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Bacterial strains of the genera Arthrobacter , Bacillus , Dietzia , Kocuria , and Micrococcus were isolated from oil-contaminated soils of the Balgimbaev, Dossor, and Zaburunye oil fields in Kazakhstan. They were selected from 1376 isolated strains based on their unique ability to use crude oil and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as sole source of carbon and energy in growth experiments. The isolated strains degraded a wide range of aliphatic and aromatic components from crude oil to generate a total of 170 acid metabolites. Eight metabolites were detected during the degradation of anthracene and of phenanthrene, two of which led to the description of a new degradation pathway. The selected bacterial strains Arthrobacter bussei/agilis SBUG 2290, Bacillus atrophaeus SBUG 2291, Bacillus subtilis SBUG 2285, Dietzia kunjamensis SBUG 2289, Kocuria rosea SBUG 2287, Kocuria polaris SBUG 2288, and Micrococcus luteus SBUG 2286 promoted the growth of barley shoots and roots in oil-contaminated soil, demonstrating the enormous potential of isolatable and cultivable soil bacteria in soil remediation. Key points • Special powerful bacterial strains as potential crude oil and PAH degraders. • Growth on crude oil or PAHs as sole source of carbon and energy. • Bacterial support of barley growth as resource for soil remediation.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can be used to increase plant growth rates in natural field conditions, as well as in micropropagation of plants in vitro and in substrate-free aero/hydroponic systems. This study demonstrates the ability of rhizobacteria Azospirillum baldaniorum Sp245 and Kocuria rosea T1Ks19 to stimulate the cultivation of potato microplants of the ‘Nevsky’ and ‘Kondor’ cultivars in in vitro culture, to increase the rate of adaptation of microplants to unsterile conditions of aeroponics ex vitro, and also to increase the productivity of minitubers. The conclusions obtained are based on the results of morphometric analysis of microplants, cytological analysis of stomata and biochemical assessment of the content of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase), as well as hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde in the leaves. The presence of bacteria on plant roots was monitored using enzyme immunoassay and CFU counting methods. It has been established that inoculation with the used combination of rhizobacteria stimulates the synthesis of antioxidant enzymes in microplants under stressful conditions, which leads to a decrease in the level of hydrogen peroxide. As a result, the adaptation efficiency, growth rates and productivity of micro-plants increase. It is recommended to inoculate potato microplants with A. baldaniorum Sp245 and K. rosea T1Ks19 strains at the stage of in vitro cultivation in the production of healthy seed material based on aeroponics in the potato seed production system.

Natural antioxidants have become vital to minimize macromolecular damage caused by Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). This study investigated the antioxidant property of β-cryptoxanthin (β-CRX) extracted from Kocuria marina DAGII and its protective effect against macromolecular damages by generating ROS via two models: UV radiation and the Fenton reaction. β-cryptoxanthin exhibited the highest scavenging activity towards hydrogen peroxide radicals with an IC50 value of 38.30 ± 1.13 μg/ml, favoring the hydrogen atom transfer mechanism. The total antioxidant capacity value of 872.0101 ± 1.84 μg BHT/mg β-CRX indicated the cumulative ROS scavenging ability of β-cryptoxanthin. β-cryptoxanthin could protect against ROS-induced lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, and DNA damage. The highest lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation inhibition values of β-cryptoxanthin against ROS were 99.371 ± 0.51% and 78.19 ± 0.15%, respectively. β-cryptoxanthin also showed a protective effect in maintaining DNA intactness against ROS-mediated DNA damage. Allium cepa test showed the non-genotoxic nature of β-cryptoxanthin and its protective effect against ROS genotoxic effects. A photo-stability study of β-cryptoxanthin toward UVA and UVB radiation showed a rapid bleaching result of UVB obeying pseudo-zero order kinetics with an average R2 value of 0.9897 and a higher k value (−6.3 × 10–11 ± 0.2 M/s) than UVA (k value −3.1 × 10–11 ± 0.17 M/s), signifying that UVB is more potent toward photo-degradation. The good SPF value of 23.1737 ± 0.15 showed the UV protection capability of β-cryptoxanthin. Thus, the present study suggests that β-cryptoxanthin could be a valuable antioxidant to protect against ROS-induced various macromolecular damages and act as a good UV protectant.

