[Objective] To screen and identify the plant growth-promoting bacterial strain with saline-alkali tolerance and evaluate its functions. [Methods] The rhizosphere soil of wheat was collected from different saline-alkali regions, and the highly efficient saline-alkali-tolerant bacterial strain was isolated by enrichment under saline-alkali condition and dilution coating. The antifungal spectrum and plant growth-promoting effects of the isolate were evaluated in vitro, and the nitrogenase activity was measured by an ELISA kit. The strain was identified based on the morphological, physiological, biochemical characteristics and phylogenetic analysis. The effect of the strain on wheat growth under salt stress was investigated by a pot experiment. [Results] A highly abundant bacterium with saline-alkali tolerance was enriched from rhizosphere soil and designated as TaRb44, which could grow normally under 3% NaCl and pH 10.0. Strain TaRb44 showed strong antagonism against soil-borne pathogenic fungi such as Fusarium pseudograminearum causing wheat crown rot, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum causing watermelon Fusarium wilt, and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense causing banana wilt, as well as Botrytis cinerea causing gray mold of postharvest tomatoes. Further tests showed that strain TaRb44 produced a variety of plant growth-promoting substances such as siderophores, amylase, and cellulase, and it had nitrogen fixation activity with the nitrogenase level of 65.50 U/L. Finally, the strain TaRb44 was identified as Paenibacillus polymyxa, which significantly promoted the growth of wheat seedlings and increased the root biomass under both salt stress and non-salt stress conditions. [Conclusion] In this study, P. polymyxa TaRb44 was obtained with much excellent properties such as disease prevention, plant growth promotion, and saline-alkali tolerance. It serves as an elite strain for developing new microbial fertilizer and soil amendments in the future.

Fruiting bodies represent pivotal resources with medicinal and edible values, hosting a diverse array of microbes. Although studies have elucidated the composition and structures of bacterial communities inhabiting fruiting bodies, the diversity and biological functions of fruiting body-associated microbes remains elusive. The symbiotic associations between fruiting bodies and their microbial inhabitants play integral roles in promoting the growth, enhancing the adaptation to environmental stresses, and facilitating the accumulation of secondary metabolites of host fungi. Additionally, these fruiting body-associated microbes exhibit promising biomedical properties, including antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-tumor activities. This paper reviews the recent advancements in the isolation and cultivation techniques of these associated microbes, delineates the diversity of associated bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi, elucidates their biological activities, and provide insights into the intricate interactions between associated microbes and their host fungi. This review offers avenues for the future research and utilization of fruiting body-associated microbes.

[Objective] To mine the macrofungal strains capable of efficiently degrading straw at low temperatures, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of straw resources, we measured the lignocellulose degradation abilities of 955 macrofungal strains. [Methods] First, we employed the plate method to screen the strains with carboxymethyl cellulase, xylanase, and laccase activities. Then, we carried out a filter paper degradation test to screen the cellulose-degrading strains. Finally, we performed liquid fermentation with the selected strains and measured their enzyme activities on days three, six, nine, and 12 to identify the dominant strains with strong lignocellulose-degrading abilities. [Results] We identified 11 macrofungal strains exhibiting strong lignocellulose degradation capabilities at a low temperature (15 ℃). The 11 strains were Trametes suaveolens, Irpex lacteus, Crucibulum laeve, Stereum hirsutum, Pleurotus ostreatus, Phlebia acerina, Agaricus xanthodermus, Neofomitella fumosipora, Pholiota multicingulata, Abortiporus biennis, and Armillaria cepistipes. Notably, C. laeve, A. xanthodermus, and P. multicingulata were newly reported for their high lignocellulose-degrading abilities. The maximum activities of carboxymethyl cellulase, xylanase, and laccase in the 11 strains reached 262.31, 91.03, and 196.50 U/mL, respectively. T. suaveolens exhibited carboxymethyl cellulase activity of 168.17 U/mL at 15 ℃, which was significantly higher than that (67.88 U/mL) observed at room temperature. P. ostreatus showed the carboxymethyl cellulase activity of 150.78 U/mL and the laccase activity of 154.32 U/mL. S. hirsutum achieved the laccase activity of 63.27 U/mL at 15 ℃, which was twice the level measured at room temperature. [Conclusion] We successfully identified 11 macrofungal strains with strong lignocellulose-degrading abilities at 15 ℃. The findings provide valuable microbial resources for the degradation of lignocellulose in cold regions and lay a theoretical basis for application of these strains in low-temperature industries.

