Destruction of oral biofilms formed in situ on machined titanium (Ti) surfaces by cold atmospheric plasma

The decontamination of implant surfaces represents the basic procedure in the management of peri-implant diseases, but it is still a challenge. The study aimed to evaluate the degradation of oral biofilms grown in situ on machined titanium (Ti) discs by cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). ～ 200 Ti discs were exposed to the oral cavities of five healthy human volunteers for 72?h. The resulting biofilms were divided randomly between the following treatments: CAP (which varied in mean power, treatment duration, and/or the gas mixture), and untreated and treated controls (diode laser, air-abrasion, chlorhexidine). The viability, quantity, and morphology of the biofilms were determined by live/dead staining, inoculation onto blood agar, quantification of the total protein content, and scanning electron microscopy. Exposure to CAP significantly reduced the viability and quantity of biofilms compared with the positive control treatments. The efficacy of treatment with CAP correlated with the treatment duration and plasma power. No single method achieved complete biofilm removal; however, CAP may provide an effective support to established decontamination techniques for treatment of peri-implant diseases.     

Effect of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration on soil and root respiration in winter wheat by using a respiration partitioning chamber

Soil respiration in a cropland is the sum of heterotrophic (mainly microorganisms) and autotrophic (root) respiration. The contribution of both these types to soil respiration needs to be understood to evaluate the effects of environmental change on soil carbon cycling and sequestration. In this paper, the effects of free-air CO₂ enrichment (FACE) on hetero- and autotrophic respiration in a wheat field were differentiated and evaluated by a novel split-root growth and gas collection system. Elevated atmospheric pCO₂ of approximately 200 μmol mol⁻¹ above the ambient pCO₂ significantly increased soil respiration by 15.1 and 14.8% at high nitrogen (HN) and low nitrogen (LN) application rates, respectively. The effect of elevated atmospheric pCO₂ on root respiration was not consistent across the wheat growth stages. Elevated pCO₂ significantly increased and decreased root respiration at the booting-heading stage (middle stage) and the late-filling stage (late stage), respectively, in HN and LN treatments; however, no significant effect was found at the jointing stage (early stage). Thus, the effect of increased pCO₂ on cumulative root respiration for the entire wheat growing season was not significant. Cumulative root respiration accounted for approximately 25–30% of cumulative soil respiration in the entire wheat growing season. Consequently, cumulative microbial respiration (soil respiration minus root respiration) increased by 22.5 and 21.1% due to elevated pCO₂ in HN and LN, respectively. High nitrogen application significantly increased root respiration at the late stage under both elevated pCO₂ and ambient pCO₂; however, no significant effects were found on cumulative soil respiration, root respiration, and microbial respiration. These findings suggest that heterotrophic respiration, which is influenced by increased substrate supplies from the plant to the soil, is the key process to determine C emission from agro-ecosystems with regard to future scenarios of enriched pCO₂.     

Ectomycorrhizal fungi: exploring the mycelial frontier

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi form mutualistic symbioses with many tree species and are regarded as key organisms in nutrient and carbon cycles in forest ecosystems. Our appreciation of their roles in these processes is hampered by a lack of understanding of their soil-borne mycelial systems. These mycelia represent the vegetative thalli of ECM fungi that link carbon-yielding tree roots with soil nutrients, yet we remain largely ignorant of their distribution, dynamics and activities in forest soils. In this review we consider information derived from investigations of fruiting bodies, ECM root tips and laboratory-based microcosm studies, and conclude that these provide only limited insights into soil-borne ECM mycelial communities. Recent advances in understanding soil-borne mycelia of ECM fungi have arisen from the combined use of molecular technologies and novel field experimentation. These approaches have the potential to provide unprecedented insights into the functioning of ECM mycelia at the ecosystem level, particularly in the context of land-use changes and global climate change.     

宁夏燃煤电厂周边土壤、植物和微生物生态化学计量特征及其影响因素

大气酸沉降增加对陆地生态系统的影响已得到了广泛证实,但有关酸沉降累积下工业排放源周边植被-土壤系统元素平衡特征及其影响机制的研究较少。燃煤电厂是主要的工业酸排放源之一。因此,以宁东能源化工基地3个燃煤电厂为观测点,研究了电厂周边土壤-植物叶片-微生物生态化学计量特征,分析了叶片和微生物生物量生态化学计量特征与降水降尘S、N沉降量及土壤性质的关系。结果表明：土壤和微生物生物量C ： N ： P生态化学计量特征变异系数较大,叶片各指标的变异系数较小。与受人类活动影响较少的其他同类型区相比,研究区具有较高的土壤有机C水平和N、P供给,且P相对于N丰富。植物可能主要受N限制,而微生物主要受P限制;土壤及微生物元素间均存在极显著的线性关系（P<0.001）。叶片全C与全N、全P均无显著的关系（P>0.05）。叶片全N、全P和N ： P具有高的内稳性。微生物生物量N ： P内稳性较强,但生物量N和P内稳性较弱,对土壤环境的变化反应敏感;SO₄^2-沉降有助于促进叶片对P的摄取和微生物对C、N、P的固持。少量NO₃^-沉降有利于叶片N摄取,但持续增加的NO₃^-沉降可能会使土壤P受限性增强,进而抑制叶片P摄取和微生物生物量积累。土壤酶活性、Ca²⁺和含水量亦显著影响着植物和微生物元素生态化学计量关系（P<0.05）。因此,今后还需结合多个电厂的土壤性质和植被状况,从较长时间尺度上深入揭示酸沉降增加对工业排放源周边植被-土壤系统元素平衡特征的影响机制。     

