April 13, 2017

Profiles of ulcerative colitis patients’ microbiota after fecal microbiota transplantation, a bioinformatics software package for rarefaction analysis, an artist who uses sweat and bacteria to create scents and sculptures.

General microbiome

Review: Microbial metabolites in nutrition, healthcare and agriculture – Rajendra Singh – 3 Biotech

Review: Modified Mediterranean Diet for Enrichment of Short Chain Fatty Acids: Potential Adjunctive Therapeutic to Target Immune and Metabolic Dysfunction in Schizophrenia? – Jamie Joseph – Frontiers in Neuroscience

Human respiratory microbiome

The Nasopharyngeal Microbiota of Children with Respiratory Infections in Botswana – Matthew S Kelly – Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal

Human gut microbiome

* Microbial shifts and signatures of long-term remission in ulcerative colitis after faecal microbiota transplantation – Susana Fuentes – ISME Journal

Intestinal microbiome in children with severe and complicated acute viral gastroenteritis – Shih-Yen Chen – Scientific Reports

Unusual active site location and catalytic apparatus in a glycoside hydrolase family – Jose Munoz-Munoz – PNAS

Animal experiments

Enterococcus faecalis bacteriocin EntV inhibits hyphal morphogenesis, biofilm formation, and virulence of Candida albicans – Carrie E Graham – PNAS

The therapeutic protection of a living and dead Lactobacillus strain against aluminum-induced brain and liver injuries in C57BL/6 mice – Fengwei Tian & Leilei Yu – PLOS One

Microscale spatial analysis provides evidence for adhesive monopolization of dietary nutrients by specific intestinal bacteria – Yusuke Nagara – PLOS One

Review: Caspase recruitment domain 9, microbiota, and tryptophan metabolism: dangerous liaisons in inflammatory bowel diseases – Bruno Lamas – Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care

Individual variation of natural D. melanogaster associated bacterial communities – Yun Wang – bioRxiv

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

A new polyketide glycoside from the rhizospheric Clonostachys rogersoniana associated with Panax notoginseng – Tian-Peng Yin – Journal of Asian Natural Products Research

Bacterial carbon use plasticity, phylogenetic diversity and the priming of soil organic matter – Ember M Morrissey – ISME Journal

Population and function analysis of cultivable bacteria associated with spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Gigaspora margarita – Liangkun Long – 3 Biotech

Water and extremophile microbiome

Exploring the ecological coherence between the spatial and temporal patterns of bacterioplankton in boreal lakes – Juan P. Niño García – Frontiers in Microbiology

Genomic comparisons of a bacterial lineage that inhabits both marine and terrestrial deep subsurface systems – Sean P Jungbluth – PeerJ

Bacterial community composition and dynamics spanning five years in freshwater bog lakes – Alexandra M Linz – bioRxiv

Occurrence of high-diversity metazoan- to microbial-dominated bioconstructions in a shallow Kimmeridgian carbonate ramp (Jabaloyas, Spain) – G San Miguel – Facies

Expression patterns of elemental cycling genes in the Amazon River Plume – Brandon M Satinsky – ISME Journal

Built environment

Comparison of microbial community shifts in two parallel multi-step drinking water treatment processes – Jiajiong Xu – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Probiotics/prebiotics

Engineered probiotic Escherichia coli can eliminate and prevent Pseudomonas aeruginosa gut infection in animal models – In Young Hwang – Nature Communications

Review: Unraveling the Differences between Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Probiotics in Modulating Protective Immunity to Enteric Infections – Sukumar Kandasamy – Frontiers in Immunology

Bioinformatics

* RTK: efficient rarefaction analysis of large datasets – Paul Saary – Bioinformatics

A geographically-diverse collection of 418 human gut microbiome pathway genome databases – Aria S Hahn – Scientific Data

Metabolomics

Indolepropionic acid and novel lipid metabolites are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study – Vanessa D de Mello – Scientific Reports

More microbes

Influences of dissolved oxygen concentration on biocathodic microbial communities in microbial fuel cells – Laura Rago – Bioelectrochemistry

Microbes in the news

Waste-munching bacteria could make nuclear stores safer – Sam Wong – New Scientist

‘Young poo’ makes aged fish live longer – Ewen Callaway – Nature

Microbiology: Gut microbes augment neurodegeneration – Daniel Erny – Nature

* This Artist Turns Sweat and Bacteria Into Art – Annie Tittiger – Wired

Science, publishing, and career

Why do scientists fabricate and falsify data? A matched-control analysis of papers containing problematic image duplications – Daniele Fanelli – bioRxiv

Amy’s non-microbiology picks

Human knockouts and phenotypic analysis in a cohort with a high rate of consanguinity – Danish Saleheen – Nature

February 17, 2017

Today the incoming is filled with some compelling reviews; considering periodontal inflammation and C.diff with IBD (separately), as well some biopesticide ethics discussion, and mention of exciting biome research mergers and funding afoot. Read on!

Human oral microbiome

Review: Contribution of proteomics to our understanding of periodontal inflammation– Nagihan Bostanci- Proteomics

Human vaginal microbiome

Subclinical alteration of the cervical–vaginal microbiome in women with idiopathic infertility-Giuseppina Campisciano- Journal of Cellular Physiology

Human gut microbiome

Review: Systematic review with meta-analysis: the impact of Clostridium difficile infection on the short and long-term risks of colectomy in inflammatory bowel disease– Law C- Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Review: Therapeutic modulation of gut microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease: More questions to be answered– Yu Qi Qiao- Journal of Digestive Diseases

Fecal microbiota

Successful Resolution of Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection using Freeze-Dried, Encapsulated Fecal Microbiota; Pragmatic Cohort Study– Christopher Staley- The American Journal of Gastroenterology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Effect of postharvest practices including degreening on citrus carpoplane microbial biomes– Gomba A.- Journal of Applied Microbiology

Biopesticides

Review: Should the biofilm mode of life be taken into consideration for microbial biocontrol agents?– Caroline Pandin- Microbial Biotechnology
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1751-7915.12693/full

Microbes in the news

Laundry hygiene—how to get more than clean- Bockmuhl DP- Applied Microbiology

DNA Analysis Reveals Secret Microbiomes in Cities– Paula Solferini Rothman- BU News Service

Microbes on the market

Symbiotix Biotherapies Announces Issuance of First Composition of Matter Patent Covering a Microbiome-derived Therapeutic Molecule– Yahoo Finance

Vedanta Teams with Stanford and Leiden Universities for Microbiome Therapeutics– Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News

Research Funding

U Of M Commercialization Grants Target Microbiome Test, Sleep Disorders, Epilepsy- Dan Jacobson– Twin Cities Business

February 17, 2017

Today the incoming research is rich in reviews, including one article examining periodontal inflammation and another examining  C.diff and IBD, also a biopesticide ethics discussion and some exciting funding and research mergers in the mix. Read on!

Human oral microbiome

Review: Contribution of proteomics to our understanding of periodontal inflammation– Nagihan Bostanci- Proteomics

Human vaginal microbiome

Subclinical alteration of the cervical–vaginal microbiome in women with idiopathic infertility-Giuseppina Campisciano- Journal of Cellular Physiology

Human gut microbiome

Review: Systematic review with meta-analysis: the impact of Clostridium difficile infection on the short and long-term risks of colectomy in inflammatory bowel disease– Law C- Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Review: Therapeutic modulation of gut microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease: More questions to be answered– Yu Qi Qiao- Journal of Digestive Diseases

Fecal microbiota

Successful Resolution of Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection using Freeze-Dried, Encapsulated Fecal Microbiota; Pragmatic Cohort Study– Christopher Staley- The American Journal of Gastroenterology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Effect of postharvest practices including degreening on citrus carpoplane microbial biomes– Gomba A.- Journal of Applied Microbiology

Biopesticides

Review: Should the biofilm mode of life be taken into consideration for microbial biocontrol agents?– Caroline Pandin- Microbial Biotechnology

Microbes in the news

Review: Laundry hygiene—how to get more than clean– Bockmuhl DP- Applied Microbiology

DNA Analysis Reveals Secret Microbiomes in Cities– Paula Solferini Rothman- BU News Service

Vedanta Teams with Stanford and Leiden Universities for Microbiome Therapeutics– Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News

Microbes on the market

Symbiotix Biotherapies Announces Issuance of First Composition of Matter Patent Covering a Microbiome-derived Therapeutic Molecule- Yahoo Finance

Research Funding

U Of M Commercialization Grants Target Microbiome Test, Sleep Disorders, Epilepsy- Dan Jacobson– Twin Cities Business

February 3, 2017

A review of microbes and cancer, seminal microbiome diversity, personalised microbiome-based approaches to Metabolic Syndrome, Thyrve: a new service offering testing and probiotic delivery, and Johnson & Johnson invests in Caelus.

