Improvement and year-to-year stabilization of biomass yields are primary objectives for the development of a low-input switchgrass feedstock production system using microbial endophytes. An earlier investigation of the effect of Burkholderia phytofirmans strain PsJN on switchgrass germplasm demonstrated differential responses between genotypes. PsJN inoculation of cv. Alamo (lowland ecotype) in...

The regularities of natural (K-40, Th-232, Ra-226) and artificial (Sr-90 and Cs-137) radionuclides accumulation by embryonic soils and various organs of Taraxacum officinale Web. in rock waste disposal areas of the Kedrovsky coal pit in the Kuznetsk Basin were studied. The K-40 natural radionuclide causes major radioactivity of embryonic soils at rock waste disposal areas – its share in the tot...

Phytotechnologies are rapidly replacing conventional ex-situ remediation techniques as they have the added benefit of restoring aesthetic value, important in the reclamation of mine sites. Alders are pioneer species that can tolerate and proliferate in nutrient-poor, contaminated environments, largely due to symbiotic root associations with the N2-fixing bacteria, Frankia and ectomycorrhizal (E...

Biomarker molecules are valuable for the elucidation of ancient microbial ecosystems and the characterization of petroleum source rocks. For such studies, acquisition of reliable hydrocarbon data and proof of their syngeneity are essential. However, contamination of geological samples with anthropogenic petroleum products during drilling, storage and sampling can be particularly problematic bec...

Chiral diamine-derived hydrogen-bond donors were evaluated for their ability to effect stereocontrol in an intramolecular hetero-Diels-Alder (HDA) reaction hypothesized in the biosynthesis of brevianamides A and B. Collectively, these results provide proof of principle that small-molecule hydrogen-bond catalysis, if even based on a hypothetical biosynthesis construct, holds significant potentia...

In the course of screening natural products for antibacterial activities, a total acetone extract of the seed cake of Paeonia rockii showed significant effects against bacterial strains. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the EtOAc-soluble fraction of the total acetone extract resulted in the isolation and identification of five resveratrol trimers, including rockiiol C (1), gnetin H (2), suff...

We evaluated the effect of phosphorus application rates from various sources and in the presence or absence of filter cake on soil phosphorus, plant phosphorus, changes in acid phosphatase activity, and sugarcane productivity grown in Eutrophic Red Ultisol. Three P sources were used (triple superphosphate, Araxa rock phosphate, and Bayovar rock phosphate) and four application rates (0, 90, 180,...