9 research outputs found
Measuring 3D-orthodontic actions to guide clinical treatments involving coil springs and miniscrews
The understanding of the phenomena at the base of tooth movement, due to orthodontic therapy, is an ambitious topic especially with regard to the â\u80\u9coptimal forcesâ\u80\u9d able to move teeth without causing irreversible tissue damages. To this aim, a measuring platform for detecting 3D orthodontic actions has been developed. It consists of customized load cells and dedicated acquisition electronics. The force sensors are able to detect, simultaneously and independently of each other, the six orthodontic components which a tooth is affected by. They have been calibrated and then applied on a clinical case that required NiTi closed coil springs and miniscrews for the treatment of upper post-extraction spaces closure. The tests have been conducted on teeth stumps belonging to a plaster cast of the patientâ\u80\u99s mouth. The load cells characteristics (sensor linearity and repeatability) have been analyzed (0.97 < R 2 < 1; 6.3*10 â\u88\u926 % < STD < 8.8 %) and, on the basis of calibration data, the actions exerted on teeth have been determined. The biomechanical behavior of the frontal group and clinical interpretation of the results are discussed
Fungal bioresources to increase secondary metabolites production: elicitation effect on Chicorium intybus hairy roots by Chaetomium globosum culture filtrate
Plant secondary metabolites are of great interests as potential drugs, nutraceuticals and food additives. Tissue culture represents an effective strategy for large-scale production of desired compounds. Several studies reported that transformed root cultures show a rapid growth, uniformity, stability and capacity to synthesize higher levels of secondary metabolites than those found in normal roots, making them particularly convenient for this purpose. Among the various biotechnological strategies, elicitation represents one of the most effective and widely employed for the induction or enhancement of secondary metabolites biosynthesis in in vitro plant tissue cultures. Since in nature biologically active compounds in many cases are produced as a part of the response to external stress such as the presence of microorganisms in the environment, fungi and their metabolites released in culture medium represent effective elicitors. Therefore, we tested Chaetomium globosum Kunze (Fig. 1a), a saprotrophic / endophytic Ascomycete, for its potential as elicitor of Chicorium intybus L. hairy roots. The fungal strain was incubated for 14 days in Malt extract broth (Fig. 1b) and the culture filtrate effect was tested applying two different concentrations (5ml/L and 10ml/L) to elicit in vitro cultures of Chicorium intybus hairy roots in liquid Murashige & Skoog medium (Fig. 2a). After 7 days of growth following the elicitation the effect in terms of stimulation of metabolites synthesis, was evaluated through 1H-NMR analysis. Effects on biomass production were evaluated through fresh weight measurements. Furthermore, a subsample of roots from each sample was scanned and analysed with the image analysis software SmartRoot to acquire specific root length and root tissue density measures to evaluate effects on roots morphology. In addition, the culture filtrate used for elicitation was analysed by 1HNMR- based metabolomics to identify the metabolites released by the fungus
Biostimulant effects of Chaetomium globosum and Minimedusa polyspora culture filtrates on Cichorium intybus Plant. Growth performance and metabolomic traits
In this study, we investigated the biostimulant effect of fungal culture filtrates obtained from Chaetomium globosum and Minimedusa polyspora on growth performance and metabolomic traits of chicory (Cichorium intybus) plants. For the first time, we showed that M. polyspora culture filtrate exerts a direct plant growth-promoting effect through an increase of biomass, both in shoots and roots, and of the leaf area. Conversely, no significant effect on morphological traits and biomass yield was observed in C. intybus plants treated with C. globosum culture filtrate. Based on H-1-NMR metabolomics data, differential metabolites and their related metabolic pathways were highlighted. The treatment with C. globosum and M. polyspora culture filtrates stimulated a common response in C. intybus roots involving the synthesis of 3-OH-butyrate through the decrease in the synthesis of fatty acids and sterols, as a mechanism balancing the NADPH/NADP(+) ratio. The fungal culture filtrates differently triggered the phenylpropanoid pathway in C. intybus plants: C. globosum culture filtrate increased phenylalanine and chicoric acid in the roots, whereas M. polyspora culture filtrate stimulated an increase of 4-OH-benzoate. Chicoric acid, whose biosynthetic pathway in the chicory plant is putative and still not well known, is a very promising natural compound playing an important role in plant defense. On the contrary, benzoic acids serve as precursors for a wide variety of essential compounds playing crucial roles in plant fitness and defense response activation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that shows the biostimulant effect of C. globosum and M. polyspora culture filtrates on C. intybus growth and metabolome, increasing the knowledge on fungal bioresources for the development of biostimulants
Boosting plant growth: fungal metabolites as biostimulants for growth promotion of Hypericum perforatum (L.)
