February 20, 2017

This Monday we have some quite interesting news about microbes! Microbes found inside giant crystals in caves in Chihuahua, Mexico, may have survived there for tens of thousands of years, while meadows of underwater seagrass plants might lower levels of harmful bacteria in nearby ocean waters making the whole ecosystem — from corals to fish to humans — healthier. Enjoy your reading..

Pregnancy and early life

Adenoid bacterial colonization in a paediatric population – João Subtil – European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology

Human gut microbiome

Review: NLRP6: A Multifaceted Innate Immune Sensor – Maayan Levy – Trends in Immunology

Prebiotic inulin-type fructans induce specific changes in the human gut microbiota – Doris Vandeputte – Gut

Gut microbial profile is altered in primary biliary cholangitis and partially restored after UDCA therapy – Ruqi Tang – Gut

Multidonor intensive faecal microbiota transplantation for active ulcerative colitis: a randomised placebo-controlled trial – Sudarshan Paramsothy – The Lancet

Reinforcement of intestinal epithelial barrier by arabinoxylans in overweight and obese subjects: A randomized controlled trial: Arabinoxylans in gut barrier – Bouke N. Salden – Clinical Nutrition

Diet-induced obesity, gut microbiota and bone, including alveolar bone loss – Sathima Eaimworawuthikul – Archives of Oral Biology

Animal experiments

Dietary Prebiotics and Bioactive Milk Fractions Improve NREM Sleep, Enhance REM Sleep Rebound and Attenuate the Stress-Induced Decrease in Diurnal Temperature and Gut Microbial Alpha Diversity – Robert S. Thompson – Frontiers in  Behavioral Neuroscience

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Plant community and nitrogen deposition as drivers of α- and β-prokaryotic diversity in reconstructed oil-sands soils and natural boreal forest soils – Jacynthe Masse – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Plant-microbial association in petroleum and gas exploration sites in the state of Assam, north-east India—significance for bioremediation – Hemen Sarma – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

The choice of the DNA extraction method may influence the outcome of the soil microbial community structure analysis – Sylwia Zielińska – Microbiology Open

Water and extremophile microbiome

Seagrass ecosystems reduce exposure to bacterial pathogens of humans, fishes, and invertebrates – Joleah B. Lamb – Science

Phages and viruses

Cyanophage-encoded lipid-desaturases: oceanic distribution, diversity and function – Sheila Roitman – bioRxiv

Techniques

Effects of gelling agent and extracellular signaling molecules on the culturability of marine bacteria – Anita Mac Rygaard – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

A tool named Iris for versatile high-throughput phenotyping in microorganisms – George Kritikos – Nature Microbiology

Microbes in the news 

Microbes survived inside giant cave crystals for up to 50,000 years – Science News

Three-way dance between herbivores, plants and microbes unveiled  – Phys.org

Synthetic antibiotic developed by Sask. researchers to combat drug-resistant bacteria – CBC News

Salmonella ‘can kill cancer’: How bacteria that cause food poisoning could be used to attack tumour cells – Colin Fernandez for Daily Mail, UK

Brazilian peppertree packs power to knock out antibiotic-resistant bacteria – Science Daily

Bacteria Hysteria

Drug-resistant deadly bacteria more widespread than previously thought, study finds – News Medical

 

February 17, 2017

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

Human oral microbiome

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

Human vaginal microbiome

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

Human gut microbiome

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

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

Fecal microbiota

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

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

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

Biopesticides

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

Microbes in the news

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

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

Microbes on the market

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

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

Research Funding

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

February 10, 2017

Today’s digest features fascinating  research articles on the potential of glycomacropeptide in modulating human gut microbiota of elderly, identifying IBD-like microbiome in at-risk healthy relatives of IBD patients with no clinical signs of inflammation,  long-term climate change affects soil microbial communities and  a reviews on the potential role of transglutaminases in autoimmunity.

