Including environmental issues in trade agreements is controversial, although these issues are an integral part of the NAFTA and WTO agreements as well as being the subject of numerous multilateral environmental treaties and agreements. Despite its inclusion, many members are opposed to allowing the environment an extensive role in the WTO. Nonetheless, the Doha Ministerial Declaration recognizes the environment in negotiating the next trade liberalization agreement. Agriculture and agricultural trade, which were integrated with international trade disciplines in the Uruguay Round, have environmental implications, and the inclusion of agriculture in the WTO introduces complex issues that also have environmental consequences.
Commercially available phytases from wheat and fungus Aspergillus ficuum have been used in environmental and agricultural phosphorus study. In order to better understand the biochemical properties of these two phytases, in vitro experiments were conducted to study their catalytic potentials to hydrolyze a number of representative organic phosphates [phytate; p-nitrophenyl phosphate (PNP); p-nitrophenyl phosphate di-2-amino-2-ethyl-1-3-propanediol (PNP2A2E); p-nitrophenyl phosphate bis-cyclohexylammonium (PNPBC); bis-p-nitrophenyl phosphate (Bis-PNP); D-glucose 6-phosphate sodium salt (DG6PNa); and D-glucose 6-phosphate disodium salt (DG6P2Na)]. The results showed that the activity of wheat phytase in hydrolyzing these substrates was in the order: phytate > PNPBC > PNP2A2E > PNP > DG6P2Na > DG6PNa > Bis-PNP. Substrate preference for the fungal phytase followed the pattern: phytate > PNP > PNP2A2E > PNPBC. The kinetic constants of the two enzymes on these substrates demonstrated that the binding affinity for the fungal phytase with phytate was the highest. We further observed that As, Ba, Br and I ions enhanced the fungal phytase activity, whereas wheat phytase activity was suppressed by most ions we tested. Information obtained in this research is helpful in assessing the application of the two phytases in phosphate pollution research under various environmentally relevant conditions.
This article examines the relationship between agricultural commercialization, marital status and other factors that affect per capita food availability by means of a case study in the Nyeri district in Kenya. It was found that cash cropping has a negative influence on per capita food availability in the male-headed households. This negative influence is not apparent in the female-headed households and in fact, per capita food availability rises with increased agricultural commercialization. Households of married women seem to suffer more in terms of reduced food availability than households headed by females. Husbands have control over cash income and, therefore, influence food purchases. They are less likely than females to use the cash for food purchases and tend to spend the cash on themselves, thus reducing food availability to family members. This suggests that in some patriarchal societies, caution should be displayed in encouraging cash cropping, especially in male-headed households. Cash cropping under such circumstances is unwise from both a food availability and food security point of view because it can result in reduced crop diversification hence increasing the risks of income food deficits for families. Other factors found to have an influence on per capita food availability are employment of women outside households, educational level of the women and the quality of land.
In this paper we evaluated the genetic diversity among apricot cultivars of different origins using SSR markers. Thirty-one apricot cultivars were evaluated, including one Japanese plum and one apricot x plum hybrid as outgroup. Eleven primer pairs developed in peach were assayed. Seven primer pairs (64% of the assayed markers) were amplified successfully and resulted in 44 polymorphic bands, ranging from 2 (UDP96008) to 8 (UDP98406 and UDP98411) alleles. The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.09 (UDP96008) to 0.88 (UDP96003). There is a high degree of homology for the SSR loci between peach and apricot and transportability of these markers among Prunus. According to genetic distances obtained within the apricot group, four clusters were identified: Western European;, North American; one cluster including 'Bebeco', 'Tirynthos' and 'Ninfa' and finally another cluster including other North American cultivars. Results show that the cultivars of the American genotypes share a common genetic background. Most of the evaluated cultivars that belong to the European eco-geographical group present a common genetic base, which suggests that apricot breeding has been mainly based on the hybridization and selection of European genotypes. The information generated through the application of SSR on this apricot germplasm bank would be useful for breeders who want to enrich their genetic base and introduce new genes on their background. This research has been supported by the project “CHILECOT: Apricot Quality” D03–I-1070.
