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Drought stress reduces crop productivity and harms cereals on morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. Yet, exogenous application of certain active compounds like putrescine may mitigate these drought-related consequences. In this study, five distinct drought treatments (0, − 2, − 4, − 6, and − 8 bar) and four distinct priming treatments with putrescine (0, 0.01, 0.1, and 1 mM) were used. According to the findings of the enzyme activity, the activities of enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) all reduced when the plants were subjected to drought stress; however, it was determined that the putrescine treatment at − 2 bar PEG6000 resulted in an increase in the activity of CAT. iPBS (inter-primer binding site) markers were employed to detect cytosine methylation in treated wheat plants (Triticum monococcum L). The results confirmed that DNA methylation alterations were triggered by drought stress. The study revealed a positive correlation between drought intensity and cytosine methylation levels, while it was found that the application of putrescine resulted in a decrease in methylation levels and conferred a protective effect against drought-induced stress. Moreover, results of in silico docking that showed putrescine can bind to DNA methyltransferase2, that is, the decrease in DNA methylation may be related to this. Drought-stressed wheat is less methylated after being treated with putrescine, according to in silico docking and CRED-iPBS data. Testing the protective effects of polyamines on plants is an area that needs further attention.

The dyes Auramine and Auramine O are used in several industrial products, despite the scarce information regarding their ecotoxicity. The aim of the present study was to assess the acute and chronic toxicity of both dyes to aquatic organisms from different trophic levels ( Raphidocelis subcapitata , Daphnia similis , Hydra attenuata , and Danio rerio ) and calculate their predicted non-effect concentrations (PNEC). Auramine and Auramine O induced toxicity to all selected test organisms with L(E)C50 values ranging from 300 to 4800 ug/L. Both dyes induced inhibition in the growth rate of exposed algae, negatively affecting the reproduction of D. similis and induced deformities in H. attenuata (clubbed tentacles and shortened tentacles) and D. rerio (edemas, tail malformation and delay in yolk sac absorption). PNEC values of 0.92 μg/L and 4.0 μg/L were obtained for Auramine and Auramine O, respectively, based on results of the most sensitive test system (algae). Test results were analyzed using the Criteria of Reporting and Evaluating Ecotoxicity Data (CRED), confirming their reliability and relevance. Thus, PNEC values can be used in future risk assessments of those substances in freshwater systems.

Diploid species with desirable traits among wheat's wild relatives have a high potential for crop modification. DNA methylation is one of the significant epigenetic alterations that is linked to the pattern of gene expression and contributes to genetic instability. The coupled restriction enzyme digestion-random amplification technique and five randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were used to study methylation changes in two Einkorn wheat genotypes, including H9 (collected from Ravansar region) and S10 (collected from Sanandaj region) and four soil water availability treatments included control, mild, moderate and severe stress (irrigation at 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% of field capacity, respectively) in two stages (14 days after water deficiency and 14 days after re-watering). The experiment was laid out as a 4 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment within a completely randomized design replicated three times. Measured physiological traits included relative leaf water content (RWC), maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), and stomatal conductance. The results showed that the lowest RWC, Fv/Fm, and stomatal conductance were related to the severe stress treatment. RWC and Fv/Fm were significantly lower in moisture stress compared to the re-watering stage. Additionally, the S10 genotype demonstrated greater drought tolerance than H9. In reaction to severe water deprivation, distinct methylation patterns were seen in different replications of each treatment. This could be because every plant reacts to stress and epigenetic modifications differently. After the stress was removed from the segments that had changed their methylation patterns as a result of water shortage, the majority of them went back to how they had been before the stress, indicating that methylation alterations in the genome are reversible.

Conditions of environmental stress are known to lead genetic and epigenetic variability in plants. DNA methylation is one of the important epigenetic mechanisms and plays a critical role in epigenetic control of gene expression. Thus, the aim of the study was to investigate the alteration of genome methylation induced by zinc stress by using coupled restriction enzyme digestion-random amplification (CRED-RA) technique in maize ( Zea mays L.) seedlings. In addition, to determine the effect of zinc on mitotic activity and phytohormone level, high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mitotic index analysis were utilized. According to the results, mitotic index decreased in all concentrations of zinc except for 5 mM dose and chromosome aberrations such as c-mitosis, stickiness, and anaphase bridges were determined. It was also observed that increasing concentrations of zinc caused an increase in methylation patterns and decrease in gibberellic acid (GA), zeatin (ZA), and indole acetic acid (IAA) levels in contrast to abscisic acid (ABA) level. Especially increasing of ABA levels under zinc stress may be a part of the defense system against heavy metal accumulation in plants.

