January 11, 2017

Vaginal microbial  communities associated with HIV acquisition or protection, evolution and function of the appendix, microbes and bird evolution, soil microbes followed for 17 years, and bone microbiome and cause-of-death of an 18th century child.
Jobs

Faculty Position in Microbiome Research – National University of Singapore – Science Careers

Pregnancy and early life

The Role of Early Life Nutrition in the Establishment of Gastrointestinal Microbial Composition and Function – Erin C. Davis – Gut Microbes

Human vaginal microbiome

Lactobacillus-Deficient Cervicovaginal Bacterial Communities Are Associated with Increased HIV Acquisition in Young South African Women – Christina Gosmann – Immunity

Diagnosis and microecological characteristics of aerobic vaginitis in outpatients based on preformed enzymes – Zhi-liang Wang – Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Human respiratory microbiome

Review: The microbiome in mechanically ventilated patients – Yin, Yudong – Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases

Human gut microbiome

Morphological evolution of the mammalian cecum and cecal appendix – Heather F. Smith – Comptes Rendus Palevol

Exploring the Efficacy of Pooled Stools in Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Microbiota-Associated Chronic Diseases – Abbas Kazerouni – PLOS ONE

Review: Role of Vitamin D in the Hygiene Hypothesis: The Interplay between Vitamin D, Vitamin D Receptors, Gut Microbiota, and Immune Response – Allison Clark – Frontiers in Immunology

Review: Bacterial Signaling to the Nervous System via Toxins and Metabolites – Nicole J. Yang – Journal of Molecular Biology

Animal experiments

Metabolite exchange between microbiome members produces compounds that influence Drosophila behavior – Caleb Fischer – eLIFE

Gut Microbiota Mediates Protection Against Enteropathy Induced by Indomethacin – Xue Xiao – Scientific Reports

Faecal parameters as biomarkers of the equine hindgut microbial ecosystem under dietary change – P. Grimm – Animal

Characterisation of Early-Life Fecal Microbiota in Susceptible and Healthy Pigs to Post-Weaning Diarrhoea – Samir Dou – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

Metagenomic analysis of microbial community of a parasitoid wasp Megaphragma amalphitanum – A.V. Nedoluzhko – Genomics Data

* Review: Ecoimmunology and microbial ecology: Contributions to avian behavior, physiology, and life history – Jessica K. Evans – Hormones and Behavior

Archaeology microbiome

The Cause of Death of a Child in the 18th Century Solved by Bone Microbiome Typing Using Laser Microdissection and Next Generation Sequencing – Valeria D’Argenio – International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Phyllosphere Methylobacterium bacteria contain UVA-absorbing compounds – Shigenobu Yoshida – Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology

Major Crop Species Show Differential Balance between Root Morphological and Physiological Responses to Variable Phosphorus Supply – Yang Lyu – Frontiers in Plant Science

* Links between soil microbial communities and plant traits in a species-rich grassland under long-term climate change – Emma J. Sayer – Ecology and Evolution

Water and extremophile microbiome

Two microcrustaceans affect microbial and macroinvertebrate-driven litter breakdown – Sophie Chambord – Freshwater Biology

Biofilms Confer Resistance to Simulated Extra-terrestrial Geochemical Extremes – Adam H Stevens – bioRxiv Preprint

Bioinformatics, statistics, and metagenomics

From Genomes to Phenotypes: Traitar, the Microbial Trait Analyzer – Aaron Weimann – mSystems

Structural zeros in high-dimensional data with applications to microbiome studies – Abhishek Kaul – Biostatistics

More microbiology

Mutations in Cas9 Enhance the Rate of Acquisition of Viral Spacer Sequences during the CRISPR-Cas Immune Response – Robert Heler – Molecular Cell

Press: Researchers Learn to Enhance Bacteria’s Ability to Form Genetic Memories – SciCasts

Microbes in the news
Meet Canada’s ‘poop lady’: “I got to know people up there very well over the years, said Girard, 28. – EurekAlert

A new year for our journal club! – Fiona Whelan – Human Microbiome Journal Club

Oral bacteria linked to preterm labor in Hawaiʻi – Desiree Uyeda – University of Hawai’i News

Mayo’s microbiome study targets diabetes – Brett Boese – Post Bulletin

MicrobEYEome: Liver Cancer Patients Have a Signature Microbiome – GastroEndo News

PresentationThe role of the microbiome in Porcine Reproductive & Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) – Megan Niederwerder – YouTube

Based on the title this appears to be a good candidate for the “Overselling The Microbiome Award” by Jonathan Eisen: How Sexual Attraction Is Shaped by Gut Bacteria, Infectious Diseases, and Parasites – Kathleen McAuliffe – BigThink

Latest Dengue Update: Bacteria Strain That Stops Dengue Transmission In Mosquitoes Dies In Hot Environment – Minnow Blythe – Counsel Heal

Microbes on the market

Allergan (AGN) Enters Licensing Agreement with Assembly Biosciences (ASMB) to Obtain Worldwide Rights to GI Programs – StreetInsider

Ferring Partners with Intralytix to Develop Bacteriophage Treatments for Conditions Associated with the Microbiome and Drug-Resistant Bacteria – BusinessWire

La Roche-Posay Introduces Prebiotic Skincare Line – PR NewsWire

Indigo’s Preliminary Commercial Data Demonstrate Significant Yield Gains for Growers with Plant Microbiome Product – PR NewsWire

Bik’s non-microbiology picks

The Association of Hot Red Chili Pepper Consumption and Mortality: A Large Population-Based Cohort Study – Mustafa Chopan – PLOS ONE

January 9, 2017

Events

Reminder: Microbiome meetup (SF Bay Area) – Tools & Techniques for analysis
by SF Bay Area Microbiome Meetup – January 31, 2016, Illumina, San Francisco. Free.

Human gut microbiome

Water activity does not shape the microbiota in the human colon – Doris Vandeputte – Gut

ReviewThe thyroid, the eyes and the gut: a possible connection – D. Covelli – Endocrinological Investigation

Review: Role of intestinal microbiota and metabolites on gut homeostasis and human diseases – Lan Lin – BMC Immunology

Review: Gut microbiota and colorectal cancer – R. Gao – European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases

Review: How the Gut Affects Bone Metabolism – Marie-Hélène Lafage Proust – Joint Bone Spine

The role of gut microbiota in health and disease: In vitro modeling of host-microbe interactions at the aerobe-anaerobe interphase of the human gut – Julius Z.H. von Martels – Anaerobe

Animal experiments

Replacing corn with sorghum in the diet alters intestinal microbiota without altering chicken performance – N. S. Fagundes – Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition

Quantitative analyses of the bacterial microbiota of rearing environment, tilapia and common carp cultured in earthen ponds and inhibitory activity of its lactic acid bacteria on fish spoilage and pathogenic bacteria – Pierre Marie Kaktcham – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Distinct bacterial communities across a gradient of vegetation from a preserved Brazilian Cerrado – Ademir Sergio Ferreira de Araujo – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Soil microbial communities are shaped by vegetation type and park age in cities under cold climate – Nan Hui – Environmental Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

The effect of coagulants and antiscalants discharged with seawater desalination brines on coastal microbial communities: A laboratory and in situ study from the southeastern Mediterranean – Natalia Belkin – Water Research

DNA metabarcoding reveals that 200 μm size-fractionated filtering is unable to discriminate between planktonic microbial and large eukaryotes – Lemian Liu – Molecular Ecology Resources

Water metagenomic analysis reveals low bacterial diversity and the presence of antimicrobial residues and resistance genes in a river containing wastewater from backyard aquacultures in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam – Tatsuya Nakayama –

Waste and pollution research

Microbial community redundancy in anaerobic digestion drives process recovery after salinity exposure – Jo De Vrieze – Water Research

Proteomics

The rumen microbial metaproteome as revealed by SDS-PAGE – Timothy J. Snelling – BMC Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Deadly, Invisible Bacteria Melioidosis Spreads In Top End Monsoon – Cayla Dengate – The Huffington Post

I’m Fasting For Science: Will It Help Tame My Multiple Sclerosis? – Brandie Jefferson – NPR

December 20, 2016

Events

Registration open: Environmental Microbial Biofilms and Human Microbiomes: Drivers of Future Sustainability – Singapore, 12-15 February 2017

Pregnancy and early life

Sensitive Quantitative Analysis of the Meconium Bacterial Microbiota in Healthy Term Infants Born Vaginally or by Cesarean Section – Ravinder Nagpal – Frontiers in Microbiology

Remodeling of the gut microbiota and structural shifts in Preeclampsia patients in South China – J. Liu – European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases

Human respiratory microbiome

Same-day diagnostic and surveillance data for tuberculosis via whole genome sequencing of direct respiratory samples – Antonina A Votintseva – bioRxiv

Human oral microbiome

Effect of 12-month weekly professional oral hygiene care on the composition of the oral flora in dentate, dependent elderly residents: A prospective study
Maude Wikström – Gerodontology

Human gut microbiome

Roles of the gut in the metabolic syndrome: an overview – L. Fändriks – Journal of Internal Medicine

Review: Microbiome and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases – Jan Wehkamp – Journal of Molecular Medicine

Animal experiments

Resetting microbiota by Lactobacillus reuteri inhibits T reg deficiency–induced autoimmunity via adenosine A2A receptors – Baokun He – Journal of Experimental Medicine

Press: Replacing missing gut bacteria could help treat children with rare autoimmune disease – News Medical

Characterization of meningeal type 2 innate lymphocytes and their response to CNS injury – Sachin P. Gadani – Journal of Experimental Medicine

Press: Team discovers powerful defenders of the brain—with big implications for disease – Medical Xpress

Examination of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis mixed genotype infections in dairy animals using a whole genome sequencing approach – Fraser W. Davidson – PeerJ

Insights into Broilers’ Gut Microbiota Fed with Phosphorus, Calcium, and Phytase Supplemented Diets – Daniel Borda-Molina – Frontiers in Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Fecal microbiota of three bactrian camels (Camelus ferus and Camelus bactrianus) in China by high throughput sequencing of the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene – Lei Yuan – Journal of Arid Land

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Metagenomic assembly unravel microbial response to redox fluctuation in acid sulfate soil – Jian-Qiang Su – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Effect of New Auxin Herbicide Formulations on Control of Herbicide Resistant Weeds and on Microbial Activities in the Rhizosphere – Vijay K. Nandula – American Journal of Plant Sciences

