Five in situ observations of live oarfish Regalecus glesne (Regalecidae) by remotely operated vehicles in the oceanic waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico

As part of the SERPENT Project, five observations of apparently healthy oarfish Regalecus glesne by remotely operated vehicles are reported from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Regalecus glesne were observed between 2008 and 2011 at depths from within the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones. These observations include the deepest verified record of R. glesne (463–492 m) and the first record of an arthropod ectoparasite (isopod).     

Realization of the project for Acipenser oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus restoration in the basin of the Neman River

The results of the works on the international project for the Baltic sturgeon restoration in the basin of the Neman River are considered. The mutual goal of the project is the restoration of the Baltic sturgeon population in its whole former area in the Baltic Sea. Successful works on the restoration of the Baltic sturgeon population are conducted in the Oder and the Vistula basins. The stockings of the Neman River with the sturgeon fry were started from 2012 year. It is contemplated that the sturgeon stockings of the main rivers of the Baltic Sea will enable to restore local sturgeon populations in these river basins. Till the beginning of the XXI century it was supposed that the Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser sturio had inhabited the Baltic Sea, but numerous genetic analysis of the samples of the sturgeon bones from the archeological finds in the museums showed that the Baltic Sea had been inhabited with Acipenser oxyrhynchus and its population still inhabits several rivers in Canada. This discovery permitted to start the creation of the Baltic sturgeon broodstock. Sturgeon fry from the eggs imported from Canada were used for stocking at the first stage of the project. Later it is contemplated to use the fry from the broodstocks in Germany and Poland. Sturgeon fry hatched from Canadian eggs in Poland and reared in Lithuania was used for the Neman River stocking. The fry were tagged and released in the Neris and the Sventoji Rivers in the Neman River basin. The sturgeon migrated into the Curonian lagoon where the monitoring of the catches was fulfilled. The results of sturgeon catches monitoring are discussed.     

Predicting zinc bioavailability to wheat improves by integrating pH dependent nonlinear root surface adsorption

Aim

Our aim was to improve the prediction of Zn bioavailability to wheat grown on low-Zn soils. The classical approach that directly relates Zn in a certain soil extract to Zn uptake has been shown to be inadequate in many cases. We tested a stepwise approach where the steps of the uptake process are characterized with, respectively, Zn solid-solution distribution, adsorption of Zn to root surface, Zn uptake into root and Zn translocation to shoot.

Methods

Two pot experiments were done with wheat grown on nine low-Zn soils varying widely in pH, clay and organic matter content. Soluble Zn concentrations in two soil extracts (DTPA and CaCl₂) were measured. Free Zn ion concentrations in CaCl₂ soil extracts were determined with the Donnan Membrane Technique. These Zn concentrations were then related to plant Zn uptake following both the direct and the stepwise approach.

Results

In the direct approach, Zn in the DTPA extract was a better predictor for shoot Zn uptake than Zn in the CaCl₂ extract. In the stepwise approach, the relationship between Zn in CaCl₂ extracts and the root surface adsorbed Zn was pH-dependent and nonlinear. Root surface adsorbed Zn was linearly related to root Zn uptake, and the latter was linearly related to the shoot Zn uptake. The stepwise approach improved the Zn uptake prediction compared to the direct approach and was also validated for different wheat cultivars.

Conclusions

The adsorption of Zn on the root surface is pH dependent and nonlinear with respect to the soil Zn concentration, and a useful proxy for bioavailable Zn over a wide range of soils.     

Electrochemical Investigation of a Microbial Solar Cell Reveals a Nonphotosynthetic Biocathode Catalyst

Microbial solar cells (MSCs) are microbial fuel cells (MFCs) that generate their own oxidant and/or fuel through photosynthetic reactions. Here, we present electrochemical analyses and biofilm 16S rRNA gene profiling of biocathodes of sediment/seawater-based MSCs inoculated from the biocathode of a previously described sediment/seawater-based MSC. Electrochemical analyses indicate that for these second-generation MSC biocathodes, catalytic activity diminishes over time if illumination is provided during growth, whereas it remains relatively stable if growth occurs in the dark. For both illuminated and dark MSC biocathodes, cyclic voltammetry reveals a catalytic-current–potential dependency consistent with heterogeneous electron transfer mediated by an insoluble microbial redox cofactor, which was conserved following enrichment of the dark MSC biocathode using a three-electrode configuration. 16S rRNA gene profiling showed Gammaproteobacteria, most closely related to Marinobacter spp., predominated in the enriched biocathode. The enriched biocathode biofilm is easily cultured on graphite cathodes, forms a multimicrobe-thick biofilm (up to 8.2 μm), and does not lose catalytic activity after exchanges of the reactor medium. Moreover, the consortium can be grown on cathodes with only inorganic carbon provided as the carbon source, which may be exploited for proposed bioelectrochemical systems for electrosynthesis of organic carbon from carbon dioxide. These results support a scheme where two distinct communities of organisms develop within MSC biocathodes: one that is photosynthetically active and one that catalyzes reduction of O₂ by the cathode, where the former partially inhibits the latter. The relationship between the two communities must be further explored to fully realize the potential for MSC applications.     

Disruption of Cell-to-Cell Signaling Does Not Abolish the Antagonism of Phaeobacter gallaeciensis toward the Fish Pathogen Vibrio anguillarum in Algal Systems

Quorum sensing (QS) regulates Phaeobacter gallaeciensis antagonism in broth systems; however, we demonstrate here that QS is not important for antagonism in algal cultures. QS mutants reduced Vibrio anguillarum to the same extent as the wild type. Consequently, a combination of probiotic Phaeobacter and QS inhibitors is a feasible strategy for aquaculture disease control.     

Pathotype-specific QTL for stem rust resistance in Lolium perenne

A genetic map populated with RAD and SSR markers was created from F1 progeny of a stem rust-susceptible and stem rust-resistant parent of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). The map supplements a previous map of this population by having markers in common with several other Lolium spp. maps including EST-SSR anchor markers from a consensus map published by other researchers. A QTL analysis was conducted with disease severity and infection type data obtained by controlled inoculation of the population with each of two previously characterized pathotypes of Puccinia graminis subsp. graminicola that differ in virulence to different host plant genotypes in the F1 population. Each pathotype activated a specific QTL on one linkage group (LG): qLpPg1 on LG7 for pathotype 101, or qLpPg2 on LG1 for pathotype 106. Both pathotypes also activated a third QTL in common, qLpPg3 on LG6. Anchor markers, present on a consensus map, were located in proximity to each of the three QTL. These QTL had been detected also in previous experiments in which a genetically heterogeneous inoculum of the stem rust pathogen activated all three QTL together. The results of this and a previous study are consistent with the involvement of the pathotype-specific QTL in pathogen recognition and the pathotype-nonspecific QTL in a generalized resistance response. By aligning the markers common to other published reports, it appears that two and possibly all three of the stem rust QTL reported here are in the same general genomic regions containing some of the L. perenne QTL reported to be activated in response to the crown rust pathogen (P. coronata).