Species delimitation in Amana (Liliaceae): transcriptomes battle with evolutionary complexity.

Species delimitation has long been a subject of controversy, and there are many alternative concepts and approaches used to define species in plants. The genus Amana (Liliaceae), known as "East Asian tulips" has a number of cryptic species and a huge genome size (1C = 21.48-57.35 pg). It also is intriguing how such a spring ephemeral genus thrives in subtropical areas. However, phylogenetic relationships and species delimitation within Amana are challenging. Here we included all species and 84 populations of Amana, which are collected throughout its distribution range. A variety of methods were used to clarify its species relationships based on a combination of morphological, ecological, genetic, evolutionary and phylogenetic species concepts. This evidence supports the recognition of at least 12 species in Amana. Moreover, we explored the complex evolutionary history within the genus and detected several historical hybridization and introgression events based on phylogenetic trees (transcriptomic and plastid), phylonetworks, admixture and ABBA-BABA analyses. Morphological traits have undergone parallel evolution in the genus. This spring ephemeral genus might have originated from a temperate region, yet finally thrives in subtropical areas, and three hypotheses about its adaptive evolution are proposed for future testing. In addition, we propose a new species, Amana polymorpha, from eastern Zhejiang Province, China. This research also demonstrates that molecular evidence at the genome level (such as transcriptomes) has greatly improved the accuracy and reasonability of species delimitation and taxon classification.

Phylogenomics and integrative taxonomy reveal two new species of Amana (Liliaceae).

Until now the genus Amana (Liliaceae), known as 'East Asian tulips', has contained just seven species. In this study, a phylogenomic and integrative taxonomic approach was used to reveal two new species, Amana nanyueensis from Central China and A. tianmuensis from East China. A. nanyueensis resembles Amana edulis in possessing a densely villous-woolly bulb tunic and two opposite bracts, but differs in its leaves and anthers. Amana tianmuensis resembles Amana erythronioides in possessing three verticillate bracts and yellow anthers, but differs in aspects of its leaves and bulbs. These four species are clearly separated from each other in principal components analysis based on morphology. Phylogenomic analyses based on plastid CDS further support the species delimitation of A. nanyueensis and A. tianmuensis and suggests they are closely related to A. edulis. Cytological analysis shows that A. nanyueensis and A. tianmuensis are both diploid (2n = 2x = 24), different from A. edulis, which is either diploid (northern populations) or tetraploid (southern populations, 2n = 4x = 48). The pollen morphology of A. nanyueensis is similar to other Amana species (single-groove germination aperture), but A. tianmuensis is quite different because of the presence of a sulcus membrane, which creates the illusion of double grooves. Ecological niche modelling also revealed a niche differentiation between A. edulis, A. nanyueensis and A. tianmuensis.

Plastome evolution and phylogenomics of Impatiens (Balsaminaceae).

MAIN CONCLUSION: This study reported seven new plastomes from Impatiens and observed three highly variable regions for phylogeny and DNA barcoding, which resolved the relationships among sections of subgenus Impatiens. Impatiens L. (Balsaminaceae, Ericales) is one of the largest and most diverse genera of angiosperms, widely known for its taxonomic difficulty. In this study, we reevaluated the infrageneric relationships within the genus Impatiens, using complete plastome sequence data. Seven complete plastomes of Impatiens (representing 6 species) were newly sequenced and characterized along with 20 previously published plastomes of other Impatiens species, plus 2 plastomes of outgroups (Hydrocera triflora, Balsaminaceae; Marcgravia coriacea, Marcgraviaceae). The total size of these 29 plastomes ranged from 151,538 bp to 152,917 bp, except 2 samples of Impatiens morsei, which exhibited a shorter length and lost some genes encoding NADH dehydrogenase subunits. Moreover, the number of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) ranged from 51 to 113, and the number of long repeats from 17 to 26. In addition, three highly variable regions were identified (trnG-GCC (The previous one), ndhF-rpl32-trnL-UGA-ccsA, and ycf1). Our phylogenomic analysis based on 80 plastome-derived protein-coding genes strongly supported the monophyly of Impatiens and its two subgenera (Clavicarpa and Impatiens), and fully resolved relationships among the six (out of seven) sampled sections of subgenus Impatiens. Overall, the plastome DNA markers and phylogenetic results reported in this study will facilitate future identification, taxonomic and DNA barcoding studies in Impatiens as well as evolutionary studies in Balsaminaceae.

