Ore improver additions alter livestock manure compost ecosystem C:N:P stoichiometry.

Deciphering the pivotal components of nutrient metabolism in compost is of paramount importance. To this end, ecoenzymatic stoichiometry, enzyme vector modeling, and statistical analysis were employed to explore the impact of exogenous ore improver on nutrient changes throughout the livestock composting process. The total phosphorus increased from 12.86 to 18.72 g kg-1, accompanied by a marked neutralized pH with ore improver, resulting in the Carbon-, nitrogen-, and phosphorus-related enzyme activities decreases. However, the potential C:P and N:P acquisition activities represented by ln(ßG + CB): ln(ALP) and ln(NAG): ln(ALP), were increased with ore improver addition. Based on the ecoenzymatic stoiometry theory, these changes reflect a decreasing trend in the relative P/N limitation, with pH and total phosphorus as the decisive factors. Our study showed that the practical employment of eco stoichiometry could benefit the manure composting process. Moreover, we should also consider the ecological effects from pH for the waste material utilization in sustainable agriculture.

Comparative genomics revealed that Vibrio furnissii and Vibrio fluvialis have mutations in genes related to T6SS1 and T6SS2.

The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is important for interbacterial competition and virulence in Vibrio species. It is generally agreed that T6SS provides a fitness advantage to Vibrios. Some Vibrio species possess one, while others possess two T6SSs. Even within the same Vibrio species, different strains can harbor a variable number of T6SSs. Such is the case in V. fluvialis, an opportunistic human pathogen, that some V. fluvialis strains do not harbor T6SS1. This study found that Amphritea, Marinomonas, Marinobacterium, Vibrio, Photobacterium, and Oceanospirillum species have genes encoding V. fluvialis T6SS1 homologs. The cladogram of T6SS1 genes suggested that these genes appeared to be horizontally acquired by V. fluvialis, V. furnissii, and some other Vibrio species, when compared with the species tree. Codon insertions, codon deletions, nonsense mutations, and the insertion sequence are found in many genes, such as clpV1, tssL1, and tssF1, which encode structure components of T6SS1 in V. furnissii and V. fluvialis. Codon deletion events are more common than codon insertion, insertion sequence disruption, and nonsense mutation events in genes that encode components of T6SS1. Similarly, codon insertions and codon deletions are found in genes relevant to T6SS2, including tssM2, vgrG2 and vasH, in V. furnissii and V. fluvialis. These mutations are likely to disable the functions of T6SSs. Our findings indicate that T6SS may have a fitness disadvantage in V. furnissii and V. fluvialis, and the loss of function in T6SS may help these Vibrio species to survive under certain conditions.

Core Species Derived from Multispecies Interactions Facilitate the Immobilization of Cadmium.

Microbial consortia have opened new avenues for heavy-metal remediation. However, the limited understanding of the overall effect of interspecific interactions on remediation efficacy hinders its application. Here, the effects of multispecies growth and biofilm formation on Cd immobilization were explored from direct and multiple interactions through random combinations of two or three rhizosphere bacteria. In monocultures, Cd stress resulted in an average decrease in planktonic biomass of 26%, but through cooperation, the decrease was attenuated in dual (21%) and triple cultures (13%), possibly involving an increase in surface polysaccharides. More than 65% of the co-cultures exhibited induction of biofilm formation under Cd stress, which further enhanced the role of biofilms in Cd immobilization. Notably, excellent biofilm-forming ability or extensive social induction makes Pseudomonas putida and Brevundimonas diminuta stand out in multispecies biofilm formation and Cd immobilization. These two core species significantly increase the colonization of soil microorganisms on rice roots compared to the control, resulting in a 40% decrease in Cd uptake by rice. Our study enhances the understanding of bacterial interactions under Cd stress and provides a novel strategy for adjusting beneficial soil consortia for heavy-metal remediation.

Rice-crayfish co-culture increases microbial necromass' contribution to the soil nitrogen pool.

