Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. JV178, a strain originating from Connecticut (USA) garden soil. This strain produces the polycyclic tetramate macrolactam compounds clifednamides A and B. The draft genome contains 10.65 Mb, 9,045 predicted protein coding sequences, and several natural product biosynthetic loci.

The genome sequence of the solvent-producing, spore-forming, saccharolytic, mesophilic bacterium Clostridium beijerinckii strain 59B, isolated from Staffordshire garden soil, was obtained via a combination of sequencing with the 454 and Illumina platforms. This information will allow for metabolic engineering of a potentially industrially useful strain.

A standard material containing chrysotile asbestos for the validation of x-ray diffractometric quantitation was developed using an asbestos-containing building material i.e., perlite board. The board as the base material was crushed, pulverized, and homogenized. The homogeneity of the powder of perlite board was estimated by analysis of variance. The diffraction intensity values of the crystall...

Oxygen deficiency can occur even in well-aerated substrates as the result of various factors. In crops grown in perlite bags, where perlite is wrapped in a polyethylene film with little surface open to the atmosphere, the dissolved oxygen concentration ([O2]) may be depleted quite rapidly at high growth rates and high substrate temperatures. This situation may occur in spring cycles of greenhou...

Soil spiked with diesel oil was mixed with biowaste (vegetable, fruit and garden waste) at a 1:10 ratio (fresh weight) and composted in a monitored composting bin system for 12 weeks. Pure biowaste was composted in parallel. In order to discern the temperature effect from the additional biowaste effect on diesel degradation, one recipient with contaminated soil was hold at room temperature, whi...

Bacteria that are capable of degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were enumerated by incorporating soil and water dilutions together with fine particles of phenanthrene, a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, into an agarose overlayer and pouring the mixture over a mineral salts underlayer. The phenanthrene-degrading bacteria embedded in the overlayer were recognized by a halo of clearing in ...

Ascophyllum nodosum is the most important commercial seaweed. Seaweeds have been applied as soil conditioners in improving plant growth and development in agricultural crops. In current study and for the first time, extracts of brown seaweed A. nodosum improved the growth of Robinia pseudoacasia L., an ornamental tree. This research investigated the effect of cultivation beds (sand, perlite, co...

Polymer-cement composites (PCCs) are materials in which the polymer and mineral binder create an interpenetrating network and co-operate, significantly improving the performance of the material. On the other hand, the need for the utilization of waste materials is a demand of sustainable construction. Various mineral powders, such as fly ash or blast-furnace slag, are successfully used for the ...