The Effect of Dissimilatory Manganese Reduction on Lactate Fermentation and Microbial Community Assembly

Fermentation and dissimilatory manganese (Mn) reduction are inter-related metabolic processes that microbes can perform in anoxic environments. Fermentation is less energetically favorable and is often not considered to compete for organic carbon with dissimilatory metal reduction. Therefore, the aim of our study was to investigate the outcome of the competition for lactate between fermentation and Mn oxide (birnessite) reduction in a mixed microbial community. A birnessite reducing enrichment culture was obtained from activated sludge with lactate and birnessite as the substrates. This enrichment was further used to test how various birnessite activities (0, 10, 20, and 40 mM) affected the rates of fermentation and metal reduction, as well as community composition. Increased birnessite activity led to a decrease of lactate consumption rate. Acetate and propionate were the main products. With increasing birnessite activity, the propionate/acetate ratio decreased from 1.4 to 0.47. Significant CO2 production was detected only in the absence of birnessite. In its presence, CO2 concentrations remained close to the background since most of the CO2 produced in these experiments was recovered as MnCO3. The Mn reduction efficiency (Mn(II) produced divided by birnessite added) was the highest at 10 mM birnessite added, where about 50% of added birnessite was reduced to Mn(II), whereas at 20 and 40 mM approximately 21 and 16% was reduced. The decreased birnessite reduction efficiency at higher birnessite activities points to inhibition by terminal electron acceptors and/or its toxicity which was also indicated by retarded lactate oxidation and decreased concentrations of microbial metabolites. Birnessite activity strongly affected microbial community structure. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the most abundant phyla at 0 mM of birnessite. Their abundance was inversely correlated with birnessite concentration. The relative sequence abundance of Proteobacteria correlated with birnessite concentrations. Most of the enriched populations were involved in lactate/acetate or amino acid fermentation and the only previously known metal reducing genus detected was related to Shewanella sp. The sequencing data confirmed that lactate consumption coupled to metal reduction was only one of the processes occurring and did not outcompete fermentation processes

Óbuda városfejlődése a rendszerváltás óta a közlekedés szemszögéből

Óbudának sikerült átvészelnie a rendszerváltás okozta válságot, azonban a rendszerváltás óta komoly probléma a helyi agglomerációs településekből ingázók forgalma. Dolgozatomban kérdőívet és interjúkat készítettem, melyek közlekedés fejlesztések lehetőségeiről szól

Ein besonderer Bestattungsbrauch: „Leere“ Gräber in der Awarenzeit

In the past decades researchers examining burial customs have recognised local phenomena pointing to the cultural diversity of the Avar population inhabiting the Carpathian Basin. Thus it has been proposed that several groups of different traditions and cultures may have coexisted in the territory of the Avars. In the recently excavated 7th–8th-century Avar cemeteries near Szekszárd (Szekszárd-Tószegidűlő, Tolna-Mözs-Fehérvize-dűlő) another — already known (Szekszárd-Bogyiszlói út és Gyönk-Vásártér út cemetery) — characteristic phenomenon was observed that can now be regarded as a regional feature. The paper discusses this burial type - which has recently also been found in great numbers in the cemetery of Tolna-Mözs —, namely the empty graves containing no human remains. Empty burials have been known in cemeteries of the Avar Age, however, their number is usually insignificant compared to the total number of graves. The aim of this paper is to analyse the possible reasons for empty graves and to show that they were the result of a conscious custom, most probably intended as symbolic burials

Uranium bearing dissolved organic matter in the porewaters of uranium contaminated lake sediments

