Tag Archives: built environment

September 15, 2021

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Today’s digest is fairly light. It includes an article focused on the protective role of bacterial endosymbionts on soil fungus, a preprint on the indoor environment as a source for human-associated anaerobes, and work demonstrating how protein biosensors can be used to track the effects osmotic stress on cells.

Happy reading!

General microbiome

Preprint: Comprehensive comparative genomics analysis for the emerging human pathogen Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (SDSE): A case study and Pan-subspecies genomic analysis – Saeb & Tayeb – bioRxiv

Preprint: The model arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis harbours endosymbiotic bacteria with a highly reduce genome – Savary et al. – bioRxiv

Preprint: A Campylobacter integrative and conjugative element with a CRISPR-Cas9 system targeting competing plasmids: a history of plasmid warfare? – van Vilet et al. – bioRxiv

Animal microbiome (for animals in the wild)

Differences in gut microbiome composition between sympatric wild and allopatric laboratory populations of omnivorous cockroaches – Tinker et al. – Frontiers in Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Bacterial endosymbionts protect beneficial soil fungus from nematode attack – Büttner et al. – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Built environment

Preprint: The indoor environment – A potential source for intact human-associated anaerobes – Pausan et al. – bioRxiv

Techniques

Intrinsically disordered protein biosensor tracks the physical-chemical effects of osmotic stress on cells – Cuevas-Velazquez et al. – Nature Communications

July 16, 2020

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Greeting everyone from the boiling hell southern Spain tourns every Summer.

Today we have a lot of soil microbiome in general. Also PARGT, a new software tool for predicting antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. And new insight in the relatioship between blood type and bacteria.

General microbiome

Blood type and the microbiome- untangling a complex relationship with lessons from pathogens – Kathleen L Arnolds et al. – Current Opinion in Microbiology

In vivo synthesis of bacterial amyloid curli contributes to joint inflammation during S. Typhimurium infection – Amanda L. Miller et al. – PLOS PATHOGENS

Human respiratory microbiome

Proteomic advances in salivary diagnostics – Eftychia Pappa et al. – Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Proteins and Proteomics

Human gut microbiome

The Influence of Gut and Tumor Microbiome on Pancreatic Cancer Outcomes – Natalia Khalaf MD et al. – Gastroenterology

Animal microbiome

Inulin alleviates hypersaline-stress induced oxidative stress and dysbiosis of gut microbiota in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) – Li Zhou et al. – Aquaculture

Water and extremophile microbiome

Microbial Community Composition and Function in Sediments from the Pearl River Mouth Basin – Ye Chen et al. – Journal of Ocean University of China

Protist Interactions and Seasonal Dynamics in the Coast of Yantai, Northern Yellow Sea of China as Revealed by Metabarcoding – Yingjun Fu etl al. – Journal of Ocean University of China volume

Substrate regulation leads to differential responses of microbial ammonia-oxidizing communities to ocean warming – Zhen-Zhen Zheng et al. – Nature Communications

Pre-print Ecogenomics of groundwater viruses suggests niche differentiation linked to specific environmental tolerance – Ankita Kothari et al. – bioRxiv

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Review – Can interaction between silicon and non–rhizobial bacteria benefit in improving nodulation and nitrogen fixation in salinity–stressed legumes? A review – Hassan Etesami – Rhizosphere

Reductive soil disinfestation incorporated with organic residue combination significantly improves soil microbial activity and functional diversity than sole residue incorporation – Jun Zhao et al. – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Microbial clicks and combobulation: integrating microbes without passports and visas for managing soilborne diseases – Sanogo Soum –
Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improve mineral nutrition and tolerance of olive tree to Verticillium wilt – Boutaj Hanane – Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection

Responses of microbial communities and metabolic activities in the rhizosphere during phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soil – Chenjing Liu et al. – Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

MnO2/tourmaline composites as efficient cathodic catalysts enhance bioelectroremediation of contaminated river sediment and shape biofilm microbiomes in sediment microbial fuel cells – Wei Li et al. – Applied Catalysis B: Environmental

Reductive soil disinfestation incorporated with organic residue combination significantly improves soil microbial activity and functional diversity than sole residue incorporation – Jun Zhao et al. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Revegetation approach and plant identity unequally affect structure, ecological network and function of soil microbial community in a highly acidified mine tailings pond – Wen-hua Zhou et al. – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Nitrogen enrichment stimulates wetland plant responses whereas salt amendments alter sediment microbial communities and biogeochemical responses – Mary Donato et al. – PLOS ONE

Built environment

Identification of sulfate-reducing and methanogenic microbial taxa in anaerobic bioreactors from industrial wastewater treatment plants using next-generation sequencing and gene clone library analyses – Jantharadej, Krittayapong et al. – Journal of Environmental Science and Health

Determination of the inhibitory concentration level of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) towards bacterial and archaeal communities in anaerobic digestion – Muhammad Usman et al. – Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Bioinformatics

PARGT: a software tool for predicting antimicrobial resistance in bacteria – Abu Sayed chowdhury et al. – Scientific Reports

Classification of 16S rRNA reads is improved using a niche-specific database constructed by near-full length sequencing – Phillip R. Myer et al. – PLOS ONE

June 28, 2020

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Greetings from Wiltshire, England!

Today’s digest brings a little bit of everything. We’ve been cataloguing the latest COVID-19 publications during this pandemic, and today I’m please to bring you a paper combining both COVID-19 and microbiome research!

Elsewhere, there are plenty of environmental microbiome publications, including a great paper on the challenges of studying microbiology in space, an analysis of how aerosols spread COVID-19 and other infectious agents in dental practices, and plenty of articles on various aspects of soil microbiomes.

