Beneficial eukaryotic-bacterial partnerships are integral to animal and plant evolution. Understanding the density regulation mechanisms behind bacterial symbiosis is essential to elucidating the functional balance between hosts and symbionts. Citrus mealybugs, Planococcus citri (Risso), present an excellent model system for investigating the mechanisms of symbiont density regulation. They cont...

Planococcus is a Gram-positive halotolerant bacterial genus in the phylum Firmicutes, commonly found in various habitats in Antarctica. Quorum quenching (QQ) is the disruption of bacterial cell-to-cell communication (known as quorum sensing), which has previously been described in mesophilic bacteria. This study demonstrated the QQ activity of a psychrotolerant strain, Planococcus versutus stra...

VINCENZO CAVALIERI, GAETANA MAZZEO, GIOVANNA TROPEA GARZIA, EMANUELE BUONOCORE & AGATINO RUSSO Di.S.Te.F. (Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Fitosanitarie), Università degli Studi di Catania, Via S. Sofia 100, I 95123 Catania. E-mail: [email protected] Servizio Fitosanitario, Regione Siciliana, U.O. 54-O.M.P. via Sclafani 34, I 95024 Acireale (Catania). E-mail: [email protected]

The phospholipid headgroup composition and fatty acid composition of a gram-positive halotolerant Planococcus sp. (strain A4a) were examined as a function of growth temperature (5 to 35 degrees C) and NaCl content (0 to 1.5 M) of the growth medium. When the growth temperature was decreased, the relative amount of mono-unsaturated branched-chain fatty acids increased. When Planococcus sp. strain...

Naproxen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug frequently detected in the influent and effluent of sewage treatment plants. The Gram-positive strain Planococcus sp. S5 was able to remove approximately 30 % of naproxen after 35 days of incubation in monosubstrate culture. Under cometabolic conditions, with glucose or phenol as a growth substrate, the degradation efficiency of S5 increased. D...

Planococcus antarcticus DSM 14505 is a psychrophile bacterium that was isolated from cyanobacterial mat samples, originally collected from ponds in McMurdo, Antarctica. This orange-pigmented bacterium grows at 4°C and may possess interesting enzymatic activities at low temperatures. Here we report the first genomic sequence of P. antarcticus DSM 14505.

The type strain Planococcus donghaensis JH1T is a psychrotolerant and halotolerant bacterium with starch-degrading ability. Here, we determine the carbon utilization profile of P. donghaensis JH1T and report the first complete genome of the strain. This study revealed the strain's ability to utilize pectin and d-galacturonic acid, and identified genes responsible for degradation of the polysacc...

The citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri, is a highly destructive pest of citrus, occurring only in the aerial parts of plants. Humidity will be one of the key factors to consider when using entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) as biological control agents. Different adjuvants can be added to suspensions of EPNs, to improve control as a foliar application. An aqueous suspension containing Heterorhabd...