ACCOMPANIED BY CHANGES IN AUXIN/CYTOKININ SIGNALLING.
3.6 A RHIZOSPHERE APPROACH TO MITIGATE SOIL EROSION AND POLLUTION
STEFANO ROSATTO1, ENRICA ROCCOTIELLO1*, GRAZIA CECCHI2, SIMONE DI PIAZZA2, GIUSEPPE GRECO2,
MIRCA ZOTTI2, MAURO GIORGIO MARIOTTI1
DISTAV – Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences, University of Genoa, Corso Europa 26, I- 16132, Genova. 1Laboratory of Plant Biology, 2Laboratory of Micology.
1*Corresponding author: enrica.roccotiello@unige.it
Environmental pollution by metals represents a severe risk to human health and to the environment in urban and peri-urban areas, where the main sources of metal pollution are mining, municipal and industrial wastes and agricultural activities [1, 2]. In a few plant taxa called hyperaccumulator, the concentration of metal(loid)s in aboveground biomass is up to four orders of magnitude higher than in non-hyperaccumulator species and it is associated with a strongly enhanced metal hypertolerance [3].
The rhizosphere, defined as the soil-root interface, is the micro-ecosystem where roots access soil trace
elements [4] and represents the first area of potential metal uptake. However, there is a general lack of
knowledge about hyperaccumulators, particularly with respect to rhizosphere processes [4].
The aim of this study is to characterize the rhizosphere of selected hyperaccumulator and non- hyperaccumulator species in order to improve metal hyperaccumulation via root uptake.
Metal-tolerant plant and fungi were selected in metalliferous sites with high concentration of potentially toxic elements (i.e. Ni, Cr Co and Zn) exceeding the law limits (D. Lgs. 152/2006). Among the studied species, the nickel-hyperaccumulators Alyssoides utriculata (L.) Medik. and Thlaspi caerulescens J. & C. Presl. were selected as target species. A. utriculata is able to accumulate over 1.000 mg Ni kg-1 (DW).
Nickel uptaken by roots is adsorbed to rhizoplane (20%) or absorbed (80%) [5].
Besides, soil and rhizosphere samples were examined and some fungal strains were isolated. Among these, a Trichoderma harzianum Rifai strain exhibits high Ni tolerance, up to 500 mg l-1 and high uptake ability, up
to 11.000 mg Ni kg-1 [6].
Seed germination tests were carried out in veg-box with germination substrate spiked with Ni (0, 10, 50, 100, 200, 400 mg Ni kg-1, respectively) on target species using non-hyperaccumulator species (i.e., Alyssum montanum L. and Thlaspi arvense L.) for comparison.
The same substrates were used in mesocosm 3D experiment in pots to evaluate the root elongation and the root anatomy under Ni hyperaccumulation.
Improving root surface increases metal uptake, prevent soil erosion and reduces the spread of metal pollutants, favoring the remediation of peri-urban dismissed industrial sites.
1) H. Ali, E. Khan, M. A. Sajad (2013). “Phytoremediation of heavy metals-Concepts and applications”. Chemosphere 91: 869-881.
2) F. De Nicola, D. Baldantoni, L. Sessa, F. Monaci, R. Bargagli, A. Alfani (2015). “Distribution of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in holm oak plant–soil system evaluated along urbanization gradients”. Chemosphere 134 (2015) 91–97.
3) U. Krämer (2010), “Metal hyperaccumulation in plants”. Annual reviews Plant Biology 61: 517-34.
4) E. R. Alford, E. A. H. Pilon-Smits, M. W. Paschke (2010). “Metallophytes - a view from the rhizosphere”. Plant Soil 337: 35-50.
5) E. Roccotiello, H. C. Serrano, M. G. Mariotti, C. Branquinho (2015). “Nickel phytoremediation potential of the Mediterranean Alyssoides utriculata (L.) Medik.” Chemosphere 119: 1372-1378.
6) G. Cecchi, E. Roccotiello, S. Di Piazza, A. Riggi, M. G. Mariotti, M. Zotti. “Sustainable nickel bioremediation by microfungi”, submitted.
3.8 = AEROBIOLOGICAL MONITORING IN L'AQUILA AND MADRID: PRELIMINARY DATA COMPARISON LORETTA PACE1,MANUELA VILLANI1,ADELA MONSERRAT GUTIÉRREZ BUSTILLO2
1Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, Section Environmental Sciences, Universita` degli
Studi de L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, Coppito, 67010 L’Aquila, Italy
2Dpto. de Biología Vegetal II. Facultad de Farmacia. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Plaza de
Ramón y Cajal s/n. Ciudad Universitaria. 28040 Madrid
The aim of the present study is to detect allergenic pollens present in two different cities: L'Aquila, Italy (University, Coppito) and Madrid, Spain (Ciudad Universitaria) to guarantee a safe and pleasant stay to sensitive subjects who intend to move from a place to the other.
For this purpose we compared the aerobiological data of the above mentioned areas relating to the first six months of 2014 . Time series of pollen concentration were collected using a volumetric type Hirst (Lanzoni VPPS 2000 in L'Aquila and Burkard in Madrid), placed on the roof of the Faculty of Science in L’Aquila and the Faculty of Pharmacy in Ciudad Universitaria in Madrid. The analyses of the samples were made following the usual procedures laid down by the two Aerobiological Networks, the Italian Monitoring Network in Aerobiologia (RIMA®) (1) and the Red Española De Aerobiologia (REA). The most representative
families and genera in L'Aquila were found to be, in order of percentage of the total number:
Cupressaceae/Taxaceae, Populus, Gramineae, Urticaceae, Pinaceae, Quercus, Euphorbiaceae, Corylus, Betula and Salix. Madrid instead presented Platanus, Quercus, Cupressaceae/Taxaceae, Populus, Pinaceae, Gramineae, Fraxinus, Olea, Plantaginaceae and Moraceae. The town of L’Aquila is located in
the Aterno river valley and is surrounded by the mountain chains of the Gran Sasso (with the highest peaks in the Appennines) and Velino-Sirente (national and regional parks, respectively), both rich in vegetation. The landscape is made up of oak wood (Quercus pubescens),pine wood (Pinus nigra) and a community of pastures. Typical communities along the rivers are willows (Salix sp.) and poplars (Populus sp.) (2). Invasive plants are present in the surroundings of L’Aquila, especially in the uncultivated fields, road, path margins and dumps. The public and private green is made up of plants adapted to its ‘‘temperate sub- continental’’ climate, with very cold winters and hot summers. The aerobiological station in Madrid is situated in a semi-urban area, which presents tree-lined avenues, the largest city public park in Casa de Campo and the Botanical Garden. The climate is dry, characterized by low rainfall, a feature common to the Southern Meseta. The territory bears a strong human pressure. Therefore, its flora is rich in nitrophilous and ruderal plants, derived from the presence of infrastructure, and in ornamental and non-native plants in the gardens and lawns of the campus, near the monitoring station (3).Other observations are currently underway.
1) P. Mandrioli, P. Comtois, V.Levizzani (1998) Methods in Aerobiology, Pitagora Editrice, pp. 79–82 2) L. Pace, M. De Martinis, G. Sansonetti, M. Sirufo, M.Casilli, and L.Ginaldi (2013) Allergy, 68–s97, doi:10.1111/all.2013.68.issue-s97/issuetoc, 265-266
3.8 = FIRST OBSERVATIONS IN ROME ON COMBINATED EFFECT OF HIGH LEVEL OF ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTIONM AND POLLEN CONCENTATION USING SYMPTON MEDICATION SCORES
ALESSANDRO TRAVAGLINI1,MARIA ANTONIA BRIGHETTI1,ALESSANDRO DI MENNO DI BUCCHIANICO2,GIORGIO CATTANI2,MARIA
CARMELA CUSANO2,VINCENZO DE GIRONIMO2,RAFFAELA GADDI2,CORRADO COSTA3, SIMONE PELOSI4,SALVATORE TRIPODI5 1 Department of Biology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata” Rome, Italy;
2 ISPRA, Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome; 3 Agricultural Research Council Agricultural Engineering Research Unit) Rome; 4 TPS production, Rome;
5 Department of Pediatrics and Unit of Pediatric Allergology, Sandro Pertini Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Research and international regulations on air pollution are, even today, typically addressed to the evaluation of individual substances and their specific effects: the knowledge of the cumulative effect that more pollutants present in atmosphere near the ground with high concentrations in same interval of time can have on human health is low. Even less is studied, in a systematic way, the possible combined effect of traditional pollutants with the fraction of atmospheric particulate of biological origin, typically with an aerodynamic diameter close to or greater than 10 µm, composed of pollen and spores that seems to have increasing consequences, in terms of allergies and asthma on the citizenship of the urban areas [1]. In this work has been studied, for the city of Rome over a period of six years (2010-2015), the synergistic effect of PM10, PM2.5, NO2 and O3, airborne pollens (belonging to 5 families allergenic: Betulaceae,
Cupressaceae/Taxaceae, Graminaceae, Oleaceae and Urticaceae and fungal spore Alternaria).
For air pollutants we used the concentration values recorded by 14 stations of the city’s air quality monitoring network (ARPA Lazio), for pollens and spores data detected by Aerobiological Monitoring Centre of the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
The effects on human health have been estimated on a group of 100 patients through the Free Application AllergymonitorTM [2] that allows to record daily symptoms of hay fever and bronchial asthma.
The data collected in the clinical diary were then processed in four different Sympton Medication daily Scores (RTSS, ACS, ADSS and Asthma score) and compared with the time series of concentration in the air of the air pollutants mentioned, pollen and spores.
The statistical analysis allowed to highlight the times of year when most occur concomitant high levels of allergenic species and air pollution, the influence of meteorological parameters, the flowering calendar, the intake of drugs and how these aspects reflect on the symptoms of stakeholders.
Conclusions:
1. Maximum concentrations in the air of pollen and air pollutants occur in different seasons of the year (the greater overlap period between February and March);
2. The analysis of the trend from 1999 to 2015 shows a statistically significant decrease for PM10, PM2.5 and
NO2, and growth for Urticaceae (all other parameters are stable);
3. The partial least squares discriminant analysis, based on atmospheric concentrations of air pollutants, pollen and weather data, showed good accuracy in the prediction of allergy symptoms;
4. The patient-specific models predict with accuracy the presence or absence of symptoms up to 4 days before the event;
5. The performance of predictive models improves when taken into account the degree of the individual's allergic predisposition;
6. The individual cases of the worst results in the comparison between 2012 and 2016 are found in correspondence to the lowering of the patient's awareness.
1) G. D’Amato, L. Cecchi, S. Bonini, C. Nunes, I. Annesi Maesano, H. Behrendt, G. Liccardi, T. Popov, P. van Cauwenberge, (2007), Allergy, 62, 976-990.
2) A. Pizzulli, S. Perna, J. Florack, P. Giordani, S. Tripodi, S. Pelosi, P. Matricardi, (2014). Clin Exp Allergy,44, 1246-54.
4.1 ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES OF CASTANEA SATIVA MILL. EXTRACT: NEW