The antibiotic 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) is produced by some isolates of the beneficial bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens. DAPG is toxic to many organisms, and crop yield increases have been reported after application of DAPG-producing P. fluorescens. This study was conducted to determine whether DAPG is toxic to selected nematodes. The plant-parasitic nematodes Heterodera glycines, Mel...

The transmission of insect-borne viruses involves sophisticated interactions between viruses, host plants, and vectors. Chemical compounds play an important role in these interactions. Several studies reported that the plant virus tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) increases quality for its vector benefits thrips Frankliniella occidentalis. However, few have investigated chemical ecolog...

Datura stramonium L. (DS) is a wild-growing plant widely distributed and easily accessible. It contains a variety of toxic anticholinergic alkaloids such as atropine, hyoscamine, and scopolamine. Voluntary or accidental ingestion can produce severe anticholinergic poisoning. We report an unusual case of DS intoxication occurring in a geophagous young child after accidental ingestion of the plan...

Members of the ZIP gene family, a novel metal transporter family first identified in plants, are capable of transporting a variety of cations, including cadmium, iron, manganese and zinc. Information on where in the plant each of the ZIP transporters functions and how each is controlled in response to nutrient availability may allow the manipulation of plant mineral status with an eye to (1) cr...

Accidental ingestion of plants and seeds by children are not uncommon and can result in significant symptoms necessitating hospital admission and emergency treatment. Indian data on the exact proportion of poisoning due to these toxic plants are not available. The Araceae family of plants is the major cause of symptomatic plant ingestions in some developed countries (Dieffenbachia and Philodend...

Plant defensins are small, cysteine-rich peptides that possess biological activity towards a broad range of organisms. Their activity is primarily directed against fungi, but bactericidal and insecticidal actions have also been reported. The mode of action of various antifungal plant defensins has been studied extensively during the last decades and several of their fungal targets have been ide...

The mechanism of the diseases caused by the necrotroph plant pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is not well understood. To investigate the role of oxalic acid during infection high resolution, light-, scanning-, transmission electron microscopy and various histochemical staining methods were used. Our inoculation method allowed us to follow degradation of host plant tissue around single hyphae a...

in pakistan besides pesticide contamination from agricultural field, the manufacturing industriesare also contributing relatively high quantities of toxic pesticides into the environment. these pesticides maybe toxic, mutagenic or carginogenic and may be bioaccumulated or biomagnified by the biota. because ofpersistent nature of pesticides, its removal from environmental system become difficult...

Surface soil samples were collected from Sarcheshmeh Copper Smelter Plant and analyzed for 16 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin/furans (PCDD/Fs), and heavy metals to determine their concentrations, distributions, and probable sources of contamination. The mean concentrations of ΣPAHs, As, Pb, Zn, Se, Cd, and Cr in the soil samples were 878.8, 850, 2185, 2...

Cadmium, a non-essential and toxic metal, negatively affects plant growth and productivity, and alters the plant's physiological processes necessary for its survival. The present study was designed to explore the individual and combined effects of calcium and salicylic acid (SA) on the morphology and physiology of Brassica juncea L. cv. Varuna under cadmium stress. The application of calcium (2...