Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Daniel Saatchi, Saewoong Oh, Il-Kwon Oh
Summary: Noise and environmental problems have significant impacts on human beings through various stressors. To address these issues, environmentally friendly strategies are essential, particularly in materials manufacturing. This study presents a novel biomimetic and biophilic design of a lichen-Schwarz metamaterial (SLSM) that achieves multifunctional properties in noise attenuation and humidity control. The SLSM structure mimics a biomimetic shell and meta-symbiotic exoskeleton, providing sound attenuation and humidity control capabilities for future sustainable architecture.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Zichen He, Takeshi Naganuma
Summary: Lichens are symbiotic systems consisting of fungal and algal symbionts. The plasticity in the combination of fungal and algal species contributes to the worldwide distribution of lichens, while the association between non-cyanobacterial bacteria and lichens has attracted attention.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gregor Rolshausen, Francesco Dal Grande, Jurgen Otte, Imke Schmitt
Summary: Holobionts are dynamic ecosystems that can respond to abiotic factors with compositional changes. This study reveals diversity patterns of lichen holobionts along an elevational gradient and presents findings on the responses of fungal hosts, green algal symbionts, and bacterial communities to elevation.
Article
Microbiology
Michael Sweet, Helena Villela, Tina Keller-Costa, Rodrigo Costa, Stefano Romano, David G. Bourne, Anny Cardenas, Megan J. Huggett, Allison H. Kerwin, Felicity Kuek, Monica Medina, Julie L. Meyer, Moritz Muller, F. Joseph Pollock, Michael S. Rappe, Mathieu Sere, Koty H. Sharp, Christian R. Voolstra, Nathan Zaccardi, Maren Ziegler, Raquel Peixoto
Summary: Our study provides a comprehensive overview of the diversity and function of culturable bacteria isolated from corals across various habitats. Comparative genomic analysis uncovered potential signatures of beneficial bacterium-coral symbioses, with over 400 biosynthetic gene clusters identified. Novel genomic features potentially involved in host interactions were also discovered, suggesting new targets for coral probiotics.
Article
Microbiology
Maria Prieto, Natalia Montane, Gregorio Aragon, Isabel Martinez, Clara Rodriguez-Arribas
Summary: The success of lichens in ecological terms is influenced by both the fungal and algal components, which determine the physiological limits of lichen symbiosis and thereby affect their ecological niches and geographic distributions. Cephalolichens are a specific type of lichens that house both green algal and cyanobacterial symbionts, with the latter restricted to special structures called cephalodia. The degree of specialization within species or individuals in this type of lichen is still unknown, and the genetic analysis of cyanobionts from different cephalodia within the same thalli and from different thalli in three cephalolichen species revealed variability at different levels.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hannah Buettner, Sarah P. Niehs, Koen Vandelannoote, Zoltan Cseresnyes, Benjamin Dose, Ingrid Richter, Ruman Gerst, Marc Thilo Figge, Timothy P. Stinear, Sacha J. Pidot, Christian Hertweck
Summary: Fungi of the genus Mortierella are protected from nematode attacks by an endosymbiotic bacterium called Mycoavidus, which produces anthelmintic metabolites, highlighting the important role of endofungal bacteria in defending fungi against mycophagous nematodes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Delaney L. Miller, Eric A. Smith, Irene L. G. Newton
Summary: The study found that the honey bee-associated bacterium Bombella apis can inhibit the growth of insect fungal pathogens, effectively protecting bee broods from infection in vivo, possibly through the secretion of antifungal metabolites. This research provides clues for the development of new antifungal treatments.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ursula Goodenough, Robyn Roth
Summary: Lichens are niche-constructing organisms formed through symbiotic relationships between fungi, algae, and bacteria, playing a crucial role in their construction. Fungal hyphae filled in one layer of the lichen, along with a variety of bacterial biofilms and novel extracellular matrix materials, contributing to lichen structure. Bacteria in lichens participate in metabolic exchange and also serve architectural roles in lichen construction and maintenance.
