Differing trophic niches of three French stygobionts and their implications for conservation of endemic stygofauna

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Repurposing Ionophores as novel antimicrobial agents for the treatment of bovine mastitis caused by Gram‐positive pathogens

Increasing reports of multidrug‐resistant bacterial infections in animals has created a need for novel antimicrobial agents that do not promote cross‐resistance to critically important antimicrobial classes used in human medicine. In response to the recent emergence of antimicrobial resistance in several bovine mastitis pathogens, in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility was determined for four polyether ionophores (lasalocid, monensin, narasin and salinomycin) against Staphylococcus spp. and Streptococcus spp. isolated from clinical cases. In addition, erythrocyte haemolysis and WST ‐1 cell proliferation assays were used to assess in vitro mammalian cell cytotoxicity and biofilm susceptibility testing was performed using the minimum biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC ?) biofilm assay. Lasalocid, monensin, narasin and salinomycin exhibited bacteriostatic antimicrobial activity against all pathogens tested, including methicillin‐resistant staphylococci, with MIC ₉₀ values <16 μg/ml. Narasin and monensin displayed the least toxicity against mammalian cell lines and all compounds significantly reduced viable cell numbers in a Staphylococcus aureus biofilm. Based on in vitro characterization, all four ionophores offer potentially novel treatments against bovine mastitis but in vivo studies will be essential to determine whether acceptable safety and efficacy is present following intramammary administration.     

Chemical and Microbiological <Emphasis Type="Italic">in situ</Emphasis> Characterization of Benthic Communities in Sediments with Different Contamination Levels

Background  River sediments are natural habitats of complex bacterial and fungal communities and therefore play a decisive role in the mineralization process of organic matter in freshwater systems. By means of comparative temporal and spatial analyses of microbial communities, the in situ impact of anthropogenically generated pollutants on these biofilm associations can be assessed and discriminated from seasonal variations. Aim  The aim was the adaptation of hybridization with fluorescently labelled rRNA-targeted oligonucleotides (FISH) for the in situ characterization of the structural and functional diversity of native microbial communities in complex lotic sediments. The impact of qualitatively and quantitatively different water pollutants on the microbial diversity, metabolic potential, and relative abundance of characteristic bacterial groups was assessed by oligonucleotide probes on different phylogenetic levels. In particular, sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) were investigated to evaluate their potential applicability as microbial biomonitors in sediments. Methods  Sediment samples from the German lowland rivers Elbe and Oder were investigated over 12 months with regard to physico-chemical parameters and the composition of the attached microbial communities. Mechanical treatment including ultrasonification and sagitation under aerobic conditions combined with the use of pyrophosphate ensured the equal dispersion of fixed microbial cells within the sediment samples. The optimized whole-sediment FISH-technique was combined with an improved cell extraction procedure and applied, due to the specific grain size fraction distribution, at the different sampling sites. Resultsand discussion  Up to 85.6% of the total bacterial cell counts as determined by DAPI (4’, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) staining could be successfully monitored by the eubacterial oligonucleotide probe set EUB338, EUB338-II and EUB338-III, simultaneously indicating a high proportion of Eubacteria and the high metabolic potential of the bacterial community. Desulfobacteriaceae could be detected by the specific probe SRB385Db in various relative percentages ranging from 2.4 to 16.0% of the total bacterial cell counts. The total number of bacteria and the metabolic potential of sediment related bacteria were barely affected by the different pollution pattern of the sampling sites. Conclusions  The pre-treatment step as conducted by cell extraction as well as the FISH hybridization procedure was successfully optimized to the specific conditions present within freshwater sediments. Beside seasonal variations, particularly occurring at hydrologically influenced sites, sampling sites with different pol lution levels could be successfully distinguished by the relative abundance of Desulfobacteriaceae used as microbial indicator organisms. Outlook  The integration of ongoing insights into pollution induced changes of natural bacterial consortia should result in a system of ecotoxicological classes representing the different ecological status of riverine systems. Physiological directed methods like Community Level Physiological Profiling (CLPP) or Pollution Induced Community Tolerance (PICT), and structural techniques as FISH or microarrays should be used to investigate the influence of harmful substances on the biodiversity in natural microbial sediment communities.     

Developed microbial biofilms can restore deteriorated conventional agricultural soils

Nitrogen fixing bacteria play a key role in the growth and persistence of effective microbial communities in the soil by supplying N through biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). In the long run, chemical inputs, particularly N fertilisers are known to adversely affect N₂ fixers and hence maintenance of soil fertility and crop productivity. This study examined the effect of developed microbial biofilms with N₂ fixers on restoration of soils deteriorated by conventional agricultural practices in tea cultivation. Just reducing recommended chemical fertiliser use by 50% significantly increased soil microbial biomass and BNF, and decreased soil NO₃⁻ and pest infestation. The lower chemical fertiliser addition coupled with the biofilm-based biofertilisers known as biofilmed biofertilisers (BFBFs) further increased BNF significantly. The combined application significantly increased soil organic C by ca. 20%, and reduced leaf transpiration by ca. 40%. It also supported plant growth, rhizoremediation and soil moisture conservation in comparison to the 100% chemical fertilisation. Those improved performances were observed to be proportional to the increased density of soil bacteria, and have several agronomic and environmental implications. It is apparent from this study that replenishing the depleted soil microbial communities by applying such biofertilisers is likely to be beneficial in agroecosystems with chemical N fertiliser use, if they are to be sustained for crop production.     

大黄酸干预木糖葡萄球菌生物被膜及其作用机制研究

试验通过标准微量稀释法测定大黄酸的亚抑菌浓度(MIC),利用结晶紫染色法考察大黄酸对木糖葡萄球菌生物被膜形成的干预作用;以木糖葡萄球菌谷氨酰胺酶缺失株和咪唑甘油磷酸酯脱水酶缺失株为研究对象,测定不同亚抑菌浓度药物大黄酸对各菌株生物被膜形成能力的影响,考察药物在生物被膜不同形成时期对细菌生物被膜形成能力的影响,探索大黄酸干预木糖葡萄球菌生物被膜形成的作用机制。结果显示,大黄酸对木糖葡萄球菌的MIC为64 mg/L;亚抑菌浓度的大黄酸具有抑制木糖葡萄球菌生物被膜形成的能力,且随着大黄酸浓度增加,其干预作用越明显,抑制效果越好;以木糖葡萄球菌标准菌株作为参照,谷氨酰胺酶缺失株、咪唑甘油磷酸酯脱水酶缺失株形成生物被膜的能力极显著下降(P<0.01);在各亚抑菌浓度大黄酸中谷氨酰胺酶缺失株抑制率均显著降低,咪唑甘油磷酸酯脱水酶缺失株在低浓度大黄酸中抑制率也显著降低;药物大黄酸对木糖葡萄球菌生物被膜的干预主要在6 h与12 h发挥显著作用,谷氨酰胺酶对生物被膜的抑制时间也在6 h和12 h。研究表明,亚抑菌浓度大黄酸可以显著抑制木糖葡萄球菌生物被膜形成,通过谷氨酰胺酶、咪唑甘油磷酸酯脱水酶为靶点发挥干预作用;且大黄酸对生物被膜的干预时期在生物被膜形成的早期阶段,可能是通过抑制细菌黏附发挥干预生物被膜形成作用。     

壳聚糖-胰蛋白酶抑制剂复合可食性膜的制备及抗黄曲霉活性

为探索新型生物膜材料的制备方法及抗黄曲霉活性,以壳聚糖和大豆胰蛋白酶抑制剂(TI)提取物为原料,甘油为增塑剂,利用溶液共混流延法制备壳聚糖-TI-甘油复合可食性膜,测试其厚度、表观结构、力学性质、透光率、水蒸气透过率及抗黄曲霉侵染活性。结果表明,当壳聚糖浓度为18mg/mL、TI浓度2mg/mL、甘油浓度12mg/mL和干燥温度45℃时,制备复合膜具有优良抗黄曲霉活性,且综合理化性能最佳。制备壳聚糖-TI-甘油复合膜液涂膜于花生上,接种黄曲霉培养后发现,复合膜对于黄曲霉侵染具有较强的抵抗和抑制作用。     

Effects of Using Rice Bran and Cottonseed Meal as Organic Fertilizers on Water Quality,Plankton, and Growth and Yield of Striped Bass,Morone saxatilis,Fingerlings in Ponds

Several significant differences in water quality, primary production, production of plankton, or yield of striped bass, "Morone saxatilis," fingerlings were found between ponds fertilized with either rice bran and inorganic fertilizer or those ferilized with cottonseed meal and inorganic fertilizer. Ponds fertilized with rice bran had the lowest ammonia concentrations and Secchi disc readings and the highest concentrations of cladocerans and crustracean zooplankton. At harvest, after 82 days of culture, striped bass fingerlings from ponds fertilized with rice bran were significantly larger than were those from ponds fertilized with cottonseed meal. Numbers of fingerlins produced per hectare did not differ by treatment but ferilizer cost were US$94.78/ha less for ponds fertilized with rice bran.     

