New study settles long-standing debate: Does agricultural erosion create a carbon sink or source

In new research published today in the European Geosciences Union journal Biogeosciences, two scientists address the soil organic carbon erosion paradox

Peer-Reviewed Publication

EUROPEAN GEOSCIENCES UNIO

 

IMAGE: TRANSPORT IN RUNOFF: DETACHMENT AND TRANSPORT CAN SHIFT OC FROM A PROTECTED STATE IN AGGREGATES TO AN AVAILABLE STATE WHERE IT MINERALIZES MORE RAPIDLY. BURIAL: THE DEPOSITION OF ERODED OC MOVES OC INTO A LOW-MINERALIZATION CONTEXT AND CAN ALSO ENHANCE PROTECTION VIA AGGREGATION. SUBSOIL MIXING: AT SITES OF EROSION NEW OC FORMATION FROM NEW VEGETATION INPUTS INTO EXPOSED SUBSOIL BY EROSION MAY REPLACE SOME OF THE ERODED. OC. NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION (NPP) FEEDBACK: EROSION AND DEPOSITION MAY AFFECT THE NUTRIENT AND SOIL DEPTH STATUS (AND HENCE SOIL FERTILITY) AS WELL AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS THAT CONTROL OC INPUT VERSUS OUTPUT. view more 

CREDIT: VAN OOST, K. AND SIX, J.: RECONCILING THE PARADOX OF SOIL ORGANIC CARBON EROSION BY WATER, BIOGEOSCIENCES, 20, 635–646, HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.5194/BG-20-635-2023, 2023.

Over the last decade, researchers have sounded the alarm on soil erosion being the biggest threat to global food security. As world governments moved to implement soil conservation practices, a new debate began: does agricultural soil erosion create a net organic carbon (OC) sink or source? The question is a crucial one, as carbon sinks absorb more carbon than they release, while carbon sources release more carbon than they absorb. Either way, the answer has implications for global land use, soil conservation practices and their link to climate change.

In a new study published today in the European Geosciences Union journal Biogeosciences, two researchers show that the apparent soil organic carbon erosion paradox, i.e., whether agricultural erosion results in an OC sink or source, can be reconciled when we consider the geographical and historical context. The study was the result of a collaboration between UCLouvain, Belgium and ETH Zurich.

The organic carbon cascade
Early studies assumed that a substantial fraction of soil organic carbon that is mobilized on agricultural land is lost to the atmosphere. They concluded that agricultural erosion represented a source of atmospheric CO2, which led to the notion of a win–win situation: soil conservation practices that reduce erosion result in healthier soils AND a large carbon sink.

However, more recent studies have challenged this assumption and suggest a different pathway for the eroded organic carbon. They propose the concept of the “geomorphic OC pump” that transfers organic carbon from the atmosphere to upland soils recovering from erosion to burial sites where organic carbon is protected from decomposition in low-mineralization contexts. Along this geomorphic conveyor belt, the organic carbon originally fixed by plants is continuously displaced laterally along the earth’s surface where it can be stored in sedimentary environments. These studies argue that the combination of organic carbon recovery and sedimentation on land could capture vast quantities of atmospheric carbon, and so erosion may in fact represent an organic carbon sink.

“We demonstrate how these two competing views can exist at the same time and so this study offers an understanding of differences in perspective,” explains Kristof Van Oost from the Earth & Life Institute, UCLouvain.

Seeing the full picture for the first time
Johan Six from the Department of Environmental Systems Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and ETH Zurich says these latest findings are a first account of how all the different carbon dynamic processes induced by erosion interact and counterbalance each other in determining the net carbon flux from terrestrial environments to the atmosphere.

Six and Van Oost conducted a comprehensive literature review spanning 74 studies. Six explains the reason for the conflicting assumptions from previous studies. “We noticed that the perceived paradox was mostly related to not having considered the full cascade of carbon fluxes associated with erosion. This led us to thinking that it would be good to explain the complexity of the full carbon cascade.”

