title: Characterization of microorganisms isolated from lignite excavated from the Záhorie coal mine (southwestern Slovakia).
abstract: Microorganisms were isolated from lignite freshly excavated in the Záhorie coal mine (southwestern Slovakia) under conditions excluding contamination with either soil or air-borne microorganisms. The isolates represented both Prokarya and Eukarya (fungi). All were able to grow on standard media, although some microorganisms were unstable and became extinct during storage of coal samples. Bacteria belonged to the genera Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Rhodococcus, according to both morphological criteria and ITS sequences. Several bacterial isolates were resistant to antibiotics. The presence of anaerobic bacteria was also documented, although they have not yet been identified. Fungal isolates were typified by using their ITS sequences. They belonged to the genera Trichoderma (Hypocrea), Penicillium, Epicoccum, Metarhizium (Cordyceps), and Cladosporium. Several fungi produced compounds with antibiotic action against standard bacterial strains. The evidence for the presence of microorganisms in native lignite was obtained by means of fluorescence microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron microprobe analysis. Results demonstrated that microorganisms were able to survive in the low-rank coal over a long time period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinského 9, 81237 Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pokorný
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Olejníková
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balog
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zifcák
authors.forename: Udo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hölker
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.forename: Jutta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bend
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Höfer
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Holiencin
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hudecová
authors.forename: L'udovít
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Varecka
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000494:pharmacology; D000898:Antibiosis; D001407:Bacillus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003031:Coal / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004577:Electron Probe Microanalysis; D005658:Fungi / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008906:Mining; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012240:Rhodococcus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D018154:Slovakia; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003031:Coal; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer