Plant-Derived Smoke Ameliorates Salt Stress in Wheat by Enhancing Expressions of Stress-Responsive Genes and Antioxidant Enzymatic Activity

Abiotic stresses are the biggest threat to the increasing population worldwide. Salt stress is one of the most significant abiotic stresses, affecting 20% of the crop production around the world. Plant-derived smoke (PDS) has been reported as a biologically active plant product in stimulating seed germination, seedling growth and physiological characteristics of crops under abiotic stress conditions. Nevertheless, studies showing how PDS alleviates salt stress are largely unknown. Here, we report the molecular mechanism of how PDS could alleviate salt stress in wheat. Initially, PDS at 2000 ppm enhanced seed germination, root/shoot length and seedling fresh weight. However, PDS at 1000 and 500 ppm did not show any significant effect. Salt stress at 150 and 200 mM significantly reduced seed germination rate, root/shoot length and fresh weight of the wheat seedlings. Interestingly, PDS supplementation at 2000 ppm concentration was sufficient to restore seed germination under salt stress condition. Moreover, PDS improved root/shoot length and seedling biomass under 150 and 200 mM salt stress, suggesting that PDS is a potent plant product, capable of abiotic stress alleviation in crops. In comparison to the control, PDS-treated seedlings displayed increased activity of major antioxidative enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase under salt stress, resulting in reduced levels of hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxidase, showing that PDS can possibly help in salt stress amelioration by regulating redox homeostasis. Importantly, salt stress altered the expression of germination marker genes, such as TaSAM, TaPHY, TaBGU (germination positive effectors), TaLEA and TaGARS34 (germination negative effectors), suggesting the potential role of PDS in the germination pathway under salt stress. Further, PDS modulated the transcript levels of several salt stress stress-responsive genes, including TaSOS4, TaBADH and TaHKT2. In conclusion, this study provides a molecular and physiological basis for elucidating the mechanism of how PDS functions in stress induction in wheat, as well as demonstrates the importance of PDS in agricultural practices, laying the groundwork for future research into the role of PDS in the amelioration of abiotic stresses in various plants.

Working the Rural-Urban Divide

Alexander F. Day is not only an avid consumer of Chinese tea, he has taken up this plant, product, and production system as the subject for his forthcoming book. Situated in Meitan county in Guizhou province—the county that currently boasts the largest planted area of tea in China—his research traces the interplay of tea, labor, and political economy and the shift from household production to industrialisation from the 1920s to the present. Day combines archival research and fieldwork, making regular trips to Meitan, where he collaborates with local tea historians. His work connects the past and the present, and provides insights into how studying the contemporary period sheds light on earlier periods and vice versa. The following is a lightly edited version of our interview about Alexander’s current book project.

Heavy Metals and Microelements in the System "Soil – Plant – Product of Plant Processing"

