Article
Plant Sciences
Gabriella Sferra, Daniele Fantozzi, Gabriella Stefania Scippa, Dalila Trupiano
Summary: Cadmium (Cd) is a major health concern worldwide due to its negative effects on soils, rendering them unsuitable for food and feed production. Phytoremediation has the potential to remediate Cd-polluted soils, but further understanding of the underlying processes is needed. This study comprehensively analyzed the response of A. thaliana and A. halleri to Cd stress, identifying co-expressed gene modules specifically associated with Cd presence. The results revealed that the Cd-associated genes in A. halleri are finely regulated and linked to a general response to chemical and other stimuli, while in A. thaliana, the upregulated genes are related to a general response to stimuli, and the downregulated genes are associated with root growth and development. Key genes associated with Cd were identified and may serve as targets for future research.
Article
Plant Sciences
Hiroshi Kudo, Zhaojie Qian, Chihiro Inoue, Mei-Fang Chien
Summary: This study investigated the influence of temperature on the rate and mechanisms of accumulation of cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) on the surface of Aspergillus nigeroutlet boards. The results showed that the temperature dependence of the distribution of Cd and Zn in the plant was different, indicating different loading mechanisms in the xylem for Cd and Zn. Although Cd and Zn have partially similar transport pathways, the kinetics of absorption revealed that the temperature maximizing absorption rate was different between Cd and Zn. This study suggests the potential for efficient Cd phytoextraction using A. halleri ssp gemmifera in Cd and Zn co-existing environments.
Article
Plant Sciences
Massimiliano Corso, Xinhui An, Catherine Yvonne Jones, Veronica Gonzalez-Doblas, M. Sol Schvartzman, Eugeniusz Malkowski, William G. T. Willats, Marc Hanikenne, Nathalie Verbruggen
Summary: Metallophytes, such as A. halleri, exhibit significant variation in metal tolerance and accumulation due to differential expression of transporter genes and cell wall components in response to metal-contaminated environments. The metallicolous population showed increased tolerance to and reduced hyperaccumulation of Zn, limited accumulation of Cd, and altered metal homeostasis compared to the nonmetallicolous population, suggesting the involvement of specific cell wall components and transporter genes in limiting metal accumulation.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Marta Oleszek, Izabela Krzeminska
Summary: The study found that ultrasonic pretreatment has significantly different effects on high-protein microalgal biomass compared to carbohydrate-rich microalgae, showing positive changes in methane fermentation process by decreasing structural complex carbohydrates content in one case and negative impacts on methane fermentation due to protein aggregation and formation of NH2 group in the other.
Article
Plant Sciences
Cheng Zhang, Chenchen Tong, Lei Cao, Pengpeng Zheng, Xiaofeng Tang, Lihuan Wang, Min Miao, Yongsheng Liu, Shuqing Cao
Summary: This research uncovered a novel regulatory cascade that significantly influences Cd tolerance in Arabidopsis. The WRKY33-ATL31-IRT1 module plays a crucial role in blocking Cd absorption and preventing metal toxicity. WRKY33 activates the transcription of ATL31, which in turn targets IRT1 for degradation in response to Cd stress.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hiroshi Kudo, Chihiro Inoue, Kazuki Sugawara
Summary: The study demonstrated the accumulation of Cd by Arabidopsis halleri ssp. gemmifera, with an increase in biomass, Cd, and Zn concentration in the plant over 103 days of experimentation. Soil Cd concentration significantly decreased, and the material balance showed Cd uptake by the plant and decrement from the soil ranging from 63.3% to 83.7% in each growth stage. Analysis revealed stable water-eluted and exchangeable forms of Cd, with a decrease in the fraction extracted with 0.1 M HCl, indicating its non-bioavailability.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jing Huang, Huai Kang Jing, Yue Zhang, Si Yuan Chen, Hao Yu Wang, Yuan Cao, Zheng Zhang, Yun Hao Lu, Qing Song Zheng, Ren Fang Shen, Xiao Fang Zhu
Summary: Melatonin (MT) is involved in rice's response to cadmium (Cd) tolerance by regulating Cd accumulation. Exogenous application of MT increased the binding capacity of the cell wall to Cd and down-regulated the transcript level of Cd intake genes, leading to less Cd entering the roots. Moreover, MT up-regulated the transcript level of genes responsible for decreasing Cd accumulation in shoots.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
HongLei Jia, XiaoHong Wang, Ting Wei, Min Wang, Xun Liu, Li Hua, XinHao Ren, JunKang Guo, Jisheng Li
