Ultrahigh bioproductivity from algae

The potential for dramatic increases in bioproductivity in algal photobioreactors relative to current biomass approaches, e.g., for converting sunlight into biofuels, by an unorthodox integration of photonics and biotechnologies is described. The key to greater biomass yields—projected as high as 100 g dry weight m⁻² h⁻¹—is a pronounced heightening of algal flux tolerance, achieved by tailoring the photonic temporal, spectral and intensity characteristics with pulsed light-emitting diodes. Such tailored photonic input is applied in concert with thin-channel ultradense culture photobioreactors with flow patterns that produce rapid light/dark algae exposure cycles. The artificial-light scheme is globally feasible only with electricity generated from renewables. Recent advances in ultra-efficient concentrator photovoltaics, as well as high-performance light-emitting diodes, create a practical reality for converting sunlight into pulsed red light and delivering it to indoor photobioreactors, with characteristic pulse times and intensities optimally suited to the rate-limiting dark reactions of photosynthesis. Cellular engineering built upon recent progress in modifying algal chlorophyll antenna size, in combination with metabolic engineering, could further enhance bioproductivity. The proposed strategy requires no major advances for implementation and adopts existing technologies. Revision submitted to Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology on 25 June 2007.     

EFFECTS OF INCREASED TEMPERATURE AND CO2 ON PHOTOSYNTHESIS,GROWTH, AND ELEMENTAL RATIOS IN MARINE SYNECHOCOCCUS AND PROCHLOROCOCCUS (CYANOBACTERIA)1

Little is known about the combined impacts of future CO₂ and temperature increases on the growth and physiology of marine picocyanobacteria. We incubated Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus under present‐day (380 ppm) or predicted year‐2100 CO₂ levels (750 ppm), and under normal versus elevated temperatures (+4°C) in semicontinuous cultures. Increased temperature stimulated the cell division rates of Synechococcus but not Prochlorococcus. Doubled CO₂ combined with elevated temperature increased maximum chl a–normalized photosynthetic rates of Synechococcus four times relative to controls. Temperature also altered other photosynthetic parameters (α, Φ_max, E_k, and ) in Synechococcus, but these changes were not observed for Prochlorococcus. Both increased CO₂ and temperature raised the phycobilin and chl a content of Synechococcus, while only elevated temperature increased divinyl chl a in Prochlorococcus. Cellular carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) quotas, but not phosphorus (P) quotas, increased with elevated CO₂ in Synechococcus, leading to ～20% higher C:P and N:P ratios. In contrast, Prochlorococcus elemental composition remained unaffected by CO₂, but cell volume and elemental quotas doubled with increasing temperature while maintaining constant stoichiometry. Synechococcus showed a much greater response to CO₂ and temperature increases for most parameters measured, compared with Prochlorococcus. Our results suggest that global change could influence the dominance of Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus ecotypes, with likely effects on oligotrophic food‐web structure. However, individual picocyanobacteria strains may respond quite differently to future CO₂ and temperature increases, and caution is needed when generalizing their responses to global change in the ocean.     

Sunlight,skin cancer and vitamin D: What are the conclusions of recent findings that protection against solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency in solid organ-transplant recipients,xeroderma pigmentosum,and other risk groups?

A connection between vitamin D deficiency and severe health problems including various types of cancer has been demonstrated. We have shown that patients that have to protect themselves against solar UV radiation for medical reasons, including patients with xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), basal cell nevus syndrome (BCNS), lupus erythematodes (LE) or transplant recipients, are at risk to develop vitamin D deficiency. We conclude that 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum levels as a measure of vitamin D status have to be analyzed in patients that have to protect themselves against solar UV radiation for medical reasons. Suboptimal vitamin D status has to be substituted (e.g. via oral treatment) to protect against serious vitamin D deficiency-related health problems without increasing the risk to develop solar UV-induced skin cancer. Our finding that protection against solar UV radiation causes vitamin D deficiency underlines the need for re-defining dermatological recommendations for solar UV protection in skin cancer prevention programs.     

Paleoclimatic potential of the northernmost juniper trees in Europe

In late summer 2004 stem discs were collected from about 40 juniper trees (Juniperus Siberica Burgsd) growing at the remote central part of Kola Peninsula behind the polar circle at the northern timberline. Up to now these juniper trees are oldest ones found at Kola Peninsula. Data processing was difficult due to extremely small tree rings as well as the occurrence of missing and false rings. However, finally it was possible to build up a 676-year long chronology and retrieve information on the past climatic variations at Kola Peninsula that could partly be linked to extraterrestrial factors such as changes in solar activity and galactic cosmic ray activity. It was obtained that:

(1) There is a rather good agreement between long-term climatic variation in Europe and at Kola Peninsula.

