October 26, 2016

Discount on San Diego Microbiome Congress, sleep deprivation, constipation, strange structures in blood are not bacteria, complexity in corals, grape microbiota, microbial corrosion.

Events

North American Microbiome Congress – San Diego, 24-25 January 2017. This is the conference that was criticized online by Jonathan Eisen (see here) and me about the initial lack of diversity in the speaker line-up. The organizers have taken this to heart, apologized, and will make an effort to do better in the future. After talking to the organizers, they are offering my readers a 15% discount code ‘DIGEST15’ on the conference fee. There are also reduced priced Early Bird tickets available until 31st October 2016.

Human respiratory microbiome

Re-emergence of Lower Airway Microbiota in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Patients – Saad A Syed – Annals of the American Thoracic Society

Human gut microbiome

Gut Microbiota and Glucometabolic Alterations in Response to Recurrent Partial Sleep Deprivation in Normal-weight Young Individuals – Christian Benedict – Molecular Metabolism

Press: Sleep loss tied to changes of the gut microbiota in humans – Science Daily
Sleep loss may be linked to changes in gut bacteria levels – Ryan Maass – UPI

Characterization of Microbiota in Children with Chronic Functional Constipation – Tim G. J. de Meij – PLOS ONE

Microbiome of nearly-sterile sites

Pleomorphic Structures in Human Blood Are Red Blood Cell-Derived Microparticles, Not Bacteria – Adam J. Mitchell – PLOS ONE

Animal models

Antibiotic effects on gut microbiota and metabolism are host dependent – Shiho Fujisaka – The Journal of Clinical Investigation

Diversity and resilience of the wood-feeding higher termite Mironasutitermes shangchengensis gut microbiota in response to temporal and diet variations – Ying Wang – Ecology and Evolution

Animal microbiome

Distinguishing between Microbial Habitats Unravels Ecological Complexity in Coral Microbiomes – Amy Apprill – mSystems

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Looking for Rhizobacterial Ecological Indicators in Agricultural Soils Using 16S rRNA metagenomic Amplicon Data – José R. Valverde – PLOS ONE

Biochar-stimulated plant performance is strongly linked to microbial diversity and metabolic potential in the rhizosphere – Max Kolton – New Phytologist

Wine microbiology is driven by vineyard and winery anthropogenic factors – Cédric Grangeteau – Microbial Biotechnology

Effect of 40 and 80 Years of Conifer Regrowth on Soil Microbial Activities and Community Structure in Subtropical Low Mountain Forests – Ed-Haun Chang – Forests

Water microbiome

mdRNA-Seq analysis of marine microbial communities from the northern Red Sea – Shengwei Hou – Scientific Reports

Assessing Marine Microbial Induced Corrosion at Santa Catalina Island, California – Gustavo A. Ramírez – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioreactor microbiology

Wow, this paper will cost you $63: Diversity of Microbial Communities in Biogas Reactors – Bernadett Pap – Current Biochemical Engineering

Viruses and phages

Viral Metagenomics on Blood-Feeding Arthropods as a Tool for Human Disease Surveillance – Annika Brinkmann – Int J Mol Sci

Techniques

An introduction to microbiome analysis for human biology applications – Katherine R. Amato – American Journal of Human Biology

Instrument for Real-Time Digital Nucleic Acid Amplification on Custom Microfluidic Devices – David A. Selck – PLOS ONE

Microbes in the news

Reef rehab could help threatened corals make a comeback. Solutions for threatened reefs vary by location and damage done – Amy McDermott – Science News

Bacteria get dangerously weird in space – Shayla Love – Washington Post

Cranberry extract disrupts communication between bacteria linked to pervasive infections – News Medical Net

LSU alumna Kaitlynn Fenley teaches microbiology cooking class – Allie Cobb – The Daily Reveille

NIH research project will upgrade ‘metagenomics’ system – Purdue

Science, publishing, and career

Beyond Traditional Scientific Training: The Importance of Community and Empowerment for Women in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology – M. Claire Horner-Devine – Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

October 25, 2016

Bat skin microbiome, carnivorous sponges, metagenome of an aquifer, and nitrogen fixation in symbionts of marine invertebrate animals.

