CyanoStrainChip: A Novel DNA Microarray Tool for High-Throughput Detection of Environmental Cyanobacteria at the Strain Level.

Detecting cyanobacteria in environments is an important concern due to their crucial roles in ecosystems, and they can form blooms with the potential to harm humans and nonhuman entities. However, the most widely used methods for high-throughput detection of environmental cyanobacteria, such as 16S rRNA sequencing, typically provide above-species-level resolution, thereby disregarding intraspecific variation. To address this, we developed a novel DNA microarray tool, termed the CyanoStrainChip, that enables strain-level comprehensive profiling of environmental cyanobacteria.

Field comparison of the effectiveness of agricultural and nonagricultural organic wastes for aided phytostabilization of a Pb-Zn mine tailings pond in Hunan Province, China.

To date, very few attempts have been made to systematically compare the effectiveness of agricultural and nonagricultural organic wastes for aided phytostabilization of mine tailings under field conditions. In this study, we performed a field trial to compare the effectiveness of three agricultural organic wastes: chicken manure (CM), crop straw (CS), and spent mushroom compost (SMC), with that of three nonagricultural organic wastes, municipal sludge (MS), medicinal herb residues (MHR), and sweet sorghum vinasse (SSV) for aided phytostabilization of a Pb-Zn mine tailings pond in Hunan Province, China. Eight plant species naturally established in the vicinity of the mine were selected and seeded onto trial plots.

Microbial community structure and function in sediments from e-waste contaminated rivers at Guiyu area of China.

The release of toxic organic pollutants and heavy metals by primitive electronic waste (e-waste) processing to waterways has raised significant concerns, but little is known about their potential ecological effects on aquatic biota especially microorganisms. We characterized the microbial community composition and diversity in sediments sampled along two rivers consistently polluted by e-waste, and explored how community functions may respond to the complex combined pollution. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that Proteobacteria (particularly Deltaproteobacteria) dominated the sediment microbial assemblages followed by Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi and Firmicutes.

Fine-scale spatial patterns in microbial community composition in an acid mine drainage.

Microbial community composition is essential for aquatic ecosystem functions and has been explored across diverse environments and various spatial scales. However, documented patterns are often based on samples from spatially/geographically separated locations or sites. Here, we define sampling volume as spatial scale and examine (by Illumina 16S rRNA sequencing) microbial community composition over a scale of 1 mL to 10 L in an acid mine drainage.

The effects of phylogenetic relatedness on invasion success and impact: deconstructing Darwin's naturalisation conundrum.

Darwin's naturalisation conundrum describes the paradox that the relatedness of exotic species to native residents could either promote or hinder their success through opposing mechanisms: niche pre-adaptation or competitive interactions. Previous studies focusing on single snapshots of invasion patterns have provided support to both sides of the conundrum. Here, by examining invasion dynamics of 480 plots over 40 years, we show that exotic species more closely related to native species were more likely to enter, establish and dominate the resident communities, and that native residents more closely related to these successful exotics were more likely to go locally extinct.