Eco-holobiont : a new concept to identify drivers of host-associated microorganisms

Host microbiomes play a critical role in host fitness and health. Whilst the current 'holobiont' concept framework has greatly expanded eco-evolutionary and functional understanding of host-microbiome interactions, the important role of biotic interactions and microbial loop (compositional linkage between soil, plant and animal) in shaping host-microbiome are poorly understood. We proposed an 'eco-holobiont' concept to fill the knowledge gap

Sustainable agricultural practices contribute significantly to One Health

The One Health concept proposes that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are interconnected. Agricultural production is a critical component of One Health as food links the environment to human health. Food not only provides nutrients to humans but also represents an important pathway for human exposure to environmental microbes as well as potentially harmful agrochemicals. In addition, inappropriate agronomic practices can cause damage to the environment which can have unintended adverse impacts on human health. Therefore, improving agricultural production systems and protecting environmental health should not be viewed as isolated goals as they are strongly interlinked. Here, we used the nexus of soil, plant, and human microbiomes to discuss sustainable agricultural production from the One Health perspective. We highlighted three interconnected challenges faced by current agronomic practices: the transmissions of pathogens in soil‐human microbial loops, the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes in agroecosystems, and the impacts of chemical pesticides on humans and environmental health. Finally, we propose the potential of utilising microbiomes for better sustainable agronomic practices to contribute to key goals of the One Health concept

New frontiers in agriculture productivity : optimised microbial inoculants and in situ microbiome engineering

Increasing agricultural productivity is critical to feed the ever-growing humanpopulation. Being linked intimately to plant health, growth and productivity, harnessing the plant microbiome is considered a potentially viable approach for the next green revolution, in an environmentally sustainable way. In recent years, our understanding of drivers, roles, mechanisms, along with knowledge to manipulate the plant microbiome, have significantly advanced. Yet, translating this knowledge to expand farm productivity and sustainability requires the development of solutions for a number of technological and logistic challenges. In this article, we propose new and emerging strategies to improve the survival and activity of microbial inoculants, including using selected indigenous microbes and optimising microbial delivery methods, as well as modern gene editing tools to engineer microbial inoculants. In addition, we identify multiple biochemical and molecular mechanisms and/approaches which can be exploited for microbiome engineering in situ to optimise plant-microbiome interactions for improved farm yields. These novel biotechnological approaches can provide effective tools to attract and maintain activities of crop beneficial microbiota that increase crop performance in terms of nutrient acquisition, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, resulting in an increased agricultural productivity and sustainability

Synthetic community improves crop performance and alters rhizosphere microbial communities

Introduction: Harnessing synthetic communities (SynCom) of plant growth‐promoting (PGP) microorganisms is considered a promising approach to improve crop fitness and productivity. However, biotic mechanisms that underpin improved plant performance and the effects of delivery mode of synthetic community are poorly understood. These are critical knowledge gaps that constrain field efficacy of SynCom and hence large‐ scale adoption by the farming community. Material & Methods: In this study, a SynCom of four PGP microbial species was constructed and applied to either as seed dressing (treatment T1, applied at the time of sowing) or to soil (treatment T2, applied in soil at true leaf stage) across five different cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) cultivars. The impact of SynCom on plant growth, rhizosphere microbiome and soil nutrient availability, and how this was modified by plant variety and mode of applications, was assessed. Results: Results showed that the seed application of SynCom had the strongest positive impact on overall plant fitness, resulting in higher germination (14.3%), increased plant height (7.4%) and shoot biomass (5.4%). A significant increase in the number of flowers (10.4%) and yield (8.5%) was also observed in T1. The soil nitrate availability was enhanced by 28% and 55% under T1 and T2, respectively. Results further suggested that SynCom applications triggered enrichment of members from bacterial phyla Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Cyanobacteria in the rhizosphere. A shift in fungal communities was also observed, with a significant increase in the relative abundance of fungi from phyla Chytridiomycota and Basidiomycota in SynCom treatments. A structural equation model suggested that SynCom directly increased crop productivity but also indirectly via impacting the alpha diversity of bacteria. Conclusion: Overall, this study provides mechanistic evidence that SynCom applications can shift rhizosphere microbial communities and improve soil fertility, plant growth, and crop productivity, suggesting that their use could contribute toward sustainable increase in farm productivity

Linking the phyllosphere microbiome to plant health

The phyllosphere harbors diverse microbial communities that influence ecosystem functioning. Emerging evidence suggests that plants impaired in genetic networks harbor an altered microbiome and develop dysbiosis in the phyllosphere, which pinpoints plant genetics as a key driver of the phyllosphere microbiome assembly and links the phyllosphere microbiome to plant health

Isolation, identification and control of osmophilic spoilage yeasts in sweetened condensed milk

In this paper, six yeast strains were isolated from spoilt condensed milk in the agar culture media with high sugar content. By employing API 20C AUX strip, these six isolates were identified as Candida pelliculosa strains. Their growth characteristics were then examined under different culture conditions, including various pH value, temperature, sterilization condition, NaCl and glucose concentrations. Both culture temperature and pH value showed significant influence on the growth of the strains, with the optimum cultural temperature and pH being 33°C and 5.0, respectively. The biomass was evidently depressed by increasing the concentrations of salt and glucose. However, it was also found that the strains tested were able to tolerate high concentrations of NaCl (9-15%) and glucose (60-80%), suggesting that the strains isolated were of osmophilic yeast. To find efficient strategies for controlling the spoilage of condensed milk, a comparative study of the effects of eight antiseptics and heat treatment on these spoilage yeasts were done. Among the tested antiseptics, 0.01% sodium dehydroacetate or 0.03% ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate showed application potential in inhibiting yeasts-caused spoilage of sweetened condensed milk

