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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (27 November 2023) | Viewed by 7564

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Prof. Dr. David Rodríguez-Lázaro

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Microbiology Section, Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Burgos, 09001 Burgos, Spain
Interests: food-borne pathogens; food safety; food microbiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the Special Issue entitled “Feature Papers in Environmental Microbiology Research”. We are keen to receive and publish high-quality submissions on any subject relevant to environmental microbiology in this Special Issue. The topics of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

Environmental biotechnology;
Microbial genetics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics;
Microbial interaction and communication;
Microbial ecology;
Microbiome;
Microbial biodegradation and bioremediation;
Microbial evolution;
Microbial physiology, growth and survival;
Responses to environmental signals and stress factors.

We welcome researchers to submit original research articles, reviews, and short communications. For well-prepared papers and those approved for further publication, authors may be eligible for discounts for publication.

Prof. Dr. David Rodríguez-Lázaro
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

pathogens
global health
one health
environmental health
bioremediation
environmental biotechnology
green biotechnology

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1893 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Infestation of Oriental House Rat (Rattus tanezumi) with Chigger Mites Varies along Environmental Gradients across Five Provincial Regions of Southwest China

by Yan-Ling Chen, Xian-Guo Guo, Fan Ding, Yan Lv, Peng-Wu Yin, Wen-Yu Song, Cheng-Fu Zhao, Zhi-Wei Zhang, Rong Fan, Pei-Ying Peng, Bei Li, Ting Chen and Dao-Chao Jin

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2203; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032203 - 26 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1402

Abstract

Chigger mites are the exclusive vector of scrub typhus. Based on field investigations of 91 survey sites in 5 provincial regions of Southwest China, this paper reported variations of chigger infestation on the oriental house rat (Rattus tanezumi) along various environmental gradients. A total of 149 chigger species were identified from 2919 R. tanezumi in the 5 provincial regions, and Leptotrombidium deliense (a major vector of scrub typhus in China) was the first dominant chigger species, followed by Ascoschoengastia indica and Walchia ewingi. Rattus tanezumi had a stable overall prevalence (PM = 21.10%), mean abundance (MA = 7.01), and mean intensity (MI = 33.20) of chiggers with the same dominant mites in the whole Southwest China in comparison with a previous report in Yunnan Province, but chigger infestations on R. tanezumi varied along different environmental gradients. Rattus tanezumi in mountainous landscape had a higher infestation load of chiggers with higher species diversity than in flatland landscape. The infestation was higher at lower altitudes and latitudes. A high intensity of vegetation coverage was associated with high infestations. The results reflect the environmental heterogeneity of chiggers on the same host species. Warm climate and high relative humidity are beneficial to chigger infestation on R. tanezumi. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Environmental Microbiology Research)

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14 pages, 412 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Genotypic and Phenotypic Characterization of Pathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Campylobacter spp., in Free-Living Birds in Mainland Portugal

by Rita Batista, Margarida Saraiva, Teresa Lopes, Leonor Silveira, Anabela Coelho, Rosália Furtado, Rita Castro, Cristina Belo Correia, David Rodrigues, Pedro Henriques, Sara Lóio, Vanessa Soeiro, Paulo Martins da Costa, Mónica Oleastro and Angela Pista

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010223 - 23 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2216

Abstract

Birds are potential carriers of pathogens affecting humans and agriculture. Aiming to evaluate the occurrence of the top three most important foodborne pathogens in free-living birds in Portugal, we investigated 108 individual fecal samples from free-living birds and one pooled sample of gull feces (n = 50) for the presence of Escherichia coli (pathogenic and non-pathogenic), Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. Virulence- and antimicrobial resistance- (AMR) associated genes were detected by PCR and Whole-Genome Sequencing (WGS), and phenotypic (serotyping and AMR profiles) characterization was performed. Overall, 8.9% of samples tested positive for pathogenic E. coli, 2.8% for Salmonella spp., and 9.9% for Campylobacter spp. AMR was performed on all pathogenic isolates and in a fraction of non-pathogenic E. coli, being detected in 25.9% of them. Ten of the tested E. coli isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR), and seven of them were Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producers. Among Salmonella (n = 3) and Campylobacter (n = 9), only one strain of C. jejuni was identified as MDR. Most of the identified serotypes/sequence types had already been found to be associated with human disease. These results show that free-living birds in Portugal may act as carriers of foodborne pathogens linked to human disease, some of them resistant to critically important antimicrobials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Environmental Microbiology Research)

