Isolation, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Activity of Bacterial and Fungal Representatives Associated With Particulate Matter During Haze and Non-haze Days

Particulate matter (PM) has been a threat to the environment and public health in the metropolises of developing industrial countries such as Beijing. The microorganisms associated with PM have an impact on human health if they are exposed to the respiratory tract persistently. There are few reports on the microbial resources collected from PM and their antimicrobial activities. In this study, we greatly expanded the diversity of available commensal organisms by collecting 1,258 bacterial and 456 fungal isolates from 63 PM samples. A total of 77 bacterial genera and 35 fungal genera were included in our pure cultures, with Bacillus as the most prevalent cultured bacterial genus, Aspergillus, and Penicillium as the most prevalent fungal ones. During heavy-haze days, the numbers of colony-forming units (CFUs) and isolates of bacteria and fungi were decreased. Bacillus, Paenibacillus, and Chaetomium were found to be enriched during haze days, while Kocuria, Microbacterium, and Penicillium were found to be enriched during non-haze days. Antimicrobial activity against common pathogens have been found in 40 bacterial representatives and 1 fungal representative. The collection of airborne strains will provide a basis to greatly increase our understanding of the relationship between bacteria and fungi associated with PM and human health.

Diversity of bacterium communities in saline-alkali soil in arid regions of Northwest China

Background The saline-alkali soil area accounts for over 1/4-1/5 of the land area in Gansu Province of China, which are mainly distributed in the north of Hexi corridor and Jingtai basin. The unique ecological environment contains unique and diverse microbial resources. The investigation of microbial diversity in saline environment is vital to comprehend the biological mechanisms of saline adaption, develop and utilize microbial resources. Results The Illumina MiSeq sequencing method was practiced to investigate the bacterial diversity and composition in the 5 subtypes and 13 genera of saline-alkali soil in Gansu Province, China. The results from this study show that Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Gemmatimonadetes were the dominant bacterial groups in 13 saline soil. Proteobacteria had the greatest abundance in sulfate-type meadow solonchaks and orthic solonchaks, chloride-type orthic solonchaks and bog solonchaks, sulfate-chloride-type, chloride-sulfate-type, and sulfate-type dry solonchaks. Halobacteria was the dominant bacterial class in soil samples except for sulfate-type meadow solonchaks and orthic solonchaks, chloride-type orthic solonchaks and bog solonchaks. The richness estimators of Ace and Chao 1 and the diversity indices of Shannon and Simpson revealed the least diversity in bacterial community in sulfate-chloride-type orthic solonchaks. Conclusions The sulfate anion was the most important driving force for bacterial composition (17.7%), and the second most influencing factor was pH value (11.7%).

Ascodesmis rosicola sp. nov. and Talaromyces rosarhiza sp. nov., two endophytes from Rosa roxburghii in China

Rosa roxburghii Tratt., a deciduous shrub of the family Rosaceae, is usually used as food and medicinal materials and also cultivated as an ornamental. Plant endophytic fungi are a large class of microbial resources not fully researched, with great potential applications. Two strains of Ascodesmis and Talaromyces were isolated during a survey of biodiversity on endophytic fungi of R. roxburghii in China. Multigene phylogenetic analyses showed that each of the two fungi formed a distinct lineage and separated from known congeneric species and they are proposed as two novel taxa. Ascodesmis rosicola sp. nov. usually has one or two conspicuous simple or branched ridges extending to the majority of the ascospore surface and remarkably small asci, distinguishing it from the previously-described species in the genus Ascodesmis. Talaromyces rosarhiza sp. nov., of the section Talaromyces, is closely related to T. francoae. It differs from the latter by having both monoverticillate and biverticillate conidiophores, while those of T. francoae are biverticillate. Both novel endophytes are illustrated and described.

