Occurance, emission and environmental effects of non-methane hydrocarbons in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

The spatial distributions, fluxes, and environmental effects of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) were investigated in the Yellow Sea (YS) and the East China Sea (ECS) in spring. The average concentrations of ethane, propane, i-/n-butane, ethylene, propylene and isoprene in the seawater were 18.1 ± 6.4, 15.4 ± 4.7, 6.8 ± 2.9, 6.4 ± 3.2, 67.1 ± 26.7, 20.5 ± 8.7 and 17.1 ± 11.1 pmol L^-1, respectively. The alkenes in the surface seawater were more abundant than their saturated homologs and NMHCs concentrations (with the exception of isoprene) decreased with carbon number. The spatial variations of isoprene were consistent with the distributions of chlorophyll a (Chl-a) and Chaetoceros, Skeletonema, Nitzschia mainly contributed to the production of isoprene, while the others' distributions might be related to their photochemical production. Observations in atmospheric NMHCs indicated alkanes in the marine atmosphere decreased from inshore to offshore due to influence of the continental emissions, while alkenes were largely derived from the oceanic source. In addition, no apparent diurnal discrepancy of atmospheric NMHCs (except for isoprene) were found between daytime and night. As the main sink of NMHCs in seawater, the average sea-to-air fluxes of ethane, propane, i-/n-butane, ethylene and propylene were 31.70, 29.75, 18.49, 15.89, 239.6, 67.94 and 52.41 nmol m^-2 d^-1, respectively. The average annual emissions of isoprene accounted for 0.1-1.3% of the global ocean emissions, which indicated that the coastal and shelf areas might be significant sources of isoprene. Furthermore, this study represents the first effort to estimate the environmental effects caused by NMHCs over the YS and the ECS and the results demonstrated contributions of alkanes to ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation were lower than those of the alkenes and the largest contributor was isoprene.

Study on the isoprene-producing co-culture system of Synechococcus elongates-Escherichia coli through omics analysis

BACKGROUND

The majority of microbial fermentations are currently performed in the batch or fed-batch manner with the high process complexity and huge water consumption. The continuous microbial production can contribute to the green sustainable development of the fermentation industry. The co-culture systems of photo-autotrophic and heterotrophic species can play important roles in establishing the continuous fermentation mode for the bio-based chemicals production.

RESULTS

In the present paper, the co-culture system of Synechococcus elongates-Escherichia coli was established and put into operation stably for isoprene production. Compared with the axenic culture, the fermentation period of time was extended from 100 to 400 h in the co-culture and the isoprene production was increased to eightfold. For in depth understanding this novel system, the differential omics profiles were analyzed. The responses of BL21(DE3) to S. elongatus PCC 7942 were triggered by the oxidative pressure through the Fenton reaction and all these changes were linked with one another at different spatial and temporal scales. The oxidative stress mitigation pathways might contribute to the long-lasting fermentation process. The performance of this co-culture system can be further improved according to the fundamental rules discovered by the omics analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

The isoprene-producing co-culture system of S. elongates-E. coli was established and then analyzed by the omics methods. This study on the co-culture system of the model S. elongates-E. coli is of significance to reveal the common interactions between photo-autotrophic and heterotrophic species without natural symbiotic relation, which could provide the scientific basis for rational design of microbial community.

Emission drivers and variability of ambient isoprene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in north-west India during monsoon season

Isoprene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are important reactive organic compounds which strongly impact atmospheric oxidation processes and formation of tropospheric ozone. Monsoon meteorology and the topography of Himalayan foothills cause surface emissions to get rapidly transported both horizontally and vertically, thereby influencing atmospheric processes in distant regions. Further in monsoon, Indo-Gangetic Plain is a major rice growing region of the world and daytime hourly ozone can frequently exceed phytotoxic dose of 40 ppb O₃. However, the sources and ambient variability of these compounds which are potent ozone precursors are unknown. Here, we investigate the sources and photochemical processes driving their emission/formation during monsoon season from a sub-urban site at the foothills of the Himalayas. The measurements were performed in July, August and September using a high sensitivity mass spectrometer. Average ambient mixing ratios (±1σ variability) of isoprene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and the sum of methyl vinyl ketone and methacrolein (MVK+MACR), were 1.4 ± 0.3 ppb, 5.7 ± 0.9 ppb, 4.5 ± 2.0 ppb, 0.75 ± 0.3 ppb, respectively, and much higher than summertime values in May. For isoprene these values were comparable to mixing ratios observed over tropical forests. Surprisingly, despite occurrence of anthropogenic emissions, biogenic emissions were found to be the major source of isoprene with peak daytime isoprene driven by temperature (r ≥ 0.8) and solar radiation. Photo-oxidation of precursor hydrocarbons were the main sources of acetaldehyde, formaldehyde and MVK+MACR. Ambient mixing ratios of all the compounds correlated poorly with acetonitrile (r ≤ 0.2), a chemical tracer for biomass burning suggesting negligible influence of biomass burning during monsoon season. Our results suggest that during monsoon season when radiation and rain are no longer limiting factors and convective activity causes surface emissions to be transported to upper atmosphere, biogenic emissions can significantly impact the remote upper atmosphere, climate and ozone affecting rice yields.

