The coral core microbiome identifies rare bacterial taxa as ubiquitous endosymbionts

© 2015 International Society for Microbial Ecology All rights reserved. Despite being one of the simplest metazoans, corals harbor some of the most highly diverse and abundant microbial communities. Differentiating core, symbiotic bacteria from this diverse hostassociated consortium is essential for characterizing the functional contributions of bacteria but has not been possible yet. Here we characterize the coral core microbiome and demonstrate clear phylogenetic and functional divisions between the micro-scale, niche habitats within the coral host. In doing so, we discover seven distinct bacterial phylotypes that are universal to the core microbiome of coral species, separated by thousands of kilometres of oceans. The two most abundant phylotypes are co-localized specifically with the corals' endosymbiotic algae and symbiont-containing host cells. These bacterial symbioses likely facilitate the success of the dinoflagellate endosymbiosis with corals in diverse environmental regimes

Synthesis of Indomorphan Pseudo Natural Product Inhibitors of Glucose Transporters GLUT‐1 and ‐3

Bioactive compound design based on natural product (NP) structure may be limited due to partial coverage of NP‐like chemical space and biological target space. These limitations can be overcome by combining NP‐centered strategies with fragment‐based compound design through combination of NP‐derived fragments to structurally unprecedented “pseudo natural products” (pseudo‐NPs). We describe the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of a collection of indomorphan pseudo‐NPs that combine biosynthetically unrelated indole‐ and morphan‐alkaloid fragments. Biological investigation in a cell‐based screen for modulators of glucose uptake identified the indomorphane derivative Glupin as potent inhibitor of glucose uptake. Glupin selectively targets and upregulates both, glucose transporters GLUT‐1 and GLUT‐3. Glupin suppresses glycolysis, reduces the levels of glucose‐derived metabolites and attenuates the growth of various cancer cell lines. Our findings underscore the importance of dual GLUT‐1 and GLUT‐3 inhibition to efficiently suppress tumor cell growth and the cellular rescue mechanism, which counteracts glucose scarcity

Plant growth-promoting actinobacteria: a new strategy for enhancing sustainable production and protection of grain legumes

Grain legumes are a cost-effective alternative for the animal protein in improving the diets of the poor in South-East Asia and Africa. Legumes, through symbiotic nitrogen fixation, meet a major part of their own N demand and partially benefit the following crops of the system by enriching soil. In realization of this sustainability advantage and to promote pulse production, United Nations had declared 2016 as the “International Year of pulses”. Grain legumes are frequently subjected to both abiotic and biotic stresses resulting in severe yield losses. Global yields of legumes have been stagnant for the past five decades in spite of adopting various conventional and molecular breeding approaches. Furthermore, the increasing costs and negative effects of pesticides and fertilizers for crop production necessitate the use of biological options of crop production and protection. The use of plant growth-promoting (PGP) bacteria for improving soil and plant health has become one of the attractive strategies for developing sustainable agricultural systems due to their eco-friendliness, low production cost and minimizing consumption of non-renewable resources. This review emphasizes on how the PGP actinobacteria and their metabolites can be used effectively in enhancing the yield and controlling the pests and pathogens of grain legumes

The phylogeny of uptake hydrogenases in Frankia

Uptake hydrogenase is an enzyme that is beneficial for nitrogen fixation in bacteria. Recent studies have shown that Frankia sp. has two sets of uptake hydrogenase genes, organized in synton 1 and synton 2. In the present study, phylogenetic analysis of the structural subunits of hydrogenase syntons 1 and 2 showed a distinct clustering pattern between the proteins of Frankia strains that were isolated from different host plants and non-Frankia organisms. The structural subunits of hydrogenase synton 1 of Frankia sp. Cp11, Frankia alni ACN14a, and F. alni AvC11 were grouped together while those of Frankia spp. Cc13, KB5, UGL140104, and UGL011102 formed another group. The structural subunits of hydrogenase synton 2 of F. alni ACN14a and Frankia spp. Cc13 and BCU110501 grouped together, but those of Frankia spp. KB5 and Cp11, F.alni Ar13, and F. alni AvC11 comprised a separate group. The structural subunits of hydrogenase syntons 1 and 2 of Frankia sp. EAN1pec were more closely related to those of non-Frankia bacteria, i.e., Streptomyces avermitilis and Anaeromyxobacter sp., respectively, than to those of other Frankia strains, suggesting the occurrence of lateral gene transfer between these organisms. In addition, the accessory Hyp proteins of hydrogenase syntons 1 and 2 of F. alni ACN14a and Frankia sp. Cc13 were shown to be phylogenetically more related to each other than to those of Frankia EAN1 pec

Cold stress stimulates algae to produce value-added compounds

Two cold-tolerant microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus sp., were grown at 22 and 5 °C. At the lower temperature, the microalgae showed substantial biochemical and morphological changes. The soluble sugar profile in response to low-temperature cultivation was very different in the two strains. C. vulgaris increased both the sucrose and raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) content at 5 °C while Scenedesmus sp. drastically reduced the sucrose content. Both strains increased the total fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) content when grown at 5 °C. However, the FAME profiles were very different: C. vulgaris mainly increased C18:1 and less so C18:3, while Scenedesmus sp. decreased C18:1 but greatly increased C18:3. The morphology of C. vulgaris changed slightly at the lower temperature, while Scenedesmus sp. showed substantial changes in the size and shape. Low temperature triggered the synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids that are essential for human nutrition