Livestock production extends to most non-forested, marginal, upland habitats of Britain. Of these, indigenous grasslands are stocked predominantly by sheep, stocking densities having increased in Scotland by 25% between 1975 and 1990. Conversely, the national herd of cattle in Scotland declined by 22% over the same period. The effects of grazing management on arthropod distribution and abundance is reviewed, with particular emphasis on the results of grazing experiments that have investigated the effects on arthropods of varied livestock species and stocking rates. Arthropods contribute the most species of any taxa in the uplands and are critical in upland food chains. The direction and magnitude of the response of different arthropod taxa to grazing management reflects their trophic level, life history, size and mobility, e.g., 30 % of ground and rove beetle species are more sensitive to landform than grazing management. For the arthropod taxa that are sensitive to grazing management, the effects are generally indirect, via changes in the heterogeneity of botanical composition and vegetation structure. A mosaic of contrasting botanical composition and structural heterogeneity is essential to conserve and enhance arthropod and broader wildlife diversity in the uplands. However, the landscape-scale study of mammalian herbivore-vegetation-arthropod interactions is required both to quantify the relative importance of land use (grazing management) and landform (landscape physiognomy) across the uplands and to determine the optimal grain-size of the habitat mosaic to sustain biodiversity.
Analysts concerned with policy matters related to the food industry of Asia would have opinions about the growth of the livestock industries in the developing countries of Asia. These opinions are likely to differ, particularly in relation to such issues as: the role that should be played by livestock; the extent to which Western technologies should be used in these livestock industries; and whether the existing level of available knowledge concerning the livestock industries of developing Asia is adequate for policy development. This paper addresses these and related issues.
As part of a major effort to address soil fertility decline in West Africa, a project on balanced nutrient management systems (BNMS) has been implemented in the northern Guinea savanna (NGS) of Nigeria. The project has tested and promoted two major technology packages: a combined application of inorganic fertilizer and manure (BNMS-manure) and a soybean/maize rotation practice (BNMS-rotation). This study used two-stage least squares regression models to examine the socioeconomic impacts of the BNMS technologies on household incomes and food security of the adopting farmers. Results showed that average crop yields for maize, sorghum, and soybean increased by more than 200% in the villages covered by the project. Among the adopters, the gross margin per ha from maize production was highest for the adopters of BNMS– rotation and lowest for adopters using inorganic fertilizer only. The two-stage least squares regression estimates indicated that increases in farm income due to adoption of BNMS technologies led to an increase of both calorie and protein intake of adopters. An additional one ha of land under BNMS–manure stimulates an increase in food expenditure by about 52%, while a similar change in land area under BNMS–rotation increases food expenditure by 128%. Presented at GLOBELICS 2009, 7th International Conference, 6-8 October, Dakar, Senegal. Parallel session 3: Sustainability and technology adoption in agriculture
Promising new tools for peach fruit quality breeding have been revised in this work. These tools included fruit quality evaluation through physical, chemical and sensorial parameters and post-harvest storage evaluation. The development of a feasible method for an early testing of peach selections generated in breeding programs is also well described together with the discussion of the inheritance of the main fruit quality traits in peach. In addition, non-destructive evaluation methods such as near-infrared, electronic nose and non-destructive impact response were revised. Finally several strategies for the development of molecular marker associated to fruit traits were also revised. Methodologies for the analysis of marker-assisted selection include the use of mapping populations segregating for desired characters. To date, twenty five monogenic genes and QTLs have been mapped in different peach genetic linkage maps. Other markers being used included expressed sequences tags (ESTS) cloned gene analogs (CGAs) and single point mutations (single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs). More recent efforts are being oriented to the elaboration of physical maps and the complete sequencing of the peach genome.
