Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Cora L. Dieterich, Silke Probst, Reiko Ueoka, Ioana Sandu, Daniel Schaefle, Michael Dal Molin, Hannah A. Minas, Rodrigo Costa, Annette Oxenius, Peter Sander, Joern Piel
Summary: Genome mining and bioactivity studies have identified the sponge-derived bacterium Aquimarina sp. Aq135 as a potential producer of new antibiotics, with the discovery of antibacterial peptides aquimarins. The study also showed that the chlorinations by Fe-II/alpha-ketoglutarate-dependent chlorinase AqmA may not be necessary for antibacterial activity, but can enhance cytotoxicity.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Go Furusawa, Tarmizi Diyana, Nyok-Sean Lau
Summary: Bacterial dormancy plays a crucial role in maintaining microbial communities in natural environments, but the metabolic regulation of bacterial dormancy in natural habitats, especially marine habitats, is still poorly understood. This study reveals that a marine bacterium, MM1, undergoes a morphological change from rod-shaped cells to coccus-shaped cells during dormancy. Analysis of gene expression shows that one of the two electron transfer chains is upregulated during dormancy, along with the upregulation of dissimilatory sulfite reductase and soluble hydrogenase. The induction of dormancy in MM1 is slower in the absence of MgSO4, indicating the importance of the sulfate-reducing pathway in dormancy.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Pritam Bajirao Patil, Debapriya Sarkar, Kasturi Poddar, Ji-Dong Gu, Angana Sarkar
Summary: The strain Bacillus sp. PhNs9 was found to naturally degrade the in vitro-produced PHA with a maximum degradation rate of 98.62% in soil and 89.75% in sewage wastewater. Different equations were obtained for predicting the degradation percentage under different conditions. Film characterization showed decreased hydrophobicity and crystallinity after degradation. This study establishes the natural degradation of PHA by Bacillus sp. PhNs9, making it a viable commercial alternative with no environmental concerns.
INTERNATIONAL BIODETERIORATION & BIODEGRADATION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
David E. Williams, Joel Cassel, Jin-Lin Zhu, Jian-Xiong Yang, Nicole J. de Voogd, Teatulohi Matainaho, Joseph M. Salvino, Yan Alexander Wang, Luis J. Montaner, Ian Tietjen, Raymond J. Andersen
Summary: Thorectidiols, isolated from the marine sponge Dactylospongia elegans, are symmetrical and unsymmetrical dimeric biphenyl meroterpenoid stereoisomers believed to be produced through oxidative phenol coupling of a co-occurring racemic monomer, thorectidol. Thorectidiol A, one member of the family, has been isolated and its structure determined through NMR, MS, and ECD analysis. Acetylation of the sponge extract led to the isolation of additional thorectidiol diacetate stereoisomers and the racemic monomer thorectidol acetate. Racemic thorectidiol A showed selective inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding domain (RBD) interaction with the host ACE2 receptor, with an IC50 = 1.0 +/- 0.7 μM.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Yukihiro Hiramatsu, Takashi Nishida, Dendi Krisna Nugraha, Fuminori Sugihara, Yasuhiko Horiguchi
Summary: Bordetella parapertussis produces a brown pigment which is identified as melanin, providing protection against intracellular killing in macrophages and survival advantage during host infection. The production of melanin is independent of the BvgAS two-component system, and contributes to the increased survival of the bacterium.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sanya Sureram, Irene Arduino, Reiko Ueoka, Massimo Ritta, Rachele Francese, Rattanaporn Srivibool, Dhanushka Darshana, Jorn Piel, Somsak Ruchirawat, Luisa Muratori, David Lembo, Prasat Kittakoop, Manuela Donalisio
Summary: The peptide A-3302-B isolated from a marine bacterium, Micromonospora sp., strain MAG 9-7, showed specific inhibitory activity against HSV-2 by reducing cell-to-cell virus spread and transmission of extracellular free virus. It did not affect viral protein expression. The peptide also demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity and efficacy against an acyclovir-resistant HSV-2 strain.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Zhe Ning, Dongxue Dong, Xiaopeng Tian, Hangtian Zu, Xueqing Tian, Mingsheng Lyu, Shujun Wang
Summary: In this study, a dextranase-producing bacterium was isolated from the Rizhao seacoast of Shandong, China, identified as Cellulosimicrobium sp. It showed potential for use in the health food industry due to its excellent antioxidant effects, as well as in the dental industry for its effectiveness in removing and inhibiting biofilms formed by Streptococcus mutans.
