Enhancing mainstream nitrogen removal by employing nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation processes

Due to serious eutrophication in water bodies, nitrogen removal has become a critical stage for wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) over past decades. Conventional biological nitrogen removal processes are based on nitrification and denitrification (N/DN), and are suffering from several major drawbacks, including substantial aeration consumption, high fugitive greenhouse gas emissions, a requirement for external carbon sources, excessive sludge production and low energy recovery efficiency, and thus unable to satisfy the escalating public needs. Recently, the discovery of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria has promoted an update of conventional N/DN-based processes to autotrophic nitrogen removal. However, the application of anammox to treat domestic wastewater has been hindered mainly by unsatisfactory effluent quality with nitrogen removal efficiency below 80%. The discovery of nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-DAMO) during the last decade has provided new opportunities to remove this barrier and to achieve a robust system with high-level nitrogen removal from municipal wastewater, by utilizing methane as an alternative carbon source. In the present review, opportunities and challenges for nitrate/nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation are discussed. Particularly, the prospective technologies driven by the cooperation of anammox and n-DAMO microorganisms are put forward based on previous experimental and modeling studies. Finally, a novel WWTP system acting as an energy exporter is delineated.     

Insights into the structure–function relationship of brown plant hopper resistance protein,Bph14 of rice plant: a computational structural biology approach

Brown plant hopper (BPH) is one of the major destructive insect pests of rice, causing severe yield loss. Thirty-two BPH resistance genes have been identified in cultivated and wild species of rice Although, molecular mechanism of rice plant resistance against BPH studied through map-based cloning, due to non-existence of NMR/crystal structures of Bph14 protein, recognition of leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain and its interaction with different ligands are poorly understood. Thus, in the present study, in silico approach was adopted to predict three-dimensional structure of LRR domain of Bph14 using comparative modelling approach followed by interaction study with jasmonic and salicylic acids. LRR domain along with LRR-jasmonic and salicylic acid complexes were subjected to dynamic simulation using GROMACS, individually, for energy minimisation and refinement of the structure. Final binding energy of jasmonic and salicylic acid with LRR domain was calculated using MM/PBSA. Free-energy landscape analysis revealed that overall stability of LRR domain of Bph14 is not much affected after forming complex with jasmonic and salicylic acid. MM/PBSA analysis revealed that binding affinities of LRR domain towards salicylic acid is higher as compared to jasmonic acid. Interaction study of LRR domain with salicylic acid and jasmonic acid reveals that THR987 of LRR form hydrogen bond with both complexes. Thus, THR987 plays active role in the Bph14 and phytochemical interaction for inducing resistance in rice plant against BPH. In future, Bph14 gene and phytochemicals could be used in BPH management and development of novel resistant varieties for increasing rice yield.     

Culture storage age and fungal re‐isolation from host‐tissue influence Colletotrichum spp. virulence to pepper fruits

Using resistant cultivars is the most sustainable and practical approach against plant diseases. Plant germplasm and breeding lines are selected and assayed against, usually, the most aggressive or virulent strains of a pathogen (e.g., fungus) that causes the disease. However, prolong storage of the pathogen in culture media could affect virulence that, consequently, also influence the outcome of the resistance assay. This study demonstrates that long‐term storage (at least a year) of Colletotrichum truncatum and C. scovillei, causal agents of pepper anthracnose, in potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium decreased the aggressiveness and virulence of the fungus in host‐pepper fruits. However, reintroduction of the pathogen to the host and isolation of the pathogen as the new inoculum, prior to inoculation assays, increased the virulence of the fungi. These findings suggest that re‐inoculation and re‐isolation of Colletotichum truncatum and C. scovillei that have been stored for at least 1 year in PDA medium are necessary when using fungal cultures in pathogenicity and plant resistance assays to achieve desirable, comparable and reliable results.     

云南省小黑山自然保护区种子植物区系研究

小黑山自然保护区有野生种子植物170科787属2195种。分析表明该区种子植物区系的地理成分复杂,联系广泛。热带性质的属有506属,占总属数的68.6%,温带性质的属有224属,占总属数的30.4%。热带性质的种890种,占总种数的40.9%,温带性质的种有1267种,占总种数的58.3%。表明该地区植物区系具有明显的亚热带性质,同时深受热带植物区系的影响。植物区系来源主要由东亚成分、热带亚洲成分(印度—马来西亚成分)、中国特有成分三部分融合而成。特有现象明显,有东亚特有科5科,中国特有属6属,中国特有种778种,占种总数的35.8%,而云南特有种有355种,占中国特有种的45.6%。保护区还拥有众多的珍稀濒危植物。     

天然胡萝卜素开发利用状况和设想

近年来,胡萝卜素的药理作用研究日益深入,大量研究表明胡萝卜素是维生素A的重要来源,具有抗氧化、抗癌、抗辐射、增强免疫力等生理和药用价值。不同植物种类之间和品种之间存在显著差异,通过育种途径来提高植物中胡萝卜素的含量是可行的。提出了开发利用高胡萝卜素含量植物——茶树的设想。     

