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Food allergies mediated by specific IgE (sIgE) have a significant socioeconomic impact on society. Evaluating the IgE cross-reactivity between allergens from different allergen sources can enable the better management of these potentially life-threatening adverse reactions to food proteins and enhance food safety. A novel banana fruit allergen, S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase (SAHH), has been recently identified and its recombinant homolog was heterologously overproduced in E. coli. In this study, we performed a search in the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) for SAHH homologs in ryegrass, latex, and kiwifruit, all of which are commonly associated with pollen-latex-fruit syndrome. In addition, Western immunoblot analysis was utilized to identify the cross-reactive IgE to banana SAHH in the sera of patients with a latex allergy, kiwifruit allergy, and ryegrass allergy. ClustalOmega analysis showed more than 92% amino acid sequence identity among the banana SAHH homologs in ryegrass, latex, and kiwifruit. In addition to five B-cell epitopes, in silico analysis predicted eleven T-cell epitopes in banana SAHH, seventeen in kiwifruit SAHH, twelve in ryegrass SAHH, and eight in latex SAHH, which were related to the seven-allele HLA reference set (HLA-DRB1*03:01, HLA-DRB1*07:01, HLA-DRB1*15:01, HLA-DRB3*01:01, HLA-DRB3*02:02, HLA-DRB4*01:01, HLA-DRB5*01:01). Four T-cell epitopes were identical in banana and kiwifruit SAHH (positions 328, 278, 142, 341), as well as banana and ryegrass SAHH (positions 278, 142, 96, and 341). All four SAHHs shared two T-cell epitopes (positions 278 and 341). In line with the high amino acid sequence identity and B-cell epitope homology among the analyzed proteins, the cross-reactive IgE to banana SAHH was detected in three of three latex-allergic patients, five of six ryegrass-allergic patients, and two of three kiwifruit-allergic patients. Although banana SAHH has only been studied in a small group of allergic individuals, it is a novel cross-reactive food allergen that should be considered when testing for pollen-latex-fruit syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the accumulating omics data, an efficient and time-saving transient assay to express target genes is desired. Mesophyll protoplasts, maintaining most stress-physiological responses and cellular activities as intact plants, offer an alternative transient assay to study target genes' effects on heat and oxidative stress responses. Results: In this study, a perennial ryegrass (Loliumperenne L.) mesophyll protoplast-based assay was established to effectively over- or down-regulate target genes. The relative expression levels of the target genes could be quantified using RT-qPCR, and the effects of heat and H2O2-induced oxidative stress on protoplasts' viability could be quantitatively measured. The practicality of the assay was demonstrated by identifying the potential thermos-sensor genes LpTT3.1/LpTT3.2 in ryegrass that over-expressing these genes significantly altered protoplasts' viability rates after heat stress. Conclusion: This protoplast-based rapid stress regulatory gene identification assay was briefed as 'PRIDA' that will complement the stable genetic transformation studies to rapidly identify candidate stress-regulatory genes in perennial ryegrass and other grass species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal contamination is an urgent ecological governance problem in mining areas. In order to seek for a green and environmentally friendly reagent with better plant restoration effect to solve the problem of low efficiency in plant restoration in heavy metal pollution soil. In this study, we evaluated the effects of three biodegradable chelating agents, namely citric acid (CA), fulvic acid (FA) and polyaspartic acid (PASP), on the physicochemical properties of copper tailings, growth of ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and heavy metal accumulation therein. The results showed that the chelating agent application improved the physicochemical properties of copper tailings, increased the biomass of ryegrass and enriched more Cu and Cd in copper tailings. In the control group, the main existing forms of Cu and Cd were oxidizable state, followed by residual, weak acid soluble and reducible states. After the CA, FA or PASP application, Cu and Cd were converted from the residual and oxidizable states to the reducible and weak acid soluble states, whose bioavailability in copper tailings were thus enhanced. Besides, the chelating agent incorporation improved the Cu and Cd extraction efficiencies of ryegrass from copper tailings, as manifested by increased root and stem contents of Cu and Cd by 30.29–103.42%, 11.43–74.29%, 2.98–110.98% and 11.11–111.11%, respectively, in comparison with the control group. In the presence of multiple heavy metals, CA, FA or PASP showed selectivity regarding the ryegrass extraction of heavy metals from copper tailings. PCA analysis revealed that the CA-4 and PASP-7 treatment had great remediation potentials against Cu and Cd in copper tailings, respectively, as manifested by increases in Cu and Cd contents in ryegrass by 90.98% and 74.29% compared to the CK