Specific biotests to assess eco-toxicity of biodegradable polymer materials in soil.

Eco-toxicity investigation of polymer materials was considered extremely necessary for their potential menace, which was widely use as mulching materials in agricultural. In this study, polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS) and synthetic biomaterials-Ecoflex and cellulose were applying into soil cultivated with two potential indicator plants species: oat (Avena sativa) and red radish (Raphanus sativum). Variety of chemical, biochemical parameters and enzyme activity in soil were proved as effective approach to evaluate polymers phytotoxicity in plant-soil mesocosm.

ClimCKmap, a spatially, temporally and climatically explicit distribution database for the Italian fauna.

Understanding and counteracting biodiversity losses requires quantitative knowledge on species distribution and abundance across space and time, as well as integrated and interoperable information on climate conditions and climatic changes. In this paper we developed a new biodiversity-climate database for Italy, ClimCKmap, based on the critical analysis, quality estimation and subsequent integration of the CKmap database with several high-resolution climate datasets. The original database was quality-checked for errors in toponym, species name and dating; the retained records were georeferenced and their distribution polygonised via Voronoi tessellation.

Enhancements in phytoremediation technology: Environmental assessment including different options of biomass disposal and comparison with a consolidated approach.

Phytoremediation represents a solution for treating soils contaminated by heavy metals, provided that appropriate plant species are selected and the proper strategy chosen. When dealing with soil contaminated with arsenic and/or lead, which are non-essential elements for plants but also among the most toxic metals, this task is particularly difficult to achieve. In a previous contribution we showed that metals accumulation by Lupinus albus, Brassica juncea and Helianthus annuus can be improved by dosing suitable chemicals (i.

Improved arsenic phytoextraction by combined use of mobilizing chemicals and autochthonous soil bacteria.

Proper plant selection and application of suitable strategies are key factors to ensure the effectiveness of a reclamation via phytoremediation approach. In this study, micro- and meso-cosm scale experimentation has been realized to address a persistent contamination by arsenic on a disused industrial site through an assisted phytoremediation intervention. Three crop species, namely Brassica juncea, Helianthus annuus and Zea mays, have been considered and the addition of KHPO, a common mobilizing agent for As, or (NH)SO, a promising additive for As mobilization in case of mercury co-presence, evaluated.

Perfluoroalkyl acids in fish of Italian deep lakes: Environmental and human risk assessment.

Determination of 20 PFASs in a fish species (Alosa agone) of commercial interest has been carried out in five Italian subalpine lakes to assess the risk for humans and predators for fish consumption. PFOS still presents the highest concentrations (0.9-16.

An integrated approach to highlight biological responses of Pisum sativum root to nano-TiO exposure in a biosolid-amended agricultural soil.

This study focused on crop plant response to a simultaneous exposure to biosolid and TiO at micro- and nano-scale, being biosolid one of the major sink of TiO nanoparticles released into the soil environment. We settled an experimental design as much as possible realistic, at microcosm scale, using the crop Pisum sativum. This experimental design supported the hypotheses that the presence of biosolid in the farming soil might influence plant growth and metabolism and that, after TiO spiking, the different dimension and crystal forms of TiO might be otherwise bioavailable and differently interacting with the plant system.

Impact of industrial wastewater on the dynamics of antibiotic resistance genes in a full-scale urban wastewater treatment plant.

Urban Wastewater Treatment Plants (UWTPs) treating mixed urban sewage and industrial wastewater are among the major hotspots for the spread of Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs) into the environment. This study addresses the impact of the wastewater origin on ARG dynamics in a full-scale UWTP (15,000 Population Equivalent, PE) by operating the plant with and without industrial wastewater. Composite samples (4 L) from different treatment points were characterized for their chemical composition, bacterial abundance and for the abundance of four resistance genes against tetracycline, sulfonamides, erythromycin, and quinolones (tetA, sul2, ermB, and qnrS), and of the class 1 integrons (intI1).

Life-history strategies in zooplankton promote coexistence of competitors in extreme environments with high metal content.