I hope everyone’s coping well during these times. On a personal level, I’m delighted to be returning to the lab this week to resume my PhD research into gut microbiomes and cancer. I’m glad to be back, but worried about how my pipetting skills have suffered during my time off!

Stay safe, and happy reading!

COVID-19

Intestinal Flora as a Potential Strategy to Fight SARS-CoV-2 Infection – He et al. – Frontiers in Microbiology

Preprint: Naturally mutated spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 variants show differential levels of cell entry – Ozono et al.

Human vaginal microbiome

Novel Potential Probiotic Lactobacilli for Prevention and Treatment of Vulvovaginal Infections – Kumherová et al. – Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins

Preprint: The structure and diversity of strain level variation in vaginal bacteria –Tortelli et al.

Human gut microbiome

Early exposure to food contaminants reshapes maturation of the human brain-gut-microbiota axis – Sarron et al. – World Journal of Gastroenterology

Luminal microbiota related to Crohn’s disease recurrence after surgery – Hamilton et al. – Gut Microbes

Animal experiments

Preprint: The gut mycobiome of healthy mice is shaped by the environment and shapes metabolic outcomes in response to diet – Mims et al.

Animal microbiome

Germ-free housing conditions do not affect aortic root and aortic arch lesion size of late atherosclerotic low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient mice – Kiouptsi et al. – Gut Microbes

The effects of environment and ontogeny on the skin microbiome of two Stegastes damselfishes (Pomacentridae) from the eastern Caribbean Sea – Xavier et al. – Marine Biology

Variations and Potential Factors of Gut Prokaryotic Microbiome During Spawning Migration in Coilia nasus – Ying et al. – Current Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Genetic diversity of Agrobacterium species isolated from nodules of common bean and soybean in Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador and Mozambique, and description of the new species Agrobacterium fabacearum sp. nov. – Delamuta et al. – International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology

Efects of cadmium perturbation on the microbial community structure and heavy metal resistome of a tropical agricultural soil – Salam et al. – Bioresources and Bioprocessing

Differences in soil microbial communities and enzyme activity due to the application of bioslurry under cultivation – Mofokeng et al. – South African Journal of Plant and Soil

Microbial Communities in the Fynbos Region of South Africa: What Happens during Woody Alien Plant Invasions – Jacobs et al. – Diversity

Water and extremophile microbiome

Sierra Nevada mountain lake microbial communities are structured by temperature, resources and geographic location – Schulhof et al. – Molecular Ecology

Preprint: Fungal communities in sediments along a depth gradient in the Eastern Tropical Pacific – Rojas-Jimenez et al

Built environment

Preprint: Evaluating aerosol and splatter following dental procedures – Allison et al.

Microbes in space

Current Progression: Application of High-Throughput Sequencing Technique in Space Microbiology – Chen et al. – BioMed Research International

Food microbiology

Swine Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carrying toxic-shock syndrome toxin gene in Hong Kong, China – Sapugahawatte et al. – Emerging Microbes and Infections

Probiotics / prebiotics

Moving from probiotics to precision probiotics – Veiga, et al. – Nature Microbiology

Phages and viruses

Fetal inheritance of chromosomally integrated human herpesvirus 6 predisposes the mother to pre-eclampsia – Gaccioli et al. – Nature Microbiology

Techniques

Developing standards for the microbiome field – Amos et al. – Microbiome

Microbes in the news

Team Examines Microbiome of Marine Invertebrate That Produces Anticancer Compound – Technology Networks

Bacteria live on our eyeballs — and understanding their role could help treat common eye diseases – Yahoo! News

May 12, 2020

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Buenos dias!! Greetings from Spain.

Today we can highlight a very interesting article of gut–brain modulation of a monkey model of human depression, MELODY a new trial to improve the future microbiome of the offspring of mothers with Crohn’s disease, or how It’s the fertilization the main agent in rhizosphere composition.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did making it!
Stay safe, Jose

COVID-19

Pre-print: Prediction analysis of SARS-COV-2 entry in Livestock and Wild animals – Manas Ranjan Praharaj et al. – bioRxiv

Pre-print: Clinical performance of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody tests and potential protective immunity – Niko Kohmer et al. – bioRxiv

Pre-print: The role of high cholesterol in age related COVID19 lethality. – Hao Wang et al. – bioRxiv

Human vaginal microbiome

Effect of commercial vaginal products on the growth of uropathogenic and commensal vaginal bacteria – Kristin J. Hung et al. – Scientific Reports

Human respiratory microbiome

Differences in airway microbiome and metabolome of single lung transplant recipients – Nirmal S. Sharma et al. – Respiratory Research

Pre-print: Assessing the variation within the oral microbiome of healthy adults – Jacob T. Nearing et al. – bioRxiv

Microbiome profile associated with malignant pleural effusion – Samira Shojaee et al. – PLOS ONE

Composition and function of oral microbiota between gingival squamous cell carcinoma and periodontitis – Yuchao Li et al. – Oral Oncology

Esophageal microbiome signature in patients with Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma – Loris Riccardo Lopetuso et al. – PLOS ONE

Human gut microbiome

Subtle Variations in Dietary-Fiber Fine Structure Differentially Influence the Composition and Metabolic Function of GutMicrobiota – Tuncil, Y. E et al. – mSphere

Intestinal parasites in rural communities in Nan Province, Thailand: Changes in bacterial gut microbiota associated with minute intestinal fluke infection – Ajala Prommi et al. – Cambridge University Press

