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Mandal S, Anand U, López-Bucio J, Radha, Kumar M, Lal MK, Tiwari RK, Dey A. Biostimulants and environmental stress mitigation in crops: A novel and emerging approach for agricultural sustainability under climate change. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 233:116357. [PMID: 37295582 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Pesticide and fertilizer usage is at the center of agricultural production to meet the demands of an ever-increasing global population. However, rising levels of chemicals impose a serious threat to the health of humans, animals, plants, and even the entire biosphere because of their toxic effects. Biostimulants offer the opportunity to reduce the agricultural chemical footprint owing their multilevel, beneficial properties helping to make agriculture more sustainable and resilient. When applied to plants or to the soil an increased absorption and distribution of nutrients, tolerance to environmental stress, and improved quality of plant products explain the mechanisms by which these probiotics are useful. In recent years, the use of plant biostimulants has received widespread attention across the globe as an ecologically acceptable alternative to sustainable agricultural production. As a result, their worldwide market continues to grow, and further research will be conducted to broaden the range of the products now available. Through this review, we present a current understanding of biostimulants, their mode of action and their involvement in modulating abiotic stress responses, including omics research, which may provide a comprehensive assessment of the crop's response by correlating molecular changes to physiological pathways activated under stress conditions aggravated by climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayanti Mandal
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune, Maharashtra, 411007, India; Department of Biotechnology, Dr. D. Y. Patil Arts, Commerce & Science College, Sant Tukaram Nagar, Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra, 411018, India.
| | - Uttpal Anand
- Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, 8499000, Israel
| | - José López-Bucio
- Instituto de Investigaciones Químico-Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Edificio B3, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 58030, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
| | - Radha
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan, 173229, Himachal Pradesh, India
| | - Manoj Kumar
- Chemical and Biochemical Processing Division, ICAR - Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai, 400019, India
| | - Milan Kumar Lal
- ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, 171001, Himachal Pradesh, India; ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India
| | - Rahul Kumar Tiwari
- ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla, 171001, Himachal Pradesh, India; ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, 110012, India
| | - Abhijit Dey
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata, 700073, West Bengal, India.
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Abstract
Biostimulants are agronomic tools that have been gaining importance in the reduction of fertilizer applications. They can improve the yield of cropping systems or preventing crop yield losses under abiotic stresses. Biostimulants can be composed of organic and inorganic materials and most of the components are still unknown. The characterization of the molecular mechanism of action of biostimulants can be obtained using the omics approach, which includes the determination of transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic changes in treated plants. This review reports an overview of the biostimulants, taking stock on the recent molecular studies that are contributing to clarify their action mechanisms. The omics studies can provide an overall evaluation of a crop’s response, connecting the molecular changes with the physiological pathways activated and the performance with or without stress conditions. The multiple responses of plants treated with biostimulants must be correlated with the phenotype changes. In this context, it is also crucial to design an adequate experimental plan and statistical data analysis, in order to find robust correlations between biostimulant treatments and crop performance.
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Cataldo E, Fucile M, Mattii GB. Biostimulants in Viticulture: A Sustainable Approach against Biotic and Abiotic Stresses. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 11:162. [PMID: 35050049 PMCID: PMC8777853 DOI: 10.3390/plants11020162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Climate change and disproportionate anthropogenic interventions, such as the excess of phytopharmaceutical products and continuous soil tillage, are jeopardizing viticulture by subjecting plants to continuous abiotic stress. One of the main physiological repercussions of abiotic stress is represented by the unbalanced redox homeostasis due to the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), ultimately leading to a state of oxidative stress (detrimental to grape quality). To these are added the direct and indirect damages caused by pathogens (biotic stresses). In light of this scenario, it is inevitable that sustainable techniques and sensitivity approaches for environmental and human health have to be applied in viticulture. Sustainable viticulture can only be made with the aid of sustainable products. Biostimulant (PB) applications (including resistance inducers or elicitors) in the vineyard have become interesting maneuvers for counteracting vine diseases and improving grape quality. These also represent a partial alternative to soil fertilization by improving nutrient absorption and avoiding its leaching into the groundwater. Their role as elicitors has important repercussions in the stimulation of the phenylpropanoid pathway by triggering the activation of several enzymes, such as polyphenol oxidase, lipoxygenase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, and peroxidase (with the accumulation of phenolic compounds). The present review paper summarizes the PBs' implications in viticulture, gathering historical, functional, and applicative information. This work aims to highlight the innumerable beneficial effects on vines brought by these products. It also serves to spur the scientific community to a greater contribution in investigating the response mechanisms of the plant to positive inductions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Cataldo
- Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; (M.F.); (G.B.M.)
