April 17,2026

See you next week at MVIF!

#MVIF 48 starts next week! Free registration: cassyni.com/s/mvif-48⭐️ Highlights:🇺🇸 Rachel R. Rock🇺🇸 @pamferretti.bsky.social ⭐️ Keynote:🇦🇺 @pam-engelberts.bsky.social and @jamesvolmer.bsky.social ⭐️ Talks: 🇨🇳 Linxing Chen🇨🇳 Zhemin Zhou🇦🇺 Hoai-An Nguyen

Microbiome Virtual International Forum (@microbiomevif.bsky.social) 2026-04-13T11:02:11.436Z


Gut microbiome

Associations of the gut microbiome and cardiometabolic risk in adolescence: the HOME study – Jennifer L. Arzu – BMC Medical Genomics 

Insect Gut Microbiota as a Reservoir of Industrially Relevant Enzymes: A Comprehensive Review – Aswin Viswan – Microbial Ecology

Respiratory Microbiome

The commensal microbiome in respiratory tract tumors: From oncogenic mechanisms to clinical translation – Jiale Yu – Journal of Advanced Research

Bacteria of the lung microbiome and health biomarkers in chronic airway disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis – Lucia Grassi – npj Biofilms Microbiomes

Animal Microbiome

Multi-omics revealed the effects of rumen to blood path on early lactation performance in transition dairy cows – Guangfu Tang – Microbiome

Spiroplasma Display an Intricate Continuum of Infection Heterogeneity and Persistence in Myrmica Ants – Diego Castillo Franco – Molecular Ecology

Oral Microbiome

Loss of salivary agglutinin induces changes in the salivary microbiome and accelerates development of oral cancer – Marcell Costa de Medeiros – Microbiome

Water Microbiome

Ecological water replenishment reshapes the river microbiome along an urban-rural gradient: Enhanced diversity but compromised stability – Hongyuan Tian – Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies

Soil Microbiome

Reduced legacy precipitation decreases microbial community growth efficiency and alters soil organic carbon in a California grassland – Linnea K. Hernandez – Microbiome

Impact of microbial consortia and fertilization regimes on the soil microbiome in maize field trials – Nils Kleinbölting – Scientific Reports

Plant Microbiome

Phenotypic resistance profiles and resistome variations between endophytic and epiphytic bacteria in apple fruits – Denis Kiplimo – Environmental Microbiome

Plant spatial compartmentalization buffers bacteriome structure and function under antibiotic stress – Caryn Kgokonyane Lenonyane – Scientific Reports

Bioinformatics

Pangenome-based design of strain-specific primers enables precise monitoring of bacteria in human microbiome intervention trials – Tom Eilers – Scientific Reports

Predicted meta-omics: A potential solution to multi-omics data scarcity in microbiome studies – Bianca-Maria Cosma – PLOS One

Genomic characterization of Comamonas kerstersii isolated from diarrheal patients in Bangladesh – Noshin Ibnat Rib – PLOS One

I had the joy of giving a kindergarten workshop: “Bacteria in and around us!” 🦠✨To spark their imagination and start our discussion, I showed them the beautiful @contamclub.bsky.social 2026 calendar, full of vividly colored and uniquely shaped bacterial colonies.1/3

Svetlana Ugarcina Perovic (@svetlanaup.bsky.social) 2026-04-16T10:46:01.481Z

March 31,2026

Human Microbiome

The interplay between Peptostreptococcus and Fusobacterium as novel signatures in colorectal cancer recurrence – Yunhui Zhang – microbime

Dysbiosis of the nasal microbiome is associated with prospective acute exacerbation of COPD – Cristian Roca – microbiome

Water–vapor treatment of shower systems in healthcare facilities: reshaping built-environment microbiomes to improve Legionella control and protect at-risk patients – Tian You – microbiome

Animal Microbiome

Limosilactobacillus reuteri enhances production performance and ovarian function via modulation of the gut-ovary axis in laying hens – Yanchao Geng – microbiome

Heat stress suppresses lactation through potential rumen-mammary communication mediated by extracellular vesicles: integrated analysis of microbiome, metabolome, and miRNA profiles – Qi Huang – microbiome

