scholarly journals Role of Polyphosphates in Microbial Adaptation to Extreme Environments

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (19) ◽  
pp. 5867-5874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfredo J. Seufferheld ◽  
H�ctor M. Alvarez ◽  
Maria E. Farias
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Microbial Adaptation

scholarly journals Marine Microbial Assemblages on Microplastics: Diversity, Adaptation, and Role in Degradation

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Oberbeckmann ◽  
Matthias Labrenz
Keyword(s):  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Microbial Interactions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Marine Microorganisms ◽  
Microbial Adaptation ◽  
Artificial Surfaces ◽  
Plastic Degradation

We have known for more than 45 years that microplastics in the ocean are carriers of microbially dominated assemblages. However, only recently has the role of microbial interactions with microplastics in marine ecosystems been investigated in detail. Research in this field has focused on three main areas: ( a) the establishment of plastic-specific biofilms (the so-called plastisphere); ( b) enrichment of pathogenic bacteria, particularly members of the genus Vibrio, coupled to a vector function of microplastics; and ( c) the microbial degradation of microplastics in the marine environment. Nevertheless, the relationships between marine microorganisms and microplastics remain unclear. In this review, we deduce from the current literature, new comparative analyses, and considerations of microbial adaptation concerning plastic degradation that interactions between microorganisms and microplastic particles should have rather limited effects on the ocean ecosystems. The majority of microorganisms growing on microplastics seem to belong to opportunistic colonists that do not distinguish between natural and artificial surfaces. Thus, microplastics do not pose a higher risk than natural particles to higher life forms by potentially harboring pathogenic bacteria. On the other hand, microplastics in the ocean represent recalcitrant substances for microorganisms that are insufficient to support prokaryotic metabolism and will probably not be microbially degraded in any period of time relevant to human society. Because we cannot remove microplastics from the ocean, proactive action regarding research on plastic alternatives and strategies to prevent plastic entering the environment should be taken promptly.

scholarly journals The Mycobiota of the Deep Sea: What Omics Can Offer

Life ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 292
Author(s):  
Lluvia Vargas-Gastélum ◽  
Meritxell Riquelme
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Fungal Diversity ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Abiotic Conditions ◽  
Culture Independent ◽  
Sequencing Platforms ◽  
Generation Sequencing ◽  
Culture Dependent

The deep sea (>1000 m below sea level) represents one of the most extreme environments of the ocean. Despite exhibiting harsh abiotic conditions such as low temperatures, high hydrostatic pressure, high salinity concentrations, a low input of organic matter, and absence of light, the deep sea encompasses a great fungal diversity. For decades, most knowledge on the fungal diversity of the deep sea was obtained through culture-dependent techniques. More recently, with the latest advances of high-throughput next generation sequencing platforms, there has been a rapid increment in the number of studies using culture-independent techniques. This review brings into the spotlight the progress of the techniques used to assess the diversity and ecological role of the deep-sea mycobiota and provides an overview on how the omics technologies have contributed to gaining knowledge about fungi and their activity in poorly explored marine environments. Finally, current challenges and suggested coordinated efforts to overcome them are discussed.

scholarly journals Back to the Future: Portable Word Processors and the Electronic Health Record

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s104-s105
Author(s):  
Alfredo Mori
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Health Record ◽  
Emergency Departments ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Health Record ◽  
Physician Burnout ◽  
Software And Hardware ◽  
Electronic Health ◽  
Professional Writers ◽  
Word Processors

Introduction:The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is now the standard means for recording and maintaining medical notes in most emergency departments. The EHR is an independent cause of physician burnout, and maintenance of the EHR may occupy 30 to 50% of clinical time. There are software solutions available, but they are connected to fixed, expensive, distracting, and bright electronically powered computers. Scribes have been successfully trialed, but are also expensive and attached to computers on wheels. Portable digital word processors in the form of the AlphaSmart Neo is a redundant technology designed primarily for children with typing difficulties. It has recently enjoyed a resurgence in popularity among professional writers, journalists, and field researchers for the ultimate distraction-free writing experience. The Alphasmart Neo is cheap, nearly indestructible, intuitive, and requires almost no recharging. It is compatible with all software across Mac OS, Windows, and Linux. Notes are entered by the clinician or scribe, independently of computers, at the bedside, and uploaded to any software via USB cable.Aim:To describe the introduction and impact of the AlphaSmart Neo on the EHR in emergency departments across Australia.Methods:We will examine the role of the Alphasmart Neo in austere, low power, extreme environments with a demonstration on how to enter, maintain, and transfer an electronic health record independent of any computer or power source.Discussion:We believe the AlphaSmart Neo is an ideal, personalized, cheap, effective, and efficient hardware solution to entering notes independent of other software and hardware. It is distraction free at the patient’s bedside, resulting in better notes that the clinician enjoys writing.

scholarly journals Grazing pressure-induced shift in planktonic bacterial communities with the dominance of acIII-A1 actinobacterial lineage in soda pans

