Arsenic Distribution,Species,and Its Effect on Maize Growth Treated with Arsenate

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different arsenic （As） levels on maize （Zea mays L.） growth and As accumulation and species in different parts of maize plants,as a guideline for production of maize in As-polluted areas with the objective of preventing As from entering the food chain,and improving understanding of the mechanisms of effect of As on plant.Zhengdan 958 was grown at five As levels added to soil （0,12.5,25,50,and 100 mg kg^-1 As）.As concentration in maize tissues increased in the order of grain〈stalk〈leaf〈〈root.The As concentration in maize grain exceeded the maximum permissible concentration of 0.7 mg kg^-1 in China at levels of 50 and 100 mg kg^-1.As species were presented in root,stalk,and grain,but organic As was the major As species identified in the grain.Maize plants were able to reduce arsenate to arsenite.Low As levels of 12.5 and 25 mg kg^-1 improved maize growth and grain nutrition quality,while high levels of As 50 or 100 mg kg^-1 inhibited them.Yield reduction at high As levels resulted mainly from reduced ear length,kernel number per row,and kernel weight.

Fosfomycin Resistance in Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli Isolates

Fosfomycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, is very important in the clinic but many fosfomycin-resistant bacteria have been isolated from patients. In this study, the resistance mechanism of three fosfomycin-resistant avian pathogenic Escherichia coli （APEC） strains （JE1, IF7 and CD11） isolated from septicemic chickens were analyzed. The results showed that their fosfomycin-resistance mechanisms were different. An alteration in the glpT transport system was the main reason of the fosfomycin-resistance mechanisms of strain IF7. Compared with the control stain BL21, the capacity of fosfomycin-uptake was low in all these three stains （JE 1 〉IFT〉CD 11）. Sequence results of murA showed that there were more than 10 sites of nucleotide mutation, but only one amino acid mutation T116A showed in CD11. Real-time detection test showed that the expression level of the murA gene of the three stains was significantly increased （four times increase in strain CD11 and two times increase in strains JE1 and IFT）. The transformation and recombinant test showed that the recombinant bacteria with the murA of JE1 and CD11 showed high minimal inhibitory concentration （MIC） against fosfomycin. From the results of this research, it showed that most of the fosfomycin- resistance mechanisms once showed in patient bacteria have appeared in the APEC strains and the fosfomycin-resistance mechanism of the three APEC isolates was different.