Category Archives: Techniques

September 30, 2015

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Gut virome in infants, metabolome of Mediterranean diet, zebrafish gut assembly, antibiotic use and psoriasis risk, Roseobacter proteomics, and MetaPhlAn2.

Pregnancy and birth

The gut virome and bacterial microbiome—the early years – Katrina Ray – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Early life dynamics of the human gut virome and bacterial microbiome in infants –
Efrem S Lim – Nature Medicine

Human oral microbiome

Functional biomarkers for chronic periodontitis and insights into the roles of Prevotella nigrescens and Fusobacterium nucleatum; a metatranscriptome analysis – Szymon P Szafrański – NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes

Urease and Dental Plaque Microbial Profiles in Children – Evangelia Morou-Bermudez – PLOS ONE

High prevalence of colonization of oral cavity by respiratory pathogens in frail older patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia – O. Ortega – Neurogastroenterology & Motility

Periodontal-disease-associated biofilm: A reservoir for pathogens of medical importance – Ana Paula Vieira Colombo – Microbial Pathogenesis

Human gut microbiome

High-level adherence to a Mediterranean diet beneficially impacts the gut microbiota and associated metabolome – Francesca De Fillippis – Gut

Review: Clinical and Pathophysiological Consequences of Alterations in the Microbiome in Cirrhosis – Jane Macnaughtan – American Journal of Gastroenterology

Animal models

Ontogenetic Differences in Dietary Fat Influence Microbiota Assembly in the Zebrafish Gut – Sandi Wong – mBio

Antibiotics in neonatal life increase murine susceptibility to experimental psoriasis –
Peter Zanvit – Nature Communications

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Plant diversity shapes microbe-rhizosphere effects on P mobilisation from organic matter in soil – Nina Hacker – Ecology Letters

Oily waste containing natural radionuclides: does it cause stimulation or inhibition of soil bacterial community? – Polina Galitskaya – Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science

Plant diversity shapes microbe-rhizosphere effects on P mobilisation from organic matter in soil – Nina Hacker – Ecology Letters

Water microbiome

Proteomics of the Roseobacter clade, a window to the marine microbiology landscape – Joseph A. Christie-Oleza – Proteomics

Extremophile microbiome

Perspective: The discovery of Antarctic RNA viruses: a new game changer – Ricardo Cavicchioli – Molecular Ecology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

MetaPhlAn2 for enhanced metagenomic taxonomic profiling – Duy Tin Truong – Nature Methods

Metabolomics, proteomics

An automated Genomes-to-Natural Products platform (GNP) for the discovery of modular natural products – Chad W. Johnston – Nature Communications

Proteomics of the Roseobacter clade, a window to the marine microbiology landscape – Joseph A. Christie-Oleza – Proteomics

CRISPRs

Multiple mechanisms for CRISPR–Cas inhibition by anti-CRISPR proteins – Joseph Bondy-Denomy – Nature

Review: CRISPR-Cas immunity in prokaryotes – Luciano A. Marraffini – Nature

Microbes in the news

Study Links Skin Microbiome to Infections – Skin Inc

Ancient ‘Superman’ microbe’s ability to withstand damage to its DNA could be key to unlocking cancer cure, Chinese scientists say – Stephen Chen – South China Morning Post

Another Frontier in Microbiome Research: Preterm Birth – Julie A. Jacob – JAMA

Science, publishing, and career

A taxonomy of authorship roles – Credit Casrai

Bik’s Picks

What if everyone lived to 100? – Georgina Peters – London Business School Review

Gene-Edited “Micropigs” to Be Sold as Pets: The institute in Shenzhen, China, that creates the pigs quoted an initial price tag of $1,600 – David Cyranoski – Scientific American / Nature

1500-Year-Old Mosaic Map Found – Rossella Lorenzi – Discovery

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September 29, 2015

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Gut microbiota in first year of life, the mouse gut metagenome, microbiome and metabolome of cats and dogs, and lichen and flea microbes found in amber.

Pregnancy and birth

Impact of maternal intrapartum antibiotics, method of birth and breastfeeding on gut microbiota during the first year of life: a prospective cohort study – MB Azad – BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Human oral microbiome

Oral Microbiome in Chinese Patients with Aggressive Periodontitis and Their Family Members – Yi Li – Journal of Clinical Periodontology

Characterizing Diversity of Lactobacilli Associated with Severe Early Childhood Caries: A Study Protocol – Yihong Li – Advances in Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Metagenomic diagnostics for the simultaneous detection of multiple pathogens in human stool specimens from Côte d’Ivoire: a proof-of-concept study – Pierre H.H. Schneeberger – Infection, Genetics and Evolution

Editorial: Rifaximin, a Molecule with Newly Discovered Anti-inflammatory Properties May Help Shaping the Microbiome and Its Interaction with Host Immunity – F. Pandolfi – Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry

PhD Thesis: A Computational Tool for Investigating Mechanistic Relationships in the Colon-Diet-Flora Complex – Arun S. Moorthy – University of Guelph

Animal models

Th17 Cell Induction by Adhesion of Microbes to Intestinal Epithelial Cells – Koji Atarashi – Cell

Research Highlights: Keeping track of gut bacteria – Irene Jarchum – Nature Methods

Animal microbiome

A catalog of the mouse gut metagenome – Liang Xiao – Nature Biotechnology

Keynote presentation: The importance of the microbiome and metabolome in health and disease of dogs and cats – Jan Suchodolski – Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

Antimicrobial use in swine production and its effect on the swine gut microbiota and antimicrobial resistance – Devin B. Holman – Canadian Journal of Microbiology

Pathogen Loading From Canada Geese Faeces in Freshwater: Potential Risks to Human Health Through Recreational Water Exposure – T. J. Gorham – Zoonoses and Public Health

