This study was conducted in order to understand the effects of land use and soil types on microbial activity and community structure. Soil samples were collected from four different soil types (Solonetz, Solonchak, Chernozem and Gleysol) being used under different land use practices (arable,...
Salinization and sodification are serious and worldwide growing threats to healthy soil functions. Although plants developed a plethora of traits to cope with high salinity, soil bacteria are also essential players of the adaptation process. However, there is still lack of knowledge on how other biotic and abiotic factors, such as land use or different soil properties, affect the bacterial community structure of these soils. Therefore, besides soil chemical and physical investigations, bacterial communities of differently managed salt-affected soils were analysed through 16S rRNA gene Illumina amplicon sequencing and compared. Results have shown that land use and soil texture were the main drivers in shaping the bacterial community structure of the Hungarian salt-affected soils. It was observed that at undisturbed pasture and meadow sites, soil texture and the ratio of vegetation cover were the determinative factors shaping the bacterial community structures, mainly at the level of phylum Acidobacteriota. Sandy soil texture promoted the high abundance of members of the class Blastocatellia, while at the slightly disturbed meadow soil showing high clay content was dominated by members of the class Acidobacteriia. The OTUs belonging to the class Ktedonobacteria, which were reported mostly in geothermal sediments, reached a relatively high abundance in the meadow soil.
In precision agriculture, the delineation of Management Zones (MZs) is essential for optimizing input use efficiency and site-specific nutrient management. MZs are established based on spatial variability derived from remote sensing data—such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from satellite or UAV-based imagery—and yield maps collected during harvest. However, the microbial community composition of the soil is often overlooked in MZ delineation. To address this gap, we investigated the soil bacterial community structure across different MZs in an arable field. The zones were delineated using NDVI data, soil profiles were described, and bulk soil samples were collected. Soil physicochemical parameters were analyzed in parallel with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to characterize bacterial community composition and diversity. The results demonstrated that soil texture and soil organic matter content were the primary drivers influencing bacterial community structure across the field. Moreover, patterns in microbial composition aligned closely with MZ delineations, indicating that microbial profiles could aid in better understanding and supporting the nutrient management practices. Our findings suggest that soil microbiological data can enhance the stability and biological relevance of MZ definitions, thereby improving resource allocation, soil health management, and overall sustainability in precision farming systems.
28 November 2024 in Journal of Central European Green Innovation
Az elmúlt évtizedekben a felszíni vizeink klasszikus, bakteriológiai szempontból történő monitorozása mindinkább háttérbe szorul, ugyanakkor a növekvő vízhasználatok (például fürdőzésre, öntözésre, szennyvizek és termálvizek befogadására), fokozódó egészségügyi kockázatot jelentenek, melyet az éghajlatváltozásból eredő szélsőséges időjárási viszonyok tovább fokoznak. A szennyvíztisztító telepek többsége rendszeresen küzd a hirtelen, nagy mennyiségben lehullott csapadékkal, ami a szennyvízzel keveredve érkezik a telepre. A legtöbb szennyvíztisztítónak nincs akkora kapacitása, hogy ezt a nagy mennyiséget tárolja, ezért gyakorlatilag tisztítatlanul kerül bebocsátásra a felszíni vizeinkbe. Mindezek alapján a felszíni vizek monitoring-alapú vizsgálata továbbfejlesztését igényel a kockázatalapú megközelítés, valamint a bakteriális szennyeződések forrásának azonosítása érdekében. 2020-ban a Tisza középső szakaszán végzett monitoring tevékenység alapján felderítettünk egy szennyező forrást, ami a vizsgálat idején is uralkodó hidrológiai viszonyok kialakulása esetén valós egészségügyi veszélyt jelenthet. A vizsgálat arra is rávilágított, hogy a hidrológiai viszonyok és a vízminőség ismerete nagyban elősegíti a megfelelő döntéshozatalt.
4 November 2026 in Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Zearalenone (ZEA) is a Fusarium-derived mycotoxin that contaminates cereal crops and persists in soils and aquatic environments. Microbial biodegradation i
Background: The global emergence of antibiotic resistance highlights the urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies, including adjuvants and potentiating compounds, against multidrug-resistant bacteria. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a critical priority pathogen due to its high resistance potential and its ability to cause severe nosocomial infections. Beauvericin (BEA), a frequently detected mycotoxin, has been reported to exhibit various bioactive properties, including potential antibacterial and potentiating effects. Methods: The interaction between BEA and a last-resort antibiotic, colistin (COL), was evaluated in seven multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates using a microplate-based growth assay after preliminary MIC tests. Results: BEA at non-inhibitory concentrations (2.5–10 µg/mL) significantly enhanced the antibacterial activity of COL (1 and 2 µg/mL) in six out of seven isolates, resulting in a marked reduction in residual bacterial growth. Conclusions: BEA exhibited no measurable antibacterial activity at the concentrations used in the combination experiments but acted as a strain-dependent potentiator of colistin activity against multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa. The observed enhancement of colistin-mediated growth inhibition supports the potential of BEA as an antibiotic adjuvant at clinically relevant colistin concentrations and provides a basis for further mechanistic investigation.