Plant Fragments Research Articles

Spontaneous cecal perforation in a cat diagnosed with ultrasonography.

An 8-year-old cat was presented for an acute history of anorexia, marked abdominal pain, and hyperthermia. Ultrasonography showed a cecal perforation with focal steatitis and adjacent free gas bubbles, consistent with focal peritonitis. Surgery confirmed the imaging findings. An enterectomy was performed with the removal of the cecum and ileocolic valve, and anastomosis between the ileum and colon was performed. Histology revealed transmural enteritis and chronic severe pyogranulomatous peritonitis with intralesional plant fragments.

Forecasting and alert of atmospheric bioaerosol concentration profile based on adaptive genetic algorithm back propagation neural network, atmospheric parameter and fluorescence lidar

Bioaerosols are biologically originated particles in the atmosphere, which is mainly composed of bacteria, fungi, viruses, pollen, spores, and the fragmentation and disintegration of plants and animals. Bioaerosols are easy to be spread in the lower atmosphere and cause various epidemic diseases, which is harmful to human health. The forecasting and alert of bioaerosols have important scientific significance and reality needs. In this paper, a method is proposed for estimating and predicting the concentration profile of atmospheric bioaerosols using fluorescence lidar observational data. Using the powerful nonlinear prediction ability of artificial neural networks and through repeated training, a mathematical model can be established for the relationship among atmospheric environment, meteorological parameters, and bioaerosol concentration profiles. The input parameters are temperature and humidity, aerosol extinction coefficient, backscatter coefficient, PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO, O3, and wind speed, and outputs the concentration profile of bioaerosols. The prediction results with the measurement relative deviation of genetic algorithm back propagation (GA-BP) neural network and adaptive genetic algorithm back propagation (AGA-BP) neural network were analyzed. The results indicate that the AGA-BP neural network can effectively predict the concentration distribution of bioaerosols, and the predicted concentrations of bioaerosols are 1793 particles × m−3, 3088 particles × m−3, 5261 particles × m−3, 7410 particles × m−3 and 9133 particles × m−3 for air quality with superior, fine, mild contamination, middle level pollution and heavy pollution at an altitude of 0.315 km, respectively. We found that the predicted concentration of pollution weather is much higher than that of good weather. Furthermore, the AGA-BP neural network was used to predict the concentration profiles of atmospheric bioaerosols under different weather conditions, which provided a new research method for forecasting and alert of atmospheric bioaerosols.

High water levels and low light co-inhibit colonization of fragments from the clonal invader Alternanthera philoxeroides

Natural disturbances and human activities frequently fragment aquatic plants. Vegetative fragments of invasive clonal plants have a high capacity for colonization and regrowth, which results in rapid spreading of these plants. A case study was conducted to explore the effects of the water level and light on the colonization and regrowth of a clonal invasive plant – Alternanthera philoxeroides. In the study, the growth of 10-cm-long fragments of A. philoxeroides was followed in three water levels (0, 2, and 10 cm) and two light conditions (10% and 80% of natural light). Results showed that total biomass of A. philoxeroides under all treatments except 10% of natural light and 10 cm of water level was higher than the initial biomass, which suggested that fragments of A. philoxeroides can regrow under most conditions. However, treatments of high water levels and low light inhibited regrowth, clonal expansion, and vegetative propagation of clonal fragments by reducing their total biomass, number of nodes and storage root biomass. Creating habitats of high water levels and low light, for example, by planting native emergent aquatic plants, can hamper the spread of this clonal invader. Our study contributes a new perspective to controlling the spread of invasive clonal plants by creating habitats that inhibit the colonization of invasive plant propagules.

