Atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) was attempted to improve the resistance of wheat seed to drought stress. Effects of DBD plasma on wheat seed germination, seedling growth, osmotic-adjustment products, lipid peroxidation, reactive oxygen species (ROS), antioxidant enzyme activity, abscisic acid, and drought resistant related genes expression under drought stress were investigated. The changes of the wheat seed coat before and after the DBD plasma treatment were explored. Experimental results showed that the DBD plasma treatment could alleviate the adverse effects of drought stress on wheat seed germination and seedling growth; the germination potential and germination rate increased by 27.2% and 27.6%, and the root length and shoot length of the wheat seedlings also increased. Proline and soluble sugar levels under drought stress were improved after the DBD plasma treatment, whereas the malondialdehyde content decreased. ROS contents under drought stress were reduced after the DBD plasma treatment, whereas the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase were promoted. DBD plasma treatment promoted abscisic acid generation in wheat seedlings, and it also regulated functional gene LEA1 and stimulated regulation genes SnRK2 and P5CS to resist drought stress. Etching effect and surface modification occurred on the seed coat after the DBD plasma treatment.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen capable of group behaviors including swarming motility and biofilm formation. Swarming motility plays an important role in the bacterium's spread to new environments, attachment to surfaces, and biofilm formation. Bacterial biofilm is associated with many persistent infections and increased resistance to antibiotics. In this study, we tested the effect of a 2-alkyl-4(1H)-quinolone (AHQ) signal, the Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) on P. aeruginosa swarming and biofilm formation. Our results show that PQS repressed the swarming motility of P. aeruginosa PAO1. Such repression was independent of its cognate receptor PqsR and was not related to changes in the flagellae, type IV pili or the production of the surface-wetting agent rhamnolipid surfactant. While PQS did not affect twitching motility in PAO1, a pqsR deletion abolished twitching motility, indicating that pqsR is required for twitching motility. Our results also indicate that the enhancement of biofilm formation by PQS is at least partially dependent on the GacAS-Rsm regulatory pathway but does not involve the las or rhl QS systems.

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This study evaluated the growth and immune response of gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) cultured under no feed addition biofloc technology (BFT) system at different total suspended solid (TSS) concentrations (10, 300, 600, 800 and 1,000 mg/L for group BF0‐NF, BF300‐NF, BF600‐NF, BF800‐NF and BF1000‐NF) for 30 days. The results demonstrated that bioflocs contained rich nutrients, and gibel carp eaten bioflocs showed higher weight gain, specific growth and survival. Digestive enzyme activities such as pepsin and amylase increased significantly in BF300/600/800/1000‐NF groups than those in BF0‐NF group. Antioxidant response including superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity in serum and skin mucus was also enhanced significantly (p < .05). In addition, six immune‐related genes were examined by RT‐qPCR. Compared with BF0‐NF group, expression levels of immune genes intelectin (ITLN), dual specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP 1), keratin 8 (KRT 8), myeloid‐specific‐peroxidase (MPO), c‐type lysozyme (c‐lys) and interleukin‐11 (IL‐11) were up‐regulated by 78.1‐, 23.9‐, 13.8‐, 138.8‐, 401.8‐ and 91.1‐fold, respectively. The highest expression values were observed at TSS of 600–800 mg/L. This study suggested that bioflocs can be uptaken by gibel carp as a food source, and have a potential to be used as a supplemental food for aquaculture.

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c Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is commonly used as a solvent to dissolve water-insoluble drugs or other test samples in both in vivo and in vitro experiments. It was observed during our experiment that DMSO at noninhibitory concentrations could significantly inhibit pyocyanin production in the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Pyocyanin is an important pathogenic factor whose production is controlled by a cell density-dependent quorum-sensing (QS) system. Investigation of the effect of DMSO on QS showed that DMSO has significant QS antagonistic activities and concentrations of DMSO in the micromolar range attenuated a battery of QS-controlled virulence factors, including rhamnolipid, elastase, and LasA protease production and biofilm formation. Further study indicated that DMSO inhibition of biofilm formation and pyocyanin production was attained by reducing the level of production of an autoinducer molecule of the rhl QS system, N-butanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C 4 -HSL). In a mouse model of a burn wound infection with P. aeruginosa, treatment with DMSO significantly decreased mouse mortality compared with that for mice in the control group. The capacity of DMSO to attenuate the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa points to the potential use of DMSO as an antipathogenic agent for the treatment of P. aeruginosa infection. As a commonly used solvent, however, DMSO's impact on bacterial virulence calls for cautionary attention in its usage in biological, medicinal, and clinical studies. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a prevalent opportunistic pathogen capable of causing various infections in humans, including pneumonia and urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections, and infections in burn patients (1). The chronic infection caused by P. aeruginosa and the associated pulmonary inflammation are ultimately responsible for the majority of cases of mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis (2). The ability of P. aeruginosa to cause diverse infections is attributed to its myriad virulence factors and biofilm-forming capability, which are controlled by the intercellular quorum-sensing (QS) communication system (3-5).P. aeruginosa has two acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated QS systems, known as the las and rhl QS systems. The las and rhl systems consist of the transcriptional activators LasR and RhlR, respectively, and the signal synthases LasI and RhlI, respectively. The major signals in the las and rhl systems are N-(3-oxododecanoyl)-HSL (3-oxo-C 12 -HSL) and N-butanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C 4 -HSL), respectively (5). P. aeruginosa employs these QS systems to control a wide range of extracellular virulence factors, including pyocyanin, elastase, and rhamnolipid (7-12). The AHL-mediated QS systems also play a crucial role in biofilm formation by P. aeruginosa, a common cause of resistance to antibiotics and the difficulties with the treatment of infections (13). The las system influences the activation of pel and, accordingly, biofilm matrix formation (14), and the rhl system contributes to the maintenance of the bio...

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Influences of discharge voltage on wheat seed vitality were investigated in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma system at atmospheric pressure and temperature. Six different treatments were designed, and their discharge voltages were 0.0, 9.0, 11.0, 13.0, 15.0, and 17.0 kV, respectively. Fifty seeds were exposed to the DBD plasma atmosphere with an air flow rate of 1.5 L min for 4 min in each treatment, and then the DBD plasma-treated seeds were prepared for germination in several Petri dishes. Each treatment was repeated three times. Germination indexes, growth indexes, surface topography, water uptake, permeability, and α-amylase activity were measured. DBD plasma treatment at appropriate energy levels had positive effects on wheat seed germination and seedling growth. The germination potential, germination index, and vigor index significantly increased by 31.4%, 13.9%, and 54.6% after DBD treatment at 11.0 kV, respectively, in comparison to the control. Shoot length, root length, dry weight, and fresh weight also significantly increased after the DBD plasma treatment. The seed coat was softened and cracks were observed, systematization of the protein was strengthened, and amount of free starch grain increased after the DBD plasma treatment. Water uptake, relative electroconductivity, soluble protein, and α-amylase activity of the wheat seed were also significantly improved after the DBD plasma treatment. Roles of active species and ultraviolet radiation generated in the DBD plasma process in wheat seed germination and seedling growth are proposed. Bioelectromagnetics. 39:120-131, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.