May 11, 2017

Gram-negative gut bacteria and Toll-like receptor 4 linked to stimulation of cerebral cavernous malformations, suppression of a single gene by the microbiota promotes T cell survival in mice, quorum sensing negatively regulates toxin production in insect-associated bacteria and may facilitate stable colonization.

General microbiome

Lactobacillus plantarum producing a Chlamydia trachomatis antigen induces a specific IgA response after mucosal booster immunization – Katarzyna Kuczkowska – PLoS ONE

Human oral microbiome

The dental calculus metabolome in modern and historic samples – Irina M Velsko – bioRxiv

Insights of the dental calculi microbiome of pre-Columbian inhabitants from Puerto Rico – Tasha M Santiago-Rodriguez – PeerJ

Arginine Improves pH Homeostasis via Metabolism and Microbiome Modulation – M Angelo – Journal of Dental Research

Human gut microbiome

Faecal Microbiota Transplantation for Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis – Sudarshan Paramsothy – Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis

Significantly higher faecal counts of the yeasts candida and saccharomyces identified in people with coeliac disease – Joanna Harnett – Gut Pathogens

Research Highlight: Tooling up for microbiota research – Hugh Thomas – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Review: The gut microbiota: a key factor in the therapeutic effects of (poly)phenols – Juan Carlos Espín – Biochemical Pharmacology

Animal experiments

* Endothelial TLR4 and the microbiome drive cerebral cavernous malformations – Alan T Tang – Nature

* Microbiota promotes systemic T-cell survival through suppression of an apoptotic factor – Raymond Soto – PNAS

Bifidobacterium adolescentis IM38 ameliorates high-fat diet-induced colitis in mice by inhibiting NF-κB activation and lipopolysaccharide production by gut microbiota – Su-Min Lim – Nutrition Research

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors of Ripk2 attenuate bacterial cell wall-mediated lipolysis, inflammation and dysglycemia – Brittany M Duggan – Scientific Reports

Total fecal microbiota transplantation alleviates high-fat diet-induced steatohepatitis in mice via beneficial regulation of gut microbiota – Da Zhou – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

* Quorum Sensing Attenuates Virulence in Sodalis praecaptivus – Shinichiro Enomoto – Cell Host & Microbe

The digestive and defensive basis of carcass utilization by the burying beetle and its microbiota – Heiko Vogel – Nature Communications

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Antibacterial producing actinomycetes from Extra Andean Patagonia – M S Vela Gurovic – Journal of Arid Environments

High-throughput sequencing reveals bacterial community composition in the rhizosphere of the invasive plant Flaveria bidentis – Z Song – Weed Research

Microbiomes associated with infective stages of root-knot and lesion nematodes in soil – Ahmed Elhady – PLoS ONE

Review: Plant-insect-pathogen interactions: a naturally complex ménage à trois – Flávia P Franco – Current Opinion in Microbiology

Review: CuO and ZnO Nanoparticles Modify Interkingdom Cell Signaling Processes Relevant to Crop Production: A Review – Anne Anderson – Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

The phosphotransferase system gene ptsi in Bacillus cereus regulates expression of soda2 and contributes to colonization of wheat roots – Tantan Gao – Research in Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Review: Microbial processes driving coral reef organic carbon flow – Cynthia B Silveira – FEMS Microbiology Reviews

Diversity of biocrust-forming cyanobacteria in a semiarid gypsiferous site from Central Spain – Concha Cano-Díaz – bioRxiv

Probiotics/prebiotics

Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001 Reduces Depression Scores and Alters Brain Activity: a Pilot Study in Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Maria Ines Pinto-Sanchez – Gastroenterology

Bioinformatics

dbOTU3: A new implementation of distribution-based OTU calling – Scott W Olesen – PLoS ONE

MGmapper: Reference based mapping and taxonomy annotation of metagenomics sequence reads – Thomas Nordahl Petersen – PLoS ONE

Bioinformatics tools for quantitative and functional metagenome and metatranscriptome data analysis in microbes – Sheng-Yong Niu – Briefings on Bioinformatics