Emissions and atmospheric concentrations of α-pinene at an urban site of India: Role of changes in meteorology

The measurements of a monoterpene (α-pinene) were performed by the PTR-TOF-MS instrument at an urban site of India from mid-January to March 2014. The daytime concentration increased from 0.15 ppb in the second-half of January to 0.40 ppb in the second-half of March. Both the nighttime and daytime ratios of α-pinene/benzene in the second-half of March were 2-3 times higher their respective values from mid-January to first-half of February. The ratios of α-pinene/benzene increased from ∼0.27 ppb ppb^-1 at lower temperatures to ∼0.51 ppb ppb^-1 at higher temperatures indicating the increase of biogenic emissions in March. The concentration of α-pinene exhibited exponential decline with wind speed, but the rate of decrease in February was about twice that for March. The nighttime ratios of α-pinene/isoprene were greater than those measured in the daytime, suggesting temperature-dependent biogenic emissions of α-pinene. From mid-January to March, the increase of ∼53% in the biogenic contributions of α-pinene were associated with the change in meteorological conditions. Our analysis suggests that the combined effect of the northwest wind flow and higher air temperatures in March favored the emissions of BVOCs from local vegetation. The exceptionally high concentrations of α-pinene up to 6 ppb were measured during the Holi bonfire festival. This is the first study reporting the change in α-pinene during winter-summer transition over India. In the urban regions of developing countries, high emissions of BVOCs from vegetation and of NOx from anthropogenic sources can act as a source of ozone.

Reviews of emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in Asia

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in the atmosphere play important roles in the formation of ground-level ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in global scale and also in regional scale under some condition due to their large amount and relatively higher reactivity. In places with high plant cover in the tropics and in China where air pollution is serious, the effect of BVOCs on ozone and secondary organic aerosols is strong. The present research aims to provide a comprehensive review about the emission rate, emission inventory, research methods, the influencing factors of BVOCs emissions, as well as their impacts on atmospheric environment quality and human health in recent years in Asia based on the summary and analysis of literatures. It is suggested to use field direct measurement method to obtain the emission rate and model method to calculate the emission amount. Several recommendations are given for future investigation and policy development on BVOCs emission.

Vertical profiles of biogenic volatile organic compounds as observed online at a tower in Beijing

Vertical profiles of isoprene and monoterpenes were measured by a proton transfer reaction-time of flight-mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) at heights of 3, 15, 32, 64, and 102 m above the ground on the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP) tower in central Beijing during the winter of 2016 and the summer of 2017. Isoprene mixing ratios were larger in summer due to much stronger local emissions whereas monoterpenes were lower in summer due largely to their consumption by much higher levels of ozone. Isoprene mixing ratios were the highest at the 32 m in summer (1.64 ± 0.66 ppbV) and at 15 m in winter (1.41 ± 0.64 ppbV) with decreasing concentrations to the ground and to the 102 m, indicating emission from the tree canopy of the surrounding parks. Monoterpene mixing ratios were the highest at the 3 m height in both the winter (0.71 ± 0.42 ppbV) and summer (0.16 ± 0.10 ppbV) with a gradual decreasing trend to 102 m, indicting an emission from near the ground level. The lowest isoprene and monoterpene mixing ratios all occurred at 102 m, which were 0.71 ± 0.42 ppbV (winter) and 1.35 ± 0.51 ppbV (summer) for isoprene, and 0.42 ± 0.22 ppbV (winter) and 0.07 ± 0.06 ppbV (summer) for monoterpenes. Isoprene in the summer and monoterpenes in the winter, as observed at the five heights, showed significant mutual correlations. In the winter monoterpenes were positively correlated with combustion tracers CO and acetonitrile at 3 m, suggesting possible anthropogenic sources.

