Exploring Core fermentation microorganisms, flavor compounds, and metabolic pathways in fermented Rice and wheat foods.

The unique flavors of fermented foods significantly influence consumer purchasing choices, prompting widespread scientific interest in the flavor development process. Fermented rice and wheat foods are known for their unique flavors and they occupy an important place in the global diet. Many of these are produced on an industrial scale using starter cultures, whereas others rely on spontaneous fermentation, homemade production, or traditional activities. Microorganisms are key in shaping the sensory properties of fermented products through different metabolic pathways, thus earning the title "the essence of fermentation." Therefore, this study systematically summarizes the key microbial communities and their interactions that contribute positively to iconic fermented rice and wheat foods, such as steamed bread, bread, Mifen, and rice wine. This study revealed the mechanism by which these core microbial communities affect flavor and revealed the strategies of core microorganisms and related enzymes to enhance flavor during fermentation.

Standardized framework for assessing soil quality at antimony smelting site by considering microbial-induced resilience and heavy metal contamination.

Antimony smelting activities damage the soil and vegetation surroundings while generating economic value. However, no standardized methods are available to diagnose the extent of soil degradation at antimony smelting sites. This study developed a standardized framework for assessing soil quality by considering microbial-induced resilience and heavy metal contamination at Xikuangshan antimony smelting site. The soil resilience index (SRI) and soil contamination index (SCI) were calculated by Minimum Data Set and geo-accumulation model, respectively. After standardized by a multi-criteria quantitative procedure of modified Nemerow's pollution index (NPI), the integrated assessment of soil quality index (SQI), which is the minimum of SRINPI and SCINPI, was achieved. The results showed that Sb and As were the prominent metal(loid) pollutants, and significant correlations between SQI and SRI indicated that the poor soil quality was mainly caused by the low level of soil resilience. The primary limiting factors of SRI were Fungi in high and middle contaminated areas, and Skermanella in low contaminated area, suggesting that the weak soil resilience was caused by low specific microbial abundances. Microbial regulation and phytoremediation are greatly required to improve the soil quality at antimony smelting sites from the perspectives of pollution control and resilience improvement. This study improves our understanding of ecological effects of antimony smelting sites and provides a theoretical basis for ecological restoration and sustainable development of mining areas.

Airborne fungal communities are more susceptible to anthropogenic activities than bacteria.

Airborne microorganisms (AM) have significant environmental and health implications. Extensive studies have been conducted to investigate the factors influencing the composition and diversity of AM. However, the knowledge of AM with anthropogenic activities has not reach a consensus. In this study, we took advantage of the dramatic decline of outdoor anthropogenic activities resulting from COVID-19 lockdown to reveal their associations. We collected airborne particulate matter before and during the lockdown period in two cities. The results showed that it was fungal diversity and communities but not bacteria obviously different between pre-lockdown and lockdown samples, suggesting that airborne fungi were more susceptible to anthropogenic activities than bacteria. However, after the implementation of lockdown, the co-occurrence networks of both bacterial and fungal community became more complex, which might be due to the variation of microbial sources. Furthermore, Mantel test and correlation analysis showed that air pollutants also partly contributed to microbial alterations. Airborne fungal community was more affected by air pollutants than bacterial community. Notably, some human pathogens like Nigrospora and Arthrinium were negatively correlated with air pollutants. Overall, our study highlighted the more impacts of anthropogenic activities on airborne fungal community than bacterial community and advanced the understanding of associations between anthropogenic activities and AM.

Enhancement of volatile fatty acids to extremely high content in fermentation of food waste: Optimization of conditions, microbial functional genes, and mechanisms.

The engineering application of volatile fatty acids (VFA) production from food waste (FW) can significantly enhance resource utilization. Enhancing VFA production is crucial for advancing this engineering application. This study presented a economically-feasible method to achieve high VFA production from FW: Conducting fermentation at pH 9 and 37 ℃ with addition of 20 % anaerobic sludge significantly increased the conversion of FW to VFAs (80.56 g COD/L, accounting for 87.37 % of the soluble chemical oxygen demand), while also increasing the content of NH4+-N (2658.15 mg/L). Macrotranscriptomic sequencing showed that Anaerosalibacter, Amphibacillus, Wansuia, Clostridiisalibacter, unclassified Tissierellia, Massilibacterium, unclassified Bacteroidales, and Tissierellia were the key active microorganisms for VFA production. The expression abundance of functional enzymes and genes related to VFA production pathways increased during the fermentation. This study significantly advanced the practical application of VFA production from FW, offering both theoretical insights and bacterial resources.

