Two novel species of marine phototrophic Gammaproteobacteria: Thiorhodococcus bheemlicus sp. nov. and Thiorhodococcus kakinadensis sp. nov.

Two coccoid phototrophic purple sulfur bacteria were isolated from marine habitats (marine aquaculture pond near Bheemli, Visakhapatnam and marine tidal waters from a fishing harbour, Kakinada) in a medium that contained 3 % NaCl (w/v). Strains JA132T and JA130T are Gram-negative, motile cocci with a single flagellum. Both have an obligate requirement for NaCl. Intracellular photosynthetic membranes are of the vesicular type. Bacteriochlorophyll a and most probably carotenoids of the spirilloxanthin series were present as photosynthetic pigments. Both strains were able to grow photolithoautotrophically and photolithoheterotrophically. Chemotrophic and fermentative growth could not be demonstrated. There is no vitamin requirement for strain JA132T, while strain JA130T requires niacin, biotin and pantothenate as growth factors. Phylogenetic analysis on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that both strains cluster with species of the genus Thiorhodococcus belonging to the Gammaproteobacteria. The DNA G+C contents of strains JA132T and JA130T were 65.5 and 57.5 mol%, respectively. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, morphological and physiological characteristics, strains JA132T and JA130T are significantly different from each other and from other species of the genus Thiorhodococcus and are recognized as two novel species, for which the names Thiorhodococcus bheemlicus sp. nov. and Thiorhodococcus kakinadensis sp. nov. are proposed. The type strains of T. bheemlicus sp. nov. and T. kakinadensis sp. nov. are JA132T (=MTCC 8120T=ATCC BAA-1362T=JCM 14149T=DSM 18805T) and JA130T (=ATCC BAA-1353T=DSM 18858T=JCM 14150T), respectivel

Thiohalocapsa marina sp. nov., from an Indian marine aquaculture pond

A spherical-shaped, phototrophic, purple sulfur bacterium was isolated in pure culture from anoxic sediment in a marine aquaculture pond near Bheemli (India). Strain JA142T is Gram-negative and non-motile. It has a requirement for NaCl (optimum of 2 % and maximum of 6 % w/v NaCl). Intracellular photosynthetic membranes are of the vesicular type. In vivo absorption spectra indicate the presence of bacteriochlorophyll a and carotenoids of the okenone series as photosynthetic pigments. Phylogenetic analysis on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain JA142T is related to halophilic purple sulfur bacteria of the genera Thiohalocapsa and Halochromatium, with the highest sequence similarity to Thiohalocapsa halophila DSM 6210T (97.5 %). Morphological and physiological characteristics differentiate strain JA142T from other species of the genera Halochromatium and Thiohalocapsa. Strain JA142T is sufficiently different from Thiohalocapsa halophila based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and morphological and physiological characteristics to allow the proposal of a novel species, Thiohalocapsa marina sp. nov., with the type strain JA142T (=JCM 14780T =DSM 19078T). The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain JA142T is AM491592. A phase-contrast micrograph of cells of strain JA142T, whole-cell and acetone absorption spectra and 16S rRNA gene sequence-based neighbour-joining, maximum-likelihood, minimum-evolution and maximum-parsimony trees are available as supplementary material with the online version of this paper

Rhodobacter vinaykumarii sp. nov., a marine phototrophic alphaproteobacterium from tidal waters

A rod-shaped, phototrophic, purple non-sulfur bacterium was isolated in pure culture from seawater collected from the seashore of Visakhapatnam, on the east coast of India, in a medium that contained 2 % NaCl (w/v). Strain JA123(T) was Gram-negative and non-motile and had a requirement for NaCl. Photo-organoheterotrophic and chemo-organoheterotrophic growth occurred with organic compounds as carbon sources and electron donors. Photolithoautotrophic, chemolithoautotrophic and fermentative growth could not be demonstrated. Strain JA123(T) contained vesicular intracellular photosynthetic membrane structures. Bacteriochlorophyll a and probably carotenoids of the spheroidene series were present as photosynthetic pigments. Biotin was required for growth. Phylogenetic analysis on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain JA123(T) clustered with species of the genus Rhodobacter. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and morphological and physiological characteristics, strain JA123(T) is sufficiently different from other Rhodobacter species to propose a novel species, Rhodobacter vinaykumarii sp. nov., to accommodate this strain; the type strain is JA123(T) (=DSM 18714(T) =JCM 14544(T) =CCUG 54311(T))

Quantum teleportation using active feed-forward between two Canary Islands

Quantum teleportation [1] is a quintessential prerequisite of many quantum information processing protocols [2-4]. By using quantum teleportation, one can circumvent the no-cloning theorem [5] and faithfully transfer unknown quantum states to a party whose location is even unknown over arbitrary distances. Ever since the first experimental demonstrations of quantum teleportation of independent qubits [6] and of squeezed states [7], researchers have progressively extended the communication distance in teleportation, usually without active feed-forward of the classical Bell-state measurement result which is an essential ingredient in future applications such as communication between quantum computers. Here we report the first long-distance quantum teleportation experiment with active feed-forward in real time. The experiment employed two optical links, quantum and classical, over 143 km free space between the two Canary Islands of La Palma and Tenerife. To achieve this, the experiment had to employ novel techniques such as a frequency-uncorrelated polarization-entangled photon pair source, ultra-low-noise single-photon detectors, and entanglement-assisted clock synchronization. The average teleported state fidelity was well beyond the classical limit of 2/3. Furthermore, we confirmed the quality of the quantum teleportation procedure (without feed-forward) by complete quantum process tomography. Our experiment confirms the maturity and applicability of the involved technologies in real-world scenarios, and is a milestone towards future satellite-based quantum teleportation

Magnetism and its microscopic origin in iron-based high-temperature superconductors

High-temperature superconductivity in the iron-based materials emerges from, or sometimes coexists with, their metallic or insulating parent compound states. This is surprising since these undoped states display dramatically different antiferromagnetic (AF) spin arrangements and N$\rm \acute{e}$el temperatures. Although there is general consensus that magnetic interactions are important for superconductivity, much is still unknown concerning the microscopic origin of the magnetic states. In this review, progress in this area is summarized, focusing on recent experimental and theoretical results and discussing their microscopic implications. It is concluded that the parent compounds are in a state that is more complex than implied by a simple Fermi surface nesting scenario, and a dual description including both itinerant and localized degrees of freedom is needed to properly describe these fascinating materials.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, Review article, accepted for publication in Nature Physic

Development and Evaluation of a Sensitive PCR-ELISA System for Detection of Schistosoma Infection in Feces

Schistosomiasis is a neglected disease caused by worms of the genus Schistosoma. The transmission cycle requires contamination of bodies of water by parasite eggs present in excreta, specific snails as intermediate hosts and human contact with water. Fortunately, relatively safe and easily administrable drugs are available and, as the outcome of repeated treatment, a reduction of severe clinical forms and a decrease in the number of infected persons has been reported in endemic areas. The routine method for diagnosis is the microscopic examination but it fails when there are few eggs in the feces, as usually occurs in treated but noncured persons or in areas with low levels of transmission. This study reports the development of the PCR-ELISA system for the detection of Schistosoma DNA in human feces as an alternative approach to diagnose light infections. The system permits the enzymatic amplification of a specific region of the DNA from minute amounts of parasite material. Using the proposed PCR-ELISA approach for the diagnosis of a population in an endemic area in Brazil, 30% were found to be infected, as compared with the 18% found by microscopic fecal examination. Although the technique requires a complex laboratory infrastructure and specific funding it may be used by control programs targeting the elimination of schistosomiasis