Contribution of biogenic sources to secondary organic aerosol in the summertime in Shaanxi, China

A revised Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model with updated secondary organic aerosol (SOA) yields and a more detailed description of SOA formation from isoprene (ISOP) oxidation was applied to study the spatial distribution of SOA, its components and precursors in Shaanxi in July of 2013. The emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) were generated using the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN), of which ISOP and monoterpene (MONO) were the top two, with 1.73 × 10⁹ mol and 1.82 × 10⁸ mol, respectively. The spatial distribution of BVOCs emission was significantly correlated with the vegetation coverage distribution. ISOP and its intermediate semi-volatile gases were up to ∼7.0 and ∼1.4 ppb respectively in the ambient. SOA was generally 2-6 μg/m³, of which biogenic SOA (BSOA) accounted for as high as 84% on average. There were three main BVOCs Precursors including ISOP (58%) and MONO (8%) emit in the studied domain, and ISOP (9%) transported. The Guanzhong Plain had the highest BSOA concentrations of 3-5 μg/m³, and the North Shaanxi had the lowest of 2-3 μg/m³. More than half of BSOA was due to reactive surface uptake of ISOP epoxide (0.2-0.7 μg/m³, ∼19%), glyoxal (GLY) (0.2-0.5 μg/m³, ∼11%) and methylglyoxal (MGLY) (0.4-1.4 μg/m³, ∼32%), while the remaining was due to the traditional equilibrium partitioning of semi-volatile components (0.1-1.2 μg/m³, ∼25%) and oligomerization (0.2-0.4 μg/m³, ∼12%). Overall, SOA formed from ISOP contributed 1-3 μg/m³ (∼80%) to BSOA.

Modified regional biogenic VOC emissions with actual ozone stress and integrated land cover information: A case study in Yangtze River Delta, China

The biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) emissions are influenced by ambient ozone (O₃) concentrations and vegetation cover. In most studies, however, the interaction between O₃ and plants has not been considered and there are uncertainties in land cover input and emission factors (EFs) in BVOCs emission estimation, particularly at the regional scale. In this study, an O₃ exposure-isoprene (ISOP) response function was developed using meta-analysis, and the EFs of ISOP and land cover inputs were updated by integrating local measurement and investigation data in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region. Five different cases were developed to explore the impacts of O₃ and input variables on the BVOCs emissions using the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN). The impacts of those variables on O₃ simulation were further examined with air quality modeling. We found that the ISOP emissions were restrained in the city cluster along the Yangtze River during the growing season due to their negative feedback to O₃ exposure for deciduous broadleaf forests. The estimation of BVOCs emissions strongly depended on EFs, and the global EFs underestimated the ISOP emissions in July by 37%, mostly in southern YRD. Different land cover datasets with various fractions and spatial distributions of plant function types resulted in a variation of 200-400 Gg in ISOP emissions in July across YRD. Air quality modeling indicated that BVOCs contributed 10%, 12%, and 11% to the 1-h mean, the maximum daily 1-h average, and the maximum daily 8-h average O₃ concentrations, respectively, for July across the YRD region. Due to the NOx restriction, the spatial distribution of BVOCs emissions was inconsistent with that of their contribution to O₃ formation. The O₃ simulation was more sensitive to the changed BVOCs emissions in the area with relatively large contribution of BVOCs to O₃ formation.

Diversity of isoprene-degrading bacteria in phyllosphere and soil communities from a high isoprene-emitting environment: a Malaysian oil palm plantation

BACKGROUND

Isoprene is the most abundantly produced biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) on Earth, with annual global emissions almost equal to those of methane. Despite its importance in atmospheric chemistry and climate, little is known about the biological degradation of isoprene in the environment. The largest source of isoprene is terrestrial plants, and oil palms, the cultivation of which is expanding rapidly, are among the highest isoprene-producing trees.

RESULTS

DNA stable isotope probing (DNA-SIP) to study the microbial isoprene-degrading community associated with oil palm trees revealed novel genera of isoprene-utilising bacteria including Novosphingobium, Pelomonas, Rhodoblastus, Sphingomonas and Zoogloea in both oil palm soils and on leaves. Amplicon sequencing of isoA genes, which encode the α-subunit of the isoprene monooxygenase (IsoMO), a key enzyme in isoprene metabolism, confirmed that oil palm trees harbour a novel diversity of isoA sequences. In addition, metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were reconstructed from oil palm soil and leaf metagenomes and putative isoprene degradation genes were identified. Analysis of unenriched metagenomes showed that isoA-containing bacteria are more abundant in soils than in the oil palm phyllosphere.

CONCLUSION

This study greatly expands the known diversity of bacteria that can metabolise isoprene and contributes to a better understanding of the biological degradation of this important but neglected climate-active gas. Video abstract.

