Microbial EcologyPub Date : 2025-02-12DOI: 10.1007/s00248-024-02482-0
Isabella C V Argentino, Mateus G Godoy, Lucy Seldin, Diogo Jurelevicius
{"title":"Distribution of Bacillota in Water and Sediments from Aquatic Environments.","authors":"Isabella C V Argentino, Mateus G Godoy, Lucy Seldin, Diogo Jurelevicius","doi":"10.1007/s00248-024-02482-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-024-02482-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The phylum Bacillota comprises metabolically diverse bacteria with potential relevance in several fields. Although some genera, such as Bacillus and others, have been extensively studied, the distribution of Bacillota in the environment is still poorly understood. This study aimed to analyze the distribution of Bacillota present in water and sediment samples from different environments. For this purpose, water (W) and sediment (S) samples were collected from different marine environments (Dois Rios Beach - DR, Abraão Beach - AB, Massambaba Beach - MB, and Guanabara Bay - GB), freshwater lagoons (Jacarepiá Lagoon- JL) and hypersaline lagoons (Vermelha Lagoon - VL), all of which are located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The microbial communities present in each sample were determined by sequencing 16S rRNA-encoding genes. The distribution and diversity of Bacillota were analyzed via QIIME2. The results revealed that Bacillota represented an average of 1% of the microbial community of aquatic microbiomes and were unevenly distributed in aquatic water and sediment. The highest abundances of Bacillota were detected in JL_S and VL_S, and the lowest abundances were observed in MB_W and AB_W. Only sequences related to the Bacilli and Clostridia classes were identified. The main Bacillota genera identified were Bacillus and an unidentified Clostridiales order genus. The VL_S and JL_S samples had the highest numbers of exclusive Bacillota genera. On the other hand, 15 Bacillota genera, which are generally observed in the human and animal guts, were found only in anthropogenically impacted GB_W and AB_W. The obtained results revealed how Bacillota are distributed in different aquatic environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":"88 1","pages":"3"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11821768/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143399206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Microbial EcologyPub Date : 2025-02-06DOI: 10.1007/s00248-025-02500-9
Speranza Claudia Panico, Giorgio Alberti, Alessandro Foscari, Giovanni Luca Sciabbarrasi, Antonio Tomao, Guido Incerti
{"title":"Bacterial and Fungal Communities Respond Differently to Changing Soil Properties Along Afforestation Dynamic.","authors":"Speranza Claudia Panico, Giorgio Alberti, Alessandro Foscari, Giovanni Luca Sciabbarrasi, Antonio Tomao, Guido Incerti","doi":"10.1007/s00248-025-02500-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-025-02500-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Spontaneous afforestation following land abandonment has been increasingly recognized as a nature-based solution to mitigate climate change and provide measurable benefits to biodiversity. However, afforestation effects on biodiversity, particularly on soil microbial communities, are still poorly characterized, with most previous studies focusing on artificial plantations rather than forest rewilding dynamics. Here, we assessed changes in topsoil physical-chemical properties and related dynamics of bacterial and fungal community composition and structure following spontaneous afforestation of abandoned grasslands in Northeast Italy over the last 70 years. With a space-for-time approach, we selected four chronosequences representing different successional stages: grassland, early (2000-2020), intermediate (1978-2000), and late (1954-1978). Results showed that spontaneous afforestation progressively reduced topsoil pH and total phosphorus (P), while soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrogen (N), and C:N ratio increased. Correspondingly, the overall α-diversity of the fungal community, assessed by ITS DNA metabarcoding, progressively decreased after an initial increase from grassland conditions, following substrate acidification and trophic specialization. Bacterial diversity, assessed by 16S DNA metabarcoding, was highest at the initial stages, then progressively decreased at later stages, likely limited by lower organic matter quality. Shifts of fungal community composition included an increase of ectomycorrhizal Basidiomycota linked to topsoil's higher SOC, N, and C:N ratio. Differently, bacterial community composition responded substantially to pH, with topsoil acidity favoring Proteobacteria (Pseudomonadota) and Acidobacteria (Acidobacteriota) at the late afforestation stages. Our findings provide a first contribution to clarify how fungi and bacteria respond to spontaneous afforestation. This is particularly relevant in the context of climate change mitigation, considering the fundamental role of microorganisms in shaping soil carbon storage dynamics.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":"88 1","pages":"2"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11799125/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143255847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Microbial EcologyPub Date : 2025-01-31DOI: 10.1007/s00248-025-02499-z
Yingying Zhou, Pan Jiang, Yuanyuan Ding, Yuping Zhang, Sha Yang, Xinhua Liu, Chunxin Cao, Gongwen Luo, Lijun Ou
