Project description:Organic matter recycling in marine systems is largely driven by microbial processes, particularly in the Arctic where primary production and inputs can be temporally offset from upper trophic level consumption. This study followed bacterial dynamics in the chlorophyll maximum of the Bering Strait and sediment-water interface of the Chukchi Sea using metaproteomic and 16S rRNA methods to measure cellular function and taxonomic composition under low and high marine-derived particulate organic matter (POM) treatments at 0°C. Parallel analysis of major organic components (lipids and amino acids) allowed a comparison of microbial-POM interactions. Over the 10 day experimental period, bacteria under both treatments showed rapid community responses and changes in proteomic expression, accompanied by small changes in the concentration and distributions of organic components. In the Bering Strait community, protein translation was an important immediate cellular response under both POM scenarios while specific metabolic processes were more distinct between treatments. For example, under both conditions, evidence for carboxylic acid metabolism increased at day 6 while carbohydrate utilization as an energy source showed unique patterns as the experiments progressed. With POM additions to the Bering Strait community, nitrogen transport and regulation went up, including nitrogen fixation and ammonia assimilation, by day 6. In addition, a number of vitamin enzymatic cofactors were enriched by this day, providing evidence for an increase in C1 metabolism at that time. Low POM conditions stimulated the cycling and synthesis of amino acids, which was not as pronounced under the high POM treatment. In the Chukchi Sea community, nitrate reduction and substrate-specific transporter activity was statistically higher than in the Bering Strait, especially under low POM conditions. Taxonomic inference revealed that a wide range of bacterial classes were associated with the shifting cellular functions, but that Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Flavobacteria controlled most of these protein abundances. Activities of all classes were highly variable, with less dominant bacterial groups exhibiting a particularly strong degree of niche separation.
Project description:Cropping soils vary in extent of natural suppression of soil-borne plant diseases. However, it is unknown whether similar variation occurs across pastoral agricultural systems. We examined soil microbial community properties known to be associated with disease suppression across 50 pastoral fields varying in management intensity. The composition and abundance of the disease-suppressive community were assessed from both taxonomic and functional perspectives.
Project description:Analysis of the transcription profiles in tubers of S. tuberosum L. cv. Ditta grown in two experimental seasons under either conventional or organic crop management.
Project description:Disentangling the impact of three contrasting crop management practices on soil microbial communities – Importance of rare bacterial community members
Project description:Three types of structurally related structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) complexes, referred to as condensins, have been identified in bacteria. Smc-ScpAB is present in most bacteria, whereas MukBEF is found in enterobacteria and MksBEF is scattered over the phylogenic tree. The contributions of these condensins to chromosome management were characterized in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which carries both Smc-ScpAB and MksBEF. In this bacterium, SMC-ScpAB controls chromosome disposition by juxtaposing chromosome arms. In contrast, MksBEF is critical for chromosome segregation in the absence of the main segregation system, and it affects the higher-order architecture of the chromosome by promoting DNA contacts in the megabase range. Strikingly, our results reveal a prevalence of Smc-ScpAB over MksBEF involving a coordination of their activities with chromosome replication. They also show that E. coli MukBEF can substitute for MksBEF in P. aeruginosa while prevailing over Smc-ScpAB. Our results reveal a hierarchy between activities of bacterial condensins on the same chromosome.