Domesticated strawberry is susceptible to sudden frost episodes, limiting the productivity of this cash crop in regions where they are grown during early spring. In contrast, the ancestral woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) has successfully colonized many habitats of the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, this species seems to harbour genetic factors promoting cold tolerance. Screening a germplasm established in the frame of the German Gene Bank for Crop Wild Relatives, we identified, among 70 wild accessions, a pair with contrasting cold tolerance. By following the physiological, biochemical

Combining sonochemistry with phytochemistry is a modern trend in the biosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles (NPs), which contributes to the sustainability of chemical processes and minimizes hazardous effects. Herein, titanium dioxide (TiO2) NPs were bioengineered using a novel and facile ultrasound-assisted approach utilizing the greenly extracted essential oil of Ocimum basilicum. FTIR and UV-Vis spectrophotometry were used to confirm the formation of TiO2 NPs. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed the crystalline nature of TiO2 NPs. TEM analysis revealed the spherical morphology of

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is a grain crop that is an important source of protein, vitamins, carbohydrates and minerals. It is highly sensitive to salt stress, and salt damage to cellular homeostasis and protein folding affects production. Plants have several mechanisms to prevent cellular damages under abiotic stresses, such as proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (protein isulfide somerases (PDIs) and PDI-like proteins), which help prevent the build-up of mis-folded proteins that are damaged under abiotic stresses. In this study, we completed initial comprehensive genome-wide analysis of

【Objective】 The exploration of germplasm and gene resources in rice for high nitrogen efficiency, along with the elucidation of their molecular mechanisms and genetic effects, represents a significant focus and goal within current research efforts on rice nitrogen use efficiency (NUE).【Method】 To identify the variant loci and candidate genes associated with rice NUE, we collected 190 Asian rice accessions as an association population. After thorough filtering and screening, we obtained 3, 934, 195 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Under field conditions, two nitrogen

Anhydrous ammonia is a cheaper source of nitrogen (N) fertiliser than granular urea for rice production, but it is not widely used in developing countries. It can only be applied pre-crop with any in-crop applications being applied in the form of urea. This 2-year study conducted in the Nile delta region of Egypt compared pre-crop anhydrous ammonia injected to a depth of 20 cm with broadcast urea as N sources for rice, along with 4 combinations of pre-crop ammonia and in-crop urea. Each treatment supplied a total of 165 kg N/ha. The rice crop was direct seeded rather than transplanted. The

Agricultural land expansion is a solution to address global food security challenges in the context of climate change. However, the sustainability of expansion in arid countries is difficult because of scarce surface water resources, groundwater salinity, and the health of salt-affected soil. Developing expansion and sustainability plans for agriculture requires systems thinking, considering the complex feedback interactions between saline groundwater, salt-affected soil, plant growth, freshwater mixing with saline groundwater, irrigation systems, and the application of soil amendments to

Direct detection of biotinylated proteins (DiDBiT) is a proteomic method that can enrich and detect newly synthesized proteins (NSPs) labeled with bio-orthogonal amino acids with 20-fold improved detectability compared to conventional methods. However, DiDBiT has currently been used to compare only two conditions per experiment. Here, we present DiDBiT-TMT, a method that can be used to quantify NSPs across many conditions and replicates in the same experiment by combining isobaric tandem mass tagging (TMT) with DiDBiT. We applied DiDBiT-TMT to brain slices to determine changes in the de novo

Aim The aim of this research was to study serum vitamin D and micro-ribonucleic acid-146a (miRNA-146a) expression in dry eye disease (DED) associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their clinical correlations to DED parameters. Setting and design This is an observational cross-sectional study that was conducted at Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. Patients and methods The study participants were divided into three groups: group A, DED/RA (n=35); group B, non-DED/RA (n=36); and group C, non-DED/non-RA (n=35). All participants were assessed for ocular surface disease index, tear breakup time

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with inflammatory nature. One of the leading causes of death in SLE patients is cardiovascular (CVS) morbidity. MiRNA-24 is highly expressed in vascular endothelial cells (VECs). This dysregulated expression pattern is associated with dysfunction or even damage of VECs and leads to the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. YKL-40 is an inflammatory glycoprotein involved in the pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction and thereby atherosclerosis. In this work, we aimed at illustrating the possible role of miR-24 and its

Water contamination with colours and heavy metals from textile effluents has harmed the ecology and food chain, with mutagenic and carcinogenic effects on human health. As a result, removing these harmful chemicals is critical for the environment and human health. Various standard physicochemical and biological treatment technologies are used; however, there are still some difficulties. Adsorption is described as a highly successful technology for removing contaminants from textile-effluents wastewater compared to other methods. Several adsorbent materials, including nanomaterials, natural