UNIQEM, a microbiological database: Problems and prospects

The UNIQEM database, designed to accumulate general microbiological data, is currently used to store and make available information about microorganisms studied and maintained at the Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences. UNIQEM can accumulate and maintain list-form information on a wide range of microorganisms (a property database) and facilitates collecting, processing, and publishing diverse data having to do with these microorganisms and their properties (a catalogue database). The database supports the retrieval of microorganisms by specifying an arbitrary set of their properties and has the potential for eventually evolving into a computer instrument for unattended identification of microorganisms. UNIQEMAkhlynin, D.S. and Gal’chenko, V.F., 1998.     

RCH-microscopy used in microbiological studies

RCH-microscopy (Relief Contrast after Hostounsky) is a new method of optical microscopy in transmitted light. This method was used to study bacteria and fungi including yeast. The equipment provides a three-dimensional image of high contrast and resolution. The results obtained from these microscopical observations can be used for both morphological (taxonomical) and ecological studies of microorganisms.     

Results of space experiments

Life science research in space was started in Europe with the first Biostack experiment flown onboard Apollo 16 in 1972. Biostack was designed to investigate the biological effects of single heavy ions of cosmic radiation. Among several undertakings towards this goal, the Biostack achieved the highest precision in the determination of the spatial correlation of the observed biological response of single test organisms to the passage of single heavy ions, which is the mandatory requirement. It also provided information on the influence of additional spaceflight factors, such as microgravity, on radiation effects and measurements of the spectrum of charge and energy of the cosmic radiation. The experiment was performed as an international cooperation effort. This report gives a summary of the biological data accumulated in this and the follow-on experiments of the Biostack program.Invited paper presented at the International Symposium on Heavy Ion Research: Space, Radiation Protection and Therapy, Sophia-Antipolis, France, 21–24 March 1994     

Massive cultivation of microalgae: Results and prospects

An account is given of the development of the utilization of microalgae for food and feed with special emphasis on the advantages of algal technologies for tropical and subtropical countries. The present status of microalgae mass production is characterized with respect to technology, product properties, yields, nutrition, toxicology and economics. As a multipurpose operation, the treatment of liquid wastes with algae-bacteria systems is the most promising microalgal technology. It yields proteinaceous microbial biomass as a comparatively inexpensive by-product of the operation of high-rate algal ponds, either at the simplified rural level or at the technically more elaborate industrial level. The aspect of hard-currency saving by employing algae-bacteria systems in sewage treatment for animal feed production is stressed.     

FT-IR microspectroscopy for microbiological studies

In this article we present an infrared microspectroscopic investigation on Candida albicans microcolonies, taken as a model system for studies on other microorganisms. Excellent Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) absorption spectra from 4000 to 850 cm(-1) have been collected in only 20 s from sampling areas of 100x100 microm(2) in microcolonies, which had been transferred from the agar plate onto zinc selenide (ZnSe) windows. When different regions within a single microcolony were investigated, absorption spectra with important differences in the carbohydrate absorption (from 1200 to 850 cm(-1)) were detected for the cells in the center and in the periphery of the colony. Results obtained on microcolonies grown on solid agar with increasing dextrose concentrations indicated that the observed spectral heterogeneity was related to differences in dextrose uptake, which was lower for the old cells in the center of the colony than for the metabolically active cells at the periphery. Although it is otherwise difficult to quantitatively evaluate the dextrose uptake in a microcolony, FT-IR absorption microspectroscopy offers a new and rapid method for the analysis of this process. The possibility of studying highly absorbing colonies by attenuated total reflection (ATR) by means of an ATR microscope germanium objective is also presented here for the first time. An evaluation of the contact area sampled by this technique is reported with a discussion of the spatial resolution, the quality and the potential of the ATR measurements.     

Results and prospects of the yeast three-hybrid system

The known members of inhibitor of growth (ING) gene family are considered as candidate tumor suppressor genes. ING4, a novel member of ING family, is recently reported to interact with tumor suppressor p53, p300 (a major component of histone acetyl transferase complexes), and p65(RelA) subunit of NF-κB. In this study, we investigated the cellular behaviors of HepG2 cells with exogenous ING4. Interestingly, the overexpression of ING4 negatively regulated the cell growth with significant G2/M arrest of cell cycle, and moreover, enhanced the cell apoptosis triggered by serum starvation in HepG2 cells. Furthermore, the exogenous ING4 could upregulate endogenous p21 and Bax in HepG2 cells, not in p53-deficient Saos-2 cells, suggesting that G2/M arrest induced by ING4 could be mediated by the increased p21 expression in a p53-dependent manner, although there is no significant increase of p53 expression in HepG2 cells. Moreover, HepG2 cells with exogenous ING4 could significantly increase cell death, as exposed to some DNA-damage agents, such as etoposide and doxorubicin, implying that ING4 could enhance chemosensitivity to certain DNA-damage agents in HepG2 cells.     

