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Biomedical subjects

M Schallenberg

Publications and source records attributed to M Schallenberg.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Survival of Campylobacter jejuni in water: effect of grazing by the freshwater crustacean Daphnia carinata (Cladocera).

Environmental studies of the human-pathogenic bacterium Campylobacter jejuni have focused on linking distributions with potential sources. However, in aquatic ecosystems, the abundance of C. jejuni may also be regulated by predation. We examine the potential for grazing by the freshwater planktonic crustacean Daphnia carinata to reduce the survival of C. jejuni. We use a system for measuring grazing and clearance rates of D. carinata on bacteria and demonstrate that D. carinata can graze C. jejuni cells at a rate of 7% individual(-1) h(-1) under simulated natural conditions in the presence of an algal food source. We show that passage of C. jejuni through the Daphnia gut and incorporation into fecal material effectively reduces survival of C. jejuni. This is the first evidence to suggest that grazing by planktonic organisms can reduce the abundance of C. jejuni in natural waters. Biomanipulation of planktonic food webs to enhance Daphnia densities offers potential for reducing microbial pathogen densities in drinking water reservoirs and recreational water bodies, thereby reducing the risk of contracting water-borne disease.

Animals↗

Down-regulation of intrinsic P-glycoprotein expression in multicellular prostate tumor spheroids by reactive oxygen species.

Intrinsic expression of the multidrug resistance (MDR) transporter P-glycoprotein (Pgp) may be regulated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). A transient expression of Pgp was observed during the growth of multicellular tumor spheroids. Maximum Pgp expression occurred in tumor spheroids with a high percentage of quiescent, Ki-67-negative cells, elevated glutathione levels, increased expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p27Kip1 and p21WAF-1 as well as reduced ROS levels and minor activity of the mitogen-activated kinase (MAPK) members c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase ERK1,2, and p38 MAPK. Raising intracellular ROS by depletion of glutathione with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) or glutamine starvation resulted in down-regulation of Pgp and p27Kip1, whereas ERK1,2 and JNK were activated. Down-regulation of Pgp was furthermore observed with low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide and epidermal growth factor, indicating that ROS may regulate Pgp expression. The down-regulation of Pgp following BSO treatment was abolished by agents interfering with receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathways, i.e. the protein kinase C inhibitors bisindolylmaleimide I (BIM-1) and Ro-31-8220, the p21ras farnesyl protein transferase inhibitor III, the c-Raf inhibitor ZM 336372 and PD98059, which inhibits ERK1,2 activation. ROS involved as second messengers in receptor tyrosine kinase signaling pathways may act as negative regulators of Pgp expression.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗

Pelagic Bacteria-Particle Interactions and Community-Specific Growth Rates in Four Lakes along a Trophic Gradient.

Abstract The relationships between bacterial concentration, bacterial production, and cell-specific activity of both free and attached bacteria and environmental factors such as suspended solids, nutrients, and temperature were examined in four lakes, two in New Zealand and two in Switzerland. Estimates of cell-specific production were obtained by microautoradiographic counts of [3H]thymidine-labeled cells. Bacteria attached to particles accounted for only 1.3 to 11.6% of the total bacterial abundance, but showed overall 20-fold higher specific growth rates and were relatively more active than their free counterparts. On average, 80 to 100% of epibacteria were attached to organic particles. The abundance and production of free and attached bacteria were positively correlated; however, relationships between these fractions and some environmental variables differed. Cell-specific activities of active bacteria were not equivalent to mean cellular activities of the entire bacterial community and differed in their relationship to trophic state. [3H]Thymidine-positive bacteria were more tightly linked to chlorophyll a than were total bacteria. Our findings indicate that production by attached bacteria, fueled by phytoplankton carbon, supplies "new" free bacteria to the bacterial community. Our results support the idea that particulate organic matter acts as a source of dissolved nutrients to free bacteria. Bottom-up control of bacterial biomass, as shown by regressions of biomass vs production, appeared to be stronger in two ultraoligotrophic lakes than in two more eutrophic ones.

Journal Article↗

Solutions to problems in enumerating sediment bacteria by direct counts.

We examined the effect of different sediment types on the staining effectiveness of the fluorochrome DAPI (4'-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride) over a wide range of concentrations and on the masking effect of sediment particles on DAPI-stained bacteria. Sediment type greatly affects the staining efficiency of DAPI, and most published studies seem to have underestimated bacterial abundances by using suboptimal concentrations of the fluorochrome. A DAPI concentration of 5 mug ml is required to effectively stain the bacteria in most sediments that can be sampled with a gravity corer. When the sediments are diluted 687 times (a dilution factor similar to those most often used in the literature), sediment particle masking of stained bacteria is highly variable for different sediment types. By using a measure of turbidity (A(750)) to indicate masking and the quartz-corrected water content as a measure of the initial (in situ) dilution of each sediment type, it becomes possible to show a linear relationship between masking and the integrated (initial x experimental) dilution of various sediments. This relationship allows the development of a correction procedure for masking which makes accurate and unbiased counts possible. Data so obtained show a strong relationship between bacteria (cells per milliliter of fresh sediment) and sediment organic matter (grams [dry weight] per milliliter of fresh sediment), one that is not discernable without the correction. The proposed method of staining and correction for sediment masking provides the basis for a standardized interpretation of sediment bacterial counts.

Journal Article↗