Category Archives: Techniques

December 16, 2015

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Two papers showing no differences on soil/root microbiomes between transgenic and non-transgenic plants, a new technique to study bacterial interactions. Then, after a 5-day hiatus, I finally got a new NCBI’s Pubmed alert with 159 articles. Before I sort through all of these, here is what I have collected so far today. I might do another blog post later today or tonight to catch up.

Microbiome biotech company to watch: Osel Inc in Mountain View

Microbiome models

Unveiling Bacterial Interactions through Multidimensional Scaling and Dynamics Modeling – Pedro Dorado-Morales – Scientific Reports

Human respiratory microbiome

Review: The human microbiome, asthma, and allergy – Amund Riiser – Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology

Human gut microbiome

Sequence-based methods for detecting and evaluating the human gut mycobiome – Mallory J. Suhr – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Alterations in the gut microbiotas of children with food sensitization in early life – Chien-Chang Chen – Pediatric Allergy and Immunology

Plants, roots, and soil microbiome

Community Structure of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Rhizospheric Soil of a Transgenic High-Methionine Soybean and a Near Isogenic Variety – Jingang Liang – PLOS ONE

Transgenic banana plants expressing Xanthomonas wilt resistance genes revealed a stable non-target bacterial colonization structure – Jean Nimusiima – Scientific Reports

Comparison of myxobacterial diversity and evaluation of isolation success in two niches: Kiritimati Island and German compost – Kathrin I. Mohr – MicrobiologyOpen

Community Analysis of Root- and Tuber-Associated Bacteria in Field-Grown Potato Plants Harboring Different Resistance Levels against Common Scab – Akira Kobayashi – Microbes and Environments

Water and extremophile microbiome

Microbial eukaryotic distributions and diversity patterns in a deep-sea methane seep ecosystem – Alexis L. Pasulka – Environmental Microbiology

Subseafloor microbial communities in hydrogen-rich vent fluids from hydrothermal systems along the Mid-Cayman Rise – Julie Reveillaud – Environmental Microbiology

Bacterial Community Analysis of Drinking Water Biofilms in Southern Sweden – Katharina Lührig – Microbes and Environments

Microbes in the news

Amy Apprill of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution studies the humpback microbiome – Science Magazine

Microbiology: Inflammatory evidence – Kirsten Weir – Nature Outlook

Microbiomes: Curating communities from plants – Gwyn A. Beattie – Nature News and Views

Everything you wanted to know about space poop – David Coil – MicroBEnet

U.S. Navy Recruits Gut Microbes to Fight Obesity and Disease:
The military is creating “smart” E. coli to combat a variety of disorders faced by warfighters – Jennifer Ackerman – Scientific American

Gut microbes: Burning calories while you sleep? Study links changes in gut bacteria to lower resting metabolic rate and weight gain in mice – Jennifer Brown – Iowa Now

Zinc deficiency alters gut bacteria makeup and function – Krishna Ramanujan – Cornell University

Our water pipes crawl with millions of bacteria – Lund University – EurekAlert

1 Percent Human, 99 Percent Bacteria – David Samadi – Huffington Post

Land use may weaken amphibian’s capacity to fight infection and disease – Case Western Reserve University – EurekAlert

Science, publishing, and career

Evelyn Witkin and the Road to DNA Enlightenment – Claudia Dreifus – NY Times

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December 15, 2015

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Self-tracking the microbiome (quantified self), a human gut-on-a-chip model, indoor air bacteria in residences in the San Francisco Bay Area, and using probiotics on corals during oil spills.

General microbiome

Biometrics’ new identity—measuring more physical and biological traits: Research into the characteristics that are unique to an individual is addressing the need to correctly identify people in a variety of medical, social and security contexts – Andrea Rinaldi – EMBO Reports

Commentary: Self-tracking the microbiome: where do we go from here? – Carine Gimbert – Microbiome

Conference abstracts: 3th ISM World Congress on Targeting Microbiota – Journal of International Society of Microbiota Volume 1 No. 1

Pregnancy and birth

Buccal administration of human colostrum: impact on the oral microbiota of premature infants – K Sohn – Journal of Perinatology

Human mouth/ear microbiome

Pathophysiology of sinusitis of odontogenic origin – Silvio Taschieri – Journal of Investigative and Clinical Dentistry

Human gut microbiome

Different sub-type strains of Akkermansia muciniphila abundantly colonize in southern China – Xianfeng Guo – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Simultaneous fecal microbial and metabolite profiling enables accurate classification of pediatric irritable bowel syndrome – Vijay Shankar – Microbiome

Mucosal Barrier Depletion And Loss Of Bacterial Diversity Are Primary Abnormalities In Paediatric Ulcerative Colitis – Misagh Alipour – Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis

Systematic review with meta-analysis: long-term outcomes of faecal microbiota transplantation for Clostridium difficile infection – Y.-T. Li – Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Microbiome models

Contributions of microbiome and mechanical deformation to intestinal bacterial overgrowth and inflammation in a human gut-on-a-chip – Hyun Jung Kim – PNAS

Effects of antibiotics (oxytetracycline, florfenicol or tulathromycin) on neonatal calves’ faecal microbial diversity – J. Oultram – Veterinary Record

Animal microbiome

Metagenomic Assembly Reveals Hosts of Antibiotic Resistance Genes and the Shared Resistome in Pig, Chicken and Human Feces – Liping Ma – Environmental Science & Technology

The impact of rearing environment on the development of gut microbiota in tilapia larvae – Christos Giatsis – Scientific Reports

The characterization and manipulation of the bacterial microbiome of the Rocky Mountain wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni – Katie A. Clayton – Parasites & Vectors

