Piracetam (2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine acetamide) is a popular cognitive enhancer, which has recently been detected in waste and drinking water. Nootropic drugs are designed to affect human metabolism and act on the nervous system, but their environmental effects have yet to be the subject of detailed studies. In this report, we present the efficient biodegradation of the cognitive enhancer, piracetam. Two bacterial strains capable of using this compound as the sole carbon source were isolated and later identified as Ochrobactrum anthropi strain MW6 and Ochrobactrum intermedium strain MW7. The compound's mineralization and the cleavage of the heterocyclic ring were shown in the experiments with 14C-labeled piracetam. This is also the first report of a pharmaceutical's degradation by the Ochrobactrum genus. This study presents model microorganisms that can be used in further investigation of piracetam's degradation pathways as well as enzymes and genes involved in the process.

Iron is an essential inorganic micronutrient. Because of its low toxicity only a few studies have dealt with the importance of iron in fungal physiology. Most of the studies published so far focus on iron sequestration by animal fungal pathogens, iron uptake by mycorrhizal fungi, or iron redox activities by fungal wood degraders. However, a general overview on the relationship between fungal physiology and iron is still lacking.In this review we present a summary of the types of physiological activities that participate in iron homeostasis in fungi and how these activities can be used for the development of original biotechnological applications in relationship to iron-containing matrices. Concrete examples of biotechnological applications involving iron and fungi are also discussed. In the last part, a specific research project in biotechnology focusing on the use of fungi for the conservation of archaeological objects in iron is described in detail. This project aims at developing a new conservation-restoration method to preserve archaeological iron artifacts exploiting the ability of fungi to transform and uptake iron. Preliminary results obtained in this project regarding iron-reduction, iron uptake, and biogenic formation of iron minerals are presented and discussed.

Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil. (Yerba Mate) is an important crop for which a decrease in yields associated to unsustainable agricultural practices is well documented. The aim of this study is to investigate the diversity of bacteria and fungi inhabiting roots of Yerba Mate. This is an important pre-requisite for the use of microorganisms inhabiting roots to modulate plant nutrition and health as an ecologically friendly agricultural alternative for this crop. The diversity of the root-associated microbiome from eleven plantations with different agricultural practices was analyzed by high throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene as a bacterial marker, whereas the fungal communities were targeted by amplifying the ITS region of the ribosomal RNA gene cluster. A comparison of the bacterial and fungal communities between plantation sites and cultivation practices was made to address the major factors contributing to the structure of the root microbiome of this crop. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) related to well-known plant growth promoting bacteria such as Burkholderia, Bradyrhizobium, Weissella, Enterobacter and Rhizobium were detected. Those might constitute targets for future enrichment efforts of plant growth promoting clades. The analysis of the fungal community composition demonstrated that arbuscular mycorrhizae colonize Yerba Mate roots, and that the frequency of this group is favored in degraded soils. The detection of other groups harboring potential phytopathogens might help to broaden the understanding of the ailments affecting this crop. This study provides the first description of the root-associated microbiome of Yerba Mate and constitutes a stepping-stone towards harnessing the role of microbes in the sustainable cultivation of this crop. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Treated wastewater and runoff-water is released by the outlet of the sewage treatment plant of Vidy (Lausanne) directly into the Lake of Geneva via a pipe located 300m from the shore. Even if this water is properly treated with modern technologies, we can observe an accumulation of micro pollutants into the sediments, and particularly heavy-metals. The main objective of this project is to investigate how these elevated concentrations of heavy metals affect both abundance and diversity of prokaryotes in the sediments. A special emphasis was given to endospore-forming bacteria, which could use sporulation as a survival strategy to resist in highly contaminated areas. This study could have implications both for understanding the role of endospore-forming bacteria in the environment as well as in terms of improving the bioremediation processes.

Reference EML-CONF-2009-009View record in Web of Science Record created on 2009-03-11, modified on 2016-08-08