Category Archives: Human oral

Microbiome digest, November 14, 2014

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Microbiome of pregnancy and birth

Prevention of preterm birth: Harnessing science to address the global epidemic – Craig E. Rubens – Science Translational Medicine

Human skin microbiome

* The Skin Microbiome: A Focus on Pathogens and Their Association with Skin Disease – Keisha Findley, Elizabeth A. Grice – PLOS Pathogens

Human respiratory microbiome

* Profiling bacterial community in upper respiratory tracts – Hana Yi – BMC Infectious Disease

Human gut microbiome

* Gut microbiome composition is associated with temperament during early childhood – Lisa M. Christian – Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

Diversity and Composition of the Adult Fecal Microbiome Associated with History of Cesarean Birth or Appendectomy: Analysis of the American Gut Project – James J. Goedert – EBioMedicine

In vivo efficacy of microbiota-sensitive coatings for colon targeting: A promising tool for IBD therapy – Y. Karrout – Journal of Controlled Release

Animal microbiome

Inhibition of fish pathogens by the microbiota from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum) and rearing environment – Carlos Araújo – Anaerobe

Description of Lacinutrix venerupis sp. nov., a novel bacterium associated with reared clams – Aide Lasa – Systematic and Applied Microbiology

Water microbiome

Changes in bacterial and eukaryotic communities during sewage decomposition in Mississippi river water – Asja Korajkic – Water Research

Metabolomics

Bacterial Metabolite Indole Modulates Incretin Secretion from Intestinal Enteroendocrine L Cells – Catalin Chimerel – Cell Reports

Microbial Bile Acid Metabolic Clusters: The Bouncers at the Bar – Joseph A. Sorg – Cell Host & Microbe

 

Bile provides key to CDI resistance – Cláudio Nunes Alves – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Immunology

ATP-Gated Ionotropic P2X7 Receptor Controls Follicular T Helper Cell Numbers in Peyer’s Patches to Promote Host-Microbiota Mutualism – Michele Proietti – Immunity

The Interplay between the Intestinal Microbiota and the Immune System – Yuk Man Kevin Lei – Clinics and Research in Hepatology and Gastroenterology

Microbes in the news

Gut–brain link grabs neuroscientists – Idea that intestinal bacteria affect mental health gains ground – Sara Reardon – Nature

* More Evidence That There’s a Connection Between a Person’s Gut Bacteria And Brain – Colin Schultz – Smithsonian Magazine

“Microbiome” of Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs shifts during infectious disease outbreaks – National Science Foundation

Bacteria become ‘genomic tape recorders’, recording chemical exposures in their DNA – ScienceDaily

Science, publishing, career

How to write a first draft – Annelie – WriteScience.org

Bik’s Picks

Premature infants are exposed to unsafe levels of chemical in medical products used to save their lives – Science Daily

The Dutch Village Where Everyone Has Dementia – The Atlantic

Keeping Mates Close and Competition Out in an Ocean Sponge – Casey Dunn – New York Times

20 Vintage Gadgets from Scientific American Readers [Slide Show] – Larry Greenemeier – Scientific American

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Microbiome digest, November 11, 2014

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Human oral microbiome

Physiological Adaptations of Key Oral Bacteria – C. W. Ian Douglas – Advances in Microbial Physiology

Human gut microbiome

Development and Survival of Th17 Cells within the Intestines: The Influence of Microbiome- and Diet-Derived Signals – Joseph H. Chewning – The Journal of Immunology

Gut Inflammation and Immunity: What Is the Role of the Human Gut Virome? – Alfredo Focà – Mediators of Inflammation

Animal microbiome

Faecal Microbiota of Forage-Fed Horses in New Zealand and the Population Dynamics of Microbial Communities following Dietary Change – Karlette A. Fernandes – PLOS ONE

The Effect of Phytochemical Tannins-Containing Diet on Rumen Fermentation Characteristics and Microbial Diversity Dynamics in Goats Using 16S rDNA Amplicon Pyrosequencing – B. R. Min – Agriculture, Food & Analytical Bacteriology

Microbial diversity in forestomach and caecum contents of the greater long-tailed hamster Tscherskia triton (Rodentia: Cricetidae) – Akio Shinohara – Mammalian Biology – Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde

The pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis disturbs the frog skin microbiome during a natural epidemic and experimental infection – Andrea J. Jani – PNAS USA

Gill bacteria enable a novel digestive strategy in a wood-feeding mollusk – Roberta M. O’Connor – PNAS USA

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities in a coral cay system (Morrocoy, Venezuela) and their relationships with environmental variables – M.M. Alguacil – Science of the Total Environment

Soil microbiome

Short-term parasite-infection alters already the biomass, activity and functional diversity of soil microbial communities – Jun-Min Li – Scientific Reports

Impact of short-term storage temperature on determination of microbial community composition and abundance in aerated forest soil and anoxic pond sediment samples – Franziska B. Brandt – Systematic and Applied Microbiology

Seasonal influence of climate manipulation on microbial community structure and function in mountain soils – Jérémy Puissant – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Effect of organic and conventional practices on carbon-substrate utilisation by the soil microbial community in a ‘Cripps Pink’/M7 apple orchard – Andre H Meyer – South African Journal of Plant and Soil

* The Soil Biota Composition along a Progressive Succession of Secondary Vegetation in a Karst Area – Jie Zhao – PLOS ONE

Effects of salinization and crude oil contamination on soil bacterial community structure in the Yellow River Delta region, China – Yong-chao Gao – Applied Soil Ecology

Water microbiome

Community dynamics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes in an estuary reservoir – Zhen Sun – Scientific Reports

Microbial diversity and community structure across environmental gradients in Bransfield Strait, Western Antarctic Peninsula – Camila N. Signori – Frontiers in Microbiology

Metagenomics

Assessment of quality control approaches for metagenomic data analysis – Qian Zhou – Scientific Reports

PaperClip: rapid multi-part DNA assembly from existing libraries – Maryia Trubitsyna – Nucleic Acids Research

