Suppression of lipopolysaccharide and galactosamine-induced hepatic inflammation by red grape pomace

Grape pomace is generated in the production process of wine and grape juices and is an industrial waste. This study investigated whether an intake of grape pomace was able to suppress chronic inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and galactosamine (GalN) in vivo. When Sprague-Dawley rats were orally given methanolic extracts from red and white grape pomace, the extracts inhibited the LPS/GalN-evoked activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) dose-dependently, and red grape pomace exerted a stronger effect than white grape one. Next, rats were fed an AIN93 M-based diet containing 5% red grape pomace for 7 days, followed by the intraperitoneal injection of LPS and GalN. The intake of the red grape pomace-supplemented diet was found to suppress the LPS/GalN-induced activation of NF-κB and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 proteins. These results suggest that red grape pomace may contain an abundance of effective compound(s) for anti-inflammatory action.     

Studies on availability and fixation of phosphorus in soil (part 4)

It Is known that inorganic phosphorus is contained in soil mainly in the form of calcium phosphates, aluminium phosphates and iron phosphates.     

Studies on the properties of organic matfer in buried humic horizon derived from volcanic ash

To investigate the relationship between the change of humus property and time factor, the humus composition in the buried humic horizons with the age from 28,000 years B.P. to the present was studied, according to the method presented by Kumada et al. (7).

The fH decreased with the elapse of time and in case of most of humus in the buried humic horizons with the age over 10,000 years, the fH became lower than 40 and were in the form of so-called ‘combined’ humus.

When 3,000-4,000 years have passed since the surface soil buried, the humic acid first moved . to ‘combined form.’ Second, after over 10,000 years, the fulvic acid moved to ‘combined form.’

The humification of ‘free’ humic acid proceeded with the elapse of time till around 5,000 years but of 'combined' humic acid till around 7,000 years. Both the humification-degree of ‘free’ humic acid after around 5,000 years and of ‘combined’ humic acid after around 7,000 years decreased. The humification-degree of ‘free’ and ‘combined’ humic acid from the samples with the age about 15,000 years B.P. to 28,000 years B.P. may be the same.     

The influence of phosphate fertilizer application levels and cultivars on cadmium uptake by Komatsuna (Brassica rapa L. var. perviridis)

Cadmium (Cd) is a common impurity in phosphate fertilizers and application of phosphate fertilizer may contribute to soil Cd accumulation. Changes in Cd burdens to agricultural soils and the potential for plant Cd accumulation resulting from fertilizer input were investigated in this study. A field experiment was conducted on Haplaquept to investigate the influence of calcium superphosphate on extractable and total soil Cd and on growth and Cd uptake of different Komatsuna (Brassica rapa L. var. perviridis) cultivars. Four cultivars of Komatsuna were grown on the soil and harvested after 60 days. The superphosphate application increased total soil Cd from 2.51 to 2.75?mg?kg^?1, 0.1?mol?L^?1 hydrochloric acid (HCl) extractable Cd from 1.48 to 1.55?mg?kg^?1, 0.01?mol?L^?1 HCl extractable Cd from 0.043 to 0.046?mg?kg^?1 and water extractable Cd from 0.0057 to 0.0077?mg?kg^?1. Cd input reached 5.68?g?ha^–1 at a rate of 240?kg?ha^–1 superphosphate fertilizer application. Superphosphate affected dry-matter yield of leaves to different degrees in each cultivar. ‘Nakamachi’ produced the highest yield in 2008 and ‘Hamami No. 2’ in 2009. Compared with the control (no phosphate fertilizer), application of superphosphate at a rate of 240?kg?ha^–1 increased the Cd concentration in dry leaves by 0.14?mg?kg^?1 in ‘Maruha’, 1.03?mg?kg^?1 in ‘Nakamachi’, 0.63?mg?kg^?1 in ‘SC8-007’ in 2008, and by 0.19?mg?kg^?1 in Maruha’, 0.17?mg?kg^?1 in ‘Hamami No. 2’, while it decreased by 0.27?mg?kg^?1 in ‘Nakamachi’ in 2009. Field experiments in two years demonstrated that applications of different levels of calcium superphosphate did not influence Cd concentration in soil and Komatsuna significantly. However, there was a significant difference in Cd concentration of fresh and dry Komatsuna leaves among four cultivars in 2008 and 2009. The highest Cd concentration was found in the ‘Nakamachi’ cultivar (2.14?mg?kg^?1 in 2008 and 1.91?mg?kg^?1 in 2009). The lowest Cd concentration was observed in the ‘Maruha’ cultivar (1.51?mg?kg^?1?dry weight (DW)) in 2008 and in the ‘Hamami No. 2’ cultivar (1.56?mg?kg^?1?DW) in 2009. A decreasing trend in Cd concentration was found in ‘Nakamachi’, followed by ‘SC8-007’, ‘Hamami No. 2’ and ‘Maruha’ successively. It is necessary to consider a low-uptake cultivar for growing in a Cd polluted soil. In these two years’ results, ‘Maruha’ cultivar was the lowest Cd uptake cultivar compared to the others.     

