Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The export of phosphorus (P) from agricultural watersheds has been extensively investigated but monitoring efforts have generally focused on inorganic P (Pi or soluble reactive phosphorus [SRP]), the P fraction thought to be immediately available to algae. However, in settings where no-till management is implemented and organic matter accumulates on soil surface, the amount of organic P (Po) in agricultural drainage waters can be significant and may represent another important P source to fuel algal growth in receiving water bodies. From a 2018 monitoring study at a Central Indiana agricultural watershed, measured total P and SRP loss amounted to 1.22 and 0.17 kg P/ha/year, respectively, indicating that the bulk (84%) of P exported from that watershed was in organic form. Results also showed that tile drainage was the main pathway for P transport (96% of Po loss). In light of these observations, the bioavailability of Po in agricultural drainage waters was investigated in 2019, and the effect of hydrologic flow path (surface versus subsurface flow) on the biochemical attributes of Po was examined. In these assessments, the iron strip method and a suite of enzymatic assays were used to gain a better understanding of the chemical composition of the exported Po. Higher concentration of labile Po was consistently measured in tile discharge than in surface runoff (59% versus 38% of the total bioavailable P). Further, the concentration of EHP (enzymatically hydrolysable P), in the form of monoester, diester, and phytate compounds, was highest during the summer season, for both tile and surface pathways. This elevated bioavailability of Po during the summer is a concern because, in combination with favorable water temperature and solar radiation during that period, this could lead to enhanced Po mineralization and release of Pi, resulting in further algal proliferation and continued degradation of water quality. Considering the high prevalence of tile drainage in agricultural landscapes of the US Midwest, this finding underscores the need for further investigation of the impact of land management and climate on the speciation and bioavailability of Po in the region’s agricultural waters.

Submitted by LUNA MARES LOPES DE OLIVEIRA (DINTER) null (lunamares@saolucas.edu.br) on 2017-01-27T02:26:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 CAPITULO TESE - LUNA MARES LOPES DE OLIVEIRA.pdf: 792305 bytes, checksum: 7e19ae8eb4ac1ad2447d7290d4746ef9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by LUIZA DE MENEZES ROMANETTO (luizamenezes@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2017-01-31T13:11:06Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 oliveira_lml_dr_araca.pdf: 792305 bytes, checksum: 7e19ae8eb4ac1ad2447d7290d4746ef9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-01-31T13:11:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 oliveira_lml_dr_araca.pdf: 792305 bytes, checksum: 7e19ae8eb4ac1ad2447d7290d4746ef9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-01-19 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / As propriedades antimicrobianas da romã são atribuídas aos compostos fenólicos, mais especificamente aos taninos hidrolisáveis (THs) galotaninos (ácido gálico) e elagitaninos (ácido elágico), substâncias naturais de defesa da planta. Os objetivos deste estudo foram avaliar os níveis de ácido elágico e fenóis totais, rendimento dos métodos de extração e o potencial inibitório sobre Candida albicans de extratos de partes da Punica granatum. Amostras em triplicata de cascas, sementes e folhas desidratadas, trituradas, pulverizadas, foram submetidas a dois métodos de extração: soxhlet tendo como solventes etanol e metanol e percolação tendo como solvente o etanol. Após a obtenção dos extratos, foram determinados os teores de ácido elágico por cromatografia liquida de alta eficiência e fenóis totais expressos em ácido gálico pelo método espectrofotométrico. A atividade antifúngica dos extratos foi avaliada pelo método de difusão em disco, seguindo-se as normas do National Committee for Clinical and Laboratory Standards (NCCLS document M2-A8, 2003a.). As maiores concentrações de fenóis totais e de ácido elágico foram encontradas nas folhas e na casca da romã. Verificou-se maior eficiência de rendimento por meio da percolação. Os resultados de difusão em disco revelaram maior sensibilidade da cepa de C. albicans aos extratos etanólicos da casca por ambos os métodos de extração. O método percolação alcoólica a 70% e 25ºC e a casca da romã apresentaram a maior eficiência de extração e de atividade anti-fúngica contra uma cepa clínica de C. albicans. / The antimicrobial properties of pomegranate are attributed to the phenolic compounds, more specifically the hydrolyzable tannins (THs) galotaninos (gallic acid) and elagitaninos (ellagic acid), natural plant defense substances. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the levels of ellagic acid and total phenols, yield of the extraction methods and the inhibitory potential against Candida albicans of extracts from parts of Punica granatum. Samples of dried, peels, seeds and leaves were used in triplicates and the extracts were obtained by Soxhlet system and percolation using respectively ethanol, methanol and ethanol solvents. After obtaining the extracts, the ellagic acid contents were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and total phenols expressed in gallic acid by the spectrophotometric method. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated by the disc diffusion method, following the standards of the National Committee for Clinical and Laboratory Standards (NCCLS document M2-A8, 2003a.). The highest concentrations of THs were found in leaves and pomegranate peel. Greater yield efficiency was verified by percolation. The results of diffusion on disc revealed higher sensitivity of the C. albicans strain to the ethanolic extracts of peels by both methods of extraction, presenting inhibition halos of approximately 10 mm. The alcoholic percolation method at 70% and 25ºC and the pomegranate peel showed the highest extraction efficiency and antifungal activity against a clinical strain of C. albicans. / FAPESP: 2014/08643-2 / CAPES: 88881.030445/2013-1

