The effect of Herba hyperici on Paramecium primaurelia and Lepidium sativum L.
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The SO4= toxicity in gypsiferous soils, which represent more than 100 million hectares worldwide, constitutes one of the major problems limiting world agricultural output. Currently, phytoremediation of SO4= is regarded, from agricultural and environmental standpoints, as one of the most effective alternatives for the decontamination and recovery of these soils. In this study, we analyzed the behavior of five plant species characteristic of gypsiferous soils (Gypsophila struthium, Helianthemun alypoides, H. squamatum, H. syriacum, and Lepidium subulatum) in order to establish the variability of these plants in terms of S-extraction mechanisms. Our results indicate that the species best adapted and with the densest population was Lepidium subulatum. This plant showed the highest concentration of total S and the greatest organic S, as well as the highest levels of amino acids and proteins. In this study, we propose that the incorporation of S into organic compounds is the essential metabolic process determining the tolerance of Lepidium subulatum to gypsiferous soils. In conclusion, the foliar accumulation of organic S could be defined a priori as one of the key characteristics in developing plants with a potential for regenerating zones with high SO4= concentrations.
The phylogenetic relationships of nine genera in four tribes of the family Brassicaceae were estimated from the sequences of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of the 18S-25S nuclear ribosomal DNA. The entire ITS region of 16 accessions belonging to 10 species of seven genera was sequenced. Eight published sequences of Brassicaceae were also used. A total of 27 sequences were included in this study; four of them were found to be pseudogenes. Both the neighbor-joining and the parsimony trees suggest that the nine genera can be divided into three groups: (1) Arabidopsis, Cardaminopsis, Capsella, and Lepidium; (2) Rorippa and Cardamine; and (3) Brassica, Sinapis, and Raphanus. In contradiction to the proposal that Cardaminopsis and Arabidopsis be put into an expanded tribe Arabideae, our data show that these two genera are more closely related to Capsella and Lepidium (tribe Lepidieae) than to Rorippa and Cardamine (tribe Arabideae). Further, our data show that within the tribe Brassiceae, Raphanus is more closely related to B. nigra than to the B. oleracea/B. rapa clade. This result is in agreement with the nuclear data obtained in several studies, but is in conflict with the RFLP data of mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA. As pointed out by previous authors, it is possible that Raphanus is a hybrid between the B. nigra and B. oleracea/B. rapa lineages with the latter as the maternal parent.
The polar arrangement of cell organelles in Lepidium root statocytes is persistently converted to a physical stratification during lateral centrifugation (the centrifugal force acts perpendicular to the root long axis) or by apically directed centrifugation combined with cytochalasin-treatment. Lateral centrifugation (10 min, 60 min at 10g or 50g) causes displacement of amyloplasts to the centrifugal anticlinal cell wall and shifting of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) complex to the centripetal distal cell edge. After 60 min of lateral centrifugation at 10g or 50g all roots show a clear gravitropic curvature. The average angle of curvature is about 40 degrees and corresponds to that of roots stimulated gravitropically in the horizontal position at 1 g in spite of the fact that the gravistimulus is 10- or 50-fold higher. Apically directed centrifugation combined with cytochalasin B (25 micrograms ml-1) or cytochalasin D (2.5 micrograms ml-1) incubation yields statocytes with the amyloplasts sedimented close to the centrifugal periclinal cell wall and ER cisternae accumulated at the proximal cell pole. Gravitropic stimulation for 30 min in the horizontal position at 1 g and additional 3 h rotation on a clinostat result in gravicurvature of cytochalasin B-treated centrifuged (1 h at 50 g) roots, but because of retarded root growth the angle of curvature is lower than in control roots. Cytochalasin D-treatment during centrifugation (20 min at 50 g) does not affect either root growth or gravicurvature during 3 h horizontal exposure to 1-g relative to untreated roots. As lateral centrifugation enables only short-term contact between the amyloplasts and the distal ER complex at the onset of centrifugation and apically directed centrifugation combined with cytochalasin-treatment even exclude any contact the integrity of the distal cell pole need not necessarily be a prerequisite for graviperception in Lepidium root statocytes.