The present study attempts to find out the paradox in management of grouper fishing in southern Aegean Sea, Turkey. The study also proposes some suggestions for a more rational and more effective management of this species. Material of the study is composed of records of fishing cooperatives in the area, interview with the cooperative managers, annual grouper length values and catch-effort data. Throughout the season, 2411 fishing operations have been carried, 383 of which have been focused on especially groupers. The total catch has been recorded as 1448 kg, with a CPUE value of 3.78 kg per vessel. The study also reveals that the ratio of groupers caught below legally allowed length is 13.3%, however, considering outputs of the studies made on the biology of the species, it has also been observed that 85% of the sampled groupers in Gökova bay are prematurely caught before they reach the sexual maturity required for guaranteed sustainability, and thus the species is endangered. Hence, it is very essential to determine the reproductive cycle of groupers, which are the most important species in the fishery of Gökova Bay. However, species selectivity is impossible with the currently used gears. Therefore it would be more rational and effective to determine the reproduction areas of the related species and declare these areas "No Take Zones" which is going to affect postively not only the species but also whole ecoystem they live in.
Rwanda is a poor country and land is scarce, with only 0.65 ha of suitable farmland per household. Literature search for identifying constraints and solutions to productive and sustainable agriculture and livestock production was carried out. The country is facing with increasing soil fertility depletion and erosion due to steep landscape, continuous cultivation and high but not well distributed rainfall. Crops adequately allocated to the 0.65 ha farmland may produce enough food for energy and protein, but not cooking oil; animal production for meeting fat requirements is already at the limit. Forest resources are insufficient to produce necessary poles, timber, fuel and other forest-related products; alternatives must be found. Strategies to raise agricultural production include soil and water conservation, fertility improvement, irrigation and drainage, high-yielding plant varieties, improved animal management, pest control and reduction of postharvest losses. Labour shortage at critical periods of agricultural operations can be reduced through appropriate mechanisation. Such improvements that are high demanding in investments may substantially raise crop and livestock production, allowing Rwanda to develop agro-industries and the commercial sector. Alternatively but carefully, preference may be given to investments in high-value exports that can pay for imports of food, fuel and other necessities.
Polyphenols in olive leaves, especially oleuropein, are of great interest to researchers, household consumers and commercial entities due to many health benefits of these compounds. Various processing and extraction methods were investigated to evaluate stability and recovery of oleuropein and other polyphenols from olive leaves. Brief thawing of frozen leaf samples (5 minutes) caused a sharp reduction in extractable oleuropein levels (57.7%), and 53.5% loss in oleuropein occurred when frozen leaf powder was thawed for only 2 minutes. Simple drying of fresh leaves at room temperature (25°C) fully preserved oleuropein and verbascoside levels while drying at an elevated temperature of 60°C resulted in losses at various levels of all polyphenols studied. While extraction in 80% methanol is the most effective method for olive leaf polyphenols for laboratory use, boiling of dried leaves was also a very efficient method for extracting oleuropein and verbascoside that gave 96 and 94% recoveries of these compounds, respectively, when compared with the methanol extract. Oleuropein was quite stable in aqueous extracts for 7 days when stored at room temperatures but degraded after 17 days. Other polyphenols were less stable in aqueous extracts and started to show some degree of degradation after 7 days (little change occurred during the first 24 h storage at room temperature) and were completely degraded after 17 days. On the other hand, oleuropein and other polyphenols in methanol extract were quite stable for 30 days when stored at room temperature. The studies provide important information for efficient and effective processing and extraction of olive leaf polyphenols for research, home and commercial use.
