The antifungal effect of metabolites produced by a new strain of Lactiplantibacillus (Lpb.)
plantarum LPP703, isolated from naturally fermented yak yogurt, was investigated. The results
showed that Lpb. plantarum LPP703 significantly inhibited four fungal species, including Penicillium
sp., Rhizopus delemar, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus niger. The metabolites produced after 20 h
of Lpb. plantarum LPP703 fermentation showed the highest antifungal activity against Penicillium sp.
Compared with the control group, the Lpb. plantarum LPP703 metabolites-treated Penicillium sp.
spores were stained red by propidium iodide, indicating that the cell membrane of the fungal
spores was damaged. Moreover, the antifungal effect of the Lpb. plantarum LPP703 metabolites on
Penicillium sp. was not changed after heating or treatment with various proteases, but showed a sharp
decrease when the pH value was regulated to 5.0 or above. The oleamide, trans-cinnamic acid, and
citric acid were the three most abundant in the Lpb. plantarum LPP703 metabolites. Molecular docking
predicated that the oleamide interacted with the active site of lanosterol 14-alpha-demethylase (CYP51,
a crucial enzyme for fungal membrane integrity) through hydrogen bonds and had the lowest docking
score, representing the strongest binding affinity to CYP51. Taken together, the metabolites from a
new strain of Lpb. plantarum, LPP703, had potent antifungal activity against Penicillium sp., which
might be associated with the damage of the active ingredient to fungal membrane integrity. This
study indicated that Lpb. plantarum LPP703 and its metabolites might act as biological control agents
to prevent fungal growth in the food industry.

Green waste-derived compost (GWC) is a valuable soil amendment for improving soil organic matter and decreasing waste products and potential pollutants. The study was carried out to evaluate the effect of GWC application on the yield and quality of sugar beet under deficit irrigation conditions using different irrigation systems. A field experiment was conducted using the commercial sugar beet variety Gazelle in sandy soil. Two doses (0 and 14 t ha⁻¹) of GWC were applied to the soil. Three water deficiency levels (60, 80 and 100% of the soil field capacity) under either drip and sprinkler irrigation systems were applied. The application of 14 ton ha⁻¹ of GWC resulted in the highest root and recoverable sugar yields, especially under the well-irrigated conditions under drip irrigation. Sugar beet root biofortification and juice quality were also significantly improved under drip irrigation in response to the application of 14 ton ha⁻¹ of GWC by increasing sucrose content, quality index (Qz)% and recoverable sugar (RS)%. The application of GWC under drip irrigation enhanced water use efficiency for root (WUE_RY) and recoverable sugar yields (WUE_RSY), in particular under drip irrigation and water deficit conditions (60% of the soil field capacity). The soil physicochemical properties were significantly improved in response to the application of GWC. GWC application promoted the yield and biofortification of sugar beet by improving the soil physiochemical properties, and nutrient mobilization and uptake. The application of GWC is essential for sustainable sugar beet production and efficient irrigation water use in sandy soils.

GIGANTEA (GI) encodes a component of the circadian clock core oscillator and has been identified as a regulatory pathway of the circadian rhythm and photoperiodic flowering in model plants. However, the regulatory pathway of GI affecting flowering time is unknown in maize. Here, we identified that the zmgi2 mutant flowered earlier than the wild type under long day (LD) conditions, whereas the difference in flowering time was not apparent under short day (SD) conditions. The 24 h optimal expression of the gene in the stem apex meristems (SAM) appeared at 9 h after dawn under LD conditions and at 11 h after dawn under SD conditions. DAP-Seq and RNA-Seq further revealed that ZmGI2 delays flowering by directly binding to the upstream regions of ZmVOZs, ZmZCN8 and ZmFPF1 to repress the expression of these genes and by directly binding to the upstream regions of ZmARR11, ZmDOF and ZmUBC11 to promote the expression of these genes. The genetic and biochemical evidence suggests a model for the potential role of ZmGI2 in regulating the flowering time-dependent photoperiodic pathway. This study provides novel insights into the function of ZmGIs in maize and further demonstrates their potential importance for floral transition. These results contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms and regulatory networks of GI transcription factors in regulating flowering time in maiz

Carbon nanodots (CNDs)-embedded pullulan (PUL) nanofibers were developed and successfully applied for sulfathiazole (STZ) removal from wastewater streams for the first time. The CNDs were incorporated into PUL at 0.0%, 1.0%, 2.0%, and 3.0% (w/w) to produce M1, M2, M3, and M4 nanofibers (PUL-NFs), respectively. The produced PUL-NFs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and applied for STZ removal from aqueous solutions through pH, kinetics, and equilibrium batch sorption trials. A pH range of 4.0–6.0 was observed to be optimal for maximum STZ removal. Pseudo-second order, intraparticle diffusion, and Elovich models were suitably fitted to kinetics adsorption data (R 2 = 0.82–0.99), whereas Dubinin–Radushkevich, Freundlich, and Langmuir isotherms were fitted to equilibrium adsorption data (R 2 = 0.88–0.99). STZ adsorption capacity of PUL-NFs improved as the amount of embedded CNDs increased. Maximum STZ adsorption capacities of the synthesized PUL-NFs were in the order of: M4 > M3 > M2 > M1 (133.68, 124.27, 93.09, and 35.04 mg g−1 , respectively). Lewis acid–base reaction and π-π electron donor–acceptor interactions were the key STZ removal mechanisms under an acidic environment, whereas H-bonding and diffusion were key under a basic environment. Therefore, CNDs-embedded PUL-NFs could be employed as an environmentally friendly, efficient, and non-toxic adsorbent to remove STZ from wastewater streams.

