Fungal colonies in open fractures of subseafloor basalt

The deep subseafloor crust is one of the few great frontiers of unknown biology on Earth and, still today, the notion of the deep biosphere is commonly based on the fossil record. Interpretation of palaeobiological information is thus central in the exploration of this hidden biosphere and, for each new discovery, criteria used to establish biogenicity are challenged and need careful consideration. In this paper networks of fossilized filamentous structures are for the first time described in open fractures of subseafloor basalts collected at the Emperor Seamounts, Pacific Ocean. These structures have been investigated with optical microscopy, environmental scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer, X-ray powder diffraction as well as synchrotron-radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy, and interpreted as fossilized fungal mycelia. Morphological features such as hyphae, yeast-like growth and sclerotia were observed. The fossilized fungi are mineralized by montmorillonite, a process that probably began while the fungi were alive. It seems plausible that the fungi produced mucilaginous polysaccharides and/or extracellular polymeric substances that attracted minerals or clay particles, resulting in complete fossilization by montmorillonite. The findings are in agreement with previous observations of fossilized fungi in subseafloor basalts and establish fungi as regular inhabitants of such settings. They further show that fossilized microorganisms are not restricted to pore spaces filled by secondary mineralizations but can be found in open pore spaces as well. This challenges standard protocols for establishing biogenicity and calls for extra care in data interpretation.     

中国南方新元古代可能后生动物成因的硅化和磷酸盐化球状微化石Tianzhushania

对中国南方贵州瓮安地区上新元古界陡山沱组两种类型沉积：燧石夹层(切片法研究)和磷灰岩／含磷碳酸盐岩(切片法和浸解法研究)中微化石的比较研究表明,磷酸盐化的Megasphaera ornata与燧石中保存的Tianzhushania tuberifera可能代表由不同矿化过程保存下来的同一生物分类。磷酸盐化标本的外层壁经常脱落,而暴露其具纹饰的中问壁。在一些孤立于围岩基质的磷酸盐化标本和在磷灰岩薄片所见到的标本上显现部分带刺的外壳保存,它们可以同燧石夹层薄片中发现的化石进行比较。磷酸盐化标本的中间壁瘤突表面上普遍见到的凹坑,相当于外层壁刺饰所遗留下的附着点。而具有刺饰的外层壁形态是Tianzhushania Yin and Li,1978属的典型特征,因此建议Tianzhushania arnate(xiao等,2000)Yin et al．,2004为该种的有效名称。而主要依据其中间壁的纹饰形态所得出的该种为后生动物休眠卵的认识与目前结果并不矛盾。但是,外层壁具刺饰的形态说明该种为浮游性的,而不是底栖性的生态类型。     

Herbicide contamination and the potential impact to seagrass meadows in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia

Low concentrations of herbicides (up to 70 ng l(-1)), chiefly diuron (up to 50 ng l(-1)) were detected in surface waters associated with inter-tidal seagrass meadows of Zostera muelleri in Hervey Bay, south-east Queensland, Australia. Diuron and atrazine (up to 1.1 ng g(-1) dry weight of sediment) were detected in the sediments of these seagrass meadows. Concentration of the herbicides diuron, simazine and atrazine increased in surface waters associated with seagrass meadows during moderate river flow events indicating herbicides were washed from the catchment to the marine environment. Maximum herbicide concentration (sum of eight herbicides) in the Mary River during a moderate river flow event was 4260 ng l(-1). No photosynthetic stress was detected in seagrass in this study during low river flow. However, with moderate river flow events, nearshore seagrasses are at risk of being exposed to concentrations of herbicides that are known to inhibit photosynthesis.     

八臂仙母虫(Eoandromeda octobrachiata)新材料及其意义

在中国贵州江口地区陡山沱组新发现的化石材料表明,伊迪卡拉/震旦纪(Ediacaran/Sinian)的宏体化石——八臂仙母虫Eoandromeda octobrachiata的原始生活状态可能为一个较高的圆锥形生命体,具有沿着侧面锥状螺旋排列的八条旋臂.旋臂表面保存有与栉水母动物的栉板可能同源的横向有机质条带,规则排列...     

