Exploring the mechanism of Crocus sativus and Rosa rugosa for the treatment of coronary heart disease based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

Coronary atherosclerotic heart disease(CHD)is the main type of cardiovascular disease.The efficacy of Uyghur drug compound Saffron formula in CHD has been clinically proven.However,the underlying mechanism remains unclear.In this study,researchers investigated the active ingredients and mechanism of action of Crocus sativus and Rosa rugosa in the treatment of CHD by network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques,collected target information with the help of TCMSP,GEO,GeneCards,and other databases,constructed protein-protein interaction(PPI)network diagrams by STRING database,performed GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis on common targets,and finally molecularly docked the active ingredients with core targets.C.sativus-R.rugosa have a variety of polyphenol compounds,a total of 12 active ingredients,including quercetin and kaempferol,were screened.The first three targets intersected with the core targets of CHD as AKT1,TNF,and IL-1B.Enrichment results of KEGG pathway showed that C.sativus-R.rugosa against CHD involved atherosclerosis pathways.The molecular docking results showed that quercetin and kaempferol were well bound to the core targets,and it was speculated that these components might be the main active ingredients for the treatment of CHD.The potential mechanism of action of C.sativus-R.rugosa for the treatment of coronary heart disease was initially revealed.

Genome-wide characterization of graft-transmissible mRNA-coding P450 genes of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L.)

P450(cytochrome P450)is a supergene family,which is involved in various metabolic pathways in plants.Based on previous study,we found some of cucumber P450 mRNAs were systemic mobile in cucumber/pumpkin grafts.However,the reason that why P450 mRNAs were endorsed as signaling,and what specific motif(s)did they harbored is not clear yet.Here,we first identified 221 CsaP450 genes in cucumber genomewide level.Combining with graft-transmissiblemRNAs datasets in cucumber,we elucidated 15mobile-CsaP450-coding genes,of which 5 and 10 belonged to A-type and non-A type respectively.Compared with Arabidopsis and pumpkin(Cucubit moschata)graft-induced-transmissible P450 mRNAs,a phylogenetic treewas constructed and divided into eight clans by usingmultiple-sequence alignment.Gene ontology(GO)enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)annotations indicated that the expression patterns of the mobile-mRNA-coding CsaP450 genes in different tissues of cucumber was specifically enriched in oxidoreductase activity and secondary metabolic pathways.The structures and motifs of these 15 mobile-mRNA-coding CsaP450 genes and their types of regulatory elements told that the proportion of CU-rich motifs was higher than nonmobile-mRNA-coding CsaP450 genes.The integrated analysis of mobility direction and mRNA abundance of 15 mobilemRNA-coding CsaP450 genes allowed to conclude that there was rarely relationship between them.The study provided a new insight into the relationship between the motifs and functional characterization of mobile-mRNA-coding P450 genes of cucumber in genome-wide levels.

连作土灭菌对黄瓜(Cucumis sativus)生长和土壤微生物区系的影响

采用盆栽试验的方法,对黄瓜的生长状况、抗病相关酶及土壤微生物区系特征进行了测定。结果表明:连作土灭菌能在较大程度上改善黄瓜的生长,灭菌土上生长的黄瓜的叶绿素含量、株高、叶面积和鲜重均大于连作土,但随氨基酸肥料(AAF)施用量的增加,灭菌土与连作土之间的差异变小。黄瓜叶片的SOD和POD活性在不施用AAF条件下灭菌土显著高于连作土,然而随着AAF施用量的增加,活性则相反。CAT活性及可溶性蛋白含量灭菌土所有处理均极显著高于相对应的连作土,MDA含量则显著低于相对应的连作土。灭菌土的细菌、真菌数量分别比连作土增加1.89～3.03倍和6.96～2.43倍,放线菌的增加幅度相对较小,真菌/细菌比值也显著提高。随AAF施用量的增加,连作土中的黄瓜枯萎病的致病菌(尖孢镰刀菌)减少,而灭菌土的所有处理均未分离到。土壤细菌的PCR-DGGE图谱分析表明,灭菌土DGGE图谱带明显比连作土增加,土壤间带谱的相似性降低,土壤微生物多样性指数增加。灭菌土上的黄瓜未见枯萎病发生,而连作土的黄瓜发病率达31.25%～68.75%。

