Drought Impact Is Alleviated in Sugar Beets (Beta vulgaris L.) by Foliar Application of Fullerenol Nanoparticles

Over the past few years, significant efforts have been made to decrease the effects of drought stress on plant productivity and quality. We propose that fullerenol nanoparticles (FNPs, molecular formula C-60(OH)(24)) may help alleviate drought stress by serving as an additional intercellular water supply. Specifically, FNPs are able to penetrate plant leaf and root tissues, where they bind water in various cell compartments. This hydroscopic activity suggests that FNPs could be beneficial in plants. The aim of the present study was to analyse the influence of FNPs on sugar beet plants exposed to drought stress. Our results indicate that intracellular water metabolism can be modified by foliar application of FNPs in drought exposed plants. Drought stress induced a significant increase in the compatible osmolyte proline in both the leaves and roots of control plants, but not in FNP treated plants. These results indicate that FNPs could act as intracellular binders of water, creating an additional water reserve, and enabling adaptation to drought stress. Moreover, analysis of plant antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, APx and GPx), MDA and GSH content indicate that fullerenol foliar application could have some beneficial effect on alleviating oxidative effects of drought stress, depending on the concentration of nanoparticles applied. Although further studies are necessary to elucidate the biochemical impact of FNPs on plants; the present results could directly impact agricultural practice, where available water supplies are often a limiting factor in plant bioproductivity

Microalgae community of the Huaytire wetland, an Andean high-altitude wetland in Peru

AIM: The diversity and distribution of microalgae communities in a high-altitude (3,000 to 4,500 m a.s.l) Andean wetland, regionally known as bofedal, were examined to assess seasonal and spatial patterns. METHODS: Samples were taken monthly from June to December, 2008 at 13 stations in the Huaytire wetland (16° 54’ S and 70° 20’ W), covering three areas (impacted by urban land use, impacted by camelid pasture, and non-impacted) and three climatologically induced periods (ice-covered, ice-melt and ice-free). RESULTS: A total of 52 genera of algae were recorded. Diatoms were the predominant group in abundance and richness. We found a significantly higher abundance during the ice-melting period, when light exposure and runoff were intermediate, in comparison to the ice-covered (low light and flushing) and ice-free (high light and low runoff) periods. Microalgae abundance was significantly lower in the non-impacted area compared to the sites close to the urban area and to the camelid pastures. Alpha diversity ranged from 8 to 29 genera per sample. High genera exchange was observed throughout the wetland, showing a similar floristic composition (beta diversity = 4%). CONCLUSIONS: We found that diatoms were dominant and adapted to the extreme conditions of the Andean wetland, showing higher abundance during the ice-melt period and in the livestock area. Also, taxa richness was higher in the ice-melt period and in the most-impacted areas

Microbial Characterisation of the Sava River

Data on the microbiological quality of the freshwater systems under the anthropogenic influence, such as the Sava River, are of the major importance for the water resource management. Furthermore, analyses of the microbial quality of fish meat provide information of the fish as a valuable food resource from the investigated river basin. The health status of the fish, including dynamics of infection and biodiversity of endoparasites, is important bioindicator of changes in the ecosystem structure and function. For the ecosystem-based approach to the Sava River management, investigations of microbiological quality of the Sava River water and the meat of the European chub as the bioindicator organism, as well as dynamics of infection/biodiversity of intestinal parasites Acanthocephala, were performed. The survey comprised the data collected in periods 2005, 2006 and 2012. Microbiological investigation of water was performed in 2006 and 2012, while microbiological analyses of fish meat and ichthyo-parasitological investigation took place during 2005–2006. A high number of heterotrophic bacteria were recorded during 2006 survey, confirmed by the distinctly higher values of the three faecal indicators (total coliform, E. coli and enterococci), and indicated poor water quality downstream of the cities Zagreb and Velika Gorica, as a result of the municipal sewage outlets. The results from 2012 survey indicated the existence of moderate to critical faecal and organic pollution in all samples. Accumulation of the bacteria in the European chub meat was mainly uniform along the watercourse within standards and limitations for the human consumption. Sampling sites downstream cities of Zagreb and Velika Gorica were characterised with the lower prevalence and abundance of two common species of the chub intestinal acanthocephalan parasites, Pomphorhynchus laevis and Acanthocephalus anguillae. Poor microbiological quality of the water and lower distribution of chub intestinal parasites were related to the anthropogenic influence, downstream of the urban areas.Milačić R, Ščančar J, Paunović M, editors. The Sava River. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag; 2015. p 201-28