The toxicity of pollutants on aquatic communities is determined by the specific sensitivities and by the ecological relationships between species, although the role of ecological interactions on the specific sensitivity to pollutants is complex. We tested the effect of exposure to copper on the life-history strategies of two coexisting rotifer species of the genus Brachionus from Inca-Coya lagoon, an isolated water body located in Atacama Desert. The experiments looked at differences in the response to the stress by chemical pollution mimicking field conditions of copper exposure, levels of food, and salinity, between single-species cultures and coexisting species.

ddPCR applied on archived Continuous Plankton Recorder samples reveals long-term occurrence of class 1 integrons and a sulphonamide resistance gene in marine plankton communities.

Antibiotic resistance is a rising threat for human health. Although in clinical settings and terrestrial environments the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria is well documented, their dissemination and spread in the marine environment, covering almost two-thirds of the Earth's surface, is still poorly understood. In this study, the presence and abundance of sulphonamide resistance gene (sul2) and class 1 integron-integrase gene (intI1), used as markers for the occurrence and spread of antibiotic resistance genes since the beginning of the antibiotic era, were investigated.

Ecological risk assessment of pesticide mixtures in the alluvial aquifers of central Italy: Toward more realistic scenarios for risk mitigation.

In this study we used the data of an extensive pesticide monitoring survey that took place in 11 alluvial aquifers of central Italy from 2010 to 2015 to explore 4 different scenarios of risk. The Scenarios 1 and 2 were used to depict the risk of failing to meet the good groundwater chemical status as defined by the Water Framework Directive. The Scenarios 3 and 4 were used to assess for the first time the ecological risk in groundwater bodies, defined as the likelihood of hazard to the groundwater communities stably residing in the 11 alluvial aquifers that may be affected by pesticide contamination.

Overcoming limitation of "recalcitrant areas" to phytoextraction process: The synergistic effects of exogenous cytokinins and nitrogen treatments.

The aim of the present work was to test the efficiency of the phytoextraction process involving the use of exogenous phytohormone (cytokinins, CKs) and fertilizer (nitrogen, N) treatments in phytotechnologies to address risk management in "recalcitrant areas". The CKs and N treatments, alone or combined (CKs + N) in a Modulated Application (MA), were tested on the crop plant Helianthus annuus, common to Mediterranean area, fast growing and with high biomass production. Plants were grown on boron (B) contaminated sediments (collected from a geothermal area located in Tuscany (Italy).

Genome analysis of the freshwater planktonic Vulcanococcus limneticus sp. nov. reveals horizontal transfer of nitrogenase operon and alternative pathways of nitrogen utilization.

Background: Many cyanobacteria are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, playing a crucial role in biogeochemical cycling. Little is known about freshwater unicellular cyanobacteria Synechococcus spp. at the genomic level, despite being recognised of considerable ecological importance in aquatic ecosystems.

Phytoremediated marine sediments as suitable peat-free growing media for production of red robin photinia (Photinia x fraseri).

Sediments dredged by an industrial port, slightly contaminated by heavy metals and petroleoum hydrocarbons, were phytoremediated and used as peat-free growing media for the red robin photinia (Photinia x fraseri L.). Plants were grown on sediment only (S), sediment mixed with composted pruning residues (S + PR), sediment fertilized with controlled release fertilizers (S + F) and peat-based growing media as control (C).

Microplastics increase impact of treated wastewater on freshwater microbial community.

Plastic pollution is a major global concern with several million microplastic particles entering every day freshwater ecosystems via wastewater discharge. Microplastic particles stimulate biofilm formation (plastisphere) throughout the water column and have the potential to affect microbial community structure if they accumulate in pelagic waters, especially enhancing the proliferation of biohazardous bacteria. To test this scenario, we simulated the inflow of treated wastewater into a temperate lake using a continuous culture system with a gradient of concentration of microplastic particles.

Fundamental niche prediction of the pathogenic yeasts Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in Europe.

Fundamental niche prediction of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in Europe is an important tool to understand where these pathogenic yeasts have a high probability to survive in the environment and therefore to identify the areas with high risk of infection. In this study, occurrence data for C. neoformans and C.

Assisted phytoremediation of a multi-contaminated soil: Investigation on arsenic and lead combined mobilization and removal.

The removal of contaminants from an earthy matrix by phytoremediation requires the selection of appropriate plant species and a suitable strategy to be effective. In order to set up an assisted phytoremediation intervention related to a disused industrial site affected by an arsenic and lead complex contamination, an extensive experimental investigation on micro and mesocosm scale has been conducted. Particular attention was given to the choice of plant species: using crop plants (Lupinus albus, Helianthus annuus and Brassica juncea) a series of parallel test campaigns have been realized to investigate different scenarios for the reclamation.

