Overexpression of NADH oxidase gene from Deinococcus geothermalis in Escherichia coli

When using stable enzyme genes from a thermophile to create a biosensor in Escherichia coli, it is vital that these genes be overexpressed in order to provide a sufficient supply of enzymes. In this study, overexpression of the NADH oxidase (Nox) gene from the thermophile Deinococcus geothermalis was successfully achieved with the aim of creating a stable biosensor active at room temperatures. To do so, modification of 10 nucleotides, GAAATTAACT, upstream of the start codon of the Nox gene was necessary.     

Important sequence for overexpression of NADH oxidase gene from Thermus thermophilus HB8 in Escherichia coli

Enzymes fixed on the electrode of biosensor are gradually inactivated and the electrode is discarded after using several times. In order to prepare the stable biosensor, we try to use a stable enzyme from extreme thermophilic bacteria, Thermus thermophilus HB8. It is very important that a stable enzyme from T. thermophilus HB8 is overproduced in Escherichia coli, for the purpose of enough supply of enzyme. Thereby, we determined the important sequence for overexpression of NADH oxidase (nox) gene from T. thermophilus HB8 in E. coli. As a result, it is revealed that ten nucleotides sequence, GAAATTAACT, in the upstream of start codon of nox gene was important for its overexpression in E. coli.     

微生物全细胞传感器在重金属生物可利用度监测中的研究进展

传统的物理化学方法主要用于测定环境重金属的总量,微生物全细胞传感器可以对土壤及水体环境的重金属生物可利用度进行监测.此外,微生物全细胞传感器还具有操作简单、快速、经济的特点,适用于污染事件的应急监测.微生物全细胞传感器的生物学元件主要由MerR、ArsR、RS等家族的金属调控蛋白和gfp、lux、luc等报告基因组成.调控蛋白、报告基因与微生物全细胞传感器的灵敏度、特异性和监测特点有关.受pH、金属螯合物及检测条件等因素的影响,不同的环境条件下的重金属生物可利用度是不同的.增加重金属在微生物细胞内的累积,进行调控蛋白的分子生物学改造,优化检测条件是提高传感器灵敏度、特异性和准确性的可行方案.实现污染物的原位和在线监测是微生物全细胞传感器的主要发展方向.     

An E. coli SOS-EGFP biosensor for fast and sensitive detection of DNA damaging agents

An E. coli SOS-EGFP biosensor which expresses enhanced green fluorescent protein as a reporter protein under the control of recA gene promoter in SOS response was constructed for detection of DNA damage and evaluation of DNA damaging chemicals. The chemicals that may cause substantial DNA damage will trigger SOS response in the constructed bacterial biosensor, and then the reporter egfp gene under the control of recA promoter is stimulated to express as a fluorescent protein, allowing fast and sensitive fluorescence detection. Interestingly, this biosensor can be simultaneously applied for evaluation of genotoxicity and cytotoxicity. The SOS-EGFP bacterial biosensor provides a sensitive, specific and simple method for detecting known and potential DNA damaging chemicals.     

环境因子对脱氯功能念珠藻Nostoc PD-2降解多氯联苯过程中基因表达的影响

以分离筛选自多氯联苯污染水稻田中的脱氯功能蓝藻Nostoc PD-2为材料,两种典型的三氯代多氯联苯PCB28和PCB30为目标污染物,在不同的氮源、碳源和培养温度条件下,研究了脱氯功能藻种Nostoc PD-2中双加氧酶基因和细胞色素b6f复合体铁硫蛋白基因的表达情况及两种基因对脱氯作用的影响.结果显示,以硝酸钠作为氮源时,与氮气氮源组相比,PCB28和PCB30降解组中的两种基因均显著上调表达,双加氧酶基因的上调倍数分别为1.9和5.7倍,铁硫蛋白基因的上调倍数分别为1.1和1.7倍;添加碳酸钠时,与对照相比,双加氧酶基因最高上调了2.2倍,铁硫蛋白基因最高上调了3.4倍;提高温度对双加氧酶基因和铁硫蛋白基因的表达均有促进作用.相较于铁硫蛋白,双加氧酶基因相对表达量与PCB28和PCB30的脱氯百分比之间的相关系数分别为0.872和0.832,表明双加氧酶基因活性与功能藻种PD-2脱氯降解PCBs的相关性更高.本研究结果表明,不同环境因子可引起脱氯功能藻种Nostoc PD-2降解PCBs过程中双加氧酶基因和铁硫蛋白基因的差异表达,添加碳源对降解效果的促进作用最明显,脱氯功能藻种在工程应用中采用优化的环境条件有利于提高降解效率.     