Application of FISH technology for microbiological analysis: current state and prospects

In order to identify and quantify the microorganisms present in a certain ecosystem, it has become necessary to develop molecular methods avoiding cultivation, which allows to characterize only the countable part of the microorganisms in the sample, therefore losing the information related to the microbial component which presents a vitality condition, although it cannot duplicate in culture medium. In this context, one of the most used techniques is fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with ribosomal RNA targeted oligonucleotide probes. Owing to its speed and sensitivity, this technique is considered a powerful tool for phylogenetic, ecological, diagnostic and environmental studies in microbiology. Through the use of species-specific probes, it is possible to identify different microorganisms in complex microbial communities, thus providing a solid support to the understanding of inter-species interaction. The knowledge of the composition and distribution of microorganisms in natural habitats can be interesting for ecological reasons in microbial ecology, and for safety and technological aspects in food microbiology. Methodological aspects, use of different probes and applications of FISH to microbial ecosystems are presented in this review.     

Mycology studies in space

Summary The postflight phase of the Apollo MEED mycology attempts to identify survival according to exposure to specific quantitative space flight factors, while the second phase of studies identifies qualitative change other than cell survival [57]. Initial changes incurred in space on a fungal cell can be monitored and further examined on return of the fungal species test system to Earth. The postflight studies present a better understanding of the space environmental influences on living cells and a more clear understanding of the fungal species under examination.Presented as part of the Everett S. Beneke Symposium in Mycology, May 27, 1988.     

森林种子雨研究进展与展望

种子雨阶段是植物更新的关键环节,它连接着繁殖生产与植物后续生活史阶段,对群落结构有着重要的影响.虽然早在19世纪中叶达尔文就认识到种子扩散的重要性,然而对种子雨的广泛研究于20世纪80年代初才开始.本文聚焦于森林木本植物种子雨研究,首先介绍了种子雨监测方法,包括收集器的布置,种子雨的收集、分离和鉴定.然后综述了种子雨的4个主要研究方向:种子产量的时间和空间变化格局(包括季节变化、年际变化和空间变化)、增补限制及其在物种多样性维持中的作用、验证负密度效应假说、种子雨与其他生活史阶段(土壤种子库、幼苗、幼树及母树)的比较.未来还需要加强对种子雨的长期监测,开展增补限制的跨纬度比较研究,探讨植物早期更新阶段负密度效应沿纬度梯度的变化规律,加强数学模型以及分子标记和稳定同位素技术等新手段的运用.     

Phylogeographic studies in plants: problems and prospects

Genetic structuring of plant populations is strongly influenced by both common ancestry and current patterns of interpopulation genetic exchange. The interaction of these two forces is particularly confounding and hence interesting in plants. This complexity of plant genetic structures is due in part to a diversity of reproductive ecologies affecting genetic exchange and the fact that reproductive barriers are often weak between otherwise morphologically well-defined species. Phylogeographic methods provide a means of examining the history of genetic exchange among populations, with the potential to distinguish biogeographic patterns of genetic variation caused by gene flow from those caused by common ancestry. With regard to plants, phylogeography will be most useful when applied broadly across the entire spectrum of potential genetic exchange. Although current phylogeographic studies of plants show promise, widespread application of this approach has been hindered by a lack of appropriate molecular variation; this problem is discussed and possible solutions considered.     

Environmental biotechnology in India: prospects and case studies

The emergence and acceptance of the concept of sustainable development warrants that the scope of environmental biotechnology be enlarged to address issues like environmental monitoring, restoration of environmental quality, resource/residue/waste-recovery/utilization/treatment, and substitution of the non-renewable resource base with renewable resources. This paper delineates the current and prospective applications in these sub-areas of environmental biotechnology, and documents case studies on environmental monitoring (enteric viruses), restoration of environmental quality (oil spill remediation), resource recovery (hydrocarbon recovery from oily sludges, biosurfactants from distillery spentwash, desulphurization of coal & sour gases), and substitution of non-renewable resources with renewables (conversion of lignocellulisics into value added chemicals).The author is with the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur: 440 020, India