General microbiome

Comparative study of the gut microbiome potentially related to milk protein in Murrah buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) and Chinese Holstein cattle – Jiachao Zhang – Scientific Reports

The microbiome of the octocoral Lobophytum pauciflorum: minor differences between sexes and resilience to short-term stress – Wiebke Wessels – FEMS Microbiol Ecology

Microbiomic differences in tumor and paired-normal tissue in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas – Hannah Wang- Genome Medicine

Microbiota composition of simultaneously colonized mice housed under either a gnotobiotic isolator or individually ventilated cage regime – Randi Lundberg – Scientific Reports

Microbial strain-level population structure and genetic diversity from metagenomes – Duy Tin Truong – Genome Research

*Review: Transglutaminases in Dysbiosis As Potential Environmental Drivers of Autoimmunity – Aaron Lerner- Frontiers in Microbiology

Pregnancy and early life

Perspective: The maternal microbiome: Cause or consequence of obesity risk in the next generation? – Jacob E. Friedman – Obesity

Review: Charting the Maternal and Infant Microbiome: What Is the Role of Diabetes and Obesity in Pregnancy? – Sirtaj Singh – Current Diabetes Reports

Human skin microbiome

Skin Microbiome in Small- and Large-plaque Parapsoriasis – Alexander Salava – Acta Dermato-Venereologica

Human gut microbiome

*Glycomacropeptide sustains microbiota diversity and promotes specific taxa in an artificial colon model of elderly gut microbiota – Alexandra Ntemiri – Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

A Disease-Associated Microbial and Metabolomics State in Relatives of Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients – Jonathan P. Jacobs – Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Comparative study on the in vitro effects of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and seaweed alginates on human gut microbiota – Shaofeng Bai – PLOS ONE

Review: Gut microbiota modulation and anti-inflammatory properties of dietary polyphenols in IBD: new and consolidated perspectives.  – Angelo Santino – Current Pharmaceutical Design

Animal experiments 

Changes in Microbiota in Rumen Digesta and Feces Due to a Grain-Based Subacute Ruminal Acidosis (SARA) Challenge – Jan C. Plaizier – Microbial Ecology

A maternal Western diet during gestation and lactation modifies offspring’s microbiota activity, blood lipid levels, cognitive responses, and hippocampal neurogenesis in Yucatan pigs – David Val-Laillet – FASEB Journal

Animal microbiome 

Bacterial community composition and fermentation in the rumen of Xinjiang brown cattle (Bos taurus), Tarim red deer (Cervus elaphus yarkandensis), and Karakul sheep (Ovis aries) – Wenxi Qian – Canadian Journal of Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Plants Assemble Species Specific Bacterial Communities from Common Core Taxa in Three Arcto-Alpine Climate Zones – Manoj Kumar – Frontiers in Microbiology

*Links between soil microbial communities and plant traits in a species-rich grassland under long-term climate change – Emma J. Sayer – Ecology and Evolution

Specificity of root microbiomes in native-grown Nicotiana attenuata and plant responses to UVB increase Deinococcus colonization – Rakesh Santhanam – Molecular Ecology

Water and extremophile microbiome 

Metagenomic survey of the taxonomic and functional microbial communities of seawater and sea ice from the Canadian Arctic – Etienne Yergeau – Scientific Reports

Phages and viruses

Things Are Getting Hairy: Enterobacteria Bacteriophage vB_PcaM_CBB – Colin Buttimer – Frontiers in Microbiology

Techniques

Successive DNA extractions improve characterization of soil microbial communities – Mauricio R. Dimitrov – PeerJ

Microbes in the news

Bacteria fed synthetic iron-containing molecules turn into electrical generators

Method to identify bacteria in blood samples works in hours instead of days

Characterizing Cervical Cancer by HPV Strain, Mutations, and Molecular Features

Phage In The Time Of Cholera

An Innovative New Cancer Therapy Hijacks Bacteria to Fight Tumors

Microbes on the market

Chan Zuckerberg Biohub funds first crop of 47 investigators

Anitha’s non-microbiology picks 

Could this pollinating drone replace butterflies and bees?

The physics of why valve amps sound better

Circuits survive on Venus, electronics powered by stomach acid

February 9, 2017

Metabolomic analysis to determine affects of antibiotic treatment on the microbiome, capsular polysaccharide structure from marine bacterium, altering soil bacterial communities from use of organic-inorganic fertilization, new CRISPR-Cas systems discovered in uncultivated microbes.