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Investigating the Impact of Biostimulants on the Row Crops Corn and Soybean Using High-Efficiency Phenotyping and Next Generation Sequencing. AGRONOMY-BASEL 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/agronomy9110761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Row crops represent the most important crops in terms of global cultivated area. Such crops include soybean, corn, wheat, rice, rapeseed, sunflower, and cotton. Row crops agriculture is generally an intensive system of farming used to obtain high yields by employing elevated quantities of organic and mineral fertilizers. Considering this, and the decrease in area of arable land, it becomes crucial to ensure high yield and quality using alternative strategies, such as the use of plant biostimulants. These compounds are increasingly recognized as sustainable solution to optimize nutrient uptake, crop yield, quality, and tolerance to abiotic stresses. In this work, by means of high-throughput plant phenotyping, we evaluated the effectiveness of a set of three new foliar biostimulant prototypes (coded as 52096, 52097, 52113) applied on corn and soybean at application rates 2.5 and 5 mL/L (corresponding to 1 and 2 L/ha respectively). This allowed us to select the most effective prototype (52097, commercial name “YieldOn®”) in increasing digital biovolume (DB) and greener area (GGA) either in soybean (both application rates) or corn (rate 5 mL/L) and decreasing Stress Index (SI) in soybean (both application rates). Molecular mechanism of action of selected prototype 52097 was subsequently characterized through Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). In corn, genes involved in hormone (cytokinin and auxin) metabolism/catabolism, maltose biosynthesis, sugar transport and phloem loading were upregulated after application of prototype 52097. In soybean, genes involved in nitrogen metabolism, metal ion transport (mainly zinc and iron), sulfate reduction, and amino acid biosynthesis were induced. The proposed approach supports the integration of multiple omics to open new perspectives in the discovery, evaluation, and development of innovative and sustainable solutions to meet the increasing needs of row-crops agriculture.
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Vita F, Giuntoli B, Arena S, Quaranta F, Bertolini E, Lucarotti V, Guglielminetti L, Alessio M, Scaloni A, Alpi A. Effects of different nitrogen fertilizers on two wheat cultivars: An integrated approach. PLANT DIRECT 2018; 2:e00089. [PMID: 31245689 PMCID: PMC6508776 DOI: 10.1002/pld3.89] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2018] [Revised: 09/06/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Investigation of cultivated plant physiology grown under low energy input plays an important role to indicate their fitness to the new environmental conditions. The durum-wheat cultivars Creso and Dylan were tested to evaluate the growth, production, and proteomic and transcriptomic profiles of the crop under different synthetic and organic nitrogen fertilization regimes. In this work, a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) approach combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used to investigate the protein changes induced by the use of different nitrogen sources (hydrolysate of proteins 1 and 2, rhizovit, synthesis, leather) on wheat plants. Proteomic studies were integrated with qPCR analysis of genes related to glutamine synthetase/glutamine-2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase (GS-GOGAT) and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) metabolic pathways because most relevant for nitrogen-dependent plants growth. The proteomic analysis lead to the isolation of 23 spots that were able to distinguish the analyzed samples. These spots yielded the identification of 60 proteins involved in photosynthesis, glycolysis, and nitrogen metabolism. As an example, the quinone oxidoreductase-like protein and probable glutathione S-transferase GSTU proteins were identified in two spots that represents the most statistically significant ones in Dylan samples. Transcript analysis indicated that related genes exhibited different expression trends; the heat map also revealed the different behaviors of the hydrolysates of the proteins 1 and 2 nitrogen sources. The effects of nitrogenous fertilizers at the proteomic and agronomic levels revealed that plants fertilized with synthesis or rhizovit gave the best results concerning yield, whereas rhizovit and protein hydrolysates were most effective for proteins content in the grain (% of dry weight). Therefore, all parameters measured in this study indicated that different kinds of nitrogen fertilization used have a relevant impact on plant growth and production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Vita
- LINV-Department of Plant Soil and Environmental Science University of Florence Florence Italy
- A.R.E.A. Foundation Pisa Italy
| | - Beatrice Giuntoli
- Biology Department University of Pisa Pisa Italy
- Institute of Life Sciences Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna Pisa Italy
| | - Simona Arena
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory I.S.P.A.A.M. National Research Council Napoli Italy
| | - Fabrizio Quaranta
- Council for Agricultural Research and Agricultural Economics Analysis Unità di ricerca per la valorizzazione qualitativa dei cereali (CREA-QCE) Rome Italy
| | - Edoardo Bertolini
- Institute of Life Sciences Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna Pisa Italy
- Present address: Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Saint Louis Missouri
| | - Valentina Lucarotti
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (DiSAAA) University of Pisa Pisa Italy