Screening of rhizobacteria from rhizosphere of healthy chili to control bacterial wilt disease and to promote growth and yield of chili – Yulmira Yanti – Biodiversitas

Mycorrhizal colonization of chenopods and its influencing factors in different saline habitats, China – Yinan Zhao – Journal of Arid Land

Water and extremophile microbiome

Degradation of a fluoroquinolone antibiotic in an urbanized stretch of the River Tiber – Anna Barra Caracciolo – Microchemical Journal

Spatial distribution of planktonic bacterial and archaeal communities in the upper section of the tidal reach in Yangtze River – Limin Fan – Scientific Reports

Biological Potential of Chitinolytic Marine Bacteria – Sara Skøtt Paulsen – Marine Drugs
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/14/12/230/htm

Microbial Diversity of Extreme Regions: An Unseen Heritage and Wealth – Saxena AK –
Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources

Stable and Variable Parts of Microbial Community in Siberian Deep Subsurface Thermal Aquifer System Revealed in a Long-Term Monitoring Study – Yulia A. Frank – Frontiers in Microbiology

A theoretical basis for a nanomolar critical oxygen concentration – E. J. Zakem – Limnology & Oceanography

Bacteria can survive in oxygen-free marine environments – Sumaya Aamir – i4u.com
Simons Foundation Supports Study That Finds Bacteria Can Survive In Oxygen-Free Marine Environments – Philanthropy New York
DNA markers distinguish between harmless, deadly bacteria – Jennifer Chu – Phys.org

Waste and pollution microbiology

Bacterial community structure within an activated sludge reactor added with phenolic compounds – Selene Gómez-Acata – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Microbial ecology

Editorial: Development of microbial ecological theory: stability, plasticity and evolution of microbial ecosystems – Shin Haruta – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Borborygmus: The Rumble in your Tummy. Video about the microbiome for kids. Eat your veggies, kids. Do it for Borborygmus.

6 Things We Learned About Gut Health And The Microbiome In 2016 – Cayla Dengate – Huffington Post

Research highlight: Rhythm and bacteria – Ashley York – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Baylor investigates antibiotic use, children’s improved autism symptoms – Healio

 

Microbes on the market

How bacteria from your stomach can fight disease. Start-up secures £8m to develop novel therapies – Matt Gooding – Cambridge News

Spin-out seeks to be world leader leveraging microbiome biology’s potential – The PharmaLetter

Sanger Spins Out Microbiotica to Develop Bacteriotherapies – GenEngNews

Science, publishing, and career

Evidence of the Superiority of Female Doctors. New research estimates that if all physicians were female, 32,000 fewer Americans would die every year – James Hamblin – The Atlantic

December 18, 2016

Virome of the human respiratory tract, vendor effects on mouse gut, soils under beech and spruce, variations in Scottish soils, portable pathogen detection.

Events

Poster submission started: 3rd Annual Translational Microbiome Conference – April 11-13, 2017, Boston, USA

Pregnancy and early life

Microbiota network and mathematic microbe mutualism in colostrum and mature milk collected in two different geographic areas: Italy versus Burundi – Lorenzo Drago – The ISME Journal

Review: Pathogenesis of NEC: Impact of an altered intestinal microbiome – Josef Neu – Seminars in Perinatology

Human oral microbiome

Changes in the oral ecosystem induced by the use of 8% arginine toothpaste – British Dental Journal

Human respiratory microbiome

* ReviewThe Virome of the Human Respiratory Tract – Kristine M. Wylie – Clinics in Chest Medicine

Human vaginal microbiome

Comparison of Culture-dependent and Culture-Independent Molecular Methods for Characterisation of Vaginal Microflora – Shirali Pandya – Journal of Medical Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Distinct microbiome-neuroimmune signatures correlate with functional abdominal pain in children with autism spectrum disorder – Ruth Ann Luna – CMGH Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Alterations of the gut microbiome in Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Zhixing He – Gut Pathogens

Altered Gut Microbiota in Patients With Chronic Pancreatitis is Associated With Gut Barrier Dysfunction and Metabolic Abnormalities – Rupjyoti Talukdar

Dietary Changes Impact the Gut Microbe Composition in Overweight and Obese Men with Prostate Cancer Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy – Andrew D. Frugé – Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

The human intestinal microbiota of constipated-predominant irritable bowel syndrome patients exhibits anti-inflammatory properties – Alain P. Gobert – Scientific Reports

The Interactions Between Gut Microbiota and Lynch Syndrome – Xiao-juan Lu – Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Review: Enterosalivary nitrate metabolism and the microbiome: intersection of microbial metabolism, nitric oxide and diet in cardiac and pulmonary vascular health – Carl D Koch – Free Radical Biology and Medicine

Review: Community metabolic modeling approaches to understanding the gut microbiome: bridging biochemistry and ecology – Helena Mendes-Soares – Free Radical Biology and Medicine

Review: Microbiota Small RNAs in Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Anca T. Filip – Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases

Review: Intestinal Microbiome, Akkermansia muciniphila, and Medicinal Nutrition Therapy – Jeffrey Bland – integrative Medicine

Review: Using the Human Gastrointestinal Microbiome to Personalize Nutrition Advice: Are Registered Dietitian Nutritionists Ready for the Opportunities and Challenges? – Ruth Harvie – Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Review: Bacterial Biofilms in Colorectal Cancer Initiation and Progression – Shan Li – Trends in Molecular Medicine

