# | Rank | Similarity | Title + Abs. | Year | PMID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 8765 | 0 | 0.9823 | Pseudomonas chlororaphis IRHB3 assemblies beneficial microbes and activates JA-mediated resistance to promote nutrient utilization and inhibit pathogen attack. INTRODUCTION: The rhizosphere microbiome is critical to plant health and resistance. PGPR are well known as plant-beneficial bacteria and generally regulate nutrient utilization as well as plant responses to environmental stimuli. In our previous work, one typical PGPR strain, Pseudomonas chlororaphis IRHB3, isolated from the soybean rhizosphere, had positive impacts on soil-borne disease suppression and growth promotion in the greenhouse, but its biocontrol mechanism and application in the field are not unclear. METHODS: In the current study, IRHB3 was introduced into field soil, and its effects on the local rhizosphere microbiome, disease resistance, and soybean growth were comprehensively analyzed through high-throughput sequencing and physiological and molecular methods. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: We found that IRHB3 significantly increased the richness of the bacterial community but not the structure of the soybean rhizosphere. Functional bacteria related to phosphorus solubilization and nitrogen fixation, such as Geobacter, Geomonas, Candidatus Solibacter, Occallatibacter, and Candidatus Koribacter, were recruited in rich abundance by IRHB3 to the soybean rhizosphere as compared to those without IRHB3. In addition, the IRHB3 supplement obviously maintained the homeostasis of the rhizosphere microbiome that was disturbed by F. oxysporum, resulting in a lower disease index of root rot when compared with F. oxysporum. Furthermore, JA-mediated induced resistance was rapidly activated by IRHB3 following PDF1.2 and LOX2 expression, and meanwhile, a set of nodulation genes, GmENOD40b, GmNIN-2b, and GmRIC1, were also considerably induced by IRHB3 to improve nitrogen fixation ability and promote soybean yield, even when plants were infected by F. oxysporum. Thus, IRHB3 tends to synergistically interact with local rhizosphere microbes to promote host growth and induce host resistance in the field. | 2024 | 38380096 |
| 8487 | 1 | 0.9819 | Mechanisms of nano zero-valent iron in enhancing dibenzofuran degradation by a Rhodococcus sp.: Trade-offs between ATP production and protection against reactive oxygen species. Nano zero-valent iron (nZVI) can enhance pollutants biodegradation, but it displays toxicity towards microorganisms. Gram-positive (G(+)) bacteria exhibit greater resistance to nZVI than Gram-negative bacteria. However, mechanisms of nZVI accelerating pollutants degradation by G(+) bacteria remain unclear. Herein, we explored effects of nZVI on a G(+) bacterium, Rhodococcus sp. strain p52, and mechanisms by which nZVI accelerates biodegradation of dibenzofuran, a typical polycyclic aromatic compound. Electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis revealed that nZVI could penetrate cell membranes, which caused damage and growth inhibition. nZVI promoted dibenzofuran biodegradation at certain concentrations, while higher concentration functioned later due to the delayed reactive oxygen species (ROS) mitigation. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that cells adopted response mechanisms to handle the elevated ROS induced by nZVI. ATP production was enhanced by accelerated dibenzofuran degradation, providing energy for protein synthesis related to antioxidant stress and damage repair. Meanwhile, electron transport chain (ETC) was adjusted to mitigate ROS accumulation, which involved downregulating expression of ETC complex I-related genes, as well as upregulating expression of the genes for the ROS-scavenging cytochrome bd complex and ETC complex II. These findings revealed the mechanisms underlying nZVI-enhanced biodegradation by G(+) bacteria, offering insights into optimizing bioremediation strategies involving nZVI. | 2025 | 39549579 |
| 8767 | 2 | 0.9817 | Poly-γ-glutamic acid enhanced the drought resistance of maize by improving photosynthesis and affecting the rhizosphere microbial community. BACKGROUND: Compared with other abiotic stresses, drought stress causes serious crop yield reductions. Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA), as an environmentally friendly biomacromolecule, plays an important role in plant growth and regulation. RESULTS: In this project, the effect of exogenous application of γ-PGA on drought tolerance of maize (Zea mays. L) and its mechanism were studied. Drought dramatically inhibited the growth and development of maize, but the exogenous application of γ-PGA significantly increased the dry weight of maize, the contents of ABA, soluble sugar, proline, and chlorophyll, and the photosynthetic rate under severe drought stress. RNA-seq data showed that γ-PGA may enhance drought resistance in maize by affecting the expression of ABA biosynthesis, signal transduction, and photosynthesis-related genes and other stress-responsive genes, which was also confirmed by RT-PCR and promoter motif analysis. In addition, diversity and structure analysis of the rhizosphere soil bacterial community demonstrated that γ-PGA enriched plant growth promoting bacteria such as Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Alphaproteobacteria and Deltaproteobacteria. Moreover, γ-PGA significantly improved root development, urease activity and the ABA contents of maize rhizospheric soil under drought stress. This study emphasized the possibility of using γ-PGA to improve crop drought resistance and the soil environment under drought conditions and revealed its preliminary mechanism. CONCLUSIONS: Exogenous application of poly-γ-glutamic acid could significantly enhance the drought resistance of maize by improving photosynthesis, and root development and affecting the rhizosphere microbial community. | 2022 | 34979944 |