Characterization of age-related changes in the gut microbiome and metabolome of Kunming dogs and their associations with police performance – Le Xu – microbiome

plant microbiome

Differential contributions of an antimicrobial effector from Verticillium dahliae to virulence and tomato microbiota assembly across natural soils – Wilko Punt – microbiome

Environmental & Data Microbiome

Microbiome Datahub: an open-access platform integrating environmental metadata, taxonomy, and functional annotation for comprehensive metagenome-assembled genome datasets – Hiroshi Mori – mi9crobiome

March 20, 2026

See you next week at MVIF!

See you next week at #MVIF 47! Heads up ⏰ due to daylight saving time, start times shift by 1 hour in some regions:1 hour earlier for Atlantic, 1 hour later for Pacific!

Microbiome Virtual International Forum (@microbiomevif.bsky.social) 2026-03-16T09:09:52.170Z

Gut microbiome

Gut microbiota modulation via repeated donor fecal transplantation improves motor and gastrointestinal symptoms in drug-naïve Parkinson’s disease: a randomized phase 2 trial – Rui Zhang – Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy 

Clinical Review: Advances in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of celiac disease – John B Doyle – BMJ

Circulating gut microbial metabolites and risk of coronary heart disease: A prospective multi-stage metabolomics study – Yulu Zheng – Plos Medicine

Nasal microbiome

Composition and dynamics of the adult nasal microbiome – Cindy M. Liu – Microbiome

Respiratory tract microbiome

Mass azithromycin distribution and antibiotic resistance in the gut and nasopharynx: a cluster-randomized trial – Thuy Doan – Nature Medicine 

Animal microbiome

Microbial communities associated with two populations of the sponge Chondrilla nucula under present and projected climate conditions in the Aegean Sea – Gioti Anastasia – ARPHA Preprints

Comparative analysis of stress markers, metabolic health, and gut microbiota in healthy and disabled dogs in long-term shelters in Thailand – Adul Saengthong – Plos One

Priority effects drive strain-level community composition of honeybee gut microbiota – Aiswarya Prasad – The ISME Journal

Animal experiments

Estropausal gut microbiota transplant improves measures of ovarian function in adult mice – Minhoo Kim – Nature Aging 

Plant, root, soil microbiome

Breeding effects on the root-associated microbiome of Zea mays L. are linked to plant-induced variation in soil water potentials – Nicolas Tyborski – ISME Communications

🤩 Now out in @isme-microbes.bsky.social Comms!#NicolasTyborski and our wonderful #Rhizotraits team unravel how old landraces and modern varieties of maize distinctly modulate their #rhizosphere #microbiomes under drought via soil water potentials!🌽🥵🦠Thanks to #BayCEER #Rhizo4Bio #bmftr_bund

Tillmann Lueders (@luederslab.bsky.social) 2026-03-19T14:42:21.506Z

Food microbiome

Leveraging publicly available datasets and machine learning approaches for predicting the health benefits of fermented foods – Elizabeth A. McDaniel – bioRxiv

Bioinformatics

MATRIX: Rapid Quantification of Total and Active Microbial Cells with Single Cell Phenotypes for Environmental Microbiomes – Milena Gonzalo – bioRxiv

So thrilled to share episode 2 of #MVIFconversations with you all!Getting to sit down with @bykriscampbell.bsky.social was such a privilege! If you're curious about where microbiome science is headed and why rigorous science communication matters more than ever, this one's for you.1/2

Svetlana Ugarcina Perovic (@svetlanaup.bsky.social) 2026-02-24T09:48:59.589Z

March 19, 2026

Gut microbiome

Antibiotic use and gut microbiome composition links from individual-level prescription data of 14,979 individuals – Gabriel Baldanzi – Nature Medicine

Spatial transcriptomics maps host–gut microbiome biogeography at high resolution – Ioannis Ntekas – Nature Microbiology

Respiratory Microbiome

Empiric azithromycin alters the upper respiratory microbiome and resistome without anti-inflammatory benefit in COVID-19 – Abigail Glascock – Nature Microbiology

