Jessica Purswani - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Jessica Purswani

The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Mar 10, 2006

Glucosidase II is essential for sequential removal of two glucose residues from N-linked glycans ... more Glucosidase II is essential for sequential removal of two glucose residues from N-linked glycans during glycoprotein biogenesis in the endoplasmic reticulum. The enzyme is a heterodimer whose ␣-subunit contains the glycosyl hydrolase active site. The function of the ␤-subunit has yet to be defined, but mutations in the human gene have been linked to an autosomal dominant form of polycystic liver disease. Here we report the identification and characterization of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene, GTB1, encoding a polypeptide with 21% sequence similarity to the ␤-subunit of human glucosidase II. The Gtb1 protein was shown to be a soluble glycoprotein (96 -102 kDa) localized to the endoplasmic reticulum lumen where it was present in a complex together with the yeast ␣-subunit homologue Gls2p. Surprisingly, we found that ⌬gtb1 mutant cells were specifically defective in the processing of monoglucosylated glycans. Thus, although Gls2p is sufficient for cleavage of the penultimate glucose residue, Gtb1p is essential for cleavage of the final glucose. Our data demonstrate that Gtb1p is required for normal glycoprotein biogenesis and reveal that the final two glucose-trimming steps in N-glycan processing are mechanistically distinct.

Genome Announcements, 2016

We report here the draft genome sequence of Paenibacillus etheri sp. nov. SH7(T) (= CECT 8558(T) ... more We report here the draft genome sequence of Paenibacillus etheri sp. nov. SH7(T) (= CECT 8558(T) = DSM 29760(T)), isolated from a hydrocarbon-contaminated soil pilot plant in Granada, Spain. The bacterium was isolated and sequenced due to its methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)-degrading properties.

Environmental technology, Jan 25, 2016

In the last decade, autotrophic nitrogen removal technologies based on anammox metabolism have be... more In the last decade, autotrophic nitrogen removal technologies based on anammox metabolism have become state of the art in urban and industrial wastewater treatment systems, due to their advantages over traditional nitrogen removal processes. However, their application is currently limited to the treatment of warm wastewater (25-40°C) mainly due to the low growth rate of the anammox bacteria. The extension of the application field to wastewater characterized by lower temperatures (8-20°C), such as those typical for municipal sewage, allows the design of treatment systems with a net energy production. In this study, the distribution and bacterial community structure of a lab-scale single-stage partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) granular sludge bioreactor operating at low temperatures was analysed using next-generation sequencing techniques. The presence of ammonium-oxidizing bacteria and anammox bacteria was found, but the appearance of other bacterial species shows a complex microbia...

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 2015

A bacterial strain designated as strain SH7T was isolated from the hydrocarbon contaminated soil ... more A bacterial strain designated as strain SH7T was isolated from the hydrocarbon contaminated soil of a pilot plant (Granada, Spain). The strain was selected for its capacity to growth in media supplemented with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as sole energy and carbon source. Strain SH7T was a Gram-stain-positive, facultatively anaerobic, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain SH7T belongs to a cluster comprising species of the genus Paenibacillus and was closely related to Paenibacillus borealis DSM 13188T (97%) and Paenibacillus odorifer DSM 15391T (98%). DNA-DNA hybridization tests showed low relatedness of the strain SH7T with Paenibacillus borealis (16.9±1.5%) and Paenibacillus odorifer (16.6±2.1%) respectively. The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-7, anteiso-C15:0 (32.9%) and C16:0 (29.0%) were the predominant cellular fatty acids. Phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol and three unknown aminophospholipids were the major phospholipids. The DNA G+C content was 44.3 mol%. The data obtained in this study indicate that the SH7Tstrain represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus etheri sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SH7T (= CECT 8558T =DSM 29760T).

