Project description:Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) represent a threat to global public health, especially in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. More than 150 arboviruses can infect humans; they cause mainly febrile illness, although hemorrhagic complications and diseases affecting the central nervous system (SNC) can also be observed. Arboviruses represent a threat to Brazil and, therefore, a permanent surveillance of these viruses is required to timely reduce the risk of epidemic outbreaks. The Brazilian Amazon region is where the highest number of arboviruses has been detected in the world. Besides, malaria is also endemic in the Amazon region, with a significant predominance of Plasmodium vivax. It is often difficult to differentiate between malaria and arboviral diseases, as they share similar clinical features and laboratory findings, mainly undifferentiated fever. This study aimed to estimate possible viral etiology in patients with febrile syndrome negative for Plasmodium infection, in the Brazilian Amazon. We initially analyzed serum samples of 124 participants with a DNA microarray platform designed for the detection of arboviruses and viruses transmitted by small mammals, but no virus was detected. Then, the serum samples of 76 participants were analyzed with a deep New Generation Sequencing, which showed evidence of the presence of only one arbovirus, the Zika virus in only one pool of 9 serum samples. This result is in contrast with our hypothesis, showing that arboviruses are not frequent in suspected malaria cases in Manaus, Brazil. Other viruses instead of arboviruses were found in this study. Primate erythrovirus 1 was the virus most frequently found virus in the suspected malaria patients, followed by Enterobacteria phage lambda. Besides, we detected, in a lower frequency, the Pegivirus C. In addition to the exogenous viruses, we also detected human endogenous retrovirus in all pools. Due to the high number of viruses that are important in the differential diagnosis of malaria, cost-effective and simple high throughput methods are required, helping molecular surveillance of misdiagnosed viral infections. Further studies with more robust sample sizes in other areas in the Amazon are needed.
Project description:The fate of the carbon stocked in permafrost soils following global warming and permafrost thaw is of major concern in view of the potential for increased CH4 and CO2 emissions from these soils. Complex carbon compound degradation and greenhouse gas emissions are due to soil microbial communities, but their composition and functional potential in permafrost soils are largely unknown. Here, a 2 m deep permafrost and its overlying active layer soil were subjected to metagenome sequencing, quantitative PCR, and microarray analyses. The active layer soil and 2 m permafrost soil microbial community structures were very similar, with Actinobacteria being the dominant phylum. The two soils also possessed a highly similar spectrum of functional genes, especially when compared to other already published metagenomes. Key genes related to methane generation, methane oxidation and organic matter degradation were highly diverse for both soils in the metagenomic libraries and some (e.g. pmoA) showed relatively high abundance in qPCR assays. Genes related to nitrogen fixation and ammonia oxidation, which could have important roles following climatic change in these nitrogen-limited environments, showed low diversity but high abundance. The 2 m permafrost soil showed lower abundance and diversity for all the assessed genes and taxa. Experimental biases were also evaluated and showed that the whole community genome amplification technique used caused large representational biases in the metagenomic libraries. This study described for the first time the detailed functional potential of permafrost-affected soils and detected several genes and microorganisms that could have crucial importance following permafrost thaw. A 2m deep permafrost sample and it overlying active layer were sampled and their metagenome analysed. For microarray analyses, 8 other soil samples from the same region were used for comparison purposes.
Project description:Natural and anthropogenic wetlands are main sources of the atmospheric greenhouse gas methane. Methane emissions from wetlands are mitigated by methanotrophic microorganisms and by processes at the oxic-anoxic interface, such as sulfur cycling, that reduce the activity of methanogens. In this study, we obtained a pure culture (strain HY1) of a versatile wetland methanotroph that oxidizes various organic and inorganic compounds. This strain represents (i) the first isolate that can aerobically oxidize both methane and reduced sulfur compounds and (ii) a new alphapoteobacterial species, named Candidatus Methylovirgula thiovorans. Genomic and proteomic analyses showed that soluble methane monooxygenase and XoxF-type alcohol dehydrogenases are the only enzymes for methane and methanol oxidation, respectively. Unexpectedly, strain HY1 harbors various pathways for respiratory sulfur oxidation and oxidized reduced sulfur compounds to sulfate using the Sox-rDsr pathway (without SoxCD) and the S4I system. It employed the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle for CO2 fixation during chemolithoautotrophic growth on the reduced sulfur compounds. Methane and thiosulfate were independently and simultaneously oxidized by strain HY1 for growth. Proteomic and microrespiratory analyses showed that the metabolic pathways for methane and thiosulfate oxidation were induced in the presence of their substrates. The discovery of this versatile methanotroph demonstrates that methanotrophy and thiotrophy is compatible in a single bacterium and adds a new aspect to interactions of methane and sulfur cycles in oxic-anoxic interface environments.