Impact of River Water and Bottom Sediment Pollution on Accumulation of Metal(loid)s and Arsenic Species in the Coastal Plants Stuckenia pectinata L., Galium aparine L., and Urtica dioica L.: A Chemometric and Environmental Study.

The role of water and bottom sediment pollution of a river subjected to a strong industrial anthropo-pressure in coastal plants was investigated. The work presented the influence of polluted environment on accumulation of metal(loid)s (including arsenic and its species) in Stuckenia pectinata L., Galium aparine L., and Urtica dioica L. The study provided important information on the contents of organic and inorganic arsenic species in selected plants and their response to heavy metal and arsenic contamination. The As(III), As(V), AB (arsenobetaine), MMA (monomethylarsonic acid), and DMA (dimethylarsinic acid) ions were successfully separated on the Hamilton PRP-X100 column with high-performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS) techniques. The Pollution Load Index and geo-accumulation Index (Igeo) values clearly indicate significant pollution of the examined ecosystem with heavy metals. The chemometric analysis with the concepts of (Dis)similarity Analysis, Cluster Analysis, and Principal Component Analysis helped to visualize the variability of the As species concentrations and to analyse correlations between sampling point locations and analyte contents.

The Anthelmintic Ingredient Moxidectin Negatively Affects Seed Germination of Three Temperate Grassland Species.

In animal farming, anthelmintics are regularly applied to control gastrointestinal nematodes. There is plenty of evidence that also non-target organisms, such as dung beetles, are negatively affected by residues of anthelmintics in faeces of domestic ungulates. By contrast, knowledge about possible effects on wild plants is scarce. To bridge this gap of knowledge, we tested for effects of the common anthelmintic formulation Cydectin and its active ingredient moxidectin on seed germination. We conducted a feeding experiment with sheep and germination experiments in a climate chamber. Three wide-spread plant species of temperate grasslands (Centaurea jacea, Galium verum, Plantago lanceolata) were studied. We found significant influences of both, Cydectin and moxidectin, on germination of the tested species. Across species, both formulation and active ingredient solely led to a decrease in germination percentage and synchrony of germination and an increase in mean germination time with the formulation showing a more pronounced response pattern. Our study shows for the first time that anthelmintics have the potential to negatively affect plant regeneration. This has practical implications for nature conservation since our results suggest that treatments of livestock with anthelmintics should be carefully timed to not impede endozoochorous seed exchange between plant populations.

Estimating economic thresholds for site-specific weed control using manual weed counts and sensor technology: an example based on three winter wheat trials.

BACKGROUND: Precision experimental design uses the natural heterogeneity of agricultural fields and combines sensor technology with linear mixed models to estimate the effect of weeds, soil properties and herbicide on yield. These estimates can be used to derive economic thresholds. Three field trials are presented using the precision experimental design in winter wheat. Weed densities were determined by manual sampling and bi-spectral cameras, yield and soil properties were mapped. RESULTS: Galium aparine, other broad-leaved weeds and Alopecurus myosuroides reduced yield by 17.5, 1.2 and 12.4 kg ha(-1) plant(-1) m(2) in one trial. The determined thresholds for site-specific weed control with independently applied herbicides were 4, 48 and 12 plants m(-2), respectively. Spring drought reduced yield effects of weeds considerably in one trial, since water became yield limiting. A negative herbicide effect on the crop was negligible, except in one trial, in which the herbicide mixture tended to reduce yield by 0.6 t ha(-1). Bi-spectral cameras for weed counting were of limited use and still need improvement. Nevertheless, large weed patches were correctly identified. CONCLUSION: The current paper presents a new approach to conducting field trials and deriving decision rules for weed control in farmers' fields.

The impact of nitrogen deposition on acid grasslands in the Atlantic region of Europe.

A survey of 153 acid grasslands from the Atlantic biogeographic region of Europe indicates that chronic nitrogen deposition is changing plant species composition and soil and plant-tissue chemistry. Across the deposition gradient (2-44 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1)) grass richness as a proportion of total species richness increased whereas forb richness decreased. Soil C:N ratio increased, but soil extractable nitrate and ammonium concentrations did not show any relationship with nitrogen deposition. The above-ground tissue nitrogen contents of three plant species were examined: Agrostis capillaris (grass), Galium saxatile (forb) and Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus (bryophyte). The tissue nitrogen content of neither vascular plant species showed any relationship with nitrogen deposition, but there was a weak positive relationship between R. squarrosus nitrogen content and nitrogen deposition. None of the species showed strong relationships between above-ground tissue N:P or C:N and nitrogen deposition, indicating that they are not good indicators of deposition rate.

Indole-3-acetic acid and auxin herbicides up-regulate 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase gene expression and abscisic acid accumulation in cleavers (Galium aparine): interaction with ethylene.

