Proyecto de Investigación: EL CONTROL MICROBIANO EN LA FORMACION DE DEPOSITOS MINERALES
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RTI2018-094867-B-I00
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Occurrence and transport of microplastics sampled within and above the planetary boundary layer
(Elsevier BV, 2021-03-20) González Pleiter, M.; Edo, C.; Aguilera, Á.; Viúdez Moreiras, Daniel; Pulido Reyes, G.; González Toril, Elena; De Diego Castilla, Graciela; Leganés, F.; Fernández Piñas, F.; Rosal, R.; Osuna Esteban, Susana; Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO); 0000-0003-0816-8775; 0000-0003-0340-7327; 0000-0002-7674-4167
Nowadays, there is no direct evidence about the presence of microplastics (MPs) in the atmosphere above ground level. Here, we investigated the occurrence, chemical composition, shape, and size of MPs in aircraft sampling campaigns flying within and above the planetary boundary layer (PBL). The results showed that MPs were present with concentrations ranging from 1.5 MPs m−3 above rural areas to 13.9 MPs m−3 above urban areas. MPs represented up to almost one third of the total amount of microparticles collected. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy allowed identifying seven types of MPs with the highest diversity corresponding to urban areas. Atmospheric transport and deposition simulations were performed using the HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. Air mass trajectory analyses showed that MPs could be transported more than 1000 km before being deposited. This pioneer study is the first evidence of the microplastic presence above PBL and their potential long-range transport from their point of release even crossing distant borders.
Toxicity, Physiological, and Ultrastructural Effects of Arsenic and Cadmium on the Extremophilic Microalga Chlamydomonas acidophila
(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2020-03-03) Díaz, S.; De Francisco, P.; Olsson, S.; Aguilera, Á.; González Toril, Elena; Martín González, A.; Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO); Olsson, S. [https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1199-4499]; Unidad de Excelencia Científica María de Maeztu Centro de Astrobiología del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial y CSIC, MDM-2017-0737
The cytotoxicity of cadmium (Cd), arsenate (As(V)), and arsenite (As(III)) on a strain of Chlamydomonas acidophila, isolated from the Rio Tinto, an acidic environment containing high metal(l)oid concentrations, was analyzed. We used a broad array of methods to produce complementary information: cell viability and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation measures, ultrastructural observations, transmission electron microscopy energy dispersive x-ray microanalysis (TEM-XEDS), and gene expression. This acidophilic microorganism was affected differently by the tested metal/metalloid: It showed high resistance to arsenic while Cd was the most toxic heavy metal, showing an LC50 = 1.94 mu M. Arsenite was almost four-fold more toxic (LC50= 10.91 mM) than arsenate (LC50 = 41.63 mM). Assessment of ROS generation indicated that both arsenic oxidation states generate superoxide anions. Ultrastructural analysis of exposed cells revealed that stigma, chloroplast, nucleus, and mitochondria were the main toxicity targets. Intense vacuolization and accumulation of energy reserves (starch deposits and lipid droplets) were observed after treatments. Electron-dense intracellular nanoparticle-like formation appeared in two cellular locations: inside cytoplasmic vacuoles and entrapped into the capsule, around each cell. The chemical nature (Cd or As) of these intracellular deposits was confirmed by TEM-XEDS. Additionally, they also contained an unexpected high content in phosphorous, which might support an essential role of poly-phosphates in metal resistance.
