November 6, 2015

Dog skin, kangaroo methane emissions, flea microbiome and ecology, domestication of wine yeast, and surface reflectance by roof microbes.

Events

11th International Meeting on Microbial Epidemiological Markers (IMMEM XI), March 2016, Portugal – Abstract submission deadline: November 10

General microbiome

Microbiomes in light of traits: A phylogenetic perspective – Jennifer B. H. Martiny – Science

The ecology of the microbiome: Networks, competition, and stability – Katharine Z. Coyte – Science

What makes the gut microbiome stable? – Caroline Ash – Science

Microbiome, a new dimension in cancer research – Antonio Galvao Neto – Annals of Translational Medicine

Human gut microbiome

Characterization of the salivary microbiome in patients with pancreatic cancer – Pedro J. Torres – PeerJ

Animal microbiome

What is living on your dog’s skin? Characterization of the canine cutaneous mycobiota and fungal dysbiosis in canine allergic dermatitis – C.M. Smith – FEMS Microbial Ecology

Decreasing methane yield with increasing food intake keeps daily methane emissions constant in two foregut fermenting marsupials, the western grey kangaroo and red kangaroo – Catharina Vendl – Journal of Experimental Biology

Evaluation of the bacterial microbiome of two flea species using different DNA isolation techniques provides insights into flea host ecology  – Andrea L. Lawrence – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

The functional gene composition and metabolic potential of coral-associated microbial communities – Yanying Zhang – Scientific Reports

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Can commercial soil microbial treatments remediate plant–soil feedbacks to improve restoration seedling performance? – Lora B. Perkins – Restoration Ecology

Anthropogenic impact on diazotrophic diversity in the mangrove rhizosphere revealed by nifH pyrosequencing – Hongmei Jing – Frontiers in Microbiology

Phylogenetic diversity of culturable fungi in the Heshang Cave, central China
Baiying Man – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Ongoing domestication of wine yeast: past, present and future – P.J. Chambers – Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research

Built environment microbiology

Surface reflectance degradation by microbial communities – Meng-Dawn Cheng – Journal of Building Physics

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

The single-species metagenome: subtyping Staphylococcus aureus core genome sequences from shotgun metagenomic data – Sandeep J Joseph – BioRxiv

Metagenomics: A New Way to Illustrate the Crosstalk between Infectious Diseases and Host Microbiome – Yinfeng Zhang – International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Fizzy: feature subset selection for metagenomics – Gregory Ditzler – BMC Bioinformatics

Evaluation of shotgun metagenomics sequence classification methods using in silico and in vitro simulated communities – Michael A. Peabody – BMC Bioinformatics

Microbes in the news

Our Dust, Ourselves – Emily Anthes – The New Yorker
Emily Anthes writes about Wildlife of Your Homes microbiome studies in the New Yorker – Jonathan Eisen – MicroBEnet

The Hottest New Cancer Drugs Depend on Gut Microbes – Ed Yong – The Atlantic
Gut bacteria may affect the success of cancer treatments – Sam Wong – New Scientist

This New Exhibition Is a Tour of the Human Body’s ‘Hidden Organ’ – Becky Ferreira – Motherboard

Podcast (20 min) We are a constellation of our microbiome and ourselves – Meg Tirrell and Luke Timmerman – Stat News

The strange case of the man infected with tapeworm cancer – Helen Branswell – StatNews

With a picture of human cells? 30 mind-blowing facts about the microbes that live inside of you – Julia Calderone – TechInsider
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October 30, 2015

Cave microbiome, vaginal bacteria in cute minipigs, and “disordered” home dust microbiome, and an update on the Beard Microbiome.

Human gut microbiome

Oatmeal porridge: impact on microflora-associated characteristics in healthy subjects – Jørgen Valeur – British Journal of Nutrition

Animal models

The vaginal microbiome is stable in prepubertal and sexually mature Ellegaard Göttingen Minipigs throughout an estrous cycle – Emma Lorenzen – Veterinary Research

Biofilm-associated bacterial amyloids dampen inflammation in the gut: oral treatment with curli fibres reduces the severity of hapten-induced colitis in mice – Gertrude O Oppong – NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes

Disease tolerance mediated by microbiome E. coli involves inflammasome and IGF-1 signaling – Alexandria M. Palaferri Schieber – Science

Cave microbiome

Microbial mediation of complex subterranean mineral structures – Nicola Tisato – Scientific Reports

Built environment microbiome

Home dust microbiota is disordered in homes of low-income asthmatic children – Christina E. Ciaccio – Journal of Asthma

Food microbiology

A Large Set of Newly Created Interspecific Saccharomyces Hybrids Increases Aromatic Diversity in Lager Beers – Stijn Mertens – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

T-RFLP: Bacterial community and proteome analysis of fresh-cut lettuce as affected by packaging – Mariasole Di Carli – FEMS Microbiology Letters

Viruses and phages

Virus Satellites Drive Viral Evolution and Ecology – Belén Frígols – PLOS Genetics

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Detection of low-abundance bacterial strains in metagenomic datasets by eigengenome partitioning – Brian Cleary – Nature Biotechnology

Multi-view Clustering of Microbiome Samples by Robust Similarity Network Fusion and Spectral Clustering – Y. Zhang – Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, IEEE/ACM Transactions

