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The microbial communities associated with marine sediments are critical for ecosystem function yet remain poorly characterized. While culture-independent (CI) techniques capture the broadest perspective on community composition, culture-dependent (CD) methods can select for low abundance taxa that are missed using CI approaches. This study aimed to assess microbial diversity in tropical marine sediments at five shallow-water sites in Belize using both CD and CI techniques. The CD methods captured approximately 3% of the >800 genera detected across all sites using the CI approach. Additionally, 39 genera were only detected in culture, revealing rare taxa that were missed with the CI approach. Significantly different communities were detected across sites, with rare taxa playing an important role in distinguishing among communities. This study provides important baseline data describing shallow-water sediment microbial communities, evidence that standard cultivation techniques may be more effective than previously recognized, and the first steps towards identifying new taxa that are amenable to agar plate cultivation.

Currently, a vast majority of bacteria in the natural environment cannot be cultured or isolated under laboratory conditions mainly due to interdependence and interaction of cells. Quorum sensing (...

This study attempts to evaluate culture-dependent microbial and proximate composition of African salad (Abacha) sold at Nkpolu Oroworukwo (mile 3) market, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Samples were bought from stationary vendors at market within the months of March, 2019 to March, 2021. Garnished African salad (GAS) and ungarnished African salad (UAS) samples were determined by standard microbiological techniques whereas proximate composition (PC) was analysed by the methods of Association of Official of Analytical Chemists (AOAC) Total aerobic plate counts (TAPCs), total coliform counts (TCCs) and fungal counts (FCs) of GAS were higher 4.5x104CFU/g, 5.3x104CFU/g and 1.1x104CFU/g respectively as against 3.4x104CFU/g, 3.8x104 CFU/g and 0.8x104CFU/g for UAG. Microfloral diversity were more in GAS with species such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella sp., Micrococcus sp.. Bacillus sp., Enterobacter sp., and Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Rhizopus sp., Fusarium sp., Mucor sp., Saccharomyces and Candida species than in UAS. Nutrient composition, energy (116.00Kcal/100g) and pH (6.4) values were higher in GAS. In contrast, only the moisture (62.52±0.53%) and carbohydrate (23.21±0.21%) contents were slightly higher in UAS than those in GAS. The study revealed that African salad’ bioburden was slightly above the microbiological standard limits of International Commission on Microbiological Specification for Foods (ICMSF) and (Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) for RTE foods for mesophilic aerobic bacteria (MAB)/TAPC but exceeded that for total coliforms. However, the microbes detected are likely aetiologic agents of several food borne diseases (FBDs) in human and animal pathologies. Therefore, adequate surveillance, monitoring and compliance with hygienic practices and environmental sanitary measures during processing, fortification and distribution should be enforced by regulatory agencies and stakeholders for wholesome and palatable RTE foods.

Findings concerning the impact of bariatric surgical intervention on both psychological variables and weight loss are often controversial and misconstrued the world over. The aim of this study was to classify bariatric surgery patients according to patterns of preoperative measures that may predict postoperative psychological and physiological outcomes and to compare these patterns between two distinct cultures. Of 169 consecutive bariatric surgery candidates from Israel and 81 candidates from the United States, 73 and 35 patients, respectively consented to be included in a follow-up phase. Body image dissatisfaction, emotional eating behaviors, risk of suicide, depressive symptoms, anxious symptoms, and percent excess weight loss were measured. K-means clustering procedure was used to classify bariatric surgery patients according to their preoperative body-related emotional distress, which was composed of body image dissatisfaction and emotional eating. The joint effect of culture and body-related emotional distress cluster on psychological distress was tested. The cluster analysis revealed two preoperative body-related emotional distress patterns: high body-related emotional distress and low body-related emotional distress. Following surgery, US patients showed a higher risk of suicide and lower excess weight loss than Israeli patients within only the high body-related emotional distress cluster (a significant interaction effect). Preoperative assessment of body-related emotional distress patterns among bariatric surgery candidates may enable professionals to identify potential postoperative risks of suicide, anxiety, and decreased weight loss. The relationship between the body-related emotional distress cluster and outcome measures is culture dependent. Case–control analytic study.

