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The effect of long-term mercury contamination on the composition and diversity of soil bacterial communities in riverine ecosystems
Descriptive
TitleInfo
Title
The effect of long-term mercury contamination on the composition and diversity of soil bacterial communities in riverine ecosystems
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Chatziefthimiou
NamePart
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Aspassia D.
NamePart
(type = date)
1977-
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ASPASSIA CHATZIEFTHIMIOU
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author
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(type = personal)
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Barkay
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Tamar
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Tamar Barkay
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Advisory Committee
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chair
Name
(type = personal)
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(type = family)
Dighton
NamePart
(type = given)
John
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John Dighton
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Advisory Committee
Role
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internal member
Name
(type = personal)
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(type = family)
Morin
NamePart
(type = given)
Peter J
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Peter J Morin
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
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(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Bini
NamePart
(type = given)
Elisabetta
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Elisabetta Bini
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
outside member
Name
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NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name
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NamePart
Graduate School - New Brunswick
Role
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school
TypeOfResource
Text
Genre
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theses
OriginInfo
DateCreated
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2012
DateOther
(qualifier = exact);
(type = degree)
2012-01
Place
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(type = code)
xx
Language
LanguageTerm
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(type = code)
eng
Abstract
(type = abstract)
Hg contamination in riverine ecosystems is a persistent problem and clean-up efforts are a priority for EPA and local federal governments as potential methylation of Hg increases its toxicity due to its bioaccumulation and biomagnification in aquatic food chains. Understanding the microbial contribution to Hg contamination is of particular importance as microbial communities occupy the base of the food chain and the way they transform Hg has bottom-up effects to all trophic levels. The broad objective of this dissertation was to investigate the role of abiotic factors in shaping the composition, diversity and distribution of bacterial communities inhabiting floodplain soils of the East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC), TN, and South River (SR), VA, chronically contaminated with Hg as a result of industrial processes. Analysis of soil samples from the EFPC by direct cultivation and isolation, revealed a metabolic-dependent effect of Hg-stress on bacterial populations, with copiotrophs exhibiting higher mercury reduction potentials, as well as phylogenetic and functional diversity, than oligotrophs. As the great majority of the strains contained a merA gene in their genome, Hg-resistance in these isolates may have been conferred by the functions of the mercury resistance (mer) system. A total of 27 phylogenetic incongruencies were observed between this and the 16S rRNA genes of the isolates, suggesting that horizontal gene transfer may play a role in Hg adaptation. The culture-independent method of 16S rRNA-fingerprinting was used to assess spatial distribution and diversity of bacterial communities along the Hg-contamination gradient in SR. Higher levels of diversity were obtained in communities that experience low as compared to high soil Hg levels. The best predictors of community diversity were pH, moisture and soil texture, whereas THg and geography were poor predictors. In this study a new merA-based t-RFLP method was designed to assess distribution and diversity of merA genes. Results show high levels of diversity for this gene and clustering based on geographical proximity. These findings highlight the impact of long-term Hg-stress on microbial communities in riverine ecosystems and provide a micro-ecological framework for future remedial actions in Hg contaminated sites.
Subject
(authority = RUETD)
Topic
Ecology and Evolution
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
River sediments—Mercury content
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Stream health
Subject
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Water--Pollution
RelatedItem
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TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
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ETD
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ETD_3777
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electronic resource
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application/pdf
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text/xml
Extent
xiv, 141 p. : ill., maps
Note
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Ph.D.
Note
(type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note
(type = vita)
Includes vita
Note
(type = statement of responsibility)
by Aspassia D. Chatziefthimiou
Identifier
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http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10001600001.ETD.000064063
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TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
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rucore19991600001
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Identifier
(type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3ZG6R91
Genre
(authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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Rights
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
RightsHolder
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Name
FamilyName
CHATZIEFTHIMIOU
GivenName
ASPASSIA
Role
Copyright Holder
RightsEvent
Type
Permission or license
DateTime
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2012-01-04 14:01:39
AssociatedEntity
Name
ASPASSIA CHATZIEFTHIMIOU
Role
Copyright holder
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
RightsEvent
DateTime
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2012-01-31
DateTime
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2014-01-30
Type
Embargo
Detail
Access to this PDF has been restricted at the author's request. It will be publicly available after January 30th, 2014.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
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4945920
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