Protein trafficking to vacuoles in plants and fungi, and to lysosomes in animals, is essential for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the vacuolar protein sorting (VPS) pathway has been well studied by using vacuolar carboxypeptidase Y (CPY) as a model, and many VPS genes have been identified. By contrast, the vacuolar protein trafficking pathway in Schizosaccharomyces pombe remains poorly understood. In this study, we identified a novel VPS gene (SPBC1709.03) in S. pombe that is broadly conserved in fungi, but not in S. cerevisiae. Owing to its DUF3844 domain of unknown function, the gene was named vps3844. Disruption mutants of vps3844 had defects in both CPY sorting and incorporation of FM4-64 dye into the vacuolar membrane. Partial deletion analysis of the Vps3844 protein revealed that, within the DUF3844 domain, the region comprising amino acids 354 to 380 is important for protein trafficking to the vacuole. Our findings represent the first report of a VPS gene involved in vacuolar transport that is conserved in fungi, particularly S. pombe, but lacks representation in S. cerevisiae.

For centuries, quinoline alkaloids from the tree bark of Cinchona ledgeriana (C. ledgeriana) have been used in the treatment of malaria. However, unsustainable harvesting and poor growth conditions greatly limit its use as raw materials. Since plant endophytes are known to contribute to the physiology of the host and its metabolism for survival, this study showed the potential of endophytes isolated from C. ledgeriana roots in promoting the germination of Catharathus roseus (C. roseus) seedlings and the biosynthesis of quinoline alkaloid. In this present study, we found that the Enterobacteriaceae family comprised the majority of the bacterial community, with Klebsiella pneumoniae being the most abundant species at the C. ledgeriana roots. Characterization of culturable bacterial endophytes from the C. ledgeriana roots showed that all the isolates displayed plant growth-promoting factors and antifungal activities. Interestingly, chromatographic analyses led to the identification of the quinoline alkaloids producing Achromobacter xylosoxidans (A. xylosoxidans) A1. Moreover, the co-cultures of A. xylosoxidans A1, Cytobacillus solani (C. solani) A3, and Klebsiella aerogenes A6 increased the fresh and dry weight of the C. roseus seedlings. These results suggest that these bacterial endophytes may enhance quinine and quinidine production as well as the growth of the plant host.

Aureispira marina is a marine bacterium with gliding motility isolated from the southern coastline of Thailand. It contained ceramide as a major cellular lipid composed of saturated or unsaturated branched chain 2-hydroxy-fatty acid and sphingosine. The structure of unsaturated 2-hydroxy-fatty acid was investigated in our previous study, but the geometric configuration of the double bond remained unclear. In the present study, 14-methyl-∆²-pentadecenol (∆²-iso-C_16:1-ol) was prepared from D-2-hydroxy-15-methyl-∆³-hexadecenoic acid (D-2-OH-∆³-iso-C_17:1) of the ceramide component, and analyzed by ¹H and ¹³C NMR in comparison with ∆²-trans-hexadecenol (∆²-trans-n-C_16:1-ol) derived from commercially available D-sphingosine. From the coupling constants of protons in the double bond and the chemical shift value of allylic carbon, the configuration of the double bond was determined as trans. Since the structure of 2-hydroxy-fatty acids was clarified, cellular fatty acids of A. marina and A. maritima, another species of the genus Aureispira, were reexamined, and the description on the cellular fatty acid composition of the genus Aureispira in the previous papers (Hosoya et al., 2006, Int. J. System. Evol. Microbiol., 56, 2931-2935; Hosoya et al., 2007, Int. J. System. Evol. Microbiol., 57, 1948-1951) lacking the description of 2-hydroxy-fatty acids was emended.