Human respiratory microbiome

Microbial communities of conducting and respiratory zones of lung-transplanted patients – Marie Beaume – Frontiers in Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Deconstructing the Bat Skin Microbiome: Influences of the Host and the Environment – Christine V. Avena – Frontiers in Microbiology

The Microbiome and Occurrence of Methanotrophy in Carnivorous Sponges – Jon T. Hestetun – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Thousands of microbial genomes shed light on interconnected biogeochemical processes in an aquifer system – Karthik Anantharaman – Nature Communications

Press: New Bacteria Groups, and Stunning Diversity, Discovered Underground
Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley research also provides new clues about the roles of subsurface microbes in globally important cycles– Dan Krotz – Berkeley Lab

Plant microbiomes and sustainable agriculture. Deciphering the plant microbiome and its role in nutrient supply and plant immunity has great potential to reduce the use of fertilizers and biocides in agriculture – Philip Hunter – EMBO Reports

Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of Soil and Hypolithic Microbial Communities in Miers Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica – Sean T. S. Wei – Frontiers in Microbiology

Water microbiome

Seasonality of Coliform Bacteria Detection Rates in New Jersey Domestic Wells – Thomas B. Atherholt – Groundwater

Distinct factors shape aquatic and sedimentary microbial community structures in the lakes of western China – Jian Yang – Frontiers in Microbiology

Chemosynthetic symbionts of marine invertebrate animals are capable of nitrogen fixation – Jillian M. Petersen – Nature Microbiology

Press: ‘Farming’ bacteria to boost growth in the oceans – EurekAlert

Food microbiology

Different flour microbial communities drive to sourdoughs characterized by diverse bacterial strains and free amino acid profiles – Guiseppe Celano – Frontiers in Microbiology

Proteomics

Proteomics of Microbial Human pathogens – Nelson C. Soares – Frontiers in Microbiology

Techniques

Impact of Different Fecal Processing Methods on Assessments of Bacterial Diversity in the Human Intestine – Yu-Hsin Hsieh – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Google doodle honors van Leeuwenhoek, father of microbiology– Steven Musil – CNET

HT: Ian Brooks. Podcast: Microbes, Genes and Human Endeavour: Ed Yong seeks to expand our understanding of microscopic microbes – BBC

Call for submissions: Kavli microbiome ideas challenge – Joanna Urban – ASM

#BacteriaHysteria

Dogs Licking Humans Can Be Dangerous; Transmission of Bacteria, Viruses Possible – Nature World News

October 21, 2016

Oral bacteria in esophageal cancer samples, spring blooms of coastal phytoplankter, and a microbial anthropologist in the Jungle.

Events

Meeting: Chemistry of Microbiomes in Human Environments – 11/9/16 – Jonathan Eisen – MicroBEnet

Human oral microbiome

Human Microbiome Fusobacterium Nucleatum in Esophageal Cancer Tissue Is Associated with Prognosis – Kensuke Yamamura – Clinical Cancer Research

Press: Presence of certain oral bacterium in esophageal cancer samples associated with shorter survival – Medical Xpress

Human vaginal microbiome

Review: Role of microbial flora in female genital tract: A comprehensive review – Subramanyam Dasari – Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Key Microbiota Identification Using Functional Gene Analysis during Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) Peeling – Jiachao Zhang – PLOS ONE

Diversity indices using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to evaluate the soil state in banana crops in Colombia – Germán Mahecha-Vásquez – Applied Soil Ecology

Water microbiome

Physiological and ecological drivers of early spring blooms of a coastal phytoplankter – Kristen R. Hunter-Cevera – Science

Microbial community dynamics in semi-commercial RAS for production of Atlantic salmon post-smolts at different salinities – Ingrid Bakke – Aquacultural Engineering

Deep-sequencing of the bacterial microbiota in commercial-scale recirculating and semi-closed aquaculture systems for Atlantic salmon post-smolt production – Ida Rud – Aquacultural Engineering

Built environment microbiome

Shoe soles as a potential vector for pathogen transmission: a systematic review – T. Rashid – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Microbes in the news

A Microbial Anthropologist in the Jungle – Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello – Cell

African Soil Microbiology Project – Elizabeth Bach – Global Soil Biodiversity

Researchers Say Plant Bacteria Could Provide its Own Salvation – Interesting Engineering

I’m a Doctor. If I Drop Food on the Kitchen Floor, I Still Eat It. – Aaron E. Carroll – The New York Times
Letters to the Editor: Eat Food From the Floor? Microbiology and Mores – The New York Times

Dr Brad McKay explains the complex world of vaginal bacteria – Brad McKay – News.com.au

What’s making lifeguards sick at La Jolla Cove? – Brandon Lewis – CBS8

Spotlight on Grants: Nickel and cobalt in Streptococcus – Siti Nur Amalina – Microbe Post

ASM’s Microbes After Hours Microbes After Hours: The Necrobiome – Microbial Life After Death

Bik’s Non-Microbiology Picks

We used to sell cigarettes in hospitals. 5 practices that may soon look just as outdated – Melissa Bailey – STAT News

October 20, 2016

Events

2016-2017 Dannon Gut Microbiome, Yogurt and Probiotics Fellowship Grant Application Form
Also see: Leading Yogurt Company Challenges Students to Unearth New Data on the Gut Microbiome, Yogurt and Probiotics with $50K Grant Program. Dannon® will award two $25K grants to further scientific research – PR Newswire

Third Annual Microbiome Symposium – Penn Vet – October 26 and 27, 2016
Penn’s microbiome conference turns eye toward antibiotic use in livestock
Text by Katherine Unger Baillie – Penn Current

Q4 microbiome conferences roundup: Are you looking for a good scientific microbiome research symposium? Over the next three months, you have six exciting microbiome conferences from which to choose. – Megan M. MacBride – Taconic

Disappointing lack of diversity here: #YAMMM: 29 speakers, 4 women. Microbiome Drug Development Summit, 24-26 January 2017, Paris, France

General microbiome

An introduction to microbiome analysis for human biology applications – Katherine R. Amato – American Journal of Human Biology

Human oral microbiome

Evaluation of oral microbiota in undernourished and eutrophic children using checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization – M. Testa – Anaerobe

Human respiratory microbiome

Role of microbiome in the pathophysiology and disease course of asthma – Singanayagam A – Curr Opin Pulm Med

Human skin microbiome

Review: Topographical and physiological differences of the skin mycobiome in health and disease – Jay-Hyun Jo – Virulence

Human vaginal microbiome

A fruitful alliance: the synergy between Atopobium vaginae and Gardnerella vaginalis in bacterial vaginosis-associated biofilm – Liselotte Hardy – Sexually Transmitted Infections

Human gut microbiome

Prevalence and genetic diversity of Blastocystis in family units living in the United States – Pauline D. Scanlan – Infection, Genetics and Evolution

Similar Fecal Microbiota Signatures in Patients With Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Patients With Depression – Yixuan Liu – Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Review: Roles for Intestinal Bacteria, Viruses, and Fungi in Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and Therapeutic Approaches – R. Balfour Sartor – Gastroenterology

Review: The Microbiome and Human Disease Pathogenesis: How do you do what you do to me …? – Edward N. Janoff – Translational Research

Animal models

Evaluating the association between body weight and the intestinal microbiota of weaned piglets via 16S rRNA sequencing – Geon Goo Hana – Veterinary Microbiology

Alterations of the Host Microbiome Affect Behavioral Responses to Cocaine – Drew D. Kiraly – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

Developmental and ecological benefits of the maternally transmitted microbiota in a dung beetle – Daniel B. Schwab – The American Naturalist

Microbiome analysis shows enrichment for specific bacteria in separate anatomical regions of the deep-sea carnivorous sponge Chondrocladia grandis – Joost T.P. Verhoeven – FEMS Microbiology Ecology Letters

Metabarcoding and metabolome analyses of copepod grazing reveal feeding preference and linkage to metabolite classes in dynamic microbial plankton communities – Jessica L. Ray – Molecular Ecology

Spatial Microbial Composition Along the Gastrointestinal Tract of Captive Attwater’s Prairie Chicken – Yan Zhang – Microbial Ecology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Nestedness in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities along Soil pH Gradients in Early Primary Succession: Acid-Tolerant Fungi Are pH Generalists – Ai Kawahara – PLOS ONE

Review: Microbially Mediated Plant Salt Tolerance and Microbiome-based Solutions for Saline Agriculture – Yuan Qin – Biotechnology Advances

Water microbiome

Defining boundaries for the distribution of microbial communities beneath the sediment-buried, hydrothermally active seafloor – Katsunori Yanagawa – ISME J

More microbiology

CorrespondenceImproving Microbiology Research: the Problems Are Less Statistical and More Biological – Dennis F. Lawler – mBio

What’s in a Name? New Bacterial Species and Changes to Taxonomic Status from 2012 through 2015 – Erik Munson – Journal of Clinical Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Tasmanian devil milk fights superbugs – BBC News
Tasmanian devil milk kills several deadly superbugs that are resistant to existing drugs – Science Alert

There’s a breast microbiome, and it’s different in women with breast cancer – Erin Blakemore – Washington Post

Research Highlight: A protective protozoan in mucosal infection – Katrina Ray – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Outbreak of Biofilm-Forming Achromobacter xylosoxidans Due to Environmental Transmission – Infection Control Today

The Emergent Microbiome: A Revolution for the Life Sciences – Part VII, The Microbiome and Immunotherapy I – Dilworth IP – Lexology

New science museum exhibit explores ‘the secret world’ inside us: N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh opens a new special exhibit this weekend – WRAL.com

Vedanta Biosciences Granted First European Patent Broadly Covering Pharmaceutical Compositions for Microbiome Therapeutics Based on Bacterial Consortia – Business Wire

Science, publishing, and career

Married to the(ir) job: living with an academic. Scholars and their significant others share the good, the bad and the ugly – Times Higher Education

Investigation Finds Pathologist Guilty of Systemic Misconduct – Bob Grant – The Scientist

Women need to be seen and heard at conferences. A neuroscience initiative is boosting the number of female invited speakers at meetings. Other disciplines should do the same – Nature

The Bearded Lady Project . Q&A: Lexi Jamieson Marsh and Ellen Currano: Face to face – Alexandra Witze – Nature

October 19, 2016

Blogging from SJC today on my way to Vancouver. Oral microbes correlated with food-triggered migraines, spinal cord injuries, comparison of 8 DNA extraction kits on 3 sample types, mockrobiota.

Jobs and Events

Flying to Vancouver today to give a short talk at DNA Genotek’s Microbiome Breakfast Session at #ASHG2016

Fall Mid-Atlantic Microbiome Meetup (M3) – November 1-2, University of Maryland

Human oral microbiome

Migraines Are Correlated with Higher Levels of Nitrate-, Nitrite-, and Nitric Oxide-Reducing Oral Microbes in the American Gut Project Cohort – Antonio Gonzalez – mSystems

Press: Migraines could be caused by gut bacteria, study suggests – Hannah Devlin – The Guardian
Scientists think they’ve found why chocolates and wine cause migraines for some very unlucky people – Katherine Ellen Foley – Quartz

Human skin microbiome

The skin is a significant but overlooked anatomical reservoir for vector-borne African trypanosomes – Paul Capewell – eLife

Human respiratory microbiome
The Prevalence of Antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Carriage among Industrial Hog Operation Workers, Community Residents, and Children Living in their Households: North Carolina, USA – Sarah M. Hatcher – Environmental Health Perspectives

Press: Drug-resistant staph bacteria prevalence higher in young children living with hog workers – EurekAlert

Animal models

Gut dysbiosis impairs recovery after spinal cord injury – Kristina A. Kigerl – Journal of Experimental Medicine

Press: Researchers show how spinal cord injury causes profound changes in gut microbiota – News-Medical Net
Gut bacteria can aid recovery from spinal cord injury, study suggests – Science Daily

Techniques

Eight commercial kits, 16 procedures, 3 sample types: Impact of Sample Type and DNA Isolation Procedure on Genomic Inference of Microbiome Composition – Berith E. Knudsen – mSystems

mockrobiota: a Public Resource for Microbiome Bioinformatics Benchmarking – Nicholas A. Bokulich – mSystems

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

An integrated metagenomics pipeline for strain profiling reveals novel patterns of bacterial transmission and biogeography – Stephen Nayfach – Genome Research

Press: From Genome Research: Strain-level profiling yields new insights into mother-infant microbiomes – EurekAlert

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

Microbes in the news

Tapping the Human Gut Microbiome, Part 1: The Next Frontier for Novel Therapeutics – Christian Furlan Freguia – GenEngNews
Tapping the Human Gut Microbiome, Part 2: From the Bottom Up – Christian Furlan Freguia – GenEngNews

The microbiome: Looking at microbes as more than pathogens – Ryan T. Ranallo – Healio

Harnessing The Plant Microbiome For Cleaner, Pesticide-Free Agriculture – Ben Schiller – FastCoexist

Bacteria named in Mighty Taco outbreak; chain denies fault – Food Safety News

Clemson students get bacteria named after them. New strain of Legionella named for students who studied it – Carla Field – Wyff4

Bacteria ‘alarm clock’ may cause repeat infections in patients – Kate Wighton – Imperial.ac.uk

Microbes and Money

Igniting a Microbiome Revolution: Era7 Bioinformatics Syncs with Capital Cell – Erin Hobey – CrowdFundInsider
Igenbio Inc offers metagenome analysis services for clinical and industrial applications – Reuters

SF Bay Area Microbiome Meetup

 

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With so many great Bay Area universities and life science companies working on the human microbiome and other microbial communities, the four of us (see below) thought it would make sense to organize a “Bay Area Microbiome Meetup”. This will – hopefully! – be the start of a series of get-togethers to connect, discuss, and share about the latest microbiome research.

IndieBio, a biotech accelerator located in San Francisco has graciously offered to host the event on Monday November 7, 2016, from 6-9 pm. The theme of this evening will be “Commercializing the microbiome”

The main purpose of our first event will be to get to know each other. We will host microbiome professionals from leading Bay Area research institutions (e.g., UCSF, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and Stanford) as well as cutting edge life science and biotech organizations.

We will start the evening with a series of short pitches by representatives from several Bay Area microbiome companies and start-ups, followed by a Q&A panel. But most of the evening will be a mixer in an informal setting with food and drinks. This will be a great opportunity to strengthen the connections between microbiome scientists working in academia and biotech, and to learn, socialize, and network.

