Drug metabolism by gut microbiota, nature vs. nurture in inbred strains of mice, gnotobiotic Drosophila, bat virome, and influence of protist predation on marine microbiomes.

General microbiome

Short-chain fatty acids in control of body weight and insulin sensitivity – Emanuel E. Canfora – Nature Reviews Endocrinology

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

Streptococcal Diversity of Human Milk and Comparison of Different Methods for the Taxonomic Identification of Streptococci – Virginia Martín – Journal of Human Lactation

Human gut microbiome

Editorial: Drug Metabolism by the Host and Gut Microbiota: A Partnership or Rivalry?
Hollie I Swanson – Drug Metabolism and Disposition
Review: Mechanisms of How the Intestinal Microbiota Alters the Effects of Drugs and Bile Acids – Curtis D. Klaassen – Drug Metabolism and Disposition

Comparison of the gut microbiota composition between obese and non-obese individuals in a Japanese population, as analyzed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and next-generation sequencing – Chika Kasai – BMC Gastroenterology

Animal and other models

Microbiota in 110 diverse inbred strains of mice: Genetic and environmental control of host-gut microbiota interactions – Elin Org – Genome Research

Co-culturing Escherichia coli O157:H7 with a non-pathogenic E. coli strain increases toxin production and virulence in a germ-free mouse model – Kakolie Goswami – Infection and Immunity

Ovariectomy results in differential shifts in gut microbiota in low versus high aerobic capacity rats – Kimberly A. Cox-York – Physiological Reports

Studying host-microbiota mutualism in Drosophila: Harnessing the power of gnotobiotic flies – Dali Ma – Biomedical Journal

MyD88 Signaling Regulates Steady-State Migration of Intestinal CD103+ Dendritic Cells Independently of TNF-α and the Gut Microbiota – Karin Hägerbrand – The Journal of Immunology

Animal microbiome

Deciphering the bat virome catalog to better understand the ecological diversity of bat viruses and the bat origin of emerging infectious diseases – Zhiqiang Wu – ISME Journal

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Host promiscuity in symbiont associations can influence exotic legume establishment and colonization of novel ranges – Metha M. Klock – Diversity and Distributions

Temporal and spatial influences incur reconfiguration of Arctic heathland soil bacterial community structure – Richard Hill – Environmental Microbiology

Water microbiome

Marine bacterial community structure resilience to changes in protist predation under phytoplankton bloom conditions – Federico Baltar – ISME Journal

Waste and water treatment microbiology

The activated sludge ecosystem contains a core community of abundant organisms – Aaron M Saunders – ISME Journal

Core-satellite populations and seasonality of water meter biofilms in a metropolitan drinking water distribution system – Fangqiong Ling – ISME Journal

More microbes

Levels and limits in artificial selection of communities – Manuel Blouin – Ecology Letters

Editorial: Origin of the Yeast Whole-Genome Duplication – Kenneth H. Wolfe – PLOS Biology
Beyond the Whole-Genome Duplication: Phylogenetic Evidence for an Ancient Interspecies Hybridization in the Baker’s Yeast Lineage – Marina Marcet-Houben – PLOS Biology

Microbes in the news

Global Human Microbiome Market: Asia is expected to show high growth rates by 2020 – MedGadget

Things I Tell My Mom: Five ways for you to participate in science – Cathy Seiler – Ahwatukee Foothills News

Why making and taking fermented drinks is becoming popular again – John McKenna – The Irish Times

Protein Goes Green: Can Algae Become The Next Soy? – Jessie Rack – NPR

Cultured Coffee offers the flavor of poop-brewed coffee without the crap – TJ Dietsch – Geek

Making kefir at home is easy, healthy – Kit Waskom Pollard – Baltimore Sun

‘Genomic Archaeology’ Reveals That Lager Yeast Was Born More Than Once – Andrea Alfano -Tech Times

Researchers resurrect extinct virus to use for gene therapy: Evolutionary ancestors remade based on current viruses – Ars Technica

Science, publishing, and career

Make Peer Review Public: How to make science faster and more robust – Adam Marcus and Ivan Oransky – Slate

Despite concerted effort, barriers to women in science remain – Jennifer Ann Thomson – The Conversation

Outreach: Primary School outreach – inspiring young minds with science – Mariya Lobanovska – SGM

Physics: She did it all: Val Gibson enjoys the autobiography of Mary K. Gaillard, the first female physics professor at Berkeley – Val Gibson – Nature

Bik’s Picks

Octopus Genome Offers Insights Into One Of Ocean’s Cleverest Oddballs – Nell Greenfieldboyce – NPR

Meteor time! How to watch the big Perseid shower – Paul Rogers – San Jose Mercury News

MIT tackling more serious science: they program beer-delivering robots – ZME Science

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