| 8772 | 3 | 0.9817 | The role of drought response genes and plant growth promoting bacteria on plant growth promotion under sustainable agriculture: A review. Drought is a major stressor that poses significant challenges for agricultural practices. It becomes difficult to meet the global demand for food crops and fodder. Plant physiology, physico-chemistry and morphology changes in plants like decreased photosynthesis and transpiration rate, overproduction of reactive oxygen species, repressed shoot and root shoot growth and modified stress signalling pathways by drought, lead to detrimental impacts on plant development and output. Coping with drought stress requires a variety of adaptations and mitigation techniques. Crop yields could be effectively increased by employing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), which operate through many mechanisms. These vital microbes colonise the rhizosphere of crops and promote drought resistance by producing exopolysaccharides (EPS), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase and phytohormones including volatile compounds. The upregulation or downregulation of stress-responsive genes causes changes in root architecture due to acquiring drought resistance. Further, PGPR induces osmolyte and antioxidant accumulation. Another key feature of microbial communities associated with crops includes induced systemic tolerance and the production of free radical-scavenging enzymes. This review is focused on detailing the role of PGPR in assisting plants to adapt to drought stress. | 2024 | 39002396 |
| 8192 | 4 | 0.9817 | Resisting the Heat: Bacterial Disaggregases Rescue Cells From Devastating Protein Aggregation. Bacteria as unicellular organisms are most directly exposed to changes in environmental growth conditions like temperature increase. Severe heat stress causes massive protein misfolding and aggregation resulting in loss of essential proteins. To ensure survival and rapid growth resume during recovery periods bacteria are equipped with cellular disaggregases, which solubilize and reactivate aggregated proteins. These disaggregases are members of the Hsp100/AAA+ protein family, utilizing the energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to extract misfolded proteins from aggregates via a threading activity. Here, we describe the two best characterized bacterial Hsp100/AAA+ disaggregases, ClpB and ClpG, and compare their mechanisms and regulatory modes. The widespread ClpB disaggregase requires cooperation with an Hsp70 partner chaperone, which targets ClpB to protein aggregates. Furthermore, Hsp70 activates ClpB by shifting positions of regulatory ClpB M-domains from a repressed to a derepressed state. ClpB activity remains tightly controlled during the disaggregation process and high ClpB activity states are likely restricted to initial substrate engagement. The recently identified ClpG (ClpK) disaggregase functions autonomously and its activity is primarily controlled by substrate interaction. ClpG provides enhanced heat resistance to selected bacteria including pathogens by acting as a more powerful disaggregase. This disaggregase expansion reflects an adaption of bacteria to extreme temperatures experienced during thermal based sterilization procedures applied in food industry and medicine. Genes encoding for ClpG are transmissible by horizontal transfer, allowing for rapid spreading of extreme bacterial heat resistance and posing a threat to modern food production. | 2021 | 34017857 |
| 8558 | 5 | 0.9810 | Mitigating the vertical migration and leaching risks of antibiotic resistance genes through insect fertilizer application. The leaching and vertical migration risks of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from fertilized soil to groundwater poses a significant threat to ecological and public safety. Insect fertilizer, particularly black soldier fly organic fertilizer (BOF), renowned for its minimal antibiotic resistance, emerge as a promising alternative for sustainable agricultural fertilization. This study employs soil-column leaching experiments to evaluate the impact of BOF on the leaching behavior of ARGs. Our results reveal that BOF significantly reduces the leaching risks of ARGs by 22.1 %-49.3 % compared to control organic fertilizer (COF). Moreover, BOF promotes the leaching of beneficial Bacillus and, according to random forest analysis, is the most important factor in predicting ARG profiles (3.02 % increase in the