Survival of thermophilic spore-forming bacteria in a 90+ year old milk powder from Ernest Shackelton's Cape Royds Hut in Antarctica

Milk powder taken to Antarctica on Shackelton's British Antarctic Expedition in 1907 was produced in New Zealand by a roller drying process in the first factory in the world dedicated to this process. Thermophilic bacilli are the dominant contaminants of modern spray-dried milk powders and the 1907 milk powder allows a comparison to be made of contaminating strains in roller-dried and spray-dried powders. Samples of milk powder obtained from Shackelton's Hut at Cape Royds had low levels of thermophilic contamination (<500 cfu ml−1) but the two dominant strains (Bacillus licheniformis strain F and Bacillus subtilis) were typical of those found in spray-dried powders. Soil samples from the floor of the hut also contained these strains, whereas soils distant from the hut did not. Differences in the RAPD profiles of isolates from the milk powder and the soils suggest that contamination of the milk from the soil was unlikely. It is significant that the most commonly encountered contaminant strain in modern spray-dried milk (Anoxybacillus flavithermus strain C) was not detected in the 1907 sample

Development and field assessment of a quantitative PCR for the detection and enumeration of the noxious bloom-former Anabaena planktonica

Anabaena planktonica is a harmful, bloom-forming freshwater cyanobacterium, which has arrived recently in New Zealand. In the short time since its incursion (<10 yr), A. planktonica has spread rapidly throughout lakes in the North Island. To date, the identification and enumeration of A. planktonica has been undertaken using light microscopy. There is an urgent demand for a highly sensitive and specific quantitative detection method that can be combined with a high sample processing capability in order to increase sampling frequency. In this study, we sequenced 36 cyanobacterial 16S rRNA genes (partial), complete intergenic transcribed spacers (ITS), and 23S rRNA genes (partial) of fresh-water cyanobacteria found in New Zealand. The sequences were used to develop an A. Planktonica specific TaqMan QPCR assay targeting the long ITS1-L and the 5´ terminus of the 23S rRNA gene. The QPCR method was linear (R2 = 0.999) over seven orders of magnitude with a lower end sensitivity of approximately five A. planktonica cells in the presence of exogenous DNA. The quantitative PCR (QPCR) method was used to assess the spatial distribution and seasonal population dynamics of A. planktonica from the Lower Karori Reservoir (Wellington, New Zealand) over a five-month period. The QPCR results were compared directly to microscopic cell counts and found to correlate significantly (95% confidence level) under both bloom and non-bloom conditions. The current QPCR assay will be an invaluable tool for routine monitoring programs and in research investigating environmental factors that regulate the population dynamics and the blooming of A. planktonica

Hindcasting cyanobacterial communities in Lake Okaro with germination experiments and genetic analyses

Cyanobacterial blooms are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide. Sparse historic phytoplankton records often result in uncertainty as to whether bloom-forming species have always been present and are proliferating in response to eutrophication or climate change, or if there has been a succession of new arrivals through recent history. This study evaluated the relative efficacies of germination experiments and automated rRNA intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) assays in identifying cyanobacteria in a sediment core and thus reconstructing the historical composition of cyanobacterial communities. A core (360 mm in depth) was taken in the central, undisturbed basin of Lake Okaro, New Zealand, a lake with a rapid advance of eutrophication and increasing cyanobacteria populations. The core incorporated a tephra from an 1886 volcanic eruption that served to delineate recent sediment deposition. ARISA and germination experiments successfully detected akinete-forming nostocaleans in sediment dating 120 bp and showed little change in Nostocales species structure over this time scale. Species that had not previously been documented in the lake were identified including Aphanizomenon issatschenkoi, a potent anatoxin-a producer. The historic composition of Chrococcales and Oscillatoriales was more difficult to reconstruct, potentially due to the relatively rapid degradation of vegetative cells within sediment

Complete Genome Sequence of the Type Strain Corynebacterium Epidermidicanis DSM 45586, Isolated from the Skin of a Dog Suffering from Pruritus

The complete genome sequence of Corynebacterium epidermidicanis DSM 45586 comprises 2,692,072 bp with 58.06% G+C content. The annotation revealed 2,466 protein-coding regions, including genes for surface-anchored proteins with Cna B-type or bacterial Ig-like domains and for an adhesive SpaABC-type pilus with similarity to fimbrial subunits of Corynebacterium resistens DSM 45100

Complete Genome Sequence of the Type Strain Corynebacterium Mustelae DSM 45274, Isolated from Various Tissues of a Male Ferret with Lethal Sepsis

The complete genome of Corynebacterium mustelae DSM 45274 comprises 3,474,226 bp and 3,188 genes. Prominent niche and virulence factors are SpaBCA- and SpaDEF-type pili with similarity to pilus proteins of Corynebacterium resistens and Corynebacterium urealyticum and an immunomodulatory EndoS-like endoglycosidase probably catalyzing the removal of distinct glycans from IgG antibodies

Virulence Factor Genes Detected in the Complete Genome Sequence of Corynebacterium uterequi DSM 45634, Isolated from the Uterus of a Maiden Mare

The complete genome sequence of the type strain Corynebacterium uterequi DSM 45634 from an equine urogenital tract specimen comprises 2,419,437 bp and 2,163 protein-coding genes. Candidate virulence factors are homologs of DIP0733, DIP1281, and DIP1621 from Corynebacterium diphtheriae and of sialidase precursors from Trueperella pyogenes and Chlamydia trachomatis.Medical Microbiology and Genomics fund (eKVV 200937)Germany. Federal Ministry of Education and Research (German Network for Bioinformatics Intrastructure Initiative FKZ 031A533A

Complete Genome Sequence of the Type Strain Corynebacterium testudinoris DSM 44614, Recovered from Necrotic Lesions in the Mouth of a Tortoise

The complete genome sequence of the type strain Corynebacterium testudinoris DSM 44614 from the mouth of a tortoise comprises 2,721,226 bp with a mean G+C content of 63.14%. The automatic annotation of the genome sequence revealed 4 rRNA operons, 51 tRNA genes, 7 other RNA genes, and 2,561 protein-coding regions.Medical Microbiology and Genomics fund (eKVV 200937)Germany. Federal Ministry of Education and Research (German Network for Bioinformatics Intrastructure Initiative FKZ 031A533A