Flue-cured tobacco intercropping with insectary floral plants improves rhizosphere soil microbial communities and chemical properties of flue-cured tobacco.

BACKGROUND: Continuous cropping of the same crop leads to land degradation. This is also called the continuous-cropping obstacle. Currently, intercropping tobacco with other crops can serve as an effective strategy to alleviate continuous cropping obstacles. RESULTS: In this study, tobacco K326 and insectary floral plants were used as materials, and seven treatments of tobacco monoculture (CK), tobacco intercropped with Tagetes erecta, Vicia villosa, Fagopyrum esculentum, Lobularia maritima, Trifolium repens, and Argyranthemum frutescens respectively, were set up to study their effects on rhizosphere soil chemical properties and composition and structure of rhizosphere soil microbial community of tobacco. The 16 S rRNA gene and ITS amplicons were sequenced using Illumina high-throughput sequencing. tobacco/insectary floral plants intercropping can influence rhizosphere soil chemical properties, which also change rhizosphere microbial communities. The CK and treatment groups tobacco rhizosphere soil microorganisms had significantly different genera, such as tobacco intercropping with T. repens and A. frutescens significantly increased the number of Fusarium and intercropping T. erecta, V. villosa, L. maritima, T. repens, and A. frutescens significantly increased the number of Sphingomonas and unknown Gemmatimonadaceae. Additionally, intercropping T. erecta, V. villosa and L. maritima changed the rhizosphere fungal and bacteria community and composition of tobacco and the positive correlation between tobacco rhizosphere the genera of fungi and bacterial were greater than CK. The pathway of the carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and energy metabolism in rhizosphere bacteria were significantly decreased after continuous cropping. Fungal symbiotic trophic and saprophytic trophic were significantly increased after intercropping V. villosa, L. maritima and plant pathogen and animal pathogen were increased after intercropping T. repens and A. frutescens. Additionally, bacterial and fungal communities significantly correlated with soil chemical properties, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study reveals that intercropping tobacco with insectary floral plants, particularly T. erecta, V. villosa, L. maritima and A. frutescens significantly affects soil chemical properties and alters rhizosphere microbial communities, increasing the abundance of certain microbial genera. Additionally, intercropping enhances pathways related to carbohydrate, amino acid, and energy metabolism in rhizosphere bacteria. These findings suggest that intercropping could provide a promising strategy to overcome challenges associated with continuous tobacco cropping by regulating the rhizosphere environment.

Gut microbiome profile to the level species in diarrheic protozoan-carrier patients in Italy.

The human gastrointestinal microbiota contains a diverse consortium of microbes, including bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and fungi that are involved in many physiological and metabolic as well pathogenetic processes. However, microbiological research is dominated by studies describing the impact of prokaryotic bacteria on gut microbiome with a limited understanding of their relationship with other integral microbiota constituents as protozoa. Here, we investigated the gut microbiome composition using Oxford Nanopore Technology approach in relation to protozoan colonization of Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium parvum, Blastocystis sp. and Dientamoeba fragilis in patients with diarrheal diseases in Italy, taking into consideration different risk factors as protozoan coinfection, Blastocystis-subtypes, gender, age classes, origin, eosinophilia level and positivity to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Overall, out of 1413 investigated patients, 123 (8.7 %) have found positive to one or more protozoa microorganisms with a prevalence statistically significant in individuals from Northern Africa (p < 0.0001) and in the age classes 40-59 years-old (p < 0.0022). Within the 57 individuals eligible for gut microbiome analysis, diverse profiles are observed but interestingly, a predominance of the emergent Escherichia fergusonii ATCC 35469, was found across the different risk factors. Our results emphasize the importance of studies to investigate these aspects of protozoa colonization that will undoubtedly increase our understanding of complex interactions between intestinal protozoa, other microbiota organisms, and the human host.

The collaboration and competition between indigenous microorganisms and exogenous anaerobic digester sludge in anaerobic treatment of pickled mustard wastewater at different salinities.

