Acid mine drainage (AMD) emplacements are low-complexity natural systems. Low-pH conditions appear to be the main factor underlying the limited diversity of the microbial populations thriving in these environments, although temperature, ionic composition, total organic carbon, and dissolved oxygen are also considered to significantly influence their microbial life. This natural reduction in div...

Mutant lineages may cause cancer-like overgrowths in microbial populations. Theory predicts that microbial regulatory controls may be designed to limit the origin and competitive potential of rogue lineages. A new study shows how a Salmonella species protects itself against overgrowths.

Shifts in terminal electron-accepting processes during biostimulation of uranium-contaminated sediments were linked to the composition of stimulated microbial populations using DNA-based stable isotope probing. Nitrate reduction preceded U(VI) and Fe(III) reduction in [¹³C]ethanol-amended microcosms. The predominant, active denitrifying microbial groups were identified as members of the Betapro...

Microorganisms are an essential component of cheese, playing an important role during its manufacture and ripening. Cheese microbiota can be composed by starter cultures, group formed mainly by lactic acid bacteria (LAB) such as Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Leuconostoc and Enterococcus involved in acid production and flavor development during ripening; adjunct microbial cultures a...

Ruminal microbial fermentation plays an essential role in host nutrition, and as a result, the rumen microbiota have been a major focus of research examining bovine feed efficiency. Microbial communities within other sections of the gastrointestinal tract may also be important with regard to feed efficiency, since it is critical to the health and nutrition of the host. The objective of this stu...

Coal bed methane (CBM) is generated primarily through the microbial degradation of coal. Despite a limited understanding of the microorganisms responsible for this process, there is significant interest in developing methods to stimulate additional methane production from CBM wells. Physical techniques including hydraulic fracture stimulation are commonly applied to CBM wells, however the effec...

Microbial communities were characterized at contaminated sites that had elevated levels of nitrate, nickel, aluminum, and uranium (up to 690 mM, 310 microM, 42 mM, and 30 microM, respectively). The bacterial community structure based upon clonal libraries of the SSU rRNA genes (screened clones = 876) was diverse at the background site, but the three acidic samples had decreased diversity and th...

In Southeast Asian countries, industrialization and urbanization is occurring rapidly, and water pollution in rivers and canals poses serious problems in some areas, especially in cities. Excess inflow of domestic, agricultural, and industrial wastewater to freshwater environments disturbs the aquatic microbial ecosystem, which can further pollute water by inhibiting biodegradation of pollutant...

Viruses, or Virus-Like Particles (VLPs), occur in large numbers (~10-10 VLPs/ml) and are acknowledged to be general constituents of aquatic ecosystems. The bactericidal effect of VLPs derived from cultured marine strains and natural marine waters were examined under various multiplicity of infection (MOI = 5.28 0.0017) using Escherichia coli AB1157 as the recipient. The E. coli population was r...

The microbiological impact of zero-valent iron used in the remediation of groundwater was investigated by exposing a trichloroethylene-degrading anaerobic microbial community to two types of iron nanoparticles. Changes in total bacterial and archaeal population numbers were analyzed using qPCR and were compared to results from a blank and negative control to assess for microbial toxicity. Addit...