Effect of composite organic amendment on Cd(II) ions stabilization and microbial activity under various ammonium sulfate levels.

To attenuate the risk of Cadmium(Cd) contamination and the deterioration of soil quality caused by excessive nitrogen fertilizer application in greenhouse, a composite organic amendment (spend mushroom substrate and its biochar) was prepared to remedy Cd(II) ions contaminated soil (0.6 mg/kg) under different N fertilizer levels. The results showed that in the absence of a composite organic amendment, the soil pH decreased by 0.15 when the N level increased from 0.1 to 0.8 g N⋅kg-1. However, the pH increased by 0.86-0.91, the exchangeable Cd(II) ions content decreased by 26.0%-26.7%, the microbial biomass increased by 34.34%-164.46%, and the number of copies of the AOB gene increased by 13-20 times with the application of composite organic amendment and the increase of N level. Both Pearson correlation analysis and Mantel test demonstrated the reduction in Cd(II) ions availability, the restoration of soil properties and the increase in microbial biomass all contributed to the composite organic amendment, which is of importance for soil remediation under excessive N fertilizer.

Characterization of biochars derived from various spent mushroom substrates and evaluation of their adsorption performance of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution.

A total of 16 biochar adsorbents were produced from four types of spent mushroom substrates to investigate the effect of pyrolysis temperature and raw material composition on the Cu(II) adsorption performance of the resulting biochars. It was determined that the pyrolysis temperature and substrate composition markedly influenced the thermal stability, the degree of carbonization, surface functional group content, and structural morphology of the biochars, but did not affect the adsorption isotherms or kinetics. Optimal results were obtained with an initial pH of 5, adsorbent dosage of 1 g/L, Cu(II) concentration of 50 mg/L, and temperature of 25 °C. The four best-performing biochars conformed to the Langmuir isotherm model and followed pseudo-second-order kinetics with maximum Cu(II) adsorption between 52.6 and 65.6 mg/g. Precipitation was the dominant mechanism for Cu(II) adsorption onto Lentinus edodes spent substrate-derived biochar pyrolyzed at 600 °C (LESS600), whereas complexation with surface functional groups was the prominent mechanism of Cu(II) removal by Auricularia auricula spent substrate-derived biochar pyrolyzed at 500 °C (AASS500). The Flammulina velutipes and Pleurotus ostreatus spent substrate-derived biochars pyrolyzed at 600 °C (FVSS600 and POSS600, respectively) removed Cu(II) ions using both precipitation and Cu2+-π complexation interactions. The findings indicate that biochar derived from spent mushroom substrates containing abundant lignin and pyrolyzed at high temperatures (500 or 600 °C) demonstrate effective Cu(II) removal because of the various physico-chemical properties discussed herein.

Alleviation of Cd phytotoxicity and enhancement of rape seedling growth by plant growth-promoting bacterium Enterobacter sp. Zm-123.

The present study aims to investigate the impact of a metal-tolerant bacterium on metal detoxification and rape seedling growth promotion under Cd stress. The results showed that the isolated bacterium Enterobacter sp. Zm-123 has capability to resist Cd (200 mg/L), produce IAA (26.67 mg/L) and siderophores (82.34%), and solubilize phosphate (137.5 mg/L), etc. Zm-123 inoculation significantly enhanced the fresh weight of rape seedlings from 9.47 to 19.98% and the root length from 10.42 to 57.05% compared with non-inoculation group under different concentrations of Cd (0, 0.5, 1, 3, 5 mg/L) (p < 0.05). It also significantly increased the content of chlorophyll, soluble sugar, soluble protein, and proline (p < 0.05) in rape seedlings. Moreover, a significant elevation in catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) activities and a significant reduction in malondialdehyde (MDA), electrolyte leakage (EL), and Cd content in rape seedlings were detected owing to Zm-123 inoculation (p < 0.05). The combined results imply that strain Zm-123 can alleviate the Cd phytotoxicity and promote the rape seedling growth by improving the physiological activity and antioxidant level, which can be potentially applied to protect plants from Cd toxicity.

Spent mushroom substrate combined with alkaline amendment passivates cadmium and improves soil property.

