Reflections and Insights on the Evolution of the Biological Remediation of Contaminated Soils

The field of soil biological remediation was initially focused on the use of microorganisms. For organic contaminants, biostimulation and bioaugmentation were the strategies of choice. For heavy metals, bioremediation was centered on the feasibility of using microorganisms to reduce metal toxicity. Partly due to the impossibility to degrade metals, phytoremediation emerged proposing the use of plants to extract them (phytoextraction) or reduce their bioavailability (phytostabilization). Later, microbial-assisted phytoremediation addressed the inoculation of plant growth-promoting microorganisms to improve phytoremediation efficiency. Similarly, plant-assisted bioremediation examined the stimulatory effect of plant growth on the microbial degradation of soil contaminants. The combination of plants and microorganisms is nowadays often recommended for mixed contaminated soils. Finally, phytomanagement emerged as a phytotechnology focused on the use of plants and associated microorganisms to decrease contaminant linkages, maximize ecosystem services, and provide economic revenues. Although biological remediation methods have been in use for decades, the truth is that they have not yet yielded the expected results. Here, we claim that much more research is needed to make the most of the many ways that microorganisms have evolutionary developed to access the contaminants and to better understand the soil microbial networks responsible, to a great extent, for soil functioning.This work was supported by the European Union through the Interreg SUDOE Program (Project Phy2SUDOE SOE4/P5/E1021)

A case for the importance of following antibiotic resistant bacteria throughout the soil food web

It is necessary to complement next-generation sequencing data on the soil resistome with theoretical knowledge provided by ecological studies regarding the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) in the abiotic and, especially, biotic fraction of the soil ecosystem. Particularly, when ARB enter agricultural soils as a consequence of the application of animal manure as fertilizer, from a microbial ecology perspective, it is important to know their fate along the soil food web, that is, throughout that complex network of feeding interactions among members of the soil biota that has crucial effects on species richness and ecosystem productivity and stability. It is critical to study how the ARB that enter the soil through the application of manure can reach other taxonomical groups (e.g., fungi, protists, nematodes, arthropods, earthworms), paying special attention to their presence in the gut microbiomes of mesofauna-macrofauna and to the possibilities for horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistant genes.This work was supported by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (PID2020-116495RB-I00), Basque Government (IT1578-22), and Euskampus – JRL Environmental Antibiotic Resistance

Incorporation of Antibiotics into Solid Lipid Nanoparticles: A Promising Approach to Reduce Antibiotic Resistance Emergence

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health as current antibiotics are becoming useless against resistant infectious pathogens. Consequently, new antimicrobial strategies are urgently required. Drug delivery systems represent a potential solution to improve current antibiotic properties and reverse resistance mechanisms. Among different drug delivery systems, solid lipid nanoparticles represent a highly interesting option as they offer many advantages for nontoxic targeted drug delivery. Several publications have demonstrated the capacity of SLNs to significantly improve antibiotic characteristics increasing treatment efficiency. In this review article, antibiotic-loaded solid lipid nanoparticle-related works are analyzed to summarize all information associated with applying these new formulations to tackle the antibiotic resistance problem. The main antimicrobial resistance mechanisms and relevant solid lipid nanoparticle characteristics are presented to later discuss the potential of these nanoparticles to improve current antibiotic treatment characteristics and overcome antimicrobial resistance mechanisms. Moreover, solid lipid nanoparticles also offer new possibilities for other antimicrobial agents that cannot be administrated as free drugs. The advantages and disadvantages of these new formulations are also discussed in this review. Finally, given the progress of the studies carried out to date, future directions are discussed.This work was supported by grants from the University of the Basque Country grant number GIU18/229 and grant number COLAB19/08) and the Industry Department of the Basque Government grant number ELKARTEK2020 KK-2020/00007)

Bioremediazioa: poluitzaileak ezabatzeko oinarri ekologikoak

Azken hamarkadetan ekosistema ugaritan poluitzaileak nabarmen ugaritu dira, maila oso kezkagarrietara iritisi arte. Poluitzaileen isurketa murrizteaz gain, ezinbestekoa dugu ikertzea nola azkar daitekeen hainbat substantzien degradazioa. Bioremediazioa ingurunearen poluzioa murrizteko ahalmen itzela erakutsi du, bakterioen populazioek duten ezberditasun genetikoez eta metabolismo-gaitasunez baliatuz eta kutsagarriak beste produktu kaltegabeetan eraldatuz. Gaur egun, bioremediazioa ingurunea kutsatuta duen edozein leku garbitzeko balio duen teknika berritzat hartzen da baina ingurugiroaren baldintzen arabera eta kutsagarrien berezitasunen arabera ekin behar zaio biodegradazioari kasu bakoitzean