JOURNAL OF BASIC MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Rute Ferreira, Rui Amado, Jorge Padrao, Vania Ferreira, Nicolina M. Dias, Luis D. R. Melo, Silvio B. Santos, Ana Nicolau
Summary: This study describes the isolation and characterization of a new lytic bacteriophage, vB SnaP-R1 (SnaR1), targeting Sphaerotilus natans DSM 6575. The genome of SnaR1 is unique, with 99% of its sequences showing no homology to any other sequenced phage, and it is the first Podoviridae phage infecting this particular bacterium. Results suggest SnaR1 as a prototype of a new phage genus with potential as a non-chemical alternative for reducing S. natans DSM 6575 cells.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Virology
Chris Hoffmann, Stephanie Wurr, Elisa Pallasch, Sabrina Bockholt, Toni Rieger, Stephan Guenther, Lisa Oestereich
Summary: The study demonstrated that MORV is able to establish persistent infection in its natural host, but only if inoculated shortly after birth. In contrast, a related arenavirus not adapted to M. natalensis was unable to establish persistent infection. Persistently infected animals are crucial for maintaining virus transmission within the host population.
Article
Microbiology
Jan Hubert, Marta Nesvorna, Pavel B. Klimov, Tomas Erban, Bruno Sopko, Scot E. Dowd, Erin D. Scully
Summary: Through correlations between host and symbiont gene expression profiles, important molecular pathways potentially regulating or facilitating their interactions were identified. Cardinium gene expression explained 95% of the variation in mite gene expression, while mite gene expression explained 76% of Cardinium gene expression variability. Cardinium affects mite metabolic pathways and is correlated with genes associated with terpenoid biosynthesis.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Qi Peng, Xue Zhang, Jizong Li, Wenlong He, Baochao Fan, Yanxiu Ni, Maojun Liu, Bin Li
Summary: This study presents a comprehensive analysis of 54 representative PDCoV strains, revealing a certain codon usage bias in the S gene and a higher adaptation level of PDCoV to humans and chickens than to pigs. These findings contribute to our understanding of PDCoV's evolution, adaptability, and inter-species transmission.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Ping Wang, Shuang Xu, Yuqi Tang, Hong Wang, Xuelian Bai, Huawei Zhang
Summary: In this study, the whole genome of a marine-sponge-derived strain A. niger L14 was sequenced and assembled, revealing a wealth of secondary metabolites biosynthesis gene clusters, providing important insights for new drug discovery.
Article
Cell Biology
Lejla Gul, Dezso Modos, Sonia Fonseca, Matthew Madgwick, John P. Thomas, Padhmanand Sudhakar, Catherine Booth, Regis Stentz, Simon R. Carding, Tamas Korcsmaros
Summary: The gastrointestinal tract houses a complex microbial community that plays a crucial role in maintaining gut health. This study investigates the interactions between bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs) released by a gut commensal bacterium and host immune cells, revealing that the communication between BEVs and the host is influenced by both cell type and health status. The findings provide insights into potential BEV-based therapies for treating inflammatory bowel disease.
JOURNAL OF EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Min Cheol Kim, Jaclyn M. Winter, Reiko Cullum, Alexander J. Smith, William Fenical
Summary: Marinolides A and B, two new bacterial macrolactones, were isolated from actinobacterium AJS-327 and their stereostructures were initially assigned by bioinformatic data analysis. Bioinformatic analysis coupled with NMR and X-ray diffraction data allowed for the determination of their absolute configurations. Using bioinformatics to assign the relative and absolute configurations of natural products has high potential but should be coupled with full NMR-based analysis.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Siddiq Ur Rahman, Hassan Ur Rehman, Inayat Ur Rahman, Muazzam Ali Khan, Fazli Rahim, Hamid Ali, Dekun Chen, Wentao Ma
Summary: The beef tapeworm, Taenia saginata, is a zoonotic parasite that poses serious health risks with a worldwide distribution. This study analyzed the codon usage pattern in T. saginata genomes and provided valuable data for evolutionary studies.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Nils Raedecker, Claudia Pogoreutz, Hagen M. Gegner, Anny Cardenas, Gabriela Perna, Laura Geissler, Florian Roth, Jeremy Bougoure, Paul Guagliardo, Ulrich Struck, Christian Wild, Mathieu Pernice, Jean-Baptiste Raina, Anders Meibom, Christian R. Voolstra
Summary: The study found that under heat stress, nitrogen fixation by coral-associated diazotrophs increased, but the additional fixed nitrogen was not assimilated by the coral tissue or the algal symbionts.