Introduction: Apis nigrocincta is a honeybee endemic to Mindanao island (the Philippines), Sangihe island (North Sulawesi, Indonesia) and Sulawesi mainland (Indonesia). The genus Apis is well known to have symbiont in their guts, which helps balance the microbiome in the gut and host health. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether the bacteria isolated from the gut of honeybee Apis nigrocincta produce metabolites with potential growth inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Escerichia coli, the bacteria which are important pathogens in humans and animals. Methods: Bacteria isolated from honeybee gut were cultured in MRSA and several isolates were purified for testing. The antibacterial activity test method used in this study was well diffusion agar. Pure isolates were grown on NB. The treatments given were heating and also neutralizing the supernatant from each isolate. Results: Five bacterial isolates were successfully isolated from honeybee gut and purified. The five isolates showed antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacterial strain indicators. The results of molecular identification showed that four of these isolates were Bacillus cereus and the other one was Staphylococcus arlettae. Neutralized supernatant showed strong activity on both indicator strains. The five isolates showed higher inhibition activity against S. aureus compared to E. coli. Conclusion: The finding of this research concluded that two bacterial strains, B. cereus and S. arlettae isolated from A. nigrocincta gut can be investigated further as agents which produce bioactive compounds that have potential as an antibacterial.

BackgroundUrinalysis (UA) reflex testing approaches, which offer potential for savings in labor and result turnaround time, may rely on the performance of a chemical UA screen to determine which urine samples need microscopic UA and/or urine culture. We correlated chemical UA, microscopic UA, and urine culture results to determine the performance of chemical UA as a screening tool for reflex testing approaches.MethodsConsecutive UA results for 9127 tests (simultaneous chemical UA and microscopic UA) were retrospectively reviewed and correlated. Urine culture results were also correlated for 3127 samples that had urine culture ordered within 24 h of UA. Positivity criteria for each UA method were predefined.ResultsChemical UA yielded the following performance specifications for predicting microscopic findings: 93.0% sensitivity, 56.9% specificity, 64.7% positive predictive value, 90.5% negative predictive value. 3.2% of samples were negative by chemical UA but positive by microscopic UA. Of the samples with urine culture results available, 6.3% were negative by chemical UA but had clinically-significant positive urine cultures.ConclusionsReflex testing of microscopic UA and/or urine culture dependent from chemical UA results provides a feasible opportunity to reduce unnecessary testing.

Bacteria and archaea thrive in terrestrial subsurface environments because of their unique physiology. Over time, these unique microorganisms may have adapted to possess specialized metabolic pathways that sustain their continued existence in caves, one of harshest environments on earth. The present study elucidates cultivation based microbial diversity of the cave sediments and wall scrapings collected from seven different locations in Raspberry Rising Cave located in the Columbia Mountain Range, British Columbia, Canada. A total of 103 cultivable bacteria from the cave were isolated on various agar media including R2A, Hickey-Tresner, and DifcoTM Actinomycetes Isolation agar media. Taxonomical phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene of the bacterial isolates identified three major phyla: Proteobacteria (Class: Gammaproteobacteria) (51.45%), Actinobacteria (43.68%) and Bacteroidetes (3.88%). Among them, the major genus was Pseudomonas (48.54%) followed by Rhodococcus (39.80%) and Flavobacterium (3.88%). The genus Janthinobacterium and Arthrobacter contributed about 2.91% each, of the total population. Noteworthy, 0.99% were recognized as endophytic Proteobacteria. Furthermore, these bacterial isolates were evaluated for their potential antimicrobial activities against the multidrug resistant bacterial strains. Two bacterial isolates (RRC23, RRC75) showed antimicrobial activities against multi-drug resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli #15-318 while RRC48 exhibited against methicillin resistant (MRSA) Staphylococcus aureus. The isolates RRC36 and RRC38 were identified to show antimicrobial activities against non-pathogenic isolates of Staphylococcus aureus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first scientific study conducted and provides the insight in occurrence and distribution of the cultivated bacterial diversity from the Raspberry Rising Cave. Moreover, the antimicrobial properties exhibited by some of the bacterial isolates suggested that this cave system could be a resource for potential antibiotics, drugs or novel biologics of clinical relevance.

