Influence of soil type on the transfer of plasmid RP4p from Pseudomonas fluorescens to introduced recipient and to indigenous bacteria

Abstract Transfer of plasmid RP4p from introduced Pseudomonas fluorescens to a co-introduced recipient strain or to members of the indigenous bacterial population was studied in four different soils of varying texture planted with wheat. Donor and recipient strains showed good survival in the four soils throughout the experiment. The numbers of transconjugants found in donor and recipient experiments in two soils, Ede loamy sand and Löss silt loam were significantly higher in the rhizosphere than in corresponding bulk soil. In the remaining two soils, Montrond and Flevo silt loam, transconjugant numbers were not significantly higher in the rhizosphere than in the bulk soil.
The combined utilization of a specific bacteriophage eliminate the donor strain and the pat sequence as a specific marker to detect RP4p was found to be very efficient in detecting indigenous transconjugants under various environmental conditions. The numbers of indigenous transconjugants were consistently higher in rhizosphere than bull soil. A significant rhizosphere effect on transconjugant numbers of transconjugants were recovered from Flevo and Montrond silt loam; these soils possess characteristics such as clay or organic matter contents which may be favorable to conjugation.     

Metabolism of nitric oxide and nitrous oxide during nitrification and denitrification in soil at different incubation conditions

Abstract NO production and consumption rates as well as N₂O accumulation rates were measured in a loamy cambisol which was incubated under different conditions (i.e. soil moisture content, addition of nitrogen fertilizer and/or glucose, aerobic or anaerobic gas phase). Inhibition of nitrification with acetylene allowed us to distinguish between nitrification and denitrification as sources of NO and N₂O. Under aerobic conditions untreated soil showed very low release of NO and N₂O but high consumption of NO. Fertilization with NH₄⁺ or urea stimulated both NO and N₂O production by nitrification. Addition of glucose at high soil moisture contents led to increased N₂ and N₂O production by denitrification, but not to increased NO production rates. Anaerobic conditions, however, stimulated both NO and N₂O production by denitrification. The production of NO and N₂O was further stimulated at low moisture contents and after addition of glucose or NO₃⁻. Anaerobic consumption of NO by denitrification followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics and was stimulated by addition of glucose and NO₃⁻. Aerobic consumption of NO followed first-order kinetics up to mixing ratios of at least 14 ppmv NO, was inhibited by autoclaving but not by acetylene, and decreased with increasing soil moisture content. The high NO-consumption activity and the effects of soil moisture on the apparent rates of anaerobic and aerobic production and consumption of NO suggest that diffusional constraints have an important influence on the release of NO, and may be a reason for the different behaviour of NO release vs N₂O release.     

柴达木盆地荒漠土壤蓝藻群落的初步研究

本文分析了柴达木盆地东部和中部具有代表性地区的丘陵、戈壁和沙丘的蓝藻种类组成、生物量及主要的土壤化学成分;采用了模糊聚类、系统聚类及多元线性回归等方法分析藻类的群落及其与环境因子的关系。共鉴定出21种蓝藻,其中6种为国内首次报道。研究表明:土壤含磷量、总盐量及与粘性和湿度有关的土壤结构是决定柴达木盆地蓝藻群落组成的重要因素。     

Capture and allocation of nitrogen byQuercus douglasii seedlings in competition with annual and perennial grasses

Summary The spatial overlap of woody plant root systems and that of annual or perennial grasses promotes competition for soil-derived resources. In this study we examined competition for soil nitrogen between blue oak seedlings and either the annual grassBromus mollis or the perennial grassStipa pulchra under controlled outdoor conditions. Short-term nitrogen competition was quantified by injecting¹⁵N at 30 cm depth in a plane horizontal to oak seedling roots and that of their neighbors, and calculating¹⁵N uptake rates, pool sizes and¹⁵N allocation patterns 24 h after labelling. Simultaneously, integrative nitrogen competition was quantified by examining total nitrogen capture, total nitrogen pools and total nitrogen allocation.Stipa neighbors reduced inorganic soil nitrogen content to a greater extent than didBromus plants. Blue oak seedlings responded to lower soil nitrogen content by allocating lower amounts of nitrogen per unit of biomass producing higher root length densities and reducing the nitrogen content of root tissue. In addition, blue oak seedlings growing with the perennial grass exhibited greater rates of¹⁵N uptake, on a root mass basis, compensating for higher soil nitrogen competition inStipa neighborhoods. Our findings suggest that while oak seedlings have lower rates of nitrogen capture than herbaceous neighbors, oak seedlings exhibit significant changes in nitrogen allocation and nitrogen uptake rates which may offset the competitive effect annual or perennial grasses have on soil nitrogen content.     

