Bulletin of the American Physical Society
18th Biennial Intl. Conference of the APS Topical Group on Shock Compression of Condensed Matter held in conjunction with the 24th Biennial Intl. Conference of the Intl. Association for the Advancement of High Pressure Science and Technology (AIRAPT)
Volume 58, Number 7
Sunday–Friday, July 7–12, 2013; Seattle, Washington
Session B4: MB Biology Under Extreme Conditions |
Hide Abstracts |
Chair: Chiara Bo, Imperial College London Room: Vashon |
Monday, July 8, 2013 9:15AM - 9:30AM |
B4.00001: Survival of Shewanella Oneidensis MR-1 to GPa pressures Rachael Hazael, Fabrizia Foglia, James Leighs, Gareth Appleby-Thomas, Isabelle Daniel, Daniel Eakins, Filip Meersman, Paul McMillian Most life on Earth is thought to occupy near-surface environments under relatively mild conditions of temperature, pressure, pH, salinity etc. That view is changing following discovery of extremophile organisms that prefer environments based on high or low T, extreme chemistries, or very high pressures. Over the past three decades, geomicrobiologists have discovered an extensive subsurface biosphere, that may account for between 1/10 to 1/3 of Earth's living biomass. We subjected samples of Shewanella oneidensis to several pressure cycles to examine its survival to static high pressures to above 1.5 GPa. Shewanella forms part of a genus that contains several piezophile species like S. violacea and S. benthica. We have obtained growth curves for populations recovered from high P conditions and cultured in the laboratory, before being subjected to even higher pressures. We have also carried out dynamic shock experiments using a specially designed cell to maintain high-P, low-T conditions during shock-recovery experiments and observe colony formation among the survivors. Colony counts, shape and growth curves allow us to compare the static vs dynamic pressure resistance of wild type vs pressure-adapted strains. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, July 8, 2013 9:30AM - 9:45AM |
B4.00002: Tolerance of budding yeast \textit{Saccharomyces cerevisiae} to ultra high pressure Fumihisa Ono, Michiko Shibata, Motoki Torigoe, Yuta Matsumoto, Shinsuke Yamamoto, Noboru Takizawa, Yoshio Hada, Yoshihisa Mori, Kenichi Takarabe In our previous studies on the tolerance of small plants and animals to the high hydrostatic pressure of 7.5 GPa, it was shown that all the living samples could be borne at this high pressure, which is more than one order of magnitude higher than the proteinic denaturation pressure. To make this inconsistency clear, we have extended these studies to a smaller sized fungus, budding yeast \textit{Saccharomyces cerevisiae}. A several pieces of budding yeast (dry yeast) were sealed in a small teflon capsule with a liquid pressure medium fluorinate (PC72, Sumitomo 3M), and exposed to 7.5 GPa by using a cubic anvil press. The pressure was kept constant for various duration of time from 2 to 24 h. After the pressure was released, the specimens were brought out from the teflon capsule, and they were cultivated on a potato dextrose agar (PDA). It was found that the budding yeast exposed to 7.5 GPa for up to 6 h showed multiplication. However, those exposed to 7.5 GPa for 12 and 24 h were found dead. The high pressure tolerance of budding yeast is weaker than that of tardigrades. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, July 8, 2013 9:45AM - 10:15AM |
B4.00003: The Limits of Life in the Deep Subsurface - Implications for the Origin of Life Invited Speaker: John Baross There are very few environments on Earth where life is absent. Microbial life has proliferated into habitats that span nearly every imaginable physico-chemical variable. Only the availability of liquid water and temperature are known to prevent the growth of organisms. The other extreme physical and chemical variables, such as pH, pressure, high concentrations of solutes, damaging radiation, and toxic metals, are life-prohibiting factors for most organisms but not for all. The deep subsurface environments span all of the extreme conditions encountered by life including habitat conditions not yet explored, such as those that combine high temperature, high and low pH and extreme pressures. Some of the ``extremophile'' microorganisms inhabiting the deep subsurface environments have been shown to be among the most ``ancient'' of extant life. Their genomes and physiologies have led to a broader understanding of the geological settings of early life, the most ancient energy pathways, and the importance of water/rock interactions and tectonics in the origin and early evolution of life. The case can now be made that deep subsurface environments contributed to life's origin and provided the habitat(s) for the earliest microbial communities. However, there is much more to be done to further our understanding on the role of moderate to high pressures and temperatures on the chemical and biochemical ``steps'' leading to life, and on the evolution and physiology of both ancient and present-day subsurface microbial communities. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, July 8, 2013 10:15AM - 10:30AM |
B4.00004: Analysis of barosensitive mechanisms in yeast for Pressure Regulated Fermentation Kazuki Nomura, Hitoshi Iwahashi, Akinori Iguchi, Toru Shigematsu \textbf{Introduction: }We are intending to develop a novel food processing technology, Pressure Regulated Fermentation (PReF), using pressure sensitive (barosensitive) fermentation microorganisms. Objectives of our study are to clarify barosensitive mechanisms for application to PReF technology. We isolated \textit{Saccharomyces cerevisiae} barosensitive mutant a924E1 that was derived from the parent KA31a. \textbf{Methods: }Gene expression levels were analyzed by DNA microarray. The altered genes of expression levels were classified according to the gene function. Mutated genes were estimated by mating and producing diploid strains and confirmed by PCR of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). \textbf{Results and Discussion: }Gene expression profiles showed that genes of `Energy' function and that of encoding protein localized in ``Mitochondria'' were significantly down regulated in the mutant. These results suggest the respiratory deficiency and relationship between barosensitivity and respiratory deficiency. Since the respiratory functions of diploids showed non Mendelian inheritance, the respiratory deficiency was indicated to be due to mtDNA mutation. PCR analysis showed that the region of \textit{COX1} locus was deleted. \textit{COX1} gene encodes the subunit 1 of cytochrome $c$ oxidase. For this reason, barosensitivity is strongly correlated with mitochondrial functions. [Preview Abstract] |
Monday, July 8, 2013 10:30AM - 10:45AM |
B4.00005: Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering: an insight into life at extreme conditions Fabrizia Foglia, Rachael Hazael, Giovanna Simeoni, Marie-Sousai Appavou, Filip Meersman, Isabelle Daniel, Trevor Forsyth, Paul McMillan Microbes have been found to thrive in diverse environments characterised by a wide range of pressure-temperature-composition conditions. The range of physicochemical conditions under which microbial life has been observed has continually expanded as microbiologists explore additional remote and apparently hostile environments. The studies provide us with clues about the current extent of biological organisms and allow us to explore the fundamental limits to survival of bacterial life forms under extreme conditions. We are developing quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) studies to help us to understand the dynamic processes associated with H-/D-containing microbes under high P conditions. We have begun our study using samples of Shewanella oneidensis. We obtained pioneering QENS results carried out in situ on live organisms into the 200 MPa range that provide new information on H2O/D2O exchange dynamics across the cell walls. To achieve this result we prepared D2O-substituted bacteria within the Deuteration Facility in Grenoble and transferred samples to the Munich FRM-II neutron reactor for QENS experiments at the high resolution TOFTOF spectrometer station. Our initial results show clear P dependence of H2O/D2O transfer dynamics across the bacterial cell walls. [Preview Abstract] |
Follow Us |
Engage
Become an APS Member |
My APS
Renew Membership |
Information for |
About APSThe American Physical Society (APS) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance the knowledge of physics. |
© 2024 American Physical Society
| All rights reserved | Terms of Use
| Contact Us
Headquarters
1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844
(301) 209-3200
Editorial Office
100 Motor Pkwy, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 591-4000
Office of Public Affairs
529 14th St NW, Suite 1050, Washington, D.C. 20045-2001
(202) 662-8700