Bacterial community dynamics during biostimulation and bioaugmentation experiments aiming at chlorobenzene degradation in groundwater

A set of microcosm experiments was performed to assess different bioremediation strategies, i.e., biostimulation and bioaugmentation, for groundwater contaminated with chlorobenzenes. The biodegradative potential was stimulated either by the supply of electron acceptors (air, (NO ₃ ^– ), to increase the activity of the indigenous bacterial community, or by the addition of aerobic chlorobenzene-degrading bacteria (Pseudomonas putida GJ31, Pseudomonas aeruginosa RHO1, Pseudomonas putida F1CC). Experiments were performed with natural groundwater of the aquifer of Bitterfeld, which had been contaminated with 1,2-dichlorobenzene (1,2-DCB), 1,4-dichlorobenzene (1,4-DCB), and chlorobenzene (CB). The microcosms consisted of airtight glass bottles with 800 mL of natural groundwater and were incubated under in situ temperature (13°C). Behavior of the introduced strains within the indigenous bacterial community was monitored by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) with species-specific oligonucleotides. Dynamics of the indigenous community and the introduced strains within the microcosms were followed by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of 16S rDNA amplicons obtained from total DNA of the microbial community. An indigenous biodegradation potential under aerobic as well as anaerobic denitrifying conditions was observed accompanied by fast and specific changes in the natural bacterial community composition. Augmentation with P. aeruginosa RHO1 did not enhance bio-degradation. In contrast, both P. putida GJ31 as well as P. putida F1CC were capable of growing in groundwater, even in the presence of the natural microbial community, and thereby stimulating chlorobenzene depletion. P. putida GJ31 disappeared when the xenobiotics were depleted and P. putida F1CC persisted even in the absence of CB. Detailed statistical analyses revealed that community dynamics of the groundwater microbiota were highly reproducible but specific to the introduced strain, its inoculum size, and the imposed physicochemical conditions. These findings could contribute to the design of better in situ bioremediation strategies for contaminated groundwater.     

Terpenoids in Buddleja: relevance to chemosystematics,chemical ecology and biological activity

The terpenoids reported from Buddleja species are described. The antifungal activity of chloroform extracts of B. cordata and B. davidii stembark against the soil fungi Fusarium culmorum and Sordari fimicola is reported, with buddledin A shown to be the major compound responsible. The terpenoids present support the view that the Buddlejaceae should be classified in a taxon with Scrophulariaceae rather than Loganiaceae. Ecological aspects of the terpenoids are considered in relation to insects and soil fungi and the role of terpenoids in the chemical basis of the use of Buddleja in traditional medicine is also discussed, especially with regard to their anti-inflammatory properties.     

Eme1 is involved in DNA damage processing and maintenance of genomic stability in mammalian cells

Yeast and human Eme1 protein, in complex with Mus81, constitute an endonuclease that cleaves branched DNA structures, especially those arising during stalled DNA replication. We identified mouse Eme1, and show that it interacts with Mus81 to form a complex that preferentially cleaves 3'-flap structures and replication forks rather than Holliday junctions in vitro. We demonstrate that Eme1-/- embryonic stem (ES) cells are hypersensitive to the DNA cross-linking agents mitomycin C and cisplatin, but only mildly sensitive to ionizing radiation, UV radiation and hydroxyurea treatment. Mammalian Eme1 is not required for the resolution of DNA intermediates that arise during homologous recombination processes such as gene targeting, gene conversion and sister chromatid exchange (SCE). Unlike Blm-deficient ES cells, increased SCE was seen only following induced DNA damage in Eme1-deficient cells. Most importantly, Eme1 deficiency led to spontaneous genomic instability. These results reveal that mammalian Eme1 plays a key role in DNA repair and the maintenance of genome integrity.     

Human heme oxygenase: cell cycle-dependent expression and DNA microarray identification of multiple gene responses after transduction of endothelial cells

The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of human heme oxygenase (human HO-1) in cell cycle progression following exposure to heme or human HO-1 gene transfer and to identify target genes associated with human HO-1-meditated increases in cell cycle progression using cDNA microarray technology. Heme-induced robust human HO-1 expression in quiescent human microvessel endothelial cells cultured in 1% FBS and the levels of human HO-1 expression progressively declined without a change in the cell cyclin. To identify genes regulated by human HO-1 in the cell cycle, human endothelial cells were transduced with a retroviral vector encoded with human HO-1 gene or an empty vector. Transgene expression and functionality of the recombinant protein were assessed by Western blotting, enzyme activity, carbon monoxide, cGMP production, and cell cycle analysis. Human cDNA gene array and quantitative real-time RT-PCR were used to identify both known and novel differentially expressed genes in cells overexpressing human HO-1. Major findings were upregulation of several genes associated with cell cycle progression, including cyclin E and D; downregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21 and p27, cyclin-dependent kinases 2, 5, and 6, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; and upregulation of growth factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor I (VEGFRI), endothelial growth factor (EGF) and hepatic-derived growth factor (HDGF). These findings identify an array of gene responses to overexpression of human HO-1 and elucidate new aspects of human HO-1 signaling involved in cell growth.     

