Project description:Bile acids are steroid compounds from the digestive tracts of vertebrates that enter agricultural environments in unusual high amounts with manure. Bacteria degrading bile acids can readily be isolated from soils and waters including agricultural areas. Under laboratory conditions, these bacteria transiently release steroid compounds as degradation intermediates into the environment. These compounds include androstadienediones (ADDs), which are C19-steroids with potential hormonal effects. Experiments with Caenorhabditis elegans showed that ADDs derived from bacterial bile acid degradation had effects on its tactile response, reproduction rate, and developmental speed. Additional experiments with a deletion mutant as well as transcriptomic analyses revealed that these effects might be conveyed by the putative testosterone receptor NHR-69. Soil microcosms showed that the natural microflora of agricultural soil is readily induced for bile acid degradation accompanied by the transient release of steroid intermediates. Establishment of a model system with a Pseudomonas strain and C. elegans in sand microcosms indicated transient release of ADDs during the course of bile acid degradation and negative effects on the reproduction rate of the nematode. This proof-of-principle study points at bacterial degradation of manure-derived bile acids as a potential and so-far overlooked risk for invertebrates in agricultural soils.
Project description:Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 is a representative organism for Gram positive soil bacteria associated with plant roots and beneficial to plant growth. It is of immense importance to understand mechanisms of this class of bacteria adapting to rhizosphere. In this work employing differential RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and Northern blot, we systematically identified transcription start sites of mRNAs as well as non-coding regulatory RNAs in FZB42. The genes regulated at different growth phases and located in polycistronic operons were also identified. A set of genes were re-annotated. In addition, a sRNA named Bas01 was identified to be involved in Bacillus sporulation and biofilm formation. The result we obtained provides valuable data for investigation of Bacillus gene expression and molecular details of rhizobacterial interaction with host plants.
Project description:The natural biotope of Bacillus subtilis is the upper layer of soil where it grows as a biofilm. To mimic this physiological development and study the impact of nanoparticles during the formation of a biofilm in a contaminated soil, we have studied the proteomic response of the ancestral strain Bacillus subtilis 3610, which is able to form biofilm contrary to the 168 laboratory strain. The bacteria were grown on soft agar plates containing n-ZnO, n-TiO2 or ZnSO4 metal ion.
Project description:Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42 is a representative organism for Gram positive soil bacteria associated with plant roots and beneficial to plant growth. It is of immense importance to understand mechanisms of this class of bacteria adapting to rhizosphere. In this work employing differential RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and Northern blot, we systematically identified transcription start sites of mRNAs as well as non-coding regulatory RNAs in FZB42. The genes regulated at different growth phases and located in polycistronic operons were also identified. A set of genes were re-annotated. In addition, a sRNA named Bas01 was identified to be involved in Bacillus sporulation and biofilm formation. The result we obtained provides valuable data for investigation of Bacillus gene expression and molecular details of rhizobacterial interaction with host plants. Examination of transcriptome profile of rhizobacterium B. amyloliquefaciens FZB42 grown under six conditions.
Project description:Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are soil beneficial microorganisms that colonize plant roots for nutritional purposes and accordingly benefit plants by increasing plant growth or reducing disease. But it still remains unclear which mechanisms or pathways are involved in the interactions between PGPR and plants. To understand the complex plant-PGPR interactions, the changes in the transcriptome of typical PGPR standard Bacillus subtilis in responding to rice seedlings were analyzed. We compared and anylyzed the transcriptome changes of the bacteria Bacillus subtilis OKB105 in response to rice seedings for 2 h. Total RNA was extracted and Random priming cDNA synthesis, cDNA fragmentation and terminal labeling with biotinylated GeneChip DNA labeling reagent, and hybridization to the Affymetrix GeneChip Bacillus subtilis Genome Array.
Project description:Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of the most widespread organic contaminants, are highly toxic to soil microorganisms. Whether long-term polluted soils can still respond to the fresh input of pollutants is unknown. In this study, the soil enzyme activity, soil microbial community structure and function and microbial metabolism pathways were examined to systematically investigate the responses of soil microorganisms to fresh PAH stress. Microbial activity as determined by soil dehydrogenase and urease activity was inhibited upon microbe exposure to PAH stress. In addition, the soil microbial community and function were obviously shifted under PAH stress. Both microbial diversity and richness were decreased by PAH stress. Rhizobacter, Sphingobium, Mycobacterium, Massilia, Bacillus and Pseudarthrobacter were significantly affected by PAH stress and can be considered important indicators of PAH contamination in agricultural soils. Moreover, the majority of microbial metabolic function predicted to respond to PAH stress were affected adversely. Finally, soil metabolomics further revealed specific inhibition of soil metabolism pathways associated with fatty acids, carbohydrates and amino acids. Therefore, the soil metabolic composition distinctively changed, reflecting a change in the soil metabolism. In summary, fresh contaminant introduction into long-term polluted soils inhibited microbial activity and metabolism, which might profoundly affect the whole soil quality.
Project description:Spirosoma montaniterrae DY10T is an uncharacterized radiation-resistanct bacteria isolated from soil in South Korea. In order to identify the underlying mechanisms involved in UVC-resistance, we generated time-series transcriptome data with UVC radiation and analyzed data with computational methods.