January 14, 2015

Human gut microbiome

Review: Fusobacterium and Escherichia: models of colorectal cancer driven by microbiota and the utility of microbiota in colorectal cancer screening – Andrea Leung – Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Animal microbiome

Passage of Wolbachia pipientis through Mutant Drosophila melanogaster Induces Phenotypic and Genomic Changes – Irene L. G. Newton and Kathy B. Sheehan – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Water microbiome

Alternative Fecal Indicators and Their Empirical Relationships with Enteric Viruses, Salmonella enterica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Surface Waters of a Tropical Urban Catchment – L. Liang – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Genomic and proteomic characterization of “Candidatus Nitrosopelagicus brevis”: An ammonia-oxidizing archaeon from the open ocean – Alyson E. Santoro – PNAS USA

More microbiology

Innate sensing of microbial products promotes wound-induced skin cancer – Esther Hoste – Nature Communications

Identifying strains that contribute to complex diseases through the study of microbial inheritance – Jeremiah J. Faith – PNAS USA

Long-term phenotypic evolution of bacteria – Germán Plata – Nature

Co-infection alters population dynamics of infectious disease – Hanna Susi – Nature Communications

Ferment in the family tree – Nathaniel J. Dominy – PNAS USA

Infection and Host response

Profiling lymphocyte interactions at the single-cell level by microfluidic cell pairing – Burak Dura – Nature Communications

B-cell repertoire responses to varicella-zoster vaccination in human identical twins
Chen Wang – PNAS USA

Metabolomics

Next-generation sequencing approach for connecting secondary metabolites to biosynthetic gene clusters in fungi – Ralph A. Cacho – Frontiers in Microbiology

The chemistry of negotiation: Rhythmic, glycan-driven acidification in a symbiotic conversation – Julia A. Schwartzman – PNAS USA

Microbes in the news

I love this title! Featuring Margaret McFall-Ngai: Microbiology: Here’s looking at you, squid – Ed Yong – Nature

How Bread, Beer, and Soy Sauce Changed the Human Microbiome – Francie Diep – Popular Science

Early human microbiome studies may aid modern nutrition science – Nathan Gray – Nutraingredients

Understanding the personalities of bacteria – Phys.org

2014: The Year of the Virus – Joan B. Rose – Huffington Post

Have viruses made us smarter? ‘Junk’ virus genes in our DNA may have helped our brain cells evolve – By Victoria Woollaston – Daily Mail

With Vedanta Deal, Johnson & Johnson Marks Big-Pharma Milestone in the Microbiome – Alex Lash – Xconomy

Scientists developing Teflon for bacteria – Amanda Schupak – CBS News

Understanding the personalities of bacteria – Phys.org

#BacteriaHysteria – beautiful, not filthy! Smartphone bacteria ‘prints’ show how filthy your mobile really is – Rob Waugh – Metro

Science, publishing and career

A generation at risk: Young investigators and the future of the biomedical workforce – Ronald J. Daniels – PNAS USA

Work–life balance: Lab life with kids – Kendall Powell – Nature

Bik’s Picks

‘I can haz genomes’: cats claw their way into genetics – Canine dominance bows to tabby chic as cat sequencing takes off – Ewen Callaway – Nature
and
Out of the bag: The preference for either cats or dogs affects science more than you might think– Nature

Geographically varying associations between personality and life satisfaction in the London metropolitan area – Markus Jokela – PNAS USA

Very important science: Watch a chainsaw made with shark teeth slice through salmon – Francie Diep – Popular Science

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January 13, 2015

Human oral microbiome

The Biofilm Community: Rebels with a Cause – A. Wilson Aruni – Current Oral Health Reports

Human respiratory microbiome

Culture and molecular-based profiles show shifts in bacterial communities of the upper respiratory tract that occur with age – J C Stearns – The ISME Journal

Recombination is a key driver of genomic and phenotypic diversity in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa population during cystic fibrosis infection – Sophie E. Darch – Scientific Reports

Human gut microbiome

Effect of Exclusive Enteral Nutrition on the Microbiota of Children With Newly Diagnosed Crohn’s Disease – Nadeem O. Kaakoush – Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology

The intestinal microbiota: its role in health and disease – Luc Biedermann, Gerhard Rogler – European Journal of Pediatrics

Geographical patterns of the standing and active human gut microbiome in health and IBD – Ateequr Rehman – Gut

Severity of atopic disease inversely correlates with intestinal microbiota diversity and butyrate-producing bacteria – L. Nylund – Allergy

The influence of the microbiota on the immune response to transplantation – Bartman, Caroline – Current Opinion in Organ Transplantation

Animal models of microbiome research

The enduring importance of animal models in understanding periodontal disease – George Hajishengallis – Virulence

Animal microbiome

Similarities and seasonal variations in bacterial communities from the blood of rodents and from their flea vectors – Carmit Cohen – The ISME Journal

Molecular analysis of cecal and tracheal microbiome of heat-stressed broilers supplemented with prebiotic and probiotic – Muhammad U. Sohail – Avian Pathology

Divergence across diet, time and populations rules out parallel evolution in the gut microbiomes of Trinidadian guppies – Karen E Sullam – The ISME Journal

Composition and predicted functional ecology of mussel-associated bacteria in Indonesian marine lakes – Daniel F. R. Cleary – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Deep down on a Caribbean reef: lower mesophotic depths harbor a specialized coral-endosymbiont community – Pim Bongaerts – Scientific Reports

Soil microbiome

Exploring the dynamics of bacterial community composition in soil: the pan-bacteriome approach – Giovanni Bacci – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Role of RNase on microbial community analysis in the rice and wheat plants soil by 16S rDNA-DGGE – Md. Mizanur Rahman – Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology

Field-based evidence for consistent responses of bacterial communities to copper contamination in two contrasting agricultural soils – Jing Li – Frontiers in Microbiology

Evident bacterial community changes but only slight degradation when polluted with pyrene in a red soil – Gaidi Ren – Frontiers in Microbiology

Soil bacterial and fungal communities respond differently to various isothiocyanates added for biofumigation – Ping Hu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Seasonal dynamics of bacterial and archaeal methanogenic communities in flooded rice fields and effect of drainage – Björn Breidenbach and Ralf Conrad – Frontiers in Microbiology

Biogeography and biophysicochemical traits link N2O emissions, N2O emission potential and microbial communities across New Zealand pasture soils – Sergio E. Morales – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Formation of iron-rich shelled structures (IRSS) by microbial communities – David C. Fernández-Remolar – Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences

Effects of alkyl-imidazolium ionic liquid [Omim]Cl on the functional diversity of soil microbial communities – Pengpeng Guo – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Cyanobacteria drive community composition and functionality in rock-soil interface communities – Angel Valverde – Molecular Ecology

Separation of soil microbial community structure by aggregate size to a large extent under agricultural practices during early pedogenesis of a Mollisol – Na Li – Applied Soil Ecology

Microbial community structure of anoxic-oxic-settling-anaerobic sludge reduction process revealed by 454-pyrosequencing – Zhen Zhou – Chemical Engineering Journal

Conservation tillage positively influences the microflora and microfauna in the black soil of Northeast China – Shixiu Zhang – Soil and Tillage Research

Resuscitation of the rare biosphere contributes to pulses of ecosystem activity – Zach Aanderud – Frontiers in Microbiology

Water microbiome

Drinking water microbiology — from measurement to management – Caitlin R Proctor, Frederik Hammes – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Microbial biogeography of drinking water: patterns in phylogenetic diversity across space and time – Guus Roeselers – Environmental Microbiology

Energy landscapes shape microbial communities in hydrothermal systems on the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge – Håkon Dahle – The ISME Journal
http://www.nature.com/ismej/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ismej2014247a.html

Metagenomics

Connecting biodiversity and potential functional role in modern euxinic environments by microbial metagenomics – Tomàs Llorens-Marès – The ISME Journal

Environmental Metagenomics: The Data Assembly and Data Analysis Perspectives – Vinay Kumar – Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India): Series A

Metagenome assembly through clustering of next-generation sequencing data using protein sequences – Mikang Sim, Jaebum Kim – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Metagenomic Insights into the Effects of Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) on the Composition of Fecal Microbiota in Mice – Bingyong Mao – Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Diagnosis of Neuroinvasive Astrovirus Infection in an Immunocompromised Adult With Encephalitis by Unbiased Next-Generation Sequencing – Samia N. Naccache – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Unbiased Next-Generation Sequencing and New Pathogen Discovery: Undeniable Advantages and Still-Existing Drawbacks – Arianna Calistri and Giorgio Palù – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Identification of diverse circular single-stranded DNA viruses in adult dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata) of Arizona and Oklahoma, USA – Anisha Dayaram – Infection, Genetics and Evolution

Metabolomics

Multi -omics and metabolic modelling pipelines: challenges and tools for systems microbiology – Marco Fondi and Pietro Liò – BioRxiv

Techniques

Accounting for uncertainty in DNA sequencing data – Jason A. O’Rawe – Trends in Genetics

More microbes
3D-Printed Microfluidic Device for the Detection of Pathogenic Bacteria Using Size-based Separation in Helical Channel with Trapezoid Cross-Section – Wonjae Lee – Scientific Reports

Microbes in the news

UCSD hires star biologist Rob Knight – Gary Robbins – UT San Diego

Drug developed out of microbiome studies advances in phase I trial – Stephanie M. Lee – SF Gate
and
Second Genome’s gut check uncovers a possible drug for bowel disease – Ron Leuty – San Francisco Business Times

The Megabiome – It’s not micro anymore – Megabiome.net

Are We Really 10% Human and 90% Bacteria? Exploring The Microbiome… (with Jessica Richman and Jonathan Eisen) – Tim Ferriss Show – Four Hour Workweek

Mounting Research Shows Gut-Brain Connection – Traci Pedersen – Psych Central

Microbiota organization influences colorectal cancers – Nicola Garrett – Family Practice News

“MyNewGut”: New project explores role of gut microbiota in preventing diet- and brain-related diseases – News-Medical.net

Joint Pain, From the Gut – David Kohn – The Atlantic

A Lamp Whose Light Comes From Bioluminescent Bacteria – Liz Stinson – Wired.com

Pieter Dorrestein Recognized by Pharmacology Society – Heather Buschman – UC San Diego

Science, publishing and career

Post publication peer review comes of age – Emma Stoye – Chemistry World

What Tech Conferences Need to Stop for Women to Contribute More – Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman – LinkedIn

Bik’s Picks

Because our lab is close: Jeepers! New Look at ‘Creeping’ San Andreas Fault
by Becky Oskin – LiveScience
http://www.livescience.com/49435-san-andreas-fault-less-creepy.html

These scientists raised bot fly larvae in their own bodies — on purpose – Rachel Feltman – The Washington Post

Today in Adorable Science: Disney Has Created a L’il Turtle Robot to Draw Doodles in the Sand – Carolyn Cox – The Mary Sue

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January 12, 2015

Microbiome of pregnancy and birth

Milk- and solid-feeding practices and daycare attendance are associated with differences in bacterial diversity, predominant communities, and metabolic and immune function of the infant gut microbiome – Amanda L. Thompson – Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Human oral microbiome

Combinations of bacterial species associated with symptomatic endodontic infections in a Chinese population – Z Qi – International Endodontic Journal

Human gut microbiome
Inferred metagenomic comparison of mucosal and fecal microbiota from individuals undergoing routine screening colonoscopy reveals similar differences observed during active inflammation – Mei San Tang – Gut Microbes

Intestinal microbiota in metabolic diseases: From bacterial community structure and functions to species of pathophysiological relevance – Thomas Clavel – Gut Microbes

Editorial: a simple faecal preparation protocol for faecal microbiota transplantation – C. R. Kelly – Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Human skin microbiome

Microbiology of diabetic foot infections: from Louis Pasteur to ‘crime scene investigation’ – Anne Spichler – BMC Medicine

Human urinary tract microbiome

The human urine virome in association with urinary tract infections – Tasha M. Santiago-Rodriguez – Frontiers in Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Normal bacterial conjunctival flora in the Huacaya alpaca (Vicugna pacos) – Goedele Storms – Veterinary Ophthalmology

Replicating phages in the epidermal mucosa of the eel (Anguilla anguilla) – Miguel Carda Diéguez – Frontiers in Microbiology

Functional phylotyping approach for assessing intraspecific diversity of Ruminococcus albus within the rumen microbiome – Inna Rozman Grinberg – FEMS Microbiology Letters

Master Thesis: Predominant fecal microbiota of captive adult cheetahs housed in European zoos: a cross-sectional study – Niloufar Majdzadeh – Ghent University

Plant microbiome

Plant–microbe interactions: Microbiome remote control – Christopher Surridge – Nature Plants

Impact of plant development on the rhizobacterial population of Arachis hypogaea: a multifactorial analysis – Shyamalina Haldar and Sanghamitra Sengupta

