Bacterial Microbiota and Metabolic Character of Traditional Sour Cream and Butter in Buryatia, Russia

Traditional sour cream and butter are widely popular fermented dairy products in Russia for their flavor and nutrition, and contain rich microbial biodiversity, particularly in terms of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). However, few studies have described the microbial communities and metabolic character of traditional sour cream and butter. The objective of this study was to determine the bacterial microbiota and metabolic character of eight samples collected from herdsmen in Buryatia, Russia. Using single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing techniques, we identified a total of 294 species and/or subspecies in 169 bacterial genera, belonging to 14 phyla. The dominant phylum was Firmicutes (81.47%) and the dominant genus was Lactococcus (59.28%). There were differences between the bacterial compositions of the sour cream and butter samples. The relative abundances of Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus raffinolactis, and Acetobacter cibinongensis were significantly higher in sour cream than in butter, and the abundance of Streptococcusthermophilus was significantly lower in sour cream than in butter. Using a pure culture method, 48 strains were isolated and identified to represent seven genera and 15 species and/or subspecies. Among these isolates, Lactococccus lactis subsp. lactis (22.50%) was the dominant LAB species. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole–time of flight mass spectrometry at elevated energy was used in combination with statistical methods to detect metabolite differences between traditional sour cream and butter. A total of 27,822 metabolites were detected in all samples, and Lys-Lys, isohexanal, palmitic acid, Leu-Val, and 2′-deoxycytidine were the most dominant metabolites found in all samples. In addition, 27 significantly different metabolites were detected between the sour cream and butter samples, including short peptides, organic acids, and amino acids. Based on correlation analyses between the most prevalent bacterial species and the main metabolites in sour cream, we conclude that there may be a connection between the dominant LAB species and these metabolites. This study combined omics techniques to analyze the bacterial diversity and metabolic character of traditional sour cream and butter, and we hope that our findings will enrich species resource libraries and provide valuable resources for further research on dairy product flavor

Early Miocene Mosses from Weichang, North China, and their Environmental Significance

Twenty-seven moss specimens collected from the Guangfayong section (Early Miocene, 22.1 Ma) of the Weichang District, North China were investigated in the present study. Based on the morphological and anatomical features of gametophytes, all specimens were found to belong to three species: Leptodictyum riparium, Drepanocladus subtrichophyllus sp. nov., and Amblystegium varium, all of which belong to the family Amblystegiaceae. The microhabitats and living environments of fossil mosses were also investigated based on comparison with living mosses. The results suggest that these mosses grew primarily at the edges of rivers, streams, and lakes and favored being submerged in streams or lakes in the Weichang District in the Early Miocene

New Fossil Liverworts from the Lower Cretaceous of Western Liaoning, China

Sixteen liverwort specimens collected from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Huangbanjigou Village, Liaoning Province, China are studied in this work. The plants are thalloid and preserved in brown arenaceous mudstone as impressions. Based on examinations, the liverworts are assigned to two new genera and five new species: Riccardiothallus palmata sp. nov., Pallaviciniites stricta sp. nov., Pellites latithallus gen. et sp. nov., Conocephalumites hexagonites gen. et sp. nov. and Metzgerites multifidus sp. nov., belonging to five families and five genera. The fossil research indicates that the divergence of families, Aneuraceae and Metzgeriaceae, Pallaviciniaceae and Hymenophytaceae, Pelliaceae and Fossombroniaceae, was in the Lower Cretaceous (125 Ma). The research provides significant additions to the fossil liverwort records in Western Liaoning and offers fossil evidence for studying the classification and evolution of extant liverworts

A Metabolomics Approach Uncovers Differences between Traditional and Commercial Dairy Products in Buryatia (Russian Federation)

Commercially available and traditional dairy products differ in terms of their manufacturing processes. In this study, commercially available and traditionally fermented cheese, yogurt, and milk beverages were analyzed and compared. The metabolomic technique of ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF) in the MSE mode was used in combination with statistical methods, including univariate analysis and chemometric analysis, to determine the differences in metabolite profiles between commercially and traditionally fermented dairy products. The experimental results were analyzed statistically and showed that traditional and commercial dairy products were well differentiated in both positive and negative ion modes, with significant differences observed between the samples. After screening for metabolite differences, we detected differences between traditional milk beverages and yogurt and their commercial counterparts in terms of the levels of compounds such as l-lysine, l-methionine, l-citrulline, l-proline, l-serine, l-valine and l-homocysteine, and of short peptides such as Asp-Arg, Gly-Arg, His-Pro, Pro-Asn. The greatest difference between commercially available and traditional cheese was in the short peptide composition, as commercially available and traditional cheese is rich in short peptides

Chromosome screening using culture medium of embryos fertilised in vitro: a pilot clinical study

Abstract Background Previous studies from this as well as other research groups suggested that non-invasive chromosome screening (NICS) with embryo culture medium can be used to identify chromosomal ploidy and chromosomal abnormalities. We here report a series of clinical cases utilizing the technology. Methods A total of 45 couples underwent in vitro fertilisation during a period between February 2016 and February 2017. Karyotyping revealed normal chromosomes in both partners in 23 couples, and chromosomal rearrangements in at least one partner in 22 couples. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was used for fertilization. NICS was carried out using embryo culture medium at the blastocyst stage via multiple annealing and looping-based amplification cycles, whole-genome amplification and next-generation sequencing. Results A total of 413 embryos were obtained; 170 blastocysts were subjected to NICS. The screening showed euploidy in 79 embryos, aneuploidy in 52 embryos, and mosaic ploidy for 33 embryos. The rate of euploidy was comparable in couples with normal karyotype (50.7%; 38/75) vs. chromosomal rearrangement (43.2%; 41/95). A total of 52 euploid embryos (50 oocyte retrieval cycles) were transferred in 43 women. Biochemical pregnancy rate was 72.0% (36/50). Clinical pregnancy rate was 58.0% (29/50). The rate of spontaneous miscarriage was 3/29 (none with chromosomal aneuploidy). A total of 27 healthy babies were delivered. Conclusions NICS could identify embryo chromosomal abnormalities in couples either with or without chromosomal rearrangement, with satisfying clinical outcomes