Applied and Environmental Science
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceRetrospective Surveillance of Wastewater To Examine Seasonal Dynamics of Enterovirus InfectionsEnterovirus infections are often not tracked or reported to health officials. This makes it hard to know how many people in a community are infected with these viruses at any given time. Here, we explored enterovirus in municipal wastewater to look at this issue. We show that enteroviruses are present year-round in municipal wastewater at levels of up to 800,000 genomic copies per liter. We estimate that, on average, 2.8% of the people...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceUnique Features of Aeromonas Plasmid pAC3 and Expression of the Plasmid-Mediated Quinolone Resistance GenesIn the present study, plasmid pAC3 isolated from a highly fluoroquinolone-resistant isolate of Aeromonas species was sequenced and found to contain two fluoroquinolone resistance genes, aac(6′)-Ib-cr and qnrS2. Comparative analyses of plasmid pAC3 and other Aeromonas sp. IncU-type plasmids revealed a mobile insertion cassette element with a unique structure containing a qnrS2...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceAnalysis of Light- and Carbon-Specific Transcriptomes Implicates a Class of G-Protein-Coupled Receptors in Cellulose SensingIn fungi, most metabolic processes are subject to regulation by light. For Trichoderma reesei, light-dependent regulation of cellulase gene expression is specifically shown. Therefore, we intended to unravel the relationship between regulation of enzymes by the carbon source and regulation of enzymes by light. Our two-dimensional analysis included inducing and repressing carbon sources which we used to compare light-specific...
Observation | Applied and Environmental ScienceNovel β-Lactamase blaARL in Staphylococcus arlettaePenicillins are an important group of antibiotics used to treat various types of infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria. So far, the blaZ gene was the only known β-lactamase gene in staphylococci. However, other putative β-lactamases were identified, and one of them was shown to be a novel functional β-lactamase encoded by blaARL in ...
Perspective | Applied and Environmental ScienceBasic Scholarship in Biosafety Is Critically Needed To Reduce Risk of Laboratory AccidentsOur firm conducted a risk/benefit assessment of “gain-of-function” research, as part of the deliberative process following a U.S. moratorium on the research (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Government Gain-of-Function Deliberative Process and Research Funding Pause on Selected Gain-of-Function Research Involving Influenza, MERS, and SARS Viruses, 2014).
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceBacterial Community Composition Associated with Pyrogenic Organic Matter (Biochar) Varies with Pyrolysis Temperature and Colonization EnvironmentPyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) is widely distributed in soil and fluvial ecosystems and plays an important role in biogeochemical cycling. Many studies have reported changes in soil microbial communities stimulated by PyOM, but very little is known about the microbial communities associated with PyOM. The microbes that colonize PyOMs can participate in the mineralization of PyOM, so changing its structure affects the fate of PyOMs and...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceEffects of Exogenous Yeast and Bacteria on the Microbial Population Dynamics and Outcomes of Olive FermentationsFood fermentations are subject to tremendous selective pressures resulting in the growth and persistence of a limited number of bacterial and fungal taxa. Although these foods are vulnerable to spoilage by unintended contamination of certain microorganisms, or alternatively, can be improved by the deliberate addition of starter culture microbes that accelerate or beneficially modify product outcomes, the impact of either of those...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceCoordinate Regulation of Antimycin and Candicidin BiosynthesisNatural products produced by members of the phylum Actinobacteria underpin many industrially and medically important compounds; however, the majority of the ~30 biosynthetic pathways harbored by an average species are not expressed in the laboratory. Understanding the diversity of regulatory strategies controlling the expression of these pathways is therefore critical if their biosynthetic potential is to be explored for new...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceMicrobial Community Patterns Associated with Automated Teller Machine Keypads in New York CityAutomated teller machine (ATM) keypads represent a specific and unexplored microhabitat for microbial communities. Although the number of built environment and urban microbial ecology studies has expanded greatly in recent years, the majority of research to date has focused on mass transit systems, city soils, and plumbing and ventilation...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceHuman Norovirus Aptamer Exhibits High Degree of Target Conformation-Dependent Binding Similar to That of Receptors and Discriminates Particle FunctionalityHuman noroviruses impose a considerable health burden globally. However, study of their inactivation is still challenging with currently reported cell culture models, as discrimination of infectious viral particles is still difficult. Traditionally, the ability of particles to bind putative carbohydrate receptors is conducted as a proxy for infectivity, but these receptors are inconsistent, expensive, and hard to purify/modify. We...