Pyrosequencing Reveals Fungal Communities in the Rhizosphere of Xinjiang Jujube – Peng Liu – BioMed Research International

Soil, sediment, sludge microbiome

Delineating bacterial community structure of polluted soil samples collected from cancer prone belt of Punjab, India – Gagandeep Kaur – 3 Biotech

Nitrogen and methanogen community composition within and among three Sphagnum dominated peatlands in Scandinavia – Magalí Martí – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Detailed investigation of the microbial community in foaming activated sludge reveals novel foam formers – Feng Guo – Nature Scientific Reports

Long-term experimental warming alters community composition of ascomycetes in Alaskan moist and dry arctic tundra – Tatiana A. Semenova – Molecular Ecology

Microbial community composition of transiently wetted Antarctic Dry Valley soils – Thomas D. Neiderberger – Frontiers in Microbiology

Water microbiome

Ecogenomics reveals metals and land-use pressures on microbial communities in the waterways of a megacity – Gourvendu Saxena – Environmental Science & Technology

An association network analysis among microeukaryotes and bacterioplankton reveals algal bloom dynamics – Shangjin Tan – Journal of Phycology

Phages and viruses

(also see above) The human urine virome in association with urinary tract infections – Tasha M. Santiago-Rodriguez – Frontiers in Microbiology

TRIM28 Represses Transcription of Endogenous Retroviruses in Neural Progenitor Cells – Liana Fasching – Cell Reports

Probiotics

Systematic discovery of probiotics – Samuel C Forster & Trevor D Lawley – Nature Biotechnology

Microbes in the News

Prebiotics: Yeast Is Healthy, And So Are Bacteria That Help Us Break Down Bread And Beer – Science 2.0

Stop Killing the Good Guys! Protect Your Child’s Microbiome From Antibiotic Overuse – Aviva Romm – Huffington Post

Mounting research tightens gut microbial connection with the brain – MedicalXpress
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-01-mounting-tightens-gut-microbial-brain.html

Intestinal bacteria study uses Zingerman’s bread – Lea Giotto – The Michigan Daily

Are We Ruled by Our Microbiome? – Qiagen

Could Gut Microbes Help Us Treat Brain Disorders? – Kavli Foundation – Labmanager

Bacteria could contribute to development of wound-induced skin cancer – EurekAlert

Revenge of the bacteria? Earth Talk – August FreePress

Do viruses make us smarter? – Science Daily

The Doctor Who Championed Hand-Washing And Briefly Saved Lives – Rebecca Davis – NPR Morning Edition

Love your gut – and help your body shift those festive pounds – Kathie Swift – Daily Mail

Science, publishing, career

Life sciences workforce trends evolve with the industry – Kathy L Nugent & Lori Lindburg – Nature Biotechnology

12 Common Mistakes In Empirical Social Science – Fred Phillips – Science 2.0

How The War On Science Affects Us All – Greg Satell – Forbes

Bik’s Picks

Devil is in the detail: Evolution of color in plants and animals – Science Daily’

This cannot be statistically sound: Number Of Large Earthquakes Dropped 60 Percent In 2014 – Science 2.0

Why OCD Is ‘Miserable’: A Science Reporter’s Obsession With Contracting HIV – Shots/Fresh Air – NPR

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January 9, 2015

Human respiratory microbiome

The microbiome in asthma – Yvonne J. Huang – Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Human gut microbiome

Review: Crosstalk between the microbiome and cancer cells by quorum sensing peptides – Evelien Wynendaele – Peptides

Review: Integrated multi-scale strategies to investigate nutritional compounds and their effect on the gut microbiota – Christophe Lacroix – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Quiz for CME credits: The gut microbiota and inflammatory noncommunicable diseases: Associations and potentials for gut microbiota therapies – Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Animal models of microbiome research

Microbiota Controls the Homeostasis of Glial Cells in the Gut Lamina Propria – Panagiotis S. Kabouridis – Neuron

Plant microbiome

Influence of cyanobacterial inoculation on the culturable microbiome and growth of rice – Himani Priya – Microbiological Research

Bioinformatics

A RESTful API for Accessing Microbial Community Data for MG-RAST – Andreas Wilke – PLOS Computational Biology

Metagenomics

Three Novel Virophage Genomes Discovered from Yellowstone Lake Metagenomes – Jinglie Zhou – Journal of Virology

One chromosome, one contig: complete microbial genomes from long-read sequencing and assembly – Sergey Koren, Adam M Phillippy – Current Opinion in Microbiology

Metabolomics

Molecular details of a starch utilization pathway in the human gut symbiont Eubacterium rectale – Darrell W. Cockburn – Molecular Microbiology

Review: Food, Immunity, and the Microbiome – Herbert Tilg, Alexander R. Moschen – Gastroenterology

Modelling the effect of undigested dietary carbohydrate on the health and function of the large bowel – Douglas Rosendale – Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre

More microbes

Comparative genomic analysis of Helicobacter pylori from Malaysia identifies three distinct lineages suggestive of differential evolution – Narender Kumar – Nucleic Acids Research

Microbes in the news

Within the Soil – David Relman and Ed Yong comment on the Nature teixobactin paper – Genome Web

New Antibiotic Stirs Hope Against Resistant Bacteria – Denise Grady – New York Times

A New Antibiotic Found in Dirt Can Kill Drug-Resistant Bacteria – Brian Handwerk – Smithsonian

Commensal Defense: Beneficial gut bacteria have evolved resistance to antimicrobial peptides that hosts release to fight pathogens – Kate Yandell – The Scientist

Can Microbes in the Gut Influence the Brain? January 15, 2015, at 3:00 p.m. ET, live webcast with Christopher Lowry and Sarkis Mazmanian – Lindsay Borthwick – Live Science

Gut bacteria, prebiotics and the link between helping stress, anxiety and depression – Clio Korn – The Independent

Science, publishing, career

Men (on the Internet) don’t believe sexism is a problem in science, even when they see evidence – Rachel Feltman – Washington Post

Bik’s Picks

Why scientists guessed wrong on this year’s flu vaccine, and why it could happen again – Brady Dennis – Washington Post

How to age gracefully? Ask a bowhead whale – Will Dunham – Reuters.com

Do Mars Rover Photos Show Potential Signs of Ancient Life? – Johnny Bontemps – Space.com

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January 7, 2015

Human skin microbiome

Commensal–dendritic-cell interaction specifies a unique protective skin immune signature – Shruti Naik – Nature

Human gut microbiome

Human gut Bacteroidetes can utilize yeast mannan through a selfish mechanism – Fiona Cuskin – Nature

