Happy Thanksgiving! My inbox was full of exciting new papers, so here is a digest before I start cooking.

Microbiota and epigenetics, predatory bacteria to control infection, bacteria control water levels in leaves, microbial volatile compounds affect plant growth, the invertebrate virome, and natural products as mediators of disease.

Human respiratory microbiome

Evidence of microbiota dysbiosis in chronic rhinosinusitis – Michael Hoggard – International Journal of Allergy & Rhinology

Human gut microbiome

ABO antigen and secretor statuses are not associated with gut microbiota composition in 1,500 twins – Emily R. Davenport – BMC Genomics

New treatment options for irritable bowel syndrome with predominant diarrhea – Weber, H. Christian – Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesity

Animal models

* Diet-Microbiota Interactions Mediate Global Epigenetic Programming in Multiple Host Tissues – Kimberly A. Krautkramer – Molecular Cell

Press: Changes in the diet affect epigenetics via the microbiota – EurekAlert
Gut’s microbial community shown to influence host gene expression – EurekAlert

* Injections of Predatory Bacteria Work Alongside Host Immune Cells to Treat Shigella Infection in Zebrafish Larvae – Alexandra R. Willis – Current Biology

Harnessing the power of predatory bacteria as a ‘living antibiotic’ – Phys.org

Identifying species of symbiont bacteria from the human gut that, alone, can induce intestinal Th17 cells in mice – Tze Guan Tan – PNAS

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

+ Bacteria establish an aqueous living space in plants crucial for virulence – Xiu-Fang Xin – Nature

Press: Bacteria Spread Infection in Plants by Manipulating Water Level in Leaves – Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Plant domestication and the assembly of bacterial and fungal communities associated with strains of the common sunflower, Helianthus annuus – Jonathan W. Leff – New Phytologist

Host species and environmental variation can influence rhizobial community composition
– Holly B. Vuong – Journal of Ecology

* Arabidopsis Responds to Alternaria alternata Volatiles by Triggering Plastid Phosphoglucose Isomerase-Independent Mechanisms – Ángela María Sánchez-López – Plant Physiology
* Volatile compounds emitted by diverse phytopathogenic microorganisms promote plant growth and flowering through cytokinin action – Ángela María Sánchez-López – Plant, Cell & Environment
* Commentary: The methylerythritol 4-phosphate pathway as a metabolic crossroad for microbial and plant volatile organic compounds – Manuel Rodriguez-Concepcion – Plant, Cell & Environment

Press: Compounds produced by phytopathogenic microbes encourage plant growth – EurekAlert

Water and extremophile microbiome

An oligotrophic deep-subsurface community dependent on syntrophy is dominated by sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrifiers – Maggie C. Y. Lau – PNAS

Viruses and phages

* Redefining the invertebrate RNA virosphere – Mang Shi – Nature

World of viruses uncovered. Pioneering study of invertebrates discovers 1,445 viruses including several new families – EurekAlert

Metabolomics

* Review: Natural products as mediators of disease – Neha Garg – Natural Products Reports

Techniques

Genomic sequencing-based mutational enrichment analysis identifies motility genes in a genetically intractable gut microbe – Sena Bae – PNAS

Research highlight: Culturomics: illuminating microbial dark matter – Iain Dickson – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Microbes in the news

Small world: The hot field of the microbiome. Ever since the discovery that bacteria can be good for us, there’s been a race to get into the lab. With Christine Szymanski and Josh Neufeld – Sharon Oosthoek – Maclean’s

Allergies: D-tryptophan explains probiotic characteristics of bacteria – Health Canal

Bacteria-destroying robot could replace antibiotics: Dutch inventer (sic) – Janene Pieters – NLTimes

Molecular chameleons reveal bacterial biofilm – EurekAlert

QIAGEN and CosmosID Launch New Plugin for Metagenomics Analysis – BusinessWire

Milliken recalls carpet cleaning powder on bacteria fears – Reuters

Bik’s non-microbiology Picks

Influence of Pokémon Go on Physical Activity: Study and Implications – Tim Althoff – arXiv

Aspartame may prevent, not promote, weight loss by blocking intestinal enzyme’s activity – EurekAlert