Article
Ecology
M. Mozammel Hoque, Parisa Noorian, Gustavo Espinoza-Vergara, Pradeep Manuneedhi Cholan, Mikael Kim, Md Hafizur Rahman, Maurizio Labbate, Scott A. Rice, Mathieu Pernice, Stefan H. Oehlers, Diane McDougald
Summary: Predation by heterotrophic protists drives the emergence of adaptive traits in bacteria, particularly Vibrio cholerae, by selecting for mutations in flagellar transcriptional regulator flrA, leading to enhanced survival and competitive fitness in amoebae and improved colonization in eukaryotic organisms such as zebrafish. These adaptive traits evolved in response to environmental predatory pressure impact the colonization of eukaryotic organisms by these pathogens.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Sean Macdonald Miller, Raffaela M. Abbriano, Anna Segecova, Andrei Herdean, Peter J. Ralph, Mathieu Pernice
Summary: Microalgal biotechnology has great potential in various industrial avenues but is limited by common processing methods that hinder high throughput screening and development of improved microalgal strains. In this study, we adapted a previously described method for monitoring fucoxanthin in Phaeodactylum tricornutum to live culture samples using a microplate reader, achieving a high correlation to HPLC. Adaptation to 384-well microplates and removal of the need to equalize cultures by density further increased the screening rate.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rachel Alderdice, Mathieu Pernice, Anny Cardenas, David J. Hughes, Peter L. Harrison, Nadine Boulotte, Katie Chartrand, Michael Kuehl, David J. Suggett, Christian R. Voolstra
Summary: Experimental exposure of apo-symbiotic coral larvae to deoxygenation stress and subsequent reoxygenation resulted in significant changes in gene expression related to developmental regulation, mitochondrial activity, lipid metabolism, and O2-sensitive epigenetic regulators. This disruption in gene expression, including HIF-targeted developmental regulators like HOX genes, suggests potential negative impacts on coral larval fitness due to changes in external oxygen levels.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Daniel Wangpraseurt, Yazhi Sun, Shangting You, Sing-Teng Chua, Samantha K. Noel, Helena F. Willard, David B. Berry, Alexander M. Clifford, Sydney Plummer, Yi Xiang, Henry H. Hwang, Jaap Kaandorp, Julia M. Diaz, Todd C. La Jeunesse, Mathieu Pernice, Silvia Vignolini, Martin Tresguerres, Shaochen Chen
Summary: This study uses 3D bioprinting technology to construct biomimetic coral microhabitats, replicating the biological processes involved in coral-algal symbiosis and providing a potential method for manufacturing synthetic designer corals.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Anny Cardenas, Jean-Baptiste Raina, Claudia Pogoreutz, Nils Raedecker, Jeremy Bougoure, Paul Guagliardo, Mathieu Pernice, Christian R. Voolstra
Summary: The structure and function of the endolithic microbiome in corals are linked to bleaching susceptibility. Corals that are resistant to bleaching have endolithic microbiomes with greater functional diversity and redundancy, and lower endolithic primary productivity, possibly due to the dominance of chemolithotrophs. Lower primary production within the skeleton may help maintain nutrient-limiting conditions in the coral-algal symbiosis under heat stress.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rachel Alderdice, Gabriela Perna, Anny Cardenas, Benjamin C. C. Hume, Martin Wolf, Michael Kuehl, Mathieu Pernice, David J. Suggett, Christian R. Voolstra
Summary: Exposure to deoxygenation from climate warming and pollution can lower the thermal limit of corals and make them more vulnerable to bleaching under heat stress. It is important to integrate dissolved O-2 measurements into global monitoring programs of coral reefs.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Shawn Price, Unnikrishnan Kuzhiumparambil, Mathieu Pernice, Andrei Herdean, Peter Ralph
Summary: Poly-hydroxy-butyrate (PHB) bioplastic resin can be produced from atmospheric CO2 using cyanobacteria. Random mutagenesis combined with FACS was used to select mutants with higher lipid content, resulting in two strains with significantly increased PHB yields, biomass accumulation, and volumetric PHB density. The highest PHB yielding strain was 43% higher than the wild type, and the highest volumetric PHB density was 75% higher. This study shows the potential of random chemical mutagenesis and FACS in increasing PHB productivity in cyanobacteria, making bioplastic production economically viable.
