Evaluation of the enteric microflora of captive whooping cranes (Grus americana) and sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis)

The enteric flora of captive whooping cranes (Grus americana) and sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) has not been well described, despite its potential importance in the understanding of both the normal condition of the intestinal physiology of these animals and the altered colonization within disease states in these birds. Nineteen whooping cranes and 23 sandhill cranes housed currently at the Calgary Zoo or its affiliated Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre (DWCC) in Calgary, Alberta were sampled from October 2004–February 2005 by collecting aerobic and anaerobic cloacal swabs from each bird. There were seven major groupings of bacteria isolated from both species of crane. Gram‐positive cocci, coliforms, and gram‐negative bacilli were the most prevalent types of bacteria isolated for both crane species, with Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Streptococcus Group D, not Enterococcus the bacterial species isolated most commonly. There was a significant difference in the average number of isolates per individual between the two crane species but no differences between age or gender categories within crane species. Campylobacter sp. were isolated from five whooping cranes. The potential zoonotic pathogen Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from one whooping crane and C. upsaliensis was isolated from a second. Three other isolates were unspeciated members of the Campylobacter genus and likely belong to a species undescribed previously. The evaluation of the enteric cloacal flora of whooping cranes and sandhill cranes illustrates that differences exist between these two closely related crane species, and highlights the potential implications these differences may have for current practices involving captive wildlife. Zoo Biol 0:1–13, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The cellular fatty acids of three strains of Desulfobulbus, a propionate-utilising sulphate-reducing bacterium

Abstract The bacterial fatty acids of three strains of Desulfobulbus grown on propionate were analysed. The fatty acid profiles of all three strains were very similar, being dominated by C17: 1Δ11, which represented approx. 50% of the total fatty acids, and with major contributions from C15:0, C16:0, C15:1, C18:1Δ11 and C14:0. This data indicates that all three strains are closely related despite their different habitats (1 marine and 2 freshwater) and that C17:1Δ11 is a biomarker for Desulfobulbus .     

A Method for Molecular Analysis of Catalase Gene Diversity in Seawater

Catalase plays an important role in the metabolism of marine bacteria and has potential impact on the marine environment. Four PCR primers were designed to amplify the catalase gene fragments in marine bacteria by applying metagenomic DNA from Yellow Sea surface water as the template. Of the four reproducible target PCR products, the longest one with 900 bp were chosen for catalase gene library construction by the T-vector and the white Escherichia coli colonies in the library was screened through restriction-digesting the reamplified insert fragments by the selected restriction endonuclease MboI, and then the bands of the resulting products were displayed in the agarose gel by electrophoresis. The unique restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) pattern was selected and the corresponding catalase gene fragments were sequenced, which verified that every unique RFLP pattern represented one type of catalase. This PCR–RFLP method above was established to investigate the bacterial catalase diversity in seawater.     

海水胁迫对菠菜叶绿素代谢的影响

以耐海水品种‘荷兰3号’和海水敏感品种‘圆叶菠菜’为试验材料,采用营养液栽培,研究海水胁迫对菠菜叶绿素代谢的影响。结果表明,海水胁迫下,2个菠菜品种叶片的叶绿素a(Chl a)、叶绿素b(Chl b)和总叶绿素含量以及叶绿素合成前体———原叶绿素酸(Pchl)、镁原卟啉IX(Mg-proto IX)、原卟啉IX(Proto IX)和尿卟啉原III(UroIII)含量均明显降低,而胆色素原(PBG)和δ-氨基酮戊酸(ALA)积累,‘圆叶菠菜’的变化幅度大于‘荷兰3号’。海水胁迫下,‘荷兰3号’叶片的叶绿素酶(Chlase)活性无显著变化,胆色素原脱氨酶(PBGD)和尿卟啉原III合酶(UROS)活性在胁迫第3天显著下降,而‘圆叶菠菜’Chlase活性显著上升,PBGD和UROS活性显著下降。研究发现,在海水胁迫条件下,菠菜叶片的叶绿素合成代谢受阻,受阻位点位于PBG→UroIII的转化过程,其中‘圆叶菠菜’的受阻程度大于‘荷兰3号’;耐海水品种‘荷兰3号’叶片叶绿素含量降低主要由叶绿素合成代谢受阻引起,而海水敏感品种‘圆叶菠菜’叶绿素含量的降低则是由叶绿素合成受阻和叶绿素降解共同作用的结果。     

