The number of companion animals living with humans has continually increased over the last few decades, and so has the interest of owners and stakeholders in the animal food and probiotics industry. Currently, the probiotic bacteria added to the feed of companion animals predominantly originate from the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) used for humans; however, there are differences between the microbiota of humans and that of their companion animals. This study aimed to determine the dominant LAB in dog feces and investigate their functional properties. Ligilactobacillus animalis (formerly called Lactobacillus animalis) was identified as the dominant lactic acid bacterium in dog feces. It displayed various inhibitory effects against pathogenic and enteropathogenic bacteria. This finding suggests that Ligilactobacillus animalis can potentially be used in novel probiotics or as a food additive for dogs.

Terrestrial leaf litter is an essential energy source in forest streams and in many tropical streams, including Cerrado, litter undergoes biological decomposition mainly by fungi. However, there is a limited understanding of the contribution of isolated fungal species to in-stream litter decomposition in the tropics. Here we set a full factorial microcosms experiment using four fungal species (Aquanectria penicillioides, Lunulospora curvula, Pestalotiopsis submerses, and Pestalotiopsis sp.) incubated in isolation, two litter types (rapid and slow decomposing litter) and two nutrient levels (natural and enriched), all characteristics of Cerrado streams, to elucidate the role of isolated fungal species on litter decomposition. We found that all fungal species promoted litter mass loss but with contributions that varied from 1% to 8% of the initial mass. The fungal species decomposed 1.5 times more the slow decomposing litter and water nutrient enrichment had no effect on their contribution to mass loss. In contrast, fungal biomass was reduced by nutrient enrichment and was different among fungal species. We showed fungal contribution to decomposition depends on fungal identity and litter type, but not on water nutrients. These findings suggest that the identity of fungal species and litter types may have more important repercussions to in-stream decomposition than moderate nutrient enrichment in the tropics.

Protein glycosylation, and in particular N-linked glycans, is a hall mark of Eukaryotic cells and has been well studied in mammalian cells and parasites. However, little research has been conducted to investigate the conservation and variation of protein glycosylation pathways in other eukaryotic organisms. Euglena gracilis is an industrially important microalga, used in the production of biofuels and nutritional supplements. It is evolutionarily highly divergent from green algae and more related to Kinetoplastid pathogens. It was recently shown that E. gracilis possesses the machinery for producing a range of protein glycosylations and make simple N-glycans, but the modified proteins were not identified. This study identifies the glycosylated proteins, including transporters, extra cellular proteases and those involved in cell surface signalling. Notably, many of the most highly expressed and glycosylated proteins are not related to any known sequences and are therefore likely to be involved in important novel functions in Euglena.

Professional development for teachers of primary, intermediate, and secondary schools (Kindergarten to Grade 12; K-12), especially for highly technical subjects such as Microbial Biotechnology, can involve arduous and ineffective training methods prioritizing content delivery over sound pedagogical techniques. Teachers are learning complex content, techniques, and pedagogies but have little time to practice or gain experience and confidence in their newly acquired skills. The Biotechnology Immersion Program (BiP) sought to overcome this challenge by incorporating an intentional immersive experiential system into professional development; teachers learn new content, experience hands-on activities, and work through assessments in the role of a student while experienced subject matter expert faculty run the teaching and activities. Afterwards, the teachers get the opportunity to switch roles and practice teaching, running, and managing the same learning activities that they just experienced. The faculty experts are available to mentor, guide, and direct the teachers as they try out teaching and implementing novel biotechnology classroom activities. BiP focused on three critical aspects of successful professional development: time, personal experience, and connection. This mentored teaching and implementation practice system provided a robust professional development platform, where educators felt prepared and confident to run new biotechnology lab activities in their own classrooms.