Animal experiments

Vendor Effects on Murine Gut Microbiota Influence Experimental Abdominal Sepsis – Tobias Hilbert – Journal of Surgical Research

The critical role of microbiota within cecal crypts on the regenerative capacity of the intestinal epithelium following surgical stress – Alexander Zaborin – American Journal of Physiology Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology

Source of supplemental dietary copper, zinc, and manganese affects fecal microbial relative abundance in lactating dairy cows – M.J. Faulkner – Journal of Dairy Science

Deciphering upper respiratory tract microbiota complexity in healthy calves and calves that develop respiratory disease using shotgun metagenomics – Natália C. Gaeta – Journal of Dairy Science

Animal microbiology

Riptortus pedestris and Burkholderia symbiont: an ideal model system for insect–microbe symbiotic associations – Kazutaka Takeshita – Research in Microbiology

Bird: Helminth burden and ecological factors associated with alterations in wild host gastrointestinal microbiota – Lindsay K Newbold – The ISME Journal

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Fine Spatial Scale Variation of Soil Microbial Communities under European Beech and Norway Spruce – Heiko Nacke – Frontiers in Microbiology

Nutrient availability shapes the microbial community structure in sugarcane bagasse compost-derived consortia – Bruno L. Mello – Scientific Reports

The biogeography of soil archaeal communities on the eastern Tibetan Plateau – Yu Shi – Scientific Reports

Depth-resolved microbial community analyses in two contrasting soil cores contaminated by antimony and arsenic – Enzong Xiao – Environmental Pollution

Comprehensive Virus Detection Using Next Generation Sequencing in Grapevine Vascular Tissues of Plants Obtained from the Wine Regions of Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic) – Aleš Eichmeier – PLOS ONE

* Scottish soil: It is elemental: Soil nutrient stoichiometry drives bacterial diversity – Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo – Environmental Microbiology

Microbial soil community analyses for forensic science: Application to a blind test – Sandrine Demanèche – Forensic Science International

Review: Mycorrhiza: The Oldest Association Between Plant and Fungi – Jagnaseni Barman – Resonance

Book Chapter: Bioprospecting Soil Metagenomes for Antibiotics – Chiara Borsetto – Bioprospecting

Water and extremophile microbiome

The Distribution Pattern of Sediment Archaea Community of the Poyang Lake, the Largest Freshwater Lake in China – Yantian Ma – Archaea

Characterization of the first cultured representative of a Bacteroidetes clade specialized on the scavenging of cyanobacteria – Wajdi Ben Hania – Environmental Microbiology

Book chapter: Bioprospecting Archaea: Focus on Extreme Halophiles – André Antunes – Bioprospecting

Food microbiology

Analysis of the bacterial biodiversity of peaches under refrigerated storage after treatment by high hydrostatic pressure – Maria José Grande Burgos – Food and Bioproducts Processing

Bioreactor, biotechnology, and pollution microbiology

Correlating methane production to microbiota in anaerobic digesters fed synthetic wastewater – K. Venkiteshwaran – Water Research

Profiling bacterial communities associated with sediment-based aquaculture bioremediation systems under contrasting redox regimes – Georgina Robinson – Scientific Reports

Trace Elements Induce Predominance among Methanogenic Activity in Anaerobic Digestion – Babett Wintsche – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Quantitative Comparison of Abundance Structures of Generalized Communities: From B-Cell Receptor Repertoires to Microbiomes – Mohammadkarim Saeedghalati – arXiv

A simple statistical test of taxonomic or functional homogeneity using replicated microbiome sequencing samples – Daniel H. Huson – Journal of Biotechnology

Inferring Aggregated Functional Traits from Metagenomic Data Using Constrained Non-negative Matrix Factorization: Application to Fiber Degradation in the Human Gut Microbiota – Sébastien Raguideau – PLOS Computational Biology

Now published: IMP: a pipeline for reproducible reference-independent integrated metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses – Shaman Narayanasamy – Genome Biology

Metabolomics

Evaluating metabolic response to light exposure in Lactobacillus species via targeted metabolic profiling – Mengyang Xu – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Review: Phytanic acid consumption and human health, risks, benefits and future trends: A review – P. Roca-Saavedra – Food Chemistry

Viruses and phages

Perspective: Viruses and the origin of microbiome selection and immunity – Steven D Quistad – The ISME Journal

Techniques

Detection of ESKAPE bacterial pathogens at the point-of-care using isothermal DNA-based assays in a portable, de-gas microfluidic diagnostic assay platform
Lars D. Renner – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Press: Portable detection system can rapidly identify virulent, multi-drug resistant pathogens in remote areas – News-Medical

Synthetic spike-in standards for high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing – Dieter M. Tourlousse – Nucleic Acids Research

Microbes in the news

Gardening Etcetera: Life down under in northern Arizona – Cindy Murray – AZ Daily Sun

CSI: Chem trail: a new way for investigators to narrow down suspect pools using chemical traces found on cellphones – Kelly Kasulis – Boston Globe

China expresses alarm as chilli ‘conspiracy’ heats up Indonesians – South China Morning Post

Adapting and adopting microbiome data into clinical practice – Silvio Pitlik & Omry Koren- BioMed Central

Bacteria that boost insulin-producing cells could yield new diabetes approaches – Arlene Weintraub – Fierce Biotech

Microbes in the market

Research focused on the human microbiome market worth 658 million USD by 2023 – Whatech

AOBiome Launches Phase 2 Clinical Trial Using Novel Bacterial Platform for Treatment of Hypertension – PR Newswire

Live Stock Coverage: What’s Ahead for Seres Therapeutics Inc After Today’s Huge Increase? – Linda Rogers- Frisco Fastball

 

December 15, 2016

Preannouncement of the second SF Bay Area Microbiome Meetup in January, enteric dysfunction in Malawian children, gastric microbiota in twins, Antarctic fish, soil of a medieval foundry.

