Do fungicides affect the physiology, reproductive development and productivity of healthy soybean plants?

Effect of Triazole Fungicides Titul Duo and Vintage on the Development of Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Symbiotic Nodules

Triazole fungicides are widely used in agricultural production for plant protection, including pea (Pisum sativum L.). The use of fungicides can negatively affect the legume-Rhizobium symbiosis. In this study, the effects of triazole fungicides Vintage and Titul Duo on nodule formation and, in particular, on nodule morphology, were studied. Both fungicides at the highest concentration decreased the nodule number and dry weight of the roots 20 days after inoculation. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the following ultrastructural changes in nodules: modifications in the cell walls (their clearing and thinning), thickening of the infection thread walls with the formation of outgrowths, accumulation of poly-β-hydroxybutyrates in bacteroids, expansion of the peribacteroid space, and fusion of symbiosomes. Fungicides Vintage and Titul Duo negatively affect the composition of cell walls, leading to a decrease in the activity of synthesis of cellulose microfibrils and an increase in the number of matrix polysaccharides of cell walls. The results obtained coincide well with the data of transcriptomic analysis, which revealed an increase in the expression levels of genes that control cell wall modification and defense reactions. The data obtained indicate the need for further research on the effects of pesticides on the legume-Rhizobium symbiosis in order to optimize their use.

Difenoconazole Exposure Induces Retinoic Acid Signaling Dysregulation and Testicular Injury in Mice Testes

Difenoconazole (DFZ) is a broad-spectrum triazole fungicide that is widely utilized in agriculture. Although DFZ has been demonstrated to induce reproductive toxicity in aquatic species, its toxic effects on the mammalian reproductive system have yet to be fully elucidated. In vivo, male mice were administered 0, 20 or 40 mg/kg/d of DFZ via oral gavage for 35 days. Consequently, DFZ significantly decreased testicular organ coefficient, sperm count and testosterone levels, augmented sperm malformation rates, and elicited histopathological alterations in testes. TUNEL assay showed increased apoptosis in testis. Western blotting results suggested abnormally high expression of the sperm meiosis-associated proteins STRA8 and SCP3. The concentrations of retinoic acid (RA), retinaldehyde (RE), and retinol (ROL) were increased in the testicular tissues of DFZ-treated groups. The mRNA expression level of genes implicated in RA synthesis significantly increased while genes involved in RA catabolism significantly decreased. In vitro, DFZ reduced cell viability and increased RA, RE, and ROL levels in GC-2 cells. Transcriptome analysis revealed a significant enrichment of numerous terms associated with the RA pathway and apoptosis. The qPCR experiment verified the transcriptome results. In conclusion, our results indicate that DFZ exposure can disrupt RA signaling pathway homeostasis, and induce testicular injury in mice testes.

Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complexes and Their Application in Food Safety Analysis: Recent Developments and Future Prospects

Food safety issues are a major threat to public health and have attracted much attention. Therefore, exploring accurate, efficient, sensitive, and economical detection methods is necessary to ensure consumers' health. In this regard, cyclodextrins (CDs) are promising candidates because they are nontoxic and noncaloric. The main body of CDs is a ring structure with hydrophobic cavity and hydrophilic exterior wall. Due to the above characteristics, CDs can encapsulate small guest molecules into their cavities, enhance their stability, avoid agglomeration and oxidation, and, at the same time, interact through hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. Additionally, they can selectively capture the target molecules to be detected and improve the sensitivity of food detection. This review highlights recent advances in CD inclusion technology in food safety analysis, covering various applications from small molecule and heavy metal sensing to amino acid and microbial sensing. Finally, challenges and prospects for CDs and their derivatives are presented. The current review can provide a reference and guidance for current research on CDs in the food industry and may inspire breakthroughs in this field.

Effects of Pymetrozine and Tebuconazole with Foliar Fertilizer Through Mixed Application on Plant Growth and Pesticide Residues in Cucumber

The mixed application of pesticides and foliar fertilizer has been widely used in the production of cucumber, however, their effects on plant growth and pesticide dissipation are still unclear. In this study, the effects of mixed application of pymetrozine, tebuconazole and foliar fertilizer on the cucumber plant growth and pesticide dissipation were investigated simultaneously. The results show that the mixed use of pymetrozine, tebuconazole, especially adding foliar fertilizer, improved the physiological indexes (i.e., area, nitrogen content and chlorophyll content of the leaves, and root growth) of cucumber plants compared to those with the application of single pesticide. Meanwhile, it can significantly affect the dissipation of pymetrozine even in the slower growth matrices (lower leaves, stems, and plants). The residue of tebuconazole in cucumber plants was affected by the combination of formulation type and foliar fertilizer. This study can provide data for scientifically guiding the mixed application of pesticide and fertilizer.

Cyclodextrin-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the determination of fungicides in water, juice, and vinegar samples via HPLC

Cyclodextrin-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (CD-DLLME) was developed for the determination of triazole and strobilurin fungicides in water, juice, and vinegar samples using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD). Undecanol, which is a green solvent, was selected as the extraction solvent. A cyclodextrin aqueous solution was chosen as the dispersion solvent and demulsifier to avoid the use of a toxic dispersion solvent and eliminate the centrifugation step. Dispersion and phase separation were completed within 1 and 60 s, respectively. The linear range of this method was 1 to 100 µg L^-1. The limits of detection were 0.3 μg L^-1 along with the preconcentration factor of 133 and enrichment factor of 124. The recovery was 83.2% to 103.2%. This pretreatment method was fast, simple, and environmentally friendly and was successfully applied to the analysis of triazole and strobilurin fungicide residues in water, juice, and vinegar samples.