Carbon assimilation strategies in ultrabasic groundwater: clues from the integrated study of a serpentinization-influenced aquifer

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Seyler, L. M., Brazelton, W. J., McLean, C., Putman, L. I., Hyer, A., Kubo, M. D. Y., Hoehler, T., Cardace, D., & Schrenk, M. O. . Carbon assimilation strategies in ultrabasic groundwater: clues from the integrated study of a serpentinization-influenced aquifer. mSystems, 5(2), (2020): e00607-00619, doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00607-19.Serpentinization is a low-temperature metamorphic process by which ultramafic rock chemically reacts with water. Such reactions provide energy and materials that may be harnessed by chemosynthetic microbial communities at hydrothermal springs and in the subsurface. However, the biogeochemistry mediated by microbial populations that inhabit these environments is understudied and complicated by overlapping biotic and abiotic processes. We applied metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and untargeted metabolomics techniques to environmental samples taken from the Coast Range Ophiolite Microbial Observatory (CROMO), a subsurface observatory consisting of 12 wells drilled into the ultramafic and serpentinite mélange of the Coast Range Ophiolite in California. Using a combination of DNA and RNA sequence data and mass spectrometry data, we found evidence for several carbon fixation and assimilation strategies, including the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle, the reverse tricarboxylic acid cycle, the reductive acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) pathway, and methylotrophy, in the microbial communities inhabiting the serpentinite-hosted aquifer. Our data also suggest that the microbial inhabitants of CROMO use products of the serpentinization process, including methane and formate, as carbon sources in a hyperalkaline environment where dissolved inorganic carbon is unavailable.We thank McLaughlin Reserve, in particular Paul Aigner and Cathy Koehler, for hosting sampling at CROMO and providing access to the wells, A. Daniel Jones and Anthony Schilmiller for their advice regarding metabolite extraction and mass spectrometry, Elizabeth Kujawinski for her guidance in metabolomics data analysis and interpretation, and Julia McGonigle, Christopher Thornton, and Katrina Twing for assistance with metagenomic and computational analyses

Religious and Spiritual Diversity Training in Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programs: Do Explicitly Christian Programs Differ from Other Programs?

The American Psychological Association (APA) accredits several explicitly Christian doctoral programs in clinical psychology. To what extent do these programs offer training in religious and spiritual diversity that students may nor receive at orher APA-accredited programs? A total of 353 students from 5 explicitly Christian programs were surveyed using the same questionnaire used in a more general national sample of APA-accredited doctoral programs a year previously. Students in explicitly Christian programs reported receiving more training in religious and spiritual diversity and more training in advanced competencies regarding religious and spiritual issues in professional work d1an students in the general sample of AP A-accredited programs. At the same rime, students in explicitly Christian programs reported receiving less training in ethnic/ racial and socioeconomic diversity than students in other programs. Diversity training implications are considered

Leatherback Turtles in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico: Foraging and Migration Behavior During the Autumn and Winter

We deployed 19 satellite tags on foraging adult leatherback turtles, including 17 females and 2 males, captured in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico in 2015, 2018, and 2019 in order to study regional distribution and movements. Prior to our study, limited data were available from leatherbacks foraging in the Gulf of Mexico. Tag deployment durations ranged from 63 to 247 days and turtles exhibited three distinct behavior types: foraging, transiting, or rapidly switching between foraging and transiting. Some females were tracked to nesting beaches in the Caribbean. Most of the leatherbacks remained on and foraged along the west Florida continental shelf whereas a few individuals foraged in waters of the central Gulf of Mexico during the autumn and winter. In addition, migration of adult females through the Yucatan Channel indicate that this is a seasonally important area for Caribbean nesting assemblages

Dr. Conway et al reply

We thank Sauret et al for their interest in our systematic literature review that explored potential diagnostic confusion between giant cell arteritis (GCA) and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This was a particularly important consideration during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when community testing for SARS-CoV-2 was limited and diagnostic tests for GCA were restricted or unavailable due to redeployment of staff.</p

Dr. Conway et al reply

We thank Sauret et al for their interest in our systematic literature review that explored potential diagnostic confusion between giant cell arteritis (GCA) and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This was a particularly important consideration during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when community testing for SARS-CoV-2 was limited and diagnostic tests for GCA were restricted or unavailable due to redeployment of staff.</p

Metal Abundances in the Magellanic Stream

We report on the first metallicity determination for gas in the Magellanic Stream, using archival HST GHRS data for the background targets Fairall 9, III Zw 2, and NGC 7469. For Fairall 9, using two subsequent HST revisits and new Parkes Multibeam Narrowband observations, we have unequivocally detected the MSI HI component of the Stream (near its head) in SII1250,1253 yielding a metallicity of [SII/H]=-0.55+/-0.06(r)+/-0.2(s), consistent with either an SMC or LMC origin and with the earlier upper limit set by Lu et al. (1994). We also detect the saturated SiII1260 line, but set only a lower limit of [SiII/H]>-1.5. We present serendipitous detections of the Stream, seen in MgII2796,2803 absorption with column densities of (0.5-1)x10^13 cm^-2 toward the Seyfert galaxies III Zw 2 and NGC 7469. These latter sightlines probe gas near the tip of the Stream (80 deg down-Stream of Fairall 9). For III Zw 2, the lack of an accurate HI column density and the uncertain MgIII ionization correction limits the degree to which we can constrain [Mg/H]; a lower limit of [MgII/HI]>-1.3 was found. For NGC 7469, an accurate HI column density determination exists, but the extant FOS spectrum limits the quality of the MgII column density determination, and we conclude that [MgII/HI]>-1.5. Ionization corrections associated with MgIII and HII suggest that the corresponding [Mg/H] may range lower by 0.3-1.0 dex. However, an upward revision of 0.5-1.0 dex would be expected under the assumption that the Stream exhibits a dust depletion pattern similar to that seen in the Magellanic Clouds. Remaining uncertainties do not allow us to differentiate between an LMC versus SMC origin to the Stream gas.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figures, LaTeX (aaspp4), also available at http://casa.colorado.edu/~bgibson/publications.html, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa

Giant Cell Arteritis and COVID-19:Similarities and Discriminators. A Systematic Literature Review

OBJECTIVE: To identify shared and distinct features of giant cell arteritis (GCA) and coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) to reduce diagnostic errors that could cause delays in correct treatment. METHODS: Two systematic literature reviews determined the frequency of clinical features of GCA and COVID-19 in published reports. Frequencies in each disease were summarized using medians and ranges. RESULTS: Headache was common in GCA but was also observed in COVID-19 (GCA 66%, COVID-19 10%). Jaw claudication or visual loss (43% and 26% in GCA, respectively) generally were not reported in COVID-19. Both diseases featured fatigue (GCA 38%, COVID-19 43%) and elevated inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein [CRP] elevated in 100% of GCA, 66% of COVID-19), but platelet count was elevated in 47% of GCA but only 4% of COVID-19 cases. Cough and fever were commonly reported in COVID-19 and less frequently in GCA (cough, 63% for COVID-19 vs 12% for GCA; fever, 83% for COVID-19 vs 27% for GCA). Gastrointestinal upset was occasionally reported in COVID-19 (8%), rarely in GCA (4%). Lymphopenia was more common in COVID-19 than GCA (53% in COVID-19, 2% in GCA). Alteration of smell and taste have been described in GCA but their frequency is unclear. CONCLUSION: Overlapping features of GCA and COVID-19 include headache, fever, elevated CRP and cough. Jaw claudication, visual loss, platelet count and lymphocyte count may be more discriminatory. Physicians should be aware of the possibility of diagnostic confusion. We have designed a simple checklist to aid evidence-based evaluation of patients with suspected GCA

Interrogating Genes That Mediate Chlamydia trachomatis Survival in Cell Culture Using Conditional Mutants and Recombination

Intracellular bacterial pathogens in the family Chlamydiaceae are causes of human blindness, sexually transmitted disease, and pneumonia. Genetic dissection of the mechanisms of chlamydial pathogenicity has been hindered by multiple limitations, including the inability to inactivate genes that would prevent the production of elementary bodies. Many genes are also Chlamydia-specific genes, and chlamydial genomes have undergone extensive reductive evolution, so functions often cannot be inferred from homologs in other organisms. Conditional mutants have been used to study essential genes of many microorganisms, so we screened a library of 4,184 ethyl methanesulfonate-mutagenized Chlamydia trachomatis isolates for temperature-sensitive (TS) mutants that developed normally at physiological temperature (37°C) but not at nonphysiological temperatures. Heat-sensitive TS mutants were identified at a high frequency, while cold-sensitive mutants were less common. Twelve TS mutants were mapped using a novel markerless recombination approach, PCR, and genome sequencing. TS alleles of genes that play essential roles in other bacteria and chlamydia-specific open reading frames (ORFs) of unknown function were identified. Temperature-shift assays determined that phenotypes of the mutants manifested at distinct points in the developmental cycle. Genome sequencing of a larger population of TS mutants also revealed that the screen had not reached saturation. In summary, we describe the first approach for studying essential chlamydial genes and broadly applicable strategies for genetic mapping in Chlamydia spp. and mutants that both define checkpoints and provide insights into the biology of the chlamydial developmental cycle. IMPORTANCE: Study of the pathogenesis of Chlamydia spp. has historically been hampered by a lack of genetic tools. Although there has been recent progress in chlamydial genetics, the existing approaches have limitations for the study of the genes that mediate growth of these organisms in cell culture. We used a genetic screen to identify conditional Chlamydia mutants and then mapped these alleles using a broadly applicable recombination strategy. Phenotypes of the mutants provide fundamental insights into unexplored areas of chlamydial pathogenesis and intracellular biology. Finally, the reagents and approaches we describe are powerful resources for the investigation of these organisms