MSE). Further network analysis and mantel tests suggest that enhanced nitrogen metabolism in BOF leachates could foster Bacillus biofilm formation, thereby countering antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and mitigating antibiotic resistance. In addition, linear regression analysis revealed that Bacillus biofilm-associated genes pgaD (biofilm PGA synthesis protein), slrR (biofilm formation regulator), and kpsC (capsular polysaccharide export protein) were identified as pivotal in the elimination of ARGs, which can serve as effective indicators for assessing antibiotic resistance in groundwater. Collectively, this study demonstrates that BOF as an environmentally friendly fertilizer could markedly reduce the vertical migration risks of ARGs and proposes Bacillus biofilm formation related genes as reliable indicators for monitoring antibiotic resistance in groundwater. | 2025 | 40086570 |
| 8191 | 6 | 0.9810 | When the going gets tough, the tough get going-Novel bacterial AAA+ disaggregases provide extreme heat resistance. Heat stress can lead to protein misfolding and aggregation, potentially causing cell death due to the loss of essential proteins. Bacteria, being particularly exposed to environmental stress, are equipped with disaggregases that rescue these aggregated proteins. The bacterial Hsp70 chaperone DnaK and the ATPase associated with diverse cellular activities protein ClpB form the canonical disaggregase in bacteria. While this combination operates effectively during physiological heat stress, it is ineffective against massive aggregation caused by temperature-based sterilization protocols used in the food industry and clinics. This leaves bacteria unprotected against these thermal processes. However, bacteria that can withstand extreme, man-made stress conditions have emerged. These bacteria possess novel ATPase associated with diverse cellular activities disaggregases, ClpG and ClpL, which are key players in extreme heat resistance. These disaggregases, present in selected Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacteria, respectively, function superiorly by exhibiting increased thermal stability and enhanced threading power compared to DnaK/ClpB. This enables ClpG and ClpL to operate at extreme temperatures and process large and tight protein aggregates, thereby contributing to heat resistance. The genes for ClpG and ClpL are often encoded on mobile genomic islands or conjugative plasmids, allowing for their rapid spread among bacteria via horizontal gene transfer. This threatens the efficiency of sterilization protocols. In this review, we describe the various bacterial disaggregases identified to date, characterizing their commonalities and the specific features that enable these novel disaggregases to provide stress protection against extreme stress conditions. | 2024 | 39039821 |
| 8486 | 7 | 0.9809 | Multidrug-resistant plasmid modulates ammonia oxidation efficiency in Nitrosomonas europaea through cyclic di-guanylate and acyl-homoserine lactones pathways. Antibiotic resistance genes present a major public health challenge and have potential implications for global biogeochemical cycles. However, their impacts on biological nitrogen removal systems remain poorly understood. In the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria Nitrosomonas europaea ATCC 19718 harboring the multidrug-resistant plasmid RP4, a significant decrease in ammonia oxidation efficiency was observed, accompanied by markedly elevated levels of cyclic di-guanylate (c-di-GMP) and acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs), compared to plasmid-free controls. The results demonstrated that c-di-GMP facilitates the secretion of AHLs, while elevated levels of AHLs inhibit the ammonia oxidation efficiency of Nitrosomonas europaea ATCC 19718. These results revealed that RP4 plasmid significantly impaired ammonia oxidation efficiency through the c-di-GMP and AHLs pathways. Our findings indicate that the multidrug-resistant plasmid RP4 adversely affects the nitrogen metabolism of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, potentially disrupting the nitrogen biogeochemical cycle and posing substantial ecological and environmental risks. | 2026 | 40945801 |
| 8725 | 8 | 0.9809 | CuO nanoparticles facilitate soybean suppression of Fusarium root rot by regulating antioxidant enzymes, isoflavone genes, and rhizosphere microbiome. BACKGROUND: Fusarium root rot is a widespread soil-borne disease severely impacting soybean yield and quality. Compared to traditional fertilizers' biological and environmental toxicity, CuO nanoparticles (NPs) hold promise for disease control in a low dose and high efficiency manner. METHODS: We conducted both greenhouse and field experiments, employing enzymatic assays, elemental analysis, qRT-PCR, and microbial sequencing (16S rRNA, ITS) to explore the potential of CuO NPs for sustainable controlling Fusarium-induced soybean disease. RESULTS: Greenhouse experiments showed that foliar spraying of CuO NPs (10, 100, and 500 mg L(-1)) promoted soybean growth more effectively than EDTA-CuNa(2) at the same dose, though 500 CuO NPs caused mild phytotoxicity. CuO NPs effectively controlled root rot, while EDTA-CuNa(2) worsened the disease severity by 0.85-34.04 %. CuO NPs exhibited more substantial antimicrobial effects, inhibiting F. oxysporum mycelial growth and spore germination by 5.04-17.55 % and 10.24-14.41 %, respectively. 