The Potential Role of Microbial Biostimulants in the Amelioration of Climate Change-Associated Abiotic Stresses on Crops

Crop plants are more often exposed to abiotic stresses in the current age of fast-evolving climate change. This includes exposure to extreme and unpredictable changes in climatic conditions, phytosanitary hazards, and cultivation conditions, which results in drastic losses in worldwide agricultural productions. Plants coexist with microbial symbionts, some of which play key roles in the ecosystem and plant processes. The application of microbial biostimulants, which take advantage of symbiotic relationships, is a long-term strategy for improving plant productivity and performance, even in the face of climate change-associated stresses. Beneficial filamentous fungi, yeasts, and bacteria are examples of microbial biostimulants, which can boost the growth, yield, nutrition and stress tolerance in plants. This paper highlights recent information about the role of microbial biostimulants and their potential application in mitigating the abiotic stresses occurring on crop plants due to climate change. A critical evaluation for their efficient use under diverse climatic conditions is also made. Currently, accessible products generally improve cultural conditions, but their action mechanisms are mostly unknown, and their benefits are frequently inconsistent. Thus, further studies that could lead to the more precisely targeted products are discussed.

Individual variation in growth and physiology of symbionts in response to temperature

In many cases, understanding species level responses to climate change requires understanding variation among individuals in response to such change. For species with strong symbiotic relationships, such as many coral reef species, genetic variation in symbiont responses to temperature may affect the response to increased ocean temperatures. To assess variation among symbiont genotypes, we examined the population dynamics and physiological responses of genotypes of Breviolum antillogorgium in response to increased temperature. We found broad temperature tolerance across genotypes, with all genotypes showing positive growth at 26, 30, and 32 C. Genotypes differed in the magnitude of the response of growth rate and carrying capacity to increasing temperature, suggesting that natural selection could favor different genotypes at different temperatures. However, the historical temperature at which genotypes were reared was not a good predictor of temperature response, suggesting a lack of adaptation to temperature over hundreds of generations. We found increased photosynthetic rates and decreased respiration rates with increasing temperature, and differences in physiology among genotypes, but found no significant differences in the response of different genotypes to temperature. In species with such broad thermal tolerance, selection experiments on symbionts outside of the host may not yield results sufficient for evolutionary rescue from climate change.

Ecological and Molecular Interactions between Insects and Fungi

Insects and fungi represent two of the most widespread groupings of organisms in nature, occurring in every kind of ecological context and impacting agriculture and other human activities in various ways. Moreover, they can be observed to reciprocally interact, establishing a wide range of symbiotic relationships, from mutualism to antagonism. The outcome of these relationships can in turn affect the extent at which species of both organisms can exert their noxious effects, as well as the management practices which are to be adopted to counter them. In conjunction with the launch of a Special Issue of Microorganisms with the same title, this article offers a general overview of the manifold aspects related to such interactions from the perspective of implementing our capacity to regulate them in a direction more favorable for the environment, crop production and human health.

Viability and infectivity of Ceratobasidium encapsulated in alginate beads under different storage conditions

Mycorrhizal fungi are important partners of orchids because they establish close symbiotic relationships with this group of plants, and its preservation is also important for the successful conservation of orchids. In the present study, the conservation of Ceratobasidium sp., a fungal symbiont, using encapsulation in alginate beads was tested over different times, temperatures of storage and dehydrated conditions. Osmotically dehydrated and air-dried beads were stored at room temperature (20 ± 2°C), 4°C, -20°C and - 80°C. The fungal growth was verified after 4, 8, 26 and 96 weeks. A second test was carried out to evaluate the encapsulations of fungi as a form of inoculation in Trichoceros antennifer orchid to promote symbiosis and plants development. The results show that the encapsulation of Ceratobasidium in alginate beads is a viable strategy for its conservation, the beads are of easy manipulation and promote plant growth when inoculated in plant substrate. These results may be adopted as part of effective conservation strategies for mycorrhizal fungi and orchids.

Host-Adapted Strains of Spodoptera frugiperda Hold and Share a Core Microbial Community Across the Western Hemisphere

The fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda is an important polyphagous agricultural pest in the Western Hemisphere and currently invasive to countries of the Eastern Hemisphere. This species has two host-adapted strains named “rice” and “corn” strains. Our goal was to identify the occurrence of core members in the gut bacterial community of Fall armyworm larvae from distinct geographical distribution and/or host strain. We used next-generation sequencing to identify the microbial communities of S. frugiperda from corn fields in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru, and rice fields from Panama. The larval gut microbiota of S. frugiperda larvae did not differ between the host strains neither was it affected by the geographical distribution of the populations investigated. Our findings provide additional support for Enterococcus and Pseudomonas as core members of the bacterial community associated with the larval gut of S. frugiperda, regardless of the site of collection or strain, suggesting that these bacteria may maintain true symbiotic relationships with the fall armyworm. Further investigations are required for a deeper understanding of the nature of this relationship.

