Monitoring the Water Stress of an Indoor Living Wall System Using the "Triangle Method".

Living walls are important vertical greening systems with modular prevegetated structures. Studies have suggested that living walls have many social benefits as an ecological engineering technique with notable potential for reconciliation ecology. Despite these benefits, there are currently no mature workflows or technologies for monitoring the health status and water stress of living wall systems. To partially fill the current knowledge gap related to water stress, we acquired thermal, multispectral, and hyperspectral remote sensing data from an indoor living wall in the Cloud Forest of the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore. The surface temperature (Ts) and a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were obtained from these data to construct a Ts-NDVI space for applying the "triangle method". A simple and effective algorithm was proposed to determine the dry and wet edges, the key components of the said method. The pixels associated with the dry and wet edges were then selected and highlighted to directly display the areas under water-stress conditions. Our results suggest that the proposed algorithm can provide a reasonable overview of the water-stress information of the living wall; therefore, our method can be simple and effective to monitor the health status of a living wall. Furthermore, our work confirms that the triangle method can be transferred from the outdoors to an indoor environment.

Proteomics and transcriptomics characterization of bile stress response in probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (GG) is a widely used and intensively studied probiotic bacterium. Although the health benefits of strain GG are well documented, the systematic exploration of mechanisms by which this strain exerts probiotic effects in the host has only recently been initiated. The ability to survive the harsh conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, including gastric juice containing bile salts, is one of the vital characteristics that enables a probiotic bacterium to transiently colonize the host. Here we used gene expression profiling at the transcriptome and proteome levels to investigate the cellular response of strain GG toward bile under defined bioreactor conditions. The analyses revealed that in response to growth of strain GG in the presence of 0.2% ox gall the transcript levels of 316 genes changed significantly (p < 0.01, t test), and 42 proteins, including both intracellular and surface-exposed proteins (i.e. surfome), were differentially abundant (p < 0.01, t test in total proteome analysis; p < 0.05, t test in surfome analysis). Protein abundance changes correlated with transcriptome level changes for 14 of these proteins. The identified proteins suggest diverse and specific changes in general stress responses as well as in cell envelope-related functions, including in pathways affecting fatty acid composition, cell surface charge, and thickness of the exopolysaccharide layer. These changes are likely to strengthen the cell envelope against bile-induced stress and signal the GG cells of gut entrance. Notably, the surfome analyses demonstrated significant reduction in the abundance of a protein catalyzing the synthesis of exopolysaccharides, whereas a protein dedicated for active removal of bile compounds from the cells was up-regulated. These findings suggest a role for these proteins in facilitating the well founded interaction of strain GG with the host mucus in the presence of sublethal doses of bile. The significance of these findings in terms of the functionality of a probiotic bacterium is discussed.

Comparative genomic analysis of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG reveals pili containing a human- mucus binding protein.

To unravel the biological function of the widely used probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, we compared its 3.0-Mbp genome sequence with the similarly sized genome of L. rhamnosus LC705, an adjunct starter culture exhibiting reduced binding to mucus. Both genomes demonstrated high sequence identity and synteny. However, for both strains, genomic islands, 5 in GG and 4 in LC705, punctuated the colinearity. A significant number of strain-specific genes were predicted in these islands (80 in GG and 72 in LC705). The GG-specific islands included genes coding for bacteriophage components, sugar metabolism and transport, and exopolysaccharide biosynthesis. One island only found in L. rhamnosus GG contained genes for 3 secreted LPXTG-like pilins (spaCBA) and a pilin-dedicated sortase. Using anti-SpaC antibodies, the physical presence of cell wall-bound pili was confirmed by immunoblotting. Immunogold electron microscopy showed that the SpaC pilin is located at the pilus tip but also sporadically throughout the structure. Moreover, the adherence of strain GG to human intestinal mucus was blocked by SpaC antiserum and abolished in a mutant carrying an inactivated spaC gene. Similarly, binding to mucus was demonstrated for the purified SpaC protein. We conclude that the presence of SpaC is essential for the mucus interaction of L. rhamnosus GG and likely explains its ability to persist in the human intestinal tract longer than LC705 during an intervention trial. The presence of mucus-binding pili on the surface of a nonpathogenic Gram-positive bacterial strain reveals a previously undescribed mechanism for the interaction of selected probiotic lactobacilli with host tissues.

Recurrent adenylation domain replacement in the microcystin synthetase gene cluster.

