Biomedical subjects

V F Gal'chenko

Publications and source records attributed to V F Gal'chenko.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

[Cryptobiosphere of Mars].

The US Viking missions (1975-1976) failed to discover any biological activity on the surface of Mars. Yet, life may exist in the planet lithosphere which was found to contain a substantial amount of water. Martian interior can also provide microbial cryptolife with sources of carbon (CO, CO2, CH4) and energy (reduced elements and compounds, e.g. H2, CO, H2S, NH4+, CH4, Fe3+). Microorganisms identical to the Earth's anaerobic methanogens, sulfate reducers, acetogens, denitrifiers etc. are the most probable Martian aborigines. Well-balanced continuous functioning of the Martian cryptobiosphere implies closure of biochemical carbon, sulfur and nitrogen cycles which cannot be reached but with participation of organotrophic and anaerobic hydrolytic and zymotic organisms, ammonifiers and denitrifiers. Considering the low intensity of biological and chemical processes in the absence of surface hydrosphere, low-power atmosphere and cryptobiosphere closure on Mars, and slow global energy matter cycles, evolution of the presumable Martian cryptolife should also go at a slack pace and directions and forms of the evolution of living substance can have little in common with those on Earth. Comprehensive investigations of the Martian biota will employ a great variety of geochemical, radi- and stable isotope, microbiological, enzymatic and molecular biology methods.

Aerobiosis↗

PubMed1989

[Classification of methylotrophic bacteria according to 5S ribosomal RNA sequencing].

5S ribosomal RNA sequences of 33 strains of methylotrophic bacteria were determined. Tentative phylogenetic tree was constructed using the maximum topological similarity principle. Strains under study can be divided into 7 separate branches consistently with the current classification of methylotrophic bacteria. More extensive tree was also built to show the position of methylotrophic bacteria with respect to non-methylotrophic ones. One can conclude that the in contrast to obligate methane-oxidizing bacteria, facultative methylotrophic bacteria do not comprise phylogenetically separate domain on the tree.

Base Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Stabilization of enzymes by anabiosis autoinducers as a possible mechanism of resistance of resting microbial forms].

Alkyl-substituted hydroxybenzenes (AHBs), auto-inducers of microbial dormancy (or d1 factors), were found to stabilize the structure of protein macromolecules, making them metabolically less active and more resistant to stresses. In vitro experiments with the Bacillus intermedius ribonuclease and chymotrypsin showed that the degree of the physical and chemical stability of these enzymes treated with AHBs depends on their concentration and incubation time. Experiments with RNase, which is capable of refolding, i.e., renaturation after heat denaturation, revealed that AHBs efficiently interact with both intact and denatured proteins. The data obtained allow the inference to be made that d1 factors may play the role of natural chemical chaperons, blocking metabolism in dormant cells through the formation of catalytically inactive thermostable complexes with enzymes.

Adaptation, Biological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Heliobacterium sulfidophilum sp. Nov. and Heliobacterium undosum sp. Nov.: sulfide-oxidizing Heliobacteria from thermal sulfidic springs].

Two new species of heliobacteria isolated from cyanobacterial mats of two alkaline sulfidic hot springs are formally described. Strains BR4 and BG29 are assigned to anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria of the family Heliobacteriaceae, since they possess the unique properties of this taxon: strict anaerobiosis, formation of bacteriochlorophyll g, the lack of extensive intracytoplasmic membranes and chlorosomes, an unusual cell wall structure, and phylogenetic relatedness to the low G + C gram-positive eubacteria. Based on the 16S rDNA sequence similarity, strains BR4 and BG29 are assigned to the genus Heliobacterium and described as two new species of this genus: Heliobacterium sulfidophilum sp. nov. and Heliobacterium undosum sp. nov. The G + C content of the DNA is 51.3 mol % in Hbt. sulfidophilum and 57.2-57.7 mol % in Hbt. undosum. The cells of Hbt. sulfidophilum are rods, and the cells of Hbt. undosum are slightly twisted spirilla or short rods. Both new bacteria are motile by peritrichous flagella. Hbt. sulfidophilum produces endospores. The new bacteria are strict anaerobes growing photoheterotrophically on a limited range of organic compounds. In the dark, they can switch from photosynthesis to the slow fermentation of pyruvate. Biotin is required as a growth factor. Both species are highly tolerant to sulfide (up to 2 mM at pH 7.5) and oxidize it photoheterotrophically to elemental sulfur; photoautotrophic growth was not observed. The temperature optimal for growth of Hbt. sulfidophilum and Hbt. undosum is 30-35 degrees C, and the optimal pH is 7-8.

