Genomic analysis of tick endosymbionts, re-evaluation of the phylogenetic placement of mitochondria outside alphaproteobacteria, gravity sensing in fungi acquired by horizontal gene transfer from bacteria.

General microbiome

Review: Malaria and the microbiome: a systematic review – Matthew M Ippolito – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Pregnancy and early life

The fallopian tube microbiome: implications for reproductive health – Elise S Pelzer – Oncotarget

Animal microbiome

The influence of diet and environment on the gut microbial community of field crickets – Soon Hwee Ng – Ecology and Evolution

Comparison of closely related, uncultivated Coxiella tick endosymbiont population genomes reveals clues about the mechanisms of symbiosis – Despina Tsementzi – Environmental Microbiology

Insights into the bacterial symbiont diversity in spiders – Lihua Zhang – Ecology and Evolution

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Legume endosymbionts: Drought stress tolerance in second‐generation chickpea (Cicer arietinum) seeds – V Kumari – Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science

Quantifying the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Plant Root Colonization by Beneficial Bacteria in a Microfluidic Habitat – Jayde A Aufrecht – Advanced Biosystems

Response of the wheat rhizosphere soil nematode community in wheat/walnut intercropping system in Xinjiang, Northwest China – Peng-hua Bai – Applied Entomology and Zoology

Pre-print: Host identity and functional traits determine the community composition of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in facultative epiphytic plant species – Maria del Mar Alguacil – bioRxiv

Seagrass rhizosphere microenvironment alters plant‐associated microbial community composition – Kasper Elgetti Brodersen – Environmental Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Impacts of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration on terrestrial-aquatic carbon transfer and a downstream aquatic microbial community – Emma Rochelle-Newell – Aquatic Sciences

Community differentiation of bacterioplankton in the epipelagic layer in the South China Sea – Yi Zhang – Ecology and Evolution

Built environment

Review: Ecotoxicological effects of microplastics on biota: a review – Sadasivam Anbumani – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Bioinformatics

Renewing Felsenstein’s phylogenetic bootstrap in the era of big data – F Lemoine – Nature

Pre-print: Machine learning based prediction of functional capabilities in metagenomically assembled microbial genomes – Fred Farrell – bioRxiv

Techniques

Review: Overview of Next‐Generation Sequencing Technologies – Barton E Slatko – Current Protocols in Molecular Biology

More microbes

Deep mitochondrial origin outside the sampled alphaproteobacteria – Joran Martijn – Nature

Evolutionary novelty in gravity sensing through horizontal gene transfer and high-order protein assembly – Tu Ahn Nguyen – PLOS Biology

• Press: This Fungus Borrowed From Ancient Bacteria to Defy Gravity – Joanna Klein – The New York Times

Pre-print: Differentiation of vegetative cells into spores: a kinetic model applied to Bacillus subtilis – Emilie Gauvry – bioRxiv

Pre-print: A decay effect of bacterial growth rate associated with genome reduction – Kouhei Tsuchiya – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

Mass suicide documented in bacteria – Nature

Researchers assassinate disease-causing bacteria with virus cocktail – EurekAlert

Bacteria in the small intestine indispensable for fat absorption – EurekAlert

Why a rinse won’t do: on menstrual cups, bacteria, and toxic shock syndrome – Siouxsie Wiles – The Spinoff

Study reveals how bacteria communicate in groups to avoid antibiotics – EurekAlert

Podcast: Gut Punch – Marketing Microbiome Hype – Michael Joyce – Health News Review

Microbes on the market

Global Microbiome Therapeutics Market to Witness Comprehensive Growth By 2024 – Healthcare Trends

uBiome Sponsors Annual Fundraising Walk, SF Take Steps, to Support the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation – benzinga

Microbiome Company A-Mansia Secures €16M – Allison Johnson – Biocentury

Science, career, and publishing

A photo celebration of scientists at work – Jack Leeming – Nature

Scientists’ early grant success fuels further funding – Holly Else – Nature

Pre-print: Strength in numbers: collaborative science for new experimental model systems – Ross F Waller – bioRxiv