Article
Microbiology
Zhen-Hao Luo, Manik Prabhu Narsing Rao, Hao Chen, Zheng-Shuang Hua, Qi Li, Brian P. Hedlund, Zhou-Yan Dong, Bing-Bing Liu, Shu-Xian Guo, Wen-Sheng Shu, Wen-Jun Li
Summary: The study employed a metagenomics approach to obtain MAGs of Candidatus Nitrosocaldaceae from hot spring samples in India and China, revealing new species and a novel genus. Key genes responsible for chemolithotrophic ammonia oxidation and a thaumarchaeal 3HP/4HB cycle were detected in all MAGs, along with genes related to thermal adaptation and interactions with archaea and bacteria.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Andreas Brune, Yulin Song, Aharon Oren, Bruce J. Paster
Summary: The intestinal tracts of termites are colonized by a diverse assemblage of spirochetes, which can be classified into two family-level lineages: Treponemataceae and the newly proposed Breznakiellaceae.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Lei Song, Hongcan Liu, Ying Huang, Xin Dai, Yuguang Zhou
Summary: Strain SW124(T) is a Gram-stain-negative, non-motile bacterial strain isolated from a deep-sea sediment sample collected from the Indian Ocean, designated as Pararhodonellum marinum gen. nov., sp. nov. It shows a wide range of adaptability to temperature, pH, and NaCl concentration, and is potentially classified into a new genus and species near the genus Rhodonellum in the family Cyclobacteriaceae.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Carmen Hogendoorn, Arjan Pol, Rob de Graaf, Paul B. White, Rob Mesman, Peter M. van Galen, Theo A. van Alen, Geert Cremers, Robert S. Jansen, Mike S. M. Jetten, Huub J. M. Op den Camp
Summary: The production of organic molecules can be achieved by synthesizing them from CO2 and a cheap energy source, instead of relying on fossil fuels. Volcanic and geothermal areas, which have abundant CO2 and reduced inorganic gases, provide habitats where novel chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms for organic compound synthesis can be discovered. A thermoacidophilic, autotrophic H-2-oxidizing microorganism called Candidatus Hydrogenisulfobacillus filiaventi R50 was found to fix CO2 and produce more than 0.54 mol of organic carbon per mole of fixed CO2. This discovery opens up possibilities for the sustainable production of important biomolecules using chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Shuo Wang, Guan-Jun Chen, Zong-Jun Du
Summary: A new predatory bacillus, strain V1718(T), was isolated from Xiaoshi Island, PR China. Strain V1718(T) showed similarities to other strains and had the ability to prey on other bacteria. This strain belongs to a novel family based on its physiological, biochemical, and phylogenetic properties.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Yu-Ling Liu, Dong Meng, Fang Wang, Xiao-Fan Gong, Peng-Fei Gu, Xiang-Yu Fan, Zong-Jun Du, Ji-Dong Zou, Qiang Li
Summary: Based on the description of a new bacterial strain L72(T), it was found that the strain has unique physiological and chemical characteristics, with a sequence similarity of less than 94% to existing species, and it is proposed to be classified into a new family Propylenellaceae.
ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GENERAL AND MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Cheyenne E. Stratton, Lindsey S. Reisinger, Donald C. Behringer, Jamie Bojko
Summary: Researchers provide evidence that freshwater Thelohania, parasites infecting crayfish, are genetically distinct from marine Thelohania. They also propose transferring the freshwater Thelohania to a new genus, Astathelohania, and a new family, Astathelohaniidae. Two new species have been described, expanding the understanding of this genus which can be found in North America, Europe, and Australia.
Article
Immunology
Mudra Khare, Dhiraj Sinha, Rita Zgheib, Sory Ibrahima Traore, Jean-Christophe Lagier, Didier Raoult, Pierre-Edouard Fournier
Summary: Strain Marseille-P1302, isolated from a 2-year-old Nigerian boy suffering from Kwash-iorkor, exhibits similarity with Brevilactibacter species, but is phylogenetically closest to Brevilactibacter sinopodophylli. Based on genomic data, a new genus Nigeribacterium is proposed, with strain Marseille-P1302 as the type strain of the new species Nigeribacterium massiliense gen. nov., sp. nov.
MICROBES AND INFECTION
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Camila Gazolla Volpiano, Fernando Hayashi Sant'Anna, Fabio Faria da Mota, Vartul Sangal, Iain Sutcliffe, Madhaiyan Munusamy, Venkatakrishnan Sivaraj Saravanan, Wah-Seng See-Too, Luciane Maria Pereira Passaglia, Alexandre Soares Rosado
Summary: The study identified a new genus, Carbonactinospora, through 16S rRNA gene sequences and comparative genome analyses, showcasing its unique phylogenetic position and distinct genotypic and phenotypic characteristics compared to its sister clades and Streptomyces.
