March 24, 2016

Two papers on antibiotics in early childhood and obesity, diabetic foot ulcers, vertebrate animal microbiomes, cattle hides, kimchi, human archaeological remains, and high inter-center variability in microbiome results.

General microbiome

Review: Stress as a Normal Cue in the Symbiotic Environment – Julia A. Schwartzman – Trends in Microbiology

Pregnancy and birth

Administration of Antibiotics to Children Before Age 2 Years Increases Risk for Childhood Obesity – Frank I. Scott – Gastroenterology

Antibiotic Exposure During the First 6 Months of Life and Weight Gain During Childhood – Jeffrey S. Gerber – JAMA

Editorial: From Bottles to Diapers: How Manipulating and Exploring the Microbiome Is Defining Newborn Care – Jill L. Maron – Clinical Therapeutics

Research highlight: Gut microbiota dysbiosis precedes NEC – Hugh Thomas – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Human skin microbiome

One step closer to understanding the role of bacteria in diabetic foot ulcers: characterising the microbiome of ulcers – Karen Smith – BMC Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Colonic Mucosal Epigenome and Microbiome Development in Children and Adolescents – R. Alan Harris – Journal of Immunology Research

Defining the microbial transcriptional response to colitis through integrated host and microbiome profiling – Nicholas Edward Ilott – The ISME Journal

Targeting colorectal cancer-associated bacteria: a new area of research for personalized treatments – T. Faïs – Gut Microbes

Relative Abundance in Bacterial and Fungal Gut Microbes in Obese Children: A Case Control Study – Borgo Francesca – Childhood Obesity

Review: Can attention to the intestinal microbiota improve understanding and treatment of anorexia nervosa? – Jacquelyn Carr – Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Editorial: Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Ulcerative Colitis: FoMenTing Change? – Flaviano S. Martins – Digestive Diseases and Sciences

Review: Does the Microbiome Cause B27-related Acute Anterior Uveitis? – James T. Rosenbaum – Ocular Immunology and Inflammation

Microbes in blood

The prognostic significance of bacterial DNA in patients with decompensated cirrhosis and suspected infection – Tony Bruns – Liver International

Animal models

The microbiota-derived metabolite indole decreases mucosal inflammation and injury in a murine model of NSAID enteropathy – Gut Microbes

TLR4-Dependent Secretion by Hepatic Stellate Cells of the Neutrophil-Chemoattractant CXCL1 Mediates Liver Response to Gut Microbiota – Amélie E. Bigorgne – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

Vertebrate bacterial gut diversity: size also matters – Jean-Jacques Godon – BMC Ecology

Larval growth rate is associated with the composition of the gut microbiota in the Glanville fritillary butterfly – L. Ruokolainen – Oecologia

Host origin and tissue-microhabitat shaping the microbiota of the terrestrial isopod Armadillidium vulgare – Jessica Dittmer – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Presence of pathogenic Escherichia coli is correlated with bacterial community diversity and composition on pre-harvest cattle hides – Jessica Chopyk – Microbiome

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

High Diversity Revealed in Leaf Associated Protists (Rhizaria: Cercozoa) of Brassicaceae – Sebastian Ploch – The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology

Precipitation shapes communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in Tibetan alpine steppe – Jing Zhang – Scientific Reports

Spatial and seasonal influences on culturable endophytic mycobiota associated with different tissues of Eugenia jambolana Lam. and their antibacterial activity against MDR strains – Manila Yadav – BMC Microbiology

Response of enzyme activities and microbial communities to soil amendment with sugar alcohols – Huili Yu – Microbiology Open

Bioprospecting plant-associated microbiomes – Christina A. Müller – Journal of Biotechnology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Abundances, diversity and seasonality of (non-extremophilic) Archaea in Alpine freshwaters – Christoph Reitschuler – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Anthropogenic effects on bacterial diversity and function along a river-to-estuary gradient in Northwest Greece revealed by metagenomics – Alexandra Meziti – Environmental Microbiology

Heterotrophic Proteobacteria in the vicinity of diffuse hydrothermal venting – Dimitri Meier – Environmental Microbiology

Waste and pollution microbiology

Response and resilience of soil microbial communities inhabiting in edible oil stress/contamination from industrial estates – Vrutika Patel – BMC Microbiology

Built environment microbiology

Diversity of ribosomal 16S DNA- and RNA-based bacterial community in an office building drinking water system – Jenni Inkinen – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Forensic microbiology

Complications in the study of ancient tuberculosis: Presence of environmental bacteria in human archaeological remains – Romy Müller – Journal of Archaeological Science

Food microbiology

Lentibacillus kimchii sp. nov., an extremely halophilic bacterium isolated from kimchi, a Korean fermented vegetable – Young Joon Oh – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Computational modeling

Host Selection of Microbiota via Differential Adhesion – Kirstie McLoughlin – Cell Host & Microbe

Techniques

The real cost of sequencing: scaling computation to keep pace with data generation – Paul Muir – Genome Biology

Multicenter quality assessment of 16S ribosomal DNA-sequencing for microbiome analyses reveals high inter-center variability – Andreas Hiergeist –
International Journal of Medical Microbiology

Genotyping bacterial and fungal pathogens using sequence variation in the gene for the CCA-adding enzyme – Paul Franz – BMC Microbiology

Proteomics

Review: Tackling probiotic and gut microbiota functionality through proteomics – Lorena Ruiz – Journal of Proteomics

Microbes in the news

Can we model how viruses move between species? – Nancy Mendoza – Microbe Post

The Virus That Could Cure Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and More – Jon Palfreman – PBS

Report: Laminate wood flooring risk was underestimated by CDC – Jonathan Eisen – MicroBEnet

Microbiota profiles in patients with colorectal cancer differ from healthy individuals – Healio

Science, publishing and career

Set up a ‘self-retraction’ system for honest errors, says Daniele Fanelli – Nature

Incorporating Primary Scientific Literature in Middle and High School Education – Sarah C. Fankhauser – ASM Science

[hr]

March 22, 2016

Eye microbiota and contact lenses, leaf-cutter ant dumps, bacteria help with platinum transformation, metagenomics from a Swedish cave, extreme habitats at home, bacteria on board the ISS, a special issue on Megaviromes, and a recipe for Poop Peeps.

