August 2, 2016

Microbial mercury in Antarctic sea ice, bacteria and magnetic field, and what is living in your showerhead.

Events and jobs

Microbiomes of the Built Environment – Meeting #3  (will also be web-casted) – Monday October 17, 2016, at UC Irvine, CA

Postdoctoral position in microbial physiology/environmental microbiology, self-healing concrete, Aarhus University Denmark – Science Careers

General microbiome

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B themed issue: ‘From DNA barcodes to biomes
A new way to contemplate Darwin’s tangled bank: how DNA barcodes are reconnecting biodiversity science and biomonitoring – Mehrdad Hajibabaei
Dissecting host-associated communities with DNA barcodes – Christopher C. M. Baker
Scaling up discovery of hidden diversity in fungi: impacts of barcoding approaches – Rebecca Yahr
Insect symbionts in food webs – Ailsa H. C. McLean

Pregnancy and birth

Review: The mode of delivery affects the diversity and colonization pattern of the gut microbiota during the first year of infants’ life: a systematic review – Erigene Rutayisire – BMC Gastroenterology

Human (and animal) oral microbiome

Review: Gene Sequence Analyses of the Healthy Oral Microbiome in Humans and Companion Animals: A Comparative Review – Eric M. Davis – Journal of Veterinary Dentistry

Human respiratory microbiome

Association between Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage and disease phenotype in patients affected by systemic lupus erythematosus – Fabrizio Conti – Arthritis Research & Therapy

Human gut microbiome

Alterations in the Fecal Microbiota of Patients with HIV-1 Infection: An Observational Study in A Chinese Population – Zongxin Ling – Scientific Reports

Animal experiments

Chronic Repression of mTOR Complex 2 Induces Changes in the Gut Microbiota of Diet-induced Obese Mice – Mi-Ja Jung – Scientific Reports

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Environmental metabarcoding reveals contrasting microbial communities at two poplar phytomanagement sites – Julie Foulon – Science of the Total Environment

Coupling among Microbial Communities, Biogeochemistry, and Mineralogy across Biogeochemical Facies – James C. Stegen – Scientific Reports

Water and extremophile microbiome

Microbial mercury methylation in Antarctic sea ice – Caitlin M. Gionfriddo – Nature Microbiology

Press: Antarctic sea ice may be a source of mercury in southern ocean fish and birds – Phys.org

Magnetic properties of iron minerals produced by natural iron- and manganese-reducing groundwater bacteria – Alexandra Abrajevitch – Geophysical Journal International

Press: Bacteria Preserve Record of Earth’s Magnetic Fields – EOS

Evidence of small-scale spatial structuring of phytoplankton alpha- and beta-diversity in the open ocean – Erik Askov Mousing – Journal of Ecology

Food microbiology

Bacterial microbiota compositions of naturally fermented milk are shaped by both geographic origin and sample type – Z. Zhong – Journal of Dairy Science

Viruses and phages

The Double-Stranded DNA Virosphere as a Modular Hierarchical Network of Gene Sharing – Jaime Iranzo – mBio

Bioinformatics and metagenomics/metabolomics

Updated version: GutCyc: a Multi-Study Collection of Human Gut Microbiome Metabolic Models – Aria S. Hahn – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

Is your gut making you sick?. New research suggests that the range and quantity of microbes that live in our guts could have a powerful effect on a range of conditions including depression, MS and obesity – Ann Robinson – The Guardian

How purple bacteria could help save amphibians in the Rockies A Colorado researcher is using boreal toads’ microbiomes to help them ward off a deadly fungus – Krista Langlois – High Country News

A short and weird storyBacteria Filled Water Almost Sends ‘Naked and Afraid’ Contestant Home – Natalie D’Alacio – Yahoo News

Your Showerhead Is Crammed Full of Bacteria That Scientists Want to Study – Kate Lunau – Motherboard

If You Had Really Good Eyesight, Could You See a Single Bacterium? – Julie Taylor – uBiomeBlog

Letter: The microbiologist who didn’t wash his hands after urinating – Peter Dawson – The Guardian

Women more likely to die from bacterial blood infection – Adrian O’Dowd – OnMedica

Sham Poo Washes Out. A bacterial pill that tried to duplicate the benefits of a fecal transplant has failed a clinical trial. What does that mean for the microbiome field? – Ed Yong – The Atlantic

Science, publishing, and career

Not “Pulling up the Ladder”: Women Who Organize Conference Symposia Provide Greater Opportunities for Women to Speak at Conservation Conferences – Stephanie Sardelis – PLOS ONE

In AustraliaStella Count: Women write twice as many books as men, but receive less than half the reviews – Daisy Dumas – Daily Life

 

August 1, 2016

Storage conditions of infant fecal microbiota, microbial pinnacles, bioaerosols in chicken production facilities.

General microbiome

Special issue of Microbial Biotechnology, including:
Biome engineering-2020 – Harald Brüssow
Microbial bioinformatics 2020 – Mark J. Pallen
Next-generation studies of microbial biofilm communities – Scott A. Rice
Plant–microbe partnerships in 2020 – Birgit Mitter

Opinion: Controlling the Microbiome: Microhabitat Adjustments for Successful Biocontrol Strategies in Soil and Human Gut – Eveline Adam – Frontiers in Microbiology

Pregnancy and birth

Latitude in sample handling and storage for infant faecal microbiota studies: the elephant in the room? – Alexander G Shaw – Microbiome

Gut Microbiota Richness and Composition and Dietary Intake of Overweight Pregnant Women Are Related to Serum Zonulin Concentration, a Marker for Intestinal Permeability – Kati Mokkala – The Journal of Nutrition

ReviewMicrobial Changes during Pregnancy, Birth, and Infancy – Meital Nuriel-Ohayon – Frontiers in Microbiology

Human eye microbiome

Ocular surface microbiome in meibomian gland dysfunction in Auckland, New Zealand
Grant A. Watters – Clinical & Experimental Ophtalmology

Human gut microbiome

Microbial diversity in individuals and their household contacts following typical antibiotic courses – Shira R. Abeles – Microbiome

Microbial Factors Associated with Post-Operative Crohn’s Disease Recurrence – Emily K Wright – Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis

Efficacy of antineoplastic treatment is associated with the use of antibiotics that modulate intestinal microbiota – Natali Pflug – OncoImmunology

Review: The oesophageal microbiome: an unexplored link in obesity-associated oesophageal adenocarcinoma – Nadeem O. Kaakoush – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Review: Normal, Regular and Standard: Scaling the Body through Fecal Microbial Transplants – Matthew J. Wolf-Meyer – Medical Anthropology Quarterly

Review: Gut Microbiota Imbalance and Base Excision Repair Dynamics in Colon Cancer – Debolina Ray – Journal of Cancer

Review: Fine-Tuning Cancer Immunotherapy: Optimizing the Gut Microbiome – Jonathan M. Pitt – Cancer Research

Review: Irritable bowel syndrome, the microbiota and the gut-brain axis – Hans Raskov – Gut Microbes

Animal microbiome

Fish: Alterations of the gut microbiome of largemouth bronze gudgeon (Coreius guichenoti) suffering from furunculosis – Tongtong Li – Scientific Reports

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Structure of bacterial communities in soil following cover crop and organic fertilizer incorporation – Adria L. Fernandez – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Correlation analysis of enzyme activities and deconstruction of ammonia-pretreated switchgrass by bacterial-fungal communities – Abhiney Jain – Bioresource Technology

Variations of rhizosphere bacterial communities in tea (Camellia sinensis L.) continuous cropping soil by high-throughput pyrosequencing approach – Y.C. Li – Journal of Applied Microbiology

High culturability of epiphytic bacteria and frequency of biosurfactant producers on leaves – Adrien Y. Burch – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Desiccation of sediments affects assimilate transport within aquatic plants and carbon transfer to microorganisms – Isabell von Rein – Plant Biology

Review: Emergence of plant and rhizospheric microbiota as stable interactomes – Prasun Bandyopadhyay – Protoplasma

Water and extremophile microbiome

Growth of elaborate microbial pinnacles in Lake Vanda, Antarctica – D. Y. Sumner – Geobiology

Diversity and succession of autotrophic microbial community in high-elevation soils along deglaciation chronosequence – Jinbo Liu – FEMS Microbial Ecology

Air microbiome

High throughput genomic sequencing of bioaerosols in broiler chicken production facilities – Kate M. O’Brien – Microbial Biotechnology

Bioinformatics

RevEcoR: an R package for the reverse ecology analysis of microbiomes – Yang Cao – BMC Bioinformatics

Metabolomics

Review: Metabolites: messengers between the microbiota and the immune system – Maayan Levy – Genes & Development

Techniques

Phylogenetically Structured Differences in rRNA Gene Sequence Variation among Species of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Their Implications for Sequence Clustering – Geoffrey L. House – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Microbes in the news
Why is microbiome so important? Gut instinct tells you – Jessica le Roux – FoodMed

Science, publishing, and career

Intentional equity – France A. Córdova – Science

Lost in Translation: From scientists to the press and to the public – The Microbial Menagerie

July 30, 2016

Honey bee gut microbiome altered by pesticides, colobine primates, sulfur vents, bioaerosol, failed microbiome spore transplant trial.

Events

London Microbiome Workshop – September 7th 2016, Royal College of Physicians, London

Pregnancy and birth

Antibiotic perturbation of the preterm infant gut microbiome and resistome – Andrew J. Gasparrini – Gut Microbes

Multisite microbiome

Acquisition of a high diversity of bacteria during Hajj pilgrimage, including Acinetobacter baumannii with blaOXA-72, and Escherichia coli with blaNDM-5 carbapenemases – Thongpan Leangapichart – Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

Human gut microbiome

Limited prolonged effects of rifaximin treatment on irritable bowel syndrome-related differences in the fecal microbiome and metabolome – Natalia Zeber-Lubecka –
Gut Microbes

Altered gut microbiota in Rett syndrome – Francesco Strati – Microbiome

Animal experiments

Honey bee gut microbiome is altered by in-hive pesticide exposures – Madhavi Kakumanu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Animal microbiome

The antibiotic resistome of swine manure is significantly altered by association with the Musca domestica larvae gut microbiome – Hang Wang – The ISME Journal

Using the gut microbiota as a novel tool for examining colobine primate GI health – Katherine R. Amato – Global Ecology and Conservation

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Bioprospecting metagenomics of a microbial community on cotton degradation: mining for new glycoside hydrolases – Guoxiu Zhang – Journal of Biotechnology

Dramatic Increases of Soil Microbial Functional Gene Diversity at the Treeline Ecotone of Changbai Mountain – Congcong Shen – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Plant litter decomposition: drivers insight to the ecological process – Gaurav Mishra – European Journal of Biological Research

Water and extremophile microbiome

Transcriptional control in marine copiotrophic and oligotrophic bacteria with streamlined genomes – Matthew T. Cottrell – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Distribution and niche separation of planktonic microbial communities in the water columns from the surface to the hadal waters of the Japan Trench under the eutrophic ocean – Takuro Nunoura – Frontiers in Microbiology

Diversity and Composition of Bacterial Community in Soils and Lake Sediments from an Arctic Lake Area – Neng Fei Wang – Frontiers in Microbiology

Characterization of Chemosynthetic Microbial Mats Associated with Intertidal Hydrothermal Sulfur Vents in White Point, San Pedro, CA, USA – Priscilla J. Miranda – Frontiers in Microbiology

Hydrogen limitation and syntrophic growth among natural assemblages of thermophilic methanogens at deep-sea hydrothermal vents – Begüm D. Topçuoğlu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Halophiles: Champions of Environmental Adaptations and Their Industrial Applications – Rachana Singh – Current Biological Engineering (WTF: $63.00)

Review: An overview of siderophores for iron acquisition in microorganisms living in the extreme – Luis O. De Serrano – BioMetals

Air microbiome

Review: Approach of molecular methods for the detection and monitoring of microbial communities in bioaerosols: A review – Keunje Yoo – Journal of Environmental Sciences

Oil reservoir microbiome

Species divergence vs functional convergence characterizes crude oil microbial community assembly – Yong Nie – Frontiers in Microbiology

Metagenomics

Editorial: From Genes to Species: Novel Insights from Metagenomics – Eamonn P. Culligan – Frontiers in Microbiology

Sequencing techniques

Streaming algorithms for identification of pathogens and antibiotic resistance potential from real-time MinIONTM sequencing – Minh Duc Cao – GigaScience