General microbiome

Metabolic effects of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 in people with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial – Reza Mobini – Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism

Pregnancy and early life

Diversity and composition of vaginal microbiota of pregnant women at risk for transmitting Group B Streptococcus treated with intrapartum penicillin – Luiz Fernando Wurdig Roesch – PLOS ONE

Human oral microbiome

Isolation and identification methods of Rothia species in oral cavities – Osamu Tsuzukibashi – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Association of oral microbiome with type 2 diabetes risk – J Long – Journal of Periodontal Research

Human skin microbiome

Microbiome precision editing: Using PEG as a selective fermentation initiator against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – Ming-Shan Kao – Biotechnology Journal

Human gut microbiome

Comparative study on the in vitro effects of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and seaweed alginates on human gut microbiota – Shaofeng Bai – PLOS ONE

Rett Syndrome: A Focus on Gut Microbiota – Elisa Borghi – International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Colonization with enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis is associated with early-stage colorectal neoplasia – Rachel V Purcell – PLOS ONE

Gut dysbiosis is associated with metabolism and systemic inflammation in patients with ischemic stroke – Kazuo Yamashiro – PLOS ONE

Glycomacropeptide sustains microbiota diversity and promotes specific taxa in an artificial colon model of elderly gut microbiota – Alexandra Ntemiri – Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Animal experiments

Early life antibiotic exposure affects pancreatic islet development and metabolic regulation – Jiaying Li – Scientific Reports

Reduction of Abeta amyloid pathology in APPPS1 transgenic mice in the absence of gut microbiota – T Harach – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

Comparative study of the gut microbiome potentially related to milk protein in Murrah buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) and Chinese Holstein cattle – Jiachao Zhang – Scientific Reports

Fish Intestinal Microbiome: Diversity and Symbiosis Unraveled by Metagenomics – AM Tarnecki – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

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

Community-level physiological profiling analyses show potential to identify the copiotrophic bacteria present in soil environments – Salvador Lladó – PLOS ONE

Arbuscular mycorrhiza enhance the rate of litter decomposition while inhibiting soil microbial community development – Heng Gui – Scientific Reports

Bacterial Community Structure after Long-term Organic and Inorganic Fertilization Reveals Important Associations between Soil Nutrients and Specific Taxa Involved in Nutrient Transformations – Fang Li – Frontiers in Microbiology

The effects of fluoride based fire-fighting foams on soil microbiota activity and plant growth during natural attenuation of perfluorinated compounds – Renato Nallin Montagnolli – Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology

Chapter: Phytostimulation and Biocontrol by the Plant-Associated Bacillus amyloliquefaciens FZB42: An Update – Rainer Borriss – Bacilli and Agrobiotechnology

Chapter: New Insights in Plant-Associated Paenibacillus Species: Biocontrol and Plant Growth-Promoting Activity – Sadhana Lal – Bacilli and Agrobiotechnology

Variations of soil microbial community structures beneath broadleaved forest trees in temperate and subtropical climate zones – Sihang Yang – Frontiers in Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

The effects of elevated seawater temperatures on Caribbean gorgonian corals and their algal symbionts, Symbiodinium spp. – Tamar L. Goulet – PLOS ONE

Structural characterization of an all-aminosugar-containing capsular polysaccharide from Colwellia psychrerythraea 34H – Angela Casillo – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Illumina sequencing-based analysis of sediment bacteria community in different trophic status freshwater lakes – Yu Wan – Microbiology Open

Bacterial communities in sediment of a Mediterranean Marine Protected Area – Valentina Catania – Canadian Journal of Microbiology

Metagenomic survey of the taxonomic and functional microbial communities of seawater and sea ice from the Canadian Arctic – Etienne Yergeau – Scientific Reports

The effect of top-predator presence and phenotype on aquatic microbial communities – Karen E. Sullam – Ecology and Evolution

Metabolomics

Divergent Relationships between Fecal Microbiota and Metabolome following Distinct Antibiotic-Induced Disruptions – Jocelyn M. Choo – mSphere

Techniques

A novel LCMSMS method for quantitative measurement of short-chain fatty acids in human stool derivatized with 12C- and 13C-labelled aniline – James Chun Yip Chan – Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis

More microbes

New CRISPR–Cas systems from uncultivated microbes – David Burstein – Nature

Adaptation of genetically monomorphic bacteria: evolution of copper resistance through multiple horizontal gene transfers of complex and versatile mobile genetic elements – D Richard – Molecular Ecology

Microbes in the news

Microbial Molecules from the Multitudes within Us – Matthew R. Redondo – Cell Metabolism

Boston Children’s Hospital and uBiome to Investigate Premature Births – PRWeb

Cholera bacteria stab and poison enemies at predictable rates – Georgia Institute of Technology – ScienceDaily

ADA funds Kostic Lab to create model linking the microbiome to type 1 diabetes – EurekAlert