The Hourani durum wheat landrace was cultivated for millennia in the Houran plateau of Northern Jordan and Southern Syria. Recently, however, it's meta-population became highly fragmented due to the introduction of high yielding varieties, new crop rotations and new cropping systems. Its genetic divergence was assessed in 289 populations collected from five villages in each of two eco-geographical regions in each country. Total variation in 15 plant, spike and seed attributes was apportioned among populations (13.5%), among farms (18.3%), among villages (16.5%), among eco-geographical regions (46%) and among countries (5.7%). Percent correct classification of germplasm by village based on discriminant analyses was 71 and 65% in semiarid and arid villages, respectively. This confirms the existence of a highly divergent germplasm in this landrace, with geographical distances among villages being correlated with squared Mahalanobis distances based on all 15 plant, spike and seed attributes (r=0.59; p=0.05).
Phosphorus (P) fate and transport is an emergent problem impacting environmental resources. Long time land application of P enriched manure has been implicated in the saturation of available P binding sites in many terrestrial, wetland and sediment systems. Transport of soluble or particle associated P by overland flow and possibly by subsurface leaching has increased eutrophication in waterways. Myo-inositol hexkis phosphate or more commonly phytic acid (PA) is an organic phosphate molecule with twelve acidic protons. The acid dissociation constants (pKa) are 1.9(3), 2.4(2), 3.2(1), 5.2(1), 6.3(1), 8.0(1), 9.2(1) and 9.5(2). The charged species fractions were calculated as a function of pH using the acid dissociation constants. Results predict three different charged species of phytic acid will simultaneously be present at most any environmentally relevant pH. Analysis of the electro-spray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) solution spectra of iron and copper complexes of PA at pH 2.8, 6 and 13 confirmed multiple charged species of PA occur simultaneously even in the presence of metal cations. Results showed minimal fragmentation of the parent phytate anions. Changes in the z of PA anions, not changes in the stability or fragmentation of the parent compound with pH, explain the observed fragmentation pattern. Assigning the correct z is a pre-requisite to identifying the (m/z) composition of PA fragments.
A total of 26 enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli 0157:H7 isolates from diarrhoeal patients in Jos area were tested for susceptibility to 11 antimicrobial agents by the standard disc diffusion and tube dilution methods. All the isolates were susceptible to gentamycin, ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol but resistant to cloxacillin. There was a high prevalence susceptibility of the isolates to tetracycline (92.3%) and cephalexin (80.8%) by disc diffusion method. The isolates were moderately susceptible to doxycycline (46.2%) and ampicillin (42.3%) by tube dilution method. A low prevalence of resistance by tube dilution method to ampicillin (42.3%), doxycycline (42.3%), erythromycin (42.3%), amoxycillin (42.3%) and cefuroxime (26.9%) was observed. The difference in susceptibility results between the two methods of susceptibility assessment was minor. The tube dilution method was found to better distinguish between sensitive and resistant strains of E. coli 0157:H7 to the chosen antibiotics.
Growing concern on the emergence of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli 0157:H7 (EHEC) in the developed countries associated with cattle, poultry, vegetable and pond water have focused our attention on the prevalence of this disease from diarrhoeal patients in Jos, Nigeria. From February 2002 to February 2004, 1050 faecal specimens from adults and children of both sexes with diarrhoeal (850) and non-diarrhoeal (200) illnesses were investigated for the presence of E. coli 0157:H7. From diarrhoeal patients, 26 (3.1%) were infected with E. coli 0157:H7. Other enteropathogens isolated include enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. No E. coli 0157:H7 was isolated from non-diarrhoeal patients. In children between the ages of 6 to 10 yrs, E. coli 0157:H7 was isolated from 4/104 (3.8%) and 2/55 (3.6%) adults between the ages of 51 and 60 yrs. From bloody diarrhoea, 19 (6.9%) out of 274 were infected with E. coli 0157:H7, while 7 (1.2%) out of 576 infected were from non-bloody diarrhoea. All 26 E. coli 0157:H7 isolated from diarrhoeal patients produced verocytotoxin (VT). VT-1 was detected from 3 (11.5%), VT-2 from 17 (65.4%) and VT-1 and -2 from 6 (23.1%). E. coli 0157:H7 came fourth (3.1%) as the most prevalent bacterial enteropathogen isolated from diarrhoeal patients attending hospitals in Jos, Nigeria. This study shows high prevalence of E. coli 0157:H7 infection in the area studied, which was statistically significant (P<0.05) by Chi-square test. We recommend physicians in developing countries to query E. coli 0157:H7 infection when clinical presentation (bloody diarrhoea) in patients is indicated. Education on properly cooked meal especially of bovine source is emphasized.
This study was conducted during years 2004 and 2005 to examine the effect of PGPR (Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria) inoculation and synthetic fertilizer (NPK) alone or in combination on some fruit quality characteristics such as fruit color, fruit weight, fruit dimensions, seed weight, flesh/seed ratio, stalk length and diameter, soluble solids content (SSC) and titratable acidity of sweet cherry cv. 0900 Ziraat. The bacteria Bacillus OSU-142 was sprayed on 10 years old trees at full bloom, 15 and 30 days after full bloom stages. The bacteria and fertilizer alone or in combination significantly increased in particular fruit weight, length, diameter, seed weight and SSC. The highest fruit weight was observed in 0.5 kg NPK per tree alone treatment as 7.24 g and followed by Bacillus OSU-142+0.5 kg NPK per tree treatment (6.42 g). The present results of this study suggest that Bacillus OSU-142 application is a potential agent to increase fruit quality of sweet cherry cv. 0900 Ziraat.
Commonly cultivated mushrooms of the genus Pleurotus are interesting because of their 1,3-β-glucans demonstrate great immunomodulation and antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. The productivity of these mushrooms depends upon the growing conditions, nutritional substrates and biotic and abiotic stress factors that result in an enzymes over-expression. The present study showed the participation of different techniques and doses of gamma irradiation on carbon metabolism, 1,3-β-glucan synthase enzyme activity and subsequent 1,3-β-glucan over- production (both in absence or presence of radioprotective cysteine biocompound). Gradual gamma irradiation (0.5 and 1.0 kGy) significantly enhanced high growth, biomass yield, 1,3-β-glucan production and carbon metabolites contents (carbeome ex. total 1,3-β-glucans, polysaccharides, and carbohydrate metabolism), glucose absorption, 1,3-β-glucan synthase activity and protein content. On the other hand, these low irradiation doses inhibited the accumulation of cellular and extracellular keto acids, free ammonia, extracellular 1,3-β-glucan permeation and vice versa. SDS-PAGE electrophoresis showed that, in absence of radioprotective compound (cysteine), higher gamma irradiation doses (2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 kGy) downregulated original intense protein bands (29.0, 35.0, 47.0 and 53.0 but not 68.0 kDa) and original light protein bands (80, 88, 92 but not 15.0, 19.0, 40, 55 and 70 kDa). Conversely, addition of 0.1 g l -1 radioprotective compound nullified this effect (except for 29.0 and 47.0 kDa under the effect of 2.5 and 3.0 kGy dose only). Furthermore, different gradual gamma irradiation doses resulted in an intensification of 40 and 15.0 kDa (in both presence and absence of radioprotective compound). Production of 1,3-β-glucan was increased till 1.5 kGy exposure dose in absence of radioprotective compound but in presence of the radioprotective compound the increase in 1,3-β-glucan was demonstrated under irradiation dose up to 2.0 kGy.
