朱鹮肠道微生物多样性与产酶活性

【背景】朱鹮是我国国家一级保护动物,属于世界上最濒危的鸟类之一。对朱鹮肠道微生物的多样性和产胞外酶活性进行分析,可为朱鹮种群数量恢复提供思路。【目的】了解朱鹮肠道微生物的多样性,测定其产胞外酶活性。【方法】采用纯培养的方法获得朱鹮肠道微生物,通过革兰氏染色和生理生化鉴定,结合16S rRNA基因扩增和序列分析对细菌进行鉴定。使用水解圈法筛选产淀粉酶、蛋白酶、纤维素酶、脂肪酶的菌株。【结果】从人工喂养的朱鹮新鲜粪便中共分离到296株细菌,共计2个门11个属。变形菌门(Proteobacteria) 236株,占分离总数的79.73%,分别为：埃希氏菌属(Escherichia) 137株,占分离总数的46.28%;哈夫尼亚菌属(Hafnia) 39株,占分离总数的13.18%;变形菌属(Proteus) 28株,占分离总数的9.46%;柠檬酸杆菌属(Citrobacter) 23株,占分离总数的7.77%;气单胞菌属(Aeromonas) 6株,占分离总数的2.03%;肠杆菌属(Enterobacter) 1株,占分离总数的0.34%;志贺菌属(Shigella) 1株,占分离总数的0.34%;克雷伯菌属(Klebsiella) 1株,占分离总数的0.34%。厚壁菌门(Firmicutes) 60株,占分离总数的20.27%,分别为：肠球菌属(Enterococcus) 33株,占分离总数的11.15%;库特氏菌属(Kurthia) 14株,占分离总数的4.73%;芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus) 13株,占分离总数的4.39%。优势菌群为变形菌门(Proteobacteria)中的埃希氏菌属(Escherichia),占细菌总数的46.28%。经过生理生化鉴定,每个菌株生理生化鉴定出的种属与各自的16S rRNA基因鉴定出的种属相一致。产酶活力分析结果显示有238株产蛋白酶、25株产脂肪酶、24株产淀粉酶、15株产纤维素酶,分别占分离总数的80.41%、8.45%、8.11%和5.07%。【结论】朱鹮肠道微生物分离出的细菌可分为2门11属,优势菌群为变形菌门(Proteobacteria)中的埃希氏菌属(Escherichia),占细菌总数的46.28%;产酶活性分析显示,80.41%的菌株具有产蛋白酶能力。     

花生根际微生物的分离及高效功能菌株筛选

【背景】花生根际分布着丰富的微生物类群，分离筛选多种功能的高效微生物是研发高效复合菌肥的基础。【目的】从花生根际土壤及根表分离微生物，分析可培养微生物的多样性，筛选高效解有机磷和无机磷、产吲哚乙酸(indole-3-acetic acid, IAA)和铁载体功能的菌株，为研发花生微生物菌肥打下基础。【方法】利用稀释涂布法，从采自山东省栖霞市、平度市、烟台市莱山区 3个样点的花生根际土、根表样品中分离微生物，基于16S rRNA基因序列对其进行系统发育分析，并通过初筛和复筛筛选高效解磷、产IAA和铁载体的菌株。【结果】共分离、纯化、保藏147株菌，其中75株分离自根际土壤，72株分离自根表样品。系统发育分析表明所有的菌分布于放线菌门(Actinomycetota)、芽孢杆菌门(Bacillota)、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidota)和假单胞菌门(Pseudomonadota)这4个门的40个属，优势属为链霉菌属(Streptomyces, 21.77%)、芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus, 16.33%)；根表样品微生物的多样性高于根际样品；共筛选到解有机磷菌株62株，短波单胞菌(Brevundimonas) YTU21021解有机磷能力最强为1.12 mg/L；解无机磷菌株31株，不动杆菌(Acinetobacter) YTU21009解无机磷能力最强为7.04 mg/L；产IAA的菌株63株，肠杆菌(Enterobacter) YTU21054产IAA量最高，达184.19 mg/L；产铁载体细菌7株，伯克氏菌(Burkholderia) YTU21051产铁载体能力最强，A_s/A_r为0.90。【结论】花生根际和根表样品中可培养微生物多样性较为丰富，本研究筛选到的高效功能菌丰富了花生根际功能微生物资源，为后续与高效根瘤菌联合研发花生复合微生物菌肥奠定了基础。     

