Paraliobacillus salinarum sp. nov., isolated from saline soil in Yingkou, China.

A novel Gram-stain-positive, facultatively aerobic, slightly halophilic, endospore-forming bacterium, designated G6-18T, was isolated from saline soil collected in Yingkou, Liaoning, PR China. Cells of strain G6-18T grew at 10-37 °C (optimum, 30 °C), at pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 8.0) and in the presence of 2-15 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 5 %). The strain could be clearly distinguished from the related species of the genus Paraliobacillus by its phylogenetic position and biochemical characteristics. It presented MK-7 as the major quinone and the dominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0, C16 : 0 and iso-C14 : 0. The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol as the major components. The G+C content of strain G6-18T genome was 35.3 mol%. 16S rRNA analysis showed that strain G6-18T had the highest similarity to Paraliobacillus ryukyuensis DSM 15140T, reaching 97.0 %, followed by Paraliobacillus quinghaiensis CGMCC 1.6333T with a value of 96.3 %. The average nucleotide identity values between strain G6-18T and Paraliobacillus ryukyuensis DSM 15140T, Paraliobacillus sedimins KCTC 33762T, Paraliobacillus quinghaiensis CGMCC 1.6333T and Paraliobacillus zengyii DSM 107811T were 74.3, 72.0, 73.2 and 72.8 %, respectively, and the digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain G6-18T and the neighbouring strains were 15.6, 13.8, 14.2 and 14.2 %, respectively. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic inferences, strain G6-18T represents a novel species of the genus Paraliobacillus, for which the name Paraliobacillus salinarum sp. nov. (=CGMCC 1.12058T=DSM 25428T) is proposed.

[Vibrational assignment analysis of Raman spectra of fatty alcohols].

In the present research, Raman spectra of 31 fatty alcohols were calculated by B3LYP/6-31G (d) and verified by taking methanol for example. The study results indicate that B3LYP/6-31G (d) is an effective approach for the fatty alcohols Raman spectra calculated. The vibrational assignment and Raman spectra features of 6 unbranched alcohols were discussed and the vibrating peaks derived from stretching vibration by C-O were chosen as the research target selection, and the multiple principal component regression models were established and validated with the parameters including polarizability, thermodynamic and energy parameters of the above unbranched alcohols. There exists significant correlation between the vibrating peaks derived from stretching vibration by C-O of fatty alcohols and the parameters (sig. = 0.015). This study will benefit the Raman spectra research of homologs.

Metagenomic analysis reveals specific BTEX degrading microorganisms of a bacterial consortium.

Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination is of environmental and public health concerns due to its toxic components. Bioremediation utilizes microbial organisms to metabolism and remove these contaminants. The aim of this study was to enrich a microbial community and examine its potential to degrade petroleum hydrocarbon. Through successive enrichment, we obtained a bacterial consortium using crude oil as sole carbon source. The 16 S rRNA gene analysis illustrated the structural characteristics of this community. Metagenomic analysis revealed the specific microbial organisms involved in the degradation of cyclohexane and all the six BTEX components, with a demonstration of the versatile metabolic pathways involved in these reactions. Results showed that our consortium contained the full range of CDSs that could potentially degrade cyclohexane, benzene, toluene, and (o-, m-, p-) xylene completely. Interestingly, a single taxon that possessed all the genes involved in either the activation or the central intermediates degrading pathway was not detected, except for the Novosphingobium which contained all the genes involved in the upper degradation pathway of benzene, indicating the synergistic interactions between different bacterial genera during the hydrocarbon degradation.

Influences of shale gas well-pad development on land use and vegetation biomass in a shale gas mining area.

It is not clear how shale gas mining would affect land use change and vegetation biomass in the villages and farmlands where was substantially influenced by human activities around the well-pads of the shale gas mining areas in Sichuan Province. Using remote sensing and image interpretation in 2012 and 2017 and in situ vegetation investigation data in 2017, we analyzed the changes of land use and biomass in well-drilling fields and buffer zones and further examined the extent affected by well-drilling and subsequently vegetation biomass loss. The results showed that shale gas mining had converted 93.81 hm2 of land to mining land from 2012 to 2017, among which almost half (48.6%) was dry land (about 45.61 hm2), 17.2% forest land (16.13 hm2), 11.0% residential land (10.28 hm2), and 11.1% shrubland (10.39 hm2). The extent affected by well-drilling ranged from 0 to 50 m at the early stage, which decreased at the stage of stable gas production. As a result of well-drilling, over 2477.53 t of vegetation biomass was lost, of which 71.6% being accounted for by the well-drilling fields and the remaining (28.4%) being caused by road construction and temporary land use. Direct occupation of dry land and forested land by shale gas well-pads mainly caused land use changes and biomass losses in this shale gas mining area. Our results have implications for ecological environment management and shale gas sustainable mining in this area.