Pub Date : 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100547
Merja Herzig , Malin Bomberg , Tuulia Hyötyläinen
The deep terrestrial subsurface (DTS) biosphere consists of a variety of distinct microbial taxa, mostly bacterial. The mechanisms by which microbes dynamically manage the uptake and concurrent utilization of nutrients within the DTS environments remain largely unexplored. Here, we examined the utilization patterns of amino acids and other polar metabolites in cultured DTS bacterial communities to investigate the adaptive responses and metabolic pathways employed under varying nutrient conditions to gain insight into how environmental shifts impact the metabolism of these communities. Previously, we found that changes in growth conditions affected the composition and size of the bacterial communities enriched from these oligotrophic, anoxic environments and induced changes in the production of primary and secondary metabolites. In the present study, metabolic fingerprinting was used to investigate the primary and secondary metabolite utilization and main metabolic pathways present in the enriched DTS bacterial consortium originating from the deep bedrock of the Fennoscandian Shield. We found that especially amino acids were predominantly degraded under different nutrient conditions. Notably, the degradation of phenylalanine and valine constituted a 'core' metabolic process that remained unaffected by variations in available nutrients within this community. Further, the most significant metabolic pathways employed were those connected to phenylalanine, cysteine and methionine.
{"title":"Microbial metabolism in deep terrestrial subsurface communities - amino acids as biosignatures","authors":"Merja Herzig , Malin Bomberg , Tuulia Hyötyläinen","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100547","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100547","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The deep terrestrial subsurface (DTS) biosphere consists of a variety of distinct microbial taxa, mostly bacterial. The mechanisms by which microbes dynamically manage the uptake and concurrent utilization of nutrients within the DTS environments remain largely unexplored. Here, we examined the utilization patterns of amino acids and other polar metabolites in cultured DTS bacterial communities to investigate the adaptive responses and metabolic pathways employed under varying nutrient conditions to gain insight into how environmental shifts impact the metabolism of these communities. Previously, we found that changes in growth conditions affected the composition and size of the bacterial communities enriched from these oligotrophic, anoxic environments and induced changes in the production of primary and secondary metabolites. In the present study, metabolic fingerprinting was used to investigate the primary and secondary metabolite utilization and main metabolic pathways present in the enriched DTS bacterial consortium originating from the deep bedrock of the Fennoscandian Shield. We found that especially amino acids were predominantly degraded under different nutrient conditions. Notably, the degradation of phenylalanine and valine constituted a 'core' metabolic process that remained unaffected by variations in available nutrients within this community. Further, the most significant metabolic pathways employed were those connected to phenylalanine, cysteine and methionine.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100547"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145925393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100529
Hongying Zhou , Lixu Li , Yuhua Gong , Hualin Liu , Hongli Wu , Alejandra Bravo , Mario Soberón , Jinshui Zheng , Donghai Peng , Bo Sun , Ming Sun
The domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, is critically impacted by bacterial pathogens, yet the environmental and ecological drivers of their spatiotemporal dynamics remain poorly defined. In this study, 514 bacterial strains were isolated from diseased and healthy silkworm larvae across major sericultural regions in China. Through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multi-tier pathogenicity assays, 51 isolates were identified as potential novel insect pathogens. Fulfilling Koch’s postulates via oral infection tests, the pathogenicity of nine strains belonging to the genera Raoultella, Stenotrophomonas, and Citrobacter were confirmed, while the remaining isolates are considered putative pathogens. All isolates were classified into 33 genera within the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, with Enterobacter, Bacillus, and Serratia being the most prevalent. Multivariate analysis indicated that geographic and climatic factors—specifically distance from the coastline and key thermal and radiative variables—collectively explained a significant though modest portion of the variance in bacterial community composition. Bacterial diversity correlated positively with cocoon yield. Guangxi presented the highest potential pathogen diversity and co-infection frequency, aligning with its intensive sericulture practices. Seasonal analyses indicated higher bacterial abundance and virulence in spring–summer compared to summer–autumn. Many isolates are taxonomically affiliated with genera containing insect gut microbiota, plant-associated bacteria, and human (opportunistic) pathogens, suggesting diverse environmental and anthropogenic origin. The detection of bacteria related to mulberry phyllosphere microbes underscore the role of host plant ecology in shaping the silkworm microbiome. These findings illuminate the ecological drivers of silkworm-associated bacterial communities and highlight the complex microbial connections within sericulture ecosystems, suggesting potential pathways relevant to a One Health perspective. Furthermore, the repository of 514 identified bacterial isolates from the model lepidopteran B. mori here provides a valuable resources for exploring novel biocontrol agents against other lepidopteran pests.
