Microbial relationships in surface-mine revegetation

The establishment and interrelationships of microorganisms with soil and plant processes during reclamation are greatly influenced by the composition of the planting medium and vegetation practices. While in some instances the parent material may be used as the vegetation medium, the practice of topsoiling, particularly the direct haul method, may be beneficial in introducing microorganisms and improving the quality of the plant growth medium of spoils that are chemically or physically less desirable than the native soils. The influence of different vegetation types on soil development on surface mines may be a reflection of physioiogical differences that affect microbial development in the rhizosphere. Such differences include levels of carbohydrate translocated to the root system and/or released into the surrounding soil; the plant's effectiveness as a mycorrhizal host; and the rate of degradation of plant residues. It has become apparent that microbial interactions are an important part of plant and soil processes in reclamation. While some of the microorganisms important in plant growth and soil development can be introduced readily by management practices, the majority usually are disseminated by natural means and only gradually become a part of the microbial population. More research is needed on developing new methods or refining current procedures for early introduction of these microorganisms in reclamation practices.     

城市垃圾肥在锡矿尾砂库植被重建中的应用

在广西大厂矿区废弃的锡矿尾砂库上进行植被的重建试验。设对照组、垃圾肥处理组和覆土组,种植固氮植物银合欢(Leucaenaleucocephala)。100d时采样分析,垃圾肥处理组的银合欢生长状况最好,重金属从土壤到植物的迁移明显降低,说明在锡矿尾砂库植被重建中,可以利用垃圾肥替代土壤,银合欢可以作为锡矿尾砂库植被重建的先锋树种。     

Microbial productivity in variable resource environments

The rate, timing, and quality of resource supply exert strong controls on a wide range of ecological processes. In particular, resource-mediated changes in microbial activity have the potential to alter ecosystem processes, including the production and respiration of organic matter. In this study, we used field experiments and simulation modeling to explore how aquatic heterotrophic bacteria respond to variation in resource quality (low vs. high) and resource schedule (pulse vs. press). Field experiments revealed that one-time pulse additions of resources in the form of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) caused short-lived (< or =48 h) peaks in bacterial productivity (BP), which translated into large differences across treatments: cumulative BP was twice as high in the pulse vs. press treatment under low resource quality, and five times as high under high resource quality. To gain a more mechanistic understanding of microbial productivity in variable resource environments, we constructed a mathematical model to explore the attributes of bacterial physiology and DOC supply that might explain the patterns observed in our field experiments. Model results suggest that the mobilization rate of refractory to labile carbon, an index of resource quality, was critical in determining cumulative differences in BP between pulse and press resource environments (BPPu:Pr ratios). Moreover, BPPu:Pr ratios were substantially larger when our model allowed for realistic changes in bacterial growth efficiency as a function of bacterial carbon consumption. Together, our field and modeling results imply that resource schedule is important in determining the flow of material and energy from microbes to higher trophic levels in aquatic food webs, and that the effects of resource quality are conditional upon resource schedule. An improved understanding of the effects of resource variability on microorganisms is therefore critical for predicting potential changes in ecosystem functioning in response to environmental change, such as altered DOC fluxes from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems.     

磺胺嘧啶在水中的微生物降解研究

为了探明磺胺嘧啶在水中的环境行为,通过室内模拟降解实验分别研究了磺胺嘧啶在湖水和猪场废水中的好氧和厌氧微生物降解,考察了供氧方式和有机质含量对磺胺嘧啶微生物降解的影响。结果表明:磺胺嘧啶在猪场废水中厌氧微生物降解速率高于其好氧组,而磺胺嘧啶在湖水中厌氧微生物降解速率低于其好氧组。磺胺嘧啶在湖水和猪场废水中的好氧或厌氧微生物降解均较缓慢,这可能与其较强的抑菌性和微生物的营养状况有关。通过微生物培养还研究了好氧降解时磺胺嘧啶对湖水中微生物种群生长的影响,数据显示:磺胺嘧啶对湖水和猪场废水中细菌的生长具有一定的刺激作用,而对真菌和放线菌的生长影响不明显。     