Summary: The study showed that pre-treatment with salicylic acid significantly reduced cadmium accumulation in tomato plants and altered cadmium distribution. Salicylic acid induced the composition of the cell wall, increasing cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and lignin content, and up-regulated the expression of lignin and cellulose synthase genes while down-regulating pectin methylesterase related genes. Additionally, salicylic acid decreased pectin methylesterase activity to reduce cadmium accumulation in the cell wall and change cadmium partition ratio.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qi Wu, Yu Ting Meng, Zhi Hang Feng, Ren Fang Shen, Xiao Fang Zhu
Summary: This study demonstrates that MAN7 is involved in the response of Arabidopsis to toxic Cd levels, acting by modulating mannose content in the cell wall. It also identifies the bZIP44 transcription factor as a regulator of MAN7 in response to Cd toxicity.
JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Xingxing Zhang, Lu Zhang, Lijuan Chen, Yinglin Lu, Yuxing An
Summary: This study investigated the function of a gamma-ECS gene from Vicia sativa and found that it enhanced the Cadmium (Cd) tolerance in plants by increasing the synthesis of glutathione (GSH) and phytochelatins (PCs).
Article
Plant Sciences
Ilya V. Seregin, Tatiana V. Ivanova, Alexander S. Voronkov, Anna D. Kozhevnikova, Henk Schat
Summary: This pilot study aimed to compare the effects of zinc and nickel on the fatty acid profiles, oxidative stress and desaturase activity in two different species of Arabidopsis plants, one being a zinc hyperaccumulator and the other being a metal excluder. The results showed that significant changes in fatty acid composition were observed in both species, but the changes were metal-dependent and species-specific. These metal-induced changes in fatty acid composition could affect the fluidity and stability of membranes in the plants, potentially contributing to their metal tolerance or acclimation.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Yuanzhi Fu, Halyna Zhatova, Yuqing Li, Qiao Liu, Volodymyr Trotsenko, Chengqi Li
Summary: This study compared the physiological and transcriptomic responses of two sunflower cultivars at different cadmium concentrations. The results showed that the low cadmium cultivar had better tolerance and stronger ability to remove toxic substances. Differentially expressed gene families may play important roles in cadmium accumulation in the cultivars.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xinyu Guo, Jipeng Luo, Yilin Du, Jinxing Li, Yuankun Liu, Yongchao Liang, Tingqiang Li
Summary: This study investigated the changes in root cell wall structures and components between nonhyperaccumulating ecotype and hyperaccumulating ecotype of Sedum alfredii, revealing that the thickened cell wall and methylated pectin have synchronicity in spatial location of roots, contributing to Cd accumulation in S. alfredii.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Guangyu Liu, Yujuan Hua, Ronda Gras, Jim Luong
Summary: An analytical strategy utilizing discrete frequency infrared imaging technique was developed to improve sample throughput in microplastic analysis. The concept demonstration study achieved high identification rates with a reduced scanning area, demonstrating the potential of this technique to enhance sample throughput.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiaolu Wu, Qi Chen, Lulu Chen, Feifei Tian, Xiaoxi Chen, Chengyu Han, Jiaxuan Mi, Xinyi Lin, Xueqin Wan, Beibei Jiang, Qinglin Liu, Fang He, Lianghua Chen, Fan Zhang
Summary: This study isolated and cloned the PyWRKY75 gene from Populus yunnanensis and verified its functionality in poplar under Cd stress. The results showed that the transgenic poplar exhibited better growth, Cd absorption and accumulation, as well as antioxidant capacity compared to the wild type. These findings provide a scientific basis for the use of transgenic plants in Cd pollution remediation.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Joelle De Meutter, Erik Goormaghtigh
Summary: The paper presents a new method for high-throughput protein structure determination using protein microarrays and FTIR imaging. It introduces a new protein library cSP92 designed to cover a wide range of structural space, and correlates spectral characteristics to secondary structure features using ASLR, PLS, and SVM. The results show that ASLR provides better results and the high throughput microarray approach is suitable for accurately determining protein secondary structure.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Biophysics
Joelle De Meutter, Erik Goormaghtigh
Summary: FTIR spectroscopy is a major tool for determining protein secondary structure, but the overlap of absorption bands presents a challenge. Deuteration can improve predictions for alpha-helical and other structures, with beta-sheet content better predicted in non-deuterated conditions.
EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL WITH BIOPHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Biophysics
Joelle De Meutter, Erik Goormaghtigh
Summary: The study evaluates the contribution of amino acid side chains in the spectral region and the potential improvement of protein secondary structure prediction after correcting for their contribution. It shows that the prediction of beta-sheet content is significantly improved by subtracting amino acid side chain contributions in the amide I-amide II spectral range. Other methods such as partial least square regression and support vector machine also show improved accuracy for beta-sheet content evaluation.
EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL WITH BIOPHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Biophysics
Barbara Claro, Erik Goormaghtigh, Margarida Bastos
Summary: The study successfully characterized the structural features of two cyclic peptides in solution and upon interaction with negatively charged membranes using ATR-FTIR and polarized light, demonstrating that the presence of lipid membranes enhances the formation and orientation of tubular structures.
EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL WITH BIOPHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Sabrina Hamla, Pierre-Yves Sacre, Allison Derenne, Kheiro-Mouna Derfoufi, Ben Cowper, Claire Butre, Arnaud Delobel, Erik Goormaghtigh, Philippe Hubert, Eric Ziemons
Summary: Glycosylation plays a critical role in the stability, bioactivity, and safety of pharmaceutical proteins. The development of fast and simple analytical methods is crucial for characterizing the composition and structure of glycoproteins. In this study, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) combined with chemometric strategies was used to analyze glycoproteins. The results demonstrate that this approach is efficient in characterizing glycosylation in therapeutic proteins. Support vector regression (SVR) models showed better predictive performances compared to Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) models.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Eliana Di Lodovico, Lilian Marchand, Nadege Oustriere, Aritz Burges, Gaelle Capdeville, Regis Burlett, Sylvain Delzon, Marie-Pierre Isaure, Marta Marmiroli, Michel J. Mench
Summary: The study evaluated the potential of tobacco for phytomanaging and remediating soil ecological functions at a contaminated site. The results showed that tobacco can grow relatively well even in heavily contaminated soil, maintaining a healthy photosynthetic system under stress. The study also found that the concentrations of certain metal elements in the contaminated soil can affect the absorption of nutrients in the aboveground plant parts.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Sophie Hendrix, Nathalie Verbruggen, Ann Cuypers, Andreas J. Meyer
Summary: This work provides an overview of the interactions between trace metal homeostasis and heat stress responses in plants. Both deficiency and excess concentrations of trace metals can affect plant growth, development, and defense mechanisms. Heat stress, as a prevalent factor, negatively impacts crop yield and quality, posing a threat to food security. Understanding heat stress responses is crucial for optimizing plant growth and quality under unfavorable temperatures, with trace metals playing an important role in this process.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Perla G. Haddad, Jean Mura, Franck Casteran, Marion Guignard, Magali Ranchou-Peyruse, Pascale Senechal, Marie Larregieu, Marie-Pierre Isaure, Isabelle Svahn, Peter Moonen, Isabelle Le Hecho, Guilhem Hoareau, Pierre Chiquet, Guilhem Caumette, David Dequidt, Pierre Cezac, Anthony Ranchou-Peyruse
Summary: In recent years, there has been a rise in anaerobic digestion plants producing biomethane. Research has shown that oxygen may have adverse effects on deep aquifers in anaerobic environments. Experimental results indicate a decrease in sulfate and CO2 consumption in simulated underground gas storage conditions, with microbial activity utilizing methane as a carbon source, while the addition of oxygen led to sulfide re-oxidation to sulfate, resulting in decreased microbial activity.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Zsuzsanna Kolbert, Ann Cuypers, Nathalie Verbruggen
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Annaelle Demaude, Kitty Baert, David Petitjean, Juliette Zveny, Erik Goormaghtigh, Tom Hauffman, Michael J. Gordon, Francois Reniers
Summary: In this work, immobilization of unwanted filaments in dielectric barrier discharges (DBD) is achieved for one-step deposition of patterned coatings. By texturing one of the dielectric surfaces, chemical and topographical contrasts at sub-millimeter scale are obtained. The influence of filaments on the deposition process is investigated.