Plant endophytes are non-pathogenic microbial groups residing inside or in the interstices of plant tissue. They constitute a pivotal component of the plant microecological environment. These organisms are distinguished by their remarkable biodiversity and wide distribution across diverse regions of the host plant. Plant endophytes exhibit high species diversity, host plant diversity, habitat diversity, and functional diversity. They can secrete hormones that regulate plant growth and enhance the nutrient absorption capacity of their hosts to promote plant growth. Additionally, endophytes can promote plant growth indirectly by enhancing the host plant resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Notably, these endophytes are capable of producing substantial secondary metabolites, which exhibit antimicrobial, antiviral, antioxidant, and other biological activities. This capacity offers considerable potential for the development of novel pharmaceuticals, the extraction of natural products, and the creation of biopesticides. Endophytes have a wide range of applications in agriculture, industry, and medicine. They can be used as biocontrol agents to enhance crop yields or used for the production of natural pigments and perfumes and the development of novel pharmaceuticals. However, the research on plant endophytes still faces many challenges in species identification and function verification, molecular mechanism analysis of endophyte-host interactions, practical application technology, and safety evaluation.

The karst seasonal rainforest of northern tropics in Guangxi is a unique forest ecosystem in China. However, the soil microbial diversity and its maintenance mechanism remain unclear. [Objective] This study explored the distribution characteristics and influencing factors of soil bacterial diversity in a karst seasonal rainforest of northern tropics, aiming to provide a reference for analyzing soil microbial diversity and its maintenance mechanisms in this region. [Methods] Soil samples were collected from a long-term dynamic monitoring plot in the karst rainforest of northern tropics (referred to as the Nonggang plot). The composition and distribution pattern of soil bacterial community were analyzed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, and the potential influencing factors were identified by the correlation analysis. [Results] The soil in Nonggang plot harbored a total of 5 841 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs), which were annotated to 1 501 species belonging to 677 genera, 373 families, 242 orders, 104 classes of 35 phyla. The dominant bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, and Acidobacteriota. The dominant bacterial phylum was Proteobacteria in both the depression and the slope habitats, and Actinobacteriota in the hilltop habitat. The number of total and specific bacterial OTUs displayed a pattern of depression>slope>hilltop habitats. The hilltop habitat association had the fewest total OTUs but the most specific OTUs. The soil bacterial alpha diversity indexes (Chao1, Sobs, Shannon, and Simpson) were not significantly different between the depression and slope habitats, while they were significantly lower in the hilltop habitat. Similarly, the hilltop habitat association had the lowest bacterial alpha diversity indexes than the other associations. The principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) of beta diversity showed differences in the bacterial communities among different habitats and associations. The linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) identified more differential groups in the depression and hilltop habitats than in the slope habitat. The Spearman correlation analysis, Mantel test and redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that elevation was the primary factor influencing the distribution of soil bacteria in Nonggang plot, followed by soil organic carbon, available nitrogen, and available phosphorus. Tax4Fun predicted that there were significant differences in the function of soil bacterial communities among different habitats and associations, especially in the hilltop habitat. [Conclusion] This study revealed the community composition and diversity distribution pattern of soil bacteria in Nonggang plot and identified elevation as the primary factor affecting the distribution. These results contribute to the understanding of soil bacterial diversity and its maintaining mechanism in the karst seasonal rainforest of the northern tropics in Guangxi.

Aureobasidium spp. are a group of fungi with remarkable ecological adaptability and stress tolerance. They are ubiquitous in natural environments such as plants and can survive under extreme conditions. The genomes of Aureobasidium spp. show specific differentiation characteristics, and the strains have obviously advantage characteristics in fermentation. Aureobasidium spp. can utilize a broad spectrum of carbon sources and produce a rich variety of metabolites. Aureobasidium spp. and their metabolites have significant application potential in fields such as biomedicine, biocontrol, and food processing. This article introduces the distribution, classification, main metabolites, and multidisciplinary applications of Aureobasidium spp. In the future, with the advancement in multidisciplinary fields such as genome editing and intelligent biomanufacturing, Aureobasidium spp. are expected to play an important role in biomanufacturing and sustainable development industries.