Defence strategies and antibiotic resistance gene abundance in enterococci under stress by exposure to low doses of peracetic acid.

Peracetic acid (PAA) is an organic compound used efficiently as disinfectant in wastewater treatments. Yet, at low doses it may cause selection; thus, the effect of low doses of PAA on Enterococcus faecium as a proxy of human-related microbial waste was evaluated. Bacteria were treated with increasing doses of PAA (from 0 to 25 mg L min) and incubated in regrowth experiments under non-growing, limiting conditions and under growing, favorable conditions.

Tungstate adsorption onto Italian soils with different characteristics.

The study of tungsten in the environment is currently of considerable interest because of the growing concerns resulting from its possible toxicity and carcinogenicity. Adsorption reactions are some of the fundamental processes governing the fate and transport of tungsten compounds in soil. This paper reports data on the adsorption of tungstate ions in three different Italian soils, which are characteristic of the Mediterranean region.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the scaleless scale worm (Sigalionidae, Annelida).

is a scaleless group of small scale worms inhabiting sandy bottoms in shallow marine waters. This group was once considered rare, but now 45 described species can be characterized, among others, by their paired, segmental copulatory organs (one to multiple external pairs), which display a complexity of various accessory structures. The evolutionary significance of these unique organs was suggested in the late 1960s, but has been heavily debated since the late 1990s and remains controversial.

Rainfall increases the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes within a riverine microbial community.

Infections with antibiotic resistant bacteria are among the major threats for human health. Studies elucidating the role of the environment in their spread are still in their infancy, it, however, seems that different environments might function as a long-term reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) that reside within their microbial communities. An increasing number of studies target the presence and the persistence of ARGs in waters and soils that are exposed to human activities; they, however, rarely consider the spatial/temporal variability that predominate in these environments.

Test procedures for measuring the (sub)chronic effects of chemicals on the freshwater cyclopoid Eucyclops serrulatus.

The purpose of this study has been to describe test procedures for measuring the (sub)chronic effects of chemicals on the freshwater cyclopoid Eucyclops serrulatus. To this end we have adapted the setting of the standard full life-cycle protocol of the marine harpacticoid A. tenuiremis to E.

CO emissions from German drinking water reservoirs.

Globally, reservoirs are a significant source of atmospheric CO. However, precise quantification of greenhouse gas emissions from drinking water reservoirs on the regional or national scale is still challenging. We calculated CO fluxes for 39 German drinking water reservoirs during a period of 22years (1991-2013) using routine monitoring data in order to quantify total emission of CO from drinking water reservoirs in Germany and to identify major drivers.

Resistance to Biocides in Collected in Meat-Processing Environments.

The emergence of microorganisms exerting resistance to biocides is a challenge to meat-processing environments. Bacteria can be intrinsically resistant to biocides but resistance can also be acquired by adaptation to their sub-lethal concentrations. Moreover, the presence of biocide resistance determinants, which is closely linked to antibiotic resistance determinants, could lead to co-selection during disinfection practices along the food chain, and select cross-resistant foodborne pathogens.

Physiological and biochemical responses of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) exposed to nano-CeO and excess boron: Modulation of boron phytotoxicity.

Little is known about the interaction of nanoparticles (NPs) with soil constituents and their effects in plants. Boron (B), an essential micronutrient that reduces crop production at both deficiency and excess, has not been investigated with respect to its interaction with cerium oxide NPs (nano-CeO). Considering conflicting results on the nano-CeO toxicity and protective role as antioxidant, their possible modulation on B toxicity in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.

Contaminant bioavailability in soil and phytotoxicity/genotoxicity tests in Vicia faba L.: a case study of boron contamination.

In this work, the model plant for genotoxicity studies Vicia faba L. was used to investigate the relation between Boron (B) content and bioavailability in soil and plant genotoxic/phytotoxic response. A total of nine soil samples were investigated: two soil samples were collected from a B-polluted industrial area in Cecina (Tuscany, Italy), the other samples were obtained by spiking control soil (from a not polluted area of the basin) with seven increased doses of B, from about 20 to 100 mg B kg.