Publications by authors named "Wolfgang Streit"

Article Synopsis
  • Droplet degeneration (DD) indicates the onset of neuritic plaque formation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and may be a type of ferroptosis due to high levels of ferritin and iron in microglia.
  • Researchers aimed to identify molecular markers of ferroptosis in AD brains by examining transferrin receptor (TfR) and ferritin levels in the prefrontal cortex.
  • Findings revealed that TfR was present in degenerating neurons, increasing with neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) severity, supporting the idea that DD may represent a transient phase of ferroptosis in AD pathology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Wetlands are hotspots for carbon and nutrient cycling. The important role of plant-microbe interactions in driving wetland biogeochemistry is widely acknowledged, prompting research into their molecular biological basis for a deeper understanding of these processes. We analyzed transcriptomic responses of soil microbes to root exudates in coastal wetland soils using CO pulse labeling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Neuritic plaques are pathognomonic and terminal lesions of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). They embody AD pathogenesis because they harbor in one space critical pathologic features of the disease: amyloid deposits, neurofibrillary degeneration (NFD), neuroinflammation, iron accumulation. Neuritic plaques are thought to arise from the conversion of diffuse extracellular deposits of amyloid beta protein (Aβ), and it is believed that during conversion amyloid toxicity creates the dystrophic neurites of neuritic plaques, as well as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mangroves are impacted by multiple environmental stressors, including sea level rise, erosion, and plastic pollution. Thus, mangrove soil may be an excellent source of as yet unknown plastic-transforming microorganisms. Here, we assess the impact of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) particles and seawater intrusion on the mangrove soil microbiome and report an enrichment culture experiment to artificially select PET-transforming microbial consortia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) degradation by enzymatic hydrolysis is significant for addressing plastic pollution and fostering sustainable waste management practices. Identifying thermophilic and thermostable PET hydrolases is particularly crucial for industrial bioprocesses, where elevated temperatures may enhance enzymatic efficiency and process kinetics. In this study, we present the discovery of a novel thermophilic and thermostable PETase enzyme named Sis, obtained through metagenomic sequence-based analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: tarch tilization ystem (Sus)D-homologs are well known for their carbohydrate-binding capabilities and are part of the operon in microorganisms affiliated with the phylum Bacteroidota. Until now, SusD-like proteins have been characterized regarding their affinity toward natural polymers. In this study, three metagenomic SusD homologs (designated SusD1, SusD38489, and SusD70111) were identified and tested with respect to binding to natural and non-natural polymers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers examined the microbiome of the macroalga Fucus vesiculosus over 25 days, finding that Pseudomonadota, particularly Marinomonas and Vibrio, dominated the microbial community, while Bacteroidota showed the highest potential for cell wall degradation despite being less abundant.
  • * Two α-L-fucosidase enzymes (FUJM18 and FUJM20) were cloned and characterized, showing high activity at elevated temperatures, suggesting they could be used to create a synthetic enzyme cocktail for large-scale degradation of algae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The versatility of plastic has resulted in huge amounts being consumed annually. Mismanagement of post-consumption plastic material has led to plastic waste pollution. Biodegradation of plastic by microorganisms has emerged as a potential solution to this problem.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Estuaries are important components of the global carbon cycle; exchanging carbon between aquatic, atmospheric, and terrestrial environments, representing important loci for blue carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions. However, how estuarine gradients affect sinking/suspended particles, and dissolved organic matter dynamic interactions remains unexplored. We fractionated suspended/sinking particles to assess and characterise carbon fate differences.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

are ubiquitous Gram-negative bacteria found in both natural and clinical environments. It is a remarkably adaptable species capable of thriving in various environments, thanks to the plasticity of its genome and a diverse array of genes that encode a wide range of functions. Among these functions, one notable trait is its remarkable ability to resist various antimicrobial agents, primarily through mechanisms that regulate the diffusion across cell membranes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

