Abrupt burial imparts persistent changes to the bacterial diversity of turbidite-associated sediment profiles.

The emplacement of subaqueous gravity-driven sediment flows imposes a significant physical and geochemical impact on underlying sediment and microbial communities. Although previous studies have established lasting mineralogical and biological signatures of turbidite deposition, the response of bacteria and archaea within and beneath debris flows remains poorly constrained. Both bacterial cells associated with the underlying sediment and those attached to allochthonous material must respond to substantially altered environmental conditions and selective pressures.

Phosphorus retention in small constructed wetlands treating agricultural drainage water.

The construction of artificial wetlands has become a measure increasingly applied to reduce nonpoint-source (NPS) pollution and to contribute to the restoration of eutrophic lakes and coastal waters. In a 2-yr study monitoring fluxes of particulate and dissolved phosphorus (P) in a small artificial wetland for the treatment of agricultural drainage water in Central Switzerland, water residence time was identified as the main factor controlling P retention in the system. Since most of the annual P load (62% as dissolved reactive phosphorus, DRP) was related to high discharge events, it was not average but minimum water residence time during flood events that determined the wetland's P retention.

Cell surface groups of two picocyanobacteria strains studied by zeta potential investigations, potentiometric titration, and infrared spectroscopy.

In order to clarify the role of picocyanobacteria in aquatic biogeochemical processes (e.g., calcite precipitation), cell surface properties need to be investigated.

High temporal resolution monitoring of inorganic nitrogen load in drainage waters.

Nitrate (NO3-), ammonium (NH4+) and pH were monitored with a novel flow cell equipped with ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) in a drainage pipe during one year. The high temporal resolution of the measurements (six measurements per hour) allowed the detection of diurnal oscillations in pH, NO3- and NH4+ concentrations, the relation of variations in concentrations to discharge rates changing during rain events, understanding of the processes resulting in such variations and tracing of unpredictable manure spills. Annual loads estimated from random samples collected every second day tended to underestimate the "true" loads calculated from quasi-continuous electrode measurements by 550% for NH4+ and 22% for NO3-.

Influence of organic carbon decomposition on calcite dissolution in surficial sediments of a freshwater lake.

A multi-sensor approach was used to determine high-resolution porewater gradients of Ca(2+), CO(3)(2-), H(+) and O(2) in sediment cores along a depth transect from eutrophic Lake Sempach (Switzerland). We quantified the reproducibility of measurements and analyzed concentration profiles with a one-dimensional diffusion-reaction model to quantify benthic fluxes. Calculation of oxic respiration in the sediment showed that almost all settled organic carbon was degraded with O(2) at shallow depths while only 28% was decomposed aerobically at the deepest location.

Incorporation of radiolabeled leucine into protein to estimate bacterial production in plant litter, sediment, epiphytic biofilms, and water samples.

The present study assessed the application of tritiated leucine incorporation into protein, as a measure of bacterial biomass production, within four benthic habitats of a littoral freshwater wetland dominated by emergent vegetation. Basic assumptions underlying the method, such as linearity of leucine incorporation, saturation level of incorporation rates, and specificity of incorporation for bacterial assemblages, were tested, and two procedures for extracting radiolabeled protein were compared. TCA precipitation followed by ultrasonication, and subsequent alkaline dissolution in 0.

P, As, Sb, Mo, and other elements in sedimentary Fe/Mn layers of Lake Baikal.

Distinct layers with accumulated iron and manganese oxyhydroxides are found in the recent sediments of Lake Baikal (Siberia). In the South and Central Basins, these concretions accumulate close to the sediment-water interface. In northern Lake Baikal and the area of Academician Ridge, however, massive Fe/Mn crusts are formed within several thousand years at redox fronts 10 to 15 cm below the sediment surface.

Complexation of Copper(II) with Carbonate Ligands in Aqueous Solution: A CW and Pulse EPR Study.

The pH dependent complexation between copper and (13)C-labeled carbonate ligands in aqueous solution is investigated by optical spectroscopy and continuous wave and pulse EPR. The small (13)C hyperfine coupling observed in the pulse EPR spectra at low temperature and pH 5.5 is assigned to weak, monodentate coordination of carbonates to the Cu(2+) ion.

Limitations of using delta 18O for the source identification of nitrate in agricultural soils.

The stable isotopic composition (delta 15N and delta 18O) of nitrate was analyzed in two lysimeter field experiments in order to identify the conditions under which the dual isotope approach can be applied to identify the main source of nitrate in agricultural soils. The first field experiment involved six lysimeters beneath fields that had been fertilized for 10 yr with the same type of fertilizer (NH4NO3; delta 15N = +1.2@1000, delta 18O = +18.

Rainfall and drought in equatorial east Africa during the past 1,100 years.

Knowledge of natural long-term rainfall variability is essential for water-resource and land-use management in sub-humid regions of the world. In tropical Africa, data relevant to determining this variability are scarce because of the lack of long instrumental climate records and the limited potential of standard high-resolution proxy records such as tree rings and ice cores. Here we present a decade-scale reconstruction of rainfall and drought in equatorial east Africa over the past 1,100 years, based on lake-level and salinity fluctuations of Lake Naivasha (Kenya) inferred from three different palaeolimnological proxies: sediment stratigraphy and the species compositions of fossil diatom and midge assemblages.

