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Cupriavidus Metallidurans
''Cupriavidus metallidurans'' is a non-spore-forming, Gram-negative bacterium which is adapted to survive several forms of heavy metal stress. As a model and industrial system It is an ideal subject to study heavy metal disturbance of cellular processes. This bacterium shows a unique combination of advantages not present in this form in other bacteria. * Its genome (strain CH34) has been fully sequenced (preliminary, annotated sequence data were obtained from the DOE Joint Genome Institute) * It is not pathogenic, therefore, models of the cell can also be tested in artificial environments similar to its natural habitats. * It is related to the plant pathogen '' Ralstonia solanacearum''. * It is of ecological importance since related bacteria are predominant in mesophilic heavy metal-contaminated environments. * It is of industrial importance and used for heavy metal remediation and sensing. * It is an aerobic chemolithoautotroph, facultatively able to grow in a mineral ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep biosphere of Earth's crust. Bacteria are vital in many stages of the nutrient cycle by recycling nutrients such as the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere. The nutrient cycle includes the decomposition of dead bodies; bacteria are responsible for the putrefaction stage in this process. In the biological communities surrounding hydrothermal vents and cold seeps, extremophile bacteria provide the nutrients needed to sustain life by converting dissolved compounds, such as hydrogen sulphide and methane, to energy. Bacteria also live in symbiotic and parasitic relationsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chemolithoautotroph
A lithoautotroph is an organism which derives energy from reactions of reduced compounds of mineral (inorganic) origin. Two types of lithoautotrophs are distinguished by their energy source; photolithoautotrophs derive their energy from light while chemolithoautotrophs (chemolithotrophs or chemoautotrophs) derive their energy from chemical reactions. Chemolithoautotrophs are exclusively microbes. Photolithoautotrophs include macroflora such as plants; these do not possess the ability to use mineral sources of reduced compounds for energy. Most chemolithoautotrophs belong to the domain Bacteria, while some belong to the domain Archaea. Lithoautotrophic bacteria can only use inorganic molecules as substrates in their energy-releasing reactions. The term "lithotroph" is from Greek ''lithos'' (''λίθος'') meaning "rock" and ''trōphos'' (τροφοσ) meaning "consumer"; literally, it may be read "eaters of rock". The "lithotroph" part of the name refers to the fact that these org ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gold Nugget
:''"Gold nugget" may also refer to the catfish Baryancistrus xanthellus or the mango cultivar Gold Nugget.'' A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of native gold. Watercourses often concentrate nuggets and finer gold in placers. Nuggets are recovered by placer mining, but they are also found in residual deposits where the gold-bearing veins or lodes are weathered. Nuggets are also found in the tailings piles of previous mining operations, especially those left by gold mining dredges. Formation Nuggets are gold fragments weathered out of an original lode. They often show signs of abrasive polishing by stream action, and sometimes still contain inclusions of quartz or other lode matrix material. A 2007 study on Australian nuggets ruled out speculative theories of supergene formation via in-situ precipitation, cold welding of smaller particles, or bacterial concentration, since crystal structures of all of the nuggets examined proved they were originally formed at high tem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Delftia Acidovorans
''Delftia acidovorans'' is a Gram-negative, motile, non-sporulating, rod-shaped bacterium known for its ability to biomineralize gold and bioremediation characteristics. It was first isolated from soil in Delft, Netherlands. The bacterium was originally categorized as ''Pseudomonas acidovorans'' and ''Comamonas acidovorans'' before being reclassified as ''Delftia acidovorans''. History ''Delftia acidovorans'' was originally known as ''Comamonas acidovorans''. It was renamed due to rRNA relatedness and differences from other microbes within the ''Comamonadaceae'' family. These differences are evidenced by phylogenetic and phenotypic data. The new name, ''Delftia acidovorans'', is a reference to the city of Delft, where it was first discovered and recorded. Biology and biochemistry Type and morphology ''Delftia acidovorans'' is a saphrophyte, Gram-negative, non-sporulating, non-denitrifying, non-fermentative rod shaped bacterium. D. acidovorans exists as a single cell or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CSIRO ScienceImage 3908 Coloured Scanning Electron Image Of Bacterioform Gold On A Gold Grain From The Hit Or Miss Mine In Northern Queensland
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO maintains more than 50 sites across Australia and in France, Chile and the United States, employing about 5,500 people. Federally funded scientific research began in Australia years ago. The Advisory Council of Science and Industry was established in 1916 but was hampered by insufficient available finance. In 1926 the research effort was reinvigorated by establishment of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which strengthened national science leadership and increased research funding. CSIR grew rapidly and achieved significant early successes. In 1949, further legislated changes included renaming the organisation as CSIRO. Notable developments by CSIRO have included the invention of atomic absorption spectroscopy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plasmid
A plasmid is a small, extrachromosomal DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently. They are most commonly found as small circular, double-stranded DNA molecules in bacteria; however, plasmids are sometimes present in archaea and eukaryotic organisms. In nature, plasmids often carry genes that benefit the survival of the organism and confer selective advantage such as antibiotic resistance. While chromosomes are large and contain all the essential genetic information for living under normal conditions, plasmids are usually very small and contain only additional genes that may be useful in certain situations or conditions. Artificial plasmids are widely used as vectors in molecular cloning, serving to drive the replication of recombinant DNA sequences within host organisms. In the laboratory, plasmids may be introduced into a cell via transformation. Synthetic plasmids are available for procurement over the inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xenobiotics
