Emerging Roles of SWEET Sugar Transporters in Plant Development and Abiotic Stress Responses

Sugars are the major source of energy in living organisms and play important roles in osmotic regulation, cell signaling and energy storage. SWEETs (Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporters) are the most recent family of sugar transporters that function as uniporters, facilitating the diffusion of sugar molecules across cell membranes. In plants, SWEETs play roles in multiple physiological processes including phloem loading, senescence, pollen nutrition, grain filling, nectar secretion, abiotic (drought, heat, cold, and salinity) and biotic stress regulation. In this review, we summarized the role of SWEET transporters in plant development and abiotic stress. The gene expression dynamics of various SWEET transporters under various abiotic stresses in different plant species are also discussed. Finally, we discuss the utilization of genome editing tools (TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9) to engineer SWEET genes that can facilitate trait improvement. Overall, recent advancements on SWEETs are highlighted, which could be used for crop trait improvement and abiotic stress tolerance

Emerging Roles of SWEET Sugar Transporters in Plant Development and Abiotic Stress Responses

Sugars are the major source of energy in living organisms and play important roles in osmotic regulation, cell signaling and energy storage. SWEETs (Sugars Will Eventually be Exported Transporters) are the most recent family of sugar transporters that function as uniporters, facilitating the diffusion of sugar molecules across cell membranes. In plants, SWEETs play roles in multiple physiological processes including phloem loading, senescence, pollen nutrition, grain filling, nectar secretion, abiotic (drought, heat, cold, and salinity) and biotic stress regulation. In this review, we summarized the role of SWEET transporters in plant development and abiotic stress. The gene expression dynamics of various SWEET transporters under various abiotic stresses in different plant species are also discussed. Finally, we discuss the utilization of genome editing tools (TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9) to engineer SWEET genes that can facilitate trait improvement. Overall, recent advancements on SWEETs are highlighted, which could be used for crop trait improvement and abiotic stress tolerance

Structures, Properties, and Performances—Relationships of Polymeric Membranes for Pervaporative Desalination

For the fulfilment of increasing global demand and associated challenges related to the supply of clean-and-safe water, PV has been considered as one of the most attractive and promising areas in desalinating salty-water of varied salinities. In pervaporative desalination, the sustainability, endurance, and structural features of membrane, along with operating parameters, play the dominant roles and impart paramount impact in governing the overall PV efficiency. Indeed, polymeric- and organic-membranes suffer from several drawbacks, including inferior structural stability and durability, whereas the fabrication of purely inorganic membranes is complicated and costly. Therefore, recent development on the high-performance and cost-friendly PV membrane is mostly concentrated on synthesizing composite- and NCP-membranes possessing the advantages of both organic- and inorganic-membranes. This review reflects the insights into the physicochemical properties and fabrication approaches of different classes of PV membranes, especially composite- and NCP-membranes. The mass transport mechanisms interrelated to the specialized structural features have been discussed. Additionally, the performance potential and application prospects of these membranes in a wide spectrum of desalination and wastewater treatment have been elaborated. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives have been identified in developing and scaling up different high-performance membranes suitable for broader commercial applications

In Situ Allocation of a Monomer in Pectin‑<i>g</i>‑Terpolymer Hydrogels and Effect of Comonomer Compositions on Superadsorption of Metal Ions/Dyes

Pectin-<i>g</i>-(sodium acrylate-<i>co</i>-3-(<i>N</i>-isopropylacrylamido) sodium propanoate-<i>co</i>-<i>N</i>-isopropylacrylamide) interpenetrating polymer networks (PANIPNs) were synthesized through systematic multistage optimization of equilibrium swelling ratio by response surface methodology for individual and/or synergistic removal(s) of cationic safranine (SF), anionic methyl orange, and M­(II/III), such as Hg­(II), Cd­(II), and Cr­(III). The relative effects of copolymer compositions on ligand-selective adsorption, strong/weak H-bonds, thermal stabilities, crystallinity, surface properties, swelling abilities, cross-link densities, network parameters, hydrophilic–hydrophobic characteristics, and adsorption capacities (ACs) were measured through extensive microstructural analyses of adsorbed and/or unadsorbed PANIPN41 and PANIPN21 bearing sodium acrylate and <i>N</i>-isopropylacrylamide (SA/NIPAm) in 4:1 and 2:1 ratios, respectively, using Fourier transform infrared, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, along with measuring lower critical solution temperature, % gel content (% GC), % −COOH, and pH_PZC. Extensive UV–vis measurements were carried out at varying copolymer compositions, initial pH (pH_i), and dyes, interpreted considering monomer–dimer and azonium–ammonium equilibrium of dye, dye–dye complexation, ligand-selective PANIPNs–dye adduct formation, π–π stacking interactions, and orientation effect of dyes. Thermodynamically feasible chemisorption processes showed the maximum ACs of 127.61, 96.78, 103.36, and 99.41 mg g^–1 for SF, Hg­(II), Cd­(II), and Cr­(III), respectively, under optimum conditions