Jobs

Microbiology Technologist Junior– Leeds

General microbiome

Review: Microbes and Cancer – Amiran Dzutsev- Annual Review of Immunology

Pregnancy and early life

Studying Vertical Microbiome Transmission from Mothers to Infants by Strain-Level Metagenomic Profiling- Francesco Asnicar- mSystems

Associations between changes in the maternal gut microbiome and differentially methylated regions of diabetes-associated genes in fetuses: A pilot study from a birth cohort study-Kaori Tachibana- Journal of Diabetes Investigation

Human respiratory microbiome

Changes in the respiratory microbiome during acute exacerbations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis-Philip L. Molyneaux-Respiratory Research

Host genetic variation in mucosal immunity pathways influences the upper airway microbiome-Catherine Igartua- Microbiome

Human seminal microbiome

Seminal microbiome in men with and without prostatitis– Reet M€andar- International Journal of Urology

Blood microbiome

Blood Microbiome Quantity and the Hyperdynamic Circulation in Decompensated Cirrhotic Patients– Daniela Traykova- PLOS one

Human gut microbiome

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease– W.Reinisch- Digestive Diseases

Review: Role of gut microbiome in ankylosing spondylitis: an analysis of studies in literature– Yong-Yue Xu- Discovery Medicine

Feedback control of AHR signalling regulates intestinal immunity-Chris Schiering- Nature

Editorial: Commensal microbiota as a potential trigger of autoimmune uveitis-Reiko Horai- Expert Review of Clinical Immunology

Colonization with Helicobacter is concomitant with modified gut microbiota and drastic failure of the immune control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-L. Majlessi- Mucosal Immunology

Review: Food matters: how the microbiome and gut–brain interaction might impact the development and course of anorexia nervosa– Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann- European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Gut microbiota dysbiosis contributes to the development of hypertension-Jing Li-Microbiome

Personalized microbiome-based approaches to metabolic syndrome management and prevention-Hagit Shapiro-Journal of Diabetes

Plant microbiome

Leaf-litter microbial communities in boreal streams linked to forest and wetland sources of dissolved organic carbon– Caroline E. Emilson-Ecosphere

Water microbiome

Sediment Microbial Diversity of Three Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents Southwest of the Azores-Teresa Cerqueira- Microbial Ecology

Bioinformatics

Consistent metagenomic biomarker detection via robust PCA-Mustafa Alshawaqfeh- Biology Direct

Microbes in the news

University of Maryland Students Send Bacteria to Space

VA is studying gut bacteria in PTSD, TBI patients following success in mice

Pores found in ‘platypus of microbiology’ bacterium push boundaries of evolution

What’s Your Gut Wellness Score? Thryve Launches With New Microbiome Testing Service for Better Health Through Your Stomach

Microbes on the market 

J&J invests in Caelus, pens pacts to grow microbiome R&D

Profound Improvements in Autistic Symptoms with Microbial Therapy

January 20, 2017

Infant formula with prebiotics and probiotics, acne vulgaris and staphylococcus, IBD and anti-CTLA-4 connected to the flora, protein kinase C δ and prebiotic required to strengthen intestinal epithelial barrier function. 

Events and jobs

Postdoctoral position in immunology to study host-gut microbiota interactions– University of Arizona

Research Engineer in Microbiology– l’Oréal

MICROBIOLOGY SUPERVISOR– via a Large US Medical Device company in Limerick

General microbiome

*A Review: The human microbiome and cancer-Seesandra V Rajagopala-AARC Publications

Pregnancy and early life

Oral Microbiota in Infants Fed a Formula Supplemented with Bovine Milk Fat Globule Membranes – A Randomized Controlled Trial– Niklas Timby- PLoS One

Acquisition and adaptation of the airway microbiota in the early life of cystic fibrosis patients– Sebastien Boutin- Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics

Early Benefits of a Starter Formula Enriched in Prebiotics and Probiotics on the Gut Microbiota of Healthy Infants Born to HIV+ Mothers: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial-Peter Cooper- Clinical Medicine Insights: Pediatrics

