A method is proposed for integral assessment of the propagation of microbial cells and viral parti- cles during seasonal thawing of relic ice wedge layers. The results of on-site and laboratory investigation car- ried out in the upper part of permafrost exposure at Mamontova Gora (Yakutiya, Russia) are presented. To increase reliability of the results, suspensions of two microbial species and two coliphage species were intro- duced as biomarkers directly on the surface of thaing ice and in the meltwater flow.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffect of the antibiotics kanamycin and ampicillin on growth and phase variation of the populations of four strains of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus sp. M67AT, L. casei MB, Enterococcus faecium M, and E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn situ analysis of the 16S rRNA genes form bacterial mats of five hydrothermal springs (36-58 degrees C) in the Uzon caldera (Kamchatka, Russia) was carried out using clone libraries. Eight clone libraries contained 18 dominant phylotypes (over 4-5%). In most clone libraries, the phylotype of the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum sp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAbility to produce dormant forms (DF) was demonstrated for non-spore-forming bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (a nonpathogenic strain) and Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum (an organism of the normal oropharyngeal flora). The salient features of the sthaphylococcal and corynebacterial DF were (1) prolonged preservation of viability; (2) resistance to damaging factors (heat treatment); and (3) specific morplology and ultrastructure. The optimal conditions for DF formation were (1) transfer of the stationary-phase cultures into saline solution with CaCl2 (10-300 mM) (for S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectron microscopic investigation of four samples of ancient ice wedge from the Pleistocene glacial complex of Mamontova Gora (Yakutiya, Russia) revealed high diversity of bacteriomorphic particles. Their structural features included the presence of electron-transparent zones, presumably inclusions containing storage compounds, and microenvironment (capsules or external sheaths). These features may be a result of adaptive strategies providing for microbial survival under permafrost conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe heterotrophic mesophilic component was studied in microbial communities of the samples of frozen regolith collected from the glacier near Lake Untersee collected in 2011 during the joint Russian-American expedition to central Dronning Maud Land (Eastern Antarctica). Cultural techniques revealed high bacterial numbers in the samples. For enumeration of viable cells, the most probable numbers (MPN) method proved more efficient than plating on agar media.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe connection between the efficiency of phenolic lipids (PL) and their hydrophobic property (solubility) and hydrophobic property of microorganisms' cell structure is shown. The mixture of amphiphilic di(oxiphenil)-phenil-methanes, which act bacteriostatically under 15 mg/l, possesses maximal efficiency against Staphylococcus aureus. Against Mycobacterium smegmatis with hydrophobic cell wall, hydrophobic 2,4-dialkylocibenzol 70 mg/l was the most effective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe nanoparameters of the membrane from actinobacteria have been determined by the method of neutron diffraction on multilamellar lipid membranes. It was found that the repeat distance of a partly hydrated membrane formed from the phosphohpid fraction of Streptomyces hygroscopicus (S. hygroscopicus) is 85.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe physicochemical and microbial characteristics of some medium-temperature hydrotherms of Kamchatka Peninsula (Uzon caldera), habitats of the hoverfly Eristalinus sepulchralis larvae, were studied. In these hydrothermal vents, the larvae were found to use various prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms as a nutrient substrate. The rates of chemo- and photosynthetic activity of the suspended microbial communities inhabiting the hydrotherms and supporting the existence of larvae were measured.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInformation about the functions of extracellular autoregulators, which adapt microorganisms to the stresses "scheduled" in the development cycle of microbial cultures (stresses of new medium, starvation, or space exhaustion (high cell density)) is summarized in the review. In a number of bacteria and yeasts, derivatives of alkylhydroxybenzenes (AHB), particularly of the class of alkyl resorcinols, act as autoregulators with adaptogenic functions. The chemical structure of AHB determines their amphiphility; capacity for physical and chemical interaction with membrane lipids, proteins, and DNA; properties as natural modifiers of biological membranes and enzymes; and the expression of antioxidant activity.
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