Draft Genome Sequence of Novel Filterable Rhodospirillales Bacterium Strain TMPK1, Isolated from Soil

We report the draft genome sequence of a novel Rhodospirillales bacterium strain, TMPK1, isolated from a micropore-filtered soil suspension. This strain has a genome of 4,249,070 bp, comprising 4,151 protein-coding sequences. The genome sequence data further suggest that strain TMPK1 is an alphaproteobacterium capable of carotenoid production.

Microbiological assessment of meadow-chernozem carbonated soil with different fertilization systems

Microorganisms play an important role in the formation of soil fertility, ensure their functioning as biological bodies of nature and are an indicator of qualitative soil changes. Due to the effect of anthropogenic activity on the soil there is a decrease in the number and depletion of the species composition of the microbiota. The aim of the research was to estimate the number of different physiological groups of microorganisms on meadow-chernozem carbonate soil under different fertilizer systems. Determination of the number of different groups of soil microorganisms was carried out according to the method of Zvyagintsev by sowing the soil suspension on solid nutrient media. It was established that the most favorable indicators of microbiocenosis and the highest yield of peas of Tsarevich variety were formed by the aftereffects of organic fertilizers and N45P45K45. The variant without fertilizers causes the development of mineralization of organic matter in meadow-chernozem carbonate soil by the content of pedotrophic and humatizing organisms and formed the lowest yield of peas. Application of only mineral fertilizers for growing peas formed a high rate of accumulation of humus at the level of Kak. = 1,6-1,9.

Changes in Selected Elements of Soils Under Simulated Acid Rain Conditions

Acid rain has been considered a major polluting agent harmful to both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. A study was carried out to examine the variations of different elements in Abbottabad soil, Pakistan. The acidification process increases the extraction of different elements from the soil. The extracted concentration of Mg increased in the CL soil after the addition of 1N HNO3 (1:5) by 46.7%, with 1N H2SO4 by 56.3%, and the mixture of both acids 68.1% than untreated CL soil. The average Na concentrations (mg kg-1) of soil suspension (1:5) were achieved among acids as HNO3 (17.2) > HNO3 plus H2SO4 (15.4) > H2SO4 (14.8) > no treatment (8.5). The greater strength of acid released more amounts of an element from the soil. This study indicated a distinct alteration in the composition of soil by acidification practice.

BACTERIA OF THE ORDER BACILLALES AS PROMISING ANTAGONISTS OF FUSARIUM PATHOGENS AND THEIR IMPACT ON WINTER WHEAT PLANTS

The possibility of using bacteria of the order Bacillales as agents of biological control of phytopathogenic fungi of the genus Fusarium was studied. In the work, 28 soil samples were studied, from which antagonist bacterial strains were isolated. Antagonism was detected by cultivating a pasteurized soil suspension with a culture of the fungus Fusarium graminearum on wort agar. In the course of this work, 1040 antagonist bacterial strains were isolated. Subsequently, the influence of the selected strains of microorganisms on the germination winter wheat seeds and several other morphometric parameters was studied.

Changing the properties of samples after extraction from wet soil: a short review

Laboratory-dried specimens yield distorted information about the state of hydromorphic soil. Changes in the gas medium, humidity, temperature, aggregation capacity and illumination have an irreversible impact on the dried and powdered soil specimen. Properties of the dried hydromorphic soil can be altered significantly. Most altered are (1) the colour of the hydromorphic soils, (2) the рН value, and (3) the content of mobile trace metal (TM) compounds after drying the wet soil. Colour change (browning) of the hydromorphic soil is related to the oxidation of Fe(II). In a highly ferruginous soil, the browning is rapid and visible even to the naked eye. In the weakly ferruginous gley, the colour change is invisible to the naked eye, but instrumental field measurements reveal a slow and slight yellowing of the dried gley. In dried soils, laboratory рН values determined in soil suspension differ from the values determined in soil solution at the same time. The process of drying provokes a significant decrease in the content of mobile TM compounds, resulting in the illusion of less soil contamination than the real situation during hydromorphic soil humidification. When studying hydromorphic soils, it is desirable to accomplish the maximum possible field measurements. Laboratory analyses should only be carried out for specimens stored under dark conditions since they retain the initial humidity, temperature and gas composition.

Testing the improved Integral Suspension Pressure method ISP+ with the PARIO™ device

<p>The integral suspension pressure method (ISP) uses pressure measurements in a soil suspension to derive the particle size distribution (PSD) in the silt range in high resolution. The sedimentation process is mathematically simulated and the simulated suspension pressure at a fixed depth in the sedimentation cylinder is fitted to an observed time series. The PSD is determined by numerically solving the inverse problem. The methodology is implemented in a commercial apparatus named PARIO that is produced by METER AG, Munich.</p><p>Practical experiments with PARIO indicated that the accuracy of the method to determine the clay fraction was not as high as expected from theory, which may partly be caused by the error propagation from the independently determined sand fractions. Durner and Iden (2019) thus proposed an extension of the experimental protocol called ISP<sup>+</sup>, which makes the inverse problem better-posed and allows shorter experimental time. After a sedimentation time of few hours, a part of the suspension is drained laterally from the sedimentation cylinder through an outlet, collected and oven-dried. The resulting dry mass of the soil particles is integrated into the objective function of the inverse problem. This markedly reduces the uncertainty of the identified PSD towards the finest particles. We present experimental results from PARIO measurements evaluated by the ISP<sup>+</sup> method and illustrate the new experimental design and the improvement of accuracy for the clay fraction.</p><p>Reference: Durner, W., & Iden, S. C. (2019, January). ISP+: improving the Integral Suspension Pressure method by an independent measurement of clay content. In Geophysical Research Abstracts (Vol. 21).</p>