Introducing a new stratospheric dust-collecting system with potential use for upper atmospheric microbiology investigations.

The stratosphere is a known host to terrestrial microbes of most major biological lineages, but it is also host to incoming meteoric dust. Our goal is to (1) introduce DUSTER (Dust in the Upper Stratosphere Tracking Experiment and Retrieval), an active collector for the nondestructive collection of nano- to micrometer particles in the stratosphere between 30 and 40 km altitude, and (2) demonstrate that even a single particle can be collected free of resident atmospheric and laboratory contaminant particles. DUSTER improves the pervasive and persistent contamination problem in the field of aerobiology research. Here, we demonstrate the collector's advances by the identification of a (terrestrial) spore particle found among a population of nanometer-scale inorganic meteoric particles. This was possible because the size, shape, morphology, and chemical composition of each particle can be determined while still on the collector surface. Particles can be removed from DUSTER for specific laboratory analyses. So far, DUSTER has not been fitted for aerobiological purposes; that is, no attempts were made to sterilize the collector other than with isopropyl alcohol. Its design and laboratory protocols, however, allow adjustments to dedicated aerobiological sampling opportunities.

The bacterial metallome: composition and stability with specific reference to the anaerobic bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans.

In bacteria, the intracellular metal content or metallome reflects the metabolic requirements of the cell. When comparing the composition of metals in phytoplankton and bacteria that make up the macronutrients and the trace elements, we have determined that the content of trace elements in both of these microorganisms is markedly similar. The trace metals consisting of transition metals plus zinc are present in a stoichometric molar formula that we have calculated to be as follows: Fe(1)Mn(0.3)Zn(0.26)Cu(0.03)Co(0.03)Mo(0.03). Under conditions of routine cultivation, trace metal homeostasis may be maintained by a series of transporter systems that are energized by the cell. In specific environments where heavy metals are present at toxic levels, some bacteria have developed a detoxification strategy where the metallic ion is reduced outside of the cell. The result of this extracellular metabolism is that the bacterial metallome specific for trace metals is not disrupted. One of the microorganisms that reduces toxic metals outside of the cell is the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans. While D. desulfuricans reduces metals by enzymatic processes involving polyhemic cytochromes c3 and hydrogenases, which are all present inside the cell; we report the presence of chain B cytochrome c nitrite reductase, NrfA, in the outer membrane fraction of D. desulfuricans ATCC 27774 and discuss its activity as a metal reductase.

Mineralogy and petrology of comet 81P/Wild 2 nucleus samples.

The bulk of the comet 81P/Wild 2 (hereafter Wild 2) samples returned to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft appear to be weakly constructed mixtures of nanometer-scale grains, with occasional much larger (over 1 micrometer) ferromagnesian silicates, Fe-Ni sulfides, Fe-Ni metal, and accessory phases. The very wide range of olivine and low-Ca pyroxene compositions in comet Wild 2 requires a wide range of formation conditions, probably reflecting very different formation locations in the protoplanetary disk. The restricted compositional ranges of Fe-Ni sulfides, the wide range for silicates, and the absence of hydrous phases indicate that comet Wild 2 experienced little or no aqueous alteration. Less abundant Wild 2 materials include a refractory particle, whose presence appears to require radial transport in the early protoplanetary disk.