As an extremely toxic metal, cadmium (Cd) is readily taken up by most plants. In situ Cd passivation is of great importance to reduce Cd availability in soil. In this experiment, two alkaline amendments, lime (L) (at a dosage of 0.02%, 0.04%, or 0.08%) and biochar (B) (at a dosage of 0.5%, 1%, or 2%), were used to improve Cd passivation by spent mushroom substrate (SMS) in a simulating Cd-contaminated soil (0.6 mg kg-1). Results showed that the application of SMS alone reduced Cd bioavailability by 44.80% and EC by 9.71% and increased soil pH by 0.61 units, CEC by 25.32%, and soil enzymes activities by 17.11% to 21.10% compared with non-amendment Cd-contaminated soil. Biochar combination enhanced the efficiency of SMS on Cd reduction by 48.32-66.58% and pH increased by 0.17 to 0.59 units and enzymes activities elevation by 5.74% to 47.29% in a dose-dependent manner. Lime also facilitated SMS to passivate Cd by decreasing bioavailable Cd by 63.10%-66.47% and increasing soil pH by 0.25-0.72 units and enzymes activities by 3.28% to 37.86% compared to those of SMS. Among six combined amendments, SMSB3 (0.5% SMS + 2% B) performed best in reducing bioavailable Cd (39.46% higher than SMS), increasing organic matter content (28.54% higher than SMS) and soil enzyme activities (25.82%, 47.29%, and 26.23% higher than that of SMS for catalase, urease, and invertase, respectively). Both biochar and lime can assist SMS to passivate Cd and improve soil property, and biochar is more efficient than lime in reducing cadmium content and increasing enzyme activity and organic matter.

Impact of spent mushroom substrate on Cd immobilization and soil property.

This study aims to evaluate the potential of fresh spent mushroom substrate (SMS) in Cd immobilization and soil improvement, compared with spent mushroom substrate biochar (SMSB) and spent mushroom substrate compost (SMSC). A simulating remediation experiment was conducted with soil at Cd concentration of 0.6, 1.2, 1.8, and 2.4 mg kg-1 and amendment addition ratio of 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 4% for 90 days. At the end of incubation, it was found that 4%SMS addition showed the best effect both on Cd immobilization and soil improvement. It decreased Cd exchangeable fraction ratio by 52.77% (16.30% higher than 4%SMSC) and increased residual fraction ratio by 65.28% (36.34% and 49.64% higher than 4%SMSB and 4%SMSC, respectively); increased soil pH, EC, and CEC by 10.43% (3.83% higher than 4%SMSC), 11.54%, and 29.72%; and increased urease activity, sucrase activity, and catalase activity by 125.61% (43.90% and 8.54% higher than 4%SMSB and 4%SMSC, respectively), 79.46% (35.35% and 14.02% higher than 4%SMSB and 4%SMSC, respectively), and 75.68% (29.73% higher than 4%SMSB), compared with control treatment (CK) respectively. The results demonstrate that 4%SMS can be used as amendments for cadmium-contaminated soils.

Two physical processes enhanced the performance of Auricularia auricula dreg in Cd(II) adsorption: composting and pyrolysis.

This study aims to discover the impact of composting and pyrolysis on the adsorption performance of Auricularia auricula dreg (AAD) for Cd(II) in aqueous solution. Auricularia auricula dreg (AAD), Auricularia auricula dreg biochar (AADB) and Auricularia auricula dreg compost (AADC) were used to remove Cd(II) from aqueous solution, and their adsorption conditions and mechanisms were compared. The adsorption quantity of three adsorbents reached the maximum (AAD: 80.0 mg/g, AADB: 91.7 mg/g, AADC: 93.5 mg/g) under same conditions (adsorbent dosage of 1 g/L, pH 5.0, biosorption temperature of 25 °C, and biosorption time of 120 min). All Cd(II) biosorption processes onto three adsorbents complied with the Langmuir isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation, and spontaneously occurred in an order of AADC > AADB > AAD. The difference in biosorption quantity relied on variation in surface structure, crystal species and element content caused by composting or pyrolysis. Composting enhanced the changes in surface structure, crystal species, functional groups and ion exchange capacity of the AAD, resulting in AAD had greatly improved the biosorption quantity of Cd(II). Pyrolysis increased the adsorption of Cd(II) mainly by increasing the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, the particle size and pH, in the same time, providing more oxygen-containing functional groups.

