Correlating the succession of microbial communities from Nigerian soils to petroleum biodegradation.

Whilst biodegradation of different hydrocarbon components has been widely demonstrated to occur by specialist oil-degrading bacteria, less is known about the impact on microbial communities as a function of oil composition by comparing the biodegradation of chemically complex fuels to synthetic products. The objectives of this study were (i) to assess the biodegradation capacity and succession of microbial communities isolated from Nigerian soils in media with crude oil or synthetic oil as sole sources of carbon and energy, and (ii) to assess the temporal variability of the microbial community size. Community profiling was done using 16 S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing (Illumina), and oil profiling using gas chromatography.

Methanotrophy by a Mycobacterium species that dominates a cave microbial ecosystem.

So far, only members of the bacterial phyla Proteobacteria and Verrucomicrobia are known to grow methanotrophically under aerobic conditions. Here we report that this metabolic trait is also observed within the Actinobacteria. We enriched and cultivated a methanotrophic Mycobacterium from an extremely acidic biofilm growing on a cave wall at a gaseous chemocline interface between volcanic gases and the Earth's atmosphere.

Response of to the Cytochrome Inhibitor Q203.

For the design of next-generation tuberculosis chemotherapy, insight into bacterial defence against drugs is required. Currently, targeting respiration has attracted strong attention for combatting drug-resistant mycobacteria. Q203 (telacebec), an inhibitor of the cytochrome complex in the mycobacterial respiratory chain, is currently evaluated in phase-2 clinical trials.

Correlating biodegradation kinetics of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin to the dynamics of microbial communities originating from soil in Vietnam contaminated with herbicides and dioxins.

We studied the succession of bacterial communities during the biodegradation of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD). The communities originated from a mesocosm with soil from Bien Hoa airbase in Vietnam heavily contaminated with herbicides and dioxins. They were grown in defined media with different carbon and Gibbs energy sources and 2,3,7,8-TCDD.

A Functional Carbohydrate Degrading Enzyme Potentially Acquired by Horizontal Gene Transfer in the Genome of the Soil Invertebrate .

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is defined as the acquisition by an organism of hereditary material from a phylogenetically unrelated organism. This process is mostly observed among bacteria and archaea, and considered less likely between microbes and multicellular eukaryotes. However, recent studies provide compelling evidence of the evolutionary importance of HGT in eukaryotes, driving functional innovation.