Sources and levels of heavy metals (HMs) in soil and dust of urban and suburban areas in Riyadh (industrial city) and Mahad AD’Dahab (mining area) cities in Saudi Arabia were reported in this study. Additionally, the concentrations of HMs in different soil particle size fractions (> 250, 63–250 and < 63 µm) were reported. Pollution extent, and ecological and human health risks associated with collected soil and dust samples were explored. Contamination levels of HMs were higher in dust as compared to soil samples at all sites. The average integrated potential ecological risk in dust samples of urban area of Mahad AD’Dahab was 139, and thus characterized as a very-high-risk criterion. Enrichment factor (EF), correlation analyses, and principal component analysis showed that aluminum (Al), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), titanium (Ti), and zinc (Zn) had mainly the lithogenic occurrence (EF < 2). However, Zn, copper (Cu), and lead (Pb) in Riyadh, and cadmium (Cd), Cu, Zn, and Pb in the Mahad AD’Dahab were affected by industrial and mining activities, respectively, that were of anthropogenic origins (EF > 2). The hazard index values of dust and soil (< 63 µm) samples in both urban and suburban areas in Mahad AD’Dahab were > 1, suggesting non-carcinogenic risk. Therefore, the dust and soil samples from the mined area of Mahad AD’Dahab had a higher pollution levels, as well as ecological and human health risks than those from Riyadh. Hence, the pollution of such residential environments with HMs (especially Cd, Cu, Zn, and Pb) needs to be monitored.

In this study, a 30-day incubation experiment was performed to investigate the interactive effects of soil moisture content and two types of organic manure (animal manure: M and wheat straw: WS) on organic C mineralization and the degradation of PAH compounds. Specifically, washed sandy soil sample free from PAHs was treated with combined standard solution containing six different PAHs; pyrene (Pyr), fluoranthene (Flt), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), benzo[g,h,i]perylene (BghiP), benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkF), and indeno[123-cd]pyrene (IP). The soil samples treated with PAHs were amended with M or WS and then, the soil samples were incubated and subjected to two levels of moisture content (50% and 100% field capacity, FC). The results indicate that CO2–C rates were the highest at day 1, but they tended to be decreased sharply when incubation time increased. The results showed that the higher rate of CO2-C efflux rate and cumulative were observed in M and WS treatments at 100% FC. Applying organic amendments at 50% FC increased the total cumulative CO2-C from 21.6 mg kg−1 to 228 mg kg−1 for M and to 216 mg kg−1 for WS. Meanwhile, applying organic amendments at 50% FC increased the total cumulative CO2-C from 30 mg kg−1 to 381 mg kg−1 for M and to 492 mg kg−1 for WS. The highest increases at 100% FC could be explained by the optimum water content at field capacity. PAHs concentrations decreased significantly in the presence of organic amendments in relation to enhance CO2-C efflux (soil respiration) and to decrease soil pH. It could be concluded that applying organic amendments might be a useful technique to remediate soil PAHs through mineralization.

An increasing trend of anthropogenic activities such as urbanization and industrialization has resulted in induction and accumulation of various kinds of heavy metals in the environment, which ultimately has disturbed the biogeochemical balance. Therefore, the present study was conducted to probe the efficiency of conocarpus (Conocarpus erectus L.) waste-derived biochar and its modified derivatives for the removal of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) from aqueous solutions. Biochar was produced at 600 °C and modified with humic acid (1:10 w/v ratio) and rock phosphate (0.5:1 w/w ratio). Additionally, produced biochar, as well as humic acid and rock phosphate-modified biochars, were subjected to ball milling separately. Equilibrium and kinetics batch experiments were conducted to investigate heavy metals adsorption on synthesized adsorbents. Adsorption isotherms and kinetics models were employed to explore the adsorption efficiency of produced materials for metals adsorption. Among all the applied adsorbents, ball-milled biochars showed comparatively higher adsorption compared to un-milled biochars. Humic acid and rock phosphate-modified milled biochar showed the highest adsorption capacity for Pb (18.85 mg g⁻¹), while rock phosphate-modified milled biochar showed the highest adsorption capacity for Cu and Zn (24.02 mg g⁻¹ and 187.14 mg g⁻¹), and humic acid modified biochar adsorbed maximum Cd (30.89 mg g⁻¹). Adsorption isotherm study confirmed Freundlich as the best-suited model (R² = 0.99), while kinetics adsorption was well described by the pseudo-second-order (R² = 0.99). Hence, it was concluded that ball-milled biochar modified with humic acid and rock phosphate could potentially remove heavy metals from contaminated water

Mining activities provide a pathway for the entry and accumulation of various heavy metals in soil, which ultimately leads to severe environmental pollution. Utilization of various immobilizing agents could restore such contaminated soils. Therefore, in this study, date palm-derived biochars (BCs: produced at 300 °C, 500 °C and 700 °C) and magnetized biochars (MBCs) were employed to stabilize heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu and Zn) in mining polluted soil. Metal polluted soil was amended with BCs and MBCs at w/w ratio of 2% and cultivated with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in a greenhouse. After harvesting, dry and fresh biomass of plants were recorded. The soil and plant samples were collected, and the concentrations of heavy metals were measured after extracting with water, DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid), EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), and acetic acid. BCs and MBCs resulted in reduced metal availability and uptake, with higher fresh and dry biomass (>36%). MBCs showed maximum decrease (>70%) in uptake and shoot concentration of metals, as these reductions for Cd and Pb reached below the detection limits. Among all single-step extractions, the DTPA-extractable metals showed a significant positive correlation with shoot concentrations of tested metals. Thus, the synthesized BCs and MBCs could effectively be used for stabilizing heavy metals and improve plant productivity in multi-contaminated soils. However, future studies should focus on long term field trials to restore contaminated mining soils using modified biochars.