The influence of stream sediment particle size on bacterial abundance and community composition

Sediment features may play a major role in determining benthic bacterial community structure. In this study, sediment samples were collected on four dates over the course of a year from a Northeast Ohio stream and fractionated into different particle size classes. Abundance of bacteria of various taxa on differentially sized sediment fractions was determined using fluorescent in situ hybridization which relies on taxon-specific oligonucleotide probes that hybridize to rRNA in intact cells. The differences among the size classes were generally small in comparison to the large seasonal changes observed. These seasonal changes differed greatly among taxa; for some, peaks in the number of cells hybridizing a particular probe were in the spring (Domain Bacteria, α-Proteobacteria), while others peaked in the summer/fall (γ-Proteobacteria and the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium). At the species level, the abundances of Burkholderia cepacia and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus were highest in the summer on sediments of all sizes. Seasonal differences appeared to be more of a factor driving community differences than sediment particle size.     

Osmotic effects on bacterial transport and energetics

Paracoccus denitrificans suspended in media containing 20-300 mM NaCl swelled progressively as the salt concentration was decreased. The increase in intracellular water volume was accompanied by an enhancement of respiration and a stimulation of the rates of net potassium and alpha-aminoisobutyric acid accumulation. It is postulated that influx of water and consequent lowering of intracellular solute concentration trigger transport mechanisms which are destined to restore the original ion and metabolite balance. Since a number of transport reactions operate against the electrochemical gradient of their substrates, energy utilization increases. The increased ATP usage and lowering of [ATP] stimulates the activity of the respiratory chain and increases oxygen uptake and energy production.     

The influence of prey identity and size on selection of prey by two marine fishes

Laboratory experiments were conducted with two predatory fishes, Lagodon rhomboides (Linnaeus) and Syngnathus floridae (Jordan & Gilbert), to determine if prey selection was a result of predator preference or prey accessibility. Prey consisted of two species of caridean shrimp, Tozeuma carolinense (Kingsley) and Hippolyte zostericola (Smith), that commonly inhabit seagrass meadows. Natural diets of both predators revealed that selection ofTozeuma and Hippolyte was not related to their field densities. My experiments demonstrated that natural prey selection was a consequence of prey accessibility, not predator preference. Experiments examining the role of prey size in predator preference revealed that large individuals were significantly preferred over small individuals. Observations of prey behavior indicated that prey motion affected predator choice. These results suggest that predator preference was primarily determined by prey visibility and that the combined effects of prey size and motion contributed to the visibility of these prey.     

The sodium cycle--a new type of bacterial energetics

The literature data and experimental results of the author's laboratory on the role of Na+ in bacterial energetics are reviewed. It was shown that certain bacterial species utilize the transmembrane difference of Na+ electrochemical potentials (delta mu Na+) as a convertible membrane-linked form of energy. The membranes of such bacteria were found to contain delta mu Na+ generators (e. g., decarboxylases of some carboxylic acids of NADH-menaquinone reductase). It was shown that delta mu Na+ formed by these generators may support all the three main types of work of the bacterial cell, i. e., chemical (ATP synthesis), osmotic (substrate accumulation) and mechanical (motility).     

群体感应抑制剂对海洋生态功能菌生物膜形成的影响

[目的]研究天然群体感应抑制剂(Quorum sensing inhibitors,QSI)分子对海洋生态功能菌生物膜形成的影响.[方法]以对污损生物幼虫附着具有诱导作用的海洋细菌为目标菌,通过在其生物膜的形成过程中添加天然群体感应抑制剂,研究其对目标菌成膜细菌数和浮游细菌数、生物膜形态以及生物膜表面胞外多糖含量的影响.[结果]呋喃酮和吡啶在50 mg/L时,对8株目标菌的成膜有显著的抑制作用,抑制率在80％左右,吲哚、青霉烷酸和香豆素在较高浓度800 mg/L才有比较好的抑制活性.生长抑制实验结果显示,同等浓度下,QSI分子对目标菌成膜的抑制活性明显高于其对浮游细菌生长的抑制活性.结果表明,QSI分子主要通过干扰目标菌群体感应系统以抑制生物膜的形成.[结论]研究证实QSI分子在海洋菌生物膜形成过程中具有一定的调控作用.通过添加QSI可能能够间接抑制由生物膜诱导的污损生物附着,从而以新的角度研制新型抗污损物质.     

