Category Archives: Metagenomics & Bioinformatics

February 9, 2016

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Human skin metagenome, gout patients, malaria and gut microbes, the secrets of the rhizosphere, and single-stranded DNA phages.

Events

2nd Annual Translational Microbiome Conference – April 20-21 2016, Boston MA

Pregnancy and birth

Longitudinal Prediction of the Infant Gut Microbiome with Dynamic Bayesian Networks – Michael J. McGeachie – Scientific Reports

Review: Gut microbiota and the pathogenesis of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm neonates – Nadim Cassir – Future Microbiology

Human skin microbiome

Resolving the Complexity of Human Skin Metagenomes Using Single-Molecule Sequencing – Yu-Chih Tsai – mBio

Human urinary tract microbiome

Male non-gonococcal urethritis: From microbiological etiologies to demographic and clinical features – Shin Ito – International Journal of Urology

Research highlight: Altered gut microbiota in CKD – Jessica K. Edwards – Nature Reviews Nephrology

Human respiratory microbiome

Review: Microbiome, biofilms, and pneumonia in the ICU – Massimiliano Pirrone – Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases

Human gut microbiome

Intestinal Microbiota Distinguish Gout Patients from Healthy Humans – Zhuang Guo – Scientific Reports

Effect of Proton Pump Inhibitors and Antibiotics on the Gut Microbiome of Hospitalised Older Persons – Caoilfhionn O’Donoghue – Journal of Infection

Editorial: A metabolic bridge between microbiota and humans – Kiyoshi Takeda – Nature Reviews Immunology

Review: The Gut Microbiome: Potential Innovations for the Understanding and Treatment of Psychopathology – Matilda E. Nowakowski – Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne

Review: Metabolic modeling with big data and the gut microbiome – Jaeyun Sung – Applied & Translational Genomics

Review: The influence of commensal bacteria on infection with enteric viruses – Stephanie M. Karst – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Review: One more role for the gut: microbiota and blood brain barrier – Laure Michel – Annals of Translational Medicine

Review: Expanding role of gut microbiota in lipid metabolism – Anatole Ghazalpour – Current Opinion in Lipidology

Models of microbiome research

Mice: Composition of the gut microbiota modulates the severity of malaria – Nicolas F. Villarino – PNAS

Mice: Lambda Interferon Restructures the Nasal Microbiome and Increases Susceptibility to Staphylococcus aureus Superinfection – Paul J. Planet – mBio

Dogs: Longitudinal evaluation of the skin microbiome and association with microenvironment and treatment in canine atopic dermatitis – Charles W. Bradley – Journal of Investigative Dermatology

Goats: The effect of helminth infection on the microbial composition and structure of the caprine abomasal microbiome – Robert W. Li – Scientific Reports

More goats: Grain-rich diets altered the colonic fermentation and mucosa-associated bacterial communities and induced mucosal injuries in goats – Huimin Ye – Scientific Reports

Rats: The Colonic Microbiome and Epithelial Transcriptome Are Altered in Rats Fed a High-Protein Diet Compared with a Normal-Protein Diet – Chunlong Mu – The Journal of Nutrition

Rats: Resistant Starch Alters Gut Microbiome and Metabolomics Profiles Concurrent with Amelioration of Chronic Kidney Disease in Rats – Dorothy A. Kieffer – American Journal of Physiology – Renal Physiology
http://ajprenal.physiology.org/content/early/2016/02/01/ajprenal.00513.2015.abstract

Drosophila: From pathogens to microbiota: how Drosophila intestinal stem cells react to gut microbes – Alessandro Bonfini – Developmental & Comparative Immunology

Animal microbiome

Host plant determines the population size of an obligate symbiont Buchnera aphidicola in aphids – Yuan-Chen Zhang – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Altered Carbohydrates Allocation by Associated Bacteria-fungi Interactions in a Bark Beetle-microbe Symbiosis – Fangyuan Zhou – Scientific Reports

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Soil amendments yield persisting effects on the microbial communities—a 7-year study – Catherine L. Reardon – Applied Soil Ecology

Microbial genetic and enzymatic responses to an anthropogenic phosphorus gradient within a subtropical peatland – Elise Morrison – Geoderma

Salinity altered root distribution and increased diversity of bacterial communities in the rhizosphere soil of Jerusalem artichoke – Hui Yan – Scientific Reports

Development of oligonucleotide microarrays for simultaneous multi-species identification of Phellinus tree-pathogenic fungi – Yuh Tzean – Microbial Biotechnology

Dilution reveals how viral lysis and grazing shape microbial communities – Jacob A. Cram – Limnology and Oceanography

Response of Soil Bacterial Community Structure to Land-use Conversion of Natural Forests in Maoershan National Forest Park, China – Fanjuan Meng – Molecular Soil Biology

Editorial: Unlocking the Secrets of the Rhizosphere – Susanne C. Brink – Trends in Plant Science

Spotlight: The soil-borne supremacy – Corné M.J. Pieterse – Trends in Plant Science

Water and pollution microbiome

Temporal and spatial changes of microbial community in an industrial effluent receiving area in Hangzhou Bay – Yan Zhang – Journal of Environmental Sciences

Built environment microbiome

Metagenomic Analysis Indicates Epsilonproteobacteria as a Potential Cause of Microbial Corrosion in Pipelines Injected with Bisulfite – Dongshan An – Frontiers in Microbiology

Viruses and phages

Viral metagenomics: are we missing the giants? – S Halary – Current Opinion in Microbiology

Single-Stranded DNA Phages: From Early Molecular Biology Tools to Recent Revolutions in Environmental Microbiology – Anna J. Székely – FEMS Microbiology Letters

Sequencing techniques

A comparison of rumen microbial profiles in dairy cows as retrieved by 454 Roche and Ion Torrent (PGM) sequencing platforms – Nagaraju Indugu – PeerJ

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Improved environmental genomes via integration of metagenomic and single-cell assemblies – Daniel R. Mende – Frontiers in Microbiology

PhyloPythiaS+: a self-training method for the rapid reconstruction of low-ranking taxonomic bins from metagenomes – Ivan Gregor- PeerJ

Estimating and comparing microbial diversity in the presence of sequencing errors – Chun-Huo Chiu – PeerJ

Metabolomics

Metabolic modeling with big data and the gut microbiome – Jaeyun Sung – Applied & Translational Genomics

More microbiology

Cyanobacteria use micro-optics to sense light direction – Nils Schuergers – eLIFE

Ultrasensitive Detection of Bacteria by Targeting Abundant Transcripts – Xinhui Wang – Scientific Reports

Microbes in the news

Pill measures gut gas – Swallowable tool may eventually help reveal digestive problems – Sarah Schwartz – Science News

Gut environment could reduce severity of malaria – EurekAlert

Great stockphoto: Hibernation Helpers: Gut microbes may help regulate the metabolic changes a bear experiences before and during hibernation, scientists show – Catherine Offord – The Scientist