Animal models of microbiome research

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

Animal microbiome

Antibiotics in ingested human blood affect the mosquito microbiota and capacity to transmit malaria – Mathilde Gendrin – Nature Communications

The putative functional ecology and distribution of archaeal communities in sponges, sediment and seawater in a coral reef environment – Ana R. M. Polónia – Molecular Ecology

Plant microbiome

Plant-Plant-Microbe Mechanisms Involved in Soil-Borne Disease Suppression on a Maize and Pepper Intercropping System – Min Yang – PLOS ONE

Water microbiome

Adapt or Die on the Highway To Hell: Metagenomic Insights into Altered Genomes of Firmicutes from the Deep Biosphere – Brandon Briggs, Frederick Colwell – AGU Fall Meeting San Francisco

Biodiversity hot spot on a hot spot: novel extremophile diversity in Hawaiian fumaroles – Kate Wall – Microbiology Open

Bioinformatics

Binpairs: Utilization of Illumina Paired-End Information for Improving Efficiency of Taxonomic Binning of Metagenomic Sequences – Anirban Dutta – PLOS ONE

Probiotics

Isolation and Characterization of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii from Calves and Piglets – Carla Foditsch – PLOS ONE

Antibiotics

A new antibiotic kills pathogens without detectable resistance – Losee L. Ling – Nature

Phages and viruses

Impact of Spontaneous Prophage Induction on the Fitness of Bacterial Populations and Host-Microbe Interactions – Arun M. Nanda – Journal of Bacteriology

More microbes

The Rebirth of Culture in Microbiology through the Example of Culturomics To Study Human Gut Microbiota – Jean-Christophe Lagier – Clinical Microbiology Reviews

Current and Past Strategies for Bacterial Culture in Clinical Microbiology – Jean-Christophe Lagier – Clinical Microbiology Reviews

Microbes in the news

How bacteria control their size – Diana Lutz – Washington University in St. Louis

Nestlé Health Science Invests $65M in Microbiome Therapy Startup – Drug Discovery and Development
Deep bacteria may evolve even without passing genes on – Colin Barras – New Scientist

Enough with the cleaning – it’s time we stopped giving bacteria such a hard time – Emer Sexton – Irish Examiner

Skin microbes trigger specific immune responses – Science Daily

Beer, bread yeast-eating bacteria aid human health – Science Daily

Science, publishing, career

Outreach: Speak up for science – Virginia Gewin – Nature

Science at risk as young researchers increasingly denied research grants – Phys.org

Science, in the Words of Alan Alda – Jessica Lahey – The Atlantic

University or University of Life? Neither provides workers with necessary people skills – Science Daily

English Is the Language of Science. That’s lousy luck for scientists in most of the world – Boer Deng – Slate.com

Bik’s Picks

Forget the selfish gene: Evolution of life is driven by the selfish ribosome, research suggests – Science Daily

Search for the First True Alien Earth Heats Up – Mike Wall – Space.com

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December 23, 2014

Microbiome publications are definitely not taking a winter break, so here is your holiday update. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!

Human oral microbiome

Serum IgG Antibody Levels to Periodontal Microbiota Are Associated with Incident Alzheimer Disease – James M. Noble – PLOS ONE

Cultivation of a human-associated TM7 phylotype reveals a reduced genome and epibiotic parasitic lifestyle – Xuesong He – PNAS USA

Pyrosequencing of supra- and subgingival biofilms from inflamed peri-implant
and periodontal sites – Simone Schaumann – BMC Oral Health

Human respiratory microbiome

The Microbial Community of the Cystic Fibrosis Airway Is Disrupted in Early Life – Julie Renwick – PLOS ONE

Human gut or general microbiome
Effects of bowel cleansing on the intestinal microbiota – Jonna Jalanka – Gut

The Microbiome of Aging and Age-Related Disease – 2014 Meeting Abstracts

Microbial community pattern detection in human body habitats via ensemble clustering framework – Peng Yang – ArXiv.org

Cancer and the microbiome: potential applications as new tumor biomarker – Khan Shahanavaj – Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy

Influence of Intestinal Microbiota on Body Weight Gain: a Narrative Review of the Literature – Camila S. Cardinelli – Obesity Surgery

Animal models of microbiome research

Host genetics and diet, but not immunoglobulin A expression, converge to shape
compositional features of the gut microbiome in an advanced intercross population
of mice – Larry J Leamy – Genome Biology

Animal microbiome

Microbiomes, plausible players or not in alteration of host behaviour – David G. Biron – Frontiers in Microbiology

The Howler Monkey as a Model for Exploring Host-Gut Microbiota Interactions in Primates – Katherine R. Amato, Nicoletta Righini – Howler Monkeys

The Gut Microbiota Appears to Compensate for Seasonal Diet Variation in the Wild Black Howler Monkey (Alouatta pigra) – Katherine R. Amato – Microbial Ecology

Application of the Human Intestinal Tract Chip to the non-human primate gut microbiota – T.D.J. Bello González – Beneficial Microbes

Effects of dietary supplementation of a commercial prebiotic Previda® on survival, growth, immune responses and gut microbiota of Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei – J.D. Anuta – Aquaculture Nutrition

Metagenomic-Based Study of the Phylogenetic and Functional Gene Diversity in Galápagos Land and Marine Iguanas – Pei-Ying Hong – Microbial Ecology

Plant microbiome

The plant microbiome at work – Klaus Schlaeppi and Davide Bulgarelli – Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions

Tree communities rapidly alter soil microbial resistance and resilience to drought – David Rivest – Functional Ecology

The Sesquiterpene Biosynthesis and Vessel-Occlusion Formation in Stems of Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Gilg Trees Induced by Wounding Treatments without Variation of Microbial Communities – Zheng Zhang – International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Analysis of microbial taxonomical groups present in maize stalks suppressive to colonization by toxigenic Fusarium spp.: A strategy for the identification of potential antagonists – Jürgen Köhl – Biological Control

Soil and sediment microbiome

Diversity, Distribution and Hydrocarbon Biodegradation Capabilities of Microbial Communities in Oil-Contaminated Cyanobacterial Mats from a Constructed Wetland – Raeid M. M. Abed – PLOS ONE

Do climate factors govern soil microbial community composition and biomass at a regional scale? – L. Ma – Biogeosciences Discuss

Water microbiome

Early succession of micro-periphyton communities in kelp bed and barren ground ecological systems – Roberto A. Uribe – Marine Ecology

