Şimşek, Samed; Bayar, Yusuf; Karakurt, Tuncay; Akşit, Hüseyin; Köksal, Ekrem

The antifungal activity of axillarin, a polymethoxylated flavone isolated from the methanol extract of Tanacetum alyssifolium, was evaluated in vitro against several plant pathogenic fungi: Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici (FORL), Alternaria alternata (A.A), Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (FON), Phytophthora infestans, and Cylindrocarpon spp. Antifungal efficacy was assessed at concentrations of 200 and 400 µg/mL using the agar Petri dish method. Axillarin inhibited fungal mycelial growth in a dose-dependent manner, with the highest inhibition observed for A. alternata (33.31%), followed by FORL (29.46%), Cylindrocarpon spp. (26.64%), and FON (18.21%). No inhibitory effect was detected against P. infestans. To support the experimental findings, molecular modeling was performed using GaussView 5.0 and GAUSSIAN 09 to determine the optimized 3D conformation of axillarin through potential energy surface (PES) analysis. This optimized structure was then used in molecular docking simulations to explore interactions with fungal protein receptors. The results suggest that axillarin may serve as a natural antifungal agent with potential applications in the development of environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic fungicides. This approach supports sustainable plant protection strategies and reduces ecological risks associated with chemical pesticide use.

Yılmaz, Abdulvahap

In this study, we use field and satellite data to calculate the amount of energy wasted by faulty lighting and by light reflected from reflective surfaces and directed into upper half space, as well as its financial equivalent, although we do not address the consistency of the modeling used in the calculation for field and satellite data. In addition, light pollution in the city center of Erzincan and its surroundings was determined using data from SQM-LU and VIIRS, and the energy loss due to artificial lighting was calculated. To determine the effect of the change in zenith angle, SQM-LU measurements were made at distances of 5o between the zenith and the horizon at 4 points in the east, west, north, and south directions, while SQM-LU measurements were made at 45 points in the zenith direction. For the SQM measurements, the lowest (bright) and highest (dim) readings are 16.9 magnitude/arcsec2 and 20.30 magnitude/arcsec2, respectively, while according to the VIIRS satellite data they are 16.2 magnitude/arcsec2 and 18.9 magnitude/arcsec2, respectively. While the smallest value of the total luminous flux calculated for the city center of Erzincan and its surroundings (calculated from measurements in the zenith direction) is ~1.56 million lumens according to the SQM measurements, it is calculated to be ~5.98 million lumens according to the VIIRS satellite data. Taking into account the effect of 73% atmospheric transmittance and zenith angle dependence in the calculations, the total amount of luminous flux was calculated to be ~31.17 million lumens according to the SQM data and ~42.2 million lumens according to the VIIRS data. Considering that street lighting, billboards and outdoor lighting of buildings in the city are active for about 12 hours per day, the amount of wasted energy was calculated to be 112 219 kWh/month. A strong correlation was found between SQM and VIIRS values with R2 ≈0.71.

Bulut, Hüseyin

Drought is a significant factor in plant development and crop productivity. Therefore, this study focuses on investigating the impact of drought stress, which is particularly critical for Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), the most important staple food for the global population. The study is designed to assess the extent of drought stress experienced by wheat during its growth stages and the importance of increasing soil water retention capacity to mitigate the stress caused by existing drought conditions. In the study, the first group of germinated wheat seedlings was subjected to drought stress during three different stages: seedling, growth, and filling periods. The other group of wheat seedlings received the addition of Natural Aquatic organic supplement to enhance soil water retention capacity and was subjected to the same drought stress conditions. At the end of the process, samples obtained from the applications were compared with control group samples grown without exposure to drought stress, in terms of their genetic stability and changes in antioxidant enzyme levels. The results of the Inter Retrotransposon Amplified Polymorphism marker analysis indicated that drought stress induces retrotransposon mobility, thereby affecting the genetic stability of wheat. Particularly, it was found that drought stress during the seedling stage is more effective compared to stress experienced in subsequent stages. Analysis results also revealed that drought stress alters the levels of Superoxide Dismutase, Catalase, and Malondialdehyde, with early-stage drought showing a more pronounced effect. Comparing the values of polymorphisms caused by retrotransposon mobility and genetic stability values between wheat samples exposed only to drought stress and those supplemented with Natural Aquatic organic addition to increase soil water retention capacity, it was evident that the addition mitigated drought stress. This was further supported by changes in Superoxide Dismutase, Catalase, and Malondialdehyde values. The study concluded that increasing soil water retention capacity or early-stage irrigation contributes to plant development and stability.

Elveren, Müjgan; Osma, Etem

The present research attempts to fill data gaps in our knowledge of the potential negative impacts of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs)6 in water on plants. Ciprofloxacin, doxylamine succinate, and ibuprofen were used as model PPCPs in trials assessing their impact on wheat (Triticum aestivum). Seed germination and growth, electrolyte leakage, and several other plant physiology markers were used as endpoints to assess plant stress over time and at varying PPCPs exposure scenarios/concentrations. Nearly all of the physiological parameters and antioxidant enzyme activities measured were lowest in control (untreated) plants. It was also observed that PPCPs applied at different concentrations to soil increased H2O2, peroxidase (POX), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in plants depending on the exposure concentration as well as time.

Yildirim, Nalan; Sunar, Serap; Agar, Guleray

Carbendazim (CBZ, methyl 2-benzimidazolecarbamate) is used widely in agriculture against fungal diseases. We aimed to determine the effects of CBZ (0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 mM) on long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposon polymorphism and genomic template stability (GTS), DNA damage using ınter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) and inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphisms (IRAP) marker techniques. Our results showed that all doses of CBZ compose retrotransposition polymorphism. In additional, our result showed that all CBZ treatment decrease genomic template stability (GTS) and DNA damage increased. These results suggest that carbendazim, widely used in agriculture, can influence unfavorable growth and development of both target and non-target organisms and impend risk to organisms even in trace levels.

Osma, Etem; Elveren, Müjgan

Interest in water recycling has provided opportunities to evaluate the potential impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) on plants where recycled wastewater is used for watering and irrigation. Most researches have focused on the impact of pharmaceuticals on seed germination and plant physiology or the uptake of pharmaceuticals into plants. We sought to find out whether nutrient and metal uptake into wheat plants were affected by the presence of PPCPs (acetaminophen, caffeine, β-estradiol, and gemfibrozil) in soil. As acetaminophen, caffeine, β-estradiol, and gemfibrozil concentrations in soil increased, plant physiological parameters such as electrolyte leakage and lipid peroxidation also increased significantly over levels in control plants grown in parallel. Furthermore, increasing PPCP soil concentrations led to decreasing element concentrations in wheat plants, suggesting a reduction in uptake of nutrients and metals in the presence of pharmaceuticals. Our short-term observations suggest plants irrigated with recycled wastewater containing PPCPs experience stress which is ultimately reflected in a reduction of nutrient and metal uptake by wheat plants.