Effect of coexisting ions on Cr(VI) adsorption onto surfactant modified Auricularia auricula spent substrate in aqueous solution.

In this paper, the effect of coexisting cations and anions on Cr(VI)(in the form of Cr2O72-) adsorption onto Auricularia auricula spent substrate (AASS) modified by cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) was investigated in batch adsorption experiment. The Cr(VI) adsorption capacity of 9.327 mg/g, obtained at pH 3.0, 303 K, adsorbent dosage of 2 g/L, initial Cr(VI) concentration of 20 mg/L, rotational speed of 150 r/min for 120 min, was decreased in the presence of coexisting cations and anions, among which Pb2+ and PO43- affected most by 21.79% and 12.43%, respectively. XRD, XPS and FTIR detection found that coexisting Pb2+ and PO43- would not only interfere Cr(VI) to form crystals and reduce to Cr(III), but also compete with Cr(VI) for oxygen-containing and amino groups to form Pb-O and P-NH2, respectively. In addition, the single Cr(VI) adsorption fitted with Langmuir isotherm model, while the competitive adsorption was well described by Freundlich isotherm model. Both single adsorption and competitive adsorption were in line with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

Epigenetic modification and inheritance in sexual reversal of fish.

Environmental sex determination (ESD) occurs in divergent, phylogenetically unrelated taxa, and in some species, co-occurs with genetic sex determination (GSD) mechanisms. Although epigenetic regulation in response to environmental effects has long been proposed to be associated with ESD, a systemic analysis on epigenetic regulation of ESD is still lacking. Using half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) as a model-a marine fish that has both ZW chromosomal GSD and temperature-dependent ESD-we investigated the role of DNA methylation in transition from GSD to ESD. Comparative analysis of the gonadal DNA methylomes of pseudomale, female, and normal male fish revealed that genes in the sex determination pathways are the major targets of substantial methylation modification during sexual reversal. Methylation modification in pseudomales is globally inherited in their ZW offspring, which can naturally develop into pseudomales without temperature incubation. Transcriptome analysis revealed that dosage compensation occurs in a restricted, methylated cytosine enriched Z chromosomal region in pseudomale testes, achieving equal expression level in normal male testes. In contrast, female-specific W chromosomal genes are suppressed in pseudomales by methylation regulation. We conclude that epigenetic regulation plays multiple crucial roles in sexual reversal of tongue sole fish. We also offer the first clues on the mechanisms behind gene dosage balancing in an organism that undergoes sexual reversal. Finally, we suggest a causal link between the bias sex chromosome assortment in the offspring of a pseudomale family and the transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of sexual reversal in tongue sole fish.

Genome-wide and caste-specific DNA methylomes of the ants Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator.

BACKGROUND: Ant societies comprise individuals belonging to different castes characterized by specialized morphologies and behaviors. Because ant embryos can follow different developmental trajectories, epigenetic mechanisms must play a role in caste determination. Ants have a full set of DNA methyltransferases and their genomes contain methylcytosine. To determine the relationship between DNA methylation and phenotypic plasticity in ants, we obtained and compared the genome-wide methylomes of different castes and developmental stages of Camponotus floridanus and Harpegnathos saltator. RESULTS: In the ant genomes, methylcytosines are found both in symmetric CG dinucleotides (CpG) and non-CpG contexts and are strongly enriched at exons of active genes. Changes in exonic DNA methylation correlate with alternative splicing events such as exon skipping and alternative splice site selection. Several genes exhibit caste-specific and developmental changes in DNA methylation that are conserved between the two species, including genes involved in reproduction, telomere maintenance, and noncoding RNA metabolism. Several loci are methylated and expressed monoallelically, and in some cases, the choice of methylated allele depends on the caste. CONCLUSIONS: These first ant methylomes and their intra- and interspecies comparison reveal an exonic methylation pattern that points to a connection between DNA methylation and splicing. The presence of monoallelic DNA methylation and the methylation of non-CpG sites in all samples suggest roles in genome regulation in these social insects, including the intriguing possibility of parental or caste-specific genomic imprinting.