March 15, 2016

Intrapartum antibiotics and newborn gut microbiota, the seminal fluid microbiome, and xenobiotic metabolism by gut microbes.

General microbiome

Review: The interplay between the microbiome and the adaptive immune response in cancer development – Edda Russo – Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology

Pregnancy and birth

Evaluation of the effects of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis on newborn intestinal microbiota using a sequencing approach targeted to multi hypervariable 16S rDNA regions – Irene Aloisio – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Human respiratory microbiome

Neonatal Gastrointestinal and Respiratory Microbiome in Cystic Fibrosis: Potential Interactions and Implications for Systemic Health – Juliette C. Madan – Clinical Therapeutics

Review: Host-microbiome interactions in acute and chronic respiratory infections – Steven Taylor – Cellular Microbiology

Human reproductive tract microbiome

Discovery of a Novel Seminal Fluid Microbiome and Influence of Estrogen Receptor Alpha Genetic Status – Angela B. Javurek – Scientific Reports

Human gut microbiome

Bloom and bust: intestinal microbiota dynamics in response to hospital exposures and Clostridium difficile colonization or infection – Caroline Vincent – Microbiome

Upper Versus Lower Gastrointestinal Delivery for Transplantation of Fecal Microbiota in Recurrent or Refractory Clostridium difficile Infection: A Collaborative Analysis of Individual Patient Data From 14 Studies – Luis Furuya-Kanamori – Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology

Similar depletion of protective Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in psoriasis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease, but not in Hidradenitis Suppurativa – Hester Eppinga – Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis

Review: The role of the gastrointestinal tract and microbiota on uremic toxins and chronic kidney disease development – David Briskey – Clinical and Experimental Nephrology

Review: The microbial pharmacists within us: a metagenomic view of xenobiotic metabolism – Peter Spanogiannopoulos – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Animal microbiome

Vertebrate hosts as islands: dynamics of selection, immigration, loss, persistence and potential function of bacteria on salamander skin – Andrew H. Loudon – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Altered carbon turnover processes and microbiomes in soils under long-term extremely high CO2 exposure – Felix Beulig – Nature Microbiology

Metagenomic and functional analyses of the consequences of reduction of bacterial diversity on soil functions and bioremediation in diesel-contaminated microcosms – Jaejoon Jun – Scientific Reports

Bacterial Community Succession in Pine-Wood Decomposition – Anna M. Kielak – Frontiers in Microbiology

Cave microbiome

MiSeq HV4 16S rRNA gene analysis of bacterial community composition among the cave sediments of Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot – Surajit De Mandal – Environmental Science and Pollution Research

Water microbiome

Bacterial diversity and distribution in seven different estuarine sediments of Poyang Lake, China – Ping Sheng – Environmental Earth Sciences

Built environment microbiology

Detection of Balamuthia mandrillaris DNA in the storage case of contact lenses in Germany – Carsten Balczun – Parasitology Research

Viruses and phages

Characterization of Viral Communities of Biting Midges and Identification of Novel Thogotovirus Species and Rhabdovirus Genus – Sarah Temmam – MDPI Viruses

Metagenomic analysis demonstrates the diversity of the fecal virome in asymptomatic pigs in East Africa – Joshua O. Amimo – Archives of Virology

Bacteriophages to reduce gut carriage of antibiotic resistant uropathogens with low impact on microbiota composition – Matthieu Galtier – Environmental Microbiology

Review: Mutualistic viruses and the heteronomy of life – Thomas Pradeu – Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Microbial Ecology

Engineering microbial consortia for controllable outputs – Stephen R Lindemann – ISME Journal

Review: The Anthropocene: a conspicuous stratigraphical signal of anthropogenic changes in production and consumption across the biosphere – Mark Williams – Earth’s Future

Book, all chapters written by Thomas CG Bosch and David J Miller. Not free of plagiarism and self-citing: The Holobiont Imperative: Perspectives from Early Emerging Animals – Springer

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Illumina error profiles: resolving fine-scale variation in metagenomic sequencing data – Melanie Schirmer – BMC Bioinformatics

Microbes in the news

Bacterial biofilms in hospital water pipes may show pathogenic properties – Phys.org

Developed in Prince William, ISOThrive feeds human microbiome – Potomac Local

The first Truth is already not true: 3 Truths and a Lie About the Microbiome. Stick to the science if you want a healthy gut. – Megan Meyer – US News

The microbial death clock – Kai Kupferschmidt – Science
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March 14, 2016

Happy Pi day! I’m currently in Europe, so today is just 14-3 here. But microbiomes are everywhere, so here we go with bacterial vaginosis in Africa, biofilms of streams and hospital shower hoses, and fungi in Chinese oil-shale mines.

