The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculation at a roadside prairie restoration site.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may play an important role in ecological succession, but few studies have documented the effectiveness of mycorrhizal inoculation at restoration/reclamation sites. At a roadside prairie restoration in Shakopee, Minnesota, we compared AMF root colonization and resulting vegetative cover among four inoculation treatments. After 15 mo of growth, we found that AMF colonization was high in all treatments but was significantly higher in treatments that received AMF inoculum propagated from a local prairie site or commercially available inoculum than the uninoculated control. For the prairie inoculum, this increase in colonization occurred whether the inoculum was applied with seeds in furrows or broadcast with seeds on the soil surface. However, increased colonization did not discernibly affect the restored vegetation; neither total vegetative cover nor the proportion "desired" prairie vegetation differed among inoculation treatments. By the end of the third growing season (27 mo after planting) there were no longer differences in AMF colonization among the inoculation treatments nor were there differences in vegetative cover. It is likely that natural recolonization of the plots by remnant AMF populations at the site limited the duration of the inoculation effect. This natural recolonization, in combination with relatively high soil phosphorus levels, likely rendered inoculation unnecessary. In contrast to previous published studies of AMF inoculation in landscape restorations, this study shows that AMF inoculation may not be warranted under some circumstances.

Effects of metal phytoextraction practices on the indigenous community of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at a metal-contaminated landfill.

Phytoextraction involves use of plants to remove toxic metals from soil. We examined the effects of phytoextraction practices with three plant species (Silene vulgaris, Thlaspi caerulescens, and Zea mays) and a factorial variation of soil amendments (either an ammonium or nitrate source of nitrogen and the presence or absence of an elemental sulfur supplement) on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (Glomales, Zygomycetes) at a moderately metal-contaminated landfill located in St. Paul, Minn. Specifically, we tested whether the applied treatments affected the density of glomalean spores and AM root colonization in maize. Glomalean fungi from the landfill were grouped into two morphotypes characterized by either light-colored spores (LCS) or dark-colored spores (DCS). Dominant species of the LCS morphotype were Glomus mosseae and an unidentified Glomus sp., whereas the DCS morphotype was dominated by Glomus constrictum. The density of spores of the LCS morphotype from the phytoremediated area was lower than the density of these spores in the untreated landfill soil. Within the experimental area, spore density of the LCS morphotype in the rhizosphere of mycorrhizal maize was significantly higher than in rhizospheres of nonmycorrhizal S. vulgaris or T. caerulescens. Sulfur supplement increased vesicular root colonization in maize and exerted a negative effect on spore density in maize rhizosphere. We conclude that phytoextraction practices, e.g., the choice of plant species and soil amendments, may have a great impact on the quantity and species composition of glomalean propagules as well as on mycorrhiza functioning during long-term metal-remediation treatments.

[The effect of creatine phosphate (Neoton) in acute myocardial infarct (a prospective multicenter pilot study]. / Ucinek kreatinfosfátu (Neoton) u akutního srdecního infarktu (pilotní multicentrická prospektivní studie).

The authors investigated in a group of 106 patients with a first myocardial infarction treated by thrombolysis the effect of i.v. administration of creatine phosphate (a new drug with cardioprotective action--Neoton Alfa Schiapparelli Wassermann Co). In the course of treatment electrocardiographic changes were recorded and the presence of arrhythmias examined by the Holter technique. The Neoton group displayed a statistically insignificant but nevertheless obvious trend of electrocardiographically less serious forms of infarction and a lower incidence of infarctions, as compared with the control group.

An ultrastructural study of acid phosphatase localization in Phaseolus vulgaris xylem by the use of an azo-dye method.

The localization of acid phosphatase during xylem development has been examined in the bean, Phaseolus vulgaris. The azo dye, the final reaction product, is initially prominent in the dictyosomes, vesicles apparently participating in secondary wall formation, and in the middle lamella of the young vessel element. Final reaction particles are also present in mitochondria, chloroplasts, and certain vacuoles and are sparsely scattered in the cytoplasm. At a later stage of vessel differentiation, the azo dye is concentrated in the disintegrating cytoplasm and along the fibrils of the partially hydrolysed primary wall and middle lamella. In the mature vessel element, the azo dye is still present along the disintegrated primary wall at the side of the vessel and covers the secondary wall. In the parenchyma cell adjacent to the vessel element, acid phosphatase localization is found in the dictyosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, small vacuoles, and the middle lamella. The controls from all stages of vessel element development were free of azo dye particles. The concentration of acid phosphatase along the secondary walls of the mature vessels and in the middle lamella between other cells indicates that this enzyme has other functions besides autolysis of the cytoplasm and primary cell wall. Acid phosphatase may participate in the formation of the secondary wall and may also have a role in the secretion and transport of sugars.

An ultrastructural study of acid phosphatase localization in cells of Phaseolus vulgaris phloem by the use of the azo dye method.

The localization of acid phosphatase was studied in the sieve elements and companion cells in the phloem tissue of the bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L. The various organelles in the two kinds of cell showed fine granules of the azo dye as the final reaction product. The aggregated smooth endoplasmic reticulum displayed the dye particularly consistently. The dye was also present in the plasmodesmata and in the contents of the sieve plate pores. The reaction product was conspicuous in the cell walls and tended to be concentrated in the middle lamella and in the nacreous wall layer of the differentiating sieve elements.