Protective Role of GABA in Aromatic Rice Under Lead and Cadmium Toxicity: Physiological and Biochemical Insights.

Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) severely impair rice growth, yield, and grain quality. This study assessed the role of exogenous gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in mitigating Pb and Cd toxicity in aromatic rice 'Guixiangzhan'. Treatments included the control (no Pb, Cd, or GABA), GABA (1 mM), Pb (800 mg/kg of soil)+GABA, Cd (75 mg/kg of soil)+GABA, Pb+Cd+GABA, Pb, Cd, and Pb+Cd without GABA.

Carbon quantum dots as versatile nanomaterials for improving soil health and plant stress tolerance: a comprehensive review.

Main Conclusion: This review summarizes the synthesis, purification/separation, and characterization techniques for carbon quantum dots (CQDs) and highlights their versatile applications as low-toxicity, multifunctional nanomaterials with particular focus on improving soil health, plant stress tolerance, and promoting sustainable agriculture. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have recently emerged as highly versatile nanomaterials with a broad spectrum of applications. This review provides a comprehensive overview of various aspects of CQDs, including their synthesis via both top-down and bottom-up approaches, along with the critical separation and purification techniques required to fully harness their potential.

Quantification and polymeric characterization of microplastics in composts and their accumulation in lettuce.

Organic fertilizers have become a vector for the transport of microplastics (MPs), which pose human health concerns through the food chain. This study aimed to quantify and characterize MPs in eight different compost samples of various raw materials and their subsequent translocation to lettuce (Lacuta sativa) grown on contaminated composts. The results revealed that the MP abundance ranged from 3810 to 16530 MP/kg.

Characterizing indigenous plant growth promoting bacteria and their synergistic effects with organic and chemical fertilizers on wheat ().

The excessive use of chemical fertilizers is deteriorating both the environment and soil, making it a big challenge faced by sustainable agriculture. To assist the efforts for the solution of this burning issue, nine different potential native strains of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) namely, SA-1(, SA-5 (,SA-7(), BH-1(), BH-7(), BH-8(), BA-3(), BA-6(), and BA-7() were isolated that were characterized morphologically, biochemically and molecularly on the basis of 16S rRNA sequencing. Furthermore, the capability of indigenous PGPB in wheat (, Chakwal-50) under control, DAP+FYM, SA, BH, BA, DAP+ FYM + SA, DAP+FYM+ BH and DAP+FYM+ BA treatments was assessed in a randomized complete block design (RCBD).

Impact and mitigation of lead, cadmium and micro/nano plastics in fragrant rice.

Heavy metals (HMs) and micro(nano)plastics (MNPs), represent a significant risk to global food supply as well as a potential risk to humankind. Over 50% of the worldwide population eat rice every day, and rice aroma is a significant qualitative trait that is highly valued by consumers and fetches premium prices in the global market. Despite the huge commercial importance of fragrant rice, limited studies were directed to investigate the influence of HMs and MNPs on yield related traits and 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline (2-AP) compound, mainly responsible for aroma production in fragrant rice.

Antibiotics induced changes in nitrogen metabolism and antioxidative enzymes in mung bean (Vigna radiata).

Excessive use and release of antibiotics into the soil environment in the developing world have resulted in altered soil processes affecting terrestrial organisms and posing a serious threat to crop growth and productivity. The present study investigated the influence of exogenously applied oxytetracycline (OXY) and levofloxacin (LEV) on plant physiological responses, key enzymes involved in nitrogen metabolism (e.g.

Silicon-nanoparticles doped biochar is more effective than biochar for mitigation of arsenic and salinity stress in Quinoa: Insight to human health risk assessment.

The increasing contamination of soil with arsenic (As), and salinity has become a menace to food security and human health. The current study investigates the comparative efficacy of plain biochar (BC), and silicon-nanoparticles doped biochar (SBC) for ameliorating the As and salinity-induced phytotoxicity in quinoa ( Willd.) and associated human health risks.

Comparative efficiency of silica gel, biochar, and plant growth promoting bacteria on Cr and Pb availability to L. in contaminated soil irrigated with wastewater.

Crop irrigation with untreated wastewater is a routine practice in developing countries that causes multiple human health consequences. A comparative study was performed to regulate total Cr and Pb stress in soil and L. plant.

Potassium and Humic Acid Synergistically Increase Salt Tolerance and Nutrient Uptake in Contrasting Wheat Genotypes through Ionic Homeostasis and Activation of Antioxidant Enzymes.