BACKGROUND: Microcystins are small cyclic heptapeptide toxins produced by a range of distantly related cyanobacteria. Microcystins are synthesized on large NRPS-PKS enzyme complexes. Many structural variants of microcystins are produced simultaneously. A recombination event between the first module of mcyB (mcyB1) and mcyC in the microcystin synthetase gene cluster is linked to the simultaneous production of microcystin variants in strains of the genus Microcystis. RESULTS: Here we undertook a phylogenetic study to investigate the order and timing of recombination between the mcyB1 and mcyC genes in a diverse selection of microcystin producing cyanobacteria. Our results provide support for complex evolutionary processes taking place at the mcyB1 and mcyC adenylation domains which recognize and activate the amino acids found at X and Z positions. We find evidence for recent recombination between mcyB1 and mcyC in strains of the genera Anabaena, Microcystis, and Hapalosiphon. We also find clear evidence for independent adenylation domain conversion of mcyB1 by unrelated peptide synthetase modules in strains of the genera Nostoc and Microcystis. The recombination events replace only the adenylation domain in each case and the condensation domains of mcyB1 and mcyC are not transferred together with the adenylation domain. Our findings demonstrate that the mcyB1 and mcyC adenylation domains are recombination hotspots in the microcystin synthetase gene cluster. CONCLUSION: Recombination is thought to be one of the main mechanisms driving the diversification of NRPSs. However, there is very little information on how recombination takes place in nature. This study demonstrates that functional peptide synthetases are created in nature through transfer of adenylation domains without the concomitant transfer of condensation domains.

Interlaboratory comparison of Taq Nuclease Assays for the quantification of the toxic cyanobacteria Microcystis sp.

The application of quantitative real-time PCR has been proposed for the quantification of toxic genotypes of cyanobacteria. We have compared the Taq Nuclease Assay (TNA) in quantifying the toxic cyanobacteria Microcystis sp. via the intergenic spacer region of the phycocyanin operon (PC) and mcyB indicative of the production of the toxic heptapeptide microcystin between three research groups employing three instruments (ABI7300, GeneAmp5700, ABI7500). The estimates of mcyB genotypes were compared using (i) DNA of a mcyB containing strain and a non-mcyB containing strain supplied in different mixtures across a low range of variation (0-10% of mcyB) and across a high range of variation (20-100%), and (ii) DNA from field samples containing Microcystis sp. For all three instruments highly significant linear regression curves between the proportion of the mcyB containing strain and the percentage of mcyB genotypes both within the low range and within the high range of mcyB variation were obtained. The regression curves derived from the three instruments differed in slope and within the high range of mcyB variation mcyB proportions were either underestimated (0-50%) or overestimated (0-72%). For field samples cell numbers estimated via both TNAs as well as mcyB proportions showed significant linear relationships between the instruments. For all instruments a linear relationship between the cell numbers estimated as PC genotypes and the cell numbers estimated as mcyB genotypes was observed. The proportions of mcyB varied from 2 to 28% and did not differ between the instruments. It is concluded that the TNA is able to provide quantitative estimates on mcyB genotype numbers that are reproducible between research groups and is useful to follow variation in mcyB genotype proportion occurring within weeks to months.

Effect of acid stress on protein expression and phosphorylation in Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.

Acidic environments encountered in food products and during gastrointestinal tract passage affect the survival of bacteria that are marketed as probiotics. In this study, the global proteome responses of the probiotic lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG to two physiologically relevant pH conditions (pH 4.8 and pH 5.8) were studied by 2-D DIGE. The proteomics data were complemented with transcriptome analyses by whole-genome DNA microarrays. The cells were cultured in industrial-type whey medium under strictly defined bioreactor conditions. In total, 2-D DIGE revealed the pH-dependent formation of 92 protein spots. In response to lower pH conditions, the strongest up-regulation of all proteins was detected for a predicted surface antigen, LGG_02016. In addition, the acid pH was found to up-regulate the expression of F(0)F(1)-ATP synthase genes whereas the abundance of proteins participating in nucleotide biosynthesis and protein synthesis was significantly diminished. Moreover, the results suggest that L. rhamnosus GG modulates its pyruvate metabolism depending on the growth pH. Furthermore, a growth pH-dependent protein phosphorylation phenomenon was detected in several L. rhamnosus GG proteins with ProQ Diamond 2-DE gel staining. Proteins participating in central cellular pathways were shown to be phosphorylated, and the phosphorylation of glycolytic enzymes was found to be especially extensive.

Growth phase-associated changes in the proteome and transcriptome of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG in industrial-type whey medium.

The growth phase during which probiotic bacteria are harvested and consumed can strongly influence their performance as health-promoting agents. In this study, global transcriptomic and proteomic changes were studied in the widely used probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG during growth in industrial-type whey medium under strictly defined bioreactor conditions. The expression of 636 genes (P ≤ 0.01) and 116 proteins (P < 0.05) changed significantly over time. Of the significantly differentially produced proteins, 61 were associated with alterations at the transcript level. The most remarkable growth phase-dependent changes occurred during the transition from the exponential to the stationary growth phase and were associated with the shift from glucose fermentation to galactose utilization and the transition from homolactic to mixed acid fermentation. Furthermore, several genes encoding proteins proposed to promote the survival and persistence of L. rhamnosus GG in the host and proteins that directly contribute to human health showed temporal changes in expression. Our results suggest that L. rhamnosus GG has a highly flexible and adaptable metabolism and that the growth stage during which bacterial cells are harvested and consumed should be taken into consideration to gain the maximal benefit from probiotic bacteria.