Potential dissemination mechanism of the tetC gene in Aeromonas media from the aerobic biofilm reactor under oxytetracycline stresses

The tetC gene has been found to be one of the most widely distributed tetracycline resistance (tet) genes in various environmental niches, but the detailed dissemination mechanisms are still largely unknown. In the present study, 11 tetC-containing Aeromonas media strains were isolated from an aerobic biofilm reactor under oxytetracycline stresses, and the genome of one strain was sequenced using the PacBio RSII sequencing approach to reveal the genetic environment of tetC. The tetC gene was carried by an IS26 composite transposon, named Tn6434. The tetC-carrying Tn6434 structure was detected in all of the A. media strains either in a novel plasmid pAeme2 (n=9) or other DNA molecules (n=2) by PCR screening. The NCBI database searching result shows that this structure was also present in the plasmids or chromosomes of other 13 genera, indicating the transferability of Tn6434. Inverse PCR and sequencing confirmed that Tn6434 can form a circular intermediate and is able to incorporate into a preexisting IS26 element, suggesting that Tn6434 might be responsible for the dissemination of tetC between different DNA molecules. This study will be helpful in uncovering the spread mechanism of tet genes in water environments.     

Functional relationship between ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and ammonia-oxidizing archaea populations in the secondary treatment system of a full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant

The abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea and their amoA genes from the aerobic activated sludge tanks, recycled sludge and anaerobic digesters of a full-scale wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was determined. Polymerase chain reaction and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis were used to generate diversity profiles, which showed that each population had a consistent profile although the abundance of individual members varied. In the aerobic tanks, the ammonia-oxidizing bacterial (AOB) population was more than 350 times more abundant than the ammonia-oxidizing archaeal (AOA) population, however in the digesters, the AOA population was more than 10 times more abundant. Measuring the activity of the amoA gene expression of the two populations using RT-PCR also showed that the AOA amoA gene was more active in the digesters than in the activated sludge tanks. Using batch reactors and ddPCR, amoA activity could be measured and it was found that when the AOB amoA activity was inhibited in the anoxic reactors, the expression of the AOA amoA gene increased fourfold. This suggests that these two populations may have a cooperative relationship for the oxidation of ammonia.     

四环素抗性基因在人工湿地中的去除及累积

以垂直潜流人工湿地系统为试验装置,考察了猪场养殖废水中四环素类抗生素抗性基因(tetW、tetM和tetO)在人工湿地中的去除及累积情况.结果表明,养猪废水中的3种抗性基因均有检出且含量较高,tetW、tetM和tetO的平均绝对含量分别为1.07×1010、4.03×1010和4.92×1010copies.L-1.通过湿地系统处理后,水体中抗生素抗性基因绝对拷贝数和相对表达量均明显降低,tetW、tetM和tetO的平均去除率分别为95.73%、92.21%和95.05%.在系统运行末期,湿地表层土壤和底层土壤中tetW、tetM和tetO的绝对拷贝数和相对表达量均有明显的升高,并且抗性基因在表层土壤中的累积水平高于底层土壤.因此,人工湿地系统可有效降低养猪废水中抗生素抗性基因的绝对及相对含量水平,系统的运行条件可对抗生素抗性基因在湿地系统中的积累产生影响.     