Quantifying the electron-donating and -accepting capacities of wastewater for evaluating and optimizing biological wastewater treatment processes.

Biological processes have been widely used for the treatment of both domestic and industrial wastewaters. In such biological processes, pollutants are converted into pollution-free substances by microorganisms through oxidation-reduction reactions. Thus, how to quantify the internal oxidation-reduction properties wastewaters and seek out targeted countermeasures is essential to understand, operate, and optimize biological wastewater treatment systems. So far, no such approach is available yet. In this work, a novel concept of electron neutralization-based evaluation is proposed to describe the internal oxidation-reduction properties of wastewater. Pollutants in wastewater are defined as electron donor substances (EDSs) or electron acceptor substances (EASs), which could give or accept electrons, respectively. With such an electron neutralization concept, several parameters, i.e., electron residual concentration (R), economy-related index (E and Er), and economical evaluation index (Y and Yr), are defined. Then, these parameters are used to evaluate the performance and economic aspects of currently applied wastewater treatment processes and even optimize systems. Three case studies demonstrate that the proposed concept could be effectively used to reduce wastewater treatment costs, assess energy recovery, and evaluate process performance. Therefore, a new, simple, and reliable methodology is established to describe the oxidation-reduction properties of wastewater and assess the biological wastewater treatment processes.

Sustainable synthesis of novel carbon microwires for the modification of a Ti mesh anode in bioelectrochemical systems.

Herein, an effective method was developed to integrate carbon microwires on Ti mesh (denoted as CM/TiM) to fabricate high-performance anodes with long-time stability in microbial fuel cell. CM/TiM was synthesized by colonizing filamentous fungi on the bread modified Ti mesh followed by carbonization, which could convert the attached mycelium into carbon microwires (denoted as CM). Benefiting from the biocompatibility and 3D interlaced structure of carbon microwires, the biomass accumulation (1027 ±â€¯83 µg cm-2) of CM/TiM have been significantly improved nearly 3 folds, thus the fabricated CM/TiM demonstrated 2-fold higher current density (12.19 ±â€¯0.07 A m-2) with significantly increased stability compared with TiM. Therefore, the present high power output, chemical stability and hydrophilic carbon microwires make CM/TiM stable, scalable and environmentally sustainable anodes in bioelectrochemical systems.

[Effects of stand density on understory species diversity and soil physicochemical properties of Pinus massoniana plantation]. / æž—åˆ†å¯†åº¦å¯¹é©¬å°¾æ¾æž—æž—ä¸‹ç‰©ç§å¤šæ ·æ€§å’ŒåœŸå£¤ç†åŒ–æ€§è´¨çš„å½±å“.

We analyzed understory species diversity, soil physicochemical traits and their relationships in the 25-year-old non-commercial Pinus massoniana plantations with five different stand densities, i.e., 1057, 1136, 1231, 1383 and 1515 trees·hm-2, in Wenfeng Mountain, Xinjin District, Sichuan Province, China. The results showed that a total of 110 species were found, belonging to 57 families and 98 genera. With the increase of tree density, the understory species showed a succession pattern from positive to moderate to shady. Different densities had significant effects on the contents of total potassium and organic matter in the soils. With the increase ofdensity, the contents of organic matter and total potassium in understory vegetation first increased and then decreased. The trends of the relationship between both diversity and soil physiochemical characteristics and tree density were similar. Both of them increased with the increase of density, with the maximum value presented at the density of 1136 trees·hm-2. The concentrations of total phosphorus, available potassium, total potassium and total nitrogen was closely related to plant diversity index. The results suggested that the density at 1136 trees·hm-2 would be more beneficial to improve the stability of species diversity and soil fertility of P. massoniana non-commercial plantations in Wenfeng Mountain.

A common evolutionary pathway for maintaining quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

In the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the synthesis and secretion of extracellular protease is a typical cooperative behavior regulated by quorum sensing. However, this type of cooperative behavior is easily exploited by other individuals who do not synthesize public goods, which is known as the "tragedy of the commons". Here P. aeruginosa was inoculated into casein media with different nitrogen salts added. In casein broth, protease (a type of public good) is necessary for bacterial growth. After 30 days of sequential transfer, some groups propagated stably and avoided "tragedy of the commons". The evolved cooperators who continued to synthesize protease were isolated from these stable groups. By comparing the characteristics of quorum sensing in these cooperators, an identical evolutionary pattern was found. A variety of cooperative behaviors regulated by quorum sensing, such as the synthesis and secretion of protease and signals, were significantly reduced during the process of evolution. Such reductions improved the efficiency of cooperation, helping to prevent cheating. In addition, the production of pyocyanin, which is regulated by the RhlIR system, increased during the process of evolution, possibly due to its role in stabilizing the cooperation. This study contributes towards our understanding of the evolution of quorum sensing of P. aeruginosa.

