A 15 h ozonation was performed on bioremediated soil to remove recalcitrant residual oil. To monitor the survival of indigenous microorganisms in the soil during in-situ chemical oxidation(ISCO) culturing and a functional genearray, GeoChip, was used to examine the functional genes and structure of the microbial community during ozonation (0h, 2h, 4h, 6h, 10hand15h). Breakthrough ozonation decreased the population of cultivable heterotrophic bacteria by about 3 orders of magnitude. The total functional gene abundance and diversity decreased during ozonation, as the number of functional genes was reduced by 48percent after 15 h. However, functional genes were evenly distributed during ozonation as judged by the Shannon-Weaver Evenness index. A sharp decrease in gene number was observed in the first 6 h of ozonation followed by a slower decrease in the next 9 h, which was consistent with microbial populations measured by a culture based method. Functional genes involved in carbon, nitrogen, phosphors and sulfur cycling, metal resistance and organic remediation were detected in all samples. Though the pattern of gene categories detected was similar for all time points, hierarchica lcluster of all functional genes and major functional categories all showed a time-serial pattern. Bacteria, archaea and fungi decreased by 96.1percent, 95.1percent …

Phylogenetic analyses were done for the Shewanella strains isolated from Baltic Sea (38 strains), US DOE Hanford Uranium bioremediation site [Hanford Reach of the Columbia River (HRCR), 11 strains], Pacific Ocean and Hawaiian sediments (8 strains), and strains from other resources (16 strains) with three out group strains, Rhodopseudomonas palustris, Clostridium cellulolyticum, and Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus X514, using DNA relatedness derived from WCGA-based DNA-DNA hybridizations, sequence similarities of 16S rRNA gene and gyrB gene, and sequence similarities of 6 loci of Shewanella genome selected from a shared gene list of the Shewanella strains with whole genome sequenced based on the average nucleotide identity of them (ANI). The phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequences, and DNA relatedness derived from WCGA hybridizations of the tested Shewanella strains share exactly the same sub-clusters with very few exceptions, in which the strains were basically grouped by species. However, the phylogenetic analysis based on DNA relatedness derived from WCGA hybridizations dramatically increased the differentiation resolution at species and strains level within Shewanella genus. When the tree based on DNA relatedness derived from WCGA hybridizations was compared to the tree based on the combined sequences of the selected functional genes (6 loci), we …

The role of tetraheme cytochrome c3 (CycA) in the metabolism of the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough (DvH) was investigated by deletion of the cycA gene using a marker-exchange deletion strategy. A highly abundant periplasmic cytochrome, CycA has the important function of transferring electrons from periplasmic hydrogenases (Hyd, Hyn, Hys) to transmembrane complexes which transport the electrons to the cytoplasm where sulfate is reduced. Previous studies have indicated that during its interaction with periplasmic hydrogenases, CycA is also involved in the reduction of toxic metals. Growth of the cycA mutant strain on lactate as the electron donor and sulfate as the terminal electron acceptor showed that, despite its abundance, CycA is not essential for DvH growth. However, the rate of growth of the mutant strain was significantly lower, and the extent of growth less, than rates and extents of growth of the wild type and complement strains on lactate/sulfate medium. This indicates that a portion of the electrons generated from cytoplasmic lactate oxidation are transported by CycA for energy production, possibly in a hydrogen cycling mechanism employed to generate ATP. Failure of the mutant strain to grow on either formate or H2, with sulfate or sulfite as electron acceptors, further …

In environments where the amount of the inorganic electron acceptors (oxygen, nitrate, sulfate, sulfur oroxidized metal ions (Fe3+;Mn4+) is insufficient for complete breakdown of organic matter, methane is formed as the major reduced end product. In such methanogenic environments organic acids are degraded by syntrophic associations of fermenting, acetogenic bacteria (e.g., sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) as"secondary fermenters") and methanogenic archaea. In these consortia, the conversion of lactate to acetate, CO2 and methane depends on the cooperating activities of both metabolically distinct microbial groups that are tightly linked by the need to maintain the exchanged metabolites (hydrogenandformate) at very low concentrations.

Diversity and spatial patterns in plant and animal communities are well documented as a positive-power law of a taxa-area relationship (TAR). At present little is known whether this also applies to soil microbial communities and whether long-term fertilization has an influence on the underlying microbial diversity. To test the effects of long-term fertilization on above-ground botanical diversity and below-ground microbial diversity, a nested sampling approach on Park Grass plots (12d& 11/2c) of Rothamsted Reseach in United Kingdom, both at ~;; pH 5 but with plant diversities of between 42 and 13 respectively were used. GeoChip 3.0, covering approximately 57, 000 gene sequences of 292 gene families involved in nitrogen, carbon, sulfur and phosphorus cycling, metal reduction and resistance, and organic contaminant degradation, was used to determine the gene area relationships for both functional and phylogenetic groups and the relationship to plant diversity. Our analysis indicated that the microbial communities were separated by different plant diversity based on DCA. The soil microbial diversity was in accord with plant diversity. Soil microbial community exhibited different z value with different plant diversity, z = 0.0449 with higher plant diversity and z = 0.0583 with lower plant diversity (P< 0.0001). These results suggest that …

The environmentally relevant Desulfovibrio species are sulfate-reducing bacteria that are of interest in the bioremediation of heavy metal contaminated water. Among these, the genome of D. vulgaris Hildenborough encodes a large number of two component systems consisting of 72 putative response regulators (RR) and 64 putative histidinekinases (HK), the majority of which are uncharacterized. We classified the D. vulgaris Hildenborough RRs based on their output domains and compared the distribution of RRs in other sequenced Desulfovibrio species. We have successfully purified most RRs and several HKs as His-tagged proteins. We performed phospho-transfer experiments to verify relationships between cognate pairs of HK and RR, and we have also mapped a few non-cognate HK-RR pairs. Presented here are our discoveries from the Desulfovibrio RR categorization and results from the in vitro studies using purified His tagged D. vulgaris HKs and RRs.

Poster advertising a Lab Band Madness concert by UNT Lab Bands on April 24, 2010, at the Denton Arts & Jazz Festival: UNT Stage.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas. This poster discusses a research project on Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the potential benefit of music therapy.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas. This poster discusses research on the effects that the tragedies and illnesses of Frida Kahlo had on her artwork.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on the changing role of risk management in a global capital market.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on the cultural practices in Southern Africa that may lead to intentional and/or unintentional abuses of African women.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on developing musical literacy in children.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on the difficulty of assessing female psychopathy.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on forensic toxicology.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on gangs and preventive measures.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on Gnosticism, early Christianity, and the Valentinian School's interaction with Christians in the second century C.E.

Poster presentation for the 2011 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on the ignorance towards male rape and the psychological toll on victims.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on international policies on pollution.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on the isolation of a new strain of mycobacteriophage from soil collection using a Mycobacterium smegmatis host strain and an enrichment protocol.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on measuring the activity of the SERCA using Thapsigargin as a Ca+ ion pump inhibitor.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on mental illness in literature and a case study of Sylvia Plath and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on narcissism and parenting.

Poster presentation for the 2010 University Scholars Day at the University of North Texas discussing research on creating new jobs in the television broadcasting industry.