During the past 10 years, our laboratory has collected more than 40 species and ecotypes of the genus Malus, our aim being to find some iron-efficient genotypes. The results have shown that M. xiaojinensis Cheng et Jiang is iron-efficient while M. baccata (L.) Borkh. iron-inefficient. The results presented in this paper is a follow-up of experiments using solution culture to compare some physiological and biochemical characteristics between these two species, showing their different response to iron deficiency. It was found that under adequate iron supply, no significant difference was apparent between the two species in the content of total iron, acid extract iron, and ferrous-iron in the leaves at the upper part of the seedlings. Under conditions of iron stress, however, the content of total iron in the upper leaves of M. baccata significantly decreased, whereas that of M. xiaojinensis significantly increased. In both cases, the content of acid-extract iron in the upper leaves significantly decreased, 49.1% in M. xiaojinensis and 79.5% in M. baccata. Ferrous-iron also decreased significantly in M. xiaojinensis but only slightly in M. baccata. Low iron resulted in a significant decrease of the potassium/calcium ratio in the leaves of both species, but the decrease was less for M. xiaojinensis than M. baccata. Analysis of 1. The project is partially supported by 1258 HAN, WANG, AND SHEN peroxidase in the upper leaves and ATP content in the roots indicated that under iron stress, peroxidase activity in both species decreased, ATP content in the root of M. xiaojinensis markedly increased, but that in the roots of M. baccata markedly decreased. In light of these results, it is proposed that in solution culture, the content of acid-extract iron in the leaves of the upper part of the seedling and the ATP content of the roots may be used as a reliable criteria in the screening for iron-efficient genotypes in the genus Malus.
The concentrations of eight heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) were measured in the sediment, the isolated microplastics from the sediment and the body wall of sea cucumbers from farms in China. Accordingly, the heavy metal concentrations in the sediment were below the class I upper limit of Chinese sediment quality guidelines. Among heavy metals, the median concentrations of Cd and As were higher in the body wall than in the corresponding sediment. Additionally, the median concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Zn were higher on the microplastics than in the corresponding sediment. Furthermore, there was no significant correlation among heavy metals in sediment, sea cucumber and microplastics. This study contributes to the understanding of the heavy metal accumulation in the sediment, the microplastics and the body wall of the sea cucumber.
The present study was aimed at investigating the effects of four LBP fractions with different molecular weights (MWs), designated LBP2, LBP3, LBP4 and LBP5, on RAW264.7 macrophages function. Results showed that LBP fractions could significantly enhance the expression of CD86 and MHC-II molecules on RAW264.7 macrophages. LBP3, LBP4 and LBP5 could enhance the production of ROS, NO, TNF-α and IL-6, and the phagocytosis of RAW264.7 macrophages. LBP2 with an MW of larger than 350 kDa could only enhance the secretion of TNF-α. LBP3 enhanced the RAW264.7 macrophages function in a dose-dependent manner and also enhanced the iNOS mRNA expression in the cells. These results demonstrated that the immunomodulatory activity of LBP on RAW264.7 macrophages was closely related to its MW. It indicated that fractions with an MW smaller than 350 kDa were the main active fractions of LBP in enhancing macrophages function.
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