(2) The minima of solar activity Sporer (1416–1534 AD), Maunder (1645–1715 AD) and Dalton (1801–1816 AD) were accompanied by temperature decreases. Cooling during the end of the Wolf minimum (until 1350) is reflected in the juniper tree-ring series from Kola Peninsula whereas it is not reflected in the European temperature reconstructions.

(3) Some recent decreases in solar activity around 1900 and 1960 are linked to phases of reduced growth in juniper.

(4) The juniper chronologies from Kola Peninsula do not indicate a temperature rise at the end of the XX century.

(5) MTM spectral and wavelet analysis of juniper tree-ring records showed:

(a) more pronounced 22- and 80–100-year periodicities;

(b) the main cycle of solar activity, the 11-year Schwabe cycle, was not present;

(c) 20–22-year periodicity was not significant throughout the entire ca.700-year period, but during certain time intervals: 1328–1550, 1710–1800, 1985 to present.

Free-air exposure systems to scale up ozone research to mature trees

Because seedlings and mature trees do not necessarily respond similarly to O(3) stress, it is critically important that exposure systems be developed that allow exposure of seedlings through to mature trees. Here we describe three different O(3) Free-Air Exposure Systems that have been used successfully for exposure at all growth stages. These systems of spatially uniform O(3) release have been shown to provide reliable O(3) exposure with minimal, if any, impact on the microclimate. This methodology offers a welcome alternative to chamber studies which had severe space constraints precluding stand or community-level studies and substantial chamber effects on the microclimate and, hence physiological tree performance.     

Nematophagous fungus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paecilomyces lilacinus</Emphasis> (Thom) Samson is also a biological agent for control of greenhouse insects and mite pests

Pathogenicity of nematophagous fungus Paecilomyces lilacinus (Thom) Samson in control of the most destructive greenhouse pests such as: greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, glasshouse red spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii and western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis was examined in laboratory and pot experiments. The fungus showed the greatest efficacy in controlling winged and wingless forms of the cotton aphid. The cotton aphid’s population was almost totally eliminated. In controlling the greenhouse whitefly, P. lilacinus was most successful when applied against nymphal growth stages (L₃-L₄). Control of the western flower thrips was most efficient against prepupal and pupal stages when the fungus was applied as a water spore suspension to the soil. When the fungus was applied at temperatures below 10 °C, it was able to reduce a glasshouse red spider mite population by 60%.     

Research on WNN Greenhouse Temperature Prediction Method Based on GA

Temperature in agricultural production has a direct impact on the growth of crops. The emergence of greenhouses has improved the impact of the original unpredictable changes in temperature, but the temperature modeling of greenhouses is still the main direction at present. Neural network modeling relies on sufficient actual data to model greenhouses, but there is a widening gap in the application of different neural networks. This paper proposes a greenhouse temperature prediction model based on wavelet neural network with genetic algorithm (GA-WNN). With the simple network structure and the nonlinear adaptability of the wavelet basis function, wavelet neural network (WNN) improved model training speed and accuracy of prediction results compared with back propagation neural networks (BPNN), which was conducive to the prediction and control of short-term greenhouse temperature fluctuations. At the same time, the genetic algorithm (GA) was introduced to globally optimize the initial weights of the original model, which improved the insensitivity of the model to the initial weights and thresholds, and improved the training speed and stability of the model. Finally, simulation results for the greenhouse showed that the model training speed, prediction results accuracy and model stability of the GA-WNN in the greenhouse were improved in comparison to results obtained by the WNN and BPNN in the greenhouse.     

