Alphaproteobacteria
A class in the phylum PROTEOBACTERIA comprised mostly of two major phenotypes: purple non-sulfur bacteria and aerobic bacteriochlorophyll-containing bacteria.
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Seawater
The salinated water of OCEANS AND SEAS that provides habitat for marine organisms.
DNA, Ribosomal
DNA, Bacterial
Deoxyribonucleic acid that makes up the genetic material of bacteria.
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Proteobacteria
A phylum of bacteria consisting of the purple bacteria and their relatives which form a branch of the eubacterial tree. This group of predominantly gram-negative bacteria is classified based on homology of equivalent nucleotide sequences of 16S ribosomal RNA or by hybridization of ribosomal RNA or DNA with 16S and 23S ribosomal RNA.
Bacteria
One of the three domains of life (the others being Eukarya and ARCHAEA), also called Eubacteria. They are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms which generally possess rigid cell walls, multiply by cell division, and exhibit three principal forms: round or coccal, rodlike or bacillary, and spiral or spirochetal. Bacteria can be classified by their response to OXYGEN: aerobic, anaerobic, or facultatively anaerobic; by the mode by which they obtain their energy: chemotrophy (via chemical reaction) or PHOTOTROPHY (via light reaction); for chemotrophs by their source of chemical energy: CHEMOLITHOTROPHY (from inorganic compounds) or chemoorganotrophy (from organic compounds); and by their source for CARBON; NITROGEN; etc.; HETEROTROPHY (from organic sources) or AUTOTROPHY (from CARBON DIOXIDE). They can also be classified by whether or not they stain (based on the structure of their CELL WALLS) with CRYSTAL VIOLET dye: gram-negative or gram-positive.
Rhodospirillaceae
A family of phototrophic bacteria, in the order Rhodospirillales, isolated from stagnant water and mud.
Gammaproteobacteria
A group of the proteobacteria comprised of facultatively anaerobic and fermentative gram-negative bacteria.
Rhodospirillales
Genes, rRNA
Beijerinckiaceae
Acetobacteraceae
A family of gram-negative aerobic bacteria consisting of ellipsoidal to rod-shaped cells that occur singly, in pairs, or in chains.
Molecular Sequence Data
Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.
Paracoccus
Gram-negative non-motile bacteria found in soil or brines.
Roseobacter
A genus of obligately aerobic marine phototrophic and chemoorganotrophic bacteria, in the family RHODOBACTERACEAE.
Biota
Betaproteobacteria
A class in the phylum PROTEOBACTERIA comprised of chemoheterotrophs and chemoautotrophs which derive nutrients from decomposition of organic material.
Heterotrophic Processes
The processes by which organisms utilize organic substances as their nutrient sources. Contrasts with AUTOTROPHIC PROCESSES which make use of simple inorganic substances as the nutrient supply source. Heterotrophs can be either chemoheterotrophs (or chemoorganotrophs) which also require organic substances such as glucose for their primary metabolic energy requirements, or photoheterotrophs (or photoorganotrophs) which derive their primary energy requirements from light. Depending on environmental conditions some organisms can switch between different nutritional modes (AUTOTROPHY; heterotrophy; chemotrophy; or PHOTOTROPHY) to utilize different sources to meet their nutrients and energy requirements.
Geologic Sediments
A mass of organic or inorganic solid fragmented material, or the solid fragment itself, that comes from the weathering of rock and is carried by, suspended in, or dropped by air, water, or ice. It refers also to a mass that is accumulated by any other natural agent and that forms in layers on the earth's surface, such as sand, gravel, silt, mud, fill, or loess. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed, p1689)
Mediterranean Sea
*Medically unexceptional, the Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental body of water that separates Southern Europe from Northern Africa and the Middle East, infamous for historical epidemics like plague, which have significantly shaped human health history.*
Biodiversity
Soil Microbiology
The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in the soil. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms.
Rickettsiaceae
Cluster Analysis
A set of statistical methods used to group variables or observations into strongly inter-related subgroups. In epidemiology, it may be used to analyze a closely grouped series of events or cases of disease or other health-related phenomenon with well-defined distribution patterns in relation to time or place or both.
Water Microbiology
The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in water. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms.
Ochrobactrum
Rhodovulum
A genus of facultatively or obligately anaerobic marine phototrophic bacteria, in the family RHODOBACTERACEAE.