At the very centre of this paradox – they realised – is the fact that water erosion-induced processes operate across temporal and spatial scales, which determine the relationship between water erosion and organic carbon loss versus stabilization processes. Together they conceptualized the effects of the contributing water erosional (sub)processes across time and space using decay functions.

Timescales reconcile the paradox
Both researchers found that soil erosion induces a source for atmospheric CO2 only when considering small temporal and spatial scales, while both sinks and sources appear when multi-scaled approaches are used.

At very short timescales (seconds to days) erosion events shift a portion of the soil organic carbon from a protected state to an available state where it mineralizes to gaseous forms more rapidly. In contrast, studies considering erosion as a sink for atmospheric carbon typically consider longer timescales at which the geomorphic OC conveyor belt is operating.

The researchers emphasize the need for erosion control for the many benefits it brings to the ecosystem but recommend cross-scale approaches to accurately represent erosion effects on the global carbon cycle.

Looking to the future, Van Oost concludes, “Our insights into the effects of soil erosion on carbon storage are mainly derived from studies conducted in temperate regions. We now need new research on erosion effects in marginal lands but also tropical regions.”

Framework to represent fraction gain and loss relative to mobilised soil OC for different components of the geomorphic cascade 

The example shown here (full lines) uses the best estimates of model parameters described in the text and given in Table 2 (i.e., αrunoff D 0.04, τrunoff D 1, αriver D 0.5, τriver D 1, αburial D 0.54, τburial D 0.008, αrecovery D 0.86, τrecovery D 0.006). The red shaded area represents the uncertainty associated with the model parameters for the net overall effect (see Methods).

CREDIT

Van Oost, K. and Six, J.: Reconciling the paradox of soil organic carbon erosion by water, Biogeosciences, 20, 635–646, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-635-2023, 2023.

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JOURNAL

Biogeosciences

DOI

10.5194/bg-20-635-2023 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Literature review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Reconciling the paradox of soil organic carbon erosion by water

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

16-Feb-2023

Climate change disrupts core habitats of marine species

A modelling study by an international team of researchers indicates the extent to which climate change threatens marine ecosystems and their biodiversity.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF OLDENBURG

If climate change continues at the current pace, a majority of marine species will likely lose considerable amounts of their currently suitable habitat ranges by the end of this century. This is the result of a modelling study published in the current issue of the scientific journal Global Change Biology.

The interdisciplinary team of researchers included scientists of the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB), the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel.

“Ocean’s biodiversity changes faster than in terrestrial ecosystems. To be able to protect marine species and with them all the marine resources that humans depend on, it is important to understand where and how marine species communities may change”, emphasizes Dr Irene Roca, biologist and former researcher at the HIFMB, who led the study together with HIFMB marine ecologist Dr Dorothee Hodapp.

Data of more than 33.500 marine species

Scientists are already observing that many marine species have started shifting their distributional ranges with the changing environmental conditions as a consequence of global warming. However, understanding and projecting what marine biodiversity might look like in the future and how the extent of habitats might change is a difficult task due to many unknowns, Hodapp points out.

“Many species are only poorly studied and we don’t know exactly how the environmental conditions will look like in about in a few decades”, she says. Moreover, previous projections often considered temperature as the sole environmental factor driving future biodiversity changes.

To overcome these problems to a certain extent, the researchers based their modelling efforts on occurrence data of more than 33.500 marine species and seven environmental factors such as water depth, water temperature, salinity, and oxygen concentration. Based on this information and assuming three different CO2 emission scenarios the team estimated whether and where the species are likely to occur in the future.

The results indicate that species’ so-called core habitat ranges – that is the marine area in which chances are higher than 50 percent that a particular species occurs based on its preferred environmental conditions – may not only shift but may also be considerably reduced in case of the high CO2 emission scenario.

Risk of a fundamental reorganization of marine life poses challenges to conservation management

In addition to habitat loss, the results give an idea about how the preferred habitat area of many species may be disrupted. “Especially along the equator, our model projections revealed areas which are ill-suited for most marine species, for instance because of high temperatures”, Roca explains. If such regions developed in the future this would disrupt currently continuous equatorial habitat ranges.

