ALBERT

Description: In composting, the degradation of lignocellulose in straw is problematic due to its complex structures such as lignin. A common solution to this problem is the addition of exogenous inoculants. AC-1, a stable thermophilic microbial composite, was isolated from high temperature compost samples that can decompose lignocellulose at 50–70 °C. AC-1 had a best degradation efficiency of rice straw at 60 °C (78.92%), of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin were 82.49%, 97.20% and 20.12%, respectively. It showed degrad-ability on both simple (filter paper, absorbent cotton) and complex (rice straw) cellulose materials. It produced acetic and formic acid during decomposition process and the pH had a trend of first downward then upward. High throughput sequencing revealed the main bacterial components of AC-1 were Tepidimicrobium, Haloplasma, norank-f-Limnochordaceae, Ruminiclostridium and Rhodothermus which provides major theoretical basis for further application of AC-1.

Description: Purpose Urine can sensitively reflect early pathophysiological changes in the body. The purpose of this study was to explore the changes of urine proteome in rats with regular swimming exercise. Methods In this study, experimental rats were subjected to daily moderate-intensity swimming exercise for 7 weeks. Urine samples were collected at weeks 2, 5, and 7 and were analyzed by using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results Unsupervised clustering analysis of all urinary proteins identified at week 2 showed that the swimming group was distinctively different from the control group. Compared to the control group, a total of 112, 61 and 44 differential proteins were identified in the swimming group at weeks 2, 5 and 7, respectively. Randomized grouping statistical analysis showed that more than 85% of the differential proteins identified in this study were caused by swimming exercise rather than random allocation. According to the Human Protein Atlas, the differential proteins that have human orthologs were strongly expressed in the liver, kidney and intestine. Functional annotation analysis revealed that these differential proteins were involved in glucose metabolism and immunity-related pathways. Conclusion Our results revealed that the urinary proteome could reflect significant changes after regular swimming exercise. These findings may provide an approach to monitor the effects of exercise of the body.

Description: Background Hyphomicrobium nitrativorans strain NL23 and Methylophaga nitratireducenticrescens strain JAM1 are the principal bacteria involved in the denitrifying activities of a methanol-fed, fluidized-bed marine denitrification system. Strain NL23 possesses the complete denitrification pathway, but cannot grow under marine conditions in pure cultures. Strain JAM1 is a marine bacterium that lacks genes encoding a dissimilatory nitrite (NO2−) reductase and therefore cannot reduce NO2−. Here, we report the characterization of some of their physiological traits that could influence their co-habitation. We also perform co-cultures to assess the potential synergy between the two strains under marine and denitrifying conditions. Methodology Anoxic planktonic pure cultures of both strains were grown with different concentrations of nitrate (NO3−). Anoxic planktonic co-cultures could only be cultured on low NaCl concentrations for strain NL23 to grow. Biofilm co-cultures were achieved in a 500-mL bioreactor, and operated under denitrifying conditions with increasing concentrations of NaCl. NO3− and NO2− concentrations and the protein content were measured to derive the denitrification rates. The concentrations of both strains in co-cultures were determined by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Ectoine concentration was measured by mass spectrometry in the biofilm co-culture. The biofilm was visualized by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Reverse-transcription-qPCR and RNA-seq approaches were used to assess changes in the expression profiles of genes involved in the nitrogen pathways in the biofilm cultures. Results Planktonic pure cultures of strain JAM1 had a readiness to reduce NO3− with no lag phase for growth in contrast to pure cultures of strain NL23, which had a 2-3 days lag phase before NO3− starts to be consumed and growth to occur. Compared to strain NL23, strain JAM1 has a higher µmax for growth and higher specific NO3− reduction rates. Denitrification rates were twice higher in the planktonic co-cultures than those measured in strain NL23 pure cultures. The biofilm co-cultures showed sustained denitrifying activities and surface colonization by both strains under marine conditions. Increase in ectoine concentrations was observed in the biofilm co-culture with the increase of NaCl concentrations. Changes in the relative transcript levels were observed in the biofilm culture with genes encoding NapA and NapGH in strain NL23. The type of medium had a great impact on the expression of genes involved in the N-assimilation pathways in both strains. Conclusions These results illustrate the capacity of both strains to act together in performing sustainable denitrifying activities under marine conditions. Although strain JAM1 did not contribute in better specific denitrifying activities in the biofilm co-cultures, its presence helped strain NL23 to acclimate to medium with NaCl concentrations 〉1.0%.

