Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are commonly used in consumer products for their antibacterial activity. Silver nanoparticles may adversely influence organisms when released into the environment. The present study investigated the effect of AgNPs on the growth, morphology, and physiology of the aquatic plant duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza). The toxicity of AgNPs and AgNO(3) was also compared. The results showed that silver content in plant tissue increased significantly with higher concentrations of AgNPs and AgNO(3) . Silver nanoparticles and AgNO(3) significantly decreased plant biomass, caused colonies of S. polyrhiza to disintegrate, and also resulted in root abscission. Physiological analysis showed that AgNPs and AgNO(3) significantly decreased plant tissue nitrate-nitrogen content, chlorophyll a (Chl a) content, chlorophyll a/b (Chl a/b), and chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm). Changes in soluble carbohydrate and proline content were also detected after both AgNO(3) and AgNPs treatment. However, after 192 h of recovery, total chlorophyll content increased, and Fv/Fm returned to control level. Median effective concentration (EC50) values for Chl a and phosphate content showed that AgNO(3) was more toxic than AgNPs (EC50 values: 16.10 ± 0.75 vs 7.96 ± 0.81 and 17.33 ± 4.47 vs 9.14 ± 2.89 mg Ag L(-1) , respectively), whereas dry-weight EC50 values showed that AgNPs were more toxic than AgNO(3) (13.39 ± 1.06 vs 17.67 ± 1.16 mg Ag L(-1) ).

Vibrio alginolyticus is an opportunistic pathogen of animals and humans; its related strains can also produce tetrodotoxin and hemolysins. A new phage, ϕA318, which lysed its host V. alginolyticus with high efficiency, was characterized. The burst size of ϕA318 in V. alginolyticus was 72 PFU/bacterium at an MOI of 1 at room temperature; the plaque size was as large as 5 mm in diameter. Electron microscopy (EM) of the phage particles revealed a 50- to 55-nm isomorphous icosahedral head with a 12-nm non-contractile tail, similar to the T7-like phages of the family Podoviridae. Phylogenetic analysis based on complete sequences of the DNA-directed RNA polymerase gene revealed that ϕA318 had 28-47% amino acid identity to enterobacteria phages T7 and SP6, and other Vibrio phages, and the phylogenetic distance suggested that ϕA318 could be classified as a new T7-like bacteriophage. Nevertheless, several motifs in the ϕA318 phage RNA polymerase were highly conserved, including DFRGR (T7-421 motif), DG (T7-537 motif), PSEKPQDIYGAVS (T7-563 motif), RSMTKKPVMTL PYGS (T7-627 motif), and HDS (T7-811 motif). Genetic analysis indicated that phage ϕA318 is not a thermostable direct hemolysin producer. The results suggest that the MOI should be higher than 0.1 to prevent the chance of hemolysin production by the bacteria before they are lysed by the phage.

No abstract