Current Research in Microbial Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Calyptranema fuscum gen. sp. nov.: a novel cyanobacterial genus within Oculatellaceae based on polyphasic and genomic characterization","authors":"Renuka More ,&nbsp;Vinay Yadav ,&nbsp;Nithya Vadakedath","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100542","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100542","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study presents a comprehensive characterization and classification of a novel cyanobacterial isolate, strain S582, proposed as <em>Calyptranema fuscum</em> gen. sp. nov. within the family Oculatellaceae using an integrated polyphasic approach. Strain S582 was isolated from a lake in the Botanical Garden, Sarangpur, Chandigarh, India. Initial molecular characterization with the 16S rRNA gene revealed ≤ 94.90% of similarity with related genera and showed unique 16S-23S ITS secondary structures, indicating its delineation as a novel genus. Morphological assessment highlighted the presence of a cap-like structure called calyptra at the terminal cells, further distinguishing it from related genera. Furthermore, whole genome sequencing yielded an assembly of 7962,515 bp with GC content of 48.27%. Genome-based analysis encompassing average nucleotide identity (ANI), average amino acid identity (AAI), percentage of conserved proteins (POCP) was subsequently performed. The observed values for ANI (71.15% to 73.00%) and AAI (63.30% to 69.62%) were below the established genus-level thresholds. Phylogenetic analysis using maximum-likelihood and Bayesian inference along with phylogenomic reconstruction based on 1434 single copy core genes supported its taxonomic novelty. Functional classification revealed the presence of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), tRNAs, insertion elements, CRISPR/Cas systems, and genes associated with metabolism, carbon fixation and photosynthesis. Additionally, the pangenome was constructed to study the genomic diversity of the studied isolate and related genera among the Oculatellaceae family and identified core, accessory, and singleton gene clusters. Collectively, these findings establish <em>Calyptranema fuscum</em> gen. sp. nov. as a novel genus within Oculatellaceae while expanding our understanding of cyanobacterial diversity and genomic potential.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100542"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145925317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genome-based reassessment of Sphingobacterium reveals the limitation of the fixed dDDH threshold for prokaryotic species delineation","authors":"Shuai Li ,&nbsp;Xin-Ran Wang ,&nbsp;Wei Zhang ,&nbsp;Wen-Jun Li","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100524","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100524","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate species delimitation in prokaryotes increasingly relies on genome-scale comparisons, yet fixed genomic thresholds can be unreliable in lineages shaped by extensive gene flux. In this study, we revisited the taxonomy of genus <em>Sphingobacterium</em> using phylogenomic reconstruction and comprehensive whole-genome comparisons. The genus displays a highly open pan-genome, with only 22 universally conserved genes and nearly 20,000 cloud genes, indicating pronounced genomic plasticity. Within this complex evolutionary context, we detected a rare non-transitive paradox in digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) within the <em>Sphingobacterium siyangense</em> group. All strains share average nucleotide identity (ANI) values above the accepted species boundary (95%), yet some strain pairs exhibit dDDH values below the species threshold (70%), resulting in a conflict restricted to this metric. Phylogenomic analyses, core genome variation, average amino acid identity (AAI) patterns, and functional gene profiles consistently support the monophyly and genomic cohesion of these strains, showing that dependence on dDDH alone may lead to ambiguous species boundaries. Based on the combined evidence, we treat all members of the <em>S. siyangense</em> cluster as a single species and propose additional taxonomic revisions. <em>Sphingobacterium ginsenosidimutans</em> is recognized as a heterotypic synonym of <em>Sphingobacterium detergens</em>. The species <em>Rhinopithecimicrobium faecis</em> is proposed for reclassification as <em>Sphingobacterium faecis</em> comb. nov. These findings demonstrate that rigid dDDH cutoffs cannot fully capture evolutionary relationships and highlight the value of integrating phylogenomic and pan-genomic evidence for resolving complex species level classifications in prokaryotes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100524"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145683900","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to ’Microplastics and antibiotic resistance genes as rising threats: Their interaction represents an urgent environmental concern’ Current Research in Microbial Sciences 9 (2025) 100447","authors":"Chen Hongjin ,&nbsp;Saeed ur Rahman ,&nbsp;Asad Rehman ,&nbsp;Abid Ali Khan ,&nbsp;Muhammad Khalid","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100560","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100560","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100560"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147356216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interactions between gut commensal bacteria and polysaccharides derived from algae and legumes: identification of metabolites produced and pathways involved","authors":"Paul Biscarrat ,&nbsp;Frederic Pepke ,&nbsp;Clémence Defois-Fraysse ,&nbsp;Aya Jeaidi ,&nbsp;Christelle Hennequet-Antier ,&nbsp;Olivier Rué ,&nbsp;Florence Castelli ,&nbsp;Céline Chollet ,&nbsp;Cassandre Bedu-Ferrari ,&nbsp;Jean-Yves Berthon ,&nbsp;Cyril Chaudemanche ,&nbsp;Assia Dreux-Zigha ,&nbsp;Philippe Langella ,&nbsp;Claire Cherbuy","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100567","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100567","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Diet is a key driver of gut microbiome functions, largely via microbial fermentation of dietary fibers. We investigated how 15 human gut commensals from Bacteroidota, Bacillota, and Actinomycetota metabolize structurally distinct poly-/oligosaccharides from algae (<em>Ulva lactuca, Saccharina latissima, Undaria pinnatifida</em>) and chickpeas (<em>Cicer arietinum</em>). In low-nutrient, carbon-defined cultures, we quantified growth (ΔOD), acidification (ΔpH), and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Then, we conducted untargeted liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) metabolomics and RNA sequencing on eight representative strains. Chickpea raffinose-family oligosaccharides (RFOs) broadly stimulated growth, fermentation, and SCFA production across phyla, whereas algal polysaccharide use was restricted to specific Bacteroidota species. Metabolomics revealed phylum- and strain-resolved signatures and bioactive molecules beyond SCFAs, including tryptophan derivatives (for example, indolelactic acid), γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and micronutrient-related compounds (for example, riboflavin), whose abundance depended on both taxon and substrate. Transcriptomic analysis in the presence of raffinose indicated coordinated activation of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), specialized transport systems (SusC/D, TonB, or ATP-binding cassette [ABC] transporters), and transcriptional regulators (for example, LacI), consistent with substrate-responsive carbohydrate gene clusters. Bacteroidota exhibited the largest CAZyme mobilization and transcriptional remodeling, while Bacillota and Actinomycetota showed targeted responses consistent with narrower substrate scopes.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Fiber structure mechanistically links to selective microbial functions. Pulses-derived RFOs elicit broad, phylum-specific metabolic programs, and algae polysaccharides engage a limited set of Bacteroidota specialists. This integrative framework (growth, SCFAs, metabolomics, transcriptomics) refines how discrete fiber types can be matched to microbial capacities, informing precision-nutrition strategies that leverage sustainable fibers (pulses, algae) to promote health-relevant metabolites and targeted microbiome modulation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100567"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146188368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to ’A plant-derived antimicrobial peptide with multiple mechanisms of action exhibiting antibacterial and antibiofilm activities comparable to or superior to polymyxin B’ [Current Research in Microbial Sciences Volume 10 (2026) 100535]","authors":"Mohamad Anas Al Bouni ,&nbsp;Rui M. Lima ,&nbsp;Sándor Jenei ,&nbsp;Hilda Tiricz ,&nbsp;Edit Tímár ,&nbsp;Ildikó Domonkos ,&nbsp;Éva Kondorosi ,&nbsp;Gabriella Endre","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100554","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100554","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100554"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146187828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cross-cohort meta-analysis reveals conserved gut microbiome signatures of insomnia","authors":"Sun Park ,&nbsp;Jiseon Yang ,&nbsp;Se-Hui Lee ,&nbsp;Juyoung Jeong ,&nbsp;Ju-Yeon Jang ,&nbsp;Jennifer Barrila ,&nbsp;Jin-Young Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100577","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100577","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Insomnia is a prevalent sleep disorder associated with broad metabolic, immune, and neuropsychiatric consequences, yet its association with the gut microbiome remains difficult to define across individuals. Here, we performed a cross-cohort meta-analysis of five publicly available human fecal 16S rRNA case-control datasets to identify conserved microbiome features associated with insomnia. All raw sequencing data were reprocessed using a unified analytical workflow, generating a harmonized cohort of 468 individuals while controlling for cohort-specific effects. Across cohorts, insomnia was associated with directionally consistent differences in gut microbiome structure, including a statistically significant increase in Shannon diversity (<em>p</em> = 0.003) and a significant group effect after covariate adjustment. Integrating four complementary statistical approaches, we identified a core set of eight gut taxa that were consistently associated with insomnia across analyses. Functional prediction and integrative filtering indicated that insomnia-related microbial changes extended beyond taxonomy, with coordinated shifts in metabolic potential encompassing pathways previously linked to host immune and neurobiological processes, thereby suggesting relevance to biological systems implicated in sleep regulation. Notably, these functional alterations were concentrated within a limited subset of taxa rather than broadly distributed across the community. Among them, the Burkholderia–Caballeronia–Paraburkholderia complex emerged