Greater temporal changes of sediment microbial community than its waterborne counterpart in Tengchong hot springs, Yunnan Province, China – Shang Wang – Scientific Reports

Effects of warming on microbial communities in the coastal waters of temperate and subtropical zones in the Northern Hemisphere, with a focus on Gammaproteobacteria
Dao Thi Anh Tuyet – Journal of Oceanography

Colonization in the photic zone and subsequent changes during sinking determines bacterial community composition in marine snow – Stefan Thiele – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Diversity, Distribution and Hydrocarbon Biodegradation Capabilities of Microbial Communities in Oil-Contaminated Cyanobacterial Mats from a Constructed Wetland
Raeid M. M. Abed – PLOS ONE

Bioreactor microbiology

Comparative analysis of microbial community of novel lactic acid fermentation inoculated with different undefined mixed cultures – Shaobo Liang – Bioresource Technology

A framework for establishing predictive relationships between specific bacterial 16S rRNA sequence abundances and biotransformation rates – Damian E. Helbling – Water Research

Metagenomics

Shotgun metagenomics reveals a wide array of antibiotic resistance genes and mobile elements in a polluted lake in India – Johan Bengtsson-Palme – Frontiers in Microbiology

Challenges of metagenomics and single-cell genomics approaches for exploring cyanobacterial diversity – Michelle Davison – Photosynthesis Research

Metagenomic chromosome conformation capture (meta3C) unveils the diversity of chromosome organization in microorganisms – Martial Marbouty – eLIFE

Development and validation of an rDNA operon based primer walking strategy applicable to de novo bacterial genome finishing – Alexander W. Eastman and Ze-Chun Yuan – Frontiers in Microbiology

Metabolomics and transcriptomics

Terpene synthases are widely distributed in bacteria – Yuuki Yamada – PNAS USA

Scaling microbial biomass, metabolism and resource supply – Robert L. Sinsabaugh – Biogeochemistry

Metatranscriptomics of N2-fixing cyanobacteria in the Amazon River plume – Jason A Hilton – ISME Journal

Mining Soil Metagenomes to Better Understand the Evolution of Natural Product Structural Diversity: Pentangular Polyphenols as a Case Study – Hahk-Soo Kang and Sean F. Brady – Journal of the American Chemical Society

Molecular details of a starch utilization pathway in the human gut symbiont Eubacterium rectale – Darrell W. Cockburn – Molecular Microbiology

Techniques

Deciphering the Prokaryotic Community and Metabolisms in South African Deep-Mine Biofilms through Antibody Microarrays and Graph Theory – Yolanda Blanco – PLOS ONE

Rapid species-level identification of vaginal and oral lactobacilli using MALDI-TOF MS analysis and 16S rDNA sequencing – Annette Carola Anderson – BMC Microbiology

Probiotics

Probiotic and technological properties of Lactobacillus spp. strains from the human stomach in the search for potential candidates against gastric microbial dysbiosis – Susana Delgado – Frontiers in Microbiology

Phages and viruses

Effectiveness of bacteriophages in the sputum of cystic fibrosis patients – E. Saussereau – Clinical Microbiology and Infection

More Microbiology

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

Bacterial microcompartments and the modular construction of microbial metabolism – Cheryl A. Kerfeldemail, Onur Erbilgin – Trends in Microbiology

The impact of triclosan on the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment – Daniel E. Carey – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbes in the news

At Last, I Meet My Microbes – Katherine Harmon Courage – NPR Shots

This Is Your Microbiome: Katherine Harmon Courage at NPR is taking a tour through her microbiome and that of her husband, mother, and dog, as she recounts in a four-part series – Genome Web

Big Idea 2015: Medicine, Wellbeing, and the Microbiome – Deepak Chopra – LinkedIn

When Threatened By Worms, Bacteria Summon Killer Fungi – Ed Yong – National Geographic

Parkinson’s disease linked to gut bacteria – Tim Sandle – Digital Journal

Bacteria in 550-million-year-old fossils provide new clues about fossil formation – Science Codex

Yellowstone Thermal Pools Colored by Pollution – Patrick J Kiger – Discovery

Floating Toilets That Clean Themselves Grow On A Lake – Nsikan Akpan – NPR Goats and Soda

Bettendorf wrestling coach’s invention tackles germs and bacteria on sporting mats and floors – Dennis Moran – QC Online

People on Craigslist Want to Give You Bacteria for Free – Natalie Kitroeff – BusinessWeek

Science, publishing, career

Patterns of text reuse in a scientific corpus – Daniel T. Citron and Paul Ginsparg – PNAS USA

The Anti-Plagiarism Machine: An analysis of hundreds of thousands of scientific papers finds text re-use is rampant, but it isn’t always malicious – Adrienne Lafrance – The Atlantic

“You Are Welcome Here”: Small Stickers Make a Big Difference for LGBTQ Scientists – Kyle Frischkorn – Scientific American

Science and Art

Incredible Bacteria-Laced Fabric Combines Art, Biology And Fashion – Priscilla Frank – Huffington Post
Bik’s Picks

Evolutionary perspectives on human height variation – Gert Stulp and Louise Barrett – Biological Reviews

What the ‘marshmallow test’ can teach you about your kids – Chuck Hadad – CNN

7 of the Ocean’s Strangest Creatures, Including a Fish With a Flashlight – Matt Simon – Wired

Modern genetics confirm ancient relationship between fins and hands – Science Daily

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December 16, 2014

Pregnancy and birth

* The establishment of the infant intestinal microbiome is not affected by rotavirus vaccination – Li Ang – Scientific Reports

In pregnant women: Gut Microbiota as an Epigenetic Regulator: Pilot Study Based on Whole-Genome Methylation Analysis – Himanshu Kumar – mBio

Human skin and hair microbiome

* Molecular characterization of the skin fungal microbiome in patients with psoriasis – Akemi Takemoto – The Journal of Dermatology

* Metagenomic analyses of bacteria on human hairs: a qualitative assessment for applications in forensic science – Silvana R Tridico – Investigative Genetics

Human oral microbiome

Oral Streptococci and Nitrite-Mediated Interference of Pseudomonas aeruginosa – Jessica A. Scoffield and Hui Wu – Infection and Immunity

Antimicrobial effect of lemongrass oil against oral malodour micro-organisms and the pilot study of safety and efficacy of lemongrass mouthrinse on oral malodour – P. Satthanakul – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Human respiratory microbiome

The adult nasopharyngeal microbiome as a determinant of pneumococcal acquisition – Amelieke JH Cremers – Microbiome Journal

