In this work the potential of moving moss-bags, fixed to bicycles, to intercept particulate matter (PM) and linked metal(loid)s was tested for the first time. Seven volunteers carried three moss-bags for fifty days while commuting by... more
In this work the potential of moving moss-bags, fixed to bicycles, to intercept particulate matter (PM) and linked metal(loid)s was tested for the first time. Seven volunteers carried three moss-bags for fifty days while commuting by bicycle in the urban area of Antwerp, Belgium. Moreover, one bike, equipped with mobile PM samplers, travelled along four routes: urban, industrial, green route and the total path, carrying three moss-bags at each route. The saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) signal and chemical composition (assessed by HR-ICP-MS) of the moss samples indicated that the industrial route was the most polluted. Element fluxes (i.e., the ratio between element daily uptake and the specific leaf area) could discriminate among land uses; particularly, they were significantly higher in the industrial route for Ag, As, Cd and Pb; significantly lowest in the green route for As and Pb; and comparable for all accumulated elements along most urban routes. A comparis...
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The epiphytic lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea is widely used as biomonitor of airborne trace elements and other contaminants and consists of two taxonomic varieties (var. furfuracea and var. ceratea). Here, we assessed the occurrence of... more
The epiphytic lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea is widely used as biomonitor of airborne trace elements and other contaminants and consists of two taxonomic varieties (var. furfuracea and var. ceratea). Here, we assessed the occurrence of inter-varietal differences in the elemental composition of paired samples of var. furfuracea and var. ceratea collected in 20 remote sites of Italian mountains. The concentration of 40 elements was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy, after digestion with HNO3 and aqua regia. The magnitude of inter-varietal differences compared to the effect of large-scale site-dependent environmental factors (i.e., lithological substrate, host tree species, and altitude) on overall element content was explored by multivariate analysis techniques and tested by generalized linear mixed modeling (GLMM). Further GLMMs were separately fitted for each element testing taxonomic-related variability against uncertainty associated to the analytical procedu...
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In this paper, a biomonitoring survey of airborne priority pollutant elements was carried out using leaves of native black locust and moss bags filled with Hypnum cupressiforme. The aims of the work were (i) to evaluate if mosses and... more
In this paper, a biomonitoring survey of airborne priority pollutant elements was carried out using leaves of native black locust and moss bags filled with Hypnum cupressiforme. The aims of the work were (i) to evaluate if mosses and leaves provide similar information regarding the accumulation of the elements of environmental concern (As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, V, Zn, Tl); (ii) to evaluate if leaf traits are significantly involved in the uptake mechanisms. Hypnum transplants showed elemental contents generally higher than R. pseudoacacia leaves, despite the shorter exposure time. Moss accumulated larger amounts of elements linked to PM and the resuspension of soil dust. Based on the calculation of deposition flux for each element, R. pseudoacacia showed lower values for most elements—except Cr, Mo and Zn—indicating that uptake takes place both by deposition on the leaf surface and absorption via the root. Leaf traits (micromorphology of surface) play an important r...
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... Valeria Spagnuolo Æ Livio Muscariello Æ Salvatore Cozzolino Æ Rosa Castaldo Cobianchi Æ Simonetta Giordano ... in Eurasia and SE North America and has some isolated outposts in trop-ical East and Central Africa and Central and South... more
... Valeria Spagnuolo Æ Livio Muscariello Æ Salvatore Cozzolino Æ Rosa Castaldo Cobianchi Æ Simonetta Giordano ... in Eurasia and SE North America and has some isolated outposts in trop-ical East and Central Africa and Central and South America (Fernandez-Mendoza et al. ...
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The genus Nicotiana, with 76 naturally occurred species, classified in 14 sections and 3 subgenera, is the sixth largest in the family Solanaceae. Species of Nicotiana occur largely in the Americas (75%) and Australia (25%). Exceptions... more
The genus Nicotiana, with 76 naturally occurred species, classified in 14 sections and 3 subgenera, is the sixth largest in the family Solanaceae. Species of Nicotiana occur largely in the Americas (75%) and Australia (25%). Exceptions include N.fragrans, which is restricted to island of South Pacific Ocean, and N.africana which is found in Africa. In 1991 Clarkson & Symon described for the first time a new Nicotiana species, named Nicotiana wuttkei Clarkson & Symon. According to this authors it should be included in the section Suaveolentes for its morphological characteristics. At present there is little and disagreeing information about morphology and citology of this species. Furthermore its sistematic position is not yet clearly defined. A study was performed in order to assess, at morphological and molecular level, the relationships among the newly discovered Nicotiana wuttkei and other Nicotiana species, belonging to the section Suaveolentes. Nicotiana species were grown in p...
