Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Nitrite Cycling In The Primary Nitrite Maxima Of The Eastern Tropical North Pacific, Nicole M. Travis, Colette L. Kelly, Margaret R. Mulholland, Karen L. Casciotti Jan 2023

Nitrite Cycling In The Primary Nitrite Maxima Of The Eastern Tropical North Pacific, Nicole M. Travis, Colette L. Kelly, Margaret R. Mulholland, Karen L. Casciotti

OES Faculty Publications

The primary nitrite maximum (PNM) is a ubiquitous feature of the upper ocean, where nitrite accumulates in a sharp peak at the base of the euphotic zone. This feature is situated where many chemical and hydrographic properties have strong gradients and the activities of several microbial processes overlap. Near the PNM, four major microbial processes are active in nitrite cycling: ammonia oxidation, nitrite oxidation, nitrate reduction and nitrite uptake. The first two processes are mediated by the nitrifying archaeal/bacterial community, while the second two processes are primarily conducted by phytoplankton. The overlapping spatial habitats and substrate requirements for these microbes …


The Roles Of Microcystin And Sulfide In Physiology And Tactic Responses Of Pathogenic And Non-Pathogenic Mat-Forming Cyanobacteria, Abigael C. Brownell Mar 2014

The Roles Of Microcystin And Sulfide In Physiology And Tactic Responses Of Pathogenic And Non-Pathogenic Mat-Forming Cyanobacteria, Abigael C. Brownell

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Planktothricoides raciborskii and Roseofilum reptotaenium are physiologically similar, yet ecologically distinct organisms found in a hot spring outflow and coral black band disease (BBD), respectively. The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between R. reptotaenium and sulfide in BBD, to compare microcystin (MC) production in response to environmental factors, and to determine chemotactic responses to MC and sulfide by the two organisms. Results showed that the pathogenicity of R. reptotaenium in BBD is dependent on sulfate-reducing bacteria as secondary pathogens. Roseofilum reptotaenium produced significantly more MC than P. raciborskii, as measured using ELISA. Roseofilum reptotaenium …


Deletion Mutant Library For Investigation Of Functional Outputs Of Cyclic Diguanylate Metabolism In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pa14, Dae-Gon Ha, Megan E. Richman, George A. O'Toole Mar 2014

Deletion Mutant Library For Investigation Of Functional Outputs Of Cyclic Diguanylate Metabolism In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pa14, Dae-Gon Ha, Megan E. Richman, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

We constructed a library of in-frame deletion mutants targeting each gene in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA14 predicted to participate in cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) metabolism (biosynthesis or degradation) to provide a toolkit to assist investigators studying c-di-GMP-mediated regulation by this microbe. We present phenotypic assessments of each mutant, including biofilm formation, exopolysaccharide (EPS) production, swimming motility, swarming motility, and twitch motility, as a means to initially characterize these mutants and to demonstrate the potential utility of this library.


Form And Function Of Clostridium Thermocellum Biofilms, Alexandru Dumitrache, Gideon Wolfaardt, Grant Allen, Steven N. Liss, Lee R. Lynd Oct 2012

Form And Function Of Clostridium Thermocellum Biofilms, Alexandru Dumitrache, Gideon Wolfaardt, Grant Allen, Steven N. Liss, Lee R. Lynd

Dartmouth Scholarship

The importance of bacterial adherence has been acknowledged in microbial lignocellulose conversion studies; however, few reports have described the function and structure of biofilms supported by cellulosic substrates. We investigated the organization, dynamic formation, and carbon flow associated with biofilms of the obligately anaerobic cellulolytic bacterium Clostridium thermocellum 27405. Using noninvasive, in situ fluorescence imaging, we showed biofilms capable of near complete substrate conversion with a characteristic monolayered cell structure without an extracellular polymeric matrix typically seen in biofilms. Cell division at the interface and terminal endospores appeared throughout all stages of biofilm growth. Using continuous-flow reactors with a rate …


Parasites Alter Community Structure, Chelsea L. Wood, James E. Byers, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Irit Altman May 2007

Parasites Alter Community Structure, Chelsea L. Wood, James E. Byers, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Irit Altman