Human gut microbiome

Shaping the gut microbiome – Linda Koch – Nature Reviews Microbiology

A viral understudy for commensal bacteria – Yvonne Bordon – Nature Reviews Microbiology

* Impacts of infection with different toxigenic Clostridium difficile strains on faecal microbiota in children – Zongxin Ling – Scientific Reports

Gut Microbiota as an Epigenetic Regulator: Pilot Study Based on Whole-Genome Methylation Analysis – Himanshu Kumar – mBio

Dietary effects on human gut microbiome diversity – Zhenjiang Xua and Rob Knight – British Journal of Nutrition

Host Demise as a Beneficial Function of Indigenous Microbiota in Human Hosts – Martin J. Blaser and Glenn F. Webb – mBio

Editorial for special issue of CMI: Faecal transplantation and infectious diseases practitioners – D. Raoult – Clinical Microbiology and Infection

Review: Dysbiotic Events in Gut Microbiota: Impact on Human Health – Serena Schippa and Maria Pia Conte – Nutrients

Animal and other models of microbiome research

A Winogradsky-based culture system shows an association between microbial fermentation and cystic fibrosis exacerbation – Robert A Quinn – ISME Journal

Whole Grain Oats Improve Insulin Sensitivity and Plasma Cholesterol Profile and Modify Gut Microbiota Composition in C57BL/6J Mice – Albert Lihong Zhou – Journal of Nutrition

The Antipsychotic Olanzapine Interacts with the Gut Microbiome to Cause Weight Gain in Mouse – Andrew P. Morgan – PLOS ONE

Genetically identical co-housed pigs as models for dietary studies of gut microbiomes
Fang Yang – Microbiome Science and Medicine

Animal microbiome

Changes in the faecal microbiota of mares precede the development of post partum colic – J. S. Weese – Equine Veterinary Journal

Succession and Replacement of Bacterial Populations in the Caecum of Egg Laying Hens over Their Whole Life – Petra Videnska – PLOS ONE

 

* Adult blood-feeding tsetse flies, trypanosomes, microbiota and the fluctuating environment in sub-Saharan Africa – Anne Geiger – ISME Journal

Spatial and Temporal Features of the Growth of a Bacterial Species Colonizing the Zebrafish Gut – Matthew Jemielita – mBio

Functional genomics and microbiome profiling of the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) reveal insights into the digestive physiology and nutritional ecology of wood feeding beetles – Erin D Scully – BMC Genomics

 

Bacteria–bacteria interactions within the microbiota of the ancestral metazoan Hydra contribute to fungal resistance – Sebastian Fraune – ISME Journal

Plant microbiome

Local-scale biogeography and spatiotemporal variability in communities of mycorrhizal fungi – Mohammad Bahram – New Phytologist

Emergence shapes the structure of the seed-microbiota – Matthieu Barret – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Bacterial communities in the phylloplane of Prunus species – Yeonhwa Jo – Journal of Basic Microbiology

Changes in rhizospheric microbial community structure and function during the natural recovery of abandoned cropland on the Loess Plateau, China – Chao Zhang – Ecological Engineering

Climate-induced die-off affects plant–soil–microbe ecological relationship and functioning – Francisco Lloret – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Leaf-inhabiting endophytic yeasts are abundant but unevenly distributed in three Ficus species from botanical garden greenhouses in Germany – Michael Jay L. Solis – Mycological Progress

Soil and sediment microbiome

Succession of Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity in Soil along a Chronosequence of Reclamation and Re-Vegetation on Coal Mine Spoils in China – Yuanyuan Li – PLOS ONE

Soil microbial communities identify organic amendments for use during oil sands reclamation – M.L. Béass – Ecological Engineering

Forest canopy structural controls over throughfall affect soil microbial community structure in an epiphyte-laden maritime oak stand – Carl Rosier – Ecohydrology

Pyrosequencing revealed highly microbial phylogenetic diversity in ferromanganese nodules from farmland – Min Hu – Environ Sci Processes Impacts

Seasonal dynamics of bacterial and archaeal methanogenic communities in flooded rice fields and effect of drainage – Björn Breidenbach1 and Ralf Conrad – Frontiers in Microbiology

Variations of Bacterial Community Structure and Composition in Mangrove Sediment at Different Depths in Southeastern Brazil – Lucas William Mendes – Diversity

Invasive dreissenid mussels and benthic algae in Lake Michigan: characterizing effects on sediment bacterial communities – Philip O. Lee – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Plant assemblage composition and soil P concentration differentially affect communities of AM and total fungi in a semi-arid grassland – Rim Klabi – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Bacterial and Archaeal Communities in Sediments of the North Chinese Marginal Seas
Jiwen Liu – Microbial Ecology

Microbial community composition and diversity in Caspian Sea sediments – Nagissa Mahmoudi – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Priming of the decomposition of ageing soil organic matter: concentration dependence and microbial control – Johannes Rousk – Functional Ecology

Influence of spoil type on afforestation success and natural vegetative recolonization on a surface coal mine in Appalachia, United States – Kenton Sena – Restoration Ecology

Water microbiome

Bacterial community responses to a gradient of alkaline mountaintop mine drainage in Central Appalachian streams – Raven L Bier – The ISME Journal

Big answers from small worlds: a user’s guide for protist microcosms as a model system in ecology and evolution – Florian Altermatt – Methods in Ecology and Evolution

Spatial scales of bacterial community diversity at cold seeps (Eastern Mediterranean Sea) – Petra Pop Ristova – ISME Journal

The effects of oil pollution on Antarctic benthic diatom communities over 5 years – R. Polmear – Marine Pollution Bulletin

Bacterial community dynamics in a swine wastewater anaerobic reactor revealed by 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis – An-Chi Liu – Journal of Biotechnology

Food microbiology

Antimicrobial activity of hop extracts against foodborne pathogens for meat applications – B. Kramer – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Molecular and enological characterization of Touriga Nacional non-Saccharomyces yeasts – Andreia Teixeira – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Metabolomics

Intra- and inter-species interactions in microbial communities – Luis R. Comolli – Frontiers in Microbiology

Metabolomic Pattern Analysis after Mediterranean Diet Intervention in a Nondiabetic Population: A 1- and 3-Year Follow-up in the PREDIMED Study – Rosa Vázquez-Fresno – Journal of Proteome Research

A gut microbial metabolite of linoleic acid, 10-hydroxy-cis-12-octadecenoic acid, ameliorates intestinal epithelial barrier impairment partially via GPR40/MEK-ERK pathway – Junki Miyamoto – The Journal of Biological Chemistry

