May 20, 2015

Human wound microbiome

Biochemical Association of Metabolic Profile and Microbiome in Chronic Pressure Ulcer Wounds – Mary Cloud B. Ammons – PLOS ONE

Human gut microbiome

Development and Validation of a Biomarker for Diarrhea-Predominant Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Human Subjects – Mark Pimentel – PLOS ONE

Editorial: Microbiota key to diet-associated risk of colon cancer – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Microbiome models

Antibiotics in Early Life Alter the Gut Microbiome and Increase Disease Incidence in a Spontaneous Mouse Model of Autoimmune Insulin-Dependent Diabetes – Sophie Candon – PLOS ONE

Changes in Gut Microbiota in Rats Fed a High Fat Diet Correlate with Obesity-Associated Metabolic Parameters – Virginie Lecomte – PLOS ONE

Gut Microbiota Dynamics during Dietary Shift in Eastern African Cichlid Fishes – Laura Baldo – PLOS ONE

Metaproteomics reveals major microbial players and their biodegradation functions in a large-scale aerobic composting plant – Dongming Liu – Microbial Biotechnology

Animal microbiome

The Fecal Microbiome in Cats with Diarrhea – Jan S. Suchodolski – PLOS ONE

Plant and soil microbiome

Effect of crop management and sample year on abundance of soil bacterial communities in organic and conventional cropping systems – C.H. Orr – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Water microbiome

Characterization of the relative importance of human- and infrastructure-associated bacteria in grey water: a case study – S.P. Keely – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Techniques

PCR-Based Multiple Species Cell Counting for In Vitro Mixed Culture – Ruijie Huang – PLOS ONE

Bioinformatics

FuncTree: Functional Analysis and Visualization for Large-Scale Omics Data – Takeru Uchiyama – PLOS ONE

Microbes in the news

Manipulating the Microbiome Produces Hope, but Uneven Results – Monica J. Smith – Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News

In America, is our food, in fact, too clean? – Kate Murphy – Herald Tribune

Study reveals intestinal bacteria succession during recovery from cholera in Bangladesh – Eureka Alert

Targeting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria with CRISPR and Phages – Anna Azvolinsky – The Scientist

Marine Bacteria Can Control Chemistry of Sea Spray Ejected into Atmosphere – SciNews

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May 19, 2015

Two papers today on the microbiome of the Giant Panda – it’s not good at digesting bamboo!

Microbiome of pregnancy and birth

Bacterial community structure associated with elective cesarean section versus vaginal delivery in Chinese newborns – Liu D, et al. – J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr

The microbiota at multiple body sites during pregnancy in a rural Tanzanian population and the effects of Moringa supplemented probiotic yogurt – Jordan E. Bisanz – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Review: Gut microbiome and immunity: possible role in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) – Paul N. Goldwater – Frontiers in Immunology

Human oral microbiome

Microbiome Profiles in Periodontitis in Relation to Host and Disease Characteristics
Bo-Young Hong – PLOS ONE

Review: The human saliva proteome: overview and emerging methods for characterization
Timothy J. Griffin – SPIE Proceedings

Human gut microbiome

Deviations in human gut microbiota: a novel diagnostic test for determining dysbiosis in patients with IBS or IBD – C. Casén – Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Schisandra chinensis fruit modulates the gut microbiota composition in association with metabolic markers in obese women : a randomized, double-blind placebo controlled study – Mi-young Song – Nutrition Research

Gut Microbial Succession Follows Acute Secretory Diarrhea in Humans – Lawrence A. David – mBio

Food Fight: Our gut microbes are no fans of junk food – Laura Beil – Science News

Human vaginal microbiome

Review: Antimicrobial and immune modulatory effects of lactic acid and short chain fatty acids produced by vaginal microbiota associated with eubiosis and bacterial vaginosis – Muriel Aldunate – Frontiers in Physiology

Microbiome models

Composition and function of the undernourished neonatal mouse intestinal microbiome – Geoffrey A. Preidis – The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry

Maternal microbiota regulate glucocorticoids levels and placental development in mice – Maha Al-Asmakh – Endocrine Abstracts

Different Dynamic Patterns of β-Lactams, Quinolones, Glycopeptides and Macrolides on Mouse Gut Microbial Diversity – Jia Yin – PLOS ONE

Relationships Between Diet-Related Changes in the Gut Microbiome and Cognitive Flexibility – K.R. Magnusson – Neuroscience

Physiological variability in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath and released from faeces due to nutrition- and somatic growth in a standardized caprine animal model – Sina Fischer – Journal of Breath Research

Animal microbiome

The Bamboo-Eating Giant Panda Harbors a Carnivore-Like Gut Microbiota, with Excessive Seasonal Variations – Zhengsheng Xue – mBio

The evolution of the gut microbiota in the giant and the red pandas – Ying Li – Scientific Reports

Patterns of Gut Bacterial Colonization in Three Primate Species – Erin A. McKenney – PLOS ONE

Skin bacteria provide early protection for newly metamorphosed southern leopard frogs (Rana sphenocephala) against the frog-killing fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Whitney M. Holden – Biological Conservation

Plant and Soil microbiome

Bacterial and Fungal Communities in a Degraded Ombrotrophic Peatland Undergoing Natural and Managed Re-Vegetation – David R. Elliott – PLOS ONE

Response of soil, leaf endosphere and phyllosphere bacterial communities to elevated CO2 and soil temperature in a rice paddy – Gaidi Ren – Plant and Soil

