Category Archives: Techniques

February 4, 2017

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Today: articles on the nutrient niches that exist in the gut, how bifidobacterium might be functioning as a probiotic, and probiotic treatment in Bactrocera cucurbitae (melon fly), and astronaut’s gut bacteria in flight.

General microbiome

Effect of fermentation temperature on hydrogen production from xylose and the succession of hydrogen-producing microflora – Chunsheng Qiu – Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology

Dental and periodontal health, and microbiological and salivary conditions in patients with or without diabetes undergoing haemodialysis – Gerhard Schmalz – International Dental Journal

Human gut microbiome

Microbial nutrient niches in the gut – Fátima C. Pereira – Environmental Microbiology

MicroRNAs at the epicenter of intestinal homeostasis – Antoaneta Belcheva – BioEssays

Oscillospira and related bacteria – From metagenomic species to metabolic features – Uri Gophna – Environmental Microbiology

Association between small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth and deep vein thrombosis in patients with spinal cord injuries – X. Cheng – Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis

Prioritization of polysaccharide utilization and control of regulator activation in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron – Nathan D. Schwalm III – Molecular Microbiology

Animal experiments

Malondialdehyde epitopes are sterile mediators of hepatic inflammation in hypercholesterolemic mice – Clara Jana-Lui Busch – Hepatology

Time- and strain-specific downregulation of intestinal EPAS1 via miR-148a by Bifidobacterium bifidum – Amel Taibi – Molecular Nutrition and Food Research

Animal microbiome

Enhanced fitness of a Bactrocera cucurbitae genetic sexing strain based on the addition of gut-isolated probiotics (Enterobacter spec.) to the larval diet – Mingyan Yao – Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata

Water and extremophile microbiome

Chemotype diversity in Planktothrix rubescens (cyanobacteria) populations is correlated to lake depth – Danka Haruštiaková – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Genomic and physiological analyses of ‘Reinekea forsetii’ reveal a versatile opportunistic lifestyle during spring algae blooms – Burak Avcı – Environmental Microbiology

Techniques

DNA metabarcoding reveals that 200-μm-size-fractionated filtering is unable to discriminate between planktonic microbial and large eukaryotes – Lemian Liu – Molecular Ecology Resources

Microbes in the news

Change in astronaut’s gut bacteria attributed to spaceflight

Oral dose of phage cocktail prevents infection and cholera-like symptoms in animal model

UNH researchers ID bacteria contaminating seafood

Tap Water Free of Diarrhea-Causing Bacteria: Pittsburgh Mayor

Science in the News series kicks off with ‘Big Bacteria, Big Pharma, Big Problems’

Salicylic acid promotes nasal mucosa colonization by Staphylococcus aureus

January 26, 2017

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Environmental ecology review presents how microbial life strategy concepts are applied in complex microbial communities.   Two interesting model systems are described in the techniques section, plus potentially scalable workflow for the preparation of high potency Akkermansia muciniphila cells for therapeutic interventions.  The importance of understanding the role of the microbiome in preventing complications after organ transplant and surgeries are discussed in two reviews.   Another study shows that proton pump inhibitors used to prevent gastric ulcers were associated with distinct gut microbiota signatures.  For faster wound healing, try some saliva. A study shows the beneficial effects of saliva on wound healing in human epidermal keratinocytes and on the attenuation of intracellular Staph. aureus infection.

Pregnancy and early life

Assessment of the synbiotic properties of human milk oligosaccharides and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis in vitro and in humanised mice – S Musilova- Beneficial Microbes

Multi-site human microbiome

Review: Infection in Organ Transplantation – Jay A. Fishman – American Journal of Transplantation

Review: The gut microbiome and the mechanism of surgical infection – J.C. Alverdy – The British Journal of Surgery

Human Oral Microbiome

Salivary mucins promote the coexistence of competing oral bacterial species – Erica Shapiro Frenke- The ISME Journal

Human skin microbiome

Saliva induces expression of antimicrobial peptides and promotes intracellular killing of bacteria in keratinocytes by epidermal growth factor receptor transactivation – T. Mohanty – British Journal of Dermatology

Human gut microbiome

The influence of proton pump inhibitors and other commonly used medication on the gut microbiota – Floris Imhann – Gut Microbes

Animal experiments

Review: Understanding host-microbial interactions in rumen: searching the best opportunity for microbiota manipulation – Nilusha Malmuthuge  – Journal of Animal Science and Technology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Review: Revisiting life strategy concepts in environmental microbial ecology – Adrian Ho- FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Diclofop-methyl affects microbial rhizosphere community and induces systemic acquired resistance in rice – Si Chen – Journal of Environmental Sciences

Food microbiology

Review: Human pathogens in plant biofilms: Formation, physiology, and detection – Eduardo Ximenes – Biotechnology and Bioengineering

Genome-wide association of functional traits linked with Campylobacter jejuni survival from farm to fork -Koji Yahara – Environmental Microbiology

Digestive fate of dietary carrageenan: Evidence of interference with digestive proteolysis and disruption of gut epithelial function – Lulu Fahoum – Molecular Nutrition Food Research

Bioinformatics

It’s a big data problem: researchers from the University of California, San Diego and the J.C. Venter Institute used machine learning to teach a computer to learn to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy gut microbiomes. The new approach shows promise for predicting related health issues and providing guidance for therapy development. More from the press