100 mg L(-1) CuO NPs was the optimal concentration for balancing soybean growth and disease resistance. Additionally, CuO NPs boosted antioxidant enzyme activity (CAT, POD, and SOD) in leaves and roots, aiding in ROS clearance during pathogen invasion. Compared to the pathogen control, 100 mg L(-1) CuO NPs upregulated the relative expression of seven isoflavone-related genes (Gm4CL, GmCHS8, GmCHR, GmCHI1a, GmIFS1, GmUGT1, and GmMYB176) by 1.18-4.51 fold, thereby enhancing soybean disease resistance in place of progesterone-receptor (PR) genes. Field trials revealed that CuO NPs' high leaf-to-root translocation modulated soybean rhizosphere microecology. Compared to the pathogen control, 100 mg L(-1) CuO NPs increased nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Rhizobium, Azospirillum, Azotobacter) and restored disease-resistant bacteria (Pseudomonas, Burkholderia) and fungi (Trichoderma, Penicillium) to healthy levels. Furthermore, 100 mg L(-1) CuO NPs increased beneficial bacteria (Pedosphaeraceae, Xanthobacteraceae, SCI84, etc.) and fungi (Trichoderma, Curvularia, Hypocreales, etc.), which negatively correlated with F. oxysporum, while recruiting functional microbes to enhance soybean yield. CONCLUSION: 100 mg L(-1) CuO NPs effectively promoting soybean growth and providing strong resistance against root rot disease by improving antioxidant enzyme activity, regulating the relative expression of isoflavone-related genes, increasing beneficial bacteria and fungi and restoring disease-resistant. Our findings suggest that CuO NPs offer an environmentally sustainable strategy for managing soybean disease, with great potential for green production. | 2025 | 40096759 |
| 8538 | 9 | 0.9808 | Metagenomic ecotoxicity assessment of trace difenoconazole on freshwater microbial community. Difenoconazole, a typical triazole fungicide, inhibits the activity of cytochrome P450 enzyme in fungi, and is extensively used in protecting fruits, vegetables, and cereal crops. However, reports elucidating the effects of difenoconazole on aquatic microbial communities are limited. Our study showed that difenoconazole promoted microalgae growth at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 5 μg/L, which was similar with its environmental residual concentrations. Metagenomic analysis revealed that the aquatic microbial structure could self-regulate to cope with difenoconazole-induced stress by accumulating bacteria exhibiting pollutant degrading abilities. In the short-term, several functional pathways related to xenobiotic biodegradation and analysis were upregulated to provide ability for aquatic microbial community to process xenobiotic stress. Moreover, most disturbed ecological functions were recovered due to the redundancy of microbial communities after prolonged exposure. Furthermore, the risks associated with the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes were enhanced by difenoconazole in the short-term. Overall, our study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the difenoconazole-induced ecological impacts and the behavior of aquatic microbial communities that are coping with xenobiotic stress. | 2022 | 35090847 |
| 8193 | 10 | 0.9807 | Sinorhizobium meliloti Functions Required for Resistance to Antimicrobial NCR Peptides and Bacteroid Differentiation. Legumes of the Medicago genus have a symbiotic relationship with the bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti and develop root nodules housing large numbers of intracellular symbionts. Members of the nodule-specific cysteine-rich peptide (NCR) family induce the endosymbionts into a terminal differentiated state. Individual cationic NCRs are antimicrobial peptides that have the capacity to kill the symbiont, but the nodule cell environment prevents killing. Moreover, the bacterial broad-specificity peptide uptake transporter BacA and exopolysaccharides contribute to protect the endosymbionts against the toxic activity of NCRs. Here, we show that other S. meliloti functions participate in the protection of the endosymbionts; these include an additional broad-specificity peptide uptake transporter encoded by the yejABEF genes and lipopolysaccharide modifications mediated by lpsB and lpxXL, as well as rpoH1, encoding a stress sigma factor. Strains with mutations in these genes show a strain-specific increased sensitivity profile against a panel of NCRs and form nodules in which bacteroid differentiation is affected. The lpsB mutant nodule bacteria do not differentiate, the lpxXL and rpoH1 mutants form some seemingly fully differentiated bacteroids, although most of the nodule bacteria are undifferentiated, while the yejABEF mutants form hypertrophied but nitrogen-fixing bacteroids. The nodule bacteria of all the mutants have a strongly enhanced membrane permeability, which is dependent on the transport of NCRs to the endosymbionts. Our results suggest that S. meliloti relies on a suite of functions, including peptide transporters, the bacterial envelope structures, and stress response regulators, to resist the aggressive assault of NCR peptides in the nodule cells. IMPORTANCE The nitrogen-fixing symbiosis of legumes with rhizobium bacteria has a predominant ecological role in the nitrogen cycle and has the potential to provide the nitrogen required for plant growth in agriculture. The host plants allow the rhizobia to colonize specific symbiotic organs, the nodules, in large numbers in order to produce sufficient reduced nitrogen for the plants' needs. Some legumes, including Medicago spp., produce massively antimicrobial peptides to keep this large bacterial population in check. These peptides, known as NCRs, have the potential to kill the rhizobia, but in nodules, they rather inhibit the division of the bacteria, which maintain a high nitrogen-fixing activity. In this study, we show that the tempering of the antimicrobial activity of the NCR peptides in the Medicago symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti is multifactorial and requires the YejABEF peptide transporter, the lipopolysaccharide outer membrane, and the stress response regulator RpoH1. | 2021 | 34311575 |
| 155 | 11 | 0.9807 | RNA-Seq transcriptomic analysis reveals gene expression profiles of acetic acid bacteria under high-acidity submerged industrial fermentation process. Acetic acid bacteria (AAB) are Gram-negative obligate aerobics in Acetobacteraceae family. Producing acetic acid and brewing vinegars are one of the most important industrial applications of AAB, attributed to their outstanding ability to tolerate the corresponding stresses. Several unique acid resistance (AR) mechanisms in AAB have been revealed previously. However, their overall AR strategies are still less-comprehensively clarified. Consequently, omics analysis was widely performed for a better understanding of this field. Among them, transcriptome has recently obtained more and more attention. However, most currently reported transcriptomic studies were conducted under lab conditions and even in low-acidity environment, which may be unable to completely reflect the conditions that AAB confront under industrialized vinegar-brewing processes. In this study, we performed an RNA-Seq transcriptomic analysis concerning AAB's AR mechanisms during a continuous and periodical industrial submerged vinegar fermentation process, where a single AAB strain performed the fermentation and the acetic acid concentration fluctuated between ~8% and ~12%, the highest acidity as far we know for transcriptomic studies. Samples were directly taken from the initial (CK), mid, and final stages of the same period of the on-going fermentation. 16S rRNA sequence analysis indicated the participation of Komagataeibacter europaeus in the fermentation. Transcriptomic results demonstrated that more genes were downregulated than upregulated at both mid and final stages. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrich analysis reflected that the upregulated genes mainly carried out tricarboxylic acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation processes, probably implying a considerable role of acetic acid overoxidation in AR during fermentation. Besides, upregulation of riboflavin biosynthesis pathway and two NAD(+)-dependent succinate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase-coding genes suggested a critical role of succinate oxidation in AR. Meanwhile, downregulated genes were mainly ribosomal protein-coding ones, reflecting that the adverse impact on ribosomes initiates at the transcription level. However, it is ambiguous whether the downregulation is good for stress responding or it actually reflects the stress. Furthermore, we also assumed that the fermentation stages may have a greater effect on gene expression than acidity. Additionally, it is possible that some physiological alterations would affect the AR to a larger extent than changes in gene expression, which suggests the combination of molecular biology and physiology research will provide deeper insight into the AR mechanisms in AAB. | 2022 | 36246236 |
| 8609 | 12 | 0.9807 | Nano-biochar regulates phage-host interactions, reducing antibiotic resistance genes in vermicomposting systems. Biochar amendment reshapes microbial community dynamics in vermicomposting, but the mechanism of how phages respond to this anthropogenic intervention and regulate the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) remains unclear. In this study, we used metagenomics, viromics, and laboratory validation to explore how nano-biochar affects phage-host interactions and ARGs dissemination in vermicomposting. Our results revealed distinct niche-specific phage life strategies. In vermicompost, lytic phages dominated and used a "kill-the-winner" strategy to suppress antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB). In contrast, lysogenic phages prevailed in the earthworm gut, adopting a "piggyback-the-winner" strategy that promoted ARGs transduction through mutualistic host interactions. Nano-biochar induced the conversion of lysogenic to lytic phages in the earthworm gut, while concurrently reducing the abundance of lysogenic phages and their encoded auxiliary metabolic genes carried by ARB. This shift disrupted phage-host mutualism and inhibited ARGs transmission via a "phage shunting" mechanism. In vitro validation with batch culture experiments further confirmed that lysogenic phages increased transduction of ARGs in the earthworm gut, while nano-biochar reduced the spread of ARGs by enhancing lysis infectivity. Our study constructs a mechanistic framework linking nano-biochar induced shifts in phage lifestyles that suppress ARG spread, offering insights into phage-host coadaptation and resistance mitigation strategies in organic waste treatment ecosystems. | 2025 | 40838886 |