The influence of salinity on the kinetics of NH inf4 sup+ uptake in Spartina alterniflora

Summary The effects of short- and long-term exposure to a range in concentration of sea salts on the kinetics of NH _inf4 ^sup+ uptake by Spartina alterniflora were examined in a laboratory culture experiment. Long-term exposure to increasing salinity up to 50 g/L resulted in a progressive increase in the apparent K_m but did not significantly affect V_max (mean V_max=4.23±1.97 mole·g^–1·h^–1). The apparent K_m increased in a nonlinear fashion from a mean of 2.66±1.10 mole/L at a salinity of 5 g/L to a mean of 17.56±4.10 mole/L at a salinity of 50 g/L. These results suggest that the long-term effect of exposure to total salt concentrations within the range 5–50 g/L was a competitive inhibition of NH _inf4 ^sup+ uptake in S. alterniflora. No significant NH _inf4 ^sup+ uptake was observed in S. alterniflora exposed to 65 g/L sea salts. Short-term exposure to rapid changes in salinity significantly affected both V_max and K_m. Reduction of solution salinity from 35 to 5 g/L did not change V_max but reduced K_m by 71%. However, exposing plants grown at 5 g/L salinity to 35 resulted in an decrease in V_max of approximately 50%. Exposure of plants grown at 35 g/L to a total sea salt concentration of 50 g/L for 48h completely inhibited uptake of NH _inf4 ^sup+ . For both experiments, increasing salinity led to an increase in the apparent K_m similar to that found in response to long-term exposure. Our data are consistent with a conceptual model of changes in the productivity of S. alterniflora in the salt marsh as a function of environmental modification of NH _inf4 ^sup+ uptake kinetics.     

模拟酸雨对主要酸性土壤中铝的溶出及形态的影响

本文研究了模拟酸雨对主要酸性土壤中铝的溶出及形态变化的影响。结果表明,模拟酸雨对土壤酸化的影响较小,但对土壤铝的溶出却影响明显,尤其在pH<4.0时;模拟酸雨对不同类型土壤的影响是不同的,其中以高度风化的酸性土壤较为敏感。模拟酸雨对土壤游离铝形态的影响是重要的,酸处理后,交换性铝略有增加,无定形活性铝增加较多,而有机络合态铝有减少的趋势。这表明在酸雨的长期作用下,铝终将转化为交换性铝和水溶性铝而进入环境并危害生态系统。     

森林土壤氮转化的微生物功能研究

本文研究了不同林型下土壤(A+6层和A_1层)微生物、土壤酶活性在森林土壤氮转化中的作用。结果表明不同林型下土壤具有不同的固氮作用、反硝化作用、氨化作用和硝化作用速率,即阔叶林>针阔混交林>针叶林。已经证明,固氮作用主要存在于森林土壤的A_1层,反硝化作用主要存在于A_0层。森林土壤存在2种硝化作用过程,即由自养微生物所引起的自养硝化作用过程和异养微生物所引起的异养硝化作用过程。它的存在与林型有关,某些森林土壤中这2种硝化作用过程都存在,如针阔混交林下的A_0层和A_1层。有些林型下土壤,则以异养硝化作用过程为主,如针叶林的A_0层。     

Effects of direct transfer from freshwater to seawater on respiratory and circulatory variables and acid-base status in rainbow trout