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 2015

Bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) has been widely de... more Bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) has been widely described since their cost/efficient ratios are lower than other physic-chemical methodologies. The present study focused on the isolation and selection of MTBE degrading microorganisms from contaminated soil and groundwater samples based on results from growth on mineral media amended with MTBE and BTEX, presence or absence of the monooxygenase genes and specific ability to degrade MTBE. Three bacterial strains were selected and identified as Rhodococcus ruber, strains EE1 (CECT 8555), EE6 (CECT 8612) and A5 (CECT 8556), showing the ability to degrade 60.0, 36.0 and 10.0 mg l À1 MTBE, respectively. Moreover, all the R. ruber strains showed the presence of genes encoding MTBE-degrading enzymes. One isolated strain was identified as Paenibacillus sp. SH7 (CECT 8558) and demonstrated the greatest MTBE degradation value (100 mg l À1 ), but together with the last strain selected and identified as Agrobacterium sp. MS2 (CECT 8557) did not result in positive amplification of any of the monooxygenase primers tested. The lowest toxicity (as EC 50 ) was observed after 4-days growth of R. ruber EE6 on MTBEsupplemented mineral medium. The potential application of these strains in bioremediation processes is discussed.

Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2006

Glucosidase II is essential for sequential removal of two glucose residues from N-linked glycans ... more Glucosidase II is essential for sequential removal of two glucose residues from N-linked glycans during glycoprotein biogenesis in the endoplasmic reticulum. The enzyme is a heterodimer whose ␣-subunit contains the glycosyl hydrolase active site. The function of the ␤-subunit has yet to be defined, but mutations in the human gene have been linked to an autosomal dominant form of polycystic liver disease. Here we report the identification and characterization of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene, GTB1, encoding a polypeptide with 21% sequence similarity to the ␤-subunit of human glucosidase II. The Gtb1 protein was shown to be a soluble glycoprotein (96 -102 kDa) localized to the endoplasmic reticulum lumen where it was present in a complex together with the yeast ␣-subunit homologue Gls2p. Surprisingly, we found that ⌬gtb1 mutant cells were specifically defective in the processing of monoglucosylated glycans. Thus, although Gls2p is sufficient for cleavage of the penultimate glucose residue, Gtb1p is essential for cleavage of the final glucose. Our data demonstrate that Gtb1p is required for normal glycoprotein biogenesis and reveal that the final two glucose-trimming steps in N-glycan processing are mechanistically distinct.

International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2013

Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Islamic Azad Univer... more Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Islamic Azad University (IAU). This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be selfarchived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com".

Food Microbiology, 2009

The microbial communities present in 2 different types of farmhouse goats' milk cheese from the A... more The microbial communities present in 2 different types of farmhouse goats' milk cheese from the Aracena mountains (southwest Spain), Quesailla Arochena (hard cheese) and Torta Arochena (soft cheese), have been studied using both culture-dependent and culture-independent techniques. All bacterial isolates were clustered by using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, species-specific PCR and multiplex PCR. Thus a total of 26 different species were identified, the majority belonging to the lactic-acid bacteria (LAB), mainly represented by Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus species such as Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus paracasei, together with a significant proportion of enterococci. Amongst the non-lactic-acid bacteria (NLAB), which represented 37% of the isolates in Torta Arochena, enterobacteria were the most important, Hafnia alvei and Serratia liquefaciens being the predominant species in Quesailla Arochena and Torta Arochena respectively. Moreover, RAPD analysis of the isolates revealed that most of the genotypes were specific to one of the cheeses, although a few genotypes common to both cheeses were found. The culture-independent study carried out by temporal-temperature-gradient gel electrophoresis (TTGE) with 2 target genes, rRNA 16S and rpoB, revealed less species diversity but L. lactis and Lb. plantarum were also predominant. Nevertheless, TTGE carried out using RNAr 16S also detected some organisms that had not been isolated by the culture-dependent method, such as Leuconostoc lactis and Mycoplasma agalactie in Quesailla Arochena. Although TTGE of the rpoB gene revealed less species diversity, it did lead to the detection of previously non-isolated species, such as Ln. lactis in Quesailla Arochena. Apart from this, the fingerprinting of Lactobacillus populations by length-heterogeneity PCR showed the predominance of the Lb. plantarum group, followed by Lactobacillus curvatus and, in smaller quantities, Lb. paracasei in Torta Arochena. From our results we may conclude that both types of methods complement each other and offer a more complete vision of the microbial diversity of these ecosystems.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2008