Stable isotope analyses on archived fish scales reveal the long‐term effect of nitrogen loads on carbon cycling in rivers

Stable isotope analysis of organic matter in sediment records has long been used to track historical changes in productivity and carbon cycling in marine and lacustrine ecosystems. While flow dynamics preclude stratigraphic measurements of riverine sediments, such retrospective analysis is important for understanding biogeochemical cycling in running waters. Unique collections of riverine fish scales were used to analyse δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C variations in the food web of two European rivers that experience different degrees of anthropogenic pressure. Over the past four decades, dissolved inorganic N loading remained low and constant in the Teno River (70°N, Finland); in contrast, N loading increased fourfold in the Scorff River (47°N, France) over the same period. Archived scales of Atlantic salmon parr, a riverine life‐stage that feeds on aquatic invertebrates, revealed high δ¹⁵N values in the Scorff River reflecting anthropogenic N inputs to that riverine environment. A strong correlation between dissolved inorganic N loads and δ¹³C values in fish scales was observed in the Scorff River, whereas no trend was found in the Teno River. This result suggests that anthropogenic N‐nutrients enhanced atmospheric C uptake by primary producers and its transfer to fish. Our results illustrate for the first time that, as for lakes and marine ecosystems, historical changes in anthropogenic N loading can affect C cycling in riverine food webs, and confirm the long‐term interactions between N and C biogeochemical cycles in running waters.     

低空气湿度下气孔运动的调控

植物气孔应答气候环境因子的机制,一直是植物抗逆生理研究领域的热点课题。空气湿度是主要的气候环境因子之一,人们很早就发现降低空气湿度能导致气孔开度变小,但到目前为止,对调控这一生物学过程的机制还知之甚少。本文概述近年来在植物气孔应答低空气湿度信号的运动规律、水被动反馈假说、水主动反馈假说、水力调节与代谢调节的关系等方面的进展,并基于进化学的理论,提出了水力调节和代谢调节的反向消长模式,以期解释大量物种气孔对低空气湿度的不同应答反应。     

Metabolite induction via microorganism co-culture: A potential way to enhance chemical diversity for drug discovery

Microorganisms have a long track record as important sources of novel bioactive natural products, particularly in the field of drug discovery. While microbes have been shown to biosynthesize a wide array of molecules, recent advances in genome sequencing have revealed that such organisms have the potential to yield even more structurally diverse secondary metabolites. Thus, many microbial gene clusters may be silent under standard laboratory growth conditions. In the last ten years, several methods have been developed to aid in the activation of these cryptic biosynthetic pathways. In addition to the techniques that demand prior knowledge of the genome sequences of the studied microorganisms, several genome sequence-independent tools have been developed. One of these approaches is microorganism co-culture, involving the cultivation of two or more microorganisms in the same confined environment. Microorganism co-culture is inspired by the natural microbe communities that are omnipresent in nature. Within these communities, microbes interact through signaling or defense molecules. Such compounds, produced dynamically, are of potential interest as new leads for drug discovery. Microorganism co-culture can be achieved in either solid or liquid media and has recently been used increasingly extensively to study natural interactions and discover new bioactive metabolites. Because of the complexity of microbial extracts, advanced analytical methods (e.g., mass spectrometry methods and metabolomics) are key for the successful detection and identification of co-culture-induced metabolites.     

Evaluation of novel derivatisation reagents for the analysis of oxysterols

Oxysterols are oxidised forms of cholesterol that are intermediates in the synthesis of bile acids and steroid hormones. They are also ligands to nuclear and G protein-coupled receptors. Analysis of oxysterols in biological systems is challenging due to their low abundance coupled with their lack of a strong chromophore and poor ionisation characteristics in mass spectrometry (MS). We have previously used enzyme-assisted derivatisation for sterol analysis (EADSA) to identify and quantitate oxysterols in biological samples. This technique relies on tagging sterols with the Girard P reagent to introduce a charged quaternary ammonium group. Here, we have compared several modified Girard-like reagents and show that the permanent charge is vital for efficient MSⁿ fragmentation. However, we find that the reagent can be extended to include sites for potential stable isotope labels without a loss of performance.