Dartmouth Scholarship

Parasites often play an important role in modifying the physiology and behavior of their hosts and may, consequently, mediate the influence hosts have on other components of an ecological community. Along the northern Atlantic coast of North America, the dominant herbivorous snail Littorina littorea structures rocky intertidal communities through strong grazing pressure and is frequently parasitized by the digenean trematode Cryptocotyle lingua. We hypothesized that the effects of parasitism on host physiology would induce behavioral changes in L. littorea, which in turn would modulate L. littorea's influence on intertidal community composition. Specifically, we hypothesized that C. lingua …


Vulnerability Of Pathogenic Biofilms To Micavibrio Aeruginosavorus, Daniel Kadouri, Nel C. Venzon, George A. O'Toole Nov 2006

Vulnerability Of Pathogenic Biofilms To Micavibrio Aeruginosavorus, Daniel Kadouri, Nel C. Venzon, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

The host specificity of the gram-negative exoparasitic predatory bacterium Micavibrio aeruginosavorus was examined. M. aeruginosavorus preyed on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as previously reported, as well as Burkholderia cepacia, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and numerous clinical isolates of these species. In a static assay, a reduction in biofilm biomass was observed as early as 3 hours after exposure to M. aeruginosavorus, and an ∼100-fold reduction in biofilm cell viability was detected following a a 24-h exposure to the predator. We observed that an initial titer of Micavibrio as low as 10 PFU/well or a time of exposure to the predator as short as 30 …


Saccharomyces Cerevisiae-Based Molecular Tool Kit For Manipulation Of Genes From Gram-Negative Bacteria, Robert M. Q. Shanks, Nicky C. Caiazza, Shannon M. Hinsa, Christine M. Toutain, George A. O'Toole Jul 2006

Saccharomyces Cerevisiae-Based Molecular Tool Kit For Manipulation Of Genes From Gram-Negative Bacteria, Robert M. Q. Shanks, Nicky C. Caiazza, Shannon M. Hinsa, Christine M. Toutain, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

A tool kit of vectors was designed to manipulate and express genes from a wide range of gram-negative species by using in vivo recombination. Saccharomyces cerevisiae can use its native recombination proteins to combine several amplicons in a single transformation step with high efficiency. We show that this technology is particularly useful for vector design. Shuttle, suicide, and expression vectors useful in a diverse group of bacteria are described and utilized. This report describes the use of these vectors to mutate clpX and clpP of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and to explore their roles in biofilm formation and surface …


Susceptibility Of Biofilms To Bdellovibrio Bacteriovorus Attack, Daniel Kadouri, George A. O'Toole Jul 2005

Susceptibility Of Biofilms To Bdellovibrio Bacteriovorus Attack, Daniel Kadouri, George A. O'Toole

Dartmouth Scholarship

Biofilms are communities of microorganisms attached to a surface, and the growth of these surface attached communities is thought to provide microorganisms with protection against a range of biotic and abiotic agents. The capability of the gram-negative predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus to control and reduce an existing Escherichia coli biofilm was evaluated in a static assay. A reduction in biofilm biomass was observed as early as 3 h after exposure to the predator, and an 87% reduction in crystal violet staining corresponding to a 4-log reduction in biofilm cell viability was seen after a 24-h exposure period. We observed that …


Cellulose Utilization By Clostridium Thermocellum: Bioenergetics And Hydrolysis Product Assimilation, Yi-Heng P. Zhang, Lee R. Lynd May 2005

Cellulose Utilization By Clostridium Thermocellum: Bioenergetics And Hydrolysis Product Assimilation, Yi-Heng P. Zhang, Lee R. Lynd

Dartmouth Scholarship

The bioenergetics of cellulose utilization by Clostridium thermocellum was investigated. Cell yield and maintenance parameters, Y(X/ATP)True = 16.44 g cell/mol ATP and m = 3.27 mmol ATP/g cell per hour, were obtained from cellobiose-grown chemostats, and it was shown that one ATP is required per glucan transported. Experimentally determined values for G(ATP)P-T (ATP from phosphorolytic beta-glucan cleavage minus ATP for substrate transport, mol ATP/mol hexose) from chemostats fed beta-glucans with degree of polymerization (DP) 2-6 agreed well with the predicted value of (n-2)/n [corrected] (n = mean cellodextrin DP assimilated). A mean G(ATP)(P-T) value of 0.52 +/- 0.06 was calculated …