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Microorganisms Aug 2023is a tea leaf moth that is considered one of the most destructive pests of (tea plant). Several recent studies have shown that many insects acquire part of the...
is a tea leaf moth that is considered one of the most destructive pests of (tea plant). Several recent studies have shown that many insects acquire part of the microbiome from their host and soil, but the pattern and diversity of their microbiome have not been clearly demonstrated. The present study aimed to investigate the bacterial and fungal communities present in the rhizospheric soil and leaf of tea plant compared to the gut of tea moth at different developmental stages (larvae, pupae, adult female and male) using Illumina MiSeq technology. Alpha diversity (Shannon index) showed higher ( < 0.05) bacterial and fungal diversity in soil samples than in leaf and tea moth larvae, pupae, and adult gut samples. However, during different developmental stages of tea moth, bacterial and fungal diversity did not differ ( > 0.05) between larvae, pupae, female, and male guts. Beta diversity also revealed more distinct bacterial and fungal communities in soil and leaf samples compared with tea moth gut samples, which had a more similar microbiome. Furthermore, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Tenericutes were detected as the dominant bacterial phyla, while Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Mortierellomycota were the most abundant fungal phyla among all groups, but their relative abundance was comparatively higher ( < 0.05) in soil and leaf samples compared to tea moth gut samples. Similarly, , , and were the top three bacterial genera, while , , and were the top three fungal genera, and their relative abundance varied significantly ( < 0.05) among all groups. The KEGG analysis also revealed significantly higher ( < 0.5) enrichment of the functional pathways of bacterial communities in soil and leaf samples than in tea moth gut samples. Our study concluded that the bacterial and fungal communities of soil and tea leaves were more diverse and were significantly different from the tea moth gut microbiome at different developmental stages. Our findings contribute to our understanding of the gut microbiota of the tea moth and its potential application in the development of pest management techniques.
PubMed: 37764032
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11092188 -
BMC Microbiology Oct 2021The widespread use of shared bicycles has increased the demand and sanitary requirements for shared bicycles. Previous studies have identified potentially pathogenic...
BACKGROUND
The widespread use of shared bicycles has increased the demand and sanitary requirements for shared bicycles. Previous studies have identified potentially pathogenic bacteria on the surfaces of shared bicycles, but fungal communities have not been investigated.
METHODS
We sampled shared-bicycle handles and saddles from five selected locations in a metropolis (Chengdu, China, n = 98) and used surrounding air deposition samples as controls (n = 12). Full-length ITS sequencing and multiple bioinformatic analyses were utilized to reveal fungal community structures and differences.
RESULTS
Aspergillus was dominant on both the handles and saddles of shared bicycles, and Alternaria and Cladosporium were the most abundant families in the air samples. Significant differences in fungal community structures were found among the three groups. The handle samples contained higher abundances of Aureobasidium melanogenum and Filobasidium magnum than the saddle and air samples. The saddle samples had a higher abundance of Cladosporium tenuissimum than the other two sample types (P < 0·05). A higher abundance of fungal animal pathogens on shared-bicycle surfaces than in air by FUNGuild (P < 0·05). Moreover, the co-occurrence network of fungi on handles was more stable than that on saddles.
CONCLUSION
There were more potential pathogens, including Aspergillus pseudoglaucus, Aureobasidium melanogenum, Kazachstania pintolopesii, Filobasidium magnum, Candida tropicalis, and Malassezia globose were found on shared bicycles than in air, suggesting that hands should not contact mucous membrane after cycling, especially in susceptible individuals, and hygiene management of shared bicycles should be given more attention by relevant organizations worldwide.
Topics: Air Microbiology; Bicycling; China; Cities; Cluster Analysis; DNA, Fungal; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; Fungi; Humans; Mycobiome
PubMed: 34663233
DOI: 10.1186/s12866-021-02338-4 -
Carbohydrate Polymers Aug 2019Pullulan is a microbial exopolysaccharide produced from Aureobasidium pullulans by submerged fermentation of a medium supplemented with carbon, nitrogen and other... (Review)
Review
Pullulan is a microbial exopolysaccharide produced from Aureobasidium pullulans by submerged fermentation of a medium supplemented with carbon, nitrogen and other essential nutrients. These nutrients are expensive which increase the cost of pullulan production. The requirement of alternative cost-effective substrates for pullulan production is a prerequisite. Agro-based industries generate a large volume of solid/liquid waste and its accumulation generates a severe environmental impact. These wastes are composed of carbohydrates, proteins and other constituents, and can be used as substrates for the development of low-cost processes for the production of various microbial products. This could be a good environmental friendly waste management system. Pullulan production from agro-industrial wastes can be carried out by both submerged and solid-state fermentation by A. pullulans. Owing to its unique properties, pullulan has wide applications in many food-based industries. This review highlights pullulan production from agro-industrial wastes and potential applications of pullulan in various food industries.