珠江口野生棘线鲬胃肠道微生物多样性

【背景】野生棘线鲬(Grammoplites scaber)具有丰富的营养价值,但关于其胃肠道微生物方面的研究较少。【目的】研究棘线鲬胃肠道微生物群落特征,以揭示其潜在的益生菌和致病菌,为其健康生长的微生物群落调控提供依据。【方法】利用免培养和纯培养技术相结合的方式对来自珠江口的野生棘线鲬胃肠道样品进行了研究。【结果】通过对16S rRNA基因V3区高通量扩增测序,共得到456个操作分类单元(operational taxonomic units,OTU)。分析结果显示,在门水平上,棘线鲬胃肠道内的主要优势类群为变形菌门(Proteobacteria)和厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)。在属级水平上,梭菌属(Clostridium)在棘线鲬胃肠道样品中普遍存在,综合占比为57.11%。基于16S rRNA基因进行表型和功能预测的结果表明,棘线鲬胃肠道内有益菌和潜在致病菌同时存在且有功能相互制约的趋势。纯培养实验采用12种不同的培养基进行选择性分离,共获得纯培养菌株99株,归类于3个门(Proteobacteria、Firmicutes和Actinobacteria) 4个纲10个目10个科13个属,其中优势类群为变形菌门(占比50.51%),实现纯培养最多的属级类群为嗜冷杆菌属(Psychrobacter)。【结论】揭示了野生棘线鲬胃肠道微环境微生物的物种组成与多样性,可以为硬骨鱼类核心肠道菌群的研究提供基础参考。此外,有益和有害菌群的揭示可为野生棘线鲬作为海洋食物资源利用的食品安全提供一定的借鉴,为发展海洋渔业养殖提供数据支撑。     

香坊肠球菌和罗伊氏乳杆菌在无菌猪肠道中的定殖

【背景】已有研究表明,微生物在宿主肠道中的定殖受宿主、肠道环境、微生物物种特性和菌株来源等多个因素的影响。一般认为,来源于同类宿主的微生物菌株,在该类宿主肠道中具有定殖优势,但缺乏在物种和菌株水平上研究微生物自身特性在宿主肠道中定殖的研究报道。【目的】将不同来源(同类宿主肠道、非同类宿主肠道和非肠道环境)、具有不同生物学特性的3株香坊肠球菌(Enterococcus xiangfangensis)和4株罗伊氏乳杆菌(Lactobacillus reuteri)对无菌猪肠道进行定殖,在物种和菌株2个水平上探究物种特性和菌株来源对宿主肠道定殖的偏好性,揭示影响微生物定殖效率的关键因素。【方法】在本项研究中,将从藏猪(Tibetan pigs)、小鼠(ob/ob mice)、食蟹猴(Macaca fascicularis)和发酵食品中分离得到的多株香坊肠球菌和罗伊氏乳杆菌,制成混合菌剂对无菌巴马香猪(Bama miniature pig)进行为期4周的饲喂,并通过实时荧光定量PCR方法检测这7株菌在无菌猪肠道中的定殖情况。【结果】在物种水平上,香坊肠球菌和罗伊氏乳杆菌在无菌猪体内具有相近的定殖细胞数目。但是在菌株水平上,小鼠来源的香坊肠球菌(EX-MS)和罗伊氏乳杆菌(LR-MS)定殖的细胞数目显著高于其他5株菌,表明小鼠来源的菌株具有定殖优势。在体外混合培养中,将3株香坊肠球菌和4株罗伊氏乳杆菌分别等比例混合培养72 h后,发现香坊肠球菌EX-MS菌株的细胞数目高于香坊肠球菌EX-MK和EX-PG菌株;在罗伊氏乳杆菌中,4株菌的细胞数目相近。7株菌相互作用表明,EX-MS菌株对EX-MK和EX-PG菌株均有明显的抑制作用,但对4株罗伊氏乳杆菌无抑制作用。【结论】本次定殖实验的结果表明,在物种水平上,香坊肠球菌和罗伊氏乳杆菌均具有在无菌猪肠道中良好的定殖能力;但在菌株水平上,小鼠来源的香坊肠球菌EX-MS菌株和罗伊氏乳杆菌LR-MS菌株具有定殖优势;同时发现,小鼠来源的香坊肠球菌EX-MS菌株通过抑制同物种的EX-PG和EX-MK菌株,获得了在宿主肠道中的定殖优势。     

