Agricultural wastes: A practical and potential source for the isolation and preparation of cellulose and application in agriculture and different industries

Cellulose is an organic compound belonging to polysaccharides. This biopolymer is made of glucose subunits. This compound plays an essential role in the structure and strength of plants. This polymer has biodegradable, biocompatible, and renewable properties. Agricultural wastes are excellent sources for cellulose extraction. Agricultural wastes are lignocellulosic materials, and cellulose and lignin are the main components of these wastes. Millions of tons of agricultural waste are thrown away and burned yearly. This large amount of waste leads to environmental pollution and waste of renewable energy resources. Upgrading such waste by developing innovative products such as cellulose nanomaterials and nanocomposites can have high environmental and economic benefits. The intelligent use of agricultural waste as a rich source of cellulose can be primarily responsible for the increase in population and industrialization of countries. Optimal cellulose extraction from agricultural waste can be widely used in various fields of agriculture, industry, medicine, and energy. Different chemical, physical, physicochemical, and biological methods have been presented to extract cellulose and its derivatives from agricultural waste. In this review, we will discuss the position and importance of cellulose, the importance of agricultural waste in the extraction of cellulose, and the use of extracted cellulose from agrarian wastes in various sources

Nano/Micro-Structural Supramolecular Biopolymers: Innovative Networks with the Boundless Potential in Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable agriculture plays a crucial role in meeting the growing global demand for food while minimizing adverse environmental impacts from the overuse of synthetic pesticides and conventional fertilizers. In this context, renewable biopolymers being more sustainable offer a viable solution to improve agricultural sustainability and production. Nano/micro-structural supramolecular biopolymers are among these innovative biopolymers that are much sought after for their unique features. These biomaterials have complex hierarchical structures, great stability, adjustable mechanical strength, stimuli-responsiveness, and self-healing attributes. Functional molecules may be added to their flexible structure, for enabling novel agricultural uses. This overview scrutinizes how nano/micro-structural supramolecular biopolymers may radically alter farming practices and solve lingering problems in agricultural sector namely improve agricultural production, soil health, and resource efficiency. Controlled bioactive ingredient released from biopolymers allows the tailored administration of agrochemicals, bioactive agents, and biostimulators as they enhance nutrient absorption, moisture retention, and root growth. Nano/micro-structural supramolecular biopolymers may protect crops by appending antimicrobials and biosensing entities while their eco-friendliness supports sustainable agriculture. Despite their potential, further studies are warranted to understand and optimize their usage in agricultural domain. This effort seeks to bridge the knowledge gap by investigating their applications, challenges, and future prospects in the agricultural sector. Through experimental investigations and theoretical modeling, this overview aims to provide valuable insights into the practical implementation and optimization of supramolecular biopolymers in sustainable agriculture, ultimately contributing to the development of innovative and eco-friendly solutions to enhance agricultural productivity while minimizing environmental impact. (Figure presented.)</p

Salinity Stress: Toward Sustainable Plant Strategies and Using Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria Encapsulation for Reducing It

Salinity is one of the most important abiotic stresses that influences plant growth and productivity worldwide. Salinity affects plant growth by ionic toxicity, osmotic stress, hormonal imbalance, nutrient mobilization reduction, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). To survive in saline soils, plants have developed various physiological and biochemical strategies such as ion exchange, activation of antioxidant enzymes, and hormonal stimulation. In addition to plant adaption mechanisms, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can enhance salt tolerance in plants via ion homeostasis, production of antioxidants, ACC deaminase, phytohormones, extracellular polymeric substance (EPS), volatile organic compounds, accumulation of osmolytes, activation of plant antioxidative enzymes, and improvement of nutrients uptake. One of the important issues in microbial biotechnology is establishing a link between the beneficial strains screened in the laboratory with industry and the consumer. Therefore, in the development of biocontrol agents, it is necessary to study the optimization of conditions for mass reproduction and the selection of a suitable carrier for their final formulation. Toward sustainable agriculture, the use of appropriate formulations of bacterial agents as high-performance biofertilizers, including microbial biocapsules, is necessary to improve salt tolerance and crop productivity

