Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.
Summary In the context of a recent massive increase in research on plant root functions and their impact on the environment, root ecologists currently face many important challenges to keep on generating cutting‐edge, meaningful and integrated knowledge. Consideration of the below‐ground components in plant and ecosystem studies has been consistently called for in recent decades, but methodology is disparate and sometimes inappropriate. This handbook, based on the collective effort of a large team of experts, will improve trait comparisons across studies and integration of information across databases by providing standardised methods and controlled vocabularies. It is meant to be used not only as starting point by students and scientists who desire working on below‐ground ecosystems, but also by experts for consolidating and broadening their views on multiple aspects of root ecology. Beyond the classical compilation of measurement protocols, we have synthesised recommendations from the literature to provide key background knowledge useful for: (1) defining below‐ground plant entities and giving keys for their meaningful dissection, classification and naming beyond the classical fine‐root vs coarse‐root approach; (2) considering the specificity of root research to produce sound laboratory and field data; (3) describing typical, but overlooked steps for studying roots (e.g. root handling, cleaning and storage); and (4) gathering metadata necessary for the interpretation of results and their reuse. Most importantly, all root traits have been introduced with some degree of ecological context that will be a foundation for understanding their ecological meaning, their typical use and uncertainties, and some methodological and conceptual perspectives for future research. Considering all of this, we urge readers not to solely extract protocol recommendations for trait measurements from this work, but to take a moment to read and reflect on the extensive information contained in this broader guide to root ecology, including sections I–VII and the many introductions to each section and root trait description. Finally, it is critical to understand that a major aim of this guide is to help break down barriers between the many subdisciplines of root ecology and ecophysiology, broaden researchers’ views on the multiple aspects of root study and create favourable conditions for the inception of comprehensive experiments on the role of roots in plant and ecosystem functioning.
Amanda Sengeløv, Giacomo Capuzzo, Sarah Dalle
et al.
Understanding the spatial distribution of strontium isotopes in plants or other archives within a region is crucial for various fields, including archaeology, environmental studies, food sciences and forensic science. This study aims to create a detailed dynamic strontium isoscape for Belgium through high-density plant sampling, presented in a web application (IsoBel) that serves the mentioned research fields. A total of 540 plant samples (199 locations), representing various species of grass, shrubs, and trees across Belgium were collected and were analysed for their strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) to create a first biologically available strontium map. Sampling sites were selected to cover diverse lithological formations and soil types, ensuring representative coverage of the region’s geological heterogeneity, by using a novel high density grid mapping method. Sixty-four previously published plants from 21 locations are also included in this study, bringing the total amount of plant samples used to 604 from 220 locations. The results reveal significant variations in 87Sr/86Sr across Belgium (ranging from 0.7054 to 0.7259), which reflect the underlying lithology and geological processes (tectonics, weathering,…) which shaped the landscape. Although overlapping 87Sr/86Sr is seen across the majority of lithologies, there is a statistically significant difference between the distribution of 87Sr/86Sr values across all different lithological units in Belgium (Kruskal-Wallis test; p < 0.0001). Distinct regional patterns were observed, with higher 87Sr/86Sr in the older geological south-eastern part of Belgium, compared to the younger north-western parts. The high-density plant sampling approach employed in this study allowed for enhanced spatial resolution and improved accuracy in the predictive surfaces for bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr created by Empirical Bayesian Kriging (EBK). These findings provide valuable insights into the geographic distribution of strontium isotopes within Belgium and offer a foundation for future studies in archaeology, ecology, environmental studies, food sciences and forensics. Furthermore, the extensive coverage of various plant species provided a robust representation of the local ecosystems and their strontium sources. Overall, this study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on regional strontium isoscapes, enhancing our understanding of the complex interplay between litho- and biosphere in shaping the strontium isotope compositions of ecosystems.
Gulnaz Kahar, Yakupjan Haxim, Xuechun Zhang
et al.
