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 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 22, 2015

Digesting from LAX: Risk of childhood asthma, antibiotic effects on fish microbiome, and interactions between the gut microbiome and Clostridium difficile.

Pregnancy and birth

Claims that placenta has a rich microbiome, which I disagree with. The maternal microbiome and pregnancy outcomes – Chelsea Fox – Fertility and Sterility

Human gut microbiome

Altered fecal short chain fatty acid composition in children with a history of Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis – Farokh R. Demehri – Journal of Pediatric Surgery

Gut microbiota and the risk of childhood asthma – Priya Venkatesan – The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

Can Helminth Infection Reverse Microbial Dysbiosis? – P’ng Loke – Trends in Parasitology

Can a Bug in the Gut Act Like a Drug in the Brain? – Robert H. Howland – Journal of Psychosocial Nursing

Review: Interactions Between the Gastrointestinal Microbiome and Clostridium difficile – Casey M. Theriot – Annual Review of Microbiology

Animal models

Risperidone-induced weight gain is mediated through shifts in the gut microbiome and suppression of energy expenditure – Sarah M. Bahr – EBioMedicine

Fish: The host effects of Gambusia affinis with an antibiotic-disrupted microbiome – Jeanette M. Carlson – Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C: Toxicology & Pharmacology

Host and microbiota interactions are critical for development of murine Crohn’s-like ileitis – M Roulis – Mucosal Immunology

Plant, root, and soil biology

Drought-induced piñon mortality alters the seasonal dynamics of microbial activity in piñon–juniper woodland – Daniel D. Warnock – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Long-term oil contamination increases deterministic assembly processes in soil microbes – Yuting Liang – Ecological Applications

Water microbiome

A Fungal-Prokaryotic Consortium at the Basalt-Zeolite Interface in Subseafloor Igneous Crust – Magnus Ivarsson – PLOS ONE

Food microbiology

Review: Microbial terroir and food innovation: the case of yeast biodiversity in wine – Vittorio Capozzi – Microbiological Research

Review: Microbiome profiling in fresh-cut products – Chiara Gorni – Trends in Food Science & Technology

Infection

Why Do We Feel Sick When Infected—Can Altruism Play a Role? – Keren Shakhar, Guy Shakhar – PLOS Biology

Microbes in the news

Gut researcher issues warning on DIY poo transplants: Q&A with Dr Paul Bertrand on the pros and cons of poo transplants to treat bacterial infections – Jess Davis
– SBS

Surprising source for ancient life biomarker found: It was thought that tetrahymanol was produced primarily by eukaryotes, but a new study suggests many bacteria might also produce the lipid – Stanford

Science, publishing, and career

Why biomedical superstars are signing on with Google. Tech firm’s ambitious goals and abundant resources attract life scientists – Erika Check Hayden – Nature

The Rise of “Quit Lit”: Soon-to-be former academics are taking their grievances public – Colleen Flaherty – Slate
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October 21, 2015

From a LA hotel room (travelling today/tomorrow for a talk at the Southern California Institute for Food Technologists), here is your daily digest with fleas from Uganda and the Cotton Eye Joe Cotton Rat Nose.

Pregnancy and birth

Vaginal Microbiota in Pregnancy: Evaluation Based on Vaginal Flora, Birth Outcome, and Race – Akila Subramaniam – American Journal of Perinatology

No mention of any paper by Roberto Romero or Dan Digiulio from our lab: The frequent shift to intermediate flora in preterm delivery cases after abnormal vaginal flora screening – Hiroshi Honda – Scientific Reports

Human oral microbiome

The Microbiologic Profile Associated with Peri-Implantitis in Humans: A Systematic Review

Human skin microbiome

The Human Skin Double-Stranded DNA Virome: Topographical and Temporal Diversity, Genetic Enrichment, and Dynamic Associations with the Host Microbiome – Geoffrey D. Hannigan – mBio

Human respiratory microbiome

Not microbiome paper but close: Evidence for a Cystic Fibrosis Enteropathy – Marlou P. M. Adriaanse – PLOS ONE

Human gut microbiome

The Influence of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs on the Gut Microbiome – Mary A.M. Rogers – Clinical Microbiology and Infection

