Effect of Enterococcus faecium AL41 and Thymus vulgaris essential oil on small intestine integrity and antioxidative status of laying hens

We investigated the effect of Enterococcus faecium on phagocytic activity, antioxidative status in vivo and the effect of E. faecium and 0.4% concentration of Thymus vulgaris essential oil (EO) on the duodenal tissue integrity in vitro in laying hens. The birds were fed the same standard diets and were divided into four groups. E. faecium was added to the drinking water for the second and fourth groups. EO was added to special chambers for measuring trans-epithelial electrical resistance (TEER) for the third and fourth groups only. TEER was lower in groups where EO was added, but in the group with E. faecium TEER was not changed significantly. Our results show that EO at 0.4% concentration may negatively affect intestine integrity, and the probiotic strain E. faecium AL41 is able to eliminate this effect and can strengthen non-specific immunity. To confirm our findings further histopathological investigations of intestinal tissue are needed.     

Soil nitrogen and denitrification potential as affected by land use and stand age following agricultural abandonment in a headwater catchment

Changes in vegetation and soil properties because of agricultural abandonment may affect soil nitrogen (N) and associated processes. We investigated soil N (total N: TN, inorganic N: NH₄–N and NO₃–N) and denitrification potential in cropland, pine plantations and abandoned agricultural land along a secondary succession sequence (grassland→shrubland→secondary forest) in a headwater catchment in the Qinling Mountains, northwest China. The results show that the soil denitrification potential differed significantly among the five land‐use types with the highest potential in the secondary forest, followed by grassland, shrubland, cropland and plantations. The denitrification potential of the 20‐ to 40‐cm layer was significantly lower compared with the topsoil (0–20 cm) across all land‐use types. TN, soil organic matter (SOM) and NH₄–N increased significantly with stand age, whereas there was an opposite trend in soil pH. However, the denitrification potential did not relate to stand age in a linear manner. We conclude that changes in soil TN, SOM and pH during vegetation succession following agricultural abandonment are critical controls on the denitrification potential.     

Iron uptake in a bicarbonate-resistant cell line of tobacco

Abstract

In alkaline soils, plant growth is impaired mainly by high pH and high concentration of bicarbonates. The bicarbonate concentration increases the pH value, and causes deficiency of iron. A bicarbonate-resistant cell line (BR line) of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Burley21) was selected by adding excess bicarbonate ions (20 mmol L^?1) to the culture medium. The pH of the medium was buffered 8.0 to 8.3. Under these conditions, about 80% of iron in the medium became insoluble. However, under such conditions, the BR line grew well. In this report, we examined some characteristics of the growth and iron uptake in the BR line under iron-deficient (i.e. high pH or no-iron) condition. At pH 5.8, the Fe³⁺ reduction activity was not significantly different between the non-selected line and the BR line. At pH 8.0, however, the Fe³⁺ reduction activity of the BR line was higher than that of the non-selected line. In no-iron condition, the growth of the non-selected line was markedly reduced after 2 weeks, while the BR line was not affected. The content of malic acid in both lines increased with the medium pH, and the content in the BR line was higher than that in the non-selected line. The BR line was able to adapt to the conditions, which restricted iron uptake, such as high bicarbonate concentration, high pH, and low iron conditions. The high ability of Fe³⁺ reduction was maintained at even high pH conditions. Further, the BR line may be able to improve the utilization of iron in the cells.     

不同结构对囊素样肽的免疫活性影响

化学合成单拷贝（BS）、30拷贝串联（KG30）和30拷贝分支结构（MAP）3种不同结构的囊素样肽，通过体外外周血淋巴细胞刺激增殖试验、杂交瘤细胞抗体分泌刺激试验、E-玫瑰花环试验和体内小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞吞噬功能、新城疫疫苗免疫应答的测定，比较了其免疫增强活性。结果表明，BS和MAP的活性显著高于KG30，BS体外试验活性优于MAP，而MAP体内试验活性优于KS。结构对囊素的活性有显著影响，以分支结构的囊素增强免疫效果最好。     

牛羊屠宰粪便优势发酵菌株的分离、培养及筛选

应用选择性培养基在牛羊屠宰粪便中进行纤维分解菌、固氮菌、解磷菌和解钾菌的分离、培养，分离得到201株菌株。对其中的18株纤维分解菌进行纤维素酶酶活力的测定，经测定1，6，7，13，15，18号菌株酶活力相对较高，每mL培养物中的酶活力均高于500U／g，为将来进一步进行发酵菌剂的研究提供了优势候选菌株。     

几种常见食用菌胞外酶活性测定方法的研究

食用菌胞外酶活性的变化规律与食用菌生长发育有着密切的关系,能在一定程度上检测菌种老化、退化和不利变异带来的危害。对近年来常见的几种食用菌胞外酶活性测定方法进行了总结与分析,简略的讨论了各种胞外酶活性测定方法的利弊,为快速检测食用菌胞外酶提供理论依据。     

FLOODING STRESS: The Effects of Planting Pattern and Water Regime on Root Morphology,Physiology and Grain Yield of Rice