The event will be free, and drinks and light food will be provided, thanks to generous donations by Second Genome, Assembly Biosciences, One Codex, uBiome, Whole Biome, Osel Inc, and our host IndieBio. Seating is limited.

You can sign up for this event here: bay-area-microbiome-meetup.eventbrite.com

Here is a flyer to forward to other people who might be interested:  november-microbiome-meetup-v4 (PDF).

We hope this Microbiome Meetup will be a great success!

Jun Axup, IndieBio (our host)
Stephen Martis, UC Berkeley (poster design)
George Roche, UC Berkeley
Elisabeth Bik, Stanford University

 

 

October 12, 2016

Infants with bronchiolitis, vitamin D receptor GWAS study, long-term effects of stool transplants, genome reduction in insect endosymbionts, San Francisco Bay denitrifying communities, resistomes in metagenomic datasets, Picodroplet WGA for metagenomics.

Jobs and events

Scientist/Senior Scientist opening at WholeBiome

Upcoming mothur and R workshops – Pat Schloss – Mothur

Pregnancy and early life

Rapid change of fecal microbiome and disappearance of Clostridium difficile in a colonized infant after transition from breast milk to cow milk – Manli Y. Davis – Microbiome

Human general and multisite microbiome

Multi-Body-Site Microbiome and Culture Profiling of Military Trainees Suffering from Skin and Soft Tissue Infections at Fort Benning, Georgia – Jatinder Singh – mSphere

Review: The human gastrointestinal tract and oral microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease: a state of the science review – Rosario Lucas López – APMIS

Human oral microbiome

Does obesity influence the subgingival microbiota composition in periodontal health and disease? – Suellen da Silva Maciel – Journal of Clinical Periodontology

Human respiratory microbiome

Throat Swabs and Sputum Culture as Predictors of P. aeruginosa or S. aureus Lung Colonization in Adult Cystic Fibrosis Patients – Darius Seidler – PLOS ONE

Association of nasopharyngeal microbiota profiles with bronchiolitis severity in infants hospitalised for bronchiolitis – Kohei Hasegawa – European Respiratory Journal

Human urinary tract microbiome

Changes in Urinary Microbiome Populations Correlate in Kidney Transplants With Interstitial Fibrosis and Tubular Atrophy Documented in Early Surveillance Biopsies
B. D. Modena – American Journal of Transplantation

Human reproductive tract microbiome

Evidence that the endometrial microbiota has an effect on implantation success or failure – Immaculada Moreno – American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Human gut microbiome

Integrated multi-omics of the human gut microbiome in a case study of familial type 1 diabetes – Anna Heintz-Buschart – Nature Microbiology

Genome-wide association analysis identifies variation in vitamin D receptor and other host factors influencing the gut microbiota – Jun Wang – Nature Genetics

A Pair of Identical Twins Discordant for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Differ in Physiological Parameters and Gut Microbiome Composition – Ludovic Giloteaux – American Journal of Case Reports

Unique Features of Ethnic Mongolian Gut Microbiome revealed by metagenomic analysis – Wenjun Liu – Scientific Reports

Long-term effects on luminal and mucosal microbiota and commonly acquired taxa in faecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection – Jonna Jalanka – BMC Medicine

Press: Healing effect of fecal microbiota transplantation lasts for long – Science Daily

Integrity of the Human Faecal Microbiota following Long-Term Sample Storage – Elahe Kia – PLOS ONE

Review: Signals from the gut microbiota to distant organs in physiology and disease -Bjoern O Schroeder – Nature Medicine

Review: The Gut Microbiome as Therapeutic Target in Central Nervous System Diseases: Implications for Stroke – Katarzyna Winek – Neurotherapeutics

Review: The Multibiome: The Intestinal Ecosystem’s Influence on Immune Homeostasis, Health, and Disease – Heather A Filyk – EBioMedicine

Commentary: Microbiome: Should we diversify from diversity? – Katerina V.-A. Johnson – Gut Microbes

Review: I-Cubed (Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation) and the Human Microbiome – David S. Younger – Neurologic Clinics

Animal models

Microbiota of the Small Intestine Is Selectively Engulfed by Phagocytes of the Lamina Propria and Peyer’s Patches – Masatoshi Morikawa – PLOS ONE

Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Bacterial Biogeography and Gland Occupation during the Development of a Chronic Infection – Daniela Keilberg – mBio

Altered gut microbiota in female mice with persistent low body weights following removal of post-weaning chronic dietary restriction – Jun Chen – Genome Medicine

Animal microbiome

Mosquitoes host communities of bacteria that are essential for development but vary greatly between local habitats – Kerri L. Coon – Molecular Ecology

