Differences in Eubacterial and Archaeal Soil Communities Along a Precipitation Transect in the Mojave Desert
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Occurrence and Phylogenetic Diversity in Halobacteriales Afef Najjari, Hiba Mejri, Marwa Jabbari, Haitham Sghaier, Ameur Cherif and Hadda-Imene Ouzari
Chapter Halocins, Bacteriocin-Like Antimicrobials Produced by the Archaeal Domain: Occurrence and Phylogenetic Diversity in Halobacteriales Afef Najjari, Hiba Mejri, Marwa Jabbari, Haitham Sghaier, Ameur Cherif and Hadda-Imene Ouzari Abstract Members of extremely halophilic archaea, currently consisting of more than 56 genera and 216 species, are known to produce their specific bacteriocin-like pep- tides and proteins called halocins, synthesized by the ribosomal pathway. Halocins are diverse in size, consisting of proteins as large as 35 kDa and peptide “microhalo- cins” as small as 3.6 kDa. Today, about fifteen halocins have been described and only three genes, halC8, halS8 and halH4, coding C8, S8 and H4 halocins respectively have been identified. In this study, a total of 1858 of complete and nearly complete genome sequences of Halobacteria class members were retrieved from the IMG and Genbank databases and then screened for halocin encoding gene content, based on the BLASTP algorithm. A total of 61 amino acid sequences belonging to three halocins classes (C8, HalH4 and S8) were identified within 15 genera with the abun- dance of C8 class. Phylogenetic analysis based on amino acids sequences showed a clear segregation of the three halocins classes. Halocin S8 was phylogenetically more close to HalH4. No clear segregation on species and genera levels was observed based on halocin C8 analysiscontrary to HalH4 based analysis. Collectively, these results give an overview on halocins diversity within halophilic archaea which can open new research topics that will shed light on halocins as marker for haloarchaeal phylogentic delineation. Keywords: archaea, bioinformatics, diversity, halocins, phylogeny 1. -
Rain Shadows
WEB TUTORIAL 24.2 Rain Shadows Text Sections Section 24.4 Earth's Physical Environment, p. 428 Introduction Atmospheric circulation patterns strongly influence the Earth's climate. Although there are distinct global patterns, local variations can be explained by factors such as the presence of absence of mountain ranges. In this tutorial we will examine the effects on climate of a mountain range like the Andes of South America. Learning Objectives • Understand the effects that topography can have on climate. • Know what a rain shadow is. Narration Rain Shadows Why might the communities at a certain latitude in South America differ from those at a similar latitude in Africa? For example, how does the distribution of deserts on the western side of South America differ from the distribution seen in Africa? What might account for this difference? Unlike the deserts of Africa, the Atacama Desert in Chile is a result of topography. The Andes mountain chain extends the length of South America and has a pro- nounced influence on climate, disrupting the tidy latitudinal patterns that we see in Africa. Let's look at the effects on climate of a mountain range like the Andes. The prevailing winds—which, in the Andes, come from the southeast—reach the foot of the mountains carrying warm, moist air. As the air mass moves up the wind- ward side of the range, it expands because of the reduced pressure of the column of air above it. The rising air mass cools and can no longer hold as much water vapor. The water vapor condenses into clouds and results in precipitation in the form of rain and snow, which fall on the windward slope. -
Microbiological Study of Fresh White Cheese - 129
