Review
Microbiology
Laurence Van Moll, Jeroen De Smet, Paul Cos, Leen Van Campenhout
Summary: Increased investment in antimicrobial research and development is urgently needed to combat antimicrobial resistance. Recent literature focusing on insect symbionts for new antimicrobials has led to the discovery of a diverse array of active biomolecules. The most promising antimicrobial compound derived from insect symbionts so far seems to be Cyphomycin, isolated from a Streptomyces symbiont of a Cyphomyrmex fungus-growing ant.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Entomology
Zhengyan Wang, Zhenzhen Chang, Zhiyuan Liu, Shan Zhang
Summary: Microbial symbionts can modulate the physiological processes of insect chemoreception, influencing their sensitivity to semiochemicals and altering their behavior. This association provides opportunities for the co-evolution of symbiotic systems and the development of new strategies for insect control.
Article
Polymer Science
Jong-Hoon Kim, So-Hye Lee, Byeong-Min Lee, Kwang-Hee Son, Ho-Yong Park
Summary: This study investigated the biodegradation effects of two insect gut symbionts on PET and found that they could degrade PET and change its surface functional groups. The results suggest that insect gut symbionts have potential applications in PET waste management.
Article
Microbiology
Qiqi Li, Yu Chen, Si Zhang, Yuanjiao Lyu, Yiyang Zou, Jie Li
Summary: This study assessed the impact of four different sample pre-treatment and DNA extraction methods on bivalve symbiosis research. The results showed that these methods had taxonomic biases and affected species diversity. These findings provide guidance for selecting a suitable microbial enrichment strategy in future research on bivalves or other microbe-invertebrate symbioses.
Review
Microbiology
Mason H. Lee, Miguel Medina Munoz, Rita V. M. Rio
Summary: Tsetse flies play a significant role in the transmission of Trypanosoma parasites, which cause African trypanosomiases in humans and animals. Microbial symbiosis is crucial for supplementing nutrient deficiencies in these flies, but the mechanisms and regulation of metabolic exchanges between partners are not well understood. In this study, the roles of microRNAs and DNA methylation in maintaining insect-microbiota homeostasis are proposed and supported by empirical evidence. Understanding the coordination between microbiota and host activity may have applications in manipulating host health and developing innovative vector control strategies.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jong-Hoon Kim, Seung Hoon Choi, Min Gu Park, Dong Hwan Park, Kwang-Hee Son, Ho-Yong Park
Summary: In this study, the effects of Xanthomonas sp. HY-71 strain from the intestine of a Japanese carpenter bee on polyurethane (PU) degradation and bioconversion were evaluated. The strain showed the ability to degrade different types of PU and utilize it as a nutritional source for bioconversion. The study revealed the mechanism and structural changes during PU degradation and highlighted the potential application of insect-related bacteria in plastic waste management.
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Juergen C. Wierz, Paul Gaube, Dagmar Klebsch, Martin Kaltenpoth, Laura V. Florez
Summary: Phytophagous insects can harbor symbiotic bacteria that are transmitted vertically or horizontally, with plants serving as a potential route for symbiont transfer. Experimental results demonstrate that symbionts of Lagria villosa beetles can be transferred to wheat, rice, soybean plants, and leaf litter, with the presence of plants and soil in the environment improving symbiont maintenance. Despite signs of genome erosion, the symbionts are still capable of interacting with plants, suggesting a mixed-mode of bacterial transmission is crucial for the persistence of the symbiosis.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Monica Watson, Georgiana May, Kathryn E. Bushley
Summary: This study found that the fall armyworm obtains its fungal symbionts from various sources, including conspecific insects and unknown environmental sources, and transmission among insects may play a crucial role in the acquisition of fungal symbionts.
Article
Ecology
Noam Tzuri, Ayelet Caspi-Fluger, Kfir Betelman, Sarit Rohkin Shalom, Elad Chiel
Summary: The study reveals the horizontal transmission of bacterial symbionts among parasitoid species within the same trophic level, with such events being rare. Horizontal transmission occurred at low frequencies in interspecific combinations but did not persist in recipient species beyond F-4 generation.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tekleab Teka, Lele Zhang, Xiaoyan Ge, Yanjie Li, Lifeng Han, Xiaohui Yan
Summary: This review provides a comprehensive overview of Stilbene's botanical sources, chemistry, biosynthetic pathways, pharmacology, and clinical applications and challenges.
