There are few milestones in speleobiology, and Proteus anguinus, commonly named the olm, proteus or “human fish”, is undoubtedly part of its (hi)story. The animal was first mentioned in 1689 by ...Johann Weikhard von Valvasor (Janez Vajkard Valvasor) in his The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola (Slava Vojvodine Kranjske). The scientific name Proteus anguinus was given by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768. The animal gained the interest of the scientific community later in the 19th century, culminating in 1859 in Charles Darwin's famous monograph On the Origin of Species as an example of evolutionary reduction of body structures through disuse. The study of this remarkable animal intensified in the 20th century. Its longevity, its general peculiarity and the mystery governing the underground world of the Dinaric karst triggered more systematic research. Much interesting data was obtained from study of proteus in captivity in various laboratories worldwide, including Slovenia, France, England, Belgium, Hungary, Germany and Italy. In the 21st century, the year 2019 represents another important milestone in the research of proteus. The draft genome of Proteus anguinus was first publicly presented on 25 November 2019 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The event coincided with 330 years since proteus was introduced to the scientific community by Valvasor, 160 years since its popularization by Darwin, and the 100th anniversary of Ljubljana University. This is undoubtedly an achievement with many superlatives, starting from excellent collaboration among different international laboratories and the very short period – one year – used to finish the sequencing of the huge proteus genome, which is 15-times larger in size than the human genome. On this occasion, we spoke with the two most important players in the story, prof. Nina Gunde-Cimerman and prof. Rok Kostanjšek, from the University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty. Prof. Nina Gunde-Cimerman directs research of extremophiles adapted to extreme conditions, in particular fungi, at the Biotechnical Faculty. Prof. Rok Kostanjšek leads a research team that continues the investigation of proteus begun by his predecessors, prof. Lili Istenič and prof. Boris Bulog.
There are few milestones in speleobiology, and Proteus anguinus, commonly named the olm, proteus or “human fish”, is undoubtedly part of its (hi)story. The animal was first mentioned in 1689 by ...Johann Weikhard von Valvasor (Janez Vajkard Valvasor) in his The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola (Slava Vojvodine Kranjske). The scientific name Proteus anguinus was given by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768. The animal gained the interest of the scientific community later in the 19th century, culminating in 1859 in Charles Darwin's famous monograph On the Origin of Species as an example of evolutionary reduction of body structures through disuse. The study of this remarkable animal intensified in the 20th century. Its longevity, its general peculiarity and the mystery governing the underground world of the Dinaric karst triggered more systematic research. Much interesting data was obtained from study of proteus in captivity in various laboratories worldwide, including Slovenia, France, England, Belgium, Hungary, Germany and Italy. In the 21st century, the year 2019 represents another important milestone in the research of proteus. The draft genome of Proteus anguinus was first publicly presented on 25 November 2019 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The event coincided with 330 years since proteus was introduced to the scientific community by Valvasor, 160 years since its popularization by Darwin, and the 100th anniversary of Ljubljana University. This is undoubtedly an achievement with many superlatives, starting from excellent collaboration among different international laboratories and the very short period – one year – used to finish the sequencing of the huge proteus genome, which is 15-times larger in size than the human genome. On this occasion, we spoke with the two most important players in the story, prof. Nina Gunde-Cimerman and prof. Rok Kostanjšek, from the University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty. Prof. Nina Gunde-Cimerman directs research of extremophiles adapted to extreme conditions, in particular fungi, at the Biotechnical Faculty. Prof. Rok Kostanjšek leads a research team that continues the investigation of proteus begun by his predecessors, prof. Lili Istenič and prof. Boris Bulog.
Escherichia coli, one of the primary intestinal commensal bacteria in humans and endothermic animals, is commonly considered an indicator of faecal pollution. E. coli strains were isolated from karst ...rivers under different hydrological conditions, from footpaths in tourist caves and from bat guano. Isolates were tested for phenotypic resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, nalidixic acid, tetracycline and trimethoprim. The highest percentage of antimicrobial resistant E. coli was found in karst waters, followed by those from surface swabs and from bat guano. Several isolates from rivers and swabs exhibited multidrug-resistant phenotype. Environmental conditions impact the populations of E. coli; a positive correlation between dissolved oxygen and E. coli counts, and a negative correlation between conductivity and E. coli concentrations have been observed for karst rivers. Malenščica (Slovenia), a drinking water resource with an extensive catchment area, contained a relative high percentage of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli strains. None of the isolates from bat guano was resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, and tetracycline. Future monitoring of bats should consider a regular follow-up of indicative microbial disease indicators in fresh guano. Regular cleansing of tourist footpaths in caves and disinfection barriers at the cave entrances reduce the concentration and transmission of E. coli significantly. A future, more detailed, study on characterization of additional E. coli isolates is needed to reveal their pathogeneicity, mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, mobile genetic elements, and gene transfer frequencies to other members of the karst microbiome.
