Spotlight
Environmental Microbiology
Environmental MicrobiologySiderophore-Mediated Iron Acquisition Enhances Resistance to Oxidative and Aromatic Compound Stress in Cupriavidus necator JMP134Since siderophores have been widely exploited for agricultural, environmental, and medical applications, the identification and characterization of new siderophores from different habitats and organisms will have great beneficial applications. Here, we identified a novel siderophore-producing gene cluster in C. necator JMP134. This gene cluster produces a previously...
Environmental MicrobiologyGenetic Differentiation Associated with Fumonisin and Gibberellin Production in Japanese Fusarium fujikuroiFusarium fujikuroi is a pathogenic fungus that causes rice bakanae disease. Historically, this pathogen has been known as Fusarium moniliforme, along with many other species based on a broad species concept. Gibberellin, which is currently known as a plant hormone, is a virulence factor of...
Enzymology and Protein Engineering
Enzymology and Protein Engineering | SpotlightBiochemical Reconstruction of a Metabolic Pathway from a Marine Bacterium Reveals Its Mechanism of Pectin DepolymerizationMarine polysaccharides, found in the cell walls of seaweeds and other marine macrophytes, represent a vast sink of photosynthetically fixed carbon. As such, their breakdown by marine microbes contributes significantly to global carbon cycling. Pectin is an abundant polysaccharide found in the cell walls of terrestrial plants, but it has recently been reported that some marine bacteria possess the genetic capacity to degrade it. In this...
Food Microbiology
Food Microbiology | SpotlightGenus-Wide Assessment of Antibiotic Resistance in Lactobacillus spp.Lactobacillus species are generally considered to be nonpathogenic and are used in a wide variety of foods and products for humans and animals. However, many of the species examined in this study have antibiotic resistance levels which exceed those recommended by the EFSA, suggesting that these cutoff values should be reexamined in light of the genetic basis for...
Food MicrobiologyThe Synergistic Bactericidal Mechanism of Simultaneous Treatment with a 222-Nanometer Krypton-Chlorine Excilamp and a 254-Nanometer Low-Pressure Mercury LampContamination of pathogenic microorganisms in water plays an important role in inducing outbreaks of food-borne illness by causing cross-contamination in foods. Thus, proper disinfection of water before use in food production is essential to prevent outbreaks of food-borne illness. As technologies capable of selecting UV radiation wavelengths (such as UV-LEDs and excilamps) have been developed, wavelength combination treatment with UV...
Food MicrobiologyNutrient Signaling via the TORC1-Greatwall-PP2AB55δ Pathway Is Responsible for the High Initial Rates of Alcoholic Fermentation in Sake Yeast Strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiaeThe biochemical processes and enzymes responsible for glycolysis and alcoholic fermentation by the yeast S. cerevisiae have long been the subject of scientific research. Nevertheless, the factors determining fermentation performance in vivo are not fully understood. As a result, the industrial breeding of yeast strains has required empirical characterization...
Food MicrobiologyStrain-Level Diversity Analysis of Pseudomonas fragi after In Situ Pangenome Reconstruction Shows Distinctive Spoilage-Associated Metabolic Traits Clearly Selected by Different Storage ConditionsThis work provides insights on the mechanisms involved in raw beef spoilage during refrigerated storage and on the selective pressure exerted by the packaging conditions. We highlighted the presence of different microbial metagenomes during the spoilage of beef packaged aerobically or under vacuum. The packaging condition was able to select specific Pseudomonas fragi...
Food Microbiology | SpotlightThe Interior Surfaces of Wooden Barrels Are an Additional Microbial Inoculation Source for Lambic Beer ProductionAlthough the coolship step is generally regarded as the main contributor to the spontaneous inoculation by environmental air of fresh worts for lambic beer production, it is known that microorganisms often associate with specific surfaces present in a brewery. However, knowledge about the association of microorganisms with the interior surfaces of wooden lambic barrels is limited. To clarify the role of casks and foeders as additional...
Genetics and Molecular Biology
Genetics and Molecular Biology4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase Thermolability Is Responsible for Temperature-Dependent Melanogenesis in Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicidaAeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida is the causative agent of furunculosis, a bacterial septicemia of cold-water fish of the Salmonidae family. Although other Aeromonas species can produce melanin, A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida is the only member of this...
Genetics and Molecular BiologyGenomic and Transcriptomic Basis of Hanseniaspora vineae's Impact on Flavor Diversity and Wine QualityThe huge diversity of non-Saccharomyces yeasts in grapes is dominated by the apiculate genus Hanseniaspora. Two native strains of Hanseniaspora vineae applied to winemaking because of their high oenological potential in aroma and fermentation performance were selected to obtain high-quality genomes. Here, we present a phylogenetic analysis and the...