Microbial phylogeny

* Assessing the global phylum level diversity within the bacterial domain: A review – Noha H. Youssef – Journal of Advanced Research

Science, publishing, career

Crosspost: Using Google Scholar in Scholarly Workflows – Jonathan Eisen – microBEnet

Hilarious: Overly honest references: “Should we cite the crappy Gabor paper here?” – RetractionWatch – (Note: paper has been removed – see a screenshot here)

Microbes in the news

* Bacteria Hysteria? Deadly bacteria normally found in toilets was discovered in the microwave of these students – The Journal.ie

Bik’s Picks

Comparative analysis of the domestic cat genome reveals genetic signatures underlying feline biology and domestication – Michael J. Montague – PNAS USA

UCSF develops site to make sense out of sugar science – Erin Allday – SFGate

Found: The Ideal Fatness for Elephant Seals – Elizabeth Preston – Discover

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Microbiome digest, November 3, 2014

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Human oral and vaginal microbiomes, rumen microbiome of impalas, sample handling and sponges, and two remarkable pieces in the New York Times.

Human oral microbiome

The association between the upper digestive tract microbiota by HOMIM and oral health in a population-based study in Linxian, China – Guoqin Yu – BMC Public Health

“Human Oral Microbe Identification Microarrays were used to test for the presence of 272 human oral bacterial species (97 genera) in upper digestive tract (UDT) samples collected from 659 participants. “

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

Poster: Comparison of the Vaginal Microbiomes of Pregnant Women of Four Ethnicities
and Identification of Taxa Associated with Urogenital Disease – Mendz GL – ECCMID Poster

“Principal component analysis suggested differences in the bacterial populations of healthy women and those with genital infections, with clustering of the latter along the Protobacteria axis “

Animal microbiome

Examination of the Rumen Bacteria and Methanogenic Archaea of Wild Impalas (Aepyceros melampus melampus) from Pongola, South Africa – Laura M. Cersosimo – Microbial Ecology

“In the present study, next-generation sequencing and real-time polymerase chain reaction were used to investigate the diversity and density of the bacteria and methanogenic archaea residing in the rumen of five adult male impalas”

Effects of sample handling and cultivation bias on the specificity of bacterial communities in keratose marine sponges – Cristiane C. Hardoim – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bacterial community profiling of the sympatric keratose species Sarcotragus spinosulus and Ircinia variabilis (Dictyoceratida, Irciniidae) was performed by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 454-pyrosequecing of 16S rRNA gene fragments. “

Plant microbiome

Soil type-dependent effects of a potential biocontrol inoculant on indigenous bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of field-grown lettuce – Susanne Schreiter – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“16S rRNA gene fragments amplified from total community DNA were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and pyrosequencing. “

Are heterotrophic and silica-rich eukaryotic microbes an important part of the lichen symbiosis? – David M Wilkinson – Mycology: An International Journal on Fungal Biology

“In this necessarily speculative paper we highlight areas for future research and how newer technologies may be useful for understanding the full suite of organisms involved in the lichen symbiosis.”

Soil microbiome

Selection on soil microbiomes reveals reproducible impacts on plant function – Kevin Panke-Buisse – ISME Journal

“Analysis of the soil microbial community using 16 S rRNA gene sequencing showed distinct microbiota profiles assembling by flowering time treatment.”

Chemolithotrophy in the continental deep subsurface: Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), USA – Magdalena R. Osburn – Frontiers in Microbiology

“Geochemical data, energetic modeling, and DNA sequencing were combined with principle component analysis to describe this deep (down to 8100 ft below surface), terrestrial environment.”

Bioinformatic tools

* Seeing the forest for the genes: Using metagenomics to infer the aggregated traits of microbial communities – Noah Fierer – Frontiers in Microbiology

“Microbial ecologists could benefit by borrowing the concept of community-aggregated traits (CATs) from plant ecologists to glean more insight from the ever-increasing amount of metagenomic data being generated.”

Metabolomics

Fructan supplementation of senior cats affects stool metabolite concentrations and fecal microbiota concentrations, but not nitrogen partitioning in excreta – K.A. Barry – Journal of Animal Science

“Fructan supplementation may benefit senior cats as it modulates stool odor-forming compounds and decreases some protein catabolites and pathogenic gut microbiota concentrations without affecting N retention.”

Proteomics

From the Banfield lab: Development of an enhanced metaproteomic approach for deepening the microbiome characterization in the human infant gut – Weili Xiong – Journal of Proteome Research

“….we have designed a novel metaproteomic strategy based on double filtering (DF) the raw samples, a method that fractionates microbial from human cells to enhance microbial protein identification and characterization in complex fecal samples from healthy premature infants. “

More microbiology

Complementarity between targeted real-time specific PCR and conventional broad-range 16S rDNA PCR in the syndrome-driven diagnosis of infectious diseases – A.-S. Morel – European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases

“Herein, we report our experience in the diagnosis of infectious diseases over two years, during which 32,948 clinical samples from 18,056 patients were received from France and abroad.”

Microbes in the news

* There Is No ‘Healthy’ Microbiome – Ed Yong – New York Times

“The microbiome is complex, varied, ever changing and context-dependent — qualities that are the enemies of easy categorization.”

Study: Ice Man has traces of bacteria that undermined his health – BetaWired

“…they found evidence of the presence of Treponema denticola, an opportunistic pathogen implicated in the development of periodontal diseases. “

Science, publishing, and career

How Do Small Things Make a Big Difference? Activities to Teach about Human–Microbe Interactions – Chandana Jasti – The American Biology Teacher

“In these guided inquiry activities, students investigate human–microbe interactions as they work together to interpret and analyze authentic data from published articles and develop scientific models.”

2014 Life Sciences Salary Survey – Jyoti Madhusoodanan – The Scientist

“This year’s data reveal notable variation in compensation for life scientists working in different fields, sectors, and regions of the world.”

