Effects of the supply levels and ratios of nitrogen and phosphorus on seed traits of Chenopodium glaucum

全球氮沉降不仅改变土壤氮和磷的有效性, 同时也改变氮磷比例。氮磷供应量、比例及其交互作用可能会影响植物种子性状。该研究在内蒙古草原基于沙培盆栽实验种植灰绿藜(Chenopodium glaucum), 设置3个氮磷供应量水平和3个氮磷比例的正交实验来探究氮磷供应量、比例及其交互作用对灰绿藜种子性状的影响。结果发现氮磷供应量对种子氮浓度、磷浓度和萌发率影响的相对贡献(15%-24%)大于氮磷比例(3%-7%), 而种子大小只受氮磷比例的影响。同时氮磷供应量和比例之间的交互作用显著影响种子氮浓度和磷浓度。同等氮磷比例情况下, 低量养分供应提高种子氮浓度、磷浓度和萌发率。氮磷比例只有在养分匮乏的环境中才会对种子大小和萌发率产生显著影响。总之, 灰绿藜种子不同性状对氮或磷限制的敏感性不同, 同时种子性状也对养分限制表现出适应性和被动响应。     

Response of grazing snails to phosphorus enrichment of modern stromatolitic microbial communities

1. The effects of added phosphorus (P) on the growth, P and RNA : DNA contents, and survivorship of snails grazing on laminated microbial mats (living ‘stromatolites’) were examined in the Rio Mesquites at Cuatro Ciénegas, Mexico (total P, c. 0.60 μmol L^?1) to test the hypothesis that strong P‐limitation of microautotroph growth produces a stoichiometric constraint on herbivores because of mineral P‐limitation. 2. In a 3‐week experiment performed in summer 2001, addition of phosphorus (+15 μmol L^?1) resulted in a strong decline in stromatolite biomass C : P ratio from very high levels (c. 2300 : 1 by atoms) to moderate levels (c. 550 : 1). The endemic hydrobiid snail Mexithauma quadripaludium responded to P‐enrichment with elevated body P content and higher RNA : DNA ratios, especially for small animals likely to be actively growing. This positive response is consistent with the existence of a stoichiometric constraint on snail growth. 3. In a longer experiment (8 weeks) involving a more moderate P enrichment (+5 μmol L^?1) in summer 2002, P enrichment reduced stromatolite C : P ratio from moderate values in control treatments (c. 750) to very low values (<100 : 1). Snails responded to stromatolite P‐enrichment with increased body P content but, in contrast to the first experiment, with lower RNA : DNA ratio, lower growth rates, and higher mortality. 4. These contrasting results suggest that both very high and very low biomass C : P ratios in stromatolites are detrimental to M. quadripaludium performance, leading us to hypothesise that these herbivores live on a ‘stoichiometric knife edge’.     

Sulfide induces phosphate release from polyphosphate in cultures of a marine Beggiatoa strain

Sulfur bacteria such as Beggiatoa or Thiomargarita have a particularly high capacity for storage because of their large size. In addition to sulfur and nitrate, these bacteria also store phosphorus in the form of polyphosphate. Thiomargarita namibiensis has been shown to release phosphate from internally stored polyphosphate in pulses creating steep peaks of phosphate in the sediment and thereby inducing the precipitation of phosphorus-rich minerals. Large sulfur bacteria populate sediments at the sites of recent phosphorite formation and are found as fossils in ancient phosphorite deposits. Therefore, it can be assumed that this physiology contributes to the removal of bioavailable phosphorus from the marine system and thus is important for the global phosphorus cycle. We investigated under defined laboratory conditions which parameters stimulate the decomposition of polyphosphate and the release of phosphate in a marine Beggiatoa strain. Initially, we tested phosphate release in response to anoxia and high concentrations of acetate, because acetate is described as the relevant stimulus for phosphate release in activated sludge. To our surprise, the Beggiatoa strain did not release phosphate in response to this treatment. Instead, we could clearly show that increasing sulfide concentrations and anoxia resulted in a decomposition of polyphosphate. This physiological reaction is a yet unknown mode of bacterial polyphosphate usage and provides a new explanation for high phosphate concentrations in sulfidic marine sediments.     

Root development in winter wheat grown at different N/P supply: Root length patterns and N-P interactions in phosphate uptake

Effects of different N/P ratios on several root parameters and on net P uptake were studied in winter wheat, Triticum aestivum cv. Starke II, grown in water culture. In the First experiment N/P ratios of (0/4, 2/3, 4/2, 6/1 and 8/0) were used, and plants were harvested at age 3, 5, 8, 11 and 14 days. In the second experiment N/P ratios of 6/1, 10/1, 15/1, 17/1, 20/1 and 25/1 were applied at two different N,P levels. Root length and number were determined using a digitizer connected to a computer. In the first experiment. the 6/1 N/P ratio gave the largest plants at day 14, and growth decreased with decreasing N/P ratio, The same pattern was found fur lateral root length and root number (seminal and lateral). In the second experiment the root weights decreased with increasing N/P ratio within each level. Lateral root number and overall length decreased with increasing N/P ratio at both levels as did the average lateral root length at the high N,P level. At the low N.P level, average lateral root length was about the same at all N/P ratios. Increasing the N/P ratio increased net uptake of P at the low N,P level, but decreased net P uptake at the high N,P level. Net P uptake increased with increasing P concentration in the roots and then decreased with further increase in P concentration. Net P uptake based on calculated root length [m (g root)⁻¹] showed no significant deviation from weight-based uptake plots. The effect of N and P on root structure is discussed as well as the interaction of N and P in P uptake. The relevance of a proper basis for expressing root activity is stressed.     

