title: PeerJ description: Articles published in PeerJ link: https://peerj.com/articles/index.rss3?journal=peerj&page=297 creator: info@peerj.com PeerJ errorsTo: info@peerj.com PeerJ language: en title: Mechanism of Brevibacillus brevis strain TR-4 against leaf disease of Photinia×fraseri Dress link: https://peerj.com/articles/17568 last-modified: 2024-06-25 description: BackgroundColletotrichum species are among the most common pathogens in agriculture and forestry, and their control is urgently needed.MethodsIn this study, a total of 68 strains of biocontrol bacteria were isolated and identified from Photinia × fraseri rhizosphere soil.ResultsThe isolates were identified as Brevibacillus brevis by 16S rRNA. The inhibitory effect of TR-4 on Colletotrichum was confirmed by an in vitro antagonistic experiment. The inhibitory effect of TR-4 was 98% at a concentration of 10 µl/ml bacterial solution, protection of the plant and inhibition of C. siamense was evident. Moreover, the secretion of cellulase and chitosan enzymes in the TR-4 fermentation liquid cultured for three days was 9.07 mol/L and 2.15 µl/mol, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy confirmed that TR-4 destroyed the cell wall of C. siamense, resulting in leakage of the cell contents, thus weakening the pathogenicity of the bacteria. creator: Chenxinyu Ji creator: Yun-Fei Li creator: Yao Yao creator: Zengrui Zhu creator: Shengfeng Mao uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17568 license: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ rights: title: Not so cryptic–differences between mating calls of Hyla arborea and Hyla orientalis from Bulgaria link: https://peerj.com/articles/17574 last-modified: 2024-06-25 description: Anurans are among the most vocally active vertebrate animals and emit calls with different functions. In order to attract a mate, during the breeding season male frogs produce mating calls which have species-specific structure and parameters, and have been successfully used to resolve issues in taxonomy and phylogenetic relations. This is particularly useful when closely related taxa are concerned, as many species are morphologically almost identical, but still their status is well-supported by molecular and genetic data, suggesting the existence of mechanisms for reproductive isolation. Such is the case for treefrogs from the Hyla arborea group, which are now recognized as several distinct species. The present study aims to establish differences in call parameters between the European tree frog, Hyla arborea, and the Eastern tree frog, Hyla orientalis, which both occur on the territory of Bulgaria. Using autonomous audio loggers, calls from six sites (three in the range of H. arborea and three in the range of H. orientalis) were recorded between 7 p.m. and 12 a.m. during the breeding season in 2020–2023. The following parameters in a total of 390 mating calls were analyzed: call count, pulse count, call series duration, call period, peak (dominant) frequency, entropy. Results indicated that sites formed two distinct groups, which corresponded to the known distribution ranges of H. arborea and H. orientalis. The first two components of the PCA explained 71% of the total variance, with variables call count, call series duration, peak frequency and entropy being most important for differentiation between the sites. This study presents the first attempt to differentiate between the calls of these two sister taxa, which both fall within the “short-call treefrogs” group, and results are discussed in terms of known data for mating calls in Hyla sp., as well as limitations and future perspectives. creator: Simeon Lukanov uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17574 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Lukanov title: Applying different levels of practice variability for motor learning: More is not better link: https://peerj.com/articles/17575 last-modified: 2024-06-25 description: BackgroundVariable practice is a broadly used tool to improve motor learning processes. However, controversial results can be found in literature about the success of this type of practice compared to constant practice. This study explored one potential reason for this controversy: the manipulation of variable practice load applied during practice and its effects according to the initial performance level and the initial intrinsic variability of the learner.MethodSixty-five participants were grouped into four practice schedules to learn a serial throwing task, in which the training load of variable practice was manipulated: one constant practice group and three groups with different variable practice loads applied. After a pre-test, participants trained for 2 weeks. A post-test and three retests (96 h, 2 weeks and 1 month) were carried out after training. The participants’ throwing accuracy was assessed through error parameters and their initial intrinsic motor variability was assessed by the autocorrelation coefficient of the error.ResultsThe four groups improved their throwing performance. Pairwise comparisons and effect sizes showed larger error reduction in the low variability group. Different loads of variable practice seem to induce different performance improvements in a throwing task. The modulation of the variable practice load seems to be a step forward to clarify the controversy about its benefits, but it has to be guided by the individuals’ features, mainly by the initial intrinsic variability of the learner. creator: Carla Caballero creator: David Barbado creator: Manuel Peláez creator: Francisco J. Moreno uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17575 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Caballero et al. title: Isolation and characterization of native antagonistic rhizobacteria against Fusarium wilt of chilli to promote plant growth link: https://peerj.com/articles/17578 last-modified: 2024-06-25 description: In the eastern coastal regions of Odisha, wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.capsici is an extremely damaging disease in chilli. This disease is very difficult to manage with chemical fungicides since it is soil-borne in nature. The natural rhizosphere soil of the chilli plant was used to isolate and test bacterial antagonists for their effectiveness and ability to promote plant growth. Out of the fifty-five isolates isolated from the rhizosphere of healthy chilli plants, five isolates, namely Iso 01, Iso 17, Iso 23, Iso 24, and Iso 32, showed their highly antagonistic activity against F. oxysporum f. sp. capsici under in vitro. In a dual culture, Iso 32 (73.3%) and Iso 24 (71.5%) caused the highest level of pathogen inhibition. In greenhouse trials, artificially inoculated chilli plants treated with Iso 32 (8.8%) and Iso 24 (10.2%) had decreased percent disease incidence (PDI), with percent disease reduction over control of 85.6% and 83.3%, respectively. Iso 32 and Iso 24 treated chilli seeds have shown higher seed vigor index of 973.7 and 948.8, respectively, as compared to untreated control 636.5. Furthermore, both the isolates significantly increased plant height as well as the fresh and dry weight of chilli plants under the rolled paper towel method. Morphological, biochemical, and molecular characterization identified Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (MH491049) as the key antagonist. This study demonstrates that rhizobacteria, specifically Iso 32 and Iso 24, can effectively protect chilli plants against Fusarium wilt while promoting overall plant development. These findings hold promise for sustainable and eco-friendly management of Fusarium wilt in chilli cultivation. creator: Bhanothu Shiva creator: Petikam Srinivas creator: Deepa Khulbe creator: Lellapalli Rithesh creator: Penumatsa Kishore Varma creator: Rahul Kumar Tiwari creator: Milan Kumar Lal creator: Ravinder Kumar uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17578 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Shiva et al. title: Biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles via neem extract and their anticancer and antibacterial activities link: https://peerj.com/articles/17588 last-modified: 2024-06-25 description: In the present study, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) were synthesized using neem leaf aqueous extracts and characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Then compare its efficacy as anticancer and antibacterial agents with chemically synthesized ZnO-NPs and the neem leaf extract used for the green synthesis of ZnO-NPs. The TEM, UV-vis, and particle size confirmed that the developed ZnO-NPs are nanoscale. The chemically and greenly synthesized ZnO-NPs showed their optical absorbance at 328 nm and 380 nm, respectively, and were observed as spherical particles with a size of about 85 nm and 62.5 nm, respectively. HPLC and GC-MS were utilized to identify the bioactive components in the neem leaf aqueous extract employed for the eco-friendly production of ZnO-NPs. The HPLC analysis revealed that the aqueous extract of neem leaf contains 19 phenolic component fractions. The GC-MS analysis revealed the existence of 21 bioactive compounds. The antiproliferative effect of green ZnO-NPs was observed at different concentrations (31.25 µg/mL–1000 µg/mL) on Hct 116 and A 549 cancer cells, with an IC50 value of 111 µg/mL for A 549 and 118 µg/mL for Hct 116. On the other hand, the antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria was estimated. The antibacterial result showed that the MIC of green synthesized ZnO-NPs against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria were 5, and 1 µg/mL. Hence, they could be utilized as effective antibacterial and antiproliferative agents. creator: Hossam S. El-Beltagi creator: Marwa Ragab creator: Ali Osman creator: Ragab A. El-Masry creator: Khairiah Mubarak Alwutayd creator: Hind Althagafi creator: Leena S. Alqahtani creator: Reem S. Alazragi creator: Ahlam Saleh Alhajri creator: Mahmoud M. El-Saber uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17588 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2024 El-Beltagi et al. title: Using feces to indicate plastic pollution in terrestrial vertebrate species in western Thailand link: https://peerj.com/articles/17596 last-modified: 2024-06-25 description: Plastic pollution is a widespread and growing concern due to its transformation into microplastics (MPs), which can harm organisms and ecosystems. This study, aimed to identify plastic pollution in the feces of terrestrial vertebrates using convenience sampling both inside and outside protected areas in Western Thailand. We hypothesized that MPs are likely to be detectable in the feces of all vertebrate species, primarily in the form of small black fragments. We predicted varying quantities of MPs in the feces of the same species across different protected areas. Furthermore, we expected that factors indicating human presence, landscape characteristics, scat weight, and the MP abundance in water, soils, and sediments would influence the presence of plastics in feces. Among 12 terrestrial species studied, potential MPs were found in 41.11% of 90 samples, totaling 83 pieces across