Publications by authors named "Chong-yu Lan"

Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the microbial communities in an acidic stream affected by intensive mining activities at the Yun-Fu pyrite mine in Guangdong, China, where water acidity is a constant challenge.
  • Using TRFLP analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, the research reveals that microbial populations change based on spatial location and seasonal variations, reflecting the geochemical and physical conditions of the environment.
  • Key findings show that while iron-oxidizing bacteria such as Ferrovum myxofaciens dominate the acidic community year-round, significant shifts occur in microbial composition, particularly in spring when different archaea become more prevalent, highlighting the dynamic nature of these prokaryotic communities in response to environmental changes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A combination of cultivation-based and molecular-based approaches was used to reveal the culturable and molecular diversity of the microbes inhabiting an open-dumped Pb/Zn mine tailings that was undergoing intensive acid generation (pH 1.9). Culturable bacteria found in the extremely acidic mine tailings were Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Sulfobacillus thermotolerans and Acidiphilium cryptum, where the number of acidophilic heterotrophs was ten times higher than that of the iron- and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

As well known, at normal levels, copper and zinc are essential micronutrients for plants, animals, and humans. However, excessive Cu and Zn are toxic and disturb a wide range of biochemical and physiological processes. Using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS; Perkin-Elmer 3030, USA), soil and rice plant (Oryza sativa L.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Spatial and temporal distribution of octylphenol (OP) and nonylphenol (NP) in Mai Po Marshes, a subtropical estuarine wetland in Hong Kong, were investigated. Surface water samples were collected every month from 11 sites during the period of September-December 2004. Concentrations of OP and NP ranged from 11.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

To understand the degradation of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in natural environment with existence of iron oxides and carboxylic acids, the dependence of bisphenol A (BPA) photodegradation on the initial concentration of oxalate (COX) in lepidocrocite (gamma-FeOOH) aqueous suspension was investigated under both UV and visible lights in this study. Lepidocrocite powder was home-prepared by a hydrothermal process. It was found that BPA degradation was promoted greatly in the presence of oxalate owing to the formation of lepidocrocite-oxalate complex.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Soil properties, microbial communities and enzyme activities were studied in soil amended with replicase (RP)-transgenic or non-transgenic papaya under field conditions. Compared with non-transgenic papaya, significant differences (P<0.05) were observed in total nitrogen in soils grown with transgenic papaya.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cultivation-based and molecular approaches were used to characterize the phylogenetic composition and structure of the microbial community in an extremely acidic (pH 2.0) acid mine drainage (AMD) associated with Pb/Zn mine tailings that were undergoing vigorous acid generation. Acidophilic bacteria were isolated and enumerated on solid media, and were found to be restricted to isolates related to Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidiphilium cryptum.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Virus resistance in field and molecular biological characterizations of the transgenes were analyzed for two lines of T(1) generation of transgenic papaya with the replicase mutant gene from papaya ringspot virus (PRV). The transgenic plants showed highly resistant or immune against PRV. Results indicated that the transgenes inherited to and expressed at RNA level in the progenies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A field experiment was conducted to compare the growth and metal accumulation of Vetiveria zizanioides, Paspalum notatum, Cynodon dactylon and Imperata cylindraca var. major on the tailings, amended with 10 cm domestic refuse + complex NPK fertilizer(Treatment A), 10 cm domestic refuse(Treatment B) and complex NPK fertilizer (Treatment C) respectively, and without any amendment used as control (Treatment D). The results indicated that V.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cultivation-independent molecular approaches were used to investigate the phylogenetic composition of Archaea and the relative abundance of phylogenetically defined groups of methanogens in the leachate of a closed municipal solid waste landfill. Cloning and phylogenetic analysis of archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences (16S rDNA) revealed that the landfill leachate harbored a diverse Archaea community, with sequence types distributed within the two archaeal kingdoms of the Euryarchaeota and the Crenarchaeota. Of the 80 clones examined, 51 were phylogenetically associated with well-defined methanogen lineages covering two major methanogenic phenotypes; 20 were related to Thermoplasma and were grouped with some novel archaeal rRNA gene sequences recently recovered from various anaerobic habitats; finally, five belonged to Crenarchaeota and were not closely related to any hitherto cultivated species.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Landfill leachate recirculation is efficient in reducing the leachate quantity handled by a leachate treatment plant. However, after land application of leachate, nitrification and denitrification of the ammoniacal N becomes possible and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) is produced. Lack of information on the effects of leachate recirculation on N2O production led to a field study being conducted in the Likang Landfill (Guangzhou, China) where leachate recirculation had been practiced for 8 yr.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The diversity and structure of the archaeal community in the effluent leachate from a full-scale recirculating landfill was characterized by direct 16S rRNA gene (16S rDNA) retrieval. Total-community DNA was extracted from the microbial assemblages in the landfill leachate, and archaeal 16S rDNAs were amplified with a universally conserved primer and an Archaea-specific primer. The amplification product was then used to construct a 16S rDNA clone library, and 70 randomly selected archaeal clones in the library were grouped by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF