Article
Environmental Sciences
Xue Mo, Panpan Dong, Lumeng Xie, Yujiao Xiu, Yanqi Wang, Bo Wu, Jiakai Liu, Xiuhua Song, Mingxiang Zhang, Zhenming Zhang
Summary: The study validated the effect of imazapyr on Spartina alterniflora, with 2604 mL/acre of AGE 809 + 6070 mL/acre of 25% imazapyr showing the highest control efficiency. There were no significant differences in soil bacterial communities overall under different treatments, but samples with adjuvant had higher bacterial diversity. The main factors influencing soil bacterial diversity were total organic carbon, total phosphorus, available phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen, and total nitrogen.
Article
Microbiology
Jing-jing Ye, Ren-jian Zou, Dong-dong Zhou, Xiao-lin Deng, Ni-lin Wu, Dan-dan Chen, Jing Xu
Summary: This study investigated the biotechnological importance of Actinobacteria isolated from mangrove rhizosphere soils from Hainan Island. The actinobacterial isolates were identified using morphological characteristics and gene sequence analysis. BGCs screening revealed the presence of PKS and NRPS genes. Antimicrobial, anticancer, and immunosuppressive activities were evaluated for representative isolates. A total of 287 actinobacterial isolates were obtained, belonging to 10 genera in eight families. Crude extracts of 39 isolates showed antimicrobial activity, while 79 and 48 isolates displayed anticancer and immunosuppressive activities, respectively. Some isolates harbored PKS and NRPS genes, but their bioactivity was independent of BGCs.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Muhammad Farid Azlan Halmi, Khanom Simarani
Summary: The study investigated the impact of biochar on soil microbial community in tropical region, showing significant improvements in soil physicochemical properties, microbial biomass, and gene abundances. However, no significant changes were detected in microbial enzyme activity and functional diversity.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Li-Min Zhang, Peter Alpert, Fei-Hai Yu
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between nutrient foraging ability and competitive ability in clonal plant species. The results show that under conditions of uneven nutrient distribution, there is a positive correlation between foraging ability and inter-clone competitive ability, but a negative correlation between foraging ability and within-clone competitive ability. This suggests that both inter-specific and intra-specific competition may select for greater foraging ability.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Qin-Pei Lu, Yong-Mei Huang, Shao-Wei Liu, Gang Wu, Qin Yang, Li-Fang Liu, Hai-Tao Zhang, Yi Qi, Ting Wang, Zhong-Ke Jiang, Jun-Jie Li, Hao Cai, Xiu-Jun Liu, Hui Luo, Cheng-Hang Sun
Summary: The study employed an integrated strategy of combining phylogenetic data, bioactivity tests, and metabolomics-based dereplication method to accelerate the selection process for discovering novel biologically active compounds from mangrove actinomycetia. By evaluating 179 actinomycetial strains against 12 indicator bacteria and utilizing UPLC-HRMS-PCA and OPLS-DA models, potential bioactive compounds were identified from outliers showing antibacterial activity.
Article
Environmental Sciences
S. R. Padhy, P. Bhattacharyya, S. K. Nayak, P. K. Dash, T. Mohapatra
Summary: Mangroves provide significant ecosystem services, but have suffered major losses in the last century due to climate change and human activities. Research in Sundarban-India revealed distinct differences between degraded mangroves and adjacent rice fields, with mangroves having lower greenhouse gas emissions and higher labile carbon buildup potential. This unique microbial feature in mangroves could be the key to their lower global warming potential and make them a cleaner production system compared to wetland rice fields.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Wanderson de Sousa Mendes, Jose A. M. Dematte, Nicolas Augusto Rosin, Fabricio da Silva Terra, Raul R. Poppiel, Diego F. Urbina-Salazar, Cacio Luiz Boechat, Elisangela Benedet Silva, Nilton Curi, Sergio Henrique Godinho Silva, Uemeson Jose dos Santos, Gustavo Souza Valladares
Summary: This study aimed to build a national soil spectral library from the middle infrared spectral range (MIR) and evaluate its descriptive and quantitative potential for soil assessment. The results showed that MIR could accurately predict soil physicochemical attributes and had a strong association with environmental and geographical variables. The findings provide practical information on fundamental soil signatures for future agronomic and environmental decisions.
Article
Plant Sciences
Pingyu Yan, Zixiong Xie, Kele Feng, Xinyu Qiu, Lei Zhang, Hanguo Zhang
Summary: In order to assess the genetic diversity and structure of Korean pine clones in Northeast China, 161 clones from 7 populations were analyzed using SSR markers. The results showed high genetic diversity and low genetic differentiation among populations. The fingerprint profiles of the clones were successfully constructed using a combination of 11 markers. This study provides valuable information for future breeding programs and identification of Korean pine clones.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Yongsheng Hong, Yiyun Chen, Songchao Chen, Ruili Shen, Bifeng Hu, Jie Peng, Nan Wang, Long Guo, Zhiqing Zhuo, Yuanyuan Yang, Yaolin Liu, Abdul Mounem Mouazen, Zhou Shi
Summary: Accurate quantification of soil organic carbon (SOC) in urban areas is crucial for effective city management and understanding anthropogenic changes. Visible and near infrared (vis-NIR) spectroscopy has been proven to be a time and cost-effective method for monitoring SOC content. The relationships between SOC and spectral data in urban soils are still unknown. This study evaluated the performance of multiple stratification strategies for predicting SOC content in urban soils. The results showed that stratification based on land-use/land-cover (LULC) improved the prediction performance, with the highest performance achieved by the Cubist model. Areas with high SOC values were mainly located in the city center. Stratification by LULC class is a promising strategy for estimating SOC in urban soil spectral libraries.
Review
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Cui-Jing Zhang, Yu-Lian Chen, Yi-Hua Sun, Jie Pan, Ming-Wei Cai, Meng Li
Summary: Archaea in mangroves play essential roles in biogeochemical cycles and are crucial for carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycling. Innovative cultivation strategies, such as single-cell isolation and high-throughput culturing, provide more opportunities to study previously uncultured archaeal lineages in mangrove wetlands.
MARINE LIFE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lampet Wongsaroj, Ratmanee Chanabun, Naruemon Tunsakul, Pinidphon Prombutara, Somsak Panha, Naraporn Somboonna
Summary: Northeastern Thailand relies heavily on agriculture, with farmers using organic fertilizers to support soil recovery and sustainable agriculture. However, knowledge about animal fecal manures remains limited, impacting their optimal use. This study analyzed the quantitative microbiota profiles of commonly used animal manures in the region.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Le-Yang Yang, Shu-Yi-Dan Zhou, Chen-Shuo Lin, Xin-Rong Huang, Roy Neilson, Xiao-Ru Yang
Summary: Spread of antibiotic resistance is a recognized global threat to human health. While studies have shown that application of organic fertilizers may increase the risk of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), the impact of biofertilizers on resistance genes is not well understood. This study used high-throughput quantitative polymerase chain reaction (HT-qPCR) to investigate the effect of biofertilizer application on soil ARGs in three orchards in China. The results showed that biofertilizer application altered the diversity of soil bacteria and fungi, but did not significantly change the relative abundance of ARGs in the soil. Soil properties indirectly affected ARGs through bacterial diversity, while bacterial abundance directly affected ARGs.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Uday Pimple, Dario Simonetti, Ronny Peters, Uta Berger, Erika Podest, Valery Gond
Summary: Spatiotemporal information on mangrove species assemblage is crucial for biodiversity conservation and management. Remote sensing techniques face challenges due to atmospheric contamination and tidal fluctuations, but multi-source remote sensing and systematic sampling can improve predictions and restoration efforts.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Chenxi Yu, Jianxiang Feng, Weizhong Yue, Long Wei, Yu Ma, Xiaofang Huang, Juan Ling, Junde Dong
Summary: This study quantified the soil organic carbon (SOC) and labile organic carbon (LOC) in different depths of soil at four sites in Yingluo Bay, China. The results showed that the natural expansion of mangroves has a positive impact on SOC and LOC, with the 80-year old mangrove site having the highest concentrations of SOC, LOC, and CMI. Therefore, promoting the natural expansion of mangroves can maximize the storage potential of soil organic carbon.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Zicong Yang, Chunyan Peng, Hongming Cao, Jingjing Song, Bin Gong, Lu Li, Lin Wang, Yu He, Meng Liang, Juncheng Lin, Liulin Lu
Summary: This study investigates the functional characteristics of microbial communities in different mangrove habitats and highlights the potential influence of soil texture on the abundance of N, S, and C metabolic genes. The results suggest that the physicochemical properties of mangrove soil have a greater impact on the functional microbial groups than functional genes.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Hao Sun, Yunhui Zhang, Siyin Tan, Yanfen Zheng, Shun Zhou, Qian-Yao Ma, Gui-Peng Yang, Jonathan D. Todd, Xiao-Hua Zhang
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Gregory D. Rix, Jonathan D. Todd, Andrew L. Neal, Charles A. Brearley
Summary: HPLC methods are effective for predicting phytase activity, simplifying candidate selection, and revealing diversity of phytases. Combining with 16S sequencing and bioinformatics can uncover the contribution of MINPP activity to soil phytase activity.
MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Chun-Yang Li, Xiu-Juan Wang, Xiu-Lan Chen, Qi Sheng, Shan Zhang, Peng Wang, Mussa Quareshy, Branko Rihtman, Xuan Shao, Chao Gao, Fuchuan Li, Shengying Li, Weipeng Zhang, Xiao-Hua Zhang, Gui-Peng Yang, Jonathan D. Todd, Yin Chen, Yu-Zhong Zhang
Summary: DMSP is an important organosulfur molecule in marine environments, and DddX is a novel ATP-dependent DMSP lyase with a distinct catalytic mechanism, potentially playing a significant role in DMSP/DMS cycles.
Article
Microbiology
Ji Liu, Yunhui Zhang, Jingli Liu, Haohui Zhong, Beth T. Williams, Yanfen Zheng, Andrew R. J. Curson, Chuang Sun, Hao Sun, Delei Song, Brett Wagner Mackenzie, Ana Bermejo Martinez, Jonathan D. Todd, Xiao-Hua Zhang
Summary: This study reveals that heterotrophic bacteria significantly contribute to the marine DMSP pool in the East China Sea (ECS), with their contribution increasing with water depth and being highest in seabed surface sediment. Different profiles of DMSP-producing bacteria exist between seawater and sediment samples, and there are still many novel producing taxa to be discovered, especially in the sediment.
Article
Microbiology
Chun-Xu Xue, Heyu Lin, Xiao-Yu Zhu, Jiwen Liu, Yunhui Zhang, Gary Rowley, Jonathan D. Todd, Meng Li, Xiao-Hua Zhang
Summary: Metagenomics and metatranscriptomics are powerful methods for uncovering key micro-organisms and processes driving biogeochemical cycling. However, databases and normalization models for depicting biogeochemical pathways are lacking. This study presents DiTing, a tool for inferring and comparing biogeochemical pathways from metagenomic/metatranscriptomic data, which has been successfully applied to a wide range of datasets.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Hao Sun, Ji Liu, Siyin Tan, Yanfen Zheng, Xiaolei Wang, Jinchang Liang, Jonathan D. Todd, Xiao-Hua Zhang
Summary: In the Changjiang Estuary, bacterial DMSP producers and their related genes show higher abundance and transcription levels in seawater samples compared to freshwater samples along the salinity gradient, with a more prominent presence in summer than in winter samples. DMSP cleavage is likely the dominant catabolic pathway, with DMSP lyase genes being significantly more abundant than the demethylase gene dmdA. This study serves as a model for future research on microbial DMSP cycling in estuarine environments.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ben A. Wagstaff, Jennifer Pratscher, Peter Paolo L. Rivera, Edward S. Hems, Elliot Brooks, Martin Rejzek, Jonathan D. Todd, J. Colin Murrell, Robert A. Field
Summary: The research revealed that Prymnesium parvum microalgae causing harmful algal blooms in water bodies produces toxins affecting ecology and economy. The use of molecular techniques identified the presence of this microalgae in blooms causing fish kills in the UK, including detection of B-type prymnesin toxins for the first time in the area. The study suggested a correlation between blooms and rising temperatures, and demonstrated that low-dose hydrogen peroxide treatment is an effective strategy to control the spread of the algae blooms in enclosed water bodies.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Yunhui Zhang, Kai Sun, Chuang Sun, Xiaochong Shi, Jonathan D. Todd, Xiao-Hua Zhang
Summary: This study explored microbial DMSP production and cycling potential in South China Sea sediment, revealing that bacteria, not algae, are significant producers of DMSP in sediment. The abundance of bacteria with the potential to produce DMSP decreased with sediment depth, and distinct DMSP-producing bacterial groups existed in surface and subseafloor sediment samples. Further research is needed to uncover the DMSP biosynthesis genes/pathways in novel DMSP-producing bacteria.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ming Peng, Chun-Yang Li, Xiu-Lan Chen, Beth T. Williams, Kang Li, Ya-Nan Gao, Peng Wang, Ning Wang, Chao Gao, Shan Zhang, Marie C. Schoelmerich, Jillian F. Banfield, J. Benjamin Miller, Nick E. Le Brun, Jonathan D. Todd, Yu-Zhong Zhang
