Soils are crucial in regulating ecosystem processes, such as nutrient cycling, and supporting plant growth. To a large extent, these functions are carried out by highly diverse and dynamic soil microbiomes that are in turn governed by numerous environmental factors including weathering profile and vegetation. In this study, we investigate geophysical and vegetation effects on the microbial communities of iron-rich lateritic soils in the highly weathered landscapes of Western Australia (WA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough uncultured microorganisms have important roles in ecosystems, their ecophysiology in situ remains elusive owing to the difficulty of obtaining live cells from their natural habitats. In this study, we employed a novel magnetic nanoparticle-mediated isolation (MMI) method to recover metabolically active cells of a group of previously uncultured phenol degraders, Burkholderiales spp., from coking plant wastewater biosludge; five other culturable phenol degraders-Rhodococcus sp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Microbiol
November 2012
Uncertainty surrounds estimates of microbial cell and organic detritus fluxes from glacier surfaces. Here, we present the first enumeration of biological particles draining from a supraglacial catchment, on Midtre Lovénbreen (Svalbard) over 36 days. A stream cell flux of 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA series of 4-oxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydropyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrazine-2-carboxamides was synthesized and tested for their inhibition of HIV-1 integrase catalytic activity and HIV-1 replication in cells. Structure-activity studies around lead compound 5 indicated that a coplanar relationship of metal-binding heteroatoms provides optimal binding to the integrase active site. Identification of potency-enhancing substituents and adjustments in lipophilicity provided 17b which inhibits integrase-catalyzed strand transfer with an IC(50) value of 74 nM and inhibits HIV-1 replication in cell culture in the presence of 50% normal human serum with an IC(95) value of 63 nM.
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