Cyanobacteria can form complex interactions with heterotrophic microorganisms, but this relationship is susceptible to nutrient concentrations. Disentangling the cyanobacteria-bacteria interactions in relation to nutrient supply is essential to understanding their roles in geochemical cycles under global change. We hypothesize that enhanced nutrient supply in oligotrophic oceans can promote interactions among cyanobacteria and bacteria. Therefore, we investigated the planktonic bacteria and their interactions with cyanobacteria in relation to elevated nutrients caused by enhanced upwelling around a shallow and a deep seamount in the tropical western Pacific Ocean. We found obviously higher complexity of network occurred with significantly more cyanobacteria in the deep chlorophyll maximum layer of the shallow seamount when compared with that of the deep seamount. Cyanobacteria can shape bacterial interaction and community evenness in response to relatively high nutrient concentrations. The effects of the nutrients on cyanobacteria-related networks were further estimated based on the Tara Oceans data. Statistical analyses further showed a facilitative effect of nitrate concentrations on cyanobacteria-bacteria mutualistic interactions in the global oligotrophic ocean. By analysing the Tara Ocean macrogenomic data, we detected functional genes related to cyanobacteria-bacteria interactions in all samples, indicating the existence of a mutualistic relationship. Our results reveal cyanobacteria-bacteria interaction in response to nutrient elevation in oligotrophic ocean and highlight the potentially negative effects of global change on the bacterial community from the view of the bio-interaction.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (M RSA) infections, in particular biofilm-organized bacteria, remain a clinical challenge and a serious health problem. Rifabutin (RFB), an antibiotic of the rifamycins class, has shown in previous work excellent anti-staphylococcal activity. Here, we proposed to load RFB in liposomes aiming to promote the accumulation of RFB at infected sites and consequently enhance the therapeutic potency. Two clinical isolates of MRSA, MRSA-C1 and MRSA-C2, were used to test the developed formulations, as well as the positive control, vancomycin (VCM). RFB in free and liposomal forms displayed high antibacterial activity, with similar potency between tested formulations. In MRSA-C1, minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for Free RFB and liposomal RFB were 0.009 and 0.013 μg/mL, respectively. Minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations able to inhibit 50% biofilm growth (MBIC50) for Free RFB and liposomal RFB against MRSA-C1 were 0.012 and 0.008 μg/mL, respectively. Confocal microscopy studies demonstrated the rapid internalization of unloaded and RFB-loaded liposomes in the bacterial biofilm matrix. In murine models of systemic MRSA-C1 infection, Balb/c mice were treated with RFB formulations and VCM at 20 and 40 mg/kg of body weight, respectively. The in vivo results demonstrated a significant reduction in bacterial burden and growth index in major organs of mice treated with RFB formulations, as compared to Control and VCM (positive control) groups. Furthermore, the VCM therapeutic dose was two fold higher than the one used for RFB formulations, reinforcing the therapeutic potency of the proposed strategy. In addition, RFB formulations were the only formulations associated with 100% survival. Globally, this study emphasizes the potential of RFB nanoformulations as an effective and safe approach against MRSA infections.

UNASSIGNED: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) can cause serious infections in many parts of the body and is also an underestimated foodborne pathogen. Intense pulsed light sterilization is recognized for its high sterilization efficiency, flexible and safe operation and ease of installation on production lines, which makes up for the shortcomings of several other physical sterilization technologies.
UNASSIGNED: This experiment studied the killing efficiency of different capacitances (650 μF, 470 μF, and 220 μF) of intense pulsed light on foodborne pathogenic microorganisms P. aeruginosa in the models of liquid food models, 96-well cell plates, and polycarbonate membrane models at room temperature (25°C) and refrigerated (4°C) environments to provide data to support the application of IPL sterilization devices in food processing.
UNASSIGNED: The IPL was very effective in killing P. aeruginosa in the planktonic state as well as in the early and mature biofilm states, meeting target kill rates of 100%, 99.99%, and 94.33% for a given number of exposures. The biofilms formed in the polycarbonate membrane model and the 96-well plate model were more resistant to killing compared to the planktonic state. To achieve the same bactericidal effect, the number of flashes increased with decreasing capacitance.
UNASSIGNED: The bactericidal effect of IPL on P. aeruginosa was significantly influenced by the state of the bacterium. The larger the capacitance the higher the number of pulses and the better the sterilization effect on P. aeruginosa.

