Articles of Significant Interest Selected from This Issue by the Editors

摘要

Microbial biofilms and mineral precipitates (scale) commonly co-occur in engineered water systems and are extremely challenging to control. Li et al. (p. 28862892) found that the susceptibility of biofilms to chlorination depends specifically on internal transport processes mediated by mineral deposits. Biofilms are more permeable to solutes and more susceptible to chlorine after in situ calcite biomineralization, and they are less permeable and less susceptible to chlorine after the deposition of calcite particles. These findings show that the mechanisms and patterns of biomineralization and scale formation are important to achieving successful biofilm control in water systems.Produce is increasingly recognized as a vehicle for human norovirus (HuNoV) transmission. In previous work, HuNoVs were shown to specifically bind to the carbohydrates of the lettuce cell wall (M. A. Esseili, Q. Wang, and L. J. Saif, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 78:786794, 2012, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AEM.07081-11). Histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) are carbohydrates that are known to be attachment sites for HuNoV in humans. Gao et al. (p. 29662974) showed that lettuce contains HBGA-like carbohydrates to which HuNoVs specifically bind. Their work suggests that specifically bound HuNoVs cannot be removed by simple washing, possibly allowing viral transmission to consumers.