Although iron- and sulfate-reducing bacteria in subsurface environments have crucial roles in biogeochemical cycling of C, Fe, and S, how specific electron donors impact the compositional structure and activity of native iron- and/or sulfate-reducing communities is largely unknown. To understand this better, we created bicarbonate-buffered batch systems in duplicate with three different electron donors (acetate, lactate, or glucose) paired with ferrihydrite and sulfate as the electron acceptors and inoculated them with subsurface sediment as the microbial inoculum.

Antibiotics have saved countless lives and enabled the development of modern medicine over the past 70 years. However, it is clear that the success of antibiotics might only have been temporary and we now expect a long-term and perhaps never-ending challenge to fi nd new therapies to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. A broader approach to address bacterial infection is needed. In this Review, we discuss alternatives to antibiotics, which we defi ned as non-compound approaches (products other than classic antibacterial agents) that target bacteria or any approaches that target the host.

Antimicrobial resistance profiles and presence of resistance determinants and integrons were evaluated in Salmonellaenterica strains from Brazilian poultry. The analysis of 203 isolates showed that those from the poultry environment (88 isolates) were significantly more resistant to antimicrobials than isolates from other sources, particularly those isolated from poultry by-product meal (106 isolates). Thirty-seven isolates were resistant to at least three antimicrobial classes.

Anthropogenic inputs influence the community structure and activities of microorganisms, which may impinge the functioning of estuarine and coastal ecosystem. The aim of the present study was to understand the influence of dissolved heavy metals (Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu and Zn) on community structure of cyanobacteria in a nutrient rich tropical estuary, Cochin Estuary (CE), across the southwest coast of India. Dissolved heavy metals were higher in CE during dry season, with Zn as major pollutant.

The effect of the immunomodulator Natstim ® (lyophilised killed bacterial cells from Escherichia coli 29, Escherichia coli J5, Staphylococus aureus 27/58 at amounts corresponding to 10 10 cells of each species, stabilized with Dextrane 40) on growth performance and two factors of natural humoral immunity serum lysozyme concentrations and the activity of the alternative pathway of complement activation (APCA) was investigated. The results for the experimental group showed a tendency towards higher live weight at 35 and 49 days of age.

The bacteria Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of plague and has caused human pandemics with millions of deaths in historic times. How and when it originated remains contentious. Here, we report the oldest direct evidence of Yersinia pestis identified by ancient DNA in human teeth from Asia and Europe dating from 2,800 to 5,000 years ago. By sequencing the genomes, we find that these ancient plague strains are basal to all known Yersinia pestis. We find the origins of the Yersinia pestis lineage to be at least two times older than previous estimates.

Naegleria fowleri the causative agent of Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis, is ubiquitously distributed worldwide in various warm aquatic environments and soil habitats. The present study reports on the presence of Naegleria spp. in various water bodies present in Rohtak and Jhajjar district, of state Haryana, India. A total of 107 water reservoirs were screened from summer till autumn (2012 and 2013).

Original Source

Antigens encoded by the var gene family are major virulence factors of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, exhibiting enormous intra- and interstrain diversity. Here we use network analysis to show that var architecture and mosaicism are conserved at multiple levels across the Laverania subgenus, based on var-like sequences from eight single-species and three multi-species Plasmodium infections of wild-living or sanctuary African apes.

Soil fungi have pivotal ecological roles as decomposers, pathogens and symbionts. Alterations to their diversity arising from climate change could have substantial effects on ecosystems, particularly those undergoing rapid warming that contain few species. Here, we report a study using pyrosequencing to assess fungal diversity in 29 soils sampled from a 1,650 km climatic gradient through the maritime Antarctic, the most rapidly warming region in the Southern Hemisphere.