660 publications from this institution
Phytoextraction is an eco-friendly approach for remediation of heavy metal contaminated soil. The aim is to screen Noccaea caerulescens lines with higher c
Sulphur (S) uptake and distribution in double low (Cobra) and single low (Bienvenu) winter oilseed rape were studied in field experiments at Cockle Park, N
No abstract is provided for this article.
The relationship between Zn and P in the Zn hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens J. & C. Presl was investigated using hydroponic culture. Total concentrations of Zn in the shoots increased from 0·2 to 27 g kg–1 dry mass when solution Zn increased from 1 to 1000 mmol m–3. Water-soluble Zn accounted for > 80% of the total Zn in the shoots containing > 5 g Zn kg–1 dry mass. Total P was maintained at about 3 g kg–1 dry mass in the shoots containing < 20 g Zn kg–1 dry mass, but significantly decreased with higher Zn concentrations. Linear regression between insoluble P and insoluble Zn in the shoots produced a small slope, suggesting that co-precipitation of Zn and P was not an important detoxification mechanism in the shoots. In contrast, there was a strong correlation between insoluble P and insoluble Zn in the roots, with a linear slope of 0·3 — close to the P:Zn ratio in Zn3(PO4)2. Foliar sprays of phosphate did not affect shoot dry mass significantly, but decreased root length and root dry mass significantly at Zn concentrations in solution from 10 to 3000 mmol m–3. Foliar P was translocated to roots to enhance co-precipitation of Zn and P, although this did not enhance Zn tolerance. The results suggest that T.caerulescens possesses mechanisms which allow it to accumulate and sequester huge amounts of Zn in the shoots without causing P deficiency.
No abstract is provided for this article.
<p>Soil contamination with heavy metal(loid)s threatens soil ecological functions, water quality and food safety; the latter is the focus of this review. Cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) are the toxic elements of most concern for food safety because they are relatively easily taken up by food crops. Rice is a major contributor of both Cd and As intakes to the Chinese population. Contamination and soil acidification are the main causes of high Cd levels in rice grains produced in some areas of southern China. The risk of Cd and As accumulation in food crops can be mitigated through agronomic practices and crop breeding. Liming is effective and economical at reducing Cd uptake by rice in acid soils. Paddy water management can produce opposite effects on Cd and As accumulation. Many genes controlling Cd and As uptake and translocation have been characterized, paving the way to breeding low accumulating crop cultivars through marker-assisted molecular breeding or genetic engineering. It is important to protect agricultural soils from future contamination. Long-term monitoring of anthropogenic additions and accumulation of heavy metal(loid)s in agricultural soils should be undertaken. Mass-balance models should be constructed to evaluate future trends of metal(loid)s in agricultural soils at a regional scale.</p>
Tolerance and metal uptake are two essential characteristics required for phytoextraction of metals from contaminated soils. We compared tolerance and Cu uptake of Elsholtzia splendens (reported previously to be a Cu hyperaccumulator) with Silene vulgaris (the Imsbach population, a well-known Cu-tolerant excluder species), using 30 soils varying widely in total Cu concentration (19–8645 mg kg−1). We further investigated the effectiveness of different soil testing methods for predicting plant metal uptake. The results showed that both Elsholtzia splendens and Silene vulgaris were tolerant to Cu, especially Silene vulgaris. However, Elsholtzia splendens did not hyperaccumulate Cu, but behaved as a typical Cu excluder like Silene vulgaris. The concentrations of Cu in both plants correlated more closely with 1 M NH4NO3 extractable Cu, soil solution Cu, or effective Cu concentration determined using DGT, than with soil total Cu, EDTA extractable Cu or free Cu2+ activity. The relationships between soil solution properties and root Cu concentrations were further investigated using multiple regression. The results showed that increasing soil solution pH increased root Cu concentration when free Cu2+ activity was held constant, suggesting a higher phytoavailability of free Cu2+ at a higher pH. Soil solution DOC appeared to play two contrasting roles on the phytoavailability of Cu: (1) reducing Cu availability by complexing Cu; and (2) increasing Cu availability at the same level of free Cu2+ activity by providing a strong buffer for free Cu2+. The results are consistent with the intensity/capacity concept for phytoavailability of metals in soils.
No abstract is provided for this article.
Methylarsenite (MAs(III)), a product of arsenic biomethylation or bioreduction of methylarsenate (MAs(V)), has been proposed as a primitive antibiotic. However, the antibacterial property and the bactericidal mechanism of MAs(III) remain largely unclear. In this study, we found that MAs(III) is highly toxic to 14 strains of bacteria, especially against 9 strains of Gram-positive bacteria with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) in the sub micromolar range for Staphyloccocus aureus, Microbacterium sp., Pseudarthrobacter siccitolerans and several Bacillus species. In a co-culture of B. subtilis 168 and MAs(III)-producer Enterobacter sp. CZ-1, the later reduced non-toxic MAs(V) to highly toxic MAs(III) to kill the former and gain a competitive advantage. MAs(III) induced autolysis of B. subtilis 168. Deletion of the autolysins LytC, LytD, LytE, and LytF suppressed MAs(III)-induced autolysis in B. subtilis 168. Transcriptomic analysis showed that MAs(III) downregulated the expression of the major genes involved in the biosynthesis of the cell wall peptidoglycan. Overexpression of an UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase gene murAA alleviated MAs(III)-induced autolysis in B. subtilis 168. MAs(III) disrupted the membrane potential of B. subtilis 168 and caused severe membrane damage. The results suggest that MAs(III) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic preferentially against Gram-positive bacteria by disrupting the cell wall biosynthesis pathway and cell membrane potential.
Long-term impacts of metal contamination derived from sewage sludge on soil microbial communities have been widely evaluated, but confounding effects have made it difficult to draw firm conclusions and thus to advise on safe metal limits. Here we used Multiplex-terminal restriction length fragment polymorphism (M-TRFLP) to assess the long-term impact of sludge-borne Zn and Cu contamination on the structure of bacterial, fungal and archaeal communities across seven different soils at metal levels relevant to current guideline limits. Despite strong effects of site on microbial community structure, analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) demonstrated a small but significant effect of Zn on bacteria (P < 0.001), archaea (P < 0.001), and fungi (P < 0.001). Significant effects of Cu on bacteria (P < 0.001), archaea (P < 0.001) and fungi (P < 0.001) were also observed. Several bacterial and fungal T-RFs were identified as responding to Zn or Cu. For example the bacterial T-RF 72 was negatively correlated with Zn and Cu, and T-RF 259 was positively correlated with Zn. Attempts to identify these bacterial markers of Zn and Cu contamination suggest a negative impact of Cu on Acidobacteria in arable soils. These results demonstrate for the first time, that despite a strong influence of site on microbial community structure, effects of Zn and Cu derived from sewage sludge can be detected as shifts in bacterial, fungal and archaeal communities indicating a common response more than 11 years after sludge addition.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2022 was awarded to the pioneers of Lego-like ‘click chemistry’: combinatorial chemistry with remarkable modularity and diversity. It has been applied to a wide variety of biological systems, from microorganisms to plants and animals, including humans. Although click chemistry is a powerful chemical biology tool, comparatively few studies have examined its potential in plant science. Here, we review click chemistry reactions and their applications in plant systems, highlighting the activity-based probes and metabolic labeling strategies combined with bioorthogonal click chemistry to visualize plant biological processes. These applications offer new opportunities to explore and understand the underlying molecular mechanisms regulating plant composition, growth, metabolism, defense, and immune responses.
