Limits to sustained energy intake. XVIII. Energy intake and reproductive output during lactation in Swiss mice raising small litters.

Limits to sustained energy intake (SusEI) during lactation in Swiss mice have been suggested to reflect the secretory capacity of the mammary glands. However, an alternative explanation is that milk production and food intake are regulated to match the limited growth capacity of the offspring. In the present study, female Swiss mice were experimentally manipulated in two ways - litter sizes were adjusted to be between 1 and 9 pups and mice were exposed to either warm (21°C) or cold (5°C) conditions from day 10 of lactation. Energy intake, number of pups and litter mass, milk energy output (MEO), thermogenesis, mass of the mammary glands and brown adipose tissue cytochrome c oxidase activity of the mothers were measured. At 21 and 5°C, pup mass at weaning was almost independent of litter size. Positive correlations were observed between the number of pups, litter mass, asymptotic food intake and MEO. These data were consistent with the suggestion that in small litters, pup requirements may be the major factor limiting milk production. Pups raised at 5°C had significantly lower body masses than those raised at 21°C. This was despite the fact that milk production and energy intake at the same litter sizes were both substantially higher in females raising pups at 5°C. This suggests that pup growth capacity is lower in the cold, perhaps due to pups allocating ingested energy to fuel thermogenesis. Differences in observed levels of milk production under different conditions may then reflect a complex interplay between factors limiting maternal performance (peripheral limitation and heat dissipation: generally better when it is cooler) and factors influencing maximum pup growth (litter size and temperature: generally better when it is hotter), and may together result in an optimal temperature favouring reproduction.

High bioremediation potential of strain Chenggangzhangella methanolivorans CHL1 for soil polluted with metsulfuron-methyl or tribenuron-methyl in a pot experiment.

Soil contamination caused by long-term application of metsulfuron-methyl and tribenuron-methyl has become an issue of increasing concern. In our previous study, strain Chenggangzhangella methanolivorans CHL1, capable of efficiently degrading sulfonylurea herbicides, was isolated. Here, the bioremediation potential of strain CHL1 was assessed for soil polluted with metsulfuron-methyl or tribenuron-methyl in a pot experiment. The growth parameters of waxy maize were measured on day 21 of the pot experiment. Additionally, the residues of metsulfuron-methyl and tribenuron-methyl in soils were analyzed, and the soil microbial community was investigated using a phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) method on days 1, 7, 14, and 21. The results indicated that strain CHL1 greatly accelerated the degradation of metsulfuron-methyl and tribenuron-methyl in soils. The degradation rates in the treatments inoculated with strain CHL1were all more than 91% after 7 days, significantly higher than the 25-36% degradation measured in non-inoculated treatments. Furthermore, strain CHL1 reduced the negative effects of tribenuron-methyl and metsulfuron-methyl on waxy maize growth, especially the primary root length. Moreover, inoculation with strain CHL1 also reduced the effects of tribenuron-methyl and metsulfuron-methyl on soil microbial biomass, diversity, and community structure. The present study demonstrates that strain CHL1 has great potential application to remediate soil contaminated with metsulfuron-methyl or tribenuron-methyl.

Identification of ssDNA aptamers specific for anti-neuroexcitation peptide III and molecular modeling studies: insights into structural interactions.

Twelve ssDNA aptamers specific for a novel recombinant anti-neuroexcitation peptide (ANEPIII) were identified using the SELEX method from a 79-nucleotide ssDNA pool to purify ANEPIII in a more efficient way. To further understand the binding modes between ssDNA and ANEPIII, fully flexible dinucleotides were docked onto the homology-modeled ANEPIII structure. AutoDocking identified favorable binding sites on ANEPIII for nucleotides, which was valuable for designing more potent ligands.

Toxic effects of acetochlor, methamidophos and their combination on nifH gene in soil.