Perturbations of the Gut Microbiome and Metabolome in Children with Calcium Oxalate Kidney Stone Disease – Michelle R et al. – Journal of the American Society of Nephrology

The gut microbiome modulates gut–brain axis glycerophospholipid metabolism in a region-specific manner in a non-human primate model of depression – Peng Zheng et al. – Molecular Psychiatry

A dietary intervention to improve the microbiome composition of pregnant women with Crohn’s disease and their offspring: The MELODY (Modulating Early Life Microbiome through Dietary Intervention in Pregnancy) trial design – Peter Inga et al. – Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications

Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis Associated with Bile Acid Metabolism in Neonatal Cholestasis Disease – Meng Li et al. – Scientific Reports

Individual and cohort-specific gut microbiota patterns associated with tissue-specific insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese males – Gerben D. A. Hermes et al. – Scientific Reports

Fecal microbiota composition is linked to the postoperative disease course in patients with Crohn’s disease – Anna Strömbeck et al. – BMC Gastroenterology

Human skin microbiome

Diversity of navel microbiome in young adults Free – Shreya Shah et al. – Journal of Medical Microbiology

Animal experiments

Wild primate microbiomes prevent weight gain in germ-free mice – Dimitrios N. Sidiropoulos et al. – Animal Microbiome

Changes in the microbiome of mariculture feed organisms after treatment with a potentially probiotic strain of Phaeobacter inhibens – Karen K. Dittmann et al. – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Alterations of fecal microbiome characteristics by dietary soy isoflavone ingestion in growing pigs infected with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus – B N Smith et al. – Journal of Animal Science

Influenza infection elicits an expansion of gut population of endogenous Bifidobacterium animalis which protects mice against infection – Qiang Zhang et al. – Genome Biology

Pre-print: Impact of industrial production system parameters on chicken microbiomes: mechanisms to improve performance and reduce Campylobacter – Aaron McKenna et al. – bioRxiv

Administration of Bifidobacterium bifidum CGMCC 15068 modulates gut microbiota and metabolome in azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sulphate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis-associated colon cancer (CAC) in mice – Qing Wang et al. – Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

Animal microbiome

Structure and membership of gut microbial communities in multiple fish cryptic species under potential migratory effects – My Hanh Le et al. – Scientific Reports

Seasonal habitat drives intestinal microbiome composition in anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) – Geraint Element et al. – Envariomental microbiology

Honeybee microbiome is stabilized in the presence of propolis – Perot Saelao et al. – Biology letters

Body-size Scaling is Related to Gut Microbial Diversity, Metabolism and Dietary Niche of Arboreal Folivorous Flying Squirrels – Po-Yu Liu et al. – Scientific Reports

Preprint: Differential Response of Digesta- and Mucosa-Associated Intestinal Microbiota to Dietary Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Larvae Meal in Seawater Phase Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) – Yanxian Li et al. – bioRxiv

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

Liming reduces N2O emissions from Mediterranean soil after-rewetting and affects the size, structure and transcription of microbial communities – Eduardo Vázquez et al – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Significant effects on soil microbial communities were not detected after strategic tillage following 44 years of conventional or no-tillage management – Vivian A. Rincon-Florez – Pedobiologia

Seasonal variations in soil microbial communities under different land restoration types in a subtropical mountains region, Southwest China – Denggao Fu et al. – Applied Soil Ecology

Short term effects of biochar with different particle sizes on phosphorous availability and microbial communities – Rubab Sarfraz et al. – Chemosphere

Microbial community responses to different volatile petroleum hydrocarbon class mixtures in an aerobic sandy soil – George Mangse et al.– Environmental Pollution

Plant litter amendments in restored wetland soils altered microbial communities more than clay additions – Christine E. Maietta et al. – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Long-term fertilization rather than plant species shapes rhizosphere and bulk soil prokaryotic communities in agroecosystems – Mikhail V. Semenov et al. – Applied Soil Ecology

Effect of compost amendment and bioaugmentation on PAH degradation and microbial community shifting in petroleum-contaminated soil – Manli Wu et al. – Chemosphere

Review: The use of -omics tools for assessing biodeterioration of cultural heritage: A review – GutarowskaBeata – Journal of Cultural Heritage

Water and extremophile

Tagging the vanA gene in wastewater microbial communities for cell sorting and taxonomy of vanA carrying cells – Sara Gallego et al – Science of The Total Environment

High-Throughput Sequencing Reveals a Potentially Novel Sulfurovum Species Dominating the Microbial Communities of the Seawater–Sediment Interface of a Deep-Sea Cold Seep in South China Sea – Qing-Lei Sun et al. – Microorganisms

Glacial microbiota are hydrologically connected and temporally variable – Karen A Cameron et al. – Enviromental microbiology

Built environment

The microbiome driving anaerobic digestion and microbial analysis – Jun Wei Lim et al. – Advances in Bioenergy

Bioinformatics

MG-MLST: Characterizing the Microbiome at the Strain Level in Metagenomic Data – Nathanael J. Bangayan et al. – Microorganisms

Inference of single-cell phylogenies from lineage tracing data using Cassiopeia – Matthew G Jones et al. – Genome Biology

TaxIt: An iterative computational pipeline for untargeted strain-level identification using MS/MS spectra from pathogenic single-organism samples – Mathias Kuhring et al. Journal of Proteome Research

Review: The Computational Diet: A Review of Computational Methods Across Diet, Microbiome, and Health – Ameen Eetemadi et al. – Frontiers in Microbiology

General microbiology

Review: Diversity, ecology and evolution of Archaea – Brett J. Baker et al – Nature Microbiology

Microbes on the market

Microbiome Sequencing Services Market 2020-2024 – husain – NJ MMA News

December 18, 2019

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Good morning/afternoon all microbiome lovers!