珠江口典型水产养殖区抗生素抗性基因污染的初步研究

使用普通PCR和荧光定量PCR方法对珠江口典型水产养殖区水和沉积物中3种磺胺类、7种四环素类、1种喹诺酮类抗生素抗性基因(antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs)和1种整合子基因进行了定性和定量研究.结果表明,除tetW外,所有其他ARGs在珠江口养殖区中均被检出,其中sul1、sul2和int1的检出率为100%.相同养殖模式下,养殖时间越长ARGs的相对含量越高,表明ARGs具有累积效应;不同养殖模式池塘中ARGs的含量存在差异,表明养殖模式可能影响ARGs的含量与分布.int1相对含量与sul1和ARGs总量之间均存在显著相关性(P<0.05),表明int1在ARGs的水平传播中起着非常重要的作用.此外,珠江口水产养殖区沉积物中抗生素浓度与ARGs总量存在显著相关性(P<0.05),说明水产养殖区中抗生素残留是诱导养殖区ARGs的主要因素.     

Potential use of thermophilic dark fermentation effluents in photofermentative hydrogen production by Rhodobacter capsulatus

Biological hydrogen production by a sequential operation of dark and photofermentation is a promising route to produce hydrogen. The possibility of using renewable resources, like biomass and agro-industrial wastes, provides a dual effect of sustainability in biohydrogen production and simultaneous waste removal. In this study, photofermentative hydrogen production on effluents of thermophilic dark fermentations on glucose, potato steam peels (PSP) hydrolysate and molasses was investigated in indoor, batch operated bioreactors. An extreme thermophile Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus was used in the dark fermentation step, and Rhodobacter capsulatus (DSM1710) was used in the photofermentation step. Addition of buffer, Fe and Mo to dark fermentor effluents (DFEs) improved the overall efficiency of hydrogen production. The initial acetate concentration in the DFE needed to be adjusted to 30–40 mM by dilution to increase the yield of hydrogen in batch light-supported fermentations. The thermophilic DFEs are suitable for photofermentative hydrogen production, provided that they are supplemented with buffer and nutrients. The overall hydrogen yield of the two-step fermentations was higher than the yield of single step dark fermentations.     

A GFP-based bacterial biosensor with chromosomally integrated sensing cassette for quantitative detection of Hg(II) in environment

A mercury biosensor was constructed by integrating biosensor genetic elements into E. coli JM109 chromosome in a single copy number, using the attP/attB recombination mechanism of λphage. The genetic elements used include a regulatory protein gene (merR) along with operator/promoter (O/P) derived from the mercury resistance operon from pDU1358 plasmid of Serratia marcescens. The expression of reporter gene gfp is also controlled by merR/O/P. Integration of the construct into the chromosome was done to increase the stability and precision of the biosensor. This biosensor could detect Hg(II) ions in the concentration range of 100-1700 nmol/L, and manifest the result as the expression of GFP. The GFP expression was significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) for each concentration of inducing Hg(II) ions in the detection range, which reduces the chances of misinterpretation of results. A model using regression method was also derived for the quantification of the concentration of Hg(II) in water samples.     

