Leaf litter breakdown budgets in streams of various trophic status: effects of dissolved inorganic nutrients on microorganisms and invertebrates

1. We investigated the effect of trophic status on the organic matter budget in freshwater ecosystems. During leaf litter breakdown, the relative contribution of the functional groups and the quantity/quality of organic matter available to higher trophic levels are expected to be modified by the anthropogenic release of nutrients. 2. Carbon budgets were established during the breakdown of alder leaves enclosed in coarse mesh bags and submerged in six streams: two oligotrophic, one mesotrophic, two eutrophic and one hypertrophic streams. Nitrate concentrations were 4.5–6.7 mg L⁻¹ and the trophic status of each stream was defined by the soluble reactive phosphorus concentration ranging from 3.4 (oligotrophic) to 89 μg L⁻¹ (hypertrophic). An ammonium gradient paralleled the phosphate gradient with mean concentrations ranging from 1.4 to 560 μg L⁻¹ NH₄‐N. The corresponding unionised ammonia concentrations ranged from 0.08 to 19 μg L⁻¹ NH₃‐N over the six streams. 3. The dominant shredder taxa were different in the oligo‐, meso‐ and eutrophic streams. No shredders were observed in the hypertrophic stream. These changes may be accounted for by the gradual increase in the concentration of ammonia over the six streams. The shredder biomass dramatically decreased in eu‐ and hypertrophic streams compared with oligo‐ and mesotrophic. 4. Fungal biomass increased threefold from the most oligotrophic to the less eutrophic stream and decreased in the most eutrophic and the hypertrophic. Bacterial biomass increased twofold from the most oligotrophic to the hypertrophic stream. Along the trophic gradient, the microbial CO₂ production followed that of microbial biomass whereas the microbial fine particulate organic matter and net dissolved organic carbon (DOC) did not consistently vary. These results indicate that the microorganisms utilised the substrate and the DOC differently in streams of various trophic statuses. 5. In streams receiving various anthropogenic inputs, the relative contribution of the functional groups to leaf mass loss varied extensively as a result of stimulation and the deleterious effects of dissolved inorganic compounds. The quality/quantity of the organic matter produced by microorganisms slightly varied, as they use DOC from stream water instead of the substrate they decompose in streams of higher trophic status.     

The influence of cyclic heating and cooling on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> survival

Repeated heating and cooling in lethal (2–52°C) and nonlethal (2–37°C) temperature ranges resulted in cell death of Escherichia coli B/r and E. coli B_S?1 suspended in 0.01 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.0 at varying osmotic pressure, but not in cow’s milk. The lethal effect increased with the rate of heating and cooling and with increasing suspension media tonicity; it may be caused by the temperature destabilization of cellular osmotic homeostasis.     

Seasonal dynamic of the numbers of epiphytic yeasts

The numbers of epiphytic yeasts on the leaves and flowers of 25 plant species throughout their vegetation period was determined. The numbers of yeasts on the leaves were found to change regularly throughout the year. The average dynamics for all of the plant species investigated included an increase in yeast numbers during spring and summer with the maximum in late autumn and early winter. The character of the yeasts’ dynamics depends on the ecological characteristics of the plants and the duration of the ontogenesis of their leaves and flowers. Three types of dynamics of epiphytic yeasts were revealed: year-round with an increase in autumn-winter, year-round without visible changes, and seasonal with a terminal increase for annual plants.     

Characterization of technetium(vII) reduction by cell suspensions of thermophilic bacteria and archaea

Washed cell suspensions of the anaerobic hyperthermophilic archaea Thermococcus pacificus and Thermoproteus uzoniensis and the anaerobic thermophilic gram-positive bacteria Thermoterrabacterium ferrireducens and Tepidibacter thalassicus reduced technetium [⁹⁹Tc(VII)], supplied as soluble pertechnetate with molecular hydrogen as an electron donor, forming highly insoluble Tc(IV)-containing grayish-black precipitate. Apart from molecular hydrogen, T. ferrireducens reduced Tc(VII) with lactate, glycerol, and yeast extract as electron donors, and T. thalassicus reduced it with peptone. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis of cell suspensions of T. ferrireducens showed the presence of Tc-containing particles attached to the surfaces of non-lysed cells. This is the first report on the reduction in Tc(VII) by thermophilic microorganisms of the domain Bacteria and by archaea of the phylum Euryarchaeota.     