Techniques

Preparation and preservation of viable Akkermansia muciniphila cells for therapeutic interventions – JP Ouwerkerk  -Beneficial Microbes

Evaluation of colonization resistance in stool of human donors using ex vivo, in vitro and in vivo assays – MF Galvão  – Beneficial Microbes

Improving metabolite production in microbial co-cultures using a spatially constrained hydrogel – Matthew J. Smith – Biotechnology and Bioengineering

Microbes in the news

CRISPR research institute expands into agriculture, microbiology

Dog obesity, a growing problem, may be managed through diet and exercise and- microbiology

Every surfer knows you should stay out of the water for 72 hours after it rains. Public health officials issued an advisory for all Los Angeles County beaches, cautioning swimmers and surfers to stay away from areas near storm drains, creeks and rivers. But when the waves show – some surfers just can’t help themselves.

January 15, 2017

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Microbes in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, review on the female urinary microbiota, koalas with “wet bottom”, virus metagenomics of the Namib desert, biosignatures in fossils.

Jobs

Microbiome Research Associate Job – Merck Research Laboratories – Cambridge, MA – Science Careers

Human urinary tract microbiome

* Review: The female urinary microbiota, urinary health and common urinary disorders – Linda Brubaker – Annals of Translational Medicine

Human respiratory microbiome

* Host-Microbial Interactions in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis – Philip L Molyneaux – American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

Human gut microbiome

The human gut microbiome as source of innovation for health: which physiological and therapeutic outcomes could we expect?: Human gut mibrobiome [SIC] as source of innovation for health – Joël Doré – Thérapie

In French: Microbiote intestinal : qu’en attendre au plan physiologique et thérapeutique ? Le microbiote intestinal comme source d’innovation pour la santé – Joël Doré – Thérapie

Review: Seafood allergen-induced hypersensitivity at the microbiota-mucosal site: implications for prospective probiotic use in allergic response regulation – Linglin Fu – Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

Review: Impact Of Human Aging And Modern Lifestyle On Microbiota – Maria Gabriela Valle Gottlieb – Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition

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

Animal experiments

Replacing corn with sorghum in the diet alters intestinal microbiota without altering chicken performance – N. S. Fagundes – Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition

Divergent functional isoforms drive niche specialisation for nutrient acquisition and use in rumen microbiome – Francesco Rubino – The ISME Journal

Wolbachia Affects Reproduction and Population Dynamics of the Coffee Berry Borer (Hypothenemus hampei): Implications for Biological Control – Yobana A. Mariño – MDPI Insects

Neoagarotetraose protects mice against intense exercise induced fatigue damage by modulating gut microbial composition and function – Na Zhang – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

Housing Systems Influence Gut Microbiota Composition of Sows but Not of Their Piglets – Tereza Kubasova – PLOS ONE

Effect of Different Lignocellulosic Diets on Bacterial Microbiota and Hydrolytic Enzyme Activities in the Gut of the Cotton Boll Weevil (Anthonomus grandis) – Emiliano Ben Guerrero – Frontiers in Microbiology

Animal microbiome

* Variation in the microbiome of the urogenital tract of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) with and without “wet bottom” – Alistair Raymond Legione – bioRxiv

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

* Fossils: Carbonaceous biosignatures of diverse chemotrophic microbial communities from chert nodules of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation – Yuangao Qu – Precambrian Research

Plant, soil and microbial controls on grassland diversity restoration: A long-term, multi-site mesocosm experiment – Ellen L. Fry – Journal of Applied Ecology

Pyrosequencing reveals bacterial communities and enzyme activities differences after application of novel chiral insecticide Paichongding in aerobic soils – Jie Chen – Applied Soil Ecology

Cedar and bamboo plantations alter structure and diversity of the soil bacterial community from a hardwood forest in subtropical mountain – Yu-Te Lin – Applied Soil Ecology

The differentiation of soil bacterial communities along a precipitation and temperature gradient in the eastern Inner Mongolia steppe – Minjie Yao – CATENA

Shift in fungal communities and associated enzyme activities along an age gradient of managed Pinus sylvestris stands – Julia Kyaschenko – The ISME Journal

Association between Grape Yeast Communities and the Vineyard Ecosystems – João Drumonde-Neves – PLOS ONE

Water microbiome

High growth potential and activity of 0.2 µm filterable bacteria habitually present in coastal seawater – Yumiko Obayashi – Biogeosciences Discuss

Chronic exposure effects of silver nanoparticles on stream microbial decomposer communities and ecosystem functions – Ahmed Tlili – Environmental Science & Technology

Waste and pollution microbiology

Global profiling of metabolite and lipid soluble microbial products in anaerobic wastewater reactor supernatant using UPLC/MSe – Phornpimon Tipthara – Journal of Proteome Research

Food microbiology

Rapid concentration detection and differentiation of bacteria in skimmed milk using surface enhanced Raman scattering mapping on 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid functionalized silver dendrites – Panxue Wang – Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry

Metagenomics and bioinformatics / Viruses and phages

Robust inference of genetic exchange communities from microbial genomes using TF-IDF – Yingnan Cong – Frontiers in Microbiology

* Virome assembly and annotation: a surprise in the Namib Desert – Uljana Hesse – Frontiers in Microbiology

