Afforestation has an important role in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function improvement.A meta-analysis was carried out in China,which has the largest plantation area globally,to quantify the effects of pl...Afforestation has an important role in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function improvement.A meta-analysis was carried out in China,which has the largest plantation area globally,to quantify the effects of plantings on soil microbial diversity.The results showed that the overall effect of afforestation on soil microbial diversity was positive across the country.Random forest algorithm suggested that soil carbon was the most important factor regulating microbial diversity and the positive response was only found with new plantings on low-carbon bare lands but not on high-carbon farmlands and grasslands.In addition,afforestation with broadleaved species increased microbial diversity,whereas planting with conifers had no effect on microbial diversity.This study clarified the effects of plantings on soil microbial diversity,which has an important implication for establishing appropriate policies and practices to improve the multiple functionalities(e.g.,biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation)during plantation establishment.展开更多
Using probiotics as animal feed additives instead of antibiotics is gaining momentum to avert adverse negative effects on human health. Liquid brewers yeast (LBY) is an industrial by-product containing probiotic micro...Using probiotics as animal feed additives instead of antibiotics is gaining momentum to avert adverse negative effects on human health. Liquid brewers yeast (LBY) is an industrial by-product containing probiotic microorganisms and is also used as a protein supplement for dairy animals. Nevertheless, value chain actors lack of appropriate handling practices compromises the by-products quality and safety. This study aimed to determine the effect of variation in temperature on microbial diversity and probiotic effects during the storage time of LBY sampled from distributors and farmers from Githunguri sub-county of Kenya. The samples were stored at 20C, 25C and 30C, then tested on 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 days. The studys parameters involved determining the pH levels, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), total coliform count (TCC), mould, and yeast in LBY. The rate (k) of the reaction kinetics model was used to extrapolate the expected probiotic shelf life. The LAB and yeast populations were reduced in a first-order reaction at all storage temperatures. The rate of reduction in the numbers of LAB reduced with an increase in temperature (k = 0.019 and 0.023) at 20C and 30C, respectively. Yeasts highest rate of growth reduction was 25C (k = 0.009) and least at 30C (k = 0.043). The minimum effective concentration for probiotics of 106 CFU/mL needed to observe the beneficial physiological impact on farm animals was achieved between 34.9 and 35.5 days at the tested storage temperatures. The study provides insight into the unexploited low-cost probiotic potential of LBY in dairy production. Conversely, handling practices and environmental microbial contamination along the value chain can compromise product quality and safety. There is a need to advocate its use in dairy for improved productivity and sensitize farmers to appropriate hygienic measures along the LBY value chain.展开更多
In the Loess Plateau of China,land-use pattern is a major factor in controlling underlying biological processes.Additionally,the process of land-use pattern was accompanied by abandoned lands,potentially impacting soi...In the Loess Plateau of China,land-use pattern is a major factor in controlling underlying biological processes.Additionally,the process of land-use pattern was accompanied by abandoned lands,potentially impacting soil microbe.However,limited researches were conducted to study the impacts of land-use patterns on the diversity and community of soil microorganisms in this area.The study aimed to investigate soil microbial community diversity and composition using high-throughput deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA)sequencing under different land-use patterns(apricot tree land,apple tree land,peach tree land,corn land,and abandoned land).The results showed a substantial difference(P<0.050)in bacterial alpha-diversity and beta-diversity between abandoned land and other land-use patterns,with the exception of Shannon index.While fungal beta-diversity was not considerably impacted by land-use patterns,fungal alpha-diversity indices varied significantly.The relative abundance of Actinobacteriota(34.90%),Proteobacteria(20.65%),and Ascomycota(77.42%)varied in soils with different land-use patterns.Soil pH exerted a dominant impact on the soil bacterial communities'composition,whereas soil available phosphorus was the main factor shaping the soil fungal communities'composition.These findings suggest that variations in land-use pattern had resulted in changes to soil properties,subsequently impacting diversity and structure of microbial community in the Loess Plateau.Given the strong interdependence between soil and its microbiota,it is imperative to reclaim abandoned lands to maintain soil fertility and sustain its function,which will have significant ecological service implications,particularly with regards to soil conservation in ecologically vulnerable areas.展开更多
[Objectives]To make full use of crop rhizosphere microbial resources.[Methods]Illumina NovaSeq sequencing platform was used to analyze the richness and diversity of microbial community structure in rhizosphere soil of...[Objectives]To make full use of crop rhizosphere microbial resources.[Methods]Illumina NovaSeq sequencing platform was used to analyze the richness and diversity of microbial community structure in rhizosphere soil of rice and maize crops in Baitu Town,Gaoyao District,Zhaoqing City.[Results]A total of 14936 OTUs of bacteria and 1905 OTUs of fungi were obtained from three samples of rice rhizosphere soil,and 13437 OTUs of bacteria and 1413 OTUs of fungi were obtained from three samples of maize rhizosphere soil.The diversity and richness of bacterial communities were higher than those of fungi.There are differences in soil bacterial and fungal communities among different crop samples.The analysis of species with bacteria difference at genus level among crop rhizosphere soil samples showed that 18 genera with significant differences were obtained from 6 samples;species analysis of fungi at the genus level showed that 3 genera with significant differences were obtained from 6 samples.[Conclusions]The research results of this paper have positive significance for the development and utilization of soil resources in Zhaoqing City and the full exploitation of rice and maize rhizosphere microbial resources.展开更多
Qilian Mountains in Northwest China is a significant ecological security barrier due to its distinctive geographic setting,which has significant biological resource and gene pool.In order to assess the soil quality an...Qilian Mountains in Northwest China is a significant ecological security barrier due to its distinctive geographic setting,which has significant biological resource and gene pool.In order to assess the soil quality and ecosystem health in this area,we identified the structural characteristics and functional groups of soil microbial communities.This study focused on Amidongsuo,a typical watershed of the Qilian Mountains,and researched the vertical distribution and dominant populations of soil microorganisms in different habitats,and the relationship between soil microorganisms and environmental factors.Soil microorganisms from three grassland plots,five shrubland plots,and five forest plots in Amidongsuo were studied using high-throughput sequencing.The Venn diagram showed that the types of bacteria were fewer than those of fungi in Amidongsuo.Soil bacteria Acidobacteriota,Proteobacteria,and Methylomirabilota as well as fungi Basidiomycota,Ascomycota,and Mortierellomycota played dominant roles in Amidongsuo,according to the LEfSe(linear discriminant analysis(LDA)effect size)and community structure analyses.According to the ANOSIM(analysis of similarities)result,for both bacteria and fungi,R values of grassland and shrubland were small(R^(2)=0.045 and R^(2)=0.256,respectively),indicating little difference between these two ecosystems.RDA(redundancy analysis)showed a closer relationship between soil nutrients and fungi,and a gradually decreasing correlation between soil nutrients and microorganisms with increasing soil depth.Bacteria were mainly affected by pH,nitrogen(N),and potassium(K),while fungi were mainly affected by K.Overall,fungi had more effect on soil quality than bacteria.Therefore,adjustment of soil K content might improve the soil environment of Amidongsuo in the Qilian Mountains.展开更多
Agroecosystems in the Senegalese groundnut basin experience long periods of high temperatures and drought, which disrupt the stability of soil microbial communities. This study evaluated how that stability is affected...Agroecosystems in the Senegalese groundnut basin experience long periods of high temperatures and drought, which disrupt the stability of soil microbial communities. This study evaluated how that stability is affected by homefields and outfields’ agricultural practices and the duration of heat stress. Specifically, we collected soils from organically farmed fields that receive continual high inputs of manure (homefields), and from fields that are rarely manured (outfields). Soil samples were submitted to artificial heat stress at 60°C for 3, 14, and 28 days, followed by 28 days of recovery at 28°C. We examined the functional stability of microbial communities by quantifying C mineralization, and characterized the stability of the communities’ taxonomic compositions via high-throughput DNA sequencing. We found that the microbial communities have a low resistance to heat stress in soils from both types of fields. However, the manuring practice does affect how the functional stability of microbial communities responds to different durations of heat stress. Although functional stability was not recovered fully in either soil, microbial community resilience seemed to be greater in homefield soils. Differences in manuring practices also affected the structural taxonomic stability of microbial communities: relative abundances of Bacilli, Chloroflexia, Actinobacteria and Sordariomycetes increased in the homefield stressed-soils, but decreased significantly in outfield soils. In contrast, relative abundances of α-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria and Eurotiomycetes increased significantly in outfield stressed-soils, while decreasing significantly in the homefield soils. Relative abundances of Bacilli changed little in outfield soils, indicating that this taxon is resistant to heat stress. In summary, the microbial communities’ capacities to resist heat stress and recover from it depend upon the organic richness of the soil (i.e., manuring practice) and the adaptation of soil microbes to environmental conditions.展开更多
A more resilient livelihood is increasingly recognized as an efficient way to improve vulnerable households’food security and optimize their dietary decisions.This study quantifies rural household resilience in weste...A more resilient livelihood is increasingly recognized as an efficient way to improve vulnerable households’food security and optimize their dietary decisions.This study quantifies rural household resilience in western China,identifies the three pillars(absorptive capacity,adaptive capacity,and transformative capacity)contribution to resilience,and then establishes the estimated Resilience Capacity Index(RCI)linked with food security and dietary diversity supported by the multiple indicator multiple cause(MIMIC)model.Results show that,despite geographical heterogeneity,the RCI consistently increased from 2015 to 2021.Households with a higher RCI inheriting better capacity to deal with risk and shocks are significantly and positively correlated with increasing food expenditure and diversifying food choices.It can be because resilient households will allocate more money to food expenditure instead of saving for livelihood uncertainty.Thus,policymakers can provide more incentives for rural households to adopt more dynamic and effective risk management strategies.This,in turn,could yield positive spillover effects by preventing human capital loss associated with dietary-related chronic diseases and mortality.展开更多
Microbial fuel cells(MFCs)are a well-known technology used for bioelectricity production from the decomposition of organic waste via electroactive microbes.Fat,oil,and grease(FOG)as a new substrate in the anode and mi...Microbial fuel cells(MFCs)are a well-known technology used for bioelectricity production from the decomposition of organic waste via electroactive microbes.Fat,oil,and grease(FOG)as a new substrate in the anode and microalgae in the cathode were added to accelerate the electrogenesis.The effect of FOG concentrations(0.1%,0.5%,1%,and 1.5%)on the anode chamber was investigated.The FOG degradation,volatile fatty acid(VFAs)production,and soluble chemical oxygen demand along with voltage output kinetics were analyzed.Moreover,the microbial community analysis and active functional enzymes were also evaluated.The maximum power and current density were observed at 0.5%FOG which accounts for 96 mW m^(-2)(8-folds enhancement)and 560 mA m^(-2)(3.7-folds enhancement),respectively.The daily voltage output enhanced upto 2.3-folds with 77.08%coulombic efficiency under 0.5%FOG,which was the highest among all the reactors.The 0.5%FOG was degraded>85%,followed by a 1%FOG-loaded reactor.The chief enzymes inβ-oxidation and electrogenesis were acetyl-CoA C-acetyltransferase,riboflavin synthase,and riboflavin kinase.The identified enzymes symbolize the presence of Clostridium sp.(>15%)and Pseudomonas(>10%)which served as electrochemical active bacteria(EAB).The major metabolic pathways involved in electrogenesis and FOG degradation were fatty acid biosynthesis and glycerophospholipid metabolism.Utilization of lipidic-waste(such as FOG)in MFCs could be a potential approach for simultaneous biowaste utilization and bioenergy generation.展开更多
Access to off-farm employment has been expected to be a critical approach to ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition,two important targets of achieving Zero Hunger.This study aims to investigate the role of off-fa...Access to off-farm employment has been expected to be a critical approach to ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition,two important targets of achieving Zero Hunger.This study aims to investigate the role of off-farm employment in improving dietary diversity through substitution effect and complementary effect with agricultural production activities and income effect.This study adopts Poisson/Tobit/Probit/OLS regressions and the instrument variable method based on the primary survey data collected among 1,282 households at 12 sites in environmentally and economically vulnerable areas of China,Nepal,Cambodia,Thailand,and Myanmar in 2019.The results show that off-farm employment is positively associated with household dietary diversity and the consumption of flesh meat,fish and other aquatic animals,fruits,and milk and dairy products,which are rich in protein and micronutrients.The results of mechanism analysis show that off-farm employment contributes to household dietary diversity by improving crop diversity,especially for poor households,boosting the probability of livestock raising for households with the middle one-third disposal income,and increasing household income.The positive association between off-farm employment and household dietary diversity is much higher for households with the bottom one-third disposal income,low illiteracy,and from upper-middle income countries.These findings imply that off-farm employment does play a vital role in achieving multiple benefits of poverty alleviation,malnutrition reduction,and agrobiodiversity conservation in environmentally and economically vulnerable areas.However,it may enlarge the gaps in dietary diversity between households with low human capital and from low and lower-middle income countries and those with high human capital and from middle-high countries.展开更多
Free amino acid(FAA)is the important component of vinegar that infl uences quality perception and consumer acceptance.FAA is one of the major metabolites produced by microorganisms;however,the microbial metabolic netw...Free amino acid(FAA)is the important component of vinegar that infl uences quality perception and consumer acceptance.FAA is one of the major metabolites produced by microorganisms;however,the microbial metabolic network on FAA biosynthesis remains unclear.Through metagenomic analysis,this work aimed to elucidate the roles of microbes in FAA biosynthesis during Monascus rice vinegar fermentation.Taxonomic profiles from functional analyses showed 14 dominant genera with high contributions to the metabolism pathways.The metabolic network for FAA biosynthesis was then constructed,and the microbial distribution in different metabolic pathways was illuminated.The results revealed that 5 functional genera were closely involved in FAA biosynthesis.This study illuminated the metabolic roles of microorganisms in FAA biosynthesis and provided crucial insights into the functional attributes of microbiota in vinegar fermentation.展开更多
