Manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn) play essential roles in plants. Members of the natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (NRAMP) family transport divalent metal ions. In this research, the function of peanut (
Arachis hypogaea
L.) AhNRAMP1 in transporting Mn and Zn, as well as its potential for iron(Fe) and Zn biofortification was examined.
AhNRAMP1
transcription was strongly induced by Mn- or Zn-deficiency in roots and stems of peanut. Yeast complementation assays suggested that
AhNRAMP1
encoded a functional Mn and Zn transporter. Exogenous expression of
AhNRAMP1
in tobacco and rice enhanced Mn or Zn concentrations, improving tolerance to Mn or Zn deficiency. With higher Mn concentration, transgenic plants exhibited inhibited growth under Mn excess condition; similar results were obtained under excessive Zn treatment.
AhNRAMP1
expression increased biomass in transgenic tobacco and rice, as well as yield in transgenic rice grown on calcareous soil. Compared with non-transformed (NT) plants, Fe and Zn concentrations were elevated whereas concentrations of Mn, copper (Cu), and cadmium (Cd) were not enhanced. These results revealed that
AhNRAMP1
contributes to Mn and Zn transport in plants and may be a candidate gene for Fe and Zn biofortification.
Banana
plants (Musa spp.) are susceptible to infection
by many plant-parasitic nematodes, including Meloidogyne
incognita. In this study, a mixed fermentation broth
of chicken manure (CM) and cassava ethanol wastewater (CEW) was used
to inhibit M. incognita by reducing
egg hatching and by having a lethal effect on second-stage juvenile
nematodes (J2s). It also alleviated nematode damage and promoted banana
plant growth. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS),
we identified methyl palmitate and methyl stearate as bioactive compounds.
These bioactive compounds repelled J2s and inhibited egg hatching;
reduced root galls, egg masses, and nematodes in soil; and downregulated
the essential parasitic nematode genes Mi-flp-18 and 16D10. A Caenorhabditis elegans offspring assay showed that low concentrations of the fermentation
broth, methyl palmitate, and methyl stearate were safe for its life
cycle. This study explored the effective and environmentally safe
strategies for controlling root-knot nematodes.
Healthy soils are essential for sustainable agricultural development and soil health requires careful assessment with increasing societal concern over environmentally friendly agricultural development. Soil health is the capacity of soil to function within ecological boundaries to sustain productivity, maintain environmental quality, and promote plant and animal health. Physical, chemical and biological indicators are used to evaluate soil health; the biological indicators include microbes, protozoa and metazoa. Nematodes are the most abundant metazoa and they vary in their sensitivity to pollutants and environmental disturbance. Soil nematode communities are useful biological indicators of soil health, with community characteristics such as abundance, diversity, community structure and metabolic footprint all closely correlated with the soil environment. The community size, complexity and structure reflect the condition of the soil. Both free-living and plant-parasitic nematodes are effective ecological indicators, contributing to nutrient cycling and having important roles as primary, secondary and tertiary consumers in food webs. Tillage inversion, cropping patterns and nutrient management may have strong effects on soil nematodes, with changes in soil nematode communities reflecting soil disturbance. Some free-living nematodes serve as biological models to test soil condition in the laboratory and because of these advantages soil nematodes are increasingly being used as biological indicators of soil health.
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