José Sanz

Soda lakes are inhabited by important haloalkaliphilic microbial communities that are well adapted to these extreme characteristics. The surface waters of the haloalkaline Mono Lake (CA, USA) are alkaline but, in contrast to its bottom waters, do not present high salinity. We have studied the microbiota present in the shoreline sediments of Mono Lake using next-generation sequencing techniques. The statistical indexes showed that Bacteria had a higher richness, diversity and evenness compared to Archaea. 17 phyla and 8 "candidate divisions", were identified among the Bacteria, with a predominance of the phyla <i>Firmicutes</i>, <i>Proteobacteria </i>and <i>Bacteroidetes</i>. Among the <i>Proteobacteria</i>, there was a notable presence of <i>Rhodoplanes </i>and a high diversity of sulfate-reducing (SRB) <i>Deltaproteobacteria</i>, in accordance with the high sulfate-reducing activity detected in soda l...

Tirez was a small and seasonal endorheic athalassohaline lagoon that was located in central Spain. In recent years, the lagoon has totally dried out, offering for the first time the opportunity to analyze its evolution to hyperaridity as an analog to similar processes in Meridiani Planum, Mars. In Meridiani, an early period of water ponding within enclosed basins evolved to a complete desiccation of the lagoons, leading to deposition of evaporitic sequences during the Noachian and well into the Hesperian. Here we describe (i) the microbial ecology of Tirez when the lagoon was still active 20 years ago, with prokaryotes adapted to extreme saline conditions; (ii) the composition of the microbial community in the dried lake sediments today, in many case groups that thrive in sediments of extreme environments; and (iii) the molecular and isotopic analysis of the lipid biomarkers that can be recovered from the sediments today. We discuss the implications of these results to better unders...

The Dallol geothermal area originated as a result of seismic activity and the presence of a shallow underground volcano, both due to the divergence of two tectonic plates. In its ascent, hot water dissolves and drags away the subsurface salts. The temperature of the water that comes out of the chimneys is higher than 100 °C, with a pH close to zero and high mineral concentration. These factors make Dallol a polyextreme environment. So far, nanohaloarchaeas, present in the salts that form the walls of the chimneys, have been the only living beings reported in this extreme environment. Through the use of complementary techniques: culture in microcosms, methane stable isotope signature and hybridization with specific probes, the methanogenic activity in the Dallol area has been assessed. Methane production in microcosms, positive hybridization with the Methanosarcinales probe and the δ13CCH4-values measured, show the existence of extensive methanogenic activity in the hydrogeothermic D...

Most of the terrestrial deep subsurfaces are oligotrophic environments in which some gases, mainly H2 , CH4 , and CO2 , play an important role as energy and/or carbon sources. In this work, we assessed their biotic and abiotic origin in samples from subsurface hard-rock cores of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) at three different depths (414, 497, and 520 meters). One set of samples was sterilized (abiotic control) and all samples were incubated under anaerobic conditions. Our results showed that H2 , CH4 , and CO2 remained low and constant in the sterilized controls while their levels were 4, 4.1, and 2.5 times higher, respectively, in the unsterilized samples compared to the abiotic controls. The δ13 CCH4 -values measured in the samples (range -31.2 to -43.0 ‰) reveals carbon isotopic signatures that are within the range for biological methane production. Possible microorganisms responsible for the biotic production of the gases were assessed by CARD-FISH. The analysis of sequenced g...

