Project description:Effect of Triclosan on the structure of activated sludge microbial community estimated by increased sensitivity of stable isotope probing
Project description:Manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) are increasingly incorporated into consumer products that are disposed into sewage. In wastewater treatment, MNMs adsorb to activated sludge biomass where they may impact biological wastewater treatment performance, including nutrient removal. Here, we studied MNM effects on bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), specifically polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), biosynthesis because of its importance to enhanced biological phosphorus (P) removal (EBPR). Activated sludge was sampled from an anoxic selector of a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and PHB-containing bacteria were concentrated by density gradient centrifugation. After starvation to decrease intracellular PHB stores, bacteria were nutritionally augmented to promote PHB biosynthesis while being exposed to either MNMs (TiO2 or Ag) or to Ag salts (each at a concentration of 5 mg L-1). Cellular PHB concentration and PhyloChip community composition were analyzed. The final bacterial community composition differed from activated sludge, demonstrating that laboratory enrichment was selective. Still, PHB was synthesized to near-activated sludge levels. Ag salts altered final bacterial communities, although MNMs did not. PHB biosynthesis was diminished with Ag (salt or MNMs), indicating the potential for Ag-MNMs to physiologically impact EBPR through the effects of dissolved Ag ions on PHB producers.
Project description:Manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) are increasingly incorporated into consumer products that are disposed into sewage. In wastewater treatment, MNMs adsorb to activated sludge biomass where they may impact biological wastewater treatment performance, including nutrient removal. Here, we studied MNM effects on bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), specifically polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), biosynthesis because of its importance to enhanced biological phosphorus (P) removal (EBPR). Activated sludge was sampled from an anoxic selector of a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and PHB-containing bacteria were concentrated by density gradient centrifugation. After starvation to decrease intracellular PHB stores, bacteria were nutritionally augmented to promote PHB biosynthesis while being exposed to either MNMs (TiO2 or Ag) or to Ag salts (each at a concentration of 5 mg L-1). Cellular PHB concentration and PhyloChip community composition were analyzed. The final bacterial community composition differed from activated sludge, demonstrating that laboratory enrichment was selective. Still, PHB was synthesized to near-activated sludge levels. Ag salts altered final bacterial communities, although MNMs did not. PHB biosynthesis was diminished with Ag (salt or MNMs), indicating the potential for Ag-MNMs to physiologically impact EBPR through the effects of dissolved Ag ions on PHB producers. 18 samples; Triplicate PHB-enriched bacterial communities recovered from activated sludge were exposed to nanoparticle (TiO2 or Ag) or AgNO3 (as a silver control) or were not exposed to an nanoparticles (control) to determine if the naoparticles affected PHB production.
Project description:Triclosan is a biocidal active agent commonly found in domestic cleaning products, hand sanitizers, cosmetics and personal care products. It is used to control microbial contamination and has a broad-spectrum of activity against many Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The development of triclosan tolerance with potential cross resistance to clinically relevant antibiotics in zoonotic pathogens is of concern given the widespread use of this active agent in clinical, food processing and domestic environments. Some studies have proposed that an over-dependence on triclosan-containing products could lead to the emergence of clinically important pathogens that are highly tolerant to both biocides and antibiotics. Currently, there is limited understanding of the mechanisms contributing to the emergence of triclosan tolerance in foodborne pathogens at a genetic level. We used microarray analysis to compare gene expression between a wildtype E. coli O157:H19 isolate (WT) with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) to triclosan of 6.25 ug/ml and its laboratory generated triclosan tolerant mutant (M) with a MIC of >8000 ug/ml.
