Exploration of Mycobiota in Cypripedium japonicum,an Endangered Species

Orchids live with mycorrhizal fungi in mutualism. This symbiotic relationship plays an essential role in the overall life cycle of orchids from germination, growth, settlement, and reproduction. Among the 1000 species of the orchid, the Korean lady’s slipper, Cypripedium japonicum, is known as an endangered species. Currently, only five natural habitats of the Korean lady’s slipper remain in South Korea, and the population of Korean lady’s slipper in their natural habitat is not increasing. To prevent extinction, this study was designed to understand the fungal community interacting in the rhizosphere of the Korean lady’s slipper living in the native and artificial habitats. In-depth analyses were performed to discover the vital mycorrhizal fungi contributing to habitat expansion and cultivation of the endangered orchid species. Our results suggested that Lycoperdon nigrescens contributed most to the increase in natural habitats and Russula violeipes as a characteristic of successful cultivation. And the fungi that helped L. nigrescens and R. violeipes to fit into the rhizosphere community in Korean lady’s slipper native place were Paraboeremia selaginellae and Metarhizium anisopliae, respectively. The findings will contribute to restoring and maintaining the endangered orchid population in natural habitats.     

Characteristics of human oral microbiome and its non-invasive diagnostic value in chronic kidney disease

Background: Morbidity of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increased, with many complications and high mortality rates. The characteristics of oral microbiome in CKD patients have not been reported. This study aims to analyze the oral microbiome, and to demonstrate the potential of microbiome as noninvasive biomarkers for CKD patients.Methods: The study collected 253 oral samples from different regions of China (Central China and East China) prospectively and finally 235 samples completed Miseq sequencing, including 103 samples from CKD patients and 132 healthy controls (HCs).Results: Compared with HCs (n=88), the oral microbial diversity in CKD patients (n=44) was increased. Fourteen genera including Streptococcus, Actinomyces and Leptotrichia were enriched, while six genera including Prevotella and Haemophilus were decreased in CKD patients. Moreover, 49 predicted microbial gene functions including arginine metabolism and tryptophan metabolism increased, while 55 functions including Ribosome and DNA repair recombination proteins decreased. Furthermore, correlation analysis demonstrated that 38 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were closely related to 5 clinical indicators of CKD. Notably, 7 optimal biomarkers were identified using random forest model, and the classifier model respectively reached an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.9917 and 0.8026 in the discovery and validation phase, achieving a cross-region validation.Conclusions: We first illustrated the characteristics of the oral microbiome of patients with CKD, identified the potential of oral microbial makers as noninvasive tools for the diagnosis of CKD and achieved cross-region validation.     

Demonstration of epithelium-associated microbes in the oesophagus of pigs, cattle, rats and deer

Scanning electron microscope or light microscope examination of oesphageal specimens demonstrated the association of microbial cells with the epithelial surface. Rod-shaped bacteria and cocci were seen in specimens obtained from pigs and rats, cocci in specimens from cattle, and rods     

Geographical variation in the distribution of phage types of Vibrio cholerae O1 and non-O1

A Vibrio cholerae O1 phage-typing scheme, developed in the USSR, has been used to type 120 strains of V. cholerae O1 isolated in Africa and Asia, and 56 non-O1 V. cholerae isolated in England and Wales from infections contracted abroad. 90.9% of V. cholerae O1 were typable. Phage type 13 predominated among African strains whereas types 11 and 15 were more common among strains from Asia. Only 14.3% of non-O1 V. cholerae reacted with the phages.     

The antioxidant properties and microbial load of Moringa oleifera leaves dried using a prototype convective air-dryer

The recent COVID-19 pandemic resulted in major postharvest losses because most fresh produce could not be sold. Drying is an important thermal-based food preservation method which could have prolonged the shelf-life of these produce, but most drying technologies are costly, and cannot be afforded by small-time farmers. From this context, we were interested in evaluating the drying of Moringa oleifera leaves (MOL) using a low-cost self-built prototype convective-air dryer (CAD), alongside conventional drying methods for its antioxidant properties, microbial load and phytoconstituents. Results showed total polyphenol content was the highest (p < 0.05) in our CAD samples, and it retained among the highest total flavonoid content, total antioxidant capacity, total alkaloid content and DPPH radical scavenging activity. Furthermore, methanolic CAD extract presented lower coliform and yeast and mold count than the aqueous CAD extract. We also briefly explored MOL as a sanitizer where the microbial load of the methanolic extract was comparable (p > 0.05) with several commercial non-alcoholic sanitizers, indicating its commercialization potential as a bio-friendly sanitizer. Finally, using GC–MS, we are the first to report (best of our knowledge) on the presence of caprolactam, an important bio-medical field compound, in the CAD sample’s aqueous extract.     

金黄色葡萄球菌荚膜分型血清研制及初步应用

为了解中国金葡菌荚膜流行型,用5型和8型国际标准菌株的菌悬液免疫家兔,吸收除去交叉凝集素研制出金葡菌5型和8型荚膜分型血清,并应用于333株临床菌株荚膜分型。该血清效价为1：1280和1：640,与本菌及其它同型菌株玻片凝集反应呈强凝集,与其它型菌株不凝集,且与美国标准血清同时对333株临床分离菌株进行分型比较的符合率为100％。333株金葡地方菌株荚膜分型结果显示,8型菌株占绝对优势,所占百分率为70．9％;5型占6．3％,5型和8型菌株共占77．2％。这与国外金葡菌荚膜5型和8型占70％-80％的报道相似。试验为金葡菌疫苗株选择提供了流行病学依据。     

海绵中可培养与原位微生物组成的DGGE指纹分析

采用不依赖于分离培养的PCR-DGGE基因指纹技术对我国南海4种海绵体内的原位微生物种群组成以及混合培养的海绵微生物组成进行分析,通过比较不同指纹图间的差异与相似性,揭示可培养微生物与海绵原位存在的微生物的关系。由实验可以看出,来自同一海域的不同海绵体内的微生物存在宿主特异性,不同的培养条件是影响微生物可培养的重要因素,目前所能培养的海绵微生物还仅占自然环境下海绵微生物总量的很少一部分。     

Monitoring of microbial adhesion and biofilm growth using electrochemical impedancemetry

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was tested to monitor the cell attachment and the biofilm proliferation in order to identify characteristic events induced on the metal surface by Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1) and Gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis) bacteria strains. Electrochemical impedance spectra of AISI 304 electrodes during cell attachment and initial biofilm growth for both strains were obtained. It can be observed that the resistance increases gradually with the culture time and decreases with the biofilm detachment. So, the applicability of electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) for studying the attachment and spreading of cells on a metal surface has been demonstrated. The biofilm formation was also characterized by the use of scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy and COMSTAT image analysis. The electrochemical results roughly agree with the microscope image observations. The ECIS technique used in this study was used for continuous real-time monitoring of the initial bacterial adhesion and the biofilm growth. It provides a simple and non-expensive electrochemical method for in vitro assessment of the presence of biofilms on metal surfaces.     

The direct electrocatalysis of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid excreted by Pseudomonas alcaliphila under alkaline condition in microbial fuel cells

In this paper, we reported a kind of exoelectrogens, Pseudomonas alcaliphila (P. alcaliphila) strain MBR, which could excrete phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) to transfer electron under alkaline condition in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The electrochemical activity of strain MBR and the extracellular electron transfer mechanism in MFCs were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electricity generation curve measurement. The results indicated a soluble mediator was the key factor for extracellular electron transfer of strain MBR under alkaline condition. The soluble mediator was PCA detected by gas chromatography-mass (GC-MS) analyses.