Applied and Environmental Science
Editor's Pick Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceA Single Biosynthetic Gene Cluster Is Responsible for the Production of Bagremycin Antibiotics and Ferroverdin Iron ChelatorsAccess to whole-genome sequences has exposed the general incidence of the so-called cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), thereby renewing their interest for natural product discovery. As a consequence, genome mining is the often first approach implemented to assess the potential of a microorganism for producing novel bioactive metabolites. By revealing a new level of complexity of natural product biosynthesis, we further...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceA Central Small RNA Regulatory Circuit Controlling Bacterial Denitrification and N2O EmissionsN2O is an important greenhouse gas and a major cause of ozone depletion. Denitrifying bacteria play vital roles in the production and consumption of N2O in many environments. Complete denitrification consists of the conversion of a soluble N-oxyanion, nitrate (NO3-), to an inert gaseous N-oxide, dinitrogen (N2). Incomplete denitrification can occur if conditions are prohibitive, for...
Author Reply | Applied and Environmental ScienceReply to Sun et al., “Identifying Composition Novelty in Microbiome Studies: Improvement of Prediction Accuracy”
Letter to the Editor | Applied and Environmental ScienceIdentifying Composition Novelty in Microbiome Studies: Improvement for Prediction Accuracy
Letter to the Editor | Applied and Environmental SciencePrecedence for the Role of Indole with Pathogens
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceSynthetic Methane-Consuming Communities from a Natural Lake SedimentThe metabolism of methane is an important part of the global carbon cycle. While deciphering the community function and the potential role of the different functional guilds is very difficult when considering native complex communities, synthetic communities, built of species originating from a study site in question, present a simplified model and allow specific questions to be addressed as to carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrient...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceSulfur-Oxidizing Symbionts without Canonical Genes for Autotrophic CO2 FixationMany animals and protists depend on symbiotic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria as their main food source. These bacteria use energy from oxidizing inorganic sulfur compounds to make biomass autotrophically from CO2, serving as primary producers for their hosts. Here we describe a clade of nonautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing symbionts, “Candidatus Kentron,” associated with marine ciliates. They lack genes for known autotrophic...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceBacteria Floc, but Do They Flock? Insights from Population Interaction Models of Quorum SensingOur modeling efforts show how cell density can affect chemotaxis; they help to explain the roots of subgroup formation in bacterial populations. Our work also reinforces the notion that bacterial mechanisms are at times exhibited in higher-order organisms.
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceComparative Genomics of Cyanobacterial Symbionts Reveals Distinct, Specialized Metabolism in Tropical Dysideidae SpongesNatural products provide the inspiration for most clinical drugs. With the rise in antibiotic resistance, it is imperative to discover new sources of chemical diversity. Bacteria living in symbiosis with marine invertebrates have emerged as an untapped source of natural chemistry. While symbiotic bacteria are often recalcitrant to growth in the lab, advances in metagenomic sequencing and assembly now make it possible to access their...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceIron Corrosion via Direct Metal-Microbe Electron TransferThe anaerobic corrosion of iron structures is expensive to repair and can be a safety and environmental concern. It has been known for over 100 years that the presence of anaerobic respiratory microorganisms can accelerate iron corrosion. Multiple studies have suggested that there are sulfate reducers, methanogens, and acetogens that can directly accept electrons from Fe(0) to support sulfate or carbon dioxide reduction. However, all of...