Toxic effects of two agrochemicals on nifH gene in agricultural black soil were investigated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing approaches in a microcosm experiment. Changes of soil nifH gene diversity and composition were examined following the application of acetochlor, methamidophos and their combination. Acetochlor reduced the nifH gene diversity (both in gene richness and diversity index values) and caused changes in the nifH gene composition. The effects of acetochlor on nifH gene were strengthened as the concentration of acetochlor increased. Cluster analysis of DGGE banding patterns showed that nifH gene composition which had been affected by low concentration of acetochlor (50 mg/kg) recovered firstly. Methamidophos reduced nifH gene richness that except at 4 weeks. The medium concentration of methamidophos (150 mg/kg) caused the most apparent changes in nifH gene diversity at the first week while the high concentration of methamidophos (250 mg/kg) produced prominent effects on nifH gene diversity in the following weeks. Cluster analysis showed that minimal changes of nifH gene composition were found at 1 week and maximal changes at 4 weeks. Toxic effects of acetochlor and methamidophos combination on nifH gene were also apparent. Different nifH genes (bands) responded differently to the impact of agrochemicals: four individual bands were eliminated by the application of the agrochemicals, five bands became predominant by the stimulation of the agrochemicals, and four bands showed strong resistance to the influence of the agrochemicals. Fifteen prominent bands were partially sequenced, yielding 15 different nifH sequences, which were used for phylogenetic reconstructions. All sequences were affiliated with the alpha- and beta-proteobacteria, showing higher similarity to eight different diazotrophic genera.

[Identification and degradation capability of three pyrene-degrading Gordonia sp. strains].

Three pyrene-degrading bacterial strains named D44, D82S and D82Q were isolated from PAHs-contaminated soil in Shenfu Irrigation Area of Shenyang, Northeast China. The strains were identified as Gordonia sp., based on the morphological observation, physiological and biochemical identification, and phylogenetical analysis of 16S rDNA sequences. For all the three stains, their optimal pH was 7, and their growth was obviously inhibited when the pH was lower than 5 or higher than 9. The three strains were capable of utilizing pyrene, benzo[a] pyrene, anthracene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and fluoranthene as the sole source of carbon and energy. After seven days incubation, the three strains could degrade more than 65% of pyrene with an initial concentration 100 mg x L(-1), and the D44, D82S, and D82Q could degrade 79.6%, 91.3%, and 62.8% of benzo[a] pyrene with an initial concentration 50 mg x L(-1), respectively. PCR amplification indicated that the strains D82Q and D82S possessed alkane monooxygenase gene alkB.

[Isolation and identification of a highly efficient pyrene-degrading Mycobacterium sp. strain N12].

By using selective enrichment method, a highly efficient pyrene-degrading bacterium strain N12 was isolated from an oil-contaminated soil collected from Shenfu irrigation area of Shenyang. Based on the physiological and biochemical characteristics and the phylogenetic similarity of 16S rDNA gene sequence, the strain N12 was identified as Mycobacterium sp. , which could utilize phenanthrene, acenaphthene, fluorine, and pyrene, but not anthracene, naphthalene, and benzo (a)pyrene as the sole carbon and energy source. However, when the strain N12 was cultured with pyrene and phenanthrene, 79.0% of benzo(a)pyrene could be co-metabolized within 9 days. The degradation rate of 100 mg x L(-1) of pyrene by the strain N12 was 94.4% within 7 days and 100% after 14 days, and that of 600 mg x L(-1) of pyrene was 56.1% within 7 days and 95.5% within 14 days. The addition of glucose promoted the degradation of pyrene. It was suggested that the strain N12 was an efficient PAHs-degrading bacterium, being a potential candidate for the bioremediation of PAHs-contaminated soils.

[Microbial degradation of soil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and its relations to soil bacterial population diversity].

A laboratory simulation test was conducted to study the microbial remediation of soils contaminated by medium and low concentration polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and the relationships between the degradation of PAHs and the inoculated and indigenous microbes. The addition of high-effective PAHs-degrading bacteria promoted the biodegradation of soil PAHs, and the effect was remarkable in the first two weeks. The biodegradation of test PAHs was phenanthrene < anthracene < pyrene < benzo [a] pyrene < chrysene, and negatively correlated with the diversity/abundance of soil bacterial population. In the same treatments, soil bacterial population structure varied less with time, and hence, to increase the activity of indigenous microbes would be an effective way to remediate the farmland soils contaminated by medium and low concentration PAHs.

[Relationship between soil fungistasis and bacterial community structure].

As a natural attribute of clean and healthy soil, fungistasis is an important indicator of soil quality, and has positive ecological significance to the inhibition of plant disease eruption caused by soil-borne fungal pathogens. In this study, soil samples (0-15 cm) were collected from the abandoned land at Shenyang Experimental Station of Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, to which pesticides and fertilizers have never been applied for nearly 10 years. A series of soil samples with gradient fungistasis was obtained by heating (CK, 100 degrees C, 110 degrees C, and 121 degrees C for 4 min, respectively), and bacterial community structure was analyzed by Polymerase Chain Reaction coupled with Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis method (PCR-GGGE). The results showed that there was a significant correlation between soil fungistasis and bacterial community composition. Treatment CK showed the strongest capacity to control the growth of target soil-borne pathogenic fungi. The further the bacterial community structure of treated soil deviated from that of CK, the lower the soil fungistasis was. Sequencing and the following phylogenetic analysis of special bands in DGGE indicated that Sphingomonas asaccharolytica, Nitrospira sp., Hyphomicrobiaceae sp., Bacillus megaterium, and Micrococcus sp. could be involved in soil fungistasis.

[Effects of long-term petroleum and heavy metals pollution on the diversity and community structure of Pesudomonas populations in agricultural soils].

By using PCR-DGGE method, this paper studied the diversity and community structure of Pseudomonas populations in long-term petroleum- and heavy metals-contaminated agricultural soils in Northeast China. The results showed that the Shannon diversity index of Pseudomonas was significantly higher in petroleum- than in heavy metals-contaminated soils. The diversity of Pseudomonas in petroleum-contaminated soil was approached to that in clean soil but lower than that in polluted lowland rice soil, suggesting that contaminant type and cultivation mode were the main factors affecting the diversity of Pseudomonas in agricultural soils. The sequences of V6/V7 regions in 16S rRNA gene indicated that P. mendocina, P. stutzeri and P. aeruginosa were the dominant species in both petroleum- and heavy metals-contaminated soils, demonstrating that these three species were enriched under the stress of long-term pollution, which might correlate with the natural degradation of petroleum and the resistance of Pseudomonas to heavy metals.

[Effects of long-term heavy metals stress on farmland soil microbial population, biomass and activity].

An in situ investigation on the farmland soil heavy metals pollution caused by long-term irrigation with heavy metals containing wastewater was carried out in the Zhangshi Irrigation Area of Shenyang. The indices soil microbial population, biomass, and activity were used to evaluate the effects of long-term heavy metals pollution on farmland soil ecosystem. The results showed that in Zhangshi Irrigation Area, soils were heavily polluted by cadmium, with the cadmium content ranged from 1.75 to 3.89 mg x kg(-1), and parts of them were co-contaminated by cadmium, copper and zinc. At the present pollution level, the increased soil heavy metals content resulted in a substantial decrease in soil free-living nitrogen fixing bacteria, microbial biomass carbon (C(mic)), microbial quotient (qM) and dehydrogenase activity, and a significant increase of metabolic quotient (qCO2). No significant changes were observed in soil bacteria, actinomyces, fungi, and substrate-induced respiration (SIR). Correlation analysis showed that the changes of soil microbial parameters were mainly caused by soil cadmium pollution. Comparing with other test microbial parameters, microbial quotient and metabolic quotient were more sensitive to soil heavy metals pollution.