Project description:Prolific heterotrophic biofilm growth is a common occurrence in airport receiving streams containing deicer and anti-icer runoff. This study investigated relations of heterotrophic biofilm prevalence and community composition to environmental conditions at stream sites upstream and downstream of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, WI, during two deicing seasons (2009–2010 and 2010–2011). Modern genetic tools (such as microarray) have not previously been applied to biofilm communities in this type of setting. We used microarray results to characterize biofilm community composition as well as the response of the biofilm community to environmental factors (i.e., organic content (using chemical oxygen demand concentration) and temperature).
Project description:We found that western diet consumption resulted in decrease in the percentage of normal Paneth cell population in wild type mice, indicating that western diet could negatively affect Paneth cell function. Subsequent generations of western diet consumption further reduced percentages of normal Paneth cell population. We performed fecal microbiota composition profiling. Male mice were used at 4-5 weeks of age. Fecal samples were collected for microbiome analysis.
Project description:Analysis of microbial community composition in arctic tundra and boreal forest soils using serial analysis of ribosomal sequence tags (SARST). Keywords: other
Project description:Using data from microarray experiments, we investigated the transcriptional changes in evolved and ancestor D. vulgaris strains. gene expression changes in evolved salt-stressed DvH strain (ES, evolved in LS4D + 100 mM NaCl for 1200 generations), evolved control DvH strain (EC, evolved in LS4D for 1200 generations) and ancestor DvH strain grown in non-stress (LS4D), low salt stress (LS4D + 100 mM NaCl) or high salt stress (LS4D + 250 mM NaCl) conditions
Project description:We examined whether paternal diet from weaning to puberty induces sperm DNA methylation changes that can be transmitted to subsequent generations. Over 100 methylated cytosines environmentally altered in the F0 generation were inherited by the F1 and F2 generations. Furthermore, the F0 paternal diet was associated with growth and male fertility phenotypes in these generations. Differentially methylated genes also showed correlations with gene expression.
Project description:Bacteriophage – host dynamics and interactions are important for microbial community composition and ecosystem function. Nonetheless, empirical evidence in engineered environment is scarce. Here, we examined phage and prokaryotic community composition of four anaerobic digestors in full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across China. Despite relatively stable process performance in biogas production, both phage and prokaryotic groups fluctuated monthly over a year of study period. Nonetheless, there were significant correlations in their α- and β-diversities between phage and prokaryotes. Phages explained 40.6% of total prokaryotic community composition, much higher than the explainable power by abiotic factors (14.5%). Consequently, phages were significantly (P<0.010) linked to parameters related to process performance including biogas production and volatile solid concentrations. Association network analyses showed that phage-prokaryote pairs were deeply rooted, and two network modules were exclusively comprised of phages, suggesting a possibility of co-infection. Those results collectively demonstrate phages as a major biotic factor in controlling bacterial composition. Therefore, phages may play a larger role in shaping prokaryotic dynamics and process performance of WWTPs than currently appreciated, enabling reliable prediction of microbial communities across time and space.