The highly concentrated pickled mustard wastewater presents significant potential for energy recovery, but the stress effect of high osmotic pressure on cell integrity and activity seriously impedes the methane production by anaerobic microorganisms. The survival ability of indigenous microorganisms (IM) in pickled mustard wastewater supports the establishment of anaerobic treatment. Moreover, inoculation of anaerobic digester sludge is a common start-up strategy. However, the effects of exogenous anaerobic sludge on IM are unclear, especially in hypersaline environment. This research aimed to investigate the influence of exogenous anaerobic sludge on the construction, performance, and microbiota at 3% and 5% salinity. And the research focused on the collaboration and competition between exogenous anaerobic sludge and IM. The neutral community model (which explains the formation and evolution of biological communities) indicated that the interaction between exogenous digester sludge microorganisms and IM dominated community assembly. At 3%, the digester sludge collaborated with IM to increase daily COD reduction and biogas production compared with IM group. However, at 5%, the competitive relationship reduced daily COD reduction and biogas production compared with IM group. This study provides a new perspective for the selection of inoculation strategies for exogenous anaerobic digester sludge under different salinity, in order to realize energy conversion from salinity organic wastewater.

Bioconversion of sulfamethazine-contaminated chicken manure by black soldier fly larvae: Effects on antibiotic resistance genes and microbial communities.

Sulfamethazine (SM2), a widely detected antibiotic in livestock manure, poses environmental and health risks due to its persistence and the proliferation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, we investigated the degradation of SM2 and the elimination of sulfonamide ARGs (sul1 and sul2) in chicken manure contaminated with varying concentration of SM2 by black soldier fly larvae (BSFL). Quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were employed to monitor changes in sulfa ARGs and microbial community composition within both the larvae gut and chicken manure. During the 12-day test period, BSFL exhibited strong tolerance to SM2, significantly reducing SM2 concentrations by 80.54%-92.22% across different treatment groups. Concurrently, the abundance of sul1 and sul2 decreased by 79.27% and 79.92% in chicken manure, respectively. Additionally, microbial genera such as Firmicutes (47.18-65%) and Bacillus (9.32-10.25%), which were enriched in both the BSFL gut and chicken manure, were identified as potential contributors to SM2 degradation. These findings provide a promising biotechnological strategy for mitigating antibiotic contamination in livestock manure.

SALINITY-Induced Changes in Diversity, Stability, and Functional Profiles of Microbial Communities in Different Saline Lakes in Arid Areas.

Saline lakes, characterized by high salinity and limited nutrient availability, provide an ideal environment for studying extreme halophiles and their biogeochemical processes. The present study examined prokaryotic microbial communities and their ecological functions in lentic sediments (with the salinity gradient and time series) using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and a metagenomic approach. Our findings revealed a negative correlation between microbial diversity and salinity. The notable predominance of Archaea in high-salinity lakes signified a considerable alteration in the composition of the microbial community. The results indicate that elevated salinity promotes homogeneous selection pressures, causing substantial alterations in microbial diversity and community structure, and simultaneously hindering interactions among microorganisms. This results in a notable decrease in the complexity of microbial ecological networks, ultimately influencing the overall ecological functional responses of microbial communities such as carbon fixation, sulfur, and nitrogen metabolism. Overall, our findings reveal salinity drives a notable predominance of Archaea, selects for species adapted to extreme conditions, and decreases microbial community complexity within saline lake ecosystems.

Metagenomic profiling of antibiotic resistance genes and their associations with the bacterial community along the Kanda River, an urban river in Japan.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) present in urban rivers have the potential to disseminate antibiotic-resistant bacteria into other environments, posing significant threats to both ecological and public health. Although metagenomic analyses have been widely employed to detect ARGs in rivers, our understanding of their dynamics across different seasons in diverse watersheds remains limited. In this study, we performed a comprehensive genomic analysis of the Kanda River in Japan at 11 sites from upstream to estuary throughout the year to assess the spread of ARGs and their associations with bacterial communities. Analysis of 110 water samples using the 16S rRNA gene revealed variations in bacterial composition corresponding to seasonal changes in environmental parameters along the river. Shotgun metagenomics-based profiling of ARGs in 44 water samples indicated higher ARG abundance downstream, particularly during the summer. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) linking bacterial lineages and ARGs revealed that 12 ARG subtypes co-occurred with 128 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs). WGCNA suggested potential hosts for ErmB, ErmF, ErmG, tetQ, tet (W/N/W), aadA2, and adeF, including gut-associated bacteria (e.g., Prevotella, Bacteroides, Arcobacter) and indigenous aquatic microbes (e.g., Limnohabitans and C39). In addition, Pseudarcobacter (a later synonym of Arcobater) was identified as a host for adeF, which was also confirmed by single cell genomics. This study shows that ARG distribution in urban rivers is affected by seasonal and geographical factors and demonstrates the importance of monitoring rivers using multiple types of genome sequencing, including 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metagenomics, and single cell genomics.