Background The conceptualization of personal recovery began in Europe and North America and has spread worldwide. However, the concept of personal recovery in addition to recovery-promoting factors may be influenced by culture. We explored how users of mental health services in Japan perceive their own personal recovery and the factors that promote it. Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews with individuals using mental health services. The interview data were analysed using thematic analysis with a grouped framework analysis approach. We used a coding framework based on the existing CHIME framework (connectedness, hope and optimism about the future, identity, meaning in life, and empowerment). Results Data were obtained from 30 users of mental health services (mean age: 40.4 years; 46.7% women; 50.0% with schizophrenia). “Compassion for others” was newly extracted in “Connectedness”, and “Rebuilding/redefining identity not being as shaped by social norms” was newly extracted in “Identity” as personal recovery. “Positive experiences in childhood” (including positive parenting support from neighbours) was newly extracted as a recovery-promoting factor. Conclusions Our unique findings on the rebuilding identity/defining identity free from conformity to social norms due to interactions with familiar people, including peers, may be culture dependent. This study raises overarching questions regarding how socio-cultural values influence the development of identity and personal values and how they are in turn reflected in personal recovery.

Employee information systems security behavior (ISSB) is a key concern for organizations. Previous studies have proposed models aimed at explaining employees’ ISSB and related behavioral ch...

Cross-cultural understanding of psychiatric symptoms is important in the current globalised society. Lack of knowledge regarding culture-dependent manifestations of psychiatric illnesses may lead to misjudgement by clinicians, resulting in inappropriate treatment. We present the cases of two patients with schizophrenia who showed Japanese-culture-dependent postures (seiza and dogeza). Seiza is a Japanese style of formal floor sitting. Dogeza includes bowing and touching the forehead to the floor while sitting in a kneeling position. When patients with schizophrenia perform these postures in a clinical setting, clinicians receive plenty of information regarding the patients' clinical states, including schizophrenia-related fear/tension, accusatory auditory verbal hallucinations, and pathological guilt.

Indexado en DOAJ El objetivo de este artículo es identificar la construcción de direccionalidades comunes entre los conceptos de frontera y umbral dentro de la teoría semiótica de la cultura a través de Yuri Lotman y Claude Zilberberg. Con esta finalidad, realizamos una revisión crítica, convergente y sintética de la literatura representativa de las propuestas de ambos autores. Este procedimiento metodológico pretende realizar una lectura integrada de los conceptos de frontera y umbral, de manera que estos generen nuevos marcos y perspectivas temáticas en torno a una semiótica de la cultura. La hipótesis es que la articulación del umbral dentro de la teoría de una cultura dependiente de la oposición topológica, fundamental y narrativa entre centro y periferia, permite el retrato de semiosferas más versátiles donde la figura periférica se deshace en los movimientos más ubicuos y temporalmente inestables de culturas particulares como de aquellas semiosferas económicas o de consumo. The objective of this article is to identify the construction of common directionalities between the concepts of border and threshold within the semiotic theory of culture through Yuri Lotman and Claude Zilberberg. To address our research objective, we conducted a critical, convergent and synthetic review of the representative literature of both authors' proposals. This methodological purpose aims to make an integrated reading of the concepts of border and threshold so that they generate new frameworks and thematic perspectives on a semiotics of culture. The hypothesis is that the articulation of the threshold within the theory of a culture dependent on the topological, fundamental and narrative opposition between the center and the periphery, allows the portrayal of more versatile semiospheres where the peripheral figure falls apart in the most ubiquitous and temporarily unstable movements of particular cultures such as those economic or consumer semiospheres. Revisión por pares

Vibrios represent a natural contaminant of seafood products. V. alginolyticus, V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus are the most hazardous species to human health. Given the worldwide consumption of mollusc products, reliable detection of Vibrio species is recommended to prevent human vibriosis. In this study, culture-dependent and -independent methods were compared and integrated to implement knowledge of the Manila clam Vibrio community composition. Here, 16S and recA-pyrH metabarcoding were applied to compare the microbial communities of homogenate clam samples (culture-independent method) and their culture-derived samples plated on three different media (culture-dependent method). In addition, a subset of plated clam samples was investigated using shotgun metagenomics. Homogenate metabarcoding characterized the most abundant taxa (16S) and Vibrio species (recA-pyrH). Culture-dependent metabarcoding detected the cultivable taxa, including rare species. Moreover, marine agar medium was found to be a useful substrate for the recovery of several Vibrio species, including the main human pathogenic ones. The culture-dependent shotgun metagenomics detected all the main human pathogenic Vibrio species and a higher number of vibrios with respect to the recA-pyrH metabarcoding. The study revealed that integration of culture-dependent and culture-independent methods might be a valid approach for the characterization of Vibrio biodiversity.

