Two major groups of chloroplast DNA haplotypes in diploid and tetraploid Aconitum subgen : Aconitum (Ranunculaceae) in the Carpathians

Aconitum in Europe is represented by ca. 10% of the total number of species and the Carpathian Mts. are the center of the genus variability in the subcontinent. We studied the chloroplast DNA intergenic spacer trnL(UAG)-rpl32-ndhF (cpDNA) variability of the Aconitum subgen. Aconitum in the Carpathians: diploids (2n=16, sect. Cammarum), tetraploids (2n=32, sect. Aconitum) and triploids (2n=24, nothosect. Acomarum). Altogether 25 Aconitum accessions representing the whole taxonomic variability of the subgenus were sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Both parsimony, Bayesian and character network analyses showed the two distinct types of the cpDNA chloroplast, one typical of the diploid and the second of the tetraploid groups. Some specimens had identical cpDNA sequences (haplotypes) and scattered across the whole mountain arch. In the sect. Aconitum 9 specimens shared one haplotype, while in the sect. Camarum one haplotype represents 4 accessions and the second –accessions. The diploids and tetraploids were diverged by 6 mutations, while the intrasectional variability amounted maximally to 3 polymorphisms. Taking into consideration different types of cpDNA haplotypes and ecological profiles of the sections (tetraploids – high-mountain species, diploids – species from forest montane belt) we speculate on the different and independent history of the sections in the Carpathians

Determination of benzophenones in surface waters by GC-ECD method

Stosowana do tej pory analityka benzofenonów wymaga wykorzystania technik chromatograficznych ze spektrometrią mas. Zaproponowana nowa metodyka oznaczania benzofenonu-1 i benzofenonu-3 polega na wykorzystaniu chromatografii gazowej z selektywnym detektorem wychwytu elektronów (GC-ECD), po uprzednim upochodnieniu benzofenonów bezpośrednio w próbce odczynnikiem PFBOA, a następnie ekstrakcji rozpuszczalnikiem organicznym. Opracowana technika analityczna może być wykorzystana w oznaczaniu benzofenonów w próbkach środowiskowych, takich jak wody powierzchniowe i ścieki, na poziomie stężeń 10 g/m3. Badania wykazały zawartość benzofenonów w ściekach surowych w ilości do prawie 5 mg/m3. Potwierdzono, że biologiczne oczyszczanie ścieków umożliwia usuwanie benzofenonów prawie ze 100% skutecznością. Obecność benzofenonu-3 stwierdzono również w wodach powierzchniowych będących odbiornikami ścieków (Warta, Bogdanka) w ilości do 0,3 mg/m3, a benzofenonu-1 do 1 mg/m3. Ze względu na skutki uboczne, jakie może wywoływać niekontrolowana ich obecność w środowisku wodnym, benzofenony powinny być rutynowo monitorowane w wodach powierzchniowych, a metodyki ich oznaczania stale rozwijane.So far, the use of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry has been an essential requisite for the analysis of benzophenones. The new method proposed in this paper consists in determining benzophenone-1 and benzophenone-3 by means of gas chromatography combined with electron capture detection (GC-ECD), upon direct derivatization of benzophenones in the sample with the PFBOA reagent, followed by extraction using an organic solvent. The method can be used to determine benzophenones in the aquatic environment, e.g. in surface water and wastewater, at concentrations of 10 žg/m3. The study has demonstrated that benzophenone concentrations in raw wastewater reach nearly 5 mg/m3, and that bio-logical treatment provides an appoximately 100% efficiency of benzophenone removal. The presence of benzophenone-3 and benzophenone-1 was also detected in surface waters receiving wastewater discharges (Warta and Bogdanka rivers), where their concentration amounted up to 0.3 mg/m3 and 1 mg/m3, respectively. Considering the potential side effects associated with their uncontrolled presence in the aquatic environment, it is recommended that in surface waters benzophenones should be monitored routinely, and that the analytical methods which are in use should be subject to continuous development