Detection of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria has largely been dependent on targeted gene sequencing technology or traditional cell cultivation, which usually takes from days to months to carry out. This clearly does not mee...Detection of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria has largely been dependent on targeted gene sequencing technology or traditional cell cultivation, which usually takes from days to months to carry out. This clearly does not meet the requirements of analysis for time-sensitive samples and/or complicated environmental samples. Since energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry(EDS) can be used to simultaneously detect multiple elements in a sample, including sulfur, with minimal sample treatment, this technology was applied to detect sulfur-oxidizing bacteria using their high sulfur content within the cell. This article describes the application of scanning electron microscopy imaging coupled with EDS mapping for quick detection of sulfur oxidizers in contaminated environmental water samples, with minimal sample handling. Scanning electron microscopy imaging revealed the existence of dense granules within the bacterial cells, while EDS identified large amounts of sulfur within them. EDS mapping localized the sulfur to these granules. Subsequent 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the bacteria detected in our samples belonged to the genus Chromatium, which are sulfur oxidizers. Thus, EDS mapping made it possible to identify sulfur oxidizers in environmental samples based on localized sulfur within their cells, within a short time(within 24 h of sampling). This technique has wide ranging applications for detection of sulfur bacteria in environmental water samples.展开更多
In this paper, we use a nonlinear decohering quantum model to study the initial step of photosynthesis which is an ultrafast transfer process of absorption the sunlight by light-harvesting complexes and electronic exc...In this paper, we use a nonlinear decohering quantum model to study the initial step of photosynthesis which is an ultrafast transfer process of absorption the sunlight by light-harvesting complexes and electronic excitation transfer to the reaction center(RC). In this decohering model, the Hamiltonian of the system commutes with the systemenvironment interaction. We take B850 ring of light-harvesting complex II(LH-II) in purple bacteria as an example to calculate the efficiency of the energy transfer as a function of time. We find that the environmental noise can make the LH-II have stable energy transfer efficiency over a long time. This is to say that the environmental noise which is the decohering source has advantage of the energy transfer in the process of photosynthesis.展开更多
基金Supported by the Basic Scientific Fund for National Public Research Institutes of China(Nos.GY02-2011T10,2015P07)the Qingdao Talent Program(No.13-CX-20)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.31100567,41176061)the National Natural Science Foundation for Creative Groups(No.41521064)
文摘Detection of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria has largely been dependent on targeted gene sequencing technology or traditional cell cultivation, which usually takes from days to months to carry out. This clearly does not meet the requirements of analysis for time-sensitive samples and/or complicated environmental samples. Since energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry(EDS) can be used to simultaneously detect multiple elements in a sample, including sulfur, with minimal sample treatment, this technology was applied to detect sulfur-oxidizing bacteria using their high sulfur content within the cell. This article describes the application of scanning electron microscopy imaging coupled with EDS mapping for quick detection of sulfur oxidizers in contaminated environmental water samples, with minimal sample handling. Scanning electron microscopy imaging revealed the existence of dense granules within the bacterial cells, while EDS identified large amounts of sulfur within them. EDS mapping localized the sulfur to these granules. Subsequent 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that the bacteria detected in our samples belonged to the genus Chromatium, which are sulfur oxidizers. Thus, EDS mapping made it possible to identify sulfur oxidizers in environmental samples based on localized sulfur within their cells, within a short time(within 24 h of sampling). This technique has wide ranging applications for detection of sulfur bacteria in environmental water samples.
基金Supported by the Research Start-up Foundation for Talents of Northwest A&F University of China under Grant Nos.Z111021106 and Z111021307
文摘In this paper, we use a nonlinear decohering quantum model to study the initial step of photosynthesis which is an ultrafast transfer process of absorption the sunlight by light-harvesting complexes and electronic excitation transfer to the reaction center(RC). In this decohering model, the Hamiltonian of the system commutes with the systemenvironment interaction. We take B850 ring of light-harvesting complex II(LH-II) in purple bacteria as an example to calculate the efficiency of the energy transfer as a function of time. We find that the environmental noise can make the LH-II have stable energy transfer efficiency over a long time. This is to say that the environmental noise which is the decohering source has advantage of the energy transfer in the process of photosynthesis.
