Behaviour of different lichen species as biomonitors of air pollution by PAHs in natural ecosystems

Six different species of lichens (Parmelia sulcata Tayl., Evernia prunastri (L.) Ach., Ramalina farinacea, Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf., Usnea sp. and Lobaria pulmonaria (Schreb.) Hoffm.) were collected in two mountain valleys in Central Pyrenees: the Aspe and Aragon valleys. Two multivariate techniques have been applied with different purposes, ANOVA and Discriminant Analysis (DA), to evaluate the data. The PAHs spatial distribution was studied in the three more abundant and widespread species in the area: P. sulcata, E. prunastri (L.) Ach. and R. farinacea in terms of total PAHs, PAHs related to the combustion processes and toxicity. Different behaviour of each lichen species to trap PAHs was found, being P. sulcata the best one to monitor the most persistent PAHs of pyrogenic origin and E. prunastri the most appropriate to provide information about pyrogenic and petrogenic PAHs. Traffic was the most relevant influence in PAHs bioaccumulation in lichen species.     

Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis as a routine tool to assess toxicant driven changes in hindgut bacterial populations of Porcellio dilatatus (Crustacea: Isopoda)

Changes in saprophytic organism's gut microbial communities may present a threat to organic matter breakdown which can ultimately lead to soil function impairment. In this study, Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA) was evaluated as a potential simple molecular tool to assess shifts in bacterial community structure in hindgut populations of Porcellio dilatatus exposed to contaminated food. This prospective tool can also be used for a variety of purposes and samples prior to the use of more specific and sophisticated methods.     

Tracking sewage derived contamination in riverine settings by analysis of synthetic surfactants

A study has been made of the presence and reactivity of the most commonly used surfactants, both anionic (linear alkylbenzene sulfonates, LAS, and alkyl ethoxysulfates, AES) and non-ionic (alcohol polyethoxylates, AEOs, and nonylphenol polyethoxylates, NPEOs), in water and surface sediments from the middle stretch of the Guadalete River in SW Spain (12 stations). Average values were between 0.1 and 3.7 mg kg(-1) in sediment, and between 0.2 and 37 μg L(-1) in water. The sorption of surfactants was dominated by hydrophobic mechanisms, so those homologues having longer alkyl chains (e.g. C(18)AEO) showed higher relative percentages and concentrations in sediments compared with water. Local and sharply higher concentrations of these compounds were observed at three sampling stations (7, 9 and 12), indicating the occurrence of wastewater discharges into the river. By analysing the distributions of different surfactant homologues and their metabolites we were able to distinguish between sewage contamination from sources discharging treated and untreated wastewaters. Upstream (stations 1-2), LAS concentrations were below 30 μg L(-1) and the composition of their degradation intermediates (sulfophenyl carboxylic acids, SPCs) (160 μg L(-1)) was dominated by short-chain homologues (C(6)-C(9)SPCs), indicating that the degradation of this surfactant is at an advanced stage. The highest concentration (487 μg L(-1)) of SPCs was detected near the effluent outlet of a sewage treatment plant (STP) (station 12). Sampling stations (7 and 9) affected by untreated wastewater discharges were the only ones showing the presence of the most reactive and biodegradable SPC isomers and homologues (e.g. C(11)SPC). Here, LAS reached the highest concentration values measured (>2 mg L(-1)), and showed a homologue distribution closer to that of commercial mixtures than LAS found at the other stations.     

不同沉水植物净水能力与植株体细菌群落组成相关性

选取苦草(Vallisneria natans)、密刺苦草(Vallisneria denseserrulata)、黑藻(Hydrilla verticillata)、伊乐藻(Elodea canadensis)、金鱼藻(Ceratophyllum demersum)、竹叶眼子菜(Potamogeton malaianus)、篦齿眼子菜(Potamogeton pectinatus)和微齿眼子菜(Potamogeton maackianus)这8种亚热带地区常见的沉水植物为研究对象,在室内静水条件下对其氮、磷吸收和水质净化能力进行对比试验,并结合16S rRNA基因测序对沉水植物关联细菌群落组成进行测定,研究沉水植物对水体的净化能力与植株体菌群之间的相关性.结果表明,8种沉水植物对水体中的氮磷的去除主要通过植物增效作用,植物吸收富集作用去除率较低.其中密刺苦草对水体中TN、TP的去除率最高,达到了91. 58%和96. 81%.伊乐藻、金鱼藻对水中氮磷自身吸收能力高于其他组,密刺苦草和苦草的植物增效的净化能力最强.经分析,8种沉水植物对水体中氮磷的净化能力较强可能是因为植物关联的细菌大多具有降解作用.根瘤菌目(Rhizobiales)、伯克霍尔德氏菌目(Burkholderiales)、黄杆菌目(Flavobacteriales)、产碱杆菌科(Alcaligenaceae)、贪铜菌属(Cupriavidus)和芽孢杆菌属(Bacillales)的细菌可能是引起密刺苦草增效的净化能力较强的优势菌群,异常球菌纲(Deinococci)、丛毛单胞菌科(Comamonadaceae)、腐螺旋菌科(Saprospiraceae)和生丝微菌属(Hyphomicrobium)的细菌可能是引起苦草增效的净化能力较强的优势菌群.     