Uranium (U) mobility in the environment strongly depends on its oxidation state and the presence of complexing agents such as inorganic carbon, phosphates, and dissolved organic matter (DOM). Despite the importance of DOM in U mobility, the exact mechanism is still poorly understood. Therefore, the aim of our investigation was to characterise sediment porewater DOM in two lakes in Ontario, Canada (Bow and Bentley Lakes) that were historically contaminated with U and propose possible composition of UO2-bearing DOM. Depth profiles of U concentrations in porewaters and total sediment digests reveal U levels of up to 1.3 mg L−1 in porewater and up to 0.8 mg−1 g in sediment. Depth profiles of U did not correlate with Fe, Mn, SO4 2−, or Eh profiles. Therefore, porewater DOM was analysed and taken into consideration as the primary source of U mobility. Porewater DOM in each sediment section (1 cm sections, 20 cm core length) was analysed by high-resolution electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. PCA analyses of porewater DOM mass spectra showed grouping and clear separation of DOM in sediment sections with elevated U concentrations in comparison to sections with background U concentrations. Several criteria were set to characterise UO2-bearing DOM and more than 70 different molecules were found. The vast majority of these UO2-DOM compounds fell in the category of carboxyl-containing aliphatic molecules (H/C between 0.85 and 1.2 and O/C≤0.4) and had a mean value of m/z about 720

Uranium isotope fractionation during adsorption, (co) precipitation, and biotic reduction

Uranium contamination of surface environments is a problem associated with both U-ore extraction/processing and situations in which groundwater comes into contact with geological formations high in uranium. Apart from the environmental concerns about U contamination, its accumulation and isotope composition have been used in marine sediments as a paleoproxy of the Earth’s oxygenation history. Understanding U isotope geochemistry is then essential either to develop sustainable remediation procedures as well as for use in paleotracer applications. We report on parameters controlling U immobilization and U isotope fractionation by adsorption onto Mn/Fe oxides, precipitation with phosphate, and biotic reduction. The light U isotope (235U) is preferentially adsorbed on Mn/Fe oxides in an oxic system. When adsorbed onto Mn/Fe oxides, dissolved organic carbon and carbonate are the most efficient ligands limiting U binding resulting in slight differences in U isotope composition (δ238U = 0.22 ± 0.06‰) compared to the DOC/DIC-free configuration (δ238U = 0.39 ± 0.04‰). Uranium precipitation with phosphate does not induce isotope fractionation. In contrast, during U biotic reduction, the heavy U isotope (238U) is accumulated in reduced species (δ238U up to −1‰). The different trends of U isotope fractionation in oxic and anoxic environments makes its isotope composition a useful tracer for both environmental and paleogeochemical applications

Variations in U concentrations and isotope signatures in two Canadian lakes impacted by U mining: A combination of anthropogenic and biogeochemical processes

Temporal and vertical variations in uranium (U) concentrations and U isotope (δ238U, ‰) signatures were examined in sediment cores collected seven times over a one year period, from two lakes in Ontario, Canada, which are contaminated with U by historical mining activities. Bow Lake is holomictic, experiencing seasonal anoxia, while the sediments of meromictic Bentley Lake are permanently anoxic. Average annual peak concentrations of U in Bow Lake subsurface sediments were approximately 300 μg L−1 and 600 μg g−1 in porewater and bulk sediments, respectively. Similar ranges of concentrations (900 μg L−1 and 600 μg g−1, respectively) were observed in Bentley Lake sediments. The exceedingly high levels of U observed in the porewaters of both lakes, as well as the seasonal variability in U levels, challenge the traditional paradigm regarding U chemistry, i.e., that reduced U(IV) should be insoluble under anoxic conditions. The average annual δ238U ‰ values at the sediment-water interface of both lakes were similar (i.e., 0.47 ± 0.09‰ and 0.50 ± 0.16‰, relative to IRMM-184). The deep sediments in both Bentley Lake and Bow Lake record U isotope composition with a typical fractionation of 0.6‰ relative to the surface water, confirming authigenic U accumulation, i.e., negligible contribution of particulate material from the tailings. Also, the δ238U values in porewater have an average offset of ca. −0.1‰ relative to bulk sediments in anoxic zones and are reversed in the oxic sediment layer