Special Issue: Response of Microbial Communities to Environmental Changes

This special issue covers a wide range of topics on the protection and sustainable management of alpine rangelands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), including Indigenous knowledge of sustainable rangeland management, science-policy interface for alpine rangeland biodiversity conservation, adaptations of local people to social and environmental changes and policy design for managing coupled human-natural systems of alpine rangelands.

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Effects of Lime Application and Understory Removal on Soil Microbial Communities in Subtropical Eucalyptus L’Hér. Plantations

Forests ◽

10.3390/f10040338 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 338 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Songze Wan ◽

Zhanfeng Liu ◽

Yuanqi Chen ◽

Jie Zhao ◽

Qin Ying ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Communities ◽

Litter Decomposition ◽

Decomposition Rate ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Soil Microbial Communities ◽

Dissolved Carbon ◽

Soil Microbial ◽

Litter Decomposition Rate ◽

Eucalyptus Plantations ◽

Lime Application

Soil microorganisms play key roles in ecosystems and respond quickly to environmental changes. Liming and/or understory removal are important forest management practices and have been widely applied to planted forests in humid subtropical and tropical regions of the world. However, few studies have explored the impacts of lime application, understory removal, and their interactive effects on soil microbial communities. We conducted a lime application experiment combined with understory removal in a subtropical Eucalyptus L’Hér. plantation. Responses of soil microbial communities (indicated by phospholipid fatty acids, PLFAs), soil physico-chemical properties, and litter decomposition rate to lime and/or understory removal were measured. Lime application significantly decreased both fungal and bacterial PLFAs, causing declines in total PLFAs. Understory removal reduced the fungal PLFAs but had no effect on the bacterial PLFAs, leading to decreases in the total PLFAs and in the ratio of fungal to bacterial PLFAs. No interaction between lime application and understory removal on soil microbial community compositions was observed. Changes in soil microbial communities caused by lime application were mainly attributed to increases in soil pH and NO3–-N contents, while changes caused by understory removal were mainly due to the indirect effects on soil microclimate and the decreased soil dissolved carbon contents. Furthermore, both lime application and understory removal significantly reduced the litter decomposition rates, which indicates the lime application and understory removal may impact the microbe-mediated soil ecological process. Our results suggest that lime application may not be suitable for the management of subtropical Eucalyptus plantations. Likewise, understory vegetation helps to maintain soil microbial communities and litter decomposition rate; it should not be removed from Eucalyptus plantations.

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A network-based approach to deciphering a dynamic microbiome’s response to a subtle perturbation

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-73920-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Grace Tzun-Wen Shaw ◽

An-Chi Liu ◽

Chieh-Yin Weng ◽

Yi-Chun Chen ◽

Cheng-Yu Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Communities ◽

Ecosystem Functioning ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Ecosystem Dynamics ◽

Environmental Research ◽

Human Society ◽

The Past ◽

Environmental Perturbations ◽

Before And After ◽

Occurrence Patterns

Abstract Over the past decades, one main issue that has emerged in ecological and environmental research is how losses in biodiversity influence ecosystem dynamics and functioning, and consequently human society. Although biodiversity is a common indicator of ecosystem functioning, it is difficult to measure biodiversity in microbial communities exposed to subtle or chronic environmental perturbations. Consequently, there is a need for alternative bioindicators to detect, measure, and monitor gradual changes in microbial communities against these slight, chronic, and continuous perturbations. In this study, microbial networks before and after subtle perturbations by adding S. acidaminiphila showed diverse topological niches and 4-node motifs in which microbes with co-occurrence patterns played the central roles in regulating and adjusting the intertwined relationships among microorganisms in response to the subtle environmental changes. This study demonstrates that microbial networks are a good bioindicator for chronic perturbation and should be applied in a variety of ecological investigations.