多溴联苯醚的微生物降解机制研究进展

多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)是世界范围内广泛使用的一类溴代阻燃剂,在环境中被频繁检出。因其具有生物积累性、生物毒性和持久性等特点,如今PBDEs已成为全球分布的有机化学毒素。探究PBDEs的降解极为重要,文中从PBDEs微生物降解的角度出发,分别阐释了好氧条件和厌氧条件下细菌降解PBDEs的代谢途径研究进展,并结合原位降解研究推断古菌的降解潜能,比较分析了多种降解途径的特性和综合因素,同时对PBDEs降解微生物未来的研究趋势和PBDEs降解体系设计应用进行了展望。     

Effects of Ultrasonic Seed Treatment on Rice Performances under the Seawater Irrigation

Irrigation with desalinated seawater is an effective way to use ocean resources and save freshwater resources. However, seawater irrigation would cause yield loss of rice. In order to explore the effects of ultrasonic seed treatment on rice performances under seawater irrigation, the present study was conducted with three irrigation treatments (fresh water (SW0), ten times diluted seawater (SW1%, 0.34% salinity), and five times diluted seawater (SW2%, 0.68% salinity)) and two seed treatments (ultrasonic treated seeds (UT) and untreated seeds (CK)). Compared with SW0 + CK treatment, SW1 + CK and SW2 + CK treatments significantly decreased grain yield by 56.19% and 66.69%, spikelets per panicle by 30.11% and 55.80%, seed-setting rate by 23.05% and 18.87%, and 1000-grain weight by 4.55% and 14.50%, respectively. Seawater irrigation also significantly increased malonaldehyde (MDA) and proline contents and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD). Ultrasonic seed treatment significantly increased the grain number per panicle, seed-setting rate, and grain yield of rice under seawater irrigation. Compared with CK, UT treatment substantially reduced MDA content, SOD activity, and POD activity in SW1 and SW2 conditions. Furthermore, UT treatment significantly increased proline content and down-regulated proline dehydrogenase activity under seawater irrigation. We deduced that ultrasonic seed treatment enhanced the salinity tolerance of rice by inducing the proline accmulation. Our findings indicated that ultrasonic seed treatment could an effective strategy to promote rice productivity under seawater irrigation.     

色氨酸对海水处理下长春花生物碱含量的影响

以长春花为(Catharanthus roseus(L.)G.Don)材料进行温室实验,研究了不同浓度色氨酸对20%海水处理下长春花幼苗生物碱含量的影响,发现20%海水中加入色氨酸,长春花中色氨酸脱羧酶(TDC)活性提高,吲哚生物总碱以及长春碱、长春质碱、文多灵、长春新碱含量显著增加.其中加入500 mg/L的色氨酸最有利于生物碱含量的增加.     

Treatment of acid mine drainage by sulphate-reducing bacteria using permeable reactive barriers: A review from laboratory to full-scale experiments

Acid mine drainage in-situbioremediation has in the last decades drawnthe attention in the field of environmentalbiotechnology. The most recent treatmenttechnique are the permeable reactive barriersusing sulphate-reducing bacteria. This viewdescribes the basis of many of the currentapproaches to use sulphate-reducing bacteria inacid mine drainage treatment, from laboratoryto full-scale realisations, and the limitationsencountered when applied to full scaleapplications.     

Short Communication: Lipopolysaccharide composition of Desulfovibrio cell wall

The lipopolysaccharide of the sulphate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans was analysed by GC, combined either with flame-ionization detection or with MS, and by standard chemical tests. The major sugar of the polysaccharide portion of the macromolecule was glucose (56%). Low amounts of mannose, galactose, rhamnose and amino sugar were also found. Six fatty acids were identified in the lipid A fraction: 9-octadecenoic, tetracosenoic, heptadecenoic, 10-octadecenoic, eicosenoic and 8-octadecynoic.     

