More Than Just a Fungus, a Cleanser: Ustilago maydis

 By: Leah Lopez

              

           The figure shows corn smut, a fungus that grows onto the outside of corn. Photo taken by John Cowell/Grant Heilman Photography

Ustilago maydis is typically known as corn smut and is used for dishes in some Mexican cuisines. However, it has been shown to have other beneficial qualities to it that can help industries. Ustilago maydis can create compounds that are surface-active and antimicrobial in nature. Due to these properties, which are derived from the compounds mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs) and cellobiose lipids (CBLs), they can be used to make a non-toxic, beneficial, and effective alternative to the harsh antimicrobial cleaners that are used today. In order to obtain the desired amount and effect of the compounds, special steps are taken to get max efficiency and output. To do this, a two strategy growth process was used to help biomass formation in both compounds. The first strategy was to put the samples under neutral pH and nitrogen dense conditions. The second strategy used was to put the same samples under a  glycolipid pandering environment. These strategies had a much better output compared to a single step strategy, helping MELs to a 190% increase and a 108% CBL increase. Something interesting that was discovered is that sugarcane molasses could be used as an alternative carbon source for growth. This further goes to show that there is a possibility that other forms of industrial waste can be used to help aid in the research of using Ustilago maydis as a source needed to create the alternative to harsh cleansers, all the while lowering the build-up of industrial waste. 

Original article:

    

Valkenburg AD, Teke GM, Eugéne van Rensburg, Pott RWM. 2025. Harnessing industrial waste for the co-production of mannosylerythritol and cellobiose lipids by Ustilago maydis. Biomass and Bioenergy. 197:107812–107812. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2025.107812

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The Chesapeake Bay Bacteria You Didn’t Know About

 

Fig: These graph shows how V. parahaemolyticus levels in the Chesapeake Bay change with salinity, water clarity, and temperature across different seasons. Warmer and cloudier waters generally support more bacteria.

Have you ever wondered why eating raw or undercooked seafood sometimes makes people sick? One reason is a bacterium called Vibrio parahaemolyticus which is naturally occurring in brackish and marine waters and is one of the leading causes of seafood borne illnesses. A 2017 study led by Benjamin J.K. Davis explores what environmental conditions promote or limit this bacterium in the Chesapeake Bay's Water. They collected various water samples from various spots across four years. They tested these samples for things like temperature, saltiness (salinity), cloudiness (turbidity), and oxygen levels. Moreover, they checked if the versions that cause food poisoning were present. What they found was that V. parahaemolyticus thrives in warm, cloudy water, and it struggles to survive in saltier water. However, salt is not a big factor if the water is already warm or murky. Something interesting was that most water samples that contained this bacterium did not contain the genetic markers that cause virulence, meaning that the bacteria is not considered a harmful strain. Researchers noted, though, that figuring out how and when it becomes virulent is still an ongoing investigation. They also pointed out that shellfish can carry high levels of the disease-causing strains. This study is important because it shows how environmental conditions in the Chesapeake Bay influence the growth of V. parahaemolyticus. This can later be used to predict when seafood might be riskier to eat, helping protect both people who enjoy seafood and the industries that depend on it.

Article:

Davis BJK, Jacobs JM, Davis MF, Schwab KJ, DePaola A, Curriero FC. 2017. Environmental Determinants of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in the Chesapeake Bay. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 83(21). doi:10.1128/aem.01147-17. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01147-17.

Identification of Aerobic and Anaerobic Bacteria in Tattoo and Permanent Makeup Inks

By: Kenya Dominguez

Figure 1 illustrates a co-occurrence network of 36 bacteria from tattoo and PMU inks where red is pathogenic and green is non-pathogenic. This Figure was taken by Yoon et al. 2024.