Impact of oil spills on coral reefs can be reduced by bioremediation using probiotic microbiota – Henrique Fragoso ados Santos – Scientific Reports

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Stronger warming effects on microbial abundances in colder regions – Ji Chen – Scientific Reports

Seasonal dynamics of the microbiome of chernozems of the long-term agrochemical experiment in Kamennaya Steppe – T. I. Chernov – Eurasian Soil Science

Water and extremophile microbiome

Metagenome-assembled genomes uncover a global brackish microbiome – Luisa W. Hugerth – Genome Biology

Similar microbial communities found on two distant seafloor basalts – Esther Singer – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbial communities on seafloor basalts at Dorado Outcrop reflect level of alteration and highlight global lithic clades – Michael D. Lee – Frontiers in Microbiology

Bacterioplankton dynamics within a large anthropogenically impacted urban estuary – Thomas C. Jeffries – Frontiers in Microbiology

Marine microbial community structure assessed from combined metagenomic analysis and ribosomal amplicon deep-sequencing – Savvas Genitsaris – Marine Biology Research

Groundwater isolation governs chemistry and microbial community structure along hydrologic flowpaths – Sarah Ben Maamar – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Forged Under the Sun: Life and Art of Extremophiles from Andean Lakes – Virginia Helena Albarracín – Photochemistry and Photobiology

Food microbiology

Comparative genomics Lactobacillus reuteri from sourdough reveals adaptation of an intestinal symbiont to food fermentations – Jinshui Zheng – Scientific Reports

Built environment microbiology

Relative and contextual contribution of different sources to the composition and abundance of indoor air bacteria in residences – Marzia Miletto – Microbiome

Review: Antibiotic resistance in urban aquatic environments: can it be controlled? – Célia M. Manaia – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Metagenomics, phages, and bioinformatics

Computational approaches to predict bacteriophage–host relationships – Robert A. Edwards – FEMS Microbiology Reviews

Partial least squares regression can aid in detecting differential abundance of multiple features in sets of metagenomic samples – Ondrej Libiger – Frontiers in Genetics

Techniques

A new fungal large subunit ribosomal RNA primer for high throughput sequencing surveys – Rebecca C Mueller – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Biofilms

Classic Spotlight: Before They Were Biofilms – George A. O’Toole – Journal of Bacteriology

Microbes in the news

How Bacteria and Brown Fat Can Spur Weight Loss – Mandy Oaklander – Time

A cultural revolution in the study of the gut microbiome – Medical Xpress

Why Your Body Is Like A Rainforest… Micro-Macro Exhibition at Eden features artwork from students at local secondary schools – PirateFM

Italian olive trees are withering from this deadly bacteria – PBS Newshour

Behind the scenes: Microbial biogeography of a university campus – Ashley Ross – MicroBEnet

Irish company makes biggest breakthrough for microbiology testing in dairy industry in 100 years – Independent Ireland

Bacteria, Archaea – Some Methane In Hydraulic Fracturing Is Even More Natural Than Assumed – Science 2.0

Sweet and sticky: Bacteria use sugars to bind to human cells – Phys.org

Science, publishing, and career

The Unwritten Code of Conduct: Each day this week, my supervisor has walked into my office and made verbal demands that I remove content from my beloved blog – The Research Whisperer

A lesson on misleading graphs from the National Review – Lenny Teytelman – The Spectroscope

Women in STEM research: Better Data and Information Sharing Could Improve Oversight of Federal Grant-making and Title IX Compliance – US Government Accountability Office

Why do scientists like anonymity? Lenny Teytelman – Protocols

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December 13, 2015

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Apple juice or almond consumption, lessons from animal studies, distinguishing between live and dead methanogens.

Human gut microbiome

Comparative study of fecal microbiota in patients with type II diabetes after consumption of apple juice for 4 weeks – Gyu-Sung Cho – Food Science and Biotechnology

Diet quality improves for parents and children when almonds are incorporated into their daily diet: a randomized, crossover study – Alyssa M. Burns – Nutrition Research

Review: Diagnosis and treatment of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth – Francesca Romana Ponziania – Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Review: The enteric microbiome in hepatobiliary health and disease – James H. Tabibian – Liver International

Animal models

Review: The influence of the young microbiome on inflammatory diseases—Lessons from animal studies – Katja M. Bendtsen – Birth Defects Research Part C: Embryo Today: Reviews

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Interaction between lithification and resource availability in the microbialites of Río Mesquites, Cuatro Ciénegas, México – J. R. Corman – Geobiology

The diversity and abundance of phytase genes (BPP) in bacterial communities of the maize rhizosphere – Simone Raposo Cotta – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Bring on the wheelbarrow: Transplanting soil microbiomes leads to lasting effects on willow growth, but not on the rhizosphere microbiome – Etienne Yergeau – Frontiers in Microbiology

Differential responses of soil bacterial taxa to long-term P, N, and organic manure application – Ying Wang – Journal of Soils and Sediments

Water and extremophile microbiome

Thermal and geochemical influences on microbial biogeography in the hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California – Luke McKay – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Oceanic fronts: transition zones for bacterioplankton community composition – Federico Baltar – Environmental Microbiology Reports

PhD thesis: Hydrothermal Habitats: Measurements of Bulk Microbial Elemental Composition, and Models of Hydrothermal Influences on the Evolution of Dwarf Planets – Marc Francois Luarent Neveu – Arizona State University

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Network construction and structure detection with metagenomic count data – Zhenqiu Liu – BioData Mining