Events

Preannouncement: 2nd SF Bay Area Microbiome Meetup – January 31, 2017 – Illumina, San Francisco – SF Biome

3rd Translational Microbiome Conference – April 11-13, 2017, Boston

Human gut microbiome

Environmental Enteric Dysfunction and the Fecal Microbiota in Malawian Children – M. Isabel Ordiz – Am J Trop Med Hyg

Characterization of Gastric Microbiota in Twins – Quanjiang Dong – Current Microbiology

Faecal Carriage of Gram-Negative Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria among Patients Hospitalized in Two Centres in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – Bayaraa Baljin – PLOS ONE

Lifestyle and geographic insights into the distinct gut microbiota in elderly women from two different geographic locations – Ji-Hee Shin – Journal of Physiological Anthropology

Ability of Lactobacillus kefiri LKF01 (DSM32079) to colonize the intestinal environment and modify the gut microbiota composition of healthy individuals – Marco Toscano – Digestive and Liver Disease

Review: The intestinal microbiota in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant and graft-versus-host disease – Anna Staffas – Blood

Review: A story of metformin-butyrate synergism to control various pathological conditions as a consequence of gut microbiome modification: Genesis of a wonder drug?
Kunal Maniar – Pharmacological Research

Animal models

Selective photoantisepsis – David M. Harris – Lasers in Surgery and Medicine

Press: Laser Treatments Shown Effective in Killing Bacteria That Cause Dental Disease – Photonics

Induction of FXR signaling in germ-free mice colonized with a human microbiota – Annika Wahlström – Journal of Lipid Research

Modulation of urinary siderophores by the diet, gut microbiota and inflammation in mice
Xia Xiao – Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry

Value added by Spirulina platensis in two different diets on growth performance, gut microbiota, and meat quality of Japanese quails – Mohamed S. Yusuf – Veterinary World

Triatomine bugs, their microbiota and Trypanosoma cruzi: asymmetric responses of bacteria to an infected blood meal – Sebastián Díaz – Parasites & Vectors

Dietary Keratan Sulfate from Shark Cartilage Modulates Gut Microbiota and Increases the Abundance of Lactobacillus spp. – Qingsen Shang – Marine Drugs

New insights into the role of the porcine intestinal yeast, Kazachstania slooffiae, in intestinal environment of weaned piglets – Vladimir Urubschurov – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Animal microbiome

The Gut Microbial Community of Antarctic Fish Detected by 16S rRNA Gene Sequence Analysis – Wei Song – BioMed Research International

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

It is elemental: Soil nutrient stoichiometry drives bacterial diversity – Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo – Environmental Microbiology

Probiotic Diversity Enhances Rhizosphere Microbiome Function and Plant Disease Suppression – Jie Hu – mBio

Composition of endophytic fungal community associated with leaves of maize cultivated in south Brazilian field – Vivian J. Szilagyi-Zecchin – Acta Microbiologica et Immunologica Hungarica

Vegetation type and layer depth influence nitrite-dependent methane-oxidizing bacteria in constructed wetland – Mengxi Yang – Archives of Micobiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Nitrate addition has minimal short-term impacts on Greenland ice sheet supraglacial prokaryotes – Karen A. Cameron – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Insights into bacterioplankton community structure from Sundarbans mangrove ecoregion using Sanger and Illumina MiSeq sequencing approaches: A comparative analysis – Anwesha Ghosh – Genomics Data

Microbial community structure and dynamics in thermophilic composting viewed through metagenomics and metatranscriptomics – Luciana Principal Antunes – Scientific Reports

Pollution microbiology

Atmospheric Deposition-Carried Zn and Cd from a Zinc Smelter and Their Effects on Soil Microflora as Revealed by 16S rDNA – Feng Shen – Scientific Reports

Paleomicrobiology to investigate copper resistance in bacteria: Isolation and description of Cupriavidus necator B9 in the soil of a medieval foundry – David C. Gillan – Environmental Microbiology

More microbiology

Stochastic Model for Direction Changes of Swimming Bacteria – Guido Fier – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

Pitt study links cystic fibrosis lung inflammation to opportunistic bacteria – Lydia Nuzum – BizJournals

December 12, 2016

Review on human milk microbiome, oral microbiome changes in seasonal athletes, gut microbiome and bipolar disorder.

