Research Publications (Food Safety)

Background Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic heavy metal. Its emission is suspected to be further increased due to the dramatic application of ash to agricultural soils and newly reclaimed ones. Thereby, Cd stress encountered by plants will exacerbate. Acute and chronic exposure to Cd can upset plant growth and development and ultimately causes plant death.

Rapid industrialization and urbanization have caused serious cadmium (Cd) pollution in soil. Tartary buckwheat is an important pseudocereal crop with the potential ability to tolerate various stresses. However, the responses to Cd stress in this species are unclear.

Cadmium (Cd) contamination of paddy soil affects safe crop production. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of plant biostimulant amino acid fertilizer on the phytoremediation capability of an emergent accumulator plant Nasturtium officinale R. Br. for Cd-contaminated paddy soils. A pot study was carried out to study the effects of different concentrations of amino acid fertilizer on the Cd accumulation of N. officinale grown in Cd-contaminated paddy soil.

The increasing contamination of soil with arsenic (As), and salinity has become a menace to food security and human health. The current study investigates the comparative efficacy of plain biochar (BC), and silicon-nanoparticles doped biochar (SBC) for ameliorating the As and salinity-induced phytotoxicity in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) and associated human health risks.

Cadmium (Cd) toxicity not only affects plant growth and development, but also affects human health through the food chain. Several studies have demonstrated that Selenium (Se) alleviates Cd stress in plants; however, whether and how Se-alleviated Cd stress by regulating the structure of soil microbial community remain largely unclear.

Cadmium (Cd) contamination of agricultural soils poses a potential public health issue for humans. Phytoremediation-based accumulating plants are an effective and sustainable technology for Cadmium remediation of contaminated agricultural soil. The rhizosphere microbiome can promote the growth and Cadmium accumulation in hyperaccumulators, but its taxonomic and functional traits remain elusive.

Plant-specific TIFY [TIF(F/Y)XG] proteins serve important roles in the regulation of plant stress responses. This family encodes four subfamilies of proteins, JAZ (JASMONATE ZIM-domain), PPD (PEAPOD), ZML (Zinc-finger Inflorescence-like), and TIFY. In this work, a total of 16 JAZ, 3 PPD, 7 ZML, and 2 TIFY genes were found in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) at the genome-wide level.

Growth improvement of the medicinal plant, Ficus deltoidea (Mas Cotek) under drought conditions is a vital issue in Malaysia since it is a slow-growing plant and disposed to leaf damage under the stresses of drought. Therefore, investigation was done to examine the outcomes of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) application on Rubisco gene expression and metabolites accumulation of stressed F.

Concerns regarding inevitable soil translocation and bioaccumulation of cadmium (Cd) in plants have been escalating in concomitance with the posed phytotoxicity and threat to human health. Exhibiting a Cd tolerance, Bacillus sp. M6 strain has been reported as a soil amendment owing to its capability of reducing metal bioavailability in soils. The present study investigated the rhizospheric bacterial community of the Cd hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

To date, Cd contamination of cropland and crops is receiving more and more attention around the world. As a plant hormone, abscisic acid (ABA) plays an important role in Cd stress response, but its effect on plant Cd uptake and translocation varies among plant species.

Cadmium (Cd) is one the leading environmental contaminants. The Cd toxicity and its potential stabilization strategies have been investigated in the recent years. However, the combined effects of biochar and microorganisms on the adsorption of Cd and maize plant physiology, still remained unclear.

Being sessile organisms, plants cannot escape unwanted changes in the environment. The rapid human population explosion caused significant environmental problems. Heavy metals produced through various sources can cause severe damage to living organisms. The study was planned to evaluate four grass species’ morpho-physiological growth characteristics and phytoremediation capabilities under chromium (Cr) and lead stress (Pb) in the arid climate.

In the context of eco-sustainable acquisition of food security, arsenic (As) acts as a deterring factor, which easily infiltrates our food chain via plant uptake. Therefore, devising climate-smart strategies becomes exigent for minimizing the imposed risks. Pertinently, Serendipita indica (S. indica) is well reputed for its post-symbiotic stress alleviatory and phyto-promotive potential.