Salinity limits the growth and nutrient uptake in crop species. Studies show that both potassium (K) and humic acid (HA) improved plant tolerance to salinity. However, the interactive effect of K and HA on plant tolerance to salinity stress remains unknown.

Comparative Genome-wide Analysis and Expression Profiling of Histone Acetyltransferase (HAT) Gene Family in Response to Hormonal Applications, Metal and Abiotic Stresses in Cotton.

Post-translational modifications are involved in regulating diverse developmental processes. Histone acetyltransferases (HATs) play vital roles in the regulation of chromation structure and activate the gene transcription implicated in various cellular processes. However, HATs in cotton, as well as their regulation in response to developmental and environmental cues, remain unidentified.

Nitric oxide improves tolerance to arsenic stress in Isatis cappadocica desv. Shoots by enhancing antioxidant defenses.

Arsenic (As) is a toxic metalloid that severely hampers plant growth and also poses health risks for humans through the food chain. Although nitric oxide (NO) is known to improve plant resistance to multiple stresses including metal toxicity, little is known about its role in the As tolerance of hyperaccumulator plants. This study investigates the role of the exogenously applied NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), in improving the As tolerance of Isatis cappadocica, which has been reported to hyperaccumulate As.

Vulnerability, well-being, and livelihood adaptation under changing environmental conditions: a case from mountainous region of Pakistan.

Climatic changes pose serious risks to the rural community's livelihoods of many developing countries whereas people in mountainous regions are exposed to multiple hazards with limited livelihood resources and heavy dependence on natural resources. The objective of the current study is to assess the livelihood practices and adaptive capacity of a mountainous region of Pakistan, the Balakot, where people are highly vulnerable to climatic changes. The study uses a triangulation method to explore various issues and options of climate change risks sand adaptation and impact of well-being on resilience capacity and livelihood strategies.

Acquiring control: The evolution of ROS-Induced oxidative stress and redox signaling pathways in plant stress responses.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) - the byproducts of aerobic metabolism - influence numerous aspects of the plant life cycle and environmental response mechanisms. In plants, ROS act like a double-edged sword; they play multiple beneficial roles at low concentrations, whereas at high concentrations ROS and related redox-active compounds cause cellular damage through oxidative stress. To examine the dual role of ROS as harmful oxidants and/or crucial cellular signals, this review elaborates that (i) how plants sense and respond to ROS in various subcellular organelles and (ii) the dynamics of subsequent ROS-induced signaling processes.

Silicon nutrition improves growth of salt-stressed wheat by modulating flows and partitioning of Na, Cl and mineral ions.

Silicon (Si) is reported to improve salt stress tolerance of cereals, but little is known about the effects of Si on flows and partitioning of sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), and essential mineral ions at the tissue and cellular level. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was exposed to 200 mM NaCl for 30 d in hydroponics, with or without 2 mM Si.

The role of selenium on mitigating arsenic accumulation, enhancing growth and antioxidant responses in metallicolous and non-metallicolous population of Isatis cappadocica Desv. and Brassica oleracea L.

A hydroponic experiment was conducted to explore the interactive effects of selenium (Se) supplementation (0, 5, and 10 μM) and arsenic (As) toxicity (0, 200, and 400 μM) on the growth, accumulation, and oxidative damage along with defense mechanisms of metallicolous (MP) and non-metallicolous population (NMP) of Isatis cappadocica, an As-hyperaccumulator, and Brassica oleracea as reference brassica. The results revealed that As stress significantly hampered plant growth particularly in B. oleracea.

Opportunities and challenges in the use of mineral nutrition for minimizing arsenic toxicity and accumulation in rice: A critical review.

Growing rice on arsenic (As)-contaminated soil or irrigating with As-contaminated water leads to significant accumulation of As in grains. Moreover, rice accumulates more As into grains than other cereal crops. Thus, rice consumption has been identified as a major route of human exposure to As in many countries.

Silicon-induced reversibility of cadmium toxicity in rice.

Silicon (Si) modulates tolerance to abiotic stresses, but little is known about the reversibility of stress effects by supplementing previously stressed plants with Si. This is surprising since recovery experiments might allow mechanisms of Si-mediated amelioration to be addressed. Rice was exposed to 10 µM CdCl2 for 4 d in hydroponics, followed by 0.

Silicon as Versatile Player in Plant and Human Biology: Overlooked and Poorly Understood.

Silicon (Si) serves as bioactive beneficial element. Si is highly abundant in soil, and occurs ubiquitously in all organisms including plants and humans. During the last three decades, nutritional significance of Si for plant and human health has received increasing attention.