Efficacy of Aspergillus sp in the Production of Protease Enzyme with Different Substrates

In the present study, the soil samples were collected from marine environment of Arichalmunai, Dhanushkodi, Ramnad District, Tamilnadu ,India. Fungal species were isolated by plating method, in 50% sea water containing potato dextrose agar medium .Totally 16 fungal species were isolated and identified from the soil sample. The production of protease from Aspergillus niger , A.flavus and A. terreus by liquid state fermentation. The production of protease enzyme was optimized by using fermentation medium containing different substrates. The maximum protease production was observed on wheat bran, containing medium. The protease production was maximum in temperature 35ºC were recorded. Wheat bran produced the maximum level protease. The optimization work also carried out. This study revealed that coastal environment provides impressive density of fungi in the East Coast of India and are unexplored for microbial resources can be useful in industry.

Raphia-Microorganism Composite Biosorbent for Lead Ion Removal from Aqueous Solutions

This study investigated the possibility of obtaining a raphia-microorganism composite for removing lead ions from aqueous solutions using immobilized yeast cells Saccharomyces cerevisiae on Raphia farinifera fibers. The obtained biocomposite was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Studies were conducted to determine the influence of contact time, initial concentration of Pb(II), and pH allowed for the selection of nonlinear equilibrium and kinetic models. The results showed that the biocomposite had a better Pb(II) removal capacity in comparison to the raphia fibers alone, and its maximum Pb(II) adsorption capacity was 94.8 mg/g. The model that best describes Pb(II) sorption was the Temkin isotherm model, while kinetic studies confirmed the chemical nature of the sorption process following the Elovich model. The obtained research results provide new information on the full use of the adsorption function of biomass and the ubiquitous microbial resources and their use in the remediation of aqueous environments contaminated with heavy metals.

Analysis of Rumen Microbial Protein Abundance of Gayals based on Metaproteomics

Background: Presently, our understanding of the rumen of Gayals is still very shallow, which is recognized as the most effective and developed fiber degradation system in nature, with abundant microorganisms. Molecular biology technology is an effective means to study the microbial resources in the rumen. Methods: Rumen contents of 3 Gayals (Gayals, Bos frontalis; G) and 3 Yellow Cattle (Yunnan Yellow Cattle, Bos taurus; Y) were collected in this study. Rumen microbial proteins were extracted by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), then to analyze the bioinformatics of protein abundance was performed through the bovine rumen transcriptome database (gene.uniGeneset.fasta). Result: The results were as follows: the differences in protein abundance of Gayals rumen bacteria in Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Ruminococcus and Olsenella were significantly higher than Yellow cattle (P less than 0.05) and the difference in protein abundance of Chytridiomycota and Batrachochytrium in rumen fungus of Gayals was significantly less than that of Yellow cattle. Enrichment analysis by KEGG metabolism pathway of differentially expressed proteins in rumen microorganisms was performed, Gayals have higher abundance of β-glucosidase and 6-phosphate-β-glucosidase than Yellow Cattle.

Antibacterial Compounds from Microorganisms Isolated from Deep Sea Sediment: A Mini Review

The search for new antibacterial compounds using sources derived from marine biota is interesting to develop, considering that Indonesia has diversity of a very large microorganisms and has the potential to produce antibacterial substances. One of the microbial resources that has not been widely exploited is the microorganisms present in deep sea sediments. The deep sea has variations in the availability of nutrients, light, oxygen, concentration, pressure, salinity, and temperature. This condition also triggers marine microorganisms to develop unique physiological abilities. The physiological ability of deep sea microorganisms not only to survive, but also has an impact on their ability to produce unique metabolites that are not owned by terrestrial microorganisms. Here we will review some reported study on the search of antibacterial compounds from microorganisms isolated from the deep sea sediment. The fundamental basic of antibacterial will be discussed followed by several reported antibacterial compounds from the sediment bacteria. This opens door for the search of new microorganisms that produced new chemical compounds with beneficial application in human health as well as in other field.