A Survey of Plant Iron Content-A Semi-Systematic Review

Novel NARC-G1 garlic: comparative allicin quantification with morpho-biochemical & genetic profiling

Abstract Garlic (Allium sativum) is an important cash food crop, and the biotechnology industry has considerable interest in the plant because of its medicinal importance. These medicinal properties are attributed to organosulphur compounds as the accumulation of these compounds varies according to genotype, locality, light quality, and cultivation practices. In this study, we compared a newly developed garlic variety NARC-G1 by National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan with three different garlic cultivars and highlighted the distinctive attributes like phenotypic characteristics, the content of allicin, elemental profile, and gene polymorphism. Phenotypic analysis showed NARC-G1 has significantly higher bulb weight (66.36g ± 18.58), single clove weight (5.87g ± 1.041), and clove width (17.41mm ± 0.95) which directly correlates to the size of the garlic. The analytical analysis showed the highest allicin content (4.82 ± 0.001) in NARC-G1. Genotyping of the alliinase in all four cultivars showed indels in the gene resulting in distinguishable changes in organosulphur compounds’ profile. NARC-G1 is unique from other garlic cultivars and could be the best choice for mass production with proper cultivation and irrigation management. Moreover, for Pakistan NARC-G1 could be a potential contender to earn the industrial benefits with inland cultivation instead of importing garlic alleviating the economic burden.

Study of the mineral contents of Matricaria pubescens and Brocchia cinerea from Algeria

Two species of plants commonly used for mainly their therapeutic values and available in some herbalists shops, namely: Brocchia cinerea and Matricaria pubescens that both belong to asteraceae family, and encountered mainly in the Algerian desert, have drawn attention in the scope of assessing their mineral contents, in fact minerals play an important role in the plant homeostasis and metabolism, on the other hand they may influence the health conditions mainly due to toxicity, and also the benefits that the plant consumer could have, the current study aimed to assess the contents of Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn, As, Na, K, Mg, P, S and SI, beside comparing the obtained results to other similar studies, the aerial parts of the plants are collected from several sites then mineralized and analyzed using ICP-AES and AAS, high levels of Na, K and Mg have been noted, on the other hands levels of metals were noted to be overall marginal, except for Al and Hg for the sample of Brocchia cinerea from El oued, the levels of As also seemed to be high in all the samples, inversely to the levels of S and P which seemed lower than those noted for other plants in paralleled studies, while that similar results were found for Zn, Fe, the chemical and geologic features of the soils may be the influencing factor. Additionally the current study may put first milestone for the establishment of national guidelines regarding the mineral contents of medicinal plants.

Hydrochar amendments stimulate soil nitrous oxide emission by increasing production of hydroxyl radicals and shifting nitrogen functional genes in the short term: A culture experiment

The application of waste biomass-derived hydrochar to soil may cause extremely intensive nitrous oxide (N₂O) fluxes that can challenge our current mechanistic understanding of the global nitrogen cycle in the biosphere. In this study, two waste biomasses were used to prepare cyanobacterial biomas-derived hydrochar (CHC) and wheat straw-derived hydrochar (SHC) for short-term incubation experiments to identify their effects and mechanisms of waste biomass-derived hydrochar on soil N₂O efflux, with time-series samples collected for N₂O efflux and soil analysis. The results showed that CHC and SHC caused short-term bursts of N₂O effluxes without nitrogen inputs. Moreover, the enrichment of exogenous organics and nutrients at the hydrochar-soil interface was identified as the key factor for enhancing N₂O fluxes, which stimulated microbial nitrification (i.e., increased gene copy number of ammonia oxidizing bacteria) and denitrification (i.e., increased gene copy number of nitrate and N₂O reducing bacteria) processes. The concentrations of Fe (II) and hydroxyl radicals (HO^•) were 6.49 and 5.63 times higher, respectively, in the hydrochar layer of CHC than SHC amendment. Furthermore, structural equation models demonstrated that HO^•, as well as soil microbiomes, played an important role in driving N₂O fluxes. Together, our findings provide a deeper insight into the assessment and prognosis of the short-term environmental risk arising from agricultural waste management in integrated agriculture. Further studies under practical field application conditions are warranted to verify the findings.

Aspergillus Utilizes Extracellular Heme as an Iron Source During Invasive Pneumonia, Driving Infection Severity

BACKGROUND

Depriving microbes of iron is critical to host defense. Hemeproteins, the largest source of iron within vertebrates, are abundant in infected tissues in aspergillosis due to hemorrhage, but Aspergillus species have been thought to lack heme import mechanisms. We hypothesized that heme provides iron to Aspergillus during invasive pneumonia, thereby worsening the outcomes of the infection.