Antibiotikodun Lipido Solidozko Nanopartikulak bakterioen aurkako eraginkortasuna hobetzeko

Antibiotikoen aurkako erresistentzia duten bakterioak mundu-mailako osasun-arriskua dira gaur egun, infekzioak tratatzeko ditugun terapien eraginkortasunaren galera ekar dezaketelako. Mehatxu horri aurre egiteko modu bat eskuartean ditugun farmakoak garraio-sistema egokietan txertatzea izan daiteke, eraginkortasunaren hobekuntza eta erresistentzien agerpenaren atzeratzea ekar dezaketelako. Farmakoen garraio-sistema ezberdinen artean, Lipido Solidozko Nanopartikulek ezaugarri ezin hobeak eskaintzen dituzte, zeren eta, farmakoen disolbagarritasuna, iragazkortasuna, askapen-zinetika eta egonkortasuna bezalako ezaugarri garrantzitsuak hobetzeaz gain, toxikotasuna murrizten laguntzen baitute. Lipido Solidozko Nanopartikulak matrize lipidiko solido batez eta emultsionatzaile geruza batez osaturiko nanopartikulak dira, konposatu fisiologikoekin osatzen direnak. Dena den, farmakoen garraio-sistema efizienteen garapenak nanopartikulen eta sistema biologikoen arteko elkarrekintzen ezaguera eskatzen du, eta horretarako ezinbestekoak dira ekoizpen- eta karakterizazio-metodologia egokiak. Lan honetan, Lipido Solidozko Nanopartikulen osagaiak, haiek garatzeko metodologia eta haien ezaugarrien determinazioa burutzeko modua deskribatzen dira. Gainera, orain arte argitaratutako lanei buruzko berrikuspen bat egingo da antibiotikoak Solido Lipidozko Nanopartikuletan txertatzeak bakterioen aurkako terapien eraginkortasuna nola hobetu dezakeen azaltzeko.; Antibiotic resistant bacteria are a global threat because they can contribute to the loss of the efficiency of actual therapies against infectious diseases. Maintenance of the efficiency of antibacterial drugs is crucial to overcome this problem and loading antibiotics into drug delivery systems can be a possible solution because they can improve drug efficiency and delay resistance emergence. Among all drug delivery systems, Solid Lipid Nanoparticles present optimal characteristics because apart from improving drug solubility, permeability, drug-release kinetics and stability they also help reducing drug toxicity. Solid Lipid Nanoparticles are composed of a solid lipid matrix surrounded by a surfactant monolayer that can be obtained using physiologic molecules. In order to obtain efficient drug delivery systems, it is important to understand interactions between nanoparticles and biological systems. Therefore, correct Solid Lipid Nanoparticles synthesis and characterization methods are essential. In this work, materials, production and characterization methods for Solid Lipid Nanoparticles development have been described. Besides, the state of the art of antibiotic-loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles is described in order to highlight the advantages of applying Solid Lipid Nanoparticles to improve antibacterial efficacy of actual antibiotic therapies

Bioremediazioa: poluitzaileak ezabatzeko oinarri ekologikoak

Azken hamarkadetan ekosistema ugaritan poluitzaileak nabarmen ugaritu dira, maila oso kezkagarrietara iritisi arte. Poluitzaileen isurketa murrizteaz gain, ezinbestekoa dugu ikertzea nola azkar daitekeen hainbat substantzien degradazioa. Bioremediazioa ingurunearen poluzioa murrizteko ahalmen itzela erakutsi du, bakterioen populazioek duten ezberditasun genetikoez eta metabolismo-gaitasunez baliatuz eta kutsagarriak beste produktu kaltegabeetan eraldatuz. Gaur egun, bioremediazioa ingurunea kutsatuta duen edozein leku garbitzeko balio duen teknika berritzat hartzen da baina ingurugiroaren baldintzen arabera eta kutsagarrien berezitasunen arabera ekin behar zaio biodegradazioari kasu bakoitzean

Data on Links Between Structural and Functional Prokaryotic Diversity in Long-Term Sewage Sludge Amended Soil

