Studying of Biomineralization on Badab Sourt travertine deposit spring, Kiasar, Mazandaran Province

Introduction: Travertine results in the accumulation of calcium carbonate on karst springs, hot springs, small rivers and marshes. Badab Sourt is the travertine-maker spring that located in Mazandaran province and is the second natural place in Iran. It has two springheads with different characteristics and different colors and different sediments that give unique beauty to spring. Travertine is a good model to study the relationship between environment and microorganisms. This study centered on the influence of microorganisms on precipitation of calcium carbonate and isolation of microorganisms that have precipitation potential. Materials and methods: Here, to assess effects of microorganisms on mineralization were used microscopic and culture methods; from stone samples, photos have gotten with SEM and polarizing microscope and from water sample bacteria were isolated. Mineralization function of bacteria was investigated with culturing them on B4 medium and mineralization potential was approved by polarizing microscope. Results: SEM photos showed microorganisms have effect on mineralization and can act as a nucleus in beginning of crystal production. Finally, five strains Bss-3, Bsw-28d, Bss-11a, Bsw-1c1, and Bsw-39b were isolated, which have ability to precipitate calcium carbonate. In between strain Bss-3 that has 99.6% similarity with taxon Labrenzia aggregate IAM 12614T was the first report that has the ability to precipitate calcium carbonate and among the strains, strain Bsw-28d with precipitation of 45.6 mg / ml CaCO3 was the best strain. Discussion and conclusion: Microorganisms are important in the formation and evolution of their surrounding environments, thereby native microbes must be concerned for conserving and restoring the environments

A Rapid and Reproducible Genomic DNA Extraction Protocol for Sequence-Based Identification of Archaea, Bacteria, Cyanobacteria, Diatoms, Fungi, and Green Algae

Background:  Sequence-based identification of various microorganisms including Archaea, Bacteria, Cyanobacteria, Diatoms, Fungi, and green algae necessitates an efficient and reproducible genome extraction procedure though which a pure template DNA is yielded and it can be used in polymerase chain reactions (PCR). Considering the fact that DNA extraction from these microorganisms is time consuming and laborious, we developed and standardized a safe, rapid and inexpensive miniprep protocol. Methods:  According to our results, amplification of various genomic regions including SSU, LSU, ITS, β-tubulin, actin, RPB2, and EF-1 resulted in a reproducible and efficient DNA extraction from a wide range of microorganisms yielding adequate pure genomic material for reproducible PCR-amplifications. Results:   This method relies on a temporary shock of increased concentrations of detergent which can be applied concomitant with multiple freeze-thaws to yield sufficient amount of DNA for PCR amplification of multiple or single fragments(s) of the genome. As an advantage, the recipe seems very flexible, thus, various optional steps can be included depending on the samples used.Conclusion:   Having the needed flexibility in each step, this protocol is applicable on a very wide range of samples. Hence, various steps can be included depending on the desired quantity and quality