With escalating global demand for renewable energy, exploitation of farm wastes (i.e., agriculture straw wastes (ASWs), livestock wastewater (LW) and sewage sludge (SS)) has been considered to attain maximum methane yield (MY) via anaerobic digestion (AD). Results pointed that mixture of SS and LW as anaerobes' source with 20 g of ASWs/300 mL of working volume achieved maximum MY and volatile solid (VS) removal efficiency of 0.44 (±0.05) L/gVS and 51.4 (±4.1)%, respectively. This was mainly because of emerging heavy duty bacterial species (i.e., Syntrophorhabdaceae and Synergistaceae) and archaeal community (i.e, Methanosarcina and Methanoculleus) after 70 days of anaerobic incubation. This was acquired along with boosting enzymatic activity, especially xylanase, cellulase and protease up to 71.5(±7.9), 179.3(±14.3) and 207.2(±16.2) U/100 mL, respectively. Furthermore, the digestate contained high concentrations of NH4+ (960.1±(76.8) mg/L), phosphorus (126.3±(10.1) mg/L) and trace metals, making it a good candidate as organic fertilizer.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) – characterized by high acidity and elevated sulfate and metal concentrations – represents a big environmental concern. Biological sulfate reduction has become an alternative to the classical physicochemical methods. In this study, domestic wastewater (DW) was tested as a cost-effective carbon-source for the remediation of AMD. Sediments from Tinto River, an extreme acidic environment with an elevated concentration of metals, were used as inoculum. Three anaerobic bioreactors with different microbial supports were fed with a 1:10 (v:v) mixture of synthetic AMD:DW. Around 50% of the organic matter present in the DW co-precipitated with the metals from the AMD previous to feeding the reactor. Therefore, the reactors had to be supplemented with an extra carbon-source (acetate) to achieve higher S elimination. Elevated removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD) (>88%), sulfate (>75%), Fe (>85%) and other dissolved metals (>99% except for Mn...

Paola Zarate Segura. Ingeniero Bioquimico, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biologicas (ENCB), Instituto Politecnico Nacional (IPN). Estudiante de posgrado, Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Avanzados (CINVESTAV-IPN) Mexico. Elvira Rios-Leal. Quimico Farmaco-biologo, Universidad Autonoma de Mexico. Especialista en Cromatografia, ENCB-IPN y UNAM. Profesora-Investigador, CINVESTAV-IPN, Mexico. Fernando Esparza-Garcia. Quimico Bacteriologo Parasitologo y Doctor en Ciencias Biologicas en Microbiologia, ENCB-IPN. Profesor-Investigador, CINVESTAV-IPN, Mexico. Jaime Garcia-Mena. Quimico Bacteriologo Parasitologo, ENCB-IPN. Doctor en Ciencias en Biologia Molecular, CINVESTAV-IPN. Investigador, CINVESTAV-IPN, Mexico. Jose L. Sanz. Licenciado en Ciencias Quimicas, Licenciado en Ciencias Biologicas y Doctor en Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (UAM). Profesor, UAM, Madrid, Espana. Marcelo Zaiat. Ingeniero Quimico, Maestro en Ciencias, Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos-UFSCar, Brasil. Doctor en Ciencias en Ingenieria Hidraulica y Saneamiento, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brasil. Profesor, Escuela de Ingenieria de Sao Carlos, Universidade de Sao Paulo (EESC/USP), San Carlos, SP, Brasil. Hector M. Poggi-Varaldo. Ingeniero Quimico, Universidad de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay. Maestro en Ingenieria Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Doctor en Ciencias en Biotecnologia, CINVESTAV-IPN. Investigador, CINVESTAV-IPN. Direccion: CINVESTAV-IPN, Departamento de Biotecnologia y Bioingenieria. Apartado Postal 14-740, C.P. 07000, Mexico D.F., Mexico. e-mail: hectorpoggi2001@yahoo.com REMOCION DE PERCLOROETILENO EN DOS TIPOS DE SISTEMAS ANAEROBIOS CONTINUOS

Isolation and genetic identification of PAH degrading ... M. Carmen Molina Æ Natalia González Æ L. Fernando Bautista Æ Raquel Sanz Æ Raquel Simarro Æ Irene Sánchez Æ José L. Sanz ... Received: 6 November 2008 / Accepted: 30 April 2009 / Published online: 26 May ...

Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Tessaracoccus sp. strain T2.5-30, which consists of a chromosome with 3.2 Mbp, 70.4% G+C content, and 3,005 coding DNA sequences. The strain was isolated from a rock core retrieved at a depth of 139.5 m in the subsurface of the Iberian Pyritic Belt (Spain).

