The effect of cropping system on the distribution of organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen (N) in soil aggregates has not been well addressed, which is important for understanding the sequestration of OC and N in agricultural soils. We analyzed the distribution of OC and N associated with soil aggregates in three unfertilized cropping systems in a 27-year field experiment: continuously cropped alfalfa, continuously cropped wheat and a legume-grain rotation. The objectives were to understand the effect of cropping system on the distribution of OC and N in aggregates and to examine the relationships between the changes in OC and N stocks in total soils and in aggregates. The cropping systems increased the stocks of OC and N in total soils (0–40 cm) at mean rates of 15.6 g OC m-2 yr-1 and 1.2 g N m-2 yr-1 relative to a fallow control. The continuous cropping of alfalfa produced the largest increases at the 0–20 cm depth. The OC and N stocks in total soils were significantly correlated with the changes in the >0.053 mm aggregates. 27-year of cropping increased OC stocks in the >0.053 mm size class of aggregates and N stocks in the >0.25 mm size class but decreased OC stocks in the <0.053 mm size class and N stocks in the <0.25 mm size class. The increases in OC and N stocks in these aggregates accounted for 99.5 and 98.7% of the total increases, respectively, in the continuous alfalfa system. The increases in the OC and N stocks associated with the >0.25 mm aggregate size class accounted for more than 97% of the total increases in the continuous wheat and the legume-grain rotation systems. These results suggested that long-term cropping has the potential to sequester OC and N in soils and that the increases in soil OC and N stocks were mainly due to increases associated with aggregates >0.053 mm.
BackgroundAtCYP38, a thylakoid lumen localized immunophilin, is essential for photosystem II (PSII) assembly and maintenance, but how AtCYP38 functions in chloroplast remains unknown. Based on previous functional studies and its crystal structure, we hypothesize that AtCYP38 should function via binding its targets or cofactors in the thylakoid lumen to influence PSII performance. Therefore, identifying its target proteins and cofactors would be a key step to understand the working mechanism of AtCYP38.ResultsTo identify potential interacting proteins of AtCYP38, we first adopted two web-based tools, ATTED-II and STRING, and found 15 proteins functionally related to AtCYP38. We then screened a yeast two-hybrid library including an Arabidopsis genome wide cDNA with the N-terminal domain, the C-terminal domain, and the full-length mature protein of AtCYP38. 25 positive targets were identified, but a very limited number of target proteins were localized in the thylakoid lumen. In order to specifically search interacting proteins of AtCYP38 in the thylakoid lumen, we created a yeast two-hybrid mini library including the thylakoid lumenal proteins and lumen fractions of thylakoid membrane proteins. After screening the mini library with 3 different forms of AtCYP38, we obtained 6 thylakoid membrane proteins and 9 thylakoid lumenal proteins as interacting proteins of AtCYP38. We further confirmed the localization of several identified proteins and their interaction between AtCYP38.ConclusionsAfter analysis with two web-based tools and yeast two-hybrid screenings against two different libraries, we identified a couple of potential interacting proteins, which could be functionally related to AtCYP38. We believe that the results will lay a foundation for unveiling the working mechanism of AtCYP38 in photosynthesis.
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