Bioinformatics

IM-TORNADO: A Tool for Comparison of 16S Reads from Paired-End Libraries – Patricio Jeraldo – PLOS ONE

Techniques

Normalization of environmental metagenomic DNA enhances the discovery of under-represented microbial community members – Jean-Baptiste Ramond – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Remediation of pharmaceuticals and personal care products using an aerobic granular sludge sequencing bioreactor and microbial community profiling using Solexa sequencing technology analysis – Xia Zhao – Bioresource Technology

Predicting Bacterial Community Assemblages Using an Artificial Neural Network Approach – Peter Larsen – Artificial Neural Networks

Functional foods

Systematic review of randomized controlled trials of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics in inflammatory bowel disease – Ghouri YA – Clinical and Experimental Gastroenterology

More microbiology

Life in a World without Microbes – Jack A. Gilbert, Josh D. Neufeld – PLOS Biology

Demystifying Escherichia coli pathovars – Kate S. Baker – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Wolbachia small noncoding RNAs and their role in cross-kingdom communications – Jaime G. Mayoral – PNAS USA

How the virophage compels the need to readdress the classification of microbes – Didier Raoult – Virology

Microbes in the news

To Get To The Bottom Of Your Microbiome, Start With A Swab Of Poo – Katherine Harmon Courage – NPR Shots Health News

Seth Bordenstein: Expert to give talk on animal microbiome – Arizona State University

Could a bacterial ‘fingerprint’ solve a sexual assault case? – Rachel Feltman – Washington Post

Oil-Dwelling Bacteria Are Highly Social Creatures, Contrary To Previous Belief – Rebekah Marcarelli – Headlines and Global News

Methane Bursts On Mars Could Hint At Previous Life – Joe Palca – NPR

Bik’s Picks

A 3D Map of the Human Genome at Kilobase Resolution Reveals Principles of Chromatin Looping – Suhas S.P. Rao – Cell

Shift workers ‘sicker and fatter’ – James Gallagher – BBC News

How to turn 4,000 watts of white light into a 45-meter-wide rainbow – Popular Science

How to Bike Home Your Christmas Tree in 11 Simple Steps – Anna Broadway – City Lab

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Microbiome digest, December 8, 2014

Human microbiome general

The human microbiome: opportunities and challenges for clinical care – Geraint B. Rogers – Internal Medicine Journal

Evaluative Profiling of Arsenic Sensing and Regulatory Systems in the Human Microbiome Project Genomes – Raphael D Isokpehi – Microbiology Insights

Human oral microbiome

* High resolution taxonomic profiling of the subgingival microbiome for biomarker discovery and periodontitis diagnosis – Szymon P. Szafranski – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Crosstalk at the mucosal border: importance of the gut microenvironment in IBS – Lena Öhman – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Antimicrobial resistance characteristics and fitness of Gram negative faecal bacteria from volunteers treated with minocycline or amoxicillin – Miranda Kirchner – Frontiers in Microbiology

Decrease in lactobacilli in the intestinal microbiota of celiac children with a gluten-free diet, and selection of potentially probiotic strains – María J. Lorenzo Pisarello – Canadian Journal of Microbiology

Safety assessment of genetically modified rice expressing human serum albumin from urine metabonomics and fecal bacterial profile – Xiaozhe Qi – Food and Chemical Toxicology

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

Placental Microbiome and Its Role in Preterm Birth – Bin Cao – NeoReviews

High A. vaginae and G. vaginalis vaginal loads are associated with preterm birth – Florence Bretelle – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Cesarean Section and Chronic Immune Disorders – Astrid Sevelsted – Pediatrics

Animal and other models of microbiome research

Intestinal epithelial ​MyD88 is a sensor switching host metabolism towards obesity according to nutritional status – Amandine Everard – Nature Communications

Bugs and Food: A Recipe for Cancer? – Christina L. Ohland, Christian Jobin – Cell Metabolism

The current provided by oxygen-reducing microbial cathodes is related to the composition of their bacterial community – Mickaël Rimboud – Bioelectrochemistry

Animal microbiome

The putative functional ecology and distribution of archaeal communities in sponges, sediment and seawater in a coral reef environment – Ana R.M. Polónia – Molecular Ecology

Plant microbiome

* The role of bacteria and mycorrhiza in plant sulfur supply – Jacinta M. Gahan and Achim Schmalenberger – Frontiers in Plant Science

Arctic fungal communities associated with roots of Bistorta vivipara do not respond to the same fine-scale edaphic gradients as the aboveground vegetation – Sunil Mundra – New Phytologist

Soil and sediment microbiome

Impacts of altered precipitation regimes on soil communities and biogeochemistry in arid and semi-arid ecosystems – Uffe N. Nielsen – Global Change Biology

* Effects of tree identity dominate over tree diversity on the soil microbial community structure – Andrea Scheibe – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Smooth brome invasion increases rare soil bacterial species prevalence, bacterial species richness and evenness – Candace L. Piper – Journal of Ecology

The interactive effects of elevated ozone and wheat cultivars on soil microbial community composition and metabolic diversity – Xuelian Bao – Applied Soil Ecology

Seasonal variations of the composition of microbial biofilms in sandy tidal flats: Focus of fatty acids, pigments and exopolymers – Claire Passarelli – Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

Pharmaceuticals in the environment: Biodegradation and effects on natural microbial communities. A Review – Anna Barra Caracciolo – Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis

Water microbiome

Successional Change in Microbial Communities of Benthic Phormidium-Dominated Biofilms – Katie A. Brasell – Microbial Ecology

Microbiome of the built environment

Characterizing airborne fungal and bacterial concentrations and emission rates in six occupied children’s classrooms – D. Hospodsky – Indoor Air

Food microbiology

Analysis of the bacterial community in aged and aging pit mud of Chinese Luzhou-flavour liquor by combined PCR-DGGE and quantitative PCR assay – Huipeng Liang – Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

Phages and viruses

Emerging methods to study bacteriophage infection at the single-cell level – Vinh T. Dang and Matthew B. Sullivan – Frontiers in Microbiology

Metabolomics

* The Community Ecology of Microbial Molecules – Robert A. Quinn, Theodore Alexandrov – Journal of Chemical Ecology

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry for rapid analysis of the metabolites of morroniside produced by human intestinal bacteria – Min Zhao – Journal of Chromatography B

Small-intestinal or colonic microbiota as a potential amino acid source in animals – Werner G. Bergen – Amino Acids

