Organic Accumulation Research Articles

An Introduction to Ayurvedic Methods of Bloodletting

Ayurveda aims to prevent and cure diseases. In Ayurvedic system of medicine, bloodletting procedure is a kind of para-surgery practiced for the treatment of specifically blood borne diseases along with other surgical diseases. Therapeutic bloodletting is indicated in abscess, cellulitis, chronic ulcers resulting from snake bite, filariasis, genital infections, gout, herpes, inflammatory conditions, Skin disorders, tumors, ulcers, etc. While mentioning the five methods of body detoxification, the Ayurvedic texts mentions bloodletting as one among them, so it is one of the important therapies in Panchakarma. Bloodletting is also known as Phlebotomy and considered to be a prime treatment modality among the surgical procedures in Ayurveda. With curative aspects it also acts in preventive and promotive aspects. The vitiated impure blood is removed out from the body by the seven procedures - Venesection (Siravyadhana), scrapping (Pracchanna karma), horn application (Sringa avacharana), gourd application (Alabu avacharana), leech application (Jalauka avacharana), application of cupping pot/glass (Ghatiyantra avacharana), and needle application (Suchivyadhana). Bloodletting is also used to lower the iron levels and prevents its accumulation in various organs. Therapeutic bleed is a holistic treatment for impure blood and it helps to bring the body back into its natural and homoeostatic state.

Biochar-mediated Cd accumulation in rice grains through altering chemical forms, subcellular distribution, and physiological characteristics

Biochar can change the availability and morphology of soil Cd. However, the influence of biochar on Cd chemical form and subcellular fraction in rice is poorly understood, particularly under different irrigation methods. A pot experiment of biochar application combined with two irrigation methods (continuous flooding and intermittent irrigation, CF and II) was conducted. The Cd accumulation, chemical form and subcellular fraction in rice organs and the associated physiological responses were examined. Biochar significantly reduced soil available Cd (30.85–47.26% and 32.35–52.35%) under CF and II but increased the Cd content (30.4–63.88% and 13.03–18.59%) in brown rice. Additionally, the Cd content in shoots/grains under II was higher than that under CF. Biochar elevated the Cd soluble fraction in roots while lowered the cell wall fraction under both irrigation methods, whereas the opposite result was observed in leaves. Biochar increased water-, ethanol-, and NaCl-extractable Cd in roots meanwhile increased ethanol-extractable Cd in leaves under both irrigation methods. Moreover, the total amount of water-, ethanol-, and NaCl-extractable Cd in rice roots was higher under II than under CF. Related hormones and antioxidant enzymes may also be involved in biochar-mediated Cd accumulation in rice grains. Thus, changes in Cd chemical form and subcellular fraction in the root and leaf are the main mechanisms of biochar-induced rice grains Cd accumulation.Graphical

Long-term fertilization promotes soil organic nitrogen accumulation by increasing the abundance of keystone microbial cluster across aggregates

Nitrogen (N) in soil mainly occurs in organic forms, with soil organic nitrogen (SON) playing an essential role in supplying N to crops. However, it is unclear how the content and distribution of SON vary among different aggregate sizes, and how SON content is related to soil microorganisms. In this study, we investigated the associations between SON content and various microbial community characteristics across different aggregate sizes using data from a long-term field fertilization experiment in paddy soils. We also performed functional prediction to explore potential microbial mechanisms underlying SON accumulation. The results showed that SON content decreased as aggregate size decreased, with macroaggregates having the highest SON content and the silt-clay fraction having the lowest. Furthermore, our linear regression and structural equation modeling analysis revealed that keystone microbial clusters (highly interconnected taxa within Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteriota, and Ascomycota) were significantly correlated with SON content. Finally, functional prediction analysis suggested that this relationship may be due, at least in part, to the large number of metabolic pathways involved in biosynthesis of N-containing compounds present in keystone microbial clusters. Overall, our study highlights the importance of keystone microbial clusters in influencing the accumulation of SON and contributes to our understanding of soil N biogeochemical cycling.

Transcriptome data-based identification and expression profiling of genes potentially associated with malic acid accumulation in plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.)

Chinese plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) is an important commercially produced stone fruit that accumulates high amounts of organic acids with numerous health benefits. Organic acids are key components to determine the flavor of any fruit. Here, to identify the potential genes involved in organic acids accumulation in plum, the metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis of plum fruits were performed at four developmental stages (i.e., fruitlet, green, veraison, and mature). The results suggest that malic acid was predominant among the eight organic acids analyzed. RNA-Seq analysis revealed a total of 26,547 unigenes, of which 7,584 representing 28.56% differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. In addition, 11 enzyme coding genes, 21 transporter genes and 5 MYB transcription factor genes involved in malic acid accumulation were identified. Our combined transcriptomic and targeted metabolomic analyses provides new comprehensive insights into understanding the genetic control of fruit acidity in plum which will be useful for future breeding.

Copper exerts cytotoxicity through inhibition of iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis on ISCA1/ISCA2/ISCU assembly proteins.

Copper is an essential mineral nutrient that provides the cofactors for some key enzymes. However, excess copper is paradoxically cytotoxic. Wilson's disease is an autosomal recessive hereditary disease characterized by pathological copper accumulation in many organs, with high mortality and disability. Nevertheless, many questions about the molecular mechanism in Wilson's disease remain unknown and there is an imperative need to address these questions to better exploit therapeutic strategy. In this study, we constructed the mouse model of Wilson's disease, ATP7A-/- immortalized lymphocyte cell line and ATP7B knockdown cells to explore whether copper could impair iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis in eukaryotic mitochondria. Through a series of cellular, molecular, and pharmacological analyses, we demonstrated that copper could suppress the assembly of Fe-S cluster, decrease the activity of the Fe-S enzyme and disorder the mitochondrial function both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, we found that human ISCA1, ISCA2 and ISCU proteins have a strong copper-binding activity, which would hinder the process of iron-sulfur assembly. Of note, we proposed a novel mechanism of action to explain the toxicity of copper by providing evidence that iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis may be a primary target of copper toxicity both in cells and mouse models. In summary, the current work provides an in-depth study on the mechanism of copper intoxication and describes a framework for the further understanding of impaired Fe-S assembly in the pathological processes of Wilson's diseases, which helps to develop latent therapeutic strategies for the management of copper toxicity.

Iron Chelation and Antioxidant Properties of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) Restore Fertility in Men and Women

Abstract: Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) is one of the most renowned and revered medicinal plants in the Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine. Ashwagandha Rasayanas (tonics), capsules, tablets, and powdered herbs (churna) have been used for curing a wide variety of ailments, including reproductive problems, and for improving fertility in men and women as well as erectile dysfunction (ED) in men. Iron accumulation in reproductive organs is caused by excessive dietary intake of iron, dysregulation of iron transporters, chronic blood transfusions, and hemochromatosis. Iron overload produces oxidative stress and causes atrophy of ovaries and testes and hypogonadism, which leads to infertility in men and women. Emerging evidence from preclinical and clinical studies suggests that excessive iron-induced infertility results from dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and consequently perturbs the secretion of sex hormones (GnRH, FSH, LH, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone). The focus of this review is to summarize the pathophysiology of iron-overload toxicity of reproductive organs and the reversal of male/female infertility and libido with Ashwagandha. The bioactive ingredients of Ashwagandha appear to restore iron–overload infertility by acting on iron chelation and capturing iron free radicals (Fe+++) produced by the Fenton reaction. Many synthetic drugs have been tried for treating iron overload infertility, but the outcome has been inconsistent. Considering the high cost of these drugs, Ashwagandha may be a safer and more costeffective phytomedicine to cure iron-overload infertility and enhance libido in humans. Collectively, the iron chelation and antioxidant effects of Ashwagandha seem to reverse iron-overload infertility in men and women by improving testicular and ovarian functions.