SYSTEMATIC AND APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nikolai V. Ravin, Maria S. Muntyan, Dmitry D. Smolyakov, Tatyana S. Rudenko, Alexey V. Beletsky, Andrey V. Mardanov, Margarita Yu. Grabovich
Summary: Two metagenome-assembled genomes related to the family Thiotrichaceae were obtained from a sulfide-rich thermal spring. They were identified as new species and genera, showing metabolic versatility and adaptability.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Qi Gao, Chen Shao, Qiuyue Tang, Jingbao Li
Summary: The morphology and morphogenesis of a newly discovered species, Pseudosincirra longicirrata nov. comb., from southern China, was investigated. It was found to possess distinct characteristics, leading to the proposal of a new genus. Phylogenetic analysis showed that it clusters with other related species in the same family.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Jamie Bojko, Krista A. McCoy, April M. H. Blakeslee
Summary: This study describes a new bacterial pathogen (Mellornella promiscua) discovered in mud crabs on the North Carolina coastline, USA. The bacterium infects the hepatopancreas of the crab host and is often found in co-infection with a rhizocephalan barnacle. The circular genome of the bacterium encodes 939 genes and shows phylogenetic similarity to Anaplasmataceae family.
JOURNAL OF INVERTEBRATE PATHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Shuai Wang, Rui Yang, Lian Xu, Ya-Ting Xing, Ji-Quan Sun
Summary: p-Hydroxybenzoate is a common allelopathic compound found in soil from long-term monoculture cropping systems. A bacterial strain, LN3S51(T), capable of degrading p-hydroxybenzoate was isolated from saline soil, representing a novel species in a new genus.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Serita Van der Wal, Mario Schaedel, Boris Ekrt, Joachim T. Haug
Summary: A collection of well-preserved fossil specimens of crustaceans from the late Eocene of Czech Republic represent a new species Parvucymoides dvorakorum. Morphological assessment and morphometric analysis revealed that these fossils represent at least two developmental stages and may have been parasites.
Article
Microbiology
Maria A. Khomyakova, Alexander Y. Merkel, Dana D. Mamiy, Alexandra A. Klyukina, Alexander I. Slobodkin
Summary: This study reports the sustainable cultivation of Bathyarchaeia archaeon strain M17C(Ts), which is the first cultivable representative of Bathyarchaeia. Based on phylogenomic analysis and genomic properties, the strain is proposed to be assigned to a new species of a novel genus Bathyarchaeum tardum gen. nov., sp. nov.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Sergio Vargas, Laura Leiva, Gert Woerheide
Summary: The study focuses on the changes in the microbial community of coral reef sponge Lendenfeldia chondrodes under different environmental stressors. It was found that L. chondrodes exhibited high thermal tolerance to elevated seawater temperature, with its microbiome showing a response to the short-term exposure to higher temperatures.
Article
Ecology
Lydia J. Baker, Hannah G. Reich, Sheila A. Kitchen, J. Grace Klinges, Hanna R. Koch, Iliana B. Baums, Erinn M. Muller, Rebecca Vega Thurber
Summary: This study investigated the infection and ecology of the symbiont Candidatus Aquarickettsia rohweri in threatened Acropora corals, finding that the infection magnitude is influenced by coral host and geographic location. Phylogenomic analysis showed clustering by geographic region, with positive selection observed in Florida populations due to greater nutrient stress. Aquarickettsia was not found to codiversify significantly with coral animal or algal symbiont, suggesting horizontal transmission as the likely route of infection.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sergio Vargas, Thorsten Zimmer, Nicola Conci, Martin Lehmann, Gert Woerheide
Summary: While many coral reef species are threatened by overfishing, some octocorals show resilience to anthropogenic environmental changes and may replace stony corals in the future. Research has found that the molecular mechanisms of octocorals, such as Pinnigorgia flava, exhibit resilience to heat and seawater acidification stress. This provides insights into their adaptive responses to anthropogenically driven environmental changes.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ramon E. Rivera-Vicens, Catalina A. Garcia-Escudero, Nicola Conci, Michael Eitel, Gert Woerheide
Summary: The use of RNA sequencing and de novo transcriptome assembly is crucial for ecological and evolutionary studies, especially for nonmodel organisms lacking genome information. A multi-assembler approach, followed by a reduction step, is often employed to improve the assembly quality. TransPi is a comprehensive pipeline for de novo transcriptome assembly that achieves higher completeness percentages and reduces duplication rates compared to single assembler approaches. It is easy to configure and can be seamlessly deployed using Conda, Docker, and Singularity.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Editorial Material
Ecology
Giulio Formenti, Kathrin Theissinger, Carlos Fernandes, Iliana Bista, Aureliano Bombarely, Christoph Bleidorn, Claudio Ciofi, Angelica Crottini, Jose A. Godoy, Jacob Hoglund, Joanna Malukiewicz, Alice Mouton, Rebekah A. Oomen, Sadye Paez, Per J. Palsboll, Christophe Pampoulie, Maria J. Ruiz-Lopez, Hannes Svardal, Constantina Theofanopoulou, Jan de Vries, Ann-Marie Waldvogel, Guojie Zhang, Camila J. Mazzoni, Erich D. Jarvis, Miklos Balint
Summary: Progress in genome sequencing has enabled the generation of large-scale reference genomes, representing global biodiversity. These genomes provide unique insights into genomic diversity and architecture, allowing comprehensive analyses in population and functional genomics, and are expected to revolutionize conservation genomics.
TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Thomas C. Adam, Sally J. Holbrook, Deron E. Burkepile, Kelly E. Speare, Andrew J. Brooks, Mark C. Ladd, Andrew A. Shantz, Rebecca Vega Thurber, Russell J. Schmitt
Summary: The outcomes of species interactions can vary greatly in time and space, and this study found that benthic algae can colonize coral reefs and inhibit reef-building corals in the absence of herbivorous fishes. However, corals can also inhibit colonization by macroalgae. The experiments also showed that juvenile corals have a strong priority effect in suppressing macroalgae, even in the absence of herbivores.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrew A. Shantz, Mark C. Ladd, Leila Ezzat, Russell J. Schmitt, Sally J. Holbrook, Emily Schmeltzer, Rebecca Vega Thurber, Deron E. Burkepile
Summary: By the end of the century, many tropical seas will exceed the thermal tolerance of most coral species, and their persistence in these regions will depend on their ability to tolerate thermal stress. In this study, it was found that interactions with damselfish can enhance the thermal tolerance of corals, indicating that positive interactions play a critical role in maintaining some coral species in warming regions.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Stefanie Agne, Merrick Ekins, Adrian Galitz, Michael Hofreiter, Michaela Preick, Nicolas Straube, Gert Woerheide, Dirk Erpenbeck
Article
Zoology
Gert Woerheide, Emilie Kaltenbacher, Zara-Louise Cowan, Gerhard Haszprunar
Summary: A new species of crown-of-thorns sea star, Acanthaster benziei sp. nov., is described based on genetic and morphological analysis, distinguishing it from other similar species.
Article
Paleontology
Ailin Chen, Luis Porras, Haidan Ma, Xianguang Hou, Gert Woerheide
Summary: In this paper, we describe a new sponge with unique characteristics, indicating its relevance to the evolution of ancient sponges. This new taxon shows similarities to the total group of Silicea and a combination of filtering sponges, suggesting a potential connection between two major types of Early Palaeozoic sponge body plans. A more accurate definition of the Cambro-Ordovician groups and the creation of a total evidence framework that integrates extinct and extant sponge morphology into the phylogenetic scenario derived from phylogenomics seem to be essential steps for the improvement of our understanding of early sponge evolution.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ksenia Juravel, Luis Porras, Sebastian Hoehna, Davide Pisani, Gert Woerheide
Summary: An accurate understanding of the evolution and ecology of animals relies on an accurate phylogeny. However, there are still unresolved nodes in the animal tree, including the root of animals, the root of Bilateria, and the monophyly of Deuterostomia. In this study, we utilized newly assembled genome gene content and morphological datasets to investigate these difficult nodes. Our results support the idea that sponges are the sister group of all other animals, Xenacoelomorpha is the sister group of other Bilateria, and provide tentative support for the monophyly of Deuterostomia.
Article
Zoology
Dirk Erpenbeck, Rob W. M. Van Soest, Gert Woerheide, Michelle Kelly
Article
Zoology
Merrick Ekins, Dirk Erpenbeck, Cecile Debitus, Sylvain Petek, Tepoerau Mai, Gert Woerheide, John N. A. Hooper
Summary: This study examines the taxonomy of sponge specimens with unique chemistry collectively known as Fascaplysinopsis reticulata. The results revealed that Fascaplysinopsis reticulata is a species complex comprising the genus Fascaplysinopsis, as well as two new genera: Skolosachlys gen. nov. and Rubrafasciculus gen. nov. Several new species were described within these genera.
Article
Fisheries
W. E. Pine III, J. Brucker, M. Davis, S. Geiger, R. Gandy, A. Shantz, T. Stewart Merrill, E. V. Camp
Summary: This study evaluated the outcomes of six oyster restoration projects in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Regardless of the type or density of the substrates used, oyster populations did not consistently increase after restoration. Positive responses were irregular and short-lived, only occurring for spat-size oysters immediately after restoration. None of the restoration efforts significantly improved the abundance of oysters of any size-class in any of the study estuaries. Factors contributing to these results likely include design and implementation elements, such as the materials used and the height of the restored reefs. However, monitoring programs have not been able to provide a clear understanding of what hinders restoration success.
MARINE AND COASTAL FISHERIES
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Merrick Ekins, Dirk Erpenbeck, Gert Woerheide, John N. A. Hooper
Summary: This study reports on new deep water sponge species discovered in the East Coast of Australia and the Lord Howe and Norfolk Ridges in the Tasman Sea. In addition, two previously known species have been redescribed based on the new collections.