Patterns in Species Persistence and Biomass Production in Soil Microcosms Recovering from a Disturbance Reject a Neutral Hypothesis for Bacterial Community Assembly
Fen-Guo Zhang – PLOS ONE

Time-dependent effect of graphene on the structure, abundance and function of the soil bacterial community – Wenjie Ren – Journal of Hazardous Materials

Patterns in Wetland Microbial Community Composition and Functional Gene Repertoire Associated with Methane Emissions – Shaomei He – mBio

Nano titania aided clustering and adhesion of beneficial bacteria to plant roots to enhance crop growth and stress management – G. M. Palmqvist – Scientific Reports

Review: Future challenges and perspectives for applying microbial biotechnology in sustainable agriculture based on a better understanding of plant-microbiome interactions – J. M. Barea – Journal of soil science and plant nutrition

Water microbiome

The influence of land-use, nutrients, and geography on microbial communities and fecal indicator abundance at Lake Michigan beaches – Danielle D. Cloutier – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Microbial responses to changes in flow status in temporary headwater streams: a cross-system comparison – Catherine M. Febria – Frontiers in Microbiology

Built environment microbiome

Distribution and population structure characteristics of microorganisms in urban sewage system – Yanchen Liu – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Extremophile microbiome

Microbial Community in High Arsenic Shallow Groundwater Aquifers in Hetao Basin of Inner Mongolia, China – Ping Li – PLOS ONE

Microbial diversity in engineered haloalkaline environments shaped by shared geochemical drivers observed in natural analogues – Talitha C. Santini – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Metagenomic characterization of biodiversity in the extremely arid desert soils of Kazakhstan – O. V. Kutovaya – Eurasian Soil Science

Archaeal Communities in a Heterogeneous Hypersaline-Alkaline Soil – Yendi E. Navarro-Noya – Archaea

Food microbiology

An Integrated Metagenomics/Metaproteomics Investigation of the Microbial Communities and Enzymes in Solid-state Fermentation of Pu-erh tea – Ming Zhao – Scientific Reports

Review: Foodomics in microbiological investigations – Yong-Jiang Xu – Current Opinion in Food Science

Metagenomics and Bioinformatics

Review: Metagenomics: Tools and Insights for Analyzing Next-Generation Sequencing Data Derived from Biodiversity Studies – Anastasis Oulas – Bioinformatics and Biology Insights

Toward accurate molecular identification of species in complex environmental samples: testing the performance of sequence filtering and clustering methods – Jullien M. Flynn – Ecology and Evolution

Divergence thresholds and divergent biodiversity estimates: can metabarcoding reliably describe zooplankton communities? – Emily A. Brown – Ecology and Evolution

Sharing is caring – Claudio Nunes-Alves – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Kitty Kickstarter: See the Microbes That Live in Your Cat – Becky Oskin – Live Science

Eden unveils The Human Microbiome this week – West Briton

Bodyguards for precious seeds—without chemical mace – Phys.org

Panda poop reveals they’re bad at digesting bamboo – Laura Geggel – CBS News

Giant Panda Microbiome Ill-Suited for Bamboo Diet, Study Finds – Genome Web

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May 16, 2015

Posting might be irregular in the coming days because of international travel, but I will try to keep you all updated as best as I can.

Human oral microbiome

Increased infection with key periodontal pathogens during gestational diabetes mellitus – Himabindu Gogeneni – Journal of Clinical Periodontology

Human respiratory microbiome

Airway microbiota and acute respiratory infection in children – Kohei Hasegawa – Expert Review of Clinical Immunology

Human gut microbiome

Microbiota—implications for immunity and transplantation – Jonathan S. Bromberg – Nature Reviews Nephrology

Poster: Association of classical microbiology and 16S rDNA metagenetic Aanalysis to evaluate the presence of Clostridium difficile ina a belgian nursing home (sic) – Rodriguez Diaz, Cristina – 5th International Human Microbiome Congres

Review: Probiotics, antibiotics and the immune responses to vaccines – Ira Praharaj – Philosophical Transactions B

Microbiome models

Exposure to soil, house dust, and decaying plants increases gut microbial diversity and decreases serum IgE levels in BALB/c mice – Dongrui Zhou – Environmental Microbiology

Water microbiome

Metagenomics reveals the high PAH-degradation potential of abundant uncultured bacteria from chronically-polluted subantarctic and temperate coastal marine environments – Claudia L. Loviso – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Plant root and soil microbiome

Early rhizosphere microbiome composition is related to the growth and Zn uptake of willows introduced to a former landfill – Terrence H. Bell – Environmental Microbiology

Not all are free-living: high-throughput DNA metabarcoding reveals a diverse community of protists parasitizing soil metazoa – S. Geisen – Molecular Ecology

Soil microbial communities vary as much over time as with chronic warming and nitrogen additions – Alexandra R. Contosta – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Soil ecotoxicity assessment of glyphosate use under field conditions: microbial activity and community structure of Eubacteria and ammonia oxidizing bacteria – María C. Zabaloy – Pest Management Science

Changes in soil aggregation and microbial community structure control carbon sequestration after afforestation of semiarid shrublands – N. Garcia-Francoa – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Air microbiome

Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics – Hayedeh Behzad – Genome Biology and Evolution

Food microbiology

Bacteriophages isolated from chicken meat and the horizontal transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes– Amira Shousha – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Techniques

A simple method of normalization of DNA extraction for improving the quantitative detection of soil-borne plant pathogenic oomycetes by real-time PCR – M. Li – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Microbes in the news

The kittybiome Project – background and some plans – Jonathan Eisen – MicroBEnet

Science, publishing, and career

Why Medicine is Plagued with Fake Research – Chloe Della Costa – Business Cheat Sheet

