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Lake Burullus is the second largest lake at the northern edge of the Nile Delta, Egypt, and has been recognized as an internationally significant wetland that provides a habitat for migrating birds, fish, herpetofauna, and mammals. However, the lake is experiencing severe human impacts including drainage and conversion to agricultural lands and fish farms. The primary goal of this study was to use multispectral, moderate-spatial-resolution (30 m2) Landsat satellite imagery to assess marsh loss in Lake Burullus, Egypt, in the last 35 years (1985–2020). Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analyses (ISODATA) unsupervised techniques were applied to the Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager–Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI–TIRS) satellite images for classification of the Lake Burullus area into four main land-use classes: water, marsh, unvegetated land surfaces (roads, paths, sand sheets and dunes), and agricultural lands and fish farms. The overall classification accuracy was estimated to be 96% and the Kappa index was 0.95. Our results indicated that there is a substantial loss (44.8% loss) in the marsh aerial coverage between 1985 and 2020. The drainage and conversion of wetlands into agricultural lands and/or fish farms is concentrated primarily in the western and southern part of the lake where the surface area of the agricultural lands and/or fish farms doubled (103.2% increase) between 2000 and 2020. We recommend that land-use-policy makers and environmental government agencies raise public awareness among the local communities of Lake Burullus of the economic and environmental consequences of the alarming loss of marshland, which will likely have adverse effects on water quality and cause a reduction in the invaluable wetland-ecosystem services.

Leafy vegetables usually absorb and retain heavy metals more readily than most of the other crop plants, and thus contribute ≥70% of the total cadmium (Cd) intake of humans. Caffeine mediates plant growth and has proved to be beneficial against pathogens and insects. Therefore, it was hypothesized that foliar applications of caffeine could alter metabolism and reduce Cd toxicity in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). Seven-day old spinach seedlings were provided with Cd (0, 50, and 100 µM) stress. Caffeine (0, 5, or 10 mM) foliar spray was given twice at after 20 days of seeds germination with an interval of one week. In results, Cd stress reduced photosynthetic pigments biosynthesis, increased oxidative stress, imbalanced nutrient retention, and inhibited plant growth. On the other hand, the caffeine-treated spinach plants showed better growth owing to the enhanced biosynthesis of chlorophylls, better oxidative defense systems, and lower accumulation and transport of Cd within the plant tissues. Furthermore, caffeine application enhanced the accumulation of the proline and ascorbic acid, but reduced MDA and H2O2 contents and Cd in plant leaves, and ultimately improved mineral nutrition of spinach plants exposed to different Cd regimes. In conclusion, exogenous application of caffeine significantly diminishes Cd stress by modulating physiological, biochemical, and growth attributes of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)

The present experiment was carried out to study the influences of exogenously-applied nitric oxide (NO) donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as seed primers on growth and yield in relation with different physio-biochemical parameters, antioxidant activities, and osmolyte accumulation in wheat plants grown under control (100% field capacity) and water stress (60% field capacity) conditions. During soaking, the seeds were covered and kept in completely dark. Drought stress markedly reduced the plant growth, grain yield, leaf photosynthetic pigments, total phenolic content (TPC), total soluble proteins (TSP), leaf water potential (Ψw), leaf turgor potential (Ψp), osmotic potential (Ψs), and leaf relative water content (LRWC), while it increased the activities of enzymatic antioxidants and the accumulation of leaf ascorbic acid (AsA), proline (Pro), glycine betaine (GB), malondialdehyde (MDA), and H2O2. However, seed priming with SNP and H2O2 alone and in combination mitigated the deleterious effects of water stress on growth and yield by improving the Ψw, Ψs, Ψp, photosynthetic pigments, osmolytes accumulation (GB and Pro), TSP, and the antioxidative defense mechanism. Furthermore, the application of NO and H2O2 as seed primers also reduced the accumulation of H2O2 and MDA contents. The effectiveness was treatment-specific and the combined application was also found to be effective. The results revealed that exogenous application of NO and H2O2 was effective in increasing the tolerance of wheat plants under drought stress in terms of growth and grain yield by regulating plant–water relations, the antioxidative defense mechanism, and accumulation of osmolytes, and by reducing the membrane lipid peroxidation.

Abstract Aim This study aims to use fermentation waste of ethanol production (solid and liquid) for riboflavin and recycling of bacterial biomass as biofertilizers to enhance the growth of some oily crop plants. Methods and Results Out of 10 yeast isolates from fresh milk, Clavispora lusitaniae ASU 33 (MN583181) was able to ferment different concentrations of glucose (2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) into ethanol with high efficiency at 10%. Among seven non-Lactobacillus bacterial isolates recovered from cheese samples, two bacterial isolates Bacillus subtlis-SR2 (MT002768) and Novosphingobium panipatense-SR3 (MT002778) were selected for their high riboflavin production. Different media (control medium, fermentation waste medium and a mixture of the fermentation waste medium and control medium [1:1]) were used for riboflavin production. These media were inoculated by a single or mixture of B. subtlis-SR2, N. panipatense-SR3. The addition of the waste medium of ethanol production to the control medium (1:1) had a stimulatory effect on riboflavin production whether inoculated with either a single strain or a mixture of B. subtlis-SR2 and N. panipatense-SR3. A mixture of fermentation waste and control media inoculated with N. panipatense produced a high riboflavin yield in comparison with other media. Inoculation of Zea mays and Ocimum basilicum plants with either the bacterial biomass waste of riboflavin production (B. subtlis or N. panipatense) or a mixture of B. subtlis and N. panipatense) shows a stimulatory effect on the plant growth in comparison with control (uninoculated plants). Conclusions These results demonstrate the possibility of minimizing the cost of riboflavin and biofertilizer manufacturing via interlinking ethanol and riboflavin with the biofertilizer production technology. Significance and Impact of Study This study outlines the methods of evaluating the strength of spent media by applying procedures developed in the vitamin production industries. Furthermore, bacterial biomass waste can act as an environmentally friendly alternative for agrochemicals.