凡纳滨对虾生物絮团养殖系统中不同生境细菌群落特征

【目的】凡纳滨对虾生物絮团养殖系统(biofloc-based culture system, BFS)是一种基于培育和调控微生物群落的新型生态养殖模式。然而,目前对于BFS在不同生境中的微生物群落特征及其构建过程还不清楚。【方法】采用16S rRNA基因测序技术探究BFS在3种不同生境(水体、絮团和对虾肠道)的细菌群落组成;通过溯源分析和中性模型等方法,探究不同生境细菌群落的特征及其构建过程。【结果】3种生境的微生物群落多样性和组成具有显著性差异,絮团和对虾肠道的群落结构和组成最为相似,溯源结果显示对虾肠道有98.76%的细菌类群来自絮团,仅有0.83%的细菌类群来自水体;3种生境共有的细菌主要为鲁杰氏菌(Ruegeria),在水体、絮团和对虾肠道中的丰度分别为1.72%、7.34%和6.00%,水体中特有的扩增子变异序列(amplicon sequence variants, ASV)数量为89个,主要属于海茎状菌(Maricaulis)和欧文威克斯菌(Owenweeksia),絮团中有56个,主要为莱茵海默氏菌(Rheinheimera),而对虾肠道中仅有10个,主要属于玫瑰杆菌(Roseobacter);中性模型结果表明,水体、絮团和对虾肠道细菌群落构建均符合中性模型,表明3种生境中细菌群落构建均受中性过程主导。【结论】在BFS系统中,不同生境的微生物群落具有显著差异,对虾肠道细菌主要来自生物絮团,而3种生境的细菌群落构建过程由中性过程主导。这些结果为调控生物絮团养殖系统中微生物群落提供了理论依据。     

米修链霉菌TF78对香蕉枯萎病的田间防效及根际土壤微生物的影响

【背景】香蕉枯萎病是香蕉生产上的毁灭性病害,生物防治是遏制该病害发生的有效手段。在前期的研究中,从健康香蕉根际土壤中分离获得一株对香蕉枯萎病具有良好盆栽防治效果的生防菌——米修链霉菌(Streptomyces misionensis) TF78,但其对香蕉枯萎病的田间生防潜力和对土壤微生物环境的影响尚不清楚。【目的】评价米修链霉菌TF78对香蕉枯萎病的田间防治效果,明确其对香蕉根际土壤微生物群落的影响。【方法】选取两块发病香蕉园,测定该生防菌株对香蕉枯萎病的防治效果,并利用扩增子测序技术分析施用菌剂组和空白对照组共12份香蕉根际土壤的微生物多样性和丰度。【结果】米修链霉菌TF78对两块香蕉园的田间防效分别达55.30%和45.32%。该生防菌株处理组的物种稀释曲线坡度大于空白对照组,并显著富集了优势种群梳霉门(Kickxellomycota),消减了绿弯菌门(Chloroflexi)、酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)和苔藓杆菌(Bryobacter)的丰度,对土壤中优势种群变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)、芽单胞菌门(Gemmatimonadetes)及木霉属(Trichoderma)、鞘氨醇单胞菌属(Sphingomonas)、寡养单胞菌属(Stenotrophomonas)和芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)的相对丰度影响不显著。【结论】米修链霉菌TF78塑造了不利于香蕉枯萎病菌Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.cubense存活的土壤环境,有效降低了田间香蕉枯萎病的发生,同时对土壤中大部分具有重要生态功能和抑菌功能的优势微生物种群影响不显著。该研究结果为米修链霉菌TF78的进一步开发应用奠定了基础。     

