Persona: González-Toril, Elena
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Centro de Astrobiologia
El Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) es un centro mixto de investigación en astrobiología, dependiente tanto del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) como del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC).
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González-Toril
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Elena
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Publicación Acceso Abierto Impacts of Saharan Dust Intrusions on Bacterial Communities of the Low Troposphere(Springer Nature Research Journals, 2020-04-22) González-Toril, Elena; Osuna Esteban, Susana; Viúdez Moreiras, Daniel; Navarro Cid, Ivan; Díaz del Toro, Silvia; Sor, Suthyvann; Rafael, Bardera Mora; Sánchez, F. P.; De Diego Castilla, Graciela; Aguilera, Á.; Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO); Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); Sor, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6972-8601We have analyzed the bacterial community of a large Saharan dust event in the Iberian Peninsula and, for the first time, we offer new insights regarding the bacterial distribution at different altitudes of the lower troposphere and the replacement of the microbial airborne structure as the dust event receeds. Samples from different open-air altitudes (surface, 100 m and 3 km), were obtained onboard the National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) C-212 aircrafts. Samples were collected during dust and dust-free air masses as well two weeks after the dust event. Samples related in height or time scale seems to show more similar community composition patterns compared with unrelated samples. The most abundant bacterial species during the dust event, grouped in three different phyla: (a) Proteobacteria: Rhizobiales, Sphingomonadales, Rhodobacterales, (b) Actinobacteria: Geodermatophilaceae; (c) Firmicutes: Bacillaceae. Most of these taxa are well known for being extremely stress-resistant. After the dust intrusion, Rhizobium was the most abundant genus, (40–90% total sequences). Samples taken during the flights carried out 15 days after the dust event were much more similar to the dust event samples compared with the remaining samples. In this case, Brevundimonas, and Methylobacterium as well as Cupriavidus and Mesorizobium were the most abundant genera.Publicación Acceso Abierto Multivariate Analysis Applied to Microwave-Driven Cyanide Polymerization: A Statistical View of a Complex System(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2023-01-12) Pérez Fernández, Cristina; González-Toril, Elena; Mateo Marti, Eva; Ruiz-Bermejo, Marta; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)For the first time, chemometrics was applied to the recently reported microwave-driven cyanide polymerization. Fast, easy, robust, low-cost, and green-solvent processes are characteristic of these types of reactions. These economic and environmental benefits, originally inspired by the constraints imposed by plausible prebiotic synthetic conditions, have taken advantage of the development of a new generation of HCN-derived multifunctional materials. HCN-derived polymers present tunable properties by temperature and reaction time. However, the apparently random behavior observed in the evolution of cyanide polymerizations, assisted by microwave radiation over time at different temperatures, leads us to study this highly complex system using multivariate analytical tools to have a proper view of the system. Two components are sufficient to explain between 84 and 98% of the total variance in the data in all principal component analyses. In addition, two components explain more than 91% of the total variance in the data in the case of principal component analysis for categorical data. These consistent statistical results indicate that microwave-driven polymerization is a more robust process than conventional thermal syntheses but also that plausible prebiotic chemistry in alkaline subaerial environments could be more complex than in the aerial part of these systems, presenting a clear example of the “messy chemistry” approach of interest in the research about the origins of life. In addition, the methodology discussed herein could be useful for the data analysis of extraterrestrial samples and for the design of soft materials, in a feedback view between prebiotic chemistry and materials science.Publicación Restringido Metagenomic and metabolic analyses of poly-extreme microbiome from an active crater volcano lake(Elsevier, 2022-01) Peña Ocaña, Betsy Anaid; Ovando Ovando, César Ivan; Puente Sánchez, Fernando; Tamames, Javier; Servín Garcidueñas, Luis Eduardo; González-Toril, Elena; Gutiérrez Sarmiento, Wilbert; Jasso Chávez, Ricardo; Ruíz Valdiviezo, Víctor ManuelEl Chichón volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico. Previous studies have described its poly-extreme conditions and its bacterial composition, although the functional features of the complete microbiome have not been characterized yet. By using metabarcoding analysis, metagenomics, metabolomics and enzymology techniques, the