Systems Biology - Applications - Microbial Metal Reduction
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Project Description
The Problem
Metals and adionuclides present the most difficult remediation problems in the environment because they cannot be destroyed, are inorganic, are reactive with soil and sediment constituents, and can remain hazardous at extremely low concentrations for centuries or indefinitely. Environments contaminated with metals and radionuclides present unique problems and have the highest remediation costs. In the words of Spencer Abraham, United States Secretary of Energy,When I became Energy Secretary - a little more than a year ago today - I was presented with the old plan for cleaning up our [contaminated] sites, which called for a timetable of some 70 years to complete and at a cost of $300 billion. That is not good enough for me, and I doubt it is good enough for anyone who lives near these sites.Clearly there is a need for basic research that is focused on metal and radionuclide remediation.
Our Solution
Microbial metal reduction plays and important role in biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen, as well as in the bioremediation of metals, radionuclides, and organic contaminants. A number of bacteria have demonstrated the capability to reduce radionuclides and other metals, including Desulfovibrio vulgaris, Shewanella onidensis, and Geobacter metallireducens. A thorough understanding of subsurface mobilizationa and immobilization of radionuclides and metals will allow us to manipulate, stabilize, and predict long-term stability of these contaminants and their relative risk. The success of various bioremediation approaches depends on our understanding of regulatory mechanisms and cellular responses to different enviornmental factors affecting the metal reduction activity in the environment. We have focused our efforts on studying the stress response pathways in Desulfovibrio vulgaris, which are induced by various environmental factors such as oxygen, temperature, and nutrient concentrations.
In order to study pathways in organisms, many techniques need to be brought into play, including Transcriptomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics. In addition to experimentation, much computational work needs to be implemented. This study is being completed as part of the Environmental Stress Pathway Project of the Virtual Institute for Microbial Stress and Survival (VIMSS).
People
Lead Researchers
Relevant Publications
- A. Mukhopadhyay, Z. He, E. J. Alm, A. P. Arkin, E. E. Baidoo, S. C. Borglin, W. Chen, T. C. Hazen, Q. He, H-Y. Holman et al. 2006 "Salt Stress in Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough: an Integrated Genomics Approach" J. Bacteriol. 188(11):4068-4078.
- A. M. Redding, A. Mukhopadhyay, D. C. Joyner, T. C. Hazen, J. D. Keasling. 2006 "Study of nitrate stress in Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough using iTRAQ proteomics" Brief Funct. Genomic Proteomic s 5(2):133-143.