Jobs

Lecturership in Human Microbiome Studies – University of Reading, UK

Pregnancy and birth

Effect of Infant Formula Containing a Low Dose of the Probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis CNCM I-3446 on Immune and Gut Functions in C-Section Delivered Babies: A Pilot Study – L. Baglatzi – Clinical Medicine Insights: Pediatrics

Infection, immunology, and transplantion microbiology

Metagenomic analysis of bloodstream infections in patients with acute leukemia and therapy-induced neutropenia – P. Gyarmati – Scientific Reports

Rifaximin preserves intestinal microbiota balance in patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation – D Weber – Bone Marrow Transplantation

Gut microbiome–derived metabolites modulate intestinal epithelial cell damage and mitigate graft-versus-host disease – Nathan D Mathewson – Nature Immunology

Crosstalk between microbiota, pathogens and the innate immune responses – Claudia Günther – International Journal of Medical Microbiology

Human oral microbiome

Commentary: Microbiota-derived metabolites modulate tissue homeostasis: relevance to the oral cavity? – Hervé Le Moual – Oral Diseases

Human eye and skin microbiome

Changes in the Eye Microbiota Associated with Contact Lens Wearing – Hakdong Shin – mBio

Human vaginal microbiome

Improvement and automation of a real-time PCR assay for vaginal fluids – E. De Vittori – Forensic Science International

Human gut microbiome

Conference report: Talking about cross-talk: the immune system and the microbiome: A report on the first EMBO conference entitled “Next Gen Immunology—From Host Genome to the Microbiome: Immunity in the Genomic Era”, Feb 2016 – David Zeevi – Genome Biology

Review: An (Anti)-Inflammatory Microbiota: Defining the Role in Inflammatory Bowel Disease? – Burman S. – Digestive Diseases

Review: Gut Microbiota: The Brain Peacekeeper – Chunlong Mu – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review [PDF]: The intestinal microbiota and its role in human health and
disease – Keiko Kataoka – The Journal of Medical Investigation

Editorial: The microbiome as a possible target to prevent celiac disease – Maureen M Leonard – Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Animal models

Mice: Arthritis-induced alveolar bone loss is associated with changes in the composition of oral microbiota – Jôice Dias Corrêa – Anaerobe

Chickens: Dietary High Fluorine Alters Intestinal Microbiota in Broiler Chickens – Qin Luo – Biological Trace Element Research

Tilapia: Abrupt suspension of probiotics administration may increase host pathogen susceptibility by inducing gut dysbiosis – Zhi Liu – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

Cellulose-Enriched Microbial Communities from Leaf-Cutter Ant (Atta colombica) Refuse Dumps Vary in Taxonomic Composition and Degradation Ability – Gina R. Lewin – PLOS ONE

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Relic DNA is abundant in soil and obscures estimates of soil microbial diversity – Paul Carini – bioRxiv

Biological role in the transformation of platinum-group mineral grains – Frank Reith – Nature Geoscience

Associations between ectomycorrhizal fungi and bacterial needle endophytes in Pinus radiata: implications for biotic selection of microbial communities – Megan A. Rúa – Frontiers in Microbiology

Functional composition of plant communities determines the spatial and temporal stability of soil microbial properties in a long-term plant diversity experiment – Tanja Strecker – Oikos

No synergistic effects of water and nitrogen addition on soil microbial communities and soil respiration in a temperate desert – Yan Gui Su – CATENA

The role of phosphorus, magnesium and potassium availability in soil fungal exploration of mineral nutrient sources in Norway spruce forests – Nicholas P. Rosenstock – New Phytologist

Climate and edaphic controllers influence rhizosphere community assembly for a wild annual grass – Erin E. Nuccio – Ecology

Temporal distance decay of similarity of ectomycorrhizal fungal community composition in a subtropical evergreen forest in Japan – Shunsuke Matsuoka – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

ReviewThe Functioning of Rhizosphere Biota in Wetlands – a Review – Amir Neori – Wetlands

Water and extremophile microbiome

Experimental evidence that microbial activity lowers the albedo of glaciers – M. Musilova – Geochemical Perspectives Letters

Transcriptional analysis of sulfate reducing and chemolithoautotrophic sulfur oxidizing bacteria in the deep subseafloor – William D. Orsi – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Cave microbiome

Metagenomic Analysis from the Interior of a Speleothem in Tjuv-Ante’s Cave, Northern Sweden – Marie Lisandra Zepeda Mendoza – PLOS ONE

Built environment microbiology

Microbial diversity of extreme habitats in human homes – Amy M. Savage – PeerJ preprint

Growth of 48 built environment bacterial isolates on board the International Space Station (ISS) – David A. Coil – PeerJ

Food microbiology

Isolation and identification of biocellulose-producing bacterial strains from Malaysian acidic fruits – Wen Yi W. V – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Bioinformatics, techniques, and metagenomics

Strain-level microbial epidemiology and population genomics from shotgun metagenomics – Matthias Scholz – Nature Methods

Improving the microbial community reconstruction at the genus level by multiple 16S rRNA regions – Shengqin Wang – Journal of Theoretical Biology

A framework for inferring biological communities from environmental DNA – Andrew Olaf Shelton – Ecological Applications

Review: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) in the microbiological world: How to make the most of your money – Antony T. Vincent – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Metagenomics and viruses

A Next-Generation Sequencing Data Analysis Pipeline for Detecting Unknown Pathogens from Mixed Clinical Samples and Revealing Their Genetic Diversity – Yu-Nong Gong – PLOS ONE

Exploring the virome of cattle with non-suppurative encephalitis of unknown etiology by metagenomics – Daniel Wüthrich – Virology

The Intestinal Eukaryotic Virome in Healthy and Diarrhoeic Neonatal Piglets – Oskar E. Karlsson – PLOS ONE

Special issue of Current Opinion in Microbiology: Megaviromes
Review: Giant viruses come of age – Matthias G Fischer
Review: Giant viruses and the origin of modern eukaryotes – Patrick Forterre

To be or not to be alive: How recent discoveries challenge the traditional definitions of viruses and life – Patrick Forterre – Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences

More microbiology

The mystery of plague in medieval Iceland – Chris Callow – Journal of Medieval History

Microbes in the news

HT: Tomer Altman: Poop Peeps: Today we’re going to make Poop Peeps. Marshmallow Peeps that are shaped like the poop emoji.– Matthew Cetta – Nomageddon

Elizabethkingia, the rare and deadly bacteria that’s sickening people in the Midwest, explained – Julia Belluz – Vox

Forest resilience; can microbes help combat climate change issues faster than genetic adaptations? – Armand Séguin

Controversial New Push to Tie Microbes to Alzheimer’s Disease. A journal article says herpes virus and Lyme disease bacteria are behind the mind-robbing illness, but not all researchers are convinced – Melinda Wenner Moyer – Scientific American

Bacteria Are Revolutionizing Biotech–Here’s Why We Need To Talk About It – Catherine Feuillet – Forbes

Contact Lenses Fill Your Eyes With Bacteria – Mandy Oaklander – Time

Killing Bacteria With Gold Nanodisks And Light – Jennifer Hicks – Forbes

Space gives bacteria room to grow – Dan Satherley – NewsHub

Uncovering bacterial role in platinum formation – University of Adelaide

Top Science Fair Projects Put Stream Data, Bacteria to Work – Dan Swanson – News Channel Nebraska

The Daily Startup: Startups Look to ‘New Frontier’ of Microbiomes to Fight Disease – Wall Street Journal

The Human Microbiome Handbook – Edited by Jason Tetro, Emma Allen-Vercoe

New Bioinformatic Approach Enables Strain-Level Microbial Profiling From Metagenomic Data – Genome Web

Ulcerative Colitis Improves in Multidonor Fecal Transplant Trial – Damian McNamara – MedScape

Blog posts by me:

New papers, March 22, 2016 – Elisabeth Bik – MicroBEnet

Extreme environments at home – Elisabeth Bik – MicroBEnet

[hr]

March 20, 2016

Back in the PDT, so catching up with the literature.