Absorption and fluorescence spectra in the red region of water-soluble chlorophyll proteins, Lepidium CP661, CP663 and Brassica CP673, pigment System II particles of spinach chloroplasts and chlorophyll a in diethylether solution at 25 degrees C were analyzed by the curve-fitting method (French, C.S., Brown, J.S. and Lawrence, M.C. (1972) Plant Physiol 49, 421--429). It was found that each of the chlorophyll forms of the chlorophyll proteins and the pigment System II particles had a corresponding fluorescence band with the Stokes shift ranging from 0.6 to 4.0 nm. The absorption spectrum of chlorophyll a in diethylether solution was analyzed to one major band with a peak at 660.5 nm and some minor bands, while the fluorescence spectrum was analyzed to one major band with a peak at 664.9 nm and some minor bands. A mirror image was clearly demonstrated between the resolved spectra of absorption and fluorescence. The absorption spectrum of Lepidium CP661 was composed of a chlorophyll b form with a peak at 652.8 nm and two chlorophyll a forms with peaks at 662.6 and 671.9 nm. The fluorescence spectrum was analyzed to five component bands. Three of them with peaks at 654.8, 664.6 and 674.6 nm were attributed to emissions of the three chlorophyll forms with the Stokes shift of 2.0--2.7 nm. The absorption spectrum of Brassica CP673 had a chlorophyll b form with a peak at 653.7 nm and four chlorophyll a forms with peaks at 662.7, 671.3, 676.9 and 684.2 nm. The fluorescence spectrum was resolved into seven component bands. Four of them with peaks at 666.7, 673.1, 677.5 and 686.2 nm corresponded to the four chlorophyll a forms with the Stokes shift of 0.6--4.0 nm. The absorption spectrum of the pigment System II particles had a chlorophyll b form with a peak at 652.4 nm and three chlorophyll a forms with peaks at 662.9, 672.1 and 681.6 nm. The fluorescence spectrum was analyzed to four major component bands with peaks at 674.1, 682.8, 692.0 and 706.7 nm and some minor bands. The former two bands corresponded to the chlorophyll a forms with peaks at 672.1 and 681.6 nm with the Stokes shift of 2.0 and 1.2 nm, respectively. Absorption spectra at 25 degrees C and at --196 degrees C of the water-soluble chlorophyll proteins were compared by the curve-fitting methods. The component bands at --196 degrees C were blue-shifted by 0.8--4.1 nm and narrower in half widths as compared to those at 25 degrees C.
Seeds, of either commercial crucifer crops or some wild and weed relatives, were screened for intact glucosinolates using a previously developed ion-pair LC-MS method. This method, in contrast to GC-MS techniques, ensures the accurate measurement of all classes of glucosinolates. Many crucifer seeds contained very high concentrations of glucosinolates with low concentrations of additional pigments and secondary metabolites. The other common seed metabolites were cinnamoylcholine esters, for example, sinapine. Glucosinolates derived from homologues of l-methionine were characteristic of Brassica and related crucifer species. In addition, significant concentrations of 4-hydroxy-3-indolylmethylglucosinolate were found in the majority of Brassica species. Wild and weed species often had relatively simple glucosinolate profiles: either a single glucosinolate or a predominant glucosinolate together with trace amounts of others. Species identified with seed glucosinolate profiles suitable for purification included various Alyssum, Erysimum, and Iberis species for 3-methythiopropyl-glucosinolate and 3-methylsulfinylpropyl-glucosinolate and various Alyssum, Erysimum, and Lepidium species with very high concentrations of C4-C6 aliphatic glucosinolates. Seeds of Arabis, Barbarea, Lepidium, Moringa, and Sinapis species were good sources of aromatic glucosinolates, and Azima tetracantha was a good source for N-methoxy-3-indolylmethyl-glucosinolate. MS data are reported for all of the intact glucosinolates detected from the screening process.