Project description:Wastewater treatment plants use a variety of bioreactor types and configurations to remove organic matter and nutrients. Little is known regarding the effects of different configurations and within-plant immigration on microbial community dynamics. Previously, we found that the structure of ammonia-oxidizing bacterial (AOB) communities in a full-scale dispersed growth activated sludge bioreactor correlated strongly with levels of NO2- entering the reactor from an upstream trickling filter (Wells et al 2009). Here, to further examine this puzzling association, we profile within-plant microbial biogeography (spatial variation) and test the hypothesis that substantial microbial immigration occurs along a transect (raw influent, trickling filter biofilm, trickling filter effluent, and activated sludge) at the same full-scale wastewater treatment plant. AOB amoA gene abundance increased >30-fold between influent and trickling filter effluent concomitant with NO2- production, indicating unexpected growth and activity of AOB within the trickling filter. Nitrosomonas europaea was the dominant AOB phylotype in trickling filter biofilm and effluent, while a distinct ‘Nitrosomonas-like’ lineage dominated in activated sludge. Prior time series indicated that this ‘Nitrosomonas-like’ lineage was dominant when NO2- levels in the trickling filter effluent (i.e., activated sludge influent) were low, while N. europaea became dominant in the activated sludge when NO2- levels were high. This is consistent with the hypothesis that NO2- production may co-occur with biofilm sloughing, releasing N. europaea from the trickling filter into the activated sludge bioreactor. Phylogenetic microarray (PhyloChip) analyses revealed significant spatial variation in taxonomic diversity, including a large excess of methanogens in the trickling filter relative to activated sludge and attenuation of Enterobacteriaceae across the transect, and demonstrated transport of a highly diverse microbial community via the trickling filter effluent to the activated sludge bioreactor. Our results provide compelling evidence that substantial immigration between coupled process units occurs and may exert significant influence over microbial community dynamics within staged bioreactors.
Project description:Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), defined by left ventricular (LV) enlargement associated with impaired cardiac performance, is a major cause of heart failure (HF). This results in a dilated, thin-walled left ventricle that fails to supply sufficient blood to the body. Truncating variants in TTN (TTNtv), coding for the largest structural protein in the sarcomere, contribute to the largest portion of familial and ambulatory DCM. The mechanisms for how TTNtv lead to cardiac dilation are unclear. Here, we show that reduction of Ttn expression by shRNA (Ttn shRNA) generated DCM in both mouse and rat. Ttn shRNA transduced mice developed typical DCM manifestations including impaired cardiac performance, enlarged LV and reduced LV wall thickness. Gene profiling indicates cardiac metabolism, cell proliferation and survival related genes are significantly dysregulated in Ttn shRNA-induced DCM. TUNEL assay showed Ttn shRNA induced a significant increase of cardiac cell apoptosis. A screen of 15 dysregulated downstream genes identified candidates, including Esrra, Esrrb and Yy1 significantly suppressed Ttn shRNA-induced cardiac dilation and/or DCM. Ttn shRNA induced cardiac cell apoptosis was ameliorated by Yy1. Importantly, by inducing D-type cyclin, Yy1 initiated cardiomyocyte cell cycle reentry facilitating the restoration of cardiac performance. Our findings demonstrate that DCM caused by Ttn insufficiency can be treated by therapeutically enhancing cardiac cell proliferation and survival.