单环硝基芳香化合物好氧生物降解及其遗传学研究进展

硝基芳香化合物是环境中难降解的有机污染物之一 ,对环境的污染日益严重 ,利用生物技术对这类有机物进行降解是行之有效的新途径。针对几种单环硝基芳香化合物好氧降解的微生物、降解途径以及降解过程中的主要酶、降解性质粒、基因定位等分子遗传学的研究进展进行了综述     

Cyanide Removal by Chinese Vegetation. Quantification of the Michaelis-Menten Kinetics (6 pp)

Background Little is known about metabolism rates of environmental chemicals by vegetation. A good model compound to study the variation of rates among plant species is cyanide. Vascular plants possess an enzyme system that detoxifies cyanide by converting it to the amino acid asparagine. Knowledge of the kinetic parameters, the half-saturation constant (Km) and the maximum metabolic capacity (vmax), is very useful for enzyme characterization and biochemical purposes. The goal of this study is to find the enzyme kinetics (KM and vmax) during cyanide metabolism in the presence of Chinese vegetation, to provide quantitative data for engineered phytoremediation, and to investigate the variation of metabolic rates of plants. Methods Detached leaves (1.0 g fresh weight) from 12 species out of 9 families were kept in glass vessels with 100 mL of aqueous solution spiked with potassium cyanide at 23°C for 28 h. Four different treatment concentrations of cyanide were used, ranging from 0.44 to 7.69 mg CN/L. The disappearance of cyanide from the aqueous solution was analyzed spectrophotometrically. Realistic values of the half-saturation constant (KM) and the maximum metabolic capacity (vmax) were estimated by a computer program using non-linear regression treatments. As a comparison, Lineweaver-Burk plots were also used to estimate the kinetic parameters. Results and Discussion The values obtained for KM and vmax varied with plant species. Using non-linear regression treatments, values of vmax and KM were found in a range between 6.68 and 21.91 mg CN/kg/h and 0.90 to 3.15 mg CN/L, respectively. The highest vmax was by Chinese elder (Sambucus chinensis), followed by upright hedge-parsley (Torilis japonica). The lowest vmax was demonstrated by the hybrid willow (Salix matssudana x alba). However, the highest KM was found in the water lily (Nymphea teragona), followed by the poplar (Populus deltoides Marsh). The lowest KM was demonstrated by corn (Zea mays L.). The values of vmax were normally distributed with a mean of 13 mg CN/kg/h. Conclusions Significant removal of cyanide from aqueous solution was observed in the presence of plant materials without phytotoxicity, even at high doses of cyanide. This gives rise to the conclusion that the Chinese plant species used in this study are all able to efficiently metabolize cyanide, although with different maximum metabolic capacities. A second conclusion is that the variation of metabolism rates between species is small. All these plants had a similar KM, indicating the same enzyme is active in all plants. Recommendations and Outlook Detoxification of cyanide with trees seems to be a feasible option for cleaning soils and water contaminated with cyanide. For phytoremediation projects, screening appropriate plant species adapted to local conditions should be seriously considered. More chemicals should be investigated to find common principles of the metabolism of environmental chemicals by plants.     

A correlation between the fate and non-extractable residue formation of 14C-metalaxyl and enzymatic activities in soil

Extracellular, oxidative soil enzymes like monophenol oxidases and peroxidases play an important role in transformation of xenobiotics and the formation of organic matter in soil. Additionally, these enzymes may be involved in the formation of non-extractable residues (NERs) of xenobiotics during humification processes. To examine this correlation, the fate of the fungicide ¹⁴C metalaxyl in soil samples from Ultuna (Sweden) was studied. Using different soil sterilization techniques, it was possible to differentiate between free, immobilized, and abiotic (“pseudoenzyme”-like) oxidative activities. A correlation between the formation of metalaxyl NER and soil organic matter content, biotic activities, as well as extracellular phenoloxidase and peroxidase activities in the bulk soil and its particle size fractions was determined. Extracellular soil-bound enzymes were involved in NER formation (up to 8% of applied radioactivity after 92 days) of the fungicide independently from the presence of living microbes and different distributions of the NER in the soil humic subfractions.     

Imazaquin degradation and metabolism in a sandy loam soil amended with farm litters

Irnazaquin applied in legume crops has a long residual time in soil, which often impacts safety of the susceptible crops. To increase safety of imazaquin application, two composted litters, bovine manure （BM） and chicken manure （CM）, were used to determine their effects on imazaquin environmental behavior by incorporating each kind of manure into the tested sandy loam soil at 10% （w/w）. The degradation of imazaquin in BM- and CM-amended soil was about 2.4 and 1.5 times, respectively, faster than that in unamended soil. The half-lives of imazaquin in BM-amended soil varied between 6.7 and 15.4 d over the temperature range of 20 to 40℃, and the degradation rate constant （k） increased by a factor of about 1.5 for every 10℃ change. Higher mix ratio did not significantly increase the degradation, and the optimal active degradation of imazaquin was observed approximately at the mix ratio of 10：1 of soil to BM. The different moisture levels had negligible effect on imazaquin degradation. In both unamended and BM-amended treatments, two metabolites were observed at 5, 10 and 30 d after treatment. One metabolite at retention time （RT） of 8.4 rain was identified as 2-（4- hydroxyl-5-oxo-2-imidazolin-2-yl） quinoline acid, originating from the loss of isopropyl group and hydroxylation at the 4-position of imidazolinone ring. The other at RT of 12.9 rain was identified as quinoline-2,3-dicarboxylic anhydride, resulting from detachment of imidazolinone ring and the forming of dicarboxylic anhydride. This finding suggested that the addition of farm litters into soil might be a good management option since it can not only increase soil fertility but also contribute to increase safety of imazaquin application to the following susceptible crops.     

邯郸市物质流分析

利用邯郸市统计年鉴数据和实地调研资料,采用城市物质流分析框架研究邯郸市2005年物质流全景和1993─2005年物质输入和输出结构的时间序列变化.结果表明:13年间邯郸市地区生产总值增长3.4倍,物质输入增长1.1倍,物质生产力增长1.1倍,由1993年的151.8元/t上升至2005年的320.9元/t,反映了邯郸市前期经济发展与资源投入具有明显的“脱钩"现象;另一方面,邯郸市仍然遵循着“高投入、高排放"的发展模式,2005年物质净存量仅占全年物质通量的12.2%,大部分物质在开采当年并不进入经济系统而直接排放到生态系统中;同时,邯郸市经济发展的对外依存度逐年升高,从该市外调入的物质量所占比例由1993年的10.2%上升至2005年的39.2%,表明邯郸市经济发展将面临更大的资源      

Prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis: I. Prospective study of 51 pregnancies

A prenatal diagnosis was performed in 51 pregnancies with a 1-in-4 risk of having a child with cystic fibrosis. The criteria for determining an affected fetus were based on the results of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) residual activity after inhibition by phenylalanine and by homoarginine, of total ALP activity, and of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGTP) activity in the amniotic fluid taken between 16 and 19 weeks of pregnancy. The chromosomal analysis of amniotic fluid cells showed trisomy 13 in one case which was excluded from the analysis of biochemical assays. The biochemical assays were in the normal ranges in the amniotic fluid of 35 pregnancies: 26 have reached term and a normal infant has been born, 9 are still in progress. A deficiency of the ALP phenylalanine-inhibitable form, depressed values of total ALP and GGTP were observed in the amniotic fluid of 15 pregnancies: one pregnancy went to term and the infant had CF, in 14 cases the pregnancy was terminated, and meconium ileus was observed in ten of these cases. It was observed that the changes towards abnormal values became more significant with advancing gestational age and that 18 weeks appeared to be the optimum time for diagnostic amniocentesis.     

A Functional Approach to the Assessment of the Nutritional Value of Particulate Organic Matter

Organic matter lability can be determined with different approaches, based on the quantitative and qualitative estimate of its nutritional value. the C/N ratio and the particulate organic matter (as the sum of protein, carbohydrate and lipid bulks) vs total suspended matter (POM/TSM) deal with a quantitative assessment of the organic matter bulk, while other indices such as proteins/carbohydrates ratio (PRT/CHO) may give also qualitative information. Gordon (1970) proposed a functional approach, based on organic carbon decrease after enzymatic digestion. Coupling Gordon's approach with the evaluation of the main biochemical components (proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) contained in the particulate organic matter, a simple method to assess lability and nutritional value of organic substrates is proposed.

Water samples were collected at the surface and close to the bottom in a shallow coastal station (10 m depth) in the Marconi Gulf (Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean). the difference between “total labile” and “hydrolyzed labile” organic matter (respectively before and after enzymatic digestion) suggests a relevant presence of resuspended refractory materials vs about 60% of labile hydrolyzed organic matter, thus confirming the importance of a more qualitative approach to organic matter studies.     

Larvae of Sand Smelts (Atherina hepsetus L.) as a Bioindicator of Pollution in the Black Sea Coastal Waters

The activity of antioxidant enzymes and electrophoretic protein spectra were studied in sand smelt larvae inhabiting from five Sevastopol bays with different degrees of anthropogenic impact. The activity of antioxidant enzymes and the heterogeneity of electrophoretic protein spectra proved to increase in the larvae from the most polluted waters. The possibility of using these parameters as biological markers for assessing the influence of pollution on the early stages of fish ontogeny and the marine environment are discussed.     

鲤鱼对硝基苯的生物积累、消除与代谢研究

应用流动式摄取及释放装置，对鲤鱼进行了硝基苯的生物积累，代谢研究，结果表明，鲤鱼对硝基苯浓缩很快，全鱼，肌肉，其它组织中的生物积累曲线地均呈现快速增长至峰，后又快速下降至低浓度水平稳态的峰形曲线，释放呈双曲线形，对数作图可得到两条不同斜度的直线。     

Non-ketotic hyperglycinaemia: Glycine/serine ratio in amniotic fluid–an unreliable method for prenatal diagnosis

We describe a prenatal diagnosis of a fetus at risk for non-ketotic hyperglycinaemia based on the glycine/serine ratio in amniotic fluid at 16 weeks of gestation. Although the glycine level and the glycine/serine ratio in amniotic fluid were within the normal range, the fetus was affected and therefore a false-negative prediction was made. The reliability of this method is questioned.