Research progress on remediation of organochlorine pesticide contamination in soil.

Deteriorated soil pollution has grown into a worldwide environmental concern over the years. Organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues, featured with ubiquity, persistence and refractoriness, are one of the main pollution sources, causing soil degradation, fertility decline and nutritional imbalance, and severely impacting soil ecology. Furthermore, residual OCPs in soil may enter the human body along with food chain accumulation and pose a serious health threat.

Development of nucleotide signatures for common poisonous organisms provides a new strategy for food poisoning diagnosis.

DNA barcoding is widely used in toxic species authentication, but due to serious DNA degradation of forensic materials, the application of full-length barcode sequences in food poisoning diagnosis is greatly limited. Nucleotide signature, a shorter specific molecular marker, derived from traditional DNA barcoding has been proposed as an emerging tool of toxic species detection in deeply processed materials. In this study, to resolve the frequent food poisoning accidents with unknown origin, we envisioned developing a nucleotide signature data set of common poisonous organisms and combining high-throughput sequencing (HTS) to reveal the poisoning cause.

and microalgae biofertilizers improved quality and biomass of by altering microbial communities.

Objective: Biofertilizers are reliable alternatives to chemical fertilizers due to various advantages. However, the effect of biofertilizers on yield and quality and the possible mechanisms remain little known. Here, an experiment was conducted in field treated with two kinds of biofertilizers including  and microalgae.

Insights into taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of eleven species based on chloroplast genome.

Introduction: The Aristolochia, as an important genus comprised of over 400 species, has attracted much interest because of its unique chemical and pharmacological properties. However, the intrageneric taxonomy and species identification within have long been difficult because of the complexity of their morphological variations and lack of high-resolution molecular markers.

Methods: In this study, we sampled 11 species of collected from distinct habitats in China, and sequenced their complete chloroplast (cp) genomes.

Contributions of Beneficial Microorganisms in Soil Remediation and Quality Improvement of Medicinal Plants.

Medicinal plants (MPs) are important resources widely used in the treatment and prevention of diseases and have attracted much attention owing to their significant antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and other activities. However, soil degradation, caused by continuous cropping, excessive chemical fertilizers and pesticide residues and heavy metal contamination, seriously restricts the growth and quality formation of MPs. Microorganisms, as the major biota in soil, play a critical role in the restoration of the land ecosystem.

Detection of Highly Poisonous Using Quantitative Real-Time PCR with Specific Primers.

is one of the most poisonous plants, and its accidental ingestion has frequently occurred in humans and livestock. It is vital to develop a rapid and accurate identification method for the timely rescue of oleander-poisoned patients and the investigation of poisoning cases. In this study, a specific and highly sensitive quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR)-based method was developed to identify oleander in mixture systems and simulated forensic specimens (SFS).

Identification and poisoning diagnosis of Aconitum materials using a genus-specific nucleotide signature.

Aconitum genus generally contains hypertoxic alkaloids. Poisoning incidents due to the improper ingestion of Aconitum materials frequently occur around the world. DNA barcoding is considered as a powerful tool for species identification, but complete sequences of conventional DNA barcodes are sometimes unattainable from food and highly processed products due to severe DNA degradation.

Development of a Genus-Universal Nucleotide Signature for the Identification and Supervision of -Containing Products.

plants generally contain ephedrine alkaloids, which are the critical precursor compounds of methamphetamine (METH). METH could cause serious physical and mental damage, and therefore materials are strictly in supervision internationally. However, unlawful utilization of herbs and its products still exist.

Detection of Adulteration and Pesticide Residues in Chinese Patent Medicine Qipi Pill Using KASP Technology and GC-MS/MS.

Chinese patent medicines (CPMs) are of great value for the prevention and treatment of diseases. However, adulterants and pesticide residues in CPMs have become the "bottleneck" impeding the globalization of traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, 12 batches of commercially available Qipi pill (a famous CPM recorded in Chinese Pharmacopeia) from different manufacturers were investigated to evaluate their authenticity and quality safety.

The complete chloroplast genome of Hemsl. (Aristolochiaceae: L.).

Hemsley 1890, belonging to Aristolochiaceae family, is a kind of folk herb resource with certain toxicity. In this study, we acquired the complete chloroplast genome of for its accurate species identification and phylogenetic analysis. The genome is 177,905 bp in size with a typical circular quadripartite structure, consisting of a large single-copy region, a small single-copy region and a pair of inverted repeats.