Fatty Acids
Organic, monobasic acids derived from hydrocarbons by the equivalent of oxidation of a methyl group to an alcohol, aldehyde, and then acid. Fatty acids are saturated and unsaturated (FATTY ACIDS, UNSATURATED). (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)
Bacterial Typing Techniques
Procedures for identifying types and strains of bacteria. The most frequently employed typing systems are BACTERIOPHAGE TYPING and SEROTYPING as well as bacteriocin typing and biotyping.
Wetlands
Hyphomicrobium
A genus of rod-shaped, oval, or bean-shaped bacteria found in soil and fresh water. Polar prosthecae are present and cells reproduce by budding at the tips of the prosthecae. Cells of this genus are aerobic and grow best with one-carbon compounds. (From Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 9th ed)
Bacteroidetes
A phylum of bacteria comprised of three classes: Bacteroides, Flavobacteria, and Sphingobacteria.
Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis
RNA, Bacterial
Ribonucleic acid in bacteria having regulatory and catalytic roles as well as involvement in protein synthesis.
Gluconobacter
A genus of gram-negative, rod-shaped to ellipsoidal bacteria occurring singly or in pairs and found in flowers, soil, honey bees, fruits, cider, beer, wine, and vinegar. (From Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 9th ed)
Verrucomicrobia
A phylum of gram-negative bacteria containing seven class-level groups from a wide variety of environments. Most members are chemoheterotrophs.
North Sea
I'm sorry for any confusion, but the term "North Sea" is geographical and refers to the northernmost part of the Atlantic Ocean, located between eastern England, east Scotland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, rather than having a medical definition.
Sphingomonadaceae
Symbiosis
Ochrobactrum anthropi
A species of gram-negative, obligately aerobic rods. Motility occurs by peritrichous flagella. (From Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 9th ed)
Quinones
Plankton
Community of tiny aquatic PLANTS and ANIMALS, and photosynthetic BACTERIA, that are either free-floating or suspended in the water, with little or no power of locomotion. They are divided into PHYTOPLANKTON and ZOOPLANKTON.
Genome, Bacterial
The genetic complement of a BACTERIA as represented in its DNA.
Atlantic Ocean
I'm sorry for any confusion, but the term "Atlantic Ocean" is a geographical term referring to one of the world's five oceans, covering approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and separating the continents of Europe and Africa to the east from those of North and South America to the west. It doesn't have a direct medical definition, as it is not a medical term.
Methylocystaceae
A family of gram-negative methanotrophs in the order Rhizobiales, distantly related to the nitrogen-fixing and phototrophic bacteria.
Sphingomonas
A genus of gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria characterized by an outer membrane that contains glycosphingolipids but lacks lipopolysaccharide. They have the ability to degrade a broad range of substituted aromatic compounds.
Gene Transfer, Horizontal
The naturally occurring transmission of genetic information between organisms, related or unrelated, circumventing parent-to-offspring transmission. Horizontal gene transfer may occur via a variety of naturally occurring processes such as GENETIC CONJUGATION; GENETIC TRANSDUCTION; and TRANSFECTION. It may result in a change of the recipient organism's genetic composition (TRANSFORMATION, GENETIC).
Phototrophic Processes
Processes by which phototrophic organisms use sunlight as their primary energy source. Contrasts with chemotrophic processes which do not depend on light and function in deriving energy from exogenous chemical sources. Photoautotrophy (or photolithotrophy) is the ability to use sunlight as energy to fix inorganic nutrients to be used for other organic requirements. Photoautotrophs include all GREEN PLANTS; GREEN ALGAE; CYANOBACTERIA; and green and PURPLE SULFUR BACTERIA. Photoheterotrophs or photoorganotrophs require a supply of organic nutrients for their organic requirements but use sunlight as their primary energy source; examples include certain PURPLE NONSULFUR BACTERIA. Depending on environmental conditions some organisms can switch between different nutritional modes (AUTOTROPHY; HETEROTROPHY; chemotrophy; or phototrophy) to utilize different sources to meet their nutrients and energy requirements.
Ecosystem
Archaea
One of the three domains of life (the others being BACTERIA and Eukarya), formerly called Archaebacteria under the taxon Bacteria, but now considered separate and distinct. They are characterized by: (1) the presence of characteristic tRNAs and ribosomal RNAs; (2) the absence of peptidoglycan cell walls; (3) the presence of ether-linked lipids built from branched-chain subunits; and (4) their occurrence in unusual habitats. While archaea resemble bacteria in morphology and genomic organization, they resemble eukarya in their method of genomic replication. The domain contains at least four kingdoms: CRENARCHAEOTA; EURYARCHAEOTA; NANOARCHAEOTA; and KORARCHAEOTA.
