Poorly crystalline iron and aluminium oxides contribute to the carbon saturation and sorption of dissolved organic carbon in the soil

Soil carbon (C) saturation implies an upper limit to a soil's capacity to store C depending on the contents of silt + clay and poorly crystalline Fe and Al oxides. We hypothesized that the poorly crystalline Fe and Al oxides in silt + clay fraction increased the C saturation and thus reduced the capacity of the soil to sorb additional C input. To test the hypothesis, we studied the sorption of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on silt + clay fractions (<53 µm) of highly weathered oxic soils, collected from three different land uses (i.e., improved pasture, cropping and forest). Soils with high carbon saturation desorbed 38% more C than soils with low C saturation upon addition of DOC, whereas adsorption of DOC was only observed at higher concentration (>15 g kg^?1). While high Al oxide concentration significantly increased both the saturation and desorption of DOC, the high Fe oxide concentration significantly increased the desorption of DOC, supporting the proposition that both oxides have influence on the DOC sorption in soil. Our findings provide a new insight into the chemical control of stabilization and destabilization of DOC in soil.     

Effect of farm management on topsoil organic carbon and aggregate stability in water: A case study from Southwest England,UK

There are few reliable data sets to inspire confidence in policymakers that soil organic carbon (SOC) can be measured on farms. We worked with farmers in the Tamar Valley region of southwest England to select sampling sites under similar conditions (soil type, aspect and slope) and management types. Topsoils (2–15 cm) were sampled in autumn 2015, and percentage soil organic matter (%SOM) was determined by loss on ignition and used to calculate %SOC. We also used the stability of macroaggregates in cold water (WSA) (‘soil slaking’) as a measure of ‘soil health’ and investigated its relationship with SOC in the clay‐rich soils. %SOM was significantly different between management types in the order woodland (11.1%) = permanent pasture (9.5%) > ley‐arable rotation (7.7%) = arable (7.3%). This related directly to SOC stocks that were larger in fields under permanent pasture and woodland compared with those under arable or ley‐arable rotation whether corrected for clay content (F = 8.500, p < .0001) or not (F = 8.516, p < .0001). WSA scores were strongly correlated with SOC content whether corrected for clay content (SOC_adj R² = .571, p < .0001) or not (SOC_unadj R² = 0.490, p = .002). Time since tillage controlled SOC stocks and WSA scores, accounting for 75.5% and 51.3% of the total variation, respectively. We conclude that (1) SOC can be reliably measured in farmed soils using accepted protocols and related to land management and (2) WSA scores can be rapidly measured in clay soils and related to SOC stocks and soil management.     

TCD燃烧系统对柴油机燃烧和排放性能改善效果的试验研究

为探究道依茨TCD2015柴油机上配备的导流燃烧系统(简称TCD燃烧系统,T表示涡轮增压器,Turbocharger,C表示进气中冷,Charge air cooling,D为柴油颗粒捕集器,Diesel particle filter)对改善柴油机燃烧性能和降低污染物排放的效果,采用单缸机试验对TCD燃烧系统在不同转速、负荷和过量空气系数下的燃烧和排放性能进行研究。试验结果表明不同工况下TCD燃烧系统燃油消耗率和Soot排放量均低于传统ω燃烧系统,燃油消耗率最大降幅为7.01%,Soot排放量最大降幅为86.67%,且低过量空气系数(1.2～1.6)下TCD燃烧系统仍具有较好的性能。为揭示TCD燃烧系统改善油气混合促进燃烧的机理,采用AVL Fire软件建立了柴油机性能仿真模型。计算结果表明,TCD燃烧系统的环状凸起结构将燃油导向内外两室,从而促进了缸内燃油发展过程,燃油当量比大于4的浓混合气区域燃油质量比例相比ω燃烧系统降幅最大为9.75%,活塞下移时TCD燃烧系统内油束撞击浅盘侧壁形成撞壁射流扩大了燃油扩散面积,从而改善了缸内油气混合质量,燃油当量比小于1的均匀混合气区域燃油质量比例相比ω燃烧系统降幅最大为7.45%,因此TCD燃烧系统能够有效改善柴油机的燃烧和排放性能,可应用于柴油机高负荷和低过量空气系数工况综合性能提升。研究结果可为柴油机燃烧系统开发和改进提供参考。     