短头熊蜂肠道拮抗菌株的分离筛选鉴定及其生物特性评价

【背景】近年来,由于栖息地减少、农药的大量使用及病原菌侵染等综合因素,导致全世界的熊蜂种类与数量逐年减少,病原菌的侵染可通过微生物在自身生长过程中会产生的抑菌物质进行有效抑制或杀灭。【目的】短头熊蜂(Bombus breviceps)长期生存在野外环境中,其肠道内存在着大量微生物资源。从短头熊蜂肠道内筛选拮抗菌株,并对其抑菌特性进行研究。【方法】采用牛津杯双层法筛选拮抗菌株,测定抑菌活性最佳菌株发酵液的抑菌物质稳定性与抑菌广谱性等抑菌特性,并借助细胞膜通透性、流式细胞仪检测等试验探究其抑菌机制。【结果】得到了5株具有明显抑菌作用的拮抗菌株,其中果杆菌(Fructobacillus tropaeoli)CZ01对金黄色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus)、沙门氏菌(Salmonella choleraesuis)、大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)、福氏志贺氏菌(Shigella flexneri)和无乳链球菌(Streptococcus agalactiae)这5种病原指示菌都具有高度抑菌效果。菌株CZ01对金黄色葡萄球菌的抑菌效果最佳,抑菌圈直径可达到(21.21±0.25) mm,在121 ℃处理后仍具有67.36%以上的抑菌活性,调整pH值为10.0时仍具有78.16%的抑菌活性。【结论】短头熊蜂肠道微生物资源较丰富,尤其是果杆菌(F.tropaeoli)CZ01具有抑菌活性高、稳定性好、抑菌谱广等特性,对金黄色葡萄球菌具有良好的杀灭效果,显示出良好的应用潜能。     

杜比亚蟑螂肠道菌的分离鉴定及产消化酶功能菌株的筛选

【背景】杜比亚蟑螂(Blaptica dubia)可用于活体饲料、化妆品和医药保健品的生产,其肠道菌的研究对杜比亚蟑螂的饲养和肠道菌资源的开发与利用都十分重要。【目的】揭示杜比亚蟑螂肠道可培养菌的种类,筛选具有产消化酶功能的菌株,为理解肠道菌对宿主的影响机理及功能菌株的利用提供科学依据和研究材料。【方法】采用体外培养法获得杜比亚蟑螂肠道菌,结合形态学和分子生物学方法进行鉴定;用水解圈法分别筛选产纤维素酶、蛋白酶、脂肪酶和淀粉酶菌株。【结果】在杜比亚蟑螂肠道中共分离出4属7种细菌,其中芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)2种,沙雷氏菌属(Serratia)和柠檬酸杆菌属(Citrobacter)各2种,肠球菌属(Enterococcus)1种。从获得的20个菌株中筛选出10个具有产消化酶功能的菌株。其中,芽孢杆菌属的菌株D6、D12和D20具有产纤维素酶、蛋白酶、淀粉酶及脂肪酶4种消化酶的功能;沙雷氏菌属的菌株D3、D7、D9、D11和D15具有产纤维素酶、蛋白酶和脂肪酶3种消化酶的能力;柠檬酸杆菌属的菌株D5具有产纤维素酶的功能;肠球菌属的菌株D17具有产蛋白酶的能力。【结论】杜比亚蟑螂肠道多种细菌具有产消化酶帮助降解大分子营养物质的功能,可通过协助食物消化影响宿主健康。菌株D12、D7和D11分别具有最强产纤维素酶、蛋白酶和脂肪酶的能力,是可进一步开发利用的肠道功能菌株资源。     