Legume Cover Crop Alleviates the Negative Impact of No-Till on Tomato Productivity in a Mediterranean Organic Cropping System

The ecosystem services a cover crop (CC) provides depend enormously on species choice and tillage system. Here, we evaluated the impact of (a) three winter CCs—rye (Secale cereale L.) and squarrose clover (Trifolium squarrosum L.) monocultures and their mixture, and (b) two tillage systems—roller-crimping of CC residue as dead mulch for no-till (NT) systems and incorporating CC residue into the soil as green manure for conventional tillage (CT) systems—on the performance of organic processing tomato, i.e., plant growth, nutrient accumulation, fruit yield, and weed biomass. The assessments took place over two years in field experiments conducted under Mediterranean conditions. At the termination time, rye and mixture were the most productive and the best weed-suppressive CCs. During tomato growing season, squarrose clover regardless of tillage system stimulated tomato growth, Nitrogen content and uptake, and the yield relative to the other cover crops. Nevertheless, NT generally impaired the tomato nutritional status and increased weed biomass compared to CT despite some potential weed control by cover crops. These two aspects caused a significant drop in tomato yield in all NT systems. The results suggested that, despite the multiple benefits the compared CCs can offer in Mediterranean agroecosystems, legume CCs could be the key to developing feasible organic vegetable no-till systems.

Cadmium-chelating ability of the siderophore DHBS secreted by Leclercia adecarboxylata FCH-CR2 and its action mechanism

As one of the most accumulative toxic heavy metals, cadmium (Cd) poses a major threat to human health. Bacterial siderophores, as small molecules with metal-absorbing ability, have great potential activity for Cd-reduction. In this study, the siderophore-producing bacterialstrain FCH-CR2 was isolated from a high-Cd contaminated soil using the CAS method. Leclercia adecarboxylata was identified through 16S rRNA sequence, homology analysis, colony morphology, physiological and biochemical tests. A siderophore, catechol type 2,3-dihydroxy-N-benzoyl-l-serine (DHBS) secreted by FCH-CR2, was purified using RP-HPLC and identified by LC-MS/MS. Intraperitoneal injection of DHBS significantly increased fecal Cd levels, and reduced Cd accumulation in organs. In density flooding theory (DFT) analysis, DHBS may bind to Cd via the hydroxyl site on the benzene ring. Besides, the isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) assay revealed that the formation of Cd-DHBS is a spontaneous and endothermic reaction with ΔG = −21.4 kJ/mol and ΔH = 1.51 ± 0.142 kJ/mol.

Syndromes of hematophagocytosis in patients of pediatric intensive care units (literature review)

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (hemophagocytic syndrome, HLH, HPS) is the group of severe life-threatening and hardly diagnosing conditions caused by the immune dysregulation because of systemic inflammatory response with non-controlled proliferation and activation of T-cells, monocytes and macrophages with accumulation in target organs and the development of multiple organ failure. HLH are includes primary (monogenic) and secondary forms associated with various conditions, such as infections, immunopathological, oncohematological diseases. The severity of the condition, association with infections makes these diseases potentially lethal and requiring intensive care. In many critically ill patients in the intensive care unit, the presence of hemophagocytic syndrome remains unrecognized and is often interpreted as generalized infection, sepsis, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, multiple organ failure. Such patients require special attention, timely diagnosis and treatment. Nowadays, we have got a big group of drugs, which can pointwise block one or another pathogenesis pathway, but for a quick and correct choice, we need clear algorithms for deciding on the use of this group of targeted therapy. The article presents the history of the study of the issue and modern approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions in critically ill patients.

Flowthrough Capture of Microplastics through Polyphenol-Mediated Interfacial Interactions on Wood Sawdust.

Nano-/microplastics accumulate in aquatic bodies and raise increasing threats to ecosystems and human health. The limitation of existing water cleanup strategies, especially in the context of nano-/microplastics, primarily arises from their complexity (morphological, compositional, and dimensional). Here, highly efficient and bio-based flowthrough capturing materials (bioCap) are reported to remove a broad spectrum of nano-/microplastics from water: polyethylene terephthalate (anionic, irregular shape), polyethylene (net neutral, irregular shape), polystyrene (anionic and cationic, spherical shape), and other anionic and spherical shaped particles (polymethyl methacrylate, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride). Highly efficient bioCap systems that adsorb the ubiquitous particles released from beverage bags are demonstrated. As evidence of removal from drinking water, the in vivo biodistribution of nano-/microplastics is profiled, confirming a significant reduction of particle accumulation in main organs. The unique advantage of phenolic-mediated multi-molecular interactions is employed in sustainable, cost-effective, and facile strategies based on wood sawdust support for the removal of challenging nano-/microplastics pollutions.