Summary The effects of increased ambient salinity (35 mg · ml^-1) were studied at 1, 6, and 24 h after direct transfer of rainbow trout from freshwater to seawater. Two series of experiments were carried out successively. The first series was designed to simultaneously study all the respiratory (except Hb affinity for O₂), circulatory, and acid-base variables in each fish. In this series, fish were fitted with catheters chronically inserted into the cardiac bulbus, the dorsal aorta, and the opercular and buccal cavities. In the second series, designed to study haemoglobin O₂ affinity, fish were fitted with only a dorsal aorta catheter. The ventilatory flow ( ) was markedly increased just after transfer (by 55% at 1 h), then more moderately (by 20% at 6 h and 32% at 24 h). The initial hyperventilation peak was associated with frequent couphing motions. These ventilatory changes resulted essentially from increase in ventilatory amplitude. Initially, standard oxygen consumption (MM}O₂) decreased slightly, the moderately increased (by 12% at 24 h), so that the oxygen convection requirement ( ) increased substantially. In spite of an increased ventilation, the partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (P _aO₂) decreased slightly at 1 h, prior to returning to control levels, while partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood (P _aCO₂) was not significantly decreased. Gill oxygen transfer factor decreased substantially at 1 h (by 35%) then more moderately (by 7% at 1 h and 12% at 24 h). These results suggest a decrease in gas diffusing capacity of the gills. As P _aCO₂ remained approximatively unchanged, the gradual decrease in arterial pH (pH_a) from 7.94 to 7.67 at 24 h must therefore be regarded as a metabolic acidosis. The strong ion difference decreased markedly because the concentration of plasma chloride increased more than that of sodium. Arterial O₂ content (C _aO₂) gradually decreased (by 38% at 24 h) simultaneously with the decrease in pH_a, while the ratio P _aO₂/C _aO₂ increased. In parallel, seawater exposure induced a marked decrease in affinity of haemoglobin for O₂, so that at 24 h, P₅₀ was increased by 26% above the value obtained in freshwater-adapted trout. The increase in could be ascribed initially (at 1 h) to the decrease of P _aO₂ and later to a stimulation of respiratory neurons resulting from the lowered medullary interstitial pH. The decrease in C _aO₂ could be interpreted mainly as a consequence of a decreased affinity of haemoglobin for O₂, likely to be due to the blood acidosis and a predictable increase in chloride concentration within erythrocytes. Cardiac output ( ) slightly decreased at 1 h, then progressively increased by 30% at 24 h. Branchial vascular resistance increased at 1 h by 28%, then decreased by 18% of the control value at 24 h. Systemic vascular resistance decreased markedly by 40% at 24 h. As heart rate (HR) remained significantly unchanged, the cardiac stroke volume initially decreased then increased in relation to the changes in . The increase of , allowing compensation for the effect of decreased C _aO₂ in tissue O₂ supply, was interpreted as a passive consequence of the decrease in total vascular resistance occurring during seawater exposure.Abbreviations a.u. arbitrary units - C _aO₂ arterial oxygen content - pH₅₀ arterial pH at P₅₀ - C _vO₂ venous oxygen content - Hb haemoglobin - HR heart rate - Hct hematocrit - n_Hill Hill coefficient - O₂ standard oxygen consumption - P _aCO₂ arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide - P _aO₂ arterial partial pressure of oxygen - P _vO₂ oxygen partial pressure in mixed venous blood - P₅₀ oxygen tension at half saturation of haemoglobin - P _VA, P _DA blood pressure in ventral and dorsal aorta - pH_a arterial pH - PIO₂, PEO₂ oxygen partial pressure of inspired and expired water - PO₂ oxygen partial pressure - cardiac output - SEM standard error of mean - S.I.D. strong ion difference - SV cardiac stroke volume - TO₂ gill oxygen transfer factor - U oxygen extraction coefficient - VA ventilatory amplitude - VF ventilatory frequency - VR_G, VR_S branchial and systemic vascular resistances - ventilatory flow - ventilatory oxygen convection requirement     

Microbial responses to salt-induced osmotic stress

Summary Soil columns were exposed to balanced (low Na⁺) or unbalanced (high Na⁺) high-salt solutions for a period of 7 days followed by 7 days of stress reflief. Total numbers of bacteria released into the perfusates rose under both types of stress, but the proportion of displaced bacteria that were viable fell significantly. Relief from both types of stress stimulated rapid increases in the number of viable micro-organisms released from soil. Examination of the soils at the end of the relief periods revealed that soils exposed to stress contained more viable bacteria than the non-stressed controls. However, high levels of balanced stress led to a significant decrease in species diversity within the microbial population, but a similar effect was not observed in soils exposed to unbalanced, high Na⁺ stress. These results suggest that, while salt stress may cause a significant reduction in the number of microorganisms in a soil, a large portion of the microbial population can rapidly adapt to marked changes in salinity.     

Effects of NaCl stress on proline and cation accumulation in salt sensitive and tolerant turfgrasses

Summary Concentrations of proline, sodium and potassium in shoot tissues of five turfgrass species were measured following exposure to 170 mM NaCl salinity stress. Salt tolerant ‘Fults’ alkaligrass and ‘Dawson’ red fescue restricted the accumulation of Na-ions to significatnly low levels compared to the salt sensitive Kentucky bluegrasses (‘Adelphi’ and ‘Ram I’) and ‘Jamestown’ red fescue. Accumulation of proline began in all species within 24 h of initiation of salt stress but at a more rapid rate and higher overall concentration for ‘Fults’ alkaligrass. Proline levels were variable and too low in relation to sodium accumulations to have any significant osmoregulatory role in salt tolerance among all cultivars tested with the possible exception of alkaligrass.