Early Archean origin of Photosystem II

Photosystem II is a photochemical reaction center that catalyzes the light‐driven oxidation of water to molecular oxygen. Water oxidation is the distinctive photochemical reaction that permitted the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis and the eventual rise of eukaryotes. At what point during the history of life an ancestral photosystem evolved the capacity to oxidize water still remains unknown. Here, we study the evolution of the core reaction center proteins of Photosystem II using sequence and structural comparisons in combination with Bayesian relaxed molecular clocks. Our results indicate that a homodimeric photosystem with sufficient oxidizing power to split water had already appeared in the early Archean about a billion years before the most recent common ancestor of all described Cyanobacteria capable of oxygenic photosynthesis, and well before the diversification of some of the known groups of anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria. Based on a structural and functional rationale, we hypothesize that this early Archean photosystem was capable of water oxidation to oxygen and had already evolved protection mechanisms against the formation of reactive oxygen species. This would place primordial forms of oxygenic photosynthesis at a very early stage in the evolutionary history of life.     

Characterisation of aerobically grown non-spore-forming bacteria from paper mill pulps containing recycled fibres

A total of 179 non-spore-forming bacteria aerobically growing on Nutrient Agar, Plate Count Agar or in specific enrichment conditions for salmonella, campylobacteria, listeria, yersinia or staphylococci, were isolated from 16 untreated paper mill pulps. After phenotypical screening the isolates were characterised by automated ribotyping and partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. They could be divided into seven taxonomical classes representing 63 taxa (species): actinobacteria (11 species), bacilli (7), flavobacteria (3) alphaproteobacteria (10), betaproteobacteria (5), gammaproteobacteria (25) and sphingobacteria (2). Most of the gammaproteobacteria were enterobacteria, mainly species of the genera Enterobacter (7 species, 7 samples/3 mills) and Klebsiella (5 species, 6 samples/3 mills). Other commonly occurring bacteria were most closely related to Microbacterium barkeri (7 samples/3 mills), Cloacibacterium normanense (6 samples/2 mills), Pseudoxanthomonas taiwanensis (5 samples/2 mills) and Sphingobacterium composti (5 samples/1 mill). Sporadic isolates of Listeria innocua, L. monocytogenes, Enterococcus casseliflavus and Staphylococcus warneri were detected, from which only L. monocytogenes is considered to be a food pathogen. No isolates of the genera Campylobacter, Salmonella or Yersinia were detected. The detected bacteria may be harmful in process control, but the load of food pathogens with recycled fibres to paper machines is insignificant. Faecal contamination of the pulp samples was not indicated.     

杭州市西湖景区春季空气细菌多样性特征

选取了杭州市西湖景区4个典型样点,利用高通量测序方法研究了其空气细菌多样性特征。结果表明,在细菌门水平上,各样点优势细菌为变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)和拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes),其总相对含量在断桥残雪(MSBB)、柳浪闻莺(OSW)、宝石流霞(PSHFRC)和三潭印月(TPMM)分别为88.31%、86.03%、85.06%和89.28%,且不同样点优势菌群存在一定的差异,OSW和TPMM厚壁菌门分别占9.65%和11.6%,拟杆菌门分别占6.86%和5.55%,MSBB和PSHFRC拟杆菌门分别占7.31%和7.86%,厚壁菌门分别占7.09%和5.32%。在细菌属水平上,各样点优势菌属及含量差异显著,MSBB、TPMM、OSW和PSHFRC相对含量最高的菌属分别为马赛菌属(Massilia)、两面神菌属(Janibacter)、鞘氨醇单胞菌属(Sphingomonas)和甲基杆菌属(Methylobacterium),分别占6.22%、6.45%、6.05%和11.5%,各样点相对含量高于2%的细菌属有鞘氨醇单胞菌属、甲基杆菌属、薄层菌属(Hymenobacter)和异常球菌属(Deinococcus),这些菌属是西湖景区各样点共有的优势菌群;通过空气细菌OTU及多样性分析可知,MSBB空气细菌丰富度较高,均匀度较低,而PSHFRC丰富度较低,均匀度较高。杭州西湖景区不同样点空气细菌群落特征差异显著,且其丰富度和均匀度明显不同。     