Jobs

Assistant Professor In Quantitative Ecology or Evolution of Microbes – UCLA – MicroBEnet

Pregnancy and early life

Effect of probiotics in prevention of atopic dermatitis is dependent on the intrinsic microbiota at early infancy – Ekaterina Avershina – Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

* Review: Got bacteria? The astounding, yet not-so-surprising, microbiome of human milk – Michelle K McGuire – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Human respiratory microbiome

Review: Viral–bacterial co-infections in the respiratory tract – Lauren O Bakaletz – Current Opinion in Microbiology

Human oral microbiome

* I was wondering if testing same group of athletes participating in 2 different sports could not be confounded with seasonal effects of maybe different study loads during the different year. But no access to the paper, so can not see details. Elevated salivary IgA, decreased anxiety, and an altered oral microbiota are associated with active participation on an undergraduate athletic team – Ashley L. Lamb – Physiology & Behavior

Human gut microbiome

The gut microbiome composition associates with bipolar disorder and illness severity – Simon J. Evans – Journal of Psychiatric Research

Letter of the Editor: A Microbiome Assessment of Medical Marijuana – George Thompson III – Clinical Microbiology and Infection

Review: Archaea: essential inhabitants of the human digestive microbiota – Vanessa Demonfort Nkamga – Human Microbiome Journal

Animal experiments

Application of a dynamic gastrointestinal in vitro model combined with a rat model to predict the digestive fate of barley dietary fibre and evaluate potential impact on hindgut fermentation – Cristina Teixeira – Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre

Animal microbiome

Characterization and identification of microbial communities in bovine necrotic vulvovaginitis – N.Y. Shpigel – The Veterinary Journal

Crab: Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Phenotype of Portunus Trituberculatus – Ting-Lan Zeng – Chinese Journal of Analytical Chemistry

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Arsenic-enrichment enhanced root exudates and altered rhizosphere microbial communities and activities in hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata – Suvendu Das – Journal of Hazardous Materials

Food microbiology

Impact of NaCl reduction on lactic acid bacteria during fermentation of Nocellara del Belice table olives – Paola Zinno – Food Microbiology

Impact of NaCl reduction on lactic acid bacteria during fermentation of Nocellara del Belice table olives – Paola Zinno – Food Microbiology

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Bioinformatics strategies for taxonomy independent binning and visualization of sequences in shotgun metagenomics – Karel Sedlar – Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal

Microbes in the news

Predatory bacteria used to release bioplastics – Tim Sandle – Digital Journal

The Secret Soviet Virus That Helps Kill Bacteria. Antibiotic resistance is threatening to render antibiotics useless, but scientists may have found their answer in bacteria-eating viruses. – Trace Dominguez – Seeker

Bacteria found in close to two-thirds of NZ supermarket chicken – TV New Zealand

Science, publishing, and career

This would not be my headline choice: Trump says ‘nobody really knows’ if climate change is real – Juliet Eilperin – Washington Post

December 2, 2016

Role of microbiome in an animal model of Parkinson’s disease, benchmarking reveals false discoveries in microbiome studies, the microbes of Patagonia, and the new uBiome blog.

The  uBiome blog

Handshakes: Sharing the Love, Sharing the Microbes – Julie Taylor – uBiome

Jobs

Assistant Professor in Microbial Systems Biology at U. Tennessee, Knoxville – MicroBE.net

Human vaginal microbiome

Informativeness of NGS Analysis for Vaginal Fluid Identification – Saverio Giampaoli – Journal of Forensic Sciences

Animal models

Gut Microbiota Regulate Motor Deficits and Neuroinflammation in a Model of Parkinson’s Disease – Timothy R. Sampson – Cell

News: Axial Biotherapeutics Announces the Groundbreaking Discovery of a Biological Link Between the Gut Microbiome and Parkinson’s Disease Published in Cell – Businesswire
Gut check: Newest microbiome startup concentrates on autism, Parkinson’s disease – John Carroll – Endpoints News

Multiple paternity in a wild population of Armadillidium vulgare: influence of infection with Wolbachia? – V. Valette – Journal of Evolutionary Biology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Field-grown transgenic switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) with altered lignin does not affect soil chemistry, microbiology, and carbon storage potential – Jennifer M. DeBruyn – GCB Bioenergy

Vertical zonation of soil fungal community structure in a Korean pine forest on Changbai Mountain, China – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

* Book: Biology and Biotechnology of Patagonian Microorganisms – Editors: Nelda Lila Olivera, Diego Libkind, Edgardo Donati – Springer

Bioinformatics

Large-scale benchmarking reveals false discoveries and count transformation sensitivity in 16S rRNA gene amplicon data analysis methods used in microbiome studies – Jonathan Thorsen – Microbiome

Microreact: visualizing and sharing data for genomic epidemiology and phylogeography – Silvia Argimón – Microbial Genomics

More microbiology

Quest for Ancestors of Eukaryal Cells Based on Phylogenetic Analyses of Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases – Ryutaro Furukawa – Journal of Molecular Evolution

The plastid genome of some eustigmatophyte algae harbours a bacteria-derived six-gene cluster for biosynthesis of a novel secondary metabolite – Tatiana Yurchenko – Open Biology

High levels of antibiotic tolerance and persistence are induced by the commercial anti-microbial triclosan – Corey S Westfall – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

A citizen science project studying the microorganisms fauna found at the tip of our tongue – Euroscientist

Knowledge of skin microbiome provides insights into dermatological conditions – Skin microbes perform harmful and beneficial functions – Louise Gagnon – Dermatology Times