Bacteria in the news

The strain in metagenomics: Two computational tools extract strain-level information from reams of microbial sequence data. – Tal Nawy – Nature Methods

Bacteria found to play role in cow’s milk intolerance – SunCoast news

‘Superhero’ microbiome bacteria protect against deadly symptoms during infection – Salk Institute – EurekAlert

Can changes in the brain affect your microbiome? UB researchers are investigating – Ellen Goldbaum – University at Buffalo

BacteriaHysteria

Not news at all: I-Team: Everyday items we touch are loaded with bacteria – Ryan Walsh – WWLP

Beard microbiome

This was actually funny:  Will Forte (actor from “The Last Man on Earth”) has beard swabbed for bacteria test, fails, at Jimmy Fallon show – Yahoo Video

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October 29, 2015

Library prep technology, skin communities in urban and rural populations, rarity in aquatic microbes, and the microbiome of solar panels.

Pregnancy and birth

The commensal infant gut meta-mobilome as a potential reservoir for persistent multidrug resistance integrons – Anuradha Ravi – Scientific Reports

Associations between human milk oligosaccharides and infant body composition in the first 6 mo of life – Tanya L Alderete – The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Human skin microbiome

The Influence of Age and Gender on Skin-Associated Microbial Communities in Urban and Rural Human Populations – Shi Ying – PLOS ONE

Human respiratory microbiome

Review: A comprehensive review of the nasal microbiome in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) – Mahboobeh Mahdavinia – Clinical & Experimental Allergy

Human gut microbiome

Lactobacillus casei Shirota Supplementation Does Not Restore Gut Microbiota Composition and Gut Barrier in Metabolic Syndrome: A Randomized Pilot Study – Vanessa Stadlbauer – PLOS ONE

DGGE: The duodenal microbiota composition in children with active coeliac disease is influenced for the degree of enteropathy – F. Girón Fernández-Crehuet – Anales de Pediatría (English Edition)

Review: The microbiome and its pharmacological targets: therapeutic avenues in cardiometabolic diseases – Ana Luisa Neves – Current Opinion in Pharmacology

Review: Microbiome impact on metabolism and function of sex, thyroid,
growth and parathyroid hormones – Michał Kunc – Acta Biochimica Polonica

Review: Intestinal Microbiota: From Inflammatory Bowel Disease to Bone Marrow Transplantation – Ernst Holler – Blood

Review: Dysbiotic gut microbiome: A key element of Crohn’s disease – Styrk Furnes Øyri – Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

Infection microbiology

Serum bacterial DNA detection in patients with cholangitis after Kasai procedure – Qianfu Luo – Pediatrics International

Deceiving title (not about microbiome but infection): Breast Implant–Associated Infections: The Role of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and the Local Microbiome – Cohen, Justin B. – Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Influence of microbiome species in hard-to-heal wounds on disease severity and treatment duration – Dagmar Chudobova – The Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases

Animal and bioreactor models

The gut microbiota plays a protective role in the host defence against pneumococcal pneumonia – Tim J Schuijt – Gut

In mice: The Intestinal Microbiota Contributes to the Ability of Helminths to Modulate Allergic Inflammation – Mario M. Zaiss – Cell

Normalization of Host Intestinal Mucus Layers Requires Long-Term Microbial Colonization – Malin E.V. Johansson – Cell Host & Microbe

Microbiota-Dependent Hepatic Lipogenesis Mediated by Stearoyl CoA Desaturase 1 (SCD1) Promotes Metabolic Syndrome in TLR5-Deficient Mice – Vishal Singh – Cell Metabolism

Influences of graphene on microbial community and antibiotic resistance genes in mouse gut as determined by high-throughput sequencing – Yongchao Xie – Chemosphere

The longitudinal effect of a multi-strain probiotic on the intestinal bacterial microbiota of neonatal foals – A. Schoster – Equine Veterinary Journal

A longitudinal assessment of changes in bacterial community composition associated with the development of periodontal disease in dogs – Corrin Wallis – Veterinary Microbiology

Assessment of prebiotic potential of Akpan-yoghurt-like product and effects on the human intestinal microbiota – Beatriz Gullón – Journal of Functional Foods

Relationship between inflammation, the gut microbiota, and metabolic osteoarthritis development: studies in a rat model – K.H. Collins – Osteoarthritis and Cartilage

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Long-term reactive nitrogen loading alters soil carbon and microbial community properties in a subalpine forest ecosystem – Claudia M. Boot – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Do arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi stabilize litter-derived carbon in soil? – Erik Verbruggen – Journal of Ecology

Editorial: Does Microbial Diversity Confound General Predictions? – Marie Duhamel – Trends in Plant Science

Water microbiome

Review: Rarity in aquatic microbes: placing protists on the map – Ramiro Logares – Research in Microbiology

Waste microbiology

Functional responses and adaptation of mesophilic microbial communities to psychrophilic anaerobic digestion – Eoin Gunnigle – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

An ‘omics’ approach towards the characterisation of laboratory scale anaerobic digesters treating municipal sewage sludge – D.J. Beale – Water Research

Extremophile microbiome

Functional analysis of the archaea, bacteria, and viruses from a halite endolithic microbial community – Alexander Crits-Christoph – BioRxiv

A highly diverse, desert-like microbial biocenosis on solar panels in a Mediterranean city – Pedro Dorado-Morales – BioRxiv