The complex marketing of “probiotic” cosmetics – Éva Lagarde – Premium Beauty News

Plants trick bacteria into attacking too soon – Chris Samoray – Science News

Obstructive sleep apnea-induced hypertension linked to gut microbiome – Baylor College of Medicine

Includes Rob Knight. HT: Tomer Altman. Deepak Chopra Convenes 30+ of the World’s Preeminent Thought Leaders, Philosophers, Scientists, Musicians and Artists to Explore Consciousness at a 3-Day Symposium This Fall – PR Newswire

Researchers identify most dangerous strains of often-deadly bacteria – University of Maryland – EurekAlert

Science, publishing, and career

Harvard Medical School students decry lack of diversity – Melissa Baily – STATnews

I make an appearance here: Getting credit for peer review – Sandeep Ravindran – Science

Change the system to halt harassment – Joan Schmelz – Nature

Bik’s Picks

The peptidergic control circuit for sighing – Peng Li – Nature

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February 8, 2016

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Plasmid-mediated salt tolerance in the gut microbiota, Tuft cells and immunity, microbes of the Cerrado, impact of sequencing technique on microbiota analysis, and a new microbiome tool on the cloud.

Events

Introducing Nephele, NIAID’s new cloud-based microbiome analysis tool. Webinar on March 7. See also under Bioinformatics below.

Human oral microbiome

Research highlight: FISHing in the oral microbiota – Naomi Attar – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Intestinal microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease and carcinogenesis: Implication for therapeutics – Steven D. Bruner – Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Evidence for plasmid mediated salt tolerance in the human gut microbiome and potential mechanisms – Eileen Broaders – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Oral versus intravenous iron replacement therapy distinctly alters the gut microbiota and metabolome in patients with IBD – Thomas Lee – Gut

Review: Novel Strategies for Applied Metagenomics – Moore-Connors, Jessica M. – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Research highlight: ntestinal microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease and carcinogenesis: Implication for therapeutics – Steven D. Bruner – Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Models of microbiome research

Tuft cells, taste-chemosensory cells, orchestrate parasite type 2 immunity in the gut – Michael R. Howitt – Science

Effects of dietary resistant starch content on metabolic status, milk composition, and microbial profiling in lactating sows and on offspring performance – H. Yan – Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition

Beneficial Effects of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation on Ulcerative Colitis in Mice – Zhihui Tian – Digestive Diseases and Sciences

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Soil bacterial communities associated with natural and commercial Cyclopia spp. – Anneke Postma – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Diversity and functional traits of culturable microbiome members, including cyanobacteria in the rice phyllosphere – Siddarthan Venkatachalam – Plant Biology

Microbial Diversity in Cerrado Biome (Neotropical Savanna) Soils – Alinne Pereira de Castro – PLOS ONE

Dissipation and effects of tricyclazole on soil microbial communities and rice growth as affected by amendment with alperujo compost – M. García-Jaramillo – Science of The Total Environment

Opinion: Plant microbiota affects seed transmission of phytopathogenic micro-organisms – Matthieu Barret – Molecular Plant Pathology

Built environment microbiome

Indoor microbial communities: Influence on asthma severity in atopic and nonatopic children – Karen C. Dannemiller – The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Antibiotics in drinking water in Shanghai and its contribution to antibiotic exposure of school children – Hexing Wang – Environmental Science & Technology

Pollution and waste microbiology

Characterisation of biofilm and planktonic bacterial and fungal communities transforming high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – Benjamin D Folwell – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Shift in antibiotic resistance gene profiles associated with nanosilver during wastewater treatment – Yanjun Ma – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Evaluating the Metal Tolerance Capacity of Microbial Communities Isolated from Alberta Oil Sands Process Water – Mathew L. Frankel- PLOS ONE

Nutrient and metal pollution of the eastern Gulf of Finland coastline: Sediments, macroalgae, microbiota – Yulia Gubelit – Science of the Total Environment

Impacts of pristine and transformed Ag and Cu engineered nanomaterials on surficial sediment microbial communities appear short-lived – Joe D Moore – Environmental Science & Technology

Food microbiology

Diversity and Stability of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Rye Sourdoughs of Four Bakeries with Different Propagation Parameters – Ene Viiard – PLOS ONE

Techniques

Comparing Apples and Oranges?: Next Generation Sequencing and Its Impact on Microbiome Analysis – Adam G. Clooney – PLOS ONE

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket: a cost-effective and powerful method to optimize primer choice for rRNA environmental community analyses using the Fluidigm Access Array – Shawn P. Brown – Molecular Ecology Resources

Probiotics

Probiotic and Functional Characterization of Bifidobacteria of Indian Human Origin – Nancy Awasti – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Bioinformatics

Nephele, microbiome analysis without boundaries. NIAID’s new tool offering cloud-based storage, file transfer, and analysis.

Note: 16S is not the same as metagenomics: Vikodak – A Modular Framework for Inferring Functional Potential of Microbial Communities from 16S Metagenomic Datasets – Sunil Nagpal – PLOS ONE

Microbes in the news

Smart Science: Wolbachia Bacteria Might Stop Zika and Dengue Viruses – Judy Stone – Forbes

The science of treating depression during pregnancy – Josie Glausiusz – Quartz

GIANTmicrobes – When Teachers Throw Things – Anne Estes

Gut bacteria may influence alcoholics’ liver damage – Kathryn Doyle – Reuters
Scientists Seek Answers on Zika in Other Viruses – Carl Zimmer – New York Times

Bears’ Hibernation Linked To Unusual Changes In Their Gut Microbes – Samantha Mathewson – Nature World News

Bears hibernate ‘with bacterial help’ – Jonathan Webb – BBC News

The Tardigrade story a.k.a. Open Science Wins – Surya Saha – Storify

This Bacteria-Powered Microrobot Navigates via Electric Fields – Michael Byrne – Motherboard

Sainsbury’s Recall Camembert Cheese Products Over Food Poisoning Concerns – Natasha Hinde – The Huffington Post UK

EFSA update: Fully defining microbiota cause-and-effect: Yolanda Sanz provides update –
Will Chu – Nutraingredients

Satire: Trump Proposes Ban On All Microbiome Researchers “Until We Know What They Are Up To” “When I become president, we are going to make American poo great once again.” – The Allium

Bacteria Hysteria

What’s hiding in your handbag? Contact 6 tests purses for bacteria – Katrina Cravy – Fox

Bik’s Picks

Natural History Museums Are Teeming With Undiscovered Species – Ed Yong – The Atlantic

New species of tarantula found near Folsom Prison named for Johnny Cash – Rachel Feltman – Washington Post

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February 2, 2016, second edition

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Updated status of the microbial census, bacteria in the nasopharynx, deodorant and armpit microbiome, lichen microbiome, fungi on decomposing forest materials, and metagenomics cover the amplicon gaps. So many papers I had to do a second installment today!

Events and jobs

Microbiology and bioinformatics positions at Whole Biome in San Francisco. Wearing hoodies encouraged.

General microbiome

The status of the microbial census: an update – Patrick D Schloss – BioRxiv

Getting the hologenome concept right: An eco-evolutionary framework for hosts and their microbiomes – Kevin R Theis – BioRxiv

Human oral microbiome

Interactions between Streptococcus oralis, Actinomyces oris, and Candida albicans in the development of multispecies oral microbial biofilms on salivary pellicle – Indira M.G. Cavalcanti – Molecular Oral Microbiology

Human respiratory microbiome

Unraveling the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Nasopharyngeal Bacterial Community Structure – Wouter A. A. de Steenhuijsen Piters – mBio 

Human skin microbiome

The effect of habitual and experimental antiperspirant and deodorant product use on the armpit microbiome – Julie Urban – PeerJ

Skin microbiome surveys are strongly influenced by experimental design – Jacquelyn S. Meisel – Journal of Investigative Dermatology

Unique features of a global human ectoparasite identified through sequencing of the bed bug genome – Joshua B. Benoit – Nature Communications

Human vaginal microbiome

Hormonal Contraceptive Effects on the Vaginal Milieu: Microbiota and Immunity – Jessica Tarleton – Current Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports

Human gut microbiome

Sex differences in the gut microbiome–brain axis across the lifespan – Eldin Jašarević – Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B

Very poor English and presentation, does not look peer reviewed: Preliminary analysis showed country-specific gut resistome based on 1267 feces samples – Zhenyu Yang – Gene

Confusing study design and interpretations: Gut Microbiota Linked to Sexual Preference and HIV Infection – Marc Noguera-Julian – EBioMedicine

Sequence-based methods for detecting and evaluating the human gut mycobiome – M.J. Suhr – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Review: Microbiota and arthritis: correlations or cause? – Bravo-Blas, Alberto – Current Opinion in Rheumatology

Perspective: Gut microbiota in 2015: Prevotella in the gut: choose carefully – Ruth E. Ley – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Editorial: PPIs alter gut microbiota composition – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Review: Samples and techniques highlighting the links between obesity and microbiota –
Emmanouil Angelakis – Microbial Pathogenesis

Animal models of microbiome

Bidirectional interactions between indomethacin and the murine intestinal microbiota – Xue Liang – eLife

 

Mixed feelings about this study that killed turtles to look at effect of probiotics on their shells: Dietary Probiotics Affect Gastrointestinal Microbiota, Histological Structure and Shell Mineralization in Turtles – Mateusz Rawski – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

The Role of the Microbial Environment in Drosophila Post-Embryonic Development –
Maura Strigini – Developmental & Comparative Immunology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Review about lichen bacterial microbiome: Understanding microbial multi-species symbioses – Ines A. Aschenbrenner – Frontiers in Microbiology

Dead fungal mycelium in forest soil represents a decomposition hotspot and a habitat for a specific microbial community – Vendula Brabcová – New Phytologist

Litter decomposition, residue chemistry and microbial community structure under two subtropical forest plantations: A reciprocal litter transplant study –
Zongming He – Applied Soil Ecology

Disentangling nematode-bacteria interactions using a modular soil model system and biochemical markers – Michael Ackermann – Nematology

Using native trees and cacti to improve soil potential nitrogen fixation during long-term restoration of arid lands – Nguyen E. Lopez-Lozano – Plant and Soil

Warming and nitrogen deposition are interactive in shaping surface soil microbial communities near the alpine timberline zone on the eastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, southwestern China – Qinli Xiong – Applied Soil Ecology

Short-term effects of mechanical drainage on fungal and bacterial community structure in a managed grassland soil – B.J. Fay – Applied Soil Ecology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Microbial Communities in Methane- and Short Chain Alkane-Rich Hydrothermal Sediments of Guaymas Basin – Frederick Dowell – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioreactor and crude oil microbiology

Illumina MiSeq sequencing reveals the key microorganisms involved in partial nitritation followed by simultaneous sludge fermentation, denitrification and anammox process – Bo Wang – Bioresource Technology

Microbial communities of light crude from Nigeria and potential for in situ biodegradation, souring, and corrosion – Okoro Chuma Conlette – Petroleum Science and Technology

Built environment microbiome

Rhinitis, Ocular, Throat and Dermal Symptoms, Headache and Tiredness among Students in Schools from Johor Bahru, Malaysia: Associations with Fungal DNA and Mycotoxins in Classroom Dust – Dan Norbäck – PLOS ONE

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Metagenomics uncovers gaps in amplicon-based detection of microbial diversity – Emiley A. Eloe-Fadrosh – Nature Microbiology

Development of an Analysis Pipeline Characterizing Multiple Hypervariable Regions of 16S rRNA Using Mock Samples – Jennifer J. Barb – PLOS ONE

Optimization of alignment-based methods for taxonomic binning of metagenomics reads – Magali Jaillard – Bioinformatics

Sequence element enrichment analysis to determine the genetic basis of bacterial phenotypes – John A Lees – BioRxiv

Proteomics

Review: Recent development of mass spectrometry and proteomics applications in identification and typing of bacteria – Keding Cheng – Proteomics – Clinical Applications

Microbes in the news

Study shows maternal diet alters the breast milk microbiome and microbial gene content – EurekAlert

Deodorant And Antiperspirant Alter The Skin Microbiome, But Researchers Can’t Be Sure Of Long-Term Effects – Stephanie Castillo – Medical Daily

Beard bacteria could lead to new antibiotics – Matthew Stock – Reuters

Science, publishing, and career

“Those who can, publish. Those who can’t, blog.” Jingmai O’Connor – Current Biology

Chill out about Jingmai O’Connor’s criticism of bloggers – Jeremy Fox – Dynamic Ecology

Paul Knoepfler: Stem cell scientist finds his ‘niche’ in blogging – Karen Weintraub – STAT News

How to (not) write a microbiome grant, part I

How to (not) write a microbiome grant, part II. A deeper dive on preliminary data – David Baltrus – My Chrobial Romance

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January 29, 2016

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Prescription drugs and microbiome analyses, antimicrobial targets in sarcoidosis granulomas, host-microbiota interactions in antibiotic-associated diseases, and iridescence in self-organizing biofilms.

