Project description:The proteomics study of thermophilic microorganisms in the sludge heat-treated at 75 degrees Celsius, to investigate the heat-resistant enzymes related to the hydrolysis of sludge organic matter.
Project description:Today, swine is regarded as promising biomedical model, however, its gastrointestinal microbiome dynamics have been less investigated than that of humans or murine models . The aim of this study was to establish a high-throughput multi-omics pipeline to investigate the healthy fecal microbiome of swine and its temporal dynamics as basis for future infection studies. To this end, a homogenization protocol based on deep-frozen feces followed by integrated sample preparation for different meta-omics analyses was developed. Subsequent data integration linked microbiome composition with function, i.e. expressed proteins and secreted metabolites.
Project description:In this study, centrifugal fractionation has been applied for fractionation of two biogas sludge samples to analyze proteins extracted from (i) crude fibers, (ii) suspended microorganisms, and (iii) secreted proteins in the supernatant using a gel-based approach followed by LC-MS/MS identification.
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:Exposure to high-dose radiation causes life-threatening serious intestinal damage. Histological analysis is the most accurate method for judging the extent of intestinal damage after death. However, it is difficult to predict the extent of intestinal damage to body samples. Here we focused on extracellular microRNAs (miRNAs) released from cells and investigated miRNA species that increased or decreased in serum and feces using a radiation-induced intestinal injury mouse model. A peak of small RNA of 25–200 nucleotides was detected in mouse serum and feces 72 h after radiation exposure, and miRNA presence in serum and feces was inferred. MiRNAs expressed in the small intestine and were increased by more than 2.0-fold in serum or feces following a 10 Gy radiation exposure were detected by microarray analysis and were 4 in serum and 19 in feces. In this study, miR-375-3p, detected in serum and feces, was identified as the strongest candidate for a high-dose radiation biomarker in serum and/or feces using a radiation-induced intestinal injury model.
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:Rapacz Familial Hypercholesterolemic (RFH) swine have been used extensively in the vascular biology field as a robust model of complex atherosclerotic lesions. However, the heart valves from RFH swine have not been evaluated and it is unknown whether these animals develop calcific aortic valve disease without dietary intervention. Histological assessment of heart valve leaflets isolated from juvenile and adult swine revealed RFH swine develop the early hallmarks of the disease at two years of age. The goal of this microarray study was to gain some insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to the observed hallmarks and initiation of the disease.