Effects of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens Biofertilizer on Brassica juncea var. multiceps Growth and N_2O Emission from Soil

In this study, Bacil us amyloliquefaciens A3 was continual y incubated in shake fIasks contalning wastewater from sweet potato starch production as an ef-fective biofertiIizer for cuItivation of Brassica juncea var. multiceps（XueIihong）. Based on pot experiments in the greenhouse, the effects of chemical fertiIizers （CN）, biofertiIizer （BF）, inactivated broth （BI）, starch wastewater （SW） and the combination of biofertiIizer and chemical fertiIizer （BC） on the yield, NO3- content and NO2- con-tent of XueIihong, soiI physicochemical properties and N2O emission were investi-gated. The resuIts showed that the yield of XueIihong in BC and CN treatments was improved by five times compared with CK; BF and SW treatments had insignifi-cant impact on the yield of XueIihong. Compared with CN treatment, BCL treatment exhibited simiIar improving effects on the yield of XueIihong, in which NO3- content of XueIihong and soiI was reduced by 16.4%-73.6% and 22%-29%, which reduced the risk of nitrogen eIuviations in soiI; average N2O fIux （FPV30） in BCL treatment was reduced by 58.3%-73.1% compared with CN treatment. In concIusion, B. amy-loliquefaciens is a feasibIe Iow-cost biofertiIizer for sustalnabIe vegetabIe farming with a great potential for starch wastewater utiIization.

Genetic variation of the 8-kDa glycoprotein family from Echinococcus granulosus, Taenia multiceps and Taenia hydatigena

Background Echinococcosis, coenurosis and cysticercosis are debilitating diseases which prevail in China. Immunological diagnosis of metacestodosis is important in disease control. The 8-kDa glycoproteins from taeniid cestodes have successfully been used for diagnosis of human cysticercosis in immunological assays. The aim of the present study was to investigate genetic variations and phylogenetic relationships of the 8-kDa proteins for evaluating the possibility of utilizing these proteins as diagnostic antigens for other metacestode infections. Methods The genes and complementary DNAs （cDNAs） encoding the 8-kDa proteins from Echinococcus （E.） granulosus, Taenia （T.） multiceps and T. hydatigena were amplified using PCR method. Their amplicons were cloned into the vector pMD18 and the positive clones were sequenced. Sequence data were analyzed with the SeqMan program, and sequence homology searches were performed using the BLAST program. Alignments were conducted using the ClustalX program, and the phylogenetic analyses were performed with the Protein Sequences Program and the Puzzle Program using the Neighbor-joining method. Results Fifteen, 18 and 22 different genomic DNA sequences were identified as members of the 8-kDa protein gene family from E. granulosus, T. multiceps and T. hydatigena, respectively. Eight, four and six different cDNA clones respectively from E. granulosus, T. multiceps and T. hydatigena were characterized. Analysis of these sequences revealed 54 unique 8-kDa protein sequences. Phylogenetic trees demonstrated that the taeniid 8-kDa proteins are clustered into eight clades at least： Ts18, Ts14, TsRS1, TsRS2, T8kDa-1, T8kDa-2, T8kDa-3 and T8kDa-4. Conclusion We found that the gene family encoding for the taeniid 8-kDa antigens is comprised of many members with high diversity, which will provide molecular evidence for cross-reaction or specific reaction among metacestode infections and may contribute to the development of promising immunological methods for diagnosis of metacestodosis.