Growth and Morbidity of Gambian Infants are Influenced by Maternal Milk Oligosaccharides and Infant Gut Microbiota– Jasmine C. Davis- Scientific Reports

Oral Microbiota

Evaluating the Impact of DNA Extraction Method on the Representation of Human Oral Bacterial and Fungal Communities-Anna Vesty- PLuS One

Salivary Gluten Degradation and Oral Microbial Profiles in Health and Celiac Disease– Na Tian- Applied Environmental Microbiology

Human respiratory microbiome

*Review: Microbiomes in respiratory health and disease: An Asia-Pacific perspective– Sanjay H. Chotirmall- Official Journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology

Human skin microbiome

The Role of Cutaneous Microbiota Harmony in Maintaining a Functional Skin Barrier-Hilary Baldwin- Journal of Drugs in Dermatology

Skin microbiome and acne vulgaris: staphylococcus, a new actor in acne– Brigitte Dreno- Experimental Dermatology

Human vaginal microbiome

Subclinical Alteration of the Cervical-Vaginal Microbiome in Women with Idiopathic Infertility– Giuseppina Campisciano- Journal of Cellular Physiology

Human gut microbiome

Intestinal Bacteria Composition and Translocation of Bacteria in Inflammatory Bowel Disease– Spyros Vrakas- PLoS One

*Review- The Gastrointestinal Tract as a Key Target Organ for the Health-Promoting Effects of Dietary Proanthocyanidins– Maria Jose Cires- frontiers in Nutrition

Association of the Intestinal Microbiome with the Development of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration– Martin S. Zinkernagel- Scientific Reports

*Review: Inflammatory bowel disease and cancer response due to anti-CTLA-4: is it in the flora?-Franck Carbonnel- Seminars in immunopathology

Animal experiments

ZiBuPiYin recipe improves cognitive decline by regulating gut microbiota in Zucker diabetic fatty rats– Gu Chunyan – Oncotarget

Animal microbiome

Unique Bacteria Community Composition and Co-occurrence in the Milk of Different Ruminants– Li Zhipeng- Scientific Reports

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Mycorrhizal specificity does not limit the distribution of an endangered orchid species- Michael Waud – Molecular Ecology

Exploring the symbiont diversity of ancient western redcedars: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi of long-lived hosts– Monika A. Gorzelak- Molecular Ecology

Probiotics / prebiotics

Protein kinase C δ signaling is required for dietary prebiotic-induced strengthening of intestinal epithelial barrier function– Richard Y. Wu- Scientific Reports

Antioxidant properties and global metabolite screening of the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii– Suprama Datta- Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

Bioinformatics

Rhea: a transparent and modular R pipeline for microbial profiling based on 16S rRNA gene amplicons– Illias Lagkouvardos- PeerJ

Microbes on the market

FishTaco: Systematic Characterization and Analysis of the Taxonomic Drivers of Functional Shifts in the Human Microbiome– Ohad Manor

September 28, 2016

Twins, body fat, and bacteria, dietary zinc and C. diff infections, honey inhibits biofilm formation, microbial life in a Great Lake sinkhole.

Pregnancy and early life

Review: The Eukaryotic Microbiome: Origins and Implications for Fetal and Neonatal Life -William B. Miller Jr. – Frontiers in Pediatrics

Human gut microbiome

Heritable components of the human fecal microbiome are associated with visceral fat – Michelle Beaumont – Genome Biology

Press: Body fat link to bacteria in faeces – BBC
How Gut Bacteria May Predict Belly Fat – Alice Park – Time

Characterisation of the faecal microbiota in Japanese patients with paediatric-onset primary sclerosing cholangitis – Kentaro Iwasawa – Gut

Commentary: Thinking with your stomach? Gut feelings on microbiome modulation of brain structure and function (Commentary on Luczynski et al.) – Anthony J. Hannan – European Journal of Neuroscience

Dietary zinc alters the microbiota and decreases resistance to Clostridium difficile infection – Joseph P Zackular – Nature Medicine

Editorial: Devil in the detail: A closer look at childhood obesity and the gut microbiota – Michael W. Taylor – Environmental Microbiology

News and viewsCulturing: Looking it up in our gut – Clarisse Marotz – Nature Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Spatial Heterogeneity of Gut Microbial Composition along the Gastrointestinal Tract in Natural Populations of House Mice – Taichi A. Suzuki – PLOS ONE

