Modern agriculture is facing twin challenge of ensuring global food security and executing it in a sustainable manner. However, the rapidly expanding salinity stress in cultivable areas poses a major peril to crop yield. Among various biotechnological techniques being used to reduce the negative effects of salinity, the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is considered to be an efficient approach for bio-amelioration of salinity stress. AMF deploy an array of biochemical and physiological mechanisms that act in a concerted manner to provide more salinity tolerance to the host plant. Some of the well-known mechanisms include improved nutrient uptake and maintenance of ionic homeostasis, superior water use efficiency and osmoprotection, enhanced photosynthetic efficiency, preservation of cell ultrastructure, and reinforced antioxidant metabolism. Molecular studies in past one decade have further elucidated the processes involved in amelioration of salt stress in mycorrhizal plants. The participating AMF induce expression of genes involved in Na+ extrusion to the soil solution, K+ acquisition (by phloem loading and unloading) and release into the xylem, therefore maintaining favorable Na+ : K+ ratio. Colonization by AMF differentially affects expression of plasma membrane and tonoplast aquaporins (PIPs and TIPs), which consequently improves water status of the plant. Formation of AM (arbuscular mycorrhiza) surges the capacity of plant to mend photosystem-II (PSII) and boosts quantum efficiency of PSII under salt stress conditions by mounting the transcript levels of chloroplast genes encoding antenna proteins involved in transfer of excitation energy. Furthermore, AM-induced interplay of phytohormones, including strigolactones, abscisic acid, giberellic acid, salicylic acid, and jasmonic acid have also been associated with the salt tolerance mechanism. This review comprehensively covers major research advances on physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms implicated in AM-induced salt stress tolerance in plants. The review identifies the challenges involved in the application of AM in alleviation of salt stress in plants in order to improve crop productivity.

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Mitigation of Salinity Stress in Plants by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis: Current Understanding and New Challenges

Antimicrobial and antioxidative activity of extracts and essential oils of Myrtus communis L.

Essential oils are widely incorporated in cosmetic products, perfumes and related household products due to the variety of their properties but mainly due to their pleasant odour. The composition of these volatile natural complex mixtures may vary depending on the quality of plant material from which they were obtained and the extraction method by which they were derived. These factors are also important in ensuring the safe use of essential oils in personal care products. As they contain compounds with varied chemical structure and effects, skin sensitivity and irritations as well as other symptoms may arise after their application. Although essential oils are considered as safe and nontoxic when used at low concentrations, available scientific literature indicates that essential oils and their compounds may possess a strong allergy potential. This review focuses on side effects and allergy contact dermatitis caused by selected essential oils and their single compounds in cosmetic products, summarizing data from the most recent scientific literature.

Essential Oils and Their Single Compounds in Cosmetics—A Critical Review

Almost three decades ago Alec Jeffreys published his seminal Nature papers on the use of minisatellite probes for DNA fingerprinting of humans (Jeffreys and colleagues Nature 1985, 314:67–73 and Nature 1985, 316:76–79). The new technology was soon adopted for many other organisms including plants, and when Hilde Nybom, Kurt Weising and Alec Jeffreys first met at the very First International Conference on DNA Fingerprinting in Berne, Switzerland, in 1990, everybody was enthusiastic about the novel method that allowed us for the first time to discriminate between humans, animals, plants and fungi on the individual level using DNA markers. A newsletter coined “Fingerprint News” was launched, T-shirts were sold, and the proceedings of the Berne conference filled a first book on “DNA fingerprinting: approaches and applications”. Four more conferences were about to follow, one on each continent, and Alec Jeffreys of course was invited to all of them. Since these early days, methodologies have undergone a rapid evolution and diversification. A multitude of techniques have been developed, optimized, and eventually abandoned when novel and more efficient and/or more reliable methods appeared. Despite some overlap between the lifetimes of the different technologies, three phases can be defined that coincide with major technological advances. Whereas the first phase of DNA fingerprinting (“the past”) was dominated by restriction fragment analysis in conjunction with Southern blot hybridization, the advent of the PCR in the late 1980s gave way to the development of PCR-based single- or multi-locus profiling techniques in the second phase. Given that many routine applications of plant DNA fingerprinting still rely on PCR-based markers, we here refer to these methods as “DNA fingerprinting in the present”, and include numerous examples in the present review. The beginning of the third phase actually dates back to 2005, when several novel, highly parallel DNA sequencing strategies were developed that increased the throughput over current Sanger sequencing technology 1000-fold and more. High-speed DNA sequencing was soon also exploited for DNA fingerprinting in plants, either in terms of facilitated marker development, or directly in the sense of “genotyping-by-sequencing”. Whereas these novel approaches are applied at an ever increasing rate also in non-model species, they are still far from routine, and we therefore treat them here as “DNA fingerprinting in the future”.