{"title":"Geographic and seasonal variation of culturable bacteria associated with the diseased silkworm (Bombyx mori)","authors":"Hongying Zhou , Lixu Li , Yuhua Gong , Hualin Liu , Hongli Wu , Alejandra Bravo , Mario Soberón , Jinshui Zheng , Donghai Peng , Bo Sun , Ming Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100529","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100529","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The domesticated silkworm, <em>Bombyx mori</em>, is critically impacted by bacterial pathogens, yet the environmental and ecological drivers of their spatiotemporal dynamics remain poorly defined. In this study, 514 bacterial strains were isolated from diseased and healthy silkworm larvae across major sericultural regions in China. Through 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multi-tier pathogenicity assays, 51 isolates were identified as potential novel insect pathogens. Fulfilling Koch’s postulates via oral infection tests, the pathogenicity of nine strains belonging to the genera <em>Raoultella, Stenotrophomonas</em>, and <em>Citrobacter</em> were confirmed, while the remaining isolates are considered putative pathogens. All isolates were classified into 33 genera within the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, with <em>Enterobacter, Bacillus</em>, and <em>Serratia</em> being the most prevalent. Multivariate analysis indicated that geographic and climatic factors—specifically distance from the coastline and key thermal and radiative variables—collectively explained a significant though modest portion of the variance in bacterial community composition. Bacterial diversity correlated positively with cocoon yield. Guangxi presented the highest potential pathogen diversity and co-infection frequency, aligning with its intensive sericulture practices. Seasonal analyses indicated higher bacterial abundance and virulence in spring–summer compared to summer–autumn. Many isolates are taxonomically affiliated with genera containing insect gut microbiota, plant-associated bacteria, and human (opportunistic) pathogens, suggesting diverse environmental and anthropogenic origin. The detection of bacteria related to mulberry phyllosphere microbes underscore the role of host plant ecology in shaping the silkworm microbiome. These findings illuminate the ecological drivers of silkworm-associated bacterial communities and highlight the complex microbial connections within sericulture ecosystems, suggesting potential pathways relevant to a One Health perspective. Furthermore, the repository of 514 identified bacterial isolates from the model lepidopteran <em>B. mori</em> here provides a valuable resources for exploring novel biocontrol agents against other lepidopteran pests.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100529"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145976920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-16DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100536
Gabriela N. Tenea, Carlos Flores
Chocho (Lupinus mutabilis Sweet), a traditional Andean legume, undergoes diverse post-harvest handling and processing steps that can influence its microbial composition and physicochemical properties. To understand how these factors shape food safety and consumer health, we characterized the chocho microbiome across the farm-to-table chain, including field-dried grains (Group C), open-market ready-to-eat products (Group A), and supermarket grains (Group K). Bacterial and fungal communities were profiled using 16S rRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing, and moisture, pH, titratable acidity, and total alkaloids were quantified and correlated with microbial patterns. High-depth 16S rRNA sequencing (60,000–140,000 reads/sample) showed the highest bacterial diversity in Group A (Shannon = 5.23), followed by Group K (4.69) and Group C (4.08). Richness and evenness differed significantly (p < 0.05) among groups, and beta-diversity analyses (Bray–Curtis, Jaccard, UniFrac) revealed clear clustering by grain source (PERMANOVA, p ≤ 0.005). Market grains were enriched in handling-associated genera such as Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, and Enterococcus, whereas field grains contained soil-associated taxa including Paenibacillus and Arthrobacter. Fungal profiling showed the greatest richness and phylogenetic diversity in local-producer samples, with supermarket grains displaying lower but more even communities. Xerophilic Wallemia dominated dry grains, whereas moisture-exposed market grains were enriched in spoilage yeasts (Debaryomyces, Candida, Rhodotorula). Physicochemical traits varied widely: moisture (3.7–8.7%), titratable acidity (0.09–0.59%), pH (4.9–6.2), and alkaloids (<0.5% in processed grains vs. 5–7% in field samples). PCA explained 90.6% of the variance, with alkaloids strongly correlating with acidity (r = 0.94). Several processed samples exceeded national alkaloid limits (<0.02%), indicating incomplete debittering. These findings demonstrate that environmental exposure and handling strongly influence the microbial and toxicological safety of chocho along its supply chain.