A simple algorithm for identifying integrons and gene cassettes in bacteria on next generation sequencing data – Guan-Jie Hua – International Journal of Data Mining and Bioinformatics (no access for me)

Techniques

Fluorescent in situ hybridization for the localization of viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms in insect and plant tissues – Adi Kliot – Methods

Propidium monoazide treatment to distinguish between live and dead methanogens in pure cultures and environmental samples – Janine Heise – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Microbes in the news

You’re Surrounded by Bacteria That Are Waiting for You to Die – Erika Engelhaupt – National Geographic

Does That Wine Smell Good? Bacteria in Your Saliva Deserve Some of the Credit
Study shows some wine aromatics aren’t released until they meet the bacteria in our mouths – Kasey Carpenter – Wine Spectator

San Jose: Hospital nurse had tuberculosis; hundreds of babies, moms need treatment or tests – Tracy Seipel – Mercury News

Based on a 2006 paper: This Weed Takes Out Other Plants by Attacking Their “Gut Bacteria” – Esther Inglis-Arkell – Gizmodo

Bacteria Hysteria

Could your child’s teddy give them a stomach bug? Wash youngsters’ favourite toys… and other tips to keep your family lurgy-free this Christmas – The Sun

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November 26, 2015

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! NCBI’s Pubmed nor Google Alerts did not take any holiday, so here is a post stuffed (pun intended) with new papers. For today, I got the microbiome of turkey, red wine, and coprolites. And strain-level variation in human-associated bacteria, cat periodontitis, and historical penguin activity too!

General microbiome

Nurturing the microbiome field: It is exciting to see the nucleus of a grand vision for the field, but we must make the fundamentals of the scientific method central to our mission – Pat Schloss – Science

Book: Microbial Endocrinology: Interkingdom Signaling in Infectious Disease and Health
Chapters include:

Pregnancy and birth

Preterm gut microbiota and metabolome following discharge from intensive care – Christopher J. Stewart – Scientific Reports

The role of gut microbiota in fetal methylmercury exposure: Insights from a pilot study – Toxicology Letters

Assessing the Intestinal Microbiota in the SHINE Trial – Ethan K. Gough – Clinical Infectious Diseases

Gravidas with Class III Obesity: Evaluating the Abdominal Skin Microbiota Above and Below the Panniculus – Rodney K Edwards – The Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine
Review: A Review of Antibiotic Use in Pregnancy – P. Brandon Bookstaver – Pharmacotherapy

Review: On the origin of species: Factors shaping the establishment of infant’s gut microbiota – Niels van Best – Birth Defects Research Part C: Embryo Today: Reviews

Review: Molecular characterization of the human microbiome from a reproductive perspective – Amir Mor – Fertility and Sterility

Review: Reproductive tract microbiome in assisted reproductive technologies – Jason M. Franasiak – Fertility and Sterility

Review: Gynecologic health and disease in relation to the microbiome of the female reproductive tract – Katherine A. Green – Fertility and Sterility

Human skin microbiome

Genetic associations and shared environmental effects on the skin microbiome of Korean twins – Jiyeon Si – BMC Genomics

Human respiratory microbiome

The Sputum Microbiome in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations
Yvonne J. Huang – Annals of the American Thoracic Society

Review: Clinical Insights into Pulmonary Exacerbations in Cystic Fibrosis from the Microbiome. What Are We Missing? – Fiona J. Whelan – Annals of the American Thoracic Society

Human oral microbiome

Microbiome of titanium and zirconia dental implants abutments – Cássio do Nascimento – Dental Materials

Human gut microbiome

Microbiota and food residues including possible evidence of pre-mammalian hair in Upper Permian coprolites from Russia – Piotr Bajdek – Lethaia

Red wine polyphenols modulate fecal microbiota and reduce markers of the metabolic syndrome in obese patients – Moreno-Indias Isabel – Food & Function

The human gut microbial ecology associated with overweight and obesity determines ellagic acid metabolism – María V. Selma – Food & Function

The severity of NAFLD is associated with gut dysbiosis and shift in the metabolic function of the gut microbiota – Jérôme Boursier – Hepatology

Differences of microbiota in small bowel and faeces between irritable bowel syndrome patients and healthy subjects – Chen-Shuan Chung – Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology

Methodology, Not Concept of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation, Affects Clinical Findings – Bota Cui – Gastroenterology

The Gut-Liver Axis in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis – Bertus Eksteen – Clinics in Liver Disease

Animal models

Anticancer immunotherapy by CTLA-4 blockade relies on the gut microbiota – Marie Vétizou – Science

Antepartum Antibiotic Treatment Increases Offspring Susceptibility to Experimental Colitis: A Role of the Gut Microbiota – Peris Mumbi Munyaka – PLOS ONE

Metabolomic study on the faecal extracts of atherosclerosis mice and its application in a Traditional Chinese Medicine – Feng Tian – Journal of Chromatography B

Animal microbiome

Temporal Relationships Exist Between Cecum, Ileum, and Litter Bacterial Microbiomes in a Commercial Turkey Flock, and Subtherapeutic Penicillin Treatment Impacts Ileum Bacterial Community Establishment – Jessica L. Danzeisen – Frontiers in Veterinary Science

A Pyrosequencing Investigation of Differences in the Feline Subgingival Microbiota in Health, Gingivitis and Mild Periodontitis – Stephen Harris – PLOS ONE

Phylogenetic and ecological factors impact the gut microbiota of two Neotropical primate species – Katherine R. Amato – Oecologia

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Bacterial diversity is strongly associated with historical penguin activity in an Antarctic lake sediment profile – Renbin Zhu – Scientific Reports