Microbiology of petroleum reservoirs

Although the importance of bacterial activities in oil reservoirs was recognized a long time ago, our knowledge of the nature and diversity of bacteria growing in these ecosystems is still poor, and their metabolic activities in situ largely ignored. This paper reviews our current knowledge about these bacteria and emphasises the importance of the petrochemical and geochemical characteristics in understanding their presence in such environments.     

Evaluation of arbitrarily primed PCR for typing of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans strains

Arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) method was applied to the differentiation of 15 (soil and intestinal) Desulfovibrio desulfuricans strains. The primer M 13, which is a core sequence of phage M 13, was found to be appropriate for the differentiation of isolates of this species. The analysis revealed characteristic band patterns for all of the examined strains of which two soil strains (DV-7 and DV-8) showed identical DNA fingerprints. According to Jaccard's coefficient, the soil bacterial group as well as intestinal bacterial group formed two different clusters. Furthermore, the soil strains showed greater variability than the intestinal isolates. Based on the AP-PCR fingerprints D. desulfuricans strains were differentiated depending on their origin. This study demonstrates that the typing method AP-PCR can be useful in epidemiologic investigations as a rapid and valuable tool for differentiation of the strains of D. desulfuricans species.     

Methanogenic and Sulphate-Reducing Microbial Communities in Deep Groundwater of Crystalline Rock Fractures in Olkiluoto,Finland

The long-term safety of final disposal of spent nuclear fuel in the deep geosphere is dependent on stability of biogeochemical conditions at the disposal site. Microbial processes, such as sulphate reduction and methanogenesis, may have profound effects on site biogeochemistry. In this study, sulphate-reducing bacteria and methane-producing archaea were investigated at depths ranging from 68 to 545 m in crystalline rock fractures at an intended spent nuclear fuel disposal site in Olkiluoto, Finland. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis detected diverse sulphate-reducing bacterial communities in all samples. Although the number of dsrB gene copies was below 10³ copies ml^?1 in all analyzed samples according to real-time quantitative PCR, their abundance was highest in samples that had the highest sulphate concentrations. Several distinct mcrA gene fragments were also recovered from most of the analyzed samples by cloning, although the number of methanogens was lower than that of sulphate-reducing bacteria when measured by mcrA-targeted quantitative PCR. The detected gene fragments were most closely related to sequences obtained from aquatic and deep subsurface environments. Results imply that sulphate reduction, methanogenesis, and anaerobic methane oxidation may all take place in the Olkiluoto deep geobiosphere.     

外源色氨酸对海水胁迫下长春花幼苗生长及生物碱含量的影响

以长春花[Catharanthus roseus(L.)G.Don]为材料采用温室盆栽法,研究了不同浓度色氨酸对不同浓度海水处理14 d后长春花幼苗生长及吲哚生物总碱含量的影响.结果显示:(1)20%海水中加入不同浓度的色氨酸,长春花幼苗生长受到显著抑制,而丙二醛(MDA)含量、可溶性糖含量、色氨酸脱羧酶(TDC)活性、吲哚生物总碱含量均显著增加;(2)40%海水中加入不同浓度的色氨酸,TDC活性、吲哚生物总碱含量也得到显著提高,但幼苗生长受到严重伤害,生物产量显著降低,吲哚生物总碱的产量太低.研究表明,外源色氨酸能显著提高海水胁迫下长春花吲哚生物总碱的含量,而且用20%的海水中加入500 mg/L的色氨酸最有利于生物碱的积累.     

A comparison of carbon/energy and complex nitrogen sources for bacterial sulphate-reduction: potential applications to bioprecipitation of toxic metals as sulphides

Detailed nutrient requirements were determined to maximise efficacy of a sulphate-reducing bacterial mixed culture for biotechnological removal of sulphate, acidity and toxic metals from waste waters. In batch culture, lactate produced the greatest biomass, while ethanol was more effective in stimulating sulphide production and acetate was less effective. The presence of additional bicarbonate and H₂ only marginally stimulated sulphide production. The sulphide output per unit of biomass was greatest using ethanol as substrate. In continuous culture, ethanol and lactate were used directly as efficient substrates for sulphate reduction while acetate yielded only slow growth. Glucose was utilised following fermentation to organic acids and therefore had a deleterious effect on pH. Ethanol was selected as the most efficient substrate due to cost and efficient yield of sulphide. On ethanol, the presence of additional carbon sources had no effect on growth or sulphate reduction in batch culture but the presence of complex nitrogen sources (yeast extract or cornsteep) stimulated both. Cornsteep showed the strongest effect and was also preferred on cost grounds. In continuous culture, cornsteep significantly improved the yield of sulphate reduced per unit of ethanol consumed. These results suggest that the most efficient nutrient regime for bioremediation using sulphate-reducing bacteria required both ethanol as carbon source and cornsteep as a complex nitrogen source.     