Nine bacterial strains isolated from two hydrocarbon-contaminated soils were selected because of ... more Nine bacterial strains isolated from two hydrocarbon-contaminated soils were selected because of their capacity for growth in culture media amended with 200 mg/L of one of the following gasoline oxygenates: Methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl-tert-butyl ether (ETBE), and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME). These strains were identified by amplification of their 16S rRNA gene, using fD1 and rD1 primers, and were tested for their capacity to grow and biotransform these oxygenates in both mineral and cometabolic media. The isolates were classified as Bacillus simplex, Bacillus drentensis, Arthrobacter sp., Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Acinetobacter sp., Gordonia amicalis (two strains), Nocardioides sp., and Rhodococcus ruber. Arthrobacter sp. (strain MG) and A. calcoaceticus (strain M10) consumed 100 (cometabolic medium) and 82 mg/L (mineral medium) of oxygenate TAME in 21 d, respectively, under aerobic conditions. Rhodococcus ruber (strain E10) was observed to use MTBE and ETBE as the sole carbon and energy source, whereas G. amicalis (strain T3) used TAME as the sole carbon and energy source for growth. All the bacterial strains transformed oxygenates better in the presence of an alternative carbon source (ethanol) with the exception of A. calcoaceticus (strain M10). The capacity of the selected strains to remove MTBE, ETBE, and TAME looks promising for application in bioremediation technologies.

Chemosphere, 2011

Emerging water contaminants derived from unleaded gasoline such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)... more Emerging water contaminants derived from unleaded gasoline such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME), are in need of effective bioremediation technologies for restoring water resources. In order to design the conditions of a future groundwater bioremediating biofilter, this work assesses the potential use of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus M10, Rhodococcus ruber E10 and Gordonia amicalis T3 for the removal of MTBE, ETBE and TAME in consortia or as individual strains. Biofilm formation on an inert polyethylene support material was assessed with scanning electron microscopy, and consortia were also analysed with fluorescent in situ hybridisation to examine the relation between the strains. A. calcoaceticus M10 was the best coloniser, followed by G. amicalis T3, however, biofilm formation of pair consortia favoured consortium M10-E10 both in formation and activity. However, degradation batch studies determined that neither consortium exhibited higher degradation than individual strain degradation. The physiological state of the three strains was also determined through flow cytometry using propidium iodide and 3'-dihexylocarbocyanine iodide thus gathering information on their viability and activity with the three oxygenates since previous microbial counts revealed slow growth. Strain E10 was observed to have the highest physiological activity in the presence of MTBE, and strain M10 activity with TAME was only maintained for 24 h, thus we believe that biotransformation of MTBE occurs within the active periods established by the cytometry analyses. Viable cell counts and oxygenate removal were determined in the presence of the metabolites tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) and tert-amyl alcohol (TAA), resulting in TBA biotransformation by M10 and E10, and TAA by M10. Our results show that A. calcoaceticus M10 and the consortium M10-E10 could be adequate inocula in MTBE and TAME bioremediating technologies.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2013

In Rhodococcus ruber IFP 2001, Rhodococcus zopfii IFP 2005, and Gordonia sp. strain IFP 2009, the... more In Rhodococcus ruber IFP 2001, Rhodococcus zopfii IFP 2005, and Gordonia sp. strain IFP 2009, the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase EthABCD catalyzes hydroxylation of methoxy and ethoxy residues in the fuel oxygenates methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE), and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME). The expression of the IS3-type transposase-flanked eth genes is ETBE dependent and controlled by the regulator EthR (C. Malandain et al., FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 72:289 -296, 2010

Analytical Biochemistry, 2011

A comparative analysis of four different DNA extraction protocols was performed to determine the ... more A comparative analysis of four different DNA extraction protocols was performed to determine the best choice for groundwater microbial diversity studies using temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE) analysis. The methods used were a chelex-based method, a modified salting out procedure (MSOP), and the commercial kits Epicentre and FastDNA. Both commercial kits exhibited the greatest reproducibility in their methods; however, their band patterns were very different. The protocol that showed the highest diversity was the chelex-based method, and the one that showed the lowest diversity was the FastDNA kit.

