A concentration as low as 1 μM lead (Pb) is highly toxic to plants, but previous studies have typically related plant growth to the total amount of Pb added to a solution. In the present experiment, the relative fresh mass of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) was reduced by 10 % at a Pb 2+ activity of 0.2 μM for the shoots and at a Pb 2+ activity of 0.06 μM for the roots. The primary site of Pb 2+ toxicity was the root, causing severe reductions in root growth, loss of apical dominance (shown by an increase in branching per unit root length), the formation of localized swelling behind the root tips (due to the initiation of lateral roots), and the bending of some root tips. In the root, Pb was found to accumulate primarily within the cell walls and intercellular spaces.Abbreviations: CDTA -cyclohexane-1,2-diaminetetra-acetic acid; DAP -days after planting; DIdeionised; EC -electrical conductivity; I -ionic strength; ICPOES -inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry; ICPMS -inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; TEMtransmission electron microscopy Kopittke PM, Asher CJ, Kopittke RA, Menzies NW, 2007. Environmental Pollution 150, 280-287.

No abstract

The effects of exposure period and phosphine concentration on mortality of susceptible and resistant Sitophilus oryzae (L) were investigated. Although S oryzae is one of the world's most serious pests of stored grain there are few data on the practical significance of phosphine resistance in this species. The strains investigated were an Australian susceptible strain, a homozygous resistant strain exhibiting a level of resistance common in Australia and an unselected field strain from China with a much stronger resistance. Fumigations were carried out at 25 degrees C on adults and mixed-age cultures. For adults of all three strains and mixed-age cultures of the susceptible and resistant Australian strains, the relationship between concentration and time could be described by equations of the form Cnt = k. In all cases n < 1, indicating that time was a more important variable than concentration. In all fumigations of adults the resistant strains were harder to kill than the susceptible strain. However, in fumigations of mixed-age cultures, which contained the tolerant pupal stage, the difference between susceptible and resistant strains was more pronounced at lower concentrations than higher concentrations. For example, at 0.02 mg litre-1 the estimated LT99.9 for mixed-age cultures of the Australian resistant strain (27 days) is 3.4 times that of the susceptible strain (8 days), but at 1 mg litre-1 there is no difference between the two strains (4 days). Limited data on the Chinese resistant strain supported this finding. Twenty-three days exposure at 0.02 mg litre-1 had no effect on mixed-age cultures of this strain, but there were no survivors after 5 days exposure to 1 mg litre-1.

Phosphine-induced delay in development of eggs was investigated as a mechanism of resistance to this fumigant in Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel. One-day-old eggs of a susceptible and a strongly resistant strain of L bostrychophila were exposed to a range of phosphine concentrations for 6days at 30 (+/- 1) degrees C and 70 (+/- 2)% RH. Delay in mean hatching period occurred in both susceptible and resistant eggs, although it was more pronounced in the latter. A maximum delay of 2.65 days was recorded for eggs of the susceptible strain at 0.01 mg litre(-1) (the highest concentration at which eggs survived) and 13.39 days for the resistant strain at 1 mg litre(-1) (the highest concentration tested). Delay in egg development time was positively correlated with increasing phosphine concentration. Our results reveal that the most successful strategy to control resistant L bostrychophila is to apply relatively low concentrations of phosphine for extended exposure times (eg 0.05 mg litre(-1) for 16 days) that allow all eggs to hatch to the much less tolerant nymph stage.

Phosphine (hydrogen phosphide, PH3) is the fumigant most widely used to protect stored products from pest infestation. Despite the importance of this chemical, little is known about its mode of action. We have created three phosphine-resistant lines (pre-1, pre-7, pre-33) in the model organism C. elegans, with LC50 values 2, 5, and 9 times greater than the fully susceptible parental strain. Molecular oxygen was shown to be an extremely effective synergist with phosphine as, under hyperoxic conditions, 100% mortality was observed in wild-type nematodes exposed to 0.1 mg/l phosphine, a nonlethal concentration in air. All three mutants were resistant to the synergistic effects of oxygen in proportion to their resistance to phosphine with one mutant, pre-33, showing complete resistance to this synergism. We take the proportionality of cross-resistance between phosphine and the synergistic effect of oxygen to imply that all three mutants circumvent a mechanism of phosphine toxicity that is directly coupled to oxygen metabolism. Compared with the wild-type strain, all three mutants have an extended average life expectancy of from 12.5 to 25.3%. This is consistent with the proposed involvement of oxidative stress in both phosphine toxicity and ageing. Because the wild-type and mutant nematodes develop at the same rate, the longevity is unlikely to be caused by a clk-type reduction in oxidative metabolism, a potential alternative mechanism of phosphine resistance.

No abstract

No abstract

Four organophosphate insecticides, azamethiphos, fenitrothion, chlorpyrifos-methyl, and pirimiphos-methyl, were tested as surface treatments on concrete (porous surface) and galvanized steel (nonporous surface) panels (0.3 by 0.3 m) against adults of three Liposcelid psocid spp.--Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel, Liposcelis entomophila (Enderlein), and Liposcelis paeta Pearman. Residual efficacy of these chemicals was assessed at 30 +/- 1 degrees C, 70 +/- 2% RH, and a photoperiod of 12:12 (L:D) h from 1 d after treatment (0 wk) and thereafter at weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8, and then every 4 wk up to week 40. Mortality was recorded at exposure periods of 6 h and then every 24 h until end-point was achieved. L. bostrychophila was the most susceptible species to the organophosphates tested, followed by L. paeta and L. entomophila. We conclude that for long-term protection, azamethiphos is the preferred organophosphate against L. bostrychophila (up to 36 wk on steel and 24 wk on concrete storage surfaces) and L. paeta infestations only on steel surface (up to 28 wk). None of the four organophosphates tested, however, would provide long-term protection against L. paeta on concrete surface and against L. entomophila infestations on either concrete or steel storage surfaces.