| 1. |
- Beier, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Global Phylogeography of Chitinase Genes in Aquatic Metagenomes
- 2011
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Ingår i: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. - 0099-2240 .- 1098-5336. ; 77:3, s. 1101-1106
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Phylogeny-based analysis of chitinase and 16S rRNA genes from metagenomic data suggests that salinity is a major driver for the distribution of both chitinolytic and total bacterial communities in aquatic systems. Additionally, more acidic chitinase proteins were observed with increasing salinity. Congruent habitat separation was further observed for both genes according to latitude and proximity to the coastline. However, comparison of chitinase and 16S rRNA genes extracted from different geographic locations showed little congruence in distribution. There was no indication that dispersal limited the global distribution of either gene.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
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Fiskbestånd och miljö i hav och sötvatten : Resurs- och miljööversikt 2012
- 2012
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Detta är den nionde utgåvan av den samlade översikten över fisk- och kräftdjursbeståndens status i våra vatten. Kunskap om fiskbestånden och miljön är en förutsättning för att utnyttjandet av fiskresurserna skall bli bärkraftigt. För svenska vattenområden beskrivs miljöutvecklingen i ett ekosystemsperspektiv, dels för att tydliggöra fiskens ekologiska roll och beskriva yttre miljöfaktorer som påverkar fiskbestånden, dels för att belysa fiskets effekter på miljön.Fiskbestånd och miljö i hav och sötvatten är utarbetad av Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (SLU), Institutionen för akvatiska resurser (SLU Aqua), på uppdrag av Havs- och vattenmyndigheten. Rapporten sammanfattar utveckling och beståndsstatus för de kommersiellt viktigaste fisk- och kräftdjursarterna i våra vatten. Bedömningar och förvaltningsråd är baserade på Internationella Havsforskningsrådets (ICES) rådgivning, SLU Aquas nationella och regionala provfiskedata, samt yrkesfiskets rapportering.
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| 4. |
- Beier, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Bacterial chitin degradation : mechanisms and ecophysiological strategies
- 2013
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-302X. ; 4, s. 149-
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chitin is one the most abundant polymers in nature and interacts with both carbon and nitrogen cycles. Processes controlling chitin degradation are summarized in reviews published some 20 years ago, but the recent use of culture-independent molecular methods has led to a revised understanding of the ecology and biochemistry of this process and the organisms involved. This review summarizes different mechanisms and the principal steps involved in chitin degradation at a molecular level while also discussing the coupling of community composition to measured chitin hydrolysis activities and substrate uptake. Ecological consequences are then highlighted and discussed with a focus on the cross feeding associated with the different habitats that arise because of the need for extracellular hydrolysis of the chitin polymer prior to metabolic use. Principal environmental drivers of chitin degradation are identified which are likely to influence both community composition of chitin degrading bacteria and measured chitin hydrolysis activities.
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| 5. |
- Beier, Sara
(författare)
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Bacterial Degradation and Use of Chitin in Aquatic Habitats
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Chitin belongs to the most abundant biopolymers on earth where it has an important role as a structural element in crustaceans, insects, fungi and some phytoplankton. Missing evidence for long-term accumulation of chitin in nature implies fast turnover and as chitin is composed of aminosugar subunits it holds central roles in both carbon and nitrogen cycles. The aim of this thesis was to contribute to a better understanding of organic matter cycling by learning more about the diversity, function and ecology of bacteria that degrade chitin. A metagenome-enabled study of the spatial distribution of chitinolytic bacteria in aquatic ecosystems identified salinity as the major environmental factor for shaping their community composition. To address the role of alternative environmental variables controlling chitinolytic communities, a temporally resolved study was completed in a dimictic freshwater lake. Pronounced seasonal change in the indigenous chitinolytic community was observed and parallel measured environmental parameters pointed to the availability and crystalline form of chitin as significant controlling factors. The different ecological niches occupied by microbes that utilize chitin for growth were studied in an experimental study. Single-cell quantification of chitinolytic cells and cells incorporating chitin hydrolysis products suggested that commensal use of chitin hydrolysis products without simultaneous chitinase activity could be an important ecological strategy in freshwater bacterioplankton communities. Members of the ubiquitous and often quantitatively dominant group of freshwater Actinobacteria Ac1 were identified as particularly active in this “cheater” lifestyle. Further experiments based on artificially created gradients in bacterial diversity demonstrated the importance of specific bacterial populations and community composition rather than overall community richness in controlling more specific functions such as chitin and cellulose degradation. To conclude, results of this thesis provide insight into the biogeography, niche-separation and species interactions of the functional community of chitin degraders and the influence of general bacterial diversity to the respective system functioning.
