Esphyr Slobodkina Correspondence

Entries include an appreciative typed reply to the Maine State Library from Slobodkina concerning the Maine Author Collection and an account of summers spent with Margaret Wise Brown at her house on Vinal Haven, Maine, before Brown\u27s passing

Geoglobus acetivorans sp. nov., an iron(III)-reducing archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent

En libre-accès sur Archimer : http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6977.pdfInternational audienceA hyperthermophilic, anaerobic, dissimilatory Fe(III)-reducing, facultatively chemolithoautotrophic archaeon (strain SBH6(T)) was isolated from a hydrothermal sample collected from the deepest of the known World Ocean hydrothermal fields, Ashadze field (1 degrees 58' 21'' N 4 degrees 51' 47'' W) on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, at a depth of 4100 m. The strain was enriched using acetate as the electron donor and Fe(III) oxide as the electron acceptor. Cells of strain SBH6(T) were irregular cocci, 0.3-0.5 mum in diameter. The temperature range for growth was 50-85 degrees C, with an optimum at 81 degrees C. The pH range for growth was 5.0-7.5, with an optimum at pH 6.8. Growth of SBH6(T) was observed at NaCl concentrations ranging from 1 to 6 % (w/v) with an optimum at 2.5 % (w/v). The isolate utilized acetate, formate, pyruvate, fumarate, malate, propionate, butyrate, succinate, glycerol, stearate, palmitate, peptone and yeast extract as electron donors for Fe(III) reduction. It was also capable of growth with H(2) as the sole electron donor, CO(2) as a carbon source and Fe(III) as an electron acceptor without the need for organic substances. Fe(III) [in the form of poorly crystalline Fe(III) oxide or Fe(III) citrate] was the only electron acceptor that supported growth. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that the closest relative of the isolated organism was Geoglobus ahangari 234(T) (97.0 %). On the basis of its physiological properties and phylogenetic analyses, the isolate is considered to represent a novel species, for which the name Geoglobus acetivorans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SBH6(T) (=DSM 21716(T) =VKM B-2522(T))

Deferribacter autotrophicus sp. nov., an iron(III)-reducing bacterium from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent

En libre-accès sur Archimer : http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6598.pdfInternational audienceA thermophilic, anaerobic, chemolithoautotrophic bacterium (designated strain SL50(T)) was isolated from a hydrothermal sample collected at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from the deepest of the known World ocean hydrothermal fields, Ashadze field (1 degrees 58' 21'' N 4 degrees 51' 47'' W) at a depth of 4100 m. Cells of strain SL50(T) were motile, straight to bent rods with one polar flagellum, 0.5-0.6 mum in width and 3.0-3.5 mum in length. The temperature range for growth was 25-75 degrees C, with an optimum at 60 degrees C. The pH range for growth was 5.0-7.5, with an optimum at pH 6.5. Growth of strain SL50(T) was observed at NaCl concentrations ranging from 1.0 to 6.0 % (w/v) with an optimum at 2.5 % (w/v). The generation time under optimal growth conditions for strain SL50(T) was 60 min. Strain SL50(T) used molecular hydrogen, acetate, lactate, succinate, pyruvate and complex proteinaceous compounds as electron donors, and Fe(III), Mn(IV), nitrate or elemental sulfur as electron acceptors. The G+C content of the DNA of strain SL50(T) was 28.7 mol%. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that the closest relative of strain SL50(T) was Deferribacter abyssi JR(T) (95.5 % similarity). On the basis of its physiological properties and phylogenetic analyses, the isolate is considered to represent a novel species, for which the name Deferribacter autotrophicus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SL50(T) (=DSM 21529(T)=VKPM B-10097(T)). Deferribacter autotrophicus sp. nov. is the first described deep-sea bacterium capable of chemolithoautotrophic growth using molecular hydrogen as an electron donor and ferric iron as electron acceptor and CO(2) as the carbon source

Enrichment of anaerobic syngas-converting bacteria from thermophilic bioreactor sludge

Thermophilic (55 °C) anaerobic microbial communities were enriched with a synthetic syngas mixture (composed of CO, H2, and CO2) or with CO alone. Cultures T-Syn and T-CO were incubated and successively transferred with syngas (16 transfers) or CO (9 transfers), respectively, with increasing CO partial pressures from 0.09 to 0.88 bar. Culture T-Syn, after 4 successive transfers with syngas, was also incubated with CO and subsequently transferred (9 transfers) with solely this substrate – cultures T-Syn-CO. Incubation with syngas and CO caused a rapid decrease in the microbial diversity of the anaerobic consortium. T-Syn and T-Syn-CO showed identical microbial composition and were dominated by Desulfotomaculum and Caloribacterium species. Incubation initiated with CO resulted in the enrichment of bacteria from the genera Thermincola and Thermoanaerobacter. Methane was detected in the first two to three transfers of T-Syn, but production ceased afterward. Acetate was the main product formed by T-Syn and T-Syn-CO. Enriched T-CO cultures showed a two-phase conversion, in which H2 was formed first and then converted to acetate. This research provides insight into how thermophilic anaerobic communities develop using syngas/CO as sole energy and carbon source can be steered for specific end products and subsequent microbial synthesis of chemicals.This study has been financially supported by FEDER funds through the Operational Competitiveness Programme (COMPETE) and by national funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the frame of the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027894. Financial support from FCT and the European Social Fund (POPH-QREN) through the PhD grant SFRH/BD/48965/2008 attributed to J.I.A. is gratefully acknowledged. A.J.M. Stams acknowledges grants from CW-TOP 700.55.343 and ALW 819.02.014 of the Netherlands Science Foundation (NWO), Consolider-CSD 2007-00055 and ERC (323009)

