Soil microorganisms alleviate the allelopathic effect of Eucalyptus grandis × E. urophylla leachates on Brassica chinensis

Soil microbes may be critical players in determining the allelopathic potential of some plants. Low levels of plant community biodiversity in Eucalyptus plantations have been attributed to the allelopathic potential of these tree species. The role of soil microbes in the allelopathic effect of leaf leachates of the hybrid tree Eucalyptus grandis x E. urophylla, was tested in Petri dish assays with Brassica chinensis as a receiver plant. Soils were collected from either a local garden (soil A) or a Eucalyptus plantation (soil B) and half of each soil was sterilized to remove microbes. These soils were then treated with E. grandis x E. urophylla leachates for 0-72 h. Seed germination of B. chinensis was significantly inhibited in soils treated with leaf leachates relative to untreated soils. The inhibitory effect of the leaf leachates was more pronounced in sterilized soils. Total phenolic content was obvious lower in nonsterile leachate-treated soils than in sterile soils. Biomass of B. chinensis was negatively correlated with the total phenolic content in soils. Our findings suggest that soil microbes can alleviate the allelopathic potential of Eucalyptus and thereby its negative impact on plant growth.

Silicon impacts on soil microflora under Ralstonia Solanacearum inoculation

Silicon(Si) can increase plant resistance against bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum and enhance plant immune response. However, whether Si alleviates soil-borne disease stress through altering soil microbial community component and diversity is not clear. In this study, effects of Si application under R. solanacearum inoculation with or without plant on soil bacterial and fungal communities were investigated through high-throughput pyrosequencing technique. The results showed that Si addition significantly reduced bacterial wilt incidence. However, Si did not reduce the amount of R. solanacearum in rhizosphere soil. Principal components analysis showed that soil microbial community composition was strongly influenced by Si addition. Total 63.7% bacterial operational taxonomic units(OTUs) and 43.8% fungal OTUs were regulated by Si addition regardless of the presence of tomato plants, indicating the independent effects of Si on soil microbial community. Si-added soil harbored a lower abundance of Fusarium, Pseudomonas, and Faecalibacterium. Our finding further demonstrated that exogenous Si could significantly influence soil microbial community component, and this may provide additional insight into the mechanism of Si-enhanced plant resistance against soil-borne pathogens.

Allelopathic potential of Rhus chinensis on seedling growth of radish,semen cassiae and black soyabean

The allelopathic potential of Rhus chinensis Mill on seedling growth of radish（Raphanus sativus L.）,semen cassiae（seed of Cassia obtusifolia L.） and black soyabean [Glycine max（L.） Merr.] was investigated under laboratory conditions.The water extracts of seed,leaf and bark of R.chinensis inhibited the germination and the growth of roots and shoots of radish,semen cassiae,and black soyabean.Significant increasing reductions in the germination and growth of roots and shoots were observed as the concentration of water extract increased in all bioassays.The order of allelopathic potentials of the three parts from R.chinensis plant on seed germination of these receptors was leaf [ seed [ bark.However,the inhibition of water extracts from R.chinensis seed on root activity of semen cassiae was more severe than from the other two parts.The allelopathic potential on the germination of radish was higher than that of black soyabean and semen cassiae.The integrated effect index for allelopathic potential of water extracts of leaf of R.chinensis on radish,semen cassiae and black soyabean seedling growth were-0.88,-0.93 and-0.98 respectively.The results suggested that it is important to minimize the negative allelopathic potential of R.chinensis in agroforestry systems,and to exploit this traditional Chinese medicinal tree for the production of natural bio-pesticides.

Potential regulation of small RNAs on bacterial function activities in pig farm wastewater treatment plants

Small RNAs(sRNAs)are key players in the regulation of bacterial gene expression.However,the distribution and regulatory functions of sRNA in pig farm wastewater treatment plants(WWTPs)remains unknown.In this study,the wastewaters in anoxic and oxic tanks of the WWTPs were collected.The profiles of the community structure,mRNA expression,and sRNA expression of bacteria in pig farm wastewater were investigated using transcriptome sequencing and qPCR.This study demonstrated that there was a higher abundance of sRNA in the pig farm WWTPs and 52 sRNAs were detected.The sRNAs were mainly present in Proteobacteria and Firmicutes,including the potential human pathogenic bacteria(HPB)(Escherichia,Shigella,Bordetella and Morganella),crop pathogen(Pectobacterium)and denitrifying bacteria(Zobellella).And the sRNAs were involved in the bacterial functional activities such as translation,transcription,drug resistance,membrane transport and amino acid metabolism.In addition,most sRNAs had a higher abundance in anoxic tanks which contained a higher abundance of the genes associated with infectious diseases and drug resistance than that in oxic tanks.The results presented here show that in pig farm WWTPs,sRNA played an important role in bacterial function activities,especially the infectious diseases,drug resistance and denitrification,which can provide a new point of penetration for improving the pig farm WWTPs.

Effect of the chlortetracycline addition method on methane production from the anaerobic digestion of swine wastewater

Effects of antibiotic residues on methane production in anaerobic digestion are commonly studied using the following two antibiotic addition methods：（1） adding manure from animals that consume a diet containing antibiotics, and（2） adding antibiotic-free animal manure spiked with antibiotics. This study used chlortetracycline（CTC） as a model antibiotic to examine the effects of the antibiotic addition method on methane production in anaerobic digestion under two different swine wastewater concentrations（0.55 and 0.22 mg CTC/g dry manure）. The results showed that CTC degradation rate in which manure was directly added at 0.55 mg CTC/g（HSPIKE treatment） was lower than the control values and the rest of the treatment groups. Methane production from the HSPIKEtreatment was reduced（p 〈 0.05） by 12% during the whole experimental period and 15% during the first 7 days. The treatments had no significant effect on the pH and chemical oxygen demand value of the digesters, and the total nitrogen of the0.55 mg CTC/kg manure collected from mediated swine was significantly higher than the other values. Therefore, different methane production under different antibiotic addition methods might be explained by the microbial activity and the concentrations of antibiotic intermediate products and metabolites. Because the primary entry route of veterinary antibiotics into an anaerobic digester is by contaminated animal manure, the most appropriate method for studying antibiotic residue effects on methane production may be using manure from animals that are given a particular antibiotic, rather than adding the antibiotic directly to the anaerobic digester.