{"title":"Post-harvest microbiome dynamics and their impact on the safety and quality of Lupinus mutabilis sweet (Chocho)","authors":"Gabriela N. Tenea, Carlos Flores","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100536","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100536","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Chocho (Lupinus mutabilis Sweet), a traditional Andean legume, undergoes diverse post-harvest handling and processing steps that can influence its microbial composition and physicochemical properties. To understand how these factors shape food safety and consumer health, we characterized the chocho microbiome across the farm-to-table chain, including field-dried grains (Group C), open-market ready-to-eat products (Group A), and supermarket grains (Group K). Bacterial and fungal communities were profiled using 16S rRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing, and moisture, pH, titratable acidity, and total alkaloids were quantified and correlated with microbial patterns. High-depth 16S rRNA sequencing (60,000–140,000 reads/sample) showed the highest bacterial diversity in Group A (Shannon = 5.23), followed by Group K (4.69) and Group C (4.08). Richness and evenness differed significantly (<em>p</em> < 0.05) among groups, and beta-diversity analyses (Bray–Curtis, Jaccard, UniFrac) revealed clear clustering by grain source (PERMANOVA, <em>p</em> ≤ 0.005). Market grains were enriched in handling-associated genera such as Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, and Enterococcus, whereas field grains contained soil-associated taxa including Paenibacillus and Arthrobacter. Fungal profiling showed the greatest richness and phylogenetic diversity in local-producer samples, with supermarket grains displaying lower but more even communities. Xerophilic Wallemia dominated dry grains, whereas moisture-exposed market grains were enriched in spoilage yeasts (Debaryomyces, Candida, Rhodotorula). Physicochemical traits varied widely: moisture (3.7–8.7%), titratable acidity (0.09–0.59%), pH (4.9–6.2), and alkaloids (<0.5% in processed grains vs. 5–7% in field samples). PCA explained 90.6% of the variance, with alkaloids strongly correlating with acidity (<em>r</em> = 0.94). Several processed samples exceeded national alkaloid limits (<0.02%), indicating incomplete debittering. These findings demonstrate that environmental exposure and handling strongly influence the microbial and toxicological safety of chocho along its supply chain.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100536"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145790537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-13DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100533
Hui Zhang , Xueru Song , Qi Zhou , Yuming Yin , Ying Yang , Jilai Zhang , Yonghe Cui , Lingduo Bu , Yulong Su , Youbo Su
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are key species in plant-microbe interactions, and this study is the first to suggest their dynamic survival in the fermentation system of cigar tobacco. To explore the functional significance of AMF in cigar tobacco fermentation, this study focused on the Yunxue variety of cigar tobacco. We combined multi-time point sampling over a 35-day fermentation process and used Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) gene high-throughput sequencing to analyze the AMF community structure in the fermenting material. Diversity indices, species correlation networks, and Mantel tests were employed to explore the relationship between AMF and chemical components. The results showed a significant dynamic succession in AMF OTUs within the fermenting material throughout the fermentation process, identifying 22 species (comprising 524 OTUs), with Paraglomus being the predominant species. Core functional flora included OTU217 and OTU88, whose abundance variations aligned with the generation of volatile flavor compounds. AMF diversity peaked during the mid-fermentation stage and exhibited a negative correlation with total nitrogen, total sulfur, and reducing sugars, indicating that sugar and nitrogen metabolism were driving factors in the reorganization of the AMF community. The observations suggest that us to propose that Glomus-group-B-Glomus-lamellosu-VTX00193 may have a marked increase in abundance towards the end of fermentation, suggesting its crucial role in the degradation of complex organic compounds. Analysis specific to different tobacco varieties revealed a significant increase in the number of OTUs unique to Yunxue 6, with fluctuations in total acidity content significantly associated with changes in AMF abundance. The findings suggest a the regulatory role of AMF in modulating the chemical composition of cigar tobacco leaves through carbon and nitrogen metabolism, with Paraglomus and Glomus identified as core functional funga. These results suggests the importance of further research on confirmation of AMF, if any, in the tobacco fermenting process.
