Proteomic analysis reveals the metabolic versatility of Amycolatopsis sp. BX17: A strain native from milpa agroecosystem soil

Isolation and characterization of novel bacterial strain from sewage sludge and exploring its potential for hydrogen production

Hydrogen (H2) energy has garnered significant attention due to its numerous advantages. Nonetheless, for future commercialization, it is imperative to screen and identify strains with enhanced H2-producing capacities. In order to attain a high and consistent production performance, the conversion of biomass sources into H2 requires careful selection of the most appropriate H2-producing bacteria. This study aimed to isolate and identify a highly effective H2 producing bacteria from local sewage sludge and assess its fermentability for H2 production. The isolate was first identified by means of morphological, phenotypic, biological, and 16 S rRNA investigations. A facultative anaerobe that produces H2 and is gram-negative was identified as Alcaligenes ammonioxydans strain SRAM. For the purpose of determining whether the isolate could produce H2 using glucose as the substrate, its fermentability was evaluated in 500 mL serum bottles. This strain demonstrated the ability to produce H2 from glucose under anaerobic environment, achieving a maximum H2 yield of 2.9 mol H₂/mol of glucose. The highest rate of H2 production, 9.261 mmol H₂/ g dry cell weight per hr, was attained at 37 °C and an initial pH of 6.8. This work effectively illustrated the use of a novel locally isolated strain in the biotechnological conversion of glucose to H2. This strategy offers an effective remedy for the world's energy instability in addition to addressing environmental issues related to industrial operations.

Exploring the protein profile and biological activity of Crotalus molossus venom against E. coli, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus bacteria and T47D breast carcinoma cells

Mexico has the highest diversity of snake species in the world, following Australia when considering just venomous snakes. Specifically, in Sonora, the second largest state in the country, more than 15 highly venomous species occur, including the northern black-tailed rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus). This specie's venom has not been as thoroughly researched in contrast with other Mexican vipers, nevertheless some studies report its biological activity and even pharmacological potential with antibacterial and cytotoxic activity. In this study we identified the main protein components from a pool of C. molossus venom through a gel-free proteomics approach, reporting ∼140 proteins belonging to the SVMP (38.76%), PLA2 (28.75%), CTL (11.93%), SVSP (6.03%) and LAAO (5.67%) toxin families. To study its biological activities, we evaluated its hemolytic, antibacterial, and cytotoxic activity in red blood cells, Gram positive and negative bacteria and a luminal A breast carcinoma cell line (T47D), respectively, in vitro. We report that concentrations <100 μg/mL are potentially not hemolytic and reduced the bacteria viability of E. coli and S. aureus with an IC50 of 10.27 and 11.51 μg/mL, respectively. Finally, we determined the C. molossus venom as cytotoxic against the T47D breast carcinoma cell line, with an IC50 of 1.55 μg/mL. We suggest that the evaluated cytotoxicity was due to a high abundance of SVMPs and PLA2s, since it's been reported that they affect the extracellular matrix and membrane permeation. This may provide a useful tool for pharmaceutical screening in the future.

Exploring the Trends in Actinobacteria as Biological Control Agents of Phytopathogenic Fungi: A (Mini)-Review

Biological control has been considered a sustainable alternative to combat phytopathogens. The increase of studies in the past few years involving Actinobacteria as biological control agents of phytopathogenic fungi has motivated us to search for which Actinobacteria genus that have been studied in the last five years and explore their mechanisms of antifungal activity. The accesses were carried out on three multidisciplinary digital platforms: PubMED/MedLine, Web of Science and Scopus. Actinobacteria from genus Amycolatopsis, Curtobacterium, Kocuria, Nocardioides, Nocardiopsis, Saccharopolyspora, Streptoverticillium and especially Streptomyces showed a broad antifungal spectrum through several antibiosis mechanisms such as the production of natural antifungal compounds, siderophores, extracellular hydrolytic enzymes and activation of plant defense system. We observed the formation of a methodology based on antagonistic compounds bioactivity to select efficient Actinobacteria to be used as biological control agents against phytopathogenic fungi. The use of multifunctional Actinobacteria has been proven to be efficient, not only by its natural protective activity against phytopathogenic fungi but also because of their ability to act as plant growth-promoting bacteria.