environmental microbiology
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceQuantifying the Transmission of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus in Cattle via a Contaminated EnvironmentEffective control of a disease relies on comprehensive understanding of how transmission occurs, in order to design and apply effective control measures. Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is primarily spread by direct contact between infected and naive individuals, although the high levels of virus shed by infected animals mean that virus can also be spread through contact with contaminated environments. Using a series of transmission...
Commentary | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceMicrobial Life Deep UnderfootSoil is one of the most diverse microbial habitats on Earth. While the distribution and abundance of microbial taxa in surface soils have been well described, the phylogenetic and functional diversity of bacteria and archaea in deep-soil strata remains unexplored.
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceTime after Time: Temporal Variation in the Effects of Grass and Forb Species on Soil Bacterial and Fungal CommunitiesOur findings highlight how soil fungal and bacterial communities respond to time, season, and plant species identity. We found that succession shapes the soil bacterial community, while plant species and the type of plant species that grows in the soil drive the assembly of soil fungal communities. Future research on the effects of plants on soil microbes should take into consideration the relative roles of both time and plant growth on...
Letter to the Editor | Applied and Environmental SciencePrecedence for the Role of Indole with Pathogens- Research ArticleViral Diversity of House Mice in New York City
- Letter to the EditorA Cautionary Tale: Tn903 aph, Kanamycin Resistance Redux in the Environment
- Editor's Pick Research ArticleThe Source and Evolutionary History of a Microbial Contaminant Identified Through Soil Metagenomic Analysis
It is often important to determine the source of a microbial strain. Examples include tracking a bacterium linked to a disease epidemic, contaminating the food supply, or used in bioterrorism. Strain identification and tracking are generally approached by using cultivation-based or relatively nonspecific gene fingerprinting methods. Genomic methods have the ability to distinguish strains, but this approach typically has been restricted...