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A multiproxy approach to evaluate biocidal treatments on biodeteriorated majolica glazed tiles
(2016)
The Fishing House located on the grounds of the Marquis of Pombal Palace, Oeiras, Portugal, was built in the 18th century. During this epoch, Portuguese gardens, such as the one surrounding the Fishing House, were commonly ornamented with glazed wall tile claddings. Currently, some of these outdoor tile panels are covered with dark colored biofilms, contributing to undesirable aesthetic changes and eventually inducing chemical and physical damage to the tile surfaces. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the investigated biofilms are mainly composed of green algae, cyanobacteria and dematiaceous fungi. With the aim of mitigating biodeterioration, four different biocides (TiO2 nanoparticles, Biotin® T, Preventol® RI 80 and Albilex Biostat®) were applied in situ to the glazed wall tiles. Their efficacy was monitored by visual examination, epifluorescence microscopy and DNA-based analysis. Significant changes in the microbial community composition were observed 4 months after treatment with Preventol® RI 80 and Biotin® T. Although the original community was inactivated after these treatments, an early stage of re-colonization was detected 6 months after the biocide application. TiO2 nanoparticles showed promising results due to their self-cleaning effect, causing the detachment of the biofilm from the tile surface, which remained clean 6 and even 24 months after biocide application.
A wide variety of fungi and bacteria are known to contaminate fuels and fuel systems. These microbial contaminants have been linked to fuel system fouling and corrosion. The fungus Hormoconis resinae, a common jet fuel contaminant, is used in this study as a model for developing innovative risk assessment methods. A novel qPCR protocol to detect and quantify H. resinae in, and together with, total fungal contamination of fuel systems is reported. Two primer sets, targeting the markers RPB2 and ITS, were selected for their remarkable specificity and sensitivity. These primers were successfully applied on fungal cultures and diesel samples demonstrating the validity and reliability of the established qPCR protocol. This novel tool allows clarification of the current role of H. resinae in fuel contamination cases, as well as providing a technique to detect fungal outbreaks in fuel systems. This tool can be expanded to other well-known fuel-deteriorating microorganisms.
A novel qPCR protocol to the specific detection and quantification of Hormoconis resinae in fuel systems
P.M. Martin-Sanchez1 , J. Toepel1, H.J. Kunte1, A.A. Gorbushina1, 2
1BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Department 4 Materials & Environment, Berlin, Germany
2 Free University of Berlin, Department of Earth Sciences & Biology, Chemistry & Pharmacy, Berlin, Germany
Introduction. Microbial contamination of fuels is a phenomenon widely reported in the literature causing dramatic problems in fuel systems such as blockage of pipelines and filters, and corrosion of their metal components. A variety of microorganisms, fungi, yeasts and bacteria, can contaminate the distillate fuels. Between them, the filamentous fungus Hormoconis resinae, previously described as Cladosporium resinae and also known as "kerosene fungus" or "diesel bug", has traditionally been considered the main responsible of such troubles due to its great capacity to produce biomass and biofilms.
Aim. The overarching goal of this study was to develop a novel real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) method to detect and quantify the fungus H. resinae in samples from fuel systems.
Materials and methods. Four specific primer sets targeting on two molecular markers, RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) and internal transcribed spacers of rDNA (ITS), were designed using Primer Blast. The specificity of primer sets was evaluated by both conventional PCR and qPCR, analyzing the DNA extracts from H. resinae strains and other fungi and yeasts previously described in fuels as well as four taxonomically closest related species. The efficiency and sensitivity of these protocols were assessed by constructing the corresponding standard curves for each primer sets.
Results.
Two primer sets, Hr556F/Hr814R (RPB2) and Hr101F/Hr408R (ITS), were selected according to their remarkable specificity. Their standard curves showed a good correlation coefficient and efficiency. Additionally, the selected primer pairs showed a high sensitivity detecting a tiny amount of H. resinae DNA, 10 pg for RPB2 primers and 0.1 pg for ITS primers.
Conclusions.
The established qPCR protocol is a reliable and useful tool to the specific detection and quantification of H. resinae. Its subsequent implementation to analyze samples of fuels or biofilms covering fuel systems will allow the early detection of fungal outbreaks in order to apply the appropriated control procedures. Moreover, these analyses will determine the current incidence of this species in the cases of biological fuel contamination.
