Microorganisms and Their Incredible Potential to Face Societal Challenges

Editor

Topical Collection Information

Dear Colleagues,

There are billions of microorganisms on Earth, and they have been around for a very long time. Humans rely on microorganisms’ capacities in many aspects of their daily life. Indeed, microbes are well known for their abilities to improve our nutrition through increasing the digestibility of foods or through the production of vitamins. They are also fully involved in depollution processes and in the production of natural medicines as antibiotics or anticancer agents, and they even participate in the esthetic dimension of life with the synthesis of colored molecules. This is mainly due to their incredible capacities of adaptation and biotransformation, which are based on their great genetic potential and diverse biosynthetic pathways. A societal evolution toward a sustainable circular bioeconomy is underway. Thus, we have the duty to enlarge our knowledge on the potentialities of the microbial world and on how microbes can help to address the various urgent problems society is currently facing. Therefore, studies concerning innovative microbial biotechnologies, novel microbial biosynthesis pathways, or the bioproduction of original molecules are of great interest in this Topical Collection.

Dr. Mireille Fouillaud
Collection Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • bacteria
  • fungi
  • microalgae
  • virus
  • fermentation
  • biotransformation
  • biotechnologies
  • specialized metabolite
  • secondary metabolite
  • enzyme
  • genetic
  • metabolomic

Published Papers (3 papers)

2025

Jump to: 2023

24 pages, 767 KiB  
Review
The Potential of Beneficial Microbes for Sustainable Alternative Approaches to Control Phytopathogenic Diseases
by Ramadan Bakr, Ali Abdelmoteleb, Vianey Mendez-Trujillo, Daniel Gonzalez-Mendoza and Omar Hewedy
Microbiol. Res. 2025, 16(5), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/microbiolres16050105 - 20 May 2025
Abstract
Sustainable agricultural practices are essential for eradicating global hunger, especially in light of the growing world population. Utilizing natural antagonists, such as fungi and bacteria, to combat plant diseases, rather than relying solely on synthetic chemical pesticides, which pose significant risks to the [...] Read more.
Sustainable agricultural practices are essential for eradicating global hunger, especially in light of the growing world population. Utilizing natural antagonists, such as fungi and bacteria, to combat plant diseases, rather than relying solely on synthetic chemical pesticides, which pose significant risks to the environment and human health, is known as biocontrol. Microbial biological control agents (MBCAs) have proven effective against phytopathogens and are increasingly embraced in agricultural practices. MBCAs possess several beneficial traits, including antagonistic potential, rhizosphere competence, and the ability to produce lytic enzymes, antibiotics, and toxins. These biocontrol mechanisms directly target soil-borne pathogens or indirectly stimulate a plant-mediated resistance response. The effectiveness of MBCAs in managing plant diseases depends on various mechanisms, such as hyperparasitism, antibiosis, competition for nutrients or space, disruption of quorum-sensing signals, production of siderophores, generation of cell wall-degrading enzymes, and the induction and priming of plant resistance. Formulating effective biopesticides requires optimal conditions, including selecting effective strains, considering biosafety, appropriate storage methods, and ensuring a prolonged shelf life. Therefore, formulation is crucial in developing pesticide products, particularly concerning efficacy and production costs. However, several challenges must be addressed to ensure the successful application of biological control, including the shelf life of biopesticides, slower efficacy in pest management, inadequate awareness and understanding of biocontrol methods, regulatory registration for commercialization, and suitable agricultural applications. This review clarifies the principles of plant disease biocontrol, highlighting the mechanisms of action and functionality of MBCAs in biocontrol activities, the formulation of biopesticides derived from microorganisms, and the challenges and barriers associated with the development, registration, commercialization, and application of biopesticides. Full article
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15 pages, 1405 KiB  
Article
Biological Control of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum on Greenhouse Lettuce Using Trichoderma koningiopsis Agg
by Snježana Topolovec-Pintarić, Ana Maria Kovaček, Olga Malev, Ivana Kušan, Neven Matočec, Ana Pošta, Lucia Pole and Armin Mešić
Microbiol. Res. 2025, 16(2), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/microbiolres16020035 - 31 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1019
Abstract
The lettuce drop or white mold is an economically important disease as the causal fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum can infect the lettuce at any stage of plant development. Polyphagous nature of S. sclerotiorum, the longevity of soil-borne sclerotia and air-borne ascospores makes the [...] Read more.
The lettuce drop or white mold is an economically important disease as the causal fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum can infect the lettuce at any stage of plant development. Polyphagous nature of S. sclerotiorum, the longevity of soil-borne sclerotia and air-borne ascospores makes the control difficult. Chemical fungicides are available only for foliar application against infections by ascospores so, the development of bio-control is of great importance. We tested antagonism of native isolate T. koningiopsis agg. (Hypocreales) (STP8) under laboratory and greenhouse environments. In vitro tests showed excellent STP8 antagonisms to S. sclerotiorum evidencing hyperparasitic activity on mycelia and sclerotia as well as antibiosis. The sclerotia were completely degraded after two months. In the greenhouse, infection of lettuce with S. sclerotiorum was reduced by treating the seedlings with an STP8 spore suspension. Uninfected plants treated with STP8 were of the best quality based on morphological parameters, confirming the ability of STP8 to promote lettuce growth. Even the infected lettuce treated with STP8 were healthier and in better condition than the control lettuce, suggesting that STP8 was also enhancing plant defense system. Full article
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2023

Jump to: 2025

11 pages, 1470 KiB  
Article
Microbiome of Clothing Items Worn for a Single Day in a Non-Healthcare Setting
by Kelly Whitehead, Jake Eppinger, Vanita Srinivasan, M. Khalid Ijaz, Raymond W. Nims and Julie McKinney
Microbiol. Res. 2023, 14(3), 948-958; https://doi.org/10.3390/microbiolres14030065 - 26 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4645
Abstract
When worn, clothing acquires a microbiome of bacteria and fungi derived from the wearer’s skin and from the environment. The types of bacteria and fungi that may be recovered from clothing in healthcare settings have been well characterized, but less is known regarding [...] Read more.
When worn, clothing acquires a microbiome of bacteria and fungi derived from the wearer’s skin and from the environment. The types of bacteria and fungi that may be recovered from clothing in healthcare settings have been well characterized, but less is known regarding the microbiome of clothing worn in non-healthcare settings and the possible roles that such clothing may play in microbial exchange. Culture-based methods and culture-independent genomic sequencing were used to enumerate and identify bacteria and fungi recovered from T-shirts, baby onesies, socks, and underwear worn for a single day after having been purchased new, washed, and dried. The highest bacterial loads were recovered from socks, underwear, and onesies (>106 colony-forming units [cfu]/sample) and the highest fungal loads were obtained from socks and underwear (>5 × 102 cfu/sample). The sequencing method identified opportunistic pathogens present in the samples, including members of genus Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium, as well as anaerobic members of the family Clostridiales. The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida parapsilosis was identified in a high proportion of worn clothing samples. These results suggest that clothing may represent a pathogen reservoir and a vector for microbial exchange between household occupants or the community outside of the home. Full article
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