Cadmium (Cd) is a harmful heavy metal that is risky for plant growth and human health. The zinc-finger transcription factor ZAT10 is highly conserved with ZAT6 and ZAT12, which are involved in Cd tolerance in plants. However, the definite function of ZAT10 in Cd tolerance remains uncertain. Here, we demonstrated that ZAT10 negatively regulated Cd uptake and enhanced Cd detoxification in Arabidopsis. The expression of ZAT10 in plants is induced by Cd treatment.

Soil contamination with toxic heavy metals [such as lead (Pb)] is becoming a serious global problem due to the rapid development of the social economy. However, accumulation of Pb in plant parts is very toxic for plant growth and decreases crop yield and productivity.

The commercialization of hybrid rice has greatly contributed to the increase in rice yield, with the improvement of its seed production capacity having played an important role. The stigma exsertion rate (SER) is a key factor for improving the outcrossing of the sterile line and the hybrid rice seed production.

Cadmium (Cd) pollution not only reduces crop yields, but also threatens human health and food safety. It is of great significance for agricultural production to improve plant Cd resistance and reduce Cd accumulation. In Arabidopsis, tryptophan (Trp) has been found to play a role in Cd resistance. However, studies on the role of exogenous Trp on Cd tolerance in crops are limited.

Among heavy metals, cadmium (Cd) is one of the toxic metals, which significantly reduce the growth of plants even at a low concentration. Cd interacts with various plant mechanisms at the physiological and antioxidant levels, resulting in decreased plant growth. This research was conducted to exploit the potential of synergistic application of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and Moringa oleifera leaf extract in mitigation of Cd stress in linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) plants.

Skimmia anquetilia N.P. Taylor and Airy Shaw (Rutaceae) is a perennial, aromatic, gregarious wild ornamental shrub native to the Western Himalaya. The plant is used in the traditional medicinal system to treat copious health conditions like rheumatism, fever, inflammation, headache, influenza, body-ache, clearing of the nose, diabetes, lowering the body temperature, smallpox, wounds, burns, snake, and scorpion bites.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid and has a multi-functional role in abiotic stress tolerance. A pot experiment was conducted to assess the role of exogenous gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) application to modulate the growth, yield, and related physio-biochemical mechanisms in two aromatic rice cultivars i.e., Guixiangzhan (GXZ) and Nongxiang 18 (NX-18) under Pb toxic and normal conditions.

Ionomics, the study of the composition of mineral nutrients and trace elements in organisms that represent the inorganic component of cells and tissues, has been widely studied to explore to unravel the molecular mechanism regulating the elemental composition of plants. However, the genetic factors of rice subspecies in the interaction between arsenic and functional ions have not yet been explained.

Cadmium (Cd), as one of the heavy metals with biological poisonousness, seriously suppresses plant growth and does harm to human health. Hence, phytoremediation was proposed to mitigate the negative effects from Cd and restore contaminated soil. However, the internal mechanisms of detoxification of Cd used in phytoremediation are not completely revealed. In this study, we cloned the cytochrome P450 gene PscCYP716A1 from hybrid poplar “Chuanxiang No.

Invasive species can evolve rapidly in the invasion areas to adapt to new habitats. Sphagneticola trilobata L. Pruski, an invasive species, was studied for its tolerance to cadmium (Cd) in the soil and compared with its natural hybrid. From the perspective of photosynthetic physiology, antioxidant characteristics, and leaf hormone levels, the differences between the leaves of the two species before and after Cd treatment were compared.

Heavy metal toxicity reduces the growth and development of crop plants growing in metal-contaminated regions. Disposal of industrial waste in agricultural areas has negative effects on the physiochemical activities of plants. This research aimed to examine the fulvic acid (FA)-mediated efficacy of Brassica napus L. regarding stress tolerance in soil amended with paper sludge (PS).

Deeper and longer roots allow crops to survive and flourish, but our understanding of the plant growth regulators promoting root system establishment is limited. Here, we report that, a novel auxin receptor agonist, named K-10, had a remarkable promotive effect on root growth in both Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa through the enhancement of root-related signaling responses.