Description: Penaeus japonicus is one of the most important farmed shrimp species in many countries. Sexual dimorphism is observed in P. japonicus, in which females grow faster and larger than males; therefore, a unisexual female culture of P. japonicus could improve the efficiency of productivity. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying sex determination in P. japonicus are unclear. In this study, we constructed a high-density genetic linkage map of P. japonicus using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology in a full-sib family. The final map was 3,481.98 cM in length and contained 29,757 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). These SNPs were distributed on 41 sex-averaged linkage groups, with an average inter-marker distance of 0.123 cM. One haplotype, harboring five sex-specific SNPs, was detected in linkage group 1 (LG1), and its corresponding confidence interval ranged from 211.840 to 212.592 cM. Therefore, this high-density genetic linkage map will be informative for genome assembly and marker-assisted breeding, and the sex-linked SNPs will be helpful for further studies on molecular mechanisms of sex determination and unisexual culture of P. japonicus in the future.

Description: The Tapejarinae are edentulous pterosaurs that are relatively common in Cretaceous continental deposits in South America, North Africa, Europe, and China (mostly Early Cretaceous). The Chinese Jiufotang Formation is particularly rich in tapejarine specimens, having yielded over 10 described specimens and dozens of undescribed ones. For the Jiufotang Formation, a total of seven nominal tapejarid species and two genera have been proposed. Some debate exists over how many of those are valid or, alternatively, sexual or ontogenetic morphs of fewer (or even a single) species. Despite the abundance of specimens and the relevant taxonomic problems involved, detailed revisions of the matter are still lacking. This is partly due to the relatively scarce knowledge on the comparative osteology of the Sinopterus complex, which is hampered by the fact that most specimens have been only preliminarily described. In this contribution, we present a new postcranial specimen, D3072, which we attribute to the type-species of the genus, Sinopterus dongi. This new specimen helps shed some new light in the osteology of Sinopterus dongi, hopefully serving as a basis for future comparative studies involving further specimens and other proposed species and, subsequently, taxonomic revisions.

Description: Phylogenetic relationships of the subgenus Oxyphortica were reconstructed based on two mitochondrial genes (COI and ND2). The results revealed the paraphyly of Oxyphortica and supported high levels of cryptic diversity within this subgenus. By integrating morphological characteristics and molecular evidence, we identified 17 new species as members of Oxyphortica: S. (O.) amphigya sp. nov., S. (O.) armillata sp. nov., S. (O.) ashima sp. nov., S. (O.) bawo sp. nov., S. (O.) crypta sp. nov., S. (O.) gelea sp. nov., S. (O.) hengduanmontana sp. nov., S. (O.) jinmingi sp. nov., S. (O.) mengbalanaxi sp. nov., S. (O.) mouig sp. nov., S. (O.) setipes sp. nov., S. (O.) shangrila sp. nov., S. (O.) tsauri sp. nov., S. (O.) valleculata sp. nov., S. (O.) wanhei sp. nov., S. (O.) yangjin sp. nov. and S. (O.) hypophaia sp. nov. To test the early morphological identifications and confirm the species boundaries, different species delimitation methods, including Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) and Bayesian Phylogenetics and Phylogeography (BP&P), were used, together with traditional distance. All species boundaries were clearly defined. As Oxyphortica species are mainly distributed across Southwest China (e.g., 20 spp. from the Hengduan Mountains), the complex climate and topographic landforms of the area may be responsible for the high levels of species diversity and endemism.

Description: Background Vibrio parahaemolyticus is recognized globally as a cause of foodborne gastroenteritis and its widely disseminated in marine and coastal environment throughout the world. The main aim of this study was conducted to investigate the presence of toxigenic V. parahaemolyticus in costal water in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia by using immunomagnetic separation (IMS) in combination with chromogenic Vibrio agar medium and PCR targeting toxR gene of species level and virulence genes. Methods A total of 192 seawater samples were collected from five locations and enriched in alkaline peptone water (APW) broth. One-milliliter portion from enriched samples in APW were mixed with an immunomagnetic beads (IMB) coated with specific antibodies against V. parahaemolyticus polyvalent K antisera and separated beads with captured bacteria streaked on thiosulfate citrate bile salts sucrose (TCBS) agar and CHROMagar Vibrio (CaV) medium. Results Of the 192 examined seawater samples, 38 (19.8%) and 44 (22.9%) were positive for V. parahaemolyticus, producing green and mauve colonies on TCBS agar and CaV medium, respectively. Among 120 isolates of V. parahaemolyticus isolated in this study, 3 (2.5%) and 26 (21.7%) isolates of V. parahaemolyticus isolated without and with IMB treatment tested positive for the toxin regulatory (toxR) gene, respectively. Screening of the confirmed toxR gene-positive isolates revealed that 21 (17.5%) and 3 (2.5%) were positive for the thermostable direct hemolysin (tdh) encoding gene in strains isolated with IMB and without IMB treatment, respectively. None of the V. parahaemolyticus strains tested positive for the thermostable related hemolysin (trh) gene. In this study, we found that the CaV medium has no advantage over TCBS agar if IMB concentration treatment is used during secondary enrichment steps of environmental samples. The enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR DNA fingerprinting analysis revealed high genomic diversity, and 18 strains of V. parahaemolyticus were grouped and identified into four identical ERIC clonal group patterns. Conclusions The presented study reports the first detection of tdh producing V. parahaemolyticus in coastal water in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