{"title":"Deciphering the Distinct Associations of Rhizospheric and Endospheric Microbiomes with Capsicum Plant Pathological Status.","authors":"Yingying Zhou, Pan Jiang, Yuanyuan Ding, Yuping Zhang, Sha Yang, Xinhua Liu, Chunxin Cao, Gongwen Luo, Lijun Ou","doi":"10.1007/s00248-025-02499-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-025-02499-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Exploring endospheric and rhizospheric microbiomes and their associations can help us to understand the pathological status of capsicum (Capsicum annuum L.) for implementing appropriate management strategies. To elucidate the differences among plants with distinct pathological status in the communities and functions of the endospheric and rhizospheric microbiomes, the samples of healthy and diseased capsicum plants, along with their rhizosphere soils, were collected from a long-term cultivation field. The results indicated a higher bacterial richness in the healthy rhizosphere than in the diseased rhizosphere (P < 0.05), with rhizospheric bacterial diversity surpassing endospheric bacterial diversity. The community assemblies of both the endospheric and rhizospheric microbiomes were driven by a combination of stochastic and deterministic processes, with the stochastic processes playing a primary role. The majority of co-enriched taxa in the healthy endophyte and rhizosphere mainly belonged to bacterial Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes, as well as fungal Ascomycota. Most of the bacterial indicators, primarily Alphaproteobacteria and Actinobacteria, were enriched in the healthy rhizosphere, but not in the diseased rhizosphere. In addition, most of the fungal indicators were enriched in both the healthy and diseased endosphere. The diseased endophyte constituted a less complex and stable microbial community than the healthy endophyte, and meanwhile, the diseased rhizosphere exhibited a higher complexity but lower stability than the healthy rhizosphere. Notably, only a microbial function, namely biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites, was higher in the healthy endophytes than in the diseased endophyte. These findings indicated the distinct responses of rhizospheric and endospheric microbiomes to capsicum pathological status, and in particular, provided a new insight into leveraging soil and plant microbial resources to enhance agriculture production.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":"88 1","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11785608/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143075262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Microbial EcologyPub Date : 2025-01-30DOI: 10.1007/s00248-025-02496-2
Gonzalo Contreras-Negrete, Alfonso Valiente-Banuet, Francisco Molina-Freaner, Laila P Partida-Martínez, Antonio Hernández-López
{"title":"Agricultural Practices and Environmental Factors Drive Microbial Communities in the Mezcal-Producing Agave angustifolia Haw.","authors":"Gonzalo Contreras-Negrete, Alfonso Valiente-Banuet, Francisco Molina-Freaner, Laila P Partida-Martínez, Antonio Hernández-López","doi":"10.1007/s00248-025-02496-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-025-02496-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mezcal, a traditional Mexican alcoholic beverage, has been a vital source of livelihood for indigenous and rural communities for centuries. However, increasing international demand is exerting pressure on natural resources and encouraging intensive agricultural practices. This study investigates the impact of management practices (wild, traditional, and conventional) and environmental factors on the microbial communities associated with Agave angustifolia, a key species in mezcal production. High-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA and ITS2 gene regions revealed distinct prokaryotic and fungal community structures across different plant compartments (endosphere, episphere, and soil), identifying 8214 prokaryotic and 7459 fungal ASVs. Core microbial communities were dominated by Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota. Alpha diversity analyses showed significant increases in prokaryotic diversity from the endosphere to soil, while fungal diversity remained stable. Notably, conventional management practices were associated with reductions in beneficial microbial taxa. Environmental factors such as precipitation and temperature significantly influenced microbial diversity and composition, especially in the rhizosphere. Beta diversity patterns underscored the strong impact of plant compartment, with management practices and aridity further shaping microbial communities. These results reveal the intricate interactions between management practices, environmental conditions, and microbial diversity, providing valuable insights for the sustainable cultivation of A. angustifolia.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":"87 1","pages":"181"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11779764/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143066756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Microbial EcologyPub Date : 2025-01-28DOI: 10.1007/s00248-025-02498-0
Mai Ali Mwaheb, Basant Mohamed Abd El-Aziz, Basma T Abd-Elhalim, Nabil Abo El-Kassim, Tharwat E E Radwan
{"title":"Correction to: Study of Different Cultivated Plants Rhizosphere Soil Fungi-Mediated Pectinase: Insights into Production, Optimization, Purification, Biocompatibility, and Application.","authors":"Mai Ali Mwaheb, Basant Mohamed Abd El-Aziz, Basma T Abd-Elhalim, Nabil Abo El-Kassim, Tharwat E E Radwan","doi":"10.1007/s00248-025-02498-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-025-02498-0","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":"87 1","pages":"180"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11774972/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143052867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Microbial EcologyPub Date : 2025-01-27DOI: 10.1007/s00248-025-02497-1
Qian Li, Hua Shao