METHODS

We assessed the effect of heme on fungal phenotype in various in vitro conditions and in a neutropenic mouse model of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis.

RESULTS

In mice with neutropenic invasive aspergillosis, we found a progressive and compartmentalized increase in lung heme iron. Fungal cells cultured under low iron conditions took up heme, resulting in increased fungal iron content, resolution of iron starvation, increased conidiation, and enhanced resistance to oxidative stress. Intrapulmonary administration of heme to mice with neutropenic invasive aspergillosis resulted in markedly increased lung fungal burden, lung injury, and mortality, whereas administration of heme analogs or heme with killed Aspergillus did not. Finally, infection caused by fungal germlings cultured in the presence of heme resulted in a more severe infection.

CONCLUSIONS

Invasive aspergillosis induces local hemolysis in infected tissues, thereby supplying heme iron to the fungus, leading to lethal infection.

Is Aquaponics Beneficial in Terms of Fish and Plant Growth and Water Quality in Comparison to Separate Recirculating Aquaculture and Hydroponic Systems?

Aquaponics is a technique where a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) and hydroponics are integrated to grow plants and fish in a closed system. We investigated if the growth of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and baby spinach (Spinacia oleracea) would be affected in a coupled aquaponic system compared to the growth of the fish in RAS or plants in a hydroponic system, all systems as three replicates. We also investigated the possible effects of plants on the onset of nitrification in biofilters and on the concentration of off-flavor-causing agents geosmin (GSM) and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) in rainbow trout flesh and spinach. For the fish grown in aquaponics, the weight gain and specific growth rates were higher, and the feed conversion ratio was lower than those grown in RAS. In spinach, there were no significant differences in growth between aquaponic and hydroponic treatments. The concentration of GSM was significantly higher in the roots and MIB in the shoots of spinach grown in aquaponics than in hydroponics. In fish, the concentrations of MIB did not differ, but the concentrations of GSM were lower in aquaponics than in RAS. The onset of nitrification was faster in the aquaponic system than in RAS. In conclusion, spinach grew equally well in aquaponics and hydroponic systems. However, the aquaponic system was better than RAS in terms of onset of nitrification, fish growth, and lower concentrations of GSM in fish flesh.

More than Just Wine: The Nutritional Benefits of Grapevine Leaves

The domesticated species Vitis vinifera L. harbours many cultivars throughout the world that present distinctive phenology and grape quality. Not only have the grapes been used for human consumption, but the leaves are also used as a source of bioactive compounds and are present in the diets of several Mediterranean countries. We have selected seven different cultivars and performed elemental, fatty acid (FA) and pigment profiling. Total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) enabled the identification of 21 elements. Among them, Na, Ca and K were highly represented in all the cultivars and Zn was prevalent in V. vinifera cv. ‘Pinot noir’ and ‘Cabernet sauvignon’. Through gas chromatography, six FAs were identified, including omega-3 and omega-6 FA, the most abundant mainly in V. vinifera cv. ‘Tinta barroca’, ‘Pinot noir’ and ‘Cabernet sauvignon’. FA composition was used to determine nutritional quality parameters, namely atherogenic, thrombogenic, hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic and peroxidisability indexes as well as oxidability and oxidative susceptibility. Grapevine leaves were highlighted as a suitable source of health-promoting lipids. Given the popularity of “green” diets, we have also performed a leaf pigment analysis. Seventeen pigments including chlorophylls, trans-lutein, b-carotene and zeaxanthins were detected. ‘C19’ presented the highest content of most of the detected pigments.

Inorganic Element Determination of Romanian Populus nigra L. Buds Extract and In Vitro Antiproliferative and Pro-Apoptotic Evaluation on A549 Human Lung Cancer Cell Line

Populus nigra L. is a plant from Salicaceae family, native in Europe. Many parts of this tree can be used as active ingredients, but the most valuable are the buds. In recent years, a growing number of studies reported their activity in the development of a wide range of pharmacological activities including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the phytochemical composition and to evaluate the inorganic elements’ concentration as well as the in vitro antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic potential of a Populus nigra L. buds extract collected from Timișoara (Romania) against A549 human lung cancer cell line. Populus nigra L. bud extract was found to contain twelve different phenolic compounds. The inorganic elements concentrations were below the limit of detection for Co, Pb, and As, whereas Cu = 6.66 µg/g; Cr = 0.79 µg/g; Ni = 3.28 µg/g; Fe = 39.00 µg/g; Zn = 14.84 µg/g; Mn = 0.59 µg/g; Al = 2109.87 µg/g; and Cd = 0.019 µg/g. The extract was tested for the in vitro antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic potential on A549 human lung cancer cell line using different concentrations, namely 10, 25, 50, 75, 100, and 150 μg/mL. Results have shown that poplar bud extract induced a significant decrease of tumor cell viability in a dose-dependent manner with an IC₅₀ = 72.49 μg/mL and blocked the cells in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. Phenomena of early apoptosis (from 1.34 ± 0.33% control cells to 2.68 ± 0.62% at 150 µg/mL) and late apoptosis (from 1.43 ± 0.14% control cells to 5.15 ± 1.02% at 150 µg/mL) were detected by Annexin V-PI double staining. Poplar bud extract can be regarded as a promising candidate for future studies involving lung cancer.

Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Raspberry, Blackberry and Raspberry-Blackberry Hybrid Leaf Buds

In our investigation, the chemical composition and bioactive potential of leaf buds of raspberry, blackberry, and a raspberry-blackberry hybrid were determined. Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties were tested in water (W), ethanol-water (EW), and glycerol-water (GW) extracts from the buds. These plant organs contain relatively large amounts of minerals, especially Fe. The total antioxidant capacity (TAC) measured by the ABTS and DPPH methods ranged from 2.86 to 12.19 and 6.75 to 24.26 mmol per 100 g fresh weight (FW) of buds, respectively. TAC values were generally higher in the raspberry than in the case of blackberry and raspberry-blackberry hybrid extracts. The antioxidant properties of the extracts were strongly positively correlated with their content of total phenolic (TP). No such relationship was noted for ascorbic acid (AA), whose concentration in all extracts was at a similarly low level. Antioxidant properties determined in vitro were confirmed for the GW extract from raspberry leaf buds in biological test based on the growth parameters of Δsod1 Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant cells in hypertonic medium. The extracts also exhibited strong antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis and weaker against Enterobacter aerogenes. The studied leaf buds could be therefore an unconventional source of minerals, natural antioxidants and antibacterial compounds with potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetics industries.

On the elemental composition of the Mediterranean euhalophyte Salicornia patula Duval-Jouve (Chenopodiaceae) from saline habitats in Spain (Huelva, Toledo and Zamora)

A complete survey is presented on the inorganic composition of the euhalophyte annual succulent species Salicornia patula (Chenopodiaceae), including materials from the Iberian Peninsula, littoral-coastal Tinto River basin areas (SW Spain: Huelva province), and mainland territories (NW and central Spain: Zamora and Toledo provinces). The aim of this contribution is to characterize the elemental composition of the selected populations and their soils and compare the relationship between them and the macro- and micronutrient plant intake; all these nutrients may allow this species to be considered an edible plant. Using analytical techniques such as ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry), our results revealed high values of Na and K followed by Ca, Mg, Fe and Sr in stems. These data demonstrate the importance of annual halophytic species as edible plants and their potential uses in phytoremediation procedures involving soils with certain heavy metals (Pb, Sr, As, Cu, Zn).

The effect of Palm Oil Mill Effluent Final Discharge on the Characteristics of Pennisetum purpureum

Phytoremediation is one of the environmental-friendly and cost-effective systems for the treatment of wastewater, including industrial wastewater such as palm oil mill effluent final discharge (POME FD). However, the effects of the wastewater on the phytoremediator plants, in term of growth performance, lignocellulosic composition, and the presence of nutrients and heavy metals in the plants are not yet well studied. In the present work, we demonstrated that POME FD increased the growth of P. purpureum. The height increment of P. purpureum supplied with POME FD (treatment) was 61.72% as compared to those supplied with rain water (control) which was 14.42%. For lignocellulosic composition, the cellulose percentages were 38.77 ± 0.29% (treatment) and 34.16 ± 1.01% (control), and the difference was significant. These results indicated that POME FD could be a source of plant nutrients, which P. purpureum can absorb for growth. It was also found that the heavy metals (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Ni and Pb) inside the plant were below the standard limit of the World Health Organization (WHO). Since POME FD was shown to have no adverse effects on P. purpureum, further research regarding the potential application of P. purpureum following phytoremediation of POME FD such as biofuel production is warranted to evaluate its potential use to fit into the waste-to-wealth agenda.

