Response of marine microbial communities to anthropogenic stress |
| |
Authors: | Timothy Edgcumbe Ford |
| |
Affiliation: | (1) Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Building 1, Room G17, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, U.S.A. |
| |
Abstract: | Marine microbial communities adapt rapidly to changingenvironmental conditions, including anthropogenicstress. Adaptation involves a wide range ofstrategies, including, (a) formation of resistant,dormant stages, (b) initiation of repair mechanisms, (c)immobilization of toxic chemicals, (d) active transportof chemicals out of the cell, (e) use of contaminantchemicals as carbon or energy sources, and (f)transformation of contaminants to less toxic or morevolatile forms.Adaptation responses are generally plasmid- orchromosomally-mediated and controlled throughinduction or derepression of a variety of biochemicalpathways. Characterization of microbial communityresponses at the molecular level provides biomarkersof contaminant exposure which in turn may be used toprovide an overall picture of ecosystem health. Thisreview will discuss the interactions betweenmicroorganisms and environmental contaminants and thepotential use of microbial biomarkers to assess thehealth of the microbial ecosystem. |
| |
Keywords: | anthropogenic stress marine bacteria molecular response microbial biomarkers heavy metal toxic organics |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|