微生物燃料电池产电研究及微生物多样性分析

以乙酸钠为阳极底物,碳毡材料为阴阳电极,构建了无介体双室微生物燃料电池(Microbial fuel cell,MFC),研究不同阴极受体、外接电阻、乙酸钠浓度和不同接种方式等因素对电池产电性能的影响.根据不同接种方式下微生物燃料电池产电性能差异,利用PCR-DGGE技术对不同接种方式下的微生物多样性进行分析.研究结果表明:在500 mL的阴阳极反应体系中,当接入500 Ω外电阻,阴极电子受体为高锰酸钾,阳极乙酸钠质量浓度为6.46 g/L,只接入附着有大量微生物的电极时,微生物燃料电池产电性能最好,最大电功率密度可达353.57 mW/m2,库伦效率为39.35%;微生物多样性分析显示.δ-变形菌纲、β-变形菌纲和拟杆菌门的菌种更适应微生物燃料电池的运行环境,能在电极上大量富集.提高电池的产电性能.是电极上的优势菌群.图8表1参21     

Microbial mediated arsenic biotransformation in wetlands

Arsenic (As) is a pervasive environmental toxin and carcinogenic metalloid. It ranks at the top of the US priority List of Hazardous Substances and causes worldwide human health problems. Wetlands, including natural and artificial ecosystems (i.e. paddy soils) are highly susceptible to As enrichment; acting not only as repositories for water but a host of other elemental/chemical moieties. While macroscale processes (physical and geological) supply As to wetlands, it is the micro-scale biogeochemistry that regulates the fluxes of As and other trace elements from the semi-terrestrial to neighboring plant/aquatic/atmospheric compartments. Among these fine-scale events, microbial mediated As biotransformations contribute most to the element’s changing forms, acting as the ‘switch’ in defining a wetland as either a source or sink of As. Much of our understanding of these important microbial catalyzed reactions follows relatively recent scientific discoveries. Here we document some of these key advances, with focuses on the implications that wetlands and their microbial mediated transformation pathways have on the global As cycle, the chemistries of microbial mediated As oxidation, reduction and methylation, and future research priorities areas.

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Microbial activities in a permanently stratified estuary. II. Microbial activities at the oxic-anoxic interface

Bacterial populations and activities at the oxic-anoxic interface of Saelenvann, a permanently stratified estuary in western Norway, have been studied. Concentrations of particulate material and direct counts of bacteria were higher at the interface than in the surrounding water. Dark assimilation of CO₂ was maximal at the interface, indicating high rates of chemoautotrophic productivity. Nitrification could possibly account for 10 to 50% of the measured dark CO₂ fixation. Nitrate is rapidly consumed by dentrifying organisms in the anoxic water and by photosynthetic organisms in the oxic water. A characteristic population of photosynthetic bacteria similar to Chlorobium phaeovibrioides flourishes at the interface, imparting a reddishbrown discoloration to the water.     

靛蓝的微生物合成研究新进展

靛蓝是一种广泛应用于印染、医药等行业的有机色素,利用微生物法合成靛蓝已引起国内外学者的广泛关注.本文综述了微生物法合成靛蓝的研究进展及动态.靛蓝的微生物合成可归纳为3个阶段:野生型微生物催化合成、基因工程菌全细胞催化转化及代谢工程调控转化.多数芳烃降解菌及其编码酶均具备催化吲哚合成靛蓝的能力,采用定向进化、宏基因组技术以及两相体系等对已知酶资源进行深尺度研究,将为靛蓝生物合成过程注入新的活力.同时,靛蓝合成过程中产生的羟基吲哚及靛蓝衍生物是新型药物及化工中间体,也具有较大的研究价值.然而,由于靛蓝合成过程涉及的中间产物及副产物间转化关系及合成脉络仍不明晰,靛蓝产率低,因此将分子生物学及代谢工程手段融入到靛蓝合成机理及产业化应用的探索将成为该方向的研究重点.     

