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Environmental MicrobiologyUse of Newly Designed Primers for Quantification of Complete Ammonia-Oxidizing (Comammox) Bacterial Clades and Strict Nitrite Oxidizers in the Genus NitrospiraNitrospira is a dominant nitrite-oxidizing bacterium in many artificial and natural environments. The discovery of complete ammonia oxidizers in the genus Nitrospira prevents the use of previously identified primers targeting the Nitrospira 16S rRNA gene or nitrite oxidoreductase (nxr) gene for differential determination of strict nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (sNOB) in the genus Nitrospira and...
Public and Environmental Health MicrobiologyAntibacterial and Antivirulence Activity of Manuka Honey against Genetically Diverse Staphylococcus pseudintermedius StrainsStaphylococcus pseudintermedius is an important member of the skin microbial community in animals and can cause opportunistic infections in both pets and their owners. The high incidence of antimicrobial resistance in S. pseudintermedius highlights that this opportunistic zoonotic pathogen can cause...
Genetics and Molecular BiologyNovel Biochemical Properties and Physiological Role of the Flavin Mononucleotide Oxidoreductase YhdA from Bacillus subtilisHere, we report that the bacterial flavin mononucleotide/NADPH-dependent oxidoreductase YhdA, widely distributed among Gram-positive bacilli, conferred protection to cells from the cytotoxic effects of Cr(VI) and prevented the hypermutagenesis exhibited by a MutT/MutM/MutY-deficient strain. Additionally, a purified recombinant His10-YhdA protein displayed a strong NADPH-dependent chromate reductase activity. Therefore, we...
Environmental Microbiology | SpotlightThe Intermediates in Branched-Chain Amino Acid Biosynthesis Are Indispensable for Conidial Germination of the Insect-Pathogenic Fungus Metarhizium robertsiiBranched-chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism plays a significant role in many biological activities beyond protein synthesis. Spore germination initiates the first stage of vegetative growth, which is critical for the virulence of pathogenic fungi. In this study, we demonstrated that the keto-acid reductoisomerase MrILVC, a key enzyme for BCAA biosynthesis, from the insect-pathogenic fungus...
Food MicrobiologySharing a β-Glucan Meal: Transcriptomic Eavesdropping on a Bacteroides ovatus-Subdoligranulum variabile-Hungatella hathewayi ConsortiumThe microbial community, mostly composed of bacterial species, residing in the human gut degrades and ferments polysaccharides derived from plants (dietary fiber) that would not otherwise be digested. In this way, the collective metabolic actions of community members extract additional energy from the human diet. While the variety of bacteria present in the microbial community is well known, the formation of bacterial consortia, and the...
Microbial EcologyRegularized S-Map Reveals Varying Bacterial InteractionsIt has long been acknowledged that bacterial interactions play important roles in community structure and function. Revealing the interaction variability can allow an understanding of how bacteria respond to perturbation and why bacterial community performance changes. Such information should improve our skills in engineering bacterial communities (e.g., in a wastewater treatment plant) and achieve better removal performance and lower...
Environmental MicrobiologyImplications of Foraging and Interspecies Interactions of Birds for Carriage of Escherichia coli Strains Resistant to Critically Important AntimicrobialsIt has been shown that 20% of Australian silver gulls carry drug-resistant Escherichia coli strains of anthropogenic origin associated with severe diseases, such as sepsis and urinary tract infections, in humans. To further characterize the dynamics of drug-resistant E. coli in wildlife populations...