Endophytic fungi from medicinal plant Garcinia cowa Roxb. ex Choisy and their antibacterial activity

Endophytic fungi grow inside plant tissues and produce biologically active substances without harming the host plant. Endophytic fungi isolated from the roots, barks, and leaves of Garcinia cowa Roxb. ex Choisy, an ethnomedicinal plant commonly used in West Sumatera, Indonesia, are the focus of this research, which aims to evaluate their antibacterial activity. Traditional medicine has made extensive use of this plant’s various parts. In total, 14 endophytic fungal isolates were obtained from plant fragments of G. cowa that had undergone surface sterilization. After four to six weeks of cultivation in rice medium, the fungus isolate was extracted with ethyl acetate (EtOAc). Each EtOAc extract of fungus was tested for antimicrobial activity using Kirby–Bauer diffusion against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Methicillin Resistant S. aureus, and Candida albicans. The measurement results of the inhibition zone indicate that the GCA3 isolate of endophytic fungi exhibited significant inhibitory diameters and demonstrated potential as an antibacterial agent. The GCA3 strain showed an inhibition diameter zone of 15.05 } 0.51 mm against S. aureus, 14.68 } 0.5 mm against E. coli, and 13.48 } 0.15 mm against MRSA. None of the fungi extracts can inhibit the growth of C. albicans. The fungus GCA3 has been determined to be identical to Penicillium citrinum through macroscopic, microscopic, and molecular identification methods. The findings indicate that endophytic fungi from the Garcinia plant can generate antibacterial compounds. Hence, additional investigation is required to separate these bioactive compounds.

Karakterisasi dan Potensi Ekstrak Daun Paitan (Tithonia diversifolia) sebagai Penolak Nyamuk Aedes aegypti

The paitan plant (Tithonia diversifolia) contains alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins and phenolics which have the potential to prevent Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF). This plant also has various insecticidal activities. In society, there are many mentions of the paitan plant, so people need to know the characteristics of this paitan plant. The aim of this research is to determine the morphological characterization and specific fragments of the paitan plant, as well as to determine the activity and effective concentration of the ethanol extract of paitan leaves as a repellent for the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Two types of methods were used, namely descriptive qualitative for observing morphology, specific fragments, pollen, and phytochemical screening, and experimental methods for mosquito repellent testing, and calculating the protective power of the ethanol extract of paitan leaves. The results obtained are flowers consisting of two shapes, namely ribbon flowers in the outer circle, infertile, and tube shapes in the inner circle. Stomata are anomocytic type, while trichomes are non-glandular multicellular type. Pollen characteristics, namely small size, colpate, number 3, aperture shaped trizonocolpate with echinate ornamentation. The screening results for the ethanol extract of paitan leaves were positive for containing metabolite compounds, such as flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, terpenoids and phenolics. The results of the mosquito repellent test showed that the higher the concentration of the extract, the fewer mosquitoes that landed. Calculation of protective power shows that the most effective concentration in repelling mosquitoes is 15%, namely 93.64%. The conclusion is that paitan (Tithonia diversifolia) leaf extract has potential activity as a repellent against Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with the most effective concentration being 15%.

Luminescence dating of sand matrices within gravelly fluvial deposits: Assessing the plausibility of beta dose rate calculation

Dating of gravelly fluvial deposits is typically hampered by the absence of suitable plant fragments for radiocarbon dating or sand layers for luminescence dating. Although gravelly fluvial deposits generally contain sand-sized quartz and feldspar that could be used for luminescence dating, the considerable grain-to-grain variability in beta dose rate, coupled with the lack of methods for routine dose rate estimation, presents challenges. In this study, a recently proposed model for calculating average beta dose rates in granular matrices was modified to be applicable to sand-sized dosimeter grains within gravelly deposits. We applied the modified model to sand-sized K-rich feldspars within sand matrices obtained from gravelly fluvial deposits in the Tokachi Plain, northern Japan, and compared the ages of samples obtained from sand matrices with those from sand lenses. Although the weight of <2 mm grains accounted for only 20%–35% of the bulk sediment, these grains were estimated to contribute approximately 70% of the external beta dose rate according to the model, because larger grains have a larger self-dose. Taking into account that the beta dose to dosimeter grains is mainly derived from smaller matrices (e.g. <2 mm), beta dose rates were also calculated based on the infinite matrix dose rate of the <2 mm fraction, along with the conventional water correction method. The ages of sand matrices calculated based on the beta dose rates derived from both the model and the infinite matrix dose rate of the <2 mm fraction were generally consistent with those of sand lenses. The dose rate calculated based on the model might be more accurate than that calculated using the infinite matrix dose rate of <2 mm fraction, but calculating the beta dose rate using the infinite matrix dose rate of <2 mm fraction is useful as a simple approach.

