Climate change is accelerated by increasing levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) as a result of human activity, particularly the release of carbon dioxide (CO2). Soil carbon (C) sequestration, or the transfer of atmospheric CO2 to soil organic matter (SOM) with long-term stabilization within the soil, is an important process of C removal from the atmosphere. For the accounting of soil C and offset markets in most countries including Australia, the standard soil sampling depth is 0–30 cm, although deeper sampling is recommended for more accurate C stock assessments and to capture long-term sequestration potential. While 30 cm soil depth accounts for most short-term management impacts on C storage, a significant portion of soil C is stored below this depth (i.e., deep soil C), and sampling at greater depths can provide a more complete account of total C stocks and potential sequestration benefits. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review, including a bibliometric analysis and a critical discussion of the link between deep soil C storage and sequestration potential in relation to climate change mitigation and soil health. Deep soil layers contain over 850 Pg C worldwide, which is approximately 50
Plant productivity is severely constrained by diverse pathogens, among which oomycetes represent some of the most destructive threats to global agriculture. These filamentous microorganisms cause devastating diseases, including potato late blight and downy mildew, leading to significant yield losses in major crops. Successful infection relies on the formation of haustoria through which oomycetes deliver numerous effector proteins that manipulate host cellular processes and suppress both pattern-triggered and effector-triggered immunity. To date, three major classes of oomycete effectors, including RXLR, Crinkler, and CHXC, along with a putative class YxSL [RK], have been identified in oomycetes. These effector molecules, along with the recently identified apoplastic effectors, play key roles in governing compatible and incompatible interactions and establishing disease in the host plant. Plants perceive these effectors by deploying multilayered immune strategies including plasma-membrane localized pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) and intracellular NLR receptors that induce redox- and hormone-regulated defense pathways, and dynamic remodeling of transcriptional and metabolic networks. Understanding these effectors and how they manipulate host defense is a prerequisite for the generation of disease-resistant plants. In this review, we discuss the recent progress in the oomycete effectors, their secretion system, and their targets in the plant cells. By integrating pathogen strategies with host immune responses, we highlight how effector-mediated manipulation of plant signaling provides new opportunities for breeding and engineering broad-spectrum and durable resistance against oomycete pathogens.
Ozone has re-emerged as a versatile non-thermal technology with the potential to enhance food safety, extend shelf life, and preserve nutritional quality across diverse food systems. Despite extensive documentation of its antimicrobial efficacy, the integration of ozone into engineered food processing frameworks and its implications for nutritional security remain insufficiently consolidated. This review is based on a structured literature survey of peer-reviewed articles retrieved from major databases (Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and ScienceDirect) covering the period 2015–2025, using defined keywords and inclusion criteria focused on ozone engineering, food quality, and sustainability. The review synthesizes current knowledge on ozone engineering, including gaseous, aqueous, and advanced hybrid delivery systems, and critically evaluates the relationships between process parameters, mass-transfer behaviour, and quality outcomes. Evidence indicates that optimized ozonation can achieve 2–5 log microbial reductions and 20–80
Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs) are integral to the chemical communication systems of insects, mediating the detection, transport, and discrimination of hydrophobic ligands such as pheromones, odorants, and xenobiotics. While OBPs are largely confined to olfactory tissues and exhibit high structural specificity-with six conserved cysteines forming three disulfide bridges-CSPs are structurally simpler, featuring four conserved cysteines and two disulfide bridges, yet display remarkable conformational plasticity and functional versatility. Recent evidence underscores the roles of CSPs beyond chemoreception, including developmental regulation, cuticle formation, visual pigment transport, nutrient solubilization, reproductive signaling, and notably, insecticide resistance-where upregulation in response to chemical stress suggests a role in sequestration and detoxification. CSPs are expressed ubiquitously across diverse tissues, including reproductive and digestive organs, and have been identified in seminal fluids, where they may facilitate pheromone delivery or mating plug formation. Comparative genomic analyses reveal significant interspecific variability in OBP and CSP gene families, with expansions in certain taxa corresponding to ecological and behavioral adaptations. Emerging transcriptomic and gene-editing studies (e.g., RNAi, CRISPR) are elucidating their tissue-specific expression and ligand-binding properties, opening new avenues for functional annotation and pest control applications. This review synthesizes current advances in the structure, evolution, and multifunctionality of OBPs and CSPs, highlighting their roles as molecular chaperones in insect physiology. Understanding these proteins provides crucial insights into insect chemical ecology and offers promising molecular targets for sustainable pest management strategies through behavioral disruption or chemosensory interference.
Salinity is one of the most serious stress factors limiting rice cultivation. Cyanobacterial seed priming and application have been reported to mitigate the adverse impact of salinity stress and promote plant growth. Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effect of seed priming and inoculation with Nostoc sp. BTA 710 and Anabaena doliolum on the growth and physiological activity of rice plants under salinity stress conditions. Salinity stress treatments (60 and 120 mM NaCl) imposed at tillering stage significantly reduced growth, pigment content and photosynthetic activity in non-primed and non-inoculated plants (T2 and T3). However, primed and inoculated plants (C1T2, C2T2, C1T3 and C2T3) exhibited comparatively lower reductions in growth, pigment content and photosynthetic activity under salinity stress conditions. Furthermore, primed and inoculated plants subjected to salinity stress showed reduced accumulation of superoxide radicals and lipid peroxidation products and maintained a favourable Na+/K+ ratio. Priming and cyanobacterial inoculation also modulated the activity of antioxidant enzymes under saline conditions. Thus, the results suggest that cyanobacterial seed priming and application alleviates the detrimental effects of salinity in rice by restricting the uptake of Na+ ions, decreasing the accumulation of malondialdehyde and superoxide radicals , modulation of antioxidant enzymes and maintaining ion homeostasis.