Fragmented habitats lead to smaller population sizes which can put species at higher risk to go extinct. However, in the long-run new species could also develop. Another problem is that species can only keep pace with changing environmental conditions to varying degrees, Hodapp explains. This can lead to a restructuring of food webs and changes in the interactions between habitat-forming species, such as corals, and their inhabitants.

“Even though our model does not account for such interspecific interactions, the results provide valuable clues on how differently marine environments and communities are likely to change depending on the future CO2 emission scenarios”, the marine ecologist stresses.

Being aware of such a high risk of a fundamental reorganization of marine life will pose further challenges to conservation management, she adds. “We need to think ahead and work on effectively implementing the recent international agreements on biodiversity protection.”

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JOURNAL

Global Change Biology

DOI

10.1111/gcb.16612 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Climate change disrupts core habitats of marine species

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

15-Feb-2023

Climate: Lessons from the latest global warming

By analysing sediments dating back to the global warming that happened 56 million years ago, a team from the UNIGE is taking a new look at our climate future.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITÉ DE GENÈVE

 

IMAGE: PETM WAS MARKED BY AN INCREASE IN THE SEASONALITY AND INTENSITY OF RAINFALL. THIS INCREASED THE MOBILITY OF RIVER CHANNELS - THE DEEPEST AREAS OF A RIVER - AND RESULTED IN THE TRANSPORT OF LARGE QUANTITIES OF FLUVIAL CLAYS DEPOSITED ON ADJACENT ALLUVIAL PLAINS TO THE DEEP OCEAN. view more 

CREDIT: © LUCAS VIMPERE

56 million years ago, the Earth experienced one of the largest and most rapid climate warming events in its history: the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which has similarities to current and future warming. This episode saw global temperatures rise by 5-8°C. It was marked by an increase in the seasonality of rainfalls, which led to the movement of large quantities of clay into the ocean, making it uninhabitable for certain living species. This scenario could be repeated today. This is what a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has revealed, thanks to the analysis of sediments taken from the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. These results can be found in the journal Geology.

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which occurred 56 million years ago, is the largest and most rapid climatic disturbance of the Cenozoic era (65.5 million years ago to the present day). Exceptional both in terms of its amplitude (5-8°C increase) and its suddenness (5,000 years, a very short time on a geological scale), this episode was marked by a warming of temperatures on a global scale. It lasted for about 200 000 years and led to numerous marine and terrestrial extinctions.

It would have been caused by a high concentration of carbon dioxide - the famous CO2 - and methane in the atmosphere, two powerful greenhouse gases. As is the case currently, these gases may have been released by several phenomena, certainly in combination: the release of methane hydrates trapped on the seabed, the sudden and significant melting of the permafrost, and the injection of magma into the organic sediments of the western edge of Norway. The origin of these processes is still under debate. The impact of a meteorite and/or the effects of intense volcanic activity in the depths of the North Atlantic could be responsible.

A geological ‘‘archive’’ of unprecedented quality

Because of the many similarities between the PETM and the current warming, the geological remains of this period are being closely studied by scientists. A team from the UNIGE is now reporting new elements. ‘‘The objective of our study was to investigate the influence of these climatic changes on sedimentary systems, i.e. on the processes of sediment formation and deposition, and to understand how these changes could have been transmitted from the atmosphere to the depths of the ocean,’’ explains Lucas Vimpere, a post-doctoral scholar at the Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences of the UNIGE’s Faculty of Science and first author of the study.

The researchers analysed sediments taken from more than 8km deep in the Gulf of Mexico. This basin acts as a giant ‘‘sink’’ into which material eroded and transported from the North American continent over millions of years is discharged. ‘‘For reasons of cost and infrastructure, the sediments used to study the PETM are generally taken from shallow marine or continental environments. Thanks to the collaboration of an oil company, we were able to obtain a sample of unprecedented quality, without any alteration’’, says the researcher. The 543-metre-long core contains a 180-metre-thick PETM sedimentary record, making it the most complete geological ‘‘archive’’ of this period in the world.

More clay on the ocean floor

The UNIGE scientists found that it was composed first of a large layer of clay and then of a layer of sand, a counter-intuitive result. ‘‘At the time of the PETM, we thought that there had been more precipitation, and therefore more erosion, and that large quantities of sand had then been transported first by the fluvial systems into the oceans. However, thanks to our sample, we were able to determine that it was the clays and not the sands that were transported in the first instance’’, explains Sébastien Castelltort, full professor at the Earth and Environmental Sciences Section of the UNIGE Faculty of Science, and last author of the study.

This established that the period was not marked by an increase in the annual rate of precipitation but by an increase in its seasonality and intensity. ‘‘This resulted in increased mobility of the river channels - the deepest areas of a river - which in turn transported large quantities of fluvial clays deposited on the adjacent alluvial plains to the ocean depths. We can now consider the presence of clay in deep basins as a marker of increased rainfall seasonality,’’ says Lucas Vimpere. The phenomenon has led to an increase in ocean turbidity that is harmful to marine life, especially corals.

‘‘The PETM is a potential analogue of current warming. As recent IPCC reports show, we are also now seeing an increase in the seasonality and intensity of rainfall. As our study shows, this is likely to destabilise sedimentary systems in the same way as during the PETM and with the same consequences for the oceans and living species,’’ explains Lucas Vimpere. These new data can now be integrated into modelling aimed at predicting the evolution and consequences of global warming.

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JOURNAL

Geology

DOI

10.1130/G50641.1 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

News article

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Carbon isotope and biostratigraphic evidence for an expanded Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum sedimentary record in the deep Gulf of Mexico

Facile and scalable production of a fuel-cell nanocatalyst for the hydrogen economy

Simple and creative approach for the synthesis of platinum-based alloy nanoparticles through heat treatment

Peer-Reviewed Publication

INSTITUTE FOR BASIC SCIENCE

 

IMAGE: MICROSCOPIC (STEM AND TEM) IMAGES OF THE DEVELOPED CATALYST AND ITS PEMFC POWER PERFORMANCE. COMPARED TO THE STATE-OF-THE-ART FUEL CELL CATALYSTS, THE CATALYST DEVELOPED BY THE CNR-IBS TEAM SHOWED ALMOST TWICE THE POWER PERFORMANCE PER PLATINUM USE. view more 

CREDIT: INSTITUTE FOR BASIC SCIENCE

A fuel cell is an electric power generator that is capable of producing electricity from hydrogen gas while discharging only water as a waste product. It is hoped that this highly efficient clean energy system will play a key role in the adoption of the hydrogen economy, replacing the combustion engines and batteries in automobiles and trucks, as well as power plants.

However, the cost of platinum, which can be up to ~30,000 USD per kg, has been a major limitation, making fuel cell catalysts to be prohibitively expensive. The production methods of highly-performing catalysts have also been complicated and largely limited. Accordingly, the development of a facile and scalable production method for platinum-based fuel cell catalysts is an urgent challenge, together with enhancing catalytic performance and stability while using a minimum amount of platinum.

To tackle this issue, a research team led by Prof. SUNG Yung-Eun and Prof. HYEON Taeghwan at the Center for Nanoparticle Research (CNR) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), South Korea has discovered a novel method for the production of nanocatalysts. The researchers demonstrated that these uniformly sized (3-4 nanometers) cobalt-platinum (Co-Pt) alloy nanoparticles can be produced by simple heat treatment. This method has combined features of the ease of the synthesis of the impregnation method, along with the precise control over the size and shape of the nanocrystals similar to the colloidal method.

 

The novel Co-Pt alloy nanocatalysts developed by the CNR-IBS team consist of two oppositely-charged metal complexes, specifically Co and Pt ions surrounded by bipyridine and chlorine ligands, respectively. The research team hypothesized that a simple heat treatment would cause the bipyridine ligand to thermally decompose into a carbon shell that can protect the growing Co-Pt alloy nanoparticles. After optimizing the heat treatment condition, they succeeded in obtaining a highly uniform nanocatalyst with nanoparticles of only 3-4 nanometer sizes.