A xenobiotic is a chemical substance found within an organism that is not naturally produced or expected to be present within the organism. It can also cover substances that are present in much higher concentrations than are usual. Natural compounds can also become xenobiotics if they are taken up by another organism, such as the uptake of natural human hormones by fish found downstream of sewage treatment plant outfalls, or the chemical defenses produced by some organisms as protection against predators. The term xenobiotics, however, is very often used in the context of pollutants such as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls and their effect on the biota, because xenobiotics are understood as substances foreign to an entire biological system, i.e. artificial substances, which did not exist in nature before their synthesis by humans. The term xenobiotic is derived from the Greek words ξένος (xenos) = foreigner, stranger and βίος (bios) = life, plus the Greek suffix ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calvin Cycle
The Calvin cycle, light-independent reactions, bio synthetic phase, dark reactions, or photosynthetic carbon reduction (PCR) cycle of photosynthesis is a series of chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and hydrogen-carrier compounds into glucose. The Calvin cycle is present in all photosynthetic eukaryotes and also many photosynthetic bacteria. In plants, these reactions occur in the stroma, the fluid-filled region of a chloroplast outside the thylakoid membranes. These reactions take the products ( ATP and NADPH) of light-dependent reactions and perform further chemical processes on them. The Calvin cycle uses the chemical energy of ATP and reducing power of NADPH from the light dependent reactions to produce sugars for the plant to use. These substrates are used in a series of reduction-oxidation reactions to produce sugars in a step-wise process; there is no direct reaction that converts several molecules of to a sugar. There are three phases to the light-independ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anabolic
Anabolism () is the set of metabolic pathways that construct molecules from smaller units. These reactions require energy, known also as an endergonic process. Anabolism is the building-up aspect of metabolism, whereas catabolism is the breaking-down aspect. Anabolism is usually synonymous with biosynthesis. Pathway Polymerization, an anabolic pathway used to build macromolecules such as nucleic acids, proteins, and polysaccharides, uses condensation reactions to join monomers. Macromolecules are created from smaller molecules using enzymes and cofactors. Energy source Anabolism is powered by catabolism, where large molecules are broken down into smaller parts and then used up in cellular respiration. Many anabolic processes are powered by the cleavage of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Anabolism usually involves reduction and decreases entropy, making it unfavorable without energy input. The starting materials, called the precursor molecules, are joined using the chemical ene ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
F-ATPase
F-ATPase, also known as F-Type ATPase, is an ATPase/ synthase found in bacterial plasma membranes, in mitochondrial inner membranes (in oxidative phosphorylation, where it is known as Complex V), and in chloroplast thylakoid membranes. It uses a proton gradient to drive ATP synthesis by allowing the passive flux of protons across the membrane down their electrochemical gradient and using the energy released by the transport reaction to release newly formed ATP from the active site of F-ATPase. Together with V-ATPases and A-ATPases, F-ATPases belong to superfamily of related rotary ATPases. F-ATPase consists of two domains: * the Fo domain, which is integral in the membrane and is composed of 3 different types of integral proteins classified as a, b and c. * the F1, which is peripheral (on the side of the membrane that the protons are moving into). F1 is composed of 5 polypeptide units α3β3γδε that bind to the surface of the Fo domain. F-ATPases usually work as ATP syn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Respiratory Chain
An electron transport chain (ETC) is a series of protein complexes and other molecules that transfer electrons from electron donors to electron acceptors via redox reactions (both reduction and oxidation occurring simultaneously) and couples this electron transfer with the transfer of protons (H+ ions) across a membrane. The electrons that transferred from NADH and FADH2 to the ETC involves 4 multi-subunit large enzymes complexes and 2 mobile electron carriers. Many of the enzymes in the electron transport chain are membrane-bound. The flow of electrons through the electron transport chain is an exergonic process. The energy from the redox reactions creates an electrochemical proton gradient that drives the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). In aerobic respiration, the flow of electrons terminates with molecular oxygen as the final electron acceptor. In anaerobic respiration, other electron acceptors are used, such as sulfate. In an electron transport chain, the redox ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydrogenase
A hydrogenase is an enzyme that catalyses the reversible oxidation of molecular hydrogen (H2), as shown below: Hydrogen uptake () is coupled to the reduction of electron acceptors such as oxygen, nitrate, sulfate, carbon dioxide (), and fumarate. On the other hand, proton reduction () is coupled to the oxidation of electron donors such as ferredoxin (FNR), and serves to dispose excess electrons in cells (essential in pyruvate fermentation). Both low-molecular weight compounds and proteins such as FNRs, cytochrome ''c''3, and cytochrome ''c''6 can act as physiological electron donors or acceptors for hydrogenases. Structural classification It has been estimated that 99% of all organisms utilize hydrogen, H2. Most of these species are microbes and their ability to use H2 as a metabolite arises from the expression of metalloenzymes known as hydrogenases. Hydrogenases are sub-classified into three different types based on the active site metal content: iron-iron hydrogenase, ni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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