Effects of grazing intensity and grazing exclusion on litter decomposition in the temperate steppe of Nei Mongol,China

Aims Grazing intensity and grazing exclusion affect ecosystem carbon cycling by changing the plant community and soil micro-environment in grassland ecosystems. The aims of this study were: 1) to determine the effects of grazing intensity and grazing exclusion on litter decomposition in the temperate grasslands of Nei Mongol; 2) to compare the difference between above-ground and below-ground litter decomposition; 3) to identify the effects of precipitation on litter production and decomposition. Methods We measured litter production, quality, decomposition rates and soil nutrient contents during the growing season in 2011 and 2012 in four plots, i.e. light grazing, heavy grazing, light grazing exclusion and heavy grazing exclusion. Quadrate surveys and litter bags were used to measure litter production and decomposition rates. All data were analyzed with ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation procedures in SPSS. Important findings Litter production and decomposition rates differed greatly among four plots. During the two years of our study, above-ground litter production and decomposition in heavy-grazing plots were faster than those in light-grazing plots. In the dry year, below-ground litter production and decomposition in light-grazing plots were faster than those in heavy-grazing plots, which is opposite to the findings in the wet year. Short-term grazing exclusion could promote litter production, and the exclusion of light-grazing could increase litter decomposition and nutrient cycling. In contrast, heavy-grazing exclusion decreased litter decomposition. Thus, grazing exclusion is beneficial to the restoration of the light-grazing grasslands, and more human management measures are needed during the restoration of heavy-grazing grasslands. Precipitation increased litter production and decomposition, and below-ground litter was more vulnerable to the inter-annual change of precipitation than above-ground litter. Compared to the light-grazing grasslands, heavy-grazing grasslands had higher sensitivity to precipitation. The above-ground litter decomposition was strongly positively correlated with the litter N content (R² = 0.489, p < 0.01) and strongly negatively correlated with the soil total N content (R² = 0.450, p < 0.01), but it was not significantly correlated with C:N and lignin:N. Below-ground litter decomposition was negatively correlated with the litter C (R² = 0.263, p < 0.01), C:N (R² = 0.349, p < 0.01) and cellulose content (R² = 0.460, p < 0.01). Our results will provide a theoretical basis for ecosystem restoration and the research of carbon cycling.     

Genetic markers for identification of Patagonian toothfish and Antarctic toothfish

Fillet samples of the toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides and D. mawsoni can be distinguished readily by muscle proteins revealed by isoelectric focusing and mitochondrial DNA markers. The proteins also distinguish toothfish from other species marketed under similar trade names.     

Downstream protein separation by surfactant precipitation: a review

In a conventional protein downstream processing (DSP) scheme, chromatography is the single most expensive step. Despite being highly effective, it often has a low process throughput due to its semibatch nature, sometimes with nonreproducible results and relatively complex process development. Hence, more work is required to develop alternative purification methods that are more cost-effective, but exhibiting nearly comparable performance. In recent years, surfactant precipitation has been heralded as a promising new method for primary protein recovery that meets these criteria and is a simple and cost-effective method that purifies and concentrates. The method requires the direct addition of a surfactant to a complex solution (e.g. a fermentation broth) containing the protein of interest, where the final surfactant concentration is maintained below its critical micelle concentration (CMC) in order to allow for electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between the surfactant and the target protein. An insoluble (hydrophobic) protein–surfactant complex is formed and backextraction of the target protein from the precipitate into a new aqueous phase is then carried out using either solvent extraction, or addition of a counter-ionic surfactant. Importantly, as highlighted by past researchers, the recovered proteins maintain their activity and structural integrity, as determined by circular dichroism (CD). In this review, various aspects of surfactant precipitation with respect to its general methodology and process mechanism, system parameters influencing performance, protein recovery, process selectivity and process advantages will be highlighted. Moreover, comparisons will be made to reverse micellar extraction, and the current drawbacks/challenges of surfactant precipitation will also be discussed. Finally, promising directions of future work with this separation technique will be highlighted.     