The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Mar 10, 2006

Glucosidase II is essential for sequential removal of two glucose residues from N-linked glycans ... more Glucosidase II is essential for sequential removal of two glucose residues from N-linked glycans during glycoprotein biogenesis in the endoplasmic reticulum. The enzyme is a heterodimer whose ␣-subunit contains the glycosyl hydrolase active site. The function of the ␤-subunit has yet to be defined, but mutations in the human gene have been linked to an autosomal dominant form of polycystic liver disease. Here we report the identification and characterization of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene, GTB1, encoding a polypeptide with 21% sequence similarity to the ␤-subunit of human glucosidase II. The Gtb1 protein was shown to be a soluble glycoprotein (96 -102 kDa) localized to the endoplasmic reticulum lumen where it was present in a complex together with the yeast ␣-subunit homologue Gls2p. Surprisingly, we found that ⌬gtb1 mutant cells were specifically defective in the processing of monoglucosylated glycans. Thus, although Gls2p is sufficient for cleavage of the penultimate glucose residue, Gtb1p is essential for cleavage of the final glucose. Our data demonstrate that Gtb1p is required for normal glycoprotein biogenesis and reveal that the final two glucose-trimming steps in N-glycan processing are mechanistically distinct.

Genome Announcements, 2016

We report here the draft genome sequence of Paenibacillus etheri sp. nov. SH7(T) (= CECT 8558(T) ... more We report here the draft genome sequence of Paenibacillus etheri sp. nov. SH7(T) (= CECT 8558(T) = DSM 29760(T)), isolated from a hydrocarbon-contaminated soil pilot plant in Granada, Spain. The bacterium was isolated and sequenced due to its methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)-degrading properties.

Environmental technology, Jan 25, 2016

In the last decade, autotrophic nitrogen removal technologies based on anammox metabolism have be... more In the last decade, autotrophic nitrogen removal technologies based on anammox metabolism have become state of the art in urban and industrial wastewater treatment systems, due to their advantages over traditional nitrogen removal processes. However, their application is currently limited to the treatment of warm wastewater (25-40°C) mainly due to the low growth rate of the anammox bacteria. The extension of the application field to wastewater characterized by lower temperatures (8-20°C), such as those typical for municipal sewage, allows the design of treatment systems with a net energy production. In this study, the distribution and bacterial community structure of a lab-scale single-stage partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) granular sludge bioreactor operating at low temperatures was analysed using next-generation sequencing techniques. The presence of ammonium-oxidizing bacteria and anammox bacteria was found, but the appearance of other bacterial species shows a complex microbia...

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 2015

A bacterial strain designated as strain SH7T was isolated from the hydrocarbon contaminated soil ... more A bacterial strain designated as strain SH7T was isolated from the hydrocarbon contaminated soil of a pilot plant (Granada, Spain). The strain was selected for its capacity to growth in media supplemented with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as sole energy and carbon source. Strain SH7T was a Gram-stain-positive, facultatively anaerobic, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain SH7T belongs to a cluster comprising species of the genus Paenibacillus and was closely related to Paenibacillus borealis DSM 13188T (97%) and Paenibacillus odorifer DSM 15391T (98%). DNA-DNA hybridization tests showed low relatedness of the strain SH7T with Paenibacillus borealis (16.9±1.5%) and Paenibacillus odorifer (16.6±2.1%) respectively. The cell wall contained meso-diaminopimelic acid. The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-7, anteiso-C15:0 (32.9%) and C16:0 (29.0%) were the predominant cellular fatty acids. Phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol and three unknown aminophospholipids were the major phospholipids. The DNA G+C content was 44.3 mol%. The data obtained in this study indicate that the SH7Tstrain represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus etheri sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SH7T (= CECT 8558T =DSM 29760T).

