Oct, 2026
Journal
Microbial Community Dynamics in Full-Scale Water Reuse Reverse Osmosis System Revealed by Longitudinal Monitoring Using Membrane Fouling Simulators
Membrane fouling, especially biofouling, hinders the efficiency of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes in water reuse, leading to higher energy consumption and operating costs. Understanding biofilm microbial community composition and dynamics is critical to developing biofouling mitigation strategies, but the need to sacrifice membrane modules has restricted the progress and s…
Oct, 2026
Journal
Tunable lignin content in cellulose nanofabrication enabled by recalcitrance of hybrid poplar natural variants
Lignin-containing cellulose nanofibrils (LCNFs) are emerging as versatile bio-based materials for various applications due to their excellent mechanical properties and biodegradability. However, the presence of lignin in the cellulose matrix clearly affects the nanofibrillation process and final product properties. Hence, in this study, the influence of lignin content on t…
Sep, 2026
Journal
RAPID: an interactive R/Shiny platform for end-to-end 16S rRNA and ITS amplicon sequence analysis using DADA2
Motivation: Amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene regions is the most widely used approach for characterizing bacterial and fungal communities, respectively. The DADA2 pipeline has become a standard for inferring amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), offering single-nucleotide resolution over traditional OTU clustering. However, executing…
Sep, 2026
Journal
Developing global goals for soil health research and action: Report on the “Soil Stars Heligan Summit”, The Lost Gardens of Heligan, UK, March 2026
Soil underpins food production, freshwater, carbon storage and biodiversity, yet over 40% of the world’s soils are now degraded, eroding at rates up to 1 000 times their formation rate. Microbial technologies have matured and can now aid soil recovery, but deployment has lagged due to absent shared targets, harmonized metrics, and coherent reward structures to mobilize sol…
Sep, 2026
Journal
Proteomics and characterization of lignocellulosic carbohydrate utilization for Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum reveals two thermophilic Gram-positive polysaccharide utilization loci
Saccharolytic bacteria are of increasing interest due to their importance in human health and the environment. In particular, their abilities to utilize diverse plant polysaccharides make them attractive candidate organisms for production of lignocellulosic biofuels. Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum is a thermophilic saccharolytic anaerobe able to utilize a vari…
Sep, 2026
Journal
Genome sequences of five phylogenetically diverse bacterial isolates from the Populus root microbiome
Five bacterial genomes were sequenced from isolates obtained from Populus deltoides and Populus trichocarpa roots collected in Tennessee and Oregon. These genomes expand the representation of underrepresented bacterial genera within the Populus root microbiome and provide new reference resources for studies of plant-associated bacteria.
Aug, 2026
Journal
Biochemical approaches for synthesis of performance-advantaged polymers from lignocellulosic biomass
Lignocellulose is an abundant renewable feedstock for production of sustainable fuels, chemicals, and materials. The structural complexity of lignocellulose provides key material properties and inspires the design of advanced materials. However, this same complexity also presents challenges for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into new materials with consistent proper…
Aug, 2026
Journal
Molecular origin of anisotropic shear elastoplasticity in chitin
Chitin nano- and mesoscale structures present in the exoskeleton of crustaceans exhibit exceptional longitudinal stiffness and toughness, rivaling or even exceeding that of many synthetic polymer architectures. Here, we reveal the origin of the asymmetric shear response in chitin multiscale architectures, marked by pronounced anisotropy in deformation. Under shear aligned…
Aug, 2026
Journal
Microbial inoculants for soil restoration: A Risk-Proportional Stewardship Framework Integrating Strain-Resolved Genomics and Adaptive Governance
Global soil degradation and increasing reliance on chemical inputs threaten agricultural sustainability, driving interest in microbial inoculants as tools for soil restoration. These biological products have the potential to enhance nutrient cycling, improve soil structure, and support plant resilience, but their environmental release raises important safety and stewardshi…