Food microbiology

Microbial community dynamics in thermophilic undefined milk starter cultures – Eugenio Parente – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

ARK: Aggregation of Reads by K-Means for Estimation of Bacterial Community Composition – David Koslicki – PLOS ONE

Linear-time superbubble identification algorithm for genome assembly – Ljiljana Brankovic – Theoretical Computer Science

Bifidobacteria exhibit social behavior through carbohydrate resource sharing in the gut – Christian Milani – Scientific Reports

Power law analysis of the human microbiome – Zhanshan (Sam) Ma – Molecular Ecology

More microbiology

Bioactive natural products from novel microbial sources – Victoria L. Challinor – Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Conference report: Bacterial Networks in Cells and Communities – Victor Sourjik – Journal of Molecular Biology

Self-establishing communities enable cooperative metabolite exchange in a eukaryote – Kate Campbell – eLife

Techniques

Library preparation methodology can influence genomic and functional predictions in human microbiome research – Marcus B. Jones – PNAS

Microbes in the news

Scientists Urge National Initiative on Microbiomes – Carl Zimmer – New York Times

Fecal transplant pills: Large-scale production begins: Nonprofit stool bank launched by MIT researchers completes first dose-finding study – GlobeNewsWire
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October 28, 2015

A global microbiome initiative, diversity of bumblebee gut microbes and rhizophere, and the microbiome of Brazilian banknotes.

General microbiome

Microbiology: Create a global microbiome effort – Nicole Dubilier, Margaret McFall-Ngai& Liping Zhao – Nature

A unified initiative to harness Earth’s microbiomes – A. P. Alivisatos – Science

Human gut microbiome

Two healthy diets modulate gut microbial community improving insulin sensitivity in a human obese population – Carmen Haro – Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

Animal microbiome

Mollusk: Characterization of Bacterial Communities Associated with the Tyrian Purple Producing Gland in a Marine Gastropod – Ajit Kumar Ngangbam – PLOS ONE

Bees: Colony contact contributes to the diversity of gut bacteria in bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) – Annelies Billiet – Insect Science

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Complementarity among plant growth promoting traits in rhizospheric bacterial communities promotes plant growth – Mangal Singh – Scientific Reports

Analysis of the community compositions of rhizosphere fungi in soybeans continuous cropping fields – Li Bai – Microbiological Research

Plant Invasions Associated with Change in Root-Zone Microbial Community Structure and Diversity – Richard R. Rodrigues – PLOS ONE

Water microbiome

Large-Scale Biomonitoring of Remote and Threatened Ecosystems via High-Throughput Sequencing – Joel F. Gibson – PLOS ONE

Food microbiome

A Novel Bacteriophage Targeting Cronobacter sakazakii is a Potential Biocontrol Agent in Foods – Ju-Hoon Lee – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Money microbiome

Molecular Analysis of Bacterial Microbiota on Brazilian Currency Note Surfaces
Tairacan Augusto Pereira da Fonseca – Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health

Microbial Ecology, more microbes

Fungal communities as an experimental approach to Darwin’s naturalization hypothesis
María Camila Morales – Research in Microbiology

Inferring Infection Patterns Based on a Connectivity Map of Host Transcriptional Responses – Lu Han – Scientific Reports

Techniques

DNA Barcoding through Quaternary LDPC Codes – Elizabeth Tapia – PLOS ONE

Metagenomics

Highly divergent ancient gene families in metagenomic samples are compatible with additional divisions of life – Philippe Lopez – Biology Direct

Microbes in the news

Hey Obama, Can We Have a Unified Microbiome Initiative? Yours, the microbiologists – Ed Yong – The Atlantic

Intestinal Worms ‘Talk’ With Gut Bacteria – Talal Al-Khatib – Discovery

Intestinal Worms May Boost Our Immune System By Communicating With Gut Bacteria – Ed Cara – Medical Daily

Collecting dust from the International Space Station: an author Q+A – Sophie Marchant – BioMedCentral Blogs

Antarctic Bacteria Prove Resilient – Glacier Hub

Bacteria-Powered Shirts Vent When You Sweat – Glenn McDonald – Discovery

New Sherwin-Williams paint kills infection-causing bacteria – Nathan Bomey – USA Today

Bacteria Hysteria

Nasty Bacteria Found In Halloween Masks – MSN
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October 27, 2015

Gut biogeography, soil transplants, donkey penises, Chicago public beaches, deep-sea mussels, dust particles in the International Space Station, and red pepper influence on kimchi microbiology

Events

About the world within us: This week, Penn Vet, Penn Medicine, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia will host their second annual microbiome symposium – Sandy Bauers – Philly.com

Call for Volunteers: Gut Microbiota Samples – AGA is now recruiting volunteers to have their gut analyzed. Submit your name by Dec. 7 to be considered

General human microbiome

Human microbiomes and their roles in dysbiosis, common diseases, and novel therapeutic approaches – José E. Belizário – Frontiers in Microbiology

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

The Early Intestinal Microbiota of Healthy Korean Newborns – Eu Kyoung Lee – Iran J Pediatr

Human oral microbiome

Microbiome interaction with sugar plays an important role in relapse of childhood caries
Jing Tian – Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications

Human respiratory microbiome

The microbiome of the maxillary sinus and middle nasal meatus in chronic rhinosinusitis – O.A. Ivanchenko – Rhinology

