To understand the ecological and genetic role of viruses in the marine environment, it is critica... more To understand the ecological and genetic role of viruses in the marine environment, it is critical to know the infectivity of viruses and the types of interactions that occur between marine viruses and their hosts. We isolated four marine phages from turbid plaques by using four indigenous bacterial hosts obtained from concentrated water samples from Mamala Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. Two
A current estimate of the quantity of dust that is transported some distance in Earth's atmos... more A current estimate of the quantity of dust that is transported some distance in Earth's atmosphere each year is approximately two billion metric tons. Whereas various research projects have been undertaken to understand this planetary process, little has been done to address public and ecosystem health issues. Our research group is currently investigating long-range transport of microorganisms associated with desert
Deep-sea Research Part Ii-topical Studies in Oceanography, 2010
Little is known about the distribution and abundance of viruses in deep-sea cold-seep environment... more Little is known about the distribution and abundance of viruses in deep-sea cold-seep environments. Like hydrothermal vents, seeps support communities of macrofauna that are sustained by chemosynthetic bacteria. Sediments close to these communities are hypothesized to be more microbiologically active and therefore to host higher numbers of viruses than non-seep areas. Push cores were taken at five types of Gulf of Mexico habitats at water depths below 1000m using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The habitats included non-seep reference sediment, brine seeps, a microbial mat, an urchin field, and a pogonophoran worm community. Samples were processed immediately for enumeration of viruses and prokaryotes without the addition of a preservative. Prokaryote counts were an order of magnitude lower in sediments directly in contact with macrofauna (urchins, pogonophorans) compared to all other samples (107 vs. 108cellsg−1dry weight) and were highest in areas of elevated salinity (brine seeps). Viral-Like Particle (VLP) counts were lowest in the reference sediments and pogonophoran cores (108VLPg−1dry wt), higher in brine seeps (109VLPg−1dry wt), and highest in the microbial mats (1010VLPg−1dry wt). Virus-prokaryote ratios (VPR) ranged from 30 in the microbial mats and >60 in the urchin field. VLP counts and VPR were all significantly greater than those reported from sediments in the deep Mediterranean Sea and in most cases were higher than recent data from a cold-seep site near Japan. The high VPR suggest that greater microbial activity in or near cold-seep environments results in greater viral production and therefore higher numbers of viruses.
Page 229. 5 Ecology of Bacteriophages in Nature JOHN H. PAUL and CHRISTINA A. KELLOGG Department ... more Page 229. 5 Ecology of Bacteriophages in Nature JOHN H. PAUL and CHRISTINA A. KELLOGG Department of Marine Science University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 I. Introduction II. Distribution III. Ecosystem ...
... 20, No. 2 146 Coral Microbiology by EugENE RosENbERg, ChRistiNa a. KEllogg, aNd FoREst RohwER... more ... 20, No. 2 146 Coral Microbiology by EugENE RosENbERg, ChRistiNa a. KEllogg, aNd FoREst RohwER In the last 30 years, there has been approximately a 30% loss of corals worldwide, largely due to emerging dis-eases (Harvell et al., 2002, 2007; Hughes et al., 2003). ...
An international team of scientists from government agencies and universities in the United State... more An international team of scientists from government agencies and universities in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), Trinidad & Tobago, the Republic of Cape Verde, and the Republic of Mali (West Africa) is working together to elucidate the role Saharan dust may play in the degradation of Caribbean ecosys- tems. The first step has been to identify and quantify the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), trace metals, and viable microorganisms in the atmosphere in dust source areas of West Africa, and in dust episodes at downwind sites in the eastern Atlantic (Cape Verde) and the Caribbean (USVI and Trinidad & Tobago). Preliminary find- ings show that air samples from Mali contain a greater number of pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and in higher concentrations than the Caribbean sites. Overall, POP concentrations were similar in USVI and Trinidad samples. Trace metal concentrations were found to be similar to crustal co...
DNA is the genetic material found in all living cells and is a molecule fundamental for life on t... more DNA is the genetic material found in all living cells and is a molecule fundamental for life on this planet. Interest in the measurement of DNA in the oceans has evolved from a desire to quantitate biomass to a need to understand microbial diversity in the marine environment (see chapter by DeLong in this book).
Microorganisms associated with corals are hypothesized to contribute to the function of the host ... more Microorganisms associated with corals are hypothesized to contribute to the function of the host animal by cycling nutrients, breaking down carbon sources, fixing nitrogen, and producing antibiotics. This is the first study to culture and characterize bacteria from Lophelia pertusa, a cold-water coral found in the deep sea, in an effort to understand the roles that the microorganisms play in the coral microbial community. Two sites in the northern Gulf of Mexico were sampled over 2 years. Bacteria were cultured from coral tissue, skeleton, and mucus, identified by 16S rRNA genes, and subjected to biochemical testing. Most isolates were members of the Gammaproteobacteria, although there was one isolate each from the Betaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria. Phylogenetic results showed that both sampling sites shared closely related isolates (e.g. Pseudoalteromonas spp.), indicating possible temporally and geographically stable bacterial-coral associations. The Kirby-Bauer antibiotic susceptibility test was used to separate bacteria to the strain level, with the results showing that isolates that were phylogenetically tightly grouped had varying responses to antibiotics. These results support the conclusion that phylogenetic placement cannot predict strain-level differences and further highlight the need for culture-based experiments to supplement culture-independent studies.
