November 7, 2017

Here’s your daily Digest. Highlights include an attempt to establish the causal link between gut microbiota and colorectal cancer in mice, an electric bandage to fight biofilm and antimicrobial resistance, and a group B Streptococcus vaccine that could save tens of thousands of babies per year.

General microbiology

Oral epithelial cells orchestrate innate type 17 responses to Candida albicans through the virulence factor candidalysin – Akash H. Verma et al. – Science Immunology

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Sequence Type (ST) 5 Isolates from Health Care and Agricultural Sources Adhere Equivalently to Human Keratinocytes – Samantha J. Hau et al. – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Human microbiome signatures of differential colorectal cancer drug metabolism – Leah Guthrie et al. – npj Biofilms and Microbiomes

Whole grain-rich diet reduces body weight and systemic low-grade inflammation without inducing major changes of the gut microbiome: a randomised cross-over trial – Henrik Munch Roager et al. – Gut

Multi-site human microbiome

Review: Human microbiome, infections, and rheumatic disease – Ana Clara Camine et al. – Clinical Rheumatology

Review: The Microbiome and Bone and Joint Disease – Christopher J. Hernandez – Current Rheumatology Reports

Animal experiments

Gavage of fecal samples from patients with colorectal cancer promotes intestinal carcinogenesis in germ-free and conventional mice – Sunny H. Wong and Liuyang Zhao – Gastroenterology

Animal microbiome

An integrative study on biologically recovered polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and simultaneous assessment of gut microbiome in yellow mealworm – Su Yean Ong et al. – Journal of Biotechnology

Plant, root and soil microbiome

Shifts in microbial communities in soil, rhizosphere and roots of two major crop systems under elevated CO2 and O3 – Peng Wang et al. – Scientific Reports

Year-round shotgun metagenomes reveal stable microbial communities in agricultural soils and novel ammonia oxidizers responding to fertilization – Luis H. Orellana et al. – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

High altitude, hyper-arid soils of the Central-Andes harbor mega-diverse communities of actinobacteria – Alan T. Bull et al. – Extremophiles

Sediment nitrogen cycling rates and microbial abundance along a submerged vegetation gradient in a eutrophic lake – Lu Yao et al. – Science of The Total Environment

Technology

Electric Field Based Dressing Disrupts Mixed-Species Bacterial Biofilm Infection and Restores Functional Wound Healing – Barki, Kasturi Ganesh et al. – Annals of Surgery

Press: Study shows electric bandages can fight biofilm infection, antimicrobial resistance – MedicalXpress

Bioinformatics

Preprint: A novel multi SNP based method for the identification of subspecies and associated lineages and sub-lineages of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex by whole genome sequencing – Samuel I. W. Lipworth et al. – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

Your Eyes Have Their Own Microbiome. Here’s What You Need To Do To Take Care Of It – Sam Berne – MBG Health

Does a Healthy Gut Equal a Long, Healthy Life? – Jim Pietrangelo – Healthline

Unlocking the Secrets of the Microbiome – Jane E. Brody – New York Times

Specific gut bacteria can help or hinder cancer treatments – Rich Haridy – New Atlas

Proprietary Prebiotic Fiber Tested in National Institutes of Health Pilot Study with End-Stage Renal Disease Patients – Kimberly J. Decker – Nutritional Outlook

Briny pool bacteria can clean up and power up – King Abdullah University of Science & Technology – EurekAlert

2 million Chinese mothers carry strep bacteria that can be fatal to newborns, study finds – Laurie Chen – South China Morning Post

* Vaccine for bacteria carried by 20% of pregnant women ‘could prevent 100,000 baby deaths’ – Sarah Boseley – The Irish Times

Research finds link between gut fungi, bacteria and obesity – Camille Bienvenu – Diabetes.co.uk

Microbes on the market

Microbiome Therapeutics prepares to launch ‘microbiome modulator’ – Stephen Daniells – NutraIngredients

 

November 5, 2017

 

A shorter digest today, but includes a lot of human gut microbiome studies and a cool study on microbes used to treat snake bites!

General microbiome

Comparison of two Jatropha species (Euphorbiaceae) used popularly to treat snakebites in Northeastern Brazil: Chemical profile, inhibitory activity against Bothrops erythromelas venom and antibacterial activity – Juliana Félix-Silva, Journal of Ethnopharmacology

Multi-site human microbiome

A slippery slope: On the origin, role and physiology of mucus – Farhan Taherali, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews

Human gut microbiome

Faecal microbiota transplantation versus placebo for moderate-to-severe irritable bowel syndrome: a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, single-centre trial –  Peter Holger Johnsen, The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Estrogens and Female Liver Health – Karen L. Chen, Steroids

Safety and Efficacy of Fecal Microbiota Transplant for Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection in Patients With Cancer Treated With Cytotoxic Chemotherapy: A Single-Institution Retrospective Case Series – Mehrdad Hefazi, Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Gut Microbiota and Cancer Patients: A Broad-Ranging Relationship – Giovanni Cammarota, Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Gut microbiota and hypertension: From pathogenesis to new therapeutic strategies – Yongbo Kang, Clinics and Research in Hepatology and Gastroenterology