Physics Paper on the Higgs Boson Has Record 5,154 Authors – Softpedia (link to actual pdf)

Bik’s Picks

Giant Squid Lore and Legends Date Back Centuries – Benjamin Radford – Discovery

Cocaine Use Could be Determined by a Fingerprint, New Study – Silvia Fernandez – Pierce Pioneer

New map shows most distinct causes of death by state – Marilyn Malara – UPI

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May 15, 2015

Human skin microbiome

Pilot Study on Novel Skin Care Method by Augmentation with Staphylococcus epidermidis, an Autologous Skin Microbe – A Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial – Yuichi Nodake – Journal of Dermatological Science

Human gut microbiome

Metagenome Sequencing of the Hadza Hunter-Gatherer Gut Microbiota – Simone Rampelli – Current Biology

Deviations in human gut microbiota: a novel diagnostic test for determining dysbiosis in patients with IBS or IBD – C. Casén – Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Intestinal Blautia is associated with reduced death from graft-versus-host disease – Robert R. Jenq – Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation

Pubmed link onlyThe coeliac stomach: gastritis in patients with coeliac disease – B. Lebwohl – Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics

DGGE: Schisandra chinensis fruit modulates the gut microbiota composition in association with metabolic markers in obese women : a randomized, double-blind placebo controlled study – Mi-young Song – Nutrition Research

Review: Gut microbes, immunity, and spondyloarthritis – Matthew L. Stoll – Clinical Immunology

Microbiome models

Relationships Between Diet-Related Changes in the Gut Microbiome And Cognitive Flexibility – K.R. Magnusson – Neuroscience

Animal microbiome

Aphids: Genetic characterisation of new host-specialised biotypes and novel associations with bacterial symbionts in the pea aphid complex – Jean Peccoud – Insect Conservation and Diversity

Review: The Multi-Tasking Gut Epithelium of Insects – Jia-Hsin Huang – Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Plant and soil microbiome

On small soil beetles: Phylogenetic community ecology of soil biodiversity using mitochondrial metagenomics – Carmelo Andújar – Molecular Ecology

Changes in soil nutrient content and bacterial community after 12 years of organic amendment application to a vineyard – M. E. Calleja-Cervantes – European Journal of Soil Science

Built Environment microbiology

Self-healing bio-concrete uses bacteria to repair itself – Anthony Cuthbertson – International Business Times

Bioreactor microbiology

Rare taxa have potential to make metabolic contributions in enhanced biological phosphorus removal ecosystems – Christopher E. Lawson – Environmental Microbiology

Bioinformatics

Toward accurate molecular identification of species in complex environmental samples: testing the performance of sequence filtering and clustering methods – Jullien M. Flynn -Ecology and Evolution

More microbiology

Editorial: Sifting out virulent bacteria – Naomi Attar – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Review: Dust Devil: The Life and Times of the Fungus That Causes Valley Fever – Eric R. G. Lewis – PLOS Pathogens

Microbes in the news

Decode your kitty’s microbiome – participate in some Cat-izen science – Alexandra Ossola –
Popular science

BacteriaHysteria

Faecal matter on plane tray tables, unwashed blankets… and 80 million bacteria on suitcases: The dirty secrets of air travel revealed – John Hutchinson – Daily Mail

Science, publishing, and career

“Reframing my track record undoubtedly helped. Here’s how I did it.” Accounting for career breaks – Emily Nicholson – Science

Bik’s Picks

Denver Zoo Penguins Go ‘Extinct’ For Endangered Species Day – CBS Denver

A Simple Hand-Grip Test Could Predict Your Risk For Heart Disease And Death – Anna Almendrala – Huffington Post

An astronaut’s surprisingly helpful guide to pooping in space – Elahe Izadi – Washington Post

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May 13, 2015

General human microbiome

Commentary: Our unique microbial identity – Jack A Gilbert – Genome Biology

Human oral microbiome

Oral Microbiota Shift after 12-Week Supplementation with Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 and PTA 5289; A Randomized Control Trial – Nelly Romani Vestman – PLOS ONE

L-Arginine Destabilizes Oral Multi-Species Biofilm Communities Developed in Human Saliva – Ethan Kolderman – PLOS ONE

Human gut microbiome

Ecological and evolutionary adaptations shape the gut microbiome of BaAka African rainforest hunter-gatherers – Andres Gomez – BioRxiv

Gut Microbial Dysbiosis May Predict Diarrhea and Fatigue in Patients Undergoing Pelvic Cancer Radiotherapy: A Pilot Study – Aiping Wang – PLOS ONE

Animal models

Ability of the gut microbiota to produce PUFA-derived bacterial metabolites: Proof of concept in germ-free versus conventionalized mice – Céline Druart – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

Response of the Rumen Microbiota of Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) Fed Different Concentrations of Tannin Rich Plants – Zhipeng Li – PLOS ONE

Plant root and soil microbiome

Influence of Edaphic, Climatic, and Agronomic Factors on the Composition and Abundance of Nitrifying Microorganisms in the Rhizosphere of Commercial Olive Crops – Joan Caliz – PLOS ONE

CRISPRs

CRISPR Diversity in E. coli Isolates from Australian Animals, Humans and Environmental Waters – Maxim S. Sheludchenko – PLOS ONE

Metabolomics, proteomics

Catching the tip of the iceberg – Evaluation of sample preparation protocols for metaproteomic studies of the rumen microbiota – Simon Deusch and Jana Seifert – Proteomics

Other microbial science

Treating cancer with infection: A review on bacterial cancer therapy – Shirley Wong and Roderick A. Slavcev – Letters in Applied Microbiology

The spatial profiles and metabolic capabilities of microbial populations impact the growth of antibiotic-resistant mutants – Karishma S. Kaushik – Interface

Microbes in the news

Microbiome Fingerprints: Researchers identify people by the unique combinations of microbes found in and on their bodies – Kate Yandell – The Scientist

Gut bacteria help turn animals into fossils – David Shultz – Science Magazine

Microbiome, Immune Therapies, Biologics Showcased at DDW – Caroline Helwick – Medscape

Scientists at work: studying indoor microbial ecology means sampling in public restrooms – Erica Hartmann – The Conversation

The Link Between Obesity, the Microbiome, and Neurologic Function – Alan R. Jacobs – Medscape

Akron Man Found Pooping on Cars Revealed as Subject of Beard Study (fake, and will only flash for 10? sec, but fun)

Bik’s Picks

Over 40% of Honeybee Colonies Died in Year, USDA Says – Tennille Tracy – Wall Street Journal

Chicken Embryos With Dinosaur Snouts Created in Lab – Charles Q. Choi – Live Science

Bill Nye Wants Your Help to Build His ‘Revolutionary’ Solar Spacecraft – Nolan Feeney – Time
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May 12, 2015

Microbiome of pregnancy and birth

Metagenomic Analysis of Milk of Healthy and Mastitis-Suffering Women – Esther Jiménez – Journal of Human Lactation

Human oral microbiome

AbstractChanges In The Oral Microbiome Of HIV-Infected Individuals May Alter Nitrogen Metabolism And The Enterosalivary Circulation Of Nitrate – Carl D. Koch – Am J Respir Crit Care Med

Human respiratory microbiome

Conference abstracts in Am J Respir Crit Care Med:

Human gut microbiome

Metabolism Links Bacterial Biofilms and Colon Carcinogenesis – Caroline H. Johnson – Cell Metabolism

Review: The gut microbiome: What do we know? – Francisco Guarner – Clinical Liver Disease

Review: A model for the role of gut bacteria in the development of autoimmunity for type 1 diabetes – Austin G. Davis-Richardson – Diabetologia

Functional foods

Review: A breakthrough in probiotics: Clostridium butyricum regulates gut homeostasis and anti-inflammatory response in inflammatory bowel disease – Takanori Kanai – Journal of Gastroenterology

Animal models of microbiome research

Phylum Level Change in the Cecal and Fecal Gut Communities of Rats Fed Diets Containing Different Fermentable Substrates Supports a Role for Nitrogen as a Factor Contributing to Community Structure – Martin Kalmokoff – Nutrients

Animal microbiome

Variation in koala microbiomes within and between individuals: effect of body region and captivity status – Niccoló Alfano – Scientific Reports

Plants and soil microbiome

Minimal genomes of mycoplasma-related endobacteria are plastic and contain host-derived genes for sustained life within Glomeromycota – Mizue Naito – PNAS

Transcriptome diversity among rice root types during asymbiosis and interaction with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi – Caroline Gutjahr – PNAS
Reintroduction of locally extinct vertebrates impacts arid soil fungal communities
Laurence J. Clarke – Molecular Ecology

Compartmentalized and contrasted response of ectomycorrhizal and soil fungal communities of Scots pine forests along elevation gradients in France and Spain
Ana Rincón – Environmental Microbiology

Impact of tropical lowland rainforest conversion into rubber and oil palm plantations on soil microbial communities – Valentyna Krashevska – Biology and Fertility of Soils

Masters Thesis: The establishment of apple orchards as temperate forest garden systems and their impact on indigenous bacterial and fungal population abundance in Southern Ontario, Canada – Paul Wartman – University of Guelph, Canada

Review: Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and sustainable agriculture: A review
Muhammad Arslan Ashraf – African Journal of Microbiology Research

Water microbiome

Organic and inorganic composition and microbiology of produced waters from Pennsylvania shale gas wells – Denise M. Akob – Applied Geochemistry

Perspective: Using dispersants after oil spills: impacts on the composition and activity of microbial communities – Sara Kleindienst – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Not sure if these are small enough (20-500 um) to be classified as microbes: Metagenetic tools for the census of marine meiofaunal biodiversity: An overview – Laura Carugati – Marine Genomics

Extremophile microbiome

Arsenic rich Himalayan hot spring metagenomics reveal genetically novel predator-prey genotypes – Naseer Sangwan – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Comparison of Archaeal and Bacterial Diversity in Methane Seep Carbonate Nodules and Host Sediments, Eel River Basin and Hydrate Ridge, USA – Olivia U. Mason – Microbial Ecology

Deep-sea hydrothermal vent bacteria related to human pathogenic Vibrio species – Nur A. Hasan – PNAS

Microbial communities of the Lemon Creek Glacier show subtle structural variation yet stable phylogenetic composition over space and time – Cody S. Sheik – Frontiers in Microbiology

Built environment microbiome

Forensic analysis of the microbiome of phones and shoes – Simon Lax – Microbiome

The Actinobacterial Colonization of Etruscan Paintings – Marta Diaz-Herraiz – Scientific Reports

Food microbiology

Molecular Analysis of Skin Bacterial Assemblages from Codfish and Pollock after Dry-Salted Fish Production – Natalia Pegoraro

Viruses and phages

Infection of phytoplankton by aerosolized marine viruses – Shlomit Sharoni – PNAS