Microencapsulation of Bacillus velezensis Using Alginate-Gum Polymers Enriched with TiO2 and SiO2 Nanoparticles

Bacillus bacteria are a group of plant growth stimulants that increase plant growth and resistance to plant pathogens by producing various metabolites. With their large surface area and small size, nanoparticles can be used in controlled-release formulations and increase the efficiency of the desired product. Encapsulation of biological agents in combination with nanoparticles can be an essential step in increasing the performance of these agents in adverse environmental conditions. In this study, which is the result of a collaboration between scientists from Italy and Iran, Bacillus velezensis was encapsulated in alginate combined with whey protein and zedo, mastic, and tragacanth gums in the presence of silica and titania nanoparticles to obtain two-layer and multilayer assemblies acting as novel, smart micro-encapsulation systems. The results of laboratory studies showed that the B. velezensis could produce protease, lipase, siderophore, auxin, and a dissolution of mineral phosphate. Scanning electron microscopy images (SEM) showed that the studied microcapsules were almost spherical. Moisture affinity, swelling, and efficiency of each microcapsule were examined. The results showed that the highest encapsulation efficiency (94.3%) was related to the multilayer formulation of alginate-whey protein-zedo. XRD and FTIR spectroscopy showed that the alginate, whey protein, and zedo were mixed properly and no incompatible composition occurred in the reaction. This study aimed to provide a suitable formulation of biofertilizers based on biodegradable compounds as an alternative to chemical fertilizers, which is low cost and very effective without harming humans and the environment

Biochemical characterization of α-amylases from gut and hemolymph of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivieri (Col.: Curculionidae) and their inhibition by extracts from the legumes Vigna radiata L. and Phaseolus vulgaris L.

α-amylase inhibitors represent an important tool in engineering crop plants against insect pests. For achieving this goal, it is necessary to find the nature of α-amylases and their properties for possible use in a pest management procedure. Because Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivieri is a devastating pest of palm trees in the southeast of Iran, we attempted to characterize α-amylases from larval gut and hemolymph, and to study their interaction with inhibitors extracted from the common bean and the green mung bean. The optimal pHs for gut and hemolymph α-amylases were 4 - 5 and 5 - 6, respectively. Also, high gut amylolytic activity was found at temperatures of 40 – 50 °C. The highest and lowest specific α-amylase activities were detected in the guts of last instar and adult males, and in the hemolymph of last instar, respectively. As calculated from Lineweaver-Burk plots, the Km values for gut and hemolymph α-amylases of the last instar were 0.54 and 2.15 %, respectively, when glycogen was used as the substrate. Also, when starch was used as the substrate, the Km values for gut and hemolymph α-amylases were 1.37 and 0.15 %, respectively. Zymogram pattern in the native gel revealed that R. ferrugineus gut and hemolymph α-amylases had two isoforms. α-amylase inhibitors partially purified from Vigna radiata L. and Phaseolus vulgaris L. by ionic exchange DEAE cellulose column, inhibited the R. ferrugineus gut α-amylase activity by 19 ± 0.64 % and 11.56 ± 0.69 %, respectively

Genetic variations and gene expression profiles of Rice Black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) in different host plants and insect vectors: insights from RNA-Seq analysis