The influence of prostaglandins on sperm motility

Prostaglandin E₂ and F_2α were measured in ejaculates from 10 fertile and 55 infertile men. Prostaglandin F_2α was negatively correlated with motility (r=0.77; p<0.01) in normal men. In patients with disturbed fertility, prostaglandin F_2α was always higher than in the controls, while prostaglandin E₂ was elevated only in patients with persisting varicocele and in those with very low sperm counts and severely impaired motility. There was neither synthesis of prostaglandins in spermatozoa nor were binding sites for prostaglandin E₂ and F_2α detectable. Inactivation of seminal prostaglandins by incubation with prostaglandin 15-hydroxydehydrogenase resulted in a dramatic fall in motility. The results suggest that prostaglandin F_2α act on motility, but the action is not mediated by receptors.     

The energetics of bacterial growth: a reassessment

The growth yield of microbial cultures can be used to estimate the efficiency of energy generation during a fermentation or respiration, in the past, the assessment of this efficiency in organisms carrying out a respiration has been the subject of many heated debates. This has partly been caused by the complexity of microbial respiratory chains. Strains of Escherichia coli specifically modified in their respiratory chain have been used recently to re-evaluate the energetic efficiency of the bacterial respiration using chemostat cultures. The different strains indeed show different growth efficiencies. The physiological significance of energetically less-efficient branches of the respiratory chain is discussed.     

The influence of the developing bacterial spore on the mother cell

Mutants unable to develop a completely engulfed forespore do not lose their viability, i.e., their ability to resume cell division, for at least 10 hr after the end of exponential growth. In contrast, mutants, which are blocked at later stages in development and which are able to produce completely engulfed forespores, lose their ability to divide. The time course of this decrease in viability coincides with the time course for the appearance of completely enclosed forespores. Experiments with the sporulating standard strains of Bacillus subtilis and B. megaterium suggest that the mother cells also lose their viability at about the time of forespore enclosure. These results indicate that the forespore, as soon as it is completely engulfed and thus committed to continue differentiation, somehow prevents the mother cell (sporangium) from resumption of growth.     

The influence of cell size on the growth rate of Thalassiosira weissflogii

Growth rate and average cell volume were measured throughoutauxospore formation in two populations of Thalassiosira weissflogii(Hustedt). In both cases, the entire population shifted fromrelatively small (800 µm³) to large cells (2800 µm³)over a 5 day interval. This shift was accompanied by a dramaticincrease in the average growth rate of the populations from1.6 to 3.4 doublings/day.     

The laws of cell energetics.

Recent progress in membrane bioenergetics studies has resulted in the important discovery that Na+ can effectively substitute for H+ as the energy coupling ion. This means that living cells can possess three convertible energy currencies, i.e. ATP, protonic and sodium potentials. Analysis of interrelations of these components in various types of living cells allows bioenergetic laws of universal applicability to be inferred.     

Growth energetics in the production of bacterial single cell protein from Methanol

Bacteria grown on methanol exhibit a poor efficiency of energy conservation, which is mainly due to the low P/O ratio of 1 associated with methanol oxidation. Thermodynamic considerations indicate that a P/O ratio of at least 2 is possible for this step in substrate oxidation. This low efficiency of energy conservation is reflected in the yield values on methanol, which are very important in the consideration of biomass production from methanol. Unfortunately in continuous culture there is no obvious way to select for organisms with a greater efficiency of energy conservation.     