Techniques

Review: Imaging mass spectrometry for metabolites: technical progress, multimodal imaging, and biological interactions – Ying-Ning Ho – WIREs Systems Biology and Medicine

Live-Cell Nanoscopy in Antiadhesion Therapy – Joan A Geoghegan – Trends in Microbiology

Low concentration DNA extraction and recovery using a silica solid phase – Constantinos Katevatis – PLoS ONE

More microbes

When more is less: Emergent suppressive interactions in three-drug combinations – Casey Beppler – BMC Microbiology

Effects of stochasticity and division of labor in toxin production on two-strain bacterial competition in Escherichia coli – Benedikt von Bronk – PLoS Biology

Biosynthesis of the antibiotic nonribosomal peptide penicillin in baker’s yeast – Ali R Awan – Nature Communications

Microbes in the news

Cosmetics: The next microbiome frontier – Marc S Reisch – Chemical and Engineering News

A defence mechanism that can trap and kill TB bacteria – Science Daily

Is IBS All In Your Mind? New Study Hints at Close Ties Between the Brain and the Gut – Jessica Wapner – Newsweek

Bacteria art

Scientists ‘paint’ with bacteria, create microbial masterpieces – Tom Ensey – wistv.com

May 10, 2017

A short digest today, but not without interesting pieces. Largest study yet to demonstrate vertical transfer of bacteria from mother to infant, microbes could orchestrate plant ‘migration’, and many fascinating pieces of news on microbes. How may we make peace with microbes in and around us?

General microbiology

Using Resurrected Ancestral Proviral Proteins to Engineer Virus Resistance – Asunción Delgado et al. – Cell Reports

Press: Four-billion-year-old ‘fossil’ protein resurrected in bacteria protects them from viruses – Phys.org

Infant Gut Microbiome

Association Between Breast Milk Bacterial Communities and Establishment and Development of the Infant Gut Microbiome – Pia S. Pannaraj et al. – JAMA Pediatrics

Press: Breastfeeding plays important role in ‘seeding’ infant microbiome with beneficial bacteria – Leigh Hopper – UCLA

Plant, root and soil microbiome

Microbial communities and diazotrophic activity differ in the root-zone of Alamo and Dacotah switchgrass feedstocks – Richard R. Rodrigues et al. – Global Change Biology Bioenergy

Divergent plant–soil feedbacks could alter future elevation ranges and ecosystem dynamics – Michael E. Van Nuland et al. – Nature Ecology and Evolution

Press: Microscopic soil creatures could orchestrate massive tree ‘migrations’ – University of Tennessee at Knoxville – Science Daily

Microbes in the news

Global warming is altering the microbiota of lizards – Brooks Hays – UPI

TOO much exercise causes a leaky gut and increases health risks, research shows (and be especially careful if you work in the military) – Claudia Tanner – Daily Mail

Be wary of the title: Bacteria in Yogurt Cures Depression, Study Shows – Lorie Johnson – CBN News

Anecdotal evidence: Faecal transplants boost mind-gut link – Sarah Wiedersehn – Yahoo News

Bacteria appears to be behind mysterious outbreak in Liberia – Mike Stobbe – ABC News

Scientists Battle Bacteria with Silver and Mucus – Shawn Radcliffe – Healthline News

Verify: Will I contract flesh-eating bacteria at the beach in Texas? – Brandon Jones – KVUE

BACTERIA could mean the end of the pothole: Radical self repairing road can ‘grow’ into cracks – Cecile Borkhataria – Daily Mail

I Survived Flesh-Eating Bacteria—and It Changed My Life Forever – Aimee Copeland – Time

Microbes on the market

Oral enzyme prevents C. difficile infection, VRE colonization – Healio Gastroenterology

May 9, 2017

Today’s digest is full of exciting papers that look at how climate change is influencing the gut microbiome of lizards, biogeography of bacteria along the Amazon river, lastly how going to the gym might be bad for you.

Human gut microbiome

Preprint : The Landscape Of Type VI Secretion Across Human Gut Microbiomes Reveals Its Role In Community Composition. Verster A. bioRxiv

Ocean, river, and stream microbiome

Disentangling multi‐scale environmental effects on stream microbial communities. Jyrkänkallio‐Mikkola J. Journal of Biogeography

Bacterial biogeography across the Amazon river-ocean continuum  Doherty M. Frontiers in Microbiology

Spatial variation of microbial communities in sediments along the environmental gradients from Xiaoqing River to Laizhou Bay.   Yu SX.  Marine Pollution Bulletin

The impact of long-term water level draw-down on microbial biomass: A comparative study from two peatland sites with different nutrient status Mpamah PA. European Journal of Soil Biology

The metabolic potential of the single cell genomes obtained from the Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench within the Candidate Superphylum Parcubacteria (OD1). León‐Zayas. Environmental Microbiology

Plant, soil, and air microbiome

Postmortem microbial communities in burial soil layers of skeletonized humans. Thomas TB. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine

Metagenomic Analysis of Bacterial Communities in the Rhizosphere of Leguminous Crops and Trees. Ahrenhoerster C. The FASEB Journal

Animal gut microbiome

Can fecal samples be used to inform about microbial communities of the equine hindgut? Reed KJ. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science

Normal variation and changes over time in the equine intestinal microbiome Martin EJ. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science

Climate warming reduces gut microbiota diversity in a vertebrate ectotherm. Bestion E. Nature:Ecology and Evolution

Effect of dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL (CECT 4529) on caecum microbioma and productive performance in broiler chickens De Cesare A. PLoS One

Biotechnology 

Editorial Petroleum Microbial Biotechnology: Challenges and Prospects Ismail WA.Frontiers in Microbiology

Antibiotic 

Networks of exchanging antibiotic resistance between environmental, commensal, and pathogenic microbes Dantas G- The FASEB Journal

Extreme environment 

Decoupling of microbial carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling in response to extreme temperature events Mooshammer M. Science Advances

Faecal microbiome 

pH-Mediated Microbial and Metabolic Interactions in Fecal Enrichment Cultures Ilhan ZE. mSpehere

Anemia During Infancy Affects the Fecal Microbiome and Fecal and Serum Metabolomes McClorry S. The FASEB Journal

Microbes in the news

Southern California beaches get bacteria warnings after rain

Monterey County Herald

The Amount Of Bacteria On Gym Equipment Will Make Sure You Never Forget To Wipe Down The Elliptical Again

Bustle


 

May 7, 2017

A short digest for Sunday morning. Few interesting gut microbiome articles and Time magazine cover story about the next pandemic and novel detection technologies.

General microbiome

Antibiotics in a general population: Relations with gender, body mass index (BMI) and age and their human health risks – Sisi Liu -Science of the Total Environment

Human gut microbiome

A Clostridium difficile-Specific, Gel-Forming Protein Required for Optimal Spore Germination – ML Donnelly – MBio

The intestinal microbiome and paediatric liver disease – Daniel H Leung, MD – The Lancet

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Review: Communication in the Phytobiome – Jan E. Leach – Cell

Food microbiology

The impact of nutrition on intestinal bacterial communities – Harry J Flint – Current opinion in Microbiology

Large-scale targeted metagenomics analysis of bacterial ecological changes in 88 kimchi samples during fermentation – Moeun Lee – Food microbiology

Probiotics / prebiotics

Designer probiotics for the prevention and treatment of human diseases – Koon Jiew Chua – Current opinion in chemical biology

Microbes in the news

Time magazine: The world is not ready for the next pandemic

Researchers find link between gut microbiome, osteoarthritis pain

May 6, 2017

Events and jobs

Trainee Microbiology Analyst – Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories

General microbiome

*Review: Optimizing methods and dodging pitfalls in microbiome research – Dorothy Kim – Microbiome

*Book: Dirt Is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child’s Developing Immune System – Jack Gilbert, Rob Knight

Human gut microbiome

*Review: Ménage à trois in the human gut: interactions between host, bacteria and phages – Mohammadali Khan Mirzaei – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Animal microbiome

The functional microbiome of arthropods – Mauro Degli Esposti – PLOS ONE

A comparative study of gut microbiota profiles of earthworms fed in three different substrates – Dianfeng Liu – Symbiosis

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Breaking continuous potato cropping with legumes improves soil microbial communities, enzyme activities and tuber yield – Shuhao Qin – PLOS ONE

Study on the effect of soil beneficial microorganisms on the growth of kiwifruit – Huihe Li – Biomedical Research

Water and extremophile microbiome

Contribution of different bacterial dispersal sources to lakes: Population and community effects in different seasons – Jérôme Comte – Environmental Microbiology

*Review: The life sulfuric: microbial ecology of sulfur cycling in marine sediments – Kenneth Wasmund – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Fine stratification of microbial communities through a metagenomic profile of
the photic zone – Jose M. Haro-Moreno – bioRxiv

Probiotics / prebiotics

Effect of dietary supplementation with Lactobacillus acidophilus D2/CSL (CECT 4529) on caecum microbioma and productive performance in broiler chickens – Alessandra De Cesare – PLOS ONE

Bioinformatics

BusyBee Web: metagenomic data analysis by bootstrapped supervised binning and annotation – CC Laczny – Nucleic Acids Research

Techniques

*Highlight: How to see more: double hybridization to reveal ecological differentiation among close bacterial relatives – Stefan Bertilsson – Environmental Microbiology

Comparative analysis of the sensitivity of metagenomic sequencing and PCR to detect a biowarfare simulant (Bacillus atrophaeus) in soil samples – Delphine Plaire – PLOS ONE

Microbes in the news

The Invisible Secret That Will Change Your Skin Forever – Rachel Krause – Refinery29

Improve your skin microbiome – Cassie Shortsleeve – Furthermore

Dormant bacteria trapped in ice could be released by climate change – Alayna Treene – Axios

Microbes on the market

Commense Licenses UBC’s Microbiome Therapeutic for Preventing Childhood Asthma – Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

Bacteria Hysteria

Why Bacteria Are More Threatening Than Ever – Alice Park – Time

Science, publishing, and career

Infection and Immunity welcomes the new microbiology – Andreas J. Bäumler – Infection and Immunity

May 1, 2017

General microbiome

From Gene Annotation to Function Prediction for Metagenomics – F Sharifi – Protein Function Prediction

*Review: A critical assessment of the “sterile womb” and “in utero colonization” hypotheses: implications for research on the pioneer infant microbiome – ME Perez-Muñoz – Microbiome

Collateral damage during antibiotic treatment of C. difficile infection in the aged host: insights into why recurrent disease happens – JH Shin – Gut Microbes

 

Human oral microbiome

Oral Treponeme Major Surface Protein: Sequence Diversity and Distributions within Periodontal Niches – M You – Molecular Oral Microbiology

 

Human gut microbiome

Reduction in fecal microbiota diversity and short-chain fatty acid producers in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infected individuals as revealed by PacBio single molecule, real-time sequencing technology – J Zhao – European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases

Gut Check: The evolution of an educational board game – DA Coil – PLoS Biology

From sensing to shaping microbiota: insights into the role of NOD2 in intestinal homeostasis and progression of Crohn’s Disease – I Balasubramanian – Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol.

Functional implications of microbial and viral gut metagenome changes in early stage L-DOPA-naïve Parkinson’s disease patients – JR Bedorf – Genome Medicine

 

Animal microbiome

Progressive response of large intestinal bacterial community and fermentation to the stepwise decrease of dietary crude protein level in growing pigs – Y Peng – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Repeated inoculation of cattle rumen with bison rumen contents alters the rumen microbiome and improves nitrogen digestibility in cattle – GO Ribeiro – Scientific Reports

Impact and consequences of polyphenols and fructooligosaccharide interplay on gut microbiota in rats – CJ Zheng – Food & Function

 

Plant, root and soil microbiome

Not just browsing: an animal that grazes phyllosphere microbes facilitates community heterogeneity – R O′ Rorke – ISME

Environmental Metabarcoding Reveals Contrasting Belowground and Aboveground Fungal Communities from Poplar at a Hg Phytomanagement Site –  A Durand – Microbial Ecology

Understory Dwarf Bamboo Affects Microbial Community Structures and Soil Properties in a Betula ermanii Forest in Northern Japan – B Kong – Microbes & Environments