Biodegradable polyphosphoester micelles act as both background-free 31P magnetic resonance imaging agents and drug nanocarriers

In vivo monitoring of polymers is crucial for drug delivery and tissue regeneration. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a whole-body imaging technique, and heteronuclear MRI allows quantitative imaging. However, MRI agents can result in environmental pollution and organ accumulation. To address this, we introduce biocompatible and biodegradable polyphosphoesters, as MRI-traceable polymers using the 31P centers in the polymer backbone. We overcome challenges in 31P MRI, including background interference and low sensitivity, by modifying the molecular environment of 31P, assembling polymers into colloids, and tailoring the polymers’ microstructure to adjust MRI-relaxation times. Specifically, gradient-type polyphosphonate-copolymers demonstrate improved MRI-relaxation times compared to homo- and block copolymers, making them suitable for imaging. We validate background-free imaging and biodegradation in vivo using Manduca sexta. Furthermore, encapsulating the potent drug PROTAC allows using these amphiphilic copolymers to simultaneously deliver drugs, enabling theranostics. This first report paves the way for polyphosphoesters as background-free MRI-traceable polymers for theranostic applications.

TLR7/8 stress response drives histiocytosis in SLC29A3 disorders.

Loss-of-function mutations in the lysosomal nucleoside transporter SLC29A3 cause lysosomal nucleoside storage and histiocytosis: phagocyte accumulation in multiple organs. However, little is known about the mechanism by which lysosomal nucleoside storage drives histiocytosis. Herein, histiocytosis in Slc29a3-/- mice was shown to depend on Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7), which senses a combination of nucleosides and oligoribonucleotides (ORNs). TLR7 increased phagocyte numbers by driving the proliferation of Ly6Chi immature monocytes and their maturation into Ly6Clow phagocytes in Slc29a3-/- mice. Downstream of TLR7, FcRγ and DAP10 were required for monocyte proliferation. Histiocytosis is accompanied by inflammation in SLC29A3 disorders. However, TLR7 in nucleoside-laden splenic monocytes failed to activate inflammatory responses. Enhanced production of proinflammatory cytokines was observed only after stimulation with ssRNAs, which would increase lysosomal ORNs. Patient-derived monocytes harboring the G208R SLC29A3 mutation showed enhanced survival and proliferation in a TLR8-antagonist-sensitive manner. These results demonstrated that TLR7/8 responses to lysosomal nucleoside stress drive SLC29A3 disorders.

Tumor targeting and therapeutic assessments of RNA nanoparticles carrying α9-nAChR aptamer and anti-miR-21 in triple-negative breast cancers

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is highly aggressive with a poor prognosis because of a lack of cell markers as drug targets. α9-Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is expressed abundantly in TNBC; thus, it is a valuable biomarker for TNBC detection and treatment. In this study, we utilized thermodynamically stable three-way junction (3WJ) packaging RNA (pRNA) as the core to construct RNA nanoparticles with an α9-nAChR RNA aptamer as a targeting ligand and an anti-microRNA-21 (miR-21) as a therapeutic module. We compared the configuration of the two RNA nanoparticles and found that 3WJ-B-α9-nAChR-aptamer fluorescent RNA nanoparticles (3WJ-B-α9-apt-Alexa) exhibited better specificity for α9-nAChR in TNBC cells compared with 3WJ-C-α9-nAChR. Furthermore, 3WJ-B-α9-apt-Alexa bound more efficiently to TNBC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) tumors than 3WJ fluorescent RNA nanoparticles (3WJ-Alexa) with little or no accumulation in healthy organs after systemic injection in mice. Moreover, 3WJ-B-α9-nAChR-aptamer RNA nanoparticles carrying anti-miR-21 (3WJ-B-α9-apt-anti-miR-21) significantly suppressed TNBC-PDX tumor growth and induced cell apoptosis because of reduced miR-21 gene expression and upregulated the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) proteins. In addition, no pathological changes were detected upon toxicity examination of treated mice. In conclusion, the 3WJ-B-α9-nAChR-aptamer RNA nanoparticles established in this study efficiently deliver therapeutic anti-miR-21, indicating their potential as a novel TNBC therapy.