In this paper, the optimization of medium components was reported for the production of β-fructofuranosidase (FFase) from Arthrobacter sp.10138. Experiments were conducted using the uniform design (UD), and the data were used to build an artificial neural network model. The concentrations of six medium components (sucrose, beef extract, yeast extract, (NH 4) 2HPO 4,KH 2PO 4 and MgSO 4) served as inputs to the neural network model, and the FFase activity served as outputs of the model. Using the genetic algorithms (GA), the input space of the neural network model was optimized to find out the optimum values for maximum FFase activity. Maximum FFase activity of 318.5U/mL was obtained at the GA- optimized concentrations of medium components (sucrose 33.0 g/L; beef extract 3.0 g/L; yeast extract 2.0 g/L; (NH 4) 2HPO 4 4.0 g/L; KH 2PO 4 0.5 g/L and MgSO 4·7H 2O 0.2 g/L). The FFase activity obtained by the ANN-GA was 15.6% higher than the maximum activity of FFase obtained by UD experiments.
Due to the interaction between fertilizers and various soil elements in fish ponds, many conflicting and inconsistent results were indicated in previous studies. The effect of different levels of an inorganic fertilizer (14N-38P-10K) on inducing natural food for tilapia production in fiberglass tanks without soil, using a static well water system under arid land conditions was evaluated. Six fiberglass tanks (3 m diameter and 1.2 m height) were randomly stocked with tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings at a rate of 10 fish/m3. The tanks were treated with three levels (0, 5.3, 7.7 g/m3/day) of the tested fertilizer in duplicate. Each tank was randomly assigned a level of fertilizer. The fertilizer was added once a week in a cloth bag suspended at a 60 cm depth from the water surface. Natural food was the only source of food for tilapia fingerlings for the 12 week experimental duration. The experiment was canied out at 30±4°C, average light intensity 50,524±483 lux, light duration 14 hrs and water salinity 3.4‰. Water quality parameters such as turbidity, chlorophyll a, pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) were monitored. The results indicated that fish grown in tanks treated with 5.1 and 7.7 g/m3/day levels of fertilizer were both similar and superior to those in tanks treated with 0 level of fertilizer (control group). Other growth parameters, namely weight gain, specific growth rate, protein deposition value and energy deposition value followed the same pattern. Water quality parameters were significantly affected by the fertilizer level. Chlorophyll (mg/L), dissolved oxygen and pH increased with increasing the fertilizer level. Secchi disk visibility (cm) readings were inversely affected by the fertilizer level. It was concluded that adding 5.3 g/m3/day of the tested fertilizer is the optimum level for the best tilapia fingerlings growth under the experimental condition.
G protein coupled receptor 120 (GPR120) is a receptor of unsaturated long-chain fatty acids, especially ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and plays important roles in dietary fat sensing, inflammation and adipogenesis controlling, therefore emerged as a new potential target for treatment of type 2 diabetes and metabolic diseases. Though GPR120 was focused in recent years, there were rarely studies on pig. Here, the gene of porcine GPR120 (pGPR120) was first cloned and characterized, the expression profiles were also examined in five Chinese indigenous pig breeds and Landrace pig on 14 days of age. Bioinformatic analysis was done on pGPR120 through bioinformatics software on line. Real-time PCR analysis was used to investigate the tissues distribution of pGPR120. It has a seven trans-membrane structure and shared 96%, 96% and 95% of sequence identity with GPR120 of mouse, rat and human, respectively. No splice variants of GPR120 gene were found, but pGPR120 had a ubiquitously expression in tissues of different pig breeds, especially in heart, fat tissues and distal segments of gut. Chinese indigenous pig breeds had different pGPR120 expression patterns compared with the Landrace. Chinese indigenous pig breeds may be candidate model for researches on GPR120 to boost the discovery of regulation techniques for lipid metabolism.
Salt stress in one of the most serious factors limiting the productivity of Zea mays. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the cyanobacterium Nostoc muscorum extracellular products on the growth of salt sensitive Zea mays (Sc. 124) seedlings inhibited by sodium chloride. Growth parameters (length and weight of the seedlings) and pigments content were evaluated. Salt exposure negatively affected all growth parameters and pigment contents. Extracellular products nullified the salt effect on shoot dry weight (from 37% to 5% decrease); partially counteracted the effect on shoot length (from 55% to 39% decrease), root dry weight (from 56.7% to 40% decrease) and had no effect on root length. Salinity decreased chlorophyll contents of the seedlings, reduction was 60%, but application of cyanobacterial extracellular products had a distinct effect on salinity alleviation as evident from recovery in the pigment contents. This improvement in chlorophyll contents was 40%.
