Microbiology spectrum最新文献

{"title":"Molecular xenosurveillance of <i>Aedes</i> mosquitoes reveals dengue virus serotype-2 during an outbreak in Dhaka, Bangladesh.","authors":"Prakash Ghosh, Anupama Hazarika, Md Arko Ayon Chowdhury, Sabera Sultana, Nishad Tasnim Mithila, Shariful Shahid, Md Ekramul Haque, Md Nazmul Islam, Dinesh Mondal, Rajib Chowdhury","doi":"10.1128/spectrum.01769-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01769-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The increased risk of emerging infectious diseases is particularly pronounced in resource-constrained regions with limited capacity to undertake surveillance, presenting a global challenge for the timely identification and mitigation of disease threats. Consequently, the development and implementation of feasible, cost-effective, and sustainable surveillance strategies are essential. Molecular xenosurveillance (MX) represents an innovative approach for arbovirus monitoring, including dengue surveillance, which utilizes field-collected mosquito specimens to detect circulating pathogens and provide early outbreak warnings. Bangladesh is highly endemic for dengue, and with limited resources, the implementation of MX will add value to ongoing efforts to scale up surveillance. This study aimed to test the suitability of MX in detecting dengue viruses in <i>Aedes</i> vectors and recommend its integration into the existing surveillance system. Adult <i>Aedes</i> mosquitoes were collected using BG-Sentinel traps during pre-monsoon dengue vector surveys in Dhaka city. <i>Aedes</i> mosquitoes were identified morphologically and screened in pools using real-time RT-PCR. Infection prevalence was estimated using the PoolTestR program. Out of 228 <i>Aedes aegypti</i> mosquitoes distributed across 26 pools, one pool with 10 mosquitoes tested positive for the dengue virus. The estimated infection prevalence was 0.450% (95% CI: 0.026%-1.960%) and 0.510% (95% CI: 0.053%-2.100%) using maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimates, respectively. The DENV-2 serotype was detected in the positive pool. This study presents the first successful implementation of the MX methodology to detect dengue virus presence in field-collected <i>Ae. aegypti</i> specimens from Dhaka, Bangladesh. These findings provide empirical support for enhanced vector surveillance protocols and offer valuable insights for strengthening comprehensive dengue control efforts.</p><p><strong>Importance: </strong>The timely detection of arboviral pathogens like dengue virus, through surveillance is critical for developing early warning systems and preventing outbreaks. However, limited surveillance capacity in resource-constrained settings creates gaps that can be addressed by implementing sustainable and cost-effective surveillance strategies. This study demonstrates the feasibility of molecular xenosurveillance (MX), which is a vector-based, non-invasive surveillance method for dengue virus surveillance in <i>Aedes aegypti</i> mosquitoes in Dhaka, Bangladesh. By detecting and identifying dengue virus serotype-2 (DENV-2) using real-time RT-PCR, this study also provides evidence of the method's potential for generating deeper epidemiological insights. These findings highlight the value of MX as a complementary tool to existing surveillance systems. Integrating MX into routine entomological surveillance could significantly enhance national preparedness and response to dengue outbreaks.</p>","PeriodicalId":18670,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology spectrum","volume":" ","pages":"e0176925"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145150003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gut microbiome enterotypes drive divergent lactation performance in dairy goats through host-microbe metabolic cross-talk.","authors":"Dangdang Wang, Qingyan Yin, Guangfu Tang, Li Sun, Junjian Yu, Yangchun Cao, Junhu Yao","doi":"10.1128/spectrum.01367-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01367-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The gut microbiome plays a pivotal role in modulating nutrient metabolism and lactation efficiency in ruminants, yet its functional stratification into enterotypes and implications for dairy goats remain unexplored. Here, we identified two distinct gut microbiome enterotypes in 134 lactating dairy goats: TR-cluster (<i>n</i> = 43) was enriched in <i>Turicibacter</i>, <i>Romboutsia</i>, and <i>Clostridium sensu stricto 1</i>, while CO-cluster (<i>n</i> = 91) exhibited higher abundance of <i>Christensenellaceae R-7</i> and <i>Oscillospiraceae UCG-005</i>. Goats in the TR-cluster exhibited higher milk yield, fat-corrected milk yield, and milk fat yield, along with increased concentrations of total volatile fatty acids (VFA), including acetate, propionate, and butyrate in the gut, as well as elevated serum glucose and total bile acids levels. Despite lower microbial diversity, the TR-cluster was functionally enriched in metabolic pathways related to energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and lipid biosynthesis, whereas the CO-cluster showed enrichment in membrane transport and genetic information processing. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed distinct microbial interaction patterns and keystone taxa, with the TR-cluster displaying more complex inter-module connectivity. Moreover, correlation analyses demonstrated that TR-cluster-enriched genera, such as <i>Turicibacter</i> and <i>Romboutsia</i>, were positively associated with enhanced gut fermentation and improved lactation traits. Overall, these findings reveal that gut microbial enterotypes are strongly linked to gut fermentation and lactation traits in dairy goats, offering novel insights for microbiota-targeted strategies to improve ruminant productivity.