15 pages, 3875 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physico-Chemical and Microbiological Control of the Composting Process of the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste: A Pilot-Scale Experience

by Natividad Miguel, Andrea López, Sindy D. Jojoa-Sierra, Julen Fernández, Jairo Gómez and María P. Ormad

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(23), 15449; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315449 - 22 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1135

Abstract

The aim of this work was to carry out a pilot experiment to monitor OFMSW (organic fraction of municipal solid waste) composting processes using different types of installations (automatic reactor, aerated static pile and turned pile). To carry out the process, pruning waste was used as structuring material (SM), in a 1:1 and 1:2, v:v, OFMSW:SM ratio. Monitoring was carried out through the control of physico-chemical and microbiological parameters, such as temperature, pH, humidity, Rottegrade, Solvita tests, the presence of Salmonella sp. and Escherichia coli, total coliform, and Enterococcus sp. concentrations. After carrying out the tests, it can be affirmed that the three types of installations used worked correctly in terms of the monitoring of physico-chemical parameters, giving rise to a compost of sufficient stability and maturity to be applied on agricultural soil. In all cases the bacterial concentrations in the final compost were lower than those detected in the mixture of initial components for its preparation, thus complying with the requirements established in RD 506/2013 and RD 999/2017RD on fertilizer products. However, it cannot be affirmed that one of the three types of installation used produces a greater bacterial inactivation than the others. When composting with different types of facilities, it is of interest to optimize the irrigation and aeration system in order to have a better control of the process and to study the possible temperature gradients in the piles to ensure good sanitization without the risk of bacterial proliferation a posteriori. Finally, the different initial mixtures of OFMSW and SM used in this study did not have a significant influence on the functioning of the composting process or on the microbiological quality during the process. The irrigation water can provide a bacterial contribution that can lead to increases in concentration during the composting process. This study is part of the Life-NADAPTA project (LIFE16 IPC/ES/000001), an integrated strategy for adaptation to Climate Change in Navarra, where NILSA participates in water action and collaborates in agricultural action, which includes among its objectives the development of new soil amendments from different organic waste. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Environmental Microbiology Research)

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15 pages, 776 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Insights into the Antimicrobial Resistance Profile of a Next Generation Probiotic Akkermansia muciniphila DSM 22959

by Daniela Machado, Joana Cristina Barbosa, Diana Almeida, José Carlos Andrade, Ana Cristina Freitas and Ana Maria Gomes

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9152; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159152 - 27 Jul 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2221

Abstract

Akkermansia muciniphila is a Gram-negative intestinal anaerobic bacterium recently proposed as a novel probiotic candidate to be incorporated in food and pharmaceutical forms. Despite its multiple health benefits, the data addressing its antimicrobial susceptibility profile remain scarce. However, the absence of acquired resistance in probiotic strains is a compulsory criterion for its approval in the qualified presumption of safety list. This study aimed at characterizing the A. muciniphila DSM 22959 strain’s antimicrobial susceptibility profile using phenotypic and in silico approaches. To establish the phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility profile of this strain, minimum inhibitory concentrations of eight antimicrobials were determined using broth microdilution and E-test methods. Additionally, the A. muciniphila DSM 22959 genome was screened using available databases and bioinformatics tools to identify putative antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG), virulence factors (VF), genomic islands (GI), and mobile genetic elements (MGE). The same categorization was obtained for both phenotypic methods. Resistance phenotype was observed for gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin, and ciprofloxacin, which was supported by the genomic context. No evidence was found of horizontal acquisition or potential transferability of the identified ARG and VF. Thus, this study provides new insights regarding the phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of the probiotic candidate A. muciniphila DSM 22959. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Environmental Microbiology Research)

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