Organic acids, siderophores, enzymes and mechanical pressure for black slate bioweathering with the basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune

Although many fungi are known to be able to perform bioweathering of rocks and minerals, little information is available concerning the role of basidiomycetes in this process. The wood-rotting basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune was investigated for its ability to degrade black slate, a rock rich in organic carbon. Mechanical pressure of hyphae and extracellular polymeric substances was investigated for biophysical weathering. A mixed ß1-3/ß1-6 glucan, likely schizophyllan that is well known from S. commune, could be identified on black slate surfaces. Secretion of siderophores and organic acids as biochemical weathering agents was shown. Both may contribute to biochemical weathering in addition to enzymatic functions. Previously, the exoenzyme laccase was believed to attack organic the matter within the black slate, thereby releasing metals from the rock. Here, overexpression of laccase showed enhanced dissolution of quartz phases by etching and pitting. At the same time, the formation of a new secondary mineral phase, whewellite, could be demonstrated. Hence, a more comprehensive understanding of biophysical as well as biochemical weathering by S. commune could be reached and unexpected mechanisms like quartz dissolution linked to shale degradation. © 2019 The Authors. Environmental Microbiology published by Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Enzymatic Bioweathering and Metal Mobilization From Black Slate by the Basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune

Schizophyllum commune is a filamentous basidiomycete causing white-rot in many wood species with the help of a broad range of enzymes including multicopper oxidases such as laccases and laccase-like oxidases. Since these enzymes exhibit a broad substrate range, their ability to oxidatively degrade black slate was investigated. Both haploid monokaryotic, and mated dikaryotic strains were able to grow on black slate rich in organic carbon as sole carbon source. On defined media, only the monokaryon showed growth promotion by addition of slate. At the same time, metals were released from the slate and, after reaching a threshold concentration, inhibited further growth of the fungus. The proteome during decomposition of the black slate showed induction of proteins potentially involved in rock degradation and stress resistance, and the gene for laccase-like oxidase mco2 was up-regulated. Specifically in the dikaryon, the laccase gene lcc1 was induced, while lcc2 as well as mco1, mco3, and mco4 expression levels remained similar. Spectrophotometric analysis revealed that both life forms were able to degrade the rock and produce smaller particles

Complementary wind sensing techniques: sodar and RASS

Radioacoustic sounding (RASS), normally used for temperature profiling, can also be applied for wind measurements. The RASS detects echoes of radar waves, which have been scattered at acoustic waves, and derives the sound velocity from the frequency shift. From the difference of sound velocities measured under different beam directions windprofiles can be determined. Ground clutter does not principally interfere with RASS echoes due to their big frequency shift. Therefore, RASS can supplement radar wind profilers at lower levels where clear-air echoes may be not detectable due to ground clutter. The upper measuring altitude of RASS is limited to a few thousand radar wavelengths by the sound absorption and by the drift of the focal spot of the RASS echo. A further alternative for low-level wind measurements is the Doppler sodar. It is less sensitive to ground clutter than radar, but the measuring height is also limited by sound absorption. It requires no frequency allocation and may therefore be the only choice at some locations. In Germany, Doppler sodars have been operating successfully on a routine basis for more than 10 years at several sites for environmental monitoring purposes

Sodar data about wind profiles in Moscow city

The results of wind measurements in the lowermost 500 m air layer above Moscow by Doppler sodar 'MODOS' produced by METEK firm are presented for the period from 2004 to 2008. General features both of the annual cycle of wind profiles and of the diurnal one are being discussed. In average, the highest wind speed values are observed in autumn and in winter, the least ones in spring and in summer. The recordable maximal value of the wind speed averaged over 10 minutes in Moscow city has been found as nearly 31 m/s. The distributions of wind speed values regularly show a positive asymmetry and are close to the logarithmically normal law. For the first time, seasonal dynamics of the skewness coefficient and of the kurtosis of wind distributions are analyzed. The most frequently detected wind directions are South-Western and Western-South-Western; the rarest are directions with an Eastern component. The crossover height of wind profiles varies in average from 60-80 m in autumn and in winter to nearly of 100 m in summer. For the first time, mean values of wind turning during the passing of atmospheric fronts have been received and are studied by sodar data. It was found that right-hand (clockwise) turning of wind at cold fronts is more and occurs more quickly compared to warm fronts. The occlusion fronts show intermediate mean values of wind turning

Entwicklung eines Niederschlag-Miniatur-Radars zur Erfassung der nassen Deposition Abschlussbericht

For off-shore measurements of deposition amounts a special miniature microwave radar equipment has been developed which yields reliable results even at increased wind velocities. The described, easy-to-maintain 24 GHz prototype has been successfully tested in field studies and proved to be more robust than common rain gatherers. Drop spectra and therefrom derived rain rates are detected by the prototype up to a height of 250 m. At the same time the detection threshold is lower than with conventional rain gathering equipment. (WEN)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: F95B1163+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekBundesministerium fuer Forschung und Technologie (BMFT), Bonn (Germany)DEGerman

Organic acids, siderophores, enzymes and mechanical pressure for black slate bioweathering with the basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune

Although many fungi are known to be able to perform bioweathering of rocks and minerals, little information is available concerning the role of basidiomycetes in this process. The wood-rotting basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune was investigated for its ability to degrade black slate, a rock rich in organic carbon. Mechanical pressure of hyphae and extracellular polymeric substances was investigated for biophysical weathering. A mixed ß1-3/ß1-6 glucan, likely schizophyllan that is well known from S. commune, could be identified on black slate surfaces. Secretion of siderophores and organic acids as biochemical weathering agents was shown. Both may contribute to biochemical weathering in addition to enzymatic functions. Previously, the exoenzyme laccase was believed to attack organic the matter within the black slate, thereby releasing metals from the rock. Here, overexpression of laccase showed enhanced dissolution of quartz phases by etching and pitting. At the same time, the formation of a new secondary mineral phase, whewellite, could be demonstrated. Hence, a more comprehensive understanding of biophysical as well as biochemical weathering by S. commune could be reached and unexpected mechanisms like quartz dissolution linked to shale degradation. © 2019 The Authors. Environmental Microbiology published by Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd