Soil salinization poses a significant challenge to global agriculture, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions like Xinjiang. Kalidium schrenkianum, a halophytic plant adapted to saline-alkaline conditions, harbors endophytic microorganisms with potential plant growth-promoting properties. In this study, 177 endophytic bacterial strains were isolated from K. schrenkianum, and 11 key strains were identified through functional screening based on salt tolerance, nutrient solubilization, and growth-promoting traits. Synthetic microbial communities (SMCs) were then constructed using these strains and optimized to enhance wheat growth under salt stress. The SMCs significantly improved seed germination, root length, and seedling vigor in both spring and winter wheat in hydroponic and pot experiments. Furthermore, the SMCs enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline (PRO). They also reduced oxidative stress and improved chlorophyll content in wheat seedlings. These results demonstrate the potential of microbial consortia derived from extreme environments as eco-friendly biofertilizers for improving crop performance in saline soils, offering a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers and contributing to agricultural resilience and productivity.

The ability of Deinococcus bacteria to survive in harsh environments, such as high radiation, extreme temperature, and dryness, is mainly attributed to the generation of unique pigments, especially carotenoids. Although the limited number of natural pigments produced by these bacteria restricts their industrial potential, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology can significantly increase pigment yield and expand their application prospects. In this study, we review the properties, biosynthetic pathways, and functions of key enzymes and genes related to these pigments and explore strategies for improving pigment production through gene editing and optimization of culture conditions. Additionally, studies have highlighted the unique role of these pigments in antioxidant activity and radiation resistance, particularly emphasizing the critical functions of deinoxanthin in D. radiodurans. In the future, Deinococcus bacterial pigments will have broad application prospects in the food industry, drug production, and space exploration, where they can serve as radiation indicators and natural antioxidants to protect astronauts’ health during long-term space flights.

A Gram-negative, aerobic, gliding motile, rod-shaped bacterium, designated XAAS-72T, was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Kalidium foliatum sampled in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, PR China. Cells grew at 4–45 °C, pH 5.0–8.0 and 0–8% NaCl, with optimal growth at 20–30 °C, pH 6.0–7.0 and 1–2 % NaCl. Strain XAAS-72T is closely related to members of the genus Pontibacter , namely Pontibacter korlensis CCTCC AB 206081T (97.6%) and Pontibacter flavimaris ACCC 19859T (97.2 %), and <94.6 % related to other currently described Pontibacter strains. The average nucleotide identity values between XAAS-72T and P. korlensis CCTCC AB 206081T and P. flavimaris ACCC 19859T were 77.9 and 86.9 %, respectively; the corresponding digital DNA–DNA hybridization values were 21.7 and 31.8 %. Menaquinone-7 was the predominant respiratory menaquinone. The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified aminophospholipids, two unidentified glycolipids and five unidentified lipids. The major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 4 (containing iso-C17 : 1 I/anteiso-C17 : 1 B), summed feature 3 (containing C16 : 1 ω7c/C16 : 1 ω6c) and iso-C15 : 0. The genome length of strain XAAS-72T was 5 054 860 bp with a genomic DNA G+C content of 54.5 mol%. The phenotypic and genotypic data suggest that strain XAAS-72T represents a novel species of the genus Pontibacter , for which the name Pontibacter kalidii sp. nov. is proposed. The strain is XAAS-72T (CGMCC 16594T=KCTC 72095T).

Special environmental microorganisms are considered to be of great industrial application value because of their special genotypes, physiological functions and metabolites. The research and development of special environmental microorganisms will certainly bring about some innovations in biotechnology processes and change the face of bioengineering. The Special Environmental Microbial Database (DSEMR) is a comprehensive database that provides information on special environmental microbial resources and correlates them with synthetic biological parts. DSEMR aggregates information on specific environmental microbial genomes, physiological properties, culture media, biological parts, and metabolic pathways, and provides online tool analysis data, including 5268 strains from 620 genera, 31 media, and 42,126 biological parts. In short, DSEMR will become an important resource for the study of microorganisms in special environments and actively promote the development of synthetic biology.

Mucoralean fungi are mostly saprotrophic. During a fungal investigation of soil in Guangdong and Anhui provinces of China, five new species of Mucorales were discovered, namely Cunninghamella brevispora sp. nov., C. geminata sp. nov., Mucor chlamydosporiferus sp. nov., M. citrinus sp. nov., and M. magnisporus sp. nov. The identification is based on morphological characteristics, as well as molecular phylogenetics of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), large subunit ribosomal RNA gene (LSU rDNA), translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene (TEF1α), and RNA polymerase II largest subunit gene (RPB1). Cunninghamella brevispora sp. nov. is sister to C. guizhouensis, and is distinguished by short sporangiophores. Cunninghamella geminata sp. nov. is sister to C. subclavata; rhizoids are absent in the former but well-developed in the latter. Mucor chlamydosporiferus sp. nov. is closely related to M. prayagensis, and is characterized by abundant chlamydospores. Mucor citrinus sp. nov. is closely related to M. paraorantomantidis, and is differentiated by pale yellow sporangiospores. Mucor magnisporus sp. nov. is sister to M. merdicola, and is discriminated by large sporangiospores. To date, with the addition of the five new species described herein, the total number of accepted species in the genus Cunninghamella and Mucor has increased to 49 and 163, respectively.

Chinese Cordyceps (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) and Xinjiang Cordyceps (Paraisaria gracilis) are related entomopathogenic fungi that occupy different elevations and habitats. Whether their holobiont architectures have diverged accordingly is unknown. In this hypothesis-generating study based on samples from single locations (Altai Mountains for Xinjiang Cordyceps and Nagqu, Tibet for Chinese Cordyceps), we compared the two species using amplicon sequencing, untargeted metabolomics, and comparative genomics. Chinese Cordyceps from the sampled site comprises a specialized parasitic fungus and host-adapted bacteria for nutrient acquisition. Xinjiang Cordyceps from the Altai site contains diverse saprotrophic fungi and a rhizosphere-like bacterial consortium enriched in oxidative defense and biofilm genes, a finding that may explain why its sclerotia remain intact for 3–5 years in this population. Metabolomic profiles distinguish the two species at these sites. Xinjiang Cordyceps shows upregulation of tyrosine and porphyrin pathways, and its bacterial community shows functional enrichment in the same pathways, suggesting cross-kingdom coordination. P. gracilis has lost many gene families, and the retained species-specific genes are linked to cell adhesion and acyltransferase activity. Xinjiang Cordyceps is not a simple substitute for Chinese Cordyceps but appears to represent a different ecological strategy shaped by genome streamlining and host–microbe coadaptation. Our findings generate testable hypotheses for future large-scale, multi-population investigations.