Discovery of novel halogenase genes using sequence-driven metagenomics approach北大核心CSCD

It is of great significance to ability to obtain new natural products with diverse activities through the study of soil microorganisms. However, less than 1% of the total soil microorganisms can be cultured under laboratory conditions, thus limiting the discovery of new compounds. Metagenomics, by which the genomic DNA of soil microorganisms can be extracted and expressed in heterologous hosts, provides a new approach for the functional study of soil microorganisms. Natural halides have good bioactivities, including antibacterial and antitumor activities. Halogenases play an important role in biosynthesis, and introducing bioactivities of halogenated compounds. To investigate the potential of halogenated compounds production from soil microorganisms, a soil metagenomic library was screened by PCR for clones harboring reduced flavin adenine dinucleotide (FADH2) - dependent halogenase genes. Sixty-five positive clones were identified from the library, and the amino acid sequences of halogenase genes within the positive clones were analyzed. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that more than 85% of these genes were separated from known halogenases to form new clades in the phylogenetic tree; moreover the soilderived halogenases showed high diversity. By further biosynthetic gene analysis of the positive clones, a new type I polyketide biosynthetic gene sequence was identified, which is probably related to the biosynthesis of the halogenated type I polyketide. In conclusion, novel and diverse halogenase genes were identified on sixty-five metagenomic clones using a sequence-driven metagenomic approach, laying a foundation for the further discovery of novel natural halides biosynthetic gene clusters and halides. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Cloning and expression of RING-finger E3 ubiquitin ligase CsSDIR1 gene in tea plant (Camellia sinensis)北大核心CSCD

Protein ubiquitination regulates many aspects of plant development and stress response. The RING-finger type E3 ubiquitin ligase SDIR1 (salt and drought induced ring finger 1) gene plays a key role in plant stress response. In this study, the full-length cDNA and the promoter sequences of CsSDIR1 were isolated from tea plants using the RT-PCR technology, and its bioinformatics characteristics were systematically analyzed. The expression patterns of CsSDIR1 in various tissues and in response to cold, drought, salt, and ABA treatments were also investigated by quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). The sequence of CsSDIR1 contains a complete open reading frame of 831 bp, coding for a 276-long amino acid protein with a molecular weight of (Mr) 30.085 × 103 and a theoretical isoelectric point of 6.54. CsSDIR1 was predicted to be a hydrophobic protein localized on the intracellular membranes. The analysis of the amino acid sequence characteristics showed that CsSDIR1 contains two putative transmembrane domains at the N-terminus and a C3H2C3 RING-finger domain at the C-terminus; it shares high similarity with other plants' SDIR1, and has the closest relationship to Actinidia sinensis. A cis-acting regulatory elements prediction showed that the CsSDIR1 promoter contains many cis-acting elements, especially drought and salt stress response elements. The qRT-PCR analysis indicated that the CsSDIR1 gene has a high expression level in stems, followed by roots, leaves, and flowers; the expression of the CsSDIR1 gene is up-regulated by ABA, salt, and drought treatments, whereas it is down-regulated in response to cold stress. These results demonstrated that the CsSDIR1 gene might be involved in the plant stress response of tea trees. © 2018 Science Press. All rights reserved.     

Distribution,fractionation and risk assessment of mercury in surficial sediments of Nansi Lake,China

Nansi Lake is composed of four sub-lakes from north to south: Nanyang Lake, Dushan Lake, Zhaoyang Lake and Weishan Lake. An environmental pollution investigation was carried out to determine the fractionation, and pollution assessments of mercury (Hg) in surficial sediments from Nansi Lake. Results showed that the mean concentration of Hg was 3.1 times higher than its background value (0.015 mg kg^?1), and the high concentration of Hg which even reached up to five times than the background value in the part of Dushan Lake and Weishan Lake, which indicated that there are obvious spatial differences. The content of Hg was positively correlated with that of total organic carbon, and negatively correlated with that of pH and SiO₂ in surface sediments. An improved Tessier sequential extraction procedure was used to study the fractions of Hg in sediments. The results indicated that Hg existed primarily in the fraction of residual, which accounts for 58.4% of total mercury (THg), and the percentage of extractable Hg was only 1.93% of total mercury. High concentrations of mercury of non-residual phase were found in part lake area from the Nanyang Lake and the Weishan Lake, which indicating a higher potential ecological risk relative to the other lake areas. Based on the values of enrichment factor and geo-accumulation index, most part of Dushan Lake and Nanyang Lake and Weishan Lake were in a moderate pollution. And based on the fractionation of mercury, risk assessment code of Hg exhibited low risks to the environment in Nansi Lake.     

Discovery of nano-sized gold particles in natural plant tissues

Biological effects of nanoparticles have attracted widespread attention. However, the interaction between plants and nanoparticles remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of nano-sized metal particles in two representative plant species, Erigeron canadensis and Boehmeria nivea, in the Guangdong Province, China. The stems of the plants were sliced and placed on Ni–C grids for field-emission transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The metal-bearing nanoparticles were further analysed for their size, shape, composition, content and other characteristics using X-ray energy spectrum analysis, scanning TEM and selected-area electron diffraction pattern. The results revealed that the plants contain nano-sized Au-bearing particles with a diameter of 5–50 nm, ellipsoid, spherical and bone-rod shapes or irregular morphology with smooth edges. These nanoparticles primarily consisted of Au, Cu, O and Cl. The discovery of Au-bearing nanoparticles in natural plant tissues is of great significance for biological nanoscience. Here, we discuss the function and absorption mechanism of Au-bearing nanoparticles in plants and present the influence of the discovery of Au-bearing nanoparticles in natural plants.     