Preface to “Gut microbiome in health and disease” – Maikel P. Peppelenbosch, Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology

Results of the implementation of a multidisciplinary programme of faecal microbiota transplantation by colonoscopy for the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection – Antonio López-Sanromán, Gastroenterología y Hepatología (English Edition)

Animal experiments

Alterations in ruminal bacterial populations at induction and recovery from diet-induced milk fat depression in dairy cows – D.W. Pitta, Journal of Dairy Science

Chronic chlorpyrifos exposure elicits diet-specific effects on metabolism and the gut microbiome in rats – Bing Fang, Food and Chemical Toxicology

Housing influences tissue cytokine levels and the fecal bacterial community structure in rats – Padmaja Shastri, Journal of Functional Foods

An intact gut microbiota may be required for lactoferrin-driven immunomodulation in rats – Yongping Wen, Journal of Functional Foods

Untargeted metabolomic profiling of urine in Wistar rats reveals enhanced bioavailability of soy isoflavones post short-term consumption of noni (Morinda citrifolia) juice – José-Manuel Fallas-Ramirez, Journal of Functional Foods

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Long and short term effects of solarization on soil microbiome and agricultural production – Housam Kanaan, Applied Soil Ecology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Microbial communities involved in biogas production exhibit high resilience to heat shocks – Abendroth Christian, Bioresource Technology

Food microbiome

Application of high-throughput pyrosequencing in the analysis of microbiota of food commodities procured from small and large retail outlets in a U.S. metropolitan area – A pilot study – Daleniece Higgins, Food Research International

Microbial ecology along the processing of Spanish olives darkened by oxidation – Eduardo Medina, Food Control

Co-fermentation of onion and whey: A promising synbiotic combination – Federica Tinello, Journal of Functional Foods

Diverse yeasts for diverse fermented beverages and foods – Chris Todd Hittinger, Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Techniques

Microbiome measurement: Possibilities and pitfalls – Djawad Radjabzadeh, Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology

High-throughput eDNA monitoring of fungi to track functional recovery in ecological restoration – DongFeng Yan, Biological Conservation

Commensal Koch’s postulates: establishing causation in human microbiota research – B Anne Neville, Current Opinion in Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Disease outbreak at Marine Corps boot camp abates in San Diego – Carl Prine, The San Diego Union-Tribune

November 4, 2017

Events and jobs

Microbiology Lab Technician – Manpower – Evansville

Research Associate in Plant and Arthropod Microbiome – Indiana University

 

General microbiome

Review: New Insights into Graft-Versus-Host Disease and Graft Rejection – E Perkey – Annual Review of Pathology

Microbial network of the carbonate precipitation process induced by microbial consortia and the potential application to crack healing in concrete. – J Zhang – Scientific Reports

Review: A Call to Arms: Quest for a Cryptococcal Vaccine – MC Caballero Van Dyke – Cell

 

 

Human respiratory microbiome

Impact of the Respiratory Microbiome on Host Responses to Respiratory Viral Infection. – M Pichon – Vaccines

 

 

Human gut microbiome

Review: Atherosclerosis: Association between the gut microbiome and atherosclerosis – WT Barrington – Nature Reviews

Improvement in cardiometabolic risk markers following a multifunctional diet is associated with gut microbial taxa in healthy overweight and obese subjects. – N Marungruang – European Journal of Nutrition

Opinion: NOD2 and bacterial recognition as therapeutic targets for Crohn’s disease. – M de Bruyn – Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets.

 

Animal experiments 

Microbial diversity and composition in different gut locations of hyperlipidemic mice receiving krill oil. – C Lu – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Evaluating the contribution of gut microbiome to the variance of porcine serum glucose and lipid concentration. – X Huang – Scientific Reports

Gut microbiome influences efficacy of PD-1-based immunotherapy against epithelial tumors. – B Routy – Science

 

Animal microbiome 

The bacterium Wolbachia exploits host innate immunity to establish a symbiotic relationship with the dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti. – X Pan – The ISME Journal

Enzymatic dynamics into the Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826) gut during vermicomposting of coffee husk and market waste in a tropical environment. – B Ordoñez-Arévalo – Environmental Science and Pollution Research International

Microbial community and ovine host response varies with early and late stages of Haemonchus contortus infection. – S El-Ashram – Veterinary Research Communications

 

Plant, root and soil microbiome

The spent culture supernatant of Pseudomonas syringae contains azelaic acid – SG Javvadi – bioRxiv

Stratified Bacterial and Archaeal Community in Mangrove and Intertidal Wetland Mudflats Revealed by High Throughput 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing – Z Zhou – Frontiers in Microbiology

Genome Sequencing of Microbacterium sp. Yaish 1, a Bacterial Strain Isolated from the Rhizosphere of Date Palm Trees Affected by Salinity – GA Jana – Genome Announcements