{"title":"Discoveries in non-symbiotic environments: Dynamic changes and potential contributions of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in cigar tobacco fermentation","authors":"Hui Zhang , Xueru Song , Qi Zhou , Yuming Yin , Ying Yang , Jilai Zhang , Yonghe Cui , Lingduo Bu , Yulong Su , Youbo Su","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100533","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100533","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are key species in plant-microbe interactions, and this study is the first to suggest their dynamic survival in the fermentation system of cigar tobacco. To explore the functional significance of AMF in cigar tobacco fermentation, this study focused on the Yunxue variety of cigar tobacco. We combined multi-time point sampling over a 35-day fermentation process and used Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) gene high-throughput sequencing to analyze the AMF community structure in the fermenting material. Diversity indices, species correlation networks, and Mantel tests were employed to explore the relationship between AMF and chemical components. The results showed a significant dynamic succession in AMF OTUs within the fermenting material throughout the fermentation process, identifying 22 species (comprising 524 OTUs), with <em>Paraglomus</em> being the predominant species. Core functional flora included OTU217 and OTU88, whose abundance variations aligned with the generation of volatile flavor compounds. AMF diversity peaked during the mid-fermentation stage and exhibited a negative correlation with total nitrogen, total sulfur, and reducing sugars, indicating that sugar and nitrogen metabolism were driving factors in the reorganization of the AMF community. The observations suggest that us to propose that <em>Glomus</em>-group-B-<em>Glomus-lamellosu</em>-VTX00193 may have a marked increase in abundance towards the end of fermentation, suggesting its crucial role in the degradation of complex organic compounds. Analysis specific to different tobacco varieties revealed a significant increase in the number of OTUs unique to Yunxue 6, with fluctuations in total acidity content significantly associated with changes in AMF abundance. The findings suggest a the regulatory role of AMF in modulating the chemical composition of cigar tobacco leaves through carbon and nitrogen metabolism, with <em>Paraglomu</em>s and <em>Glomus</em> identified as core functional funga. These results suggests the importance of further research on confirmation of AMF, if any, in the tobacco fermenting process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100533"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145790539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-07DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100531
Ning Li , Zheng Dong , Shuping Zhang , Juan Ma , Sijin Liu
Growing research has highlighted the participation of lung microbiota in various pathological processes. Despite its low bacterial biomass compared with other organs, the resident flora of the healthy lung is essential for immune system development, immune tolerance fostering, and defense against foreign substance incursion. The host-microbial crosstalk, typically mediated by microbial metabolites, pattern recognition receptors, and immune cells, exerts bidirectional regulatory effects on the pulmonary immune microenvironment. Specifically, the lung microbiota modulates the activation status or tolerance of mucosal immune cell populations to maintain immune balance; conversely, perturbations to the lung's homeostatic microbiome, arising from dysbiosis, immune dysfunction, or pathogenic invasion, drive lung disease by inciting chronic inflammation and tissue remodeling via direct and immune mediated damage. Although the importance of host-microbial interactions in lung health is well recognized, the mechanisms of the relationship between changes in microbiota composition and immune dysregulation in different diseases have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we summarize the latest research progress on the involvement of the lung microbiota in pulmonary disease development, focusing on the interaction mechanisms among microorganisms, immune homeostasis, and lung diseases. The aim of this review is to expand our mechanistic understanding of the lung microbiota-mediated regulation of immune cell function. Insights from various disciplines into lung microbiota could pave the way for innovative ideas and technologies aimed at preventing and treating respiratory illnesses.