Field experiments were conducted over two growing seasons to investigate the effects of variations in water regime and planting pattern on the growth of rice plant roots and shoots and on yield. Four water regimes were evaluated with split plot design: intermittent flooding during the vegetative stage only (IF‐V); intermittent flooding extending into the reproductive stage (IF‐R); not flooded (NF); and continuously flooded (CF), interacting with three different planting patterns: single seedling per hill with wider 30 × 30 cm spacing (P1); single seedling per hill with closer 20 × 20 cm spacing (P2); and three to four seedlings per hill with 20 × 20 cm spacing (P3). The treatment combination CF/P3 corresponds most closely with current conventional practice. The other combinations were evaluated to contribute to a better understanding of the effects of the two parameters studied, respectively and together. IF‐V/P1 was considered as an approximation of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) practice. This study found that the combination of singly transplanted seedlings, both P1 and P2, with the IF‐V water regime improved root length density, root physiological activity, and chlorophyll content of the upper and lower leaves, leading to higher grain yield compared with the other treatment combinations. With continuous flooding (CF), P2 gave 23 % more yield compared with the P3 planting pattern. Combining IF‐V and P2 produced 32 % more grain yield compared with the CF/P3 treatment. These results showed a synergistic effect on grain yield from reduced intra‐hill competition and IF‐V water management. In these trials, there was no significant yield difference between the IF‐V/P1 and CF/P3 treatments. Wider spacing improved the performance of individual hills when grown under IF‐V water regimes, but tiller number per unit area remained a dominant determinant of yield. The yield reduction observed for CF/P1 compared with CF/P3 indicated that in more hypoxic CF soils, denser plant populations can produce more than sparser ones, whereas the latter benefit from more aerobic soil conditions. Intermittent irrigation during the vegetative growth stage and transplanting single seedlings/hill are major elements of SRI methodology. These findings contribute to an understanding of why SRI methods can produce the higher yields reported. A consideration of the effects of interaction between planting pattern and water regime shows the need to establish empirically the optimum values for these treatments according to varietal, soil and climatic characteristics for the greatest yield response.     

九里香层析物的抑菌活性及成分分析

以石油醚为洗脱液，对九里香氯仿萃取物进行硅胶柱层析分离，得到27个组分。采用生长速率法测定九里香层析物对5种供试病原菌的抑制作用。结果表明，在质量浓度为0.5 g/L时，组分26对5种供试病原菌有较好的抑制活性，对香蕉炭疽菌的抑制率达到89.46%，对香蕉炭疽菌的EC50为0.078 6 g/L。GC-MS分析表明，组分26的主要成分是7-甲氧基-8-异戊烯基香豆素，占92.00%。     

秸秆覆盖对附子氮代谢几种相关酶活性的影响

以江油附子主栽品种为材料,采用随机区组设计,研究了稻草覆盖方式(整草覆盖、切割与粉碎覆盖)和数量对附子硝酸还原酶(NR)、谷草转氨酶(ALT/GOT)和谷丙转氨酶(AST/GPT)等几种氮代谢相关酶活性的影响.结果表明:各覆盖处理的酶活性水平均高于对照组,即秸秆覆盖处理均有效益；不同的秸秆覆盖量间差异性显著,覆盖量为1 kg/m的处理酶活性水平高于覆盖量为0.5 kg/m2和1.5 kg/m2的处理；虽然切割覆盖的酶活性水平高于整草覆盖和粉碎覆盖,但不同覆盖处理间差异性并不显著；切割覆盖1 kg/m2处理的NR、GOT和GPT酶活性水平虽均为最高,但整草覆盖1 kg/m更能够达到较高经济效益的栽培效果；3种酶之间存在较好的正相关性,具有一定的协同作用.     

Shoot nitrate reductase activities of field‐layer species in different forest types. II

Analysis of in vivo shoot nitrate reductase activity (NRA) of the grass Deschampsia flexuosa (L.) Trin. has been proposed as a method of indicating the availability of nitrate in northern temperate forest soils. We report the seasonal variation in NRA and the influence of temperature on the NRA assay. Studies were performed in the field or on natural populations on topsoil monoliths in a greenhouse.

The induced in vivo NRA as measured at 28°C was higher in plants grown at lower than at higher temperatures within the range 4–20°C, although the induction was faster at higher temperatures. When the assay was performed at various temperatures, enzyme activity was much lower at lower temperatures. The accumulation of organic nitrogen in shoots showed that reduction actually increased with temperature. Transfer of monoliths from high to low temperature led to an increase of in vivo NRA within a day, whereas the decline caused by the reverse began after six days. Variations in temperature accounted for between 0 and 80% of the seasonal variation in NRA in the field, depending on the influence of the variability in nitrate supply.

Maximally induced NRA after application of nitrate was mostly higher in a clearfelling than in a closed forest. In the forest, there was a close correlation between current and maximally induced NRA. One interpretation of this result is that low availability of nitrogen may have been a cause of the lower maximally induced NRA there. This is supported by results from other studies.

We conclude that variations in temperature and availability of nitrogen, particularly nitrate, are largely responsible for seasonal variations in NRA. The influence of temperature can be adjusted for.