Soil organic carbon and phosphorus availability regulate abundance of culturable phosphate-solubilizing bacteria in paddy fields

Low availability of phosphorus(P) is a major constraint for optimal crop production, as P is mostly present in its insoluble form in soil. Therefore,phosphate-solubilizing bacteria(PSB) from paddy field soils of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, India were isolated, and their abundance was attempted to be correlated with the physicochemical characteristics of the soils. Ninety-four PSB were isolated on Pikovskaya's agar medium, and quantitative phosphate solubilization was evaluated using NBRIP medium. The isolates solubilized P up to a concentration of 1 006 μg mL~(-1) from tricalcium phosphate with the secretion of organic acids. These isolates were identified by 16 S rRNA gene sequence comparison, and they belonged to Gammaproteobacteria(56 isolates),Firmicutes(28 isolates), Actinobacteria(8 isolates), and Alphaproteobacteria(2 isolates). Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the identification by clustering the isolates in the clade of the respective reference organisms. The correlation analysis between PSB abundance and physicochemical characteristics revealed that the PSB population increased with increasing levels of soil organic carbon, insoluble P, K~+, and Mg~(2+). The promising PSB explored in this study can be further evaluated for their biofertilizer potential in the field and for their use as potent bio-inoculants.     

重庆市土壤有机碳库的估算及其空间分布特征

基于重庆市第二次土壤普查的1411个土壤剖面数据，结合重庆市土壤图、土地利用现状图和行政区划图，在地理信息系统技术的支持下，对重庆市土壤有机碳密度及储量进行了估算、同时引入有机碳丰度指数这一指标，对有机碳在不同土壤、不同区域以及不同景观中的分布特征进行了分析。结果表明：重庆市20cm和100cm深度的土壤有机碳储量分别为0．27Tg和1．0Tg；20cm深度的土壤有机碳密度介于0．33～30．36kg／m^2之间．100cm深度的土壤有机碳密度介于1．27～72．69kg／m^2之间；重庆市土壤有机碳库在不同土壤、不同区域以及不同景观的分布具有高度的空间变异性，100cm深度的土壤、区域和景观有机碳丰度指数分别为0．58～1．95，0．55～1．39和0．46～1．58．与气候、植被、人类活动等因素密切相关。     

Correlation between earthworms and plant litter decomposition in a tropical wet forest of Puerto Rico

Earthworms are recognized to play an important role in the decomposition of organic materials. To test the use of earthworms as an indicator of plant litter decomposition, we examined the abundance and biomass of earthworms in relation to plant litter decomposition in a tropical wet forest of Puerto Rico. We collected earthworms at 0–0.1 m and 0.1–0.25 m soil depths from upland and riparian sites that represent the natural variation in soils and decomposition rates within the forest. Earthworms were hand-sorted and weighed for both fresh and dry biomass. Earthworms were dominated by the exotic endogeic species Pontoscolex corethrurus Müller; they were more abundant, and had higher biomasses in the upland than in riparian sites of the forest. Plant leaf litter decomposed faster in the upland than riparian sites. We found that earthworm abundance in the upper 0.1 m of the soil profile positively correlated with decomposition rate of plant leaf litter. Ground litter removal had no effect on the abundance or biomass of endogeic earthworms. Our data suggest that earthworms can be used to predict decomposition rates of plant litter in the tropical wet forest, and that the decomposition of aboveground plant litter has little influence on the abundance and biomass of endogeic earthworms.     

Isotopic fractionation during N2 fixation by four tropical legumes

To quantify the contribution of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) to legume crops using the ¹⁵N natural abundance technique, it is necessary to determine the ¹⁵N abundance of the N derived from BNF—the B value. In this study, we used a technique to determine B whereby both legume and non-N₂-fixing reference plants were grown under the same conditions in two similar soils, one artificially labelled with ¹⁵N, and the other not. The proportion of N derived from BNF (%Ndfa) was determined from the plants grown in the ¹⁵N-labelled soil and it was assumed that the %Ndfa values of the legumes grown in the two soils were the same, hence the B value of the legumes could be calculated. The legumes used were velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens), sunnhemp (Crotalaria juncea), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) and soybean (Glycine max) inoculated, or not, with different strains of rhizobium. The values of %Ndfa were all over 89%, and all the legumes grown in unlabelled soil showed negative δ¹⁵N values even though the plant-available N in this soil was found to be approximately +6.0‰. The B values for the shoot tissue (B_s) were calculated and ranged from approximately −1.4‰ for inoculated sunnhemp and groundnut to −2.4 and −4.5‰ for soybean inoculated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum strain CPAC 7 and Bradyrhizobium elkanii strain 29W, respectively. The B (B_wp) values for the whole plants including roots, nodules and the original seed N were still significantly different between the soybean plants inoculated with CPAC 7 (−1.33‰) and 29W (−2.25‰). In a parallel experiment conducted in monoxenic culture using the same soybean variety and Bradyrhizobium strains, the plants accumulated less N from BNF and the values were less negative, but still significantly different for soybean inoculated with the two different Bradyrhizobium strains. The results suggest that the technique utilized in this study to determine B with legume plants grown in soil in the open air, yields B values that are more appropriate for use under field conditions.     

Fungal abundance and distribution as influenced by clearing and land use in a vertic soil of Argentina

The influence of native vegetation clearing and different further soil managements on fungal propagule population diversity was studied in the present work. In each of the 3 years (1998, 1999, and 2000), soil samples were collected at the depth of 0–7.5 cm from sites under native vegetation (V0); naturalized prairie, cleared in 1982 (P16); conventional tillage, cleared in 1972 (T26); and direct drilling, cleared in 1958 (D40). Fungal population size and relative abundance of fungal genera were studied by plate counts and further identification of isolates on potato dextrose agar. The undisturbed site and the other sites with increasing time elapsed since native vegetation clearing and different management history showed a distinctive distribution of fungal genera. There were significant differences (p<0.05) among the sites in the abundance of fungal genera analyzed in all the 3 years. Principal component analysis based on relative fungal genus abundance differentiated the sites with 75% variance explained by the first and second components. Diversity and abundance of isolated fungal genera were increased as density of Penicillium spp. decreased, suggesting a competitive effect of this fungal genus. The largest diversity was found in the site under no-till management. The different distribution and relative abundance of the fungal genera studied seemed to be influenced strongly by the management and the presence of surface residue in the no-tilled site.     

Bacteria and fungi on roots of different barley varieties (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Summary We investigated the abundance of bacteria and fungi on roots of different barley varieties grown in soil and in a nutrient solution. Measurements were made on the rhizoplane and, for soil-grown plants, also in the rhizosphere soil. Further, the influence of plant age was investigated. Barley variety, had a significant influence both for plants grown in soil and in the nutrient solution, and the effects were most pronounced on the rhizoplane. There were no significant differences among varieties in fungal hyphal lengths on the roots. Bacterial abundance on the rhizoplane was significantly decreased with increasing plant age. Varietal differences were maintained over different plant ages.     

Soil properties and the macrofauna community in abandoned irrigated rice fields of northeastern Argentina

This study compared soil physical, chemical, and biological characteristics between natural grassland and recently abandoned rice fields in order to identify those variables that might explain the observed increase of Camponotus punctulatus anthills in abandoned rice paddy fields from Northern Argentina. Mainly due to a reduction of macropores and mesopores, overall porosity decreased by around 6% and bulk density was about 7% greater, in the 0- to 10- and 10- to 20-cm layers of the abandoned rice fields. Carbon and nitrogen content from organic matter increased (29% and 41% respectively for the 0- to 20-cm horizon) during cultivation but decreased (38% and 24%) 2 years after the last rice harvest. Forty percent of natural grassland-organic matter and 30% of abandoned rice-organic matter mineralized in less than 2 years. There was a different community structure between the abandoned rice fields and the undisturbed natural grassland and only a 20.6% (i.e. only 19 species from a total of 92) overlap in species composition. The abundance of macrofauna was greater in abandoned rice fields (2,208 individuals m^–2) in comparison to natural grasslands (288 ind m^–2) due to higher densities of small earthworms and Camponotus punctulatus ants; however, the Shannon index showed lower values in comparison to natural grasslands. Earthworms and C. punctulatus in the abandoned rice fields showed a change in their ¹³C signature indicating a switch in diet from natural grassland organic matter (C4) to organic matter from rice (C3). Our results indicate that the effects of rice cultivation practices did not seem to produce any physical or trophic limitations to recolonization by the macrofauna. It seems that changes in overall soil conditions have favored a change in the construction behavior of C. punctulatus which, in combination with population increases, could explain the explosion in number of anthills.     

