Cattle slurry acidification and application method can improve initial phosphorus availability for maize

Background and aims

The utilization of phosphorus (P) in cattle slurry as a starter fertilizer in maize cropping is poor. To improve this and to obviate the use of additional mineral starter-P fertilization, we examined if slurry acidification, placement strategy and application time could increase maize yield and phosphorus uptake (PU) in the early growth stages.

Methods

In a climate-controlled pot experiment, untreated (pH 6.5) and acidified (pH 5.5 or pH 3.8) cattle slurry was injected in narrow or broad bands two or 30 days before sowing of maize on a coarse sandy and a sandy loam soil and compared with mineral P fertilizer.

Results

After broad band slurry injection, the P concentration in maize tissues at the five-leaf stage and the dry matter yield at the seven-leaf stage were equal to or higher than the mineral P fertilizer treatment. Treatments with strongly acidified slurry (pH 3.8) had 49% higher PU at the seven-leaf stage compared to untreated slurry, but only on the sandy soil, suggesting an indirect pH effect on PU. Application time had no effect.

Conclusion

Broad band slurry injection or strong acidification can improve early-stage growth of maize and potentially obviate the use of mineral P.

     

Psychosomatic complaints and sense of coherence among adolescents in a county in Sweden: a cross-sectional school survey

Background

Over the last five to ten years there has been an increase in psychosomatic complaints (PSC) in Swedish children. The objective of the study was to examine the relation between PSC and sense of coherence (SOC).

Methods

A cross-sectional school survey in the county of Västmanland, Sweden. All 16- and 19-year old adolescents present at school on the day of the survey were asked to complete a questionnaire in their classrooms during a one-lesson hour session under the supervision of their teachers. Totally 3,998 students in both private and public schools, studying in ninth grade elementary school or third grade secondary school participated.

Results

The results from our study show that there is a statistically significant relation between PSC and SOC among adolescents. It also shows that adolescents with a weak SOC score have more symptoms of PSC.

Conclusion

Our study indicates that SOC can help the adolescents to choose a coping strategy that is appropriate for the situation and thereby may prevent them from developing PSC. However, additional studies are needed to confirm our findings.

     

<Emphasis Type="Bold">Zinc nutrition in wheat-based cropping systems</Emphasis>

Background

Zinc (Zn) deficiency is one of the most important micronutrient disorders affecting human health. Wheat is the staple food for 35% of the world’s population and is inherently low in Zn, which increases the incidence of Zn deficiency in humans. Major wheat-based cropping systems viz. rice–wheat, cotton–wheat and maize–wheat are prone to Zn deficiency due to the high Zn demand of these crops.

Methods

This review highlights the role of Zn in plant biology and its effect on wheat-based cropping systems. Agronomic, breeding and molecular approaches to improve Zn nutrition and biofortification of wheat grain are discussed.

Results

Zinc is most often applied to crops through soil and foliar methods. The application of Zn through seed treatments has improved grain yield and grain Zn status in wheat. In cropping systems where legumes are cultivated in rotation with wheat, microorganisms can improve the available Zn pool in soil for the wheat crop. Breeding and molecular approaches have been used to develop wheat genotypes with high grain Zn density.

Conclusions

Options for improving grain yield and grain Zn concentration in wheat include screening wheat genotypes for higher root Zn uptake and grain translocation efficiency, the inclusion of these Zn-efficient genotypes in breeding programs, and Zn fertilization through soil, foliar and seed treatments.

     

Optimization of fecal sample preparation for untargeted LC-HRMS based metabolomics

Introduction

Collecting feces is easy. It offers direct outcome to endogenous and microbial metabolites.

Objectives

In a context of lack of consensus about fecal sample preparation, especially in animal species, we developed a robust protocol allowing untargeted LC-HRMS fingerprinting.

Methods

The conditions of extraction (quantity, preparation, solvents, dilutions) were investigated in bovine feces.

Results

A rapid and simple protocol involving feces extraction with methanol (1/3, M/V) followed by centrifugation and a step filtration (10 kDa) was developed.