[Objective] To explore the diversity of culturable bacteria in the mudflat sediments of the Pearl River Estuary in Guangdong Province and to mine strain resources capable of degrading microplastics from these sediments. [Methods] Five media were used for microbial isolation, and phylogenetic analysis was performed by MEGA-X software. The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) medium was selected to screen PET microplastic-degrading strains, and then gene function annotation was performed. [Results] A total of 265 bacterial strains belonging to 71 genera, 32 families of 4 phyla were isolated, including 168 (63.40%) strains of Pseudomonadota, 38 (14.34%) strains of Actinomycetota, 31 (11.70%) strains of Bacillota, and 28 (10.56%) strains of Bacteroidota. Based on the homology of 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequences, it was hypothesized that 59 of these strains might be potential new species. From the isolated strains, one PET microplastic-degrading strain was screened. [Conclusion] This study successfully obtained unique microbial resources from the tidal flats of Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai City and one strain capable of degrading PET and using PET as the sole carbon source.

The preservation and utilization of agricultural microbial resources are essential for achieving green and sustainable agricultural development in China. However, the current state of agricultural microbial resources in China is characterized by a limited total volume, insufficient characterization data, low preservation throughput, poor development, and low sharing efficiency. Establishing and operating advanced agricultural microbial resource repositories can provide high-quality resources for the development of innovative microbial agricultural products and ensure robust sharing of agricultural microbial resources. Based on the construction and operation experience of conventional microbial resource repositories and considering the trends of scientific development in the new era, this paper proposes several insights into the construction and operation of new agricultural microbial resource repositories as a reference for resource repository developers and managers.

A mutant strain G₉-72 with a high yield of ectoine was obtained from wild type Halomonas campaniensis after nine rounds of ultraviolet mutagenesis. The differentially expressed genes/proteins (DEGs/DEPs) and the molecular mechanism underlying the excessive increase in the ectoine yield remain to be explored for the mutant strain. [Objective] To explore the DEGs/DEPs between the wild type strain XH26 and G₉-72 and decipher the molecular mechanism of efficient ectoine production by conjoint analysis. [Methods] A non-salt (NS, 0 mol/L NaCl) group and a high-salt (HS, 1.5 mol/L NaCl) group were designed for the culture of XH26 and G₉-72. Illumina HiSeq and quantitative mass spectrometry were employed to identify the DEGs/DEPs between the two strains by transcriptomics-proteomics conjoint analysis. Furthermore, RT-qPCR was carried out to verify the expression of significant DEGs. [Results] The transcriptomics analysis revealed 11 amino acid metabolic pathways (44 DEGs) associated with ectoine anabolism, and the proteomics analysis revealed ten amino acid metabolic pathways (50 DEPs) associated with ectoine anabolism. The transcriptomics-proteomics conjoint analysis identified 15 significant DEGs, including seven genes (ectB, betB, betA, asd, doeD, doeC, and gabD) with up-regulated mRNA and protein level, four genes (ItaE, gdhA, gabT, and acnB) with down-regulated mRNA and protein levels, three genes (gltD, atoB, and narG) with down-regulated mRNA levels and up-regulated protein levels, and one gene narK with up-regulated mRNA level and no protein level. Additionally, the RT-qPCR results were consistent with the transcriptomics analysis. [Conclusion] The excessive increase in the ectoine yield of the mutant strain was associated with key genes in the ectoine metabolic pathway (including the synthesis genes asd and ectB and the catabolism genes doeD and doeC) and indirectly associated with several genes (betB, betA, ItaE, gltD, gadA, and acnB) in the upstream metabolic pathway. Notably, ectoine biosynthesis was highly associated with the Ala/Asp/Glu/His metabolic pathway (gabD, gdhA, gabT, and atoB) and nitrogen source metabolism (narK and narG).