Topics: Agriculture; Ascomycota; Fermentation; Food Industry; Glucans; Industrial Waste; Solid Waste
PubMed: 31079684
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2019.04.050 -
Food & Function Jul 2023: Previous studies suggest that when combined with exercise, -derived β-glucan (APβG) may enhance muscle health and fitness profiles because of its ability to improve... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Combined effect of polycan, a β-glucan from , and regular resistance exercise on muscle strength, biomarkers, and fitness profiles in adults with relatively low skeletal muscle mass: a randomised controlled trial.
: Previous studies suggest that when combined with exercise, -derived β-glucan (APβG) may enhance muscle health and fitness profiles because of its ability to improve exercise-induced fatigue and preserve muscle mass. : The objective was to examine the combined effects and safety of APβG consumption and regular resistance exercise for 12 weeks on muscle strength, biomarkers, and fitness profiles in adults with relatively low skeletal muscle mass. : We conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial in adults aged ≥50 years with <110% of the standard lean mass. Eighty participants randomly received either 1000 mg of APβG per day or a placebo for 12 weeks. All participants underwent resistance training three times per week. At baseline and 12 weeks after treatment, we assessed their knee extension/flexion strength, handgrip strength, body composition, and biomarkers. We also evaluated Euro-QoL-5D (EQ-5D) questionnaire, food intake, and physical activity at baseline and 12 weeks after treatment. : The combination of APβG and regular resistance exercise over 12 weeks resulted in a higher right knee flexion strength by 4.49 Nm (95% CI; -0.12-8.86 Nm; = 0.044) than the placebo according to the intention-to-treat analysis. The combination intervention also led to a higher right knee flexion strength of 5.60 Nm (0.18-11.02 Nm; = 0.043) and left knee flexion strength of 7.25 Nm (0.22-14.28 Nm; = 0.043) than the placebo according to the per-protocol (PP) analysis. In addition, compared to the placebo, the combined intervention enhanced right-hand grip strength by 1.40 kg (0.19-2.61 kg; = 0.024) and left-hand grip strength by 1.33 kg (0.01-2.65 kg; = 0.048) according to PP analysis. The combined intervention also resulted in a more significant reduction in the time required for the 400 m walk test than the placebo. None of the participants experienced adverse events. : APβG, in addition to regular resistance exercise, may enhance skeletal muscle strength and fitness in adults with relatively low skeletal muscle mass.
Topics: Humans; Adult; Hand Strength; Resistance Training; Glucans; beta-Glucans; Quality of Life; Muscle Strength; Exercise; Muscle, Skeletal; Body Composition; Biomarkers
PubMed: 37350091
DOI: 10.1039/d3fo00589e -
International Journal of Biological... Jul 2023Poly (β-L-malic acid) (PMLA) is attracting industrial interest for its potential application in medicine and other industries, whose functions primarily depend upon its...
Poly (β-L-malic acid) (PMLA) is attracting industrial interest for its potential application in medicine and other industries, whose functions primarily depend upon its molecular size and chemical structure. Up to now, the fractionation and characterization of PMLA produced by Aureobasidium spp. were still unclear. In this study, the product from A. melanogenum ipe-1 was effectively fractionated using 300 and 50 kDa membranes. During the filtration, the mechanisms of membrane fouling were illegible since the PMLA can both reject and permeate the membrane, while the main fouling mechanism varied between standard blocking and complete blocking during the diafiltration. After fractionation, 14.0, 8.4 and 77.6 % of the PMLAs with Ms of 75,134, 21,344 and 10,056 Da were distributed in the 300 kDa retentate after diafiltrating, 50 kDa retentate after diafiltrating, and the 50 kDa permeate, respectively. The M/Ms of the PMLAs were 4.12, 1.92, and 1.12 in the three fractions. Based on characteristic spectra of NMR, HPLC and FTIR, the product was not usual L-malic acid monomers, but glucose-terminated PMLA. The glucose was located at the terminal hydroxyl of PMLA. These results would serve as a valuable guide for process design and practical operation in subsequent industrial application.
Topics: Aureobasidium; Polymers; Fermentation; Malates; Poly A
PubMed: 37182630
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.124720 -
BMC Genomic Data Nov 2022Zalaria sp. Him3 was reported as a novel fructooligosaccharides (FOS) producing yeast. However, Zalaria spp. have not been widely known and have been erroneously...
BACKGROUND
Zalaria sp. Him3 was reported as a novel fructooligosaccharides (FOS) producing yeast. However, Zalaria spp. have not been widely known and have been erroneously classified as a different black yeast, Aureobasidium pullulans. In this study, de novo genome assembly and analysis of Zalaria sp. Him3 was demonstrated to confirm the existence of a potential enzyme that facilitates FOS production and to compare with the genome of A. pullulans.