An easy and straightforward way to engineer microbial environmental communities is by setting up liquid enrichment cultures containing a specific substrate as the sole source of carbon. Here, we analyzed twenty single-contig high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) retrieved from a microbial consortium (T6) that was selected by the dilution-to-stimulation approach using Andean soil as inoculum and lignocellulose as a selection pressure. Based on genomic metrics (e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Biofilms can resist traditional antibiotics, prompting the search for new antimicrobials from unique sources like aquatic microorganisms, leading to the analysis of microalgae-bacteria communities for potential antimicrobial enzymes.
  • - A promising enzyme candidate called Dlh3 was found to inhibit biofilm development of the fish pathogen Edwardsiella anguillarum by up to 54.5% and showed positive effects on self-defense genes in response to its application.
  • - Dlh3 demonstrates biotechnological potential for aquaculture because it effectively inhibits harmful biofilms without negatively affecting the health or growth of a relevant fish cell model (CHSE-214).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Heavy metal-resistant bacteria secrete extracellular proteins (e-PNs). However, the role of e-PNs in heavy metal resistance remains elusive. Here Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy implied that N-H, C = O and NH-R played a crucial role in the adsorption and resistance of Ni in the model organism Cuprividus pauculus 1490 (C.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The use of surface-grafted polymer brushes with combined low-fouling and antibacterial functionality is an attractive strategy to fight biofilm formation. This report describes a new styrene derivative combining a quaternary ammonium group with a sulfobetaine group in one monomer. Surface-initiated polymerization of this monomer on titanium and a polyethylene (PE) base material gave bifunctional polymer brush layers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Biofilms in hard-to-heal wounds consist of multiple bacterial species that can tolerate antimicrobial agents, making them difficult to treat.
  • Research using dual-species wound biofilm models showed varying responses to different antimicrobial treatments, with cadexomer-iodine being the most effective in reducing bacterial counts.
  • The study revealed that different bacterial species coexist by avoiding each other and occupying separate niches, highlighting the need for new combined treatment approaches for biofilm-related wounds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Scientists used to look at infections caused by just one type of bacteria but now know that many bacteria can work together to cause sickness.
  • They studied how different bacteria interact when they're in groups, called biofilms, to better understand how they cause infections.
  • By examining the structure and genes of these bacteria, researchers found important information that could help create new treatments for infections caused by multiple bacteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Focus is on Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, which forms harmful biofilms on medical devices, and how a supernatant from stony coral can reduce biofilm formation by 40%.
  • * Researchers identified metalloproteases in the supernatant that contribute to the anti-biofilm effects, highlighting their potential as new antimicrobial agents in health care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a commodity polymer known to globally contaminate marine and terrestrial environments. Today, around 80 bacterial and fungal PET-active enzymes (PETases) are known, originating from four bacterial and two fungal phyla. In contrast, no archaeal enzyme had been identified to degrade PET.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a widely used synthetic polymer and known to contaminate marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Only few PET-active microorganisms and enzymes (PETases) are currently known, and it is debated whether degradation activity for PET originates from promiscuous enzymes with broad substrate spectra that primarily act on natural polymers or other bulky substrates, or whether microorganisms evolved their genetic makeup to accepting PET as a carbon source. Here, we present a predicted diene lactone hydrolase designated PET40, which acts on a broad spectrum of substrates, including PET.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Epoxy resins are highly valued for their remarkable mechanical and chemical properties and are extensively used in various applications such as coatings, adhesives, and fiber-reinforced composites in lightweight construction. Composites are especially important for the development and implementation of sustainable technologies such as wind power, energy-efficient aircrafts, and electric cars. Despite their advantages, their non-biodegradability raises challenges for the recycling of polymer and composites in particular.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Fluorescently labeled bacterial cells have become indispensable for many aspects of microbiological research, including studies on biofilm formation as an important virulence factor of various opportunistic bacteria of environmental origin such as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Using a Tn-based genomic integration system, we report the construction of improved mini-Tn delivery plasmids for labeling of S. maltophilia with sfGFP, mCherry, tdTomato and mKate2 by expressing their codon-optimized genes from a strong, constitutive promoter and an optimized ribosomal binding site.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Membrane protein and phospholipid (PL) composition changes in response to environmental cues and during infections. To achieve these, bacteria use adaptation mechanisms involving covalent modification and remodelling of the acyl chain length of PLs. However, little is known about bacterial pathways regulated by PLs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Zwitterionic polymer brushes were grafted from bulk polyethylene (PE) by air plasma activation of the PE surface followed by radical polymerization of the zwitterionic styrene derivative (vinylbenzyl)sulfobetaine (VBSB). Successful formation of dense poly-(VBSB)-brush layers was confirmed by goniometry, IR spectroscopy, XPS and ToF-SIMS analysis. The resulting zwitterionic layers are about 50-100 nm thick and cause extremely low contact angles of 10° (water) on the material.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a prevalent synthetic polymer that is known to contaminate marine and terrestrial environments. Currently, only a limited number of PET-active microorganisms and enzymes (PETases) are known. This is in part linked to the lack of highly sensitive function-based screening assays for PET-active enzymes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The handling of plastic waste and the associated ubiquitous occurrence of microplastic poses one of the biggest challenges of our time. Recent investigations of plastic degrading enzymes have opened new prospects for biological microplastic decomposition as well as recycling applications. For polyethylene terephthalate, in particular, several natural and engineered enzymes are known to have such promising properties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF