Phytostimulation of lowland soil contaminated with imidazolinone herbicides

The phytostimulation is a phytoremediation technique that can be used to remediate area contaminated with herbicides. It is necessary to select plants with high capacity to stimulate soil microbial activity. The present work aimed at evaluating seven plant species regarding their ability to phytostimulate soil and enhance the degradation of the herbicides imazethapyr, imazapic and imazapyr in a lowland soil. An Alfisol Albaqualf was cultivated with the following species, Canavalia ensiformis, Glycine max, Oryza sativa cultivar PUITÁ INTA CL, Lolium multiflorum, Vicia sativa and consortium Lotus corniculatus + Trifolium repens. The rhizosphere of these plants and non-rhizospheric (uncultivated soil) as a control were contaminated in laboratory with analytical standart of the three herbicides, at rates of 0, 150, 300 and 750 g a.i. ha^-1, in separate assays. Biodegradation was estimated by quantifying C-CO₂ production and through analysis of herbicides residues in soil using liquid chromatography. Results show that biodegradation of herbicides imazethapyr, imazapic and imazapyr was higher in vegetated soil than in unvegetated soil. The leguminous species Canavalia ensiformis, Glycine max, Vicia sativa and consortium of Lotus corniculatus + Trifolium repens showed a great capacity to promote soil microbial, resulting in average biodegradation rates of 91, 92 and 93% for herbicides imazethapyr, imazapic and imazapyr in soil, respectively.

Earthworm diversity in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The knowledge regarding earthworm species richness in subtropical Brazil is limited, particularly in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), where only a few sites have been sampled. In this study we assessed earthworm richness in different ecosystems of RS, prioritizing un-sampled regions. Fifteen ecosystems, including native vegetation and other ecosystems with variable levels of disturbance were sampled in 30 counties in RS, totaling 77 sampling points, mainly in the Pampa biome. Qualitative sampling was performed by handsorting soil monoliths and fixing the earthworms in 4% formalin solution. Species identification was based on morphological characters, and species richness and Shannon (H) and McIntosh (U) diversity indices were calculated for each ecosystem. Twenty-one earthworm species were identified, belonging to seven families: Glossoscolecidae (8), Rhinodrilidae (2), Ocnerodrilidae (4), Megascolecidae (4), Acanthodrilidae (1), Lumbricidae (1) and Criodrilidae (1). From these, ten are new species belonging to the genera: Glossoscolex (6), Fimoscolex (1), Kerriona (1), Eukerria (1), and one aquatic species of the Criodrilidae family, belonging to a new genus. Most of the native species (Urobenus brasiliensis, Fimoscolex n.sp.1 and the Glossoscolex spp.) predominated in ecosystems little altered by human activity, while exotic (Amynthas gracilis, Amynthas rodericensis, Metaphire californica, Aporrectodea trapezoides) and peregrine species (Pontoscolex corethrurus) predominated in areas with more human disturbance. Native ecosystems with lower disturbance, particularly forests and native pastures had higher diversity than disturbed sites. This is the first record of A. rodericencis for Brazil and most sites represent new collection records for the known species in RS.

Properties of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase in the cell free extract and immobilized extract of Mycobacterium fortuitum

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are carcinogenic compounds which contaminate water and soil, and the enzymes can be used for bioremediation of these environments. This study aimed to evaluate some environmental conditions that affect the production and activity of the catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (C12O) by Mycobacterium fortuitum in the cell free and immobilized extract in sodium alginate. The bacterium was grown in mineral medium and LB broth containing 250 mg L⁻¹ of anthracene (PAH). The optimum conditions of pH (4.0–9.0), temperature (5–70 °C), reaction time (10–90 min) and the effect of ions in the enzyme activity were determined. The Mycobacterium cultivated in LB shown higher growth and the C12O activity was two-fold higher to that in the mineral medium. To both extracts the highest enzyme activity was at pH 8.0, however, the immobilized extract promoted the increase in the C12O activity in a pH range between 4.0 and 8.5. The immobilized extract increased the enzymatic activity time and showed the highest C12O activity at 45 °C, 20 °C higher than the greatest temperature in the cell free extract. The enzyme activity in both extracts was stimulated by Fe³⁺, Hg²⁺ and Mn²⁺ and inhibited by NH⁴⁺ and Cu²⁺, but the immobilization protected the enzyme against the deleterious effects of K⁺ and Mg²⁺ in tested concentrations. The catechol 1,2-dioxygenase of Mycobacterium fortuitum in the immobilized extract has greater stability to the variations of pH, temperature and reaction time, and show higher activity in presence of ions, comparing to the cell free extract.