Eusociality is exceptionally rare in mammals, and its proximate mechanisms remain poorly understood. Naked mole-rats provide a striking example, with reproduction restricted to a single queen, while all other females remain infertile1. Here we identify a chemical signal in queens that can regulate this reproductive hierarchy. Isopropyl myristate is a low-volatility ester that is enriched in queens and nearly absent from non-breeding animals. Isopropyl myristate is detected by peripheral and central olfactory neurons and elicits avoidance in high-ranking animals. Exposure alters levels of prolactin and progesterone in non-breeders to suppress reproduction. Daily addition of isopropyl myristate to a queenless colony prevented queen succession, whereas withdrawal triggered aggression and reproductive competition. Isopropyl myristate was also detected in breeding females of several Fukomys mole-rat species, but reaches higher levels in naked mole-rats, paralleling their extreme reproductive skew. These findings reveal a chemical cue that can mediate reproductive suppression in a mammal, linking insect and mammalian eusociality.
The expansive usage of metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) as a potential constituent in modern nano-enabled products raises threats to environmental safety and crop production. Key lime is an economic plant enriched with secondary metabolites and imperative bioactive compounds. NPs can alter lime’s essential components, making it an ideal model for monitoring NPs’ toxicity. Hence, a comparative analysis of two synthesized metallic NPs, aluminum (Al2O3) and copper (CuO) at concentrations of 0, 100, 200, and 500 mg/L, was conducted to assess their impact on the growth and quality attributes of lime plants under controlled micro-conditions.
Observations from germination, growth, physiological, biochemical, and ionomic attributes showed that Al2O3-NPs had variable effects in a concentration-dependent manner, while CuO-NPs were toxic at all concentrations. Heatmap and principal component analysis revealed that CuO-NPs instigated more pronounced toxic effects compared with Al2O3-NPs at each applied concentration, as evidenced by heightened oxidative stress symptoms. CuO-NPs exerted their toxicity by over-accumulating reactive oxygen radicals and methylglyoxal and elevating lipoxygenase activity, causing peroxidation of membrane lipids and attenuation of photosynthetic pigments. Al2O3-NPs-treated plants relatively up-regulated the pool of phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, and α-tocopherol as well as stimulated the activity of enzymatic antioxidants. Ionomics analysis showed excessive copper accumulation in toxic levels (~ 15-fold), which triggered nutritional imbalance (Mg, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Fe, Cu, and Zn) and disruption of chelating molecules, nitric oxide, and hydrogen sulfide.
This work provides precious insights into the differential impacts of metallic NPs on the development and quality of lime plants and the underlying mechanisms involved in NPs accumulation, highlighting the possible hazards of manufactured NPs in the environment, especially for valuable plant species. However, the controlled use of NPs—particularly aluminum oxide—may offer agronomic benefits, but their application must be carefully handled to prevent toxicity.
Aluminum (Al) toxicity exhibits a challenge for growing strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa Duch), impacting their growth and nutritional value. Considerably in this study, we explored how melatonin, an endogenous plant hormone, can help alleviate Al stress in strawberry plants. The current research examined the effects of foliar spraying melatonin (0,50, and 100 ppm) on growth indicators, photosynthetic pigment levels, carbon and nitrogen assimilation, oxidative stress markers, and fruit quality attributes under Al stress (100 µM) in a controlled pot experiment conducted in a greenhouse. The results revealed that exposure to Al stress significantly reduced the adequate growth, as well as the yield and quality of fruits. Melatonin application improved plant growth parameters, especially at a concentration of 100 ppm, enhancing the levels of photosynthetic pigments and boosting carbohydrate and nitrogen metabolism. Moreover, melatonin played a role in reducing stress markers while increasing enzymatic antioxidant activities (catalase, superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione peroxide, glutathione-S-transferase, and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase) and secondary metabolites (proline, ascorbic acid, flavonoids, reduced glutathione, and phytochelatins), while decreasing polyphenol oxidase activity as well as phenolics content, implying a role in ROS scavenging. The results underscore the promise of melatonin as a method to enhance the ability of strawberries to withstand Al toxicity and promote friendly agricultural practices in polluted soils.
Abstract: A general procedure was developed to synthesize and characterize some new 1,2,4-triazole, 3-cyanopyridine, 3-aminothienoquinoline and 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives bearing a 4-aminosalicylic acid ester moiety as substructure. Some of them were further modified to give new derivatives. This work allowed the preparation of 18 new compounds obtained in good yields and under simple experimental conditions. These compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against four strains of bacteria and two fungal species.
The chief purpose of this work was to synthesize and characterize 3-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)-1,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)pentane-1,5-dione (4) whose structure was subsequently confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis. This molecule adopts a conformation approximating a three-bladed fan. In the crystal, C–H···O and C–H···S hydrogen bonds, together with C–H···π(ring) interactions form corrugated layers parallel to the bc plane. Electronic structure calculations were performed at the ωB97xd/def2tzvp level to explore the reactivity and topology of the molecule. Quantum theory of atoms in molecule (QTAIM) and NBO studies provide bonding characteristics and the extent of charge transfer with orbital energies computed from FMO theory together with optical and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. A Hirschfeld surface analysis was performed to explore the nature of interactions in the crystal packing and the dispersion interactions were found to have a significant role in stabilizing the crystal structure. The H···H interactions are the most significant among the intermolecular interactions. Compound 4 was subjected to structural activity relationship analysis and exhibited potency against Cathepsin S. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics analysis were carried out to understand the binding interaction mechanism and stability of 4 in its complex with Cathepsin S.
In this study, new tetrahydroisoquinoline compounds were synthesized by reaction of 7-Acetyl-4-cyano-1,6-dimethyl-6-hydroxy-8- (3-nitrophenyl or 4-nitrophenyl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrosoquinoline-3(2H)-thiones with methyl iodide, chloro acetonitrile, ethyl chloroacetate to produce compounds 3–5 and reacted with N-arylchloroacetamides reagents to gave tetrahydroisoquinolin-3-ylthio) acetamides compounds 6a–c, 8a–b which can cyclized to 6,7,8,9-tetrahydrothieno[2,3-c]Isoquinoline-2-carboxamides compounds 7a–c, 9a–b. Also react with N-(benzthiazol-2-yl)-2-chloroacetamideto give compound 10. The structures of all newly synthesized compounds were characterized by elemental and spectral analyses. Also, most of the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their anticancer activities aganist MCF7 and HEPG2 cell lines. From the result we found that the most active compound against the MCF7 cell lines was compound 8b, and the most active compound against HEPG2 cell lines was compound 3. Then the effects of compound 3 on the HEPG2 cell line was investigated using an apoptotic Annexin V-FITC test and flow cytometry. Compound 3 induced a 59-fold increase in HEPG2 cell line apoptosis and cell cycle arrested at the G0-G1, G2/M phases. Moreover, the molecular docking study was applied and the result showed that compounds 8b bind to the RET enzyme with binding energies of − 6.8 kcal/mol in comparison with standard alectinib, which exhibits a binding energy of − 7.2 kcal/mol. Compound 3 can bind with HSP 90 with a binding energy (ΔG) of − 6.8 kcal/mol, which was comparable to the standard Onalespib (− 7.1 kcal/mol).
In this work, we synthesized new 5, 6, 7, 8-tetrahydroisoquinolines and 6, 7, 8, 9-tetrahydrothieno[2, 3-c]isoquinolines derivatives, and the structures of these new compounds were confirmed with different spectroscopic techniques. Furthermore, the anticancer activities of these compounds were assessed against eight tumor cell lines and one normal human skin fibroblast cell line (HSF). Subsequently, IC50 values of the synthesized compounds were determined for two specific cancer cell lines. Compound 3 exhibited the most potent antiproliferative activity against the HEPG2 cell line, whereas compound 9c demonstrated superior efficacy against the HCT116 cell line. Moreover, the mechanism of action for compound 3 on HEPG2 cells using flow cytometry and Annexin V-FITC apoptosis analysis was studied. Compound 3 caused cell cycle arrest at the G2/M with a 50-fold increase in apoptosis of the HEPG2 cell line. Finally, a molecular docking study was conducted to assess the inhibitory potential of compounds 3 and 7 against the RET enzyme. Results indicated that compounds 3 and 7 bind to the RET enzyme with binding energies of −5.2 and −5.6 kcal/mol, respectively. Although these values suggest inhibitory activity, they are less potent than the standard inhibitor, alectinib, which exhibits a binding energy of −7.2 kcal/mol.
Objective: Aonidiella aurantii, a highly polyphagous insect pest belonging to the Diaspididae family, is particularly harmful to citrus plants. This pest poses a significant threat to citrus production by infesting both fruits and foliage. In contrast, heterocycle-based compounds have proven to be essential in agrochemicals and pesticides, including fungicides, insecticides/acaricides, and herbicides. In light of this, our research group focused on the synthesis of the title compounds and the evaluation of their insecticidal activity against Aonidiella aurantii. Methods: Three main series of fused heterocyclic compounds, predominantly featuring the ethyl nicotinate scaffold as a substructure, were synthesized in our laboratory. Most of the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their insecticidal activity against the nymphs and adult females of Aonidiella aurantii using the guava leaf dipping technique. Results and Discussion: The reaction of ethyl 4-aryl-5-cyano-2-methyl-6-thioxo-1,6-dihydropyridine-3-carboxylates (Ia–Ib) with N-aryl-2-chloroacetamides, carried out by refluxing in ethanol with a slight excess of anhydrous sodium carbonate, resulted in the formation of the corresponding 3-amino-4-aryl-2-[N-(aryl)carbamoyl]-5-ethoxycarbonyl-6-methylthieno[2,3-b]pyridines (IIa–IIe) in excellent yields. Upon boiling compounds (IIb–IId) with triethyl orthoformate in the presence of acetic anhydride, pyrido[3',2':4,5]thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidinones (IIIb–IIId) were obtained. Treatment of compounds (IIa–IId) with a concentrated solution of sodium nitrite in glacial acetic acid resulted in the formation of pyrido[3',2':4,5]thieno[3,2-d][1,2,3]triazinones (IVa–IVd). The structures of all compounds were confirmed through elemental and spectral analyses. Conclusions: Compounds containing the 4-chlorophenyl scaffold, such as (Ib) and (IIId), exhibited promising results against both nymphs and adult females of Aonidiella aurantii.
