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de Bruin S, Vasquez-Cardenas D, Sarbu SM, Meysman FJR, Sousa DZ, van Loosdrecht MCM, Lin Y. Sulfated glycosaminoglycan-like polymers are present in an acidophilic biofilm from a sulfidic cave. Sci Total Environ 2022; 829:154472. [PMID: 35276175 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAG) are negatively charged extracellular polymeric substances that occur in biofilms from various environments. Yet, it remains unclear whether these polymers are acquired from the external environment or produced by microbes in the biofilm. To resolve this, we analyzed the presence of sGAGs in samples of an acidophilic biofilm collected from Sulfur Cave in Puturosu Mountain (Romania), an environment that is largely inaccessible to contamination. A maximum of 55.16 ± 2.06 μg sGAG-like polymers were recovered per mg of EPS. Enzymatic treatment with chondroitinase ABC resulted in a decrease of the mass of these polymers, suggesting the structure of the recovered sGAG is similar to chondroitin. Subsequent FT-IR analysis of these polymers revealed absorbance bands at 1230 cm-1, 1167 cm-1 and 900 cm-1, indicating a possible presence of polysaccharides and sulfate. Analysis of genomic sequences closely related to those predominant in the acidophilic biofilm, contained genes coding for sulfotransferase (an enzyme needed for the production of sGAG), which supports the hypothesis of microbial synthesis of sGAGs within the biofilm.
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Affiliation(s)
- S de Bruin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands.
| | - D Vasquez-Cardenas
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - S M Sarbu
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, 400 West 1st St, Chico, CA 95926-515, USA; Emil G. Racoviță Institute, Babeș-Bolyai University, Clinicilor 5-7, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - F J R Meysman
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - D Z Sousa
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - M C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Y Lin
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, the Netherlands
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Konec M, Prevorčnik S, Sarbu SM, Verovnik R, Trontelj P. Parallels between two geographically and ecologically disparate cave invasions by the same species, Asellus aquaticus
(Isopoda, Crustacea). J Evol Biol 2015; 28:864-75. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2014] [Revised: 02/19/2015] [Accepted: 02/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. Konec
- Department of Biology; Biotechnical Faculty; University of Ljubljana; Ljubljana Slovenia
| | - S. Prevorčnik
- Department of Biology; Biotechnical Faculty; University of Ljubljana; Ljubljana Slovenia
| | - S. M. Sarbu
- Grupul de Explorari Subacvatice si Speologice; Bucureşti Romania
| | - R. Verovnik
- Department of Biology; Biotechnical Faculty; University of Ljubljana; Ljubljana Slovenia
| | - P. Trontelj
- Department of Biology; Biotechnical Faculty; University of Ljubljana; Ljubljana Slovenia
- Museum für Naturkunde; Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Berlin Germany
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Abstract
Microbial mats discovered in a ground-water ecosystem in southern Romania contain chemoautotrophic bacteria that fix inorganic carbon, using hydrogen sulfide as an energy source. Analysis of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes showed that this chemoautotrophic production is the food base for 48 species of cave-adapted terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, 33 of which are endemic to this ecosystem. This is the only cave ecosystem known to be supported by in situ autotrophic production, and it contains the only terrestrial community known to be chemoautotrophically based.
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Affiliation(s)
- SM Sarbu
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
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