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Scientific Reports Apr 2024Tuta absoluta (the tomato pinworm) is an invasive insect pest with a highly damaging effect on tomatoes causing between 80 and 100% yield losses if left uncontrolled....
Tuta absoluta (the tomato pinworm) is an invasive insect pest with a highly damaging effect on tomatoes causing between 80 and 100% yield losses if left uncontrolled. Resistance to chemical pesticides have been reported in some T. absoluta populations. Insect microbiome plays an important role in the behavior, physiology, and survivability of their host. In a bid to explore and develop an alternative control method, the associated microbiome of this insect was studied. In this study, we unraveled the bacterial biota of T. absoluta larvae and adults by sequencing and analyzing the 16S rRNA V3-V4 gene regions using Illumina NovaSeq PE250. Out of 2,092,015 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) recovered from 30 samples (15 larvae and 15 adults), 1,268,810 and 823,205 ASVs were obtained from the larvae and adults, respectively. A total of 433 bacterial genera were shared between the adults and larval samples while 264 and 139 genera were unique to the larvae and adults, respectively. Amplicon metagenomic analyses of the sequences showed the dominance of the phylum Proteobacteria in the adult samples while Firmicutes and Proteobacteria dominated in the larval samples. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) comparison revealed the genera Pseudomonas, Delftia and Ralstonia to be differentially enriched in the adult samples while Enterococcus, Enterobacter, Lactococcus, Klebsiella and Wiessella were differentially abundant in the larvae. The diversity indices showed that the bacterial communities were not different between the insect samples collected from different geographical regions. However, the bacterial communities significantly differed based on the sample type between larvae and adults. A co-occurrence network of significantly correlated taxa revealed a strong interaction between the microbial communities. The functional analysis of the microbiome using FAPROTAX showed that denitrification, arsenite oxidation, methylotrophy and methanotrophy as the active functional groups of the adult and larvae microbiomes. Our results have revealed the core taxonomic, functional, and interacting microbiota of T. absoluta and these indicate that the larvae and adults harbor a similar but transitory set of bacteria. The results provide a novel insight and a basis for exploring microbiome-based biocontrol strategy for this invasive insect pest as well as the ecological significance of some of the identified microbiota is discussed.
Topics: Animals; Moths; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Insecta; Larva; Microbiota; Solanum lycopersicum; Bacteria
PubMed: 38594362
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58753-w -
Microorganisms Sep 2023Phenanthrene (PHE) is one of the model compounds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In this study, a natural PHE-degrading microbial consortium, named HJ-SH,...
Phenanthrene (PHE) is one of the model compounds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In this study, a natural PHE-degrading microbial consortium, named HJ-SH, with very high degradation efficiency was isolated from soil exposed to long-term PHE contamination. The results of GC analysis showed that the consortium HJ-SH degraded 98% of 100 mg/L PHE in 3 days and 93% of 1000 mg/L PHE in 5 days, an efficiency higher than that of any other natural consortia, and even most of the engineered strains and consortia reported so far. Seven dominating strains were isolated from the microbial consortium HJ-SH, named SH-1 to SH-7, which were identified according to morphological observation and 16S rDNA sequencing as sp., sp., sp., sp., sp., sp., and sp., respectively. Among all the seven single strains, SH-4 showed the strongest PHE degradation ability, and had the biggest degradation contribution. However, it is very interesting that the microbial consortium can hold its high degradation ability only with the co-existence of all these seven single strains. Moreover, HJ-SH exhibited a very high tolerance for PHE, up to 4.5 g/L, and it can degrade some other typical organic pollutants such as biphenyl, anthracene, and n-hexadecane with the degradation ratios of 93%, 92% and 70%, respectively, under 100 mg/L initial concentration in 5 days. Then, we constructed an artificial consortium HJ-7 consisting of the seven single strains, SH-1 to SH-7. After comparing the degradation ratios, cell growth, and relative degradation rates, it was concluded that the artificial consortium HJ-7 with easier reproducibility, better application stability, and larger room for modification can largely replace the natural consortium HJ-SH. In conclusion, this research provided novel tools and new insights for the bioremediation of PHE and other typical organic pollutants using microbial consortia.
PubMed: 37894041
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11102383 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Dec 2023The present study was carried out to determine the seminal microbiota of boars and their correlation with sperm quality. A total of 17 ejaculates were collected from 17...