Human skin microbiome

The Skin Microbiome in Atopic Dermatitis and Its Relationship to Emollients – Charles W. Lynde – Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery

Human gut microbiome

Quinolone resistance mutations in the faecal microbiota of Swedish travellers to India – Anna Johnning – BMC Microbiology

Regulation of lung immunity and host defense by the intestinal microbiota – Derrick R. Samuelson – Frontiers in Microbiology

Intestinal Microbiota Profiles of Healthy Pre-School and School-Age Children and Effects of Probiotic Supplementation – Wang C. – Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism

Effect of Whole-Grain Barley on the Human Fecal Microbiota and Metabolome – Maria De Angelis – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Microbiota studies in the bile duct strongly suggest a role for H. pylori in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma – Francisco Avilés-Jiménez- Clinical Microbiology and Infection

Review: A Molecular-Level Landscape of Diet-Gut Microbiome Interactions: Toward Dietary Interventions Targeting Bacterial Genes – Yueqiong Ni – mBio

Review: Gut biogeography of the bacterial microbiota – Gregory P. Donaldson – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Review: The Microbiome in Mental Health: Potential Contribution of Gut Microbiota in Disease and Pharmacotherapy Management – Stephanie A. Flowers – Pharmacotherapy: The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy

Review: Impact of Gut Microbiota on Obesity, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk – Luca Miele – Current Cardiology Reports

Editorial: Faecal transplants – Tim Spector, Rob Knight – British Medical Journal

Microbiome models

MHC variation sculpts individualized microbial communities that control susceptibility to enteric infection – Jason L. Kubinak

Diet drives quick changes in the metabolic activity and composition of human gut microbiota in a validated in vitro gut model – Marisol Aguirre – Research in Microbiology

The effect of diet and host genotype on ceca microbiota of Japanese quail fed a cholesterol enriched diet – Shasha Liu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Selective manipulation of the gut microbiota improves immune status in vertebrates – Ana Montalban-Arques – Frontiers in Immunology

Animal microbiome

With a picture of the sampling site! Bacterial and fungal microflora on the external genitalia of male donkeys (Equus asinus) – Carla L. Carleton – Animal Reproduction Science

Zoo animalsHuman Staphylococcus aureus lineages among Zoological Park residents in
Greece – E. Drougka – Open Veterinary Journal

InsectsMicrobial ecology-based methods to characterize the bacterial communities of non-model insects – Erica M. Prosdocimi – Journal of Microbiological Methods

CattleThe nasopharyngeal microbiota of feedlot cattle – Devin B. Holman – Scientific Reports

CattleThe rumen microbial metagenome associated with high methane production in cattle – R. John Wallace – BMC Genomics

GooseComparative analysis of the gastrointestinal microbial communities of bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) in different breeding patterns by high-throughput sequencing – Wen Wang – Microbiological Research

BatsBacterial diversity indicates dietary overlap among bats of different feeding habits – Sunil Banskar – Microbiological Research

Copepods: Biotransformation of petroleum hydrocarbons and microbial communities in seawater with oil dispersions and copepod feces – Ingvild Fladvad Størdal – Marine Pollution Bulletin

Mussels: Abundant toxin-related genes in the genomes of beneficial symbionts from deep-sea hydrothermal vent mussels – Lizbeth Sayavedra – eLIFE

SnailEnrichment and Identification of Cellulolytic Bacteria from the Gastrointestinal Tract of Giant African Snail, Achatina fulica – Kiran D. Pawar – Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology

CoralIntraspecific diversity among partners drives functional variation in coral symbioses – John Everett Parkinson – Scientific Reports

CoralVariations in the abundance and structural diversity of microbes forming biofilms in a thermally stressed coral reef system – Huda Mahmoud – Marine Pollution Bulletin

CoralMicrobiome shifts and the inhibition of quorum sensing by Black Band Disease cyanobacteria – Julie L Meyer – The ISME Journal

ZebrafishIdentification of Population Bottlenecks and Colonization Factors during Assembly of Bacterial Communities within the Zebrafish Intestine – W. Zac Stephens – mBio

ArthropodThe microbiome of Folsomia candida: an assessment of bacterial diversity in a Wolbachia-containing animal – V. Agamennone – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Dynamics of bacterial community structure on intertidal sandflat inhabited by the ghost shrimp Nihonotrypaea harmandi (decapoda: Axiidea: Callianassidae) in tomioka bay, amakusa, Japan – Minoru Wada – Gene

Agricultural matrix affects differently the alpha and beta structural and functional diversity of soil microbial communities in a fragmented Mediterranean holm oak forest
Dulce Flores-Rentería – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Long lasting effects of the conversion from natural forest to poplar plantation on soil microbial communities – Francesco Vitali – Microbiological Research

Significant alteration of soil bacterial communities and organic carbon decomposition by different long-term fertilization management conditions of extremely low-productivity arable soil in South China – Weibing Xun – Environmental Microbiology

Microbial responses to southward and northward Cambisol soil transplant – Mengmeng Wang – Microbiology Open

Review: Incorporating the soil environment and microbial community into plant competition theory – Po-Ju Ke – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Root Microbiome Assemblage is Modulated by Plant Host Factors – Venkatachalam Lakshmanan – Advances in Botanical Research

Water microbiome

Niche differentiation of bacterial communities at a millimeter scale in Shark Bay microbial mats – Hon Lun Wong – Scientific Reports

