Project description:EMG produced TPA metagenomics assembly of the Marine sediment microbial communities from Kolumbo Volcano mats, Greece - white/grey mat metagenome (marine sediment metagenome) data set.
Project description:Microbial communities respond to temperature with physiological adaptation and compositional turnover. Whether thermal selection of enzymes explains marine microbiome plasticity in response to temperature remains unresolved. By quantifying the thermal behaviour of seven functionally-independent enzyme classes (esterase, extradiol dioxygenase, phosphatase, beta-galactosidase, nuclease, transaminase, and aldo-keto reductase) in native proteomes of marine sediment microbiomes from the Irish Sea to the southern Red Sea, we record a significant effect of the mean annual temperature (MAT) on enzyme’s response (R2, 0.51–0.80, p < 0.01 in all cases). Activity and stability profiles of 228 esterases and 5 extradiol dioxygenases from sediment and seawater across 70 locations worldwide (latitude 62.2°S–16°N, MAT –1.4ºC–29.5ºC) validate this thermal pattern. Modelling the esterase phase transition temperature as a measure of structural flexibility, confirm the observed relationship with MAT. Furthermore, when considering temperature variability in sites with non-significantly different MATs, the broadest range of enzyme thermal behaviour and the highest growth plasticity of the enriched heterotrophic bacteria occur in samples with the widest annual thermal variability. These results indicate that temperature-driven enzyme selection shapes microbiome thermal plasticity and that thermal variability finely tunes such processes and should be considered alongside MAT in forecasting microbial community thermal response
Project description:The zebrafish embryo has repeatedly proved to be a useful model for the analysis of effects by environmental toxicants. This study was performed to investigate if an approach combining mechanism-specific bioassays with microarray techniques can obtain more in-depth insights into the ecotoxicity of complex pollutant mixtures as present, e.g., in freeze-dried whole sediment samples and their corresponding organic extracts in parallel. To this end, altered gene expression was compared to data from established bioassays as well as to results from chemical analysis. Microarray analysis revealed several classes of significantly regulated genes which could to a considerable extent be related to the hazard potential. Results indicate that potential classes of contaminants can be assigned to sediment extracts by both classical biomarker genes and corresponding expression profile analyses of known substances. However, it is difficult to distinguish between specific responses and more universal detoxification of the organism. Additionally, different gene expression was shown to be less influenced by the sampling site than by the method of exposure, which could be attributed to differential bioavailability of contaminants. Microarray analyses were performed with early life stages of zebrafish exposed to sediment extracts or freeze-dried sediment from three sampling sites (Ehingen, Lauchert, Sigmaringen) along the Upper part of the Danube River, Germany. The expression profiles were compared within the sampling sites, between the exposure scheme and to the expression pattern of model toxicants, such as 4-chloroaniline, Cadmium, DDT, TCDD, and Valproic acid (Gene Expression Omnibus Series GSE9357). Additionally, mechanism-specific bioassays and chemical analysis of the sediments have been combined and compared to the present gene expression data.
Project description:The zebrafish embryo has repeatedly proved to be a useful model for the analysis of effects by environmental toxicants. This study was performed to investigate if an approach combining mechanism-specific bioassays with microarray techniques can obtain more in-depth insights into the ecotoxicity of complex pollutant mixtures as present, e.g., in freeze-dried whole sediment samples and their corresponding organic extracts in parallel. To this end, altered gene expression was compared to data from established bioassays as well as to results from chemical analysis. Microarray analysis revealed several classes of significantly regulated genes which could to a considerable extent be related to the hazard potential. Results indicate that potential classes of contaminants can be assigned to sediment extracts by both classical biomarker genes and corresponding expression profile analyses of known substances. However, it is difficult to distinguish between specific responses and more universal detoxification of the organism. Additionally, different gene expression was shown to be less influenced by the sampling site than by the method of exposure, which could be attributed to differential bioavailability of contaminants.
