Events:

Life Science Sunset Mixer and Protocols Hackathon – ZappyLab – Berkeley, CA – Thursday April 30 5:30 pm PDT

Microbiome webinar: can diet can modify GI bacteria? – May 6, 2015 at 1:00pm ET – American Society for Nutrition’s Nutritional Science Council

Microbiome of pregnancy and birth

The neonatal gut harbours distinct bifidobacterial strains – Eoin Barrett – Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed

Doctoral thesis: Early Life Intestinal Microbiota in Health and in Atopic Eczema – Lotta Nylund – Turku, Finland

In mice: Cross-fostering immediately after birth induces a permanent microbiota shift that is shaped by the nursing mother – Joseph G Daft – Microbiome

Human gut microbiome

Gut microbiota trajectory in pediatric patients undergoing hematopoietic SCT – E Biagi – Bone Marrow Transplantation

Review: Characterization of the intestinal microbiota and its interaction with probiotics and health impacts – Carine Nunes de Almada – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Commentary: The Gut Microbiome: A New Frontier for Alcohol Investigation – Gail A. Cresci – Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research

Review: The Microbiome for Gastroenterologists – Amit Dutta – Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News

Animal microbiome

Dynamic Distribution of the Gut Microbiota and the Relationship with Apparent Crude Fiber Digestibility and Growth Stages in Pigs – Qing Niu – Scientific Reports

Rumen: A new family of hybrid virophages from an animal gut metagenome – Natalya Yutin – Biology Direct

Rumen: Exploring the sheep rumen microbiome for carbohydrate-active enzymes – Lucas Dantas Lopes – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Fish: Dietary input of microbes and host genetic variation shape among-population differences in stickleback gut microbiota – Chris CR Smith – The ISME Journal

Insects: Characterization of the microbiota in the guts of Triatoma brasiliensis and Triatoma pseudomaculata infected by Trypanosoma cruzi in natural conditions using culture independent methods – Marcia Gumiel – Parasites and Vectors

Plant root and soil microbiome

Link to PDF on Fierer lab website (PNAS link still not working): Continental-scale distributions of dust-associated bacteria and fungi – Albert Barberán – PNAS

Stability and succession of the rhizosphere microbiota depends upon plant type and soil composition – Andrzej Tkacz – The ISME Journal

Forest harvesting reduces the soil metagenomic potential for biomass decomposition – Erick Cardenas – The ISME Journal

Peatland vascular plant functional types affect methane dynamics by altering microbial community structure – Bjorn JM Robroek – Journal of Ecology

Structure and function of rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil microbial community respond differently to elevated ozone in field-planted wheat – Zhan Chen – Journal of Environmental Sciences

Review: Plant-microbe Cross-talk in the Rhizosphere: Insight and Biotechnological Potential – Shyamalina Haldar – The Open Microbiology Journal

Water microbiome

Pyrosequencing analysis of microbial communities reveals dominant cosmopolitan phylotypes in deep-sea sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea – Paraskevi N. Polymenakou – Research in Microbiology

Characterization of the Relative Importance of Human- and Infrastructure-Associated Bacteria in Graywater: A Case Study – Scott P. Keely – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Extremophiles

Calcite-accumulating large sulfur bacteria of the genus Achromatium in Sippewissett Salt Marsh – Verena Salman – The ISME Journal

Book: Microbial Evolution under Extreme Conditions – Corien Bakermans – Google Books/Nature

Microbiome of the built environment

Evolutionary dynamics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus within a healthcare system – Li-Yang Hsu – Genome Biology

Food microbiology

Evolution of microbial counts and chemical and physico-chemical parameters in high-moisture Mozzarella cheese during refrigerated storage – Annamaria Ricciardi – LWT – Food Science and Technology

Phages, viruses, and CRISPRs

CRISPR Immunity Drives Rapid Phage Genome Evolution in Streptococcus thermophilus – David Paez-Espino – mBio

Perspective: Can Plant Viruses Cross the Kingdom Border and Be Pathogenic to Humans?
Fanny Balique – Viruses

Diversity of putative archaeal RNA viruses in metagenomic datasets of a yellowstone acidic hot spring – Hongming Wang – Springer Plus

Metagenomics and Bioinformatics

He’s alive! Elviz – exploration of metagenome assemblies with an interactive visualization tool – Michael Cantor – BMC Bioinformatics

Genome assembly using Nanopore-guided long and error-free DNA reads – Mohammed-Amin Madoui – BMC Genomics

Protocol: Generating Enriched Metagenomes from Active Microorganisms with DNA Stable Isotope Probing – Carolina Grob – Springer Protocols Handbooks 2015

PhD thesis: MetaPathways : a modular pipeline for the analysis of environmental sequence information – Niels William Hanson – University of British Columbia

Metabolomics

Identification of Metabolic Signatures Linked to Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii – Sylvie Miquel – mBio

MetaboAnalyst 3.0—making metabolomics more meaningful – Jianguo Xia – Nucleic Acids Research

Microbes in the news

Crowd funding: Stayin’ alive: how do microbes help corals recover from bleaching? The roles of bacteria in corals – Laura Núñez-Pons – Experiment.com

Building a better microbiome – Richard A. Marini – Express News

The Truth About C-Sections, Probiotics, and the Bacteria in Your Gut: Dr. Neil Stollman on fecal microbiota transplants

Your make-up could be a breeding ground for bacteria – Kimberley Hibbert – Jamaica Observer

Learning from Earth’s Smallest Ecosystems (Kavli Hangout) – Alan Brown – Live Science

Spoiled rotten: how breweries are trying to spot bad beer through DNA – Josh Lowensohn -The Verge

The Fecal Bacterium You’ll Learn to Love – Jason Tetro – Huffington Post

Pet Talk: Research reveals canine skin microbiome – Your Houston News

Physician-scientist cautions against indiscriminate use of antibiotics – Bob Kustra – Idaho Statesman

Waterproof bacteria inspire special coatings – Tim Sandle – Digital Journal

Metanome changes name to Diversigen – News Medical

Solving Real-World Problems With Unconventional Solutions: Using Bacteria To Heal Wounds – Texas A&M Today

Strike a healthy bacteria balance in your gut – Scott Scanlon – Buffalo News

How Safe is Your Shrimp? – Consumer Reports study finds 60% of frozen shrimp contaminated with bacteria – Food Safety News

Science, publishing, and career

Trove of VA reports reveals research misconduct, medical malpractice – Brendan Borrell – Retraction Watch

Lab Bloopers: Reddit users share the worst mishaps they’ve witnessed while working in the lab – Jenny Rood – The Scientist

Peer review, explained (cartoon) – Academia Obscura

Bik’s Picks

Why pregnant women in Mississippi keep dying – Danielle Paquette – Washington Post

Oil May Have Killed Gulf Dolphins – David Biello – Scientific American

Photos: 7-Year-Old Boy Discovers T. Rex Cousin – Live Science
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