Conclusion

The workflow generated repeatable and informative fingerprints for robust metabolome characterization.

     

Taxonomic and ecological patterns in root traits of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Carex</Emphasis> (Cyperaceae)

Background and aims

In Malawi, strategies are being sought to boost maize production through improvements in soil fertility. This study assessed the impact of intercropping maize (Zea mays) with pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) in Lixisols of Malawi on yield, biological N fixation, soil aggregation, and P forms within soil aggregates.

Methods

Maize and pigeon pea were grown intercropped in pots, with varying degrees of root interaction in order to understand the relative importance of biochemical versus physical rhizospheric interactions. Following harvest, soils were separated into aggregate fractions using wet-sieving, and the nutrient content of all fractions was assessed.

Results

The proportion of macroaggregates and microaggregates increased by 52 and 111%, respectively, in the intercropping treatment compared to sole maize, which significantly increased organic P storage in the microaggregates of intercropped compared to sole maize (84 versus 29 mg P kg^?1, respectively). Biologically fixed N increased from 89% in the sole pigeon pea to 96% in the intercropped system.

Conclusions

Intercropping maize with pigeon pea can have a significant and positive impact on soil structure as well as nutrient storage in these high P-sorbing soils. This is caused primarily by physical root contact and to a lesser degree by biochemical activities.

     

A lost opportunity for science: journals promote data sharing in metabolomics but do not enforce it

Introduction

Data sharing is being increasingly required by journals and has been heralded as a solution to the ‘replication crisis’.

Objectives

(i) Review data sharing policies of journals publishing the most metabolomics papers associated with open data and (ii) compare these journals’ policies to those that publish the most metabolomics papers.

Methods

A PubMed search was used to identify metabolomics papers. Metabolomics data repositories were manually searched for linked publications.

Results

Journals that support data sharing are not necessarily those with the most papers associated to open metabolomics data.

Conclusion

Further efforts are required to improve data sharing in metabolomics.

     

Changes from pasture to a native tree plantation affect soil organic matter in a tropical soil,Panamá

Background and aims

We examined changes in soil organic matter arising from conversion of a 45-year old pasture to a 10 yr. old native tree plantation in Panamá, to evaluate the effect of monoculture and mixtures.

Methods

We intensively sampled the soil 0–10 cm depth in the pasture in 2001 and in 22 plantation plots in 2011, ranging from 5 monocultures to 3- and 6-species treatments; samples were also taken from an undisturbed forest site. Soil analyses included organic carbon (SOC) and δ¹³C.

Results

Conversion of the pasture to tree plantation resulted in an overall loss of SOC of 0.6 kg m^?2 (18%) in the top 10 cm, but neither tree species nor diversity had a significant effect. End-member δ¹³C values suggested that the contribution of C₃ plants to SOC was increased from 26% in the pasture to 55% after 10 years of plantation and SOC turnover times were calculated to be 21–36 yr.

Conclusions

The magnitude of the loss in soil SOC is smaller than the increases in tree biomass (~3 kg C m^?2) and litter (~0.3 kg C m^?2) in the plantation, but still a significant part of the ecosystem C balance.

     

Untargeted metabolomics suffers from incomplete raw data processing

Introduction

Untargeted metabolomics is a powerful tool for biological discoveries. To analyze the complex raw data, significant advances in computational approaches have been made, yet it is not clear how exhaustive and reliable the data analysis results are.

Objectives

Assessment of the quality of raw data processing in untargeted metabolomics.

Methods

Five published untargeted metabolomics studies, were reanalyzed.

Results

Omissions of at least 50 relevant compounds from the original results as well as examples of representative mistakes were reported for each study.

Conclusion

Incomplete raw data processing shows unexplored potential of current and legacy data.

     

Key factors identified by proteomic analysis in maize (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zea mays</Emphasis> L.) seedlings’ response to long-term exposure to different phosphate levels

Background

Maize seedlings are constantly exposed to inorganic phosphate (Pi)-limited environments. To understand how maize cope with low Pi (LP) and high Pi (HP) conditions, physiological and global proteomic analysis of QXN233 genotype were performed under the long-term Pi starvation and supplementation.