A New Proposal for the Pathogenic Mechanism of Non-Coeliac/Non-Allergic Gluten/Wheat Sensitivity: Piecing Together the Puzzle of Recent Scientific Evidence. – V Leccioli – Nutrients

Identification of novel small RNAs in Burkholderia cenocepacia KC-01 expressed under iron limitation and oxidative stress conditions. – S Ghosh – Microbiology

Conductive particles enable syntrophic acetate oxidation between Geobacter and Methanosarcina from coastal sediments – AE Rotaru – bioRxiv

 

Water and extremophile microbiome

A dynamic microbial community with high functional redundancy inhabits the cold, oxic subseafloor aquifer. – BJ Tully – The ISME Journal

 

 

Phages and viruses

Co-existence of freshwater and marine T4-like myoviruses in a typical subtropical estuary. – L Liu – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

 

Techniques

Optimisation of 16S rRNA gut microbiota profiling of extremely low birth weight infants. – C Alcon-Giner – BMC Genomics

Metagenomic analysis reveals potential interactions in an artificial coculture. – M Ren – AMB Express

Review: Phage Hunters: computational strategies for finding phages in large-scale ‘omics datasets – BL Hurwitz – Virus Research

Defining the Transcriptional Landscape during Cytomegalovirus Latency with Single-Cell RNA Sequencing – M Shnayder – bioRxiv

 

Microbes in the news

Can microbiology tell us exactly what killed the Aztecs? – OUP Blog

Tuning the Microbiome Improves Melanoma Immunotherapy Response – GEN

November 3, 2017

Events and jobs

Assistant Professor in Food Microbiology/Safety – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley – Close Date: 12/3/2017

Assistant Professor Microbiology – University of New Haven, Connecticut

Microbiology Technician On-Call – Battle Creek, MI – Michigan

 

General microbiome

Closely related methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from retail meat, cows with mastitis, and humans in Japan – T Sato – PLoS One

Letter:A global resource allocation strategy governs growth transition kinetics of Escherichia coli – DW Erickson – Nature

Inter-species population dynamics enhance microbial horizontal gene transfer and spread of antibiotic resistance – RM Cooper – eLife

 

Pregnancy and early life

Gut microbiome of mothers delivering prematurely shows reduced diversity and lower relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus – C Dahl – PLoS One

 

 

Human vaginal microbiome

Association of high-risk sexual behaviour with diversity of the vaginal microbiota and abundance of Lactobacillus. – JM Wessels – PLoS One

Associations between sexual habits, menstrual hygiene practices, demographics and the vaginal microbiome as revealed by Bayesian network analysis – N Noyes – bioRxiv

Opinion: Committee Opinion No. 725: Vaginal Seeding – KR Wharton – Obstetrics and Gynecology

 

Human gut microbiome

“Omic” investigations of protozoa and worms for a deeper understanding of the human gut “parasitome”. – V Marzano – PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Comparison of the human gastric microbiota in hypochlorhydric states arising as a result of Helicobacter pylori-induced atrophic gastritis, autoimmune atrophic gastritis and proton pump inhibitor use – BN Parsons – PLoS Pathogens

Modeling the temporal dynamics of the gut microbial community in adults and infants – L Shenhav – bioRxiv

The ethnic distribution of sessile serrated polyps in the United States is inversely associated with Helicobacter pylori prevalence – A Sonnenberg – Colorectal Disease

Gut microbiome in gestational diabetes: A Cross-sectional study of mothers and offspring 5 years post-partum. – S Hasan – Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica

Protective Roles of Intestinal Microbiota derived Short Chain Fatty Acids in Alzheimer’s Disease-type Beta-Amyloid Neuropathological Mechanisms. – L Ho – Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics

 

Animal experiments 

Microbiota control immune regulation in humanized mice – E Gülden – Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight

Effects of essential oils from Liquidambar orientalis Mill. leaves on growth performance, carcass and some organ traits, some blood metabolites and intestinal microbiota in broilers. –  A Altop – British Poultry Science

PD-1 deficiency protects experimental colitis via alteration of gut microbiota. – SJ Park – Journal of biochemistry and molecular biology.

The Mouse Model of Infection with Citrobacter rodentium – N Bouladoux – Current Protocols in Immunology

Glyphosate has limited short-term effects on commensal bacterial community composition in the gut environment due to sufficient aromatic amino acid levels. – LN Nielsen – Environmental Pollution

 

Animal microbiome 

Strong responses of Drosophila melanogaster microbiota to developmental temperature – NN Moghadam – Fly (Austin)

Amphibian skin defences show variation in ability to inhibit growth of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis isolates from the Global Panzootic Lineage. – RE Antwis – Microbiology (Reading, England)

Midgut Bacterial Diversity of Wild Populations of Phlebotomus (P.) papatasi, the Vector of Zoonotic Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ZCL) in Turkey. – M Karakuş – Scientific Reports

Rapid regrowth and detection of microbial contaminants in equine fecal microbiome samples – KF Beckers – PLoS One

 

Plant, root and soil microbiome

Deinococcus hibisci sp. nov., isolated from rhizosphere of Hibiscus syriacus L. (mugunghwa flower). – G Moya – International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology

Priority effects can persist across floral generations in nectar microbial meta-communities – T Hirokazu – Oikos

Endosphere microbiome comparison between symptomatic and asymptomatic roots of Brassica napus infected with Plasmodiophora brassicae – Y Zhao – PLoS One

Microbial community-level regulation explains soil carbon responses to long-term litter manipulations – K Georgiou – Nature Communications

 

Water microbiome and extremophiles

Cultivation and genomics of the first freshwater SAR11 (LD12) isolate – MW Hinson – bioRxiv

Lessons from simple marine models on the bacterial regulation of eukaryotic development – A Woznica – bioRxiv

Chapter: Sponge Disease and Climate Change – HM Luter – Climate Change, Ocean Acidification and Sponges

 

Probiotics / prebiotics

Lactobacillus plantarum HNU082-derived improvements in the intestinal microbiome prevent the development of hyperlipidaemia – Y Shao – Food & Function

Can Probiotic Supplements Improve Outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis? – A Schorpion – Current Rheumatology Reports

 

 

Techniques

A novel baiting microcosm approach used to identify the bacterial community associated with Penicillium bilaii hyphae in soil – B Ghodsalavi – PLoS One

Bacterium-triggered remodeling of chromatin identifies BasR, a novel regulator of fungal natural product biosynthesis – J Fischer – bioRxiv

Transcriptome analysis of sheep oral mucosa response to Orf virus infection – H Jia – PLoS One

A mechanism for prime-realignment during influenza A virus replication – J Oymans – bioRxiv

 

Microbes in the news

How caries-causing bacteria can survive in dental plaque – EurekAlert

Nicotine’s hold: What the gut and gender have to do with it – Phys.org

‘Big Chicken’ Connects Poultry Farming To Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria – npr

Microbiology: Crowdsourcing Earth’s microbes – Nature

Fresh off the petri dish: Spend your Thursdays creating art with bacteria – FSU Torch

 

Non-microbiology picks

Nigritoxin is a bacterial toxin for crustaceans and insects – Y Labreuche – Nature Communications

The Polycomb group protein CBX6 is an essential regulator of embryonic stem cell identity – A Santanach – Nature Communications

 

November 2, 2017

 

Second day of November we have quite a few job offers, nice set of microbiome news, two reviews in “gut microbiome” sector. Two (personal) highlights today would be the Thomas J. Browning’s  paper about phytoplankon nutrient co-limitation and Luke R. Thompson’s paper about The Earth Microbiome Project. Enjoy…

Events and jobs

Research Technician, University of York, UK

Postdoctoral Researcher – Molecular Microbiologist, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

Bioinformatics Postdoc, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany

Microbiology Postdoctoral Scholar,  The University of California, Berkeley, California, US

Bioinformatics Analyst, Ares Genetics GmbH, Vienna, Austria

Assistant Professor of Microbiology, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama, US

Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Miami University, Miami, Ohio, US

Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Microbiology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver,  Canada

General microbiome

Impaired competence in flagellar mutants of Bacillus subtilis is connected to the regulatory network governed by DegU – Theresa Hoelscher – bioRxiv

Gene network analysis identifies a central post-transcriptional regulator of cellular stress survival – Matthew Z. Tien – bioRxiv

Detection of cytosolic Shigella flexneri via a C-terminal triple-arginine motif of GBP1 inhibits actin-based motility – Anthony Piro – bioRxiv

Inter-species population dynamics enhance microbial horizontal gene transfer and spread of antibiotic resistance – Robert M Cooper – eLIFE

A communal catalogue reveals Earth’s multiscale microbial diversity Luke R. Thompson – Nature

Human gut microbiome

Rapid Assessment of Microbiota Changes in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Bacteria-derived Membrane Vesicles in Urine – Yunjin Lee – Experimental Neurobiology

Review: Dietary and microbial metabolites in the regulation of host immunity – Jun Kunisawa – frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Gut microbiota as a potential target of metabolic syndrome: the role of probiotics and prebiotics – Mingqian He – Cell & Bioscience

Progression of Parkinson’s disease is associated with gut dysbiosis: Two-year follow-up study – Tomomi Minato – PLOS One

Animal experiments

Rapid regrowth and detection of microbial contaminants in equine fecal microbiome samples – Kalie F. Beckers – PLOS One

Cecal Microbiota in Broilers Fed with Prebiotics – Dany Mesa – Frontiers in Genetics

Commensal Lactobacillus Controls Immune Tolerance during Acute Liver Injury in Mice – Nobuhiro Nakamoto – Cell Reports

Food restriction followed by refeeding with a casein- or whey-based diet differentially affects the gut microbiota of pre-pubertal male rats – Majdi Masarwi – The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry

Animal microbiome 
Evidence for a conserved microbiota across the different developmental stages of Plodia interpunctella – Valeria Mereghetti -Insect Science

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Stable isotope informed genome-resolved metagenomics reveals that Saccharibacteria utilize microbially processed plant derived carbon – Evan P. Starr – bioRxiv