Review: Coral – The World’s Most Diverse Symbiotic Ecosystem – Linda L. Blackall – Molecular Ecology

New Brazilian giant viruses isolation from environmental samples using a panel of protozoa – Fábio P. Dornas – Frontiers in Microbiology

A New Genus of Fleas with Associated Microorganisms in Dominican Amber – George Poinar Jr. – Journal of Medical Entomology

Isolation and Identification of Pathogenic Filamentous Fungi and Yeasts From Adult House Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Captured From the Hospital Environments in Ahvaz City, Southwestern Iran – Hamid Kassiri – Journal of Medical Entomology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Mycorrhizal diversity, seed germination and long-term changes in population size across nine populations of the terrestrial orchid Neottia ovata – Hans Jacquemyn – Molecular Ecology

Serendipitous Meta-Transcriptomics: The Fungal Community of Norway Spruce (Picea abies) – Nicolas Delhomme – PLOS ONE

Order of arrival structures arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization of plants – Gijsbert D. A. Werner – New Phytologist

Elevated atmospheric CO2 increases microbial growth rates in soil: results of three CO2 enrichment experiments – Evgenia Blagodatskaya – Global Change Biology

Fungi associated with rocks of the Atacama Desert: taxonomy, distribution, diversity, ecology and bioprospection for bioactive compounds – Vívian N. Gonçalves – Environmental Microbiology

The rise and fall of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity during ecosystem retrogression – Manuela Krüger – Molecular Ecology

Lichen-associated fungi from Paleogene amber – Elina Kettunen – New Phytologist

Changes in soil bacterial communities and diversity in response to long-term silver exposure – Sotirios Vasileiadis – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Review: Diversity, distribution and biotechnological potential of endophytic fungi – You-Kun Zheng – Annals of Microbiology

Water microbiome

Assessment of microbial populations within Chicago area nearshore waters and interfaces with river systems – Emily Sible – Data in Brief

Metagenomic evidence for reciprocal particle exchange between the mainstem estuary and lateral bay sediments of the lower Columbia River – Mariya W. Smith – Frontiers in Microbiology

Investigation of denitrifying microbial communities within an agricultural drainage system fitted with low-grade weirs – Beth H. Baker – Water Research

Influence of Wastewater Discharge on the Metabolic Potential of the Microbial Community in River Sediments – Dong Li – Environmental Microbiology

Bacterial community shift drives antibiotic resistance promotion during drinking water chlorination – Shuyu Jia – Environmental Science & Technology

Waste microbiology

The core populations and co-occurrence patterns of prokaryotic communities in household biogas digesters – Junpeng Rui – Biotechnology for Biofuels

Microbial Ecology

Interspecific diversity reduces and functionally substitutes for intraspecific variation in biofilm communities – Kai Wei Kelvin Lee – The ISME Journal

Bioinformatics

MG7: Configurable and scalable 16S metagenomics data analysis – Alexey Alekhin – BioRxiv

Robust Parameter Estimation for Biological Systems: A Study on the Dynamics of Microbial Communities – Matthias Chung – ArXiv

Techniques

Review: Contemporary molecular tools in microbial ecology and their application to advancing biotechnology – Mamoon Rashid – Biotechnology Advances

Microbes in the news

In intro biology lab, students become research subjects – Julia Liss – Michigan Daily

β-glucan-enriched Pasta Boosts Good Gut Bacteria, Reduces Bad Cholesterol – Science 2.0

Two medical students hope to treat superbug with donations to their ‘poo bank’ – Western Daily Press

Bacteria in ancient flea may be ancestor of the Black Death: Plague bacteria may be 20 million years old– Oregon State University

Antarctic bacteria could hold secret to finding life on Mars – University of Tasmania
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September 28, 2015

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Pregnancy and birth

Eczema susceptibility and composition of faecal microbiota at four weeks of age: A pilot study in Chinese infants – M.F. Tang – British Journal of Dermatology

Human skin microbiome

Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of bacteria from acute and chronic wounds in Malaysian subjects – Shin Yee Wong – The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries

Human respiratory microbiome

Induced sputum in young healthy children with cystic fibrosis – Julian Forton – Paediatric Respiratory Reviews

Human urinary tract microbiome

Assessment of the Lower Urinary Tract Microbiota during Symptom Flare in Women with Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A MAPP Network Study – J. Curtis Nickel – The Journal of Urology

Human gut microbiome

Metagenomic analysis of faecal microbiome as a tool towards targeted non-invasive biomarkers for colorectal cancer – Jun Yu – Gut

Animal microbiome

Abundance of ruminal bacteria, epithelial gene expression, and systemic biomarkers of metabolism and inflammation are altered during the peripartal period in dairy cows – A. Minuti – Journal of Dairy Science

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Bacterial endophyte communities in the foliage of coast redwood and giant sequoia – Alyssa A. Carrell and Anna C. Frank – Frontiers in Microbiology

Root isolations of Metarhizium spp. from crops reflect diversity in the soil and indicate no plant specificity – Bernhardt M. Steinwender – Journal of Invertebrate Pathology

DGGE: Biogas digestates affect crop P uptake and soil microbial community composition –
Sebastian Hupfauf – Science of The Total Environment

Water microbiome

Meta-omic signatures of microbial metal and nitrogen cycling in marine oxygen minimum zones – Jennifer B. Glass – Frontiers in Microbiology

Extremophile microbiome

Snow and ice ecosystems: not so extreme – Lorrie Maccario – Research in Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

PanFP: pangenome-based functional profiles for microbial communities – Se-Ran Jun – BMC Research Notes

More microbes

The Out-of-the-Delta Hypothesis: dense human populations in low-lying river deltas served as agents for the evolution of a deadly pathogen – Yan Boucher – Frontiers in Microbiology

Techniques

Blocking primers reduce co-amplification of plant DNA when studying bacterial endophyte communities – Brett E. Arenz – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Microbes in the news

Infections in childhood could provide clues to disease development in later life – European Lung Foundation – EurekAlert

Harnessing The Hordes In The Microbiome: As researchers learn more about the connection between our bacteria and our health, companies are trying to develop therapies that exploit it – Lisa M. Jarvis – Chemical and Engineering News

Dried plums cuts risk of colon cancer, research reveals – Karla Tecson – International Business Times

Root microbiome engineering improves plant growth – EurekAlert

What could possibly go wrong? NASA Is Sending Bacteria to the Edge of Space to See if They Can Hitchhike to Mars – Maddie Stone – Gizmodo

Move over, Barry Marshall: 3.5-Million-Year Old Bacteria: Found To Boost Longevity In Lab Tests, Russian Scientist Injects Self – Aditi Simlai Tiwari – HNGN

Science, publishing, and career

High time for a common plagiarism detection system – Ivan Jarić – Scientometrics

It’s Peer Review Week: 28 Sep – 2 Oct 2015
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September 22, 2015

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Effect of hookworm infection on microbiome of celiac subjects, neutrophil ageing, altering the bone niche, and a personal microbial cloud.

Pregnancy and birth

Influence of a combination of probiotics on bacterial infections in very low birthweight newborns – Zlatka Kanic – Wiener klinische Wochenschrift

Microbiome of death

High-throughput nucleotide sequence analysis of diverse bacterial communities in leachates of decomposing pig carcasses – Seung Hak Yang – Genetics and Molecular Biology

Human respiratory tract microbiome

Investigation of bacterial repopulation after sinus surgery and perioperative antibiotics – Leah J. Hauser – International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology

Human oral microbiome

Comparison of Subgingival and Peri-implant Microbiome in Chronic Periodontitis – Zhang, Qian – Chinese Journal of Dental Research

The novel association between red complex of oral microbe and body mass index in healthy Japanese: a population based cross-sectional study – Kanae Matsushita – Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition

Human gut microbiome

The relationship between faecal-associated and mucosal-associated microbiota in irritable bowel syndrome patients and healthy subjects – I. Rangel – Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Experimental hookworm infection and escalating gluten challenges are associated with increased microbial richness in celiac subjects – Paul Giacomin – Scientific Reports

Effect of administering a multi-species probiotic mixture on the changes in fecal microbiota and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial – Hyuk Yoon – Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition

Review: Improving healthspan via changes in gut microbiota and fermentation – Michael J. Keenan – AGE

Review: Gastric Microbiota – Gianluca Ianiro – Helicobacter

Thesis: High-resolution analysis of the human intestinal microbiota stability landscape – Tineka Blake – Aalto University

Animal models

An integrated metabonomics and microbiology analysis of host-microbiota metabolic interactions in rats with Coptis chinensis-induced diarrhea – Yemeng Li – RCS Advances

Microbiota from Obese Mice Regulate Hematopoietic Stem Cell Differentiation by Altering the Bone Niche – Yubin Luo – Cell Metabolism

The levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system is associated with delayed endocervical clearance of Chlamydia trachomatis without alterations in vaginal microbiota – E.R. Liechty – Pathogens and Disease

Goldfish: Correlations of Gut Microbial Community Shift with Hepatic Damages and Growth Inhibition of Carassius auratus Induced by Pentachlorophenol Exposure – Haifeng Kan – Environmental Science & Technology

Neutrophil ageing is regulated by the microbiome – Dachuan Zhang – Nature

Animal microbiome

Diversity analysis of diazotrophs associated with corals from Xisha and Sanya, South China Sea – Qingsong Yang – Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management

Characterization of the Skin Microbiota in Italian Stream Frogs (Rana italica) Infected and Uninfected by a Cutaneous Parasitic Disease – Ermanno Federici – Microbes and Environments

Microbial diversity and activity in the Nematostella vectensis holobiont: insights from 16S rRNA gene sequencing, isolate genomes, and a pilot-scale survey of gene expression –
Jia Y. Har – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Endophytic bacterial communities associated with two explant sources of Eucalyptus benthamii Maiden & Cambage – Natalia Pimentel Esposito-Polesi – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Endospores, prokaryotes, and microbial indicators in arable soils from three long-term experiments – Paulina Tamez-Hidalgo – Biology and Fertility of Soils

Namib Desert dune/interdune transects exhibit habitat-specific edaphic bacterial communities – Sandra Ronca – Frontiers in Microbiology

Responses of aromatic-degrading microbial communities to elevated nitrate in sediments –
Meiying Xu – Environmental Science & Technology

Climate change and physical disturbance cause similar community shifts in biological soil crusts – Scott Ferrenberg – PNAS

Water / Extremophile microbiome

Patchy-distributed ciliate (Protozoa) diversity of eight polar communities as determined by 454 amplicon pyrosequencing – Jae-Ho Jung – Animal Cells and Systems

Protist communities in a marine oxygen minimum zone off Costa Rica by 454 pyrosequencing – H. Jing – Biogeosciences Discussions

Built environment microbiome

Humans differ in their personal microbial cloud – James F. Meadow – PeerJ

Waste microbiology

Relationship between bacterial diversity and environmental parameters during composting of different raw materials – Xueqin Wang – Bioresource Technology

The sociality of bioremediation: Hijacking the social lives of microbial populations to clean up heavy metal contamination – Siobhan O’Brien, Angus Buckling – EMBO Reports

Culturing oil sands microbes as mixed species communities enhances ex situ model naphthenic acid degradation – Marc A. Demeter – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbial Ecology

Predicting microbial traits with phylogenies – Marta Goberna and Miguel Verdú – The ISME Journal

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Metagenomic reconstructions of bacterial CRISPR loci constrain population histories – Christine L Sun – The ISME Journal

CCLasso: correlation inference for compositional data through Lasso – Huaying Fang – Bioinformatics

Computational methodology for predicting the landscape of the human–microbial interactome region level influence – Edgar D. Coelho – Journal of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Techniques

Targeted single molecule mutation detection with massively parallel sequencing – Mark T. Gregory – Nucleic Acids Research

Micelle PCR reduces chimera formation in 16S rRNA profiling of complex microbial DNA mixtures – Stefan A. Boers – Scientific Reports

Virome Capture Sequencing Enables Sensitive Viral Diagnosis and Comprehensive Virome Analysis – Thomas Briese – mBio

Microbes in the news

Wherever You Go, Your Personal Cloud Of Microbes Follows – Rob Stein – NPR

Former CEO knew about contamination, wrote “Just ship it”: 28 years for salmonella: Peanut exec gets groundbreaking sentence – Moni Basu – CNN

UGA microbiology researchers identify potential mechanism for neurodegenerative diseases – News Medical

Researchers find novel signature in the brains of children with cerebral malaria – EurekAlert

Science, publishing, and career

About annoying invitations to write papers in questionable journals and strategies how to handle those: You are invited to submit… – David Moher and Anubhav Srivastava – BMC Medicine

Bik’s Picks

8 trillion microbeads pollute U.S. aquatic habitats daily – Jareen Imam – CNN

Science Says This Is the Sound Giraffes Make – Alexandra Sifferlin – Time

I Am the Walrus: What 35,000 Walruses Tell Us About Our Future in Warming World – Miyoko Sakashita – Huffington Post

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September 10, 2015

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Plaque microbiome model to predict caries development, ocular microbiota and Sjögren’s, and aging  fungus cultivating termites.

Events

Free workshop at #UCDavis: “Microbial genomics and transcriptomics hands-on”, Sep 24-25 – Jonathan Eisen – Phylogenomics

Human skin and eye microbiome

TSP-1 Deficiency Alters Ocular Microbiota: Implications for Sjögren’s Syndrome Pathogenesis – Terzulli Marielle – Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Human oral microbiome

See “Telltale Mouth Microbes” article below, featuring yours truly: Prediction of Early Childhood Caries via Spatial-Temporal Variations of Oral Microbiota – Fei Teng – Cell Host & Microbe

Human respiratory microbiome

High-throughput sequencing of 16S rDNA amplicons characterizes bacterial composition in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia – Xiao-Jun Yang – Drug Design, Development and Therapy

Bacteria in the CF Lung: Isolation Drives Diversity – Pablo Manfredi – Cell Host & Microbe

Human reproductive tract microbiome

Cervicovaginal microbiome dysbiosis is associated with proteome changes related to alterations of the cervicovaginal mucosal barrier – H Borgdorff – Mucosal Immunology

Human gut microbiome

The Long-term Efficacy and Safety of Fecal Microbiota Transplant for Recurrent, Severe, and Complicated Clostridium difficile Infection in 146 Elderly Individuals – Agrawal, Manas – Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology

Gut Microbiome Composition in Young Nicaraguan Children During Diarrhea Episodes and Recovery – Sylvia Becker-Dreps – Am J Trop Med Hyg

PhD Thesis: Impaired Gut Microbial Community Development in Undernourished Children – Sathish Subramanian – Washington University

Review: Frenemies: Signaling and Nutritional Integration in Pathogen-Microbiota-Host Interactions – Elizabeth A. Cameron, Vanessa Sperandio – Cell Host & Microbe

Review: Fecal microbiota transplantation as therapy for inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis – Ruben J. Colman – Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis

Review: Candida albicans commensalism in the gastrointestinal tract – B. Anne Neville – Yeast Research

Review: Fecal microbiota analysis: an overview of sample collection methods and sequencing strategies – Vincent Thomas – Future Microbiology

Review: The interaction of commensal intestinal bacteria with helminth parasites – Mario M. Zaiss – Parasite Immunology

Animal microbiome

Age polyethism drives community structure of the bacterial gut microbiota in the fungus-cultivating termite Odontotermes formosanus – Hongjie Li – Environmental Microbiology

Diet is the primary determinant of bacterial community structure in the guts of higher termites – Aram Mikaelyan – Molecular Ecology

Isolation of aerobic cultivable cellulolytic bacteria from different regions of the gastrointestinal tract of giant land snail Achatina fulica – Guilherme L. Pinheiro – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, soil, and root microbiome

Fungal endophyte Phomopsis liquidambari affects nitrogen transformation processes and related microorganisms in the rice rhizosphere – Bo Yan – Frontiers in Microbiology

Soil fungi for mycoremediation of arsenic pollution in agriculture soils – Manvi Singh
– Journal of Applied Microbiology

Woody plant encroachment, and its removal, impact bacterial and fungal communities across stream and terrestrial habitats in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem – Allison M. Veach – Microbiology Ecology

Review: The role of microorganisms in the ecological functions of soils – T. G. Dobrovol’skaya – Eurasian Soil Science

Water microbiome

Studying composition of bacteriobenthic communities in the sediments of water ecosystems by fatty acid markers – N. G. Sherysheva – Aquatic Microbiology

Extremophiles

Microbial life in Bourlyashchy, the hottest thermal pool of Uzon Caldera, Kamchatka -Nikolay A. Chernyh – Extremophiles

Microbes of the built environment

Metabolomic and high-throughput sequencing analysis – modern approach for the assessment of biodeterioration of materials from historic buildings – Beata Gutarowska – Frontiers in Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Fragmentation and coverage variation in viral metagenome assemblies, and their effect in diversity calculations – Rodrigo García-López – Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

Tentacle: distributed quantification of genes in metagenomes – Fredrik Boulund – GigaScience

Potential and pitfalls of eukaryotic metagenome skimming: A test case for lichens –
Bastian Greshake – Molecular Ecology Resources

Techniques

Effects of freezing storage on the DNA extraction and microbial evaluation from anaerobic digested sludges – Valeria Romanazzi – BMC Research Notes

Microbes in the news

Telltale Mouth Microbes- The composition of the plaque microbiome can reveal a child’s risk of dental caries months before the decay appears, according to a study. – Jyoti Madhusoodanan – The Scientist

Researcher Succumbs To Cystic Fibrosis, Leaves Unique Investigative Legacy – Charles Moore – Cystic Fibrosis News Today

uBiome Extends Reach of Microbiome Testing Through Global Ambassador Program – PR Web

Get the Poop on Organisms Living in Your Gut With a New Consumer Laboratory Test Offered by American Gut and uBiome – Dark Daily

“A diversity of gifts”: article about the MBL Microbial Diversity course – Jonathan Eisen – Microbe.net

Nanomesh dressings may draw bacteria from chronic wounds – Ben Coxworth – GizMag

Purple bacteria signal zinc deficiency – James Urquhart – Chemistry World

Professor pursues bacteria-to-fuel research abroad: Dr. Galyna Kufryk spent part of the summer studying cyanobacteria at the Institut Pasteur in Paris – Janie Magruder – Grand Canyon University

Bacteria in Overdrive: a key organism in the ocean’s food web will start reproducing at high speed as carbon dioxide levels rise – Robert Perkins – USC Dornsife

Bacteria Hysteria

The Most Bacteria-Infested Places on an Airplane – Rachael Schultz – Shape

Microbes and art

AMNH to present The Secret World Inside You exhibit, 11/4 – Broadway World

Science, publishing, and career

Q&A: The academic satirist: Jorge Cham wowed graduate students with The PhD Movie in 2011 – Zoë Corbyn – Nature

Gender balance: Women are funded more fairly in social science – Paul J. Boyle – Nature
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September 9, 2015

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Gut virome of Malawian twins, equine grass sickness, and high-throughput microfluidics.

Pregnancy and birth

Significant increase of oral bacteria in the early pregnancy period in Japanese women – Natsumi Fujiwara – Journal of Investigative and Clinical Dentistry

Human gut microbiome

From the Jeff Gordon lab: Gut DNA viromes of Malawian twins discordant for severe acute malnutrition – Alejandro Reyes – PNAS

Research Highlight: Gut microbiota, host genetics and diet interact to affect the risk of developing obesity and the metabolic syndrome – Claire Greenhill – Nature Reviews Endocrinology

Animal microbiome

Understanding Intestinal Microbiota in Equine Grass Sickness: Next Generation Sequencing of Faecal Bacterial DNA – Leng J. – Equine Veterinary Journal

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Soil organic carbon and microbial communities respond to vineyard management – F. Zehetner – Soil Use and Management

Bioinformatics

Sparse Zero-Sum Games as Stable Functional Feature Selection – Nataliya Sokolovska – PLOS ONE

Techniques

Spatiotemporal microbial single-cell analysis using a high-throughput microfluidics cultivation platform – Alexander Grünberger – Cytometry Part A

Microbes in the news

Twins Study Explores Gut Virome Role in Severe Acute Malnutrition Risk – Genome Web

Study shows characterization of lung micro-organisms could help lung cancer patients – Medical Express

Pediatric antibiotic administration can have long-term effects on child development – BioTechInAsia

10 Mysteries of the Human Microbiome Revealed – Mental Floss

Microbes and art

3D Printed clothing house microorganisms: The wearable gut. An intestine-inspired tutu – with video – Nature Biotechnology

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September 8, 2015

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How Bifidobacterium species digest human milk oligosaccharides, yeast species in floral nectar, and microbes of the cryosphere.

Pregnancy and birth

Comparative transcriptomics reveals key differences in the response to milk oligosaccharides of infant gut-associated bifidobacteria – Daniel Garrido – Scientific Reports

Human oral microbiome

Dental caries-not just holes in teeth! A perspective – William H. Bowen – Molecular Oral Microbiology

Progress in oral personalized medicine: contribution of ‘omics’ – Ingrid Glurich – Journal of Oral Microbiology

Human gut microbiome

Editorial: Modeling the Context-Dependent Associations between the Gut Microbiome, Its Environment, and Host Health – Thomas J. Sharpton – mBio

Review: Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Obesity-Linked Metabolic Diseases and Prebiotic Potential of Polyphenol-Rich Extracts – Fernando F. Anhê – Current Obesity Reports

Review: The gut microbiota and host health: a new clinical frontier – Julian R Marchesi – Gut

Animal models

Distinct but Spatially Overlapping Intestinal Niches for Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium and Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae – Silvia Caballero – PLOS Pathogens

An Overview of Typical Infections of Research Mice: Health Monitoring and Prevention of Infection – James R. Fahey – Current Protocols in Mouse Biology

Editorial: The bug eye bandits – Yvonne Bordon – Nature Reviews Immunology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Species coexistence in simple microbial communities: unravelling the phenotypic landscape of co-occurring Metschnikowia species in floral nectar – María I. Pozo – Environmental Microbiology

Unveiling the metabolic potential of two soil-derived microbial consortia selected on wheat straw – Diego Javier Jiménez – Scientific Reports

Crop rotation of flooded rice with upland maize impacts the resident and active methanogenic microbial community – Björn Breidenbach – Environmental Microbiology

Water microbiome

Methane and microbial dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico water column – Chrisoulla Rakowski – Frontiers in Marine Science

Transformation of Organic Matter by Microbial Community in Sediments of Lake Baikal under Experimental Thermobaric Conditions of Protocatagenesis – Olga N. Pavlova – Geomicrobiology Journal

Extremophiles

Metagenomic analysis reveals that modern microbialites and polar microbial mats have similar taxonomic and functional potential – Richard A. White III – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Microbial ecology of the cryosphere: sea ice and glacial habitats – Antje Boetius – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

ConStrains identifies microbial strains in metagenomic datasets – Chengwei Luo – Nature Biotechnology

Review: High-throughput bacterial functional genomics in the sequencing era – Andrew N Gray – Current Opinion in Microbiology

Techniques

Uniform and accurate single-cell sequencing based on emulsion whole-genome amplification – Yusi Fu – PNAS

Microbes in the news

Seal fur and Arctic bacteria leach toxic mercury into waters – Joshua Sokol – New Scientist

Time to Give Up Showers and Spray Yourself With a Coating of Live Bacteria –
Madeleine Davies – Jezebel

A Look Inside the Lunch Boxes of Diet & Exercise Researchers – Ann Marie Awad – WRKF

Poo transplants can eliminate two superbugs from the gut: mice study – Eliza Berlage – The Conversation

Genetic Factors Drive Roles of Gut Bacteria in Diabetes and Obesity – News Wise

Bik’s Picks

Mercury offloaded in Northern elephant seal hair affects coastal seawater surrounding rookery – Jennifer M. Cossaboon – PNAS

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September 5, 2015

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Events

The Individual Microbe: Single-cell Analysis and Agent-based Modeling – ASM conference – March 18-20, 2016, Washington DC, USA

R workshop for microbial ecology – Pat Schloss – Nov 2-4, 2015, Detroit – No link but can email Pat at: pschloss@umich.edu

General microbiome

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

Pregnancy and birth microbiome

Phylogenetic and Metabolic Tracking of Gut Microbiota during Perinatal Development – Federica Del Chierico – PLOS ONE

Human oral microbiome

The Effect of Fixed Orthodontic Appliances and Fluoride Mouthwash on the Oral Microbiome of Adolescents – A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial – Jessica E. Koopman – PLOS ONE

Review: Oral Paleomicrobiology: study of the ancient oral microbiome – Namrata Dagli

Human gut microbiome

The effect of dietary resistant starch type 2 on the microbiota and markers of gut inflammation in rural Malawi children – M. Isabel Ordiz – Microbiome

Gastrointestinal Microbiome Modulator Improves Glucose Tolerance in Overweight and Obese Subjects: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial – Candida J. Rebello – Journal of Diabetes and its Complications

Faecal proteomics: A tool to investigate dysbiosis and inflammation in patients with cystic fibrosis – Griet Debyser – Journal of Cystic Fibrosis

Review: Pathways and functions of gut microbiota metabolism impacting host physiology – Smitha Krishnan – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Review: Microbiome in Inflammatory Arthritis and Human Rheumatic Diseases – Jose U. Scher – Arthritis & Rheumatology

Review: The human microbiome: opportunities and challenges for clinical care – G. B. Rogers – Internal Medicine Journal

Human respiratory microbiome (see also gut microbiome above)

MRSA Colonization and the Nasal Microbiome in Adults at High Risk for Colonization and Infection – Mary T. Bessesen – Journal of Infection

Review: Cystic fibrosis lung microbiome: Opportunities to reconsider management of airway infection – Lindsay J. Caverly – Pediatric Pulmonology

Human other sites

In silico analyses of metagenomes from human atherosclerotic plaque samples – Suparna Mitra – Microbiome

Microbiome models

Distinct Shifts in Microbiota Composition during Drosophila Aging Impair Intestinal Function and Drive Mortality – Rebecca I. Clark – Cell Reports

Perspective: Metabolic labeling puts the microbiome under the microscope – Graham J Britton & Jeremiah J Faith – Nature Medicine

Animal microbiome

The composition of the zebrafish intestinal microbial community varies across development – W Zac Stephens – ISME Journal

Shifts in the Midgut/Pyloric Microbiota Composition within a Honey Bee Apiary throughout a Season – Jane Ludvigsen – Microbes and Environments

The genome of Aiptasia, a sea anemone model for coral symbiosis – Sebastian Baumgarten – PNAS

Special Issue: The Mammalian Microbiome and Its Importance in Laboratory Animal Research – André Bleich and James G. Fox – ILAR Journal

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Predicting Ecological Roles in the Rhizosphere Using Metabolome and Transportome Modeling – Peter E. Larsen – PLOS ONE

Microbiome change by symbiotic invasion in lichens – Wedin Mats – Environmental Microbiology

Plant-associated microbiomes in arid lands: diversity, ecology and biotechnological potential – Asma Soussi – Plant and Soil

Geological connectivity drives microbial community structure and connectivity in polar, terrestrial ecosystems – Belinda C. Ferrari – Environmental Microbiology

Water microbiome

Anthropogenic activities drive the microbial community and its function in urban river sediment – Xu Zhang – Journal of Soils and Sediments

Built environment microbiome

Bacterial Communities and Midgut Microbiota Associated with Mosquito Populations from Waste Tires in East-Central Illinois – Chang-Hyun Kim – Journal of Medical Entomology

Hospital’s Hidden Environmental Hazards: Probing the Microbiome – BioScience

Pyrosequencing analysis of bacterial communities in biofilms from different pipe materials in a city drinking water distribution system of East China – Hongxing Ren – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Food microbiology

The genomics of microbial domestication in the fermented food environment –
John G Gibbons – Current Opinion in Genetics & Development

Bioinformatics

Functional Basis of Microorganism Classification – Chengsheng Zhu – PLOS Computational Biology

ReproPhylo: An Environment for Reproducible Phylogenomics – Amir Szitenberg – PLOS Computational Biology

MetaBAT, an efficient tool for accurately reconstructing single genomes from complex microbial communities – Dongwan D. Kang – PeerJ

More Microbiology

Evolution of coexistence in a crowded microplate well – J. Arjan G. M. de Visser – PNAS

The rpb2 gene represents a viable alternative molecular marker for the analysis of environmental fungal communities – Tomáš Větrovský – Molecular Ecology Resources

Microbes in the news

Microbial diversity insights are often strongly biased – Suffield Times
Small advances: understanding the microbiome – Amanda Smith – ABC Australia

Science, publishing and career

When science fails a scientist – Kim Hunter-Schaedle – Science

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September 1, 2015

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General microbiome

Perspective: Better together: engineering and application of microbial symbioses – Stephanie G Hays – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Pregnancy and birth

Maternal use of probiotics during pregnancy and effects on their offspring’s health in an unselected population – Nicole Rutten – European Journal of Pediatrics

Impact of maternal bifidobacteria and the mode of delivery on Bifidobacterium microbiota in infants – S. Sirilun – Beneficial Microbes

Human Milk Oligosaccharides in Premature Infants: Absorption, Excretion and Influence on the Intestinal Microbiota – Mark A. Underwood – Pediatric Research

The influence of impact delivery mode, lactation time, infant gender, maternal age and rural or urban life on total number of Lactobacillus in breast milk Isfahan – Iran – Mansoureh Taghizadeh – Advanced Biomedical Research

Review: Maternal Microbiome and Pregnancy Outcomes That Impact Infant Health: A Review – Anne L Dunlop – Advances in Neonatal Care

Human gut microbiome

Characterization of the gut microbiota of Kawasaki disease patients by metagenomic analysis – Akiko Kinumaki – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: Microbiome Disturbances and Autism Spectrum Disorders – Cheryl S. Rosenfeld – Drug Metabolism & Disposition

Review: Investigation of Host–Gut Microbiota Modulation of Therapeutic Outcome – Lian Yee Yip – Drug Metabolism & Disposition

Perspective: Could gut microbiota protect against sclerosing cholangitis? – Hanns-Ulrich Marschall – Hepatology

Models of microbiome research

Probiotic Bifidobacterium longum alters gut luminal metabolism through modification of the gut microbial community – Hirosuke Sugahara – Scientific Reports

Microbial community profiles of the colon from steers differing in feed efficiency – Phillip R Myer – Springer Plus

Distinct Shifts in Microbiota Composition during Drosophila Aging Impair Intestinal Function and Drive Mortality – Rebecca I. Clark – Cell Reports

Impact of Fishmeal Replacement in Diets for Gilthead Sea Bream (Sparus aurata) on the Gastrointestinal Microbiota Determined by Pyrosequencing the 16S rRNA Gene – G. Estruch – PLOS ONE

Lean rats gained more body weight than obese ones from a high-fibre diet – Shaoting Li – British Journal of Nutrition

Microbiota RORgulates intestinal suppressor T cells – Ahmed N. Hegazy – Science

Review: Heterogeneity of the gut microbiome in mice: guidelines for optimizing experimental design – Debby Laukens – FEMS Microbiology Reviews

Animal microbiome

Temporal variation selects for diet–microbe co-metabolic traits in the gut of Gorilla spp – Andres Gomez – The ISME Journal

Domestication and cereal feeding developed domestic pig-type intestinal microbiota in animals of suidae – Kazunari Ushida – Animal Science Journal

Rapid Change of Microbiota Diversity in the Gut but Not the Hepatopancreas During Gonadal Development of the New Shrimp Model Neocaridina denticulata – Man Kit Cheung – Marine Biotechnology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

The Effect of Long-Term Continuous Cropping of Black Pepper on Soil Bacterial Communities as Determined by 454 Pyrosequencing – Wu Xiong – PLOS ONE

A metagenomic window into carbon metabolism at 3 km depth in Precambrian continental crust – Cara Magnabosco – The ISME Journal

A review: What is the spermosphere and how can it be studied? – Séverine Schiltz – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

glmgraph: An R Package for Variable Selection and Predictive Modeling of Structured Genomic Data – Li Chen – Bioinformatics

Discovery of phosphonic acid natural products by mining the genomes of 10,000 actinomycetes – Kou-San Ju – PNAS

Techniques

Mass Spectrometry-based PhyloProteomics (MSPP): A novel microbial typing Method – Andreas Erich Zautner – Scientific Reports

Microbes and art

Made of Bacteria, This Living Type Morphs Into New Letterforms: Ori Elisar’s project Living Language blurs the lines between designer and mad scientist with his Hebrew symbols grown in petridishes – Meg Miller – FastcoDesign

Microbes in the news

Unusual throat (and mouth) germs linked to schizophrenia, says two new studies – Amy Ellis Nutt – Washington Post

Some Sexually Transmitted Microbes Might Be Good for You – Marissa Fessenden – Smithsonian

How Does Your Microbiome Grow? The reproduction rates of the bacteria in one’s gut may be a good indicator of health or disease – Health Canal

How Do We Build Our Microbiomes? Exhibition “The Secret World Inside You” opens November 7 – American Museum of Natural History

New Yeast And Bacterial Starters Developed For Truly Wild European Wines – Eurasia Review

Bacteria Hysteria

Are your kid’s backpacks a magnet for bacteria? – Anna Zook – WJHL.com

Bik’s Picks

Acoustic shadows help gleaning bats find prey, but may be defeated by prey acoustic camouflage on rough surfaces – Elizabeth L Clare – eLIFE
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August 25, 2015

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Microbiome of Polish Cemetery soil, microbiome and risk of Plasmodium infection, interactions between mouse gut microbiota, host Genetics and diet, and the microbiome of air at three different heights.

