Accumulation and tolerance to cadmium heavy metal ions and induction of 14-3-3 gene expression in response to cadmium exposure in Coprinus atramentarius.

Cadmium (Cd), one of the most toxic heavy-metal pollutants, has a strong and irreversible tendency to accumulate. Bioremediation is a promising technology to remedy and control heavy metal pollutants because of its low cost and ability to recycle heavy metals. Coprinus atramentarius is recognized as being able to accumulate heavy metal ions. In this work, C. atramentarius is cultivated on a solid medium containing Cd2+ ions to analyze its ability to tolerate different concentrations of the heavy metal ion. It is found that the growth of C. atramentarius is not significantly inhibited when the concentration of Cd2+ is less than 0.6mgL-1. The accumulation capacity of C. atramentarius at different Cd2+ concentrations also was determined. The results show that 76% of the Cd2+ present can be accumulated even when the concentration of the Cd2+ is 1mgL-1. The different proteins of C. atramentarius exposed to Cd2+ were further analyzed using gel electrophoresis. A 14-3-3 protein was identified and shown to be significantly up-regulated. In a further study, a full-length 14-3-3 gene was cloned containing a 759bp open reading frame encoding a polypeptide consisting of 252 amino acids and 3 introns. The gene expression work also showed that the 14-3-3 was significantly induced, and showed coordinated patterns of expression, with Cd2+ exposure.

[Effects of applying pig manure on lettuce yield and nitrate content and soil nutrients].

A pot experiment with two representative soils (purple soil and yellow soil) in Southwest China was conducted to study the effects of applying pig manure on the lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata L. ) yield and nitrate content and the soil nutrients. Applying pig manure increased the lettuce yield significantly, and the increment was higher for yellow soil than for purple soil. The nitrate and total nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents in lettuce plants were closely related to soil type and pig manure application rate. According to the evaluation standards of the nitrate pollution level of vegetables formulated by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the nitrate content in lettuce plants growing on purple soil was lower than the grade I (< or = 432 mg x kg(-1), slight pollution) in treatments CK (no pig manure application) and M1 ( applying 200 kg N x hm(-2) of pig manure), but generally higher than the grade II (< or = 758 mg x kg(-1), moderate pollution) while not exceeded the grade III (< or = 1440 mg x kg(-1), heavy pollution) in other treatments. The nitrate content in lettuce plants growing on yellow soil was lower than the grade I, except that in the treatments of chemical fertilizations and of M8 (applying 1600 kg N x hm(-2) of pig manure) where the plant nitrate content was exceeded the grade II. The critical value of Olsen-P characterizing the apparent leaching risk level of phosphorous in yellow soil and purple soil was 96.3 and 107.7 mg x kg(-1), respectively. The environmental safety capacity of pig manure was higher for yellow soil than for purple soil. Applying pig manure increased the organic carbon and total nitrogen contents of the two soils significantly.

[Effects of exogenous dimethylarsinic acid on Brassica campestris growth and soil arsenic bioavailability].

A pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of exogenous dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) on the growth of Brassica campestris and the bioavailability of soil arsenic (As). With the increasing concentration of applied DMA, the emergence rate and biomass of B. campestris increased at low concentration DMA, but decreased at high concentration DMA. When the DMA concentration reached 90 mg x kg(-1), the emergence rate and biomass of B. campestris in the second cropping decreased by 9.5% and 57.0%, respectively, compared with those in the control, indicating that exogenous DMA had longer-term effects on the growth of B. campestris. The soil available As and the As uptake by B. campestris all increased with increasing concentration of exogenous DMA, and there existed significant correlations among them. After applied into soil, the exogenous DMA demethylated, with As(V) as the main product and lesser amount of As (III), and the concentrations of soil As(V) and As(III) increased with increasing application rate of exogenous DMA.

[Bioremediation of heavy metal pollution by edible fungi: a review].

Bioremediation is the method of using organisms and their derivatives to absorb heavy metals from polluted environment, with the characteristics of low cost, broad sources, and no secondary pollution. Heavy metals enrichment by edible fungi is an important research focus of bioremediation, because it can decrease the eco-toxicity of heavy metals via the uptake by edible fungi, and thereby, take a definite role in heavy metal remediation. This paper reviewed the research progress on the enrichment of heavy metal copper, cadmium, lead, zinc, arsenic, and chromium by edible fungi and the possible enrichment mechanisms, and prospected the development and applications of heavy metal enrichment by edible fungi in the management of polluted environment.

[Concentration and speciation of arsenic in greenhouse vegetable soil in Shouguang County of Shandong Province].

A sampling survey was conducted in the typical areas in Shouguang County of Shandong Province to study the characteristics of arsenic (As) concentration and speciation in greenhouse vegetable soil. The total As concentration in the surface (0-20 cm) and subsurface (20-40 cm) soil was averagely 8.27 and 7.93 mg x kg(-1), being 19% and 23% higher than that of the control (open field soil), and the soluble As (AE-As) concentration was 0.13 and 0.06 mg x kg(-1), 63% and 200% higher than that of the control, respectively. The ratio of residual As (O-As) to total arsenic reached more than 63.0%, and the concentrations of different As speciation decreased in the order of O-As > iron-bound As (Fe-As) > calcium bound As (Ca-As) > aluminum bound As (AlAs) > AE-As. With the increasing planting years, the AE-As concentration enhanced significantly, and the Al-As concentration also increased to some degree. After 15 years planting, the AE-As concentration in surface and subsurface soil increased by 75.0% and 150.0%, and Al-As concentration increased by 51.6% and 190.4%, respectively, while the concentrations of Fe-As and Ca-As all decreased to some degree.

[Transformation of exogenous dimethyl arsenic in soil].

A pot experiment was conducted to study the speciation transformation of exogenous dimethyl arsenic (DMA) in soil. The added DMA was mainly transformed into arsenate [As(V)], accompanied with a small amount of monomethyl arsenic (MMA). When the concentration of added DMA was 30 mg x kg(-1), the transformation rate was the highest, being 6.71%, 8.11%, 11.33%, and 19.32% when the cultivation time was 10, 15, 30, and 40 days, respectively. With increasing concentration of added DMA, soil soluble arsenic (AE-As) had an increasing trend, but decreased as the cultivation time increased. Comparing with CK, the addition of DMA increased the concentrations of soil arsenic bounded to aluminum (Al-As), iron (Fe-As), calcium (Ca-As), which was possibly due to the adsorption or fixation of added DMA and its transformation products by the oxides or hydroxides of soil aluminum, iron, and calcium.

[Arsenic accumulation in different agricultural soils in Shouguang of Shandong Province].

The study on the soil arsenic (As) accumulation under different types of agricultural use in Shouguang of Shandong Province showed that farmland soils had an average As content of 9. 63 mg x kg(-1) , with the highest being 15. 15 mg x kg(-1) . Compared with the local background value (9. 3 mg As x kg(-1)) , 53. 1% of soil samples was detected as As enrichment. The soil As content was high in the west, east and north parts of Shouguang, relatively lower in the middle part, and the lowest in the south part. Different agricultural use had an obvious effect on the soil As content, which was decreased in the order of wheat/maize land > cotton field > protected vegetable land > uncovered vegetable land. Such a difference in soil As content was mainly affected by agricultural activities. With the increasing year of vegetable planting, soil As content had an increasing trend, because the As input from pig dung and chicken feces was the main source of soil As in protected vegetable land. Soil As enrichment could be reduced to some degree by applying soybean cake fertiliz-