ALGAL RESEARCH-BIOMASS BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Patricia Moya, Arantzazu Molins, Pavel Skaloud, Pradeep K. Divakar, Salvador Chiva, Cristina Dumitru, Maria Carmen Molina, Ana Crespo, Eva Barreno
Summary: A study on the lichen-forming genus Parmelia revealed two main groups of mycobionts, PSULgp and PSAXgp, with 13 fungal and 15 algal species-level lineages. The research also showed high specificity of Parmelia species for specific Trebouxia clades, with PSAXgp having interactions with a greater diversity of Trebouxia species.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Justin Maire, Linda L. Blackall, Madeleine J. H. van Oppen
Summary: Corals are crucial primary producers in coral reef ecosystems, and their symbiotic relationships with intracellular bacteria play a vital role in their survival, although this area of study is still lacking. Characterizing, identifying, and functionally characterizing intracellular bacterial symbionts associated with corals could provide valuable insights for microbiome research.
Review
Plant Sciences
Gregor Pichler, Lucia Muggia, Fabio Candotto Carniel, Martin Grube, Ilse Kranner
Summary: Lichens are unique fungal symbioses that can form a new structure together with photosynthetic partners. The signals involved in the transition from a free-living state to a symbiotic state, called lichenization, and the maintenance of the symbiosis are not well understood. This study synthesizes existing knowledge into a concept of signaling involved in lichenization, including five stages: pre-contact, contact, envelopment, incorporation, and differentiation. Compounds such as fungal lectins and algal cyclic peptides may initiate early contact, while phytohormone signaling, antioxidant protection, and carbon exchange are important throughout all stages.
Article
Microbiology
Shigeyuki Kakizawa, Takahiro Hosokawa, Kohei Oguchi, Kaori Miyakoshi, Takema Fukatsu
Summary: Many insects have facultative symbiotic bacteria, and the prevalence of infection provides important information about the biological impact of these microbial associates. In this study, diverse stinkbugs were surveyed for Spiroplasma infection, revealing a low infection prevalence. Molecular analysis showed that stinkbug-associated Spiroplasma symbionts have multiple evolutionary origins and are not co-speciated with the host stinkbugs. There is a potential for host-symbiont specificity and/or ecological symbiont sharing. Spiroplasma symbionts are generally less abundant than primary gut symbiotic bacteria, localized to various tissues and organs, and vertically transmitted to offspring. They are facultative bacterial associates and not essential for the host stinkbugs, similar to Spiroplasma symbionts of fruit flies and aphids.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Entomology
Hassan Salem, Martin Kaltenpoth
Summary: This article reviews recent studies on the role of bacterial symbionts in promoting beetle fitness. The functional diversity of these symbionts expands the host's ecological niche, but also constrains its evolutionary potential. The article discusses the relationship between bacterial localization and beneficial effects, as well as the molecular and behavioral mechanisms of symbiont translocation and transmission by the beetle host.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Patrik Soukup, Tomas Vetrovsky, Petr Stiblik, Katerina Votypkova, Amrita Chakraborty, David Sillam-Dusses, Miroslav Kolarik, Inaki Odriozola, Nathan Lo, Petr Baldrian, Jan Sobotnik, Thomas Bourguignon
Summary: Termites form unique associations with bacterial communities in both their guts and galleries, influencing the composition of bacterial communities in their surrounding environment. Termite activities positively impact the abundance of Rhizobiales and Actinobacteria, while negatively affecting several ubiquitous genera. Our results demonstrate that termite galleries harbor distinct bacterial communities.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gulnara Tagirdzhanova, John P. McCutcheon, Toby Spribille
Summary: The symbiotic relationship between lichen fungi and algae has been reevaluated in terms of ATP production, revealing that even though the ATP9 gene is lost in mitochondrial genomes, fungi can still produce ATP through nuclear genes.