Archaea

The two-domain tree of life is linked to a new root for the Archaea – Kasie Raymann – PNAS

Review: Archaeal Lineages within the Human Microbiome: Absent, Rare or Elusive?
Hans-Peter Horz – Life

Review: The interplay between nucleoid organization and transcription in archaeal genomes – Eveline Peeters – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Tax4Fun: predicting functional profiles from metagenomic 16S rRNA data – Kathrin P. Aßhauer – Bioinformatics

ProtPhylo: identification of protein–phenotype and protein–protein functional associations via phylogenetic profiling – Yiming Cheng – Nucleic Acids Research

IonGAP: integrative bacterial genome analysis for Ion Torrent sequence data – Adrian Baez-Ortega – Bioinformatics

Natural Bacterial Communities Serve as Quantitative Geochemical Biosensors – Mark B. Smith – mBio

Manuscript: Deeply sequenced metagenome and metatranscriptome of a biogas-producing microbial community from an agricultural production-scale biogas plant – Andreas Bremges

Review: The integration of sequencing and bioinformatics in metagenomics – Firouz Abbasian – Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology

Book Chapter: Protocols and Methods for the in Silico Reconstruction of the Origin and Evolution of Metabolic Pathways – Luana Presta – Briefs in Molecular Science 2015

Book Chapter: Molecular Screening of Azurin-Like Anticancer Bacteriocins from Human Gut Microflora Using Bioinformatics – Van Duy Nguyen – Advanced Computational Methods for Knowledge Engineering

Other microbial papers of interest

Bacterial Swarms Recruit Cargo Bacteria To Pave the Way in Toxic Environments – Alin Finkelshtein – mBio

Mosaic genome of endobacteria in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: Transkingdom gene transfer in an ancient mycoplasma-fungus association – Gloria Torres-Cortés – PNAS

Perspective: Resilience vs. historical contingency in microbial responses to environmental change – Christine V. Hawkes – Ecology Letters

A tortoise–hare pattern seen in adapting structured and unstructured populations suggests a rugged fitness landscape in bacteria – Joshua R. Nahum – PNAS

Microbes in the news
Can The Microbes You Leave Behind Be Used to Identify You? – Ed Yong – National Geographic

Forbidden Data: Wyoming wants to conceal the fact that many of its streams are contaminated by E. coli bacteria – Slate

UGSG looks at microbiology, chemistry of Pa. fracked wells – Bob Downing – Ohio.com

Chinese breast milk discovery strengthens case for probiotics in infant formula: Chr Hansen – By Mark Astley – Dairy Reporter

Researchers find metabolic link between bacterial ‘biofilms’, colon cancer – Medical Xpress

Accessing the Hidden Kingdom: Fungal ITS Reference Sequences – NCBI Insights
#BacteriaHysteria

Germ City: Bacteria thriving at the makeup counter: 30% of used makeup samples in stores contain bacteria – PIX11

Tests found bacteria on popular single-serve coffeemakers – Your Central Valley

Bik’s Picks

De novo synthesis of a sunscreen compound in vertebrates – Andrew R Osborn – eLIFE

Chemical messages in 170-year-old champagne bottles from the Baltic Sea: Revealing tastes from the past – Philippe Jeandet – PNAS

Unraveling ancient Egypt’s animal mummy mystery: Roughly a third of the animal mummies examined were completely empty – Michael E. Miller – Washington Post

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May 11, 2015

General microbiome / Microbial ecology

Microbiomes raise privacy concerns: DNA from microbes living on the human body can be used to identify individuals – Ewen Callaway – Nature

Identifying personal microbiomes using metagenomic codes – Eric A. Franzosa – PNAS USA

Unraveling interactions in microbial communities – from co-cultures to microbiomes – Justin Tan – Journal of Microbiology

Antagonistic interactions are sufficient to explain self-assemblage of bacterial communities in a homogeneous environment: a computational modeling approach – Román Zapién-Campos – Frontiers in Microbiology

Human oral microbiome

Hospitalisation impacts on oral hygiene: an audit of oral hygiene in a metropolitan health service – Rachael Danckert – Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences

DGGE: Dynamic Shifts in the Oral Microbiome during Radiotherapy – Tine De Ryck – Clinical Research in Infectious Diseases

Effects of Source- versus Household Contamination of Tubewell Water on Child Diarrhea in Rural Bangladesh: A Randomized Controlled Trial – Ayse Ercumen – PLOS ONE

Human vaginal microbiome

Review: Biofilms: An Underappreciated Mechanism of Treatment Failure and Recurrence in Vaginal Infections – Christina A. Muzny – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Human gut microbiome

Editorial: The Gut Microbiota Strikes Again – Debra D. Poutsiaka – Clinical Infectious Diseases
Belongs to:
Acute Gastrointestinal Graft-vs-Host Disease Is Associated With Increased Enteric Bacterial Bloodstream Infection Density in Pediatric Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipients – Anya Levinson – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Review: Exploring the role of environmental enteropathy in malnutrition, infant development and oral vaccine response – Allissia A. Gilmartin , William A. Petri – Philosophical Transactions B

Review: Role of the gastrointestinal ecosystem in the development of type 1 diabetes – Joseph G Daft – Pediatric Diabetes

Plant and soil microbiome

Ectomycorrhizal fungal communities coinvading with Pinaceae host plants in Argentina: Gringos bajo el bosque – Jeremy Hayward – New Phytologist

Atmospheric N Deposition Alters Connectance, but not Functional Potential Among Saprotrophic Bacterial Communities – Zachary B. Freedman – Molecular Ecology

