Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) is a major pathogen affecting tomato plants worldwide. The efficacy of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) mediated by Punica granatum biowaste peel extract in mitigating the negative impact of TMV infection on tomato growth and oxidative stress was investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FTIR). Results of SEM analysis of green Ag-NPs revealed the presence of condensed spherical or round NPs with diameters ranging between 61 and 97 nm. TEM confirmed the SEM results and showed round-shaped Ag-NPs with an average size of 33.37 ± 12.7 nm. The elemental analysis (EDX) of prepared Ag-NPs revealed the presence of elemental Ag as a major peak (64.43%) at 3–3.5 KeV. The FTIR revealed several functional groups on the prepared Ag-NPs, for which three treatment strategies for Ag-NP applications were evaluated in the greenhouse study and compared to inoculated TMV and control plants: pre-infection treatment (TB), post-infection treatment (TA), and dual treatment (TD). The results showed that the TD strategy is the most effective in improving tomato growth and reducing viral replication, whereas all Ag-NP treatments (TB, TA, and TD) were found to significantly increase expression of the pathogenesis-related (PR) genes PR-1 and PR-2, as well as polyphenolic compounds, HQT, and C4H genes compared to control plants. In contrast, the flavonoid content of tomato plants was not affected by the viral infection, while the phenolic content was significantly reduced in the TMV group. Furthermore, TMV infection led to a significant increase in oxidative stress markers MDA and H₂O₂, as well as a reduction in the enzymatic activity of the antioxidants PPO, SOD, and POX. Our results clearly showed that the application of Ag-NPs on TMV-infected plants reduces virus accumulation, delays viral replication in all treatments, and greatly enhances the expression of the CHS gene involved in flavonoid biosynthesis. Overall, these findings suggest that treatment with Ag-NPs may be an effective strategy to mitigate the negative impact of TMV infection on tomato plants.

The last two decades have seen the discovery of novel retroviruses that have resulted in severe negative consequences for human health. In late 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged with a high transmission rate and severe effects on human health, with 5% infected persons requiring hospitalisation and 3.81 million deaths to date globally. Aerosol particles containing virions are considered the main source of SARS CoV-2 transmission in this pandemic, with increased infection rates in confined spaces. Consequently, public and private institutions had to institute mitigation measures including the use of facial masks and social distancing to limit the spread of the virus. Moreover, the role of air purification and bio-decontamination is understood as being essential to mitigate viral spread. Various techniques can be applied to bio-decontaminate the air such as the use of filtration and radiation; however, these methods are expensive and not feasible for home use. Another method of air purification is where indoor plants can purify the air by the removal of air pollutants and habituated airborne microbes. The use of indoor plants could prove to be a cost-efficient way of indoor air-purification that could be adapted for a variety of environments with no need for special requirements and can also add an aesthetic value that can have an indirect impact on human health. In this review, we discuss the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the currently used air purification methods, and we propose the use of indoor plants as a new possible eco-friendly tool for indoor air purification and for reducing the spread of COVID-19 in confined places.

Tissue engineering provides new hope for the combination of cells, scaffolds, and bifactors for bone osteogenesis. This is achieved by mimicking the bone’s natural behavior in recruiting the cell’s molecular machinery for our use. Many researchers have focused on developing an ideal scaffold with specific features, such as good cellular adhesion, cell proliferation, differentiation, host integration, and load bearing. Various types of coating materials (organic and non-organic) have been used to enhance bone osteogenesis. In the last few years, RNA-mediated gene therapy has captured attention as a new tool for bone regeneration. In this review, we discuss the use of RNA molecules in coating and delivery, including messenger RNA (mRNA), RNA interference (RNAi), and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) on different types of scaffolds (such as polymers, ceramics, and metals) in osteogenesis research. In addition, the effect of using gene-editing tools—particularly CRISPR systems—to guide RNA scaffolds in bone regeneration is also discussed. Given existing knowledge about various RNAs coating/expression may help to understand the process of bone formation on the scaffolds during osseointegration.

