Trichomonas gallinae, in comparison to Tetratrichomonas gallinarum, induces distinctive cytopathogenic effects in tissue cultures

In the present study the interaction of three genetically different clonal cultures of Trichomonas gallinae and Tetratrichomonas gallinarum with a permanent chicken liver (LMH) and a permanent quail fibroblast (QT35) cell culture was studied. Proliferation of T. gallinae cells was associated with a disintegration of the cell monolayer. The initial lesions on the LMH monolayer consisted of a progressive accumulation of the flagellate, forming clumps attached to the monolayer. A prolonged incubation time was characterized by appearance of holes in the cell monolayer with accumulation of trichomonads at their periphery. According to the severeness of the monolayer disruption differences among three tested T. gallinae clones were noticed. Furthermore, filtrates obtained either from axenic cultures of T. gallinae or from infected cell cultures produced a cytopathogenic effect similar to the protozoal cells, on both types of cell cultures. However, the destructive effect of the flagellates and their cell-free filtrates was much more pronounced on the LMH monolayer in comparison with the QT35 cells. Furthermore, freshly seeded LMH and QT35 cells suspended in cell-free filtrates of T. gallinae were unable to form a confluent monolayer. In comparison to T. gallinae, clonal cultures of T. gallinarum or their cell-free filtrates produced no effect on both types of monolayers. Interestingly, the cell-free filtrates obtained from both trichomonad species had an effect on the viability of both cell cultures. However, the cytotoxic effect of T. gallinarum filtrates was less severe than that recorded by T. gallinae. Consequently, for the first time a destruction of specified monolayers induced by T. gallinae-free filtrates could be demonstrated.     

Does canopy mean nitrogen concentration explain variation in canopy light use efficiency across 14 contrasting forest sites?

The maximum light use efficiency (LUE?=?gross primary production (GPP)/absorbed photosynthetic photon flux density (aPPFD)) of plant canopies has been reported to vary spatially and some of this variation has previously been attributed to plant species differences. The canopy nitrogen concentration [N] can potentially explain some of this spatial variation. However, the current paradigm of the N-effect on photosynthesis is largely based on the relationship between photosynthetic capacity (A(max)) and [N], i.e., the effects of [N] on photosynthesis rates appear under high PPFD. A maximum LUE-[N] relationship, if it existed, would influence photosynthesis in the whole range of PPFD. We estimated maximum LUE for 14 eddy-covariance forest sites, examined its [N] dependency and investigated how the [N]-maximum LUE dependency could be incorporated into a GPP model. In the model, maximum LUE corresponds to LUE under optimal environmental conditions before light saturation takes place (the slope of GPP vs. PPFD under low PPFD). Maximum LUE was higher in deciduous/mixed than in coniferous sites, and correlated significantly with canopy mean [N]. Correlations between maximum LUE and canopy [N] existed regardless of daily PPFD, although we expected the correlation to disappear under low PPFD when LUE was also highest. Despite these correlations, including [N] in the model of GPP only marginally decreased the root mean squared error. Our results suggest that maximum LUE correlates linearly with canopy [N], but that a larger body of data is required before we can include this relationship into a GPP model. Gross primary production will therefore positively correlate with [N] already at low PPFD, and not only at high PPFD as is suggested by the prevailing paradigm of leaf-level A(max)-[N] relationships. This finding has consequences for modelling GPP driven by temporal changes or spatial variation in canopy [N].     

Assessing the impact of interfering organic matter on soil metaproteomic workflow

Soil organic matter (SOM) is biologically, chemically, and physically complex. As a major store of nutrients within the soil, it plays an important role in nutrient provision to plants. An enhanced understanding of SOM utilisation processes could underpin better fertiliser management for plant growth, with reduced environmental losses. Metaproteomics can allow the characterisation of protein profiles and could help gain insights into SOM microbial decomposition mechanisms. Here, we applied three different extraction methods to two soil types to recover SOM with different characteristics. Specifically, water-extractable organic matter, mineral-associated organic matter and protein-bound organic matter were targeted with the aim to investigate the metaproteome enriched in those extractions. As a proof-of-concept, replicated extracts from one soil were further analysed for peptide identification using liquid chromatography followed by tandem mass spectrometry. We employed a framework for mining mass spectra for both peptide assignment and fragmentation pattern characterisation. Different extracts were found to exhibit contrasting total protein and humic substance content for the two soils investigated. Overall, water extracts displayed the lowest humic substance content (in both soils) and the highest number of peptide identifications (in the soil investigated) with the most frequent peptide hits associated with diverse substrate/ligand binding proteins of Proteobacteria and derived taxa. Our framework also highlighted a strong peptidic signal in unassigned and unmatched spectra, information that is currently not captured by the pipelines employed in this study. Taken together, this work points to specific areas for optimisation in chromatography and mass spectrometry to adequately characterise SOM-associated metaproteomes.     