淹水胁迫对不结球白菜根系生长与呼吸酶活性的影响

采用双套盆法,以不结球白菜‘新矮青’和‘新夏青2号’品种为材料,研究了不同时间(1、3、5、恢复7d后)和不同程度淹水处理(根淹、半淹)后不结球白菜根系生长及呼吸代谢的变化规律。结果显示:(1)与对照相比,淹水胁迫下,不结球白菜幼苗根系鲜重、根系长度、根系活力显著下降,且半淹处理的下降幅度大于根淹处理。(2)淹水胁迫下,乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)、乙醇脱氢酶(ADH)活性较对照显著升高,而苹果脱氢酶(MDH)、琥珀酸脱氢酶(SDH)活性显著降低,且半淹处理的降幅大于根淹,淹水5d后与淹水1d后有显著性差异。(3)淹水胁迫下,‘新矮青’乳酸发酵途径弱于‘新夏青2号’,乙醇发酵则相反,导致后者根系中乳酸积累多于前者,细胞质酸化较严重,降低了对淹水胁迫的耐性。研究表明,不结球白菜幼苗期受到淹水胁迫时,其有氧呼吸明显受阻,无氧呼吸代谢被促进,而且随着淹水时间的延长及淹水深度的加深,根系呼吸代谢受到的抑制程度越严重,最终导致根系生长受到抑制。     

Effects of Magnesium Sulfate on the Luminescence of Vibrio fischeri under Nutrient-Starved Conditions

In this study, we investigated the relationship between MgSO₄ and luminescence in Vibrio fischeri under nutrient-starved conditions. When V. fischeri was cultured in an artificial seawater medium, the luminescence intensity was low relative to that observed under normal growth conditions. It decreased during the initial 14 h, and then increased slightly at 24 h. This regulation of luminescence was not dependent on the quorum-sensing mechanism, because the cell densities had not reached a critical threshold concentration. Under MgSO₄-starved conditions, luminescence was not fully induced at 14 h, and decreased at 24 h. In contrast, induction of luminescence occurred under MgSO₄-supplemented conditions, but MgSO₄ alone was insufficient to induce luminescence, and required NaHCO₃ or KCl. These results suggest that the luminescence of V. fischeri is controlled by an exogenous sulfur source under nutrient-starved conditions. In addition, they indicate that the induction of sulfur-dependent luminescence is regulated by the NaHCO₃ or KCl concentration.     

Microbiological Reduction of Sulphates in Salty Environments and Mineralogical Characterization of the Transformation Products

This research was focused on the selection, growth and identification of SRB from soils that were subjected to long-term activity of brine, and an evaluation of mineral phases formed during the biodegradation of organic compounds and sulphate reduction. Isolated communities of anaerobic microorganisms were incubated on Postgate C medium with lactate and/or ethanol as the sole carbon source and were adapted for growth at 4% NaCl. Active reduction of sulphates with simultaneous biodegradation of organic compounds was observed in all cultures. The largest reduction of sulphates was noted in cultures with lactate as the sole carbon source; it reached 1438 mg/L, which corresponds to a 43% reduction of sulphates introduced to the medium. SRB activity in the biodegradation of organic compounds varied between 20 and 80% and depended on the level of salinity of the environment in which the SRB communities were isolated, and on the electron donor applied. The presence of biotransformation products in the post-culture deposits in the form of elemental sulphur reflects the activity of the communities. Additionally, the influence of selected communities on the salinity index was analyzed. Active SRB communities decreased the salinity of the environment by as much as 50%. Sulphate-reducing bacteria are an important group of anaerobic microorganisms, especially considering their participation in such geological processes as mineral precipitation and mineralization of organic matter in extreme environmental conditions, including high salinity.