Bacterial and fungal communities in sub-Arctic tundra heaths are shaped by contrasting snow accumulation and nutrient availability.

Climate change is affecting winter snow conditions significantly in northern ecosystems but the effects of the changing conditions for soil microbial communities are not well-understood. We utilized naturally occurring differences in snow accumulation to understand how the wintertime subnivean conditions shape bacterial and fungal communities in dwarf shrub-dominated sub-Arctic Fennoscandian tundra sampled in mid-winter, early, and late growing season. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and quantitative PCR analyses indicated that fungal abundance was higher in windswept tundra heaths with low snow accumulation and lower nutrient availability.

Interaction of the C2C12 myotube contractions and glucose availability on transcriptome and extracellular vesicle microRNAs.

Exercise-like electrical pulse stimulation (EL-EPS) of myotubes mimics many key physiological changes induced by in vivo exercise. Besides enabling intracellular research, EL-EPS allows to study secreted factors, including muscle-specific microRNAs (myomiRs) carried in extracellular vesicles (EVs). These factors can participate in contraction-induced intercellular cross talk and may mediate the health benefits of exercise.

Preparing for the future offspring: European perch (Perca fluviatilis) biosynthesis of physiologically required fatty acids for the gonads happens already in the autumn.

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are critical for reproduction and thermal adaptation. Year-round variability in the expression of fads2 (fatty acid desaturase 2) in the liver of European perch (Perca fluviatilis) in a boreal lake was tested in relation to individual variation in size, sex, and maturity, together with stable isotopes values as well as fatty acids (FA) content in different tissues and prey items. ARA and DHA primary production was restricted to the summer months, however, perch required larger amounts of these PUFA during winter, as their ARA and DHA muscle content was higher compared to summer.

The second life of terrestrial and plastic carbon as nutritionally valuable food for aquatic consumers.

Primary production is the basis for energy and biomolecule flow in food webs. Nutritional importance of terrestrial and plastic carbon via mixotrophic algae to upper trophic level is poorly studied. We explored this question by analysing the contribution of osmo- and phagomixotrophic species in boreal lakes and used C-labelled materials and compound-specific isotopes to determine biochemical fate of carbon backbone of leaves, lignin-hemicellulose and polystyrene at four-trophic level experiment.

Probing the Gelation Synergies and Anti- Activity of Fmoc-Phenylalanine/Graphene Oxide Hybrid Hydrogel.

The -fluorenyl-9-methyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-protected amino acids have shown high antimicrobial application potential, among which the phenylalanine derivative (Fmoc-F) is the most well-known representative. However, the activity spectrum of Fmoc-F is restricted to Gram-positive bacteria only. The demand for efficient antimicrobial materials expanded research into graphene and its derivatives, although the reported results are somewhat controversial.

Nicotinamide riboside improves muscle mitochondrial biogenesis, satellite cell differentiation, and gut microbiota in a twin study.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) precursor nicotinamide riboside (NR) has emerged as a promising compound to improve obesity-associated mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic syndrome in mice. However, most short-term clinical trials conducted so far have not reported positive outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether long-term NR supplementation boosts mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolic health in humans.

Biodegradation of microplastic in freshwaters: A long-lasting process affected by the lake microbiome.

Plastics have been produced for over a century, but definitive evidence of complete plastic biodegradation in different habitats, particularly freshwater ecosystems, is still missing. Using C-labelled polyethylene microplastics (PE-MP) and stable isotope analysis of produced gas and microbial membrane lipids, we determined the biodegradation rate and fate of carbon in PE-MP in different freshwater types. The biodegradation rate in the humic-lake waters was much higher (0.

Construction of Metatranscriptomic Libraries for 5' End Sequencing of rRNAs for Microbiome Research.

Metatranscriptomic sequencing enables studying community-wide gene expression profiles of microbial samples and getting functional insight on their up- or downregulated pathways. However, shotgun sequencing is not the most efficient way to study expression of ribosomal RNA genes or to compare lot of samples in experimental setups. Here we describe an efficient primer-independent method for processing and barcoding libraries for directional sequencing of the 5' end region of the RNA.

Microbial communities in full-scale woodchip bioreactors treating aquaculture effluents.

Woodchip bioreactors are being successfully applied to remove nitrate from commercial land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) effluents. In order to understand and optimize the overall function of these bioreactors, knowledge on the microbial communities, especially on the microbes with potential for production or mitigation of harmful substances (e.g.

Genetic diversity and phenotypic characterization of Iodobacter limnosediminis associated with skin lesions in freshwater fish.

The relatively unknown genus Iodobacter sp. has been repeatedly isolated from skin ulcers and saprolegniosis on freshwater fish in Finland, especially farmed salmonids. Genetic characterization verified that all 23 bacterial isolates studied here belonged to the species Iodobacter limnosediminis, previously undescribed from the fish microbiota.

Cooperation between Different CRISPR-Cas Types Enables Adaptation in an RNA-Targeting System.