Chitinases are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of chitin and play a significant biophysiological role in fungal growth, development, and pathogenesis. <i>Valsa mali</i> is a necrotrophic fungus that is a primary contributor to apple <i>Valsa</i> canker. Our study focused on the identification of chitinase gene families from <i>V. mali</i> and the analysis of their expression profiles during infection and nutritional growth. A phylogenetic analysis and conservation of catalytic domains were used to classify these genes into three classes, and their chromosome distribution was random. The qRT-PCR analysis identified five differentially expressed VmGH18 genes during infection and nutritional growth. GH18 chitinases use glutamate, whereas VmGH18-4 (VM1G_05900) and VmGH18-10 (VM1G_03597) use glutamine as the catalytic motif. To further test whether it can induce cell death in apple, the recombinant protein was produced in <i>E. coli</i>. It showed that the purified VmGH18-4 recombinant protein retained cell-death inducing activity, and it could also induce cell death in apple. But the enzyme activity shows that neither VmGH18-4 nor VmGH18-10 have chitinases enzyme activity. These results suggest that VmGH18-4 can elicit cell death in multiple plant species, while VmGH18-10 cannot.
Vladimir K. Chebotar, Maria S. Gancheva, Elena P. Chizhevskaya
et al.
Some strains of <i>Bacillus vallismortis</i> have been reported to be efficient biocontrol agents against tomato pathogens. The aim of our study was to assess the biocontrol ability of the endophytic strain BL01 <i>Bacillus vallismortis</i> through in vitro and field trials, as well as to verify its plant colonization ability and analyze the bacterial genome in order to find genes responsible for the biocontrol activity. We demonstrated in a gnotobiotic system and by confocal laser microscopy that the endophytic strain BL01 was able to colonize the endosphere and rhizosphere of tomato, winter wheat and oilseed rape. In vitro experiments demonstrated the inhibition activity of BL01 against a wide range of phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria. BL01 showed biological efficacy in two-year field experiments with tomato plants against black bacterial spotting by 40–70.8% and against late blight by 47.1% and increased tomato harvest by 24.9% or 10.9 tons per hectare compared to the control. Genome analysis revealed the presence of genes that are responsible for the synthesis of biologically active secondary metabolites, which could be responsible for the biocontrol action. Strain BL01 <i>B. vallismortis</i> can be considered an effective biocontrol agent to control both fungal and bacterial diseases in tomato plants.
A field experiment was carried out in the research farm of the Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidhyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India during Kharif season of 2021-22. The experiment was performed with nine treatments comprised by Rhizobium, Pseudomonas, EM and their consortia with FUI and UFUI (absolute control) in randomized block design. The soybean crop was grown in the field along with recommended package of practices. The result showed that the yield of soybean was 43% higher (2351 kg ha -1) than control FUI and better uptake of N (145 kg ha-1 by seed and 125.6 kg ha-1 by straw), P (7.9 kg ha-1 by seed and 14.9 kg ha-1 by straw) and K (42.3 kg ha-1 by seed and 65.0 kg ha-1 by straw) by soybean were found due to inoculation of microbial consortia of Rhizobium, Pseudomonas and EM culture. The Physico-chemical properties (pH, EC and OC), availability of nutrients (NPK with vales of 288, 29 and 335 kg ha-1 respectively), enzymatic activities (Acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase and dehydrogenase activities with values of 42.2, 69. 8 µg PNG h-1 g-1 of soil and 12.9 μg TPF hr-1 g-1 of soil, respectively) and microbial population (Rhizobium by 35.1×106, total bacteria by 39.3×107, fungi by 41.9×104 and actinomycetes by 38.7×103 cfu g-1 soil) in soil also improved with the same treatment as compared to FUI. It is strongly recommended that the inoculation of microbial consortia improved the soil health and soybean production too instead of single inoculation by modulating microbial population which improves the soil health by nutrient fixation, solubilization and mobilization and plant growth promotion.
Víctor Gutiérrez-González, Gisela Gerardi, Pilar Muñiz
et al.