Coming back from 4th Thunen Sumposium on Soil Metagenomics (11-13.12, Germany), the first section of today’s digest will highlight some work emphasized during the conference. Pay special attention to Amy Willis work (UoW) dealing with amplification bias in 16S analyses, among else. You are more than welcome to check the conference and the bioinformatic workshops schedule, as you’ll find interesting, inspiring and useful studies and tools that are relevant even if you’re not working on soil-associated habitats.

Have a great day!

Soil Metagenomics insights

Rigorous Statistical Methods for Rigorous Microbiome Science, Amy Willis, mSystems. I highly recommended to be familiar with the Willis lab works and tools, for all of us working with amplicon-sequencing and metagenomics. Amy was kind enough to upload her conference materials to github, using this link.

Additionally, They just started a bio-statistics blog, so check this as well.

Consistent and correctable bias in metagenomic sequencing experiments, Michael R. McLaren, bioRxiv

Understanding and interpreting community sequencing measurements of the vaginal microbiome, HL Berman, BJOG

These two papers are from Benjamin Callahan group (NCSW). Even though he wasn’t at the conference, his work (et al.) were mentioned several times by other speakers, so I decided to emphasize these two papers.

The MG-RAST API explorer: an on-ramp for RESTful query composition, Tobias Paczian, BMC Bioinformatics. Folker Meyer, one of the developers of MG-RAST and its head, was actually at the conference with a great talk about both MG-RAST and the importance of pipelines and common workflow language in computational biology. Check this link and the MG-RAST API explorer, making it so much simpler to search, filter and efficiently use MG-RAST.

TerrestrialMetagenomeDB: a public repository of curated and standardized metadata for terrestrial metagenomes, Felipe B Correa, bioRxiv. An amazing tool for searching and filtering soil-associated metagenomes in different databases, plus simple codes for downloading. Take a look at more papers from the de-Rocha group.

Human microbiomoe

**Molecular messages in human microbiota, Matthew T. Henke and Jon Clardy, Science

Resident microbes of lactation rooms and daycares, Diana H. Taft, PeerJ

Female genital tract microbiota affecting the risk of preterm birth: What do we know so far? A Review, O. Tsonis, European J OBG & Reproductive Biology

Differences in Fecal Microbiomes and Metabolomes of People With vs Without Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Bile Acid Malabsorption, Ian B. Jeffery, Gastroenterology

Soil and Plant microbiome

Comparison of Microbial Community of Rhizosphere and Endosphere in Kiwifruit, Min-Jung Kim, Plant Patho J.

Soil microbial communities in diverse agroecosystems exposed to the herbicide glyphosate, Ryan M. Kepler, AEM

Soil exposed to silver nanoparticles reveals significant changes in community structure and altered microbial transcriptional profiles, Matthew J. Meier, Env. Pollution

Animal microbiome

Effects of disease, antibiotic treatment and recovery trajectory on the microbiome of farmed seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), Danila Rosado, Scientific Reports

Microbiome digest, November 5, 2014

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Bioinformatic tools for tree building and metagenomics, microbiome of iPads in hospitals, and stool samples from indigenous cultures.
Human clinical microbiome

MetaGeniE: Characterizing Human Clinical Samples Using Deep Metagenomic Sequencing – Arun Rawat – PLOS ONE

“We have developed an efficient strategy that identifies “all against all” relationships between sequencing reads and reference genomes.”

Human gut microbiome

Human Fecal Microbiome–Based Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer – Vilvapathy Narayanan – Cancer Prevention Research

“A recent study by Zackular and colleagues… provides an important way forward here in showing that specific analysis of multiple aspects of the microbiome composition in toto provides reliable detection of both precancerous and cancerous lesions. “

Plant microbiome

Covalently linked hopanoid-lipid A improves outer-membrane resistance of a Bradyrhizobium symbiont of legumes – Alba Silipo – Nature Communications

“Here we demonstrate that a photosynthetic Bradyrhizobium strain, symbiont of Aeschynomene legumes, synthesizes a unique LPS bearing a hopanoid covalently attached to lipid A.”

Microbiome of the built environment

* Surface Microbiology of the iPad Tablet Computer and the Potential to Serve as a Fomite in Both Inpatient Practice Settings as Well as Outside of the Hospital Environment – Elizabeth B. Hirsch – PLOS ONE

“Thirty iPads belonging to faculty with a variety of practice settings were sampled to determine the presence and quantity of clinically-relevant organisms.”

Bioinformatic tools

A Phylogeny-Based Benchmarking Test for Orthology Inference Reveals the Limitations of Function-Based Validation – Kalliopi Trachana – PLOS ONE

“Therefore, we constructed high quality “gold standard” orthologous groups that can serve as a benchmark set for orthology inference in bacterial species.”

Towards more accurate ancestral protein genotype–phenotype reconstructions with the use of species tree-aware gene trees – Mathieu Groussin – Molecular Biology and Evolution

“Here, we show with simulations that utilizing information on species history using a model that accounts for the duplication, horizontal transfer and loss (DTL) of genes statistically increases ASR accuracy.”

IQ-TREE: A fast and effective stochastic algorithm for estimating maximum likelihood phylogenies – Lam-Tung Nguyen – Molecular Biology and Evolution

“We show that a combination of hill-climbing approaches and a stochastic perturbation method can be time-efficiently implemented.”

