EMS-Mediated Mutagenesis in Marigold Seeds and Its Effects on Seedling Growth and Physiology

Marigolds(Tagetes spp.)are popular horticultural plants worldwide.The current study aimed to investigate the optimal mutagenic conditions for marigold seeds using EMS(ethyl methanesulfonate)mutagenesis.Different con-centrations and treatment times of EMS were applied to investigate their effects on the marigold seed germination rate,growth traits,antioxidant enzyme activities(i.e.,SOD and POD),and malondialdehyde(MDA)contents.Results indicated that with increasing the EMS treatment duration and concentration,the seed germination rate and growth treatments were reduced,accompanied by elevated MDA content.In addition,SOD and POD activ-ities initially correlated positively with the growth tratis at the lowest concentrations and shortest durations of EMS,but such relationship diminished beyond certain thresholds.The comprehensive analysis identified the opti-mal mutagenic conditions as 1%EMS treatment for 12 h,achieving a semi-lethal dose and enhancing stress-resis-tant components in seedlings.Thesefindings are pivotal for advancing genetic enhancement and germplasm innovation in marigolds.

Three-dimensional flow of Powell–Eyring nanofluid with heat and mass flux boundary conditions

This article investigates the three-dimensional flow of Powell–Eyring nanofluid with thermophoresis and Brownian motion effects. The energy equation is considered in the presence of thermal radiation. The heat and mass flux conditions are taken into account. Mathematical formulation is carried out through the boundary layer approach. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into the nonlinear ordinary differential equations through suitable variables. The resulting nonlinear ordinary differential equations have been solved for the series solutions. Effects of emerging physical parameters on the temperature and nanoparticles concentration are plotted and discussed. Numerical values of local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are computed and examined.

Efficient construction of a substitution box based on a Mordell elliptic curve over a finite field

Elliptic curve cryptography has been used in many security systems due to its small key size and high security compared with other cryptosystems. In many well-known security systems, a substitution box (S-box) is the only non-linear component. Recently, it has been shown that the security of a cryptosystem can be improved using dynamic S-boxes instead of a static S-box. This necessitates the construction of new secure S-boxes. We propose an efficient method to generate S-boxes that are based on a class of Mordell elliptic curves over prime fields and achieved by defining different total orders. The proposed scheme is devel-oped in such a way that for each input it outputs an S-box in linear time and constant space. Due to this property, our method takes less time and space than the existing S-box construction methods over elliptic curves. Computational results show that the pro-posed method is capable of generating cryptographically strong S-boxes with security comparable to some of the existing S-boxes constructed via different mathematical structures.

Plant-soil feedback during biological invasions:effect of litter decomposition from an invasive plant(Sphagneticola trilobata)on its native congener(S.calendulacea)

Plant invasions can affect soil properties in the invaded habitat by altering the biotic and abiotic nature of soils through positive or negative plant–soil feedback.Litter decomposition from many invasive species enhanced soil nutrients,thereby decreasing native plant diversity and leading to further plant invasions.Here,we examined the impact of litter decomposition from an invasive plant(Sphagneticola trilobata)in a range of soils at varying depths on growth and physiology of its native congener(Sphagneticola calendulacea).We added litter from S.trilobata to each soil type at different depths(0,2,4 and 6 cm).Plants of S.calendulacea were grown in each treatment,and morphological and physiological parameters were measured at the end of the growing period.All soils treated with litter displayed increases in soil nutrients at depths of 2 and 4 cm;while most growth traits,leaf chlorophyll and leaf nitrogen of S.calendulacea decreased at the same soil depths.Therefore,litter decomposition from invasive S.trilobata resulted in a positive plant–soil feedback for soil nutrients,and a negative plant–soil feedback for growth in native S.calendulacea.Our findings also suggest that the effects of litter decomposition from an invasive plant on soils and native species can vary significantly depending on the soil depth at which the litter is deposited.Future studies should focus on plant–soil feedback for more native and invasive species in invaded habitats,and the effects of invasive litter in more soil types and at greater soil depths.