Digital Microbes Could Give More Insight into Gut Health – Nutrition Horizon

Healthy Gut, Healthy Brain? Microbes and Brain Health Under the Microscope During Mind, Mood & Microbes Conference – PR Newswire

Doctors warn about lung illness attributed to bacteria in showers and hot baths – Catherine Bosley – Cleveland19

Microbes on the market

Microbiome CNS upstart launches with $19.15M Series A – Ben Adams – Fierce Biotech

Boston startup hopes to use bacteria to treat autism – Robert Weisman

Upcoming North American Microbiome Congress in San Diego

A while ago I wrote about the (North American) Microbiome Congress, to be held in San Diego in January 2017, because of the lack of women among the speakers. Jonathan Eisen also wrote a post about that.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the conference organizer, Kisaco Research, has taken our criticism to heart, and has worked hard to improve the diversity of the invited speakers. They now have a great line-up with Jessica Metcalf, Emma Taylor, David Pride, Julia Oh, Sarkis Mazmanian, Embriette Hyde, Susan Holmes, Rob Knight, Jeff Leach, George Weinstock, Curtis Huttenhower, and Catherine Lozupone.

They also feature the following statement on the conference’s website:

“The process of choosing a speaker faculty has many complicated variables, but it is clear that our choices should have been more diverse. I sincerely apologize to those who are offended by the decisions we have made. We recognize that it is our responsibility to help ensure that the speaker faculty reflect the diversity and culture of the field and science as a whole. In this instance we failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity, for which we sincerely apologize. Kisaco Research is deeply committed to producing events that represent the diversity of the scientific fields we work with. We are embarrassed that this has been previously overlooked and are currently working to make this, and all other programmes, ones that the leading scientists are proud to be a part of.

Stephanie Jaczniakowska-McGirr
Conference Director
Kisaco Research
sjm@kisacoresearch.com”

Kudos to Kisaco Research for listening, apologizing, and taking action. That takes courage and I so, so, appreciate this.

Their new line-up looks like a wonderful set of speakers, and you might want to give this conference a second look. The North American Microbiome Congress from January 24-25 in San Diego.

Full disclosure: Kisaco Research has invited me to come to the congress, which I accepted. I might see you there!

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November 14, 2016

Infant gut microbiota, oral microbiota of farmworkers with pesticide exposure, critically ill patients, probiotics and Alzheimer’s, Sutterella is a commensal.

Events

Cheese Cultures & Microbiology Class, December 2, 2016, Petaluma – California Artisan Cheese Guild – Eventbrite

Pregnancy and early life

A comparison of intestinal microbiota in a population of low-risk infants exposed and not exposed to intrapartum antibiotics: The Baby & Microbiota of the Intestine cohort study protocol – Julia Simioni – BMC Pediatrics

Establishment and development of the intestinal microbiota of preterm infants in a Lebanese tertiary hospital – Tarek Itania – Anaerobe

Human oral microbiome

Human Oral Buccal Microbiomes Are Associated with Farmworker Status And Azinphos-methyl Agricultural Pesticide Exposure – Ian B. Stanaway – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

News: Study finds link between pesticide exposure and microbiome changes – Brooks Hays – UPI
Pesticide exposures can cause changes in oral microbiome – ASM

Molecular detection of bacteria associated to caries activity in dentinal lesions – Beatriz Gonçalves Neves – Clinical Oral Investigations

Review: Microbial Profiles and Detection Techniques in Peri-Implant Diseases: a Systematic Review – Miguel Padial-Molina – J Oral Maxillofac Res

Human skin microbiome

A Precision Microbiome Approach Using Sucrose for Selective Augmentation of Staphylococcus epidermidis Fermentation against Propionibacterium acnes – Yanhan Wang – Int J Mol Sci

A novel enzyme with antioxidant capacity produced by the ubiquitous skin colonizer Propionibacterium acnes – Maria Allhorn – Scientific Reports

Skin bacteria could protect against disease – Science Daily

Human vaginal microbiome

Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis are able to incorporate and enhance a pre-formed Gardnerella vaginalis biofilm – Joana Castro – Pathogens and Disease

Human gut microbiome

Critically ill patients demonstrate large interpersonal variation in intestinal microbiota dysregulation: a pilot study – Jacqueline M. Lankelma – Intensive Care Medicine

Mucosal Prevalence and Interactions with the Epithelium Indicate Commensalism of Sutterella spp. – Kaisa Hiippala – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Impact of Microbes on the Pathogenesis of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC) and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) – Jochen Mattner – Int J Mol Sci

Animal microbiome

Review: Microbiota-host interplay at the gut epithelial level, health and nutrition – Jean-Paul Lallès – Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Root bacterial endophytes alter plant phenotype, but not physiology – Jeremiah A. Henning – Peer J

Cultivation Versus Molecular Analysis of Banana (Musa sp.) Shoot-Tip Tissue Reveals Enormous Diversity of Normally Uncultivable Endophytic Bacteria – Pious Thomas – Microbial Ecology

Water microbiome

Unraveling the microbial community of a cold groundwater catchment system – Burga Braun – Water Research

Built environment microbiome

Size-related bacterial diversity and tetracycline resistance gene abundance in the air of concentrated poultry feeding operations – Min Gao – Environmental Pollution

Metabolomics

Review: Emerging roles of xenobiotic detoxification enzymes in metabolic diseases – Michael C. Petriello – Reviews on Environmental Health