Microbes in the news

Poop Pill’s Surprise Failure Shows That the Microbiome is Still a Mystery – Ryan Cross – MIT Technology Review
Gut check: Seres Therapeutics shares plunge after microbiome drug fails in trial – CNBC
Seres Therapeutics Announces Interim Results from SER-109 Phase 2 ECOSPOR Study in Multiply Recurrent Clostridium Difficile Infection – Seres

I, microbe: Book Review of “I Contain Multitudes” by Ed Yong – Silvia Bulgheresi – Nature Microbiology
Hot off the press: Interview with Ed Yong – Andrew Jermy – Nature Microbiology

Teasing out the microbiome of the Kansas prairie. One teaspoonful of soil holds DNA of tens of thousands of microbial species – EurekAlert
Teasing out the microbiome of the Kansas prairieOne teaspoonful of soil holds DNA of tens of thousands of microbial species – Science Daily

Parasitic infection may have spoiled zebrafish experiments.Common contaminant may change shoaling behaviour, a proxy for stress and anxiety in behavioural studies. – Petra Szilagyi – Nature
What Does Your Poop Say About Your Evolution, and Other Ecological Connections to the Microbiome – Jens Hegg – PLOS Blogs

Powerful new bacteria discovered in Cookeville hot tub – Daily News Journal

Could a new CREAM fight off superbugs? Scientists develop lotion which stops bacteria getting into wounds – Madlen Davies – Daily Mail

There’s Nothing Green About Jill Stein’s Vaccine Stance – Emily Willingham – Forbes

Your soap and toothpaste could be messing with your microbiome – Alison Moodie – The Guardian

Anthrax sickens 13 in western Siberia, and a thawed-out reindeer corpse may be to blame – Ben Guarino – Washington Post

Bik’s not-microbiology Picks

Khloe Kardashian’s Vagina Oil Is a Bad Idea. Koko is telling her young female followers to moisturize their ‘vaginal lining’ with Vitamin E. Definitely do not do this– Samantha Allen – The Daily Beast

The Physicians Committee Releases Seven Dietary Guidelines for a Healthy Microbiota
The Key to Optimal Gut Health? Eat 50 to 55 Grams of Daily Fiber – PCRM

 

July 29, 2016

Bifidobacteria/Spirochaetes trade-off in Italians vs. Hadza, asthma, transferring depression with human stool to rats, sea squirts symbionts, spacial structure of biofilms, and a glowing review of Ed Yong’s book “I Contain Multitudes”.

General microbiome

Dysbiosis Across Multiple Body Sites in Critically Ill Adult Surgical Patients – Andrew Yeh – Shock

Pregnancy / human oral microbiome

Smoking, pregnancy and the subgingival microbiome – Akshay D. Paropkari – Scientific Reports

Review: An Integrated Review of Intestinal Microbiota in the Very Premature Infant – Melissa C. Dollings –  Neonatal Network

Human respiratory microbiome

Bacterial microbiota of the upper respiratory tract and childhood asthma – Martin Depner – Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Review: The role of anaerobic bacteria in the cystic fibrosis airway – Laura J. Sherrard – Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine

Human vaginal microbiome

Commentary: The relationship between the vaginal microbiome and human health – MR Millar – BJOG

Human gut microbiome

Variations in the Post-weaning Human Gut Metagenome Profile As Result of Bifidobacterium Acquisition in the Western Microbiome – Matteo Soverini – Frontiers in Microbiology

Pediatric obesity is associated with an altered gut microbiota and discordant shifts in Firmicutes populations – Alessandra Riva – Environmental Microbiology

Histamine-secreting microbes are increased in the gut of adult asthma patients – Weronika Barcik – Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Dietary Supplementation with Rice Bran or Navy Bean Alters Gut Bacterial Metabolism in Colorectal Cancer Survivors – Amy M. Sheflin – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

Four-week consumption of a Bifidobacterium bifidum strain modulates dominant intestinal bacterial taxa and fecal butyrate in healthy adults – Giorgio Gargari – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Fecal microbiota transplantation for patients with steroid-resistant/dependent acute graft-versus-host disease of the gut – Kazuhiko Kakihana – Blood

Trial: Effect of prebiotic intake on gut microbiota, intestinal permeability and glycemic control in children with type 1 diabetes: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial – Josephine Ho – Trials

Opinion: How stable is the human gut microbiota? And why this question matters – Harald Brüssow – Environmental Microbiology

Research highlight: Microbial mobilomes differ between societies – Naomi Attar – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Review: High-Resolution Characterization of the Human Microbiome – Cecilia Noecker – Translational Research

Review: Microbiota metabolite short chain fatty acids, GPCR, and inflammatory bowel diseases – Mingming Sun – Journal of Gastroenterology

Review: The influence of gut derived CD39 regulatory T cells in CNS demyelinating disease – Javier Ochoa-Repáraz – Translational Research

Review: Fecal microbiota transplantation in inflammatory bowel disease: the quest for the holy grail – B Pigneur – Mucosal Immunology

Review: The Gut Microbiota in Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases – Jessica D. Forbes – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Regulation of Autoimmunity by the Microbiome – Carlos R. Zárate-Bladés – DNA and Cell Biology

Animal experiments

Transferring the blues: Depression-associated gut microbiota induces neurobehavioural changes in the rat – John R. Kelly – Journal of Psychiatric Research

The microbiota contributes to CD8+ T cell activation and nutrient malabsorption following intestinal infection with Giardia – Infection and Immunity – Aleksander Keselman

Gut Microbial Membership Modulates CD4 T Cell Reconstitution and Function after Sepsis – Javier Cabrera-Perez – Journal of Immunology

Metabolite exchange within the microbiome produces compounds that influence Drosophila behavior – Caleb N. Fischer – bioRxiv

Variation in the Gut Microbiota of Termites (Tsaitermes ampliceps) Against Different Diets – Lijuan Su – Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology

Animal microbiome

Endozoicomonas Are Specific, Facultative Symbionts of Sea Squirts – Lars Schreiber – Frontiers in Microbiology

Comparison of a modified phenol/chloroform and commercial-kit methods for extracting DNA from horse fecal material – Ali H.D. Janab -Journal of Microbiological Methods

Death Becomes Them: Bacterial community dynamics and stilbene antibiotic production in Galleria mellonella cadavers killed by Heterorhabditis/Photorhabdus – Amanda C. Wollenberg – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Comparative metagenomic analysis of PAH degradation in soil by a mixed microbial consortium – German Zafra – Journal of Hazardous Materials

Water and extremophile microbiome

Metatranscriptome analysis of active microbial communities in produced water samples from the Marcellus Shale – Amit Vikram – Microbial Ecology

Characterizing microbial diversity in production water from an Alaskan mesothermic petroleum reservoir with two independent molecular methods – Vinh D. Pham – Environmental Microbiology

Protocol: Visualizing Patterns of Marine Eukaryotic Diversity from Metabarcoding Data Using QIIME – Matthieu Leray – Marine Genomics

Protocol: Sampling of Riverine or Marine Bacterial Communities in Remote Locations: From Field to Publication – Katja Lehmann – Marine Genomics

Microbes in space

Assessment of the Forward Contamination Risk of Mars by Clean Room Isolates from Space-Craft Assembly Facilities through Aeolian Transport – a Model Study – Luc van Heereveld – Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres

Built environment microbiome

Figures appear to show a gradual change, not a break, but: Summer holidays as break-point in shaping a tannery sludge microbial community around a stable core microbiota – Cesira Giordano – Scientific Reports

Food microbiology

Detailed analyses of the bacterial populations in processed cocoa beans of different geographic origin, subject to varied fermentation conditions – Cristian Bortolini – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

A Scalable Permutation Approach Reveals Replication and Preservation Patterns of Network Modules in Large Datasets – Scott C. Ritchie – Cell Systems

Techniques

The effect of DNA extraction methodology on gut microbiota research applications – Konstantinos Gerasimidis – BMC Research Notes

Biofilms

Review: Spatial structure, cooperation and competition in biofilms – Carey D. Nadell – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Microbes in the news

A glowing book review: Living in a microbial world, book review of “I Contain Multitudes The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life” by Ed Yong – Susan Perkins – Science

State College of Florida, New College graduate wins microbiology award: Stephanie Morgan’s research won an award at the Small World Initiative Symposium – Bradenton Herald

Microbiology: A budding researcher creates a stir with her LIST-supported project: Camilla Hurst – Luxembourg Institute of Science And Technology (LIST)

‘Bugs’ on the subway: Monitoring the microbial environment to improve public health – Harvard

‘Nose-y’ Bacteria Could Yield A New Way To Fight Infection – Carolyn Beans – NPR

The Marine Microbiome – A treasure trove of scientific and industrial potential – Cordis Europa
Video: Revealing the Secrets of Marine Microbes: methods that are being used to isolate and culture marine microorganisms – MaCuMBA project

July 25, 2016

Increased accuracy in microbiome studies, the traveling microbiome, Vibrios on microplastics, and microbes in infant formula.

Human respiratory microbiome

Immune Response and Mortality Risk Relate to Distinct Lung Microbiomes in HIV-Pneumonia Patients – Meera K Shenoy – American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

Human gut microbiome

Biliary Microbiota, Gallstone Disease and Infection with Opisthorchis felineus – Irina V. Saltykova – PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Opinion: Current Knowledge and Future Research Directions on Fecal Bacterial Patterns and Their Association with Asthma – Shantelle Claassen-Weitz – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Gut microbiota in autoimmunity: potential for clinical applications – Donghyun Kim – Archives of Pharmacal Research

Review: The Traveling Microbiome – Mark S. Riddle – Current Infectious Disease Reports

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Browsing by an invasive herbivore promotes development of plant and soil communities during primary succession – Peter J. Bellingham – Journal of Ecology

Review: “Omics” Tools for Better Understanding the Plant–Endophyte Interactions
Sanjana Kaul – Frontiers in Plant Science

Water and extremophile microbiome

Can the Bacterial Community of a High Arctic Glacier Surface Escape Viral Control? – Sara M. E. Rassne – Frontiers in Microbiology

Analysis of the bacteriorhodopsin-producing haloarchaea reveals a core community that is stable over time in the salt crystallizers of Eilat, Israel – Nikhil Ram-Mohan – Extremophiles

Dangerous hitchhikers? Evidence for potentially pathogenic Vibrio spp. on microplastic particles – Inga V. Kirstein – Marine Environmental Research

Press: Hitching a ride? Deadly bacteria cling on to discarded plastic – Science Focus

Review: Monitoring and managing microbes in aquaculture – Towards a sustainable industry – Mikkel Bentzon-Tilia – Microbial Biotechnology

Food microbiology

Pulque, a Traditional Mexican Alcoholic Fermented Beverage: Historical, Microbiological, and Technical Aspects – Adelfo Escalante – Frontiers in Microbiology

Flow Cytometric and 16S Sequencing Methodologies for Monitoring the Physiological Status of the Microbiome in Powdered Infant Formula Production – Amir H. P. Anvarian – Frontiers in Microbiology

Techniques

Systematic improvement of amplicon marker gene methods for increased accuracy in microbiome studies – Daryl M Gohl – Nature Biotechnology

A Modified SDS-Based DNA Extraction Method for High Quality Environmental DNA from Seafloor Environments – Vengadesh Perumal Natarajan – Frontiers in Microbiology

More microbiology

A New Genomics-Driven Taxonomy of Bacteria and Archaea: Are We There Yet? – George M. Garrity – Journal of Clinical Microbiology

Microbes in the news

University of Alberta researchers aim to close the ‘fibre gap’ – Clare Clancy – Edmonton Journal

Oil-degrading bacteria to undergo field trials – T. Nandakumar – The Hindu

How we simulated a microscopic ‘wind farm’ – powered by bacteria – Tyler Shendruk – The Conversation

Microrobots Can Carry Out Medical Operations By Copying A Certain Bacteria – Jeanette Walsh – Stock News USA

Could parasite found in cat feces fight ovarian cancer? Scientists identify specific protein which trains the body to kill tumors – Mia De Graaf – Daily Mail

How do bacteria take up vitamins? – Research in Germany

BioFlash podcast: Why Big Pharma is hungry for bacteria – Biz Journals

Science, publishing, and career

Towards a typology of academic peer review styles – Kevin Wang – Urban Geography

Bik’s Non-Microbiology Picks

All the weird things kids have swallowed, in one hospital’s collection – Megan Thielking – STAT news

July 22, 2016

Fungi in human GI tract, antibiotics reduce Alzheimer’s lesions in mouse model, cospeciation of primates and gut microbes, dangerous bacteria after sewer spill.

Jobs

Research scientists to engineer microbiome engineering therapies – Eligo Bioscience

General microbiome

Perspective: Is triclosan harming your microbiome? – Alyson L. Yee – Science

Understanding How Microbiomes Influence the Systems they Inhabit: Insight from Ecosystem Ecology – Ed Hall – bioRxiv

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

Midtrimester Cervicovaginal Microbiota: Identification of Microbial Variations Associated with Puerperal Infection at Term – Akila Subramaniam – American Journal of Perinatology

Human mouth microbiome

Salivary and fecal microbiota and metabolome of celiac children under gluten-free diet – Maria De Angelis – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Human respiratory microbiome

Lung Microbiome in HIV Infection – Homer L. Twigg III – Translational Research

Human vaginal microbiome

Proceedings of the 2015 NIH/NIAID Bacterial Vaginosis Expert Consultation – The Journal of Infectious Diseases

Human gut microbiome

Age and gender affect the composition of fungal population of the human gastrointestinal tract – Francesco Strati – Frontiers in Microbiology

A reduction in the butyrate producing species Roseburia spp. and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii is associated with chronic kidney disease progression – Shuanghong Jiang – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Review: An update discussion on the current assessment of the safety of veterinary antimicrobial drug residues in food with regard to their impact on the human intestinal microbiome – Carl E. Cerniglia – Drug Testing and Analysis

Animal experiments

Antibiotic-induced perturbations in gut microbial diversity influences neuro-inflammation and amyloidosis in a murine model of Alzheimer’s disease – Myles R. Minter – Scientific Reports

Press: Antibiotics weaken Alzheimer’s disease progression through changes in the gut microbiome – EurekAlert
Could antibiotics reduce levels of Alzheimer’s-causing plaques? – Hannah Nichols – MedicalNewsToday

Pathogenic shifts in endogenous microbiota impede tissue regeneration via distinct activation of TAK1/MKK/p38 – Christopher P Arnold – eLIFE

Bacterial community characterization of water and intestine of the shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris in a biofloc system – Emilie Cardona – BMC Microbiology

Impact of Helminth Infections and Nutritional Constraints on the Small Intestine Microbiota – Isabella M. Cattadori – PLOS ONE

Nutrient Deprivation Affects Salmonella Invasion and Its Interaction with the Gastrointestinal Microbiota – Sophie Yurist-Doutsch – PLOS ONE

Celecoxib alters the intestinal microbiota and metabolome in association with reducing polyp burden – David C. Montrose – Cancer Prevention Research

Review: Interactions between host genetics and gut microbiome in diabetes and metabolic syndrome – Siegfried Ussar – Molecular metabolism

Animal microbiome

Cospeciation of gut microbiota with hominids – Andrew H. Moeller – Science

Press: Primates, Gut Microbes Evolved Together. Symbiotic gut bacteria evolved and diverged along with ape and human lineages, researchers find – Anna Azvolinsky – The Scientist
Microbes in our guts have been with us for millions of years – Ann Gibbons – Science
Your gut bacteria predates appearance of humans, genetic study finds – Naomi Stewart – The Guardian

A snapshot of the microbiome of Amblyomma tuberculatum ticks infesting the gopher tortoise, an endangered species – Khemraj Budachetri – Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

Do Vertebrate Gut Metagenomes Confer Rapid Ecological Adaptation? –
Antton Alberdi – Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Vaginal microbial communities from synchronized-heifers and cows with reproductive disorders – Candelaria Gonzalez Moreno – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Review: The woodrat gut microbiota as an experimental system for understanding microbial metabolism of dietary toxins – Kevin D. Kohl – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Plant Identity Exerts Stronger Effect than Fertilization on Soil Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in a Sown Pasture – Yong Zheng – Microbial Ecology

Beneficial cyanobacteria and eubacteria synergistically enhance bioavailability of soil nutrients and yield of okra – Mallappa Manjunath – Heliyon

Naming Potentially Endangered Parasites: Foliicolous Mycobiota of Dimorphandra wilsonii, a Highly Threatened Brazilian Tree Species– Meiriele da Silva – PLOS ONE

Contribution of the seed microbiome to weed management – D Müller-Stöver – Weed Research

Mycorrhizal associations of trees have different indirect effects on organic matter decomposition – Melanie K. Taylor – Journal of Ecology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Vancomycin resistant enterococci and bacterial community structure following a sewage spill into an aquatic environment – Suzanne Young – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Press: USF researchers find dangerous bacteria after sewer spills – EurekAlert
USF researchers say they found dangerous bacteria after sewage spill – Anne Lindberg – Saint Peters Blog

Hospital Effluents Are One of Several Sources of Metal, Antibiotic Resistance Genes, and Bacterial Markers Disseminated in Sub-Saharan Urban Rivers – Amandine Laffite – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbial communities in sediments of Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria: Elucidation of community structure and potential impacts of contamination by municipal and industrial wastes – Chioma C. Obi – Frontiers in Microbiology

Cryoconite pans on Snowball Earth: supraglacial oases for Cryogenian eukaryotes? – P. F. Hoffman – Geobiology

Effects of multiple dimensions of bacterial diversity on functioning, stability and multifunctionality – Fabian Roger – Ecology

Heterotrophic bacteria in Antarctic lacustrine and glacial environments – Johanna Laybourn-Parry – Polar Biology

Microbial diversity and activity in seafloor brine lake sediments (Alaminos Canyon block 601, Gulf of Mexico) – M. Crespo-Medina – Geobiology

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

MetaG: a graph-based metagenomic gene analysis for big DNA data – Linkon Chowdhury – Network Modeling Analysis in Health Informatics and Bioinformatics

DFAST and DAGA: web-based integrated genome annotation tools and resources – Yasuhiro Tanizawa – Bioscience of Microbiota, Food and Health

Genome-centric resolution of microbial diversity, metabolism and interactions in anaerobic digestion – Inka Vanwonterghem – Environmental Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Breast-feeding the Microbiome (Excerpt from his book) – Ed Yong – New Yorker

Janet Jansson Among Nine Authors of Nature Review Article – PNNL

Northern Arizona University professor Bruce Hungate named a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology – Arizona Business Daily

UF scientists identify seal as source of new strain of bacteria that caused disease in hunter – Sarah Carey – University of Florida

Gut Bacteria May Drive Inflammation in Sepsis, ARDS – Salynn Boyles – MedPageToday

With Rob Knight as keynote speaker: Fermenting Knowledge at Fermentation Festivals (with Kombucha Recipe) – John D. Ivanko – Mother Earth News

Your death microbiome could catch your killer – Anna Williams – New Scientist

Microbes and money

Osel, Inc. Comments on New Study Showing Role of Vaginal Microbiome in Women’s Health – PharmiWeb

Q&A: Indigo’s CEO Reveals the Strategy Behind Its Plant Microbiome Technology – Olivia Vanni – BostInno

Eminent Harvard Geneticist Professor George Church Joins uBiome Advisory Board – Benzinga

Immuron to Cooperate with Leading Australian Universities on Autism Research – Nasdaq

July 15, 2016

Symbionts and reproductive oddities, microbiota in a mouse stroke model, the plant holobiont, CRISPR spacer extraction from metagenomes.