as a dominant functional contributor. Independent correlation analyses validated key taxon-function relationships and reinforced a model of focused, pathway-specific microbiome remodeling. Together, these findings demonstrate that insomnia is associated with a reproducible gut microbiome signature characterized by targeted functional remodeling driven by specific microbial taxa. This study provides a cross-cohort framework for investigating microbiome-mediated metabolic and immune contexts relevant to sleep regulation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100577"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147448631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early-life rotavirus infection susceptibility and later gastrointestinal cancer protection: Reverse antagonistic pleiotropy and potential vaccine benefits","authors":"Lúa Castelo-Martínez ,&nbsp;Jacobo Pardo-Seco ,&nbsp;Alberto Gómez-Carballa ,&nbsp;Sara Pischedda ,&nbsp;Xabier Bello ,&nbsp;Alba Camino-Mera ,&nbsp;Federico Martinón-Torres ,&nbsp;Antonio Salas","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100578","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100578","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rotavirus (RV) infection is a leading cause of gastroenteritis in children under five, often causing severe dehydration and hospitalization. The genetic factors influencing host susceptibility to severe RV infection remain poorly understood. We conducted whole-exome sequencing (WES) in children with severe RV infection and compared their profiles to those of healthy controls. Analyses identified seven candidate Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) across distinct genes, several of which are functionally linked to gastrointestinal cancer pathways. Transcriptomic data from acutely infected patients confirmed differential expression in at least two candidate genes. Polygenic risk score (PRS) analyses revealed a reduced risk of gastrointestinal cancer among RV-infected individuals. Supporting this, epigenomic and transcriptomic data from gastric cancer patients indicated that alterations in these genes may affect cancer progression. Extended haplotype homozygosity (EHH) analyses showed signatures of recent positive selection in top SNP/gene candidates. These findings support a model of reverse antagonistic pleiotropy, where genetic variants that increase early-life RV susceptibility may protect against gastrointestinal cancers in adulthood. This raises the hypothesis that RV vaccination, by replicating immunological and epigenetic effects of natural infection without early-life harm, could confer similar protective benefits. Overall, these results highlight the long-term impact of early-life viral exposures on host health and cancer risk.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100578"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147538773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unexplored biosynthetic gene clusters in bacteria isolated from Brazilian stingless bee honey with activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens","authors":"José Fhilipe De Miranda Da Silva ,&nbsp;Carlos Filipe Ribeiro de Matos ,&nbsp;Larissa Martins Moura ,&nbsp;João Pedro da Cunha Tavares ,&nbsp;Pâmela Talita de Aguiar e Silva ,&nbsp;Patrícia Perina de Oliveira ,&nbsp;Giovanna Felette de Paula ,&nbsp;Per Sunnerhagen ,&nbsp;Marcelo Brocchi ,&nbsp;Elizabeth Bilsland","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100590","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100590","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The emergence of new infectious diseases and the development of microbial resistance to existing drugs, accompanied by a decline in the discovery of new antibiotic classes through traditional approaches, highlight the urgent need for novel strategies and sources of bioactive compounds. We focused on a little explored environment for bioprospecting microorganisms with rich specialized metabolites: honey produced by native Brazilian stingless bees. We thus isolated 378 microorganisms from commercial honeys from 11 species of Brazilian bees. After microbial isolation, we screened for their antibiotic activity using the laboratory <em>Escherichia coli</em> DH5α strain. One hundred selected isolates were further tested against five ATCC strains including ampicillin-resistant <em>E. coli</em> (30% active), methicillin- and oxacillin-resistant <em>Staphylococcus aureus</em> (61%), and vancomycin-resistant <em>Enterococcus faecalis</em> (25%). Additional assays against <em>Klebsiella pneumoniae</em>, including the multidrug-resistant (MDR) strain BAA-2146, identified two isolates active against the most threatening pathogenic strain. We performed molecular identification of promising isolates, based on the partial sequence of the 16S rRNA gene region. Most of the isolates were identified as <em>Bacillus</em> spp., but <em>Streptomyces</em> and <em>Aureimonas</em> species were also among the prospected strains. We performed whole genome sequencing of the two isolates active against MDR <em>K. pneumoniae</em>: a potential new species <em>Bacillus</em> and a <em>Shouchella rhizosphaerae</em> M12–28. Through genome mining, we identified a variety of previously uncharacterized biosynthetic gene clusters, highlighting the potential of Brazilian stingless bees microbiota as a source of novel antibiotic compounds to address the global MDR crisis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100590"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147702860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tn4401/Tn7247 