Publications by authors named "Zhenghan Lian"

Article Synopsis
  • A new bacterial phylum has been identified from hot spring metagenomes and public genomic data, falling under a specific superphylum.
  • The phylum includes one class and five orders, primarily consisting of facultative anaerobes.
  • One of its orders uses hydrogen for carbon fixation via the Calvin Benson Bassham cycle, highlighting its importance in the carbon cycle and its evolution influenced by horizontal gene transfer.
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Candidate bacterial phylum CSP1-3 has not been cultivated and is poorly understood. Here, we analyzed 112 CSP1-3 metagenome-assembled genomes and showed they are likely facultative anaerobes, with 3 of 5 families encoding autotrophy through the reductive glycine pathway (RGP), Wood-Ljungdahl pathway (WLP) or Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB), with hydrogen or sulfide as electron donors. Chemoautotrophic enrichments from hot spring sediments and fluorescence hybridization revealed enrichment of six CSP1-3 genera, and both transcribed genes and DNA-stable isotope probing were consistent with proposed chemoautotrophic metabolisms.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Advanced techniques like genome analysis and optical tweezers were used to isolate and study these microorganisms, revealing their rapid assimilation of C-starch in sediments.
  • * The study proposes a taxonomic reclassification of the Fervidibacteria, highlighting their important role in polysaccharide degradation within a newly defined class of the Armatimonadota phylum.
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Saline lakes, characterized by high salinity and limited nutrient availability, provide an ideal environment for studying extreme halophiles and their biogeochemical processes. The present study examined prokaryotic microbial communities and their ecological functions in lentic sediments (with the salinity gradient and time series) using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and a metagenomic approach. Our findings revealed a negative correlation between microbial diversity and salinity.

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Acidimicrobiia are widely distributed in nature and suggested to be autotrophic via the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle. However, direct evidence of chemolithoautotrophy in Acidimicrobiia is lacking. Here, we report a chemolithoautotrophic enrichment from a saline lake, and the subsequent isolation and characterization of a chemolithoautotroph, Salinilacustristhrix flava EGI L10123T, which belongs to a new Acidimicrobiia family.

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Background: The Atribacterota are widely distributed in the subsurface biosphere. Recently, the first Atribacterota isolate was described and the number of Atribacterota genome sequences retrieved from environmental samples has increased significantly; however, their diversity, physiology, ecology, and evolution remain poorly understood.

Results: We report the isolation of the second member of Atribacterota, Thermatribacter velox gen.

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Biodegradation stands as an eco-friendly and effective approach for organic contaminant remediation. However, research on microorganisms degrading sodium benzoate contaminants in extreme environments remains limited. In this study, we report to display the isolation of a novel hot spring enriched cultures with sodium benzoate (400 mg/L) as the sole carbon source.

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The great majority of microorganisms are as-yet-uncultivated, mostly found in extreme environments. High-throughput sequencing provides data-rich genomes from single-cell and metagenomic techniques, which has enabled researchers to obtain a glimpse of the unexpected genetic diversity of "microbial dark matter." However, cultivating microorganisms from extreme environments remains essential for dissecting and utilizing the functions of extremophiles.

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Objective: The family Paenibacillaceae is linked to the order Caryophanales. Paenibacillaceae members residing in compost or soil play crucial roles in nutrient recycling and breaking down complex organic materials. However, our understanding of Paenibacillaceae remains limited.

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Dryland covers >35 % of the terrestrial surface and the global extent of dryland increases due to the forecasted increase in aridity driven by climate change. Due to the climate change-driven aridity ecosystems, deserts provide one of the most hostile environments for microbial life and survival. Therefore, a detailed study was carried out to explore the deserts with different aridity levels (exposed to severe climate change) influence on microbial (bacteria, fungi, and protist) diversity patterns, assembly processes, and co-occurrence.

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Article Synopsis
  • The mangrove ecosystem is highly productive and supports rich biodiversity, making the study of its microbial community essential for understanding its ecological dynamics.
  • Researchers analyzed soil samples from three mangrove plant species in Pakistan using amplicon sequencing, revealing 67 bacterial phyla and significant communities dominated by Proteobacteria and Desulfobacteria.
  • The study suggests that variations in soil chemistry influence bacterial diversity, highlighting the need for conservation policies to protect these valuable ecosystems from human impacts.
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The gut microbiome is closely related to host nutrition and health. However, the relationships between gut microorganisms and host lifestyle are not well characterized. In the absence of confounding geographic variation, we defined clear patterns of variation in the gut microbiomes of Asian elephants (AEs) in the Wild Elephant Valley, Xishuangbanna, China, along a lifestyle gradient (completely captive, semicaptive, semiwild, and completely wild).

