Search results for "Acte"

2020

Phytoplankton synthesizes essential ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) for consumers in the aquatic food webs. Only certain phytoplankton taxa can synthesize eicosapentaenoic (EPA; 20:5ω3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6ω3), whereas all phytoplankton taxa can synthesize shorter-chain ω-3 and ω-6 PUFA. Here, we experimentally studied how the proportion, concentration (per DW and cell-specific), and production (µg FA L−1 day−1) of ω-3 and ω-6 PUFA varied among six different phytoplankton main groups (16 freshwater strains) and between exponential and stationary growth phase. EPA and DHA concentrations, as dry weight, were similar among cryptophytes and diatoms. However, Crypto…

The Importance of Phytoplankton Biomolecule Availability for Secondary Production

2017

The growth and reproduction of animals is affected by their access to resources. In aquatic ecosystems, the availability of essential biomolecules for filter-feeding zooplankton depends greatly on phytoplankton. Here, we analyzed the biochemical composition, i.e., the fatty acid, sterol and amino acid profiles and concentrations as well as protein, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus content of 17 phytoplankton monocultures representing the seven most abundant phytoplankton classes in boreal and sub-arctic lakes. To examine how the differences in the biochemical composition between phytoplankton classes affect their nutritional quality for consumers, we assessed the performance of Daphnia, on …

Protist predation can select for bacteria with lowered susceptibility to infection by lytic phages

2015

Background: Consumer-resource interactions constitute one of the most common types of interspecific antagonistic interaction. In natural communities, complex species interactions are likely to affect the outcomes of reciprocal co-evolution between consumers and their resource species. Individuals face multiple enemies simultaneously, and consequently they need to adapt to several different types of enemy pressures. In this study, we assessed how protist predation affects the susceptibility of bacterial populations to infection by viral parasites, and whether there is an associated cost of defence on the competitive ability of the bacteria. As a study system we used Serratia marcescens and i…

Constitutive Activation of the Midgut Response to Bacillus thuringiensis in Bt-Resistant Spodoptera exigua

2010

Bacillus thuringiensis is the most effective microbial control agent for controlling numerous species from different insect orders. The main threat for the long term use of B. thuringiensis in pest control is the ability of insects to develop resistance. Thus, the identification of insect genes involved in conferring resistance is of paramount importance. A colony of Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was selected for 15 years in the laboratory for resistance to Xentari (TM), a B. thuringiensis-based insecticide, reaching a final resistance level of greater than 1,000-fold. Around 600 midgut ESTs were analyzed by DNA-macroarray in order to find differences in midgut gene expression …

Valorisation of Dairy Wastes Through Kefir Grain Production

2019

The main aim of this work was to investigate on kefir grains (KGs) increase using different dairy by-products. To this purpose, whey and deproteinized whey from cow, goat and sheep milk were compared to the pasteurized milk of the corresponding animal species. Each substrate was inoculated with 3% (w/v) of KGs cultivated in ultra-high temperature cow milk and evalu- ated for pH decrease, total titratable acidity increase and development of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts released in the matrices after 24 h incubation at three different temperatures (20, 25 and 30 °C). The genotypic characterization of the dominating microbial populations resulted in the identification of two LAB belon…

Co-digestion of harvested microalgae and primary sludge in a mesophilic anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR): Methane potential and microbial divers…

2020

Abstract Anaerobic co-digestion of primary sludge and raw microalgae (Scenedesmus and Chlorella) was performed in a lab-scale semi-continuous anaerobic membrane bioreactor to assess the biological performance and identify the microbial community involved in the co-digestion process. The reactor was operated at 35 °C for 440 days, working at a solids retention time of 100 days. The system achieved 73% biodegradability and showed high stability in terms of pH and volatile fatty acids. An enriched microbial community was observed. Of the several phyla, Chloroflexi and Proteobacteria were the most abundant. Cellulose-degraders phyla (Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi and Thermotogae) were detected. Sy…

Microbial communities involved in biogas production exhibit high resilience to heat shocks

2017

We report here the impact of heat-shock treatments (55 and 70 °C) on the biogas production within the acidification stage of a two-stage reactor system for anaerobic digestion and biomethanation of grass. The microbiome proved both taxonomically and functionally very robust, since heat shocks caused minor community shifts compared to the controls, and biogas yield was not decreased. The strongest impact on the microbial profile was observed with a combination of heat shock and low pH. Since no transient reduction of microbial diversity occured after the shock, biogas keyplayers, but also potential pathogens, survived the treatment. All along the experiment, the heat-resistant bacterial prof…

Combination of the OSA process with thermal treatment at moderate temperature for excess sludge minimization

2019

Abstract This study investigated the chance to couple the conventional Oxic Settling Anaerobic (OSA) process with a thermic treatment at moderate temperature (35 °C). The maximum excess sludge reduction rate (80%) was achieved when the plant was operated under 3 h of hydraulic retention time (HRT). Compared with the conventional OSA system, the thermic treatment enabled a further improvement in excess sludge minimization of 35%. The observed yield coefficient decreased from 0.25 gTSS gCOD−1 to 0.10 gTSS gCOD−1 when the temperature in the anaerobic reactor was increased to 35 °C, despite the lower HRT (3 h vs 6 h). Moreover, the thermic treatment enabled the decrease of filamentous bacteria,…

Assessment and characterization of the bacterial community structure in advanced activated sludge systems

2019

Abstract The present study is aimed to assess and characterize the structure of bacterial community in advanced activated sludge systems. In particular, activated sludge samples were collected from an Integrated Fixed-film Activated Sludge – Membrane Bioreactor pilot plant under a University of Cape Town configuration with in-series anaerobic (Noair)/anoxic (Anox)/aerobic (Oxy) reactors – and further analyzed. The achieved results – based on Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) of 16S rDNA amplicons – revealed that the bacterial biofilm (bf) communities on plastic carriers of Oxy and Anox reactors had a greater diversity compared to suspended (sp) bacterial flocs of Oxy, Anox and Noair. Indeed,…

Expression of xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) genes and XET activity in ethylene treated apple and tomato fruits.

2013

[EN] Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTHs: EC 2.4.1.207 and/or EC 3.2.1.151), a xyloglucan modifying enzyme, has been proposed to have a role during tomato and apple fruit ripening by loosening the cell wall. Since the ripening of climacteric fruits is controlled by endogenous ethylene biosynthesis, we wanted to study whether XET activity was ethylene-regulated, and if so, which specific genes encoding ripening-regulated XTH genes were indeed ethylene-regulated. XET specific activity in tomato and apple fruits was significantly increased by the ethylene treatment, as compared with the control fruits, suggesting an increase in the XTH gene expression induced by ethylene. The 25 Sl…