March 31, 2017

Microbiome research

Potential role of fecal microbiota from patients with slow transit constipation in the regulation of gastrointestinal motility – Xiaolong Ge, Scientific Reports

Opinion: Gut microbiome as a clinical tool in gastrointestinal disease management: are we there yet? – Eamonn M. M. Quigley – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Relevance of secretor status genotype and microbiota composition in susceptibility to rotavirus and norovirus infections in humans  – Jesús Rodríguez-Díaz – Scientific Reports

Milk Fat Globule Membrane Supplementation in Formula Modulates the Neonatal Gut Microbiome and Normalizes Intestinal Development – Ganive Bhinder – Scientific Reports

Critical Review: Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: Modulator of Host Metabolism and Appetite – Marcel van de Wouw – The Journal of Nutrition

Comparison of stool versus rectal swab samples and storage conditions on bacterial community profiles – Christine M. Bassis – BMC Microbiology

Ethnic and diet-related differences in the healthy infant microbiome – Jennifer C. Stearns – Genome Medicine (BMC)

Intestinal Barrier Function and the Gut Microbiome Are Differentially Affected in Mice Fed a Western-Style Diet or Drinking Water Supplemented with Fructose – Valentina Volynets – The Journal of Nutrition

The gut microbiota of insecticide-resistant insects houses insecticide-degrading bacteria: A potential source for biotechnological exploitation – Luis Gustavo de Almeida – PLOS One

Probiotics / Synbiotics

A comparative characterization of different host-sourced Lactobacillus ruminis strains and their adhesive, inhibitory, and immunomodulating functions – Xia Yu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Rice bran and Probiotics Alter the Porcine Large Intestine and Serum Metabolomes for Protection Against Human Rotavirus Diarrhea  – Nora Jean Nealon – Frontiers in Microbiology

Development of a synbiotic beverage enriched with bifidobacteria strains and fortified with whey proteins – Federico Baruzzi – Frontiers in Microbiology

Inferring Microbial Interactions in the Gut of the Hong Kong Whipping Frog (Polypedates megacephalus) and a Validation Using Probiotics – Francis Cheng-Hsuan Weng – Frontiers in Microbiology

The effects of probiotic and synbiotic supplementation on metabolic syndrome indices in adults at risk of type 2 diabetes: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial – Nazila Kassaian – Trials (BMC)

Good Bugs vs Bad Bugs: Evaluation of Inhibitory Effect of Selected Probiotics against Enterococcus faecalis – Aarti A Bohora – The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice (PDF here)

Probiotic bacteria prevent Salmonella – induced suppression of lymphoproliferation in mice by an immunomodulatory mechanism – R. Doug Wagner – BMC Microbiology

Exogenous lactobacilli mitigate microbial changes associated with grain fermentation (corn, oats, and wheat) by equine fecal microflora ex vivo – Brittany E. Harlow – PLOS One

 

Pathogens

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus emerged long before the introduction of methicillin in to clinical practice – Catriona Harkins – BioRxiv

Azathioprine, Mercaptopurine, and 5-Aminosalicylic Acid Affect the Growth of IBD-Associated Campylobacter Species and Other Enteric Microbes – Fang Liu –  Frontiers in Microbiology

Untargeted metabolomics analysis reveals key pathways responsible for the synergistic killing of colistin and doripenem combination against Acinetobacter baumannii – Mohd Hafidz Mahamad Maifiah – Scientific Reports

 

Other Genomics / Metagenomics

Untangling Genomes of Novel Planctomycetal and Verrucomicrobial Species from Monterey Bay Kelp Forest Metagenomes by Refined Binning – John Vollmers – Frontiers in Microbiology

Genome-Scale Reconstruction of the Metabolic Network in Oenococcus oeni to Assess Wine Malolactic Fermentation – Sebastián N. Mendoza – Frontiers in Microbiology

Comparative genomics of transport proteins in probiotic and pathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica strains – Jimmy Do – Microbial Pathogenesis (Elsevier)

 

Bioinformatics

STITCHER 2.0: primer design for overlapping PCR applications  – Damien M. O’Halloran – Scientific Reports

 

Evolution

Phylogenomic evolutionary surveys of subtilase superfamily genes in fungi – Juan Li – Scientific Reports

Evolutionary dynamics on any population structure – Benjamin Allen – Nature

On the origins of oxygenic photosynthesis and aerobic respiration in Cyanobacteria – Rochelle M. Soo – Science

A perspective article about the latter paper here: How Cyanobacteria went green by Robert E. Blankenship

Structural reconstruction of protein ancestry – Romain Rouet – PNAS

 

March 30, 2017

Midgut microbiome of a vector for leishmaniasis, reviews on the human oral microbiome, using microfluidics to visualize live root-bacteria interactions, new open-access publishing project from the Gates Foundation.

General microbiome

Lotka-Volterra pairwise modeling fails to capture diverse pairwise microbial interactions – Babak Moment – eLIFE

Human oral microbiome

Review: Oral Microbiome and Nitric Oxide: the Missing Link in the Management of Blood Pressure – Nathan S. Bryan – Current Hypertension Reports

Review: Microbiota, Immune Subversion, and Chronic Inflammation – Carolyn D Kramer – Frontiers in Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Highlight: Shaping the gut microbiome from the pancreas – Wei Wong – Science Signaling

Review: Mechanisms and consequences of intestinal dysbiosis – G. Adrienne Weiss – Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences

Animal experiments

Metaproteogenomics Reveals Taxonomic and Functional Changes between Cecal and Fecal Microbiota in Mouse – Alessandro Tanca – Frontiers in Microbiology

Helminth-induced alterations of the gut microbiota exacerbate bacterial colitis – C Su – Mucosal Immunology

Sex-related alterations of gut microbiota composition in the BTBR mouse model of autism spectrum disorder – Lorena Coretti – Scientific Reports

Milk Fat Globule Membrane Supplementation in Formula Modulates the Neonatal Gut Microbiome and Normalizes Intestinal Development – Ganive Bhinder – Scientific Reports

Gut metagenomic analysis reveals prominent roles of Lactobacillus and cecal microbiota in chicken feed efficiency – Wei Yan – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

An integrated overview of the midgut bacterial flora composition of Phlebotomus perniciosus, a vector of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis in the Western Mediterranean Basin – Wael Fraihi – PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Live imaging of root–bacteria interactions in a microfluidics setup – Hassan Massalha – PNAS

