Category Archives: Phages and viruses

November 22, 2016

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Vaginal Mirobiome in PPROM, Prevotella copri and rheumatoid arthritis, mice transplanted with stool from lean or obese humans, archaea in a pond.

Pregnancy and early life

High Diversity and Variability in the Vaginal Microbiome in Women following Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes (PPROM): A Prospective Cohort Study – Teenus Paramel Jayaprakash – PLOS ONE

Human oral microbiome

Review: The oral microbiome – an update for oral healthcare professionals – M. Kilian – British Dental Journal

Human gut microbiome

Chronic opioid use is associated with altered gut microbiota and predicts readmissions in patients with cirrhosis – C. Acharya – Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics

In vitro fermentation of B-GOS: Impact on faecal bacterial populations and metabolic activity in autistic and non-autistic children – Roberta Grimaldi – FEMS Microbial Ecology

Evidence for Immune Relevance of Prevotella copri, a Gut Microbe, in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis – Annalisa Pianta – Arthitis & Rheumatology

Review: Human gut microbiota: the links with dementia development – Rashad Alkasir – Protein & Cell

Review: Gut hormones and gut microbiota: implications for kidney function and hypertensionGut hormones and gut microbiota: implications for kidney function and hypertension – Baris Afsar – Journal of the American Society of Hypertension

Review: Dysbiosis in the intensive care unit: Microbiome science coming to the bedside – Georgios D Kitsios – Journal of Critical Care

Review: Interactions between gut microbes and host cells control gut barrier and metabolism – P D Cani – International Journal of Obesity Supplements

Review: Life history and eco-evolutionary dynamics in light of the gut microbiota – Emilie Macke – Oikos

Animal experiments

Environmental spread of microbes impacts the development of metabolic phenotypes in mice transplanted with microbial communities from humans – Li Zhang – ISME Journal

Gut bacteria affect our metabolism – Science Daily

Animal microbiome

Gut microbiota of dung beetles correspond to dietary specializations of adults and larvae
– Shantanu P. Shukla – Molecular Ecology

Thesis: Characterization of the juvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas) microbiome associated with the ontogenic shift from pelagic habitats to inshore resident areas – James T. Price – Purdue University

Tick microbiome and pathogen acquisition altered by host blood meal – Andrea Swei – The ISME Journal

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Investigation of Endophytic Bacterial Community in Supposedly Axenic Cultures of Pineapple and Orchids with Evidence on Abundant Intracellular Bacteria – Natalia Pimentel Esposito-Polesi – Current Microbiology

Tree species, tree genotypes and tree genotypic diversity levels affect microbe-mediated soil ecosystem functions in a subtropical forest – Witoon Purahong – Scientific Reports

High-methionine soybean has no adverse effect on functional diversity of rhizosphere microorganisms -J.G. Liang – Plant Soil Environment

Illumina sequencing-based community analysis of bacteria associated with different bryophytes collected from Tibet, China – Jing Yan Tang – BMC Microbiology
https://bmcmicrobiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12866-016-0892-3
Networks Depicting the Fine-Scale Co-Occurrences of Fungi in Soil Horizons – Hirokazu Toju – PLOS ONE

Isolation and Identification of Keratinolytic Bacteria that Exhibit Feather-degrading Potentials – F. O. Iruolaje – Journal of Advances in Biology & Biotechnology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Cryo-protective effect of an ice-binding protein derived from Antarctic bacteria – Marco Mangiagalli – The FEBS Journal

Unusually High Archaeal Diversity in a Crystallizer Pond, Pomorie Salterns, Bulgaria, Revealed by Phylogenetic Analysis – Margarita Kambourova – Archaea

Polymetallic nodules, sediments, and deep waters in the equatorial North Pacific exhibit highly diverse and distinct bacterial, archaeal, and microeukaryotic communities – Christine N. Shulse – Microbiology Open

Conference abstract: Defining the boarders of extreme life: The study of microbial communities and their settings gives insights into Mars analogue life within the MASE project – A Perras – 16th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology

Pollution microbiology

Influence of plantation on microbial community in porous concrete treating polluted surface water – Yan Long – International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation

Food microbiology

Study of the bacterial diversity of foods: PCR-DGGE versus LH-PCR – Cristiana Garofalo – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Viruses and phages

Viral coinfection is shaped by host ecology and virus-virus interactions across diverse microbial taxa and environments – Samuel L Diaz-Munoz – bioRxiv

More microbiology

Uncovering new drugs and targets – Andrea Du Toit – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Microbiota under pressure – Andrea Aguilar – Nature Reviews Nephrology

Microbes in the news

‘Bacteria beaters’ win Longitude Prize Discovery Award – Shan Ross – The Scotsman

Bacteria for bio-toilets by February 15 – The Times of India

Your Office Has a Microbiome, and It Might Make You Sick – Zoe Schlanger – Wired

Tomato plants are more resistant against nematodes when colonized by a fungus – Farming Futures

Scientists use bacteria to map out NZ. A team of scientists growing bacteria in the shape of New Zealand have caught the attention of their colleagues across the globe – News Australia

The cover image is a map of New Zealand drawn with pyoverdine-producing P. aeruginosa cells in an ocean of indigoidine-synthesizing E. coli. – Cell Chemical Biology

Science, publishing, and career

Citizen science: The people behind the data – Mary Goodchild – NERC Planet Earth

November 16, 2016

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Infants with and without colic, supplementing adults with breastmilk sugars, honey bee viruses, and forensic metabolomics of cell phones.