Effects of root exudates on denitrifier gene abundance, community structure and activity in a micro-polluted constructed wetland – H Wu – Sci. Total Environ

Contribution of native phosphorous-solubilizing bacteria of acid soils on phosphorous acquisition in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) – M Pradhan – Protoplasma

 

Probiotics

Aggregation and Adhesion Activity of Lactobacilli Isolated from Fermented Products In Vitro and In Vivo: a Potential Probiotic Strain – S Grigoryan – Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins

 

Built environment microbiology

Three-stage anaerobic co-digestion of food waste and horse manure – J Zhang – Scientific Reports

 

Microbes in news

Undeveloped microbiomes make infants more prone to illness – R Saxena – ARS Technica

Being a guinea pig for science can be a long, slow slog – B Jefferson – SCPR

Pharma pollution fuels resistance to antibiotics, bacteria turns super bug – TNN – The Times of India

Cleaning up Iowa’s beaches – E Jordan – The Gazette

Augusta hospital adopts test to help find treatment for some patients quicker – S Turner – Aiken Standard

Only a superweapon can kill superbacteria, and humanity finally found it – W Nicol – Digital Trends

‘Lab in a cell’ helps crack code on chlamydia – R Shore –  Edmonton Journal

 

 

April 29, 2017

Events and jobs

Bioinformatics Scientist, Microbiome – Human Longevity Inc.

General microbiome

The hologenome across environments and the implications of a host-associated microbial repertoire – Tyler J. Carrier – Frontiers in Microbiology

Teleosts as Model Organisms to Understand Host-Microbe Interactions – Emily A. Lescak – Journal of Bacteriology

*Review: The Shifting Microbiome in Surgical Stress – Panna A. Codner – Current Surgery Reports

A passive mutualistic interaction promotes the evolution of spatial structure within microbial populations – Marie Marchal – BMC Evolutionary Biology

Human gut microbiome

Fecal metagenomic profiles in subgroups of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome – Dorottya Nagy-Szakal – Microbiome

Study protocol on the role of intestinal microbiota in colorectal cancer treatment: a pathway to personalized medicine 2.0 – R. Aarnoutse – International Journal of Colorectal Disease

Animal experiments

Differences in microbiota membership along the gastrointestinal tract of piglets and their differential alterations following an early-life antibiotic intervention – Chunlong Mu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Biogeographic comparison of Lophelia-associated bacterial communities in the western Atlantic reveals conserved core microbiome – Christina A. Kellogg – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Response of methanogenic microbial communities to desiccation stress in flooded and rain-fed paddy soil from Thailand – Andreas Reim – Frontiers in Microbiology

Metagenomics of Microbial Communities Associated with the Rhizosphere of the Saudi Desert Medicinal Plants – Mohammed N Baeshen – EC Microbiology

Rhizospheric soil enzyme activities and phytominimg potential of Aeluropus lagopoides and Cyperus conglomeratus growing in contaminated soils at the banks of artificial lake of reclaimed wastewater – Zahid Khorshid Abbas – International Journal of Phytoremediation

*Review: The unseen rhizosphere root-soil-microbe interactions for crop production – Ruifu Zhang – Current Opinion in Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Microbial Community Response to Simulated Petroleum Seepage in Caspian Sea Sediments – Marion H. Stagars – Frontiers in Microbiology

Novel large sulfur bacteria in the metagenomes of groundwater-fed chemosynthetic microbial mats in the Lake Huron basin – Allison M. Sharrar – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbial population dynamics and ecosystem functions of anoxic/aerobic granular sludge in sequencing batch reactors operated at different organic loading rates – Enikö Szabó – Frontiers in Microbiology

Characteristics of bacterial community in cloud water at Mt Tai: similarity and disparity under polluted and non-polluted cloud episodes – Min Wei – Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Built environment

Density assessment and mapping of microorganisms around a biocomposting plant in Sanandaj, Iran – Sanaz Rashidi – Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

Techniques

High throughput and quantitative measurement of microbial metabolome by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry using automated alkyl chloroformate derivatization – Linjing Zhao – Analytical Chemistry

Functional Association Prediction by Community Profiling – Dazhi Jiao – Methods

*Book: Modern Tools and Techniques to Understand Microbes – Ajit Varma

Microbes on the market

Microbiome market competitive landscape technology in 2017 pipeline review published by leading research firm – WhaTech

Science, publishing, and career

Review of 3rd annual Translation Microbiome Conference – James Vitale – Taconic

April 28, 2017

Quite a few interesting articles and news about microbes: are we colonised with bacteria in utero? What is the relevance of cooperative interactions in microbial biotechnological processes? Microbe colonies  in space? Read more in today’s Microbiome Digest..

General microbiome

Variable habitat conditions drive species covariation in the human microbiota – Charles K. Fisher – PLOS

Pregnancy and early life

*Review: The prenatal gut microbiome: are we colonized with bacteria in utero? – R. W. Walker – Pediatric Obesity

Development of the cutaneous microbiome in the preterm infant: A prospective longitudinal study – Mohan Pammi – PLOS
 Human respiratory microbiome

A commensal streptococcus hijacks a Pseudomonas aeruginosa exopolysaccharide to promote biofilm formation – Jessica A. Scoffield – PLOS
Human oral microbiome

A genome-wide association study identifies nucleotide variants at SIGLEC5 and DEFA1A3 as risk loci for periodontitis – Matthias Munz – Human Molecular Genetics

Human nearly-sterile sites 

A case of polymicrobial anaerobic spondylodiscitis due to Parvimonas micra and Fusobacterium nucleatum – Leanne M Cleaver – JMM Case Reports

Human gut microbiome

Small Molecules from Deep within the Gut – Michael Ehrmann – ChemBioChem

Single Delivery of High-Diversity Fecal Microbiota Preparation by Colonoscopy Is Safe and Effective in Increasing Microbial Diversity in Active Ulcerative Colitis – Jacob Vinita – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Refractory Clostridium difficile Colitis in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients – R. J. Friedman-Moraco – American Journal of Transplantation

Abundance profiling of specific gene groups using precomputed gut metagenomes yields novel biological hypotheses – Konstantin Yarygin – PLOS
Animal experiments

Neonatal mono-colonization of germ-free mice with Lactobacillus casei enhances casein immunogenicity after oral sensitization to cow’s milk – Matieny Aicha Maiga – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

Shifts in the Gut Microbiota Composition Due to Depleted Bone Marrow Beta Adrenergic Signaling Are Associated with Suppressed Inflammatory Transcriptional Networks in the Mouse Colon – Tao Yang – Frontiers in Physiology

Animal microbiome

Viral gut metagenomics of sympatric wild and domestic canids, and monitoring of viruses: Insights from an endangered wolf population – Nádia Conceição-Neto – Ecology and Evolution

The environmental and host-associated bacterial microbiota of Arctic seawater-farmed Atlantic salmon with ulcerative disorders – C Karlsen – Journal of Fish Diseases

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Soil aggregation and associated microbial communities modify the impact of agricultural management on carbon content – Pankaj Trivedi – Environmental Microbiology

In-depth characterization of bacterial and archaeal communities present in the abandoned Kettara pyrrhotite mine tailings (Morocco) – Odile Bruneel –  Extremophiles

Water and extremophile microbiome 

Geochemistry and microbial diversity of cave waters in the gypsum karst aquifers of Emilia Romagna region, Italy – Ilenia M. D’Angeli – Science of The Total Environment
Probiotics / prebiotics

Characterization, identification and application of lactic acid bacteria isolated from Leymus chinensis silage – Qing Zhang – Grassland Science
Biotechnology

*Review: Cooperation in microbial communities and their biotechnological applications – Matteo Cavaliere – Environmental Microbiology

Techniques

MicrobiomeAnalyst: a web-based tool for comprehensive statistical, visual and meta-analysis of microbiome data – Achal Dhariwal – Nucleic Acid Research

Microbes in the news

Adaptive Phage Therapeutics – Terminally Ill Patient Successfully Treated With Bacteriophage – BioSpace

Research Links Microbiome Makeup To Remission in Pediatric Crohn’s – Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News

NASA Astronauts Are Close to Identifying Unknown Microbe Colonies That Grow in Space – Sciencealert.com

 

April 26, 2017

A series of commentary on the effects of microbiota on vaccines, a fascinating news release about a phage therapy against multi-drug resistant bacterial infection, and can our gut microbes tell us what to eat?