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Using a Control to Better Understand Phyllosphere Microbiota – Andrea R. Ottesen – PLOS ONE

Caves: Microbial contributions to subterranean methane sinks – J. T. Lennon – Geobiology

Diatom blooms and associated vegetation shifts in a subarctic peatland: responses to distant volcanic eruptions? – U. Kokfelt – Journal of Quaternary Science

The Green Tetrahymena utriculariae n. sp. (Ciliophora, Oligohymenophorea) with Its Endosymbiotic Algae (Micractinium sp.), Living in Traps of a Carnivorous Aquatic Plant – Gianna Pitsch – The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology

Differential Communications between Fungi and Host Plants Revealed by Secretome Analysis of Phylogenetically Related Endophytic and Pathogenic Fungi – Xihui Xu – PLOS ONE

Fungal Endophytes as a Metabolic Fine-Tuning Regulator for Wine Grape – Ming-Zhi Yang – PLOS ONE

Water and extremophile microbiome

Groundwater shapes sediment biogeochemistry and microbial diversity in a submerged Great Lake sinkhole – L. E. Kinsman-Costello – Geobiology

Nutrient enrichment induces dormancy and decreases diversity of active bacteria in salt marsh sediments – Patrick J. Kearns – Nature Communications

Adaptive radiation by waves of gene transfer leads to fine-scale resource partitioning in marine microbes – Jan-Hendrik Hehemann – Nature Communications

Proteomics

The impact of sequence database choice on metaproteomic results in gut microbiota studies – Alessandro Tanca – Microbiome

More microbiology

Diluted honey inhibits biofilm formation: potential application in urinary catheter management? – Somadina Emineke – Journal of Clinical Pathology

Press: Manuka honey may help prevent life-threatening urinary infections – Simon Hendel – The Conversation
Honey May Be a Natural Way to Beat Bacteria – Alexandra Sifferlin – Time

Personalized therapeutic cocktail of wild environmental phages rescues mice from A. baumannii wound infections – James M. Regeimbal – Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

Press: A Cocktail Of Wild Viruses Treats Bacterial Wound Infections In Mice – Alex Berezow – American Council on Science and Health

Microbes in the news

Chicago Shedd Aquarium Studies Microbes’ Effect on Sea Life – Illumina

The 3 Robs: NIH Funds Research to See if Gut Microbiomes of Hispanics/Latinos Influence Their Diabetes Risk – Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Antibiotic resistance can occur naturally in soil bacteria – Science Daily

Science, publishing, and career / Peer review

Author affiliation can bias peer review: Single-blind vs Double-blind Peer Review in the Setting of Author Prestige – Kanu Okike – JAMA

September 1, 2016

Bedouins, urban Saoudis and monkeys, a subglacial lake, and the oldest microbial fossils.

Events

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Workshop on Viruses to be Held in Singapore, January 2017 – David Coil – MicroBEnet

Human respiratory microbiome

News: Does barnyard dust protect Amish children from asthma? – Bryant Furlow – The Lancet

Human gut microbiome

Gut microbiome and dietary patterns in different Saudi populations and monkeys – Emmanouil Angelakis – Scientific Reports

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation is Safe and Efficacious for Recurrent or Refractory Clostridium difficile Infection in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Monika Fischer

Animal experiments

High fat diet drives obesity regardless the composition of gut microbiota in mice – Sylvie Rabot – Scientific Reports

Gut Microbiota Promote Angiotensin II–Induced Arterial Hypertension and Vascular Dysfunction – Susanne H. Karbach – Hypertension

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Forest area and connectivity influence root-associated fungal communities in a fragmented landscape – Rachel L. Vannette – Ecology

Review: Comparative phylogenomics of symbiotic associations – Pierre-Marc Delaux – New Phytologist

Water and extremophile

Microbial Community Structure of Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica – Amanda M. Achberger – Frontiers in Microbiology

Dust microbiome

Poultry houses: DNA from dust: comparative genomics of large DNA viruses in field surveillance samples – Utsav Pandey – bioRxiv

Techniques

Direct 16S rRNA-seq from bacterial communities: a PCR-independent approach to simultaneously assess microbial diversity and functional activity potential of each taxon – Riccardo Rosselli – Scientific Reports

More microbiology

Screen Shot 2016-09-01 at 06.30PM, Sep 01

Geological map and location of microbial structures

Rapid emergence of life shown by discovery of 3,700-million-year-old microbial structures – Allen P. Nutman – Nature

Press: Life thrived on young Earth: scientists discover 3.7-billion-year-old fossils – Science Daily
The World’s Oldest Fossils Are 3.7 Billion Years Old. The newly discovered rocks suggest that life arose very quickly after the Earth was formed – Ed Yong – The Atlantic

Microbes in the news

Microbial genomics and the future of food microbiology – Julie Wolf – American Society for Microbiology

Space Microbiome? Yes Please! and I’ll take a minION sequencer as well if you don’t mind – Ben Libberton – NPJ Biofilms Community

Multitalented microbiology student is highly lauded for her scholarship – Western Michigan University

Manuka honey makes bacteria less resistant to antibiotics – Rowena Jenkins – The Conversation

Changes in Gut microflora – early warning of Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS)? – Jackie Bellamy-Zions – Harness Link

uBiome Hires New Vice President of Research and Development: Dr. Audrey Goddard Joins from Genomic Health and Genentech – PR Web

Samorost 3’s fairy tale of microbiology is now on iPhone – Chris Priestman – Kill Screen

Science, publishing, and career

How to Motivate Your Employees: Give Them Compliments and Pizza – Melissa Dahl – New York Magazine

Opinion: Fixing Science’s Human Bias. It’s time to accelerate the conversation about why the research community is still not diverse – Edward Courchaine and Sarah Smaga – The Scientist

Thanks to the glass ceiling breakers – Yarrow Axford – Science

Peer review

HT: Tomer AltmanStupid Patent of the Month: Elsevier Patents Online Peer Review – Electronic Frontier Foundation

Research Integrity

OMICS vs. The FTC: Plagiarism at a Predatory Publisher – Neuroskeptic – Discover

 

August 31, 2016

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ICU, Rudlavibizon, Flickr

Gut microbiota changes in the ICU, air microbiome of the Gobi desert, host response of human cells to gut microbiota.

Event

Synbiobeta SF2016, October 4-6, South San Francisco, CA

Human gut microbiome

Extreme Dysbiosis of the Microbiome in Critical Illness – Daniel McDonald – mSphere

Press: ICU patients lose helpful gut bacteria within days of hospital admission – Science Daily
Tracking Bacterial Imbalance in the ICU – Stephen Ornes -mBiosphere

Review: The human gut microbiome, diet, and health: “post hoc non ergo propter hoc” – Guus Roeselers – Trends in Food Science & Technology

Review: Interplay between gut microbiota, its metabolites and human metabolism: dissecting cause from consequence – A.V. Hartstra – Trends in Food Science & Technology

Animal and other model experiments

Bidirectional communication between the Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) and the microbiome tunes host metabolism – Agata Korecka – NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes

Temporal dynamics of bacterial microbiota in the human oral cavity determined using an in situ model of dental biofilms – Nanako Wake – NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes

Normalizing Microbiota-Induced Retinoic Acid Deficiency Stimulates Protective CD8+ T Cell-Mediated Immunity in Colorectal Cancer – Nupur Bhattacharya – Immunity

Genetic and Transcriptional Analysis of Human Host Response to Healthy Gut Microbiota – Allison L. Richards – mSystems

Animal microbiome

Whole gut microbiome composition of damselfish and cardinalfish before and after reef settlement – Darren J Parris – PeerJ

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Specialized Microbiome of a Halophyte and its Role in Helping Non-Host Plants to Withstand Salinity – Zhilin Yuan – Scientific Reports

A native and an invasive dune grass share similar, patchily distributed, root-associated fungal communities – Renee B. Johansen – Fungal Ecology

Bacterial community structure and function shift across a northern boreal forest fire chronosequence – Hui Sun – Scientific Reports

Water microbiome

Complex bacterial communities in the deep-sea sediments of the Bay of Bengal and volcanic Barren Island in the Andaman Sea – Pankaj Verma – Marine Genomics

Neutral processes and species sorting in benthic microalgal community assembly: effects of tidal resuspension – Craig J. Plante – Journal of Phycology

Air microbiome

Variations in the structure of airborne bacterial communities in Tsogt-Ovoo of Gobi desert area during dust events – Teruya Maki – Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

A phylogenetic transform enhances analysis of compositional microbiota data – Justin D Silverman – bioRxiv

