Barley Nepenthesin-Like Aspartic Protease HvNEP-1 Degrades Fusarium Phytase, Impairs Toxin Production, and Suppresses the Fungal Growth

Nepenthesins are categorized under the subfamily of the nepenthesin-like plant aspartic proteases (PAPs) that form a distinct group of atypical PAPs. This study describes the effect of nepenthesin 1 (HvNEP-1) protease from barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) on fungal histidine acid phosphatase (HAP) phytase activity. Signal peptide lacking HvNEP-1 was expressed in Pichia pastoris and biochemically characterized. Recombinant HvNEP-1 (rHvNEP-1) strongly inhibited the activity of Aspergillus and Fusarium phytases, which are enzymes that release inorganic phosphorous from phytic acid. Moreover, rHvNEP-1 suppressed in vitro fungal growth and strongly reduced the production of mycotoxin, 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-ADON), from Fusarium graminearum. The quantitative PCR analysis of trichothecene biosynthesis genes (TRI) confirmed that rHvNEP-1 strongly repressed the expression of TRI4, TRI5, TRI6, and TRI12 in F. graminearum. The co-incubation of rHvNEP-1 with recombinant F. graminearum (rFgPHY1) and Fusarium culmorum (FcPHY1) phytases induced substantial degradation of both Fusarium phytases, indicating that HvNEP-1-mediated proteolysis of the fungal phytases contributes to the HvNEP-1-based suppression of Fusarium.

Quantifying the effects of co-composting organic biomass mixtures with inorganic amendments to obtain value-added bio-products

Co-digestion of organic biomass mixed with inorganic amendments could have an impact on composting dynamics. Various studies highlighted fertilizers’ role as an additive to lesser the nitrogen loss, while some studies focused on the addition of fertilizers to enhance the efficiency. The changes in carbon, nitrogen components, and humic substances during the organic-inorganic co-compost process were seldom studied. Clarifying these changes might help improve the production process and compost nutrients contents. Thus, this study’s purpose is to investigate the effects of inorganic amendments on compost characteristics, compost temperature, biochemical methane production (BMP), and nutritional contents. The inorganic phosphorous (P), sulfur (S), and sulfur solubilizing agent (SSA) were added to Farmyard manure (FYM) mixed with biodegradable waste (BW), including wheat straw, corn stalks, and green lawn waste. The P and S amended treatments were carried out into two sets, with and without SSA. The mixed feedstocks were added in the insulated RBC composting pit (15 x 15 x 10 feet). The compost material’s moisture content was maintained 50–65% during the entire composting process for optimum waste digestion i.e., the moisture content (MC) of FYM was 82.7% and for BW ranged 8.8–10.2%, while the C/N ratio was found 10.5 for FYM, 74.5 for wheat straw, 83.5 for corn stalks, and 84.8 for lawn waste. At the condition of compost maturity, the inorganic amendments have no significant effect on composted material’s moisture content. The maximum organic matter of 69.7% and C/N ratio of 44.6 was measured in T1. On the 6th day of composting, the temperature reached to thermophilic range (>45 oC) in all the treatments due to aeration of compost increased microbial activities and waste decomposition rate and decreased gradually to mesophilic range (35–45 oC) because the supply of high-energy compounds becomes exhausted. The highest temperature was reached in T4 (58 oC) and lowest in CT (47 oC). The significantly maximum methane of 8.95 m3 and biogas burning was 818 minutes in CT, followed by T1 and T4. The results of this study revealed that P enriched compost is a feasible and sustainable way to overcome P deficiency in the soil as well as in plants and best way to use low-grade P and organic waste material.