General microbiome

Perspective: Prescription drugs obscure microbiome analyses – Suzanne Devkota – Science

Review: The role of microbiota in cancer therapy – Ernesto Perez-Chanona – Current Opinion in Immunology

Human respiratory microbiome

COPD and the microbiome – Manoj J. Mammen – Respirology

Molecular Analysis of Sarcoidosis Granulomas Reveals Antimicrobial Targets – Joseph E Rotsinger – American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology

Human skin microbiome

Review: The microbiome and atopic eczema: More than skin deep – Charlotte L Thomas – Australasian Journal of Dermatology

Human gut microbiome

Gut microbiota and allergic disease in children – Sarah L. Bridgman – Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Effects of enteral polymeric diet on gut microbiota in children with Crohn’s disease – Chloé Guinet-Charpentier – Gut

Review: Effect of antibiotics on gut microbiota, glucose metabolism and bodyweight regulation – a review of the literature – Kristian Hallundbæk Mikkelsen – Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism

Animal models

Effects of dispersal limitation in the face of intense selection via dietary intervention on the faecal microbiota of rats – Heli J. Barron Pastor – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Fecal dysbiosis in miniature dachshunds with inflammatory colorectal polyps –
Hirotaka Igarashi – Research in Veterinary Science

Dietary antigens limit mucosal immunity by inducing regulatory T cells in the small intestine – Kwang Soon Kim – Science

Translocation of microbes and changes of immunocytes in the gut of rapid- and slow-progressor Chinese rhesus macaques infected with SIVmac239 – Lin-Tao Zhang – Immunology

From the Sonnenburg lab: Host-Microbiota Interactions in the Pathogenesis of Antibiotic-Associated Diseases – Joshua S. Lichtman – Cell Reports

Effect of Antimicrobial Consumption and Production Type on Antibacterial Resistance in the Bovine Respiratory and Digestive Tract – Boudewijn Catry – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

Symbiotic Bacteria in Gills and Guts of Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) Differ from the Free-Living Bacteria in Water – Meiling Zhang – PLOS ONE

Earthworm: Isolation, identification, and characterization of gut microflora of Perionyx excavatus collected from Midnapore, West Bengal – Tanushree Tulsian Samanta – Journal of Basic Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Genomic reconstruction of a novel, deeply branched sediment archaeal phylum with pathways for acetogenesis and sulfur reduction – Kiley W Seitz – The ISME Journal

Not a good paper (poor figures and language problems – see my comments on PubPeer), about carnivorous plant: Microbiome and Biocatalytic Bacteria in Monkey Cup (Nepenthes Pitcher) Digestive Fluid – Xin-Yue Chan – Scientific Reports

Microbial diversity drives multifunctionality in terrestrial ecosystems – Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo – Nature Communications

Various fungal communities colonise the functional wood tissues of old grapevines externally free from grapevine trunk disease symptoms – E. Bruez – Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi regulate soil respiration and its response to precipitation change in a semiarid steppe – Bingwei Zhang – Scientific Reports

Sewage sludge addition modifies soil microbial communities and plant performance depending on the sludge stabilization process – Eva Lloret – Applied Soil Ecology

Review: Engineering the Rhizosphere – Yves Dessaux – Trends in Plant Science

Water and extremophile microbiome

Bacterial diversity in the surface sediments of the hypoxic zone near the Changjiang Estuary and in the East China Sea – Qi Ye – Microbiology Open

Ecological succession reveals potential signatures of marine–terrestrial transition in salt marsh fungal communities – Francisco Dini-Andreote – The ISME Journal

Profiling microbial community in a watershed heavily contaminated by an active antimony (Sb) mine in Southwest China – Weimin Sun – Science of The Total Environment

More microbiology

A unique self-organization of bacterial sub-communities creates iridescence in Cellulophaga lytica colony biofilms – Betty Kientz – Scientific Reports

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Ten Simple Rules for a Bioinformatics Journal Club – Andrew Lonsdale – PLOS Computational Biology

NINJA-OPS: Fast Accurate Marker Gene Alignment Using Concatenated Ribosomes – Gabriel A. Al-Ghalith – PLOS Computational Biology

Microbes in the news

Stop pooping! You’re killing sentient beings! – PZ Myers – Pharyngula

ASM’s Commitment to Interdisciplinary Microbiome Research – American Society for Microbiology

Fermentation Farm wants you to eat better bacteria – Kathleen Luppi – LA Times

This bacteria can live for years in distilled water, and causes abscess, seizures and death: Melioidosis / Burkholderia pseudomallei – Jacinta Bowler – Science Alert

Science, publishing, and career

How to read a scientific paper – Adam Ruben – Science

High rejection rates by journals ‘pointless’– Analysis suggests higher selectivity fails to increase journals’ impact factors – David Matthews – Times Higher Education

How to stop the sexual harassment of women in science: reboot the system – Zuleyka Zevallow – The Conversation

Bik’s Picks

Arthropods of the great indoors: characterizing diversity inside urban and suburban homes – Matthew A Bertone

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January 27, 2016 – second edition

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A call from the White House, synergy between Mycoplasma and Gardnerella, urinary microbiome, sarcoidosis, and a hiking guide to microbes on the seafloor.

Events

The White House wants feedback from “All Microbiome-Science Champions” – give it – give it now – Jonathan Eisen – MicroBEnet
and
Calling All Microbiome-Science Champions! – Jo Handelsman and Elizabeth Stulberg – The White House

General human microbiome

Review: Exploring and Understanding the Biochemical Diversity of the Human Microbiota – Nitzan Koppel – Cell Chemical Biology

Pregnancy and birth

The impact of freeze-drying infant fecal samples on measures of their bacterial community profiles and milk-derived oligosaccharide content – Zachery T. Lewis – PeerJ

The common vaginal commensal bacterium Ureaplasma parvum is associated with chorioamnionitis in extreme preterm labour – Ciara Cox – The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine

Human vaginal microbiome

Mycoplasma hominis and Gardnerella vaginalis display a significant synergistic relationship in bacterial vaginosis – C. Cox – European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
Human oral microbiome

The yield and quality of cellular and bacterial DNA extracts from human oral rinse samples are variably affected by the cell lysis methodology – Mohsen Sohrabi – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Human skin microbiome

Note: 1 person per study group: Skin microbiota of first cousins affected by psoriasis and atopic dermatitis – Lorenzo Drago – Clinical and Molecular Allergy

Human urinary tract microbiome

Review: The human urinary microbiome and how it relates to urogynecology – Jenifer Schneeweiss – International Urogynecology Journal

Human gut microbiome

Metabolomics connects aberrant bioenergetic, transmethylation, and gut microbiota in sarcoidosis – Andreea Geamanu – Metabolomics

Review: Role of antibiotics for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease – Orna Nitzan – World Journal of Gastroenterology

Review: Gut microbiota imbalance and colorectal cancer – Johan Gagnière – World Journal of Gastroenterology

Animal models

In mice: A detrimental role of immunosuppressive drug, dexamethasone, during Clostridium difficile infection in association with a gastrointestinal microbial shift – Hyeun Bum Kim – Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Animal microbiome

Diversity of the gastric microbiota in Thoroughbred racehorses having gastric ulcer – Hee-Jin Dong – Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Long term repeated fire disturbance alters soil bacterial diversity but not the abundance in an Australian wet sclerophyll forest – Ju-pei Shen – Scientific Reports