Probiotics

Effect of probiotic supplementation on cognitive function and metabolic status in Alzheimer’s disease: a randomized, double-blind, and controlled trial – Elmira Akbari -Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

News: Probiotics improve cognition in Alzheimer’s patients – Medical Xpress

More microbiology

tRNA-mediated codon-biased translation in mycobacterial hypoxic persistence – Yok Hian Chionh – Nature Communications

Cracking the code for dormant bacteria. Newly discovered genetic code controls bacterial survival during infections – Anne Trafton – MIT News Office

Microbes in the news

Monitoring in Real Time the Formation and Removal of Biofilms From Clinically Relevant Pathogens – PR Web

From the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting: Gut bacteria may be a trigger for antiphospholipid syndrome – EurekAlert

Three University of Maryland students are sending bacteria samples into space – Rachel Kuipers – the Diamondback

University of Texas at Dallas named “Milestones in Microbiology” – Joanna Urban – ASM

Bethany professor Matthew Swearingen receives research grant – Weirton Daily Times

Scientists try bacteria to halt invasive cheatgrass overwhelming the West – Keith Ridler – LA Times

November 11, 2016

The human microbiome before birth, the HIV lung microbiome, leprosy in squirrels, and ticklish rats. That latter story has nothing to do with microbiology, but we can all use some uplifting stories.

Events

Advancing Microbiome Research Symposium: Microbiome & Disease – November 17, 2016 – Chicago, IL, USA

HIV Microbiome Workshop 2016 – November 17-18, 2016 – Bethesda, MD, USA.

2nd Annual European Microbiome Congress – November 30-Dec 1, 2016 – London, UK

Microbiome Drug Development Summit Europe – Jan 24-26 January 2017. Paris, France

North American Microbiome Congress / Human Microbiome Conference January 24-25 2017, San Diego, CA

Pregnancy and early life

The Human Microbiome before Birth – Martin J. Blaser and Maria G. Dominguez-Bello

Human respiratory microbiome

The bronchial epithelial cell bacterial microbiome and host response – Marc A. Sze – BMC Pulmonary Medicine

Biofilms in ventilator-associated pneumonia – Laia Fernández-Barat – Future Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

An evaluation of the therapeutic potential of fecal microbiota transplantation to treat infectious and metabolic diseases – Albert K Groen – EMBO Molecular Medicine

Association of colorectal carcinogenesis pathway with life style and intestinal microbiome based on the genome and epigenome abnormalities – Nihon Shokakibyo Gakkai Zasshi

Perspective: The Liver at the Nexus of Host-Microbial Interactions – Andrew J. MacPharson – Cell Host & Microbe

Animal experiments

Expression of recombinant human lysozyme in transgenic chicken promotes the growth of Bifidobacterium in the intestine and improves postnatal growth of chicken – Hai Wang – AMB Express

Chronic Early-life Stress in Rat Pups Alters Basal Corticosterone, Intestinal Permeability, and Fecal Microbiota at Weaning: Influence of Sex – Nabila Moussaoui – J Neurogastroenterol Motil.

Animal microbiome (and infection)

Red squirrels in the British Isles are infected with leprosy bacilli – Charlotte Avanzi – Science
Red squirrels in the British Isles are infected with leprosy bacteria – Phys.org
Leprosy Surprise: Medieval Scourge Is Lurking In British Squirrels – Michaeleen Doucleff – NPR

Bacterial Associations Across House Fly Life History: Evidence for Transstadial Carriage From Managed Manure – Klara Zurek – Journal of Insect Science

Built environment microbiology

Review: Constructed Wetlands Revisited: Microbial Diversity in the -omics Era. – Olga Sánchez – Microbial Ecology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Commentary: Insights into microbial ecosystems using a new computational approach – Thuy Do – Oral Diseases

Microbes in the news

Are we ready for consumer microbiome testing? – Juliet Preston – MedCityNews

Raining Cats and Dogs… and Bacteria? – Julie Taylor – uBiome

Scientists Try Bacteria to Halt Invading Cheatgrass in West – Keith Ridler – ABC News / Associated Press

Targeting pathogenic bacteria – using phage-derived proteins, proteins developed from the bacteria-invading viruses, for detection of pathogenic bacteria – Science Daily

Your flu risk may be linked to the year you were born – Jacqueline Howard – CNN

How ‘Psychobiotics’ Use Gut Bacteria To Treat Mental Illness. Targeting the gut could create a new class of psychiatric treatments – Carolyn Gregoire – The Huffington Post

Animal Science Professor Identifies Gut Microbiota Signatures of Healthy Aging – ScienceBlog

Quest to map Africa’s soil microbiome begins. Sub-Saharan project could one day help ecosystems to resist climate change and improve agriculture – Sarah Wild – Nature

Microbiome, Hidden Chemical Secrets, Being Accessed At Scripps Pier In San Diego – PR Newswrire

New Method Allows Scientists to Detect the Presence in Ham of the Parasite that Causes Toxoplasmosis – SciCasts

Bik’s non-microbiology Picks

Why are we ticklish? Scientists who tickled rats offer an intriguing answer – Karen Kaplan – LA Times
Neural correlates of ticklishness in the rat somatosensory cortex – S. Ishiyama – Science