RESULTS
The genome of Zalaria sp. Him3 was analyzed; the total read bases and total number of reads were 6.38 Gbp and 42,452,134 reads, respectively. The assembled genome sequence was calculated to be 22.38 Mbp, with 207 contigs, N50 of 885,387, L50 of 10, GC content of 53.8%, and 7,496 genes. g2419, g3120, and g3700 among the predicted genes were annotated as cellulase, xylanase, and β-fructofuranosidase (FFase), respectively. When the read sequences were mapped to A. pullulans EXF-150 genome as a reference, a small amount of reads (3.89%) corresponded to the reference genome. Phylogenetic tree analysis, which was based on the conserved sequence set consisting of 2,362 orthologs in the genome, indicated genetic differences between Zalaria sp. Him3 and Aureobasidium spp.
CONCLUSION
The differences between Zalaria and Aureobasidium spp. were evident at the genome level. g3700 identified in the Zalaria sp. Him3 likely does not encode a highly transfructosyl FFase because the motif sequences were unlike those in other FFases involved in FOS production. Therefore, strain Him3 may produce another FFase. Furthermore, several genes with promising functions were identified and might elicit further interest in Zalaria yeast.
Topics: Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Phylogeny; Ascomycota; beta-Fructofuranosidase
PubMed: 36357835
DOI: 10.1186/s12863-022-01094-2 -
International Journal of Biological... Mar 2021It has been well documented that different strains of Aureobasidium spp. can synthesize and secrete over 30.0 g/L of polymalate (PMA) and the produced PMA has many...
It has been well documented that different strains of Aureobasidium spp. can synthesize and secrete over 30.0 g/L of polymalate (PMA) and the produced PMA has many potential applications in biomaterial, medical and food industries. The substrates for PMA biosynthesis include glucose, xylose, fructose, sucrose and glucose or fructose or xylose or sucrose-containing natural materials from industrial and agricultural wastes. Malate, the only monomer for PMA biosynthesis mainly comes from TCA cycle, cytosolic reduction TCA pathway and the glyoxylate cycle. The PMA synthetase (a NRPS) containing A like domain, T domain and C like domain is responsible for polymerization of malate into PMA molecules by formation of ester bonds between malates. PMA biosynthesis is regulated by the transcriptional activator Crz1 from Ca signaling pathway, the GATA-type transcription factor Gat1 from nitrogen catabolite repression and the GATA-type transcription factor NsdD.
Topics: Aureobasidium; Calcium Signaling; Citric Acid Cycle; DNA-Binding Proteins; Gene Expression Regulation, Archaeal; Malates; Nitrogen; Polymers; Waste Products
PubMed: 33548308
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.02.008 -
Fungal Biology Jun 2023Yeast complexes in the composting process of cow dung prepared to fertilize the soil for growing vegetables and fruits were studied. The average abundance of yeasts...
Yeast complexes in the composting process of cow dung prepared to fertilize the soil for growing vegetables and fruits were studied. The average abundance of yeasts changed during the four temperature stages of the composting process. The highest abundance of yeasts, 1.38 × 10 cfu/g, was observed in the second stage of heating from 20 to 40 °C; the lowest was studied in the stage with the highest temperature (65 °C), 1.68 × 10 cfu/g. A total of 19 yeast species were observed and identified: 11 ascomycetes and 8 basidiomycetes, belonging to five subphyla of Fungi: Saccharomycotina (10), Pezizomycotina (1), Agaricomycotina (5), Pucciniomycotina (2), and Ustilaginomycotina (1). The greatest diversity of yeasts was found in the initial (20 °C) and second (heating up to 40 °C) temperature stages of composting (Aureobasidium pullulans (yeast-like fungus), Candida parapsilosis, Candida saitoana, Candida santamariae, Candida tropicalis, Curvibasidium cygneicollum, Cutaneotrichosporon moniliforme, Debaryomyces fabryi, Debaryomyces hansenii, Filobasidium magnum, Kazachstania sp., Moesziomyces bullatus, Naganishia globosa, Papiliotrema flavescens, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Scheffersomyces insectosa, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Vanrija musci), and the lowest in the stage of maximum heating (65 °C) (C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, Cyberlindnera jadinii).The opportunistic yeasts C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis were obtained not only in the initial, second and third temperature stages of the composting process, but also in mature compost in the final stage prepared for soil application. This study shows that the cow dung, used in the farm studied did not meet the microbiological safety criteria. The reduction of opportunistic yeast species was not achieved with the composting method used. The likelihood of these species entering agricultural products via compost and soil and developing as endophytes in the internal tissues of fruits is very high. Since some strains of opportunistic Candida species from cow dung exhibited virulent characteristics (they produced hydrolytic enzymes and were resistant to antifungal compounds), additional phenotypic and genetic studies of the compost strains and their comparison with clinical isolates should be pursued.