| 8596 | 13 | 0.9806 | Stringent response-mediated ferroptosis-like death resistance underlies Novosphingobium persistence during ciprofloxacin stress. Antibiotics, as emerging hazardous materials in the environment, pose significant risks to ecosystems and contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Although extensive knowledge has been accumulated on antibiotic-resistance mechanisms in individual bacteria, less is understood about how the bacterial communities respond to antibiotic exposure under natural environmental conditions, where nutrient supplies are often limited and fluctuating. Here, we report that Novosphingobium dominated in a wetland bacterial community under 1 µg/mL ciprofloxacin (CIP) exposure and persisted during DL-serine hydroxamate-induced starvation, where the stringent response alarmer (p)ppGpp was detected. Metagenome sequencing revealed that genes associated with siderophore transport, cytochrome c, and glutathione S-transferase were significantly enriched in Novosphingobium, linking its dominance under CIP stress to iron homeostasis and oxidative stress responses. Further study on the survival mechanism of Novosphingobium pentaromativorans US6-1 under 8 µg/mL CIP stress demonstrated that stringent response regulated the growth rate and maintained cell viability by suppressing the TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, deterring the entry of CIP and siderophore into cells, reducing intracellular ferrous iron and malondialdehyde, and balancing cellular redox status, thereby protecting cells from ferroptosis-like death. This study is the first to report Novosphingobium's dominance and persistence in a bacterial community during CIP stress in natural environmental conditions and to propose the stringent response-mediated ferroptosis-like death resistance as one of its key survival mechanisms.IMPORTANCEAntibiotics in the environment are increasingly recognized as a new class of pollutants that accelerate the evolutionary selection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. However, little is known about how this selection occurs under natural conditions, including how specific bacteria taxa and mechanisms respond to particular antibiotics. This study reveals for the first time the selection effect of CIP on Novosphingobium under nutrient-limited conditions, during which stringent response and iron homeostasis play important roles. An innovative linkage between stringent response and ferroptosis-like death resistance is proposed in N. pentaromativorans US6-1, which serves as the CIP resistance mechanism for Novosphingobium. These findings may help inform strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance in the natural environment. | 2025 | 40952106 |
| 8768 | 14 | 0.9806 | Selective regulation of endophytic bacteria and gene expression in soybean by water-soluble humic materials. BACKGROUND: As part of the plant microbiome, endophytic bacteria play an essential role in plant growth and resistance to stress. Water-soluble humic materials (WSHM) is widely used in sustainable agriculture as a natural and non-polluting plant growth regulator to promote the growth of plants and beneficial bacteria. However, the mechanisms of WSHM to promote plant growth and the evidence for commensal endophytic bacteria interaction with their host remain largely unknown. Here, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, transcriptomic analysis, and culture-based methods were used to reveal the underlying mechanisms. RESULTS: WSHM reduced the alpha diversity of soybean endophytic bacteria, but increased the bacterial interactions and further selectively enriched the potentially beneficial bacteria. Meanwhile, WSHM regulated the expression of various genes related to the MAPK signaling pathway, plant-pathogen interaction, hormone signal transduction, and synthetic pathways in soybean root. Omics integration analysis showed that Sphingobium was the genus closest to the significantly changed genes in WSHM treatment. The inoculation of endophytic Sphingobium sp. TBBS4 isolated from soybean significantly improved soybean nodulation and growth by increasing della gene expression and reducing ethylene release. CONCLUSION: All the results revealed that WSHM promotes soybean nodulation and growth by selectively regulating soybean gene expression and regulating the endophytic bacterial community, Sphingobium was the key bacterium involved in plant-microbe interaction. These findings refined our understanding of the mechanism of WSHM promoting soybean nodulation and growth and provided novel evidence for plant-endophyte interaction. | 2024 | 38178261 |