Review: Dissecting genome reduction and trait loss in insect endosymbionts – Amparo Latorre – Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Review: Beneficial microorganisms for honey bees: problems and progresses – Daniele Alberoni – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

The interplay between soil structure, roots, and microbiota as a determinant of plant–soil feedback – Joana Bergmann – Ecology and Evolution

Soil type determines the distribution of nutrient mobilizing bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of beech trees – O. Nicolitch – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Bacterial selection for biological control of plant disease: criterion determination and validation – Monalize Salete Mota – Brazilian Journal of Microbiology

Killing two birds with one stone: Natural rice rhizospheric microbes reduce arsenic uptake and blast infections in rice – Venkatachalam Laksmanan – Frontiers in Plant Science

Bioenergy cropping systems that incorporate native grasses stimulate growth of plant-associated soil microbes in the absence of nitrogen fertilization – Lawrence G. Oates – Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

Microbiome and Exudates of the Root and Rhizosphere of Brachypodium distachyon, a Model for Wheat – Akitomo Kawasaki – PLOS ONE

Review: Chatting With a Tiny Belowground Member of the Holobiome: Communication Between Plants and Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria – R. Sharifi – Advances in Botanical Research

Water and extremophile microbiome

Spatiotemporal Characterization of San Francisco Bay Denitrifying Communities: a Comparison of nirK and nirS Diversity and Abundance – Jessica A. Lee – Microbial Ecology

Molecular diversity of plankton in a tropical crater lake switching from hyposaline to subsaline conditions: Lake Oloidien, Kenya – Wei Luo – Hydrobiologia

Distinct biogeographical patterns of marine bacterial taxonomy and functional genes – John Matthew Haggerty – Global Ecology and Biogeography

Waste and pollution microbiology

The shift of microbial communities and their roles in sulfur and iron cycling in a copper ore bioleaching system – Jiaojiao Niu – Scientific Reports

Comparison of the microbial community composition of pristine rock cores and technical influenced well fluids from the Ketzin pilot site for CO2 storage – Linda Pellizzari – Environmental Earth Sciences

Food microbiology

Microbial Succession and Flavor Production in the Fermented Dairy Beverage Kefir – Aaron M. Walsh – mSystems

Spatial and compositional variation in the fungal communities of organic and conventionally grown apple fruit at the consumer point-of-purchase – Ahmed Abdelfattah – Horticulture Research

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Picodroplet partitioned whole genome amplification of low biomass samples preserves genomic diversity for metagenomic analysis – Maria Hammond – Microbiome

The structure and diversity of human, animal and environmental resistomes – Chandan Pal – Microbiome

 

TreeScaper: Visualizing and Extracting Phylogenetic Signal from Sets of Trees – Wen Huang – Molecular Biology and Evolution

 

Proteomics

Mining gut microbiome oligopeptides by functional metaproteome display – Jonas Zantow – Scientific Reports

More microbiology

Multiple Signals Govern Utilization of a Polysaccharide in the Gut Bacterium Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron – Nathan D. Schwalm III – mBio

Living together in biofilms: the microbial cell factory and its biotechnological implications – Mercedes Berlanga – Microbial Cell Factories

Microbes in the news

The Virus With Spider DNA. How did part of a black-widow venom gene end up in a virus that infects one of the world’s most successful bacteria? – Ed Yong – The Atlantic

The Human Microbiome – ASM Cultures microbiome special featuring top scientists and biotech companies

The superhero in your vagina – Kendall Powell – Mosaic Science

Legionella Bacteria Detected at 4 American Airlines Hangars – ABC News

Study Sees Link Between Allergies and the Infant Gut – Robert Lee Hotz – Wall Street Journal

Breasts have their own microbiome – and it could influence your cancer risk
Your breast has its own unique ecosystem – Bec Crew – Science Alert

Researchers restored a colony of microbes in the gut – Ian Graber-Stiehl – Popular Science

Microbes and money

Second Genome Partners with King’s College London to Evaluate the Influence of the Microbiome in Landmark EAT Study – PR Newswire

MicroBiome Therapeutics’ NM504 For Improving Blood Glucose Regulation Is First Microbiome Modulator to Receive U.S. Patent Allowance – PR Web

Seres’s pioneering microbiome drug fails mid-stage trial – Mark Ratner

Farmers Are Manipulating Microbiomes to Help Crops Grow – Sarah Zhang – Wired

October 10, 2016

A Mostly Male Microbiome meeting, host genetics and microbiota in IBD, dysbiosis in dogs and humans, airport door handles, and surfing the world for microbes. I’m back!

Events

I wish I could recommend this, but it has only 2 of the 27 invited speakers are women. This is so sad. See Jonathan Eisen’s blog post about this. Second Annual Human Microbiome Congress in San Diego / North American Microbiome Congress – 24/25 January 2017 – San Diego.