group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light intensity plays a critical regulatory role in determining plant yield and quality, and energy consumption in plant factory with artificial light (PFAL). The effects of different light intensities (200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 µmol·m−2·s−1) of light-emitting diodes (LED) red and blue light with ratio 4:1 on growth, quality, nitrogen and amino acid metabolisms of ryegrass were investigated. The results showed the tiller number and shoot fresh weight in ryegrass were increased, while plant height and stem diameter remained stable with the improvement of light intensity. The highest levels of soluble protein, free amino acid, and DPPH free radical clearance rate in photon flux density (PPFD) at 500 µmol·m−2·s−1, and then significantly decreased with light intensity increased. The highest soluble sugar content was found at PPFD of 600 µmol·m−2·s−1, while malondialdehyde (MDA) content remained stable in all treatments. As the light intensity increased, nitrate content decreased, while nitrate reductase (NR) activity and the ammonium content increased. As light intensity was increased from 200 to 600 µmol·m−2·s−1, nitrite reductase (NiR) activity first decreased and then increased. Moreover, glutamate and cysteine contents increased first and then decreased, while glutamate synthase (GOGAT), glutamine synthase (GS), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), and cysteine synthases (CS) activities increased continuously with light intensity. Light intensity was significantly correlated with the parameters of growth, quality, nitrogen and amino acid metabolisms in ryegrass. It was recommended that PPFD at 400–500 µmol·m−2·s−1, photoperiod of 16 h/d was suitable for ryegrass high-efficient production in PFAL with relatively low energy cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The co-allocation of photovoltaic arrays with crops presents a promising strategy to mitigate the conflict between photovoltaics and agricultural land. However, there is a notable lack of quantitative research on the impact of agrivoltaic system on land quality in fragile areas. In this study, peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne) were cultivated in photovoltaic array in the dry–hot valley of southwest China, with an off-site native land serving as the control. Sixteen soil physicochemical and biochemical parameters were measured in the gap and under-panel and control area. Results demonstrated that the agrivoltaic system significantly enhanced soil moisture, organic carbon, nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium nutrients, microbial biomass, and urease activity. It also led to varying degrees of increase in soil pH and electrical conductivity, along with reduced soil sucrase and phosphatase activity. In comparison to the control, the agrivoltaic system notably improved soil quality and multifunctionality. Specially, gap cultivation had a more pronounced positive impact on soil quality than under-panel cultivation, and the cultivation of peanuts had a greater effect on soil quality and multifunctionality improvement than ryegrass. This study provides fundamental data to support the improvement of land quality in photovoltaic developed regions, and to alleviate the conflict between photovoltaics and agricultural land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to investigate the impact of different levels of organic fertilizer on the yield, nutrient composition, and fermentation quality of ryegrass. Using the Bond variety of polyfloral ryegrass as the experimental material, four organic fertilizer application levels were set at 750 (Group 1), 1 000 (Group 2), 1 250 (Group 3), and 1 500 kg/hm2 (Group 4). The changes in yield, nutrient composition, and fermentation quality of polyfloral ryegrass under different levels of organic fertilizer application were explored. The results showed that the plant height and fresh grass yield of ryegrass in Group 3 and Group 4 were significantly higher than those in Group 1 ( P<0.05). The dry hay yield of ryegrass in the first cut was significantly higher in Group 3 compared to Group 1 and Group 2 ( P<0.05), and the dry hay yield in the third cut was significantly higher in Group 2, Group 3, and Group 4 compared to Group 1 ( P<0.05). The contentrations of crude protein of ryegrass in Group 3 and Group 4 were significantly higher than that in Group 1 and Group 2 ( P<0.05), and the contentration of neutral detergent fiber was significantly lower than that in Group 1 ( P<0.05). The contentration of crude protein of ensiled ryegrass in Group 3 and Group 4 was significantly higher than that in Group 1 ( P<0.05), while the contentrations of ammonia nitrogen, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber were significantly lower than that in Group 1 ( P<0.05). The concentrations of lactic acid and acetic acid of ensiled ryegrass in Group 2, Group 3, and Group 4 were significantly higher than that in Group 1 ( P<0.05), and the concentration of lactic acid in Group 3 was significantly higher than that in Group 2 and Group 4 ( P<0.05). The contentration of crude protein of fermented ryegrass in Group 3 and Group 4 was significantly higher than that in Group 1 and Group 2 ( P<0.05), and the contentrations