In hypersaline environments, haloarchaea (halophilic members of the Archaea) are the dominant organisms, and the viruses that infect them, haloarchaeoviruses are at least ten times more abundant. Since their discovery in 1974, described haloarchaeoviruses include head-tailed, pleomorphic, spherical and spindle-shaped morphologies, representing Myoviridae, Siphoviridae, Podoviridae, Pleolipoviri...

Submarine mud volcanoes are a significant source of methane to the atmosphere. The Napoli mud volcano, situated in the brine-impacted Olimpi Area of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, emits mainly biogenic methane particularly at the centre of the mud volcano. Temperature gradients support the suggestion that Napoli is a cold mud volcano with moderate fluid flow rates. Biogeochemical and molecular ...

Previous studies in rainbow trout have shown that acclimation to hypersaline environments enhances the toxicity to thioether organophosphate and carbamate pesticides. In order to determine the role of biotransformation in this process, the metabolism of the thioether organophosphate biocide, fenthion was evaluated in microsomes from gills, liver and olfactory tissues in rainbow trout (Oncorhync...

Cells of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which were genetically modified to produce green fluorescent protein, were entrapped in fluid inclusions in laboratory-grown halite. The bacteria were used to inoculate NaCl-saturated aqueous solutions, which were allowed to evaporate and precipitate halite. The number, size, and distribution of fluid inclusions were highly variable, but did not ap...

The small multidrug resistance (SMR) transporter protein EmrE in Escherichia coli is known to confer resistance to toxic antiseptics classified as quaternary cation compounds (QCCs). Naturally derived QCCs synthesized during metabolic activities often act as osmoprotectants, such as betaine and choline, and participate in osmotic homoestasis. The goal of this study was to determine if EmrE prot...

BACKGROUND Biological invasions have become the focus of considerable concern and ecological research, yet the relative importance of abiotic and biotic factors in controlling the invasibility of habitats to exotic species is not well understood. Spartina species are highly invasive plants in coastal wetlands; however, studies on the factors that control the success or failure of Spartina invas...