Water and extremophile microbiome 

Analysis of bacterial communities and characterization of antimicrobial strains from cave microbiota – Muhammad Yasir – Brazilian Journal of Microbiology

Highly divergent 16S rRNA sequences in ribosomal operons of Scytonema hyalinum (Cyanobacteria) – Jeffrey R. Johansen – PLOS One

Study of Microbial diversity in Ganga river water sample by the use of Metagenomics technique – Jamilah Ali Ahmed Zaed – Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry

Niche specialization of bacteria in permanently ice-covered lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica – Miye Kwon – Environmental Microbiology

Influence of bicarbonate on the abundance of microbial communities capable of reducing U(VI) in groundwater – Dianxin Li – RSC Advances

Monitoring microbial responses to ocean deoxygenation in a model oxygen minimum zone – Steven J. Hallam – Scientific Data

Synechococcus plasticity under environmental changes – Cristiana Callieri – FEMS Microbiology Letters

Nutrient co-limitation at the boundary of an oceanic gyre – Thomas J. Browning -Nature

Evaluation of different 16S rRNA gene V regions for exploring bacterial diversity in a eutrophic freshwater lake – Junyi Zhang – Science of The Total Environment

Microbial community structures and functions of wastewater treatment systems in plateau and cold regions – Dexin Fang – Bioresource Technology

Adaptability as the key to success for the ubiquitous marine nitrite oxidizer Nitrococcus — Jessika Füssel – Science Advances

Food microbiology

Characterization of Enterococcal Community Isolated from an Artisan Istrian Raw Milk Cheese: Biotechnological and Safety Aspects – Mirna Mrkonjic Fuka – Food Technology and Biotechnology

Probiotics / prebiotics
Lactobacillus reuteri suppresses E. coli O157:H7 in bovine ruminal fluid: Toward a pre-slaughter strategy to improve food safety? – Yolande Bertin – PLOS One

Bioinformatics

MetaCherchant: analyzing genomic context of antibiotic resistance genes in gut microbiota – Evgenii I Olekhnovich – Bioinformatics

Techniques

Quantification of diverse virus populations in the environment using the polony method – Nava Baran – Nature Microbiology

Microbes in the news 

Microbiome Link with Colorectal Cancer Drug Toxicity Points to Predictive Tests and Prevention – Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News

Gut bacteria composition could predict toxicity of chemotherapy drugs in cancer patients – News Medical

Versatile marine bacteria could be an influence on global warming, scientists discover – Science Daily

By 2100, climate change could alter key microbial interactions in the ocean  – Phys Org

Microbes on the market 

Symbiotix Biotherapies Receives $5 Million in Institutional Financing to Advance its Development of Molecular Therapeutics that Modulate Regulatory T Cell Activity

Tina’s (non)microbiology picks 

Concept Inventory Development Reveals Common Student Misconceptions about Microbiology – Amy G. Briggs – Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education

Announcing the winner of this year’s ‘Dance Your Ph.D.’ contest – John Bohannon – Science

 

November 1, 2017

Happy November everybody! We have an interesting collection of articles today. Co-cultivation of plant beneficial fungi as an effective strategy to modulate the production of bioactive metabolites and a review on the benefits of berries and their phytochemicals on the digestive and immune systems. Enjoy!

Events and jobs

Microbiology Lab Assistant – Seattle, Washington – Labcorp

General microbiome

The Microbiome in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma-Exposed Controls: An Exploratory Study – Hemmings, Sian M.J – Pyschosomatic Medicine

Human respiratory microbiome

Review : CF Airway Microbiome: Overturning the Old, Opening the Way for the New – George A. O’Toole – Journal of Bacteriology

Human oral microbiome

Effect of maltitol-containing chewing gum use on the composition of dental plaque microbiota in subjects with active dental caries – Erica M. Prosdocimi – Journal of Oral Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

The circulating microbiome signature and inferred functional metagenomics in alcoholic hepatitis – Puneet Puri – Hepatology

Diet, Environments, and Gut Microbiota. A Preliminary Investigation in Children Living in Rural and Urban Burkina Faso and Italy – Carlotta De Filippo – Frontiers in Microbiology

Gut microbiome of mothers delivering prematurely shows reduced diversity and lower relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus – Cecilie Dahl – Plos One

Review : Systematic review of the effects of the intestinal microbiota on selected nutrients and non-nutrient – Colette Shortt – European Journal of Nutrition

Cereal products derived from wheat, sorghum, rice and oats alter the infant gut microbiota in vitro – Hasinika K. A. H. Gamage – Scientific Reports

Animal experiments

Antibiotic treatment disrupts bacterial communities in the colon and rectum of SIV-infected macaques – Alexander S. Zevin – FEMS Microbiology Letters

Ophiopogonin D alleviates high-fat diet–induced metabolic syndrome and changes the structure of gut microbiota in mice – Siyu Chen – The FASEB Journal

Animal microbiome

Bacterial Species Identified on the Skin of Bottlenose Dolphins Off Southern California via Next Generation Sequencing Techniques – Corey D. Russo – Microbial Ecology

