Evaporating brine from frost flowers with electron microscopy, and implications for atmospheric chemistry and sea-salt aerosol formation

An environmental scanning electron microscope was used for the first time to obtain well-resolved images, in both temporal and spatial dimensions, of lab-prepared frost flowers (FFs) under evaporation within the chamber temperature range from −5 °C to −18 °C and pressures above 500 Pa. Our scanning shows temperature-dependent NaCl speciation: the brine covering the ice was observed at all conditions, whereas the NaCl crystals were formed at temperatures below −10 °C as the brine oversaturation was achieved. Finger-like ice structures covered by the brine, with a diameter of several micrometres and length of tens to one hundred micrometres, are exposed to the ambient air. The brine-covered fingers are highly flexible and cohesive. The exposure of the liquid brine on the micrometric fingers indicates a significant increase in the brine surface area compared to that of the flat ice surface at high temperatures, whereas the NaCl crystals can become sites of heterogeneous reactivity at lower temperatures. There is no evidence that, without external forces, salty FFs could automatically fall apart to create a number of sub-particles at the scale of micrometres as the exposed brine fingers seem cohesive and hard to break in the middle. The fingers tend to combine together to form large spheres and then join back to the mother body, eventually forming a large chunk of salt after complete dehydration. A present microscopic observation rationalizes several previously unexplained observations, namely, that FFs are not a direct source of sea salt aerosols and that saline ice crystals under evaporation could accelerate the heterogeneous reactions of bromine liberation

Regimes of exciton transport in molecular crystals in the presence of dynamic disorder

Thermal motions in molecular crystals cause substantial fluctuation of the excitonic coupling between neighboring molecules (dynamic disorder). The effect of such fluctuation on the exciton dynamics in two limiting cases is explored here, exemplified by the crystals of anthracene and a heteropentacene derivative. When the excitonic coupling is small in comparison with the electron–phonon coupling, the exciton diffusion is incoherent and the inclusion of excitonic coupling fluctuation does not alter the exciton physics but can improve the agreement between computed and experimental diffusion coefficients. For large excitonic couplings, when the transport becomes coherent, the thermal motions determine the diffusivity of the exciton, which can be several orders of magnitude larger than in the incoherent case. The coherent regime is less frequent but potentially of great technological importance

Plastome-wide rearrangements and gene losses in carnivorous Droseraceae

The plastid genomes of four related carnivorous plants (Drosera regia, Drosera erythrorhiza, Aldrovanda vesiculosa and Dionaea muscipula) were sequenced to examine changes potentially induced by the transition to carnivory. The plastid genomes of the Droseraceae show multiple rearrangements, gene losses and large expansions or contractions of the inverted repeat. All the ndh genes are lost or non-functional, as well as in some of the species, clpP1, ycf1, ycf2 and some tRNA genes. Uniquely amongst land plants, the trnK gene has no intron. Carnivory in the Droseraceae coincides with changes in plastid gene content similar to those induced by parasitism and mycoheterotrophy, suggesting parallel changes in chloroplast function due to the similar switch from autotrophy to (mixo-) heterotrophy. A molecular phylogeny of the taxa based on all shared plastid genes indicates that the ‘snap-traps’ of Aldrovanda and Dionaea have a common origin

The Absence of the AtSYT1 Function Elevates the Adverse Effect of Salt Stress on Photosynthesis in Arabidopsis

Arabidopsis thaliana SYNAPTOTAGMIN 1 (AtSYT1) was shown to be involved in responses to different environmental and biotic stresses. We investigated gas exchange and chlorophyll a fluorescence in Arabidopsis wild-type (WT, ecotype Col-0) and atsyt1 mutant plants irrigated for 48 h with 150 mM NaCl. We found that salt stress significantly decreases net photosynthetic assimilation, effective photochemical quantum yield of photosystem II (ΦPSII), stomatal conductance and transpiration rate in both genotypes. Salt stress has a more severe impact on atsyt1 plants with increasing effect at higher illumination. Dark respiration, photochemical quenching (qP), non-photochemical quenching and ΦPSII measured at 750 µmol m−2 s−1 photosynthetic photon flux density were significantly affected by salt in both genotypes. However, differences between mutant and WT plants were recorded only for qP and ΦPSII. Decreased photosynthetic efficiency in atsyt1 under salt stress was accompanied by reduced chlorophyll and carotenoid and increased flavonol content in atsyt1 leaves. No differences in the abundance of key proteins participating in photosynthesis (except PsaC and PsbQ) and chlorophyll biosynthesis were found regardless of genotype or salt treatment. Microscopic analysis showed that irrigating plants with salt caused a partial closure of the stomata, and this effect was more pronounced in the mutant than in WT plants. The localization pattern of AtSYT1 was also altered by salt stress

