In Vivo Microbial Coevolution Favors Host Protection and Plastic Downregulation of Immunity

Microbiota can protect their hosts from infection. The short timescales in which microbes can evolve presents the possibility that “protective microbes” can take-over from the immune system of longer-lived hosts in the coevolutionary race against pathogens. Here, we found that coevolution between a protective bacterium (Enterococcus faecalis) and a virulent pathogen (Staphylococcus aureus) within an animal population (Caenorhabditis elegans) resulted in more disease suppression than when the protective bacterium adapted to uninfected hosts. At the same time, more protective E. faecalis populations became costlier to harbor and altered the expression of 134 host genes. Many of these genes appear to be related to the mechanism of protection, reactive oxygen species production. Crucially, more protective E. faecalis populations downregulated a key immune gene, , known to be effective against S. aureus infection. These results suggest that a microbial line of defense is favored by microbial coevolution and may cause hosts to plastically divest of their own immunity.     

Prelude to oral microbes and chronic diseases: past,present and future

Associations between oral and systemic health are ancient. Oral opportunistic bacteria, particularly, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum, have recently been deviated from their traditional roles as periodontal pathogens and arguably ascended to central players based on their participations in complex co-dependent mechanisms of diverse systemic chronic diseases risk and pathogenesis, including cancers, rheumatoid-arthritis, and diabetes.     

Effects of desertification on the C:N:P stoichiometry of soil,microbes, and extracellular enzymes in a desert grassland

为探讨荒漠草地沙漠化对“土壤-微生物-胞外酶”系统生态化学计量的影响机理, 该研究采用空间序列代替时间演替的方法, 研究了宁夏盐池荒漠草地沙漠化过程中土壤、土壤微生物及土壤胞外酶碳(C)、氮(N)、磷(P)生态化学计量的变异特征。结果表明: (1)随着荒漠草地沙漠化的不断加剧, 土壤C、N、P含量和土壤C:P、N:P均呈降低趋势, 而土壤C:N逐渐增加。(2)荒漠草地沙漠化过程中, 土壤微生物生物量C (MBC):微生物生物量P (MBP)、微生物生物量N (MBN):MBP和土壤β-葡萄糖苷酶(BG):N-乙酰氨基葡萄糖苷酶(NAG)逐渐降低, 而土壤BG:磷酸酶(AP)和NAG:AP基本表现为增加趋势。(3)随着荒漠草地沙漠化程度的加剧, 土壤微生物C利用效率CUE_C:N和CUE_C:P与土壤微生物N利用效率NUE_N:C和土壤微生物P利用效率PUE_P:C的变化趋势相反。(4)荒漠草地土壤、土壤微生物生物量和土壤胞外酶C:N化学计量(C:N, MBC:MBN, BG:NAG)与土壤、土壤微生物生物量和土壤胞外酶N:P化学计量(N:P, MBN:MBP, NAG:AP)显著负相关, 而土壤和胞外酶C:N化学计量(C:N, BG:NAG)与土壤和胞外酶C:P化学计量(C:P, BG:AP)显著正相关。土壤N:P与土壤MBN:MBP显著正相关, 而与土壤NAG:AP显著负相关。分析表明, 荒漠草地沙漠化过程中土壤微生物生物量及胞外酶活性随着土壤养分的变化而发生变化; 微生物-胞外酶C:N:P生态化学计量与土壤养分存在协变关系, 为理解荒漠草地土壤-微生物系统C、N、P循环机制提供理论依据。     

纤维素降解菌的分离筛选及对中药废弃物的固相发酵研究

中药在提取炮制后残留大量生物质被简单堆弃,而其中的木质纤维素等生物质能被微生物有效利用降解,筛选到16株对木质纤维素有降解效果的菌株,对其中8株降解效果明显功能菌株进行了深入研究,经16(18)S rDNA鉴定发现5株细菌主要为Bacillus属、Streptomyces属和Enterobacter属,3株真菌为Ascomycete属、Aspergillus属和Trichosporon属;利用8株菌固相发酵中药废弃物,通过监测堆体温度、pH等参数,发现细菌类在发酵初期能迅速提高堆体温度,而真菌类发酵腐熟过程较缓慢,提示利用细菌-真菌联合组成降解菌系是提高中药废弃物固相发酵的重要手段。     

Temporal variation in structural properties of tropical plant-herbivore networks: The role of climatic factors

