Subject of research: different parts – roots, stems, leaves, berries – of bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), growing near the A1 Vilnius – Kaunas – Klaipėda highway (the 94th kilometre, right side of the road). Objective of research: to determine the amount of lead in different parts of bilberries. Methodology: for research the samples of bilberries were picked near the A1 Vilnius – Kaunas – Klaipėda highway at the 15 – 20 km distance from Kaunas, at 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 70 m distance from highway. For experiment – at 100 m distance from highway, bilberries were replanted in laboratory and were grown in the soils of different lead concentration four months. The soil was sprinkling with lead nitrate (Pb(NO3)2) solution of different concentration. The samples of plants were desiccate. The mineralization of different part the plants was carried out, as well as the analysis of soil was made (pH, ratio of hygroscope humidity, concentration of lead in soil). The amounts of lead in plants and soil were determined by the method of atomic absorption spectrometer. Research carried out in accordance with legally approved methodologies. For the statistical evaluation of differences the ANOVA and STATISTICA has been applied. Results of research: by carrying out the research, the amount of lead in different parts of the plants was determined; the dependence of lead amount in different parts of the plant upon the lead amount in solution was analysed; it was evaluated the... [to full text]

Diss. (sammanfattning). Umeå : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

In this thesis has been mapped the current condition and expansion of the vegetation with a focus on bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) between 2000 and 2012 in large-scale protected area Praděd by using the methods of remote sensing. For the mapping of the total surface area of 144 hectares was used supervised and unsupervised classification of image data. From the results arised that a species of Vaccinium myrtillus has spread out to vegetation above tree line.

A growing world population means an increase in crop demand. At the same time climate change threatens food security as crops may become maladapted to a new environment. We need to adapt crops to increase crop yield and become resistant to a changed environment to meet this. Crop wild relatives (CWR), which have a genetic relatedness with our crops, will be of importance as a genetic resource for crop adaption and needs to be protected. Vaccinium myrtillus is one of the prioritized species on the Nordic countries CWR priority list. Here I report PCR protocols that can be used for amplifying microsatellites, or SSRs, within V. myrtillus for use in analyses of genetic diversity within and between populations. PCRs with varying annealing temperatures (Ta) were performed. An optimal Ta for the primer pair was found for four SSR loci, and for four SSR loci, an approved Ta was found. These eight primer pairs can be used to amplify SSRs for analyses of the genetic diversity between V. myrtillus populations. This is needed to evaluate which populations to focus on in conservation programmes to ensure a broad genetic diversity usable in crop adaptation to meet increasing crop demand and climate change.

In the work described in this thesis I studied how increases in nitrogen (N) inputs may affect plant community structure in boreal forest understorey vegetation. These phenomena were investigated in N fertilization experiments and along a national N deposition gradient. After five years of N additions, large changes in understorey vegetation composition were observed in the fertilization study. In plots that received 50 kg N ha'1 year"1 (N2), the abundance of the dominant species, Vaccinium myrtillus, decreased on average by 32 %. No decrease was observed in control plots during the same period. In contrast, the grass Deschampsia flexuosa responded positively to increased N input, being on average more than five times as abundant in the N2 treatments as in controls. Also an increase was seen in the incidence of disease caused by the parasitic fungus Valdensia heterodoxa on leaves of V. myrtillus following N additions. The parasite was on average nearly twice as abundant in N2 plots than in control plots. This could be explained by increased N concentrations in host plant tissue. Disease incidence also increased following experimental additions of glutamine to leaf surfaces of V. myrtillus, suggesting a causal connection between plant N concentration and performance of the fungus. The parasite also played a key role in the observed changes in understorey species composition. D. flexuosa was more abundant in patches in which V. myrtillus was severely affected by V heterodoxa. This suggests that V heterodoxa mediates the increased abundance of D. flexuosa following increased N additions. The fungus mediates changes in the composition of understorey vegetation mainly by increasing light availability via premature leaf loss of V. myrtillus. The incidence of disease due to the parasite was on average higher in large than in smaller N-treated plots, indicating that the response to N fertilization is spatially scale dependent. This shows that using small plot sizes in experiments that simulate changed environmental conditions may be problematic, as important interactions may be underestimated. Comparison of the occurrence of understorey species between regions with different rates of N deposition revealed that the occurrence of the two dwarf shrubs V. myrtillus and V. vitis- idaea was lower in regions with high N deposition compared to regions with low deposition. The opposite pattern was found for V heterodoxa. This is consistent with expectations from N fertilization experiments. For D. flexuosa no differences in occurrence were found between the different regions investigated. The effects on vegetation and mycorrhizal fungi observed following N additions were also found to be long lasting. Nine years after termination of the fertilization, no signs of recovery were detected, and nearly 50 years after termination characteristic signs of N fertilization were found among bryophytes and mycorrhizal fungi. This suggests that the time needed for re-establishment of the original biota following N-induced changes may be substantial. / <p>Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2002, härtill 5 uppsatser</p> / digitalisering@umu

Objetivo: Evaluar el efecto antibacteriano y citotóxico in vitro de los extractos metanólicos de Rubus idaeus (Frambuesa), Vaccinium myrtillus (Arándano azul) y Fragaria ananassa (Fresa) sobre cepas de Streptococcus mutans (ATCC®25175) y Streptococcus sanguinis (ATCC®10556).  Métodos: Se preparó un extracto metanólico por cada fruto. Se realizaron 10 repeticiones para cada grupo de extracto en cada caso. Se utilizó Clorhexidina al 2% como control positivo. Las propiedades antibacterianas de cada extracto se determinaron mediante el método de difusión en pozo. La concentración mínima inhibitoria (CMI) fue determinada mediante el método de microdilución y la citotoxicidad se analizó mediante la prueba de reducción de MTT, utilizando una línea celular MDCK.  Resultados: El extracto metanólico de arándano azul (Vaccinium myrtillus) tuvo el mayor efecto antibacteriano con un resultado de 30.44 ± 5.72 mm frente a Streptococcus mutans y de 29.33 ± 6.13 mm frente a Streptococcus sanguinis. Los extractos metanólicos de frambuesa, arándano azul y fresa obtuvieron una concentración mínima inhibitoria (CMI) frente a Streptococcus mutans de 0.8 µg/ml, 1.6 µg/ml y 3.1 µg/ml respectivamente; y los extractos metanólicos de arándano azul y fresa frente a Streptococcus sanguinis obtuvieron 3.1 µg/ml y 12.5 µg/ml respectivamente. Los ensayos de viabilidad celular demostraron una baja citotoxicidad de los extractos a altas concentraciones. La viabilidad celular fue más alta para los extractos de Arándano azul y Fresa con 98.2%.  Conclusiones: Los hallazgos evidencian las propiedades antibacterianas de los extractos metanólicos de Rubus idaeus (Frambuesa), Vaccinium myrtillus (Arándano azul) y Fragaria ananassa (Fresa) frente a los microorganismos previamente mencionados. No se evidenció citotoxicidad de los extractos a altas concentraciones. / Objective: Evaluate the in vitro antibacterial and cytotoxic effect of Rubus idaeus (Raspberry), Vaccinium myrtillus (Blueberry) and Fragaria ananassa (Strawberry) methanolic extracts against Streptococcus mutans (ATCC®25175) and Streptococcus sanguinis (ATCC®10556) strains. Methods: A methanolic extract was prepared for each fruit. Ten independent samples were made for each group of extract. 2% Chlorhexidine was used as a positive control. Antibacterial activity of each methanolic extract was determined by the well diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was established by the microdilution method. Cytotoxicity was analyzed by the MTT reduction test, using a MDCK cell line. Results: The methanolic extract of blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) had the highest antibacterial effect with a result of 30.44 ± 5.72 mm against Streptococcus mutans and 29.33 ± 6.13 mm against Streptococcus sanguinis. The methanolic extracts of raspberry, blueberry and strawberry obtained a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Streptococcus mutans of 0.8 µg/ml, 1.6 µg/ml and 3.1 µg/ml respectively; and the methanolic extracts of blueberry and strawberry against Streptococcus sanguinis obtained 3.1 µg/ml and 12.5 µg/ml respectively. Cell viability assays demonstrated low cytotoxicity of the methanolic extracts at very high concentrations. Cell viability for blueberry and strawberry methanolic extracts was the highest with 98.2%. Conclusions: The findings evidence the antibacterial properties of methanolic extracts of Rubus idaeus (Raspberry), Vaccinium myrtillus (Blueberry) and Fragaria ananassa (Strawberry) against the previously mentioned microorganisms. The methanolic extracts didn’t show cytotoxicity at high concentrations. / Tesis

The seasonal changes in freezing resistance and water relations in four dwarf shrub species of Ericaceae family: Vaccinium vitis-idaea, V. myrtillus, V. uliginosum and Oxycoccus palustris in two study areas differing in altitude were studied in this work. To establish the freezing resistance, the plants were sampled eight times, to determine parameters of the water relations, the plants were sampled six times during the growing season of 2009. For the freezing resistance examination, ice nucleation temperature (exotherm) and 50 per cent lethal temperature (LT50) were found. The water relations were described using the parameters derived from the pressure-volume curves: osmotic potential at full turgor, osmotic potential at zero turgor, cytoplasmic water fraction, relative water content at turgor loss and bulk modulus of elasticity. An important seasonal variability in the freezing resistance was found. The highest levels of the freezing resistance were reached in the spring and in the autumn, the lowest levels were found in the summer. There were also changes in the used mechanisms of the freezing resistance - for most of the year, the plants were tolerant, they showed the avoidance mechanism only in the summer. The seasonal changes in the water relation parameter were less unambiguous. The most of...