| | | | - Massimo Alessio
- Proteome Biochemistry Unit IRCCS-San Raffaele Scientific Institute Milan Italy
| | - Andrea Scaloni
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Laboratory I.S.P.A.A.M. National Research Council Napoli Italy
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Bulgari R, Morgutti S, Cocetta G, Negrini N, Farris S, Calcante A, Spinardi A, Ferrari E, Mignani I, Oberti R, Ferrante A. Evaluation of Borage Extracts As Potential Biostimulant Using a Phenomic, Agronomic, Physiological, and Biochemical Approach. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2017; 8:935. [PMID: 28638392 PMCID: PMC5461430 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Biostimulants are substances able to improve water and nutrient use efficiency and counteract stress factors by enhancing primary and secondary metabolism. Premise of the work was to exploit raw extracts from leaves (LE) or flowers (FE) of Borago officinalis L., to enhance yield and quality of Lactuca sativa 'Longifolia,' and to set up a protocol to assess their effects. To this aim, an integrated study on agronomic, physiological and biochemical aspects, including also a phenomic approach, has been adopted. Extracts were diluted to 1 or 10 mL L-1, sprayed onto lettuce plants at the middle of the growing cycle and 1 day before harvest. Control plants were treated with water. Non-destructive analyses were conducted to assess the effect of extracts on biomass with an innovative imaging technique, and on leaf photosynthetic efficiency (chlorophyll a fluorescence and leaf gas exchanges). At harvest, the levels of ethylene, photosynthetic pigments, nitrate, and primary (sucrose and total sugars) and secondary (total phenols and flavonoids) metabolites, including the activity and levels of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) were assessed. Moreover, a preliminary study of the effects during postharvest was performed. Borage extracts enhanced the primary metabolism by increasing leaf pigments and photosynthetic activity. Plant fresh weight increased upon treatments with 10 mL L-1 doses, as correctly estimated by multi-view angles images. Chlorophyll a fluorescence data showed that FEs were able to increase the number of active reaction centers per cross section; a similar trend was observed for the performance index. Ethylene was three-fold lower in FEs treatments. Nitrate and sugar levels did not change in response to the different treatments. Total flavonoids and phenols, as well as the total protein levels, the in vitro PAL specific activity, and the levels of PAL-like polypeptides were increased by all borage extracts, with particular regard to FEs. FEs also proved efficient in preventing degradation and inducing an increase in photosynthetic pigments during storage. In conclusion, borage extracts, with particular regard to the flower ones, appear to indeed exert biostimulant effects on lettuce; future work will be required to further investigate on their efficacy in different conditions and/or species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta Bulgari
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di MilanoMilan, Italy
| | - Silvia Morgutti
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di MilanoMilan, Italy
| | - Giacomo Cocetta
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di MilanoMilan, Italy
| | - Noemi Negrini
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di MilanoMilan, Italy
| | - Stefano Farris
- Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional SciencesUniversità degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Aldo Calcante
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di MilanoMilan, Italy
| | - Anna Spinardi
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di MilanoMilan, Italy
| | - Enrico Ferrari
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di MilanoMilan, Italy
| | - Ilaria Mignani
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di MilanoMilan, Italy
| | - Roberto Oberti
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di MilanoMilan, Italy
| | - Antonio Ferrante
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences – Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di MilanoMilan, Italy
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Yakhin OI, Lubyanov AA, Yakhin IA, Brown PH. Biostimulants in Plant Science: A Global Perspective. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2017; 7:2049. [PMID: 28184225 PMCID: PMC5266735 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.02049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 310] [Impact Index Per Article: 44.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
This review presents a comprehensive and systematic study of the field of plant biostimulants and considers the fundamental and innovative principles underlying this technology. The elucidation of the biological basis of biostimulant function is a prerequisite for the development of science-based biostimulant industry and sound regulations governing these compounds. The task of defining the biological basis of biostimulants as a class of compounds, however, is made more complex by the diverse sources of biostimulants present in the market, which include bacteria, fungi, seaweeds, higher plants, animals and humate-containing raw materials, and the wide diversity of industrial processes utilized in their preparation. To distinguish biostimulants from the existing legislative product categories we propose the following definition of a biostimulant as "a formulated product of biological origin that improves plant productivity as a consequence of the novel or emergent properties of the complex of constituents, and not as a sole consequence of the presence of known essential plant nutrients, plant growth