In the nanocatalyst developed by the group, Co and Pt atoms were arranged in a regular way called the ‘intermetallic phase’, where the unstable Co atoms are stabilized by the surrounding Pt atoms. Additionally, when nitrogen was effectively doped onto the carbon support, ionomers (proton conductors) were homogeneously dispersed over the entire catalyst layer in the fuel cell, which better facilitated the supply of oxygen gas to the surface of the Co-Pt nanocatalyst.

These structural features added up to a much-enhanced power performance in the proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell, exhibiting high specific rated power of 5.9 kW/gPt, which is about twice that of the current performance in a commercial hydrogen vehicle.[1] The catalyst produced by the team has achieved most of the 2025 targets set by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with the goal of stable long-term operation of the fuel cell.

The CNR-IBS team strongly believes that this study would stimulate the development of next-generation fuel cell catalysts. These findings would also contribute to the improvements in the catalytic performance and durability of alloy nanocatalysts for various other electrocatalytic applications.

Prof. Hyeon, stated, “Design of a novel bimetallic compound as a precursor material has been the critical starting point in this study. We have developed a platform technology to produce a complicated form of alloy nanocatalysts through a simple and scalable method, and finally achieved an enhanced fuel cell power performance with less amount of platinum used.”

Prof. Sung remarked, “A world-class level of fuel cell performance has been achieved in this research, surpassing most of the 2025 targets of U.S. DOE by lessening the amount of platinum that can contribute up to around 40% of the cost of fuel cells.” He added, “We expect that this study, together with some follow-up studies, would greatly impact the growth of the hydrogen vehicle industry and the realization of hydrogen economy in the near future.”

 

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[1] D. A. Cullen, K. C. Neyerlin, R. K. Ahluwalia, R. Mukundan, K. L. More, R. L. Borup, A. Z. Weber, D. J. Myers & A. Kusoglu, Nature Energy 2021, 6, 462–474.

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DOI

10.1039/D2EE04211H 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Scalable production of an intermetallic Pt–Co electrocatalyst for high-power proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells

Feathered ‘fingerprints’ reveal potential motivation for migratory patterns of endangered seabirds

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

 

IMAGE: SEABIRD FEATHERS CAN PROVIDE CLUES ABOUT THEIR LONG-DISTANCE FORAGING. view more 

CREDIT: DR LAUREN ROMAN, CSIRO

With the largest wingspan of any living bird, the Wandering Albatross is a giant of the sea. But like several other tube-nosed bird species, it is under threat of extinction.

 

Now, world first research from CSIRO and the University of South Australia shows that the feathers of seabirds such as the Wandering Albatross can provide clues about their long-distance foraging, which could help protect these species from further decline.

 

Comparing 15 element concentrations in the feathers of 253 tube-nosed seabirds of the Southern Hemisphere (representing 15 species), researchers found that the feathers of large seabirds (400g+) such as the Wandering Albatross (and other highly mobile seabirds) contained nutrients that did not solely match the availability of nutrients in the seawater at the collection site.

 

Conversely, smaller bird species that foraged more locally had feathers with trace element concentrations that were ten-to-hundred-fold higher than those of larger bird species, clearly representing the ocean basins in which they were feeding.

 

UniSA’s Associate Professor S. ‘Topa’ Petit says feather profiles can help decipher the movements and habitats of open ocean seabirds.

 

“From the lab work led by Dr Farzana Kastury, we found that small seabirds’ feathers contained substantial amounts of elements that matched their foraging environments, whereas large seabirds, irrespective of which ocean their feathers were collected from, all showed similar trace elements, suggesting they are feeding from a range of different ocean basins,” Assoc Prof Petit says

 

“Small birds that spend a lot of time feeding on planktonic crustaceans in particular areas acquire specific elements from those areas. In contrast, larger birds do not have the same element signature because they forage across multiple ocean basins.