{"title":"The Role of Pathogens in Plant Invasion: Accumulation of Local Pathogens Hypothesis.","authors":"Qian Li, Hua Shao","doi":"10.1007/s00248-025-02497-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-025-02497-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In the past decades, dozens of invasion hypotheses have been proposed to elucidate the invasion mechanisms of exotic species. Among them, the accumulation of local pathogens hypothesis (ALPH) posits that invasive plants can accumulate local generalist pathogens that have more negative effect on native species than on themselves; as a result, invasive plants might gain competitive advantages that eventually lead to their invasion success. However, research on this topic is still quite insufficient. In this context, we performed a comprehensive literature survey in order to provide a detailed description of the origin and theoretical framework of ALPH; in addition, challenges in contemporary research such as limitations in technical methods and the complexity of interactions between plants and soil microorganisms, as well as future directions of ALPH research, are also discussed in this review. So far, there are less than ten case studies supporting ALPH; therefore, more work is needed to demonstrate whether ALPH is a suitable hypothesis to elucidate the invasion success of certain plant species.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":"87 1","pages":"178"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11772390/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143053022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Microbial EcologyPub Date : 2025-01-27DOI: 10.1007/s00248-025-02495-3
Pierre-Louis Stenger, Aline Tribollet, François Guilhaumon, Pascale Cuet, Gwenaelle Pennober, Philippe Jourand
{"title":"A Multimarker Approach to Identify Microbial Bioindicators for Coral Reef Health Monitoring-Case Study in La Réunion Island.","authors":"Pierre-Louis Stenger, Aline Tribollet, François Guilhaumon, Pascale Cuet, Gwenaelle Pennober, Philippe Jourand","doi":"10.1007/s00248-025-02495-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-025-02495-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The marine microbiome arouses an increasing interest, aimed at better understanding coral reef biodiversity, coral resilience, and identifying bioindicators of ecosystem health. The present study is a microbiome mining of three environmentally contrasted sites along the Hermitage fringing reef of La Réunion Island (Western Indian Ocean). This mining aims to identify bioindicators of reef health to assist managers in preserving the fringing reefs of La Réunion. The watersheds of the fringing reefs are small, steeply sloped, and are impacted by human activities with significant land use changes and hydrological modifications along the coast and up to mid-altitudes. Sediment, seawater, and coral rubble were sampled in austral summer and winter at each site. For each compartment, bacterial, fungal, microalgal, and protist communities were characterized by high throughput DNA sequencing methodology. Results show that the reef microbiome composition varied greatly with seasons and reef compartments, but variations were different among targeted markers. No significant variation among sites was observed. Relevant bioindicators were highlighted per taxonomic groups such as the Firmicutes:Bacteroidota ratio (8.4%:7.0%), the genera Vibrio (25.2%) and Photobacterium (12.5%) dominating bacteria; the Ascomycota:Basidiomycota ratio (63.1%:36.1%), the genera Aspergillus (40.9%) and Cladosporium (16.2%) dominating fungi; the genus Ostreobium (81.5%) in Chlorophyta taxon for microalgae; and the groups of Dinoflagellata (63.3%) and Diatomea (22.6%) within the protista comprising two dominant genera: Symbiodinium (41.7%) and Pelagodinium (27.8%). This study highlights that the identified bioindicators, mainly in seawater and sediment reef compartments, could be targeted by reef conservation stakeholders to better monitor La Réunion Island's reef state of health and to improve management plans.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":"87 1","pages":"179"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11772467/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143052834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Forest Soil pH and Dissolved Organic Matter Aromaticity Are Distinct Drivers for Soil Microbial Community and Carbon Metabolism Potential.","authors":"Zongxiao Zhang, Qiang Zhang, Xue Guo, Zhenzhong Zeng, Yinghui Wang, Peng Zhang, Dengzhou Gao, Guisen Deng, Guodong Sun, Yuanxi Yang, Junjian Wang","doi":"10.1007/s00248-025-02493-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-025-02493-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ecological niche separation of microbial interactions in forest ecosystems is critical to maintaining ecological balance and biodiversity and has yet to be comprehensively explored in microbial ecology. This study investigated the impacts of soil properties on microbial interactions and carbon metabolism potential in forest soils across 67 sites in China. Using redundancy analysis and random forest models, we identified soil pH and dissolved organic matter (DOM) aromaticity as the primary drivers of microbial interactions, representing abiotic conditions and resource niches, respectively. Our network comparison results highlighted significant differences in microbial interactions between acidic and non-acidic soils, suggesting the critical influences of abiotic conditions on microbial interactions. Conversely, abiotic resource niches played a more pivotal role in shaping the carbon metabolism of soil microbes, supporting the concept that resource niche-based processes drive microbial carbon cycling. Additionally, we demonstrated that microbial interactions contributed significantly to ecosystem function stability and served as potential ecological indicators of microbial functional resilience under environmental stress. These insights emphasize the critical need to preserve microbial interactions for effective forest ecosystem management and projection of ecological outcomes in response to future environmental changes.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":"87 1","pages":"177"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11772527/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143052871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Microbial EcologyPub Date : 2025-01-24DOI: 10.1007/s00248-025-02489-1
