Phenolic profiles and their contribution to the antioxidant activity of selected chickpea genotypes from Mexico and ICRISAT collections

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes, nine kabuli from Mexico and 9 desi from other countries, were investigated for their phenolic profiles and antioxidant activity (AA). Phenolics in methanol extracts (ME) were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection and mass spectrometry (UPLC-DAD-MS), whereas the AA was measured as Trolox equivalents (TE) by ABTS, DPPH and FRAP methods. Twenty phenolic compounds were identified in the ME and their levels showed a great variability among the chickpea genotypes. Phenolic acids and flavonoids were the most abundant compounds in kabuli and desi genotypes, respectively. The AA values (μmol TE/ 100 g dw) by ABTS (278–2417), DPPH (52–1650), and FRAP (41–1181) were mainly associated with the content of sinapic acid hexoside, gallic acid, myricetin, quercetin, catechin, and isorhamnetin, suggesting they are the main compounds responsible for the AA. The sum of the AA obtained for standards of these compounds evaluated at the concentration found in the extracts accounted for 34.3, 69.8, and 47.0% of the AA in the extract by ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP, respectively. In the AA by DPPH, most of the mixtures of these compounds resulted in synergistic interactions. Three desi genotypes with black seeds (ICC 4418, ICC 6306, and ICC 3761) showed the highest AA and flavonoids content, whereas the most promising kabuli genotypes were Surutato 77, Bco. Sin. 92, and Blanoro that showed the highest values of phenolic acids. These genotypes represent good sources of antioxidants for the improvement of nutraceutical properties in chickpea.     

Maximum Influent Salinity Affects the Diversity of Mineral-Precipitation-Mediating Bacterial Communities in Membrane Biofilm of Hybrid Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor-Membrane Bioreactor

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution - A novel bacterium, Bacillus megaterium strain ISO-2, capable of the degradation of bisphenol A (BPA), was isolated from wastewater collected from a polycarbonate...     

Effects of Cover Crops on Soil Quality: Selected Chemical and Biological Parameters

Cover crops improve soil quality properties and thus land productivity. We compared soil chemical and biological changes influenced by hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth.) and cereal rye (Secale cereal) cover crops grown in Menfro silt loam (fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs), Mexico silt loam (fine, smectitic, mesic Vertic Epiaqualfs), or sand in the greenhouse. Cover crop biomass, soil β-glucosidase, β-glucosaminidase, and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolase activities, and soil chemical properties were measured at six, nine, and twelve weeks after planting. Cover crop biomass increased with highest (p < 0.0001) yields for hairy vetch and cereal rye in Menfro and Mexico soils, respectively. β-glucosaminidase, FDA, organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), and total phosphorus (P) contents significantly decreased in all soils for both cover crops. However, β-glucosidase activity significantly increased (p < 0.0001). Long-term field studies are needed to evaluate soil quality improvement under cover crops, especially for soils with marginal organic matter and fertility.     

What controls fish functional diversity patterns in Colombian Andean streams?

Understanding the mechanisms that structure communities have been a major challenge in ecological theory. Functional trait-based approaches are increasingly used for studying the processes underlying community assembly. However, species-poor systems of Andean streams these processes are largely unknown. Tropical Andean streams are highly variable in space-time and characterised by the harsh or stable environment, resulting in a high taxonomic and ecological diversity. In this study, we tested the influence of environmental variables on the fish functional structure. We proposed that in ecosystems with harsh environments, environmental filtering will structure fish assemblages, and in ecosystems with a more stable environment, limiting similarity will prevail, increasing functional diversity. We analysed fish assemblages using functional diversity indices, fourth-corner RLQ analyses and multiple regression models. Environmental variables such as altitude, stream width, sub-Andean vegetation and pH influenced functional diversity. For instance, high values of functional redundancy were registered at high elevation streams, reflecting fish assemblages composed of highly dominant species with similar functional traits such as species of the genus Astroblepus. However, we found differences between Astroblepus species in the number and distance of gill rakers which might indicate resource partitioning and coexistence. On the other hand, our results show both stochastic dynamics and environmental filtering are structuring fish assemblages in low and high elevation Andean streams respectively.