基于454焦磷酸测序分析虾夷扇贝外套膜菌群多样性

运用454焦磷酸测序技术分析了健康虾夷扇贝和缺刻症状虾夷扇贝外套膜细菌多样性,分别从健康和缺刻虾夷扇贝样品中获得20872和16333条有效序列.结果表明： 缺刻虾夷扇贝样品菌群丰度和多样性分别高于健康虾夷扇贝样品;两个样品中细菌可以分为8个门,即变形菌门、厚壁菌门、放线菌门、拟杆菌门、蓝细菌门、浮霉菌门、螺旋体门和柔膜菌门,其中前7个门类的细菌在健康和缺刻虾夷扇贝样品中均有分布;在健康虾夷扇贝样品中,变形菌门占绝对优势,占整个菌群的97.7%,次优势类群厚壁菌门占0.8%;缺刻虾夷扇贝样品中,优势类群为厚壁菌门,占整个菌群的52.2%,次优势类群变形菌门占47.7%.     

Methylosulfonomonas methylovora gen. nov., sp. nov., and Marinosulfonomonas methylotropha gen. nov., sp. nov.: novel methylotrophs able to grow on methanesulfonic acid

Two novel genera of restricted facultative methylotrophs are described; both Methylosulfonomonas and Marinosulfonomonas are unique in being able to grow on methanesulfonic acid as their sole source of carbon and energy. Five identical strains of Methylosulfonomonas were isolated from diverse soil samples in England and were shown to differ in their morphology, physiology, DNA base composition, molecular genetics, and 16S rDNA sequences from the two marine strains of Marinosulfonomonas, which were isolated from British coastal waters. The marine strains were almost indistinguishable from each other and are considered to be strains of one species. Type species of each genus have been identified and named Methylosulfonomonas methylovora (strain M2) and Marinosulfonomonas methylotropha (strain PSCH4). Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rDNA sequencing places both genera in the α-Proteobacteria. Methylosulfonomonas is a discrete lineage within the α-2 subgroup and is not related closely to any other known bacterial genus. The Marinosulfonomonas strains form a monophyletic cluster in the α-3 subgroup of the Proteobacteria with Roseobacter spp. and some other partially characterized marine bacteria, but they are distinct from these at the genus level. This work shows that the isolation of bacteria with a unique biochemical character, the ability to grow on methanesulfonic acid as energy and carbon substrate, has resulted in the identification of two novel genera of methylotrophs that are unrelated to any other extant methylotroph genera. Received: 19 July 1996 / Accepted: 7 October 1996     

Effects of endosymbiotic Wolbachia on the diapause in Trichogramma hosts and effects of the diapause on Wolbachia

Abstract Used as an agent in biological control, Trichogramma which has been infected by endosymbiotic bacteria belonging to the genus Wolbachia and inducing the thelytokous mode of reproduction, increases rearing productivity in commercial insectaries. These insectaries can now make use of Trichogramma diapause to spread out and optimise their production. We therefore studied the effect of Wolbachia on the diapause in Trichogramma evanescens. The symbionts show no beneficial or harmful effect on the proportion of emergence in diapausing individuals or on their fecundity. Therefore, infected strains can easily be used in crop protection. On the other hand, low temperatures exert a slightly negative effect on Wolbachia, as detected from the proportion of females in the offspring of symbiotic diapausing females.     

Effects of substrate composition on the structure of microbial communities in wastewater using fluorescence in situ hybridisation

The microbial composition in a pulp and paper wastewater aerated lagoon system was analysed using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) to gain further understanding of the effect of substrate composition on microbial diversity for improved management of wastewater treatment systems. Few experiments have been conducted to tease apart the factors influencing the composition and abundance of certain groups within these wastewaters. Specific probes were used to investigate and enumerate the different bacterial groups present at particular stages through the treatment system over an extended period. Community composition and abundance of specific groups differed through the system however temporal stability was retained despite significant variability in the wastewater. Middle stream wastewater samples were enriched to explore the impact of different carbon/nitrogen/phosphorus (C:N:P) ratios on community composition and provide functionality to groups of micro-organisms within the microbial consortia. Nitrogen and phosphorus conditions did not impact community composition of methanol-fed cultures, which exhibited a dominance of Betaproteobacteria (>75%), namely Methylotrophic bacteria. This was confirmed through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and specific FISH probing, reflecting population observations at the beginning of the treatment system. We conclude that the nutrient and carbon combinations used in the enrichments created an interactive effect, altering the community composition and mimicking the main substrate load in the different stages of the treatment system. Finally, pulp and paper wastewater microbial composition was highly variable across the treatment system but was stable within the time sampled, with the enrichments emulating the substrate loads in the full scale system.     

