Microorganisms play an important role in plant growth and development. In particular, endophytic fungi is one of the important kinds of microorganisms and has a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with host plants. Endophytic fungi have many substantial benefits to host plants, especially for woody plants, such as accelerating plant growth, enhancing stress resistance, promoting nutrient absorption, resisting pathogens and etc. However, the effects of endophytic fungi on the growth and development of woody plants have not been systematically summarized. In this review, the functions of endophytic fungi for the growth and development of woody plants have been mainly reviewed, including regulating plant growth (e.g., flowering, root elongation, etc.) by producing nutrients and plant hormones, and improving plant disease, insect resistance and heavy metal resistance by producing secondary metabolites. In addition, the diversity of endophytic fungi could improve the ability of woody plants to adapt to adverse environment. The components produced by endophytic fungi have excellent potential for the growth and development of woody plants. This review has systematically discussed the potential regulation mechanism of endophytic fungi regulating the growth and development of woody plants, it would be of great significance for the development and utilization of endophytic fungi resource from woody plants for the protection of forest resources.

Green-synthesized gel materials can efficiently absorb and remove organic dyes from wastewater. This investigation designed and synthesized a novel modification method of sodium alginate gel beads based on the protein glycosylation reaction (Maillard reaction) using green chemistry principles. The prepared gel beads were subsequently applied to examine their efficacy in adsorbing the organic dye methylene blue. The adsorption process and mechanism were characterized and analyzed. At an adsorption equilibrium of 300 K, the adsorption value can reach 908 mg/g. The dry casein glycosylated gel beads synthesized in this study demonstrate the potential for further development as a novel adsorbent for organic dyes in wastewater.

Our research group successfully designed the F. carica and Taxus cuspidata Sieb. et Zucc mixed forest, and confirmed that their interspecific relationship was stable and F. carica has a promoting effect on neighboring T. cuspidata growth. However, the promoting mechanism has not been elucidated. In this study, F. carica was used as the donor plant and T. cuspidata was used as the recipient plant. T. cuspidata seedlings were irrigated with F. carica root extracts of different concentrations (10.0, 20.0, 40.0 g·L⁻¹), and the plant height, base diameter, photosynthetic parameters, photosynthetic pigments, MDA contents, and antioxidant enzyme activities were measured. Soil physical and chemical properties, enzyme activities, and microbial diversity were measured. The results showed that the abundance of growth-promoting bacteria increased and the number of pathogenic bacteria decreased in the rhizosphere of T. cuspidata soil. It was speculated that the chemicals secreted by F. carica roots interacted with soil microorganisms of T. cuspidata soil after enrichment, changed soil microbial diversity, and indirectly promoted the growth of T. cuspidata. UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS was used to analyze F. carica root water extract and F. carica root exudates, respectively, and it was found that the main components were similar. Therefore, the promoting effect of F. carica on T. cuspidata is mainly caused by the accumulation of potential chemicals in F. carica root exudates in the soil through interaction with soil microorganisms. Furthermore, the allelopathic-promoting mechanism of F. carica on T. cuspidata was discussed from various aspects, to provide a theoretical basis for the protection, breeding, and sustainable management of T. cuspidata resources.

ZnO nanoclusters (ZnO NCs) had been widely utilized in optoelectronics, sensors, dye removal, and antibacterial fields. To reduce or avoid the use of toxic, harmful, and costly chemical reagents, the Sorbus pohuashanensis and Aronia melanocarpa extracts were used to green synthesize ZnO NCs with superior adsorption ability for the organic dyes. The obtained ZnO NCs were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy (UV–vis), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). TEM and SEM results indicated that the ZnO NCs tended to aggregate into large branching and sheet structures. EDS measurement confirmed the presence of zinc ions on the ZnO NCs. FTIR results revealed that the components of the fruits extracts were bounded on the surface of ZnO NCs. The primary application experiments demonstrated that the Sorbus pohuashanensis and Aronia melanocarpa extracts functionalized ZnO NCs possess effectively removing activity for organic dyes.

Gel materials usually exhibit special physical and chemical properties such as high swelling and porosity. They have been widely applied in many fields, including chemical engineering, biology, medicine, and new materials. Nanoscale TiO ₂ materials have been proven to exhibit the properties of photocatalytic decomposition of organic substances and can be used for the removal of organic dye wastewater. In this paper, Sodium alginate-silver/titanium dioxide (SA-Ag/TiO ₂ ) gel films with photocatalytic activity were prepared. The film stably immobilized nanoscale silver (Ag) and TiO ₂ within the gel film, and sodium alginate served as both an embedding agent and a reducing agent. SEM characterization revealed that the SA-Ag/TiO ₂ surface exhibited a spongy, loose, porous gel structure. UV–vis and EDS confirmed the presence of nano-Ag and TiO ₂ . Contact Angle experiments confirmed that the film material was hydrophilic. The preparation method for SA-Ag/TiO ₂ gel film has the advantages of environmental friendliness, high cost-performance, simple operation, and controllable parameters. Compared with traditional adsorption, photocatalysis can completely decompose methylene blue (MB) and sunset yellow (SY) dyes, and has broad application prospects.

Triterpenoids derived from Sanghuangporus baumii exhibit potent antitumor activity, but their yields under natural conditions are relatively low due to their status as secondary metabolites. In this study, we investigated the effects of Zn²⁺ induction on the growth and triterpenoid biosynthesis of S. baumii. The results showed that 0.5 mM Zn²⁺ significantly enhanced the mycelial growth rate (0.43 ± 0.004 cm/d) and biomass (4.8 ± 0.024 g/L), representing increases of 8.71% and 16.95%, respectively, compared with the Zn0 group. This result was mainly caused by an increase in the soluble sugar content. Furthermore, 5 mM Zn²⁺ induced upregulation of genes in the mevalonate (MVA) pathway, thereby promoting triterpenoid accumulation by 167.86% compared with the Zn0 group. Transcriptome analysis identified SbHMGS as the key gene involved in triterpenoid biosynthesis under Zn²⁺ induction. Heterologous expression of SbHMGS in Saccharomyces cerevisiae confirmed its critical role in triterpenoid production. The triterpenoid (squalene) content of the engineered strain (Sc-HMGS) reached 0.88 mg/g under Zn²⁺ induction, which was 208.6% higher than in the non-induced control strain (Sc-NTC). These findings provide a foundation for optimizing the industrial fermentation condition of S. baumii and S. cerevisiae to enhance triterpenoid yields.