BIOPROCESS AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hung Manh Nguyen, Miriam Ruocco, Emanuela Dattolo, Federica Paola Cassetti, Sebastiano Calvo, Agostino Tomasello, Lazaro Marin-Guirao, Mathieu Pernice, Gabriele Procaccini
Summary: This study examined the adaptation of Posidonia oceanica to local environmental conditions, focusing on the Stagnone di Marsala coastal lagoon. Results showed higher salinity and temperature levels within the lagoon compared to the outer lagoon regions. Genetic analysis revealed genetic isolation and high clonality of the innermost site, with certain outlier loci associated with plant stress response and development regulation. This study provides important insights into the genetic basis of seagrass adaptation to local conditions.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Peter J. Ralph, Mathieu Pernice
Summary: Photosynthesis can be utilized to capture carbon and promote greener industries. The use of algae-driven carbon capture and manufacturing technology has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions while also generating commodities like bioplastics.
Article
Microbiology
Jean-Baptiste Raina, Marco Giardina, Douglas R. R. Brumley, Peta L. L. Clode, Mathieu Pernice, Paul Guagliardo, Jeremy Bougoure, Himasha Mendis, Steven Smriga, Eva C. C. Sonnenschein, Matthias S. S. Ullrich, Roman Stocker, Justin R. R. Seymour
Summary: Behaviors such as chemotaxis play an important role in metabolic exchanges between phytoplankton and bacteria, regulating oceanic productivity and biogeochemistry. This study reveals that chemotaxis increases nutrient uptake and provides a competitive advantage for bacteria in transient interactions with picophytoplankton. These findings highlight the significance of chemotactic interactions in shaping metabolic relationships among abundant microorganisms in the ocean.
NATURE MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Guoxin Cui, Migle K. Konciute, Lorraine Ling, Luke Esau, Jean -Baptiste Raina, Baoda Han, Octavio R. Salazar, Jason S. Presnell, Nils Raedecker, Huawen Zhong, Jessica Menzies, Phillip A. Cleves, Yi Jin Liew, Cory J. Krediet, Val Sawiccy, Maha J. Cziesielski, Paul Guagliardo, Jeremy Bougoure, Mathieu Pernice, Heribert Hirt, Christian R. Voolstra, Virginia M. Weis, John R. Pringle, Manuel Aranda
Summary: Symbiotic cnidarians, such as corals and anemones, have evolved efficient molecular mechanisms for nutrient distribution and recycling in order to thrive in nutrient-poor ocean environments. Using the sea anemone Aiptasia, researchers have discovered that glucose and the presence of algae induce the up-regulation and relocalization of glucose and ammonium transporters, which are critical for symbiont functioning and organism-wide nitrogen assimilation. These findings provide insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying nitrogen conservation and recycling in symbiotic cnidarians.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Breanna Osborne, Nachshon Siboni, Justin R. Seymour, Peter Ralph, Mathieu Pernice
Summary: This study explores the potential of combining mutualistic species as a consortium to enhance antibacterial properties against Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The combination of Tetraselmis sp. and Pseudoalteromonas peptidolytica shows the greatest inhibition rate of V. parahaemolyticus. This probiotic consortia has the potential for use as a biocontrol technique within mariculture.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYCOLOGY
(2023)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rachel Alderdice, Gabriela Perna, Anny Cardenas, Benjamin C. C. Hume, Martin Wolf, Michael Kuhl, Mathieu Pernice, David J. Suggett, Christian R. Voolstra
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Shawn Price, Unnikrishnan Kuzhiumparambil, Mathieu Pernice, Peter Ralph
Summary: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a potential bioplastic compound with the ability to reduce production costs. This study explores the financial viability of producing 10,000 tonnes of PHB using open raceway ponds and solvent extraction. The results show a negative net present value and a minimum selling price of $18,339 USD per tonne. Various hypothetical scenarios were examined to increase economic feasibility, resulting in a minimum selling price of $7704 USD per tonne, still twice the current market value of PHB.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)