Impacts of Saharan Dust Intrusions on Bacterial Communities of the Low Troposphere
(Springer Nature Research Journals, 2020-04-22) González Toril, Elena; Osuna, Toril; Viúdez Moreiras, Daniel; Navarro Cid, Ivan; Díaz del Toro, Silvia; Bardera, Rafael; Puente Sánchez, Fernando; De Diego Castilla, Graciela; Aguilera, Á.; Sor, Suthyvann; Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO); Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); Unidad de Excelencia Científica María de Maeztu Centro de Astrobiología del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial y CSIC, MDM-2017-0737
We have analyzed the bacterial community of a large Saharan dust event in the Iberian Peninsula and, for the first time, we offer new insights regarding the bacterial distribution at different altitudes of the lower troposphere and the replacement of the microbial airborne structure as the dust event receeds. Samples from different open-air altitudes (surface, 100 m and 3 km), were obtained onboard the National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) C-212 aircrafts. Samples were collected during dust and dust-free air masses as well two weeks after the dust event. Samples related in height or time scale seems to show more similar community composition patterns compared with unrelated samples. The most abundant bacterial species during the dust event, grouped in three different phyla: (a) Proteobacteria: Rhizobiales, Sphingomonadales, Rhodobacterales, (b) Actinobacteria: Geodermatophilaceae; (c) Firmicutes: Bacillaceae. Most of these taxa are well known for being extremely stress-resistant. After the dust intrusion, Rhizobium was the most abundant genus, (40–90% total sequences). Samples taken during the flights carried out 15 days after the dust event were much more similar to the dust event samples compared with the remaining samples. In this case, Brevundimonas, and Methylobacterium as well as Cupriavidus and Mesorizobium were the most abundant genera.
Viable Microorganisms on Fibers Collected within and beyond the Planetary Boundary Layer
(ACS Publications, 2020-08-25) González Pleiter, M.; Edo, C.; Casero Chamorro, M. C.; Aguilera, Á.; González Toril, Elena; Wierzchos, J.; Leganés, F.; Fernández Piñas, F.; Rosal, R.; Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); González Pleiter, M. [0000-0002-7674-4167]; Casero, M. C. [0000-0002-0611-4776]; Unidad de Excelencia Científica María de Maeztu Centro de Astrobiología del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial y CSIC, MDM-2017-0737
Fibers are found in all environments. However, the impact of their presence on ecosystems and human health is not yet well understood, especially in the case of the atmosphere. In this work, we presented evidence that fibers traveling through the atmosphere act as vectors to spread microorganisms. Here, we investigated the presence of viable microorganisms on fibers collected within and beyond the planetary boundary layer during flights of C-212 aircraft over Central Spain. In total, seven fibers, six of which transported viable microorganisms, were isolated in two flights. The viability of the microorganisms was determined by confocal microscopy by means of the fluorescent probes SYBR-Green to detect microorganisms and CTC redox dye to assess their cellular respiration activity. The fibers that transported viable microorganisms were spectroscopically analyzed by micro-FTIR and identified as wool-silk and cellulose-cotton. Taken together, the results demonstrated that fibers host viable microorganisms when traveling through the lower free troposphere.
Biofilm mechanics in an extremely acidic environment: microbiological significance
(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2021-02-15) Souza Egipsy, V.; Vega, J.; González Toril, Elena; Aguilera, Á.; Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); 0000-0002-9690-9889; 0000-0002-0377-4410; 0000-0002-5750-0765; 0000-0003-4979-7578
A variety of natural biofilms were collected from an extremely acidic environment at Río Tinto (Spain). In order to provide insights into the structure–function relationship, the microstructure of the biofilms was explored using low temperature scanning electron microscopy (LTSEM) in combination with rheological analysis. The creep-recovery experiment results have demonstrated the typical behaviour of viscoelastic materials that combine both elastic and viscous characters. The LTSEM visualization and rheological characterization of biofilms revealed that the network density increased in bacterial biofilms and was the lowest in protist Euglena biofilms. This means that, in the latter biofilms, a lower density of interactions exist, suggesting that the whole system experiences enhanced mobility under external mechanical stress. The samples with the highest dynamic moduli (Leptospirillum–Acidiphilium, Zygnemopsis, Chlorella and Cyanidium) have shown the typical strain thinning behaviour, whereas the Pinnularia and Euglena biofilms exhibited a viscous thickening reaction. The Zygnemopsis filamentous floating structure has the highest cohesive energy and has shown distinctive enhanced resilience and connectivity. This suggests that biofilms should be viewed as soft viscoelastic systems the properties of which are determined by the main organisms and their extracellular polymeric substances. The fractional Maxwell model has been found to explain the rheological behaviour of the observed complex quite well, particularly the power-law behaviour and the characteristic broad relaxation response of these systems.