Bacterial Diversity and Community Structure in Two Bornean Nepenthes Species with Differences in Nitrogen Acquisition Strategies – Wiebke Sickel – Microbial Ecology

Crop rotations alter bacterial and fungal diversity in paddy soils across East Asia – Yuji Jiang – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Emergence in mapping microbial diversity in tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) soil of Assam, North-East India: A novel approach – PN Bhattacharyya – European Journal of Biotechnology and Bioscience

High-Throughput Sequencing Analysis of the Endophytic Bacterial Diversity and Dynamics in Roots of the Halophyte Salicornia europaea – Shuai Zhao – Current Microbiology

Water and waste microbiome

Use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–time of flight (MALDI–TOF) mass spectrometry for bacterial monitoring in routine analysis at a drinking water treatment plant – Laura Sala-Comorera – International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health

Extremophile microbiome

The Guaymas Basin hiking guide to hydrothermal mounds, chimneys and microbial mats: complex seafloor expressions of subsurface hydrothermal circulation – Andreas Teske – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Bayesian Nonparametric Ordination for the Analysis of Microbial Communities – Boyu Ren – ArXiv

Keemei: cloud-based validation of tabular bioinformatics file formats in Google Sheets – Jai Ram Rideout – PeerJ Preprint

Characterization of sequence-specific errors in various next-generation sequencing systems – Sunguk Shin – Molecular Biosystems

Stochastic neutral modelling of the Gut Microbiota’s relative species abundance from next generation sequencing data – Claudia Sala – BMC Bioinformatics

Protocol: “Deciphering Archaeal Communities” Omics Tools in the Study of Archaeal Communities – Lejla Pašić – Microbial Environmental Genomics (MEG)

Protocol: Reconstruction of Transformation Processes Catalyzed by the Soil Microbiome Using Metagenomic Approaches – Anne Schöler – Microbial Environmental Genomics (MEG)

Science, publishing, and career

Funding: What stops women getting more grants? – David McAllister – Nature

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January 23, 2016

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Maturation of the mucin layer, periodontitis in Sjögren’s, Caenorhabditis elegans gut microbiota assembly, the rice-osphere, archaea in moonmilk, and microbial arsenic metabolism.

General human microbiome

The Human Microbiome and Public Health: Social and Ethical Considerations – Kieran C. O’Doherty – American Journal of Public Health

Pregnancy and birth

Review: Mucin–Microbiota Interaction During Postnatal Maturation of the Intestinal Ecosystem: Clinical Implications – Sana Rokhsefat- Digestive Diseases and Sciences

Human oral microbiome

Periodontitis prevalence and serum antibody reactivity to periodontal bacteria in primary Sjögren’s syndrome: a pilot study – Bozo Lugonja – Journal of Periodontology

Temporal Stability of the Salivary Microbiota in Oral Health – Daniel Belstrøm – PLOS ONE

Review: Immune dysregulation mediated by the oral microbiome: potential link to chronic inflammation and atherosclerosis – C. Slocum – Journal of Internal Medicine

Human gut microbiome

Review: Microbiota manipulation for weight change – Tal Dror – Microbial Pathogenesis

Review: Antibiotics and the Human Gut Microbiome: Dysbioses and Accumulation of Resistances – M. P. Francino – Frontiers in Microbiology

Models of microbiome research

Modulating the Gut Microbiota Improves Glucose Tolerance, Lipoprotein Profile and Atherosclerotic Plaque Development in ApoE-Deficient Mice – Ida Rune – PLOS ONE

Dysbiosis of the fecal microbiota in the TNBS-induced Crohn’s disease mouse model – Qing He – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Animal microbiome

Note that the worms did not develop into adults without having veggies to eat: Assembly of the Caenorhabditis elegans gut microbiota from diverse soil microbial environments – Maureen Berg – The ISME Journal

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Rice-osphere? Rice Genotype Differences in Tolerance of Zinc-Deficient Soils: Evidence for the Importance of Root-Induced Changes in the Rhizosphere – Asako Mori – Frontiers in Plant Science

A perspective on inter-kingdom signaling in plant–beneficial microbe interactions – Amanda Rosier – Plant Molecular Biology

Chemotaxis signaling systems in model beneficial plant–bacteria associations – Birgit E. Scharf – Plant Molecular Biology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Deciphering associations between dissolved organic molecules and bacterial communities in a pelagic marine system – Helena Osterholz – The ISME Journal

Unique pioneer microbial communities exposed to volcanic sulfur dioxide – Reiko Fujimura – Scientific Reports

Archaeal Distribution in Moonmilk Deposits from Alpine Caves and Their Ecophysiological Potential – Christoph Reitschuler – Microbial Ecology

Chemotaxis toward phytoplankton drives organic matter partitioning among marine bacteria – Steven Smriga – PNAS

Review: The microbial genomics of arsenic – Jérémy Andres – FEMS Microbiology Reviews

Food microbiology

Kombucha tea fermentation: Microbial and biochemical dynamics – Somnath Chakravorty – International Journal of Food Microbiology

PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of microbial community in soy-daddawa, a Nigerian fermented soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) condiment – Obinna T. Ezeokoli – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Check your fridge for Thanksgiving leftovers: Direct Dynamic Kinetic Analysis and Computer Simulation of Growth of Clostridium perfringens in Cooked Turkey during Cooling – Lihan Huang – Journal of Food Science

Bioinformatics, metagenomics, and protocols

Protocol collection: Microbial Environmental Genomics (MEG)
MG-RAST, a Metagenomics Service for Analysis of Microbial Community Structure and Function – Kevin P. Keegan
Reconstruction of Transformation Processes Catalyzed by the Soil Microbiome Using Metagenomic Approaches – Anne Schöler
Hybridization of Environmental Microbial Community Nucleic Acids by GeoChip – Joy D. Van Nostrand
Targeted Gene Capture by Hybridization to Illuminate Ecosystem Functioning – Céline Ribière
Fungal Communities in Soils: Soil Organic Matter Degradation – Tomáš Větrovský
GenoSol Platform: A Logistic and Technical Platform for Conserving and Exploring Soil Microbial Diversity – Samuel Dequiedt

Microbes in the news

Exploring the human gut microbiome. Scientific interest in this diverse world of bacteria has flipped from fear to fascination – Sabin Russell – Fred Hutch

Fungi Prevalent in Urine of Women With Chronic Pelvic Pain – Pam Harrison – MedPageToday

Microscopic subway passengers with a ticket to ride: Interview with Chris Mason – Labnews

To Fight Growing Threat From Germs, Scientists Try Old-Fashioned Killer – Gautam Naik – The Wall Street Journal

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/22/health/flint-water-legionnaires-disease/Flint hospital reports finding Legionnaires’ bacteria in water – Ralph Ellis – CNN

Breast milk protein could be used in fight against antibiotic resistance – The Guardian

Listeria outbreak: Dole packaged salad linked to 12 bacteria infections and one death – John Houck – Inquisitr

Science, publishing, and career

By a 13 year old girl: Letter to BBC Wildlife Magazine on sexism in nature conservation – Mya-Rose Craig – BirdGirl

Bik’s Picks

Secular trends in family dinner frequency among adolescents – Kathryn Walton – BMC Research Notes
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January 21, 2016

Posted on by

Beards and MRSA in hospital workers, dysbiosis in Crohns Disease, non-absorbable antibiotics affect offspring in mice, bacterial sunscreens, and bacteria found in a sick-making building.