Nitrogen Source Stabilization of Quorum Sensing in the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bioaugmentation Strain SD-1.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa SD-1 is efficient at degrading aromatic compounds and can therefore contribute to the bioremediation of wastewater. P. aeruginosa uses quorum sensing (QS) to regulate the production of numerous secreted "public goods." In wastewater bioaugmentation applications, there are myriad nitrogen sources, and we queried whether various nitrogen sources impact the stabilities of both QS and the bacterial populations. In a laboratory strain of P. aeruginosa, PAO1, the absence of a nitrogen source has been shown to destabilize these populations through the emergence of QS mutant "cheaters." We tested the ability of SD-1 to grow in casein broth, a condition that requires QS for growth, when the nitrogen source with either NH4Cl, NaNO3, or NaNO2 or with no added nitrogen source. There was great variability in susceptibility to invasion by QS mutant cheaters and, by extension, the stability of the SD-1 population. When grown with NH4Cl as an extra nitrogen source, no population collapse was observed; by contrast, two-thirds of cultures grown in the presence of NaNO2 collapsed. In the populations that collapsed, the frequency of social cheaters exceeded 40%. NaNO3 and NaNO2 directly favor QS mutants of P. aeruginosa SD-1. Although the mechanism by which these nitrogen sources act is not clear, these data indicate that the metabolism of nitrogen can affect the stability of bacterial populations, an important observation for continuing industrial applications with this species.IMPORTANCE Bioaugmentation as a method to help remediate wastewater pollutant streams holds significant potential to enhance traditional methods of treatment. Addition of microbes that can catabolize organic pollutants can be an effective method to remove several toxic compounds. Such bioaugmented strains of bacteria have been shown to be susceptible to competition from the microbiota that are present in wastewater streams, limiting their potential effectiveness. Here, we show that bioaugmentation strains of bacteria might also be susceptible to invasion by social cheaters and that the nitrogen sources available in the wastewater might influence the ability of cheaters to overtake the bioaugmentation strains. Our results imply that control over the nitrogen sources in a wastewater stream or selective addition of certain nitrogen sources could help stabilize bioaugmentation strains of bacteria.

[Bacterial quorum sensing: Cooperation and cheating]. / 细菌群体感应"合作-欺骗"ç ”ç©¶è¿›å±•.

Quorum sensing (QS), a cell-to-cell communication, regulates a variety of social beha-viors, such as biofilm formation, public goods produce and gene horizontal transfer of bacteria. In the process of quorum sensing, public goods could be utilized by any members in the population, which was termed as cooperation. Notably, public goods also could be shared by the individuals who could not produce them, which was termed as cheating. Once cheaters come up, they possibly maintain equilibrium with cooperators, meanwhile they also possibly induce the collapse of population due to their rapid growth and shortage of public goods. Therefore, invasion of cheaters arouses wide attentions in medicine, agriculture, food science and so on regarded as a new strategy to control pathogens. In this study, based on the introduction about the theory of bacterial quorum sensing cooperation and cheating, we analyzed the factors influencing the formation and development of the relationship between cooperator and cheater. Moreover, we discussed the mechanism of stabilization in the relationship between cooperator and cheater, including kin selection, metabolic prudence, metabolic constraint (gene pleiotropy) and policing quorum sensing. Finally, some problems in current researches of quorum sensing cooperation and cheating were presented as well as the future research directions. We hoped this paper could deepen the understanding of bacterial quorum sen-sing and ecology of bacterial population.

Control of the pollution of antibiotic resistance genes in soils by quorum sensing inhibition.

