Lifecycle Dynamics and Experimental Elimination of the Deer Tick Ovarian Symbiont
The deer tick Ixodes scapularis is the most important vector of arthropod-borne diseases to humans in North America, with tens of thousands of cases of Lyme disease reported annually. The symbiont Rickettsia buchneri is found in the ovaries of female ticks and is transmitted transovarially to the offspring. In this article, Oliver et al. (e01672-20) describe the reproductive dynamics of R. buchneri throughout the lifecycle of I. scapularis and describe methods for its elimination using antibiotics. Removing R. buchneri will allow future researchers to determine the fitness effects of the symbiont on the host and evaluate its interactions with pathogenic microorganisms responsible for I. scapularis-borne diseases.
Genetic Biomarker for Detecting Severe Methanogenic Microbially Influenced Corrosion
Microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) of steel infrastructure is a persistent problem in the oil and gas industry. However, despite decades of research, the detection and understanding of MIC remains challenging. Through a multifaceted approach, Lahme et al. (e01819-20) identified methanogenic archaea that carry a special [NiFe] hydrogenase as the main culprits of severe corrosion in a large offshore oil field. Screening steel pipeline biofilms–collected from various geographic locations–for the presence of this biomarker showed the global significance of the encoded MIC mechanism.
Evaluating Methods of Virus Isoelectric Point Prediction
The isoelectric point of a virus indicates whether the virion will be positively or negatively charged at a given pH. Thus, predicting the isoelectric point of a virus can provide a gross estimation of how it will interact with the surrounding environment. In this minireview (e02319-20), Heffron and Mayer contrast previous models for nonenveloped virus isoelectric point prediction with their recently advanced approach of excluding polynucleotide binding regions from capsid charge calculation. Challenges to refining Heffron and Mayer’s approach are discussed, as well as significant obstacles to extending the approach to enveloped viruses.
In Vitro Microcosm Biofilms To Resemble Dysbiotic Oral Microbiota
In line with the new paradigm of microbial symbiosis, therapeutic strategies have shifted from the unselective removal of biofilms to reversing dysbiosis and restoring a host-compatible microbiota. Appropriate laboratory models are required to develop and evaluate such new strategies. Jiang et al. (e02371-20) established pathogen-enriched microbiological communities by spiking pooled saliva from healthy subjects with the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis. The resulting cultivated microbiota resembles in vivo pathogen-enriched subgingival microbiota during severe periodontitis. This in vitro model generates a dysbiotic microbiota in a controlled and reproducible manner, which is required for high-throughput development and large-scale evaluation of strategies that can potentially modulate microbial ecology.
Diverse De Novo Lager Yeast Hybrids with a Unique Genomic Architecture
Global lager beer production is restricted by the diversity of available lager yeast, with only two related yeast strains used commonly. Existing approaches for generating new lager strains generally yield strains with at least some undesirable brewing characteristics, thereby hampering their industrial utility. Turgeon et al. (e02434-20) have developed a non-genetically modified organism breeding approach that circumvents these issues to generate novel lager strains that are directly applicable to industrial use. Applying this method to diverse breeding stock can significantly increase the diversity of lager yeast and even create unique genomic structures, which also leads to a better understanding of lager yeast biology.
- Copyright © 2021 American Society for Microbiology.
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- Lifecycle Dynamics and Experimental Elimination of the Deer Tick Ovarian Symbiont
- Genetic Biomarker for Detecting Severe Methanogenic Microbially Influenced Corrosion
- Evaluating Methods of Virus Isoelectric Point Prediction
- In Vitro Microcosm Biofilms To Resemble Dysbiotic Oral Microbiota
- Diverse De Novo Lager Yeast Hybrids with a Unique Genomic Architecture
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