Relationship of lower limb height to sitting height in black populations of Africa and the United States.

This article examines a recently reported generalization. Materials from more than a score of invetigations are drawn upon. These materials show there is not a substantial research base for the claim that interbreeding in the United States between black people of African ancestry and white people of European ancestry has resulted in increased lower limb height relative to sitting height.     

Studies of Blastocystis hominis

Blastocystis hominis, grown in Boeck-Drbohlav culture medium, modified by the omission of rice starch and the addition of 20% human serum and mineral oil cover to the Locke's solution overlay, can assume 3 morphologic forms. In the absence of human serum the vacuolated form, which divides by binary fission predominates. In medium with high serum content the granular form appears, with 3 types of granules. Spheroid or more elongate cytoplasmic granules predominate. In older organisms, lipid granules are found either in the peripheral cytoplasm or in the central vacuolar space. In occasional cells, variable numbers of reproductive granules develop in the central vacuolar space. These latter granules are released from the organism and give rise to typical B. hominis cells. The 3rd form, the ameba form, appears in small numbers in older cultures and in those treated with antibiotics. Ameba forms feed on bacteria and have slow pseudopodial activity. Exposure to oxygen causes rapid damage to cell membrane, with resulting leakage and collapse.     

Inhibitory factors affecting the process of enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) – A mini-review

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) technology has been widely considered as a key strategy in preventing eutrophication and recognized as the advancing front of research in wastewater treatment. The key to keep its high efficiency in biological phosphorus removal is to optimize the operation and management of the system. Previous research in this field has undoubtedly improved understanding of the factors hindered overall efficiency of EBPR. However, it is obvious that much remains to be learnt. This paper attempts to review the fundamental understanding in factors inhibiting the stability and reliability of the EBPR systems in the state-of-the-art research. In view of modeling the EBPR systems, an appropriate extension of the current mechanistic models with these inhibitory factors is recommended in order to better simulate and predict the behavior of full-scale and lab-scale EBPR plants. From the perspectives of the further mechanistic and multi-factors study, the direction of denitrifying dephosphatation and granules/biofilms are also discussed. This comprehensive overview will not only help us to understand the overall mechanism of the EBPR process, but also benefit the researchers and engineers to consider all the possible factors affecting the process in the urban sewage treatment plants.     

Metabolic Enzyme Alterations and Astrocyte Dysfunction in a Murine Model of Alexander Disease With Severe Reactive Gliosis

Alexander disease (AxD) is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutations in the gene encoding glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). In this report, a mouse model of AxD (GFAP^Tg;Gfap^+/R236H) was analyzed that contains a heterozygous R236H point mutation in murine Gfap as well as a transgene with a GFAP promoter to overexpress human GFAP. Using label-free quantitative proteomic comparisons of brain tissue from GFAP^Tg;Gfap^+/R236H versus wild-type mice confirmed upregulation of the glutathione metabolism pathway and indicated proteins were elevated in the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway, which had not been reported previously in AxD. Relative protein-level differences were confirmed by a targeted proteomics assay, including proteins related to astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Of particular interest was the decreased level of the oligodendrocyte protein, 2-hydroxyacylsphingosine 1-beta-galactosyltransferase (Ugt8), since Ugt8-deficient mice exhibit a phenotype similar to GFAP^Tg;Gfap^+/R236H mice (e.g., tremors, ataxia, hind-limb paralysis). In addition, decreased levels of myelin-associated proteins were found in the GFAP^Tg;Gfap^+/R236H mice, consistent with the role of Ugt8 in myelin synthesis. Fabp7 upregulation in GFAP^Tg;Gfap^+/R236H mice was also selected for further investigation due to its uncharacterized association to AxD, critical function in astrocyte proliferation, and functional ability to inhibit the anti-inflammatory PPAR signaling pathway in models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Within Gfap⁺ astrocytes, Fabp7 was markedly increased in the hippocampus, a brain region subjected to extensive pathology and chronic reactive gliosis in GFAP^Tg;Gfap^+/R236H mice. Last, to determine whether the findings in GFAP^Tg;Gfap^+/R236H mice are present in the human condition, AxD patient and control samples were analyzed by Western blot, which indicated that Type I AxD patients have a significant fourfold upregulation of FABP7. However, immunohistochemistry analysis showed that UGT8 accumulates in AxD patient subpial brain regions where abundant amounts of Rosenthal fibers are located, which was not observed in the GFAP^Tg;Gfap^+/R236H mice.