外源NO对NaCl胁迫下黄瓜(Cucumis sativus L.)幼苗生长和谷胱甘肽抗氧化酶系统的影响

采用营养液水培,研究了外源一氧化氮(NO)对黄瓜(Cucumis sativusL.)幼苗生长和叶片谷胱甘肽抗氧化酶系统的影响。结果表明,正常生长条件下添加NO能促进黄瓜幼苗生长,而添加NO信号传递途径关键酶鸟苷酸环化酶(cGC)抑制剂亚甲基蓝(MB-1)显著抑制了黄瓜幼苗的生长;添加NO显著缓解了盐胁迫对黄瓜幼苗生长的抑制,提高了叶片谷胱甘肽还原酶(GR)活性、脱氢抗坏血酸还原酶(DHAR)活性、抗坏血酸过氧化物酶(APX)及还原型谷胱甘肽(GSH)、抗坏血酸(ASA)含量,降低了氧化型谷胱甘肽(GSSG)含量,提高了GSH/GSSG,对单脱氢抗坏血酸还原酶(MDAR)活性无显著影响;NaCl胁迫下添加NO的同时添加MB-1抑制了GR活性的提高,GSH和ASA含量、GSH/GSSG均降低,GSSG含量提高,但对MDAR、APX和DHAR活性无显著影响,表明NaCl胁迫下NO对GR活性、GSH和ASA含量、GSH/GSSG的调节可能是通过cGC介导的,对MDAR无明显的调节作用,对DHAR、APX的调节还存在其它途径。

两个黄瓜(Cucumis sativus L.)叶色突变体的比较分析研究

通过对黄瓜黄绿叶突变体9110Gt和NCG-042植株表型观测、遗传分析和分子标记验证,证明9110Gt是区别于NCG-042的新叶色突变体。这两个黄绿叶突变体在表型上存在一定的区别:9110Gt在苗期表现叶色黄化,而NCG-042的心叶在整个生育期都表现黄化。遗传分析证明,两个突变体的叶色突变性状分别由两个不同的等位基因控制,且两基因间存在互补作用。分子标记的检测结果也进一步证实了这一结论。

Establishing VIGS and CRISPR/Cas9 techniques to verify RsPDS function in radish

Virus-induced gene silencing(VIGS)and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein(CRISPR/Cas)systems are effective technologies for rapid and accurate gene function verification in modern plant biotechnology.However,the investigation of gene silencing and editing in radish remains limited.In this study,a bleaching phenotype was generated through the knockdown of RsPDS using tobacco rattle virus(TRV)-and turnip yellow mosaic virus(TYMV)-mediated gene silencing vectors.The TYMV-mediated gene silencing efficiency was higher than the TRV-based VIGS system in radish.The expression level of RsPDS was significantly inhibited using VIGS in'NAU-067'radish leaves.The rootless seedlings of‘NAU-067'were infected with Agrobacterium rhizogenes using the 2300GN-Ubi-RsPDS-Cas9 vector with two target sequences.Nine adventitious roots were blue with GUs staining,and four of these adventitious roots were edited at target sequence 1 of the RsPDS gene as indicated by Sanger sequencing.Furthermore,albino lines were generated with A.tumefaciens-mediated transformation of radish cotyledons.Five base substitutions and three base deletions occurred at target sequence 2 in Line 1,and three base insertions and three base substitutions occurred at target sequence 1 in Line 2.This study shows that VIGS and CRISPR/Cas9 techniques can be employed to precisely verify the biological functions of genes in radish,which will facilitate the genetic improvement of vital horticultural traits in radish breeding programs.

