47 research outputs found
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The ocean sampling day consortium.
Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world's oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits
The ocean sampling day consortium
Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits
The influence of external factors on bacteriophages—review
The ability of bacteriophages to survive under unfavorable conditions is highly diversified. We summarize the influence of different external physical and chemical factors, such as temperature, acidity, and ions, on phage persistence. The relationships between a phage’s morphology and its survival abilities suggested by some authors are also discussed. A better understanding of the complex problem of phage sensitivity to external factors may be useful not only for those interested in pharmaceutical and agricultural applications of bacteriophages, but also for others working with phages
Marine Drugs from Sponge-Microbe Association—A Review
The subject of this review is the biodiversity of marine sponges and associated microbes which have been reported to produce therapeutically important compounds, along with the contextual information on their geographic distribution. Class Demospongiae and the orders Halichondrida, Poecilosclerida and Dictyoceratida are the richest sources of these compounds. Among the microbial associates, members of the bacterial phylum Actinobacteria and fungal division Ascomycota have been identified to be the dominant producers of therapeutics. Though the number of bacterial associates outnumber the fungal associates, the documented potential of fungi to produce clinically active compounds is currently more important than that of bacteria. Interestingly, production of a few identical compounds by entirely different host-microbial associations has been detected in both terrestrial and marine environments. In the Demospongiae, microbial association is highly specific and so to the production of compounds. Besides, persistent production of bioactive compounds has also been encountered in highly specific host-symbiont associations. Though spatial and temporal variations are known to have a marked effect on the quality and quantity of bioactive compounds, only a few studies have covered these dimensions. The need to augment production of these compounds through tissue culture and mariculture has also been stressed. The reviewed database of these compounds is available at www.niobioinformatics.in/drug.php
The Ocean Sampling Day Consortium
Ocean Sampling Day was initiated by the EU-funded Micro B3 (Marine Microbial Biodiversity, Bioinformatics, Biotechnology) project to obtain a snapshot of the marine microbial biodiversity and function of the world’s oceans. It is a simultaneous global mega-sequencing campaign aiming to generate the largest standardized microbial data set in a single day. This will be achievable only through the coordinated efforts of an Ocean Sampling Day Consortium, supportive partnerships and networks between sites. This commentary outlines the establishment, function and aims of the Consortium and describes our vision for a sustainable study of marine microbial communities and their embedded functional traits
Methane distribution and oxidation around the Lena Delta in summer 2013
The Lena River is one of the largest Russian rivers draining into
the Laptev Sea. The predicted increases in global temperatures are
expected to cause the permafrost areas surrounding the Lena Delta to
melt at increasing rates. This melting will result in high amounts
of methane reaching the waters of the Lena and the adjacent Laptev
Sea. The only biological sink that can lower methane concentrations
within this system is methane oxidation by methanotrophic
bacteria. However, the polar estuary of the Lena River, due to its
strong fluctuations in salinity and temperature, is a challenging
environment for bacteria. We determined the activity and abundance
of aerobic methanotrophic bacteria by a tracer method and by the
quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We described the
methanotrophic population with a molecular fingerprinting method
(monooxygenase intergenic spacer analysis), as well as the methane
distribution (via a headspace method) and other abiotic parameters,
in the Lena Delta in September 2013.
The median methane concentrations were 22 nmol L−1 for
riverine water (salinity (S) < 5), 19 nmol L−1 for
mixed water (5 < S < 20) and 28 nmol L−1 for polar water
(S > 20). The Lena River was not the source of methane in surface
water, and the methane concentrations of the bottom water were
mainly influenced by the methane concentration in surface
sediments. However, the bacterial populations of the riverine and
polar waters showed similar methane oxidation rates (0.419 and
0.400 nmol L−1 d−1), despite a higher relative
abundance of methanotrophs and a higher estimated diversity in the
riverine water than in the polar water. The methane turnover times
ranged from 167 days in mixed water and 91 days in riverine water to
only 36 days in polar water. The environmental parameters influencing
the methane oxidation rate and the methanotrophic population also
differed between the water masses. We postulate the presence of
a riverine methanotrophic population that is limited by sub-optimal
temperatures and substrate concentrations and a polar methanotrophic
population that is well adapted to the cold and methane-poor polar
environment but limited by a lack of nitrogen. The diffusive methane
flux into the atmosphere ranged from 4 to
163 µmol m2 d−1 (median 24). The diffusive
methane flux accounted for a loss of 8 % of the total methane
inventory of the investigated area, whereas the methanotrophic
bacteria consumed only 1 % of this methane inventory. Our
results underscore the importance of measuring the methane oxidation
activities in polar estuaries, and they indicate a population-level
differentiation between riverine and polar water methanotrophs