Rhizospheric changes of fungal and bacterial communities in relation to soil health of multi-generation apple orchards – F. Caputo – Biological Control

Permafrost microbial community traits and functional diversity indicate low activity at in situ thaw temperatures – Jessica G. Ernakovich – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Switchgrass Biochar Effects on Plant Biomass and Microbial Dynamics in Two Soils from Different Regions – Charlene N. Kelly – Pedosphere

Water microbiome

Melting glacier impacts community structure of Bacteria, Archaea and Fungi in a Chilean Patagonia fjord – Marcelo H. Gutiérrez – Environmental Microbiology

Evaluation of water sampling methodologies for amplicon-based characterization of bacterial community structure – Christopher Staley – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Thesis: Bacterial Community Structure and Petroleum Hydrocarbon Degradation in the Baltic Sea – Anna Reunamo – University of Turku

Phages and viruses

Editorial: A CRISPR sense of self – Naomi Attar – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Bioinformatics and metagenomes

Nucleotide 9-mers Characterize the Type II Diabetic Gut Metagenome – Balazs Szalkai – ArXiv

CS-SCORE: Rapid identification and removal of human genome contaminants from metagenomic datasets – Mohammed Monzoorul Haque – Genomics

antiSMASH 3.0—a comprehensive resource for the genome mining of biosynthetic gene clusters – Tilmann Weber – Nucleic Acids Research

Review: Alignment of Next-Generation Sequencing Reads – Knut Reinert – Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics

Metabolic dependencies drive species co-occurrence in diverse microbial communities – Aleksej Zelezniak – PNAS USA

Functional Foods

Probiotics can improve the clinical outcomes of hepatic encephalopathy: An update meta-analysis – Li-Na Zhao – Clinics and Research in Hepatology and Gastroenterology

Microbes in the news

How Germs Might Shape the Future of Architecture – Vicky Gan – City Lab

FDA digging into hand cleaners in hospitals – Jonathan Eisen – MicroBEnet

Essay: The Fight Against the Fight Against the Fight Against Bacteria – Daniel Yin – University of Oxford

Freshman Biology, Creativity, and Extra Credit… – Mark O. Martin – MicrobesRule

You Asked: Should I Use Antibacterial Soap? – Markham Heid – Time
About Tim Spector book “The Diet Myth”: Fast food kills gut bacteria that can keep you slim, study finds – Daniel Costa-Roberts

About the Sonnenburgs’ book “The Good Gut”: To be healthy, take care of your microbiome – Kate Allen – The Start

Should you put yogurt on your face? The benefits of probiotics go beyond improved digestion – Victoria Dawson Hoff – Elle Beauty

My Archaea, My Brother – Genome Web

“This Idle No More movement is like bacteria, it has grown a life of its own all across this nation,” – RCMP apologizes for Idle No More ‘bacteria’ comparison – APTN

Calls for global database on bacteria contained in food – Channel News Asia

Antibiotic-Resistant Typhoid Spreading Abroad – Dennis Thompson – WebMD

“You may not want to eat lunch with Misty Bever”: Intestinal fortitude: There’s an illness lurking that causes chronic, debilitating pain. The cure, however, comes from deep within.– Dan England – The Tribune

Bik’s Picks

Mars sunsets are beautiful — and blue, NASA photo shows – Matthew T. Hall – UT San Diego

What do these new alien photos reveal about Roswell UFO crash – Sam Catherman – State Column

Google says its self-driving cars have had 11 crashes – Chris Woodyard – USA Today

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May 8, 2015

Human oral microbiome

Published in Gut but also oral: Human buccal epithelium acquires microbial hyporesponsiveness at birth, a role for secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor – Celia L Menckeberg – Gut

 

Human gut microbiome

Cholesterol gallstones and bile host diverse bacterial communities with potential to promote the formation of gallstones – Yuhong Peng – Microbial Pathogenesis

Development of an enhanced human gastrointestinal epithelial culture system to facilitate patient-based assays – Kelli L VanDussen – Gut

Gut microbiome and innate immune response patterns in IgE-associated eczema – Christina E West – Clinical & Experimental Allergy

Review: The gut microbiome in autoimmunity: Sex matters – Andres Gomez – Clinical Immunology

Review: Chemical communication in the gut: Effects of microbiota-generated metabolites on gastrointestinal bacterial pathogens – Stefanie L. Vogt – Anaerobe

Special issue of Clinical Liver Disease about “Liver and the Microbiome”. Reviews include:

Human genital microbiome

The vaginal and gastrointestinal microbiomes in gynecologic cancers: A review of applications in etiology, symptoms and treatment – Dana Chase – Gynecologic Oncology

Animal models of microbiome

Effects of dietary inulin on bacterial growth, short-chain fatty acid production and hepatic lipid metabolism in gnotobiotic mice – Karolin Weitkunat – The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry

Plant root and soil microbiome

Covariation of soil bacteria functional diversity and vegetation diversity along an altitudinal climatic gradient in the Western Carpathians – Beata Klimek – Pedobiologia

Changes in fungal communities along a boreal forest soil fertility gradient – Erica Sterkenburg – New Phytologist

Water microbiome

Editorial without citation to the original Nature paper: Deep-ocean microbe is closest living relative of complex cells – Mitch Leslie – Science

Parasites

Not all parasites are protective – Derek M. McKay – Parasite Immunology

Helminths and the microbiota: parts of the hygiene hypothesis – P. Loke – Parasite Immunology

Bioinformatics

Testing in Microbiome-Profiling Studies with MiRKAT, the Microbiome Regression-Based Kernel Association Test – Ni Zhao – AJHG

