Applied and Environmental Science
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceIsolation and Characterization of Ochrobactrum tritici for Penicillin V Potassium DegradationSubstantial concentrations of penicillin V potassium (PVK) have been found in the environment, which may pose potential threats to human health and contribute to the emergence of penicillin-resistant bacterial strains. In this study, antibiotic-degrading bacterial strains for PVK were isolated from sludge and characterized. Ochrobactrum tritici was selected for the...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceBacterial and Eukaryotic Small-Subunit Amplicon Data Do Not Provide a Quantitative Picture of Microbial Communities, but They Are Reliable in the Context of Ecological InterpretationsHigh-throughput sequencing (HTS) of amplified fragments of rRNA genes provides unprecedented insight into the diversity of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms. Unfortunately, HTS data are prone to quantitative biases, which may lead to an erroneous picture of microbial community composition and thwart efforts to advance its understanding. These concerns motivated us to investigate how accurately HTS data characterize the...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceBiogeographic Patterns in Members of Globally Distributed and Dominant Taxa Found in Port Microbial CommunitiesMicrobes are ubiquitous throughout the world and are highly diverse. Characterizing the extent of variation in the microbial diversity across large geographic spatial scales is a challenge yet can reveal a lot about what biogeography can tell us about microbial populations and their behavior. Machine learning approaches have been used mostly to examine the human microbiome and, to some extent, microbial communities from the environment...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceInfluence of Substrate Concentration on the Culturability of Heterotrophic Soil Microbes Isolated by High-Throughput Dilution-to-Extinction CultivationIsolating environmental microbes and studying their physiology under controlled conditions are essential aspects of understanding their ecology. Subsurface ecosystems are typically nutrient-poor environments that harbor diverse microbial communities—the majority of which are thus far uncultured. In this study, we use modified high-throughput cultivation methods to isolate subsurface soil microbes. We show that a component of whether a...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Applied and Environmental SciencePaenibacillus odorifer, the Predominant Paenibacillus Species Isolated from Milk in the United States, Demonstrates Genetic and Phenotypic Conservation of Psychrotolerance but Clade-Associated Differences in Nitrogen Metabolic PathwaysAlthough Paenibacillus species isolates are frequently isolated from pasteurized fluid milk, the link between the genetic diversity and phenotypic characteristics of these isolates was not well understood, especially as some Bacillales isolated from milk are unable to grow at refrigeration temperatures. Our data demonstrate that Paenibacillus spp. isolated from fluid milk represent tremendous interspecies...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceHigh Genomic Diversity and Heterogenous Origins of Pathogenic and Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia coli in Household Settings Represent a Challenge to Reducing Transmission in Low-Income SettingsEscherichia coli is reported in high levels in household soil in low-income settings. When E. coli reaches a soil environment, different mechanisms, including survival, clonal expansion, and genetic exchange, have the potential to either maintain or generate...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceInfluences of Ingredients and Bakers on the Bacteria and Fungi in Sourdough Starters and BreadSourdough starters are complex communities of yeast and bacteria which confer characteristic flavor and texture to sourdough bread. The microbes present in starters can be sourced from ingredients or the baking environment and are typically consistent over time. Herein, we show that even when the recipe and ingredients for starter and bread are identical, different bakers around the globe produce highly diverse starters which then alter...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceDominance of Gas-Eating, Biofilm-Forming Methylobacterium Species in the Evaporator Cores of Automobile Air-Conditioning SystemsAir-conditioning systems (ACS) are indispensable for human daily life; however, microbial community analysis in automobile ACS has yet to be comprehensively investigated. A bacterial community analysis of 24 heat exchanger fins from five countries (South Korea, China, the United States, India, and the United Arab Emirates [UAE]) revealed that Methylobacterium species are some of the dominant bacteria in automobile ACS....
Editor's Pick Commentary | Applied and Environmental ScienceBinning Singletons: Mentoring through Networking at ASM Microbe 2019The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) national conference, Microbe, is the flagship meeting for microbiologists across the globe. The presence of roughly 10,000 attendees provides enormous opportunities for networking and learning. However, such a large meeting can be intimidating to many, especially early career scientists, students, those attending alone, and those from historically underrepresented groups.
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceA Multifunctional Polysaccharide Utilization Gene Cluster in Colwellia echini Encodes Enzymes for the Complete Degradation of κ-Carrageenan, ι-Carrageenan, and Hybrid β/κ-CarrageenanHere, we report that a recently described bacterium, Colwellia echini, harbors a large number of enzymes enabling the bacterium to grow on κ-carrageenan and agar. The genes are organized in two clusters that encode enzymes for the total degradation of κ-carrageenan and agar, respectively. As the first, we report on the structure/function relationship of a new class of...