microbiome of the crater lake was characterized in this study. New information is provided on the taxonomic and functional diversity of the representative Archaea phyla, Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota, as well as those that are representative of Bacteria, Thermotogales and Aquificae. With culture of microbial consortia and with the genetic information collected from the natural environment sampling, metabolic interactions were identified between prokaryotes, which can withstand multiple extreme conditions. The existence of a close relationship between the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and sulfur in an active volcano has been proposed, while the relationship in the energy metabolism of thermoacidophilic bacteria and archaea in this multi-extreme environment was biochemically revealed for the first time. These findings contribute towards understanding microbial metabolism under extreme conditions, and provide potential knowledge pertaining to "microbial dark matter", which can be applied to biotechnological processes and evolutionary studies.Publicación Restringido Occurrence and transport of microplastics sampled within and above the planetary boundary layer(Elsevier BV, 2021-03-20) González Pleiter, M.; Edo, C.; Aguilera, Angeles; Viúdez Moreiras, Daniel; Pulido Reyes, G.; González-Toril, Elena; Osuna Esteban, Susana; De Diego Castilla, Graciela; Leganés, F.; Fernández Piñas, F.; Rosal, R.; Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO); 0000-0003-0816-8775; 0000-0003-0340-7327; 0000-0002-7674-4167Nowadays, there is no direct evidence about the presence of microplastics (MPs) in the atmosphere above ground level. Here, we investigated the occurrence, chemical composition, shape, and size of MPs in aircraft sampling campaigns flying within and above the planetary boundary layer (PBL). The results showed that MPs were present with concentrations ranging from 1.5 MPs m−3 above rural areas to 13.9 MPs m−3 above urban areas. MPs represented up to almost one third of the total amount of microparticles collected. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy allowed identifying seven types of MPs with the highest diversity corresponding to urban areas. Atmospheric transport and deposition simulations were performed using the HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. Air mass trajectory analyses showed that MPs could be transported more than 1000 km before being deposited. This pioneer study is the first evidence of the microplastic presence above PBL and their potential long-range transport from their point of release even crossing distant borders.Publicación Restringido Metagenomic analysis of the microbial community at the Riutort oil shale mine (NE Spain): Potential applications in bioremediation and enhanced oil recovery(Elsevier, 2023-10-10) González-Toril, Elena; Permanyer, Albert; Gallego, José R.; Márquez, Gonzalo; Lorenzo, Erica; Aguilera, Angeles; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN); Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO); Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI)Preservation of the environment of the Riutort oil shale mine for more than a century has favored the presence of a paradigmatic ecosystem of oil-degrading microorganisms. After extensive sampling and analysis by 16S rRNA sequencing, a marked prokaryotic community comprising diverse groups of bacteria (genus such as Methylobacter, Thiothrix, and Desulfobacca) and archaea (e.g., Methanobrevibacter genus) with hydrocarbon-degrading activity was found. Aerobic microorganisms were predominant in several samples but facultative microorganisms were also present, and there was an interesting transition to strict anaerobic conditions in some areas. One of the samples contained oil degrading aerobic bacteria such as Pseudomonas spp. and Brevundimonas spp. Of the microbes studied, we conducted a laboratory assessment of the capacity of this specific consortium for bioremediation of petroleum-polluted soil and microbial enhanced oil recovery processes. To this end, we used oily sludge-contaminated soil from La Libertad Refinery and cores from the Ancón Field, respectively, both sites in southwestern Ecuador. The Riutort consortium degraded 50.8% of total petroleum hydrocarbons, 64.2% of saturates, 41.3% of aromatics, and 37.4% of polar compounds after a 60-day incubation using oily sludge as the sole source of carbon. The performance of this consortium reflects its notable potential for bioremediation purposes. In turn, flooding with the natural Riutort consortium and its metabolites achieved a 7.2% (v/v) incremental recovery of crude oil through a sand-pack assay. These results are comparable to those reported using synthetic bacterial consortia, and thus reveal the great interest of the study seepages, not only for understanding microbial activities in oil degradation but also their use in biotechnological applications.Publicación Restringido Viable Microorganisms on Fibers Collected within and beyond the Planetary Boundary Layer(ACS Publications, 2020-08-25) González Pleiter, M.; Edo, C.; Casero Chamorro, M. C.; Aguilera, Angeles; González-Toril, Elena; Wierzchos, J.; Leganés, F.; Fernández Piñas, F.; Rosal, R.; Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); González Pleiter, M. [0000-0002-7674-4167]; Casero, M. C. [0000-0002-0611-4776]; Unidad de Excelencia Científica María de Maeztu Centro de Astrobiología del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial y CSIC, MDM-2017-0737Fibers are found in all environments. However, the impact of their presence on ecosystems and human health is not yet well understood, especially in the case of the atmosphere. In this work, we presented evidence that fibers traveling through the atmosphere act as vectors to spread microorganisms. Here, we investigated the presence of viable microorganisms on fibers collected within and beyond the planetary boundary layer during flights of C-212 aircraft over Central Spain. In total, seven fibers, six of which transported viable microorganisms, were isolated in two flights. The viability of the microorganisms was determined by confocal microscopy by means of the fluorescent probes SYBR-Green to detect microorganisms and CTC redox dye to assess their cellular respiration activity. The fibers that transported viable microorganisms were spectroscopically analyzed by micro-FTIR and identified as wool-silk and cellulose-cotton. Taken together, the results demonstrated that fibers host viable microorganisms when traveling through the lower free troposphere.Publicación Acceso Abierto Ecological degradation of a fragile semi-arid wetland and the implications in its microbial community: The case study of Las Tablas de Daimiel National Park (Spain)(Elsevier, 2024-05-10) Santofimia, Esther; González-Toril, Elena; De Diego Castilla, Graciela; Rincón-Tomás, Blanca; Aguilera, Angeles; Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); European Commission (EC); Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio AmbienteLas Tablas de Daimiel National Park (TDNP, Iberian Peninsula) is a semi-arid wetland of international significance for waterfowl and serves as a migratory route for various bird species. However, TDNP presents strong anthropization and fluctuating water levels, making it a highly fragile ecosystem. Water physico-chemical parameters and microbial diversity of the three domains (Bacteria-Archaea- Eukarya) were analysed in Zone A and Zone B of the wetland (a total of eight stations) during spring and summer, aiming to determine how seasonal changes influence the water quality, trophic status and ultimately, the microbial community composition. Additionally, Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) was used to determine the trophic status instead of transparency using Secchi disk, setting the threshold to 20–40 μmol/sm2 for benthic vegetation growth. In spring, both zones of the wetland were considered eutrophic, and physico-chemical parameters as well as microbial diversity were similar to other wetlands, with most abundant bacteria affiliated to Actinobacteriota, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidota, Gammaproteobacteria and Verrumicrobiota. Methane-related taxa like Methanosarcinales and photosynthetic Chlorophyta were respectively the most representative archaeal and eukaryotic groups. In summer, phytoplankton bloom led by an unclassified Cyanobacteria and mainly alga Hydrodictyon was observed in Zone A, resulting in an increase of turbidity, pH, phosphorus, nitrogen, chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin indicating the change to hypertrophic state. Microbial community composition was geographical and seasonal shaped within the wetland as response to changes in trophic status. Archaeal diversity decreases and methane-related species increase due to sediment disturbance driven by fish activity, wind, and substantial water depth reduction. Zone B in summer suffers less seasonal changes, maintaining the eutrophic state and still detecting macrophyte growth in some stations. This study provides a new understanding of the interdomain microbial adaptation following the ecological evolution of the wetland, which is crucial to knowing these systems that are ecological niches with high environmental value.Publicación Acceso Abierto Tuning the Morphology in the Nanoscale of NH4CN Polymers Synthesized by Microwave Radiation: A Comparative Study(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2021-12-24) Pérez Fernández, Cristina; Valles González, M. P.; González-Toril, Elena; Mateo Marti, Eva; de la fuente, Jose Luis; Ruiz-Bermejo, Marta; Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN); Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); Centro de Astrobiología del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial y CSIC, MDM-2017-0737A systematic study is presented to explore the NH4CN polymerization induced by microwave (MW) radiation, keeping in mind the recent growing interest in these polymers in material science. Thus, a first approach through two series, varying the reaction times and the temperatures between 130 and 205 °C, was conducted. As a relevant outcome, using particular reaction conditions, polymer conversions similar to those obtained by means of conventional thermal methods were achieved, with the advantage of a very significant reduction of the reaction times. The structural properties of the end products were evaluated using compositional data, spectroscopic measurements, simultaneous thermal analysis (STA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As a result, based on the principal component analysis (PCA) from the main experimental results collected, practically only the crystallographic features and the morphologies in the nanoscale were affected by the MW-driven polymerization conditions with respect to those obtained by classical syntheses. Therefore, MW radiation allows us to tune the morphology, size and shape of the particles from the bidimensional C=N networks which are characteristic of the NH4CN polymers by an easy, fast, low-cost and green-solvent production. These new insights make these macromolecular systems attractive for exploration in current soft-matter science.Publicación Acceso Abierto Toxicity, Physiological, and Ultrastructural Effects of Arsenic and Cadmium on the Extremophilic Microalga Chlamydomonas acidophila(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2020-03-03) Díaz, S.; De Francisco, P.; Olsson, S.; Aguilera, Angeles; González-Toril, Elena; Martín González, A.; Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI); Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO); Olsson, S. [https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1199-4499]; Unidad de Excelencia Científica María de Maeztu Centro de Astrobiología del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial y CSIC, MDM-2017-0737The cytotoxicity of cadmium (Cd), arsenate (As(V)), and arsenite (As(III)) on a strain of Chlamydomonas acidophila, isolated from the Rio Tinto, an acidic environment containing high metal(l)oid concentrations, was analyzed. We used a broad array of methods to produce complementary information: cell viability and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation measures, ultrastructural observations, transmission electron microscopy energy dispersive x-ray microanalysis (TEM-XEDS), and gene expression. This acidophilic microorganism was affected differently by the tested metal/metalloid: It showed high resistance to arsenic while Cd was the most toxic heavy metal, showing an LC50 = 1.94 mu M. Arsenite was almost four-fold more toxic (LC50= 10.91 mM) than arsenate (LC50 = 41.63 mM). Assessment of ROS generation indicated that both arsenic oxidation states generate superoxide anions. Ultrastructural analysis of exposed cells revealed that stigma, chloroplast, nucleus, and mitochondria were the main toxicity targets. Intense vacuolization and accumulation of energy reserves (starch deposits and lipid droplets) were observed after treatments. Electron-dense intracellular nanoparticle-like formation appeared in two cellular locations: inside cytoplasmic vacuoles and entrapped into the capsule, around each cell. The chemical nature (Cd or As) of these intracellular deposits was confirmed by TEM-XEDS. Additionally, they also contained an unexpected high content in phosphorous, which might support an essential role of poly-phosphates in metal resistance.Publicación Acceso Abierto Environmental parameters, and not phylogeny, determine the composition of extracellular polymeric substances in microbial mats from extreme environments(Elsevier, 2019-02-10) Blanco, Yolanda; Rivas, Luis Alfonso; González-Toril, Elena; Ruiz-Bermejo, Marta; Moreno Paz, Mercedes; Parro, Víctor; Palacín, Arantxa; Aguilera, Angeles; Puente Sánchez, Fernando; Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO); Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI)The ability to establish biofilms is a key trait for microorganisms growing in extreme environments. The extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) present in biofilms provide not only surface attachment, but also protection against all kinds of environmental stressors, including desiccation, salinity, temperature or heavy metal pollution. The acquisition of suitable biofilm characteristics might thus be an important process mediating the adaptation of microorganisms to novel environmental conditions. In this work we have characterized the EPS of 20 phylogenetically diverse biofilms collected in situ from five contrasting extreme environments, including two geothermal areas (Copahue, Argentina; Seltun, Iceland), two cold areas (Pastoruri glacier, Peru; Byers Peninsula, Antarctica) and one extremely acidic river (Río Tinto, Spain). Biofilms were subjected to biochemical characterization, glycan profiling and immunoprofiling with an antibody microarray. Our results showed that environmental conditions strongly influence biofilm characteristics, with microorganisms from the same environment achieving similar EPS compositions regardless of the phylogeny of their main species. The concentration of some monosaccharides in the EPS could be related to environmental conditions such as temperature or heavy metal toxicity, suggesting that in some cases stress resistance can be mediated by specific sugars. Overall, our results highlight the existence of conserved EPS compositional patterns for each extreme environment, which could in turn be exploited to engineer ecological adaptations in genetically modified microorganisms.