To explore pharmaceutical actinobacteria from salty environments in Siberia,8 soil samples were collected from different depths of Gudzhirganskoe saline lake,the Republic of Buryatia,Russia.Totally,635 actinobacterial...To explore pharmaceutical actinobacteria from salty environments in Siberia,8 soil samples were collected from different depths of Gudzhirganskoe saline lake,the Republic of Buryatia,Russia.Totally,635 actinobacterial strains affiliated with 21 genera in 12 families of 7 orders were obtained by culture-dependent approaches.The predominant genus was Streptomyces(74.5%),followed by Microbacterium(4.9%),Agromyces(3.5%),Nocardiopsis(3.0%),and Kitasatospora(2.5%).Seven strains showed relatively low 16 S rRNA similarities(<98.65%)with validly described species.Seventy-seven strains were selected as representatives to evaluate their antimicrobial activities and underlying mechanisms by paper-disk diffusion method and a double fluorescent protein reporter system(pDualrep 2),respectively.Streptomyces sp.S 6 b 3-1 was highlighted due to its strong inhibitory activities against Gram-positive bacteria and underlying antibacterial mechanism by inducing the SOS response in the reporter system.LG-1,(R)-6-[1-(benzoyloxy)ethyl]-phenazine-1-carboxylic acid,an analogue of saphenamycin was finally isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces strain.This study preliminarily explored the actinobacterial diversity of soil samples collected in the highly alkaline and saline lake Gudzhirganskoe by culture-dependent approach and their capacity to produce antibiotics for the first time,which revealed that it deserves to make more efforts to discover new actinobacterial species and potential new antibiotics from the saline lake in Eastern Siberia.展开更多
Here,we characterize the temporal and spatial dynamics of forest community structure and species diversity in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in China.We found that community structure in this forest chang...Here,we characterize the temporal and spatial dynamics of forest community structure and species diversity in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in China.We found that community structure in this forest changed over a 15-year period.Specifically,renewal and death of common species was large,with the renewal of individuals mainly concentrated within a few populations,especially those of Aidia canthioides and Cryptocarya concinna.The numbers of individual deaths for common species were concentrated in the small and mid-diameter level.The spatial distribution of community species diversity fluctuated in each monitoring period,showing a more dispersed diversity after the 15-year study period,and the coefficient of variation on quadrats increased.In 2010,the death and renewal of the community and the spatial variation of species diversity were different compared to other survey years.Extreme weather may have affected species regeneration and community stability in our subtropical monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forests.Our findings suggest that strengthening the monitoring and management of the forest community will help better understand the long-and short-term causes of dynamic fluctuations of community structure and species diversity,and reveal the factors that drive changes in community structure.展开更多
Biodiversity has become a terminology familiar to virtually every citizen in modern societies.It is said that ecology studies the economy of nature,and economy studies the ecology of humans;then measuring biodiversity...Biodiversity has become a terminology familiar to virtually every citizen in modern societies.It is said that ecology studies the economy of nature,and economy studies the ecology of humans;then measuring biodiversity should be similar with measuring national wealth.Indeed,there have been many parallels between ecology and economics,actually beyond analogies.For example,arguably the second most widely used biodiversity metric,Simpson(1949)’s diversity index,is a function of familiar Gini-index in economics.One of the biggest challenges has been the high“diversity”of diversity indexes due to their excessive“speciation”-there are so many indexes,similar to each country’s sovereign currency-leaving confused diversity practitioners in dilemma.In 1973,Hill introduced the concept of“numbers equivalent”,which is based on Renyi entropy and originated in economics,but possibly due to his abstruse interpretation of the concept,his message was not widely received by ecologists until nearly four decades later.What Hill suggested was similar to link the US dollar to gold at the rate of$35 per ounce under the Bretton Woods system.The Hill numbers now are considered most appropriate biodiversity metrics system,unifying Shannon,Simpson and other diversity indexes.Here,we approach to another paradigmatic shift-measuring biodiversity on ecological networks-demonstrated with animal gastrointestinal microbiomes representing four major invertebrate classes and all six vertebrate classes.The network diversity can reveal the diversity of species interactions,which is a necessary step for understanding the spatial and temporal structures and dynamics of biodiversity across environmental gradients.展开更多
The study presents a comprehensive coupled thermo-bio-chemo-hydraulic(T-BCH)modeling framework for stabilizing soils using microbially induced calcite precipitation(MICP).The numerical model considers relevant multiph...The study presents a comprehensive coupled thermo-bio-chemo-hydraulic(T-BCH)modeling framework for stabilizing soils using microbially induced calcite precipitation(MICP).The numerical model considers relevant multiphysics involved in MICP,such as bacterial ureolytic activities,biochemical reactions,multiphase and multicomponent transport,and alteration of the porosity and permeability.The model incorporates multiphysical coupling effects through well-established constitutive relations that connect parameters and variables from different physical fields.It was implemented in the open-source finite element code OpenGeoSys(OGS),and a semi-staggered solution strategy was designed to solve the couplings,allowing for flexible model settings.Therefore,the developed model can be easily adapted to simulate MICP applications in different scenarios.The numerical model was employed to analyze the effect of various factors,including temperature,injection strategies,and application scales.Besides,a TBCH modeling study was conducted on the laboratory-scale domain to analyze the effects of temperature on urease activity and precipitated calcium carbonate.To understand the scale dependency of MICP treatment,a large-scale heterogeneous domain was subjected to variable biochemical injection strategies.The simulations conducted at the field-scale guided the selection of an injection strategy to achieve the desired type and amount of precipitation.Additionally,the study emphasized the potential of numerical models as reliable tools for optimizing future developments in field-scale MICP treatment.The present study demonstrates the potential of this numerical framework for designing and optimizing the MICP applications in laboratory-,prototype-,and field-scale scenarios.展开更多
As hydropower development expands across lowland tropical forests,flooding and concomitant insular fragmentation have become important threats to biodiversity.Newly created insular landscapes serve as natural laborato...As hydropower development expands across lowland tropical forests,flooding and concomitant insular fragmentation have become important threats to biodiversity.Newly created insular landscapes serve as natural laboratories to investigate biodiversity responses to fragmentation.One of these most iconic landscapes is the Balbina Hydroelectric Reservoir in Brazilian Amazonia,occupying>400000 ha and comprising>3500 forest islands.Here,we synthesise the current knowledge on responses of a wide range of biological groups to insular fragmentation at Balbina.Sampling has largely concentrated on a set of 22 islands and three mainland sites.In total,39 studies were conducted over nearly two decades,covering 17 vertebrate,invertebrate,and plant taxa.Although species responses varied according to taxonomic group,island area was consistently included and played a pivotal role in 66.7%of all studies examining patterns of species diversity.Species persistence was further affected by species traits,mostly related to species capacity to use/traverse the aquatic matrix or tolerate habitat degradation,as noted for species of vertebrates and orchid bees.Further research is needed to improve our understanding of such effects on wider ecosystem functioning.Environmental Impact Assessments must account for changes in both the remaining habitat amount and configuration,and subsequent long-term species losses.展开更多
Soil soluble organic matter is an important component in the study of carbon and nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Soil microorganisms, as soil decomposers, participate in soil biogeochemical processes and p...Soil soluble organic matter is an important component in the study of carbon and nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Soil microorganisms, as soil decomposers, participate in soil biogeochemical processes and play an important role in maintaining the balance of soil ecosystems. As a typical subtropical regional unit, Queensland, Australia, is a relatively concentrated distribution area of forests in Australia. It is very sensitive to climate change and plays an important role in Australian climate and even global climate change. Its unique natural environment and ecosystem occupy a special position in the world. However, the knowledge of available carbon and nitrogen pool and microbial activity in forest soil is still very limited. Pinus elliottii, Araucaria cunninghamii and Agathis australis are the three most important forest types in southern Queensland, Australia. In our research, the function and structural diversity of soil microbial communities of these three forest types were studied using biochemical and molecular biological methods, and the effective carbon and nitrogen pools of soil of different forest types and related microbial processes were discussed, which has important theoretical guiding significance for further research on the structure and function of soil ecosystem. The number of PLFAs in the soil of P. elliottii was 45, the number of PLFAs in the soil of Araucaria cunninghamii and Agathis australis was 39 and 35, respectively. The number and content of PLFAs monomer in P. elliottii were higher than those in the other two kinds of forest soil.展开更多
