Saltwater intrusion increases phosphorus abundance and alters availability in coastal soils with implications for future sea level rise.

Sea level rise (SLR) promotes saltwater intrusion (SWI) into coastal soils globally at an increasing rate, impacting phosphorus (P) dynamics and adjacent water quality. However, how SWI influences P molecular speciation and availability in coastal soils remains poorly understood. By using a space-for-time substitution strategy, we evaluated the SWI impacts on P transformation along a SWI gradient at the Rehoboth Inland Bay, which consists of five sampling locations along a transect representing different SWI degrees.

Prioritizing water availability study settings to address geogenic contaminants and related societal factors.

Water availability for human and ecological uses depends on both water quantity and water quality. The U.S.

Continuous cultivation of the lithoautotrophic nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizing culture KS in a chemostat bioreactor.

Laboratory-based studies on microbial Fe(II) oxidation are commonly performed for 5-10 days in small volumes with high substrate concentrations, resulting in geochemical gradients and volumetric effects caused by sampling. We used a chemostat to enable uninterrupted supply of medium and investigated autotrophic nitrate-reducing Fe(II)-oxidizing culture KS for 24 days. We analysed Fe- and N-speciation, cell-mineral associations, and the identity of minerals.

Effect of Natural Organic Matter on the Fate of Cadmium During Microbial Ferrihydrite Reduction.

Natural organic matter (NOM) is known to affect the microbial reduction and transformation of ferrihydrite, but its implication toward cadmium (Cd) associated with ferrihydrite is not well-known. Here, we investigated how Cd is redistributed when ferrihydrite undergoes microbial reduction in the presence of NOM. Incubation with showed that both the rate and the extent of reduction of Cd-loaded ferrihydrite were enhanced by increasing concentrations of NOM (i.

Effect of Microbial Biomass and Humic Acids on Abiotic and Biotic Magnetite Formation.

Magnetite (FeO) is an environmentally ubiquitous mixed-valent iron (Fe) mineral, which can form via biotic or abiotic transformation of Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxides such as ferrihydrite (Fh). It is currently unclear whether environmentally relevant biogenic Fh from Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria, containing cell-derived organic matter, can transform to magnetite. We compared abiotic and biotic transformation: (1) abiogenic Fh (aFh); (2) abiogenic Fh coprecipitated with humic acids (aFh-HA); (3) biogenic Fh produced by phototrophic Fe(II)-oxidizer SW2 (bFh); and (4) biogenic Fh treated with bleach to remove biogenic organic matter (bFh-bleach).

Role of biogenic Fe(III) minerals as a sink and carrier of heavy metals in the Rio Tinto, Spain.

Oxidation of sulfide ores in the Iberian Pyrite Belt region leads to the presence of extremely high concentration of dissolved heavy metals (HMs) in the acidic water of the Rio Tinto. Fe(II) is microbially oxidized resulting in the formation of suspended particulate matter (SPM) consisting of microbial cells and Fe(III) minerals with co-precipitated HMs. Although substantial amount of HM-bearing SPM is likely deposited to river sediment, a portion can still be transported through estuary to the coastal ocean.

Mineral Defects Enhance Bioavailability of Goethite toward Microbial Fe(III) Reduction.

Surface defects have been shown to facilitate electron transfer between Fe(II) and goethite (α-FeOOH) in abiotic systems. It is unclear, however, whether defects also facilitate microbial goethite reduction in anoxic environments where electron transfer between cells and Fe(III) minerals is the limiting factor. Here, we used stable Fe isotopes to differentiate microbial reduction of goethite synthesized by hydrolysis from reduction of goethite that was further hydrothermally treated to remove surface defects.

Use of Routine Soil Tests to Estimate Pb Bioaccessibility.

Soil lead (Pb) hazard level is contingent on bioavailability, but existing assays that estimate Pb bioavailability for human health risks are too expensive or otherwise inaccessible to many people that are impacted by Pb-contaminated soil. This study investigated the use of routine soil nutrient tests to estimate soil-Pb bioaccessibility as a surrogate measure of Pb bioavailability. A silt loam soil was spiked to a target concentration of 2000 mg Pb kg with Pb(NO) and amended with HPO (varying P-to-Pb molar ratios) and KCl (Cl-to-P molar ratio of 2:5) to generate soils with similar total Pb concentrations but a range of Pb bioavailability (and bioaccessibility).

Microbial anaerobic Fe(II) oxidation - Ecology, mechanisms and environmental implications.

