This blog is devoted to BIOL 6988, a graduate level seminar in the biological sciences at Youngstown State University. While targeted towards graduate students, BIOL 6988 actively incorporates undergraduate participants in their scholastic endeavors in the biological sciences. This blog is intended as a educational tool not just for YSU students and faculty, but for anyone who wishes to contribute to an active-learning environment.
Nate did a wonderful job finishing up our seminar series for this semester. I especially liked the YSU Pete the Penguin tie, nice touch.
Nate worked with heavy metal resistance bacteria. This bacteria was originally collected from Tennessee, where in World War II a nuclear facility had leaked heavy metals into the surrounding areas water source. These leeched heavy metals created an environment to produce metal resistant bacteria. Specifically the bacterium, Stentrophomonas maltophilia, which is resistant to selenite. Selenite can be damaging to cellular structure, but at the bacterial level is has created metal resistant bacterium.
Besides the pursuit of knowledge in understanding what genes are present in these bacteria producing metal resistance, can you think of any "real world" applications for understanding this pathway and metal resistance? Do you think it is possible to identify metal resistant genes and bio-engineer bacteria to remove heavy metal contamination from the environment, similar to what has been suggested for oil spills in the Gulf?
I agree with Anna, Nate did a wonderful job with his presentation. Some applications of metal resistance bacteria are toxic metal control in waste water treatments or could be used as a bioassay indicator of polluted and non-polluted environments. I do believe that identifying metal resistant genes could be used to assist in heavy metal contamination and the cleanup of these polluted environments. I do know that the use of microbial biosorbents is being considered to remove or recover heavy metals from severely contaminated environments. In some cases, they are considering the use of specific metal resistant bacteria to assist in this bioremediation.
I thought Nate did a great job presenting his research. It is so important to consider the pollution in our water sources and I also think the development of bacteria that can remove these kinds of spills is possible. There are currently methods being developed in order to remove heavy metals in water via metal organic frameworks and it is very cost effective to use. I think this is a very important real world application for understanding this kind of research so that people can start to have healthier lifestyles through cleaner water.
I also thought Nate did a great job. I've seen him working hard this whole semester in Dr. Caguiat's lab, and it was great to see the progress he has made in his work. As for Anna's question, I also think biosorption and bioaccumulation would be an interesting route to approach dealing with metal pollutants in the environment. Since the accumulation of heavy metals can eventually become toxic to surrounding organisms, it is important for the public and environmental safety to maintain and clean-up contaminated environments. Although I would have to read some more papers before fully endorsing it over other conventional methods, the paper that I just looked over, “Biosorption and bioaccumulation – the prospects for practical applications” by Katarzyna Chojnacka (which you can find on Elseveir) had many promising things to say about these processes and their use in environmental safety.
Nate did a wonderful job finishing up our seminar series for this semester. I especially liked the YSU Pete the Penguin tie, nice touch.
ReplyDeleteNate worked with heavy metal resistance bacteria. This bacteria was originally collected from Tennessee, where in World War II a nuclear facility had leaked heavy metals into the surrounding areas water source. These leeched heavy metals created an environment to produce metal resistant bacteria. Specifically the bacterium, Stentrophomonas maltophilia, which is resistant to selenite. Selenite can be damaging to cellular structure, but at the bacterial level is has created metal resistant bacterium.
Besides the pursuit of knowledge in understanding what genes are present in these bacteria producing metal resistance, can you think of any "real world" applications for understanding this pathway and metal resistance? Do you think it is possible to identify metal resistant genes and bio-engineer bacteria to remove heavy metal contamination from the environment, similar to what has been suggested for oil spills in the Gulf?
I agree with Anna, Nate did a wonderful job with his presentation. Some applications of metal resistance bacteria are toxic metal control in waste water treatments or could be used as a bioassay indicator of polluted and non-polluted environments. I do believe that identifying metal resistant genes could be used to assist in heavy metal contamination and the cleanup of these polluted environments. I do know that the use of microbial biosorbents is being considered to remove or recover heavy metals from severely contaminated environments. In some cases, they are considering the use of specific metal resistant bacteria to assist in this bioremediation.
ReplyDeleteI thought Nate did a great job presenting his research. It is so important to consider the pollution in our water sources and I also think the development of bacteria that can remove these kinds of spills is possible. There are currently methods being developed in order to remove heavy metals in water via metal organic frameworks and it is very cost effective to use. I think this is a very important real world application for understanding this kind of research so that people can start to have healthier lifestyles through cleaner water.
ReplyDeleteI also thought Nate did a great job. I've seen him working hard this whole semester in Dr. Caguiat's lab, and it was great to see the progress he has made in his work. As for Anna's question, I also think biosorption and bioaccumulation would be an interesting route to approach dealing with metal pollutants in the environment. Since the accumulation of heavy metals can eventually become toxic to surrounding organisms, it is important for the public and environmental safety to maintain and clean-up contaminated environments. Although I would have to read some more papers before fully endorsing it over other conventional methods, the paper that I just looked over, “Biosorption and bioaccumulation – the prospects for practical applications” by Katarzyna Chojnacka (which you can find on Elseveir) had many promising things to say about these processes and their use in environmental safety.
ReplyDelete