Rapid sand filters (RSFs) are employed in a drinking water treatment to remove undesirable elements such as suspended solids and dissolved metal ions. At a closed uranium (U) mine site, two sets of tandemly linked paired RSF systems (RSF1-RSF2 and RSF1-RSF3) were utilized to remove iron and manganese from mine water. In this study, a 16S rRNA-based amplicon sequencing survey was conducted to investigate the core microbes within the RSF system treating the mine water. In RSF1, two operational taxonomic units (OTUs) related to methanotrophic bacteria, Methylobacter tundripaludum (relative abundance: 18.1%) and Methylovulum psychrotolerans (11.5%), were the most and second most dominant species, respectively, alongside iron-oxidizing bacteria. The presence of these OUTs in RSF1 can be attributed to the microbial community in the inlet mine water, as the three most abundant OTUs in the mine water also dominated RSF1. Conversely, in both RSF2 and RSF3, Nevskia sp., previously isolated from the Ytterby mine manganese oxide producing ecosystem, became dominant, although known manganese-oxidizing bacterial OTUs were not detected. In contrast, a unique OTU related to Rhodanobacter sp. was the third most abundant (8.0%) in RSF1, possibly due to selective pressure from the radionuclide-contaminated environment during RSF operation, as this genus is known to be abundant at nuclear legacy waste sites. Understanding the key bacterial taxa in RSF system for mine water treatment could enhance the effectiveness of RSF processes in treating mine water from closed U mines.

Naphthalene is a persistent environmental pollutant for its potential teratogenic, carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. In this study, 10 strains of bacteria capable of degrading naphthalene were isolated from crude-oil contaminated soil. Among them, Pseudomonas plecoglossicida 2P exhibited prominent growth with 1000 mg/L naphthalene as the sole carbon source and degraded 94.15% of naphthalene in 36 h. Whole genome sequencing analysis showed that P. plecoglossicida 2P had a total of 22 genes related to naphthalene degradation, of which 8 genes were related to the salicylic acid pathway only, 5 genes were related to the phthalic acid pathway only, 8 genes were common in both the salicylic acid and phthalic acid pathways, and 1 gene was related to the gentisic acid pathway. P. plecoglossicida 2P was applied in a two-phase partition bioreactor (TPPB) to degrade naphthalene in wastewater. The optimal operating conditions of the reactor were obtained through response surface optimization: initial naphthalene concentration (C₀) =1600 mg/L, bacterial liquid concentration (OD₆₀₀) = 1.3, and polymer-to-wastewater mass ratio (PWR) = 2%. Under these conditions, the naphthalene degradation rate was 98.36% at 24 h. The degradation kinetics were fitted using the Haldane equation with a high coefficient of determination (R²=0.94). The present study laid foundations for naphthalene degradation mechanism of genus Pseudomonas and its potential application in TPPB.

We have successfully isolated two novel compounds, 24R005A (1, C₁₃H₁₄O₄) and 24R005B (2, C₁₃H₁₃ClO₄), from Streptomyces sp. 24R005, using fish (anchovy) powder as a medium. In this study, we evaluated the use of fish (anchovy) powder as a fermentation material for producing bioactive compounds. Spectroscopic analyses revealed that the two compounds share a common skeletal structure. However, each compound contains unique branched side chains. Furthermore, compounds 1 and 2 exhibit moderate radical-scavenging activity for 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), with ED₅₀ values of 200 and 130 μM, respectively.

Zn-deficiency, a global health challenge affects one-third of the world population. Zn-biofertilizer offer an efficient and cost-effective remedy. As Zn-biofertilizer can improve plant growth and grain’s Zn-content ensuring improved dietary Zn-supply. This study sought to understand how silver and TiO₂ nanoparticles in the rhizosphere affect the activity of Zn-solubilization bacteria (ZSB) and plant growth. Two ZSB strains Bacillus sp. D-7 and Pseudomonas sp. D-117 with excellent Zn-solubilization efficiency of 254 and 260%, respectively were isolated and characterized using polyphasic characterization including 16S rRNA gene sequencing to formulate an effective Zn-biofertilizer. The plant growth promoting activity of this biofertilizer in Mung bean was checked in the presence and absence of various doses of TiO₂ and Ag-NPs and was compared with plant grown without biofertilizer. The change in rate of seed germination, vegetative growth (shoot and root length, fresh and dry weight), photosynthetic pigment and Zn-content was checked. Lower doses of nanomaterials (50 and 100 mg kg⁻¹ soil) slightly promoted the plant growth compared to control. While, higher doses (200 and 400 mg kg⁻¹ soil) inhibited the growth. A maximum decrease of shoot length, root length, fresh-weight, and dry-weight of 57.1, 53.9, 53.1, and 10.4% respectively was observed with 400 mg kg⁻¹ of Ag-NPs. However, in the presence of ZSB, the decrease at the same Ag-NP concentration was 41.6, 31.5, 27.4, and 6.6, respectively. These results strongly suggest that Zn-solubilizing bacteria improve resilience to nanoparticles toxicity and helps in Zn fortification in Mung bean even under nanomaterial stress.