微生物膜对厚壳贻贝稚贝附着的影响

为研究微生物膜在厚壳贻贝稚贝附着过程中的作用,通过海洋化学生态学和分子微生物学方法分析了微生物膜形成过程中其干重、附着细菌密度、底栖硅藻密度、叶绿素a含量等随日龄变化情况及其对厚壳贻贝稚贝附着的影响。同时,利用DGGE指纹图谱技术对不同日龄微生物膜中的细菌群落结构多样性进行了分析。结果发现,微生物膜的干重、附着细菌密度及底栖硅藻密度明显随着日龄的增加而增加,在28 d达到最高值,其干重、细菌和硅藻密度分别为0.87 mg/cm2、1.5×107/cm2、1.0×106/cm2,均与日龄显著相关。叶绿素a含量在14 d时达到最大,为2.2μg/cm2,随日龄的增加呈持续下降的趋势,相关性分析表明叶绿素a含量与日龄无直接关系。随着日龄的增加,微生物膜诱导的稚贝附着率逐渐增加,28 d时达到最高值,为76%。相关性分析显示,微生物膜的活性与干重、附着细菌密度及底栖硅藻密度显著相关,其相关性系数分别为0.717、0.711和0.754。然而,微生物膜的附着诱导活性与叶绿素a无直接相关性。细菌群落结构在厚壳贻贝稚贝附着过程中发挥了重要作用。     

Bioactive compound synthetic capacity and ecological significance of marine bacterial genus pseudoalteromonas

The genus Pseudoalteromonas is a marine group of bacteria belonging to the class Gammaproteobacteria that has come to attention in the natural product and microbial ecology science fields in the last decade. Pigmented species of the genus have been shown to produce an array of low and high molecular weight compounds with antimicrobial, anti-fouling, algicidal and various pharmaceutically-relevant activities. Compounds formed include toxic proteins, polyanionic exopolymers, substituted phenolic and pyrolle-containing alkaloids, cyclic peptides and a range of bromine-substituted compounds. Ecologically, Pseudoalteromonas appears significant and to date has been shown to influence biofilm formation in various marine econiches; involved in predator-like interactions within the microbial loop; influence settlement, germination and metamorphosis of various invertebrate and algal species; and may also be adopted by marine flora and fauna as defensive agents. Studies have been so far limited to a relatively small subset of strains compared to the known diversity of the genus suggesting that many more discoveries of novel natural products as well as ecological connections these may have in the marine ecosystem remain to be made.     

Biochemical Properties and Anti-Biofilm Activity of Chitosan-Immobilized Papain

Chitosan, the product of chitin deacetylation, is an excellent candidate for enzyme immobilization purposes. Here we demonstrate that papain, an endolytic cysteine protease (EC: 3.4.22.2) from Carica papaya latex immobilized on the matrixes of medium molecular (200 kDa) and high molecular (350 kDa) weight chitosans exhibits anti-biofilm activity and increases the antimicrobials efficiency against biofilm-embedded bacteria. Immobilization in glycine buffer (pH 9.0) allowed adsorption up to 30% of the total protein (mg g chitosan⁻¹) and specific activity (U mg protein⁻¹), leading to the preservation of more than 90% of the initial total activity (U mL⁻¹). While optimal pH and temperature of the immobilized papain did not change, the immobilized enzyme exhibited elevated thermal stability and 6–7-fold longer half-life time in comparison with the soluble papain. While one-half of the total enzyme dissociates from both carriers in 24 h, this property could be used for wound-dressing materials design with dosed release of the enzyme to overcome the relatively high cytotoxicity of soluble papain. Our results indicate that both soluble and immobilized papain efficiently destroy biofilms formed by Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. As a consequence, papain, both soluble and immobilized on medium molecular weight chitosan, is capable of potentiating the efficacy of antimicrobials against biofilm-embedded Staphylococci. Thus, papain immobilized on medium molecular weight chitosan appears a presumably beneficial agent for outer wound treatment for biofilms destruction, increasing antimicrobial treatment effectiveness.