{"title":"Pathogenesis of various pulmonary diseases by tuning immune response: insight from host-microbial crosstalk","authors":"Ning Li , Zheng Dong , Shuping Zhang , Juan Ma , Sijin Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100531","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100531","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Growing research has highlighted the participation of lung microbiota in various pathological processes. Despite its low bacterial biomass compared with other organs, the resident flora of the healthy lung is essential for immune system development, immune tolerance fostering, and defense against foreign substance incursion. The host-microbial crosstalk, typically mediated by microbial metabolites, pattern recognition receptors, and immune cells, exerts bidirectional regulatory effects on the pulmonary immune microenvironment. Specifically, the lung microbiota modulates the activation status or tolerance of mucosal immune cell populations to maintain immune balance; conversely, perturbations to the lung's homeostatic microbiome, arising from dysbiosis, immune dysfunction, or pathogenic invasion, drive lung disease by inciting chronic inflammation and tissue remodeling via direct and immune mediated damage. Although the importance of host-microbial interactions in lung health is well recognized, the mechanisms of the relationship between changes in microbiota composition and immune dysregulation in different diseases have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we summarize the latest research progress on the involvement of the lung microbiota in pulmonary disease development, focusing on the interaction mechanisms among microorganisms, immune homeostasis, and lung diseases. The aim of this review is to expand our mechanistic understanding of the lung microbiota-mediated regulation of immune cell function. Insights from various disciplines into lung microbiota could pave the way for innovative ideas and technologies aimed at preventing and treating respiratory illnesses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100531"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145737806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100530
Kejian Tian , Fenglin Zhang , Yibing Wang , Jinming Gu , Dandan Zhou , Fanxing Meng , Wenkang Mu , Pengfei Hao , Hongliang Huo , Fan Li
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a pervasive contaminant found in various environmental media, exhibiting extensive biotoxicity to microorganisms. Consequently, it would be of paramount significance to investigate broader methods and mechanisms for enhancing bacterial resistance to stress. This study found that BPA stress can lead to the downregulation of over 59 % of functional genes and result in a maximum reduction of cell viability and ATP content in the strain. Conversely, 10 μM C6-HSL has been observed to enhance the strain's resistance to BPA toxicity stress most significantly by inducing up-regulation of genes of the pathways of antioxidant damage, amino acid synthesis and metabolism, and energy supply, and increased the cell viability by 1.13-fold. The up-regulated expression of antioxidant stress genes directly enhance the bacterial resistance to BPA toxicity, resulting in a 17.28 % reduction in intracellular ROS. On this basis, C6-HSL could increase the expression levels of genes related to amino acid and energy synthesis, as well as enzyme activities. This promotes intracellular metabolic processes and energy production, ultimately elevating the ATP content within the strain by 12.21 %. This study is the first to confirm the function of C6-HSL in enhancing bacterial resistance to BPA toxicity and innovatively combines Raman-DIP, transcriptomics, and enzyme activity to systematically analyse the regulatory mechanisms of C6-HSL on the bacterial antioxidant system, amino acid system, and energy system. The study provides methodological references and theoretical foundations for comprehensively enhancing the detoxification ability of microorganisms.
{"title":"C6‑HSL enhances BPA tolerance in Pseudomonas asiatica: an integrative Raman‑DIP and transcriptomic study","authors":"Kejian Tian , Fenglin Zhang , Yibing Wang , Jinming Gu , Dandan Zhou , Fanxing Meng , Wenkang Mu , Pengfei Hao , Hongliang Huo , Fan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100530","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100530","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Bisphenol A (BPA) is a pervasive contaminant found in various environmental media, exhibiting extensive biotoxicity to microorganisms. Consequently, it would be of paramount significance to investigate broader methods and mechanisms for enhancing bacterial resistance to stress. This study found that BPA stress can lead to the downregulation of over 59 % of functional genes and result in a maximum reduction of cell viability and ATP content in the strain. Conversely, 10 μM C6-HSL has been observed to enhance the strain's resistance to BPA toxicity stress most significantly by inducing up-regulation of genes of the pathways of antioxidant damage, amino acid synthesis and metabolism, and energy supply, and increased the cell viability by 1.13-fold. The up-regulated expression of antioxidant stress genes directly enhance the bacterial resistance to BPA toxicity, resulting in a 17.28 % reduction in intracellular ROS. On this basis, C6-HSL could increase the expression levels of genes related to amino acid and energy synthesis, as well as enzyme activities. This promotes intracellular metabolic processes and energy production, ultimately elevating the ATP content within the strain by 12.21 %. This study is the first to confirm the function of C6-HSL in enhancing bacterial resistance to BPA toxicity and innovatively combines Raman-DIP, transcriptomics, and enzyme activity to systematically analyse the regulatory mechanisms of C6-HSL on the bacterial antioxidant system, amino acid system, and energy system. The study provides methodological references and theoretical foundations for comprehensively enhancing the detoxification ability of microorganisms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100530"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145737804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-04DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100527
Fatima Safeer, Thokur Sreepathy Murali
Introduction/Background
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are non-replicating lipid-bilayered bodies that are naturally released by a cell that aid in various biological functions including cell-to-cell communication. They resemble the cells that they originate from, mimicking their composition and contents. The shared Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport (ESCRT) mechanism between virions and EVs allows EVs to aid in the dispersion and infection of viruses.
Scope/Objectives
The aim of this review is to encapsulate important studies that highlight the potential use of EVs in diagnosis and therapeutics against viral diseases. It also discusses their benefits and limitations compared to currently available anti-virals, for their use in the medical sector.