The rice-crayfish co-culture (RC) is a putative sustainable agricultural system. However, studies on the ecological effects of long-term RC systems were still lacking. Here, we compare enzymatic stoichiometry, microbial necromass, and microbial community between the RC and rice monoculture systems (RM). Soil enzymatic stoichiometry analysis showed that after transformation from RM to RC for about three years, ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) availability increased to depress relative N-acquiring enzyme production, especially for leucine aminopeptidase. The contents of microbial necromass increased approximately onefold in the RC system, making microbial necromass' contribution to the soil nitrogen (N) reach up to 46.72%. Elevation in NH4+ decreased N-acquiring enzyme, and a relatively more effective C acquisition likely benefited microbial necromass retention and production in the RC system. This study highlights that the rice-crayfish co-culture could modify the N pool of the surface paddy soil.

Salinity-triggered homogeneous selection constrains the microbial function and stability in lakes.

Climate change and anthropogenic exploitation have led to the gradual salinization of inland waters worldwide. However, the impacts of this process on the prokaryotic plankton communities and their role in biogeochemical cycles in the inland lake are poorly known. Here, we take a space-for-time substitution approach, using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and metagenomic sequencing. We analyzed the prokaryotic plankton communities of 11 lakes in northwest China, with average water salinities ranging from 0.002 to 14.370%. The results demonstrated that, among the various environmental parameters, salinity was the most important driver of prokaryotic plankton ß-diversity (Mantel test, r = 0.53, P < 0.001). (1) Under low salinity, prokaryotic planktons were assembled by stochastic processes and employed diverse halotolerant strategies, including the synthesis and uptake of compatible solutes and extrusion of Na+ or Li+ in exchange for H+. Under elevated salinity pressure, strong homogeneous selection meant that only planktonic prokaryotes showing an energetically favorable halotolerant strategy employing an Mnh-type Na+/H+ antiporter remained. (2) The decreasing taxonomic diversity caused by intense environmental filtering in high-salinity lakes impaired functional diversity related to substance metabolism. The prokaryotes enhanced the TCA cycle, carbon fixation, and low-energy-consumption amino acid biosynthesis in high-salinity lakes. (3) Elevated salinity pressure decreased the negative:positive cohesion and the modularity of the molecular ecology networks for the planktonic prokaryotes, indicating a precarious microbial network. Our findings provide new insights into plankton ecology and are helpful for the protecting of the biodiversity and function of inland lakes against the background of salinization. KEY POINTS: • Increased salinity enhances homogeneous selection in the microbial assembly. • Elevated salinity decreases the microbial co-occurrence networks stability. • High salinity damages the microbial function diversity.

MRG Chip: A High-Throughput qPCR-Based Tool for Assessment of the Heavy Metal(loid) Resistome.

Bacterial metal detoxification mechanisms have been well studied for centuries in pure culture systems. However, profiling metal resistance determinants at the community level is still a challenge due to the lack of comprehensive and reliable quantification tools. Here, a novel high-throughput quantitative polymerase chain reaction (HT-qPCR) chip, termed the metal resistance gene (MRG) chip, has been developed for the quantification of genes involved in the homeostasis of 9 metals. The MRG chip contains 77 newly designed degenerate primer sets and 9 published primer sets covering 56 metal resistance genes. Computational evaluation of the taxonomic coverage indicated that the MRG chip had a broad coverage matching 2 kingdoms, 29 phyla, 64 classes, 130 orders, 226 families, and 382 genera. Temperature gradient PCR and HT-qPCR verified that 57 °C was the optimal annealing temperature, with amplification efficiencies of over 94% primer sets achieving 80-110%, with R2 > 0.993. Both computational evaluation and the melting curve analysis of HT-qPCR validated a high specificity. The MRG chip has been successfully applied to characterize the distribution of diverse metal resistance determinants in natural and human-related environments, confirming its wide scope of application. Collectively, the MRG chip is a powerful and efficient high-throughput quantification tool for exploring the microbial metal resistome.

Microscale heterogeneity of the soil nitrogen cycling microbial functional structure and potential metabolism.