Vertical distribution of methanogens in the anoxic sediment of Rotsee (Switzerland).

Anoxic sediments from Rotsee (Switzerland) were analyzed for the presence and diversity of methanogens by using molecular tools and for methanogenic activity by using radiotracer techniques, in addition to the measurement of chemical profiles. After PCR-assisted sequence retrieval of the 16S rRNA genes (16S rDNA) from the anoxic sediment of Rotsee, cloning, and sequencing, a phylogenetic analysis identified two clusters of sequences and four separated clones. The sequences in cluster 1 grouped with those of Methanosaeta spp.

Localization and solubilization of the Iron(III) reductase of geobacter sulfurreducens.

The iron(III) reductase activity of Geobacter sulfurreducens was determined with the electron donor NADH and the artificial electron donor horse heart cytochrome c. The highest reduction rates were obtained with Fe(III) complexed by nitrilotriacetic acid as an electron acceptor. Fractionation experiments indicated that no iron(III) reductase activity was present in the cytoplasm, that approximately one-third was found in the periplasmic fraction, and that two-thirds were associated with the membrane fraction.

Dehalobacter restrictus gen. nov. and sp. nov., a strictly anaerobic bacterium that reductively dechlorinates tetra- and trichloroethene in an anaerobic respiration.

The highly enriched anaerobic bacterium that couples the reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene to growth, previously referred to as PER-K23, was obtained in pure culture and characterized. The bacterium, which does not form spores, is a small, gram-negative rod with one lateral flagellum. It utilized only H2 as an electron donor and tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene as electron acceptors in an anaerobic respiration process; it could not grow fermentatively.

Contaminated environments in the subsurface and bioremediation: organic contaminants.

Due to leakages, spills, improper disposal and accidents during transport, organic compounds have become subsurface contaminants that threaten important drinking water resources. One strategy to remediate such polluted subsurface environments is to make use of the degradative capacity of bacteria. It is often sufficient to supply the subsurface with nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, and aerobic treatments are still dominating.

Redox chemistry of cobalamin and iron-sulfur cofactors in the tetrachloroethene reductase of Dehalobacter restrictus.

Respiration of Dehalobacter restrictus is based on reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene. The terminal component of the respiratory chain is the membrane-bound tetrachloroethene reductase. The metal prosthetic groups of the purified enzyme have been studied by optical and EPR spectroscopy.

Late Pleistocene Desiccation of Lake Victoria and Rapid Evolution of Cichlid Fishes.

Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and harbors more than 300 endemic species of haplochromine cichlid fish. Seismic reflection profiles and piston cores show that the lake not only was at a low stand but dried up completely during the Late Pleistocene, before 12,400 carbon-14 years before the present. These results imply that the rate of speciation of cichlid fish in this tropical lake has been extremely rapid.

Anaerobic biodegradation of hydrocarbons.

Anaerobic biodegradation of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons is a promising alternative to aerobic biodegradation treatments in bioremediation processes. It is now proven that, besides toluene, benzene and ethylbenzene can be oxidized under anaerobic redox conditions. Anaerobic bacteria have also been shown capable of utilizing substrates not only in the pure form, but also in complex hydrocarbon mixtures, such as crude oil.

The proton/electron ration of the menaquinone-dependent electron transport from dihydrogen to tetrachloroethene in "Dehalobacter restrictus".

In the anaerobic respiration chain of "Dehalobacter restrictus," dihydrogen functioned as the electron donor and tetrachloroethene (PCE) functioned as the electron acceptor. The hydrogenase faced the periplasm, and the PCE reductase faced the cytoplasmic side of the membrane. Both activities were associated with the cytoplasmic membrane.

Physiological meaning and potential for application of reductive dechlorination by anaerobic bacteria.

The physiological meaning of reductive dechlorination reactions catalyzed by anaerobic bacteria can be explained as a co-metabolic activity or as a novel type of respiration. Co-metabolic activities have been found mainly with alkyl halides. They are non-specific reactions catalyzed by various enzyme systems of facultative as well as obligate anaerobic bacteria.

Reductive dehalogenation as a respiratory process.

Anaerobic bacteria can reductively dehalogenate aliphatic and aromatic halogenated compounds in a respiratory process. Only a few of these bacteria have been isolated in pure cultures. However, long acclimation periods, substrate specificity, high dehalogenation rates, and the possibility to enrich for the dehalogenation activity by subcultivation in media containing an electron donor indicate that many of the reductive dehalogenations in the environment are catalyzed by specific bacteria.

Abiotic reduction of 4-chloronitrobenzene to 4-chloroaniline in a dissimilatory iron-reducing enrichment culture.

4-chloronitrobenzene (4-Cl-NB) was rapidly reduced to 4-chloroaniline with half-lives of minutes in a dissimilatory Fe(III)-reducing enrichment culture. The initial pseudo-first-order rate constants at 25 degrees C ranged from 0.11 to 0.