Impact of bacterial admixtures on the compressive and tensile strengths, permeability, and pore structure of ternary mortars: Comparative study of ureolytic and phototrophic bacteria.

The addition of bacterial biomass to cementitious materials can improve strength and permeability properties by altering the pore structure. Photoautotrophic bacteria are understudied mortar bio-additives that do not produce unwanted by-products compared to commonly studied ureolytic species. This study directly compares the impact of the addition of heterotrophic Bacillus subtilis to photoautotrophic Synechocystis sp.

Genetic Factors and Genotype-Environment Interactions Contribute to Variation in Melanin Production in the Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.

Cryptococcosis is a common opportunistic fungal infection that often disseminates into the central nervous system, leading to meningitis. Production of melanin pigments during infections is one of the most important virulence factors of its causal agent, the human pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans species complex. However, almost nothing is known about the patterns of variation in melanin production among clinical and environmental strains and the potential effects of such variations on virulence.