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Brassicaceae, with nearly 340 genera and more than 3350 species, anchors the low range of angiosperm genome sizes. The relatively narrow range of DNA content (0.16 pg < 1C < 1.95 pg) was maintained in spite of extensive chromosomal change. The aim of this study was to erect a cytological and molecular phylogenetic framework for a selected subset of the Brassicacae, and use this as a template to examine genome size evolution in Brassicaceae. METHODS: DNA contents were determined by flow cytometry and chromosomes were counted for 34 species of the family Brassicaceae and for ten Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes. The amplified and sequenced ITS region for 23 taxa (plus six other taxa with known ITS sequences) were aligned and used to infer evolutionary relationship by parsimony analysis. KEY RESULTS: DNA content in the species studied ranged over 8-fold (1C = 0.16-1.31 pg), and 4.4-fold (1C = 0.16-0.71 pg) excluding allotetraploid Brassica species. The 1C DNA contents of ten Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes showed little variation, ranging from 0.16 pg to 0.17 pg. CONCLUSIONS: The tree roots at an ancestral genome size of approximately 1x = 0.2 pg. Arabidopsis thaliana (1C = 0.16 pg; approximately 157 Mbp) has the smallest genome size in Brassicaceae studied here and apparently represents an evolutionary decrease in genome size. Two other branches that represent probable evolutionary decreases in genome size terminate in Lepidium virginicum and Brassica rapa. Branches in the phylogenetic tree that represent probable evolutionary increases in genome size terminate in Arabidopsis halleri, A. lyrata, Arabis hirsuta, Capsella rubella, Caulanthus heterophyllus, Crucihimalaya, Lepidium sativum, Sisymbrium and Thlaspi arvense. Branches within one clade containing Brassica were identified that represent two ancient ploidy events (2x to 4x and 4x to 6x) that were predicted from published comparative mapping studies.
Nineteen plants belonging to 11 species of the cruciferae were studied to determine the effects of aflatoxin B(1) on seed germination and seedling development. Germination was not inhibited in any test organism at a concentration of 100 mug of aflatoxin per ml of agar substrate. Inhibition of elongation of the hypocotyls and roots in the species studied varied from 29 to 93% and from 22 to 91% in the respective tissues. Lepidium sativum was the most susceptible plant studied and exhibited the maximal inhibitory response noted above at concentrations of 8 mug of aflatoxin per ml. The ultrastructure of Lepidium root cells treated with crystalline aflatoxin B(1) exhibited morphological changes characteristic of those found in aflatoxin-treated animal cells. In addition to changes in the cytoplasmic organelles, numerous ring-shaped nucleoli with prominent nucleolar caps were produced. The effect of aflatoxin on plant cells is compared with similar effects induced by actinomycin D. Seed germination and seedling development is discussed in relation to the effects of both compounds on deoxyribonucleic acid-dependent ribonucleic acid biosynthesis.
In spring and autumn 1994 and 1995 affluent water and bed sediment were sampled from 24 tributaries of the Po river, always at the same site and at the nearest place to the confluence. In the laboratory the pore water was separated from the particle fraction of the sediment. The organic compounds bound to the latter component were extracted with solvents and brought to water solution by means of dimethyl sulfoxide. The observed animal species, along with the seeds of Lepidium, were exposed to effluent water, to pore water and to water solutions of the organic compounds extracted from bed sediment. Toxicity was evaluated on the basis of 1) direct lethality, 2) the delay of embryo development, 3) the impairment of regeneration, in the animal species, while the germination index was used for the Lepidium susceptibility. The results of these investigations demonstrate that 1) the challenged species cover a broad range of sensitivities toward environmental toxins, 2) toxicity found in river samples appears almost exclusively bound to the sediment, 3) the noxious effects found in the tributaries of the Po river increase moving downstream, and 4) likewise the sediment-bound toxicity varies among the different samplings, both as a consequence of changes in rain-dependent river flow, and because of the man-made interventions on the river sides and bed.