Hyperglycemia is a significant risk factor in metabolic syndrome, contributing to the development of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus. Hyperglycemia increases ROS (reactive oxygen species) production via glucose oxidation and protein glycosylation, leading to cell damage. Our previous studies have highlighted the antioxidant properties of wine pomace products (wWPPs), a co-product of winemaking, and their ability to modulate oxidative stress. The objective of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of wWPPs against oxidative stress in hyperglycemic Caco-2 cells. They were treated with 1.5 μg GAE/mL of wWPP bioaccessible fractions, obtained from gastrointestinal digestion (WPGI) and colonic fermentation (WPF), under normoglycemic or hyperglycemic (35 mM glucose) conditions. After 24 h of treatment, cell viability, oxidative stress biomarkers and the expression of transcription factors and enzymes involved in cellular oxidation balance were evaluated. Hyperglycemia induced a 30% reduction in cell viability, which was restored to normoglycemic levels by WPF treatment. The bioaccessible fractions were able to counteract hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress in intestinal cells, as evidenced by significant decreases in carbonyl groups and MDA levels (10 and 40%, respectively). Furthermore, hyperglycemia-induced NF-κB overexpression was also significantly reduced by WPGI and WPF pre-treatment (between 15 and 53%), modulating the redox activity. In conclusion, the bioaccessible fractions of wWPP, particularly WPF, demonstrated significant potential in mitigating hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and enhancing cell viability in Caco-2 cells.
The NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) transcription factor family is one of the largest families unique to plants and is involved in plant growth and development, organs, morphogenesis, and stress responses. The NAC family has been identified in many plants. As the main source of resistance genes for sugarcane breeding, the NAC gene family in the wild species Saccharum spontaneum has not been systematically studied. In this study, 115 SsNAC genes were identified in the S. spontaneum genome, and these genes were heterogeneously distributed on 25 chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis divided the SsNAC family members into 18 subgroups, and the gene structure and conserved motif analysis further supported the phylogenetic classification. Four groups of tandemly duplicated genes and nine pairs of segmentally duplicated genes were detected. The SsNAC gene has different expression patterns at different developmental stages of stems and leaves. Further qRT–PCR analysis showed that drought, low-temperature, salinity, pathogenic fungi, and other stresses as well as abscisic acid (ABA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatments significantly induced the expression of 12 SsNAC genes, indicating that these genes may play a key role in the resistance of S. spontaneum to biotic and abiotic stresses. In summary, the results from this study provide comprehensive information on the NAC transcription factor family, providing a reference for further functional studies of the SsNAC gene.
The community forests of Nepal are a showcase of participatory forest management models to the global communities. However, the scenario of formation trend and their future formation potential is unknown. This paper presents 40 years of community forests (CF) formation trend in Nepal and discusses its potential formation scenario. The researchers have used updated data (mid-July, 2020) for trend analysis using Mann-Kendall and Sen's slope coefficient test. The policy provision of women participation and their actual involvement in the executive committee (EC) of community forests users' group (CFUG) has also been compared. The analysis showed 22,519 CF with an area of 2,312,545 hectares of national forests being managed by 3,088,259 households (HH). This constitutes 15.67% of the total land area, 34.98% of total forested area, 56.90% of total HH, and 62.68% of the total population of Nepal being involved in CF. Though the formation trend of CF and their respective area, HH involvement, EC members, and participation of women in EC was in increasing trend in the late 1990s to early 2000s, these variables are now decreasing. Although not statistically significant (p>0.05), the overall annual growth shows a negative trend, indicating the CF formation near the saturation point. Result reveals efforts and time to be invested in the management of CF rather than investing in a new formation. Moreover, results evident that CF ensures and obtains more than 50% women involvement both in policy and practice in the decision-making process for participatory common resource management in Nepal. Results would be a reference to policy guidance related to sustainable CF management and gender-inclusive participatory common resource management. This, again, would be a good example of a gender-inclusive natural resource management model to the other sectors in Nepal and to the global community.