The present study was carried out to determine the seminal microbiota of boars and their correlation with sperm quality. A total of 17 ejaculates were collected from 17 Duroc boars and were classified according to sperm quality into two groups: low-quality ( = 8) and high-quality ( = 9). Each ejaculate was subjected to (i) semen evaluation, (ii) bacterial culture and MALDI-TOF identification, and (iii) 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bioinformatic analyses. No difference in the total bacterial count, alpha diversity, and beta diversity between the high-quality group and the low-quality group was detected ( > 0.05). While was negatively correlated with sperm quality ( < 0.05), was positively correlated with sperm quality ( < 0.05). Lactobacillales (25.2%; LB) and Enterobacterales (10.3%; EB) were the most dominant bacteria and negatively correlated: EB = 507.3 - 0.5 × LB, R = 0.24, < 0.001. Moreover, the abundance of was negatively correlated with LB (r = -0.754, < 0.001) and positively correlated with (r = 0.533, < 0.05). was positively correlated with (r = 0.485, < 0.05), (r = 0.622, < 0.01), and (r = 0.489, < 0.05). In conclusion, seminal microbiota is significantly associated with boar semen qualities. The distributions of the most dominant bacterial genera, the differences in the abundance of small subset microbes, and their correlation appear to have far more impact than the overall seminal bacterial content (e.g., total bacterial count, alpha diversity, and beta diversity) on sperm quality.
PubMed: 38136874
DOI: 10.3390/ani13243837 -
Journal of Global Infectious Diseases 2023is an aerobic, nonfermentative Gram-negative bacillus infrequently isolated from clinical specimens. The pathogenicity and clinical significance of the organism has not...
is an aerobic, nonfermentative Gram-negative bacillus infrequently isolated from clinical specimens. The pathogenicity and clinical significance of the organism has not been ascertained due to uncommon clinical isolation and suspected low virulence. The organism has been reported to be inherently resistant to aminoglycoside group of drugs which remain as a widely used first-line drug of choice for febrile neutropenic patients. Hereby, we report a case of associated pleural effusion in a patient of metastatic adenocarcinoma diagnosed and treated timely and successfully with appropriate antibiotics.
PubMed: 37800087
DOI: 10.4103/jgid.jgid_66_22 -
The Science of the Total Environment Jun 2024Soil bacterial communities play a critical role in shaping soil stability and formation, exhibiting a dynamic interaction with local climate and soil depth. We employed...
Soil bacterial communities play a critical role in shaping soil stability and formation, exhibiting a dynamic interaction with local climate and soil depth. We employed an innovative DNA separation method to characterize microbial assemblages in low-biomass environments such as deserts and distinguish between intracellular DNA (iDNA) and extracellular DNA (eDNA) in soils. This approach, combined with analyses of physicochemical properties and co-occurrence networks, investigated soil bacterial communities across four sites representing diverse climatic gradients (i.e., arid, semi-arid, Mediterranean, and humid) along the Chilean Coastal Cordillera. The separation method yielded a distinctive unimodal pattern in the iDNA pool alpha diversity, increasing from arid to semi-arid climates and decreasing in humid environments, highlighting the rapid feedback of the iDNA community to increasing soil moisture. In the arid region, harsh surface conditions restrict bacterial growth, leading to peak iDNA abundance and diversity occurring in slightly deeper layers than the other sites. Our findings confirmed the association between specialist bacteria and ecosystem-functional traits. We observed transitions from Halomonas and Delftia, resistant to extreme arid environments, to Class AD3 and the genus Bradyrhizobium, associated with plants and organic matter in humid environments. The distance-based redundancy analysis (dbRDA) analysis revealed that soil pH and moisture were the key parameters that influenced bacterial community variation. The eDNA community correlated slightly better with the environment than the iDNA community. Soil depth was found to influence the iDNA community significantly but not the eDNA community, which might be related to depth-related metabolic activity. Our investigation into iDNA communities uncovered deterministic community assembly and distinct co-occurrence modules correlated with unique bacterial taxa, thereby showing connections with sites and key environmental factors. The study additionally revealed the effects of climatic gradients and soil depth on living and dead bacterial communities, emphasizing the need to distinguish between iDNA and eDNA pools.
PubMed: 38871316
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173846 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2023Healthy lung microbiota plays an important role in preventing (Mtb) infections by activating immune cells and stimulating production of T-helper cell type 1 cytokines....