典型油田多环芳烃污染对土壤反硝化微生物群落结构的影响

油田区土壤具有潜在的PAHs(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)污染风险,而以硝酸根为电子受体的反硝化作用可能在PAHs的厌氧代谢中起到重要作用.以具有50多年历史的江汉油田区域为对象,从该油田的油井口附近采集了9个土壤样品,编号为JH-1~JH-9,以反硝化相关的nir K(Cu-亚硝酸还原酶基因)和nirS(细胞色素cd1-亚硝酸还原酶基因)为分子标识,通过定量PCR及克隆文库结合T-RFLP(terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism)的方法,研究典型油田区土壤反硝化微生物的群落结构,并探讨其与土壤环境因子之间的关系.结果表明,该油田区土壤中nirK基因的丰度高于nirS基因,PAHs含量最高的土壤样品(JH-4)中反硝化功能基因nir K和nir S的丰度均最低,相关性分析表明,土壤nir K及nirS基因的丰度均与土壤PAHs含量呈显著负相关(nirK:R2=0.54,P0.05;nirS:R~2=0.58,P0.05).克隆文库及T-RFLP的结果则表明,该油田土壤中nirK基因的群落组成在不同样品间的变异较大,且PAHs含量最高的JH-4中该基因的群落组成与其它各样品有明显的不同,RDA(redundancy analysis)的分析结果进一步表明除有效氮、有效磷外,土壤PAHs含量也是影响nirK型反硝化微生物群落组成的重要因子.相较于nirK,该油田区土壤中nirS基因的群落组成在不同样品间的差异较小,但发现nirS型假单胞菌的丰度与土壤PAHs含量呈正相关,表明具备较强有机污染物降解能力的假单胞菌属可能在该区域土壤PAHs的反硝化代谢中起到重要作用.     

稻田土壤不同水分条件下硝化/反硝化作用及其功能微生物的变化特征

以湖南桃源县一长期种植水稻的酸性土壤为研究对象,在微宇宙培养条件下设置了4个水分梯度处理,分别为田间持水量(water holding capacity,WHC)的30%、60%、90%和淹水2 cm深.考察了水分条件变化对硝化和反硝化作用影响,并结合定量PCR和限制性末端片段长度多态性(T-RFLP)技术研究了硝化-反硝化微生物的响应特征.结果表明,30%WHC处理土壤无明显的硝化和反硝化作用发生,硝化作用主要发生于60%WHC和90%WHC处理土壤,90%WHC处理土壤硝化作用明显强于60%WHC,并检测到明显的N2O释放,表明该水分条件可能发生了硝化-反硝化耦合作用.淹水处理土壤氧化还原势Eh显著低于非淹水处理土壤,无明显的硝化作用发生,但能检测到N2O释放且释放量小于90%WHC处理土壤.除培养初期(7 d)外,反硝化功能基因nirS和nirK,以及氨氧化细菌(AOB)amoA基因的丰度先随着水分增加而增加,并在淹水处理中小幅下降,三者之间呈明显的正相关关系,且AOB amoA、nirS和nirK基因丰度均在90%WHC处理中最高,与该处理中硝化和反硝化活性最高相一致.T-RFLP结果表明,培养2周后,nirS基因为代表的反硝化微生物群落组成对水分梯度变化产生明显响应,Eh和含水率Cw是影响其群落组成的主要因子.     

螺旋霉素制药废水处理过程中耐药菌和抗性基因的转归特征

抗生素耐药菌和抗性基因对环境和人体健康构成了巨大的潜在危害.因此本研究通过现场采样,分析了某抗生素制药厂污水处理站不同季节螺旋霉素制药废水生物处理过程中大环内酯类耐药菌、6种大环内酯类抗性基因erm B、erm F、erm X、mef A、ere A、mph B和3种转移元件ISCR1、int I1、Tn916/1545的转归特征.结果表明,废水生物处理能有效削减异养菌和肠球菌1.6~2.1 logs和3.7 logs,4个处理单元(调节池、厌氧池、缺氧池、好氧池)出水中分离出的94株肠球菌均对螺旋霉素、阿奇霉素、红霉素、克拉霉素具有抗性,并且出水中肠球菌的耐药率并没有下降.PCR和荧光定量PCR的分析结果表明,80%耐药肠球菌携带抗性基因erm B,其他的抗性基因未检出,并且春季和秋季样品中抗性基因erm B和erm F的含量均为最高.废水生物处理对抗性基因erm B、erm F、mef A、ere A、mph B和转移元件Tn916/1545有一定的削减效果,但erm X、int I1、ISCR1出现了一定程度的反弹;mef A、ere A、Tn916/1545的丰度降低了,且春季mef A、ere A、Tn916/1545的去除效果明显好于秋季,而erm X、int I1、ISCR1的丰度增加了.     