General microbiome

Bacterial cell biology outside the streetlight: reproductive oddities displayed by bacteria associated with multicellular eukaryotes – Silvia Bulgheresi – Environmental Microbiology

New book: The Human Microbiota and Chronic Disease: Dysbiosis as a Cause of Human Pathology – Brian Henderson, Luigi Nibali – Wiley

Events

Webinar: The Microbiome and the Environment – July 26 – ACS Publications

Microbiomes of the Built Environment Meeting 2 Webcast Videos and Presentations Now Available! – Jonathan Eisen

Human gut microbiome

Severe Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis Is Associated With Poor Growth in Patients With Short Bowel Syndrome – Hannah G. Piper – Journal of Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition

Review: Corralling Colonic Flagellated Microbiota – Ruth E. Ley – The New England Journal of Medicine

Editorial: Microbiome and mental health in the modern environment – Emily Deans -Journal of Physiological Anthropology

Animal experiments

Microbiota Dysbiosis Controls the Neuroinflammatory Response after Stroke – Vikramjeet Singh – The Journal of Neuroscience

Press: Post-stroke shifts in gut bacteria could cause additional brain injury – Rachel Ehrenberg – Science News
Stroke Alters Gut Microbiome, Impacting Recovery. A bidirectional link between the brain and the gut can improve or worsen brain injury in mice, researchers report – Tanya Lewis – The Scientist

Animal microbiome

Nest Bacterial Environment Affects Microbiome of Hoopoe Eggshells, but Not That of the Uropygial Secretion – Ángela Martínez-García – PLOS ONE

Highly Variable Bacterial Communities Associated with the Octocoral Antillogorgia elisabethae – Veronica Robertson – Microorganisms

Review: Alice in microbes’ land: adaptations and counter-adaptations of vector-borne parasitic protozoa and their hosts – Guy Caljon – FEMS Microbiology Reviews

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Fires of differing intensities rapidly select distinct soil fungal communities in a Northwest US ponderosa pine forest ecosystem – C. Reazin – Forest Ecology and Management

The enzymatic and physiological response of the microbial community in semiarid soil to carbon compounds from plants – I. F. Torres – European Journal of Soil Science

DGGE: Rhizobacterial Community Structures Associated with Native Plants Grown in Chilean Extreme Environments – Milko A. Jorquera – Microbial Ecology

ReviewPlant–microbe partnerships in 2020: The plant holobiont and its interactions determine plant performance. – Birgit Mitter – Microbial Biotechnology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Syntrophic associations from hypersaline soda lakes converting organic acids and alcohols to methane at extremely haloalkaline conditions – Dimitry Y. Sorokin – Environmental Microbiology

Microbialite response to an anthropogenic salinity gradient in Great Salt Lake, Utah – M. R. Lindsay – Geobiology

Chemodenitrification in the cryoecosystem of Lake Vida, Victoria Valley, Antarctica – N. E. Ostrom – GeoBiology

Speciation and ecological success in dimly lit waters: horizontal gene transfer in a green sulfur bacteria bloom unveiled by metagenomic assembly – Tomàs Llorens–Marès – ISME Journal

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

MetaCRAST: Reference-guided extraction of CRISPR spacers from unassembled metagenomes – Abraham G Moller – PeerJ Preprints

Microbes in the news

Yale engineers think our future homes should be designed with microbes in mind – Dyllan Furness – Digital Trends

How to get Funding for your Human Microbiome Startup – Global Engage

 

July 5, 2016

Circadian rhythm, resistant starch, mock communities, sea turtle microbiome, tea rhizosphere.

General microbiome

Review: The Metronome of Symbiosis: Interactions Between Microbes and the Host Circadian Clock – Elizabeth A. C. Heath-Heckman – Integrative & Comparative Biology

Human oral microbiome

Microbial Ecosystem Analysis in Root Canal Infections Refractory to Endodontic Treatment – Luiz Carlos Feitosa Henriques – Journal of Endodontics

Human gut microbiome

Impact of dietary resistant starch type 4 on human gut microbiota and immunometabolic functions – Bijaya Upadhyaya – Scientific Reports

Press: Essential Science: Taking on metabolic disorders with starch – Tim Sandle – Digital Journal

Editorial: serologic microbial-associated markers to predict Crohn’s disease behaviour – A. G. Fraser – Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Review: Microbiota and Liver – Kazumichi Abe – The Liver in Systemic Diseases

Animal experiments

A Role for Timp3 in Microbiota-Driven Hepatic Steatosis and Metabolic Dysfunction – Maria Mavilio – Cell Reports

Animal microbiome

A first insight into the gut microbiota of the sea turtle Caretta caretta – Khaled F. Abdelrhman – Frontiers in Microbiology

News and views: Co-evolution of marine worms and their chemoautotrophic bacterial symbionts: unexpected host switches explained by ecological fitting? – A. Brune – Molecular Ecology

Bacterial communities of oceanic sea star (Asteroidea: Echinodermata) larvae – Madeline R. Galac – Marine Biology

Gut bacteria differentially affect egg production in the anautogenous mosquito Aedes aegypti and facultatively autogenous mosquito Aedes atropalpus (Diptera: Culicidae) – Kerri L. Coon – Parasites & Vectors

Review: Better with your parasites? Lessons for behavioural ecology from evolved dependence and conditionally helpful parasites – Kelly L. Weinersmith – Animal Behaviour

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Response of soil properties and microbial communities to agriculture: Implications for primary productivity and soil health indicators – Pankaj Trivedi – Frontiers in Plant Science

