Combining Multiple High-Resolution In Situ Techniques to Understand Phosphorous Availability Around Rice Roots.

Resolving chemical/biological drivers of P behavior around lowland/flooded rice roots remains a challenge because of the heterogeneity of the plant-soil interactions, compounded by sampling and analytical constraints. High-spatial-resolution (sub-mm) visualization enables these processes to be isolated, characterized, and deciphered. Here, three advanced soil imaging systems, diffusive gradients in thin-film technique coupled with laser ablation-ICPMS (DGT-LA-ICPMS), O2 planar optode, and soil zymography, were integrated. This trio of approaches was then applied to a rice life cycle study to quantify solute-P supply, through two dimensions, in situ, and low-disturbance high-resolution (HR) chemical imaging. This allowed mechanisms of P release to be delineated by O2, Fe, and phosphatase activity mapping at the same scale. HR-DGT revealed P depletion around both living and dead rice roots but with highly spatially variable Fe/P ratios (∼0.2-12.0) which aligned with changing redox conditions and root activities. Partnering of HR-DGT and soil zymography revealed concurrent P depletion and phosphatase hotspots in the rhizosphere and detritusphere zones (Mantel: 0.610-0.810, p < 0.01). This close affinity between these responses (Pearson correlation: -0.265 to -0.660, p < 0.01) cross-validates the measurements and reaffirms that P depletion stimulates phosphatase activity and Porg mineralization. The µ-scale biogeochemical landscape of rice rhizospheres and detritusphere, as documented here, needs greater consideration when implementing interventions to improve sustainable P nutrition.

In Situ Selective Measurement of SeIV in Waters and Soils: Diffusive Gradients in Thin-Films with Bi-Functionalized Silica Nanoparticles.

The speciation of selenium (Se) controls its fate and behavior, determining both its biological and environmental activities. However, in situ monitoring of SeIV presents a significant challenge due to its sensitivity to redox change. A novel diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique containing mercapto-, amino-bifunctionalized SBA15 mesoporous silica nanoparticles was developed and evaluated in a series of laboratory and field deployment tests. The SBA-DGT exhibited a linear accumulation of SeIV ( r2 > 0.997) over a 72 h deployment, with negligible accumulation of SeVI(<5%). Consistent prediction of SeIV occurred within ionic strength and pH ranges of 0.1-200 mmol L-1 and 3.6-8, respectively. Limits of detection of the SBA-DGT were 0.03 µg SeIV L-1, which is suitable for natural waters. Moreover, the properties of the bifunctionalized SBA15 enable it to be fabricated within ultrathin (0.05 mm) gel layers for use in conjunction with O2 planar optode imaging. This new sandwich sensor technology with SBA-DGT was validated by mapping the two-dimensional distribution of SeIV and oxygen simultaneously in rice rhizospheres. This study shows that SBA-DGT provides a selective measurement of SeIV in situ, demonstrating its potential for both environmental monitoring and as a research tool for improving our understanding of Se biogeochemical processes.

Adhesion of Escherichia coli to nano-Fe/Al oxides and its effect on the surface chemical properties of Fe/Al oxides.

We investigated the adhesion of Escherichia coli to α-Fe2O3 and γ-Al2O3 and the effects of adhesion on the surface properties of the oxides in batch experiments, where we conducted potentiometric titration, zeta potential measurements, and FTIR spectroscopy. The adhesion isotherms fitted a Langmuir equation well. γ-Al2O3 had a higher adhesion capacity than α-Fe2O3 because of the higher positive charge on γ-Al2O3. The adhesion of E. coli to Fe/Al oxides decreased with increasing pH. Adhesion increased with increasing NaCl concentration, reaching its maximum at 0.05M for α-Fe2O3 and at 0.1M for γ-Al2O3, after which it decreased with further increases in NaCl concentration. Therefore, the electrostatic force plays an important role in the adhesion of E. coli to Fe/Al oxides. The zeta potential-pH curves of the binary-system fell between that for bacteria and those for Fe/Al oxides. Thus, overlapping of the diffuse layers of the electric double layers on the negatively-charged E. coli and positively-charged Fe/Al oxides reduced the effective surface charge density of the minerals and bacteria. E. coli adhesion decreased the point of zero salt effect and the isoelectric point of the Fe/Al oxides. The FTIR spectra indicated that non-electrostatic force also contributed to the interaction between E. coli and Fe/Al oxides, in addition to the electrostatic force between them.