An important aspect of the global problem of plastic debris pollution is plastic buoyancy. There is some evidence that buoyancy is influenced by attached biofilms but as yet this is poorly understood. We submerged polyethylene plastic in seawater and sampled weekly for 3 weeks in order to study early stage processes. Microbial biofilms developed rapidly on the plastic and coincided with significant changes in the physicochemical properties of the plastic. Submerged plastic became less hydrophobic and more neutrally buoyant during the experiment. Bacteria readily colonised the plastic but there was no indication that plastic-degrading microorganisms were present. This study contributes to improved understanding of the fate of plastic debris in the marine environment. 相似文献
To determine the existence of p-nitrophenol (PNP)-lowering bacteria in intestine of Japanese coastal fish, the gastro-intestinal contents were incubated in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth and minimal medium (MM) broths containing 1 mmol/L PNP at 30 °C for 7 days. Among 26 samples of 19 fish species, 17 samples showed a decrease in PNP of 0.5-0.8 mmol/L in BHI broth, but no decrease was shown in MM broth. Eighteen PNP-lowering bacterial strains were isolated from four fishes. All of the strains were identified as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis. Three L. lactis strains JS1-3 isolated from Japanese seabass Lateolabrax japonicus showed the highest PNP-lowering activity (0.44 mmol/L). Optimum temperature and pH for the growth and PNP decreasing corresponded with the marine environment. These results suggested that marine fishes have PNP decreasing bacteria in their intestine. These bacteria might protect host fish from toxicities of PNP and PNP related compounds. 相似文献
The resistance of bacteria to 12 different antibiotics was investigated in shrimp farms on Donghai Island, China. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria were found to be widespread in shrimp farms, indicating a high environmental risk. Further, significant differences were found in bacterial strains among farms (ANOVA, p < 0.05), showing resistance to antibiotics such as ampicillin, trimethoprim, compound sinomi, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and cefazolin. No significant differences in antibiotic resistance were found among 6 hatcheries evaluated in this study (ANOVA, p > 0.05), between exalted and traditional shrimp ponds (ANOVA, p > 0.05), and between cultural ponds and corresponding control water source sites (T-test, p > 0.05). In cultural ponds, no significant difference in bacterial resistance to antibiotics was found between water and sediment (T-test, p > 0.05), and antibiotic resistance of bacteria from water showed a significant positive correlation with that from sediment (p < 0.05). Therefore, our study indicates that bacterial multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) is more widespread in shrimp hatcheries than ponds. 相似文献
The Mawsmai cave and Krem Phyllut caves, East Khasi hills, Meghalaya, India has so far not yet attracted the attention of
geomicrobiologists. Observations and hypotheses on the possible influence of identified microorganisms for speleothem formations
in Meghalaya are reported for the first time. XRD studies identified calcite in speleothems and gypsum in cave wall deposits
as the dominant minerals. SEM-EDAX showed interesting microfabric features showing strong resemblance with fossilised bacteria,
calcified filaments, needle calcite and numerous nano scale calcite crystals, highly weathered and disintegrated crystals
of calcite, that point towards a significant microbial influence in its genesis. Thin section petrography showed laminated
stromatolitic features. The microorganisms identified by conventional isolation and further evaluation of isolates by molecular
techniques include Bacillus cereus, Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus licheniformis, Micrococcus luteus, and Actinomycetes. Microscopic observations also showed unidentifiable cocci and four unidentifiable strains of CaSO4 (gypsum) precipitating bacteria. Experimental studies confirmed that these bacteria are able to precipitate calcium minerals
(calcite, gypsum, minor amounts of dolomite) in the laboratory. These results allow us to postulate that species like these
may contribute to active biogenic influence in the cave formations at Meghalaya. 相似文献
A systematic study of the lipid composition of thirteen bacterial species and three Recent sediments (methanogenic sediment, cyanobacterial mat and evaporative gypsum crust) was undertaken in an attempt to recognize bacterial organic matter in sediments. A sequential method, which distinguishes between three different modes of occurrence of lipid moieties (free, OH−- and H+-labile), was applied. The acid-labile fractions are discussed.The three main groups of bacteria, archaebacteria, gram-positive eubacteria and gram-negative eubacteria, are easily distinguished. Methanogenic and extremely halophilic archaebacteria are characterized by the presence of diphytanyl glyceryl ether and the absence of fatty acids. The gram-positive eubacteria contain primarily iso- and anteiso-branched fatty acids whereas the gram-negative bacteria and sediments are dominated by β- and α-hydroxy fatty acids. A wide variety of H+-labile hydroxy fatty acids was observed which included several, as yet unknown, structures.β-Hydroxy fatty acids in this H+-labile mode of occurrence are exclusively present in bacteria. Their distribution patterns in sediments are considered “fingerprints” of past and present bacterial populations. The specific differences in β -hydroxy fatty acid compositions observed in the different bacteria and the three sediments investigated, suggest that amide-linked β-hydroxy fatty acid patterns are useful as markers of bacterial populations and therefore of environmental conditions. 相似文献
The objective of the present survey was to assess the microbiological quality of river waters used mainly to irrigate the large plains of Macedonia and Thessaly in Northern Greece. Five rivers (Aliakmonas, Axios, Loudias, Mavroneri and Pineios) were sampled during a 10‐month period (June 2002 – March 2003) for Total Microbial Flora (TMF) at 22 °C and 37 °C, Total Coliforms (TC), Fecal Coliforms (FC), enterococci, staphylococci, Pseudomonas, fungi, Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. The results indicate moderate to high microbiological pollution, with the highest levels of microbial pollution found in Mavroneri and Pineios Rivers, and moderate pollution levels in Aliakmonas, Axios and Loudias Rivers. The extent of microbiological pollution is accentuated by the fact that Giardia‐ and/or Cryptosporidium cysts were detected in nine out of eleven samples collected in June 2002 with excessive Giardia counts demonstrated for Pineios River. The microbiological pollution of the surveyed rivers is attributed to various degrees of human interference and to lack of ample pollution monitoring systems, which emphasize the need for implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive. 相似文献
Most anti-tumour agents are known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, embryotoxic or fetotoxic. Only little is known about the environmental impact of pharmaceuticals. Unmetabolized active substances are excreted and will show up in municipal wastewater. Therefore, we examined the biodegradability of the widely used anti-tumour agent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), also as an example for assessing the impact of hospital effluent on the biodegradation of a test compound. The biodegradability of the structurally similar anti-tumour agents cytarabine and gemcitabine was also examined. Test systems used were the closed bottle test (OECD 301 D) and the modified Zahn-Wellens test (OECD 302 B). 5-FU was not biodegradable in the closed bottle test (CBT) nor in the Zahn-Wellens test (ZWT). At the highest concentration of 5-FU, with hospital effluent an inhibition of the degradation of substances present in hospital effluent was observed, probably as a result of a synergistic effect by 5-FU with antibiotics present in hospital sewage. Gemcitabine was biodegraded 42% in the CBT. The prolongation of the test period to 40 days only improved the result to 45%. In the ZWT, the biodegradation of gemcitabine was 50%. Cytarabine was partially biodegraded in the CBT (50%), but only after an adaptation period of 20 days. After a test prolongation to 40 days, the degree of biodegradation was 80%. In the ZWT, the biodegradability was > 95% after only a few days. 相似文献
Previous research by our group (e.g., [Chem. Geol. 132 (1996) 25; Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 64 (2000) 1363]) has shown that an aerobic Pseudomonas mendocina bacterium enhances Fe(hydr)oxide dissolution in order to obtain Fe under Fe-limited conditions. The P. mendocina is incapable of utilizing Fe as a terminal electron acceptor and requires several orders of magnitude lower Fe concentrations than do dissimilatory Fe reducing bacteria. The research reported here compared the effects of the P. mendocina on dissolution of well and poorly ordered Clay Minerals Society Source Clay kaolinites KGa-1b and KGa-2, respectively, under Fe-limited conditions. KGa-1b and KGa-2 contain 0.04 and 0.94 bulk wt.% Fe, respectively, and their surface Fe/Si atomic RATIOS=0.008 and 0.012. Following strong cleaning of the kaolinites in 5.8 M HCl at 85 °C, the surface Fe/Si atomic ratios decreased to 0.004 and 0.008, respectively. Both kaolinites also developed a Si-enriched surface precipitate upon strong cleaning.
Because the P. mendocina take up Fe, we could not measure Fe release from the kaolinite directly, but rather had to monitor it indirectly by comparing microbial populations sizes under Fe-limited growth conditions. We found that microbial growth on uncleaned, weakly cleaned, and strongly cleaned kaolinites increased with the amount of Fe readily available to organic ligands as estimated by dissolution in 0.001 M oxalate (pH 3). This suggests that it is the amount of readily accessible Fe that controls Fe acquisition and hence microbial growth. The trend is based on only a relatively small range of kaolinite Fe contents, and the research thus needs to be expanded to include kaolinites with a broader range of bulk and surface Fe concentrations.
Significant enhancement of Al release was observed in the presence of the bacteria, along with generally some enhancement of Si release. This enhancement of kaolinite dissolution could be related to an observed pH increase from 7–8 to 9 in the presence of the bacteria and/or to production of Al chelating agents. The P. mendocina produce a variety of organic exudates, including siderophores [Chem. Geol. 132 (1996) 25; Geomicrobiology (2001b)], and further studies into the effects of the siderophores on Al complexation and on kaolinite dissolution are ongoing. 相似文献