Review of applying X-ray computed tomography for imaging soil-root physical and biological processes

Root growth process in soils has long been a matter of interest to soil and plant scientists.However the opaque nature of the soil has been a barrier to most research attempts aimed at unraveling the full root-soil processes.The traditional method of separating the roots from the growth media which is common practice tends to be destructive and defeats the purpose of such studies.It is ineffective in monitoring the interactions within the soil medium and as a result,a fast non-destructive technique is preferred.However,with computing and technological advancements,X-ray computed tomography(CT)has been found to be capable of meeting this need by imaging the processes which are of interest to researchers.Over the past three-four decades,the applications of the technology for imaging soil-root studies have attracted the researchers’widespread interests and the future looks more promising.The purpose of this review is to present an overview of CT applications in imaging root-soil processes.The main focus is on the use of soil-root interface researches and the way forward for such non-destructive analyses.

A novel variant of GALC in a familial case of Krabbe disease:Insights from structural bioinformatics and molecular dynamics simulation

Krabbe disease or globoid cell leukodystrophy(GLD;MIM#245200)is a rare and fatal lysosomal storage disease with an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance that results from the deficiency of galactocerebrosidase(GALC;E.C.3.2.1.46),a lysosomal enzyme encoded by the GALC gene.1 GALC breaks down galactosylceramide,a cerebroside located mainly in the myelin sheath.Defects in GALC cause the accumulation of a cytotoxic metabolite,galactosylsphingosine or psychosine,which can be toxic to oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells.2 The failure to digest galactosylceramide triggers the formation of multi-nucleated globoid cells,causing severe demyelination,axonopathy,and neuronal death.3 The reported frequency of Krabbe disease is 1 in 100,000 live births with symptoms including irritability,loss of motor ability,spasticity,ataxia,visual dysfunction,seizures,andcognitive impairment.

CFD simulation of sucrose flow field in the stem of greenhouse tomato seedling

Sucrose is the main constituent of assimilation transport from source to sink.In order to study the transport mechanism of sucrose,the sucrose at stem was taken as a research object and the sucrose flow field in tomato stem was analyzed using CFD ANSYS FLUENT simulation.The results showed that the sucrose pressure distribution was lower at bottom node and higher at middle node.The velocity of sucrose at different nodes was higher at the bottom node and lower at middle node and assimilation flow direction of the first,second,and third leaf from the bottom was towards the roots.The result of verification experiment showed that sucrose content measured at different nodes was higher at middle node than that of bottom node.Results of this study confirmed that ANASYS FLUENT can better simulate sucrose migration in greenhouse tomato stem.This study provides a new method for studying the partitioning mechanism of tomato assimilates in greenhouse.

Autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia with spasticity due to a rare mutation in GBA2 gene in a large consanguineous Saudi family

The nonlysosomal glucosylceramidase b2(GBA2)gene encode an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of glucosylceramide to glucose and ceramide.Mutations in the GBA2 gene have been reported to cause hereditary spastic paraplegia,autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia with spasticity,and Marinescu-Sjogren-Like Syndrome.In this study,we report the clinical features and genetic diagnosis of autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia with spasticity due to a rare mutation in GBA2 gene in a large consanguineous Saudi family.We included a large consanguineous Saudi family with a presumptive clinical diagnosis of ataxia at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Jeddah,Saudi Arabia.The family included six affected individuals and four unaffected in addition to the parents.Whole exome sequencing(WES)was performed for the probandⅣ-5,and Sanger sequencing was used to confirm the variant in other family members.Segregation study was performed using DNA from the parents and siblings of the proband.Sequence analysis identified a homozygous variant c.2618G>A,p.(Arg873His)in GBA2 gene.The homozygous variant was identified in affected members of the family while the parents and the other four siblings were heterozygous carriers of the variant.One sibling was not available for genetic testing.The variant identified in our patients is classified as pathogenic considering the current evidence of the variant.Autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia with spasticity is an extremely rare genetic disorder with very few cases reported in the literature.We conclude that the c.2617G>A mutation in GBA2 gene causes the loss of function with abolishment of the enzymatic activity that causes the disease.This report adds further evidence to support the pathogenicity of this variant.The patients had the classical clinical phenotype of cerebellar ataxia and spasticity consistent with previous reports in the literature.