Summary of Key Findings
Virus-infected host cells release extracellular vesicles that are markedly different from EVs secreted by a healthy host cell. Increase in certain biomarker levels in EVs prove to be highly beneficial in diagnostics. Depending on the cell source, EVs also exhibit the natural ability to defend against viral diseases. This innate ability to defend against viral infections, can thus be exploited to produce potent anti-viral responses in infected hosts.
Conclusion/Implications
By navigating the challenges associated with EVs, they can be utilised to prepare alternatives to anti-viral drugs currently available in the market that show low specificity and high toxicity, thus helping mitigate and manage viral diseases.
{"title":"Extracellular vesicles in viral disease management","authors":"Fatima Safeer, Thokur Sreepathy Murali","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100527","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100527","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction/Background</h3><div>Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are non-replicating lipid-bilayered bodies that are naturally released by a cell that aid in various biological functions including cell-to-cell communication. They resemble the cells that they originate from, mimicking their composition and contents. The shared Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport (ESCRT) mechanism between virions and EVs allows EVs to aid in the dispersion and infection of viruses.</div></div><div><h3>Scope/Objectives</h3><div>The aim of this review is to encapsulate important studies that highlight the potential use of EVs in diagnosis and therapeutics against viral diseases. It also discusses their benefits and limitations compared to currently available anti-virals, for their use in the medical sector.</div></div><div><h3>Summary of Key Findings</h3><div>Virus-infected host cells release extracellular vesicles that are markedly different from EVs secreted by a healthy host cell. Increase in certain biomarker levels in EVs prove to be highly beneficial in diagnostics. Depending on the cell source, EVs also exhibit the natural ability to defend against viral diseases. This innate ability to defend against viral infections, can thus be exploited to produce potent anti-viral responses in infected hosts.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion/Implications</h3><div>By navigating the challenges associated with EVs, they can be utilised to prepare alternatives to anti-viral drugs currently available in the market that show low specificity and high toxicity, thus helping mitigate and manage viral diseases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100527"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145737801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-04DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100528
Yalong Xu , Liqiang Zhu , Jingjing Li , Fan Zhang , Xiaozhan Qu , Chen Wang , Xueao Zheng , Yixiao Zhang , Peijian Cao , Yan Li , Qiansi Chen
Phosphorus (P), one of the three primary macronutrients essential for plant growth, predominantly exists in soil as unavailable forms for plant uptake. Rhizosphere bacteria can mobilize the unavailable P through two key processes: organic phosphorus mineralization and inorganic phosphorus solubilization. Despite their ecological significance, the diversity and community structure of P-mobilizing bacteria in plant rhizospheres remain insufficiently characterized. In this study, we employed culturomics to isolate bacteria from tobacco rhizosphere and systematically evaluated their P mobilization activities. The P mobilization mechanism was analyzed through whole genome sequence analyses, and the promotion effect was evaluated by greenhouse experiment. A total of 266 P mobilization bacteria were screened, representing 41.50 % of the total isolates. These bacteria were further classified as 49 genera in four phyla: Pseudomonadota (63.16 %), Bacillota (18.80 %), Bacteroidota (10.15 %), and Actinomycetota (7.89 %), with Pseudomonas (25.10 %) and Bacillus (16.47 %) as dominant genera (>10 %). The collection comprised 232 P-mineralization bacteria (PMB) (47 genera), 126 P-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) (33 genera), and 92 dual-functional (26 genera) strains. PMB strains exhibited higher α-diversity and greater numerical abundance across all sampling sites than PSB. Genomic analyses revealed that Pseudomonadota strains displayed exceptional genetic flexibility, harboring more P mobilization genes than other phyla strains. Greenhouse experiments demonstrated that PSB strains significantly enhanced tobacco seedling growth, including shoot and root biomass, stem diameter and leaf area, increased both plant P content and rhizosphere soil available P concentrations. Our study provides new insights into microbial-mediated mechanisms governing phosphorus mobilization and biogeochemical cycling within plant rhizosphere ecosystems.