Planktonic bacteria are an important part of aquatic ecosystems and interact with zooplankton. However, it is still unclear whether different planktonic bacteria differentially interfere with the responses of zooplankton to their predators. Here, we investigated the effects of different planktonic bacteria, which were isolated and purified from natural lakes, on the anti-predation (Rhodeus ocellatus as the predator) defense responses of Daphnia magna. Our results showed that the effects of planktonic bacteria on the induced life-history defenses of Daphnia were species-specific. Bacteria which increased (e.g., Escherichia coli, Citrobacter braakii) Daphnia body size also promoted the induced defense of body size, whereas bacteria which decreased (e.g., Pseudomonas spp.) Daphnia body size also inhibited the induced defense of body size. In addition, the same bacteria had different effects on induced defense traits. Some bacteria (e.g., E. coli) promoted the induced defense of body size but reduced the induced defense of offspring number, whereas other bacteria (e.g., Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas veronas) weakened the induced defense of body size but had no significant effect on the induced defense of offspring number. Moreover, the differential effects of planktonic bacteria on Daphnia\'s induced defenses were not related to the bacterial degradation of kairomone. This study illustrated, for the first time, the species-specific effects of planktonic bacteria on predator-induced responses of Daphnia. IMPORTANCE This study is the first to reveal the differential effects of different species of planktonic bacteria on fish kairomone-induced defense traits and energy redistribution in Daphnia. Our results not only help deepen the understanding of Daphnia\'s inducible defenses in environments containing a variety of bacteria but also provide insights into the energy reallocation involved in anti-predator defenses.

Floodplains play essential roles in the ecological functions of regional environments. The merging and coalescence of bacterial communities in aquatic environments results in periodic patterns driven by regular hydrological activities, which may, in turn, influence ecological activities. However, the degree of bacterial community coalescence in the lateral and vertical directions as well as the underlying hydrological mechanism of floodplain ecosystems is poorly understood. Therefore, we investigated the spatiotemporal patterns and coalescence processes of planktonic and sedimentary bacterial communities during normal and high-water periods in a floodplain ecosystem of the Yellow River source region. We classified bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and quantified community coalescence by calculating the proportions of overlapping OTUs, the contributions of upstream sources to downstream sinks, and positive/negative cohesion. The results revealed major differences in the composition and diversity of planktonic and sedimentary bacterial communities. Bacterial community diversity in the high-water period was higher than in the normal period. Laterally, hydrological connectivity promoted the immigration and coalescence of bacterial communities to oxbow lakes in both the mainstream and tributaries, with the coalescence degree of planktonic bacteria (2.9%) higher than that of sedimentary bacteria (1.7%). Vertically, the coalescence degree of mainstream planktonic and sedimentary bacterial communities was highest, reaching 2.9%. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that hydrological connectivity increased the complexity of the bacterial network and enhanced the coalescence of keystone species to oxbow lakes. Furthermore, community coalescence improved the competitiveness and dispersal of bacterial communities. This study demonstrated that coalescence of bacterial communities is driven by hydrological connectivity in a floodplain ecosystem. Further studies should investigate the processes of bacterial community coalescence in floodplains in more detail, which could provide new approaches for environmental protection and ecological function preservation.

Microorganisms are sensitive to changes in the external environment and are often used as indicators to monitor and reflect water quality. Using Illumina MiSeq sequencing, the characteristics of the microbial community in Shihou Lake water at different time points were analyzed and the key environmental factors affecting the bacterial community were identified. The microbial community diversity in Shihou Lake water was rich and showed significant differences over time. The main bacterial phyla were the Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Verrucomicrobia, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Planctomycetes, Firmicutes, Chlorobi, WS6 and Saccharibacteria. The relative abundance of these major phyla in the sample accounted for 97.83%-99.07% of the total abundance; Cyanobacteria had the highest relative abundance, accounting for 13.07%-44.61% of the total, and the abundance of each dominant phylum was significantly different at different time points. The Shannon and Simpson indexes showed that the diversity of each month was as follows: August > October > July > September > November. The Chao1 and Ace indexes indicated that the order of richness was: November > October > July > August > September. Beta diversity analysis found significant differences in the samples from month to month. Environmental factors such as temperature, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, permanganate index, nitrite, pH and ammonia nitrogen had significant effects on microbial community structure.