As builders and major components of peatlands, Sphagnopsida (peat mosses) are very important organisms for ecosystems and world's climate. Nowadays many Sphagnum species as well as their habitats are largely protected, while their... more
As builders and major components of peatlands, Sphagnopsida (peat mosses) are very important organisms for ecosystems and world's climate. Nowadays many Sphagnum species as well as their habitats are largely protected, while their scientific and economic relevance remains considerable. Advanced methods of in vitro cultivation provide the potential to work in a sustainable way with peat mosses and address aspects of basic research as well as biotechnological and economical topics like biomonitoring or the production of renewable substrates for horticulture (Sphagnum farming). Here, we describe the establishment of axenic in vitro cultures of the five peat moss species Sphagnum fimbriatum Wils. and Hook., Sphagnum magellanicum Brid., Sphagnum palustre L., Sphagnum rubellum Wils. and Sphagnum subnitens Russ. and Warnst. with specific focus on large-scale cultivation of S. palustre in bioreactors. Axenic, clonal cultures were established to produce high quantities of biomass under s...
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Accurate differentiation of the proportion of bioconcentrated metals (i.e. incorporated into cells) and the proportion that is not bioconcentrated (i.e. adsorbed at the surface) would lead to a better understanding of the uptake processes... more
Accurate differentiation of the proportion of bioconcentrated metals (i.e. incorporated into cells) and the proportion that is not bioconcentrated (i.e. adsorbed at the surface) would lead to a better understanding of the uptake processes and would represent an advance in the use of mosses as biomonitors. Traditionally the methods used to remove contaminants that are not bioconcentrated were to wash the plant material with water or to apply the sequential elution technique, but nowadays both options are considered inaccurate for these purposes. The remaining possibilities are to clean the moss samples with a nitrogen jet or by power ultrasound. Samples of terrestrial moss Pseudoscleropodium purum (Hewd.) Fleisch. were collected from five sampling stations. Different nitrogen jet cleaning procedures and ultrasound cleaning procedures were applied to the mosses. To determine whether any of the treatments altered the membrane integrity of the moss samples, the concentrations of K were ...
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Optical and SEM observation on the thallus of Lunularia cruciata show the presence of a hyaline parenchyma consisting of polyedric, slightly elongated cells with secondary wall thickenings mostly parallel. After removal of cytoplasmic... more
Optical and SEM observation on the thallus of Lunularia cruciata show the presence of a hyaline parenchyma consisting of polyedric, slightly elongated cells with secondary wall thickenings mostly parallel. After removal of cytoplasmic content by mean of Triton-X-100, SEM observations show that the walls of the reticulate cells constituting the hyaline parenchyma have, between wall thickenings, large primary pit fields
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... SIMONETTA GIORDANO, CARMINE COLACINO *, VALERIA SPAGNUOLO, ADRIANA BASILE, ASSUNTA ESPOSITO and ROSA CASTALDO-COBIANCHI Dipartimento di ... & PROCTOR, 1976a, b); protein synthesis (eg OLIVIER... more
... SIMONETTA GIORDANO, CARMINE COLACINO *, VALERIA SPAGNUOLO, ADRIANA BASILE, ASSUNTA ESPOSITO and ROSA CASTALDO-COBIANCHI Dipartimento di ... & PROCTOR, 1976a, b); protein synthesis (eg OLIVIER & BEWLEY, 1984); and ultras-tructure (TUCKER ...
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... Valeria Spagnuolo Æ Livio Muscariello Æ Salvatore Cozzolino Æ Rosa Castaldo Cobianchi Æ Simonetta Giordano ... in Eurasia and SE North America and has some isolated outposts in trop-ical East and Central Africa and Central and South... more
... Valeria Spagnuolo Æ Livio Muscariello Æ Salvatore Cozzolino Æ Rosa Castaldo Cobianchi Æ Simonetta Giordano ... in Eurasia and SE North America and has some isolated outposts in trop-ical East and Central Africa and Central and South America (Fernandez-Mendoza et al. ...
