Eicosapentaenoic Acid Modulates Trichomonas 1 vaginalis Activity

Trichomonas vaginalis is a sexually transmitted parasite and, while it is often asymptomatic in 50 males, the parasite is associated with disease in both sexes. Metronidazole is an effective 51 treatment for trichomoniasis, but resistant strains have evolved and, thus, it has become 52 necessary to investigate other possible therapies. In this study, we examined the effects of native 53 and oxidized forms of the sodium salts of eicosapentaenoic, docosahexaenoic and arachidonic 54 acids on T. vaginalis activity. Eicosapentaenoic acid was the most toxic with 190 μM and 380 55 μM causing approximately 90% cell death in Casu2 and ATCC 50142 strains, respectively. In 56 contrast, oxidized eicosapentaenoic acid was the least toxic, requiring \u3e3 mM to inhibit activity, 57 while low levels (10μM) were associated with increased parasite density. Mass spectrometric 58 analysis of oxidized eicosapentaenoic acid revealed C20 products containing one to six 59 additional oxygen atoms and various degrees of bond saturation. These results indicate that 60 eicosapentaenoic acid has different effects on T. vaginalis survival, depending on whether it is 61 present in the native or oxidized form. A better understanding of lipid metabolism in T. vaginalis 62 may facilitate the design of synthetic fatty acids that are effective for the treatment of 63 metronidazole-resistant T. vaginalis

Inhibition of Cyanobacterial Growth on a Municipal Wastewater Sidestream Is Impacted by Temperature

ABSTRACT Sidestreams in wastewater treatment plants can serve as concentrated sources of nutrients (i.e., nitrogen and phosphorus) to support the growth of photosynthetic organisms that ultimately serve as feedstock for production of fuels and chemicals. However, other chemical characteristics of these streams may inhibit growth in unanticipated ways. Here, we evaluated the use of liquid recovered from municipal anaerobic digesters via gravity belt filtration as a nutrient source for growing the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. The gravity belt filtrate (GBF) contained high levels of complex dissolved organic matter (DOM), which seemed to negatively influence cells. We investigated the impact of GBF on physiological parameters such as growth rate, membrane integrity, membrane composition, photosystem composition, and oxygen evolution from photosystem II. At 37°C, we observed an inverse correlation between GBF concentration and membrane integrity. Radical production was also detected upon exposure to GBF at 37°C. However, the dose-dependent relationship between the GBF concentration and the lack of membrane integrity was abolished at 27°C. Immediate resuspension of strains in high levels of GBF showed markedly reduced oxygen evolution rates relative to those seen with the control. Taken together, the data indicate that one mechanism responsible for GBF toxicity to Synechococcus is the interruption of photosynthetic electron flow and subsequent phenomena. We hypothesize that this is likely due to the presence of phenolic compounds within the DOM. IMPORTANCE Cyanobacteria are viewed as promising platforms to produce fuels and/or high-value chemicals as part of so-called “biorefineries.” Their integration into wastewater treatment systems is particularly interesting because removal of the nitrogen and phosphorus in many wastewater streams is an expensive but necessary part of wastewater treatment. In this study, we evaluated strategies for cultivating Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 on media comprised of two wastewater streams, i.e., treated secondary effluent supplemented with the liquid fraction extracted from sludge following anaerobic digestion. This strain is commonly used for metabolic engineering to produce a variety of valuable chemical products and product precursors (e.g., lactate). However, initial attempts to grow PCC 7002 under otherwise-standard conditions of light and temperature failed. We thus systematically evaluated alternative cultivation conditions and then used multiple methods to dissect the apparent toxicity of the media under standard cultivation conditions