Mechanisms of nitrogen deposition effects on temperate forest lichens and trees – Therese S. Carter – Ecosphere

Research priorities for harnessing plant microbiomes in sustainable agriculture – Posy E Busby – PLOS Biology

Fe plaque-related aquatic uranium retention via rhizofiltration along a redox-state gradient in a natural Phragmites australis Trin ex Steud. wetland – Weqing Wang – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Functional and phylogenetic diversity of cultivable rhizobacterial endophytes of sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] – Venkadasamy Govindasamy – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Enhanced growth of halophyte plants in biochar-amended coastal soil: roles of nutrient availability and rhizosphere microbial modulation – Hao Zheng – Plant, Cell & Environment

Water and extremophile microbiome

Metagenomic Analysis of a Complex Community Present in Pond Sediment – Vivek Negi – Journal of Genomics

Probiotics/prebiotics

The preliminary study of prebiotic potential of Polish wild mushroom polysaccharides: the stimulation effect on Lactobacillus strains growth – Renata Nowak – European Journal of Nutrition

Probiotics may delay the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by restoring the gut microbiota structure and improving intestinal endotoxemia – Li Xue – Scientific Reports

Bioinformatics

MIPE: A metagenome-based community structure explorer and SSU primer evaluation tool – Bin Zou – PLOS One

Metabolomics

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry metabolomics of urine and serum from nonhuman primates exposed to ionizing radiation: Impacts on the tricarboxylic acid cycle and protein metabolism – Evan L Pannkuk – Journal of Proteome Research

Techniques

Review: Pretreatment methods of lignocellulosic biomass for anaerobic digestion – Farrukh Raza Amin – AMB Express

Comparison of Standard Culture-Based Method to Culture-Independent Method for Evaluation of Hygiene Effects on the Hand Microbiome – C Zapka – mBio

More microbes

Depleting Mycobacterium tuberculosis of the transcription termination factor Rho causes pervasive transcription and rapid death – Laure Botella – Nature Communications

A Pseudomonas T6SS effector recruits PQS-containing outer membrane vesicles for iron acquisition – Jinshui Lin – Nature Communications

Indole-Induced Activities of β-Lactamase and Efflux Pump Confer Ampicillin Resistance in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 – Jisun Kim – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Microbiome: Puppy power – Sujata Gupta – Nature (Outlook section)

Biological underpinnings of chronic fatigue syndrome begin to emerge – Amy Maxmen – Nature (News section)

Bacteria from sewage are infecting coral reefs – Elena Motivans – ZME Science

Key research priorities for agricultural microbiomes identified – Phys Org

Viral Bacterial Parasites Called Phages Drive Co-Evolution of Gut Microbiome – MedicalResearch.com

MSU, Shedd Aquarium partnering to create healthier aquatic homes – EurekAlert

Painting with bacteria is a thing and BUGSS will show you how – Stephen Babcock – Technical.ly Baltimore

Microbes on the market

Marrone Bio Innovations and Evogene Advance Novel Bacteria and Related Proteins Beyond Discovery into Insecticidal Product Development Phase – GlobeNewswire – Yahoo!Finance

Science, publishing, and career

Gates Foundation announces open-access publishing venture – Declan Butler – Nature (News section)

The readability of scientific texts is decreasing over time – Pontus Plavén-Sigray – bioRxiv

Amy’s non-microbiology picks

Iron minerals within specific microfossil morphospecies of the 1.88 Ga Gunflint Formation – Kevin Lepot – Nature Communications

March 29, 2017

Today’s digest is chock-full of human gut studies related to disease, soil/plant and water/environmental studies, quite a lot of research on animal microbiomes and symbiotic microbes, as well as some discussion of techniques to improve various metagenomic applications.

Events and jobs

Scientist – Microbiology Development – BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)

Microbiology Technical Manager – UKAS – W.Midlands

Multi-site human microbiome

Integration of microbiome and epigenome to decipher the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases – Beidi Chen – Journal of Autoimmunity

Human respiratory microbiome

Integrating the microbiota of the respiratory tract with the unified airway model – Alissa S. Hanshew – Respiratory Medicine

The role of acute and chronic respiratory colonization and infections in the pathogenesis of COPD – Janice M. Leung – Respirology

Human nearly-sterile sites (blood, organs, brain)

* The blood DNA virome in 8,000 humans – Ahmed Moustafa – PLOS Pathogens

Human gut microbiome

Role of External and Environmental Factors in Drug Resistance Emergence: Gut Microbiota – Daniel Ryan – Drug Resistance in Bacteria, Fungi, Malaria, and Cancer

* Changes in intestinal microbiota composition and metabolism coincide with increased intestinal permeability in young adults under prolonged physiologic stress – J. Philip Karl – American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology

Robust Microbiota-Based Diagnostics for Inflammatory Bowel Disease – A. Eck – Journal of Clinical Microbiology

Tackling the Antibiotic Resistance: The “Gut” Feeling – Richa Misra – Drug Resistance in Bacteria, Fungi, Malaria, and Cancer

Book Chapter – Human Gut Microbiota and Obesity During Development – Tomás Cerdó – Adiposity – Omics and Molecular Understanding

Fecal microbiota transplantation – methods of treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infections and other diseases – Juszczuk K – Postepy Hig Med Dosw (Online)

Gut Colonization by Methanogenic Archaea Is Associated with Organic Dairy Consumption in Children – van de Pol JA – Frontiers in Microbiology

Gut Microbiome in Chronic Kidney Disease – R. G. Armani – Current Hypertension Reports

Sex-dependent effects on gut microbiota regulate hepatic carcinogenic outcomes – Guoxiang Xie – Scientific Reports

Gut microbiome analysis of type 2 diabetic patients from the Chinese minority ethnic groups the Uygurs and Kazaks – Ye Wang – PLOS ONE

Animal experiments 

Stressor exposure has prolonged effects on colonic microbial community structure in Citrobacter rodentium-challenged mice – Jeffrey D. Galley – Scientific Reports

Engineered Resistant-Starch (ERS) Diet Shapes Colon Microbiota Profile in Parallel with the Retardation of Tumor Growth in In Vitro and In Vivo Pancreatic Cancer Models – Concetta Panebianco – Nutrients