The emerging evidence of preferential accumulation and long residence time of proteinaceous compounds in soil are counter to the traditional view that their structure is readily broken down through microbial activity. The shift in thinking of their residence time is, however, heavily influenced by physical and chemical protections in soil, representing an important change for understanding global biogeochemical carbon and nitrogen cycling. We investigated the accumulation patterns of proteinogenic amino acids for a long term (thousands of years) related to their sources and sinks. We found clear patterns of change in the amino acids in a 4000 year-chronosequence adjacent to Lake Michigan, USA (Michigan chronosequence) and they were tightly related to the shifts in their biological sources, namely aboveground vegetative community (r2=0.66, p<0.0001) and belowground microbial community (r2=0.71, p<0.0001). Results also showed great variations of approximately 49% between seasons (summer and winter). Moreover, seasonal dynamic patterns (22% variations) of the amino acids in soil mineral associated fraction were rather counter to the conceptual view that it represents a slow soil organic pool with long residence times. The amino acids enriched in the mineral associated fraction, (e.g., positively charged, aromatic, and sulfur containing amino acids), tended to preferentially accumulate in whole soil pool during the 4000 years of ecosystem development. Their interaction with soil minerals, therefore, may play a critical role in the long-term sink and selective accumulation of proteinaceous compounds with some degree of the displacement. This was further confirmed by another chronosequence system near Haast River, New Zealand, which is geologically separated and climatically- and ecologically- different from the Michigan chronosequence. Common trends between two chronosequences suggested that either polar interactions or redox reactions may be relatively more important in the mineral interaction of amino acids than non-polar interactions. The consistency of results at two disparate locations in the southern and northern hemispheres is strong evidence that the processes of pedogenesis and ecosystem development are parsimonious and predictable. Our research demonstrated fundamental understanding of behavior of proteinaceous compounds at the molecular species level, and further provided their partitioning mechanisms associated with soil components. / Ph. D.

No description available.