Laboratory tests were conducted on higher plants [garden cress (Lepidium sativum), great duckweed (Spirodela polyrrhiza), and Tradescantia clone BNL 02] and fish [rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at all stages of development: eggs, larvae and adults] to estimate their sensitivity to heavy fuel oil (HFO). A number of biological indices (survival, growth, and physiological and morphological parameters) as well as the genotoxic impact (Tradescantia) of HFO was evaluated by acute and chronic toxicity tests. Fish were found to be more sensitive to the toxic effect of HFO than were higher plants. EC(50) values obtained for higher plants ranged from 8.7 g/L (L. sativum) to 19.8 g/L (Tradescantia), and maximum-acceptable-toxicant concentration (MATC) values ranged from 0.1 to 1.0 g/L of total HFO for L. sativum and Tradescantia, respectively. The 96-h LC(50) values ranged from 0.33 g/L, for larvae, to 2.97 g/L, for adult fish, and the MATC value for fish was found to be equal to 0.0042 g/L of total HFO. To evaluate and predict the ecological risk of the overall effects of oil spills, studies should be performed using a set of acute and chronic bioassays that include test species of different phylogenetic levels with the most sensitive morphological, physiological, and genotoxic indices.
The main objective of the research was to evaluate the suitability of the Phytotoxkit microbiotest as a tool for hazard assessment of sediments. The concentrations of oil derivatives, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were determined in sediment samples collected from the urban canal in Opole (Poland), in order to obtain a general insight of the level of sediment contamination. Phytotoxicity of sediments was estimated on the basis of seed germination and root elongation measurements, combined into an overall germination index (GI). The results revealed spatial and vertical differentiation in sediment contamination. A good correlation was obtained between organic matter content and the concentrations of particular sediment pollutants. Values of correlation coefficients at P < 0.05 ranged from 0.3246 for oil derivatives to 0.8929 for PAHs. Phytotoxicity tests, carried out on the monocotyl Sorghum saccharatum and the dicotyls Sinapis alba and Lepidium sativum, showed different responses of the three plant species to sediment samples ranging from growth inhibition to growth stimulation. The GI values revealed the following increasing order of plant sensitivity to contaminated sediments: L. sativum < S. alba < S. saccharatum. The study demonstrated that the Phytotoxkit microbiotest was effective in identifying toxic samples. However, sediment organic matter content and grain-size distribution had a significant impact on both sediment contamination and higher plantresponses to contaminated samples. The implication of these findings are discussed.
Six perennial groundcovers including Alchemilla mollis, Nepeta x faassenii, Phlox subulata, Sedum acre, Solidago cutleri, and Thymus praecox were investigated for the allelopathic potential of their respective foliar tissues via evaluation of volatile constituents produced by foliage. These groundcovers were selected for further laboratory evaluation because of superior performance as weed-suppressive groundcovers in previous field experiments. Foliar volatile components of N. x faassenii exhibited the strongest inhibitory effects on seedling growth of curly cress (Lepidium sativum), but S. cutleri also showed allelopathic potential by reducing shoot growth of curly cress seedlings with extracted volatiles. Although A. mollis and P. subulata exhibited strong weed-suppressive traits in past field experiments, weed suppression is apparently associated with either competition for resources or other allelopathic mechanisms rather than an allelopathic effect caused by volatiles. Volatiles of N. x faassenii were further evaluated with gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 21 chemical constituents were identified in the volatile cocktail; 17 components were identified from a direct crude leaf sample extraction, including sabinene, beta-pinene, beta-myrcene, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)-ethanol, 1,8-cineole, ocimene, neryl Acetate, 4aalpha,7alpha,7aalpha-nepetalactone, alpha-copaene, trans-caryophyllene, alloaromadendrene, 4abeta,7alpha,7abeta-nepetalactone, germacrene D, beta-farnesene, chi-cadinene, germacrene B, and beta-sesquiphellandrene. Five additional constituents were identified in a methanolic extract of dried of N. x faassenii foliage, but not the volatile cocktail collected from N. x faassenii foliage. These included methyl benzoate, 2,4-decadienal, neryl acetate, isodihydronepetalactone, and caryophyllene oxide. Three components, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)-ethanol, alloaromadendrene, and chi-cadinene, were not only detected in both the volatile mixture and the methanolic extract, but also in an aqueous foliar extract that exhibited potential allelopathic activity.