Freshwater microconchids from the Tanzhuang Formation (Middle-Late Triassic) in North China

We describe aggregative microconchid tubes from Middle-Late Triassic lacustrine strata of the Tanzhuang Formation in the Jiyuan-Yima Basin, North China. These microconchid tubes are attached to plant fragments and are preserved with bivalves, ostracodes, phyllostachys, gastropods, and coleoptera fragments. The findings confirm that the extinct lophophorate group inhabited non-marine continental basins. Microconchids dispersed extensively in continental basins and became common in lacustrine strata during Middle-Late Triassic. Its expansion may have been promoted by the recovery of the land ecosystem in the aftermath of the end-Permian crisis.

Advancement in Tissue Culture Techniques for Fruit Crops

Tissue culture is a highly promising approach that enables the efficient propagation of many plants from tiny fragments of the parent plant within a relatively brief timeframe and confined area. Tissue culture, a contemporary approach, is primarily employed for the efficient and extensive replication of many commercially significant plant species, such as the date palm. Utilizing the tissue culture technique presents a potential approach for generating a substantial quantity of genetically homogeneous palm plants that resemble other plants and yield typical fruit within four years from initial planting. Furthermore, this technique allows to produce date palm plants devoid of diseases, exhibiting an exceptionally high survival rate of nearly 100% when compared to the traditional vegetative propagation of shoots, owing to the robustness of their root system. The process of surface sterilization holds significant importance in the production of explants for in vitro studies, as it effectively addresses the issue of bacterial and fungal contamination originating from field sources, which might vary considerably across different fruit plant species. The efficacy of tissue culture techniques for date palm acclimatization in vitro is contingent upon the observation of leaf count prior to transplantation in the greenhouse. Hence, the primary objective of this study was to investigate the determinants that govern the tissue culture of fruit trees. India is known for being the native land of various fruit crops that are both significant and minor in terms of their importance. These crops include Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis Gaertn.), Karonda (Carissa carandas L.), Bael (Aegle marmelos Corr.), Jamun (Syzygium cuminii L.), and jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L.), etc. These fruits possess considerable nutritional, medicinal, and therapeutic value, making them highly valuable in commercial sectors such as medicine, food, and cosmetics. The limited availability of suitable planting materials imposes constraints on the commercial production process for these crops. Using plant tissue culture techniques holds promise in substantially augmenting the number of novel cultivars or genotypes inside fruit crops. The primary aim of this review study is to consolidate and synthesize the extant body of knowledge about the tissue culture techniques employed in cultivating various fruit crops.

Neutral saccharides and hemicellulose over two urban sites in Indo-Gangetic Plain and Central Europe during winter

