Project description:Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as naphthalene by anaerobic microorganisms is poorly understood. Strain NaphS2, an anaerobic sulfate reducing marine delta-proteobacterium is capable of using naphthalene and the aromatic compound benzoate, as well as pyruvate, as an electron donors in the presence of sulfate. In order to identify genes involved in the naphthalene degradation pathway, we compared gene expression in NaphS2 during growth on benzoate vs. pyruvate, naphthalene vs. pyruvate, and naphthalene vs benzoate.
Project description:The work provides an organism-level framework describing the mechanisms underlying SCN- degradation, and opens possibilities for improving efficiency and nitrogen removal in SCN-degrading bioreactors for bioremediation of Industrial wastewater.
Project description:Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as naphthalene by anaerobic microorganisms is poorly understood. Strain NaphS2, an anaerobic sulfate reducing marine delta-proteobacterium is capable of using naphthalene and the aromatic compound benzoate, as well as pyruvate, as an electron donors in the presence of sulfate. In order to identify genes involved in the naphthalene degradation pathway, we compared gene expression in NaphS2 during growth on benzoate vs. pyruvate, naphthalene vs. pyruvate, and naphthalene vs benzoate. For each experimental set, aRNA from NaphS2 was labelled Cy5 (experiment) or Cy3(control) with three biological replicates hybridized in duplicate. In addition, because of the size of the predicted genome of NaphS2, ORFs were divided into two separate array designs, designated set1 and set2, such that set1 and set2 represent two separate array designs (probe sets) to be treated separately in statistical analysis.
Project description:Nitrogenase is the key enzyme involved in nitrogen fixation and uses low potential electrons delivered by ferredoxin or flavodoxin to reduce dinitrogen gas (N2) to produce ammonia and hydrogen. Although the phototrophic alphaproteobacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris encodes many proteins that can reduce ferredoxin, the electron bifurcating FixABCX complex is the only one shown to support nitrogen fixation. To gain insight into why R. palustris is unable to use these other enzymes to reduce ferredoxin in the absence of FixABCX, we isolated a suppressor of R. palustris DfixC that allowed this strain to grow under nitrogen-fixing conditions. We found two mutations were necessary and sufficient to restore growth under nitrogen-fixing conditions in the absence of a functional FixABCX. One mutation was in the primary ferredoxin involved in nitrogen fixation, fer1, and the other mutation was in rpa0678, a homolog of NAD+-dependent ferredoxin:NADPH oxidoreductase, which carries out flavin-based electron bifurcation to generate reduced Fd. We present evidence that Rpa0678 plays a role in electron transfer to benzoyl-CoA reductase, the key enzyme involved in anaerobic aromatic compound degradation. Together these findings indicate that the electron transfer pathway for anaerobic aromatic compound degradation was re-purposed to support nitrogen fixation in the suppressor strain.
Project description:We investigated the impacts of wastewater effluent exposure on gene expression in adult fathead minnows, a freshwater fish commonly used as an ecotoxicological model.
Project description:The degradation of aromatic compounds comprises an important step in the removal of pollutants and re-utilization of plastics and other non-biological polymers. Here we set out to study Pseudomonas sp. strain phDV1, a gram-negative bacterium that was selected for its ability to degrade aromatic compounds. In order to understand how the aromatic compounds and their degradation products are reintroduced in the metabolism of the bacteria and the systematic/metabolic response of the bacterium to the new carbon source, the proteome of this strain was analysed in the presence of succinate, phenol and o-, m-, p-cresol as sole carbon source. We then applied label-free quantitative proteomics to monitor overall proteome remodeling during metabolic adaptation to different carbon sources. As a reference proteome, we grew the bacteria in succinate and then compared the respective proteomes of bacteria grown on phenol and different cresols. In total, we identified 2295 proteins; 1908 proteins were used for quantification between different growth conditions. We found that 70, 100, 150 and 155 proteins were significantly differentially expressed in cells were grown in phenol, o-, m- and p-cresol-containing medium, respectively. The carbon source affected the synthesis of enzymes related to aromatic compound degradation, and in particular, the enzyme involved in the meta-pathway of monocyclic aromatic compounds degradation. In addition, proteins involved in the production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), an attractive biomaterial, showed higher expression levels in the presence of monocyclic aromatic compounds.Our results provide for the first time comprehensive information on the proteome response of this strain to monocyclic aromatic compounds.
Project description:Municipal wastewater effluent can impact its receiving environment. In the St. Lawrence River, male fish living downstream from Montreal exhibit increased hepatic vitellogenin, intersex, delayed spermatogenesis and altered immune function. Few studies have examined genome-wide effects associated with municipal effluent exposure in fish to decipher the mechanisms of toxicity. The present objective was to identify hepatic cellular signaling pathways in fathead minnows following exposure to municipal wastewater effluent. Immature minnows were exposed for 21 days to either 0% (Control) or 20% municipal effluent, the highest concentration in the St. Lawrence River. Hepatic RNA was extracted and used to hybridize a fathead minnow oligonucleotide microarray containing approximately 15K gene sequences.