Methods

We investigated the physiological response of QXN233 genotype to LP and HP conditions and detected the changes in ion fluxes by non-invasive micro-test technology and gene expression by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. QXN233 was further assessed using vermiculite assay, and then proteins were isolated and identified by nano-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Results

A negative relationship was observed between Na⁺ and Pi, and Na⁺ efflux was enhanced under HP condition. Furthermore, a total of 681 and 1374 were identified in the leaves and roots, respectively, which were mostly involved in metabolism, ion transport, and stress response. Importantly, several key Pi transporters were identified for breeding potential. Several ion transporters demonstrated an elaborate interplay between Pi and other ions, together contributing to the growth of QXN233 seedlings.

Conclusion

The results from this study provide insights into the response of maize seedlings to long-term Pi exposure.

     

Metabotyping of 30 maize hybrids under early-sowing conditions reveals potential marker-metabolites for breeding

Introduction

In Northern Europe, maize early-sowing used to maximize yield may lead to moderate damages of seedlings due to chilling without visual phenotypes. Genetic studies and breeding for chilling tolerance remain necessary, and metabolic markers would be particularly useful in this context.

Objectives

Using an untargeted metabolomic approach on a collection of maize hybrids, our aim was to identify metabolite signatures and/or metabolites associated with chilling responses at the vegetative stage, to search for metabolites differentiating groups of hybrids based on silage-earliness, and to search for marker-metabolites correlated with aerial biomass.

Methods

Thirty genetically-diverse maize dent inbred-lines (Zea mays) crossed to a flint inbred-line were sown in a field to assess metabolite profiles upon cold treatment induced by a modification of sowing date, and characterized with climatic measurements and phenotyping.

Results

NMR- and LC-MS-based metabolomic profiling revealed the biological variation of primary and specialized metabolites in young leaves of plants before flowering-stage. The effect of early-sowing on leaf composition was larger than that of genotype, and several metabolites were associated to sowing response. The metabolic distances between genotypes based on leaf compositional data were not related to the genotype admixture groups, and their variability was lower under early-sowing than normal-sowing. Several metabolites or metabolite-features were related to silage-earliness groups in the normal-sowing condition, some of which were confirmed the following year. Correlation networks involving metabolites and aerial biomass suggested marker-metabolites for breeding for chilling tolerance.

Conclusion

After validation in other experiments and larger genotype panels, these marker-metabolites can contribute to breeding.

     

Extraction of natural products from bark of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Betula pendula</Emphasis> using ionic liquids

Introduction

Aqueous–methanol mixtures have successfully been applied to extract a broad range of metabolites from plant tissue. However, a certain amount of material remains insoluble.

Objectives

To enlarge the metabolic compendium, two ionic liquids were selected to extract the methanol insoluble part of trunk from Betula pendula.

Methods

The extracted compounds were analyzed by LC/MS and GC/MS.

Results

The results show that 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (IL-Ac) predominantly resulted in fatty acids, whereas 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tosylate (IL-Tos) mostly yielded phenolic structures. Interestingly, bark yielded more ionic liquid soluble metabolites compared to interior wood.

Conclusion

From this one can conclude that the application of ionic liquids may expand the metabolic snapshot.

     

Mitochondrial aconitase is a key regulator of energy production for growth and protein expression in Chinese hamster ovary cells

Introduction

Mammalian cells like Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are routinely used for production of recombinant therapeutic proteins. Cells require a continuous supply of energy and nutrients to sustain high cell densities whilst expressing high titres of recombinant proteins. Cultured mammalian cells are primarily dependent on glucose and glutamine metabolism for energy production.

Objectives

The TCA cycle is the main source of energy production and its continuous flow is essential for cell survival. Modulated regulation of TCA cycle can affect ATP production and influence CHO cell productivity.