Pregnancy and early life

Comparison of formula-fed infants with and without colic revealed significant differences in total bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and faecal ammonia – Francesco Savino – Acta Pediatrica

Human gut microbiome

Bacterially-Associated Transcriptional Remodelling in a Distinct Genomic Subtype of Colorectal Cancer Provides a Plausible Molecular Basis for Disease Development – Katie S. Lennard – PLOS ONE

Oral supplementation of healthy adults with 2′-O-fucosyllactose and lacto-N-neotetraose is well tolerated and shifts the intestinal microbiota – Emma Elison – British Journal of Nutrition

News: Effects of Human Milk Oligosaccharides Supplementation on Adult Gut Microbiota – Hummer Aslam – Medical News Bulletin

Gut microbiota influences pathological angiogenesis in obesity-driven choroidal neovascularization – Elisabeth MMA Andriessen – EMBO Molecular Medicine

Gut flora connects obesity with pathological angiogenesis in the eye – Rebecca Scholz – EMBO Molecular Medicine

Animal microbiome

Ontogenetic Characterization of the Intestinal Microbiota of Channel Catfish through 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing Reveals Insights on Temporal Shifts and the Influence of Environmental Microbes – Jacob W. Bledsoe – PLOS ONE

Year-Long Monitoring of Physico-Chemical and Biological Variables Provide a Comparative Baseline of Coral Reef Functioning in the Central Red Sea – Anna Roik – PLOS ONE

Honey Bee Viruses in Wild Bees: Viral Prevalence, Loads, and Experimental Inoculation – Adam G. Dolezal – PLOS ONE

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Microbiome engineers: Grazers, browsers, and the phytobiome stampede – Karen A Garrett – BioRxiv

Fine-scale spatial distribution of orchid mycorrhizal fungi in the soil of host-rich grasslands` – Samuele Voyron – New Phytologist

Water and extremophile microbiome

Shifting microbial communities sustain multi-year iron reduction and methanogenesis in ferruginous sediment incubations – Marcus S Bray – bioRxiv

Ordination obscures the influence of environment on plankton metacommunity structure – Tad A. Dallas – Limnology and Oceanography Letters

Metabolomics

Lifestyle chemistries from phones for individual profiling – Amina Bouslimani – PNAS

Cellphone Smudges Yield a Trove of Forensic Data. Researchers say molecules and microbes left on phone, keys, credit cards can linger for months – Wall Street Journal
Chemical traces on your phone reveal your lifestyle, scientists say – The Guardian
Cellphone crud could help I.D. crime victims – Gary Robbins – San Diego Union Tribune
The Grime on Your Smartphone Can Reveal Your Secrets – Christopher Wanjek – Live Science

Effects of Liver Resection on Hepatic Short-Chain Fatty Acid Metabolism in Humans – Evelien P. J. G. Neis – PLOS ONE

Microbes in the news

Biologists give bacteria thermostat controls – Whitney Clavin – Phys.org

Yes, your beer pong cup is teeming with bacteria – Alexandra Ossola – Popular Science

Scientists discover important link between immune system, gut bacteria and glucose metabolism – News Medical

Immune system uses gut bacteria to control glucose metabolism – Oregon State

Bacteria turn trees into pollution-eating machines – Anthony King – Horizon

From the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress: The Future of Cancer Drugs: RNA Therapies, Bacteria, and Viruses – Kate M. O’Rourke – Medscape

Bile duct bacteria pose cancer risk – Biotech in Asia

November 15, 2016

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Microbial profiling in the classroom, viral abundance in seawater membrane vesicles, two Akkermansia in vitro studies, the phyllospere of Phoenix’ urban forest, the (im)possibility to reconstruct plasmids, high confidence protein annotations.

General microbiome

Microorganisms as Scaffolds of Host Individuality: An Eco-Immunity Account of the Holobiont – Lynn Chiu – PhilSci Archive

Microbial Community-Level Physiological Profiling as an Inquiry Laboratory Exercise – Pamela A. Marshall – The American Biology Teacher

Human oral microbiome

Bacterial communities associated with apical periodontitis and dental implant failure – Simon Dingsdag – Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease

Human respiratory microbiome

Review: Development of the respiratory tract microbiota in cystic fibrosis – Emma M. de Koff –  Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine

Human gut microbiome

Oral application of Escherichia coli bacteriophage: safety tests in healthy and diarrheal children from Bangladesh – Shafiqul Alam Sarker – Environmental Microbiology

The SURMetaGIT study: Design and rationale for a prospective pan-omics examination of the gastrointestinal response to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery – Priscila Sala – Journal of International Medical Research

Review: The Human Microbiome and I-Cubed: A Modern Medical Paradigm – David S. Younger – World Journal of Neuroscience

Animal and in vitro models

In vitro colonisation of the distal colon by Akkermansia muciniphila is largely mucin and pH dependent – F. Van Herreweghen – Beneficial Microbes

Akkermansia muciniphila mediates negative effects of IFNγ on glucose metabolism – Renee L. Greer – Nature Communications

Animal microbiome

Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and domestic horse (Equus caballus) hindgut microflora demonstrate similar fermentation responses to grape seed extract supplementation in vitro – N. F. Huntley – Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Sensitive responders among bacterial and fungal microbiome to pyrogenic organic matter (biochar) addition differed greatly between rhizosphere and bulk soils – Zhongmin Dai – Scientific Reports

Thesis: The Phyllosphere of Phoenix’s Urban Forest: Insights from a Publicly-Funded Microbial Environment – Benjamin C. MacNeille – Arizona State University

Diversity of phylloplane microflora in certain tea cultivars of Assam, North-East India – Amarjyoti Tanti – European Journal of Biological Research

Review: Do genetically modified plants affect adversely on soil microbial communities?
– Zheng-jun Guan – Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

Water and extremophile microbiome

The Microbiota of Recreational Freshwaters and the Implications for Environmental and Public Health – Chang Soo Lee – Frontiers in Microbiology

Functional diversity of microbial communities in pristine aquifers inferred by PLFA – and sequencing – based approaches – Valerie F. Schwab – Biogeosciences