transposon-derived structures driving the cross-transmission of blaKPC among plasmids and chromosomes in clinical carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa","authors":"Shiyu Chen ,&nbsp;Xinmiao Jia ,&nbsp;Haotian Gao ,&nbsp;Ying Zhu ,&nbsp;Zongping Li ,&nbsp;Peiyao Jia ,&nbsp;Xiaoyu Liu ,&nbsp;Wei Yu ,&nbsp;Xiaobing Chu ,&nbsp;Qian Zhang ,&nbsp;Qiwen Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100563","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2026.100563","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Carbapenem-resistant <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em> (CRPA) harboring <em>bla</em>_KPC gene poses a formidable clinical challenge. However, the distribution and horizontal transfer mechanisms of <em>bla</em>_KPC in CRPA have not been systematically elucidated. We collected 1,063 clinical CRPA isolates from 30 provincial administrative regions in China, among which 79 carried <em>bla</em>_KPC. In addition, 35,607 public <em>P. aeruginosa</em> genome sequences were acquired, among which 1,141 harbored <em>bla</em>_KPC. Detailed analysis of the <em>bla</em>_KPC genetic contexts in the combined dataset of the 1,220 <em>P. aeruginosa</em> genomes revealed that 10.4 % (174/1,680) of the <em>bla</em>_KPC genes were located on chromosomes, which were primarily identified in ST282 isolates (79/174, 45.4 %), mostly collected in the United States. In contrast, plasmid-located <em>bla</em>_KPC genes were predominantly detected in ST463 isolates, mainly collected in China. Furthermore, our analysis frequently identified Tn<em>4401</em>-like (e.g., Tn<em>4401a</em>, Tn<em>4401b</em>, and IS<em>6100</em>_ΔTn<em>4401b</em>) and Tn<em>7247</em>-like (e.g., IS<em>26</em>_ΔTn<em>7247</em>_IS<em>26</em>, IS<em>6100</em>_ΔTn<em>7247</em>) transposable elements carrying intact <em>bla</em>_KPC, accounting for 36 % (562/1,559) and 59.7 % (930/1,559) of the cases, respectively. These two elements exhibited strikingly distinct geographic distribution and chromosome/plasmid localization preference. Tn<em>4401</em>-like elements were predominantly found in the Americas and were chromosome-located in 23.3 % (131/562) of the cases. In contrast, Tn<em>7247</em>-like elements were prevalent in China and the chromosome-located proportion was only 3.5 % (33/930). Among the chromosome-located <em>bla</em>_KPC genes, 13/174 were identified within integrative and mobilizable elements (IMEs). These findings offered new insights into the horizontal transmission mechanisms of <em>bla</em>_KPC in CRPA, indicating that complete Tn<em>4401</em>, as well as chimeric structures formed by IS<em>26/</em>IS<em>6100</em> and truncated Tn<em>7247</em>, played a major role in the dissemination of <em>bla</em>_KPC among clinical CRPA isolates.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100563"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147277307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mercury-driven fungal endophytic community and the role of endophytes in rice grain mercury accumulation","authors":"Liangzhou Zhao ,&nbsp;Jinzhao Song ,&nbsp;Haiyan Hu ,&nbsp;James F. White Jr ,&nbsp;Xiuling Ji ,&nbsp;Surendra Kumar Gond ,&nbsp;Baolin Wang ,&nbsp;Haiyan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100525","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.crmicr.2025.100525","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rice, a staple food for over half of the global population, is an important dietary source of methylmercury (MeHg) due to its high accumulation capacity. Endophytes are known to impact host plants heavy metals (HMs) accumulation, conversely, HMs can alter host plants endophytics communities. However, the specifically addressing mercury-rice endophytic fungal system remains limited. In the present study, the fungal endophytic community of rice from Hg-contaminated and uncontaminated sites were investigated by Illumina sequencing, and its role on rice grains MeHg accumulation was evaluated through pot experiments. Results showed that soil Hg concentration significantly restructured rice fungal endophytic communities, and higher Hg concentration decreased the richness and diversity of fungal endophytes, and the effect differed with tissues and development stages. The endophytic community in grains was distinct from roots, stalks and leaves, enriching specific rare species while reducing others ubiquitous in the vegetative tissues. Pot experiments identified some specific endophytes that significantly modulated grain Hg accumulation. Two <em>Epicoccum nigrum</em> strains (DHJ7, FZT214) reduced grain MeHg by 44.67 % and 48.79 %, respectively (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05), whereas <em>Phoma herbarum</em> (CSJ51, CHJ4) increased grain MeHg or total mercury (THg) by 50.1 %-51.35 % and 77.39 %-81.81 %, respectively (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05). Furthermore, 62.5 % of the tested isolates (16) enhanced rice yield, while <em>Mucor</em> sp. DHJ19 and <em>Ceratorhiza</em> sp. CHJ27 improved production by 72.6 %–80.5 % compared to controls. These findings highlight promising fungal endophytes for mitigating grain Hg contamination and improving yield. Future work should elucidate the mechanisms governing the selective enrichment of grain endophytes to deepen understanding of plant-endophyte interactions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":34305,"journal":{"name":"Current Research in Microbial Sciences","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100525"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145737802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}