Keywords. Hormoconis resinae, real-time qPCR, diesel bug, kerosene fungus
Contribution of culture-independent methods to the cave aerobiology; the case of Lascaux Cave
(2014)
Magura Cave, north-western Bulgaria, possesses valuable rock-art paintings made with bat guano and dated from the period between the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages. Since 2008, the Art Gallery is closed to the general public in order to protect the paintings from vandalism, microclimatic changes caused by visitors and artificial illumination, and the consequent growth of fungi and phototrophs. Nevertheless, some tourist visits are allowed under the supervision of cave managers. This study provides the first scientific report on cultivable fungal assemblages dwelling different substrata in the Art Gallery. A total of 78 strains, belonging to 37 OTUs (Ascomycota 81%, Zygomycota 13%, Basidiomycota 5%), were isolated in the study. This fungal diversity was clearly dominated by Penicillium (50% of strains) and Aspergillus (13%). The most relevant visible fungal colonies were detected in sediments rich in bat guano, where, besides Penicillium, other guanophilic fungi such as Mucor, Mortierella, Trichosporon and Trichoderma were dominant. Conversely, scarce fungi were detected on rock surface of painted walls. Based on the biocide susceptibility assay, octylisothiazolinone (OIT) and benzalkonium chloride (BAC) were effective inhibiting the in vitro growth of dominant fungal species in Magura Cave, when applied at concentrations ranged from 100 to 1,000 mg/L. These data provide a valuable knowledge about Magura fungi, and exemplify a type of preliminary test that may be conducted before planning any biocide treatment. However, considering the irreversible effects of biocides on the ecological balance in caves, and the low fungal contamination in painted walls of Magura Cave, there is no reason to use conventional biocides in this cave. Further studies, monitoring microbial communities and microclimatic parameters, should be conducted to improve the knowledge on microbial ecology in Magura Cave and possible human impacts, as well as to allow the early detection of potential microbial outbreaks.
Soiling of photovoltaic (PV) systems compromises their performance causing a significant power loss and demanding periodical cleaning actions. This phenomenon raises great concerns in the solar energy field, thus leading to notable research efforts over the last decades. Soiling is caused by a dual action of dust deposition and biofouling. However, surprisingly, the microbiological contribution to PV soiling is often overlooked or underestimated. In this study, a variety of qPCR-based methods have been developed to quantify the microbial load of fungi, bacteria and phototrophs on PV panels. These protocols were evaluated by comparison with culturedependent methods, and were implemented with real solar plants for two years. The results show that the developed molecular methods are highly sensitive and reliable to monitor the microbial component of the soiling. Fungal biomass was clearly dominant in all analysed PV modules, while bacteria and phototrophs showed much lower abundance. Light microscopy and qPCR results revealed that melanised microcolonial fungi and phototrophs are the main biofilm-forming microorganisms on the studied solar panels. In particular, the fungal qPCR protocol is proposed as a useful tool for monitoring of PV soiling, and investigating the microbial contribution to specific soiling cases.
Subsurface granitic environments are scarce and poorly investigated. A multi-disciplinary approach was used to characterize the abundant moonmilk deposits and associated microbial communities coating the granite walls of the 16th Century Paranhos spring water tunnel in Porto city (north-west Portugal). It is possible that this study is the first record of moonmilk in an urban subsurface granitic environment. The morphology and texture, mineralogical composition, stable isotope composition and microbial diversity of moonmilk deposits have been studied to infer the processes of moonmilk formation. These whitish secondary mineral deposits are composed of very fine needle fibre calcite crystals with different morphologies and density. Calcified filaments of fungal hyphae or bacteria were distinguished by field emission scanning electron microscopy. Stable isotope analysis revealed a meteoric origin of the needle fibre calcite, with an important contribution of atmospheric CO2, soil respiration and HCO3 − from weathering of Ca-bearing minerals. The DNA-based analyses revealed the presence of micro-organisms related to urban contamination, including Actinobacteria, mainly represented by Pseudonocardia hispaniensis, Thaumarchaeota and Ascomycota, dominated by Cladosporium. This microbial composition is consistent with groundwater pollution and contamination sources of the overlying urban area, including garages, petrol stations and wastewater pipeline leakage, showing that the Paranhos tunnel is greatly perturbed by anthropogenic activities. Whether the identified micro-organisms are involved in the formation of the needle fibre calcite or not is difficult to demonstrate, but this study evidenced both abiotic and biogenic genesis for the calcite moonmilk in this subsurface granitic environment.
Quantification of microbial load in diesel storage tanks using culture- and qPCR-based approaches
(2016)
Microbial contamination of fuels, associated with a wide variety of bacteria and fungi, leads to decreased product quality and can compromise equipment performance by biofouling and microbiologically influenced corrosion of pipelines and storage tanks. Detection and quantification of biomass are critical in monitoring fuel systems for an early detection of microbial outbreaks. The aims of this study are (i) to quantify bacterial and fungal contamination in samples from diesel storage tanks of petrol stations, using both culture dependent- and culture independent (qPCR) approaches, and (ii) to analyse the diversity of cultivable diesel-contaminating microorganisms with the purpose to create a strain collection for further use in biodeterioration experiments. Both methodological approaches revealed a high microbial contamination in all studied samples, with the bacterial load being much higher than the fungal load. The diversity of cultivable microorganisms was rather low. Based on criteria of abundance and fuel degradation potential, the most relevant microorganisms were identified as bacteria of genera Bacillus, Citrobacter, Burkholderia and Acetobacter, the filamentous fungi Paecilomyces variotii and Pseudallescheria boydii, and a Dipodascaceae yeast. Furthermore the validity and utility of qPCR-based methods are discussed.