Latest Articles
Environmental MicrobiologyMolecular Identification of Enteroviruses from Cattle and Goat Feces and Environment in ThailandPossible new EV-E and EV-G genotypes were identified for EVs detected in this study. The EV-E viruses were also successfully isolated from MDBK cells. The goat EV sequence analysis suggested the presence of an ovine/caprine-specific EV group that is different from EV-G of porcine origin. The significance of our research is that it identifies and characterizes possible novel EVs, thereby indicating that enteroviruses in animals are...
Public and Environmental Health Microbiology | SpotlightSurvival of Escherichia coli in Manure-Amended Soils Is Affected by Spatiotemporal, Agricultural, and Weather Factors in the Mid-Atlantic United StatesCurrent language in the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule states no objection to a 90- or 120-day interval between application of untreated BSAAO and harvest of crops to minimize transfer of pathogens to produce intended for human consumption with the intent to limit potential cases of foodborne illness. This regional multiple season, multiple location field trial determined survival durations of...
Environmental Microbiology | SpotlightBiogeochemical Regimes in Shallow Aquifers Reflect the Metabolic Coupling of the Elements Nitrogen, Sulfur, and CarbonGroundwater is a key resource for drinking water production and irrigation. The interplay between geological setting, hydrochemistry, carbon storage, and groundwater microbiome ecosystem functioning is crucial for our understanding of these important ecosystem services. We targeted the encoded and expressed metabolic potential of groundwater microbiomes along an aquifer transect that diversifies in terms of hydrochemistry and land use....
Environmental MicrobiologyNiche Differentiation among Three Closely Related Competibacteraceae Clades at a Full-Scale Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Plant and Putative Linkages to Process PerformanceMembers of the Competibacter lineage are relevant in biotechnology as glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs). Here, we document the presence of three Competibacteraceae clades in a full-scale activated sludge wastewater treatment plant and their linkage to specific operational conditions. We find evidence for niche differentiation among the three clades with temporal variability in clade dominance that correlates with...
Invertebrate Microbiology | SpotlightContrasting Patterns of Virus Protection and Functional Incompatibility Genes in Two Conspecific Wolbachia Strains from Drosophila pandoraWolbachia strains are common endosymbionts in insects, with multiple strains often coexisting in the same species. The coexistence of multiple strains is poorly understood but may rely on Wolbachia organisms having diverse phenotypic effects on their hosts. As Wolbachia is increasingly being developed as a tool to control disease transmission and suppress pest populations, it is important to understand the...
Genetics and Molecular BiologyGlycosyltransferase-Mediated Biofilm Matrix Dynamics and Virulence of Streptococcus mutansTooth decay, a costly and painful disease affecting the vast majority of people worldwide, is caused by the bacterium Streptococcus mutans. The bacteria utilize dietary sugars to build and strengthen biofilms, trapping acids onto the tooth’s surface and causing demineralization and decay of teeth. As knowledge of our body’s microbiomes increases, the need for...
BiodegradationBiodegradation of the Allelopathic Chemical Pterostilbene by a Sphingobium sp. Strain from the Peanut RhizospherePterostilbene, an analog of resveratrol, is a stilbene allelochemical produced by plants to inhibit microbial infection. As a potent antioxidant, pterostilbene acts more effectively than resveratrol as an antifungal agent. Bacterial degradation of this plant natural product would affect the allelopathic efficacy and fate of pterostilbene and thus its ecological role. This study explores the isolation and abundance of bacteria that...
BiotechnologyHomoethanol Production from Glycerol and Gluconate Using Recombinant Klebsiella oxytoca StrainsGluconate is a biomass-derived degradation product, and glycerol can be obtained as a biodiesel byproduct. Compared to glucose, using them as the sole substrate is accompanied by the production of by-products. Our study shows that through pathway engineering and adoption of a fed-batch culture system, high-yield homoethanol production that usually can be achieved by using glucose as the substrate is achievable using gluconate and...
Environmental MicrobiologyBacillus velezensis Wall Teichoic Acids Are Required for Biofilm Formation and Root ColonizationBacillus velezensis is a Gram-positive plant-beneficial bacterium which is widely used in agriculture. Additionally, Bacillus spp. are some of the model organisms used in the study of biofilms, and as such, the molecular networks and regulation systems of biofilm formation are well characterized....
Enzymology and Protein Engineering | SpotlightActivity and Thermostability of GH5 Endoglucanase Chimeras from Mesophilic and Thermophilic ParentsThermal stability is an essential property of enzymes in many industrial biotechnological applications, as high temperatures improve bioreactor throughput. Many protein engineering approaches, such as rational design and directed evolution, have been employed to improve the thermal properties of mesophilic enzymes. Structure-based recombination has also been used to fuse TIM barrel fragments, and even fragments from unrelated folds, to...