Alcohol-related changes in the intestinal microbiome influence neutrophil infiltration, inflammation and steatosis in early alcoholic hepatitis in mice – Patrick P. Lowe  – PLOS ONE

Altered gut microbiome in a mouse model of Gulf War Illness causes neuroinflammation and intestinal injury via leaky gut and TLR4 activation – Firas Alhasson – PLOS ONE

Olive oil bioactives protect pigs against experimentally-induced chronic inflammation independently of alterations in gut microbiota – Martin Liehr – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

Mosquito Microbiome Dynamics, a Background for Prevalence and Seasonality of West Nile Virus – Eva Novakova – Frontiers in Microbiology

The nasopharyngeal microbiota of beef cattle before and after transport to a feedlot – Devin B. Holman – BMC Microbiology

Fungal diversity and community structure in gut, mound and surrounding soil of fungus-cultivating termites – Huxley Mae Makonde – African Journal of Microbiology Research

Integrated metabolism in sponge–microbe symbiosis revealed by genome-centered metatranscriptomics – Lucas Moitinho-Silva – The ISME Journal (Microbial Ecology)

Inferring Microbial Interactions in the Gut of the Hong Kong Whipping Frog (Polypedates megacephalus) and a Validation Using Probiotics – Francis C. Weng – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Mineral Ecology: Surface Specific Colonization and Geochemical Drivers of Biofilm Accumulation, Composition, and Phylogeny – Aaron A. Jones – Frontiers in Microbiology

Defining the core citrus leaf- and root-associated microbiota: Factors associated with community structure and implications for managing Huanglongbing (Citrus greening) disease – Ryan A. Blaustein – American Society for Microbiology

The preservation of microbial DNA in archived soils of various genetic types – Ekaterina A. Ivanova – PLOS ONE

Unknown risks to soil biodiversity from commercial fungal inoculants – Miranda M. Hart – Nature Ecology and Evolution

Genetic and functional diversity of ubiquitous DNA viruses in selected Chinese agricultural soils – Li-Li Han – Scientific Reports

Relationship of microbial communities and suppressiveness of Trichoderma fortified composts for pepper seedlings infected by Phytophthora nicotianae – Margarita Ros – PLOS ONE

Metagenomic analyses of bacterial endophytes associated with the phyllosphere of a Bt maize cultivar and its isogenic parental line from South Africa – Ramadimetja A – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Water and extremophile microbiome

* Characterization of culturable bacteria isolated from hot springs for plant growth promoting traits and effect on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) seedling – Kinjal Samir Patel – Comptes Rendus Biologies

* Microbial indicators as a diagnostic tool for assessing water quality and climate stress in coral reef ecosystems – Bettina Glasl – Marine Biology

Pre-print – Response Of Microbial Community Function To Fluctuating Geochemical Conditions Within A Legacy Radioactive Waste Trench Environment – Xabier Vázquez-Campos – bioRxiv

* Patterns of variation in diversity of the Mississippi river microbiome over 1,300 kilometers – Jason T. Payne – PLOS ONE

Food microbiology

Monitoring of the bacterial communities of bamboo shoots (Dendrocalamus latiflorus) during pickling process – Xuejuan Xia – International Journal of Food Science + Technology

Bioinformatics

Preprint – MIMIX: a Bayesian Mixed-Effects Model for Microbiome Data from Designed Experiments – Neal S. Grantham – arXiv

Techniques

Integrated Methodology to Characterize Microbial Populations and Functions across Small Spatial Scales in an Oil Production Facility – Christopher R. Marks – Routledge

Next-Generation Sequencing Combined with Specific PCR Assays To Determine the Bacterial 16S rRNA Gene Profiles of Middle Ear Fluid Collected from Children with Acute Otitis Media – Saara Sillanpää – American Society for Microbiology Journals

Random sampling causes the low reproducibility of rare eukaryotic OTUs in Illumina COI metabarcoding – Matthieu Leray – PeerJ

Novel 16S rDNA primers revealed the diversity and habitats-related community structure of sphingomonads in 10 different niches – Yili Huang – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Assessment of REPLI-g Multiple Displacement Whole Genome Amplification (WGA) Techniques for Metagenomic Applications – Ahsanuddin S – Journal of Biomolecular Techniques

Improvement of identification methods for honeybee specific Lactic Acid Bacteria; future approaches – Sepideh Lamei – PLOS ONE

Microbes in the news 

Bacteria, deadwood and climate change—forest floor as carbon sink

Basic microbiology research study unexpectedly uncovers practical findings for growers

Bacteria That Cause Human Diseases Found in Orca Blowholes

Bacteria Hysteria

Keep Your Phone Bacteria Free with PhoneSoap

Science, publishing, and career 

Behar, Finberg and Luzuriaga elected fellows of American Academy of Microbiology

Ed’s non-microbiology picks 

Spinach Leaf Transformed Into Beating Human Heart Tissue

Low Socioeconomic Status Affects Life Expectancy More Than Obesity

Caesarean sections and for-profit status of hospitals: systematic review and meta-analysis – Ilir Hoxha – BMJ Open

Work organization and mental health problems in PhD students – Katia Levecque – Research Policy

Influence of Anthropogenic Climate Change on Planetary Wave Resonance and Extreme Weather Events – Michael E. Mann – Scientific Reports

March 27, 2017

Exploring life within the biofilm and how free-living microbes thrive, and focus on life history patterns of symbionts. Finally, big dairy (Parmalat- South Africa)  was found guilty of repeatedly hiding serious infections (Salmonella and Listeria,)from their consumers.

General microbiome

Biofilm formation enables free-living nitrogen-fixing rhizobacteria to fix nitrogen under aerobic conditions.

Wang D. ISME Journal

Symbiont Acquisition and Replacement as a Source of Ecological Innovation.

Sudakaran S. Trends in Microbiology

Distinct succession patterns of abundant and rare bacteria in temporal microcosms with pollutants.

Jiao S. Environmental Pollution

Similar articles

Human gut microbiome

Early-life origin of intestinal inflammatory disorders.

Ley D. Nutrition Reviews

From mystery to mechanism: Can proteomics build systems-level understanding of our gut microbes?

Gonzalez CG. Expert Reviews of Proteomics

Human oral microbiome

Circadian oscillations of microbial and functional composition in the human salivary microbiome.

Takayasu L. DNA Research

Comparison of Boiling and Robotics Automation Method in DNA Extraction for Metagenomic Sequencing of Human Oral Microbes.

Yamagishi J.PLoS One.

Water, estuarine and marine microbiome

Integrated metabolism in sponge-microbe symbiosis revealed by genome-centered metatranscriptomics.

Moitinho-Silva L. ISME Journal

Are Oligotypes Meaningful Ecological and Phylogenetic Units? A Case Study of Microcystis in Freshwater Lakes.

Berry MA. Frontiers in Microbiology

Shotgun metagenomic sequencing reveals freshwater beach sands as reservoir of bacterial pathogens.

Mohiuddin MM. Water Research

Symbiosis and microbiome flexibility in calcifying benthic foraminifera of the Great Barrier Reef.

Prazeres M. Microbiome

Farm animal microbiome

Effects of dietary rapeseed meal supplementation on cecal microbiota in laying hens with different flavin-containing monooxygenase 3 genotypes.

Long C. Poultry Science

A distinct bacterial dysbiosis associated skin inflammation in ovine footrot.

Maboni G. Scientific Reports

Pasture flock chicken cecal microbiome responses to prebiotics and plum fiber feed amendments.

Park SH. Poultry Science

Respiratory system microbiome

Dendritic cell expression of the signaling molecule TRAF6 is required for immune tolerance in the lung.

Han D. International Immunology

Eukaryote microbiome

UniEuk: Time to Speak a Common Language in Protistology!

Berney C. The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Colonization by non-pathogenic bacteria alters mRNA expression of cytochromes P450 in originally germ-free mice.

Jourová L. Folia Microbiologica

Gut microbiome-related metabolic changes in plasma of antibiotic-treated rats.

Behr C. Archives of Toxicology

Indoor microbiome

Hospital microbial surface colonization revealed during monitoring of Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and non-tuberculous mycobacteria.

Geadas Farias P. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek

Microbes in the news

Parmalat hides bacteria infections

-News24

Indians find a new bacterial target for drug development

-The Hindu

March 22, 2017

Today’s digest features interesting review articles on the role of microbiome in health and disease, heart failure, and how the respiratory tract microbiota act as gatekeepers to respiratory health. Also, we have original research articles on the response of bacterial communities in oil-contaminated marine waters to addition of chemical and biological dispersants. Also, a very fascinating article in Harvard Business review on the gender bias against junior female scientists. Not surprising!! Enjoy.

General microbiome

*Review: The role of the microbiome in human health and disease: an introduction for clinicians – Vincent B Young – British Medical Journal

*Review: Targeting the Microbiome in Heart Failure – Allyson Zabell – Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine

Gastric microbiota features associated with cancer risk factors and clinical outcomes: A pilot study in gastric cardia cancer patients from Shanxi, China – Guoqin Yu – international Journal of Cancer

Pregnancy and early life

Late preterm birth has direct and indirect effects on infant gut microbiota development during the first six months of life – M Forsgren – Acta Pediatrica

Vaginal microbiome

Characterization of vaginal Lactobacillus species by rplK -based multiplex qPCR in Russian women – Vladimir V. Demkin – Anaerobe

Human oral microbiome

Changes in salivary microbiota increase volatile sulfur compounds production in healthy male subjects with academic-related chronic stress – Bruno Dias Nani – Plos One

Candida albicans biofilm heterogeneity does not influence denture stomatitis but strongly influences denture cleansing capacity – Lindsay E. O’Donnell – Journal of Medical Microbiology

Oral Bacterial Infections : Diagnosis and Management – Glendee Reynolds-Campbell – Dental Clinics of North America

Human respiratory microbiome

*The microbiota of the respiratory tract: gatekeeper to respiratory health – Wing Ho Man – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Editorial : Infant colic is still a mysterious disorder of the microbiota–gut–brain axis – Anna Pärtty – Acta Pediatrica

Review: More Flavor for Flavonoid-Based Interventions? – Nadeem O. Kaakoush – Trends in Molecular Medicine

Perspectives : New Frontiers in Fibers: Innovative and Emerging Research on the Gut Microbiome and Bone Health – Taylor C. Wallace – Journal of the American College of Nutrition

Does the Gut Microbiota Influence Immunity and Inflammation in Multiple Sclerosis Pathophysiology? – Monika Adamczyk-Sowa – Journal of Immunology Research

The Role of Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase in Inflammatory Disorders of Gastrointestinal Tract – Jan Bilski – Mediators of Inflammation

The Gut Microbiome, Energy Homeostasis, and Implications for Hypertension – Ruth A. Riedl – Current Hypertension Reports

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation

Commentary: A proposed definition of microbiota transplantation for regulatory purposes – Diane E. Hoffmann – Gut Microbes

Review: Novel Indications for Fecal Microbial Transplantation: Update and Review of the Literature – Nathaniel Aviv Cohen – Digestive Diseases and Sciences

Animal microbiome

Review: Role of the microbiome in swine respiratory disease – Megan C. Niederwerder – Veterinary Microbiology

Comparative composition, diversity, and abundance of oligosaccharides in early lactation milk from commercial dairy and beef cows – William M. Sischo – Journal of Dairy Science

Comparative analysis of fecal microbial communities in cattle and Bactrian camels – Liang Ming – Plos One

Sheep fed with banana leaf hay reduce ruminal protozoa population – Cláudio Eduardo Silva Freitas – Tropical Animal Health and Production

Metabolomics

Review: Metabolomic-guided discovery of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers from body fluid – Che Nor Adlia Enche Ady – Journal of Neuroscience Research

Animal experiments

The farming environment protects mice from allergen-induced skin contact hypersensitivity – C. P. Frossard – Clinical and Experimental Allergy

Metabolomics insights into diabetes nephropathy and protective effects of Radix Scutellariae on rats using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry – Lihui Men – RSC Advances

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Root plant growth promoting rhizobacteria inoculations increase ferric chelate reductase (FC-R) activity and Fe nutrition in pear under calcareous soil conditions – Muzaffer İpek – Scientia Horticulturae

Bacterial diversity of the rhizosphere and nearby surface soil of rice (Oryza sativa) growing in the Camargue (France) – Jorge R. Osman – Rhizosphere