Academic Science Isn’t Sexist – Wendy M. Williams and Stephen J. Ceci – New York Times

“Our analyses show that women can and do prosper in math-based fields of science, if they choose to enter these fields in the first place.”

and two rebuttals:
Academic science is sexist: We do have a problem here – Emily Willingham
* The flawed and offensive logic of “Academic Science Isn’t Sexist” in the @nytimes – Jonathan Eisen – The Tree of Life

Bik’s Picks

Standing time and all-cause mortality in a large cohort of Australian adults – Hidde P. van der Ploeg – Preventive Medicine

“Increasing standing may hold promise for alleviating the health risks of prolonged sitting.”

A Face to Remember – Kerry Grens – The Scientist

“Once dominated by correlational studies, face-perception research is moving into the realm of experimentation—and gaining tremendous insight.”

* With a very cute picture: Rovers Disguised as Baby Penguins Can Quietly Infiltrate Penguin Colonies – Rachel Nuwer – Smithsonian

“Pursuing this hunch, they outfitted the rover with a big ball of fluff and a little penguin head and arms. ”

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Human microbiome digest, October 28, 2014

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Oral microbiome and hyposalivation or caries, COPD, nasal microbiome, and bacterial communities in human semen.
Human oral microbiome

Book chapter: Xerostomia and the Oral Microflora – Antoon J. M. Ligtenberg PhD, Annica Almståhl – SpringerLink

“Hyposalivation changes the oral microbiome with the most dramatic changes after radiation therapy.”

Metatranscriptomics reveals overall active bacterial composition in caries lesions – Aurea Simón-Soro – Journal of Oral Microbiology

“A mean of 4,900 sequences of the 16S rRNA gene with an average read length of 661 bp was obtained per sample, giving a comprehensive view of the active bacterial communities in caries lesions. “

Comparison of bacterial culture and 16S rRNA community profiling by clonal analysis and and pyrosequencing for the characterisation of the caries-associated microbiome – Kathrin Schulze-Schweifing – Frontiers in Microbiology

“In this study, five pairs of broad range primers targeting 16S rRNA genes were used in clonal analysis of 6 samples collected from tooth lesions involving dentine in subjects with active caries. Samples were also subjected to cultural analysis and pyrosequencing by means of the 454 platform. “

Human respiratory microbiome

Review: The potential impact of the pulmonary microbiome on immunopathogenesis of Aspergillus-related lung disease – Eva Kolwijck and Frank L. van de Veerdonk – European Journal of Immunology

“In this perspective, we review this emerging area of research and discuss the role of the microbiome in aspergillosis, role of Aspergillus in the microbiome, and the influence of the microbiome on anti-Aspergillus host defense and its role in preventing aspergillosis.”

Novosphingobium and Its Potential Role in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Insights from Microbiome Studies – Alleluiah Rutebemberwa – PLOS ONE

“We sought to elucidate the presence and types of lung bacterial populations in different stages of COPD, aimed at revealing important insights into the pathobiology of the disease”

The Nasal and Sinus Microbiome in Health and Disease – Michael T. Wilson and Daniel L. Hamilos – Current Allergy and Asthma Reports

“This review will focus on recent advances in the appreciation and understanding of these relationships in terms of the upper respiratory tract, specifically the nose and paranasal sinuses.”

Human genital microbiome

Bacterial Communities in Semen from Men of Infertile Couples: Metagenomic Sequencing Reveals Relationships of Seminal Microbiota to Semen Quality – Shun-Long Weng – PLOS ONE

“Ninety-six semen samples collected were examined for bacterial communities, measuring seven clinical criteria for semen quality”

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Human microbiome digest, October 27, 2014

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Development of gut microbiome in infants, understanding oral microbiome through high-throughput sequencing, gut bacteria in deceased alcoholics, and bacteria after stroke.

Microbiome general

The symbiont side of symbiosis: do microbes really benefit? – Justine R. Garcia and Nicole M. Gerardo – Frontiers in Microbiology

“We evaluate these hypotheses based on available evidence, which indicate reduced competition and predation are not universal benefits for symbionts. “

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

Review: Diet and the development of the human intestinal microbiome – Noah Voreades – Frontiers in Microbiology

“This review focuses primarily on diet, as it is one of the most pivotal factors in the development of the human gut microbiome from infancy to the elderly.”

Human oral microbiome

Review: Application of high-throughput sequencing in understanding human oral microbiome related with health and disease – Hui Chen and Wen Jiang – Frontiers in Microbiology

“This review describes the application of high-throughput sequencing for characterization of oral microbiota and analyzing the changes of the microbiome in the states of health or disease.”

Human gut microbiome

Cellular and molecular pathways through which commensal bacteria modulate sensitization to dietary antigens – Taylor Feehley, Cathryn R Nagler – Current Opinion in Immunology

“This review will discuss the cellular and molecular pathways activated by commensal bacteria to protect against allergic sensitization.”

Microbial Therapy in Liver Disease: Probiotics Probe the Microbiome–Gut–Liver–Brain Axis – David W. Victor 3rd, Eamonn M.M. Quigley – Gastroenterology

“It is timely, therefore, that Dhiman et al should embark on an ambitious study, reported in this issue of Gastroenterology, designed to assess the efficacy of the probiotic cocktail, VSL#3, as secondary prophylaxis in patients with OHE.”

Changes in gut bacterial populations and their translocation into liver and ascites in alcoholic liver cirrhotics – Sari Tuomisto – BMC Gastroenterology

“Relative ratios of major commensal bacterial communities (Bacteroides spp., Bifidobacterium spp., Clostridium leptum group, Enterobactericaea and Lactobacillus spp.) were determined in faecal samples from post mortem examinations performed on 42 males”

Animal models of microbiome research

Age-related changes in intestinal permeability and gut microbiota after ischemic stroke – Joshua Crapser – Journal of Neuroimmunology

“This study aimed to elucidate the role of systemic factors, such as intestinal stress, underlying the poor outcomes of aging mice after stroke.”

Spatial and temporal colonization dynamics of segmented filamentous bacteria is influenced by gender, age and experimental infection with Helicobacter hepaticus in Swiss Webster mice – Zhongming Ge – Microbes and Infection

“Hh infection in both genders did not alter SFB levels in the jejunum and ileum, but increased SFB levels in the cecum and colon of males compared to the controls”

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Microbiome digest, October 22, 2014

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Microbes in the mouth of patients with heart disease, bile and gall bladder microbiome of pigs, precisely restoring resistance to Clostridium difficile infection, and networks between fungi and plants. And don’t forget the solar eclipse tomorrow PM for most of the US.

Human oral microbiome

Microbial Diversity Similarities in Periodontal Pockets and Atheromatous Plaques of Cardiovascular Disease Patients – Wagner Serra e Silva Filho – PLOS ONE

“Subgingival biofilm and coronary balloons used in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty were collected from 18 subjects presenting with generalized moderate to severe periodontitis and OCAA. DNA was extracted and the gene 16S was amplified, cloned and sequenced.”

Human gut microbiome

Dietary Patterns Differently Associate with Inflammation and Gut Microbiota in Overweight and Obese Subjects – Ling Chun Kong – PLOS ONE

“We aimed to characterize dietary patterns in overweight and obese subjects and evaluate the different dietary patterns in relation to metabolic and inflammatory variables as well as gut microbiota.”

Impact of diet and individual variation on intestinal microbiota composition and fermentation products in obese men – Anne Salonen – ISME Journal

“Here we report a comprehensive and deep microbiota analysis of 14 obese males consuming fully controlled diets supplemented with resistant starch (RS) or non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) and a weight-loss (WL) diet.”

Animal models of microbiome research

* Precision microbiome reconstitution restores bile acid mediated resistance to Clostridium difficile – Charlie G. Buffie – Nature

“..we determine that Clostridium scindens, a bile acid 7α-dehydroxylating intestinal bacterium, is associated with resistance to C. difficile infection and, upon administration, enhances resistance to infection in a secondary bile acid dependent fashion.”

* Changes in the Bacterial Microbiota in Gut, Blood, and Lungs following Acute LPS Instillation into Mice Lungs – Marc A. Sze – PLOS ONE

“Bacterial microbiota of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, blood, and cecum were determined using 454 pyrotag sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) at 4 through 168 hours post-instillation.”

Specific Microbiome Changes in a Mouse Model of Parenteral Nutrition Associated Liver Injury and Intestinal Inflammation – J. Kirk Harris – PLOS ONE

“Microbiome analysis in the PNALI mouse identified specific alterations within colonic microbiota associated with PNALI and further association of these communities with the lipid composition of the PN solution. “

Animal microbiome

Characterization of the bile and gall bladder microbiota of healthy pigs – Esther Jiménez – Microbiology Open

“We have studied, by culture-dependent techniques and a 16S rRNA gene-based analysis, the microbiota present in the bile, gall bladder mucus, and biopsies of healthy sows”

Characterization of Egg Laying Hen and Broiler Fecal Microbiota in Poultry Farms in Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia – Petra Videnska – PLOS ONE

“In this study we were therefore interested in the prevalence of selected antibiotic resistance genes and microbiota composition in feces of egg laying hens and broilers originating from 4 different Central European countries determined by real-time PCR and 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing, respectively. “

Plant microbiome

* Assembly of complex plant–fungus networks – Hirokazu Toju – Nature Communications

“The examined symbiotic network of a temperate forest in Japan includes 33 plant species and 387 functionally and phylogenetically diverse fungal taxa, and the overall network architecture differs fundamentally from that of other ecological networks. “

Soils and sediments

The long-term adaptation of bacterial communities in metal-contaminated sediments: a metaproteogenomic study – David C. Gillan – Environmental Microbiology

“Two freshwater sites, Férin and MetalEurop, differing by one order of magnitude in metal levels (MetalEurop: 3218 mg Zn kg−1; 913 mg Pb kg−1) were compared by shotgun metaproteogenomics. “

Bioinformatics / metabolomics

* Biogeochemical Typing of Paddy Field by a Data-Driven Approach Revealing Sub-Systems within a Complex Environment – A Pipeline to Filtrate, Organize and Frame Massive Dataset from Multi-Omics Analyses – Diogo M. O. Ogawa – PLOS ONE

“We propose the technique of biogeochemical typing (BGC typing) as a novel methodology to set forth the sub-systems of organismal communities associated to the correlated chemical profiles working within a larger complex environment. “

Estimating coverage in metagenomic data sets and why it matters – Luis M Rodriguez-R and Konstantinos T Konstantinidis – ISME Journal

“We demonstrate here how available solutions can determine the level of sequencing coverage obtained by metagenomic data sets and thus, guide their robust analysis and comparison.”

Immunology

* Fall issue of Stanford Medicine reports on the immune system’s balancing act

“If you want to understand the human immune system, try studying humans — not mice, urges Mark Davis, PhD, in a special report on the immune system in the new issue of Stanford Medicine magazine.”

Bik’s Picks

Genome sequence of a 45,000-year-old modern human from western Siberia – Qiaomei Fu – Nature

“the genomic segments of Neanderthal ancestry are substantially longer than those observed in present-day individuals, indicating that Neanderthal gene flow into the ancestors of this individual occurred 7,000–13,000 years before he lived. “

Sky spectacle: Partial solar eclipse coming Thursday – USA Today

“In the afternoon, a partial solar eclipse — where the moon covers a part of the sun — will be visible across much of the USA, barring any pesky clouds that could block the show.”

Go Giants! The Science of Baseball – Exploratorium

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Microbiome digest, October 21, 2014

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Human oral microbiome

Abstract 4834: Microbiome in Oral Epithelial Dysplasia and Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Deepak Saxena – Cancer Research

“PCR amplicons targeting V3-V5 region of 16S rRNA gene were sequenced by 454 pyrosequencing. “

Human respiratory microbiome

Microbial Communities in the Upper Respiratory Tract of Patients with Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – HeeKuk Park – PLOS ONE

“To account for the qualitative and quantitative diversity of the 16S rRNA gene in the oropharynx, the microbiomes of 18 asthma patients, 17 COPD patients, and 12 normal individuals were assessed using a high-throughput next-generation sequencing analysis.”