Skin and fur bacterial diversity and community structure on American southwestern bats: effects of habitat, geography and bat traits – Ara S. Winter – PeerJ

Analysis of the Microbial Diversity in the Fecal Material of Giraffes – Jessica M. Schmidt – Current Microbiology

Morphological and genetic factors shape the microbiome of a seabird species (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) more than environmental and social factors – Douglas S. Pearce – Microbiome

Metabolomics

Plasma Metabolites From Choline Pathway and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in the PREDIMED (Prevention With Mediterranean Diet) Study – Marta Guasch-Ferré – Journal of the American Heart Association

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Strong Regionality and Dominance of Anaerobic Bacterial Taxa Characterize Diazotrophic Bacterial Communities of the Arcto-Alpine Plant Species Oxyria digyna and Saxifraga oppositifolia – Manoj Kumar – Frontiers in Microbiology

An endophytic Bacillus strain promotes growth of oil palm seedling by fine root biofilm formation – MdHoirul Azri – Rhizosphere

Effect of auxin producing and phosphate solubilizing bacteria on mobility of soil phosphorus, growth rate, and P acquisition by wheat plants – Guzel R. Kudoyarova – Acta Physiologiae Plantarum

Contrasting effects of ammonium and nitrate additions on the biomass of soil microbial communities and enzyme activities in subtropical China – Chuang Zhang – Biogeosciences

Impact of land use change and soil organic carbon quality on microbial diversity in soils across Europe – Márton Szoboszlay – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Microbial Diversity and Community Structure of Sulfate-Reducing and Sulfur-Oxidizing Bacteria in Sediment Cores from the East China Sea – Yu Zhang – Frontiers in Microbiology

Rhizosphere-associated Pseudomonas induce systemic resistance to herbivores at the cost of susceptibility to bacterial pathogens – Cara H. Haney – Molecular Ecology

*Co-Culture of Plant Beneficial Microbes as Source of Bioactive Metabolites – F. Vinale – Scientific Reports

Introducing BASE: the Biomes of Australian Soil Environments soil microbial diversity database – Andrew Bissett – Gigascience

Water and extremophile microbiome

Anaerobic digestion of spent mushroom substrate under thermophilic conditions: performance and microbial community analysis – Zheng Xiao – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Metagenomic characterization of biofilter microbial communities in a full-scale drinking water treatment plant – Seungdae Oh – Water Research

Distinct microbial communities in the active and permafrost layers on the Tibetan Plateau – Yong-Liang Chen – Molecular Ecology

Community composition and assembly processes of the free-living and particle-attached bacteria in Taihu Lake – Dayong Zhao – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Food Microbiology

Anti-obesity Effect of Exopolysaccharides Isolated from Kefir Grains – Juha Lim – J. Agric. Food Chem

Modulating Effects of Dicaffeoylquinic Acids from Ilex Kudingcha on Intestinal Microecology in vitro – Minhao Xie – Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry

*Review of the health effects of berries and their phytochemicals on the digestive and immune systems – Coen Govers – Nutrition Reviews

Probiotics / prebiotics

Single-species versus dual-species probiotic supplementation as an emerging therapeutic strategy for obesity – G.Karimi – Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases

Bioinformatics

ROCker: accurate detection and quantification of target genes in short-read metagenomic data sets by modeling sliding-window bitscores – Luis H. Orellana – Nucleic Acids Research

Phages and viruses

Review : Assessing Species Diversity Using Metavirome Data: Methods and Challenges – Damayanthi Herath – Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal

Microbes in the news

Caves Host Gooey Biofilms Built by Methane-Eating Bacteria

3D Printed Artificial Small Intestine to Advance Research on Gut Bacteria

Enzymes from dangerous bacteria turn into important tools for protein chemistry

Microbes on the market

The University Medical Center Groningen and Novogene announce the start of the 10K Metagenome Project

Science, publishing, and career

Book Chapter : Leading Change in Undergraduate STEM Education – Adam K. Leibovich – Educational and Outreach Projects from the Cottrell Scholars Collaborative Undergraduate and Graduate Education Volume 1

Anitha’s non-microbiology picks

Congratulations Nancy Scherich! The winner of this year’s ‘Dance Your Ph.D.’ contest

ROSINA spectral measurements bring comet’s chemistry to life

Scary as they are, few vampires have a backbone

 

October 31, 2017

Today’s Digest is short, but not without highlights. The highlights all go to antibiotics. Ed Yong wrote about the history of methicillin resistance, colistin resistance was found to be increasing in Chinese hospitals, and fox poop could save us from vegetable and fruit waste.