Although mitochondrial translation produces only 13 proteins, we show here how this process can be visualised and detected in situ by fluorescence microscopy with a simple, rapid and inexpensive procedure using non-canonical amino acid labelling and click chemistry. This allows visualisation of the translational output in different mitochondria within a cell, their position within that cell and a comparison of mitochondrial translation between cells. The most highly translationally active mitochondria were closest to the nucleus but were also found at the distal end of long cellular projections. There were substantial differences in translation between adjacent mitochondria and this did not readily correlate with apparent mitochondrial genome content. Mitochondrial translation was unchanged during mitosis when cytoplasmic translation was suppressed. This method will serve both fundamental cell biology and clinically orientated studies, in which mitochondrial function is a key parameter.

In the current study, we used high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to investigate and analyze the methanolic extract of Salvia rosmarinus leaves. HPLC analysis showed that the extract revealed a diverse array of polyphenolic compounds, including apigenin, catechin, chlorogenic acid, cinnamic acid, caffeic acid, coumaric acid, daidzein, ellagic acid, ferulic acid, gallic acid, hesperetin, kaempferol, methyl gallate, naringenin, pyrocatechol, quercetin, rutin, syringic acid, and vanillin. Furthermore, three fungal isolates from symptomatic strawberry plants were obtained and identified as Botrytis cinerea (OR116486), Fusarium oxysporum (OR116505), and Rhizoctonia solani (OR116525). The extract’s antifungal activity was evaluated at concentrations of 0, 50, 150, 200, and 300 µg/mL. At 200 µg/mL, the extract showed growth inhibition percentages of 74.56, 58.19, and 56.67% for R. solani, F. oxysporum, and B. cinerea, respectively, while at 300 µg/mL, all the tested fungi were completely suppressed. The GC–MS analysis revealed that the major compounds of the methanolic extract identified based on their retention times and relative peak areas (%) included β-caryophyllene (12.06%), germacrene d (13.55%), caryophyllene oxide (3.13%), methyl palmitate (5.26%), hexadecanoic acid (4.9%), and methyl stearate (6.02%). These results show rosemary extract’s potential as a source of natural antifungal agents against plant photogenic fungi. As a result, it provides a safer alternative to the current protective approaches for plant disease management.

The increasing impacts of climate change, global warming, and water scarcity are intensifying drought risk and compromising global food security. To mitigate these challenges, green-synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) derived from plant extracts have recently emerged as an innovative tool for enhancing crop resilience to abiotic stresses such as drought. Moringa enables eco-friendly nanoparticle production with diverse uses. Although Moringa enhances plant traits and its NPs have antimicrobial properties, limited research exists on their ability to improve plant tolerance to abiotic stress. Here, we investigated the potential of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles synthesized from Moringa plant extracts to alleviate drought stress in tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum). The Moringa-based CuO NPs were characterized via UV‒Vis spectrophotometry, Zeta potential, FTIR, SEM, and TEM. Foliar applications of the NPs at various concentrations (3, 6, and 9 mg/L) were tested on tomato seedlings under normal and drought-induced conditions (10% PEG), alongside two controls: non-stressed control (water treatment) and drought stress control (PEG treatment). Physiological assessments showed that 6 mg/L Moringa-based CuO NPs were most effective under drought stress, significantly reducing leaf yellowing and increasing shoot length by 11%, root length by 21%, total dry biomass by 34% increase, and total chlorophyll content by 32% increase at (p < 0.05) compared to the drought stress control. Furthermore, at the molecular level, gene expression analysis revealed the upregulation of PAL, CHS, and HQT, which are genes critical to the stress response and secondary metabolism in tomato plants. Notably, the combination of CuO NPs with PEG amplified gene expression, indicating a synergistic effect on improving drought tolerance. These findings highlight the potential of the use of Moringa-synthesized CuO nanoparticles as a sustainable, eco-friendly strategy to mitigate drought stress in economic crops such as tomatoes. This new green approach offers a promising solution for bolstering food security in the face of climate change and water scarcity challenges.