Soil nitrogen availability alters rhizodeposition carbon flux into the soil microbial community

Purpose

Soil microorganisms are important in the cycling of plant nutrients. Soil microbial biomass, community structure, and activity are mainly affected by carbon substrate and nutrient availability. The objective was to test if both the overall soil microbial community structure and the community-utilizing plant-derived carbon entering the soil as rhizodeposition were affected by soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) availability.

Materials and methods

A ¹³C-CO₂ steady-state labeling experiment was conducted in a ryegrass system. Four soil treatments were established: control, amendment with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), amendment with ammonium nitrate (NF), combined CMC and NF. Soil phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and ¹³C labeling PLFA were extracted and detected by isotope ratio mass spectrometer.

Results and discussion

The combined CMC and NF treatment with appropriate C/N ratio (20) significantly enhanced soil microbial biomass C and N, but resulted in lower soil inorganic N concentrations. There was no significant difference in soil PLFA profile pattern between different treatments. In contrast, most of the ¹³C was distributed into PLFAs 18:2ω6,9c, 18:1ω7c, and 18:1ω9c, indicative of fungi and gram-negative bacteria. The inorganic-only treatment was distinct in ¹³C PLFA pattern from the other treatments in the first period of labeling. Factor loadings of individual PLFAs confirmed that gram-positive bacteria had relatively greater plant-derived C contents in the inorganic-only treatment, but fungi were more enriched in the other treatments.

Conclusions

Amendments with CMC can improve N transformation processes, and the ryegrass rhizodeposition carbon flux into the soil microbial community is strongly modified by soil N availability.

     

Effects of temperature on soil organic carbon fractions contents,aggregate stability and structural characteristics of humic substances in a Mollisol

Purpose

Under a global warming scenario, understanding the response of soil organic carbon fractions and aggregate stability to temperature increases is important not only for better understanding and maintaining relevant ecosystem services like soil fertility and crop productivity, but also for understanding key environmental processes intimately related with the maintenance of other regulatory ecosystem services like global climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration. An increase in temperature would accelerate the mineralization of soil organic carbon. However, the properties of organic carbon remained in soil after mineralization is not well known.

Materials and methods

Mollisol was collected at 0–20-cm depth from maize (Zea mays L.) field in Northeast China. A 180-day incubation experiment was conducted at three different temperatures (10, 30, and 50 °C) under constant soil moisture (60 % water holding capacity). Soil samples were assayed for total organic carbon (TOC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), easily oxidizable organic carbon (EOC), humic fractions carbon, aggregate-associated carbon, and water stability of aggregates. Elemental analysis and solid-state ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to characterize humic acid and humin fractions.

Results and discussion

The contents of soil TOC, EOC, humic fractions carbon, and aggregate-associated carbon decreased with the increase in temperature. The proportion of 2–0.25-mm macroaggregate and the mean weight diameter (MWD) of aggregates also decreased. The C, H, N, S, alkyl C, and O-alkyl C contents of humic acid and humin decreased, whereas the O, aromatic C, and carbonyl C contents increased. The H/C, aliphatic C/aromatic C, and O-alkyl C/aromatic C ratios in humic acid and humin fractions decreased.

Conclusions

The increase in temperature has a negative impact on soil organic carbon content, soil aggregation, and aggregate stability. Moreover, humic acid and humin molecules become less aliphatic and more decomposed with the increase in temperature.

     

Agronomical,quality, and molecular characterization of twenty Italian emmer wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum dicoccon</Emphasis>) accessions

Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccon Schrank, 2n = 4x = 28) consists in a hulled wheat; its cultivation has been drastically reduced during the last century as a consequence of its low yield. Recently, its agronomic and nutritive values, as well as the increase of popularity of organic agriculture, have led to a renewed interest making its cultivation economically viable in the marginal lands with an increase of the cultivated areas. In Italy, it mainly survives in few marginal lands of central and southern Italy, where local varieties, adapted to the natural environment from where they originate, are used; moreover, some selected lines have also been developed. In the present work, agro-morphological and qualitative traits, together with molecular analyses of 20 emmer accessions consisting of Italian landraces, breeding lines, and cultivars, were performed. The field experiments were conducted for two consecutive years (2001/2002–2002/2003) in two locations: Viterbo in central Italy, and Foggia in south Italy. The analyzed emmer wheat accessions showed a good amount of genetic variability for both evaluated agro-morphological and molecular traits. This study illustrates an increase in earliness, GY, TW, TKW, and YI going from landraces, breeding lines to cultivars, while the variability does not change proportionally.     