Interaction between auxin and auxin-induced ethylene was suggested in previous work to up-regulate abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis in cleavers (Galium aparine) through stimulated cleavage of xanthophylls to xanthoxin, catalysed by 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED). Here, the effects of auxin on NCED gene expression were studied in relation to changes in ethylene synthesis and ABA levels. A gene from G. aparine shoot tissue was cloned based on sequence similarity to cloned NCED genes from tomato (LeNCED1), potato, Phaseolus, and Arabidopsis. When the roots of G. aparine plants were treated with 0.5 mM indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), IAA concentrations increased from 0.2 microM to 65 microM IAA in the shoot tissue after 3 h. Transient increases in GaNCED1 mRNA levels were detectable as early as 1 h after treatment and reached maximum values of 40-fold, relative to the control, after 3 h. Increases in GaNCED1 mRNA preceded increases in 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid and ethylene. Levels of ABA began to increase more slowly and, significantly, with a lag phase of 2 h, and reached levels 24-fold higher than those in controls after 24 h. GaNCED1 gene expression was also stimulated by auxin herbicides. The ethylene-releasing compound ethephon induced GaNCED1 transcript levels only moderately. In accordance with this, aminoethoxyvinylglycine and cobalt ions, which inhibit ethylene synthesis, only slightly affected the increase in GaNCED1 transcript levels by IAA. However, both ethylene inhibitors decreased IAA-induced ABA accumulation by up to 70%. This suggests that auxin and auxin-induced ethylene are involved in ABA accumulation. While auxin is the primary trigger for NCED gene expression, ethylene appears to enhance ABA biosynthesis, possibly by up-regulation of NCED activity post-transcriptionally.

Physiological and biochemical characterization of quinclorac resistance in a false cleavers (Galium spurium L.) biotype.

The physiological and biochemical basis for quinclorac resistance in a false cleavers (Galium spurium L.) biotype was investigated. There was no difference between herbicide resistant (R) and susceptible (S) false cleavers biotypes in response to 2,4-D, clopyralid, glyphosate, glufosinate-ammonium, or bentazon. On the basis of GR(50) (growth reduction of 50%) or LD(50) (lethal dose to 50% of tested plants) values, the R biotype was highly resistant to the acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor, thifensulfuron-methyl (GR(50) resistance ratio R/S = 57), and quinolinecarboxylic acids (quinclorac R/S = 46), resistant to MCPA (R/S = 12), and moderately resistant to the auxinic herbicides picloram (R/S = 3), dicamba (R/S = 3), fluroxypyr (R/S = 3), and triclopyr (R/S = 2). The mechanism of quinclorac resistance was not due to differences in [(14)C]quinclorac absorption, translocation, root exudation, or metabolism. Seventy-two hours after root application of quinclorac, ethylene increased ca. 3-fold in S but not R plants when compared to controls, while ABA increased ca. 14-fold in S as opposed to ca. 3-fold in R plants suggesting an alteration in the auxin signal transduction pathway, or altered target site causes resistance in false cleavers. The R false cleavers biotype may be an excellent model system to further examine the auxin signal transduction pathway and the mechanism of quinclorac and auxinic herbicide action.

Increases in jasmonic acid caused by indole-3-acetic acid and auxin herbicides in cleavers (Galium aparine).

The effects of indole-3-acetic acid and auxin herbicides on endogenous jasmonic acid (JA) concentrations were studied in relation to changes in ethylene and abscisic acid (ABA) levels in cleavers (Galium aparine). When plants were root-treated with increasing concentrations of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), ethylene biosynthesis was stimulated in response to the accumulation of endogenous IAA in the shoot tissue. Within 25h of treatment, stimulated ethylene formation was accompanied by increases in immunoreactive concentrations of JA and ABA, which reached maxima of 4.5-fold and 26-fold of the control, respectively, at 100 microM of applied IAA. Corresponding effects were obtained using synthetic auxins and when the ethylene-releasing compound ethephon was applied exogenously. This represents the first report, to our knowledge, of an auxin-mediated increase in JA levels. The increase in JA may be triggered by ethylene.

On the mechanism of selectivity of the corn herbicide BAS 662H: a combination of the novel auxin transport inhibitor diflufenzopyr and the auxin herbicide dicamba.

BAS 662H, a 1:2.5 combination of the semicarbazone-type auxin transport inhibitor diflufenzopyr and the auxin herbicide dicamba, is used as a post-emergence herbicide in corn. The combination has been observed to provide more effective broadleaf weed control and improved tolerance in corn than typical rates of dicamba used alone. In order to analyze this phenomenon, the uptake, translocation, metabolism and action of both compounds, applied alone and in combination, were investigated in Amaranthus retroflexus L, Galium aparine L and corn (Zea mays L). When plants at the third-leaf stage were foliarly treated with diflufenzopyr and dicamba equivalent to field rates of 100 and 250 gha-1, respectively, diflufenzopyr synergistically increased dicamba-induced 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) synthase activity and ethylene formation in G aparine and even more in A retroflexus, followed by accumulations of (+)-abscisic acid (ABA) in the shoot tissue within 20 h. This correlated with subsequent growth inhibition, hydrogen peroxide overproduction and progressive tissue damage. Diflufenzopyr also enhanced the activity of other auxin herbicides, such as quinclorac and picloram, and of the synthetic auxin, 1-naphthaleneacetic acid. After foliar and root application of [14C]diflufenzopyr, alone or as BAS 662H, considerably lower tissue concentrations and systemic translocation of radioactivity beyond treated plant parts were found in corn, compared to G aparine and particularly A retroflexus. Furthermore, diflufenzopyr decreased foliar uptake of [14C]dicamba by c 50% selectively in corn, compared to the treatment alone. Metabolism of [14C]diflufenzopyr was more rapid in corn than in the weed species. In combination, the two compounds had no mutual effect on their metabolic degradation. In BAS 662H, diflufenzopyr synergizes the herbicidal activity of dicamba in sensitive weed species. In corn this effect is prevented by a more rapid metabolism of diflufenzopyr, coupled with lower uptake and translocation. Selectivity of BAS 662H is additionally favoured by a higher crop tolerance to dicamba because of reduced foliar uptake of this herbicide in corn under the influence of diflufenzopyr.