INTRODUCTION
Healthy lung microbiota plays an important role in preventing (Mtb) infections by activating immune cells and stimulating production of T-helper cell type 1 cytokines. The dynamic stability of lung microbiota relies mostly on lung homeostasis. In our previous studies, we found that Mtb virulence factor, Rv1987 protein, can mediate host immune response and enhance mycobacterial survival in host lung. However, the alteration of lung microbiota and the contribution of lung microbiota dysbiosis to mycobacterial evasion in this process are not clear so far.
METHODS
which does not contain the ortholog of Rv1987 protein was selected as a model strain to study the effects of Rv1987 on host lung microbiota. The lung microbiota, immune state and metabolites of mice infected by overexpressing Rv1987 protein (MS1987) were detected and analyzed.
RESULTS
The results showed that Rv1987 inhibited inflammatory response in mouse lung and anaerobic bacteria and , , and bacteria were enriched in the lung tissues correspondingly. The immune alterations and microbiota dysbiosis affected host metabolic profiles, and some of significantly altered bacteria in MS1987-infected mouse lung, such as , and , led to anti-inflammatory responses in mouse lung. The secretory metabolites of these altered bacteria also influenced mycobacterial growth and biofilm formation directly.
CONCLUSION
All these results suggested that Rv1987 can attenuate inflammatory response and alter microbiota in the lung, which in turn facilitates mycobacterial survival in the host.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Dysbiosis; Cytokines; Mycobacterium Infections; Lung; Microbiota
PubMed: 38029253
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1256866 -
Insects Nov 2023and are two invasive mosquitoes native to East Asia that are quickly establishing in temperate regions of Europe. Both species are vectors of arboviruses, but we...
and are two invasive mosquitoes native to East Asia that are quickly establishing in temperate regions of Europe. Both species are vectors of arboviruses, but we currently lack a clear understanding of their evolution. Here, we present new short-read, shallow genome sequencing of and individuals from northern Italy, which we used for downstream phylogenetic and barcode analyses. We explored associated microbial DNA and found high occurrences of bacteria in both samples, but neither nor We then assembled complete mitogenomes and used these data to infer divergence times estimating the split of from in the Oligocene, which was more recent than that previously reported using mitochondrial markers. We recover a younger age for most other nodes within Aedini and other Culicidae. COI barcoding and phylogenetic analyses indicate that , , and the two sampled from Europe should be considered as separate species within a monophyletic species complex. Our studies further clarify the evolution of and and indicate the need to obtain whole-genome data from putative species in order to disentangle their complex patterns of evolution.
PubMed: 38132578
DOI: 10.3390/insects14120904 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2023The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of long-term exposure to heavy metals on the microbiome of the buccal mucosa, to unveil the link between environmental...
OBJECTIVES
The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of long-term exposure to heavy metals on the microbiome of the buccal mucosa, to unveil the link between environmental contamination and the oral microbial ecosystem, and to comprehend its potential health implications.
METHODS
Subjects were divided into two groups: the exposure group and the control group. We collected samples of buccal mucosa, soil, and blood, and conducted microbial diversity analysis on both groups of oral samples using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The concentrations of heavy metals in blood and soil samples were also determined. Additionally, microbial networks were constructed for the purpose of topological analysis.
RESULTS
Due to long-term exposure to heavy metals, the relative abundance of , , , and increased, while the abundance of , , , , and decreased. The concentrations of heavy metals in the blood (Pb, Cd, Hg, and Mo) were associated with the growth of , , , and . In addition, the relative abundances of some pathogenic bacteria, such as , , and , were found to be enriched in the exposure group. Compared to the exposure group network, the control group network had a greater number of nodes, modules, interactive species, and keystone taxa. Module hubs and connectors in the control group converted into peripherals in the exposure group, indicating that keystone taxa changed. Metals in the blood (Pb, Cd, Hg, and Mo) were drivers of the microbial network of the buccal mucosa, which can have adverse effects on the network, thus providing conditions for the occurrence of certain diseases.
CONCLUSION
Long-term exposure to multiple metals perturbs normal bacterial communities in the buccal mucosa of residents in contaminated areas. This exposure reduces the complexity and stability of the microbial network and increases the risk of developing various diseases.
PubMed: 37928665
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1264619 -
Nutrients Jul 2023Exertional-heat stress (EHS) compromises intestinal epithelial integrity, potentially leading to the translocation of pathogenic agents into circulation. This study...
Exertional-heat stress (EHS) compromises intestinal epithelial integrity, potentially leading to the translocation of pathogenic agents into circulation. This study aimed to explore the impact of EHS on the systemic circulatory bacterial profile and to determine the impact of a short-term low (LFOD) and high (HFOD) fermentable oligo- di- mono-saccharide and polyol dietary intervention before EHS on this profile. Using a double-blind randomized cross-over design, thirteen endurance runners ( = 8 males, = 5 females), with a history of exercise-associated gastrointestinal symptoms (Ex-GIS), consumed a 24 h LFOD and HFOD before 2 h running at 60% V.O in 35.6 °C. Blood and fecal samples were collected pre-EHS to determine plasma microbial DNA concentration, and sample bacteria and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) profiles by fluorometer quantification, 16S rRNA amplicon gene sequencing, and gas chromatography, respectively. Blood samples were also collected post-EHS to determine changes in plasma bacteria. EHS increased plasma microbial DNA similarly in both FODMAP trials (0.019 ng·μL to 0.082 ng·μL) ( < 0.01). Similar pre- to post-EHS increases in plasma (+1.6%) and (+0.6%) phyla relative abundance were observed in both FODMAP trials. This included increases in several genus ( and ) groups. LFOD presented higher fecal (74%) and lower (10%) relative abundance pre-EHS, as a result of an increase in and family and respective genus groups, compared with HFOD (64% and 25%, respectively). Pre-EHS plasma total SCFA ( = 0.040) and acetate ( = 0.036) concentrations were higher for HFOD (188 and 178 μmol·L, respectively) vs. LFOD (163 and 153 μmol·L, respectively). Pre-EHS total fecal SCFA concentration (119 and 74 μmol·g; < 0.001), including acetate (74 and 45 μmol·g; = 0.001), butyrate (22 and 13 μmol·g; = 0.002), and propionate (20 and 13 μmol·g; = 0.011), were higher on HFOD vs LFOD, respectively. EHS causes the translocation of whole bacteria into systemic circulation and alterations to the plasma bacterial profile, but the FODMAP content of a 24 h diet beforehand does not alter this outcome.
PubMed: 37571312
DOI: 10.3390/nu15153376 -
Frontiers in Medicine 2023Sepsis-associated liver dysfunction (SALD) has high incidence and mortality in patients with intra-abdominal infection (IAI). The associations between acute...
Acute gastrointestinal injury and altered gut microbiota are related to sepsis-induced cholestasis in patients with intra-abdominal infection: a retrospective and prospective observational study.
BACKGROUND
Sepsis-associated liver dysfunction (SALD) has high incidence and mortality in patients with intra-abdominal infection (IAI). The associations between acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI), gut microbiota, and SALD were evaluated in patients with IAI.
METHODS
A retrospective study was conducted to assess the relationship between AGI and SALD in patients with IAI. Patients were divided into non-SALD and sepsis-induced cholestasis () groups, which is a subtype of SALD. was defined as total bilirubin >2 mg/dL. AGI incidences between the two groups were compared using Chi-square test. Subsequently, a prospective study was conducted to investigate the gut microbiota differences between patients without SALD and those with . Fecal samples were collected on days 1, 3, and 7 after admission to analyze changes in gut microbiota using 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid sequencing.
RESULTS
One hundred thirty-four patients with IAI were included retrospectively, with 77 SALD and 57 non-SALD cases. Among patients with SALD, 71 were diagnosed with . Patients with had a higher incidence of AGI compared to those without SALD (28.07% vs. 56.34%, < 0.05), and a severity-dependent relationship was found between AGI grade and occurrence. Subsequently, 20 patients with IAI were recruited prospectively, with 10 patients each assigned to the non-SALD and groups. Patients with had a more severe gut microbiota disorder on day 7 than those without SALD, including lower microbiota diversities, decreased abundance of and and increased abundance of and at the phylum level. Furthermore, and the two most abundant genera, were significantly higher in the group than in the non-SALD group. Functional prediction analysis showed that the top three KEGG pathways were ribosome, pyrimidine metabolism, and the two-component system. During the first week, the abundance of decreased significantly, whereas increased in the non-SALD group; however, the phyla taxa did not change significantly in the group.
CONCLUSION
There exists a severity-dependent relationship between AGI grade and occurrence in adult patients with IAI. A severe gut microbiota disorder was discovered in during the first week of the intensive care unit stay.
PubMed: 37575984
DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1144786