Articles of Significant Interest in This Issue.

This document is a summary of articles published in the journal Applied & Environmental Microbiology. The first article discusses the impacts of organic fertilizers on soil and human health, highlighting the benefits of plant fertilizers in promoting plant root development and reducing risks associated with antibiotic resistance and viral diversity. The second article focuses on the bacterial spoilage of Gouda cheese and identifies non-starter lactic acid bacteria from the brine bath as a cause of deterioration, providing insights for contamination mitigation in cheese factories. The third article explores the microbial side of illegal oil and gas pollution, reporting shifts in microbial communities that compromise soil fertility and moisture retention. The fourth article examines the role of anaerobic fungi in the digestion process of ruminant mammals. Lastly, the fifth article discusses the suppression of Bradyrhizobium quorum sensing by soybean plants, which establishes an efficient symbiotic relationship essential for the growth of soybean crops. The document also mentions a method for studying the interplay between native microbiota and endophytic bacterial treatments in non-model plants relevant to agriculture. [Extracted from the article]