Pesic-Mikulec.: Microbiological study of fresh white cheese - 129 - MICROBIOLOGICAL STUDY OF FRESH WHITE CHEESE (A SERBIAN CRAFT VARIETY) D PEŠIĆ-MIKULEC1 − L. JOVANOVIĆ2 e-mail: [email protected] 1 Veterinary Research Institute 11050 Belgrade, Borivoja Stevanovića 2., Serbia and Montenegro 2 BK University, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro (Received 7th March 2005, accepted 4th August 2005) Abstract. The levels of several microbial groups of aerobic mesophilic flora, aerobic psychrotrophic flora, lactic acid bacteria, Micrococcaceae, enterococci, Enterobacteriaceae, and molds and yeasts were investigated during the manufacture of fresh white cheese of a Serbian craft variety without the addition of starter culture. This variety of cheese is made in farmhouses from cow, sheep and goat's milk. White fresh cheese from mountain villages of Serbia has economical importance for this area. The study of the microbial characteristics of this cheese constitutes the first step towards the establishment of a starter culture which would allow the making of a product both more uniform and safer. The total microbial counts were high in these variety of cheeses. Almost all the microbial groups reached their maximum counts in curd. Lactic acid bacteria were the major microbial group, reaching count similar to the total aerobic mesophilic flora at all sampling points. Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis dominated in milk (62,5%) of the isolates obtained in the Man Rogosa Sharpe (MRS) agar at these sampling points, while the Lactobacillus casei subs.casei was the most predominant species (83,5% of isolates obtained at these sampling points). The purpose of this study was to investigate the microflora of white cheeses with special emphasis on the autochthonous lactic acid bacteria involved in fermentation of this cheeses depending on the geographical location where the cheeses were manufactured. -
M O J a V E D E S E R T I S S U E S a Secondary
MOJAVE DESERT ISSUES A Secondary School Curriculum Bruce W. Bridenbecker & Darleen K. Stoner, Ph.D. Research Assistant Gail Uchwat Mojave Desert Issues was funded with a grant from the National Park �� Foundation. Parks as Classrooms is the educational program of the National ����� �� ���������� Park Service in partnership with the National Park Foundation. Design by Amy Yee and Sandra Kaye Published in 1999 and printed on recycled paper ii iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks to the following people for their contribution to this work: Elayn Briggs, Bureau of Land Management Caryn Davidson, National Park Service Larry Ellis, Banning High School Lorenza Fong, National Park Service Veronica Fortun, Bureau of Land Management Corky Hays, National Park Service Lorna Lange-Daggs, National Park Service Dave Martell, Pinon Mesa Middle School David Moore, National Park Service Ruby Newton, National Park Service Carol Peterson, National Park Service Pete Ricards, Twentynine Palms Highschool Kay Rohde, National Park Service Dennis Schramm, National Park Service Jo Simpson, Bureau of Land Management Kirsten Talken, National Park Service Cindy Zacks, Yucca Valley Highschool Joe Zarki, National Park Service The following specialists provided information: John Anderson, California Department of Fish & Game Dave Bieri, National Park Service �� John Crossman, California Department of Parks and Recreation ����� �� ���������� Don Fife, American Land Holders Association Dana Harper, National Park Service Judy Hohman, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Becky Miller, California -
Australia: State of the Environment 1996: Chapter 4
Chapter 4 . Biodiversity ‘Still Flying’ from the painting of a Wandering Albatross by Richard Prepared by Weatherly. Denis Saunders (Chair), CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology Andrew Beattie, Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University Susannah Eliott (Research Assistant/Science Writer), Centre for Science Communication, University of Technology, Sydney Marilyn Fox, School of Geography, University of New South Wales Burke Hill, CSIRO Division of Fisheries Bob Pressey, New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service Duncan Veal, Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University Jackie Venning, State of Environment Reporting, South Australian Department of Environment and Natural Resources Mathew Maliel (State of the Environment Reporting Unit member), Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories (Facilitator) Charlie Zammit (former State of the Environment Reporting Unit member), Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories (former Facilitator) 4-1 . Australia: State of the Environment 1996 . Contents Introduction. 