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 2015

Bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) has been widely de... more Bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) has been widely described since their cost/efficient ratios are lower than other physic-chemical methodologies. The present study focused on the isolation and selection of MTBE degrading microorganisms from contaminated soil and groundwater samples based on results from growth on mineral media amended with MTBE and BTEX, presence or absence of the monooxygenase genes and specific ability to degrade MTBE. Three bacterial strains were selected and identified as Rhodococcus ruber, strains EE1 (CECT 8555), EE6 (CECT 8612) and A5 (CECT 8556), showing the ability to degrade 60.0, 36.0 and 10.0 mg l À1 MTBE, respectively. Moreover, all the R. ruber strains showed the presence of genes encoding MTBE-degrading enzymes. One isolated strain was identified as Paenibacillus sp. SH7 (CECT 8558) and demonstrated the greatest MTBE degradation value (100 mg l À1 ), but together with the last strain selected and identified as Agrobacterium sp. MS2 (CECT 8557) did not result in positive amplification of any of the monooxygenase primers tested. The lowest toxicity (as EC 50 ) was observed after 4-days growth of R. ruber EE6 on MTBEsupplemented mineral medium. The potential application of these strains in bioremediation processes is discussed.

Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2006

Glucosidase II is essential for sequential removal of two glucose residues from N-linked glycans ... more Glucosidase II is essential for sequential removal of two glucose residues from N-linked glycans during glycoprotein biogenesis in the endoplasmic reticulum. The enzyme is a heterodimer whose ␣-subunit contains the glycosyl hydrolase active site. The function of the ␤-subunit has yet to be defined, but mutations in the human gene have been linked to an autosomal dominant form of polycystic liver disease. Here we report the identification and characterization of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene, GTB1, encoding a polypeptide with 21% sequence similarity to the ␤-subunit of human glucosidase II. The Gtb1 protein was shown to be a soluble glycoprotein (96 -102 kDa) localized to the endoplasmic reticulum lumen where it was present in a complex together with the yeast ␣-subunit homologue Gls2p. Surprisingly, we found that ⌬gtb1 mutant cells were specifically defective in the processing of monoglucosylated glycans. Thus, although Gls2p is sufficient for cleavage of the penultimate glucose residue, Gtb1p is essential for cleavage of the final glucose. Our data demonstrate that Gtb1p is required for normal glycoprotein biogenesis and reveal that the final two glucose-trimming steps in N-glycan processing are mechanistically distinct.

International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2013

Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Islamic Azad Univer... more Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Islamic Azad University (IAU). This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be selfarchived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com".

Food Microbiology, 2009

The microbial communities present in 2 different types of farmhouse goats' milk cheese from the A... more The microbial communities present in 2 different types of farmhouse goats' milk cheese from the Aracena mountains (southwest Spain), Quesailla Arochena (hard cheese) and Torta Arochena (soft cheese), have been studied using both culture-dependent and culture-independent techniques. All bacterial isolates were clustered by using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, species-specific PCR and multiplex PCR. Thus a total of 26 different species were identified, the majority belonging to the lactic-acid bacteria (LAB), mainly represented by Lactococcus lactis and Lactobacillus species such as Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus paracasei, together with a significant proportion of enterococci. Amongst the non-lactic-acid bacteria (NLAB), which represented 37% of the isolates in Torta Arochena, enterobacteria were the most important, Hafnia alvei and Serratia liquefaciens being the predominant species in Quesailla Arochena and Torta Arochena respectively. Moreover, RAPD analysis of the isolates revealed that most of the genotypes were specific to one of the cheeses, although a few genotypes common to both cheeses were found. The culture-independent study carried out by temporal-temperature-gradient gel electrophoresis (TTGE) with 2 target genes, rRNA 16S and rpoB, revealed less species diversity but L. lactis and Lb. plantarum were also predominant. Nevertheless, TTGE carried out using RNAr 16S also detected some organisms that had not been isolated by the culture-dependent method, such as Leuconostoc lactis and Mycoplasma agalactie in Quesailla Arochena. Although TTGE of the rpoB gene revealed less species diversity, it did lead to the detection of previously non-isolated species, such as Ln. lactis in Quesailla Arochena. Apart from this, the fingerprinting of Lactobacillus populations by length-heterogeneity PCR showed the predominance of the Lb. plantarum group, followed by Lactobacillus curvatus and, in smaller quantities, Lb. paracasei in Torta Arochena. From our results we may conclude that both types of methods complement each other and offer a more complete vision of the microbial diversity of these ecosystems.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2008

