All articles tagged with #soil bacteria
Scientists discovered a potent antibiotic compound, premethylenomycin C lactone, produced by soil bacteria that is 100 times more effective than the final product, offering a promising new approach to combat drug-resistant infections.
A team at Rockefeller has developed a new method to extract and analyze large DNA sequences from soil microbes, leading to the discovery of hundreds of new genomes and promising antibiotic candidates, potentially revolutionizing microbiology and drug discovery.
Researchers have discovered umbrella-shaped toxic protein particles secreted by soil bacteria Streptomyces to inhibit the growth of competing species, particularly others of their own genus. These large complexes, unlike small-molecule antibiotics, are highly specific in targeting bacteria and have evaded discovery for over a century. The discovery, published in Nature, sheds light on the bacteria's combative strategies and potential clinical applications, including combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as those causing tuberculosis and diphtheria.
A study from the University of Vienna reveals that warmer soils lead to a greater diversity of active microbes, challenging the previous assumption that higher temperatures accelerate microbial growth and carbon release. The research, conducted in a subarctic grassland in Iceland, found that while soil warming increased microbial growth at the community level, the growth rates of microbes in warmer soils were similar to those at normal temperatures. However, the pivotal difference lay in the bacterial diversity, with warmer soils harboring a more varied array of active microbial taxa. This finding has significant implications for understanding the soil microbiome's reaction to climate change and its impact on future carbon dynamics.