Applied and Environmental Science
- Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceTemperature-Induced Annual Variation in Microbial Community Changes and Resulting Metabolome Shifts in a Controlled Fermentation System
We used Chinese liquor fermentation as a model system to show that microbiome composition changes more dramatically across seasons than throughout the fermentation process within seasons. These changes translate to differences in the metabolome as the ultimate functional outcome of microbial activity, suggesting that temporal changes in microbiome composition are translating into functional changes. This result is striking as it...
- Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceLong-Term Chemical-Only Fertilization Induces a Diversity Decline and Deep Selection on the Soil Bacteria
Chemical-only fertilization is ubiquitous in contemporary conventional agriculture despite the fact that sustainability of this agricultural practice is increasingly being questioned because of the current observed soil degradation. We explored how long-term chemical-only versus organic-only fertilizations impacted the soil microbiota reservoir in terms of both diversity and induced assembly processes. The results showed that long-term...
- Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceSoil Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Cycling Microbial Populations and Their Resistance to Global Change Depend on Soil C:N:P Stoichiometry
To be effective in predicting future stability of soil functions in the context of various external disturbances, it is necessary to follow the effects of global change on functionally specialized microbes related to C and nutrient cycling. Our study represents an exploratory effort to couple the stoichiometric drivers to microbial populations related with main C, N, and P cycling and their resistances to global change. The abundance of...
- Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceDifferential Ecosystem Function Stability of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea and Bacteria following Short-Term Environmental Perturbation
Physiological and ecological studies have provided evidence for pH-driven niche specialization of ammonia oxidizers in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the functional stability of ammonia oxidizers following pH change has not been investigated, despite its importance in understanding the maintenance of ecosystem processes following environmental perturbation. This is particularly true after anthropogenic perturbation, such as the...
- Letter to the Editor | Applied and Environmental ScienceProtections against the Risk of Airborne SARS-CoV-2 Infection
- Author Reply | Applied and Environmental ScienceReply to McDonald, “Protections against the Risk of Airborne SARS-CoV-2 Infection”
- Perspective | Applied and Environmental ScienceRoles of Organohalide-Respiring Dehalococcoidia in Carbon Cycling
The class Dehalococcoidia within the Chloroflexi phylum comprises the obligate organohalide-respiring genera Dehalococcoides, Dehalogenimonas, and “Candidatus Dehalobium.” Knowledge of the unique ecophysiology and biochemistry of Dehalococcoidia has been largely derived from studies with enrichment cultures and isolates from sites impacted with chlorinated pollutants; however,...
- Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceShifts in the Bacterial Population and Ecosystem Functions in Response to Vegetation in the Yellow River Delta Wetlands
Vegetation probably represents the most crucial step for the ecosystem functions of wetlands, but it is unclear how microbial populations and functions shift in pace with the colonization and succession of vegetation. In this study, we found that a Cyanobacteria monospecies genus and a Gemmatimonadetes multispecies genus are fastidiously predominant in the bare and vegetative wetlands of the Yellow River Delta,...
- Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceNitrogen Source Governs Community Carbon Metabolism in a Model Hypersaline Benthic Phototrophic Biofilm
Anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen into aquatic ecosystems, and especially those of agricultural origin, involve a mix of chemical species. Although it is well-known in general that nitrogen eutrophication markedly influences the metabolism of aquatic phototrophic communities, relatively little is known regarding whether the specific chemical form of nitrogen inputs matter. Our data suggest that the nitrogen form alters the rate of...
- Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceIn Silico Analysis Highlights the Diversity and Novelty of Circular Bacteriocins in Sequenced Microbial Genomes
Circular bacteriocins are promising biopreservatives, and it is important to identify more novel circular bacteriocins to enhance the current arsenal of antimicrobials. In this study, we used an in silico approach to identify a large number of novel circular bacteriocins and classified these bacteriocins into 28 groups rather than the 2 groups that were described in previous studies. Nineteen groups were novel and had low...