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The contribution of N2 fixation to overall soybean N uptake has most commonly been quantified by N isotope-based methods, which rely on isotopic differences in plant N between legumes and non-fixing reference plants. The choice of non-fixing reference plants is critical for the accuracy of isotope-based methods, and mismatched reference plants remain a potential source of error. Accurate estimates of soybean N2 fixation also require information on N isotopic fractionation within soybean. On the basis of a previous observation of a close correlation between an expression of N fractionation within soybean and the proportion of plant N derived from atmosphere (%Ndfa) determined by 15N natural abundance, this field study aimed at assessing the relationship between various expressions describing intraplant 15N or N partitioning and %Ndfa during soybean development. Starting from a late vegetative stage until beginning senescence, the N content and N isotopic composition of shoots, roots and nodules of nodulated and non-nodulated soybeans was determined at eight different developmental stages. Regression analysis showed that %Ndfa most closely correlated with the difference in the N isotopic composition of shoot N minus that of root including nodule N, and that this relationship was similar to that obtained in a previous multi-site field study. We therefore consider this expression to hold promise as a means of quantifying %Ndfa independent of a reference plant, which would avoid some of the external sources of error introduced by the use of reference plants in determining %Ndfa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Mycorrhizas are ubiquitous symbioses that may have an important role in the movement of C from air to soil. Studies on the effects of climate change factors on mycorrhizas have been concentrated on the effects of atmospheric [CO2 ] whereas temperature effects have been neglected. Based on previous results showing no effect of varying atmospheric [CO2 ] on the development and P uptake of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonizing plants growing in controlled conditions, we hypothesized that soil temperature would have a higher impact on AMF development and nutrient uptake than the effects of [CO2 ] on the host plant. Pea plants were grown in association with either a single isolate of Glomus caledonium or AMF from field soil in factorial combination with the corresponding current (10 °C) or elevated (15 °C) soil temperatures at current (350 p.p.m) or elevated (700 p.p.m) atmospheric [CO2 ]. 33 P uptake by extraradical AMF hyphae was measured independently from root P uptake in a root exclusion compartment. Intraradical colonization developed well at both soil temperatures and almost duplicated from 10 to 15 °C. Extraradical mycelium developed only at 15 °C in the root exclusion compartment and hyphal P uptake could therefore be studied at 15 °C only. Hyphal P uptake differed markedly between inoculum types, but was not altered by growing the host plants at two atmospheric [CO2 ] levels. No significant [CO2 ] × soil temperature interactions were observed. The results suggested that, in the system tested, AMF development and function is likely more influenced by the temperature component of climate change than by its [CO2 ] component. We suggest that much more attention should be paid to temperature effects in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on various topics related to medicine in Great Britain. Algorithm for managing injury from smoke inhalation; Aspects of surgical footwear for orthopedic patients; Details on fetal injection after maternal reinfection with rubella.

The contribution of N(2) fixation to overall soybean N uptake has most commonly been quantified by N isotope-based methods, which rely on isotopic differences in plant N between legumes and non-fixing reference plants. The choice of non-fixing reference plants is critical for the accuracy of isotope-based methods, and mismatched reference plants remain a potential source of error. Accurate estimates of soybean N(2) fixation also require information on N isotopic fractionation within soybean. On the basis of a previous observation of a close correlation between an expression of N fractionation within soybean and the proportion of plant N derived from atmosphere (%Ndfa) determined by (15) N natural abundance, this field study aimed at assessing the relationship between various expressions describing intraplant (15) N or N partitioning and %Ndfa during soybean development. Starting from a late vegetative stage until beginning senescence, the N content and N isotopic composition of shoots, roots and nodules of nodulated and non-nodulated soybeans was determined at eight different developmental stages. Regression analysis showed that %Ndfa most closely correlated with the difference in the N isotopic composition of shoot N minus that of root including nodule N, and that this relationship was similar to that obtained in a previous multi-site field study. We therefore consider this expression to hold promise as a means of quantifying %Ndfa independent of a reference plant, which would avoid some of the external sources of error introduced by the use of reference plants in determining %Ndfa., (© 2014 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)