Microbial metabolism of chlorobiphenyls

Photochemical reactions induced by sunlight contribute to the overall chemistry of natural water systems in many ways. The degradation of pollutants, dissolution of iron and manganese sediments, cycling of trace metal nutrients, and reactions of aquatic nitrogen and oxygen species are some of the many processes having solar photolysis pathways. This paper reviews recent research concerned with photo‐decomposition of pollutants, photolysis of nitrite and nitrate, photosensitization by humic materials and the generation of reactive intermediates. In addition, background material is presented concerning the basic principles of photochemistry and the limited wavelength range of effective solar radiation.     

微生物砷还原机制的研究进展

砷是一种剧毒物质,环境中的砷对人体健康存在潜在威胁,因此长期以来备受关注.微生物的各种代谢过程对砷在环境中的归趋起着重要作用,其中砷还原微生物能将吸附于固体矿物中的As(Ⅴ)还原为可溶性强的As(Ⅲ),使砷进入液相,从而加剧了地下水等饮用水源的砷污染.论文主要介绍了两种微生物砷还原机制(异化砷还原和细胞质砷还原)在作用...     

微生物燃料电池构造研究进展

微生物燃料电池(Microbial fuel cell,MFC)的研究在近几年获得了快速发展.产电微生物在厌氧条件下氧化底物释放电子和质子,电子通过导线传递给阴极,从而在外电路中形成电流,而质子通过质子交换膜进入阴极与电子和氧气结合生成水.微生物燃料电池的研究与应用开发涉及到从微生物、电化学到材料学和环境工程等科学领域的交叉,特别是废水处理能与微生物产电相结合的研究成果,使污水、污泥、垃圾等环境污染物的治理有可能成为生物质能源的生产过程,展示了微生物燃料电池的广泛应用前景.本文着重综述微生物燃料电池在构造上的进展,并介绍了其在水处理中的应用前景.图8参56     

Microbial transformations in deep-sea sediments: free-vehicle studies

Radiotracer techniques can be used to assess eitherin-situ metabolic activities of natural microbial populations or potential turnover rates of specific substrates under the givenin-situ conditions. The second approach has been used in deep-sea sediment studies where steady-state conditions are unlikely to occur because of the heterogeneous distribution of nutrients as a result of a patchy input by depositing particulates. Recent sediment trap studies have shown that particulate matter reaching the deep sea does contain simple organic compounds. Therefore, the present experiments dealt with the measurement of carbon incorporation and respiration of¹⁴C-labeled acetate, glucose, glutamate and trimethylamine in deepsea sediments. Free vehicles, i.e. aluminum framed tripods that descend untethered to the deep sea floor and return automatically, were used for thein-situ injection and incubation of cores at depths of 2600 to 5330 m. The data were compared to those obtained from (1) parallel samples incubated at 1 atm andin-situ temperature and (2) a shallow-water station (Buzzards Bay, 12 m). Rates measuredin situ generally decrease with water depth as well as with depth in the upper 9 cm of top sediment. In most experiments, rates measured in the 1 atm controls were higher than those observedin situ. This fact supports the general notion that natural populations of deep-sea sediment contain barotolerant and barophilic microorganisms in varying proportions.     

Microbial remediation of aromatics-contaminated soil

Aromatics-contaminated soil is of particular environmental concern as it exhibits carcinogenic and mutagenic properties. Bioremediation, a biological approach for the removal of soil contaminants, has several advantages over traditional soil remediation methodologies including high efficiency, complete pollutant removal, low expense and limited or no secondary pollution. Bioaugmentation, defined as the introduction of specific competent strains or consortia of microorganisms, is a widely applied bioremediation technology for soil remediation. In this review, it is concluded which several successful studies of bioaugmentation of aromatics-contaminated soil by single strains or mixed consortia. In recent decades, a number of reports have been published on the metabolic machinery of aromatics degradation by microorganisms and their capacity to adapt to aromatics-contaminated environments. Thus, microorganisms are major players in site remediation. The bioremediation/bioaugmentation process relies on the immense metabolic capacities of microbes for transformation of aromatic pollutants into essentially harmless or, at least, less toxic compounds. Aromatics-contaminated soils are successfully remediated with adding not only single strains but also bacterial or fungal consortia. Furthermore several novel approaches, which microbes combined with physical, chemical or biological factors, increase remediation efficiency of aromatics-contaminated soil. Meanwhile, the environmental factors also have appreciable impacts on the bioaugmentation process. The biostatistics method is recommended for analysis of the effects of bioaugmentation treatments.

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Sexual exchange relationships in captive chimpanzees?

Summary In a group of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), we studied whether females received more social benefits from males when they were in oestrus than at other times and whether males distributed their beneficial acts especially to females with whom they mated more frequently. When in oestrus, females were groomed more frequently by males than at other times. There was an indication that females were groomed especially by those males with whom they mated more often. From the male point of view, the relationship between active grooming and copulation frequency held only in interactions with oestrous females. No difference was found in the male's tendency to share food with females in oestrous or anoestrous condition. Further, clear disadvantages were associated with being in oestrus: females received support from males less frequently and were more often involved in conflicts with males than in their anoestrous period. Higher ranking males did not mate more often. No relationship was found between the frequency with which a male copulated with a given female and her dominance rank, age or parity, nor did he support her or share food more often with her.     

重金属污染土壤的微生物响应

土壤微生物在受到重金属污染胁迫后，往往能够在区系组成、生理生化、遗传等方面对重金属作出响应。微生物对土壤重金属污染的上述响应可用来评价土壤的重金属污染状况，并为土壤污染的生物修复提供理论指导。文章对近年来有关重金属胁迫下土壤微生物响应的研究成果作系统综述。     

Shifts in Microbial Communities, Microbial Biomass and Organic Matter Mineralization for Three Mediterranean Soils Contaminated By Metals

Microbial communities (phospholipid fatty acid pattern, bacterial growing strategies, eco-physiological index (EPI) and total bacteria counts, as a number of heterotrophic cuhurable bacteria), substrate-induced respiration (SIR), and nitrogen mineralization were studied in three Mediterranean soils at three different depth levels (A, B and C). Soils were experimentally treated with a final concentration of 1000 ppm of trace metals (Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Al³⁺, Fe²⁺, Pb²⁺, Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺, Cr³⁺ and Cd²⁺). Soils were stored in 571 plastic containers for one year, and watered with 1001 during this period. Leachate was recovered through a bottom tap. Samples of the three depths were studied. Soil microbial communities showed different effects to other studies presented in the literature, but carried out on non-Mediterranean soils. Dramatic differences were found between treated soils and untreated ones, but not between soils or horizons. the treated soil displayed a decrease in CFUs, SIR N-mineralization and EPI together with a dominance of r-growing strategists. the relative moles percent of several PLFAs, especially 15:0, 16: 1ω7, cy17: 0, br18:0 and 18: 1ω7 decreased because of the pollution of soils, whereas 10Me16, 18:2ω6, cy19:0, i16:0 and br17:0 showed higher values than in untreated soils.     

Shifts in Microbial Communities,Microbial Biomass and Organic Matter Mineralization for Three Mediterranean Soils Contaminated By Metals

Microbial communities (phospholipid fatty acid pattern, bacterial growing strategies, eco-physiological index (EPI) and total bacteria counts, as a number of heterotrophic cuhurable bacteria), substrate-induced respiration (SIR), and nitrogen mineralization were studied in three Mediterranean soils at three different depth levels (A, B and C). Soils were experimentally treated with a final concentration of 1000 ppm of trace metals (Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Al³⁺, Fe²⁺, Pb²⁺, Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺, Cr³⁺ and Cd²⁺). Soils were stored in 571 plastic containers for one year, and watered with 1001 during this period. Leachate was recovered through a bottom tap. Samples of the three depths were studied. Soil microbial communities showed different effects to other studies presented in the literature, but carried out on non-Mediterranean soils. Dramatic differences were found between treated soils and untreated ones, but not between soils or horizons. the treated soil displayed a decrease in CFUs, SIR N-mineralization and EPI together with a dominance of r-growing strategists. the relative moles percent of several PLFAs, especially 15:0, 16: 1ω7, cy17: 0, br18:0 and 18: 1ω7 decreased because of the pollution of soils, whereas 10Me16, 18:2ω6, cy19:0, i16:0 and br17:0 showed higher values than in untreated soils.     

