ALBERT

Description: Although phosphorus limitation is common in freshwaters and bacteria are known to use dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP), little is known about how efficiently DOP compounds are taken up by individual bacterial taxa. Here, we assessed bacterial uptake of three model DOP substrates in two mountain lakes and examined whether DOP uptake followed concentration-dependent patterns. We determined bulk uptake rates by the bacterioplankton and examined bacterial taxon-specific substrate uptake patterns using microautoradiography combined with catalyzed reporter deposition–fluorescence in situ hybridization. Our results show that in the oligotrophic alpine lake, bacteria took up ATP, glucose-6-phosphate and glycerol-3-phosphate to similar extents (mean 29.7 ± 4.3% Bacteria ), whereas in the subalpine mesotrophic lake, ca. 40% of bacteria took up glucose-6-phosphate, but only ~20% took up ATP or glycerol-3-phosphate. In both lakes, the R-BT cluster of Betaproteobacteria (lineage of genus Limnohabitans ) was over-represented in glucose-6-phosphate and glycerol-3-phosphate uptake, whereas AcI Actinobacteria were under-represented in the uptake of those substrates. Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes contributed to DOP uptake proportionally to their in situ abundance. Our results demonstrate that R-BT Betaproteobacteria are the most active bacteria in DOP acquisition, whereas the abundant AcI Actinobacteria may either lack high affinity DOP uptake systems or have reduced phosphorus requirements.

Description: Earlier studies show that the proliferation of phytoplankton viruses can be inhibited by depletion of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP; orthophosphate). In natural marine waters, phytoplankton phosphorus (P) availability is, however, largely determined by the supply rate of SRP (e.g. through remineralization) and potentially by the source of P as well (i.e. the utilization of soluble non-reactive P; SNP). Here we show how a steady low supply of P (mimicking natural P recycling) to virally infected P-limited Micromonas pusilla stimulates virus proliferation. Independent of the degree of P limitation prior to infection (0.32 and 0.97μ max chemostat cultures), SRP supply resulted in 2-fold higher viral burst sizes (viruses lysed per host cell) as compared with no addition (P starvation). Delaying these spikes during the infection cycle showed that the added SRP was utilized for extra M. pusilla virus (MpV) production far into the lytic cycle (18 h post-infection). Moreover, P-limited M. pusilla utilized several SNP compounds with high efficiency and with the same extent of burst size stimulation as for SRP. Finally, addition of virus-free MpV lysate (representing a complex SNP mixture) to newly infected cells enhanced MpV production, implicating host-associated alkaline phosphatase activity, and highlighting its important role in oligotrophic environments.

Description: Occurrence of entomopathogenic fungi on phylloplanes in Tilia x europaea crowns between 1 and 13 m was assessed in urban parks. Prevalence of fungal infections in ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) collected from Tilia x europaea was assessed to determine whether fungi found on phylloplanes also occurred as infections in ladybirds. Isaria spp. was most abundant on phylloplanes (mean colony forming units (CFU) per leaf ± SE, 0.33 ± 0.03) followed by Beauveria spp. (0.22 ± 0.02 CFU per leaf) and Lecanicillium spp. (0.19 ± 0.02 CFU per leaf). Densities of inoculum were higher in inner crowns and decreased with height, although Lecanicillium spp. peaked at 5–7 m. Upper phylloplane surfaces harboured higher densities of Isaria spp. and Beauveria spp. than lower surfaces, whereas Lecanicillium spp. was equally distributed. Most prevalent on ladybirds were Isaria spp. (20.6% Harmonia axyridis ; 4.8% natives), Lecanicillium spp. (13.6% H. axyridis ; 4.8% natives), with fewer Beauveria spp. infections (2.6% H. axyridis ). Molecular identification revealed Beauveria bassiana , B. pseudobassiana , Isaria farinosa and Lecanicillium muscarium among isolates of both tree and ladybird origin. Tilia x europaea phylloplanes support a diverse assemblage of entomopathogenic fungal species with a different prevalence in coccinellids compared to their relative abundance in this habitat.

Description: Sulfate-reducing prokaryotes (SRPs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in sediments could be biomarkers for evaluating the environmental impacts of human activities, although factors governing their distribution are not clear yet. By using metagenomic approach, this study investigated the distributions of SRPs and ARGs in marine sediments collected from 12 different coastal locations of Hong Kong, which exhibited different pollution levels and were classified into two groups based on sediment parameters. Our results showed that relative abundances of major SRP genera to total prokaryotes were consistently lower in the more seriously polluted sediments ( P -value 〈 0.05 in 13 of 20 genera), indicating that the relative abundance of SRPs is a negatively correlated biomarker for evaluating human impacts. Moreover, a unimodel distribution pattern for SRPs along with the pollution gradient was observed. Although total ARGs were enriched in sediments from the polluted sites, distribution of single major ARG types could be explained neither by individual sediment parameters nor by corresponding concentration of antibiotics. It supports the hypothesis that the persistence of ARGs in sediments may not need the selection of antibiotics. In summary, our study provided important hints of the niche differentiation of SRPs and behavior of ARGs in marine coastal sediment.

Description: In this paper, we describe the microbial composition and their predictive metabolic profile in the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus gut ecosystem along with samples from its habitat by using NextGen amplicon sequencing and downstream bioinformatics analyses. The microbial communities of the gut tissue revealed a near-exclusive abundance of Campylobacteraceae, whereas the pharynx tissue consisted of Tenericutes, followed by Gamma-, Alpha- and Epsilonproteobacteria at approximately equal capacities. The gut digesta and egested fecal pellets exhibited a microbial profile comprised of Gammaproteobacteria, mainly Vibrio , and Bacteroidetes. Both the seagrass and surrounding sea water revealed Alpha- and Betaproteobacteria. Bray–Curtis distances of microbial communities indicated a clustering profile with low intrasample variation. Predictive metagenomics performed on the microbial communities revealed that the gut tissue had high relative abundances of metabolisms assigned to the KEGG-Level-2 designation of energy metabolisms compared to the gut digesta, which had higher carbohydrate, amino acid and lipid metabolisms. Overall, the results of this study elaborate the spatial distribution of microbial communities in the gut ecosystem of L. variegatus , and specifically a selective attribute for Campylobacteraceae in the gut tissue. Also, the predictive functional significance of bacterial communities in uniquely compartmentalized gut ecosystems of L. variegatus has been described.

Description: The increasing accessibility to navigation and offshore oil exploration brings risks of hydrocarbon releases in Arctic waters. Bioremediation of hydrocarbons is a promising mitigation strategy but challenges remain, particularly due to low microbial metabolic rates in cold, ice-covered seas. Hydrocarbon degradation potential of ice-associated microbes collected from the Northwest Passage was investigated. Microcosm incubations were run for 15 days at –1.7°C with and without oil to determine the effects of hydrocarbon exposure on microbial abundance, diversity and activity, and to estimate component-specific hydrocarbon loss. Diversity was assessed with automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis and Ion Torrent 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Bacterial activity was measured by 3 H-leucine uptake rates. After incubation, sub-ice and sea-ice communities degraded 94% and 48% of the initial hydrocarbons, respectively. Hydrocarbon exposure changed the composition of sea-ice and sub-ice communities; in sea-ice microcosms, Bacteroidetes (mainly Polaribacter ) dominated whereas in sub-ice microcosms, the contribution of Epsilonproteobacteria increased, and that of Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes decreased. Sequencing data revealed a decline in diversity and increases in Colwellia and Moritella in oil-treated microcosms. Low concentration of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in sub-ice seawater may explain higher hydrocarbon degradation when compared to sea ice, where DOM was abundant and composed of labile exopolysaccharides.

Description: While Hymenoscyphus fraxineus causes dieback of the European ash ( Fraxinus excelsior ), flowering ash ( F. ornus ) appears resistant to the pathogen. To date, contributions of endophytic fungi to host resistance are unknown. The following hypotheses were tested: (i) endophytic fungi enhance the resistance of F. excelsior to the pathogen; (ii) resistance of F. ornus relies on its community of endophytic fungi. Two experiments were performed. (i) The effect of exudates of ash endophytes on the germination rate of H. fraxineus ascospores was studied in vitro . Isolates of abundant Fraxinus leaf endophytes, such as Venturia fraxini, Paraconiothyrium sp., Boeremia exigua, Kretzschmaria deusta and Neofabraea alba inhibited ascospore germination. (ii) Ash seedlings inoculated in a climate chamber, with fungi sporulating on the previous year's leaf litter, were exposed to natural infections by the pathogen present in the forest. Non-inoculated seedlings were used as controls. Venturia spp. dominated the inoculated endophyte ‘communities’. Subsequent exposure to H. fraxineus led to infection of F. excelsior leaves by the pathogen, but no differences in health status between pre-inoculated and non-inoculated seedlings were detected. Fraxinus ornus leaves experienced a low infection rate, independent of their colonization by endophytic fungi. These results did not support either hypothesis.

Description: The soil microbiome plays an important role in the establishment of weeds and invasive plants. They associate with microorganisms supporting their growth and health. Weed management strategies, like tillage and herbicide treatments, to control weeds generally alter soil structure going alongside with changes in the microbial community. Once a weed population establishes in the field, the plants build up a close relationship with the available microorganisms. Seeds or vegetative organs overwinter in soil and select early in the season their own microbiome before crop plants start to vegetate. Weed and crop plants compete for light, nutrition and water, but may differently interact with soil microorganisms. The development of new sequencing technologies for analyzing soil microbiomes has opened up the possibility for in depth analysis of the interaction between ‘undesired’ plants and crop plants under different management systems. These findings will help us to understand the functions of microorganisms involved in crop productivity and plant health, weed establishment and weed prevention. Exploitation of the knowledge offers the possibility to search for new biocontrol methods against weeds based on soil and plant-associated microorganisms. This review discusses the recent advances in understanding the functions of microbial communities for weed/invasive plant establishment and shows new ways to use plant-associated microorganisms to control weeds and invasive plants in different land management systems.

Description: We compared methane (CH 4 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) fluxes in samples collected from the aboveground parts of wood ant nests and in the organic and mineral layer of the surrounding forest floor. Gas fluxes were measured during a laboratory incubation, and microbial properties (abundance of fungi, bacteria and methanotrophic bacteria) and nutrient contents (total and available carbon and nitrogen) were also determined. Both CO 2 and CH 4 were produced from ant nest samples, indicating that the aboveground parts of wood ant nests act as sources of both gases; in comparison, the forest floor produced about four times less CO 2 and consumed rather than produced CH 4 . Fluxes of CH 4 and CO 2 were positively correlated with contents of available carbon and nitrogen. The methanotrophic community was represented by type II methanotrophic bacteria, but their abundance did not explain CH 4 flux. Fungal abundance was greater in ant nest samples than in forest floor samples, but bacterial abundance was similar in both kinds of samples, suggesting that the organic materials in the nests may have been too recalcitrant for bacteria to decompose. The results indicate that the aboveground parts of wood ant nests are hot spots of CO 2 and CH 4 production in the forest floor.

Description: Numerous studies address the distribution and the diversity of dark septate endophytes (DSEs) in the literature, but little is known about their ecological role and their effect on host plants, especially in metal-polluted soils. Seven DSE strains belonging to Cadophora , Leptodontidium , Phialophora and Phialocephala were isolated from roots of poplar trees from metal-polluted sites. All strains developed on a wide range of carbohydrates, including cell-wall-related compounds. The strains evenly colonized birch, eucalyptus and ryegrass roots in re-synthesis experiments. Root and shoot growth promotion was observed and was both plant and strain dependent. Two Phialophora and Leptodontidium strains particularly improved plant growth. However, there was no correlation between the level of root colonization by DSEs and the intensity of growth promotion. All strains produced auxin and six also stimulated plant growth through the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). SPME-GC/MS analyses revealed four major VOCs emitted by Cadophora and Leptodontidium . The strains exhibited growth at high concentrations of several metals. The ability of metal-resistant DSE strains to produce both soluble and volatile compounds for plant growth promotion indicates interesting microbial resources with high potential to support sustainable production of bioenergy crops within the context of the phytomanagement of metal-contaminated sites.

Description: In the present study, we used culture-independent methods to investigate the diversity of methanogenic archaea and their distribution in five permafrost samples collected from a borehole in the Kolyma River Lowland (north-east of Russia). Total DNA was extracted from methane-containing permafrost samples of different age and amplified by PCR. The resulting DNA fragments were cloned. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences showed the presence of archaea in all studied samples; 60%–95% of sequences belonged to the Euryarchaeota. Methanogenic archaea were novel representatives of Methanosarcinales, Methanomicrobiales, Methanobacteriales and Methanocellales orders. Bathyarchaeota (Miscellaneous Crenarchaeota Group) representatives were found among nonmethanogenic archaea in all the samples studied. The Thaumarchaeota representatives were not found in the upper sample, whereas Woesearchaeota (formerly DHVEG-6) were found in the three deepest samples. Unexpectedly, the greatest diversity of archaea was observed at a depth of 22.3 m, probably due to the availability of the labile organic carbon and/or due to the migration of the microbial cells during the freezing front towards the bottom.

Description: Mutualistic plant–endophyte symbioses can benefit plants by increasing host fitness through reductions in herbivory. The fungus, Chaetomium globosum strain TAMU 520, was previously isolated as an endophyte from cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum ) and can be re-inoculated to systemically colonize cotton plants via seed treatment. We evaluated the potential impacts of the endophyte in cotton on plant parasitic nematodes belowground, along with piercing-sucking and chewing insects aboveground. Endophytic C. globosum inhibited root-knot nematode ( Meloidogyne incognita ) infection and reduced female reproduction belowground. To confirm the endophytic effect of C. globosum on root-knot nematode, a contact fungicide was applied to remove soil-borne and epiphytic C. globosum . Consistent inhibition of nematode activity was observed post-fungicide treatment, with positive C. globosum colonization confirmed within plant tissues. Aboveground, endophytic C. globosum also negatively affected the fecundity of both cotton aphids ( Aphis gossypii ) and beet armyworms ( Spodoptera exigua ). Faster development rates and smaller head capsule of beet armyworm larvae were observed when fed Chaetomium -colonized plants. However, no larval weight difference was found between Chaetomium -colonized and control plants. No consistent effect on plant performance was found across experiments. Our findings illustrate how a single facultative fungal endophyte can increase plant systemic resistance against a range of invertebrate herbivores in a major crop.

Description: Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) are highly diversified and dominant in a number of forest ecosystems. Nevertheless, their scales of spatial distribution and the underlying ecological processes remain poorly understood. Although most EMF are considered to be generalists regarding host identity, a preference toward functional strategies of host trees has never been tested. Here, the EMF community was characterised by DNA sequencing in a 10-ha tropical dry season forest—referred to as miombo—an understudied ecosystem from a mycorrhizal perspective. We used 36 soil parameters and 21 host functional traits (FTs) as candidate explanatory variables in spatial constrained ordinations for explaining the EMF community assemblage. Results highlighted that the community variability was explained by host FTs related to the ‘leaf economics spectrum’ (adjusted R 2 = 11%; SLA, leaf area, foliar Mg content), and by soil parameters (adjusted R 2 = 17%), notably total forms of micronutrients or correlated available elements (Al, N, K, P). Both FTs and soil generated patterns in the community at scales ranging from 75 to 375 m. Our results indicate that soil is more important than previously thought for EMF in miombo woodlands, and show that FTs of host species can be better predictors of symbiont distribution than taxonomical identity.

Description: Predicting the impact of environmental change on soil microbial functions requires an understanding of how environmental factors shape microbial composition. Here, we investigated the influence of environmental factors on bacterial and fungal communities across an expanse of northern hardwood forest in Michigan, USA, which spans a 500-km regional climate gradient. We quantified soil microbial community composition using high-throughput DNA sequencing on coextracted rDNA (i.e. total community) and rRNA (i.e. active community). Within both bacteria and fungi, total and active communities were compositionally distinct from one another across the regional gradient (bacteria P = 0.01; fungi P 〈 0.01). Taxonomically, the active community was a subset of the total community. Compositional differences between total and active communities reflected changes in the relative abundance of dominant taxa. The composition of both the total and active microbial communities varied by site across the gradient ( P 〈 0.01) and was shaped by differences in soil moisture, pH, SOM carboxyl content, as well as C and N concentration. Our study highlights the importance of distinguishing between metabolically active microorganisms and the total community, and emphasizes that the same environmental factors shape the total and active communities of bacteria and fungi in this ecosystem.

Description: Complex interactions between plants and soil microorganisms drive key ecosystem and community properties such as productivity and diversity. In nutrient-poor systems such as sand dunes, plant traits and fungal symbioses related to nutrient acquisition can strongly influence vegetation dynamics. We investigated plant and fungal communities in a relic foredune plain located on an archipelago in Québec, Canada. We detected distinct communities across the edaphic and successional gradient. Our results showed a clear increase in plant species richness, as well as in the diversity of nutrient-acquisition strategies. We also found a strong correlation between aboveground vegetation and soil fungal communities, and both responded similarly to soil physicochemical properties. Soil pH influenced the composition of plant and fungal communities, and could act as an important environmental filter along this relic foredune plain. The increasing functional diversity in plant nutrient-acquisition strategies across the gradient might favor resource partitioning and facilitation among co-occurring plant species. The coordinated changes in soil microbial and plant communities highlight the importance of aboveground–belowground linkages and positive biotic interactions during ecological succession in nutrient-poor environments.

Description: Cyanobacteria associated with biological soil crusts (BSCs) have important attributes, such as nitrogen fixation and soil stabilisation. However, research on these organisms has been minimal, and their diversity and distribution throughout temperate Europe is currently unknown. The SCIN (Soil Crust International) project is a multidisciplinary research initiative that aims to achieve improved understanding of the BSCs of Europe, one facet being an investigation into the cyanobacterial communities of BSCs across a latitudinal gradient. Cyanobacteria assemblages were analysed by both morphological and molecular analysis. Two treatments were applied prior to DNA extraction, continued sample wetting and a dry sample process, and 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) amplicons were processed by Illumina MiSeq sequencing. The results reveal high and variable cyanobacterial diversity with each site showing a unique assemblage. Many common cyanobacterial genera, for example Nostoc and Microcoleus , were found in all sites but the abundances of different genera varied considerably. The polyphasic approach was found to be essential in recording the presence of important cyanobacteria that a single method itself did not highlight. The wet and dry treatments showed some differences in diversity, but mainly in abundance, this may suggest how cyanobacterial composition of BSCs changes with seasonal variability.

Description: This work allowed assessing a widespread occurrence of Tychonema bourrellyi in the largest lakes south of the Alps (Garda, Iseo, Como and Maggiore). The taxonomy of the species was confirmed adopting a polyphasic approach, which included microscopic examinations, molecular (16S rRNA and rbcLX sequences) and (Lake Garda) ecological characterisations. Over 70% of the 36 isolates of Tychonema sampled from the four lakes tested positive for the presence of genes implicated in the biosynthesis of anatoxins ( anaF and/or anaC ) and for the production of anatoxin-a (ATX) and homoanatoxin-a (HTX). A detailed analysis carried out in Lake Garda showed strong ongoing changes in the cyanobacterial community, with populations of Tychonema developing with higher biovolumes compared to the microcystins (MCs) producer Planktothrix rubescens . Moreover, the time x depth distribution of Tychonema was paralleled by a comparable distribution of ATX and HTX. The increasing importance of Tychonema in Lake Garda was also suggested by the opposite trends of ATX and MCs observed since 2009. These results suggest that radical changes are occurring in the largest lakes south of the Alps. Their verification and implications will require to be assessed by extending a complete experimental work to the other large perialpine lakes.

Description: Coastal areas are land–sea transitional zones with complex natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Microorganisms in coastal sediments adapt to such disturbances both individually and as a community. The microbial community structure changes spatially and temporally under environmental stress. In this study, we investigated the microbial community structure in the sediments of Hangzhou Bay, a seriously polluted bay in China. In order to identify the roles and contribution of all microbial taxa, we set thresholds as 0.1% for rare taxa and 1% for abundant taxa, and classified all operational taxonomic units into six exclusive categories based on their abundance. The results showed that the key taxa in differentiating the communities are abundant taxa (AT), conditionally abundant taxa (CAT), and conditionally rare or abundant taxa (CRAT). A large population in conditionally rare taxa (CRT) made this category collectively significant in differentiating the communities. Both bacteria and archaea demonstrated a distance decay pattern of community similarity in the bay, and this pattern was strengthened by rare taxa, CRT and CRAT, but weakened by AT and CAT. This implied that the low abundance taxa were more deterministically distributed, while the high abundance taxa were more ubiquitously distributed.

Description: Little is known about the microbial distribution patterns in subseafloor sediments. This study examines microbial diversity and activities in sediments of the Nankai Trough, where biogenic gas hydrates are deposited. Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes revealed that the prokaryotic community structure is correlated with hydrate occurrence and depth but not with the sedimentary facies. The bacterial phyla ‘Atribacteria’ lineage JS1 and Chloroflexi dominated in all samples, whereas lower taxonomic units of Chloroflexi accounted for community variation related to hydrate saturation. In archaeal communities, ‘Bathyarchaeota’ was significantly abundant in the hydrate-containing samples, whereas Marine Benthic Group-B dominated in the upper sediments without hydrates. mcrA gene sequences assigned to deeply branching groups and ANME-1 were detected only in hydrate-containing samples. A predominance of hydrogenotrophic methanogens, Methanomicrobiales and Methanobacteriales , over acetoclastic methanogens was found throughout the depth. Incubation tests on hydrate-containing samples with a stable isotope tracer showed anaerobic methane oxidation activities under both low- and seawater-like salinity conditions. These results indicate that the distribution patterns of microorganisms involved in carbon cycling changed with gas hydrate occurrence, possibly because of the previous hydrate dissociation followed by pore water salinity decrease in situ , as previously proposed by a geochemical study at the study site.

Description: One consequence of High Arctic permafrost thawing is the formation of small ponds, which release greenhouse gases (GHG) from stored carbon through microbial activity. Under a climate with higher summer air temperatures and longer ice-free seasons, sediments of shallow ponds are likely to become warmer, which could influence enzyme kinetics or select for less cryophilic microbes. There is little data on the direct temperature effects on GHG production and consumption or on microbial communities’ composition in Arctic ponds. We investigated GHG production over 16 days at 4°C and 9°C in sediments collected from four thaw ponds. Consistent with an enzymatic response, production rates of CO 2 and CH 4 were significantly greater at higher temperatures, with Q 10 varying from 1.2 to 2.5. The bacterial community composition from one pond was followed through the incubation by targeting the V6–V8 variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene and 16S rRNA. Several rare taxa detected from rRNA accounted for significant community compositional changes. At the higher temperature, the relative community contribution from Bacteroidetes decreased by 15% with compensating increases in Betaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia and Actinobacteria. The increase in experimental GHG production accompanied by changes in community indicates an additional factor to consider in sediment environments when evaluating future climate scenarios.

Description: A total of 142 rhizobial bacteria were isolated from root nodules of Lens culinaris Medik endemic to Tunisia and they belonged to the species Rhizobium leguminosarum , and for the first time to Ensifer and Mesorhizobium , genera never previously described as microsymbionts of lentil. Phenotypically, our results indicate that L. culinaris Medik strains showed heterogenic responses to the different phenotypic features and they effectively nodulated their original host. Based on the concatenation of the 16S rRNA with relevant housekeeping genes ( gln A, rec A, dna K), rhizobia that nodulate lentil belonged almost exclusively to the known R. leguminosarum sv. viciae. Interestingly, R. leguminosarum sv. trifolii , Ensifer numidicus (10 isolates) and Mesorhizobium amorphae ( or M. loti) (9 isolates) isolates species, not considered, up to now, as a natural symbiont of lentil are reported. The E. numidicus and M. amorphae (or M. loti ) strains induced fixing nodules on Medicago sativa and Cicer arietinum host plants, respectively. Symbiotic gene phylogenies showed that the E. numidicus , new symbiont of lentil, markedly diverged from strains of R. leguminosarum , the usual symbionts of lentil, and converged to the symbiovar meliloti so far described within E. meliloti . Indeed, the nodC and nodA genes from the M. amorphae showed more than 99% similarity with respect to those from M. mediterraneum , the common chickpea nodulating species, and would be included in the new infrasubspecific division named M. amorphae symbiovar ciceri , or to M. loti , related to the strains able to effectively nodulate C. arietinum host plant. On the basis of these data, R. leguminosarum sv. trifolii (type strain LBg 3 T ), M. loti or M. amorphae sv. ciceri (type strain LB 4 T ) and E. numidicus (type strain LBi 2 T ) are proposed as new symbionts of L. culinaris Medik.

Description: The living prokaryotic microbiome of the calcified geniculate (articulated) red alga, Corallina officinalis from the intertidal seashore is characterised for the first time based on the V6 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA. Results revealed an extraordinary diversity of bacteria associated with the microbiome. Thirty-five prokaryotic phyla were recovered, of which Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, Acidobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Firmicutes and Chloroflexi made up the core microbiome. Unclassified sequences made up 25% of sequences, suggesting insufficient sampling of the world's oceans/macroalgae. The greatest diversity in the microbiome was on the upper shore, followed by the lower shore then the middle shore, although the microbiome community composition did not vary between shore levels. The C. officinalis core microbiome was broadly similar in composition to those reported in the literature for crustose coralline algae (CCAs) and free-living rhodoliths. Differences in relative abundance of the phyla between the different types of calcified macroalgal species may relate to the intertidal versus subtidal habit of the taxa and functionality of the microbiome components. The results indicate that much work is needed to identify prokaryotic taxa, and to determine the nature of the relationship of the bacteria with the calcified host spatially, temporally and functionally.

Description: We isolated 17 strains of the amoeboid genus Nuclearia (Opisthokonta) from five Swiss lakes. Eight of these nucleariid isolates were associated with bacterial endosymbionts and/or ectosymbionts. Amoebae were characterized morphologically and by their 18S rRNA genes. Phylogeny based on molecular data resulted in four established monophyletic branches and two new clusters. A heterogeneous picture emerged by highlighting nucleariids with associated bacteria. Apart from one cluster which consisted of only isolates with and three groups of amoebae without symbionts, we also found mixed clusters. The picture got even more ‘blurred’ by regarding the phylogeny of symbiotic bacteria. Although seven different bacterial strains could be identified, it seems that we still are only scratching the surface of symbionts’ diversity. Furthermore, types of symbioses might be different depending on host species. Strains of Nuclearia thermophila harboured the same endosymbiont even when isolated from different lakes. This pointed to a specific and obligate interaction. However, two isolates of N. delicatula were associated with different endosymbiotic bacteria. Here the symbiont acquisition seemed to be rather promiscuous. This behaviour regarding symbiotic associations is especially remarkable considering the phylogenetic position of these basal opisthokonts.

Description: Chlorella and Stichococcus are morphologically simple airborne microalgae, omnipresent in terrestrial and aquatic habitats. The minute cell size and resistance against environmental stress facilitate their long-distance dispersal. However, the actual distribution of Chlorella - and Stichococcus -like species has so far been inferred only from ambiguous morphology-based evidence. Here we contribute a phylogenetic analysis of an expanded SSU and ITS2 rDNA sequence dataset representing Chlorella - and Stichococcus -like species from terrestrial habitats of polar, temperate and tropical regions. We aim to uncover biogeographical patterns at low taxonomic levels. We found that psychrotolerant strains of Chlorella and Stichococcus are closely related with strains originating from the temperate zone. Species closely related to Chlorella vulgaris and Muriella terrestris , and recovered from extreme terrestrial environments of polar regions and hot deserts, are particularly widespread. Stichococcus strains from the temperate zone, with their closest relatives in the tropics, differ from strains with the closest relatives being from the polar regions. Our data suggest that terrestrial Chlorella and Stichococcus might be capable of intercontinental dispersal; however, their actual distributions exhibit biogeographical patterns.

Description: Large amounts of organic carbon are stored in Arctic permafrost environments, and microbial activity can potentially mineralize this carbon into methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In this study, we assessed the methane budget, the bacterial methane oxidation (MOX) and the underlying environmental controls of arctic lake systems, which represent substantial sources of methane. Five lake systems located on Samoylov Island (Lena Delta, Siberia) and the connected river sites were analyzed using radiotracers to estimate the MOX rates, and molecular biology methods to characterize the abundance and the community composition of methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB). In contrast to the river, the lake systems had high variation in the methane concentrations, the abundance and composition of the MOB communities, and consequently, the MOX rates. The highest methane concentrations and the highest MOX rates were detected in the lake outlets and in a lake complex in a flood plain area. Though, in all aquatic systems, we detected both, Type I and II MOB, in lake systems, we observed a higher diversity including MOB, typical of the soil environments. The inoculation of soil MOB into the aquatic systems, resulting from permafrost thawing, might be an additional factor controlling the MOB community composition and potentially methanotrophic capacity.

Description: Methane emissions from freshwater environments contribute substantially to global warming but are under strong control of aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria. Recently discovered methane seeps (pockmarks) in freshwater lake sediments have the potential to bypass this control by their strong outgassing activity. Whether this is counteracted by pelagic methanotrophs is not well understood yet. We used a 3 H-CH 4 -radiotracer technique and pmoA -based molecular approaches to assess the activity, abundance and community structure of pelagic methanotrophs above active pockmarks in deep oligotrophic Lake Constance. Above profundal pockmarks, methane oxidation rates (up to 458 nmol CH 4  l –1  d –1 ) exceeded those of the surrounding water column by two orders of magnitude and coincided with maximum methanotroph abundances of 0.6% of the microbial community. Phylogenetic analysis indicated a dominance of members of the Methylococcaceae in the water column of both, pockmark and reference sites, with most of the retrieved sequences being associated with a water-column specific clade. Communities at pockmark and reference locations also differed in parts, which was likely caused by entrainment of sediment-hosted methanotrophs at pockmark sites. Our results show that the release of seep-derived methane to the atmosphere is counteracted by a distinct methanotrophic community with a pronounced activity throughout bottom waters.

Description: The biogeochemical cycling of gold (Au), i.e. its solubilization, transport and re-precipitation, leading to the (trans)formation of Au grains and nuggets has been demonstrated under a range of environmental conditions. Biogenic (trans)formations of Au grains are driven by (geo)biochemical processes mediated by distinct biofilm consortia living on these grains. This review summarizes the current knowledge concerning the composition and functional capabilities of Au-grain communities, and identifies contributions of key-species involved in Au-cycling. To date, community data are available from grains collected at 10 sites in Australia, New Zealand and South America. The majority of detected operational taxonomic units detected belong to the α -, β - and -Proteobacteria and the Actinobacteria. A range of organisms appears to contribute predominantly to biofilm establishment and nutrient cycling, some affect the mobilization of Au via excretion of Au-complexing ligands, e.g. organic acids, thiosulfate and cyanide, while a range of resident Proteobacteria, especially Cupriavidus metallidurans and Delftia acidovorans , have developed Au-specific biochemical responses to deal with Au-toxicity and reductively precipitate mobile Au-complexes. This leads to the biomineralization of secondary Au and drives the environmental cycle of Au.

Description: Prolonged lack of enteral feeding has a negative impact on gut physiology, potentially via microbiota modulation. The aims were to investigate the impact of fasting and post-prandial changes in canine jejunal microbiota. To study post-prandial effects, jejunal brushings were analyzed in 8 healthy fistulated dogs 15 min before feeding (baseline) and hourly for 8 h after feeding. To study effects of withholding food (WF), daily samples were collected for 15 days from 5 dogs. The first 5 days (PRE) dogs were fed regular diet. Food was withheld the next 5 days (days 6–10). For days 11–15 (POST), the original diet was reintroduced. Microbiota was characterized via denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 454-pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes. In the post-prandial study, no changes in microbiome structure were seen after feeding (ANOSIM, P  = 0.28), but Betaproteobacteria ( P  = 0.04) and Bacteroidales decreased compared to baseline. Species richness decreased by 300 min ( P  = 0.04). During WF, microbiota structure differed from PRE and POST period ( P  = 0.001). During WF, species richness did not vary over time ( P  = 0.69). In conclusion, a prolonged period of food withholding results in altered jejunal microbiota. How these changes affect the microbiota metabolism warrants further studies.

Description: Candidate phylum Saccharibacteria (former TM7) are abundant and widespread in nature, but little is known about their ecophysiology and detailed phylogeny. In this study phylogeny, morphology and ecophysiology of Saccharibacteria were investigated in activated sludge from nine wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) from Japan and Denmark using the full-cycle 16S rRNA approach in combination with microautoradiography (MAR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Phylogenetic analysis showed that Saccharibacteria from all WWTPs were evenly distributed within subdivision 1 and 3 and in a distinct phylogenetic clade. Three probes were designed for the distinct saccharibacterial groups, and revealed morphotypes representing thin filaments, thick filaments and rods/cocci. MAR-FISH results showed that most probe-defined Saccharibacteria utilized glucose under aerobic-, nitrate reducing- and anaerobic conditions. Some Saccharibacteria also utilized N -acetylglucosamine, oleic acid, amino acids and butyrate, which are not predicted from available genomes so far. In addition, some filamentous Saccharibacteria exhibited β-galactosidase and lipase activities determined using a combination of enzyme-labeled fluorescence and FISH (ELF-FISH). No uptake of acetate, propionate, pyruvate, glycerol and ethanol was observed. These results indicate that Saccharibacteria is a phylogenetically diverse group and play a role in the degradation of various organic compounds as well as sugar compounds under aerobic-, nitrate reducing- and anaerobic conditions.

Description: The advent of next-generation sequencing has allowed huge amounts of DNA sequence data to be produced, advancing the capabilities of microbial ecosystem studies. The current challenge is to identify from which microorganisms and genes the DNA originated. Several tools and databases are available for annotating DNA sequences. The tools, databases and parameters used can have a significant impact on the results: naïve choice of these factors can result in a false representation of community composition and function. We use a simulated metagenome to show how different parameters affect annotation accuracy by evaluating the sequence annotation performances of MEGAN, MG-RAST, One Codex and Megablast. This simulated metagenome allowed the recovery of known organism and function abundances to be quantitatively evaluated, which is not possible for environmental metagenomes. The performance of each program and database varied, e.g. One Codex correctly annotated many sequences at the genus level, whereas MG-RAST RefSeq produced many false positive annotations. This effect decreased as the taxonomic level investigated increased. Selecting more stringent parameters decreases the annotation sensitivity, but increases precision. Ultimately, there is a trade-off between taxonomic resolution and annotation accuracy. These results should be considered when annotating metagenomes and interpreting results from previous studies.

Description: An altered immune response and gut microbiota have been associated with the pathology of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). However, there is limited knowledge of how inflammation is associated with changes in the microbiota. We studied the microbiota in the intestine and faeces as well as the cytokine gene expressions in caecum and colon of a mouse model (Gαi2 –/– ) of colitis, and analysed them in relation to the degrees of inflammation in the colon. The degree of colitis was associated with general changes in the complexity of the microbiota and was corroborated by quantitative analyses of the Bacteroides and Lactobacillus . High gene expression levels of IL-17 and IFN- in colon and caecum were detected in Gαi2 –/– mice with moderate and severe colitis. High IL-27 gene expression in the colon of mice with moderate and severe colitis and in the caecum of mice with moderate colitis was also detected. Negative correlations between IL-27 and Bacteroides and Lactobacillus and between IFN- and Lactobacillus were detected in caecum. This research indicates that the degree of colitis in IBD correlates with the gene expression of cytokines and with disturbances in the gut microbiota. Furthermore, the caecum could have an important role in the pathology of IBD.

Description: Microorganisms colonize surfaces and develop biofilms through interactions that are not yet thoroughly understood, with important implications for water and wastewater systems. This study investigated the interactions between N- acyl homoserine lactone (AHL)-producing bacteria, yeasts and protists, and their contribution to biofilm development. Sixty-one bacterial strains were isolated from activated sludge and screened for AHL production, with Aeromonas sp. found to be the dominant AHL producer . Shewanella xiamenensis , Aeromonas allosaccharophila , Acinetobacter junii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa recorded the highest adherence capabilities, with S. xiamenensis being the most effective in surface colonization. Additionally, highly significant interactions (i.e. synergic or antagonistic) were described for dual and multistrain mixtures of bacterial strains ( P. aeruginosa , S. xiamenensis , A. junii and Pseudomonas stutzeri ), as well as for strongly adherent bacteria co-cultured with yeasts. In this last case, the adhered biomass in co-cultures was lower than the monospecific biofilms of bacteria and yeast, with biofilm observations by microscopy suggesting that bacteria had an antagonist effect on the whole or part of the yeast population. Finally, protist predation by Euplotes sp. and Paramecium sp. on Aeromonas hydrophila biofilms not only failed to reduce biofilm formation, but also recorded unexpected results leading to the development of aggregates of high density and complexity.

Description: The nitrogen fixation by biological soil crusts with a dominance of cyanobacteria was studied using the acetylene reduction assay in the territory of the Subpolar Urals (65°11' N, 60°18' E), Russia. The field measurements of nitrogen fixation activity were conducted in situ for two different types of soil crusts dominated by Stigonema (V1 type) and Nostoc with Scytonema (V2 type). The nitrogen fixation process had similar dynamics in both crusts but nitrogen fixation rates were different. The crusts of the V2 type showed a significantly higher acetylene reduction activity, with ethylene production rate of 1.76 ± 0.49 g C 2 H 4 m –2 h –1 at 15°C, compared with V1-type soil crusts, with a rate of 0.53 ± 0.21 mg C 2 H 4 m –2 h –1 at 15°C. The daily value of acetylene reduction activity in V2-type soil crusts was 32.7 ± 6.2 mg C 2 H 4 m –2 d –1 and in V1-type crusts, 12.3 ± 1.8 mg C 2 H 4 m –2 d –1 . After recalculation for N, the daily values of nitrogen fixation were in the range 3.3–22.3 mg N m –2 d –1 , which is a few times higher than the values of N input from the precipitation to the soil in the studied regions. The dependence of nitrogen-fixation activity on temperature and light intensity of biological soil crusts was investigated. On the basis of temperature models obtained from the dependence, the nitrogen balance was calculated for the growing season (approximately 120 days). The crusts dominated by Stigonema species were fixing 0.3 g N m –2 (ethylene production rate, 1.10 g C 2 H 4 m –2 ) and crusts dominated by Nostoc and Scytonema were fixing 1.3 g N m –2 (4.10 g C 2 H 4 m –2 ).

Description: Marine bacterial communities show strong spatial and seasonal patterns, often characterized by changes at high taxonomic levels. The Pelagibacteraceae are common members of bacterial communities, with well-documented biogeography at the subclade level. To identify patterns within the subclades, the abundance and diversity of Pelagibacteraceae were analyzed over a two-year period at four stations across an estuarine gradient. Pelagibacteraceae was the most abundant bacterial family, averaging 27% of the community, but varying from 1% to 57% in any one sample. Highest abundances were detected in autumn and winter. Pelagibacteraceae richness was lowest at the most inshore site, and highest in autumn and winter at all sites. Shannon diversity decreased in winter, when a few OTUs dominated the community. Dissolved oxygen, dissolved silicate and prokaryote abundance explained most of the variability in the Pelagibacteraceae communities, with salinity differentiating low salinity communities. The 10 most abundant OTUs included OTUs that varied across sites, with little seasonality as well as those with small site effects, but strong seasonal patterns indicating differences in the niches of individual OTUs. While salinity was important in structuring low salinity communities, higher salinity communities appear to be responding to additional environmental parameters including oxygen, nutrients and other organisms.

Description: In this study, the microbial community structures of the endosphere of the halophyte Arthrocnemum macrostachyum were evaluated from two locations in Mallorca, Spain, focusing on three plant compartments (roots, green and red stems) compared to the rhizospheric soil where the plants grew. The physicochemical parameters of the rhizospheric soils differed between locations, and the soils were characterized by different microbial community structures. Accordingly, the endophytic community composition, mainly composed of putatively halophilic organisms, was highly influenced by the rhizospheric soil microbiota, as revealed by the co-occurrence of the major endophytic taxa in the endosphere and the rizospheric soils. Moreover, the reduction of diversity from the endorhizosphere towards the red leaves may support the fact that part of colonization of the plant by bacteria could have an origin in the rhizospheric soils through the roots and subsequent migration to the aerial parts of the plant. Finally, there were certain relevant ubiquitous taxa, such as Chromohalobacter canadensis , Rudaea cellulosilytica (never reported before as endophytic), Psychrobacter sp., Bradyrhizobium sp. and Halomonas sp., that, due their moderate halophilic nature, seemed to find an optimal environment inside the plants. Some of these relevant endophytes were not always detectable in their respective soils, and were probably part of the soils’ rare biosphere, which would gain preponderance in a favorable endophytic environment.

Description: Bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) are one of the most species-rich herbivorous insect groups with many shifts in ecology and host-plant use, which may be mediated by their bacterial and fungal symbionts. While symbionts are well studied in economically important, tree-killing species, little is known about parasitic species whose broods develop in living trees. Here, using culture-dependent and independent methods, we provide a comprehensive overview of the associated bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi of the parasitic Dendroctonus micans , D. punctatus and D. valens , and compare them to those of other tree-inhabiting insects. Despite inhabiting different geographical regions and/or host trees, the three species showed similar microbial communities. Enterobacteria were the most prevalent bacteria, in particular Rahnella , Pantoea and Ewingella , in addition to Streptomyces . Likewise, the yeasts Candida/Cyberlindnera were the most prominent fungi. All these microorganisms are widespread among tree-inhabiting insects with various ecologies, but their high prevalence overall might indicate a beneficial role such as detoxification of tree defenses, diet supplementation or protection against pathogens. As such, our results enable comparisons of symbiont communities of parasitic bark beetles with those of other beetles, and will contribute to our understanding of how microbial symbioses facilitate dietary shifts in insects.

Description: Antarctic soils are known to be oligotrophic and of having low buffering capacities. It is expected that this is particularly the case for inland high-altitude regions. We hypothesized that the bedrock type and the presence of macrobiota in these soils enforce a high selective pressure on their bacterial communities. To test this, we analyzed the bacterial community structure in 52 soil samples from the western Sør Rondane Mountains (Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica), using the Illumina MiSeq platform in combination with ARISA fingerprinting. The samples were taken along broad environmental gradients in an area covering nearly 1000 km 2 . Ordination and variation partitioning analyses revealed that the total organic carbon content was the most significant variable in structuring the bacterial communities, followed by pH, electric conductivity, bedrock type and the moisture content, while spatial distance was of relatively minor importance. Acidobacteria (Chloracidobacteria) and Actinobacteria (Actinomycetales) dominated gneiss derived mineral soil samples, while Proteobacteria (Sphingomonadaceae), Cyanobacteria, Armatimonadetes and candidate division FBP-dominated soil samples with a high total organic carbon content that were mainly situated on granite derived bedrock.

Description: The octocoral Erythropodium caribaeorum is an important species in the Caribbean coral reef community and a source of the cytotoxic natural product desmethyleleutherobin. We utilized 16S small subunit rRNA gene amplicon pyrosequencing to characterize the microbiome of E. caribaeorum collected from Florida, USA and San Salvador, The Bahamas at multiple time points. This coral was found to have a very high microbial richness with an average Chao1 estimated richness of 1464 ± 707 operational taxonomic units and average Shannon diversity index of 4.26 ± 1.65. The taxonomic class Gammaproteobacteria was a dominant member in all samples and the genus Endozoicomonas accounted for an average of 37.7% ± 30.0% of the total sequence reads. One Endozoicomonas sp. was found to be a stable member of all E. caribaeorum sequence libraries regardless of location or time of collection and accounted for 30.1% of all sequence reads. This is the first report characterizing the microbiome associated with the encrusting octocoral E. caribaeorum.

Description: Here we provide the first exploration of microbial diversity from three distinct Victoria Valley edaphic habitats, namely lithobionts (hypoliths, endoliths) and surface soils. Using a combination of terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis and 16S rRNA gene amplicon pyrosequencing we assess community structure and diversity patterns, respectively. Our analysis revealed that habitat type (endolithic versus hypolithic versus surface soils) significantly influenced bacterial community composition, even though dominant phyla such as Actinobacteria (41% of total reads) were common to all samples. Consistent with previous surveys in other Dry Valley ecosystems, we found that lithobionts were colonized by a few highly dominant phylotypes (such as Gemmatimonas and Leptolyngbya ). Our analyses also show that soil bacteria were more diverse and evenly distributed than initially expected based on previous evidence. In contrast to total bacteria, the distribution of Cyanobacteria was not strongly influenced by habitat type, although soil- and endolith-specific cyanobacterial lineages were found. The detection of cyanobacterial lineages in these habitats appears to be influenced by the dispersal of aquatic inocula from lacustrine communities or benthic mats which are abundant in Victoria Valley. Together, our results provide insights into the phylogenetic variation and community structure across niche habitats in Victoria Valley.

Description: Antibiotics are commonly used in aquaculture and they can change the environmental resistome by increasing antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Sediment samples were collected from two fish farms located in the Northern Baltic Sea, Finland, and from a site outside the farms (control). The sediment resistome was assessed by using a highly parallel qPCR array containing 295 primer sets to detect ARGs, mobile genetic elements and the 16S rRNA gene. The fish farm resistomes were enriched in transposon and integron associated genes and in ARGs encoding resistance to antibiotics which had been used to treat fish at the farms. Aminoglycoside resistance genes were also enriched in the farm sediments despite the farms not having used aminoglycosides. In contrast, the total relative abundance values of ARGs were higher in the control sediment resistome and they were mainly genes encoding efflux pumps followed by beta-lactam resistance genes, which are found intrinsically in many bacteria. This suggests that there is a natural Baltic sediment resistome. The resistome associated with fish farms can be from native ARGs enriched by antibiotic use at the farms and/or from ARGs and mobile elements that have been introduced by fish farming.

Description: Trichoderma spp. are common soil and root inhabitants that have been widely studied due to their capacity to produce antibiotics, parasitize other fungi and compete with deleterious plant microorganisms. These fungi produce a number of secondary metabolites such as non-ribosomal peptides, terpenoids, pyrones and indolic-derived compounds. In the rhizosphere, the exchange and recognition of signaling molecules by Trichoderma and plants may alter physiological and biochemical aspects in both. For example, several Trichoderma strains induce root branching and increase shoot biomass as a consequence of cell division, expansion and differentiation by the presence of fungal auxin-like compounds. Furthermore, Trichoderma , in association with plant roots, can trigger systemic resistance and improve plant nutrient uptake. The present review describes the most recent advances in understanding the ecological functions of Trichoderma spp. in the rhizosphere at biochemical and molecular levels with special emphasis on their associations with plants. Finally, through a synthesis of the current body of work, we present potential future research directions on studies related to Trichoderma spp. and their secondary metabolites in agroecosystems.

Description: Bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are mono- or oligo-saccharide units linked by glycosidic bonds, forming homo- or hetero-polymers. In gut commensals, these macromolecules are claimed to protect bacterial cells against gastrointestinal challenges and to be involved in modulating the cross talk between the producing bacterium and its gut environment. The predicted EPS arsenal of the Bifidobacterium genus, which we designate here as the eps -ome, consists of 9 eps gene clusters conserved among different bifidobacterial species and a further 44 unique eps loci, together representing a large proportion of the inter(sub)species variability identified among bifidobacterial genomes. Co-cultivations of bifidobacterial species in media simulating adult and infant human gut environments resulted in an increased transcription of key genes for EPS biosynthesis, including glycosyltransferase-encoding genes, as well as genes specifying EPS transporter and polymerase functions, and saccharide biosynthesis and modification enzymes.

Description: Recently, it has been shown that procyanidins from Fallopia spp. inhibit bacterial denitrification, a phenomenon called biological denitrification inhibition (BDI). However, the mechanisms involved in such a process remain unknown. Here, we investigate the mechanisms of BDI involving procyanidins, using the model strain Pseudomonas brassicacearum NFM 421. The aerobic and anaerobic (denitrification) respiration, cell permeability and cell viability of P. brassicacearum were determined as a function of procyanidin concentration. The effect of procyanidins on the bacterial membrane was observed using transmission electronic microscopy. Bacterial growth, denitrification, NO 3 - and NO 2 -reductase activity, and the expression of subunits of NO 3 - (encoded by the gene narG ) and NO 2 -reductase (encoded by the gene nirS ) under NO 3 or NO 2 were measured with and without procyanidins. Procyanidins inhibited the denitrification process without affecting aerobic respiration at low concentrations. Procyanidins also disturbed cell membranes without affecting cell viability. They specifically inhibited NO 3 - but not NO 2 -reductase. Pseudomonas brassicacearum responded to procyanidins by over-expression of the membrane-bound NO 3 -reductase subunit (encoded by the gene narG ). Our results suggest that procyanidins can specifically inhibit membrane-bound NO 3 -reductase inducing enzymatic conformational changes through membrane disturbance and that P. brassicacearum responds by over-expressing membrane-bound NO 3 -reductase. Our results lead the way to a better understanding of BDI.

Description: A large number of antibiotic-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates are continuously discharged into natural water basins mainly through sewage. However, the environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance factors are poorly understood. In this study, the antibiotic resistance patterns of 245 isolates from various aquatic sites in Greece were analysed. Twenty-three isolates with resistance patterns cefotaxime–aztreonam–ceftazidime, cefotaxime–aztreonam–meropenem, cefotaxime–ceftazidime–meropenem, cefotaxime–ceftazidime–aztreonam–meropenem and cefotaxime–ceftazidime–cefepime–aztreonam–meropenem were screened phenotypically for the presence of extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), while 77 isolates with various resistant phenotypes were screened for the presence of class 1 and class 2 integrase genes. The aztreonam-resistant isolates and ESBL producers were the main resistant phenotypes in all habitats tested. In 13/77 isolates class 1 integron was detected, while all tested isolates were negative for the presence of the class 2 integrase gene. CTX-M group 9 β-lactamase was present in a small number of isolates (three isolates) highlighting the emergence of ESBL genes in aquatic environments. As a conclusion, it seems that Greek water bodies could serve as a potential reservoir of resistant P. aeruginosa isolates posing threats to human and animal health.

Description: Many giant dsDNA algal viruses share a common ancestor with Mimivirus —one of the largest viruses, in terms of genetic content. Together, these viruses form the proposed ‘Megaviridae’ clade of nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses. To gauge Megaviridae diversity, we designed degenerate primers targeting the major capsid protein genes of algae-infecting viruses within this group and probed the clade's diversity during the course of a brown tide bloom caused by the harmful pelagophyte, Aureococcus anophagefferens . We amplified target sequences in water samples from two distinct locations (Weesuck Creek and Quantuck Bay, NY) covering 12 weeks concurrent with the proliferation and demise of a bloom. In total, 475 amplicons clustered into 145 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at 97% identity. One OTU contained 19 sequences with ≥97% identity to AaV, a member of the Megaviridae clade that infects A. anophagefferens , suggesting AaV was present during the bloom. Unifrac analysis showed clear temporal patterns in algal Megaviridae dynamics, with a shift in the virus community structure that corresponded to the Aureococcus bloom decline in both locations. Our data provide insights regarding the environmental relevance of algal Megaviridae members and raise important questions regarding their phylodynamics across different environmental gradients.

Description: Benthic proliferations of the cyanobacteria Phormidium can cover many kilometres of riverbed. Phormidium can produce neurotoxic anatoxins and ingestion of benthic mats has resulted in numerous animal poisonings in the last decade. Despite this, there is a poor understanding of the environmental factors regulating growth and anatoxin production. In this study, the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus on the growth of two Phormidium strains (anatoxin-producing and non-anatoxin-producing) were examined in batch monocultures. Cell concentrations were significantly reduced under reduced nitrogen (ca. 〈0.100 mM) and phosphorus conditions (ca. 〈0.003 mM). Cell concentrations and maximum growth rates were higher for the non-anatoxin-producing strain in all treatments, suggesting there may be an energetic cost to toxin production. Cellular anatoxin concentrations were lowest (169 fg cell –1 ) under the high-nitrogen and high-phosphorus treatment. This supports the growth-differentiation balance hypothesis that suggests actively dividing and expanding cells are less likely to produce secondary-metabolites. Anatoxin quota was highest (〉407 fg cell –1 ) in the reduced phosphorus treatments, possibly suggesting that it is produced as a stress response to growth limiting conditions. In all treatments there was a 4–5-fold increase in anatoxin quota in the lag growth phase, possibly indicating it may provide a physiological benefit during initial substrate colonization.

Description: Archaeal communities and the factors regulating their diversity in high altitude lakes are poorly understood. Here, we provide the first high-throughput sequencing study of Archaea from Tibetan Plateau lake sediments. We analyzed twenty lake sediments from the world's highest and largest plateau and found diverse archaeal assemblages that clustered into groups dominated by methanogenic Euryarchaeota, Crenarchaeota and Halobacteria/mixed euryarchaeal phylotypes. Statistical analysis inferred that salinity was the major driver of community composition, and that archaeal diversity increased with salinity. Sediments with the highest salinities were mostly dominated by Halobacteria. Crenarchaeota dominated at intermediate salinities, and methanogens were present in all lake sediments, albeit most abundant at low salinities. The distribution patterns of the three functional types of methanogens (hydrogenotrophic, acetotrophic and methylotrophic) were also related to changes in salinity. Our results show that salinity is a key factor controlling archaeal community diversity and composition in lake sediments on a spatial scale that spans nearly 2000 km on the Tibetan Plateau.

Description: Red snow is a well-known phenomenon caused by microalgae thriving in alpine and polar regions during the melting season. The ecology and biodiversity of these organisms, which are adapted to low temperatures, high irradiance and freeze–thaw events, are still poorly understood. We compared two different snow habitats containing two different green algal genera in the European Alps, namely algae blooming in seasonal rock-based snowfields ( Chlamydomonas nivalis ) and algae dominating waterlogged snow bedded over ice ( Chlainomonas sp.). Despite the morphological similarity of the red spores found at the snow surface, we found differences in intracellular organization investigated by light and transmission electron microscopy and in secondary pigments investigated by chromatographic analysis in combination with mass spectrometry. Spores of Chlainomonas sp. show clear differences from Chlamydomonas nivalis in cell wall arrangement and plastid organization. Active photosynthesis at ambient temperatures indicates a high physiological activity, despite no cell division being present. Lipid bodies containing the carotenoid astaxanthin, which produces the red color, dominate cells of both species, but are modified differently. While in Chlainomonas sp. astaxanthin is mainly esterified with two fatty acids and is more apolar, in Chamydomonas nivalis , in contrast, less apolar monoesters prevail.

Description: To gain insight into the bacterial communities involved in iron-(Fe) cycling under marine conditions, we analysed sediments with Fe-contents (0.5–1.5 wt %) from the suboxic zone at a marine site in the Skagerrak (SK) and a brackish site in the Bothnian Bay (BB) using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. Several bacterial families, including Desulfobulbaceae, Desulfuromonadaceae and Pelobacteraceae and genera, including Desulfobacter and Geobacter , known to reduce Fe were detected and showed highest abundance near the Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox boundary. Additional genera with microorganisms capable of coupling fermentation to Fe-reduction, including Clostridium and Bacillus , were observed. Also, the Fe-oxidizing families Mariprofundaceae and Gallionellaceae occurred at the SK and BB sites, respectively, supporting Fe-cycling. In contrast, the sulphate (SO 4 2– ) reducing bacteria Desulfococcus and Desulfobacterium were more abundant at greater depths concurring with a decrease in Fe-reducing activity. The communities revealed by pyrosequencing, thus, match the redox stratification indicated by the geochemistry, with the known Fe-reducers coinciding with the zone of Fe-reduction. Not the intensely studied model organisms, such as Geobacter spp., but rather versatile microorganisms, including sulphate reducers and possibly unknown groups appear to be important for Fe-reduction in these marine suboxic sediments.

Description: Due to climate change, many lakes in Europe will be subject to higher variability of hydrological characteristics in their littoral zones. These different hydrological regimes might affect the use of allochthonous and autochthonous carbon sources. We used sandy sediment microcosms to examine the effects of different hydrological regimes (wet, desiccating, and wet-desiccation cycles) on carbon turnover. 13 C-labelled particulate organic carbon was used to trace and estimate carbon uptake into bacterial biomass (via phospholipid fatty acids) and respiration. Microbial community changes were monitored by combining DNA- and RNA-based real-time PCR quantification and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of 16S rRNA. The shifting hydrological regimes in the sediment primarily caused two linked microbial effects: changes in the use of available organic carbon and community composition changes. Drying sediments yielded the highest CO 2 emission rates, whereas hydrological shifts increased the uptake of allochthonous organic carbon for respiration. T-RFLP patterns demonstrated that only the most extreme hydrological changes induced a significant shift in the active and total bacterial communities. As current scenarios of climate change predict an increase of drought events, frequent variations of the hydrological regimes of many lake littoral zones in central Europe are anticipated. Based on the results of our study, this phenomenon may increase the intensity and amplitude in rates of allochthonous organic carbon uptake and CO 2 emissions.

Description: As a result of construction and screening of a metagenomic library prepared from a permafrost-derived microcosm, we have isolated a novel gene coding for a putative lipolytic enzyme that belongs to the hormone-sensitive lipase family. It encodes a polypeptide of 343 amino acid residues whose amino acid sequence displays maximum likelihood with uncharacterized proteins from Sphingomonas species. A putative catalytic serine residue of PMGL2 resides in a new variant of a recently discovered GTSAG sequence in which a Thr residue is replaced by a Cys residue (GCSAG). The recombinant PMGL2 was produced in Escherichia coli cells and purified by Ni-affinity chromatography. The resulting protein preferably utilizes short-chain p -nitrophenyl esters (C4 and C8) and therefore is an esterase. It possesses maximum activity at 45°C in slightly alkaline conditions and has limited thermostability at higher temperatures. Activity of PMGL2 is stimulated in the presence of 0.25–1.5 M NaCl indicating the good salt tolerance of the new enzyme. Mass spectrometric analysis demonstrated that N-terminal methionine in PMGL2 is processed and cysteine residues do not form a disulfide bond. The results of the study demonstrate the significance of the permafrost environment as a unique genetic reservoir and its potential for metagenomic exploration.

Description: Recent studies have shown that changes in community compositions of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi along elevation gradients are mainly affected by changes in host tree communities and/or in abiotic environments. However, few studies have taken the effects of processes related to fungal dispersal (i.e. spatial processes) into account and distinguished the effects of host community, abiotic environment and spatial processes on community composition along elevation gradients. This has left unclear the relative importance of these factors in structuring the ECM community assemblages. To address this, we investigated the community composition of ECM fungi along an elevation gradient in northern Japan with 454 meta-barcoding. We found that the community composition of ECM fungi changed along the elevation and that all three factors jointly affected the compositional changes. We separated the magnitude of importance of the three factors in structuring ECM fungal communities and found that most of the spatial variation in ECM fungal community was explained by host communities and abiotic environments. Our results suggest that while biotic and/or abiotic environments can be important factors in determining the ECM fungal community composition along an elevation gradient, spatial processes may also be a primary determinant.

Description: Cryopegs are sub-surface hypersaline brines at sub-zero temperatures within permafrost; their global extent and distribution are unknown. The permafrost barrier to surface and groundwater advection maintains these brines as semi-isolated systems over geological time. A cryopeg 7 m below ground near Barrow, Alaska, was sampled for geochemical and microbiological analysis. Sub-surface brines ( in situ temperature of –6 °C, salinity of 115 ppt), and an associated sediment-infused ice wedge (melt salinity of 0.04 ppt) were sampled using sterile technique. Major ionic concentrations in the brine corresponded more closely to other (Siberian) cryopegs than to Standard seawater or the ice wedge. Ionic ratios and stable isotope analysis of water conformed to a marine or brackish origin with subsequent Rayleigh fractionation. The brine contained ~1000 x more bacteria than surrounding ice, relatively high viral numbers suggestive of infection and reproduction, and an unusually high ratio of particulate to dissolved extracellular polysaccharide substances. A viral metagenome indicated a high frequency of temperate viruses and limited viral diversity compared to surface environments, with closest similarity to low water activity environments. Interpretations of the results underscore the isolation of these underexplored microbial ecosystems from past and present oceans.

Description: Marine protist diversity inventories have largely focused on planktonic environments, while benthic protists have received relatively little attention. We therefore hypothesize that current diversity surveys have only skimmed the surface of protist diversity in marine sediments, which may harbor greater diversity than planktonic environments. We tested this by analyzing sequences of the hypervariable V4 18S rRNA from benthic and planktonic protist communities sampled in European coastal regions. Despite a similar number of OTUs in both realms, richness estimations indicated that we recovered at least 70% of the diversity in planktonic protist communities, but only 33% in benthic communities. There was also little overlap of OTUs between planktonic and benthic communities, as well as between separate benthic communities. We argue that these patterns reflect the heterogeneity and diversity of benthic habitats. A comparison of all OTUs against the Protist Ribosomal Reference database showed that a higher proportion of benthic than planktonic protist diversity is missing from public databases; similar results were obtained by comparing all OTUs against environmental references from NCBI's Short Read Archive. We suggest that the benthic realm may therefore be the world's largest reservoir of marine protist diversity, with most taxa at present undescribed.

Description: Pines in the subalpine environment at Niwot Ridge, CO, have been found to host communities of acetic acid bacteria (AAB) within their needles . The significance and ubiquity of this pattern is not known, but recent evidence of nitrogen (N)-fixing activity in Pinus flexilis (limber pine) foliage calls for a better understanding of the processes that regulate endophytic communities in forest tree canopies. Here, to test if AAB dominate the foliar bacterial microbiota in other subalpine locations, we compared the 16S rRNA community in needles from P. flexilis and P. contorta (lodgepole pine) growing in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, CA, and Niwot Ridge, CO. AAB made up the majority of the bacterial community in both species at both sites. Multiple distinct AAB taxa, resolved at the single nucleotide level, were shared across host species and sites, with dominant OTUs identical or highly similar to database sequences from cold environments, including high altitude air sampled in Colorado, and the endosphere of Arctic plants. Our results suggest strong selection for community composition, potentially amplified by the long lifespan of individual Pinus needles, along with low dispersal constraints on canopy bacteria.

Description: Here we discuss the advantages of the majority of this versatile and diverse group of microorganisms for plant health and growth as demonstrated by their contribution to disease-suppressive soils, their antifungal and antibacterial activities, their ability to produce volatile compounds and their capacity to enhance plant biomass. Although much is still to be discovered about the colonization strategies and molecular interactions between plant roots and these microorganisms, they are destined to become important players in the field of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria for agriculture.

Description: The effect of bioaugmentation with Sphingobium sp. AM strain on different soils microbiomes, pristine soil (PS), chronically contaminated soil (IPK) and recently contaminated soil (Phe) and their implications in bioremediation efficiency was studied by focusing on the ecology that drives bacterial communities in response to inoculation. AM strain draft genome codifies genes for metabolism of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. In Phe, the inoculation improved the elimination of phenanthrene during the whole treatment, whereas in IPK no improvement of degradation of any PAH was observed. Through the pyrosequencing analysis, we observed that inoculation managed to increase the richness and diversity in both contaminated microbiomes, therefore, independently of PAH degradation improvement, we observed clues of inoculant establishment, suggesting it may use other resources to survive. On the other hand, the inoculation did not influence the bacterial community of PS. On both contaminated microbiomes, incubation conditions produced a sharp increase on Actinomycetales and Sphingomonadales orders, while inoculation caused a relative decline of Actinomycetales. Inoculation of most diverse microbiomes, PS and Phe, produced a coupled increase of Sphingomonadales , Burkholderiales and Rhizobiales orders, although it may exist a synergy between those genera; our results suggest that this would not be directly related to PAH degradation.

Description: Microorganisms are key drivers of leaf litter decomposition; however, the mechanisms underlying the dynamics of different microbial groups are poorly understood. We investigated the effects of seasonal variation and invertebrates on fungal and bacterial dynamics, and on leaf litter decomposition. We followed the decomposition of Populus nigra litter in a Mediterranean stream through an annual cycle, using fine and coarse mesh bags. Irrespective of the season, microbial decomposition followed two stages. Initially, bacterial contribution to total microbial biomass was higher compared to later stages, and it was related to disaccharide and lignin degradation; in a later stage, bacteria were less important and were associated with hemicellulose and cellulose degradation, while fungi were related to lignin decomposition. The relevance of microbial groups in decomposition differed among seasons: fungi were more important in spring, whereas in summer, water quality changes seemed to favour bacteria and slowed down lignin and hemicellulose degradation. Invertebrates influenced litter-associated microbial assemblages (especially bacteria), stimulated enzyme efficiencies and reduced fungal biomass. We conclude that bacterial and fungal assemblages play distinctive roles in microbial decomposition and differ in their sensitivity to environmental changes, ultimately affecting litter decomposition, which might be particularly relevant in highly seasonal ecosystems, such as intermittent streams.

Description: Global warming has resulted in substantial glacier retreats in high-elevation areas, exposing deglaciated soils to harsh environmental conditions. Autotrophic microbes are pioneering colonizers in the deglaciated soils and provide nutrients to the extreme ecosystem devoid of vegetation. However, autotrophic communities remain less studied in deglaciated soils. We explored the diversity and succession of the cbbL gene encoding the large subunit of form I RubisCO, a key CO 2 -fixing enzyme, using molecular methods in deglaciated soils along a 10-year deglaciation chronosequence on the Tibetan Plateau. Our results demonstrated that the abundance of all types of form I cbbL (IA/B, IC and ID) rapidly increased in young soils (0–2.5 years old) and kept stable in old soils. Soil total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) gradually increased along the chronosequence and both demonstrated positive correlations with the abundance of bacteria and autotrophs, indicating that soil TOC and TN originated from autotrophs. Form IA/B autotrophs, affiliated with cyanobacteria, exhibited a substantially higher abundance than IC and ID. Cyanobacterial diversity and evenness increased in young soils (〈6 years old) and then remained stable. Our findings suggest that cyabobacteria play an important role in accumulating TOC and TN in the deglaciated soils.

Description: Microbial consortia dominate glacial meltwater streams from polar regions, including the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), where they thrive under physiologically stressful conditions. In this study, we examined microbial mat types and sediments found in 12 hydrologically diverse streams to describe the community diversity and composition within and across sites. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene from 129 samples revealed ~24 000 operational taxonomic units (〈97% DNA similarity), making streams the most biodiverse habitat in the MDV. Principal coordinate analyses revealed significant but weak clustering by mat type across all streams (ANOSIM R-statistic = 0.28) but stronger clustering within streams (ANOSIM R-statistic from 0.28 to 0.94). Significant relationships ( P 〈 0.05) were found between bacterial diversity and mat ash-free dry mass, suggesting that diversity is related to the hydrologic regimes of the various streams, which are predictive of mat biomass. However, correlations between stream chemistry and community members were weak, possibly reflecting the importance of internal processes and hydrologic conditions. Collectively, these results suggest that localized conditions dictate bacterial community composition of the same mat types and sediments from different streams, and while MDV streams are hotspots of biodiversity in an otherwise depauperate landscape, controls on community structure are complex and site specific.

Description: Experiments to re-synthesise lichens so far focused on co-cultures of fungal and algal partners. However, recent studies have revealed that bacterial communities colonise lichens in a stable and host-specific manner. We were therefore interested in testing how lichenised fungi and algae interact with selected bacteria in an experimental setup. We selected the symbiotic system of Schizoxylon albescens and the algal genera Coccomyxa and Trebouxia as a suitable model. We isolated bacterial strains from the naturally occurring bacterial fraction of freshly collected specimens and established tripartite associations under mixed culture experiments. The bacteria belong to Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria and corresponded to groups already found associated with fungi including lichens. In mixed cultures with Coccomyxa , the fungus formed a characteristic filamentous matrix and tightly contacted the algae; the bacteria distributed in small patches between the algal cells and attached to the cell walls. In mixed cultures with Trebouxia , the fungus did not develop the filamentous matrix, but bacterial cells were observed to be tightly adhering to the fungal hyphae. Our experiments show that this tripartite fungal–algal–bacterial model system can be maintained in culture and can offer multiple opportunities for functional studies based on experiments under controlled conditions in the laboratory.

Description: Microbial sulfate reduction in acid mine drainage is still considered to be confined to anoxic conditions, although several reports have shown that sulfate-reducing bacteria occur under microaerophilic or aerobic conditions. We have measured sulfate reduction rates of up to 60 nmol S cm –3 day –1 in oxidized layers of gold mine tailings in Kuzbass (SW Siberia). A novel, acidophilic, copper-tolerant Desulfosporosinus sp. I2 was isolated from the same sample and its genome was sequenced. The genomic analysis and physiological data indicate the involvement of transporters and additional mechanisms to tolerate metals, such as sequestration by polyphosphates. Desulfosporinus sp. I2 encodes systems for a metabolically versatile life style. The genome possessed a complete Embden–Meyerhof pathway for glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. Complete oxidation of organic substrates could be enabled by the complete TCA cycle. Genomic analysis found all major components of the electron transfer chain necessary for energy generation via oxidative phosphorylation. Autotrophic CO 2 fixation could be performed through the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway. Multiple oxygen detoxification systems were identified in the genome. Taking into account the metabolic activity and genomic analysis, the traits of the novel isolate broaden our understanding of active sulfate reduction and associated metabolism beyond strictly anaerobic niches.

Description: Endophytes have profound impacts on plants, including beneficial effects on agriculturally important traits. We hypothesized that endophytes in wild plants include beneficial endophytes that are absent or underrepresented in domesticated crops. In this work, we studied the structure of endophyte communities in wheat-related grasses, Triticum dicoccoides and Aegilops sharonensis , and compared it to an endophyte community from wheat ( T. aeastivum ). Endophytes were isolated by cultivation and by cultivation-independent methods. In total, 514 intergenic spacer region sequences from single cultures were analyzed. Categorization at 97% sequence similarity resulted in 67 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that were evenly distributed between the different plant species. A narrow core community of Alternaria spp. was found in all samples, but each plant species also contained a significant portion of unique endophytes. The cultivation-independent analysis identified a larger number of OTUs than the cultivation method, half of which were singletons or doubletons. For OTUs with a relative abundance 〉0.5%, similar numbers were obtained by both methods. Collectively, our data show that wild grass relatives of wheat contain a wealth of taxonomically diverse fungal endophytes that are not found in modern wheat, some of which belong to taxa with known beneficial effects.

Description: The influence of diets rich in saturated fats and simple sugars on the intestinal microbiota plays a central role in obesity. Being overweight or obese predisposes individuals to several diseases including oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC), which develops through a cascade of events starting with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, progressing to Barrett's oesophagus (BO), and then OAC. A range of mechanisms for the increased risk of OAC in obese individuals have been proposed; however, a role for the oesophageal microbiota has been largely ignored. This is despite the fact that it is clear that the composition of the oesophageal microbiota shifts with the development of OAC. Given the well-established impact that unhealthy diets have on the intestinal microbiota, it is plausible that exposure to unhealthy foods, and the ensuing obesity, would result in an imbalance in the oesophageal microbiota. It is also likely that these changes may mimic the changes observed in the intestinal microbiota (i.e. increase in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) producers and bile acid biosynthesis). The modulation of SCFAs and bile acids in the oesophagus by diet could promote the transdifferentiation from squamous to intestinal-like columnar cells observed in BO, given that intestinal cells proliferate in the presence of SCFAs.

Description: Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most significant challenges facing the global medical community and can be attributed to the use and misuse of antibiotics. This includes use as growth promoters or for prophylaxis and treatment of bacterial infection in intensively farmed livestock from where antibiotics can enter the environment as residues in manure. We characterised the impact of the long-term application of a mixture of veterinary antibiotics alone (tylosin, sulfamethazine and chlortetracycline) on class 1 integron prevalence and soil microbiota composition. Class 1 integron prevalence increased significantly ( P 〈 0.005) from 0.006% in control samples to 0.064% in the treated plots. Soil microbiota was analysed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and revealed significant alterations in composition. Of the 19 significantly different ( P 〈 0.05) OTUs identified, 16 were of the Class Proteobacteria and these decreased in abundance relative to the control plots. Only one OTU, of the Class Cyanobacteria, was shown to increase in abundance significantly; a curiosity given the established sensitivity of this class to antibiotics. We hypothesise that the overrepresentation of Proteobacteria as OTUs that decreased significantly in relative abundance, coupled with the observations of an increase in integron prevalence, may represent a strong selective pressure on these taxa.

Description: The composition of bacterial communities in Lake Baikal in different hydrological periods and at different depths (down to 1515 m) has been analyzed using pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene V3 variable region. Most of the resulting 34 562 reads of the Bacteria domain have clustered into 1693 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) classified with the phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Acidobacteria and Cyanobacteria. It has been found that their composition at the family level and relative contributions to bacterial communities distributed over the water column vary depending on hydrological period. The number of OTUs and the parameters of taxonomic richness (ACE, Chao1 indices) and diversity (Shannon and inverse Simpson index) reach the highest values in water layers. The composition of bacterial communities in these layers remains relatively constant, whereas that in surface layers differs between hydrological seasons. The dynamics of physicochemical conditions over the water column and their relative constancy in deep layers are decisive factors in shaping the pattern of bacterial communities in Lake Baikal.

Description: Freshwater fungi play a key role in plant litter decomposition and have been used to investigate the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in streams. Although there is evidence of positive effects of biodiversity on ecosystem processes, particularly on biomass produced, some studies have shown that neutral or negative effects may occur. We manipulated the composition and the number of species and genotypes in aquatic fungal assemblages creating different levels of genetic divergence to assess effects of fungal diversity on biomass produced and leaf decomposition. Generally, diversity effects on fungal biomass produced were positive, suggesting complementarity between species, but in assemblages with more species positive diversity effects were reduced. Genotype diversity and genetic divergence had net positive effects on leaf mass loss, but in assemblages with higher diversity leaf decomposition decreased. Our results highlight the importance of considering multiple biodiversity measures when investigating the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.

Description: Heterotrophic protists in soil are grazers that control the biomass and community structure of bacteria, thereby enhancing nutrient recycling. Oxygen regulates the microeukaryotic community, but little is known about its response to microoxic conditions. Here we studied the impact of oxygen tension on culturable heterotrophic protists in a rice field soil. The number of protists, dominated by amoeba and flagellates, under oxygen tensions ranging from atmospheric level (21%) to below the Pasteur point (0.08%) were similar (10 4 cells g –1 dry soil); no protists were detected under anoxic conditions. DGGE fingerprinting of microeukaryotes demonstrated a shift in the community structure depending on the oxygen tension during growth. Both common and specific amoeba and flagellates were identified at different oxygen tensions. Amoeba isolates ( Acanthamoeba sp. and Hartmannella sp.) grew to the same extent under the oxygen tensions tested; the Acanthamoeba sp. isolate migrated more slowly under the lowest tension (0.08%). Our results demonstrated that amoeba and flagellates in soil adapt to a wide range of oxygen tensions with a shift in community structure. This suggests an ability to search for food in soil environments such as the oxic–anoxic interface of flooded soil or inside soil aggregates that are inaccessible to ciliates.

Description: The multiannual dynamic of the cyst-forming and toxic marine dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum was studied over a time scale of about 150 years by a paleoecological approach based on ancient DNA (aDNA) quantification and cyst revivification data obtained from two dated sediment cores of the Bay of Brest (Brittany, France). The first genetic traces of the species presence in the study area dated back to 1873 ± 6. Specific aDNA could be quantified by a newly developed real-time PCR assay in the upper core layers, in which the germination of the species (in up to 17–19-year-old sediments) was also obtained. In both cores studied, our quantitative paleogenetic data showed a statistically significant increasing trend in the abundance of A. minutum ITS1 rDNA copies over time, corroborating three decades of local plankton data that have documented an increasing trend in the species cell abundance. By comparison, paleogenetic data of the dinoflagellate Scrippsiella donghaienis did not show a coherent trend between the cores studied, supporting the hypothesis of the existence of a species-specific dynamic of A. minutum in the study area. This work contributes to the development of paleoecological research, further showing its potential for biogeographical, ecological and evolutionary studies on marine microbes.

Description: The evolutionary relationships of 10 Antarctic cyanobacterial strains of the order Oscillatoriales isolated from King George and Deception Islands, South Shetland Islands were studied by a polyphasic approach (morphology, 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer sequences). The studied taxa are characteristic of coastal Antarctic biotopes, where they form distinct populations and ecologically delimited communities. They were isolated from terrestrial habitats: microbial mats in seepages; crusts on soil, rocks, bones and mosses; mud, sometimes close to bird colonies; and from guano. Based on major phenotypic features, the strains were divided into four distinct morphotypes: Leptolyngbya borchgrevinkii (A), Leptolyngbya frigida (B), Microcoleus sp. (C) and Wilmottia murrayi (D). This morphological identification was in agreement with the phylogenetic relationships. For the first time, the 16S rRNA gene sequence of a strain corresponding to the L. borchgrevinkii morphotype was determined. Morphotype B is most related to sequences assigned to L. frigida isolated from microbial mats of coastal lakes in East Antarctica. Morphotype C belongs to a cluster including strains with morphotypes corresponding to Microcoleus attenuatus , Microcoleus favosus and Microcoleus sp . , which are from Antarctica and other continents. Morphotype D is grouped with sequences assigned to W. murrayi mostly isolated from Antarctica.

Description: Mixotrophic protists, i.e. protists that can carry out both phototrophy and heterotrophy, are a group of organisms with a wide range of nutritional strategies. The ecological and biogeochemical importance of these species has recently been recognized. In this study, we investigated and compared the gene expression of three mixotrophic protists, Prymnesium parvum , Dinobyron sp. and Ochromonas sp. under light and dark conditions in the presence of prey using RNA-Seq. Gene expression of the obligately phototrophic P. parvum and Dinobryon sp. changed significantly between light and dark treatments, while that of primarily heterotrophic Ochromonas sp. was largely unchanged. Gene expression of P. parvum and Dinobryon sp. shared many similarities, especially in the expression patterns of genes related to reproduction. However, key genes involved in central carbon metabolism and phagotrophy had different expression patterns between these two species, suggesting differences in prey consumption and heterotrophic nutrition in the dark . Transcriptomic data also offered clues to other physiological traits of these organisms such as preference of nitrogen sources and photo-oxidative stress. These results provide potential target genes for further exploration of the mechanisms of mixotrophic physiology and demonstrate the potential usefulness of molecular approaches in characterizing the nutritional modes of mixotrophic protists.

Description: Pseudomonas fluorescens PICF7, an indigenous inhabitant of olive roots, displays an endophytic lifestyle in this woody crop and exerts biocontrol against the fungal phytopathogen Verticillium dahliae . Here we report microscopy evidence that the strain PICF7 is also able to colonize and persist on or in wheat and barley root tissues. Root colonization of both cereal species followed a similar pattern to that previously reported in olive, including inner colonization of the root hairs. This demonstrates that strain PICF7 can colonize root systems of distant botanical species. Barley plants germinated from PICF7-treated seeds showed enhanced vegetative growth. Moreover, significant increases in the number of grains (up to 19.5%) and grain weight (up to 20.5%) per plant were scored in this species. In contrast, growth and yield were not significantly affected in wheat plants by the presence of PICF7. Proteomics analysis of the root systems revealed that different proteins were exclusively found depending on the presence or absence of PICF7 and only one protein with hydrogen ion transmembrane transporter activity was exclusively found in both PICF7-inoculated barley and wheat plants but not in the controls.

Description: Streptophyte green algae, ancestors of Embryophytes, occur frequently in terrestrial habitats being exposed to high light intensities, water scarcity and potentially toxic metal cations under acidic conditions. The filamentous Zygogonium ericetorum synthesizes a purple vacuolar ferrous pigment, which is lost after aplanospore formation. However, it is unknown whether this cellular reorganization also removes excessive iron from the protoplast and how Z. ericetorum copes with high concentrations of aluminium. Here we show that aplanospore formation shifts iron into the extracellular space of the algal filament. Upon germination of aplanospores, aluminium is bound in the parental cell wall. Both processes reduce iron and aluminium in unpigmented filaments. Comparison of the photosynthetic oxygen production in response to light and temperature gradients in two different Z. ericetorum strains from an Austrian alpine and a Scottish highland habitat revealed lower values in the latter strain. In contrast, the Scottish strain showed a higher optimum quantum yield of PSII during desiccation stress followed by rehydration. Furthermore, pigmented filaments of both strains exhibited a higher light and temperature dependent oxygen production when compared to the unpigmented phenotype. Our results demonstrate a high metal tolerance of Z. ericetorum , which is crucial for surviving in acidic terrestrial habitats.

Description: Factors driving the distribution of marine microorganisms are widely debated and poorly understood. Recent studies show that free-living marine microbes exhibit geographical patterns indicative of limited dispersal. In contrast, host-associated microbes face a different set of dispersal challenges, and hosts may function as habitat ‘islands’ for resident microbial populations. Here, we examine the biogeographical distributions of planktonic and adjacent coral-associated bacterial communities across the Hawaiian Archipelago, Johnston Atoll (~1400 km southwest of Hawaii) and American Samoa in the Pacific Ocean and investigate the potential underlying processes driving observed patterns. Statistical analyses of bacterial community structure, determined using a small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene-based approach, showed that bacterioplankton and coral-associated bacterial communities were distinct, and correlated with geographical distance between sites. In addition, biogeographical patterns of bacterial associates paralleled those of their host coral Porites lobata , highlighting the specificity of these associations and the impact that host dispersal may have on bacterial biogeography. Planktonic and coral-associated bacterial communities from distant Johnston Atoll were shown to be connected with communities from the center of the Hawaiian Archipelago, a pattern previously observed in fish and invertebrates. No significant correlations were detected with habitat type, temperature or depth. However, non-distance-based geographical groupings were detected, indicating that, in addition to dispersal, unidentified environmental factors also affected the distributions of bacterial communities investigated here.

Description: Microorganisms can be versatile in their interactions with each other, being variously beneficial, neutral or antagonistic in their effect. Although this versatility has been observed among many microorganisms and in many environments, little is known regarding the mechanisms leading to these changes in behavior. In the present work, we analyzed the mechanism by which the soil bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens BBc6R8 shifts from stimulating the growth of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor S238N to killing the fungus. We show that among the three secondary metabolites produced by the bacterial strain—the siderophores enantio-pyochelin and pyoverdine, and the biosurfactant viscosin—the siderophores are mainly responsible for the antagonistic activity of the bacterium under iron-limited conditions. While the bacterial strain continues to produce beneficial factors, their effects are overridden by the action of their siderophores. This antagonistic activity of the strain P. fluorescens BBC6R8 in iron-depleted environments is not restricted to its influence on L. bicolor , since it was also seen to inhibit the growth of the actinomycete Streptomyces ambofaciens ATCC23877. We show that the strain P. fluorescens BBc6R8 uses different strategies to acquire iron, depending on certain biotic and abiotic factors.

Description: Root systems are simultaneously colonized by multiple individuals of mycorrhizal fungi. Intraspecific competitive interactions between fungal isolates are likely to affect both fungal and plant performance and be influenced by abiotic factors. Here, we assessed the impact of intraspecific competition between three Pisolithus microcarpus isolates on the establishment of, and benefit derived from, symbioses with Eucalyptus grandis seedlings. We investigated the outcomes of competition under ambient and elevated temperature and CO 2 concentration ([CO 2 ]) in a factorial design. We observed a reduction in mycelium growth, mycorrhiza formation and seedling mass when two P. microcarpus isolates were co-inoculated on a single E. grandis seedling. Isolates invested more in mycelium than in mycorrhizas in the presence of a competitor. All isolates responded negatively to elevated [CO 2 ] and positively to elevated temperature, which led to no changes on the outcomes of the interactions with changing conditions. However, the presence of a competitor hindered the positive response of P. microcarpus isolates to warming, which resulted in larger negative effects of competition under elevated temperature than under ambient conditions. Our study highlights the need to consider how competition affects individual fungal responses as well as plant performance when trying to predict the impacts of climate change.

Description: The bacterial genus Burkholderia comprises species occupying several habitats, including a group of symbionts of leguminous plants—also called beta-rhizobia—that has been recently ascribed to the new genus Paraburkholderia . We used common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plants to trap rhizobia from an undisturbed soil of the Brazilian Cerrado under the vegetation type ‘Cerradão’. Genetic characterization started with the analyses of 181 isolates by BOX-PCR, where the majority revealed unique profiles, indicating high inter- and intra-species diversity. Restriction fragment length polymorphism-PCR of the 16S rRNA of representative strains of the BOX-PCR groups indicated two main clusters, and gene-sequencing analysis identified the minority (27%) as Rhizobium and the majority (73%) as Paraburkholderia . Phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA and housekeeping ( recA and gyrB ) genes positioned all strains of the second cluster in the species P. nodosa , and the phylogeny of a symbiotic gene— nodC —was in agreement with the conserved genes. All isolates were stable vis-à-vis nodulating common bean, but, in general, with a low capacity for fixing N 2 , although some effective strains were identified. The predominance of P. nodosa might be associated with the edaphic properties of the Cerrado biome, and might represent an important role in terms of maintenance of the ecosystem, which is characterized by acid soils with high saturation of aluminum and low N 2 content.

Description: Beneficial microbes are applied to the soil and plant tissues directly or through seed inoculation, whereas soil application is preferred when there is risk of inhibitors or antagonistic microbes on the plant tissues. Insufficient survival of the microorganisms, hindrance in application of fungicides to the seeds and exposure to heat and sunlight in subsequent seed storage in conventional inoculation methods force to explore appropriate and efficient bacterial application method. Seed priming, where seeds are hydrated to activate metabolism without actual germination followed by drying, increases the germination, stand establishment and stress tolerance in different crops. Seed priming with living bacterial inoculum is termed as biopriming that involves the application of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria. It increases speed and uniformity of germination; also ensures rapid, uniform and high establishment of crops; and hence improves harvest quality and yield. Seed biopriming allows the bacteria to enter/adhere the seeds and also acclimatization of bacteria in the prevalent conditions. This review focuses on methods used for biopriming, and also the role in improving crop productivity and stress tolerance along with prospects of this technology. The comparison of methods being followed is also reviewed proposing biopriming as a promising technique for application of beneficial microbes to the seeds.

Description: The picocyanobacterium Synechococcus is a prominent primary producer in the marine environment. The marine Synechococcus strains are clustered into different clades representing ecologically distinct genotypes. In this study, we compared phylogeny, photophysiology and cell cycles of four novel phycoerythrin-containing Synechococcus strains (clade II of subcluster 5.1) isolated from different depths of the water column (surface and subsurface waters) in coastal and offshore regions of the eastern Arabian Sea. The surface water strains possessed a lesser number of thylakoid layers and had a higher zeaxanthin to chlorophyll a ratio than subsurface strains indicating possible influence of light intensity available at their niche. The DNA distribution pattern of the four strains was bimodal in optimal cellular physiology conditions with cell division restricted to the light period and synchronized with the light–dark cycle. The presence of phycourobilin or phycoerythrobilin and the ratio between these two chromophores in all four strains varied according to available spectral wavelength in situ . This study indicates that the timing of cell division is conserved within these genotypically identical Synechococcus strains, despite their having different chromophore ratios. We conclude that the timing of cell division of the Synechococcus strains has a genetic basis rather than being determined by phenotypic characters, such as chromophore content and ratio.

Description: The mechanisms of community assembly are a central focus in the field of microbial ecology. However, to what extent these mechanisms differ in importance by traits of groups is poorly understood. Here we quantified the importance of neutral and niche processes in community assembly for bacteria, habitat specialists and generalists in 21 plateau lakes of China. Results showed that both neutral and niche processes played a critical role in the assembly of entire bacterial communities, shaping a unique biogeographical pattern. A few habitat generalists and many specialists were identified. Interestingly, habitat specialists were only governed by niche process, with seven significant environmental variables—salinity, dissolved oxygen, water transparency, total phosphorus, ammonium-nitrogen, temperature and total nitrogen—independently explaining 40.3% of the biological variation. By contrast, habitat generalists were strongly driven by neutral process, with 50.9% of the variation of detection frequency explained in neutral community model. Only three environmental variables—salinity, total nitrogen and dissolved oxygen—significantly affected the distribution of habitat generalists, independently explaining 13.6% of the variation. Governed by different assembly mechanisms, habitat specialists and generalists presented disparate biogeographical patterns. Our result emphasizes the importance of investigating the bacterial community assembly at more refined levels than entire communities.

Description: Fungal communities are important for carbon (C) transformations in boreal forests that are one of the largest C pools in terrestrial ecosystems, warranting thus further investigation of fungal community dynamics in time and space. We investigated fungal diversity and community composition seasonally and across defined soil horizons in boreal Scots pine forest in Finland using 454 pyrosequencing. We collected a total of 120 samples from five vertical soil horizons monthly from March to October; in March, under snow. Boreal forest soil generally harbored diverse fungal communities across soil horizons. The communities shifted drastically and rapidly over time. In late winter, saprotrophs dominated the community and were replaced by ectomycorrhizal fungi during the growing season. Our studies are among the first to dissect the spatial and temporal dynamics in boreal forest ecosystems and highlights the ecological importance of vertically distinct communities and their rapid seasonal dynamics. As climate change is predicted to result in warmer and longer snow-free winter seasons, as well as increase the rooting depth of trees in boreal forest, the seasonal and vertical distribution of fungal communities may change. These changes are likely to affect the organic matter decomposition by the soil-inhabiting fungi and thus alter organic C pools.

Description: The increasing application of soil metaproteomics is providing unprecedented, in-depth characterization of the composition and functionality of in situ microbial communities. Despite recent advances in high-resolution mass spectrometry, soil metaproteomics still suffers from a lack of effective and reproducible protein extraction protocols and standardized data analyses. This review discusses the opportunities and limitations of selected techniques in soil-, and leaf litter metaproteomics, and presents a step-by-step guideline on their application, covering sampling, sample preparation, extraction and data evaluation strategies. In addition, we present recent applications of soil metaproteomics and discuss how such approaches, linking phylogenetics and functionality, can help gain deeper insights into terrestrial microbial ecology. Finally, we strongly recommend that to maximize the insights environmental metaproteomics may provide, such methods should be employed within a holistic experimental approach considering relevant aboveground and belowground ecosystem parameters.

Description: The decomposition of dead plant biomass contributes to the carbon cycle and is one of the key processes in temperate forests. While fungi in litter decomposition drive the chemical changes occurring in litter, the bacterial community appears to be important as well, especially later in the decomposition process when its abundance increases. In this paper, we describe the bacterial community composition in live Quercus petraea leaves and during the subsequent two years of litter decomposition. Members of the classes Alpha- , Beta- and Gammaproteobacteria and the phyla Actinobacteria , Bacteroidetes and Acidobacteria were dominant throughout the experiment. Bacteria present in the oak phyllosphere were rapidly replaced by other taxa after leaf senescence. There were dynamic successive changes in community composition, in which the early-stage (months 2–4), mid-stage (months 6–8) and late-stage (months 10–24) decomposer communities could be distinguished, and the diversity increased with time. Bacteria associated with dead fungal mycelium were important during initial decomposition, with sequence relative abundances of up to 40% of the total bacterial community in months 2 and 4 when the highest fungal biomass was observed. Cellulose-decomposing bacteria were less frequent, with abundance ranging from 4% to 15%. The bacterial community dynamics reflects changes in the availability of possible resources either of the plant or microbial origin.

Description: In the naturally iron-fertilized surface waters of the northern Kerguelen Plateau region, the early spring diatom community composition and contribution to plankton carbon biomass were investigated and compared with the high nutrient, low chlorophyll (HNLC) surrounding waters. The large iron-induced blooms were dominated by small diatom species belonging to the genera Chaetoceros ( Hyalochaete ) and Thalassiosira , which rapidly responded to the onset of favorable light-conditions in the meander of the Polar Front. In comparison, the iron-limited HNLC area was typically characterized by autotrophic nanoeukaryote-dominated communities and by larger and more heavily silicified diatom species (e.g. Fragilariopsis spp.). Our results support the hypothesis that diatoms are valuable vectors of carbon export to depth in naturally iron-fertilized systems of the Southern Ocean. Furthermore, our results corroborate observations of the exported diatom assemblage from a sediment trap deployed in the iron-fertilized area, whereby the dominant Chaetoceros ( Hyalochaete ) cells were less efficiently exported than the less abundant, yet heavily silicified, cells of Thalassionema nitzschioides and Fragilariopsis kerguelensis . Our observations emphasize the strong influence of species-specific diatom cell properties combined with trophic interactions on matter export efficiency, and illustrate the tight link between the specific composition of phytoplankton communities and the biogeochemical properties characterizing the study area.

Description: Burkholderia terrae BS001 has previously been proposed to be a ‘generalist’ associate of soil fungi, but its strategies of interaction have been largely ignored. Here, we studied the chemotactic behavior of B. terrae BS001 towards Lyophyllum sp. strain Karsten and Trichoderma asperellum 302 and the role of fungal surface molecules in their physical interaction with the bacteria. To assess the involvement of the type 3 secretion system (T3SS), wild-type strain BS001 and T3SS mutant strain BS001- sctD were used in the experiments. First, the two fungi showed divergent behavior when confronted with B. terrae BS001 on soil extract agar medium. Lyophyllum sp. strain Karsten revealed slow growth towards the bacterium, whereas T. asperellum 302 grew avidly over it. Both on soil extract and M9 agar, B. terrae BS001 and BS001- sctD moved chemotactically towards the hyphae of both fungi, with a stronger response to Lyophyllum sp. strain Karsten than to T. asperellum 302. The presence of a progressively increasing glycerol level in the M9 agar enhanced the level of movement. Different oxalic acid concentrations exerted varied effects, with a significantly raised chemotactic response at lower, and a subdued response at higher concentrations. Testing of the adherence of B. terrae BS001 and BS001- sctD to Lyophyllum sp. strain Karsten and to cell envelope-extracted ceramide monohexosides (CMHs) revealed that CMHs in both conidia and hyphae could bind strain BS001 cells. As BS001- sctD adhered significantly less to the CMHs than BS001, the T3SS was presumed to have a role in the interaction. In contrast, such avid adherence was not detected with T. asperellum 302. Thus, B. terrae BS001 shows a behavior characterized by swimming towards Lyophyllum sp. strain Karsten and T. asperellum 302 and attachment to the CMH moiety in the cell envelope, in particular of the former.

Description: Characterization of naturally mummified human gut remains could potentially provide insights into the preservation and evolution of commensal and pathogenic microorganisms, and metabolic profiles. We characterized the gut microbiome of two pre-Columbian Andean mummies dating to the 10–15th centuries using 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing and metagenomics, and compared them to a previously characterized gut microbiome of an 11th century AD pre-Columbian Andean mummy. Our previous study showed that the Clostridiales represented the majority of the bacterial communities in the mummified gut remains, but that other microbial communities were also preserved during the process of natural mummification, as shown with the metagenomics analyses. The gut microbiome of the other two mummies were mainly comprised by Clostridiales or Bacillales , as demonstrated with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, many of which are facultative anaerobes, possibly consistent with the process of natural mummification requiring low oxygen levels. Metagenome analyses showed the presence of other microbial groups that were positively or negatively correlated with specific metabolic profiles. The presence of sequences similar to both Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania donovani could suggest that these pathogens were prevalent in pre-Columbian individuals. Taxonomic and functional profiling of mummified human gut remains will aid in the understanding of the microbial ecology of the process of natural mummification.

Description: The fungal community within dead wood has received considerable study, but far less attention has been paid to bacteria in the same habitat. Bacteria have long been known to inhabit decomposing wood, but much remains underexplored about their identity and ecology. Bacteria within the dead wood environment must interact with wood-decay fungi, but again, very little is known about the form this takes; there are indications of both antagonistic and beneficial interactions within this fungal microbiome. Fungi are hypothesised to play an important role in shaping bacterial communities in wood, and conversely, bacteria may affect wood-decay fungi in a variety of ways. This minireview considers what is currently known about bacteria in wood and their interactions with fungi, and proposes possible associations based on examples from other habitats. It aims to identify key knowledge gaps and pressing questions for future research.

Description: Definition of lichens has evolved from bi(tri)partite associations to multi-species symbioses, where bacteria would play essential roles. Besides, although soil bacterial communities are known to be affected by edaphic factors, when lichens grow upon them these could become less preponderant. We hypothesized that the structure of both the lichen microbiota and the microbiota in the soil underneath lichens is shaped by lichen intrinsic and extrinsic factors. In this work, intrinsic factors corresponded to mycobiont and cyanobiont identities of Peltigera lichens, metabolite diversity and phenoloxidase activity and extrinsic factors involved the site of the forest where lichens grow. Likewise, the genetic and metabolic structure of the lichen and soil bacterial communities were analyzed by fingerprinting. Among the results, metabolite diversity was inversely related to the genetic structure of bacterial communities of lichens and soils, highlighting the far-reaching effect of these substances; while phenoloxidase activity was inversely related to the metabolic structure only of the lichen bacterial microbiota, presuming a more limited effect of the products of these enzymes. Soil bacterial microbiota was different depending on the site and, strikingly, according to the cyanobiont present in the lichen over them, which could indicate an influence of the photobiont metabolism on the availability of soil nutrients.

Description: Despite a long history of use in phytomanagement strategies, the impacts of poplar trees on the structure and function of microbial communities that live in the soil remain largely unknown. The current study combined fungal and bacterial community analyses from different management regimes using Illumina-based sequencing with soil analysis. The poplar phytomanagement regimes led to a significant increase in soil fertility and a decreased bioavailability of Zn and Cd, in concert with changes in the microbial communities. The most notable changes in the relative abundance of taxa and operational taxonomic units unsurprisingly indicated that root and soil constitute distinct ecological microbial habitats, as exemplified by the dominance of Laccaria in root samples. The poplar cultivar was also an important driver, explaining 12% and 6% of the variance in the fungal and bacterial data sets, respectively. The overall dominance of saprophytic fungi, e.g. Penicillium canescens , might be related to the decomposition activities needed at the experimental site. Our data further highlighted that the mycorrhizal colonization of poplar cultivars varies greatly between the species and genotypes, which is exemplified by the dominance of Scleroderma under Vesten samples. Further interactions between fungal and bacterial functional groups stressed the potential of high-throughput sequencing technologies in uncovering the microbial ecology of disturbed environments.

Description: Endophytes associate with the majority of plant species found in natural and managed ecosystems. They are regarded as extremely important plant partners that provide improved stress tolerance to the host compared with plants that lack this symbiosis. Fossil records of endophytes date back more than 400 million years, implicating these microorganisms in host plant adaptation to habitat transitions. However, it is only recently that endophytes, and their bioactive products, have received meaningful attention from the scientific community. The benefits some endophytes can confer on their hosts include plant growth promotion and survival through the inhibition of pathogenic microorganisms and invertebrate pests, the removal of soil contaminants, improved tolerance of low fertility soils, and increased tolerance of extreme temperatures and low water availability. Endophytes are extremely diverse and can exhibit many different biological behaviours. Not all endophyte technologies have been successfully commercialised. Of interest in the development of the next generation of plant protection products is how much of this is due to the biology of the particular endophytic microorganism. In this review, we highlight selected case studies of endophytes and discuss their lifestyles and behavioural traits, and discuss how these factors contribute towards their effectiveness as biological control agents.

Description: Cryoconite granules are aggregations of microorganisms with mineral particles that form on glacier surfaces. To understand the processes by which the granules develop, this study focused on the altitudinal distribution of the granules and photosynthetic microorganisms on the glacier, bacterial community variation with granules size and environmental factors affecting the growth of the granules. Size-sorted cryoconite granules collected from five different sites on Qaanaaq Glacier were analyzed. C and N contents were significantly higher in large (diameter greater than 250 μm) granules than in smaller (diameter 30–249 μm) granules. Bacterial community structures, based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, were different between the smaller and larger granules. The filamentous cyanobacterium Phormidesmis priestleyi was the dominant bacterial species in larger granules. Multivariate analysis suggests that the abundance of mineral particles on the glacier surface is the main factor controlling growth of these cyanobacteria. These results show that the supply of mineral particles on the glacier enhances granule development, that P. priestleyi is likely the key species for primary production and the formation of the granules and that the bacterial community in the granules changes over the course of the granule development.

Description: Seasonally, snow environments cover up to 50% of the land's surface, yet the microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning within snow, particularly from alpine regions are not well described. This study explores the bacterial diversity in snow using next-generation sequencing technology. Our data expand the global inventory of snow microbiomes by focusing on two understudied regions, the Swiss Alps and the Australian Alps. A total biomass similar to cell numbers in polar snow was detected, with 5.2 to 10.5 x 10 3 cells mL –1 of snow. We found that microbial community structure of surface snow varied by country and site and along the altitudinal range (alpine and sub-alpine). The bacterial communities present were diverse, spanning 25 distinct phyla, but the six phyla Proteobacteria (Alpha- and Betaproteobacteria), Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria and Firmicutes, accounted for 72%–98% of the total relative abundance. Taxa such as Acidobacteriaceae and Methylocystaceae, associated with cold soils, may be part of the atmospherically sourced snow community, while families like Sphingomonadaceae were detected in every snow sample and are likely part of the common snow biome.

Description: Chemosynthetic sediment and planktonic community composition and sizes, aqueous geochemistry and sediment mineralogy were determined in 15 non-photosynthetic hot springs in Yellowstone National Park (YNP). These data were used to evaluate the hypothesis that differences in the availability of dissolved or mineral substrates in the bulk fluids or sediments within springs coincides with ecologically differentiated microbial communities and their populations. Planktonic and sediment-associated communities exhibited differing ecological characteristics including community sizes, evenness and richness. pH and temperature influenced microbial community composition among springs, but within-spring partitioning of taxa into sediment or planktonic communities was widespread, statistically supported ( P 〈 0.05) and could be best explained by the inferred metabolic strategies of the partitioned taxa. Microaerophilic genera of the Aquificales predominated in many of the planktonic communities. In contrast, taxa capable of mineral-based metabolism such as S o oxidation/reduction or Fe-oxide reduction predominated in sediment communities. These results indicate that ecological differentiation within thermal spring habitats is common across a range of spring geochemistry and is influenced by the availability of dissolved nutrients and minerals that can be used in metabolism.

Description: Arctic peatlands store large stocks of organic carbon which are vulnerable to the climate change but their fate is uncertain. There is increasing evidence that a part of it will be lost as a result of faster microbial mineralization. We studied the vulnerability of 3500–5900 years old bare peat uplifted from permafrost layers by cryogenic processes to the surface of an arctic peat plateau. We aimed to find biotic and abiotic drivers of C LOSS from old peat and compare them with those of adjacent, young vegetated soils of the peat plateau and mineral tundra. The soils were incubated in laboratory at three temperatures (4°C, 12°C and 20°C) and two oxygen levels (aerobic, anaerobic). C LOSS was monitored and soil parameters (organic carbon quality, nutrient availability, microbial activity, biomass and stoichiometry, and extracellular oxidative and hydrolytic enzyme pools) were determined. We found that C LOSS from the old peat was constrained by low microbial biomass representing only 0.22% of organic carbon. C LOSS was only slightly reduced by the absence of oxygen and exponentially increased with temperature, showing the same temperature sensitivity under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. We conclude that carbon in the old bare peat is stabilized by a combination of physical, chemical and biological controls including soil compaction, organic carbon quality, low microbial biomass and the absence of plants.

Description: A soybean nodule endophytic bacterium Bradyrhizobium sp. strain SR-6 was characterized for production of acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) as quorum sensing molecules. Mass spectrometry analysis of AHLs revealed the presence of C6-HSL, 3OH-C6-HSL, C8-HSL, C10-HSL, 3oxoC10-HSL, 3oxo-C12-HSL and 3OH-C12-HSL which are significantly different from those reported earlier in soybean symbionts. Purified AHL extracts significantly improved wheat and soybean seedling growth and root hair development along with increased soybean nodulation under axenic conditions. A positive correlation was observed among in vivo nitrogenase and catalase enzyme activities of the strain SR-6. Transmission electron microscopic analysis showed the cytochemical localization of catalase activity within the bacteroids, specifically attached to the peribacteroidal membrane. Root and nodule colonization proved rhizosphere competence of SR-6. The inoculation of SR-6 resulted in increased shoot length (13%), plant dry matter (50%), grain weight (16%), seed yield (20%) and N-uptake (14%) as compared to non-inoculated soybean plants. The symbiotic bacterium SR-6 has potential to improve soybean growth and yield in sub-humid climate of Azad Jammu and Kashmir region of Pakistan. The production and mass spectrometric profiling of AHLs as well as in vivo cytochemical localization of catalase enzyme activity in soybean Bradyrhizobium sp. have never been reported earlier elsewhere before our these investigations.

Description: Dissolved organic matter derived from phytoplankton (DOMP) can affect the bacterial biomass and community structure in aquatic ecosystems. Here, we examined the community response of free-living heterotrophic bacteria, with respect to cellular nucleic acid levels, to the DOMP lysates derived from three phytoplankton strains in the open tropical Pacific. The free amino acid (FAA) composition of each DOMP lysate differed among the microalgal strains. Terminal restriction fragment-length polymorphism analyses with 16S rRNA genes revealed that the community shifts of high nucleic acid (HNA) and low nucleic acid (LNA) bacteria varied significantly with the different DOMP lysate treatments. Furthermore, the FAA composition in DOMP lysates significantly affected the bacterial community shifts in HNA and LNA. Similarity percentage analysis using 16S rRNA gene deep-sequencing revealed that the DOMP lysates from the pelagophyte Pelagomonas calceolata caused relatively large community shifts with Alcaligenes predominating in the HNA fraction. In contrast, the DOMP lysate from the diatom Thalassiosira oceanica induced a community shift in the LNA fraction with a predominance of uncultured Actinobacteria . Thus, the data indicate that the DOMP lysates from different microalgae constitute a primary factor altering the dominant bacterial groups in the open ocean.

Description: Clay rocks are being considered for radioactive waste disposal, but relatively little is known about the impact of microbes on the long-term safety of geological repositories. Thus, a more complete understanding of microbial community structure and function in these environments would provide further detail for the evaluation of the safety of geological disposal of radioactive waste in clay rocks. It would also provide a unique glimpse into a poorly studied deep subsurface microbial ecosystem. Previous studies concluded that microorganisms were present in pristine Opalinus Clay, but inactive. In this work, we describe the microbial community and assess the metabolic activities taking place within borehole water. Metagenomic sequencing and genome-binning of a porewater sample containing suspended clay particles revealed a remarkably simple heterotrophic microbial community, fueled by sedimentary organic carbon, mainly composed of two organisms: a Pseudomonas sp. fermenting bacterium growing on organic macromolecules and releasing organic acids and H 2 , and a sulfate-reducing Peptococcaceae able to oxidize organic molecules to CO 2 . In Opalinus Clay, this microbial system likely thrives where pore space allows it. In a repository, this may occur where the clay rock has been locally damaged by excavation or in engineered backfills.

Description: Influences of soil environment and willow host species on ectomycorrhizal fungi communities was studied across an hydrologic gradient in temperate North America. Soil moisture, organic matter and pH strongly predicted changes in fungal community composition. In contrast, increased fungal richness strongly correlated with higher plant-available phosphorus. The 93 willow trees sampled for ectomycorrhizal fungi included seven willow species. Host identity did not influence fungal richness or community composition, nor was there strong evidence of willow host preference for fungal species. Network analysis suggests that these mutualist interaction networks are not significantly nested or modular. Across a strong environmental gradient, fungal abiotic niche determined the fungal species available to associate with host plants within a habitat.

Description: We present a reliable PCR-based method to avoid the biases related to identification based on the conventional phenotypes currently used in the identification of Pseudomonas syringae sensu lato , a ubiquitous environmental bacterium including plant pathogens. We identified a DNA target suitable for this purpose by applying a comparative genomic pipeline to Pseudomonas genomes. We designed primers and developed PCR conditions that led to a clean and strong PCR product from 97% of the 185 strains of P. syringae strains tested and gave a clear negative result for the 31 non- P. syringae strains tested. The sensitivity of standard PCR was determined with pure strains to be 10 6 bacteria mL –1 or 0.4 ng of DNA μL –1 . Sensitivity could be improved with the touchdown method. The new PCR-assisted isolation of P. syringae was efficient when deployed on an environmental sample of river water as compared to the isolation based on phenotypes. This innovation eliminates the need for extensive expertise in isolating P. syringae colonies, was simpler, faster and very reliable. It will facilitate discovery of more diversity of P. syringae and research on emergence, dispersion and evolution to understand the varied functions of this environmental bacterium.