Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are soil bacteria that are able to colonize rhizosphere and to enhance plant growth by means of a wide variety of mechanisms like organic matter mineralization, biological control against soil-borne pathogens, biological nitrogen fixation, and root growth promotion. A very interesting feature of PGPR is their ability of enhancing nutrient bioavailability. Several bacterial species have been characterized as P-solubilizing microorganisms while other species have been shown to increase the solubility of micronutrients, like those that produce siderophores for Fe chelation. The enhanced amount of soluble macro- and micronutrients in the close proximity of the soil-root interface has indeed a positive effect on plant nutrition. Furthermore, several pieces of evidence highlight that the inoculation of plants with PGPR can have considerable effects on plant at both physiological and molecular levels (e.g., induction of rhizosphere acidification, up- and downregulation of genes involved in ion uptake, and translocation), suggesting the possibility that soil biota could stimulate plants being more efficient in retrieving nutrients from soil and coping with abiotic stresses. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these phenomena, the signals involved as well as the potential applications in a sustainable agriculture approach, and the biotechnological aspects for possible rhizosphere engineering are still matters of discussion

BackgroundEpidemiology of celiac disease (CD) is increasing. CD mainly presents in early childhood with small intestinal villous atrophy and signs of malabsorption. Compared to healthy individuals, CD patients seemed to be characterized by higher numbers of Gram-negative bacteria and lower numbers Gram-positive bacteria.ResultsThis study aimed at investigating the microbiota and metabolome of 19 celiac disease children under gluten-free diet (treated celiac disease, T-CD) and 15 non-celiac children (HC). PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analyses by universal and group-specific primers were carried out in duodenal biopsies and faecal samples. Based on the number of PCR-DGGE bands, the diversity of Eubacteria was the higher in duodenal biopsies of T-CD than HC children. Bifidobacteria were only found in faecal samples. With a few exceptions, PCR-DGGE profiles of faecal samples for Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria differed between T-CD and HC. As shown by culture-dependent methods, the levels of Lactobacillus, Enterococcus and Bifidobacteria were confirmed to be significantly higher (P = 0.028; P = 0.019; and P = 0.023, respectively) in fecal samples of HC than in T-CD children. On the contrary, cell counts (CFU/ml) of presumptive Bacteroides, Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Shighella and Klebsiella were significantly higher (P = 0.014) in T-CD compared to HC children. Enterococcus faecium and Lactobacillus plantarum were the species most diffusely identified. This latter species was also found in all duodenal biopsies of T-CD and HC children. Other bacterial species were identified only in T-CD or HC faecal samples. As shown by Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-PCR analysis, the percentage of strains identified as lactobacilli significantly (P = 0.011) differed between T-CD (ca. 26.5%) and HC (ca. 34.6%) groups. The metabolome of T-CD and HC children was studied using faecal and urine samples which were analyzed by gas-chromatography mass spectrometry-solid-phase microextraction and 1H-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. As shown by Canonical Discriminant Analysis of Principal Coordinates, the levels of volatile organic compounds and free amino acids in faecal and/or urine samples were markedly affected by CD.ConclusionAs shown by the parallel microbiology and metabolome approach, the gluten-free diet lasting at least two years did not completely restore the microbiota and, consequently, the metabolome of CD children. Some molecules (e.g., ethyl-acetate and octyl-acetate, some short chain fatty acids and free amino acids, and glutamine) seems to be metabolic signatures of CD.

