High-throughput screening reveals small molecule modulators inhibitory to Acidovorax citrulli

Acidovorax citrulli is a seed-transmitted gram-negative bacterium that can cause substantial economic yield loss in watermelon and melon production worldwide. Four small-molecule libraries containing 4,952 compounds were selected for high-throughput screening against A. citrulli wild-type strain Xu3-14 by evaluation of growth inhibition. One hundred and twenty-seven molecules (2.5% hit rate) were identified as bactericidal or bacteriostatic against A. citrulli at 100 μM. Secondary screens indicated that 27 candidate compounds were more effective against A. citrulli Group II strains than Group I strains (classified using repetitive element PCR). Several compounds were inhibitory to other pathogenic bacteria, including Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis and Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris, but did not affect the growth of plant beneficial bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis. More than half of the compounds did not inhibit germination of Arabidopsis or watermelon seeds. The effect of small molecules on A. citrulli seed-to-seedling transmission was evaluated by applying each compound to inoculated watermelon seeds and assessing seedling infection. Nine compounds were chosen for further investigation based on their reduction of percentage seedling infection and compiling scores on their specificity, sensitivity, and phytotoxicity obtained in the secondary screens. The five best compounds were selected (thiamphenicol, nadifloxacin, pipemidic acid, ciclopirox, and zinc pyrithione) for greenhouse tests and were found to effectively reduce the seed-to-seedling transmission of A. citrulli in both artificially and naturally infested seeds. These top five compounds provide a basis for future development of an A. citrulli-specific bactericide.     

Pedotransfer functions to assess adsorbed phosphate using iron oxide content and magnetic susceptibility in an Oxisol

Adsorbed phosphate in soils can be chemically extracted; however, this process is both time‐consuming and not cost‐effective if large numbers of samples have to be analysed. Indirect assessment of adsorbed phosphate by pedotransfer functions (PTFs) can help optimize fertilizer strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of adsorbed phosphate (P_ads), iron oxides and magnetic susceptibility (MS) in oxisols and to calibrate PTFs to predict P_ads. A total of 308 soil samples were collected from Hapludox and Eutrudox soils formed from sandstone in Brazil. The contents of clay (196–607 g/kg), iron oxides (40–165 g/kg), MS (1.2–29 × 10^?6 m³/kg) and P_ads (327–842 mg/kg) were in the range of typical values for these highly weathered soils. This study showed that the attributes studied were spatially dependent. Geomorphic surfaces enabled understanding of spatial variability and helped to develop a more efficient sampling scheme to calibrate PTFs. Moreover, the adsorbed phosphate in these oxisols could be predicted by a PTF using iron oxides and MS as predictors. The MS attribute enabled the most accurate prediction (concordance coefficient = 0.95, root‐mean‐square error = 46 mg/kg and relative improvement in root‐mean‐square error = ?4.12) of spatial variability through PTF compared to other predictors.     

Black carbon estimation in French calcareous soils using chemo‐thermal oxidation method

We studied the black carbon (BC) content of ca. 405 samples from French topsoil and artificial soil and carbonate mixtures. Our protocol involved three main steps: (i) decarbonation by HCl, (ii) elimination of non‐pyrogenic organic carbon in a furnace at 375 °C, and (iii) quantification of residual carbon by CHN analysis. BC content increased for calcareous soils according to their carbonates content. Subsequent analyses confirmed the existence of a methodological artefact for BC determination only in calcareous soils. Decarbonation changes the thermal properties of organic matter, creating more recalcitrant carbon than in the initial sample. Higher CaCO₃ and organic carbon content results in a more pronounced artefact. The reversal of the first two steps of the chemo‐thermal oxidation method (i.e. thermal oxidation before soil decarbonation) eliminates this artefact. Overall, our results suggest that BC content may have been overestimated in a large number of studies on calcareous soils.     

京郊边际土地纤维素类能源草规模化种植与管理技术

为探索能源植物在北京及周边地区的发展潜力,在京郊挖沙废弃地、荒滩地、撂荒地、污染农田4种边际土地上开展了柳枝稷、荻、芦竹和杂交狼尾草4种纤维素类能源草的规模化种植。在此基础上,总结提出了京郊边际土地纤维素类能源草规模化种植与管理技术,为基于边际土地发展京郊生物质原料生产与生物质能源产业奠定了良好的技术基础。     

巴西橡胶树乳管细胞HbWRKY1基因克隆及表达分析

采用PCR和RACE技术,从巴西橡胶树无性系热研7-33-97的乳管细胞中克隆了WRKY转录因子家族的一个成员HbWRKY1。该基因全长为1755 bp,含有1个1440 bp阅读框,编码479个氨基酸。生物信息学分析表明,HbWRKY1含有2个WRKY结构域和C2H2锌指结构基序,与蓖麻、杨树、葡萄、黄瓜、拟南芥的WRKY成员的氨基酸序列同源性分别为64.14%、60.04%、42.54%、40.61%和35.4%,属于Ⅰ类WRKY家族成员。实时荧光定量PCR分析表明,割胶和乙烯显著上调HbWRKY1基因的表达,但茉莉酸和机械伤害对HbWRKY1的表达没有明显影响,表明HbWRKY1可能在乙烯信号途径对防卫蛋白的调节中起重要作用。     

Development of multiple cutaneous and follicular neoplasms associated with canine papillomavirus type 3 in a dog

A 12‐year‐old spayed English pointer dog developed multiple skin lesions including pigmented viral plaques, basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas and trichoblastomas. Canine papillomavirus type 3 was detected in multiple lesions suggesting common aetiology.

     

减氮配施生物菌剂对土壤肥力及烟叶产质量影响

为探讨生物菌剂在烤烟上的施用效果,研究了减氮配施生物菌剂对土壤肥力及烟叶产质量影响。结果表明:与常规施肥相比,减氮并配施生物菌剂处理能明显提高烟株各生育时期土壤中有机质、速效磷和速效钾含量,明显增加根际和非根际细菌和放线菌数量,烟叶产量提高172~586 kg/hm~2,产值提高8927~21357元/hm~2。烤后烟叶化学成分分析表明,与常规施肥相比,减氮并配施生物菌剂处理降低了中、上部叶总糖和还原糖含量,除处理T5(众邦)外,中部叶和上部叶烟碱含量均有明显下降,下部叶、中部叶和上部叶烟叶钾含量提高幅度为分别为0.12~0.53、0.03~0.41和0.14~0.65个百分点。不同生物菌剂间相比,以处理T4(人元)和处理T2(时科)在经济性状和烟叶化学成分协调性上表现较好。