* Metaviromes of Extracellular Soil Viruses along a Namib Desert Aridity Gradient – Olivier Zablocki – Genome Announcements

Metagenome Sequencing of Prokaryotic Microbiota Collected from Rivers in the Upper Amazon Basin – Célio Dias Santos-Júnior – Genome Announcements

Restoring the Duality between Principal Components of a Distance Matrix and Linear Combinations of Predictors, with Application to Studies of the Microbiome – Glen A. Satten – PLOS ONE

New approach for studying mobile genes using metagenomic analysis – Kazuyuki Ishihara – Oral Diseases

Archaea

New insights into marine group III Euryarchaeota, from dark to light – Jose M Haro-Moreno – The ISME Journal

Techniques

MPLEx: A method for simultaneous pathogen inactivation and extraction of samples for multi-omics profiling – Kristin Burnum-Johnson – Analyst

An explanation of the Nagoya Protocol and Access and Benefit Sharing, and its implication for microbiology – David Smith – Microbiology

Microbes in the news

You’re probably showering way too often – Rafi Letzter – Business Insider

Viruses May Be Responsible For Life As We Know It – Ryan F. Mandelbaum – Gizmodo

Boost your intake of resistant starch to help your gut thrive – Leslie Beck – The Globe and Mail

We now know bacteria can communicate electrically, and we should be worried
They’re organised – David Nield – Science Alert

Proceed with caution: Autism Causes Update: The Gut-Brain Connection And How A Common Probiotic May Ease Symptoms – Lizette Borreli – Medical Daily

Study provides fundamental insights into functioning of microbiota and human-gut flora symbiosis – News Medical

Microbes on the market

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Enterome Announce Immuno-Oncology Collaboration Focused on Microbiome-Derived Biomarkers, Drug Targets and Bioactive Molecules – SAT Press Releases

Bik’s non-microbiology picks

The Physics of Everyday Life. Why popcorn pops and ducks don’t freeze when swimming in icy water. John Gribbin reviews “Storm in a Teacup” by Helen Czerski – Wall Street Journal

January 14, 2017

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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

Perspective: Progress 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 13, 2017

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Nutrient acquisition by gut microbes, handling stress and gut microbiota changes in mice, evaluation of the MinION for microbiome studies.

Human gut microbiome

* Structural basis for nutrient acquisition by dominant members of the human gut microbiota – Amy J. Glenwright – Nature

New light shed on functioning of human gut bacteria – Science Daily

Metabolic adaptation of colonic microbiota to galactooligosaccharides: a proof-of-concept-study – M. Mego – Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Gut microbiota-dependent trimethylamine N-oxide in acute coronary syndromes: a prognostic marker for incident cardiovascular events beyond traditional risk factors – Xinmin S. Li, Slayman Obeid – European Heart Journal

Review: Basic Definitions and Concepts: Organization of the Gut Microbiome – Eamonn M.M. Quigley – Gastroenterology Clinics of North America

Animal experiments

* Handling stress may confound murine gut microbiota studies – Cary R. Allen-Blevins – PeerJ

Water microbiome

Effect of marker choice and thermal cycling protocol on zooplankton DNA metabarcoding studies – Laurence J. Clarke – Ecology and Evolution

Food microbiology

Cultivable microbiome of fresh white button mushrooms – W. Rossouw Letters in Applied Microbiology

Phages and viruses

Acquisition of Phage Sensitivity by Bacteria through Exchange of Phage Receptors – Elhanan Tzipilevich – Cell

For viral predators of bacteria, sensitivity can be contagious. New modes of bacteriophage spread discovered – ScienceDaily

Techniques

Evaluation of Oxford Nanopore MinION Sequencing for 16S rRNA Microbiome Characterization – Xiao Ma – bioRxiv

Lifetime of Phosphorescence from Nanoparticles Yields Accurate Measurement of Concentration of Oxygen in Microdroplets, Allowing One To Monitor the Metabolism of Bacteria – Michał Horka – Analytical Chemistry

Press: New type of monitoring provides information about the life of bacteria in microdroplets – Science Daily

Microbes in the news

Self-Experimenting Scientist Receives uBiome Grant to Investigate Consequences of Long-Term Antibiotic Use for Skin Conditions – PR Web

The art within Microbiology, and a coloring book – Chloe Schmidt – Frontiers Blog

Mapping the Microorganisms Behind Hospital-Borne Infections – Allison Bond – The Atlantic

Springfield Science Museum Explores the Human Microbiome – Business West

Researchers receive Moore Foundation grant to study the global ocean microbiome – Alan Flurry – University of Georgia

Scientists pave the way for enhanced detection and treatment of vascular graft infections – Science Daily

The Metabolome: The Missing Link that Binds the Microbiome with Human Health – Mike Milburn – GenEngNews

Proceed with caution: The Key to Reversing Autism May Be in the Microbiome – Emeran Mayer – Big Think

Microbes on the market

Carmel biotech firm scores major deal with pharmaceutical giant – Indianapolis Business Journal

Mawi DNA Technologies Launches ISWAB-Microbiome Sample Collection System – BusinessWire

Science, publishing, and career

Beware! Academics are getting reeled in by scam journals – The number of predatory publishers is skyrocketing – and they’re eager to pounce on unsuspecting scholars – Alex Gillis

December 30, 2016

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Vancomycin treatment preceding fecal transplantation, a diet for IBD, dieting and gut microbiome diversity, halotolerant extremophiles for recycling pollutants, mass spectrometry on medical swabs.

Human vaginal microbiome

Genital injury signatures and microbiome alterations associated with depot medroxyprogesterone acetate usage and intravaginal drying practices – Kenzie D. Birse – The Journal of Infectious Diseases

Human gut microbiome

Oral Vancomycin Followed by Fecal Transplantation Versus Tapering Oral Vancomycin Treatment for Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection: An Open-Label, Randomized Controlled Trial – Susy S. Hota – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Fecal Fixation: Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Clostridium difficile Infection – Stuart Johnson – Clinical Infectious Diseases

SCD diet: Clinical and Fecal Microbial Changes With Diet Therapy in Active Inflammatory Bowel Disease – David L. Suskind – Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology

Press: Changes With Diet Therapy in Active Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Science Daily

Review: From bugs to brains: The microbiome in neurological health – Kyla A. McKay – Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders

Animal experiments

Prior Dietary Practices and Connections to a Human Gut Microbial Metacommunity Alter Responses to Diet Interventions – Nicholas W. Griffin – Cell Host & Microbe

Press: Your Crappy American Diet Might Leave Your Gut Bacteria Stunted – Ryan F. Mandelbaum – Gizmodo
Your microbiota’s previous dining experiences may make new diets less effective – EurekAlert

Intestinal Serotonin Transporter Inhibition by Toll-Like Receptor 2 Activation. A Feedback Modulation – Eva Latorre – PLOS ONE

Press: Gut microorganisms affect our physiology – EurekAlert

Alterations in the gut microbiota can elicit hypertension in rats – Sareema Adnan – Physiological Genomics

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Impact of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria on root colonization potential and life cycle of Rhizophagus irregularis following co-entrapment into alginate beads -P. Loján – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Review: Soil Bacteria Alter Plant Physiology to Mitigate Salinity Stress Effects in Glycophytes – Ramalingam Radhakrishnan – Frontiers in Plant Science

Presentation abstract: Soil microbial community structures and activities in relation to nitrogen cycling in two contrasting soils in Malawi – community responses to added carbon – Akane Chiba – International Nitrogen Initiative

Waste and pollution microbiology

Pyrosequencing reveals microbial community dynamics in integrated simultaneous desulfurization and denitrification process at different influent nitrate concentrations
– Chuan Chen – Chemosphere

Microbiological water quality in the medical device industry in Italy – Emilio D’Ugo – Microchemical Journal

Halotolerant extremophile bacteria from the Great Salt Lake for recycling pollutants in microbial fuel cells – Matteo Grattieri – Journal of Power Sciences

Functionality of microbial communities in constructed wetlands used for pesticide remediation: Influence of system design and sampling strategy – Tao Lv – Water Research

Metagenomic Characteristics of Bacterial Response to Petroleum Hydrocarbon Contamination in Diverse Environments as Revealed by Functional Taxonomic Strategies – Arghya Mukherjee – bioRxiv

Food microbiology

Saccharomyces uvarum is Responsible for the Traditional Fermentation of Apple CHICHA in Patagonia – ME Rodríguez – FEMS Yeast Research

Metabolomics

Medical swab analysis using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) – a non-invasive approach for mucosal diagnostics – Pamela Pruski – Analytical Chemistry

Coping with inevitable accidents in metabolism – Antoine Danchin – Microbial Biotechnology

Techniques

Examining the potential use and long-term stability of guaiac faecal occult blood test cards for microbial DNA 16S rRNA sequencing – Morag Taylor – Journal of Clinical Pathology

Microbes in the news

Short podcast: Academic Minute – Diversifying Your Microbiome. Jack Gilbert details how the sharing of bacteria from person to person could make us healthier in the long run. – Inside Higher Ed

Ancient ‘Eternal Life’ bacteria leaves Russian scientist ‘Illness-Free’ – Harry Walker – Express

Bacteria evolution offers insights into human protein interactions – Brooks Hays – UPI

High school students discover new phages: Genomics research gives youth a leg up on education – Tonya S. Grace – Kentucky New Era

Fermentation expert Sandor Katz on why we shouldn’t fear bacteria – Andrew Sun – SCMP

Novel diet therapy helps children with crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis reach remission – Science Daily

Prebiotics for your skin: The La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Moisturizer Could Be the Secret to Better Skin – Sarah Kinonen – Allure

December 23, 2016

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Resistant starch diets, mass spectrometry imaging, viruses in coral health and disease, mitochondrial and chloroplast blocking clamps to identify plant-associated microbiomes, vitamin D and the gut, microbes in pores, uBiome Microbiome Impact Grant winner.