With more than 17 clinically approved Drugs and over 20 prodrugs under clinical investigations, marine bacteria are believed to have a potential supply of innovative therapeutic bioactive compounds. In the current study, Kocuria sp. strain AG5 isolated from the Red Sea was identified and characterized by biochemical and physiological analysis, and examination of a phylogenetic 16S rRNA sequences. Innovative exopolysaccharide (EPS) was separated from the AG5 isolate as a major fraction of EPS (EPSR5, 6.84 g/L−1). The analysis of EPSR5 revealed that EPSR5 has a molecular weight (Mw) of 4.9 × 104 g/mol and number average molecular weight (Mn) of 5.4 × 104 g/mol and contains sulfate (25.6%) and uronic acid (21.77%). Analysis of the monosaccharide composition indicated that the EPSR5 fraction composes of glucose, galacturonic acid, arabinose, and xylose in a molar ratio of 2.0:0.5:0.25:1.0, respectively. Assessment of the pharmacological potency of EPSR5 was explored by examining its cytotoxicity, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-acetylcholine esterase influences. The antioxidant effect of EPSR5 was dose- and time-dependently increased and the maximum antioxidant activity (98%) was observed at 2000 µg/mL after 120 min. Further, EPSR5 displayed a significant repressive effect regarding the proliferation of HepG-2, A-549, HCT-116, MCF7, HEP2, and PC3 cells with IC50 453.46 ± 21.8 µg/mL, 873.74 ± 15.4 µg/mL, 788.2 ± 32.6 µg/mL, 1691 ± 44.2 µg/mL, 913.1 ± 38.8 µg/mL, and 876.4 ± 39.8 µg/mL, respectively. Evaluation of the inhibitory activity of the anti-inflammatory activity of EPSR5 indicated that EPSR5 has a significant inhibitory activity toward lipoxygenase (5-LOX) and cyclooxygenase (COX-2) activities (IC50 15.39 ± 0.82 µg/mL and 28.06 ± 1.1 µg/mL, respectively). Finally, ESPR5 presented a substantial hemolysis suppressive action with an IC50 of 65.13 ± 0.89 µg /mL, and a considerable inhibitory activity toward acetylcholine esterase activity (IC50 797.02 μg/mL). Together, this study reveals that secondary metabolites produced by Kocuria sp. strain AG5 marine bacteria serve as an important source of pharmacologically active compounds, and their impact on human health is expected to grow with additional global work and research.

Species from the genus are strictly aerobic, catalase-positive, coagulase-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. This article deals with the case of a 71-year-old patient with severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by . An exhaustive search of the available medical literature revealed no previous reports regarding pneumonia caused by

Aflatoxin B1 is a natural carcinogenic mycotoxin. The biological detoxification of aflatoxin could result in less environmental pollution, more moderate conditions, and less impact on food and feed, and be more convenient than physical and chemical methods. In this study, strain 13 with aflatoxin B1 degradation activity (67.47 ± 1.44%) was isolated and identified as Kocuria rosea. A uniform design was applied to optimize the degradation activity using a software Data Processing System, and a quadratic polynomial stepwise regression model was selected to investigate the relationships between the degradation rate and five independent variables. Furthermore, the optimal degradation conditions (culture temperature of 30 °C, culture time of 4.2 days, seawater ratio of 100%, pH of 7.11, and inoculation dosage of 0.09%) were verified with a degradation rate of 88 ± 0.03%, which was well matched with the predicted value (92.97%) of the model. Complete genome sequencing of Kocuria rosea, conducted with a combination of Illumina and single-molecule real-time sequencing, was used to analyze the genomic features and functions of the strain, which were predicted by the annotation based on seven databases, and may provide insights into the potential of Kocuria rosea, as well as providing a reference for degradation gene and protein mining. These results indicate that Kocuria rosea strain 13 has the ability to degrade aflatoxin B1 efficiently, and it also has the potential to provide aflatoxin-degrading enzymes.

