Applied and Environmental Science
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceThe Antifungal Protein AfpB Induces Regulated Cell Death in Its Parental Fungus Penicillium digitatumDisease-causing fungi pose a serious threat to human health and food safety and security. The limited number of licensed antifungals, together with the emergence of pathogenic fungi with multiple resistance to available antifungals, represents a serious challenge for medicine and agriculture. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new compounds with high fungal specificity and novel antifungal mechanisms. Antifungal proteins in general...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceThe Fungal Microbiome Is an Important Component of Vineyard Ecosystems and Correlates with Regional Distinctiveness of WineThe composition of soil has long been thought to provide wine with characteristic regional flavors. Here, we show that for vineyards in southern Australia, the soil fungal communities are of primary importance for the aromas found in wines. We propose a mechanism by which fungi can move from the soil through the vine.
Editor's Pick Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceVisualization of Lokiarchaeia and Heimdallarchaeia (Asgardarchaeota) by Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization and Catalyzed Reporter Deposition (CARD-FISH)Asgardarchaeota are considered to be the closest relatives to modern eukaryotes. These enigmatic microbes have been mainly studied using metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). Only very recently, a first member of Lokiarchaeia was isolated and characterized in detail; it featured a striking morphology with long, branching protrusions. In order to visualize additional members of the phylum Asgardarchaeota, we applied a fluorescence in...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceSpatiotemporal Distribution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Alkyl Quinolones under Metabolic and Competitive StressAlkyl quinolones (AQs), including Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS), made by the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been associated with both population density and stress. The regulation of AQ production is known to be complex, and the stimuli that modulate AQ responses are not fully clear. Here, we have used hyperspectral Raman chemical...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceMultiple Plasmid Vectors Mediate the Spread of fosA3 in Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacterales Isolates from Retail Vegetables in ChinaThis report provides important information on the transmission and epidemiology of fosA3 among Enterobacterales isolates from vegetables. The rate of occurrence of fosA3 in ESBL-producing Enterobacterales from retail vegetables is high, and fosA3 was found to be carried by diverse plasmids. Some novel genetic contexts of fosA3 and novel fosA3-carrying plasmids, including...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceDryland Cropping Systems, Weed Communities, and Disease Status Modulate the Effect of Climate Conditions on Wheat Soil Bacterial CommunitiesClimate change is affecting global moisture and temperature patterns, and its impacts are predicted to worsen over time, posing progressively larger threats to food production. In the Northern Great Plains of the United States, climate change is forecast to increase temperature and decrease precipitation during the summer, and it is expected to negatively affect cereal crop production and pest management. In this study, temperature,...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceGlobally Abundant “Candidatus Udaeobacter” Benefits from Release of Antibiotics in Soil and Potentially Performs Trace Gas ScavengingSoil bacteria have been investigated for more than a century, but one of the most dominant terrestrial groups on Earth, “Candidatus Udaeobacter,” remains elusive and largely unexplored. Its natural habitat is considered a major reservoir of antibiotics, which directly or indirectly impact phylogenetically diverse microorganisms. Here, we found that “Ca. Udaeobacter” representatives exhibit multidrug resistance and not...
Editor's Pick Observation | Applied and Environmental ScienceIncreasing Temperature and Relative Humidity Accelerates Inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 on SurfacesMitigating the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical settings and public spaces is critically important to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases while effective vaccines and therapeutics are under development. SARS-CoV-2 transmission is thought to primarily occur through direct person-to-person transfer of infectious respiratory droplets or through aerosol-generating medical procedures. However, contact with contaminated surfaces may...
Observation | Applied and Environmental ScienceAsymptomatic COVID-19 Patients Can Contaminate Their Surroundings: an Environment Sampling StudyAlthough it has been well recognized that the virus SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, can be acquired by exposure to fomites, surprisingly, the contamination of patients’ surroundings by SARS-CoV-2 is largely unknown, as there have been few studies. We performed an environmental sampling study for 13 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients and found extensive contamination of patients’ surroundings. In particular, we found...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceThe Preservative Sorbic Acid Targets Respiration, Explaining the Resistance of Fermentative Spoilage Yeast SpeciesSpoilage by yeasts and molds is a major contributor to food and drink waste, which undermines food security. Weak acid preservatives like sorbic acid help to stop spoilage, but some yeasts, commonly associated with spoilage, are resistant to sorbic acid. Different yeasts generate energy for growth by the processes of respiration and/or fermentation. Here, we show that sorbic acid targets the process of respiration, so fermenting yeasts...