Aurasperone A Inhibits SARS CoV-2 In Vitro: An Integrated In Vitro and In Silico Study

Several natural products recovered from a marine-derived Aspergillus niger were tested for their inhibitory activity against SARS CoV-2 in vitro. Aurasperone A (3) was found to inhibit SARS CoV-2 efficiently (IC₅₀ = 12.25 µM) with comparable activity with the positive control remdesivir (IC₅₀ = 10.11 µM). Aurasperone A exerted minimal cytotoxicity on Vero E6 cells (CC₅₀ = 32.36 mM, SI = 2641.5) and it was found to be much safer than remdesivir (CC₅₀ = 415.22 µM, SI = 41.07). To putatively highlight its molecular target, aurasperone A was subjected to molecular docking against several key-viral protein targets followed by a series of molecular dynamics-based in silico experiments that suggested M^pro to be its primary viral protein target. More potent anti-SARS CoV-2 M^pro inhibitors can be developed according to our findings presented in the present investigation.     

Neoechinulin A as a Promising SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Inhibitor: In Vitro and In Silico Study Showing the Ability of Simulations in Discerning Active from Inactive Enzyme Inhibitors

The COVID-19 pandemic and its continuing emerging variants emphasize the need to discover appropriate treatment, where vaccines alone have failed to show complete protection against the new variants of the virus. Therefore, treatment of the infected cases is critical. This paper discusses the bio-guided isolation of three indole diketopiperazine alkaloids, neoechinulin A (1), echinulin (2), and eurocristatine (3), from the Red Sea-derived Aspergillus fumigatus MR2012. Neoechinulin A (1) exhibited a potent inhibitory effect against SARS-CoV-2 M^pro with IC₅₀ value of 0.47 μM, which is comparable to the reference standard GC376. Despite the structural similarity between the three compounds, only 1 showed a promising effect. The mechanism of inhibition is discussed in light of a series of extensive molecular docking, classical and steered molecular dynamics simulation experiments. This paper sheds light on indole diketopiperazine alkaloids as a potential structural motif against SARS-CoV-2 M^pro. Additionally, it highlights the potential of different molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation approaches in the discrimination between active and inactive structurally related M^pro inhibitors.     

Global Bibliometric Analysis of the Research in Biochar

Global interest in studying biochar stems from its ability to sequester carbon in soil and render nutrients and moisture more readily available to root systems. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis was conducted to investigate global scientific publications related to biochar research, providing insight into the number of articles published, journal platforms, subjects, citations, and overall trends. The primary databases employed were the Web of Science and Science Citation Index. A total of 1,697 articles published between 2000 and 2015 were evaluated. This systematic bibliometric analysis will assist research groups and individuals to understand global biochar research trends and focus future research. The influence of biochar on soil, plants, and the environment continues to require greater attention.     

黄瓜游离小孢子培养诱导成胚和植株再生

 以10个不同基因型黄瓜为试材进行游离小孢子培养,通过对成胚条件的系统研究,从‘7447’和‘Poinsett97’中获得了子叶形胚和再生植株。研究结果表明：基因型和小孢子发育时期是限制黄瓜游离小孢子成胚的关键因子。不同品种间胚状体产量差异显著,每皿产胚1.5～33.4个。单核靠边期是进行黄瓜游离小孢子培养的最佳时期。低温预处理有利于胚状体的诱导,4 ℃预处理2～4 d为宜,以处理2 d时胚状体产量最高。外源激素在诱导胚状体时并非必需,但低浓度的外源激素（0.5 mg·L^-1 2,4－D、0.2 mg·L^-1 6－BA）更能促进小孢子成胚。NLN和B5两种基础培养基在诱导胚状体上无显著差异。子叶形胚易分化成苗,而其它类型的胚状体不能获得再生植株。     

Optimizing supplemental irrigation: Tradeoffs between profitability and sustainability

Water production functions are used to model yield response to various levels of supplemental irrigation (SI), to assess water productivity coefficients, and to identify optimum irrigation under various input-output price scenarios. The SI production function is taken as the difference between the total water production function (irrigation + rain) and that of rainwater. Theoretical analysis of the unconstrained objective function shows that the seasonal depth of SI to maximize profit occurs when the marginal product of water equals the ratio of unit water cost to unit product sale price. Applying this analysis to wheat in northern Syria, the production functions of SI under different rainfall conditions are developed. Coupled with current and projected water costs and wheat sale prices, the functions are used to develop an easy-to-use chart for determining seasonal irrigation rates to maximize profit under a range of seasonal rainfall amounts.Results show that, for a given seasonal rainfall, there is a critical value for the ratio of irrigation cost to production price beyond which SI becomes less profitable than rainfed production. Higher product prices and lower irrigation costs encourage the use of more water. Policies supporting high wheat prices and low irrigation costs encourage maximizing yields but with low water productivity. The resulting farmer practice threatens the sustainability of water resources. Balancing profitability versus sustainability is a challenge for policy makers. Our analysis can help national and local water authorities and policy makers determine appropriate policies for water valuation and allocation; and assist extension services and farmers in planning irrigation infrastructure and farm water management.     