| 8484 | 15 | 0.9806 | Deciphering the acidophilia and acid resistance in Acetilactobacillus jinshanensis dominating baijiu fermentation through multi-omics analysis. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are pivotal in constructing the intricate bio-catalytic networks underlying traditional fermented foods such as Baijiu. However, LAB and their metabolic mechanisms are partially understood in Moutai flavor Baijiu fermentation. Here, we found that Acetilactobacillus jinshanensis became the· dominant species with relative abundance reaching 92%, where the acid accumulated rapidly and peaked at almost 30 g/kg in Moutai flavor Baijiu. After separation, purification, and cultivation, A. jinshanensis exhibited pronounced acidophilia and higher acid resistance compared to other LAB. Further integrated multi-omics analysis revealed that fatty acid synthesis, cell membrane integrity, pHi and redox homeostasis maintenance, protein and amide syntheses were possibly crucial acid-resistant mechanisms in A. jinshanensis. Structural proteomics indicated that the surfaces of A. jinshanensis proteases contained more positively charged amino acid residues to maintain protein stability in acidic environments. The genes HSP20 and acpP were identified as acid-resistant genes for A. jinshanensis by heterologous expression analysis. These findings not only enhance our understanding of LAB in Baijiu, providing a scientific basis for acid regulation for production process, but also offer valuable insights for studying core species in other fermentation systems. | 2025 | 39448165 |
| 8540 | 16 | 0.9805 | Metagenomic insights into the mechanism for the rapid enrichment and high stability of Candidatus Brocadia facilitated by Fe(Ⅲ). The rapid enrichment of anammox bacteria and its fragile resistance to adverse environment are the critical problems facing of anammox processes. As an abundant component in anammox bacteria, iron has been proved to promote the activity and growth of anammox bacteria in the mature anammox systems, but the functional and metabolic profiles in Fe(III) enhanced emerging anammox systems have not been evaluated. Results indicated that the relative abundance of functional genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation, nitrogen metabolism, cofactors synthesis, and extracellular polymers synthesis pathways was significantly promoted in the system added with 5 mg/L Fe(III) (R5). These enhanced pathways were crucial to energy generation, nitrogen removal, cell activity and proliferation, and microbial self-defense, thereby accelerating the enrichment of anammox bacteria Ca. Brocadia and facilitating their resistance to adverse environments. Microbial community analysis showed that the proportion of Ca. Brocadia in R5 also increased to 64.42 %. Hence, R5 could adapt rapidly to the increased nitrogen loading rate and increase the nitrogen removal rate by 108 % compared to the system without Fe(III) addition. However, the addition of 10 and 20 mg/L Fe(III) showed inhibitory effects on the growth and activity of anammox bacteria, which exhibited the lower relative abundance of Ca. Brocadia and unstable or even collapsed nitrogen removal performance. This study not only clarified the concentration range of Fe(III) that promoted and inhibited the enrichment of anammox bacteria, but also deepened our understanding of the functional and metabolic mechanisms underlying enhanced enrichment of anammox bacteria by Fe(III), providing a potential strategy to hasten the start-up of anammox from conventional activated sludge. | 2024 | 38309072 |
| 8812 | 17 | 0.9805 | Discovery of a new genus of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria with a mechanism for oxygen tolerance. In the past 20 years, there has been a major stride in understanding the core mechanism of anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria, but there are still several discussion points on their survival strategies. Here, we discovered a new genus of anammox bacteria in a full-scale wastewater-treating biofilm system, tentatively named "Candidatus Loosdrechtia aerotolerans". Next to genes of all core anammox metabolisms, it encoded and transcribed genes involved in the dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), which coupled to oxidation of small organic acids, could be used to replenish ammonium and sustain their metabolism. Surprisingly, it uniquely harbored a new ferredoxin-dependent nitrate reductase, which has not yet been found in any other anammox genome and might confer a selective advantage to it in nitrate assimilation. Similar to many other microorganisms, superoxide dismutase and catalase related to oxidative stress resistance were encoded and transcribed by "Ca. Loosdrechtia aerotolerans". Interestingly, bilirubin oxidase (BOD), likely involved in oxygen resistance of anammox bacteria under fluctuating oxygen concentrations, was identified in "Ca. Loosdrechtia aerotolerans" and four Ca. Brocadia genomes, and its activity was demonstrated using purified heterologously expressed proteins. A following survey of oxygen-active proteins in anammox bacteria revealed the presence of other previously undetected oxygen defense systems. The novel cbb3-type cytochrome c oxidase and bifunctional catalase-peroxidase may confer a selective advantage to Ca. Kuenenia and Ca. Scalindua that face frequent changes in oxygen concentrations. The discovery of this new genus significantly broadens our understanding of the ecophysiology of anammox bacteria. Furthermore, the diverse oxygen tolerance strategies employed by distinct anammox bacteria advance our understanding of their niche adaptability and provide valuable insight for the operation of anammox-based wastewater treatment systems. | 2022 | 36257158 |