General microbiology

Evaluation of serotypes 5 and 8 capsular polysaccharides in protection against Staphylococcus aureus in murine models of infection – Brian L. Cheng – Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

Do the Microbiota Influence Vaccines and Protective Immunity to Pathogens? If So, Is There Potential for Efficacious Microbiota-Based Vaccines? – Dan R Littman – Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology

Do the Microbiota Influence Vaccines and Protective Immunity to Pathogens? Engaging Our Endogenous Adjuvants – Nicholas Collins1 and Yasmine Belkaid – Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology

Do the Microbiota Influence Vaccines and Protective Immunity to Pathogens? Issues of Sovereignty, Federalism, and Points-Testing in the Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Spaces of the Host-Microbial Superorganism – Andrew J. Macpherson – Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology

Web alert: Microbial therapeutics – Microbial Biotechnology

Human multi-site microbiome

The urinary microbiome and its contribution to lower urinary tract symptoms; ICI-RS 2015 – Marcus J. Drake – Neurourology and Urodynamics

Human gut microbiome

Doctoral Dissertation: The Effects of the Gut Microbiota on the Host Chromatin Landscape – Nicholas Paul Semenkovich – University of Washington, St. Louis

Tissue adaptation: Implications for gut immunity and tolerance – Ana M.C. Faria – Journal of Experimental Medicine

Animal experiments

Doctoral Dissertation, Mouse: The impact of malnutrition on host-microbe interactions in the intestine – Eric Brown – University of British Columbia

Mouse: Deciphering the mechanism of Huang-Lian-Jie-Du-Decoction on the treatment of sepsis by formula decomposition and metabolomics: enhancement of cholinergic pathways and inhibition of HMGB-1/TLR4/NF-κB signaling – Dingqiao Xu – Pharmacological Research

Dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota and decrease in paneth cell antimicrobial peptide level during acute necrotizing pancreatitis in rats – Jing Chen – PLoS One

Commensal bacteria and essential amino acids control food choice behavior and reproduction – Ricardo Leitão-Gonçalves – PLoS Biology

Press: How Gut Bacteria Tell Their Hosts What to Eat – Knvul Sheikh – Scientific American

Press: Are Gut Bacteria Driving Your Cravings? – Shayla Love – Vice

Maternal obese-type gut microbiota differentially impact cognition, anxiety and compulsive behavior in male and female offspring in mice – Annadora J. Bruce-Keller – PLoS One

Animal microbiome

Discovery of tauroursodeoxycholic acid biotransformation enzymes from the gut microbiome of black bears using metagenomics – Can Song – Scientific Reports

Diversity and functions of the sheep faecal microbiota: a multi-omic characterization – Alessandro Tanca – Microbial Biotechnology

New issue of Microbial Biotechnology is available online.

Plant, root and soil microbiome

Microbial communities associated with plants: learning from nature to apply it in agriculture – Fernando Dini Andreote and Michele de Cássia Pereira e Silva- Current Opinion in Microbiology

Life in earth – the root microbiome to the rescue? – Tim H Mauchline, Jacob G Malone – Current Opinion in Microbiology

Unique rhizosphere micro-characteristics facilitate phytoextraction of multiple metals in soil by the hyperaccumulating plant Sedum alfredii – Dandi Hou – Environmental Science & Technology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Doctoral Dissertation: Microbial community variation in an Arctic shelf seafloor – Tan Thi Nguyen – The Arctic University of Norway

Diversity Analysis and Bioresource Characterization of Halophilic Bacteria Isolated from a South African Saltpan – Ramganesh Selvarajan – Molecules

Arsenic metabolism in high altitude modern stromatolites revealed by metagenomic analysis – Daniel Kurth – Scientific Reports