The application of sewage sludge to agricultural soil induces co-exposure of prokaryotic populations to antibiotics and heavy metals, thus exerting a selection pressure that may lead to the development of antibiotic resistance. Here, soil samples from a long-term factorial field experiment in which sewage sludge was applied to agricultural soil, at different rates (40 and 80 t ha(-1)) and frequencies (every 1, 2 and 4 years) of application, were studied to assess: (i) the effect of sewage sludge application on prokaryotic community composition, (ii) the links between prokaryotic community composition and antibiotic resistance profiles, and (iii) the links between antibiotic resistance and metal(oid) concentrations in amended soil. We found no significant impact of sewage sludge on prokaryotic community composition. Some antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) correlated positively with particular prokaryotic taxa, being Gemmatimonadetes the taxon with the greatest number of positive correlations at phylum level. No positive correlation was found between prokaryotic taxa and genes encoding resistance to sulfonamides and FCA. All metal(oid)s showed positive correlations with, at least, one ARG. Metalloid) concentrations in soil also showed positive correlations with mobile genetic element genes, particularly with the gene tnpA-07. These data provide useful information on the links between soil prokaryotic composition and resistome profiles, and between antibiotic resistance and metal(oid) concentrations, in agricultural soils amended with sewage sludge. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.This work was supported by the by the Basque Government through URAGAN project. The first author was the recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from the Department for Economic Development and Infrastructures of the Basque Government. The authors thank for technical and human support provided by SGIker of UPV/EHU and European funding (ERDF and ESF)

Contextualization of the Bioeconomy Concept through Its Links with Related Concepts and the Challenges Facing Humanity

The concept of bioeconomy is a topic of debate, confusion, skepticism, and criticism. Paradoxically, this is not necessarily a negative thing as it is encouraging a fruitful exchange of information, ideas, knowledge, and values, with concomitant beneficial effects on the definition and evolution of the bioeconomy paradigm. At the core of the debate, three points of view coexist: (i) those who support a broad interpretation of the term bioeconomy, through the incorporation of all economic activities based on the production and conversion of renewable biological resources (and organic wastes) into products, including agriculture, livestock, fishing, forestry and similar economic activities that have accompanied humankind for millennia; (ii) those who embrace a much narrower interpretation, reserving the use of the term bioeconomy for new, innovative, and technologically-advanced economic initiatives that result in the generation of high-added-value products and services from the conversion of biological resources; and (iii) those who stand between these two viewpoints. Here, to shed light on this debate, a contextualization of the bioeconomy concept through its links with related concepts (biotechnology, bio-based economy, circular economy, green economy, ecological economics, environmental economics, etc.) and challenges facing humanity today is presented

Conjugative Coupling Proteins and the Role of Their Domains in Conjugation, Secondary Structure and in vivo Subcellular Location

Type IV Coupling Proteins (T4CPs) are essential elements in many type IV secretion systems (T4SSs). The members of this family display sequence, length, and domain architecture heterogeneity, being the conserved Nucleotide-Binding Domain the motif that defines them. In addition, most T4CPs contain a Transmembrane Domain (TMD) in the amino end and an All-Alpha Domain facing the cytoplasm. Additionally, a few T4CPs present a variable domain at the carboxyl end. The structural paradigm of this family is TrwB(R388), the T4CP of conjugative plasmid R388. This protein has been widely studied, in particular the role of the TMD on the different characteristics of TrwB(R388). To gain knowledge about T4CPs and their TMD, in this work a chimeric protein containing the TMD of TraJ(pKM101)and the cytosolic domain of TrwB(R388)has been constructed. Additionally, one of the few T4CPs of mobilizable plasmids, MobB(CloDF13)of mobilizable plasmid CloDF13, together with its TMD-less mutant MobB Delta TMD have been studied. Mating studies showed that the chimeric protein is functionalin vivoand that it exerted negative dominance against the native proteins TrwB(R388)and TraJ(pKM101). Also, it was observed that the TMD of MobB(CloDF13)is essential for the mobilization of CloDF13 plasmid. Analysis of the secondary structure components showed that the presence of a heterologous TMD alters the structure of the cytosolic domain in the chimeric protein. On the contrary, the absence of the TMD in MobB(CloDF13)does not affect the secondary structure of its cytosolic domain. Subcellular localization studies showed that T4CPs have a unipolar or bipolar location, which is enhanced by the presence of the remaining proteins of the conjugative system. Unlike what has been described for TrwB(R388), the TMD is not an essential element for the polar location of MobB(CloDF13). The main conclusion is that the characteristics described for the paradigmatic TrwB(R388)T4CP should not be ascribed to the whole T4CP family. Specifically, it has been proven that the mobilizable plasmid-related MobB(CloDF13)presents different characteristics regarding the role of its TMD. This work will contribute to better understand the T4CP family, a key element in bacterial conjugation, the main mechanism responsible for antibiotic resistance spread.This work was in part supported by grants from the University of the Basque Country (GIU18/229 and COLAB19/08) and the Industry Department of the Basque Government (ELKARTEK 2020 KK-2020/00007). IA-R was a pre-doctoral student supported by the Basque Government