Human gut microbiome

Interplay of host genetics and gut microbiota underlying the onset and clinical presentation of inflammatory bowel disease – Floris Imhann – Gut

Effect of dietary interventions on the intestinal microbiota of Mongolian hosts – Jing Li – Science Bulletin

Animal models

Dog and human inflammatory bowel disease rely on overlapping yet distinct dysbiosis networks – Yoshiki Vázquez-Baeza – Nature Microbiology

Acute Infectious Gastroenteritis Potentiates a Crohn’s Disease Pathobiont to Fuel Ongoing Inflammation in the Post-Infectious Period – Cherrie L. Small – PLOS Pathogens

Press: Diarrhea-Causing Bacteria Promote Growth of Crohn’s-Linked Microbe in Mice – ET Healthworld

Neonatal androgen exposure causes persistent gut microbiota dysbiosis related to metabolic disease in adult female rats – Isabel Moreno-Indias – Endocrinology

Exposure to the Functional Bacterial Amyloid Protein Curli Enhances Alpha-Synuclein Aggregation in Aged Fischer 344 Rats and Caenorhabditis elegans – Shu G. Chen – Scientific Reports

Press: Gut microbiota may have role in neurodegenerative diseases: study – CTV News

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Review: Too much or not enough: Reflection on two contrasting perspectives on soil biodiversity – Philippe C. Baveye – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Built environment microbiology

Airport door handles and the global spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria: a cross sectional study – Frieder Schaumburg – Clinical Microbiology and Infection

Press: Are Airport Bathrooms Spreading Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Globally? – Alex Berezow – American Council on Science and Health

Food microbiology

Extensive Horizontal Gene Transfer in Cheese-Associated Bacteria – Kevin S. Bonham – bioRxiv

Does fingerprinting truly represent the diversity of wine yeasts? A case study with interdelta genotyping of S. cerevisiae strains – Walter P. Pfliegler – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Microbes in the news

This Surfer/PhD Student Is Scraping Bacteria off Surfers Around the World for Science – Dylan Heyden – The Inertia
Surfing the world for microbes – Erika Johnson, UC San Diego – University of California

Weethinking the role of bacteria in incontinence. Researchers look at the role of bacteria in incontinence – EurekAlert

The Unseen Cloud Makers From The Ocean – Jennifer – The Microbial Menagerie

Marine bacteria are the climate’s wild card – ScienceNordic

Researchers Hunt for a Link Between Microbiome and Autism – KQED

The natural wonder that holds the key to the origins of life – and warns of its destruction – Michael Slezak – The Guardian

Did his artificial hips put him at risk of infection when he saw the dentist? – David Lindley – Washington Post

Millions of craft paint units recalled over bacteria concerns – Morgan Maria Pawl – KDVR

Science, publishing, and career

Scientific Misconduct: The Elephant in the Lab. A Response to Parker et al. – Timothy D. Clark – Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Bik’s non-microbiology Picks

As DNA reveals its secrets, scientists are assembling a new picture of humanity – Carl Zimmer

September 27, 2016

Pediatric multiple sclerosis,  Hydra as a microbiome model, species from bat feces, textile wastewater, and sample preparation for metabolomics.

Events

HIV Microbiome Workshop 2016, November 17-18, 2016, NIH Campus, Bethesda, MD. Here is the program

Pregnancy and early life

Association of Chorioamnionitis with Aberrant Neonatal Gut Colonization and Adverse Clinical Outcomes – Kriti Puri – PLOS ONE

Human respiratory microbiome

Translational Aspects of the Human Respiratory Virome – Alicia B Mitchell – American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

Human skin and gut microbiome

The role of skin and gut microbiota in the development of atopic eczema – T. Marrs – British Journal of Dermatology

Associations between the gut microbiota and host immune markers in pediatric multiple sclerosis and controls – Helen Tremlett – BMC Neurology

Intestinal Dysbiosis and Yeast Isolation in Stool of Subjects with Autism Spectrum Disorders – Maria Rosaria Iovene – Mycopathologia

Interactions between Obesity Status and Dietary Intake of Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Oils on Human Gut Microbiome Profiles in the Canola Oil Multicenter Intervention Trial (COMIT) – Shuaihua Pu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Diet Influence on the Gut Microbiota and Dysbiosis related to Nutritional Disorders – Maryam Tidjani Alou – Human Microbiome Journal

Review: Role of the Intestinal Microbiota in Host Responses to Stressor Exposure – A.R. Mackos – International Review of Neurobiology

Review: Exploring relationships between host genome and microbiome: new insights from genome-wide association studies – Muslihudeen A. Abdul-Aziz – Frontiers in Microbiology

