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Biotic stress causes immense damage to agricultural products worldwide and raises the risk of hunger in many areas. Plants themselves tolerate biotic stresses via several pathways, including pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), which trigger immunity and plant resistance (R) proteins. On the other hand, humans use several non-ecofriendly methods to control biotic stresses, such as chemical applications. Compared with chemical control, melatonin is an ecofriendly compound that is an economical alternative strategy which can be used to protect animals and plants from attacks via pathogens. In plants, the bactericidal capacity of melatonin was verified against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as well as multidrug-resistant Gram-negative and -positive bacteria under in vitro conditions. Regarding plant–bacteria interaction, melatonin has presented effective antibacterial activities against phytobacterial pathogens. In plant–fungi interaction models, melatonin was found to play a key role in plant resistance to Botrytis cinerea, to increase fungicide susceptibility, and to reduce the stress tolerance of Phytophthora infestans. In plant–virus interaction models, melatonin not only efficiently eradicated apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) from apple shoots in vitro (making it useful for the production of virus-free plants) but also reduced tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) viral RNA and virus concentration in infected Nicotiana glutinosa and Solanum lycopersicum seedlings. Indeed, melatonin has unique advantages in plant growth regulation and increasing plant resistance effectiveness against different forms of biotic and abiotic stress. Although considerable work has been done regarding the role of melatonin in plant tolerance to abiotic stresses, its role in biotic stress remains unclear and requires clarification. In our review, we summarize the work that has been accomplished so far; highlight melatonin’s function in plant tolerance to pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi; and determine the direction required for future studies on this topic.

Background The cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel (CNGC) family affects the uptake of cations, growth, pathogen defence, and thermotolerance in plants. However, the systematic identification, origin and function of this gene family has not been performed in Brassica oleracea , an important vegetable crop and genomic model organism. Results In present study, we identified 26 CNGC genes in B. oleracea genome, which are non-randomly localized on eight chromosomes, and classified into four major (I-IV) and two sub-groups (i.e., IV-a and IV-b). The BoCNGC family is asymmetrically fractioned into the following three sub-genomes: least fractionated (14 genes), most fractionated-I (10), and most fractionated-II (2). The syntenic map of BoCNGC genes exhibited strong relationships with the model Arabidopsis thaliana and B. rapa CNGC genes and provided markers for defining the regions of conserved synteny among the three genomes. Both whole-genome triplication along with segmental and tandem duplications contributed to the expansion of this gene family. We predicted the characteristics of BoCNGCs regarding exon-intron organisations, motif compositions and post-translational modifications, which diversified their structures and functions. Using orthologous Arabidopsis CNGCs as a reference, we found that most CNGCs were associated with various protein–protein interaction networks involving CNGCs and other signalling and stress related proteins. We revealed that five microRNAs (i.e., bol-miR5021, bol-miR838d, bol-miR414b, bol-miR4234, and bol-miR_new2) have target sites in nine BoCNGC genes. The BoCNGC genes were differentially expressed in seven B. oleracea tissues including leaf, stem, callus, silique, bud, root and flower. The transcript abundance levels quantified by qRT-PCR assays revealed that BoCNGC genes from phylogenetic Groups I and IV were particularly sensitive to cold stress and infections with bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris , suggesting their importance in abiotic and biotic stress responses. Conclusion Our comprehensive genome-wide analysis represents a rich data resource for studying new plant gene families. Our data may also be useful for breeding new B. oleracea cultivars with improved productivity, quality, and stress resistance.

