Naturally occurring reactive oxygen species (ROS) are widely involved in many environmental processes. Here we investigated the ROS generation associated with the interaction between complexed natural clay minerals (CMs) and dissolved organic matter (DOM). Our results showed that among the nine chemical-reduced CMs (CR-CMs), the light brown CR-CM (CR-CM 7) generated the highest ROS via oxygenation, relying on the reactive structural Fe(II) (Fe species that can transfer electrons to oxygen) instead of total structural Fe(II) as previously reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis part of a specialized group of microbes with the unique ability to exchange electrons with insoluble materials, such as iron oxides and electrodes. Therefore, plays an essential role in the biogeochemical iron cycle and microbial electrochemical systems. In this ability is primarily dependent on electrically conductive nanowires that link internal electron flow from metabolism to solid electron acceptors in the extracellular environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobial electrochemical systems have gained much attention over the past decade due to their potential for various environmental engineering applications ranging from energy production to wastewater treatment to bioproduction. At the heart of these systems lie exoelectrogens-microorganisms capable of exporting electrons generated during metabolism to external electron acceptors such as electrodes. The bacterial biofilm communities on these electrodes are dominated by exoelectrogens but are nonetheless extremely diverse.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioelectrochemical anaerobic digestion (BEAD) is a promising next-generation technology for simultaneous wastewater treatment and bioenergy recovery. While knowledge on the inhibitory effect of emerging pollutants, such as microplastics, on the conventional wastewater anaerobic digestion processes is increasing, the impact of microplastics on the BEAD process remains unknown. This study shows that methane production decreased by 30.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFcells respond to a period of famine by globally reorganizing their gene expression. The changes are known as the stringent response, which is orchestrated by the alarmone ppGpp that binds directly to RNA polymerase. The resulting changes in gene expression are particularly well studied in the case of amino acid starvation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRibosomes are absolutely essential for growth but are, moreover, energetically costly to produce. Therefore, it is important to adjust the cellular ribosome levels according to the environmental conditions in order to obtain the highest possible growth rate while avoiding energy wastage on excess ribosome biosynthesis. Here we show, by three different methods, that the ribosomal RNA content of Escherichia coli is downregulated within minutes of the removal of an essential nutrient from the growth medium, or after transcription initiation is inhibited.
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