Species richness generally decreases with increasing latitude,a biodiversity gradient that has long been considered as one of the few laws in ecology.This latitudinal diversity gradient has been observed in many major...Species richness generally decreases with increasing latitude,a biodiversity gradient that has long been considered as one of the few laws in ecology.This latitudinal diversity gradient has been observed in many major groups of organisms.In plants,the latitudinal diversity gradient has been observed in vascular plants,angiosperms,ferns,and liverworts.However,a conspicuous latitudinal diversity gradient in mosses at a global or continental scale has not been observed until now.Here,we analyze a comprehensive data set including moss species in each band of 20° in latitude worldwide.Our results show that moss species richness decreases strongly with increasing latitude,regardless of whether the globe is considered as a whole or different longitudinal segments(e.g.,Old World versus New World) are considered separately.This result holds when variation in area size among latitudinal bands is taken into account.Pearson's correlation coefficient between latitude and species richness is-0.99 for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.Because bryophytes are an extant lineage of early land plants and because mosses not only include most of extant species of bryophytes but also are important constituents of most terrestrial ecosystems,understanding geographic patterns of mosses is particularly important The finding of our study fills a critical knowledge gap.展开更多
The Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), the first conservation area and the largest protected area (PA) in Nepal, is incredibly rich in biodiversity. Notwithstanding this, orchids in the ACA have not been explored enou...The Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), the first conservation area and the largest protected area (PA) in Nepal, is incredibly rich in biodiversity. Notwithstanding this, orchids in the ACA have not been explored enough yet thus making the need for ambitious research to be carried out. Previous study only included 81 species of orchids within ACA. This study aims to update the record of species and genera richness in the ACA. In total 198 species of orchids, belonging to 67 genera (40% and 62% of the total recorded orchid species and genera in Nepal) has been recorded in ACA. This represents an increase of 144% in species and 56% in genera over the previous data. Out of the 198 species, 99 were epiphytes, 6 were holomycotrophic and 93 were terrestrial. Among the 67 genera, Bulbophyllum (17) species were dominant, followed by Dendrobium (16), Herminium (10), Coelogyne, Plantanthera (9 each), Eria, Habenaria, Oberonia (8 each), Calanthe (7), and Liparis (6). Fifty-six species were found to be ornamentally significant and 85 species medicinally significant.展开更多
Jute mallow is a nutritious leafy vegetable. The leaves are rich in proteins, vitamins and essential amino acids. Molecular characterization of Jute mallow with focus on improvement of leaf yield is scarcely reported....Jute mallow is a nutritious leafy vegetable. The leaves are rich in proteins, vitamins and essential amino acids. Molecular characterization of Jute mallow with focus on improvement of leaf yield is scarcely reported. In the present study, inter sequence simple repeats (ISSR) molecular markers were employed to assess genetic diversity and relationships of 83 accessions of Jute mallow from different parts of Africa and Asia conserved at the World Vegetable Center East and Southern Africa. A total of 89 bands were amplified by 8 ISSR primers. Number of polymorphic bands per primer ranged from 2 to 6 with an average of 2.75 bands per primer. Polymorphic information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.390 to 0.760 with average of 0.53. Average Nei’s gene diversity (h) and Shannon’s information index (I) were 0.335 and 0.494 respectively. The highest pairwise genetic distance was 0.431 observed in a population from East Africa accessions. PC1 and PC2 axis explained 21.69% and 11.66% of the total variation respectively. UPGMA cluster analysis grouped the accessions into six main clusters at genetic similarity coefficient of 0.53 as standard value for classification. These results have important implications for jute mallow breeding and conservation.展开更多
Sugar cane juice is a popular refreshing drink in most part of Bangladesh. It has great taste and health benefits;also it is available most of the public places at reasonable prices which consumed by road side custome...Sugar cane juice is a popular refreshing drink in most part of Bangladesh. It has great taste and health benefits;also it is available most of the public places at reasonable prices which consumed by road side customers including general public, shopping personals, tourists, students. In our country, street vendors crushing sugarcane between roller crusher and sold without any heat treatment or preservative, also served with or without added ice and lemon juice. The study aimed to identify and compare the physico-chemical and microbial quality of sugarcane juice. The chemical qualities of juices including moisture, P<sup>H</sup>, ash, total soluble solid, total sugar, reducing sugar and titrable acidity were found slightly different in Mymensingh, Gazipur and Narayangonj areas. The highest and lowest value of moisture, ash, P<sup>H</sup>, total soluble solids, total sugar, reducing sugar and titrable acidity were found in 84.33% - 79.26% (Gazipur-Mymensingh), 0.57% - 0.04% (Mymensingh-Gazipur), 5.9 - 2.9 (Gazipur-Narayangonj), 17.48% - 4.98% (Mymensingh-Narayangonj), 21.9% - 6.56% (Mymensingh-Gazipur), 3.7 - 2.1 (Gazipur-Mymensingh) and 0.523% - 0.007% (Narayangonj-Gazipur) respectively. For microbiological analysis, the total viable count of sugar cane juice in Mymensingh, Gazipur and Narayangonj were ranged from 0.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 43.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml, 4.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 21.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml and 3.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 36.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml respectively, where the permitted value is 1.0 × 10<sup>4</sup> cfu/ml, whereas the total coliform count was ranged from 0.4 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 6.4 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml, 0.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 8.4 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml and 0.00 - 8.4 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml, where the permitted value is 100 cfu/ml and total fungal count was ranged from 5.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 56.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml, 21.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 54.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml and 32.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 68.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml, where the permitted value is 1000 cfu/ml. According to the Gulf standard, the microbiological parameters of all the collected sugar cane juice were out of the permitted standards, so that a serious health outbreak can be caused anytime.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFD2200401)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31901293)。
文摘Afforestation has an important role in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem function improvement.A meta-analysis was carried out in China,which has the largest plantation area globally,to quantify the effects of plantings on soil microbial diversity.The results showed that the overall effect of afforestation on soil microbial diversity was positive across the country.Random forest algorithm suggested that soil carbon was the most important factor regulating microbial diversity and the positive response was only found with new plantings on low-carbon bare lands but not on high-carbon farmlands and grasslands.In addition,afforestation with broadleaved species increased microbial diversity,whereas planting with conifers had no effect on microbial diversity.This study clarified the effects of plantings on soil microbial diversity,which has an important implication for establishing appropriate policies and practices to improve the multiple functionalities(e.g.,biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation)during plantation establishment.
文摘Using probiotics as animal feed additives instead of antibiotics is gaining momentum to avert adverse negative effects on human health. Liquid brewers yeast (LBY) is an industrial by-product containing probiotic microorganisms and is also used as a protein supplement for dairy animals. Nevertheless, value chain actors lack of appropriate handling practices compromises the by-products quality and safety. This study aimed to determine the effect of variation in temperature on microbial diversity and probiotic effects during the storage time of LBY sampled from distributors and farmers from Githunguri sub-county of Kenya. The samples were stored at 20C, 25C and 30C, then tested on 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 days. The studys parameters involved determining the pH levels, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), total coliform count (TCC), mould, and yeast in LBY. The rate (k) of the reaction kinetics model was used to extrapolate the expected probiotic shelf life. The LAB and yeast populations were reduced in a first-order reaction at all storage temperatures. The rate of reduction in the numbers of LAB reduced with an increase in temperature (k = 0.019 and 0.023) at 20C and 30C, respectively. Yeasts highest rate of growth reduction was 25C (k = 0.009) and least at 30C (k = 0.043). The minimum effective concentration for probiotics of 106 CFU/mL needed to observe the beneficial physiological impact on farm animals was achieved between 34.9 and 35.5 days at the tested storage temperatures. The study provides insight into the unexploited low-cost probiotic potential of LBY in dairy production. Conversely, handling practices and environmental microbial contamination along the value chain can compromise product quality and safety. There is a need to advocate its use in dairy for improved productivity and sensitize farmers to appropriate hygienic measures along the LBY value chain.
基金supported by the Science and Technology Planning Project of Gansu Province,China(23ZDKA017).
文摘In the Loess Plateau of China,land-use pattern is a major factor in controlling underlying biological processes.Additionally,the process of land-use pattern was accompanied by abandoned lands,potentially impacting soil microbe.However,limited researches were conducted to study the impacts of land-use patterns on the diversity and community of soil microorganisms in this area.The study aimed to investigate soil microbial community diversity and composition using high-throughput deoxyribonucleic acid(DNA)sequencing under different land-use patterns(apricot tree land,apple tree land,peach tree land,corn land,and abandoned land).The results showed a substantial difference(P<0.050)in bacterial alpha-diversity and beta-diversity between abandoned land and other land-use patterns,with the exception of Shannon index.While fungal beta-diversity was not considerably impacted by land-use patterns,fungal alpha-diversity indices varied significantly.The relative abundance of Actinobacteriota(34.90%),Proteobacteria(20.65%),and Ascomycota(77.42%)varied in soils with different land-use patterns.Soil pH exerted a dominant impact on the soil bacterial communities'composition,whereas soil available phosphorus was the main factor shaping the soil fungal communities'composition.These findings suggest that variations in land-use pattern had resulted in changes to soil properties,subsequently impacting diversity and structure of microbial community in the Loess Plateau.Given the strong interdependence between soil and its microbiota,it is imperative to reclaim abandoned lands to maintain soil fertility and sustain its function,which will have significant ecological service implications,particularly with regards to soil conservation in ecologically vulnerable areas.
基金Supported by Guangdong Province Rural Science and Technology Commissioner Project(KTP20240693)Zhaoqing University Project(QN202329)+3 种基金Science and Technology Innovation Guidance Project of Zhaoqing(202304038001)Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program(202410580011&X202310580120)The Third Batch of Innovation Research Team of Zhaoqing University(05)Quality Engineering and Teaching Reform Project of Zhaoqing University(zlgc202229,zlgc202261).
文摘[Objectives]To make full use of crop rhizosphere microbial resources.[Methods]Illumina NovaSeq sequencing platform was used to analyze the richness and diversity of microbial community structure in rhizosphere soil of rice and maize crops in Baitu Town,Gaoyao District,Zhaoqing City.[Results]A total of 14936 OTUs of bacteria and 1905 OTUs of fungi were obtained from three samples of rice rhizosphere soil,and 13437 OTUs of bacteria and 1413 OTUs of fungi were obtained from three samples of maize rhizosphere soil.The diversity and richness of bacterial communities were higher than those of fungi.There are differences in soil bacterial and fungal communities among different crop samples.The analysis of species with bacteria difference at genus level among crop rhizosphere soil samples showed that 18 genera with significant differences were obtained from 6 samples;species analysis of fungi at the genus level showed that 3 genera with significant differences were obtained from 6 samples.[Conclusions]The research results of this paper have positive significance for the development and utilization of soil resources in Zhaoqing City and the full exploitation of rice and maize rhizosphere microbial resources.
基金funded by the Qinghai Provincial Natural Science Foundation Project(2020-ZJ-725)the Wetland Protection and Restoration Project of the Second Batch of Forestry Reform and Development Funds in Qinghai Province,China(QHTX-2020-043-02).
文摘Qilian Mountains in Northwest China is a significant ecological security barrier due to its distinctive geographic setting,which has significant biological resource and gene pool.In order to assess the soil quality and ecosystem health in this area,we identified the structural characteristics and functional groups of soil microbial communities.This study focused on Amidongsuo,a typical watershed of the Qilian Mountains,and researched the vertical distribution and dominant populations of soil microorganisms in different habitats,and the relationship between soil microorganisms and environmental factors.Soil microorganisms from three grassland plots,five shrubland plots,and five forest plots in Amidongsuo were studied using high-throughput sequencing.The Venn diagram showed that the types of bacteria were fewer than those of fungi in Amidongsuo.Soil bacteria Acidobacteriota,Proteobacteria,and Methylomirabilota as well as fungi Basidiomycota,Ascomycota,and Mortierellomycota played dominant roles in Amidongsuo,according to the LEfSe(linear discriminant analysis(LDA)effect size)and community structure analyses.According to the ANOSIM(analysis of similarities)result,for both bacteria and fungi,R values of grassland and shrubland were small(R^(2)=0.045 and R^(2)=0.256,respectively),indicating little difference between these two ecosystems.RDA(redundancy analysis)showed a closer relationship between soil nutrients and fungi,and a gradually decreasing correlation between soil nutrients and microorganisms with increasing soil depth.Bacteria were mainly affected by pH,nitrogen(N),and potassium(K),while fungi were mainly affected by K.Overall,fungi had more effect on soil quality than bacteria.Therefore,adjustment of soil K content might improve the soil environment of Amidongsuo in the Qilian Mountains.