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DNA fingerprinting in botany: past, present, future.

Since ancient times, essential oils are recognized for their medicinal value and they are very interesting and powerful natural plant products. They continue to be of paramount importance until the present day. Essential oils have been used as perfumes, flavors for foods and beverages, or to heal both body and mind for thousands of years (Baris et al., 2006; Margaris et al., 1982; Tisserand, 1997; Wei & Shibamoto 2010). Record findings in Mesopotamia, China, India, Persia and ancient Egypt show their uses for many treatments in various forms. For example, in the ancient Egypt, the population extracted oils by infusion. Later; Greeks and Romans used distillation and thus gave aromatic plants an additional value. With the advent of Islamic civilization, extraction techniques have been further refined. In the era of the Renaissance, Europeans have taken over the task and with the development of science the composition and the nature of essential oils have been well established and studied (Burt, 2004; Peeyush et al., 2011; Steven, 2010; Suaib et al., 2007). Nowadays, peppermint, lavender, geranium, eucalyptus, rose, bergamot, sandalwood and chamomile essential oils are the most frequently traded ones.

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The Therapeutic Benefits of Essential Oils

Essential oils, genetic relationships and in vitro establishment of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don ssp. italicum from wild Mediterranean germplasm

Medicago sativa L. is the most important forage crop in arid and semi-arid areas, where increased salinity is a major factor limiting plant growth and crop productivity. The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus viscosum H.T. Nicolson strain A6 in protecting alfalfa plants from salt stress, induced by sodium chloride (NaCl), was studied in two ways. Firstly, the root systems of 3-month old M. sativa plants, both mycorrhizal (AM+) and non-mycorrhizal (non-AM) (M. sativa L. var. icon), were placed in solutions of increasing salt concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 mM NaCl) to study the wilting response. G. viscosum improved the tolerance to salinity stress and the benefit was expressed in terms of the time required to reach the T4 stage in the wilting experiment. Secondly, to evaluate the ability of the Glomus-alfalfa symbiosis to tolerate salt, a pot experiment was set up in a glasshouse in which 3-month old alfalfa plants (M. sativa var. icon) were grown in a peat substratum at three salinity levels (0, 100, 150 mM NaCl). The AM symbiosis stimulated plant height, leaf area, root density, fresh and dry plant weight under saline conditions. Furthermore, proline accumulation was higher in mycorrhizal M. sativa plants than in non-mycorrhizal plants under conditions of salt stress. These and other results indicated that the micropropagated selected clone of M. sativa var. icon, when in symbiosis with G. viscosum H.T. Nicolson strain A6, exhibited better growth and physiological activities under saline conditions than non-AM plants. The AM+ plants also had lower sodium and chloride concentrations in tissues than non-AM plants.

