This study investigated the degradation of sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) and microbial community changes in sludge-amended soil. In batch experiments, SA degradation was enhanced by addition of spent mushroom compost (SMC), SMC extract, and extract-containing microcapsule, with SMC showing higher SA degradation rate than the other additives in soil-sludge mixtures. In bioreactor experiments, th...

Bacteria with intrinsic resistance to antibiotics are found in nature. Such organisms may acquire additional resistance genes from bacteria introduced into soil or water, and the resident bacteria may be the reservoir or source of widespread resistant organisms found in many environments. We isolated antibiotic-resistant bacteria in freshwater samples from 16 U.S. rivers at 22 sites and measure...

Organochlorine pesticides are one of the major groups of chemicals responsible for environmental contamination. Endosulfan a pesticide used mainly in cashew plantation is a highly toxic endocrine disrupter and a contact stomach poison. To study the endosulfan degrading microorganisms, 20 soil samples were collected from five different cashew plantations having a history of endosulfan applicatio...

A simple and rapid semiquantitative slide catalase test useful for the identification of oxidative and nonsaccharolytic gram-negative bacteria, i.e., "nonfermenters," is described. Using the interpretative criterion of time of appearance of oxygen bubbles in 3% hydrogen peroxide, three categories of nonfermenters were established. The rapid catalase producers included Achromobacter xylosoxidans...

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) is reported as polyesters of hydroxyalkanoates (HAs) which is generally synthesized by numerous bacteria and it is stored in the cytoplasm of cells as an intracellular carbon and energy sources compound. It has been considered as a replacement for conventional plastics. Microbial cell such as Alcaligenes, Pseudomonas, recombinant Escherichia coli and methylotrophs a...

Viable bacteria were recovered from estuarine waters passed through a 0.2-mum polycarbonate membrane filter. The recovery method included the use of a dilute nutrient broth for primary enrichment followed by conditioning of the organism to a dilute nutrient solid medium. These bacteria were gram-negative rods and coccobacilli having an NaCl requirement and, upon initial culturing, low nutrition...

In previous studies we detected lower species richness and lower Hg sensitivity of the bacteria present in egested guts of Porcellio scaber (Crustacea, Isopoda) from chronically Hg polluted than from unpolluted environment. Basis for such results were further investigated by sequencing of 16S rRNA genes of mercury-resistant (Hgr) isolates and clone libraries. We observed up to 385 times higher ...

The glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) is an important vector of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf), the bacterial pathogen that causes several economically important plant diseases, including citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC), oleander leaf scorch (OLS) and Pierce’s disease (PD) of grapevines. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the potential use of biological control agents to halt t...