A new estimate of the ratio microbial:human cells in our bodies, a 5300-year old Helicobacter genome, antibiotics alter bile metabolism, microbiota from 59 bird species, and fecal contamination of Kathmandu drinking water.

Events

3rd Microbiome R&D and Business Collaboration Forum: Europe, which will take place in London, on the 11th and 12th of April, 2016. Early registration closes Jan 15th.

Mysterious Microbes Webinar Series 1 of 3: Microbes and the miracle of compost tea, with Noah Fierer and Ryan Heiland, on Jan 14. Learn how and why microbes are the natural secret to green lawns, lush flowers, and abundant produce

General human microbiome

Revised estimates for the number of human and bacteria cells in the body – Ron Sender – bioRxiv

Review: The human microbiota: the role of microbial communities in health and disease – Luz Elena Botero – Acta Biologica Columbiana

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

A comparative study of bifidobacteria in human babies and adults – Shadi Khonsari – Bioscience of Microbiota, Food and Health

Human oral microbiome

Salivary Antimicrobial Peptides in Early Detection of Periodontitis – Güliz N. Güncü – Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

The 5300-year-old Helicobacter pylori genome of the Iceman – Frank Maixner – Science

Microbiome animal and other models

Antibiotic-Induced Alterations of the Gut Microbiota Alter Secondary Bile Acid Production and Allow for Clostridium difficile Spore Germination and Outgrowth in the Large Intestine – Casey M. Theriot – mSphere

The Gut Microbiota Reduces Colonization of the Mesenteric Lymph Nodes and IL-12-Independent IFN-γ Production During Salmonella Infection – María Fernández-Santoscoy – Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Steering Endogenous Butyrate Production in the Intestinal Tract of Broilers as a Tool to Improve Gut Health – Lonneke Onrust – Frontiers in Veterinary Science

Animal microbiome

Comparative Gut Microbiota of 59 Neotropical Bird Species – Sarah M. Hird – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Potential Activity, Size, and Structure of Sulfate-Reducing Microbial Communities in an Exposed, Grazed and a Sheltered, Non-Grazed Mangrove Stand at the Red Sea Coast –
Melike Balk – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bacterial endophytes from wild and ancient maize are able to suppress the fungal pathogen Sclerotinia homoeocarpa – Hanan R. Shehata – Journal of Applied Microbiology

High throughput multiplex real time PCR assay for the simultaneous quantification of DNA and RNA viruses infecting cassava plants – Gerald Otti – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Methods for Baiting and Enriching Fungus-Feeding (Mycophagous) Rhizosphere Bacteria  – Max-Bernhard Ballhausen – Frontiers in Microbiology

Cucumber Rhizosphere Microbial Community Response to Biocontrol Agent Bacillus subtilis B068150 – Lihua Li – MDPI Agriculture

Water and waste microbiome

Bacterial diversity in water samples from uranium wastes as demonstrated by 16S rDNA and ribosomal intergenic spacer amplification retrievals – Galina Radeva – Canadian Journal of Microbiology

Master thesis: Evaluation of Two Culture-Independent Methods for Quantification of the Fraction of K-and r-Strategists within Water Microbial Communities – Brandsegg, Hege – Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet

Built environment microbiome

The Ecological Dynamics of Fecal Contamination and Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi A in Municipal Kathmandu Drinking Water – Abhilasha Karkey – PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Application of the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index in Finland – Martin Täubel – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Food microbiology

Review: Phage-Host Interactions of Cheese-Making Lactic Acid Bacteria – Jennifer Mahony – Annual Review of Food Science and Technology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

The Road to Metagenomics: From Microbiology to DNA Sequencing Technologies and Bioinformatics – Alejandra Escobar-Zepeda – Frontiers in Genetics

Science, publishing, and career

Peer review: tips from field experts for junior reviewers – Sabina Alam – BMC Medicine

Microbes in the news

Gut bacteria from Otzi the Iceman reveals our intimate ties to one microbe – Rachel Feltman – Washington Post

Scientists unearth bacteria from stomach of 5,300-year-old iceman – Carl Zimmer – StatNews

The Famous Ancient “Iceman” Had Ulcer Bacteria In His Gut – Dan Vergano – BuzzFeed

High Stress Environments May Lead To Unhealthy Gut Microbiomes: How To Protect Yourself From The Consequences – Lecia Bushak – Medical Daily

Antibiotics Pave Way for C. Diff Infections – North Carolina State University

Jackson Laboratory Hosted Microbiome Symposium Related to Cancer and Immunology – Lexology

The Bacteria That May Be Causing Your Nasty Cold. “The most common one of them in Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Infection,” Martin explained. – Fox29

Bik’s Picks

A “Pedi” Cures All: Toenail Trimming and the Treatment of Ulcerative Dermatitis in Mice – Sean C. Adams – PLOS ONE
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