A hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer reveals a Piggyback-the-Persistent viral strategy

ABSTRACT Subsurface environments hold the largest reservoir of microbes in the biosphere. They play essential roles in transforming nutrients, degrading contaminants and recycling organic matter. Here, we propose a previously unrecognised fundamental microbial process that influences aquifer bioremediation dynamics and that applies to all microbial communities. In contrast to previous models, our proposed Piggyback-the-Persistent (PtP) mechanism occurs when viruses become more dominated by those exhibiting temperate rather than lytic lifestyles driven by persistent chemicals (in our case chlorinated-hydrocarbon pollutants) that provide long-term carbon sources and that refocus the aquifer carbon cycle, thus altering the microbial community. In this ultra-oligotrophic system, the virus:microbial ratio (VMR) ranges from below the detection limit of 0.0001 to 0.6, well below the common aquatic range of 3–10. Shortest-average-path network analysis revealed VMR and trichlorethene (TCE) as nodes through which ecosystem information and biomass most efficiently pass. Novel network rearrangement revealed a hierarchy of Kill-the-Winner (KtW), Piggyback-the-Winner (PtW) and PtP nodes. We propose that KtW, PtW and PtP occur simultaneously as competing strategies, with their relative importance depending on conditions at a particular time and location with unusual nutrient sources, such as TCE, appearing to contribute to a shift in this balance between viral mechanisms.

Economic Factor on the In Situ Vanillin Enzymatic Formation from the Green Pods Vanilla

This work proposed a study of a direct enzymatic of vanillin formation by using rumen liquid which has enzymatic capability for tissue disruption of vanilla green pods to avoid the curing process. Application of enzymes during the formation of vanilla aromas and its extraction present nice opportunity to improve productivity, as the enzymatic reaction possibly substitute the microbial process in the traditional fermentation. Green vanilla pods were applied for the direct enzymatic extraction of vanillin, while liquid rument provide cell wall degrading enzyme in order to support the hydrolysis process (destruction) of cell wall. Glucovanillin were contacted with the β-glucosidase in the green pods due to the desruction of the cell wall, followed by the formation of glucovanillin into vanillin. Vanillin content of vanilla green pods was found higher in which by treating the vanilla green pods at 30 °C.