A long-term in vitro culture of bovine epithelial cells on collagen rafts

In the present work, we established and characterized a 3D functional polarized primary bovine oviduct epithelial cells (BOECs) culture on free-floating type I collagen hydrogels (rafts) at an air-liquid interface (ALI). Intercellular junctions, ultrastructural cellular morphology and the expression of the OVGP1 closely recapitulated those of the in vivo epithelium lining. These morphological and physiological epithelial cell features were maintained under standard DMEM/F12 with 10% foetal bovine serum culture medium for at least 28 days of ALI culture. The versatility of the BOECs raft cultures should allow testing of toxicity compounds, in vitro evaluation of physiological or pathological oviductal states, and the study of epithelial-mesenchymal interactions that are critical for the maintenance of oviductal homeostasis.     

Dynamics of surface water quality driven by distinct urbanization patterns and storms in a Portuguese peri-urban catchment

Purpose

Although the influences of urban land use on water quality have been widely investigated, the impacts of different urbanization patterns, particularly in Mediterranean environments, are not well understood. Focussing on a Portuguese peri-urban catchment with 40 % urban cover, this paper explores (1) the impact of areas with differing urban extent and storm drainage system on streamwater quality and (2) temporal variations driven by season and storm events of differing magnitude, intensity and antecedent weather.

Materials and methods

Water quality was assessed at the catchment outlet (E) and for three upstream tributaries: (1) Porto Bordalo (PB), 39 % urban with a new major road and piping of some overland flow from impervious surfaces directly into the stream; (2) Espírito Santo (ES), 49 % urban, mostly comprising detached houses surrounded by gardens, and with overland flow infiltrating into downslope pervious soils; and (3) Quinta (Q), 22 % urban with partial piping of overland flow from a recent enterprise park area. Water samples were collected at different stages in storm hydrograph responses to ten rainfall events from October 2011 to March 2013. The water quality variables analysed included chemical oxygen demand (COD), nutrients (Kjeldahl nitrogen [Nk-N], ammonium [NH₄–N], nitrate [NO₃–N] and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) and heavy metals (Zn and Cu).

Results and discussion

Urban areas had great impact on COD, with the highest median concentrations in ES and the lowest in Q. In ES, fertilizing lawns and gardens may have been responsible for its higher median NO₃–N concentrations. High concentrations of heavy metals were recorded in PB and Q, probably due to the piping of road runoff directly into the stream. Generally, higher pollutant concentrations were recorded in the first storm events after the summer drought due to the flushing of accumulated solutes and a lower dilution effect, with Nk-N and NH₄–N exceeding water quality standards. Over the wet season, increasing soil moisture favoured greater flow connectivity between runoff processes from pollutant sources and the stream network, leading to a higher proportion of samples exceeding pollution thresholds.

Conclusions

No direct relationship was identified between urban extent and water quality, possibly due to the overriding impact of different storm drainage systems and flow connectivities of different urban patterns. Hydrological regime, linked to seasonal changes, also exerted a major influence on the water quality dynamics. Information on the spatiotemporal dynamics of pollutants, linked to different urban patterns and storm drainage systems, should help enable urban planners to minimize the adverse impacts of urbanization on aquatic ecosystems.

     

Genetic diversity patterns in ex situ collections of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza officinalis</Emphasis> Wall. ex G. Watt revealed by morphological and microsatellite markers

This study was conducted to understand variation patterns and establish the population structure in the wild rice species, Oryza officinalis, using accessions collected across the 11 regions/areas of endemism in Asia and Oceania and conserved ex situ in the International Rice Genebank at the International Rice Research Institute. Morphological and microsatellite data detected a tendency for latitudinal divergence in O. officinalis and divided the accessions into (1) Malesian and (2) South and East Asian populations. Cluster and ordination analyses of morphological characters revealed that accessions from Malesia (Regions 1–6), Vietnam (Region 7), and Central Thailand (Region 8) showed short (16.19 ± 3.70 cm) and slender (1.53 ± 2.06 cm) flag leaves that are erect to almost horizontal, short panicles (25.19 ± 3.02 cm) and mainly purple internodes; and (3) accessions from Northern Thailand and Myanmar (Region 9), India (Region 10) and China (Region 11) characterized by long (29.57 ± 4.94 cm) and broad (2.18 ± 3.33 cm) flag leaves that are horizontal to drooping, long panicles (35.26 ± 2.63 cm) and green internodes. With 79.3 % of the SSR markers being polymorphic, molecular analyses detected an average of 5.31 alleles per marker with a total of 154 alleles. Differentiation was evident among the regions with FST = 0.2173, although there is an apparent loss of heterozygosity across regions indicated by an over-all positive FIS. Based on the results, issues related to the management of O. officinalis, specifically filling gaps in the collection and the formulation of seed multiplication practices are addressed.