Ab initio study of the composition dependence of the pressure-induced spin crossover in perovskite (Mg1 − x,Fex)SiO3

We present ab initio calculations of the zero-temperature iron high- to low-spin crossover in (Mg_1 ? xFe_x)SiO₃ perovskite at pressures relevant to Earth's lower mantle. Equations of state are fit for a range of compositions and used to predict the Fe spin transition pressure and associated changes in volume and bulk modulus. We predict a dramatic decrease in transition pressure as Fe concentration increases. This trend is contrary to that seen in ferropericlase, and suggests the energetics for spin crossover is highly dependent on the structural environment of Fe. Both Local Density Approximation (LDA) and Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) exchange-correlation methods are used, and both methods reproduce the same compositional trends. However, GGA gives a significantly higher transition pressure than LDA. The spin transition is made easier by the decreasing spin-flip energy with pressure but is also driven by the change in volume from high to low spin. Volume trends show that high-spin Fe²⁺ is larger than Mg²⁺ even under pressure, but low-spin Fe²⁺ is smaller at ambient conditions and approximately the same size as Mg²⁺ under high pressure, indicating that low-spin Fe²⁺ is less compressible than high-spin Fe²⁺. We find large changes between high- and low-spin in the slope of volume with Fe concentration. Although these changes are small in absolute magnitude for small Fe content, they are still important when measured per Fe and could be relevant for calculating partitioning coefficients in the lower mantle.     

Application of a novel phytotoxicity assay for the detection of herbicides in Hervey Bay and the Great Sandy Straits

A novel phytotoxicity assay was incorporated into an environmental assessment of Hervey Bay and the Great Sandy Straits, to investigate the role of run-off associated herbicides in the deteriorated health of intertidal seagrass meadows. Dose response curves of common herbicides were performed and their toxicity equivalents elucidated to assist in analysis. The results of the assay were reproducible and corresponded strongly with results of chemical analyses. The incorporation of the assay into the assessment of surface waters added an important aspect to the study by allowing investigation of the toxicity of cumulative herbicide concentrations and yielding biologically relevant data. The highest herbicide concentration detected during the study was equivalent to 0.23 microg l(-1) diuron; a concentration known to inhibit photosynthetic efficiency of the assay biomaterial by approximately 3%.     

Cytochrome P450 isozyme protein verified in the skin of southern hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae): implications for biochemical biomarker assessment

Large mysticete whales represent a unique challenge for chemical risk assessment. Few epidemiological investigations are possible due to the low incidence of adult stranding events. Similarly their often extreme life-history adaptations of prolonged migration and fasting challenge exposure assumptions. Molecular biomarkers offer the potential to complement information yielded through tissue chemical analysis, as well as providing evidence of a molecular response to chemical exposure. In this study we confirm the presence of cytochrome P450 reductase (CPR) and cytochrome P450 isoenzyme 1A1 (CYP1A1) in epidermal tissue of southern hemisphere humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). The detection of CYP1A1 in the integument of the humpback whale affords the opportunity for further quantitative non-destructive investigations of enzyme activity as a function of chemical stress.     

Herbicides implicated as the cause of severe mangrove dieback in the Mackay region, NE Australia: consequences for marine plant habitats of the GBR World Heritage Area

Herbicides, particularly diuron, were correlated with severe and widespread dieback of the dominant mangrove, Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh. var. eucalyptifolia (Val.) N.C. Duke (Avicenniaceae), its reduced canopy condition, and declines in seedling health within three neighbouring estuaries in the Mackay region of NE Australia. This unusual species-specific dieback, first observed in the early 1990s, had gotten notably worse by 2002 to affect >30 km(2) of mangroves in at least five adjacent estuaries in the region. Over the past century, agricultural production has responded well to the demands of increasing population with improvements in farm efficiency assisted by significant increases in the use of agricultural chemicals. However, with regular and episodic river flow events, these chemicals have sometimes found their way into estuarine and nearshore water and sediments where their effects on marine habitats have been largely unquantified. Investigations over the last three years in the Mackay region provide compelling evidence of diuron, and possibly other agricultural herbicides, as the most likely cause of the severe and widespread mangrove dieback. The likely consequences of such dieback included declines in coastal water quality with increased turbidity, nutrients and sediment deposition, as well as further dispersal of the toxic chemicals. The implications of such findings are immense since they describe not only the serious deterioration of protected and beneficial mangrove habitat but also the potential for significant direct and indirect effects on other highly-valued estuarine and marine habitats in the region, including seagrass beds and coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. This article reviews all key findings and observations to date and describes the essential correlative and causative evidence.     

The ammonite fauna and genesis of a mid-Cretaceous siliceous oolite from the Alagoas Basin, Brazil

Acanthoceratid ammonites from near Maceió, in the State of Alagoas, provide evidence of a mid-Cretaceous marine incursion into the present onshore part of the Alagoas Basin. The ammonites Pseudocalycoceras sp. cf. P. harpax (Stoliczka, 1864) and Kamerunoceras sp. are assigned a late Cenomanian age. The rock is a siliceous oolite that occurs as derived nodules and fragments in late Cenozoic continental sediments. It is interpreted as an originally calcareous oolite formed in a near-shore, high-energy environment. Absence of primary cement suggests that silicification took place early in diagenesis. The silicified, and therefore more resistant material from the original Cenomanian sequence was reworked and redeposited with the Cenozoic sediments. The age, indicated by the ammonites, suggests that the original deposition was related to the global late Cenomanian—early Turonian sea-level rise.