Phytoremediation and natural attenuation of sulfentrazone: mineralogy influence of three highly weathered soils

Abstract

This study evaluated remediation of the herbicide sulfentrazone in soils with three different mineralogies (kaolinite, hematite, and gibbsite) and three remediation sulfentrazone treatments (Canavalia ensiformis L., Crotalaria juncea L., and natural attenuation). This study was conducted in a factorial scheme, in triplicate with randomized block design. Sulfentrazone was applied at 0 and 400?g ha^?1. We analyzed sulfentrazone residue in the soils by high-performance liquid chromatography and confirmed the results with bioassays of Pennisetum glaucum. Herbicide movement was greater in the kaolinitic soil without plant species. The retention of herbicide in the kaolinitic soil occurred in larger quantities in the 0–12?cm layer, with higher levels found in the treatments with plants. In the hematitic soil with C. juncea, all applied herbicides were concentrated in the 0–12?cm layer. In the other hematitic soil treatments, sulfentrazone was not detected by chemical analysis at any soil depth, although in many treatments, it was detected in the bioassay. Phytoremediation was more efficient with C. ensiformis grown in gibbsitic soil, reducing the sulfentrazone load by approximately 27%. Natural attenuation was more efficient than phytoremediation in oxidic soils due to soil pH and texture soils favored microbial degradation of the compound.

• Highlights

• The influence of soil mineralogy of herbicide sulfentrazone retention was evaluated.

• Canavalia ensiformis and Crotalaria juncea were evaluated as phytoremediation plants.

• Kaolinite soils presented great movement of sulfentrazone in the soil.

• Natural attenuation is more efficient in oxide soils than phytoremediation.

     

The art of vector engineering: towards the construction of next-generation genetic tools

When recombinant DNA technology was developed more than 40 years ago, no one could have imagined the impact it would have on both society and the scientific community. In the field of genetic engineering, the most important tool developed was the plasmid vector. This technology has been continuously expanding and undergoing adaptations. Here, we provide a detailed view following the evolution of vectors built throughout the years destined to study microorganisms and their peculiarities, including those whose genomes can only be revealed through metagenomics. We remark how synthetic biology became a turning point in designing these genetic tools to create meaningful innovations. We have placed special focus on the tools for engineering bacteria and fungi (both yeast and filamentous fungi) and those available to construct metagenomic libraries. Based on this overview, future goals would include the development of modular vectors bearing standardized parts and orthogonally designed circuits, a task not fully addressed thus far. Finally, we present some challenges that should be overcome to enable the next generation of vector design and ways to address it.     

Identifying molecularly defined antigens for a Histoplasma capsulatum-specific interferon gamma release assay

BackgroundIn a previous work we showed the feasibility of an interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) for detecting latent infection by Histoplasma capsulatum. While in that proof-of-concept study we used crude fungal extracts as antigens, the newest IGRAs developed for other infections are based on molecularly defined antigens, mostly on mixtures of immunogenic peptides.AimsTo identify proteins in H. capsulatum that might serve as molecularly defined antigens for an IGRA test.MethodsWe surveyed the literature looking for known H. capsulatum-immunogenic proteins and assayed two of them as antigens in an IGRA test, in a study that involved 80 volunteers. Furthermore, we used several bioinformatics tools to identify specific H. capsulatum proteins and to analyze possible strategies for the design of H. capsulatum-specific immunogenic peptides.ResultsSeven H. capsulatum-immunogenic proteins were retrieved from the literature. IGRA tests using either the heat shock protein 60 or the M antigen showed high sensitivities but low specificities, most likely due to the high sequence similarity with the corresponding orthologs in other pathogenic microorganisms. We identified around 2000 H. capsulatum-specific proteins, most of which remain unannotated. Class II T-cell epitope predictions for a small number of these proteins showed a great variability among different alleles, prompting for a “brute force” approach for peptide design.ConclusionsThe H. capsulatum genome encodes a large number of distinctive proteins, which represent a valuable source of potential specific antigens for an IGRA test. Among them, the Cfp4 protein stands out as a very attractive candidate.     

One year of exercise training promotes distinct adaptations in right and left ventricle of female Sprague-Dawley rats

Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry - Aerobic exercise training induces a unique cardioprotective phenotype, but it is becoming clear that it does not promote the same structural, functional,...