Gary Toranzos

University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras, Biology, Faculty Member

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Doubts on ancient bone “microbiota” studies: A comment on Kazarina et al. (2019)

Journal of Archaeological Science, Oct 1, 2022

Urea Removal and Ammonia Detection Evaluation through Synthetic Urine Continuous Bio-Electrochemical Reactor for Closed Loop Environments

Draft Genome Sequence of an Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 19433 Siphovirus Isolated from Raw Domestic Sewage

Genome Announcements, Jan 19, 2017

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Estudio De Caso De La Laguna Alalay, Bolivia: Trece Años De Dinamica Ambiental en Una Laguna Eutrofizada

Revista AIDIS de ingeniería y ciencias ambientales, Dec 6, 2020

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Dectection of rotavirus in treated drinking water

Water Science and Technology, 1985

Isolation of Rota- and Entero-Viruses from Three Drinking Water Supplies

Robust Microbial Carbon Based Electrode System for Ureolysis of Urine

Meeting abstracts, 2014

There still exists an indisputable growing demand for water around the world, therefore is of maj... more There still exists an indisputable growing demand for water around the world, therefore is of major interest to recycle and reuse water. One of the effective measures to help solve the water shortage problem involves recycling of urine. Urea is one of the most common compounds found in urine, and its degradation has been a matter of study for several years. Although the use of urease for urea decomposition is well known, none of the previously published reports involved the complete oxidation of urea to nitrogen. This work presents an innovative technique that integrates the use of a urease-positive bacteria, Proteus vulgaris, for such purposes. In addition platinum will be used as catalyst for the ammonium oxidation in order to obtain energy in the process. In this work the bacterial oxidation of urea to ammonia was chronoamperometrically detected by a polycrystalline platinum disk electrode. The ureolysis of the urea solution was done at several alkaline levels to find the compromising conditions for the bacterial and electrochemical reactions in synthetic urine.

Occurrence of Enteroviruses and Rotaviruses in Drinking Water in Colombia

Water Science and Technology, Oct 1, 1986

Relatively few studies have been conducted on the occurrence of enteric viruses in drinking water... more Relatively few studies have been conducted on the occurrence of enteric viruses in drinking water in developing countries. In this study, we sought to apply positively charged microporous filters to the detection of enteric viruses in the drinking water of several major Colombian cities. Finished drinking water samples were collected at several drinking water plants whose treatment included flocculat ion, sand filtration and chlorination. Drinking water samples were also collected from the taps of private homes, hotels and community taps. Viruses were concentrated by passage of 20-99 liters of water through 50S Zeta-plus or 1 MDS Virosorb positively charged filters. Adsorbed viruses were eluted with 10% tryptose phosphate broth adjusted to pH 9.5 and concentrated to a final volume of 2 ml by ultracentrifugation before assay. Enteroviruses were detected by assay on BGM cells and rotavirus by assay on MA-104 cells. Out of eight samples of finished drinking water leaving the plants studied, three were found to contain enteric viruses. Rotaviruses were detected in two samples and enterovirus in one. Two of the samples containing enteric viruses also contained greater than 100 coliforms/100 ml. Rotaviruses were isolated from three tapwater samples and enteroviruses from one. All the tapwater samples which contained enteric viruses had visible turbidity and also contained coliform bacteria.

Detection of indicator microorganisms in environmental freshwaters and drinking waters

... Authors Toranzos, GA; McFeters, GA Editors Hurst, CJ;Knudsen, GR;McInerney, MJ;Stetzenbach, L... more

Virus Adsorption to Microporous Filters Modified by in situ Precipitation of Metallic Salts

Water Science and Technology, 1986

Microporous and depth filters composed of fiberglass, cellulose, and nitrocellulose were placed i... more Microporous and depth filters composed of fiberglass, cellulose, and nitrocellulose were placed in solutions of soluble metallic salts such as ferric chloride. Following adsorption of the soluble salt, the filters were allowed to dry and then placed in a solution of sodium or ammonium hydroxide. This resulted in the formation of stable precipitates in and around the fibers of the filters. Filters modified by this procedure of insitu precipitation adsorbed significantly more viruses than untreated filters. Filters modified by the insitu precipitation of combinations of salts such as ferric and aluminum or magnesium generally were better virus adsorbers than filters modified by the precipitation of a single salt.

The Use of Alternate Microbiological Indicators of Water Treatment Plant Performance

Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation, 2001

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Deciphering Diets and Lifestyles of Prehistoric Humans through Paleoparasitology: A Review

Genes, Jan 24, 2023

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Edible flora in pre-Columbian Caribbean coprolites: Expected and unexpected data

PLOS ONE

Coprolites, or mummified feces, are valuable sources of information on ancient cultures as they c... more Coprolites, or mummified feces, are valuable sources of information on ancient cultures as they contain ancient DNA (aDNA). In this study, we analyzed ancient plant DNA isolated from coprolites belonging to two pre-Columbian cultures (Huecoid and Saladoid) from Vieques, Puerto Rico, using shotgun metagenomic sequencing to reconstruct diet and lifestyles. We also analyzed DNA sequences of putative phytopathogenic fungi, likely ingested during food consumption, to further support dietary habits. Our findings show that pre-Columbian Caribbean cultures had a diverse diet consisting of maize (Zea mays), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), chili peppers (Capsicum annuum), peanuts (Arachis spp.), papaya (Carica papaya), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and, very surprisingly cotton (Gossypium barbadense) and tobacco (Nicotiana sylvestris). Modelling of putative phytopathogenic fungi and plant interactions confirmed the potential consumption of these plants as well as edible fungi, particularly Us...