Acetate degradation at low pH by the moderately acidophilic sulfate reducer Acididesulfobacillus acetoxydans gen. nov. sp. nov.

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.816605/full#supplementary-materialIn acid drainage environments, biosulfidogenesis by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) attenuates the extreme conditions by enabling the precipitation of metals as their sulfides, and the neutralization of acidity through proton consumption. So far, only a handful of moderately acidophilic SRB species have been described, most of which are merely acidotolerant. Here, a novel species within a novel genus of moderately acidophilic SRB is described, Acididesulfobacillus acetoxydans gen. nov. sp. nov. strain INE, able to grow at pH 3.8. Bioreactor studies with strain INE at optimum (5.0) and low (3.9) pH for growth showed that strain INE alkalinized its environment, and that this was more pronounced at lower pH. These studies also showed the capacity of strain INE to completely oxidize organic acids to CO2, which is uncommon among acidophilic SRB. Since organic acids are mainly in their protonated form at low pH, which increases their toxicity, their complete oxidation may be an acid stress resistance mechanism. Comparative proteogenomic and membrane lipid analysis further indicated that the presence of saturated ether-bound lipids in the membrane, and their relative increase at lower pH, was a protection mechanism against acid stress. Interestingly, other canonical acid stress resistance mechanisms, such as a Donnan potential and increased active charge transport, did not appear to be active.This work was financed by ERC grants to AS (project 323009) and JS (project 694569), the research program TTW under project number 14797, which is financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) to IS-A, and a Gravitation grant (SIAM 024.002.002) of the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to AS and JS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Genome analysis of Desulfotomaculum gibsoniae strain GrollT a highly versatile Gram-positive sulfate-reducing bacterium

Desulfotomaculum gibsoniae is a mesophilic member of the polyphyletic spore-forming genus Desulfotomaculum within the family Peptococcaceae. This bacterium was isolated from a freshwater ditch and is of interest because it can grow with a large variety of organic substrates, in particular several aromatic compounds, short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids, which are degraded completely to carbon dioxide coupled to the reduction of sulfate. It can grow autotrophically with H2 + CO2 and sulfate and slowly acetogenically with H2 + CO2, formate or methoxylated aromatic compounds in the absence of sulfate. For growth it does not require any vitamins. Here, we describe the features of D. gibsoniae strain GrollT together with the genome sequence and annotation. The chromosome has 4,855,529 bp organized in one circular contig and is the largest genome of all sequenced Desulfotomaculum spp., so far. A total of 4666 candidate protein-encoding genes and 96 RNA genes were identified. Genes of the acetyl-CoA pathway possibly involved in heterotrophic growth, and in CO2 fixation during autotrophic growth are present. The genome contains a large set of genes for the anaerobic transformation and degradation of aromatic compounds, which are lacking in the other sequenced Desulfotomaculum genomes

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Transcriptomics datasets for Clostridium autoethanogenum grown on CO in different environmental conditions

The datasets contain comparative transcriptome data of Clostridium autoethanogenum in different environmental conditions, as described in Chapter 6 of the PhD Thesis of Martijn Diender (February 2019). Data was collected and analysed at Wageningen University, the laboratory of microbiology and is part of a project funded by a SIAM gravitation grant (024.002.002

Transcriptomics datasets for Clostridium autoethanogenum grown on CO in different environmental conditions

The datasets contain comparative transcriptome data of Clostridium autoethanogenum in different environmental conditions, as described in Chapter 6 of the PhD Thesis of Martijn Diender (February 2019). Data was collected and analysed at Wageningen University, the laboratory of microbiology and is part of a project funded by a SIAM gravitation grant (024.002.002