Genetics and Molecular BiologyTetR-Type Regulator SLCG_2919 Is a Negative Regulator of Lincomycin Biosynthesis in Streptomyces lincolnensisTetR family transcriptional regulators (TFRs) are generally found to regulate diverse cellular processes in bacteria, especially antibiotic biosynthesis in Streptomyces species. However, knowledge of their function in lincomycin biosynthesis in S. lincolnensis remains unknown. The present study...
Genetics and Molecular BiologyPhosphodiesterase Genes Regulate Amylovoran Production, Biofilm Formation, and Virulence in Erwinia amylovoraPrecise control of the expression of virulence genes is essential for successful infection of apple hosts by the fire blight pathogen, Erwinia amylovora. The presence and buildup of a signaling molecule called cyclic di-GMP enables the expression and function of some virulence determinants in E. amylovora...
Invertebrate Microbiology
Invertebrate Microbiology | SpotlightCan Herbivore-Induced Volatiles Protect Plants by Increasing the Herbivores’ Susceptibility to Natural Pathogens?Multitrophic interactions involving insect pests, their natural enemies, microorganisms, and plant hosts are increasingly being recognized as relevant factors in pest management. In response to herbivory attacks, plants activate a wide range of defenses that aim to mitigate the damage. Attacked plants release herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs), which can act as priming signals for other plants and attract natural enemies of...
Microbial Ecology
Microbial EcologyGenomic Characterization of Cyanophage vB_AphaS-CL131 Infecting Filamentous Diazotrophic Cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon flos-aquae Reveals Novel Insights into Virus-Bacterium InteractionsThe genomic characterization of novel cyanophage vB_AphaS-CL131 and the analysis of its genomic features in the context of other viruses, metagenomic data, and host CRISPR-Cas systems contribute toward a better understanding of aquatic viral diversity and distribution in general and of brackish-water cyanophages infecting filamentous diazotrophic cyanobacteria in the Baltic Sea in particular. The results of this study revealed...
Microbial EcologyGut Microbial Divergence between Two Populations of the Hadal Amphipod Hirondellea gigasThe taxonomic composition and functional potential of animal gut microbiota in deep-sea environments remain largely unknown. Here, by performing comparative metagenomics, we suggest that the gut microbial compositions of two Hirondellea gigas populations from the Mariana Trench and the Japan Trench have undergone significant divergence. Through analyses of functional...
Microbial Ecology | SpotlightAssessing Transmission of Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia coli in Wild Giraffe Contact NetworksAntimicrobial resistance represents a significant threat to human health, food security, and the global economy. To fully understand the evolution and dissemination of resistance genes, a complete picture of antimicrobial resistance in all biological compartments, including natural ecosystems, is required. The environment and wild animals may act as reservoirs for anthropogenically derived resistance genes that could be transferrable to...
Physiology
PhysiologyLsm12 Mediates Deubiquitination of DNA Polymerase η To Help Saccharomyces cerevisiae Resist Oxidative StressPolη was shown to be critical for cell growth in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and deletion of its corresponding gene RAD30 caused a severe growth defect under exposure to oxidative stress with 2 mM H2O2. Furthermore, we found that Lsm12 physically interacts with Polη and promotes Polη deubiquitination and recruitment. Overall,...
PhysiologyA Cyclic Metabolic Network in Pseudomonas protegens Pf-5 Prioritizes the Entner-Doudoroff Pathway and Exhibits Substrate Hierarchy during Carbohydrate Co-UtilizationSpecies of the Pseudomonas genus thrive in various nutritional environments and have strong biocatalytic potential due to their diverse metabolic capabilities. Carbohydrate substrates are ubiquitous both in environmental matrices and in feedstocks for engineered bioconversion. Here, we investigated the metabolic network for carbohydrate metabolism in Pseudomonas...
Plant Microbiology
Plant MicrobiologyHigh Levels of CO2 Induce Spoilage by Leuconostoc mesenteroides by Upregulating Dextran Synthesis GenesThe bacterium Leuconostoc mesenteroides is known to cause spoilage of different types of foods by secreting a slimy fluid that damages the quality and appearance of the produce. Here, we identified a potential mechanism by which high levels of CO2 affect the spoilage caused by this bacterium by upregulating dextran synthesis genes. These results have...
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Applied and Environmental Microbiology® (AEM) publishes study results that make significant contributions to applied microbial research, basic microbial ecology research, and genetic and molecular investigations of microbial topics of practical value.
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Dr. Harold L. Drake, Editor in Chief