Sodium and chloride accumulation and repartition differed between the cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and its wild halophyte relative Solanum chilense under salt stress

Salinity is of growing global concern and affects the yield of several crop species, including tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Halophyte wild relatives could be used to improve salt tolerance of crop species. Among wild tomato relatives, Solanum chilense was shown to be NaCl-tolerant but its strategy for Na+ accumulation and repartition remained poorly understood, and its Cl−accumulation was never investigated. In this study, both species were cultivated under salinity (0, 60 and 120 mM NaCl) during vegetative and reproductive phases. We investigated the ion (Na+, K+, Cl−) accumulation and repartition in the different organs (leaves, stems, roots, inflorescences), the expression of Na+ and Cl− transporters in vegetative organs and the role of these ions in osmotic management. Solanum chilense accumulated mainly Na+ in the shoots while S. lycopersicum accumulated it mainly in the roots so that the Na+ shoot/root ratio was 10 times higher in S. chilense than in S. lycopersicum. This suggests that S. chilense had an includer strategy while S. lycopersicum had an excluder strategy towards Na+. The excluder behavior of S. lycopersicum was linked to the high expression of HKT1;2 and SOS pathway genes in roots. In contrast to Na+, both species accumulated Cl− in a similar way and Cl− content was higher in the shoots than in the roots in both species. In addition, both species limited the entry of Na+ and Cl− in the inflorescences. The Na+ and Cl− concentrations were respectively about 3 and 2 times lower in the inflorescences than in the leaves. Ions also contributed to osmotic adjustment, mainly Cl− in S. lycopersicum and Na+ and K+ in S. chilense. Overall, our results highlight the salt-tolerance characteristics of S. chilense compared to the cultivated tomato.

Mechanistic study of copper nanoparticle (CuNP) toxicity on the mouse uterus via apelin signaling.

Copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) have been widely utilized in various applications. Due to its wider application, humans are at risk of its exposure. It has been reported that the exposure of CuNPs can lead to organ accumulation and affect organ toxicity. Recent study suggested that CuNPs can translocate into the uterus and affect uterine injury in rat, whereas uterine toxicity still remains unclear. The uterus is an important female organ which is required to sustain pregnancy. Thus, uterine structure and physiology are important. Therefore, this study hypothesized that CuNPs might have a toxic effect on the uterine features of mice. In this study, we have investigated the potential effects of CuNPs on the uterus of mice both in vivo and in vitro. In in vivo study, two groups of female mice were exposed to 5 and 50 mg/kg/day via oral exposure. In vivo results showed that CuNP treatment decreases the body weight and uterus weight and changes in antioxidant status with low estrogen and progesterone levels. Furthermore, CuNPs up-regulated the expression of caspase3 and down-regulated the expression of apelin receptor (APJ). Immunolocalization of apelin showed low abundance in the CuNP-treated uterus. These results suggest a poor apelin signaling in the uterus after CuNP treatment. The in vivo findings were further supported by the in vitro studies. Firstly, the uterus was cultured with 5 and 40 μg of CuNPs, and in the second in vitro experiment, the uterus was divided into 4 groups: control, 40 μg of CuNPs, 40 μg of CuNPs with apelin, and 40 μg of CuNPs with apelin receptor antagonist (ML221). In vitro study showed that CuNPs could directly induce the oxidative stress and apoptosis as well as changing antioxidant status in the uterus. The in vitro apelin 13 (APLN 13) treatments alleviated the expression of BCL2 and improved the antioxidant markers in CuNP-treated uterus. These results also provided an evidence of apelin-mediated signaling in the CuNP-treated uterus. In summary, our results present evidence that CuNPs can stimulate apoptotic pathways which may lead to uterine impairment due to weak apelin signaling.

The potential impact of hereditary hemochromatosis on the heart considering the disease stage and patient age-the role of echocardiography.

Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a genetic disease that leads to increased iron accumulation in several organs. Cardiomyocytes are highly susceptible to this damage owing to their high iron uptake, and cardiovascular complications account for 1/3 of the deaths in the natural course of HH. Additionally, excess iron intake and associated oxidative stress may accelerate the aging of the cardiovascular system, regardless of the age of patients with HH. We aimed to investigate the role of standard and speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) in revealing heart differences in patients with HH considering the disease stage and the patient age. Consecutive patients with HH (n = 58) without heart pathologies (except hypertension) and 29 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals underwent echocardiography. Patients were compared according to the time since HH diagnosis (the recently diagnosed HH group [31 patients] with diagnosed HH for less than 6 months and had no more than one venesection; the medium group [11 patients] with diagnosed HH between 6 and 24 months; and the long-lasting group [16 patients] with diagnosed HH for more than 2 years) and the quartile contribution of their age. Standard echocardiography revealed differences in diastolic parameters between patients with HH and controls, which were the most prominent between healthy and long-lasting HH patients. Regarding systolic function, left ventricular ejection fraction was lower in HH patients, with the most evident differences between the healthy and recently diagnosed HH patients. STE revealed additional differences in systolic parameters, with LV rotation the worst in recently diagnosed patients and its increase in patients with medium and long-lasting HH. Significantly worse peak systolic longitudinal strain values were observed in all patients with HH. Analyses of the results according to the age quartiles of patients with HH revealed that some changes ocurred earlier than expected according to age. Echocardiography can reveal possible heart damage in HH patients at different stages of the disease and highlight potential features of accelerated myocardial aging in these patients.

Pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and toxicology of novel cell-penetrating peptides

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) have been used in basic and preclinical research in the past 30 years to facilitate drug delivery into target cells. However, translation toward the clinic has not been successful so far. Here, we studied the pharmacokinetic (PK) and biodistribution profiles of Shuttle cell-penetrating peptides (S-CPP) in rodents, combined or not with an immunoglobulin G (IgG) cargo. We compared two enantiomers of S-CPP that contain both a protein transduction domain and an endosomal escape domain, with previously shown capacity for cytoplasmic delivery. The plasma concentration versus time curve of both radiolabelled S-CPPs required a two-compartment PK analytical model, which showed a fast distribution phase (t1/2α ranging from 1.25 to 3 min) followed by a slower elimination phase (t1/2β ranging from 5 to 15 h) after intravenous injection. Cargo IgG combined to S-CPPs displayed longer elimination half-life, of up to 25 h. The fast decrease in plasma concentration of S-CPPs was associated with an accumulation in target organs assessed at 1 and 5 h post-injection, particularly in the liver. In addition, in situ cerebral perfusion (ISCP) of L-S-CPP yielded a brain uptake coefficient of 7.2 ± 1.1 µl g−1 s−1, consistent with penetration across the blood–brain barrier (BBB), without damaging its integrity in vivo. No sign of peripheral toxicity was detected either by examining hematologic and biochemical blood parameters, or by measuring cytokine levels in plasma. In conclusion, S-CPPs are promising non-toxic transport vectors for improved tissue distribution of drug cargos in vivo.

Bioaccumulation Pattern and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Cirrhinus mrigala at Panjnad Headworks, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.

Heavy metal accumulation in freshwater ecosystem has become one of the major aquatic environmental concerns for freshwater flora and fauna due to their higher stability and bioaccumulation as well as bio-magnification properties. Furthermore, passing through the food web, these heavy metals affect human populations ultimately. This study assessed the heavy metal accumulation in Cirrhinus mrigala in spring, autumn, and winter at different locations (I, II, and III) of Panjnad headwork. Furthermore, the human health risk assessment for the consumption of C. mrigala from the sampling locations was also carried out. Fish were collected from upper (I), middle (II), and lower (III) stream of Panjnad on a monthly basis. The current study evaluated the accumulation of Aluminum (Al), Arsenic (As), Barium (Ba), and Lead (Pb) in various fish organs (liver, kidney, gills, fins, skin, muscles and bones) and assessed their potential hazard to human health through health risk assessment indicators. The results demonstrated a significant difference (p < 0.05) in heavy metal accumulation in different fish organs, seasons, and locations. The accumulation of Al, As, Ba, and Pb were considerably higher in liver and kidney as compared to the other body organs and followed a trend of liver > kidney > gills > fins > skin > bones > muscle and the overall mean concentrations of metals in different body tissues of C. mrigala were in the order of Al > As > Ba > Pb. The results also concluded that C. mrigala caught from the Panjnad headwork is not safe for human consumption due to higher values of TTHQIng (3.76), THQIng for Ba (3.27) and CRIng for As (6.4742).