Tattoo and permanent makeup (PMU) inks are man-made products that are utilized to apply pigment, which is inserted into the dermis of the skin permanently. Over the past years, these products have gained recognition and popularity, leading to reports of ink-related infections (Yoon et al. 2024). For this reason, microbial contamination is the major contributor to tattoo and PMU ink. This research was the first to examine the presence of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in tattoo and PMU inks. The results of this study indicate that both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria were present in opened and sealed inks from different manufacturers and even those labeled as sterile. Furthermore, the study tested 75 tattoo and PMU inks from 14 different manufacturers. These inks were examined using serial dilution methods and agar plating into 3 different agars: Anaerobe agar (no oxygen), Blood agar (low oxygen), and Modified Letheen Agar MLA (atmospheric oxygen). As a result, 26 out of the 76 ink samples were contaminated with 34 bacterial isolates. The 34 bacteria isolates were categorized into three groups based on their different growth conditions. For instance, group 1 contained six bacteria isolates with anaerobic growth patterns, such as obligate anaerobic C. acnes and facultative anaerobic S. epidermis. Whereas,  Groups 2 and 3 are composed of 28 oxygen-requiring bacteria (aerobes) such as P. putida, S. saprophyticus, and S. maltophilia (Yoon et al. 2024). Overall, determining the anaerobic and aerobic bacteria in tattoo and PMU inks can improve contamination hazards and future microbial research.

                                  Article:

Yoon S, Kondakala S, Foley SL, Moon MS,Huang MJ, Periz G, Zang J, Katz LM, Kim S,Kweon O.2024.Detection of anaerobic and aerobic bacteria from commercial tattoo and permanent makeup inks. Appl Environ

The Disruption of Ecosystem Dynamics Due to Biological Anomalies

 By Janitssa Rodoli

This photo displays a variety of phenological anomalies; i.e., plants blooming in their off season. Photo Credit: Living things are showing increasing anomalies in their seasonal activity, which could disrupt the dynamics of biodiversity and ecosystems

Global warming and climate change are topics often spoken about with a sense of urgency, and for good reason. It has been made clear that the past decade, circa 2015, has increasingly become hotter temperature-wise. The article discusses the sudden abnormal shift in the blooming of flowers and other vegetation in their respective ecosystems, and the greater consequences this could bring. Ecosystems are made up of more than just plants, containing other living inhabitants including humans, animals, and insects. Early blooms of flowers in the Fall, for example, could spell trouble for certain crops that grow perennially and require specific pollinators to produce. Researchers observed flowers and plants blooming later than expected during the Winter season, and deduced they would be more vulnerable to pathogen and herbivore attacks as they would be weaker structurally. The desynchronization affects humans in the aspects of health, agriculture, and ecotourism as well. The way we tolerate pollen, the food we consume, and the economic tourism drawn in from cherry blossom viewing become just a few aspects of life that could change if these conditions continue to occur. Researchers are still unsure as to how long this change could last, but call for more monitoring and analysis of ecosystems in order to gain more of an understanding of this phenomena.

Original Article: Chuine, I., Garcia de Cortazar-Atauri, I., Jean, F. et al. Living things are showing increasing anomalies in their seasonal activity, which could disrupt the dynamics of biodiversity and ecosystems. Sci Rep 15, 32860 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-16585-2

Koji fermentation: The Moldy Microbes That Make Chocolate And Relations All The Sweeter

By: Lorena Celest Razo 

This image is of the fermentation process cacao goes through with koji yeast before becoming chocolate
picture by: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/figure/10.1080/15528014.2024.2447663?scroll=top&needAccess=true

    Koji is a mold spore that is commonly used in fermentation. This article will cover how the use of mold spores is being implemented to enhance flavors. Koji is an often found in some Japanese cuisines such as miso and sake, but this mold sore has grown in popularity due to being named the “powerhouse of enzymes” due to its high concentration of amylase and proteases. In this experiment Koji is being used in the fermentation of cacao, conventional chocolate relies on bacteria that is acid producing along with yeast to make cacao into the chocolate. The koji fermentation process relies on the fungus being directly introduced to the cacaos pulp by being sprinkled onto the beans and left to ferment with banana leaves until made into chocolate. Koji fermented coffee which in India was the starting point with a few experiments until the thought of koji covered cacao was brought up, it was the perfect blend of Japan and India being able to connect. Although the introduction to the public was a shaky one with koji being an unfamiliar term and mold, it was also known as the “a magical microbe” giving the final product of koji chocolate its wonderful flavor profile. Koji though a mold lives up to its magical microbe name as it has elevated tastes, helped reduce waste in other products such as mayo, and have even helped with not only cultural-economic relations but human-microbe relations as well just through their enzymatic work in chocolate alone. 