马尾松幼苗根系和光合碳供应对土壤性质变化和温室气体排放的驱动作用

森林植被受全球气候变化、森林经营活动及病虫害等多种干扰,导致林地光合碳供应水平及根系输入量发生变化。在此背景下,土壤性质及土壤温室气体排放的响应及其机理是预测森林碳汇功能变化及森林可持续经营的重要依据。以2年生马尾松盆栽苗为对象,通过单株/盆和3株/盆栽植密度控制根系输入量、通过环割和截干控制光合碳向地下的供应能力,模拟森林植被干扰导致的根系输入量及光合碳供应变化对土壤理化性质、微生物群落结构及温室气体排放的影响。结果表明,苗木根系非结构性碳水化合物(TNC)含量和氮含量比单株/盆低;3株/盆的土壤速效氮含量比单株/盆低,土壤革兰氏阳性菌、厌氧菌、放线菌及丛枝菌根真菌丰富度均比单株/盆显著增加,3株/盆的土壤二氧化碳(CO₂)排放速率较高,但土壤氧化亚氮(N₂O)排放速率差异不显著。无论是单株/盆还是3株/盆,环割和截干处理后,根系生物量、根系长度及表面积均比对照显著下降;根系TNC含量显著下降。土壤和根系氮含量都有增加趋势;土壤微生物生物量碳(SMBC)含量降低,而土壤微生物生物量氮(SMBN)则提高。环割和截干后,土壤中各种微生物组成丰富度均有下降趋势,土壤CO₂排放速率显著下降,土壤N₂O排放速率则显著提高。根系输入量及光合碳供应对土壤细菌和真菌含量均有显著影响,土壤细菌含量与根系生物量、SMBC和SMBN显著正相关;土壤真菌含量与土壤温度显著负相关,与根系生物量、SMBC和SMBN显著正相关。相关分析表明,土壤CO₂排放通量与土壤温度、土壤湿度及根系生物量显著正相关,与土壤硝态氮显著负相关;土壤N₂O排放通量与土壤温度和土壤湿度显著正相关。以上研究表明,根系输入量与地上光合碳供应共同作用,改变土壤理化性质及微生物环境,进而影响土壤温室气体排放。     

中国农业系统近40年温室气体排放核算

基于排放因子法构建了包含种植业和牲畜养殖业的农业系统温室气体排放核算体系,系统核算了1980-2020年我国全国尺度上的农业系统温室气体排放总量和变化趋势,并在区县级尺度下对1980、2000、2011年的中国农业系统的温室气体排放量进行核算,对比不同阶段农业系统温室气体排放变化的时空异质性规律。研究发现：1980-2020年我国农业系统温室气体排放量呈波动增长趋势,增长了近46%。CH₄是农业系统排放贡献最大的温室气体,占总排放量的47.33%。我国农业系统温室气体排放与不同地区农业生产方式有关,CH₄排放量高的地区主要位于我国主要水稻产区以及旱地作物产区。CO₂排放量高的地区主要位于东北、西北等地区以及华东地区。N₂O排放量较高地区主要位于西北的主要畜牧养殖地区,以及我国农业经济发展水平高的中南部地区。研究有助于揭示我国农业温室气体排放的动态特征,现状规律,以及空间差异性特征,从农业减排角度为实现双碳目标提供科学参考。     

番茄黄化曲叶病毒对温室白粉虱适合度的影响

【目的】温室白粉虱Trialeurodes vaporariorum(Westwood)是为害北方地区花卉蔬菜的主要粉虱种类,烟粉虱Bemisia tabaci(Gennadius)则在近些年逐渐频繁的花卉贸易活动中扩散至黑龙江省部分地区并取代了白粉虱成为当地温室害虫的优势物种,番茄黄化曲叶病毒(Tomato yellow leaf curl virus,TYLCV)是烟粉虱传播的一种重要双生病毒,对作物的危害十分严重,然而该病毒对本地白粉虱的影响及对烟粉虱与白粉虱种间竞争关系的影响尚待研究。【方法】本研究观察记录感染番茄黄化曲叶病毒的番茄植株上温室白粉虱和烟粉虱的种群动态及番茄形态和部分生理指标的变化。【结果】结果表明:1)有烟粉虱滋生的番茄植株矮小,根系发达;2)有白粉虱滋生的番茄略微矮粗,影响较小;3)感染病毒的番茄矮粗或矮小,根部无明显变化;4)染毒带虫相对于带虫处理而言,在白粉虱试验中,番茄植株矮小,根系生物量也骤减;与此相反,在烟粉虱试验中,番茄的反应相对缓和;5)此外,不同酶类对植株染毒的响应不同:Ach E酶活高不利于植株,而GST酶活高则有利于植株。【结论】总体而言:烟粉虱单独作用很不利于苗期番茄,白粉虱对苗期番茄没有明显的直接影响;而感染病毒会缓解烟粉虱对番茄的强烈刺激,而加重白粉虱对番茄的作用,即染毒使带白粉虱的苗期番茄生长发育受到明显抑制。与番茄变化情况相对应的是,染毒番茄上烟粉虱产卵较少,但在发育前期(从卵到伪蛹)存活率较高;染毒番茄上白粉虱产卵较多,但在前期存活率较低。本研究可为高纬度地区粉虱综合防控提供参考。