Variations of rhizosphere bacterial communities in tea (Camellia sinensis L.) continuous cropping soil by high-throughput pyrosequencing approach – Yanchun Li – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Oil sands tailings ponds harbour a small core prokaryotic microbiome and diverse accessory communities – S.L. Wilson – Journal of Biotechnology

The Ocean Microbiome: Metabolic Engine of the Marine Carbon Cycle – Elizabeth B. Kujawinski – Microbe

Biofilms

Relevant for Cystic Fibrosis: Temperate phages both mediate and drive adaptive evolution in pathogen biofilms – Emily V. Davies – PNAS

Press: Tiny viruses speed-up evolution of bacteria causing infections in cystic fibrosis patients – News Medical

Techniques

Droplet barcoding for massively parallel single-molecule deep sequencing
Freeman Lan – Nature Communications

Transcriptomics

Comparative transcriptomics across the prokaryotic tree of life – Ofir Cohen – Nucleic Acids Research

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

PhyloToAST: Bioinformatics tools for species-level analysis and visualization of complex microbial datasets – Shareef M. Dabdoub – Scientific Reports

Optimization of 16S amplicon analysis using mock communities: implications for
estimating community diversity – Andrew Krohn – PeerJ

Benchmarking of methods for identification of antimicrobial resistance genes in bacterial whole genome data – Philip T. L. C. Clausen – Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

A De-Novo Genome Analysis Pipeline (DeNoGAP) for large-scale comparative prokaryotic genomics studies – Shalabh Thakur – BMC Bioinformatics

Editorial: Nucleic Acids Research annual Web Server Issue in 2016 – Nucleic Acids Research

July 1, 2016

NIH’s Lita Proctor writes about the Human Microbiome Project, oral microbiome among Cheyenne and Arapaho, Cystic Fibrosis, responses to resistant starch, the Swan Goose, sugarcane, litter decomposition.

General microbiome

Review: The National Institutes of Health Human Microbiome Project – Lita M. Proctor – Seminars in Fetal and Neonatal Medicine

Pregnancy and birth

Early-Life Events, Including Mode of Delivery and Type of Feeding, Siblings and Gender, Shape the Developing Gut Microbiota – Rocio Martin – PLOS ONE

Human oral microbiome

Oral microbiome diversity among cheyenne and arapaho individuals from Oklahoma – Andrew T. Ozga – American Journal of Physical Anthropology

Human respiratory microbiome

Pyrosequencing Unveils Cystic Fibrosis Lung Microbiome Differences Associated with a Severe Lung Function Decline – Giovanni Bacci – PLOS ONE

Human skin microbiome

The skin microbiome is different in pediatric versus adult atopic dermatitis
Baochen Shi – Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Just colony counts: Chlorhexidine avoids skin bacteria recolonization more than triclosan – Juan H. Macias – American Journal of Infection Control

Human gut microbiome

Variable responses of human microbiomes to dietary supplementation with resistant starch – A. Venkataraman – Microbiome

Duodenal bacteria from patients with celiac disease and healthy subjects distinctly affect gluten breakdown and immunogenicity – Alberto Caminero – Gastroenterology

Predominance of Lactobacillus spp. among patients who do not acquire multidrug-resistant organisms – Rafael Araos – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Nutrition and the Microbiome: Special Edition of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Review: Nutrition and the microbiome – Karin Moelling
Review: Nutrition meets the microbiome: micronutrients and the microbiota – Hans K. Biesalski

Letter: Microbiota and Alcoholic Liver Disease – Peng Chen – Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research

Animal experiments

Sex differences and hormonal effects on gut microbiota composition in mice – Elin Org – Gut Microbes

Animal microbiome

Distinctive gut microbial community structure in both the wild and farmed Swan goose (Anser cygnoides) – Wen Wang – Journal of Basic Microbiology

The gut microbiome of the sea urchin, Lytechinus variegatus from their natural habitat demonstrates selective attributes of microbial taxa and predictive metabolic profiles – Joseph A. Hakim – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Analysis of microbiota on abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) in South Korea for improved product management – Min-Jung Lee – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Bacterial endosymbionts protect aphids in the field and alter parasitoid community composition – Lukas Rothacher – Ecology
Midgut fungal and bacterial microbiota of Aedes triseriatus and Aedes japonicus shift in response to La Crosse virus infection – Ephantus J. Muturi – Molecular Ecology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

The importance of C, N and P as driver for bacterial community structure in German beech dominated forest soils – Fabian Bergkemper – Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science

Unlocking the bacterial and fungal communities assemblages of sugarcane microbiome – Rafael Soares Correa de Souza – Scientific Reports

Life in leaf litter: novel insights into community dynamics of bacteria and fungi during litter decomposition – Witoon Purahong – Molecular Ecology

Endophytic microbial diversity of the halophyte Arthrocnemum macrostachyum across plant compartments – M. del R. Mora-Ruiz – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Conference abstract: High diversity of enzymes in plant-associated microbiomes – Christina A. Müller – New Biotechnology

Review: Plant-Mediated Systemic Interactions Between Pathogens, Parasitic Nematodes, and Herbivores Above- and Belowground – Arjen Biere – Annual Review of Phytopathology

Unearthed! The Amazing Microbiome Exposed: Editor’s Note – Stephen L. Young – Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America
Unearthed! The Amazing Microbiome Exposed: The Arising Researcher – Marnie E. Rout
Unearthed! The Amazing Microbiome Exposed: The Established Researcher – John Klironomos

Water microbiome

Potential Mechanisms for Microbial Energy Acquisition in Oxic Deep-Sea Sediments – Benjamin J. Tully – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Built environment microbiome

Evidence of Avian and Possum Fecal Contamination in Rainwater Tanks as Determined by Microbial Source Tracking Approaches – W. Ahmed – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Factors Influencing Bacterial Diversity and Community Composition in Municipal Drinking Waters in the Ohio River Basin, USA – Lee F. Stanish – PLOS ONE

Microbes in space

Review: Venturing into new realms? Microorganisms in space – Christine Moissl-Eichinger – FEMS Microbiology Reviews

Techniques

Simultaneous purification of DNA and RNA from microbiota in a single colonic mucosal biopsy – Aina E. F. Moen – BMC Research Notes

Microbes in the news

The North American Beaver: Castor canadensis : A look at our local Canadian friend’s microbes – Megan McGrath – Genotek’s The Microbiome Snapshot

Human Microbiome Market : Growth, Development, and Outlook 2014 – 2020 – SB Wire

uBiome Completely Re-Imagines Microbiome Experimentation with New Launch – PR Web

Bacteria prevents mosquitoes from spreading Zika, UW-Madison study says – Wisconsin State Journal

Study sheds more light on how bacteria rapidly causes infectious diseases – News Medical

Gut bacteria spotted eating brain chemicals for the first time – Andy Coghlan – New Scientist

Large Grant to Research on Bacteria in the Nose – Statens Serum Institute

Science, publishing, and career

Great and funny read: Some things you need to know about Google Scholar – Mark Dingemans – Ideophone

June 22, 2016

Nipple aspirate, CNS infections, fiber and food allergies, horses and honeybee bacteria, and a report from the subway citizen science project.

