First report of a 16SrIII-B subgroup phytoplasma associated with leaf reddening, virescence and phyllody of purple coneflower

Purple coneflower plants showing leaf reddening and flower abnormalities were observed in South Bohemia (Czech Republic). Transmission electron microscopy observations showed phytoplasmas in sieve cells of symptomatic plants but not in healthy ones. Polymerase chain reactions with universal and group specific phytoplasma primers followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses of 16S rDNA allowed us to classify the detected phytoplasmas into the X-disease group, ribosomal subgroup 16SrIII-B. Sequence analyses of the 16S-23S ribosomal operon (1684 bp), ribosomal protein L15, and protein translocase genes (1566 bp) confirmed the closest relationship with phytoplasmas belonging to the 16SrIII ribosomal group, specifically the 16SrIII-B subgroup. The current study reports purple coneflower as a new host for the X-disease phytoplasma group in the Czech Republic and worldwide.     

Estimation of clay content from easily measurable water content of air‐dried soil

Soil texture is one of the main factors controlling soil organic carbon (SOC) storage. Accurate soil‐texture analysis is costly and time‐consuming. Therefore, the clay content is frequently not determined within the scope of regional and plot‐scale studies with high sample numbers. Yet it is well known that the clay content strongly affects soil water content. The objective of our study was to evaluate if the clay content can be estimated by a simple and fast measure like the water content of air‐dried soil. The soil samples used for this study originated from four different European regions (Hainich‐Dün, Germany; Schwäbische Alb, Germany; Hesse, France; Bugac, Hungary) and were collected from topsoils and subsoils in forests, grasslands, and croplands. Clay content, water content of air‐dried soil, and SOC content were measured. Clay content was determined either by the Pipette method or by the Sedigraph method. The water content of air‐dried soil samples ranged from 2.8 g kg^–1 to 63.3 g kg^–1 and the corresponding clay contents from 60.0 g kg^–1 to 815.7 g kg^–1. A significant linear relationship was found between clay content and water content. The scaled mean absolute error (SMAE) of the clay estimation from the water content of air‐dried soil was 20% for the dataset using the Pipette method and 28% for the Sedigraph method. The estimation of the clay content was more accurate in fine‐textured than in coarse‐textured soils. In this study, organic‐C content played a subordinate role next to the clay content in explaining the variance of the water content. The water retention of coarse‐textured soils was more sensitive to the amount of organic C than that of fine‐textured soils. The results indicate that in our study the water content of air‐dried soil samples was a good quantitative proxy of clay contents, especially useful for fine‐textured soils.     

Annual dynamics of persistent organic pollutants in various aquatic matrices: a case study in the Morava River in Zlín district,Czech Republic

Purpose

A multi-compartment monitoring study was performed to characterize the effect of environmental variables, such as temperature and water flow as well as sediment characteristics, on the distribution and transport of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in a dynamic river system during 1 year in an industrial region in central Europe.

Materials and methods

Waterborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were assessed over a period of 1 year at five sampling sites in the Morava River in the Czech Republic. Contaminants were measured monthly in riverbed sediments, freshly deposited sediments, water samples and passive samplers.

Results and discussion

Sediments are the main carrier of POPs in the river. Distinguishable patterns of PAHs, OCPs and PCBs in sediment indicate that their origin is from distinct sources and different transport pathways. The PAHs were identified as the dominant contaminant group of compounds with a mean concentration in sediment of 5,900 μg kg^?1. Such concentrations are up to 10 times higher than in the Danube River, into which Morava drains. In contrast, mean concentrations of PCBs, hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its breakdown products (DDTs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) of 6.0, 0.4, 4.2 and 6.0 μg kg¹, respectively, are similar to those in the Danube. With some exceptions, no significant difference in composition of surficial riverbed sediments and those collected using sediment traps was observed. Despite the presence of potential local pollutant sources, the differences in contaminant concentrations between sites in the region were in most cases not significant. Variations in POP concentrations in sediments are mainly induced by high flow events, whereas seasonal variability was not observed.

Conclusions

The changes in contaminant concentrations in Morava River sediments are induced by episodic high flow events that cause erosion of contaminant-containing particles and their deposition at suitable downstream sites.     

Chaos, symmetry, and self-similarity: exploiting order and disorder in mixing processes

Fluid mixing is a successful application of chaos. Theory anticipates the coexistence of order and disorder-symmetry and chaos-as well as self-similarity and multifractality arising from repeated stretching and folding. Experiments and computations, in turn, provide a point of confluence and a visual analog for chaotic behavior, multiplicative processes, and scaling behavior. All these concepts have conceptual engineering counterparts: examples arise in the context of flow classification, design of mixing devices, enhancement of transport processes, and controlled structure formation in two-phase systems.     

Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks in relation to the density of wild cervids

Background

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum have been considered as pathogens in animals and humans. The role of wild cervids in the epidemiology is not clear. We analyzed questing Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in spring for these pathogens from sites with high (Fjelløyvær and Strøm) and low density (Tjore, Hinnebu and Jomfruland) of wild cervids to study the spread of the pathogens in questing ticks.

Methods

For detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum a 77-bp fragment in the msp2 gene was used. Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato was performed using the FL6 and FL7 primers according to sequences of conserved regions of the fla gene. The OspA gene located on the linear 49-kb plasmid was used as target in multiplex PCR for genotyping. Genospecies-specific primers were used in the PCR for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. afzelii and B. garinii.

Results

Infection rates with Borrelia spp. were significantly lower at Fjelløyvær and Strøm compared to Tjore and Hinnebu; Fjelløyvær vs. Tjore (χ² = 20.27, p < 0.0001); Fjelløyvær vs. Hinnebu (χ² = 24.04, p < 0.0001); Strøm vs. Tjore (χ² = 11.47, p = 0.0007) and Strøm vs. Hinnebu (χ² = 16.63, p < 0.0001). The Borrelia genospecies were dominated by. B. afzelii (82%) followed by B. garinii (9.7%) and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (6.9%). B. burgdorferi s.s. was only found on the island of Jomfruland. The infection rate of Anaplasma phagocytophilum showed the following figures; Fjelløyvær vs Hinnebu (χ² = 16.27, p = 0.0001); Strøm vs. Tjore (χ² = 13.16, p = 0.0003); Strøm vs. Hinnebu (χ² = 34.71, p < 0.0001); Fjelløyvær vs. Tjore (χ² = 3.19, p = 0.0742) and Fjelløyvær vs. Støm (χ² = 5.06, p = 0.0245). Wild cervids may serve as a reservoir for A. phagocytophilum. Jomfruland, with no wild cervids but high levels of migrating birds and rodents, harboured both B. burgdorferi s.l. and A. phagocytophilum in questing I. ricinus ticks. Birds and rodents may play an important role in maintaining the pathogens on Jomfruland.

Conclusion

The high abundance of roe deer and red deer on the Norwegian islands of Fjelløyvær and Strøm may reduce the infection rate of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in host seeking Ixodes ricinus, in contrast to mainland sites at Hinnebu and Tjore with moderate abundance of wild cervids. The infection rate of Anaplasma phagocytophilum showed the opposite result with a high prevalence in questing ticks in localities with a high density of wild cervids compared to localities with lower density.     

Protease in sturgeon sperm and the effects of protease inhibitors on sperm motility and velocity

In mammals, proteases are present in sperm acrosome and play key role in fertilization. Sturgeon sperm has an acrosome, but its physiology, biochemistry, and potential role in fertilization are unknown. In the present study, we have observed high protease activity in acidic extract of intact sperm compared to that of seminal plasma in sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus). The protease activity was decreased and increased in acidic extract of motility-activated sperm and in the activation medium, respectively. Molecular analysis revealed total protease and serine (acrosin) protease activities in sperm acidic extract which was accumulated in a protein band with relative molecular mass of 35 kDa. Immunoelectron microscopy using an affinity-purified polyclonal antibody for boar acrosin localized the protease at the acrosome region. Moreover, initiation of sperm motility was inhibited after activation in the presence of inhibitors for both trypsin-like and chymotrypsin-like proteases, while the effects of protease inhibitors on sperm velocity were uncertain. Our results indicate similarities in physiology and biochemistry of acrosome between sturgeon and mammals and suggest potential role of protease in the initiation of sperm motility in sturgeon.