Plasmids of Psychrotolerant Polaromonas spp. Isolated From Arctic and Antarctic Glaciers – Diversity and Role in Adaptation to Polar Environments

Cold-active bacteria of the genus Polaromonas (class Betaproteobacteria) are important components of glacial microbiomes. In this study, extrachromosomal replicons of 26 psychrotolerant Polaromonas strains, isolated from Arctic and Antarctic glaciers, were identified, sequenced, and characterized. The plasmidome of these strains consists of 13 replicons, ranging in size from 3,378 to 101,077 bp. In silico sequence analyses identified the conserved backbones of these plasmids, composed of genes required for plasmid replication, stable maintenance, and conjugal transfer. Host range analysis revealed that all of the identified plasmids are narrow-host-range replicons, only able to replicate in bacteria of closely related genera (Polaromonas and Variovorax) of the Comamonadaceae family. Special attention was paid to the identification of plasmid auxiliary genetic information, which may contribute to the adaptation of bacteria to environmental conditions occurring in glaciers. Detailed analysis revealed the presence of genes encoding proteins potentially involved in (i) protection against reactive oxygen species, ultraviolet radiation, and low temperatures; (ii) transport and metabolism of organic compounds; (iii) transport of metal ions; and (iv) resistance to heavy metals. Some of the plasmids also carry genes required for the molecular assembly of iron–sulfur [Fe-S] clusters. Functional analysis of the predicted heavy metal resistance determinants demonstrated that their activity varies, depending on the host strain. This study provides the first molecular insight into the mobile DNA of Polaromonas spp. inhabiting polar glaciers. It has generated valuable data on the structure and properties of a pool of plasmids and highlighted their role in the biology of psychrotolerant Polaromonas strains and their adaptation to the environmental conditions of Arctic and Antarctic glaciers

Insight into heavy metal resistome of soil psychrotolerant bacteria originating from King George Island (Antarctica)

The presence of heavy metals in Antarctica is an emerging issue, especially as (bio)weathering of metal-containing minerals occurs and human influence is more and more visible in this region. Chemical analysis of three soil samples collected from the remote regions of King George Island (Antarctica) revealed the presence of heavy metals (mainly copper, mercury, and zinc) at relatively high concentrations. Physiological characterization of over 200 heavy metal-resistant, psychrotolerant bacterial strains isolated from the Antarctic soil samples was performed. This enabled an insight into the heavy metal resistome of these cultivable bacteria and revealed the prevalence of co-resistance phenotypes. All bacteria identified in this study were screened for the presence of selected heavy metal-resistance genes, which resulted in identification of arsB (25), copA (3), czcA (33), and merA (26) genes in 62 strains. Comparative analysis of their nucleotide sequences provided an insight into the diversity of heavy metal-resistance genes in Antarctic bacteria

Różnorodność i rola plazmidomu bakterii psychrotolerancyjnych w adaptacji do środowisk arktycznych i antarktycznych

Różnorodność i rola plazmidomu bakterii psychrotolerancyjnych w adaptacji do środowisk arktycznych i antarktycznyc

Assessment of sport-related injuries in badminton players and the applied treatment approaches

Wstęp. Badminton jest jednym z najczęściej uprawianych sportów świata. Światowa Federacja Badmintona (BWF) szacuje, że w tę grę zaangażowanych jest około 150 milionów ludzi na całym świecie. Mimo, iż badminton został uznany za bardzo bezpieczny sport, jednak zawodnicy ulegają różnym kontuzjom i rożnie sobie radzą z ich leczeniem. Celem prezentowanej pracy był przegląd aktualnej literatury dotyczącej urazów sportowych w badmintonie oraz ocena rodzajów urazów, metod leczenia i odnowy biologicznej wśród osób uprawiających ten sport na poziomie zawodniczym i amatorskim w Polsce. Materiał i metody. W badaniu wzięło udział 179 osób uprawiających badmintona na terenie całej Polski. Wiek ankietowanych mieścił się w przedziale od 18 do 69 lat ( śr. 34,66 ±11,803). Zastosowano metodę ankietową, narzędziem był autorski kwestionariusz, badania maiły charakter ilościowy. W opracowaniu zebranych danych wykorzystano statystyki opisowe oraz testy: Kołmogorowa - Smirnowa, test p Pearsona, H Kruskala – Wallisa oraz test t- Studenta. Za poziom istotności przyjęto α = 0,05. Wyniki i wnioski. Wraz ze wzrostem stażu treningowego w latach, stażem w klubie i liczbą treningów w tygodniu, wzrasta liczba urazów w badanej grupie profesjonalistów i amatorów badmintona (p<0,05). Zwichnięcia, zerwania i naderwania występują istotnie częściej u profesjonalistów niż u amatorów. Najczęstszą kontuzją u amatorów jest skręcenie, a najrzadszą złamania i zerwania. Natomiast u profesjonalistów najczęściej zdarzają się naderwania, a najrzadziej występują złamania i rany. Zawodnicy wyczynowi istotnie częściej stosują różne metody leczenia kontuzji i zabiegi odnowy biologicznej niż amatorzy, co wiąże się z ich większym zaangażowaniem i obciążeniem treningowym.Background. Badminton is one of the most popular sports worldwide. According to The Badminton World Federation’s (BWF’s) estimation, about 150 million people worldwide play this game. Although badminton is believed to be a very safe sport, the competitors sustain various contusions and their treatment is sometimes complicated. The aim of the presented study was a review of current literature on sport-related injuries in badminton players and assessment of the approaches to treatment and biological regeneration (wellness) among professional and amateur badminton players in Poland. Material and methods. 179 badminton players from all over Poland participated in the study. The participants’ age ranged from 18 to 69 years (mean age = 34.66 ±11.803). A survey was conducted using a tailored questionnaire and the assessment was performed in a form of a quantitative trial. The collected data were generated using descriptive statistics and the following tests: Kolmogorov – Smirnov test, Pearson p test, Kruskal – Wallis H test and Student’s t- test. Significance level was set at α = 0.05. Results and conclusions. The study has found that with the increase in training experience over the years, years of training at the sports club and the number of training sessions per week, the number of injuries in both tested groups of professionals and amateur badminton players increases (p<0.05).Dislocations and complete/ partial tears are significantly more common in professional players as compared with their amateur counterparts. Amateur players most often sustain dislocations while fractures and tears are the rarest types of injuries in this group. Professional players, in turn, most often sustain partial tears and more rarely ¬– fractures and injuries (wounds). Professional competitors significantly more often use various methods of contusion treatment and regenerative procedures (wellness) than amateurs, which results from their higher commitment and training load

Zagraniczni zawodnicy w polskich klubach tenisa stołowego: różnice kultur sportowych i trenerska ocena wpływu zagranicznych zawodników na polski tenis stołowy

The paper presents results of empirical study on elite international athletes and Polish coaches working in the Polish top table tennis clubs. It focuses on foreign players and investigated Polish the perceptions of coaches with regard to the differences between sports cultures in foreign players’ countries of origin and Poland, and their consequences for efficiency of sport training and competition results. Major research findings concerned Chinese athletes. Another issue analysed in the paper concerns on-going discussion on the limits, costs and benefits of introducing international players into national sport leagues. Based on the research results and literature review, we analyse the perceived impact of foreign players on the table tennis training system in Poland, relationships between Polish and foreign players and the role of international players in club competition. Applying qualitative research allowed the authors to present the insights and views of the investigated athletes and coaches, and to analyse problems occurring in the sport careers of international sport migrants a sport discipline that has hitherto not received much scrutiny.W artykule przedstawione są wyniki badań empirycznych zagranicznych zawodników zatrudnionych w najwyższej męskiej i kobiecej lidze tenisa stołowego oraz współpracujących z nimi polskich trenerów dotyczące dostrzeganych przez respondentów różnic kultur sportowych, w tym szczególnie relacji zawodników i trenerów oraz stylów kierowania procesem szkoleniowym przez trenerów w krajach pochodzenia zawodników i w Polsce oraz konsekwencji tych różnic dla szkolenia i wyników rywalizacji sportowej. Różnice kultur sportowych dotyczyły w szczególności zawodników i zawodniczek pochodzących z Chin i miały one swoje podłoże w różnicach społeczno-kulturowych pomiędzy krajem pochodzenia zawodników i Polską. Drugim wątkiem artykułu jest analiza ograniczeń, kosztów i korzyści wynikających z zatrudniania zagranicznych zawodników w polskich klubach na przykładzie tenisa stołowego. W badaniach zastosowano wywiady pogłębione z zawodnikami i trenerami, które pozwoliły na spojrzenie na wybrane problemy karier zawodowych sportowych migrantów w mało zbadanej pod tym względem dyscyplinie sportu

Benefits and Drawbacks of Harboring Plasmid pP32BP2, Identified in Arctic Psychrophilic Bacterium <i>Psychrobacter</i> sp. DAB_AL32B

Psychrobacter sp. DAB_AL32B, originating from Spitsbergen island (Arctic), carries the large plasmid pP32BP2 (54,438 bp). Analysis of the pP32BP2 nucleotide sequence revealed the presence of three predicted phenotypic modules that comprise nearly 30% of the plasmid genome. These modules appear to be involved in fimbriae synthesis via the chaperone-usher pathway (FIM module) and the aerobic and anaerobic metabolism of carnitine (CAR and CAI modules, respectively). The FIM module was found to be functional in diverse hosts since it facilitated the attachment of bacterial cells to abiotic surfaces, enhancing biofilm formation. The CAI module did not show measurable activity in any of the tested strains. Interestingly, the CAR module enabled the enzymatic breakdown of carnitine, but this led to the formation of the toxic by-product trimethylamine, which inhibited bacterial growth. Thus, on the one hand, pP32BP2 can enhance biofilm formation, a highly advantageous feature in cold environments, while on the other, it may prevent bacterial growth under certain environmental conditions. The detrimental effect of harboring pP32BP2 (and its CAR module) seems to be conditional, since this replicon may also confer the ability to use carnitine as an alternative carbon source, although a pathway to utilize trimethylamine is most probably necessary to make this beneficial. Therefore, the phenotype determined by this CAR-containing plasmid depends on the metabolic background of the host strain

Sequence determination and analysis of three plasmids of Pseudomonas sp. GLE121, a psychrophile isolated from surface ice of Ecology Glacier (Antarctica)

Pseudomonas sp. GLE121 (a psychrophilic Antarctic strain) carries three plasmids: pGLE121P1 (6899 bp), pGLE121P2 (8330 bp) and pGLE121P3 (39,583 bp). Plasmids pGLE121P1 and pGLE121P2 show significant sequence similarity to members of the IncP-9 and IncP-7 incompatibility groups, respectively, while the largest replicon, pGLE121P3, is highly related to plasmid pNCPPB880-40 of Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato NCPPB880. All three plasmids have a narrow host range, limited to members of the genus Pseudomonas. Plasmid pGLE121P3 encodes a conjugal transfer system, while pGLE121P1 carries only a putative MOB module, conserved in many mobilizable plasmids. Plasmid pGLE121P3 contains an additional load of genetic information, including a pair of genes with homology to the rulAB operon, responsible for ultraviolet radiation (UVR) tolerance. Given the increasing UV exposure in Antarctic regions, the expression of these genes is likely to be an important adaptive response

Identification of miniature plasmids in psychrophilic Arctic bacteria of the genus Variovorax

The Svalbard archipelago (Spitsbergen Island) is the northernmost landmass in the European Arctic and has a variety of small- and medium-sized glaciers. The plasmidome of eleven psychrophilic strains of Variovorax spp. isolated from the ice surface of Hans and Werenskiold Glaciers of Spitsbergen Island, was defined. This analysis revealed the presence of six plasmids whose nucleotide sequences have been determined. Four of them, exhibiting high reciprocal sequence similarity, possess unique structures, since their genomes lack any recognized genes. These miniature replicons, not exceeding 1 kb in size, include pHW69V1 (746 bp), which is the smallest autonomous replicon so far identified in free-living bacteria. The miniature plasmids share no similarity with known sequences present in the databases. In silico and experimental analyses identified conserved DNA regions essential for the initiation of replication of these replicons

Genome content, metabolic pathways and biotechnological potential of the psychrophilic Arctic bacterium Psychrobacter sp DAB_AL43B, a source and a host of novel Psychrobacter-specific vectors

Lasek R, Dziewit L, Ciok A, et al. Genome content, metabolic pathways and biotechnological potential of the psychrophilic Arctic bacterium Psychrobacter sp DAB_AL43B, a source and a host of novel Psychrobacter-specific vectors. Journal of Biotechnology. 2017;263:64-74.Psychrobacter sp. DAB_AL43B, isolated from ornithogenic soil collected on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, is a newly sequenced psychrophilic strain susceptible to conjugation and electrotransformation. Its genome consists of a circular chromosome (3.3 Mb) and four plasmids (4.4-6.4 kb). In silico genome mining and microarray-based phenotypic analysis were performed to describe the metabolic potential of this strain and identify possible biotechnological applications. Metabolic reconstruction indicated that DAB_AL43B prefers low-molecular-weight carboxylates and amino acids as carbon and energy sources. Genetic determinants of heavy-metal resistance, anthracene degradation and possible aerobic denitrification were also identified. Comparative analyses revealed a relatively close relationship between DAB_AL43B and other sequenced Psychrobacter species. In addition, the plasmids of this strain were used as the basis for the construction of Escherichia coli-Psychrobacter spp. shuttle vectors. Taken together, the results of this work suggest that DAB_AL43B is a promising candidate as a new model strain for studies on Psychrobacter spp