Inorganic Phosphorous, Lime and Vermicompost Induced Changes on Phosphorus Fractions and Other Properties of Acidic Soil of Cheha District, Ethiopia

Background: In acid soils, soluble inorganic phosphorus is fixed by aluminum and iron, so that phosphorous availability to plant would be inhibited. Thus, an incubation study was conducted to evaluate the effects of lime, vermicompost, and mineral P fertilizer on the distribution of P fractions and oxalate and dithionite extractable aluminum and iron. The treatments consisted of three rates of phosphorous (0, 74.51 and 149.01 kg P ha-1), three rates of vermicompost (0, 5 and 10 ton VC ha-1) and four rates of lime (0, 5.70, 9.20, and 11.50 ton CaCO3 ha-1). The experiment was laid out as a complete randomized design in a factorial arrangement. Results: Combined application of lime, vermicompost and mineral P significantly increased (p<0.05) labile phosphorus fractions and decreased potential sorption capacities of the soil. As the increased soil pH, reduced exchangeable acidity and oxalate extractable Fe and Al the integrated applications of these amendments fixed aluminum and iron instead of phosphorus, thus rendering phosphorus available by keeping the inorganic phosphorus in a bioavailable labile phosphorus pool compared to sole application of the amendments. Conclusions: Combined applications of lime, vermicompost and inorganic P to acidic soils of Goha-1 in Cheha district could convey enhanced amount of available P and ensures the maintenance of higher levels of labile P. It might also contribute towards meeting crop P requirements.

INFLAMMATORY MARKERS IN END-STAGE RENAL DISEASE PATIENTS ON HAEMODIALYSIS

Background: CXC chemokine ligand 16 (CXCL16) is an inflammatory chemokine that mediates renal infiltration of macrophages and activated T cells.Aim: To investigate serum levels of CXCL16 in patients undergoing hemodialysis and their correlation with other inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH).Methods: The study included 40 hemodialysis patients (22 males) and 40 age and gender-matched controls (24 males). Fasting blood sugar (FBS), urea, creatinine, calcium and inorganic phosphorous were assayed in participants using routine methods, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) by quantitative chromatographic spectrophoto metry, iPTH by chemiluminescent microparticle immuno assay, CRP by nephelometry and CXCL16 by ELISA technique.Results: Serum CXCL16, CRP, PTH, FBS, urea, and creatinine levels were significantly higher in hemodialysis patients compared to controls (p<0.00001). No statistically significant differences were observed between patients and controls for calcium, phosphorous, and HbA1c. SerumCXCL16 levels correlated positively with CRP (r=0.956, p<0.00001) and iPTH (r=-0.403, p<0.001). Hemodialysis patients (diabetics or hypertensives) had significantly higher CXCL16 levels compared to non-diabetics or nonhypertensives. Conclusions: High levels of serum CXCL16, CRP and iPTH reflect the inflammatory status of hemodialysis patients and help avoid complications. Serum CXCL16 could be used as a biomarker together with CRP in these patients.

Contrasting juxtaposition of two paradigms for diazotrophy in an Earth System Model of intermediate complexity

Nitrogen fixers, or diazotrophs, play a key role in the carbon and nitrogen cycle of the world oceans, but the controlling mechanisms are not comprehensively understood yet. The present study compares two paradigms on the ecological niche of diazotrophs in an Earth System Model (ESM). In our standard model configuration, which is representative for most of the state-of-the-art pelagic ecosystem models, diazotrophs take advantage of zooplankton featuring a lower food preference for diazotrophs than for ordinary phytoplankton. We compare this paradigm with the idea that diazotrophs are more competitive under oligotrophic conditions, characterized by low (dissolved, particulate, organic and inorganic) phosphorous availability. Both paradigms are supported by observational evidence and lead to a similar good agreement to the most recent and advanced observation-based nitrogen fixation estimate in our ESM framework. Further, we illustrate that the similarity between the two paradigms breaks in a RCP 8.5 anthropogenic emission scenario. We conclude that a more advanced understanding of the ecological niche of diazotrophs is mandatory for assessing the cycling of essential nutrients, especially under changing environmental conditions. Our results call for more in-situ measurements of cyanobacteria biomass if major controls of nitrogen fixation in the oceans are to be dissected.