Methods

To determine the key metabolic reactions of the cycle associated with cell growth in CHO cells, we transiently silenced each gene of the TCA cycle using RNAi.

Results

Silencing of at least four TCA cycle genes was detrimental to CHO cell growth. With an exception of mitochondrial aconitase (or Aco2), all other genes were associated with ATP production reactions of the TCA cycle and their resulting substrates can be supplied by other anaplerotic and cataplerotic reactions. This study is the first of its kind to have established key role of aconitase gene in CHO cells. We further investigated the temporal effects of aconitase silencing on energy production, CHO cell metabolism, oxidative stress and recombinant protein production.

Conclusion

Transient silencing of mitochondrial aconitase inhibited cell growth, reduced ATP production, increased production of reactive oxygen species and reduced cell specific productivity of a recombinant CHO cell line by at least twofold.

     

Iridoid and phenylethanoid/phenylpropanoid metabolite profiles of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scrophularia</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Verbascum</Emphasis> species used medicinally in North America

Introduction

Botanicals containing iridoid and phenylethanoid/phenylpropanoid glycosides are used worldwide for the treatment of inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions that are primary causes of human years lived with disability, such as arthritis and lower back pain.

Objectives

We report the analysis of candidate anti-inflammatory metabolites of several endemic Scrophularia species and Verbascum thapsus used medicinally by peoples of North America.

Methods

Leaves, stems, and roots were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was performed in MetaboAnalyst 3.0 after processing the datasets in Progenesis QI.

Results

Comparison of the datasets revealed significant and differential accumulation of iridoid and phenylethanoid/phenylpropanoid glycosides in the tissues of the endemic Scrophularia species and Verbascum thapsus.

Conclusions

Our investigation identified several species of pharmacological interest as good sources for harpagoside and other important anti-inflammatory metabolites.

     

NMRProcFlow: a graphical and interactive tool dedicated to 1D spectra processing for NMR-based metabolomics

Introduction

Concerning NMR-based metabolomics, 1D spectra processing often requires an expert eye for disentangling the intertwined peaks.

Objectives

The objective of NMRProcFlow is to assist the expert in this task in the best way without requirement of programming skills.

Methods

NMRProcFlow was developed to be a graphical and interactive 1D NMR (¹H & ¹³C) spectra processing tool.

Results

NMRProcFlow (http://nmrprocflow.org), dedicated to metabolic fingerprinting and targeted metabolomics, covers all spectra processing steps including baseline correction, chemical shift calibration and alignment.

Conclusion

Biologists and NMR spectroscopists can easily interact and develop synergies by visualizing the NMR spectra along with their corresponding experimental-factor levels, thus setting a bridge between experimental design and subsequent statistical analyses.

     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">massPix</Emphasis>: an R package for annotation and interpretation of mass spectrometry imaging data for lipidomics

Introduction

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) experiments result in complex multi-dimensional datasets, which require specialist data analysis tools.

Objectives

We have developed massPix—an R package for analysing and interpreting data from MSI of lipids in tissue.

Methods

massPix produces single ion images, performs multivariate statistics and provides putative lipid annotations based on accurate mass matching against generated lipid libraries.

Results

Classification of tissue regions with high spectral similarly can be carried out by principal components analysis (PCA) or k-means clustering.

Conclusion

massPix is an open-source tool for the analysis and statistical interpretation of MSI data, and is particularly useful for lipidomics applications.

     

Modeling and simulation of enzymatic gluconic acid production using immobilized enzyme and CSTR–PFTR circulation reaction system

Objectives

Production of gluconic acid by using immobilized enzyme and continuous stirred tank reactor-plug flow tubular reactor (CSTR–PFTR) circulation reaction system.

Results

A production system is constructed for gluconic acid production, which consists of a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) for pH control and liquid storage and a plug flow tubular reactor (PFTR) filled with immobilized glucose oxidase (GOD) for gluconic acid production. Mathematical model is developed for this production system and simulation is made for the enzymatic reaction process. The pH inhibition effect on GOD is modeled by using a bell-type curve.