Nine bacterial strains isolated from two hydrocarbon-contaminated soils were selected because of ... more Nine bacterial strains isolated from two hydrocarbon-contaminated soils were selected because of their capacity for growth in culture media amended with 200 mg/L of one of the following gasoline oxygenates: Methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl-tert-butyl ether (ETBE), and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME). These strains were identified by amplification of their 16S rRNA gene, using fD1 and rD1 primers, and were tested for their capacity to grow and biotransform these oxygenates in both mineral and cometabolic media. The isolates were classified as Bacillus simplex, Bacillus drentensis, Arthrobacter sp., Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Acinetobacter sp., Gordonia amicalis (two strains), Nocardioides sp., and Rhodococcus ruber. Arthrobacter sp. (strain MG) and A. calcoaceticus (strain M10) consumed 100 (cometabolic medium) and 82 mg/L (mineral medium) of oxygenate TAME in 21 d, respectively, under aerobic conditions. Rhodococcus ruber (strain E10) was observed to use MTBE and ETBE as the sole carbon and energy source, whereas G. amicalis (strain T3) used TAME as the sole carbon and energy source for growth. All the bacterial strains transformed oxygenates better in the presence of an alternative carbon source (ethanol) with the exception of A. calcoaceticus (strain M10). The capacity of the selected strains to remove MTBE, ETBE, and TAME looks promising for application in bioremediation technologies.

Chemosphere, 2011

Emerging water contaminants derived from unleaded gasoline such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)... more Emerging water contaminants derived from unleaded gasoline such as methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME), are in need of effective bioremediation technologies for restoring water resources. In order to design the conditions of a future groundwater bioremediating biofilter, this work assesses the potential use of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus M10, Rhodococcus ruber E10 and Gordonia amicalis T3 for the removal of MTBE, ETBE and TAME in consortia or as individual strains. Biofilm formation on an inert polyethylene support material was assessed with scanning electron microscopy, and consortia were also analysed with fluorescent in situ hybridisation to examine the relation between the strains. A. calcoaceticus M10 was the best coloniser, followed by G. amicalis T3, however, biofilm formation of pair consortia favoured consortium M10-E10 both in formation and activity. However, degradation batch studies determined that neither consortium exhibited higher degradation than individual strain degradation. The physiological state of the three strains was also determined through flow cytometry using propidium iodide and 3'-dihexylocarbocyanine iodide thus gathering information on their viability and activity with the three oxygenates since previous microbial counts revealed slow growth. Strain E10 was observed to have the highest physiological activity in the presence of MTBE, and strain M10 activity with TAME was only maintained for 24 h, thus we believe that biotransformation of MTBE occurs within the active periods established by the cytometry analyses. Viable cell counts and oxygenate removal were determined in the presence of the metabolites tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) and tert-amyl alcohol (TAA), resulting in TBA biotransformation by M10 and E10, and TAA by M10. Our results show that A. calcoaceticus M10 and the consortium M10-E10 could be adequate inocula in MTBE and TAME bioremediating technologies.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2013

In Rhodococcus ruber IFP 2001, Rhodococcus zopfii IFP 2005, and Gordonia sp. strain IFP 2009, the... more In Rhodococcus ruber IFP 2001, Rhodococcus zopfii IFP 2005, and Gordonia sp. strain IFP 2009, the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase EthABCD catalyzes hydroxylation of methoxy and ethoxy residues in the fuel oxygenates methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE), and tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME). The expression of the IS3-type transposase-flanked eth genes is ETBE dependent and controlled by the regulator EthR (C. Malandain et al., FEMS Microbiol. Ecol. 72:289 -296, 2010

Analytical Biochemistry, 2011

A comparative analysis of four different DNA extraction protocols was performed to determine the ... more A comparative analysis of four different DNA extraction protocols was performed to determine the best choice for groundwater microbial diversity studies using temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TGGE) analysis. The methods used were a chelex-based method, a modified salting out procedure (MSOP), and the commercial kits Epicentre and FastDNA. Both commercial kits exhibited the greatest reproducibility in their methods; however, their band patterns were very different. The protocol that showed the highest diversity was the chelex-based method, and the one that showed the lowest diversity was the FastDNA kit.