861 research outputs found
Microbial degradation of dimethylsulphide and related C1-sulphur compounds: organisms and pathways controlling fluxes of sulphur in the biosphere
Dimethylsulphide (DMS) plays a major role in the global sulphur cycle. It has important implications for atmospheric chemistry, climate regulation, and sulphur transport from the marine to the atmospheric and terrestrial environments. In addition, DMS acts as an info-chemical for a wide range of organisms ranging from micro-organisms to mammals. Micro-organisms that cycle DMS are widely distributed in a range of environments, for instance, oxic and anoxic marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats. Despite the importance of DMS that has been unearthed by many studies since the early 1970s, the understanding of the biochemistry, genetics, and ecology of DMS-degrading micro-organisms is still limited. This review examines current knowledge on the microbial cycling of DMS and points out areas for future research that should shed more light on the role of organisms degrading DMS and related compounds in the biosphere
Towards a systematic understanding of structureâfunction relationship of dimethylsulfoniopropionateâcatabolizing enzymes
Each year, several million tons of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) are produced by marine phytoplankton and bacteria as an important osmolyte to regulate their cellular osmosis. Microbial breakdown of DMSP to the volatile gas dimethylsulfide (DMS) plays an important role in global biogeochemical cycles of the sulphur element between land and the sea. Understanding the enzymes involved in the transformation of DMSP and DMS holds the key to a better understanding of oceanic DMSP cycles. Recent work by Shao et al. (2019) has resolved the crystal structure of two important enzymes, DmdB and DmdC, involved in DMSP transformation through the demethylation pathway. Their work represents an important step towards a systematic understanding of the structureâfunction relationships of DMSPâcatabolizing enzymes in marine microbes
Seasonal changes in microbial dissolved organic sulfur transformations in coastal waters
The marine trace gas dimethylsulfide (DMS) is the single most important biogenic source of atmospheric sulfur, accounting for up to 80% of global biogenic sulfur emissions. Approximately 300 million tons of DMS are produced annually, but the majority is degraded by microbes in seawater. The DMS precursor dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and oxidation product dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) are also important organic sulfur reservoirs. However, the marine sinks of dissolved DMSO remain unknown. We used a novel combination of stable and radiotracers to determine seasonal changes in multiple dissolved organic sulfur transformation rates to ascertain whether microbial uptake of dissolved DMSO was a significant loss pathway. Surface concentrations of DMS ranged from 0.5 to 17.0 nM with biological consumption rates between 2.4 and 40.8 nM·dâ1. DMS produced from the reduction of DMSO was not a significant process. Surface concentrations of total DMSO ranged from 2.3 to 102 nM with biological consumption of dissolved DMSO between 2.9 and 111 nM·dâ1. Comparisons between 14C2-DMSO assimilation and dissimilation rates suggest that the majority of dissolved DMSO was respired (>94%). Radiotracer microbial consumption rates suggest that dissimilation of dissolved DMSO to CO2 can be a significant loss pathway in coastal waters, illustrating the significance of bacteria in controlling organic sulfur seawater concentrations
Carnitine metabolism to trimethylamine by an unusual Rieske-type oxygenase from human microbiota
Dietary intake of L-carnitine can promote cardiovascular diseases in humans through microbial production of trimethylamine (TMA) and its subsequent oxidation to trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) by hepatic flavin-containing monooxygenases. Although our microbiota are responsible for TMA formation from carnitine, the underpinning molecular and biochemical mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, using bioinformatics approaches, we first identified a two-component Rieske-type oxygenase/reductase (CntAB) and associated gene cluster proposed to be involved in carnitine metabolism in representative genomes of the human microbiota. CntA belongs to a group of previously uncharacterized Rieske-type proteins and has an unusual "bridging" glutamate but not the aspartate residue, which is believed to facilitate inter-subunit electron transfer between the Rieske centre and the catalytic mononuclear iron centre. Using Acinetobacter baumannii as the model, we then demonstrate that cntAB is essential in carnitine degradation to TMA. Heterologous overexpression of cntAB enables Escherichia coli to produce TMA, confirming that these genes are sufficient in TMA formation. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments have confirmed that this unusual "bridging glutamate" residue in CntA is essential in catalysis and neither mutant (E205D, E205A) is able to produce TMA. Together, our study reveals the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underpinning carnitine metabolism to TMA in human microbiota and assigns the role of this novel group of Rieske-type proteins in microbial carnitine metabolism
Substrate-specific clades of active marine methylotrophs associated with a phytoplankton bloom in a temperate coastal environment
