[Effects of Long-term Fertilization Regimes on Microbial Biomass, Community Structure and Activity in a Paddy Soil].

Four paddy soils were collected in Ningxiang County, Hunan province. These used with different long-term fertilization regimes, including a control without fertilizer (CK), chemical fertilization with nitrogen, phosphate, and kalium (NPK), straw fertilization combined with NPK (ST), and manure fertilization combinedwith NPK (OM). Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) technology and MicrorespTM method were used to study the effect of long-term fertilization on soil microorganism abundance, community structure, and activity. Results showed that the abundance of bacteria, fungi, gram-negative (G-) bacteria, and gram-positive (G+) bacteria in the soil from the OM treatment was generally higher than for the other treatments; these levels were lower in the ST and NPK treatments and lowest in the CK treatment. The principal components analysis (PCA) of PLFA showed that the community structure of microorganisms in NPK, ST, and OM treatments was altered in comparison with that in CK, especially in the case of the ST and OM treatments. MicroRespTM results revealed that compared to the CK treatment (1.28 µg·h-1), soil microorganisms in the OM treatment had the highest average utilization rate of multiple carbon sources (1.81 µg·h-1), followed by ST (1.19 µg·h-1), CK (1.28 µg·h-1), and NPK (0.95 µg·h-1). Furthermore, different long-term fertilization regimes resulted in distinct carbon source preferences for the soil microorganisms and revealed a significant alteration in the microbial community. Conclusively, long-term fertilizer with straw or manure changes the microbial community and is a benefit for improving the biomass and activity of microorganism in rice paddy soils.

Upregulated expression of human cathelicidin LL-37 in hypercholesterolemia and its relationship with serum lipid levels.

Dyslipidemia in patients with hypercholesterolemia has been recently linked to increased human cathelicidin LL-37 (LL-37) serum concentration. We tested a hypothesis that upregulated expression of LL-37 gene in peripheral blood leucocytes is involved in dyslipidemia in patients with hypercholesteremia. Patients with hypercholesterolemia were used in the study. Expression of LL-37 and human glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in peripheral blood leucocytes were quantified by real-time RT-PCR. Serum LL-37 concentration was estimated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum lipid levels were assessed by absorptiometry in all cases. Patients with hypercholesterolemia as compared to control ones were characterized by (a) an up-regulation of LL-37 gene expression in peripheral blood leucocytes with parallel increase of serum LL-37 concentration and (b) an increase of serum total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. Patients with hypercholesterolemia after a treatment with atorvastatin calcium 20 mg daily as compared to that patients before the treatment: an down-regulation of LL-37 gene expression in peripheral blood leucocytes with parallel decrease of serum LL-37 concentration. We also found significant correlation between serum LL-37 and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (r = 0.7290, P < 0.0001). The results suggest that hypercholesterolemia is associated with an increased LL-37 gene expression in peripheral blood leucocytes. The correlation between serum LL-37 and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels suggests that LL-37 may play a key role in regulation of cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolemia.

Water-Soluble Humic Materials Regulate Quorum Sensing in Sinorhizobium meliloti Through a Novel Repressor of expR.

Quorum sensing (QS) plays an important role in the growth, nodulation, and nitrogen fixation of rhizobia. In this study, we show that water-soluble humic materials (WSHM) repress the expression of the QS related genes sinI, sinR, and expR in Sinorhizobium meliloti. This decreased the production of N-acetyl homoserine lactones (AHL) and exopolysaccharides (EPS), and ultimately increased S. meliloti cell density. We also identified a novel regulator, SMc03890 (renamed QsrR), which binds directly to the expR promoter. Deletion of qsrR increased expR expression. WSHM repressed the expression of expR by augmenting the interaction between QsrR and the expR promoter; this was determined by a bacterial-one-hybrid assay. These effects of WSHM on the QS system in S. meliloti may be the underlying mechanism by which WSHM increase the symbiotic nitrogen fixation of Medicago sativa inoculated with S. meliloti. This study provides the first evidence that humic acids regulate the QS of rhizobia and suggests that WSHM could be used as fertilizers to improve the efficiency of symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

[Physiological Characteristics and Nitrogen and Phosphorus Uptake of Myriophyllum aquaticum Under High Ammonium Conditions].

Ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) at high concentrations is toxic to plants. In order to explore the NH4+-N tolerance of Myriophyllum aquaticum (M. aquaticum) and its ability of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) uptake, this study used a nutrient solution with three NH4+-N levels (70, 210, 420 mg·L-1) to incubate M. aquaticum for 21 d. The characteristics of plant physiology and N and P uptake of M. aquaticum were measured. At NH4+-N of 70 mg·L-1, M. aquaticum grew healthily, and shoot height and biomass linearly increased with the increase incubation time. Relative shoot height and biomass of M. aquaticum were 40.56 cm and 17.82 g·hole-1 on day 21, respectively. Compared to the control with 70 mg·L-1 ammonium, malondialdehyde (MDA) content of M. aquaticum was significantly increased; chlorophyll and soluble sugar contents were also high at NH4+-N of 210 mg·L-1. M. aquaticum suffered from the NH4+-N stress. However, the stress of 210 mg·L-1 NH4+-N did not affect its normal growth and there was no significant difference in the relative growth rate of the shoot height and biomass compared with the control. At NH4+-N of 420 mg·L-1, MDA contents of M. aquaticum doubled and the shoot height and biomass growth rate were only 27.4% and 17.9% of those for 70 mg·L-1 NH4+-N, indicating that M. aquaticum was subjected to serious stress that caused unhealthy growth or even death. At three NH4+-N levels, the ranges of N and P content of M. aquaticum were 30.7-53.4 mg·g-1 and 3.8-7.7 mg·g-1, respectively, which indicated that M. aquaticum had a high uptake capacity of N and P. M. aquaticum is an ideal wetland plant that has a good application prospect for constructed wetlands in biological treatment of high-ammonia wastewater.

[Input and Distribution of Photosynthesized Carbon in Soil-Rice System Affected by Water Management and Nitrogen Fertilization].

Fertilizer and water management are two key factors for rice growth. A better understanding of the carbon (C) cycling in paddy soil requires investigation into the input characteristics and distribution dynamics of photosynthesized carbon in rice-soil system. We grew rice (Zhongzao 39) in PVC pots and used the 13 C-CO2 continuous labeling method to quantify the allocation of photosynthesized carbon in rice-soil system under two regimes(Drying-rewetting vs. continuous watering) and N fertilization (250 mg·kg-1vs. no addition). The results showed that nitrogen fertilizer application increased rice shoot biomass and the amount of C and N, but had no significant influence on rice root biomass. Thus, nitrogen fertilizer application decreased rice biomass root/shoot ratio significantly. Drying-rewetting with N fertilizer treatment resulted in higher total C and N amount by 22% and 33%, respectively, in the shoot, and by 36% and 44%, respectively in the root than continuous watering with nitrogen fertilizer treatment. These results indicated that nitrogen fertilizer application promoted the growth of rice shoot. Nitrogen fertilizer application significantly increased the 13 C content in rice shoot by 32%-83% over the control without N addition. Nitrogen fertilizer application also increased the 13 C recovery in rice shoot by 6%-32%, but decreased that in the root by 18%-59%. Pertaining to water effect, drying-rewetting with N application increased the amount of 13 C in rice shoot and root. However, without N addition, the amount and the recovery of 13 C in shoot dropped by 10.3 mg·pot-1 and 12%, respectively, compared with the continuous watering treatment. The root, on the other hand, recorded increases in both the amount and the recovery of 13 C by 1.9 mg·pot-1 and 57%, respectively. Furthermore, the deposition of assimilated C into rhizosphere-soil increased by both the individual and the interactive effects of N fertilizer application and drying-rewetting treatment. Thus, combining N fertilizer and drying-rewetting water management led to more increased allocation and deposition of photosynthesized carbon in soil-rice system compared with combined continuous flooding and N application. This study was able to quantify the partitioning and allocation of rice photosynthesized carbon into different plant and soil pools under different water and N fertilizer treatments, and can serve as a useful guide for better water and nutrient management practices in paddy-rice production that can achieve both sustainable high yield and sequestration of more C within the paddy soil system.

Novosphingobium tardum sp. nov., isolated from sediment of a freshwater lake.

