Effects of microplastics on daphnia-associated microbiomes in situ and in vitro.

Microplastic pollution in aquatic environments is a growing global concern. Microplastics, defined as plastic fragments smaller than five millimetres, accumulate in freshwater reservoirs, especially in urban areas, impacting resident biota. This study examined the effects of microplastics on the performance and microbiome of Daphnia, a keystone organism in freshwater ecosystems, through both in situ sampling of freshwater ponds and a controlled 23-day in vitro exposure experiment.

Niche-specification of aerobic 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid biodegradation by -carrying bacteria in the rice paddy ecosystem.

This study aimed for a better understanding of the niche specification of bacteria carrying the -genes for aerobic 2,4-dichlorphenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) degradation in the rice paddy ecosystem. To achieve this, a dedicated microcosm experiment was set up to mimic the rice paddy system, with and without 2,4-D addition, allowing spatial sampling of the different rice paddy compartments and niches, i.e.

The Growth Yield of MSH1 on the Micropollutant 2,6-Dichlorobenzamide Decreases Substantially at Trace Substrate Concentrations.

2,6-Dichlorobenzamide (BAM) is an omnipresent micropollutant in European groundwaters. MSH1 is a prime candidate for biologically treating BAM-contaminated groundwater since this organism is capable of utilizing BAM as a carbon and energy source. However, detailed information on the BAM degradation kinetics by MSH1 at trace concentrations is lacking, while this knowledge is required for predicting and optimizing the degradation process.

gen. nov., sp. nov., a thermophilic chain-elongating bacterium, producing -caproate from polymeric carbohydrates.

Strain MDTJ8 is a chain-elongating thermophilic bacterium isolated from a thermophilic acidogenic anaerobic digestor treating human waste while producing the high commodity chemical -caproate. The strain grows and produces formate, acetate, -butyrate, -caproate and lactate from mono-, di- and polymeric saccharides at 37-60 °C (optimum, 50-55 °C) and at pH 5.0-7.