Effects of source size,monitoring distance and aquifer heterogeneity on contaminant mass discharge and plume spread uncertainty

Estimating the movement of dissolved contaminants in heterogeneous aquifers is very important for the monitoring design, risk assessment, and remediation of contaminated aquifers. This work explored the influence of source size, monitoring distance, and aquifer heterogeneity on the accuracy of contaminant mass discharge (CMD) estimation using leaching surface approach as well as on the plume spread uncertainty in a 2-D heterogeneous aquifer. The interaction among source size, monitoring distance, and aquifer heterogeneity regarding the accuracy of CMD estimation and the plume spread uncertainty at downstream of the contaminated aquifer was extensively investigated. The transient leaking of a contaminated aquifer in a saturated heterogeneous aquifer under steady-state flow conditions was simulated. The effect of aquifer heterogeneity on the CMD uncertainty was evaluated through the expected values and variance. The results showed that the CMD estimation error varied from underestimation in the mildly heterogeneous aquifer, over accurate estimation in the medium heterogeneous aquifer to overestimation in the highly heterogeneous aquifer. Additionally, the results illustrated that the mean and variance of the transverse spatial extent of the peak concentrations for the plume at the control plane were very sensitive to the aquifer heterogeneity and detectable concentrations of contaminants.     

典型污水处理厂对多环芳烃及其衍生物的去除及再生水健康风险研究

多环芳烃(PAHs)在水环境中可以通过化学或微生物作用转化成其衍生物(SPAHs),而SPAHs可能具有更强的毒性和"三致性"从而危害人体健康。为探明污水厂中PAHs和SPAHs的存在性及不同二级处理和再生水处理工艺对它们的去除效果,对北京及广东共4座污水处理厂中PAHs及SPAHs进行了检测,同时对再生水进行了健康风险评价。结果显示:从进水浓度来看,4座污水处理厂中,低环芳烃浓度(191.8~394.2 ng·L~(-1))明显高于高环芳烃(89.3~108.2 ng·L~(-1));SPAHs中氧取代物(OPAHs)总浓度(253.8~322.2 ng·L~(-1))高于甲基取代物(MPAHs,44.3~220.4 ng·L~(-1))。不同二级处理工艺对PAHs的去除率为43.7%~58.2%,对SPAHs的去除率为45.8%~52.1%。不同再生水处理工艺对PAHs和SPAHs去除率差别较大,PAHs的去除率范围为1.8%~41.1%,SPAHs的去除率范围在2.35%~25.9%。结果表明,目标物的去除以生物降解为主,此外,吸附在固体颗粒上,随颗粒沉淀去除也是主要途径之一。通过对污水厂再生水的风险评价,苯并[a]芘(BaP)和二苯并[a,h]蒽(DBA)2种强致癌物TEQ浓度均高于1,其致癌风险较大,安全性有待提高。     

Enhanced degradation of trichloroethylene using bentonite-supported nanoscale Fe/Ni and humic acids

Nanoscale zero-valent iron, named nano-Fe⁰, is a reagent used to degrade trichloroethylene in groundwater. However, the efficiency of nano-Fe⁰ is moderate due to issues of dispersion and reactivity. As an alternative we synthesized bentonite-supported nanoscale Fe/Ni bimetals, named bentonite-Fe/Ni, to test the degradation of trichloroethylene in the presence of Suwannee River humic acids, as a representative of natural organic matter. 0.1 mmol/L trichloroethylene was reacted with 0.5 g/L of nano-Fe⁰, bentonite-Fe, Fe/Ni, and bentonite-Fe/Ni nanoparticles. Results show first that without humic acids the reaction rate constants k _obs were 0.0036/h for nano-Fe⁰, 0.0101/h for bentonite-Fe, 0.0984/h for Fe/Ni, and 0.181/h for bentonite-Fe/Ni. These findings show that bentonite-Fe/Ni is the most efficient reagent. Second, the addition of humic acids increased the rate constant from 0.178/h for 10 mg/L humic acids to 0.652/h for 40 mg/L humic acids, using the bentonite-Fe/Ni catalyst. This finding is explained by accelerated dechlorination by faster electron transfer induced by humic quinone moieties. Indeed, the use of 9, 10-anthraquinone-2, 6-disulfonate as a humic analogue gave similar results.     

北方人工湿地系统对内分泌干扰物质的去除效果

通过现场取样,固相萃取柱富集以及气相色谱/质谱联用(GC/MSD)测定,研究了北京市官厅水库上游的一个人工湿地系统在秋季(植物茂盛)和冬季(植物枯萎)对典型环境内分泌干扰物和人工合成激素的处理效果.结果表明,人工湿地系统的原水和各工艺段出水中酚类和雌激素类物质的浓度高于美国地表水监测数据和我国地表水监测数据.湿地系统对部分壬基酚有较好的处理效果,而在冬季效果不明显;无论秋季或冬季对雌激素类则无明显去除效果.     

乡镇工业废水对农业环境影响的典型调查

选择较有代表性的宁波市郊慈镇作为典型,调查分析了铜业乡镇企业对周围农业环境的污染情况。调查结果表明,污染源附近水域水质铜含量为０．００９～８．４６１ｍｇ／Ｌ,超标率为４３．８％,锌为０．０２～５．９２ｍｇ／Ｌ,超标率为３７．５％。土壤中铜的含量为３３．１～３２６．２ｍｇ／ｋｇ,超标率为７２．２％。粮食中铜含量为２．１９～２４．２０ｍｇ／ｋｇ,超标率为３７．５％。     

污染因子相关分析判定地下水污染源

把相关分析用于地下水污染源的判定,在安阳市劳教所一带地下水污染事故中成功地判定了污染源