Microbial mineralization of organic matter in sinking particles,bottom sediments and seawater in a coastal fish culturing area

Microbial mineralization rates in sinking particles, bottom sediments and seawater were determined in a coastal fish (red sea bream Pagrus major) culturing area to clarify the mineralization process of organic matter (OM) in the entire water column. The mineralization rates of ¹⁴C‐labelled glutamate and glucose per unit volume were highest in the sinking particles and were 131–572 and 7–49 times higher than those of the seawater and bottom sediments respectively. The turnover time of glutamate tended to be shorter than that of glucose at all three sites of the water column. Bacteria appeared to prefer amino acids to monosaccharides because amino acids could be utilized as both energy and nitrogen sources. The sedimentation rate of particulate organic carbon (POC) derived from phytoplankton accounted for 9–61% of the total POC, and it was particularly high in early summer (61% and 50% at fish cage and non‐cage stations respectively). The present study clearly shows that sinking particles serve as an important site of microbial mineralization process of OM within the water column, and that phytoplankton production was another serious cause of organic pollution of the seafloor in addition to the organic wastes directly discharged from fish farms.     

Porewater Monitoring Under Different Layer Systems on a Sloping Surface at a Closed Mine Site

In this study, we investigate the corrosion effects on modern materials at various sheltered and unsheltered locations in the Greater Athens Area (GAA) due to atmospheric pollution, since materials deterioration could emerge severe economic costs in the near future. The preselected materials are weathering steel, copper, bronze, zinc, and aluminum, which are mainly used in modern constructions in the GAA. The method applied in this study leads in the production of corrosion maps for GAA in the period 2000–2009 by using sophisticated geoanalytical methods together with dose–response functions for the selected materials. The corrosion effects are significant for weathering steel, moderate for copper and bronze and weak for zinc and aluminum. Also, a corrosion trend analysis is performed, which can be a very helpful tool for future protection of such materials from atmospheric pollution. The results show increasing corrosion trends for weathering steel and copper in the eastern regions of GAA, probably caused by the recent operation of the Athens International Airport at Spata, while no corrosion trends were observed to the other materials. The method applied in this work provides comprehensive results for the estimation of the impact of atmospheric corrosion on various construction materials.     

An investigation into the potential use of nanoparticles as adjuvants for the production of polyclonal antibodies to low molecular weight compounds

Two nanoparticle based adjuvants were assessed for their ability to produce polyclonal antibodies in rabbits to low molecular weight target analytes, i.e. veterinary drugs banned from use in food producing animals. The nanoparticles, Montanide IMS 251 and amphiphilic poly (γ-glutamic acid) were compared against a mineral oil adjuvant, Montanide ISA 50, which had previously been shown to be successful in producing antibodies to haptens whilst being safe to use with respect to the welfare of the host animals. The adjuvants were assessed for their tendency to cause adverse effects to the host animals and by the quality of the antibodies generated in terms of assay sensitivity. None of the three adjuvants employed in the trial generated any measurable adverse effects in the host animals. While the mineral oil adjuvant produced higher titres of antibodies the nanoparticle adjuvants were found to produce antibodies of statistically comparable sensitivity. Based on IC(50) values, six antisera displayed potential to detect the required level of the target compounds; five of these were produced by rabbits immunised with the two different nanoparticle adjuvants. As antibody sensitivity is the main performance criteria of an analytical immunoassay, it can be concluded that the nanoparticle adjuvants under evaluation are fit for the purpose described in this study.     

Plant viruses and viroids in Japan

Journal of General Plant Pathology - An increasing number of plant viruses and viroids have been reported from all over the world due largely to metavirogenomics approaches with technological...     

Identification and characterization of Lisianthus necrotic ringspot virus,a novel distinct tospovirus species causing necrotic disease of lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum)

In 2007, lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) plants with necrotic ringspots on the leaves were found in Kochi Prefecture, Japan. Tospovirus-like spherical enveloped particles with ca. 160 nm in diameter were observed with electron microscopy. The complete nucleotide sequence of the S RNA segment of the virus was determined, and phylogenetic analysis using deduced amino acid sequences of the nucleocapsid protein and the nonstructural S protein indicated that the virus is phylogenetically distinct from any known tospovirus species. The results suggest that the virus is a new member of the genus Tospovirus, in the family Bunyaviridae. The virus is the fifth distinct tospovirus occurring naturally in lisianthus in Japan. The necrotic symptoms were reproduced on lisianthus seedlings after mechanical inoculation. The host range of the virus isolate on several test plants was also examined.     

Steric structure–activity relationships of the rice blasticide,S-2900 (diclocymet)

The four diastereomers of 2-cyano-N-[1-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)ethyl]-3,3-dimethyl-butyramide were prepared by a direct HPLC separation with chiral columns. The [(S)acid, (R)amine]-isomer (was the most antifungal among the diastereomers tested. Because of the lability of the clinical group in the acid moiety, the (RS)-(R)-isomer is being developed as a rice blasticide. (S-2900, proposed common name diclocymet).     

The Function of a Maize-Derived Phosphoenol pyruvate Carboxylase (PEPC) in Phosphorus-Deficient Transgenic Rice

Transgenic rice ( Oryza sativa L., a C₃ plant) lines carrying a complete phospho enol pyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) gene from maize (a C₄ plant) were tested for their performance in terms of organic acid synthesis and organic acid exudation into the rhizosphere under phosphorus (P)-deficient conditions. High PEPC activity increased the fraction of photosynthetically fixed carbon allocated to the organic acid pool, and P deficiency enhanced oxalate exudation from the roots of the transgenic plants. There was no evidence that the transformed PEPC was involved in internal P recycling in the plant. However, the root PEPC activity was positively correlated with the oxalate exudation and negatively correlated with the root P concentration, and a higher root PEPC activity led to a higher oxalate exudation. Thus, it is suggested that C₄-PEPC transgenic rice plants had acquired the ability to exude oxalate, which enhanced their capacity to adapt to low P soil conditions.     

Chemical species of Al in a gypsum-treated Kitakami Andosol

To examine the possibility that the Al₁₃ polymer ([A10₄Al₁₂(OH)24(H₂0)₁₂]⁷⁺) could be formed in soils after gypsum application, an analytical method using a cation exchange resin and ²⁷Al nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was applied to gypsum-treated Kitakami Andosol (fine, mixed, mesic, Andic Dystrochrept). The NMR spectra of the cation exchange resins which retained artificially synthesized hydroxy-AI, showed two broad peaks at 0 and 63 ppm. These results indicated that monomer and/or dimer Al and Al¹³ polymers adsorbed on the cation exchange resin could be detected with ²⁷Al NMR. The amount of polymer Al increased by gypsum application in the Kitakami soil. The NMR spectrum of this resin showed only one peak at 0 ppm indicating that the polymer Al formed in the gypsum treated Kitakami soil was not the Al¹³ polymer.