Dysbiosis of the nasal microbiome is associated with prospective acute exacerbation of COPD – Cristian Roca – Microbiome

Animal Microbiome

Towards standardization in pig microbiome research based on a comprehensive twenty-year review – Samuel Onyilokwu Enokela – Animal Microbiome

Longitudinal source-sink dynamics of fecal litter and farm indoor environmental resistomes in broiler chicken and Cherry Valley ducks – Peter Fauszt –  Animal Microbiome

Oral Microbiome

Denture-associated oral microbiome in dentate and edentulous older adults living in long-term care facilities – Muhammed Manzoor – Journal of Oral Microbiology

Shotgun metagenomic analysis of the tongue-coating microbiome reveals oral microbes and their functions in older adults with dementia – Jun Hyung Cha – Journal of Oral Microbiology

Water Microbiome

Water mass specific genes dominate the Southern Ocean microbiome – Emile Faure – Nature Communications

Plant Microbiome

Impacts of climate extremes on plant pathogens, microbiomes and plant health – Chao Xiong – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Heritability of the Pinus radiata root microbiome – Natalie Graham – Frontiers in Plant Science

Bioinformatics

DynaBiome: interpretable unsupervised learning of gut microbiome dysbiosis via temporal deep models – Awais Qureshi – BMC Bioinformatics

RP3Net: a deep learning model for predicting recombinant protein production in Escherichia coli – Evgeny Tankhilevich – Bioinformatics

MetaFX: feature extraction from whole-genome metagenomic sequencing data – Artem Ivanov – Bioinformatics

February 13, 2026

Gut microbiome

Host factors dictate gut microbiome alterations in chronic kidney disease more strongly than kidney function – H. Krukowski – Nature Microbiology

Baby-to-baby strain transmission shapes the developing gut microbiome – Liviana Ricci – Nature

Animal Microbiome

Microbiome by transcriptome interactions triggered by a switch to an alternative diet in Nellore cattle – Anna Carolina Fernandes – Scientific Reports

Maternal supplementation with rumen-protected arginine reshapes the ileal microbiome and enhances neonatal lamb growth – Xiangjian Peng –  Animal Microbiome

Oral Microbiome

Stimuli-responsive, antimicrobial-loaded nanocarriers for oral biofilm control and microbiome restoration – Ding Chen – International Journal of Oral Science

Modulating the oral microbiome with dental biomaterials: A review of challenges, advances, and future perspectives – Woojin Choi – Biomaterials

Plant Microbiome

Large-scale multi-omics unveils host–microbiome interactions driving root development and nitrogen acquisition – Nannan Li – Nature Plants

Ecological composite fertilizer application enhances wheat yield and optimizes rhizosphere microbial community under reduced fertilization – Yu Wang – Frontiers in Plant Science

Bioinformatics

argNorm: normalization of antibiotic resistance gene annotations to the Antibiotic Resistance Ontology (ARO) – Svetlana Ugarcina Perovic – Bioinformatics

A negative binomial latent factor model for paired microbiome sequencing data – Hyotae Kim – BMC Bioinformatics

January 29, 2026

Animal microbiome

Host genetic background and environment have different effects on the establishment and structure of the adult worker honey bee gut microbiota – Breven Stark – PLOS ONE

Microbiota discovered in scorpion venom – Barbara Murdoch – PLOS ONE


Animal experiments / Disease models

Intestinal decontamination with rifaximin attenuates LSEC dysfunction and liver fibrosis in mice – Tingting Su – PLOS ONE

Periplaneta americana extract ameliorates recurrent oral ulcers in rats by enhancing the intestinal epithelial barrier and regulating gut microbiota – Kailing Li – PLOS ONE

Formononetin ameliorates SP-induced urticaria in mice via suppressing TAK1/MAK signaling pathway -Yan Wu –PLOS ONE

Lipopolysaccharide induced mouse depression model can better simulate changes in peripheral blood FFAs in alMDD -Jincai Pan –PLOS ONE


Human microbiome (gut & reproductive)