Structure and function of the bacterial communities during rhizoremediation of hexachlorobenzene in constructed wetlands – Cuiping Zhang – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Water and extremophile microbiome
Characterization of spatial distribution of the bacterial community in the South Sea of Korea – Ji-Hui Seo – Plos One

Diversity and community structure of cyanobacteria and other microbes in recycling irrigation reservoirs – Ping Kong – Plos One

*Response of the bacterial community in oil-contaminated marine water to the addition of chemical and biological dispersants – Camila Rattes de Almeida Couto – Journal of Environmental Management

Probiotics / prebiotics

Lactobacillus johnsonii supplementation attenuates respiratory viral infection via metabolic reprogramming and immune cell modulation – W. Fonseca- Mucosal Immunology

Identification of the key excreted molecule by Lactobacillus fermentum related to host iron absorption – Ana González – Food Chemistry

Effect of 8-weeks prebiotics/probiotics supplementation on alcohol metabolism and blood biomarkers of healthy adults: a pilot study – Christopher Irwin – European Journal of Nutrition

Bioinformatics

Making big data smart—how to use metagenomics to understand soil quality – Gisle Vestergaard – Biology and Fertility of Soils

Techniques

SILVA, RDP, Greengenes, NCBI and OTT — how do these taxonomies compare? – Monika Balvočiūtė – BMC Genomics

Comparative evaluation of four bacteria-specific primer pairs for 16S rRNA gene surveys – Sofie Thijs – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Asthma: Researchers discover how exposure to microbes protects against asthma

Rainy Day? Microbes May Be at Play

Building A Brewery, Chapter 4: For the Love of Microbes

Science, publishing, and career 

*Junior Female Scientists Aren’t Getting the Credit They Deserve “despite evidence that women on average, may perform better than men in early stage of their careers”

Anitha’s non-microbiology picks

How Pluto’s haze could explain its red spots

Cancer cells cast a sweet spell on the immune system

Actinide chemistry expands to new oxidation states

March 15, 2017

Today’s digest is full of environmental, soil/plant/root, and water related studies among a few gut microbiome studies and some opinion pieces.

Events and jobs

Event: Gut Feeling – How bacteria influence our wellbeing – EMBL-EBI – 21-May-2017

Event: Meeting of the Microbiome Minds – Colorado State University

General microbiome

Opinion: The study of microbiota needs both microbiologists and medical doctors – Didier Raoult – CMI

Pregnancy and early life

Review: Distinct Roles of Cervical Epithelia and Stroma in Pregnancy and Parturition – Shanmugasundaram Nallasamy – Seminars in Reproductive Medicine (Thieme)

The shape of the microbiome in early life – Erika von Mutius – Nature Medicine

Multi-site human microbiome

Examination of Host Phenotypes in Gambusia affinis Following Antibiotic Treatment – Jeanette M. Carlson – J. Vis. Exp.

Human respiratory microbiome

Strong incidence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on bacterial rrs and ITS genetic structures of cystic fibrosis sputa – Laurence Pages-Monteiro – PLOS One

Human skin microbiome

Review: Cutaneous wound biofilm and the potential for electrical stimulation in management of the microbiome – Mohammed Ashrafi – Future Microbiology

Human vaginal microbiome

Vaginal Microbiome and Its Relationship to Behavior, Sexual Health, an Sexually Transmitted Diseases – Felicia M. Lewis – Obstetrics & Gynecology

Women view key sexual behaviours as the trigger for the onset and recurrence of bacterial vaginosis – Jade E. Bilardi – PLOS One

Human oral microbiome

Clustering of Subgingival Microbiota Reveals Microbial Disease Ecotypes Associated with Clinical Stages of Periodontitis in a Cross-Sectional Study – Sebastien Boutin – Frontiers in Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

*The altered gut microbiota in adults with cystic fibrosis – D.G. Burke – BMC Microbiology

Consumption of a diet rich in Brassica vegetables is associated with a reduced abundance of sulphate-reducing bacteria: a randomised crossover study – Lee Kellingray – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

Gastric Acid Suppression Is Associated with an Increased Risk of Adverse Outcomes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Shah R – Digestion

NLRP12 attenuates colon inflammation by maintaining colonic microbial diversity and promoting protective commensal bacterial growth – Liang Chen – Nature Immunology

Gut microbiome diversity and high fibre intake are related to lower long term weight gain – Menni C – International Journal of Obesity

We are not alone: a case for the human microbiome in extra intestinal diseases – S. Shivaji – Gut Pathogens

The intestinal microenvironment in sepsis – Katherine T Fay – BBA – Molecular Basis of Disease

The Gut Microbiome and Its Role in Cardiovascular Diseases – W. H. Wilson Tang – Circulation

Animal experiments (mouse/rat experiments, chickens/pigs on different diets)

Mechanisms and effects of arsanilic acid on antibiotic resistance genes and microbial communities during pig manure digestion – Wei Sun – Bioresource Technology

Dietary Broccoli Alters Rat Cecal Microbiota to Improve Glucoraphanin Hydrolysis to Bioactive Isothiocyanates – Xiaoji Liu – Nutrients

Sorghum and wheat differentially affect caecal microbiota and associated performance characteristics of meat chickens – Eduardo Crisol-Martinez – PeerJ

Microbiome and metabolome modifying effects of several cardiovascular disease interventions in apo-E−/− mice – Paul M. Ryan – Microbiome

Infection with diverse immune-modulating poxviruses elicits different compositional shifts in the mouse gut microbiome – Daniel Aguirre de Cárcer – PLOS One

Animal microbiome (for animals in the wild)

Diverse bacterial communities exist on canine skin and are impacted by cohabitation and time – Sheila Torres – PeerJ

Fine Flounder (Paralichthys adspersus) Microbiome Showed Important Differences between Wild and Reared Specimens – Carolina Ramirez – Frontiers in Microbiology

Use of signature-tagged mutagenesis to identify genes associated with colonization of sheep by E. coli O157:H7 – Nancy A. Cornick – Veterinary Microbiology

The oral microbiota of domestic cats harbors a wide variety of Staphylococcus species with zoonotic potential – Ciro Cesar Rossi – Veterinary Microbiology

The bovine paranasal sinuses: Bacterial flora, epithelial expression of nitric oxide and potential role in the in-herd persistence of respiratory disease pathogens – Gerard M. Murray – PLOS One