</p><p><strong>Importance: </strong>Dairy goats are critical for global milk production, yet the gut microbiome-driven mechanisms that underlie individual differences in lactation performance remain largely unknown. To our knowledge, this is the largest cohort study to date that comprehensively characterizes gut microbiome enterotypes in lactating dairy goats and establishes their impact on gut fermentation, host metabolism, and milk production. We identified two distinct enterotypes with different microbial signatures, functional capacities, and ecological structures. Notably, the enterotype dominated by <i>Turicibacter</i>, <i>Romboutsia</i>, and <i>Clostridium sensu stricto 1</i> was associated with improved lactation performance, enhanced VFA production, and beneficial metabolic profiles. The identification of keystone taxa and enterotype-specific microbial interactions offers a new perspective on host-microbiome relationships in ruminants. Our findings lay the foundation for precision microbiome management and targeted interventions to enhance the health and productivity of dairy animals.</p>","PeriodicalId":18670,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology spectrum","volume":" ","pages":"e0136725"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145149964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"PMkbase (version 1.0): an interactive web-based tool for tracking bacterial metabolic traits using phenotype microarrays made interoperable with sequence information and visualizing/processing PM data.","authors":"K Jayanth Krishnan, Ying Hefner, Richard Szubin, Jonathan Monk, David T Pride, Bernhard Palsson","doi":"10.1128/spectrum.03279-24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.03279-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bacteria showcase remarkable metabolic diversity and traits, even among strains of the same species. In recent years, a large number of bacterial genomes have been sequenced, leading to the elucidation and documentation of genomic differences and commonalities across and within species. Genome-scale metabolic reconstructions, which are often defined and curated using data from phenotype microarrays, elucidate the differences in metabolic traits resulting from genomic diversity. These microarrays measure cellular respiration on a variety of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur sources and various stressors and inhibitors over a period of time to determine the metabolic activity of a given strain. Despite their popularity in measuring bacterial metabolic activity and traits, no public databases that allow researchers to warehouse, access, and analyze this information currently exist. Additionally, there are no publicly available tools that allow researchers to view the variance of these metabolic traits across bacterial strains. To address this need, we present Phenotype Microarray Knowledgebase (PMkbase [version 1.0], https://pmkbase.com/), an interactive database that acts as a repository of phenotype microarray (PM) data with integrated sequence information. Binarized activity calls, along with associated kinetic parameters, are made for all metabolic substrates and inhibitors. Users can upload their own data for analysis and visualization and to perform quality checks on their experiments. PMkbase will address an unmet need to track and view bacterial metabolic traits and provide researchers with valuable information to develop metabolic models, enrich pangenomic analyses, and design new experiments.IMPORTANCEBacterial species can be differentiated by their metabolic profiles or the type of nutrients they consume. Interestingly, strains within the same species also display differences in nutrient consumption. Phenotype microarrays are a high-throughput, widely used technology to measure which substrates can be metabolized by various microbial strains and the extent to which inhibitors can affect it. Despite their widespread use, public databases to parse and access this data type at scale do not exist. PMkbase, which contains 9,024 data points for nitrogen substrate utilization, 41,664 data points for carbon substrate utilization, 8,448 data points for phosphorus/sulfur substrate utilization, and 27,264 data points on various antibiotics across three species (<i>Escherichia coli</i>, <i>Pseudomonas putida</i>, and <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>), has been developed to allow researchers to freely access PM data, along with enriching the data with sequence information.</p>","PeriodicalId":18670,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology spectrum","volume":" ","pages":"e0327924"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145150025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bacterial skin colonization with a specific <i>Cutibacterium avidum</i> clade as a risk factor for periprosthetic joint infections-a multicenter study.","authors":"Llanos Salar Vidal, Julia Prinz, Pascal M Frey, Tiziano A Schweizer, Laura Böni, Silvio D Brugger, Holger Brüggemann, Jaime Esteban, Yvonne Achermann","doi":"10.1128/spectrum.00515-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00515-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Cutibacterium avidum</i> is increasingly recognized as a causative agent of periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs), yet data on its pathogenic potential and distinguishing features from commensal strains remain limited. In this multicenter study, we compared 11 <i>C</i>. <i>avidum</i> isolates from PJIs with 32 isolates from healthy skin collected across four European hospitals. We investigated phylogenetic relationships, antibiotic susceptibility, biofilm formation, and bacterial fitness. Phylogenomic analysis revealed two main clades within the <i>C. avidum</i> population. All PJI isolates belonged exclusively to Clade 1, which also included skin isolates. Within Clade 1, gene content analysis showed no consistent genetic differences between PJI and skin isolates. All isolates exhibited moderate to strong biofilm formation, with no significant differences in either data set. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC) values were low and largely concordant, while minimal biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) values were elevated for all antibiotics except rifampin. One isolate was resistant to clindamycin due to the <i>erm(X</i>) gene. Rifampin consistently showed the lowest MIC, minimal bactericidal concentration, MBIC, and MBEC values. Bacterial fitness, assessed via bacterial quantitative fitness analysis, was significantly lower in PJI isolates compared to skin isolates when all strains were analyzed (<i>P</i> = 0.039), but this difference was not statistically significant when restricted to Clade 1. In conclusion, <i>C. avidum</i> isolates are strong biofilm producers irrespective of clinical origin. PJI isolates are restricted to a single phylogenetic clade, yet lack distinct biofilm or fitness traits within that clade, suggesting that multiple Clade 1 strains may have the potential to cause PJIs.IMPORTANCE<i>Cutibacterium avidum</i> has long been considered a skin commensal, but it is increasingly associated with prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). Despite its clinical emergence, little is known about its virulence potential or how invasive strains differ from commensal ones. This multicenter study provides the most comprehensive comparative analysis to date, integrating phenotypic and genomic data from both PJI-associated and skin-derived isolates. We show that all isolates are strong biofilm formers and that invasive isolates exhibit reduced growth fitness-a phenotype linked to persistence and treatment failure in other pathogens. Notably, all PJI isolates belonged to a single phylogenetic clade, suggesting that specific lineages of <i>C. avidum</i> may be more likely to cause infection. These findings help clarify the biology of this emerging pathogen and provide a foundation for improved diagnostics, susceptibility testing, and future infection prevention and treatment strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":18670,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology spectrum","volume":" ","pages":"e0051525"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145149981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Decoding anaerobes: a comprehensive evaluation of MALDI-TOF Sirius and VITEK MS PRIME in clinical settings.","authors":"Maria Florencia Rocca, Paula Etcheverry, Gastón D Angiolo, Monica Prieto","doi":"10.1128/spectrum.01870-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01870-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The timely identification of anaerobic bacteria at the genus and species levels is critical for managing infections and guiding antimicrobial therapy. Matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as a powerful tool for the identification of anaerobic bacteria, overcoming challenges associated with their special culture requirements and low growth rates. This technique has proven to be both reliable and efficient, providing accurate identification with minimal bacterial biomass. The application of MALDI-TOF MS in clinical settings has significantly improved the identification of anaerobic bacteria, facilitating appropriate treatment decisions and enhancing patient outcomes with minor costs. This study evaluates the performance of two MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry platforms: SIRIUS (Bruker Daltonics) and VITEK MS PRIME (bioMérieux), and their latest libraries, using a panel of 60 clinically relevant anaerobic strains validated in IVD databases and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Beyond identification accuracy, we highlight the role of rapid confirmation of anaerobic pathogens in improving clinical outcomes. Results are compared against the existing literature, including performance evaluations of our group, to underscore the advancements in MALDI-TOF technology. MALDI-TOF MS has demonstrated high accuracy in identifying anaerobic bacteria, with a genus identification success rate of over 97%, combined with a precision value of 100% and an overall performance agreement of 73.3%, with some minor discrepancies, so the choice of one or the other platform will depend on the needs of each particular laboratory.IMPORTANCERapid and accurate identification of anaerobic bacteria is essential for guiding antimicrobial therapy and improving patient outcomes, yet it remains challenging due to the organisms' fastidious nature. Matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry has transformed clinical microbiology by enabling high-throughput, cost-effective, and reliable identification of anaerobes. This study provides a head-to-head comparison of two widely used MALDI-TOF platforms-Bruker SIRIUS and VITEK MS PRIME-using a panel of clinically relevant anaerobic strains. By assessing their diagnostic accuracy, reproducibility, and database performance, our results offer practical insights for laboratories