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Article Synopsis
  • The newly sequenced and existing genomes of the Omnitrophota phylum were analyzed to better understand their habitat, metabolism, and lifestyles, revealing a diversity of 6 classes and 276 species.
  • Most Omnitrophota are ultra-small (~0.2 μm) and are commonly found in water, sediments, and soils, possessing reduced genomes yet retaining key biosynthetic and energy pathways.
  • A significant portion of Omnitrophota genomes suggests they have symbiotic relationships, and some families were linked to obligate predatory lifestyles, indicating they may act as predators or parasites in various ecosystems.
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Rational cropping maintains high soil fertility and a healthy ecosystem. Soil microorganism is the controller of soil fertility. Meanwhile, soil microbial communities also respond to different cropping patterns.

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A novel anaerobic bacterium, designated SYSU GA19001, was isolated from a hot spring sediment sample. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the isolate belongs to the genus , and showed the highest sequence similarity to CICC 10730 (96.63 %) and PYR-10 (96.

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Microbes are widespread in the sea that covers more than two-thirds of the earth's surface and most microorganisms living in the marine environment have yet to be cultured. Previous studies showed that drying treatment, a strategy of sample pre-treatment widely applied in microbial isolation and incubation, may alter the cultivable microbial diversity, such as Actinomycetota, essential for exploring novel secondary metabolites from the marine environment, isolated from drying-treated samples. However, whether drying treatments actually can change microbial community diversity and how the drying treatments of samples influence the cultivable microbial diversity of marine samples have not yet adequately been evaluated.

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Biological denitrification is a significant process in nitrogen biogeochemical cycle of terrestrial geothermal environments, and Thermus species have been shown to be crucial heterotrophic denitrifier in hydrothermal system. Five Gram-stain negative, aerobic and rod-shaped thermophilic bacterial strains were isolated from hot spring sediments in Tibet, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene and whole genome sequences indicated that these isolates should be assigned to the genus Thermus and were most closely related to Thermus caldifontis YIM 73026, and Thermus brockianus YS38.

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Two novel species, designated strains SYSU G04041 and SYSU G04536, were isolated from hot spring sediments collected in Yunnan, PR China. Phenotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses, and whole-genome sequencing were used to determine the taxonomic positions of the candidate strains. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain SYSU G04041 showed the highest sequence similarity to A50-7-3 (97.

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A thermophilic bacterium, designated strain SYSU G04325, was isolated from a hot spring sediment in Yunnan, China. Polyphasic taxonomic analyses and whole-genome sequencing were used to determine the taxonomic position of the strain. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain SYSU G04325 shows high sequence similarity to Thermoflexibacter ruber NBRC 16677 (86.

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Biological denitrification is a crucial process in the nitrogen biogeochemical cycle, and has been reported to be a significant heterotrophic denitrifier in terrestrial geothermal environments. However, neither the denitrification potential nor the evolutionary history of denitrification genes in the genus or phylum is well understood. Here, we performed a comparative analysis of 23 genomes and identified denitrification genes in 15  strains.

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Article Synopsis
  • Phylogenomic analyses of the genus Meiothermus and Calidithermus revealed that the species Meiothermus silvanus should be reclassified into a new genus named Allomeiothermus.
  • The analysis also suggests Meiothermus cateniformans should be considered a synonym of Meiothermus taiwanensis due to high genomic relatedness indices.
  • The reclassifications were supported by various analyses indicating significant functional overlap and genetic similarity between the species.
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A Gram-positive strain APA H-16(1) was isolated from a saline-alkali soil sample collected from Heilongjiang Province, China. Cells were rod shaped, non-motile, endospore forming, and aerobic. Growth occurred at 10-45 °C (optimum, 35 °C), pH 7.

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  • Direct revegetation (DR) is a promising, low-cost alternative to capped revegetation (CR) for reclaiming extremely acidic mine wastelands, but a direct comparison of their effectiveness was previously lacking.
  • A study was conducted on a Pb/Zn mine tailings pond where vegetation was established using both approaches, revealing that DR achieved significantly higher vegetation coverage (90.5%) compared to CR (59.7%) over two years.
  • Results indicated that DR not only improved plant nutrient availability and reduced soil acidity but also fostered a more diverse and effective soil microbial community, demonstrating its potential as a superior method for sustainable mine reclamation.
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Several abundant but yet uncultivated bacterial groups exist in extreme iron- and sulfur-rich environments, and the physiology, biodiversity, and ecological roles of these bacteria remain a mystery. Here we retrieved four metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from an artificial acid mine drainage (AMD) system, and propose they belong to a new deltaproteobacterial order, Candidatus Acidulodesulfobacterales. The distribution pattern of Ca.

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is a leading cause of respiratory diseases in many host species. To understand the genetic characteristics of strains isolated from different host species, we sequenced the genomic DNA of isolated from pigs and analyzed the genetic characteristics of strains from avian species, bovine species, pigs, and rabbits using whole genome sequence (WGS) data. Our results found that a capsular: lipopolysaccharide (LPS): multilocus sequence typing (MLST) genotype A: L1: ST129 (43.

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