4-4 Pressure . 4-7 Human populations . 4-9 Urban development . 4-9 Tourism and recreation . 4-9 Harvesting resources and land use. 4-10 Fisheries . 4-10 Forestry . 4-11 Pastoralism. 4-12 Agriculture . 4-12 Introduced species . 4-16 Vertebrates . 4-16 Invertebrates. 4-17 Plants. 4-18 Micro-organisms. 4-20 Native species out of place . 4-20 Pollution . 4-21 Mining . 4-22 Climate change . 4-22 State . 4-23 The state of ecosystem diversity . 4-23 Biogeographic regionalisations for Australia . 4-23 Ecosystem diversity. 4-26 The state of species diversity. 4-30 Number and distribution of species . 4-31 Status of species . -
An Integrated Analysis of the March 2015 Atacama Floods
PUBLICATIONS Geophysical Research Letters RESEARCH LETTER An integrated analysis of the March 2015 10.1002/2016GL069751 Atacama floods Key Points: Andrew C. Wilcox1, Cristian Escauriaza2,3, Roberto Agredano2,3,EmmanuelMignot2,4, Vicente Zuazo2,3, • Unique atmospheric, hydrologic, and 2,3,5 2,3,6 2,3,7,8 2,3 9 geomorphic factors generated the Sebastián Otárola ,LinaCastro , Jorge Gironás , Rodrigo Cienfuegos , and Luca Mao fl largest ood ever recorded in the 1 2 Atacama Desert Department of Geosciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA, Departamento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y 3 • The sediment-rich nature of the flood Ambiental, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile, Centro de Investigación para la Gestión Integrada de resulted from valley-fill erosion rather Desastres Naturales (CIGIDEN), Santiago, Chile, 4University of Lyon, INSA Lyon, CNRS, LMFA UMR5509, Villeurbanne, France, than hillslope unraveling 5Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA, 6Escuela de • Anthropogenic factors increased the fi 7 consequences of the flood and Ingeniería Civil, Ponti cia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile, Centro de Desarrollo Urbano Sustentable 8 highlight the need for early-warning (CEDEUS), Santiago, Chile, Centro Interdisciplinario de Cambio Global, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, systems Chile, 9Departamento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile Supporting Information: Abstract In March 2015 unusual ocean and atmospheric conditions produced many years’ worth of • Supporting Information S1 rainfall in a ~48 h period over northern Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of Earth’s driest regions, resulting in Correspondence to: catastrophic flooding. -
Ecoregions of Nevada Ecoregion 5 Is a Mountainous, Deeply Dissected, and Westerly Tilting Fault Block
5 . S i e r r a N e v a d a Ecoregions of Nevada Ecoregion 5 is a mountainous, deeply dissected, and westerly tilting fault block. It is largely composed of granitic rocks that are lithologically distinct from the sedimentary rocks of the Klamath Mountains (78) and the volcanic rocks of the Cascades (4). A Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, Vegas, Reno, and Carson City areas. Most of the state is internally drained and lies Literature Cited: high fault scarp divides the Sierra Nevada (5) from the Northern Basin and Range (80) and Central Basin and Range (13) to the 2 2 . A r i z o n a / N e w M e x i c o P l a t e a u east. Near this eastern fault scarp, the Sierra Nevada (5) reaches its highest elevations. Here, moraines, cirques, and small lakes and quantity of environmental resources. They are designed to serve as a spatial within the Great Basin; rivers in the southeast are part of the Colorado River system Bailey, R.G., Avers, P.E., King, T., and McNab, W.H., eds., 1994, Ecoregions and subregions of the Ecoregion 22 is a high dissected plateau underlain by horizontal beds of limestone, sandstone, and shale, cut by canyons, and United States (map): Washington, D.C., USFS, scale 1:7,500,000. are especially common and are products of Pleistocene alpine glaciation. Large areas are above timberline, including Mt. Whitney framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and those in the northeast drain to the Snake River. -
Effects of Salinity on the Cellular Physiological Responses of Natrinema Sp