 

“Our work with feathers may explain why species like the Wandering Albatross that breed slowly and that are difficult to study because of their open ocean habits travel over such extraordinary distances.

 

“It points at the significance of micronutrient availability and associated ocean processes in the conservation of seabirds.”

 

Research leader, CSIRO’s Dr Lauren Roman, says understanding factors that affect the distribution of a threatened group of seabirds will help us better protect them in the future.

 

“It’s fascinating to think that highly mobile marine animals may be travelling long distances to meet their mineral needs, in addition to their energy needs,” Dr Roman says.

 

“But what this also tells us is that we must continue to protect biodiverse marine areas to ensure micronutrient availability for threatened bird species.

 

“One of the biggest threats to biodiverse marine areas is climate change, as it has the potential to affect nutrient cycles and distribution across the Southern Ocean.

 

“While more research needs to be done, this work expands our ecological knowledge about oceanic species and the significance of micronutrient availability for the survival of seabirds like the Wandering Albatross.”

 

Notes to editors:

 

• The project was funded by a BirdLife Australia’s Australian Bird Environment Fund grant and Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation Inc (SWRRFI) Marine Vertebrates grant.

 

• The study is published in Global Ecology and Biogeography.

 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Contacts for interview:

UniSA - Assoc Prof S. ‘Topa’ Petit T: +61 8 830 25194  E: Sophie.Petit@unisa.edu.au

CSIRO – Dr Lauren Roman E: Lauren.Roman@csiro.au
Media contact: Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au

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JOURNAL

Global Ecology and Biogeography

DOI

10.1111/geb.13629 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animal tissue samples

ARTICLE TITLE

Nutrients and seabird biogeography: Feather elements differ among oceanic basins in the Southern Hemisphere, reflecting bird size, foraging range and nutrient availability in seawater

Arming vegetables with anti-inflammatory properties using plant pigments

Scientists explore the therapeutic potential of betalain-engineered vegetables in conferring anti-inflammatory properties

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

 

IMAGE: A) PHENOTYPES OF FRUITS OF WILD-TYPE (TW) AND BETALAIN-TRANSGENIC TOMATO LINES (TB) DURING FRUIT DEVELOPMENT. B) TRANSCRIPT LEVELS OF TNF (THE PROINFLAMMATORY GENE) IN COLONS OF DSS-INDUCED COLITIS MICE WERE LOWER IN MICE TREATED WITH TB EXTRACT AND TW/BET MIXED WATER, COMPARED TO MICE WITH DSS ALONE. view more 

CREDIT: GEN-ICHIRO ARIMURA FROM TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

Betalains are a class of plant pigments that are responsible for the characteristic red-violet (betacyanin) or yellow (betaxanthin) color of certain fruits and vegetables. These naturally occurring, water-soluble, and nitrogen-containing pigments are commonly used as food coloring agents. Recently, research findings have brought to the forefront, the strong antioxidant potential of betalains, making them potential candidates to produce health foods and combat various diseases. At present, betalains are only produced in plants of the order Caryophyllales and higher fungi. Hence, metabolic engineering has been explored to genetically modify cultivable non-Caryophyllales plants, to enhance the production and scalability of these pigments.

Although transgenic betalain-accumulating plants have been developed over the years, their applications in producing healthcare food resources are yet to be explored.

To address this gap, a collaborative research team from Tokyo University of Science (TUS) and Iwate Biotechnology Research Center, Japan, led by Professor Gen-ichiro Arimura from TUS, attempted to genetically modify potato and tomato plants to produce betacyanin. Their aim was to test the therapeutic efficacy of betacyanin producing tomatoes and potatoes against murine models of colitis and inflammation-inducing macrophages. Their findings were published in Biotechnology & Bioengineering on January 26, 2023. Discussing the results of this study, Prof. Arimura says, “We successfully engineered potato tubers and tomato fruits to co-express betacyanin biosynthesis genes [genes for CYP76AD1 from Beta vulgaris, DOD (DOPA 4,5-dioxygenase) and 5GT (cyclo-DOPA 5-O-glucosyltransferase) from Mirabilis jalapa] under the control of suitable promoters. This enhanced the endogenous accumulation of betanin and isobetanin—two common types of betacyanin—in these transgenic vegetables. The accumulation of these pigments made them appear dark red in color upon maturation, as compared to their wild-type counterparts.”