В России при производстве национальных напитков и продуктов питания используют сырьё растительного происхождения. Многие участки для возделываемых культур расположены вблизи урбанизированных районов, нефтеперерабатывающих и машиностроительных заводов. Исследования посвящены определению тяжёлых металлов в почвах урбанизированных и сельских районов Ярославской области и проведены в 2019–2020 гг. Целью данного исследования является определение содержания некоторых микроэлементов и тяжёлых металлов в почве, ревене и продукте его переработки – квасе, произведённом разными способами (рассматривались 2 технологии: технология с дополнительной операцией «вымачивание стеблей ревеня» и «настаивание стеблей ревеня и дополнительных ингредиентов» и технология с дополнительной операцией «варка стеблей ревеня и дополнительных ингредиентов»). При исследовании загрязнения почвы микроэлементами и тяжёлыми металлами на всех территориях превышения предельно допустимых концентраций не выявлено. Установлено, что по величине среднего содержания в водной вытяжке почвы исследуемые элементы на всех рассмотренных территориях региона образуют следующий убывающий ряд: железо > свинец > цинк > медь > мышьяк > кадмий. Более высокие концентрации цинка, железа, кадмия, свинца и мышьяка выявлены в урбанизированной территории, а меди – в сельской территории. Анализ миграционной способности элементов в системе «почва – растение – продукция растительного происхождения» показал наличие плохой миграционной способности для цинка и железа. Использование растительного сырья, произведённого по технологии органического производства и по разработанной технологии переработки растительного сырья, способствовало наименьшему воздействию на его составные части, увеличению содержания макро- и микроэлементов. При этом содержание токсичных элементов остаётся в пределах действующих нормативных документов. Технология, включающая дополнительную операцию «варка», обеспечила наибольшую экстракцию макро- и микроэлементов из ревеня в квас. In Russia, raw materials of plant origin are used in the production of national beverages and food products. Many areas for cultivated crops are located near urbanized areas, oil refineries and mechanical engineering plants. Researches are devoted to the definition of heavy metals in soils of urbanized and rural areas of the Yaroslavl region and were carried out in 2019–2020. The purpose of this study is to determine the content of some microelements and heavy metals in soil, rhubarb and its processing product – kvass produced in various ways (2 technologies were considered: technology with an additional operation "soaking rhubarb stems" and "infusing rhubarb stems and additional ingredients" and technology with an additional operation "boiling rhubarb stems and additional ingredients"). When investigating soil contamination with microelements and heavy metals in all territories, no excess of maximum permissible concentrations was found. It was established that in terms of the average content in the water extract of the soil, the examined elements in all the considered territories of the region form the following decreasing series: iron > lead > zinc > copper > arsenic > cadmium. Higher concentrations of zinc, iron, cadmium, lead and arsenic were found in urbanized territory, and copper in rural territory. An analysis of the migration ability of elements in the system "soil – plant – product of plant processing" showed the presence of poor migration ability for zinc and iron. The use of plant raw materials produced according to the organic production technology and the developed technology for processing plant raw materials contributed to the least impact on its components, an increase in the content of macro- and microelements. At the same time, the content of toxic elements remains within the limits of existing regulatory documents. The technology, including an additional "boiling" operation, ensured the greatest extraction of macro- and microelements from rhubarb to kvass.

Plant active products and emerging interventions in water potabilisation: disinfection and multi-drug resistant pathogen treatment

Background This review aims at establishing the emerging applications of phytobiotics in water treatment and disinfection. Results Statistical analysis of data obtained revealed that the use of plant product in water treatment needs more research attention. A major observation is that plants possess multifaceted components and can be sustainably developed into products for water treatment. The seed (24.53%), flower (20.75), leaf (16.98%) and fruit (11.32%) biomasses are preferred against bulb (3.77%), resin (1.89%), bark (1.89%) and tuber (1.89%). The observation suggests that novel applications of plant in water treatment need further exploration since vast and broader antimicrobial activities (63.63%) is reported than water treatment application (36.37%). Conclusions This review has revealed the existing knowledge gaps in exploration of plant resources for water treatment and product development. Chemical complexity of some plant extracts, lack of standardisation, slow working rate, poor water solubility, extraction and purification complexities are limitations that need to be overcome for industrial adoption of phytochemicals in water treatment. The field of phytobiotics should engage modern methodologies such as proteomics, genomics, and metabolomics to minimise challenges confronting phytobiotic standardisation. The knowledge disseminated awaits novel application for plant product development in water treatment.

Contaminant organisms recorded on plant product imports to South Africa 1994–2019

Biosecurity interception records are crucial data underlying efforts to predict and manage pest and pathogen introductions. Here we present a dataset containing information on imported plant products inspected by the South African Department of Agriculture’s laboratories between 1994 and 2019 and the contaminant organisms found on them. Samples were received from border inspectors as either propagation material (e.g. plants) or material for immediate use (e.g. fruit). Material for immediate use was further divided into two sample categories, depending on if contaminants were seen/suspected by the border official or not: intervention or audit samples. The final dataset consists of 25,279 records, of which 30% tested positive (i.e. had at least one contaminant) and 13% had multiple contaminants. Of the 13,731 recorded contaminants, fungi (41%), mites (37%) and insects (19%) were most common. This dataset provides insight into the suite of taxa transported along the plant import pathway and provides an important resource for analyses of contaminant organisms in international trade, which can inform strategies for risk assessment, pathway management and biosecurity protocols.