Iron is the most abundant redox-active metal in the Earth's crust. The one electron transfer between the two most common redox states, Fe(II) and Fe(III), plays a role in a huge range of environmental processes from mineral formation and dissolution to contaminant remediation and global biogeochemical cycling. It has been appreciated for more than a century that microorganisms can harness the energy of this Fe redox transformation for their metabolic benefit.

Decreased Electron Transfer between Cr(VI) and AH2DS in the Presence of Goethite.

9,10-Anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonic acid (AQDS) is commonly used as a model species to examine the influence of quinones on different biogeochemical cycles. The reduced form of this quinone, AHDS, can donate electrons to the toxic metal species Cr(VI), leading to the precipitation of less soluble Cr(III) phases. Due to the environmental abundance of Fe(III) (oxyhydr)oxides, such as goethite (α-FeOOH), it is important to study the role of these mineral phases on the electron transfer reaction between AHDS and Cr(VI).

Endocrine pancreatic insufficiency secondary to chronic herpesvirus pancreatitis in a cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus).

A cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) examined because of weight loss, polydipsia, and polyuria was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus based on the presence of glucosuria and marked hyperglycemia. Medical attempts to manage the diabetes mellitus were unsuccessful, and the bird was euthanatized. Histopathologic examination of the pancreas revealed a chronic active pancreatitis with herpesviral inclusions in many of the pancreatic acinar and duct cells.

Falcon adenovirus in an American kestrel (Falco sparverius).

A fatal adenovirus infection is described in a wild-caught American kestrel (Falco sparverius). Predominate lesions were a moderate to severe hepatitis with diffuse single-cell necrosis of hepatocytes and a splenitis characterized by necrosis of cells surrounding the sheathed arteries. Pan-nuclear eosinophilic to magenta inclusion bodies were abundant within hepatocytes.

Growth and metabolic characterization of Macrorhabdus ornithogaster.

Macrorhabdus ornithogaster (M. ornithogaster) is an anamorphic ascomycetous yeast found only in the stomach of birds. Infection is often benign but has also been associated with disease in some species of birds under some circumstances.

Tissue distribution of psittacid herpesviruses in latently infected parrots, repeated sampling of latently infected parrots and prevalence of latency in parrots submitted for necropsy.

Psittacid herpesvirus-1 (PsHV-1) is the cause of an acute fatal disease in parrots and is implicated as the cause of papillomatous lesions of the digestive tract. Not all infections cause disease and some parrots are infected asymptomatically. Latently infected parrots are potential sources for virus dissemination.

A novel psittacid herpesvirus found in African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus erithacus).

DNA from a novel alphaherpesvirus was amplified from a cloacal papilloma, a cutaneous papilloma, and the normal cloacal mucosa of African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus erithacus). Phylogenetically, the virus was most closely related to the psittacid herpesvirus, but demonstrated sufficient nucleotide and amino acid diversity to be considered a new alphaherpesvirus. It is proposed that the previously described psittacid herpesvirus be designated as psittacid herpesvirus 1 (PsHV-1), and this new species be classified as psittacid herpesvirus 2 (PsHV-2).

Psittacid herpesviruses associated with mucosal papillomas in neotropical parrots.

Mucosal papillomas are relatively common lesions in several species of captive neotropical parrots. They cause considerable morbidity and in some cases, result in mortality. Previous efforts to identify papillomavirus DNA and proteins in these lesions have been largely unsuccessful.

Genetic characterization of a herpesvirus isolate from a superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus) as a psittacid herpesvirus genotype 1.

Four genotypes of the psittacid herpesvirus (PsHV) cause Pacheco disease in parrots. Viruses that are serologically cross-reactive to the PsHVs have also been isolated from passerine species. DNA was amplified from a herpesvirus isolated from a superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus) with PsHV-specific primers and polymerase chain reaction.

Molecular phylogeny of the psittacid herpesviruses causing Pacheco's disease: correlation of genotype with phenotypic expression.

Fragments of 419 bp of the UL16 open reading frame from 73 psittacid herpesviruses (PsHVs) from the United States and Europe were sequenced. All viruses caused Pacheco's disease, and serotypes of the European isolates were known. A phylogenetic tree derived from these sequences demonstrated that the PsHVs that cause Pacheco's disease comprised four major genotypes, with each genotype including between two and four variants.

Phylogenetic analysis identifies the 'megabacterium' of birds as a novel anamorphic ascomycetous yeast, Macrorhabdus ornithogaster gen. nov., sp. nov.

An organism commonly referred to as 'megabacterium' colonizes the gastric isthmus of many species of birds. It is weakly gram-positive and periodic acid-Schiff-positive and stains with silver stains. Previous studies have shown that it has a nucleus and a cell wall similar to those seen in fungi.