A strain of Bacillus subtilis stimulates sunflower growth (Helianthus annuus L.) temporarily

Preliminary studies showed that a Bacillus subtilis strain stimulates plant growth. We investigated how inoculating seeds of a sunflower cultivar (Helianthus annuus L.) with this strain stimulated plant growth, soil properties and emissions of greenhouse gasses, i.e. carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrous oxide (N₂O), when cultivated in a greenhouse. Unfertilized sunflowers or fertilized with urea served as controls. After one month, root length and fresh and dry root weight of the sunflower was significantly higher in the bacteria amended plant than in the urea and unfertilized plants. However, at harvest, no positive effect was observed. The number of seeds per plant and seed weight was not significantly different between the treatments, but total plant N was significantly higher in urea-amended plants than in unfertilized plants. The CO₂ production rate was not affected by treatment, but the N₂O emission rate was significantly higher in soil amended with urea plus bacteria soil compared to the unfertilized treatments. It was found that the B. subtilis strain used in this study had a positive, but only temporarily effect on growth of the sunflower cultivar used.     

Spatio-temporal impacts of roads on the persistence of populations: analytic and numerical approaches

Roads can have drastic impacts on wildlife populations. Although there is wide recognition of the negative impacts caused by roads and a wealth of practical studies, there is a lack of theoretical work that can be used to predict the impact of road networks or to implement mitigation measures. Here, using Skellam’s diffusion model, we develop analytic and numerical approaches to analyze the impact of road networks on the survival of populations. Our models show that the viability of a population is determined not only by road density but also by the size and shape of patches. Accordingly, we studied the minimum size of a patch to sustain a population with given diffusion and growth parameters. We provide simple formulas to estimate the minimum patch size, and illustrate the importance of shape with square and rectangular patches. Our models also allow the estimation of time to extinction after road construction for a population in a patch smaller than that of the minimum size. Finally, using numerical computations we illustrate how the spatial arrangement of fences strongly affects both the equilibrium density and the spatial distribution of populations, and that not all fence layouts are equally effective. We anticipate that our methods provide a tool to assess the impact of geometrical features of road networks on wildlife and that they can be used to design mitigation measures to prevent the decline and extinction of populations in an anthropogenically disturbed landscape.     

Influence of land use on water quality in a tropical landscape: a multi-scale analysis

There is a pressing need to understand the consequences of human activities, such as land transformations, on watershed ecosystem services. This is a challenging task because different indicators of water quality and yield are expected to vary in their responsiveness to large versus local-scale heterogeneity in land use and land cover (LUC). Here we rely on water quality data collected between 1977 and 2000 from dozens of gauge stations in Puerto Rico together with precipitation data and land cover maps to (1) quantify impacts of spatial heterogeneity in LUC on several water quality indicators; (2) determine the spatial scale at which this heterogeneity influences water quality; and (3) examine how antecedent precipitation modulates these impacts. Our models explained 30–58% of observed variance in water quality metrics. Temporal variation in antecedent precipitation and changes in LUC between measurements periods rather than spatial variation in LUC accounted for the majority of variation in water quality. Urbanization and pasture development generally degraded water quality while agriculture and secondary forest re-growth had mixed impacts. The spatial scale over which LUC influenced water quality differed across indicators. Turbidity and dissolved oxygen (DO) responded to LUC in large-scale watersheds, in-stream nitrogen concentrations to LUC in riparian buffers of large watersheds, and fecal matter content and in-stream phosphorus concentration to LUC at the sub-watershed scale. Stream discharge modulated impacts of LUC on water quality for most of the metrics. Our findings highlight the importance of considering multiple spatial scales for understanding the impacts of human activities on watershed ecosystem services.     

Effect of a new thermal treatment in combination with saprobic fungal incubation on the phytotoxicity level of alperujo

Byproducts generated from food industries, such as olive oil mills, have been studied to decrease harmful pollution and their environmental consequences. In this work, a new thermal pretreatment and saprobic fungal incubation to detoxify alperujo (two-phase olive mill waste) have been evaluated in view of its use as fertilizer in agriculture. The sequential use of both methods simplifies the thermal conditions and incubation times of the fungal treatment. Optimization of the thermal treatment from 150 to 170 °C for 45 and 15 min, respectively, reduced the incubation time with Coriolpsis rigida from 20 to 10 weeks needed to reduce phytotoxic effects on tomato plants. Therefore, the combination of thermal and biological treatments will allow the development of the potential benefits of alperujo to improve nutrients in agricultural soil.     

Rice bran fermented with saccharomyces boulardii generates novel metabolite profiles with bioactivity

Emerging evidence supporting chronic disease fighting properties of rice bran has advanced the development of stabilized rice bran for human use as a functional food and dietary supplement. A global and targeted metabolomic investigation of stabilized rice bran fermented with Saccharomyces boulardii was performed in three rice varieties. Metabolites from S. boulardii-fermented rice bran were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and assessed for bioactivity compared to nonfermented rice bran in normal and malignant lymphocytes. Global metabolite profiling revealed significant differences in the metabolome that led to discovery of candidate compounds modulated by S. boulardii fermentation. Fermented rice bran extracts from three rice varieties reduced growth of human B lymphomas compared to each variety's nonfermented control and revealed that fermentation differentially altered bioactive compounds. These data support that integration of global and targeted metabolite analysis can be utilized for assessing health properties of rice bran phytochemicals that are enhanced by yeast fermentation and that differ across rice varieties.     