| 8297 | 18 | 0.9805 | Novel RpoS-Dependent Mechanisms Strengthen the Envelope Permeability Barrier during Stationary Phase. Gram-negative bacteria have effective methods of excluding toxic compounds, including a largely impermeable outer membrane (OM) and a range of efflux pumps. Furthermore, when cells become nutrient limited, RpoS enacts a global expression change providing cross-protection against many stresses. Here, we utilized sensitivity to an anionic detergent (sodium dodecyl sulfate [SDS]) to probe changes occurring to the cell's permeability barrier during nutrient limitation. Escherichia coli is resistant to SDS whether cells are actively growing, carbon limited, or nitrogen limited. In actively growing cells, this resistance depends on the AcrAB-TolC efflux pump; however, this pump is not necessary for protection under either carbon-limiting or nitrogen-limiting conditions, suggesting an alternative mechanism(s) of SDS resistance. In carbon-limited cells, RpoS-dependent pathways lessen the permeability of the OM, preventing the necessity for efflux. In nitrogen-limited but not carbon-limited cells, the loss of rpoS can be completely compensated for by the AcrAB-TolC efflux pump. We suggest that this difference simply reflects the fact that nitrogen-limited cells have access to a metabolizable energy (carbon) source that can efficiently power the efflux pump. Using a transposon mutant pool sequencing (Tn-Seq) approach, we identified three genes, sanA, dacA, and yhdP, that are necessary for RpoS-dependent SDS resistance in carbon-limited stationary phase. Using genetic analysis, we determined that these genes are involved in two different envelope-strengthening pathways. These genes have not previously been implicated in stationary-phase stress responses. A third novel RpoS-dependent pathway appears to strengthen the cell's permeability barrier in nitrogen-limited cells. Thus, though cells remain phenotypically SDS resistant, SDS resistance mechanisms differ significantly between growth states. IMPORTANCE: Gram-negative bacteria are intrinsically resistant to detergents and many antibiotics due to synergistic activities of a strong outer membrane (OM) permeability barrier and efflux pumps that capture and expel toxic molecules eluding the barrier. When the bacteria are depleted of an essential nutrient, a program of gene expression providing cross-protection against many stresses is induced. Whether this program alters the OM to further strengthen the barrier is unknown. Here, we identify novel pathways dependent on the master regulator of stationary phase that further strengthen the OM permeability barrier during nutrient limitation, circumventing the need for efflux pumps. Decreased permeability of nutrient-limited cells to toxic compounds has important implications for designing new antibiotics capable of targeting Gram-negative bacteria that may be in a growth-limited state. | 2017 | 27821607 |
| 8658 | 19 | 0.9805 | Microplastic exposure reshapes the virome and virus-bacteria networks with implications for immune regulation in Mytilus coruscus. Microplastic pollution has emerged as a critical environmental concern, yet its impacts on host-associated viral communities and immune balance in marine bivalves remain largely unexplored. In this study, Mytilus coruscus individuals were exposed to microplastics in situ for seven days. Virome sequencing and bioinformatic analyses revealed that microplastic exposure induced divergent responses in DNA and RNA viral communities. DNA viromes exhibited suppressed diversity and downregulation of core viral metabolic pathways, potentially reflecting reduced viral replication capacity under host immune stress. In contrast, RNA viromes displayed metabolic activation and functional shifts, including enriched glycan and nucleotide metabolism, possibly linked to enhanced viral activity or immune evasion. Phage-bacteria interaction networks were also restructured, showing increased associations with opportunistic pathogens such as Vibrio cholerae and Enterobacter, potentially affecting immune surveillance. Furthermore, the expression of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in viral genomes was differentially regulated, suggesting pollutant-induced microbial selection that may challenge host immune resilience. These findings suggest that microplastics not only reshape virome composition and metabolic functions but also influence virus-mediated immune interactions, with important implications for disease susceptibility and immune homeostasis in filter-feeding shellfish. | 2025 | 41056669 |