February 3, 2017

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

Jobs

Microbiology Technologist Junior– Leeds

General microbiome

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

Pregnancy and early life

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

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

Human respiratory microbiome

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

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

Human seminal microbiome

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

Blood microbiome

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

Human gut microbiome

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Plant microbiome

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

Water microbiome

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

Bioinformatics

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

Microbes in the news

University of Maryland Students Send Bacteria to Space

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

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

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

Microbes on the market 

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

Profound Improvements in Autistic Symptoms with Microbial Therapy

January 20, 2017

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

Events and jobs

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

Research Engineer in Microbiology– l’Oréal

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

General microbiome

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

Pregnancy and early life

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

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

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

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

Oral Microbiota

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

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

Human respiratory microbiome

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

Human skin microbiome

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

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

Human vaginal microbiome

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

Human gut microbiome

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

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

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

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

Animal experiments

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

Animal microbiome

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

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

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

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

Probiotics / prebiotics

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

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

Bioinformatics

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

Microbes on the market

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

January 17, 2017

Bacterial content of human milk, contribution of the microbiota to serotonin and bile acid production, review of genome-scale metabolic network models, model multi-species biofilm to study formation and interaction dynamics in bioelectrochemical systems.

Pregnancy and early life

Review: Interactions between early life stress and metabolic stress in programming of mental and metabolic health – Francesca Cirulli – Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences

A retrospective audit of bacterial culture results of donated human milk in Perth, Western Australia – Yahya Almutawif – Early Human Development

Animal experiments

Antibiotics-induced depletion of mice microbiota induces changes in host serotonin biosynthesis and intestinal motility – Xiaolong Ge – Journal of Translational Medicine

Food microbiology

Resilience, dynamics and interactions within a multi-species exoelectrogenic model biofilm community – Anna Prokhorova – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Metabolomics

ReviewMetabolic network modeling with model organisms – L Safak Yilmaz – Current Opinion in Chemical Biology

More microbes

Research Highlight: Evolutionary insights from the Vikings – Ashley York – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Microbes in the news

New Study Raises Specter of More Bacteria Resistant to Last Line Antibiotics – Ellie Kincaid – The Wall Street Journal

Teaching computers to recognize sick guts—machine learning and the microbiome – provided by University of California, San Diego – Phys.org

Woman Dies From Bacteria Resistant To All Antibiotics: Why Don’t More People Care? – Bruce Y. Lee – Forbes Pharma & Healthcare

Essential Science: Using bacteria to generate useful chemicals – Tim Sandle – Digital Journal

Bugs in space! Using microgravity to understand how bacteria can cause disease – Ellen Higginson – OUPblog

Are probiotics the answer for lactose intolerance? – Matt Englund – Medical Xpress

Heat & drug tolerant bacteria in Hyderabad meat triggers alarm – Syed Akbarl – The Times of India

Probiotics and Alzheimer’s: Personalised nutrition tipped to become crucial area of treatment research – Gary Scattergood – Nutraingredients.com

Microbes on the market

Global Human Microbiome Market Size, Share, Development and Demand, Forecast to 2022 – P&S Market Research – openPR

Seres Therapeutics, Inc. (MCRB) Downgraded by Zacks Investment Research – Daniel Jordon – Sports Perspectives and Market News

January 16, 2017

Environmental pollutants have become an increasingly common health hazard. The possible effects of environmental pollutants on gut microbiota and their subsequent effects on health is discussed in highlighted review.

Pregnancy and early life

Antibiotics in Pregnancy Increase Children’s Risk of Otitis Media and Ventilation Tubes – Tine Marie Pedersen – The journal of Pediatrics

Human skin microbiome

Insights into the mast cell–microbiome connection in the skin – Alon Y. Hershko – Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Microbiota fingerprints lose individually identifying features over time – David Wilkins – Microbiome

Human vaginal microbiome

Association between preterm labor and genitourinary tract infections caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, Mycoplasma hominis, Gram-negative bacilli, and coryneforms – Alaa El-Dien M.S. Hosny – Journal of the Chinese Medical Association

The Vaginal Microbiota and Urinary Tract Infection – Ann E. Stapleton – Microbiol Spectrum

Human nearly-sterile sites 

Metabolic profiles of exudates from chronic leg ulcerations – Adam Junka – Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis

Human oral microbiome

Review: Ecology of the Oral Microbiome: Beyond Bacteria – Jonathon L. Baker – Trends in Microbiology

On-going Mechanical Damage from Mastication Drives Homeostatic Th17 Cell Responses at the Oral Barrier – Nicolas Dutzan – Immunity

