Most read article(s)
Microbial EcologyCommunity Structure of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Soils of Switchgrass Harvested for BioenergyWe assessed the different species of beneficial fungi living in agricultural fields of switchgrass, a large grass grown for biofuels, using high-resolution DNA sequencing. Contrary to our expectations, the fungi were not greatly affected by fertilization. However, we found a positive relationship between plant productivity and the number of families of beneficial fungi at one site. Furthermore, we sequenced many species that could not...
MinireviewPlastics: Environmental and Biotechnological Perspectives on Microbial DegradationPlastics are widely used in the global economy, and each year, at least 350 to 400 million tons are being produced. Due to poor recycling and low circular use, millions of tons accumulate annually in terrestrial or marine environments. Today it has become clear that plastic causes adverse effects in all ecosystems and that microplastics are of particular concern to our health.
Food MicrobiologyFollowing Coffee Production from Cherries to Cup: Microbiological and Metabolomic Analysis of Wet Processing of Coffea arabicaCoffee needs to undergo a long chain of events to transform from coffee cherries to a beverage. The coffee postharvest processing is one of the key phases that convert the freshly harvested cherries into green coffee beans before roasting and brewing. Among multiple existing processing methods, the wet processing has been usually applied for Arabica coffee and produces decent quality of both green coffee beans and the cup of coffee. In...
Environmental MicrobiologyAirborne Disinfection by Dry Fogging Efficiently Inactivates Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Mycobacteria, and Bacterial Spores and Shows Limitations of Commercial Spore CarriersAirborne disinfection is not only of crucial importance for the safe operation of laboratories and animal rooms where infectious agents are handled but also can be used in public health emergencies such as the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. We show that dry fogging an aerosolized mixture of peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide (aPAA-HP) is highly microbicidal, efficient, fast, robust,...
Biotechnology | SpotlightIndustrially Applicable De Novo Lager Yeast Hybrids with a Unique Genomic Architecture: Creation and CharacterizationAll lager beer is produced using two related lager yeast types: group I and group II, which are highly similar, resulting in a lack of strain diversity for lager beer production. To date, approaches for generating new lager yeasts have generated strains possessing undesirable brewing characteristics which render them commercially inviable.
Environmental MicrobiologyIce-Binding Proteins Associated with an Antarctic Cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. HG1The horizontal transfer of genes encoding ice-binding proteins (IBPs), proteins that confer freeze-thaw tolerance, has allowed many microorganisms to expand their ranges into polar regions. One group of microorganisms for which nothing is known about its IBPs is cyanobacteria. In this study, we identified a cyanobacterial IBP and showed that it was likely acquired from another bacterium, probably a planctomycete. We also showed that a...
MinireviewBenzalkonium Chlorides: Uses, Regulatory Status, and Microbial ResistanceBenzalkonium chlorides (BACs) are chemicals with widespread applications due to their broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. This review provides an overview of the market for BACs, as well as regulatory measures and available data on safety, toxicity, and environmental contamination.
Environmental MicrobiologyMultiple Megaplasmids Confer Extremely High Levels of Metal Tolerance in Alteromonas StrainsCopper is commonly used as an antifouling agent on ship hulls. Alteromonas spp. are early colonizers of copper-based antifouling paint, but their mechanism of tolerance is poorly understood. Sequencing of A. macleodii strains isolated from copper test materials for marine ships indicated the presence of multiple megaplasmids. Plasmids serve as key vectors in horizontal gene transfer and confer traits such as metal...
Environmental MicrobiologyDetoxification, Active Uptake, and Intracellular Accumulation of Chromium Species by a Methane-Oxidizing BacteriumM. capsulatus Bath is a well-characterized aerobic methane-oxidizing bacterium that has become a model system for biotechnological development of methanotrophs to perform useful reactions for environmental cleanup and for making valuable chemicals and biological products using methane gas. Interest in such technology has increased recently owing to increasing availability of low-cost methane from fossil and biological sources....
Public and Environmental Health Microbiology | SpotlightThe Washing Machine as a Reservoir for Transmission of Extended-Spectrum-Beta-Lactamase (CTX-M-15)-Producing Klebsiella oxytoca ST201 to NewbornsWashing machines should be further investigated as possible sites for horizontal gene transfer (ESBL genes) and cross-contamination with clinically important Gram-negative strains. Particularly in the health care sector, the knowledge of possible (re-)contamination of laundry (patients’ clothes and staff uniforms) with multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria could help to prevent and to control nosocomial infections. This report...