The Impact of Wheat Growth Stages on Soil Microbial Communities in a Rain-Fed Agroecosystem.

Wheat is the largest terrestrial agricultural crop globally. This study was conducted to determine the soil microbial biomass, soil CO evolution, and physiological profile in the rhizosphere of the winter wheat rain-fed along the development stages in a rain-fed semi-arid agro-ecosystem. The data show that a significant, over 100-fold increase in the utilization of four substrate groups (benzoic acid, amino acid, carbohydrates, and carboxylic acid) occurred in the wheat soil rhizosphere along the wheat growth phenology.

Unveiling the factors shaping variability in biomass productivity: Meta-analysis of outdoor pilot-scale microalgal cultures.

Meta-analysis and machine learning is used to investigate factors influencing variation in biomass productivity in outdoor algal systems. Understanding these factors is essential for optimizing algal systems. Mean productivity across the analysed studies is 11 g mday, with 6 % of observations surpassing 25 g mday.

Arctic food and energy security at the crossroads.

Arctic food systems blend Traditional Ecological Knowledge with modern, often energy-intensive influences, triggered by colonization. Food systems' future depends on alignment of tradition with innovation, facilitation of resilience and a heritage-driven interaction with the global economy - at a pace determined by local communities.

Utility of wood ash, paper sludge and biochar for the mitigation of greenhouse gases emissions from acid boreal soils.

Land-use change in the boreal forest region leads to agriculture to be carried out on acid, shallow and low fertility soils. To correct soil fertility and promote crop productivity, manure and inorganic fertilizers are added, increasing the risk for greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE). To reduce the reliance on synthetic soil amendments while taking advantage of locally relevant industrial by-products, wood ash (WA) and paper sludge (SL) have been proposed as soil amendments for a range of soil types.

Comparison of Multi-Frequency and Multi-Coil Electromagnetic Induction (EMI) for Mapping Properties in Shallow Podsolic Soils.

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) technique is an established method to measure the apparent electrical conductivity (EC) of soil as a proxy for its physicochemical properties. Multi-frequency (MF) and multi-coil (MC) are the two types of commercially available EMI sensors. Although the working principles are similar, their theoretical and effective depth of investigation and their resolution capacity can vary.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria in the environment of Hranice Abyss, the world's deepest flooded cave (Hranice karst, Czech Republic).

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are widely distributed in the environment. On one hand, they are opportunistic pathogens for humans and animals, and on the other hand, they are effective in biodegradation of some persistent pollutants. Following the recently recorded large abundance of NTM in extreme geothermal environments, the aim of the study was to ascertain the occurrence of NTM in the extreme environment of the water zone of the Hranice Abyss (HA).

Northward shift of the agricultural climate zone under 21-century global climate change.

As agricultural regions are threatened by climate change, warming of high latitude regions and increasing food demands may lead to northward expansion of global agriculture. While socio-economic demands and edaphic conditions may govern the expansion, climate is a key limiting factor. Extant literature on future crop projections considers established agricultural regions and is mainly temperature based.

Using agro-industrial wastes for the cultivation of microalgae and duckweeds: Contamination risks and biomass safety concerns.

Aquatic organisms, such as microalgae (Chlorella, Arthrospira (Spirulina), Tetrasselmis, Dunalliela etc.) and duckweed (Lemna spp., Wolffia spp.

The influence of flint stones on a soil microbial community in the northern Negev Desert.

In the Negev Desert ecosystems, flint-stone cover on slopes acts as a barrier against water flow. As a result, soil moisture increases and organic matter accumulates under the stone and in the immediate surroundings, both affecting the duration of soil microbial activity. On the other hand, during the dry season (characterized by approximately 210 dew nights), flint-stone cover plays an important role in the formation of dew, which eventually trickles down beneath the stone, correspondingly enhancing biological activity.

Desert Perennial Shrubs Shape the Microbial-Community Miscellany in Laimosphere and Phyllosphere Space.

Microbial function, composition, and distribution play a fundamental role in ecosystem ecology. The interaction between desert plants and their associated microbes is expected to greatly affect their response to changes in this harsh environment. Using comparative analyses, we studied the impact of three desert shrubs, Atriplex halimus (A), Artemisia herba-alba (AHA), and Hammada scoparia (HS), on soil- and leaf-associated microbial communities.

Enzymatic Pre-treatment of Wastewater to Minimize Recovery by Reverse Transcriptase PCR of RNA from Inactive Bacteriophages.

Quantitative viral risk assessments for wastewaters are notoriously difficult. The often considered quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR reflects poorly on virus infectivity rates leading to inaccurate risk interpretations. Various techniques focused on the degradation of the nucleic acids of non-infective viruses were previously employed.

Short RNA indicator sequences are not completely degraded by autoclaving.

Short indicator RNA sequences (<100 bp) persist after autoclaving and are recovered intact by molecular amplification. Primers targeting longer sequences are most likely to produce false positives due to amplification errors easily verified by melting curves analyses. If short indicator RNA sequences are used for virus identification and quantification then post autoclave RNA degradation methodology should be employed, which may include further autoclaving.

Pyrosequencing estimates of the diversity of antibiotic resistant bacteria in a wastewater system.

Standard protocols for monitoring wastewater treatment efficacy target Escherichia coli and fecal coliforms. This might not accurately describe risks associated with antibiotic resistance in the bacterial population of treated wastewaters. We modified a standard agar recovery method by amending it with various antibiotics.

Soil microbial diversity in the vicinity of desert shrubs.

Water and nutrient availability are the major limiting factors of biological activity in arid and semiarid ecosystems. Therefore, perennial plants have developed different ecophysiological adaptations to cope with harsh conditions. The chemical profile of the root exudates varies among plant species and this can induce variability in associated microbial populations.

Microarray assessment of virulence, antibiotic, and heavy metal resistance in an agricultural watershed creek.

Potential risks associated with impaired surface water quality have commonly been evaluated by indirect description of potential sources using various fecal microbial indicators and derived source-tracking methods. These approaches are valuable for assessing and monitoring the impacts of land-use changes and changes in management practices at the source of contamination. A more detailed evaluation of putative etiologically significant genetic determinants can add value to these assessments.

Endophyte microbiome diversity in micropropagated Atriplex canescens and Atriplex torreyi var griffithsii.

Microbial diversity associated with micropropagated Atriplex species was assessed using microscopy, isolate culturing, and sequencing. Light, electron, and confocal microscopy revealed microbial cells in aseptically regenerated leaves and roots. Clone libraries and tag-encoded FLX amplicon pyrosequencing (TEFAP) analysis amplified sequences from callus homologous to diverse fungal and bacterial taxa.

Recovery of Escherichia coli from soil after addition of sterile organic wastes.

Laboratory batch tests indicate that addition of sterile municipal sewage biosolids to clay soil from four depths increases the numbers of Escherichia coli isolates recoverable in EC-MUG broth (EC broth with 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-glucuronide). This effect was most marked for the deeper soil layers, with increases of about 2.6 orders of magnitude in E.