Probiotics

VSL#3 probiotic differently influences IEC-6 intestinal epithelial cell status and function – Benedetta Cinque – Journal of Cellular Physiology

Phages and viruses

Press Release: Novel phage therapy saves patient with multidrug-resistant bacterial infection – University of California, San Diego

Technology

Preprint: Assessing species biomass contributions in microbial communities via metaproteomics – Manuel Kleiner – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

Are Probiotics the Answer to Acne? – Kristen Fischer – Healthline News

Are the microbes in our gut affecting how fast we age? – Vincent Maffei – OUPblog

Bacteria May be Reason Some Foods Cause Heart Disease, Stroke – Maggie Fox – NBC News

The Slow-Motion Bacteria Buried Deep in the Ocean’s Floor – Veronique Greenwood – The Atlantic

Bacteria from India’s hot springs could help contain oil spills – Dinesh C Sharma – Firstpost

Bacteria causing diarrhoea deaths in children resists key antibiotic – Syed Akbar – The Times of India

Fat rats, slow sperm, and unhealthy bacteria – Lee Evslin – The Garden Island

April 24, 2017

General Microbiome

Review: Ecology of the Oral Microbiome: Beyond Bacteria – Jonathon L. Baker – Trends in Microbiology

Dietary High Zinc Oxide Modulates the Microbiome of Ileum and Colon in Weaned Piglets – Ting Yu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Clostridium difficile colonizes alternative nutrient niches during infection across distinct murine gut environments –  Matthew L Jenior – BioRxiv

Review: Strategies to promote abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, an emerging probiotics in the gut, evidence from dietary intervention studies – Kequan Zhou – Journal of Functional Foods

Protective effects of milk fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum B7 from Brazilian artisanal cheese on a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection in BALB/c mice – Journal of Functional Foods

 

Pathogens

Molecular Demonstration of a Pneumocystis Outbreak in Stem Cell Transplant Patients: Evidence for Transmission in the Daycare Center – Frontiers in Microbiology

A New Rabbit-skin Model to Evaluate Protective Efficacy of Tuberculosis Vaccines – Xun Liu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Molecular epidemiology and antibiotic resistance profiles of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains in a tertiary hospital in China – Haishen Kong – Frontiers in Microbiology

 

Environmental Microbiology

Microbial community assembly differs by mineral type in the rhizosphere – Thea Whitman – BioRxiv

Interaction between DAPG and HCN producing Pseudomonas brassicacearum LBUM300 and Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis in the rhizosphere of tomato – Applied Environmental Microbiology

Nitrogen-Fixing Populations Of Planctomycetes And Proteobacteria Are Abundant In The Surface Ocean – Tom O. Delmont – BioRxiv

Bacterial communities in boreal forest mushrooms are shaped both by soil parameters and host identity – Mari Pent – Frontiers in Microbiology

 

Genomics

Isoprenoid Pyrophosphate-Dependent Transcriptional Regulation of Carotenogenesis in Corynebacterium glutamicum – Nadja A. Henke – Frontiers in Microbiology

Whole genome sequencing of 7 strains of Staphylococcus lugdunensis allows identification of mobile genetic elements – Xavier Argemi – Genome Biology and Evolution

Pooled CRISPR interference screens enable high-throughput functional genomics study and elucidate new rules for guide RNA library design in Escherichia coli – Tianmin Wang – BioRxiv

 

Evolution

Tunneling through time: Horizontal gene transfer constrains the timing of methanogen evolution –  Joanna M. Wolfe – BioRxiv

 

Bioinformatics

AliTV-interactive visualization of whole genome comparisons – Markus J. Ankenbrand – PeerJ (not peer-reviewed)

TaxaSE: Exploiting evolutionary conservation within 16S rDNA sequences for enhanced taxonomic annotation – Ali Z Ijaz – PeerJ (not peer-reviewed)

 

Other

Preprinting Microbiology – Patrick D Schloss – BioRxiv

 

Non – Microbiology picks

News: Scientists across the world take to the streets to demand freedom from political interference – The Telegraph (via Yahoo News)

Human umbilical cord plasma proteins revitalize hippocampal function in aged mice – Joseph M. Castellano –  Nature