A Gram-negative, non-motive, aerobic and non-spore-forming strain 16-28-2(T) isolated from freshwater sediment of Taihu Lake was characterized by using a polyphasic approach. The optimum growth conditions were found to be as follows: 28 °C, pH 6.5 and 0-0.5 % NaCl in YG liquid medium. The major fatty acids were identified to be summed feature 3 (consisting of C16:1 ω7c and/or C16:1 ω6c), summed feature 8 (consisting of C18:1 ω7c and/or C18:1 ω6c), C14:0 2-OH, C17:1 ω6c, C16:0 and C18:1 ω7c 11-methyl (>5 %). Strain 16-28-2(T) was found to contain diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and sphingoglycolipid as the major polar lipids; and ubiquinone 10 (Q-10) as the major respiratory quinone. DNA G+C content of strain 16-28-2(T) was 63.5 mol % (Tm). A phylogenetic study of 16S rRNA gene indicated that strain 16-28-2(T) is a member of the genus Novosphingobium, with the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 96.3 % with Novosphingobium lentum MT1(T) and below 96 % with the other Novosphingobium species. On the basis of the phylogenetic, phenotypic analyses and biochemical characterization, we suggest that strain 16-28-2(T) is a novel species in the genus Novosphingobium, for which the name Novosphingobium tardum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of N. tardum is 16-28-2(T) (=CGMCC 1.12989(T) =NBRC 110956(T)).

Sediment prokaryote communities in different sites of eutrophic Lake Taihu and their interactions with environmental factors.

To investigate the temporal variation of the sediment prokaryote communities and their relation with the rapid increase of algae population in Taihu, a shallow eutrophic freshwater Lake, water and surface sediments were sampled from seven sites in different stages of algal bloom. The physicochemical characterization revealed positive correlations among the nutrient (N, P) parameters in the water and sediments, as well as TN/TP ratio 30.79 in average in water and 0.13 in sediments, demonstrating that P content was the limit factor for bloom in Taihu and sediment was an important nutrient resource for the water body. T-RFLP analysis of 16S rRNA genes revealed a diversity decrease of sediment prokaryotic communities along the bloom. The bacterial communities in sediments were more sensitive and shaped by the temporal changes, while archaea were more sensitive to the trophic level. The pyrosequencing data showed clear spatial and temporal changes in diversity of sediment bacteria. Betaproteobacteria was the most abundant group in all the samples, following by Delta-, Gama- and Alpha-proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Chlorobi, Chloroflexi etc. At the genus level, Thiobacillus and Sulfuricurvum were the most dominant groups in the sediments, and the increase of Thiobacillus abundance in February might be used as bioindicator for the subsequent bloom. In addition, NO3 (-)-N was evidenced to be the main factor to regulate the bacterial community structure in the sediments. These results offered some novel and important data for the evaluation and predict the algal bloom in Taihu and can be reference for other shallow fresh water lakes.

Cutaneous Vasculitis, Interstitial Pneumonia with Crazy-Paving Appearance, and Positive pANCA in a Patient with Severe Crohn's Disease.

Cutaneous vasculitis, interstitial pneumonia with crazy-paving appearance on high-resolution computed tomography, and repeated positive perinuclear anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (pANCA) are rarely found together in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in the existing literature. We report the case of a Chinese patient previously diagnosed with cutaneous vasculitis and interstitial pneumonia, who presented with acute pain and mass in his right lower quadrant a couple of years later. The terminal ileum biopsy and postoperative pathology confirmed Crohn's disease (CD).

[Dynamics of the mineralization and transformation of rice photosynthesized carbon in paddy soils--a batch incubation experiment].

Photosynthesized carbon is an important part in C cycling of "atmosphere-plant-soil" and is the source of soil organic carbon (SOC), but its mineralization and transformation dynamics in paddy soils remains still unclear. Therefore, a batch incubation experiment was conducted to investigate the mineralization and transformation of rice photosynthesized carbon in paddy soils after rice harvest. The results showed that the mineralization rate of native SOC ranged from 4.44 to 17.8 microg x (g x d)(-1), while that of photosynthesized carbon (new carbon) was 0.15- 1.51 micro x (gx d)(-1) during the course of 100-day-incubation span. Rice photosynthesized carbon input significantly influenced the soil active carbon (DOC, MBC) transformation. During the incubation period (100 d), the amount of 14C-DOC transformation ranged from 1.89 to 5.32 mg x 8 kg(-1), and that of native DOC varied from 61.13 to 90.65 mg x kg(-2), with the transformation rates ranged from 0.18 to 0.34 mg x (kg x d)(-1) and from 4.10 to 5.48 mg. (kg x d)(-1), respectively. However, the 14C-MBC and native original MBC were 10.92-44.11 mg x kg(-1) and 463.31-1153.46 mg x kg(-1), respectively, and their transformation rates were 0.80-2.87, 41.60-74.46 mg x (kg-d)(-1), respectively. It suggested that the turnover of MBC was greater than that of DOC. Furthermore, "new carbon" was easier to be mineralized and decomposed than native SOC. The mineralized portion in "new carbon" was 13.5%-20.2%, whereas that in native SOC was only 2.2%-3.7%. Therefore, we concluded that the incorporation of rice photosynthesized carbon was vital to maintain the soil carbon sink for paddy soils.

