environmental microbiology
GeomicrobiologyMolecular Evidence for an Active Microbial Methane Cycle in Subsurface Serpentinite-Hosted Groundwaters in the Samail Ophiolite, OmanSerpentinization of ultramafic rock can generate conditions favorable for microbial methane (CH4) cycling, including the abiotic production of hydrogen (H2) and possibly CH4. Systems of low-temperature serpentinization are geobiological targets due to their potential to harbor microbial life and ubiquity throughout Earth’s history. Biomass in fracture waters collected from the Samail Ophiolite of Oman, a...
Environmental Microbiology | SpotlightNfoR: Chromate Reductase or Flavin Mononucleotide Reductase?Chromate is a toxic by-product of multiple industrial processes. Chromate reduction is an important biological activity that ameliorates Cr(VI) toxicity. Numerous researchers have identified chromate reductase activity by observing chromate reduction. However, all identified chromate reductase enzymes have flavin as a cofactor or use a flavin as a substrate. We show here that NfoR, an enzyme claimed to be a chromate reductase, is in...
Food MicrobiologyBoth Handwashing and an Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer Intervention Reduce Soil and Microbial Contamination on Farmworker Hands during Harvest, but Produce Type MattersThis study demonstrated that the type of produce commodity handled influences the ability of handwashing with soap and water or a two-step alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) intervention to reduce soil and bacterial hand contamination. Handwashing with soap and water, as recommended by the FDA’s Produce Safety Rule, when tested in three agricultural environments, does not always reduce bacterial loads. Consistent with past results, we...
Public and Environmental Health Microbiology | SpotlightPersistence of Bacteriophage Phi 6 on Porous and Nonporous Surfaces and the Potential for Its Use as an Ebola Virus or Coronavirus SurrogateUnderstanding the persistence of enveloped viruses helps inform infection control practices and procedures in health care facilities and community settings. These data convey to public health investigators that enveloped viruses can persist and remain infective on surfaces, thus demonstrating a potential risk for transmission. Under these laboratory-simulated Western indoor hospital conditions, we assessed the suitability of phi 6 as a...
Microbial EcologyMicrobial Ecology of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) Hatcheries: Impacts of the Built Environment on Fish Mucosal MicrobiotaAtlantic salmon, Salmo salar, is the most farmed marine fish worldwide, with an annual production of 2,248 million metric tons in 2016. Salmon hatcheries are increasingly changing from flowthrough toward recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) design to accommodate more control over production along with improved environmental sustainability due to lower impacts on...
Environmental Microbiology | SpotlightBacterial Glycogen Provides Short-Term Benefits in Changing EnvironmentsNothing is constant in life, and microbes in particular have to adapt to frequent and rapid environmental changes. Here, we used real-time metabolomics and single-cell imaging to demonstrate that the internal storage polymer glycogen plays a crucial role in such dynamic adaptations. Glycogen is depleted within minutes of glucose starvation and similarly is replenished within minutes of glucose availability. Cells capable of utilizing...
MethodsUse of High-Resolution Pressure Nephelometry To Measure Gas Vesicle Collapse as a Means of Determining Growth and Turgor Changes in Planktonic CyanobacteriaThe increased prevalence of bloom-forming cyanobacteria and associated risk of exposure to cyanobacterial toxins through drinking water utilities and recreational waterways are growing public health concerns. Cost-effective, early-detection methodologies specific to cyanobacteria are crucial for mitigating these risks, with a gas vesicle-specific signal offering a number of benefits over photopigment fluorescence, including improved...
Environmental Microbiology | SpotlightBiological Ice-Nucleating Particles Deposited Year-Round in Subtropical PrecipitationThe particles most effective at inducing the freezing of water in the atmosphere are microbiological in origin; however, information on the species harboring this phenotype, their environmental distribution, and ecological sources are very limited. Analysis of precipitation collected over 2 years in Louisiana showed that INPs active at the warmest temperatures were sourced from terrestrial ecosystems and displayed behaviors that...
Environmental MicrobiologyKinetics of Enzymatic Mercury Methylation at Nanomolar Concentrations Catalyzed by HgcABThe concentration of Hg in the biosphere has increased dramatically over the last century as a result of industrial activities. The microbial conversion of inorganic Hg to MeHg is a global public health concern due to bioaccumulation and biomagnification of MeHg in food webs. Exposure to neurotoxic MeHg through the consumption of fish represents a significant risk to human health and can result in neuropathies and developmental...
MinireviewMolecular Hydrogen, a Neglected Key Driver of Soil Biogeochemical ProcessesThe atmosphere of the early Earth is hypothesized to have been rich in reducing gases such as hydrogen (H2). H2 has been proposed as the first electron donor leading to ATP synthesis due to its ubiquity throughout the biosphere as well as its ability to easily diffuse through microbial cells and its low activation energy requirement.