信号分子水杨酸减缓干旱胁迫对紫御谷光合和膜脂过氧化的副效应

为研究信号分子水杨酸(SA)对干旱胁迫下紫御谷光合和膜脂过氧化的影响,为SA应用于紫御谷抗旱育苗提供理论依据,测定分析了SA处理对干旱胁迫下紫御谷幼苗叶片光合和膜脂过氧化相关指标的变化。结果表明:(1)干旱胁迫破坏了紫御谷叶绿体的膜结构,使基粒数量明显减少,垛叠不明显,排列比较松散,而SA处理能在一定程度上保护叶绿体的膜结构。(2)干旱胁迫降低了紫御谷幼苗叶片的叶绿素b和总叶绿素含量,而SA处理能提高干旱胁迫下紫御谷幼苗叶片的叶绿素a、叶绿素b、总叶绿素和胡萝卜素含量。(3)干旱胁迫降低了叶片的净光合速率、气孔导度、蒸腾速率、光饱和点和暗呼吸速率,增加了叶片的光补偿点、CO₂饱和点、CO₂补偿点和光呼吸速率,而SA处理则增加了紫御谷幼苗叶片的净光合速率、气孔导度、光饱和点和暗呼吸速率,降低了紫御谷幼苗叶片的光补偿点、CO₂饱和点、CO₂补偿点和光呼吸速率。(4)干旱胁迫降低了紫御谷幼苗叶片的F_v/F_m和Φ_PSⅡ,显著增加了叶片的相对电导率和丙二醛含量,而SA处理则增加了幼苗叶片的F_v/F_m和Φ_PSⅡ,降低了叶片的相对电导率和丙二醛含量。表明:信号分子水杨酸能够有效减缓干旱胁迫对紫御谷光合和膜脂过氧化的影响。     

Mechanisms of sublethal copper toxicity damage to the photosynthetic apparatus of Rhodospirillum rubrum

Magnesium (Mg²⁺) is the ubiquitous metal ion present in chlorophyll and bacteriochlorophyll (BChl), involved in photosystems in photosynthetic organisms. In the present study we investigated targets of toxic copper binding to the photosynthetic apparatus of the anoxygenic purple bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum. This was done by a combination of in vivo measurements of flash photolysis and fast fluorescence kinetics combined with the analysis of metal binding to pigments and pigment-protein complexes isolated from Cu-stressed cells by HPLC-ICPMS (ICP-sfMS). This work concludes that R. rubrum is highly sensitive to Cu²⁺, with a strong inhibition of the photosynthetic reaction centres (RCs) already at 2 μM Cu²⁺. The inhibition of growth and of RC activity was related to the formation of Cu-containing BChl degradation products that occurred much more in the RC than in LH1. These results suggest that the shift of metal centres in BChl from Mg²⁺ to Cu²⁺ can occur in vivo in the RCs of R. rubrum under environmentally realistic Cu²⁺ concentrations, leading to a strong inhibition of the function of these RCs.     

Investigation of human sewage pollution and pathogen analysis at Florida Gulf coast beaches

Aims: Water quality at two Florida beaches was compared using faecal indicator bacteria measurements, microbial source tracking (MST) methods for detecting human source pollution and the assessment of pathogen presence. These values were also compared before and after remediation of wastewater infrastructure at one beach. Methods and Results: Faecal coliforms, Escherichia coli and enterococci were enumerated in estuarine water and sediment samples. PCR assays for the human‐associated esp gene of Enterococcus faecium and human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) were used to detect human sewage. Culturable Salmonella and enteric viruses were also analysed. MST identified human sewage contamination at one beach, leading to repair of a sewer main and relocation of portable restrooms. Exceedances of Florida recreational water regulatory standards were significantly reduced after remediation (by 52% for faecal coliforms and 39% for enterococci), and the frequency of detection of MST markers decreased. Coxsackie virus B4 and HPyVs were codetected following a major sewage spill, but Salmonella was not detected during the study. Conclusions: These data indicate that infrastructure remediation significantly reduced pollution from human sewage at the impacted beach. Significance and Impact of the Study: A comprehensive microbial water quality study that can identify contamination sources through the use of MST markers and close collaboration with local/and state agencies can result in tangible actions to improve recreational water quality and safety.     