Higher classification sensitivity of short metagenomic reads with CLARK-S – Rachid Ounit – Bioinformatics

GRASPx: efficient homolog-search of short peptide metagenome database through simultaneous alignment and assembly – Cuncong Zhong – BMC Bioinformatics

Microbial ecology

Quantifying human impact on Earth’s microbiome – Stephen B. Pointing – Nature Microbiology

Synthetic microbial ecology and the dynamic interplay between microbial genotypes –
Jan Dolinšek – FEMS Microbiology Reviews

Microbes in the news

Engineered gut bacteria protect mice against obesity, improve liver function – Oliver Worsley – Fierce Biotech

You’re probably not doing metagenomics – Mick Watson – Opiniomics

Mayo Adds To Its List Of Gut Microbiome Startup Collaborators – Don Jacobson – Twin Cities Business

Nice analysis of Tweets from #ISME16 by Keith Turner – Jonathan Eisen – MicroBEnet

Peer review and science misconduct

Recognizing Peer Reviewers: a Webinar to Celebrate Editors and Researchers – September 19, 2016 – Elsevier Publishing Campus

Stop ignoring misconduct – Donald S. Kornfeld & Sandra L. Titus – Nature

Bik’s Non-Microbiology Picks

Paperfuge: An ultra-low cost, hand-powered centrifuge inspired by the mechanics of a whirligig toy – M. Saad Bhamla – bioRxiv

July 25, 2016

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

Human respiratory microbiome

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

Human gut microbiome

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

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

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

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

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

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

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

Water and extremophile microbiome

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

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

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

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

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

Food microbiology

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

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

Techniques

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

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

More microbiology

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

Microbes in the news

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

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

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

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

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

How do bacteria take up vitamins? – Research in Germany

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

Science, publishing, and career

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

Bik’s Non-Microbiology Picks

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

July 6, 2016

Two microbiology jobs, a Nature special on intestinal gut microbiota, coral dark spot syndrome, extremophiles from Yellowstone springs, and sugar-coating the envelope.

Jobs

Assembly Biosciences in San Francisco is looking for a Bioinformatics Scientist for supporting their microbiome programs. Contact Jared Kaleck at Klein Hersh for more info.

Nature Microbiology is looking for an Associate Editor, based in New York or London.

Events

4th Annual International Raising Clostridium difficile Awareness Conference and Health EXPO – September 20, 2016 – Atlanta

Human skin microbiome

Normal Skin Microbiota is Altered in Pre-clinical Hidradenitis Suppurativa – Hans Christian Ring – Acta Dermato-venereologica

The cutaneous microbiome and aspects of skin antimicrobial defense system resist acute treatment with topical skin cleansers – Aimee M. Two – Journal of Investigative Dermatology

Review: Bacterial and Viral Infections in Atopic Dermatitis: a Comprehensive Review – Peck Y. Ong – Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology

Human urinary tract microbiome

Review: The urinary microbiota: a paradigm shift for bladder disorders? – Linda Brubaker – Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology

Human vaginal microbiome

Analysis of the Vaginal Microbiome by Next-Generation Sequencing and Evaluation of its Performance as a Clinical Diagnostic Tool in Vaginitis – Ki Ho Hong – Annals of Laboratory Medicine

Human gut microbiome

Fecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients – B.J. Webb – Transplant Infectious Disease

The Esophageal Microbiome in Eosinophilic Esophagitis – Evan S. Dellon – Gastroenterology

Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) response to animal source foods varies among healthy young men and is influenced by their gut microbiota composition: a randomized controlled trial – Clara E. Cho – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

Review: The Role of Gut Microflora and the Cholinergic Anti-inflammatory Neuroendocrine System in Diabetes Mellitus – Parth J. Parekh – Frontiers in Endocrinology

Review: Bifidobacteria and Their Role as Members of the Human Gut Microbiota – Amy O’Callaghan – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Navigating the Microbial Basis of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Seeing the Light at the End of the Tunnel – Laura E. Raffals – Gut and Liver

Animal and in vitro experiments

Composition of Gut Microbiota Influences Resistance of Newly Hatched Chickens to Salmonella Enteritidis Infection – Karolina Varmuzova – Frontiers in Microbiology

Pterostilbene-induced changes in gut microbiota composition in relation to obesity – Usune Etxeberria – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

