Vast expanses of oxygen-deficient and nitrite-rich water define the major oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) of the global ocean. They support diverse microbial communities that influence the nitrogen economy of the oceans, contributing to major losses of fixed nitrogen as dinitrogen (N(2)) and nitrous oxide (N(2)O) gases. Anaerobic microbial processes, including the two pathways of N(2) production, d...

Paleoarchean rocks from the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia provide a variety of clues to the existence of early life on Earth, such as stromatolites, putative microfossils and geochemical signatures of microbial activity. However, some of these features have also been explained by non-biological processes. Further lines of evidence are therefore required to convincingly argue for the prese...

Leaching losses of nitrogen (N) from soil and atmospheric N deposition have led to widespread changes in plant community and microbial community composition, but our knowledge of the factors that determine ecosystem N retention is limited. A common feature of extensively managed, species-rich grasslands is that they have fungal-dominated microbial communities, which might reduce soil N losses a...

ABSTRACT The processes and mechanisms of community assembly and its relationships to community functioning are central issues in ecology. Both deterministic and stochastic factors play important roles in shaping community composition and structure, but the connection between community assembly and ecosystem functioning remains elusive, especially in microbial communities. Here, we used microbia...

UNLABELLED Direct, mediator-free transfer of electrons between a microbial cell and a solid phase in its surrounding environment has been suggested to be a widespread and ecologically significant process. The high rates of microbial electron uptake observed during microbially influenced corrosion of iron [Fe(0)] and during microbial electrosynthesis have been considered support for a direct ele...

Throughout history, many different cultures have recognized the potential use of garlic for prevention and treatment of different diseases. Recent studies support the effects of garlic and its extracts in a wide range of applications. These studies raised the possibility of revival of garlic therapeutic values in different diseases. Different compounds in garlic are thought to reduce the risk f...

Among the synthetic polymers, poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) microbial polyester is one of the biocompatible and biodegradable copolymers in the nanomedicine scope. PHBV has key points and suitable properties to support cellular adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of nanofibers. Nanofibers are noticeably employed in order to enhance the performance of biomaterials,...

introduction: organic fertilizers are beneficial to maintain and improve structure of the soil nutrients; however, in case of presence of pathogenic microbial agents and pathogens inside them, it will result in health problems and disease transmission. therefore, present study aimed to determine microbial quality of produced vermicomposts in yazd city. methods: this study was a descriptive-anal...

from august to october 1996, three different statistical communities of spices, including 37, 41, 26 samples for each one of black pepper, turmeric and sumac, respectively, were taken randomly from 35 various packaged labels and 2 production centres, in the west of tehran, and examine for assessing fungi and bacterial contamination by using ec, vrbl agar lst, brilliant green media, and compare ...