title: Diversity of Methylobacterium species associated with New Zealand native plants.

authors: Jahan, Rowshan

subjects: Methylobacterium

abstract: Methylobacterium species are abundant colonizers of the phyllosphere due to the availability of methanol, a waste product of pectin metabolism during plant cell division. The phyllosphere is an extreme environment, with a landscape that is heterogeneous and continuously changing as the plant grows and is exposed to high levels of ultraviolet irradiation. Geographically, New Zealand (NZ) has been isolated for over a million years, has a biologically diverse flora, and is considered a biodiversity hotspot, with most native plants being endemic. We therefore hypothesize that the phyllosphere of NZ native plants harbor diverse groups of Methylobacterium species. Leaf imprinting using methanol-supplemented agar medium was used to isolate bacteria, and diversity was determined using ARDRA and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Methylobacterium species were successfully isolated from the phyllosphere of 18 of the 20 native NZ plant species in this study, and six different species were identified: M. marchantiae, M. mesophilicum, M. adhaesivum, M. komagatae, M. extorquens, and M. phyllosphaerae. Other α, β, and γ-Proteobacteria, Actinomycetes, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes were also isolated, highlighting the presence of other potentially novel methanol utilizers within this ecosystem. This study identified that Methylobacterium are abundant members of the NZ phyllosphere, with species diversity and composition dependent on plant species.

text: Diversity of Methylobacterium species associated with New Zealand native plants. Methylobacterium species are abundant colonizers of the phyllosphere due to the availability of methanol, a waste product of pectin metabolism during plant cell division. The phyllosphere is an extreme environment, with a landscape that is heterogeneous and continuously changing as the plant grows and is exposed to high levels of ultraviolet irradiation. Geographically, New Zealand (NZ) has been isolated for over a million years, has a biologically diverse flora, and is considered a biodiversity hotspot, with most native plants being endemic. We therefore hypothesize that the phyllosphere of NZ native plants harbor diverse groups of Methylobacterium species. Leaf imprinting using methanol-supplemented agar medium was used to isolate bacteria, and diversity was determined using ARDRA and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Methylobacterium species were successfully isolated from the phyllosphere of 18 of the 20 native NZ plant species in this study, and six different species were identified: M. marchantiae, M. mesophilicum, M. adhaesivum, M. komagatae, M. extorquens, and M. phyllosphaerae. Other α, β, and γ-Proteobacteria, Actinomycetes, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes were also isolated, highlighting the presence of other potentially novel methanol utilizers within this ecosystem. This study identified that Methylobacterium are abundant members of the NZ phyllosphere, with species diversity and composition dependent on plant species.

year: 2023-01-17

title: Something rich and strange

authors: Moffat, Kirstine

abstract: Review of 'The Chimes' by Anna Smaill (novel  longlisted for The Man Booker Prize 2015).

text: Something rich and strange Review of 'The Chimes' by Anna Smaill (novel  longlisted for The Man Booker Prize 2015).

year: 2016

title: An Assessment of the Cognitive Ability and the Attitude to Rehabilitation of European and Maori Trainees at a Borstal Institution.

authors: Zimmerman, Malcolm Laird

subjects: Borstal Institution

abstract: The incidence of delinquency in New Zealand has risen and is a cause for serious concern for the future of the nation. "As in all fields of social inquiry it is much easier to specify the problem than it is to account for its occurrence ... In the case of delinquency, it is much easier to record what has occurred as opposed to why - it is even more difficult to prevent delinquency from occurring at all. Why should this be so?" (Blizard, 1967, p.i.)
There are no easy answers: there are no short cuts to understanding: there will never be an easily worked out, or easily administered programme for prevention. The road is hard, costly both in terms of men, money and time.

text: An Assessment of the Cognitive Ability and the Attitude to Rehabilitation of European and Maori Trainees at a Borstal Institution. The incidence of delinquency in New Zealand has risen and is a cause for serious concern for the future of the nation. "As in all fields of social inquiry it is much easier to specify the problem than it is to account for its occurrence ... In the case of delinquency, it is much easier to record what has occurred as opposed to why - it is even more difficult to prevent delinquency from occurring at all. Why should this be so?" (Blizard, 1967, p.i.)
There are no easy answers: there are no short cuts to understanding: there will never be an easily worked out, or easily administered programme for prevention. The road is hard, costly both in terms of men, money and time.

year: 1971