Topics: Animals; Cattle; Composting; Yeasts; Candida; Fungi; Soil
PubMed: 37344009
DOI: 10.1016/j.funbio.2023.06.001 -
The Isolation and Characterization of Rare Mycobiome Associated With Spacecraft Assembly Cleanrooms.Frontiers in Microbiology 2022Ensuring biological cleanliness while assembling and launching spacecraft is critical for robotic exploration of the solar system. To date, when preventing forward...
Ensuring biological cleanliness while assembling and launching spacecraft is critical for robotic exploration of the solar system. To date, when preventing forward contamination of other celestial bodies, NASA Planetary Protection policies have focused on endospore-forming bacteria while fungi were neglected. In this study, for the first time the mycobiome of two spacecraft assembly facilities at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Kennedy Space Center (KSC) was assessed using both cultivation and sequencing techniques. To facilitate enumeration of viable fungal populations and downstream molecular analyses, collected samples were first treated with chloramphenicol for 24 h and then with propidium monoazide (PMA). Among cultivable fungi, 28 distinct species were observed, 16 at JPL and 16 at KSC facilities, while 13 isolates were potentially novel species. Only four isolated species , , , and were present in both cleanroom facilities, which suggests that mycobiomes differ significantly between distant locations. To better visualize the biogeography of all isolated strains the network analysis was undertaken and confirmed higher abundance of and . When amplicon sequencing was performed, JPL-SAF and KSC-PHSF showed differing mycobiomes. Metagenomic fungal reads were dominated by Ascomycota (91%) and Basidiomycota (7.15%). Similar to amplicon sequencing, the number of fungal reads changed following antibiotic treatment in both cleanrooms; however, the opposite trends were observed. Alas, treatment with the antibiotic did not allow for definitive ascribing changes observed in fungal populations between treated and untreated samples in both cleanrooms. Rather, these substantial differences in fungal abundance might be attributed to several factors, including the geographical location, climate and the in-house cleaning procedures used to maintain the cleanrooms. This study is a first step in characterizing cultivable and viable fungal populations in cleanrooms to assess fungal potential as biocontaminants during interplanetary explorations. The outcomes of this and future studies could be implemented in other cleanrooms that require to reduce microbial burden, like intensive care units, operating rooms, or cleanrooms in the semiconducting and pharmaceutical industries.
PubMed: 35558115
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.777133 -
Journal of Chromatography. A Apr 2021Aureobasidium pullulans was grown in liquid culture media amended with selenite and tellurite and selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te) nanoparticles (NPs) were recovered...
Aureobasidium pullulans was grown in liquid culture media amended with selenite and tellurite and selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te) nanoparticles (NPs) were recovered after 30 d incubation. A separation method was applied to recover and characterise Se and Te NPs by asymmetric flow field flow fractionation (AF4) with online coupling to multi-angle light scattering (MALS), ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detectors. Additional characterisation data was obtained from transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Solutions of 0.2% Novachem surfactant and 10 mM phosphate buffer were compared as mobile phases to investigate optimal AF4 separation and particle recovery using Se-NP as a model sample. 88% recovery was reported for 0.2% Novachem solution, compared with 50% recovery for phosphate buffer. Different crossflow (C) rates were compared to further investigate optimum separation, with recoveries of 88% and 30% for Se-NPs, and 90% and 29% for Te-NPs for 3.5 mL min and 2.5 mL min respectively. Zeta-potential (ZP) data suggested higher stability for NP elution in Novachem solution, with increased stability attributed to minimised NP-membrane interaction due to PEGylation. Detection with MALS showed monodisperse Se-NPs (45-90 nm) and polydisperse Te-NPs (5-65 nm).Single particle ICP-MS showed mean particle diameters of 49.7 ± 2.7 nm, and 135 ± 4.3 nm, and limit of size detection (LOSD) of 20 nm and 45 nm for Se-NPs and Te-NPs respectively. TEM images of Se-NPs and Te-NPs displayed a spherical morphology, with the Te-NPs showing a clustered arrangement, which suggested electrostatic attraction amongst neighbouring particles. Particle hydrodynamic diameters (d) measured with dynamic light scattering (DLS) further suggested monodisperse Se-NPs and polydisperse Te-NPs distributions, showing good agreement with AF4-MALS for Se-NPs, but suggests that the R obtained from AF4-MALS for Te-NP was unreliable. The results demonstrate a complementary application of asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4), ICP-MS, light scattering, UV-Vis detection, and microscopic techniques to characterise biogenic Se and Te NPs.
Topics: Aureobasidium; Dynamic Light Scattering; Fractionation, Field Flow; Metal Nanoparticles; Particle Size; Selenium; Spectrophotometry, Atomic; Static Electricity; Tellurium; Time Factors
PubMed: 33714080
DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2021.462022