To investigate whether pollution from antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) could be affected by bacterial quorum sensing, the oxytetracycline (OTC)-containing manure was fertilized to establish the ARG-polluted soil environment. Under long-term OTC stress, substantial ARGs in the range from 10-4 to 10-3 RG/16S rRNA (resistance genes/16S rRNA) were detected in the antibiotics control (AC) group, in which OTC-containing manure was fertilized. Meanwhile, 10-6 RG/16S rRNA was detected in biological control (BC) group, in which non-OTC-containing manure was fertilized. Subsequently, two typical quorum sensing inhibitors, 4-nitropyridine N-oxide (4-NPO) and 3,4-dibromo-2H-furan-5-one (DBF), were used to treat the ARG-polluted soils. These two groups called 4-NPO treatments (NT) and DBF treatments (FT), respectively. There were no significant differences in bacterial growth and OTC degradation in NT and FT groups, compared to AC group. However, acyl-homoserine lactones such as C4-HSL, C6-HSL, and C8-HSL decreased significantly in both NT and FT groups, compared to AC group. Meanwhile, the abundance of most ARGs decreased dramatically. In FT group, the concentrations of tet(L) and tet(Q) were below the detection limits. It was demonstrated that quorum sensing inhibition could be an effective way to prevent and control the pollution of ARGs in soil.

Could humic acid relieve the biochemical toxicities and DNA damage caused by nickel and deltamethrin in earthworms (Eisenia foetida)?

The aim of the study was to determine whether humic acid (HA) prevented gene and biochemical toxic effects in earthworms (Eisenia foetida) exposed to nickel and deltamethrin (at 100 and 1 mg kg(-1), respectively) in soil. Cellular- and molecular-level toxic effects of nickel and deltamethrin in earthworms were evaluated by measuring damage to lipid membranes and DNA and the production of protein carbonyls over 42 days of exposure. Nickel and deltamethrin induced significant levels of oxidative stress in earthworms, increasing the production of peroxidation products (malondialdehyde and protein carbonyls) and increasing the comet assay tail DNA% (determined by single-cell gel electrophoresis). DNA damage was the most sensitive of the three indices because it gave a higher sample/control ratio than did the other indices. The presence of HA alleviated (in decreasing order of effectiveness) damage to DNA, proteins, and lipid membranes caused by nickel and deltamethrin. A low HA dose (0.5-1% HA in soil) prevented a great deal of lipid membrane damage, but the highest HA dose (3% HA in soil) prevented still more DNA damage. However, the malondialdehyde concentrations in earthworms were higher at the highest HA dose than at the lower HA doses. The amounts of protein carbonyls produced at different HA doses were not significantly different. The toxic effects to earthworms caused by increased oxidizable nickel concentrations could be relieved by adding HA.

Effect from low-level exposure of oxytetracycline on abundance of tetracycline resistance genes in arable soils.

To evaluate the effect from low-level exposure of antibiotics on the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes, unpolluted arable soils were treated with oxytetracycline (OTC)-containing manure, with OTC (0, 2, 20, or 70 µg kg(-1)) added every 2 weeks on 10 occasions. Six tetracycline resistance genes [TRGs-tet(A), tet(L), tet(M), tet(Q), tet(O), and tet(W)] and the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene were monitored using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The relative abundance of tet(A), tet(L), tet(M), and tet(Q) genes in soil increased 10-1000 times after application of OTC-containing manure. Tet(A) abundance per unit of residual OTC on day 140 was 1.53-4.42 times higher than that on day 28, while tet(L) abundance was 1.04-1.74 times higher. Treatment with >40 µg kg(-1) OTC significantly increased abundance of tet(A) and tet(L), while tet(M) and tet(Q) abundance was positively correlated (R (2) = 0.965 and 0.932, p < 0.01) with residual OTC concentrations. There was a significant accumulation of TRGs associated with low-level OTC exposure in arable soils. Besides OTC residual, the effects from exposure time and application frequencies should also be considered to limit the increase in abundance of tet(A) and tet(L).

A reduction clamp for an aiming component in associated acetabular fractures.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of acetabular fractures is complex and requires specialized equipment. However, all currently available instruments have some disadvantages. A new reduction clamp that can firmly enable reduction and not hinder subsequent fixation procedures for some special fracture types is needed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we introduce a new acetabular clamp and its preliminary clinical application in three T-shaped acetabular fractures. RESULTS: This new clamp can successfully pull the posterior column back to the anterior column and firmly maintain the reduction. This clamp's aiming plate can facilitate the insertion of long lag screws. The clamp is also easy to assemble and use. CONCLUSION: This reduction clamp is a useful instrument that can facilitate open reduction and internal fixation of acetabular fractures.

Evidence for existence of quorum sensing in a bioaugmented system by acylated homoserine lactone-dependent quorum quenching.