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Effects of ultraviolet radiation on metabolic rate and fitness of Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens mosquitoes

10.7287/peerj.preprints.26722 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Oswaldo C Villena ◽

Bahram Momen ◽

Joseph Sullivan ◽

Paul T Leisnham

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Rate ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Aedes Albopictus ◽

Culex Pipiens ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Transmission Rate ◽

Major Effect ◽

Control Group ◽

Metabolic Rates

Environmental changes will alter many environmental factors in the coming years including temperature, precipitation, humidity, and the amount of solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface, which in turn will have an impact on living organisms like invertebrates. In this study, we assessed the effect of UV-B radiation upon the metabolic rate and upon three fitness parameters (survival, development time, and body size) of the mosquitoes Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens, and upon the production of microbial resources on which mosquito larvae feed in aquatic microcosms. We set up three UV-B radiation treatments mimicking levels typically measured in full-sun (FS) and shade (S) conditions, as well as a control group with no UV-B radiation (NUV). The metabolic rate expressed as heat production (µwatts/ml) for larvae and microbial community was measured at days 1, 8, and 15. Our results indicated that UV-B radiation affected the metabolic rate of both Cx. pipiens and Ae. albopictus larvae; metabolic rates were significantly higher in full-sun (FS) compared to shade (S) and no-UV condition (NUV), at days 8 and 15 compared to day 1 (Figures 1A and 1B). Culex pipiens metabolic rates were significantly higher than Ae. albopictus at day 15 compared to days 1 and 8 (Figure 1B). Metabolic rates were significantly lower in microbial communities from vials with Ae. albopictus larvae, Cx. pipiens larvae, and no larvae in FS conditions compared to vials from S and NUV conditions, especially at day 8 (Figure 2A and 2B). There was a major effect of UV-B conditions only on the survival of Ae. albopictus and Cx. pipiens mosquitoes, with significantly lower survival in FS compared to S and NUV conditions. UV-B radiation at levels found in aquatic environments in open fields showed a negative impact on the metabolic rate of Ae. albopictus and Cx. pipiens larvae and on the microbial communities on which they feed. These negative impacts could have important implications for the distribution and abundance of these mosquitoes and for the transmission rate of illness caused by the pathogens that these two broadly distributed mosquitoes transmit.

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Editorial for the Special Issue “Microbial Communities in Cultural Heritage and Their Control”

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app112311411 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (23) ◽

pp. 11411

Author(s):

Filomena De Leo ◽

Valme Jurado

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Special Issue ◽

New Methods ◽

And Control

This editorial focuses on the studies published within the present Special Issue presenting advances in the field of biodeterioration of cultural heritage caused by microbial communities with a particular focus on new methods for their elimination and control.

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Cnidarian Interaction with Microbial Communities: From Aid to Animal’s Health to Rejection Responses

Marine Drugs ◽

10.3390/md16090296 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (9) ◽

pp. 296 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Loredana Stabili ◽

Maria Parisi ◽

Daniela Parrinello ◽

Matteo Cammarata

Keyword(s):

Microbial Communities ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Defense Mechanism ◽

Immune Defense ◽

Innate Immune ◽

Animal Disease ◽

Normal Microbiota ◽

Essential Components ◽

Pathogenic Agents ◽

And Behavior

The phylum Cnidaria is an ancient branch in the tree of metazoans. Several species exert a remarkable longevity, suggesting the existence of a developed and consistent defense mechanism of the innate immunity capable to overcome the potential repeated exposure to microbial pathogenic agents. Increasing evidence indicates that the innate immune system in Cnidarians is not only involved in the disruption of harmful microorganisms, but also is crucial in structuring tissue-associated microbial communities that are essential components of the Cnidarian holobiont and useful to the animal’s health for several functions, including metabolism, immune defense, development, and behavior. Sometimes, the shifts in the normal microbiota may be used as “early” bio-indicators of both environmental changes and/or animal disease. Here the Cnidarians relationships with microbial communities and the potential biotechnological applications are summarized and discussed.