Article
Plant Sciences
Quentin Riviere, Massimiliano Corso, Madalina Ciortan, Gregoire Noel, Nathalie Verbruggen, Matthieu Defrance
Summary: In this study, a new method was developed to predict cis-regulatory elements (CREs) and target genes of plant transcription factors (TFs). The method integrates different layers of genomic features using supervised machine learning and has shown high accuracy and transferability. Validation in Arabidopsis demonstrated the successful prediction of target genes for key TFs involved in metabolite biosynthesis.
PLANT AND CELL PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Olivier Suys, Allison Derenne, Erik Goormaghtigh
Summary: Quality control is crucial in the pharmaceutical industry. Researchers have developed a biosensor based on ATR-FTIR spectroscopy to detect immunoglobulins during their production.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Jehan Waeytens, Joelle De Meutter, Erik Goormaghtigh, Alexandre Dazzi, Vincent Raussens
Summary: Nanoscale infrared spectroscopy (AFMIR) has become an important tool for analyzing biological samples, particularly protein assemblies, at the nanoscale level. A method for studying the secondary structure of proteins is introduced based on a protein library of 38 well-characterized proteins. Ascending stepwise linear regression (ASLR) and partial least square (PLS) regression were used to correlate characteristic bands in the spectra with major secondary structures (alpha helices and beta sheets). ASLR appears to provide better results than PLS. The secondary structure predictions have a root mean square standard error of 6.39% for alpha helices and 6.23% for beta sheets in cross validation.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Fabrizio Bardelli, Valentina Rimondi, Pierfranco Lattanzi, Mauro Rovezzi, Marie-Pierre Isaure, Andrea Giaccherini, Pilario Costagliola
Summary: This study investigated the speciation of mercury in black pine bark using HR-XANES spectroscopy. The results showed that the outermost layer of the bark contained nanoparticulate metacinnabar (nano-beta-HgS), while deeper layers had an increasing amount of Hg-organic species. The presence of nano-beta-HgS was not solely due to wind-blown particulates from the surrounding soil, but could be the result of biochemical reactions between gaseous elemental Hg and the bark tissue.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-PROCESSES & IMPACTS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
P. G. Haddad, M. Ranchou-Peyruse, M. Guignard, J. Mura, F. Casteran, L. Ronjon-Magand, P. Senechal, M-P Isaure, P. Moonen, G. Hoareau, D. Dequidt, P. Chiquet, G. Caumette, P. Cezac, A. Ranchou-Peyruse
Summary: This study aims to investigate the effect of H2 injection on the interactions between water formation, reservoir rock, gas mixture and microbial ecosystems in underground gas storage. The experimental results suggest that microbial life in deep aquifers plays a significant role in the transformation of H2, especially in relation to sulfate, CO2, calcite, and H2 concentrations in the system.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)