One of the approaches to effective airway cleansing is the degradation of DNA into smaller fragments. For this purpose Pulmozyme^® is used with high efficacy because it contains recombinant DNase I as its active component. The aim of the study was to comparatively analyze DNase activity of Pulmozyme^® and the nuclease from gram-negative bacteria Serratia marcescens, because at optimal conditions the catalytic efficiency of the nuclease is much higher than the efficiency of DNase I. Highly polymerized DNA and purulent-mucous sputum were used as substrates. The examination showed that both S. marcescens nuclease and Pulmozyme^® hydrolyzed DNA in sputum. Also S. marcescens nuclease was found capable of hydrolyzing DNA in conditions that are standard for Pulmozyme^® and suitable for its therapeutic application. For manifesting the similar hydrolytic activity the nuclease amount in the assay mixture containing highly polymerized DNA or the sonicated sputum and NaCl together with calcium- or magnesium- cations can be about 10- time lower than that of the recombinant DNase I. In the presence of magnesium cations the DNase activity of both S. marcescens nuclease and Pulmozyme^® was higher than in the presence of calcium cations.

Plant pathogens present a major challenge to crop production, leading to decreased yield and quality during growth and storage. During long-term storage, healthy onions can develop diseases from latent pathogen infections. This poses a challenge for onion growers because infected bulbs without visible symptoms can lead to significant crop losses during the growing season. In this study, we aimed to isolate and identify Fusarium species from yellow onion bulbs (Allium cepa L.) that developed disease symptoms during storage. The aggressiveness of these strains against onion bulbs and seedlings was also evaluated. The isolated strains were further subjected to morphological and molecular differentiation. The results revealed that all 16 isolated strains belonged to the Fusarium complex species incarnatum-equiseti and Fusarium fujikuroi, namely, F. proliferatum (98%), F. oxysporum (1%), and Fusarium sp. (1%). Koch’s postulate analysis of isolated strains revealed varying aggressiveness on onion bulbs and plants depending on fungal species. Disease symptoms developed more slowly on plants than on onion bulb plants according to Koch’s postulates. Moreover, the results revealed that Fusarium strains that can infect onion plants were less pathogenic to onion bulbs and vice versa. In addition, three isolates were found to be non-pathogenic to onions. Furthermore, the in vitro control of Fusarium species through Bacillus velezensis KS04-AU and Streptomyces albidoflavus MGMM6 showed high potential for controlling the growth of these pathogenic fungi. These results may contribute to the development of environmentally friendly approaches for controlling onion spoilage caused by pathogens during storage.

The negative ecological impact of industrialization, which involves the use of petroleum products and dyes in the environment, has prompted research into effective, sustainable, and economically beneficial green technologies. For green remediation primarily based on active microbial metabolites, these microbes are typically from relevant sources. Active microbial metabolite production and genetic systems involved in xenobiotic degradation provide these microbes with the advantage of survival and proliferation in polluted ecological niches. In this study, we evaluated the ability of wheat root-associated L. fusiformis MGMM7 to degrade xenobiotic contaminants such as crude oil, phenol, and azo dyes. We sequenced the whole genome of MGMM7 and provided insights into the genomic structure of related strains isolated from contaminated sources. The results revealed that influenced by its isolation source, L. fusiformis MGMM7 demonstrated remediation and plant growth-promoting abilities in soil polluted with crude oil. Lysinibacillus fusiformis MGMM7 degraded up to 44.55 ± 5.47% crude oil and reduced its toxicity in contaminated soil experiments with garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.). Additionally, L. fusiformis MGMM7 demonstrated a significant ability to degrade Congo Red azo dye (200 mg/L), reducing its concentration by over 60% under both static and shaking cultivation conditions. However, the highest degradation efficiency was observed under shaking conditions. Genomic comparison among L. fusiformis strains revealed almost identical genomic profiles associated with xenobiotic assimilation. Genomic relatedness using Average Nucleotide Identity (ANI) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (DDH) revealed that MGMM7 is distantly related to TZA38, Cu-15, and HJ.T1. Furthermore, subsystem distribution and pangenome analysis emphasized the distinctive features of MGMM7, including functional genes in its chromosome and plasmid, as well as the presence of unique genes involved in PAH assimilation, such as phnC/T/E, which is involved in phosphonate biodegradation, and nemA, which is involved in benzoate degradation and reductive degradation of N-ethylmaleimide. These findings highlight the potential properties of petroleum-degrading microorganisms isolated from non-contaminated rhizospheres and offer genomic insights into their functional diversity for xenobiotic remediation.

Seed-borne endophytic bacteria can influence host responses to biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Their presence in seeds is related to their ability to colonize plant tissues and to pass from parent plants to offspring. In this study, we investigated the ability of Bacillus mojavensis PS17 to pass into the next generation of spring wheat plants via seeds and the effect of the transmission mode on the functional traits of seed-transmitted colonies of PS17. The rifampicin-resistant PS17 strain at 100 µg/mL was used to track PS17 effectively throughout the wheat growth cycle. The results demonstrated the successful colonization of B. mojavensis PS17 and its ability to pass into the next plant generation through seeds. During plant development, the PS17 cell population was almost higher in the rhizosphere than in the aboveground parts of plants, including seeds at the grain-filling stage. The seed-transmitted B. mojavensis PS17 colonies exhibited identical biological traits to those of the parental PS17 strain. Bacillus mojavensis PS17 retained its ability to suppress the growth of pathogens, such as Fusarium oxysporum and Alternaria alternata, and produce hydrolases, including protease, lipase, amylase, and cellulase. These results highlight the potential of vertical transmission through seeds as a mode of spreading bacterial biocontrol agents in future plants.

Microorganisms are fundamental drivers of soil productivity, mediating nutrient cycling and pathogen suppression. In this study, we evaluated changes in the fungal community in the soil of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in a field experiment involving the application of a consortium of Paenibacillus pabuli, Priestia megaterium, Pseudomonas koreensis, and Pseudomonas orientalis. Seed pretreatment and seed pretreatment followed by rhizosphere drenching at different growth stages were implemented. Regarding fungal communities in bulk soil, the rhizospheres of untreated and treated plants were characterized based on full-length ribosomal RNA gene (18S-5.8S-28S) metabarcoding sequencing. Despite the compositional shifts, no statistical differences were observed among the alpha diversity metrics. Seed treatment resulted in long-term, targeted suppression of Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium fujikuroi, Fusarium musae, and Fusarium verticillioides from the booting through flowering and dough development stages, outperforming seed pretreatment followed by rhizosphere drenching. A low-modularity network was observed in the rhizosphere of untreated plants. Seed treatment fostered a highly interconnected and uniform network with low hub-betweenness scores. Rhizosphere drenching of pretreated seeds shifted the network topology toward higher hub-betweenness scores, reducing their connectivity by up to 10% in the rhizosphere and bulk soil. These findings provide a framework for optimizing the soil ecosystem for sustainable agriculture.