Shimshon Belkin | |
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שמשון בלקין | |
Born | 17/07/1951 |
Nationality | Israeli |
Alma mater | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
Known for | Microbial life in extreme environments; whole-cell microbial biosensors |
Awards | The Donald Tucker Memorial Oceanography Fellowship (1977); Danish Ministry of Education grant (1977); EMBO fellowships (1977, 1979); Lady Davis Fellowship (1983); Chaim Weizmann fellowship (1985); The David and Pola Ben Gurion Prize (1988); The DuPont Company Excellence prize (1994); The Strage-BGU prize for Excellence in Environmental Sciences (2019). |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Environmental microbiology; biosensors |
Website | https://shimshonbelkinslab.wixsite.com/home |
Shimshon Belkin (born July 17, 1951, Tel Aviv, Israel) is an environmental microbiologist, a Professor Emeritus at the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
Following an undergraduate degree in Biology and a PhD in oceanography (1983, Prof. Etana Padan, supervisor), both at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Belkin was a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Holger Jannasch [1] at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole, MA; 1983-1984) and with Prof. Lester Packer [2] at the University of California, Berkeley (1984-1986). From 1986 to 1996 he was a faculty member at the J. Blaustein Institute for Desert Research of the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. In 1993-95 he was a visiting scientist at Robert A. LaRossa’s group at Dupont Central Research and Development (Wilmington, Delaware). [3] He returned to the Hebrew University in 1996, first as an associate professor at the School of Applied Science (1996-2004) and later as a full professor at the Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences (2004-2021). He is now a Prof. Emeritus of Environmental Microbiology at the latter institute. Since 2011 he is the incumbent of the Ministry of Labor & Social Welfare Chair in Industrial Hygiene.
Prof. Belkin’s research, from his student days to his current position, covers a broad range of topics, practically all of them at the interface between a study of microbiology and diverse environmental aspects. Since 1995, one of the main foci in his lab is the application of synthetic biology principles in the design, construction and testing of genetically engineered microorganisms as biosensors. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
The molecular engineering of such live bioreporters usually involves a fusion of a sensing element (often a gene promoter induced in the presence of the target compounds) to reporter gene(s), the expression of which can be monitored quantitatively. This approach, applied by the Belkin group towards the development of different types of sensors for environmental applications, has also diverged into related aspects such the integration of live sensor cells into miniaturized hardware platforms, polymer cellular encapsulation for field dispersal, and the development of algorithms for deciphering cell array signals.
One of the main topics currently occupying the Belkin team is the development of an innovative system for the remote detection of buried landmines and other explosive devices. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] Landmines are not completely sealed, and traces of explosives escape out of the mine’s casing and accumulate in the soil above it; bacterial sensor strains have been developed in the Belkin lab that sensitively respond to the presence of these traces by the generation of an optical signal, either fluorescence or bioluminescence. These signals can be imaged remotely; thus alleviating the highly risky need for the presence of personnel on the minefield.
Additional research topics investigated by Prof. Belkin and his team over the years include cyanobacterial bioenergetics and hydrogen production, [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] microbiology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents (including several research dives in the submersible Alvin ), [29] [30] [31] [32] and the characterization and treatment of industrial wastewaters. [33] [34] [35] [36]
Also worth mentioning is the study of the bacterial populations inhabiting the external surfaces of the salt-excreting Tamarix tree. [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] This extreme environment is characterized by almost diurnal fluctuations between complete desiccation during the day, and a very high salinity (up to 4-fold higher than that of seawater) at night, when the salts excreted by the tree onto the leaves’ surface are dissolved by the prevalent dew.
An acetogen is a microorganism that generates acetate (CH3COO−) as an end product of anaerobic respiration or fermentation. However, this term is usually employed in a narrower sense only to those bacteria and archaea that perform anaerobic respiration and carbon fixation simultaneously through the reductive acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) pathway (also known as the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway). These genuine acetogens are also known as "homoacetogens" and they can produce acetyl-CoA (and from that, in most cases, acetate as the end product) from two molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2) and four molecules of molecular hydrogen (H2). This process is known as acetogenesis, and is different from acetate fermentation, although both occur in the absence of molecular oxygen (O2) and produce acetate. Although previously thought that only bacteria are acetogens, some archaea can be considered to be acetogens.
In microbiology, the phyllosphere is the total above-ground surface of a plant when viewed as a habitat for microorganisms. The phyllosphere can be further subdivided into the caulosphere (stems), phylloplane (leaves), anthosphere (flowers), and carposphere (fruits). The below-ground microbial habitats are referred to as the rhizosphere and laimosphere. Most plants host diverse communities of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, archaea, and protists. Some are beneficial to the plant, while others function as plant pathogens and may damage the host plant or even kill it.
A brine pool, sometimes called an underwater lake, deepwater or brine lake, is a volume of brine collected in a seafloor depression. These pools are dense bodies of water that have a salinity that is typically three to eight times greater than the surrounding ocean. Brine pools are commonly found below polar sea ice and in the deep ocean. This below-sea ice forms through a process called brine rejection. For deep-sea brine pools, salt is necessary to increase the salinity gradient. The salt can come from one of two processes: the dissolution of large salt deposits through salt tectonics or geothermally-heated brine issued from tectonic spreading centers.