Plant herbivore interactions can be influenced by abiotic factors such as climate or resource availability. Nevertheless, the influence of climatic variation on the temporal dynamics of plant-herbivore networks has been scarcely studied. In this study we evaluated the influence of temperature and precipitation on the structure and selectiveness of plant-herbivore networks associated to a seasonal tropical ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico. Although a significant turnover was observed in plant and herbivore species across seasons, high modularity and selectivity of the networks remained relatively constant despite the temporal variation in climatic variables. However, precipitation and temperature was negatively associated with niche overlap for herbivores and positively related to evenness of network interactions. In other words, less stressful conditions are likely to promote the diversification in the use of resources by herbivores, and increase evenness of interactions in the network. An increase in niche overlap and a decrease in the evenness of interactions during the driest and coldest months could be promoted by the presence of less specialized herbivores when availability and quality of host resources is lower.We suggest that the constancy in network selectiveness and modularity facilitates the coexistence of species through the fine distribution of niches and the equitable distribution of food resources in periods of greater precipitation and temperature, when the availability of host plants is greater. Overall, we show for the first time how abiotic factors can influence the emergent structural properties of an antagonistic tropical plant-herbivore network.     

Shifts in priming partly explain impacts of long‐term nitrogen input in different chemical forms on soil organic carbon storage

Input of labile organic carbon can enhance decomposition of extant soil organic carbon (SOC) through priming. We hypothesized that long‐term nitrogen (N) input in different chemical forms alters SOC pools by altering priming effects associated with N‐mediated changes in plants and soil microbes. The hypothesis was tested by integrating field experimental data of plants, soil microbes and two incubation experiments with soils that had experienced 10 years of N enrichment with three chemical forms (ammonium, nitrate and both ammonium and nitrate) in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. Incubations with glucose–¹³C addition at three rates were used to quantify effects of exogenous organic carbon input on the priming of SOC. Incubations with microbial inocula extracted from soils that had experienced different long‐term N treatments were conducted to detect effects of N‐mediated changes in soil microbes on priming effects. We found strong evidence and a mechanistic explanation for alteration of SOC pools following 10 years of N enrichment with different chemical forms. We detected significant negative priming effects both in soils collected from ammonium‐addition plots and in sterilized soils inoculated with soil microbes extracted from ammonium‐addition plots. In contrast, significant positive priming effects were found both in soils collected from nitrate‐addition plots and in sterilized soils inoculated with soil microbes extracted from nitrate‐addition plots. Meanwhile, the abundance and richness of graminoids were higher and the abundance of soil microbes was lower in ammonium‐addition than in nitrate‐addition plots. Our findings provide evidence that shifts toward higher graminoid abundance and changes in soil microbial abundance mediated by N chemical forms are key drivers for priming effects and SOC pool changes, thereby linking human interference with the N cycle to climate change.     

福建和溪亚热带雨林地表微生物的数量动态

分枯枝落叶层、腐解层和表土层（0—20cm深）三个层次研究福建和溪亚热带雨林的细菌、真菌和放线菌三大微生物类群的数量和月变化。结果表明：三个层次的微生物数量均以细菌最多,次为真菌,后为放线菌。比较三个层次,各微生物类群在各月份都是枯枝落叶层和腐解层数量较多。同一微生物类群在三个层次的数量均有明显而相似的季节变化;不同类群变化规律不尽相同,但基本只有一个高峰。细菌的高峰值在4月份,真菌约滞后一个月在5月份,放线菌则在8月份才出现高峰。各层次的细菌数和真菌数与月凋落物量、月降雨量和月平均气温各有显著的线性正相关（p＜0．01或0．05）,而放线菌则仅与月平均气温显著相关。     

Food attraction and population growth of fungivorous nematodes with different fungi

Food attraction of the fungivorous nematodes Aphelenchus avenae and Aphelenchoides spp. to seven fungal species (Pyrenochaeta lycopersici, Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani strains AG 3 and AG 2‐1, Verticillium dahliae, Pochonia bulbillosa, Mortierella hyalina and Trichoderma harzianum) was determined on agar plates by counting the number of test nematodes present on the mycelium of each fungus 24 h after inoculation. Population growth of A. avenae and Aphelenchoides spp. on five of the seven fungi included in the attraction test (P. lycopersici, R. solani strain AG 3, V. dahliae, P. bulbillosa and T. harzianum) was also determined on agar plates by counting nematode numbers every week during a 6‐week period. A. avenae and Aphelenchoides spp. were attracted to all the fungi tested. A. avenae was preferentially attracted to V. dahliae (P < 0.0001), and Aphelenchoides spp. did not show any preference except for low attraction to R. solani. A. avenae and Aphelenchoides spp. reproduced on all fungal species tested. After 6 weeks of incubation, the highest number of nematodes was found on P. lycopersici and P. bulbillosa, while the lowest number occurred on R. solani for A. avenae and on T. harzianum for Aphelenchoides spp. The suitability of a fungus as a host was not clearly related to the attraction to that fungus.