Human vaginal microbiome

Can one size fit all? Approach to bacterial vaginosis in sub-Saharan Africa – Zenda Woodman – Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials

Human gut microbiome

Review: The diet-microbiota-metabolite axis regulates the host physiology – Takahiro Yamada – Journal of Biochemistry

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

No difference in the competitive ability of introduced and native Trifolium provenances when grown with soil biota from their introduced and native ranges – Natasha Shelby – AOB Plants

Water microbiome

Review: The ecology and biogeochemistry of stream biofilms – Tom J. Battin – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Built environment microbiome

Characterization of biofilms developing on hospital shower hoses and implications for nosocomial infections – Maria J. Soto-Giron – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Pollution and waste microbiology

Fungal diversity in major oil-shale mines in China – Shaoyan Jiang – Journal of Environmental Sciences

More microbiology

How pneumococci lose their capsule – Andrea Du Toit – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Airplane lavatories that clean themselves? It’s happening – Karla Cripps – CNN

Self-Cleaning Airplane Toilets Are A Crappy Idea – Martin Rivers – Forbes

Fighting back from bacterial meningitis – Paul Sisson – San Diego Union Tribune

Artists create living paintings from glow-in-the-dark bacteria – Geraldine Cremin – Mashable

Deadly disease outbreak in Wisconsin baffles public health officials – Keren Landman – STAT news

Wisconsin Bacterial Infection: A Case Of The Rare Elizabethkingia – Xbox360

Is fermented food a recipe for good gut health? – Philippa Roxby – BBC

Stanford chemists develop an ultra-sensitive test for cancers, HIV – Bjorn Carey – Stanford News

Fake drugs in Nigeria: Imprisonment of 2:1 microbiology graduate – National Mirror Online

How Does Salmonella Get on Pistachios? – Linda Larsen – Food Poisoning Bulletin

How Gut Bacteria Are Shaking Up Cancer Research – Makiko Kitamura – Bloomberg

Science, publishing, and career

About Kate Rubins, who worked in our lab: Napa astronaut prepares for space station journey: four-month mission aboard ISS- Howard Yune – Napa Valley Register

The Subtle Ways Gender Gaps Persist in Science – Paul Voosen – Chronicle

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March 13, 2016

General microbiome

Review: Engineering Human Microbiota: Influencing Cellular and Community Dynamics for Therapeutic Applications – S. Woloszynek – International Review of Cell and Molecular Biology

Pregnancy and birth / Human vaginal microbiome

Review: The vaginal microbiota, host defense and reproductive physiology – Steven B Smith – The Journal of Physiology

Human gut microbiome

Review: Brain-Gut-Microbiota axis: Challenges for Translation in Psychiatry – John R. Kelly – Annals of Epidemiology

Editorial: The microbiome in celiac disease: Beyond diet-genetic interactions – Jose U. Scher – Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
Animal models

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

Heat-treated high-fat diet modifies gut microbiota and metabolic markers in apoe−/− mice – Nittaya Marungruang – Nutrition & Metabolism

Animal microbiome

Characterization of pollen and bacterial community composition in brood provisions of a small carpenter bee – Quinn S. McFrederick – Molecular Ecology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Cry1Ac Transgenic Sugarcane Does Not Affect the Diversity of Microbial Communities and Has No Significant Effect on Enzyme Activities in Rhizosphere Soil within One Crop Season – Dinggang Zhou – Frontiers in Plant Science

Succession of soil microbial communities and enzyme activities in artificial soils – Franziska Ditteric – Pedobiologia

Effect of copper and zinc on microbial tolerance to triclosan in two soil types – Gerty J. H. P. Gielen – Journal of Soils and Sediments

Microbial enzymes as an early warning management tool for monitoring mining site soils – Mohammad Wahsha – CATENA

Water and glacier microbiome

Bacterial communities potentially involved in iron-cycling in Baltic Sea and North Sea sediments revealed by pyrosequencing – Carolina Reyes – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

The Differing Biogeochemical and Microbial Signatures of Glaciers and Rock Glaciers – Timothy S. Fegel – Journal of Geophysical Research

Diuron tolerance and potential degradation by pelagic microbiomes in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon – Florent E. Angly – PeerJ

Infection microbiology

Whole genome sequencing identifies a novel species of the genus Capnocytophaga isolated from dog and cat bite wounds in humans – Salah Zangena – Scientific Reports

Viruses

RNA viruses as major contributors to Antarctic virioplankton – Jaclyn A Miranda – Environmental Microbiology

Review: Giant viruses of amoebas: an update – Sarah Aherfi – Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbial Ecology

Review: Dancing with the Stars: How Choreographed Bacterial Interactions Dictate Nososymbiocity and Give Rise to Keystone Pathogens, Accessory Pathogens, and Pathobionts – George Hajishengallis – Trends in Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

LSG: An External-Memory Tool to Compute String Graphs for Next-Generation Sequencing Data Assembly – Paola Bonizzoni – Journal of Computational Biology

Microbes in the news

Cool Citizen Microbiology Project in Spain With Great Engagement – David Coil – Microbenet

Podcast: The Bacteria Behind Your Favorite Blues, Bries, and More – Science Friday

Science, publishing and career

Scientists who tweet: 3 Fred Hutch researchers talk about getting #science out into the world, 140 characters at a time – Mary Engel – Fred Hutch

This Student Adds A Woman In Science To Wikipedia Every Time She’s Harassed Online – Kelly Oakes – BuzzFeed

Bik’s Picks

Neandertals’ large lower thorax may represent adaptation to high protein diet – Miki Ben-Dor – American Journal of Physical Anthropology

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March 12, 2016

Microbiomes of farmland frogs and grape vine, and functional structures in acid mine drainage microbes.

Human oral microbiome

Ecological changes in oral microcosm biofilm during maturation – Young-Seok Kim – Journal of Biomedical Optics

Human gut microbiome

Review: Consequences of bile salt biotransformations by intestinal bacteria – Jason M. Ridlon – Gut Micobes

Review: The microbiota–gut–brain axis and its potential therapeutic role in autism spectrum disorder – Q. Li,- Neuroscience

Animal models

Safety Evaluation of Neo Transgenic Pigs by Studying Changes in Gut Microbiota Using High-Throughput Sequencing Technology – Qingqing Wang – PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

Changes of diet and dominant intestinal microbes in farmland frogs – Chun-Wen Chang – BMC Microbiology

Plant, soil, and microbiome

Vitis vinifera microbiome: from basic research to technological development – Cátia Pinto – BioControl

Water and extremophile microbiology

Predicting taxonomic and functional structure of microbial communities in acid mine drainage – Jialiang Kuang – The ISME Journal

Complete ecological isolation and cryptic diversity in Polynucleobacter bacteria not resolved by 16S rRNA gene sequences – Martin W Hahn – The ISME Journal

Waste and pollution microbiology

Changes of microbial composition during wastewater reclamation and distribution systems revealed by high-throughput sequencing analyses – Yiwen Lin – Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering

Metabolomics

Integrated metabolomics and metagenomics analysis of plasma and urine identified microbial metabolites associated with coronary heart disease – Qiang Feng – Scientific Reports

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Phylogeny-aware Identification and Correction of Taxonomically Mislabeled Sequences – Alexey M Kozlov – BioRxiv

Microbial Ecology

Challenges in microbial ecology: building predictive understanding of community function and dynamics – Widder, S – White Rose Research Online

Microbes in the news

A cloud of distinction – Could the trails of microbes we leave behind be used to solve crimes? Julian Smith picks up the scent – Julian Smith  – New Scientist

Stick Out Your Tongue: Citizen science project draws up the first oral microbiome map for the youth: Over 4,000 people have taken part in this hands-on scientific project in Barcelona- EurekAlert

Biologicals in quest for 2050: BioConsortia is evaluating microbes that could help protect seedlings emerging in cold and wet conditions. – AgriView

Gut Microbiome Analysis for Detecting Colon Cancer Mutations – Univesrity of Minnesota

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March 11, 2016

Posting from the airport – flying home to my folks for a week. I will try to keep you all updated, though! Fecal microbiota from dolphins (by another group!), microbes and Alzheimer’s, plastic-eating bacteria, and lead exposure.