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

Human gut microbiome

Expert review: Management of Clostridium difficile Infection in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Expert Review from the Clinical Practice Updates Committee of the AGA Institute – Sahil Khanna – Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Review: Effects of environmental pollutants on gut microbiota – Yuanxiang Jin – Environmental Pollution

Impact of dietary pattern of the fecal donor on in vitro fermentation properties of whole grains and brans – Sandrayee Brahma – Journal of Functional Foods

Review: The role of the gut microbiota in sepsis – Bastiaan W Haak – The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Gut microbiota interactions with the immunomodulatory role of vitamin D in normal individuals – Renata V. Luthold – Metabolism

Angelakisella massiliensis” gen. nov., sp. nov., a new bacterial species isolated from human ileum – Morgane Mailhe – New Microbes and New Infections

Helicobacter pylori–related metabolic syndrome as predictor of progression to esophageal carcinoma in a subpopulation-based Barrett’s esophagus cohort – Jannis Kountouras – Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Impact of dietary pattern of the fecal donor on in vitro fermentation properties of whole grains and brans – Sandrayee Brahma – Journal of Functional Foods

Absence of intestinal microbiota increases ß-cyclodextrin stimulated reverse cholesterol transport – Rima H. Mistry – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

European consensus conference on faecal microbiota transplantation in clinical practice – Giovanni Cammarota – Gut
Animal experiments

Gd-DTPA-induced dynamic metabonomic changes in rat biofluids – Chuanling Wan – Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Increasing dietary nitrate has no effect on cancellous bone loss or fecal microbiome in ovariectomized rats – Melissa N. Conley – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

Animal microbiome

Improved growth rate and disease resistance in olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, by probiotic Lactococcus lactis WFLU12 isolated from wild marine fish – Thanh Luan Nguyen – Aquaculture

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

The effects of tree species and substrate on carbon sequestration and chemical and biological properties in reforested post-mining soils – Agnieszka Józefowska – Geoderma

Impacts of inorganic and organic fertilization treatments on bacterial and fungal communities in a paddy soil – Jichen Wang – Applied Soil Ecology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Effects of the halophilic fungi Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Wallemia sebi, Aureobasidium pullulans and Aspergillus nidulans on halite formed on sandstone surface – Maisa M.A. Mansour – International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation

Epiphytic Planctomycetes communities associated with three main groups of macroalgae – Joana Bondoso – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Floc formation reduces the pH stress experienced by microorganisms living in alkaline environments -C.J. Charles – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Capturing compositional variation in denitrifying communities: A multiple primer approach that includes autotrophic denitrifying Epsilonproteobacteria – S.A. Murdock  – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Waste and pollution microbiology

Review: Aerobic and anaerobic fungal metabolism and Omics insights for increasing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons biodegradation – Sevcan Aydin – Fungal Biology Reviews

Built environment 

Biological invasion in the indoor environment: the spread of Eurotium halophilicum on library materials – Andrea Polo – International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation

Review: Integrated management of the risks of stored grain spoilage by seedborne fungi and contamination by storage mould mycotoxins – An update – Francis Fleurat-Lessard – Journal of Stored Products Research

Food microbiology

Impact of environmental conditions and process modifications on microbial diversity, fermentation efficiency and chemical profile during the fermentation of mezcal in Oaxaca – Manuel R. Kirchmayr – LWT – Food Science and Technology

Anti-aging and redox state regulation effects of A-type proanthocyanidins-rich cranberry concentrate and its comparison with grape seed extract in mice – Jingjing Jiao – Journal of Functional Foods

Probiotics / prebiotics

Probiotic mixture improves fatty liver disease by virtue of its action on lipid profiles, leptin, and inflammatory biomarkers – Hessah Mohammed Al-muzafar – BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

January 14, 2017

So it is technically already January 15 most countries, but I have been busy today preparing to transfer Microbiome Digest to an eager group of 20 new contributors. It takes a lot of time to hopefully be able to safe some time – if that makes sense.

My inbox is still full of new alerts, but here is what I have been able to “digest” so far. It’s already a lot!