Halocoryza Alluaud 1919, sea-side beetles of the Indian, Atlantic (sensu lato), and Pacific Oceans: a generic synopsis and description of a remarkable new species from Baja California Sur, México (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Scaritini, Clivinina)

Information on the three previously described species of Halocoryza Alluaud is updated and a new species for the genus from Isla Carmen, Sea of Cortés, Baja California Sur, México is described. Halocoryza whiteheadianasp. n. was found at UV light on a beach of that island. This species does not fit the profile of the other three species, i.e., living on coralline beach sands, or in the Mangrove intertidal zone. Two alternative possibilities as to why this is so are suggested and a study plan for testing these possibilities is proposed.     

Candidatus "Thiodictyon syntrophicum", sp. nov., a new purple sulfur bacterium isolated from the chemocline of Lake Cadagno forming aggregates and specific associations with Desulfocapsa sp

Strain Cad16(T) is a small-celled purple sulfur bacterium (PSB) isolated from the chemocline of crenogenic meromictic Lake Cadagno, Switzerland. Long term in situ observations showed that Cad16(T) regularly grows in very compact clumps of cells in association with bacteria belonging to the genus Desulfocapsa in a cell-to-cell three dimensional structure. Previously assigned to the genus Lamprocystis, Cad16(T), was here reclassified and assigned to the genus Thiodictyon. Based on comparative 16S rRNA gene sequences analysis, isolate Cad16(T) was closely related to Thiodictyon bacillosum DSM234(T) and Thiodictyon elegans DSM232(T) with sequence similarities of 99.2% and 98.9%, respectively. Moreover, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis separated Cad16(T) from other PSB genera, Lamprocystis and Thiocystis. Major differences in cell morphology (oval-sphere compared to rod-shaped) and arrangement (no netlike cell aggregates), carotenoid group (presence of okenone instead of rhodopinal), chemolithotrophic growth as well as the ability to form syntrophic associations with a sulfate-reducing bacteria of the genus Desulfocapsa suggested a different species within the genus Thiodictyon. This isolate is therefore proposed and described as Candidatus "Thiodictyon syntrophicum" sp. nov., a provisionally novel species within the genus Thiodictyon.     

Diversity of purple nonsulfur bacteria in shrimp ponds with varying mercury levels

This research aimed to study the diversity of purple nonsulfur bacteria (PNSB) and to investigate the effect of Hg concentrations in shrimp ponds on PNSB diversity. Amplification of the pufM gene was detected in 13 and 10 samples of water and sediment collected from 16 shrimp ponds in Southern Thailand. In addition to PNSB, other anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (APB) were also observed; purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) and aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (AAPB) although most of them could not be identified. Among identified groups; AAPB, PSB and PNSB in the samples of water and sediment were 25.71, 11.43 and 8.57%; and 27.78, 11.11 and 22.22%, respectively. In both sample types, Roseobacter denitrificans (AAPB) was the most dominant species followed by Halorhodospira halophila (PSB). In addition two genera, observed most frequently in the sediment samples were a group of PNSB (Rhodovulum kholense, Rhodospirillum centenum and Rhodobium marinum). The UPGMA dendrograms showed 7 and 6 clustered groups in the water and sediment samples, respectively. There was no relationship between the clustered groups and the total Hg (Hg_T) concentrations in the water and sediment samples used (<0.002–0.03 μg/L and 35.40–391.60 μg/kg dry weight) for studying the biodiversity. It can be concluded that there was no effect of the various Hg levels on the diversity of detected APB species; particularly the PNSB in the shrimp ponds.     

水稻土中紫色光合细菌沿纬度梯度的空间分异特征

紫色光合细菌由于其代谢途径的多样性,在环境中广泛分布,是生态系统中碳循环的参与者和推动者之一。但是,水稻土中紫色光合细菌群落结构的空间分异却鲜有报道。基于此,沿我国温度梯度带(纬度梯度:28.38°N—47.43°N),采集了8个典型水稻土,利用PCR-DGGE指纹图谱和系统发育树分析揭示不同地点水稻土中紫色光合细菌群落的组成;结合多个环境因子,利用生物信息学,典范对应分析(Canonical Correspondence Analysis,CCA)和最小判别效应分析(Cladogram,LDA)明确水稻土中紫色光合细菌的空间分异规律。研究发现我国8个典型水稻土中紫色光合细菌主要由变形菌门(Proteobacteria)的α和β这两个分支组成,主要为紫色非硫细菌;p H和纬度都是驱动水稻土中紫色光合细菌群落结构分异的关键因子。该认知不仅有助于更好地揭示稻田关键功能微生物群的生物地理学分布,还有助于进一步探究我国稻田生态系统有机质转化的时空差异。     

Competition between <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lythrum salicaria</Emphasis> and a rare species: combining evidence from experiments and long-term monitoring

The rare endemic plant Sidalcea hendersonii (Henderson’s checker-mallow) occurs in tidal marshes of the Pacific Northwest and may be threatened by Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife), a European invader plant. We compared the abundances of Lythrum and Sidalcea in a wetland in British Columbia (Canada) in 1999 to those measured in 1979 to track changes in both species. Although the frequency of Sidalcea decreased by more than 50%, and that of Lythrum increased by almost 20%, there was no significant relationship between the changes of the two species. We assessed the potential effects of competition by Lythrum on Sidalcea in field and patio experiments. In the field, we measured the response of Sidalcea to the removal of Lythrum over a two-year period and compared this to the response of Sidalcea to the removal of native species and in unmanipulated control plots. Removal of Lythrum significantly improved the vegetative performance of Sidalcea compared to the removal of randomly selected native plants and the control treatment in the first year. In the second year, the performance of Sidealcea did not differ significantly with treatment. Removals did not influence the reproductive performance of Sidalcea in either year. A one-year additive experiment, carried out in pots, compared the competitive effect of Lythrum on Sidalcea with that of two native species. Lythrum’s impact on Sidalcea was not consistently stronger than that of the native species. Collectively, these results do not indicate a strong impact of Lythrum on the reproduction or abundance of Sidalcea.     

Interrelationships of bacteria,meiofauna and macrofauna in a Mediterranean sedimentary beach (Maremma Park,NW Italy)

Collelungo beach (Maremma Park, NW Italy), was sampled quantitatively for macrofauna, meiofauna and bacteria in May 2003; several physicochemical variables and variables associated with food availability and sediment structure were also measured. Replicated samples were collected from three sites representing natural conditions, an erosion regime, and the influence of the Ombrone River, respectively, as well as from four stations each located in the surf and sublittoral zones. Both uni- and multivariate techniques were used to assess the benthic community structure and the associated environmental variables. Different diversity indices revealed no pattern; in contrast, multivariate techniques applied on the macrobenthic fauna and the polychaete taxocommunity distinguished between the sites located in natural and eroding conditions from the one located nearby the discharges of the Ombrone river. Τhe community patterns deriving from meio- and macrofauna are clearly divergent. The overall benthic faunal community appears to be influenced by both groups of organisms. The patterns of the meio- and macrofaunal communities seem to be affected synergistically by a number of environmental variables, in accordance with the multicausal environmental severity hypothesis. Meiofaunal patterns are more often correlated with bacteria and the protein concentration than are macrofaunal patterns, indicating a potential utilization of bacteria as a food source by the meiofaunal organisms. Total bacterial numbers are associated with the macrofaunal pattern under the erosion regime, probably as a consequence of competition for food between macrofauna and meiofauna.