selecting a MALDI-TOF system. The findings have direct implications for improving diagnostic workflows, reducing time-to-result, and enhancing antimicrobial stewardship in clinical settings. Furthermore, this work contributes to the development of national resources and tools that support MALDI-TOF-based diagnostics in low- and middle-income settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":18670,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology spectrum","volume":" ","pages":"e0187025"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145138249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"CRISPR/Cas9-compatible plasmids enabling seven dominant genetic selection methods for the human fungal pathogen <i>Cryptococcus neoformans</i>.","authors":"Michael J Boucher, Hiten D Madhani","doi":"10.1128/spectrum.01935-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01935-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Cryptococcus neoformans</i> is the most common cause of human fungal meningitis and an important model system for studying fundamental eukaryotic biology. Genetic manipulation of this organism relies on three dominant drug resistance markers (nourseothricin acetyltransferase [<i>NAT</i>], neomycin phosphotransferase II [<i>NEO</i>], and hygromycin B phosphotransferase [<i>HYG</i>]) and the recyclable dominant prototrophic marker <i>amdS</i>. With ongoing technological advances that are expanding our ability to explore cryptococcal gene function, contemporary studies often require multiple genetic manipulations in the same strain. Additional dominant selection methods would maximize the utility of these tools by facilitating their combinatorial use. Here, we identify blasticidin S resistance via the blasticidin S deaminase (<i>BSD</i>) or blasticidin S resistance (<i>BSR</i>) markers as a novel dominant selection method for <i>C. neoformans</i>. We further validate phleomycin resistance via the bleomycin resistance gene (<i>BLE</i>) marker as an additional selection method, confirming a study that first established this marker 25 years ago (J. Hua, J. D. Meyer, and J. K. Lodge, Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 7:125-128, 2000, https://doi.org/10.1128/cdli.7.1.125-128.2000). To enable highly efficient CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome modification, we incorporated these markers, as well as the newly established dominant prototrophic marker <i>ptxD</i> (M. Khongthongdam, T. Phetruen, and S. Chanarat, Microbiol Spectr 13:e01618-24, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01618-24), into a vector series that enables the construction of fused marker-sgRNA products via PCR. Altogether, this work expands the number of dominant genetic selection methods for <i>C. neoformans</i> to seven, including five drug selection regimes and two prototrophic methods. The vector series has been deposited at Addgene.IMPORTANCE<i>Cryptococcus neoformans</i> is the top-ranked World Health Organization priority fungal pathogen due to its widespread distribution and inadequate treatment options. Additionally, as a basidiomycete yeast occupying an underexplored branch of the fungal kingdom, this organism is a powerful system for deciphering core eukaryotic biology that is absent in classic model fungi. Defining functions for novel cryptococcal genes is a crucial priority, and the availability of additional genetic selection methods would facilitate these efforts. In this study, we establish blasticidin S resistance as a novel genetic selection method for <i>C. neoformans</i>, and we validate a previous report using phleomycin resistance as such. This work expands the number of reliable dominant selection methods to seven, providing flexibility for the introduction of sequential genetic modifications into single strains.</p>","PeriodicalId":18670,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology spectrum","volume":" ","pages":"e0193525"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145138255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Earlier and prolonged respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) seasons in young children compared to adults: implications for prevention in infants.","authors":"Yuan Chao Xue, Natalie Williams-Bouyer, Ping Ren, Janak A Patel","doi":"10.1128/spectrum.01599-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01599-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) poses a major health concern, particularly for young children and older adults. In this 10-year, single-center retrospective study (15 May 2015 to 14 May 2025), we analyzed RSV positivity rates to characterize local epidemiologic trends. When stratified by age, children ≤2 years consistently exhibited the highest positivity rates. Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 3% positivity threshold, we found that the RSV season in the general population in our region began in early July and ended in late December, approximately 3 months earlier than the national average. Among infants ≤2 years, the season lasted 5 weeks longer on average than in the general population. These findings highlight regional variability in RSV seasonality and the earlier onset and extended duration of RSV activity in young children. This age group appeared particularly susceptible and likely played a key role in initiating and sustaining community transmission. Monitoring RSV positivity specifically in children ≤2 years, separate from the general population, may enhance local surveillance accuracy and support more timely decisions regarding RSV immunoprophylaxis and vaccination strategies.