Events

2nd Annual Microbiome Symposium – January 25, 2016 – Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

Pregnancy and birth

A necrotizing enterocolitis-associated gut microbiota is already present in the meconium: results of a prospective study – Fardou H. Heida – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Human oral microbiome

Salivary pathogen and serum antibody to assess the progression of chronic periodontitis: a 24-mo prospective multicenter cohort study – T. Morozumi – Journal of Periodontal Research

Human skin microbiome

Bacterial ecology of hospital workers’ facial hair: a cross-sectional study – E. Wakeam – Journal of hospital infection

Human respiratory microbiome

Correlation of the lung microbiota with metabolic profiles in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in HIV infection – Sushma K. Cribbs – Microbiome

Human gut microbiome

Changes in Colonic Bile Acid Composition following Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Are Sufficient to Control Clostridium difficile Germination and Growth – Alexa R. Weingarden – PLOS ONE

Reduced Abundance of Butyrate-Producing Bacteria Species in the Fecal Microbial Community in Crohn’s Disease – Takahashi K – Digestion

Detecting Microbial Dysbiosis Associated with Pediatric Crohn Disease Despite the High Variability of the Gut Microbiota – Feng Wang – Cell Reports

DNA fingerprinting approaches to trace Escherichia coli sharing between dogs and owners  – Z. Naziri – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Altered intestinal microbiota as a major driving force in alcoholic steatohepatitis – Herbert Tilg – Gut

Impact of Surotomycin on the Gut Microbiota of Healthy Volunteers in a Phase 1 Clinical Trial – Diane M. Citron – Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

Microbiome animal and bioreactor models

Administration of Non-Absorbable Antibiotics to Pregnant Mice to Perturb the Maternal Gut Microbiota Is Associated with Alterations in Offspring Behavior – Shiro Tochitani – PLOS ONE

Degradation of chondroitin sulfate by the gut microbiota of Chinese individuals –
Qingsen Shang – International Journal of Biological Macromolecules

Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization disrupts the microbial community within the upper respiratory tract of aging mice – Netusha Thevaranjan – Infection and Immunity

Assessing microbial competition in a hydrogen-based membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) using multidimensional modeling – Kelly J. Martin – Biotechnology and Bioengineering

Animal microbiome

Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Associated with the Surface Mucus of Caribbean Corals Differ in Their Degree of Host Specificity and Community Turnover Over Reefs – Pedro R. Frade – PLOS ONE

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Bacteria increase arid-land soil surface temperature through the production of sunscreens – Estelle Couradeau – Nature Communications

Historical and current climate drive spatial and temporal patterns in fungal endophyte diversity – Hannah Giauque – Fungal Ecology

Location, location, location: priority effects in wood decay communities may vary between sites – Jennifer Hiscox – Environmental Microbiology

Microbial Hub Taxa Link Host and Abiotic Factors to Plant Microbiome Variation – Matthew T. Agler – PLOS Biology

Effect of altitude and season on microbial activity, abundance and community structure in Alpine forest soils – José A. Siles – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Effects of manure and mineral fertilization strategies on soil antibiotic resistance gene levels and microbial community in a paddy–upland rotation system – Hui Lin – Environmental Pollution

Bacterial community compositions in sediment polluted by perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) using Illumina high-throughput sequencing – Yajun Sun – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Large amounts of easily decomposable carbon stored in subtropical forest subsoil is associated with r-strategy-dominated soil microbes – Yuping Chen – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Water, waste, and extremophile microbiome

Effects of anthropogenic heavy metal contamination on litter decomposition in streams – A meta-analysis – Verónica Ferreira – Environmental Pollution

Investigation of the microbial community in the Odisha hot spring cluster based on the cultivation independent approach – Archana Singh – Genomics Data

Analysis of bacterial diversity in two oil blocks from two low-permeability reservoirs with high salinities – Meng Xiao – Scientific Reports

Occurrence of mycotoxins and yeasts and moulds identification in corn silages in tropical climate – B.F. Carvalho – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Food microbiology

Molecular diversity of bacteria in commercially available ‘‘Spirulina’’ food supplements – Elisabeth Vardaka – PeerJ

Ineffective hand washing and the contamination of carrots after using a field latrine – J M Monaghan – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Microbiological characterization using combined culture dependent and independent approaches of Casizolu pasta filata cheese – N.P. Mangia – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Microbial dynamics in mixed culture biofilms of bacteria surviving sanitation of conveyor belts in salmon-processing plants – S. Langsrud – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Built environment microbiology

Bacteria in a water-damaged building: associations of actinomycetes and non-tuberculous mycobacteria with respiratory health in occupants – J.-H. Park – Indoor Air

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Review: Application of multivariate statistical techniques in microbial ecology – O. Paliy – Molecular Ecology

More microbiology

Eighteenth century Yersinia pestis genomes reveal the long-term persistence of an historical plague focus – Kirsten I Bos – eLIFE

Review: Within-host evolution of bacterial pathogens – Xavier Didelot – Nature Reviews Microbiology

This is NOT novel and methods are missing essential steps: A novel method to assess the biodiversity of parasites using 18S rDNA Illumina sequencing; parasitome analysis method – Akina Hino – Parasitology International

Microbes in the news

Found: Desert Hot Spots Just For Microbes – Sarah Laskow – Atlas Obscura

Beards may be more hygienic and bacteria-resistant than shaven skin, study finds – Kate Ng – Independent
Beards may not be that gross, after all – Rachel Thompson – Mashable
Are beards good for your health? – BBC News Magazine

Bacteria or virus? New diagnostic tool could curb antibiotic overuse – Eric Boodman – STAT news

Getting to know the real you – how seriously should we take the health of our internal aliens? – LabNews UK

Probiotics come with bold health claims, but the science is shaky – Megan Scudellari – STAT news

Weekend binges just as bad for the gut as a regular junk food diet, study suggests – Dan Wheelahan – Medical Xpress

Can our gut microbiota contribute to the effect healthy foods have on us? – Gut Microbiota WorldWatch

Science, publishing, and career

Are results in top journals to be trusted? – SK – Economist

The best academic acknowledgements ever – Glen Wright – Times Higher Education
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January 19, 2016

Posted on by

Microbiota manipulation during stem cell transplants, meh-crobial diversity in digestive tract of two sheep breeds, eukaryotes within pitcher plants,  South Atlantic Ocean, and soil affected by the 2011 Japan Tsunami.