General human microbiome

Navigating social and ethical challenges of biobanking for human microbiome research –
Kim H. Chuong – BMC Medical Ethics

Editorial: Influence of the microbiota on host physiology – moving beyond the gut
– Kim E. Barrett – The Journal of Physiology

Pregnancy and early life

* Pregnant women carrying microcephaly foetuses and Zika virus contain potentially pathogenic microbes and parasites in their amniotic fluid – Diogo Antonio Tschoeke – BMC Medical Genomics

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

Identical bacterial populations colonize premature infant gut, skin, and oral microbiomes and exhibit different in situ growth rates – Matthew R Olm – Genome Research

The Microbiome and Complement Activation A Mechanistic Model for Preterm Birth – Alexis B. Dunn – Biological Research for Nursing

Review: Asthma and the microbiome: defining the critical window in early life – Leah T. Stiemsma – Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology

Human gut microbiome

Alcohol, microbiome, life style influence alcohol and non-alcoholic organ damage – Manuela G. Neuman – Experimental and Molecular Pathology

Serum Trimethylamine N-oxide, Carnitine, Choline and Betaine in Relation to Colorectal Cancer Risk in the Alpha Tocopherol and Beta Carotene Study – Kristin A. Guertin – Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention

Laboratory Testing of Donors and Stool for Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Recurrent C. difficile Infection – Michael H. Woodwort – Journal of Clinical Microbiology

Editorial: Gut microbiota: implications for sports and exercise medicine – Owen Cronin – British Journal of Sports Medicine

Review/Addendum: Pathogen control at the intestinal mucosa – H2O2 to the rescue
Ulla G. Knaus – Gut Microbes

Editorial: Tune into the rhythm of your bugs – Purna Kashyap – Science Translational Medicine

Preview: Are Gut Microbes Responsible for Post-dieting Weight Rebound? – Julien Chilloux – Cell Metabolism

Review: Involvement of Reduced Microbial Diversity in Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Dawei Gong – Gastroenterology Research and Practice

Year in Review: Gut microbiota in 2016: A banner year for gut microbiota research – Wendy S. Garrett – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Review: Gut microbiota disturbance during helminth infection: can it affect cognition and behaviour of children? – Vanina Guernier – BMC Infectious Diseases

Review: An expanding stage for commensal microbes in host immune regulation – Yan Shi – Cellular & Molecular Immunology

Perspective: Decoding host–microbiota communication in the gut – now we’re flying!
– Stephen J. Keely – The Journal of Physiology

Just based on the abstract, this appears a wild hypothesis potentially ignoring economic status, fiber consumption etc:  Latitude as a co-driver of human gut microbial diversity? – Emma Dikongué – Ideas that Push the Boundaries

Book: Gut Microbiome and Behavior, Volume 131 – John F. Cryan, Gerard Clarke – Elsevier

Animal experiments

Intestinal microbiota as a tetrahydrobiopterin exogenous source in hph-1 mice – Jaques Belik – Scientific Reports

Oral treatment with Lactobacillus rhamnosus attenuates behavioural deficits and immune changes in chronic social stress – Aadil Bharwani – BMC Medicine

Year in review: Microbiome in 2016: T follicular helper cells and the gut microbiome in arthritis – Veena Taneja – Nature Reviews Rheumatology

Animal microbiome

Bacterial Communities Associated with Houseflies (Musca domestica L.) Sampled within and between Farms – Simon Bahrndorff – PLOS ONE

Microbiome variation in corals with distinct depth distribution ranges across a shallow–mesophotic gradient (15–85 m) – Bettina Glasl – Coral Reefs

Symbiont-induced odorant binding proteins mediate insect host hematopoiesis – Joshua B Benoit – eLIFE

Drivers of variation in species impacts for a multi-host fungal disease of bats  –
Kate E. Langwig – Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B

Sponges: Evaluating the core microbiota in complex communities: A systematic investigation – Carmen Astudillo-Garcia – Environmental Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Bacterial community composition in costal dunes of the Mediterranean along a gradient from the sea shore to the inland – Haggai Wasserstrom – Scientific Reports

Phylogenetic relatedness, phenotypic similarity and plant–soil feedbacks – Connor R. Fitzpatrick

Review: Microbiome and the future for food and nutrient security – Brajesh K. Singh – Microbial Biotechnology

Water microbiome

Similar community assembly mechanisms underlie similar biogeography of rare and abundant bacteria in lakes on Yungui Plateau, China – Jingqiu Liao – Limnology and Oceanography

Built environment microbiome

Microbial diversity in different compartments of an aquaponics system – Zala Schmautz – Archives of Microbiology

Food microbiology

The influence of thiamine and riboflavin on various spoilage microorganisms commonly found in beer – Barry Hucker – The Journal of The Institue of Brewing

Waste and pollution microbiology

Microbial flora analysis for the degradation of beta-cypermethrin – Zhang Qi – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Fungi (also see Animal Microbiome)

Medical mycology and fungal immunology: new research perspectives addressing a major world health challenge – Neil A. R. Gow – Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B

Proteomics and metabolomics

MAHMI database: a comprehensive MetaHit-based resource for the study of the mechanism of action of the human microbiota – Aitor Blanco-Míguez – Database

PerspectiveProgress in the biology and analysis of short chain fatty acids – Roel J. Vonk – The Journal of Physiology

Bioinformatics and biostatistics

Using Machine Learning to Identify Major Shifts in Human Gut Microbiome Protein Family Abundance in Disease – Mehrdad Yazdani – IEEE

Microscale Insight into Microbial Seed Banks – Kenneth J. Locey – Frontiers in Microbiology

* EMPeror: Bringing the Dynamic Microbiome to Life with Animations – Yoshiki Vázquez-Baeza – Cell Host & Microbe

Parallel-META 3: Comprehensive taxonomical and functional analysis platform for efficient comparison of microbial communities – Gongchao Jing – Scientific Reports

Identifying Host Genetic Variants Associated with Microbiome Composition by Testing Multiple Beta Diversity Matrices – Hua X. – Human Heredity

MetaDP: a comprehensive web server for disease prediction of 16S rRNA metagenomic datasets – Xilin Xu – Biophysics Reports

Techniques

Methodological flaws introduce strong bias into molecular analysis of microbial populations – N. Krakat – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Editorial: Microbial Nanoscopy: Breakthroughs, Challenges, and Opportunities – Yves F. Dufrêne – ACS Nano

More microbes

Asgard archaea illuminate the origin of eukaryotic cellular complexity – Katarzyna Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka – Nature

* Species-Independent Attraction to Biofilms through Electrical Signaling – Jacqueline Humphries – Cell

A bacterial global regulator forms a prion – Andy H. Yuan – Science

A periplasmic polymer curves Vibrio cholerae and promotes pathogenesis – Thomas M. Bartlett – Cell

Assembly of a nucleus-like structure during viral replication in bacteria – Vorrapon Chaikeeratisak – Science

Microbes in the news

Man’s best friend, bacteria’s worst enemy: dog sniffs out superbug in Canadian hospital – Ashifa Kassam – The Guardian

This article is not as bad as the title suggests but with photoshopped images:
Revealed: The millions of stomach-churning bacteria lurking in YOUR hair, skin, lungs, gut and mouth – and why – Mary Kekatos – Daily Mail

Video: Career profiles: Program Director at National Science Foundation Matthew Kane – American Society for Microbiology

A clear picture of bacteria: A new study has frozen bacteria extremely fast to gain a true-to-nature image of the internal and external structure – Science Daily

January 12, 2017

uBiome blog

Losing Weight is the Most Popular New Year’s Resolution – Could Probiotics Help? – Julie Taylor – uBiome

Video: Young Microbiome Researchers: Celsius & Beyond – uBiome
For the uBiome team, working with other scientists is always rewarding, but we particularly enjoyed our recent collaboration with a team of researchers, many of whom were swamped by their lab coats and blue nitrile gloves.

Jobs

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Microbiology – California Academy of Sciences

Pregnancy and early life

* A molecular portrait of maternal sepsis from Byzantine Troy – Alison M Devault – eLIFE

The Generation R Study: design and cohort update 2017 – Marjolein N. Kooijman – European Journal of Epidemiology

Human oral microbiome

On the ecosystemic network of saliva in healthy young adults – Egija Zaura – The ISME Journal

Human gut microbiome

Seven brief reviews: Topical Issue of the Journal of Immunology: The Macro Influence of the Microbiome – Pamela J. Fink – The Journal of Immunology

Review: Microbiome and the future for food and nutrient security – Brajesh K. Singh – Microbial Biotechnology

Animal experiments

Neuroblastoma causes alterations of the intestinal microbiome, gut hormones, inflammatory cytokines, and bile acid composition – Christoph Castellani – Pediatric Blood & Cancer

Routine assessment of the gut microbiome to promote preclinical research reproducibility and transparency – Hannah R Wardill – Gut

Animal microbiome

Postnatal changes in the relative abundance of intestinal Lactobacillus spp. in newborn calves – Tadashi Takino – Journal of Veterinary Medical Science

Population- and growth-related differences in helminthic fauna of finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) in five Japanese populations – Akira Shiozaki – Journal of Veterinary Medical Science

