Healthy land
Land has a wide variety of uses: agricultural, residential, industrial, and recreational. Microbes play a key role in the terrestrial ecosystem, providing symbiotic relationships with plants. Human use of land has led to the exhaustion of nutrients in soils, contamination of land, and a reduction in biodiversity. Applying our knowledge of microbes will be essential in restoring the biodiversity of affected ecosystems. Greater research into how microbes impact human life on land could all have a positive impact, by increasing crop production, repurposing areas of land and improving microbial biodiversity in soil, land, and water.
News
Bacteria that ‘shine a light’ on microplastic pollution
Researchers have developed a living sensor that attaches to plastic and produces green fluorescence. In an initial test on real-world water samples, the biosensor could easily detect environmentally relevant levels of microplastics.
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NewsBacteria rewire digestive systems to turn plant waste into power
A new study shows that Pseudomonas putida, a common soil bacterium, completely reorganizes its metabolism to thrive on complex carbons from lignin. By slowing down some metabolic pathways while accelerating others, the bacterium manages to extract energy from lignin without exhausting itself.
NewsZoo poo might hold the secrets to new medical treatments
Scientists are hoping the collection of poo from tigers, elephants, giraffes and other exotic animals, could contain the secret to finding new medical treatments. Although a waste product to the animals, hidden amongst it are thousands of phages which are potentially capable of fighting bacterial infections.
NewsAncient mammoth remains yield the world’s oldest host-associated bacterial DNA
An international team has uncovered microbial DNA preserved in woolly and steppe mammoth remains dating back more than one million years. The analyses reveal some of the world’s oldest microbial DNA ever recovered, as well as the identification of bacteria that possibly caused disease in mammoths.
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News
Microbiologists uncover bacteria that remove toxic sulfide and use iron minerals for growth
An international team of scientists has discovered a new microbial metabolism: so-called MISO bacteria “breathe” iron minerals by oxidizing toxic sulfide. The previously unknown biological process sees versatile microbes remove toxic sulfide and use it for their growth.
NewsBacteria survive dust storms and introduce new genetic traits into our air
Bacterial communities carried from Africa to Israel survive their airborne journey, arriving with genes that may affect human health and the environment, a new study reveals.
NewsHow plants rot: New method decodes hidden decomposers of wood and leaves
Researchers have developed a new method to identify the molecular tools that different species use to decompose dead plant material. Their analysis of over 18,000 species found that some invertebrates also evidently have a whole range of such tools at their disposal.
NewsWelsh mine microbes mapped to help heat homes
Welsh scientists have mapped the hidden microbes thriving in south Wales’s abandoned coal mines, helping to overcome obstacles to using mine water to heat Britain’s homes.
NewsDeadly infectious bone disease wiped out long-necked dinosaurs in Brazil
Researchers found sauropod bones with signs of osteomyelitis, an infectious disease that can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, or protozoa and that killed the animals quickly. The discovery suggests that favorable conditions for the disease existed.
NewsBacteria strains infecting cattle and humans in US are highly similar
Salmonella Dublin, a type of bacteria that primarily infects cattle but some strains also can adapt to infect humans, is increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics, making it a growing public health threat.
NewsNew African swine fever vaccine candidate shows promise against some virus strains
An international team of scientists has found that a promising African swine fever (ASF) vaccine can protect pigs against some strains of the virus but offers little or no protection against others.
NewsStudy reveals the microbial battlegrounds within estuaries - and the part played by microplastics
Estuaries are known hotspots for biodiversity and are turbulent mixing zones where freshwater and seawater microbes confront one another. Source: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of the Baltic Sea ...
NewsFern leaf pockets hide secrets of plant-microbe symbiosis
Comparison of symbiotic bacteria to free-living relatives shows the genomic effects of host adaptation.
NewsScientists hack microbes to identify environmental sources of methane
A new paper reveals how the activity of one of the main microbial enzymes involved in producing methane affects the isotope composition used as a fingerprint of various environmental sources.
NewsFlu fighters: researchers take a closer look at immune response to influenza
Researchers sought to identify which immune cells in pigs have receptors that are most reactive to influenza. They accomplished this by customizing a technology called single-cell RNA sequencing for pigs to learn more about how a body’s cells operate at a highly detailed level.
NewsLignin is effective against viruses and bacteria
Lignin, a polyphenol, has antimicrobial activity against viruses and bacteria. An by-product from wood industry, lignin has potential as promising green alternative to synthetic antimicrobial agents for coating agents, packaging material, or surface disinfectants.
NewsBee and frog proteins: nature’s double defense against farm superbugs
A new study reveals that combining natural antimicrobial peptides can significantly slow the development of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. Using two peptides together prevents harmful bacteria from mutating as quickly, offering a promising alternative to traditional antibiotics.
CareersThe groundbreaking potential of the forest microbiome
Discover how startup Funga is harnessing the soil microbiome to transform how we manage Earth’s forests.
NewsReady for market: Yeast process boosts clean, cost-efficient chemical production of succinic acid
A re-engineered yeast strain that efficiently produces succinic acid has been developed, which allows this valuable chemical to be produced at a lower cost.
NewsStudy finds fungus metabolites may help ghost shrimp survive
Researchers have found that chemical byproducts produced by the amphibian-killing fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis—commonly known as Bd—may actually help ghost shrimp survive.
NewsEnvironmental antibiotic resistance unevenly addressed despite growing global risk, study finds
Antibiotic resistance in the environment is a growing and largely overlooked crisis receiving inconsistent attention, according to a new study. Worryingly few studies have explored how antibiotic resistance spreads in the air, oceans or green spaces.
NewsAP2-domain transcription factor WRI5a-regulated MtABCB1 promotes arbuscule development in mycorrhizal symbiosis
A new study of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis suggests that the MtABCB1 gene likely influences arbuscule development by modulating the distribution and homeostasis of auxin within symbiotic cells.
NewsThe microbiome of the indri, a critically endangered lemur, has been described
An international study has ascertained the composition of the intestinal microbiome of the indri, a critically endangered lemur in Madagascar. It has found up to 47 unknown species of bacteria, and revealed the indri’s microbiome is transmitted within their social group.