General microbiology

A CRISPR–Cas9-based gene drive platform for genetic interaction analysis in Candida albicans – Rebecca S. Shapiro et al. – Nature Microbiology

Reduction of bacterial burden by copper alloys on high-touch athletic center surfaces – Zina Ibrahim et al. – American Journal of Infection Control

Press: New Study Shows Copper Surfaces on Athletic Equipment Reduce Bacteria by 94 Percent – Business Wire

Plant, root and soil microbiome

Assessing and characterising the repertoire of constitutive promoter elements in soil metagenomic libraries in Escherichia coli – Caua Antunes Westmann et al. – bioRxiv

Technology

Reproducibility and repeatability of six high-throughput 16S rDNA sequencing protocols for microbiota profiling – Sajan Raju et al. – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

Flesh-eating bacteria kills man helping repair Harvey-damaged homes – Claire Z. Cardona – Dallas News

Gut bacteria found to have a role in both PTSD and Alzheimer’s disease – Rich Haridy – New Atlas

* Bacteria Can Evolve Resistance to Drugs Before Those Drugs Are Used – Ed Yong – The Atlantic

* New Study Detects Increase in MCR-1 Positive Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria in Humans – Samar Mahmoud – Contagion Live

Vaginal Microbiota Profile Predictive of Chlamydia Susceptibility – Jessica Martin – Infectious Disease Advisor

* War on waste: Antimicrobial borne by feral foxes slows decay saving food and money – Jennifer Nichols – ABC News

Microbes on the market

Video: Bioengineers recreated spider silk by fermenting E. Coli bacteria – Mashable

Kane Biotech Inc. Provides Overview of Biofilm Industry, Clinical Development and Growth Drivers in New SNNLive Video Interview with StockNewsNow.com – Global Newswire

Evivo™ Gains Health Canada Approval, Providing First International Expansion Opportunity – Global Newswire

 

October 30, 2017

Today’s digest is short and sweet — including some articles on the connection between gut and bone metabolism, the biodegradation of oil in the ocean, and a good number of rhizosphere papers. Enjoy!

General Microbiome

Listeria monocytogenes virulence factors are secreted in biologically active Extracellular Vesicles – Carolina Coelho, bioRxiv

Multi-site human microbiome

Microbiota and cancer: a complex equation with a lot of exciting unknowns – Oxana Dmitrieva, Seminars in Immunology

Osteomicrobiology: A New Cross-Disciplinary Research Field – Claes Ohlsson, Calcified Tissue International

Prebiotics, Bone and Mineral Metabolism – Corrie M. Whisner, Calcified Tissue International

Human gut microbiome

Gut dysbiosis breaks immunological tolerance toward the central nervous system during young adulthood – Sudhir K. Yadav, PNAS

Clostridium difficile in Older Adults – Curtis J. Donskey, Infectious Disease Clinics of North America

The Microbiome That Shapes Us: Can It Cause Obesity? – Endashaw Omer, Current Gastroenterology Reports

Human oral microbiome

Infection’s Sweet Tooth: How Glycans Mediate Infection and Disease Susceptibility – Steven L. Taylor, Trends in Microbiology

Animal experiments

Comparing microbiotas in the upper aerodigestive and lower respiratory tracts of lambs – Laura Glendinning, Microbiome

Dietary changes in nutritional studies shape the structural and functional composition of the pigs’ fecal microbiome-from days to weeks – Bruno Tilocca, Microbiome

Hindgut mucosa-associated microbiome interacting with host regulating Escherichia coli O157:H7 shedding in cattle – Ou Wang, Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Divergent responses of forest soil microbial communities under elevated CO2 in different depths of upper soil layers – Hao Yu, Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Microbial Degradation of Phenanthrene in Pristine and Contaminated Sandy Soils – Alexandra Schwarz, Microbial Ecology

Identification of heterotrophic zinc mobilization processes among bacterial strains isolated from wheat rhizosphere (Triticum aestivum L) – Benjamin Costerousse, Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Seed defense biopriming with bacterial cyclodipeptides triggers immunity in cucumber and pepper – Geun Cheol Song, Scientific Reports

Characterization and potential of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria isolated from native Andean crops – Katty Ogata-Gutiérrez, World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Water and extremophiles microbiome

Biodegradation of dispersed oil in seawater is not inhibited by a commercial oil spill dispersant – Odd G. Brakstad, Marine Pollution Bulletin

Functional characteristics and influence factors of microbial community in sewage sludge composting with inorganic bulking agent – Ke Wang, Bioresource Technology

Food microbiology

Yeast microbiota in artisanal cheeses from Corrientes, Argentina – Marina C. Cardozo, Revista Argentina de Microbiología

Flavonoids as detoxifying and pro-survival agents: What’s new? – Geir Bjørklund, Food and Chemical Toxicology

Techniques

Impact of DNA extraction, sample dilution, and reagent contamination on 16S rRNA gene sequencing of human feces – Eliana P. Velásquez-Mejía, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Microbes in the News

How a 672,000-Gallon Oil Spill Was Nearly Invisible – CHRISTINA CARON, New York Times

October 27, 2017

A dynamic Digest today. A variety of articles in human and other microbiome research. The ongoing discussion on reproducible research and P value. For us junior scientists, what are our career prospects?