Type 2 Diabetes Biomarkers of Human Gut Microbiota Selected via Iterative Sure Independent Screening Method – Lihua Cai – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

Flea-Associated Bacterial Communities across an Environmental Transect in a Plague-Endemic Region of Uganda – Ryan Thomas Jones – PLOS ONE

The microbial community structure of the cotton rat nose – Diego Chaves-Moreno – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Relations of microbiome characteristics to edaphic properties of tropical soils from Trinidad – Vidya de Gannes – Frontiers in Microbiology

The Soil Microbiota Harbors a Diversity of Carbapenem-Hydrolyzing ß-Lactamases of Potential Clinical Relevance – Dereje Dadi Gudeta – Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

In wild tobacco, Nicotiana attenuata, variation among bacterial communities of isogenic plants is mainly shaped by the local soil microbiota independently of the plants’ capacity to produce jasmonic acid – Rakesh Santhanam – Communicative & Integrative Biology

Interactions among roots, mycorrhizas and free-living microbial communities differentially impact soil carbon processes – Jessica A. M. Moore – Journal of Ecology

Water microbiome

Shedding light on microbial dark matter: a TM6 bacterium as natural endosymbiont of a free-living amoeba – Vincent Delafont – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Microbial communities related to biodegradation of dispersed Macondo oil at low seawater temperature with Norwegian coastal seawater – Odd G. Brakstad – Microbial Biotechnology

Zonation of Microbial Communities by a Hydrothermal Mound in the Atlantis II Deep (the Red Sea) – Yong Wang – PLOS ONE

Replicating the microbial community and water quality performance of full-scale slow sand filters in laboratory-scale filters – Sarah-Jane Haig – Water Research

Food microbiology

Tracing microbiota changes in yamahai-moto, the traditional Japanese sake starter – Takashi Koyanagi – Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry

Microbial ecology

Bacteriocin production augments niche competition by enterococci in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract – Sushma Kommineni – Nature

Membrane Filter Method to Study the Effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium longum on Fecal Microbiota – Hidenori Shimizu – Microbiology and Immunology

Microbes in the news

Jessica Richman Seeks Samples to Crack the Human Microbiome – Deepa Seetharaman – Wall Street Journal

The Microcosm within: An interview with William B. Miller, Jr., on the Extended Hologenome theory of evolution – Tam Hunt – Communicative & Integrative Biology
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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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October 5, 2015

Characterizing and classifying the oral microbiome, homeostasis in the lung microbiome, collecting airborne microbes, and earthworms feeding on microbiomes.

Human oral microbiome

An accurate and efficient experimental approach for characterization of the complex oral microbiota – Wei Zheng – Microbiome

Phylogenetic approaches to microbial community classification – Jie Ning and Robert G. Beiko – Microbiome

DGGE: Stability of saliva microbiota during moderate consumption of red wine – Elvira Barroso – Archives of Oral Biology

Human respiratory tract microbiome

Review: Homeostasis and its Disruption in the Lung Microbiome – Robert P. Dickson – Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol

Human gut microbiome

Faecalibacterium prausnitzii subspecies–level dysbiosis in the human gut microbiome underlying atopic dermatitis – Han Song – Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Animal models

Adaptation of the cecal bacterial microbiome of growing pigs in response to resistant starch type 4 – Barbara U. Metzler-Zebeli – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Landscape Position Influences Microbial Composition and Function via Redistribution of Soil Water across a Watershed – Zhe Du – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Waste treatment microbiology

Feeding on microbiomes: effects of detritivory on the taxonomic and phylogenetic bacterial composition of animal manures – Manuel Aira – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Food microbiology

Microbial diversity and dynamics throughout manufacturing and ripening of surface ripened semi-hard Danish Danbo cheeses investigated by culture-independent techniques – Mia Ryssel – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Air / Built environment microbiome

Passive dust collectors for assessing airborne microbial material – Rachel I. Adams – Microbiome

Microbes in the news

Beating parasites wins three scientists Nobel prize for medicine: “I think the microbes might almost deserve it more than I do” – Reuters