Listeria monocytogenes is a well-known foodborne pathogen that usually lives as biofilm to cope with unfavorable surroundings. Bacteriocins have been reported as antimicrobial compounds, and their bactericidal actions have been extensively studied, but their antibiofilm actions have rarely been studied. Previous study indicated that bacteriocin BMP32r has a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. In this study, the efficacy of BMP32r against the planktonic bacteria, inhibition of forming biofilm, destruction of mature biofilm, and kill persisters of L. monocytogenes ATCC 15,313 was determined. BMP32r exhibited the bactericidal effect on L. monocytogenes planktonic bacteria. Crystal violet staining showed that sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (SICs) of BMP32r (1/32 × MIC and 1/16 × MIC) significantly (p < 0.001) inhibit the biofilm formation. In addition, the results of CCK-8, plate count, ruthenium red staining, scanning electron microscopy, and real-time quantitative PCR assay showed that SICs of BMP32r reduced cell adhesion, exopolysaccharide production, quorum sensing, and virulence genes expression in biofilm formation. Moreover, higher concentrations of BMP32r (2 × MIC and 4 × MIC) disrupt the mature biofilm by killing the bacteria in the biofilm and kill L. monocytogenes persisters bacteria effectively. Therefore, BMP32r has promising potential as an antibiofilm agent to combat L. monocytogenes.

Implant-associated bacterial infections are difficult to treat due to the tendency of biofilm formation on implant surfaces, which protects embedded pathogens from host defense and impedes antibiotic penetration, rendering systemic antibiotic injections ineffective. Here, we test the hypothesis that implant coatings that reduce bacterial colonization would make planktonic bacteria within the periprosthetic environment more susceptible to conventional systemic antibiotic treatment. We covalently grafted zwitterionic polymer brushes poly(sulfobetaine methacryate) from Ti6Al4V surface to increase the substrate surface hydrophilicity and reduce staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) adhesion. Using a mouse femoral intramedullary (IM) canal infection model, we showed that the anti-fouling coating applied to Ti6Al4V IM implants, when combined with a single vancomycin systemic injection, significantly suppressed both bacterial colonization on implant surfaces and the periprosthetic infections, outperforming either treatment alone. This work supports the hypothesis that grafting anti-fouling polymers to implant surfaces improves the efficacy of systemic antibiotic injections to combat periprosthetic infections.

The upper reaches of the Han River are the source region of water for the Middle Route of China\'s South-to-North Water Diversion Project, mainly for household, industrial, and irrigation purposes. Planktonic bacteria are more sensitive than macroorganisms to water physical and chemical properties and play a critical role in biogeochemical processes in river ecosystems. In November 2017 and April 2018, a systematic and methodical survey was carried out to evaluate the water quality and bacterial communities, on the mainstem of the Han River and its five main tributaries. In this study, high-throughput sequencing technology has been employed to investigate the bacterioplankton community composition. The results indicated the following: (1) diversity increased downstream, especially in the upper reaches of the Han River. (2) The relative abundance of Actinobacteria increased with the increase of river length, while that of Bacteroidetes decreased slightly. (3) Five tributaries were found to be importance sources of taxa to the Han River; however, in both months, a large proportion of operational taxonomic units (37.84% and 36.34%, respectively) had unknown sources. (4) Finally, redundancy analysis (RDA) and Bioenv analysis showed that environmental parameters (pH, TN, Cond, NH4+-N, DO, NO2--N, Chl-a, and T) had a great influence (p ≤ 0.05) on the bacterioplankton community. These research results are beneficial for the managing the ecological system, protecting the tributary biodiversity, and conserving the mainstem and tributaries of the Han River basin.

Few studies have been conducted with regard to the effects of insecticides on population dynamics of shrimps and associated groups such as macrophytes, phytoplankton, microorganisms etc. In the present study, effects of a single application of fenoxycarb were tested using indoor freshwater systems dominated by Neocaridina palmata and Ceratophyllum demersum (Dicotyledons: Ceratophyllales). The no observed effect concentration (NOEC) and lowest observed effect concentration (LOEC) for the N. palmata, as scaled by liberated chitobiase, were 6.48 μg/L and 27.76 μg/L, and the dose-related effect lasted for 14 days. Results of principal components analysis (PCA) and that of principal response curves (PRC) method showed that the biomass of C. demersum and concentrations of chlorophyll-a were suppressed, while the concentrations of phycocyanin were promoted. Illumina high-throughput sequencing was adopted to determine the diversity of bacteria and fungi in the media. Result of PCA and PRC showed that the fenoxycarb promoted photosynthetic bacteria (e.g. Cyanobacteria and Rhodobacterales) and suppressed groups involved in nitrogen and sulfur the transformation (e.g. Flavobacterium, hgcI_clade, Cystobasidium, Rhodotorula and Rhizobiales). Promotion in pathogen such as Pseudomonas and Cercozoa and suppression in beneficial taxa such as Novosphingobium and Rhodotorula were also sighted. Result of study suggested a water quality deterioration due to fenoxycarb applications.