Project description:Members of the bacterial phylum Spirochaetes are primarily studied for their commensal and pathogenic roles in animal hosts. However, Spirochaetes are also frequently detected in anoxic hydrocarbon-contaminated environments but their ecological role in such ecosystems has so far remained unclear. Here we provide a functional trait to these frequently detected organisms with an example of a sulfate-reducing, naphthalene-degrading enrichment culture consisting of a sulfate-reducing deltaproteobacterium Desulfobacterium naphthalenivorans and a novel spirochete Rectinema cohabitans. Using a combination of genomic, proteomic, and physiological studies we show that R. cohabitans grows by fermentation of organic compounds derived from biomass from dead cells (necromass). It recycles the derived electrons in the form of H2 to the sulfate-reducing D. naphthalenivorans, thereby supporting naphthalene degradation and forming a simple microbial loop. We provide metagenomic evidence that equivalent associations between Spirochaetes and hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms are of general importance in hydrocarbon- and organohalide-contaminated ecosystems. We propose that environmental Spirochaetes form a critical component of a microbial loop central to nutrient cycling in subsurface environments. This emphasizes the importance of necromass and H2-cycling in highly toxic contaminated subsurface habitats such as hydrocarbon-polluted aquifers.
Project description:We demonstrate the feasibility of total RNA-SIP in experiments where microbes from a hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer were studied in microcosms with 13C-labelled-toluene to understand their adaptation to the simultaneous availability of low levels of different electron acceptors. SIP successfully resolved the involvement of microaerobic vs. aerobic and anaerobic populations. Under microoxic, nitrate-amended conditions hydrocarbon degradation was actually stimulated, but transcripts of denitrification showed no signs of 13C-labelling. The expression of distinct oxygenase-based catabolic pathways for toluene degradation was clearly apparent in 13C-labelled mRNA. We discuss how these direct insights into the gene expression and adaptation mechanisms within complex degrader communities can guide more integrated approaches in monitoring and restoration of contaminated sites.
2019-11-08 | GSE140055 | GEO
Project description:Effects of Chelators on Iron-reducing Benzene-Degrading Cultures
Project description:Benzene-degrading bioreactor microbial communities from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that are methanogenic - MIRA/Phrap_Assembly metagenome
Project description:The effect of nitrate reduction (anaerobic cultivation in the presence of heme, vitamin K2 and nitrate) was compared with anaerobic cultivation supplemented with citrate (Lactobacillus plantarum). The medium was chemically defined medium with mannitol as main carbon source Two-condition experiment, nitrate vs citrate reducing cells. Biological replicates: 4 nitrate reducing cultures, 4 citrate reducing cultures, independently grown and harvested. Two slides were used, each slide contained 8 Arrays. Citrate reducing cultures are called reactor 1-4, Nitrate reducing cultures are called reactor A-D
Project description:After extraction with mild non-denaturing detergents, we affinity-purified 785 endogenously-tagged CEPs and then identified stably-associated polypeptides by precision mass spectrometry. The resulting high-quality physical interaction network, comprising most (77%) of all targeted CEPs, revealed hundreds of previously unknown heteromeric complexes. Lab Heads: Andrew Emili; andrew.emili@utoronto.ca ;Donnelly CCBR, University of Toronto, Toronto ON M5S 3E1, Canada Mohan Babu; mohan.babu@uregina.ca ;Research and Innovation Centre, University of Regina, SK S4S OA2, Canada
Project description:Benzene-degrading bioreactor microbial communities from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that are methanogenic - September 2009 gDNA_4 metagenome