Study and documentation of the traditional use of plants in Yemen is very important to preserve the cultural heritage of society and verifying the validity of those uses in order to establish or reject them according to their scientific justification. In this regard, this study aimed to explore plant distribution and document of local knowledge related to the medicinal and non-medicinal use of about twenty plant species that are pervasive in the districts of Rada'a, Qarn elasad and El-Khubar. For this purpose, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted within these districts through interviews with traditional healers (Attars) and local populations. Furthermore, another survey was performed to know the geographical distribution of these species in the three areas. For non-medical use results revealed that 30% of screened plant species was used as edible, pasture and cattle feed, while 40% of them was used for curing digestive system disorders regarding medical use. The most organ used by indigenous people for traditional curing of these plants was leaves. Results of vegetation survey demonstrated that the highest cultivated outdoor plant was Ocimum basilicum in three districts, while Catha edulis showed to be the highest cultivated field plant in three areas and the most available indigenous plants species in three districts were Fagonia indica, Peganum harmala and Aerva javanica. These results will be helpful and basis for further biological and pharmacological investigations in future.

A collection of 70 Burkholderia cepacia complex isolates, recovered from clinical, water, and agricultural resources in China in our previous studies, were tested to assess their potential pathogenicity and association of biofilm formation with pathogenicity. The pathogenicity was tested in the alternative infection models alfalfa, detached lettuce midrib, Galleria mellonella (wax moth), rat agar bead, and lettuce intact leaves. Severe to moderate pathogenicity were observed for isolates of clinical and water origin compared to agricultural isolates, with the exception of a few clinical isolates exhibiting reduced pathogenicity. Virulent isolates persisted in rat lungs until 21 days post infection causing histopathological changes like inflammation, while in lettuce midrib tissues invasion, localization, and replication of bacteria were observed. Biofilm formation ability was also documented in high frequency among water and clinical virulent isolates compared to agricultural isolates. Although variations in pathogenicity were observed for a few isolates, results obtained from different model systems including lettuce were consistent. Our studies indicate that water and clinical isolates showed severe virulence and strong biofilm formation ability compared to agricultural isolates. The results also show lettuce as a promising infection model not only to study the pathogenicity factors used by Bcc bacteria but also for characterization the in vivo transcriptional profile for different niches adaptation of this opportunistic pathogen.

The objective of this study was to examine the efficacy of the aqueous extract of ginger (Zingiber officinale) against Streptococcus pyogenes bacterium, known to be the causative agent of tonsillitis. The most effective concentrations of the extracts under study in inhibiting bacterial colonies were determined. The effect of the fresh plant extract with the dried plant extract against these bacteria was compared. Both fresh and dried ginger rhizomes were used to prepare aqueous extracts. These extracts were then diluted to create different concentrations (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). The diluted extracts were evaluated on bacterial colonies using the agar well diffusion method. Subsequently, the diameter of the area where growth was inhibited was measured and compared for the different amounts of both fresh and dried plant extracts. The study shows that the aqueous ginger extracts possess antibacterial properties against Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria obtained from the tonsils. The activity of these extracts against bacterial colony growth increases with increasing concentration. The results also show that the fresh ginger extract exhibited stronger inhibitory effects compared to the dried ginger extract for all the concentrations that were tested.

A novel N-isopropylidine hydrazinedithiocarbamate Schiff base [(CH3)2C=Hy-dtc] was used as stabilizer ligand for three homotrinuclear metal complexes prepared by condensation of ammonium hydrazinedithiocarbamate and acetone and to use them into insitu reactions with metal chloride salts (M) in 3 : 2 molar ratio [M :L] in ethanol solution to yield Schiff base homotrinuclear metal complexes of the general formula is {M3[(CH3)2C=Hy dtc]2(Cl)2(H2O)2} where M refers to Co(II) (1), Ni(II) (2) and Cu(II) (3). The structures of the metal complexes were characterized using elemental analysis, molar conductivity, FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility measurements as well as MM2 theoretical calculations. The FT-IR spectra data suggest the Schiff base acts as a tetradentate attachment. Results confirmed that configuration around the central metal ion is the square planer and configuration around the two terminal metal ions distorted tetrahedral and their ammonium hydrazinedithiocarbamate ligand and Schiff base metal complexes showed different levels of in vitro inhibition activity against two bacterial species they Staphylococcus aureus (G+) and Escherichia coli (G-)