广东南岭森林土壤中可培养细菌多样性

广东南岭森林土壤中蕴藏着丰富的生物资源,但对其中的可培养细菌种类仍缺乏系统了解。本研究采用贫营养型的R2A培养基和富营养型的TSA培养基对南岭森林土壤中细菌进行了分离,获得细菌408株,分别从属于厚壁菌门、变形菌门、放线菌门和拟杆菌门的35属。其中的优势类群为厚壁菌门,占分离总数量的71%。在属水平,芽胞杆菌及其近缘属为优势类群。除芽胞杆菌外,假单胞菌、伯克霍尔德氏菌、草酸杆菌科Collimonas属和罗丹诺杆菌科Dyella属是分离获得的主要类群。R2A培养基在分离革兰氏阴性的变形菌门菌株方面表现出一定的偏好性,而TSA培养基分离得到的更多为快速生长的芽胞杆菌及其近缘的革兰氏阳性细菌。发现了15属的菌株具有一定的水解酶活性,大多表现出对淀粉和牛奶的水解活性,对有机磷的水解性能优于对无机磷的水解。降解纤维素的菌株则主要集中于芽胞杆菌及其近缘属中。发现了潜在新物种26株,分布于芽胞杆菌、Dyella、类芽孢杆菌等9属中。本研究仅使用了两种营养类型的培养基,进一步借助培养组学技术有望能更加全面反映南岭森林土壤中的可培养微生物多样性。     

叶酸调控对高尿酸血症大鼠肠道微生物的影响

探究叶酸对高尿酸血症大鼠肠道微生物的影响,为治疗高尿酸血症提供新思路。将SPF 级雄性大鼠分为空白对照组、模型组和叶酸组,采集大鼠的粪便样本,采用16S rRNA高通量测序技术分析肠道微生物的多样性、群落组成以及结构的变化。研究结果显示,Alpha多样性和Beta多样性分析表明,空白对照组、模型组和叶酸组大鼠粪便中微生物多样性和群落组成存在明显差异,其中模型组大鼠粪便微生物具有较高的物种丰度和种群差异性。对门分类水平上的物种丰度分析发现,微生物种群主要由厚壁菌门（Firmicutes）和拟杆菌门（Bacteroidetes）组成;对属分类水平上的物种丰度分析发现,微生物种群由乳杆菌属（Lactobacillus）、Muribaculaceae、拟杆菌属（Bacteroides）、柯林斯菌属（Collinsella）、梭菌属（Clostridium）、罗姆布茨菌（Romboutsia）、劳特氏菌属（Blautia）和毛螺菌科NK4A136群（Lachnospiraceae NK4A136_group）等菌属组成,与空白对照组相比,模型组中Muribaculaceae和柯林斯菌属的丰度显著升高,乳杆菌属、梭菌属、罗姆布茨菌和毛螺菌科的丰度显著下降;叶酸组中Muribaculaceae、拟杆菌属、柯林斯菌属和劳特氏菌属的丰度显著升高,梭菌属、罗姆布茨菌和毛螺菌科的丰度显著下降。研究探索了叶酸干预调控高尿酸血症大鼠肠道微生物的变化,为治疗高尿酸血症提供参考。     

Use of Gifu Anaerobic Medium for culturing 32 dominant species of human gut microbes and its evaluation based on short-chain fatty acids fermentation profiles

Recently, a “human gut microbial gene catalogue,” which ranks the dominance of microbe genus/species in human fecal samples, was published. Most of the bacteria ranked in the catalog are currently publicly available; however, the growth media recommended by the distributors vary among species, hampering physiological comparisons among the bacteria. To address this problem, we evaluated Gifu anaerobic medium (GAM) as a standard medium. Forty-four publicly available species of the top 56 species listed in the “human gut microbial gene catalogue” were cultured in GAM, and out of these, 32 (72%) were successfully cultured. Short-chain fatty acids from the bacterial culture supernatants were then quantified, and bacterial metabolic pathways were predicted based on in silico genomic sequence analysis. Our system provides a useful platform for assessing growth properties and analyzing metabolites of dominant human gut bacteria grown in GAM and supplemented with compounds of interest.     

马蜂肠道菌的分离鉴定及产消化酶功能菌株的筛选

【背景】马蜂(Vespa mandarinia Smith)可以防治多种田间害虫,还具有药用价值,其肠道菌群结构和功能还有待研究。【目的】获得马蜂肠道可培养细菌并筛选出具有产消化酶功能的菌株,为理解肠道菌对宿主的影响机理及功能菌株的利用提供科学依据和研究材料。【方法】采用传统细菌分离培养法获得马蜂肠道菌,结合形态学以及16S rRNA基因序列分析进行鉴定;利用水解圈法分别筛选产蛋白酶、脂肪酶、淀粉酶和纤维素酶菌株;通过测量水解圈D与菌落直径d的比值,比较不同细菌的产酶能力。【结果】在马蜂肠道中共分离出6属10种细菌,其中芽孢杆菌属5种,肠球菌属、葡萄球菌属、明串珠菌属、乳球菌属和不动杆菌属各1种。从获得的61个菌株中筛选出6个具有产消化酶功能的菌株。其中,苏云金芽孢杆菌V44具有产蛋白酶、淀粉酶、脂肪酶和纤维素酶4种消化酶的能力;粪肠球菌V6具有产淀粉酶、蛋白酶和脂肪酶3种消化酶的能力;蜡样芽孢杆菌V43具有产蛋白酶、淀粉酶和纤维素酶3种消化酶的能力;粪肠球菌V20、蜡样芽孢杆菌V19和维德曼氏芽孢杆菌V22均具有产蛋白酶的能力。【结论】马蜂肠道细菌资源较丰富,部分有产消化酶的功能,可帮助马蜂消化食物,对宿主健康有一定影响。本研究筛选的6个菌株都能产蛋白酶,其中菌株V43和V44分别具有最强产淀粉酶和脂肪酶的能力,是可进一步开发利用的肠道功能菌株资源。     

Honeybees and bumblebees share similar bacterial symbionts

Associations with symbiotic microorganisms are a major source for evolutionary innovation in eukaryotes. Arthropods have long served as model systems to study such associations, especially since Paul Buchner’s (1965) seminal work that beautifully illustrated the enormous diversity of microorganisms associated with insects. Particularly high taxonomic and functional diversities of microbial symbionts have been found in the guts and gut‐associated organs of insects. These microorganisms play important roles in the digestion, nutrition and defence of the host. However, most studies of gut microorganisms have focused on single host taxa, limiting the ability to draw general conclusions on composition and functional roles of the insect gut microbiota. This is especially true for the diverse and important insect order Hymenoptera that comprises the bees, wasps and ants. Recently, Russell et al. (2009) analysed the bacterial community associated with diverse ant species and found evidence for changes in the microbial gut community coinciding with the evolution of herbivory. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Martinson et al. (2011) provide the first broad‐scale bacterial survey for bees. Their findings substantiate earlier evidence for a surprisingly simple gut microbiota in honeybees (Apis mellifera) that is composed of only six to ten major phylotypes. Importantly, Martinson et al. demonstrate for the first time that the same bacterial phylotypes are major constituents of other Apis as well as Bombus species, but not of any other bees and wasps outside of the corbiculate bees, a clade of four tribes within the subfamily Apinae. These results indicate that corbiculate bees harbour a specific and possibly co‐evolved bacterial community in their digestive tract. Furthermore, the comparison with other bees and wasps suggests that changes in social lifestyle may have had a stronger effect on the evolution of the gut microbiota than the dietary shift from predatory ancestors to pollen‐feeding (i.e. herbivorous) species. These findings have far‐reaching implications for research on the microbial symbionts of insects as well as on the nutritional physiology of the ecologically and economically important group of corbiculate bees.     

MALDI-TOF Identification of the Human Gut Microbiome in People with and without Diarrhea in Senegal

Background

In Africa, there are several problems with the specific identification of bacteria. Recently, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry has become a powerful tool for the routine microbial identification in many clinical laboratories.

Methodology/Principal Findings

This study was conducted using feces from 347 individuals (162 with diarrhea and 185 without diarrhea) sampled in health centers in Dakar, Senegal. Feces were transported from Dakar to Marseille, France, where they were cultured using different culture conditions. The isolated colonies were identified using MALDI-TOF. If a colony was unidentified, 16S rRNA sequencing was performed. Overall, 2,753 isolates were tested, allowing for the identification of 189 bacteria from 5 phyla, including 2 previously unknown species, 11 species not previously reported in the human gut, 10 species not previously reported in humans, and 3 fungi. 2,718 bacterial isolates (98.8%) out of 2,750 yielded an accurate identification using mass spectrometry, as did the 3 Candida albicans isolates. Thirty-two bacterial isolates not identified by MALDI-TOF (1.2%) were identified by sequencing, allowing for the identification of 2 new species. The number of bacterial species per fecal sample was significantly higher among patients without diarrhea (8.6±3) than in those with diarrhea (7.3±3.4; P = 0.0003). A modification of the gut microbiota was observed between the two groups. In individuals with diarrhea, major commensal bacterial species such as E. coli were significantly decreased (85% versus 64%), as were several Enterococcus spp. (E. faecium and E. casseliflavus) and anaerobes, such as Bacteroides spp. (B. uniformis and B. vulgatus) and Clostridium spp. (C. bifermentans, C. orbiscindens, C. perfringens, and C. symbosium). Conversely, several Bacillus spp. (B. licheniformis, B. mojavensis, and B. pumilus) were significantly more frequent among patients with diarrhea.

Conclusions/Significance

MALDI-TOF is a potentially powerful tool for routine bacterial identification in Africa, allowing for a quick identification of bacterial species.     

Cultivable Bacterial Community from South China Sea Sponge as Revealed by DGGE Fingerprinting and 16S rDNA Phylogenetic Analysis

The cultivable bacterial communities associated with four South China Sea sponges—Stelletta tenuis, Halichondria rugosa, Dysidea avara, and Craniella australiensis in mixed cultures—were investigated by microbial community DNA-based DGGE fingerprinting and 16S rDNA phylogenetic analysis. Diverse bacteria such as α-, γ-, δ-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes were cultured, some of which were previously uncultivable bacteria, potential novel strains with less than 95% similarity to their closest relatives and sponge symbionts growing only in the medium with the addition of sponge extract. According to 16S rDNA BLAST analysis, most of the bacteria were cultured from sponge for the first time, although similar phyla of bacteria have been previously recognized. The selective pressure of sponge extract on the cultured bacterial species was suggested, although the effect of sponge extract on bacterial community in high nutrient medium is not significant. Although α- and γ-Proteobacteria appeared to form the majority of the dominant cultivable bacterial communities of the four sponges, the composition of the cultivable bacterial community in the mixed culture was different, depending on the medium and sponge species. Greater bacterial diversity was observed in media C and CS for Stelletta tenuis, in media F and FS for Halichondria rugosa and Craniella australiensis. S. tenuis was found to have the highest cultivable bacterial diversity including α-, γ-, δ-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes, followed by sponge Dysidea avara without δ-Proteobacteria, sponge Halichondria rugosa with only α-, γ-Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, and sponge C. australiensis with only α-, γ-Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Based on this study, by the strategy of mixed cultivation integrated with microbial community DNA-based DGGE fingerprinting and phylogenetic analysis, the cultivable bacterial community of sponge could be revealed effectively.     

Effects of the biocides on the culturable house dust-borne bacterial compositions and diversities

Biocides are used ubiquitously in indoor environments, but knowledge is limited about how they impact indoor bacterial compositions and diversities. In this study, an in vitro experiment was conducted to demonstrate changes in the culturable house dust-borne bacterial compositions and diversities by exposures to three biocides of CuSO₄ (CUS), triclosan (TRC), or benzalkonium chloride with respective concentrations of 90, 45, and 0.1 μg ml^?1. The high-throughput sequencing was used to characterize the bacterial compositions and diversities. The α diversity analysis showed reductions in the species richness and evenness by exposures to CUS and TRC (p < 0.05, Wilcoxon signed rank tests). The β diversity analysis revealed the significant changes in the community memberships for CUS and TRC (p < 0.05, P-tests based on the Jaccard indices), which were thought due to selective bacterial inhibitions. The taxonomic analysis found the inhibitions of Enterococcus, Peptoniphilus, Anaerococcus, Finegoldia,Clostridium sensu stricto, and Stenotrophomonas. The findings of the present in vitro study provide important insights into how use of biocides in indoor environments affects bacterial compositions and diversities. Future in situ research is warranted to confirm how they impact indoor microbial compositions and diversities, which are thought to be important for human health.     