Nomenclature and genetic relationships of apples and pears from Terceira Island

Heritage apple (Malus domestica Borkh. hybrids) and pear (Pyrus communis L. hybrid) trees grow in villages throughout Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal. Some of these pears have different names but similar morphology. The objective of this study was to determine synonymy, homology, and phylogeny of apples and pears from Terceira and to examine potential relationships of the island pears with standard apples and pears of Portuguese or American descent. Nine apple microsatellite markers were used to determine genetic relationships. Distance- and parsimony-based cluster analysis grouped these genotypes into separate apple and pear clades. The Terceira apples were divided into two clades: the maçā and the reineta-reinette. Among the 17 heritage apple genotypes, seven unique accessions were identified and four groups of synonyms, or possibly clones, were detected including: ‘Reineta Agosto’ and ‘Reineta Verde’ from Altares; ‘Reineta Castanha’ and ‘Reineta Verde Miuda’; ‘Maçā Pêra,’ ‘Maçā Calhau’, ‘Pêro Branco’ from Salga and from Terra-Chā and ‘Maçā Marmelo’; and the five genotypes ‘Maçā Sao Joao’, ‘Malápio Rosa’, ‘Maçā Gaspar’, ‘Maçā Branca’ and ‘Maçā Pato’. In addition, two homonyms were detected. ‘Pêro Vermelho’ from Terra Chā was a separate genotype from a tree from Doze Ribeiras of the same name, but Pêro Branco from Terra Chā appears to be a clone that can be distinguished by an additional allele at CH1F07a from a tree with that name from Salga. One pair of apple clones, ‘Reineta Agosto’ and ‘Reineta Verde’ from Altares appear to be derived from an unreduced gamete of ‘Golden Delicious.’ Another apple genotype ‘Maçā Acida’ could be a sibling of the ‘Maçā Pêra’ clonal group. Other tested standard apples from the US genebank were unrelated to Terceira genotypes. Of the seven heritage pears, five unique genotypes and one pair of synonyms were detected. ‘Pêra Papo Pintassilgo’ from Raminho and ‘Pêra Vermelha’ from the nursery of Serviço de Desenvolvimento Agario da Terceira (SDAT) were synonyms. ‘Passans du Portugal’ was related to ‘Pêra Cabaca’ but other standard pears from the US genebank were unrelated to Terceira genotypes. Future studies will include additional apple and pear cultivars from other Islands of the Azores and continental Portugal, and wild Asian species to further explore genetic relationships.     

Salinity and sodicity effects on respiration and microbial biomass of soil

An understanding of the effects of salinity and sodicity on soil carbon (C) stocks and fluxes is critical in environmental management, as the areal extents of salinity and sodicity are predicted to increase. The effects of salinity and sodicity on the soil microbial biomass (SMB) and soil respiration were assessed over 12weeks under controlled conditions by subjecting disturbed soil samples from a vegetated soil profile to leaching with one of six salt solutions; a combination of low-salinity (0.5dSm⁻¹), mid-salinity (10dSm⁻¹), or high-salinity (30dSm⁻¹), with either low-sodicity (sodium adsorption ratio, SAR, 1), or high-sodicity (SAR 30) to give six treatments: control (low-salinity low-sodicity); low-salinity high-sodicity; mid-salinity low-sodicity; mid-salinity high-sodicity; high-salinity low-sodicity; and high-salinity high-sodicity. Soil respiration rate was highest (56–80mg CO₂-C kg⁻¹ soil) in the low-salinity treatments and lowest (1–5mg CO₂-C kg⁻¹ soil) in the mid-salinity treatments, while the SMB was highest in the high-salinity treatments (459–565mg kg⁻¹ soil) and lowest in the low-salinity treatments (158–172mg kg⁻¹ soil). This was attributed to increased substrate availability with high salt concentrations through either increased dispersion of soil aggregates or dissolution or hydrolysis of soil organic matter, which may offset some of the stresses placed on the microbial population from high salt concentrations. The apparent disparity in trends in respiration and the SMB may be due to an induced shift in the microbial population, from one dominated by more active microorganisms to one dominated by less active microorganisms.     

Patterns of SSR variation in bread wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum aestivum</Emphasis> L.) seeds under ex situ genebank storage and accelerated ageing

Maintaining seed viability and germplasm integrity is a challenging task in conservation of plant genetic resources, as seeds under storage will lose viability and genetic changes will occur. Attempt was made to analyze the patterns of genetic changes in wheat germplasm under ex situ genebank storage and accelerated ageing treatments. A set of 16 naturally aged wheat accessions under ex situ genebank storage since 1994 were sampled. Four recently regenerated wheat accessions were selected, four random seed samples were chosen from each accession, and three of them were exposed to three different accelerated ageing treatments. These 32 seed samples in two germplasm sets displayed a range of germination rates from 4 to 98 %. Thirty-seven microsatellite markers representing 21 wheat chromosomes were applied to screen 12 seeds of each sample and 449 SSR alleles were scored. Large SSR variation was found in each germplasm set. There was 73.1 % of the total SSR variation present among the naturally aged samples and 78.2 % present among the accelerated ageing samples. Several analyses for genetic association consistently revealed no clear genetic separations among samples of high or low germination rates in both germplasm sets. Samples under different accelerated ageing treatments did not show much genetic differentiations from the original sample of each accession. Mantel tests revealed non-significant associations between SSR variability and sample germination rates for both germplasm sets. These findings are useful for understanding seed deterioration under different ageing conditions and suggest that genome-wide SSR variability may not provide sensitive markers for the monitoring of wheat seed viability.