Spotlight
Minireviews
Minireview | SpotlightThe Future of Environmental DNA in Forensic ScienceDNA sequencing technologies continue to improve, and there has been a corresponding expansion of DNA-based applications in the forensic sciences. DNA recovered from dust and environmental debris can be used to identify the organisms associated with these sample types, including bacteria, plants, fungi, and insects. Such results can then be leveraged to discern sample origin or geolocation and investigate individual identification.
...
Minireview | SpotlightReintroducing mothur: 10 Years LaterMore than 10 years ago, we published the paper describing the mothur software package in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Our goal was to create a comprehensive package that allowed users to analyze amplicon sequence data using the most robust methods available. mothur has helped lead the community through the ongoing sequencing revolution and continues to provide this service to the microbial ecology community.
...
Biodegradation
Biodegradation | SpotlightCyanuric Acid Biodegradation via Biuret: Physiology, Taxonomy, and Geospatial DistributionCyanuric acid is produced naturally as a contaminant in urea fertilizer, and it is used as a chlorine stabilizer in swimming pools. Cyanuric acid-degrading bacteria are used commercially in removing cyanuric acid from pool water when it exceeds desired levels. The total volume of cyanuric acid produced annually exceeds 200 million kilograms, most of which enters the natural environment. In this context, it is important to have a global...
BiodegradationN-Hydroxyarylamine O-Acetyltransferases Catalyze Acetylation of 3-Amino-4-Hydroxyphenylarsonic Acid in the 4-Hydroxy-3-Nitrobenzenearsonic Acid Transformation Pathway of Enterobacter sp. Strain CZ-1Roxarsone (ROX) is an organoarsenic feed additive that has been widely used in poultry industries for growth promotion, coccidiosis control, and meat pigmentation improvement for more than 70 years. Most ROX is excreted in the litter and dispersed into the environment, where it is transformed by microbes into different arsenic-containing compounds. A major product of ROX transformation is N-acetyl-4-hydroxy-m-arsanilic...
Biotechnology
BiotechnologySteryl Ester Formation and Accumulation in Steroid-Degrading BacteriaOleaginous bacteria exhibit great potential for the production of high-value neutral lipids, such as triacylglycerols and wax esters. This study describes the formation of steryl esters (SEs) as neutral lipid storage compounds in sterol-degrading oleaginous bacteria, providing a basis for biotechnological production of SEs using bacterial systems with potential applications in the functional food, nutraceutical, and cosmetic industries...
Environmental Microbiology
Environmental Microbiology | SpotlightPredatory Organisms with Untapped Biosynthetic Potential: Descriptions of Novel Corallococcus Species C. aberystwythensis sp. nov., C. carmarthensis sp. nov., C. exercitus sp. nov., C. interemptor sp. nov., C. llansteffanensis sp. nov., C. praedator sp. nov., C. sicarius sp. nov., and C. terminator sp. nov.Corallococcus is a genus of predators with broad prey ranges, whose genomes contain large numbers of gene clusters for secondary metabolite biosynthesis. The physiology and evolutionary heritage of eight Corallococcus species strains were characterized using a range of analyses and assays. Multiple metrics confirmed that each strain belonged to a novel species within the Corallococcus genus. The strains...
Enzymology and Protein Engineering
Enzymology and Protein EngineeringDatabase Mining for Novel Bacterial β-Etherases, Glutathione-Dependent Lignin-Degrading EnzymesThe use of biomass as a renewable source and replacement for crude oil for the provision of chemicals and fuels is of major importance for current and future societies. Lignin, the most abundant aromatic polymer in nature, holds promise as a renewable starting material for the generation of required aromatic structures. However, a controlled and selective lignin depolymerization to yield desired aromatic structures is a very challenging...
Enzymology and Protein EngineeringRedH and PigC Catalyze the Biosynthesis of Hybrubins via Phosphorylation of 4′-Methoxy-2,2′-Bipyrrole-5′-CarbaldehydeHybrubins are an emerging class of prodiginines possessing a new C ring derived from 5′-substituted tetramic acids and the methylene bridge connecting the C ring at a different position. We have supposed that condensation between 4′-methoxy-2,2′-bipyrrole-5′-carbaldehyde (MBC) and 5-ethylidenetetramic acid (ETA) yields the hybrid natural products hybrubins, which was proposed to be catalyzed by the undecylprodigiosin synthetase RedH....
