Differences in plant metabolites and microbes associated with Azadirachta indica with variation in air pollution

Growth-Promoting Endophytes as Immunity Booster for Brassica juncea against Insect Attack

Endophytes play a pivotal role in plant growth, metabolism, and defense mechanisms. Many of these endophytes are known to promote plant growth and/or contribute in stress alleviation by producing an array of secondary metabolites and phytohormones. In agroecosystem, plants are continuously exposed to various biotic stressors which affect their growth and development as well as quality and quantity of the crop. This study for the first time, focuses on the growth promoting bacterial potential of endophytes in enhancing plant resistance against the polyphagous pest Spodoptera litura in Brassica juncea (Indian mustard). A total of the 30 bacterial and fungal endophytes were isolated from B. juncea and ten isolates namely, Acinetobacter sp. WEL105, Acinetobacter sp. WEL1051, Acinetobacter sp. WEL1052, Acinetobacter sp. WEL1072 and Acinetobacter sp. BJWEL1, Zasmidium sp. PWEL1031, Cladosporium sp. PWEL1032, Cladosporium sp. PWEL1033, Cladosporium sp. PWEL1034 and Cladosporium sp. PWEL104 were shortlisted based on their plant growth-promoting potential. Among these, Acinetobacter sp. WEL1072 and Acinetobacter sp. BJWEL1 supplementation showed significant increase in biomass, phytohormones production (indole acetic acid and gibberellic acid), phenol and condensed tannins concentrations. Endophyte-treated plants exhibited improved biomass and increased production of defence compounds, namely phenols, condensed tannins and serine protease inhibitors. Our study thus highlights the dual potential of endophytes in enhancing plant growth and strengthening defence mechanisms, thus offering a sustainable approach to agricultural pest management.

Bacterial Pigments as a Promising Alternative to Synthetic Colorants: From Fundamentals to Applications

Pigments find widespread application in the fields of food, medicine, textiles, and cosmetics. At present, synthetic colorants dominate the global pigment market. However, the environmental and health hazards associated with synthetic colorants have spurred extensive research on eco-friendly and safe alternatives. Natural pigments are particularly intriguing for meeting consumer demands and sustainable development, as they not only exhibit various vibrant color shades without discernible toxic side effects but also offer additional healthful features such as antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer, and antiviral properties compared with their synthetic counterparts. Among natural sources, bacterial strains share distinct advantages for large-scale pigment production because of their intrinsic robustness of cellular metabolic systems. This review comprehensively outlines the bacterial sources, extraction and purification methods, structural characteristics, biological activities, and potential applications of typical pigments, including but not limited to violacein, indigoidine, melanin, carotenoids, prodigiosin, and rhodopsin. Additionally, it underscores the primary obstacles to the development and production of bacterial pigments for commercial applications, discussing feasible strategies for overcoming production bottlenecks. This work also provides valuable insights for the scientific and rational advancement of bacterial pigment development.

Environmental impacts of air pollution and its abatement by plant species: A comprehensive review

Air pollution is one of the major global environmental issues urgently needed attention for its control through sustainable approaches. The release of air pollutants from various anthropogenic and natural processes imposes serious threats to the environment and human health. The green belt development using air pollution-tolerant plant species has become popular approach for air pollution remediation. Plants' biochemical and physiological attributes, especially relative water content, pH, ascorbic acid, and total chlorophyll content, are taken into account for assessing air pollution tolerance index (APTI). In contrast, anticipated performance index (API) is assessed based on socio-economic characteristics including "canopy structure, type, habit, laminar structure, economic value and APTI score" of plant species. Based on previous work, plants with high dust-capturing capacity are identified in Ficus benghalensis L. (0.95 to 7.58 mg/cm2), and highest overall PM accumulation capacity was observed in Ulmus pumila L. (PM10 = 72 µg/cm2 and PM2.5 = 70 µg/cm2) in the study from different regions. According to APTI, the plant species such as M. indica (11 to 29), Alstonia scholaris (L.) R. Br. (6 to 24), and F. benghalensis (17 to 26) have been widely reported as high air pollution-tolerant species and good to best performer in terms of API at different study sites. Statistically, previous studies show that ascorbic acid (R2 = 0.90) has good correlation with APTI among all the parameters. The plant species with high pollution tolerance capacity can be recommended for future plantation and green belt development.

Activity of low-molecular weight components of Larix sibirica antioxidant system under exposure to technogenic pollution

Changes in the antioxidant protection system of Larix sibirica Ledeb at different pollution levels caused by emissions from a large aluminum smelter (BrAS) have been studied. We revealed that the content of peroxide (H₂O₂) in the needles is a reliable marker of oxidative stress in the trees under pollution. The crucial role of non-enzymatic components, in particular, proline, phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid, glutathione, in reducing the level of free radicals in the needles cells was found. Proline concentration in the needles significantly rises with the increase in pollution levels from low to high. Under critical level pollution, it decreases by 40% compared to the background. The total content of ascorbic acid (ASC) in the needles of polluted trees varies slightly; however, there are significant changes in its various forms. With an increase in pollution to a high level, the content of the reduced form of ASC in the needles increases by 1.5-2.9 times compared to the background content. At a critical level of pollution, the total level of ascorbic acid and its reduced form falls, the content of the oxidized form reaches minimum values. The total content of phenolic compounds in the needles increased by 50-55%, concentration of flavonoids by 1.5-1.8 times, catechins by 1.9-2.5 times, proanthocyanidins by 45% compared to the background level under low, moderate, high pollution, whereas under critical pollution their content decreased. The absolute concentration of the reduced form glutathione in the needles falls by 1.9-3.0 times, the oxidized form increases by 1.5-2.0 times compared to the background. The ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione decreased, especially during critical pollution. The data obtained show significant activation of Siberian larch biochemical protection at low, moderate and high levels of pollution by the aluminum smelter emissions. At a critical levels of contamination, a significant depletion of the pool of low-molecular antioxidants was observed.

Environmental factors and risk of gout

Gout is a chronic disease with inflammatory arthritis caused by monosodium urate (MSU) crystals deposition, an elevated serum urate level (hyperuricaemia) is the critical factor leading to MSU crystals deposition and promoting the progression of gout. The onset and development of gout is generally the result of multiple factors, such as diet, heredity and environmental factors. Although genetics and diet are thought to play as major factors, a growing body of research evidence has highlighted that environmental factors also play a significant role in the onset and exacerbation of gout. Recent studies have shown that air pollutants such as particulate matter, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) may increase the risk of hospitalizations for gout, and that the changes in temperature and humidity may affect uric acid (UA) levels. There is also seasonal trend in gout. It has been demonstrated that environmental factors may induce or accelerate the production and release of pro-inflammatory mediators, causing an unbalance oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, and then participating in the overall process or a certain link of gout. Moreover, several environmental factors have shown the ability to induce the production urate and regulate the innate immune pathways, involving in the pathogenesis of gout. Nevertheless, the role of environmental factors in the etiology of gout remains unclear. In this review, we summarized the recent literatures and aimed to discuss the relationship between environmental factors (such as microclimate, season, ambient/indoor air pollution and extreme weather) and gout. We further discussed the inflammatory mechanisms of environmental factors and gout and the comprehensive effects of environmental factors on gout. We also made a prospect of the management and treatment of gout, with special consideration to environmental factors associated with gout.

Successions and interactions of phyllospheric microbiome in response to NH3 exposure

Phyllosphere and numerous phyllospheric microbiomes present a huge potential for air pollution mitigation. Despite research investigating the microbial compositions in the phyllosphere, the successions and interactions of the phyllospheric microbiome under ammonia gas (NH₃) stress remain poorly understood. Herein, we performed 16S rDNA, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) profiling and a quantitative microbial element cycling (QMEC) method to reveal successions, co-occurrence, and N-cycling functions changes of phyllospheric bacteria and fungi during NH₃ exposure. The NH₃ input mainly elevated ammonium (NH₄⁺-N) and total nitrogen (TN) levels on the leaf surface. The exposure in the phyllosphere decreased fungal concentration with a homogeneity increase while enhanced bacterial concentration with a noticeable richness drop. Both short-term (2-week) and long-term (6-week) exposure induced significant changes in microbial compositions. Bacterial genera (Nocardioides, Pseudonocardia) and fungal genera (Alternaria, Acremonium) dominated throughout the exposure. Intensive microbial interactions compared to that in the natural phyllosphere were observed via network analysis. Our results showed that N-cycling functional genes were largely stimulated by the exposure and might, in turn contribute to NH₃ pollution buffer and alleviation via microbial metabolism. This study extended the knowledge on microbial responses to NH₃ exposure in the phyllosphere and enlightened phylloremediation on NH₃ through the microbial role.

