{"title":"Correction to A Single-Plasmid Inducible-Replication System for High-Yield Production of Short Ff (f1, M13 or fd)-Phage-Derived Nanorods","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/1751-7915.70192","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70192","url":null,"abstract":"<p>León-Quezada, R. I., M. G. Miró, S. Khanum, A. J. Sutherland-Smith, V. A. M. Gold, and J. Rakonjac. 2025. Microbial Biotechnology, 18: e70113. https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70113</p><p>In Supplementary Information file <i>mbt270113-sup-0001-supinfo.docx</i>, the image (graphics) of Fig. S6 on P7 is incorrect.</p><p>We apologise for this error.</p>","PeriodicalId":209,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Biotechnology","volume":"18 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1751-7915.70192","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144573323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Giulia Longhi, Silvia Petraro, Christian Milani, Chiara Tarracchini, Chiara Argentini, Laura Maria Vergna, Gabriele Andrea Lugli, Leonardo Mancabelli, Ciaran Lee, Francesca Turroni, Douwe van Sinderen, Marco Ventura
{"title":"Genetic Characterisation of the upp Gene in Bifidobacterium bifidum PRL2010","authors":"Giulia Longhi, Silvia Petraro, Christian Milani, Chiara Tarracchini, Chiara Argentini, Laura Maria Vergna, Gabriele Andrea Lugli, Leonardo Mancabelli, Ciaran Lee, Francesca Turroni, Douwe van Sinderen, Marco Ventura","doi":"10.1111/1751-7915.70189","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70189","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Bifidobacteria are key members of the human gut, especially during infancy. The ability of bifidobacteria to outcompete other members of the microbial communities encountered in this highly competitive human gut environment represents a key example of their evolutionary and ecological success. In the current report, we investigated the highly conserved bifidobacterial <i>upp</i> gene, which encodes the uracil phosphoribosyltransferase and which is involved in the pyrimidine salvage pathway. Phylogenetic analysis incorporating 107 bifidobacterial <i>upp</i> sequences, representing all currently known <i>Bifidobacterium</i> taxa, indicates that this gene followed an evolutionary route that apparently deviates from that of the 16S rRNA gene. In addition, the <i>upp</i> gene may support bifidobacterial survival in environments with limited uracil availability, potentially providing a competitive advantage under nutrient-restricted conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":209,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Biotechnology","volume":"18 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1751-7915.70189","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144573327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhanced Urea Production in the Diazotroph Azotobacter vinelandii as a Means of Stable Nitrogen Biofertiliser Production","authors":"Brett M. Barney, Benjamin R. Dietz","doi":"10.1111/1751-7915.70187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70187","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Diazotrophic microbes capture atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into ammonia using the enzyme nitrogenase in a process that provides much of the fixed nitrogen that is required to sustain life in the biosphere. The advent of the Haber Bosch industrial process in the 20th century ushered in an age when agricultural productivity could circumvent the constraints of biological nitrogen fixation, leading to higher productivity based on chemical fertilisers. This industrial process now provides a substantial amount of the nitrogen that we apply to crops, but comes with a large environmental and economic cost. In contrast, biological nitrogen fixation still contributes nitrogen to crops and has the potential to displace some of the industrial nitrogen if we can engineer methods to increase nitrogen levels that are provided to the plant or develop stronger associations between diazotrophs and nonlegume plants. Many of the processes scientists have employed to enhance the nitrogen production by diazotrophs to develop improved biofertilisers have focused on delivering nitrogen in the form of ammonium. In this report, we describe an alternative approach that provides the nitrogen as urea in the form of a terminal product. Using the model diazotroph <i>Azotobacter vinelandii</i> and a three-step approach that deletes the native urease, incorporates a functional arginase and overcomes the feedback inhibition of the arginine biosynthesis pathway, we have increased levels of urea that could be obtained from previous approaches by approximately 43-fold. Our results demonstrate the ability to support the growth of a green alga with these engineered strains and yield total extracellular nitrogen that is comparable to what has been achieved with ammonium.</p>","PeriodicalId":209,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Biotechnology","volume":"18 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1751-7915.70187","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144573325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Benjamin Fritz, Christian Jonas Lapp, Johannes Gescher
