Microorganisms

Bacterial persistence, a non-heritable high-antibiotic-tolerance phenotype, is a key driver of recurrent clinical infections and antibiotic treatment failure. The pheromone-responsive pCF10 plasmid in Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) mediates antibiotic resistance gene dissemination, but its role in bacterial persister formation remains unclear. This study systematically investigated the regul…

Bioaerosol emissions from biological treatment processes like composting, livestock operations, and wastewater plants pose notable occupational and environmental health risks. Biofiltration is a common mitigation measure for gaseous pollutants, but its effectiveness in controlling bioaerosols is less studied. This review synthesizes current evidence on biofiltration for the removal of bioaerosols…

Microbial communities inhabiting natural and anthropogenically impacted environments are exposed to diverse abiotic stressors that can influence the distribution of functional traits. However, distinguishing the processes underlying phenotypic patterns remains challenging in microbial systems, where ecological and evolutionary dynamics often overlap. In this study, we experimentally assessed the …

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and despite major advances in surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy, important therapeutic limitations persist, including systemic toxicity, therapeutic resistance, and poor drug penetration into hypoxic tumor regions. These challenges have renewed interest in alternative biological strategies, particu…

Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum), a key oral pathogen, promotes colorectal cancer (CRC) progression via gut translocation. Although gut probiotics provide colonization resistance against pathogens, antibiotic-induced dysbiosis may facilitate F. nucleatum integration and increase the risk of CRC. The mechanisms underlying probiotic–F. nucleatum antagonism and antibiotic modulation remain unc…

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Wastewater surveillance is an effective approach for monitoring populations of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and tracking the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across different settings. In this study, hospital and municipal wastewater were collected monthly for 12 months from multiple locations in the greater Pittsburgh area to quantify the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and in…

To address yttrium (Y) contamination from ion adsorption mining, this study developed a combined microbial phytoremediation strategy for dual objectives: ensuring crop safety in Lactuca sativa and enhancing Y recovery by Solanum nigrum. Two specific microbial consortia were constructed from rare earth tailings isolates: inoculant I (bacterial: Enterobacter sp., Serratia sp., Bacillus sp.) applied…

Juglone (5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthalenedione), a natural compound derived from walnut husks, was investigated as a sustainable dual-function antibacterial agent and corrosion inhibitor for Q235 steel in sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB)-containing seawater. Juglone was synthesized via an improved one-pot method, and its performance was evaluated through antibacterial assays, weight loss measurements, su…

Phosphorus (P) limitation is prevalent in terrestrial ecosystems. Plants can improve soil P availability through the exudation of organic acids and symbiotic interactions with microorganisms. However, associations between different plant functional groups and phosphorus cycling in P limited karst ecosystems remain poorly understood. To investigate this, the exudation rates of oxalic, citric and a…

With the rapid progression of global industrialization and urbanization, heavy metal contamination has emerged as a major global threat, especially cadmium pollution. Consequently, optimizing remediation measures has become a pivotal means to solve cadmium contamination. Compared to traditional physical and chemical remediation methods, microbial remediation has great potential in addressing cadm…

Bluetongue (BT) is an infectious, non-contagious, arthropod-borne viral disease of ruminants, and has a severe impact on livestock. It is caused by Bluetongue virus (BTV), a double-stranded (ds) RNA virus with a segmented genome (10 segments), belonging to the Seoreoviridae family, Orbivirus genus. Over the last 25 years, Europe has suffered multiple incursions of different BTV serotypes with ser…

The significance of less abundant genera within the gut microbiota, such as Parabacteroides, remains largely unexplored. Despite its low levels, Parabacteroides is highly conserved and potentially beneficial across populations. This trial aimed to evaluate whether a four-week intake of glucolacto-oligosaccharides (GLO), previously reported as an enhancer of Parabacteroides, improves defecation fr…

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is classified as a critical priority pathogen by the World Health Organization, and new therapeutic alternatives are urgently needed. In this study, we performed genomic mining of 27,531 A. baumannii genomes and identified 5144 prophage-derived endolysin candidates. Four highly prevalent candidates (E1–E4) were recombinantly expressed and functi…

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a widely used nucleic acid detection method, but its application is often limited by the suboptimal performance of wild-type Bacillus stearothermophilus (Bst) DNA polymerase. This study employed a combined deep learning and semi-rational design strategy to engineer Bst DNA polymerase. High-throughput screening identified the A0A150MFP3 sequence and…

Root exudates are key drivers of rhizosphere microbial assembly, yet their effects across coexisting plant species with different functional roles remain unclear. We examined the effects of root exudates from five desert steppe species in Inner Mongolia: one constructive species, two dominant species, and two accompanying species. Exudates were collected hydroponically and applied to bulk soil in…

The gut microbiota serves as a critical interface for host immunity, making it a promising target for probiotic intervention. In this study, we investigated the immunomodulatory potential of the strain Bifidobacterium breve (B. breve) MN15965 and the underlying role of gut bacterial communities in this process. We first assessed its in vitro immunomodulatory activity by measuring nitric oxide and…

Carcinomas of the pancreas and bile duct remain highly lethal malignancies, with surgical resection representing the only potentially curative treatment. Despite improvements in perioperative mortality, postoperative complications remain frequent and negatively affect long-term outcomes. Recent evidence suggests that the pancreas and bile ducts harbor distinct microbial communities, challenging t…

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different aerobic exposure durations on mycotoxin accumulation, nutritional quality changes, and microbial community dynamics of corncob silage. The experiment was divided into four groups: T0 (corncob silage fermented for 45 days without aerobic exposure), T4 (corncob silage exposed to air for 4 days), T8 (corncob silage exposed to air for 8 days), …

Potato purple top is a complex phytoplasma disease that poses a serious threat to potato cultivation worldwide. To verify the presence of different phytoplasma strains in potato disease outbreaks in Iran, six major potato-growing provinces in the central and western regions of the country were surveyed, and a total of 270 potato plants, 230 symptomatic and 40 asymptomatic, was sampled. Nested PCR…