Review
Agronomy
Ruzhen Wang, Jiayu Lu, Yong Jiang, Feike A. Dijkstra
Summary: In this study, the authors expanded the conceptual framework of carbon allocation for nutrient acquisition in plants by introducing a new parameter called carbon efficiency for nutrient acquisition (CENA). They found that CENA increases with higher nutrient availability, but reaches a plateau when the availability of one nutrient increases at the expense of another. The relationship between CENA and mycorrhizal plants may differ from non-mycorrhizal plants, with CENA potentially being higher in mycorrhizal plants under low nutrient availability. Additionally, the CENA of nitrogen-fixing plants is independent of soil nitrogen availability but increases with soil phosphorus availability. The researchers conclude that these updated frameworks provide a better understanding of how plants optimize belowground carbon allocation for nutrient acquisition under varying nutrient availability conditions.
Article
Microbiology
Vojtech Tlaskal, Victor Satler Pylro, Lucia Zifcakova, Petr Baldrian
Summary: The study introduces a new free-living Sodalis genus strain, S. ligni, mainly found in decomposing deadwood, exhibiting significant ecological divergence from other insect endosymbionts.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Sandy Sousa Fonseca, Ana Leticia Zero Santos, Ciro Pedro Guidotti Pinto, Luiz Marques, Antonio Cesar Santos, James Bing, Timothy Nowatzki, Amit Sethi, Guilherme Duarte Rossi
Summary: Lepidopteran pests, including the highly destructive Spodoptera frugiperda, have been effectively controlled through the use of genetically modified plants expressing insecticidal proteins. However, cases of resistance to these proteins have emerged. This study investigated the potential of a soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI) to disrupt the development of Bt-susceptible and Bt-resistant populations of S. frugiperda. The results showed that when the resistant population consumed Bt maize plants amended with SBTI, high mortality and reduced larval weight were observed, indicating an increased susceptibility to Bt maize.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Joost Van Itterbeeck, Laurent Pelozuelo
Summary: Insects used as food and medicine have gained attention, but there are inappropriate assessments and overestimations in recent estimates. This study scrutinized a widely used list of edible insects and provided a critical assessment and lower estimate of the number of food and medicinal insects.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Assel Sopykhanova, Almkhan Maytanov, Alla Kiseleva, Roza Zhamiyeva
Summary: The paper examines the legal and environmental policy issues in Russia and Kazakhstan in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The study focuses on the legislative regulation and political priorities in the two countries to determine their similarities and differences. The assessment of the current state of legislation and strategic documents reveals inconsistencies and a lack of normative binding towards achieving the SDGs in both countries, highlighting the need for harmonization of strategic documents in Russia. Kazakhstan has less diversification and more consistency in its strategic documents and laws governing sustainable resource management.
Review
Microbiology
Khaoula Abdi, Mourad Ben Said, Elena Crotti, Ahmed Sleheddine Masmoudi, Ameur Cherif
Summary: The decline of bee populations has been observed worldwide in recent decades, and the causes remain unclear. The honeybee Apis mellifera, as a pollinator, is threatened by diseases and environmental stresses that impact its gut microbiota. To maintain the gut homeostasis, research is focusing on using probiotics to boost the honeybee's immune response and preserve a healthy gut microbiota.
ARCHIVES OF MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ramona Marasco, Jean-Baptiste Ramond, Marc W. W. Van Goethem, Federico Rossi, Daniele Daffonchio
Summary: Our planet is facing massive ecosystem collapses and arid regions are experiencing various environmental and climatic challenges, leading to aridification and desertification. Preserving and restoring soil health in these areas is crucial to mitigate climate change's impact. Microorganisms and their functional properties and networks play a key role in fighting desertification. Relying on native dryland microorganisms and microbial communities as well as dryland plants and their associated microbiota is a practical approach to conserve and restore soil health and biodiversity.
MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Anastasia Tsiola, Evangelia Krasakopoulou, Daniele Daffonchio, Constantin Frangoulis, Tatiana M. Tsagaraki, Stilianos Fodelianakis, Paraskevi Pitta
Summary: Human-induced climate change, with increased atmospheric CO2 concentration and sea-surface temperature, has poorly understood synergistic effects on bacterial communities in vulnerable oligotrophic marine ecosystems. In an experiment simulating future changes in surface waters of the eastern Mediterranean, we observed taxonomic differences in bacterial communities, driven by the combined effects of time and treatment. The acidification had a persistent impact on community composition, while warming benefited certain bacterial clades immediately.