Dependence of catalytic performance of a freeze-dried whole-cell biocatalyst of Pseudomonas fluorescens in regioselective acetylation of 1-β-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine on growth conditions

A freeze-dried whole-cell biocatalyst was prepared from Pseudomonas fluorescens and applied for the first time to regioselective synthesis of 1-β-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine monoester in nonaqueous media. The catalytic performances of the bacterial cells were significantly enhanced by cultivation with a mixed carbon sources containing yeast extract and additional lipid-related substrates, especially the supplement of soybean oil. Cultivation of the cells supplemented with glucose, however, resulted in both low biomass and catalytic activities in the acylation. Taking into account the yield and 5′-regioselectivity of the cell-mediated reaction, yeast extract appeared to be the most suitable for cell cultivation, of all the tested nitrogen sources. Due to the fact that the nutrient concentrations and culture time are also crucial factors affecting the corresponding cell-catalyzed reaction, their effect on the catalytic performance of the cells were also investigated. The best soybean oil concentration, yeast extract concentration and culture time were 0.5% (w/v), 0.1% (w/v) and 48 h, respectively, under which the yield and 5′-regioselectivity of the reaction catalyzed by the cell biocatalyst reached 75.4% and 96.8%, respectively. Our results demonstrated that P. fluorescens whole cell was a green and economic alternative to enzymes for regioselective acylation of ara-C in non-aqueous media

Microbiome-mediated stress resistance in plants

Plants are subjected to diverse biotic and abiotic stresses in life. These can induce changes in transcriptomics and metabolomics, resulting in changes to root and leaf exudates and, in turn, altering the plant-associated microbial community. Emerging evidence demonstrates that changes, especially the increased abundance of commensal microbes following stresses, can be beneficial for plant survival and act as a legacy, enhancing offspring fitness. However, outstanding questions remain regarding the microbial role in plant defense, many of which may now be answered utilizing a novel synthetic community approach. In this article, building on our current understanding on stress-induced changes in plant microbiomes, we propose a ‘DefenseBiome’ concept that informs the design and construction of beneficial microbial synthetic communities for improving fundamental understanding of plant–microbial interactions and the development of plant probiotics

Il lavoro artigiano nelle catene globali del valore

For the first time, whole microbial-cell biocatalysis method was successfully applied by us to the production of glucose esters by transesterification of glucose with vinyl propionate. Among ten bacterial and fungal strains tested, lyophilized cells of Pseudomonas stutzeri strain GIM 1.273 efficiently catalyzed the reaction with the highest conversion and initial rate. CNMR analysis showed that the reaction catalyzed by P. stutzeri yielded 6-O regiomer predominantly (>99%), clearly indicating high regioselectivity of the biocatalyst toward the 6-O-hydroxy group of glucose. Efficiency of the reaction catalyzed by lyophilized cells was evidently solvent-dependent. With the exception of acetonitrile-pyridine and tetrahydrofuran-pyridine systems, the substrate conversion rate clearly increased with increasing hydrophobicity of the organic solvent media used. The best results were obtained in isooctane-pyridine (3:7 v/v) system. Other optimal conditions were: water content 2% (v/v), molar ratio of the acyl donor to glucose 10:1, biocatalyst dosage 80mg/mL and reaction temperature 35°C, under which glucose conversion and reaction rate were 97.2% and 29.7mmol/Lh over the duration of 24h. A tenfold scale-up production of the 6-O-glucose ester further demonstrated that whole-cell P. stutzeri was an efficient and highly-regioselective alternative to purified enzymes for synthesis of glucose esters

Microbial inoculants with higher capacity to colonize soils improved wheat drought tolerance

Microbial inoculants have gained increasing attention worldwide as an eco-friendly solution for improving agriculture productivity. Several studies have demonstrated their potential benefits, such as enhanced resistance to drought, salinity, and pathogens. However, the beneficial impacts of inoculants remain inconsistent. This variability is attributed to limited knowledge of the mechanisms by which microbial inoculants affect crop growth and a lack of ecological characteristics of these inoculants that limit our ability to predict their beneficial effects. The first important step is believed to be the evaluation of the inoculant's ability to colonize new habitats (soils and plant roots), which could provide crops with beneficial functions and improve the consistency and efficiency of the inoculants. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of three microbial inoculants (two bacterial: P1 and P2, and one fungal: P3) on the growth and stress responses of three wheat varieties in two different soil types under drought conditions. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of microbial inoculants on soil microbial communities. Plant biomass and traits were measured, and high-throughput sequencing was used to characterize bulk and rhizosphere soil microbiomes after exposure to drought stress. Under drought conditions, plant shoot weight significantly increased (11.37%) under P1 treatments compared to uninoculated controls. In addition, total nitrogen enzyme activity increased significantly under P1 in sandy soil but not in clay soil. Importantly, network analyses revealed that P1, consisting of Bacillus paralicheniformis and Bacillus subtilis, emerged as the keystone taxa in sandy soil. Conversely, P2 and P3 failed to establish as keystone taxa, which may explain their insignificant impact on wheat performance under drought conditions. In conclusion, our study emphasizes the importance of effective colonization by microbial inoculants in promoting crop growth under drought conditions. Our findings support the development of microbial inoculants that robustly colonize plant roots for improved agricultural productivity