The Rotation Problem and Tropical Deforestation in Forest Economic Textbooks: A Comparative Review

In the past three decades, new trends have been influencing the field of forest economics. For example, the optimal rotation literature has focused increasingly on risk and uncertainty analysis and there has been a steady increase in the number of economic studies regarding tropical deforestation. In this article, it is investigated whether the emergence of these topics is reflected in relevant textbooks of the discipline. Moreover, some structural textbook attributes are analyzed and compared, namely the use of illustrative elements and pedagogical aids. Our results show that one can clearly recognize a steady development in the texts.     

Effects of Ω-3 (n-3) Fatty Acid Supplementation on Insulin Sensitivity in Horses

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of dietary ω-3 fatty acid supplementation on insulin sensitivity (SI) in horses. Twenty-one mares were blocked by age, body weight (BW), and body condition score (BCS) and randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments. Treatments consisted of (1) 38 g of n-3 fatty acids via fish and algae supplement and diet (MARINE), (2) 38 g of n-3 fatty acids via a flaxseed meal from the supplement and diet (FLAX), and (3) control (CON) no supplemental fatty acid. Treatments were supplemented for 90 days. Frequent sampling intravenous glucose tolerance tests were performed on days 0, 30, 60, and 90. Blood samples were analyzed for glucose and insulin. The minimal model was applied for the glucose and insulin curves using MinMod Millennium. SI increased 39% (P < .007) across all treatment groups. Acute insulin response to glucose decreased 22% (P < .006) between days 30 and 60 and increased (P = .040) again at day 90. Disposition index (combined SI and β pancreatic response) increased (P = .03) by 53% in the MARINE- and 48% in the FLAX-supplemented horses and did not change with time in the CON group. In insulin-resistant mares, MARINE- and FLAX-treated horses had an increase in SI (P = .09). It would be interesting to test this supplement in a larger group of insulin-resistant horses. If proven effective, supplementation with ω-3 fatty acids would help to reduce problems associated with insulin resistance in horses.     

稻-鱼系统的发展与未来思考

耕地和淡水是保证全球食物可持续供应所必不可少的资源,如何有效利用有限的水土资源、在保障食物供给的同时降低农业生产过程对资源环境的负面影响,是当今世界农业面临的重大挑战。稻-鱼系统(本文的"鱼"是水产生物的统称)是通过有效利用水土资源同时产出稻谷和水产品的重要农业方式,对保障区域食物供给和保护当地资源和环境有重要作用。近几十年来全球稻鱼-系统迅速发展,至目前全球六大洲的稻作区共28个国家都有了稻-鱼系统的分布;在中国稻-鱼系统也正由原来传统、规模小、养殖单一的模式逐渐发展为规模化、专业化、机械化和养殖多样化的模式。大量研究表明,稻-鱼系统可实现水稻产量稳定和获得水产品,稻-鱼系统同时具有化肥农药减量和农业面源污染降低等效应;稻-鱼系统也有助于解决水产单一养殖而产生的面源污染。虽然全球1.63亿hm2稻田面积90%以上具有发展稻-鱼系统的潜力,但目前稻-鱼系统的比例仍很低,我国稻-鱼系统面积也仅占稻田面积的4.48%。因此,保障稳产高效可持续的稻-鱼系统发展,需要对不同稻作区发展稻-鱼系统的生态经济可行性和适应性进行评估,同时必须建立新的技术体系(田间设施、种养结合技术、农业机械等),并适当扩大规模和创建品牌以增加农民收益。     

土壤有机碳对沼渣或牛粪施用后温室气体排放潜力的影响—盆栽试验结果

A change in the European Union energy policy has markedly promoted the expansion of biogas production.Consequently,large amounts of nutrient-rich residues are being used as organic fertilizers.In this study,a pot experiment was conducted to simulate the high-risk situation of enhanced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions following organic fertilizer application in energy maize cultivation.We hypothesized that cattle slurry application enhanced CO2 and N2O fluxes compared to biogas digestate because of the overall higher carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) input,and that higher levels of CO2 and N2O emissions could be expected by increasing soil organic C (SOC) and N contents.Biogas digestate and cattle slurry,at a rate of 150 kg NH4+-N ha-1,were incorporated into 3 soil types with low,medium,and high SOC contents (Cambisol,Mollic Gleysol,and Sapric Histosol,termed Clow,Cmedium,and Chigh,respectively).The GHG exchange (CO2,CH4,and N2O) was measured on 5 replicates over a period of 22 d using the closed chamber technique.The application of cattle slurry resulted in significantly higher CO2 and N2O fluxes compared to the application of biogas digestate.No differences were observed in CH4 exchange,which was close to zero for all treatments.Significantly higher CO2 emissions were observed in Chigh compared to the other two soil types,whereas the highest N2O emissions were observed in Cmedium.Thus,the results demonstrate the importance of soil type-adapted fertilization with respect to changing soil physical and environmental conditions.