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Analysis of microbiota involved in the aged natural fermentation of indigo – Takahiro Okamoto – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Microbial solvent formation revisited by comparative genome analysis – Anja Poehlein – Biotechnology for Biofuels

Exposure to dairy manure leads to greater antibiotic resistance and increased mass-specific respiration in soil microbial communities – Wepking, C – Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Science

Legal immigrants: invasion of alien microbial communities during winter occurring desert dust storms – Tobias Weil – Microbiome

Characterization of microbial communities during start-up of integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) systems for the treatment of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) – Chunkai Huang – Biochemical Engineering Journal

Effects of experimental addition of nitrogen and phosphorus on microbial and metazoan communities in a peatbog – Tomasz Mieczan – European Journal of Protistology

The potential of native species as bioenergy crops on trace-element contaminated Mediterranean lands – Dominquez MT – Sci Total Environment

Linking the Belowground Microbial Composition, Diversity and Activity to Soilborne Disease Suppression and Growth Promotion of Tomato Amended with Biochar – Jaiswal AK – Scientific Reports

Growth and 137Cs uptake and accumulation among 56 Japanese cultivars of Brassica rapa, Brassica juncea and Brassica napus grown in a contaminated field in Fukushima: Effect of inoculation with a Bacillus pumilus strain – Salem Djedidi – Journal of Environmental Radioactivity

Antibiotic mixture effects on growth of the leaf-shredding stream detritivore Gammarus fossarum – Mirco Bundschuh – Ecotoxicology

Microbial community changes during different empty bed residence times and operational fluctuations in an air diffusion reactor for odor abatement – Elisa Rodriguez – Science of the Total Environment

Response of indigenously developed bacterial consortia in progressive degradation of polyvinyl chloride – Mohammad S Anwar – Protoplasma

Water and extremophile microbiome (sea, rivers, lakes, glaciers, permafrost, high-salt)

Conference: Effects of simulated deep-sea mining impacts on microbial communities and functions in the DISCOL experimental area – Vonnahme, T – EU FP7 MIDAS final meeting,

Effects of residual organics in municipal wastewater on hydrogenotrophic denitrifying microbial communities – Wei Xing – Journal of Environmental Sciences

PrePrint: Plasmid DNA analysis of pristine groundwater microbial communities reveal extensive2 presence of metal resistance genes – Ankita Kothari – bioRxiv

Climate, soil and plant functional types as drivers of global fine-root trait variation – Gregoire T. Freschet – Journal of Ecology

Winter ecology of a subalpine grassland: Effects of snow removal on soil respiration, microbial structure and function – Konstantin Gavazov – Science of the Total Environment

Deterministic influences exceed dispersal effects on hydrologically-connected microbiomes – Emily B. Graham – Environmental Microbiology

Review: Microbiome involved in microbial electrochemical systems (MESs): A review – Saratale RG – Chemosphere

Chapter Four – Polar Marine Microorganisms and Climate Change – C. Verde – Advances in Microbial Physiology

The patterns of bacterial community and relationships between sulfate-reducing bacteria and hydrochemistry in sulfate-polluted groundwater of Baogang rare earth tailings – Xinli An – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Characterization of bacterial community associated with phytoplankton bloom in a eutrophic lake in South Norway using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence analysis – Niranjan Nitin Parulekar – PLOS One

Food microbiology

Editorial: Inner Workings: Fermented foods offer up a versatile microbial model system – Alla Katsnelson – PNAS

Probiotics / prebiotics

News article: IBS cure? Probiotics could REDUCE irritable bowel syndrome symptoms AND stress – Olivia Lerche – express.co.uk

 Bioinformatics

Applied Metagenomics for Biofuel Development and Environmental Sustainability – Antonio Djalma Nunes Ferraz Junior – Advances of Basic Science for Second Generation Bioethanol from Sugarcane

DEMOGRAPHICS INDUCE EXTINCTION OF DISEASE IN AN SIS MODEL BASED ON CONDITIONAL MARKOV CHAIN – XIAOFENG LUO – Journal of Biological Systems

Inferring interactions in complex microbial communities from nucleotide sequence data and environmental parameters – Yu Shang – PLOS One

Techniques

Comparative analysis of microbial communities during enrichment and isolation of DDT-degrading bacteria by culture-dependent and -independent methods – Beibei Wang – Science of The Total Environment

*How to know the fungi: combining field inventories and DNA-barcoding to document fungal diversity – Camille Truong – New Phytologist

Sampling Strategies for Three-Dimensional Spatial Community Structures in IBD Microbiota Research – Shaocun Zhang – Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Microbial profiling of cpn60 universal target sequences in artificial mixtures of vaginal bacteria sampled by nylon swabs or self-sampling devices under different storage conditions – John J. Schellenberg – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Ed’s non-microbiology picks (news articles)

First Time Ever: Gene Therapy Reverses Sickle Cell Disease

Earth’s oceans are warming 13% faster than thought, and accelerating

MIT researchers create new form of matter

Gene therapy treats muscle-wasting disease in dogs

World’s oldest plant fossil discovered by student pushes evolution of complex life back 400 million years

 

March 14, 2017

A short Digest today, many news pieces, a new bioinformatics tool from the Rob Knight lab, and papers on genome-scale metabolic models.

General microbiology

Pentamidine sensitizes Gram-negative pathogens to antibiotics and overcomes acquired colistin resistance – Jonathan M. Stokes – Nature Microbiology

Press: Antiprotozoal drug, Pentamidine, used with antibiotics effective against ‘superbugs’: McMaster research – Outbreak News Today

Antibiotic resistance genes and correlations with microbial community and metal resistance genes in full-scale biogas reactors as revealed by metagenomic analysis – Gang Luo – Environmental Science & Technology

Activity screening of environmental metagenomic libraries reveals novel carboxylesterase families – Ana Popovic – Scientific Reports

Animal experiments

Eggshell membrane powder ameliorates intestinal inflammation by facilitating the restitution of epithelial injury and alleviating microbial dysbiosis – Huijuan Jia – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

Dramatic differences in gut bacterial densities help to explain the relationship between diet and habitat in rainforest ants – Jon G. Sanders – bioRxiv