Trade-off between taxon diversity and functional diversity in European lake ecosystems – Lars Grossmann – Molecular Ecology

Glycerol enhances fungal germination at the water-activity limit for life – Andrew Stevenson – Environmental Microbiology

Bacterial and archeal community composition in hot springs from Indo-Burma region, North-east India – Amrita Kumari Panda – AMB Express

Phages and viruses

Next-generation sequencing and norovirus – Matthew Cotten & Marion Koopmans – Future Virology

Membrane vesicles in sea water: heterogeneous DNA content and implications for viral abundance estimates – Steven J Biller – ISME Journal

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

On the (im)possibility to reconstruct plasmids from whole genome short-read sequencing data – Sergio Arredondo-Alonso – bioRxiv

EMDUnifrac: Exact linear time computation of the Unifrac metric and identification of differentially abundant organisms – Jason McClelland – bioRxiv

Optimal prediction of the number of unseen species – Alon Orlitsky – PNAS

Constraint-based stoichiometric modelling from single organisms to microbial communities
– Willi Gottstein – Journal of the Royal Society Interface

Metabolomics, culturomics, proteomics

Critical decisions in metaproteomics: achieving high confidence protein annotations in a sea of unknowns – Emma Timmins-Schiffman – The ISME Journal

Prioritizing Natural Product Diversity in a Collection of 146 Bacterial Strains Based on Growth and Extraction Protocols – Max Crüsemann – Journal of Natural Products

Probiotics

Review: Probiotics and Subclinical Psychological Symptoms in Healthy Participants: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis – Jennifer McKean – The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine

Microbes in the news

Good News at Fred Hutch: Evolutionary biologists Drs. Harmit Malik and Jesse Bloom win American Society for Microbiology awards – Fred Hutch

NTU don once downed a dish of live bacteria, for science’s sake – Straits Times

MCR-1 resistance gene could make its way into bacteria and superbugs in Australia – NT News
Biofilm battle is key to antibiotic war – University of Queensland

‘Probiotics’ on salad greens could make them safer, healthier – The University of Queensland

Monique Keiran: Laziness and hubris making us sick – Times Colonist

From the American Heart Association annual meeting: Could C-Section Birth Raise Child’s Risk of Obesity? – Dennis Thompson – Pantagraph

November 12, 2016

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Two papers on the detection of diseases by metabolomics of breaths or fecal gases, responses of soil bacteria to solar radiation and soil warming, genotyping of probiotics.

General microbiome

Special Issue on ‘Microbe–host interactions’ – Sven Hammerschmidt – FEBS Letters

Pregnancy and early life

Serum cathelicidin, nasopharyngeal microbiota, and disease severity among infants hospitalized with bronchiolitis – Kohei Hasegawa – Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Human respiratory microbiome

Feasibility of Early Detection of Cystic Fibrosis Acute Pulmonary Exacerbations by Exhaled Breath Condensate Metabolomics: A Pilot Study – Xiaoling Zang – Journal of Proteome Research

Features of the bronchial bacterial microbiome associated with atopy, asthma and responsiveness to inhaled corticosteroid treatment – Juliana Durack – Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Human vaginal microbiome

“Murdochiella vaginalis” sp. nov., a new bacterial species cultivated from the vaginal flora of a woman with bacterial vaginosis – Khoudia Diop – Human Microbiome Journal

Human esophagus and stomach microbiome

Editorial: The microbiome as a potential biomarker for oesophageal adenocarcinoma – Julian A Abrams – The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology

A non-endoscopic device to sample the oesophageal microbiota: a case-control study – Daffolyn R Fels Elliott – The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Human gut microbiome

Irritable bowel syndrome and active inflammatory bowel disease diagnosed by faecal gas analysis – R. B. M. Aggio – Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Review: Formation of propionate and butyrate by the human colonic microbiota – Petra Louis

Review: The Gut Microbiota : The Gateway to Improved Metabolism – Kristina B. Martinez – Gastroenterology Clinics of North America

Review: Regulation of the gut microbiome by inflammasomes – Grace Y. Chen – Free Radical Biology and Medicine

Review: The role of the microbiome in kidney stone formation – Mansi Mehta – International Journal of Surgery

Animal models

Giardia alters commensal microbial diversity throughout the murine gut – Nanelle R Barash – bioRxiv

Animal microbiome

Virus detection using metagenomic sequencing of swine nasal and rectal swabs – Ben M. Hause – J Swine Health Prod

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Bacterial active community cycling in response to solar radiation and their influence on nutrient changes in a high altitude wetland – Veronica Molina – Frontiers in Microbiology

Land-use change under different climatic conditions: Consequences for organic matter and microbial communities in Siberian steppe soils – Norbert Bischoff – Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

Identifying the microbial taxa which consistently respond to soil warming across time and space – Angela M. Oliverio – Global Change Biology

The drivers underlying biogeographical patterns of bacterial communities in soils under sugarcane cultivation – Ademir Durrer – Applied Soil Ecology

Editorial: A small soil bacterium dominates – Ursula Hofer – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Editorial/Review: The Role of Microbial Communities in Tropical Ecosystems – Silvia Pajares – Frontiers in Microbiology

Water microbiome

Cyanobacteria in lakes on Yungui Plateau, China are assembled via niche processes driven by water physicochemical property, lake morphology and watershed land-use – Jingqiu Liao – Scientific Reports

Implications of Ecological Niche Differentiation in Marine Bacteria for Microbial Management in Aquaculture to Prevent Bacterial Disease – Tom Defoirdt – PLOS Pathogens

Bacterial composition, abundance and diversity in fish polyculture and mussel–fish integrated cultured ponds in China – Xiafei Zheng – Aquaculture Research

Food microbiome

Diversity study of microbial community in bacon using metagenomic analysis – Langbo Yi – Journal of Food Safety