Since macrophages play an important role in several inflammatory diseases, the team further tested the therapeutic efficacy of these transgenic vegetables in macrophage-like cells (RAW264.7), following immune response stimulation by lipopolysaccharides (LPS). They observed that the extracts of the transgenic tomato fruit exerted higher anti-inflammatory activity compared to their wild-type counterparts. This was attributed to a decrease in the LPS-stimulated transcription of the proinflammatory cytokine gene—a Tnf-α gene, within transgenic cells.

“These findings were in line with the anti-inflammatory effects of transgenic tomato that we observed in the intestines of murine models with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. A marked improvement in their body weight loss and disease activity index was observed through the suppression of the DSS-stimulated transcription of proinflammatory genes – genes for Tnf-α, Il6 and Cox-2,” adds Prof. Arimura, while discussing the results derived from the other experiment in mice. Moreover, the additive and synergistic action of betacyanin with natural fruit components (such as lycopene in tomato) further boosted the amelioration of colitis in murine models. Interestingly, while significant anti-inflammatory effects were observed with transgenic tomato extracts at 100–1000-fold dilutions, this was not the case with transgenic potatoes, despite substantial production of betanin and isobetanin. The reason for this is speculated to be the presence of unknown antagonists in transgenic potatoes that work against betacyanin’s anti-inflammatory function, but is yet to be confirmed.

“Tomatoes genetically engineered to produce betacyanins were found to have substantial health promoting effects. Although natural plant sources of betalains such as beetroots exist, these pigments demonstrate poor stability in high temperatures and extreme pH. This indicates that betacyanin producing transgenic tomato lines are more likely to be effective as health foods when ingested in their raw state,” summarizes Prof. Arimura.

What are the potential applications of these findings? He further adds, “Although there is no commercial cultivation of edible genetically modified crops in Japan, we expect that their applications as health foods through production in enclosed plant factories and other facilities will lead to the widespread use of recombinant plants in Japan.”

We are confident that betalain engineering will soon become a promising avenue to improve the commercial production of health foods, that boost food supply while simultaneously conferring health benefits to its consumers.  

 

***

 

Reference                    

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.28335

 

About The Tokyo University of Science
Tokyo University of Science (TUS) is a well-known and respected university, and the largest science-specialized private research university in Japan, with four campuses in central Tokyo and its suburbs and in Hokkaido. Established in 1881, the university has continually contributed to Japan's development in science through inculcating the love for science in researchers, technicians, and educators.

With a mission of “Creating science and technology for the harmonious development of nature, human beings, and society", TUS has undertaken a wide range of research from basic to applied science. TUS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive study in some of today's most vital fields. TUS is a meritocracy where the best in science is recognized and nurtured. It is the only private university in Japan that has produced a Nobel Prize winner and the only private university in Asia to produce Nobel Prize winners within the natural sciences field.

Website: https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/mediarelations/

 

About Professor Gen-ichiro Arimura from Tokyo University of Science
Dr. Gen-ichiro Arimura is a Professor at the Department of Biological Science and Technology within the Faculty of Advanced Engineering at the Tokyo University of Science (TUS), Japan. He obtained his PhD from Hiroshima University and has worked in the field of plant biology for several years before moving to TUS in 2013. With a research career spanning over two decades, he is a senior and well-respected researcher with over 100 publications to his credit. His research focus includes plant biotechnology, ecology, and biochemistry.

 

Funding information
This study was financially supported in part by a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (20H02951), a JSPS Joint Research Project (J21-740), and a Research Grant of Sapporo Bioscience Foundation to GA. 

