Isolation and identification of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria from Spinifex littoreus in Parangkusumo Coastal Sand Dunes, Indonesia.

Utilizing coastal land for agriculture presents challenges such as low water content, high soil salinity, and low organic compound content. To support plant growth under these conditions, biofertilizers composed of plant growth promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR), especially those inhabiting coastal areas, are needed. The Parangkusumo sand dunes on the southern coast of Java, Indonesia, is a unique coastal ecosystem characterized by arid conditions, high temperatures, and high soil salinity. To date, no studies have reported the isolation of PGPR from this ecosystem. This study is the first to isolate and identify PGPR associated with Spinifex littoreus, a dominant plant species in the Parangkusumo sand dunes, which are adapted to the harsh condition of Parangkusumo sand dunes. Ten rhizobacterial isolates were obtained, with five identified as members of the Bacillaceae family. All isolates demonstrated phosphate solubilization activity, while seven exhibited cellulolytic activity. One isolate, Priestia aryabhattai strain 2, notably showed phosphate solubilization and nitrogen fixation activities. The findings of this PGPR activity screening offer valuable insights for developing biofertilizers tailored for coastal agricultural applications.

Sink versus tilt penetration into shaken dry granular matter: The role of the foundation.

We study the behavior of cylindrical objects as they sink into a dry granular bed fluidized due to lateral oscillations. Somewhat unexpectedly, we have found that, within a large range of lateral shaking powers, cylinders with flat bottoms sink vertically, while those with a "foundation" consisting of a shallow ring attached to their bottom, tilt besides sinking. The latter scenario seems to dominate independently from the nature of the foundation when strong enough lateral vibrations are applied. We are able to explain the observed behavior by quasi-2D numerical simulations, which also demonstrate the influence of the intruder's aspect ratio. The vertical sink dynamics is explained with the help of a Newtonian equation of motion for the intruder. Our findings may shed light on the behavior of buildings and other manmade structures during earthquakes.

Persistent effects of pre-Columbian plant domestication on Amazonian forest composition.

The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We performed a basin-wide analysis of pre-Columbian impacts on Amazonian forests by overlaying known archaeological sites in Amazonia with the distributions and abundances of 85 woody species domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples. Domesticated species are five times more likely than nondomesticated species to be hyperdominant. Across the basin, the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species increase in forests on and around archaeological sites. In southwestern and eastern Amazonia, distance to archaeological sites strongly influences the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species. Our analyses indicate that modern tree communities in Amazonia are structured to an important extent by a long history of plant domestication by Amazonian peoples.

Inter-retrotransposon-amplified polymorphism markers for germplasm characterization in Manihot esculenta (Euphorbiaceae).

Manioc, Manihot esculenta, is economically important in many tropical and subtropical countries. The genetic variability of the species has not been fully explored, and new information may help expand its use. Molecular markers based on retrotransposons have good potential for analysis of genetic diversity given their abundance in the genome. Eight long terminal repeat retrotransposons were selected for the development of inter-retrotransposon-amplified polymorphism markers. To test these primers, we analyzed 32 varieties from Anori, 30 from Manicoré and 10 Mandiocabas from the Manioc Germplasm Bank at Embrapa Western Amazonia. The six informative primer pairs yielded 20- 60 polymorphic bands, averaging 92% polymorphism (51.7-98.4) and 0.37 heterozygosity (0.17 to 0.40), with a Shannon information index of 0.54 (0.26-0.59). These markers can be used to explore the genetic diversity of manioc.

Note: "Lock-in accelerometry" to follow sink dynamics in shaken granular matter.

Understanding the penetration dynamics of intruders in granular beds is relevant not only for fundamental physics, but also for geophysical processes and construction on sediments or granular soils in areas potentially affected by earthquakes. While the penetration of intruders in two dimensional (2D) laboratory granular beds can be followed using video recording, this is useless in three dimensional (3D) beds of non-transparent materials such as common sand. Here, we propose a method to quantify the sink dynamics of an intruder into laterally shaken granular beds based on the temporal correlations between the signals from a reference accelerometer fixed to the shaken granular bed, and a probe accelerometer deployed inside the intruder. Due to its analogy with the working principle of a lock-in amplifier, we call this technique lock-in accelerometry.

Electrochemical behavior of nitrogen gas species adsorbed onto boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes.

The adsorption of nitrogen species, in neutral electrolyte solutions, onto boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode surfaces from dissolved NO2, NO, and N2O gases was induced at 0 V/SCE. Modified BDD electrode surfaces showed a different electrochemical response toward the hydrogen evolution reaction than did a nonmodified electrode surface in electrolyte base solution. The formation of molecular hydrogen and nitrogen gaseous species was confirmed by the online differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) technique. Among the three nitrogen oxides gases, NO2 substantially modifies the electrolyte via hydrolysis leading to the formation of NO3- and its adsorption on the BDD electrode surface. The BDD/(NO3-) interface was the only N2O and N2 species generating system.

Somatic embryogenesis in peach palm using the thin cell layer technique: induction, morpho-histological aspects and AFLP analysis of somaclonal variation.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The thin cell layer (TCL) technique is based on the use of very small explants and has allowed enhanced in vitro morphogenesis in several plant species. The present study evaluated the TCL technique as a procedure for somatic embryo production and plantlet regeneration of peach palm. METHODS: TCL explants from different positions in the shoot apex and leaf sheath of peach palm were cultivated in MS culture medium supplemented with 0-600 microM Picloram in the presence of activated charcoal. The production of primary calli and embryogenic calli was evaluated in these different conditions. Histological and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses were conducted to study in vitro morphogenetic responses and genetic stability, respectively, of the regenerated plantlets. KEY RESULTS: Abundant primary callus induction was observed from TCLs of the shoot meristem in culture media supplemented with 150-600 microM Picloram (83-97%, respectively). The production of embryogenic calli depends on Picloram concentration and explant position. The best response observed was 43% embryogenic callus production from shoot meristem TCL on 300 microM Picloram. In maturation conditions, 34+/-4 somatic embryos per embryogenic callus were obtained, and 45.0+/-3.4% of these fully developed somatic embryos were converted, resulting in plantlets ready for acclimatization, of which 80% survived. Histological studies revealed that the first cellular division events occurred in cells adjacent to vascular tissue, resulting in primary calli, whose growth was ensured by a meristematic zone. A multicellular origin of the resulting somatic embryos arising from the meristematic zone is suggested. During maturation, histological analyses revealed bipolarization of the somatic embryos, as well as the development of new somatic embryos. AFLP analyses revealed that 92% of the regenerated plantlets were true to type. The use of TCL explants considerably improves the number of calli and somatic embryos produced in comparison with previously described protocols for in vitro regeneration of peach palm. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that the TCL somatic embryogenesis protocol developed is feasible, although it still requires further optimization for in vitro multiplication of peach palm, especially the use of similar explants obtained from adult palm trees.