The introduction of a gene, strain, or microbial consortium into an indigenous bacterial population is known as bioaugmentation. This technique has been proposed as an effective strategy for accelerating and enhancing the removal of recalcitrant and toxic compounds during wastewater treatment. In this study, three types of reactors were used to test whether quorum sensing plays an important role in bioaugmented systems. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction showed that the inoculated strain, HF-1, successfully colonized in the bioaugmented reactor. Meanwhile, no HF-1 colonization was observed in the quorum-quenching and non-bioaugmented reactors. Removal of nicotine in the bioaugmented reactor was almost 100%, and removal of total organic carbon (TOC) was higher than 50%. However, less than 20% of nicotine and 30% of TOC was removed in quorum-quenching and non-bioaugmented reactors. Moreover, the release of acylated homoserine lactones reached the threshold for HF-1 biofilm formation in bioaugmented reactors but not in quorum-quenching or non-bioaugmented reactors. The addition of porcine kidney acylase I, a quenching reagent, to the quorum-quenching reactor hampered the colonization of HF-1. Together, these results demonstrate that quorum sensing plays an important role in HF-1 colonization of bioaugmented systems.

A new method for rapid construction of a Pseudomonas sp. HF-1 bioaugmented system: accelerating acylated homoserine lactones secretion by pH regulation.

Pseudomonas sp. HF-1 bioaugmented systems were operated to treat tobacco wastewater under pH 5.5 for three cycles and pH 8.0 for the rest, which was suitable for HF-1 biofilm formation. The results showed that, under pH control, the contents of 3-oxo-C6-HSL, C6-HSL and 3-oxo-C8-HSL were significantly higher than HF-1 thresholds for biofilm formation. Compared with non-pH controlled reactors, HF-1 showed greater colonization in pH controlled reactors, primarily owing to the high extracellular polymeric substances secretion induced by quorum sensing. Accordingly, high indigenous community activity and granular sludge were observed. Sludge granulation occurred from the seventh cycle, and the average diameter was greater than 400 µm. These systems were also highly efficient with nearly 100% nicotine degradation and 60% total organic carbon removal. Overall, the results indicate that pH regulation is a new and feasible method for acceleration of releasing of auto-inducers, which is beneficial to construction of HF-1 bioaugmented systems.

Effect of Pseudomonas sp. HF-1 inoculum on construction of a bioaugmented system for tobacco wastewater treatment: analysis from quorum sensing.

To better construct a bioaugmented system for tobacco wastewater treatment, activated sludge was inoculated with different concentrations of the nicotine-degrading bacterium Pseudomonas sp. HF-1. The results showed that inoculum concentrations of 0.55 ± 0.01 and 1.10 ± 0.03 mg/g (dry weight of strain HF-1/dry weight of activated sludge) were best to ensure strain HF-1 survival and successful bioaugmentation. The release pattern of autoinducer (AI) for quorum sensing in the bioaugmented system was also investigated. During the period of HF-1 inoculation, compared with failed bioaugmented systems, AI-2 was significantly increased in the successful systems, suggesting that AI-2-mediated bacterial communication played an important role in the colonization of HF-1. When inoculation of strain HF-1 was stopped, the amount of AI-2 decreased and leveled out in all systems. Notably, there was a greater than threefold increase of short-chain AHLs in failed bioaugmented systems, but no increase in successful ones, implying that the fluctuation of short-chain AHLs could be an indicator of the failure of bioaugmentation. Thus, AI-2-mediated quorum sensing could be implemented to facilitate HF-1 colonization.

Small-molecule TrkB agonist 7,8-dihydroxyflavone reverses cognitive and synaptic plasticity deficits in a rat model of schizophrenia.

Cognitive deficits are the core symptoms of schizophrenia and major contributors to disability in schizophrenic patients, but effective treatments are still lacking. Previous studies have demonstrated that impaired BDNF/TrkB signaling is associated with the cognitive impairments of schizophrenia. 7,8-Dihydroxyflavone (7,8-DHF) has recently been identified as a specific TrkB agonist that crosses the blood-brain barrier after oral or intraperitoneal administration. The present study aimed to assess the effect of 7,8-DHF on the cognitive and synaptic impairments of schizophrenia. A brief disruption of NMDA receptors with MK-801 during early development serves as an animal model for cognitive deficits of schizophrenia. We found that MK-801-treated rats showed significant deficits in working learning ability and hippocampal synaptic plasticity, as well as reduction of BDNF, TrkB, and phosphorylated TrkB in the hippocampus. After intraperitoneal administration with 7,8-DHF (5 mg/kg) once daily for a consecutive 14days, we found that chronic 7,8-DHF treatment significantly enhanced the activation of phosphorylated TrkB at the Y515 and Y816 sites, increased the phosphorylation levels of TrkB downstream signal cascades including ERK1/2, CaMKII, CREB and GluR1, and promoted hippocampal synaptic plasticity, which in turn rescued performance in spatial working learning. Our results thus demonstrate that activation of TrkB signaling can reverse the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia and strongly suggest a potential usefulness for 7,8-DHF or a TrkB agonist in treating schizophrenia-related cognitive impairments.