Determination of iron species, including biomineralized jarosite, in the iron-hyperaccumulator moss Scopelophila ligulata by Mössbauer, X-ray diffraction, and elemental analyses

Scopelophila ligulata is an Fe-hyperaccumulator moss growing in acidic environments, but the mechanism of Fe accumulation remains unknown. To understand the mechanism, we determined Fe species in S. ligulata samples. The moss samples were collected from four sites in Japan. The concentrations of Fe, P, S, Cl, and K in them were measured by induced coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Fe species in some of them were determined by Mössbauer spectroscopy and were confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Fe species in S. ligulata samples were determined to be jarosite, ferritin, high-spin Fe(II) species, and akaganeite. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the biomineralization of jarosite in mosses. This result, combined with the fact that bacteria, a fungus, and a grass mineralize jarosite, suggests that its biomineralization is a common characteristic in a wide variety of living organisms. These findings indicate that the biomineralization of jarosite occurs not only in the region-specific species but in species adapted to a low-pH and metal-contaminated environment in different regions, provide a better understanding of the mechanism of Fe accumulation in the Fe-hyperaccumulator moss S. ligulata, and offer new insights into the biomineralization of jarosite.

Comparative RNA-seq analysis of nickel hyperaccumulating and non-accumulating populations of Senecio coronatus (Asteraceae)

Most metal hyperaccumulating plants accumulate nickel, yet the molecular basis of Ni hyperaccumulation is not well understood. We chose Senecio coronatus to investigate this phenomenon as this species displays marked variation in shoot Ni content across ultramafic outcrops in the Barberton Greenstone Belt (South Africa), thus allowing an intraspecific comparative approach to be employed. No correlation between soil and shoot Ni contents was observed, suggesting that this variation has a genetic rather than environmental basis. This was confirmed by our observation that the accumulation phenotype of plants from two hyperaccumulator and two non-accumulator populations was maintained when the plants were grown on a soil mix from these four sites for 12 months. We analysed the genetic variation among 12 serpentine populations of S. coronatus, and used RNA-seq for de novo transcriptome assembly and analysis of gene expression in hyperaccumulator versus non-accumulator populations. Genetic analysis revealed the presence of hyperaccumulators in two well supported evolutionary lineages, indicating that Ni hyperaccumulation may have evolved more than once in this species. RNA-Seq analysis indicated that putative homologues of transporters associated with root iron uptake in plants are expressed at elevated levels in roots and shoots of hyperaccumulating populations of S. coronatus from both evolutionary lineages. We hypothesise that Ni hyperaccumulation in S. coronatus may have evolved through recruitment of these transporters, which play a role in the iron-deficiency response in other plant species.

The early conversion of deep-sea wood falls into chemosynthetic hotspots revealed by in situ monitoring

Wood debris on the ocean floor harbor flourishing communities, which include invertebrate taxa thriving in sulfide-rich habitats belonging to hydrothermal vent and methane seep deep-sea lineages. The formation of sulfidic niches from digested wood material produced by woodborers has been known for a long time, but the temporal dynamics and sulfide ranges encountered on wood falls remains unknown. Here, we show that wood falls are converted into sulfidic hotpots, before the colonization by xylophagaid bivalves. Less than a month after immersion at a depth of 520 m in oxygenated seawater the sulfide concentration increased to millimolar levels inside immersed logs. From in situ experiments combining high-frequency chemical and video monitoring, we document the rapid development of a microbial sulfur biofilm at the surface of wood. These findings highlight the fact that sulfide is initially produced from the labile components of wood and supports chemosynthesis as an early pathway of energy transfer to deep-sea wood colonists, as suggested by recent aquarium studies. The study furthermore reveals that woodborers promote sulfide-oxidation at the periphery of their burrows, thus, not only facilitating the development of sulfidic zones in the surrounding of degraded wood falls, but also governing sulfur-cycling within the wood matrix.

Relationship between metal and pigment concentrations in the Fe-hyperaccumulator moss Scopelophila ligulata

Scopelophila ligulata is known to be a Fe-hyperaccumulator moss; however, its mechanism of accumulation and the effects of Fe on pigments remain unclear. To clarify the effects, we measured its metal and pigment concentrations. The Fe concentration in S. ligulata was 10-61 times higher than that in normal mosses, confirming that the moss is a Fe-hyperaccumulator. The black samples of S. ligulata had the highest Fe concentration (2.9 wt%) and the second in the order of decreasing Fe concentration (2.2 wt%), which explains their color and indicates that the excess amount of Fe is distributed through the plant body. Moreover, we observed that the concentration of Ca is negatively correlated with the concentrations of pigments and, conversely, that the concentration of K is positively correlated with the concentrations of pigments. This inverse relationship between Ca and K can be explained by the reduced uptake of K in S. ligulata in response to Ca stress, which is supported by the fact that the concentration of Ca is negatively correlated with that of K. These findings provide a better understanding of the relationships between metals and pigments in the Fe-hyperaccumulator moss S. ligulata.