Bacterial Lifestyle in a Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vent Chimney Revealed by the Genome Sequence of the Thermophilic Bacterium Deferribacter desulfuricans SSM1

The complete genome sequence of the thermophilic sulphur-reducing bacterium, Deferribacter desulfuricans SMM1, isolated from a hydrothermal vent chimney has been determined. The genome comprises a single circular chromosome of 2 234 389 bp and a megaplasmid of 308 544 bp. Many genes encoded in the genome are most similar to the genes of sulphur- or sulphate-reducing bacterial species within Deltaproteobacteria. The reconstructed central metabolisms showed a heterotrophic lifestyle primarily driven by C1 to C3 organics, e.g. formate, acetate, and pyruvate, and also suggested that the inability of autotrophy via a reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle may be due to the lack of ATP-dependent citrate lyase. In addition, the genome encodes numerous genes for chemoreceptors, chemotaxis-like systems, and signal transduction machineries. These signalling networks may be linked to this bacterium's versatile energy metabolisms and may provide ecophysiological advantages for D. desulfuricans SSM1 thriving in the physically and chemically fluctuating environments near hydrothermal vents. This is the first genome sequence from the phylum Deferribacteres

Diversity and distribution of subseafloor Thermococcales populations in diffuse hydrothermal vents at an active deep-sea volcano in the northeast Pacific Ocean

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2006. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 111 (2006): G04016, doi:10.1029/2005JG000097.The presence, diversity, and distribution of a key group of subseafloor archaea, the Thermococcales, was examined in multiple diffuse flow hydrothermal vents at Axial Seamount, an active deep-sea volcano located in the northeast Pacific Ocean. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach was used to determine if this group of subseafloor indicator organisms showed any phylogenetic distribution that may indicate distinct subseafloor communities at vents with different physical and chemical characteristics. Targeted primers for the Thermococcales 16S rRNA (small subunit ribosomal RNA) gene and intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) region were designed and applied to organisms filtered in-situ directly from a variety of diffuse flow vents. Thermococcales were amplified from 9 of 11 samples examined, and it was determined that the ITS region is a better phylogenetic marker than the 16S rRNA in defining consistent groups of closely related sequences. Results show a relationship between environmental clone distribution and source vent chemistry. The most highly diluted vents with elevated iron and alkalinity contained a distinct group of Thermococcales as defined by the ITS region, suggesting separate subseafloor Thermococcales populations at diffuse vents within the Axial caldera.This work was supported by Washington Sea Grant (NA76RG0119), National Science Foundation (OCE 9816491), NSF IGERT (DGE- 9870713), NASA Astrobiology Institute through the Carnegie Geophysical Institute, the NOAA/PMEL Vents Program, NOAA West Coast and Polar Undersea Research Center, and by the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean under NOAA Cooperative Agreement No. NA117RJ1232

Desert Moon

https://scholarship.rollins.edu/for_freedoms/1007/thumbnail.jp

Genome analysis of Thermosulfuriphilus ammonigenes ST65T, an anaerobic thermophilic chemolithoautotrophic bacterium isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent

International audienceThermosulfuriphilus ammonigenes ST65 T is an anaerobic thermophilic bacterium isolated from a deep-sea hy-drothermal vent chimney. T. ammonigenes is an obligate chemolithoautotroph utilizing elemental sulfur as an electron donor and nitrate as an electron acceptor with sulfate and ammonium formation. It also is able to grow by disproportionation of elemental sulfur, thiosulfate and sulfite. Here, we present the complete genome sequence of strain ST65 T. The genome consists of a single chromosome of 2,287,345 base pairs in size and has a G + C content of 51.9 mol%. The genome encodes 2172 proteins, 48 tRNA genes, and 3 rRNA genes. Genome analysis revealed a complete set of genes essential to CO 2 fixation and gluconeogenesis. Homologs of genes encoding known enzyme systems for nitrate ammonification are absent in the genome of T. ammonigenes assuming unique mechanism for this pathway. The genome of strain ST65 T encodes a complete set of genes necessary for dissimilatory sulfate reduction, which are probably involved in sulfur disproportionation and anaerobic oxidation. This is the first reported genome of a bacterium from the genus Thermosulfuriphilus, providing insights into the microbial contribution into carbon, sulfur and nitrogen cycles in the deep-sea hydro-thermal vent environment