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Attila Szabó ◽  
Kristóf Korponai ◽  
Boglárka Somogyi ◽  
Balázs Vajna ◽  
Lajos Vörös ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Ionic Composition ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Water Level Fluctuations ◽  
Organic Carbon Concentration ◽  
High Turbidity ◽  
Physical And Chemical

AbstractAstatic soda pans of the Pannonian Steppe are unique environments with respect to their multiple extreme physical and chemical characteristics (high daily water temperature fluctuation, high turbidity, alkaline pH, salinity, polyhumic organic carbon concentration, hypertrophic state and special ionic composition). However, little is known about the seasonal dynamics of the bacterial communities inhabiting these lakes and the role of environmental factors that have the main impact on their structure. Therefore, two soda pans were sampled monthly between April 2013 and July 2014 to reveal changes in the planktonic community. By late spring in both years, a sudden shift in the community structure was observed, the previous algae-associated bacterial communities had collapsed, resulting the highest ratio of Actinobacteria within the bacterioplankton (89%, with the dominance of acIII-A1 lineage) ever reported in the literature. Before these peaks, an extremely high abundance (> 10,000 individuum l−1) of microcrustaceans (Moina brachiata and Arctodiaptomus spinosus) was observed. OTU-based statistical approaches showed that in addition to algal blooms and water-level fluctuations, zooplankton densities had the strongest effect on the composition of bacterial communities. In these extreme environments, this implies a surprisingly strong, community-shaping top-down role of microcrustacean grazers.

scholarly journals Exploring Microbial Biosignatures in Mn-Deposits of Deep Biosphere: A Preliminary Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Investigate Geomicrobiological Interactions in a Cave in Central Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Vaccarelli ◽  
Federica Matteucci ◽  
Marika Pellegrini ◽  
Fabio Bellatreccia ◽  
Maddalena Del Gallo
Keyword(s):  
Manganese Oxides ◽  
Central Italy ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Chemical Characterization ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Deep Biosphere ◽  
Microbial Life ◽  
Culture Independent ◽  
Manganese Mineralization

The terrestrial subsurface offers privileged sites both to search for microbial life and to observe still mostly unknown characteristic lithologies. In particular, caves represent natural laboratories to investigate unique minerogenetic processes and biotic interactions, connected to these phenomena. Manganese mineralization in cave environments provides a window to understand the complex Mn cycle and the development of microbial communities in special conditions, such as low constant temperature, absence of light and, in particular, low-energy environments. In the current study, we isolated and characterized Mn-samples taken from the cave “Grotta Grande dei Cervi,” L’Aquila, Central Italy, and we used a multidisciplinary approach to characterize them, with the purpose of understanding the biogeochemical processes in extreme environments. A chemical characterization of the samples was done by EDS; further investigations are underway with other multidisciplinary methodologies to understand whether the Mn laminae are related to biological processes. SEM investigations revealed microbial imprints, showing cell-like structures and suggesting that the cell-like shapes occur within internal laminae. A culture-independent approach was used to assess the possibility that biotic factors may be involved in the production of these mineralizations and to investigate the nature of the microbial community in these materials. A molecular approach was the first step to investigate the role of microorganisms in forming manganese oxides associated with water bearing rocks. DNA from the black deposits was extracted and sequence analyses of specimens were performed. Our data support the hypothesis that microorganisms may contribute to the mineralizations of manganese in this environment, providing new encouraging insight into the role of microorganisms in the Mn cycle and the processes of energy acquisition in unfavorable conditions, with relevant implications for astrobiology.

scholarly journals Experimental fossilisation of viruses from extremophilic Archaea

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1465-1475 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Orange ◽  
A. Chabin ◽  
A. Gorlas ◽  
S. Lucas-Staat ◽  
C. Geslin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Origin Of Life ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Early Earth ◽  
Sulfolobus Islandicus ◽  
Viral Particles ◽  
Rock Record ◽  
Extremophilic Microorganisms ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Pyrococcus Abyssi

Abstract. The role of viruses at different stages of the origin of life has recently been reconsidered. It appears that viruses may have accompanied the earliest forms of life, allowing the transition from an RNA to a DNA world and possibly being involved in the shaping of tree of life in the three domains that we know presently. In addition, a large variety of viruses has been recently identified in extreme environments, hosted by extremophilic microorganisms, in ecosystems considered as analogues to those of the early Earth. Traces of life on the early Earth were preserved by the precipitation of silica on the organic structures. We present the results of the first experimental fossilisation by silica of viruses from extremophilic Archaea (SIRV2 – Sulfolobus islandicus rod-shaped virus 2, TPV1 – Thermococcus prieurii virus 1, and PAV1 – Pyrococcus abyssi virus 1). Our results confirm that viruses can be fossilised, with silica precipitating on the different viral structures (proteins, envelope) over several months in a manner similar to that of other experimentally and naturally fossilised microorganisms. This study thus suggests that viral remains or traces could be preserved in the rock record although their identification may be challenging due to the small size of the viral particles.

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