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Comparative Responses of Invasive and Native Plant Species to Combined Cd and Microplastic Pollution.

The co-occurrence of heavy metal contamination and biodegradable microplastic (polylactic acid, PLA) pollution poses increasing risks to terrestrial plant communities and soil functioning, yet species-specific responses to combined stress remain poorly understood. Cd and microplastics frequently co-occur in agricultural soils, where microplastics can alter cadmium mobility, bioavailability, and transport pathways, potentially modifying metal toxicity and plant stress responses compared with single-pollutant exposure. We investigated the responses of the invasive Bidens pilosa and the native Solanum nigrum grown in monoculture and mixed culture under combined cadmium (Cd) and biodegradable microplastic (PLA) stress by integrating plant growth, photosynthetic performance, oxidative physiology, and rhizosphere biochemical processes. Combined Cd-MP exposure markedly reduced plant growth, chlorophyll content (SPAD), photosystem II efficiency (Fv/Fm), nitrogen accumulation, biomass production, and rhizosphere enzyme activities associated with carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling. However, B. pilosa maintained greater physiological stability under stress, characterized by higher antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, CAT, POD), lower reactive oxygen species (H2O2, O2˙-) accumulation, and reduced lipid peroxidation (MDA), whereas S. nigrum exhibited stronger oxidative damage and functional impairment. Multivariate analyses further revealed that root antioxidant capacity was closely associated with rhizosphere microbial enzyme activity, suggesting a root-centered regulatory mechanism linking plant stress tolerance to soil functioning. Overall, the invasive species showed greater tolerance to combined contamination and maintained relatively higher rhizosphere functional activity than the native species, indicating that multi-pollutant stress may alter competitive interactions between invasive and native plants in contaminated environments.

Cadmium

DNA-dependent RNA polymerase III from Acanthamoeba castellanii: comparison of the catalytic properties of the trophozoite and cyst enzymes.

DNA-dependent RNA polymerase III was partially purified from trophozoites and immature cysts of the small soil ameba, Acanthamoeba castellanii. In contrast to the active modulation of the variety of transfer RNA species which are transcribed during encystment, no difference was found in the chromatographic or catalytic properties of the enzyme responsible for their transcription.

Amanitins

Mikania micrantha invasion restructures rhizosphere nitrogen cycling through enzyme activation, microbial recruitment, and allelopathic regulation.

BACKGROUND: Plant invasions profoundly influence terrestrial ecosystems by reshaping nutrient cycling processes. However, the mechanisms through which invasive plants such as Mikania micrantha modulate soil nitrogen (N) cycling and microbial communities remain insufficiently explored. Moreover, comparative studies with indigenous congener are scarce, limiting insights into whether such effects reflect species-specific strategies or genus-wide traits. This study investigates how M. micrantha modulates nitrogen metabolic pathways and rhizosphere microecology using combined metagenomic and metabolomic analyses. RESULTS: Integrated analyses revealed that M. micrantha established a distinctive "high total nitrogen-low mineral nitrogen" profile in the rhizosphere soil. Metagenomic profiling showed consistent enrichment of key ammonium assimilation enzymes, including glutamine synthetase and glutamate dehydrogenase, promoting enhanced incorporation of NH₄⁺ into organic nitrogen pools. In contrast, genes encoding nitrate reductase and nitrate transporters were significantly lower in relative abundance, limiting nitrate assimilation. Mikania micrantha also selectively enriched nitrogen-fixing microbes (notably rhizobia genera) and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), thereby enhancing biological nitrogen fixation capacity. Metabolomic analysis further identified several allelopathic compounds in invaded soils at higher relative abundance, particularly epicatechin, which exhibited inhibitory effects on nitrifying bacteria. Compared with the congener Mikania cordata, which exerted weaker impacts on soil nitrogen cycling and microbial assembly, M. micrantha deployed a more comprehensive strategy integrating biochemical, microbial, and metabolic regulation. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that under greenhouse-controlled conditions, M. micrantha reconfigures rhizosphere nitrogen cycling through a multi-dimensional strategy that couples biochemical regulation, microbial recruitment, and metabolite-mediated interference, thereby suggesting a potential mechanism that may contribute to its ecological advantage in natural settings. Video Abstract.

Rhizosphere

Temporal proteomic analysis reveals a three-phase adaptation strategy in Phytophthora cinnamomi during salinity stress.