Sampling and DNA extraction techniques

Nasal Screening for MRSA: Different Swabs – Different Results! – Philipp Warnke – PLOS ONE

“This study investigates the performance of different swab-types in nasal MRSA-screening by utilizing a unique artificial nose model to provide realistic and standardized screening conditions.”

Microbes in the news

Les Dethlefsen from our lab did an excellent “AMA” (ask me anything) on Reddit/Science today, on the human gut microbiota. Read the questions and Les’ answers here.

* Fecal Matters: A Stepping Stool to Understanding Indigenous Cultures – Daniella Lowenberg – PLOS Blogs

“Suspecting that this excrement is rich in biological clues, a group of researchers conducted experiments to investigate fecal microbiomes and published a study in PLOS ONE detailing insights into the diets and lifestyles of two ancient indigenous cultures of Puerto Rico”

Quantifying the Microbiome and the State of Crowd Science with Jessica Richman (1h Podcast) – The Quantified Body

“…we have an excellent guest today to bring us up to date on all this. Jessica Richman, is CEO and co-founder of uBiome.”

* If you think your city subway only consists of smelly disgruntled commuters, think again… – Marcus Leung – MicroBEnet

“Have you ever wondered what microbes are around you when you take public transport? Personally, I think about it every day during my two-hour subway commute to and from our lab here in Hong Kong.”

Science, publishing, and career

Metascience could rescue the ‘replication crisis’ – Jonathan W. Schooler – Nature

“Metascience, the science of science, uses rigorous methods to examine how scientific practices influence the validity of scientific conclusions. “

Interactive notebooks: Sharing the code – Helen Shen – Nature

“The free IPython notebook makes data analysis easier to record, understand and reproduce.”

Column: It takes time and a team to win grants – Ingrid Eisenstadter – Nature

“All our applicants are people who were bright enough to get PhDs and MDs, but the proposals we receive tend to share the same flaws, whether they come from recent graduates or from researchers with years of experience.”

Elsevier bad for your h-index? – Ferniglab

“The negotiations between the Dutch universities and Elsevier have foundered…., which means that from 1 January 2015, Dutch researchers will no longer have access to Elsevier journals.”

Sexy molecules! Comedian Megan Amram talks ‘Science… for Her!’ (Q&A) – Amanda Kooser -CNET

“”Parks and Recreation” writer Megan Amram offers up a “raunchy, crazy” textbook full of carbon dating, physics as nail art and kale.”

Bik’s Picks

YouTube video: Brian Cox visits the world’s biggest vacuum chamber – Human Universe: Episode 4 Preview – BBC Two

“…what happens when a bowling ball and a feather are dropped together under the conditions of outer space (vacuum – EB).”

Study in paradise: Stanford professors turn Hawaii into a living science classroom – Bjorn Carey – Stanford News

“Students in the School of Earth Science’s Wrigley Field Program in Hawaii spend the quarter measuring vegetation, coral reefs and volcanoes to understand the dynamics of one of the planet’s most interesting ecosystems.”

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Microbiome digest, September 22, 2014

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Temporal stability of the microbiomes of 85 adults, bacteria in breast milk, vaginal microbiome during pregnancy, water microbiomes, and Bik’s Picks.

Human microbiome general

Temporal variability is a personalized feature of the human microbiome – Gilberto E Flores – PeerJ PrePrints

“Here we address this gap in understanding by profiling the forehead, gut (fecal), palm, and tongue microbial communities in 85 adults, weekly over three months.”

Pregnancy and birth

It’s Alive: Microbes and Cells in Human Milk and Their Potential Benefits to Mother and Infant – Lars Bode – Advances in Nutrition

“This article is a summary of the symposium “It’s Alive: Microbes and Cells in Human Milk and Their Potential Benefits to Mother and Infant” held 29 April 2014 at the ASN Scientific Sessions and Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology 2014 in San Diego, CA.”

Microorganisms in the Female Genital Tract during Pregnancy: Tolerance versus Pathogenesis – Bruna de Andrade Ramos – American Journal of Reproductive Immunology

“We review the state of knowledge of microbe–host interactions in gestational tissues and highlight mechanisms that promote tolerance or pathogenesis.”

Determinants and pattern of care seeking for preterm newborns in a rural Bangladeshi cohort – Rashed Shah – BMC Health Services Research

“Only one-fifth (19.7%) of preterm newborns were taken to seek either preventive or curative health care.”

Human oral microbiome

Microbial signature profiles of periodontally healthy and diseased patients – Talita Gomes Baêta Lourenço – Journal of Clinical Periodontology

“Subgingival biofilm was obtained from patients with periodontal health (27), gingivitis (11), chronic periodontitis (35) and aggressive periodontitis (24), and analysed for the presence of >250 species/phylotypes using HOMIM.”

Human gut microbiome

Review: Modulation of the Gut Microbiota by Nutrients with Prebiotic and Probiotic Properties – Céline Druart – Advances in Nutrition

“In this review, we describe how changes in the composition and/or activity of the gut microbiota by administration of nutrients with probiotic or prebiotic properties can modulate host gene expression and metabolism and thereby positively influence host adipose tissue development and related metabolic disorders.”

Mammal microbiome

Resistance to Antibiotics of Clinical Relevance in the Fecal Microbiota of Mexican Wildlife – Jurgi Cristóbal-Azkarate – PLOS ONE

“Here, we used culture and molecular methods to assess ATBR in bacteria in fecal samples from howler monkeys, spider monkeys, tapirs and felids living freely in two regions of the Mexican state of Veracruz under different degrees of human influence.“

Bird microbiome

Do feather-degrading bacteria actually degrade feather colour? No significant effects of plumage microbiome modifications on feather colouration in wild great tits – Staffan Jacob – Naturwissenschaften

“Here, we tested whether (i) keratinolytic microorganisms can degrade feathers in vivo and thus modify the colour of feathers during the nesting period and (ii) whether feather microorganisms have a long-term effect on the investment in colouration of newly moulted feathers.”