An Integrated Multi-Omics Approach Reveals the Effects of Supplementing Grass or Grass Hay with Vitamin E on the Rumen Microbiome and Its Function – Alejandro Belanche – Frontiers in Microbiology

Enterocyte-Associated Microbiome of the Hadza Hunter-Gatherers – Silvia Turroni – Frontiers in Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Composition and Functional Characterization of Microbiome Associated with Mucus of the Coral Fungia echinata Collected from Andaman Sea – Jhasketan Badhai – Frontiers in Microbiology

Epimicrobiota Associated with the Decay and Recovery of Orbicella Corals Exhibiting Dark Spot Syndrome – Julie L. Meyer – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Temperature mediates continental-scale diversity of microbes in forest soils – Jizhong Zhou – Nature Communications

Molecular biosignatures reveal common benthic microbial sources of organic matter in ooids and grapestones from Pigeon Cay, The Bahamas – S. S. O’Reilly – Geobiology

Availability and function of arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi during revegetation of dewatered reservoirs left after dam removal – Andrew M. Cortese – Restoration Ecology

A metagenomic-based survey of microbial (de)halogenation potential in a German forest soil – Pascal Weigold – Scientific Reports

Limited recovery of soil microbial activity after transient exposure to gasoline vapors – Jakub J. Modrzyński – Environmental Pollution

Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination, plant identity and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community determine assemblages of the AMF spore-associated microbes – Bachir Iffis – Environmental Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Linking internal and external bacterial community control gives mechanistic framework for pelagic virus-to-bacteria ratios – Selina Våge – Environmental Microbiology

The Dark Side of the Mushroom Spring Microbial Mat: Life in the Shadow of Chlorophototrophs. I. Microbial Diversity Based on 16S rRNA Gene Amplicons and Metagenomic Sequencing – Vera Thiel – Frontiers in Microbiology

Genomics-informed isolation and characterization of a symbiotic Nanoarchaeota system from a terrestrial geothermal environment – Louie Wurch – Nature Communications

Press: Scientists isolate, culture elusive Yellowstone microbe – Science Daily

Fungal and Prokaryotic Activities in the Marine Subsurface Biosphere at Peru Margin and Canterbury Basin Inferred from RNA-Based Analyses and Microscopy – Maria G. Pachiadaki – Frontiers in Microbiology

Unexpected biodiversity of ciliates in marine samples from below the photic zone – Jean-David Grattepanche – Molecular Ecology

Spatial and temporal variability of aerobic anoxygenic photoheterotrophic bacteria along the east coast of Australia – Jaime Bibiloni-Isaksson – Environmental Microbiology

Bioreactor microbiology

Perspectives for microbial community composition in anaerobic digestion: From abundance and activity to connectivity – Jo De Vrieze – Environmental Microbiology

Other microbiology

Opinion: Sugar Coating the Envelope: Glycoconjugates for Microbe–Host Crosstalk – Hanne L.P. Tytgat – Trends in Microbiology

A Combinatorial Algorithm for Microbial Consortia Synthetic Design – Alice Julien-Laferrière – Scientific Reports

Bioinformatics and metagenomics – viruses and phages

Freshwater Metaviromics and Bacteriophages: A Current Assessment of the State of the Art in Relation to Bioinformatic Challenges – Katherine Bruder – Evolutionary Bioinformatics

Alignment-free microbial phylogenomics under scenarios of sequence divergence, genome rearrangement and lateral genetic transfer – Guillaume Bernard – Scientific Reports

Microbes in the news

Dear Science: How many germs are actually on a toilet seat — and should I care? – Rachel Feltman and Sarah Kaplan – Washington Post

‘Super bacteria’ discovered in Rio’s waters as Olympics near – Flora Charner – CNN
‘Super Bacteria’ Detected at Rio de Janeiro’s Beaches – Rosalie Chen – Time

Scientists Discover A Sponge Extract In Antarctica, Can Kill ‘SuperBug’ MRSA Bacterium – Science World Report

Training in microbiology, molecular biology concludes – The Tribune

Science, publishing, and career

The past, present and future of the PhD thesis – Nature

Let’s make peer review scientific – Drummond Rennie – Nature

Bik’s Picks

Warning: contains autoplay video with sound and light-flashes that might not be suitable for epileptics. Sneak peek: The ‘Game of Genomes’ is coming – sequencing Carl Zimmer’s genome – STAT News