Probiotics

Genotyping by PCR and High-Throughput Sequencing of Commercial Probiotic Products Reveals Composition Biases – Wesley Morovic – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Weight gain by gut microbiota manipulation in productive animals – Emmanouil Angelakis – Microbial Pathogenesis

Viruses and phages

VirusDetect: An automated pipeline for efficient virus discovery using deep sequencing of small RNAs – Yi Zheng – Virology

Metabolomics

Book Chapter: A Mathematical Perspective on Microbial Processes in Earth’s Biogeochemical Cycles – Christof Meile – Mathematical Paradigms of Climate Science
Bioinformatics and metagenomics

EMDUnifrac: Exact linear time computation of the Unifrac metric and identification of differentially abundant organisms – Jason McClelland – bioRxiv

Genomic and metagenomic technologies to explore the antibiotic resistance mobilome – José L. Martínez – Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

More microbiology

The planktonic relationship between fluid-like electrodes and bacteria: wiring in motion
– Sara Tejedor Sanz – ChemSusChem

Experimental study and Random Forest prediction model of microbiome cell surface hydrophobicity – Yong Liu – Expert Systems with Applications

Microbes in the news

uBiome CEO Dr. Jessica Richman to Deliver Opening Keynote at American Medical Informatics Association Symposium – PR web

The impact of the rhizosphere microbiota on root system development and tolerance to environmental constraints in cereals – International Center for Biosaline Agriculture

Miami wants to introduce MORE mosquitoes to fight Zika: Officials considers bringing in bacteria-infected insects to stop spread of virus – Daily Mail

Bruker Moving Into PCR-Based Testing to Expand Clinical Microbiology, MALDI Biotyper Offerings – Genome Web

 

 

November 9, 2016

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Today is a sad day. I’m in shock of last night’s results, and still sick at home, with only a small number of new papers in my Inbox.

Animal microbiome

Initial Characterization of the Pig Skin Bacteriome and Its Effect on In Vitro Models of Wound Healing – Matthew K. McIntyre – PLOS ONE

Phylogenetic and functional characterization of the distal intestinal microbiome of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss from both farm and aquarium settings – Philip P. Lyons – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Uterine Microbiota and Immune Parameters Associated with Fever in Dairy Cows with Metritis – Soo Jin Jeon – PLOS ONE

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Microbial Community Evolution Is Significantly Impacted by the Use of Calcium Isosaccharinic Acid as an Analogue for the Products of Alkaline Cellulose Degradation – Isaac A. Kyeremeh – PLOS ONE

Phages and viruses

Theory for the spatiotemporal interaction between lytic phages and biofilm-dwelling bacteria Theory for the spatiotemporal interaction between lytic phages and biofilm-dwelling bacteria – Matthew Simmons – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

Quest to map Africa’s soil microbiome begins. Sub-Saharan project could one day help ecosystems to resist climate change and improve agricultureQuest to map Africa’s soil microbiome begins. Sub-Saharan project could one day help ecosystems to resist climate change and improve agriculture – Sarah Wild – Nature

Science, publishing, and career

Here’s some advice for you, President Trump, from scientists – Jeffrey Mervis – Science

Donald Trump’s US election win stuns scientists. Republicans sweep White House and US Congress, with uncertain implications for research – Jeff Tollefson, Lauren Morello& Sara Reardon – Nature

3 reasons researchers are terrified about Donald Trump’s presidency – Lindsay Dodgson – Business Insider

Scientists And Doctors Are Freaking Out About A President Trump – Virginia Hughes et al. – BuzzFeed

What the Trump win means for tech, science, and beyond. Net neutrality, science-based policy are threatened. A maximalist IP approach looms.– David Kravets – ArsTechnica

Microbiology Society announces new editor of Microbiology Today: Dr Rowena Jenkins from Cardiff Metropolitan University. Rowena’s term as Editor begins in January 2017

November 1, 2016

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Ribosomal gene sequencing as a clinical diagnostic tool, probiotic microcins in the inflamed gut, toxic sugar metabolism by a bee symbiont, bacteria as indicators of soil condition, viruses of the human body.

General microbiome

Omics Approaches To Probe Microbiota and Drug Metabolism Interactions – Robert G. Nichols – Chemical Research in Toxicology

Review: Microbial interactions: ecology in a molecular perspective – Raíssa Mesquita Braga – Brazilian Journal of Microbiology

Human skin microbiome

Understanding the role of Propionibacterium acnes in acne vulgaris: the critical importance of skin sampling methodologies – Hélène Omer – Clinics in Dermatology

Human respiratory microbiome

Editorial: Macrolides, inflammation and the lung microbiome: untangling the web of causality – Robert P Dickson – Thorax

Review: A tale of two sites: how inflammation can reshape the microbiomes of the gut and lungs – Brittan S. Scales – Journal of Leukocyte Biology

Review: Emerging pathogenic links between microbiota and the gut–lung axis
– Kurtis F. Budden – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

16S rRNA Gene Sequencing as a Clinical Diagnostic Aid for Gastrointestinal-related Conditions – Daniel E Almonacid – bioRxiv

Detecting beer intake by unique metabolite patterns – Gözde Gürdeniz – Journal of Proteome Research

Metabolite and Microbiome Interplay in Cancer Immunotherapy – Caroline H. Johnson – Cancer Research

The infant gut microbiome correlates significantly with rotavirus vaccine response in rural Ghana – Vanessa C. Harris – Journal of Infectious Diseases
Could the gut microbiome be key to understanding and improving rotavirus vaccine performance in high disease burden settings? – Journal of Infectious Diseases

Fecal metabolomics in pediatric spondyloarthritis implicate decreased metabolic diversity and altered tryptophan metabolism as pathogenic factors – M L Stoll – Genes and Immunity

Can the composition of the intestinal microbiota predict the development of urinary tract infections? – Casper DJ den Heijer – Future Microbiology

