Subsurface ice as a microbial habitat

Geology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidy M. Mader ◽  
Michala E. Pettitt ◽  
Jemma L. Wadham ◽  
Eric W. Wolff ◽  
R. John Parkes
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Habitat

scholarly journals Construction and Characterization of a proU-gfp Transcriptional Fusion That Measures Water Availability in a Microbial Habitat

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 4604-4612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine A. Axtell ◽  
Gwyn A. Beattie
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Syringae ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Water Deprivation ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Transcriptional Fusion ◽  
Bacterial Biosensor ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Quantitative Manner ◽  
Microbial Habitat

ABSTRACT We constructed and characterized a transcriptional fusion that measures the availability of water to a bacterial cell. This fusion between the proU promoter from Escherichia coli and the reporter gene gfp was introduced into strains of E. coli, Pantoea agglomerans, and Pseudomonas syringae. The proU-gfp fusion in these bacterial biosensor strains responded in a quantitative manner to water deprivation caused by the presence of NaCl, Na2SO4, KCl, or polyethylene glycol (molecular weight, 8000). The fusion was induced to a detectable level by NaCl concentrations of as low as 10 mM in all three bacterial species. Water deprivation induced proU-gfp expression in both planktonic and surface-associated cells; however, it induced a higher level of expression in the surface-associated cells. Following the introduction of P. agglomerans biosensor cells onto bean leaves, the cells detected a significant decrease in water availability within only 5 min. After 30 min, the populations were exposed, on average, to a water potential equivalent to that imposed by approximately 55 mM NaCl. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of a proU-gfp-based biosensor for evaluating water availability on leaves. Furthermore, the inducibility of proU-gfp in multiple bacterial species illustrates the potential for tailoring proU-gfp-based biosensors to specific habitats.

scholarly journals A New Record for Microbial Perchlorate Tolerance: Fungal Growth in NaClO4 Brines and its Implications for Putative Life on Mars

Life ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Heinz ◽  
Tim Krahn ◽  
Dirk Schulze-Makuch
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Water ◽  
Sodium Perchlorate ◽  
Debaryomyces Hansenii ◽  
Fungal Growth ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Microbial Life ◽  
Purpureocillium Lilacinum ◽  
Halotolerant Yeast ◽  
Colony Forming Units ◽  
Microbial Habitat

The habitability of Mars is strongly dependent on the availability of liquid water, which is essential for life as we know it. One of the few places where liquid water might be found on Mars is in liquid perchlorate brines that could form via deliquescence. As these concentrated perchlorate salt solutions do not occur on Earth as natural environments, it is necessary to investigate in lab experiments the potential of these brines to serve as a microbial habitat. Here, we report on the sodium perchlorate (NaClO4) tolerances for the halotolerant yeast Debaryomyces hansenii and the filamentous fungus Purpureocillium lilacinum. Microbial growth was determined visually, microscopically and via counting colony forming units (CFU). With the observed growth of D. hansenii in liquid growth medium containing 2.4 M NaClO4, we found by far the highest microbial perchlorate tolerance reported to date, more than twice as high as the record reported prior (for the bacterium Planococcus halocryophilus). It is plausible to assume that putative Martian microbes could adapt to even higher perchlorate concentrations due to their long exposure to these environments occurring naturally on Mars, which also increases the likelihood of microbial life thriving in the Martian brines.

scholarly journals Dynamics of Hydrology and Anaerobic Hydrocarbon Degrader Communities in A Tar-Oil Contaminated Aquifer

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Pilloni ◽  
Anne Bayer ◽  
Bettina Ruth-Anneser ◽  
Lucas Fillinger ◽  
Marion Engel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Contaminated Aquifer ◽  
Contaminant Plumes ◽  
Microbial Community Dynamics ◽  
Remediation Strategies ◽  
Tar Oil ◽  
Microbial Habitat ◽  
Hydrocarbon Degraders

Aquifers are typically perceived as rather stable habitats, characterized by low biogeochemical and microbial community dynamics. Upon contamination, aquifers shift to a perturbed ecological status, in which specialized populations of contaminant degraders establish and mediate aquifer restoration. However, the ecological controls of such degrader populations, and possible feedbacks between hydraulic and microbial habitat components, remain poorly understood. Here, we provide evidence of such couplings, via 4 years of annual sampling of groundwater and sediments across a high-resolution depth-transect of a hydrocarbon plume. Specialized anaerobic degrader populations are known to be established at the reactive fringes of the plume. Here, we show that fluctuations of the groundwater table were paralleled by pronounced dynamics of biogeochemical processes, pollutant degradation, and plume microbiota. Importantly, a switching in maximal relative abundance between dominant degrader populations within the Desulfobulbaceae and Desulfosporosinus spp. was observed after hydraulic dynamics. Thus, functional redundancy amongst anaerobic hydrocarbon degraders could have been relevant in sustaining biodegradation processes after hydraulic fluctuations. These findings contribute to an improved ecological perspective of contaminant plumes as a dynamic microbial habitat, with implications for both monitoring and remediation strategies in situ.

scholarly journals Combined phylogenetic and genomic approaches for the high-throughput study of microbial habitat adaptation

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 472-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse R.R. Zaneveld ◽  
Laura Wegener Parfrey ◽  
Will Van Treuren ◽  
Catherine Lozupone ◽  
Jose C. Clemente ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
Habitat Adaptation ◽  
Microbial Habitat ◽  
High Throughput Study

scholarly journals A submarine volcanic eruption leads to a novel microbial habitat

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Danovaro ◽  
Miquel Canals ◽  
Michael Tangherlini ◽  
Antonio Dell’Anno ◽  
Cristina Gambi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Eruption ◽  
Microbial Habitat

Water relations and photosynthesis in the cryptoendolithic microbial habitat of hot and cold deserts

1990 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Palmer ◽  
E. Imre Friedmann
Keyword(s):  
Water Relations ◽  
Microbial Habitat
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