RESEARCH ARTICLE Effects of salinity on the cellular physiological responses of Natrinema sp. J7-2 Yunjun Mei1*, Huan Liu1, Shunxi Zhang1, Ming Yang1, Chun Hu1, Jian Zhang1, Ping Shen2, Xiangdong Chen2* 1 School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, Hubei, China, 2 State Key Laboratory of Virology, College of Life Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China * [email protected] (YM); [email protected] (XC) a1111111111 Abstract a1111111111 a1111111111 The halophilic archaea (haloarchaea) live in hyersaline environments such as salt lakes, a1111111111 a1111111111 salt ponds and marine salterns. To cope with the salt stress conditions, haloarchaea have developed two fundamentally different strategies: the "salt-in" strategy and the "compatible- solute" strategy. Although investigation of the molecular mechanisms underlying the toler- ance to high salt concentrations has made outstanding achievements, experimental study from the aspect of transcription is rare. In the present study, we monitored cellular physiol- OPEN ACCESS ogy of Natrinema sp. J7-2 cells incubated in different salinity media (15%, 25% and 30% Citation: Mei Y, Liu H, Zhang S, Yang M, Hu C, NaCl) from several aspects, such as cellular morphology, growth, global transcriptome and Zhang J, et al. (2017) Effects of salinity on the cellular physiological responses of Natrinema sp. the content of intracellular free amino acids. The results showed that the cells were polymor- J7-2. PLoS ONE 12(9): e0184974. https://doi.org/ phic and fragile at a low salt concentration (15% NaCl) but had a long, slender rod shape at 10.1371/journal.pone.0184974 high salt concentrations (25% and 30% NaCl). -
38 Antarctic Dry Valleys
38 Antarctic Dry Valleys: 1. The Antarctic environment and the Antarctic Dry Valleys. 2. Cold-based glaciers and their contrast with wet-based glaciers. 3. Microclimate zones in the Antarctic Dry Valleys (ADV) and their implications. 4. Landforms on Earth and Mars: A comparative analysis of analogs. 5. Biological activity in cold-polar deserts. 6. Problems in Antarctic Geoscience and their application to Mars. The Dry Valleys: A Hyper-Arid Cold Polar Desert Temperate Wet-Based Glaciers Cold-Based Glaciers Antarctic Dry Valleys: Morphological Zonation, Variable Geomorphic Processes, and Implications for Assessing Climate Change on Mars Antarctic Dry Valleys • 4000 km2; Mountain topography – (2800 m relief). • Coldest, driest desert on Earth. • Mean annual temperature: -20o C. • Mean annual snowfall (CWV): – Min. = <0.6 cm; Max. = 10 cm. – Fate of snow: Sublimate or melt. • A hyperarid cold polar desert. • Topography controls katabatic wind flow: – Funneled through valleys, warmed by adiabatic compression. – Enhances surface temperatures, increases sublimation rates of ice and snow. • Bedrock topography governs local distribution of snow and ice: • Biology sparse: ~1 mm “Antarctic mite”; microscopic nematodes. • Environment very useful for understanding Mars climate change. Antarctic Dry Valleys • 4000 km2; Mountain topography – (2800 m relief). • Coldest and driest desert on Earth. • Mean annual temperature: -20o C. • Mean annual snowfall (CWV): – Minimum = <0.6 cm; Maximum = 10 cm. – Fate of snow: Sublimate or melt. • Generally a hyperarid cold polar desert. • Topography controls katabatic wind flow: – Funneled through valleys, warmed by adiabatic compression. – Enhance surface temperatures, increase sublimation rates of ice and snow. • Bedrock topography governs local distribution of snow and ice: • Biology sparse: ~1 mm-sized “Antarctic mite”; microscopic nematodes. -
Table S4. Phylogenetic Distribution of Bacterial and Archaea Genomes in Groups A, B, C, D, and X
