Molineria recurvata (MR) has been traditionally used to manage diabetes mellitus in India. However, the molecular mechanism of MR on the diabetic-induced nephropathy has not been clearly investigated. Thus, this study investigates the protective effects of the MR extract on nephropathy in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was instigated by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (45 mg/kg) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Once the diabetes was successfully induced, the MR extract (200 mg/kg/day) or metformin (200 mg/kg/day) was orally administered for 14 days. Renal function, morphology changes and levels of inflammatory cytokines were measured. Blood glucose concentrations were considerably reduced in STZ-induced diabetic rats following treatment with the MR extract. The administration of the MR extract substantially restored the abnormal quantity of the oxidative DNA damage marker 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxy-guanosine (8-OHdG), malondialdehyde, glutathione, oxidized glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). The urinary excretion of kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), selenium binding protein 1 (SBP1), and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) was significantly reduced in diabetes rats after administration of the MR extracts. In the kidneys of STZ-induced diabetic rats, the MR extracts markedly downregulated the expression of fibronectin, collagen-1, and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). In particular, the MR extracts markedly increased the level of SIRT1 and SIRT3 and reduced claudin-1 in the kidney. These results suggest that the MR extracts exhibits therapeutic activity in contrast to renal injury in STZ-induced diabetic rats through repressing inflammation and oxidative stress.

Phytobacter palmae WL65, isolated from the rice rhizosphere, was confirmed as P. palmae through whole-genome analysis. WL65 exhibited key plant growth-promoting (PGP) characteristics, including nitrogen fixation (nifA, nifB, nifD, nifE, nifF, nifH, nifJ, nifK, nifL, nifS, nifU, nifW, and nifX), phosphate solubilization (pstA, pstB, pstC, pstS, phnC, phnD, phnE, and phnV), siderophore production (fhuA, fhuB, fhuC, fhuD, fhuF, feoA, feoB, feoC, acrA, acrB, acrE, acrR, and acrZ), and phytohormone biosynthesis (trpA, trpB, trpC, trpE, trpGD, trpR, and trpS). WL65 also contains an enterobactin biosynthetic gene cluster, essential for iron acquisition and enhancing both bacterial survival and plant growth. This study provides the first genomic insights into the PGP characteristics of P. palmae. The application of WL65 in rice cultivation as a biostimulant resulted in effective root colonization, supported by biofilm formation genes (pgaA, pgaB, pgaC), which enhance bacterial adhesion. The treatment significantly improved rice growth, increasing plant height (5.8%), panicle length (10.2%), and seed yield (34.5%). Soil analysis revealed improved nutrient availability, including increased organic matter (21%), phosphorus (38.4%), potassium (29.8%), and calcium (27%) levels. These findings suggest that WL65 is a promising biofertilizer candidate for improving soil fertility and nutrient uptake in sustainable agriculture.

The plant microbiome has been considered one of the most researched areas of microbial biodiversity, yet very little information is available on the microbial communities prevailing in the mushroom's ectomycorrhizosphere. Ectomycorrhizal symbioses often result in the formation of a favourable niche which enables the thriving of various microbial symbionts where these symbionts endorse functions, such as quorum sensing, biofilm formation, volatile microbial compound (VOC) production, regulation of microbial gene expression, symbiosis and virulence. The identification of hidden uncultured microbial communities around the active ectomycorrhizal zone of Astraeus from dry deciduous sal forest of Jharkhand, India was carried out using MinION Oxford Nanopore sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons genes. High richness of Operational Taxonomic Units (1,905 OTUs) was observed. We recorded 25 distinct phyla. Proteobacteria (36%) was the most abundant phylum, followed by Firmicutes (28%), Actinobacteria (10%) and Bacteroidetes (6%), whereas Gammaproteobacteria was the most abundant class of bacterial communities in the active ectomycorrhizal zone. The ectomycorrhizosphere soil has abundant phosphate-solubilising bacteria (PSB). This is the first report of the ectomycorrhizosphere microbiome associated with Astraeus.