Saccharides are ubiquitous organic compounds that are omnipresent in nature and are considered tracers of aerosol sources. Saccharides and hemicellulose were analyzed in the aerosols of two polluted regions (Allahabad, India and Sosnowiec, Poland). The chemical compositions of the compounds and their abundances were significantly different at the two sites. Levoglucosan was the most dominant saccharide present at both sites. Galactosan, anhydroglucofuranose, mannosan, glucose, arabitol, D-pinitol, sucrose, and trehalose were found in Allahabad samples in high abundance but were significantly lower than levoglucosan. Mannosan, galactosan, arabinose, glycerol, and sucrose were significant compounds in Sosnowiec after dominating levoglucosan. The major sources of saccharides present in the Allahabad aerosols are hardwood and agricultural waste-burning emissions, whereas those at Sosnowiec are attributed to the burning of softwood (mainly gymnosperm trees), pine needles, or sporadically grass during the winter. Further, the chemical characteristics of hemicellulose remnants present in ambient aerosol at the Indian and European sites were analyzed and discussed. At both locations, hemicellulose was found using methanolysis of the filter samples; however, its state of preservation was poor. We believe that the primary sources of hemicellulose remnants are incomplete wood burning, crop straw, grass burning, or plant debris. Relatively poor preservation is associated with partial hemicellulose degradation when exposed to elevated temperatures or due to the oxidation and microbial degradation of plant fragments.

Investigating the Architecture and Characteristics of Asian Hornet Nests: A Biomimetics Examination of Structure and Materials.

This study investigates the internal architecture of Asian hornet nests (AHNs) using advanced imaging techniques, such as CT scanning and X-ray radiography, to understand their construction and function. The primary objective and significance of this study centre on drawing inspiration from the creative way Asian hornets construct their nests, with a particular focus on the architecture, design, functionality, and building materials of these nests. The architectural principles governing the construction of these nests, such as the arrangement of hexagonal cells, pedicels for load bearing, and adhesive materials, serve as a source of inspiration for innovative and sustainable design practices. The pedicels in Asian hornet nests play a crucial role in transferring load and ensuring stability. Additionally, AHNs' adhesion to tree branches is essential for preventing collapse, and the pedicels provide necessary structural support. The knowledge gained from studying AHNs' internal architecture could be applied directly to the architecture and civil engineering fields to improve structure stability and durability. The microstructure analysis of the paper-like material that hornets produce to build their nests indicates a complex and heterogeneous structure, composed of various plant fragments and fibres. This unique composition creates intricate grooves and pores, which are essential for regulating temperature and humidity levels within the outer envelope of the nest. The study of Asian hornet nests' internal structure demonstrated that nature's engineering principles inspire the design of durable and resilient structures in the construction industry. Civil engineers can incorporate similar principles into their designs to enhance the structural integrity and performance of buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure.

Interactions between stoneworts (Charales) and waterbirds.

Stoneworts (Charales) are green algae that represent an important food resource for many waterbird species in Europe and elsewhere. Browsing avian herbivores (e.g. swan, goose, duck and coot species) consume Charales plant vegetative parts, by head-dipping, up-ending or diving. A lower fibre content and longer growing season may make Charales as attractive to such herbivores as sympatric submerged higher plant species in some circumstances. Charales respond to environmental stress (e.g. drought) by producing abundant diaspores, in the form of oospores (sexual) and bulbils (asexual), both rich in starch, generating abundant food for waterbirds at critical stages in their annual migratory cycles. Waterbirds feed on these by diving (e.g. common pochard Aythya ferina and red-crested pochard Netta rufina) or by filtering from the water column (e.g. dabbling duck species), ensuring dispersal of sexually produced and vegetative diaspores locally (because of predator swamping) and remotely (through endo- and ectozoochorous dispersal by long-distance migratory waterbirds). Greater invertebrate density and diversity associated with Charales canopies enhances their attractiveness over other submerged macrophyte beds to diving predators [e.g. tufted duck Aythya fuligula, common pochard and Eurasian coot Fulica atra (hereafter coot)]. Fish fry preying on these invertebrates use such vegetation as predator cover, in turn providing prey for avian piscivores such as grebes and cormorants. Abundant Charales contribute to maintaining a transparent water column due to canopy density, nutrient effects, dampening of sedimentation/remobilisation of suspended matter and nutrients and allelopathic effects on other plants (especially phytoplankton). Shallow, relatively eutrophic waters can flip between clear-water high-biodiversity (where Charales thrive) and turbid species-poor depauperate stable states (lacking Charales). Shifts between turbid conditions and rich submerged Charales beds have profound elevating effects on aquatic diversity, to which waterbirds show rapid aggregative responses, making them ideal indicator species of ecological change; in the case of Charales specialists (such as red-crested and common pochard), indicators of the presence and abundance of these plants. Large-bodied colonial nesting birds (e.g. cormorants, gulls, heron and egrets) aggregating along lake shores contribute high N and P loadings to water bodies sensitive to such external and internal inputs and can cause local eutrophication and potential loss of Charales. Despite variation from complete seasonal removal of Charales biomass to undetectable grazing effects by herbivorous birds, evidence suggests little effect of avian grazing on biomass accumulation or the stability of community composition (under otherwise stable conditions), but we urge more research on this under-researched topic. We also lack investigations of the relative foraging profitability of different Charales organs to waterbirds and the degree of viability of gyrogonites (fertilised and calcified oospores), vegetative bulbils and plant fragments after passage through the guts of waterbirds. We especially need to understand better how much the carbonate armour of these organs affects their viability/dispersal via waterbirds and urge more research on these neglected plants and their relationships and interactions with other organisms in the aquatic biota.

