Project description:Drought represents a significant stress to microorganisms and is known to reduce microbial activity and organic matter decomposition in Mediterranean ecosystems. However, we lack a detailed understanding of the drought stress response of microbial decomposers. Here we present metatranscriptomic data on the physiological response of in situ microbial communities on plant litter to long-term drought in Californian grass and shrub ecosystems.
Project description:Measure changes in dissolved organic matter composition and resulting microbial decomposition rates in an experimentally warmed peatland.
Project description:Microbial blooms have been reported in the First Generation Magnox Storage Pond at the Sellafield Nuclear Facility. The pond is kept alkaline with NaOH to minimise fuel rod corrosion, however alkali-tolerant microbial blooms dominated by the cyanobacterium Pseudanabaena catenata are able to thrive in this hostile environment.This study assessed the impact of alternative alkali-dosing regimens (KOH versus NaOH treatment) on biomass accumulation, using a P. catenata dominated mixed culture, which is representative of the pond environment. Optical density was reduced by 40-67% with KOH treatment over the 3-month chemostat experiment. Proteomics analysis were used to uncover the impact of KOH on P. catenata cells at protein expression level.
Project description:Transcript profiles of H. annosum from different tissues and mycelium grown on different substrates and under different stresses were analyzed. The array probes were designed from gene models taken from the Joint Genome Institute (JGI, department of energy) H. irregulare genome sequence version 1. One aim of this study was to compare gene expression profiles of H. annosum during saprotrophic growth on topsoil from mineral soil, drained and undrained peatland.
