Copernicus Marine Service ocean state report, issue 4

This is the final version. Available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this record. FCT/MCTE

Development of transgenic tobacco lines with pyramided insect resistant genes

Insect pests are among the major constraints rendering drastic decreases in crop yield. The expression of stacked insecticidal genes in crops can lead to resistance durability and can delay the development of resistance in target insect pests. The present study was designed to introduce an insect resistance trait in locally cultivated Turkish tobacco cultivars (Basma and Nail) with pyramided insecticidal genes. Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 harboring plasmid pKGH4 with cry1Ac and cry2A genes under the control of 35S promoter was used to infect leaf discs of both cultivars; plasmid also contained uidA within the T-DNA region for earlier screening of putative transformants. The overall transformation efficiency was calculated as 30.7% and 18.8% in Basma and Nail, respectively. PCR results confirmed the integration of cry1Ac, cry2A, uidA, and nptII genes in 40 plants of Basma and 16 plants of Nail. ELISA results showed variation in expression of cry1Ac protein among transgenic plants varying from 0.017 to 0.607 µg/g of fresh tissue. Bioassay results with potato tuber moth (Phthorimea operculella Zeller) showed significant mortality of the targeted pest on primary transformants. Furthermore, T1 transgenic progeny exhibited the inheritance of T-DNA in Mendelian as well as non-Mendelian fashion. The results revealed that lines can serve as a source of germplasm in tobacco breeding programs. © TÜBİTAK.The present research project was supported by a grant from Niğde Omer Halisdemir University Research Project Unit (Project No. FEB 2014/10-BAGEP)

Designing versatile nanocatalysts based on PdNPs decorated on metal oxides for selective hydrogenolysis of biomass derived γ-valerolactone and reduction of nitro aromatics

Abstract In this work, we designed versatile heterogeneous nanocatalysts based on palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) decorated on metal oxides supports (i.e., PdNPs/γ-Al₂O₃, PdNPs/WO₃ and PdNPs/Nb₂O₅) by step-wise controlled synthesis of novel monodispersed ∼2 nm PdNPs at room temperature and then impregnated over metal oxides. PdNPs supported catalysts were characterised by powder XRD, TEM, HRTEM, NH₃-TPD, N₂-BET, H₂-TPR, and XPS techniques. PdNPs based catalysts studied in two different model reactions were presented i.e., biomass platform chemical intermediate γ-valerolactone (GVL) conversion into pentanoic acid (PA) studied in vapor phase hydrogenolysis and 4-Nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction to 4-Aminophenol (4-AP) in liquid phase using NaBH₄ as reducing agent over 0.5 wt% Pd nanoparticles -based nanocatalysts. The relationship between the active sites and the catalytic performance was evaluated. The Under optimized reaction conditions, over 0.5 wt% PdNPs/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst exhibited the highest PA yield of 100%, and over 0.5 wt% PdNPs/WO₃, 0.5 wt% PdNPs/Nb₂O₅ exhibited PA yields of 98% and 96% respectively. Over PdNPs/γ-Al₂O₃, PdNPs/WO₃, and PdNPs/Nb₂O₅, the reduction reaction rates in the 4-NP to 4-AP are 5.40 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹, 2.55 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ and 2.30 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ respectively. The calculated thermodynamic parameters of the Ea values for 4-NP to 4-AP reaction were 25.30, 26.75, and 27.81 KJ/mol for the PdNPs/γ-Al₂O₃, PdNPs/WO₃ and PdNPs/Nb₂O₅, respectively

Towards commercial aquaponics: a review of systems, designs, scales and nomenclature

Aquaponics is rapidly developing as the need for sustainable food production increases and freshwater and phosphorous reserves shrink. Starting from small-scale operations, aquaponics is at the brink of commercialization, attracting investment. Arising from integrated freshwater aquaculture, a variety of methods and system designs has developed that focus either on fish or plant production. Public interest in aquaponics has increased dramatically in recent years, in line with the trend towards more integrated value chains, greater productivity and less harmful environmental impact compared to other production systems. New business models are opening up, with new customers and markets, and with this expansion comes the potential for confusion, misunderstanding and deception. New stakeholders require guidelines and detail concerning the different system designs and their potentials. We provide a definitive definition of aquaponics, where the majority (> 50%) of nutrients sustaining the optimal plant growth derives from waste originating from feeding aquatic organisms, classify the available integrated aquaculture and aquaponics (open, domestic, demonstration, commercial) systems and designs, distinguish four different scales of production (≤ 50, > 50–≤ 100 m2, > 100–≤ 500 m2, > 500 m2) and present a definite nomenclature for aquaponics and aquaponic farming allowing distinctions between the technologies that are in use. This enables authorities, customers, producers and all other stakeholders to distinguish between the various systems, to better understand their potentials and constraints and to set priorities for business and regulations in order to transition RAS or already integrated aquaculture into commercial aquaponic systems