Comparative Metabolome Profile between Tobacco and Soybean Grown under Water-Stressed Conditions

Understanding how plants respond to water deficit is important in order to develop crops tolerant to drought. In this study, we compare two large metabolomics datasets where we employed a nontargeted metabolomics approach to elucidate metabolic pathways perturbed by progressive dehydration in tobacco and soybean plants. The two datasets were created using the same strategy to create water deficit conditions and an identical metabolomics pipeline. Comparisons between the two datasets therefore reveal common responses between the two species, responses specific to one of the species, responses that occur in both root and leaf tissues, and responses that are specific to one tissue. Stomatal closure is the immediate response of the plant and this did not coincide with accumulation of abscisic acid. A total of 116 and 140 metabolites were observed in tobacco leaves and roots, respectively, while 241 and 207 were observed in soybean leaves and roots, respectively. Accumulation of metabolites is significantly correlated with the extent of dehydration in both species. Among the metabolites that show increases that are restricted to just one plant, 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutaric acid (KHG) in tobacco roots and coumestrol in soybean roots show the highest tissue-specific accumulation. The comparisons of these two large nontargeted metabolomics datasets provide novel information and suggest that KHG will be a useful marker for drought stress for some members of Solanaceae and coumestrol for some legume species

Comparative Metabolome Profile between Tobacco and Soybean Grown under Water-Stressed Conditions

Understanding how plants respond to water deficit is important in order to develop crops tolerant to drought. In this study, we compare two large metabolomics datasets where we employed a nontargeted metabolomics approach to elucidate metabolic pathways perturbed by progressive dehydration in tobacco and soybean plants. The two datasets were created using the same strategy to create water deficit conditions and an identical metabolomics pipeline. Comparisons between the two datasets therefore reveal common responses between the two species, responses specific to one of the species, responses that occur in both root and leaf tissues, and responses that are specific to one tissue. Stomatal closure is the immediate response of the plant and this did not coincide with accumulation of abscisic acid. A total of 116 and 140 metabolites were observed in tobacco leaves and roots, respectively, while 241 and 207 were observed in soybean leaves and roots, respectively. Accumulation of metabolites is significantly correlated with the extent of dehydration in both species. Among the metabolites that show increases that are restricted to just one plant, 4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutaric acid (KHG) in tobacco roots and coumestrol in soybean roots show the highest tissue-specific accumulation. The comparisons of these two large nontargeted metabolomics datasets provide novel information and suggest that KHG will be a useful marker for drought stress for some members of Solanaceae and coumestrol for some legume species

Comparison of Dentoskeletal Changes, Esthetic, and Functional Efficacy of Conventional and Novel Esthetic Twin Block Appliances among Class II Growing Patients: A Pilot Study

Objective:A twin block appliance used for correction of skeletal Class II malocclusion suffers from undesirable dental effects and bulkiness. To overcome these limitations and the need for more esthetic appearance of this appliance, an esthetic twin block was designed and used in patients. This study aimed to compare dentoskeletal changes and esthetic and functional efficacy in patients treated with conventional and newly designed esthetic twin block (CTB and ETB) appliances using cephalometric measurements and a questionnaire.Methods:A pilot study with a 2-arm parallel-randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted on 24 patients (20 males, 4 females) in the age group of 11-13 years. Subjects were treated with CTB (group 1 [G1]: n=12; mean age=11.67±0.49 years) and ETB (group 2 [G2]: n=12; mean age=11.75±0.62 years) appliances. A modified Pancherz analysis was performed to evaluate skeletal and dental changes. The esthetic and functional efficacy was evaluated by a questionnaire using Likert scale. Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests were employed for intra and intergroup comparisons respectively (p<0.05).Results:In G1, a significant increase in lower incisor inclination was observed (p<0.05) whereas it was insignificant in G2. The changes were predominantly skeletal in G2 whereas they were both skeletal and dental in G1. ETB was found to be esthetically and functionally acceptable in all the patients while CTB patients were esthetically conscious, lacked confidence and had discomfort and difficulty in eating, chewing and speaking.Conclusion:ETB had greater skeletal effects with a reduced tendency of lower incisor proclination, was esthetically acceptable, and functionally more comfortable than the CTB

Understanding Water-Stress Responses in Soybean Using Hydroponics System—A Systems Biology Perspective

This article discusses using a system of reduced complexity like hydroponics to identify the potential candidates for water-stress tolerance by plants

Automated astronaut traverses with minimum metabolic workload : Accessing permanently shadowed regions near the lunar south pole

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABThe Artemis exploration zone is a topographically complex impact-cratered terrain. Steep undulating slopes pose a challenge for walking extravehicular activities (EVAs) anticipated for the Artemis III and subsequent missions. Using 5 m/pixel Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) measurements of the surface, an automated Python pipeline was developed to calculate traverse paths that minimize metabolic workload. The tool combines a Monte Carlo method with a minimum-cost path algorithm that assesses cumulative slope over distances between a lander and stations, as well as between stations. To illustrate the functionality of the tool, optimized paths to permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) are calculated around potential landing sites 001, nearby location 001(6), and 004, all within the Artemis III 'Connecting Ridge' candidate landing region. We identified 521 PSRs and computed (1) traverse paths to accessible PSRs within 2 km of the landing sites, and (2) optimized descents from host crater rims into each PSR. Slopes are limited to 15° and previously identified boulders are avoided. Surface temperature, astronaut body illumination, regolith bearing capacity, and astronaut-to-lander direct view are simultaneously evaluated. Travel times are estimated using Apollo 12 and 14 walking EVA data. A total of 20 and 19 PSRs are accessible from sites 001 and 001(6), respectively, four of which maintain slopes <10°. Site 004 provides access to 11 PSRs, albeit with higher EVA workloads. From the crater rims, 94 % of PSRs can be accessed. All round-trip traverses from potential landing sites can be performed in under 2 h with a constant walk. Traverses and descents to PSRs are compiled in an atlas to support Artemis mission planning