Animal models

Vitamin D and allergic airway disease shape the murine lung microbiome in a sex-specific manner – Michael Roggenbuck – Respiratory Research

Perspective: Transitioning from microbiome composition to microbial community interactions: the potential of the metaorganism Hydra as an experimental model – Peter Deines – Frontiers in Microbiology

Animal microbiome

BatsSpecies From Feces: Order-Wide Identification of Chiroptera From Guano and Other Non-Invasive Genetic Samples – Faith M. Walker – PLOS ONE

Symbionts modify interactions between insects and natural enemies in the field – Jan Hrček – Journal of Animal Ecology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Cultivated Sub-Populations of Soil Microbiomes Retain Early Flowering Plant Trait – Kevin Panke-Buisse – Microbial Ecology

Effects of Artificial Soil Aeration Volume and Frequency on Soil Enzyme Activity and Microbial Abundance when Cultivating Greenhouse Tomato – Yuan Li – Soil Science Society of America Journal

Water and pollution microbiome

Degradation of crude oil in a contaminated tidal flat area and the resilience of bacterial community – Jaejin Lee – Marine Pollution Bulletin

Assessing the composition of microbial communities in textile wastewater treatment plants in comparison with municipal wastewater treatment plants – Ken Meerbergen – MicrobiologyOpen

Metabolomics

Sample preparation procedures utilized in microbial metabolomics: an overview – Małgorzata Patejko – Journal of Chromatography B

More microbiology

The quest for the minimal bacterial genome – Esteban Martínez-García – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Microbes in the news

Inaugural lecture will explore some microbes’ invisible war on humans – University of Kansas

 

September 22, 2016

Jobs at Second Genome, endohyphal bacteria in fungi on tropical seeds and leaves, designing buildings to house our germs.

Jobs and events

Second Genome (San Francisco, CA) is hiring.

Southern California Microbiome Symposium – Connections to the Environment and Health – Sept 23, UC Irvine

Human gut microbiome

Review: Current Hypothesis for the Relationship between Dietary Rice Bran Intake, the Intestinal Microbiota and Colorectal Cancer Prevention – Winnie K. W. So – MDPI Nutrients

Animal models

Temporal Development of Gut Microbiota in Triclocarban Exposed Pregnant and Neonatal Rats – Rebekah C. Kennedy – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

Parasitic Infection by Pseudocapillaria tomentosa is Associated with a Longitudinal Restructuring of the Zebrafish Gut Microbiome – Christopher A Gaulke – bioRxiv

Biology, Pest Status, Microbiome and Control of Kudzu Bug (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Plataspidae): A New Invasive Pest in the U.S. – Anirudh Dhammi – International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

A Hardy Plant Facilitates Nitrogen Removal via Microbial Communities in Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetlands in Winter – Penghe Wang – Scientific Reports

Diversity, Specificity, and Phylogenetic Relationships of Endohyphal Bacteria in Fungi That Inhabit Tropical Seeds and Leaves – Justin P. Shaffer – Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

More microbiology

Nuclear pore-like structures in a compartmentalized bacterium – Evgeny Sagulenko – bioRxiv

Review: Molecular microbiology methods for environmental diagnosis – T. Bouchez – Environmental Chemistry Letters

Self-healing cementitious materials based on bacteria and nutrients immobilized respectively – Huaicheng Chen – Construction and Building Materials

Techniques

An Enteric Micromotor Can Selectively Position and Spontaneously Propel in the Gastrointestinal Tract – Jinxing Li – ACS Nano

Microbes in the news

Black Slime Is Coating World Monuments—And That May Be Good – Michelle Z. Donahue – National Geographic

Designing Buildings to House Our Favorite Germs – Melissa Pandika – Ozy

Very cool talks: Lake Arrowhead Microbial Genomes #LAMG16: Day 3 – David Coil – MicroBEnet

Prairies Yield Clues for Antibiotic Resistance – AgResearch Magazine

Genetically Engineered Bacteria Can Grow Food, Forks on Mars – Jacqueline Ronson – Inverse.com

CosmoCrops! – The 2016 winners of the Nordic Mini-Jamboree! – Copenhagen University iGEM
UW Medical Center takes action after finding bacteria in medical devices – Coral Garnick – BizJournals

Gut bacteria explain insects’ tolerance to a toxic diet – Science Daily

A field guide to dangerous bacteria – Tabletopwhale

Science, publishing, and career

The natural selection of bad science – Paul E. Smaldino – Royal Society Open Science

Press: The Inevitable Evolution of Bad Science – Ed Yong – The Atlantic

Salaries: Reality check: A feeling that good performance is not adequately rewarded is pervading the research world – Chris Woolston – Nature Careers