Conclusions

Gluconic acid can be efficiently produced by using the reaction system and the mathematical model developed for this system can simulate and predict the process well.

     

Factor XIII Val34Leu polymorphism and risk of recurrent pregnancy loss in Iranian population: a case control study

BACKGROUND

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a heterogeneous condition and thrombophilias have been considered as a probable cause.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the coagulation factor XIII Val34Leu polymorphism among women with unexplained RPL.

METHODS

A total of 140 women with a history of unexplained RPL and 100 age-matched healthy fertile women were recruited. The presence of FXIII Val34Leu polymorphism among the cases and controls was investigated using PCR-RFLP method.

RESULTS

Genotype analyses of the subjects revealed that the patients had a significantly higher prevalence of V/L and L/L than the controls (P<0.05): 33.5% vs. 15%, and 9.2% vs. 2%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate a significant association between FXIII Val34Leu polymorphism and unexplained RPL in the Iranian patient.

     

Phosphorus availability from bone char in a P-fixing soil influenced by root-mycorrhizae-biochar interactions

Aims

The objectives of this study were to evaluate (1) the fertilizer potential of bone char, (2) the effects of wood biochar on plant-available phosphorus (P), and (3) the role of root-mycorrhizae-biochar interactions in plant P acquisition from a P-fixing soil.

Methods

Incubation and pot experiments were conducted with a P-fixing soil and maize with or without root hairs and arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) inoculation. Olsen-, resin-P and plant P accumulation were used to estimate P availability from bone char, co-pyrolyzed bone char-wood biochar, and separate bone char and wood biochar additions produced at 60, 350 and 750 °C, and Triple Superphosphate (TSP).

Results

Maize inoculated with AM showed similar P accumulation when fertilized with either 750 °C bone char or TSP. Pyrolyzing bone did not increase extractable P in soil in comparison to unpyrolyzed bone, apart from a 67 % increase in resin-extractable P after additions of bone char pyrolyzed at 350 °C. Despite greater Olsen-P extractability, co-pyrolysis of bone with wood reduced maize P uptake. Wood biochars reduced resin-P from bone char by 14–26 %, whereas oven-dried wood increased resin-P by 23 %.

Conclusions

Bone char is an effective P fertilizer, especially if root-AM interactions are simultaneously considered. Biochar influences plant access to soil P and requires careful management to improve P availability.

     

Hypocapnia is a biological marker for orthostatic intolerance in some patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

Context

Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and those with orthostatic intolerance share many symptoms, yet questions exist as to whether CFS patients have physiological evidence of orthostatic intolerance.

Objective

To determine if some CFS patients have increased rates of orthostatic hypotension, hypertension, tachycardia, or hypocapnia relative to age-matched controls.

Design

Assess blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, end tidal CO2 and visual analog scales for orthostatic symptoms when supine and when standing for 8 minutes without moving legs.

Setting

Referral practice and research center.

Participants

60 women and 15 men with CFS and 36 women and 4 men serving as age matched controls with analyses confined to 62 patients and 35 controls showing either normal orthostatic testing or a physiological abnormal test.

Main outcome measures

Orthostatic tachycardia; orthostatic hypotension; orthostatic hypertension; orthostatic hypocapnia or combinations thereof.

Results

CFS patients had higher rates of abnormal tests than controls (53% vs 20%, p < .002), but rates of orthostatic tachycardia, orthostatic hypotension, and orthostatic hypertension did not differ significantly between patients and controls (11.3% vs 5.7%, 6.5% vs 2.9%, 19.4% vs 11.4%, respectively). In contrast, rates of orthostatic hypocapnia were significantly higher in CFS than in controls (20.6% vs 2.9%, p < .02). This CFS group reported significantly more feelings of illness and shortness of breath than either controls or CFS patients with normal physiological tests.

Conclusion

A substantial number of CFS patients have orthostatic intolerance in the form of orthostatic hypocapnia. This allows subgrouping of patients with CFS and thus reduces patient pool heterogeneity engendered by use of a clinical case definition.