April 27, 2015

Events:

Life Science Sunset Mixer and Protocols Hackathon – ZappyLab – Berkeley, CA – Thursday April 30 5:30 pm PDT

Microbiome webinar: can diet can modify GI bacteria? – May 6, 2015 at 1:00pm ET – American Society for Nutrition’s Nutritional Science Council

Microbiome of pregnancy and birth

The neonatal gut harbours distinct bifidobacterial strains – Eoin Barrett – Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed

Doctoral thesis: Early Life Intestinal Microbiota in Health and in Atopic Eczema – Lotta Nylund – Turku, Finland

In mice: Cross-fostering immediately after birth induces a permanent microbiota shift that is shaped by the nursing mother – Joseph G Daft – Microbiome

Human gut microbiome

Gut microbiota trajectory in pediatric patients undergoing hematopoietic SCT – E Biagi – Bone Marrow Transplantation

Review: Characterization of the intestinal microbiota and its interaction with probiotics and health impacts – Carine Nunes de Almada – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Commentary: The Gut Microbiome: A New Frontier for Alcohol Investigation – Gail A. Cresci – Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research

Review: The Microbiome for Gastroenterologists – Amit Dutta – Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News

Animal microbiome

Dynamic Distribution of the Gut Microbiota and the Relationship with Apparent Crude Fiber Digestibility and Growth Stages in Pigs – Qing Niu – Scientific Reports

Rumen: A new family of hybrid virophages from an animal gut metagenome – Natalya Yutin – Biology Direct

Rumen: Exploring the sheep rumen microbiome for carbohydrate-active enzymes – Lucas Dantas Lopes – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Fish: Dietary input of microbes and host genetic variation shape among-population differences in stickleback gut microbiota – Chris CR Smith – The ISME Journal

Insects: Characterization of the microbiota in the guts of Triatoma brasiliensis and Triatoma pseudomaculata infected by Trypanosoma cruzi in natural conditions using culture independent methods – Marcia Gumiel – Parasites and Vectors

Plant root and soil microbiome

Link to PDF on Fierer lab website (PNAS link still not working): Continental-scale distributions of dust-associated bacteria and fungi – Albert Barberán – PNAS

Stability and succession of the rhizosphere microbiota depends upon plant type and soil composition – Andrzej Tkacz – The ISME Journal

Forest harvesting reduces the soil metagenomic potential for biomass decomposition – Erick Cardenas – The ISME Journal

Peatland vascular plant functional types affect methane dynamics by altering microbial community structure – Bjorn JM Robroek – Journal of Ecology

Structure and function of rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil microbial community respond differently to elevated ozone in field-planted wheat – Zhan Chen – Journal of Environmental Sciences

Review: Plant-microbe Cross-talk in the Rhizosphere: Insight and Biotechnological Potential – Shyamalina Haldar – The Open Microbiology Journal

Water microbiome

Pyrosequencing analysis of microbial communities reveals dominant cosmopolitan phylotypes in deep-sea sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea – Paraskevi N. Polymenakou – Research in Microbiology

Characterization of the Relative Importance of Human- and Infrastructure-Associated Bacteria in Graywater: A Case Study – Scott P. Keely – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Extremophiles

Calcite-accumulating large sulfur bacteria of the genus Achromatium in Sippewissett Salt Marsh – Verena Salman – The ISME Journal

Book: Microbial Evolution under Extreme Conditions – Corien Bakermans – Google Books/Nature

Microbiome of the built environment

Evolutionary dynamics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus within a healthcare system – Li-Yang Hsu – Genome Biology

Food microbiology

Evolution of microbial counts and chemical and physico-chemical parameters in high-moisture Mozzarella cheese during refrigerated storage – Annamaria Ricciardi – LWT – Food Science and Technology

Phages, viruses, and CRISPRs

CRISPR Immunity Drives Rapid Phage Genome Evolution in Streptococcus thermophilus – David Paez-Espino – mBio

Perspective: Can Plant Viruses Cross the Kingdom Border and Be Pathogenic to Humans?
Fanny Balique – Viruses

Diversity of putative archaeal RNA viruses in metagenomic datasets of a yellowstone acidic hot spring – Hongming Wang – Springer Plus

Metagenomics and Bioinformatics

He’s alive! Elviz – exploration of metagenome assemblies with an interactive visualization tool – Michael Cantor – BMC Bioinformatics

Genome assembly using Nanopore-guided long and error-free DNA reads – Mohammed-Amin Madoui – BMC Genomics

Protocol: Generating Enriched Metagenomes from Active Microorganisms with DNA Stable Isotope Probing – Carolina Grob – Springer Protocols Handbooks 2015

PhD thesis: MetaPathways : a modular pipeline for the analysis of environmental sequence information – Niels William Hanson – University of British Columbia

Metabolomics

Identification of Metabolic Signatures Linked to Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii – Sylvie Miquel – mBio

MetaboAnalyst 3.0—making metabolomics more meaningful – Jianguo Xia – Nucleic Acids Research

Microbes in the news

Crowd funding: Stayin’ alive: how do microbes help corals recover from bleaching? The roles of bacteria in corals – Laura Núñez-Pons – Experiment.com

Building a better microbiome – Richard A. Marini – Express News

The Truth About C-Sections, Probiotics, and the Bacteria in Your Gut: Dr. Neil Stollman on fecal microbiota transplants

Your make-up could be a breeding ground for bacteria – Kimberley Hibbert – Jamaica Observer

Learning from Earth’s Smallest Ecosystems (Kavli Hangout) – Alan Brown – Live Science

Spoiled rotten: how breweries are trying to spot bad beer through DNA – Josh Lowensohn -The Verge

The Fecal Bacterium You’ll Learn to Love – Jason Tetro – Huffington Post

Pet Talk: Research reveals canine skin microbiome – Your Houston News

Physician-scientist cautions against indiscriminate use of antibiotics – Bob Kustra – Idaho Statesman

Waterproof bacteria inspire special coatings – Tim Sandle – Digital Journal

Metanome changes name to Diversigen – News Medical

Solving Real-World Problems With Unconventional Solutions: Using Bacteria To Heal Wounds – Texas A&M Today

Strike a healthy bacteria balance in your gut – Scott Scanlon – Buffalo News

How Safe is Your Shrimp? – Consumer Reports study finds 60% of frozen shrimp contaminated with bacteria – Food Safety News

Science, publishing, and career

Trove of VA reports reveals research misconduct, medical malpractice – Brendan Borrell – Retraction Watch

Lab Bloopers: Reddit users share the worst mishaps they’ve witnessed while working in the lab – Jenny Rood – The Scientist

