Thomas Christian Zechmeister

Biological Station Lake Neusiedl, Austria, Illmitz

Botulinum neurotoxin C1 (BoNt C1) and its corresponding gene were detected in seven aquatic habitats covering a range of low (LR) to high risk (HR) avian. botulism outbreak areas during a study period of 10 months. Toxin and gene in sediment and avian faecal samples were analysed before (in situ) and after cultivation (in. vitro) by a newly adapted...

Botulinum neurotoxin C1 (BoNt C1) and its corresponding gene were detected in seven aquatic habitats covering a range of low (LR) to high risk (HR) avian botulism outbreak areas during a study period of 10 months. Toxin and gene in sediment and avian faecal samples were analysed before (in situ) and after cultivation (in vitro) by a newly adapted E...

Wild birds are an important nonpoint source of fecal contamination of surface waters, but their contribution to fecal pollution is mostly difficult to estimate. Thus, to evaluate the relation between feces production and input of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) into aquatic environments by wild waterfowl, we introduced a new holistic approach for ev...

Dilute soda lakes are among the world's most productive environments and are usually dominated by dense blooms of cyanobacteria. Up to now, there has been little information available on heterotrophic bacterial abundance, production, and their controlling factors in these ecosystems. In the present study the main environmental factors responsible f...

After a high water event of the River Danube in April 1994, bacterial cell numbers were determined in newly formed deposits in a backwater near Hainburg (Lower Austria) within a time course of 140 days. This data set shows that expressing bacterial numbers per fresh sediment volume, per sediment dry mass, or per pore-water fluid volume, respectivel...

Diel changes in bacterial and cyanobacterial numbers, as well as heterotrophic bacterial production, were examined in two shallow alkaline pools, harbouring dense populations of cyanobacteria (up to 1100 x 109 cells l-1) and bacteria (up to 500 x 109 cells l-1). Together with the recorded bacterial production rates (925 micro gC l-1x h-1), these va...

Botulism is one of the most important bird diseases world-wide and is caused by the intoxication with Botulinum-Neurotoxin-C1 (BoNt-C1), which is produced by toxigenic clostridia under appropriate conditions. Avian botulism leads regularly to large losses among the migrating bird populations breeding and resting at the saltwater pools of the Austri...

The relationship between the rate of beta-D-glucuronidase hydrolysis (GLUase-HR) and the E. coli concentration in rivers differing in the extent of faecal pollution was investigated. It was hypothesized that the rate of GLUase-HR is a better surrogate parameter for E. coli concentrations than estimated numbers of faecal coliforms (FC). The GLUase-H...

A fragment of the human low-density lipoprotein receptor encompassing the seven ligand-binding repeats fused to a C-terminal oligo-His tag was expressed in Sf9 insect cells. The melittin signal sequence encoded in the baculovirus vector led to secretion of the protein into the cell supernatant in a soluble form. The receptor fragment bound its natu...

A fragment of the low density lipoprotein receptor encompassing the seven ligand binding repeats was expressed in Sf9 insect cells as a fusion protein with a carboxyl-terminally linked hexa-his tag by using a baculovirus vector. Up to 10 mg/l of the fusion protein was secreted into the medium. The material was soluble in the absence of detergent an...