Zanovello Lucia, Galla Giulio, Girardi Matteo, Casari Stefano, Lo Presti Irene, Pedrini Paolo, Bertorelle Giorgio, Heidi C Hauffe
{"title":"More Than Meets the Eye: Unraveling the Interactions Between Skin Microbiota and Habitat in an Opportunistic Amphibian.","authors":"Zanovello Lucia, Galla Giulio, Girardi Matteo, Casari Stefano, Lo Presti Irene, Pedrini Paolo, Bertorelle Giorgio, Heidi C Hauffe","doi":"10.1007/s00248-025-02489-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-025-02489-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>With amphibians still holding the record as the most threatened class of terrestrial vertebrates, their skin microbiota has been shown to play a relevant role in their survival in a fast-changing world. Yet little is known about how abiotic factors associated with different aquatic habitats impact these skin microorganisms. Here we chose the yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata), a small anuran that colonizes a wide range of wetland habitats, to investigate how the diversity and composition of both its bacterial and fungal skin communities vary across different habitats and with water characteristics (temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen) of these habitats. Skin microbiota was sampled from 14 sites in the Province of Trento (Italy), including natural pools, ephemeral ponds, irrigation tanks, and farm ponds. Interestingly, the diversity of the two microbial components was also highly correlated. Close associations between both the diversity and composition of water and skin communities were noted for each habitat and sampling site, suggesting that water bodies actively contribute to the skin microbiota assemblage. In addition, water pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen affected both bacterial and fungal diversity of skin. We confirmed the presence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in skin samples of animals collected from eight waterbodies, as well as more than 60 microbial taxa previously associated with resistance to this pathogen. We concluded that both skin bacterial and fungal communities appear to be influenced by each other as well as by environmental communities and conditions, and these relationships connecting the whole ecosystem should be considered in future research concerning amphibian conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":"87 1","pages":"176"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11761533/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143033700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Microbial EcologyPub Date : 2025-01-22DOI: 10.1007/s00248-025-02491-7
Claudia Teso-Pérez, Areli López-Gazcón, Juan Manuel Peralta-Sánchez, Manuel Martínez-Bueno, Eva Valdivia, María Esther Fárez-Vidal, Antonio M Martín-Platero
{"title":"Bacteriocin-Producing Enterococci Modulate Cheese Microbial Diversity.","authors":"Claudia Teso-Pérez, Areli López-Gazcón, Juan Manuel Peralta-Sánchez, Manuel Martínez-Bueno, Eva Valdivia, María Esther Fárez-Vidal, Antonio M Martín-Platero","doi":"10.1007/s00248-025-02491-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00248-025-02491-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cheese production involves various lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that break down lactose, milk proteins, and fats, producing key nutrients and influencing the cheese's flavor. They form communities that play a crucial role in determining the cheese's organoleptic properties. The composition of cheeses' microbial communities is shaped by physicochemical factors (e.g., temperature, pH, and salinity) and biological factors (i.e. microbial interactions). While starter cultures are introduced to control these communities, non-starter LAB represent a significant portion of the final microbial assemblage, but their interactions remain unclear. LAB often produce bacteriocins, antimicrobial peptides that antagonize other bacteria, but their role within LAB communities is not fully understood. This study aimed to assess the impact of bacteriocin production on LAB diversity in cheese, using Enterococcus as a model organism, a common bacteriocin producer. We analyzed enterocin production of enterococcal isolates by antimicrobial assays and microbial diversity differences in raw milk cheeses by two approaches: 16S RNA gene amplicon metagenomic sequencing for the whole microbial community and multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA) for the enterococcal diversity. Our results revealed that LAB communities were dominated by lactococci, lactobacilli, and streptococci, with enterococci present in lower numbers. However, cheeses containing bacteriocin-producing enterococci exhibited higher microbial diversity. Interestingly, the highest diversity occurred at low levels of bacteriocin producers, but this effect was not observed within enterococcal populations. These findings suggest that bacteriocin production plays a key role in shaping LAB communities during cheese ripening, although further research is needed to understand its broader implications in other microbial ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":18708,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Ecology","volume":"87 1","pages":"175"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11750935/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143008541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}