Stool and vaginal microbiome profiles patterns among Black and White endometrial cancer survivors: A pilot study in North Carolina – Mu Jin – PLOS ONE


Infection, immunity & host–microbe interactions

Examining the role of IgA in a persistent model of Staphylococcus aureus colonization – Yunys Perez-Betancourt – PLOS Pathogens

Diversify and conquer: How effector diversity is shaped by host–microbe co-evolution -Marion C Müller – PLOS Pathogens

Oo-No: Ophidiomyces ophidiicola–bacterial interactions and the role of skin lipids in development of ophidiomycosis – Jason W Dallas – PLOS Pathogens


Probiotics & food microbiology

In-vitro evaluation of probiotic potential of gut microbes isolated from retail chicken – Sangram Biswas – PLOS ONE


Antimicrobial resistance & clinical microbiology

Extended-spectrum β-lactamase and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales among adult patients and their family members at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Dessie Abera – PLOS ONE


Microbiome methods & bioinformatics

PCR bias impacts microbiome ecological analyses – Dharmik R Rathod – PLOS Computational Biology

CoSMIC: A hybrid approach for large-scale, high-resolution microbial profiling of novel niches – Maor Knafo – PLOS ONE


Environmental & applied microbiology

Developing a simple, cost-effective proof-of-concept vaccine candidate against EHEC for cattle – Cecilia M Duarte – PLOS ONE

Preventive effect of bentonite against pyoderma via direct binding capability of staphylococci – Mao Kaneki – PLOS ONE

Ultraviolet light and polyethylene glycol as environmental cleaning agents to reduce contamination of Pseudogymnoascus destructans in bat hibernacula – Alyssa J Stulberg – PLOS ONE


Water, pollution & human exposure

Micro- and nanoplastics in biological samples following a drinking water intervention in Barcelona, Spain – Emma Calikanzaros – PLOS Water


Human disease & biomarkers

Evidence of an allostatic response by intestinal tissues following induction of joint inflammation – Meghan M Moran – PLOS ONE

Multi-modal data to identify key factors influencing lung injury in ARDS patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation: A prospective multi-center observational study protocol – Zhimei Duan – PLOS ONE

Integrative genomic analysis reveals DHX58 as a key player in gastric cancer – Yan Li – PLOS ONE

Identifying biomarkers for diagnosis and disease activity monitoring in PSC-IBD and UC through proteomic profiling: A prospective study protocol – Ondrej Fabian – PLOS ONE

S100-alarmins, antenatal corticosteroids and the risk of late-onset sepsis in preterm infants – Gloria Kessler – PLOS ONE

Exploring the role of the key gene TNFAIP3 between periodontitis and influenza A through bioinformatic analysis and molecular docking – Mingxiang Xu – PLOS ONE

GC-MS based bioactive profiling of Phyllanthus niruri and its antibacterial potential – Zubair Khalid Labu – PLOS ONE

January 28, 2026

Reproductive / Urogenital Microbiome & Host–Pathogen Interactions

The interactive relationship between Fusobacterium necrophorum, Bacteroides pyogenes, and Porphyromonas levii in driving inflammatory uterine diseaseDianjun Cao – microbiome

 Gut Microbiome, Diet, and Host Health

Total and different types of olive oil consumption, gut microbiota, and cognitive function changes in older adultsJiaqi Ni – microbiome

Environmental Microbiome & Antimicrobial Resistance (Resistome)

Beyond borders: plasmids drive a shared antibiotic resistome in European urban water systems

Wanli He – microbiome

Spatial and temporal patterns of public transit aerobiomesRussell J. S. Or – microbiome

Food Chain, Meat Microbiome & Resistome Dynamics

Microbiome and resistome successions in pig carcasses and fresh pork meat throughout slaughtering, processing and shelf-lifeElena Fernández-Trapote – microbiome

Microbiome–Immune System Interactions

Commensal microbe-derived butyrate enhances T follicular helper cell function to boost mucosal vaccine efficacyHaeun Ko – microbiome