Nobel Prize Doctors still spreading word of bacteria find – Cathy O’Leary – The West Australian

Intrapartum antibiotics associated with altered infant gut microbiome – Maren Shapiro and Leah Bressler – 2MinuteMedicine

L’eau de bacteria: A whiff of the future? Biotech firms explore using microorganisms to produce flavors, fragrances – Benjamin Plackett – The Charlotte Observer

uBiome Co-Founder Jessica Richman Scoops Top Prize At IVY Awards, uBiome Is Finalist In MedTech Innovator of 2015 – PR Web

Podcast: Our microbiome and our health. Guests: Gary Wu, Tracy Bale, Frederic Bushman – RadioTimes

Microbiome Monday: Animals and Their BFFs – American Museum of Natural History

Permafrost-eating bacteria: a new twist on thawing Arctic and global warming – Thomas S Bianchi – The Conversation

Microbes may play a major role in cloud formation and wet weather – Richard Gray – Daily Mail

Volkswagen: Diesel transplants reveal likely culprit behind DeiselGate: car microbiomes -featuring Jeferina Gordon, Josephine Candelsman, and Hands Dieter Poetsch – – Morten Blaser – The Megabiome

Bacteria Hysteria

Take care when reusing bags: Reusing carrier bags for a diverse range of contents puts consumers at risk of bacterial contamination – Worthing Herald

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September 25, 2015

A crowd funding project to study mind and microbes, impact of early life gut colonization, microbial aspect to terroir, and khmer sequence analysis.

Crowd funding project: Are our bacteria making us depressed or anxious? – Philip Strandwitz – Experiment.com

Pregnancy and birth

Review: The impact of early life gut colonization on metabolic and obesogenic outcomes: what have animal models shown us? – J. G. Wallace – Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease

Human gut microbiome

Chronic Kidney Disease: The Influence of CKD on Colonic Microbial Metabolism – Ruben Poesen – Journal of the American Society of Nephrology

Review: Could the beneficial effects of dietary calcium on obesity and diabetes control be mediated by changes in intestinal microbiota and integrity? – J. M. G. Gomes – British Journal of Nutrition

Animal models

The microbiota shifts the iron sensing of intestinal cells – Jean-Christophe Deschemin – The FASEB Journal

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Trophic network architecture of root-associated bacterial communities determines pathogen invasion and plant health – Zhong Wei – Nature Communications

Regional microbial signatures positively correlate with differential wine phenotypes: evidence for a microbial aspect to terroir – Sarah Knight – Scientific Reports

Methanogenic degradation of lignin-derived monoaromatic compounds by microbial enrichments from rice paddy field soil – Souichiro Kato – Scientific Reports

Food microbiology

A diagnosis of the microbiological quality of dehydrated bee-pollen produced in Brazil
A.A.M. De-Melo – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Waste microbiology

The biotransformation of brewer’s spent grain into biogas by anaerobic microbial communities – Dina V. Malakhova – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

The khmer software package: enabling efficient nucleotide sequence analysis – Michael R. Crusoe – F1000 research

Microbes in the news

That Stinky Cheese Is a Result of Evolutionary Overdrive – Carl Zimmer – New York Times

Bacteria are making it harder for would-be murderers – Alexandra Petri – Washington Post

Bacteria Hysteria

Note: research sponsored by Dettol: How your child’s teddy could trigger food poisoning: 80% of cuddly toys harbour harmful bacteria – while one in four are contaminated with faeces – Lizzie Parry – Daily Mail

Science, publishing, and career

How science fairs shaped my career – Rachel Yoho – Science

Bik’s Picks

Scientists discover new system for human genome editing – Phys.org

The truth about pigs – Henry Nicholls – BBC

1 1/2-pound baby born to Utah woman on cruise ship beats odds to survive – Lindsey Whitehurst – Associated Press
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September 5, 2015

Events

The Individual Microbe: Single-cell Analysis and Agent-based Modeling – ASM conference – March 18-20, 2016, Washington DC, USA

R workshop for microbial ecology – Pat Schloss – Nov 2-4, 2015, Detroit – No link but can email Pat at: pschloss@umich.edu