Effects of three methionine sources in diets on temporal B0AT1 and ASCT2 mRNA expression in different intestinal segments of cobia,Rachycentron canadum

A 4‐week feeding trial was conducted using five groups of hybrid grouper (61.15 ± 0.15 g) to explore the potential effects of three methionine (Met) sources. Five isonitrogenous and isolipidic diets were formulated that included a fishmeal (FM) diet; nonsupplemented (NS) diet; or NS diets with the addition of the L‐methionine (L‐Met), DL‐methionine (DL‐Met), or coated Met (Co‐Met) to obtain the same Met level as the FM diet. Fish were randomly distributed into sea cages (30 fish per cage). Weight gain and specific growth rate in the DL‐Met group and FM group were significantly higher than those in all other groups (p < .05). In the proximal and distal intestines, of the 20 gene and time combinations (10 per gene), there were 14 combinations (70%) in which there were no significant differences in gene expression levels between the FM and DL‐Met groups (p > .05). The main reason for the same growth effect between the DL‐Met and FM groups may be attributed to the synchronized absorption at most time points after feeding, which had similar expression patterns of B⁰AT1 and ASCT2 of the proximal and distal intestines between two groups.     

小麦4B染色体上LOX基因的等位变异及其区域分布

为了解中国不同麦区小麦种质资源籽粒脂肪氧化酶（lipoxygenase,LOX）活性相关基因TaLox-B1的差异和分布,利用小麦4B染色体上的功能标记LOX16和LOX18对7个麦区的436份种质资源进行分子检测。结果表明：在供试材料中共检测到3种TaLox-B1基因等位变异类型,分别为TaLox-B1a（与高LOX活性相关)、TaLox-B1b（与低LOX活性相关）和杂合型,其频率分别为19.0％、70.4％和10.6％。小麦LOX活性基因不同变异类型在各生态区的分布存在明显差异：基因型TaLox-B1a在黄淮冬麦区、北部冬麦区和长江中下游冬麦区分布较多,其比例分别为21.1%、19.8%和17.6%;基因型TaLox-B1b在西南冬麦区和长江中下游冬麦区分布较多,比例分别为87.9%、72.5%;杂合型仅存在于北部冬麦区、黄淮冬麦区与长江中下游冬麦区,比例分别为14.2%、12.4%和9.8%。利用标记LOX16和LOX18对53个自选高代品系进行分子检测,发现自选品系仅有TaLox-B1b与杂合型两种基因型,其中基因型TaLox-B1ab有32个,比例为60.4%。采用分子标记辅助选择,有利于快速鉴定小麦籽粒LOX活性,加速LOX的遗传改良和新品种选育。     

Banishing barberry: The history of Berberis vulgaris prevalence and wheat stem rust incidence across Britain

Wheat stem rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), is a notoriously damaging disease of wheat and barley. Pgt requires two hosts to complete its lifecycle; undergoing asexual reproduction on cereal crops and completing sexual reproduction on Berberis spp. The latter stage of its lifecycle is of particular importance in temperate regions such as western Europe, where asexual urediniospores are unable to survive cold winter weather. In the past, the crucial role of Berberis in the lifecycle of stem rust led to intensive eradication campaigns, initially carried out by farmers in the face of hostile scientific opinion. In the United Kingdom, common barberry (Berberis vulgaris) is today a relatively rare plant. Stem rust is, however, currently experiencing a resurgence; at the same time, there has been a general increase in the prevalence of barberry and an upsurge in its planting which, in the United Kingdom, is associated with attempts to encourage the endangered barberry carpet moth (Pareulype berberata). This article situates current developments within a broader chronological framework, examining changing attitudes towards barberry and rust in England in the past and the history of the plant's use and cultivation. It assesses how widespread B. vulgaris really was in the environment historically, and thus the scale of its eradication. We suggest that Berberis was never widely established as an archaeophyte in the United Kingdom. Current attempts to re-establish it are based on a misunderstanding of the plant's historical status and could potentially pose a serious threat to food security.     

SnToxA,SnTox1, and SnTox3 originated in Parastagonospora nodorum in the Fertile Crescent

The centre of origin of the globally distributed wheat pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum has remained uncertain because only a small number of isolates from the Fertile Crescent were included in earlier population genetic and phylogeographic studies. We isolated and genetically analysed 193 P. nodorum strains from three naturally infected wheat fields distributed across Iran using 11 neutral microsatellite loci. Compared to previous studies that included populations from North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and China, the populations from Iran had the highest genetic diversity globally and also exhibited greater population structure over smaller spatial scales, patterns typically associated with the centre of origin of a species. Genes encoding the necrotrophic effectors SnToxA, SnTox1, and SnTox3 were found at a high frequency in the Iranian population. By sequencing 96 randomly chosen Iranian strains, we detected new alleles for all three effector genes. Analysis of allele diversity showed that all three effector genes had higher diversity in Iran than in any population included in previous studies, with Iran acting as a hub for the effector diversity that was found in other global populations. Taken together, these findings support the hypothesis that P. nodorum originated either within or nearby the Fertile Crescent with a genome that already encoded all three necrotrophic effectors during its emergence as a pathogen on wheat. Our findings also suggest that P. nodorum was the original source of the ToxA genes discovered in the wheat pathogens Phaeosphaeria avenaria f. sp. tritici 1, Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, and Bipolaris sorokiniana.     

Genetic variation of seedling traits responded to brassinosteroid and gibberellin inhibitors in maize (Zea mays) doubled haploid lines

The purpose of this study was to examine the genotypic variation in maize doubled haploid (DH) lines response to brassinosteroid and gibberellin inhibitors. Plant responses to hormone inhibitors were determined in growth chamber experiments using germination paper for three different seedling treatments: application of propiconazole (Pcz), uniconazole (Ucz) or water (control). Mesocotyl length (ML) was more sensitive to hormone inhibitors, especially to the Ucz treatment, than other seedling traits. ML was significantly correlated with other traits in the Ucz treatment. All the seedling traits showed moderate-to-high broad sense heritability values, ranging from 0.39 to 0.82. The Euclidian genetic distances of inbred line pairs ranged from 1.27 to 19.94, indicating there was a high level of variability across the maize DH lines used in this study. DH lines with extreme MLs were identified, which can provide valuable breeding resources for improving abiotic stress tolerance, and for further genetic studies.     

氮肥减施对油菜产量、氮素吸收与利用的影响

控释尿素的应用是氮肥减施的关键技术之一。明确普通尿素与控释尿素减量施用对油菜产量、氮素吸收与利用的影响,为油菜产业绿色发展中的氮肥管理策略提供参考。本研究从2007～2013年度连续6年在长江中游油菜主产区,开展普通尿素和控释尿素不同用量的田间定位试验,共设置7个处理:不施氮(CK)、普通尿素减氮50%(U-50%)、普通尿素减氮30%(U-30%)、普通尿素全量施用(U)、控释尿素减氮50%(CRU-50%)、控释尿素减氮30%(CRU-30%)和控释尿素全量施用(CRU),研究油菜生长、产量与构成、氮素吸收量与利用对普通尿素和控释尿素减量施用的响应与差异。氮肥施用明显改善了油菜的生长状况,全量施用时,普通尿素和控释尿素之间主要以分枝数存在显著差异;当氮肥减施达到50%时,各生长指标降幅达到显著水平。氮肥全量施用时,控释尿素处理平均产量达到2 513 kg/hm~2,与普通尿素之间的相对产量差为6.9%,且随着氮肥的减量施用,两种氮肥之间的产量差逐渐增大。氮肥施用对油菜单株角果数的改变是引起产量差异的主要原因,而每角粒数和千粒重均保持在较为稳定的水平。随着氮肥用量的降低,油菜氮素吸收量呈现显著下降的趋势,最低为不施氮处理(38.2 kg/hm~2);而在同一氮素供应条件下,控释尿素比普通尿素表现出更强的氮素吸收能力。导致控释尿素不同用量间氮素回收效率差异较小(平均变幅为58.2%～66.0%),且高于普通尿素处理。在目前油菜推荐氮肥用量(180 kg/hm~2)的基础上,对于中低土壤供氮田块,普通尿素减量施用可能会引起植株氮素吸收不足和减产的风险,而控释尿素减量30%可维持油菜籽产量和氮肥效率在较高的水平。