Bioremediation of a Crude Oil-Polluted Soil: Biodegradation,Leaching and Toxicity Assessments

The combined fate and effects of hydrocarbons (HC) on a soilecosystem affected by bioremediation were studied during 480days in a field experiment. The HC removal rates, the HC andmetabolites mobility and the potential toxicity were assessed.A clayey soil polluted by 18 000 mg HC kg^-1 dry soil, wastreated with either static-ventilated biopile or series of fivewindrows periodically tilled in order to determine the relativeinfluence of nutrients, bulking agents, aeration and soiltemperature. HC concentrations were determined by infraredspectrometry, gravimetry, gas chromatography andthermodesorption. Between 70 to 81% of the initial HC wereremoved through biological processes in fertilized soils,whereas natural attenuation without added nutrients was 56%.When adding fertilizers, residual HC were cyclic compoundspoorly biodegraded and strongly trapped on the organo-mineralmatter. Leaching of HC and water-soluble metabolites wasdemonstrated during the first stages of biodegradation. Lowlevels of the HC were detected in the leachates at day 480.Maximal toxicity was highest immediately after the introductionof oil then decreased as biodegradation proceeded. No toxiceffect was recorded on worms survival and on seeds germinationat day 480. However growth of plants was reduced in treatedsoils and a potential residual toxicity was observed on thebasis of photosynthesis inhibition and bacterial bioluminescence (Microtox) tests.     

Plant regeneration in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L., Convolvulaceae)

The application of new techniques for improvement of sweet potato crops, particularly including the exploitation of somaclonal variation, gene transfer by genetic transformation and somatic hybridization, requires the control of plant regeneration from tissue cultures. Shoots can easily be regenerated from explants of stems, petioles, leaves and roots, while callus cultures do not produce any shoots. The potential of somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration via embryogenesis was evaluated for 10 cultivars of sweet potato. Protocols for plant regeneration from cultured protoplasts have also been developed. Since mesophyll was resistant to enzyme digestion, fragments of stems and petioles, callus and cell suspensions were used as source of protoplasts of sweet potato. Series of transfers of protoplast-derived calluses, particularly those which had been obtained from in vitro plants, to media containing a high level of zeatin resulted in successful formation of shoots in only two sweet potato cultivars. In addition, the embryogenic potential was irreversibly lost through protoplast culture, since protoplasts isolated from embryogenic cell suspensions developed into non-embryogenic callus. Consequently, an alternative protocol is being successfully developed to improve plant regeneration from cultured protoplasts of sweet potato, involving first root formation from which shoots can then be regenerated. Preliminary evaluation in field conditions in Gabon revealed that plants regenerated from cultured protoplasts exhibited a great genetic variability in their growth and tuber formation in particular. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Limit dextrinase in barley cultivars of differing malting quality: activity, inhibitors and limit dextrin profiles

Free and total limit dextrinase (LD) activity was measured in four barley varieties of differing malting quality. LD activity was not detected until 2 days after completion of steeping, at which point, total LD activity was 4–5 fold higher in Static and Chariot than in Optic or Hart. Free LD rose to higher levels in Static and Chariot than in Optic and Hart during malting. In addition, the proportion of free to total LD approached 35% in Static and Chariot whereas it did not reach 15% for Optic and Hart. Lower free LD activity was not reflected in a higher total content of branched dextrins in hot water extracts of the different varieties, but may have contributed to the persistence of branched dextrins of higher degree of polymerisation persisting in the hot water extracts of Hart and Optic.The variation in the proportion of free to total LD activity between varieties was not explained by differences in total LD activity and may be related to the presence of inhibitors of LD. Protein extracts made from the malts following steeping inhibited exogenous partially purified LD activity by >80%. After 3 days germination, Chariot, Optic and Static lost much of their inhibitory activity whereas it was retained in Hart. The increase in free LD activities during malting appeared to mirror the disappearance in inhibitory activity.Inhibitors of LD activity were also present in hot water extracts of Chariot and Hart malts. Chariot lost inhibitory activity after 3 days malting and hot water extracts from Chariot after 4 days malting caused apparent activation of LD. By contrast, hot water extracts from Hart retained inhibitory activity up to 5 days malting. These findings are discussed with reference to the availability and effectiveness of LD during malting.     

Umami compounds are a determinant of the flavor of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Vegetable flavor is an important factor in consumer choice but a trait that is difficult to assess quantitatively. The purpose of this study was to assess the levels of the major umami compounds in boiled potato tubers, in cultivars previously assessed for sensory quality. The free levels of the major umami amino acids, glutamate and aspartate, and the 5'-nucleotides, GMP and AMP, were measured in potato samples during the cooking process. Tubers were sampled at several time points during the growing season. The levels of both glutamate and 5'-nucleotides were significantly higher in mature tubers of two Solanum phureja cultivars compared with two Solanum tuberosum cultivars. The equivalent umami concentration was calculated for five cultivars, and there were strong positive correlations with flavor attributes and acceptability scores from a trained evaluation panel, suggesting that umami is an important component of potato flavor.     

Transfer of resistance to Verticillium dahliae Kleb. from Solanum torvum S.W. into potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) by protoplast electrofusion

Summary Interspecific somatic hybrid plants were regenerated after electrofusion of mesophyll protoplasts with the objective of transferring resistance to Verticillium dahliae from Solanum torvum into potato. Early selection of the putative hybrids was based on differences in cultural behaviour of the parental and hybrid calli (particularly the ability of the latter to regenerate early) in combination with morphological markers. Four putative hybrids were recovered from hundreds of calli, probably resulting from complementation of the two parental genomes. The regenerates were tetraploids (2n=4×=48 chromosomes) and exhibited intermediate traits including leaf form, plant morphology and the presence of anthocyanin. The hybrid nature of the four selected plants was confirmed by examining isoenzyme patterns for isocitrate dehydrogenase (Idh), malate dehydrogenase (Mdh), phosphoglucoisomerase (Pgi) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-Pgd). While the hybrid plants rooted readily and grew vigorously under in vitro conditions, in the greenhouse their development and growth were retarded by difficulties in rooting. When grafted on potato or S. torvum rootstocks, the hybrid plants recovered normal development and growth. Again, they exhibited intermediate morphological traits. Tests for resistance realized in vitro with medium containing 50% Verticillium wilt filtrate showed that all the somatic hybrids were resistant to the fungus filtrate.