The degradation of the xenobiotic phthalic acid esters by microorganisms is initiated by the hydrolysis to the respective alcohols and ortho-phthalate (phthalate). In aerobic bacteria and fungi oxygenases are involved in the conversion of phthalate to protocatechuate, the substrate for ring cleaving dioxygenases. In contrast, anaerobic bacteria activate phthalate to the extremely unstable phthaloyl-CoA that is decarboxylated by oxygen-sensitive UbiD-like phthaloyl-CoA decarboxylase (PCD) to the central benzoyl-CoA intermediate. Here we demonstrate that the facultatively anaerobic, denitrifying Thauera chlorobenzoica 3CB-1 and Aromatoleum evansii KB740 strains use phthalate as growth substrate under aerobic and denitrifying conditions. In vitro assays with extracts from cells grown aerobically with phthalate demonstrated the succinyl-CoA dependent activation of phthalate followed by decarboxylation to benzoyl-CoA. In T. chlorobenzoica 3CB-1, we identified PCD as highly abundant enzyme in both aerobically and aisms is considered as the most effective process to eliminate PAEs from the environment. It is usually initiated by the hydrolysis of PAEs to alcohols and o-phthalic acid. Degradation of the latter fundamentally differs in aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms aerobic phthalate degradation heavily depends on dioxygenase-dependent reactions, whereas anaerobic degradation employs the oxygen-sensitive key enzyme phthaloyl-CoA decarboxylase. We demonstrate that aerobic phthalate degradation in facultatively anaerobic bacteria proceeds via a previously unknown hybrid degradation pathway involving oxygen-sensitive and oxygen-dependent key enzymes. Such a strategy is essential for facultatively anaerobic bacteria that frequently switch between oxic and anoxic environments. Copyright © 2020 American Society for Microbiology.Given the continued high prevalence of mosquito-transmitted diseases there is a clear need to develop novel disease and vector control strategies. Biopesticides of microbial origin represent a promising source of new approaches to target disease transmitting mosquito populations. Here we describe the development and characterization of a novel mosquito biopesticide, derived from an air-dried, non-live preparation of the bacterium Chromobacterium sp. Panama (Family Neisseriaceae). This preparation rapidly and effectively kills the larvae of prominent mosquito vectors, including the dengue and Zika vector Aedes aegypti, and the human malaria vector Anopheles gambiae During semi-field trials in Puerto Rico, we observed high efficacy of the biopesticide against field-derived Ae. aegypti populations, and against Ae. aegypti and Culex spp. larvae in natural breeding water, indicating the suitability of the biopesticide for use under more natural conditions. In addition to high efficacy, the non-live Csp_P biopesticd the diseases they spread. Copyright © 2020 American Society for Microbiology.Bacillus cereus sensu lato (B. cereus s.l.) comprises gram-positive spore-forming bacteria producing toxins associated with foodborne diseases. Three pore-forming enterotoxins, non-haemolytic enterotoxin (Nhe), haemolysin BL (Hbl), and cytotoxin K (CytK), are considered as the primary factors in B. cereus s.l. diarrhoea. The aim of this study was to determine the potential risk of enterotoxicity among soil B. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/elamipretide-mtp-131.html cereus s.l. isolates representing various phylogroups and originated from different geographic locations varying in climate (Burkina Faso, Kenya, Argentina, Kazakhstan, and Poland). While, the nheA- and hblA-positive isolates are present among all B. cereus s.l. populations and distributed across all phylogenetic groups, the cytK-2-positive strains predominate in geographic regions with arid hot climate (Africa) and clustered together on a phylogenetic tree mainly within mesophilic groups III and IV. The highest in vitro cytotoxicity to Caco-2 and HeLa cells was demonstrated by the strains clustered within phylogroups II and IV. Overall, our results suggest that B. cereus s.l. pathogenicity is a comprehensive process conditioned by many intracellular factors and diverse environmental conditions.IMPORTANCE This research offers a new route for a wider understanding of the dependency between pathogenicity and phylogeny of natural bacterial population, specifically within B. cereus s.l., that are widely distributed around the world and are easily transferred into food products. Our study indicates differences in the phylogenetic and geographical distribution of potential enterotoxigenic B. cereus s.l. strains. Hence these bacilli possess a risk for human health, rapid testing methods for their identification are greatly needed. Especially detection of the CytK enterotoxin should be a supporting strategy for the identification of pathogenic B. cereus s.l. Copyright © 2020 Drewnowska et al.Microbial production of the neurotoxin, methylmercury (MeHg), is a significant health and environmental concern as it can bioaccumulate and biomagnify in the food web. A chalkophore or a copper-binding compound, termed methanobactin (MB), has been shown to form strong complexes with mercury [as Hg(II)] and also enables some methanotrophs to degrade MeHg. It is unknown, however, if Hg(II) binding with MB can also impede Hg(II) methylation by other microbes. Contrary to expectations, MB produced by the methanotroph Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b (OB3b-MB) enhanced the rate and efficiency of Hg(II) methylation more than that observed with thiol compounds (such as cysteine) by the mercury-methylating bacteria, D. desulfuricans ND132 and G. sulfurreducens PCA. Compared to no-MB controls, OB3b-MB decreased the rates of Hg(II) sorption and internalization, but increased methylation by 5-7 fold, suggesting that Hg(II) complexation with OB3b-MB facilitated exchange and internal transfer of Hg(II) to the HgcAB proteinctions can potentially affect the net production of methylmercury in situ. Copyright © 2020 American Society for Microbiology.The aim of this study was to investigate the sporicidal effect of a krypton-chlorine (KrCl) excilamp against Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris spores and to identify its inactivation mechanism compared to that with a conventional ultraviolet (UV) lamp containing mercury (Hg). The inactivation effect of the KrCl excilamp was not significantly different from that of the Hg UV lamp for A. acidoterrestris spores in apple juice despite the 222-nm of the KrCl excilamp having a higher absorption coefficient in apple juice than that of the 254-nm of the Hg UV lamp; this is because KrCl excilamps have a fundamentally greater inactivation effect than that of Hg UV lamps, which is confirmed under ideal conditions [phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)]. The inactivation mechanism analysis revealed that the KrCl excilamp induced no significant difference (P > 0.05) in DNA damage compared to that with the Hg UV lamp, while the KrCl excilamp caused significantly higher (P 0.05) changes in the quality parameters such as color (L*, a*, and b*), total phenolic compounds (TPC) and DPPH free radical scavenging activity.