Soil aggregates, with complex spatial and nutritional heterogeneity, are clearly important for regulating microbial community ecology and biogeochemistry in soils. However, how the taxonomic composition and functional attributes of N-cycling-microbes within different soil particle-size fractions under a long-term fertilization treatment remains largely unknown. Here, we examined the composition and metabolic potential for urease activity, nitrification, N2 O production and reduction of the microbial communities attached to different sized soil particles (2000-250, 250-53 and <53 µm) using a functional gene microarray (GeoChip) and functional assays. We found that urease activity and nitrification were higher in <53 µm fractions, whereas N2 O production and reduction rates were greater in 2000-250 and 250-53 µm across different fertilizer regimes. The abundance of key N-cycling genes involved in anammox, ammonification, assimilatory and dissimilatory N reduction, denitrification, nitrification and N2 -fixation detected by GeoChip increased as soil aggregate size decreased; and the particular key genes abundance (e.g., ureC, amoA, narG, nirS/K) and their corresponding activity were uncoupled. Aggregate fraction exerted significant impacts on N-cycling microbial taxonomic composition, which was significantly shaped by soil nutrition. Taken together, these findings indicate the important roles of soil aggregates in differentiating N-cycling metabolic potential and taxonomic composition, and provide empirical evidence that nitrogen metabolism potential and community are uncoupled due to aggregate heterogeneity.

High Salinity Inhibits Soil Bacterial Community Mediating Nitrogen Cycling.

Salinization is considered a major threat to soil fertility and agricultural productivity throughout the world. Soil microbes play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem stability and function (e.g., nitrogen cycling). However, the response of bacterial community composition and community-level function to soil salinity remains uncertain. Here, we used multiple statistical analyses to assess the effect of high salinity on bacterial community composition and potential metabolism function in the agricultural ecosystem. Results showed that high salinity significantly altered both bacterial alpha (Shannon-Wiener index and phylogenetic diversity) and beta diversity. Salinity, total nitrogen (TN), and soil organic matter (SOM) were the vital environmental factors shaping bacterial community composition. The relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, and Planctomycetes decreased with salinity, whereas Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes increased with salinity. The modularity and the ratio of negative to positive links remarkedly decreased, indicating that high salinity destabilized bacterial networks. Variable selection, which belongs to deterministic processes, mediated bacterial community assembly within the saline soils. Function prediction results showed that the key nitrogen metabolism (e.g., ammonification, nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification processes) was inhibited in high salinity habitats. MiSeq sequencing of 16S rRNA genes revealed that the abundance and composition of the nitrifying community were influenced by high salinity. The consistency of function prediction and experimental verification demonstrated that high salinity inhibited soil bacterial community mediating nitrogen cycling. Our study provides strong evidence for a salinity effect on the bacterial community composition and key metabolism function, which could help us understand how soil microbes respond to ongoing environment perturbation. IMPORTANCE Revealing the response of the soil bacterial community to external environmental disturbances is an important but poorly understood topic in microbial ecology. In this study, we evaluated the effect of high salinity on the bacterial community composition and key biogeochemical processes in salinized agricultural soils (0.22 to 19.98 dS m-1). Our results showed that high salinity significantly decreased bacterial diversity, altered bacterial community composition, and destabilized the bacterial network. Moreover, variable selection (61% to 66%) mediated bacterial community assembly within the saline soils. Functional prediction combined with microbiological verification proved that high salinity inhibited soil bacterial community mediating nitrogen turnover. Understanding the impact of salinity on soil bacterial community is of great significance for managing saline soils and maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

Calcium-crosslinked alginate-encapsulated bacteria for remediating of cadmium-polluted water and production of CdS nanoparticles.