Bacterial phyla constitute the major lineages of the domain Bacteria. While the exact definition of a bacterial phylum is debated, a popular definition is that a bacterial phylum is a monophyletic lineage of bacteria whose 16S rRNA genes share a pairwise sequence identity of ~75% or less with those of the members of other bacterial phyla.
Thermotoga neapolitana is a hyperthermophilic organism that is a member of the order Thermotogales.
Desulfovibrio oxyclinae is a bacterium. It is sulfate-reducing, and was first isolated from the upper 3mm layer of a hypersaline cyanobacterial mat in Sinai.
Pelotomaculum thermopropionicum is an anaerobic, thermophilic, syntrophic propionate-oxidizing bacterium, the type species of its genus. The type strain is strain SI(T).
Sodalis is a genus of bacteria within the family Pectobacteriaceae. This genus contains several insect endosymbionts and also a free-living group. It is studied due to its potential use in the biological control of the tsetse fly. Sodalis is an important model for evolutionary biologists because of its nascent endosymbiosis with insects.
Bioluminescent bacteria are light-producing bacteria that are predominantly present in sea water, marine sediments, the surface of decomposing fish and in the gut of marine animals. While not as common, bacterial bioluminescence is also found in terrestrial and freshwater bacteria. These bacteria may be free living or in symbiosis with animals such as the Hawaiian Bobtail squid or terrestrial nematodes. The host organisms provide these bacteria a safe home and sufficient nutrition. In exchange, the hosts use the light produced by the bacteria for camouflage, prey and/or mate attraction. Bioluminescent bacteria have evolved symbiotic relationships with other organisms in which both participants benefit each other equally. Bacteria also use luminescence reaction for quorum sensing, an ability to regulate gene expression in response to bacterial cell density.
Microbiomes of the built environment is a field of inquiry into the communities of microorganisms that live in human constructed environments like houses, cars and water pipes. It is also sometimes referred to as microbiology of the built environment.
Gabriele Berg is a biologist, biotechnologist and university lecturer in Environmental and Ecological Technology at the Technical University of Graz. Her research emphasis is on the development of sustainable methods of plant vitalisation with Bioeffectors and molecular analysis of microbial processes in the soil, particularly in the Rhizosphere.
Oscillatoria brevis is a species of the genus Oscillatoria first identified in 1892. It is a blue-green filamentous cyanobacterium, which can be found in brackish and fresh waterways. O. brevis can also be isolated from soil.
Acinetobacter baylyi is a bacterial species of the genus Acinetobacter. The species designation was given after the characterization of strains isolated from activated sludge in Victoria, Australia, in 2003. A. baylyi is named after the late Dr. Ronald Bayly, an Australian microbiologist who contributed significantly to research on aromatic compound catabolism in diverse bacteria. The new species designation, in 2003, was found to apply to an already well-studied Acinetobacter strain known as ADP1, a derivative of a soil isolate characterized in 1969. For a long time, the taxonomy of Acinetobacter species was complicated by the lack of distinguishing traits. Strain ADP1 was long classified as Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and it was later referred to without a species name Research, particularly in the field of genetics and aromatic compound catabolism, established A. baylyi as a model organism.
The Microgenomatota or Microgenomates are a proposed supergroup of bacterial candidate phyla in the Candidate Phyla Radiation.
Gracilibacteria is a bacterial candidate phylum formerly known as GN02, BD1-5, or SN-2. It is part of the Candidate Phyla Radiation and the Patescibacteria group.
Modulibacteria(Moduliflexota) is a bacterial phylum formerly known as KS3B3 or GN06. It is a candidate phylum, meaning there are no cultured representatives of this group. Members of the Modulibacteria phylum are known to cause fatal filament overgrowth (bulking) in high-rate industrial anaerobic wastewater treatment bioreactors.
The plant microbiome, also known as the phytomicrobiome, plays roles in plant health and productivity and has received significant attention in recent years. The microbiome has been defined as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably well-defined habitat which has distinct physio-chemical properties. The term thus not only refers to the microorganisms involved but also encompasses their theatre of activity".
Hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria are a heterogeneous group of prokaryotes which can degrade and utilize hydrocarbon compounds as source of carbon and energy. Despite being present in most of environments around the world, several of these specialized bacteria live in the sea and have been isolated from polluted seawater.
Lone Gram is Danish microbiologist known for her work in bacterial physiology, microbial communication, and biochemicals that originate from bacterial cultures. She is an elected member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters and has received the Order of the Dannebrog.
Plastic degradation in marine bacteria describes when certain pelagic bacteria break down polymers and use them as a primary source of carbon for energy. Polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are incredibly useful for their durability and relatively low cost of production, however it is their persistence and difficulty to be properly disposed of that is leading to pollution of the environment and disruption of natural processes. It is estimated that each year there are 9-14 million metric tons of plastic that are entering the ocean due to inefficient solutions for their disposal. The biochemical pathways that allow for certain microbes to break down these polymers into less harmful byproducts has been a topic of study to develop a suitable anti-pollutant.