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| 6. |
- Beier, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Betaproteobacterial ammonia oxidizers in root zones of aquatic macrophytes
- 2010
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Ingår i: Fundamental and Applied Limnology. - : Schweizerbart. - 1863-9135. ; 177:4, s. 241-255
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Enhanced nitrification and coupled denitrification in macrophyte root zones may contribute to the depletion of nitrogen from the rhizosphere and are both critical processes for agriculture and rhizoremediation. We examined one factor likely to affect these processes: the ammonia oxidizing betaproteobacterial community composition, and whether or not it is influenced by plant species (Eleocharis acicularis, Eleocharis palustris, Typha angustifolia) or sediment characteristics. Genes coding for ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) and 16S rRNA of betaproteobacterial ammonia oxidizers were targeted. The betaproteobacterial ammonia oxidizing community in root surface biofilms was distinct from the surrounding rhizosphere sediment. In contrast, communities in rhizosphere and bulk sediment samples were very similar. Our results showed the occurrence of Nitrosomonas europaea-like bacteria nearly exclusively in the rhizoplane biofilms, while sequences affiliated with the Nitrosomonas oligotropha, Nitrosomonas communis and Nitrosospira-lineages were more frequently detected in the surrounding sediment. Our results further suggest that the presence of N. europaea on macrophyte roots depends on the sampling site rather than on the studied macrophyte species. We propose that the rhizoplane of aquatic macrophytes is a natural habitat for N. europaea.
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| 7. |
- Beier, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Pronounced seasonal dynamics of freshwater chitinase genes and chitin processing
- 2012
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Ingår i: Environmental Microbiology. - : Wiley. - 1462-2912 .- 1462-2920. ; 14:9, s. 2467-2479
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Seasonal variation in activity of enzymes involved in polymer degradation, including chitinases, has been observed previously in freshwater environments. However, it is not known whether the seasonal dynamics are due to shifts in the activity of bacteria already present, or shifts in community structure towards emergence or disappearance of chitinolytic organisms. We traced seasonal shifts in the chitinase gene assemblage in a temperate lake and linked these communities to variation in chitinase activity. Chitinase genes from 20 samples collected over a full yearly cycle were characterized by pyrosequencing. Pronounced temporal shifts in composition of the chitinase gene pool (beta diversity) occurred along with distinct shifts in richness (alpha diversity) as well as chitin processing. Changes in the chitinase gene pool correlated mainly with temperature, abundance of crustacean zooplankton and phytoplankton blooms. Also changes in the physical structure of the lake, e.g. stratification and mixing were associated with changes in the chitinolytic community, while differences were minor between surface and suboxic hypolimnetic water. The lake characteristics influencing the chitinolytic community are all linked to changes in organic particles and we suggest that seasonal changes in particle quality and availability foster microbial communities adapted to efficiently degrade them.
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| 8. |
- Beier, Sara, et al.
(författare)
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Uncoupling of chitinase activity and uptake of hydrolyses products in freshwater bacterioplankton
- 2011
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Ingår i: Limnology and Oceanography. - : Wiley. - 0024-3590 .- 1939-5590. ; 56:4, s. 1179-1188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigated to what extent chitinolytic bacteria subsidize bacterial populations that do not produce chitinolytic enzymes but still use the products of chitin hydrolysis. Applying single-cell techniques to untreated and chitin-enriched lake water, we show that the number of planktonic cells taking up chitin hydrolysis products by far exceeds the number of cells expressing chitinases. Flavobacteria, Actinobacteria, and specifically members of the abundant and ubiquitous freshwater Ac1 cluster of the Actinobacteria, increased in abundance and were enriched in response to the chitin amendment. Flavobacteria were frequently observed in dense clusters on chitin particles, suggesting that they are actively involved in the hydrolysis and solubilization of chitin. In contrast, Actinobacteria were exclusively planktonic. We propose that planktonic Actinobacteria contain commensals specialized in the uptake of small hydrolysis products without expressing or possibly even possessing the machinery for chitin hydrolysis. More research is needed to assess the importance of such "cheater'' substrate acquisition strategies in the turnover and degradation of polymeric organic matter in aquatic ecosystems.
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| 9. |
- Peter, Hannes, et al.
(författare)
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Function-specific response to depletion of microbial diversity
- 2011
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Ingår i: The ISME Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1751-7362 .- 1751-7370. ; 5:2, s. 351-361
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent meta-analyses suggest that ecosystem functioning increases with biodiversity, but contradictory results have been presented for some microbial functions. Moreover, observations of only one function underestimate the functional role of diversity because of species-specific trade-offs in the ability to carry out different functions. We examined multiple functions in batch cultures of natural freshwater bacterial communities with different richness, achieved by a dilution-to-extinction approach. Community composition was assessed by molecular fingerprinting of 16S rRNA and chitinase genes, representing the total community and a trait characteristic for a functional group, respectively. Richness was positively related to abundance and biomass, negatively correlated to cell volumes and unrelated to maximum intrinsic growth rate. The response of chitin and cellulose degradation rates depended on the presence of a single phylotype. We suggest that species identity and community composition rather than richness matters for specific microbial processes.
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