Arsenic (As) contamination and bioaccumulation are a serious threat to agricultural plants. To address this issue, we checked the efficacy of As tolerant plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and oxalic acid (OA) in Luffa acutangula grown on As rich soil. The selected most As tolerant PGPB i.e Providencia vermicola exhibited plant growth promoting features i.e solubilzation of phosphate, potassium and siderophores production. Innovatively, we observed the synergistic effects of P. vermicola, ZnO NPs (10 ppm) and OA (100 ppm) in L. acutangula grown on As enriched soil (150 ppm). Our treatments both as alone and in combination alleviated As toxicity exhibited by better plant growth and metabolism. Results revealed significantly enhanced photosynthetic pigments, proline, relative water content, total sugars, proteins and indole acetic acid along with As amelioration in L. acutangula. Furthermore, upregulated plant resistance was manifested with marked reduction in the lipid peroxidation and electrolyte leakage and pronounced antagonism of As and zinc content in leaves under toxic conditions. These treatments also improved level of nutrients, abscisic acid and antioxidants to mitigate As toxicity. This marked improvement in plants’ defense mechanism of treated plants under As stress is confirmed by less damaged leaves cell structures observed through the scanning electron micrographs. We also found substantial decrease in the As bioaccumulation in the L. acutangula shoots and roots by 40 and 58% respectively under the co-application of P. vermicola, ZnO NPs and OA in comparison with control. Moreover, the better activity of soil phosphatase and invertase was assessed under the effect of our application. These results cast a new light on the application of P. vermicola, ZnO NPs and OA in both separate and combined form as a feasible and ecofriendly tool to alleviate As stress in L. acutangula.

Lakes and rivers are sources of livelihood, food and water in many parts of the world. Lakes provide natural resources and valuable ecosystem services. These aquatic ecosystems are also vulnerable to known and new environmental pollutants. Emerging water contaminants are now being studied including antibiotics because of the global phenomenon on antibiotic resistance. β-Lactam antibiotics are widely used in human and animal disease prevention or treatment. The emergence of antibiotic resistance is a public health threat when bacteria become more resistant and infections consequently increase requiring treatment using last resort drugs that are more expensive. This review summarizes the key findings on the occurrence, contamination sources, and determination of β-lactam antibiotics and β-lactam antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes in the Asian lake and river waters. The current methods in the analytical measurements of β-lactam antibiotics in water involving solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry are discussed. Also described is the determination of antibiotic resistance genes which is primarily based on a polymerase chain reaction method. To date, β-lactam antibiotics in the Asian aquatic environments are reported in the ng/L concentrations. Studies on β-lactam resistant bacteria and resistance genes were mostly conducted in China. The occurrence of these emerging contaminants is largely uncharted because many aquatic systems in the Asian region remain to be studied. Comprehensive investigations encompassing the environmental behavior of β-lactam antibiotics, emergence of resistant bacteria, transfer of resistance genes to non-resistant bacteria, multiple antibiotic resistance, and effects on aquatic biota are needed particularly in rivers and lakes that are eventual sinks of these water contaminants.

The study was conducted to demonstrate the influence of extracellular secretions from Microbacterium on the reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE). A series of mixed cultures were established from a paddy soil sample. In the mixed cultures amended with extracellular secretions from Microbacterium, PCE was rapidly and completely converted into cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) and trans-1,2-dichloroethene (trans-DCE) within 40 days. The unamended mixed cultures showed weak signs of dechlorination after a pronounced lag phase, and trichloroethene (TCE) was accumulated as a major end product. This result means that amendment with extracellular secretions from Microbacterium shortened the lag phase, increased the dechlorination velocity and promoted the production of less-chlorinated chloroethene. The results were corroborated by defined subculture experiments, which proved that microorganisms from unamended mixed cultures could also be stimulated by extracellular secretions from Microbacterium. Desulfitobacterium was identified as the main dechlorinating population in all mixed cultures by direct PCR. Additionally, the 16S rRNA gene copies of Desulfitobacterium increased by one or two orders of magnitude with PCE dechlorination, which provided corroborative evidence for the identification result. The volatile fatty acids were monitored, and most interestingly, a close association between propionate oxidation and dechlorination was found, which has rarely been mentioned before. It was assumed that the oxidation of propionate provided hydrogen for dechlorination, while dechlorination facilitated the shift of the reaction toward propionate oxidation by reducing the partial pressure of hydrogen.

Ultra-fine-ZnO showed low toxicity in complex water matrix containing multiple components such as PBS buffer and the toxic mechanism of ultra-fine-ZnO has not been clearly elucidated. In present study, enhanced antibacterial activity of 200 nm diameter ultra-fine-ZnO in PBS buffer against Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli were observed in the presence of several organic acids in comparison with ultra-fine-ZnO in PBS buffer alone. These findings indicated that the toxic effects of the ultra-fine-ZnO was dependent on the concentration of released Zn2+ which was affected by organic acids. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) did not responsible to the toxic mechanism of ultra-fine-ZnO which was tested using the antioxidant N-Acetylcysteine (NAC). Indeed, ultra-fine-ZnO induced bacteria cell membrane leakages and cell morphology damages that eventually led to cell death, which were confirmed using propidium monoazide (PMA) in combination with PCR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). All data gathered herein suggested that released Zn2+ played a major role in the microbial toxicity of ultra-fine-ZnO.