Events

ISME16, Montreal, Canada, 21 – 26 August 2016. Registration and Submissions now open. The deadline for submitting your abstract is 18 March.

ASM Career Development Grants for Postdoctoral Women – up to 4 awards of $1,500 each. Deadline for Nominations: February 1, 2016.

Fellowships by L’Oréal USA For Women In Science. Deadline Feb 5, 2016. Program awards five women postdoctoral scientists annually with grants of $60,000 each, in any specialty.

Human oral microbiome

Salivary bacterial fingerprints of established oral disease revealed by the Human Oral Microbe Identification using Next Generation Sequencing (HOMINGS) technique – Daniel Belstrøm – Journal of Oral Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Sleep quality and the treatment of intestinal microbiota imbalance in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A pilot study – Melinda L. Jackson – Sleep Science

Fecal microbiota transplantation: A ‘How-To’ guide for nurses – Sharyn Leis – Collegian Journal

Review: Microbiota Manipulation With Prebiotics and Probiotics in Patients Undergoing Stem Cell Transplantation – Tessa M. Andermann – Current Hematologic Malignancy Reports

Review: Epigenetic Regulation of Enteric Neurotransmission by Gut Bacteria – Tor C. Savidge – Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience

Bioreactor and animal models

Microbial Metabolism Shifts Towards an Adverse Profile with Supplementary Iron in the TIM-2 In vitro Model of the Human Colon – Guus A. M. Kortman – Frontiers in Microbiology

Video: A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities – Jacob R. Price – JOVE

Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L.) Gastrointestinal Microbial Community Dynamics in Relation to Digesta Properties and Diet – Kamarul Zaman Zarkasi – Microbial Ecology

Animal microbiome

Microbial diversity in the digestive tract of two different breeds of sheep – J.-L. Douglas – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Dynamics of Bacterial Community Composition in the Malaria Mosquito’s Epithelia – Majoline T. Tchioffo – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbiota Plays a Role in Oral Immune Priming in Tribolium castaneum – Momir Futo – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Dynamics of Viral Abundance and Diversity in a Sphagnum-Dominated Peatland: Temporal Fluctuations Prevail Over Habitat – Flore Ballaud – Frontiers in Microbiology

Biogeographic barriers drive co-diversification within associated eukaryotes of the Sarracenia alata pitcher plant system – Jordan D. Satler – PeerJ

Expanding our Understanding of the Seaweed Holobiont: RNA Viruses of the Red Alga Delisea pulchra – Tim Lachnit – Frontiers in Microbiology

New Methods To Unravel Rhizosphere Processes – Eva Oburger – Trends in Plant Science

Soil microbial responses to forest floor litter manipulation and nitrogen addition in a mixed-wood forest of northern China – Xiao-Lu Sun – Scientific Reports

Unraveling the Functions of the Macroalgal Microbiome – Ravindra Pal Singh – Frontiers in Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Diversity and bioprospection of fungal community present in oligotrophic soil of continental Antarctica – Valéria M. Godinho – Extremophiles

Novel Barite Chimneys at the Loki’s Castle Vent Field Shed Light on Key Factors Shaping Microbial Communities and Functions in Hydrothermal Systems – Ida H. Steen – Frontiers in Microbiology

High Diversity of Anaerobic Alkane-Degrading Microbial Communities in Marine Seep Sediments Based on (1-methylalkyl)succinate Synthase Genes – Marion H. Stagars – Frontiers in Microbiology

Nutrient limitation of microbial phototrophs on a debris-covered glacier – J.L. Darcy – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Large-scale distribution of microbial and viral populations in the South Atlantic Ocean – Daniele De Corte – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Selective Pressure of Temperature on Competition and Cross-Feeding within Denitrifying and Fermentative Microbial Communities – Anna Hanke – Frontiers in Microbiology

A Lipid-Accumulating Alga Maintains Growth in Outdoor, Alkaliphilic Raceway Pond with Mixed Microbial Communities – Tisza A. S. Bell – Frontiers in Microbiology

Genomic Reconstruction of an Uncultured Hydrothermal Vent Gammaproteobacterial Methanotroph (Family Methylothermaceae) Indicates Multiple Adaptations to Oxygen Limitation – Connor T. Skennerton – Frontiers in Microbiology

Genomic and metagenomic analysis of microbes in a soil environment affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake tsunami – Satoshi Hiraoka – BMC Genomics

Oil reservoir microbiome

Genome-Resolved Metagenomic Analysis Reveals Roles for Candidate Phyla and Other Microbial Community Members in Biogeochemical Transformations in Oil Reservoirs – Ping Hu – mBio

Food microbiology

Dynamic changes in microbiota and mycobiota during spontaneous ‘Vino Santo Trentino’ fermentation – Irene Stefanini – Microbial Biotechnology

Other microbiology and techniques

Perspective: Adapting Koch’s postulates – Allyson L. Byrd, Julia Segre – Science

Depletion of human DNA in spiked clinical specimens to improve the sensitivity of pathogen detection by next generation sequencing – Mohammad R. Hasan – Journal of Clinical Microbiology

Evaluation of a new device to simplify and standardize stool sample preparation for viral molecular testing with limited hands-on-time – Linda Feghoul – Journal of Clinical Microbiology

Review: Polymicrobial Biofilm Studies: from Basic Science to Biofilm Control – Hubertine ME Willems – Current Oral Health Reports

Review: Laser microdissection: A promising tool for exploring microorganisms and their interactions with hosts – Oleg V. Podgorny – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Book: Applications of Mass Spectrometry in Microbiology – Plamen Demirev, Todd R Sandrin – Springer

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Searching more genomic sequence with less memory for fast and accurate metagenomic profiling – Shea N Gardner – bioRxiv

An evaluation of the accuracy and speed of metagenome analysis tools – Stinus Lindgreen – Scientific Reports

Motif-based text mining of microbial metagenome redundancy profiling data for disease classification – Yin Wang – BioMed Research International

Metabolic pathways

Metabolic traits of an uncultured archaeal lineage -MSBL1- from brine pools of the Red Sea – Romano Mwirichia – Scientific Reports

Microbes in the news

Looking at the Microbiota to Improve Intestinal Transplantation Results – Jeannette Y. Wick – HCP Live

Why do I have to share my body with so many bugs? – Michael Mosley – BBC

How Bitter Taste Receptors Defend the Body against Bacteria – Robert J Lee – Scientific American

White Paper: The Future of Microbiome Research: Out of the Lab and Into the Clinic – Global Engage

How chicory may help fight plague bacteria – Jason Tetro – Popular Science

Lethal bacteria in Christmas Island feral cats sparks warning (Leptospira) – Nicolas Perpitch – ABC Australia

Microbes and art

Subvisual Subway: The Art of New York City’s Bacterial World – Emily Driscoll – Science Friday

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January 18, 2016

Posted on by

Skin fungi on astronauts before, during, and after a stay at the ISS, preventing obesity by stool transplants, and microbial landscapes of food production.