The aim of this study has been to produce 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) from glycerol (gly) fermentation by means of a microbial mixed culture (granular sludge), as well as to establish the operational conditions of two up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors in order to achieve a maximum 1,3-PDO yield. The UASB reactors with initial pH values set at 6.8 and 5.5 were operated at 30 °C during 165 days. Thirteen variables were previously screened by a Plackett-Burman (PB) design; results showed that yeast extract, MgSO4 and methanogenesis inhibition (by heat shock) showed a positive effect, whereas high glycerol concentration, tryptone and CaCl2 showed a negative impact on the 1,3-PDO produced by glycerol degradation. Following four experimental periods, the highest average yield of 0.43 mol 1,3-PDO mol(-1) gly was achieved when sodium bicarbonate was added to the reactors. Propionate and acetate were also produced and a high microorganism diversity was detected; however, the res...

ABSTRACT The successful operation of any type of hydrogen-producing bioreactor depends on the performance of the microorganisms present in the system. Both substrate and partial gas pressures are crucial factors affecting dark fermentation metabolic pathways. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of both factors on hydrogen production using anaerobic granular sludge as inoculum and, secondly, to study the metabolic shifts of an anaerobic community subjected to low partial gas pressures. Whit this goal in mind, seven different wastewater (four synthetic media, two industrial wastewater, and one domestic effluent) and the effect of applying vacuum on the systems were analyzed. The application of vacuum promoted an increase in the diversity of hydrogen-producing bacteria, such as Clostridium, and promoted the dominance of acetoclastic- over hydrogenotrophic methanogens. The application of different media promoted a wide variety of metabolic pathways. Nevertheless, reduction of the hydrogen partial pressure by application of vacuum lead to further oxidation of reaction intermediates irrespective of the medium used, which resulted in higher hydrogen and methane production, and improved the COD removal. Interestingly, vacuum greatly promoted biogenic hydrogen production from a real wastewater, which opens possibilities for future application of dark fermentation systems to enhance biohydrogen yields.

Introduction: Bioaugmentation has been used to improve the potential biodegradation capacity of anaerobic sludge (Guiot et al., 2002). However, sometimes good results can be just achieved with an adequate acclimation period (El Fantroussi and Agathos, 2005). In ...

Two deep boreholes were drilled at 320 and 620 meters below surface in the Iberian Pyritic Belt (IPB) at Peña de Hierro (Huelva, Southwestern Spain). Cores were sampled and used for the establishment of enrichment cultures with methanogenic activity. The cultivable diversity of these enrichments was accessed using different cultivation techniques and several isolates were recovered in pure culture from various depths in both boreholes. Although no archaeal isolates were obtained in pure culture, strict anaerobes and facultative anaerobic bacteria belonging to the phyla , and were isolated and identified using the 16S rRNA gene sequence. Analysis of three selected enrichment cultures by amplification of both bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene followed by pyrosequencing revealed further information on the populations enriched. The archaeal sequences obtained from the methanogenic enrichment cultures belonged to the orders and . To best of our knowledge this is the first report of en...

Two deep boreholes were drilled at 320 and 620 meters below surface in the Iberian Pyritic Belt (IPB) at Peña de Hierro (Huelva, Southwestern Spain). Cores were sampled and used for the establishment of enrichment cultures with methanogenic activity. The cultivable diversity of these enrichments was accessed using different cultivation techniques and several isolates were recovered in pure culture from various depths in both boreholes. Although no archaeal isolates were obtained in pure culture, strict anaerobes and facultative anaerobic bacteria belonging to the phyla , and were isolated and identified using the 16S rRNA gene sequence. Analysis of three selected enrichment cultures by amplification of both bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene followed by pyrosequencing revealed further information on the populations enriched. The archaeal sequences obtained from the methanogenic enrichment cultures belonged to the orders and . To best of our knowledge this is the first report of en...