Beneficial effects of saffron(Crocus sativus L.) in ocular pathologies, particularly neurodegenerative retinal diseases

Saffron(Crocus sativus L.)has been traditionally used in food preparation and as a medicinal plant.It currently has numerous therapeutic properties attributed to it,such as protection against ischemia,as well as anticonvulsant,antidepressant,anxiolytic,hypolipidemic,anti-atherogenic,anti-hypertensive,antidiabetic,and anti-cancer properties.In addition,saffron has remarkable beneficial properties,such as anti-apoptotic,anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities,due to its main metabolites,among which crocin and crocetin stand out.Furthermore,increasing evidence underwrites the possible neuroprotective role of the main bioactive saffron constituents in neurodegenerative diseases,such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases,both in experimental models and in clinical studies in patients.Currently,saffron supplementation is being tested for ocular neurodegenerative pathologies,such as diabetic retinopathy,retinitis pigmentosa,age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma,among others,and shows beneficial effects.The present article provides a comprehensive and up to date report of the investigations on the beneficial effects of saffron extracts on the main neurodegenerative ocular pathologies and other ocular diseases.This review showed that saffron extracts could be considered promising therapeutic agents to help in the treatment of ocular neurodegenerative diseases.

Inheritance of Powdery Mildew Resistance in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and Development of an AFLP Marker for Resistance Detection

Cucumber powdery mildew is one of the most destructive diseases of cucumber throughout the world. In the present study, inheritance of powdery mildew resistance in three crosses, and linkage of resistance with amplified fragment length polymorphism （AFLP） markers are studied to formulate efficient strategies for breeding cultivars resistant to powdery mildew. The joint analysis of multiple generations and AFLP technique has been applied in this study. The best model is the one with two major genes, additive, dominant, and epistatic effects, plus polygenes with additive, dominant, and epistatic effects （E-l-0 model）. The heritabilities of the major genes varied from 64.26% to 97.82%, and susceptibility was incompletely dominant for the two major genes in the three crosses studied. The additive effects of the two major genes and the dominant effect of the second major gene were high, and the epistatic effect of the additive-dominant between the two major genes was the highest in cross I . In cross II, the absolute value of the additive effect, dominant effect, and potential ratio of the first major gene were far higher than those of the second major gene, and the epistatic effect of the additive-additive was the highest. The genetic parameters of the two major genes in cross III were similar to those in cross II. Correlation and regression analyses showed that marker E25/M63-103 was linked to a susceptible gene controlling powdery mildew resistance. The marker could account for 19.98% of the phenotypic variation. When the marker was tested on a diverse set of 29 cucumber lines, the correlation between phenotype and genotype was not significant, which suggested cultivar specialty of gene expression or different methods of resistance to powdery mildew. The target DNA fragment was 103 bp in length, and only a small part was found to be homologous to DNA in the other species evaluated, which indicated that it was unique to the cucumber genome.

Current status of genetic transformation technology developed in cucumber(Cucumis sativus L.)

Genetic transformation is an important technique for functional genomics study and genetic improvement of plants. Until now, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods using cotyledon as explants has been the major approach for cucumber, and its frequency has been up to 23%. For example, significantly enhancement of the transformation efficiency of this plant species was achieved from the cotyledon explants of the cultivar Poinsett 76 infected by Agrobacterium strains EHA105 with efficient positive selection system in lots of experiments. This review is to summarize some key factors influencing cucumber regeneration and genetic transformation, including target genes, selection systems and the ways of transgene introduction, and then to put forward some strategies for the increasing of cucumber transformation efficiency. In the future, it is high possible for cucumber to be potential bioreactor to produce vaccine and biomaterials for human beings.

Determination of Neurotoxin β-ODAP and Non-protein Amino Acids in Lathyrus Sativus by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Precolumn Derivatization with 6-Amino quinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl Carbamate (AQC)

A new method was developed for the quantitative determination of the neurotoxic nonprotein amino acid, 3-N-oxalyl-L-2,3-diaminopropioni acid (β-ODAP), its nontoxic α-isomer and other non-protein amino acids in the plant samples of Lathyrus sativus after derivatization with 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate (AQC) by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). 2-Amino butyric acid (ABA) was used as an internal standard.The RP HPLC detection limit for both isomers is 1.8 ng with good response linearity. The results are compared with a colorimetric method.