Article
Biology
Sana Dhaouadi, Amel Romdhani, Wafa Bouglita, Salsabil Chedli, Soufiene Chaari, Leila Soufi, Ameur Cherif, Wissem Mnif, Mohamed Salah Abbassi, Ramzi Boubaker Elandoulsi
Summary: This study investigated multidrug-resistant and ESBL-producing E. coli isolated from farm animals in Tunisia, and found that these strains exhibited strong biofilm-forming ability and genetic relatedness. Evaluating the antimicrobial resistance and virulence gene content of these strains provides important insight into the etiology of infections in farm animals and the effectiveness of antibiotics.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ramona Marasco, Marco Fusi, Cristina Coscolin, Alan Barozzi, David Almendral, Rafael Bargiela, Christina Gohlke Nee Nutschel, Christopher Pfleger, Jonas Dittrich, Holger Gohlke, Ruth Matesanz, Sergio Sanchez-Carrillo, Francesca Mapelli, Tatyana N. Chernikova, Peter N. Golyshin, Manuel Ferrer, Daniele Daffonchio
Summary: Temperature has a significant impact on the adaptation and composition of microbiomes, and their enzymes play a crucial role in the thermal response. This study demonstrates that enzyme thermal properties not only explain microbial thermal plasticity but are also finely tuned by the thermal variability of the environment. The findings highlight the importance of temperature-driven enzyme selection in shaping microbiome thermal plasticity and emphasize the need to consider thermal variability in addition to mean annual temperature in understanding microbial community response to temperature.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Ramona Marasco, Gregoire Michoud, Fatmah O. Sefrji, Marco Fusi, Chakkiath P. Antony, Kholoud A. Seferji, Alan Barozzi, Giuseppe Merlino, Daniele Daffonchio
Summary: The Red Sea is a unique ocean due to its geological isolation, lack of freshwater inputs and specific internal water circulations. We hypothesize that the mangrove sediments in the Red Sea are hotspots/reservoirs of unexplored microbial diversity that have evolved to cope with extreme conditions. Our study revealed a vast diversity of taxonomically novel microbial hydrocarbon degraders within the Red Sea mangrove sediments.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Daniela Peneda Pacheco, Federico Bertoglio, Cosmin Butnarasu, Natalia Suarez Vargas, Giuseppe Guagliano, Anna Ziccarelli, Francesco Briatico-Vangosa, Vincenzo Ruzzi, Stefano Buzzaccaro, Roberto Piazza, Sebastiao van Uden, Elena Crotti, Sonja Visentin, Livia Visai, Paola Petrini
Summary: The intrinsic heterogeneity of bacterial niches needs to be preserved in in vitro cultures to accurately represent the complex microbial ecology. This study focuses on generating mucin-containing hydrogels - CF-Mu(3)Gel, which mimic the cystic fibrosis (CF) mucus and serve as a challenging microbial niche for current therapeutic strategies. CF-Mu(3)Gel exhibits structural gradients, with a gradual decrease in oxygen tension across its thickness, which closely resembles the CF airway mucus. These distinctive features significantly influence bacterial organization and antimicrobial tolerance, resulting in a more accurate representation of bacterial behavior in patients and providing new insights for improved microbiology studies and drug testing.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Folco Giomi, Alberto Barausse, Alexandra Steckbauer, Daniele Daffonchio, Carlos M. Duarte, Marco Fusi
Summary: The decline of dissolved oxygen in the oceans could have negative impacts on marine life and biogeochemical cycles. Current models that focus on large-scale mean values may lead to inaccurate predictions. Short-term and small-scale oxygen fluctuations strongly influence marine ecosystems, but they are often neglected in large-scale modelling. Understanding the dynamics of dissolved oxygen at small relevant scales is crucial for accurate projection of the impacts of ocean and coastal deoxygenation on marine biogeochemical processes and communities.