General microbiome

Privacy-Preserving Microbiome Analysis Using Secure Computation – Justin Wagner – BioRxiv

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

Phylogenetic and Metabolic Tracking of Gut Microbiota during Perinatal Development – Federica Del Chierico – PLOS ONE

Human oral microbiome

The Effect of Fixed Orthodontic Appliances and Fluoride Mouthwash on the Oral Microbiome of Adolescents – A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial – Jessica E. Koopman – PLOS ONE

Review: Oral Paleomicrobiology: study of the ancient oral microbiome – Namrata Dagli

Human gut microbiome

The effect of dietary resistant starch type 2 on the microbiota and markers of gut inflammation in rural Malawi children – M. Isabel Ordiz – Microbiome

Gastrointestinal Microbiome Modulator Improves Glucose Tolerance in Overweight and Obese Subjects: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial – Candida J. Rebello – Journal of Diabetes and its Complications

Faecal proteomics: A tool to investigate dysbiosis and inflammation in patients with cystic fibrosis – Griet Debyser – Journal of Cystic Fibrosis

Review: Pathways and functions of gut microbiota metabolism impacting host physiology – Smitha Krishnan – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Review: Microbiome in Inflammatory Arthritis and Human Rheumatic Diseases – Jose U. Scher – Arthritis & Rheumatology

Review: The human microbiome: opportunities and challenges for clinical care – G. B. Rogers – Internal Medicine Journal

Human respiratory microbiome (see also gut microbiome above)

MRSA Colonization and the Nasal Microbiome in Adults at High Risk for Colonization and Infection – Mary T. Bessesen – Journal of Infection

Review: Cystic fibrosis lung microbiome: Opportunities to reconsider management of airway infection – Lindsay J. Caverly – Pediatric Pulmonology

Human other sites

In silico analyses of metagenomes from human atherosclerotic plaque samples – Suparna Mitra – Microbiome

Microbiome models

Distinct Shifts in Microbiota Composition during Drosophila Aging Impair Intestinal Function and Drive Mortality – Rebecca I. Clark – Cell Reports

Perspective: Metabolic labeling puts the microbiome under the microscope – Graham J Britton & Jeremiah J Faith – Nature Medicine

Animal microbiome

The composition of the zebrafish intestinal microbial community varies across development – W Zac Stephens – ISME Journal

Shifts in the Midgut/Pyloric Microbiota Composition within a Honey Bee Apiary throughout a Season – Jane Ludvigsen – Microbes and Environments

The genome of Aiptasia, a sea anemone model for coral symbiosis – Sebastian Baumgarten – PNAS

Special Issue: The Mammalian Microbiome and Its Importance in Laboratory Animal Research – André Bleich and James G. Fox – ILAR Journal

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Predicting Ecological Roles in the Rhizosphere Using Metabolome and Transportome Modeling – Peter E. Larsen – PLOS ONE

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

Plant-associated microbiomes in arid lands: diversity, ecology and biotechnological potential – Asma Soussi – Plant and Soil

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

Water microbiome

Anthropogenic activities drive the microbial community and its function in urban river sediment – Xu Zhang – Journal of Soils and Sediments

Built environment microbiome

Bacterial Communities and Midgut Microbiota Associated with Mosquito Populations from Waste Tires in East-Central Illinois – Chang-Hyun Kim – Journal of Medical Entomology

Hospital’s Hidden Environmental Hazards: Probing the Microbiome – BioScience

Pyrosequencing analysis of bacterial communities in biofilms from different pipe materials in a city drinking water distribution system of East China – Hongxing Ren – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Food microbiology

The genomics of microbial domestication in the fermented food environment
John G Gibbons – Current Opinion in Genetics & Development

Bioinformatics

Functional Basis of Microorganism Classification – Chengsheng Zhu – PLOS Computational Biology

ReproPhylo: An Environment for Reproducible Phylogenomics – Amir Szitenberg – PLOS Computational Biology

MetaBAT, an efficient tool for accurately reconstructing single genomes from complex microbial communities – Dongwan D. Kang – PeerJ

