Enviroinvest Environmental and Biotechnological Corp

Metagenomics is a helpful tool for the analysis of unculturable organisms and viruses. Viruses that target bacteria and archaea play important roles in the microbial diversity of various ecosystems. Here we show that Methanosarcina virus MV (MetMV), the second Methanosarcina sp. virus with a completely determined genome, is characteristic of hydrocarbon pollution in environmental (soil and water) samples. It was highly abundant in Hungarian hydrocarbon polluted samples and its genome was also present in the NCBI SRA database containing reads from hydrocarbon polluted samples collected in Canada, indicating the stability of its niche and the marker feature of this virus. MetMV, as the only currently identified marker virus for pollution in environmental samples, could contribute to the understanding of the complicated network of prokaryotes and their viruses driving the decomposition of environmental pollutants.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is the causative agent of bacterial leaf blight of rice. The application of bacteriophages may provide an effective tool against this bacterium. Here, we report the complete genome sequences of 10 newly isolated OP2-like X. oryzae pv. oryzae bacteriophages.

ABSTRACTEscherichia coli can colonize the urinary bladder without causing a disease response in the host. This asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) can protect against recurrent symptomatic urinary tract infection by virulent bacteria. Here, we report the whole-genome sequences of nine E. coli ABU isolates from diabetic patients.

The appearance of somaclonal variability induced by in vitro cultivation is relatively frequent and can, in some cases, provide a valuable source of new genetic variation for crop improvement. The cause of this phenomenon remains unknown; however, there are a number of reports suggesting that epigenetics, including DNA methylations, are an important factor. In addition to the non-heritable DNA methylation changes caused by transient and reversible stress-responsive gene regulation, recent evidence supports the existence of mitotically and meiotically inherited changes. The induction of phenotypes via stable DNA methylation changes has occasionally great economical value; however, very little is known about the genetic or molecular basis of these phenotypes. We used a novel approach consisting of a standard MSAP analysis followed by deep amplicon sequencing to better understand this phenomenon. Our models included two wheat genotypes, and their somaclones induced using in vitro cultivation with a changed heritable phenotype (shortened stem height and silenced high molecular weight glutenin). Using this novel procedure, we obtained information on the dissimilarity of DNA methylation landscapes between the standard cultivar and its respective somaclones, and we extracted the sequences and genome regions that were differentially methylated between subjects. Transposable elements were identified as the most likely factor for producing changes in somaclone properties. In summary, the novel approach of combining MSAP and NGS is relatively easy and widely applicable, which is a rather unique feature compared with the currently available techniques in the epigenetics field.

The emergence of the multi-drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains has prompted interest in alternatives to conventional drugs. Among the possible options one of the most promising is the therapeutic use of bacteriophages. Over the recent decades, increasing amount of literature has validated the use of bacteriophages for therapy and prophylaxis against drug-resistant staphylococci. This work attempts to review the current knowledge on bacteriophages and their usages for treatment of staphylococcal diseases.

Eleven samples of typical solid waste components, ranging from high to low predicted degradability, were analyzed prior to burial within three landfills representing different climates. Sets of these samples were retrieved periodically over 6 years and analyzed for changes in moisture content, dry weight, cellulose (holocellulose), and lignin. Results were that carbohydrates such as cellulose (holocellulose) and starch were the quickest degrading portions of the waste, and the samples with high lignin contents degraded more slowly than those samples with lower lignin contents. Finally, degradation was found to increase with higher moisture contents and higher temperatures. The uniqueness of this research is that it was performed in full-scale landfills, yet having baseline values for the samples.