This paper examines and contrasts two closely related evolutionary explanations in human behaviour: signalling theory, and the theory of Credibility Enhancing Displays (CREDs). Both have been proposed to explain costly, dangerous, or otherwise ‘extravagant’ social behaviours, especially in the context of religious belief and practice, and each have spawned significant lines of empirical research. However, the relationship between these two theoretical frameworks is unclear, and research which engages both of them (especially in systematic comparison) is largely absent. In this paper we seek to address this gap at the theoretical level, examining the core differences between the two approaches and prospects and conditions for future empirical testing. We clarify the dynamical and mechanistic bases of signalling and CREDs as explanatory models and contrast the previous uses to which they have been put in the human sciences. Because of idiosyncrasies regarding those uses (especially with signalling), several commonly supposed differences and comparative advantages are actually misleading and not in fact generalisable. We also show that signalling and CREDs theories as explanatory models are not interchangeable (or reducible to one another), because of deep structural differences. As we illustrate, the proposed causal networks of each theory are distinct, with important differences in the endogeneity of various phenomena within each model and their explanatory targets. As a result, they can be seen as complementary rather than in competition. We conclude by surveying the current state of the literature and identifying the differential predictions which could underpin more comprehensive empirical comparison in future research.

Mammalian sex hormones are steroid-structured compounds that support the growth and development of plants at low concentrations. Since they affect the physiological processes in plants, it has been thought that mammalian sex hormones may cause modifications to plant genomes and epigenetics. This study aims to determine whether different mammalian sex hormones (17 β-estradiol, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) in several concentrations (0, 10−4, 10−6, and 10−8 mM) affect genetic or epigenetic levels in bean plants, using in vitro tissue cultures from plumule explants. We investigated levels of DNA damage, changes in DNA methylation and DNA stability in common bean exposed to mammalian sex hormones (MSH) using inter-primer binding site (iPBS) and Coupled Restriction Enzyme Digestion-iPBS (CRED-iPBS) assays, respectively. The highest rate of polymorphism in iPBS profiles was observed when 10−4 mM of estrogen (52.2%) hormone was administered. This finding indicates that genetic stability is reduced. In the CRED-iPBS profile, which reveals the methylation level associated with the DNA cytosine nucleotide, 10−4 mM of estrogen hormone exhibited the highest hypermethylation value. Polymorphism was observed in all hormone administrations compared to the control (without hormone), and it was determined that genomic stability was decreased at high concentrations. Taken together, the results indicate that 17 β-estradiol, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in bean plants affect genomic instability and cause epigenetic modifications, which is an important control mechanism in gene expression.

Two new hole transporting materials, named HTM 1A and HTM 1B, were designed and synthesized in significant yields using the well-known Buchwald Hartwig and Suzuki cross- coupling reactions. Both materials showed higher decomposition temperatures (over 450 °C) at 5% weight reduction and HTM 1B exhibited a higher glass transition temperature of 180 °C. Red phosphorescence-based OLED devices were fabricated to analyze the device performances compared to Spiro-NPB and NPB as reference hole transporting materials. Devices consist of hole transporting material as HTM 1B showed better maximum current and power efficiencies of 16.16 cd/A and 11.17 lm/W, at the same time it revealed an improved external quantum efficiency of 13.64%. This efficiency is considerably higher than that of Spiro-NPB and NPB-based reference devices.

AbstractIn this study, physiological and molecular changes caused by different concentrations of tetraconazole were investigated in barley. The analyzes were carried out 7 days after the application of tetraconazole to the seedlings. In physiological analysis, root and shoot length, water loss rate (WLR) and ion leakage were assessed. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were detected overall in tetraconazole treated plantlets. Similarly, increased concentrations of tetraconazole led to no scientifically significant differences on experiment sets. WRKY9, WRKY33 and WRKY34 genes expression showed no alteration in response to increased concentrations of tetraconazole. Tetraconazole also did not induce DNA alterations with 91.13% GTS and DNA methylation polymorphism ratios, with ranges from 5.7 to 6.8% based on RAPD and CRED-RA, respectively. This is the first report that tetraconazole has no negative effects on barley at the physiological and molecular level and seems to be safe and friendly fungicide.

Among natural disasters, droughts can affect a large area for a prolonged period of time. If a drought happens, an appropriate response requires a lot of time and manpower from beginning to end, and continuous management is necessary for further prevention. Using data on drought damages from 1900 to 2018 in 148 countries in six continents around the world, this study was able to set quantitative standards for mega-droughts. According to data on the status of annual drought damages, the frequency of drought damages (1900–2018) and the subsequent damage costs (1965–2018) are increasing, while human losses (1900–2018) are decreasing. Additionally, Africa had the highest frequency of drought damages, while Africa and Asia were ranked at the top of the list in terms of human losses and damage costs, respectively. Droughts persisted for continuous periods ranging from 1 to 17 years, and the total number of cases involving drought damage was estimated to be 600 in total, with total human losses of 11,731,294 people and total accumulated damage costs of$17,367,007,000. This study provided quantitative standards for the frequency of drought damages, human losses, and damage costs for mega-droughts in consideration of continuous drought periods. This study set the quantitative standards for a mega-drought as follows: (1) if drought damages continue to occur in a country for more than seven years, (2) if human losses continue to occur in a country for more than seven years, and (3) if mean annual damage costs of $ 17,000,000 continue to occur in a country for more than seven years.