Phytophthora cinnamomi, a highly invasive hemibiotrophic oomycete, threatens global agriculture, forestry, and native ecosystems. Although drought and temperature effects on P. cinnamomi-host interactions are well studied, current knowledge of abiotic stress responses in P. cinnamomi remains largely centered on infection and phytopathology, with limited molecular insight into the pathogen's direct response to salinity independent of its host. To address this gap, we combined growth assays, time-resolved proteomics, and network analysis to define how P. cinnamomi responds and adapts to salinity exposure. Growth assays showed that NaCl-modified agar enhanced mycelial expansion in a concentration-dependent manner, with 100 mM NaCl significantly increasing growth at 48, 72, and 96 h compared with controls, while 50 mM NaCl remained comparable to control conditions. Temporal proteomic analysis of 100 mM NaCl treatment at 0, 1, 6, 12, and 24 h post treatment revealed dynamic shifts in protein abundance. Early induction of ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species)-detoxifying enzymes, including glutathione S-transferases and peroxidases, was consistent with ROS-specific staining assays. Network analysis identified modules enriched for redox regulation, ATP generation, ion transport, and translational control, highlighting multi-layered adaptation to elevated NaCl levels. Notably, clusters of conserved hypothetical proteins were strongly upregulated, indicating unexplored stress tolerance components in Phytophthora species. Here, we propose that P. cinnamomi rapidly activates a three-phase strategy involving metabolism readjustments, redox defenses, and cellular structure alterations under salinity conditions. With increasing soil salinization due to climate change, our study provides first mechanistic insights into P. cinnamomi's adaptive plasticity and ecological resilience to abiotic stress. SIGNIFICANCE: This study represents the first temporal proteomic analysis of salinity stress adaptation in Phytophthora cinnamomi, revealing a sophisticated three-phase adaptation strategy. This research fundamentally advances our understanding of how this globally destructive plant pathogen, P. cinnamomi, maintains environmental resilience. Our findings reveal proteome remodelling as a mechanistic framework for understanding stress tolerance in oomycetes, a group of microorganisms responsible for some of the world's most destructive agricultural and forest diseases. Our results show proteins involved in emergency damage control through metabolic recalibration to sustained adaptation. These findings have relevance for predicting pathogen behavior under climate change scenarios, where increasing soil salinity threatens agricultural productivity while simultaneously enhancing pathogen survival and virulence. Understanding how P. cinnamomi responds to prolonged salinity exposure may inform targeted biocontrol strategies and improve predictive models of disease pressure in salt-affected agricultural regions. The temporal analysis framework we present offers a broadly applicable approach for understanding microbial stress adaptation, with implications extending beyond plant pathology to environmental microbiology and biotechnology applications where stress tolerance is paramount.

Phytophthora

Choline oxidase, a catabolic enzyme in Arthrobacter pascens, facilitates adaptation to osmotic stress in Escherichia coli.

Choline oxidase (EC 1.1.3.17) is a bifunctional enzyme that is capable of catalyzing glycine betaine biosynthesis from choline via betaine aldehyde. A gene (cox) encoding this enzyme in the gram-positive soil bacterium Arthrobacter pascens was isolated and characterized. This gene is contained within a 1.9-kb fragment that encodes a polypeptide of approximately 66 kDa. Transfer of this gene to an Escherichia coli mutant that is defective in betaine biosynthesis resulted in an osmotolerant phenotype. This phenotype was associated with the ability of the host to synthesize and assemble an enzymatically active choline oxidase that could catalyze biosynthesis of glycine betaine from an exogenous supply of choline. Although glycine betaine functions as an osmolyte in several different organisms, it was not found to have this role in A. pascens. Instead, both choline and glycine betaine were utilized as carbon sources. In A. pascens synthesis and activity of choline oxidase were modulated by carbon sources and were susceptible to catabolite repression. Thus, cox, a gene concerned with carbon utilization in A. pascens, was found to play a role in adaptation to an environmental stress in a heterologous organism. In addition to providing a possible means of manipulating osmotolerance in other organisms, the cox gene offers a model system for the study of choline oxidation, an important metabolic process in both procaryotes and eucaryotes.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases

Streptomyces songxianensis sp. nov. SX92T: biocontrol of tobacco black shank and modulation of the rhizosphere microbiome.

Streptomyces species are well-known for their potential in biocontrol and plant growth promotion, with the rhizosphere serving a rich reservoir for novel isolates. In this study, a Streptomyces strain (SX92T) was isolated from the rhizosphere of healthy tobacco plants. In dual-culture assays, SX92T displayed broad-spectrum antagonistic activity against six major fungal pathogens of tobacco, with the highest inhibition (59.22%) against Phytophthora nicotianae, the causal agent of tobacco black shank. Polyphasic taxonomic characterization, combining 16S rRNA gene phylogeny, distinctive physiological traits, chemotaxonomic markers (LL-diaminopimelic acid, major menaquinones MK-10(H₄) and MK-9(H₈), and predominant fatty acids anteiso-C₁₅:₀ and C₁₆:₀), and genome-based metrics (ANI and dDDH), clearly distinguished SX92T from its closest relatives. Accordingly, strain SX92T is proposed as the type strain of a novel species, Streptomyces songxianensis sp. nov. The genome of SX92T is 9.69 Mb in size with a G + C content of 71% and contains 26 biosynthetic gene clusters, including one showing 100% similarity to the albaflavenone cluster. In field trials, application of SX92T fermentation broth significantly improved tobacco agronomic traits and reduced black shank incidence by 44.97%. Furthermore, SX92T treatment reshaped the rhizosphere microbiome by enriching beneficial bacteria such as Flavobacterium and altering the relative abundance of specific fungi, including a reduction in the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis. It also shifted soil enzyme activities, with increased cellulase and decreased catalase levels. These findings establish Streptomyces songxianensis SX92T as a promising multifunctional biocontrol agent for sustainable tobacco production.

Streptomyces