Project description:To effectively monitor microbial populations in acidic environments and bioleaching systems, a comprehensive 50-mer-based oligonucleotide microarray was developed based on most of the known genes associated with the acidophiles. This array contained 1,072 probes in which there were 571 related to 16S rRNA and 501 related to functional genes. Acid mine drainage (AMD) presents numerous problems to the aquatic life and surrounding ecosystems. However, little is known about the geographic distribution, diversity, composition, structure and function of AMD microbial communities. In this study, we analyzed the geographic distribution of AMD microbial communities from twenty sites using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of 16S rRNA genes, and the results showed that AMD microbial communities were geographically distributed and had high variations among different sites. Then an AMD-specific microarray was used to further analyze nine AMD microbial communities, and showed that those nine AMD microbial communities had high variations measured by the number of detected genes, overlapping genes between samples, unique genes, and diversity indices. Statistical analyses indicated that the concentrations of Fe, S, Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu and pH had strong impacts on both phylogenetic and functional diversity, composition, and structure of AMD microbial communities. This study provides insights into our understanding of the geographic distribution, diversity, composition, structure and functional potential of AMD microbial communities and key environmental factors shaping them. This study investigated the geographic distribution of Acid Mine Drainages microbial communities using a 16S rRNA gene-based RFLP method and the diversity, composition and structure of AMD microbial communities phylogenetically and functionally using an AMD-specific microarray which contained 1,072 probes ( 571 related to 16S rRNA and 501 related to functional genes). The functional genes in the microarray were involved in carbon metabolism (158), nitrogen metabolism (72), sulfur metabolism (39), iron metabolism (68), DNA replication and repair (97), metal-resistance (27), membrane-relate gene (16), transposon (13) and IST sequence (11).

Project description:Studies of food microorganism domestication can provide important insight into adaptation mechanisms and lead to commercial applications. Penicillium roqueforti is a fungus with four genetically differentiated populations, two of which were independently domesticated for blue cheese-making, with the other two populations thriving in other environments. Most blue cheeses are made with strains from a single P. roqueforti population, whereas Roquefort cheeses are inoculated with strains from a second population. We made blue cheeses in accordance with the production specifications for Roquefort-type cheeses, inoculating each cheese with a single P. roqueforti strain, using a total of three strains from each of the four populations. We investigated differences between the cheeses made with the strains from the four P. roqueforti populations, in terms of the induced flora, the proportion of blue color, water activity and the identity and abundance of aqueous and organic metabolites as proxies for proteolysis and lipolysis as well as volatile compounds responsible for flavor and aroma. We found that the population-of-origin of the P. roqueforti strains used for inoculation had a minor impact on bacterial diversity and no effect on the abundance of the main microorganism. The cheeses produced with P. roqueforti strains from cheese populations had a higher percentage of blue area and a higher abundance of the volatile compounds typical of blue cheeses, such as methyl ketones and secondary alcohols. In particular, the Roquefort strains produced higher amounts of these aromatic compounds, partly due to more efficient proteolysis and lipolysis. The Roquefort strains also led to cheeses with a lower water availability, an important feature for preventing spoilage in blue cheeses, which is subject to controls for the sale of Roquefort cheese. The typical appearance and flavors of blue cheeses thus result from human selection on P. roqueforti, leading to the acquisition of specific features by the two cheese populations. These findings have important implications for our understanding of adaptation and domestication, and for cheese improvement.

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Cabrales blue cheese

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