Applied and Environmental Microbiology This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Illegal dumping of oil and gas wastewater alters arid soil microbial communities
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2024 Jan 31:e0149023. doi: 10.1128/aem.01490-23. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe Permian Basin, underlying southeast New Mexico and west Texas, is one of the most productive oil and gas (OG) provinces in the United States. Oil and gas production yields large volumes of wastewater with complex chemistries, and the environmental health risks posed by these OG wastewaters on sensitive desert ecosystems are poorly understood. Starting in November 2017, 39 illegal dumps, as defined by federal and state regulations, of OG wastewater were identified in southeastern New Mexico, releasing ~600,000 L of flu...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 31, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Mitra Kashani Mark A Engle Douglas B Kent Terry Gregston Isabelle M Cozzarelli Adam C Mumford Matthew S Varonka Cassandra R Harris Denise M Akob Source Type: research

Ecology- and genome-based identification of the Bifidobacterium adolescentis prototype of the healthy human gut microbiota
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2024 Jan 31:e0201423. doi: 10.1128/aem.02014-23. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTBifidobacteria are among the first microbial colonizers of the human gut, being frequently associated with human health-promoting activities. In the current study, an in silico methodology based on an ecological and phylogenomic-driven approach allowed the selection of a Bifidobacterium adolescentis prototype strain, i.e., B. adolescentis PRL2023, which best represents the overall genetic content and functional features of the B. adolescentis taxon. Such features were confirmed by in vitro experiments aimed at evaluating ...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 31, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Chiara Argentini Gabriele Andrea Lugli Chiara Tarracchini Federico Fontana Leonardo Mancabelli Alice Viappiani Rosaria Anzalone Leonora Angelini Giulia Alessandri Massimiliano G Bianchi Giuseppe Taurino Ovidio Bussolati Christian Milani Douwe van Sinderen Source Type: research

Correction for Yoshino et al., "Inducible Expression of Transmembrane Proteins on Bacterial Magnetic Particles in Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1"
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2024 Jan 30:e0180623. doi: 10.1128/aem.01806-23. Online ahead of print.NO ABSTRACTPMID:38289095 | DOI:10.1128/aem.01806-23 (Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology)
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Tomoko Yoshino Akiko Shimojo Yoshiaki Maeda Tadashi Matsunaga Source Type: research

Transcriptional heterogeneity of catabolic genes on the plasmid pCAR1 causes host-specific carbazole degradation
This study may provide a clue for determining appropriate hosts for a plasmid and for regulating the expression of plasmid-borne traits, such as the degradation of xenobiotics and antibiotic resistance.PMID:38289097 | DOI:10.1128/aem.01247-23 (Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology)
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Chiho Suzuki-Minakuchi Natsumi Yamamoto Saki Takahira Masataka Yamaguchi Yutaro Takeda Kazunori Okada Shinsuke Shigeto Hideaki Nojiri Source Type: research

Simultaneous glucose and xylose utilization by an Escherichia coli catabolite repression mutant
In this study, we focus our analysis on glucose and xylose utilization as these two sugars are the primary components in lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysate, a promising renewable carbon feedstock for industrial bioprocesses. This strain is valuable to the field as it enables the use of mixed sugar sources in traditional fed-batch based approaches, whereas the wild-type carbon catabolite repression system leads to biphasic growth and possible buildup of non-preferential sugars, reducing process efficiency at scale.PMID:38289128 | DOI:10.1128/aem.02169-23 (Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology)
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Nicholas A Kaplan Khondokar Nowshin Islam Fiona C Kanis Jack R Verderber Xin Wang J Andrew Jones Mattheos A G Koffas Source Type: research

Functional characterization of the dbu locus for D-branched-chain amino acid catabolism in Pseudomonas putida 
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2024 Jan 30:e0196223. doi: 10.1128/aem.01962-23. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTPseudomonas putida is a metabolically robust soil bacterium that employs a diverse set of pathways to utilize a wide range of nutrients. The versatility of this microorganism contributes to both its environmental ubiquity and its rising popularity as a bioengineering chassis. In P. putida, the newly named dbu locus encodes a transcriptional regulator (DbuR), D-amino acid oxidase (DbuA), Rid2 protein (DbuB), and a putative transporter (DbuC). Current annotation implicates this locus in the utilization of D-arginine. Howeve...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ronnie L Fulton Diana M Downs Source Type: research

High performance Legionella pneumophila source attribution using genomics-based machine learning classification
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2024 Jan 30:e0129223. doi: 10.1128/aem.01292-23. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTFundamental to effective Legionnaires' disease outbreak control is the ability to rapidly identify the environmental source(s) of the causative agent, Legionella pneumophila. Genomics has revolutionized pathogen surveillance, but L. pneumophila has a complex ecology and population structure that can limit source inference based on standard core genome phylogenetics. Here, we present a powerful machine learning approach that assigns the geographical source of Legionnaires' disease outbreaks more accurately than current cor...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Andrew H Buultjens Koen Vandelannoote Karolina Mercoulia Susan Ballard Clare Sloggett Benjamin P Howden Torsten Seemann Timothy P Stinear Source Type: research

HtrAs are essential for the survival of the haloarchaeon Natrinema gari J7-2 in response to heat, high salinity, and toxic substances
This study provides the first biochemical and genetic evidence of the importance of HtrAs for the survival of haloarchaea in response to stresses.PMID:38289131 | DOI:10.1128/aem.02048-23 (Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology)
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Hongyi Luo Xiaoyi Qu Xi Deng Liping He Yi Wu Yang Liu Dan He Jing Yin Bingxue Wang Fei Gan Bing Tang Xiao-Feng Tang Source Type: research

