Biological Seed Coating Innovations for Sustainable Healthy Crop Growth in Tomato

Biological seed coating (BSC) is the fastest-growing segment under the seed treatment approaches in the global seed market. It refers to the application of certain beneficial microbes to the seed prior to sowing in order to suppress, control, or repel pathogens, insects, and other pests that attack seeds, seedlings, or plants. Beneficial bioagents along with the compatible adjuvants can safely be delivered through coatings onto the seed surface. The polymer acts as a protective cover for bioagents and helps in improving the shelf life and dust-free seed. It is an efficient mechanism for placement of microbial inoculum into soil where they colonize the seedling roots and protect against soil-borne pathogens. It is also used to increase the speed and uniformity of germination, along with protection against soil-borne pathogens in nursery and improves final stand. Some induces systemic resistance in plants against biotic agents. It is a low-cost, alternative viable technology to chemical-based plant protection and nutrition. Thus, the demand for biological seed treatment solutions is increasing in view of consumer acceptance for chemical-free food. They give protection to seedlings in the nursery against damping-off fungi like Fusarium spp. or Rhizoctonia spp. and improve crop growth and yield in the main field

Human CD56(dim)CD16(dim) Cells As an Individualized Natural Killer Cell Subset

ABSTARCT: Human natural killer (NK) cells can be subdivided in several subpopulations on the basis of the relative expression of the adhesion molecule CD56 and the activating receptor CD16. Whereas blood CD56brightCD16dim/- NK cells are classically viewed as immature precursors and cytokine producers, the larger CD56dimCD16bright subset is considered as the most cytotoxic one. In peripheral blood of healthy donors, we noticed the existence of a population of CD56dimCD16dim NK cells that was frequently higher in number than the CD56bright subsets and even expanded in occasional control donors but also in transporter associated with antigen processing-deficient patients, two familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis type II patients, and several common variable immunodeficiency patients. This population was detected but globally reduced in a longitudinal cohort of 18 HIV-1-infected individuals. Phenotypically, the new subset contained a high percentage of relatively immature cells, as reflected by a significantly stronger representation of NKG2A+ and CD57- cells compared to their CD56dimCD16bright counterparts. The phenotype of the CD56dimCD16dim population was differentially affected by HIV-1 infection as compared to the other NK cell subsets and only partly restored to normal by antiretroviral therapy. From the functional point of view, sorted CD56dimCD16dim cells degranulated more than CD56dimCD16bright cells but less than CD56dimCD16- NK cells. The population was also identified in various organs of immunodeficient mice with a human immune system ("humanized" mice) reconstituted from human cord blood stem cells. In conclusion, the CD56dimCD16dim NK cell subpopulation displays distinct phenotypic and functional features. It remains to be clarified if these cells are the immediate precursors of the CD56dimCD16bright subset or placed somewhere else in the NK cell differentiation and maturation pathway