Peer review, explained (cartoon) – Academia Obscura

Bik’s Picks

Why pregnant women in Mississippi keep dying – Danielle Paquette – Washington Post

Oil May Have Killed Gulf Dolphins – David Biello – Scientific American

Photos: 7-Year-Old Boy Discovers T. Rex Cousin – Live Science
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April 22, 2015

Happy Earth Day! Today, I screened 371 papers for you from ISME Journal, Nature, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, PLOS ONE, and others. Here is what I found:

Human oral microbiome

Quorum-Sensing Dysbiotic Shifts in the HIV-Infected Oral Metabiome – Robert E. Brown – PLOS ONE

Full mouth periodontal debridement with or without adjunctive metronidazole gel in smoking patients with chronic periodontitis: A pilot study – C. C. Bergamaschi – Journal of Periodontal Research

Human respiratory microbiome

Changes in Cystic Fibrosis Airway Microbial Community Associated with a Severe Decline in Lung Function – Patrizia Paganin – PLOS ONE

Bacteriological Assessment of Healthcare-Associated Pneumonia Using a Clone Library Analysis – Shingo Noguchi – PLOS ONE

Human gut microbiome

Sex, Body Mass Index, and Dietary Fiber Intake Influence the Human Gut Microbiome – Christine Dominianni – PLOS ONE

Editorial: Gut Bacteria Combined With Poor Diet May Promote Childhood Malnutrition – M. J. Friedrich – JAMA

Animal models of microbiome research

Effects of dietary supplementation of selenium-enriched probiotics on production performance and intestinal microbiota of weanling piglets raised under high ambient temperature – C. H. Lv – Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition

Phylogenetic and Functional Alterations in Bacterial Community Compositions in Broiler Ceca as a Result of Mannan Oligosaccharide Supplementation – A. Corrigan – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Taxonomic Identification of Ruminal Epithelial Bacterial Diversity during Rumen Development in Goats – Jinzhen Jiao – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Shifts in Bacterial Communities of Eggshells and Antimicrobial Activities in Eggs during Incubation in a Ground-Nesting Passerine – Stéphanie Grizard – PLOS ONE

Plant microbiome

Fungi on leaves: Host genotype is an important determinant of the cereal phyllosphere mycobiome – Rumakanta Sapkota – New Phytologist

Soil and plant soil microbiome

Continental-scale distributions of dust-associated bacteria and fungi – Albert Barberán – PNAS USA

Missing forests: Soil microbiome responses to the short-term effects of Amazonian deforestation – Acacio A. Navarrete – Molecular Ecology

Distinct soil microbial diversity under long-term organic and conventional farming – Martin Hartmann – The ISME Journal

Genomic signature of selective sweeps illuminates adaptation of Medicago truncatula to root-associated microorganisms – Maxime Bonhomme – Molecular Biology and Evolution

Differential Assemblage of Functional Units in Paddy Soil Microbiomes – Yongkyu Kim – PLOS ONE

The Effect of Biochar and Its Interaction with the Earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus on Soil Microbial Community Structure in Tropical Soils – Jorge Paz-Ferreiro – PLOS ONE

Water microbiome

Species Richness and Adaptation of Marine Fungi from Deep-Subseafloor Sediments – Vanessa Rédou – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Environmental metabarcoding reveals heterogeneous drivers of microbial eukaryote diversity in contrasting estuarine ecosystems – Delphine Lallias – The ISME Journal

Food microbiology

Spoiler alert: Origin and ecological selection of core and food-specific bacterial communities associated with meat and seafood spoilage – Stéphane Chaillou – ISME Journal

Proteomics

“You produce while I clean up,” a strategy revealed by exoproteomics during Synechococcus–Roseobacter interactions – Joseph A. Christie-Oleza – Proteomics

Microbes in the news

How Modern Life Depletes Our Gut Microbes – Michaeleen Doucleff – NPR Goats and Soda

Great longread: Forensic science: The soil sleuth – Forensic geologist Lorna Dawson helps convict criminals using the dirt from their shoes – Chelsea Wald – Nature

A Microbiome Three-Conference Summary – Kristina Campbell – The Intestinal Gardener

University brews up artificial kopi luwak coffee with even more flavor using civet microbiome – Katherine Wei – China Post

Science, publishing, and career

The postdoc series: What comes next? A postdoc sets you up for a variety of careers, including academia, editing, working in industry, core laboratories and more – Julie Gould – Nature Jobs

Is it fair to evaluate Ph.D. students based on their personalities? Fallout from a gutless adviser – Alice Huang – Science

Minority Ph.D. students: Where do they go? – Beryl Lieff Benderly – Science

Bibliometrics: The Leiden Manifesto for research metrics – Diana Hicks – Nature

Rita Colwell: Women in science still battle bias – Mike McInally – Mid-Valley Health

Bik’s Picks

The genome of cultivated sweet potato contains Agrobacterium T-DNAs with expressed genes: An example of a naturally transgenic food crop – Tina Kyndt – PNAS

How exactly do mosquitoes track us down – and what makes humans their meal of choice? – Biodetectives

Construction workers in China accidentally unearth dinosaur eggs – Sean O’Kane – The Verge
[hr]

April 17, 2015

Two new papers on the microbiome of not-western populations, and the influence of the microbiome on the circadian rhythm (or is it the other way around?).

Events

Session on “The Microbiome” at the AHCJ (Association of Health Care Journalists) annual meeting, Santa Clara, CA – Friday April 24 – HT: Jonathan Eisen

Human oral microbiome

Review: Oral infections and cardiovascular disease – Karim El Kholy – Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism

Human skin microbiome

Review: Rosacea : Part I. Introduction, categorization, histology, pathogenesis, and risk factors – Aimee M. Two – Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

Human respiratory microbiome

Review: Emerging bacterial pathogens and changing concepts of bacterial pathogenesis in cystic fibrosis – Michael D. Parkins – Journal of Cystic Fibrosis

Human gut microbiome

The microbiome of uncontacted Amerindians – Jose C. Clemente – Science Advances

The Gut Microbiota of Rural Papua New Guineans: Composition, Diversity Patterns, and Ecological Processes – Inés Martínez – Cell Reports

Altered fecal microbiota composition in patients with major depressive disorder – Haiyin Jiang – Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

Forum: Keeping gut lining at bay: impact of emulsifiers – Patrice D. Cani, Amandine Everard

Review: Possible role of the microbiome in the development of acute malnutrition and implications for food-based strategies to prevent and treat acute malnutrition – Ellen Murray, Mark Manary – Food and Nutrition Bulletin

Review: The gut microbiota and liver disease – Cristina Llorente – CMGH Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Animal and other models