The evolution of WRKY transcription factors

BACKGROUND: The availability of increasing numbers of sequenced genomes has necessitated a re-evaluation of the evolution of the WRKY transcription factor family. Modern day plants descended from a charophyte green alga that colonized the land between 430 and 470 million years ago. The first charophyte genome sequence from Klebsormidium flaccidum filled a gap in the available genome sequences in the plant kingdom between unicellular green algae that typically have 1-3 WRKY genes and mosses that contain 30-40. WRKY genes have been previously found in non-plant species but their occurrence has been difficult to explain. RESULTS: Only two WRKY genes are present in the Klebsormidium flaccidum genome and the presence of a Group IIb gene was unexpected because it had previously been thought that Group IIb WRKY genes first appeared in mosses. We found WRKY transcription factor genes outside of the plant lineage in some diplomonads, social amoebae, fungi incertae sedis, and amoebozoa. This patchy distribution suggests that lateral gene transfer is responsible. These lateral gene transfer events appear to pre-date the formation of the WRKY groups in flowering plants. Flowering plants contain proteins with domains typical for both resistance (R) proteins and WRKY transcription factors. R protein-WRKY genes have evolved numerous times in flowering plants, each type being restricted to specific flowering plant lineages. These chimeric proteins contain not only novel combinations of protein domains but also novel combinations and numbers of WRKY domains. Once formed, R protein WRKY genes may combine different components of signalling pathways that may either create new diversity in signalling or accelerate signalling by short circuiting signalling pathways. CONCLUSIONS: We propose that the evolution of WRKY transcription factors includes early lateral gene transfers to non-plant organisms and the occurrence of algal WRKY genes that have no counterparts in flowering plants. We propose two alternative hypotheses of WRKY gene evolution: The “Group I Hypothesis” sees all WRKY genes evolving from Group I C-terminal WRKY domains. The alternative “IIa + b Separate Hypothesis” sees Groups IIa and IIb evolving directly from a single domain algal gene separate from the Group I-derived lineage. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-015-0456-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Design, development and evaluation of furrow opener for differential depth fertilizer application

A differential depth furrow opener for tractor-drawn seed-cum-fertilizer drill under raised beds sowing was designed, developed and evaluated at ICAR-Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, MP, India. The basic aim of this development was to apply fertilizer at different depth in crop root zone to enhance the fertilizer use efficiency. The furrow opener was evaluated based on draught and power requirements under soil bin at four depths (5, 10, 15, and 20 cm), four forward speeds (1.8, 3.2, 4.3 and 5.4 km/h) and three compaction level (200, 400 and 600 kPa). The field performance evaluation of furrow opener was done in two wheat crop varieties; HI-1544 (Triticum aestivum L.) and HI-8663 (T. durum) under raised beds. The experiment consisted of different fertilizer placement depths, i.e. application of NPK mixed fertilizer on surface (T1) and 5 cm (T2), 10 cm (T3), 15 cm (T4) and 20 cm (T5) below the surface in split-plot design. The root weight/plant shows significant results under all treatments, maximum and minimum root weight/plant were observed 16.01 and 9.63 g in T3 and T5, respectively. Highest grain yield was observed in treatment T4 (6 048 kg/ha) followed by T3 (5 611), T2 (5 223), T1 (4 739) and T5 (4 493 kg/ha). Higher NDVI values were observed in T3 (0.95) and T4 (0.96) at heading stage of wheat crop. From crop attributes point of view, parallel results were observed for T3 (10 cm) and T4 (15cm). But considering the draught and power requirement, 15 cm deep fertilization required 47% and 42% higher draught and power, respectively as compared to 10 cm deep fertilization

Harnessing Genome Editing Techniques to Engineer Disease Resistance in Plants

Modern genome editing (GE) techniques, which include clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and LAGLIDADG homing endonucleases (meganucleases), have so far been used for engineering disease resistance in crops. The use of GE technologies has grown very rapidly in recent years with numerous examples of targeted mutagenesis in crop plants, including gene knockouts, knockdowns, modifications, and the repression and activation of target genes. CRISPR/Cas9 supersedes all other GE techniques including TALENs and ZFNs for editing genes owing to its unprecedented efficiency, relative simplicity and low risk of off-target effects. Broad-spectrum disease resistance has been engineered in crops by GE of either specific host-susceptibility genes (S gene approach), or cleaving DNA of phytopathogens (bacteria, virus or fungi) to inhibit their proliferation. This review focuses on different GE techniques that can potentially be used to boost molecular immunity and resistance against different phytopathogens in crops, ultimately leading to the development of promising disease-resistant crop varieties

Mapping local patterns of childhood overweight and wasting in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2017

A double burden of malnutrition occurs when individuals, household members or communities experience both undernutrition and overweight. Here, we show geospatial estimates of overweight and wasting prevalence among children under 5 years of age in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from 2000 to 2017 and aggregate these to policy-relevant administrative units. Wasting decreased overall across LMICs between 2000 and 2017, from 8.4% (62.3 (55.1–70.8) million) to 6.4% (58.3 (47.6–70.7) million), but is predicted to remain above the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target of <5% in over half of LMICs by 2025. Prevalence of overweight increased from 5.2% (30 (22.8–38.5) million) in 2000 to 6.0% (55.5 (44.8–67.9) million) children aged under 5 years in 2017. Areas most affected by double burden of malnutrition were located in Indonesia, Thailand, southeastern China, Botswana, Cameroon and central Nigeria. Our estimates provide a new perspective to researchers, policy makers and public health agencies in their efforts to address this global childhood syndemic