The microbiome of death

Microbiological Analysis of Necrosols Collected from Urban Cemeteries in Poland – Ireneusz Całkosiński – BioMed Research International

Book: Carrion Ecology, Evolution, and Their Applications – M. Eric Benbow – CRC Press

Pregnancy and birth

Review: Rate of establishing the gut microbiota in infancy has consequences for future health – Shaillay Dogra – Gut Microbes

Editorial with disturbing title: Can establishment of human microbiome be customized after birth with local traditions of first feed and intimate kissing? – Sarman Singh – Journal of Laboratory Physicians

Human oral microbiome

Alterations of the Subgingival Microbiota in Pediatric Crohn’s Disease Studied Longitudinally in Discovery and Validation Cohorts – Judith Kelsen – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Review: Human microbiome: From the bathroom to the bedside – Stephen Malnick, Ehud Melzer – World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol

Human gut microbiota / transcriptomics

Stool microbiota composition is associated with the prospective risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection – Shibu Yooseph – BMC Genomics

Strand-specific community RNA-seq reveals prevalent and dynamic antisense transcription in human gut microbiota – Guanhui Bao – Frontiers in Microbiology

The Fecal Virome of Children with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease that Tested PCR Negative for Pathogenic Enteroviruses – Piyada Linsuwanon – PLOS ONE

Review: Gut microbiota and allogeneic transplantation – Weilin Wang – Journal of Translational Medicine

Animal models

Interactions between Gut Microbiota, Host Genetics and Diet Modulate the Predisposition to Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome – Siegfried Ussar – Cell Metabolism

Physical Activity Differentially Affects the Cecal Microbiota of Ovariectomized Female Rats Selectively Bred for High and Low Aerobic Capacity – Tzu-Wen Liu – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

Isolation of oxalotrophic bacteria associated with Varroa destructor mites – M. Maddaloni – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Diversity of bacterial communities in the midgut of Bactrocera cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae) populations and their potential use as attractants – Ashok B. Hadapad – Pest Management Science

Midgut bacterial communities in the giant Asian honeybee (Apisdorsata) across four developmental stages: a comparative study – Prakaimuk Saraithong – Insect Science

Bacterial communities associated with four ctenophore genera from the German Bight (North Sea) – Wenjin Hao – FEMS Microbial Ecology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome
(also see study above filed under Microbiome of Death)

The effect of D123 wheat as a companion crop on soil enzyme activities, microbial biomass and microbial communities in the rhizosphere of watermelon – Wei H. Xu – Frontiers in Microbiology

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

Molecular characterization of microbial communities in the rhizosphere soils and roots of diseased and healthy Panax notoginseng – Zhaoxiang Wu – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

The diversity changes of soil microbial communities stimulated by climate, soil type and vegetation type analyzed via a functional gene array – Fu Chen – World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

Water microbiome

Carbon fixation by basalt-hosted microbial communities – Beth N. Orcutt – Frontiers in Microbiology

Annual dynamics of North Sea bacterioplankton: Seasonal variability superimposes short-term variation – Judith Lucas – Microbiology Ecology

Ecology and Distribution of Thaumarchaea in the Deep Hypolimnion of Lake Maggiore –
Manuela Coci – Archaea

Viral and grazer regulation of prokaryotic growth efficiency in temperate freshwater pelagic environments – A.S. Pradeep Ram – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Air / built environment microbiome

Vertical distribution of airborne bacterial communities in an Asian-dust downwind area, Noto Peninsula – Teruya Maki – Atmospheric Environment

Microbiological consequences of indoor composting – Alexandre Naegele – Indoor Air

Extremophiles

Response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem (Zodletone spring, OK, USA) – Suzanne Coveley – PeerJ

Food microbiology

Wine fermentation microbiome: a landscape from different Portuguese wine appellations – Cátia Pinto – Frontiers in Microbiology

Difference of microbial community stressed in artificial pit muds for Luzhou-flavour liquor brewing revealed by multiphase culture-independent technology – Liqiang Zhang – Journal of Applied Microbiology

Monitoring of Yeast Communities and Volatile Flavor Changes During Traditional Korean Soy Sauce Fermentation – Young-Ran Song – Journal of Food Science

Bioreactor microbiology

Microbial community in a hydrogenotrophic denitrification reactor based on pyrosequencing – Hongyu Wang – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Techniques and other microbiology

Application of iChip to Grow “Uncultivable” Microorganisms and its Impact on Antibiotic Discovery – Rinzhin T. Sherpa – Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Cultivating the uncultured: growing the recalcitrant cluster-2 Frankia strains – Maher Gtari – Scientific Reports

Isolation of Genetically Tractable Most-Wanted Bacteria by Metaparental Mating – Páraic Ó Cuív – Scientific Reports

Burkholderia bacteria infectiously induce the proto-farming symbiosis of Dictyostelium amoebae and food bacteria – Susanne DiSalvo – PNAS

Science, publishing, and career

A call to arms for women in science – Women’s Agenda
Microbes in the news

The Bacteria That Turn Amoebas Into Farmers – Ed Yong – National Geographic

Testers find twice as many ‘superbugs’ in conventional hamburger as organic ones – Lena H. Sun – Washington Post

Humans carry more antibiotic-resistant bacteria than animals they work with – Medical Xpress
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