RECORD OF LINGULAPHOLIS (CRANIOPSIDAE, BRACHIOPODA) IN THE PIMENTEIRA FORMATION (DEVONIAN, PARNAÍBA BASIN)

The genus Lingulapholis had temporal and spatial restrictions during the Devonian, being found only in Colombia and the United States. In Brazil, its related taxa Craniops is common in the Amazonas, Paraná, and Parnaíba basins. New data from the cities of Picos and Itainópolis, east flank of Parnaíba Basin, led to the discovery of a yet previously undescribed brachiopod genus for this region of Gondwana. The Lingulapholis brachiopod was found associated with plant fragments under conditions of moderate to low hydrodynamic energy as indicated by ichnological assemblage, in proximal expressions of Cruziana ichnofacies alternated to Skolithos ichnofacies. The presence of Lingulapholis suggests that the Parnaíba Basin was inserted in the zone of diffuse faunal mixing during the Middle Devonian.

Identifikasi Berdasarkan Anatomi Tumbuhan Pakan dalam Feses Gajah Sumatra (Elephas maximus sumatranus) di Taman Nasional Way Kambas

The diversity of forage plant species for elephants can be analyzed by observing the anatomy of undigested plant fragments in the fecal. This study aims to identify forage plants from the fecal samples of Sumatran elephant in Way Kambas National Park. The research methods include collected fecal samples at Way Kambas National Park, prepared slide microscope of epidermis of the plant fragments using the whole mount method, observed the anatomical characters and identified the plant fragments based on data from previous studies and reference. The results obtained 34 types of epidermis which were differentiated based on the characteristics of epidermal cell, stomata and trichomes. These epidermis types were used to identify the plants forage by Sumatran elephants. We found leaf fragment of four families, namely Arecaceae, Cyperaceae, Poaceae and Zingiberaceae. The most common fragments found in the fecal samples were the leaf fragments of Poaceae (28 type epidermis). Anatomical study on the plant fragments in fecal can be used as an alternative method in studying plants consumed by elephant.

Bamboo Plantations for Phytoremediation of Cadmium in Tannery Effluent: Plant Response and Nutrient Uptake