{"title":"Influence of Different Transposon Families on Genomic Stability of Shewanella oneidensis MR1","authors":"Benjamin Fritz, Christian Jonas Lapp, Johannes Gescher","doi":"10.1111/1751-7915.70188","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70188","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>Shewanella oneidensis</i>, recognised as an important model organism for exoelectrogenic electron transport, has been extensively studied for its potential applications in bioelectrochemical systems. To date, the activity of transposable elements in this organism has not been conclusively investigated. This study focused on transposases, specifically insertion sequences (IS), which make up approximately 4.7% of the organism's genome, and evaluated their impact on genome stability under stress conditions. Using whole genome sequencing, two IS families, ISSOD1 and ISSOD2, were identified as the most active, both showing similar transposition patterns across all tested stressors. A CRISPR/dCas9 cytosine deaminase system was used to introduce stop codons in the ISSOD2 transposase genes, resulting in a significant reduction of transposition events under stress conditions. Analysis of transposition patterns revealed a high frequency of insertions occurring on the megaplasmid, which predominantly carries non-essential genes. Experiments performed here to delete the megaplasmid resulted in the elimination of approximately 35% of its sequence, including an unexpected complete loss of the ori/repA region. Therefore, it was hypothesised that the megaplasmid either exists in a metastable state, possibly representing a cointegrated intermediate within the ISSOD9 (Tn3 member) transposition mechanism, or consists of two replicons that have been combined in previous assemblies due to long overlapping homologies resulting from the presence of ISSOD9. These findings highlight the dynamics of transposable elements in <i>S. oneidensis</i> and suggest strategies to improve strain stability by inactivating these elements and at least reducing megaplasmid sequences. Such approaches could improve the suitability of the organism for industrial applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":209,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Biotechnology","volume":"18 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1751-7915.70188","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144573324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development of Dual ‘RT-LAMP-LFA’ Rapid Detection Technology With Gold Magnetic Nanoparticles for Influenza Virus","authors":"Haiyang Fan, Yonglong Gong, Mengying Chang, Juan Gao, Mengjia Li, Siyu Chen, Ruoyi Yang, Muxue Zhao, Yali Cui, Wenli Hui","doi":"10.1111/1751-7915.70169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70169","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Seasonal and persistent outbreaks of influenza viruses represent a significant challenge to global public health. Rapid, convenient and accurate diagnosis methods of influenza viruses are crucial for timely treatment to mitigate morbidity and mortality during both seasonal epidemics and pandemics. However, current diagnostic tools often face limitations in speed, accuracy or complexity of result interpretation; there is a great need for more efficient detection technology for influenza virus, especially for use in resource-limited settings or during large-scale outbreaks. This study developed a dual ‘RT-LAMP-LFA’ detection technology with gold magnetic nanoparticles for influenza virus. This method can simultaneously detect influenza A and B genes as well as internal reference genes within 35 min, with a detection limit of 80 copies/mL. This is the first time the RNase P gene has been introduced into a gold magnetic nanoparticle lateral flow assay system as a quality control measure to monitor the entire sampling and amplification process in virus detection and reveals the effects of loop primer deficiencies on the stability of the dual ‘RT-LAMP-LFA’ detection technology. Using fluorescent PCR detection technology as a benchmark, the analysis of a total of 70 clinical samples demonstrated a 100% agreement rate, confirming the applicability and accuracy of the dual ‘RT-LAMP-LFA’ detection system. This dual ‘RT-LAMP-LFA’ detection technology offers a novel option for diagnostic technology in hierarchical medical testing, presenting significant social importance and broad application prospects.</p>","PeriodicalId":209,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Biotechnology","volume":"18 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1751-7915.70169","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144367282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yan-Fang Nie, Sheng-Jie Yue, Peng Huang, Xue-Hong Zhang, Xiang-Rui Hao, Lian Jiang, Hong-Bo Hu
{"title":"Investigations of the Flavin-Dependent Monooxygenase PhzO Involved in Phenazine Biosynthesis","authors":"Yan-Fang Nie, Sheng-Jie Yue, Peng Huang, Xue-Hong Zhang, Xiang-Rui Hao, Lian Jiang, Hong-Bo Hu","doi":"10.1111/1751-7915.70186","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70186","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Phenazines are bioactive secondary metabolites with antifungal, anticancer, and insecticidal properties, while hydroxylated derivatives often exhibit enhanced bioactivity. 2-hydroxyphenazine (2-OH-PHZ), which is synthesised by the flavin-dependent monooxygenase PhzO from phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA), shows better bioactivity against the pathogenic fungus <i>Gaeumannomyces graminis</i> vars. <i>tritici</i>. However, the low catalytic efficiency (10%–20% conversion) of PhzO limited 2-OH-PHZ production. To boost PhzO activity, engineering flavin reductase (Fre)-mediated FADH<sub>2</sub> regeneration was applied to <i>Pseudomonas chlororaphis</i> LX24AE. Remarkably, this approach improved catalytic efficiency from 25% to 40% and increased the production of a novel dihydroxylated derivative. Then, it was first characterised by UPLC-MS and NMR, and identified as 3,4-dihydroxyphenazine-1-carboxylic acid (3,4-OH-PCA). Next, the Fre-PhzO module through heterologous co-expression in <i>P. putida</i> KT2440 demonstrated a 4.5-fold enhancement in hydroxylation efficiency relative to the PhzO mono-component system, which also confirmed that PhzO and flavin reductase are essential for 3,4-OH-PCA biosynthesis. Moreover, in vitro assays further verified that PhzO exhibits FAD-dependent catalytic promiscuity, simultaneously generating 2-OH-PCA and 3,4-OH-PCA. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo assay<i>s</i> demonstrated that substrate concentration affected the distribution of products. Finally, cytotoxicity evaluation of the isolated 3,4-OH-PCA was performed, and it showed substantial inhibition against oesophageal cancer TE-1 cells and human cervical cancer HeLa cells with an IC<sub>50</sub> value of 8.55 μM and 17.69 μM, respectively. This work redefines PhzO as a promiscuous biocatalyst capable of dual hydroxylation, offering a modular platform for engineering bioactive phenazine derivatives.</p>","PeriodicalId":209,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Biotechnology","volume":"18 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1751-7915.70186","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144331833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Opinion on Biofilms as Production Systems","authors":"Carmen Mandel, Miriam Edel, Johannes Gescher","doi":"10.1111/1751-7915.70182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70182","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Biofilm-based production systems offer enhanced robustness, higher biomass densities and improved genetic stability compared to traditional stirred tank reactors, presenting promising alternatives for sustainable, efficient biotechnological manufacturing despite challenges in reactor design and process control.\u0000 <figure>\u0000 <div><picture>\u0000 <source></source></picture><p></p>\u0000 </div>\u0000 </figure></p>","PeriodicalId":209,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Biotechnology","volume":"18 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1751-7915.70182","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144323576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yanting Cao, Yaokang Wu, Xueqin Lv, Jianghua Li, Long Liu, Guocheng Du, Jian Chen, Yanfeng Liu
{"title":"Reduced Genetic Heterogeneity for Stable Bioproduction by Harnessing the Bias and Mechanism of Mutation","authors":"Yanting Cao, Yaokang Wu, Xueqin Lv, Jianghua Li, Long Liu, Guocheng Du, Jian Chen, Yanfeng Liu","doi":"10.1111/1751-7915.70162","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70162","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Microbial bioproduction is an important approach to realising green biomanufacturing. However, poor bioproduction stability caused by genetic heterogeneity is one of the important factors limiting its industrial-scale applications. Here, two methods have been developed to reduce genetic heterogeneity in <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>. SiteMuB (the site-dependent mutation bias) was proposed to enable stable genome integration expression by analysing the spontaneous mutation rate of the same DNA sequences integrated at different genome sites. Additionally, robustly growing chassis with low mutation rates (ChassisLMR) were developed by deleting unstable elements and enhancing DNA repair. These methods were then employed to improve the production stability of small molecule metabolites and proteins. In <i>N</i>-acetylneuraminic acid production, after 76 generations of cell division, corresponding to the number of cell generations required for > 200-m<sup>3</sup> industrial-scale production, strains with SiteMuB and ChassisLMR achieved 15.9-fold and 11.1-fold higher titres than that of the starting strain, respectively. Moreover, by improving the genetic stability of burdensome T7RNAP, combining SiteMuB with ChassisLMR stably maintained the T7 expression system for up to 74 generations, representing a 2.1-fold improvement. Furthermore, ChassisLMR improved the production stability of GFP on the plasmids by 1.38-fold. Overall, SiteMuB and ChassisLMR provide broadly applicable and highly efficient ways to achieve stable bioproduction by reducing genetic heterogeneity.</p>","PeriodicalId":209,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Biotechnology","volume":"18 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1751-7915.70162","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144315210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chang Yu, Wenjing Hu, Xiaoyu Li, Yu Lei, Dandan Gao, Meng Wang, Ping Zheng, Yan Zhu, Jibin Sun
{"title":"Elucidating the Mechanism of Temporal Adaptation to Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Oxidative Stress in Corynebacterium glutamicum","authors":"Chang Yu, Wenjing Hu, Xiaoyu Li, Yu Lei, Dandan Gao, Meng Wang, Ping Zheng, Yan Zhu, Jibin Sun","doi":"10.1111/1751-7915.70170","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70170","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>Corynebacterium glutamicum</i> serves as a pivotal industrial chassis for biomanufacturing and an ideal model for studying the phylogenetically related pathogen <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>. Oxidative stress poses a critical challenge to microorganisms during aerobic industrial processes and immune cell-mediated antibacterial killing by perturbing cellular redox homeostasis, affecting central metabolism, and damaging the integrity of biomacromolecules. However, the intricate mechanisms underlying the dynamic defence of <i>C. glutamicum</i>, despite previous transcriptomic studies on acute and adaptive responses to oxidative stresses, remain largely unclear, hindering strain engineering for industrial applications and the development of effective antimicrobial treatments. In this study, the susceptibility of <i>C. glutamicum</i> to hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) was evaluated, and the inhibitory dynamics of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> were characterised through viable cell counting. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was employed to analyse gene expression changes after exposure to 720 mM H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. The treatment induced differential expression of 966 and 787 genes at 2 and 6 h, respectively, reflecting perturbations across a broad array of pathways, including (i) enhanced H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and peroxide scavenging, mycothiol biosynthesis, and iron chelation; (ii) repressed central metabolism and enhanced anaplerosis; (iii) elevated sulphur assimilation; (iv) altered amino acid biosynthesis; and (v) altered transcriptional regulation in response to oxidative stress. Further validation by overexpression of <i>ahpD</i>, <i>cysN</i>, and exogenous supplementation with <span>l</span>-methionine and <span>l</span>-cysteine significantly enhanced bacterial tolerance to H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. Overall, this study provides the most comprehensive analysis to date of temporal cellular adaptation to H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> stress in <i>C. glutamicum</i>, establishing a foundation for future applications in both biomanufacturing and antimicrobial research.</p>","PeriodicalId":209,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Biotechnology","volume":"18 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1751-7915.70170","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144323575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kenneth Timmis, Paul Williams, Zeynep Ceren Karahan, Purificación López-García, Paul Rainey, Max Chavarria, Chris Greening, Karen Steward, John E. Hallsworth, Cristina Silva Pereira, Rafael Giraldo, Willy Verstraete, Stipan Jonjić, Juan Luis Ramos, Olga Nunes, Antonio Ventosa, Rachel Armstrong, Angela Sessitsch, Eliora Ron, Hui Wang
{"title":"Journals Operating Predatory Practices Are Systematically Eroding the Science Ethos: A Gate and Code Strategy to Minimise Their Operating Space and Restore Research Best Practice","authors":"Kenneth Timmis, Paul Williams, Zeynep Ceren Karahan, Purificación López-García, Paul Rainey, Max Chavarria, Chris Greening, Karen Steward, John E. Hallsworth, Cristina Silva Pereira, Rafael Giraldo, Willy Verstraete, Stipan Jonjić, Juan Luis Ramos, Olga Nunes, Antonio Ventosa, Rachel Armstrong, Angela Sessitsch, Eliora Ron, Hui Wang","doi":"10.1111/1751-7915.70180","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70180","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Scientific research seeks to extend knowledge and understanding, an activity that perhaps more than any other advances society and humanity. In essence, it is the search for truth. But, because it seeks new knowledge, there is little or no benchmark for appraisal of the plausibility or validity of the immediate conclusions drawn from new information gained, no instant confirmation. For this and other reasons, the science ethos requires the highest level of <i>rigour</i> to ensure the highest level of probability that new findings are true, or at least the most plausible under the prevailing circumstances and state of knowledge. Research is only as good as its degree of <i>rigour</i>. Rigour comes through intensive and comprehensive scientific training and mentoring that teaches critical and agnostic evaluation of new results, self-scrutiny and self-criticism. Additional rigour comes via independent scrutiny and validation: peer review of results and interpretations submitted as publications, and peer repetition of key experiments. However, the current proliferation of publication vehicles whose business model is based on maximisation of papers published, and the revenue stream of article processing charges (APCs) they generate, is promoting an insidious degradation of rigour and quality standards of reviewing–editing practices. Such <i>predatory practices</i> result in the systematic degradation of research quality and its “truthfulness”. Moreover, they undermine the science ethos and threaten to create a new generation of scientists that lack this ethos. These trends will inevitably progressively erode public trust in scientists and the research ecosystem. This Editorial is a call for action to all actors, in particular leaders, in scientific research to oppose predatory practices in science dissemination—to restrict the operational space of those responsible for such practices—in order to restore and maintain research rigour and the science ethos and to prevent a downward spiral of research quality. It proposes two linked actionable solutions to the problem, one for the “pull” element of predatory practices and one for the “push” element of research ecosystem management practices, especially those promoting the <i>publish or perish</i> mentality, that drive authors to publish in journals with predatory practices. To counter the “pull”, we propose a solution based on the principle of <i>prevention, rather than cure,</i> and list a number of essential policy decisions and actions that should be taken at all levels of the science chain/cloud to achieve this. A central plank of the concept is <i>journal accreditation</i>, without which a journal would be ineligible for payment of APCs from public funds. For accreditation, a journal would need to convincingly demonstrate adoption of a prescribed <i>journal code of conduct</i>. Ideally, accreditation would also be required for inclusion in journal indexing and ranking services and bibliographic da","PeriodicalId":209,"journal":{"name":"Microbial Biotechnology","volume":"18 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1751-7915.70180","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144315209","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}