of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber were significantly lower than that in Group 1 ( P<0.05). The study indicates that applying 1 250 kg/hm2 of organic fertilizer during the cultivation of ryegrass resulted in better grass yield, nutrient composition, and fermentation quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately monitoring Canopy Nitrogen Concentration (CNC) is a prerequisite for precision nitrogen (N) fertiliser management at the farm scale with carbon and N budgeting across the landscape and ecosystems. While many spectral indices have been proposed for CNC monitoring, their applicability and accuracy are often adversely affected by confounding factors such as aboveground biomass (AGB), crop type, growth stages, and environmental conditions, limiting their broader application and adoption; with AGB being one of the most dominant signals and confounding factors at canopy scale. The confounding effect can become more challenging as AGB is also physiologically linked with CNC across the growth stages. Additionally, the interplay between index form, selection of optimal wavebands and their bandwidths remains poorly understood for CNC index design. This study proposes robust and cost-effective 2- and 4-waveband multispectral (MS) CNC indices applicable across a wide range of crop conditions. We collected 449 canopy reflectance spectra (400–980 nm) together with corresponding CNC and AGB measurements across four growth stages of ryegrass (winter and summer), and five growth stages of barley (winter-spring) in Victoria, Australia, in 2018 and 2019. All possible waveband (400–980 nm) combinations revealed that the best combination varied between seasons and crop types. However, the visible spectrum, particularly the blue region, presented high and consistent performance. Bandwidths of 10–40 nm outperformed either very narrow (2 nm) or very broad bandwidths (80 nm). The newly developed 2-waveband index (416 and 442 nm with 10-nm bandwidth; R2 = 0.75 and NRMSE = 0.2) and 4-waveband index (512, 440, 414 and 588 nm with 40-nm bandwidth; R2 = 0.81 and NRMSE = 0.17) exhibited the best performance, while validation with an independent dataset (from a different growing period to those used in the model development) obtained NRMSE values of 0.25 and 0.24, respectively. The 4-waveband index provides enhanced performance and permits use of broader bandwidths than its 2-waveband counterpart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Magnetic biochar and ryegrass can remediate heavy metal co-contaminated soils. • Magnetic biochar and ryegrass maintain the stability of soil organic carbon pool. • Magnetic biochar spheres can adsorb more Cr and Ni. • Biochar sustains ryegrass to fix heavy metals continuously. Biochar is a very promising material for soil remediation. However, most studies mainly focus on the adsorption ability of biochar on one heavy metal, which is difficult to evaluate the actual remediation effect since soils were contaminated with multiple heavy metals. In order to improve the soil remediation efficiency, we used the joint remediation method of magnetically modified biochar and ryegrass to remediate the soil polluted by compound heavy metals (chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic and cadmium), and evaluate the effect on the process of organic carbon mineralization in polluted soils. It was found that magnetic biochar and ryegrass together decreased the concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Cd in soils by 24.12 %, 23.30 %, 22.01 %, 9.98 %, 14.83 %, and 15.08 %, respectively, and reduced the available fractions. Ryegrass roots were the main accumulation part of heavy metals, and the order of enrichment effect was ranked as Zn > As > Cr > Cu > Ni > Cd. In addition, magnetic biochar can maintained the stability of the organic carbon pool, and inhibited the emission of volatile organic compounds from ryegrass. Overall, this study indicates that magnetic biochar spheres combined with ryegrass is an effective method for heavy metals co-contaminated soils, and has the excellent remediation ability for actual co-contaminated soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal profile of methane (CH 4) emissions from ruminants is affected by feed composition and forage type. This study aimed to 1) describe and compare the post-feeding pattern of CH 4 emissions from lambs fed fresh ryegrass substituted with graded levels of forage rape, and 2) to evaluate the association between the magnitude of the variation in CH 4 emission patterns and organic fermentation products quantified in pre- and- post- feeding rumen content samples. Methane emissions were measured at approximately 6 min intervals in respiration chambers from 70 lambs (n = 14 per treatment) fed ryegrass only (FR0) or as a proportion, 0.25 forage rape + 0.75 ryegrass (FR25), 0.50 forage rape + 0.50 ryegrass (FR50), 0.75 forage rape + 0.25 ryegrass (FR75), and forage rape only (FR100). The magnitude of the variability in CH 4 emissions was defined as the ratio of maximum to minimum CH 4 emissions in a 24 h period. This ratio was correlated (P < 0.05) with the proportions of major short chain fatty acids, and calculated hydrogen (H 2) available per unit of glucose fermented (H 2 /GEF), quantified