Resistance screening of breeding lines and commercial tomato cultivars for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Meloidogyne incognita</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">M. javanica</Emphasis> populations (Nematoda) from Ethiopia

Soil and root samples were collected from major tomato growing areas of Ethiopia during the 2012/2013 growing season to identify root-knot nematode problems. DNA-based and isozyme techniques revealed that Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica were the predominant Meloidogyne species across the sampled areas. The aggressiveness of different populations of these species was assessed on tomato cultivars Marmande and Moneymaker. The two most aggressive populations of each species were selected and further tested on 33 tomato genotypes. The resistance screening and mechanism of resistance was performed after inoculation with 100 freshly hatched (<24 h) second-stage juveniles (J2). Eight weeks after inoculation the number of egg masses produced on each cultivar was assessed. For the resistance mechanism study, J2 penetration and their subsequent development inside the tomato roots were examined at 1, 2, 4 and 6 weeks after inoculation. On both cultivars Marmande and Moneymaker all M. incognita and M. javanica populations formed a high number of egg masses indicating highly aggressive behaviour. Populations from ‘Jittu’ and ‘Babile’ for M. incognita and ‘Jittu’ and ‘Koka’ for M. javanica were selected as most aggressive. None of the 33 tomato genotypes were immune for these M. incognita and M. javanica populations. However, several tomato genotypes were found to have a significant effect on the number of egg masses produced indicating possible resistance. For M. javanica populations there were more plants from cultivars or breeding lines on which no egg masses were found compared to M. incognita populations. The lowest number of egg masses for both populations of M. incognita was produced on cultivars Bridget40, Galilea, and Irma while for M. javanica it was on Assila, Eden, Galilea, Tisey, CLN-2366A, CLN-2366B and CLN-2366C. Tomato genotypes, time (weeks after inoculation) and their interaction were significant sources of variation for J2 penetration and their subsequent development inside the tomato roots. Differential penetration was found in breeding lines such as CLN-2366A, CLN-2366B and CLN-2366C, but many of the selected tomato genotypes resistance for the tested M. incognita and M. javanica populations were expressed by delayed nematode development. Therefore, developing a simple screening technique to be used by local farmers or extension workers is crucial to facilitate selection of a suitable cultivar.     

Genomewide association study reveals novel quantitative trait loci associated with resistance towards Septoria tritici blotch in North European winter wheat

Fungal diseases are a major constraint for wheat production. Effective disease resistance is essential for ensuring a high production quality and yield. One of the most severe fungal diseases of wheat is Septoria tritici blotch (STB), which influences wheat production across the world. In this study, genomewide association mapping was used to identify new chromosomal regions on the wheat genome conferring effective resistance towards STB. A winter wheat population of 164 North European varieties and breeding lines was genotyped with 15K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) wheat array. The varieties were evaluated for STB in field trials at three locations in Denmark and across 3 years. The association analysis revealed four quantitative trait loci, on chromosomes 1B, 2A, 5D and 7A, highly associated with STB resistance. By comparing varieties containing several quantitative trait loci (QTL) with varieties containing none of the found QTL, a significant difference was found in the mean disease score. This indicates that an effective resistance can be obtained by pyramiding several QTL.     

Chemical Constituents of Lagenaria siceraria Mesocarp and Its Xanthine Oxidase and Alpha-Amylase Inhibitory Activities

The present study was conducted to identify natural products in the bioactive fractions of Lagenaria siceraria mesocarp. Column chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for separation and identification of phytochemicals. Methanolic extract and its fractions displayed alpha-amylase and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities comparable to standard drugs. GC-MS analysis of the fractions and column eluates revealed the presence of a variety of chemical compounds, including 4-(methoxymethyl)phenol, 2,2?-methylenebis{6(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-ethyl}phenol, methyl 2-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoate, oxacyclododecane-2,8-dione, N-(2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl] acetamide, 2,3-Epoxycarane, 4-(propan-2-yl)benzaldehyde, octadec-1-ene, 4a-methyl-1-methylidene-1,2,3,4,4a,9,10,10a-octahydrophenanthrene, 2,6-di(propan-2-yl)naphthalene, methyl 3-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylphenyl)propanoate, 4,8a-dimethyl-6-(prop-1-en-2-yl)-3,5,6,7,8,8a-hexahydronaphthalen-2(1H)-one 1,3-dihydro-2-benzofuran, methyl N-hydroxybenzenecarboximidoate, linoleic acid, and palmitic acid. Many of these compounds are being reported for the first time from this plant, the presence of which may explain, at least partly, its medicinal efficacy. The fruit possesses significant anti-enzymatic properties against alpha-amylase and xanthine oxidase, and the most active compounds of mesocarp of the fruit appear in ethyl acetate fraction of its methanolic extract.     

Correction to: Impact of leaf infestation by herbivorous insects on the elemental uptake of citrus trees

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - In the original publication, the article title was incorrectly published as ‘Impact of leave infestation by herbivorous insects on the elemental...