Pollution with the heavy metal cadmium (Cd2+) is a global problem. Cadmium adversely affects living organisms, highlighting the need to develop new methods for removal of this pollutant from the environment. In this study, we used a novel biomaterial based on calcium-crosslinked alginate-encapsulated bacteria to precipitate Cd2+ in polluted water. Our results show that calcium-crosslinked alginate-encapsulated bacteria effectively removed Cd2+ ions from cadmium-polluted water. Approximately 100% of Cd2+ ions were removed by 10 g (wet weight) of this biomaterial when the loading concentration of Cd2+ reached 1 mM in a volume of 50 ml water. During this process, a CdS nanoparticle, showing good crystallinity in the quantum range, was simultaneously produced. To validate the activity and stability of this biomaterial, we measured cysteine desulfhydrase activity in the stored biomaterial and whether this biomaterial could be recycled. The encapsulated bacteria maintained catalytic activity for at least 2 weeks. The capsules were easily regenerated and possessed good recyclability. Our results indicated that calcium-crosslinked alginate-encapsulated bacteria are suitable for depletion of Cd2+ in polluted water and for production of CdS nanoparticles. These calcium-crosslinked alginate-encapsulated bacteria are safe for biological manipulation and can be widely used to produce CdS nanoparticles during bioremediation of Cd2+-polluted water. KEY POINTS: • Calcium-crosslinked alginate-encapsulated bacteria can effectively precipitate Cd2+ in water coupled with production of CdS quantum dots. • The encapsulated bacteria maintained catalytic activity for at least 2 weeks. • The capsules were easily regenerated and possessed good recyclability.

Binding to type I collagen is essential for the infectivity of Vibrio parahaemolyticus to host cells.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a globally present marine bacterium that often leads to acute gastroenteritis. Two type III secretion systems (T3SSs), T3SS1 and T3SS2, are important for host infection. Type I collagen is a component of the extracellular matrix and is abundant in the small intestine. However, whether type I collagen serves as the cellular receptor for V. parahaemolyticus infection of host cells remains enigmatic. In this study, we discovered that type I collagen is not only important for the attachment of V. parahaemolyticus to host cells but is also involved in T3SS1-dependent cytotoxicity. In addition, 2 virulence factors, MAM7 and VpadF enable V. parahaemolyticus to interact with type I collagen and mediate T3SS2-dependent host cell invasion. Type I collagen, the collagen receptor α1 integrin, and its downstream factor phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) are responsible for V. parahaemolyticus invasion of host cells. Further biochemical studies revealed that VpadF mainly relies on the C-terminal region for type I collagen binding and MAM7 relies on mce domains to bind to type I collagen. As MAM7 and/or VpadF homologues are widely distributed in the genus Vibrio, we propose that Vibrios have evolved a unique strategy to infect host cells by binding to type I collagen.

Non-redundant expression of the two katG genes in Vibrio parahaemolyticus V110.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus V110 is a marine origin pathogen infecting shrimp. Its resistance to oxidative stress is important for its survival in the complex marine ecosystems. vpa0768 (katG1) and vpa0453 (katG2) were previously found to contribute to the resistance against H2 O2 and isopropylbenzene. Our data showed that purified KatG2 and KatG1 possessed similar activity for hydrolyzing H2 O2 at 37 °C. The transcription of katG genes was induced by H2 O2 , cumene, and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP). The fold change of katG2 transcripts induced by isopropylbenzene was significantly higher than that of katG1. oxyR and rpoS are well-known regulatory genes which control the anti-oxidative and general stress response pathways, respectively. Deletion of rpoS resulted pathways, respectively. Deletion of rpoS resulted in abolishing the induction of katGs by the peroxides, and oxyR deletion only weakened the expression of the two genes. These results indicate that the two katGs encoding active enzymes are both inducible, but differ in their inducer preference. RpoS and oxyR are required for the full expression of katGs, but other unknown sensing regulators could be involved in the oxidative stress response besides OxyR.

Long-term straw returning affects Nitrospira-like nitrite oxidizing bacterial community in a rapeseed-rice rotation soil.

Nitrospira are the most widespread and well known nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and putatively key nitrite-oxidizers in acidic ecosystems. Nevertheless, their ecology in agriculture soils has not been well studied. To understand the impact of straw incorporation on soil Nitrospira-like bacterial community, a cloned library analysis of the nitrite oxidoreductase gene-nxrB was performed for a long-term rapeseed-rice rotation system. In this study, most members of the Nitrospira-like NOB in the paddy soils from the Wuxue field experiment station were phylogenetically related with Nitrospira lineages II. The Shannon diversity index possessed a decrease trend in the straw applied soils. The relative abundances of 16 OTUs (accounting 72% of the total OTUs, including 11 unique OTUs and 5 shared OTUs) were different between in the straw applied and control soils. These data suggested a selection effect from the long-term straw fertilization. Canonical correspondence analysis data showed that a centralized group of Nitrospira-like NOB OTUs in the community was partly explained by the soil ammonium, nitrate, available phosphorus, and the available potassium. This could suggest that straw fertilization led to the soil Nitrospira-like NOB community shift, which was correlated with the change of available nutrients in the bulk soil.