Heterogeneous oxidation of isoprene SOA and toluene SOA tracers by ozone

Secondary Organic aerosols (SOA) are important components of PM 2.5. In order to control the heavy haze pollution, it is essential to find out the contributions of main SOA precursors. Nowadays, the tracer-based method has been widely used in analyzing the contributions of the precursors to SOA. However, it is not well known that whether the SOA tracers can be oxidized or how the instability of the SOA tracers would influence the accuracy of the tracer-based method for source apportionment. In this paper, the heterogeneous oxidation experiments of SOA tracers produced from isoprene and toluene as well as their mixtures under different conditions were conducted in a 2 m³ indoor chamber. The relative rate constants approach was used to determine the effective rate constants of the ozone reactions of the tracers. Concentrations of 2-Methyl Erythritol, a tracer of isoprene SOA, and 2, 3-Dihydroxy-4-oxopentanoic Acid, a tracer of toluene SOA, were analyzed using GC-MS. The effects of different seed aerosols and initial VOC₀/NO on the heterogeneous oxidation of the tracers were investigated. The effects of co-existing components in the SOA produced from the mixture of isoprene and toluene on the heterogeneous oxidation of the tracers by ozone were also studied.

Microbial metabolism of isoprene: a much-neglected climate-active gas

The climate-active gas isoprene is the major volatile produced by a variety of trees and is released into the atmosphere in enormous quantities, on a par with global emissions of methane. While isoprene production in plants and its effect on atmospheric chemistry have received considerable attention, research into the biological isoprene sink has been neglected until recently. Here, we review current knowledge on the sources and sinks of isoprene and outline its environmental effects. Focusing on degradation by microbes, many of which are able to use isoprene as the sole source of carbon and energy, we review recent studies characterizing novel isoprene degraders isolated from soils, marine sediments and in association with plants. We describe the development and use of molecular methods to identify, quantify and genetically characterize isoprene-degrading strains in environmental samples. Finally, this review identifies research imperatives for the further study of the environmental impact, ecology, regulation and biochemistry of this interesting group of microbes.

Environmental and physiological controls on diurnal and seasonal patterns of biogenic volatile organic compound emissions from five dominant woody species under field conditions

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) play essential roles in tropospheric chemistry, on both regional and global scales. The emissions of large quantities of species-specific BVOC depend not only on environmental (temperature, T; photosynthetically active radiation, PAR), but also physiological parameters (i.e. net photosynthetic rate, P_n; transpiration rate, T_r; stomatal conductance, g_s and intercellular CO₂ concentration, C_i). Here, isoprene, monoterpene and sesquiterpene emissions were determined from five dominant mature woody tree species in northern China, which are two evergreen conifers (Pinus tabuliformis and Platycladus orientalis) and three broad-leaved deciduous trees (Quercus variabilis, Populus tomentosa and Robinia pseudoacacia). A dynamic enclosure technique combined with GC-MS was used to sample BVOCs and analyse their fractional composition at daily and annual scales. The diurnal data showed that both isoprene and monoterpene emissions increased with increasing temperature, and reached their maximum emission rates in the peak of growing season for both coniferous and broad-leaved species. The emissions of individual compound within the monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were statistically correlated with each other for all species. Furthermore, some oxygenated monoterpene emissions were highly correlated to sesquiterpenes in all tree species. Linking BVOC emissions to environmental and leaf physiological parameters exhibited that monoterpene emissions were linearly and positively correlated to the variation of T, PAR, P_n and T_r, while their relationship to g_s and C_i is more complex. Collectively, these findings provided important information for improving current model estimations in terms of the linkage between BVOC emissions and plant physiological traits. The data presented in this study can be used to update emission capacity used in models, as this is the first time of reporting BVOC emissions from five dominant species in this region. The whole-year measurement of leaf-level BVOCs can also advance our understanding of seasonal variation in BVOC emissions.

Data on the identification of isoprene and Styrene triblock copolymers with difunctional t-BuLi initiator

The data article refers to the paper "Synthesis of High-Vinyl Isoprene and Styrene Triblock Copolymers via Anionic Polymerization with Difunctional t-BuLi Initiator" [1]. Data presented here include the number average molecular weight (M n ), the weight average molecular weight (M w ), and polydispersity index (PDI) (M w /M n ) of the triblock copolymers poly(styrene)-b-poly(isoprene)-b-poly(styrene) (PS-b-PI-b-PS, SIS) and poly(isoprene)-b-poly(styrene)-b-poly(isoprene) (PI-b-PS-b-PI, ISI). M n of SIS and ISI were in the range of 208,000 to 274,000 (g/mol) and PDI of SIS and ISI are located at 1.18 to 1.2, respectively. The triblock copolymers were further identified with 2D HSQC NMR spectrum. Different vinyl content (1,2- and 3,4-addition units) of polyisoprene domains were characterized in the data.