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Book chapter – Chapter 16: Growth Promotion Features of the Maize Microbiome: From an Agriculture Perspective – Ubiana de Cássia Silva – Plant-Microbe Interaction: An Approach to Sustainable Agriculture

Metabolomics

Evaluating the Capabilities of Microbial Chemical Production Using Genome-Scale Metabolic Models – Hugh M. Purdy and Jennifer L. Reed – Current Opinion in Systems Biology

Model-based quantification of metabolic interactions from dynamic microbial-community data – Mark Hanemaaijer – PLoS One

Review: Current state and applications of microbial genome-scale metabolic models – Won Jun Kim – Current Opinion in Systems Biology

Bioinformatics

Deblur: Correcting for Microbial Blooms in Fecal Samples during Room-Temperature Shipping – Amnon Amir – mSystems

Deblur: Deblur Rapidly Resolves Single-Nucleotide Community Sequence Patterns – Amnon Amir – mSystems

Microbes in the news

Common Bacteria May Control Disease-Carrying Insects – Jessica Berman – VOA

Study finds new evidence that viruses and bacteria may be found in some public water supply wells – Home Town Source

Your mobile phone has more germs than a toilet seat, but should you worry? – The News Minute

Mining nature for the next groundbreaking antibiotic – Julia Franz – PRI

March 12, 2017

The first day of daylight saving time in the USA and if your Sunday morning started in a (relative) darkness just read about the viruses in the oceanic basement.  Then find out why yogurt can help your mood.  More interesting papers about the gut-brain connection, a microbiota-centric view of diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract, microbiome and Type 1 & 2 diabetes, and a new method of detecting bacteria during root canal treatments.

General microbiome

Review: Calling All Hosts: Bacterial Communication In Situ – Jessica L. Cleary – Chem

Gut-Brain connection

The Association Between Temperament and Microbiota in Healthy Individuals: A Pilot Study  – Kim H – Psychosomatic medicine

Gut-brain actions underlying comorbid anxiety and depression associated with inflammatory bowel disease –  Aine Abautret-Daly -Acta Neuropsychiatrica

Human gut microbiome

A microbiota-centric view of diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract – Gerardo Nardone- Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Review: Systems Biology of Metabolism: A Driver for Developing Personalized and Precision Medicine – Jens Nielsen – Cell Metabolism

Intestinal Microbiota in Type 2 Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease – A. Sabatino – Current Diabetes Reports

The intestinal proteome of diabetic and control children is enriched with different microbial and host proteins  – Elsa Pinto – Microbiology

Therapeutic efficacy of oral immunization with a non-genetically modified Lactococcus lactis-based vaccine CUE-GEM induces local immunity against Helicobacter pylori infection – Wei Liu – Applied Microbiology & Biotech

Water and extremophile microbiome

Viruses in the Oceanic Basement – OD Nigro -MBio

Models

A microengineered collagen scaffold for generating a polarized crypt-villus architecture of human small intestinal epithelium -Yuli Wang – Biomaterials

Built environment

Review: Microbiome involved in microbial electrochemical systems (MESs): Rijuta G Saratale- Chemosphere

Microbes in the news

Probiotic found in yogurt can reverse depression symptoms, Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine finds

New method of detecting bacteria during root canal treatments 

March 10, 2017

Ancient microbial DNA in Neanderthal dental calculus; the role of fungus in inflammatory bowel disease; symbiotic bacteria in the Hawaiian bobtail squid reproductive system; and a colorimetric/electrochemical device for detection of food and waterborne bacteria.

Events and jobs
Microbiology/Immunology Faculty – West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine – Lewisburg, West Virginia

Pregnancy and early life
Association of Maternal Gestational Weight Gain With the Infant Fecal Microbiota – Alyssa Robinson – Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition

Review: Intestinal dysbiosis in preterm infants preceding necrotizing enterocolitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis – Mohan Pammi – Microbiome

Human oral microbiome
New approach for studying mobile genes using metagenomic analysis – K. Ishihara – Oral Diseases

Neanderthal behaviour, diet, and disease inferred from ancient DNA in dental calculus – Laura S. Weyrich – Nature

In the News: Prehistoric ‘Aspirin’ Found in Sick Neanderthal’s Teeth – National Geographic

Human skin microbiome
Using Shotgun Metagenomics to Examine the Use of Hand Microbiome as a Forensic Tool – Ning Chin – ProQuest Dissertations Publishing

Human vaginal microbiome
Review: The role of the vaginal microbiome in gynecological cancer: a review – Champer M. – BJOG

Human gut microbiome
A translational investigation into the role of dietary fatty acids in modulating endotoxemia and associated inflammation – Joshua Mark Lyte – ProQuest Dissertations Publishing

Orai1-Mediated Antimicrobial Secretion from Pancreatic Acini Shapes the Gut Microbiome and Regulates Gut Innate Immunity – Malini Ahuja – Cell Metabolism

Beyond Digestion: The Pancreas Shapes Intestinal Microbiota and Immunity – Herbert Tilg – Cell Metabolism

Low-dose penicillin exposure in early life decreases Th17 and the susceptibility to DSS colitis in mice through gut microbiota modification – Shuang Jin – Scientific Reports

Gut microbiota modulation of chemotherapy efficacy and toxicity – James. L. Alexander – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

CD40-signalling abrogates induction of RORγt+ Treg cells by intestinal CD103+ DCs and causes fatal colitis – Christian Barthels – Nature Communications

Faecal microbiota transplantation in clinical practice – E M Terveer – Gut

Distinct Microbiome-Neuroimmune Signatures Correlate With Functional Abdominal Pain in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder – Ruth Ann Luna – Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Animal experiments
A gut reaction: The combined influence of exercise and diet on gastrointestinal microbiota in rats – Romeo Batacan – Journal of Applied Microbiology

A member of the gut mycobiota modulates host purine metabolism exacerbating colitis in mice – Chiaro TR – Science Translational Medicine

Animal microbiome
Diurnal dynamics of gaseous and dissolved metabolites and microbiota composition in the bovine rumen – Henk J. Van Lingen – Frontiers in Microbiology

Symbiotic bacteria associated with a bobtail squid reproductive system are detectable in the environment, and stable in the host and developing eggs – Allison H. Kerwin – Environmental Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome
Arsenic Transport in Rice and Biological Solutions to Reduce Arsenic Risk from Rice – Yanshan Chen – Frontiers in Plant Science