Human gut microbiome

Decreased bacterial diversity characterizes an altered gut microbiota in psoriatic arthritis and resembles dysbiosis of inflammatory bowel disease – Jose U. Scher – Arthritis & Rheumatology

“High-throughput 16S rRNA pyrosequencing was utilized to compare community composition of gut microbiota in PsA patients, subjects with psoriasis of the skin and healthy, matched-controls. “

Pregnancy and birth

The Salivary Scavenger and Agglutinin in Early Life: Diverse Roles in Amniotic Fluid and in the Infant Intestine – Martin Parnov Reichhardt – Journal of Immunology

“The present study revealed that SALSA was present in the amniotic fluid (AF) and exceptionally enriched in both meconium and feces of infants. “

Animal microbiome

* Unique and shared responses of the gut microbiota to prolonged fasting: a comparative study across five classes of vertebrate hosts – Kevin D. Kohl – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“We used 16S rRNA sequencing to document changes in colonic and cecal microbiomes of animals representing five classes of vertebrates at four time points through prolonged fasting: tilapia, toads, geckos, quail, and mice. “

GeoChip-based insights into the microbial functional gene repertoire of marine sponges (HMA, LMA) and seawater – Kristina Bayer – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“By use of GeoChip, altogether 20,273 probes encoding for 627 functional genes and representing 16 gene categories were identified”

Natural volcanic CO2 seeps reveal future trajectories for host–microbial associations in corals and sponges – Kathleen M Morrow – ISME Journal

“The corals Acropora millepora and Porites cylindrica were less abundant and hosted significantly different microbial communities at the CO2 seep than at nearby control sites <500 m away.”
Plant microbiome

Phylogenetic conservatism in plant-soil feedback and its implications for plant abundance – Brian L. Anacke – Ecology Letters

“We conclude that soil biota influence the abundance of close plant relatives in nature.”

Bioreactor microbiome

Influence of Acidic pH on Hydrogen and Acetate Production by an Electrosynthetic Microbiome – Edward V. LaBelle – PLOS ONE

“Production of hydrogen and organic compounds by an electrosynthetic microbiome using electrodes and carbon dioxide as sole electron donor and carbon source, respectively, was examined after exposure to acidic pH (~5). “

Metagenomics / Transcriptomics / Bioinformatics

Census-based rapid and accurate metagenome taxonomic profiling – Amirhossein Shamsaddini – BMC Genomics

“We have developed a robust subsampling-based algorithm implemented in a tool called CensuScope meant to take a ‘sneak peak’ into the population distribution and estimate taxonomic composition as if a census was taken of the metagenomic landscape. “

Metatranscriptomes from diverse microbial communities: assessment of data reduction techniques for rigorous annotation – Andrew Toseland – BMC Genomics

“To investigate the effect of such techniques on the annotation of metatranscriptome data we assess two commonly employed methods: clustering and de-novo assembly. To do this, we also developed an approach to simulate 454 and Illumina metatranscriptome data sets with varying degrees of taxonomic diversity. “

Microbial Ecology

Mathematical Modeling of Microbial Community Dynamics: A Methodological Review – Hyun-Seob Song – Processes

“In this article, we provide an overview of mathematical tools that include not only current mainstream approaches, but also less traditional approaches that, in our opinion, can be potentially useful. “

A phylogenetic perspective on species diversity, β-diversity, and biogeography for the microbial world – Albert Barberán† and Emilio O. Casamayor – Molecular Ecology

“We explored links between evolution/phylogeny and community ecology using bacterial 16S rRNA gene information from a high altitude lakes district dataset to describe phylogenetic community composition, spatial distribution, and β-diversity and biogeographical patterns applying evolutionary relatedness without relying on any particular operational taxonomic unit definition.”

Distance-Decay and Taxa-Area Relationships for Bacteria, Archaea and Methanogenic Archaea in a Tropical Lake Sediment – Davi Pedroni Barreto – PLOS ONE

“The samples were analyzed using T-RFLP (Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism) targeting mcrA (coding for a subunit of methyl-coenzyme M reductase) and the genes of Archaeal and Bacterial 16S rRNA.”

More microbiology

From Denise Monack’s lab: Role of disease-associated tolerance in infectious superspreaders – Smita Gopinath – PNAS USA

“Using a mouse model of Salmonella infection, we show that levels of Salmonella are equivalent between antibiotic-treated superspreader and nonsuperspreader hosts; however, superspreader hosts are uniquely able to tolerate antibiotic treatment, unlike nonsuperspreader hosts. “

*Also see:  Antibiotics may help Salmonella spread in infected animals, scientists learn – Stanford Medicine News

Spatial organization of bacterial chromosomes – Xindan Wang, David Z Rudner – Current Opinion in Microbiology

“Here, we summarize these different patterns highlighting similarities and differences and discuss the protein factors that help establish and maintain them.”

Bacterial healers: Microbes can redeem themselves to fight disease – Susan Gaidos – Science News

“It’s just a matter of time before bacterial-based treatments become a routine part of a doctor’s toolkit, says microbiologist Robert Britton of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, who is studying the relationship between microbes and human health. “

Techniques

Rapid fingerprinting of methanogenic communities by high-resolution melting analysis – Jaai Kim, Changsoo Lee – Bioresource Technology

“The new method produced robust community clustering and ordination results comparable to the results from the commonly used denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) performed in parallel.”

Microbes in the news

Our unique ‘microbial aura’ travels with us wherever we go – Science Friday – PRI

“Unless you lived exactly the same life as me, you would not have the same microbiome. You are, in essence, microbially unique,” explains Jack Gilbert

We’re making a Microbiome Documentary Series and could use your Help – Jamie – Reddit

“My name’s Jamie and I’m part of a team trying to crowdfund a documentary series on the human microbiome titled: ‘Redefining Human’.”

Building houses with bacteria – Euronews

“Houses of the future could be partially built with bacteria. It sounds like science fiction but researchers involved in an EU-backed project in Madrid are working towards making this a concrete reality.”