Review: A tale of two sites: how inflammation can reshape the microbiomes of the gut and lungs – Brittan S. Scales – Journal of Leukocyte Biology

Review: Good Bugs, Bad Bugs in the Gut: The Role of Microbiota Dysbiosis in Chronic Gastrointestinal Consequences of Infection – Andre G Buret – American Journal of Gastroenterology

Review: Soy and Gut Microbiota: Interaction and Implication for Human Health – H Huang – J Agric Food Chem

Review: The gut microbiome and hypertension – M Pevsner-Fisher

Probiotics

Microcins mediate competition among Enterobacteriaceae in the inflamed gut – Martina Sassone-Corsi – Nature

Press: How good gut bacteria wrest control from the bad – Cosmos Magazine

Novel encapsulation improves recovery of probiotic strains in fecal samples of human volunteers – Volker Mai – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Psychobiotics and the Manipulation of Bacteria–Gut–Brain Signals – Amar Sarkar – Trends in Neurosciences

Press: Psychobiotics: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go? – Laurie Anne Walden – Contagion Live

Review: Eosinophils, probiotics, and the microbiome – Helene F. Rosenberg – Journal of Leukocyte Biology

Animal experiments

Sex differences in colonization of gut microbiota from a man with short-term vegetarian and inulin-supplemented diet in germ-free mice – Jing-jing Wang – Scientific Reports

Functional Characterization of Inflammatory Bowel Disease–Associated Gut Dysbiosis in Gnotobiotic Mice – Hiroko Nagao-Kitamoto – CMGH Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Obese Mice Fed a Diet Supplemented with Enzyme-Treated Wheat Bran Display Marked Shifts in the Liver Metabolome Concurrent with Altered Gut Bacteria – Dorothy A Kieffer – Journal of Nutrition

Animal microbiome

Metabolism of Toxic Sugars by Strains of the Bee Gut Symbiont Gilliamella apicola – Hao Zheng – mBio

Microenvironmental heterogeneity of gut compartments drives bacterial community structure in wood- and humus-feeding higher termites – Aram Mikaelyan – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Bacteria as emerging indicators of soil condition – Syrie M. Hermans – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Successive soybean-monoculture cropping assembles rhizosphere microbial communities for the soil suppression of soybean cyst nematode – M. Imran Hamid – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Exploring the Influence of Environmental Factors on Bacterial Communities within the Rhizosphere of the Cu-tolerant plant, Elsholtzia splendens – Longfei Jiang – Scientific Reports

Endophytic Bacillus cereus effectively controls Meloidogyne incognita on tomato plants through rapid rhizosphere occupation and repellent action – Haijing Hu – Plant Disease

Drivers of yeast community composition in the litter and soil of a temperate forest –
Tereza Mašínová – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Transcriptomic responses of a simplified soil microcosm to a plant pathogen and its biocontrol agent reveal a complex reaction to harsh habitat – Michele Perazzolli – BMC Genomics

The root growth of wheat plants, the water conservation and fertility status of sandy soils influenced by plant growth promoting rhizobacteria – Naeem Khan – Symbiosis

Dynamics of bacterial communities in rice field soils as affected by different long-term fertilization practices – Jae-Hyung Ahn – Journal of Microbiology

Partitioning the effect of composition and diversity of tree communities on leaf litter decomposition and soil respiration – Mark Davidson Jewell – Oikos

Effects of Land use on the Structural Diversity of Soil Bacterial Communities in South Eastern Iran – Ghobad Jalali – Biosciences Biotechnology Research

Successive soybean-monoculture cropping assembles rhizosphere microbial communities for the soil suppression of soybean cyst nematode – M. Imran Hamid – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Antarctic strict anaerobic microbiota from Deschampsia antarctica vascular plants rhizosphere reveals high ecology and biotechnology relevance – Rafael José Marques Peixoto – Extremophiles

The influence of the host plant is the major ecological determinant of soil presence of the nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiont, Cluster II Frankia – Kai Battenberg – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Review: Fungal endophytes and their interactions with plants in phytoremediation: A review – Zujun Deng – Chemosphere

Water and extremophile microbiome

Optical properties of dissolved organic matter relate to different depth-specific patterns of archaeal and bacterial community structure in the north Atlantic ocean – Elisa Guerrero-Feijóo

A computationally simplistic poly-phasic approach to explore microbial communities from the Yucatan aquifer as a potential sources of novel natural products – Miguel David Marfil-Santana – Journal of Microbiology

Food microbiology

Different flour microbial communities drive to sourdoughs characterized by diverse bacterial strains and free amino acid profiles – Giuseppe Celano – Frontiers in Microbiology

Built environment microbiome

Drinking water: One step forwards for the routine use of high-throughput DNA sequencing in environmental monitoring. An efficient and standardizable method to maximize the detection of environmental bacteria – Antonia Bruno – Microbiology Open

Weathering of a Roman Mosaic—A Biological and Quantitative Study on In Vitro Colonization of Calcareous Tesserae by Phototrophic Microorganisms – Addolorata Marasco – PLOS ONE

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Phylogenetic Dirichlet-multinomial model for microbiome data – Yunfan Tang – arXiv

More microbiology

Bacterial evolution: Genomics of metabolic trade-offs – Martin F. Polz – Nature Microbiology

What’s in a Name? New Bacterial Species and Changes to Taxonomic Status from 2012 through 2015 – Erik Munson – Journal of Clinical Microbiology

Employment of Near Full-Length Ribosome Gene TA-Cloning and Primer-Blast to Detect Multiple Species in a Natural Complex Microbial Community Using Species-Specific Primers Designed with Their Genome Sequences – Huimin Zhang – Molecular Biotechnology

Review: A critical evaluation of ecological indices for the comparative analysis of microbial communities based on molecular datasets – Rico Lucas – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Microbes in the news