Effects of Diurnal Variation of Gut Microbes and High-Fat Feeding on Host Circadian Clock Function and Metabolism – Vanessa Leone – Cell Host & Microbe

Resistant starch diet induces change in the swine microbiome and a predominance of beneficial bacterial populations – Özgün C O Umu – Microbiome Journal

In-vitro model for studying methanogens in human gut microbiota – William Tottey – Anaerobe

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

Effects of dietary supplementation with β-glucan and synbiotics on growth, haemolymph chemistry, and intestinal microbiota and morphology in the Pacific white shrimp – S. Boonanuntanasarn – Aquaculture Nutrition

Extremophiles / rock microbiome

On the rocks: Autoendoliths: a distinct type of rock-hosted microbial life – J. Marlow – Geobiology

Food microbiology

Evaluation of the Dynamics of Microbiological Quality in Lightly Pickled Napa Cabbages During Manufacture – Kazuya Masuda – Journal of Food Safety

Microbes in the news

Western lifestyle may limit the diversity of bacteria in the gut – Joseph Caputo – Cell Press
What Your Poop Says About Your Lifestyle – Agata Blaszczak-Boxe – Live Science
Is super-diverse Amazon microbiome something to strive for? – Penny Sarchet – New Scientist
Yanomami, An Amazon Tribe, Could Provide Answers To Antibiotic Resistance – Susan Scutti – Medical Daily
Study Reveals Microbiome Diversity, Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Isolated Amazon Tribe – Andrea Anderson – Genome Web
Bacteria bonanza found in remote Amazon village – Boer Deng – Nature

Gut Microbes Influence Circadian Clock – Anna Azvolinsky – The Scientist

“Computers are the new microscopes, and data is the new blood draw,” UCSD hiring ‘big data’ stars – Gary Robbins – UT San Diego

Brushing teeth regularly can save you from future heart attacks – Business Standard

Escape by dilution: dissolved organic matter in the ocean is too dilute to be consumed – Jack J. Middelburg – Science

Microbiome Researcher Also Fan Of Guns And Roses – The Allium

Science, publishing, and career

A PI is forced to close his lab: The reality that dare not speak its name – Andrew D. Hollenbach
A harsh response:
On productivity and the “unfair” grant funding game – DrugMonkey

SurveyHelp solve the mystery of the disappearing Ph.D.s – Beryl Lieff Benderly – Science

Ten Simple Rules for Effective Online Outreach – Holly M. Bik – PLOS Computational Biology

The Quantitative Methods Boot Camp: Teaching Quantitative Thinking and Computing Skills to Graduate Students in the Life Sciences – Melanie I. Stefan – PLOS Computational Biology

On the ‘benefits’ of Postdocs – Michelle Collins – The Spectroscope

Claiming sexism in science is over is just wishful thinking – Lisa Grossman – New Scientist

Bik’s Picks

Through This Chemical Loop, Dogs Win Our Hearts – Ed Yong – National Geographic

Octopuses Have Moves, But No Rhythm – Laura Geggel – Live Science

The Roomba for Lawns Is Really Pissing Off Astronomers – Davey Alba – Wired

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April 16, 2015

Human gut microbiome

Alcoholic Liver Disease: The Gut Microbiome and Liver Cross Talk – Phillipp Hartmann – Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research

Animal models of microbiome research

Xylo-oligosaccharides and virginiamycin differentially modulate gut microbial composition in chickens – Mohsen Pourabedin – Microbiome

Taking advantage of quorum sensing – Cláudio Nunes-Alves – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Changes in the colon microbiota and intestinal cytokine gene expression following minimal intestinal surgery – Susan Lapthorne – World Journal of Gastroenterology

Animal microbiome

Insect life history and the evolution of bacterial mutualism – Lee M. Henry – Ecology Letters

Bugs full of viruses – Astrid Gall – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Similar sponge-associated bacteria can be acquired via both vertical and horizontal transmission – Detmer Sipkema – Environmental Microbiology

Transcriptional activity of the giant barrel sponge, Xestospongia muta Holobiont: Molecular Evidence for Metabolic Interchange – Cara L. Fiore – Frontiers in Microbiology

Water microbiome

Shift of anammox bacterial community structure along the Pearl Estuary and the impact of environmental factors – Bingbing Fu – Journal of Geophysical Research

Metatranscriptome analyses indicate resource partitioning between diatoms in the field – Harriet Alexander – PNAS USA

Microbiome of the built environment

Total Concentrations of Virus and Bacteria in Indoor and Outdoor Air – Aaron J. Prussin – Environmental Science and Technology Letters
See also my blog post on MicroBE.net about this paper, with a lively discussion on filters and pore sizes

Food microbiology

Effect of Gamma Irradiation on the Bacteriological and Sensory Analysis of Raw Whole Milk under Refrigeration – Adriana Cristina de Oliveira Silva

Bioreactor microbiology

Disturbance opens recruitment sites for bacterial colonization in activated sludge – David C. Vuono – Environmental Microbiology

Metaproteomics of complex microbial communities in biogas plants – Robert Heyer – Microbial Biotechnology

16S rRNA gene analysis, not metagenomics: Metagenomic analysis for the microbial consortium of anaerobic CO oxidizers – Ying Guo – Microbial Biotechnology

Bioinformatics

Protocol: Bioinformatics and Microarray Data Analysis on the Cloud – Barbara Calabrese, Mario Cannataro – Methods in Molecular Biology

An Ontology-Based GIS for Genomic Data Management of Rumen Microbes – Saber Jelokhani-Niaraki – Genomics & Informatics

Behind a very thick paywall: Application of Meta-Mesh on the analysis of microbial communities from human associated-habitats – Xiaoquan Su – Quantitative Biology

Metagenomics

The metagenomic approach and causality in virology – Silvana Beres Castrignano and Teresa Keico Nagasse-Sugahara – Rev Saúde Pública

Techniques

Use of pressure cycling technology for cell lysis and recovery of bacterial and fungal communities from soil – Emily A. Bruner – BioTechniques

Microbial Ecology

Estimating and Mapping Ecological Processes Influencing Microbial Community Assembly – James C. Stegen – Frontiers in Microbiology

More microbiology

The Infallible Microbial Identification Test: Does It Exist? – Alex van Belkum – Journal of Clinical Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Synthetic Cheese and the Microbiome – Alex A. — MicroBE.net

Total Concentrations of Virus and Bacteria in Indoor and Outdoor Air – Elisabeth Bik – MicroBE.net

A Review of the Oral Microbiome: Orli Reports – Orli Kadoch – uBiome Blog

To fight nasty digestive bugs, scientists set out to build a better gut—using stem cells – Medical Xpress

#BacteriaArePlural The bacteria that steals DNA from its surroundings – Mette Risbråthe – Norwegian University of Life Sciences

#BacteriaHysteria: Germ warfare: Kitchens can harbor hidden bacteria – Katherine Roth – The Pueble Chieftain

Science, publishing, and career

A resource for cell line authentication, annotation and quality control – Mamie Yu – Nature

Science AMA Series: We are Charon Pierson, journal editor and elected member of the Governing Council for the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and Ivan Oransky, co-founder of Retraction Watch. AUA about publication ethics and retractions.

Rule rewrite aims to clean up scientific software – Nature Biotechnology asks peer reviewers to check accessibility of code used in computational studies – Erika Check Hayden – Nature

Bik’s Picks

Response of seafloor ecosystems to abrupt global climate change – Sarah E. Moffitt – PNAS USA

Longread: The Pollen Detective – He’d used science to crack cases from art forgery to bank robbery. But then a murder took place in his own backyard – David Wolman – Medium

This professor measured his fingernail growth for 35 years. The results will amaze you! – Seriously, Science? – Discover

April 15, 2015

Microbiome of pregnancy and birth

The Gut Microbiota Composition in Dichorionic Triplet Sets Suggests a Role for Host Genetic Factors – Kiera Murphy – PLOS ONE

Human oral microbiome

Periodontitis and Porphyromonas gingivalis in Preclinical Stage of Arthritis Patients – Motomu Hashimoto – PLOS ONE

Investigation of Salivary Function and Oral Microbiota of Radiation Caries-Free People with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma – Jingyang Zhang – PLOS ONE

Human respiratory microbiome

Impact of the CFTR-Potentiator Ivacaftor on Airway Microbiota in Cystic Fibrosis Patients Carrying A G551D Mutation – Cédric Bernarde – PLOS ONE

An Observational Study Examining the Relationship between Respiratory Symptoms, Airway Inflammation and Bacteriology in Children with Severe Neurodisability – Ruth E. Trinick – PLOS ONE

Sinonasal Microbiome Sampling: A Comparison of Techniques – Ahmed Bassiouni – PLOS ONE

Animal models of microbiome research

Robust Vaginal Colonization of Macaques with a Novel Vaginally Disintegrating Tablet Containing a Live Biotherapeutic Product to Prevent HIV Infection in Women– Laurel A. Lagenaur – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

Not exactly microbiome but nice: Detection of Mitochondrial COII DNA Sequences in Ant Guts as a Method for Assessing Termite Predation by Ants – Tom M. Fayle – PLOS ONE

Soil microbiome

Forensic Biology: Fungi Identify the Geographic Origin of Dust Samples – PLOS ONE

The Impact of Resource Availability on Bacterial Resistance to Phages in Soil – Pedro Gómez – PLOS ONE

Water microbiome

Redox-Specialized Bacterioplankton Metacommunity in a Temperate Estuary – Peeter Laas – PLOS ONE

Food microbiology

Cheese’omics: Overview of a Surface-Ripened Cheese Community Functioning by Meta-Omics Analyses – Eric Dugat-Bony – PLOS ONE

More microbiology

Sackler Colloquium: Reproduction, symbiosis, and the eukaryotic cell – Peter Godfrey-Smith – PNAS USA

Alternating Antibiotics Render Resistant Bacteria Beatable – Lauren Richardson – PLOS Biology

Microbes in the news

University doctoral candidate Joanna Adadevoh researches bacterial microbe groundwater purification – Anna Pollard – Cavalier Daily

13 min video: Connecting the Microbiome and Antibiotics to Obesity – Eric Topol talks to Martin Blaser

Probiotics might be like a DJ in a clubIn the gut, one key probiotic helps by orchestrating others – Melissa Healy – Los Angeles Times

Microbiology and art

Extremophiles on Display: A new American Museum of Natural History exhibit highlights the incredible range of conditions under which life on Earth survives – Ashley P. Taylor – The Scientist

Science, publishing, and career

AMA: Peer review process and retractions in scientific publishing – Ivan Oransky and Charon Pierson – Reddit/science

Opinion: Senior Scientists Should Be Writing – Three reasons why authorship matters, even—perhaps especially—to established scholars – Jens P. Goetze and Jens F. Rehfeld – The Scientist

Bik’s Picks

Scientists unveil sex-linked control of genes
– Stanford Medicine

Distinct metabolomic signatures are associated with longevity in humans – Susan Cheng – Nature Communications

Female Chimps – The Possible Inventors Of Spears – Kurt Cottrell – MidDay Daily

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April 10, 2015

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

Maternal fucosyltransferase 2 status affects the gut bifidobacterial communities of breastfed infants – Zachery T Lewis – Microbiome

The Infant Nasopharyngeal Microbiome Impacts Severity of Lower Respiratory Infection and Risk of Asthma Development – Shu Mei Teo – Cell Host & Microbe

Mid-trimester amniotic fluid pro-inflammatory biomarkers predict the risk of spontaneous preterm delivery in twins: a retrospective cohort study – S M Lee – Journal of Perinatology

Risk for Preterm and Very Preterm Delivery in Women Who Were Born Preterm – Boivin, Ariane – Obstetrics & Gynecology

Human oral microbiome

Clinical and microbiological effects of probiotic lozenges in the treatment of chronic periodontitis: a 1-year follow-up study – Merve Tekce – Journal of Clinical Periodontology

Review: Beyond microbial community composition: Functional activities of the oral microbiome in health and disease – Ana E. Duran-Pinedo, Jorge Frias-Lopez – Microbes and Infection

Human gut microbiome

A randomized controlled trial to test the effect of multispecies probiotics on cognitive reactivity to sad mood – Laura Steenbergen – Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

Fungi inhabiting the healthy human gastrointestinal tract: a diverse and dynamic community – Heather E. Hallen-Adams – Fungal Ecology

Changes in human gut microbiota influenced by probiotic fermented milk ingestion – Tatsuya Unno – Journal of Dairy Science

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Induces Remission in Patients with Active Ulcerative Colitis in a Randomized, Controlled Trial – Paul Moayyedi – Gastroenterology

Review: The Microbiota and Microbiome in Aging: Potential Implications in Health and Age-Related Diseases – Heidi J. Zapata – Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

Review: Gastric cancer and the microbiome – Nivedita Arora – Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease

Review: The Role of Microbiota on the Gut Immunology – Yang Won Min – Clinical Therapeutics

Animal models of microbiome research

Editorial: Gut Microbiota: The Link to Your Second Brain – Vanessa Ridaura – Cell
Belongs to: Indigenous Bacteria from the Gut Microbiota Regulate Host Serotonin Biosynthesis – Jessica M. Yano – Cell