Pregnancy and early life

Starter formula enriched in prebiotics and probiotics ensures normal growth of infants and promotes gut health: a randomized clinical trial – Michael Radke – Pediatric Research

Human skin microbiome

The balance of metagenomic elements shapes the skin microbiome in acne and health – Emma Barnard – Scientific Reports

Microbiome of nearly sterile sites

Correspondence: Blood microbiota as a potential non-invasive diagnostic biomarker for liver fibrosis in severely obese patients: Choose carefully – Zongxin Ling – Hepatology

Human gut microbiome

 * Diets high in resistant starch increase plasma levels of trimethylamine-N-oxide, a gut microbiome metabolite associated with CVD risk – Nathalie Bergeron – British Journal of Nutrition

Fecal Microbiota Transplant in Severe and Severe-Complicated Clostridium difficile: A Promising Treatment Approach – Monika Fischer – Gut Microbes

Evaluation of clinical safety and beneficial effects of stachyose-enriched α-galacto-oligosaccharides on gut microbiota and bowel function in humans – Ting Li – Food & Function

Low abundance of colonic butyrate-producing bacteria in HIV infection is associated
with microbial translocation and immune activation – Stephanie M. Dillon – AIDS

Meta-analysis: Pretreatment with antibiotics may enhance the efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation in ulcerative colitis: a meta-analysis – A H Keshteli – Mucosal Immunology

Meta-analysis: Lower Level of Bacteroides in the Gut Microbiota Is Associated with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Meta-Analysis – Yingting Zhou – BioMed Research International

Viewpoint: The Microbiome and Risk for Obesity and Diabetes – Anthony L. Komaroff – JAMA

Review: The Impact of the Gut Microbiota on Humoral Immunity to Pathogens and Vaccination in Early Infancy – Quang N. Nguyen – PLOS Pathogens

Review: Microbiota and prebiotics modulate uremic toxins generation – Laetitia Koppe – Panminerva Medica

Review: Influence of nutrition therapy on the intestinal microbiome – Monika A. Krezaleka

Review: A Possible Role of Intestinal Microbiota in the Pathogenesis of Ankylosing Spondylitis – Lianjun Yang – Int J Mol Sci

Review: Food allergy and the gut – Anna Nowak-Wegrzyn – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

The Gut Microbiome and the Liver, special issue of Seminars in Liver Disease with lots of reviews:

 

Animal experiments

Western diet induces colonic nitrergic myenteric neuropathy and dysmotility in mice via saturated fatty acid- and LPS-induced TLR4 signaling – François Reichardt – Journal of Physiology

* Vitamin D Signaling through Induction of Paneth Cell Defensins Maintains Gut Microbiota and Improves Metabolic Disorders and Hepatic Steatosis in Animal Models – Danmei Su – Frontiers in Physiology

Vitamin D Improves Gut Microbiota, Study Finds – Sci-News

Animal microbiome

* Review: The role of viruses in coral health and disease – Michael Sweet – Journal of Invertebrate Pathology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Diverse Profiles of AI-1 Type Quorum Sensing Molecules in Cultivable Bacteria from the Mangrove (Kandelia obovata) Rhizosphere Environment – Zhi P. Ma – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioaccumulation of metals in reeds collected from an acid mine drainage contaminated site in winter and spring – Lin Guo – Environmental Technology

* Identifying the plant associated microbiome across aquatic and terrestrial environments: the effects of amplification method on taxa discovery – Sara L. Jackrel – Molecular Ecology Resources

* Microbial competition in porous environments can select against rapid biofilm growth – Katharine Z. Coyte – PNAS

Water microbiome

Local and Regional Diversity Reveals Dispersal Limitation and Drift as Drivers for Groundwater Bacterial Communities from a Fractured Granite Formation – E. D. Beaton – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbial Community of High Arsenic Groundwater in Agricultural Irrigation Area of Hetao Plain, Inner Mongolia – Yanhong Wang – Frontiers in Microbiology

Disturbance Increases Microbial Community Diversity and Production in Marine Sediments – Pierre E. Galand – Frontiers in Microbiology

Waste and pollution microbiology

Seafood-Processing Sludge Composting: Changes to Microbial Communities and Physico-Chemical Parameters of Static Treatment versus for Turning during the Maturation Stage – Iria Villa – PLOS ONE

Regional synchrony in full-scale activated sludge bioreactors due to deterministic microbial community assembly – James S Griffin – The ISME Journal

Metabolomics

* Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Complex Microbial Communities – Sage J. B. Dunham – Accounts Chemical Research

Techniques

* Mitochondrial and chloroplast blocking clamps: Identifying the plant associated microbiome across aquatic and terrestrial environments: the effects of amplification method on taxa discovery – Sara L. Jackrel – Molecular Ecology Resources

Microbial ecology

Probabilistic adaptation in changing microbial environments – Yarden Katz – PeerJ

Microbes in the news

* UCSF Researcher to Investigate Diabetes and the Microbiome in Filipino Populations with uBiome Microbiome Impact Grant – PR Web

An interesting year – Nature Microbiology

Microbiota: Reseeding the gut – Liam Drew – Nature

Danish researchers uncover bacteria’s secret code language – News Medical

New CRISPR-Cas Enzymes Discovered – Kerry Grens – The Scientist

Move over Cas9, CRISPR-Cas3 might hold the key to solving the antibiotics crisis – Sarah Buhr – Tech Crunch

Gut bacteria may hold key to treating autoimmune diseases – EurekAlert
The Secret To Treating Autoimmune Disease May Lie In The Gut – The Huffington Post

Science, publishing and career

The lives they lived: Ruth Hubbard. She was grateful simply to be a female biologist — until she got mad about needing to be grateful – Sara Corbett – New York Times

 

December 19, 2016

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An oral pathogen with a very long name is linked to rheumatoid arthritis, a deep-sea bone-eating snail, and the excreted microbiota of bats.