This study aimed at investigating the fecal microbiotas of children with celiac disease (CD) before (U-CD) and after (T-CD) they were fed a gluten-free diet and of healthy children (HC). Brothers or sisters of T-CD were enrolled as HC. Each group consisted of seven children. PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis with V3 universal primers revealed a unique profile for each fecal sample. PCR-DGGE analysis with group-or genus-specific 16S rRNA gene primers showed that the Lactobacillus community of U-CD changed significantly, while the diversity of the Lactobacillus community of T-CD was quite comparable to that of HC. Compared to HC, the ratio of cultivable lactic acid bacteria and Bifidobacterium to Bacteroides and enterobacteria was lower in T-CD and even lower in U-CD. The percentages of strains identified as lactobacilli differed as follows: HC (ca. 38%) > T-CD (ca. 17%) > U-CD (ca. 10%). Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus rossiae, and Lactobacillus pentosus were identified only in fecal samples from T-CD and HC. Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, and Lactobacillus gasseri were identified only in several fecal samples from HC. Compared to HC, the composition of Bifidobacterium species of T-CD varied, and it varied even more for U-CD. Forty-seven volatile organic compounds (VOCs) belonging to different chemical classes were identified using gas-chromatography mass spectrometry-solid-phase microextraction analysis. The median concentrations varied markedly for HC, T-CD, and U-CD. Overall, the r 2 values for VOC data for brothers and sisters were equal to or lower than those for unrelated HC and T-CD. This study shows the effect of CD pathology on the fecal microbiotas of children.

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Poor iron (Fe) availability in soil represents one of the most important limiting factors of agricultural production and is closely linked to physical, chemical and biological processes within the rhizosphere as a result of soil–microorganism–plant interactions. Iron shortage induces several mechanisms in soil organisms, resulting in an enhanced release of inorganic (such as protons) and organic (organic acids, carbohydrates, amino acids, phytosiderophores, siderophores, phenolics and enzymes) compounds to increase the solubility of poorly available Fe pools. However, rhizospheric organic compounds (ROCs) have short half-lives because of the large microbial activity at the soil–root interface, which might limit their effects on Fe mobility and acquisition. In addition, ROCs also have a selective effect on the microbial community present in the rhizosphere. This review aims therefore to unravel these complex dynamics with the objective of providing an overview of the rhizosphere processes involved in Fe acquisition by soil organisms (plants and microorganisms). In particular, the review provides information on (i) Fe availability in soils, including mineral weathering and Fe mobilization from soil minerals, ligand and element competition and plant-microbe competition; (ii) microbe–plant interactions, focusing on beneficial microbial communities and their association with plants, which in turn influences plant mineral nutrition; (iii) plant–soil interactions involving the metabolic changes triggered by Fe deficiency and the processes involved in exudate release from roots; and (iv) the influence of agrochemicals commonly used in agricultural production systems on rhizosphere processes related to Fe availability and acquisition by crops

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Heat stress resistance and response were studied in strains of Lactobacillus plantarum. Stationary-phase cells of L. plantarum DPC2739 had decimal reduction times (D values) (D value was the time that it took to reduce the number of cells by 1 log cycle) in sterile milk of 32.9, 14.7, and 7.14 s at 60, 72, and 75 degrees C, respectively. When mid-exponential-phase cells were used, the D values decreased. The temperature increases which caused a 10-fold reduction in the D value ranged from 9 to 20 degrees C, depending on the strain. Part of the cell population treated at 72 degrees C for 90 s recovered viability during incubation at 7 degrees C in sterile milk for 20 days. When mid-exponential- or stationary-phase cells of L. plantarum DPC2739 were adapted to 42 degrees C for 1 h, the heat resistance at 72 degrees C for 90 s increased ca. 3 and 2 log cycles, respectively. Heat-adapted cells also showed increased growth at pH 5 and in the presence of 6% NaCl. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of proteins expressed by control and heat-adapted cells revealed changes in the levels of expression of 31 and 18 proteins in mid-exponential- and stationary-phase cells, respectively. Twelve proteins were commonly induced. Nine proteins induced in the heat-adapted mid-exponential- and/or stationary-phase cells of L. plantarum DPC2739 were subjected to N-terminal sequencing. These proteins were identified as DnaK, GroEL, trigger factor, ribosomal proteins L1, L11, L31, and S6, DNA-binding protein II HlbA, and CspC. All of these proteins have been found to play a role in the mechanisms of stress adaptation in other bacteria. Antibodies against GroES detected a protein which was induced moderately, while antibodies against DnaJ and GrpE reacted with proteins whose level of expression did not vary after heat adaptation. This study showed that the heat resistance of L. plantarum is a complex process involving proteins with various roles in cell physiology, including chaperone activity, ribosome stability, stringent response mediation, temperature sensing, and control of ribosomal function. The physiological mechanisms of response to pasteurization in L. plantarum are fundamental for survival in cheese during manufacture.