Bacillus velezensis FTL7 which exhibited potent antimicrobial peptide producing capacity was isolated from a marine sediment sample of the West Coast region, South India, and characterized through experimental and genomic analysis approaches. FTL7 showed potential antimicrobial activity against a broad range of foodborne pathogenic bacteria like Listeria monocytogenes Scott A, Bacillus cereus (ATCC 11778), Salmonella Typhimurium (MTCC 1251), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), and Escherichia coli (MTCC 443). It also exhibited strong inhibitory activity against Kocuria rhyzophila (ATCC 934) and Bacillus subtilis subsp. spizizenii (ATCC 6633). Phylogenetic analysis by 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that Bacillus velezensis FTL7 was closely related to B.velezensis LBUM288 (GenBank accession number MG461457) with 100% identity. Whole-genome sequencing of the strain FTL7 was carried out using Illumina sequencing technology to get a better insight into the mechanisms of controlling pathogens by FTL7. The strain FTL7 has a chromosome size of 3849,077 bp with a GC content of 46.56%. The genome consists of 3635 coding sequences, 64 RNA, 59 tRNAs, 5 ncRNAs, and 69 pseudogenes. The presence of genes responsible for the synthesis of non-ribosomal peptides and bacteriocins was identified through genome annotation. Thus, many Bacillus strains, including B. velezensis, have been demonstrated as excellent producers of antimicrobial substances.

Background Kocuria spp . are ubiquitous bacteria that have gained recent attention as potential infectious agents. The most common bacteria in PJI are S. aureus und S. epidermidis . Case presentation We present the case of a 72-year-old woman who received total hip arthroplasty after a traumatic medial femoral neck fracture. Postoperatively, due to the clinical presentation of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) revision surgery was performed twice. The microbiological tissue samples were positive for Kocuria spp . Initially, this was considered contamination and the patient was treated with various antibiotic regimens as well as prednisolone due to the differential diagnosis of pyoderma gangraenosum. However, a specialized histopathology lab performed further testing which substantiated the suspicion of a rare case of PJI due to Kocuria spp . Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a PJI caused by Kocuria spp . Further clinical research is necessary to assess whether Kocuria spp . are an underestimated cause of PJI.

Haloarchaea are halophilic microorganisms belonging to the archaea domain that inhabit salty environments (mainly soils and water) all over the world. Most of the genera included in this group can produce carotenoids at significant concentrations (even wild-type strains). The major carotenoid produced by the cells is bacterioruberin (and its derivatives), which is only produced by this kind of microbes and few bacteria, like Micrococcus roseus. Nevertheless, the understanding of carotenoid metabolism in haloarchaea, its regulation, and the roles of carotenoid derivatives in this group of extreme microorganisms remains mostly unrevealed. Besides, potential biotechnological uses of haloarchaeal pigments are poorly explored. This work summarises what it has been described so far about carotenoids from haloarchaea and their production at mid- and large-scale, paying special attention to the most recent findings on the potential uses of haloarchaeal pigments in biomedicine.

Based on our previous study in minimal medium, Kocuria rosea and Aspergillus sydowii were identified as the best microbes for degradation of mixture of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The present study reports PAH degradation potential of these microbes in free and immobilized form. PAHs were extracted using QuEChERS-mediated process followed by quantification by high performance liquid chromatography. The microbial consortium of Kocuria rosea  +  Aspergillus sydowii was formulated in three bio-formulations, namely (i) bentonite-alginate composite beads; (ii) water dispersible granule composite using guar gum-nanobentonite; and (iii) composites of carboxymethyl cellulose-bentonite and were applied in PAH fortified (100 µg g −1 ) sandy loam soil. Results suggested that degradation data fitted well to first order kinetics as in most of the cases, the values of correlation coefficient (r) were > 0.95. The half-life (t 1/2 ) values for PAHs in the uninoculated control soil were: naphthalene (10.43 d), fluorene (22.43 d), phenanthrene (24.64 d), anthracene (38.47 d), and pyrene (34.34 d). Inoculation of soil with free culture microbial consortium (without or with nutrient) and bio-formulation of degrading cultures enhanced degradation of all PAHs and half-life values were significantly reduced for each PAH: naphthalene (1.76–2.00 d), fluorene (2.52–6.65 d), phenanthrene (4.61–6.37 d), anthracene (9.01–12.22 d), and pyrene (10.98–15.55 d). Among different bio-formulations, guar gum-nanobentonite-based composite exhibited better efficacy for degradation of naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, and pyrene. The addition of microbial consortium in PAH fortified soil increased 16S rRNA gene copies of Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes , compared to the uninoculated, PAH-fortified control. The microbial functional gene assays showed that the gene copies of amo A, nir K, nir S, and anammox increased, suggesting nitrogen regulation in the PAH-fortified soil.