Impact of Transfaunation of Rumen Ciliate Cultures on Physical Examination, Selected Serum Parameters and Milk Profile in Defaunated Lactating Dairy Goats

Rumen ciliates still have mysterious secrets and influences in ruminants. This study investigated the effect of transfaunation of pure and mixed cultures of rumen ciliates on physical clinical examination, selected serum parameters and milk profile in defaunated lactating dairy goats. A number of 8 Baladi native breed goats were randomly classified into two groups each one containing 4 goats. Pure culture group was transfaunated with 6 ml of pure culture of Holotricha spp., while mixed culture group was transfaunated with 6 ml of mixed culture of 81.85% Holotricha and 18.15% Ophryoscolex spp. once weekly for three consecutive weeks, after defaunation of both groups using 30 ml of 8% SLS for two consecutive days. Serum and milk samples were collected weekly for three successive weeks to study effect of type of ciliate culture, duration of transfaunation and their interaction. Results revealed that transfaunation of pure and mixed cultures of rumen ciliates had no effect on physical examination with minimal non-significant improvement of calcium, inorganic phosphorous, total protein and globulin in serum of defaunated goats. Transfaunation of pure or mixed cultures of rumen ciliates within three weeks could not improve significantly decreased milk fat % of defaunated goats without any effect on other measured milk profile parameters. It is concluded that further investigations on transfaunation without prior defaunation should be performed using different pure and mixed cultures of rumen ciliates for therapeutic and productive purposes.

Phosphorus burial in ferruginous SiO2-rich Mesoproterozoic sediments

Persistently low atmospheric oxygen requires that net organic carbon burial was muted through much of Earth’s middle age. In order to achieve global mass balance with respect to O2, recent models have suggested that redox-dependent mechanisms, such as Fe(II)-phosphate precipitation, limited phosphate availability in dominantly anoxic and ferruginous oceans, in turn limiting net primary production, and therefore organic carbon burial. Nevertheless, observational constraints on phosphorus cycling in ferruginous Proterozoic systems are rare, leaving these models largely untested. Here, we present high-resolution petrographic and mineralogical data showing that the 1.3 Ga Sherwin Ironstone (Roper Group, Australia) was dominated by syndepositional precipitation of the Fe(II)-silicate minerals greenalite and berthierine, interlaminated with abundant authigenic calcium fluorapatite (CFA). Set in a quantitative geochemical framework, these data reveal that elevated marine SiO2(aq) concentrations facilitated extensive Fe(II)-silicate production, leaving CFA, rather than Fe(II)-phosphate, as the principal inorganic phosphorous sink in shallow-water Roper Group sediments. More broadly, the physical and chemical factors that triggered Fe(II)-silicate and CFA burial in the Roper Seaway highlight semi-restricted basins as important loci of phosphorus removal from the mid-Proterozoic ocean.

Application of Stable Isotopes of Water to Study Coupled Submarine Groundwater Discharge and Nutrient Delivery

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD)—including terrestrial freshwater, density-driven flow at the saltwater–freshwater interface, and benthic exchange—can deliver nutrients to coastal areas, generating a negative effect in the quality of marine water bodies. It is recognized that water stable isotopes (18O and 2H) can be helpful tracers to identify different flow paths and origins of water. Here, we show that they can be also applied when assessing sources of nutrients to coastal areas. A field site near a lagoon (Ringkøbing Fjord, Denmark) has been monitored at a metric scale to test if stable isotopes of water can be used to achieve a better understanding of the hydrochemical processes taking place in coastal aquifers, where there is a transition from freshwater to saltwater. Results show that 18O and 2H differentiate the coastal aquifer into three zones: Freshwater, shallow, and deep saline zones, which corresponded well with zones having distinct concentrations of inorganic phosphorous. The explanation is associated with three mechanisms: (1) Differences in sediment composition, (2) chemical reactions triggered by mixing of different type of fluxes, and (3) biochemical and diffusive processes in the lagoon bed. The different behaviors of nutrients in Ringkøbing Fjord need to be considered in water quality management. PO4 underneath the lagoon exceeds the groundwater concentration inland, thus demonstrating an intra-lagoon origin, while NO3, higher inland due to anthropogenic activity, is denitrified in the study area before reaching the lagoon.