Seasonal Dynamics of Methane Fluxes from Groundwater to Lakes:Hydrological and Biogeochemical Controls.

Methane (CH4) inputs to lakes through lacustrine groundwater discharge (LGD-derived CH4) represent a potentially important but often overlooked source of lake methane emissions. Although great efforts have been made to quantify LGD-derived CH4 fluxes and their spatial variablity, the underlying mechanisms controlling seasonal LGD-derived CH4 fluxes and their influence on lake CH4 emissions remain poorly understood, particularly in humid inland areas. To address this gap, we applied the 222Rn mass balance model, as well as hydrological, isotopic and microbial methods to assess seasonal LGD-derived CH4 fluxes and their influence on the seasonal variability of lake methane emissions in a typical oxbow lake, central Yangtze River. The results revealed wide seasonal differences in LGD-derived CH4 fluxes, which were controlled by hydrological and biogeochemical processes. During the dry season, although more intense methane oxidation and weaker methanogenesis occurred in groundwater, the much higher LGD rate (51.71 mm/d) produced a higher LGD-derived CH4 flux (16.41 mmol/m2/d). During the wet season, methanogenesis was more active and methane oxidation was weaker, but a lower LGD rate (12.16 mm/d) led to a lower LGD-derived CH4 flux (5.33 mmol/m2/d). Furthermore, higher LGD-derived CH4 flux in the dry season resulted in higher CH4 emissions from the lake and diminished the extent of methane oxidation in the lake. In comparison to other regions, the differences in LGD-derived CH4 fluxes and their seasonal variations were found to be controlled by climatic conditions and lake types in different global regions. Higher LGD-derived CH4 fluxes and more pronounced seasonal variations could be associated with higher temperature, larger water depth and more intense water level fluctuations. This study provides a novel perspective and broader implications for the comprehension and evaluation of seasonal methane emissions and understanding the carbon cycle in global lake ecosystems in humid areas with intense water level fluctuations.

Impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on maize rhizosphere microbiome stability under moderate drought conditions.

With an alarming increase in global greenhouse gas emissions, unstable weather conditions are significantly impacting agricultural production. Drought stress is one of the frequent consequences of climate change that affects crop growth and yield. Addressing this issue is critical to ensure stable crop productivity under drought conditions. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) establish symbiotic relationships with plants and enhance their resistance to adverse conditions. Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal associations on the rhizosphere microbiome and root transcriptome under drought conditions have not been explored. Here, we investigated the effects of AMF and drought stress on rhizosphere microorganisms and root transcriptome of maize plants grown in chernozem soil. We used high-throughput sequencing data of bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS) to identify rhizosphere microorganisms. Transcriptomic data were used to assess gene expression in maize plants under different treatments. Our results show that AMF maintains the composition of maize rhizosphere microorganisms under drought stress. In particular, the bacterial and fungal phyla maintained were Actinomycetes and Ascomycota, respectively. Transcriptomic data indicated that AMF influenced gene expression in maize plants under drought stress. Under drought stress, the expression of SWEET13, CHIT3, and RPL23A was significantly higher in the presence of AMF than it was without AMF inoculation, indicating better sugar transport, reduced malondialdehyde accumulation, and improved water use efficiency in AMF-inoculated maize plants. These findings suggest that AMF can enhance the resistance of maize to moderate drought stress by stabilising plant physical traits, which may help maintain the structure of the rhizosphere microbial community. This study provides valuable theoretical insights that should aid the utilization of AMF in sustainable agricultural practices.

Remediation of biochar-supported effective microorganisms and microplastics on multiple forms of nitrogenous and phosphorous in eutrophic lake.