Pregnancy and birth

In mice: The maternal microbiota drives early postnatal innate immune development – Mercedes Gomez de Agüero – Science

Review: New techniques to characterise the vaginal microbiome in pregnancy – George L. Mendz – AIMS Microbiology

Perspective: The Placental Microbiome: A New Site for Policing Women’s Bodies – Saray Ayala – International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics

Review: Building a Beneficial Microbiome from Birth – Esther Castanys-Muñoz – Advances in Nutrition

Human oral microbiome

Microbiome associated with severe caries in Canadian First Nations children – EurekAlert

Comparative analysis of bacterial profiles in unstimulated and stimulated saliva samples – Daniel Belstrøm – Journal of Oral Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Microbiome Survey of the Inflamed and Noninflamed Gut at Different Compartments Within the Gastrointestinal Tract of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients – Forbes, Jessica D. – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Helicobacter pylori Eradication Causes Perturbation of the Human Gut Microbiome in Young Adults – Theresa Wan-Chen Yap – PLOS ONE

FODMAPs alter symptoms and the metabolome of patients with IBS: a randomised controlled trial – Keith McIntosh – Gut

Tumour-associated and non-tumour-associated microbiota in colorectal cancer – Burkhardt Flemer – Gut
Review: Microbiota and lifestyle interactions through the lifespan – Simone Rampelli – Trends in Food Science & Technology

Review: Gut Microbiota and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Insights on Mechanism and Application of Metabolomics – Xuyun He – Int J Mol Sci

Animal models

Effect of artesunate supplementation on bacterial translocation and dysbiosis of gut microbiota in rats with liver cirrhosis – Yun-Xia Chen – World Journal of Gastroenterology

Long-term effects of early life microbiota disturbance on adaptive immunity in laying hens
K. Simon – Poultry Science

Animal microbiome

Cuticular bacteria appear detrimental to social spiders in mixed but not monoculture exposure – Carl N. Keiser – Current Zoology

Review: Microbial diversity associated with ascidians: a review of research methods and application – Lei Chen – Symbiosis

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Distinctive tropical forest variants have unique soil microbial communities, but not always low microbial diversity – Binu M. Tripathi – Frontiers in Microbiology

Spatial variability of microbial richness and diversity and relationships with soil organic carbon, texture and structure across an agricultural field – Muhammad Naveed – Applied Soil Ecology

Microbial community structure and nutrient dynamics in forest soils colonized by bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) – Manuel Aira – PeerJ Preprint

Evidence of horizontal gene transfer between obligate leaf nodule symbionts – Marta Pinto-Carbó – The ISME Journal

Bacteria-Soil-Plant Interaction: This Relationship to Generate can Inputs and New Products for the Food Industry – Jeremias Pakulski Panizzon – Rice Research

Microbial growth and community structure in acid mine soils after addition of different amendments for soil reclamation – R. Zornoza – Geoderma

Water and extremophile microbiome

Deep Crustal Communities of the Juan de Fuca Ridge Are Governed by Mineralogy – Amy R. Smith – Geomicrobiology Journal

Methane seep in shallow-water permeable sediment harbors high diversity of anaerobic methanotrophic communities, Elba, Italy – Emil S. Ruff – Frontiers in Microbiology

Diversity and Metabolic Potentials of Subsurface Crustal Microorganisms from the Western Flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge – Xinxu Zhang – Frontiers in Microbiology

Built environment microbiology

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Microbial Communities in Household Dishwashers in Germany – Britta Brands – Tenside Surfactants Detergents

Waste and pollution microbiology

Degradation of oxytetracycline and its impacts on biogas-producing microbial community structure – Halil Coban – Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering

Diversity of arsenite oxidase gene and arsenotrophic bacteria in arsenic affected Bangladesh soils – Santonu Kumar Sanyal

Techniques

Example used in this review paper: kombucha (?): DNA metabarcoding of microbial communities for healthcare – Zaets I. Ye – Biopolym Cell

Next-Generation Sequencing in the Mycology Lab – Jan Zoll – Current Fungal Infection Reports

Metagenomics

Identification of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance markers using bacterial genomics – Sofiane Bakour – Future Medicine

Microbes in the news

Gut health: Stanford researchers explain how what’s in our bellies affects myriad health issues – Martha Ross – Contra Costa Times

Inflamed, noninflamed mucosal microbiota differ between patients with Crohn’s disease, UC – Healio

Video: Six Strange Things Bacteria Eat – Wall Street Journal

Bacteria in your mom’s gut may have influenced the way you fight off infections today
Katherine Ellen Foley – Quartz

New technique for rapidly killing bacteria using tiny gold disks and light – Nanowerk

Bacteria-powered Bio-Bots Avoid Obstacles on Way to Target – MedGadget

Pneumonia, middle ear infections might be prevented by diverse bacteria in gut microbiome – Emily Lunardo – Belmarra Health

Going viral: IU Southeast student, teacher discover a new type of virus
Student, professor find new bacteriophage in Ohio River – Jerod Clapp – News and Tribune

Brucellosis-causing bacteria could be dropped from bioterrorism list – Helenair

[hr]

March 16, 2016

Events

Strategies & Techniques for Analyzing Microbial Population Structures (STAMPS) Course 8/3-8/13 – MicroBEnet

Human skin microbiome

An in Vitro Model for the Human Cutaneous Microbial Ecosystem – Danique A. van der Krieken – Acta Dermato-Venereologica

Human oral microbiome

Interactions between Streptococcus oralis, Actinomyces oris, and Candida albicans in the development of multispecies oral microbial biofilms on salivary pellicle – I.M.G. Cavalcanti – Molecular Oral Microbiology

Human respiratory tract microbiome

High genetic diversity of Staphylococcus aureus strains colonising the nasopharynx of Gambian villagers before widespread use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines – Chinelo Ebruke – BMC Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Note: data segregate according to studyGene expression profiling gut microbiota in different races of humans – Lei Chen – Scientific Reports

Review: A healthy gastrointestinal microbiome is dependent on dietary diversity – Mark L. Heiman

Review: Gut Microbiota and Obesity: Potential Therapeutic Targets and Probiotic 
Nicole D. White – American Journal of Life Sciences

Animal models

Fuzhuan tea consumption imparts hepatoprotective effects and alters intestinal microbiota in high saturated fat diet-fed rats – Michelle T. Foster – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

Long-term effects of early life microbiota disturbance on adaptive immunity in laying 
K. Simon – Poultry Science