HPLC Determination of Neurotoxin β-N-oxalyl-L-α, β-diaminopropionic acid and Its α -Isomer in Lathyrus sativus by Precolumn Derivatisation with 1-Fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzcne

A rapid and simple method is presented for determining β-N-oxalyl-α. β- diaminopropionic acid (β -ODAP) and its much less toxic α -isomer (α -ODAP) in Lathyrus sativus. Seed and foliage extracts of Lathyrus sativus were treated with 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (FDNB) and a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the separation of the derivatives in the pmol range is reported.

Developing Stable Cultivar through Microspore Mutagenesis in ×<i>Brassicoraphanus koranhort</i>, Inter-Generic Allopolyploid between <i>Brassica rapa</i>and <i>Raphanus sativus</i>

A stable progeny was developed through induced mutation, using microspore culture, of the hybrid (F1F1) produced by crossing a newly synthesized, unstable allopolyploid (F1) and a stable cultivar, BB#1(F1) in xBrassicoraphanus. An F1F1 plant was subjected to the induced mutation system established during production of BB#1. Morphological characteristics of the progeny such as color, and leaf number and length, differed from those of BB#1. The bolting time of the progeny in spring cropping was very late compared to BB#1, allowing it to be grown to an adult plant in spring. Genomic in situ hybridization analysis of pollen mother cells at prophase I identified 19 bivalents, 10 from Brassica rapa and 9 from Raphanus sativus. The glucoraphenin content was almost identical to that of BB#1. Two cultivars are available in the baemoochae crop now. These results indicate that induced mutation using microspore culture is a viable method of stabilizing intergeneric allopolyploids between B. rapa and R. sativus.

Biochemical, Antioxidant and Antineoplastic Properties of Italian Saffron (<i>Crocus sativus L</i>.)

Saffron, the most expensive spice in the world, is got by Crocus sativus L. stigmas. The production of this substance has attracted human interest, since ancient cultures, for its medicinal and culinary properties. Because of saffron high economic value, sometimes, since Middle Ages, it is adulterated with other vegetal materials, dyes or synthetic molecules. Object of this work was the study of one of the best world saffron: Civitaretenga (AQ, Central Italy) C. sativus. Taste, color and aroma of Civitaretenga spice were determined, according to international standards (ISO/Technical Specification 3632), to define its high quality. A biochemical approach was then applied to obtain a secondary metabolite profile of this product. So, crocins, total phenolic content, flavonoids and phenolic acids were detected by HPLC-DAD and spectrophotometric analysis. Moreover, in vitro antioxidant properties and in vivo antineoplastic effects, on highly metastatic murine B16-F10 melanoma cell line, were successfully revealed in Civitaretenga C. sativus extract. All these data confirmed the elevated quality of Civitaretenga saffron and its highly reducing and chemopreventive activity.

The Cumulative Effects of Sewage Sludge Compost on Raphanus sativus L: Growth and Soil Properties

The main goal of this research study was to establish the physicochemical characteristics of sewage sludge, and the nutrients needed to enhance the properties of soil with a view to exploiting were potential for agriculture. The example used was the cultivation of radish (Raphanus sativus). The findings are intended as a contribution towards making agriculture sustainable. This study was carried out to assess the response of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) to doses of sewage sludge applied in medium texture soils, and the socioeconomic contributions that such cultivation of radish would make. Levels of 0.25 and 75 ton/ha of sewage sludge plus the equivalent dose of 25 ton/ha of sewage sludge vermin compost by California Red were used after making a randomized experimental design with three replicates. 30 days after sowing radish seeds, the following data were collected: the number of leaves per plant (NLP);plant height (PH in cm);root diameter (RD) and tubercle production (TP ton/ha). In addition, the pH, EC-electric conductivity (EC), and soil organic matter (SOM) were determined. Statistical analysis showed that 25 and 50 tons/ha gave the best results for the parameters assessed. The estimated increase in family mean income from selling radish crops fertilized with sewage sludge is around 17%.

Effect of Low Concentration of Yttrium on Physiological Characteristics of Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus L.)