Fungal culture filtrates have been reported in literature [1] as effective biostimulants for the plant growth. Studies on fungal strains metabolism showed that the metabolites produced in cocultures were clearly different from single cultures [2]. Therefore, Chaetomium globosum and Minimedusa polyspora showing characteristics with a high potential for plant growth promotion were incubated in single cultures and cocultures in two different culture media (Malt extract agar and Murashige & Skoog) for 15 days. The culture filtrates were applied to in vitro root cultures of Hypericum perforatum to test the effect in terms of biomass production. The culture filtrates were analysed by NMR-based metabolomics to identify the metabolites released by the fungi. Through the analyses were detected, identified and quantified about 30 low weight molecules belonging to the classes of: aminoacids (e.g. valine, GABA, phenylalanine), organic acid (e.g. acetic acid, fumaric acid), alcohols (e.g. ethanol, 2,3-butanediol), carbohydrates and other molecules. Several of the identified metabolites may be of interest for the plant growth stimulation.
[1] Bagde et al., ‘Influence of culture filtrate of Piriformospora indica on growth and yield of seed oil in Helianthus annus’, Symbiosis, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 83–88, May 2011.
[2] Bertrand et al., ‘De Novo Production of Metabolites by Fungal Co-culture of Trichophyton rubrum and Bionectria ochroleuca’, Journal of Natural Products, vol. 76, no. 6, pp. 1157–1165, Jun. 2013
The (in)visible side of biostimulation: application of 1H-NMR to reveal the biostimulating effect of Minimedusa polyspora and Chaetomium globosum culture filtrates on Cichorium intybus plants
Finding environmentally friendly and climate-resilient agronomic solutions to increase food production while addressing modern agriculture’s issues is the biggest challenge our society is currently facing. In this context, biostimulants represent a sustainable solution to increase crop resilience and productivity in adverse environmental conditions, while minimizing agrochemicals applications and tackling climate change effects [1,2]. Cichorium intybus L. (chicory), Asteraceae family, is an alimurgic plant whose popularity is steadily increasing due its rich and complex phytochemical profile, including a great number of bioactive substances, and a high nutritional value which make it a plant of agricultural and medicinal importance [3]. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the biostimulant effect of fungal culture filtrates of Chaetomium globosum and Minimedusa polyspora on growth performance and metabolomic traits of C. intybus plants. In a pot experiment set up in walk-in chambers, chicory plants, one month after the transfer of the seedlings in pots, were stimulated by soil drenching with 8 ml/ pot (30 ml/kg of soil) of the culture filtrates obtained by a 14-days incubation of the fungal strains in Malt Extract Broth (MEB), or the same amount of uninoculated MEB in the control group. Fourteen days after the stimulation, plant biomasses were recovered to estimate several growth parameters and analyze the metabolomic variations occurred in roots and leaves through 1H-NMR 600 MHz.
We observed for the first time that M. polyspora culture filtrate promotes an increase of biomass, both in shoots and roots, and of the leaf area, while no increase was observed in plants treated with C. globosum culture filtrate. Based on 1H-NMR metabolomics data, differential metabolites and their related metabolic pathways were highlighted. A common response in C. intybus roots involving the synthesis of 3-OH-butyrate through the decrease of the synthesis of fatty acids and sterols, as a mechanism balancing the NADPH/NADP+ ratio, was observed in both the treatments with C. globosum and M. polyspora culture filtrates. The phenylpropanoid pathway was differently triggered by the fungal culture filtrates. C. globosum culture filtrate increased phenylalanine and chicoric acid in the roots. Chicoric acid, whose biosynthetic pathway in chicory plant is putative and still not well known, is a very promising natural compound playing an important role in plant defense. Instead, M. polyspora culture filtrate interestingly stimulated an increase of 4-OH benzoate, being benzoic acids precursors for a wide variety of essential compounds playing crucial roles in plant fitness and defense response activation. Therefore, both C. globosum and M. polyspora culture filtrates determined interesting modification in C. intybus metabolome.