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Dissimilar bacterial and fungal decomposer communities across rich to poor fen peatlands exhibit functional redundancy

Canadian Journal of Soil Science ◽

10.4141/cjss-2014-062 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 95 (3) ◽

pp. 219-230 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kristine M. Haynes ◽

Michael D. Preston ◽

James W. McLaughlin ◽

Kara Webster ◽

Nathan Basiliko

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Functional Redundancy ◽

Organic Substrates ◽

Metabolic Potential ◽

Vegetation Communities ◽

Chemical Complexity ◽

Poor Fen

Haynes, K. M., Preston, M. D., McLaughlin, J. W., Webster, K. and Basiliko, N. 2015. Dissimilar bacterial and fungal decomposer communities across rich to poor fen peatlands exhibit functional redundancy. Can. J. Soil Sci. 95: 219–230. Climatic and environmental changes can lead to shifts in the dominant vegetation communities present in northern peatland ecosystems, including from Sphagnum- to vascular-dominated systems. Such shifts in vegetation result in changes to the chemical quality of carbon substrates for soil microbial decomposers, with leaves and roots deposited in the peat surface and subsurface that potentially decompose faster. This study characterized the bacterial and fungal communities present along a nutrient gradient ranging from rich to poor fen peatlands and assessed the metabolic potential of these communities to mineralize a variety of organic matter substrates of varying chemical complexity using substrate-induced respiration (SIR) assays. Distinct microbial communities existed between rich, intermediate and poor fens, but SIR in each of the three sites exhibited the same pattern of carbon mineralization, providing support for the concept of functional redundancy, at least under standardized in vitro conditions. Preferential mineralization of simple organic substrates in the rich fen and complex compounds in the poor fen was not observed. Similarly, no preference was given to “native” organic matter extracts derived from each fen, with microbial communities opting for the most bioavailable substrate. This study suggests that soil bacteria and fungi might be able to respond relatively rapidly to shifts in vegetation communities and subsequent changes in the quality of carbon substrate additions to peatlands associated with environmental and climatic change.

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Introduction to the Special Issue: Assessing the Environmental Adaptation of Wildlife and Production Animals: Applications of Physiological Indices and Welfare Assessment Tools

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10122280 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 2280

Author(s):

Edward Narayan

Keyword(s):

Environmental Changes ◽

Environmental Adaptation ◽

Assessment Tools ◽

Wild Animals ◽

Special Issue ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Farm Production ◽

Physiological Indices ◽

Human Care ◽

Production Animals

Wild animals under human care as well as domesticated farm production animals are often exposed to environmental changes (e [...]

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β-Glucosidase genes differentially expressed during composting

Biotechnology for Biofuels ◽

10.1186/s13068-020-01813-w ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xinyue Zhang ◽

Bo Ma ◽

Jiawen Liu ◽

Xiehui Chen ◽

Shanshan Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Communities ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Cellulose Degradation ◽

Degradation Mechanism ◽

Degradation Process ◽

Global Scale ◽

Expression Of Genes ◽

Glucose Tolerant ◽

Cooling Phase ◽

And Function

Abstract Background Cellulose degradation by cellulase is brought about by complex communities of interacting microorganisms, which significantly contribute to the cycling of carbon on a global scale. β-Glucosidase (BGL) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the cellulose degradation process. Thus, analyzing the expression of genes involved in cellulose degradation and regulation of BGL gene expression during composting will improve the understanding of the cellulose degradation mechanism. Based on our previous research, we hypothesized that BGL-producing microbial communities differentially regulate the expression of glucose-tolerant BGL and non-glucose-tolerant BGL to adapt to the changes in cellulose degradation conditions. Results To confirm this hypothesis, the structure and function of functional microbial communities involved in cellulose degradation were investigated by metatranscriptomics and a DNA library search of the GH1 family of BGLs involved in natural and inoculated composting. Under normal conditions, the group of non-glucose-tolerant BGL genes exhibited higher sensitivity to regulation than the glucose-tolerant BGL genes, which was suppressed during the composting process. Compared with the expression of endoglucanase and exoglucanase, the functional microbial communities exhibited a different transcriptional regulation of BGL genes during the cooling phase of natural composting. BGL-producing microbial communities upregulated the expression of glucose-tolerant BGL under carbon catabolite repression due to the increased glucose concentration, whereas the expression of non-glucose-tolerant BGL was suppressed. Conclusion Our results support the hypothesis that the functional microbial communities use multiple strategies of varying effectiveness to regulate the expression of BGL genes to facilitate adaptation to environmental changes.

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