Les polyphénols et les phénols sont des molécules organiques largement présentes dans le règne végétal et souvent évaluées pour leur potentiel pharmacologique. Ces travaux de thèse concernent la synthèse totale de gallotannins, une classe importante de polyphénols, et l’hémisynthèse de la norbergénine, un C-arylglucoside naturel. Les gallotannins font partie des tannins hydrolysables dont la biosynthèse conduit à des structures chimiques caractérisées par la présence, sur un cœur glucopyranose, de plusieurs unités galloyle liées les unes aux autres par des liaisons méta-depside. Aucune synthèse chimique de ces composés n’ayant été décrite à ce jour, nous avons réalisé la synthèse totale de gallotannins naturels et de leurs anomères non naturels porteurs de motifs di- ou tri-galloyle depside. Ces travaux ont également permis d’étudier l’équilibre méta-para de ces motifs en solution. Quant à l’hémisynthèse de la norbergénine, elle a été réalisée avec succès en une seule étape à partir de la bergénine, un C-arylglucoside commercial, par réaction de O-déméthylation oxydante au SIBX (version stabilisée commerciale du iodane_λ5 IBX). Cette réaction chimiosélective a également été appliquée à des 2-méthoxyphénols et a notamment permis l’obtention de l’hydroxytyrosol à partir de l’alcool homovanillique. / Polyphenols and phenols are organic molecules widely found in the plant kingdom and very often evaluated for their pharmacological potential. This thesis work describes the total synthesis of gallotannins, an important class of polyphenols, and the hemisynthesis of norbergenin, a natural C-arylglucoside. The gallotannins belong to the hydrolysable tannins whose biosynthesis leads to chemical structures characterized by the presence, on a glucopyranose core, of several galloyl units linked ones to the others by meta-depside bonds. No chemical synthesis of these compounds have been reported to date, so we completed the total synthesis of several naturally occurring meta-depsidic gallotannins and their non natural anomers that contain di- or tri-galloyl motifs. This work also allowed the study of the meta-para equilibrium of these motifs in solution. For the norbergenin hemisynthesis, it was successfully achieved in a one step reaction from bergenin, a commercial C-arylglucoside, by a SIBX-mediated oxidative O-demethylation (SIBX = commercially available stabilized version of the λ5 _iodane IBX). This chemoselective reaction was also applied to 2-methoxyphenols and notably allowed the hemisynthesis of hydroxytyrosol from homovanillyl alcohol.

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references.

Soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) are predominantly in organic form. Proteins/ peptides, as an important organic form of N, constitute a substantial part of soil organic matter. On one hand, proteins/peptides are an important N source for plants and microorganisms, particularly in soils where inorganic N is limited. On the other hand, their stabilization in soils by forming organo-mineral associates or macromolecule complex reduces the C loss as CO2 into the atmosphere. Therefore, studies on the turnover, abundance, composition, and stability of proteins/peptides are of crucial importance to agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability. In the first part of this study, the bioavailability and distribution of amino acids, (building block of proteins/peptides), were investigated, in soils across the North-South and West-East transects of continental United States. The second part of this study aimed to understand the variations of organic C speciation in soils of continental United States. Previous investigations of the interactions between soil minerals and proteins/peptides were mostly limited to batch sorption experiments in labs, seldom of which gave the details at the molecular scales. Therefore, in the third part of this study, the molecular orientation of self-assembled oligopeptides on mineral surfaces was investigated by employing synchrotron based polarization-dependent Near Edge X-ray Adsorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy (NEXAFS) techniques. Specific aims of this study were: 1) to assess potentially bioavailable pool of proteinaceous compounds and the immediately bioavailable pool of free amino acids in surface and subsurface soils of various ecosystems; 2) to evaluate the relationship between environmental factors and levels/composition of the two pools; 3) to investigate the organic C speciation in soils of various land use; and 4) to understand molecular level surface organization of small peptides on mineral surfaces. The levels of free amino acids and hydrolysable amino acids which represent the potentially bioavailable pool of proteinaceous compounds in A-horizon soils were significantly high than in C-horizon soils due to the accumulation of organic matter in surface. On average, free amino acids accounted for less than 4 % of hydrolysable amino acids which represent the total proteinaceous compounds in soils. The composition of free amino acids was significantly different between surface soil and subsurface soil and was significantly influenced by mean annual temperature and precipitation. A relatively uniform composition of hydrolysable amino acids was observed irrespective of a wide range of land use. Significant variations were observed for the levels of free and hydrolysable amino acids along mean annual temperature and precipitation gradients, as well as among vegetation types of continental USA, suggesting levels of free and hydrolysable amino acids were associated with the above-ground biomass and root distribution. Organic C speciation investigation revealed the presence of carboxylic-C (38%), aliphatic-C (~ 22%), aromatic-C (~ 18%), O/N-alkyl-C (~ 16%), and phenolic-C (< 6%). Factors such as temperature and vegetation cover were revealed in this study to account for the fluctuations of the proportions of aromatic-C and phenolic-C, in particular. Phenolic-C may serve as a good indicator for the effect of temperature or vegetation on the composition of SOC. The average composition of soil organic C, over the continental scale, was relatively uniform over various soil ecosystems and between two soil horizons irrespective of surface organic C content. Polarization dependent NEXAFS analysis showed the oligopeptides tend to orient on mineral surface with an average tilt angle of 40 ° between the molecular chain and the mineral surface. / Ph. D.