Chemical gradients shape the cystic fibrosis lung microbiome, with marked effects on the outcome of antimicrobial treatments.

No abstract

No abstract

Considering that the field is largely unexplored and its importance to aquaculture, outline of oomycetes and fungi parasiting on marine algae was provided in this paper, including 15 species of oomycetes, six species of chytrids, 31 Ascomycota species and one species of mitosporic fungi. In natrue, both the oomycetes and chytrids frequently occurred and induced prevalences of disease which could destroy the populations of host plants greatly. However, the parasites in Ascomycota on algae have never occurred as epidemics so far. Some issues relating to the field were discussed such as performing tests to satisfy Koch's postulates, investigations of host specificity, interactions between host and parasite and the potential effects of environmental factors on occurrence of a disease, which are urgent in need of further investigations.

No abstract

a state environmental Protection ABSTRACT Gully erosion in the Black Soil Region of China has posed a threat to food security. This study aimed to determine the spatial distribution and morphologic characteristics of gullies in the region and their topographic thresholds. A 28 km 2 watershed was surveyed and 117 gullies measured. The results showed that: (1) Gullies were distributed equally on both hillslope and valley floor positions, with a total gully density of .66 km/km 2 . (2) The mean depth, width, and cross-sectional area of gullies were .74 m, 2.39 m, and 2.43 m 2 , respectively. These characteristics varied among gullies according to their topographic positions and slope gradients. Individual gully volume (V) was well predicted from gully length (L) by V = 2.08L 0.96 (r 2 = .66). Total gully volume (V) of each sub-watershed was predicted from mean slope gradient (S) and drainage area (A) as V = 275800S − 8600A (r 2 = .73). (3) Gully erosion was more serious in steeper sub-watersheds and steeper hillslope positions. Gullies were wider in regions with relatively larger drainage areas, except for those developed in the main valley. The topographic threshold for gully initiation was S = .10A −0.34 , which indicated gully erosion was dominated by surface runoff. (4) Human activities, such as road construction, played a significant role in gully erosion.

No abstract

Although genetically modified (GM) plants have improved commercially important traits, such as biomass and biofuel production, digestibility, bioremediation, ornamental value, and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, there remain economic, political, or social concerns over potential ecological effects of transgene flow from GM plants. The current solution for preventing transgene flow from GM plants is genetically engineering sterility; however, approaches to generating both male and female sterility are limited. In addition, existing strategies for creating sterility lead to loss or modifications of entire flowers or floral organs. Here, we demonstrate that instead of the 1.5-kb promoter, the entire SOLO DANCERS (SDS) gene is required for its meiocyte-specific expression. We then developed an efficient method to specifically ablate microspore and megaspore mother cells using the SDS and BARNASE fusion gene, which resulted in complete sterility in both male and female reproductive organs in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), but did not affect plant growth or development, including the formation of all flower organs. Therefore, our research provides a general and effective tool to prevent transgene flow in GM plants.