Relative addition rate and external concentration; Driving variables used in plant nutrition research

Abstract An increasing literature accounting for various types of experiments indicates that far lower external nutrient concentrations are required by plants than is usually thought to be the case. It is concluded that the ion uptake capacity of the roots, as described by the carrier concept, is high compared to that required for maintenance of the internal concentration. Serious errors in experimental conclusions are associated with insufficient and constant nutrient addition rates. The main errors are caused by non-steady states of the plants both with regard to the internal nutrient concentrations and the relative growth rate. A dynamic concept has been proposed for direct use as the treatment variable within the range of sub-optimum nutrition. The nutritional factor is expressed as a flow, the relative nutrient addition rate in laboratory studies and the nutrient flux density in the field. The experimental use of the relative addition rate has led to steady-state nutrient status and relative growth rate and the interpretation of plant responses which differ fundamentally from accepted views. Thus, for instance, deficiency symptoms disappear, as in natural conditions, when the internal nitrogen concentration is stable, independent of level. The nutrition/growth relationships are very different from those observed when external concentration is varied. The regression line of relative growth rate on relative addition rate passes near to the origin at an angle close to 45 to the axes, which implies that the obtained relative growth rate approximates closely the treatment variable. A striking example of observed differences is the positive effect on nitrogen fixation exerted by high relative nitrogen addition rates compared to the well-known negative effect of increasing external nitrogen concentration. The application of fertilizer on the basis of the nutrient flux density concept provides the possibility of supplying fertilizers corresponding to the consumption potential of the vegetation and to the natural flux density resulting from mineralization in the soil. Nitrogen utilization is high under such conditions and the resulting feedback of nutrition on the mineralization rate suggests that there will be a long-term increase in fertility.     

Change in apparent and true absorption and retention of dietary zinc with age in rats

Two groups of 16 rats each were fed the same diet with 12.9 ppm Zn. Nine days after each animal was injected with⁶⁵Zn for assessing fecal zinc of endogenous origin, zinc intake and excretion were determined for a six-day period at the age of about five (group I) and nine (II) weeks. At mean growth rates of 5.1 and 5.2 g/day, food consumption per gram of gain was 2.01 g in group I vs 2.86 g in II. Overall, zinc retention amounted to 21 vs 25 μg Zn/g of gain. Apparent absorption averaged 92 vs 74% of Zn intake (132 vs 189 μg/day), while true absorption averaged 98 vs 92%. It was concluded that endogenous fecal zinc excretion was limited to the indispensable loss (F _em) in group I (7 μg/day), while it exceeded this minimum loss in group II (33 μg/day). True retention, which reflected total zinc utilization (true absorption times metabolic efficiency), was derived from apparent absorption plusF _em (11 μg/day for group II according to the greater metabolic body size of the rats). It averaged 98% of Zn intake in group I vs 80% in group II. The mean metabolic efficiency was 100% vs 87%. The conclusion was that these marked differences between age groups in utilizing the dietary zinc reflected the efficient homeostatic adjustments in absorption and endogenous excretion of zinc to the respective zinc supply status.     

Choice of hydrogen uptake (Hup) status in legume‐rhizobia symbioses

The H₂ is an obligate by-product of N-fixation. Recycling of H₂ through uptake hydrogenase (Hup) inside the root nodules of leguminous plants is often considered an advantage for plants. However, many of the rhizobium-legume symbioses found in nature, especially those used in agriculture are shown to be Hup⁻, with the plants releasing H₂ produced by nitrogenase activity from root nodules into the surrounding rhizosphere. Recent studies have suggested that, H₂ induces plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria, which may explain the widespread of Hup⁻ symbioses in spite of the low energy efficiency of such associations. Wild legumes grown in Nova Scotia, Canada, were surveyed to determine if any plant-growth characteristics could give an indication of Hup choice in leguminous plants. Out of the plants sampled, two legumes, Securigera varia and Vicia cracca, showed Hup⁺ associations. Securigera varia exhibited robust root structure as compared with the other plants surveyed. Data from the literature and the results from this study suggested that plants with established root systems are more likely to form the energy-efficient Hup⁺ symbiotic relationships with rhizobia. Conversely, Hup⁻ associations could be beneficial to leguminous plants due to H₂-oxidizing plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria that allow plants to compete successfully, early in the growing season. However, some nodules from V. cracca tested Hup⁺, while others were Hup⁻. This was similar to that observed in Glycine max and Pisum sativum, giving reason to believe that Hup choice might be affected by various internal and environmental factors.     

Phytoplankton of rhithral rivers: Its origin,diversity and possible use for quality-assessment

While phytoplankton studies on large potamal rivers have increased in number in recent years, upper river sections have received considerably less attention. However, in order to better understand processes that govern the development of dominance of euplanktonic elements in the lower river sections, detailed studies of the upstream areas are necessary. We studied the composition, diversity and recruitment of the planktonic algal communities in the River Sajó and in its main tributary River Hernád, two characteristic rhithral river systems in Central Europe. Results revealed that diatoms are dominant elements of the phytoplankton in the upper river segments both in terms of taxa richness, and relative abundance. We found that composition of the phytoplankton showed the closest resemblance to that of benthic communities of soft substrates, highlighting the key role of riverbed characteristics in river phytoplankton recruitment. The occurrence of euplanktonic elements was not restricted to human impacted river segments, these taxa also occurred in pristine headwaters. Accordingly, planktonic algae potentially colonise small headwater streams naturally, although their dominance is expected to occur only at downstream reaches following impounded river segments. Diatom metrics used in ecological state assessment were calculated for the rithroplankton. These metrics fell in the range of values calculated for diatom flora on the hard substrates. However, the potential use of rithroplankton for quality assessment might be limited, because the high variability of index values at site level would result in misclassification of the ecological status.     

Synechococcus as an indicator of trophic status in the Cochin backwaters,west coast of India

Eutrophication is a major problem in coastal water bodies. Information about the trophic status of water bodies will enable proper management of coastal ecosystems. In this regard, biological organisms which are sensitive to environmental changes can serve as indicators of ecosystem trophic status. In this study, seasonal and spatial variations of picophytoplankton (PP; <3 μm size) community structure was assessed in the Cochin backwaters (CB) with respect to the prevailing environmental conditions during three seasons, post-monsoon (PM-I; October 2011 and PM-II; November 2012), pre-monsoon (PrM; May 2012) and monsoon (MON; August 2012). CB, along the west coast of India, receives continuous load of nutrients throughout the year through anthropogenic wastes. Trophic status index (TRIX) scores showed that CB is highly eutrophic with a high phytoplankton biomass. Synechococcus was the dominant PP observed in the study area. Seasonal and spatial salinity variations influenced the PP distribution, especially Synechococcus where PE-rich Synechococcus (SYN-PE) were dominant in higher saline (>30) and PC-rich Synechococcus (SYN-PC) in lower saline (<30) waters. SYN-PC showed a significant positive relation with chlorophyll a suggesting that this group contributes substantially to the total phytoplankton biomass. TRIX scores and SYN-PC: SYN-PE abundance ratio were negatively correlated with salinity suggesting an influence of the tidal amplitude. SYN-PC correlated positively and SYN-PE negatively with TRIX scores suggesting that these groups occupy contrasting ecological niches. These findings imply that PP distribution pattern can serve as an indicator of the trophic status of coastal water bodies.     

Early life socioeconomic factors and genomic DNA methylation in mid-life

Epigenetic modifications may be one mechanism linking early life factors, including parental socioeconomic status (SES), to adult onset disease risk. However, SES influences on DNA methylation patterns remain largely unknown. In a US birth cohort of women, we examined whether indicators of early life and adult SES were associated with white blood cell methylation of repetitive elements (Sat2, Alu and LINE-1) in adulthood. Low family income at birth was associated with higher Sat2 methylation (β = 19.7, 95% CI: 0.4, 39.0 for lowest vs. highest income quartile) and single parent family was associated with higher Alu methylation (β = 23.5, 95% CI: 2.6, 44.4), after adjusting for other early life factors. Lower adult education was associated with lower Sat2 methylation (β = -16.7, 95% CI: -29.0, -4.5). There were no associations between early life SES and LINE-1 methylation. Overall, our preliminary results suggest possible influences of SES across the life-course on genomic DNA methylation in adult women. However, these preliminary associations need to be replicated in larger prospective studies.     

Egg maturation dynamics of the parasitoid Microplitis rufiventris: starvation speeds maturation in early life

The number of mature eggs carried by a female parasitoid at any given moment (egg load) is a fitness‐related parameter affecting reproductive potential and impacting upon host population dynamics. Microplitis rufiventris Kokujev (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a solitary koinobiont endoparasitoid wasp of several noctuid pests, including Spodoptera littoralis. The number of mature eggs carried by females at emergence is approximately 50. The rate of egg maturation is strongly affected both by feeding status and access to host larvae. In early adult life, egg maturation rates are lower for 6–72 h in fed wasps compared with food‐deprived wasps. When given access to hosts, honey‐fed wasps live for approximately 9 days with high lifetime fecundity (226 eggs). By contrast to early adult life, the total realized fecundity is positively affected by feeding status, where water‐fed and starved females have 140 and 107 eggs, respectively. Egg resorption is most pronounced in the later life of females. The results suggest, in addition to confirming the effect of honey‐feeding on total fecundity, that fecundity of starved wasps includes rapid egg maturation early in life, which potentially could improve the performance of the parasitoid as a biological control agent.     

Long-term stability of parameters of antioxidant status in human serum

Abstract

The antioxidant status of serum or plasma can be determined using several commercially available assays. Here, four different assays, total antioxidant status (TAS), its second-generation assay (TAS2), biological antioxidant potential (BAP), and enzymatic assay using horseradish peroxidase (EAOC), were applied on human serum samples to test the temperature stability of antioxidants, upon storage of serum for 12 months. The two or three most commonly used temperatures for storage, that is, ? 20, ? 70 (or ? 80), and ? 196°C, were selected. The general conclusion is that all assays were stable at the temperatures tested. In addition, there were almost no statistically significant differences between the samples stored at different temperatures. Only the rank order of the EAOC assay was not very good in samples stored at ? 20°C. Also three components contributing to the total antioxidant capacity, uric acid, creatinine and bilirubin, showed no statistically significant differences between the temperatures. Therefore, storage at ? 20°C is sufficient to maintain a proper assay outcome of most of the total antioxidant assays, although storage at ? 70/80°C is to be preferred for longer storage times.