Lots of studies on eutrophication, but there is a lack of comprehensive research on the repair of multiple forms of nitrogen and phosphorus under combined heavy metals (HMs) pollution. This work investigated the various forms of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water-sediment systems of eutrophic lakes with the application of biochar, Effective Microorganisms (EMs) and microplastics, aiming to deliberate the repair behavior of multiple forms of nitrogen/phosphorus and the integrated repairment of these nutrients and HMs in different remediations. For amended-groups, the application of biochar-supported EMs (BE) achieved the most desirable remediation for removing nitrogen, phosphorus and HMs in water and improved their stability in sediment due to the improved microbial activity and the developed biofilm system created by biochar. The addition of aging microplastics (MP) obviously reduced the systematic levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and HMs due to the stimulation of microbial activity and the adsorption of biofilm/EPS, but its high movability also increased the Fe(II) and S(-II) levels and the pollutants' ecological risks in sediment. The co-application of BE and MP (MBE) destroyed the ecosystem and decreased the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus, while greatly removing HMs by the superfluous biofilms/EPS. The application of biochar (BC) preferentially adsorbed and degraded dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus, releasing HMs into water. From these amended-groups, it's also knew that the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus mainly came from the degradation/assimilation of NH3-N, SRP and dissolved matters, particularly those molecular weight below 3 kDa; the higher removal of phosphorus than nitrogen was attributed to the coprecipitation of Fe-S-P hydroxides and the adsorption of particulates; however, the colloidal (3-100 kDa) nitrogen and phosphorus had low accessibility and bioavailability, and it also showed the competitive adsorption with colloidal HMs, causing their relatively low removal in water. This study provides insight into the comprehensive repair of nitrogen, phosphorus and HMs in various forms by biochar-immobilized microbes and the influence of microplastics on nutrients and HMs in eutrophic lakes.

Distinct impacts of microplastics on the carbon sequestration capacity of coastal blue carbon ecosystems: A case of seagrass beds.

Seagrass beds, as an important coastal blue carbon ecosystem, are excellent at storing organic carbon and mitigating the impacts of global climate change. However, seagrass beds are under threat due to increased human activities and ubiquitous presence of microplastics (MPs) in marine environments. Bibliometric analysis shows that the distribution and accumulation of microplastics in seagrass beds has been widely documented worldwide, but their impacts on seagrass beds, particularly on carbon sequestration capacity, have not been given sufficient attention. This review aims to outline the potential impacts of MPs on the carbon sequestration capacity of seagrass ecosystems across five key aspects: (1) MPs act as sources of organic carbon, contributing to direct pollution in seagrass ecosystems; (2) Impacts of MPs on seagrasses and their epiphytic algae, affecting plant growth and net primary productivity; (3) Impacts of MPs on microorganisms, influencing production of recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon and greenhouse gas; (4) Impacts of MPs on seagrass sediments, altering the quality, structure, properties and decomposition processes of plant litters; (5) Other complex impacts on the seagrass ecosystems, depending on different behaviors of MPs. Latest progress in these fields are summarized and recommendations for future work are discussed. This review can provide valuable insights to facilitate future multidisciplinary investigations and encourage society-wide implementation of effective conservation measures to enhance the carbon sequestration capacity of seagrass beds.

Intercropping of tobacco and maize at seedling stage promotes crop growth through manipulating rhizosphere microenvironment.

Introduction: Changes in the rhizosphere microbiome and metabolites resulting from crop intercropping can significantly enhance crop growth. While there has been an increasing number of studies on various crop combinations, research on the intercropping of tobacco and maize at seedling stage remains limited. Methods: This study is the first to explore rhizosphere effects of intercropping between tobacco and maize seedling stages, we analyzed the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients in the soil, and revealed the important effects on soil microbial community composition and metabolite profiles, thereby regulating crop growth and improving soil balance. Results and discussion: Compared with mono-cropping, intercropping increased the biomass of the two crops and promoted the nutrient absorption of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Under intercropping conditions, the activities of sucrase, catalase and nitrate reductase in tobacco rhizosphere soil and the content of available potassium, the activities of nitrate reductase and acid phosphatase in maize rhizosphere soil were significantly increasing. Rhizosphere soil bacterial and fungal communities such as Sphingomonas, Massilia, Humicola and Penicillium respond differently to crop planting patterns, and soil dominant microbial communities are regulated by environmental factors such as pH, Organic Matter, Available Potassium, Nitrate Reductase, and Urease Enzyme. Network analysis showed that soil microbial communities were more complex after intercropping, and the reciprocal relationship between bacteria and fungi was enhanced. The difference of metabolites in soil between intercropping and monocropping system was mainly concentrated in galactose metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism pathway, and the content of carbohydrate metabolites was significantly higher than that of monocropping soil. Key metabolites such as D-Sucrose, D-Fructose-6-Phosphate, D-Glucose-1-Phosphatel significantly influence the composition of dominant microbial communities such as Sphingomonas and Penicillium. This study explained the effects of intercropping between flue-cured tobacco and maize on the content of soil metabolites and soil microbial composition in rhizosphere soil, and deepened the understanding that intercropping system can improve the growth of flue-cured crops seedlings through rhizosphere effects.