regulators, or plant protective compounds." The definition provided here is important as it emphasizes the principle that biological function can be positively modulated through application of molecules, or mixtures of molecules, for which an explicit mode of action has not been defined. Given the difficulty in determining a "mode of action" for a biostimulant, and recognizing the need for the market in biostimulants to attain legitimacy, we suggest that the focus of biostimulant research and validation should be upon proof of efficacy and safety and the determination of a broad mechanism of action, without a requirement for the determination of a specific mode of action. While there is a clear commercial imperative to rationalize biostimulants as a discrete class of products, there is also a compelling biological case for the science-based development of, and experimentation with biostimulants in the expectation that this may lead to the identification of novel biological molecules and phenomenon, pathways and processes, that would not have been discovered if the category of biostimulants did not exist, or was not considered legitimate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleg I. Yakhin
- Institute of Biochemistry and Genetics, Ufa Scientific Center, Russian Academy of SciencesUfa, Russia
- R&D Company Eco PrirodaUlkundy, Russia
| | | | | | - Patrick H. Brown
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, USA
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Yakhin OI, Lubyanov AA, Yakhin IA, Brown PH. Biostimulants in Plant Science: A Global Perspective. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2017; 7:2049. [PMID: 28184225 DOI: 10.3389/fpls] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
This review presents a comprehensive and systematic study of the field of plant biostimulants and considers the fundamental and innovative principles underlying this technology. The elucidation of the biological basis of biostimulant function is a prerequisite for the development of science-based biostimulant industry and sound regulations governing these compounds. The task of defining the biological basis of biostimulants as a class of compounds, however, is made more complex by the diverse sources of biostimulants present in the market, which include bacteria, fungi, seaweeds, higher plants, animals and humate-containing raw materials, and the wide diversity of industrial processes utilized in their preparation. To distinguish biostimulants from the existing legislative product categories we propose the following definition of a biostimulant as "a formulated product of biological origin that improves plant productivity as a consequence of the novel or emergent properties of the complex of constituents, and not as a sole consequence of the presence of known essential plant nutrients, plant growth regulators, or plant protective compounds." The definition provided here is important as it emphasizes the principle that biological function can be positively modulated through application of molecules, or mixtures of molecules, for which an explicit mode of action has not been defined. Given the difficulty in determining a "mode of action" for a biostimulant, and recognizing the need for the market in biostimulants to attain legitimacy, we suggest that the focus of biostimulant research and validation should be upon proof of efficacy and safety and the determination of a broad mechanism of action, without a requirement for the determination of a specific mode of action. While there is a clear commercial imperative to rationalize biostimulants as a discrete class of products, there is also a compelling biological case for the science-based development of, and experimentation with biostimulants in the expectation that this may lead to the identification of novel biological molecules and phenomenon, pathways and processes, that would not have been discovered if the category of biostimulants did not exist, or was not considered legitimate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleg I Yakhin
- Institute of Biochemistry and Genetics, Ufa Scientific Center, Russian Academy of SciencesUfa, Russia; R&D Company Eco PrirodaUlkundy, Russia
| | | | | | - Patrick H Brown
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis Davis, CA, USA
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Povero G, Mejia JF, Di Tommaso D, Piaggesi A, Warrior P. A Systematic Approach to Discover and Characterize Natural Plant Biostimulants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2016; 7:435. [PMID: 27092156 PMCID: PMC4820456 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.00435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
The use of natural plant biostimulants is proposed as an innovative solution to address the challenges to sustainable agriculture, to ensure optimal nutrient uptake, crop yield, quality, and tolerance to abiotic stress. However, the process of selection and characterization of plant biostimulant matrices is complex and involves a series of rigorous evaluations customized to the needs of the plant. Here, we propose a highly differentiated plant biostimulant development and production platform, which involves a combination of technology, processes, and know-how. Chemistry, biology and omic concepts are combined/integrated to investigate and understand the specific mode(s) of action of bioactive ingredients. The proposed approach allows to predict and characterize the function of natural compounds as biostimulants. By managing and analyzing massive amounts of complex data, it is therefore possible to discover, evaluate and validate new product candidates, thus expanding the uses of existing products to meet the emerging needs of agriculture.
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