1. Sangiorgio et al., 2020. Application of Microbial Biostimulants to Mitigate Stress in Horticultural Crops. doi:10.3390/agronomy10060794.
2. Castiglione et al., 2021. Microbial Biostimulants as Response to Modern Agriculture Needs: Composition, Role and Application of These Innovative Products. doi:10.3390/plants10081533.
3. Janda et al., 2021. The Common Cichory (Cichorium intybus L.) as a Source of Extracts with Health-Promoting Properties—A Review doi:10.3390/molecules26061814
Fungal-derived biostimulants boosting Cichorium intybus: effects of Chaetomium globosum and Minimedusa polyspora culture filtrates on growth performance and metabolomic traits
Implementing environmentally friendly and climate-resilient agronomic solutions to increase food production while addressing modern agriculture’s issues is the biggest challenge our society is currently facing. In this context, biostimulants represent a sustainable solution to increase crop resilience and productivity in adverse environmental conditions, while minimizing agrochemicals applications and tackling climate change effects. Among microbial biostimulants, fungi have been reported as particularly effective in promoting plant growth. Moreover, fungi, thanks to a complex extracellular metabolism, exert their influence on plants also through the release in soils of diffusible metabolites in the environment. So, the metabolites released in the culture medium, during growth in controlled conditions, may be applied to simulate these interactions and effectively stimulate plant growth. Indeed, fungal culture filtrates have been consistently reported in several studies to be effective in promoting plant growth by enhancing seed germination, biomass production, and metabolites production. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the biostimulant effect of fungal culture filtrates of Chaetomium globosum Kunze and Minimedusa polyspora (Hotson) Weresub & P.M. Le Clair on growth performance and metabolomic traits of Cichorium intybus L. (chicory) plants. C. intybus, belonging to the Asteraceae family, is an alimurgic plant whose popularity is steadily increasing due its rich and complex phytochemical profile, including a great number of bioactive substances, and a high nutritional value which make it a plant of agricultural and medicinal importance. This study was conducted as a pot experiment set up in walk-in chambers. Chicory plants, one month after the transfer of the seedlings in pots, were stimulated by soil drenching with 8 ml/pot (30 ml/kg of soil) of the culture filtrates obtained by a 14-days incubation of the fungal strains in Malt Extract Broth (MEB), or the same amount of uninoculated MEB or distilled water in the control groups. Fourteen days after the stimulation, plant biomasses were recovered to estimate several growth parameters and analyze the metabolomic variations occurred in roots and leaves through 1H-NMR 600 MHz.
We observed for the first time that M. polyspora culture filtrate promoted an increase of biomass, both in shoots and roots, and of the leaf area, while no increase was observed in plants treated with C. globosum culture filtrate. Based on 1H-NMR metabolomics data, differential metabolites and their related metabolic pathways were highlighted. A common response in C. intybus roots involving the synthesis of 3-OH-butyrate through the decrease of the synthesis of fatty acids and sterols, as a mechanism balancing the NADPH/NADP+ ratio, was observed in both the treatments with C. globosum and M. polyspora culture filtrates. The phenylpropanoid pathway was differently triggered by the fungal culture filtrates. C. globosum culture filtrate increased phenylalanine and chicoric acid in the roots. Chicoric acid, whose biosynthetic pathway in chicory plant is putative and still not well known, is a very promising natural compound playing an important role in plant defense. Instead, M. polyspora culture filtrate interestingly stimulated an increase of 4-OH benzoate, being benzoic acids precursors for a wide variety of essential compounds playing crucial roles in plant fitness and defense response activation. Therefore, both C. globosum and M. polyspora culture filtrates affected C. intybus metabolome and could be considered as fungal bioresources for the development of new biostimulants