Microbial Metabolites Beneficial to Plant Hosts Across Ecosystems

Plants are intimately connected with their associated microorganisms. Chemical interactions via natural products between plants and their microbial symbionts form an important aspect in host health and development, both in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. These interactions range from negative to beneficial for microbial symbionts as well as their hosts. Symbiotic microbes synchronize their metabolism with their hosts, thus suggesting a possible coevolution among them. Metabolites, synthesized from plants and microbes due to their association and coaction, supplement the already present metabolites, thus promoting plant growth, maintaining physiological status, and countering various biotic and abiotic stress factors. However, environmental changes, such as pollution and temperature variations, as well as anthropogenic-induced monoculture settings, have a significant influence on plant-associated microbial community and its interaction with the host. In this review, we put the prominent microbial metabolites participating in plant-microbe interactions in the natural terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in a single perspective and have discussed commonalities and differences in these interactions for adaptation to surrounding environment and how environmental changes can alter the same. We also present the status and further possibilities of employing chemical interactions for environment remediation. Our review thus underlines the importance of ecosystem-driven functional adaptations of plant-microbe interactions in natural and anthropogenically influenced ecosystems and their possible applications.

Dynamic succession patterns and interactions of phyllospheric microorganisms during NOx exposure

The phyllosphere plays a role in alleviating air pollution, potentially leveraging the native microorganisms for further enhancement. It remains unclear how phyllospheric microorganisms respond to nitrogen oxide (NO_x) pollution and participate in abatement. Here, we exposed Schefflera octophylla to NO_x to reveal microbial succession patterns and interactions in the phyllosphere. During exposure, phyllospheric ammonium (NH₄⁺-N) significantly increased, with different alpha diversity changes between bacteria and fungi. Community successions enclosed core taxa with relatively excellent tolerance, represented by bacterial genera (Norcardiodes, Aeromicrobium) and fungal genera (Talaromyces, Acremonium). The exposure eliminated specific pathogens (e.g., Zymoseptoria) and benefitted plant growth-promoting populations (e.g., Talaromyces, Exiguobacterium), which might favor plant disease control, improve plant health and thus buffer NO_x pollution. Cooccurrence networks revealed more negative correlations among bacteria and closer linkages among fungi during exposure. Our results also showed a functional shift from the predominance of pathotrophs to saprotrophs. Our study identified microbial successions and interactions during NO_x pollution and thus enlightened prospective taxa and potential roles of phyllospheric microorganisms in NO_x remediation.

Dual function of Lemna minor and Azolla pinnata as phytoremediator for Palm Oil Mill Effluent and as feedstock

In this study, two native duckweeds (Lemna minor and Azolla pinnata) were cultivated in Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) to extract nutrients from the effluent. Five grams of A. pinnata and 2 g of L. minor were transferred to 2 L POME (Initial concentrations: 198 mg/L COD, 4.3 mg/L nitrates, pH 9.53, 4 mg/L phosphate, 2.98 mg/L ammonia) with four different dilutions (2.5%, 5%, 10%, 15%) under greenhouse conditions. Samples of POME were taken every two days up to 10 days. Growth parameter, phosphate, ammonia, nitrates, pH, and COD were monitored within 10 days to select the most suitable growth medium for both plants. Results showed that 2.5% POME dilution had positive effect on L. minor growth and A. pinnata (wet weight increased by 8.7 g and 9.8 g, respectively), with all plants able to survive until the final day of exposure. The highest removal of ammonia was accomplished in 5% POME dilution by A. pinnata (98%) and L. minor (95.5%). The maximum phosphate removal was obtained in 10% POME dilution with 93.3% removal by A. pinnata and 86.7% by L. minor. Significant COD removal in 15% POME was obtained by L. minor (78%) and A. pinnata (66%). Both plants responded positively to the phytoremediation process, especially for A. pinnata which showed significant decreases in all parameters. The nutrient extraction by both plants from POME showed a positive effect on growth parameter, which has further promising potential to be used as animal feedstock.