Pregnancy and birth

State Scope of Practice Laws, Nurse-Midwifery Workforce, and Childbirth Procedures and Outcomes – Y. Tony Yang – Women’s Health Issues

Human oral microbiome

Characterization of a highly arginolytic Streptococcus species that potently antagonizes Streptococcus mutans – Xuelian Huang – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

The Microbiome of the Oral Mucosa in Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Nicolaas H. Fourie – Gut Microbes

Preliminary analysis of salivary microbiome and their potential roles in oral lichen planus
Kun Wang – Scientific Reports

Human respiratory microbiome

Review: The lung microbiome and exacerbations of COPD – Dy, Rajany – Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine

Human vaginal microbiome

Unique Insights in the Cervicovaginal Lactobacillus iners and L. crispatus Proteomes and Their Associations with Microbiota Dysbiosis – Hanneke Borgdorff – PLOS ONE

Human gut microbiome

The Microbiome, Intestinal Function, and Arginine Metabolism of Healthy Indian Women Are Different from Those of American and Jamaican Women – CC Kao – Journal of Nutrition

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Inhibits Multidrug-Resistant Gut Pathogens: Preliminary Report Performed in an Immunocompromised Host – Jarosław Biliński – Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis

The Intersection of TNF, IBD and the Microbiome – Yava L. Jones-Hall – Gut Microbes

Review: Bacterial species involved in the conversion of dietary flavonoids in the human gut – Annett Braune – Gut Microbes

Review: Formation of short chain fatty acids by the gut microbiota and their impact on human metabolism – Douglas J. Morrison – Gut Microbes

Microbiome models

Perinatal lead (Pb) exposure alters gut microbiota composition and results in sex-specific bodyweight increases in adult mice – Jianfeng Wu – Toxicological Sciences

Castration influences intestinal microflora and induces abdominal obesity in high-fat diet-fed mice – Naoki Harada – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) fecal microbiota – Matteo Soverini – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Bacterial associations reveal spatial population dynamics in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes – Moritz Buck – Scientific Reports

Resistance to antimicrobial agents among enterococci isolated from fecal samples of wild marine species in the southern coast of Brazil – Janira Prichula – Marine Pollution Bulletin

Targeting eukaryote mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene: Unbiased Characterization of Anopheles Mosquito Blood Meals by Targeted High-Throughput Sequencing – Kyle Logue – PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Characterization of caecum and crop microbiota of Indian indigenous chicken targeting multiple hypervariable regions within 16s rRNA gene – S. Saxena – British Poultry Science

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Nitrogen-fixing bacterial communities in invasive legume nodules and associated soils are similar across introduced and native range populations in Australia – Christina Birnbaum – Journal of Biogeography

Abundance and Diversity of Bacterial, Archaeal, and Fungal Communities Along an Altitudinal Gradient in Alpine Forest Soils: What Are the Driving Factors? – José A. Siles – Microbial Ecology

Interactions between Bacteria And Aspen Defense Chemicals at the Phyllosphere – Herbivore Interface – Charles J. Mason – Journal of Chemical Ecology

Long-term effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene on microbial communities in dry soil – Yuan Ge – Environmental Science and Technology

Air and space station microbiome

Airborne Bacterial Diversity from the Low Atmosphere of Greater Mexico City – Jaime García-Mena – Environmental Microbiology

Characterization of Fungi Isolated from the Equipment Used in the International Space Station or Space Shuttle – Kazuo Satoh – Microbiology and Immunology

Water, waste, and pollution microbiology

A bacterium that degrades and assimilates poly(ethylene terephthalate) – Shosuke Yoshida – Science

The occurrence of PAHs and faecal sterols in Dublin Bay and their influence on sedimentary microbial communities – Brian T. Murphy – Marine Pollution Bulletin

Bacterial communities potentially involved in iron-cycling in Baltic Sea and North Sea sediments revealed by pyrosequencing – Carolina Reyes – Microbiology Ecology

Microbial Ecology

Phylogenetic organization of bacterial activity – Ember M Morrissey – The ISME Journal

Infection and microbiology

Editorial: Microbes and Alzheimer’s Disease – Ruth F. Itzhaki – Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease

Treatment of in vitro enterohemorrhagic E. coli infection using phage and probiotics – Cecilia Dini _ Journal of Applied Microbiology

Microbes in the news

These plastic-eating bacteria could help cut down on waste – Rachel Feltman – Washington Post

Some bacteria think plastic is fantastic – Nicholas S. Wigginton – Science

Science: Newly Identified Bacteria Break Down Tough Plastic – Michelle Hampson – AAAS News

Scientists identify a virus and two bacteria that could be causing Alzheimer’s – Fiona MacDonald – Science Alert

Lead exposure changes gut microbiota, increases chance for obesity – Laurel Thomas Gnagey – University of Michigan

These newly discovered bacteria can help prevent cavities, and scientists want to put them in a pill – Peter Dockrill – Science Alert

Viral infections may affect respiratory microbiome of patients with CF – Healio

Emollient Treatment Improves Skin Microbiome in Atopic Dermatitis: Interview with Sophie Seite – Medical Research

Science, publishing, and career

The Frequency of “Brilliant” and “Genius” in Teaching Evaluations Predicts the Representation of Women and African Americans across Fields – Daniel Storage – PLOS ONE

Papers with simpler abstracts are cited more, study suggests – Dalmeet Singh Chawla – Retraction Watch
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March 10, 2016

Signals within microbial communities, feeding the microbiome with milk, gut metagenomes of Japanese subjects, multiethnic cohorts, biogeography of viruses in the sea, and finding transcription start sites.

General human microbiome

Review: Signaling in Host-Associated Microbial Communities – Michael A. Fischbach and Julia A. Segre – Cell

Review: The microbiome systemic diseases connection – T.A. van der Meulen – Oral Diseases

Review: The human microbiota: novel targets for hospital-acquired infections and antibiotic resistance – Melinda M. Pettigrew – Annals of Epidemiology

Pregnancy and birth

The placental microbiome is altered among subjects with spontaneous preterm birth with and without chorioamnionitis – Amanda L. Prince – American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

It’s in the Milk: Feeding the Microbiome to Promote Infant Growth – Stavros Bashiardes – Cell Metabolism

The Microbiome in Necrotizing Enterocolitis: A Case Report in Twins and Minireview
Suchitra K. Hourigan – Clinical Therapeutics

Comment: Gut microbiome and necrotising enterocolitis: time for intervention?
Alessio Fasano – The Lancet

Human oral microbiome

Not sure if I agree with the goal of this paper: Natural Antimicrobials and Oral Microorganisms: A Systematic Review on Herbal Interventions for the Eradication of Multispecies Oral Biofilms – Lamprini Karygianni – Frontiers in Microbiology

Human urinary tract microbiome

The Urinary Microbiome Differs Significantly between Patients with Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome and Controls as Well as between Patients with Different Clinical Phenotypes – Daniel A Shoskes – Urology

Human gut microbiome

The gut microbiome of healthy Japanese and its microbial and functional uniqueness – Suguru Nishijima – DNA Research

Microbiome Heterogeneity Characterizing Intestinal Tissue and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Phenotype – Tyler, Andrea D. – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Perspective: Characterisation and therapeutic manipulation of the gut microbiome in inflammatory bowel disease – J. Schulberg – Internal Medicine Journal

FMT Happens: Regulating Fecal Microbiota Therapy in Canada; What You Need to Know – Shahad Salman – World Medical & Health Policy

Review: Characterization of the Gut Microbiome in Epidemiologic Studies: The Multiethnic Cohort Experience – Benjamin C. Fu – Annals of Epidemiology

Review: Antibiotics and the Human Gut Microbiome: Dysbioses and Accumulation of Resistances – M. P. Francino – Frontiers in Microbiology

Animal models

Ecological robustness of the gut microbiota in response to ingestion of transient food-borne microbes – Chenhong Zhang – ISME Journal

Review: Viruses in Rodent Colonies: Lessons Learned from Murine Noroviruses – Stephanie M. Karst – Annual Review of Virology

Animal microbiome

Study of the Aminoglycoside Subsistence Phenotype of Bacteria Residing in the Gut of Humans and Zoo Animals – Teresita de J. Bello González – Frontiers in Microbiology

Allows the consumption of toxic cabbageSaxA-mediated isothiocyanate metabolism in phytopathogenic Pectobacteria – Cornelia U. Welte – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Comparison of Fecal Microbiota of Mongolian and Thoroughbred Horses by High-Throughput Sequencing of the V4 Region of the 16S rRNA Gen (sic) – Yiping Zhao – Asian Australian Journal of Animal Sciences

Potential bacterial core species associated with digital dermatitis in cattle herds identified by molecular profiling of interdigital skin samples – Martin W. Nielsen – Veterinary Microbiology

I really feel for horses who are sick of grass.  Abstract: Analysis of the large intestinal and faecal microbiota of horses with grass sickness using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis – D. Nölkes – Journal of Equine Veterinary Science

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Phyllosphere Fungal Communities Differentiate More Thoroughly than Bacterial Communities Along an Elevation Gradient – Corinne Vacher – Microbial Ecology

A compositional shift in the soil microbiome induced by tetracycline, sulfamonomethoxine and ciprofloxacin entering a plant-soil system – Hui Lin – Environmental Pollution

Water and extremophile microbiome

Long-term warming alters richness and composition of taxonomic and functional groups of arctic fungi – József Geml – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Review: Biogeography of Viruses in the Sea – Cheryl-Emiliane T. Chow – Annual Review of Virology

DGGE: Oil removal and effects of spilled oil on active microbial communities in close to salt‑saturation brines – Yannick Y. Corsellis – Extremophiles

Bioreactors and waste microbiology

Longitudinal Analysis of Microbiota in Microalga Nannochloropsis salina Cultures – Haifeng Geng – Microbial Ecology

Ecological patterns, diversity and core taxa of microbial communities in groundwater-fed rapid gravity filters – Arda Gülay – ISME Journal

Bacterial communities in different locations, seasons and segments of a dairy wastewater treatment system consisting of six segments – Kikue Hirota – Journal of Environmental Sciences

Food microbiology

Resistome diversity in cattle and the environment decreases during beef production – Noelle R Noyes – eLIFE

Inactivation of Salmonella on tainted foods: using blue light to disinfect cucumbers and processed meat products – J. Stephen Guffey – Food Science & Nutrition

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

Review: Recovering complete and draft population genomes from metagenome datasets – Naseer Sangwan – Microbiome

Dissecting phylogenetic fuzzy weighting: theory and application in metacommunity phylogenetics – Leandro D. S. Duarte – Methods in Ecology and Evolution

Transcriptomics

A novel enrichment strategy reveals unprecedented number of novel transcription start sites at single base resolution in a model prokaryote and the gut microbiome – Laurence Ettwiller – BMC Genomics

Fungi

Perspective: The invisible dimension of fungal diversity – David Hibbett – Science

Microbes in the news

At StanfordCenter launched to explore, exploit human microbiome – Bruce Goldman – Stanford Medicine

Columbia Expands Its Microbiome Research – Christopher Williams – Columbia University Medical Center

UT professor develops technique to enhance desirable traits of plants, animals through microbiology – Maluly Martinez Benavides – The Daily Texan

5th World Summit “Gut Microbiota For Health”: Media Information on Top Issues Ready for Download

Gut bacteria make cabbage poison harmless – Radboud University

Scientists developed a robust method for analysis of intestinal bacteria – Science Codex

Nukadoko: rich in beneficial bacteria: Nukadoko is made by fermenting rice bran, a byproduct of milling brown rice, with lactic acid bacteria and yeast. – Natsuko Tamaki – The Japan News

A mouse’s house may ruin experiments. Environmental factors lie behind many irreproducible rodent experiments – Sara Reardon – Nature

Viral infections may affect respiratory microbiome of patients with CF – Healio

Science, publishing, and career

German Defense Minister to keep doctoral degree – plagiarism found on 44% – Debora Weber-Wulff – Copy, Shake, and Paste

Bik’s Picks

How long can you chew on goat meat? Impact of meat and Lower Palaeolithic food processing techniques on chewing in humans – Katherine D. Zink – Nature

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March 9, 2016

Two papers on altered microbiome in HIV-infected humans and SIV-infected monkeys, ESBL carriage in hospital wards and medical students, fungus infection affects frog song, and protein recycling in the ocean.

Pregnancy and birth

Gut bacteria dysbiosis and necrotising enterocolitis in very low birthweight infants: a prospective case-control study – Barbara B Warner – The Lancet

Human gut microbiome

Editorial: The HIV-Associated Enteric Microbiome Has Gone Viral – Brent E. Palmer – Cell Host & Microbe

Altered Virome and Bacterial Microbiome in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Associated Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome – Cynthia L. Monaco – Cell Host & Microbe

Comparison of the faecal colonization rates with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing enterobacteria among patients in different wards, outpatients and screened medical students – Fatemeh Ebrahimi – Microbiology and Immunology

Animal models

SIV Infection-Mediated Changes in Gastrointestinal Bacterial Microbiome and Virome Are Associated with Immunodeficiency and Prevented by Vaccination – Scott A. Handley – Cell Host & Microbe

Animal microbiome

Enhanced call effort in Japanese tree frogs infected by amphibian chytrid fungus
Deuknam An – Biology Letters

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Diversity and bioactivity of bacterial endophyte community of Cupressaceae – J. Soltani – Forest Pathology

Leaf litter decomposition in remote oceanic island streams is driven by microbes and depends on litter quality and environmental conditions – Verónica Ferreira – Freshwater Biology

Network modules and hubs in plant-root fungal biomes – Hirokazu Toju – Journal of the Royal Society Interface

Water and extremophile microbiome

Diverse, uncultivated bacteria and archaea underlying the cycling of dissolved protein in the ocean – William D Orsi – The ISME Journal

Food microbiology

Detection of pathogenic Escherichia coli and microbiological quality of chilled shrimp sold in street markets – Liliana Jose Barbosa – Letters in Applied Microbiology