Classification of pumpkin seed oils according to their species and genetic variety by attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy

Attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), followed by multivariate treatment of the spectral data, was used to classify seed oils of the genus Cucurbita (pumpkins) according to their species as C. maxima, C. pepo, and C. moschata. Also, C. moschata seed oils were classified according to their genetic variety as RG, Inivit C-88, and Inivit C-2000. Up to 23 wavelength regions were selected on the spectra, each region corresponding to a peak or shoulder. The normalized absorbance peak areas within these regions were used as predictors. Using linear discriminant analysis (LDA), an excellent resolution among all categories concerning both Cucurbita species and C. moschata varieties was achieved. The proposed method was straightforward and quick and can be easily implemented. Quality control of pumpkin seed oils is important because Cucurbita species and genetic variety are both related to the pharmaceutical properties of the oils.     

Late-arriving barn swallows linked to population declines

Barn swallows (Hirundo rustica) are arriving later in the spring than they did 30–40 years ago at numerous sites in Korea. In some cases their arrival times are later by more than 1 month. This result is perplexing as spring activities of plants and animals are generally getting earlier due to warming temperatures. The first arrival dates of swallows are not related to temperature, suggesting that another factor is involved. On the basis of a questionnaire, a large majority of long-term observers are confident that there has been a moderate to severe decline in swallow populations at their field site over the study period. The greatest delays in arrival times are associated with sites with more severe reported declines in population size. Simulations using trapping data of large migratory bird populations from the United States, consisting of hundreds of individuals, suggest that severe population declines of 99% can result in delays of 10–12 days in arrival times. In summary, our results suggest that the large delays in arrival time of Korean swallows are due, at least in part, to severe reductions of more than 99% in what were formerly very large populations. Significant delays in spring phenology over time during a period of climatic warming may indicate population decline, though alternative explanations, such as changes in range or migration path or changing number of broods per season, should also be investigated. Delays in first arrival data can provide a valuable new tool to conservation biologists by indicating declines in a population that would otherwise go unnoticed. This can, in turn, lead to efforts by researchers to verify the dynamics of a population and draw attention to the conservation needs of the species.     

Fermented vegetables containing benzoic and ascorbic acids as additives: benzene formation during storage and impact of additives on quality parameters

Chemical and sensorial changes related to the use of benzoates and ascorbic acid as additives in packed fermented vegetables were investigated. For this, three selected vegetables (green olives, cucumbers, and caperberries) stored under different conditions (glass or plastic containers, ambient or refrigerated storage) were used. In all cases, benzoic acid remained unchanged (glass bottle) or decreased slightly (plastic pouch) at prolonged storage. Ascorbic acid was partially or totally degraded during storage, the degradation rate depending on the storage conditions and the vegetable matrix. Benzene levels higher than 10 μg/L were found in cucumbers and caperberries containing both additives, but only when packed in plastic pouches and after prolonged storage at room temperature. In these conditions, an appreciable browning of brine, related to AA degradation, was also found. The use of benzoate alone had a significant influence on vegetable color, but flavor was not significantly affected at the benzoate levels tested. On the basis of the present study, benzoates should be removed from fermented vegetable formulations containing ascorbic acid to eliminate possible benzene formation during long-term storage.     

Profiling LC-DAD-ESI-TOF MS method for the determination of phenolic metabolites from avocado (Persea americana)

A powerful HPLC-DAD-ESI-TOF MS method was established for the efficient identification of the chemical constituents in the methanolic extracts of avocado (Persea americana). Separation and detection conditions were optimized by using a standard mix containing 39 compounds belonging to phenolic acids and different categories of flavonoids, analytes that could be potentially present in the avocado extracts. Optimum LC separation was achieved on a Zorbax Eclipse Plus C18 analytical column (4.6×150 mm, 1.8 μm particle size) by gradient elution with water+acetic acid (0.5%) and acetonitrile as mobile phases, at a flow rate of 1.6 mL/min. The detection was carried out by ultraviolet-visible absorption and ESI-TOF MS. The developed method was applied to the study of 3 different varieties of avocado, and 17 compounds were unequivocally identified with standards. Moreover, around 25 analytes were tentatively identified by taking into account the accuracy and isotopic information provided by TOF MS.     

Analytical and sensorial characterization of the aroma of wines produced with sour rotten grapes using GC-O and GC-MS: identification of key aroma compounds

In the present work, the aroma profiles of wines elaborated from sound and sour rot-infected grapes as raw material have been studied by sensory analysis, gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), with the aim of determining the odor volatiles most likely associated with this disease. The effect of sour rot was tested in monovarietal wines produced with the Portuguese red grape variety Trincadeira and in blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and sour rotten Trincadeira grapes. Wines produced from damaged berries exhibited clear honey-like notes not evoked by healthy samples. Ethyl phenylacetate (EPhA) and phenylacetic acid (PAA), both exhibiting sweet honey-like aromas, emerged as key aroma compounds of sour rotten wines. Their levels were 1 order of magnitude above those found in controls and reached 304 and 1668 μg L(-1) of EPhA and PAA, respectively, well above the corresponding odor thresholds. Levels of γ-nonalactone also increased by a factor 3 in sour rot samples. Results also suggest that sour rot exerts a great effect on the secondary metabolism of yeast, decreasing the levels of volatiles related to fatty acids and amino acid synthesis. The highest levels of γ-decalactone of up to 405 μg L(-1) were also found in all of the samples, suggesting that this could be a relevant aroma compound in Trincadeira wine aroma.