Bacteria↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Microbiological database UNIQEM: problems and prospects].

The UNIQEM database, designed to accumulate microbiological data of a general nature, is currently used to store and make available information about microorganisms studied and maintained at the Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences. UNIQEM is composed of two related databases. The first one is a catalogue database, used to accumulate and maintain list-form information on a wide range of microorganisms. The second one is a property database, which facilitates collecting, processing, and publishing diverse data having to do with these microorganisms and their properties. The database supports the retrieval of microorganisms by specifying an arbitrary set of their properties and has the potential for eventually evolving into a computer instrument for unattended identification of microorganisms.

Classification↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Clusterization of halophilic and halotolerant eubacteria using whole-cell protein electrophoresis data].

Total cell proteins of the nineteen halophilic and halotolerant eubacteria isolated from marine sediments and highly mineralized formation waters of oil fields were investigated by SDS gel electrophoresis. The microorganisms studied, phenotypically identified as belonging to the genera Dietzia, Rhodococcus, Staphylococcus, Cytophaga, Brevibacterium, and Archangium, were found to form clearly distinguishable clusters (20-30% similarity at the generic level) on the dendrogram derived from electrophoretic protein patterns. Protein similarity data confirmed the heterogeneity of Rhodococcus maris and its relatedness to the genus Dietza.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[A system of oligonucleotide primers for amplifying nifH genes from various taxonomic groups of prokaryotes].

Based on the analysis of the nifH gene nucleotide sequences from GenBank, a system of primers was developed that makes it possible to obtain 370- and 470-bp PCR fragments of the nifH gene of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and archaea. The effectiveness of the proposed system for revealing the presence of nifH genes was demonstrated by PCR on the DNA isolated from nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes for which the primary structure of these genes is known and which belong to different taxonomic groups. nifH sequences of nitrogen-fixing prokaryotes of the genera Xanthobacter, Beijerinckia, and Methanosarcina, for which the capacity for nitrogen fixation was demonstrated earlier, but no data existed on the nucleotide composition of these genes, were determined and deposited in GenBank.

Archaea↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Biogeochemical processes of methane cycle in the soils, swamps and lakes of Western Siberia].

The biogeochemical processes of methane production and oxidation were studied in the upper horizons of tundra and taiga soils and of raised bogs and lake bottom sediments nearby the Tarkosalinsk gas field in western Siberia. Both in dry and water-logged soils, the total methane concentration (in soil particles and gaseous phase) was an order of magnitude higher than in the soil gaseous phase alone (22 and 1.1 nl/cm3, respectively). In bogs and lake bottom sediments, methane concentration was as high as 11 microliters/cm3. Acetate was the major precursor of the newly formed methane. The rate of aceticlastic methanogenesis reached 55 ng C/(cm3 day), whereas that of autotrophic methanogenesis was an order of magnitude lower. The most active methane production and oxidation were observed in bogs and lake sediments where the delta 13C values of CO2 were inversely related to the intensity of bacterial methane oxidation. Methane diffusing from bogs and lake bottom sediments showed delta 13C values ranging from -78 to -47@1000, whereas the delta 13C value of carbon dioxide ranged from -18 to -6@1000. In these ecosystems, methane emission comprised from 3 to 206 mg CH4/(m2 day). Conversely, the dry and water-logged soils of tundra and taiga took up atmospheric methane at a rate varying from 0.3 to 5.3 mg CH4/(m2 day). Methane consumption in soils was of biological rather than of adsorptive nature. This was confirmed by the radioisotopic method and chamber experiments, in which weighting of methane carbon was observed (the delta 13C value changed from -51 to -41@1000).

Bacteria↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Growth of mesophilic methanotrophs at low temperatures].

The optimal growth of mesophilic methanotrophic bacteria (collection strains of the genera Methylocystis, Methylomonas, Methylosinus, and Methylobacter) occurred within temperature ranges of 31-34 degrees C and 23-25 degrees C. None of the strains studied were able to grow at 1.5 or 4 degrees C. Representatives of six methanotrophic species (strains Mcs. echinoides 2, Mm. methanica 12, Mb. bovis 89, Mcs. pyriformis 14, Mb. chroococcum 90, and Mb. vinelandii 87) could grow at 10 degrees C (with a low specific growth rate). The results obtained suggest that some mesophilic methane-oxidizing bacteria display psychrotolerant (psychrotrophic) but not psychrophilic properties. In general, the Rosso model, which describes bacterial growth rate as a function of temperature, fits well the experimental data, although, for most methanotrophs, with symmetrical approximations for optimal temperature.