Bik’s Picks

The Role of Surface Chemistry in Adhesion and Wetting of Gecko Toe Pads – Ila Badge – Scientific Reports

“As expected, under wet conditions, adhesion on a hydrophilic surface (glass) was lower than that on a hydrophobic surface (alkyl-silane monolayer on glass).”

Scientists prepare for an 8-month mission to Mars – on Earth soil- BetaWired

“There’s a new experiment commencing in Hawaii, and the results will help NASA better prepare its astronauts for a lengthy mission to Mars.”

White rhino subspecies is down to one breeding male – Andrea James – BoingBoing

“Sad news from Kenya: the northern white rhino subspecies is down to one breeding male with the death of Suni this month. Only six remain.”

Scientists restore hearing in noise-deafened mice, pointing way to new therapies – ScienceDirect

“Scientists have restored the hearing of mice partly deafened by noise, using advanced tools to boost the production of a key protein in their ears.”

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Microbiome Digest, October 20, 2014

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Oral core microbiome, symbionts in crabs, sponges, and Drosophila, metabolites in dolphin’s breath, and retraction of a paper favored by Dr. Oz.

Pregnancy and birth

NEC in Twin Pregnancies: Incidence and Outcomes – Sathyaprasad C Burjonrappa, Brian Shea, Diya Goorah – Journal of Neonatal Surgery

“There is a remarkable higher incidence of NEC amongst twins. Abnormal colonization of the gastrointestinal tract appears to be an immediate postpartum event.”

Human oral microbiome

Intraindividual variation in core microbiota in peri-implantitis and periodontitis – Noriko Maruyama – Scientific Reports

“To improve our knowledge of the different communities of complex oral microbiota, we compared the microbial features between peri-implantitis and periodontitis in 20 patients with both diseases. “

Antimicrobial Effect of Lemongrass Oil against Oral Malodor Microorganisms and the Pilot Study of Safety and Efficacy of Lemongrass Mouthrinse on Oral Malodor – Panitta Satthanakul – Journal of Applied Microbiology

“Antimicrobial activity of LG mouthrinse was examined against common odorigenic microorganisms using broth microdilution assay and the disc diffusion method. A randomized double-blind clinical study was performed in 20 healthy volunteers.”

Animal microbiome

Molecular evidence of digestion and absorption of epibiotic bacterial community by deep-sea crab Shinkaia crosnieri – Tomo-o Watsuji – ISME Journal

“A phylogenetic analysis showed that many of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences obtained from the intestine were closely related to the sequences of the epibionts, thus they were probably derived from the epibionts.”

* In vivo function and comparative genomic analyses of the Drosophila gut microbiota identify candidate symbiosis factors – Peter D. Newell – Frontiers in Microbiology

“We compared microbiota isolates with con-specific or closely related bacterial species isolated from non-fly environments. “

* Two distinct microbial communities revealed in the sponge Cinachyrella – Marie L. Cuvelier – Frontiers in Microbiology

“Sponges of the genus Cinachyrella are common in Caribbean and Floridian reefs and their archaeal and bacterial microbiomes were explored here using 16S rDNA tag pyrosequencing.”

* Symbiotic archaea in marine sponges show stability and host specificity in community structure and ammonia oxidation functionality – Fan Zhang – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“PCR cloning and sequencing of archaeal 16S rRNA and amoA genes showed that the archaeal community composition and structure were different from that in seawater and varied among sponge species. “

Plant microbiome

Reduced dependence of rhizosphere microbiome on plant-derived carbon in 32-year long-term inorganic and organic fertilized soils – Chao Ai – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

“Wheat rhizosphere microbiome was studied by stable isotope probing and pyrosequencing.”

Environmental microbiome

Characterization of bacterial communities associated with seasonal water masses from Tongyoung in South Sea of Korea – Sung-Suk Suh – Ocean Science Journal

“In this study, we adopted a 16S rRNA gene tag-pyrosequencing technique to investigate the bacterial communities associated with two different water masses from Tongyoung in the South Sea of Korea. “

Bacterial community structure of a lab-scale anammox membrane bioreactor – Alejandro Gonzalez-Martinez – Biotechnology Progress

“In this study, next-generation sequencing techniques have been used for the investigation of the bacterial communities of this MBR Anammox for the first time ever. “

Metagenomics & Bioinformatics

GenomePeek: What exactly is that sequencing data? – Katelyn McNair – MicroBEnet

“I wrote the initial version of GenomePeek, and tested it with various data sets using this student’s data. I quickly found that some genes work better than others, and so currently the four genes analyzed are: 16S, recA, rpoB, and groEL.”

Metabolomics

Metabolite Content Profiling of Bottlenose Dolphin Exhaled Breath – Alexander A. Aksenov – Analytical Chemistry

“We have developed a method to reproducibly sample breath from small cetaceans, specifically Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). “

Proteomics

Symbiosis, Dysbiosis and Rebiosis – the value of metaproteomics in human microbiome monitoring – Lei Mao and Jacqueline Franke – Proteomics

“After a brief review of the history and state-of-the-art of metaproteomics in the field of environmental health research, focus of this perspective article will be put on the role of cross-species joint efforts in symbiosis, dysbiosis and rebiosis of the human gut during human development, pathogenesis and aging.”

More microbiology

Bridging the gap between viable but non-culturable and antibiotic persistent bacteria – Mesrop Ayrapetyan – Trends in Microbiology

“This discussion is intended to stimulate discourse about these seemingly different but very similar dormant states.”

* Phylogenomic Reconstruction Indicates Mitochondrial Ancestor Was an Energy Parasite
Zhang Wang, Martin Wu – PLOS ONE

“Using a phylogenomic approach and leveraging on the increased taxonomic sampling of alphaproteobacterial and eukaryotic genomes, we reconstructed the metabolisms of both proto-mitochondria and pre-mitochondria.”

