Effects of heavy metal and disinfectant on antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factor genes in the plastisphere from diverse soil ecosystems.

Antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) are world-wide contaminants posing potential health risks. Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) and heavy metals can apply selective pressure on antibiotic resistance. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding their coupled effect on changes in ARGs and virulence factor genes (VFGs) in various soil types and their plastispheres. Herein, we conducted a microcosm experiment to explore the abundances and profiles of ARGs and VFGs in soil plastispheres from three distinct types of soils amended with Cu and disinfectants. The plastispheres enriched the ARGs' abundance compared to soils and stimulated the coupling effect of combined pollutants on promoting the abundances of ARGs and VFGs. Horizontal gene transfer inevitably accelerates the propagation of ARGs and VFGs in plastispheres under pollutant stress. In plastispheres, combined exposure to disinfectants and Cu increased some potential pathogens' relative abundances. Moreover, the combined effect of disinfectants and Cu on ARGs and VFGs changed with soil type in plastispheres, emphasising the necessity to incorporate soil type considerations into health risk assessments for ARGs and VFGs. Overall, this study highlights the high health risks of ARGs under the selective pressure of combined pollutants in plastispheres and provides valuable insights for future risk assessments related to antibiotic resistance.

Reduced fertilization mitigates N2O emission and drip irrigation has no impact on N2O and NO emissions in plastic-shed vegetable production in northern China.

Plastic-shed vegetable production in China creates hotspots for emission of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) and the atmospheric pollutant nitric oxide (NO). To mitigate N2O and NO emissions, determination of the predominant processes of N2O and NO generation in plastic-shed vegetable production is important. Here, we reported the findings of a 2-year experimental study on the effects of reduced fertilization and/or drip irrigation on N2O and NO emissions during plastic-shed tomato production in northern China. Five treatments were applied: 1) over fertilization and flood irrigation (conventional practice); 2) fertilization reduced by 20% and flood irrigation; 3) fertilization reduced by 20% and drip irrigation; 4) fertilization reduced by 30% and drip irrigation, and 5) control (no fertilizer input and flood irrigation). Reduced both basal and top-dressed fertilization maintained tomato yields. Compared with conventional practices (mean annual N2O and NO emissions: 18.1 ± 1.3 and 0.79 ± 0.02 kg N ha-1 yr -1, respectively), fertilization reduction by 20%-30% decreased the annual N2O emission by 21.2%-27.0% owing to lower soil inorganic nitrogen (SIN) contents under the reduced fertilization practices. Switching from flood to drip irrigation might weaken denitrification due to lower soil moisture and less wet soil area, but increased SIN contents, and thus had no significant impact on annual N2O and NO emissions. Peak N2O fluxes occurred at soil temperature 28 °C and water-filled pore space (WFPS) > 60%, were higher than those for NO, and peak NO fluxes appeared 4-6 days later than N2O fluxes, consistent with the decline in WFPS. These observations indicated that N2O and NO from alkaline plastic-shed soil may be mainly generated via heterotrophic denitrification and nitrification, respectively. Reduced fertilization and drip irrigation in plastic-shed tomato production maintained crop productivity and mitigated N2O emission. These results could be integrated into the decision-making in sustainable plastic-shed production.

Crop straw incorporation alleviates overall fertilizer-N losses and mitigates N2O emissions per unit applied N from intensively farmed soils: An in situ 15N tracing study.

A thorough elucidation of the coupled effects of N fertilization and straw incorporation on N2O emissions and N losses is crucial for alleviating negative environmental impacts in intensively farmed regions. Here, we conducted an in situ 15N tracing experiment to assess the source of N2O emissions and fate of fertilizer-N in soil intensively farmed with summer maize (Zea mays L.). Four treatments, i.e., no N fertilization and no straw incorporation (N0S0), straw incorporation only (N0S1), N fertilization only (N1S0), and N fertilization plus straw incorporation (N1S1), were established in the study. Compared with straw removal, straw incorporation increased the seasonal N2O emissions by 22.3% but reduced the N2O emissions per unit of applied N by 6.22% (P > 0.05). The emission of fertilizer-derived N2O occurred mainly in the 13-17 days after fertilization; thereafter, the ratio of fertilizer-derived N2O fluxes would be less than 5%. N fertilization significantly stimulated non-fertilizer-derived N2O emissions and soil CO2 fluxes, especially when straw was incorporated (P < 0.05), indicating that N fertilization might have triggered the mineralization of straw-N and/or native soil organic N. The soil NO3--N concentration in straw-incorporated plots tended to be lower than that in straw-removed plots, especially after N fertilization events. Straw incorporation sequestered 52.5% (27.4 kg N ha-1) more fertilizer-N in 1 m of soil than straw removal (P < 0.05) while significantly increasing the fertilizer-N harvest index and maintaining grain yield. Overall, compared with straw removal, straw incorporation significantly reduced total fertilizer-N losses (by 12.8%, i.e., 14.58 kg N ha-1; P < 0.05). Our study highlights the benefits of straw incorporation for increasing in-season and multiseason fertilizer-N use efficiencies and alleviating fertilizer-N-induced environmental costs in intensively farmed regions.

[Impacts of Nitrogen Application on Ammonia Volatilization During Maize Season in Northern China].

Ammonia volatilization is one of the major paths of nitrogen (N) loss and may exert a substantial impact on air quality. This study aims to explore the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizer types, fertilization rate, and application timing and gas collection method on NH3 volatilization during the maize season in Northern China. This study collected the publications on the NH3 volatilization from maize farming which were conducted in Northern China from 1980 to 2018, and undertook a systematic analysis. The study found that with the increase of N rate, the total and net NH3 volatilization at the basal and topdressing fertilization stages increased at exponential and power function, respectively. When the ratio of basal/topdressing N rate was 1/1, the total and net NH3 volatilization during the topdressing stage (58.4% of the whole season emission) was significantly higher than that in the basal fertilization stage (41.6%) (P<0.05). The priming effect first showed a negative effect and then gradually turned into a positive effect with the increase of N rate. Due to the positive priming effect, the net NH3 volatilization, without considering the priming effect, was overestimated under the conventional N application (>297 kg·hm-2). There is a significant difference between the NH3 volatilization measured by the venting method and the sponge absorption method, and the data from the venting method are more stable (P<0.01). Compared with conventional urea, slow-release urea may reduce NH3 volatilization by 20% to 50%. Control fertilizer N rate at the topdressing stage is more efficient in reducing the NH3 volatilization from maize production in Northern China, and the venting method is more suitable for the quantification of NH3 volatilization than the sponge absorption method under a high rate of fertilizer N.

A visible-light-induced chemoselective radical/oxidative addition domino process to access α-chloro and α-alkoxy aryl ketones.

A visible-light-induced radical-triggered chemoselective domino process to access α,α-di-functionalized ketones under mild conditions has been developed. This protocol provides a direct approach to synthesize α-chloro or α-alkoxy aryl ketones based on the electronic properties of the substrates. The reaction can tolerate a variety of functional groups to afford the corresponding products in moderate to good yields.