Article
Microbiology
Marco Fusi, David K. Ngugi, Ramona Marasco, Jenny Marie Booth, Massimiliano Cardinale, Luciano Sacchi, Emanuela Clementi, Xinyuan Yang, Elisa Garuglieri, Stilianos Fodelianakis, Gregoire Michoud, Daniele Daffonchio
Summary: The microbial composition on the gills of fiddler crabs may play a crucial role in their adaptation to dynamic intertidal ecosystems and the transition from water to air.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gregoire Michoud, Tyler J. Kohler, Leila Ezzat, Hannes Peter, Juliet Kigongo Nattabi, Rosemary Nalwanga, Paraskevi Pramateftaki, Michail Styllas, Matteo Tolosano, Vincent De Staercke, Martina Schon, Ramona Marasco, Daniele Daffonchio, Massimo Bourquin, Susheel Bhanu Busi, Tom J. Battin
Summary: Due to climate change, the glaciers on Africa's 'Mountains of the Moon' in Rwenzori National Park, Uganda are expected to disappear within the next few decades. This will result in the disappearance of the glacier-fed streams and their resident microbial communities. A study on the benthic microbiome from the Mt. Stanley glacier-fed stream showed distinct differences from other glacier-fed streams, with the presence of novel taxa and different abundances of common groups. The primary producer community in this stream is rich, likely due to the greater environmental stability of the Afrotropics, and heterotrophic processes dominate the bacterial community.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Limnology
Erik S. Yando, Scott F. Jones, W. Ryan James, Denise D. Colombano, Diana I. Montemayor, Stefanie Nolte, Jacqueline L. Raw, Shelby L. Ziegler, Luzhen Chen, Daniele Daffonchio, Marco Fusi, Kerrylee Rogers, Liudmila Sergienko
Summary: Salt marshes are important linkages between terrestrial and marine ecosystems, but the lack of a unifying conceptual framework has affected effective comparisons across different salt marshes. To address this issue, an integrative salt marsh conceptual framework has been developed, providing guidance on applying it to different locations. This framework allows for appropriate comparison by accounting for unique spatial settings in each salt marsh, and it is expected to enhance our understanding of salt marsh function.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Marco Fusi, Sylvain Rigaud, Giovanna Guadagnin, Alberto Barausse, Ramona Marasco, Daniele Daffonchio, Julie Regis, Louison Huchet, Capucine Camin, Laura Pettit, Cristina Vina-Herbon, Folco Giomi
Summary: Oxygen availability is crucial for ecosystem functioning and organism resistance to climate change in aquatic habitats. However, the ecological importance of oxygen variations has often been overlooked. Recent research highlights the dynamic nature of oxygen fluctuations and their influence on aquatic species physiology, adaptation, and biogeochemical functioning. Fluctuations in oxygen levels in productive aquatic habitats can range from extreme supersaturation to anoxia, impacting animal responses to thermal stresses. This paper provides compelling evidence that the fluctuating oxygen landscape, or oxyscape, plays a vital role in aquatic animal physiology, adaptation, and ecosystem biogeochemistry. The authors propose considering the oxyscape in the modeling and management policies of aquatic ecosystems.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sreejith Kottuparambil, Ananya Ashok, Alan Barozzi, Gregoire Michoud, Chunzhi Cai, Daniele Daffonchio, Carlos M. Duarte, Susana Agusti
Summary: Understanding the immediate impacts of oil spills is crucial for predicting their long-term consequences on the marine environment. This study investigated the early signals of crude oil in seawater and plankton after a major oil spill in the Red Sea. The findings revealed significant incorporation of oil carbon into the dissolved organic carbon pool, alterations in UV absorption, elevated oil fluorescence emissions, changes in the carbon isotope composition of the seawater, enrichment of specific bacterial genera, and the presence of oil pollutants in zooplankton tissues. These early signs highlight the importance of predicting the long-term impacts of marine oil spills.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Erica M. Prosdocimi, Stefania Arioli, Francesca Mapelli, Zahraa Zeaiter, Marco Fusi, Daniele Daffonchio, Sara Borin, Elena Crotti
Summary: This study investigates the induction and resuscitation of viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state in four Vibrio strains in cold seawater, as well as their response to hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress. The results show that VBNC state leads to phenotypic changes in the cells, causing a loss of ability to grow on solid media, which can be partially or fully reverted upon resuscitation. Low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide can prevent cell resuscitation, while prolonged exposure to hydrogen peroxide, even at concentrations lower than inhibitory levels for log-phase growth, permanently damages VBNC cells.
ANNALS OF MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