Techniques

Comparative assessment of next-generation sequencing, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, clonal restriction fragment length polymorphism and cloning-sequencing as methods for characterizing commercial microbial consortia – A.D. Samarajeewa – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Microbes in the news

Now We Know Some Creepy Things About How Penicillin Destroys Bacteria – Esther Inglis-Arkell – IO9

Arctic bacteria converts mercury – Kristian Sjøgren – ScienceNordic

Should I Eat Greek Yogurt? – Mandy Oaklander – Time

CSU team examines dairy-cattle microorganisms to improve food safety – Kristen Browning-Blas – Bovine Vet Online

Glyphosate used with GMO crops under attack for disrupting microbiome: Science or a gut feeling? – David Warmflash – Genetic Literacy Project

#BacteriaHysteria: Why it’s time to detox your desk: Average worker comes into contact with more than 10 MILLION disease-causing bacteria lurking on their keyboard, phone and mouse – Lizzie Parry – Daily Mail

Bik’s Picks

The Yearbook: Our list of newsmakers this year – Manasi Vaidya & Shraddha Chakradhar – Nature Medicine

Notable advances 2014 – Amanda Keener – Nature Medicine

Let’s face it, for robots, falling down is easy. But how do you teach them to land safely? – Maki Naro – Popular Science

Force-feeding a human to a snake is not science (and is also super dumb) – Rachel Feltman – Washington Post

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Microbiome Digest, December 3, 2014

Pregnancy and birth

Treatment of genital mycoplasma in colonized pregnant women in late pregnancy is associated with a lower rate of premature labour and neonatal complications – M. Vouga – Clinical Microbiology and Infection

Animal models of microbiome research

Early Canine Plaque Biofilms: Characterization of Key Bacterial Interactions Involved in Initial Colonization of Enamel – Lucy J. Holcombe – PLOS ONE

(Rat study) Dietary iron depletion at weaning imprints low microbiome diversity and this is not recovered with oral nano Fe(III) – Dore I. A. Pereira – MicrobiologyOpen

Soil microbiome

* Biology of a widespread uncultivated archaeon that contributes to carbon fixation in the subsurface – Alexander J. Probst – Nature Communications

Metabolomics

Microbiota-dependent metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide is associated with disease severity and survival of patients with chronic heart failure – M. Trøseid – Journal of Internal Medicine

An ontology for microbial phenotypes – Marcus C Chibucos – BMC Microbiology

A chemo-centric view of human health and disease – Miquel Duran-Frigola – Nature Communications

Microbial Ecology

* Evolutionary limits to cooperation in microbial communities – Nuno M. Oliveira – PNAS USA

Microbes in the news

Microbial Community Data Visualizations survey – Jonathan Eisen – MicroBEnet

* Microbiome: The bacterial tightrope – Katherine Bourzac – Nature

* Seth Bordenstein, Joël Doré, Paul Enck: a three-voice debate about gut microbiota research – Gut Microbiota Watch

Genes & cells: Gut microbes less diverse in humans: Great apes harbor more varied bacterial populations – Tina Hesman Saey – Science News

The nutritionists within: Firebugs depend on gut bacteria for vitamin supply – Phys.org

‘Friendly viruses’ as beneficial to gut health as ‘friendly bacteria’ – Medical News Today

Filth factor of public restrooms doesn’t live up to legends: study – Yahoo News

Fight off the flu with fermented foods – Katie Cavuto – Philly.com

* #BacteriaHysteria: These socks protect feet from bacteria – PhilStar

The Virus Detectives: Sifting Through Genes in Search of Answers on Ebola – Gina Kolata – NY Times

Science, publishing, and career

Harsh reality: Two reports highlight the plight of postdocs on both sides of the pond aiming for academia – Nature

* The automated lab: Start-up firms say robotics and software that autonomously record every detail of an experiment can transform the efficiency and reliability of research – Erika Check Hayden – Nature

* Essay Mills, not really plagiarism, but still disturbing:
Inside the Term Paper Plagiarism for Profit Industry – Joanna Evoniuk – GoLocalPDX

Bik’s Picks

Identification of the remains of King Richard III – Turi E. King – Nature Communications

People search for meaning when they approach a new decade in chronological age – Adam L. Alter – PNAS USA

Koalas Really Do Know Their Eucalyptus Leaves – Chris Pash – BusinessInsider

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Microbiome Digest, December 1, 2014

Microbiome of pregnancy and birth

Increased periodontal inflammation in women with preterm premature rupture of membranes – Pascale F. M. Stadelmann- Clinical Oral Investigations

Human respiratory microbiome

Host–microorganism interactions in lung diseases – Benjamin J. Marsland & Eva S. Gollwitzer – Nature Reviews Immunology

Animal and reactor models of microbiome research

Effects of nitrate addition to a diet on fermentation and microbial populations in the rumen of goats, with special reference to Selenomonas ruminantium having the ability to reduce nitrate and nitrite – Narito Asanuma – Animal Science Journal

Modulation of the faecal microbiome of healthy adult dogs by inclusion of potato fibre in the diet – Matthew R. Panasevich – British Journal of Nutrition

To pool or not to pool? Impact of the use of individual and pooled fecal samples for in vitro fermentation studies – Aguirre M – Journal of Microbiology Methods (Pubmed link, link to article broken as of today)

Soil and sediment microbiome

Shifts of tundra bacterial and archaeal communities along a permafrost thaw gradient in Alaska – Jie Deng – Molecular Ecology

Production of gaseous hydrocarbons by microbial communities of Lake Baikal bottom sediments – O. N. Pavlova – Microbiology

Viruses and phages

Editorial on “Virus Ecology and Disturbances: Impact of Environmental Disruption on the Viruses of Microorganisms” – Heather K. Allen and Stephen T. Abedon – Frontiers in Microbiology

Transcriptomics, Proteomics

Community-integrated omics links dominance of a microbial generalist to fine-tuned resource usage – Emilie E. L. Muller – Nature Communications

Bioinformatics

A review of software for analyzing molecular sequences – Haema Nilakanta – BMC Research Notes

Other papers

Animal Phylogeny and Its Evolutionary Implications – Casey W Dunn – Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics

Microbes in the news

Without genes pilfered from bacteria, ticks would drop dead of the Lyme disease they carry – Darryl Fears – Washington Post

Bik’s Picks

Ancient dental plaque: A ‘whey’ into our milk drinking past? – Science Daily

Does Intermittent Fasting Have Benefits? Science Suggests Yes – Charles Q. Choi – LiveScience

10 times science ruled in 2014 – Jacqui Devaney – Mashable

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