Survey of microbial populations within Lake Michigan nearshore waters at two Chicago public beaches – Kema Malki – Data in Brief

Cyanobacterial reuse of extracellular organic carbon in microbial mats – Rhona K Stuart – The ISME Journal

External controls on the distribution, fabrics and mineralization of modern microbial mats in a coastal hypersaline lagoon, Cayo Coco (Cuba) – Anthony Bouton – Sedimentology

Variance and potential niche separation of microbial communities in subseafloor sediments off Shimokita Peninsula, Japan – Takuro Nunoura – Environmental Microbiology

Do phages impact microbial dynamics, prokaryotic community structure and nutrient dynamics in Lake Bourget? – Antony Meunier, Stéphan Jacquet – Biology Open

Active populations of rare microbes in oceanic environments as revealed by bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and 454 tag sequencing – Koji Hamasaki – Gene

Spatiotemporal variation of bacterial and archaeal communities in a pilot-scale constructed wetland for surface water treatment – Tao He – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

[Mini review] metagenomic studies of the Red Sea – Hayedeh Behzad – Gene

Marine bacteria from the French Atlantic coast displaying high forming-biofilm abilities and different biofilm 3D architectures – Ibtissem Doghri – BMC Microbiology

Genome-wide tuning of protein expression levels to rapidly engineer microbial traits – Emily F. Freed – ACS Synthetic Biology

Built Environment microbiology

Microbiomes of the dust particles collected from the International Space Station and Spacecraft Assembly Facilities – Aleksandra Checinska – Microbiome

Microbial community dynamics in Baolige oilfield during MEOR treatment, revealed by Illumina MiSeq sequencing – Jing You – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Food microbiology

The influence of red pepper powder on the density of Weissella koreensis during kimchi fermentation – Bo Kyoung Kang – Scientific Reports

Relationships among house, rind and core microbiotas during manufacture of traditional Italian cheeses at the same dairy plant – Maria Calasso – Food Microbiology

Extremophile microbiology

Hot spring deposits: Tracing Biosignature Preservation of Geothermally Silicified Microbial Textures into the Geological Record – Kathleen A. Campbell – Astrobiology

Microbiome composition and geochemical characteristics of deep subsurface high-pressure environment, Pyhäsalmi mine Finland – Hanna Miettinen – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

mBLAST: Keeping up with the Sequencing Explosion for (Meta) Genome Analysis – Curtis Davis – Journal of Data Mining in Genomics & Proteomics

Identification and resolution of microdiversity through metagenomic sequencing of parallel consortia – William C. Nelson – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

V-GAP: Viral genome assembly pipeline – Yoji Nakamura – Gene

Impact of library preparation protocols and template quantity on the metagenomic reconstruction of a mock microbial community – Robert M. Bowers – BMC Genomics

MinION Analysis and Reference Consortium: Phase 1 data release and analysis [version 1; referees: awaiting peer review] – Camilla L.C. Ip – F1000 Research

Review: Machine learning for metagenomics: methods and tools – Hayssam Soueidan, Macha Nikolski – Arxiv

Review: Novel Computational Technologies for Next-Generation Sequencing Data Analysis and Their Applications – Chuan Yi Tang – International Journal of Genomics

Microbes in the news

Potentially Dangerous Bacteria Thrive At The International Space Station, NASA Warns
– Katrina Pascual – Tech Times
What’s In The Microbiome Of Space? – Science 2.0

Decoding the DNA of lung bacteria to keep you healthy – Leah Cuthbertson – Imperial College London

US researchers delve into make-up of gut bacteria in horses – HorseTalk

Microbial engineering finds a home at SEAS: genetic engineering on biofilms – Adam Zewe – Harvard

Cultures: a small magazine tackling big issues – Special Kids Edition – ASM

Hurricane Patricia Victims Use Chlorine To Fight Bacteria – Operation Blessing

Bacteria can communicate like brain cells. This is a bacterial world. We just live in it. – Bradley J. Fikes – San Diego Union Tribune

Jessica Richman Wants People to Track Their Microbiomes – Wall Street Journal

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October 23, 2015

Nasopharyngeal microbiota in infants with CF, antibiotic use makes kids heavier, H7N9 virus infection effects on microbiome, microbial sequence capture in soil, and the microbiology of plumbing. Happy Friday!

Human respiratory microbiome

Development of the Nasopharyngeal Microbiota in Infants with Cystic Fibrosis – Sabine M.P.J. Prevaes – American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

Familial and Microbiological Contribution to the Otitis-Prone Condition – Matthew C. Morris – International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology

Human gut microbiome

Antibiotic use and childhood body mass index trajectory – B S Schwartz – International Journal of Obesity

Influence of H7N9 virus infection and associated treatment on human gut microbiota – Nan Qin – Scientific Reports

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Captured metagenomics: large-scale targeting of genes based on ‘sequence capture’ reveals functional diversity in soils – Lokeshwaran Manoharan – DNA Research

Soil fungi for mycoremediation of arsenic pollution in agriculture soils – M. Singh – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Phylogenetic structure of soil bacterial communities predicts ecosystem functioning – Eduardo Pérez-Valera – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Food microbiology

DGGE: The Occurrence of Beer Spoilage Lactic Acid Bacteria in Craft Beer Production – Cristiana Garofalo – Journal of Food Science

Built Environment microbiology

Impact of Water Chemistry, Pipe Material and Stagnation on the Building Plumbing Microbiome – Pan Ji – PLOS ONE

Whole-building decontamination of Bacillus anthracis Sterne spores by methyl bromide fumigation – S. Serre – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Microbes in the news

The Microbial Neighbors in Your Tap Water Episode 1: Say Hello to the Building Plumbing Microbiome – Pan Ji – MicroBEnet

Star biologist pinpoints role of microbes in disease: Interview with Rob Knight -Gary Robbins – San Diego Union Tribune

Microbiome Signature Can Predict Risk of C. difficile Treatment Failure. Interview with
Dr. Sahil Khanna – Medical Research

Too Many Antibiotics May Make Children Heavier – Alice Park – Time

Nano Power Grids Discovered Between Bacteria – Controlled Environments

The secret behind kimchi’s sour taste: Kimchi doesn’t just contain bacteria, but viruses as well – Veronique Greenwood – BBC

Ancient Safety Valve Linking Pollen To Bacteria Discovered – Science2.0

Scientists say deep-sea bacteria could neutralize CO2 – Brooks Hays – UPI

Science, publishing, and career

The power of mentoring – Carol Lynn Curchoe – Science

The Odds That a Panel Would ‘Randomly’ Be All Men Are Astronomical – Lauren Bacon – The Atlantic

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October 16, 2015

Chronic wound microbiota of almost 3000 patients, two periodontitis papers, biography among Agave microbiotas, and microbial ecology of Antarctic aquatic systems.

Pregnancy and birth

Commentary: Metaproteomic analysis adds a functional glimpse into host–microbe succession in an infant’s GI – Joshua E. Elias – Proteomics

Editorial: Microbiomes – Embracing complexity – Pratik Jagtap – Proteomics

Human oral microbiome

Oral Microbiota, Periodontal Status and Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women – Scarlette Hernández-Vigueras – Journal of Periodontology

Relationship between periodontitis-associated subgingival microbiota and clinical inflammation by 16S pyrosequencing – A Camelo-Castillo – Journal of Clinical Periodontology

Plastic teeth that don’t allow bacteria to grow on them3D-Printable Antimicrobial Composite Resins – Jun Yue – Advanced Functional Materials

Human skin microbiome

Analysis of the chronic wound microbiota of 2,963 patients by 16S rDNA pyrosequencing – Randall D. Wolcott – Wound Repair and Regeneration

Human gut microbiome

A Gut Odyssey: The Impact of the Microbiota on Clostridium difficile Spore Formation and Germination – Aimee Shen – PLOS Pathogens

Review: Gut microbiota and obesity – Philippe Gérard – Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
Animal microbiome

Evaluation of feed grade sodium bisulfate impact on gastrointestinal tract microbiota ecology in broilers via a pyrosequencing platform – Si Hong Park – Poultry Science

Birds: Cecal bacterial communities in wild Japanese rock ptarmigans and captive Svalbard rock ptarmigans – Kazunari Ushida – Journal of Veterinary Medical Science

First Evidence of an Important Organic Matter Trophic Pathway between Temperate Corals and Pelagic Microbial Communities – J. A. Fonvielle – PLOS ONE

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Plant compartment and biogeography affect microbiome composition in cultivated and native Agave species – Devin Coleman-Derr – New Phytologist

Diversity of Bacterial Communities in a Profile of a Winter Wheat Field: Known and Unknown Members – Aurore Stroobants – Soil Microbiology

Molecular assessment of bacterial community dynamics and functional endpoints during sediment bioaccumulation tests – Noël J. Diepens – Environmental Science & Technology

Letter to the Editor: Plant microbiota: implications for human health – Leena von Hertzen – British Journal of Nutrition

Water microbiome

Impact of multiple anthropogenic stressors on freshwater: how do glyphosate and the invasive mussel Limnoperna fortunei affect microbial communities and water quality? – Haydée Pizarro – Ecotoxicology

Bacterial and protist community changes during a phytoplankton bloom – John K. Pearman – Limnology and Oceanography

Research Highlight: Wired communities – Denise Waldron – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Extremophile microbiome

Review: Microbial ecology of Antarctic aquatic systems – Ricardo Cavicchioli – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Built environment microbiome

Revealing the microbial community structure of clogging materials in dewatering wells differing in physico-chemical parameters in an open-cast mining area – Juanjuan Wang – Water Research

Microbes in the news

Crohn’s disease causes, symptoms, treatments and role of gut bacteria – Rebecca Bowslaugh – Bel Marra Health

Microbial Signatures Predict Post-op Recurrence in Crohn’s – David Wild – GastroEndoNews
Deep-sea corals in the Red Sea: reservoirs of hope – Sedeer El-Showk – Nature Asia

Guest Post — The Emergent Microbiome: A Revolution for the Life Sciences – Part III, Psychobiotics – Jessica Miles and Anthony D. Sabatelli – JD Supra

Researchers find an answer to invasive cheatgrass: Will this native bacteria finally thwart one of the most invasive weeds in North America? – Gloria Dickie – High Country News

Not a great title: 3D printed teeth to keep your mouth free of bacteria – Jacob Aron – New Scientist

Not for the faint of heart: Bacteria of maggots causes fatal septicemia in man – Chris Whitehouse – Outbreak News Today – Refers to this article in Emerging Infectious Diseases

Microbiology and Art

This is the Most Beautiful View of Poo You’re Ever Going to See – Jamie Condliffe – Gizmodo

Science, publishing, and career

How do we define and measure scientific literacy? – Joseph Timpona – Blogs at Plos

Your Data to Explore: An Interview with Anne Wojcicki from 23andMe – Jane Gitschier – PLOS Genetics
After sexual harassment reports, famed astronomer resigns from UC Berkeley – Rachel Feltman – Washington Post

Geoff Marcy incident indicative of larger problem – Ellen Simms – The Daily Cal

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October 15, 2015

Upcoming Reddit AMA with Jessica Richman, oral microbiome transplants, meta-analysis of the indoor environment, African gut microbiota, corals, lichens, and more.

Events

Ask Me Anything (AMA) with Jessica Richman from uBiome on Reddit. October 16 from 10-11am PT

Human oral microbiome

Towards microbiome transplant as a therapy for periodontitis: an exploratory study of periodontitis microbial signature contrasted by oral health, caries and edentulism – Alex E. Pozhitkov – BMC Oral Health

Human gut microbiome

Inflammation, Antibiotics, and Diet as Environmental Stressors of the Gut Microbiome in Pediatric Crohn’s Disease – James D. Lewis – Cell Host & Microbe

Variation in rural African gut microbiota is strongly correlated with colonization by Entamoeba and subsistence – Elise R Morton – BioRxiv

The Gut Microbiome Contributes to a Substantial Proportion of the Variation in Blood Lipids – Jingyuan Fu – Circulation Research

Animal models

Analysis of Bacterial Communities during Clostridium difficile Infection in the Mouse – Ekaterina G. Semenyuk – Infection and Immunity

Structural & Functional Consequences of Chronic Psychosocial Stress on the Microbiome & Host – Aadil Bharwani – Psychoneuroendocrinology

Animal microbiome

Pyrosequencing of the bacteria associated with Platygyra carnosus corals with skeletal growth anomalies reveals differences in bacterial community composition in apparently healthy and diseased tissues – Jenny C. Ng – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Microbiome change by symbiotic invasion in lichens – Mats Wedin – Environmental Microbiology

Species coexistence in simple microbial communities: unravelling the phenotypic landscape of co-occurring Metschnikowia species in floral nectar – María I. Pozo – Environmental Microbiology

Fungal Biodiversity in the Alpine Tarfala Valley – Claudia Coleine – Microorganisms

Effects of long-term drainage on microbial community composition vary between peatland types – Zuzana Urbanová – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Geological connectivity drives microbial community structure and connectivity in polar, terrestrial ecosystems – Belinda C. Ferrari – Environmental Microbiology

Soil organic matter quantity and quality shape microbial community compositions of subtropical broadleaved forests – Junjun Ding – Molecular Biology

Built environment microbiome

Microbiota of the indoor environment: a meta-analysis – Rachel I. Adams – Microbiome

Microbial ecology

Private benefits and metabolic conflicts shape the emergence of microbial interdependencies – Sylvie Estrela – Environmental Microbiology

Techniques

Every base matters: assessing small subunit rRNA primers for marine microbiomes with mock communities, time series and global field samples – Alma E. Parada – Environmental Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Metagenomics Digs Up Microbiome Riches: Researchers Are Consulting Metagenomic Maps and Equipping Themselves with Computational Models and Analytical Tools – GenEnNews

Differences in treatment effect on out-of-balance microbiome in Crohn’s disease – EurekAlert

Pets and Owners May Share MRSA Bacteria – Rachael Rettner – LiveScience

Cultural Riches: Researchers devise new techniques to facilitate growing bacteria collected from the environment – Anna Azvolinsky – The Scientist

This could be our best defense against the antibiotic apocalypse: Carl Zimmer on phage therapy – Lydia Ramsey – Business Insider

Bacteria Hysteria

Millions of mattresses are swarming with bacteria and mould that ‘trigger skin infections, asthma and allergies’ – Fiona Macrae – Daily Mail

Microbiology and art

These Photos Reveal How Magnificent Our World Is On The Micro Level: The award-winning images represent some of the best microphotography from around the world – Jacqueline Howard – Huffington Post

How Lining Yao adapted bacteria into living clothing and biomaterials – Matt Kamen – Wired

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October 9, 2015

Microbes and midwives, gut-brain axis, gluten immunopathology, viruses from farm to fork, and handwashing in students.

Pregnancy and birth

Conference abstract: Seeding the infant microbiome: The midwife’s role – Asha McCurley – Women and Birth

Human skin microbiome

Poor hand hygiene by college students linked to more occurrences of infectious diseases, medical visits, and absence from classes – Kayla J. Prater – American Journal of Infection Control

Human gut microbiome

Gut microbiota interacts with brain microstructure and function – José-Manuel Fernandez-Real – The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis: Yeast Species Isolated from Stool Samples of Children with Suspected or Diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorders and In Vitro Susceptibility Against Nystatin and Fluconazole – A. Serda Kantarcioglu

Animal models

Intestinal Microbiota Modulates Gluten-Induced Immunopathology in Humanized Mice – Heather J. Galipeau – American Journal of Pathology

Animal microbiome

Habitat fragmentation is associated to gut microbiota diversity of an endangered primate: implications for conservation – Claudia Barelli – Scientific Reports

Profiling the Succession of Bacterial Communities throughout the Life Stages of a Higher Termite Nasutitermes arborum (Termitidae, Nasutitermitinae) Using 16S rRNA Gene Pyrosequencing – Michel Diouf – PLOS ONE

Built Environment microbiome

Microbial control of dental unit water: Feedback on different disinfection methods experience – Julie Lizon – American Journal of Infection Control

Food microbiology

Review: Fate of Foodborne Viruses in the “Farm to Fork” Chain of Fresh Produce – Dan Li – Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety

Metagenomics

Strain recovery from metagenomes – C Titus Brown – Nature Biotechnology

Science, publishing, and career

Peer Review Resources: tips and suggestions from experienced reviewers as well as externally prepared resources for the beginning peer reviewer – Publons

Funny and informative: So you think you want to run an environmental conservation meeting? Advice on the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that accompany academic conference planning – E. C. M. Parsons – Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences

Microbes in the news

UNC-Chapel Hill researchers reveal type of vaginal bacteria that protects women from HIV – EurekAlert

When Evolution Is Infectious – How “probiotic epidemics” help wildlife—and us—survive – Moises Velasquez-Manoff – Nautilus
It takes a village of bacteria to help frogs fight deadly disease, Virginia Tech researchers say – Augusta Free Press

Dirty hospital equipment causes 11 people to become infected with bacteria that could lead to pneumonia – Daily Mail

Cat poop coffee goes biotech – Nature Biotechnology

Bad times for good bacteria: how modern life has damaged our internal ecosystems – The Conversation

Gut microorganisms cause gluten-induced pathology in mouse model of celiac disease – MedicalXpress

Bacteria Hysteria

Sponsored by Dettol: Most teddy bears are covered in food poisoning bacteria, tests reveal – Plymouth Herald
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October 7, 2015

Human oral microbiome

The Microbiome in Populations with a Low and High Prevalence of Caries – I. Johansson – Journal of Dental Research

Human gut microbiome

Use of the second-generation antipsychotic, risperidone, and secondary weight gain are associated with an altered gut microbiota in children – S. M. Bahr – Translational Psychiatry

Geriatric respondents and non-respondents to probiotic intervention can be differentiated by inherent gut microbiome composition – Suja Senan – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Intestinal microbiota and the innate immune system – a crosstalk in Crohn’s disease pathogenesis – Lea-Maxie Haag – Frontiers in Immunology

Review: The human gut virome: a multifaceted majority – Lesley A. Ogilvie – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Microbiota and host immune responses: a love-hate relationship –
Sarah Tomkovich – Immunology

Conference report: Gut microbiota and brain function: An evolving field in neuroscience – Jane A. Foster – International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology

Animal microbiome

French invasive Asian tiger mosquito populations harbor reduced bacterial microbiota and genetic diversity compared to Vietnamese autochthonous relatives – G. Minard – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Deterministic processes vary during community assembly for ecologically dissimilar taxa – Jeff R. Powell – Nature Communications

A meta-analysis approach for assessing the diversity and specificity of belowground root and microbial volatiles – Denis Schenkel – Frontiers in Plant Science

Mining the phytomicrobiome to understand how bacterial coinoculations enhance plant growth – Maskit Maymon – Frontiers in Plant Science

Water microbiome

Contribution of cyanobacterial alkane production to the ocean hydrocarbon cycle
David J. Lea-Smith – PNAS

Review: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) for assessment of microbial water quality: current progress, challenges, and future opportunities – BoonFei Tan – Frontiers in Microbiology

Extremophile microbiome

Metagenomic analysis reveals that modern microbialites and polar microbial mats have similar taxonomic and functional potential – Richard Allen White III – Frontiers in Microbiology

Built environment microbiology

Typo in title, some plagiarized text, and poor English but still including here: Metagenomic Human Repiratory Air in a Hospital Environment – Yi Yu Lai – PLOS ONE

Food microbiology

Lactic acid bacterium and yeast microbiotas of sixteen French traditional sourdoughs – Emilie Lhomme – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Waste microbiology

Assessment of Bacterial Community Assembly Patterns and Processes in Pig Manure Slurry – Priyanka Kumari – PLOS ONE

Phages and viruses

Mammalian Host-Versus-Phage immune response determines phage fate in vivo – Katarzyna Hodyra-Stefaniak – Scientific Reports

Microbial Ecology

Review: Microbiomes: unifying animal and plant systems through the lens of community ecology theory – Natalie Christian – Frontiers in Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Host-Associated Metagenomics: A Guide to Generating Infectious RNA Viromes
Sarah Temmam – PLOS ONE

Microbes in the news

“revolutionary poop platform”: Biomiic’s Platform Will Give People Microbiome Data From Crap: How Joseph Moon, Koji Yasuda and Soohong Kim are changing genomics Harvard iLab – Bostinno

Get To Know Your Poop Bacteria With This New iPhone App – Stephanie M. Lee – BuzzFeed

Could This Tough Bacteria Survive on Mars? – Irene Klot – Discovery

Bacteria in the world’s oceans produce millions of tonnes of hydrocarbons each year – Phys.org

Archaea: A headline on the front page of the New York Times for November 3, 1977, read “Scientists Discover a Way of Life That Predates Higher Organisms”. – Laura Eme, W. Ford Doolittle – Current Biology

The science of retweets – Science Daily
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