</p><p><strong>Importance: </strong>Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major health concern, especially for young children and older adults. In this study, we explored whether different age groups changed the timing of RSV season. This is important because public health guidelines, hospital preparedness, and preventive strategies like antibody prophylaxis and vaccination rely on accurate RSV season timing. By showing how RSV trends differ by age, our findings can help improve seasonality responses and ensure that preventive measures reach high-risk groups, especially infants, at the right time.</p>","PeriodicalId":18670,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology spectrum","volume":" ","pages":"e0159925"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145138201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enrichment and characterization of steroid-degrading microbes for targeted removal of steroid hormone micropollutants in small-scale wastewater treatment solutions.","authors":"Katharina Kujala, Laura Lucia Nübel, Bodo Philipp, Johannes Holert","doi":"10.1128/spectrum.00649-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00649-25","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In remote areas, wastewater treatment typically occurs directly at the source in decentralized systems, which often work well in removing biochemical oxygen demand, nitrogen, and phosphorus, but not micropollutants like pharmaceuticals and steroid hormones. Microorganisms capable of degrading such micropollutants could be used in bioengineered systems to increase micropollutant removal. In this study, bacteria were enriched from municipal wastewater in flow-through reactors supplemented with testosterone (TE), androsta-1,4-dien-3,17-dion (ADD), 17β-estradiol (E2), or 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). The removal of TE and ADD was stable over multiple transfers, and several androgen-degrading &lt;i&gt;Comamonas&lt;/i&gt; strains were isolated. In contrast, the removal of E2 and EE2 was considerably slower, and no estrogen-degrading strains were isolated, suggesting that estrogens were removed mainly by adsorption and precipitation rather than by biological activity. The system's complexity was then increased to approach real-life conditions by increasing reactor size, adding lactate and acetate as alternative carbon sources, and/or sterilized real wastewater and supplementing a hormone mix. Sequencing-based community analysis confirmed &lt;i&gt;Comamonas&lt;/i&gt; as the main androgen degrader in these reactors but did not identify any known estrogen degraders. Alternative carbon, but not real wastewater, reduced hormone removal rates. These results show that (i) efficient androgen-degrading bacteria can be readily isolated using flow-through reactors and low hormone concentrations, while isolation of estrogen degraders is more difficult, (ii) androgen-degrading &lt;i&gt;Comamonas&lt;/i&gt; strains are good candidates for bioaugmentation of small-scale water treatment solutions, and (iii) alternative carbon sources might hinder steroid degradation. This provides a basis to improve steroid removal from wastewater by bioaugmentation to prevent hormone discharge into water bodies.IMPORTANCESteroid hormones are endocrine-disrupting compounds exhibiting adverse effects on humans and the environment even at very low concentrations. Their removal during water treatment is often insufficient, and novel methods are required to increase hormone micropollutant removal from wastewater. This study enriched and isolated steroid hormone-degrading microorganisms in a flow-through system and tested their usability for bioaugmentation of small-scale water treatment solutions. While removal of estrogen hormones was found to be mainly abiotic, efficient biological androgen degradation was achieved. The combined results show that flow-through reactors, along with appropriate surface materials, are suitable for isolating biofilm-forming and hormone-degrading bacteria and that these microbes can be used for bioaugmentation to remove low concentrations of steroid hormones from wastewater. Based on these results, recommendations for future enrichment studies for bioaugmentation are formulated, and potential","PeriodicalId":18670,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology spectrum","volume":" ","pages":"e0064925"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145138258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dynamic airborne mycobiome in the metropolitan city transit system is driven by seasonality and station type.","authors":"Xin Zhou, Da Li, Xiao-Wei Lu, Clement K M Tsui, Supawadee Ingsriswang, Jun-Min Liang, Lei Cai","doi":"10.1128/spectrum.01626-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01626-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Subway transit systems serve as the primary transportation mode in metropolitan areas. The quality of the airway in transit plays a crucial role in human health as commuters and workers are exposed to microbes transmitted from passengers and circulated within built environments. The diversity and dynamics of bacterial microbiome in these environments have been relatively well studied. However, the fungal communities remain poorly investigated. In this study, we conducted a year-long comprehensive investigation of the mycobiomes within the world's second largest subway system and analyzed the seasonal dynamics of fungal composition across intercity hub stations, urban hub stations, and suburban stations. We found a high diversity of the subway mycobiome that varied seasonally