Rapid evolution of microbe-mediated protection against pathogens in a worm host
Kayla C King – ISME Journal

Impact of 4-epi-oxytetracycline on the gut microbiota and blood metabolomics of Wistar rats
Hongxing Han – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

Genomic Analysis of Companion Rabbit Staphylococcus aureus – Mark A. Holmes – PLOS ONE

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Influences of Plant Species, Season and Location on Leaf Endophytic Bacterial Communities of Non-Cultivated Plants – Tao Ding – PLOS ONE

Water and extremophile microbiome

Ecosystem function decays by fungal outbreaks in Antarctic microbial mats – David Velázquez – Scientific Reports

Multi-laboratory survey of qPCR enterococci analysis method performance in U.S. coastal and inland surface waters – Richard A. Haugland – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Built environment microbiome

Potentially harmful secondary metabolites produced by indoor Chaetomium species on artificially and naturally contaminated building materials – I. Došen – Indoor AIr

Food microbiology

Helicobacter pylori in bottled mineral water: genotyping and antimicrobial resistance properties – Reza Ranjbar – BMC Microbiology

Effects of Temperature on Bacterial Communities and Metabolites during Fermentation of Myeolchi-Aekjeot, a Traditional Korean Fermented Anchovy Sauce – Ji Young Jung – PLOS ONE

Viruses and phages

The Formulation of Bacteriophage in a Semi Solid Preparation for Control of Propionibacterium acnes Growth – Teagan L. Brown – PLOS ONE

News & Views: Microbial oceanography: Viral strategies at sea – T. Frede Thingstad – Nature

Lytic to temperate switching of viral communities – B. Knowles – Nature

Microbial Ecology

Closely coupled evolutionary history of ecto- and endosymbionts from two distantly related animal phyla – Judith Zimmerman – Molecular Ecology

Bioinformatics

RiboFR-Seq: a novel approach to linking 16S rRNA amplicon profiles to 
Yanming Zhang – Nucleic Acids Research

Techniques

The US Culture Collection Network lays the foundation for progress in preservation of valuable microbial resources – Kevin McCluskey – Phytopathology

Assessing the impact of long term frozen storage of faecal samples on protein concentration and protease activity – Laura S. Morris – Journal of Microbiological Methods

A modified micro chamber agar spot slide culture technique for microscopic examination of filamentous fungi – Peralam Yegneswaran Prakash – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Microbes in the news

uBiome is World’s First Company to Appoint Citizen-Scientist-in-Residence – PR Web

Incredible images reveal bacteria motor parts in unprecedented detail – Science Codex

Ancient Bacteria With Photosynthesis Were Much More Common Than Previously Thought, Study Finds – Catherine Griffin – HNGN

Viral Remnants Help Regulate Human Immunity: Endogenous retroviruses in the human genome can regulate genes involved in innate immune responses – Jyoti Madhusoodanan – The Scientist

Plastic That Mimics Insect Wings Kills Bacteria, University of California, Irvine Study – Biospace

Early heavy metal exposure can cause permanent changes to gut microbiome and cause a host of diseases – Dave Mihalovic – SOTT

Slice of PLOS: Bacteria’s Social Media – Lauren Richardson – PLOS ONE

“Unsurprisingly, Perlmutter has his critics.” Neurologist David Perlmutter gets to the guts of brain health with surprising advice – SMH.com

Opinion: A Mother’s Microbes: On “vaginal seeding” and the challenge of evidence-based parenting – Rob Knight and Jack Gilbert – The Scientist

Australian Scientists Discover How Gut Bacteria May Prevent Stomach Cancer – MSN

Reduction in dietary diversity impacts richness of human gut microbiota – Science Codex
http://www.nature.com/articles/srep23075

Press might be overinterpreting Mouse seminal microbiome study:
Scientists discover microbiome that may be responsible for male reproductive disorders – EurekAlert

Seminal work. How unruly data led MU scientists to discover a new microbiome – Roger Meissen – Decoding Science

Microbiome: This Type Of Bacteria May Increase Risk Of Reproductive Disorders – Kathleen Lees – HNGN

Science, publishing, and career

Handful of Biologists Went Rogue and Published Directly to Internet – Amy Harmon

Peer-Led Team Learning Helps Minority Students Succeed – Julia J. Snyder – PLOS Biology

Video parody: PloS ANNA VS ELSAvier – For The First Time – Luisa Hugerth -YouTube

Bik’s Picks

A Month in Mammoth. Two sleep researchers braved the subterranean environment of a Kentucky cave to see if they could train their bodies to abandon the cyclical rhythms of the 24-hour day – The Scientist

Night Night, Flipper – Watch underwater footage of a dolphin sleeping in the wild – The Scientist

Scientists Find That Getting Multiple Tattoos Strengthens Your Immune System – Kelly Tatera – Science Explorer

[hr]

March 5, 2016

Lung microbes in Cystic Fibrosis, microbiota of reindeer, strawberry phyllosphere, and microbes in raindust.

Pregnancy and birth

Dynamics of Gut Microbiota According to the Delivery Mode in Healthy Korean Infants – Eun Lee- Allergy Asthma Immunol Res.

Review: Respiratory Microbiome of New-Born Infants – David J. Gallacher – Frontiers in Pediatrics

Review: Bosom Buddies: The Symbiotic Relationship Between Infants and Bifidobacterium longum ssp. longum and ssp. infantis. Genetic and Probiotic Features – Silvia Arboleya – Annual Review of Food Science and Technology

Review: Maternal microbiome – A pathway to preterm birth – Angela E. Vinturache – Seminars in Fetal and Neonatal Medicine

Human respiratory microbiome

Analysis of Lung Microbiota in Bronchoalveolar Lavage, Protected Brush and Sputum Samples from Subjects with Mild-To-Moderate Cystic Fibrosis Lung Disease – Deborah A. Hogan – PLOS ONE

Human oral microbiome

Levels of Candidate Periodontal Pathogens in Subgingival Biofilm – R.R.D.S Oliveira – Journal of Dental Research

Human gut microbiome

Effects of plant stanol ester consumption on fasting plasma oxy(phyto)sterol concentrations as related to fecal microbiota characteristics – Sabine Baumgartner – The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Microbiome Survey of the Inflamed and Noninflamed Gut at Different Compartments Within the Gastrointestinal Tract of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients – Forbes, Jessica D. – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Metagenomic evidence for taxonomic dysbiosis and functional imbalance in the gastrointestinal tracts of children with cystic fibrosis – Ohad Manor – Scientific Reports

Research highlight: Growth impairment in undernourished children – Claire Greenhill – Nature Reviews Endocrinology

Review: Elucidating the role of the host genome in shaping microbiome composition – Emily R. Davenport – Gut Microbes

Review: The Microbiome: A Key Regulator of Stress and Neuroinflammation – Kieran Rea – Neurobiology of Stress

Review: The Brain-Gut-Microbiome Axis: What Role Does it Play in Autism Spectrum Disorder? – Ruth Ann Luna – Current Developmental Disorders Reports

