Ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation is one of the important environmental factors limiting plant growth. Both abscisic acid (ABA) and microtubules have been previously reported to be involved in plant response to UV-B. However, whether there is a potential link between ABA and microtubules and the consequent signal transduction mechanism underlying plant response to UV-B radiation remains largely unclear. Here, by using sad2-2 mutant plants (sensitive to ABA and drought) and exogenous application of ABA, we saw that ABA strengthens the adaptive response to UV-B stress in Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana). The abnormal swelling root tips of ABA-deficient aba3 mutants demonstrated that ABA deficiency aggravated the growth retardation imposed by UV-B radiation. In addition, the cortical microtubule arrays of the transition zones of the roots were examined in the aba3 and sad2-2 mutants with or without UV-B radiation. The observation revealed that UV-B remodels cortical microtubules, and high endogenous ABA can stabilize the microtubules and reduce their UV-B-induced reorganization. To further confirm the role of ABA on microtubule arrays, root growth and cortical microtubules were evaluated after exogenous ABA, taxol, and oryzalin feeding. The results suggested that ABA can promote root elongation by stabilizing the transverse cortical microtubules under UV-B stress conditions. We thus uncovered an important role of ABA, which bridges UV-B and plants’ adaptive response by remodeling the rearrangement of the cortical microtubules.

Polyoxometalates (POMs) exhibit unique structural characteristics and excellent physical and chemical properties, which have attracted significant attention from scholars in the fields of anticancer research and chemotherapy. Herein, we successfully synthesized and structurally characterized two novel polyoxovanadates (POVs), denoted as POVs-1 and POVs-2, where [M(1-vIM)₄]₂[V^V₄O₁₂]·H₂O (M: Ni^II and Mn^II, 1-vinylimidazole abbreviated as 1-vIM) serve as ligands. The two POVs are isomeric and consist of fundamental structural units, each comprising one [V₄O₁₂]⁴⁻ cluster, two [M(1-vIM)₄]²⁺ cations, and one water molecule. Subsequently, we evaluated the cell viability of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG-2) cells treated with the synthesized POVs using the MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazoliumbromide) assay. And the changes in cell nucleus morphology, mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψ_m), and reactive oxygen species levels in HepG-2 exposed to POVs were monitored using specific fluorescent staining techniques. Both hybrid POVs showed potent inhibitory activities, induing apoptosis in HepG-2 cells along with significant mitochondria dysfunction and a burst of reactive oxygen species. Notably, the inhibitory effects of POVs-2 were more pronounced than those of POVs-1, which is primarily attributed to the different transition metal ions present. These findings underscore the intricate relationship between the metal components, structural characteristics, and the observed antitumor activities in HepG-2 cells.

Carotenoids were synthesized in the plant cells involved in photosynthesis and photo-protection. In humans, carotenoids are essential as dietary antioxidants and vitamin A precursors. Brassica crops are the major sources of nutritionally important dietary carotenoids. Recent studies have unraveled the major genetic components in the carotenoid metabolic pathway in Brassica, including the identification of key factors that directly participate or regulate carotenoid biosynthesis. However, recent genetic advances and the complexity of the mechanism and regulation of Brassica carotenoid accumulation have not been reviewed. Herein, we reviewed the recent progress regarding Brassica carotenoids from the perspective of forward genetics, discussed biotechnological implications and provided new perspectives on how to transfer the knowledge of carotenoid research in Brassica to the crop breeding process.

With worsening environmental degradation and increasing international demand for human health, plant cell based technology will be more important. The aim of this review is to give an overview regarding key points of current progress and development trend of nature medical and edible plants from the framework of whole plant cell engineering including cell cultures, cell fusion and cell splitting derived biotechnology. Here we sum up three main application trends of medical plants cell cultures covering industrial output, technology upgrading and potential resource development. We also provide classification and typification insights to summarize the development of somatic hybridization in cereal, vegetables crops and other medicinal and edible plants as well as application of artificial polyploidy induction in major medicinal herbs. Development medicinal and edible homologous plants based on modern plant cell engineering will bring us a promising future.