Ireland’s unseen majority – microbial diversity of the seabed

Despite their size, prokaryote (bacteria and archaea) biomass is estimated to represent between 15 and 30% of total living biomass1,2. Prokaryotes play major roles in marine ecosystems and in global biogeochemical cycling3,4. Molecular phylogenetic approaches have revolutionised microbiology and have revealed that the complexity of microbial life is orders of magnitude greater than previous estimates based on cultivation-based approaches5. This highlights how little we currently know about the microbial world and the clear potential of this vast untapped resource for human application. Here we present the first in-depth analysis of microbial community diversity and composition in the Irish Sea. The western Irish Sea is characterised by distinct hydrographic conditions, resulting in summer stratified offshore deeper waters and settling of fine mud, while well-mixed waters and coarser sediment type dominate in the south and coastal regions. We wished to assess whether these factors play a role in prokaryote abundance and diversity

Bacterium consortium drives compost stability and degradation of organic contaminants in in-vessel composting process of the mechanically separated organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MS-OFMSW)

peer-reviewedCommercial composting of the mechanically separated organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MS-OFMSW) is employed to stabilize municipal organic waste. Its feasibility is linked to process efficacy and compost stability. Threshold values for stability are imposed by regulatory frameworks. Limited reuse options exist for this material often due to the presence of organic pollutants. The optimisation of the composting process is required to reach stability in a viable timeframe. We evaluated the effects on compost stability and the degradation of organic contaminates by using wood shavings as a bulking agent and increasing the turning frequency in a pilot scale process. The use of wood shavings decreased the time required for compost stability while turning frequency had no impact. The addition of wood shavings to the initial feedstock stimulated microbial activity that in turn decreased the time to compost stability and enhanced the degradation of detected PAHs and short-chain phthalates.Enterprise Irelan

Biostratigraphic evidence relating to the age-old question of Hannibal's invasion of Italy, I: history and geological reconstruction

Open access article. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) appliesControversy over the alpine route that Hannibal of Carthage followed from the Rhône Basin into Italia has raged amongst classicists and ancient historians for over two millennia. The motivation for identifying the route taken by the Punic Army through the Alps lies in its potential for identifying sites of historical archaeological significance and for the resolution of one of history's most enduring quandaries. Here, we present stratigraphic, geochemical and microbiological evidence recovered from an alluvial floodplain mire located below the Col de la Traversette (~3000 m asl—above sea level) on the French/Italian border that potentially identifies the invasion route as the one originally proposed by Sir Gavin de Beer (de Beer 1974). The dated layer is termed the MAD bed (mass animal deposition) based on disrupted bedding, greatly increased organic carbon and key/specialized biological components/compounds, the latter reported in Part II of this paper. We propose that the highly abnormal churned up (bioturbated) bed was contaminated by the passage of Hannibal's animals, possibly thousands, feeding and watering at the site, during the early stage of Hannibal's invasion of Italia (218 bc).Ye