Viruses of the Human Body. Some of our resident viruses may be beneficial – Eric Delwart – The Scientist

Naval Special Warfare Trainees Face Tiny Enemy: Bacteria – Sara G. Miller – Live Science

Could a disrupted sleep also disturb your gut? – Fiona Pepper for The Health Report

Researchers think they’ve finally figured out why bacteria only causes acne in some people. And how to stop it. – Fiona MacDonald – Science Alert

Microbes and the market

uBiome CEO Jessica Richman Joins Sean Parker, Maria Shriver, Arianna Huffington and Others, Speaking at Fortune Brainstorm HEALTH

Science, publishing, and career

2016 Life Sciences Salary Survey. Most researchers feel stimulated by their work but are dissatisfied with their compensation, according to this year’s results – Karen Zusi – The Scientist

October 29, 2016

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Laryngeal microbiome, nitrogen fixation by bivalve symbionts, subalpine snow in California, sequence data compression tools. Flying back to Cali today, blogging from Phoenix.

Human respiratory microbiome

The human laryngeal microbiome: effects of cigarette smoke and reflux – Marie E. Jetté – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

This is pretty cool: Nitrogen fixation in a chemoautotrophic lucinid symbiosis – Sten König – Nature Microbiology

Fecal Bacterial Composition of Sichuan Snub-Nosed Monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) – Chen Su – International Journal of Primatology

Lesion recovery and the bacterial microbiome in two Caribbean gorgonian corals – Kartick P. Shirur – Marine Biology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Isolation and Identification of Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) from the Rhizosphere of Sugarcane in Saline and Non-Saline Soil – Elham Lamizadeh – International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Science

Different responses of rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil microbial communities to consecutive Piper nigrum L. monoculture – Zhigang Li – Scientific Reports

Note: 16S rRNA amplicon study, not metagenomics. Proceed with caution. Looking for Rhizobacterial Ecological Indicators in Agricultural Soils Using 16S rRNA metagenomic Amplicon Data – José R. Valverde – PLOS ONE

Comparison of Microbial Community Composition and Diversity in Native Coastal Wetlands and Wetlands that Have Undergone Long-Term Agricultural Reclamation – Shiqi Xu – Wetlands

Review: Biology and evolution of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in the light of genomics – Laurent Kamel – New Phytologist

Review: Plant microbiomes and sustainable agriculture – Philip Hunter – EMBO press

Water and extremophile microbiome

Microbial community structure of subalpine snow in the Sierra Nevada, California – Chelsea J. Carey – Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

Unique community structure of viruses in a glacier soil of the Tianshan Mountains, China – Li-Li Han – Journal of Soils and Sediments

Composition and distribution of microbial communities in natural river wetlands and corresponding constructed wetlands – Qingqing Ca – Ecological Engineering

The culturable mycobiota of a Mediterranean marine site after an oil spill: Isolation, identification and potential application in bioremediation – Elena Bovio – Science of the Total Environment

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

proGenomes: a resource for consistent functional and taxonomic annotations of prokaryotic genomes – Daniel R. Mende – Nucleic Acids Research

Comparison of high-throughput sequencing data compression tools – Ibrahim Numanagić – Nature Methods

Phages and ecology

Ecological conditions determine extinction risk in co-evolving bacteria-phagepopulations – Rosanna C. T. Wright – BMC Evolutionary Biology

Microbes in the news

‘Rare’ and ‘unusual’ bacteria discovered on Muni by SFSU researchers – Alyssa Pereira – SF Gate

How lack of oxygen makes bacteria cause acne and how to stop it – Andy Coghlan – New Scientist

Necrotizing Fasciitis: A Profound Mystery In Medical Microbiology – Alex Berezow – American Council on Science and Health

Doctors warn of bacteria in salt water after Jacksonville officer almost dies – Letisha Bereola – Action News Jax

Healdsburg company makes ‘food’ for the gut’s bacteria – Press Democrat

October 26, 2016

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Discount on San Diego Microbiome Congress, sleep deprivation, constipation, strange structures in blood are not bacteria, complexity in corals, grape microbiota, microbial corrosion.

Events

North American Microbiome Congress – San Diego, 24-25 January 2017. This is the conference that was criticized online by Jonathan Eisen (see here) and me about the initial lack of diversity in the speaker line-up. The organizers have taken this to heart, apologized, and will make an effort to do better in the future. After talking to the organizers, they are offering my readers a 15% discount code ‘DIGEST15’ on the conference fee. There are also reduced priced Early Bird tickets available until 31st October 2016.

Human respiratory microbiome

Re-emergence of Lower Airway Microbiota in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Patients – Saad A Syed – Annals of the American Thoracic Society

Human gut microbiome

Gut Microbiota and Glucometabolic Alterations in Response to Recurrent Partial Sleep Deprivation in Normal-weight Young Individuals – Christian Benedict – Molecular Metabolism

Press: Sleep loss tied to changes of the gut microbiota in humans – Science Daily
Sleep loss may be linked to changes in gut bacteria levels – Ryan Maass – UPI

Characterization of Microbiota in Children with Chronic Functional Constipation – Tim G. J. de Meij – PLOS ONE

Microbiome of nearly-sterile sites

Pleomorphic Structures in Human Blood Are Red Blood Cell-Derived Microparticles, Not Bacteria – Adam J. Mitchell – PLOS ONE

Animal models

Antibiotic effects on gut microbiota and metabolism are host dependent – Shiho Fujisaka – The Journal of Clinical Investigation

Diversity and resilience of the wood-feeding higher termite Mironasutitermes shangchengensis gut microbiota in response to temporal and diet variations – Ying Wang – Ecology and Evolution

Animal microbiome

Distinguishing between Microbial Habitats Unravels Ecological Complexity in Coral Microbiomes – Amy Apprill – mSystems

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Looking for Rhizobacterial Ecological Indicators in Agricultural Soils Using 16S rRNA metagenomic Amplicon Data – José R. Valverde – PLOS ONE

Biochar-stimulated plant performance is strongly linked to microbial diversity and metabolic potential in the rhizosphere – Max Kolton – New Phytologist

Wine microbiology is driven by vineyard and winery anthropogenic factors – Cédric Grangeteau – Microbial Biotechnology

Effect of 40 and 80 Years of Conifer Regrowth on Soil Microbial Activities and Community Structure in Subtropical Low Mountain Forests – Ed-Haun Chang – Forests

Water microbiome

mdRNA-Seq analysis of marine microbial communities from the northern Red Sea – Shengwei Hou – Scientific Reports

Assessing Marine Microbial Induced Corrosion at Santa Catalina Island, California – Gustavo A. Ramírez – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioreactor microbiology

Wow, this paper will cost you $63: Diversity of Microbial Communities in Biogas Reactors – Bernadett Pap – Current Biochemical Engineering

Viruses and phages

Viral Metagenomics on Blood-Feeding Arthropods as a Tool for Human Disease Surveillance – Annika Brinkmann – Int J Mol Sci

Techniques

An introduction to microbiome analysis for human biology applications – Katherine R. Amato – American Journal of Human Biology

Instrument for Real-Time Digital Nucleic Acid Amplification on Custom Microfluidic Devices – David A. Selck – PLOS ONE

Microbes in the news

Reef rehab could help threatened corals make a comeback. Solutions for threatened reefs vary by location and damage done – Amy McDermott – Science News

Bacteria get dangerously weird in space – Shayla Love – Washington Post

Cranberry extract disrupts communication between bacteria linked to pervasive infections – News Medical Net

LSU alumna Kaitlynn Fenley teaches microbiology cooking class – Allie Cobb – The Daily Reveille

NIH research project will upgrade ‘metagenomics’ system – Purdue

Science, publishing, and career

Beyond Traditional Scientific Training: The Importance of Community and Empowerment for Women in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology – M. Claire Horner-Devine – Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution

October 17, 2016

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Fecal markers on child hands in Bangladesh, Clostridium difficile in pet dogs, intertidal microbes, and variability in household airborne bacteria.

Human skin microbiome

Occurrence of host-associated fecal markers on child hands, household soil, and drinking water in rural Bangladeshi households – Alexandria B. Boehm – Environmental Science & Technology Letters

Human respiratory microbiome

Data Mining of Lung Microbiota in Cystic Fibrosis Patients – Jianguo Li – PLOS ONE

Review: A future perspective on neurodegenerative diseases: Nasopharyngeal and gut microbiota – Fazlurrahman Khan – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Human urinary and reproductive tract

Methods only, no results (or: how to write two papers instead of one): Methodology for a vaginal and urinary microbiome study in women with mixed urinary incontinence – Yuko M. Komesu – International Urogynecology Journal

Human oral microbiome

Human oral microbiome and prospective risk for pancreatic cancer: a population-based nested case-control study – Xiaozhou Fan – Gut

Human gut microbiome

High-throughput sequencing identifies distinct fecal and mucosal gut microbiota correlating with different mucosal proteins – Li-na Dong – PeerJ Preprint

Prevotella and Klebsiella proportions in fecal microbial communities are potential characteristic parameters for patients with major depressive disorder – Ping Lin – Journal of Affective Disorders

Differential Changes in Gut Microbiota After Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy Bariatric Surgery Vary According to Diabetes Remission – Rinki Murphy – Obesity Surgery

Review: Antibiotics and the Intestinal Microbiome : Individual Responses, Resilience of the Ecosystem, and the Susceptibility to Infections – Sophie Thiemann – Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology

Animal experiments

Chronic Sleep Disruption Alters Gut Microbiota, Induces Systemic and Adipose Tissue Inflammation and Insulin Resistance in Mice – Valeriy A. Poroyko – Scientific Reports

The impact of orally administered phages on host immune response and surrounding microbial communities – Yingying Hong – Bacteriophage

Animal microbiome

More than 50% of Clostridium difficile Isolates from Pet Dogs in Flagstaff, USA, Carry Toxigenic Genotypes – Nathan E. Stone – PLOS ONE

Press: NAU Crew Finds Bacteria Clue by Scooping Pooch Poo – Arizona Public Media

Rumen microbiota for wild boreal cervids living in the same habitat – Kjartan Østbye – FEMS Microbiology Letters

Structure and culture of the gut microbiome of the Mormon cricket Anabrus simplex – Chad C Smith – bioRxiv Preprint

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Microbial legacies alter decomposition in response to simulated global change – Jennifer BH Martiny – ISME Journal
Water microbiome

Spatial and Halophytes Associated Microbial Communities in Intertidal Coastal Region of India – Doongar R. Chaudhary – International Journal of Phytoremediation

Built environment microbiome

High temporal variability in airborne bacterial diversity and abundance inside single-family residences – Joanne B. Emerson – Indoor Air

Microbes in the news

UMass microbiologist Kristen DeAngelis awarded $2.5 million grants to study how soil microbes contribute to global warming – Lucas Ropek

Bdellovibrio, the cannibalistic drug coming to humanity’s rescue – Mallory Locklear – Ars Technica

Nuclear Waste Repositories Safer With Bacteria – iTechPost

UA Museum hopes to display giant whale skeleton after bacteria clean up the bones for a couple of years – Dermot Cole – ADN

Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition Popular Vote Gallery

October 14, 2016

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The pubic hair microbiome, lung transplant virome, IBS microbiome signature, coprolites, antibacterial molecules for babies the Tasmanian Devil pouch, Archaea in Mars simulation, white pudding, functional mapping pipeline,

Human oral microbiome

Clinical, Immune, and Microbiome Traits of Gingivitis and Peri-implant Mucositis – G.P. Schincaglia – Journal of Dental Research

