Is there a common water-activity limit for the three domains of life?

Archaea and Bacteria constitute a majority of life systems on Earth but have long been considered inferior to Eukarya in terms of solute tolerance. Whereas the most halophilic prokaryotes are known for an ability to multiply at saturated NaCl (water activity (a w) 0.755) some xerophilic fungi can germinate, usually at high-sugar concentrations, at values as low as 0.650-0.605 a w. Here, we present evidence that halophilic prokayotes can grow down to water activities of <0.755 for Halanaerobium lacusrosei (0.748), Halobacterium strain 004.1 (0.728), Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 and Halococcus morrhuae (0.717), Haloquadratum walsbyi (0.709), Halococcus salifodinae (0.693), Halobacterium noricense (0.687), Natrinema pallidum (0.681) and haloarchaeal strains GN-2 and GN-5 (0.635 a w). Furthermore, extrapolation of growth curves (prone to giving conservative estimates) indicated theoretical minima down to 0.611 a w for extreme, obligately halophilic Archaea and Bacteria. These were compared with minima for the most solute-tolerant Bacteria in high-sugar (or other non-saline) media (Mycobacterium spp., Tetragenococcus halophilus, Saccharibacter floricola, Staphylococcus aureus and so on) and eukaryotic microbes in saline (Wallemia spp., Basipetospora halophila, Dunaliella spp. and so on) and high-sugar substrates (for example, Xeromyces bisporus, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, Aspergillus and Eurotium spp.). We also manipulated the balance of chaotropic and kosmotropic stressors for the extreme, xerophilic fungi Aspergillus penicilloides and X. bisporus and, via this approach, their established water-activity limits for mycelial growth (∼0.65) were reduced to 0.640. Furthermore, extrapolations indicated theoretical limits of 0.632 and 0.636 a w for A. penicilloides and X. bisporus, respectively. Collectively, these findings suggest that there is a common water-activity limit that is determined by physicochemical constraints for the three domains of life

What are the limits of the drilosphere ? An incubation experiment using Metaphire posthuma

The near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) method was used in the present study to compare earthworm-made soil aggregates to aggregates found in the surrounding bulk soil. After initially assessing the daily cast production of Metaphire posthuma, boxes with soil incubated with M. posthuma and control soils were subjected to wetting in order to reorganize the soil structure. After two months of incubation, soil aggregates produced by earthworms (casts and burrows), soil aggregates that were appeared to be unaffected by earthworms (bulk soil without visible trace of earthworm bioturbation from the earthworm treatment) and soil aggregates that were entirely unaffected by earthworms (control - no earthworm - treatment) were sampled and their chemical signatures analyzed by NIRS. The production of below-ground and surface casts reached 14.9 g soil g worm(-1) d(-1) and 1.4 g soil g worm(-1) d(-1), respectively. Soil aggregates from the control soils had a significantly different NIRS signature from those sampled from boxes with earthworms. However, within the earthworm incubation boxes the NIRS signature was similar between cast and burrow aggregates and soil aggregates from the surrounding bulk soil. We conclude that the high cast production by M. posthuma and the regular reorganization of the soil structure by water flow in and through the soil lead to a relatively homogenous soil structure. Given these results, we question the relevance of considering the bulk soil that has no visible activity of earthworm activity as a control to determine the effect of earthworms on soil functioning

Implication of a multisubunit Ets-related transcription factor in synaptic expression of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

In adult muscle, transcription of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) is restricted to the nuclei located at the neuromuscular junction. The N-box, a new promoter element, was identified recently and shown to contribute to this compartmentalized synaptic expression of the AChR delta- and epsilon-subunits. We demonstrate that the N-box mediates transcriptional activation in cultured myotubes and identify the transcription factor that binds to the N-box as a heterooligomer in myotubes and adult muscle. The GABP (GA-binding protein) alpha-subunit belongs to the Ets family of transcription factors, whereas the beta-subunit shares homology with IkappaB and Drosophila Notch protein. GABP binding specificity to mutated N-box in vitro strictly parallels the sequence requirement for beta-galactosidase targeting to the endplate in vivo. In situ hybridization studies reveal that the mRNAs of both GABP subunits are abundant in mouse diaphragm, with preferential expression of the alpha-subunit at motor endplates. In addition, heregulin increases GABPalpha protein levels and regulates phosphorylation of both subunits in cultured chick myotubes. Finally, dominant-negative mutants of either GABPalpha or GABPbeta block heregulin-elicited transcriptional activation of the AChR delta and epsilon genes. These findings establish the expected connection with a presynaptic trophic factor whose release contributes to the accumulation of AChR subunit mRNAs at the motor endplate