Cultivable Bacterial Diversity of the East China Sea

Bacterial diversity of 14 sites of the East China Sea was investigated by culture-dependent methods. The impact of human activities on marine bacteria was primarily studied and characteristics of bacteria communities in different areas were analyzed. A total of 396 strains were obtained. These strains belong to 4 phyla, 9 classes and 146 species according to 16S rDNA sequences alignment. For 32 strains, the 16S rDNA sequences similarities between isolated strains and their most closely related species were lower than 98%. The result indicated that there are abundant microbial diversity and a large number of unknown microbial resources in the East China Sea. Isolated strains were dominated byy-proteobacteria （64%）, ct-proteobacteria （18%） and Firmicutes （15%）. Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes were less than 3%. Microbial community composition, diversity and abundance among areas with varies distances from land were different. The far the regions from the land, the lower the Shannon index （H＇） and the Margalef index （DMg） values were.

Effect of Carbonation on Microbiologic Parameters of Refrigerated Bovine Raw Milk

This study evaluated the effect of carbon dioxide addition on microbiological quality during refrigerated storage of raw milk collected in Curitiba city, Brazil. A three factor-two level full factorial design was used to investigate the effect of the pH （5.8-6.4）, storage time （0-10 days） and storage temperature （5-10 ℃）, on the responses, namely, mesophiles, psychrotrophs, lipolytic psychrotrophs and proteolytic psychrotrophs counts. Results showed that increase in pH and storage time had significant effect on the microbial count. No significant effect of storage temperature was observed for all the microorganisms studied. All responses were well predicted by selected mathematical models, as denoted by coefficient of determination above 0.95.

Initial Litter Chemical Indices as Selection Criteria of Organic Nutrient Resources for Enhancement of Soil Fertility for Smallholder Farmers in Southern Ethiopia

Nutrient release from applied organic nutrient source （ONS） depends on temperature, soil moisture, soil properties, their chemical composition and microbial activity. In order to apply ONS to fulfill the nutrient requirements of plants, knowledge of quality and quantity of chemical constituents of the ONS has paramount importance. Erythrina abyssinica （EA）, Erythrina brucei （EB） and Ensete ventricosum （EV）, the first two being nitrogen-fixing indigenous multipurpose agroforestry trees in Ethiopia, were randomly collected from Southern Ethiopia. The average total nitrogen （TN） contents of EA, EB and EV were 4.05%, 3.35% and 2.56%, respectively. Similarly, the mean total soluble polyphenolics contents were 0.052%, 0.023% and 0.19%, and the mean lignin contents were 9.7%, 12.6% and 6.5%, respectively. In general, these ONS had medium to high TN content. Thus, the ONS can be selected based on their quality, quantity and ratio of their chemical constituents as alternative or supportive organic sources. A ＂decision tree＂ is best fitted for selection of these ONS.

Identification of Trichophyton rubrum by PCR-fingerprinting

OBJECTIVE: To observe the unique DNA profile and the relationship between DNA profile and phenotype of Trichophyton rubrum,and establish an effective molecular method to identify T. rubrum. METHODS: Three primers, including (GACA)(4), (GTG)(5) and M13 core sequence (5'-GAGGGTG-GCGGTTCT-3'), were used to distinguish variations among 20 clinical isolates of T. rubrum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. RESULTS: Different PCR-fingerprinting was seen between T. rubrum and T. mentagrophytes using three different primers. 2 stains of T. rubrum were identified among 6 supposed T. mentagrophytes. CONCLUSIONS: T. rubrum can be distinguished using PCR, and (GACA)(4) is the most suitable primer.

Fertilization regimes affect the soil biological characteristics of a sudangrass and ryegrass rotation system

The sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense) and ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) rotation is an intensive and new cropping system in Central China.Nutrient management practices in this rotation system may influence soil fertility,the important aspects of which are soil biological properties and quality.As sensitive soil biological properties and quality indicators,soil microbial community activity,microbial biomass,enzyme activities,soil organic matter (SOM) and total N resulting from different fertilization regimes in this rotation system were studied through a four-year field experiment from April 2005 to May 2009.Treatments included control (CK),fertilizer phosphorus and potassium (PK),fertilizer nitrogen and potassium (NK),fertilizer nitrogen and phosphorus (NP) and a fertilizer nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium combination (NPK).Soil microbial community activities in the NK,NP and NPK treatments were significantly lower than those in the CK and PK treatments after the sudangrass and ryegrass trial.The highest microbial biomass C,microbial biomass N,SOM,total N,sucrase and urease activities were found in the NPK treatment,and these soil quality indicators were significantly higher in the NK,NP and NPK treatments than in the PK and CK treatments.Soil microbial biomass and enzyme activities were positively associated with SOM in the sudangrass and ryegrass rotation system,indicating that fertilization regimes,especially N application,reduced microbial community activity in the soil.Proper fertilization regimes will increase microbial biomass,enzyme activity and SOM and improve soil fertility.

A 12-kyr record of microbial branched and isoprenoid tetraether index in Lake Qinghai,northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau:Implications for paleoclimate reconstruction

Branched and Isoprenoid Tetraether(BIT) index was considered as a proxy for terrestrial organic matter input in lake sediments, based on the assumption that branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers(b GDGTs) are mainly derived from terrestrial soils. However, mounting evidences have showed that the in situ production of b GDGTs is widespread in lakes, challenging BIT as a reliable terrestrial input proxy. Recently, BIT has been proven to be a reliable proxy for paleohydrology in a small crater lake(Lake Challa) in accordance with a different mechanism. However, the response of BIT to paleohydrology variation may differ for different lakes. In this study, we investigate the variations in the BIT index and the concentrations of its related GDGTs in a 12-ka sediment core from Lake Qinghai, in combination with our previous results for surface sediments. We find that variations in BIT strongly depend on the concentration of crenarchaeol in both surface and ancient sediments of this lake, whereas b GDGT concentration varies much less remarkably. Considering that crenarchaeol production is positively correlated with water depth in Lake Qinghai, water depth may exert negative control on the BIT index in this lake. This case is inconsistent with the positive relationship between BIT and lake levels or rainfall intensity reported for Lake Challa, suggesting that the response of BIT to local paleohydrology is site specific in lacustrine systems. Hence, the application of sedimentary BIT as a paleohydrological proxy in a specific lake requires caution before confirming the environmental controls on BIT in that lake.

Bioavailability of Soil Copper from Different Sources:Integrating Chemical Approaches with Biological Indicators

Bioavailability is a key parameter in assessing contaminant transfer to biota. However, the input patterns and soil use types may impact the metal bioavailability. Several soil parameters were measured including chemical properties, such as pH, organic C, and Cu solution/solid speciation, and biological properties, such as soil microbial biomass C （SMBC）, seed germination, and root elongation, to evaluate the bioavailability of Cu contaminated soils from three different sources, i.e., non-ferrous metal mining, Cu-based fungicides, and Cu-smelting. The results revealed that free Cu2＋ ion in soil solution and the ratios of Cu fractions to total Cu content in the solid phase could not be used to predict total Cu content in soils. The indexes of seed germination and root elongation appeared not to be good biomonitors of Cu contamination in soils, which were more sensitive to soil pH and soil organic carbon （SOC）. Relationships between SMBC and soil Cu forms or the ratio of SMBC/SOC and soil Cu forms showed that free Cu2＋ ion and humie acid-complexed Cu could significantly inhibit soil microbial activities. Our findings suggested that both metal chemical forms and biological bioassays should be considered as a complementary technique rather than an alternative to evaluate the metal bioavailability from different pollution sources.