单室微生物电解池除镍途径分析及微生物群落动态特征北大核心CSCD

【目的】为探究UASB颗粒污泥启动的单室微生物电解池(Single-chamber microbial electrolysis cell,SMEC)对Ni(II)的去除途径和SMEC中微生物群落的动态特征。【方法】以乙酸钠为底物,采用单因子控制方法分析SMEC对Ni(II)的去除途径和应用Illumina高通量测序技术解析SMEC启动过程中微生物群落的组成和结构动态学特征。【结果】结果表明,SMEC对重金属的去除主要通过吸附和微生物作用。经培养驯化功能菌群发生变化。成熟单室微生物燃料电池(Single-chamber microbial fuel cell,SMFC)阳极生物膜菌群主要是Proteobacteria(变形菌门,91.42%)中的Geobacter sp.(地杆菌属,76.25%);阴极生物膜菌群主要是Bacteroidetes(拟杆菌门,47.99%)中的Niabella sp.(布鲁氏菌属,33.01%)和Proteobacteria(45.74%)中的Ochrobactrum sp.(苍白杆菌属,10.80%)。成熟SMFC改装成的SMEC在12.5 mg-Ni(II)/L下,阳极生物膜菌群由单一优势菌Geobacter sp.转变为Geobacter sp.(41.56%)和Proteobacteria中的Azospirillum sp.(固氮螺菌属,5.97%);阴极生物膜菌群由Niabella sp.和Ochrobactrum sp.转变为Firmicutes(厚壁菌门,25.21%)中的Acetoanaerobium sp.(19.28%)、Proteobacteria(51.42%)中的Dokdonella sp.(16.48%)和Azospirillum sp.(9.49%)。【结论】本研究表明,污泥微生物经SMFC和SMEC驯化过程及Ni(II)的淘汰和选择,在电极上形成了稳定、高效产电与除镍菌群,优势菌群为Proteobacteria。     

岩画和壁画类文物微生物病害研究进展

古代岩画和壁画是人类文明发展历史进程的重要记录,具有极高的历史价值、艺术价值及科学价值,但他们无时无刻不受到环境因素引起的物理、化学及生物的劣化作用。近年,有关微生物对古代岩/壁画的危害逐渐受到关注。阐述了世界一些著名的岩/壁画文物的微生物的研究进展,如法国拉斯科洞穴岩画(Lascaux Cave)、西班牙阿尔塔米拉洞穴岩画(Altamira Cave)、敦煌石窟壁画、嘉峪关魏晋墓壁画以及我国东北地区公元5世纪的墓葬壁画等。通过对以上所述岩画和壁画微生物群落的分析比较,发现主要的细菌群落是变形菌门和放线菌门,放线菌门以假诺卡氏菌为主。真菌群落主要以虫生真菌为主。进一步分析了岩画和壁画微生物病害的共性和区别,揭示了洞穴、墓室等特殊环境下的微生物群落特点,为防治古代岩/壁画微生物病害提供了以下借鉴。     

Quinohemoprotein alcohol dehydrogenases: structure, function, and physiology

Quino(hemo)protein alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH) that have pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) as the prosthetic group are classified into 3 groups, types I, II, and III. Type I ADH is a simple quinoprotein having PQQ as the only prosthetic group, while type II and type III ADHs are quinohemoprotein having heme c as well as PQQ in the catalytic polypeptide. Type II ADH is a soluble periplasmic enzyme and is widely distributed in Proteobacteria such as Pseudomonas, Ralstonia, Comamonas, etc. In contrast, type III ADH is a membrane-bound enzyme working on the periplasmic surface solely in acetic acid bacteria. It consists of three subunits that comprise a quinohemoprotein catalytic subunit, a triheme cytochrome c subunit, and a third subunit of unknown function. The catalytic subunits of all the quino(hemo)protein ADHs have a common structural motif, a quinoprotein-specific superbarrel domain, where PQQ is deeply embedded in the center. In addition, in the type II and type III ADHs this subunit contains a unique heme c domain. Various type II ADHs each have a unique substrate specificity, accepting a wide variety of alcohols, as is discussed on the basis of recent X-ray crystallographic analyses. Electron transfer within both type II and III ADHs is discussed in terms of the intramolecular reaction from PQQ to heme c and also from heme to heme, and in terms of the intermolecular reaction with azurin and ubiquinone, respectively. Unique physiological functions of both types of quinohemoprotein ADHs are also discussed.