Antifeedants Produced by Bacteria Associated with the Gut of the Pine Weevil Hylobius abietis – Karolin Axelsson – Microbial Ecology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Trends in Taxonomic and Functional Composition of Soil Microbiome Along a Precipitation Gradient in Israel – Binu M. Tripathi – Microbial Ecology

Diel-scale temporal dynamics recorded for bacterial groups in Namib Desert soil – Eoin Gunnigle – Scientific Report

Foliar application of the leaf-colonizing yeast Pseudozyma churashimaensis elicits systemic defense of pepper against bacterial and viral pathogens – Gahyung Lee – Scientific Reports

Response of microbial communities colonizing salt marsh plants rhizosphere to copper oxide nanoparticles contamination and its implications for phytoremediation processes – Joana P. Fernandes – Science of the Total Environment

Biodegradation of the veterinary antibiotics enrofloxacin and ceftiofur and associated microbial community dynamics – Diogo A.M. Alexandrino – Science of the Total Environment

Redox conditions and marine microbial community changes during the end-Ordovician mass extinction event – Justyna Smolarek – Global and Planetary Change

Use of plant growth promoting bacterial strains to improve Cytisus striatus and Lupinus luteus development for potential application in phytoremediation – María Balseiro-Romero – Science of the Total Environment

Response of microbial communities colonizing salt marsh plants rhizosphere to copper oxide nanoparticles contamination and its implications for phytoremediation processes -Joana P. Fernandes – Science of the Total Environment

Communication of Sedentary Plant-Parasitic Nematodes With Their Host Plants – T. Hewezi – Advances in Botanical Research

Book chapter: Application of Microbiology in Dryland Agriculture – Minakshi Grover – Innovations in Dryland Agriculture

Water and extremophile microbiome

Potential Activity of Subglacial Microbiota Transported to Anoxic River Delta Sediments – Karen A. Cameron – Microbial Ecology

Microbial community dynamics in Inferno Crater Lake, a thermally fluctuating geothermal spring – Laura Ward – The ISME Journal

Determining virus-host interactions and glycerol metabolism profiles in geographically diverse solar salterns with metagenomics – Abraham G. Moller – PeerJ

Abundance of microorganisms and enzyme activity in the rapids-pool-benchland systems in natural Douliu River of China – Zhen Hong Wang – PeerJ Preprint

Distinct sensitivity of fungal freshwater guilds to water quality – Oliver Röhl – Mycological

Food microbiology

Bacterial microbiota of Kazakhstan cheese revealed by single molecule real time (SMRT) sequencing and its comparison with Belgian, Kalmykian and Italian artisanal cheeses – Jing Li – BMC Microbiology

A combined meta-barcoding and shotgun metagenomic analysis of spontaneous wine fermentation – Peter R Sternes – bioRxiv

Waste and pollution microbiology

Microbial community structure in a full-scale anaerobic treatment plant during start-up and first year of operation revealed by high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing – Else Marie Fykse – Bioresource Technology

Bioinformatics

* MicroPattern: a web-based tool for microbe set enrichment analysis and disease similarity calculation based on a list of microbes – Wei Ma – Scientific Reports

Microbial ecology

Review: Where less may be more: how the rare biosphere pulls ecosystems strings – Alexandre Joussett – ISME Journal

Microbes in the news

Gut science is radically changing what we know of the human body – Pat Rich – University Affairs Canada

Renowned microbiology expert to visit West Florida. Claire Fraser will present, “The Human Gut Microbiome in Health and Disease” – SR Press Gazette

Microbiomes Move Standard Plate Count One Step Forward – Gregory Siragusa – Food Safety Tech

Researchers develop new compound to fight cytomegalovirus – EurekAlert

Eating red meat six times a week could increase chances of getting painful bowel disease – Daisy Dunne – Mirror

This looks intriguing: Microbiota and the masses: a love story – S. B. Divya – MacMillan

Microbes on the market

Gut microbiome profiling tests propelled by customer demand – Vijay Shankar – Nature Biotechnology

Bruker Announces Acquisition of CMO InVivo Biotech to Expand Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Pathology Consumables and Assay Business

Bik’s non-microbiology picks

UCSF Receives Historic Half-Billion-Dollar Donation – Lindsey Hoshaw – KQED

This is a tragic/comic read, but note that the original post contained some offending language, that was removed after protests on e.g. Twitter. The Rise and Fall of a Shrimp Biologist – David Scholnick – Scientific American