To understand the ecological and genetic role of viruses in the marine environment, it is critica... more To understand the ecological and genetic role of viruses in the marine environment, it is critical to know the infectivity of viruses and the types of interactions that occur between marine viruses and their hosts. We isolated four marine phages from turbid plaques by using four indigenous bacterial hosts obtained from concentrated water samples from Mamala Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. Two
A current estimate of the quantity of dust that is transported some distance in Earth's atmos... more A current estimate of the quantity of dust that is transported some distance in Earth's atmosphere each year is approximately two billion metric tons. Whereas various research projects have been undertaken to understand this planetary process, little has been done to address public and ecosystem health issues. Our research group is currently investigating long-range transport of microorganisms associated with desert
Deep-sea Research Part Ii-topical Studies in Oceanography, 2010
Little is known about the distribution and abundance of viruses in deep-sea cold-seep environment... more Little is known about the distribution and abundance of viruses in deep-sea cold-seep environments. Like hydrothermal vents, seeps support communities of macrofauna that are sustained by chemosynthetic bacteria. Sediments close to these communities are hypothesized to be more microbiologically active and therefore to host higher numbers of viruses than non-seep areas. Push cores were taken at five types of Gulf of Mexico habitats at water depths below 1000m using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The habitats included non-seep reference sediment, brine seeps, a microbial mat, an urchin field, and a pogonophoran worm community. Samples were processed immediately for enumeration of viruses and prokaryotes without the addition of a preservative. Prokaryote counts were an order of magnitude lower in sediments directly in contact with macrofauna (urchins, pogonophorans) compared to all other samples (107 vs. 108cellsg−1dry weight) and were highest in areas of elevated salinity (brine seeps). Viral-Like Particle (VLP) counts were lowest in the reference sediments and pogonophoran cores (108VLPg−1dry wt), higher in brine seeps (109VLPg−1dry wt), and highest in the microbial mats (1010VLPg−1dry wt). Virus-prokaryote ratios (VPR) ranged from 30 in the microbial mats and >60 in the urchin field. VLP counts and VPR were all significantly greater than those reported from sediments in the deep Mediterranean Sea and in most cases were higher than recent data from a cold-seep site near Japan. The high VPR suggest that greater microbial activity in or near cold-seep environments results in greater viral production and therefore higher numbers of viruses.
Page 229. 5 Ecology of Bacteriophages in Nature JOHN H. PAUL and CHRISTINA A. KELLOGG Department ... more Page 229. 5 Ecology of Bacteriophages in Nature JOHN H. PAUL and CHRISTINA A. KELLOGG Department of Marine Science University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 I. Introduction II. Distribution III. Ecosystem ...
... 20, No. 2 146 Coral Microbiology by EugENE RosENbERg, ChRistiNa a. KEllogg, aNd FoREst RohwER... more ... 20, No. 2 146 Coral Microbiology by EugENE RosENbERg, ChRistiNa a. KEllogg, aNd FoREst RohwER In the last 30 years, there has been approximately a 30% loss of corals worldwide, largely due to emerging dis-eases (Harvell et al., 2002, 2007; Hughes et al., 2003). ...
An international team of scientists from government agencies and universities in the United State... more An international team of scientists from government agencies and universities in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), Trinidad & Tobago, the Republic of Cape Verde, and the Republic of Mali (West Africa) is working together to elucidate the role Saharan dust may play in the degradation of Caribbean ecosys- tems. The first step has been to identify and quantify the persistent organic pollutants (POPs), trace metals, and viable microorganisms in the atmosphere in dust source areas of West Africa, and in dust episodes at downwind sites in the eastern Atlantic (Cape Verde) and the Caribbean (USVI and Trinidad & Tobago). Preliminary find- ings show that air samples from Mali contain a greater number of pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and in higher concentrations than the Caribbean sites. Overall, POP concentrations were similar in USVI and Trinidad samples. Trace metal concentrations were found to be similar to crustal co...
DNA is the genetic material found in all living cells and is a molecule fundamental for life on t... more DNA is the genetic material found in all living cells and is a molecule fundamental for life on this planet. Interest in the measurement of DNA in the oceans has evolved from a desire to quantitate biomass to a need to understand microbial diversity in the marine environment (see chapter by DeLong in this book).
Microorganisms associated with corals are hypothesized to contribute to the function of the host ... more Microorganisms associated with corals are hypothesized to contribute to the function of the host animal by cycling nutrients, breaking down carbon sources, fixing nitrogen, and producing antibiotics. This is the first study to culture and characterize bacteria from Lophelia pertusa, a cold-water coral found in the deep sea, in an effort to understand the roles that the microorganisms play in the coral microbial community. Two sites in the northern Gulf of Mexico were sampled over 2 years. Bacteria were cultured from coral tissue, skeleton, and mucus, identified by 16S rRNA genes, and subjected to biochemical testing. Most isolates were members of the Gammaproteobacteria, although there was one isolate each from the Betaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria. Phylogenetic results showed that both sampling sites shared closely related isolates (e.g. Pseudoalteromonas spp.), indicating possible temporally and geographically stable bacterial-coral associations. The Kirby-Bauer antibiotic susceptibility test was used to separate bacteria to the strain level, with the results showing that isolates that were phylogenetically tightly grouped had varying responses to antibiotics. These results support the conclusion that phylogenetic placement cannot predict strain-level differences and further highlight the need for culture-based experiments to supplement culture-independent studies.
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