The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in alleviating salt stress in Medicago sativa L. var. icon

In order to quickly and efficiently evaluate the salt tolerance of alfalfa, salinity tests were conducted on Medicago sativa L. var. australis, var. icon, var. loi, and var. gea, under in vitro conditions. Pregerminated seeds of four varieties were subjected to five different NaCl concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 mM). The influence of saline stress was estimated on the basis of survival percentage, growth parameters, and electrolyte leakage. The seedlings surviving on the medium enriched with salt at the highest concentration were presumed to be tolerant and represented the mother plants for the production of in vitro clones. In the following step, the clones were evaluated in vitro to confirm the salt tolerance. The influence of mild salt stress (75 mM NaCl) on the growth parameters of selected clones was examined. At the end of this trial, the proline accumulation and sodium content in alfalfa shoots were also quantified. The results suggest an increased level of proline promotes salt tolerance. Medicago sativa L. var. icon is highly tolerant in comparison with the other varieties tested. In vitro selection of M. sativa L. varieties on salt-containing media allowed us to obtain clones with increased salinity tolerance.

https://www.tpbin.com/Uploads/Subjects/3324dd0f-a9b3-48de-b68a-7c94b69f3d59.pdf

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) clones tolerant to salt stress: in vitro selection

The effectiveness of two arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal isolates (Glomus intraradices and Glomus viscosum) in sustaining plant growth and the physiological activities of the micropropagated globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus (L.) Fiori) were investigated during acclimatization and 90 days after plant establishment. All the mycorrhizal microplants survived transplant shock thus confirming the positive role of AM fungi colonization on ex vitro establishment. The growth increased in mycorrhizal plants, especially in plants inoculated with Glomus viscosum. Mycorrhizal plantlets showed higher stomatal conductance, which is probably necessary to supply the carbon needs of fungal symbionts. The SPAD (soil plant analysis development) data could be useful for plant management as a predictor for tissue nitrogen levels. The higher SPAD values in mycorrhizal plants are strictly related to a higher photosynthetic potential, and consequently to their better nitrogen nutrient status due to the symb...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17429145.2013.770928

Effectiveness of mycorrhizal fungi on globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus) micropropagation

Most nurseries operating in Italy adopt high technologies and produce transplants that well suit and satisfy the grower’s need to produce high value crops. Mycorrhizas are discussed as a tool for improving and developing plant production in the nursery. Much research has been carried out on mycorrhizal symbiosis and we now know more about the symbiontic relationship between fungi and host plants. Plants receive numerous benefits from this symbiosis which are more macroscopic the earlier in the ontogenetic cycle this symbiosis is established. Therefore, it appears that the most effective period in which the inoculum should be made corresponds to the in-nursery growing stage. The earlier the plant is inoculated, the more evident the effect will be. In this study, several aspects related to the physiological foundations of arbuscular mycorrhiza in artichoke plants are presented. The main goal was to study the effects of mycorrhiza on the growth and physiological parameters of three hybrids of artichokes growing in the nursery. The experimental 3¥2 design included two treatments (with or without arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) and three hybrids of artichokes marketed by Nunhems (Opal F1, Madrigal F1, Concerto F1). Mycorrhizal plants have greater shoot length, leaf area, shoot and root fresh and dry mass, and root density. This also corresponded with increased photosynthetic rates and stomatal conductance of mycorrhizal plants. Mycorrhizal colonization improves relative water content and increases proline concentration in vegetal tissue. Inoculation produced the most beneficial effect on hybrid Madrigal F1 and on hybrid Opal F1; the best mycorrhizal affinity was enhanced when compared to hybrid Concerto F1. The results showed that mycorrhizal symbiosis stimulated the growth of inoculated seedlings providing a qualitatively good propagation material.

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Irene Morone-Fortunato

Papers

Essential oils, genetic relationships and in vitro establishment of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don ssp. italicum from wild Mediterranean germplasm

The role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in alleviating salt stress in Medicago sativa L. var. icon

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) clones tolerant to salt stress: in vitro selection

Effectiveness of mycorrhizal fungi on globe artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus) micropropagation

Nursery inoculation with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus viscosum and its effect on the growth and physiology of hybrid artichoke seedlings