There is no doubt that rare earth elements stand an important position among the essential elements of plant growth and it is long time since they are first used as plant growth promoters. Given their effects on microstructure, most reports are focused on the toxicology rather than promotion. Using cucumis sativus L. (Jin Chun No.5) as experiment material, we try to find out the nutritional effects of low Y3+ concentrations on cucumber seedlings′ leaves. The present paper suggests that the rare earth elements act as micronutrients at low concentrations while they give rise to toxicity at high concentration. Benefits defeat toxicity with concentration ranging from 5 to 25 μmol·L-1. Through careful study, at the Y(NO3)3 concentration of 10 μmol·L-1 the content of chlorophyll as well as the activities of SOD, Cu-Zn SOD and the POD are the highest. It indicates 10 μmol·L-1 is the optimum concentration of yttrium for promoting the cucumber growth.

Effect of Dietary Administration of Lathyrus sativus Pulse on Intestinal Biochemical Parameters in Normal and Scorbutic Guinea Pigs

Objective In order to investigate that ascorbic acid deficiency is responcible for lathyrus toxicity, the effect of dietary feeding of lathyrus pulse in normal and scorbutic guinea pigs for 3 months, on intestinal biochemical parameters was undertaken. Methods The intestinal brush border membrane (BBM) marker and xenobiotic metabolising enzymes (XME) were assayed. Results Exposure to 80% lathyrus alone and in scorbutic conditions showed significant inhibition of alkaline phosphatase (28%-30%), sucrase (19%) and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) (15%-27%) enzymes, while Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase was significantly inhibited (38%) in scorbutic plus lathyrus treated group. The phase I XME (AHH) remained unchanged while the phase II enzyme glutathione-S-tranferase (GST) was significantly decreased (20%-22%) in lathyrus and scorbutic plus lathyrus treated groups. Quinone reductase (QR) activity was found to be significantly decreased in lathyrus exposed group (20%). The intestinal biomarker contents including hexose (25%-34%) and phospholipids (20%-40%) were significantly reduced in lathyrus and scorbutic plus lathyrus exposed animals, while sialic acid showed a significant decrease (28%) in scorbutic plus lathyrus treated group. However, cholesterol levels were signifcantly enhanced (15%-28%) in lathyrus and scorbutic plus lathyrus treated animals. Conclusion The results indicate that oral feeding of lathyrus pulse to guinea pigs can alter BBM parameters as well as XME, which may result in the intestinal toxicity. Further, ascorbic acid deficiency could be one of the pre-disposing factors of lathyrus toxicity.

Ameliorating effects of Raphanus sativus leaves on sodium arsenite-induced perturbation of blood indices in Swiss albino mice

Objective: To evaluate the ameliorating effects of Raphanus sativus leaves(RSL)against sodium arsenite(Sa)-induced adverse effects through mice experiments.Methods: Swiss albino mice were divided into four equal groups: control, Sa, RSL,RSL + Sa. Sa(10 mg/kg body weight/day), and powder form of RSL(50 mg/kg body weight/day) were provided as food supplement orallty. Blood indices were measured using commercially available kits through colorimetric methods.Results: It was observed that lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase activities were significantly(P < 0.05)higher in Sa-treated mice than those in the control group. RSL significantly reduced Sainduced elevation of the activities of these enzymes in serum significantly(P < 0.05).Serum butyrylcholinesterase activity and high density lipoproteins cholesterol levels in Satreated mice were significantly(P < 0.05) lower than the control group, and the food supplementation of RSL could significantly(P < 0.05) prevent the reduction of Sa-mediated serum butyryl cholinesterase activity and high density lipoproteins cholesterol levels. RSL could also reduce the Sa-induced elevation of serum urea level significantly(P < 0.05).Conclusions: Results of this study suggest the protective or ameliorating effects of RSL on Sa-induced perturbation of blood indices are related to the hepatic, cardiovascular and kidney dysfunction. Therefore, RSL may be useful to reduce arsenic toxicity in human in the future.

Molecular Cloning and Characterization of Pollen Development Related Gene RsMF2 from Raphanus sativus L.