CRISPR-Cas immune systems adapt to new threats by acquiring new spacers from invading nucleic acids such as phage genomes. However, some CRISPR-Cas loci lack genes necessary for spacer acquisition despite variation in spacer content between microbial strains. It has been suggested that such loci may use acquisition machinery from cooccurring CRISPR-Cas systems within the same strain.

New insight to the role of microbes in the methane exchange in trees: evidence from metagenomic sequencing.

Methane (CH ) exchange in tree stems and canopies and the processes involved are among the least understood components of the global CH cycle. Recent studies have focused on quantifying tree stems as sources of CH and understanding abiotic CH emissions in plant canopies, with the role of microbial in situ CH formation receiving less attention. Moreover, despite initial reports revealing CH consumption, studies have not adequately evaluated the potential of microbial CH oxidation within trees.

Irradiation of the head reduces adult hippocampal neurogenesis and impairs spatial memory, but leaves overall health intact in rats.

Treatment of brain cancer, glioma, can cause cognitive impairment as a side-effect, possibly because it disrupts the integrity of the hippocampus, a structure vital for normal memory. Radiotherapy is commonly used to treat glioma, but the effects of irradiation on the brain are still poorly understood, and other biological effects have not been extensively studied. Here, we exposed healthy adult male rats to moderate-dose irradiation of the head.

DNA recovery from Droplet Digital™ PCR emulsions using liquid nitrogen.

Droplet microfluidics is a technology that enables the production and manipulation of small volumes. In biosciences, the most popular application of this technology is Droplet Digital™ PCR (ddPCR™), where parallel nanoliter-scale PCR assays are used to provide a high sensitivity and specificity for DNA detection. However, the recovery of PCR products for downstream applications such as sequencing can be challenging due to the droplets' stability.

CH oxidation in a boreal lake during the development of hypolimnetic hypoxia.

Freshwater ecosystems represent a significant natural source of methane (CH). CH produced through anaerobic decomposition of organic matter (OM) in lake sediment and water column can be either oxidized to carbon dioxide (CO) by methanotrophic microbes or emitted to the atmosphere. While the role of CH oxidation as a CH sink is widely accepted, neither the magnitude nor the drivers behind CH oxidation are well constrained.

Nitrate removal microbiology in woodchip bioreactors: A case-study with full-scale bioreactors treating aquaculture effluents.

Woodchip bioreactors are viable low-cost nitrate (NO) removal applications for treating agricultural and aquaculture discharges. The active microbial biofilms growing on woodchips are conducting nitrogen (N) removal, reducing NO while oxidizing the carbon (C) from woodchips. However, bioreactor age, and changes in the operating conditions or in the microbial community might affect the NO removal as well as potentially promote nitrous oxide (NO) production through either incomplete denitrification or dissimilatory NO reduction to ammonium (DNRA).

Consistency of Targeted Metatranscriptomics and Morphological Characterization of Phytoplankton Communities.

The composition of phytoplankton community is the basis for environmental monitoring and assessment of the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems. Community composition studies of phytoplankton have been based on time-consuming and expertise-demanding light microscopy analyses. Molecular methods have the potential to replace microscopy, but the high copy number variation of ribosomal genes and the lack of universal primers for simultaneous amplification of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genes complicate data interpretation.

Cryptogams signify key transitions of bacteria and fungi in Arctic sand dune succession.

Primary succession models focus on aboveground vascular plants. However, the prevalence of mosses and lichens, that is cryptogams, suggests they play a role in soil successions. Here, we explore whether effects of cryptogams on belowground microbes can facilitate progressive shifts in sand dune succession.

Abundant and diverse arsenic-metabolizing microorganisms in peatlands treating arsenic-contaminated mining wastewaters.

Mining operations produce large quantities of wastewater. At a mine site in Northern Finland, two natural peatlands are used for the treatment of mining-influenced waters with high concentrations of sulphate and potentially toxic arsenic (As). In the present study, As removal and the involved microbial processes in those treatment peatlands (TPs) were assessed.

Tracing the fate of microplastic carbon in the aquatic food web by compound-specific isotope analysis.

Increasing abundance of microplastics (MP) in marine and freshwaters is currently one of the greatest environmental concerns. Since plastics are fairly resistant to chemical decomposition, breakdown and reutilization of MP carbon complexes requires microbial activity. Currently, only a few microbial isolates have been shown to degrade MPs, and direct measurements of the fate of the MP carbon are still lacking.

Expression, purification, characterization and in silico analysis of newly isolated hydrocarbon degrading bleomycin resistance dioxygenase.

In the present investigation, we report cloning, expression, purification and characterization of a novel Bleomycin Resistance Dioxygenase (BRPD). His-tagged fusion protein was purified to homogeneity using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography, yielding 1.2 mg of BRPD with specific activity of 6.

Eutrophication reduces the nutritional value of phytoplankton in boreal lakes.

Eutrophication (as an increase in total phosphorus [TP]) increases harmful algal blooms and reduces the proportion of high-quality phytoplankton in seston and the content of ω-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) in fish. However, it is not well-known how eutrophication affects the overall nutritional value of phytoplankton. Therefore, we studied the impact of eutrophication on the production (as concentration; μg L) and content (μg mg C) of amino acids, EPA, DHA, and sterols, i.