Okhotsk Sea ice as a reservoir of Listeria monocytogenes

The contamination of sea ice by Listeria monocytogenes was investigated in the western part of the Sea of Okhotsk for the first time. The influence of the Amur River outflow on Listeria\u27s distribution on the northeastern Sakhalin shelf and slope is discussed. Laboratory investigations of the survival of L. monocytogenes in frozen seawater are provided as well. It is possible to characterize the temporal evolution of the reproductive function of L. monocytogenes in sea ice. The duration of Listeria\u27s reproductive period in sea ice depends on the strain\u27s biological peculiarities and on the temperature regime. Colder temperatures result in a long-term reproductive ability of L. monocytogenes in sea ice

Prokaryotic Hydrocarbon Degraders

Hydrocarbons have been part of the biosphere for millions of years, and a diverse group of prokaryotes has evolved to use them as a source of carbon and energy. To date, the vast majority of formally defined genera are eubacterial, in 7 of the 24 major phyla currently formally recognized by taxonomists (Tree of Life, http://tolweb.org/Eubacteria. Accessed 1 Sept 2017, 2017); principally in the Actinobacteria, the Bacteroidetes, the Firmicutes, and the Proteobacteria. Some Cyanobacteria have been shown to degrade hydrocarbons on a limited scale, but whether this is of any ecological significance remains to be seen – it is likely that all aerobic organisms show some basal metabolism of hydrocarbons by nonspecific oxygenases, and similar “universal” metabolism may occur in anaerobes. This chapter focuses on the now quite large number of named microbial genera where there is reasonably convincing evidence for hydrocarbon metabolism. We have found more than 320 genera of Eubacteria, and 12 genera of Archaea. Molecular methods are revealing a vastly greater diversity of currently uncultured organisms – Hug et al. (Nat Microbiol 1:16048, 2016) claim 92 named bacterial phyla, many with almost totally unknown physiology – and it seems reasonable to believe that the catalog of genera reported here will be substantially expanded in the future