Effects of three herbicides on soil microbial biomass and activity

Three post-emergence herbicides (2,4-D, picloram and glyphosate) were applied to samples of an Alberta agricultural soil at concentrations of 0, 2, 20, and 200 μg g⁻¹. The effects of these chemicals on certain microbial variables was monitored over 27 days. All herbicides caused enhancement of basal respiration but only for 9 days following application, and only for concentrations of 200 μg g⁻¹. Substrate-induced respiration was temporarily depressed by 200 μg g⁻¹ picloram and 2,4-D, and briefly enhanced by 200 μg g⁻¹ glyphosate. It is concluded that because changes in microbial variables only occurred at herbicide concentrations of much higher than that which occurs following field application, the side-effects of these chemicals is probably of little ecological significance.     

Cholesterol as a target for toxins

A mechanism is proposed for the way in which cholesterol facilitates channel formation by polyene antibiotics and bacterial protein toxins. Central elements of the model are: (i) interactions between the ring system of the sterol and rigid elements of the polyene or toxin molecule, and (ii) the specific orientation of cholesterol within the membrane.     

Establishment of anaerobic,reducing conditions in lake sediment after deposition of acidic,aerobic sediment by a major storm

Hurricane Danny resulted in the rapid deposition of 10cm of oxidized, acidic sediment in the Contrary Creek arm of Lake Anna, Virginia. Several biological and geochemical parameters were monitored with time to ascertain how long it took the newly-deposited lake sediments to attain the anaerobic, circumneutral, actively sulfate-reducing state normally observed in this portion of the lake. The sediment platinum-electrode potential dropped from 350 mV to 100 mV within the first week after the storm. The pH of the pore water increased from 4.5 to 5.8 within three weeks, and titratable alkalinity was detected within two weeks and three weeks at 3 cm and 1 cm depths, respectively. Accumulation of reduced products of sulfate reduction (acid volatile sulfide) began by three to four weeks after the storm event. Both methanogens and sulfate reducers were present in high and approximately equal numbers in the freshly deposited material. The rapid neutralization of the acidity in the fresh sediment prior to the onset of sulfate reduction suggests that reactions other than sulfate reduction caused the initial increase in pH and alkalinity in this system.     

SecA protein: Autoregulated initiator of secretory precursor protein translocation across theE. coli plasma membrane

Several classes ofsecA mutants have been isolated which reveal the essential role of this gene product forE. coli cell envelope protein secretion. SecA-dependent,in vitro protein translocation systems have been utilized to show that SecA is an essential, plasma membrane-associated, protein translocation factor, and that SecA's ATPase activity appears to play an essential but as yet undefined role in this process. Cell fractionation studies suggested that SecA protein is in a dynamic state within the cell, occurring in soluble, peripheral, and integral membraneous states. These data have been used to argue that SecA is likely to promote the initial insertion of secretory precursor proteins into the plasma membrane in a manner dependent on ATP hydrolysis. The protein secretion capability of the cell has been shown to translationally regulatesecA expression with SecA protein serving as an autogenous repressor, although the exact mechanism and purpose of this regulation need to be defined further.     

西双版纳热带季节雨林植物种类多样性的一种研究方法

一、方法1.样地的选择样地分别选取热带干性季节雨林的典型代表——以箭毒木(Antiaris toxicaria)、龙果(Pouteria grandifolia)为标志的群落,以千果榄仁(Terminalia myriocarpa)、番龙眼     

福建武夷山甜槠群落能量的研究

在生物量、生产力研究基础上,对武夷山甜槠（Ｃａｓｔａｎｏｐｓｉｓ ｅｙｒｅｉ（Ｃｈａｍ ｐ．ｅｘ Ｂｅｎｔｈ．） Ｔｕｔｃｈ．）群落各组分的热值、群落能量现存量、能量年净固定量以及太阳能转化效率进行了研究。结果表明：（１）甜槠群落各组分样品的干重热值具有一定的差异,树皮热值最高,细根热值最低。（２）甜槠群落的能量现存量达７８０５８４．１ ｋＪ·ｍ － ２,其中地上部分为６７８９１３．８ ｋＪ·ｍ － ２,占总量的８６．９８％ ;地下部分为１０１６７０．３ ｋＪ·ｍ － ２,占１３．０２％ 。（３）甜槠群落的能量年净固定量（１９９２年）为２６８５６．２ ｋＪ·ｍ － ２·ａ－ １,林地太阳光合有效辐射能的转化效率为１．２９６％ 。     

Electron transfer in reaction centers of Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Rhodobacter capsulatus monitored by fluorescence of the bacteriochlorophyll dimer

Spectral and kinetic characteristics of fluorescence from isolated reaction centers of photosynthetic purple bacteria Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Rhodobacter capsulatus were measured at room temperature under rectangular shape of excitation at 810 nm. The kinetics of fluorescence at 915 nm reflected redox changes due to light and dark reactions in the donor and acceptor quinone complex of the reaction center as identified by absorption changes at 865 nm (bacteriochlorophyll dimer) and 450 nm (quinones) measured simultaneously with the fluorescence. Based on redox titration and gradual bleaching of the dimer, the yield of fluorescence from reaction centers could be separated into a time-dependent (originating from the dimer) and a constant part (coming from contaminating pigment (detached bacteriochlorin)). The origin was also confirmed by the corresponding excitation spectra of the 915 nm fluorescence. The ratio of yields of constant fluorescence over variable fluorescence was much smaller in Rhodobacter sphaeroides (0.15±0.1) than in Rhodobacter capsulatus (1.2±0.3). It was shown that the changes in fluorescence yield reflected the disappearance of the dimer and the quenching by the oxidized primary quinone. The redox changes of the secondary quinone did not have any influence on the yield but excess quinone in the solution quenched the (constant part of) fluorescence. The relative yields of fluorescence in different redox states of the reaction center were tabulated. The fluorescence of the dimer can be used as an effective tool in studies of redox reactions in reaction centers, an alternative to the measurements of absorption kinetics.Abbreviations Bchl bacteriochlorophyll - Bpheo bacteriopheophytin - D electron donor to P⁺ - P bacteriochlorophyll dimer - Q quinone acceptor - Q_A primary quinone acceptor - Q_B secondary quinone acceptor - RC reaction center protein - UQ₆ ubiquinone-30     

Adaptation of soil bacterial communities to prevailing pH in different soils

Abstract: The bacterial community response to pH was studied for 16 soils with pH(H₂O) ranging between 4 and 8 by measuring thymidine incorporation into bacteria extracted from the soil into a solution using homogenization-centrifugation. The pH of the bacterial solution was altered to six different values with dilute sulfuric acid or different buffers before measuring incorporation. The resulting pH response curve for thymidine incorporation was used to compare bacterial communities from the different soils. There was a correlation between optimum pH for thymidine incorporation and the soil pH(H₂O). Even bacterial communities from acid soils had optima corresponding to the soil pH, indicating that they were adapted to these conditions. Thymidine incorporation was also compared with leucine incorporation for some soils. The leucine to thymidine incorporation ratio was constant over the tested pH interval when incorporation values were adjusted for isotope dilution. A good correlation was found between the scores along the first component (explaining 80% of the variation) and soil pH ( r ² = 0.85), if principal component analysis of the pH response curves for thymidine incorporation was used. The pH response curves differed most for the extreme pH values used, and a linear relationship was found between the logarithm of the ratio of thymidine incorporation at pH 4.3 to incorporation at pH 8.2 and the soil pH ( r ² = 0.86). Thus, a simplified technique using only two pH values, when measuring the thymidine incorporation, could be used to compare the response to pH of bacterial communities.