Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Activities included mentoring two undergraduate students on the project, and one Ph.D. graduate student. The products included physical collection of materials from South Dakota sites including the Homestake Mine, Hot Springs, compost piles, and other sites for use as inoculum to isolate thermophilic lignocellulose-degrading microorganisms. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals who worked on the project included the principal investigator (Bruce Bleakley), who oversaw the project, developed protocols, and trained student laboratory workers; two undergraduate students (Ashley Boyd and Adam Burthus), who carried out the enrichment and isolation of microorganisms; and one Ph.D. graduate student (Kathleen Gibson), who helped supervise the undergraduates while also being involved in enrichment and isolation of microbial strains.. Collaborators and contacts included William Gibbons of the SDSU Biology/Microbiology Department, whose laboratory is working in collaboration with ours to obtain new lignocellulose degrading microbial strains. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Change in knowledge included isolation and characterization of several prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms from the inocula. Using Hot Springs inocula, 28 filamentous fungal cultures were isolated, and 125 unicellular bacteria. All the fungi grow at 27 C but not 50 C; and 17 of the 28 fungi used carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) in plate assays. Eight of the 125 unicellular bacteria so far examined hydrolyzed CMC; of these eight, two grew at 50 C. Selected bacterial cultures identified using partial small subunit rDNA sequencing were: Bacillus thuringiensis, growing at 27 C but not 50 C and having weak CMCase activity; and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, growing at both temperatures and having strong CMCase activity. Using Homestake Mine inoculum, 13 filamentous fungal cultures wereisolated, and 32 unicellular bacteria. All the fungi grow at 27 C but not 50 C; and one fungal isolate used CMC in plate assays. Eight of the 32 unicellular bacteria hydrolyzed CMC; and all grew at both temperatures. Selected bacterial strains identified using partial small subunit rDNA sequencing were: three Bacillus pumilus strains; two Bacillus licheniformis strains; and three Bacillus subtilis-subtilis strains.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Outputs: One undergraduate student working more than 160 hours was taught and trained as part of the project. Experiments to enrich for and isolate cellulose degrading thermophilic microorganisms using inoculum from South Dakota soils and Hot Springs were conducted and analyzed. Products were the following pure cultures that were identified by small subunit ribosomal RNA partial sequencing: from surface soils, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, B. subtilis, and B. pumilus; and from Hot Springs, B. lentus, B. firmus, B. mojavensis, and Brevibacillus parabrevis.
PARTICIPANTS: Individuals who worked on the project were the PI/PD, Bruce Bleakley; and one undergraduate student, Adam Burthus, who has worked more than 160 hours on the project. Bill Gibbons of the South Dakota State University Biology/Microbiology Department is a contact/collaborator on the project. The project has and will continue to provide training in microbiological laboratory techniques for one or more undergraduate students.
TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences for the project include other faculty and staff at South Dakota State University who have an interest in thermophilic microorganisms that break down cellulose; and other microbiologists outside SDSU that have this interest. Efforts include laboratory instruction to train the undergraduate students working on the project.
Impacts
Change in knowledge included: obtaining the identities of culturable thermophilic cellulose degrading bacteria from selected surface soils and from the Hot Springs site in South Dakota; and finding that the species of thermophilic cellulose degrading bacteria isolated with the same enrichment conditions from these two habitats appeared to be different, with no apparent overlap in species from the two habitats.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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