Sugar transporters of the SWEET family and their role in arbuscular mycorrhiza

Plant sugar transporters play an essential role in the organism’s productivity by carrying out carbohydrate transportation from source cells in the leaves to sink cells in the cortex. In addition, they aid in the regulation of a substantial part of the exchange of nutrients with microorganisms in the rhizosphere (bacteria and fungi), an activity essential to the formation of symbiotic relationships. This review pays special attention to carbohydrate nutrition during the development of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), a symbiosis of plants with fungi from the Glomeromycotina subdivision. This relationship results in the host plant receiving micronutrients from the mycosymbiont, mainly phosphorus, and the fungus receiving carbon assimilation products in return. While the efficient nutrient transport pathways in AM symbiosis are yet to be discovered, SWEET sugar transporters are one of the three key families of plant carbohydrate transporters. Specific AM symbiosis transporters can be identified among the SWEET proteins. The survey provides data on the study history, structure and localization, phylogeny and functions of the SWEET proteins. A high variability of both the SWEET proteins themselves and their functions is noted along with the fact that the same proteins may perform different functions in different plants. A special role is given to the SWEET transporters in AM development. SWEET transporters can also play a key role in abiotic stress tolerance, thus allowing plants to adapt to adverse environmental conditions. The development of knowledge about symbiotic systems will contribute to the creation of microbial preparations for use in agriculture in the Russian Federation.

Organized crime and state capture in the Western Balkans

The main objective of the article is to show that the temporary symbiosis between centres of political power and organized crime leads to the development of permanent, corrupt and opaque networks. Focusing on the countries of the Western Balkans, the author points to the reasons for the development of organized crime in the region and then to the conditions created in the post-conflict period that resulted in the failure of effective attempts to stop organized crime and the corruption that facilitates it in the these countries. The article also points out that the creation of symbiotic relationships between political elites and organized crime groups leads to a ‘state capture.’ The unresolved problems of corruption and organized crime, in turn, have a direct impact on these countries’ EU-integration processes.

High Resolution Single Cell Maps Reveals Distinct Cell Organization and Function Across Different Regions of the Human Intestine

The colon is a complex organ that promotes digestion, extracts nutrients, participates in immune surveillance, maintains critical symbiotic relationships with microbiota, and affects overall health. To better understand its organization, functions, and its regulation at a single cell level, we performed CODEX multiplexed imaging, as well as single nuclear RNA and open chromatin assays across eight different intestinal sites of four donors. Through systematic analyses we find cell compositions differ dramatically across regions of the intestine, demonstrate the complexity of epithelial subtypes, and find that the same cell types are organized into distinct neighborhoods and communities highlighting distinct immunological niches present in the intestine. We also map gene regulatory differences in these cells suggestive of a regulatory differentiation cascade, and associate intestinal disease heritability with specific cell types. These results describe the complexity of the cell composition, regulation, and organization for this organ, and serve as an important reference map for understanding human biology and disease.

Top Three Strategies of ss(+)RNA Plant Viruses: Great Opportunists and Ecosystem Tuners with a Small Genome

ss(+)RNA viruses represent the dominant group of plant viruses. They owe their evolutionary superiority to the large number of mutations that occur during replication, courtesy of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Natural selection rewards successful viral subtypes, whose effective tuning of the ecosystem regulates the interactions between its participants. Thus, ss(+)RNA viruses act as shuttles for the functionally important genes of the participants in symbiotic relationships within the ecosystem, of which the most common ecological triad is “plant–virus–insect”. Due to their short life cycle and large number of offspring, RNA viruses act as skillful tuners of the ecosystem, which benefits both viruses and the system as a whole. A fundamental understanding of this aspect of the role played by viruses in the ecosystem makes it possible to apply this knowledge to the creation of DNA insecticides. In fact, since the genes that viruses are involved in transferring are functionally important for both insects and plants, silencing these genes (for example, in insects) can be used to regulate the pest population. RNA viruses are increasingly treated not as micropathogens but as necessary regulators of ecosystem balance.

NMR metabolomics of symbioses between bacterial vaginosis associated bacteria

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a dysbiosis of the vaginal microbiome, characterised by low levels of lactobacilli and overgrowth of a diverse group of bacteria, and associated with higher risk of a variety of infections, surgical complications, cancer and spontaneous preterm birth (PTB). Despite the lack of a consistently applicable aetiology, Prevotella spp. are often associated with both BV and PTB and P. bivia has known symbiotic relationships with both Peptostreptococcus anaerobius and Gardnerella vaginalis. Higher risk of PTB can also be predicted by a composite of metabolites linked to bacterial metabolism but their specific bacterial source remains poorly understood. Here we characterise diversity of metabolic strategies among BV associated bacteria and lactobacilli and the symbiotic metabolic relationships between P. bivia and its partners and show how these influence the availability of metabolites associated with BV/PTB and/or pro- or anti-inflammatory immune responses. We confirm a commensal relationship between Pe. anaerobius and P. bivia, refining its mechanism; P. bivia supplies tyrosine, phenylalanine, methionine, uracil and proline, the last of which leads to a substantial increase in overall acetate production. In contrast, our data indicate the relationship between P. bivia and G. vaginalis strains, with sequence variant G2, is mutualistic with outcome dependent on the metabolic strategy of the G. vaginalis strain. Seven G. vaginalis strains could be separated according to whether they performed mixed acid fermentation (MAF) or bifid shunt (BS). In co-culture, P. bivia supplies all G. vaginalis strains with uracil and received substantial amounts of asparagine in return. Acetate production, which is lower in BS strains, then matched that of MAF strains while production of aspartate increased for the latter. Taken together, our data show how knowledge of inter- and intra-species metabolic diversity and the effects of symbiosis may refine our under-standing of the mechanism and approach to risk prediction in BV and/or PTB.