Original Article: 

Hey M, Michael E. 2025. “A Whole New World of Possibilities”: Koji Uses and Ambiguities on the Global Marketplace. Food, Culture & Society. 28(2):365–386. doi:10.1080/15528014.2024.2447663. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15528014.2024.2447663.

Greenspaces in Dry Cities: How Landscaping Shapes Microbial and Viral Communities

 By: Francisco Montaner

This image illustrates an urban greenspace. Picture by: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cities-pledge-more-green-space-to-combat-urban-heat

Urban greenspaces are open space areas that provide natural or landscaped environments within cities, such as parks and gardens, offering ecological, social, and health benefits to residents. However, in arid environments these greenspaces are designed using a global model which are not suitable for arid environments. These models when applied potentially affects microbial communities and favors certain genes. In this experiment, the authors will assess bacterial and viral genomic data to determine difference within both environments. The authors collected soil samples from two urban parks and twelve ecosystem-representative sites. They then extracted DNA from these samples and were sequenced for bacterial and viral characterization. The results showed that viral abundance was higher in natural soils; however, the ratio of virulent to temperate viruses was slightly higher in urban soils. On the other hand, bacteria in urban soils had overall smaller genome sizes, and the abundance of heavy metal resistance genes was higher compared to natural soils. Contrary to this, the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes was not marginally different between both urban and natural soils. Additionally, in urban soils bacterial DNA had a higher abundance of denitrification genes than natural soils. This research is important because it highlights how bacteria and viruses differ between natural and landscaped environments, and how human activity can influence the way these communities are shaped.

Original article :

Touceda-Suárez M, Ponsero AJ, Barberán A. 2025 Jul 15. Differences in the genomic potential of soil bacterial and viral communities between urban greenspaces and natural arid soils. Spear JR, editor. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. doi:https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.02124-24.

 Microbial Communities under Siege! Petroleum Hydrocarbons vs Microbial Community 

by: Diana Tarver

Figure 1. Species diversity and functional community and its relationship with soil multifunctionality in soils with different petroleum hydrocarbon contamination levels. The Simpson index (A) and Chao index (B) of the microbial community in highly contaminated soils (H), lightly contaminated soils (L) and uncontaminated soils (N). The Pearson correlation between the Simpson index (C) or Chao index (D) and soil multifunctionality in highly contaminated soils (H), lightly contaminated soils (L) and uncontaminated soils (N). The Pearson correlation between the Simpson index (E) or Chao index (F) and soil multifunctionality in all soil samples. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to calculate significant differences (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001).

Environmental microbes are an important part of keeping the soils functioning and our tampering and adding of chemicals into the environment has made them evolve, and adapt to these chemicals.  Petroleum hydrocarbon, it changes the soil environment increasing organic carbon content changing how microbes interreact with soil. Some microbes have been able to adapt and to these contaminated soil. This study carried out by Wenjuan Jia and colleagues wanted to see how the diversity of these soil microbes were being affected by the petroleum hydrocarbon contamination. They went ahead and collected samples from 3 sites in Beijing China that had low, medium and high contamination. With these soil samples they did some culture dependent and independent studies on the microbes. Results concluded that there was a much lower diversity in high concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons but surprisingly in the lower concentrations there was a huge increase in diversity giving us hope that these contaminated site will eventually heal. Although we may have known about the idea that microbes can help with contamination in the environment it is good to be able to see when we need to intervene this data could bring us closer in identifying what kind of management plan we can implement. 

Original Article 

Wenjuan J., Lirong C., Qiuyang T., Yueqiao L., Junfeng D., Kai Y., Qing Y., Senjie W., Jing L., Geng N., Lei Z., Aizhong D. (2023). Response of the soil microbial community to petroleum hydrocarbon stress shows a threshold effect: research on aged realistic contaminated fields. Frontiers in Microbiology Volume 14; 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1188229