ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0017-7992
Current Organisation
University of Liverpool
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Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Date: 15-11-2008
DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01092-08
Abstract: A number of Micromonospora strains isolated from the water column, sediment, and cellulose baits placed in freshwater lakes were shown to be able to degrade cellulose in lake water without any addition of nutrients. A selective isolation method was also developed to demonstrate that CFU arose from both spores and hyphae that inhabit the lake environment. Gyrase B gene sequencing performed on the isolates identified a number of new centers of variation within Micromonospora , but the most actively cellulolytic strains were recovered in a single cluster that equated with the type species of the genus, M. chalcea .
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Date: 26-06-2018
DOI: 10.1128/MSYSTEMS.00025-18
Abstract: Enteric viruses cause gastrointestinal illness and are commonly transmitted through the fecal-oral route. When wastewater is released into river systems, these viruses can contaminate the environment. Our results show that we can use viromics to find the range of potentially pathogenic viruses that are present in the environment and identify prevalent genotypes. The ultimate goal is to trace the fate of these pathogenic viruses from origin to the point where they are a threat to human health, informing reference-based detection methods and water quality management.
Publisher: Research Square Platform LLC
Date: 15-09-2020
DOI: 10.21203/RS.3.RS-62137/V1
Abstract: The discharge of wastewater-derived viruses in aquatic environments impacts catchment-scale virome composition and is a potential hazard to human health. Here, we used viromic analysis of RNA and DNA virus-like particle preparations to track virus communities entering and leaving wastewater treatment plants and the connecting river catchment system and estuary. We found substantial viral ersity and geographically distinct virus communities associated with different wastewater treatment plants. River and estuarine water bodies harboured more erse viral communities in downstream locations, influenced by tidal movement and proximity to wastewater treatment plants. Shellfish and beach sand were enriched in viral communities when compared with the surrounding water, acting as entrapment matrices for virus particles. We reconstructed ,000 partial viral genomes into 10,149 species-level groups, dominated by dsDNA and (+)ssRNA bacteriophages (Caudovirales and Leviviridae). We identified 73 (partial) genomes comprising six families that could pose a risk to human health Astroviridae, Caliciviridae (sapovirus), Picornaviridae (cocksackievirus), Reoviridae (rotavirus), Parvoviridae and Circoviridae. Based on the pattern of viral incidence, we observe that wastewater-derived viral genetic material is commonly deposited in the environment, but due to fragemented nature of these viral genomes, the risk to human health is low, and is more likely driven by community transmission, with wastewater-derived viruses subject to cycles of dilution, enrichment and virion degradation influenced by local geography, weather events and tidal effects. Our data illustrate the utility of viromic analyses for wastewater- and environment-based epidemiology, and we present a conceptual model for the circulation of viruses in a freshwater catchment.
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Date: 08-2009
DOI: 10.1128/AEM.00701-09
Abstract: PCR and quantitative PCR (qPCR) primers targeting the 16S rRNA gene were used to detect and quantify members of the genus Fibrobacter in lake water, sediment and colonized cotton taken from two freshwater lakes. Phylogenetic analysis identified two groups of sequences those clustered with Fibrobacter succinogenes , the type species, and a defined cluster of clones loosely associated with several Fibrobacter sequences observed previously in clone libraries from freshwater environments. 16S rRNA gene sequences recovered in the same way from soil s les and ovine feces in the surrounding land were all F. succinogenes and did not include any from this group of the “freshwater” Fibrobacteres . In all cases, nested PCR was required to detect Fibrobacter 16S rRNA genes, and qPCR analysis of reverse transcribed bacterial community RNA confirmed their very low relative abundance on colonized cotton baits in the water column (at 0, 3, 7, 11, and 13 m) and on the sediment surface ( .02% of total bacterial rRNA). However, in Esthwaite Water sediment itself, the relative abundance of fibrobacters was 2 orders of magnitude higher (ca. 1% of total bacterial rRNA). The presence of fibrobacters, including the cellulolytic rumen species F. succinogenes , on colonized cellulose s les and in lake sediment suggests that these organisms may contribute to the primary degradation of plant and algal biomass in freshwater lake ecosystems.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2017
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Date: 05-2012
DOI: 10.1128/AEM.07314-11
Abstract: The relative abundance of micromonosporas in the bacterial communities inhabiting cellulose baits, water columns, and sediments of two freshwater lakes was determined by quantitative PCR (qPCR) of reverse-transcribed 16S rRNA. Micromonospora spp. were shown to be significant members of the active bacterial population colonizing cellulosic substrates in the lake sediment, and their increased prevalence with greater depth was confirmed by enumeration of CFU.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Heather Allison.