Luteimonas arsenica sp. nov., an arsenic-tolerant bacterium isolated from arsenic-contaminated soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that formed yellow and viscous colonies was isolated from arsenic-contaminated soil of the Jianghan plain, Hubei Province, China, and it was designated 26-35T. This strain was capable of resisting arsenate and arsenite with MICs of 40 and 20 mM, respectively. The 16S rRNA gene of the novel isolate displayed 96.7-94.2 % sequence similarities to those of other known species of the genus Luteimonas. The respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-8 (Q-8). The DNA G+C content was 71.4 mol%. The predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0, iso-C17 : 0, iso-C11 : 0, iso-C11 : 0 3-OH and iso-C17 : 1ω9c. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. Phylogenetic and physiological analysis indicated that the isolate represents a novel species of the genus Luteimonas, for which the name Luteimonas arsenica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 26-35T (=KCTC 42824T=CCTCC AB 2014326T).

Amination of Diazocarbonyl Compounds: N-H Insertion under Metal-Free Conditions.

Transition-metal-free intermolecular N-H insertion of α-diazocarbonyl compounds is reported. Among the series of nitrogen sources examined, dibenzenesulfonimide was found to be the choice in terms of the yields and the reaction time. Primary mechanistic experiments suggest that a pathway involving a sequence of protonation and nucleophilic substitution was preferred.

Polysubstituted 2-Aminopyrrole Synthesis via Gold-Catalyzed Intermolecular Nitrene Transfer from Vinyl Azide to Ynamide: Reaction Scope and Mechanistic Insights.

A gold-catalyzed intermolecular reaction of vinyl azides and ynamides is described. This process presents an efficient and mild approach to multisubstituted 2-aminopyrroles in good-to-excellent yields. Control experiments were carried out to distinguish the reactivity between vinyl azides and the corresponding 2H-azirines. A plausible reaction mechanism was also proposed according to previous reports and our preliminary mechanistic studies.

PCB77 Inducing Renal Tubular Cell Apoptosis.

PCBs are a family of persistent environmental toxicants with a wide spectrum of toxic features, such as neurotoxic, hepatoxicity, immunotoxicity, endocrine disruption effects, and oncogenic effects. The kidney is the most important organ involved in the elimination of toxins and drugs. To date, little has been done to investigate the potential influence of nephrotoxicity of 3,3',4,4'- tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB77). By assessing cell viability and apoptotic cell death in renal tubular epithelial (NRK-52E) cells cultures, we found that PCB77 could decrease cellular viability at least at 30 µM concentration after 3 h exposure. PCB77 was demonstrated to promote DNA breakage resulting in apoptosis. Moreover, apoptotic subcellular morphological changes administration of PCB77 was observed using transmission electron microscopy. Appearance swelling of mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum dilation and chromatin agglutinate, and other apoptosis cells morphological characteristics could be visible. Due to increased PCB77 concentration, cells viability was decreased. Collectively, our findings identified the morphological mechanism that PCB77-induced nephrotoxicity via promoting renal tubular epithelial cells apoptosis. It is suggested that using and production of PCB77 should be carefully managed to reduce public health risks.

Diversity of ionizing radiation-resistant bacteria obtained from the Taklimakan Desert.

So far, little is known about the diversity of the radiation-resistant microbes of the hyperarid Taklimakan Desert. In this study, ionizing radiation (IR)-resistant bacteria from two sites in Xinjiang were investigated. After exposing the arid (water content of 0.8 ± 0.3%) and non-arid (water content of 21.3 ± 0.9%) sediment samples to IR of 3000 Gy using a (60)Co source, a total of 52 γ-radiation-resistant bacteria were isolated from the desert sample. The 16S rRNA genes of all isolates were sequenced. The phylogenetic tree places these isolates into five groups: Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides, Proteobacteria, Deinococcus-Thermus, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria. Interestingly, this is the first report of radiation-resistant bacteria belonging to the genera Knoellia, Lysobacter, Nocardioides, Paracoccus, Pontibacter, Rufibacter and Microvirga. The 16s rRNA genes of four isolates showed low sequence similarities to those of the published species. Phenotypic analysis showed that all bacteria in this study are able to produce catalase, suggesting that these bacteria possess reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging enzymes. These radiation-resistant bacteria also displayed diverse metabolic properties. Moreover, their radiation resistances were found to differ. The diversity of the radiation-resistant bacteria in the desert provides further ecological support for the hypothesis that the ionizing-radiation resistance phenotype is a consequence of the evolution of ROS-scavenging systems that protect cells against oxidative damage caused by desiccation.