Adaptation, Biological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Study of nucleotide sequences of nifH genes in methanotrophic bacteria].

Using a previously developed primer system, nifH gene fragments 450 nucleotides long were amplified, cloned, and sequenced for representatives of nitrogen-fixing methanotrophic bacteria of the genera Methylococcus, Methylocystis and Methylosinus. Fragments of nifH genes were also detected and sequenced in representatives of the genera Methylomonas and Methylobacter, which were not considered diazotrophs until recently. Phylogenetic analysis revealed remoteness of nifH genes sequences of methanotroph types I and II. At the same time, close relationship was found between nifH of type I methanotrophs and representatives of gamma-proteobacteria and between nifH genes of type II methanotrophs and representatives of alpha-proteobacteria. The results obtained in this study are in good accordance with the data of phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA sequence comparison with the only exception of Methylococcus capsulatus strains, whose nifH genes proved to be closely related to nifH genes of Methylocystis and Methylosinus representatives. Our findings extend the database of primary sequences of nifH genes and allow the contribution of methanotrophs to the process of nitrogen fixation to be estimated.

Base Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Detection of microorganisms in the environment and the preliminary appraisal of their physiological state by X-ray microanalysis].

The paper deals with the X-ray microanalysis of the elemental composition of bacteriomorphic particles in 170,000-year old Antarctic permafrost sediments and in indoor dust. A comparative analysis of the phosphorus, sulfur, calcium, and potassium contents and the Ca/K and P/S ratios in these particles and in reference microbial cells occurring in different physiological states showed that the absence of P and/or S peaks in the X-ray spectrum of an object may indicate that it is abiotic. Resting microbial forms can be revealed on the basis of the following characteristic features: an increased content of Ca, a high Ca/K ratio, and a low P/S ratio. Model experiments with nonviable bacterial and yeast micromummies with alterations in the structural and barrier functions of the cytoplasmic membrane showed that micromummies can be recognized by a super-high content of a marker element (e.g., P, K, or Si), accumulated due to facilitated diffusion along the deliberately created concentration gradient. Such an analysis of the permafrost sediment and dust made it possible to suggest the presence of mummified cells in these objects. The possibility of using X-ray microanalysis for the detection of microbial cells in natural habitats in order to enhance the efficiency of ecological monitoring of the environment is discussed.

Antarctic Regions↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Methane content in bottom sediments and water mass of the Black Sea].

The methane content in bottom sediments and water column of the Black Sea was determined using various methods of desorption and analysis of gases and various methods of calculating their concentrations. The head-space method with the use of salting out and calculation by internal standard proved to be the most accurate procedure for the analysis of methane concentration in bottom sediments. The methane content in bottom sediments increased with the depth of sediment sampling. In the upper 50-70 cm of shelf sediments, two minimums of methane concentration were revealed; in deep-sea sediments, only one minimum was recorded (in the 20-50 cm horizons). In the water column, methane concentrations slowly grew from the surface to a depth of 150-200 m and abruptly increased to a depth of 700-1200 m, remaining virtually constant in underlying layers. In certain deep-sea regions, peaks of methane content in the 1000-1200 m horizons of the water column were revealed, which were most probably due to local influx of abyssal waters enriched with this gas.

Geologic Sediments↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Intensities of microbial production and oxidation of methane in bottom sediments and water mass of the Black Sea].

Intensities of biogeochemical (microbial) processes of methane production and methane oxidation were determined in bottom sediments and water column of the Black Sea. Aerobic bacterial oxidation of methane is confined to the upper 20-30 cm of Holocene bottom sediments of the shelf (0.7-259 ng C/(dm3 day)) and oxygenated waters (0.2-45 ng C/(dm3 day)). In reduced sediments of the deep-sea zone and in the hydrogen sulfide-containing water column, considerable intensities of anaerobic methane oxidation were recorded, comparable to or exceeding the intensities of methane oxidation in oxygenated layers. From one fourth to one half of the methane formed in bottom sediments was oxidized immediately therein. The major part of the remaining methane was oxidized in the water column, and a smaller portion arrived in the atmosphere.

Bacteria↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Seasonal dynamics of atmospheric methane oxidation in gray forest soils].