{"title":"Phosphate-mobilizing bacterial community structure and mobilization mechanisms in tobacco rhizosphere","authors":"Yalong Xu , Liqiang Zhu , Jingjing Li , Fan Zhang , Xiaozhan Qu , Chen Wang , Xueao Zheng , Yixiao Zhang , Peijian Cao , Yan Li , Qiansi Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100528","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100528","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phosphorus (P), one of the three primary macronutrients essential for plant growth, predominantly exists in soil as unavailable forms for plant uptake. Rhizosphere bacteria can mobilize the unavailable P through two key processes: organic phosphorus mineralization and inorganic phosphorus solubilization. Despite their ecological significance, the diversity and community structure of P-mobilizing bacteria in plant rhizospheres remain insufficiently characterized. In this study, we employed culturomics to isolate bacteria from tobacco rhizosphere and systematically evaluated their P mobilization activities. The P mobilization mechanism was analyzed through whole genome sequence analyses, and the promotion effect was evaluated by greenhouse experiment. A total of 266 P mobilization bacteria were screened, representing 41.50 % of the total isolates. These bacteria were further classified as 49 genera in four phyla: <em>Pseudomonadota</em> (63.16 %), <em>Bacillota</em> (18.80 %), <em>Bacteroidota</em> (10.15 %), and <em>Actinomycetota</em> (7.89 %), with <em>Pseudomonas</em> (25.10 %) and <em>Bacillus</em> (16.47 %) as dominant genera (>10 %). The collection comprised 232 P-mineralization bacteria (PMB) (47 genera), 126 P-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) (33 genera), and 92 dual-functional (26 genera) strains. PMB strains exhibited higher α-diversity and greater numerical abundance across all sampling sites than PSB. Genomic analyses revealed that <em>Pseudomonadota</em> strains displayed exceptional genetic flexibility, harboring more P mobilization genes than other phyla strains. Greenhouse experiments demonstrated that PSB strains significantly enhanced tobacco seedling growth, including shoot and root biomass, stem diameter and leaf area, increased both plant P content and rhizosphere soil available P concentrations. Our study provides new insights into microbial-mediated mechanisms governing phosphorus mobilization and biogeochemical cycling within plant rhizosphere ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100528"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145737803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-03DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100525
Liangzhou Zhao , Jinzhao Song , Haiyan Hu , James F. White Jr , Xiuling Ji , Surendra Kumar Gond , Baolin Wang , Haiyan Li
Rice, a staple food for over half of the global population, is an important dietary source of methylmercury (MeHg) due to its high accumulation capacity. Endophytes are known to impact host plants heavy metals (HMs) accumulation, conversely, HMs can alter host plants endophytics communities. However, the specifically addressing mercury-rice endophytic fungal system remains limited. In the present study, the fungal endophytic community of rice from Hg-contaminated and uncontaminated sites were investigated by Illumina sequencing, and its role on rice grains MeHg accumulation was evaluated through pot experiments. Results showed that soil Hg concentration significantly restructured rice fungal endophytic communities, and higher Hg concentration decreased the richness and diversity of fungal endophytes, and the effect differed with tissues and development stages. The endophytic community in grains was distinct from roots, stalks and leaves, enriching specific rare species while reducing others ubiquitous in the vegetative tissues. Pot experiments identified some specific endophytes that significantly modulated grain Hg accumulation. Two Epicoccum nigrum strains (DHJ7, FZT214) reduced grain MeHg by 44.67 % and 48.79 %, respectively (p < 0.05), whereas Phoma herbarum (CSJ51, CHJ4) increased grain MeHg or total mercury (THg) by 50.1 %-51.35 % and 77.39 %-81.81 %, respectively (p < 0.05). Furthermore, 62.5 % of the tested isolates (16) enhanced rice yield, while Mucor sp. DHJ19 and Ceratorhiza sp. CHJ27 improved production by 72.6 %–80.5 % compared to controls. These findings highlight promising fungal endophytes for mitigating grain Hg contamination and improving yield. Future work should elucidate the mechanisms governing the selective enrichment of grain endophytes to deepen understanding of plant-endophyte interactions.