Table S4. Phylogenetic distribution of bacterial and archaea genomes in groups A, B, C, D, and X. Group A a: Total number of genomes in the taxon b: Number of group A genomes in the taxon c: Percentage of group A genomes in the taxon a b c cellular organisms 5007 2974 59.4 |__ Bacteria 4769 2935 61.5 | |__ Proteobacteria 1854 1570 84.7 | | |__ Gammaproteobacteria 711 631 88.7 | | | |__ Enterobacterales 112 97 86.6 | | | | |__ Enterobacteriaceae 41 32 78.0 | | | | | |__ unclassified Enterobacteriaceae 13 7 53.8 | | | | |__ Erwiniaceae 30 28 93.3 | | | | | |__ Erwinia 10 10 100.0 | | | | | |__ Buchnera 8 8 100.0 | | | | | | |__ Buchnera aphidicola 8 8 100.0 | | | | | |__ Pantoea 8 8 100.0 | | | | |__ Yersiniaceae 14 14 100.0 | | | | | |__ Serratia 8 8 100.0 | | | | |__ Morganellaceae 13 10 76.9 | | | | |__ Pectobacteriaceae 8 8 100.0 | | | |__ Alteromonadales 94 94 100.0 | | | | |__ Alteromonadaceae 34 34 100.0 | | | | | |__ Marinobacter 12 12 100.0 | | | | |__ Shewanellaceae 17 17 100.0 | | | | | |__ Shewanella 17 17 100.0 | | | | |__ Pseudoalteromonadaceae 16 16 100.0 | | | | | |__ Pseudoalteromonas 15 15 100.0 | | | | |__ Idiomarinaceae 9 9 100.0 | | | | | |__ Idiomarina 9 9 100.0 | | | | |__ Colwelliaceae 6 6 100.0 | | | |__ Pseudomonadales 81 81 100.0 | | | | |__ Moraxellaceae 41 41 100.0 | | | | | |__ Acinetobacter 25 25 100.0 | | | | | |__ Psychrobacter 8 8 100.0 | | | | | |__ Moraxella 6 6 100.0 | | | | |__ Pseudomonadaceae 40 40 100.0 | | | | | |__ Pseudomonas 38 38 100.0 | | | |__ Oceanospirillales 73 72 98.6 | | | | |__ Oceanospirillaceae -
Energy from the Desert
SUMMARY Energy from the Desert Feasibility of Very Large Scale Photovoltaic Power Generation (VLS-PV) Systems EDITOR Kosuke Kurokawa Energy from the Desert SUMMARY Energy from the Desert Feasibility of Very Large Scale Photovoltaic Power Generation (VLS-PV) Systems EDITOR Kosuke Kurokawa PART THREE: SCENARIO STUDIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS Published by James & James (Science Publishers) Ltd 8–12 Camden High Street, London, NW1 0JH, UK © Photovoltaic Power Systems Executive Committee of the International Energy Agency The moral right of the author has been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the copyright holder and the publisher. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Printed in Hong Kong by H&Y Printing Ltd Cover image: Horizon Stock Images / Michael Simmons Neither the authors nor the publisher make any warranty or representation, expressed or implied, with respect to the information contained in this publication, or assume any liability with respect to the use of, or damages resulting from, this information. Please note: in this publication a comma has been used as a decimal point, according to the ISO standard adopted by the International Energy Agency. CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONCLUSIONS OF PART 1 AND PART 2 Contents Foreword vi Preface vii Task VIII Participants viii COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY Objective 1 Background and concept of VLS-PV 1 VLS-PV case studies 1 Scenario studies 2 Understandings 2 R ecommendations 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. -
Extreme Organisms on Earth Show Us Just How Weird Life Elsewhere Could Be. by Chris Impey Astrobiology
Astrobiology Extreme organisms on Earth show us just how weird life elsewhere could be. by Chris Impey How life could thrive on hostile worlds Humans have left their mark all over Earth. We’re proud of our role as nature’s generalists — perhaps not as swift as the gazelle or as strong as the gorilla, but still pretty good at most things. Alone among all species, technology has given us dominion over the planet. Humans are endlessly plucky and adaptable; it seems we can do anything. Strain 121 Yet in truth, we’re frail. From our safe living rooms, we may admire the people who conquer Everest or cross deserts. But without technology, we couldn’t live beyond Earth’s temperate zones. We cannot survive for long in temperatures below freezing or above 104° Fahrenheit (40° Celsius). We can stay underwater only as long as we can hold our breath. Without water to drink we’d die in 3 days. Microbes, on the other hand, are hardy. And within the microbial world lies a band of extremists, organisms that thrive in conditions that would cook, crush, smother, and dissolve most other forms of life. Collectively, they are known as extremophiles, which means, literally, “lovers of extremes.” Extremophiles are found at temperatures above the boiling point and below the freezing point of water, in high salinity, and in strongly acidic conditions. Some can live deep inside rock, and others can go into a freeze-dried “wait state” for tens of thousands of years. Some of these microbes harvest energy from meth- ane, sulfur, and even iron.