Seasonal fluctuations in the methane flow in the soil-atmosphere system were determined for gray forest soils of Central Russia. Consumption of atmospheric methane was found to exceed methane emission in gray forest soils under forest and in agrocenosis. The average annual rates of atmospheric methane consumption by the soil under forest and in agrocenosis were 0.026 and 0.008 mg CH4-C/(m2 h), respectively. The annual rate of atmospheric methane oxidation in the gray forest soils of Moscow oblast was estimated to be 0.68 kton. Seasonal fluctuations in the methane oxidation activity were due to changes in the hydrothermal conditions and in the reserves of readily decomposable organic matter and mineral nitrogen, as well as to changes in the activity of methane oxidizers.

Air↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Anaerobic methane oxidation].

To clarify the biological mechanism of anaerobic methane oxidation, experiments were performed with samples of the Black Sea anaerobic sediments and with the aerobic methane-oxidizing bacterium Methylomonas methanica strain 12. The inhibition-stimulation analysis did not allow an unambiguous conclusion to be made about direct and independent role of either methanogenic or sulfate-reducing microorganisms in the biogeochemical process of anaerobic methane oxidation. Enrichment cultures obtained from samples of water and reduced sediments oxidized methane under anaerobic conditions, primarily in the presence of acetate or formate or of a mixture of acetate, formate, and lactate. However, this ability was retained by the cultures for no more than two transfers on corresponding media. Experiments showed that the aerobic methanotroph Mm. methanica strain 12 is incapable of anaerobic methane oxidation at the expense of the reduction of amorphous FeOOH.

Acetates↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Physicochemical and biological factors affecting atmospheric methane oxidation in gray forest soils].

The decline of methane oxidizing activities in gray forest soil upon its conversion into arable land was shown to be caused by major changes in biotic and physicochemical properties of soil. Using the method of immune serums, methane-oxidizing bacteria were detected in both forest and agricultural soils, but their populations differed significantly in both abundance and composition. In the forest soil, the number of methanotrophs was an order of magnitude higher than in arable soil, amounting to 3.5 x 10(8) and 0.24 x 10(8) cells/g soil, respectively. All methane-oxidizing bacteria identified in the forest soil belonged to the genus Methylocystis, and 94% of these were represented by a single species, M. parvus. The arable soil was dominated by type I methanotrophs (Methylobacter and Methylomonas, 67.6%), occurring along with bacteria of the genus Methylocystis. In addition, arable soil is characterized by a low content of microbial biomass, lower porosity and water permeability of soil aggregates, and the predominance of nitrogen mineralization processes over those of nitrogen immobilization. These factors can also contribute to lower rates of methane oxidation in arable soil as compared to forest soil.

Agriculture↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Adaptive functions of extracellular autoregulators of microorganisms].

Information about the functions of extracellular autoregulators, which adapt microorganisms to the stresses "scheduled" in the development cycle of microbial cultures (stresses of new medium, starvation, or space exhaustion (high cell density)) is summarized in the review. In a number of bacteria and yeasts, derivatives of alkylhydroxybenzenes (AHB), particularly of the class of alkyl resorcinols, act as autoregulators with adaptogenic functions. The chemical structure of AHB determines their amphiphility; capacity for physical and chemical interaction with membrane lipids, proteins, and DNA; properties as natural modifiers of biological membranes and enzymes; and the expression of antioxidant activity. Increase of AHB concentration up to the critical level (10(-5)-10(-4) M) results in cessation of cell division and in transition of the microbial culture to the stationary phase; further increase to 10(-4)-10(-3) M induces a transition of some of the cells of a post-stationary culture to the anabiotic state with the formation of cystlike resting cells (CRC), even in non-spore-forming bacteria. AHB participate in the regulation of the phenotypic variability of bacteria. The dynamics of extra- and intracellular concentrations of AHB in growing microbial cultures and the polymodality of their effect determine the adaptogenic functions of AHB as autoinhibitors of culture growth, autoinducers of anabiosis, and autoinhibitors of germination of resting forms. Manifestation of any given function depends on the concentration of AHB, the physiological state of the recipient cells, and on environmental factors. The species nonspecificity of AHB effects points to their significant role in the regulation of the development and functioning of microbial communities.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Isolation and properties of new strains of obligate methanotrophs].

New strains of obligate methanotrophic bacteria which assimilate only methane or methanol as the source of carbon and energy have been isolated. According to their morphology, ultrastructure, cultural and physiologo-biochemical characteristics, the bacteria were classed as Methylobacter vinelandii, Methylobacter bovis, Methylobacter chroococcum and Mehylosinus sporium. A new species Methylocystis echinoides sp. nov. is described; it differs from other methanotrophs in certain morphological and physiological properties. The subspecies Methylosinus trichosporium var. methanolicum is recommended to be termed as Methylocytis methanolicus sp. nov.

Bacteria↗