The large amount of soil carbon in boreal forest ecosystems has the potential to influence the climate system if released in large quantities in response to warming. Thus, there is a need to better understand and represent the environmental sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition. Most soil carbon decomposition models rely on empirical relationships omitting key biogeochemical mechanisms and t...

Reliable information on soil status and crop health is crucial for detecting and mitigating disasters like pollution or minimizing impact from soil-borne diseases. While infestation with an aggressive soil pathogen can be detected via reflected light spectra, it is unknown to what extent hyperspectral reflectance could be used to detect overall changes in soil biodiversity. We tested the hypoth...

A mycological medium was developed for primary isolation and culture of lipophilic yeasts. It was initially based on published information of nutrients and trace components that would promote the growth of these yeasts. It was subsequently modified and adjusted to specifically promote the growth of lipophilic yeasts and simultaneously avoid the luxurious growth of other fungi and bacteria. With...

We studied the catabolism of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon phenanthrene by four rhizobacterial strains and the possibility of enzymatic oxidation of this compound and its microbial metabolites by the root exudates of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in order to detect the possible coupling of the plant and microbial metabolisms under the rhizospheric degradation of the organic pollutant. A co...

Shotgun metagenome sequencing has become a fast, cheap and high-throughput technology for characterizing microbial communities in complex environments and human body sites. However, accurate identification of microorganisms at the strain/species level remains extremely challenging. We present a novel k-mer-based approach, termed GSMer, that identifies genome-specific markers (GSMs) from current...

BACKGROUND More than two decades after its discovery, contaminant microbial DNA in PCR reagents continues to impact the sensitivity and integrity of broad-range PCR diagnostic techniques. This is particularly relevant to their use in the setting of human sepsis, where a successful diagnostic on blood samples needs to combine universal bacterial detection with sensitivity to 1-2 genome copies, b...

Background & Aims: Organisms producing TEM-β-lactamase are emerging around the world as a source of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics such as three generation cephalosporins. In this study, we used a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify genes TEM for Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBLs) producing clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumonia from hospitals of Boro...

Background and Objectives: Bacterial bloodstream infections (BSIs) and surgical site infections (SSIs) are among the most common nosocomial infections with high mortality and morbidity. We aimed to evaluate the frequency of various species among BSIs and SSIs at Tehran Heart Center, Tehran, Iran. Methods: Patients with localized or systemic infections that became evident 48 hours or more after...