An interview with professors Nina Gunde-Cimerman and Rok Kostanjsek is presented. Among other things, they discuss about the most urgent scientific questions related to proteus, how proteus responds ...to microbial attack from human-mediated pollution or intervention and the significance of proteus to the population in Slovenia and the wider region.
RIDA®COUNT test plates were used as an easy-to-handle and rapid indicator of microbial counts in karst ecosystems of several caves in Slovakia and Slovenia. All of the caves had a high organic input ...from water streams, tourists, roosting bat colonies or terrestrial surroundings. We sampled swabs, water and air samples to test robustness and universality of the RIDA®COUNT test kit (R-Biopharm AG, Germany, http://www.r-biopharm.com/) for quantification of total bacteria, coliforms, yeast and mold. Using data from swabs (colony-forming units CFU per cm2) we proposed a scale for description of biocontamination level or superficial microbial load of cave niches. Based on this scale, surfaces of Ardovská Cave, Drienovská Cave and Stará Brzotínská Cave (Slovakia) were moderately colonized by microbes, with total microbial counts (sum of total bacterial count and total yeast and molds count) in the range of 1,001-10,000 CFU/100 cm2, while some surfaces from the show cave Postojna Cave (Slovenia) can be considered highly colonized by microbes (total microbial counts ≥ 10,001 CFU/100 cm2). Ardovská Cave also had a high concentration of airborne microbes, which can be explained by restricted air circulation and regular bat activity. The ratio of coliform to total counts of bacteria in the 9 km of underground Pivka River flow in Postojna Cave dropped approximately 4-fold from the entrance, indicating the high anthropogenic pollution in the most exposed site in the show cave. The RIDA®COUNT test kit was proven to be applicable for regular monitoring of eutrophication and human influence in eutrophic karst caves.
Biofilms of different colours that colonize surfaces within karst caves represent a source of nutrients. Yellow microbial biofilms were sampled from three caves in southwestern Slovenia, Dimnice, ...Krizna jama and Sveta jama. The highest concentration of cultivable microbes and the biggest number of identified bacteria were retrieved from a sample from Sveta jama. Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-Of-Flight for bacterial identification showed that different species of Pseudomonas prevailed in all samples. Yellow biofilms showed an absorption peak around 400 nm, and two emission peaks, a major in the blue and a minor in the orange parts of the spectrum when excited at 405 nm. Microbial mats that colonize surfaces are probably frequently overlooked in caves because they are difficult to observe when they have no pigmentation and the contrast with their surroundings is low. Additional studies are needed to aid the understanding of the role of pigmented biofilms and their interactions with underlying substrata in respect of the evolution of substrate micromorphology.
Chemical and bacterial gradients under different hydrological conditions were studied in a well-developed underground karst system. Water samples were collected from the main underground drainage ...conduit of the Pivka River from October 2013 until June 2016. The system responds quickly to external pulses (precipitation events), and is also impacted by human interventions, as is demonstrated mainly by fluctuations of sulphates, chlorides, and occasionally elevated concentrations of organic and faecal pollutants. Chemical and bacterial parameters showed a monotonous trend of decreasing concentrations from the ponor towards the interior of the karst massif during stable hydrological conditions, and a significant change during high water conditions. High flow events tend to equilibrate chemical and bacterial parameters in the underground river. Concentrations of chlorides, TOC (total organic carbon) and nitrates were the most indicative parameters describing the formation of the gradient. Stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen in water indicated that the main karst conduit collects isotopically different waters from the aquifer. The river water collected after nine kilometres of underground flow was always isotopically lighter than the waters collected from the upstream sites. Multiparameter analysis proved to be a useful tool for providing a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of the underground water, which influence both the underground environment and the ecology of the biome.
Epikras postaja pomembno mesto hidrogeoloških, geomorfoloških in bioloških raziskav. Iz vzorcev pobranih s štirih mest v Škocjanskih jamah, kjer stalno kaplja voda z jamskega stropa, smo identifi ...cirali meiofavno. Na istih mestih so bili odvzeti tudi vzorci za izolacijo bakterij. Podatke o številu viabilnih celic smo dopolnili z morfološkimi in biokemijskimi lastnostmi izolatov. Izsledki kažejo, da v vzorcih prenikle vode iz epikrasa med bakterijami, ki jih lahko gojimo v in vitro razmerah, prevladujejo po Gramu negativne bakterije. The epikarst zone becomes an important site for hydrogeological, geomorphological and biological investigations. From the samples at four sites in Škocjanske jame caves where water tricklets constantly drip from the cave ceiling the meiofauna were identifi ed. The sites were screened also for the presence of culturable bacteria. The viable cell counts were supplemented with morphological and biochemical analysis of the isolates. Results show that Gram–negative bacteria prevail among culturable bacteria in the percolating epikarst waters.
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