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This paper describes our investigation of genetic variation and clonal structure of the Mediterranean moss Pleurochaete squarrosa (Brid.) Lindb. (Pottiaceae), using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) molecular markers and trnL(UAA)... more
This paper describes our investigation of genetic variation and clonal structure of the Mediterranean moss Pleurochaete squarrosa (Brid.) Lindb. (Pottiaceae), using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) molecular markers and trnL(UAA) (intron of plastid gene for Leu tRNA) sequence, choosing different sampling strategies and scales on 16 European populations. Moreover, the intercontinental distribution of two trnL haplotypes, previously found over a large area and including 24 populations in three continents, was also investigated. Despite the prevalent asexual reproduction, P. squarrosa shows a high level of genetic diversity. Some site features seem to affect the clonal structure at the local scale, influencing the relocation of detached fragments and the level of intermingling, but they do not substantially affect genetic diversity. The peculiar vegetative reproduction coupled with somatic mutation could partly account for the genetic variation detected. Genetic distances highlight geographic isolation and limited gene flow among populations. We found only two trnL haplotypes in Europe due to length polymorphism, but, over an intercontinental scale, only non-delete trnL was found in Africa and the USA. ISSR analysis within each population detected a higher genetic distance between the samples with different trnL haplotypes, suggesting the presence of two different genetic lineages within this species, geographically overlapping in the Mediterranean Basin.
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Research Interests: Genetics, Genetic Drift, Plant Biology, Genetic Diversity, Italy, and 17 moreHaplotypes, Genetic Structure, DNA Extraction, Plant, Molecular Diversity, Population Size, Habitat fragmentation, Quercus ilex, Ecosystem, Molecular Marker, Asexual Reproduction, Linkage Disequilibrium, Genetic variation, Population Study, Indexation, Isolation by distance, and Simple Sequence Repeat
An aqueous extract of wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia DC) was tested for its allelopathic activity in vitro on radish germination and seedling growth in light and darkness. The extract caused a delay in the onset and a significant... more
An aqueous extract of wild rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia DC) was tested for its allelopathic activity in vitro on radish germination and seedling growth in light and darkness. The extract caused a delay in the onset and a significant decrease in the rate of germination (40%) in the light. The photo-inhibition was accompanied by an inhibition of water uptake into the seed, and a decrease of protein content as well as an increase of peroxidase activity into the seedlings. Microscopic observations suggest that the extract markedly changes radish radicle development inducing a decreased imbibition and distension of seed cells. Consistent results were obtained with some species such as purslane, lambsquarter and tree of heaven present in the cultivated wild rocket field and with cultivated lettuce and barley. Finally, a potential allelochemical, biologically active, was isolated from the extract: S-glucopyranosyl thiohydroximate at concentration of 6.3×10 M.
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Research Interests: Environmental Monitoring, Italy, Biological Sciences, Cities, Environmental Sciences, and 12 moreVehicle Emissions, Quercus, Wind, Metals, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), Theoretical Models, Fagus, Particulate Matter, Reproducibility of Results, Air Pollutants, and Plant Leaves
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Research Interests: Genetics, Principal Component Analysis, Environmental Monitoring, Biodiversity, Multidisciplinary, and 22 moreGenetic Diversity, Italy, Heavy metals, Surveys, Erosion, Land Use, Lead, Cluster Analysis, Quercus, Pollutants, Trace Elements, Epiphytes, Quercus ilex, Biological markers, Genetic variation, Correlation coefficient, Biological Monitoring, HUman Disturbance, Trace element, Environmental Pollutants, Chemical Composition, and Genetic Variability
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Research Interests: Botany and Plant Biology
Protonemata of Funaria hygrometrica grown in artificial media containing different lead concentrations grow more slowly than controls and show a disturbance of polar growth, changed arrangement of chloroplasts, alterations of nucleus and... more
Protonemata of Funaria hygrometrica grown in artificial media containing different lead concentrations grow more slowly than controls and show a disturbance of polar growth, changed arrangement of chloroplasts, alterations of nucleus and septa position. Morphological effects are dose-dependent. At the lowest lead concentration (10-6 M), only a delay in development was observed, but no cellular alterations, At 10-5 M Pb