Exotic mangrove Laguncularia racemosa litter input accelerates nutrient cycling in mangrove ecosystems.

Exotic plant litter presents different chemical and physical properties relative to native plant litter and alters ecosystem processes and functions that may facilitate exotic plant dispersal. However, these effects are largely unknown, especially within wetland ecosystems. This study examines whether introducing litter from the exotic mangrove Laguncularia racemosa could result in (1) accelerated community litter decomposition rates and increased nutrient cycling rates and (2) microbial community structure changes in the invaded areas. A single decomposition experiment using litterbags was conducted to examine the short-term effects of L. racemosa litter in the native mangrove forest ecosystem. The soil nutrients and microbial communities of Rhizophora stylosa, L. racemosa, and mixed forests were also compared to explore the long-term cumulative effects of L. racemosa litter in native ecosystems. The results indicated that L. racemosa has lower-quality leaf litter than R. stylosa and a significantly faster decomposition rate. This may result from changes in the soil microbial community structure caused by L. racemosa leaf litter input, which favors the decomposition of its own litter. Both the short-term and cumulative effect experiments demonstrated that L. racemosa leaf litter significantly increased the relative abundance of microbes related to litter decomposition, such as Proteobacteria and Bdellovibrionota, and enhanced the alpha diversity of soil fungi, thus creating a microbial environment conducive to L. racemosa leaf litter decomposition. Moreover, the accumulation of soil nutrients was lower under L. racemosa than under R. stylosa over several years. This may be related to the more rapid growth of L. racemosa, which causes soil nutrient absorption and storage within the plant tissues, thereby reducing the soil nutrient content. Inputting exotic mangrove L. racemosa leaf litter reduced the soil blue carbon content, potentially adversely affecting global climate change. L. racemosa may employ a unique strategy to lower soil nutrient levels in native mangroves based on its low-quality leaf litter, thereby weakening the competitive ability of native plants that are intolerant to low-nutrient conditions and enhancing its own competitive advantage to further spread into these areas. In summary, the input of exotic L. racemosa leaf litter accelerates nutrient cycling in local mangroves.

Artificial intelligence in assisting pathogenic microorganism diagnosis and treatment: a review of infectious skin diseases.

The skin, the largest organ of the human body, covers the body surface and serves as a crucial barrier for maintaining internal environmental stability. Various microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses reside on the skin surface, and densely arranged keratinocytes exhibit inhibitory effects on pathogenic microorganisms. The skin is an essential barrier against pathogenic microbial infections, many of which manifest as skin lesions. Therefore, the rapid diagnosis of related skin lesions is of utmost importance for early treatment and intervention of infectious diseases. With the continuous rapid development of artificial intelligence, significant progress has been made in healthcare, transforming healthcare services, disease diagnosis, and management, including a significant impact in the field of dermatology. In this review, we provide a detailed overview of the application of artificial intelligence in skin and sexually transmitted diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms, including auxiliary diagnosis, treatment decisions, and analysis and prediction of epidemiological characteristics.

Glacier melting promotes methane emission via increased methanogenic activity in the foreland alpine meadow.

Annual glacier melting alters hydrothermal conditions of the foreland alpine meadows, and causes significant fluctuations in methane (CH4) flux. Previously we found that Tibetan glacier foreland alpine meadow shifts to CH4 source from sink during the melting season, but the potential mechanisms remain unclear. This study, via combination of in-situ measurement of seasonal CH4 flux and survey of microbial species that may involve in CH4 metabolism, explores the causes of glacier melting on CH4 flux in a glacier foreland alpine meadow on Tibetan Plateau. We determined a pronounced CH4 emission (13.95 µg·m-2·h-1) in August (melting season) but CH4 uptake in June (-3.76 µg·m-2·h-1) and October (-17.77 µg·m-2·h-1), and 1.4-fold higher soil moisture in August than the other two months. This showed a direct correlation of CH4 flux with glacier melting increased soil water. Additionally, glacier melting caused more CH4 fluxes increase in hollows than in hummocks. Amplicon sequencing determined 126-fold higher abundance of mcrA, the methanogenic marker gene, in August than in June and October, and a higher relative abundance of a fungal phylum Mortierellomycota and syntrophic bacteria that convert the fatty acids, the degradation intermediates of organic complexes to CO2 and acetate, the methanogenic substrates like in August. However, no seasonal variation of pmoA, the marker gene of aerobic methanotrophs, was observed. It appears that glacier melting promotes the CH4 producing but not the consuming microorganisms, thus leading to increased CH4 emission. The findings of this work indicate that global warming resulted glacier melting would increase global CH4 emissions, and in turn worsens global warming, so an alarming positive feedback loop.