and was influenced by various environmental factors, such as particulate matter (PM2.5) levels and average humidity. Fungal diversity was higher in months with elevated PM2.5 pollution. Autumn exhibited increased diversity and peaks in the distribution of human pathogenic fungi. Furthermore, it was determined that station types exert a significant influence on the diversity of pathogenic fungi, with interchange stations (train and airport transfer stations) showing the highest diversity, while suburban stations showed the lowest. The core taxa of the mycobiome comprised several genera including ubiquitous fungi commonly found in soil and outdoor environments (e.g., <i>Alternaria</i> and <i>Cladosporium</i>), as well as potential plant and human pathogens (e.g., <i>Phoma</i> and <i>Fusarium</i>), indicating a potential risk to public health. Our study demonstrated the seasonal and spatial dynamics of mycobiomes in the Beijing subway system and revealed the factors/mechanisms that shape the indoor fungal communities. Understanding the patterns and processes of mycobiome community is important for infection prevention and public health management.</p><p><strong>Importance: </strong>Respiratory infections and allergic reactions caused by airborne fungi have received considerable public attention; however, fungal communities remain poorly investigated. This research performed the first year-long investigation of airborne mycobiome in the world's largest subway system. We found that the fungal diversity peaks in autumn and at stations with higher PM2.5 levels. Intercity hubs exhibit the highest diversity of pathogenic fungi and the least seasonal fluctuation. Suburban stations revealed a reduced diversity of human pathogens but an elevated presence of plant pathogens. Core fungal taxa in subways include both common soil fungi (e.g., <i>Alternaria</i> and <i>Cladosporium</i>) and potential plant and human pathogens (e.g., <i>Phoma</i>, <i>Fusarium</i>, and <i>Rhinocladiella</i>) that pose potential health risks. These results are crucial for infection prevention and public health management in city transit systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":18670,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology spectrum","volume":" ","pages":"e0162625"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145138253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"<i>In situ</i> Raman spectroscopic relative quantitative analysis of sulfur metabolic dynamics in deep-sea microorganisms.","authors":"Wanying He, Ruining Cai, Xiaoxiao Guo, Yitong Zhang, Lianfu Li, Shichuan Xi, Zengfeng Du, Zhendong Luan, Jintao Zhuo, Chaomin Sun, Xin Zhang","doi":"10.1128/spectrum.02059-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.02059-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Deciphering dynamic regulation of microbial sulfur metabolism in deep-sea environments is critical for understanding global biogeochemical cycles and climate feedback mechanisms. Current analytical approaches face limitations in achieving quantitative, <i>in situ</i> visualization of microbial metabolic processes, including susceptibility to environmental interference during sampling and analysis, leading to impaired data accuracy. This study developed an innovative method based on confocal Raman spectroscopy utilizing nitrogen as an internal standard for metabolite quantification. Taking sulfate, which is a major component of seawater and essential for the sulfur cycle, as a model, we quantified it in solid medium and monitored the <i>in situ</i> metabolic processes of deep-sea <i>Erythrobacter flavus</i> 21-3. The non-invasive technique revealed previously unrecognized light-dependent differences in microbial metabolic patterns between deep-sea and laboratory conditions through spectral visualization and relative quantification. We found that natural light exposure promoted sulfate production and enhanced zero-valent sulfur (cyclooctasulfur S₈) accumulation near the surface, accompanied by co-enrichment of carotenoids, suggesting the presence of light-driven sulfur metabolic processes. In contrast, dark conditions favored S₈ storage in the subsurface layers, potentially supported by abundant internal organic carbon sources as energy reserves. These findings may provide new insights into photo-regulated sulfur transformation mechanisms. Our approach establishes an analytical framework for <i>in situ</i> quantitative investigation of microbially mediated elemental cycling processes.IMPORTANCEMicrobial sulfur metabolism in the deep ocean is critical to global biogeochemical cycles, yet its regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood, largely due to methodological limitations. In this study, we introduce an innovative non-invasive, quantitative approach using confocal Raman spectroscopy with molecular nitrogen (N₂) as an internal standard, overcoming major obstacles in real-time metabolic monitoring. Our results demonstrate light-dependent adaptations in sulfur metabolism among deep-sea bacteria, unveiling previously unrecognized photo-regulated sulfur transformations that refine our understanding of microbial ecological strategies in these environments. The established analytical framework provides a versatile platform for <i>in situ</i> investigation of microbial-driven elemental cycling across diverse extreme ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":18670,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology spectrum","volume":" ","pages":"e0205925"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145138284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}