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JOURNAL

Biotechnology and Bioengineering

DOI

10.1002/bit.28335 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Lab-produced tissue samples

ARTICLE TITLE

Metabolic engineering of betacyanin in vegetables for anti-inflammatory therapy

Unique feature of the Moon to be named in honour of trailblazing mathematician Melba Roy Mouton

Business Announcement

INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL UNION

 

IMAGE: MELBA MOUTON, A MATHEMATICIAN AND COMPUTER PROGRAMMER IN NASA’S TRAJECTORY AND GEODYNAMICS DIVISION AT NASA'S GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER IN GREENBELT, MARYLAND. view more 

CREDIT: NASA

The Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has approved an official name for a mesa-like lunar mountain that towers above the landscape carved by craters near the Moon’s south pole. This unique feature will now be referred to as Mons Mouton, after NASA mathematician and computer programmer Melba Roy Mouton (MOO-tawn).

The name Mons Mouton was proposed to the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) of the IAU by members of NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) team. The flat-topped mountain is adjacent to the western rim of the Nobile crater, on which VIPER will land and explore during its approximately 100-day mission as part of NASA’s Artemis program. The mountain is also one of 13 candidate landing regions for NASA’s Artemis III mission, which is intended to send astronauts to the lunar surface, including the first woman to set foot on the Moon.

The IAU theme for naming mountains (denoted ‘mons’) on the Moon focuses on “scientists who have made outstanding or fundamental contributions to their fields.” The lunar landmark naming honours and recognises Mouton’s life, her accomplishments as a computer scientist, and her contributions to NASA’s missions.

Mouton was first employed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in 1959, just a year after the space agency was established. She became the head mathematician who led a group of ‘human computers’, who tracked the Echo 1 and 2 satellites, launched into Earth’s orbit in 1960 and 1964, respectively.

A few years later, in 1961, Mouton was the head programmer responsible for the Mission and Trajectory Analysis Division’s Program Systems Branch — the team who coded computer programs used to calculate spacecraft locations and trajectories, giving NASA the ability to track spacecraft while in orbit.

Before retiring in 1973, after a career at NASA that spanned 14 years, Mouton had become the assistant chief of research programmes for the Trajectory and Geodynamics Division at Goddard. In appreciation of her dedicated service and outstanding accomplishments, which culminated in the successful Apollo 11 Moon landing on 20 July 1969, she was recognised with an Apollo Achievement Award.

"Melba Mouton was one of our pioneering leaders at NASA,” said Sandra Connelly, the acting associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “She not only helped NASA take the lead in exploring the unknown in air and space, but she also charted a path for other women and people of color to pursue careers and lead cutting-edge science at NASA.”

Mons Mouton is a wide, relatively flat-topped mountain, about the size of the state of Delaware, and was created over billions of years by lunar impacts, which sculpted it out of its surroundings. As a result, Mons Mouton stands as tall as Denali — the tallest mountain in North America —– approximately 6000 metres higher than its neighbouring features on the Moon’s south pole. Because it is relatively untouched by bombardments, scientists believe Mons Mouton is much more ancient — possibly billions of years older than its surroundings. A ring of huge craters — evidence of its pulverising distant past — lies around its base; some have cliff-like edges, descending into areas of permanent darkness. Its rolling hilltop is peppered with smaller rocks and pebbles as well as lots of enticing craters that are frequently blanketed in freezing shifting shadows.

“Mons Mouton represents a great spot for VIPER — our solar-powered Moon rover that we’ll drive and conduct science in near real time,” said Sarah Noble, VIPER program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It features high sunny spots, it’s relatively flat, satellite data shows signs of water ice, and it allows long stretches of direct communication with our ground station on Earth.” 

VIPER will be the first resource mapping mission beyond Earth. It will search at and below the lunar surface to determine the location and concentration of any ice that could eventually be harvested to sustain human exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond and it will help advance scientific exploration of the Moon by helping to understand how water is created and deposited throughout the Solar System. It is planned to deliver VIPER to the Moon in late 2024 under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. 

More information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together more than 12 000 active professional astronomers from more than 100 countries worldwide. Its mission is to promote and safeguard astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education and development, through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world's largest professional body for astronomers.

Links

• NASA press release and video