Novosphingobium sediminis sp. nov., isolated from the sediment of a eutrophic lake.

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped, aerobic, non-motile, bacterium (YG-17(T)) was isolated from eutrophic Taihu lake sediment. Colonies grown on YG agar plates were circular, convex, and yellow-colored. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, strain YG-17(T) was shown to be closely related to Novosphingobium aromaticivorum (97.9%), followed by Novosphingobium stygium (97.5%), Novosphingobium subterranea (96.9%) and Novosphingobium taihuense (96.7%). The DNA-DNA relatedness values of strain YG-17(T) to the most phylogenetically related species N. aromaticivorum and N. stygium were 14% and 21%, respectively. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 63.2 mol%. The major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-10 and major fatty acids were C(18:1 ω7c), C(17:1 ω6c) and C(14:0)2-OH. Sphingoglycolipids were present, and spermidine was detected as the major polyamine. According to comparative physiological and chemotaxonomic analysis, strain YG-17(T) is proposed to be a novel species of the genus Novosphingobium, with the name of Novosphingobium sediminis sp. nov. The type strain is YG-17(T) (NBRC 106119(T)= CGMCC 1.9114(T)).

[Diversity of culturable butane-oxidizing bacteria in oil and gas field soil].

Butane-oxidizing bacteria in soil sample sites from Puguang gas field in Sichuan province and Jianghan oil field in Hubei province were isolated and 16S rRNA gene sequence and phylogenetic analysis were applied. The differences of number and phylogenetic position and population diversity of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria in different environment were investigated. The results show that 25 strains of butane-oxidizing bacteria were isolated. Based on sequencing of 16S rRNA gene, the species of bacteria in two samples are classified into 3 phyla including Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. The community structure of butane-oxidizing bacteria isolated from two oil samples is simple, both of them contain 4 genus including Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus and Arthrobacter. Strains in the genus of Ochrobactrum and Mycobacterium were only isolated from Puguang gas field. The number and population diversity of butane-oxidizing bacteria in Puguang gas field was more than those in Jianghan oil field.

Biodegradation of Leonardite by an alkali-producing bacterial community and characterization of the degraded products.

In this study, three bacterial communities were obtained from 12 Leonardite samples with the aim of identifying a clean, effective, and economic technique for the dissolution of Leonardite, a type of low-grade coal, in the production of humic acid (HA). The biodegradation ability and characteristics of the degraded products of the most effective bacterial community (MCSL-2), which degraded 50% of the Leonardite within 21 days, were further investigated. Analyses of elemental composition, (13)C NMR, and Fourier transform infrared revealed that the contents of C, O, and aliphatic carbon were similar in biodegraded humic acid (bHA) and chemically (alkali) extracted humic acid (cHA). However, the N and carboxyl carbon contents of bHA was higher than that of cHA. Furthermore, a positive correlation was identified between the degradation efficiency and the increasing pH of the culture medium, while increases of manganese peroxidase and esterase activities were also observed. These data demonstrated that both alkali production and enzyme reactions were involved in Leonardite solubilization by MCSL-2, although the former mechanism predominated. No fungus was observed by microscopy. Only four bacterial phylotypes were recognized, and Bacillus licheniformis-related bacteria were identified as the main group in MCSL-2 by analysis of amplified 16S rRNA genes, thus demonstrating that Leonardite degradation ability has a limited distribution in bacteria. Hormone-like bioactivities of bHA were also detected. In this study, a bacterial community capable of Leonardite degradation was identified and the products characterized. These data implicate the use of such bacteria for the exploitation of Leonardite as a biofertilizer.

Salsuginibacillus halophilus sp. nov., a halophilic bacterium isolated from a soda lake.

A Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming, halophilic, alkalitolerant bacterium, designated halo-1(T), was isolated from sediment of Xiarinaoer soda lake, located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. Strain halo-1(T) grew in the presence of 9-30 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 19 %) and at pH 5-10 (optimum pH 9). The cell-wall peptidoglycan contained meso-diaminopimelic acid and the major respiratory isoprenoid quinone was MK-7. The predominant cellular fatty acids of the isolate were anteiso-C(15 : 0) (58.35 %), anteiso-C(17 : 0) (12.89 %) and C(16 : 0) (6.52 %). The polar lipids contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, glycolipid and a phospholipid of unknown structure. The DNA G+C content of the strain was 46.4 mol%. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, strain halo-1(T) showed the highest similarity (93.9 %) to Salsuginibacillus kocurii CH9d(T). Strain halo-1(T) could be clearly differentiated from its closest phylogenetic relative on the basis of several phenotypic, genotypic and chemotaxonomic features. Therefore, strain halo-1(T) represents a novel species, for which the name Salsuginibacillus halophilus sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain halo-1(T) (=CGMCC 1.7653(T) =NBRC 104934(T)).

Cloacibacterium rupense sp. nov., isolated from freshwater lake sediment.

A Gram-negative, yellow-pigmented bacterium, designated strain R2A-16(T), was isolated from sediment of Rupa Lake in Nepal and analysed using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain R2A-16(T) is affiliated to the genus Cloacibacterium of the family Flavobacteriaceae; 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain R2A-16(T) and Cloacibacterium normanense CCUG 46293(T) was 98.07 %. The isolate contained iso-C(15 : 0) (35.6 %) as the major fatty acid and menaquinone MK-6 as the predominant respiratory quinone. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 33.3 mol%. On the basis of its phenotypic properties and phylogenetic distinctiveness, strain R2A-16(T) represents a novel species of the genus Cloacibacterium, for which the name Cloacibacterium rupense sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is R2A-16(T) (=CGMCC 1.7656(T) =NBRC 104931(T)).

[Effect of low phosphorus concentration on the growth of Scenedesmus obliquus and phosphorus removal].

Effects of phosphorus of low concentrations on the growth and the phosphorus removal efficiency of Scenedesmus obliquus were investigated in this study. Results showed that Scenedesmus obliquus achieved a phosphorus removal efficiency of 100% within 22 h when the initial algal cell concentration was 1 x 10(5) /mL and the initial phosphorus concentration was 0.02-0.10 mg/L. With the initial phosphorus concentration increased from 0.02 mg/L to 0.10 mg/L, both growth velocity of Scenedesmus obliquus and maximum biomass increased obviously. Research found that phosphorus concentration had a significant influence on cell morphology of algal. In the external phosphorus sufficient conditions, most of algae cell present as four cells gather round form, then transformed into two cells side by side form in the absence of external phosphorus in culture medium, Finally in single as the main form of existence.

Bioremediation of cadmium by growing Rhodobacter sphaeroides: kinetic characteristic and mechanism studies.

The removal kinetic characteristic and mechanism of cadmium by growing Rhodobacter sphaeroides were investigated. The removal data were fitted to the second-order equation, with a correlation coefficient, R2=0.9790-0.9916. Furthermore, it was found that the removal mechanism of cadmium was predominantly governed by bioprecipitation as cadmium sulfide with biosorption contributing to a minor extent. Also, the results revealed that the activities of cysteine desulfhydrase in strains grown in the presence of 10 and 20 mg/l of cadmium were higher than in the control, while the activities in the presence of 30 and 40 mg/l of cadmium were lower than in the control. Content analysis of subcellular fractionation showed that cadmium was mostly removed and transformed by precipitation on the cell wall.

[Application of biological aerated filter in treating biomass wastewater and its microbial population characteristics].

Biomass wastewater contains plenty of cellulose, hemicellulose, starch, saccharide, organic acid and protein. It has high COD value and leads to environment pollution and resource waste. Biomass wastewater was treated in this investigate using a biological aerated filter (BAF) on laboratory scale, and the effect of treatment in different hydraulic retention time (HRT) had been studied. The results show that the optimum HRT is 10 h. The value of COD and TN in effluent is 74.90 mg/L and 1.21 mg/L respectively when run 10 h, which are under the highest concentration of the second category of pollutant discharge allowed in the state sewage discharge standard (GB 8978-1996). When the system is stabile, evaluating the population characteristics of dominating microorganism in BAF with biology analysis such as microbial screening, single bacteria evaluation and 16S rDNA sequences analysis. The dominant bacteria belonged to Pseudomonas sp., Acinetobacer sp., Stenotrophomonas sp., Rhodococcus sp.and Microbacterium sp..