Adaptation of hydroxymethylbutenyl diphosphate reductase enables volatile isoprenoid production

Volatile isoprenoids produced by plants are emitted in vast quantities into the atmosphere, with substantial effects on global carbon cycling. Yet, the molecular mechanisms regulating the balance between volatile and non-volatile isoprenoid production remain unknown. Isoprenoids are synthesised via sequential condensation of isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) to dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP), with volatile isoprenoids containing fewer isopentenyl subunits. The DMAPP:IPP ratio could affect the balance between volatile and non-volatile isoprenoids, but the plastidic DMAPP:IPP ratio is generally believed to be similar across different species. Here we demonstrate that the ratio of DMAPP:IPP produced by hydroxymethylbutenyl diphosphate reductase (HDR/IspH), the final step of the plastidic isoprenoid production pathway, is not fixed. Instead, this ratio varies greatly across HDRs from phylogenetically distinct plants, correlating with isoprenoid production patterns. Our findings suggest that adaptation of HDR plays a previously unrecognised role in determining in vivo carbon availability for isoprenoid emissions, directly shaping global biosphere-atmosphere interactions.

Heterogeneous reactions of isoprene and ozone on α-Al2O3: The suppression effect of relative humidity

The heterogeneous reactions of α-Al₂O₃ particles with a mixture of ozone (∼50 ppm) and isoprene (∼50 ppm) were studied as a function of relative humidities (RHs). The reactions were monitored in real time through the microscopic Fourier transform infrared (micro-FTIR) spectrometer. The results show that the presence of ozone leads to the rapid conversion of isoprene to carboxylate (COO^-) ions on the surfaces of α-Al₂O₃ particles in the initial stage. The water significantly suppresses the formation of the carboxylate ions. For the isoprene ozonolysis reaction on the α-Al₂O₃ particles, the reactive uptake coefficient is strongly suppressed by over a factor of 8 when the RH increases from 8% to 89%. The negative correlation between RH with the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) produced by isoprene ozonolysis plays a key role in the actual atmospheric environment under high humidity. Our results may provide insight into the ozonolysis process of biogenic alkenes over mineral aerosol surfaces with the influence of RHs.

Influence of Brevibacterium linens RS16 on foliage photosynthetic and volatile emission characteristics upon heat stress in Eucalyptus grandis

Heat stress induces secondary metabolic changes in plants, channeling photosynthetic carbon and energy, away from primary metabolic processes, including, growth. Use of ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate) deaminase containing plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) in conferring heat resistance in plants and the role of PGPB, in altering net carbon assimilation, constitutive and stress volatile emissions has not been studied yet. We exposed leaves of Eucalyptus grandis inoculated and non-inoculated with PGPB Brevibacterium linens RS16 to two levels of heat stress (37 °C and 41 °C for 5 min) and quantified temporal changes in foliage photosynthetic characteristics and volatile emission rates at 0.5 h, day 1 and day 5 after the stress application. Heat stress resulted in immediate reductions in dark-adapted photosystem II (PSII) quantum yield (F_v/F_m), net assimilation rate (A), stomatal conductance to water vapor (g_s), and enhancement of stress volatile emissions, including enhanced emissions of green leaf volatiles (GLV), mono- and sesquiterpenes, light weight oxygenated volatile organic compounds (LOC), geranyl-geranyl diphosphate pathway volatiles (GGDP), saturated aldehydes, and benzenoids, with partial recovery by day 5. Changes in stress-induced volatiles were always less in leaves inoculated with B. linens RS16. However, net assimilation rate was enhanced by bacterial inoculation only in the 37 °C treatment and overall reduction of isoprene emissions was observed in bacterially-treated leaves. Principal component analysis (PCA), correlation analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) indicated that different stress applications influenced specific volatile organic compounds. In addition, changes in the expression analysis of heat shock protein 70 gene (DnaK) gene in B. linens RS16 upon exposure to higher temperatures further indicated that B. linens RS16 has developed its own heat resistance mechanism to survive under higher temperature regimes. Taken together, this study demonstrates that foliar application of ACC deaminase containing PGPB can ameliorate heat stress effects in realistic biological settings.