Animal microbiome

A culturomics approach reveals cross-feeding capacity of intestinal pig bacteria upon release of inositol from phytateLena-Sophie Paul – microbiome

January 23, 2026

Animal microbiome

Bacterial-archaeal co-occurrence in honey bee gut microbiomes across host species and management regimes -Jian-Ping Ying –PLOS ONE

Bacterial community associated with the surface and inside of centipede forcipules: Identification and characterization -Yasutaka Tanaka – PLOS ONE


Human reproductive & urinary microbiome

Vaginal chlorhexidine gluconate versus fluconazole for recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis: A randomized noninferiority trial – Cathrin Alvendal – PLOS ONE


Infection and transplantation / Host–microbe interactions

DnaK supports intracellular persistence of Staphylococcus xylosus and confers mechanical resilience to a human breast cancer cell line – Lei Ye – PLOS ONE

Investigation of a viable but non-culturable state in Porphyromonas gingivalis and host cell invasionAdenrele Oludiran – PLOS ONE


Microbial ecology & symbiosis

Mono-mix strategy enables comparative proteomics of a cross-kingdom microbial symbiosis – Sunnyjoy Dupuis – PLOS ONE


Oral microbiome & animal experiments

Effects of glycyrrhizin on healing and prevention of recurrent aphthous stomatitis in hamster models – Fumie Shiba – PLOS ONE


Plant, soil & ecological microbiome

Tree species-specific strategies of soil aggregation driven by SOC–GRSP coupling under nitrogen addition and precipitation reduction -Mingxin Zhou – PLOS ONE


Microbial genomics & bioremediation

Genomic analysis of Acinetobacter baumannii DUEMBL6 reveals diesel bioremediation potential and biosafety concerns – Nizam Uddin – PLOS ONE


Human gut & inflammatory disease

Identification of hypoxia- and mitophagy-related diagnostic biomarkers for ulcerative colitis based on bioinformatic analysis and machine learning – Zewei Sheng – PLOS ONE


Oral & dental archaeology / Ancient microbiome

Paleo-proteomic analysis of Iron Age dental calculus provides direct evidence of Scythian reliance on ruminant dairy – Jaruschka Pecnik – PLOS ONE


Cancer & clinical oncology

Radiomics profiling combined with clinical risk factors for preoperative lymphatic metastasis prediction in colorectal cancer: A multicenter study – Fangda Guo – PLOS ONE


Toxicology & respiratory health

Potential mechanisms and effects of AFB1-induced asthma: A comprehensive analysis based on network toxicology and molecular docking – Zhiyue Yu – PLOS ONE


Human development & diet (archaeology / isotopes)

Fed the same way? Exploring the influence of breastfeeding, weaning, and childhood diet on adult sex ratios through stable isotope analysis of incremental dentine in Medieval Tuscany – Alessio Amaro – PLOS ONE

January 16, 2026

Human Microbiome

The testobolome in microbial testosterone metabolism and human health – Liisa Veerus –  
npj biofilms and microbiomes 

Multi-omic definition of metabolic obesity through adipose tissue–microbiome interactions – Rima M. Chakaroun – Nature Medicine

Gut microbiome

The microbiome at the centre of NAD+ supplementation – Youngjae Jo – Nature Metabolism

Meta-analysis of H. pylori and the gut microbiome interactions and clinical outcomes – Xiongjian Wu – Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Environmental Microbiome

High microbial diversity in glacial habitats uncoupled from the specialized microbiomes of resident chironomid fauna – Valeria Lencioni – PLOS One

Bacterial communities show distinctive spatial diversity patterns in productive truffle orchards amended with peat-based substrate – Pedro Marco –  Environmental Microbiome

Plant Microbiome

Root Triterpenoid Metabolites Drive the Assembly and Feedback Regulation of the Rhizosphere Microbiome During Flowering to Senescence in Rhododendron hybridum – Fei Shan – Frontiers in Microbiology

Drought-Tolerant Rhizobacterial Consortia Enhance Grapevine Growth and Tolerance to Water Deficit – Ginevra Canavera – Frontiers in Plant Science

Bioinformatics

Integrative analysis across metagenomic taxonomic classifiers: A case study of the gut microbiome in aging and longevity in the Integrative Longevity Omics Study – Tanya T. Karagiannis – PLOS Computational Biology

Novel artificial selection method improves function of simulated microbial communities – Bjorn Vessman – PLOS Computational Biology

January 14, 2026

See you at MVIF next week!

Start 2026 with us! Join us in discussing microbiome science: register here → cassyni.com/s/mvif-45

Microbiome Virtual International Forum (@microbiomevif.bsky.social) 2026-01-08T08:16:08.069Z


Gut microbiome

Early-life colonization by aromatic-lactate-producing bifidobacteria lowers the risk of allergic sensitization – Pernille Neve Myers – Nature Microbiology 

Improving operative outcomes in patients with stomas – Stella M. Dilke – medRxiv

🎉🎉🎉 New preprint to start the new year 🎉🎉🎉Patients recovering from bowel surgery may have stomas formed to divert the flow of faeces to the opening on the skin, away from healing intestinal tissue. The visible sign of this process is an ileostomy or colostomy bag. /1#surgerysky #medsky

Professor Lesley Hoyles (@bugsinyourguts.bsky.social) 2026-01-07T11:02:35.631Z

Gut microbiota induces mammary gland sIgA production to alleviate S. aureus mastitis – Zhaoqi He – Cell Reports

Microbial signature of pediatric Crohn’s disease: Differentiation from functional gastrointestinal disorders and relationship with increased disease activity – Jeremiah Levine – Physiological Reports

Gut micro-organisms associated with health, nutrition and dietary interventions – Francesco Asnicar – Nature

I'm very happy to share our latest manuscript published today in @nature.com !! ➡️ doi.org/10.1038/s415…We analyzed data from over 34,000 participants in the US and UK, revealing strong associations between specific gut bacteria and markers of cardiometabolic health and dietary habits.

Francesco Asnicar (@fasnicar.bsky.social) 2025-12-10T17:26:39.522Z

Oral microbiome

Are you involved in oral microbiome research? 🧬We’re conducting a brief survey to understand how researchers report metadata for their oral microbiome studies. You must be 18 or older. To be eligible, you must have conducted research on the oral microbiome (past or currently).

Sterling L. Wright (@anthbyte.bsky.social) 2026-01-07T04:03:01.699Z

Animal microbiome

Impact of sequencing approach on ecological inference from highly variable bat gut microbiomes – Ostaizka Aizpurua – bioRxiv

Animal experiments

Primate gut microbiota induce evolutionarily salient changes in mouse neurodevelopment – Alex R. DeCasien – PNAS

The maternal microbiome influence on pregnancy success: breeding comparison of germ-free and conventionalized mice – Chudan Xu – Gut Microbes

Our first paper of 2026 is outWhen we began this project, this was not the paper we set out to publishBut science has a way of redirecting us toward the questions we should be asking#Microbiome researchers-this one’s for youwww.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10….🧵

Prof Francine Marques (@fzmarques.bsky.social) 2026-01-13T00:45:36.844Z

Plant, soil, root microbiome

Bark microbiota modulate climate-active gas fluxes in Australian forests – Pok Man Leung – Science 

In this week’s @science.org cover article, we discover tree bark is a hidden habitat for abundant, diverse, and specialized microbial life that actively regulate our climate 🦠. Bark isn't just an inert armor of tree but an active interface for climate and biodiversitywww.science.org/eprint/7H9PX…

Bob Leung (@bobpmleung.bsky.social) 2026-01-08T20:37:13.725Z

Translational microbiomes in agriculture: microbial communities as tools to effect host and system health for improved crop production – Alex D. Vompe – Applied and Environmental Microbiology 

Extreme environments

Microbial Community Metagenomics in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific Oxygen Minimum Zone Reveals Functional Differences Along Biogeochemical Gradients – F. Gutierrez – Environmental Microbiology 

Bioinformatics

LAMPP: A benchmark for continuous evaluation of host phenotype prediction from shotgun metagenomic data – Netta Barak – bioRxiv