Pseudomonas fluorescens Transportome is Linked to Strain-Specific Plant Growth Promotion in Aspen Seedlings Under Nutrient Stress – Shalaka Shinde – Frontiers in Plant Science

Short-term exposure of paddy soil microbial communities to salt stress triggers different transcriptional responses of key taxonomic groups – Jingjing Peng – Frontiers in Microbiology

Fertilization of Phaseolus vulgaris with the Tunisian rock phosphate affects richness and structure of rhizosphere bacterial communities – Darin Trabelsi – Applied Soil Ecology

Bioprospecting plant-associated microbiomes – Christina A. Muller – Journal of Biotechnology

Water and extremophile microbiome
Isolation and identification of indigenous prokaryotic bacteria from arsenic-contaminated water resources and their impact on arsenic transformation – MA Jebelli – Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

Performance and kinetics of membrane and hybrid moving bed biofilm-membrane bioreactors treating salinity wastewater – Alejandro Rodriguez-Sanchez – AlChE Journal

Metabolomics
Technological development of high-performance MALDI mass spectrometry imaging for the study of metabolic biology – Adam D. Feenstra – ProQuest Dissertations Publishing

Food microbiology
The Biodiversity of the Microbiota Producing Heat-Resistant Enzymes Responsible for Spoilage in Processed Bovine Milk and Dairy Products – Solimar G. Machado – Frontiers in Microbiology

Culturable microorganisms during fermentation of Veltlínske zelené (Grüner Veltliner) ice wine – K. Ženišová – Journal of Food and Nutrition Research

Metabolomics for empirical delineation of the traditional Korean fermented foods and beverages – Digar Singh – Trends in Food Science & Technology

Probiotics/prebiotics
Case Study: Integrate genome-based assessment of safety for probiotic strains: Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 as a case study – Elisa Salvetti – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Techniques
Colorimetric and Electrochemical Bacteria Detection Using Printed Paper- and Transparency-Based Analytic Devices – Jaclyn A. Adkins – Analytical Chemistry

Microbes in the news
Exciting Microbe Research? Temper That Giddy Feeling in Your Gut – The New York Times

Garrett’s non-microbiology picks
‘Plan bee’ drone artificially pollinates flowers on behalf of bees – Design Boom

March 8th, 2017

Today is the International Women’s Day! This is a day for awareness about the importance of support equality in rights and opportunities for women.

About International Women’s Day

Gender at Nature Ecology & Evolution

Helping women progress in traditionally male dominated fields

Rosalind Franklin: Navigating workplace politics to gain recognition in science

International Women’s Day 2017: pursuing a career in science

BMC Series Blog: International Women’s Day

Events and Webinars

3rd Annual Translational Microbiome Conference, April 12-13, 2017 in Boston, MA

Webinar: Nomadic nanopore sequencing of metagenomes with the MinION

Microbiome research

Salivary Gluten Degradation and Oral Microbial Profiles in Healthy Individuals and Celiac Disease Patients – Na Tian – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Impact of Westernized Diet on Gut Microbiota in Children on Leyte Island – Jiro Nakayama – Frontiers in Microbiology

Comparison of culture-dependent and culture-independent molecular methods for characterization of vaginal microflora – Shirali Pandya – Journal of Medical Microbiology

Effect of predatory bacteria on the gut bacterial microbiota in rats – Kenneth Shatzkes – Scientific Reports

Methods article: Critical Issues in Mycobiota Analysis – Bettina Halwachs – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbiota alteration is associated with the development of stress-induced despair behavior – Ioana A. Marin – Scientific Reports

Review: Beyond Hygiene: Commensal Microbiota and Allergic Diseases – Sung-Wook Hong – Immune Network

Fecal Bacterial Communities in treated HIV infected individuals on two antiretroviral regimens – Sandra Pinto-Cardoso – Scientific Reports

Editorial: How can the gut microbiota affect immune recovery in HIV-infected individuals? – Sergio Serrano-Villar – Future Microbiology

Unexplored Archaeal Diversity in the Great Ape Gut Microbiome – Kasie Raymann – mSphere

Probiotics

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG supernatant enhance neonatal resistance to systemic Escherichia coli K1 infection by accelerating development of intestinal defense – Xiaolong He – Scientific Reports

Bifidobacterium breve with α-linolenic acid alters the composition, distribution and transcription factor activity associated with metabolism and absorption of fat  – Elaine Patterson – Scientific Reports

Timely use of Probiotics in Hospitalized Adults Prevents Clostridium difficile Infection: a Systematic Review with Meta-Regression Analysis – Nicole T. Shen – Gastroenterology

Metagenomics

Review: Beneficial Microorganisms for Corals (BMC): Proposed Mechanisms for Coral Health and Resilience – Raquel S. Peixoto – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microfluidic-based mini-metagenomics enables discovery of novel microbial lineages from complex environmental samples – Feiqiao Yu – bioRxiv

Untangling Genomes of Novel Planctomycetal and Verrucomicrobial Species from Monterey Bay Kelp Forest Metagenomes by Refined Binning – John Vollmers – Frontiers in Microbiology

Environmental Viral Genomes Shed New Light on Virus-Host Interactions in the Ocean – Yosuke Nishimura – mSphere

Pathogens

Metabolic activity, urease production, antibiotic resistance and virulence in dual species biofilms of Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus – Ilse Vandecandelaere – PLoS ONE

Review: Mollicutes in vaginal microbiology: Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Ureaplasma parvum and Mycoplasma genitalium – David Taylor-Robinson – Research in Microbiology

Case report: Contribution of Ultra Deep Sequencing in the Clinical Diagnosis of a New Fungal Pathogen Species: Basidiobolus meristosporus – Emilie Sitterlé – Frontiers in Microbiology

The Chlamydia suis genome exhibits high levels of diversity, plasticity and mobile antibiotic resistance: comparative genomics of a recent livestock cohort shows influence of treatment regimes – Helena M.B. Seth-Smith – Genome Biology and Evolution

Extremophiles

Reducing salinity by flooding an extremely alkaline and saline soil changes the bacterial community but its effect on the archaeal community is limited – Arit S de León-Lorenzana – Frontiers in Microbiology

Early life

Paleoproterozoic sterol biosynthesis and the rise of oxygen – David A. Gold – Nature