Responses to Abiotic and Biotic Stresses via Endogenous and Cross-Kingdom Mechanisms.

Dramatic shifts in global climate have intensified abiotic and biotic stress faced by plants. Plant microRNAs (miRNAs)-20-24 nucleotide non-coding RNA molecules-form a key regulatory system of plant gene expression; playing crucial roles in plant growth; development; and defense against abiotic and biotic stress. Moreover, they participate in cross-kingdom communication.