Optimisation of a PMAxx™-RT-qPCR Assay and the Preceding Extraction Method to Selectively Detect Infectious Murine Norovirus Particles in Mussels

Human noroviruses are a major cause for gastroenteritis outbreaks. Filter-feeding bivalve molluscs, which accumulate noroviruses in their digestive tissues, are a typical vector for human infection. RT-qPCR, the established method for human norovirus detection in food, does not allow discrimination between infectious and non-infectious viruses and can overestimate potentially infectious viral loads. To develop a more accurate method of infectious norovirus load estimation, we combined intercalating agent propidium monoazide (PMAxx™)-pre-treatment with RT-qPCR assay using in vitro-cultivable murine norovirus. Three primer sets targeting different genome regions and diverse amplicon sizes were used to compare one-step amplification of a short genome fragment to three two-step long-range RT-qPCRs (7 kbp, 3.6 kbp and 2.3 kbp amplicons). Following initial assays performed on untreated infectious, heat-, or ultraviolet-inactivated murine noroviruses in PBS suspension, PMAxx™ RT-qPCRs were implemented to detect murine noroviruses subsequent to their extraction from mussel digestive tissues; virus extraction via anionic polymer-coated magnetic beads was compared with the proteinase K-dependent ISO norm. The long-range RT-qPCR process detecting fragments of more than 2.3 kbp allowed accurate estimation of the infectivity of UV-damaged murine noroviruses. While proteinase K extraction limited later estimation of PMAxx™ pre-treatment effects and was found to be unsuited to the assay, magnetic bead-captured murine noroviruses retained their infectivity. Genome copies of heat-inactivated murine noroviruses differed by 2.3 log₁₀ between RT-qPCR and PMAxx™-RT-qPCR analysis in bivalve molluscs, the PMAxx™ pre-treatment allowing a closer approximation of infectious titres. The combination of bead-based virus extraction and PMAxx™ RT-qPCR thus provides a more accurate model for the estimation of noroviral bivalve mollusc contamination than the conjunction of proteinase K extraction and RT-qPCR and has the potential (once validated utilising infectious human norovirus) to provide an added measure of security to food safety authorities in the hazard assessment of potential bivalve mollusc contamination.

     

Norovirus Foodborne Outbreak Associated With the Consumption of Ice Pop,Southern Brazil, 2020

Food and Environmental Virology - Norovirus is a major cause of foodborne-associated acute gastroenteritis (AGE) outbreaks worldwide. Usually, food products are contaminated either during...     

Assessment of Viral Contamination of Five Brazilian Artisanal Cheese Produced from Raw Milk: a Randomized Survey

Food and Environmental Virology - Enteric viruses have been described as important contaminants in fresh and ready-to-eat foods such as sandwiches, deli meat and dairy products. This is a...     

陕西省县域旅游效率的空间格局及影响因素

提质增效是目前旅游产业发展面临的重要课题。基于数据包络分析法,选用Python爬取技术,对陕西省107个县域的旅游效率进行测度分析,探讨县域旅游效率的空间格局及其影响的主要因素。研究表明：（1）陕西省旅游效率达到有效的县域数量整体偏低,高旅游效率县域多集中于市辖郊县。（2）县域旅游效率分布不均衡。陕北地区高旅游效率县域主要集中在黄河沿岸,关中地区呈现“西高东低”的现象,陕南地区高旅游效率县域则集中在地市交界处。（3）影响县域旅游总效率、技术效率和规模效率的主导因素不同。旅游收入占GDP比例（反映旅游业水平）、人口密度（反映县域发展水平）及汽车站数量（反映交通服务水平）是影响陕西省县域旅游总效率及技术效率的主导因素,而旅游资源禀赋（反映旅游业水平）、人口密度（反映县域发展水平）则是影响陕西省县域旅游规模效率的主导因素。     

Additive effects of aboveground polyphagous herbivores and soil feedback in native and range-expanding exotic plants

Plant biomass and plant abundance can be controlled by aboveground and belowground natural enemies. However, little is known about how the aboveground and belowground enemy effects may add up. We exposed 15 plant species to aboveground polyphagous insect herbivores and feedback effects from the soil community alone, as well as in combination. We envisaged three possibilities: additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects of the aboveground and belowground enemies on plant biomass. In our analysis, we included native and phylogenetically related range-expanding exotic plant species, because exotic plants on average are less sensitive to aboveground herbivores and soil feedback than related natives. Thus, we examined if lower sensitivity of exotic plant species to enemies also alters aboveground-belowground interactions. In a greenhouse experiment, we exposed six exotic and nine native plant species to feedback from their own soil communities, aboveground herbivory by polyphagous insects, or a combination of soil feedback and aboveground insects and compared shoot and root biomass to control plants without aboveground and belowground enemies. We observed that for both native and range-expanding exotic plant species effects of insect herbivory aboveground and soil feedback added up linearly, instead of enforcing or counteracting each other. However, there was no correlation between the strength of aboveground herbivory and soil feedback. We conclude that effects of polyphagous aboveground herbivorous insects and soil feedback add up both in the case of native and related range-expanding exotic plant species, but that aboveground herbivory effects may not necessarily predict the strengths of soil feedback effects.