Fluoride anodic films on stainless-steel fomites to reduce transmission infections
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2024 Jan 30:e0189223. doi: 10.1128/aem.01892-23. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe growing concern arising from viruses with pandemic potential and multi-resistant bacteria responsible for hospital-acquired infections and outbreaks of food poisoning has led to an increased awareness of indirect contact transmission. This has resulted in a renewed interest to confer antimicrobial properties to commonly used metallic materials. The present work provides a full characterization of optimized fluoride anodic films grown in stainless steel 304L as well as their antimicrobial properties. Antibacterial test...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Ana Conde Daniel Voces Marina Medel-Plaza Celia Perales Ana Isabel de Ávila John Jairo Aguilera-Correa Juan Jose de Damborenea Jaime Esteban Esteban Domingo Maria Angeles Arenas Source Type: research

Elucidating fungal decomposition of organic matter at sub-micrometer spatial scales using optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) microspectroscopy
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2024 Jan 30:e0148923. doi: 10.1128/aem.01489-23. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTIn microbiological studies, a common goal is to link environmental factors to microbial activities. Both environmental factors and microbial activities are typically derived from bulk samples. It is becoming increasingly clear that such bulk environmental parameters poorly represent the microscale environments microorganisms experience. Using infrared (IR) microspectroscopy, the spatial distribution of chemical compound classes can be visualized, making it a useful tool for studying the interactions between microbial cell...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Michiel Op De Beeck Carl Troein Carsten Peterson Anders Tunlid Per Persson Source Type: research

sRNA molecules participate in hyperosmotic stress response regulation in Sphingomonas melonis TY
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2024 Jan 30:e0215823. doi: 10.1128/aem.02158-23. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTDrought and salinity are ubiquitous environmental factors that pose hyperosmotic threats to microorganisms and impair their efficiency in performing environmental functions. However, bacteria have developed various responses and regulatory systems to cope with these abiotic challenges. Posttranscriptional regulation plays vital roles in regulating gene expression and cellular homeostasis, as hyperosmotic stress conditions can lead to the induction of specific small RNA molecules (sRNAs) that participate in stress response...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Xiaoyu Wang Lvjing Wang Yihan Wang Xueni Fu Xuejun Wang Hao Wu Haixia Wang Zhenmei Lu Source Type: research

Effect of glutathione-transport-related gene gsiD on desiccation tolerance of Cronobacter sakazakii and its related regulatory mechanism
In this study, the mechanism underlying their association was investigated in detail by constructing the gsiD gene deletion mutant. gsiD gene deletion was found to cause the dysfunction of the glutathione transport system GsiABCD and the limitation of glutathione import. The resulting decrease in intracellular glutathione caused the decreased potassium ions uptake and increased potassium ions efflux, inhibited the proline synthesis process, limited extracellular glutathione utilization, increased oxidant stress, reduced biofilm formation, and increased outer membrane permeability, which may be the main reasons for the sign...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Xiao-Yi Wang Ping Li Xin-Jun Du Shuo Wang Source Type: research

Deciphering the interaction of bacteria inoculants with the recipient endophytic community in grapevine micropropagated plants
In this study, we applied two different beneficial bacteria to grapevine micropropagated plantlets and described how the inoculation of these strains impacts endophytic microbiota assembly. We showed that under nutritional deficit conditions, the response of the receiving endophytic bacterial communities to the invasion of the beneficial strains related to the manifestation of plant growth promotion effects by the inoculated invading strains. Rhizobium sp. GR12 was able to preserve the native microbiome structure despite its effective colonization, highlighting the importance of the plant-endophyte associations for the hol...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Lorenzo Vergani Joa Patania Valentina Riva Luca Nerva Floriana Nuzzo Giorgio Gambino Sara Borin Francesca Mapelli Source Type: research

Fitness trade-offs of multidrug efflux pumps in Escherichia coli K-12 in acid or base, and with aromatic phytochemicals
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2024 Jan 30:e0209623. doi: 10.1128/aem.02096-23. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTMultidrug efflux pumps are the frontline defense mechanisms of Gram-negative bacteria, yet little is known of their relative fitness trade-offs under gut conditions such as low pH and the presence of antimicrobial food molecules. Low pH contributes to the proton-motive force (PMF) that drives most efflux pumps. We show how the PMF-dependent pumps AcrAB-TolC, MdtEF-TolC, and EmrAB-TolC undergo selection at low pH and in the presence of membrane-permeant phytochemicals. Competition assays were performed by flow cytometry of...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Yangyang Liu Andrew M Van Horn Minh T N Pham Bao Ngoc N Dinh Rachel Chen Slaybrina D R Raphael Alejandro Paulino Kavya Thaker Aaryan Somadder Dominick J Frost Chelsea C Menke Zachary C Slimak Joan L Slonczewski Source Type: research

Regulation of tricarboxylate transport and metabolism in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2024 Jan 30:e0211123. doi: 10.1128/aem.02111-23. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTDespite the significant presence of plant-derived tricarboxylic acids in some environments, few studies detail the bacterial metabolism of trans-aconitic acid (Taa) and tricarballylic acid (Tcb). In a soil bacterium, Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1, we discovered interrelated pathways for the consumption of Taa and Tcb. An intricate regulatory scheme tightly controls the transport and catabolism of both compounds and may reflect that they can be toxic inhibitors of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The genes encoding two similar Ly...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - January 30, 2024 Category: Microbiology Authors: Alyssa C Baugh Justin B Defalco Chantel V Duscent-Maitland Melissa P Tumen-Velasquez Nicole S Laniohan Kayla Figatner Timothy R Hoover Anna C Karls Kathryn T Elliott Ellen L Neidle Source Type: research