Phosphorus status and microbial community of paddy soil with the growth of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) under different phosphorus fertilizer treatments

Annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) was grown in paddy soil in pots under different phosphorus (P) fertilizer treatments to investigate changes of P fractions and microbial community of the soil. The treatments included Kunyang phosphate rock (KPR) applications at 50 mg P/kg (KPR50) and 250 mg P/kg (KPR250), mono-calcium phosphate (MCP) application at 50 mg P/kg (MCP50), and the control without P application. The results showed that KPR50, KPR250, and MCP50 applications significantly increased the dry weight of the ryegrass by 13%, 38%, and 55%, and increased P uptake by 19%, 135%, and 324%, respectively. Compared with MCP50, the relative effectiveness of KPR50 and KPR250 treatments in ryegrass production was about 23% and 68%, respectively. After one season ofryegrass growth, the KPR50, KPR250, and MCP50 applications increased soil-available P by 13.4%, 26.8%, and 55.2%, respectively. More than 80% of the applied KPR-P remained as HCI-P fraction in the soil. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis showed that the total and bacterial PLFAs were significantly higher in the soils with KPR250 and MCP50 treatments compared with KPR50 and control. The latter had no significant difference in the total or bacterial PLFAs. The KPR50, KPR250, and MCP50 treatments increased fungal PLFA by 69%, 103%, and 69%, respectively. Both the principal component analysis and the cluster analysis of the PLFA data suggest that P treatments altered the microbial community composition of the soils, and that P availability might be an important contributor to the changes in the microbial community structure during the ryegrass growth in the paddy soils.     

Responses of phospholipase D and lipoxygenase to mechanical wounding in postharvest cucumber fruits

This study was to investigate the responses of phospholipase D (PLD) and lipoxygenase (LOX) to mechanical wounding in postharvest cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Biyu-2) fruits. Membrane-associated Ca²⁺ content, activities and gene expression of PLD and LOX, and contents of phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), and phosphatidic acid (PA) were determined in cucumber fruits following mechanical wounding. Results show that PLD and LOX activities increased with the PLD and LOX mRNAs which are upregulated upon wounding, while membrane-associated Ca²⁺ content decreased. Accompanying with the increase of PLD and LOX activities, accumulation of PA and losses of PC and PI were observed in all fruits, but there were differences of degrees between wounded and control fruits. Results suggest that PLD and LOX might be the main hydrolytic enzymes of phospholipids in postharvest cucumber fruits participating in the mechanical wounding injury. The activation of PLD and LOX might be the result of gene expression, which could be stimulated by the Ca²⁺ flowing from the membrane to the cytoplasm upon receiving the wounding signals.