High-throughput screening for in planta characterization of VOC biosynthetic genes by PTR-ToF-MS

Functional characterization of plant volatile organic compound (VOC) biosynthetic genes and elucidation of the biological function of their products often involve the screening of large numbers of plants from either independent transformation events or mapping populations. The low time resolution of standard gas chromatographic methods, however, represents a major bottleneck for in planta genetic characterization of VOC biosynthetic genes. Here we present a fast and highly-sensitive method for the high-throughput characterization of VOC emission levels/patterns by coupling a Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer to an autosampler for automation of sample measurement. With this system more than 700 samples per day can be screened, detecting for each sample hundreds of spectrometric peaks in the m/z 15-300 range. As a case study, we report the characterization of VOC emissions from 116 independent Arabidopsis thaliana lines transformed with a putative isoprene synthase gene, confirming its function also when fused to a C-terminal 3×FLAG tag. We demonstrate that the method is more reliable than conventional characterization of transgene expression for the identification of the most highly isoprene-emitting lines. The throughput of this VOC screening method exceeds that of existing alternatives, potentially allowing its application to reverse and forward genetic screenings of genes contributing to VOC emission, constituting a powerful tool for the functional characterization of VOC biosynthetic genes and elucidation of the biological functions of their products directly in planta.

Evaluation of an online, real-time, soft-photon ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometer for mainstream tobacco smoke analysis

Mainstream tobacco smoke is a complex and dynamic aerosol, consisting of particulate and vapour phases. Most approaches to determine mainstream smoke toxicant yields are based on offline techniques that limit the opportunity to observe in real time the processes leading to smoke formation. The recent development of online real-time analytical methods offers many advantages over traditional techniques. Here we report the LM2X-TOFMS (Borgwaldt GmbH, Germany), a commercial instrument that couples a linear smoking engine with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer for real-time per-puff measurement of the vapour phase of mainstream cigarette smoke. Total cigarette and puff-by-puff (μg/puff) yields were evaluated, in line with International Council of Harmonisation recommendations, for seven smoke toxicants: acetaldehyde, acetone, 1,3-butadiene, 2-butanone, benzene, isoprene and toluene. Measurements were unaffected by small system changes including replacing the sampling capillary or time of day (all P > 0.05), indicating that the LM2X-TOFMS is rugged. Control charts showed that the system has good stability and control. Analysis of certified gas mixtures of six concentrations of each analyte showed a highly linear response for all seven analytes (R2 = 0.9922-0.9999). In terms of repeatability, the lowest variation was observed for isoprene with a coefficient of variation (CV) of < 6% for each concentration. Acetaldehyde showed the highest CV, increasing from 8.0 to 26.6% with decreasing gas concentration. Accuracy was analysed in terms of relative error, which was ± 16% for six of the analytes; however, the relative error for acetaldehyde was (- 36.2%), probably due to its low ionisation efficiency under the instrument's vacuum ultraviolet lamp. Three cigarette products (reference and commercial) with different ISO tar levels were analysed by the LM2X-TOFMS puff by puff under ISO regulatory smoking conditions. The relative standard deviation based on average yield per cigarette for each analyte in each product (summed puffs per product, n = 30) ranged from ≤ 9.3 to ≤ 16.2%. Measurements were consistent with published data per cigarette. In conclusion, the LM2X-TOFMS is suitable for determining the vapour-phase yields of seven analytes on a real-time, puff-by-puff basis, and can be utilised for both fast screening (qualitative) and quantitative measurements of mainstream cigarette smoke.

Investigation of the methylerythritol 4-phosphate pathway for microbial terpenoid production through metabolic control analysis

BACKGROUND

Terpenoids are of high interest as chemical building blocks and pharmaceuticals. In microbes, terpenoids can be synthesized via the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) or mevalonate (MVA) pathways. Although the MEP pathway has a higher theoretical yield, metabolic engineering has met with little success because the regulation of the pathway is poorly understood.

RESULTS

We applied metabolic control analysis to the MEP pathway in Escherichia coli expressing a heterologous isoprene synthase gene (ispS). The expression of ispS led to the accumulation of isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP)/dimethylallyl pyrophosphate (DMAPP) and severely impaired bacterial growth, but the coexpression of ispS and isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (idi) restored normal growth and wild-type IPP/DMAPP levels. Targeted proteomics and metabolomics analysis provided a quantitative description of the pathway, which was perturbed by randomizing the ribosome binding site in the gene encoding 1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate synthase (Dxs). Dxs has a flux control coefficient of 0.35 (i.e., a 1% increase in Dxs activity resulted in a 0.35% increase in pathway flux) in the isoprene-producing strain and therefore exerted significant control over the flux though the MEP pathway. At higher dxs expression levels, the intracellular concentration of 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-2,4-cyclopyrophosphate (MEcPP) increased substantially in contrast to the other MEP pathway intermediates, which were linearly dependent on the abundance of Dxs. This indicates that 4-hydroxy-3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl diphosphate synthase (IspG), which consumes MEcPP, became saturated and therefore limited the flux towards isoprene. The higher intracellular concentrations of MEcPP led to the efflux of this intermediate into the growth medium.