Several studies demonstrated high mercury (Hg) methylation and demethylation in the periphyton associated with floating roots in tropical ecosystems. The importance of aquatic plants on methylmercury production in three temperate ecosystems from south-western France was evaluated through Hg species concentrations, and Hg methylation/demethylation activities by using stable isotopic tracers (199Hg(II), Me201Hg). Hg accumulation and high methylation and demethylation yields were detected in plant roots and periphyton, whereas results for sediment and water were low to insignificant. The presence of sulfate reducing prokaryotes was detected in all compartments (T-RFLP based on dsrAB amplified through nested PCR) and their main role in Hg methylation could be demonstrated. In turn, sulfate reduction inhibition did not affect demethylation activities. The estimation of net MeHg budgets in these ecosystems suggested that aquatic rhizosphere is the principal location for methylmercury production and may represent an important source for the contamination of the aquatic food chain.

Bioaccumulation and effects of the contraceptive hormone levonorgestrel were examined in the non-target organism Dreissena polymorpha. Molecular biomarkers of biotransformation, elimination, antioxidant defence and protein damage were analyzed after exposure to increasing concentrations of levonorgestrel in a flow-through system. The lowest concentration (0.312 μg L⁻¹) was 100-fold bioconcentrated within four days. A decrease of the bioconcentration factor was observed within one week for the highest test concentrations (3.12 and 6.24 μg L⁻¹) suggesting enhanced excretory processes. The immediate mRNA up-regulation of pi class glutathione S-transferase proved that phase II biotransformation processes were induced. Disturbance of fundamental cell functions was assumed since the aryl hydrocarbon receptor has been permanently down-regulated. mRNA up-regulation of P-glycoprotein, superoxide dismutase and metallothioneine suggested enhanced elimination processes and ongoing oxidative stress. mRNA up-regulation of heat shock protein 70 in mussels exposed to the two highest concentrations clearly indicated impacts on protein damage.

The spreading of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL)-producing thermotolerant coliforms (TC) in the water environment is a threat to human health but little is known about ESBL-producing TCs in the Yangtze River. We received 319 ESBL-producing stains obtained from the Chongqing basin and we investigated antibiotic susceptibility, bla gene types and the presence of integrons and gene cassettes. 16.8% of TC isolates were ESBL-producing bacteria and blaTEM+CTx-M was the predominant ESBL type. 65.2% of isolates contained class 1 integrons, but only 3 carried intI 2. Gene cassettes were amplified and sequenced. aadA, drfA, cmlA, sat1, aar3 and two ORF cassettes were found. In conclusion, Yangtze River is heavily polluted by ESBL-producing TC bacteria and the combined bla gene type could enhance antibiotic resistance. Class 1 integrons were widespread in ESBL-producing isolates and play an important role in multi-drug resistance. Characterization of gene cassettes could reveal the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes.

Arabidopsis MRPs/ABCCs have been shown to remove various organic and inorganic substrates from the cytosol to other subcellular compartments. Here we first demonstrate that heterologous expression of AtMRP7 in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum var. Xanthi) modifies cadmium accumulation, distribution and tolerance. Arabidopsis MRP7 was localized both in the tonoplast and in the plasma membrane when expressed in tobacco. Its overexpression increased tobacco Cd-tolerance and resulted in enhanced cadmium concentration in leaf vacuoles, indicating more efficient detoxification by means of vacuolar storage. Heterologous AtMRP7 expression also led to more efficient retention of Cd in roots, suggesting a contribution to the control of cadmium root-to-shoot translocation. The results underscore the use of AtMRP7 in plant genetic engineering to modify the heavy-metal accumulation pattern for a broad range of applications.

Concentrations of metals associated with sediments have traditionally been analysed to assess the extent of heavy metal contamination in freshwater environments. Stream biofilms present an alternative medium for this assessment which may be more relevant to the risk incurred by stream ecosystems as they are intensively grazed by aquatic organisms at a higher trophic level. Therefore, we investigated zinc, copper and lead concentrations in biofilms and sediments of 23 stream sites variously impacted by urbanisation. Simultaneously, biofilm bacterial and ciliate protozoan community structure was analysed by Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis and Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed that biofilm associated metals explained a greater proportion of the variations observed in bacterial and ciliate communities than did sediment associated-metals. This study suggests that the analysis of metal concentrations in biofilms provide a good assessment of detrimental effects of metal contaminants on aquatic biota.

Gene expression responses of paper birch (Betula papyrifera) leaves to elevated concentrations of CO2 and O3 were studied with microarray analyses from three time points during the summer of 2004 at Aspen FACE. Microarray data were analyzed with clustering techniques, self-organizing maps, K-means clustering and Sammon's mappings, to detect similar gene expression patterns within sampling times and treatments. Most of the alterations in gene expression were caused by O3, alone or in combination with CO2. O3 induced defensive reactions to oxidative stress and earlier leaf senescence, seen as decreased expression of photosynthesis- and carbon fixation-related genes, and increased expression of senescence-associated genes. The effects of elevated CO2 reflected surplus of carbon that was directed to synthesis of secondary compounds. The combined CO2 + O3 treatment resulted in differential gene expression than with individual gas treatments or in changes similar to O3 treatment, indicating that CO2 cannot totally alleviate the harmful effects of O3. Clustering analysis of birch leaf gene expression data reveals differential responses to O3 and CO2.