Sedimentable cell particles are distributed randomly along the horizontal axis of the fast-rotating clinostat. They neither sediment in the direction of gravity, nor in the direction of the centrifugal force, nor in the direction of the resultant force of both. The effect of this "weightlessness" and that of very small centrifugal forces on the perception of mass acceleration was examined using young primary roots of Lepidium sativum L. (Cruciferae) during their early development on the fast-rotating clinostat. The results of the experiments show: 1) there is no response of the roots in the direction of gravity, 2) at small centrifugal forces (< 2.2 x 10(-2) g) a curvature response occurs in the direction of the stimulus, 3) the threshold value for the perception of mass acceleration lies at 4.3 x 10(-3) g, and 4) below the threshold value the existence of an autonomous root curvature has been proved for the first time, which is not caused by mass acceleration.
For a selection of nine commercially available superabsorbent polymers, the absorption capacity was evaluated for the principal absorption-inhibition constituent of OMW, mineral salts and for phytotoxic-components, the phenolic compounds. A double exponential model was established for electrical conductivities ranging 4.2-25,000 microS cm(-1). For solutions of phenolic compounds ranging 0-0.5 g l(-1), a distribution coefficient near unit was achieved, while for OMW, the phenolic compounds were concentrated inside the gel as the distribution coefficient was 1.4. Correction of OMW pH towards neutrality was found to increase the absorption capacity by up to 35%. The phytotoxicity was assessed by the germination of Lepidium sativum. Inhibition in plant growth occurred for all OMW dilutions without superabsorbent polymers application. For 5% of OMW (COD 5 gl(-1) and 200 ppm of phenolic compounds) immobilised in PNa2 (1 gl(-1)), plant growth was promoted being observed a 120% growth germination, thus indicating that olive mill wastewater detoxification occurred.
Composting is the biochemical transformation of waste organic matter by microorganisms whose metabolism occurs in the water-soluble phase. Therefore, a study of the changes occurring in compost dissolved organic matter can be useful for assessing its stability and maturity. In light of the variety of parameters generally utilized to study composting processes, this work aims at identifying the major chemical processes that occur in solution and their influence on the attainment of stability and maturity with composting time. Compost stability, assessed by means of respirometric analysis which determined oxygen demand as a result of mineralization of the compost's organic matter, and compost maturity evaluated with Lepidium sativum L. seed bioassays, were found to be highly related to the nature and content of water-soluble organic matter. Moreover, fractionation of the water-extractable organic carbon showed that the ratio of hydrophobic to hydrophilic carbon increased to values greater than unity for stabilized compost. These results together with the analysis for non-cellulosic polysaccharides, phenolic compounds and organic nitrogen within the water extracts, confirmed the influence of solubilization, mineralization and organic matter transformation on the quality of the final compost.
The amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated is increasing rapidly in parallel with the increasing size of population. The use of sanitary landfills to dispose of biodegradable wastes is currently restricted by the European Landfill Directive. Moreover, incineration of MSW produces significant amounts of polluting flue gases and toxic solid residues, so that high investments for pollution control in MSW incineration plants are needed. Composting may be a safe and successful strategy for accelerating the decomposition and stabilization of the biodegradable components of biowaste from MSW, for sustainable complete recycling, thereby producing compost that can be used as soil conditioner and/or organic fertilizer. In the present study, municipal solid waste compost from Galicia (NW Spain), obtained on an industrial scale by anaerobic fermentation followed by aerobic stabilization, was characterized and compared with peat and composted pine bark as a component of plant growing media. Due to the high content of salts, the evaluated MSW compost was not appropriated to be used alone as a soil conditioner or organic fertilizer. Mixtures of MSW compost, peat and composted pine bark were evaluated statistically by applying mixture designs and triangular surface. The dependent variables (shoot dry weight of Lepidium sativum and Hordeum vulgare) were adjusted to linear equations, and good statistical parameters for correlation and significance were obtained, allowing accurate description of experimental data. The best results were obtained by mixing MSW compost with composted pine bark, rather than mixing MSW compost with peat.