An integrated approach to characterization of microbial exudates and investigation of their role in the spatial distribution and transformations of uranium at the mineral-microbe interface

The long-term aim of this project was to understand the role of microbiota and their polymers (EPS) in controlling the distribution and fates of contaminants in subsurface environments. Additionally, this project also focused on the identification and characterization of extracellular proteins under a variety of growth conditions. Finally, this project sought to develop and advance the use of a variety of synchrotron-based hard-x-ray techniques to address a number of different ERSP elements

Effect of farnesol on Candida dubliniensis morphogenesis

Cell–cell signalling in Candida albicans is a known phenomenon and farnesol was identified as a quorum sensing molecule determining the yeast morphology. The aim of this work was to verify if farnesol had a similar effect on Candida dubliniensis, highlighting the effect of farnesol on Candida spp. morphogenesis. Methods and Results: Two different strains of C. dubliniensis and one of C. albicans were grown both in RPMI 1640 and in serum in the presence of absence of farnesol. At 150 μmol l -1 farnesol the growth rate of both Candida species was not affected. On the contrary, farnesol inhibited hyphae and pseudohyphae formation in C. dubliniensis. Conclusion: Farnesol seems to mediate cell morphology in both Candida species. Significance and Impact of the Study: The effect of farnesol on C. dubliniensis morphology was not reported previously.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Constraints of the MAX4781 CMOS Solution for Electrode Switching in Multilayer Electrochemical Probes

The most common means to analyze redox gradients in sediments is by push/pulling electrochemical probes through sediment’ strata while repeating measurements. Yet, as electrodes move up and down they disrupt the texture of the sediment layers thus biasing subsequent measurements. This makes it difficult to obtain reproducible measurements or to study the evolution of electrochemical gradients. One solution for solving this problem is to eliminate actuators and electrode movements altogether, while instead deploying probes with numerous electrodes positioned at various depths in the sediment. This mode of operation requires electrode switching. We discuss an electrode-switching solution for multi-electrode probes, based on Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) multiplexors. In this solution, electrodes can be individually activated in any order, sequence or time frame through digital software commands. We discuss constraints of CMOS-based multilayer electrochemical probes during cyclic voltammetry

Oxidation of arsenite by Agrobacterium albertimagni, AOL15, sp. nov., isolated from Hot Creek, California

An arsenite-oxidizing bacterium, Agrobacterium albertimagni strain AOL15 (ATCC BAA-24), was isolated from the surface of aquatic macrophytes collected in Hot Creek, California. Under laboratory conditions, whole cell suspensions of AOL15 oxidized arsenite with a Ks of 3.4 ± 2.2 μM and a Vmax of 1.81 ± 0.58 × 10-12 μmole · cell-1 · min-1 (or 0.043 ± 0.017 μmole · mg protein-1 · min-1). The Ks value for AOL15 is the lowest value to date reported for whole cell suspensions and is comparable to ambient concentrations of arsenic of 2.7 μM reported for Hot Creek, indicating that AOL15 can oxidize arsenite under ambient conditions. Previous studies at this site revealed a rapid in situ oxidation of geothermally-derived arsenite while field incubation studies demonstrated that this oxidation was bacterially mediated. The isolation of the arsenite oxidizer AOL15 from this environment supports these previous observations. Arsenite does not support chemolithoautotrophic growth of AOL15 and toxicity studies with AOL15 showed that arsenite (at 5 mM) is toxic to AOL15, yet arsenate concentrations as high as 50 mM do not show any toxic effects. These results suggest that the oxidation of arsenite by AOL15 is a detoxification mechanism