Analyses of BioVOCs variation related to vegetation predominance in the natural park of ampezzo dolomites, UNESCO world heritage area of dolomites

The determination of emitted Biogenic Volatile Compounds (BioVOCs) profile via Field Air Analysis (FAA) — Solid Phase Micro Extraction (75 μm Carboxen/PDMS portable field sampler) was performed using GC-MS. The six sampling sites located in the Natural Park of Ampezzo Dolomites, part of the UNESCO’s World Heritage List, are characterized by different predominating vegetation. The ubiquitous compound hexanal was chosen as internal standard, in order to compare the amounts of the different compound in the different sites. The main terpenes identified were α-pinene, β-pinene, δ-3-carene and d-limonene, while 1,8 cineole was the highest abundant oxygenated terpene. In the site next the national road a higher amount of benzene derivatives (benzene, toluene, o-xylene, p-xylene and ethylbenzene) were observed. In the site relatively close to the road a marked decrease of benzene derivatives was observed. In the sites close to conifers (i.e. Fir, Pine and Larch) the terpenic content observed was higher than in the site close to the mixed forest (mainly large-leaf and some conifers). Some terpenes were observed also in the high-quote meadow site, although of lower abundance than in the other sites. The highest abundance of terpenes was observed in the Pinus cembra (Swiss Pine) site.     

Messages from Powdery Mildew DNA:How the Interplay with a Host Moulds Pathogen Genomes

The genomes of the barley,Arabidopsis and pea powdery mildew are signif icantly larger than those of related fungi.This is due to an extraordinary expansion of retro-trasposons that are evident as repetitive elements in the sequence.The protein coding genes are fewer than expected due to an overall reduction in the size of gene families,a reduction in the number of paralogs and because of the loss of certain metabolic pathways.Many of these changes have also been observed in the genomes of other taxonomically unrelated obligate biotrophic pathogens.The only group of genes that bucks the trend of gene loss,are those encoding small secreted proteins that bear the hall marks of effectors.     

The occurrence of a wild Brassica of the oleracea group (2n=18) in Calabria (Italy)

Summary In the course of a mission in Calabria committed to collection of wild and cultivated plant samples of agricltural interest, a station of wild Brassica rupestris Rafin. was found near Stilo (CZ). At the author's best knowledge this detection represents one of the few findings and the first living collection of a wild species of Brassica of the oleracea group in Calabria. The taxonomic and practical importance of this discovery is discussed in relation to the distribution of these species in South Italy with particular regard to Calabria.     

Variation of seed storage proteins in landraces of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) from Basilicata,Southern Italy

Summary Twenty landraces of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) from Sarconi and Rotonda two locations of Basilicata, a Southern Italy region, were screened for variation in seed storage proteins (phaseolin and phytohemagglutinin) by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS/PAGE and IEF-SDS/PAGE). No variation of the main seed protein fractions was observed within each landrace. Phaseolin patterns type C and T were exhibited from the landraces; the type C resulted predominant with a frequency of 70%. Only the C type was observed for the landraces of Rotonda, T and C for those from Sarconi. Two variants were observed for the phytohemagglutinin by SDS-PAGE, one was common to eighteen landraces. However, these variants submitted to IEF-SDS/PAGE resulted similar to the type T_G2described by Brown. The importance to safeguard these landraces is stressed by the observation that the more spread commercial cultivars of common bean growing in Southern-Italy had a T phaseolin pattern. A reduction of C type diffusion could produce the loss a typical trait of common bean in Mediterranean regions.     

Immobilization of Zn and Pb in Polluted Soil by In Situ Crystallization Zeolites from Fly Ash

In the last few years, a great deal of research on soil has been carried out in order to develop a low-cost remediation method for reducing the environmental risks due to the pollution caused by heavy metals. In the light of this, the zeolitization achieved in soils mixed with coal fly ash could be a useful answer to reduce the amount and the mobility of metals in polluted areas. In this study, a selected soil treated with coal fly ash and artificially contaminated with Zn or Pb was used to synthesize zeolite at low temperature in laboratory and on a bench-scale experiments. Mineralogical data showed that the synthesis of zeolite X took place readily after the first month, and the amount of the newly formed mineral increased during the entire 1-year-long incubation period. The presence of toxic elements does not interfere with zeolite crystallization, whereas the chemical analysis indicated that a reduction in heavy metal availability takes place in the samples characterized by the presence of zeolite.     

Application of a low-cost RGB sensor to detect basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) nutritional status at pilot scale level

Precision Agriculture - In this work, basil plants were fertilized with 0, 2.5 mM and 10 mM nitrogen (with different NO3?/NH4+ ratios), and then monitored using a low-power...     

Swedish coffee (Astragalus boeticus L.), a neglected coffee substitute with a past and a potential future

Swedish coffee (Astragalus boeticus) seeds have been used as a coffee substitute, in particular during the nineteenth century and in times of scarcity. A. boeticus is found in the wild in a wide range of environments in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions and is able to grow in areas with low and irregular rainfall. It is well-adapted to cultivated and disturbed environments, has indehiscent pods and high yield potential, and is therefore pre-adapted to cultivation and domestication. Swedish coffee is an annual that flowers in spring and produces small (3–6 mm × 3–5 mm) kidney-shaped seeds that can be harvested in summer. The genetic diversity of the species has not been studied, but evidence (wide range of environments, insect pollination) suggests that considerable diversity exists in the species. The genetic resources of Swedish coffee conserved in germplasm banks are very limited, with only 49 accessions conserved in six genebanks. Although no cultivated varieties exist at present and no breeding studies are underway, evidence suggests that limited breeding could result in considerable genetic advances. The cultivation of A. boeticus was very important during the nineteenth century in several countries of Europe, in particular in Sweden, where the cultivation was promoted as a coffee substitute by the monarchy. Several reports exist on its cultivation in several countries of Northern, Central and Southern Europe during the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century. However, its cultivation gradually lost importance and was eventually abandoned. Swedish coffee can be grown in different types of soils as a regular winter or spring legume crop, and thanks to symbiosis with rhizobia may be able to perform well with reduced N fertilization. Several historical accounts report an excellent quality of the coffee substitute prepared with roasted Swedish coffee seeds. However, no investigations have been carried out to study the process of roasting and its influence on the final quality. The information presented here indicates that limited efforts in A. boeticus breeding, cultivation, and industrial processing potentially might result in the recovery of this neglected coffee substitute.     

Variability of certain chemotypes in three accessions of German chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.)

In 203 analyzed chamomile plants, several compounds appreciated for their medicinal value, were evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively. α-Bisabolol and its oxides A and B were measured by gas chromatography; matricine as a precursor of chamazulene, was assessed semi-quantitatively by matching visually thin layer chromatography bands with a concentration range of the pure substance and the flavonoids apigenin and apigenin-7-glycoside were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography. Mean values of all compounds were compared in the three chamomile accessions ‘Manzana’, ‘Lutea’ and ‘Hungarian 2’. Correlations between different substances over all data were calculated. Moreover, certain groups combining particular properties according to their desired purpose or specificity, were formed. Their incidence in the particular chamomile varieties was determined. ‘Manzana’, a tetraploid cultivar, exhibited the highest share of the valuable bisabolol–matricine-type and the lowest ratio of bisabolol-oxides to bisabolol. To develop ‘high-quality-populations’, defined individuals of this cultivar shall be selected for further breeding.