Summary: This study characterizes the structure and mechanism of the DMSP synthesis enzyme MmtN and identifies functional MmtN enzymes in various organisms. The study provides important insights into SMM and/or DMSP production and proposes additional roles for these compounds.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Felicity W. I. Kuek, Cherie A. Motti, Jia Zhang, Ira R. Cooke, Jonathan D. Todd, David J. Miller, David G. Bourne, Jean-Baptiste Raina
Summary: This study reveals that bacteria associated with corals can synthesize DMSP and may contribute to DMSP production by corals.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Jingli Liu, Chun-Xu Xue, Jinyan Wang, Andrew T. Crombie, Ornella Carrion, Andrew W. B. Johnston, J. Colin Murrell, Ji Liu, Yanfen Zheng, Xiao-Hua Zhang, Jonathan D. Todd
Summary: This study used a novel DNA-SIP approach to identify key microorganisms actively utilizing DMSP and DMS as carbon sources in marine environments. The findings highlight the diversity in microbial utilization of DMSP and the complexity of pathways involved, emphasizing the importance of microbial identification in marine environments.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gregory D. Rix, Colleen Sprigg, Hayley Whitfield, Andrew M. Hemmings, Jonathan D. Todd, Charles A. Brearley
Summary: Phylogenetic analysis, homology modelling, and biochemical methods were used to study a phytase from a Gram-negative soil bacterium. The enzyme showed stability in solution, broad pH activity profile, and specific substrate binding pockets. The transcription of the phytase gene was affected by environmental conditions.
Article
Ecology
Chun-Yang Li, Michaela A. Mausz, Andrew Murphy, Nan Zhang, Xiu-Lan Chen, Shu-Yan Wang, Chao Gao, Maria M. Aguilo-Ferretjans, Eleonora Silvano, Ian D. E. A. Lidbury, Hui-Hui Fu, Jonathan D. Todd, Yin Chen, Yu-Zhong Zhang
Summary: Through genomics analyses and biochemical analyses, a DMSP-specific transporter, DmpXWV, was identified in the marine bacteria Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3. The substrate binding protein of DmpXWV, DmpX, showed high specificity and affinity towards DMSP. DmpX proteins are prevalent in cosmopolitan marine bacteria, and dmpX transcription is consistently high in the global ocean. This study provides new insights into DMSP transport and the environmental adaptation of marine bacteria.
Article
Ecology
Rachel Stirrup, Michaela A. Mausz, Eleonora Silvano, Andrew Murphy, Richard Guillonneau, Mussa Quareshy, Branko Rihtman, Maria Aguilo Ferretjans, Ruo He, Jonathan D. Todd, Feng Chen, David J. Scanlan, Yin Chen
Summary: Lipids play a crucial role in maintaining cell integrity and homeostasis. The cosmopolitan marine roseobacter clade (MRC) and SAR11 clade bacteria produce a variety of amino acid-containing lipids. The study reveals that these lipids are present in both the inner and outer membranes of MRC bacteria. The inability to produce these lipids impacts membrane proteome, nutrient transport, competitiveness, and phage attachment.
Article
Ecology
Chun-Yang Li, Hai-Yan Cao, Qing Wang, Ornella Carrion, Xiaoyu Zhu, Jie Miao, Peng Wang, Xiu-Lan Chen, Jonathan D. D. Todd, Yu-Zhong Zhang
Summary: DMS is a major biosulfur source in the atmosphere and plays a crucial role in global sulfur cycling and potential climate regulation. It is now discovered that the MddA enzyme can methylate inorganic H2S to DMS, expanding its significance in various environments. This finding suggests that the importance of MddA-driven methylation of inorganic H2S to global DMS production and sulfur cycling has been considerably underestimated.