Elk, sagebrush, and saprotrophs: indirect top-down control on microbial community composition and function – Anna R. Peschel – Ecology

Effect of soil salinity and nutrient levels on the community structure of the root-associated bacteria of the facultative halophyte, Tamarix ramosissima, in southwestern United States – Takeshi Taniguchi – Journal of General and Applied Microbiology

Metagenomic insights into communities, functions of endophytes, and their associates with infection by root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita, in tomato roots – Bao-Yu Tia – Scientific Reports

Effect of rice straw application on microbial community and activity in paddy soil under different water status – Fuxia Pan – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Mapping the Centimeter-Scale Spatial Variability of PAHs and Microbial Populations in the Rhizosphere of Two Plants – Amélia Bourceret – PLOS ONE

Diversity of bacterial endophytes in 3 and 15 year-old grapevines of Vitis vinifera cv. Corvina and their potential for plant growth promotion and phytopathogen control – Marco Andreolli – Microbiological Research

Review: Functions, mechanisms and regulation of endophytic and epiphytic microbial communities of plants – Charles W. Bacon – Symbiosis

Review: Culture-independent discovery of natural products from soil metagenomes – Micah Katz – Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology

Built environment microbiology

ISS: Extracellular Lipase and Protease Production from a Model Drinking Water Bacterial Community Is Functionally Robust to Absence of Individual Members – Graham G. Willsey – PLOS ONE

Food microbiology

Bacterial Ecology of Fermented Cucumber Rising pH Spoilage as Determined by Nonculture-Based Methods – Eduardo Medina – Journal of Food Science

Microbial Ecology

Complete nitrification by Nitrospira bacteria – Holger Daims – Nature

Does Microbial Diversity Confound General Predictions? – Marie Duhamel – Trends in Plant Science

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Population genetic analyses of metagenomes reveal extensive strain-level variation in prevalent human-associated bacteria – Stephen Nayfach – BioRxiv

Techniques

Robust and effective methodologies for cryopreservation and DNA extraction from anaerobic gut fungi – Kevin V. Solomon – Anaerobe

Collecting Fecal Samples for Microbiome Analyses in Epidemiology Studies – Rashmi Sinha – Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention

Microbes in the news

Is Double-Dipping Okay? CFUs in 4 types of dips after double dipping – Digg

New Research Reveals Bacteria Associated With Feline Gum Disease for the First Time – PR Newswire

Mission space food: Sugar-growing bacteria go into orbit – Clare Wilson – New Scientist

Your Coffee Machine Is a Breeding Ground for Caffeine-Resistant Bacteria – Matthew Braga – Motherboard

Your Poop Knows Best–New Study Shows Microbiome Can Help Predict Health Responses to Certain Foods – Patrick Mustain – Scientific American

Science, publishing, and career

China pursues fraudsters in science publishing – Mara Hvistendahl – Science
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November 25, 2015 – another digest

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Two digests today, to catch up with all literature that came out earlier this week. Gut microbiota of patients with stroke or TIAs, symbiosis within symbiosis, the coffee-machine microbiome, and chocolate making with yeasts.

Human gut microbiome

Dysbiosis of Gut Microbiota With Reduced Trimethylamine‐N‐Oxide Level in Patients With Large‐Artery Atherosclerotic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack – Jia Yin – Journal of the American Heart Association

Siri, What Should I Eat? – Reiner Jumpertz von Schwartzenberg, Peter J. Turnbaugh – Cell

Human skin microbiome

Microbiologic Safety of the Transareolar Approach in Breast Augmentation – Dana Mihaela Jianu – Aesthetic Surgery Journal

Microbiome models

Microbiota’s No Wasting Policy – Miguel P. Soares – Cell

Animal microbiome

Vaginal Microbiome Characterization of Nellore Cattle Using Metagenomic Analysis
Mateus Laguardia-Nascimento – PLOS ONE

Review: The natural occurrence of secondary bacterial symbionts in aphids – Sharon E. Zytynska – Ecological Entomology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Symbiosis within Symbiosis: Evolving Nitrogen-Fixing Legume Symbionts
Philippe Remigi – Trends in Microbiology

Soil microbial response to tetracycline in two different soils amended with cow manure – Luigi Chessa – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Reviews: Friends or foes? Emerging insights from fungal interactions with plants – Susanne Zeilinger – FEMS Microbiology Reviews

Review: Extinction risk of soil biota – worrying paucity of existing information – Stavros D. Veresoglou – Nature Communications

Extremophile microbiome

Integrated ‘Omics’, Targeted Metabolite and Single-cell Analyses of Arctic Snow Algae Functionality and Adaptability – Stefanie Lutz – Frontiers in Microbiology

Water microbiome

Extracellular Lipase and Protease Production from a Model Drinking Water Bacterial Community Is Functionally Robust to Absence of Individual Members – Graham G. Willsey – PLOS ONE

Built environment microbiome

The coffee-machine bacteriome: biodiversity and colonisation of the wasted coffee tray leach – Cristina Vilanova – Scientific Reports

Food microbiology

Tuning chocolate flavor through development of thermotolerant Saccharomyces cerevisiae starter cultures with increased acetate ester production – Esther Meersman – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Microbial genomes and ecology

Migration and horizontal gene transfer divide microbial genomes into multiple niches –
Rene Niehus – Nature Communications

The Good, the Bad, and the Tiny: A Simple, Mechanistic-Probabilistic Model of Virus-Nutrient Colimitation in Microbes – B. B. Cael – PLOS ONE

Microbes are trophic analogs of animals – Shawn A. Steffan – PNAS

Animal–microbe interactions and the evolution of nervous systems – Heather L. Eisthen – Philosophical Transactions B

Molecular operational taxonomic units as approximations of species in the light of evolutionary models and empirical data from Fungi – Martin Ryberg – Molecular Ecology

Review: Metagenomic cross-talk: the regulatory interplay between immunogenomics and the microbiome – Maayan Levy – Genome Medicine

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Large-scale Machine Learning for Metagenomics Sequence Classification – Kévin Vervier – Bioinformatics

Techniques

Comparative Evaluation of DNA Extraction Methods from Feces of Multiple Host Species for Downstream Next-Generation Sequencing – Marcia L. Hart – PLOS ONE

Bacteria in the news

Your gut bacteria are controlling your appetite, study finds – Bec Crew – ScienceAlert

Beastly bacteria on extinct ancient carcasses offers ‘cure’ for modern oil pollution – Vera Salnitskaya – The Siberian Times

This ‘Plant Lamp’ uses bacteria to generate electricity – Sean Buckley – EnGadget
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November 20, 2015

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Dog licking and microbe sharing, glycemic response and gut microbiome, fungi in the Amazon, and separating the bacteria from the poop. And an image I could not resist creating:

 

Screen Shot 2015-11-20 at 10.13AM, Nov 20

 

Human gut microbiome

Personalized Nutrition by Prediction of Glycemic Responses – David Zeevi – Cell

DNA fingerprinting approaches to trace E. coli sharing between dogs and owners – Zahra Naziri – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Metabolomic fingerprint of severe obesity is dynamically affected by bariatric surgery in a procedure-dependent manner – Ewa Gralka – American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Review: T Lymphocyte Dynamics in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Role of the Microbiome – C. B. Larmonier – BioMed Research International

Animal models

Calcium supplementation modulates gut microbiota in a prebiotic manner in dietary obese mice – Alice Chaplin – Molecular Nutrition & Food Research

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Fungal Community Assembly in the Amazonian Dark Earth – Adriano Reis Lucheta – Microbial Ecology

Molecular diversity and distribution of marine fungi across 130 European environmental samples – Thomas A. Richards – Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Extremophile microbiome

Analysis of cbbL, nifH, and pufLM in Soils from the Sør Rondane Mountains, Antarctica, Reveals a Large Diversity of Autotrophic and Phototrophic Bacteria – Guillaume Tahon – Microbial Ecology

Infection microbiology

The role of biofilms as environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistance – José L. Balcázar – Frontiers in Microbiology

Elucidating Host–Pathogen Interactions Based on Post-Translational Modifications Using Proteomics Approaches – Vaishnavi Ravikumar – Frontiers in Microbiology

Techniques

Application of density gradient for the isolation of the fecal microbial stool component and the potential use thereof – Arancha Hevia – Scientific Reports

Microbes in the news

Different parasitic worms can raise or lower female fertility – Sam Wong – New Scientist

The Secret World of Museums: How Hidden Science Becomes Public Exhibit – Katharine Trendacosta – IO9
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November 17, 2015

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Detecting bacteriophage DNA in mummies, microbiome depletion reduces obesity (in mice), viruses in city rats, microbes in alkaline hotsprings and in glaciers.

Events

European Microbiome Congress 2015: 18-19 November 2015, London.

Human respiratory tract microbiome

Viral aetiology of common colds of outpatient children at primary care level and the use of antibiotics – Janete Kamikawa – Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz

Human reproductive tract microbiome

A DNA tool for early detection of vaginal dysbiosis in African women – Vicky Jespers – Research in Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Natural mummification of the human gut preserves bacteriophage DNA – Tasha M. Santiago-Rodriguez – FEMS Microbiology Letters

Review: Inhibition of methanogenic archaea by statinsas a targeted management strategy for constipation andrelated disorders – K. Gottlieb

Review: Role of the Gut Microbiome in Uremia: A Potential Therapeutic Target – Ali Ramezani – American Journal of Kidney Diseases

Opinion: The Microbiome and Cancer: Is the ‘Oncobiome’ Mirage Real? – Ryan M. Thomas – Trends in Cancer

Review: The effect of gut microbiota on drug metabolism – Mi Jeong Kang – Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology

Animal and bioreactor models

Microbiota depletion promotes browning of white adipose tissue and reduces obesity –
Nicolas Suárez-Zamorano – Nature Medicine

Variable responses of human and non-human primate gut microbiomes to a Western diet –
Katherine R. Amato – Microbiome

Research Highlight: Commensal bacterium prevents wasting – Cláudio Nunes-Alves – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Impact of a probiotic, inulin, or their combination on the piglets’ microbiota at different intestinal locations – V.A. Sattler – Beneficial Microbes

Iron Modulates Butyrate Production by a Child Gut Microbiota In Vitro – Alexandra Dostal – mBio

Research Hightlight: Scaling up spatial imaging of the gut microbiota – Naomi Attar – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Metagenomic analysis of anammox communities in three different microbial aggregates – Jianhua Guo – Environmental Microbiology

Microbial community analysis of a full-scale DEMON bioreactor – Alejandro Gonzalez-Martinez – Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering

Re-appraisal of the phylogeny and fluorescence in situ hybridization probes for the analysis of the Competibacteraceae in wastewater treatment systems – Simon J. McIlroy – Environmental Microbiology Reports

Animal microbiome

New Type of Papillomavirus and Novel Circular Single Stranded DNA Virus Discovered in Urban Rattus norvegicus Using Circular DNA Enrichment and Metagenomics – Thomas Arn Hansen – PLOS ONE

Bleaching of Baikalian sponge affects the taxonomic composition of symbiotic microorganisms – O. V. Kaluzhnaya – Russian Journal of Genetics

Experimental Infection of Snakes with Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola Causes Pathological Changes That Typify Snake Fungal Disease – Jeffrey M. Lorch – mBio

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Glyphosate effects on soil rhizosphere-associated bacterial communities – Molli M. Newman – Science of the Total Environment

Soil microarthropods support ecosystem productivity and soil C accrual: Evidence from a litter decomposition study in the tallgrass prairie – Jennifer L. Soong – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Microbial communities and organic matter composition in surface and subsurface sediments of the Helgoland mud area, North Sea – Oluwatobi E. Oni – Frontiers in Microbiology

Shifts in the composition and potential functions of soil microbial communities responding to a no-tillage practice and bagasse mulching on a sugarcane plantation – Toshiko Miura – Biology and Fertility of Soils

Local climatic conditions constrain soil yeast diversity patterns in Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome – Andrey M. Yurkov – FEMS Yeast Research

Coal mining practices reduce the microbial biomass, richness and diversity of soil –
Patricia Dorr de Quadros – Applied Soil Ecology

Water microbiome

The Fate of Marine Bacterial Exopolysaccharide in Natural Marine Microbial Communities – Zilian Zhang – PLOS ONE

Comparative study on composition and abundance of major planktons and physico-chemical characteristics among two ponds and Lake Tana, Ethiopia – Wondie Zelalem Amanu – Journal of Coastal Life Medicine

Extremophile microbiome

Metagenomics of an alkaline hot spring in Galicia (Spain): microbial diversity analysis and screening for novel lipolytic enzymes – Olalla López-López – Frontiers in Microbiology

Taxonomic characterization and the bio-potential of bacteria isolated from glacier ice cores in the High Arctic – Purnima Singh – Journal of Basic Microbiology

Built environment microbiology

Microbiota formed on attached stainless steel coupons correlate with the natural biofilm of the sink surface in domestic kitchens – Birgitte Moen – Canadian Journal of Microbiology

Towards an antimicrobial ‘microglove’ – Ewoud Reilman – Scientific Reports

Infection microbiology

Research Highlight: The Origin of a Killer Revealed by Bronze Age Yersinia Genomes – Shijulal Nelson-Sathi – Cell Host & Microbe

Early Divergent Strains of Yersinia pestis in Eurasia 5,000 Years Ago – Simon Rasmussen – Cell

Review: The Black Death: Its origin and routes of dissemination – Kristina Lenz – Scandinavian Journal of History

Review: Emerging methodologies for pathogen identification in positive blood culture testing – Grégory Dubourg – Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics

Microbial ecology

Integrating ecological and engineering concepts of resilience in microbial communities – Hyun-Seob Song – Frontiers in Microbiology

Perspective: Rethinking “mutualism” in diverse host-symbiont communities – Alexandra A. Mushegian – BioEssays

Techniques

Evaluating DNA Extraction Methods for Community Profiling of Pig Hindgut Microbial Community – Yang Lu – PLOS ONE

Bioinformatics, viruses, and metagenomics

The State of Software in Evolutionary Biology: code quality of 15 highly cited tools – Diego Darriba – bioRxiv

Kaiju: Fast and sensitive taxonomic classification for metagenomics – Peter Menzel – bioRxiv

A novel group of diverse Polinton-like viruses discovered by metagenome analysis – Natalya Yutin – BMC Biology

Microbes in the news

Taking Antibiotics Can Change the Gut Microbiome for Up to a Year. A new study illuminates the problems antibiotic overuse could cause for individual patients – Julie Beck – The Atlantic

Health Experts Are Explaining Drug-Resistant Bacteria Poorly: Their confusing jargon is pushing people toward bad decisions – Ed Yong – The Atlantic

5 Common Myths About Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria – Alexandra Sifferlin – Time

There’s Life in Rocks Deep Below the Sea Floor. Seriously. – Heather Goldstone – Cape and Islands

More armadillos that carry leprosy bacteria found in Southern US – Amanda Lane – Midday Daily

Blood-Gut Barrier. Scientists identify a barrier in mice between the intestine and its blood supply, and suggest how Salmonella sneaks through it – Ruth Williams – The Scientist

Microbes Play Role in Anti-Tumor Response
Gut microbiome composition can influence the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy in mice – Anna Azvolinsky – The Scientist

How depleting the gut microbiota protects from obesity – MedicalXpress

A Complex Disorder. Factors that likely contribute to obesity include disruptions to intercellular signaling, increased inflammation, and changes to the gut microbiome – Stephen D. Hursting – The Scientist

 

Effect of feed on microbiota balance in piglets – All About Feed

Skin Must Develop Tolerance to ‘Good’ Bacteria Early In Life, Says New Study: Research Probes How Skin’s Resident Communities of Microbes Are Established – Pete Farley – University of California San Francisco

How You’re Born May Affect Your Brain Development – Stephanie Pappas – Brain Decoder

Bacteria Hysteria

Doctors say to watch out for bacteria in your makeup bag – NBC News

Proper Use Of Wipes Kills Germs, Improper Use Could Spread Them – Maria Simbra – CBS Local

Microbiology and Art

What Lives on the Subway Pole? – Jen Kirby – New York Magazine

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November 16, 2015

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Saturday’s post had a lot  of recent papers, so we’ll keep it short today.