Human oral microbiome

* Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans–induced hypercitrullination links periodontal infection to autoimmunity in rheumatoid arthritis – Maximilian F. Konig – Science Translational Medicine

Press: Bacteria That Causes Gum Disease Also Triggers Inflammatory Response In Rheumatoid Arthritis – Saranya Palanisamy – Tech Times

Human vaginal microbiome

The Cervicovaginal Microbiota in Women Notified for Chlamydia trachomatis Infection: A Case-Control Study at the Sexually Transmitted Infection Outpatient Clinic in Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Charlotte van der Veer – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Editorial Commentary: The Cervicovaginal Microbiota and Infection Risk After Exposure to an Exogenous Pathogen – Daniel B. DiGiulio – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Human gut microbiome

Bacterial Biofilms in Colorectal Cancer Initiation and Progression – Shan Li – Trends in Molecular Medicine

Animal experiments

Alternative protein sources in the diet modulate microbiota and functionality in the distal intestine of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) – Karina Gajardo – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Animal microbiome

* The Specific and Exclusive Microbiome of the Deep-Sea Bone-Eating Snail, Rubyspira osteovora – H.S. Aronson – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Origin of Sulfur in Diet Drives Spatial and Temporal Mercury Trends in Seabird Eggs From Pacific Canada 1968–2015 – Kyle H. Elliott – Environmental Science & Technology

Press: Bacteria control levels of dangerous pollutant in seabirds – Phys.org

The excreted microbiota of bats: evidence of niche specialization based on multiple body habitats – Muriel Dietrich – FEMS Microbiology Letters

Western Bats as a Reservoir of Novel Streptomyces Species with Antifungal Activity – Paris S. Hamm – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Bacterial communities affected by experimental disturbances to canopy soils of a temperate rainforest – Cody R. Dangerfield – bioRxiv

Pyrosequencing of rpoB uncovers a significant biogeographical pattern of rhizobial species in soybean rhizosphere – Xing Xing Zhang – Journal of Biogeography

Ectomycorrhizal fungal response to warming is linked to poor host performance at the boreal-temperate ecotone – Christopher W. Fernandez – Global Change Biology

Review: PGPR = plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria: The Contribution of Genome Mining Strategies to the Understanding of Active Principles of PGPR Strains – Julia Paterson – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Water microbiome

Effects of actinomycete secondary metabolites on sediment microbial communities – Nastassia V. Patin – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Pollution and waste microbiology

Elucidating carbon sources driving microbial metabolism during oil sands reclamation – Lauren M. Bradford – Journal of Environmental Management

Techniques

Comparison of Collection Methods for Fecal Samples in Microbiome Studies – Emily Vogtmann – American Journal of Epidemiology

Microbes in the news

Refers to meeting abstract: Microbiomes interact with mental health treatment – Tim Sandle – Digital Journal

South Dakota high schools introduce students to health care: students grew bacteria in petri dishes – Jaci Conrad Pearson – Washington Times

New medicine: How the gut breaks the mind – Govind Vijaykumar – Deccan Chronicle

December 18, 2016

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Virome of the human respiratory tract, vendor effects on mouse gut, soils under beech and spruce, variations in Scottish soils, portable pathogen detection.

Events

Poster submission started: 3rd Annual Translational Microbiome Conference – April 11-13, 2017, Boston, USA

Pregnancy and early life

Microbiota network and mathematic microbe mutualism in colostrum and mature milk collected in two different geographic areas: Italy versus Burundi – Lorenzo Drago – The ISME Journal

Review: Pathogenesis of NEC: Impact of an altered intestinal microbiome – Josef Neu – Seminars in Perinatology

Human oral microbiome

Changes in the oral ecosystem induced by the use of 8% arginine toothpaste – British Dental Journal

Human respiratory microbiome

* Review: The Virome of the Human Respiratory Tract – Kristine M. Wylie – Clinics in Chest Medicine

Human vaginal microbiome

Comparison of Culture-dependent and Culture-Independent Molecular Methods for Characterisation of Vaginal Microflora – Shirali Pandya – Journal of Medical Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Distinct microbiome-neuroimmune signatures correlate with functional abdominal pain in children with autism spectrum disorder – Ruth Ann Luna – CMGH Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Alterations of the gut microbiome in Chinese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Zhixing He – Gut Pathogens

Altered Gut Microbiota in Patients With Chronic Pancreatitis is Associated With Gut Barrier Dysfunction and Metabolic Abnormalities – Rupjyoti Talukdar

Dietary Changes Impact the Gut Microbe Composition in Overweight and Obese Men with Prostate Cancer Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy – Andrew D. Frugé – Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

The human intestinal microbiota of constipated-predominant irritable bowel syndrome patients exhibits anti-inflammatory properties – Alain P. Gobert – Scientific Reports

The Interactions Between Gut Microbiota and Lynch Syndrome – Xiao-juan Lu – Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Review: Enterosalivary nitrate metabolism and the microbiome: intersection of microbial metabolism, nitric oxide and diet in cardiac and pulmonary vascular health – Carl D Koch – Free Radical Biology and Medicine

Review: Community metabolic modeling approaches to understanding the gut microbiome: bridging biochemistry and ecology – Helena Mendes-Soares – Free Radical Biology and Medicine

Review: Microbiota Small RNAs in Inflammatory Bowel Disease – Anca T. Filip – Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases

Review: Intestinal Microbiome, Akkermansia muciniphila, and Medicinal Nutrition Therapy – Jeffrey Bland – integrative Medicine

Review: Using the Human Gastrointestinal Microbiome to Personalize Nutrition Advice: Are Registered Dietitian Nutritionists Ready for the Opportunities and Challenges? – Ruth Harvie – Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Review: Bacterial Biofilms in Colorectal Cancer Initiation and Progression – Shan Li – Trends in Molecular Medicine

Animal experiments

* Vendor Effects on Murine Gut Microbiota Influence Experimental Abdominal Sepsis – Tobias Hilbert – Journal of Surgical Research

The critical role of microbiota within cecal crypts on the regenerative capacity of the intestinal epithelium following surgical stress – Alexander Zaborin – American Journal of Physiology Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology

Source of supplemental dietary copper, zinc, and manganese affects fecal microbial relative abundance in lactating dairy cows – M.J. Faulkner – Journal of Dairy Science

Deciphering upper respiratory tract microbiota complexity in healthy calves and calves that develop respiratory disease using shotgun metagenomics – Natália C. Gaeta – Journal of Dairy Science

Animal microbiology

Riptortus pedestris and Burkholderia symbiont: an ideal model system for insect–microbe symbiotic associations – Kazutaka Takeshita – Research in Microbiology

Bird: Helminth burden and ecological factors associated with alterations in wild host gastrointestinal microbiota – Lindsay K Newbold – The ISME Journal

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

* Fine Spatial Scale Variation of Soil Microbial Communities under European Beech and Norway Spruce – Heiko Nacke – Frontiers in Microbiology

Nutrient availability shapes the microbial community structure in sugarcane bagasse compost-derived consortia – Bruno L. Mello – Scientific Reports

The biogeography of soil archaeal communities on the eastern Tibetan Plateau – Yu Shi – Scientific Reports

Depth-resolved microbial community analyses in two contrasting soil cores contaminated by antimony and arsenic – Enzong Xiao – Environmental Pollution

Comprehensive Virus Detection Using Next Generation Sequencing in Grapevine Vascular Tissues of Plants Obtained from the Wine Regions of Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic) – Aleš Eichmeier – PLOS ONE

* Scottish soil: It is elemental: Soil nutrient stoichiometry drives bacterial diversity – Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo – Environmental Microbiology

Microbial soil community analyses for forensic science: Application to a blind test – Sandrine Demanèche – Forensic Science International

Review: Mycorrhiza: The Oldest Association Between Plant and Fungi – Jagnaseni Barman – Resonance

Book Chapter: Bioprospecting Soil Metagenomes for Antibiotics – Chiara Borsetto – Bioprospecting

Water and extremophile microbiome

The Distribution Pattern of Sediment Archaea Community of the Poyang Lake, the Largest Freshwater Lake in China – Yantian Ma – Archaea

Characterization of the first cultured representative of a Bacteroidetes clade specialized on the scavenging of cyanobacteria – Wajdi Ben Hania – Environmental Microbiology

Book chapter: Bioprospecting Archaea: Focus on Extreme Halophiles – André Antunes – Bioprospecting

Food microbiology

Analysis of the bacterial biodiversity of peaches under refrigerated storage after treatment by high hydrostatic pressure – Maria José Grande Burgos – Food and Bioproducts Processing

Bioreactor, biotechnology, and pollution microbiology

Correlating methane production to microbiota in anaerobic digesters fed synthetic wastewater – K. Venkiteshwaran – Water Research

Profiling bacterial communities associated with sediment-based aquaculture bioremediation systems under contrasting redox regimes – Georgina Robinson – Scientific Reports

Trace Elements Induce Predominance among Methanogenic Activity in Anaerobic Digestion – Babett Wintsche – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Quantitative Comparison of Abundance Structures of Generalized Communities: From B-Cell Receptor Repertoires to Microbiomes – Mohammadkarim Saeedghalati – arXiv

A simple statistical test of taxonomic or functional homogeneity using replicated microbiome sequencing samples – Daniel H. Huson – Journal of Biotechnology

Inferring Aggregated Functional Traits from Metagenomic Data Using Constrained Non-negative Matrix Factorization: Application to Fiber Degradation in the Human Gut Microbiota – Sébastien Raguideau – PLOS Computational Biology

Now published: IMP: a pipeline for reproducible reference-independent integrated metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses – Shaman Narayanasamy – Genome Biology

Metabolomics

Evaluating metabolic response to light exposure in Lactobacillus species via targeted metabolic profiling – Mengyang Xu – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Review: Phytanic acid consumption and human health, risks, benefits and future trends: A review – P. Roca-Saavedra – Food Chemistry

Viruses and phages

Perspective: Viruses and the origin of microbiome selection and immunity – Steven D Quistad – The ISME Journal

Techniques

* Detection of ESKAPE bacterial pathogens at the point-of-care using isothermal DNA-based assays in a portable, de-gas microfluidic diagnostic assay platform
Lars D. Renner – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Press: Portable detection system can rapidly identify virulent, multi-drug resistant pathogens in remote areas – News-Medical

Synthetic spike-in standards for high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing – Dieter M. Tourlousse – Nucleic Acids Research

Microbes in the news

Gardening Etcetera: Life down under in northern Arizona – Cindy Murray – AZ Daily Sun