Aims: Infectious disease haemorrhagic uremic syndrome (HUS), present in sewage water, its cross contamination with drinking water may affect the community. This study was conducted to isolate the pathogenic strain of E. coli O157 from the sewage waste water of Lahore, Pakistan. The aim of this study was to evaluate biofilm formation and antibiotic susceptibility pattern for the isolated strains. Selective Hichrome EC O157 agar media was used for the isolation of E. coli. Methodology: Taxonomic status of strain was confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Serotyping of E. coli O157 strains was accomplished by ProlexTM E. coli O157 Latex Test Reagent Kit results for O157. Bacterial strains were also evaluated for biofilm formation, toxin related genes (stx1, stx2, stx2c, stx2d) and antibiotic sensitivity. Results: Bacterial strains showed resistance against amoxicillin, tobramycin, tetracycline and nitrofurantoin antibiotics. Maximum biofilm formation was shown by strain E124 when used as monoculture. In cocultures, strains E35 and E101 were the most efficient biofilm formers. PCR amplification recorded negative results for shiga toxin genes. Conclusion: Shiga toxin genes were not present in any of the E. coli strain, from which we can suggest that our environment is free of shiga toxin genes. E. coli was present in sewage water, its cross contamination with drinking water may affect the community. Therefore, waste water should be treated properly before discarding it into the common water bodies.

In the Albanian winemaking industry, there is little awareness of the potential detrimental effect of Brettanomyces in wines. The aim of this study was to detect and quantify Brettanomyces cells in 22 Albanian bottled wines, representing all the viticultural areas of Albania. A combined approach, including culture-dependent (viable plate counting) and culture-independent (qPCR) methods, was applied. Spoilage indicators (ethylphenols and total and volatile acidity), as well as the primary factors known to influence the growth of Brettanomyces in wine (pH, SO2, and ethanol concentration), were also investigated. Brettanomyces was detected in only five (one Merlot, four Sheshi i Zi) out of 22 samples analyzed using viable counting, with loads ranging from 1.30 ± 0.03 log CFU/mL to 3.99 ± 0.00 log CFU/mL, whereas it was never detected in the Kallmet samples. When qPCR was applied, Brettanomyces cells were detected and quantified in all of the samples with a generally low load ranging from 0.47 ± 0.13 to 3.99 ± 0.01 log cells/mL. As a general trend, the loads of spoilage by this yeast were low (≤1.92 log cells/mL), with the exception of five samples that were also positive by plate counting. A positive correlation between the growth of this spoilage yeast on Dekkera/Brettanomyces differential media and its detection at high levels by qPCR was observed. A significant positive correlation between Brettanomyces and the concentration of ethylphenols and volatile acidity was also found. In summary, the results of this study demonstrated the low incidence of Brettanomyces spoilage yeasts in Albanian red wines. Practical Application The awareness of Brettanomyces spoilage in the Albanian winemaking industry is very low. This study represents the first contribution to understand the extent of this spoilage yeast in Albanian autochthonous cultivars, which tend to have high economic value, to ensure product quality and safety. qPCR is confirmed to be a very sensitive method to rapidly detect Brettanomyces spoilage in wine samples.

WOS: 000467648500006 It has been known that a number of bacterial pathogens living in the digestive tract of leeches such as Aeromonas veronii and A. hydrophila are related to the blood-sucking behavior of certain species. Therefore, it would be important to describe bacterial species located in the digestive tract of blood-sucking leeches. For this reason, we studied the bacterial diversity of the body surface and the internal organs of Limnatis nilotica (Savigny, 1822) (Clitellata: Hirudinea) which is one of the most important parasites in domesticated animals and rarely in humans. In accordance with this purpose, the culture-dependent and culture-independent (PCR-DGGE) methods were used. Genomic DNA was extracted from the bacterial isolates cultivated in pure cultures from the body surface and the leech homogenate and, the total DNA was extracted from the leech homogenates for DGGE analysis. Based on the culture-dependent method, 32 isolates were obtained from the body surface and the leech homogenates and the most common isolated bacterium was Aeromonas sp. On the other hand, five bacterial species (Pasteurella sp. is the most common) were determined using DGGE analysis. These results could help to find some features of N. nilotica biology and lead to investigations associated with host-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions for the purpose of controlling N. nilotica in the infested waters. Ahi Evran University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit [MMF.A4.18.004] This study was supported by Ahi Evran University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit. Project Number: MMF.A4.18.004.