{"title":"Mercury-driven fungal endophytic community and the role of endophytes in rice grain mercury accumulation","authors":"Liangzhou Zhao , Jinzhao Song , Haiyan Hu , James F. White Jr , Xiuling Ji , Surendra Kumar Gond , Baolin Wang , Haiyan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100525","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100525","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rice, a staple food for over half of the global population, is an important dietary source of methylmercury (MeHg) due to its high accumulation capacity. Endophytes are known to impact host plants heavy metals (HMs) accumulation, conversely, HMs can alter host plants endophytics communities. However, the specifically addressing mercury-rice endophytic fungal system remains limited. In the present study, the fungal endophytic community of rice from Hg-contaminated and uncontaminated sites were investigated by Illumina sequencing, and its role on rice grains MeHg accumulation was evaluated through pot experiments. Results showed that soil Hg concentration significantly restructured rice fungal endophytic communities, and higher Hg concentration decreased the richness and diversity of fungal endophytes, and the effect differed with tissues and development stages. The endophytic community in grains was distinct from roots, stalks and leaves, enriching specific rare species while reducing others ubiquitous in the vegetative tissues. Pot experiments identified some specific endophytes that significantly modulated grain Hg accumulation. Two <em>Epicoccum nigrum</em> strains (DHJ7, FZT214) reduced grain MeHg by 44.67 % and 48.79 %, respectively (<em>p</em> < 0.05), whereas <em>Phoma herbarum</em> (CSJ51, CHJ4) increased grain MeHg or total mercury (THg) by 50.1 %-51.35 % and 77.39 %-81.81 %, respectively (<em>p</em> < 0.05). Furthermore, 62.5 % of the tested isolates (16) enhanced rice yield, while <em>Mucor</em> sp. DHJ19 and <em>Ceratorhiza</em> sp. CHJ27 improved production by 72.6 %–80.5 % compared to controls. These findings highlight promising fungal endophytes for mitigating grain Hg contamination and improving yield. Future work should elucidate the mechanisms governing the selective enrichment of grain endophytes to deepen understanding of plant-endophyte interactions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100525"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145737802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-03DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100526
Rahul Mohan , Samuel D. Johnson , Paden N. Dean, Arpan Acharya, Siddappa N. Byrareddy
The vaginal microbiome plays a crucial role in maintaining mucosal integrity and mitigating pathogen transmission, yet its comprehensive characterization remains challenging due to limited sampling and analysis methods. In this study, we aimed to characterize bacterial and fungal taxa diversities in the vaginal microbiomes of Simian Human Immunodeficiency (SHIV)-infected rhesus macaques, as well as their metabolic activities, using three sampling methods. The cervicovaginal lavage (CVL), vaginal swab, and vaginal mucosal tissue methods offer novel insights into microbial diversity and their potential impacts on HIV transmission. Using 16S rRNA and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequencing, we assessed bacterial and fungal community composition and abundances, respectively, across all sampling methods. PICRUSt2 was used for functional predictions, and a modified glycosidase assay to further characterize glycan-degrading enzymatic activity in CVL samples. Our findings reveal that tissue samples were uniquely enriched for microbial taxa such as Prevotella spp. and Helicobacter spp., showing notable abundance differences compared to CVL and swab samples. Tissue samples exhibited higher alpha diversity and distinct metabolic prediction profiles, particularly elevated sialidase activity. While fewer differences were found in fungal microbiome composition and diversity, marked correlations were observed between bacterial and fungal taxa, emphasizing complex interkingdom interactions. These results highlight the significance of sampling methods in microbial ecology studies, which should be carefully considered due to their potential influence on pathogen transmission risk.
{"title":"Methods to characterize the vaginal microbiome in a rhesus macaque model of simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) transmission uncover epithelium-associated enrichment of Prevotella","authors":"Rahul Mohan , Samuel D. Johnson , Paden N. Dean, Arpan Acharya, Siddappa N. Byrareddy","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100526","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100526","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The vaginal microbiome plays a crucial role in maintaining mucosal integrity and mitigating pathogen transmission, yet its comprehensive characterization remains challenging due to limited sampling and analysis methods. In this study, we aimed to characterize bacterial and fungal taxa diversities in the vaginal microbiomes of Simian Human Immunodeficiency (SHIV)-infected rhesus macaques, as well as their metabolic activities, using three sampling methods. The cervicovaginal lavage (CVL), vaginal swab, and vaginal mucosal tissue methods offer novel insights into microbial diversity and their potential impacts on HIV transmission. Using 16S rRNA and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequencing, we assessed bacterial and fungal community composition and abundances, respectively, across all sampling methods. PICRUSt2 was used for functional predictions, and a modified glycosidase assay to further characterize glycan-degrading enzymatic activity in CVL samples. Our findings reveal that tissue samples were uniquely enriched for microbial taxa such as <em>Prevotella</em> spp. and <em>Helicobacter</em> spp., showing notable abundance differences compared to CVL and swab samples. Tissue samples exhibited higher alpha diversity and distinct metabolic prediction profiles, particularly elevated sialidase activity. While fewer differences were found in fungal microbiome composition and diversity, marked correlations were observed between bacterial and fungal taxa, emphasizing complex interkingdom interactions. These results highlight the significance of sampling methods in microbial ecology studies, which should be carefully considered due to their potential influence on pathogen transmission risk.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100526"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145790538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号