Flavobacterium arsenatis sp. nov., a novel arsenic-resistant bacterium from high-arsenic sediment.

A novel bacterial strain Z(T) was isolated from the high-arsenic sediment in Jianghan Plain, China. The strain was Gram-staining-negative, rod-shaped and formed yellow colonies. This bacterium is capable of tolerating arsenate and arsenite, with MICs of 40 mM and 20 mM, respectively. The strain also possesses catalase and does not produce oxidase. The nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene of the isolate showed the highest similarity (96.9%) to that of the type strain of Flavobacterium soli. On the basis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and the phenotypic properties of strain Z(T), it was assigned to the genus Flavobacterium. The major respiratory menaquinone was MK-6 and the predominant fatty acids were iso-C15:0, summed feature 3 (containing C16:1ω6c and/or C16:1ω7c) and iso-C15:1G. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, three uncharacterized aminophospholipids and four unidentified phospholipids. The DNA G+C content was 32.1 mol%. Based on the phenotypic and genotypic data presented in this article, it can be concluded that this isolate represents a novel species of the genus Flavobacterium, for which the name Flavobacterium arsenatis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Z(T) ( = CCTCC AB 2013048(T) = KCTC 32397(T)).

Pontibacter yuliensis sp. nov., isolated from soil.

A Gram-staining-negative, rod-shaped and pink bacterium was isolated from the soil of a Populus euphratica forest in the Taklamakan desert, Xinjiang, China. It was designated strain H9X(T). A 16S rRNA gene sequence homology search indicated that the isolate was most closely related to the family Cytophagaceae. The 16S rRNA gene of strain H9X(T) displayed 94.2-96.3 % sequence identities to those of type strains of other species of the genus Pontibacter. It only possessed menaquinone-7. The major cellular fatty acids of the novel isolate were iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1ω5c summed feature 3 (containing C16 : 1ω6c and/or C16 : 1ω7c) and summed feature 4 (comprising anteiso-C17 : 1 B and/or iso-C17 : 1 I). The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, one unknown aminophospholipid, one unknown glycophospholipid and several unknown phospholipids. The DNA G+C content of this bacterium was 55.2 mol%. Based on the phenotypic and genotypic data presented, it can be concluded that this isolate represents a novel species of the genus Pontibacter, for which the name Pontibacter yuliensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is H9X(T) ( = CCTCC AB 2013047(T) = KCTC 32396(T)).

Isolation and characterization of a radiation-resistant bacterium from Taklamakan Desert showing potent ability to accumulate Lead (II) and considerable potential for bioremediation of radioactive wastes.

Radioactive wastes always contain radioactive substances and a lot of Pb compound and other heavy metals, which severely contaminate soils and groundwater. Thus, search for radiation-resistant microorganisms that are capable of sequestering Pb contaminants from the contaminated sites is urgently needed. However, very few such microorganisms have been found so far. In the present study, we discovered a novel Gram-negative bacterium from the arid Taklamakan desert, which can strongly resist both radiation and Pb(2+). Phylogenetic and phenotypic analysis indicated that this bacterial strain is closely affiliated with Microvirga aerilata, and was thus referred to as Microvirga aerilata LM (=CCTCC AB 208311). We found that M. aerilata LM can effectively accumulate Pb and form intracellular precipitations. It also keeps similar ability to remove Pb(2+) under radioactive stress. Our data suggest that M. aerilata LM may offer an effective and eco-friendly in situ approach to remove soluble Pb contaminants from radioactive wastes.