Project description:Metagenome data from soil samples were collected at 0 to 10cm deep from 2 avocado orchards in Channybearup, Western Australia, in 2024. Amplicon sequence variant (ASV) tables were constructed based on the DADA2 pipeline with default parameters.
Project description:The leather industry has a long history and plays important roles in the global economy. Microbial contamination induced degradation is a common phenomenon in leather. However, the degradation mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, bacteria were isolated from leather artifacts, and how Bacillus licheniformis (Gram-positive bacterium) and Pseudomonas putida (Gram-negative bacterium) corrode cow and sheep leather was explored, respectively. P. putida and B. licheniformis destroyed the morphology of leather and caused obvious color aberration by darkening, greening, and bluing the leather. The tensile strength of sheep leather was significantly damaged by B. licheniformis. Bacteria altered the elemental contents and disrupted the collagen structure of leather to varying degrees. Proteomic analysis found that many proteins were reduced by B. licheniformis in cow and sheep leather, including collagen alpha-1(II) chain, collagen type VI and fibrillar collagen. In contrast, many proteases and peptidases of B. licheniformis were upregulated, such as ATP-dependent Clp protease proteolytic subunit 1, acylaminoacyl-peptidase YuxL, aminopeptidase and carboxypeptidase, suggesting that these enzymes contribute to the degradation of leather proteins. These results highlighted that bacteria cells can effectively degrade leather by secreting proteases and peptidases. This study provided new insights into the conservation and biodegradation of leather and contributed to the green and long-term development of the leather industry.
Project description:Leather was one of the most important materials of nomadic Scythians, who used it for clothing, shoes, and quivers, amongst other objects. However, we have little information about the animal species utilised for Scythian leather production. In this first systematic study, we used palaeoproteomics methods to analyse the species in 45 samples of leather and two fur objects recovered from 18 burials excavated at 14 different Scythian sites in southern Ukraine, 3 of which were analysed by LC-MS/MS. Our results demonstrate that Scythians primarily used domesticated species such as sheep, goat, cattle, and horse for the production of leather, while the furs were made of wild animals such as fox, squirrel and feline species. The surprise discovery is the presence of two human skin samples, which for the first time provide direct evidence of the Greek historian Herodotus’ claim that Scythians used the skin of their dead enemies to manufacture leather trophy items, such as quiver covers. We argue that leather manufacture is not incompatible with a nomadic lifestyle and that Scythians possessed sophisticated leather production technologies that ensured stable supply of this essential material.
Project description:Leather artifacts hold significant historical and cultural value in human civilization. During long-term preservation, ancient relics, especially waterlogged leather artifacts, are susceptible to protein degradation. Therefore, analyses of the structure and protein composition of these ancient relics are crucial for their effective conservation. However, comprehensive research in this field is scarce and urgently needed. In this study, systematic investigations of the structures of fresh vegetable-tanned leather, dried leather artifacts, and waterlogged leather artifacts were performed from multiple perspectives. Compared with fresh vegetable-tanned leather and dry leather artifacts, the deterioration of waterlogged leather artifacts resulted in a darkened color, increased brittleness, and reduced fiber structure. Infrared analyses revealed that the characteristic peaks of the amide II and III bands were not present in waterlogged leather artifacts. The species of the leather artifacts were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore, comparative proteomics analysis reveals that protein species identified in waterlogged leather artifacts were significantly lower than in fresh vegetable-tanned leather. Type I collagen, along with many structural proteins, was degraded. The degradation of collagen and other structural proteins, along with fiber destruction, caused severe morphological deterioration of waterlogged leather artifacts. A strategy combining species identification by ELISA and proteomics allows the identification of leather proteins with unprecedented levels of speed, sensitivity, and specificity.
Project description:We aim to study the unusual TMA metabolism mechanism of ducks, and further explore the hidden reasons that led to the weakening TMA metabolism ability. To achieve this, transcriptome, proteome, and metagenome analyses were integrated based on the constructed duck populations with high TMA metabolism ability and low TMA metabolism ability. In addition, further experiments were followed to validate the hypothesis on the limited flavin-containing monooxygenase 3 (FMO3) metabolism ability of ducks. The study demonstrated that both cecal microbe, including Akkermansia and Mucispirillum, and liver FMO3 participated in the TMA metabolism process of ducks. The limited oxidation ability of FMO3 explained the weakening TMA metabolism ability of ducks. Nevertheless, it contributed to the duck’s survival and reproduction during the evolutional adaption process.