More microbiology

Antimicrobial activity of extracts from macroalgae Ulva lactuca against clinically-important Staphylococci is impacted by lunar phase of macroalgae harvest – Amy M. Deveau – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Microbes in the news

Bacteria discovered by scientists in London cuts dependence on commercial fertilizers – John Miner – LFPress

Fungus makes tree frogs sing – Nature

Michigan researchers start $9.2M effort to study bacteria – Click on Detroit

“Nightmare Bacteria” Found in Southern California Sewage Treatment Plants – Alexander Haro – The Inertia

Two Starbucks Items Voluntarily Recalled Due to Bacteria, Allergen Risk – Gillian Mohney – ABC News

Science, publishing, and career

Scientific record: Class uncorrected errors as misconduct – Sophien Kamoun – Nature

A Multi-dimensional Investigation of the Effects of Publication Retraction on Scholarly Impact – Xin Shuai – Arxiv

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March 8, 2016

A very special edition of Bik’s Picks on this International Women’s Day: Soil decomposition on Mount Kilimanjaro, genome of a Ruminococcus associated with IBS, survival of microbes during the digestion of cheese.

Human oral microbiome

EditorialOral Biofilm Architecture at the Microbial Scale – Maria D. Ferrer – Trends in Microbiology

Human reproductive tract microbiome

Cervical Microbiota Associated with Risk of Higher Grade Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia in Women Infected with High-Risk Human Papillomaviruses – Chandrika J Piyathilake – Cancer Prevention Research

Human gut microbiome

Isolation and whole genome sequencing of a Ruminococcus-like bacterium, associated with irritable bowel syndrome – Ulla Hynönen – Anaerobe

Opinion: Gut microbiota impact on stroke outcome: Fad or fact? – Katarzyna Winek – J Cereb Blood Flow Metab

Review: Mechanisms linking the gut microbiome and glucose metabolism – Kristina M Utzschneider – J Clin Endocrinol Metab

Review: Gut Microbiome and Kidney Disease in Pediatrics: Does Connection Exist? – Tetyana L. Vasylyeva – Frontiers in Microbiology

Review: The complex interplay of diet, xenobiotics, and microbial metabolism in the gut: Implications for clinical outcomes – Mariia Taguer – Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics

Review: Obesity and Asthma: Microbiome-metabolome Interactions – Stephanie A Shore – American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology

Animal models

Gut Microbiota-Induced Immunoglobulin G Controls Systemic Infection by Symbiotic Bacteria and Pathogens – Melody Y. Zeng – Immunity

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Methodological Guidelines for Accurate Detection of Viruses in Wild Plant Species – Christelle Lacroix – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Rice bacterial endophytes: isolation of a collection, identification of beneficial strains and microbiome analysis – Iris Bertani – Environmental Microbiology

Sulfur Fertilization Changes the Community Structure of Rice Root-, and Soil-Associated Bacteria – Sachiko Masuda – Microbes and Environments

Do shifts in life strategies explain microbial community responses to increasing nitrogen in tundra soil? – Minna Männistö – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Temperature sensitivity and enzymatic mechanisms of soil organic matter decomposition along an altitudinal gradient on Mount Kilimanjaro – Еvgenia Blagodatskaya – Scientific Reports

Influence of pesticide seed treatments on rhizosphere fungal and bacterial communities and leaf fungal endophyte communities in maize and soybean – Rachel Nettles – Applied Soil Ecology

Forest understory plant and soil microbial response to an experimentally induced drought and heat-pulse event: the importance of maintaining the continuum – Isabell von Rein – Global Change Biology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Abundance and Biogeography of Picoprasinophyte Ecotypes and Other Phytoplankton in the Eastern North Pacific Ocean – Melinda P. Simmons – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Metagenomic 16s rrna investigation of microbial communities in the Black Sea estuaries in South-West of Ukraine – Oleksandra Bobrova – Acta Biochimica Polonica

Waste and pollution microbiology

Contaminant-Degrading Microorganisms Identified Using Stable Isotope Probing – Alison M. Cupples – Chemical Engineering & Technology

Food microbiology

Survival of lactic acid and propionibacteria in low- and full-fat Dutch-type cheese during human digestion Ex vivo – Aleksandra Martinovic – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

Review: Targeted metagenomics of active microbial populations with stable-isotope probing -Sara Coyotzi – Current Opinion in Biotechnology

Infection and microbiology

Diagnosis of Bacterial Bloodstream Infections: A 16S Metagenomics Approach – Saskia Decuypere – PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Microbes in the news