eight species including the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), Eld’s deer (Rucervus eldii), Dhole (Cuon alpinus), Gaur (Bos gaurus), Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), Wild boar (Sus scrofa), Northern red muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis), and Butterfly lizard (Leiolepis belliana). Specifically, 3.61% of all potential MPs (three pieces) were macroplastics, and the remaining 96.39% were considered potential MPs with the abundance of 0.92 ± 1.89 items.scat−1 or 8.69 ± 32.56 items.100 g−1 dw. There was an association between the numbers of feces with and without potential plastics and species (χ2 = 20.88, p = 0.012). Most potential plastics were fibers (95.18%), predominantly black (56.63%) or blue (26.51%), with 74.70% smaller than two millimeters. Although there were no significant associations between species and plastic morphologies, colors, and sizes, the abundance classified by these characteristics varied significantly. FTIR identified 52.38% as natural fibers, 38.10% as synthetic fibers (rayon, polyurethane (PUR), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), and PUR blended with cotton), and 9.52% as fragments of PET and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). Human-related factors were linked to the occurrence of potential plastics found in the feces of land-dwelling wildlife. This study enhances the understanding of plastic pollution in tropical protected areas, revealing the widespread of MPs even in small numbers from the areas distant from human settlements. Monitoring plastics in feces offers a non-invasive method for assessing plastic pollution in threatened species, as it allows for easy collection and taxonomic identification without harming live animals. However, stringent measures to assure the quality are necessitated to prevent exogenous MP contamination. These findings underscore the importance of raising awareness about plastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystems, especially regarding plastic products from clothing and plastic materials used in agriculture and irrigation systems. creator: Jiraporn Teampanpong creator: Prateep Duengkae uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17596 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Teampanpong and Duengkae title: Maternal effects, reciprocal differences and combining ability study for yield and its component traits in maize (Zea mays L.) through modified diallel analysis link: https://peerj.com/articles/17600 last-modified: 2024-06-25 description: Combining ability status of the inbred lines is crucial information for hybrid breeding program. Diallel or line × tester mating designs are frequently used to evaluate the combining ability. In the current study a modified diallel model was used, wherein the Griffing’s combining ability effects were further partitioned to understand the effects due to maternal and reciprocal. To do this, eight parental lines of maize were crossed in full diallel method and the generated hybrids along with parents were phenotyped. The field data on the quantitative traits was analyzed using both Griffing’s and the modified model to determine how well the parents’ and the F1 hybrids combined. For each of the traits, a sizable reciprocal and maternal variance was observed. The number of kernel rows per cob variable had a ratio of additive variance to dominance variance greater than one. All other traits including grain yield had a ratio close to zero, suggesting that non-additive gene action was primarily responsible for the genetic control of most of the traits. The narrow sense heritability was low to moderate for majority of the variables, except for number of kernel rows per cob. With the help of the improved model, it was possible to choose superior parents and cross-parent pairings with accuracy. Based on the modified general combining ability effects and maternal effects, the parental line P5 was recognized as a potential female parent and P7 as a good male parent for grain yield and yield-attributing characteristics. The cross combination of P8×P1 had the highest specific combining ability effect on grain yield. P5×P6 cross had the highest reciprocal effect. The correlation analysis implies that the Griffing’s general combining ability effects and specific combining ability effects were found to be less efficient in predicting F1 performance as compared to the modified model. creator: Bonipas Antony John creator: Rajashekhar Mahantaswami Kachapur creator: Gopalakrishna Naidu creator: Sidramappa Channappa Talekar creator: Zerka Rashid creator: Bindiganavile S. Vivek creator: Nagesh Patne creator: Shiddappa Ramappa Salakinkop creator: Prema GU uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17600 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2024 Antony John et al. title: Evaluation of Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) as a diagnostic marker for staging liver fibrosis: a meta-analysis link: https://peerj.com/articles/17611 last-modified: 2024-06-25 description: ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the accuracy of Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) in predicting the stage of liver fibrosis.MethodsArticles published until October 10, 2023, were searched in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), summary receiver–operator curves (SROC), and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used to examine the accuracy of M2BPGi in predicting the stage of liver fibrosis. A 95% confidence interval (CI) was provided for each estimate.ResultsTwenty-four studies were included in this meta-analysis, including 3,839 patients with liver fibrosis, 409 of whom progressed to stage 4 or above. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the ROC (AUC) for M2BPGi predicting liver fibrosis ≥F3 were 0.74 (95% CI [0.65–0.82]), 0.84 (95% CI [0.76–0.89]), and 14.99 (95% CI [9.28–24.21]), respectively. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and AUC for ≥F4 were 0.80 (95% CI [0.70–0.88]), 0.80 (95% CI [0.73–0.86]), and 16.43 (95% CI [0.84–0.90]), respectively.ConclusionAmong different sample partitions, M2BPGi has the best diagnostic performance for liver fibrosis stage ≥4. Furthermore, the cutoff of 1–2 is more accurate than that of 0–1 or 2–3 for fibrosis ≥ F3 and ≥ F4.RegistrationCRD42023483260. creator: Siyao Gong creator: Xin Yu creator: Qian Li creator: Ming Chen creator: Shuguang Yu creator: Sha Yang uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17611 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 rights: © 2024 Gong et al. title: The effects of exercise on FGF21 in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis link: https://peerj.com/articles/17615 last-modified: 2024-06-25 description: BackgroundFibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a key hormone factor that regulates glucose and lipid homeostasis. Exercise may regulate its effects and affect disease states. Therefore, we sought to determine how exercise affects FGF21 concentrations in adults.MethodsThe review was registered in the International Prospective Systematic Review (PROSPERO, CRD42023471163). The Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were searched for studies through July 2023. Studies that assessed the effects of exercise training on FGF21 concentration in adults were included. The random effect model, data with standardized mean difference (SMD), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to evaluate the pooled effect size of exercise training on FGF21. The risk of heterogeneity and bias were evaluated. A total of 12 studies involving 401 participants were included.ResultsThe total effect size was 0.3 (95% CI [−0.3–0.89], p = 0.33) when comparing participants who exercised to those who were sedentary. However, subgroup analysis indicated that concurrent exercise and a duration ≥10 weeks significantly decreased FGF21 concentrations with an effect size of −0.38 (95% CI [−0.74–−0.01], p < 0.05) and −0.38 (95% CI [−0.63–−0.13], p < 0.01), respectively.ConclusionConcurrent exercise and longer duration may be more efficient way to decrease FGF21 concentrations in adults with metabolic disorder. creator: Chuannan Liu creator: Xujie Yan creator: Yue Zong creator: Yanan He creator: Guan Yang creator: Yue Xiao creator: Songtao Wang uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17615 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2024 Liu et al. title: Influence of leaf inclination angle and tillering on population transpiration, soil evaporation, and yield in winter wheat near-isogenic lines link: https://peerj.com/articles/17618 last-modified: 2024-06-25 description: Leaf inclination angle (LIA) and tillering impact the winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) population canopy structure. Understanding their effects on water use (WU) parameters and yield can guide water-saving strategies through population control. In this study, six near-isogenic lines (NILs) and their parents were selected as materials. These special materials were characterized by varying tillering at the current sowing density, a similar genetic background, and, particularly, a gradient in mean flag leaf LIA. The investigation focused on the jointing to early grain-filling stage, the peak water requirement period of wheat crops. Population-scale transpiration (PT) and evaporation from the soil surface (E) were partitioned from total evapotranspiration (ET) by the means of micro-lysimeters. The results showed decreased PT, E, and ET with increased population density (PD) within a narrow density range derived from varying tillering across genotypes. Significant correlations existed between PD and ET, E, and PT, especially in the wettest 2017–2018 growing season. Within such narrow PD range, all the correlations between WU parameters and PD were negative, although some correlations were not statistically significant, thereby suggesting the population structure’s predominant impact. No significant correlation existed between LIA and both ET and PT within the LIA range of 35°–65°. However, significant correlations occurred between LIA and E in two growing seasons. Genotypes with similar LIA but different PD produced varied ET; while with similar PD, the four pairs of genotypes with different LIA each consumed similar ET, thus highlighting PD’s more crucial role in regulating ET. The yield increased with higher LIA, and showed a significant correlation, emphasizing the LIA’s significant effect on yield. However, no correlation was observed with PD, indicating the minor effect of tillering at the current sowing density. Therefore these results might offer valuable insights for breeding water-saving cultivars and optimizing population structures for effective field water conservation. creator: Guirong Huang creator: Xinying Zhang creator: Zhenzhao Wang creator: Xiaoying Liu creator: Rui Guo creator: Fengxue Gu creator: Enke Liu creator: Shuying Li creator: Xiuli Zhong creator: Qiaozhen Li creator: Xurong Mei uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.17618 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 rights: ©2024 Huang et al.