The microbial community shifts of subgingival plaque in patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis following non-surgical periodontal therapy: a pilot study – Jing Hang – Oncotarget

Review: The Autoimmunity-Oral Microbiome Connection – N Nikitakis – Oral Diseases

Human respiratory microbiome

The Perioperative Lung Transplant Virome: Torque Teno Viruses are Elevated in Donor Lungs and Show Divergent Dynamics In Primary Graft Dysfunction – A. A. Abbas – American Journal of Transplantation

Composition and immunological significance of the upper respiratory tract microbiota – L. Patrick Schenck – FEBS Letters

Human skin and hair microbiome

Individualization of pubic hair bacterial communities and the effects of storage time and temperature – Diana W. Williams – Forensic Science International: Genetics

Gram-positive anaerobe cocci (GPAC) are underrepresented in the microbiome of filaggrin-deficient human skin – Patrick L.J.M. Zeeuwen – The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Review: Microbiome in healthy skin, update for dermatologists – B. Dréno – Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology

Human reproductive tract microbiome

Challenging dogma: the endometrium has a microbiome with functional consequences! – Linda C. Giudice – American Journal of Obstetics & Gynecology

Human gut microbiome

Intestinal microbiota in adult patients with Short Bowel Syndrome: Preliminary results from a pilot study – Stefania Boccia – Clinical Nutrition

Identification of an Intestinal Microbiota Signature Associated With Severity of Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Julien Tap – Gastroenterology

The dual role of Escherichia coli in the course of ulcerative colitis – Magdalena Pilarczyk-Zurek – BMC Gastroenterology

Review: The gut microbiota and gastrointestinal surgery – Kristina Guyton – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Review: Dysbiosis in the ICU: Microbiome science coming to the bedside – Georgios D Kitsios – Journal of Critical Care

Review: Parasites, microbiota and metabolic disease – Sonakshi Bhattacharjee – Parasite Immunology

Review: Metabolite and Microbiome Interplay in Cancer Immunotherapy – Caroline H. Johnson – Cancer Research

Review: Human Coprolites as a Source for Paleomicrobiology – Sandra Appelt – Microbiology Spectrum

Animal models

Behavioural and Neurochemical Consequences of Chronic Gut Microbiota Depletion during Adulthood in the Rat – A.E. Hoban – Neuroscience

Changes in the rumen microbiome and metabolites reveal the effect of host genetics on hybrid crosses – Zhipeng Li – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Microbial community mapping in intestinal tract of broiler chicken – Yingping Xiao – Poultry Science

Animal microbiome

Comparative Assessment of Mediterranean Gorgonian-Associated Microbial Communities Reveals Conserved Core and Locally Variant Bacteria – Jeroen A. J. M. van de Water – Microbial Ecology

Cathelicidins in the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) – E. Peel – Scientific Reports

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Ecology of the forest microbiome: Highlights of temperate and boreal ecosystems – S. Uroz – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Forest plant community as a driver of soil biodiversity: experimental evidence from collembolan assemblages through large-scale and long-term removal of oak canopy trees Quercus petraea – Ludovic Henneron – Oikos

Microbiome and Exudates of the Root and Rhizosphere of Brachypodium distachyon, a Model for Wheat – Akitomo Kawasaki – PLOS ONE

Review: Recent Developments in Systems Biology and Metabolic Engineering of Plant–Microbe Interactions – Vishal Kumar – Frontiers in Plant Science

Water microbiome

Microbial eukaryote communities exhibit robust biogeographical patterns along a gradient of Patagonian and Antarctic lakes – M. Romina Schiaffino – Environmental Microbiology

Microbial community diversity and composition varies with habitat characteristics and biofilm function in macrophyte-rich streams – Peter S. Levi – Oikos

Phylotype Dynamics of Bacterial P Utilization Genes in Microbialites and Bacterioplankton of a Monomictic Endorheic Lake – Patricia M. Valdespino-Castillo – Microbial Ecology

Consistent responses of the microbial community structure to organic farming along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River – Wenhui Wang – Scientific Reports

Microbes in space

Survivability and Growth Kinetics of Methanogenic Archaea at various pHs and Pressures: Implications for Deep Subsurface Life on Mars – Navita Sinha – Planetary and Space Science

Food microbiology

The use of 16S rRNA gene metagenetic monitoring of refrigerated food products for understanding the kinetics of microbial subpopulations at different storage temperatures: The example of white pudding – Emilie Cauchie – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Microbial diversity in pitted sweet cherries (Prunus avium L.) as affected by high-hydrostatic pressure treatment – Julia Toledo del Árbol – Food Research International

Built environment microbiology

Bioaerosol assessment in the library of Istanbul University and fungal flora associated with paper deterioration – Duygu Göksay Kadaifciler – Aerobiologia

Techniques / Fungi

Accurate Estimation of Fungal Diversity and Abundance Through Improved Lineage-Specific Primers Optimized for Illumina Amplicon Sequencing – D. Lee Taylor – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Multi-omics integration accurately predicts cellular state in unexplored conditions for Escherichia coli – Minseung Kim – Nature Communications

FMAP: Functional Mapping and Analysis Pipeline for metagenomics and metatranscriptomics studies – Jiwoong Kim – BMC Bioinformatics

A critical evaluation of ecological indices for the comparative analysis of microbial communities based on molecular datasets – Rico Lucas – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Microbes in the news

Extremophiles found in a lake, and this is great news for biotech – Colm Gorey – Silicon Republic

‘I want my teeth back’: Kids infected with jaw-eating bacteria after dental treatment – Katie Mettler – Sacramento Bee

Microbiome biotech joins Peter Thiel’s Breakout Labs project – Fierce Biotech

Science, publishing, and career

Book:  Fungible Life: Experiment in the Asian City of Life – Aihwa Ong – Amazon