CSI: Chem trail: a new way for investigators to narrow down suspect pools using chemical traces found on cellphones – Kelly Kasulis – Boston Globe

China expresses alarm as chilli ‘conspiracy’ heats up Indonesians – South China Morning Post

Adapting and adopting microbiome data into clinical practice – Silvio Pitlik & Omry Koren- BioMed Central

Bacteria that boost insulin-producing cells could yield new diabetes approaches – Arlene Weintraub – Fierce Biotech

Microbes in the market

Research focused on the human microbiome market worth 658 million USD by 2023 – Whatech

AOBiome Launches Phase 2 Clinical Trial Using Novel Bacterial Platform for Treatment of Hypertension – PR Newswire

Live Stock Coverage: What’s Ahead for Seres Therapeutics Inc After Today’s Huge Increase? – Linda Rogers- Frisco Fastball

 

December 7, 2016

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Microbiota of migratory birds, blue fungus living in snow, migrating from SSU rRNAs to metagenomics.

Jobs

Awesome job at awesome institute: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Microbiology – California Academy of Sciences

Human gut microbiome

Special issue of Trends in Food Science & Technology; several papers have appeared here before but worth checking out: Unravelling the role of the gut microbiome in energy balance and brain development and function: the European project MyNewGut

Review: Homeostasis of the Gut Barrier and Potential Biomarkers – Jerry M Wells – American Journal of Physiology, Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology

Review: Challenges in simulating the human gut for understanding the role of the microbiota in obesity – M. Aguirre – Beneficial Microbes

Animal models

Integrated Role of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Supplementation in Gut Microbiota, Immunity, and Metabolism of Infant Rhesus Monkeys – Xuan He – mSystems

Review: Dissecting the interplay between intestinal microbiota and host immunity in health and disease: Lessons learned from germfree and gnotobiotic animal models – Ulrike Fiebiger – European Journal of Microbiology and Immunology

Animal microbiome

* Changes in gut microbiota of migratory passerines during stopover after crossing an ecological barrier – William B. Lewis – The Auk

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

* Microbial Community Structure and Function of Soil following Ecosystem Conversion from Native Forests to Teak Plantation Forests – Vidya De Gannes – Frontiers in Microbiology

Drought tolerance of bioenergy grass Saccharum spontaneum L. enhanced by arbuscular mycorrhizae – P.P. Mirshad – Rhizosphere

Perspective: Microbiome selection could spur next-generation plant breeding strategies – Murali Gopal – Frontiers in Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Siderophore-based microbial adaptations to iron scarcity across the eastern Pacific Ocean – Rene M. Boiteau – PNAS

Phylogenetic diversity of microbial communities of the Posolsk Bank bottom sediments, Lake Baikal – S. M. Chernitsyna – Microbiology

Dampened copepod-mediated trophic cascades in a microzooplankton-dominated microbial food web: A mesocosm study – Bernadette Pree – Limnology and Oceanography

* Antarctomyces pellizariae sp. nov., a new, endemic, blue, snow resident psychrophilic ascomycete fungus from Antarctica – Graciéle C. A. de Menezes – Extremophiles

Temporal variability of bacterial communities in cryoconite on an Alpine glacier – Andrea Franzetti – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Intraclade Heterogeneity in Nitrogen Utilization by Marine Prokaryotes Revealed Using Stable Isotope Probing Coupled with Tag Sequencing (Tag-SIP) – Michael Morando – Frontiers in Microbiology

Pollution microbiology

Effect of metal concentration on the microbial community in acid mine drainage of a polysulfide ore deposit – V. V. Kadnikov – Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics (viruses too)

MEGARes: an antimicrobial resistance database for high throughput sequencing – Steven M. Lakin – Nucleic Acids Research

Improvements to PATRIC, the all-bacterial Bioinformatics Database and Analysis Resource Center – Alice R. Wattam – Nucleic Acids Research

Alignment-free d2* oligonucleotide frequency dissimilarity measure improves prediction of hosts from metagenomically-derived viral sequences – Nathan A. Ahlgren – Nucleic Acids Research

*  Crystal Ball: Migrating SSU rRNA gene surveys to the metagenomics era – Josh D. Neufeld – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Techniques

DNA extraction from benthic Cyanobacteria: comparative assessment and optimization – V. Gaget – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Microbial ecology

Microbial Community Coalescence for Microbiome Engineering – Matthias C. Rillig – Frontiers in Microbiology

More microbiology

How to Define Pathogenicity, Health, and Disease? – Mauno Vihinen – Human Mutation-Variation, Informatics, and Disease

Crystal Ball: Accessories make the microbe – Lisa Y. Stein – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Validating Regulatory Predictions from Diverse Bacteria with Mutant Fitness Data – Shiori Sagawa – bioRxiv

Microbes in the news

With my former Stanford co-worker Fiona Strouts: New farmers’ market baker knows art, science of bread-making. Stanford fellow brings baking know-how to Portola Valley farmers’ market – Dave Boyce – Mountain View Voice

New Mechanism to Control Human Viral Infections Discovered – Sean Nealon – University of California Riverside

Uterine microbiota play a key role in implantation and pregnancy success in in vitro fertilization – EurekAlert (see digest October 12)

Understanding microbiome impact on pig health – National Hog Farmer

Syphilis is coming back – Juha Wahlstedt – Clinical Laboratory Blogspot