DISCUSSION

These findings show the importance of Dxs, Idi and IspG and metabolite export for metabolic engineering of the MEP pathway and will facilitate further approaches for the microbial production of valuable isoprenoids.

Foliage inoculation by Burkholderia vietnamiensis CBMB40 antagonizes methyl jasmonate-mediated stress in Eucalyptus grandis

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) is widely used as a model chemical to study hypersensitive responses to biotic stress impacts in plants. Elevated levels of methyl jasmonate induce jasmonate-dependent defense responses, associated with a decline in primary metabolism and enhancement of secondary metabolism of plants. However, there is no information of how stress resistance of plants, and accordingly the sensitivity to exogenous MeJA can be decreased by endophytic plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) harboring ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate) deaminase. In this study, we estimated stress alleviating potential of endophytic PGPR against MeJA-induced plant perturbations through assessing photosynthetic traits and stress volatile emissions. We used mild (5 mM) to severe (20 mM) MeJA and endophytic plant growth promoting rhizobacteria Burkholderia vietnamiensis CBMB40 and studied how MeJA and B. vietnamiensis treatments influenced temporal changes in photosynthetic characteristics and stress volatile emissions. Separate application of MeJA markedly decreased photosynthetic characteristics and increased lipoxygenase pathway (LOX) volatiles, volatile isoprenoids, saturated aldehydes, lightweight oxygenated compounds (LOC), geranyl-geranyl diphosphate pathway (GGDP) volatiles, and benzenoids. However, MeJA-treated leaves inoculated by endophytic bacteria B. vietnamiensis had substantially increased photosynthetic characteristics and decreased emissions of LOX, volatile isoprenoids and other stress volatiles compared with non-inoculated MeJA treatments, especially at later stages of recovery. In addition, analysis of leaf terpenoid contents demonstrated that several mono- and sesquiterpenes were de novo synthesized upon MeJA and B. vietnamiensis applications. This study demonstrates that foliar application of endophytic bacteria B. vietnamiensis can potentially enhance resistance to biotic stresses and contribute to the maintenance of the integrity of plant metabolic activity.

Seasonal characteristics of biogenic secondary organic aerosols at Mt. Wuyi in Southeastern China: Influence of anthropogenic pollutants

Thirteen secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracers of isoprene, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were measured for PM_2.5 aerosols collected at the summit of Mt. Wuyi (1139 m, a.s.l.), to investigate their seasonality and formation mechanism. Concentrations of the isoprene and monoterpene SOA tracers were much higher in summer than those in other seasons. In contrast, β-caryophyllinic acid was found to be the lowest in summer. Concentrations of those BSOA tracers showed a positive correlation with temperature (R² = 0.52-0.70), and a negative correlation with relative humidity (R² = 0.43-0.78). Moreover, thermodynamic model (i.e., ISORROPIA-II) calculation results showed that acidity conditions are favorable for BSOA formation. Robust linear correlations between the BSOA tracers and anthropogenic pollutants such as SO₂ (R² = 0.53-0.7) and NO₂ (R² = 0.37-0.54) were observed for all the samples, suggesting that SO₂ and NOx can enhance BSOA production in the remote mountain area of southeast China, which is related to an acid-catalyzed heterogeneous chemistry. Moreover, we also found a significant correlation between the concentrations of the BSOA tracers and levoglucosan especially for β-caryophyllinic acid, indicating that biomass burning plumes from the distant lowland regions could influence the production of BSOA in the mountain free troposphere. Our results clearly demonstrated that anthropogenic emissions in China could enhance BSOA formation in the distant mountain regions.

Determination of the stable carbon isotopic compositions of 2-methyltetrols for four forest areas in Southwest China: The implications for the δ13C values of atmospheric isoprene and C3/C4 vegetation distribution