More Microbiology

Evolution of coexistence in a crowded microplate well – J. Arjan G. M. de Visser – PNAS

The rpb2 gene represents a viable alternative molecular marker for the analysis of environmental fungal communities – Tomáš Větrovský – Molecular Ecology Resources

Microbes in the news

Microbial diversity insights are often strongly biased – Suffield Times
Small advances: understanding the microbiome – Amanda Smith – ABC Australia

Science, publishing and career

When science fails a scientist – Kim Hunter-Schaedle – Science

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August 30, 2015

Pregnancy and birth

Fecal Microbial Community Structure Is Stable over Time and Related to Variation in Macronutrient and Micronutrient Intake in Lactating Women – Janae M Carrothers – The Journal of Nutrition

Human oral microbiome

Comparison between Clinical Aspects and Salivary Microbial Profile of Children with and without Early Childhood Caries: A Preliminary Study – Neves AB – Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry

Human gut microbiome

Systematic review: microbial dysbiosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease – A. Wieland – Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Animal and bioreactor models

Effect of Bifidobacterium thermophilum RBL67 and fructo-oligosaccharides on the gut microbiota in Göttingen minipigs – Sabine A. Tanner – British Journal of Nutrition

Interactions between Drosophila and its natural yeast symbionts—Is Saccharomyces cerevisiae a good model for studying the fly-yeast relationship? – Don Hoang – PeerJ

Differential responses of gut microbiota to the same prebiotic formula in oligotrophic and eutrophic batch fermentation systems – Wenmin Long – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

Structure of Manila Clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) Microbiota at the Organ Scale in Contrasting Sets of Individuals – Guillaume Meisterhans – Invertebrate Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

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

Comparison of soil microbial communities inhabiting vineyards and native sclerophyllous forests in central Chile – Luis E. Castañeda – Ecology and Evolution

Diversity and distribution of bacterial community in the coastal sediments of Bohai Bay, China – Liping Wang – Acta Oceanologica Sinica

The impact on the soil microbial community and enzyme activity of two earthworm species during the bioremediation of pentachlorophenol-contaminated soils – Zhong Lin – Journal of Hazardous Materials

Water microbiome

Terrestrial origin of bacterial communities in complex boreal freshwater networks – Clara Ruiz-González – Ecology Letters

How are microbial and detrital sources partitioned among and within gastropods species at East Pacific Rise hydrothermal vents? – Sylvie M. Gaudro – Marine Ecology

Extremophile microbiome

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

Adaptation strategies of endolithic chlorophototrophs to survive the hyperarid and extreme solar radiation environment of the Atacama Desert – Jacek Wierzchos – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbial biogeography of permafrost thaw ponds across the changing northern landscape – Jérôme Comte – Ecography

Food microbiology

Microbiota of Minas cheese as influenced by the nisin producer Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis GLc05 – Luana Martins Perin – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Built Environment microbiology

Microbiome interplay: plants alter microbial abundance and diversity within the built environment – Alexander Mahnert – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioinformatics

Escher: A Web Application for Building, Sharing, and Embedding Data-Rich Visualizations of Biological Pathways – Zachary A. King – PLOS Biology

Microbes in the news

Scientists Send Kombucha to Space in Search for Extraterrestrial Life – Kasandra Brabaw – Space.com

How Fats Influence the Microbiome – Kate Yandell – The Scientist

Fish oil diet modifies gut bacteria to boost health – News Medical

Soupy bacteria clogs Missisquoi Bay: “When it rots, it stinks bad” – Joel Banner Baird – Burlington Free Press

Bacteria Hysteria

Caveat: Sponsored by a make-up company. I cannot find any publication associated with this article either. Out of date make-up can contain lethal bacteria, London Met scientist finds – London Metropolitan University

‘There’s no way of knowing what fungus or bacteria is left on it’: Medical expert slams bizarre website that buys USED make-up from beauty lovers – before selling it again – Catherine Townsend – Daily Mail

Science, publishing, and career

The most important tasks for peer reviewers evaluating a randomized controlled trial are not congruent with the tasks most often requested by journal editors – Anthony Chauvin – BMC Medicine
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