Review: Microbes and the Mind: Emerging Hallmarks of the Gut Microbiota-Brain Axis – Kylynda C. Bauer – Cellular Microbiology

Review: The human gut microbiome and its dysfunctions through the meta-omics prism – Stanislas Mondot – Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Animal models

Age, introduction of solid feed and weaning are more important determinants of gut bacterial succession in piglets than breed and nursing mother as revealed by a reciprocal cross-fostering model – Gaorui Bian – Environmental Microbiology

Effects of environmental temperature on the gut microbial communities of tadpoles – Kevin D. Kohl – Environmental Microbiology

Apple-Derived Pectin Modulates Gut Microbiota, Improves Gut Barrier Function, and Attenuates Metabolic Endotoxemia in Rats with Diet-Induced Obesity – Tingting Jiang – MDPI Nutrients

The effects of fecal microbial transplantation on microbiome and immunity in SIV-infected macaques – Tiffany Hensley-McBain – Journal of Virology

Soy Protein Compared with Milk Protein in a Western Diet Increases Gut Microbial Diversity and Reduces Serum Lipids in Golden Syrian Hamsters – Dustie N Butteiger – Journal of Nutrition

Review: The interplay between intestinal bacteria and host metabolism in health and disease: lessons from Drosophila melanogaster – Adam C. N. Wong – Disease Models & Mechanisms

Animal microbiome

New Insights into the Microbiota of the Svalbard Reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus – Sylwia Zielińska – Frontiers in Microbiology

Geographically conserved microbiomes of four temperate water tunicates – Patrick L. Cahill – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Twenty five new viruses associated with the Drosophilidae (Diptera) – Claire L Webster – bioRxiv

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Soil Microbial Community Interactions Under Tillage Systems in Australia – Vivian A. Rincon-Florez – Plant, Soil and Microbes

Variation of Bacterial Community Diversity in Rhizosphere Soil of Sole-Cropped versus Intercropped Wheat Field after Harvest – Zhenping Yang – PLOS ONE

Dispersal of Bacillus subtilis and its effect on strawberry phyllosphere microbiota under open field and protection conditions – Feng Wei – Scientific Reports

Temporally Variable Geographical Distance Effects Contribute to the Assembly of Root-Associated Fungal Communities – Christopher J. Barnes – Frontiers in Microbiology

Elevation gradient of soil bacterial communities in bamboo plantations – Yu-Te Lin – Botanical Studies

Soil microbial functional capacity and diversity in a millet-shrub intercropping system of semi-arid Senegal – S. Diakhaté – Journal of Arid Environments

Bioaugmentation of microbes to restore coastal wetland plants to protect land from coastal erosion – Regina Bledsoe – International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation

Review: Nutrient scavenging activity and antagonistic factors of non-photobiont lichen-associated bacteria: a review – M. Auður Sigurbjörnsdóttir – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Water, rain, and extremophile microbiome

Remnants of marine bacterial communities can be retrieved from deep sediments in lakes of marine origin – Silke Langenheder – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Comparative summer dynamics of surface cyanobacterial communities in two connected lakes from the west of Ireland – N. Touzet – Science of The Total Environment

Dust Rains Deliver Diverse Assemblages of Microorganisms to the Eastern Mediterranean – Ghida Nouhad Itani – Scientific Reports

Protistan diversity and activity inferred from RNA and DNA at a coastal ocean site in the eastern North Pacific – Sarah K. Hu – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

A distinct and active bacterial community in cold oxygenated fluids circulating beneath the western flank of the Mid-Atlantic ridge – Julie L. Meyer – Scientific Reports

Biodigester microbiology

This one sounded wrong: Microbial diversity in an anaerobic digester with biogeographical proximity to geothermal active region – Rishi Mahajan – Environmental Technology

Food microbiology

Impact of mulches and growing season on indicator bacteria survival during lettuce cultivation – Aixia Xu – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Built environment microbiology

Seasonal Dynamics of the Airborne Bacterial Community and Selected Viruses in a Children’s Daycare Center – Aaron J. Prussin II – PLOS ONE

Bioweathering Potential of Cultivable Fungi Associated with Semi-Arid Surface Microhabitats of Mayan Buildings – Benjamín O. Ortega-Morales – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbiome of death

Review: The Thanatomicrobiome: A Missing Piece of the Microbial Puzzle of Death – Gulnaz T. Javan – Frontiers in Microbiology

Waste and pollution microbiology

Isolation and characterization of yeasts associated with plants growing in heavy-metal- and arsenic-contaminated soils – Juan Ramos-Garza – Canadian Journal of Microbiology

Review: Understanding the development of environmental resistance among microbes: A Review – Jatin Srivastava – CLEAN – Soil, Air, Water

Review: Microbial communities, processes and functions in acid mine drainage ecosystems – Lin-xing Chen – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Infection microbiology

Absence of Serological Evidence of Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., Ehrlichia spp. and Coxiella burnetii Infections in American Samoa – Colleen Lau – Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

Comparison between a Broad-Range Real-Time and a Broad-Range End-Point PCR Assays for the Detection of Bacterial 16S rRNA in Clinical Samples – Mariam Meddeb – Annals of Clinical & Laboratory Science

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Capturing the most wanted taxa through cross-sample correlations – Mathieu Almeida – The ISME Journal

MEGAnnotator: a user-friendly pipeline for microbial genomes assembly and annotation
Gabriele Andrea Lugli – FEMS Microbiology Letters

Sequence techniques

Microbial Ecology in the Era of Next Generation Sequencing – Surajit De Mandal – Omics: Next Generation: Sequencing & Applications

Microbial Ecology

Microbes as Engines of Ecosystem Function: When Does Community Structure Enhance Predictions of Ecosystem Processes? – Emily B. Graham – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Would you try to vaginally “seed” your baby’s microbiome after a C-section – Jonathan Eisen – The Tree of Life

Science, publishing, and career

This Paper Should Not Have Been Retracted: #HandofGod highlights the worst aspects of science twitter – Andrew David Thaler – Southern Friend Science

The “Creator” paper, Post-pub Peer Review, and Racism Among Scientists – Dr24hours – Complex Roots

UC reclassifies master’s degrees, charges elevated tuition – Nanette Asimov – SF Chronicle

She Wanted to Do Her Research. He Wanted to Talk ‘Feelings.’ – A. Hope Jahren – NY Times

[hr]

March 3, 2016

Gut microbiome of Indian Nicobarese tribe, CDI patients’ stories about life before and after stool transplants, cryptic species in Nematoda, and similar fungi at opposite poles.