Abstract Microalgal biomass is one of the most promising third-generation feedstocks for bioethanol production because it contains significantly reduced sugar amounts which, by separate hydrolysis and fermentation, can be used as a source for ethanol production. In this study, the defatted microalgal biomass of Nannochloropsis oculata (NNO-1 UTEX Culture LB 2164) was subjected to bioethanol production through acid digestion and enzymatic treatment before being fermented by Saccharomyces cerevisiae (NRRLY-2034). For acid hydrolysis (AH), the highest carbohydrate yield 252.84 mg/g DW was obtained with 5.0% (v/v) H2SO4 at 121°C for 15 min for defatted biomass cultivated mixotrophically on SBAE with respect to 207.41 mg/g DW for defatted biomass cultivated autotrophically (control treatment), Whereas, the highest levels of reducing sugars was obtained With 4.0%(v/v) H2SO4 157.47 ± 1.60 mg/g DW for defatted biomass cultivated mixotrophically in compared with 135.30 mg/g DW for the defatted control treatment. The combination of acid hydrolysis 2.0% (v/v) H2SO4 followed by enzymatic treatment (AEH) increased the carbohydrate yields to 268.53 mg/g DW for defatted biomass cultivated mixotrophically on SBAE with respect to 177.73 mg/g DW for the defatted control treatment. However, the highest levels of reducing sugars were obtained with 3.0% (v/v) H2SO4 followed by enzyme treatment gave 232.39 ± 1.77 for defatted biomass cultivated mixotrophically on SBAE and 150.75 mg/g DW for the defatted control treatment. The sugar composition of the polysaccharides showed that glucose was the principal polysaccharide sugar (60.7%-62.49%) of N. oculata defatted biomass. Fermentation of the hydrolysates by Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the acid pretreated defatted biomass samples gave ethanol yield of 0.86 g/l (0.062 g/g sugar consumed) for control and 1.17 g/l (0.069 g/g sugar consumed) for SBAE mixotrophic. Whereas, the maximum ethanol yield of 6.17 ± 0.47 g/l (0.26 ± 0.11 g/g sugar consumed) was obtained with samples from defatted biomass grown mixotrophically (SBAE mixotrophic) pretreated with acid coupled enzyme hydrolysis.

The by-products/wastes from agro-food and in particular the fruit industry represents from one side an issue since they cannot be disposed as such for their impact on the environment but they need to be treated as a waste. However, on the other side, they are a source of bioactive healthy useful compounds which can be recovered and be the starting material for other products in the view of sustainability and a circular economy addressing the global goal of “zero waste” in the environment. An updated view of the state of art of the research on fruit wastes is here given under this perspective. The topic is defined as follows: (i) literature quantitative analysis of fruit waste/by-products, with particular regards to linkage with health; (ii) an updated view of conventional and innovative extraction procedures; (iii) high-value added compounds obtained from fruit waste and associated biological properties; (iv) fruit wastes presence and relevance in updated databases. Nowadays, the investigation of the main components and related bioactivities of fruit wastes is being continuously explored throughout integrated and multidisciplinary approaches towards the exploitation of emerging fields of application which may allow to create economic, environmental, and social value in the design of an eco-friendly approach of the fruit wastes.

Enhancing the productivity and bioactivity of high-functional foods holds great significance. Carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) have a recognized capacity for boosting both plant growth and the efficacy of primary and secondary metabolites. Furthermore, while salinity diminishes plant growth, it concurrently amplifies the production of phytomolecules. To ensure the robust and sustainable production of nutritious food, it becomes essential to elevate biomolecule yield without compromising plant growth. Here, we assessed the CNPs priming on plant performance and metabolites of the glycophyte amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) sprouts at the threshold salinity (25 mM NaCl; i.e., salinity that does not reduce growth but enhances the metabolites of that plant). We measured growth parameters, pigment levels, and primary (carbohydrates, amino acids, organic acids, fatty acids) and secondary metabolites (phenolics, flavonoids, tocopherols). CNP priming significantly improved biomass accumulation (fresh and dry weight) and primary and secondary metabolites of amaranth sprouts. Increased photosynthetic pigments can explain these increases in photosynthesis. Enhanced photosynthesis induced carbohydrate production, providing a C source for producing bioactive primary and secondary metabolites. The priming effect of CNPs further enhanced the accumulation of essential amino acids, organic acids, unsaturated fatty acids, tocopherols, and phenolics at threshold salinity. The increase in bioactive metabolites under threshold salinity can explain the CNP priming impact on boosting the antioxidant activities (FRAP, DPPH, anti-lipid peroxidation, superoxide-anion-scavenger, hydroxyl-radical-scavenger, Fe-chelating and chain-breaking activity in aqueous and lipid phases) and antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Overall, this study suggested that threshold salinity and CNP priming could be useful for enhancing amaranth sprouts’ growth and nutritional quality.