RGS9 modulates dopamine signaling in the basal ganglia

Regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) modulate heterotrimeric G proteins in part by serving as GTPase-activating proteins for Galpha subunits. We examined a role for RGS9-2, an RGS subtype highly enriched in striatum, in modulating dopamine D2 receptor function. Viral-mediated overexpression of RGS9-2 in rat nucleus accumbens (ventral striatum) reduced locomotor responses to cocaine (an indirect dopamine agonist) and to D2 but not to D1 receptor agonists. Conversely, RGS9 knockout mice showed heightened locomotor and rewarding responses to cocaine and related psychostimulants. In vitro expression of RGS9-2 in Xenopus oocytes accelerated the off-kinetics of D2 receptor-induced GIRK currents, consistent with the in vivo data. Finally, chronic cocaine exposure increased RGS9-2 levels in nucleus accumbens. Together, these data demonstrate a functional interaction between RGS9-2 and D2 receptor signaling and the behavioral actions of psychostimulants and suggest that psychostimulant induction of RGS9-2 represents a compensatory adaptation that diminishes drug responsiveness.     

Structural aspects of DNA repair: the role of restricted diffusion

DNA repair and protection processes impose arduous demands upon cellular systems. The high-fidelity recombinational repair pathway entails a rapid genome-wide search for sequence homology. The efficiency of this transaction is intriguing in light of the uniquely adverse diffusion traits of the involved species. DNA protection in cells exposed to continuous stress or prolonged starvation is equally enigmatic, because the ability of such cells to deploy energy-dependent enzymatic repair processes is hampered as a result of progressive perturbation of the intracellular energy balance. DNA repair in radio-resistant bacteria, which involves accurate chromosome reconstruction from multiple fragments, is similarly associated with apparently insurmountable logistical obstacles. The studies reviewed here imply that the mechanisms deployed to overcome these intrinsic hurdles have a basic common denominator. In all these cases, condensed and ordered chromatin assemblies are formed, within which molecular diffusion is restricted and confined. Restricted diffusion thus appears as a general strategy that is exploited by nature to facilitate homologous search, to promote energy-independent DNA protection through physical DNA sequestration and attenuated accessibility to damaging agents, and to enable error-free repair of multiple double-strand DNA breaks.     

Efficient sporulation in Clostridium difficile requires disruption of the sigmaK gene

A 14.6 kb prophage-like insertion, termed skinCd, was found to interrupt the sigK gene, which encodes an RNA polymerase sigma factor essential for sporulation, in six strains of Clostridium difficile. Until now, Bacillus subtilis was the only spore-former shown to carry such an insertion, and the presence of the insertion is not required for efficient sporulation in this organism. The B. subtilis and C. difficile skin elements proved to be divergent in sequence, inserted at different sites within the sigK gene and in opposite orientations. The skinCd element was excised from the chromosome specifically during sporulation, forming a circular molecule. Two natural isolates of C. difficile lacked the skinCd element and were defective in sporulation. When a merodiploid strain was created that carries both interrupted and uninterrupted versions of the sigK gene, the cells became Spo-, showing that the uninterrupted gene is dominant and inhibits sporulation. C. difficile sigK genes, whether skinCd+ or skinCd-, lack the N-terminal pro-sequence found in all other sigK genes studied to date. Thus, regulated excision of skinCd appears to be a critical mechanism for achieving proper temporal activation of sigmaK.     

Bioremediation of Textile Azo Dyes by Aerobic Bacterial Consortium Aerobic Degradation of Selected Azo Dyes by Bacterial Consortium

An aerobic bacterial consortium consisting of two isolated strains (BF1, BF2) and a strain of Pseudomonas putida (MTCC1194) was developed for the aerobic degradation of a mixture of textile azodyes and individual azodyes at alkaline pH (9-10.5) and salinity (0.9-3.68 g/l) at ambient temperature (28 +/- 2 degrees C). The degradation efficiency of the strains in different media (mineral media and in the Simulated textile effluent (STE)) and at different dye concentrations were studied. The presence of a H2O2 independent oxidase-laccase (26.5 IU/ml) was found in the culture filtrate of the organism BF2. The analysis of the degraded products by TLC and HPLC, after the microbial treatment of the dyes showed the absence of amines and the presence of low molecular weight oxidative degradation products. The enzymes present in the crude supernatant was found to be reusable for the dye degradation.     

CO modulates pulmonary vascular response to acute hypoxia: relation to endothelin

Pulmonary intralobar arteries express heme oxygenase (HO)-1 and -2 and release carbon monoxide (CO) during incubation in Krebs buffer. Acute hypoxia elicits isometric tension development (0.77 +/- 0.06 mN/mm) in pulmonary vascular rings treated with 15 micromol/l chromium mesoporphyrin (CrMP), an inhibitor of HO-dependent CO synthesis, but has no effect in untreated vessels. Acute hypoxia also induces contraction of pulmonary vessels taken from rats injected with HO-2 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN), which decrease pulmonary HO-2 vascular expression and CO release. Hypoxia-induced contraction of vessels treated with CrMP is attenuated (P < 0.05) by endothelium removal, by CO (1-100 micromol/l) in the bathing buffer, and by endothelin-1 (ET-1) receptor blockade with L-754142 (10 micromol/l). CrMP increases ET-1 levels in pulmonary intralobar arteries, particularly during incubation in hypooxygenated media. CrMP also causes a leftward shift in the concentration-response curve to ET-1, which is offset by exogenous CO. In anesthetized rats, pretreatment with CrMP (40 micromol/kg iv) intensifies the elevation of pulmonary artery pressure elicited by breathing a hypoxic gas mixture. However, acute hypoxia does not elicit augmentation of pulmonary arterial pressure in rats pretreated concurrently with CrMP and the ET-1 receptor antagonist L-745142 (15 mg/kg iv). These data suggest that a product of HO activity, most likely CO, inhibits hypoxia-induced pulmonary vasoconstriction by reducing ET-1 vascular levels and sensitivity.