Effects of cyanotoxins on nitrogen transformation in aquaculture systems with microplastics coexposure: Adsorption behavior, bacterial communities and functional genes.

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) and microplastics (MPs) have attracted increasing attention as important new pollutants in freshwater fishery environments. However, there are few reports on the effects of long-term combined MC-LR and MPs pollution on nitrogen transformation and microbial communities in aquaculture ponds, and the resulting risks have yet to be determined. Therefore, in this study, traditional refractory MPs (polystyrene, PS), biodegradable MPs (polylactic acid, PLA) and MC-LR, which are common in freshwater fishery environments in China, were selected as pollutants to construct a microcosm that simulates freshwater aquaculture ponds. MC-LR coexposure to PS and PLA was tested to reveal the effects of these pollutants on nitrogen transformation and microbial communities in aquaculture ponds, as well as to elucidate the potential risks posed by traditional refractory MPs and biodegradable MPs to freshwater aquaculture ecosystems. The results revealed that the MPs had a relatively high adsorption rate for MC-LR and that PS presented a relatively high adsorption capacity, whereas PLA presented a relatively high desorption capacity. Single or combined MPs and MC-LR pollution disrupted the normal nitrogen cycle in the aquaculture system, causing an overall loss of nitrogen in the water, and denitrification and nitrogen fixation in the water were inhibited to a certain extent through the inhibition of nitrogen cycle-related functional genes, with the PS + MC-LR group having the greatest inhibitory effect. In addition, compared with single-pollutant exposure, combined exposure to MC-LR and MPs had a greater effect on the microbial community composition. Analysis of the integrated biomarker response (IBR) index revealed that the risk of combined exposure to MC-LR and PS was greater than that of single exposure, so this phenomenon merits further attention.

Effect of potassium fulvate on continuous tobacco cropping soils and crop growth.

Long-term continuous cropping of tobacco causes dysbiosis of soil microbial communities, the imbalance of soil nutrients, and the increase of pathogenic bacteria, which will slow the growth and development of tobacco plants, reduce the production quality, and cause significant losses to tobacco production and tobacco farmers. The application of Potassium fulvic acid can not only provide nutrients, but also inhibit the propagation of pathogens in soil along with raising the amount of organic matter in the soil, which is an effective way to improve soil health. In this experiment, Tobacco variety SNT60 was used as the test material, and 6 treatments were set up by pot test, they were: no fertilisation control group (CK), tobacco special fertiliser (NPK), 3.45 g/kg of potassium fulvic acid fertiliser (T1), 4.65 g/kg of potassium fulvic acid fertiliser (T2), 5.85 g/kg of potassium fulvic acid fertiliser (T3), 7.05 g/kg of potassium fulvic acid fertiliser (T4), Ten replications were set up for each treatment and the soil and fertiliser were mixed and potted before transplanting, 70% as basal fertiliser and 30% as supplementary fertiliser. We also analyzed soil properties, soil microorganisms and agronomic traits of tobacco plants in different treatments to provide reference for mitigating tobacco succession barrier. The test results are as follows: 4.65 g/kg of potassium fulvic acid fertiliser (T2) treatment was the best, soil organic matter, quick nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH, soil catalase, soil sucrase, and soil urease content, compared to CK control, increased by 22.04%, 43.12%, 96.21%, 381.79%, 25.43%, 91.69%, 262.07% and 93.16%. In terms of microbial community, application of potassium fulvic acid fertiliser significantly increased the relative abundance of Ascomycetes, Chlorobacterium, Bacillus, Proteobacteria and Tephritobacterium in the soil. Meanwhile, 4.65 g/kg of potassium fulvic acid fertiliser (T2) promoted the growth of tobacco plants, improved leaf photosynthetic capacity, and enhanced plant disease resistance. This experiment provides practical measures to improve the microbial community of tobacco continuous cropping soils and to reduce the incidence of diseases.