Pregnancy and birth

Review: The Developing Microbiome of the Preterm Infant – Mara E. DiBartolomeo – Clinical Therapeutics

Gut colonization by aerobic microorganisms is associated with route and type of nutrition in premature neonates – Ülle Parm – Nutrition Research

Human oral microbiome

Influence of a triclosan toothpaste on periodontopathic bacteria and periodontitis progression in cardiovascular patients: a randomized controlled trial – G. J. Seymour – Journal of Periodontal Research

Human respiratory microbiome

Review: Microbes and asthma: Opportunities for intervention – Hermelijn H. Smits – Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Understanding Persistent Bacterial Lung Infections: Clinical Implications Informed by the Biology of the Microbiota and Biofilms – Alexa A. Pragman – Clinical Pulmonary Medicine

Human gut microbiome

Elucidating the richness of bacterial groups in the gut of nicobarese tribal community – Perspective on their lifestyle transition – Maile Anwesh – Anaerobe

Resistant potato starches (type 4 RS) exhibit varying effects on laxation with and without phylum level changes in microbiota: A randomised trial in young adults – W.J. Dahl – Journal of Functional Foods

RecommendedFecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection: The patient experience – Amy L. Pakyz – American Journal of Infection Control

Analysis of Gut Microbiome Reveals Significant Differences Between Men with Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome and Controls – Daniel A. Shoskes – The Journal of Urology

RiMINI – the influence of rifaximin on minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) and on the intestinal microbiome in patients with liver cirrhosis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial – Christian Schulz – BMC Trials

Editorial: Dysbiosis in fungal microbiota in IBD – Katrina Ray – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Models of microbiome research

Functional characterization of inflammatory bowel disease-associated gut dysbiosis in gnotobiotic mice – Hiroko Nagao-Kitamoto – CMGH Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Effect of breast feeding time on physiological, immunological and microbial parameters of weaned piglets in an intensive breeding farm – G.R. García – Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology

Animal microbiome

Prevalence of potential nitrogen-fixing, green sulfur bacteria in the skeleton of reef-building coral Isopora palifera – Shan-Hua Yang – Limnology and Oceanography

An investigation of the microbiota in uterine flush samples and endometrial biopsies from dairy cows during the first 7 weeks postpartum – Lif Rødtness Vesterby Knudsen – Theriogenology

Coexisting cryptic species of the Litoditis marina complex (Nematoda) show differential resource use and have distinct microbiomes with high intraspecific variability – S Derycke – Molecular Ecology

Hologenome analysis of two marine sponges with different microbiomes – Taewoo Ryu – BMC Genomics

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Land use change in the Amazon rainforest favors generalist fungi – Rebecca C Mueller – Functional Ecology

Drivers of phosphorus limitation across soil microbial communities – Petr Čapek – Functional Ecology

Effects of changes in straw chemical properties and alkaline soils on bacterial communities engaged in straw decomposition at different temperatures – Guixiang Zhou – Scientific Reports

Soil pH is a Key Determinant of Soil Fungal Community Composition in the Ny-Ålesund Region, Svalbard (High Arctic) – Tao Zhang – Frontiers in Microbiology

Diversity of endophytic fungal and bacterial communities in Ilex paraguariensis grown under field conditions – María Laura Pérez – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Resolving evolutionary relationships in lichen-forming fungi using diverse phylogenomic datasets and analytical approaches – Steven D. Leavitt – Scientific Reports

Rhizosphere competence of wild-type and genetically-engineered Pseudomonas brassicacearum is affected by the crop species – Stacey Blouin Bankhead – Phytopathology

Actinorhizal Alder Phytostabilization Alters Microbial Community Dynamics in Gold Mine Waste Rock from Northern Quebec: A Greenhouse Study – Katrina L. Callender – PLOS ONE

Differences in soil micro-eukaryotic communities over soil pH gradients are strongly driven by parasites and saprotrophs – A. Ö. C. Dupont – Environmental Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Diazotroph community structure in the deep oxygen minimum zone of the Costa Rica Dome – Shunyan Cheung – Journal of Plankton Research

Not poles apart: Antarctic soil fungal communities show similarities to those of the distant Arctic – Filipa Cox – Ecology Letters

Food microbiology

Salmonella in Shell Eggs: Mechanisms, Prevention and Detection – Seockmo K – Omics Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences

Intensive aquaculture selects for increased virulence and interference competition in bacteria – Lotta-Riina Sundberg – Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Application of electrolyzed oxidizing water in production of radish sprouts to reduce natural microbiota – Chunling Zhang – Food Control

Biodiversity of culturable psychrotrophic microbiota in raw milk attributable to refrigeration conditions, seasonality and their spoilage potential – Nuwan R. Vithanage – International Dairy Journal

Microbiological characteristics of fresh tofu produced in small industrial scale and identification of specific spoiling microorganisms (SSO) – Franca Rossi – LWT – Food Science and Technology

Built Environment and Waste Microbiome

The efficacy of disinfectants in the decontamination of dental unit water lines: an in vitro laboratory study – Mrudula Patel – BDJ Open

Review: Bacterial communities in full-scale wastewater treatment systems – Agnieszka Cydzik-Kwiatkowska – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Preferential methanogenic biodegradation of short-chain n-alkanes by microbial communities from two different oil sands tailings ponds – Mohd Faidz Mohamad Shahimin – Science of The Total Environment

Microbes in space

Two older papers that showed up in my PubMed alert today:
Review: The Significance of Microbe-Mineral-Biomarker Interactions in the Detection of Life on Mars and Beyond – Wilfred F.M. Röling – Astrobiology
Microbial Ecology of a Crewed Rover Traverse in the Arctic: Low Microbial Dispersal and Implications for Planetary Protection on Human Mars Missions – Andrew C. Schuerger – Astrobiology

Phages and viruses

Diversity of phage infection types and associated terminology: the problem with “Lytic or Lysogenic” – Zack Hobbs – FEMS Microbiology Letters

Techniques

Effect of Freezing Conditions on Fecal Bacterial Composition in Pigs – Barbara U. Metzler-Zebeli – MDPI Animals

Microbes in the news

Astronaut Scott Kelly back on earth, Northwestern profs celebrate – Chicago Sun Times

Microbial Manifesto: The Global Push to Understand the Microbiome (Kavli Roundtable) – Alan Brown – Live Science

‘Gut’ bacteria may help put a kink in family obesity cycle – Science Codex

[hr]

February 26, 2016

IVF outcomes, large oral microbiota study, Pygmies and Bantu, GF animal models, correlation detection strategies, and sashimi in Portugal.