Plant microbiome

Impact of swapping soils on the endophytic bacterial communities of pre-domesticated, ancient and modern maize – David Johnston-Monje – BMC Plant Biology

“The impact of these soil swaps on founder bacterial endophyte communities was tested using 16S-rDNA profiling, culturing and microbial trait phenotyping.“

Microbiota in Wheat Roots, Rhizosphere and Soil in Crops Grown in Organic and Other Production Systems – Leszek Lenc – Journal of Phytopathology

“The other two systems were intermediate, with microbial communities suggesting that the conventional system produced a slightly more suppressive environment than the integrated system. “

Soil microbiome

Bacterial and Archaeal Communities in Bleached Mottles of Tropical Podzols –
K. J. Silva, P. Vidal-Torrado, M. R. Lambais – Microbial Ecology

“In this study, we examined the bacterial and archaeal communities along three Brazilian coastal podzol profiles, as well as in bleached mottles and their immediate vicinity, using 16S rRNA gene profiling.”

Water microbiome

Microplastic is an abundant and distinct microbial habitat in an urban river – Amanda McCormick – Environmental Science & Technology

“Results from high-throughput sequencing showed that bacterial assemblages colonizing microplastic within the river were less diverse and were significantly different in taxonomic composition compared to those from the water column and suspended organic matter.”

Application of Ion Torrent Sequencing to the Assessment of the Effect of Alkali Ballast Water Treatment on Microbial Community Diversity – Masanori Fujimoto – PLOS ONE

“The impact of NaOH as a ballast water treatment (BWT) on microbial community diversity was assessed using the 16S rRNA gene based Ion Torrent sequencing with its new 400 base chemistry.”

Microbial diversity of the Soldhar hot spring, India, assessed by analyzing 16S rRNA and protein-coding genes – Avinash Sharma – Annals of Microbiology

“Bacterial diversity of the Soldhar hot spring, located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, India, was investigated using a clone library, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and functional genes.”

Microbial community composition and in silico predicted metabolic potential reflect biogeochemical gradients between distinct peatland types – Zuzana Urbanová and Jiří Bárta – FEMS Microbial Ecology

“Species richness and microbial diversity increased significantly from bog to fen, with SSF in between, reflecting the variation in pH, nutrient availability and peat decomposability. “

A molecular survey of freshwater microeukaryotes in an Arctic reservoir (Svalbard, 79°N) in summer by using next-generation sequencing – Thangavelu Boopathi – Polar Biology

“In this study, freshwater microeukaryotes in an Arctic reservoir at Ny-Ǻlesund (Svalbard, Norway) were studied using the hypervariable V1–V3 small subunit rRNA and 454 pyrosequencing.”

Built Environment

Urban microbiomes and urban ecology: How do microbes in the built environment affect human sustainability in cities? – Gary M. King – Journal of Microbiology

“I provide here a definition of the urban microbiome, and through examples indicate its centrality to human function and wellbeing in urban systems”

Phages and viruses

Metagenomic Evaluation of the Highly Abundant Human Gut Bacteriophage CrAssphage for Source Tracking of Human Fecal Pollution – Elyse Stachler and Kyle Bibby – Environmental Science & Technology

“Here, 86 publically available metagenomes were surveyed to determine the presence and abundance of crAssphage in various environments, and to identify its utility for source tracking of human fecal pollution.”

Microbes in the news

Understanding the Microbiome and Its Impact on Human Health – Kristine Nally – HCPLive

“Instant polling at an educational session of the 2014 American Academy of Pain Management annual clinical meeting in Phoenix, AZ, revealed that only 40 percent of the approximately 350-person audience was “familiar” with the concept of a microbiome.”

Mining the microbiome for medicines – Set a thief… – The Economist

“Antibiotics are not the only things Dr Donia’s technique might turn up, for the bugs in the human microbiome spit out all sorts of other chemicals that could potentially be put to use as drugs.”

Techniques

Comparative Analysis of Functional Metagenomic Annotation and the Mappability of Short Reads – Rogan Carr and Elhanan Borenstein – MicroBEnet

“We therefore set out to develop a set of ‘best practices’ for our lab for metagenomic sequence annotation and to prove (or disprove) quantitatively that such direct functional annotation of short reads provides a valid functional representation of the sample.”

Science and publishing

Anonymous peer-review comments may spark legal battle – Kelly Servick – Science Insider

“The power of anonymous comments—and the liability of those who make them—is at the heart of a possible legal battle embroiling PubPeer, an online forum launched in October 2012 for anonymous, postpublication peer review.”

Time to Raise the Profile of Women and Minorities in Science – Brian Welle and Megan Smith – Scientific American

“Along these lines, over the past few years, we discovered some pretty ugly news about our beloved Google Doodles. “

Bik’s Picks

Immune system of newborn babies stronger than previously thought – Science Daily

“Contrary to what was previously thought, newborn immune T cells may have the ability to trigger an inflammatory response to bacteria, according to a new study.”

The Preservation Of Lonesome George – Sarah Fecht – PopSci.com

“Decades after the last giant tortoise was thought to have disappeared from the island of Pinta in the Galapagos, Lonesome George turned up in 1971 and became a conservation icon.”