Microbial nitrogen limitation increases decomposition

With anthropogenic nutrient inputs to ecosystems increasing globally, there are long-standing, fundamental questions about the role of nutrients in the decomposition of organic matter. We tested the effects of exogenous nitrogen and phosphorus inputs on litter decomposition across a broad suite of litter and soil types. In one experiment, C mineralization was compared across a wide array of plants individually added to a single soil, while in the second, C mineralization from a single substrate was compared across 50 soils. Counter to basic stoichiometric decomposition theory, low N availability can increase litter decomposition as microbes use labile substrates to acquire N from recalcitrant organic matter. This "microbial nitrogen mining" is consistently suppressed by high soil N supply or substrate N concentrations. There is no evidence for phosphorus mining as P fertilization increases short- and long-term mineralization. These results suggest that basic stoichiometric decomposition theory needs to be revised and ecosystem models restructured accordingly in order to predict ecosystem carbon storage responses to anthropogenic changes in nutrient availability.     

Consumer-resource body-size relationships in natural food webs

It has been suggested that differences in body size between consumer and resource species may have important implications for interaction strengths, population dynamics, and eventually food web structure, function, and evolution. Still, the general distribution of consumer-'resource body-size ratios in real ecosystems, and whether they vary systematically among habitats or broad taxonomic groups, is poorly understood. Using a unique global database on consumer and resource body sizes, we show that the mean body-size ratios of aquatic herbivorous and detritivorous consumers are several orders of magnitude larger than those of carnivorous predators. Carnivorous predator-prey body-size ratios vary across different habitats and predator and prey types (invertebrates, ectotherm, and endotherm vertebrates). Predator-prey body-size ratios are on average significantly higher (1) in freshwater habitats than in marine or terrestrial habitats, (2) for vertebrate than for invertebrate predators, and (3) for invertebrate than for ectotherm vertebrate prey. If recent studies that relate body-size ratios to interaction strengths are general, our results suggest that mean consumer-resource interaction strengths may vary systematically across different habitat categories and consumer types.     

Microbial RNA and DNA synthesis in marine sediments

A technique for measuring rates of RNA and DNA synthesis in sedimentary microbial communities has been adapted from methods developed for marine and freshwater microplankton research. The procedure measures the uptake, incorporation and turnover of exogenous [2, ³H]-adenine by benthic microbial populations. With minor modification, it is applicable to a wide range of sediment types. Measurement of nucleic acid synthesis rates are reported from selected benthic marine environments, including coral reef sediments (Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii), intertidal beach sands (Oahu and southern California) and California borderland basin sediment (San Pedro Basin), and comparisons are made to selected water-column microbial communities. Biomass-specific rates of nucleic acid synthesis in sediment microbial communities were comparable to those observed in water-column assemblages (i.e., 0.02 to 2.0 pmol deoxyadenine incorporated into DNA [ng ATP]^-1 h^-1 and 0.2 to 8.9 pmol adenine incorporated into RNA [ng ATP]^-1 h^-1). DNA synthesis rates were used to calculate carbon production estimates ranging from 2 g C cm^-3 h^-1 in San Pedro Basin sediment (880 m water depth) to 807 g C cm^-3 h^-1 in coral reef sediment from the Kaneohe Bay. Microbial community specific growth rate, (d^-1), estimated from DNA synthesis rates in surface sediments ranged from 0.1 in San Pedro Basin to 4.2 in Scripps Beach (La Jolla, California) intertidal sand.