Hot springs are natural habitats for thermophilic microorganisms and provide a significant opportunity for bioprospecting thermostable biomolecules. However, the scientific community has only a fragmented understanding of the microbial diversity and composition in these biotopes. In this study, bacterial diversity in sediment samples from six hot springs of Saudi Arabia was investigated using an improved culture-dependent approach. High-throughput MALDI-TOF MS (matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry) and 16S rRNA genes sequencing were used for the identification of purified isolates. Most of the hot springs had a neutral pH and a temperature range of 45-89°C. Relatively higher colony-forming units (1.9 ± 0.45 × 10

Biodiversity has been defined as the range of significantly different types of organisms and their relative abundance in an assemblage of community. The aim of this research was to understand about soil bacterial community after on biological control agents (BCA) treatments with various formulations. This research was conducted at Sleman Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta and Faculty Agriculture of Universitas Gadjah Mada. The research conducted with culture dependent and culture independent methods to assess soil bacterial diversity. The results showed that soil bacterial diversity before and after treatment of biological control agent were different. Results from this research suggested different molecular methods regarding soil bacterial diversity based on their benefits and challenges.

Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that confer a health benefit to the host when administered in adequate amounts, therefore the presence of viable microorganisms is essential. Previous studies reported inconsistencies when comparing contents of probiotics marketed for use in animals with label claims. However, to the author's knowledge the variability of the same product between different lots has yet to be evaluated. The objective of this observational study was to evaluate the content and inter-lot variability of commercial equine probiotic products using culture dependent and independent techniques. Eleven probiotics marketed for use in horses were evaluated for microbial content using culture-dependent and independent techniques. The content was then compared to microorganisms listed and quantities on the label of the probiotic. Statistical analyses were performed using a Kruskal-Wallis test. None of the 11 probiotics met their label claim. Nine of the 11 did not have statistically significant inter-lot variability. Several products lacked microorganisms listed on the label based on both culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses.

PCR-DGGE and culturable diversity analysis of nitrogenase gene nifH and denitrifying genes nirS and nosZ affiliated with heterotrophic and unculturable bacterial communities associated with rhizosphere of A. marina, R. mucronata, S. maritima and S. brachiata revealed the dominance of gammaproteobacterial community across the rhizospheres. Sequence analysis of the PCR-DGGE profiles of nifH genes clustered to unculturables, while majority of the nirS and nosZ genes clustered with unculturables with few culturable groups viz., Pseudomonas sp. and Halomonas sp. Culturable analysis reflected the dominance of Gammaproteobacteria as both nitrogen fixers and denitrifiers while other groups like Firmicutes and Alphaproteobacteria were very less represented among nitrogen fixers, and denitrifiers respectively. A total of 16 different genera were identified as nitrogen fixers and denitrifiers. BOX-PCR analysis of Mangovibacter, Vibrio, Bacillus and Catenococcus isolated in this study showed varied fingerprinting patterns compared to their respective positive controls reported earlier from this ecosystem, indicating they may be novel.

Humans possess a perhaps unique type of culture among primates called cumulative culture. In this type of culture, behavioural forms cumulate changes over time, which increases their complexity and/or efficiency, eventually making these forms culture-dependent. As changes cumulate, culture-dependent forms become causally opaque, preventing the overall behavioural form from being acquired by individuals on their own; in other words, culture-dependent forms must be copied between individuals and across generations. Despite the importance of cumulative culture for understanding the evolutionary history of our species, how and when cumulative culture evolved is still debated. One of the challenges faced when addressing these questions is how to identify culture-dependent forms that result from cumulative cultural evolution. Here we propose a novel method to identify the most likely cases of culture-dependent forms. The 'Method of Local Restriction' is based on the premise that as culture-dependent forms are repeatedly transmitted via copying, these forms will unavoidably cumulate population-specific changes (due to copying error) and therefore must be expected to become locally restricted over time. When we applied this method to our closest living relatives, the great apes, we found that most known ape behavioural forms are not locally restricted (across domains and species) and thus are unlikely to be acquired via copying. Nevertheless, we found 25 locally restricted forms across species and domains, three of which appear to be locally unique (having been observed in a single population of a single species). Locally unique forms represent the best current candidates for culture-dependent forms in non-human great apes. Besides these rare exceptions, our results show that overall, ape cultures do not rely heavily on copying, as most ape behaviours appear across sites and/or species, rendering them unlikely to be culture-dependent forms resulting from cumulative cultural evolution. Yet, the locally restricted forms (and especially the three locally unique forms) identified by our method should be tested further for their potential reliance on copying social learning mechanisms (and in turn, for their potential culture-dependence). Future studies could use the Method of Local Restriction to investigate the existence of culture-dependent forms in other animal species and in the hominin archaeological record to estimate how widespread copying is in the animal kingdom and to postulate a timeline for the emergence of copying in our lineage.