Isoprene is the most abundant non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) in the troposphere and is released predominantly by vegetation. The δ¹³C values of atmospheric isoprene vary with different plant types (e.g. C₃ and C₄ plants). In this work, aerosol samples were collected in four forest areas in Sichuan Province, China, i.e., the Baima Spring Scenic Area (BM), the Panzhihua Cycas Nature Reserve (PZ), the Gongga Mountain National Nature Reserve (GG) and the Wolong National Nature Reserve (WL) during the summers of 2010-2012. The stable carbon isotopic compositions of 2-methyltetrols, the stable products of isoprene oxidation by OH, were measured using a GC/C/IRMS (gas chromatography/combustion/isotopic ratio mass spectrometry) with methylboronic acid derivatization. The stable carbon isotopic fractionation coefficient of isoprene oxidized by OH (^OHε_i) was derived in laboratory. With the δ¹³C values of 2-methyltetrols, ^OHε_i and meteorological parameters, the δ¹³C values of atmospheric isoprene were calculated. The results show that forests can remarkably change the δ¹³C values of isoprene in the regional scales, making significant contributions to isoprene emissions. Moreover, C₃/C₄ proportions of shrubs and grasses depend on altitudes. The average δ¹³C values of atmospheric isoprene are -24.18 ± 1.72‰, -25.81 ± 1.36‰, -24.96 ± 0.94‰, -25.89 ± 1.35‰ for BM, PZ, GG and WL, respectively. The average δ¹³C value of atmospheric isoprene in SW China and the surrounding areas was -25.23 ± 1.44‰. C₄ plants emitted 26.9 ± 10.3% of isoprene in the research atmosphere.

Molecular characterization and kinetics of isoprene degrading bacteria

Isoprene, the highly reactive volatile organic compound, is used as monomer for the synthesis of several useful polymers. Its extensive production and usage leads to contamination of air. Once released, it alters the atmospheric chemistry by reacting with hydroxyl radicals (OH) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) to generate tropospheric ozone. Its prolonged exposure causes deleterious effects in human and plants. Therefore, its removal from the contaminated environment through biodegradation, provides a promising remedial solution. In the present study, isoprene utilizing bacteria namely, Pseudomonas sp., Arthrobacter sp., Bacillus sp. Sphingobacterium sp., Sphingobium sp., and Pantoea sp. were isolated and characterized from leaf surface of Madhuca latifolia and Tectona grandis, and also from soils under these plants. Their isoprene degrading capability and kinetics were assessed in batch mode. The isoprene degradation study indicated Pseudomonas sp. to be the most efficient isoprene degrader.

The influence of OH concentration on SOA formation from isoprene photooxidation

The formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from isoprene photooxidation was investigated to reveal the influence of OH concentration on SOA formation through varying the concentrations of isoprene and H₂O₂ in a smog chamber. The results indicated that the higher the OH concentration was, the less the isoprene consumed for the detectable SOA mass concentration, for example, the lowest isoprene consumption for the detectable SOA was about 14.4 ppb under the OH concentration of about 1.65 × 10⁷ molecules cm^-3, whereas tens ppb of isoprene consumption were needed under the OH concentrations <1.0 × 10⁷ molecules cm^-3, and even no detectable SOA was observed with isoprene consumption of 75.1 ppb under OH concentration of 7.2 × 10⁵ molecules cm^-3. SOA yield was also found to increase with increasing OH concentration for a given aerosol loading (M₀) at atmospherically relevant conditions, confirming that OH concentration played important role in SOA formation from isoprene photooxidation. The maximal SOA yields (5.8-42.8%) obtained by this study were a factor of 1.5-3.1 greater than those reported by previous study for the almost the same initial reactant concentrations of isoprene and H₂O₂, and the difference was mainly ascribed to the higher OH concentrations in the reaction systems of this study than those of previous study. The OH concentrations adopted in this study closed to those in the real atmosphere around noontime, and hence the SOA yield obtained from the isoprene photooxidation might be representative.

Improving the production of isoprene and 1,3-propanediol by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli through recycling redox cofactor between the dual pathways

The biosynthesis of isoprene by microorganisms is a promising green route. However, the yield of isoprene is limited due to the generation of excess NAD(P)H via the mevalonate (MVA) pathway, which converts more glucose into CO₂ or undesired reduced by-products. The production of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) from glycerol is a typical NAD(P)H-consuming process, which restricts 1,3-PDO yield to ~ 0.7 mol/mol. In this study, we propose a strategy of redox cofactor balance by coupling the production of isoprene with 1,3-PDO fermentation. With the introduction and optimization of the dual pathways in an engineered Escherichia coli, ~ 85.2% of the excess NADPH from isoprene pathway was recycled for 1,3-PDO production. The best strain G05 simultaneously produced 665.2 mg/L isoprene and 2532.1 mg/L 1,3-PDO under flask fermentation conditions. The yields were 0.3 mol/mol glucose and 1.0 mol/mol glycerol, respectively, showing 3.3- and 4.3-fold improvements relative to either pathway independently. Since isoprene is a volatile organic compound (VOC) whereas 1,3-PDO is separated from the fermentation broth, their coproduction process does not increase the complexity or cost for the separation from each other. Hence, the presented strategy will be especially useful for developing efficient biocatalysts for other biofuels and biochemicals, which are driven by cofactor concentrations.