Mechanical limitation of bacterial motility mediated by growing cell chains

Contrasting most known bacterial motility mechanisms, a bacterial sliding motility discovered in at least two gram-positive bacterial families does not depend on designated motors. Instead, the cells maintain end-to-end connections following cell divisions to form long chains and exploit cell growth and division to push the cells forward. To investigate the dynamics of this motility mechanism, we constructed a mechanical model that depicts the interplay of the forces acting on and between the cells comprising the chain. Due to the exponential growth of individual cells, the tips of the chains can, in principle, accelerate to speeds faster than any known single-cell motility mechanism can achieve. However, analysis of the mechanical model shows that the exponential acceleration comes at the cost of an exponential buildup in mechanical stress in the chain, making overly long chains prone to breakage. Additionally, the mechanical model reveals that the dynamics of the chain expansion hinges on a single non-dimensional parameter. Perturbation analysis of the mechanical model further predicts the critical stress leading to chain breakage and its dependence on the non-dimensional parameter. Finally, we developed a simplistic population-expansion model that uses the predicted breaking behavior to estimate the physical limit of chain-mediated population expansion. Predictions from the models provide critical insights into how this motility depends on key physical properties of the cell and the substrate. Overall, our models present a generically applicable theoretical framework for cell-chain-mediated bacterial sliding motility and provide guidance for future experimental studies on such motility.     

ppGpp is a bacterial cell size regulator

1. Download : Download high-res image (132KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

The sodium cycle: A novel type of bacterial energetics

The progress of bioenergetic studies on the role of Na⁺ in bacteria is reviewed. Experiments performed over the past decade on several bacterial species of quite different taxonomic positions show that Na⁺ can, under certain conditions, substitute for H⁺ as the coupling ion. Various primary Na⁺ pumps ( generators) are described, i.e., Na⁺-motive decarboxylases, NADH-quinone reductase, terminal oxidase, and ATPase. The formed is shown to be consumed by Na⁺ driven ATP-synthase, Na⁺ flagellar motor, numerous Na⁺, solute symporters, and the methanogenesis-linked reverse electron transfer system. InVibrio alginolyticus, it was found that , generated by NADH-quinone reductase, can be utilized to support all three types of membrane-linked work, i.e., chemical (ATP synthesis), osmotic (Na⁺, solute symports), and mechanical (rotation of the flagellum). InPropionigenum modestum, circulation of Na⁺ proved to be the only mechanism of energy coupling. In other species studied, the Na⁺ cycle seems to coexist with the H⁺ cycle. For instance, inV. alginolyticus the initial and terminal steps of the respiratory chain are Na⁺ - and H⁺-motive, respectively, whereas ATP hydrolysis is competent in the uphill transfer of Na⁺ as well as of H⁺. In the alkalo- and halotolerantBacillus FTU, there are H⁺ - and Na⁺-motive terminal oxidases. Sometimes, the Na⁺-translocating enzyme strongly differs from its H⁺-translocating homolog. So, the Na⁺-motive and H⁺-motive NADH-quinone reductases are composed of different subunits and prosthetic groups. The H⁺-motive and Na⁺-motive terminal oxidases differ in that the former is ofaa ₃-type and sensitive to micromolar cyanide whereas the latter is of another type and sensitive to millimolar cyanide. At the same time, both Na⁺ and H⁺ can be translocated by one and the sameP. modestum ATPase which is of the F₀F₁-type and sensitive to DCCD. The sodium cycle, i.e., a system composed of primary generator(s) and consumer(s), is already described in many species of marine aerobic and anaerobic eubacteria and archaebacteria belonging to the following genera:Vibrio, Bacillus, Alcaligenes, Alteromonas, Salmonella, Klebsiella, Propionigenum, Clostridium, Veilonella, Acidaminococcus, Streptococcus, Peptococcus, Exiguobacterium, Fusobacterium, Methanobacterium, Methanococcus, Methanosarcin, etc. Thus, the sodium world seems to occupy a rather extensive area in the biosphere.