种植模式对苜蓿固氮和固氮产物转移的影响

田间小区试验研究了不同种植模式下苜蓿的共生固氮贡献,并利用~(15)N同位素示踪技术评估了苜蓿的％Ndfa和Ndfa,以及与之混作生长的牛尾草植株中来自苜蓿固氮产物的转移量。研究表明,豆科与禾本科牧草混作对发挥草地的优势有一定影响,混作条播在干草产量、全氮产量、％Ndfa和Ndfa等方面均优于间作与混作撒播模式,且高于单作苜蓿与牛尾草的平均值。用~(15)N同位素稀释法与~(15)N天然丰度法评估苜蓿的％Ndfa与Ndfa值时,无明显差异(P<0.05),前者还能准确测出混种牛尾革植株中的固氮产物转移量,后者则大大低估,甚至不能测出固氮产物转移。     

断奶前后仔猪十二指肠、空肠和回肠SGLT1 mRNA表达的变化及半胱胺的影响

研究断奶前后仔猪十二指肠、空肠和回肠SGLT1mRNA表达丰度的变化,并同时观察半胱胺对其表达的影响,从分子水平探讨半胱胺对断奶仔猪葡萄糖吸收的影响与可能的机制。新生仔猪随机分为对照组和实验组,12日龄(D12)起对照组饲喂基础乳猪料,实验组在基础乳猪料中添加120mg/kg半胱胺,两组仔猪均于35日龄断奶,每组分别于断奶前1周、断奶当天、断奶后3d、1周以及断奶后10d随机选取仔猪各6头,宰杀后采集十二指肠、空肠和回肠粘膜,采用RT-PCR方法测定钠-葡萄糖共转运载体1(sodium-glucosecotransporter1,SGLT1)mRNA表达的相对丰度。结果表明,回肠SGLT1mRNA的表达量最高,空肠其次,十二指肠最低;SGLT1mRNA在不同肠段的表达呈现截然不同的发育模式,十二指肠SGLT1mRNA表达量在45d显著上升(P<0.05),而空肠则在42和45d时显著下降(P<0.01),回肠SGLT1mRNA表达在整个实验期间无显著变化;此外,日粮添加半胱胺显著提高38d十二指肠以及42和45d空肠SGLT1mRNA表达,而对回肠SGLT1mRNA表达无显著影响。小肠SGLT1mRNA表达以及日粮添加半胱胺促进SGLT1mRNA表达的作用均呈现时空特异性规律。     

C and N natural abundance of the soil microbial biomass

Stable isotope analysis is a powerful tool in the study of soil organic matter formation. It is often observed that more decomposed soil organic matter is ¹³C, and especially ¹⁵N-enriched relative to fresh litter and recent organic matter. We investigated whether this shift in isotope composition relates to the isotope composition of the microbial biomass, an important source for soil organic matter. We developed a new approach to determine the natural abundance C and N isotope composition of the microbial biomass across a broad range of soil types, vegetation, and climates. We found consistently that the soil microbial biomass was ¹⁵N-enriched relative to the total (3.2 ‰) and extractable N pools (3.7 ‰), and ¹³C-enriched relative to the extractable C pool (2.5 ‰). The microbial biomass was also ¹³C-enriched relative to total C for soils that exhibited a C3-plant signature (1.6 ‰), but ¹³C-depleted for soils with a C4 signature (−1.1 ‰). The latter was probably associated with an increase of annual C3 forbs in C4 grasslands after an extreme drought. These findings are in agreement with the proposed contribution of microbial products to the stabilized soil organic matter and may help explain the shift in isotope composition during soil organic matter formation.