A series of commentary on the effects of microbiota on vaccines, a fascinating news release about a phage therapy against multi-drug resistant bacterial infection, and can our gut microbes tell us what to eat?

General microbiology

Evaluation of serotypes 5 and 8 capsular polysaccharides in protection against Staphylococcus aureus in murine models of infection – Brian L. Cheng – Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

Do the Microbiota Influence Vaccines and Protective Immunity to Pathogens? If So, Is There Potential for Efficacious Microbiota-Based Vaccines? – Dan R Littman – Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology

Do the Microbiota Influence Vaccines and Protective Immunity to Pathogens? Engaging Our Endogenous Adjuvants – Nicholas Collins1 and Yasmine Belkaid – Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology

Do the Microbiota Influence Vaccines and Protective Immunity to Pathogens? Issues of Sovereignty, Federalism, and Points-Testing in the Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Spaces of the Host-Microbial Superorganism – Andrew J. Macpherson – Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology

Web alert: Microbial therapeutics – Microbial Biotechnology

Human multi-site microbiome

The urinary microbiome and its contribution to lower urinary tract symptoms; ICI-RS 2015 – Marcus J. Drake – Neurourology and Urodynamics

Human gut microbiome

Doctoral Dissertation: The Effects of the Gut Microbiota on the Host Chromatin Landscape – Nicholas Paul Semenkovich – University of Washington, St. Louis

Tissue adaptation: Implications for gut immunity and tolerance – Ana M.C. Faria – Journal of Experimental Medicine

Animal experiments

Doctoral Dissertation, Mouse: The impact of malnutrition on host-microbe interactions in the intestine – Eric Brown – University of British Columbia

Mouse: Deciphering the mechanism of Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Decoction on the treatment of sepsis by formula decomposition and metabolomics: enhancement of cholinergic pathways and inhibition of HMGB-1/TLR4/NF-κB signaling – Dingqiao Xu – Pharmacological Research

Dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota and decrease in paneth cell antimicrobial peptide level during acute necrotizing pancreatitis in rats – Jing Chen – PLoS One

Commensal bacteria and essential amino acids control food choice behavior and reproduction – Ricardo Leitão-Gonçalves – PLoS Biology

Press: How Gut Bacteria Tell Their Hosts What to Eat – Knvul Sheikh – Scientific American

Press: Are Gut Bacteria Driving Your Cravings? – Shayla Love – Vice

Maternal obese-type gut microbiota differentially impact cognition, anxiety and compulsive behavior in male and female offspring in mice – Annadora J. Bruce-Keller – PLoS One

Animal microbiome

Discovery of tauroursodeoxycholic acid biotransformation enzymes from the gut microbiome of black bears using metagenomics – Can Song – Scientific Reports

Diversity and functions of the sheep faecal microbiota: a multi-omic characterization – Alessandro Tanca – Microbial Biotechnology

New issue of Microbial Biotechnology is available online.

Plant, root and soil microbiome

Microbial communities associated with plants: learning from nature to apply it in agriculture – Fernando Dini Andreote and Michele de Cássia Pereira e Silva- Current Opinion in Microbiology

Life in earth – the root microbiome to the rescue? – Tim H Mauchline, Jacob G Malone – Current Opinion in Microbiology

Unique rhizosphere micro-characteristics facilitate phytoextraction of multiple metals in soil by the hyperaccumulating plant Sedum alfredii – Dandi Hou – Environmental Science & Technology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Doctoral Dissertation: Microbial community variation in an Arctic shelf seafloor – Tan Thi Nguyen – The Arctic University of Norway

Diversity Analysis and Bioresource Characterization of Halophilic Bacteria Isolated from a South African Saltpan – Ramganesh Selvarajan – Molecules

Arsenic metabolism in high altitude modern stromatolites revealed by metagenomic analysis – Daniel Kurth – Scientific Reports

Probiotics

VSL#3 probiotic differently influences IEC-6 intestinal epithelial cell status and function – Benedetta Cinque – Journal of Cellular Physiology

Phages and viruses

Press Release: Novel phage therapy saves patient with multidrug-resistant bacterial infection – University of California, San Diego

Technology

Preprint: Assessing species biomass contributions in microbial communities via metaproteomics – Manuel Kleiner – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

Are Probiotics the Answer to Acne? – Kristen Fischer – Healthline News

Are the microbes in our gut affecting how fast we age? – Vincent Maffei – OUPblog

Bacteria May be Reason Some Foods Cause Heart Disease, Stroke – Maggie Fox – NBC News

The Slow-Motion Bacteria Buried Deep in the Ocean’s Floor – Veronique Greenwood – The Atlantic

Bacteria from India’s hot springs could help contain oil spills – Dinesh C Sharma – Firstpost

Bacteria causing diarrhoea deaths in children resists key antibiotic – Syed Akbar – The Times of India

Fat rats, slow sperm, and unhealthy bacteria – Lee Evslin – The Garden Island