Sparse and Compositionally Robust Inference of Microbial Ecological Networks – Zachary D. Kurtz – PLOS Computational Biology

Demystifying computer science for molecular ecologists – Mahdi Belcaid and Robert J. Toonen

Techniques

TM7 detection in human microbiome: Are PCR primers and FISH probes specific enough? – Maria V. Sizova – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Microbes in the news

Man’s Best Germs: Does Your Dog Influence Your Health? – Heather Buschman – UC San Diego

Video: Can Poop Cure an Infection? – Anna Rothschild – Gross science

Science, publishing, and career

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to a Neuroscience Career – Marian Joels – Neuron

Recommendation letters: Give women an even chance – Marcia McNutt – Science

Bik’s Picks
Spiders Sprayed with Graphene Spin Super-Strong Silk – Renee Morad – Discovery

Mmm, I always have mixed feelings about papers using these types of animal models. “We made this mouse blind. And then we cured it!” Light in sight: A step towards a potential therapy for acquired blindness – Science Daily

Grocery lists may help shoppers stick to healthier diet, lower weight – Reuters

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May 7, 2015

Events

Human Gut Microbiome and Diseases Congress – 25-26 June 2015, Milano, Italy

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

The Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) birth cohort study: assessment of environmental exposures – Tim K Takaro – Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology

The Impact of Infancy Antibiotic Intake on Childhood Obesity; Review of Studies – Mohammad Reza Vafa – Advances in Obesity, Weight Management & Control

Human respiratory microbiome

The Host Response to the Lung Microbiome in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Marc A Sze – American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

Human gut microbiome

Approaches to studying and manipulating the enteric microbiome to improve autism symptoms – Richard E. Frye – Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease

Plant root and soil microbiome

Heading to the Origins – Rice Microbiome as Functional Extension of the Host – Pablo R. Hardoim – Journal of Rice Research

Inoculation of Phaseolus vulgaris with the nodule-endophyte Agrobacterium sp. 10C2 affects richness and structure of rhizosphere bacterial communities and enhances nodulation and growth – Saif-Allah Chihaoui – submitted paper

Biochar in Co-Contaminated Soil Manipulates Arsenic Solubility and Microbiological Community Structure, and Promotes Organochlorine Degradation – Samuel J. Gregory – PLOS ONE

Microbial quality of soil from the Pampa biome in response to different grazing pressures – Rafael S. Vargas – Genetics and Molecular Biology

Built environment microbiome

Dysbiotic drift: mental health, environmental grey space, and microbiota – Alan C Logan – Journal of Physiological Anthropology

Extremophiles

Sub-Ice Microalgal and Bacterial Communities in Freshwater Lake Baikal, Russia – Maria V. Bashenkhaeva – Microbial Ecology

Phages and viruses

Protist predation can select for bacteria with lowered susceptibility to infection by lytic phages – Anni-Maria Örmälä-Odegrip – BMC Evolutionary Biology

Microbial Ecology

Evolutionary ecology of microorganisms: from the tamed to the wild – Jay T Lennon – PeerJ

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

MyPro: A seamless pipeline for automated prokaryotic genome assembly and annotation – Yu-Chieh Liao – Journal of Microbiological Methods

PrePrint: Infer Metagenomic Abundance and Reveal Homologous Genomes Based on the Structure of Taxonomy Tree – Yu-Qing Qiu – IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics

Metabolomics

Effects of Uremic Toxins from the Gut Microbiota on Bone: A Brief Look at Chronic Kidney Disease – Ana Paula Black – Therapeutic Apheresis and Dialysis

Microbes in the news

Ulcer-causing bacteria induces stomach stem cell growth in mice, researchers find – Stanford Medicine

Newly named bacteria help honey bee larvae thrive – Kim Kaplan – Phys.org

The smell of death: Scientist reveals how 400 compounds mix to create heady mixture of scents as bacteria rips apart rotting flesh – Moheb Costandi – Daily Mail

Eat your vegetables, feed your microbiome – David Charbonneau – EyeViewKamloops

Microbiome Portrait Experiment for High School Students – Tufts

Bacteria redefine reinforced concrete – RSC Advances Blog

Possible role of gut bacteria in autism – Science Daily

Environmental exposures study tracks more than 3,200 Canadian babies – Simon Fraser University

Final Report Summary – TORNADO (Molecular Targets Open for Regulation by the gut flora – New Avenues for improved Diet to Optimize European health) – CORDIS Europa

Measles Vaccination Saves You From More Than Measles – Maggie Fox – NBC News

Microbes and money

‘Gut microbiome’ startup moving to science accelerator, seeks study volunteers: Prince William Science Accelerator – ISOThrive – Inside Nova

UBiome Seeks Academic Partnerships with the Launch of the uBiome Academic Consortium – WDRB

Science, publishing, and career

Science forum: RIPOSTE: a framework for improving the design and analysis of laboratory-based research – Nicholas G D Masca – eLife

Bik’s Picks

Listen To These Eerie ‘X-Files’ Sounds Recorded At The Edge Of Space – Macrina Cooper-White – Huffington Post

Finding That Babies Born at 22 Weeks Can Survive Could Change Abortion Debate – Lucy Westcott – Newsweek

Samantha Cristoforetti: 5 Memorable Moments From the Italian Astronaut’s Time in Space – Alyssa Newcomb – ABC News
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May 6, 2015

Human oral microbiome

The Impact of Various Time Intervals on the Supragingival Plaque Dynamic Core Microbiome – Wen-xin Jiang – PLOS ONE