General microbiology

Review: Development and regulation of single- and multi-species Candida albicans biofilms – Matthew B. Lohse et al. – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Preprint: Metabolic Interactions Between Dynamic Bacterial Subpopulations – Adam Z Rosenthal et al. – bioRxiv

Human skin microbiome

Review: Staphylococcal Biofilms in Atopic Dermatitis – Tammy Gonzalez et al. – Current Allergy and Asthma Reports

Human oral microbiome

Sociodemographic variation in the oral microbiome – Audrey Renson et al. – bioRxiv

Human lung microbiome

Review: New opportunities for managing acute and chronic lung infections – William O. C. M. Cookson et al. – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Gut microbiota and host metabolism: what relationship? – Mithieux G – Neuroendocrinology

Review: Pharmabiotics as an Emerging Medication for Metabolic Syndrome and Its Related Diseases – Thi Thanh Binh Nguyen and Yan Yan Jin et al. – Molecules

Review: The Gastrointestinal Tract as an Integrator of Mechanical and Hormonal Response to Nutrient Ingestion – Adrian Vella and Michael Camilleri – Diabetes

Molecular, microbiological and clinical characterization of Clostridium difficile isolates from tertiary care hospitals in Colombia – Clara Lina Salazar et al. – PLoS One

Animal experiments

Polyphenol- and caffeine-rich post-fermented Pu-er tea improves diet-induced metabolic syndrome by remodeling intestinal homeostasis in mice – Xiaoyu Gao et al. – Infection and Immunity

Animal microbiome

Exogenous dietary lysozyme improves the growth performance and gut microbiota in broiler chickens targeting the antioxidant and non-specific immunity mRNA expression – Mervat A. Abdel-Latif et al. – PLoS One

Prohibition of antibiotic growth promoters has affected the genomic profiles of Lactobacillus salivarius inhabiting the swine intestine – Jun-Yeong Lee et al. – PLoS One

Plant, root and soil microbiome

Effects of stand age and soil properties on soil bacterial and fungal community composition in Chinese pine plantations on the Loess Plateau – Peng Dang et al. – PLoS One

Tide as Steering Factor in Structuring Archaeal and Bacterial Ammonia-Oxidizing Communities in Mangrove Forest Soils Dominated by Avicennia germinans and Rhizophora mangle – Magalí S. Marcos et al. – Microbial Ecology

Phages and viruses

Preprint: Diagnostic Potential & the Interactive Dynamics of the Colorectal Cancer Virome – Geoffrey D. Hannigan et al. – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

Does Chinese Urbanization Change the Microbiome? – Usha B. Nair – Medical News Bulletin

*Healthy ageing? Microbiome study shows same patterns irrespective of age – Nathan Gray – Nutra ingredients.com

Modified bacteria convert petroleum directly into building blocks for plastics – Wageningen University

Releasing the Antibiotics That Lie Dormant in Bacteria – Micronow

Bacteria have a sense of touch – EurekAlert

How Dog and Cat ‘Kisses’ Can Turn Deadly – Erika Engelhaupt – National Geographic

Xin’s non-microbiology picks

*Many junior scientists need to take a hard look at their job prospects – Nature Editorial

*Preprint: The Reproducibility Of Research And The Misinterpretation Of P Values – David Colquhoun – bioRxiv

 

October 25, 2017

A short Digest for today. The evolution of E. coli in the lab for over 60,000 generations, the necessity of including a mock community for every sequencing run, and plenty of news pieces.

Events and jobs

Free Webinar: Not Just for Neurons – Electrical Signaling in Bacterial Biofilm Communities – Select Science

Laboratory Assistant-Microbiology – Raritan New Jersey

General microbiology

*The dynamics of molecular evolution over 60,000 generations – Benjamin H. Good et al. – Nature

Press: The evolution experiment that has been watching bacteria mutate for 30 years – Rich Haridy – New Atlas

Bacterial pathogenesis: Activating Helicobacter effector delivery – Irene Vacca – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Discovery of α-L-arabinopyranosidases from human gut microbiome expands the diversity within glycoside hydrolase family 42 – Alexander Holm Viborg et al. – Journal of Biological Chemistry

Letter: Low eukaryotic viral richness is associated with faecal microbiota transplantation success in patients with UC – Nádia Conceição-Neto et al. – Gut

Bioinformatics

*Preprint: Taxon disappearance from microbiome analysis indicates need for mock communities as a standard in every sequencing run – Yi-Chun Yeh et al. – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

Strength in numbers: How biofilms outfox antibiotics – Yella Hewings-Martin – Medical News Today

Lung microbiome plays major role in asthma severity and response to treatment – News Medical

New way to prevent unfavorable intestinal microbiota – Hokkaido University – EurekAlert

VIDEO: Gut microbiome research sped by technology, informatics, but diet a major confounder – Eamonn M.M. Quigley – Healio

New Study Shows Link Between Gut Bacteria And Breast Cancer – CBS New York

Harvey-linked flesh-eating bacteria claims Galveston man – Todd Ackerman – Chron

Major changes in balance of gut bacteria occur soon after serious injury/trauma – Medical Xpress

‘Achilles heel’ found in antibiotic-resistant bacteria – John von Radowitz – Irish Independent