Real-time video imaging as a new and rapid tool for antibiotic susceptibility testing by the disk diffusion method: a paradigm for evaluating resistance to imipenem and identifying extended-spectrum β-lactamases – Stéphanie Le Page – International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents

“..we present here for the first time video movies of the appearance of the diameter of inhibition by the disk diffusion in real-time. “

Microbes in the news

Can Microbes Help Feed the World? – Amy Mayer – BioScience

“To help meet the challenge for food, scientists are using new technologies to better understand the role that soil microbes might play in bolstering agricultural production. “

Dentists Want To See Studies On Pot-Cavity Link – CBS Local

“Patients are experiencing tooth decay, expensive dentist bills and the pain of dealing with it all. The biggest side effect is dry mouth.”

Bik’s Picks

Brain surgery, by robot, through the cheek – Science Daily

“Engineers have developed a surgical robot designed to perform brain surgery by entering through the cheek instead of the skull that can operate on a patient in an MRI scanner. Additionally, the engineers have designed the system so that much of it can be made using 3-D printing in order to keep the price low.”

* Hilarious cartoons on Imgur: Real Scientists vs. Movie Scientists 

* Authors retract green coffee bean diet paper touted by Dr. Oz – Ivan Oransky – Retraction Watch

“Two authors of a 2012 paper sponsored by a company that made grand claims about green coffee bean extract’s abilities to help people lose weight have retracted it. The study was cited by The Dr. Oz Show, and last month it cost the company a $3.5 million settlement with the Feds.”

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Microbiome digest, October 17, 2014

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Resistance one year after antibiotic treatment, skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis, bacterial 16S rRNA load in the lungs, the rat oral microbiome, and microbes in cheese. And an exciting new discovery by Stanford scientists. Have a great weekend!

 

Multiple site human microbiome

Development of antimicrobial resistance in the normal anaerobic microbiota during one year after administration of clindamycin or ciprofloxacin – Mamun-Ur Rashid – Anaerobe

“Clindamycin or ciprofloxacin or placebo was given for 10 days in three groups. Skin, nasal, saliva, faeces sampling at day -1 and 11, 1, 2, 4 and 12 months.“

Shared microbiome in gums and the lung in an outpatient population – Patrick R. Schmidlin – Journal of Infection

“PCR to determine four periopathogens and seven less pathogenic species in both the periodontal pocket and bronchial protected specimen brush was used. “

Human skin microbiome

* Review: Role of the skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis – Alexander Salava and Antti Lauerma – Clinical and Translational Allergy

“Molecular genetics have dramatically changed our vision of the micro-organisms colonizing the human skin and recently well-documented changes in the skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis have become evident.”

Human respiratory microbiome

* The effect of long-term macrolide treatment on respiratory microbiota composition in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis: an analysis from the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled BLESS trial – Geraint B Rogers – The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

“Microbiota composition was determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing of sputum samples from participants in the BLESS trial”

A Comparison between Droplet Digital and Quantitative PCR in the Analysis of Bacterial 16S Load in Lung Tissue Samples from Control and COPD GOLD 2 – Marc A. Sze – PLOS ONE

“qPCR and ddPCR were performed on these samples using primers spanning the V2 region on the 16S rRNA gene along with negative controls. Total 16S counts were compared between the two methods.”

Human gut microbiome

* With pictures! Fecal microbiota transplantation: A ‘How-To’ guide for nurses – Sharyn Leis – Collegian

“However, to date, much of the literature addresses the procedure from a physician’s point of view, and can therefore be lacking in practical detail. As nurses are often the ‘unsung heroes’ of the procedure, it is timely to address the subject from a nursing perspective.”

The Intestinal Microbiota and Microenvironment in Liver – Hong-Di Ma- Autoimmunity Reviews

“But the interplay between the intestinal tract and the liver may explain the increased association with autoimmune liver diseases and inflammatory bowel diseases. “

Alterations of gut barrier and gut microbiota in food restriction, food deprivation and protein-energy wasting – L. Genton – Clinical Nutrition

“This review… highlights the complex interactions between the components of gut barrier in depleted states due to food deprivation, food restriction and protein energy wasting and shows that these interactions are multidirectional”

Application of next-generation sequencing to study ascitic microbiome in cirrhotic patients with or without spontaneous bacterial peritonitis – Ye Feng- Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection

“Both the 16S polymerase chain reaction approach and the whole genome shotgun approach were adopted for the next-generation sequencing technology. “

Chronic ethanol consumption alters intestinal microbiota impairing immune function – T. Barr – Alcohol

The gastrointestinal microbiome – functional interference between stomach and intestine – Loris R. Lopetuso – Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology

“This review focuses and speculates on the possible interactions between gastric microorganisms and intestinal microbiota and on the consequences of this interplay in modulating gut health.”

Animal models of microbiome research

Can Pre-Weaning Modulation of Intestinal Microbiota by Oligosaccharides or Amoxicillin Program Adult One in Rats? – Fanny B. Morel – Nutrition

“As revealed by a targeted qPCR approach, programming of adult intestinal microbiota seems to vary according to the nature of the pre-weaning microbiotal modulator.”

Animal microbiome

* Characterization of the rat oral microbiome and the effects of dietary nitrate – Embriette R. Hyde – Free Radical Biology and Medicine

“Demonstrates the utility of using metagenomics techniques to characterize the healthy rat tongue microbiome and to compare it to the healthy human tongue microbiome.”

Soil microbiome

High-Level Diversity of Tailed Phages, Eukaryote-Associated Viruses, and Virophage-Like Elements in the Metaviromes of Antarctic Soils – Olivier Zablocki – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“The metaviromes of two distinct Antarctic hyperarid desert soil communities have been characterized.”

Food microbiology

Microbial communities involved in Kashar cheese ripening – Oğuz Aydemir – Food Microbiology

“The molecular classification and identification of 594 LAB isolates during Kashar cheese ripening were performed through (GTG)5–PCR fingerprinting of their genomic DNA followed by verification of the (GTG)5–PCR clusters obtained after numerical analysis through 16S rRNA gene sequencing of representative isolates. “

Characterization of the bacterial biodiversity in Pico cheese (an artisanal Azorean food)
Cristina Riquelme – International Journal of Food Microbiology

“Pyrosequencing of tagged amplicons of the V3–V4 regions of the 16S rDNA and Operational Taxonomic Unit-based (OTU-based) analysis were applied to obtain an overall idea of the microbiota in Pico cheese and to elucidate possible differences between cheese-makers (A, B and C) and maturation times.”