Project description:The effects of the antimicrobial triclosan (TCS) and its transformation product methyl-triclosan (MTCS) on the earthworm Eisenia fetida were investigated using GC-MS metabolomics. TCS is ubiquitous in sewage sludge, but a large proportion is transformed into MTCS during wastewater treatment and in soil when sewage sludge is applied to land. Our objective was to determine if earthworms exposed to ng/g to μg/g concentrations of TCS or MTCS exhibit toxic effects, and to identify the toxic mode of action of each compound. Ten individual earthworm replicates in 10 g worm bedding were exposed to 0, 0.25, 1, 4, 16, or 64 μg/g of either TCS or MTCS (120 experimental units) for 14 days. No mortalities were observed. All MTCS exposed worms had an instantaneous growth rate (IGR) over two times higher than the control during the study, but there was no effect of increasing concentration. Succinic acid was elevated relative to the control at concentrations ≥ 0.25 μg/g and glucose was elevated at 1 μg/g. There was separation from the control at all concentrations except 4 μg/g using Principal Components Analysis. Glucose, palmitic acid, and IGR contributed most strongly to the separation. Discriminant analysis with succinic acid, glucose, and IGR as variables showed a clear separation at all concentrations from the control along Canonical 1. Disruption of energy metabolism was hypothesized as a possible mode of action for MTCS.
Project description:Triclosan is a biocidal active agent commonly found in domestic cleaning products, hand sanitizers, cosmetics and personal care products. It is used to control microbial contamination and has a broad-spectrum of activity against many Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The development of triclosan tolerance with potential cross resistance to clinically relevant antibiotics in zoonotic pathogens is of concern given the widespread use of this active agent in clinical, food processing and domestic environments. Some studies have proposed that an over-dependence on triclosan-containing products could lead to the emergence of clinically important pathogens that are highly tolerant to both biocides and antibiotics. Currently, there is limited understanding of the mechanisms contributing to the emergence of triclosan tolerance in foodborne pathogens at a genetic level. We used microarray analysis to compare gene expression between a wildtype E. coli O157:H19 isolate (WT) with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) to triclosan of 6.25 ug/ml and its laboratory generated triclosan tolerant mutant (M) with a MIC of >8000 ug/ml. Gene expression profiling was performed on untreated E. coli O157:H19 wildtype (WTu) and mutant (Mu), and on the wildtype and mutant treated with 6 ug/ml triclosan for 30 minutes (WTt and Mt respectively). RNA was extracted from three independent biological replicates for WTu, Mu, WTt & Mt for hybridization on Affymetrix GeneChip E. coli Genome 2.0 Arrays. Micorarray analysis including pre-processing, normalisation and statistical analysis were performed using R (R, 2007) version 2.6 and Bioconductor (Gentleman et al. 2004, Genome Biol. 5:R80) version 2.1 as previously described by Morris et al.(2009, Physiol. Genomics 39:28-37).
Project description:Global gene expression analysis of Mycobacterium bovis BCG following Triclosan treatment using Affymetrix GeneChip arrays. Results from this study provide insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the cellular response of Mycobacterium bovis BCG to Triclosan
Project description:Global gene expression analysis of Mycobacterium bovis BCG following Triclosan treatment using Affymetrix GeneChip arrays. Results from this study provide insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the cellular response of Mycobacterium bovis BCG to Triclosan We conducted three independent microarray experiments (biological replicates) in the absence (control) and the presence (experimental) of triclosan. Fold change was calculated as a ration between the signal averages of three untreated (control) and three triclosan-treated (experimental) cultures for 0, 10 and 60min exposures.
Project description:Metaproteomic studies of full-scale activated sludge systems require reproducible protein extraction methods. A systematic evaluation of three different extractions protocols, each in combination with three different methods of cell lysis, and a commercial kit were evaluated. Criteria used for comparison of each method included the extracted protein concentration and the number of identified proteins and peptides as well as their phylogenetic, cell localization and functional distribution and quantitative reproducibility. Furthermore, the advantage of using specific metagenomes and a 2-step database approach was illustrated. The results recommend a protocol for protein extraction from activated sludge based on the protein extraction reagent B-Per and bead beating.