In the paper, the full length cDNA of RsMF2 gene, homologous with the BcMF2 gene encoding pollen-specificpolygalacturonase of Chinese cabbage-pak-choi (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis Makino) was cloned from Raphanussativus L. cv. Yuanbai by PCR, with a pair of primer designed according to the coding sequence of BcMF2. The largestopening reading frame of RsMF2 gene is 1 266 bp in length and encodes a protein of 421 amino acids with a predictedmolecular mass of 43.9 kDa. Sequence analysis revealed that it has three potential N-glycosylation sites and onepolygalacturonase active position (RVTCGPGHGLSVGS). And the first 32 amino acids of the predicted RsMF2 proteinform a N-terminal hydrophobic domain which displays the properties of a signal peptide. The predicted secondarystructure composition for the protein has 6.9% helix, 42.0% sheet and 51.1% loop. Four domains which are highly conservedin the whole plant and fungal PGs is present in RsMF2. Phylogenetic analysis showed that RsMF2 falls into the categoryof clade-C, which includes PGs related to pollen. These results indicate that RsMF2 may act as polygalacturonase relatedto pollen development.

Cytological Analyses on Development of Male and Female Gametophytes in an Interspecific Hybrid F1 from Cucumis hystrix Chakr. x Cucumis sativus L.

An interspecific hybrid F1 of Cucumis hystrix Chakr. x Cucumis sativus L. （NC4406） was used to establish the developmental sequence and to characterize the male and female gametophytes at cytological level for further understanding of the phylogenic relationship and the mechanism of fertility or sterility in the interspecific hybrid F1 The development of male and female gametophytes was studied through meiotic analysis and paraffin section observation technique, respectively. Meanwhile, the fertility level was assessed through hybrid F1 backcrossing to cultivated cucumber 4406. Variable chromosome configurations were observed in the pollen mother cells （PMCs） of hybrid F1 at metaphase Ⅰ , e.g., univalents, bivalents, trivalents, quadravalents, etc. At anaphase Ⅰ and Ⅱ, chromosome lagging and bridges were frequently observed as well, which led to the formation of polyads and only a partial number of microspores could develop into fertile pollen grains （about 23.3%）. Observations of the paraffin sections showed numerous degenerated and abnormal embryo sacs during the development of female gametophytes, and only 40% of the female gametophytes could develop into normal eight-nuclear megaspore. On an average, 22.8 and 6.3 seeds per fruit could be obtained from the reciprocal backcross. The interspecific hybrid F1 of C. hystrix x NC4406 was partially fertile; however, the meiotic behaviors of hybrid F1 showed a high level of intergenomic recombination between C. hystrix and C. sativus chromosomes, which indicated that it plays an important role for introgression of useful traits from C. hystrix into C. sativus.

Nodulin 26-like intrinsic protein Cs NIP2;2 is a silicon influx transporter in Cucumis sativus L.

Nodulin 26-like intrinsic proteins(NIPs) are a family of channel-forming transmembrane proteins that function in the transport of water and other small molecules.Some NIPs can mediate silicon transport across plasma membranes and lead to silicon accumulation in plants,which is beneficial for the growth and development of plants.Cucumber is one of the most widely consumed vegetables;however,the functions of NIPs in this crop are still largely unknown.Here,we report the functional characteristics of Cs NIP2;2.It was found that Cs NIP2;2 is a tandem repeat of Cs NIP2;1,which had been demonstrated to be a silicon influx transporter gene.Cs NIP2;2 has a selectivity filter composed of cysteine,serine,glycine and arginine(CSGR),which is different from all previously characterized silicon influx transporters in higher plants at the second helix position.Xenopus laevis oocytes injected with Cs NIP2;2 c RNA demonstrated a higher uptake of silicon than the control,and the uptake remained unchanged under low temperature.Cs NIP2;2 was found to be expressed in the root,stem,lamina and petiole,and exogenous silicon treatment decreased its expression in the stem but not in other tissues.Transient expression of Cs NIP2;2-e GFP fusion sequence in onion epidermal cells showed that Cs NIP2;2 was localized to the cell nucleus,plasma membrane and an unknown structure inside the cell.The results suggest that Cs NIP2;2 is a silicon influx transporter in cucumber,and its subcellular localization and the selectivity filter are different from those of the previously characterized silicon influx transporters in other plants.These findings may be helpful for understanding the functions of NIPs in cucumber plants.