When Cannabis sativa L. Turns Purple: Biosynthesis and Accumulation of Anthocyanins.

Environmental cues elicit anthocyanin synthesis in plant vegetative and reproductive tissues. Their accumulation in different organs accounts for their diverse biological functions, mainly related to their antioxidant properties, and it depends on a temporally and spatially regulated mechanism controlled by the action of a well-known multi-transcription factor complex. Despite the highly recognizable value of Cannabis sativa L. as a natural biorefinery of phytochemicals, very little information is known on anthocyanin pigmentation in this species. In this work, a targeted quantification of anthocyanins via HPLC-MS/MS, combined with the transcriptional profile via RT-qPCR of genes encoding for structural and decorating enzymes and regulatory transcription factors in different C. sativa tissues, help gain insights into the anthocyanin pathway in this species. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the identification of cyanidin-3-rutinoside (keracyanin) as the major anthocyanin in C. sativa vegetative and floral tissues. Keracyanin amounts were higher than in small berries, suggesting that Cannabis biomass is a valuable source of colored antioxidants to be exploited in diverse applications. Furthermore, a gene putatively encoding for an anthocyanin DTX35 type transporter and CsTTG1 were identified in silico and their transcriptional levels were assessed via RT-qPCR. The results allow us to provide the first model of anthocyanin regulation in C. sativa, opening a new research scenario in this species for both breeding purposes and phytochemical exploitation.

Optimizing nitrogen application improves its efficiency by higher allocation in bolls of cotton under drip fertigation

Nitrogen (N) loss is becoming one of the main limitations for sustainable agricultural production globally, particularly for crops such as cotton. To alleviate this issue, a promising strategy may be to exploit the N-saving potential of cotton plants by optimizing N application ratios at different growth stages under lower N rate and higher planting density with wide-row spacing. Two field experiments were carried out to investigate cotton yield, N use efficiency (NUE), N accumulation characteristics, and 15N uptake and distribution in response to N fertilization. First, a two-year experiment was conducted with N fertilization of either 0, 120, 240, 360 (control) or 480 kg ha−1. A three-year experiment was then carried out with 240 kg N ha−1 being applied with different ratios across three periods (squaring, flowering to peak boll, and late peak boll), i.e., 0:6:4 (N064), 1:6:3 (N163), 2:6:2 (N262, control), 3:6:1 (N361) and 4:6:0 (N460). Compared with conventional N fertilization (360 kg N ha−1), moderate fertilization at 240 kg N ha−1 resulted in steady and higher seed cotton yields of 5945 and 5603 kg ha−1 in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and improved NUE by 49.1–53.6%. Compared with conventional N262, a shift to later N application (N064) increased both lint yield and partial factor fiber productivity of nitrogen (PFFPN) by 4.4–7.7%, and accumulated 6.1–14.4% more total N (K) in reproductive organs due to higher average (Vt) and maximum (Vm) accumulation rates by 25.2–49.0% and 15.0–48.7%, respectively, while the fast N accumulation period (∆t) shortened by 15.2–24.4%. N064 partitioned 15.6% more 15N to reproductive organs. NUE was significantly positively correlated with K, t1 (the day when ∆t started), Vt, Vm, Tm (the day on which Vm occurred) and 15N accumulation in middle and upper canopy bolls, and negatively correlated with ∆t of total N accumulation in reproductive organs. Allocating N from the squaring period to the late peak boll period led to an increase in N uptake during the reproductive growth stage and greater allocation of N to cotton bolls under reduced-N cultivation and drip fertigation. This N management strategy is a potential way to improve NUE and achieve sustainable and efficient production of cotton in arid areas.