General microbiome

Opinion: Manipulating Bacterial Communities by in situ Microbiome Engineering – Ravi U. Sheth – Trends in Genetics

Pregnancy and birth

Transition from infant- to adult-like gut microbiota – E. Avershina – Environmental Microbiology

Abnormal vaginal microbiota may be associated with poor reproductive outcomes: A prospective study in IVF patients – T. Haahr – Human Reproduction

Human oral microbiome

Bacterial diversity in saliva and oral health-related conditions: the Hisayama Study – Toru Takeshita – Scientific Reports

Human gut microbiome

Gut Microbiome of Coexisting BaAka Pygmies and Bantu Reflects Gradients of Traditional Subsistence Patterns – Andres Gomez – Cell Reports

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Affects the Outcome of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation for Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection – Alexander Khoruts – Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Gut microbiota composition and relapse risk in pediatric MS: A pilot study – Helen Tremlett – Journal of the Neurological Sciences

Analysis of Gastric Microbiota by Pyrosequencing: Minor Role of Bacteria Other Than Helicobacter pylori in the Gastric Carcinogenesis – Hyun Jin Jo – Helicobacter

Review: Crohn’s Disease: Evolution, Epigenetics, and the Emerging Role of Microbiome-Targeted Therapies – Ersilia M. DeFilippis – Current Gastroenterology Reports

Review: Immune recognition and response to the intestinal microbiome in type 1 diabetes – Alexandra Paun – Journal of Autoimmunity

Review: Intestinal microbiota: from sequencing to function – Julia-Stefanie Frick – International Journal of Medical Microbiology

Models of microbiome research

Growing up in a Bubble: Using Germ-Free Animals to Assess the Influence of the Gut Microbiota on Brain and Behaviour – Pauline Luczynski – International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology

Vancomycin treatment alters humoral immunity and intestinal microbiota in an aged mouse model of Clostridium difficile infection – Edward van Opstal – The Journal of Infectious Diseases

Culex quinquefasciatus larval microbiomes vary with instar and exposure to common wastewater contaminants – Marcus J. Pennington – Scientific Reports

Microbial succession in response to pollutants in batch-enrichment culture – Shuo Jiao – Scientific Reports

Manipulation of the gut microbiota using resistant starch is associated with protection against colitis-associated colorectal cancer in rats – Ying Hu – Carcinogenesis

Animal microbiome

Managing Amphibian Disease with Skin Microbiota – Douglas C. Woodhams – Trends in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Fungal phylogenetic diversity drives plant facilitation – Alicia Montesinos-Navarro – Oecologia

Positive plant–soil feedbacks of the invasive Impatiens glandulifera and their effects on above-ground microbial communities – Z Pattison – Weed Research

Bacterial community dissimilarity between the surface and subsurface soils equals horizontal differences over several kilometers in the western Tibetan Plateau – Haiyan Chu – Environmental Microbiology

Spatial scale drives patterns in soil bacterial diversity – Sarah L. O’Brien – Environmental Microbiology

Detection of short-term cropping system-induced changes to soil bacterial communities differs among four molecular characterization methods – David S. Duncan – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Water and extremophile microbiome

Assembly and Succession of Iron Oxide Microbial Mat Communities in Acidic Geothermal Springs – Jacob P. Beam – Frontiers in Microbiology

Food microbiology

Influence of season and type of restaurants on sashimi microbiota – S. Miguéis – The European Journal of Public Health

Mitigation of Biofilm Formation on Corrugated Cardboard Fresh Produce Packaging Surfaces Using a Novel Thiazolidinedione Derivative Integrated in Acrylic Emulsion Polymers – Michael Brandwein – Frontiers in Microbiology

Psychrophile spoilers dominate the bacterial microbiome in musculature samples of slaughter pigs – Evelyne Mann – Meat Science

Bioinformatics

Correlation detection strategies in microbial data sets vary widely in sensitivity and precision – Sophie Weiss – The ISME Journal

ghost-tree: creating hybrid-gene phylogenetic trees for diversity analyses – Jennifer Fouquier – Microbiome

An algorithm for designing minimal microbial communities with desired metabolic capacities – Alexander Eng – Bioinformatics

Posted this previously, but now peer reviewed: Comparison of three clustering approaches for detecting novel environmental microbial diversity – Dominik Forster – PeerJ

Techniques

High-resolution microbiota flow cytometry reveals dynamic colitis-associated changes in fecal bacterial composition – Jakob Zimmermann – European Journal of Immunology

More microbiology

Phenotypic Heterogeneity and the Evolution of Bacterial Life Cycle –
Jordi van Gestel – PLOS Computational Biology
Microbes in the news

Human Gut Microbiome Evolution: From Hunter-Gatherers to a Western Lifestyle – Discover

Giving up hunting and gathering changed our gut microbiome – Eric Smillie – Newsweek

The social microbiome of the social honey bee – Irene Newton – MicroBEnet

Video: The Microbiome Project: Surgery – Jack Gilbert and colleagues discuss – Argonne National Laboratory

Newly discovered microbes in marine sponges, turtles, rockfish, and termites – Microbe Post

Penn Researcher Contributes Engineering Expertise to Solving Dental Maladies – University of Pennsylvania

Living bacteria-powered lights hit the market – New Scientist

What Are You Smoking? Bacteria Found at Local Hookah Bars – Bianca Lopez – University of Tampa

Science, publishing, and career

“That was a really bad Friday for us:” WIRED warns four stories were plagiarized – Ivan Oransky – Retraction Watch

Bik’s picks

Arctic shipworm discovery alarms archaeologists: a new species of the wood-chomping mollusks is loose in the Arctic – Eli Kintisch – Science

[hr]

February 23, 2016

An introduction to 16S rRNA gene sequencing, gut microbiome disruptions in long-term care, microbial responses to oil contamination, colors and k-mers, and how to build your own Winogradsky column.

Jobs and events

PhD position on metagenomics-driven natural product discovery from plant microbiomes – Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Festival of Genomics: Has microbiome session, 27-29 June 2016, Boston

Human skin microbiome

Good introduction for other sample types too! Research Techniques Made Simple: Bacterial 16S Ribosomal RNA Gene Sequencing in Cutaneous Research – Jay-Hyun Jo – Journal of Investigative Dermatology

Human gut microbiome

Intestinal microbiome disruption in patients in a long-term acute care hospital: A case for development of microbiome disruption indices to improve infection prevention – Alison Laufer Halpin – American Journal of Infection Control

Association of dietary type with fecal microbiota and short chain fatty acids in vegans and omnivores – Alina Reiss – Journal of International Society of Microbiota

Microbiome models

Aging and serum MCP-1 are associated with gut microbiome composition in a murine model – Melissa N. Conley – PeerJ Preprint

Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Gammaherpesvirus from a Microbat Cell Line – Reed S. Shabman – mSphere

Animal microbiome

Review: Molecular trophic markers in marine food webs and their potential use for coral ecology – Miguel Costa Leal – Marine Genomics

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Microbial diversity in European alpine permafrost and active layers – Beat Frey – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Responses of microbial community from tropical pristine coastal soil to crude oil contamination – Daniel Morais – PeerJ

Zinc treatment increases the titer of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ in HLB-affected citrus plants while affecting the bacterial microbiomes – Muqing Zhang – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Draft Genome Sequences of Two Vibrio splendidus Strains, Isolated from Seagrass Sediment – Ruth D. Lee – Genome Announcements

Draft Genome Sequences of Two Pseudoalteromonas Strains Isolated from Roots and Leaf Blades of the Seagrass Zostera marina – Alexandra Alexiev – Genome Announcements