General human microbiome

Commentary: Lessons Learned from Probing for Impacts of Triclosan and Triclocarban on Human Microbiomes – Rolf U. Halden – mSphere

Human nipple microbiome

Characterization of the microbiome of nipple aspirate fluid of breast cancer survivors – Alfred A. Chan – Scientific Reports

Human vaginal microbiome

Impact of Probiotic SYNBIO® Administered by Vaginal Suppositories in Promoting Vaginal Health of Apparently Healthy Women – Maria Cristina Verdenelli – Current Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Alterations of Intestinal Microbiome by Antibiotic Therapy in Hospitalized Children – Miriam R. Fernandes – Microbial Drug Resistance

Could gut microbiota serve as prognostic biomarker associated with colorectal cancer patients’ survival? A pilot study on relevant mechanism – Zhiliang Wei – Oncotarget

ASM Microbe 2016 abstract: Increased Akkermansia muciniphila and Bacteroides fragilis Group Abundance After Islamic Fasting – C. Erdogdu – ASM Microbe 2016

Press: Happy Ramadan From Your Microbiome! – Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News

Review: Inflammation and the microbiome: implications for depressive disorders – Shawn Hayley – Current Opinion in Pharmacology

Review: Role of the microbiome, probiotics, and ‘dysbiosis therapy’ in critical illness.– Wischmeyer, Paul E. – Current Opinion in Critical Care

Infection and microbiology

Next-generation sequencing in neuropathologic diagnosis of infections of the nervous system – Steven L. Salzberg – Neurology Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation

Press: Diagnosing brain infections using metagenomics – Julian Harris – PHG Foundation

Animal experiments

Dietary Fiber and Bacterial SCFA Enhance Oral Tolerance and Protect against Food Allergy through Diverse Cellular Pathways – Jian Tan – Cell Reports

Press: Diet high in fiber and vitamin A key to preventing allergies to peanuts and other triggers – EurekAlert

Gut microbiota translocation to the pancreatic lymph nodes triggers NOD2 activation and contributes to T1D onset – Frederico R.C. Costa – Journal of Experimental Medicine

Cutting Edge: Commensal Microbiota Has Disparate Effects on Manifestations of Polyglandular Autoimmune Inflammation – Camilla H. F. Hansen – The Journal of Immunology

Fighting Off Wound Pathogens in Horses with Honeybee Lactic Acid Bacteria – Tobias C. Olofsson – Current Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Local diversity of heathland Cercozoa explored by in-depth sequencing – Christoffer Bugge Harder – the ISME Journal

Press: Immense species richness of bacterial-eating microorganisms discovered in soil – Phys.org

Characterization of cadmium-resistant bacteria and their potential for reducing accumulation of cadmium in rice grains – Xiaoyan Lin – Science of The Total Environment
Editorial special issue: Soil, plants and endophytes – Stéphane Compant – Plant and Soil

Water and extremophile microbiome

Diverse Sulfur Metabolisms from Two Subterranean Sulfidic Spring Systems – Karen Rossmassler – FEMS Microbiology Letters

Metabolic potential of microbial mats and microbialites: autotrophic capabilities described by an in silico stoichiometric approach from shared genomic resources – Daniel Cerqueda-García – Journal of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Waste and pollution microbiology

Microbial contamination along the main open wastewater and storm water channel of Hanoi, Vietnam, and potential health risks for urban farmers – Samuel Fuhrimann – Science of The Total Environment

Isolation of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus from a tropical wastewater treatment plant and predation of mixed species biofilms assembled by the native community members – Shugeng Feng – Environmental Microbiology

Microbial forensics

Microbial forensics: next‐generation sequencing as catalyst – Irene Kuiper – EMBO Reports

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

MEGAN Community Edition – Interactive Exploration and Analysis of Large-Scale Microbiome Sequencing Data – Daniel H. Huson – PLOS Computational Biology

Phages rarely encode antibiotic resistance genes: a cautionary tale for virome analyses – François Enault – The ISME Journal

More microbiology

Rates and mechanisms of bacterial mutagenesis from maximum-depth sequencing – Justin Jee – Nature

Press: Sequencing method precise enough to reveal mechanisms by which bacteria resist antibiotics – Phys.org

Darwinolide, a New Diterpene Scaffold That Inhibits Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm from the Antarctic Sponge Dendrilla membranosa – Jacqueline L. von Salm – Organic Letters

Press: Antibiotics from a Sponge. Could a new compound from Antarctic sea sponges be the key to breaching MRSA’s impregnable barricades? – Michael Lucibella – Antarctic Sun

Microbes in the news

MetaSUB Citizen Science Project:
With video of researchers swabbing away: Biologists Study What Kind Of Bacteria Is On New York City Subways – CBS Local
Qiagen, CosmosID Join International Urban Microbiome Project – Genome Web

New Life Found That Lives Off Electricity. Scientists have figured out how microbes can suck energy from rocks. Such life-forms might be more widespread than anyone anticipated – Emily Singer – Quanta Magazine

High-tech program on microbiome-based research launched in Qingdao – Hu Qing – China Daily

Explained: flesh eating bacteria in the Gulf of Mexico – Dylan Baddour – Houston Chronicle

Science, publishing, and career

Your Science Conference Should Have a Code of Conduct – Brett Favaro – Frontiers in Marine Science

Science in China – A special issue looks at the country’s astonishing scientific trajectory as it seeks to secure its spot among the leaders in innovation – Nature
China by the numbers. Research capacity has grown rapidly, and now quality is on the rise – Richard Van Noorden – Nature

Global Research Council: Commit to equity for women researchers – France A. Córdova – Nature