Project description:The zebrafish embryo has repeatedly proved to be a useful model for the analysis of effects by environmental toxicants. This proof-of-concept study was performed to investigate if an approach combining mechanism-specific bioassays with microarray techniques can obtain more in-depth insights into the ecotoxicity of complex pollutant mixtures as present, e.g., in sediment extracts. For this end, altered gene expression was compared to data from established bioassays as well as to results from chemical analysis. Microarray analysis revealed several classes of significantly regulated genes which could to a considerably extend be related to the hazard potential. Results indicate that potential classes of contaminants can be assigned to sediment extracts by both classical biomarker genes and corresponding expression profile analyses of known substances. However, it is difficult to distinguish between specific responses and more universal detoxification of the organism.
Project description:The zebrafish embryo has repeatedly proved to be a useful model for the analysis of effects by environmental toxicants. This proof-of-concept study was performed to investigate if an approach combining mechanism-specific bioassays with microarray techniques can obtain more in-depth insights into the ecotoxicity of complex pollutant mixtures as present, e.g., in sediment extracts. For this end, altered gene expression was compared to data from established bioassays as well as to results from chemical analysis. Microarray analysis revealed several classes of significantly regulated genes which could to a considerably extend be related to the hazard potential. Results indicate that potential classes of contaminants can be assigned to sediment extracts by both classical biomarker genes and corresponding expression profile analyses of known substances. However, it is difficult to distinguish between specific responses and more universal detoxification of the organism. Microarray analysis were performed with early life stages of zebrafish exposed to 2 sediment extracts from the Upper part of the River Rhine, Germany. The expression profile as then compared to the expression pattern of model toxicants, such as, 4-chloroaniline, Cadmium, DDT, TCDD, and Valproic acid (Gene Expression Omnibus Series GSE9357). Additionally, combining mechanism-specific bioassays as well as chemical analysis of the sediments to the gene expression data has contributed to a more comprehensive view on the hazard potential of the sediments.
Project description:This study aimed to evaluate gene expression patterns in urinary sediment samples of children with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS).
Project description:A variety of contaminants find their way to the marine sediments from different sources, and these contaminants can pose serious risks to the natural marine flora and fauna. For example, pyrethroids, which are a potent pesticide family, are often used in agriculture fields worldwide, and these find their way into the marine environment through run off. Further, pyrethroids are used in farmed Atlantic salmon cages in Chile, Great Britain and Norway. Ammonia is another contaminant that is used in agriculture in form of ammonia-rich fertilizer and can be carried during run-offs to localized rivers and streams. Ammonia is also detectable after emission of effluents from sewage treatment plants and industrial plants like oil refineries and meat processing plants. Contaminants may have short and long term effects on non-target organisms living in the water column or in the marine sediment. Importantly, the sediment ecosystem houses a variety of plants, animals and crustaceans, including the American lobster Homarus americanus. Lobster is the most fished crustacean in New Brunswick and Quebec and its resale and exportation produced over $1.6 billion in 2011. Due to its economic and environmental importance, it is essential to study the effects of contaminants present in its ecosystem. Sediment samples are often used as pollution markers during toxicity testing due to their tendency to accumulate hydrophobic contaminants. To better understand the possible effects of contaminants in sediment, a total gene expression study was developed using the marine amphipod Eohaustorius estuarius. A 10 day spike-in exposure was performed using ammonia and two pyrethroids, namely cypermethrin and deltamethrin. As pyrethroids and ammonia are known to have vastly different mechanisms of action in living organisms, we compared global gene expression patterns following exposure to ammonia against the patterns observed following exposure to pyrethroids. Total gene expression was measured by oligonucleotide microarray. The expression of five genes of interest involved in different biological processes such as metabolism, transcription, translation, immunity and stress, which were found to be differently expressed by microarray, was validated by RT-qPCR. A set of genes was identified that showed differential expression levels in a treatment-dependent manner, thus further highlighting the different mechanisms of action of ammonia and pyrethroids in the marine sediment. This study provides a proof of concept for the use of DNA microarrays with model crustaceans for the study of marine sediment contaminants.