Human skin microbiome

Comprehensive analysis of the skin fungal microbiota of astronauts during a half-year stay at the International Space Station – Takashi Sugita – Medical Mycology

Human gut microbiome

Review: Can We Prevent Obesity-Related Metabolic Diseases by Dietary Modulation of the Gut Microbiota? – Lena K Brahe – Advances in Nutrition

Animal models

Gut microbiota lipopolysaccharide accelerates inflamm-aging in mice – Kyung-Ah Kim – BMC Microbiology

Microbiota Control of Malaria Transmission – Miguel P. Soares – Trends in Parasitology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Suitability of the microbial community composition and function in a semiarid mine soil for assessing phytomanagement practices based on mycorrhizal inoculation and amendment addition – J. Kohler – Journal of Environmental Management

Relevance of in vitro agar based screens to characterize the anti-fungal activities of bacterial endophyte communities – Hanan R. Shehata – BMC Microbiology

Food microbiology

A new perspective on microbial landscapes within food production – Nicholas A Bokulich – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Assessment of k-mer spectrum applicability for metagenomic dissimilarity analysis –
Veronika B. Dubinkina – BMC Bioinformatics

More microbiology

A high-precision rule-based extraction system for expanding geospatial metadata in GenBank records – Tasnia Tahsin – Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association

Microbial stress priming – a meta-analysis – Diana R. Andrade-Linares – Environmental Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Corpse-eating bacteria a forensic tool – Viviane Richter – Cosmos

Olympus Voluntarily Recalls Medical Scope Accused Of Sickening Hundreds With Antibiotic-Resistant Infections – Jaleesa Baulkman – Medical Daily. See full report at Preventable Tragedies: Superbugs and How Ineffective Monitoring of
Medical Device Safety Fails Patients

Could a Poo Transplant Cure You? – Robynne Chutkan – The Huffington Post

Companies Aim to Make Drugs from Bacteria That Live in the Gut – Mike Orcutt – MIT Technology Review

Should You Eat Poop To Lose Weight? – Bruce Y. Lee – Forbes

A Judge Dismissed A Woman’s DWI Because Her Gut Makes Its Own Booze – Cat Ferguson – BuzzFeed

A Lesson in Lyme: What the Hell is a Spirochete? – Hannah Barry – The Lyme Life

Bacteria hysteria

Note: Sponsored by the Cleaning Industry Research Institute: Study Reveals High Bacteria Levels on Footwear – CIRI Science

Hotel Hygiene Exposed – Travel Math

Science, publishing, and career

Obama’s big bet on science: It’s about far more than a cancer ‘moonshot’ – Carl Zimmer – STATnews

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January 16, 2016

Posted on by

Gut microbiota in acute malnutrition, social behavior and the chimpanzee pan-microbiome, arctic marine fungi, and learning ecological networks.

General microbiome

Immune-Microbiota Interactions: Dysbiosis as a Global Health Issue – Alan C. Logan – Current Allergy and Asthma Reports

Human oral microbiome

Long-term prospective cohort study on dental implants: clinical and microbiological parameters – Henri Tenenbaum – Clinical Oral Implants Research

Human reproductive tract microbiome

Alterations in the Genital Microbiota in Women With Spinal Cord Injury – Pires, Cristhiane V.G. – Obstetrics & Gynecology

Human gut microbiome

Gut Microbiota in Children Hospitalized with Oedematous and Non-Oedematous Severe Acute Malnutrition in Uganda – Kia Hee Schultz Kristensen – PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Editorial: Confounding Effects of Metformin on the Human Gut Microbiome in Type 2 Diabetes – Adil Mardinoglu – Cell Metabolism

Review: Impact of high fat diets, prebiotics and probiotics on gut microbiota and immune function, with relevance to elderly populations – Yue Liu – Nutrition and Aging

Review: Transkingdom control of viral infection and immunity in the mammalian intestine – Julie K. Pfeiffer – Science

Review: Micromanagement in the gut: microenvironmental factors govern colon mucosal biofilm structure and functionality – Rosemarie De Weirdt – NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes

Animal models

In rats: Alternating or continuous exposure to cafeteria diet leads to similar shifts in gut microbiota compared to chow diet – Nadeem O. Kaakoush – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

In mice: Streptomycin treatment alters the intestinal microbiome, pulmonary T cell profile and airway hyperresponsiveness in a cystic fibrosis mouse model – Mark Bazett – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

Social behavior shapes the chimpanzee pan-microbiome – Andrew H. Moeller – Science Advances

Environmental drivers of microbial community shifts in the giant barrel sponge, Xestospongia muta, over a shallow to mesophotic depth gradient – Kathleen M. Morrow – Environmental Microbiology

Feeding cessation alters host morphology and bacterial communities in the ascidian Pseudodistoma crucigaster – Susanna López-Legentil – Frontiers in Zoology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Uncultivated margins are source of soil microbial diversity in an agricultural landscape –
Luciana D’Acunto – Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

Editorial: Deep influence of soil microbes – Karl Gruber – Nature Plants

Review: Soil microbes and community coalescence – Matthias C. Rillig – Pedobiologia

Water and extremophile microbiome

Linkages between mineralogy, fluid chemistry, and microbial communities within hydrothermal chimneys from the Endeavor Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge – T. J. Lin – Geochemistry, Geophysiscs, Geosystems

Exploration of microbial diversity and community structure of Lonar Lake: the only hypersaline meteorite crater lake within basalt rock – Dhiraj Paul – Frontiers in Microbiology

Vertical segregation and phylogenetic characterization of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in the sediment of a freshwater aquaculture pond – Shimin Lu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Chytrids Dominate Arctic Marine Fungal Communities – B.T. Hassett – Environmental Microbiology

Built environment microbiome

Bacterial Monitoring in the International Space Station-“Kibo” Based on rRNA Gene Sequence – Nobuyasu Yamaguchi – Transactions of the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Safe and complete contig assembly via omnitigs – Alexandru I. Tomescu – ArXiv

More microbiology and ecology

How clonal are bacteria over time? – B. Jesse Shapiro – BioRxiv

Transcription Factors Exhibit Differential Conservation in Bacteria with Reduced Genomes – Edgardo Galán-Vásquez – PLOS ONE

Learning Ecological Networks from Next-Generation Sequencing Data – Corinne Vacher – Advances in Ecological Research

Microbes in the news

Chimps Share Microbes When Socializing – Kate Yandell – The Scientist

How Your Social Life Changes Your Microbiome – Ed Yong – The Atlantic

Social Contact Helps Beneficial Gut Bacteria Spread – Brian Handwerk – Smithsonian

Prevent severe diarrhea by controlling levels of specific gut bacteria – Bel Marra Health

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