Paleolimnological evidence for recent acidification of Big Moose Lake,Adirondack Mountains,N.Y. (USA)

Big Moose L. has become significantly more acidic since the 1950s, based on paleolimnological analyses of sediment cores. Reconstruction of past lakewater pH using diatom assemblage data indicates that from prior to 1800 to ca. 1950, lakewater pH was about 5.8. After the mid-1950s, the inferred pH decreased steadily and relatively quickly to about 4.6. Alkalinity reconstructions indicate a decrease of about 30 eq · l^-1 during the same period. There was a major shift in diatom assemblage composition, including a nearly total loss of euplanktonic taxa. Chrysophyte scale assemblages and chironomid (midge larvae remains also changed in a pattern indicating decreasing lakewater pH starting in the 1950s. Accumulation rates of total Ca, exchangeable and oxide Al, and other metals suggest recent lake-watershed acidification. Cores were dated using²¹⁰Pb, pollen, and charcoal. Indicators of watershed change (deposition rates of Ti, Si, Al) do not suggest any major erosional events resulting from fires or logging. Accumulation rates of materials associated with combustion of fossil fuels (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, coal and oil soot particles, some trace metals, and sulfur) are low until the late 1800s-early 1900s and increase relatively rapidly until the 1920s–1930s. Peak rates occurred between the late 1940s and about 1970, when rates declined.The recent decrease in pH of Big Moose L. cannot be accounted for by natural acidification or processes associated with watershed disturbance. The magnitude, rate and timing of the recent pH and alkalinity decreases, and their relationship to indicators of coal and oil combustion, indicate that the most reasonable explanation for the recent acidification is increased atmospheric deposition of strong acids derived from combustion of fossil fuels.     

Citric acid excretion and precipitation of calcium citrate in the rhizosphere of white lupin (Lupinus albus L.)

Abstract. White lupin ( Lupinus albus L.) was grown for 13 weeks in a phosphorus (P) deficient calcareous soil (20% CaCO₃, pH(H₂O)7.5) which had been sterilized prior to planting and fertilized with nitrate as source of nitrogen. In response to P deficiency, proteoid roots developed which accounted for about 50% of the root dry weight. In the rhizosphere soil of the proteoid root zones, the pH dropped to 4.8 and abundant white precipitates became visible. X-ray spectroscopy and chemical analysis showed that these precipitates consisted of calcium citrate. The amount of citrate released as root exudate by 13-week-old plants was about 1 g plant⁻¹, representing about 23% of the total plant dry weight at harvest. In the rhizosphere soil of the proteoid root zones the concentrations of available P decreased and of available Fe, Mn and Zn increased. The strong acidification of the rhizosphere and the cation/anion uptake ratio of the plants strongly suggests that proteoid roots of white lupin excrete citric acid, rather than citrate, into the rhizosphere leading to intensive chemical extraction of a limited soil volume. In a calcareous soil, citric acid excretion leads to dissolution of CaCO₃ and precipitation of calcium citrate in the zone of proteoid roots.     

A rapid miniprep for the isolation of total DNA fromAgrobacterium tumefaciens

A procedure which avoids the use of phenol-chloroform and RNAase for the isolation of total DNA fromA. tumefaciens is described. Specific precipitation of protein by 2.5 M ammonium acetate is employed and much of the RNA is removed by an isopropanol precipition step. The procedure yields easily restrictable, good quality DNA and is probably applicable to other Gramnegative bacteria.     