The rapid development of the industrial sector led to a greater level of heavy metal Cadmium in recent years. Food and breathing are the primary waysthat Cadmium enters the body. Humans are exposed to long-term health hazards from Cadmium. Cadmium accumulates in immune cells, triggers inflammatoryresponses, and leads to a number of health problems. Compared to conventional physical and chemical techniques, phytoremediation is a useful, environmentallyadvantageous method of remediating contaminated soil. Among the different approaches available for phytoremediation, Phytoextraction is the most effective andsuccessful method since it gets rid of heavy metals. Some bamboo species have been recognized as the most promising species for sequestering carbon andpotentially impacting the phytoremediation of soils contaminated with heavy metals. This study aims to assess the growth patterns of the native Indian bamboospecies (Bambusa bambos, Bambusa vulgaris, and Bambusa balcooa) when exposed to metal-contaminated water, such as tannery effluent, in the Tiruchirappalli area.The ability of bamboo sp. to phytoextract Cadmium from contaminated soil has been demonstrated through experimentation, and its antimicrobial and anti-cancerpotency is tested after being subjected to phytoextraction since the heavy metals in the tannery effluent are predominantly carcinogenic. The laboratory conducteda preliminary study on bamboo plant growth to gauge its growth. To measure the tolerance of bamboo when being rinsed with a solution containing 100 mg Cd/l,the morphological characteristics, heavy metal uptake, and translocation potential of the three bamboo species were assessed. The distribution of Cadmium indifferent fragments of the bamboo plant has also been studied, along with the factors that affect the uptake mechanism. Among the native species, Bambusa bambosis found to have a greater phytoextraction capacity of heavy metals, especially Cadmium. The plant is also evaluated for its anticancer and antimicrobial activitiesfollowing phytoextraction so that the stem and other parts of Bambusa bambos have been used as indigenous medicine by the tribal people, and this could be due tothe presence of flavonoids and other associated compounds present in it.

Plant invasion and fragmentation indirectly and contrastingly affect native plants and grassland arthropods

Plant invasion and habitat fragmentation have a detrimental effect on biodiversity in nearly all types of ecosystems. We compared the direct and indirect effects of the invasion of the common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) on biodiversity patterns in different-sized Hungarian forest-steppe fragments. We assessed vegetation structure, measured temperature and soil moisture, and studied organisms with different ecological roles in invaded and non-invaded sites of fragments: plants, bees, butterflies, flower-visiting wasps, flies, true bugs, and spiders. Temperature and soil moisture were lower in invaded than in non-invaded area. Milkweed had a positive effect on plant species richness and flower abundance. In contrast, we mainly found indirect effects of invasion on arthropods through alteration of physical habitat characteristics and food resources. Pollinators were positively affected by native flowers, thus, milkweed indirectly supported pollinators. Similarly, we found higher species richness of herbivores in invaded sites than control sites, as species richness of true bugs also increased with increasing plant species richness. Predators were positively affected by complex vegetation structure, higher soil moisture and lower temperature. Furthermore, increasing fragment size had a strong negative effect on spider species richness of non-invaded sites, but no effect in invaded sites. Especially, grassland specialist spiders were more sensitive to fragment size than generalists, whereas generalist spider species rather profited from invasion. Although milkweed invades natural areas, we did not identify strong negative effects of its presence on the diversity of the grassland biota. However, the supportive effect of milkweed on a few generalist species homogenises the communities. The rate of invasion might increase with increasing fragmentation, therefore we recommend eliminating invasive plants from small habitat fragments to preserve the native biota. Focusing also on generalist species and revealing the indirect effects of invasions are essential for understanding the invasion mechanisms and would support restoration efforts.

Structure of coal-bearing sections of swampy coastal-marine lowlands of the Kama coal basin in the territory of the Tatarstan

The paper considers sections of the Visean coal-bearing formation of the Kama coal basin on the territory of the western slope of the South Tara arch. The sections are composed of coals, mudstones, siltstones, and sandstones, which were formed under continental conditions at the beginning of the Visean. The rocks of the coal-bearing formation were formed within the coastal shallow-marine plain with a lacustrine-marsh type of sedimentation. The formation of coals occurred during the formation of isolated swampy lakes on the surface of the floodplain lowlands. The source of organic matter was tree-like and herbaceous vegetation that develops in waterlogged lake water bodies in a hot, wet humid climate. According to the degree of coalification, coals belong to brown coals, their composition is dominated by a black, structureless, amorphous mass of coalified plant matter (fusen). As impurities, there are large fragments of plant remains belonging to the groups of intertinites and macerals. The coals are enriched in mineral, ash components, represented by kaolinite and finely dispersed quartz grains. Ash content will not exceed 20%.

Yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) toxicosis in 4 goats.

Four alpine goats developed diarrhea soon after the owner placed plant clippings believed to be yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) into their pen on a suburban property near Palm Desert, CA, USA. A 1-y-old female goat died suddenly ~1 h after eating the plant clippings and was submitted to the San Bernardino Branch of the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System for postmortem examination. The main autopsy and histopathologic findings were myocardial hemorrhage and necrosis, consistent with cardiac glycoside intoxication. Rumen contents were analyzed by LC-MS/MS; peruvoside, a cardiac glycoside, was detected, but oleandrin, the cardiac glycoside of common oleander (Nerium oleander), was not. An LC-high-resolution MS (LC-HRMS) analysis revealed the presence of peruvoside and neriifolin in the rumen contents and in a tested plant fragment, indicating that the plant was a member of the Thevetia genus. A clipping from the plant fed to the goats and submitted by the owner was identified as yellow oleander, Thevetia peruviana (also known as Cascabela thevetia).

Performance report of the MICADAS at the Ocean University of China

The Ocean University of China radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometer center (OUC-CAMS) is equipped with a mini carbon dating system (MICADAS) from the Ionplus AG. The MICADAS allows measurements of both graphite and CO2 samples because of the design of a hybrid ion source. Also, both 13C and 14C of organic samples can be measured at the same time because a stand-alone IRMS is coupled to the MICADAS. The OUC-CAMS provides routine 14C analyses on bulk organic carbon of various types, such as sediments, particulate matter, plant fragments, and compound-specific lipid biomarkers. Here we report the performance based on continuous analysis of international reference materials of 195 graphite data and 605 gas data carried out over the 2.5 years before 2022.

First Report of Root Rot Caused by Pythium myriotylum on Sesame in China.

