Anaerobic oxidation of short-chain volatile alkanes.

The short-chain volatile alkanes ethane, propane, and butane are major components of natural gas. Released from deep-seated subsurface reservoirs through natural seepage or gas extraction, they percolate through anoxic and oxic environments before reaching the atmosphere, where they contribute to tropospheric chemistry and act as greenhouse gases. While their aerobic biological oxidation is well established, their fate in anoxic environments has only recently come into focus.

Deciphering the transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes in the urban water cycle from water source to reuse: a review.

Antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) threaten ecosystems and human health, impacting United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being). This review examines ARG occurrence and transfer within the urban water cycle (UWC) from drinking water source to wastewater reuse, highlighting molecular mechanisms and research gaps. Quantitative and metagenomic data reveal that UWC amplifies ARG spread, with plasmid-mediated ARGs rising from ∼ 2.

Riverine antibiotic resistome along an anthropogenic gradient.

The introduction of antibiotic-resistant bacteria into riverine systems through the discharge of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent and agricultural waste poses significant health risks. Even when not pathogenic, these bacteria can act as reservoirs for antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), transferring them to pathogens that infect humans and animals. In this study, we used fluorescence hybridization, qPCR, and metagenomics to investigate how anthropogenic activities affect microbial abundance and the resistome along the Holtemme River, a small river in Germany, from near-pristine to human-impacted sites.

Tissue-resident bacteria in metabolic diseases: emerging evidence and challenges.

Although the impact of the gut microbiome on health and disease is well established, there is controversy regarding the presence of microorganisms such as bacteria and their products in organs and tissues. However, recent contamination-aware findings of tissue-resident microbial signatures provide accumulating evidence in support of bacterial translocation in cardiometabolic disease. The latter provides a distinct paradigm for the link between microbial colonizers of mucosal surfaces and host metabolism.

Stable isotopes and nanoSIMS single-cell imaging reveals soil plastisphere colonizers able to assimilate sulfamethoxazole.

The presence and accumulation of both, plastics and antibiotics in soils may lead to the colonization, selection, and propagation of soil bacteria with certain metabolic traits, e.g., antibiotic resistance, in the plastisphere.

Correction: High resolution microscopy to evaluate the efficiency of surface sterilization of Zea Mays seeds.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Antibiotic resistance indicator genes in biofilm and planktonic microbial communities after wastewater discharge.

The spread of bacteria with antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in aquatic ecosystems is of growing concern as this can pose a risk of transmission to humans and animals. While the impact of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent on ARG abundance in surface waters has been studied extensively, less is known about the fate of ARGs in biofilms. The proximity and dense growth of microorganisms in combination with the accumulation of higher antibiotic concentrations in biofilms might render biofilms a reservoir for ARGs.

Tracking deuterium uptake in hydroponically grown maize roots using correlative helium ion microscopy and Raman micro-spectroscopy.

Background: Investigations into the growth and self-organization of plant roots is subject to fundamental and applied research in various areas such as botany, agriculture, and soil science. The growth activity of the plant tissue can be investigated by isotope labeling experiments with heavy water and subsequent detection of the deuterium in non-exchangeable positions incorporated into the plant biomass. Commonly used analytical methods to detect deuterium in plants are based on mass-spectrometry or neutron-scattering and they either suffer from elaborated sample preparation, destruction of the sample during analysis, or low spatial resolution.

Spatial organization and proteome of a dual-species cyanobacterial biofilm alter among N-fixing and non-fixing conditions.

Many disciplines have become increasingly interested in cyanobacteria, due to their ability to fix CO while using water and sunlight as electron and energy sources. Further, several species of cyanobacteria are also capable of fixing molecular nitrogen, making them independent of the addition of nitrate or ammonia. Thereby they hold huge potential as sustainable biocatalysts.

Live tracking metabolic networks and physiological responses within microbial assemblages at single-cell level.

Microbial interactions impact the functioning of both natural and engineered systems, yet our ability to directly monitor these highly dynamic and spatially resolved interactions in living cells is very limited. Here, we developed a synergistic approach coupling single-cell Raman microspectroscopy with N and CO stable isotope probing in a microfluidic culture system (RMCS-SIP) for live tracking of the occurrence, rate, and physiological shift of metabolic interactions in active microbial assemblages. Quantitative and robust Raman biomarkers specific for N and CO fixation in both model and bloom-forming diazotrophic cyanobacteria were established and cross-validated.

Corrigendum: Microbial identification, high-resolution microscopy and spectrometry of the rhizosphere in its native spatial context.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.

Efficient carbon and nitrogen transfer from marine diatom aggregates to colonizing bacterial groups.

Bacterial degradation of sinking diatom aggregates is key for the availability of organic matter in the deep-ocean. Yet, little is known about the impact of aggregate colonization by different bacterial taxa on organic carbon and nutrient cycling within aggregates. Here, we tracked the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) transfer from the diatom Leptocylindrus danicus to different environmental bacterial groups using a combination of C and N isotope incubation (incubated for 72 h), CARD-FISH and nanoSIMS single-cell analysis.

New Paradigms for Familiar Diseases: Lessons Learned on Circulatory Bacterial Signatures in Cardiometabolic Diseases.

Despite the strongly accumulating evidence for microbial signatures in metabolic tissues, including the blood, suggesting a novel paradigm for metabolic disease development, the notion of a core blood bacterial signature in health and disease remains a contentious concept. Recent studies clearly demonstrate that under a strict contamination-free environment, methods such as 16 S rRNA gene sequencing, fluorescence in-situ hybridization, transmission electron microscopy, and several more, allied with advanced bioinformatics tools, allow unambiguous detection and quantification of bacteria and bacterial DNA in human tissues. Bacterial load and compositional changes in the blood have been reported for numerous disease states, suggesting that bacteria and their components may partially induce systemic inflammation in cardiometabolic disease.

Subcellular architecture and metabolic connection in the planktonic photosymbiosis between Collodaria (radiolarians) and their microalgae.

Photosymbiosis is widespread and ecologically important in the oceanic plankton but remains poorly studied. Here, we used multimodal subcellular imaging to investigate the photosymbiosis between colonial Collodaria and their microalga dinoflagellate (Brandtodinium). We showed that this symbiosis is very dynamic whereby symbionts interact with different host cells via extracellular vesicles within the colony.

Metabolic history and metabolic fitness as drivers of anabolic heterogeneity in isogenic microbial populations.

Microbial populations often display different degrees of heterogeneity in their substrate assimilation, that is, anabolic heterogeneity. It has been shown that nutrient limitations are a relevant trigger for this behaviour. Here we explore the dynamics of anabolic heterogeneity under nutrient replete conditions.

Microbial Identification, High-Resolution Microscopy and Spectrometry of the Rhizosphere in Its Native Spatial Context.

During the past decades, several stand-alone and combinatorial methods have been developed to investigate the chemistry (i.e., mapping of elemental, isotopic, and molecular composition) and the role of microbes in soil and rhizosphere.

Iron corrosion by methanogenic archaea characterized by stable isotope effects and crust mineralogy.

Carbon and hydrogen stable isotope effects associated with methane formation by the corrosive archaeon Methanobacterium strain IM1 were determined during growth with hydrogen and iron. Isotope analyses were complemented by structural, elemental and molecular composition analyses of corrosion crusts. During growth with H , strain IM1 formed methane with average δ C of -43.

Circulating bacterial signature is linked to metabolic disease and shifts with metabolic alleviation after bariatric surgery.

Background: The microbiome has emerged as an environmental factor contributing to obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Increasing evidence suggests links between circulating bacterial components (i.e.