 Great white sharks partly to blame for otter recovery stall – Peter Fimrite – SF Gate

“Most scientists agree that the number of animals, which are also known as southern sea otters, should be increasing, but hungry predators and a lack of food may be limiting their growth.”

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Non-human microbiome, August 25, 2014

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Microbiotas of pigs, two fish species in the same pond, coral-algal associations, hypersaline soil, and marine eukaryotes.

Mammal microbiome

The influence of host’s genetics on the gut microbiota composition in pigs and its links with immunity traits – J. Estellé – Proceedings, 10th World Congress of Genetics Applied to Livestock Production

“A cohort of 60-days old piglets was assessed for fecal microbiota composition by pyrosequencing of the 16S rDNA. “

Fish microbiome

* Do the intestinal microbiotas differ between paddlefish (Polyodon spathala) and bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) reared in the same pond? – Xuemei Li – Journal of Applied Microbiology

“After 30-days of rearing the intestinal microbiota of the two fish species were assessed by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes”

Insect microbiome

Microbial Associates of the Vine Mealybug Planococcus ficus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) under Different Rearing Conditions – Lilach Iasur-Kruh – Microbial Ecology

“To examine the possible role of microbial symbionts in virus transmission, the archaeal, bacterial, and fungal microbiota of field and laboratory P. ficus were characterized using molecular and classical microbiological methods. “

Coral microbiome

* The extended phenotypes of marine symbioses: ecological and evolutionary consequences of intraspecific genetic diversity in coral–algal associations – John E. Parkinson and Iliana B. Baums – Frontiers in Microbiology

“Here, we hypothesize that unique combinations of coral and algal individuals yield functional diversity that affects not only the ecology and evolution of the coral holobiont, but associated communities as well. “

Soil microbiome

Salinity-induced differences in soil microbial communities around the hypersaline Lake Urmia – Mohsen Barin – Soil Research

“We tested the hypotheses that salinity reduces microbial biomasses and change the structure of the microbial community.”

Water microbiome

Microbial Community Response to Chlorine Conversion in a Chloraminated Drinking Water Distribution System – Hong Wang – Environmental Science & Technology

“Although high throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes revealed a distinct community shift and higher diversity index during the chlorine burn, it steadily returned towards a condition more similar to pre-burn than burn stage.”

Metagenetic analysis of patterns of distribution and diversity of marine meiobenthic eukaryotes – Vera G. Fonseca – Global Ecology and Biogeography

“Here, we ask: (1) if the macroecology of meiobenthic communities is explained mainly by dispersal constraints or by environmental conditions; and (2) if levels of meiofaunal diversity surpass existing estimates based on morphological taxonomy.”

Microbiology of the Built Environment

* A disturbing trend – casual and reckless use of antimicrobial agents in building materials – Jonathan Eisen – MicroBEnet

“So they put in flooring that apparently was impregnated with some sort of antibacterial agent and they have no evidence that it works. “

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Microbiome digest, August 7, 2014

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Microbiome and caries, colorectal cancer, and inflammatory bowel diseases. Microbiomes of fish, dogs, and mosses, microscopic life in an asphalt lake, and the Picks.

Human mouth microbiome

Identification of the Microbiota in Carious Dentin Lesions Using 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing – Junko Obata – PLOS ONE

“In the present study, the bacterial communities in the carious dentin of Japanese subjects were analyzed comprehensively with molecular approaches using the 16S rRNA gene.”

Human gut microbiome

The Human Gut Microbiome as a Screening Tool for Colorectal Cancer – Joseph P. Zackular, Mary A.M. Rogers, Mack T. Ruffin IV, and Patrick D. Schloss – Cancer Prevention Research

“Analysis of the gut microbiome from stool samples revealed both an enrichment and depletion of several bacterial populations associated with adenomas and carcinomas.”

Manipulation of Microbiome, a Promising Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases – Dapeng Jin, Hongyu Zhang, and Jun Sun – Clinical & Cellular Immunology

“In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of how changes in microbiota may affect the pathogenesis of IBD. “

A perspective on the complexity of dietary fiber structures and their potential effect on the gut microbiota – Bruce R. Hamaker, Yunus E. Tuncil – Journal of Molecular Biology

“the article encourages the building of a framework of information to manipulate the colon microbiota in a predicted way for improved health”

 

Human microbiome after death

Distinctive thanatomicrobiome signatures found in the blood and internal organs of humans – Ismail Can – Journal of Microbiological Methods

“We compared the effectiveness of two methods by amplifying the 16S rRNA genes and sequencing the amplicons from four cadavers”

Animal models of human microbiome

Disturbance of the gut microbiota in early-life selectively affects visceral pain in adulthood without impacting cognitive or anxiety-related behaviors in male rats
S.M. O’Mahony – Neuroscience

“Neonatal antibiotic treatment leads to an increase in visceral sensitivity in adulthood in rats.”

Dog microbiome

The Unculturables: targeted isolation of bacterial species associated with canine periodontal health or disease from dental plaque – Ian J Davis, Christopher Bull, Alexander Horsfall, Ian Morley and Stephen Harris – BMC Microbiology

“Using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) directed approach a range of microbiological media were screened and optimized to enrich for previously uncultivated target species. A systematic screening methodology was then employed to isolate the species of interest. ‘

Fish microbiome

Characterization of Microbiota Composition and Presence of Selected Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Carriage Water of Ornamental Fish – Lenka Gerzova – PLOS ONE

“In this study we therefore characterized the prevalence of selected antibiotic resistance genes in the microbiota found in the carriage water of ornamental fish originating from 3 different continents.”

Insect microbiome

The mosquito microbiota influences vector competence for human pathogens – Nathan J Dennison, Natapong Jupatanakul, George Dimopoulos – Current Opinion in Insect Science

“Understanding the interaction between the vector, its microbiota and transmitted pathogens will provide novel opportunities to limit disease transmission.”

Plant microbiome

Bacterial-biota dynamics of eight bryophyte species from different ecosystems
Faisal Hammad Mekky Koua – Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences

“..we utilized the 16S rRNA gene PCR-DGGE and subsequent phylogenetic analyses to investigate the bacterial community of eight bryophyte species collected from three distinct ecosystems from western Japan.”

Soil and water microbiome

Two Neumann U students discover new types of viruses – CatholicPhilly.com

“They collected arthrobacter (a bacteria present in soil) from under trees and near lakes, found and filtered out the phages that were present, and then studied phage anatomy and life cycles.”

Water droplets in oil are microhabitats for microbial life – Rainer U. Meckenstock – Science

“In Pitch Lake, Trinidad and Tobago—the world’s largest asphalt lake—we found that microorganisms are metabolically active in minuscule water droplets (1 to 3 microliters) entrapped in oil. “

Microbiome of the built environment

Halophilic Microorganisms Are Responsible for the Rosy Discolouration of Saline Environments in Three Historical Buildings with Mural Paintings – Jörg D. Ettenauer – PLOS ONE

“In order to get a complete overview of this biodeterioration process, we investigated the microbial communities in saline environments causing the rosy discolouration of mural paintings in three Austrian historical buildings using a combination of culture-dependent and -independent techniques as well as microscopic techniques.”

Metagenomics

High-resolution metagenomics – Eran Mick & Rotem Sorek – Nature Biotechnology

In this issue, Nielsen et al. present a powerful method for interpreting metagenomic data at the level of individual genomes without relying on reference sequences of cultured isolates, which can be generated for only a small fraction of microbial life.

Microbes in the News

The Quantified Microbiome Self – Carl Zimmer – National Geographic

“But as I read the journal Genome Biology today, I decided that someday I might surrender to the Quantified Self movement. I’ll just have to wait till I can track my trillions of microbes from one day to the next.”

Science and Career

Ph.D.’s, come out of the closet! – Lina Nilsson – Science

“If you promise not to tell Fisher’s Ph.D. adviser (or mine), I’ll let you in on this well-hidden truth: Fisher isn’t planning to pursue an academic career.”

Bik’s Picks

Stress during pregnancy can be passed down through generations, rat study shows – Science Daily

“Scientists investigating pregnancies in four generations of rats show that inherited epigenetic effects of stress could affect pregnancies for generations.”

This Is Your Brain on Fish – James Hamblin – The Atlantic

“Thicker, stronger, and more resilient. Once a week is all it takes, new research says.”

10 Great Novels That Will Make You More Passionate About Science – Charlie Jane Anders – io9

“A lot of the best science fiction features scientists who solve problems and make breakthroughs.”

Scientist looking forward to weekend of binge-experimenting – The Allium

“Imperial college Scientist Dr. Lou Pole announced earlier today that he was going to spend the entirety of this weekend binge-experimenting.”

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Non-human microbiome, July 17

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Microbiomes of sparrows, stinkbugs, corals, grapevine, and archeological stones.

Bird microbiome

Screen Shot 2014-07-17 at 5.14.56 PMGut Bacterial Diversity of the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Inferred by 16S rRNA Sequence Analysis – Leticia Mirón – Metagenomics

“This study is the first description of the diversity of bacteria along the whole intestine of a wild bird (Passer domesticus). Pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene unveiled a high bacterial diversity, distributed in 11 bacterial phyla. “

Insect microbiome

StinkybugsSymbiont polyphyly, co-evolution, and necessity in pentatomid stinkbugs from Costa Rica – Kalia S. I. Bistolas – Frontiers in Microbiology

“The gut microbiota of 13 micro-allopatric tropical pentatomid species, from a Costa Rican lowland rainforest, was characterized and compared with insect and host plant phylogenies.”

Coral microbiome

CoralsReview: A genomic approach to coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis: studies of Acropora digitifera and Symbiodinium minutum – Chuya Shinzato – Frontiers in Microbiology

“Here we review recent genomic data derived from the scleractinian coral, Acropora digitifera, and the endosymbiotic dinoflagellate, Symbiodinium minutum. “

Plant microbiome

Screen Shot 2014-07-17 at 5.15.23 PMPyrosequencing detects human and animal pathogenic taxa in the grapevine endosphere – Sohail Yousaf – Frontiers in Microbiology

“We used pyrosequencing and phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rDNA gene. We identified several HAPT, and focused on four genera (Propionibacterium, Staphylococcus, Clostridium, and Burkholderia). “

Built Environment microbiome

Screen Shot 2014-07-17 at 5.15.49 PM 1Biological nanosilver particles for the protection of archaeological stones against microbial colonization – Ashraf M M Essa – International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation

“The stones treated with silicon polymer loaded with AgNPs showed an elevated antimicrobial potentiality against A. niger and S. parvullus.”

Water microbiome

Screen Shot 2014-07-17 at 5.16.30 PM16S rDNA-based analysis reveals cosmopolitan occurrence but limited diversity of two cyanobacterial lineages with contrasted patterns of intracellular carbonate mineralization – Marie Ragon – Frontiers in Microbiology

“To explore the diversity of these two distant cyanobacterial lineages representing two different patterns of intracellular calcification, we designed specific primers against their 16S rRNA genes and looked for their occurrence in a wide variety of samples. “

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