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a very important oilseed crop and cultivated on 11.7 million hectares, producing 6.02 million tons of seeds with an average seed yield of 512 kg ha-1 in the world (Yadav et al. 2022). In June of 2021, diseased roots were observed on sesame in the villages of Mada and Hanba, Xiangcheng city (114.88°N, 33.13°E), Henan province, China. The diseased plants appeared stunted and wilted at the seedling stage. Approximately 7.1% to 17.7% of plants were affected in two fields, 0.6 ha in total, and disease severity in each affected plant ranged from 50% to 80%. Twenty-four disease plants were collected to confirm the pathogen. The diseased roots were cut into small fragments (2 to 5 mm long), surface sterilized with 75% ethanol (for 1 min), and 10% sodium hypochlorite (for 1 min) and then rinsed in sterilized water three times (1 min each rinse). The fragments were blotted dry and transferred to a potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium (potato 200 g/L, glucose 20 g/L, agar 18 g/L) amended with streptomycin (50 μg/mL). After incubation at 28°C for 24 h, white mycelium grew out from plant fragments. Then, a total of seven morphologically similar strains were transferred onto fresh V8 agar by hyphal tip transfer (Rollins 2003). By light microscope observations, the sporangia were filamentous or digitated, and undifferentiated or inflated lobulate. The oospores were mostly aplerotic, globose or subglobose in shape, and 20.4 to 42.6 μm in diameter (n = 90, n: Total number of oospores measured). Furthermore, antheridia were bulbous-like or clavate-like and were observed attached to the surface of the oospores. The zoospores were abundant and ranged from 8.5 to 14.2 μm in diameter. The morphology characteristics of all strains were consistent with those of Pythium myriotylum (Watanabe et al. 2007). Genomic DNA was extracted from the representative strain 20210628 using the CTAB method (Wangsomboondee et al. 2002). The complete internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI, COX1) can be valid and useful barcodes for accurate identification of many oomycetes (Robideau et al. 2011). The ITS and COI were amplified with the primers ITS1/ITS4 (Riit et al. 2016) and primers OomCox-Levup/OomCox-Levlo (Robideau et al. 2011), respectively. The nucleotide sequences obtained were deposited in the GenBank database under the accession numbers OM230138.2 (ITS) and ON500503.1 (COI). GenBank BLAST search identified the sequences as P. myriotylum ITS and COI sequences (e.g., HQ237488.1 and MK510848.1, respectively) with 100% coverage and 100% identity. To evaluate the pathogenicity, sesame seeds (cultivar: Jinzhi No.3) were planted in 12-cm-diameter plastic pots containing a mixture of sterilized soil, vermiculite and peat mossat a ratio of 3:1:1. Oospores were collected following the procedure of Raftoyannis et al. (2006) with minor modifications. Three-leaf stage sesame roots were soaked with 5 mL of oospore suspension at 1 × 106/mL of the 20210628 strain, and the control plants were inoculated with sterilized water. All plants were maintained in a greenhouse (28±2°C, > 80% R. H.). The experiment was repeated twice with three replications. The plants inoculated with P. myriotylum showed the water soak symptom on the stem base 7 days after inoculation, while control plants were symptomless. Three weeks after inoculation, the plants showed root tissue necrosis, root rot, and dwarfing symptoms that were similar to those observed on sesame plants in the field, while control plants remained healthy. P. myriotylum was re-isolated from the inoculated plants and the morphology was the same as the original strain 20210628. These results suggest that P. myriotylum is the causal agent of sesame root rot. Previous studies have revealed that P. myriotylum can cause root rot in peanuts (Yu et al. 2019), chili pepper (Hyder et al. 2018), green bean (Serrano et al. 2008) and aerial blight of tomato (Roberts et al. 1999). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of P. myriotylum causing root rot on sesame. This pathogen can infect plant roots and develop rapidly if no effective control measures are implemented. Once the disease breaks out in a large area, the yield of sesame will be seriously threatened. The results provide important implications for the prevention and management of this disease.

Potential of plant DNA information in determining the provenance and identify of unknown victims

Determination of the personal identity of victims is particularly important for the settlement of criminal cases. Unfortunately, useful information for identification is not always available. We here propose that the particles (pollens) of some plants with specific geographical distributions extracted from human lung tissues contribute to further determining the provenance or long-term residence of unknown victims, thereby considerably narrowing the search scope of the victims. We collected lung tissues from 155 victims with diverse causes of death, extracted DNA from lung tissues, sequenced the DNA fragments of plants on the Illumina Hiseq platform, and barcoded the plant species using phylogenetic methods. Finally, 108 unique plant sequences were detected in 55 samples and identified to belong to 36 species in 32 genera of 29 families. These plants were predominantly insect-pollinated crops and ornamental plants. No significant difference was observed between male and female samples, between urban and rural samples, or among samples of different ages and different sample sizes. There were 16 samples with 21 wild plant species. The original sources of 15 samples were overlapped with the distribution regions of detected plants; 2 samples narrowed the original sources to 2 provinces, which were quite coincident with their source places; 1 sample had no overlapping with its victim source region. Although plant information was only found in one-third of the samples, we further demonstrated the great potential of plant eDNA in identifying the source of unnamed corpses in a real-world case. We used plant eDNA from lung tissues to explore the provenance of an unknown female corpse found in Beijing. The source place of this victim was narrowed to Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, and finally, we confirmed her true identity in the list of missing persons in Guangxi Province. In the presence of a well-covered local reference library, the plant species detected in the lungs can be accurately identified. In difficult criminal cases where physical evidence is relatively weak, plant DNA information may provide new clues. In conclusion, the plant particles trapped in the lungs are promising to help forensic experts narrow the search scope for the identity of unknown victims.