Marine microorganisms that consume one-carbon (C1) compounds are poorly described, despite their impact on global climate via an influence on aquatic and atmospheric chemistry. This study investigated marine bacterial communities involved in the metabolism of C1 compounds. These communities were of relevance to surface seawater and atmospheric chemistry in the context of a bloom that was dominated by phytoplankton known to produce dimethylsulfoniopropionate. In addition to using 16S rRNA gene fingerprinting and clone libraries to characterize samples taken from a bloom transect in July 2006, seawater samples from the phytoplankton bloom were incubated with 13C-labeled methanol, monomethylamine, dimethylamine, methyl bromide, and dimethyl sulfide to identify microbial populations involved in the turnover of C1 compounds, using DNA stable isotope probing. The [13C]DNA samples from a single time point were characterized and compared using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), fingerprint cluster analysis, and 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis. Bacterial community DGGE fingerprints from 13C-labeled DNA were distinct from those obtained with the DNA of the nonlabeled community DNA and suggested some overlap in substrate utilization between active methylotroph populations growing on different C1 substrates. Active methylotrophs were affiliated with Methylophaga spp. and several clades of undescribed Gammaproteobacteria that utilized methanol, methylamines (both monomethylamine and dimethylamine), and dimethyl sulfide. rRNA gene sequences corresponding to populations assimilating 13C-labeled methyl bromide and other substrates were associated with members of the Alphaproteobacteria (e.g., the family Rhodobacteraceae), the Cytophaga-Flexibacter-Bacteroides group, and unknown taxa. This study expands the known diversity of marine methylotrophs in surface seawater and provides a comprehensive data set for focused cultivation and metagenomic analyses in the future
Light structures phototroph, bacterial and fungal communities at the soil surface
The upper few millimeters of soil harbour photosynthetic microbial communities that are structurally distinct from those of underlying bulk soil due to the presence of light. Previous studies in arid zones have demonstrated functional importance of these communities in reducing soil erosion, and enhancing carbon and nitrogen fixation. Despite being widely distributed, comparative understanding of the biodiversity of the soil surface and underlying soil is lacking, particularly in temperate zones. We investigated the establishment of soil surface communities on pasture soil in microcosms exposed to light or dark conditions, focusing on changes in phototroph, bacterial and fungal communities at the soil surface (0â3 mm) and bulk soil (3â12 mm) using ribosomal marker gene analyses. Microbial community structure changed with time and structurally similar phototrophic communities were found at the soil surface and in bulk soil in the light exposed microcosms suggesting that light can influence phototroph community structure even in the underlying bulk soil. 454 pyrosequencing showed a significant selection for diazotrophic cyanobacteria such as Nostoc punctiforme and Anabaena spp., in addition to the green alga Scenedesmus obliquus. The soil surface also harboured distinct heterotrophic bacterial and fungal communities in the presence of light, in particular, the selection for the phylum Firmicutes. However, these light driven changes in bacterial community structure did not extend to the underlying soil suggesting a discrete zone of influence, analogous to the rhizosphere
Comparison of bacterioneuston and bacterioplankton dynamics during a phytoplankton bloom in a fjord mesocosm
The bacterioneuston is the community of Bacteria present in surface microlayers, the
thin surface film that forms the interface between aquatic environments and the
atmosphere. In this study we compared bacterial cell abundance and bacterial
community structure of the bacterioneuston and the bacterioplankton (from the
subsurface water column) during a phytoplankton bloom mesocosm experiment.
Bacterial cell abundance, determined by flow cytometry, followed a typical
bacterioplankton response to a phytoplankton bloom, with Synechococcus and high
nucleic acid (HNA) bacterial cell numbers initially falling, probably due to selective
protist grazing. Subsequently HNA and low nucleic acid (LNA) bacterial cells
increased in abundance but Synechococcus did not. There was no significant
difference between bacterioneuston and bacterioplankton cell abundances during the
experiment. Conversely, distinct and consistent differences between the
bacterioneuston and the bacterioplankton community structure were observed. This
was monitored simultaneously by Bacteria 16S rRNA gene terminal restriction
fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis
(DGGE). The conserved patterns of community structure observed in all of the
mesocosms indicate that the bacterioneuston is distinctive and non-random
Oxytocin-Rezeptor-Expression im Bulbus olfactorius schizophrener Patienten
Die Schizophrenie ist eine neurodegenerative Erkrankung, die histo-morphologische Korrelationen im Bulbus olfactorius zeigt. Die vorliegende Arbeit weiĂt erstmalig die Existenz von Oxytocin-Rezeptoren in Colokalisation mit Tyrosinhydroxylase, und Sex-Hormone-Binding-Globulin im humanen Riechnerv nach und vergleicht deren Expression zwischen Schizophrenen Patienten und Kontrollen. Es kommen immunhistochemische und biochemische Methoden (SELDI-TOF-MS, Western-Blot) zum Einsatz. Schizophrene Patienten zeigen eine signifikant erhöhte Expression von Oxytocin-Rezeptoren, welche bei beiden Kollektiven mit Tyrosinhydroxylase colokalisiert sind. Die Daten leisten einen Beitrag zum VerstĂ€ndnis der Pathogenese der Schizophrenie auf zellulĂ€rer Ebene
pandapower - an Open Source Python Tool for Convenient Modeling, Analysis and Optimization of Electric Power Systems
pandapower is a Python based, BSD-licensed power system analysis tool aimed
at automation of static and quasi-static analysis and optimization of balanced
power systems. It provides power flow, optimal power flow, state estimation,
topological graph searches and short circuit calculations according to IEC
60909. pandapower includes a Newton-Raphson power flow solver formerly based on
PYPOWER, which has been accelerated with just-in-time compilation. Additional
enhancements to the solver include the capability to model constant current
loads, grids with multiple reference nodes and a connectivity check. The
pandapower network model is based on electric elements, such as lines, two and
three-winding transformers or ideal switches. All elements can be defined with
nameplate parameters and are internally processed with equivalent circuit
models, which have been validated against industry standard software tools. The
tabular data structure used to define networks is based on the Python library
pandas, which allows comfortable handling of input and output parameters. The
implementation in Python makes pandapower easy to use and allows comfortable
extension with third-party libraries. pandapower has been successfully applied
in several grid studies as well as for educational purposes. A comprehensive,
publicly available case-study demonstrates a possible application of pandapower
in an automated time series calculation
- âŠ