The structured diversity of specialized gut symbionts of the New World army ants

Symbiotic bacteria play important roles in the biology of their arthropod hosts. Yet the microbiota of many diverse and influential groups remain understudied, resulting in a paucity of information on the fidelities and histories of these associations. Motivated by prior findings from a smaller scale, 16S rRNA‐based study, we conducted a broad phylogenetic and geographic survey of microbial communities in the ecologically dominant New World army ants (Formicidae: Dorylinae). Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene across 28 species spanning the five New World genera showed that the microbial communities of army ants consist of very few common and abundant bacterial species. The two most abundant microbes, referred to as Unclassified Firmicutes and Unclassified Entomoplasmatales, appear to be specialized army ant associates that dominate microbial communities in the gut lumen of three host genera, Eciton, Labidus and Nomamyrmex. Both are present in other army ant genera, including those from the Old World, suggesting that army ant symbioses date back to the Cretaceous. Extensive sequencing of bacterial protein‐coding genes revealed multiple strains of these symbionts coexisting within colonies, but seldom within the same individual ant. Bacterial strains formed multiple host species‐specific lineages on phylogenies, which often grouped strains from distant geographic locations. These patterns deviate from those seen in other social insects and raise intriguing questions about the influence of army ant colony swarm‐founding and within‐colony genetic diversity on strain coexistence, and the effects of hosting a diverse suite of symbiont strains on colony ecology.     

Isolation and characterization of novel bacterial taxa from extreme alkali-saline soil

In northeast China there are large areas of nearly bare soda saline-alkali soil, in which plant survival is exteremely difficult because the land has a pH greater than 10.5. In order to obtain resistant microbial resources able to grow in such conditions, we analyzed environmental microbial samples from this extreme saline-alkali soil region. Through selective culture conditions, 8 bacterial strains were isolated from medium with no less than 1.5 M NaCl, 12 were isolated in the medium with a pH value of no less than 11.0, and 8 were isolated in the medium with of no less than 200 mM Na₂CO₃. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis 20 novel strains of bacteria were identified and classified into four groups: 8 group I strains belong to the genus Bacillus; three group II belong to genus Nesterenkonia (2 strains) and genus Zhihengliuella (1 strain); eight group III strains belong to the genera Halomonas (6), Stenotrophomonas (1) and Alkalimonas (1); one group IV strain belongs to genus Litoribacter. These four groups belong to the phylum Firmicutes, phylum Actinobacteria, phylum Gamma-Proteobacteria and phylum Bacteroidetes, respectively. The sequence homology of 16S rRNA in strains ANESC-S, H.sp.C4 and H.sp.C6 with that of known strains was 93.2, 96.5 and 96.5%, respectively. Based on the 97.0% identity cutoff commonly used to discriminate bacterial species, our data suggest that H. sp.C4 and H.sp.C6 may be new species, and ANESC-S may be belong to a new genus of classified into order Cytophagales. The morphological characteristics by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that, in addition to the coccal N.sp.N3, the majority (19) of the isolates are bacilli of various lengths. In culture the colonies appeared red, orange, yellow, light yellow, and milk-white, with milk-white being predominant. Based on the resistance to NaCl and pH, the 20 novel strains were classified into obligate alkaliphilic and halophilic bacteria, obligate alkaliphilic halotolerant bacteria, and facultative alkalophilic salt-tolerant bacteria. This is the first study reporting the isolation and characterization of bacterial resources from extreme saline-alkali soils from northeast China.