文摘Agroecosystems in the Senegalese groundnut basin experience long periods of high temperatures and drought, which disrupt the stability of soil microbial communities. This study evaluated how that stability is affected by homefields and outfields’ agricultural practices and the duration of heat stress. Specifically, we collected soils from organically farmed fields that receive continual high inputs of manure (homefields), and from fields that are rarely manured (outfields). Soil samples were submitted to artificial heat stress at 60°C for 3, 14, and 28 days, followed by 28 days of recovery at 28°C. We examined the functional stability of microbial communities by quantifying C mineralization, and characterized the stability of the communities’ taxonomic compositions via high-throughput DNA sequencing. We found that the microbial communities have a low resistance to heat stress in soils from both types of fields. However, the manuring practice does affect how the functional stability of microbial communities responds to different durations of heat stress. Although functional stability was not recovered fully in either soil, microbial community resilience seemed to be greater in homefield soils. Differences in manuring practices also affected the structural taxonomic stability of microbial communities: relative abundances of Bacilli, Chloroflexia, Actinobacteria and Sordariomycetes increased in the homefield stressed-soils, but decreased significantly in outfield soils. In contrast, relative abundances of α-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria and Eurotiomycetes increased significantly in outfield stressed-soils, while decreasing significantly in the homefield soils. Relative abundances of Bacilli changed little in outfield soils, indicating that this taxon is resistant to heat stress. In summary, the microbial communities’ capacities to resist heat stress and recover from it depend upon the organic richness of the soil (i.e., manuring practice) and the adaptation of soil microbes to environmental conditions.
基金This paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(71973138 and 72061137002)the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(2023YFE0105009).
文摘A more resilient livelihood is increasingly recognized as an efficient way to improve vulnerable households’food security and optimize their dietary decisions.This study quantifies rural household resilience in western China,identifies the three pillars(absorptive capacity,adaptive capacity,and transformative capacity)contribution to resilience,and then establishes the estimated Resilience Capacity Index(RCI)linked with food security and dietary diversity supported by the multiple indicator multiple cause(MIMIC)model.Results show that,despite geographical heterogeneity,the RCI consistently increased from 2015 to 2021.Households with a higher RCI inheriting better capacity to deal with risk and shocks are significantly and positively correlated with increasing food expenditure and diversifying food choices.It can be because resilient households will allocate more money to food expenditure instead of saving for livelihood uncertainty.Thus,policymakers can provide more incentives for rural households to adopt more dynamic and effective risk management strategies.This,in turn,could yield positive spillover effects by preventing human capital loss associated with dietary-related chronic diseases and mortality.
基金the Deanship of Scientific Research at Najran University for funding this work,under the Research Groups Funding program grant code(NU/RG/SERC/12/23)。
文摘Microbial fuel cells(MFCs)are a well-known technology used for bioelectricity production from the decomposition of organic waste via electroactive microbes.Fat,oil,and grease(FOG)as a new substrate in the anode and microalgae in the cathode were added to accelerate the electrogenesis.The effect of FOG concentrations(0.1%,0.5%,1%,and 1.5%)on the anode chamber was investigated.The FOG degradation,volatile fatty acid(VFAs)production,and soluble chemical oxygen demand along with voltage output kinetics were analyzed.Moreover,the microbial community analysis and active functional enzymes were also evaluated.The maximum power and current density were observed at 0.5%FOG which accounts for 96 mW m^(-2)(8-folds enhancement)and 560 mA m^(-2)(3.7-folds enhancement),respectively.The daily voltage output enhanced upto 2.3-folds with 77.08%coulombic efficiency under 0.5%FOG,which was the highest among all the reactors.The 0.5%FOG was degraded>85%,followed by a 1%FOG-loaded reactor.The chief enzymes inβ-oxidation and electrogenesis were acetyl-CoA C-acetyltransferase,riboflavin synthase,and riboflavin kinase.The identified enzymes symbolize the presence of Clostridium sp.(>15%)and Pseudomonas(>10%)which served as electrochemical active bacteria(EAB).The major metabolic pathways involved in electrogenesis and FOG degradation were fatty acid biosynthesis and glycerophospholipid metabolism.Utilization of lipidic-waste(such as FOG)in MFCs could be a potential approach for simultaneous biowaste utilization and bioenergy generation.
基金We acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(72373140 and 42061144004)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA20010303).
文摘Access to off-farm employment has been expected to be a critical approach to ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition,two important targets of achieving Zero Hunger.This study aims to investigate the role of off-farm employment in improving dietary diversity through substitution effect and complementary effect with agricultural production activities and income effect.This study adopts Poisson/Tobit/Probit/OLS regressions and the instrument variable method based on the primary survey data collected among 1,282 households at 12 sites in environmentally and economically vulnerable areas of China,Nepal,Cambodia,Thailand,and Myanmar in 2019.The results show that off-farm employment is positively associated with household dietary diversity and the consumption of flesh meat,fish and other aquatic animals,fruits,and milk and dairy products,which are rich in protein and micronutrients.The results of mechanism analysis show that off-farm employment contributes to household dietary diversity by improving crop diversity,especially for poor households,boosting the probability of livestock raising for households with the middle one-third disposal income,and increasing household income.The positive association between off-farm employment and household dietary diversity is much higher for households with the bottom one-third disposal income,low illiteracy,and from upper-middle income countries.These findings imply that off-farm employment does play a vital role in achieving multiple benefits of poverty alleviation,malnutrition reduction,and agrobiodiversity conservation in environmentally and economically vulnerable areas.However,it may enlarge the gaps in dietary diversity between households with low human capital and from low and lower-middle income countries and those with high human capital and from middle-high countries.
基金The authors are grateful for the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China(32001728).
文摘Free amino acid(FAA)is the important component of vinegar that infl uences quality perception and consumer acceptance.FAA is one of the major metabolites produced by microorganisms;however,the microbial metabolic network on FAA biosynthesis remains unclear.Through metagenomic analysis,this work aimed to elucidate the roles of microbes in FAA biosynthesis during Monascus rice vinegar fermentation.Taxonomic profiles from functional analyses showed 14 dominant genera with high contributions to the metabolism pathways.The metabolic network for FAA biosynthesis was then constructed,and the microbial distribution in different metabolic pathways was illuminated.The results revealed that 5 functional genera were closely involved in FAA biosynthesis.This study illuminated the metabolic roles of microorganisms in FAA biosynthesis and provided crucial insights into the functional attributes of microbiota in vinegar fermentation.