Inoculation of tannin-degrading bacteria into novel hosts increases performance on tannin-rich diets – Kevin D. Kohl – Environmental Microbiology

Crosstalk between Microbiota-Derived Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Intestinal Epithelial HIF Augments Tissue Barrier Function – Caleb J. Kelly – Cell Host & Microbe

Effect of a new recombinant Aeromonas hydrophila vaccine on the grass carp intestinal microbiota and correlations with immunological responses – Lei Liu – Fish & Shellfish Immunology

Colonization and induction of Th17 cells by segmented filamentous bacteria in the murine intestine – Adam M. Farkas – Journal of Immunological Methods

Animal microbiome

Microbiota and probiotics in canine and feline welfare – Łukasz Grześkowiak – Anaerobe

Isolation and use of beneficial microbiota from the digestive tract of lions-paw scallop Nodipecten subnodosus and winged pearl oyster Pteria sterna in oyster aquaculture – Fernando Abasolo-Pacheco – Aquaculture Research

Perspective: Does the Arthropod Microbiota Impact the Establishment of Vector-Borne Diseases in Mammalian Hosts? – Constance A. M. Finney – PLOS Pathogens

Plant and plant root microbiome

Seagrass biofilm communities at a naturally CO2-rich vent – Christiane Hassenrück – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Preferential Association of Endophytic Bradyrhizobia with Different Rice Cultivars and Its Implications for Rice Endophyte Evolution – Pongdet Piromyou – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Niche partitioning in arbuscular mycorrhizal communities in temperate grasslands: a lesson from adjacent serpentine and nonserpentine habitats – Petr Kohout – Molecular Ecology

Soil microbiome

Microbial community dynamics during the early stages of plant polymer breakdown in paddy soil – Carl-Eric Wegner andWerner Liesack – Environmental Microbiology

Depth-related responses of soil microbial communities to experimental warming in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau – B. Zhang – European Journal of Soil Science

Red Soils Harbor Diverse Culturable Actinomycetes That Are Promising Sources of Novel Secondary Metabolites – Xiaoxuan Guo – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Water microbiome

Shifts in the meso- and bathypelagic archaea communities composition during recovery and short-term handling of decompressed deep-sea samples – Violetta La Cono –

Understanding diversity patterns in bacterioplankton communities from a sub-Antarctic peatland – María Victoria Quiroga – Environmental Microbiology Reports

The hidden seasonality of the rare biosphere in coastal marine bacterioplankton – Laura Alonso-Sáez- Environmental Microbiology

Bacterial community dynamics during polysaccharide degradation at contrasting sites in the Southern and Atlantic Oceans – Matthias Wietz – Environmental Microbiology

Extremophile microbiome

Nature special: Permafrost: overview articles and primary research from Nature papers, including role of microbes in permafrost soils

Metagenomic analysis of a high carbon dioxide subsurface microbial community populated by chemolithoautotrophs and bacteria and archaea from candidate phyla
Joanne B. Emerson – Environmental Microbiology

Food microbiology

Batch-to-batch uniformity of bacterial community succession and flavor formation in the fermentation of Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar – Zong-Min Wang – Food Microbiology

Microbial diversity and stability during primary cultivation and subcultivation processes of Tibetan kefir – Wei Gao – International Journal of Food Science & Technology

There is a serious problem with Figure 1: Tetragenococcus koreensis is part of the microbiota in a traditional Italian raw fermented sausage – C. Amadoro – Food Microbiology

Other  papers of interest

Development and utility of the FDA ‘GutProbe’ DNA microarray for identification, genotyping and metagenomic analysis of commercially available probiotics – J.N. Patro – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Increased Biodiversity in the Environment Improves the Humoral Response of Rats
Cinthia Pi – PLOS ONE

Microbes in the news

Bundle Of Joyful Microbes: Mom’s DNA Alters Baby’s Gut Bacteria – Michaeleen Doucleff – NPR Shots

Worms, germs lead to better immune function – Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150408145242.htm
What does the term microbiome mean? And where did it come from? A bit of a surprise .. – Jonathan Eisen – MicroBEnet

Leading expert on microbiome Rob Knight wins a 2015 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science – PR NewsWire

Congrats: You Are Officially a Superorganism – Max Lugavere – Huffington Post

Genetically-Engineered Bacteria Can Keep Mice From Getting Fat – Sarah Zhang – Gizmodo

Your microbiome may hold keys to cancer treatment – Alexandra Ossola – Popular Science

Cheese: The latest piece of the French paradox puzzle? – Niamh Michail – Food Navigator

#BacteriaHysteria #BacteriaArePlural: How much bacteria is in your kid’s lunchbox? You might be surprised (and grossed out) – Alex Perez – ABC 7online

Science, publishing, and career

Wanted: staff-scientist positions for postdocs – Kendall Powell – Nature

Book review: Speaking of science – Scientific Babel: How Science Was Done Before and After Global English – Lynn K. Nyhart – Science

Gender Disparity in Peer Review? – Andrew Harrison – Publons

Citations are not enough: Academic promotion panels must take into account a scholar’s presence in popular media – London School of Economics and Political Science

Bik’s Picks

Incredible imprinting – ‘are you my mummy?’ – Biodetectives

Sea Turtle Toddlers’ ‘Lost Years’ Spent Swimming, Not Drifting In Seaweed Matts – Rebekah Marcarelli – HNGN.com

New species of ‘terror bird’ discovered – Sid Perkins – Science

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April 9, 2015

Events and conferences

3rd Microbiome R&D and Business Collaboration Forum: USA – 10-11 September 2015, San Diego

Symposium ‘Women & Their Microbes’, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, May 8, 2015 in Micropia

Human gut microbiome

Associations between host gene expression, the mucosal microbiome, and clinical outcome in the pelvic pouch of patients with inflammatory bowel disease – Xochitl C Morgan – Genome Biology

Animal models of microbiome research

High-grain feeding causes strong shifts in ruminal epithelial bacterial community and expression of Toll-like receptor genes in goats – Jun-hua Liu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Site-specific programming of the host epithelial transcriptome by the gut microbiota – Felix Sommer – Genome Biology

Animal microbiome

Bats: Bacteria Isolated from Bats Inhibit the Growth of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the Causative Agent of White-Nose Syndrome – Joseph R. Hoyt – PLOS ONE

Plant microbiome

Interactions of Methylotrophs with Plants and Other Heterotrophic Bacteria – Hiroyuki Iguchi – Microorganisms

Soil and sediment microbiome

Effects of 100 years wastewater irrigation on resistance genes, class 1 integrons and IncP-1 plasmids in Mexican soil – Sven Jechalke – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbial methane formation in deep aquifers of a coal-bearing sedimentary basin, Germany – Friederike Gründger – Frontiers in Microbiology

Farm management, not soil microbial diversity, controls nutrient loss from smallholder tropical agriculture – Stephen A. Wood – Frontiers in Microbiology

Water microbiome

Viruses and bacteria in floodplain lakes along a major Amazon tributary respond to distance to the Amazon River – Rafael M. Almeida – Frontiers in Microbiology

Extremophile microbiome

Permafrost thawing in organic Arctic soils accelerated by ground heat production – Jørgen Hollesen – Nature Climate Change
See also:
Bacteria warm up permafrost – Nature

Alternative lifestyle: The processes that allow life to thrive in deep-sea vents are happening all around us – Nick Higgs – New Scientist

Bacterial community structure across environmental gradients in permafrost thaw ponds: methanotroph-rich ecosystems – Sophie Crevecoeur – Frontiers in Microbiology

Influence of Martian regolith analogs on the activity and growth of methanogenic archaea, with special regard to long-term desiccation – Janosch Schirmack – Frontiers in Microbiology

Diversity and role of plasmids in adaptation of bacteria inhabiting the Lubin copper mine in Poland, an environment rich in heavy metals – Lukasz Dziewit – Frontiers in Microbiology

Active Microbial Communities Inhabit Sulphate-Methane Interphase in Deep Bedrock Fracture Fluids in Olkiluoto, Finland – Malin Bomberg – BioMed Research International

Food microbiology

Review: Recent trends in non-invasive in situ techniques to monitor bacterial colonies in solid (model) food – María M. Lobete – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioreactor and wastewater microbiome

Bacteriophages as indicators of human and animal faecal contamination in raw and treated wastewaters from Tunisia – M. Yahya – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Microbial Ecology

Taking advantage of quorum sensing – Cláudio Nunes-Alves – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Phylogenomics and systematics in Pseudomonas – Margarita Gomila – Frontiers in Microbiology

Kraken: ultrafast metagenomic sequence classification using exact alignments – Derrick E Wood and Steven L Salzberg (HT: Tomer Altman)

Metabolomics

Exometabolomics and MSI: deconstructing how cells interact to transform their small molecule environment – Leslie P Silva – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

 

Microbes in the news

Life below Antarctic ice survives on ancient forests – Catherine Brahic – New Scientist

Eden Project’s ‘Human Biome’ is a gross, musical microbe showcase – Katie Collins – Wired

Company provides easy access to microbiome data – Mark Niu – CCTV America

 

Gates Foundation Issues Call for Application for Round 15 of Grand Challenges Initiative  – Philanthropy News Digest

Changes in Lung Microbiota May Help Predict Cystic Fibrosis Pulmonary Exacerbations – Patricia Silva – Cystic Fibrosis News today

Body maps reveal the bacteria and chemicals lurking on skin – Meera Senthilingam – CNN

 

Gut Bacteria May Be Associated with Parkinson’s Phenotype – Neurology Advisor

Microbes Engineered to Prevent Obesity – Katherine Bourzac – Technology Review
Cornell Researchers Identify Gut Microbes that May Help Some People Remain Thin; Findings Could Result in Clinical Laboratory Tests to Analyze the Microbiomes of Individuals
– Dark Daily

Silver linings: a personal memoir about Hurricane Katrina and fungal volatiles
Joan W. Bennett – Frontiers in Microbiology

 

Sequencing the intestinal microbiome to target therapies: Vanni Bucci looking for probiotic cocktails – Bryan Goodchild and Ellie Castano – University of Massachusetts Medical School Communications

Bacteria inhibit bat-killing fungus, could combat white-nose syndrome – Tim Stephens – University of California Santa Cruz

Turtle phage therapy might help develop alternative to antibiotic treatments for humans, Queensland researchers say – Nance Haxton – ABC Australia

9 Types Of Bacteria You Didn’t Know You’re Sharing Your House With – Esther Inglis-Arkell

 

Science, publishing, and career

Chris Butler: Wants to snuggle up to bacteria – BMJ Observations

‘Plagiarism, fraud, and predatory publishing’ are polluting science, says bioethicist Arthur Caplan – Susan Perry – MinnPost

Bik’s Picks

Hair Regrowth Discovery Suggests Skin Cells Communicate Like Bacteria – Dina Fine Maron – Scientific American

Genome sequencing mountain gorillas reveals the genetic impact of inbreeding – Aylwyn Scally – The Conversation

Gem lover donates $13M for Smithsonian’s science education – Brett Zongker  – Washington Post

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April 7, 2015

Lots of abstracts today that were published in the FASEB Journal. Although not clearly marked, these appear to be abstracts from an ASBMB meeting held in March 2015 in Boston, called “The Human Microbiome“. None of these have a link to a PDF.

Course: Frontiers in Host-Microbe Interactions – August 2015

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

The FASEB Journal Abstracts:

Review: Normal flora and bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy: an overview – Mathys Jacobus Redelinghuys – Critical Reviews in Microbiology

Review: The Infant Gut Microbiome: Evidence for Obesity Risk and Dietary Intervention – Petya T. Koleva – Nutrients

Human skin microbiome

The diversity and host interactions of Propionibacterium acnes bacteriophages on human skin – Jared Liu – The ISME Journal

Human oral microbiome

The Repertoire of Archaea Cultivated from Severe Periodontitis – Hong T. T. Huynh – PLOS ONE

Review: Filifactor alocis – a new emerging periodontal pathogen – A. Wilson Aruni – Microbes and Infection

Human gut microbiome

The FASEB Journal Abstracts:

Autism spectrum disorders and intestinal microbiota – Maria De Angelis – Gut Microbes

Review: Impacts of Gut Bacteria on Human Health and Diseases – Yu-Jie Zhang – International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Animal models of microbiome research

The FASEB Journal Abstracts:

Leaky intestine and impaired microbiome in an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mouse model – Shaoping Wu – Physiological Reports

Metabolomic Modeling To Monitor Host Responsiveness to Gut Microbiota Manipulation in the BTBRT+tf/j Mouse – Matthias S. Klein – Journal of Proteome Research

Animal microbiome

The FASEB Journal Abstract: The Extraordinary Evolution of the Great Ape Microbiome
Howard Ochman

Pigs: How host gender affects the bacterial community in pig feces and its correlation to skatole production – Zhenjin Zhou – Annals of Microbiology

Pigs: Analysis of swine fecal microbiota at various growth stages – Jungman Kim – Archives of Microbiology

Fish / Review: Disinfection of teleost eggs: a review – Evelien De Swaef – Reviews in Aquaculture

Ticks: Concordance of bacterial communities of two tick species and blood of their shared rodent host – Evelyn C. Rynkiewicz – Molecular Ecology

Soil microbiome

Over 150 Years of Long-Term Fertilization Alters Spatial Scaling of Microbial Biodiversity – Yuting Liang – mBio

Analysis of Bacterial and Archaeal Communities along a High-Molecular-Weight Polyacrylamide Transportation Pipeline System in an Oil Field – Cai-Yun Li – International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Effects of Functionalized and Raw Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on Soil Bacterial Community Composition – Dorsaf Kerfahi – PLOS ONE

Review: Effective role of indigenous microorganisms for sustainable environment – Baduru Lakshman Kumar and D. V. R. Sai Gopal – 3 Biotech

Water microbiome

Size-fractionated diversity of eukaryotic microbial communities in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific oxygen minimum zone – M.T. Duret – FEMS Microbial Ecology

Seawater mesocosm experiments in the Arctic uncover differential transfer of marine bacteria to aerosols – Camilla Fahlgren – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Book: Microbiology of the Everglades Ecosystem – CRC Press

Extremophile microbiome

Physiochemical control of bacterial and protist community composition and diversity in Antarctic sea ice – Anders Torstensson – Environmental Microbiology

Whole-Genome Shotgun Sequence of the Keratinolytic Bacterium Lysobacter sp. A03, Isolated from the Antarctic Environment – Jamile Queiroz Pereira – Genome Announcements

Food microbiome

Microbial Ecology of Watery Kimchi – Kyu Hang Kyung – Journal of Food Science

Bioreactor and biofilter microbiome

Characterization of the microbial community structure and nitrosamine-reducing isolates in drinking water biofilters – Wanfeng Wang – Science of the Total Environment

Metagenomics, Metabolomics, and Transcriptomics

The FASEB Journal Abstracts:

Proficiency testing for bacterial whole genome sequencing: an end-user survey of current capabilities, requirements and priorities – Jacob Moran-Gilad – BMC Infectious Diseases

Utilizing de Bruijn graph of metagenome assembly for metatranscriptome analysis – Yuzhen Ye, Haixu Tang – ArXiv

Single-cell genomics-based analysis of virus–host interactions in marine surface bacterioplankton – Jessica M Labonté – The ISME Journal

Applying meta-pathway analyses through metagenomics to identify the functional properties of the major bacterial communities of a single spontaneous cocoa bean fermentation process sample – Koen Illeghems – Food Microbiology

Size-fraction partitioning of community gene transcription and nitrogen metabolism in a marine oxygen minimum zone – Sangita Ganesh – The ISME Journal

Transcriptomic evidence for microbial sulfur cycling in the eastern tropical North Pacific oxygen minimum zone – Molly Carolan and J Michael Beman – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Progress and Challenges in Developing Metabolic Footprints from Diet in Human Gut Microbial Cometabolism – Linda C Duffy – Journal of Nutrition

Microbial Ecology

Bacterial adaptation to sublethal antibiotic gradients can change the ecological properties of multitrophic microbial communities – Ville-Petri Friman – Proceedings B

Local–global overlap in diversity informs mechanisms of bacterial biogeography – Joshua A Livermore – The ISME Journal

Techniques

Assessing the performance of the Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION – T. Laver – Biomolecular Detection and Quantification

Next-generation sequencing data analysis on cloud computing – Taesoo Kwon – Genes & Genomics

Microbes in the news

It’s a microbe’s world…we’re just living and dying in it – Margaret Leigh Sinrod – SciTechNow

May deadline: 2015 MO BIO Microbiome Awards – MoBIO

After cancer diagnosis, MIT student 3-D prints tumor, has microbiome analyzed – Nidhi Subbaraman – BetaBoston

Most of the text appears stolen from an article by Lita Proctor:  Human Microbiome: Quiz – Target Health

Video: Why Your Beard Is Disgusting – Discovery News

Episode 4 of The Microbiome Podcast: What’s hot in the microbiome field with Kristina Campbell – American Microbiome Institute

Solving the complex problem of recurrent C. diff with a simple solution: 
Physician scientists are using fecal transplants to break the deadly cycle of a killer infection – Bryan Goodchild and Ellie Castano – University of Massachusetts Medical School

Gut Bacteria May Influence Parkinson’s Risk, Phenotype – Pauline Anderson – Medscape

Summing up: Bassis et al.’s take on the influence of the URT on other human-associated biogeographies – Fiona Whelan – Human Microbiome Journal Club:

Under the microscope, strong-swimming swamp bacteria spontaneously organize into crystals – Phys.org

Science, publishing, and career

Female peers in small work groups enhance women’s motivation, verbal participation, and career aspirations in engineering – Nilanjana Dasgupta – PNAS USA

Bik’s Picks

How California can survive the drought — State is not in complete control – Danielle Venton – Nature

The Brontosaurus Is Back, Baby – Rich Juzwiak – Gawker

Endangered Tortoises Feasting on Invasive Plants – Richard Farrell – Discovery
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April 6, 2015

Not all human breast milk sold online is 100% human, microbiome of veggies, and a book by Rob Knight.

Pregnancy and birth

Cow’s Milk Contamination of Human Milk Purchased via the Internet – Sarah A. Keim – Pediatrics

Review: Milk Bioactives May Manipulate Microbes to Mediate Parent-Offspring Conflict – Cary R. Allen-Blevins – Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health

Food microbiology

Emerging Perspectives on the Natural Microbiome of Fresh Produce Vegetables – Colin R. Jackson – Agriculture

Metabolomics

Link did not work as of now – might work later? The colibactin warhead crosslinks DNA – Crawford – Nature Chemistry

Microbes in the news

Beyond Probiotics: Can You ‘Hack’ Your Microbiome? – Beth Skwarecki – LifeHacker Australia

Glyphosate, Roundup, GMOs and the microbiome part 1: crowdsourcing literature – Jonathan Eisen – The Tree of Life

Book by Rob Knight – Follow Your Gut – The Enormous Impact of Tiny Microbes – TED books

Ice Worm Guts Tell a Story of Partnership – Manon Verchot – Glacier Hub

An Amazonian Tribe May Hold The Secret To Better Gut Health – Anna Almendrala – Huffington Post

Microbes scared to death by virus presence – ScienceDaily

Spotting a molecular warhead for disease in the human gut – Jim Shelton – Yale News

Microbes are partly to blame for Arctic’s melting permafrost – Mary Beth Griggs – Popular Science

That Vagina Yogurt Probably Wasn’t Really Vagina Yogurt, Says Expert – Ben Richmond – Motherboard

MRSA Bacteria Thrives In Cigarette Smoke Environment – Paola Celedonio – Diabetes Insider

Raising money to go the ASM conference: E. coli and Ebola already sold out: Microbiology students sell giant plush microbes – KCCI

Glowing GE bacteria produced from kits ‘illegally’ in New Zealand – Tom Hunt – The Dominion Post

Bik’s Picks

Breast Milk Sold Online May Not Be 100% Human Milk – Cari Nierenberg – LiveScience

Please learn the difference between tortoises and sea turtles, say Florida wildlife officials – Rowena Lindsay – CS Monitor

What Americans Think About Climate Change in Seven Maps – Eric Roston – Bloomberg
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April 3, 2015

Check out today’s #PLOSBuzzFeed on Twitter for some Friday fun.

