Healthy land
Land has a wide variety of uses: agricultural, residential, industrial, and recreational. Microbes play a key role in the terrestrial ecosystem, providing symbiotic relationships with plants. Human use of land has led to the exhaustion of nutrients in soils, contamination of land, and a reduction in biodiversity. Applying our knowledge of microbes will be essential in restoring the biodiversity of affected ecosystems. Greater research into how microbes impact human life on land could all have a positive impact, by increasing crop production, repurposing areas of land and improving microbial biodiversity in soil, land, and water.
News
Hidden virus harboured by fruit flies may influence experimental accuracy
A new study suggests the presence of Nora virus in laboratory strains of Drosophila fruit flies influences their resilience to stress and bacterial infection and can confound experimental studies of ageing.
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NewsBacteria deployed to fix cracks in space bricks
Researchers have developed a bacteria-based technique to repair bricks that can be used to build lunar habitats, if they get damaged in the moon’s harsh environment.
NewsUrbanization reshapes soil microbes: Bacteria adapt, fungi resist
A groundbreaking study reveals that urban environments favor bacterial generalists, which adapt to diverse conditions, whereas fungi maintain specialized ecological roles. Despite these divergent responses, the functional overlap between bacteria and fungi ensures ecosystem resilience.
NewsScreening tool tests bee colonies by mimicking pheromones of death
A screening tool tests colonies for hygienic behavior by mimicking the pheromones emitted by sick or dying bees. The test can identify colonies resistant to several pests and pathogens that can decimate bee populations such as Vairimorpha (known to many beekeepers as Nosema) and fungal infections including chalkbrood.
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News
New discovery boosts wheat’s fight against devastating disease
A new study reports a previously unknown molecular event that initiates the immune response to a major wheat disease. The findings provide strategies to engineer wheat that has stronger immunity against infection.
NewsInter-trophic networks reveal the central role of methanogens in deposited estuarine soils
A new study focused on exploring the distribution patterns, driving factors and microbial interaction patterns of methane-metabolizing microorganisms along the sedimentation gradient in the Yellow River estuary.
NewsSoil carbon-degrading enzyme activities more sensitive to warming in alpine meadow than swamp meadow
A new study demonstrates that the activities of soil extracellular enzymes are significantly altered in the alpine meadow, but not significantly in the swamp meadow, which coincided with the soil organic carbon content of these grasslands.
News‘She loves me, she loves me not’: physical forces encouraged evolution of multicellular life, scientists propose
A new study presents a striking example of cooperative organization among cells as a potential force in the evolution of multicellular life. The paper is based on the fluid dynamics of cooperative feeding by Stentor, a relatively giant unicellular organism.
NewsAMI members show the way on how microbes are already solving environmental disasters
Applied Microbiology International members are among a team of high level microbiologists who have teamed up to highlight how the world’s tiniest creatures are delivering solutions to climate change and pollution.
NewsmRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines train the ‘long-term memory’ of the innate immune system
A study showed that vaccination of multiple mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines could induce persistent epigenetic changes in innate immune cells, leading to long-term immune responses for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens.
NewsResearchers design genetic tools to develop vaccines more efficiently for African swine fever virus (ASFV)
A synthetic genomic-based reverse genetics tool has been developed for African swine fever virus (ASFV) that helps vaccine development to reduce the economic losses. The system may also be adapted to other emerging viral threats.
NewsDistinct patterns of soil bacterial and fungal communities in the treeline ecotone
A study was carried out to understand the biodiversity of the microbial communities in the treeline ecotone that might affect alpine ecosystems and other potential ecological effects in response to climate change.
NewsBiochar and microbe synergy: a path to climate-smart farming
Researchers conducted a global analysis to obtain a full picture of the environmental and agricultural benefits of biochar, which is shown to be beneficial to soil health and microbes.
NewsHow Zika virus knocks out our immune defenses
Scientists have made striking discoveries regarding the different infection mechanisms of Zika and dengue virus of the same viral family. These understandings pave the way for vaccine development to combat flaviviruses with similarities.
NewsCanada is slowest in reporting bird flu – but COVID shows we can do better
A global study was conducted to measure the reporting speed of pandemic-causing bird flu H5N1 in different countries, among which Canada surprisingly came in last, addressing the need for improvements in the current monitoring procedures.
NewsScientists unlock frogs’ antibacterial secrets to combat superbugs
Researchers exploited natural peptides derived from frogs and improved their structural designs as antibiotic candidates, which are effective against complex mock bacterial communities of drug-resistant pathogens in preclinical tests, sparing beneficial microbiota and human cells.
NewsResearchers find live hantavirus is carried in various New Mexico small mammal species
A study was carried out to find out the reasons why human cases of the sin nombre hantavirus were concentrated in one particular region of New Mexico, even though the virus was found in 30 species of rodents and small mammals endemic to a different region.
NewsScientists develop eco-friendly, nylon-like plastic using microorganisms
Scientists have developed microbial strains through systems metabolic engineering to produce various eco-friendly, bio-based poly(ester amide)s from glucose derived from biomass sources such as waste wood and weeds.
NewsTadpoles try to flee dangerous virus in their pond by growing much faster than normal
A new study shows that larvae of wood frogs respond to the presence of a deadly ranavirus by growing and maturing precociously. In response to ranavirus, tadpoles change their growth, development, and resource allocation, which may help them tolerate the energetic demands of infection or escape risky environments to avoid infection.
NewsSusceptibility to bovine TB in cattle traced to key genes
A new study identifying genetic factors contributing to bovine tuberculosis (bTB) susceptibility has found several key genes and pathways involved in the bovine response to Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of the disease in cattle.
NewsBiogenic construction: The new era of civil engineering
Inspired by the concept of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, a new concept, biogenic construction, for civil engineering is proposed in a new paper.
NewsScientists ID natural products targeting SARS-CoV-2 - including caffeine
Researchers used computational methods to identify potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins, revealing promising natural compounds for guiding antiviral drug development, including caffeine.
NewsNew study sheds light on how bacteria ‘vaccinate’ themselves with genetic material from dormant viruses
Scientists have gained understanding on how bacteria defend themselves from phages, through gaining “memories” from predecessor dormant phages. The study will inform new phage therapies for bacterial infections that confer resistance to antibiotics.