Genome annotation and antimicrobial properties of Bacillus toyonensis VU‐DES13, isolated from the Folsomia candida gut

Antibiotic resistance necessitates the search for new bioactive compounds with novel mechanisms of action. Natural products derived from bacteria and fungi are widely used in the field of medicine and new environments can be explored as sources of antimicrobials. Bacteria associated with springtails have shown high inhibitory activity against pathogens. Here, we characterized a bacterial strain with high potential for antimicrobial activity, isolated from the gut of the springtail Folsomia candida Willem (Collembola: Isotomidae). The strain was characterized using the ‘analytical profile index’ and the ‘minimal inhibitory concentration’ assay to test for antibiotic resistance. Agar overlay and agar disk diffusion assays were used to test the inhibitory activity of the strain and its extract against a variety of pathogens, and reporter assays were used to investigate the mode of action. High‐performance liquid chromatography was used to analyze and fractionate the extract of bacterial culture, followed by additional assays on the fractions. The genome of the strain was screened for presence of antibiotic resistance genes and secondary metabolite gene clusters. The isolate was identified as Bacillus toyonensis Jiménez et al., but it displayed differences in metabolic profile when compared to the type species. The isolate was highly resistant to penicillin and inhibited the growth of a variety of pathogenic microorganisms. Genome analysis revealed an enrichment of resistance genes for β‐lactam antibiotics compared to the type isolate. Also, secondary metabolite clusters involved in the production of siderophores, bacteriocins, and nonribosomal peptide synthetases were identified. In conclusion, a unique Bacillus strain was isolated from the gut of F. candida, for which we provide evidence of inhibitory activity against an array of pathogens. This, coupled with high resistance to penicillin as substantiated by the presence of resistance genes, points to the potential of B. toyonensis VU‐DES13 to provide a new source of antimicrobial compounds.     

浙江台州刺齿䖴属一新种及其一龄幼体描述（弹尾纲：长角䖴科）

记述了浙江省刺齿属一腹部第四节前缘"眉毛"仅具4根大刚毛的新种:四毛刺齿Homidia quadriseta Pan sp.nov.。此新种的鉴定特征是腹部第3节整节以及第4节的后半节为深色,腹部第3节中间具1根大刚毛,腹部第4节前缘"眉毛"具2+2大刚毛,后侧中间具3根大刚毛,上唇基具12根刚毛,齿节内侧刺少(7–8根)且多数呈细纤毛状;同时,本文还描述了该新种的一龄幼虫。模式标本保存于台州学院生命科学学院。     

Conversion of rainforest into oil palm and rubber plantations affects the functional composition of litter and soil Collembola

Rainforest conversion and expansion of plantations in tropical regions are associated with changes in animal communities and biodiversity decline. In soil, Collembola are one of the most numerous invertebrate groups that affect the functioning of microbial communities and support arthropod predators. Despite that, information on the impact of changes in land use in the tropics on species and trait composition of Collembola communities is very limited. We investigated the response of Collembola to the conversion of rainforest into rubber agroforestry (“jungle rubber”), rubber, and oil palm plantations in Jambi Province (Sumatra, Indonesia), a region which experienced one of the strongest recent deforestation globally. Collembola were sampled in 2013 and 2016 from the litter and soil layer using heat extraction, and environmental factors were measured (litter C/N ratio, pH, water content, composition of microbial community and predator abundance). In the litter layer, density and species richness in plantation systems were 25%–38% and 30%–40% lower, respectively, than in rainforest. However, in the soil layer, density, species richness, and trait diversity of Collembola were only slightly affected by land‐use change, contrasting the response of many other animal groups. Species and trait composition of Collembola communities in litter and soil differed between each of the land‐use systems. Water content and pH were identified as main factors related to the differences in species and trait composition in both litter and soil, followed by the density of micro‐ and macropredators. Dominant species of Collembola in rainforest and jungle rubber were characterized by small body size, absence of furca, and absence of intense pigmentation, while in plantations, larger species with long furca and diffuse or patterned pigmentation were more abundant. Overall, land‐use change negatively affected Collembola communities in the litter layer, but its impact was lower in the soil layer. Several pantropical genera of Collembola (i.e., Isotomiella, Pseudosinella, and Folsomides) dominated across land‐use systems, reflecting their high environmental adaptability and/or efficient dispersal, calling for studies on their ecology and genetic diversity. The decline in species richness and density of litter‐dwelling Collembola with the conversion of rainforest into plantation systems calls for management practices mitigating negative effects of the deterioration of the litter layer in rubber plantations, but even more in oil palm plantations.     

Report of Akabosia matsudoensis Kinoshita (Collembola; Paronellidae) from Korea,with notes on the Korean aquatic springtail fauna

A hygrophilous collembolan species, Akabosia matsudoensis is redescribed and illustrated with a list and key to other aquatic fauna belonging to Entomobryoidea from Korea. Specimens inhabiting the damp area near a creek were collected with hand net and aspirator. This species is characterized by the absence of scale, having 2 + 2 macrosetae on the vertex of the head, 2 feathered prelabial setae, dens crenulated and the base of mucro with bladder like appendage. Genus Akabosia reported only one species, A. matsudoensis, that was originally recorded in Japan; Korea is the second recorded country and it is the only Paronellidae from Korea.     

Nitrogen Inputs by Marine Vertebrates Drive Abundance and Richness in Antarctic Terrestrial Ecosystems

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Effects of copper, lead and zinc in soil on egg development and hatching of Folsomia candida

Effects of CaCl₂, CuCl₂, ZnCl₂ and PbCl₂ on development and hatching success of eggs of Folsomia candida (Collembola) were studied under laboratory conditions. Thousands of healthy eggs from synchronized cultures were incubated in soils treated with different concentrations of the metals. Compared with the water control, egg hatch significantly decreased when concentrations of Cu, Pb and Zn reached 400, 1600 and 800 mg/kg dry soil, respectively. Values of EC_{50 (hatching)}, calculated according to the exponential model (with 95% confidence limits in brackets), were 625 (407–875), 2361 (2064–2687) and 1763 (1548–2000) mg/kg dry soils for Cu, Pb and Zn, respectively. When Cu concentration reached 1600 mg/kg dry soil, eggs became green and the percentage of green eggs changed from 5%–20% after incubation for 2 days to 15%–30% after incubation for 4 days. At 3200 mg Cu/kg dry soil, tissues inside eggs were black and shrunken.     

福建省刺齿虫兆属（弹尾纲：长角虫兆科）一新种描述

记述福建省刺齿属1新种:拟中华刺齿Homidia pseudosinensis sp.nov.。该新种的鉴定特征有胸部第2节后侧具近似M型的横条带,下唇毛序及腹部第4节毛序。本文提供了该物种的特征图及福建省刺齿属分种检索表。