Food Microbiology
Food Microbiology | SpotlightFormation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Persister Cells in the Lettuce Phyllosphere and Application of Differential Equation Models To Predict Their Prevalence on Lettuce Plants in the FieldDespite causing outbreaks of foodborne illness linked to lettuce consumption, E. coli O157:H7 (EcO157) declines rapidly when applied onto plants in the field, and few cells survive over prolonged periods of time. We hypothesized that these cells are persisters, which are in a dormant state and which arise naturally in bacterial populations. When lettuce plants were...
Food MicrobiologySubstrate Use Prioritization by a Coculture of Five Species of Gut Bacteria Fed Mixtures of Arabinoxylan, Xyloglucan, β-Glucan, and PectinThis study addresses the question as to how bacterial species, characteristic of the human gut microbiota, collectively utilize mixtures of plant polysaccharides such as are found in dietary fiber. Five bacterial species with the capacity to degrade polymers and/or produce acidic fermentation products detectable in human feces were used in the experiments. The bacteria showed preferential use of certain polysaccharides over others for...
Genetics and Molecular Biology
Genetics and Molecular BiologyComparative Investigation into Formycin A and Pyrazofurin A Biosynthesis Reveals Branch Pathways for the Construction of C-Nucleoside ScaffoldsFOR-A and PRF-A are C-nucleoside antibiotics known for their unusual chemical structures and remarkable biological activities. Deciphering the enzymatic mechanism for the construction of a C-nucleoside scaffold during FOR-A/PRF-A biosynthesis will not only expand the biochemical repertoire for novel enzymatic reactions but also permit target-oriented genome mining of FOR-A/PRF-A-related C-nucleoside...
Genetics and Molecular BiologyConserved Eukaryotic Kinase CK2 Chaperone Intrinsically Disordered Protein InteractionsCK2 is a eukaryotic conserved kinase enzyme complex that phosphorylates proteins. CK2 is known to phosphorylate a large number of proteins and is constitutively active, and thus a “normal” role for a kinase in a signaling cascade might not be the case for CK2. Previous results on localization and indications from the literature point to a function for CK2 phosphorylation in shaping and folding of proteins, especially intrinsically...
Invertebrate Microbiology
Invertebrate MicrobiologyNovel Diversity and Virulence Patterns Found in New Isolates of Cydia pomonella Granulovirus from ChinaCpGV is a highly virulent pathogen of the codling moth (CM). It is registered and widely applied as a biocontrol agent in nearly all apple-growing countries worldwide. The emergence of CpGV resistance and the increasing lack of chemical control options require improvements to current control strategies. Natural CpGV isolates, as well as resistance-breaking isolates selected in resistant CM strains, have provided resources for improved...
Methods
MethodsUse of High-Resolution Pressure Nephelometry To Measure Gas Vesicle Collapse as a Means of Determining Growth and Turgor Changes in Planktonic CyanobacteriaThe increased prevalence of bloom-forming cyanobacteria and associated risk of exposure to cyanobacterial toxins through drinking water utilities and recreational waterways are growing public health concerns. Cost-effective, early-detection methodologies specific to cyanobacteria are crucial for mitigating these risks, with a gas vesicle-specific signal offering a number of benefits over photopigment fluorescence, including improved...
Microbial Ecology
Microbial EcologyManure Application Did Not Enrich Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Root Endophytic Bacterial Microbiota of Cherry Radish PlantsOur study provides important evidence that manure application increased the occurrence of ARGs in the rhizosphere and phyllosphere of cherry radish, compared with that in the endophytic bacterial microbiota of root, which is the edible part of cherry radish. Our findings suggest that although manure amendment is a significant route of ARGs entering agricultural soils, these manure-derived ARGs may be at low risk of migrating into the...
Public and Environmental Health Microbiology
Public and Environmental Health MicrobiologyEnvironmental Presence and Genetic Characteristics of Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae from Hospital Sewage and River Water in the PhilippinesCarbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) cause severe health care-associated infections, and their increasing prevalence is a serious concern. Recently, natural ecosystems have been recognized as important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes. We investigated the prevalence and genetic characteristics of CPE isolated from the environment (hospital sewage and river water) in the Philippines and found several CPE,...
Masthead
NEW! ASM Open Data Policy
Current Issue
About AEM
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.
For Authors
Dr. Harold L. Drake, Editor in Chief