Dental and Microbiological Risk Factors for Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia in Non-Ventilated Older Patients – Victoria C. Ewan – PLOS ONE

Human gut microbiome

Unraveling the Influence of Gut Microbes on the Mind – M.J. Friedrich – JAMA

Gut Microbiota and Colorectal Cancer – Yu Y.-N. – Gastrointestinal Tumors

Gut Microbiota and Hepatocellular Carcinoma – Tao X – Gastrointestinal Tumors

Editorial: Gut microbiota and inflammation in chronic kidney disease patients – Denise Mafra – Clinical Kidney Journal

Animal models

Chronic Trichuris muris Infection in C57BL/6 Mice Causes Significant Changes in Host Microbiota and Metabolome: Effects Reversed by Pathogen Clearance – Ashley Houlden – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

Bacterial Diversity Associated with Cinachyra cavernosa and Haliclona pigmentifera, Cohabiting Sponges in the Coral Reef Ecosystem of Gulf of Mannar, Southeast Coast of India – C. Jasmin – PLOS ONE

Plant microbiome

Shifts in Symbiotic Endophyte Communities of a Foundational Salt Marsh Grass following Oil Exposure from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill – Demetra Kandalepas – PLOS ONE

Endophytic and Epiphytic Microbes as “Sources” of Bioactive Agents – David J. Newman and Gordon M. Cragg – Frontiers in Chemistry

Review: Pivotal roles of phyllosphere microorganisms at the interface between plant functioning and atmospheric trace gas dynamics – Françoise Bringel – Frontiers in Microbiology

Soil and sediment microbiome

Metabolic Activity and Functional Diversity Changes in Sediment Prokaryotic Communities Organically Enriched with Mussel Biodeposits – Thomas Pollet – PLOS ONE

Impacts of dimethyl phthalate on the bacterial community and functions in black soils – Zhi-Gang Wang – Frontiers in Microbiology

Aquatic / Extremophile microbiome

Benthic microbial communities of coastal terrestrial and ice shelf Antarctic meltwater ponds – Stephen D. Archer – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbial food web components, bulk metabolism, and single-cell physiology of piconeuston in surface microlayers of high-altitude lakes – Hugo Sarmento – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbial communities of the Lemon Creek Glacier show subtle structural variation yet stable phylogenetic composition over space and time – Cody S. Sheik – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioreactor microbiome

Bacterial Pathogens and Community Composition in Advanced Sewage Treatment Systems Revealed by Metagenomics Analysis Based on High-Throughput Sequencing – Xin Lu – PLOS ONE

Metagenomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics

Expression of heterologous sigma factors enables functional screening of metagenomic and heterologous genomic libraries – Stefan M. Gaida – Nature Communications

TreeSeq, a Fast and Intuitive Tool for Analysis of Whole Genome and Metagenomic Sequence Data – Bastiaan Wintermans – PLOS ONE

Covariation is a poor measure of molecular coevolution – David Talavera – Molecular Biology and Evolution

Review: Data-driven integration of genome-scale regulatory and metabolic network models – Saheed Imam – Frontiers in Microbiology

Archaea

Complex archaea that bridge the gap between prokaryotes and eukaryotes – Anja Spang – Nature

More microbiology papers

The passenger-associated transport repeat promotes virulence factor secretion efficiency and delineates a distinct autotransporter subtype – Matthew Thomas Doyle – Molecular Microbiology

Microbes and art

Intestine-inspired 3D printed fashion will hold glowing bacteria – Chris Baraniuk – New Scientist

Microbes in the news

Who are the bioaerosols in your neighborhood? Find out by entering a chamber … – Jonathan Eisen – MicroBEnet

Exploring bacterial genes: New technique helps uncover useful functions in microbial genomes – University of Delaware

Newly discovered ‘missing link’ shows how humans could evolve from single-celled organisms: A new microbe found a mile and a half below the Atlantic Ocean  – Rachel Feltman – The Washington Post

Treating a bacterial infection with bacteria lowers chances of recurrence – Meryl Lin McKean – Fox4kc

Toxic Gut Bacteria: New Treatment Could Prevent Repeat Infections – Rachael Rettner – Live Science

Researchers produce jet fuel compounds from fungus – Science Daily

Molecular Homing Beacon Redirects Human Antibodies to Fight Pathogenic Bacteria – Heather Buschman – UC San Diego

Bacteria research opens way for new antibiotics: common building block, called the Passenger-associated Transport Repeat (PATR) present in many pathogens – University of Adelaide

Science, publishing, and career

‘Living figures’ make their debut: Published chart integrates data from outside scientists – Dalmeet Singh Chawla – Nature

The trouble with reference rot: Computer scientists are trying to shore up broken links in the scholarly literature – Jeffrey M. Perkel – Nature

The retirement debate: Stay at the bench, or make way for the next generationWhen and how to exit research has become a charged issue in science – Megan Scudellari – Nature

Pint-sized DNA sequencer impresses first users: Portable device offers on-the-spot data to fight disease, catalogue species and more – Erika Check Hayden – Nature

Bik’s Picks

Recovering Sea Lions at Marine Center Deliberately Injured By Chlorine, Police Say – Avianne Tan – ABC News

People with Depression and Bipolar Disorder Feel Sadness Differently – Tanya Lewis – Live Science

Feasting on fruits may leave you craving for more – Silvia Fernandez – Pierce Pioneer News

Trouble Falling Asleep? Doctor Says This Trick Will Put You to Sleep in One Minute – Zachary Stieber – The Epoch Times
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