Bioaugmentation of activated sludge with Acinetobacter sp. TW enhances nicotine degradation in a synthetic tobacco wastewater treatment system.

Bioaugmentation (BA) using Acinetobacter sp. TW with high nicotine-degrading efficiency was applied in a bioreactor receiving a load of COD (3,200 ± 50 mg/L) and nicotine (1.0 ± 0.1g/L). The results showed that because of the colonization of strain TW, the COD removal was stable at 80-90%, while nicotine removal reached 98% in the BA system. Furthermore, according to PCR-DGGE fingerprinting, compared with the originally activated sludge, more bacteria existed in the BA systems while some bacteria disappeared from the non-BA system. In terms of the quorum sensing, short chain AHLs increased to assist colonization of strain TW, and long chain AHLs were secreted and helped to resist the nicotine toxicity. Compared with the non-BA system, the amounts of ROS, protein carbonyls and 8-OHdG were significant lower in the BA systems, which suggested that strain TW played an important role in eliminating the nicotine toxicity from the bioreactors.

Ecological roles and release patterns of acylated homoserine lactones in Pseudomonas sp. HF-1 and their implications in bacterial bioaugmentation.

To enable development of a better bacterial bioaugmentation system for tobacco wastewater treatment, the roles and release patterns of acylated homoserine lactones (AHLs) in Pseudomonas sp. HF-1 were evaluated. Swarming was found to be induced by N-hexanoyl-homoserine lactone (C(6)-HSL) and N-3-oxo-hexanoyl-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C(6)-HSL); the formation of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) was induced by 3-oxo-C(6)-HSL, C(6)-HSL and N-3-oxo-octanoyl-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C(8)-HSL); and biofilm formation was induced by C(6)-HSL and 3-oxo-C(8)-HSL. When the culture conditions were 25°C, pH 5-6, 3% inoculum, 1.5 g L(-1) nicotine and 1% NaCl, the amount of AHLs released was sufficient for quorum sensing of swarming and EPS formation for strain HF-1, which was beneficial to the startup stage during bioaugmentation. When strain HF-1 was cultured at pH 8 in the presence of 1.2-1.8 g L(-1) of nicotine and 1% NaCl, the threshold for quorum sensing of biofilm formation was reached and the bioaugmentation system showed an efficient performance.

[Analysis of pollution characteristics of solid waste incinerator fly ash in Zhejiang province].

Pollutants characteristics, especially in components and contents of heavy metals and PCDD/Fs, were chemical analyzed and toxicological evaluated in fly ash from 6 typical kinds of solid waste incinerators in Zhejiang province. The results indicated that the main elements in fly ash were Si, Ca, Al, Fe, K, Na and Cl. Among all kinds of heavy metals, the Zn content was the highest one, whose average was up to 9 458 mg/kg. Meanwhile, the Cd, Zn, Cu,Cr,Ni, Pb and As contents in the fly ash samples were 642, 127, 22, 18,15, 10 and 2-fold of those in polluted soil, respectively. The leaching ratios of heavy metals in fly ash concluded according to the HJ/T 299-2007 Procedure were lower than its limitation. However, the leaching ratios from NB and LS sample concluded according to the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) exceeded its limitation. The TEQ of PCDD/Fs from all samples were lower than the limitation in GB 5085.6-2007, while higher than the soil-limitation in Canadian, New Zealand and Sweden, with 105, 59, 401, 369 and 5-fold in the sample HZ, WZ, NB, TZ and HUZ, respectively. It could be concluded that the components and contents of the pollutants were various from different fly ashes. The components of heavy metals were mainly affected by the type of solid wastes. And the technology of the incinerator played important role in the pollution characteristics in fly ash. Thus, it is of significant meaning to study the particulate pollution characteristics of a certain fly ash before disposal or reuse for the purpose of adequate risk assessment and management.