Events

Future podcast: The social life of bacteria: collapse of a culture – January 20, 2016, with E. Peter Greenberg

Extremophile microbiome

Microbial mat communities along an oxygen gradient in a perennially ice-covered Antarctic lake – Anne D. Jungblut – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Techniques

Live from under the lens: exploring microbial motility with dynamic imaging and microfluidics – Kwangmin Son – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Ignorance about antibiotics propelling global ‘superbug’ crisis – Helen Branswell – STAT

Viruses lurking in lab freezers could trigger next outbreak – Helen Branswell – STAT

The Mysterious Rise of Valley Fever: An outbreak investigation spotlights a common regional illness that’s become more prevalent – US News

Broomfield Enterprise Gardening Nov. 15: Soil is much more than dirt – Ann Montague – Broomfield Enterprise

Insurer for Broad Institute suing MIT over infected mice – Travis Anderson – Boston Globe

Student group successfully pushes Subway to go antibiotic-free – Daily Emerald

Book Review: ‘The Microbiome Solution’ asks, ‘are you too clean?’ – Alysa Selby – Steamboat Today

Science, publishing, and career

Stanford researchers uncover patterns in how scientists lie about their data – Bjorn Carey – Stanford News

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November 14, 2015

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A paper from our lab(s) on inbred mouse strain gut microbiota variation, bacteria reduce fungi on toads, 20 years of bacterial genome sequencing, and 100 years of phage research.

Jobs

Tenure Track Position in Microbial Metagenomics – Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX

Human oral microbiome

In Vitro Culture of Previously Uncultured Oral Bacterial Phylotypes – Hayley Thompson – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Oral microbiome in chinese patients with aggressive periodontitis and their family members – Yi Li – Journal of Clinical Periodontology

Human gut microbiome

Probiotic supplementation influences faecal short chain fatty acids in infants at high risk for eczema – H.K. Kim – Beneficial Microbes

Review: Establishing a causal link between gut microbes, body weight gain and glucose metabolism in humans – towards treatment with probiotics – L.K. Stenman – Beneficial Microbes

Review: An Integrated Outlook on the Metagenome and Metabolome of Intestinal Diseases – Wanping Aw – Diseases

Animal models

I’m a co-author: Variation in Taxonomic Composition of the Fecal Microbiota in an Inbred Mouse Strain across Individuals and Time – Yana Emmy Hoy – PLOS ONE

Akkermansia muciniphila inversely correlates with the onset of inflammation, altered adipose tissue metabolism and metabolic disorders during obesity in mice – Marc Schneeberger – Scientific Reports

Effect of Clostridium perfringens infection and antibiotic administration on microbiota in the small intestine of broiler chickens – Yewande O. Fasina – Poultry Science

Host genetic control of the microbiota mediates Drosophila nutritional phenotype – John M. Chaston – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Bromochloromethane, a methane analogue, affects the gut microbiota and metabolic profiles of the rat gastrointestinal tract – Yu-Xiang Yang – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Inhibitory bacteria reduce fungi on early life stages of endangered Colorado boreal toads (Anaxyrus boreas) – Jordan G Kueneman – The ISME Journal

Leptospira and Bats: Story of an Emerging Friendship – Muriel Dietrich – PLOS Pathogens

Intraspecific variation in microbial symbiont communities of the sun sponge, Hymeniacidon heliophila, from intertidal and subtidal habitats – Brooke L. Weigel – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Successive shifts in the microbial community of the surface mucus layer and tissues of the coral Acropora muricata under thermal stress – Sonny T.M. Lee – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Invasive ants carry novel viruses in their new range and form reservoirs for a honeybee pathogen – Alexandra Sébastien – Biology Letters

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Proteomic Analysis of Microbial Community Inhabiting Asian Dust Source Region – Simranjeet Singh Sekhon – CLEAN – Soil, Air, Water

Landscape Position Influences Microbial Composition and Function via Redistribution of Soil Water across a Watershed – Zhe Du – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Common foliar fungi of Populus trichocarpa modify Melampsora rust disease severity – Posy E. Busby – New Phytologist

Cave microbial community composition in oceanic islands: disentangling the effect of different colored mats in diversity patterns of Azorean lava caves – Cristina Riquelme – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Mini-review: Lichens as natural sources of biotechnologically relevant bacteria – Marcelino T. Suzuki – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Water / extremophile microbiome

Single Cells within the Puerto Rico Trench Suggest Hadal Adaptation of Microbial Lineages – Rosa León-Zayas – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Cyanobacterial community composition in Arctic soil crusts at different stages of development – Ekaterina Pushkareva – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Effects of Volcanic Pumice Inputs on Microbial Community Composition and Dissolved C/P Ratios in Lake Waters: an Experimental Approach – B. E. Modenutti – Microbial Ecology

Phages and viruses

Multiple approaches for the detection and characterization of viral and plasmid symbionts from a collection of marine fungi – L. Nerva – Virus Research

Review: A century of the phage: past, present and future – George P. C. Salmond & Peter C. Fineran – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Genome sequencing and metagenomics

Intrinsic challenges in ancient microbiome reconstruction using 16S rRNA gene amplification – Kirsten A. Ziesemer – Scientific Reports

Automated and Accurate Estimation of Gene Family Abundance from Shotgun Metagenomes – Stephen Nayfach – PLOS Computational Biology

SONEC: Metabolic Network-Guided Binning of Metagenomic Sequence Fragments – Matthew B. Biggs – Bioinformatics

Decreases in average bacterial community rRNA operon copy number during succession – Diana R Nemergut – The ISME Journal

Review: Twenty years of bacterial genome sequencing – Nicholas J. Loman & Mark J. Pallen – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Techniques

Community-Level Physiological Profiling of Microbial Communities in Constructed Wetlands: Effects of Sample Preparation – Mark Button – Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology

Microbes in the news

Your Gut May Be Home To An Entirely New Form Of Life – Maddie Stone – Gizmodo

Growth Rate of Gut Bacteria Related to Specific Diseases – Rachel Lutz – HCP Live

Sweaty feet, stinky cheese, and the microbiome – Matt McCarthy – STAT

Parasitic fungi and the battle against coffee rust disease – Jim Erickson – University of Michigan

Body’s Microorganisms Could Keep Humans More Healthy – Gene Marcial – Forbes

Not creepy at all! 13 creepy pictures of the microbes that are living inside of you – Julia Calderone – Tech Insider

You’ve been fighting morning breath all wrong – Lydia Ramsey – Business Insider Australia

Bacteria-Infused Material Pulls Energy Out of Poop – But don’t get too excited, because this poop battery is terribly inefficient – William Herkewitz – Popular Mechanics

This Little Bot Walks on Water and Runs on Bacteria – Maddie Stone – Gizmodo

Why do potatoes grow pink slime? Clostridium puniceum could fight MRSA – Alexandra Sarabia – PBS NewsHour

Bacteria Hysteria

Your Unwashed Bras Are Growing (Mostly Harmless) Bacteria – Beth Skwarecki – LifeHacker

November 13, 2015

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Happy Friday the 13th! Today’s post features a gut-vascular barrier implicated in celiac disease, bison microbiota, 16S rRNA genes in metagenomics data, soil communities at neighboring sites, enriching microbial DNA, and lots of gut microbiota reviews.

Human gut microbiome

(humans and animal models; celiac disease) A gut-vascular barrier controls the systemic dissemination of bacteria – Ilaria Spadoni – Science

Dietary Fiber-Induced Improvement in Glucose Metabolism Is Associated with Increased Abundance of Prevotella – Petia Kovatcheva-Datchary – Cell Metabolism

Effect of Antibiotics on Gut Microbiota, Gut Hormones and Glucose Metabolism – Kristian H. Mikkelsen – PLOS ONE

Review: The Enteric Microbiome in Hepatobiliary Health and Disease – James H. Tabibian – Liver International

Review: Microbiota and aging – Stephan C Bischoff – Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care

Review: The impact of gut microbiota on brain and behaviour: implications for psychiatry – Timothy G Dinan – Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care

Review: The gut microbiota keeps enteric glial cells on the move; prospective roles of the gut epithelium and immune system – Panagiotis S. Kabouridis – Gut Microbes

Review: The joint power of sex and stress to modulate brain–gut–microbiota axis and intestinal barrier homeostasis: implications for irritable bowel syndrome – M. Pigrau – Neurogastroenterology & Motility

Review: Microbiome and Health in Past and Present Human Populations – Christina Warinner – American Anthropologist

Animal and bioreactor models

 

Individual Members of the Microbiota Disproportionately Modulate Host Innate Immune Responses – Annah S. Rolig – Cell Host & Microbe

Design and Investigation of PolyFermS In Vitro Continuous Fermentation Models Inoculated with Immobilized Fecal Microbiota Mimicking the Elderly Colon – Sophie Fehlbaum – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

Seasonal Shifts in Diet and Gut Microbiota of the American Bison (Bison bison) – Gaddy T. Bergmann – PLOS ONE

Fecal contamination of echinoderms: first report of heavy E. coli loading of sea urchins from a natural growing area – M Bouchoucha – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

So close, so different: geothermal flux shapes divergent soil microbial communities at neighbouring sites – A. L. Gagliano – GeoBiology

Soil microorganisms behave like macroscopic organisms: patterns in the global distribution of soil euglyphid testate amoebae – Enrique Lara – Journal of Biogeography

Arsenic uptake, arsenite efflux and plant growth in hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata: Role of arsenic-resistant bacteria – Yong-He Han – Chemosphere

Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics of gray mangroves (Avicennia marina) in the Red Sea – Hanin Alzubaidy – Gene

Review: Current trends in Bt crops and their fate on associated microbial community dynamics: a review – Amit Kishore Singh – Protoplasma

Built environment and waste treatment

Separate treatment of hospital and urban wastewaters: A real scale comparison of effluents and their effect on microbial communities – Teofana Chonova – Science of the Total Environment

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Introducing REAGO: Reconstructing 16S rRNA genes in metagenomic data – Cheng Yuan – Bioinformatics

Techniques
Enriching microbial DNA: Changes in 16s RNA Gene Microbial Community Profiling by Concentration of Prokaryotic DNA – Angela Glassing – Journal of Microbiological Methods

The Sequence of Sequencers: The History of Sequencing DNA – James M. Heather – Genomics

Microbes in the news

Water Quality in Green Buildings – Katherine Dahlhausen – MicroBEnet

Video: Jonathan Eisen: Microbes in Food and Agriculture: Dr. Jonathan Eisen speaking at UC Davis’s Institute for Food and Ag Literacy round table about the impact the microbiome has made and potential relevance in health, food, and agriculture.

Want a Stronger Defense System against Diseases? Add Some Worms – Sheena Faherty – Scientific American

From garden to gut: New book from UW’s David Montgomery explores an unfolding scientific revolution – Hannah Hickey – University of Washington

Video in Dutch: How many bacteria do you exchange during French Kissing? A demonstration by microbiologist Remco Kort

Bacteria and bacteriophages collude in the formation of clinically frustrating biofilms – Phys.org

Extreme bacteria live in odd corners of the ecosystem – North Country Public Radio

Bacteria Hysteria

Sponsored report: Bacteria, Fecal Matter Found in Rain Puddles on Ground

Science, publishing, and career

In the eye of the Twitterstorm: Social media is shaking up how scientists talk about gender issues – Lauren Morello – Nature
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