Deep RNA-Seq profile reveals biodiversity, plant–microbe interactions and a large family of NBS-LRR resistance genes in walnut (Juglans regia) tissues – Sandeep Chakraborty – AMB Express

Water microbiome

Environmental heterogeneity among lakes promotes hyper β-diversity across phytoplankton communities – Selma Maloufi – Freshwater Biology

Bacterial community structure and variation in a full-scale seawater desalination plant for drinking water production – A. Belila – Water Research

Bimodal occupancy-frequency distributions uncover the importance of regional dynamics in shaping marine microbial biogeography – Markus V. Lindh – BioRxiv

Microbial Ecology

Eco-evolutionary dynamics in a coevolving host–virus system – Jens Frickel – Ecology Letters

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Succinct Colored de Bruijn Graphs – Keith Belk – BioRxiv preprint

Metapalette: A k-mer painting approach for metagenomic taxonomic profiling and quantification of novel strain variation – David Koslicki – ArXiv

Microbes in the news

Grow a bacterial zoo in a bottle: How to build your own Winogradsky column – Steph Yin – Popular Science

Exploring the Humane and Canine Microbiome: Q&A with Dr. Robynne Chutkan – Claudia Kawczynska – The Bark

Ancient bacteria in Utah waters blamed for deaths of pets, people – Todd Tanner – Fox13

[hr]

February 22, 2016

Effect of oxylate on microbiome of an herbivorous woodrat, sequencing 16S rRNA genes with the PacBio SMRT, and big differences in soil diversity caused by choice of extraction method.

Animal models

Metagenomic analysis of rumen microbial population in dairy heifers fed a high grain diet supplemented with dicarboxylic acids or polyphenols – Roberta De Nardi – BMC Veterinary Research

Woodrat: The Effect of Dietary Oxalate on the Gut Microbiota of the Mammalian Herbivore Neotoma albigula – Aaron W. Miller – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Built environment microbiome

Complementary microorganisms in highly corrosive biofilms from an offshore oil production facility – Adrien Vigneron – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Dominant tree species and soil type affect fungal community structure in a boreal peatland forest – Hui Sun – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Review: A review of the environmental implications of in situ remediation by nanoscale zero valent iron (nZVI): Behavior, transport and impacts on microbial communities – Emilie Lefevre – Science of the Total Environment

Water microbiome

Diversity, Productivity and Stability of an Industrial Microbial Ecosystem – Doruk Beyter – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Food microbiology

Illuminating Anaerobic Microbial Community and Co-occurrence Patterns across a Quality Gradient in Chinese Liquor Fermentation Pit Muds – Xiaolong Hu – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Techniques

Sequencing 16S rRNA gene fragments using the PacBio SMRT DNA sequencing system – Patrick D. Schloss – PeerJ

Estimates of the bacterial ribosome content and diversity in soils are significantly affected by different nucleic acid extraction methods – Pia K. Wüst – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

MetaCRAM: an integrated pipeline for metagenomic taxonomy identification and compression – Minji KimB – BMC ioinformatics

EXTRACT: interactive extraction of environment metadata and term suggestion for metagenomic sample annotation – Evangelos Pafilis – Database

More microbiology

Organization of DNA in a bacterial nucleoid – Michael Y. Tolstorukov – BMC Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Coevolution and the Microbiome – David Baltrus – My Chrobial Romance

Bacteria Are Present in Kidney Stones and May Contribute to Their Formation – Nationwide Children’s

Fatal disease by Salmonella bacteria killing California songbirds – Robert V. Boyd – Microcap Magazine

Synchrotron Being Used to Research Neutralizing Ulcer Bacteria – Adam Brilz
[hr]

February 15, 2016

Drosophila longevity, gut immunity in insects, metagenomics and beef production, secure computation, and mutualistic phages.

Pregnancy and birth

Research Highlight: Add the microbiota to your birth plan – Cláudio Nunes-Alves – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Review: Gut microbiome and Metabolic Syndrome – Mohsen Mazidi – Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews

Review: Role of microbes (probiotics and prebiotics) – D.M.A.E. Jonkers – Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology

Review: Intestinal Microbiota in Liver Disease – Tanvir R. Haque – Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology

Models of microbiome research

Folate Acts in E. coli to Accelerate C. elegans Aging Independently of Bacterial Biosynthesis – Bhupinder Virk – Cell Reports

Glucose modulates Drosophila longevity and immunity independent of the microbiota – Anthony Galenza – Biology Open

Bacterial successions in the gastrointestinal tract of broilers – Samir Ranjitkar – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Triclosan Exposure is Associated with Rapid Restructuring of the Microbiome in Adult Zebrafish – Christopher A Gaulke – BioRxiv

Research Highlight: How to extend your stay – Cláudio Nunes-Alves – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Review: Gut immunity in Lepidopteran insects – Kai Wu – Developmental & Comparative Immunology

Editorial: Bears Arouse Interest in Microbiota’s Role in Health – Kimberly A. Dill-McFarland – Trends in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Impact of long-term cropping of glyphosate-resistant transgenic soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] on soil microbiome – Letícia Carlos Babujia – Transgenic Research

Food microbiology

Use of metagenomic shotgun sequencing technology to detect foodborne pathogens within their microbiome in beef production chain – Xiang Yang – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Microbial dynamics in industrial Blue veined cheeses in different packaging
P. Duval – International Dairy Journal

Diversity of the microbiota involved in wine and organic apple cider submerged vinegar production as revealed by DHPLC analysis and next-generation sequencing – Janja Trček – International Journal of Food Microbiology

Built environment microbiome

Air dispersed essential oils combined with standard sanitization procedures for environmental microbiota control in nosocomial hospitalization rooms – Fabrizio Gelmini – Complementary Therapies in Medicine

Waste and extremophile microbiology

Anaerobic digestion of biowaste under extreme ammonia concentration: Identification of key microbial phylotypes – Simon Poirier – Bioresource Technology

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Privacy-Preserving Microbiome Analysis Using Secure Computation – Justin Wagner – Bioinformatics

Phages and viruses

OpinionThe Significance of Mutualistic Phages for Bacterial Ecology and Evolution – Nancy Obeng – Trends in Microbiology

Techniques

Unique sequence characteristics account for good DGGE separation of almost full-length 18S rDNAs – Zhiqing Huang – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Microbes in the news

New appreciation for human microbiome leads to greater understanding of human health – University of Oklahoma – EurekAlert

From Huts to Cities: How Changes in Dwellings Have Impacted Microbe Exposure for the Human Immune System – New York University Langone

Researchers outline progress in turning bacteria into mini construction workers – The Construction Index

Can we outrun Zika? Walk this street in Colombia and you’ll see how tough it is – Andrew Joseph – STATnews

Cranberries help urinary tract infections, but not as juice – Yvette Brazier – Medical News Today

Biofilm Formation Hampers Removal of Dangerous Bacteria from Hospital Surfaces – Medical Research

[hr]