The adventitious presence of transgenic plants in wild plant populations is of ecological and regulatory concern, but the consequences of adventitious presence are not well understood. Here, we introduced Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac (Bt)-transgenic oilseed rape (Bt OSR, Brassica napus) with various frequencies into wild mustard (Brassica juncea) populations. We sought to better understand the adventitious presence of this transgenic insecticidal crop in a wild-relative plant population. We assessed the factors of competition, resource availability and diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) infestation on plant population dynamics. As expected, Bt OSR performed better than wild mustard in mixed populations under herbivore attack in habitats with enough resources, whereas wild mustard had higher fitness when Bt OSR was rarer in habitats with limited resources. Results suggest that the presence of insect-resistant transgenic plants could decrease the growth of wild mustard and Bt OSR plants and their populations, especially under high herbivore pressure.
Struvite (MgNH4PO4∙6H2O) is an insoluble double salt. It can precipitate in places such as pipes, aerators and pumps, which could lead to substantial problems influencing the normal operation of wastewater treatment equipments. At present, removal of ammonium nitrogen from various wastewaters by the formation of struvite has been widely investigated. This paper reviewed the research and application efforts concerning the treatment of ammonium nitrogen by struvite precipitation, which were obtained at home and abroad in recent years. The mechanism and influence factors of struvite precipitation for ammonium nitrogen removal were discussed. Additionally, the problems that still should be resolved and the research directions in future were pointed out.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.