Abstract Rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) is an etiological agent of a destructive disease infecting some economically important crops from the Gramineae family in Asia. While RBSDV causes high yield losses, genetic characteristics of replicative viral populations have not been investigated within different host plants and insect vectors. Herein, eleven publicly available RNA-Seq datasets from Chinese RBSDV-infected rice, maize, and viruliferous planthopper (Laodelphax striatellus) were obtained from the NCBI database. The patterns of SNP and RNA expression profiles of expected RBSDV populations were analyzed by CLC Workbench 20 and Geneious Prime software. These analyses discovered 2,646 mutations with codon changes in RBSDV whole transcriptome and forty-seven co-mutated hotspots with high variant frequency within the crucial regions of S5-1, S5-2, S6, S7-1, S7-2, S9, and S10 open reading frames (ORFs) which are responsible for some virulence and host range functions. Moreover, three joint mutations are located on the three-dimensional protein of P9-1. The infected RBSDV-susceptible rice cultivar KTWYJ3 and indigenous planthopper datasets showed more co-mutated hotspot numbers than others. Our analyses showed the expression patterns of viral genomic fragments varied depending on the host type. Unlike planthopper, S5-1, S2, S6, and S9-1 ORFs, respectively had the greatest read numbers in host plants; and S5-2, S9-2, and S7-2 were expressed in the lowest level. These findings underscore virus/host complexes are effective in the genetic variations and gene expression profiles of plant viruses. Our analysis revealed no evidence of recombination events. Interestingly, the negative selection was observed at 12 RBSDV ORFs, except for position 1015 in the P1 protein, where a positive selection was detected. The research highlights the potential of SRA datasets for analysis of the virus cycle and enhances our understanding of RBSDV’s genetic diversity and host specificity

A Novel Route for Double-Layered Encapsulation of Streptomyces fulvissimus Uts22 by Alginate&ndash;Arabic Gum for Controlling of Pythium aphanidermatum in Cucumber

Damping-off disease due to Pythium aphanidermatum is one of the most harmful diseases of cucumber. One of the critical issues in the field of biological control is the establishment of a link between the beneficial bacteria screened in the laboratory and its industrial application. Therefore, when developing biocontrol agents, it is necessary to study the optimization of mass production conditions and to select a suitable carrier for their final formulation. In this study, an attempt was made to provide a suitable formulation for a Streptomyces fulvissimus Uts22 strain based on alginate&ndash;Arabic gum and nanoparticles (SiO2 and TiO2) with a layer-by-layer technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies showed that when Arabic gum was added to the composition, an electrostatic interaction occurred between alginate and Arabic gum. The scanning electron microscope image of beads show a cubic shape and good dispersion of microcapsules. The encapsulation efficiency in the prepared formulation was reported to be 94%. The maximum release of bacteria from the capsule was recorded on the 35th day of storage, about 109 CFU/gr. The greenhouse experiments showed that encapsulated bacteria resulted in a 95% reduction in damping-off disease of cucumber and showed more potential effects on increasing plant growth traits than free bacteria. This encapsulation strategy can be considered as a suitable alternative for future applications in the agricultural field

Actinobacteria as Effective Biocontrol Agents against Plant Pathogens, an Overview on Their Role in Eliciting Plant Defense

Pathogen suppression and induced systemic resistance are suitable alternative biocontrol strategies for integrated plant disease management and potentially comprise a sustainable alternative to agrochemicals. The use of Actinobacteria as biocontrol agents is accepted in practical sustainable agriculture, and a short overview on the plant-beneficial members of this phylum and recent updates on their biocontrol efficacies are the two topics of this review. Actinobacteria include a large portion of microbial rhizosphere communities and colonizers of plant tissues that not only produce pest-antagonistic secondary metabolites and enzymes but also stimulate plant growth. Non-pathogenic Actinobacteria can also induce systemic resistance against pathogens, but the mechanisms are still poorly described. In the absence of a pathogen, a mild defense response is elicited under jasmonic acid and salicylic acid signaling that involves pathogenesis-related proteins and secondary plant metabolites. Priming response partly includes the same compounds as the response to a sole actinobacterium, and the additional involvement of ethylene signaling has been suggested. Recent amplicon sequencing studies on bacterial communities suggest that future work may reveal how biocontrol active strains of Actinobacteria can be enriched in plant rhizosphere