Observation of a Brine Layer on an Ice Surface with an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope at Higher Pressures and Temperatures

Observation of a uranyl-salt brine layer on an ice surface using backscattered electron detection and ice surface morphology using secondary-electron detection under equilibrium conditions was facilitated using an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) at temperatures above 250 K and pressures of hundreds of Pa. The micrographs of a brine layer over ice grains prepared by either slow or shock freezing provided a complementary picture of the contaminated ice grain boundaries. Fluorescence spectroscopy of the uranyl ions in the brine layer confirmed that the species exists predominately in the solvated state under experimental conditions of ESEM

Endosidin 2 accelerates PIN2 endocytosis and disturbs intracellular trafficking of PIN2, PIN3, and PIN4 but not of SYT1.

We established that Endosidin2 (ES2) affected the trafficking routes of both newly synthesized and endocytic pools of PIN-FORMED2 (PIN2) in Arabidopsis root epidermal cells. PIN2 populations accumulated in separated patches, which gradually merged into large and compact ES2 aggregates (ES2As). FM4-64 endocytic tracer labeled ES2As as well. Both PIN2 pools also appeared in vacuoles. Accelerated endocytosis of PIN2, its aggregation in the cytoplasm, and redirection of PIN2 flows to vacuoles led to a substantial reduction of the abundance of this protein in the plasma membrane. Whereas PIN-FORMED3 and PIN-FORMED4 also aggregated in the cytoplasm, SYT1 was not sensitive to ES2 treatment and did not appear either in the cytoplasmic aggregates or vacuoles. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that ES2 affects the Golgi apparatus so that stacks acquired cup-shape and even circular shape surrounded by several vesicles. Abnormally shaped Golgi stacks, stack remnants, multi-lamellar structures, separated Golgi cisterna rings, tubular structures, and vesicles formed discrete clusters

Spectroscopic Properties of Naphthalene on the Surface of Ice Grains Revisited: A Combined Experimental–Computational Approach

An experimental-computational method is used to investigate the spectroscopic behavior of naphthalene on the surface of ice grains. UV–vis diffuse reflectance and fluorescence spectroscopies of naphthalene combined with DFT and ADC(2) calculations provide evidence for the occurrence of excited-state associates. The measured and calculated bathochromic shifts of the S₀ → S₁ electronic transitions related to naphthalene dimers or naphthalene–ice interactions do not exceed 3 nm. The bands observed in the emission spectrum of frozen naphthalene solutions are assigned to excited dimers of different mutual orientations, naphthalene phosphorescence, and fluorescence of anthracene present as a trace impurity and populated by the energy transfer from excited naphthalene. Photochemical reactivity in/on ice and snow is dependent on the absorption properties and speciation of the compounds present in these media. Hence, within this study, we exploit frozen solutions of naphthalene to demonstrate both the absence of considerable bathochromic shift and a strong tendency to aggregate

Distinct Speciation of Naphthalene Vapor Deposited on Ice Surfaces at 253 or 77 K: Formation of Submicrometer-Sized Crystals or an Amorphous Layer

Naphthalene was deposited from the vapor phase on ice surfaces at 77 or 253 K to yield strongly distinct behavior, forming either an amorphous glass layer or submicrometer-sized crystals, respectively. The results stand upon optical emission spectroscopy combined with differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray analysis. The amorphous layer of naphthalene on the ice behaves in the same manner as on an inert metallic support: it starts to relax at 105 K and crystallizes at 185 K. The formed microcrystals exhibit distinct absorption behavior on the ice surface and are thus expected to have a photokinetic profile varying from freeze-concentrated solutions. The observations bring implications toward environmental and extraterrestrial ice sciences

Spectroscopic Properties of Naphthalene on the Surface of Ice Grains Revisited: A Combined Experimental–Computational Approach

An experimental-computational method is used to investigate the spectroscopic behavior of naphthalene on the surface of ice grains. UV–vis diffuse reflectance and fluorescence spectroscopies of naphthalene combined with DFT and ADC(2) calculations provide evidence for the occurrence of excited-state associates. The measured and calculated bathochromic shifts of the S₀ → S₁ electronic transitions related to naphthalene dimers or naphthalene–ice interactions do not exceed 3 nm. The bands observed in the emission spectrum of frozen naphthalene solutions are assigned to excited dimers of different mutual orientations, naphthalene phosphorescence, and fluorescence of anthracene present as a trace impurity and populated by the energy transfer from excited naphthalene. Photochemical reactivity in/on ice and snow is dependent on the absorption properties and speciation of the compounds present in these media. Hence, within this study, we exploit frozen solutions of naphthalene to demonstrate both the absence of considerable bathochromic shift and a strong tendency to aggregate