Potential for Mercury Reduction by Microbes in the High Arctic

The contamination of polar regions due to the global distribution of anthropogenic pollutants is of great concern because it leads to the bioaccumulation of toxic substances, methylmercury among them, in Arctic food chains. Here we present the first evidence that microbes in the high Arctic possess and express diverse merA genes, which specify the reduction of ionic mercury [Hg(II)] to the volatile elemental form [Hg(0)]. The sampled microbial biomass, collected from microbial mats in a coastal lagoon and from the surface of marine macroalgae, was comprised of bacteria that were most closely related to psychrophiles that had previously been described in polar environments. We used a kinetic redox model, taking into consideration photoredox reactions as well as mer-mediated reduction, to assess if the potential for Hg(II) reduction by Arctic microbes can affect the toxicity and environmental mobility of mercury in the high Arctic. Results suggested that mer-mediated Hg(II) reduction could account for most of the Hg(0) that is produced in high Arctic waters. At the surface, with only 5% metabolically active cells, up to 68% of the mercury pool was resolved by the model as biogenic Hg(0). At a greater depth, because of incident light attenuation, the significance of photoredox transformations declined and merA-mediated activity could account for up to 90% of Hg(0) production. These findings highlight the importance of microbial redox transformations in the biogeochemical cycling, and thus the toxicity and mobility, of mercury in polar regions.     

Acyl-CoA synthetase 2 overexpression enhances fatty acid internalization and neurite outgrowth

During neurodevelopment neurons increase phospholipid synthesis to generate additional plasma membrane that makes up the growing neurites. Compared with most cell types, neurons contain a high percentage of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) arachidonic acid (AA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). By utilizing PC12 cell lines as a model neuronal cell line, we examined the internalization rate of AA, DHA, and non-essential oleic acid (OA), as well as their effects on neurite outgrowth. When wild type cells were differentiated, the rate of AA and DHA internalization increased 50% more than the rate of OA internalization. When media were supplemented with AA or DHA, the average neurite length was increased by approximately 40%, but supplementation with the same amount of OA had no effect. We also increased the levels of acyl-CoA synthetase-1 (ACS1) and ACS2 proteins to determine whether they contribute to PUFA internalization or neurite outgrowth. Overexpression of ACS1 increased the rate of OA internalization by 55%, and AA and DHA uptake was increased by 25%, but there was no significant change in neurite outgrowth. In ACS2-overexpressing cells, in contrast, the rate of OA internalization increased by 90%, AA by 115%, and DHA by 70%. The average aggregate neurite length in ACS2-overexpressing cells was increased by approximately 40% when the media were supplemented with PUFAs, but there was no change with OA supplementation. Taken together, these results support the hypotheses that ACSs are rate-limiting for fatty acid internalization and that ACS2 enhances neurite outgrowth by promoting PUFA internalization.     

Plasticity in thermal hardening of the invasive Asian house gecko

Evolutionary Ecology - The Asian house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) is a tropical invasive species that has established and spread throughout several temperate regions around the world. In some...     

Effects of large-scale forest fire followed by illegal logging on the regeneration of boreal forests in Mongolia

Landscape and Ecological Engineering - We aimed to test the hypothesis that large-scale forest fire followed by illegal logging inhibits the regeneration of boreal forests in Mongolia. For this...     