Pacific Ocean
Oceans and Seas
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Locomotion
Water Purification
Any of several processes in which undesirable impurities in water are removed or neutralized; for example, chlorination, filtration, primary treatment, ion exchange, and distillation. It includes treatment of WASTE WATER to provide potable and hygienic water in a controlled or closed environment as well as provision of public drinking water supplies.
Species Specificity
The restriction of a characteristic behavior, anatomical structure or physical system, such as immune response; metabolic response, or gene or gene variant to the members of one species. It refers to that property which differentiates one species from another but it is also used for phylogenetic levels higher or lower than the species.
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Any of the processes by which cytoplasmic or intercellular factors influence the differential control of gene action in bacteria.
Actinobacteria
Class of BACTERIA with diverse morphological properties. Strains of Actinobacteria show greater than 80% 16S rDNA/rRNA sequence similarity among each other and also the presence of certain signature nucleotides. (Stackebrandt E. et al, Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. (1997) 47:479-491)
Porifera
The phylum of sponges which are sessile, suspension-feeding, multicellular animals that utilize flagellated cells called choanocytes to circulate water. Most are hermaphroditic. They are probably an early evolutionary side branch that gave rise to no other group of animals. Except for about 150 freshwater species, sponges are marine animals. They are a source of ALKALOIDS; STEROLS; and other complex molecules useful in medicine and biological research.
Sinorhizobium meliloti
A species of gram-negative, aerobic bacteria that causes formation of root nodules on some, but not all, types of sweet clover, MEDICAGO SATIVA, and fenugreek.
Metagenome
Ubiquinone
A lipid-soluble benzoquinone which is involved in ELECTRON TRANSPORT in mitochondrial preparations. The compound occurs in the majority of aerobic organisms, from bacteria to higher plants and animals.
Soil Pollutants
Substances which pollute the soil. Use for soil pollutants in general or for which there is no specific heading.
Nucleic Acid Hybridization
Widely used technique which exploits the ability of complementary sequences in single-stranded DNAs or RNAs to pair with each other to form a double helix. Hybridization can take place between two complimentary DNA sequences, between a single-stranded DNA and a complementary RNA, or between two RNA sequences. The technique is used to detect and isolate specific sequences, measure homology, or define other characteristics of one or both strands. (Kendrew, Encyclopedia of Molecular Biology, 1994, p503)
Korea
Former kingdom, located on Korea Peninsula between Sea of Japan and Yellow Sea on east coast of Asia. In 1948, the kingdom ceased and two independent countries were formed, divided by the 38th parallel.
In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
Anaerobiosis
DNA Fingerprinting
A technique for identifying individuals of a species that is based on the uniqueness of their DNA sequence. Uniqueness is determined by identifying which combination of allelic variations occur in the individual at a statistically relevant number of different loci. In forensic studies, RESTRICTION FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM of multiple, highly polymorphic VNTR LOCI or MICROSATELLITE REPEAT loci are analyzed. The number of loci used for the profile depends on the ALLELE FREQUENCY in the population.
Genes, Bacterial
The functional hereditary units of BACTERIA.
Anthozoa
Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
Flagella
A whiplike motility appendage present on the surface cells. Prokaryote flagella are composed of a protein called FLAGELLIN. Bacteria can have a single flagellum, a tuft at one pole, or multiple flagella covering the entire surface. In eukaryotes, flagella are threadlike protoplasmic extensions used to propel flagellates and sperm. Flagella have the same basic structure as CILIA but are longer in proportion to the cell bearing them and present in much smaller numbers. (From King & Stansfield, A Dictionary of Genetics, 4th ed)
Nitrogen Fixation
Nitrates
Carbon
Biofilms
Encrustations, formed from microbes (bacteria, algae, fungi, plankton, or protozoa) embedding in extracellular polymers, that adhere to surfaces such as teeth (DENTAL DEPOSITS); PROSTHESES AND IMPLANTS; and catheters. Biofilms are prevented from forming by treating surfaces with DENTIFRICES; DISINFECTANTS; ANTI-INFECTIVE AGENTS; and antifouling agents.
Oxidoreductases
The class of all enzymes catalyzing oxidoreduction reactions. The substrate that is oxidized is regarded as a hydrogen donor. The systematic name is based on donor:acceptor oxidoreductase. The recommended name will be dehydrogenase, wherever this is possible; as an alternative, reductase can be used. Oxidase is only used in cases where O2 is the acceptor. (Enzyme Nomenclature, 1992, p9)
Phenotype
China
A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.