植物萜类合成酶3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶的生物信息学分析

采用生物信息学的方法和工具对已在GenBank上注册的橡胶、烟草、辣椒、穿心莲等植物的萜类合成酶3-羟基-3-甲基戊二酰辅酶A还原酶的核酸及氨基酸序列进行分析,并对其组成成分、信号肽、跨膜拓朴结构域、疏水性/亲水性、蛋白质二级及三级结构、分子系统进化关系等进行预测和推断。结果表明该类酶基因的全长包括5′、3′非翻译区和一个开放阅读框,无信号肽,是一个跨膜的亲水性蛋白,包括两个功能HMG-CoA结合motif及两个功能NADPH结合motif,α-螺旋和不规则盘绕是蛋白质二级结构最大量的结构元件,β-转角和延伸链散布于整个蛋白质中,蛋白质的功能域在空间布局上折叠成“V”形,“V”形的两臂由螺旋状的N结构域和S结构域构成,中间部分由L结构域构成。     

澳门特别行政区园林绿化植物病虫害调查初报

对澳门主要区域园林绿化植物病虫害进行的初步调查,共采集到病害标本85份,昆虫标本315份,鉴定确认危害澳门园林植物的病害有64种,害虫77种;其中还发现属于检疫对象的椰心叶甲为害椰树。并对发生较普遍和严重的病虫害提出了一些防治措施和建议。     

Current biogeographical roles of the Kunlun Mountains

Large‐scale patterns of biodiversity and formation have garnered increasing attention in biogeography and macroecology. The Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP) is an ideal area for exploring these issues. However, the QTP consists of multiple geographic subunits, which are understudied. The Kunlun Mountains is a geographical subunit situated in the northern edge of the QTP, in northwest China. The diversity pattern, community phylogenetic structures, and biogeographical roles of the current flora of the Kunlun Mountains were analyzed by collecting and integrating plant distribution, regional geological evolution, and phylogeography. A total of 1911 species, 397 genera, and 75 families present on the Kunlun Mountains, of which 29.8% of the seed plants were endemic to China. The mean divergence time (MDT) of the Kunlun Mountains flora was in the early Miocene (19.40 Ma). Analysis of plant diversity and MDT indicated that the eastern regions of the Kunlun Mountains were the center of species richness, endemic taxa, and ancient taxa. Geographical origins analysis showed that the Kunlun Mountains flora was diverse and that numerous clades were from East Asia and Tethyan. Analysis of geographical origins and geological history together highlighted that the extant biodiversity on the Kunlun Mountains appeared through species recolonization after climatic fluctuations and glaciations during the Quaternary. The nearest taxon index speculated that habitat filtering was the most important driving force for biodiversity patterns. These results suggest that the biogeographical roles of the Kunlun Mountains are corridor and sink, and the corresponding key processes are species extinction and immigration. The Kunlun Mountains also form a barrier, representing a boundary among multiple floras, and convert the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau into a relatively closed geographical unit.     

口岸检疫性蚧类害虫疫情截获分析

【目的】了解我国口岸截获的检疫性蚧类害虫情况,为口岸进一步做好植物检疫工作提供参考。【方法】收集整理2010—2019年口岸截获蚧类害虫数据,重点统计分析被截获蚧类害虫种类、时间、数量、寄主、来源地的变化和关系。【结果】2010—2019年,我国各口岸共截获检疫性蚧类害虫24541种次,年截获种次总体呈上升的趋势。截获检疫性蚧类害虫共有12种,截获频率最高的3种为无花果蜡蚧、松突圆蚧和扶桑绵粉蚧。截获该类害虫数量最多的3个关区为深圳关、南宁关和上海关。货物检疫为主要截获途径,主要截获寄主植物为榴梿、香蕉、红毛丹、番荔枝。截获货物来源地为除南极洲以外六大洲的49个国家或地区,其中尤以东南亚为主,代表国家包括泰国、越南和菲律宾。【结论】蚧类害虫的截获与进口水果贸易密切相关,在相关贸易量不断增加的背景下,应警惕蚧类害虫疫情持续传入我国的风险,建议有关部门进一步完善检疫管理体系,提升检测和监测技术水平,加强检疫处置能力。     

桃蛀螟气味结合蛋白CpunOBP3和CpunOBP4的基因克隆、原核表达及配体结合特性分析

[目的]本研究旨在明确气味结合蛋白(odorant binding proteins,OBPs)在桃蛀螟Conogethes punctiferalis化学感受过程中的生理功能,为以OBPs蛋白为防治靶标的桃蛀螟绿色防控提供理论依据.[方法]基于前期桃蛀螟触角转录组测序数据,利用PCR技术从桃蛀螟触角中获得桃蛀螟气味结...