Potential for mercury reduction by microbes in the high arctic

The contamination of polar regions due to the global distribution of anthropogenic pollutants is of great concern because it leads to the bioaccumulation of toxic substances, methylmercury among them, in Arctic food chains. Here we present the first evidence that microbes in the high Arctic possess and express diverse merA genes, which specify the reduction of ionic mercury [Hg(II)] to the volatile elemental form [Hg(0)]. The sampled microbial biomass, collected from microbial mats in a coastal lagoon and from the surface of marine macroalgae, was comprised of bacteria that were most closely related to psychrophiles that had previously been described in polar environments. We used a kinetic redox model, taking into consideration photoredox reactions as well as mer-mediated reduction, to assess if the potential for Hg(II) reduction by Arctic microbes can affect the toxicity and environmental mobility of mercury in the high Arctic. Results suggested that mer-mediated Hg(II) reduction could account for most of the Hg(0) that is produced in high Arctic waters. At the surface, with only 5% metabolically active cells, up to 68% of the mercury pool was resolved by the model as biogenic Hg(0). At a greater depth, because of incident light attenuation, the significance of photoredox transformations declined and merA-mediated activity could account for up to 90% of Hg(0) production. These findings highlight the importance of microbial redox transformations in the biogeochemical cycling, and thus the toxicity and mobility, of mercury in polar regions.     

A Novel Anti-cancer Peptide Extracted from Gynura pseudochina Rhizome: Cytotoxicity Dependent on Disulfide Bond Formation

International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics - As current anticancer drugs have limitations, researchers have sought novel anti-cancer agents with high specificity and fewer side...     

The pbrB Gene Encodes a Laccase Required for DHN-Melanin Synthesis in Conidia of Talaromyces (Penicillium) marneffei

Talaromyces marneffei (Basionym: Penicillium marneffei) is a significant opportunistic fungal pathogen in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus in Southeast Asia. T. marneffei cells have been shown to become melanized in vivo. Melanins are pigment biopolymers which act as a non-specific protectant against various stressors and which play an important role during virulence in fungi. The synthesis of the two most commonly found melanins in fungi, the eumelanin DOPA-melanin and the allomelanin DHN-melanin, requires the action of laccase enzymes. The T. marneffei genome encodes a number of laccases and this study describes the characterization of one of these, pbrB, during growth and development. A strain carrying a PbrB-GFP fusion shows that pbrB is expressed at high levels during asexual development (conidiation) but not in cells growing vegetatively. The pbrB gene is required for the synthesis of DHN-melanin in conidia and when deleted results in brown pigmented conidia, in contrast to the green conidia of the wild type.     

Molecular Epidemiology Reveals Genetic Diversity amongst Isolates of the Cryptococcus neoformans/C. gattii Species Complex in Thailand

To gain a more detailed picture of cryptococcosis in Thailand, a retrospective study of 498 C. neoformans and C. gattii isolates has been conducted. Among these, 386, 83 and 29 strains were from clinical, environmental and veterinary sources, respectively. A total of 485 C. neoformans and 13 C. gattii strains were studied. The majority of the strains (68.9%) were isolated from males (mean age of 37.97 years), 88.5% of C. neoformans and only 37.5% of C. gattii strains were from HIV patients. URA5-RFLP and/or M13 PCR-fingerprinting analysis revealed that the majority of the isolates were C. neoformans molecular type VNI regardless of their sources (94.8%; 94.6% of the clinical, 98.8% of the environmental and 86.2% of the veterinary isolates). In addition, the molecular types VNII (2.4%; 66.7% of the clinical and 33.3% of the veterinary isolates), VNIV (0.2%; 100% environmental isolate), VGI (0.2%; 100% clinical isolate) and VGII (2.4%; 100% clinical isolates) were found less frequently. Multilocus Sequence Type (MLST) analysis using the ISHAM consensus MLST scheme for the C. neoformans/C. gattii species complex identified a total of 20 sequence types (ST) in Thailand combining current and previous data. The Thai isolates are an integrated part of the global cryptococcal population genetic structure, with ST30 for C. gattii and ST82, ST83, ST137, ST141, ST172 and ST173 for C. neoformans being unique to Thailand. Most of the C. gattii isolates were ST7 = VGIIb, which is identical to the less virulent minor Vancouver island outbreak genotype, indicating Thailand as a stepping stone in the global spread of this outbreak strain. The current study revealed a greater genetic diversity and a wider range of major molecular types being present amongst Thai cryptococcal isolates than previously reported.