Metagenomics/Bioinformatics

Likelihood-Based Gene Annotations for Gap Filling and Quality Assessment in Genome-Scale Metabolic Models – Matthew N. Benedict – PLOS Computational Biology

“Here we develop an approach for applying genomic information to predict alternative functions for genes and estimate their likelihoods from sequence homology. “

Microbes in the news

‘Critical Conversation’ to focus on human microbiome – Sue Wuetcher – UB Reporter, University at Buffalo

“David Relman, the Thomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor and professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, will speak on “Your Inner Self: The Human Microbiome in Health and Disease””

 

Bik’s Weekend Picks

Want to Ace That Test? Get the Right Kind of Sleep – Benedict Carey – New York Times

“Scientists now argue that a primary purpose of sleep is learning consolidation, separating the signal from the noise and flagging what is most valuable.”

‘Human face of science’: Researchers dance to raise funds for cancer study – RT.com

“Biomedicine scientists in Barcelona have released a music clip aimed at raising funds for medical research, as well as promoting their profession’s “human face.” The video’s release comes amid low levels of public interest in science throughout Spain.”

In science, popularity breeds unreliability – Tom Siegfried – Science News

“In recent decades, pressure to publish and seek publicity has distorted the scientific enterprise. Scientists need grants. Getting published raises the likelihood of getting those grants. “

Satire: Scientists Discover Two New Kinds Of Bird Poop – The Allium

“Scientists at Stanford University have revealed that they have discovered two new species of bird poop that defy classification. These are the first new species of poop that have been discovered in thirty five years. The findings have been reported this week in the journal Nature.”

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Human microbiome digest, October 14, 2014

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Preterm birth and pathogens, oral antibiotic changes skin microbiota, dynamics of tongue microbes, and detection of candidate phyla in the human mouth.

Pregnancy and birth

Microbiological Profile of PROM in a Tertiary Care Centre in Mangalore, Karnataka State –
Annie Rajaratnam – International Journal of Health Sciences and Research

“A total of 104 cases of PROM that presented after 37 completed weeks’ of gestation were screened for infections by wet mount, Gram stain & routine culture of high vaginal swabs.“

Epidemiologic Factors and Urogenital Infections Associated With Preterm Birth in a Midwestern U.S. Population – Agger, William A – Obstetrics & Gynecology

“Cervical and urine specimens were analyzed by microscopy, culture, and polymerase chain reaction for potential pathogens.”

Human Milk Glycomics and Gut Microbial Genomics in Infant Feces Shows Correlation between Human Milk Oligosaccharides and Gut Microbiota: A Proof-of-Concept Study – Maria Lorna Arao De Leoz – Journal of Proteome Research

“Serial fecal specimens from two healthy breast-fed infants were analyzed by bacterial DNA sequencing to characterize the microbiota and by mass spectrometry to determine abundances of specific HMOs that passed through the intestinal tract without being consumed by the luminal bacteria. “

Human skin microbiome

* Oral Antibiotic Treatment Induces Skin Microbiota Dysbiosis and Influences Wound Healing – Meiling Zhang – Microbial Ecology

“our data demonstrate that antibiotic treatment decreases the bacterial density and alters the bacterial composition in skin wounds, followed by a decrease in RegIIIγ expression, which may contribute to the delayed wound repair. “

Human oral microbiome

* Dynamics of tongue microbial communities with single-nucleotide resolution using oligotyping – Jessica L. Mark Welch – Frontiers in Microbiology

“We employed oligotyping to analyze, with single-nucleotide resolution, oral microbial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence data from a time course sampled from the tongue of two individuals, and we interpret our results in the context of oligotypes that we previously identified in the oral data from the Human Microbiome Project. “

Host-associated bacterial taxa from Chlorobi, Chloroflexi, GN02, Synergistetes, SR1, TM7, and WPS-2 Phyla/candidate divisions – Anuj Camanocha, Floyd E. Dewhirst – Journal of Oral Microbiology

“The objectives of this study were to create phyla-selective 16S rDNA PCR primer pairs, create selective 16S rDNA clone libraries, identify novel oral taxa, and update canine and human oral microbiome databases.”

Human gut microbiome

Environmental enteropathy and malnutrition: do we know enough to intervene? – William A Petri – BMC Medicine

“Environmental enteropathy (EE) is a poorly defined state of intestinal inflammation without overt diarrhea that occurs in individuals exposed over time to poor sanitation and hygiene.”

* Meta-analyses of human gut microbes associated with obesity and IBD – William A. Walters, Zech Xu, Rob Knight – FEBS Letters

“Here we test for indicator taxa and general features of the microbiota that are generally consistent across studies of obesity and of IBD, focusing on studies involving high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene (which we could process using a common computational pipeline). “

Diversity of Microflora in Colonic Mucus from Severe Ulcerative Colitis Patients Analyzed by Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism and Clone Libraries of Bacterial 16S rRNA Gene Sequences – I-Nung Huang – Advances in Microbiology

“Also in the clone library analysis, the number of operational taxonomic units (OTU) and the Shannon diversity index were reduced significantly in UC patients.”

The Influence of Whole Grain Products and Red Meat on Intestinal Microbiota Composition in Normal Weight Adults: A Randomized Crossover Intervention Trial – Jana Foerster – PLOS ONE

“Repeatedly data on microbiota were assessed by 16S rRNA based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE).”

Animal and bioreactor models of microbiome research

Assessing non-digestible compounds in apple cultivars and their potential as modulators of obese faecal microbiota in vitro – Luis Condezo-Hoyos – Food Chemistry

“Results showed that relative abundances of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Enterococcus, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, and Bifidobacterium in apple cultured faeces tended to resemble the abundance in faeces from lean mice with increased trend in the production of butyric acid. “

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