metagenomics – Page 2

Engineering bacterial biocatalysts for the degradation of phthalic acid esters

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Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are chemicals used to make plastics flexible that can leak into the environment and harm human health. Scientists are engineering bacteria with improved enzymes to break down PAEs more efficiently through a process called bioremediation. The review discusses how bacteria naturally degrade these pollutants and outlines strategies to make this process faster and more practical for cleaning contaminated environments.

Top-down enrichment of oil-degrading microbial consortia reveals functional streamlining and novel degraders

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Scientists developed a method to create powerful microbial teams that can break down crude oil more effectively than single microbes. By using enrichment techniques with increasing oil concentrations, they created a streamlined consortium called GT4 that could degrade over 55% of crude oil in one week. The study identified key bacterial players including Microbacterium and discovered new bacteria like Paracandidimonas that can degrade oil, offering promising tools for cleaning up oil-contaminated environments.

Natural-selected plastics biodegradation species and enzymes in landfills

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Landfills contain billions of tons of plastic waste that can take centuries to decompose naturally. This research discovered that landfill microorganisms have evolved to break down plastics through natural selection. Using advanced computer analysis of microbial DNA, scientists identified thousands of potential plastic-degrading enzymes that could be engineered for industrial applications to help clean up plastic pollution.

Advances in the Degradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Yeasts: A Review

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This review explores how yeasts, tiny single-celled fungi, can clean up environments contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – harmful chemicals produced by car emissions, factories, and burning. These yeasts use special enzymes to break down these toxic compounds into less harmful substances, making them a promising natural solution for environmental cleanup. Scientists are also improving these yeasts through genetic engineering to make them even more effective at removing pollution.

The Microbial Community Succession Drives Stage-Specific Carbon Metabolic Shifts During Agaricus bisporus Fermentation: Multi-Omics Reveals CAZymes Dynamics and Lignocellulose Degradation Mechanisms

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This research examines how different bacteria in mushroom compost work together to break down agricultural waste during the growing process. Scientists tracked microbial communities over 15 days of fermentation, finding that early stages use bacteria specialized in breaking down plant fibers, while later stages shift to bacteria that handle more complex compounds. Understanding these microbial changes helps optimize mushroom cultivation and reduce agricultural waste.

The Gut Mycobiome for Precision Medicine

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This comprehensive review explores how fungi in our gut play important roles in our health and disease. While fungi make up only a tiny fraction of our gut microbiota, they have outsized effects on conditions like diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and even certain cancers. The review discusses how scientists study these fungi and how understanding individual fungal profiles could lead to personalized medical treatments tailored to each person’s unique microbial makeup.

Plastic-Microbial BioRemediation DB: A Curated Database for Multi-Omics Applications

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Scientists have created a new database called Plastic-MBR that catalogs bacteria capable of breaking down plastic waste. Using computer analysis of genetic information from soil and river samples, researchers identified numerous bacterial species and enzymes that could potentially help eliminate plastic pollution. This database serves as a starting point for selecting promising bacteria that could be tested in laboratories and eventually used to develop practical plastic-cleaning solutions for contaminated environments.

A survey of bacterial and fungal community structure and functions in two long-term metalliferous soil habitats

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Scientists studied how bacteria and fungi adapt to living in soils contaminated with mercury at two former nuclear weapons sites in the United States. They found that bacterial diversity decreased in highly contaminated areas, while fungi remained relatively stable. The research identified specific microbes that can help clean up mercury pollution and showed that the amount of mercury that microbes can actually access is different from the total amount of mercury in the soil.

Recent Advances and Developments in Bacterial Endophyte Identification and Application: A 20-Year Landscape Review

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Bacterial endophytes are beneficial bacteria living inside plants that help them grow stronger, resist diseases, and even clean up polluted soil. Scientists have studied these helpful microbes for 20 years and discovered they can be identified using both traditional laboratory methods and advanced DNA technologies. These bacteria show promise for making farming more sustainable by reducing the need for chemical pesticides and helping crops survive droughts and other stressors.

Genomic insights reveal community structure and phylogenetic associations of endohyphal bacteria and viruses in fungal endophytes

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Fungi living inside healthy plant leaves contain communities of bacteria and viruses. Researchers studied these microbial passengers in fungi from American beech leaves and found that bacteria show patterns of preference for specific fungal types, while viruses are less diverse and mostly DNA-based rather than RNA-based. Understanding these microbial relationships helps explain how fungi interact with plants and could potentially improve biological control strategies.

Research Keyword: metagenomics