Termites have long been studied for their symbiotic associations with gut microbes. In the late nineteenth century, this relationship was poorly understood and captured the interest of parasitologists such as Joseph Leidy; this research led to that of twentieth-century biologists and entomologists including Cleveland, Hungate, Trager, and Lüscher. Early insights came via microscopy, organismal, and defaunation studies, which led to descriptions of microbes present, descriptions of the roles of symbionts in lignocellulose digestion, and early insights into energy gas utilization by the host termite. Focus then progressed to culture-dependent microbiology and biochemical studies of host–symbiont complementarity, which revealed specific microhabitat requirements for symbionts and noncellulosic mechanisms of symbiosis (e.g., N2 fixation). Today, knowledge on termite symbiosis has accrued exponentially thanks to omic technologies that reveal symbiont identities, functions, and interdependence, as well as intricacies of host–symbiont complementarity. Moving forward, the merging of classical twentieth-century approaches with evolving omic tools should provide even deeper insights into host–symbiont interplay.

Open to reason: how good are people at reasoning with arguments? A phenomenon that has become clearer through social media is that people often gather with like-minded others to strengthen their opinions. In such circumstances, people do not respond in a reasonable way to the arguments of others or even completely ignore the opinions of those who think differently. But what does it mean to reason reasonably with arguments? What exactly can we expect from people? And how good are we at reasoning with arguments? Studies have shown that people can be sensitive to norms for reasonable arguments. Standpoints are more likely to be accepted if they are supported by arguments that meet normative standards. Whereas people may thus be open to reason, dealing with norms can be culture dependent. This finding creates a fascinating field of tension between absolute norms and the relativity of cultures.

Clinical experiments suggest that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may be useful for tissue repair therapies or treatment of the autoimmune disorders. There is still lack of consensus concerning the age limit of MSC donors, majority of researchers suggest the autologous MSC therapies of patients not exceeding age limit of 55-60 yrs. The purpose of our study was to compare the selected parameters of MSCs from adipose tissue (adipose stem cell, ASC) collected from young and old rats of ages corresponding to patient’s ages 25 yrs. and 80 yrs., respectively. The differences of parameters of ASCs from young and old animals were compared with the differences between ASCs from short-term (3 passage) and long-term (30 passage) in vitro culture. Cell morphology, surface marker expression, growth potential, metabolic activity, β-galactosidase activity, clonogenic potential, angiogenic potential, and differentiation ability of ASCs from young and aged animals and from in vitro cultures at 3rd and 30th passages were compared and analyzed. It may be concluded that ASCs may be applied for autologous transplantations in aged patients. Comparison of ASC aging dynamics depending on host aging or in vitro culture duration suggests that long-term in vitro culture may affect ASCs more than natural aging process of their host. We suggest that ASCs expanded in vitro prior to their clinical use must be carefully screened for the possible aging effects resulting not only from donor age, but from the duration of their in vitro culture.

Food quality and safety had become an increasing issue for quality authorities, food scientists, manufacturers, producers and consumers as well. In the present work, food quality control using bacterial identification isolated from food samples was performed. Greek olives (raw drupes), currants (dry fruits), roe (fish eggs), bacon and “feta” cheese were collected for this purpose. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of traditional Greek food types and to compare bacterial population observed of each food matrix according to analysis method. Therefore, culture based and molecular methods were performed in parallel. Total bacterial DNA isolated from food samples was verified by PCR and PCR-RAPD amplification and then analyzed by Next Generation Sequencing. Results showed that NGS analysis can provide an advanced and detailed look at food microbiota in comparison to culture-dependent techniques. Climate conditions, environmental factors, even production or processing procedures can result an abundant bacterial diversity isolated from each food product, so NGS approaches can be suitable to elucidate the whole picture of bacteria populations. NGS analysis regarding food safety management can be applied in food industries and therefore quality and safety of food products can be reassured.