Development of an efficient method for screening microorganisms by using symbiotic association between <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nasutitermes takasagoensis</Emphasis> and intestinal microorganisms

Screening method of microorganisms that utilized the symbiotic association between insect (Nasutitermes takasagoensis: Nt) and intestinal microorganisms was developed. The existence of desired microorganisms that grew by degrading difficult-to-degrade materials in the gut was detected using survivability of Nt as an indicator. The desired microorganisms were isolated from the survived Nt. It was thought that guts of Nt behave as continuous culture systems whereby microorganisms that cannot degrade diet components are washed out, whereas those that can degrade it are retained and concentrated in the gut. About 60% of Nt fed with phenol artificial diet (PAD) died within 7 days, while 4% of termites survived for 9 days. The structure of intestinal microorganisms of the survived Nt fed with PAD differed from the bacterial communities obtained from enrichment culture (which contained phenol) of wood-feeding Nt. Relatively high colonies (650-times) were detected in the gut of Nt fed on phenol artificial diet compared with those obtained when Nt was fed on wood. Seven denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) bands were detected from gut of wood-feeding Nt, whereas 11 DGGE-bands were detected from that of phenol-feeding Nt. Out of 11 DGGE-bands, 5 of them were sequenced, and bacterial species including phenol-degrading bacteria were identified.     

Electrophysical characteristics of Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 during interaction with antibodies to various cell surface epitopes

This work was undertaken to examine the electrooptical characteristics of cells of Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 during their interaction with antibodies developed to various cell surface epitopes. We used the dependences of the cell suspension optical density changes induced by electroorientation on the orienting field frequency (740, 1000, 1450, 2000, and 2800kHz). Cell interactions with homologous strain-specific antibodies to the A. brasilense Sp245 O antigen and with homologous antibodies to whole bacterial cells brought about considerable changes in the electrooptical properties of the bacterial suspension. When genus-specific antibodies to the flagellin of the Azospirillum sheathed flagellum and antibodies to the serologically distinct O antigen of A. brasilense Sp7 were included in the A. brasilense Sp245 suspension, the changes caused in the electrooptical signal were slight and had values close to those for the above changes. These findings agree well with the immunochemical characteristics of the Azospirillum O antigens and with the data on the topographical distribution of the Azospirillum major cell surface antigens. The obtained results can serve as a basis for the development of a rapid test for the intraspecies detection of microorganisms.     

长沙走马楼东吴竹简蚀斑微生物的研究

竹简为我国古代早期文字记录的一种重要载体。湖南长沙竹简博物馆珍藏了一大批走马楼出土的三国时期东吴竹简,具有极为重要的史料价值。以吴简为材料,从竹简中分离微生物,获得10株细菌纯培养,并对这些分离菌株进行多相分类学鉴定。根据其培养特征、生理生化特性、细胞脂肪酸组份的测定以及部份菌株16S rRNA基因序列分析,将10个菌株划归为4个属。这些菌株可作为进一步探讨竹制品文物的微生物腐蚀提供有价值的材料。     

Species richness and community composition of mat-forming ectomycorrhizal fungi in old- and second-growth Douglas-fir forests of the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest,Oregon, USA

We investigated the species identity of mat-forming ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi associated with old- and second-growth Douglas-fir stands. Using molecular analyses of rhizomorphs and EM root tips, we characterized 28 unique internal transcribed spacer sequences and considered them proxies for mat-forming EM species. In both stand age classes, one Athelioid species in the genus Piloderma dominated our sample of the mat-forming fungal community. In second-growth stands, the second most frequently encountered mat-forming EM species belonged to the genus Hysterangium. In old-growth stands, several Ramaria species were associated with a frequently encountered mat morphology but no species dominated the community. After using rarefaction analysis to standardize sampling effort, the total species richness did not differ statistically between old- and second-growth habitats. Both an abundance of infrequently encountered species and incomplete sampling of the mat-forming EM community may have limited our ability to detect potential differences in species richness. Several frequently encountered Piloderma species appear to have broad (holarctic) distributions and diverse host associations and their potential importance in forest ecosystems warrants further study.     

Are endophytic microorganisms involved in the stereoselective reduction of ketones by Daucus carota root?

Four strains of endophytic microorganisms isolated from carrot root were able to carry out the reduction of the carbonyl group with diverse degree of enantio-, and diasteroselectivity. Furthermore, biotransformation in the presence of bacterial inhibitor affects the stereochemical outcome of the reaction, and the concomitant addition of a yeast inhibitor results in a large decrease in the conversion percentage. These results indicate that endophytic microorganisms might be involved in the enantioselective reduction of ketones and ketoesters with fresh carrot root pieces.