Evaluation of bacterial pathogen diversity, abundance and health risks in urban recreational water by amplicon next-generation sequencing and quantitative PCR

The microbial quality of urban recreational water is of great concern to public health.The monitoring of indicator organisms and several pathogens alone is not sufficient to accurately and comprehensively identify microbial risks.To assess the levels of bacterial pathogens and health risks in urban recreational water,we analyzed pathogen diversity and quantified four pathogens in 46 water samples collected from waterbodies in Beijing Olympic Forest Park in one year.The pathogen diversity revealed by 16 S r RNA gene targeted next-generation sequencing(NGS) showed that 16 of 40 genera and 13 of 76 reference species were present.The most abundant species were Acinetobacter johnsonii,Mycobacterium avium and Aeromonas spp.Quantitative polymerase chain reaction(q PCR) of Escherichia coli(uid A),Aeromonas(aer A),M.avium(16S r RNA),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(oaa) and Salmonella(inv A) showed that the aer A genes were the most abundant,occurring in all samples with concentrations of 10~(4–6) genome copies/100 m L,followed by oaa,inv A and M.avium.In total,34.8% of the samples harbored all genes,indicating the prevalence of these pathogens in this recreational waterbody.Based on the q PCR results,a quantitative microbial risk assessment(QMRA) showed that the annual infection risks of Salmonella,M.avium and P.aeruginosa in five activities were mostly greater than the U.S.EPA risk limit for recreational contacts,and children playing with water may be exposed to the greatest infection risk.Our findings provide a comprehensive understanding of bacterial pathogen diversity and pathogen abundance in urban recreational water by applying both NGS and q PCR.     

溶藻细菌BS03分离、鉴定及其对塔玛亚历山大藻生长的影响

从福建漳江口红树林区筛选出一株对产贝毒赤潮原因藻——塔玛亚历山大藻(Alexandrium tamatense)具有强溶藻能力的细菌,命名为BS03,通过生理生化及16S rDNA序列分析对该菌株进行鉴定,并探讨了菌株BS03对塔玛亚历山大藻的溶藻特性和溶藻代谢产物的初步性质.结果发现,菌株BS03属于微泡菌属(Microbulbifer sp.)相似性达99％;对塔玛亚历山大藻的杀藻效果具有一定浓度效应,在一定浓度范围内处理浓度越高,溶藻效果越好;菌株BS03对处于不同生长时期的塔玛亚历山大藻都表现出较好的杀藻效果,其中对处于延滞期的塔玛亚历山大藻表现出最佳的杀藻效果,处理96 h后,抑藻率达98.17％;不同生长期菌株对塔玛亚历山大藻溶藻作用无明显差异;菌株BS03通过间接作用方式溶藻,所分泌的胞外活性物质的分子量小于1 kDa,耐酸碱、具热稳定性,推测为非蛋白质、非核酸和非多糖类物质.     

北京地区菜田土壤抗生素抗性基因的分布特征

为研究北京地区菜田土壤抗生素抗性基因(antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs)的污染状况和分布特征,采集了11个长期施用粪肥蔬菜基地的温室土壤和大田土壤,进行了抗生素以及ARGs种类和丰度的检测.结果表明,菜田土壤中四环素类抗生素残留量最高,其次为磺胺类抗生素,温室土壤抗生素残留普遍高于大田土壤.温室和大田土壤磺胺类抗性基因sul1、sul2和四环素类抗性基因tet L的检出率均为100%.温室土壤的Ⅰ类整合子(int I1)检出率比大田土壤高1.5倍.定量PCR的检测结果表明,菜田土壤中sul2和tet L的相对丰度介于10-4~10-2之间,温室土壤sul2和tet L的相对丰度普遍高于大田土壤.sul2的相对丰度与磺胺二甲嘧啶和强力霉素的含量显著正相关(P0.05),tet L相对丰度与抗生素含量无明显相关性(P0.05).本研究结果对于掌握北京地区农田土壤ARGs的污染现状,以及从ARGs角度评估农艺措施具有重要的指导意义.