Nutrient budgets in a dry heathland watershed in northeastern Spain

Dissolved nutrient inputs in bulk precipitation and outputs in streamwater were measured during 3 years of contrasting hydrological conditions in a 6.3-ha, grazed heathland watershed on schists in the Montseny mountains (NE Spain), drained by an intermittent stream. On average, 39% of the precipitation became streamflow. Bulk precipitation delivered positive net alkalinity (mean 0.22 keq/ha/yr), sulphate input was moderate (9.0 kg SO₄-S/ha/yr), and the mean input of inorganic N was not exceptionally high (6.6 kg/ha/yr). Ion concentrations were relatively low in streamwater; SO₄ ^2- was the dominant anion. Most concentrations in streamwater varied seasonally, with maxima in late summer or early autumn and minima in spring. This pattern probably resulted from increased availability of ions for leaching due to decomposition of organic matter and chemical weathering during the warm period. Nitrate concentrations were relatively high in winter and dropped sharply in early spring, probably because of biological uptake. Annual element outputs in streamwater varied between years and seemed to be controlled by both the amount of annual streamflow and its seasonal distribution. Annual inputs exceeded outputs for dissolved inorganic N. The watershed accumulated H⁺ and Ca²⁺, had net losses of Na⁺ and Mg²⁺, and was close to steady state for K⁺, SO₄ ^2-, Cl^- and alkalinity. The chloride budgets gave no evidence of substantial dry deposition in this system. The cationic denudation rate was negative (-0.14 keq/ha/yr) because Ca²⁺ retention was higher than net exports of Na⁺ and Mg²⁺ from silicate weathering. Low nutrient export and little production of alkalinity suggest that this watershed has a low buffering capacity.     

Calcium in the synergid cells and other regions of pearl millet ovaries

Summary The synergids and other cells of mature, unpollinated pearl millet ovaries were investigated using: (1) freeze-substitution fixation in conjunction with scanning electron microscope observations and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis to localize total calcium (Ca) and other elements, and (2) antimonate precipitation to selectively localize loosely sequestered, exchangeable calcium (Ca⁺⁺). In freeze-fixed ovaries, the synergid cells, ovary wall, nucellus, and other regions of the ovary displayed, respectively and relatively, extremely high, high, moderate, and low levels of Ca. In antimonate-fixed ovaries, Ca-containing antimonate precipitates exhibited similar distribution patterns. In ovaries fixed using the conventional 2% (w/v) antimonate in fixatives, the synergids were disrupted due to precipitate overload. In the ovary wall, precipitates were mainly located in the intercellular spaces. Some precipitates were observed at the micropyle and along the outer ovule integument, associated with diffuse extracellular material, and in the cell walls of nucellar cells proximal to the micropyle. Examination of precipitate distribution inside the synergids was possible in ovaries fixed using 0.5% (w/v) antimonate in the fixatives. Cytoplasmic organelles of all synergids examined exhibited variable states of disintegration. The amount of precipitates associated with the degenerated organelles appeared to be proportional to the degree of their degeneration. Distinct precipitates were localized in contiguous regions of the nucellar cells fused with the embryo sac, the micropylar half of the embryo sac wall, and the filiform apparatus. The results are discussed in relation to the involvement of Ca⁺⁺ in mediating the functions of synergid cells during fertilization in angiosperms.On Specific Cooperative Agreement 58-43YK-8-0026 with the Department of Biochemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA     

Genetic control of the mitochondrial form of superoxide dismutase in hexaploid wheat

Extracts of mature grains of a large number of aneuploid derivatives of Triticum aestivum cv. Chinese Spring and of the members of five wheat-alien chromosome addition series were subjected to isoelectric focusing in polyacrylamide gels in order to study the genetic control of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Evidence was obtained that homologous structural genes for the mitochondrial form of SOD are located in the long arms of the homoeologous group 2 chromosomes of Chinese Spring and in chromosome 2R of Secale cereale cv. Imperial. The SOD gene loci located in chromosomes 2A, 2B, 2D, and 2R were designated Sod-A1, Sod-B1, Sod-D1, and Sod-R1, respectively. Chromosome-arm pairing data indicate that 2DL is not homoeologous to either 2AS or 2BL. The results of this study suggest, however, that 2BL is partially homoeologous to both 2AL and 2DL.Technical article No. 21074 of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. This work was supported by USDA Grant 83-CRCR-1-1322 to GEH.     

普通烟草和黄花烟草及体细胞杂种过氧化物酶同工酶等电聚焦电泳

日本学者长尾照义(1978)用原生质体融合获得普通烟草与黄花烟草的体细胞杂种植株。1980年陈家玉等在国内首先获得普通烟草(Copus Yeusuku No.4)和黄花烟草(Yellow Flower)的体细胞杂种植株。之后,中国农科院烟草所(1981)也得到相同的结果。陈家玉等(1983)对上述杂种进行了形态学、细胞学和同工酶的分析并取得一定的结果。Dlineee等(1975)分析比较了用等电聚焦技术分离的过氧