Human general microbiome

Only 10 microbes are designated by the International Agency for Cancer Research (IACR) as carcinogenic to humans (Review): Cancer and the microbiota – Wendy S. Garrett – Science

Microbiome of pregnancy and birth

Administration of a multistrain probiotic product (VSL#3) to women in the perinatal period differentially affects breast milk beneficial microbiota in relation to mode of delivery – Paola Mastromarino – Pharmacological Research

Conference abstract: Preterm Infant Gut Microbiome and Weight at 36 Weeks Corrected Gestational Age – Diana Taft – The FASEB Journal

Still in press: Should Infants Cry Over Spilled Milk? Fecal Glycomics as an Indicator of a Healthy Infant Gut Microbiome – Steven A Frese – Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition

Human respiratory microbiome

Conference abstract: Correlative Changes in Macrophage Polarization and Pulmonary Microbiota in Lung Transplant Recipients – E. Bernasconi – The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation

Harder to breathe (Review): The changing face of asthma and its relation with microbes – Chris S. Earl – Trends in Microbiology

Human gut microbiome / functional foods

Metabolic and physiologic effects from consuming a hunter-gatherer (Paleolithic)-type diet in type 2 diabetes – U Masharani – European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Findings from a Randomized Controlled Trial of Fecal Transplantation for Patients with Ulcerative Colitis – Noortje G. Rossen – Gastroenterology

Correlation between gut microbiota composition and parasitic infection of pre-adolescence in Malaysia – Chun-Wie Chong – Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection

Fit to the bone (review): The intestinal microbiome and skeletal fitness: connecting bugs and bones – Julia F. Charles – Clinical Immunology

Poster abstract: Effect of Prebiotic Fiber Intake on Adiposity and Inflammation in Overweight and Obese Children: Assessing the Role of the Gut Microbiota – Alissa C. Nicolucci – Canadian Journal of Diabetes

Animal models of microbiome

Poster abstract: Parallel Improvement in Body Weight, Glycemia, and Intestinal Permeability but not Body Fat with Prebiotic- and Antibiotic-Induced Gut Microbiota Modification – Marc Bomhof – Canadian Journal of Diabetes

Animal microbiome

Drosophila: The Impact of Host Diet on Wolbachia Titer in Drosophila – Laura R. Serbus – PLOS Pathogens

Soil and compost microbiome

Soil plots in Burgundy (but no vineyards!): Mapping and determinism of soil microbial community distribution across an agricultural landscape – Florentin Constancias – MicrobiologyOpen

Molecular profile of microbiota of Finnish commercial compost suppressive against Pythium disease on cucumber plants – D. Yu – Applied Soil Ecology

Wildfire effects on the properties and microbial community structure of organic horizon soils in the New Jersey Pinelands – Robyn A. Mikita-Barbato – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Extremophile microbiome (see also “Microbes in the news” below)

Microbial dwarves in the mines: Use of Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria to Leach Rare Earth Elements from Monazite-Bearing Ore – Doyun Shin – Minerals

Food microbiology

This study smells: Microbiological spoilage and volatiles production of gutted European sea bass stored under air and commercial modified atmosphere package at 2oC – Foteini F. Parlapani – Food Microbiology

Viable cells differentiation improves microbial dynamics study of fermented milks – Davide Porcellato – International Dairy Journal

Wine electrophoresis? Inactivation of wine associated microbiota by continuous pulsed electric field treatments – Lucía González-Arenzana – Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies

Bioreactor microbiome

Characterization of the microbial community structure and nitrosamine-reducing isolates in drinking water biofilters – Wanfeng Wang – Science of the Total Environment

Bioinformatics

PhyloRelief: Explaining Diversity in Metagenomic Datasets by Phylogenetic-Based Feature Weighting – Davide Albanese – PLOS Computational Biology

One of the figures has the Giant Microbes in it! Personalized microbial network inference via co-regularized spectral clustering – Sultan Imangaliyev – Methods

Microbes in the news

“Life at the Limits” shows extremophiles aren’t just bacteria – AMNH exhibit includes live axolotls, nautiluses, and mantis shrimp – John Timmer – Ars Technica

uBiome’s Dental Campaign to Give Portion of Proceeds to Charitable Dental Organization
Partnering with Oral Health America’s Smiles Across America – PR Web

No Bonferroni correction but: Is The Microbiome Correlated with Income? The Answer Will Surprise You – Alexandra Carmichael – uBiome

Cross-posting this week’s contribution for MicroBE.netGently down the stream: the microbiome along a river’s course – Elisabeth Bik – MicroBE.net

Cleaning with Bleach May Lead to Childhood Infections
– Laura Geggel – Live Science

How the guts of poultry affect performance – Jake Davies – FWI

Cigarette Smoke Makes Superbugs More Aggressive – Heather Buschman – UC San Diego

The Plague Bacteria Found in Flea Samples Near Flagstaff – NAZ Today

Travelers Bringing Drug-Resistant Bacteria to U.S.: Strain of Shigella is easily transmitted and causes tough-to-treat diarrhea, CDC says – WebMD

France bans imports of Puglia vegetables as olive bacteria starts mini trade war – Nicole Winfield – US News

Science, publishing, and career

Hoax-detecting software spots fake papers – John Bohannon – Science

A career is like a love affair – Madeleine Jacobs – Science

Ten Simple Rules to Win a Nobel Prize – Richard J. Roberts – PLOS Computational Biology

Science and art

This is gorgeous: A Sprawling New Cut Paper Bacterium by Rogan Brownby – Christopher Jobson – Colossal

Bik’s Picks

All animal phyla in 35 photos – Melissa Hogenboom – BBC

Shelled Out: 5 Egg-Citing Facts – Laura Geggel – Live Science

My Real-Time Response To Learning What The Rock Eats Every Day – Mallory Ortberg

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