Salified higher aliphatic amides (C 12H 25/C 18H 37) have been reported in the literature together with classical surface-active components, as products that potentiate their sanitation colloidal competences. This work brings attention to two variants for the obtention of some salified (HCOOH; CH 3COOH) β-alkyl (C 12H 25/C 18C 37) polyethyleneoxy (n = 3-20) propionamides, the first through the nucleophilic addition under basic catalysis of the hydroxyl functional group in higher polyethoxylated alcohols to the acrylamide monomer, followed by stoichiometric salification with HCOOH and/or CH 3COOH, the second through the partial acid hydrolysis of β-alkyl (C 12H 25/C 18C 37) polyethyleneoxy (n = 3-20) propionitriles to the corresponding propionamides, followed by stoichiometric salification with HCOOH and/or CH 3COOH. In this work the dependence of the processing yields on the operating parameters (temperature, duration, catalysts etc.) is investigated.
The effects of rootstock on translocation of photosynthates was determined at matured leaf stage in 2-year-old 'Fuyu'(Diospyros kaki) persimmon trees grafted onto D. kaki and D. lotus rootstocks by using 13C tracer method. The number of leaves and branches, growth of shoot, trunk and tree, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were significantly higher in D. kaki than in D. lotus. Similarly, the total amount of 13C was higher in D. kaki than in D. lotus. The partitioning of 13C-photosynthates in leaves and branches decreased with time but it increased in trunk shoot, graft union, tap root, roots of more than 2 mm in thickness (roots ≥2 mm) and roots of less than 2 mm in thickness (roots <2 mm) in both the combinations. The roots <2 mm and the entire parts below the graft union of 'Fuyu'/D. lotus combination accumulated significantly lower amounts of 13C as compared to 'Fuyu'/D. kaki combination. It is possible that the graft union between 'Fuyu' and D. lotus could be a physical barrier that impairs the translocation of photosynthates. When treated by girdling at the upper trunk with nearby leaves fed on the 13CO 2, 13C allocation in the middle part of leaves and branches just above fed leaves was significantly higher in D. kaki than in D. lotus. These results imply that upward partitioning of photosynthates was affected by rootstock and that 'Fuyu'/D. kaki is more compatible as compared to the 'Fuyu'/D. lotus combination.
Phytate is an important phosphorus and mineral storage compound in plant seeds. Both the benign and adverse effects of phytate in nutrition and environment are mainly due to its unique conformational structures, where a strong chelating ability makes phytate interact with many cations (such as Zn2+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and Al3+). However, information is scant on the conformational forms of different solid metal phytate compounds although phytate in solution exists in two conformations: one axial and five equatorial phosphates (1a/5e) structure and an inverted 5a/1e structure. Consequently, we investigated the spectral features of nine representative metal phytate compounds by solid state 1D 13C cross polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) and 2D 13C-1H heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) NMR. A broad peak appeared in all solid 1D NMR spectra of hydrogen monovalent, divalent, and trivalent metal phytate compounds. The spectra of hydrogen monovalent and divalent compounds could be deconvoluted to two separate resonance peaks. 2D HETCOR clearly showed distinct 13C-1H correlations for inositol C-H moieties in hydrogen metal phytates from non-hydrogen metal phytates. Through spectral comparison, this work demonstrated that different valent cations in solid phytate compounds could induce conformational changes of the inositol ring as pH does on the phytate in solution. Therefore, the current knowledge on the effect of pH on phytate conformation can be helpful in understanding the conformational changes of phytate when it interacts with different valent metals to form less soluble even insoluble compounds in the environment.
