Recent advances in the modeling of microbial growth and metabolism have shown that growth rate critically depends upon the optimal allocation of finite proteomic resources among different cellular functions and that modeling growth rates becomes more realistic with the explicit accounting for the costs of macromolecular synthesis, most importantly, protein expression. The "proteomic constraint"...

Transgenic or genetically modified plants possess novel genes that impart beneficial characteristics such as herbicide resistance. One of the least understood areas in the environmental risk assessment of genetically modified crops is their impact on soil- and plant-associated microbial communities. The potential for interaction between transgenic plants and plant residues and the soil microbia...

Microorganisms comprise the bulk of biodiversity, but only a small fraction of this diversity grows on artificial media. This phenomenon was noticed almost a century ago, repeatedly confirmed, and termed the "great plate count anomaly." Advances in microbial cultivation improved microbial recovery but failed to explain why most microbial species do not grow in vitro. Here we show that at least ...

We studied bacterial and fungal colonization of submerged plant litter, using a known Si-accumulator (Equisetum arvense), in experimental microcosms during one month. We specifically addressed the microbial decomposer role concerning biogenic silica (bSiO2) dissolution from the degrading litter. To vary the rates and level of microbial colonization, the litter was combined with a range of miner...

Numerous studies have demonstrated exceptionally high temperature sensitivity of the beneath-snow respiratory flux in cold-winter ecosystems. The most common, but still untested, explanation for this high sensitivity is a physical one based on the observation that water availability in soils increases exponentially as soils warm from -3 to 0 C. Here, we present evidence for a biological hypothe...

Society relies on Earth system models (ESMs) to project future climate and carbon cycle feedbacks. However, the soil C response to climate change is highly uncertain in these models1,2 and they omit key biogeochemical mechanisms3–5. Specifically, the traditional approach in ESMs lacks direct microbial control over soil C dynamics6–8. Thus, we tested a new model that explicitly represents microb...

This study used an exogenous lipopeptide-producing Bacillus subtilis to strengthen the indigenous microbial enhanced oil recovery (IMEOR) process in a water-flooded reservoir in the laboratory. The microbial processes and driving mechanisms were investigated in terms of the changes in oil properties and the interplay between the exogenous B. subtilis and indigenous microbial populations. The ex...

The antimicrobial activity of Aparajitha Dhooma Choornam was evaluated against microbes commonly found in the manufacturing unit of the Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (CBE) Ltd located at Kanjikode. The study was attempted to discard the microbial contamination of flora of various sections of the manufacturing unit, thereby create an aseptic atmosphere for quality products. The choornam showed total inhi...