in rumen content samples collected pre- and- post- feeding. The CH 4 emission profile after each feeding followed an asymmetrical positively skewed shape for FR0 to FR75, but not in lambs fed FR100. The lowest CH 4 emission rates were observed before morning feeding which was followed by a CH 4 peak within the 2 h after feeding, and then the CH 4 emissions decreased until the next feeding. In FR100 lambs, the CH 4 emission rate was, unexpectedly, relatively constant after feeding, without any clear CH 4 peaks. The magnitude of the variability in the CH 4 emission rate increased when the pH of rumen contents and H 2 /GEF measured in pre-feeding samples decreased. Including forage rape at 0.75, or greater proportion, in the diet of lambs drastically changed the CH 4 emissions pattern, likely due to a continuous low pH in the rumen which is detrimental for methanogenesis. In conclusion, the daily variation in CH 4 emissions decreased with increasing forage rape inclusion in the diet of sheep and this was associated with a decreasing acetate proportion in the rumen liquid. • Lambs fed 100% forage rape had relatively constant CH 4 emissions throughout the day. • Adding increasing pasture to the forage rape increased the variability of CH 4. • H 2 available per unit of glucose fermented was correlated to the variability of CH 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study highlights the synthesis of Zn-enriched biosourced catalysts (BIOCATs) obtained from ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) cultivated on contaminated soils located in the North of France (Noyelles-Godault and Auby, Hauts-de-France). These cultures were located on brownfield land, next to two former industrial sites where the zinc and lead metallurgists Metaleurop and Nyrstar were installed. Physical and morphological properties of BIOCATs were compared to heterogeneous catalysts (CATs) prepared from commercial zinc chloride and montmorillonite K10. The catalysts were thermally activated (120 °C, 280 °C or 500 °C). BIOCATs have been further compared to CATs and different commercial metal chlorides in terms of efficiency in the synthesis of anti-inflammatory agents, Piroxicam and Meloxicam, both of them being involved in the inhibition of cyclooxygenases (COX) and being the main ingredients of the Feldene® and Mobic® drugs, respectively. BIOCAT-assisted synthesis resulted in the best reaction yields (84% and 78%, respectively) among all the tested catalysts. The results indicated that ryegrass provides appropriate quantity of biomass and can be considered as a bio-ore resource to improve green metrics in an environmental context involving clean and green technologies. Furthermore, the Zn/Cd and Zn/Pb ratios obtained in the ashes of ryegrass shoots were in general comprised between 153 and 202. This result demonstrated the excellent selectivity of ryegrass for zinc at the expense of the more problematic Cd and Pb, which are carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic. Future efforts are now needed to use BIOCATs in the synthesis of other high value-added molecules. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The indiscriminate use of sulfadiazine has caused severe harm to the environment, and biodegradation is a viable method for the removal of sulfadiazine. However, there are few studies that consider sulfadiazine biodegradation mechanisms. To comprehensively investigate the process of sulfadiazine biodegradation by plants in a soil system, a potted system that included ryegrass and soil was constructed in this study. The removal of sulfadiazine from the system was found to be greater than 95% by determining the sulfadiazine residue. During the sulfadiazine removal process, a significant decrease in ryegrass growth and a significant increase in antioxidant enzyme activity were observed, which indicates the toxic response and detoxification mechanism of sulfadiazine on ryegrass. The ryegrass transcriptome and soil bacterial communities were further investigated. These results revealed that most of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in the CYP450 enzyme family and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway after sulfadiazine exposure. The expression of these genes was significantly upregulated. Sulfadiazine significantly increased the abundance of Vicinamibacteraceae , RB41 , Ramlibacter, and Microvirga in the soil. These key genes and bacteria play an important role in sulfadiazine biodegradation. Through network analysis of the relationship between the DEGs and soil bacteria, it was found that many soil bacteria promote the expression of plant metabolic genes. This mutual promotion enhanced the sulfadiazine biodegradation in the soil system. This study demonstrated that this pot system could substantially remove sulfadiazine and elucidated the biodegradation mechanism through changes in plants and soil bacteria. [Display omitted] • Sulfadiazine caused severe phytotoxicity and induced oxidative stress in ryegrass. • Ryegrass has mobilized metabolic genes involved in sulfadiazine biodegradation. • Key bacteria in soil are essential for sulfadiazine biodegradation. • This study combined plant and soil processes for biodegradation of sulfadiazine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]