Many plants are unable to adapt to rapid environmental changes (e.g., salinity, drought, or limited nutrients) and may acquire assistance from microbes that have the capacity to increase tolerance of host-plants in stress conditions. By having the right microbes, the plants are more resilient! Such microbes include endophytes that inhabit inner tissues of the plant without causing symptoms of disease in their host. However, this plant–endophytic association exists only when chemical equilibrium is maintained between both, therefore making this mutualistic interaction even more unique. Therefore it is interesting to decode the endophytic community composition in halophytes specifically in the most salt-tolerant halophyte species Salicornia europaea, and further determine the factors that could affect this association. Moreover, understanding the endophytes potential plant growth-promoting activities in association with host (S. europaea) and non-host plant (non-halophytes) are the focus of this chapter.

Despite recent great advances in microbial culture, most microbes have not yet been cultured, and the impact of medium composition on the isolation of microbes from natural systems has not been elucidated. To optimize media for culturing marine microbes, microbial communities in three sediment samples were described using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and culture-dependent techniques. HTS revealed communities dominated byGammaproteobacteria, and culture-based methods revealed communities dominated byActinobacteria. Among the total operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from the HTS dataset, 6% were recovered in the culture collection. Four potentially novel bacterial strains belonging toOceaniovalibus,PsychrobacterandSalegentibacterwere isolated. The combination of media cultured more taxa than any single medium. Nutrient-rich and single-carbon/nitrogen-source media supported the growth of relatively few taxa, and the quality of nitrogen strongly influenced the types of bacteria isolated.

Subterranean Cultural Heritage sites are frequently subject to biological colonization due to the high levels of humidity, even in conditions of low irradiance and oligotrophy. Here microorganisms form complex communities that may be dangerous through mineral precipitation, through the softening of materials or causing frequent surface discolorations. A reduction of contamination’s sources along with the control of microclimatic conditions and biocide treatments (overall performed with benzalkonium chloride) are necessary to reduce microbial growths. Dark discolorations have been recorded in the painted Etruscan tombs of Tarquinia, two of which have been analyzed to collect taxonomical, physiological, and ecological information. Eighteen dark-pigmented fungi were isolated among a wider culturable fraction: nine from blackening areas and nine from door sealings, a possible route of contamination. Isolates belonged to three major groups: Chaetothyriales, Capnodiales (Family Cladosporiaceae), and Acremonium-like fungi. Exophiala angulospora and Cyphellophora olivacea, a novelty for hypogea, were identified, while others need further investigations as possible new taxa. The metabolic skills of the detected species showed their potential dangerousness for the materials. Their tolerance to benzalkonium chloride-based products suggested a certain favouring effect through the decreasing competitiveness of less resistant species. The type of covering of the dromos may influence the risk of outer contamination. Fungal occurrence can be favoured by root penetration.

Faecal samples have often been used to characterise the gut microbiota in health and disease. There is significant debate whether faecal bacterial communities accurately reflect the mucosa associated bacterial populations, which are considered critical in the aetiopathogenesis of several gastrointestinal diseases. We simultaneously assessed faecal and mucosal microbiota from healthy volunteers to unravel the degree of concordance between the two profiles. Paired fresh rectal biopsies and faecal samples were obtained from ten healthy volunteers and processed under stringent anaerobic conditions. Composition and diversity of the microbiota were studied using next generation sequencing targeting the 16S ribosomal nucleic acid (rRNA) gene and culturomics. Bacterial richness and diversity were comparable between mucosal and faecal samples with no significant statistical differences. The relative abundance of Oxalobacteraceae, Propionibacteriaceae, Campylobacteraceae and Corynebacteriaceae were significantly increased (Corncob analysis; FDR=0.00027, 0.000046, 0.011 and 0.025 respectively) in biopsy compared to faecal samples at the family level. Conversely, there was increased abundance from the family Ruminococcaceae and Clostridiaceae (Corncob analysis; FDR=0.025 and 0.025 respectively) in faecal samples. Principal Coordinates Analysis of a Bray Curtis distance matrix generated from sequence variant tables did not show distinct clustering of biopsy and faecal samples (PERMANOVA; p=0.991). A total of 528 bacteria were isolated from a subset of 6 volunteer samples (biopsy and faeces) out of which there were 97 unique and 39 novel species identified. Our study showed good concordance between faecal and gut mucosal microbial profile, corroborating that faecal samples can act as a convenient surrogate to study gut microbiota.