基金Supported by the CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences(No.CIFMS 2021-I 2 M-1-028)the Beijing Natural Science Foundation(No.7222256)+5 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.82011530051)the Kunlun Talented People,High-end Innovation and Entrepreneurship talents Plan,Qinghai Province,China,for Chenghang SUN,the Talent Training Project of Basic Research Fund of Heilongjiang Department of Education Item to Chunmei XUE(No.2020-KYYWF-0238)the Sino-Hungarian Bilateral S&T Cooperation Projects from 2019 to 2020(Chinese Project:8-11)partly supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research(Nos.NCFS-RFBR 20-54-53014,18-44-030021 r_а)the Russian Science Foundation(No.20-74-10031)partially within the framework of the State Assignment(No.121030100229-1)for Institute of General and Experimental Biology,Siberian Branch,Russian Academy of Sciences。
文摘To explore pharmaceutical actinobacteria from salty environments in Siberia,8 soil samples were collected from different depths of Gudzhirganskoe saline lake,the Republic of Buryatia,Russia.Totally,635 actinobacterial strains affiliated with 21 genera in 12 families of 7 orders were obtained by culture-dependent approaches.The predominant genus was Streptomyces(74.5%),followed by Microbacterium(4.9%),Agromyces(3.5%),Nocardiopsis(3.0%),and Kitasatospora(2.5%).Seven strains showed relatively low 16 S rRNA similarities(<98.65%)with validly described species.Seventy-seven strains were selected as representatives to evaluate their antimicrobial activities and underlying mechanisms by paper-disk diffusion method and a double fluorescent protein reporter system(pDualrep 2),respectively.Streptomyces sp.S 6 b 3-1 was highlighted due to its strong inhibitory activities against Gram-positive bacteria and underlying antibacterial mechanism by inducing the SOS response in the reporter system.LG-1,(R)-6-[1-(benzoyloxy)ethyl]-phenazine-1-carboxylic acid,an analogue of saphenamycin was finally isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces strain.This study preliminarily explored the actinobacterial diversity of soil samples collected in the highly alkaline and saline lake Gudzhirganskoe by culture-dependent approach and their capacity to produce antibiotics for the first time,which revealed that it deserves to make more efforts to discover new actinobacterial species and potential new antibiotics from the saline lake in Eastern Siberia.
基金funded by the Guangxi Natural Science Foundation Program (2022GXNSFAA035583 and 2020GXNSFAA159108)National Natural Science Foundation of China (32060305)+2 种基金Foundation of Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection (Guangxi Normal University)Ministry of Education, China (ERESEP 2021Z06)Chinese Forest Biodiversity Monitoring Network
文摘Here,we characterize the temporal and spatial dynamics of forest community structure and species diversity in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in China.We found that community structure in this forest changed over a 15-year period.Specifically,renewal and death of common species was large,with the renewal of individuals mainly concentrated within a few populations,especially those of Aidia canthioides and Cryptocarya concinna.The numbers of individual deaths for common species were concentrated in the small and mid-diameter level.The spatial distribution of community species diversity fluctuated in each monitoring period,showing a more dispersed diversity after the 15-year study period,and the coefficient of variation on quadrats increased.In 2010,the death and renewal of the community and the spatial variation of species diversity were different compared to other survey years.Extreme weather may have affected species regeneration and community stability in our subtropical monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forests.Our findings suggest that strengthening the monitoring and management of the forest community will help better understand the long-and short-term causes of dynamic fluctuations of community structure and species diversity,and reveal the factors that drive changes in community structure.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31970116,72274192)。
文摘Biodiversity has become a terminology familiar to virtually every citizen in modern societies.It is said that ecology studies the economy of nature,and economy studies the ecology of humans;then measuring biodiversity should be similar with measuring national wealth.Indeed,there have been many parallels between ecology and economics,actually beyond analogies.For example,arguably the second most widely used biodiversity metric,Simpson(1949)’s diversity index,is a function of familiar Gini-index in economics.One of the biggest challenges has been the high“diversity”of diversity indexes due to their excessive“speciation”-there are so many indexes,similar to each country’s sovereign currency-leaving confused diversity practitioners in dilemma.In 1973,Hill introduced the concept of“numbers equivalent”,which is based on Renyi entropy and originated in economics,but possibly due to his abstruse interpretation of the concept,his message was not widely received by ecologists until nearly four decades later.What Hill suggested was similar to link the US dollar to gold at the rate of$35 per ounce under the Bretton Woods system.The Hill numbers now are considered most appropriate biodiversity metrics system,unifying Shannon,Simpson and other diversity indexes.Here,we approach to another paradigmatic shift-measuring biodiversity on ecological networks-demonstrated with animal gastrointestinal microbiomes representing four major invertebrate classes and all six vertebrate classes.The network diversity can reveal the diversity of species interactions,which is a necessary step for understanding the spatial and temporal structures and dynamics of biodiversity across environmental gradients.
基金support from the OpenGeoSys communitypartially funded by the Prime Minister Research Fellowship,Ministry of Education,Government of India with the project number SB21221901CEPMRF008347.
文摘The study presents a comprehensive coupled thermo-bio-chemo-hydraulic(T-BCH)modeling framework for stabilizing soils using microbially induced calcite precipitation(MICP).The numerical model considers relevant multiphysics involved in MICP,such as bacterial ureolytic activities,biochemical reactions,multiphase and multicomponent transport,and alteration of the porosity and permeability.The model incorporates multiphysical coupling effects through well-established constitutive relations that connect parameters and variables from different physical fields.It was implemented in the open-source finite element code OpenGeoSys(OGS),and a semi-staggered solution strategy was designed to solve the couplings,allowing for flexible model settings.Therefore,the developed model can be easily adapted to simulate MICP applications in different scenarios.The numerical model was employed to analyze the effect of various factors,including temperature,injection strategies,and application scales.Besides,a TBCH modeling study was conducted on the laboratory-scale domain to analyze the effects of temperature on urease activity and precipitated calcium carbonate.To understand the scale dependency of MICP treatment,a large-scale heterogeneous domain was subjected to variable biochemical injection strategies.The simulations conducted at the field-scale guided the selection of an injection strategy to achieve the desired type and amount of precipitation.Additionally,the study emphasized the potential of numerical models as reliable tools for optimizing future developments in field-scale MICP treatment.The present study demonstrates the potential of this numerical framework for designing and optimizing the MICP applications in laboratory-,prototype-,and field-scale scenarios.
基金supported byÁreas Protegidas da Amazônia(ARPA)Amazonas Distribuidora de Energia S.A.,and Associação Comunidade Waimiri Atroari+4 种基金Rufford Foundation(grant number 13675-1)the Conservation Food and Health Foundation,and Idea WildNational Geographic Society grant(NGS-93497C-22)awarded to CAP.I.J is funded through a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship(MR/T019018/1)M.B received a productivity grant from CNPq(304189/2022-7)European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No.854248(TROPIBIO)。
文摘As hydropower development expands across lowland tropical forests,flooding and concomitant insular fragmentation have become important threats to biodiversity.Newly created insular landscapes serve as natural laboratories to investigate biodiversity responses to fragmentation.One of these most iconic landscapes is the Balbina Hydroelectric Reservoir in Brazilian Amazonia,occupying>400000 ha and comprising>3500 forest islands.Here,we synthesise the current knowledge on responses of a wide range of biological groups to insular fragmentation at Balbina.Sampling has largely concentrated on a set of 22 islands and three mainland sites.In total,39 studies were conducted over nearly two decades,covering 17 vertebrate,invertebrate,and plant taxa.Although species responses varied according to taxonomic group,island area was consistently included and played a pivotal role in 66.7%of all studies examining patterns of species diversity.Species persistence was further affected by species traits,mostly related to species capacity to use/traverse the aquatic matrix or tolerate habitat degradation,as noted for species of vertebrates and orchid bees.Further research is needed to improve our understanding of such effects on wider ecosystem functioning.Environmental Impact Assessments must account for changes in both the remaining habitat amount and configuration,and subsequent long-term species losses.
文摘Soil soluble organic matter is an important component in the study of carbon and nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Soil microorganisms, as soil decomposers, participate in soil biogeochemical processes and play an important role in maintaining the balance of soil ecosystems. As a typical subtropical regional unit, Queensland, Australia, is a relatively concentrated distribution area of forests in Australia. It is very sensitive to climate change and plays an important role in Australian climate and even global climate change. Its unique natural environment and ecosystem occupy a special position in the world. However, the knowledge of available carbon and nitrogen pool and microbial activity in forest soil is still very limited. Pinus elliottii, Araucaria cunninghamii and Agathis australis are the three most important forest types in southern Queensland, Australia. In our research, the function and structural diversity of soil microbial communities of these three forest types were studied using biochemical and molecular biological methods, and the effective carbon and nitrogen pools of soil of different forest types and related microbial processes were discussed, which has important theoretical guiding significance for further research on the structure and function of soil ecosystem. The number of PLFAs in the soil of P. elliottii was 45, the number of PLFAs in the soil of Araucaria cunninghamii and Agathis australis was 39 and 35, respectively. The number and content of PLFAs monomer in P. elliottii were higher than those in the other two kinds of forest soil.
文摘Species richness generally decreases with increasing latitude,a biodiversity gradient that has long been considered as one of the few laws in ecology.This latitudinal diversity gradient has been observed in many major groups of organisms.In plants,the latitudinal diversity gradient has been observed in vascular plants,angiosperms,ferns,and liverworts.However,a conspicuous latitudinal diversity gradient in mosses at a global or continental scale has not been observed until now.Here,we analyze a comprehensive data set including moss species in each band of 20° in latitude worldwide.Our results show that moss species richness decreases strongly with increasing latitude,regardless of whether the globe is considered as a whole or different longitudinal segments(e.g.,Old World versus New World) are considered separately.This result holds when variation in area size among latitudinal bands is taken into account.Pearson's correlation coefficient between latitude and species richness is-0.99 for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.Because bryophytes are an extant lineage of early land plants and because mosses not only include most of extant species of bryophytes but also are important constituents of most terrestrial ecosystems,understanding geographic patterns of mosses is particularly important The finding of our study fills a critical knowledge gap.
文摘The Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), the first conservation area and the largest protected area (PA) in Nepal, is incredibly rich in biodiversity. Notwithstanding this, orchids in the ACA have not been explored enough yet thus making the need for ambitious research to be carried out. Previous study only included 81 species of orchids within ACA. This study aims to update the record of species and genera richness in the ACA. In total 198 species of orchids, belonging to 67 genera (40% and 62% of the total recorded orchid species and genera in Nepal) has been recorded in ACA. This represents an increase of 144% in species and 56% in genera over the previous data. Out of the 198 species, 99 were epiphytes, 6 were holomycotrophic and 93 were terrestrial. Among the 67 genera, Bulbophyllum (17) species were dominant, followed by Dendrobium (16), Herminium (10), Coelogyne, Plantanthera (9 each), Eria, Habenaria, Oberonia (8 each), Calanthe (7), and Liparis (6). Fifty-six species were found to be ornamentally significant and 85 species medicinally significant.
文摘Jute mallow is a nutritious leafy vegetable. The leaves are rich in proteins, vitamins and essential amino acids. Molecular characterization of Jute mallow with focus on improvement of leaf yield is scarcely reported. In the present study, inter sequence simple repeats (ISSR) molecular markers were employed to assess genetic diversity and relationships of 83 accessions of Jute mallow from different parts of Africa and Asia conserved at the World Vegetable Center East and Southern Africa. A total of 89 bands were amplified by 8 ISSR primers. Number of polymorphic bands per primer ranged from 2 to 6 with an average of 2.75 bands per primer. Polymorphic information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.390 to 0.760 with average of 0.53. Average Nei’s gene diversity (h) and Shannon’s information index (I) were 0.335 and 0.494 respectively. The highest pairwise genetic distance was 0.431 observed in a population from East Africa accessions. PC1 and PC2 axis explained 21.69% and 11.66% of the total variation respectively. UPGMA cluster analysis grouped the accessions into six main clusters at genetic similarity coefficient of 0.53 as standard value for classification. These results have important implications for jute mallow breeding and conservation.
文摘Sugar cane juice is a popular refreshing drink in most part of Bangladesh. It has great taste and health benefits;also it is available most of the public places at reasonable prices which consumed by road side customers including general public, shopping personals, tourists, students. In our country, street vendors crushing sugarcane between roller crusher and sold without any heat treatment or preservative, also served with or without added ice and lemon juice. The study aimed to identify and compare the physico-chemical and microbial quality of sugarcane juice. The chemical qualities of juices including moisture, P<sup>H</sup>, ash, total soluble solid, total sugar, reducing sugar and titrable acidity were found slightly different in Mymensingh, Gazipur and Narayangonj areas. The highest and lowest value of moisture, ash, P<sup>H</sup>, total soluble solids, total sugar, reducing sugar and titrable acidity were found in 84.33% - 79.26% (Gazipur-Mymensingh), 0.57% - 0.04% (Mymensingh-Gazipur), 5.9 - 2.9 (Gazipur-Narayangonj), 17.48% - 4.98% (Mymensingh-Narayangonj), 21.9% - 6.56% (Mymensingh-Gazipur), 3.7 - 2.1 (Gazipur-Mymensingh) and 0.523% - 0.007% (Narayangonj-Gazipur) respectively. For microbiological analysis, the total viable count of sugar cane juice in Mymensingh, Gazipur and Narayangonj were ranged from 0.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 43.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml, 4.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 21.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml and 3.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 36.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml respectively, where the permitted value is 1.0 × 10<sup>4</sup> cfu/ml, whereas the total coliform count was ranged from 0.4 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 6.4 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml, 0.6 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 8.4 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml and 0.00 - 8.4 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml, where the permitted value is 100 cfu/ml and total fungal count was ranged from 5.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 56.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml, 21.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 54.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml and 32.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> - 68.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> cfu/ml, where the permitted value is 1000 cfu/ml. According to the Gulf standard, the microbiological parameters of all the collected sugar cane juice were out of the permitted standards, so that a serious health outbreak can be caused anytime.