Water Pollution History of Switzerland Recorded by Sediments of the Large and Deep Perialpine Lakes Lucerne and Geneva

This review addresses the quantification of anthropogenic pollutants in lacustrine sediments by multidisciplinary analyses including: chronostratigraphy using radioisotopes (¹³⁷Cs) and radiocarbon dates (¹⁴C), trace metal analysis, faecal indicator analysis, as well as antibiotic-resistant genes by molecular analysis. Sediment cores from lakes Lucerne and Geneva that are located at a distance of 150?km from each other reveal a synchronous increase in anthropogenic trace metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, and Mn) following the industrial revolution in Europe about 1850. In both lakes, the peak of water pollution by toxic metals due to discharge of industrial wastewaters was reached in the middle of the twentieth century. During the second part of the twentieth century, both sites show a decrease in metal pollution following the implementation of wastewater treatment plants. On the contrary, the Vidy Bay of Lake Geneva where the treated wastewaters from the city of Lausanne are released since 1964 points out a dramatic increase in trace metal deposition. Later, a high increase in organic matter deposition, in bacteria (Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis) activity as well as antibiotic-resistant genes and bacteria occurred into the bay, simultaneously with the eutrophication of the large and deep perialpine lakes in the 1970s due to excessive external nutrient loading.     

Impact of the potato inoculation date on potato virus Y load and viral distribution in daughter tubers at harvest

Aged plants are more difficult to infect than young plantlets. This modification of susceptibility is described as mature plant resistance (MPR). For potato virus Y (PVY), MPR is known to lead to low infection rates of plants inoculated at the postflowering stage and a decrease in the number of infected daughter tubers. However, the impact of inoculation date on the capacity of PVY to accumulate in daughter tubers has not been studied so far. Field and greenhouse experiments were carried out to better understand PVY epidemiology and to help potato growers to evaluate consequences of early/late infections on the quality of their crops. In field trials, potato plants (cv. Bintje) were covered by insectproof nets from planting to harvest except for a 14-day period to expose plants to natural PVY infections. Under controlled conditions, potato plants were mechanically inoculated with PVY at different dates from preflowering stages (early inoculations) to postflowering stage (late inoculations). At harvest, daughter tubers were individually collected and analysed to define proportions and viral load of infected tubers according to the time between virus inoculation and harvest. Our results showed that although the age of plants at the time of inoculation can modify their susceptibility to PVY infection, in return, early and late PVY inoculations lead to similar rates of infected tubers at the plant scale and equivalent viral accumulation in infected tubers. All together, these data revealed that both early/late infections are high risks for the sanitary quality of potato tubers.     

Relationship between oxidant stress and milk productivity in dairy cows

An imbalance between formation and detoxification of oxygen radicals leads to oxidant stress that may increase in more intense oxidative metabolism caused by a high intake of metabolizable energy to provide metabolic intermediates for the milk synthesis and secretion. This hypothesis was tested using dairy cows and the concentration of hydroperoxides in lipids (LHP) extracted from circulative lipoprotein particles of low and very low density (LDL and VLDL/chylomicrons) as oxidant stress indicator. The particles were prepared by ultracentrifugation of serum obtained by coccygeal bleeding (13 cows, 1. parity, n=8 and 2. parity, n=5, lactation stage, 53 +/- 1.4 days post partum) and purified by precipitation. Concentrations of LHP-LDL/mg Lipoprotein correlated significantly with daily milk yield (r = 0.73, P = 0.004) or daily milk energy output (r = 0.77, P = 0.003) in contrast to LHP of VLDL/chylomicron particles. Thus, some evidence was obtained for an almost linear, positive relationship between milk productivity and oxidant stress occurring in LDL.     

Vitamin A excreted in the urine of canines is associated with a Tamm-Horsfall like protein

Under physiological conditions canines transport vitamin A in blood plasma primarily as retinyl esters bound to lipoproteins and excrete substantial amounts of vitamin A as retinol and retinyl esters with urine. In the aqueous environment of urine, the hydrophobic vitamin A has to be associated with a protein. This vitamin A-protein complex was purified to homogeneity, prepared by preparative ultracentrifugation (density 1.21 g/mL), native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and size exclusion chromatography. The vitamin A-protein complex has a high molecular mass of > 5,000 kDa under native conditions. SDS PAGE under reduced conditions revealed a single band with a molecular mass of about 100 kDa for the protein moiety. Peptides obtained after limited proteolysis with trypsin from the 100 kDa protein were characterised by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and showed amino acid sequence homology to the human Tamm-Horsfall Protein (THP). This was further confirmed by a positive immunoreaction of the isolated protein with crossreacting human THP antibodies. The localisation of THP in dog kidneys was determined by using immunohistology. The reaction was strong along the entire thick ascending limb ofthe Henle loop and distal convoluted tubule. Our data point to the possibility that THP functions as a novel carrier for vitamin A in the urine of canines.     

Changes in the structure of Arabidopsis thaliana roots induced during development of males of the plant parasitic nematode Heterodera schachtii

Plant parasitic nematodes of the genus Heterodera show a high degree of sexual dimorphism, which is reflected by different nutritional demands and differences in the structure of the induced specific syncytial feeding site in the plant. The determination of the sex of the nematode Heterodera schachtii and other related species was repeatedly reported to be dependent on trophic factors, which are provided by the induced syncytia. The structural differences of syncytia induced by H. schachtii in roots of Arabidopsis thaliana were analysed at the anatomical and ultrastructural level. Syncytia of males were induced in the root pericycle. The developing syncytium then expanded into procambial or cambial cells of the vascular cylinder. Differentiated vascular elements were not included. The expansion of the syncytium triggered the proliferation of cambial and peridermal tissues, in a manner similar to secondary growth, and the formation of additional xylem and phloem elements. In comparison to syncytia associated with females, syncytia associated with males were less hypertrophied and were composed of more cells. Distinct cell wall openings were mostly found between the few strongly hypertrophied syncytial elements at the actual feeding site in the pericycle. The ultrastructure was very similar to female-associated syncytia but showed conspicuous differences in the structure and localization of cell wall ingrowths. These ingrowths were rare and weakly developed and occurred not only at the interface with xylem elements but also at the internal and external walls of the syncytia. After feeding had ceased at the end of the third developmental stage the syncytia degenerated.