Description: Background African horse sickness, a transboundary and non-contagious arboviral infectious disease of equids, has spread without any warning from sub-Saharan Africa towards the Southeast Asian countries in 2020. It is imperative to predict the global distribution of Culicoides imicola (C. imicola), which was the main vector of African horse sickness virus. Methods The occurrence records of C. imicola were mainly obtained from the published literature and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility database. The maximum entropy algorithm was used to model the current distribution suitability and future dynamics of C. imicola under climate change scenarios. Results The modeling results showed that the currently suitable habitats for C. imicola were distributed in most of the southern part areas of America, southwestern Europe, most of Africa, the coastal areas of the Middle East, almost all regions of South Asia, southern China, a few countries in Southeast Asia, and the whole Australia. Our model also revealed the important environmental variables on the distribution of C. imicola were temperature seasonality, precipitation of coldest quarter, and mean temperature of wettest quarter. Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) is an assumption of possible greenhouse gases emissions in the future. Under future climate change scenarios, the area of habitat suitability increased and decreased with time, and RCP 8.5 in the 2070s gave the worst prediction. Moreover, the habitat suitability of C. imicola will likely expand to higher latitudes. The prediction of this study is of strategic significance for vector surveillance and the prevention of vector-borne diseases.

Description: Background In the river system, the geochemistry of rare earth elements (REEs, a series of elements from La to Lu) in suspended particulate matter (SPM) is generally controlled by rock weathering processes and hydrochemical characteristics, as well as being affected by anthropogenic activities. However, the variations of geochemical characteristics and behaviors of REEs in SPM with a salinity gradient from the inland river to the estuary have been short of a systematic understanding. Methods The REE concentrations, Post Archean Australia Shale (PAAS)-normalized REE, La/Yb, La/Sm, and Sm/Yb ratios of SPM were investigated in the Jiulongjiang River, which is a coastal river mainly flowing through granite rocks in Southeast China. The correlation relationships between physicochemical parameters (including water pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), HCO3– concentrations, and the concentrations of major elements of SPM) and PAAS-normalized REE ratios of SPM were analyzed to determine the factors that affect the REE concentration and fractionation of SPM in the different regions of Jiulongjiang River, including the main stream and tributary of Beixi River, Xixi River, Nanxi River, and estuary. Additionally, the Ce, Eu, and Gd anomalies of SPM were estimated. Results The average ∑REE concentration of SPM (352 mg/kg) in the granite rock basin was twice higher than the mean value (175 mg/kg) of the world’s rivers. The PAAS-normalized REE ratios of SPM in the main rivers including Beixi River (main stream), Xixi River, and Nanxi River were near due to the same lithologic distribution. In the tributary of Beixi River, the input of low-weathered carbonate minerals which contain very few REE caused the lower REE concentrations of SPM. The PAAS-normalized REE ratios of SPM in the estuary were significantly lower than those in the main rivers, which was mainly attributed to the significant REE removal with the increment of salinity. The enrichment of LREE relative to HREE in SPM increased with decreasing water pH in the main rivers. In the estuary, the preferential removal of dissolved LREE occurred compared to HREE with the increment of salinity. The negative Ce and Eu anomalies of SPM occurred in both the main rivers and estuary region and rare Gd pollution was present in the basin. Additionally, human activities caused the increment of REE concentrations and more negative Ce anomaly at some specific sites, such as dam effect and agricultural pollution. Conclusions The REE concentrations and fractionations of SPM in river water mainly depend on lithologic distribution and riverine pH, while they are affected by salinity in the estuary.

Description: Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. glycinea (Psg) causes bacterial blight of soybean. To identify candidate virulence factors, transposon-mediated mutational analysis of Psg was carried out. We syringe-inoculated soybean leaves with Psg transposon mutants and identified 28 mutants which showed reduced virulence from 1,000 mutants screened. Next, we spray-inoculated soybean leaves with these mutants and demonstrated that the algU mutant showed significantly reduced virulence together with reduced bacterial populations in planta. Expression profiles comparison between the Psg wild-type (WT) and algU mutant in HSC broth revealed that expression of coronatine (COR)-related genes (including cmaA and corR) were down-regulated in the algU mutant compared with Psg WT. Moreover, we also showed that COR production were reduced in the algU mutant compared with WT. We also demonstrated that algD, which is related to alginate biosynthesis, showed reduced expression and biofilm formation was significantly suppressed in the algU mutant. Furthermore, hrpL also showed less expression in the algU mutant. These results indicate that AlgU plays a critical role in promoting Psg pathogenesis by regulating multiple virulence factors.