Earth Day initiative by Jonathan Eisen – I took the pledge! Become a Guardian of Microbial Diversity – Jonathan Eisen – Change.org

Due to the importance of microbes and microbial diversity to the planet, and due the risks that may come from a reduction in this diversity, we are calling here for people to take a pledge to become “A Guardian of Microbial Diversity” By taking this pledge you state that you will make efforts to consider the effects of your actions on microbes and their diversity. In addition, you pledge here to support efforts to limit and prevent unnecessary damage to the diversity of microbes on the planet.

Call for Grant Applications (deadline April 30): Gut Microbiome Grant Program – DNA Genotek

Animal models of microbiome research

Dysbiotic gut microbiota causes transmissible Crohn’s disease-like ileitis independent of failure in antimicrobial defence – Monika Schaubeck – Gut

Oral ampicillin inhibits liver regeneration by breaking hepatic innate immune tolerance normally maintained by gut commensal bacteria – Xunyao Wu – Hepatology

Animal microbiome

Alligator: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown: Microbial Symbioses of the American Alligator – Sarah W. Keenan and Ruth M. Elsey – Integrative & Comparative Biology

Ticks: Concordance of bacterial communities of two tick species and blood of their shared rodent host – Evelyn C. Rynkiewicz – Molecular Ecology

Plant and soil microbiome

A new look at plant viruses and their potential beneficial roles in crops – Marilyn J. Roossinck – Molecular Plant Pathology

Molecular signals required for the establishment and maintenance of ectomycorrhizal symbioses – Kevin Garcia – New Phytologist

Fungus: Metagenome sequence of Elaphomyces granulatus from sporocarp tissue reveals Ascomycota ectomycorrhizal fingerprints of genome expansion and a Proteobacteria-rich microbiome – C. Alisha Quandt – Environmental Microbiology

Understanding fungal functional biodiversity during the mitigation of environmentally dispersed pentachlorophenol in cork oak forest soils – Adélia Varela – Environmental Microbiology

Effects of diurnal temperature variation on microbial community and petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation in contaminated soils from a sub-Arctic site – Ali Akbari – Environmental Microbiology

Impacts of Dimethyl Phthalate on the Bacterial Community and Functions in Black Soils – Zhigang Wang – Frontiers in Microbiology

Enzymatic and biological assessment of sulfonylurea herbicide impact on soil bacterial communities – Marioara Nicoleta Filimon – African Journal of Agricultural Research

Water microbiome

Water column methanotrophy controlled by a rapid oceanographic switch – Lea Steinle – Nature Geoscience

Microbial metabolism of transparent exopolymer particles during the summer months along a eutrophic estuary system – Edo Bar-Zeev – Frontiers in Microbiology

Extremophiles

Distinct summer and winter bacterial communities in the active layer of Svalbard permafrost revealed by DNA- and RNA-based analyses – Anders Prieme – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioreactor microbiome

The Impact of Injections of Different Nutrients on the Bacterial Community and Its Dechlorination Activity in Chloroethene-Contaminated Groundwater  – Takamasa Miura – Microbes and Environments

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

PDF, in press: Detecting bacterial genomes in a metagenomic sample using NGS reads – Camilo Valdes – Statistics and Its Interface

Metabolomics

Editorial about colibactin paper: Natural products: Hunting microbial metabolites – Eric W. Schmidt – Nature Chemistry

Microbial Ecology

Deciphering microbial community robustness through synthetic ecology and molecular systems synecology – Ben Stenuit – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Microbes in the news

What about Earth’s Microbiome? – Raina Maier – Scientific American

Effectiveness of methane-consuming bacteria in the ocean moderated by ocean currents – Anthony Watts – Watts Up With That

Researchers discover new method to detect most common bacteria contaminating oysters – Phys.org

DNA of bacteria crucial to the ecosystem defies explanation – Robert Perkins – University of Southern California

Bacteria Can Aid Aphids Against Predation and Parasitism – Meredith Swett Walker – Entomology Today

Editorial: Bacterial bonanza far from the West – Nature

Researchers develop computer model of bacterial colony interactions – Christopher Packham – Phys.org

DuPont buying microbiome firm, seeks edge in emerging crop products – Carey Gillam – Reuters

Science and Art

Artists Make Human Cheese From Toe, Armpit, And Belly Button Bacteria: Collaborative art project called Selfmade by Christina Agapakis and Sissel Tolaas – James Mailer -Smash.com
and
Scientists create cheese from human toe bacteria – IndiaToday

Science, publishing and career

Beyond Bar and Line Graphs: Time for a New Data Presentation Paradigm – Tracey L. Weissgerber – PLOS Biology

Bik’s Picks

Colour As a Signal for Entraining the Mammalian Circadian Clock – Lauren Walmsley – PLOS Biology

Peering Inside Yellowstone’s Supervolcano – Larry O’Hanlon – Discovery

World Happiness Report 2015 ranks happiest countries – Science Daily

Kermit the Frog Reacts to His Newly Discovered Lookalike: “Shorten your name if you want to make it in show business.” – Kermit – Disney Channel

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