Fibre and protein enhance gut bacteria in children – Malene Sommer Christiansen – Science Nordic

Extreme Microbiome Project Aims to Characterize Microbes Living in Harsh Environments – Monica Heger – Genome Web

UTI bacteria use hooks to hang on inside you when you pee – Clare Wilson – New Scientist

Science, publishing and career

Statistical significance and its part in science downfalls – Hilda Bastian – PLOS Blogs

Microbiology and Nature in Video Games – Alex Alexiev – MicroBEnet

Tricon2016: The Microbiome: Sorting Out the Hype from the Hope – Bonnie Feldman – Storify

Leap day, giant viruses, and gene-editing – Dawn Field – Oxford University Press blog
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March 7, 2016

Back to our regular program…. Today I’ve included papers on the antibiotic resistome in preterm infants, or in soils, the salt-loving Tamarix, and a critical article about the Microbiome Summit in Forbes.

Pregnancy and birth

Developmental dynamics of the preterm infant gut microbiota and antibiotic resistome – Molly K. Gibson – Nature Microbiology

Human oral microbiome

Microbial Diversity in the Early In Vivo-Formed Dental Biofilm – D. Heller – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Animal models

Effect of dietary protein sources on the small intestine microbiome of weaned piglets based on high-throughput sequencing – Kefei Cao – Letters in Applied Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Appearance of β-lactam Resistance Genes in Agricultural Soils and Clinical Isolates over the 20th Century – David W. Graham – Scientific Reports

Functional redundancy of linuron degradation in microbial communities of agricultural soil and biopurification systems – Benjamin Horemans – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Metagenomic Signatures of Bacterial Adaptation to Life in the Phyllosphere of a Salt-Secreting Desert Tree – Omri M. Finkel – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Microbial and Functional Diversity within the Phyllosphere of Espeletia Species in an Andean High-Mountain Ecosystem – Carlos A. Ruiz-Pérez – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Water and extremophile microbiome

Prokaryotic Community Structure Driven by Salinity and Ionic Concentrations in Plateau Lakes of the Tibetan Plateau – Zhi-Ping Zhong – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Functional responses of salt marsh microbial communities to long-term nutrient enrichment – Christopher J. Graves – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Waste, pollution, and bioreactor microbiology

Dynamics of size-fractionated bacterial communities during the coastal dispersal of treated municipal effluents – SiGuang Liu – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Biological Nitrogen Removal in a Photosequencing Batch Reactor with an Algal-Nitrifying Bacterial Consortium and Anammox Granules – Nathan D. Manser – Environmental Science & Technology Letters

Microbes in the news (notice 3 articles on antibiotic resistance from EurekAlert)

Preemies’ gut bacteria reveal vast scope of antibiotic resistance – Washington University School of Medicine – EurekAlert

Antibiotics use affects the abundance of resistant bacteria in soil – Aarhus University – EurekAlert

Daily dose of antibiotics helps bacteria develop multi-drug tolerance – KU Leuven – EurekAlert

Microbiome Monday: The Top Three Questions from Visitors – AMNH

Bacteria-laden mosquitoes can control Zika – Zeenews India

Microbes and art

BioArt : What is our True Relationship with the Human Microbiome? – Labiotech
After every 50 handshakes his assistants (white lab coats) would swab his palms, to use for later analysis of the collective microbiome.

Growing fungus and bacteria on textiles for fashion – Yuliasri Perdani – Jakarta Post

Science, publishing, and career

A critical view of the Microbiome Medicine SummitKeep Calm And Avoid Microbiome Mayhem – Kavin Senapathy – Forbes

Everything Is Crumbling: An influential psychological theory, borne out in hundreds of experiments, may have just been debunked. How can so many scientists have been so wrong? – Daniel Engber – Slate

Not just #creatorgate: Most scandalous retractions in science – SBS

Conferences on Weekends? Good or Bad Idea? Summary of responses to query .. – Jonathan Eisen – Phylogenomics

March 5, 2016

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

Pregnancy and birth

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

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

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

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

Human respiratory microbiome

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

Human oral microbiome

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

Human gut microbiome

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Animal models

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

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

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

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

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

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

Animal microbiome

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

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

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

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Water, rain, and extremophile microbiome

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

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

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

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

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

Biodigester microbiology

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

Food microbiology

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

Built environment microbiology

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

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

Microbiome of death

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

Waste and pollution microbiology

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

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

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

Infection microbiology

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

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

Metagenomics and bioinformatics

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

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

Sequence techniques

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

Microbial Ecology

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

Microbes in the news

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

Science, publishing, and career

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

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

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

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

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