Human microbiome digest, September 16, 2014

Still catching up after my vacation, but almost there!

Some general microbiome reviews, using saliva to track human evolution, probiotics that actually change the microbiome, and several animal model studies.

 

General microbiome reviews

Which is more important for classifying microbial communities: who’s there or what they can do? – Zhenjiang Xu – ISME Journal

“… might we not instead expect that function would be substantially more important for classifying biologically meaningful groups of samples than who is providing those functions? “

Microbiome analysis – from technical advances to biological relevance – Michelle I. Smith – F1000Prime Reports

“Here, we introduce techniques that go beyond identifying the taxa present within a sample and examine the biological function of the microbiome or the host-microbiome interaction.”

From barcoding single individuals to metabarcoding biological communities: towards an integrative approach to the study of global biodiversity – Melania E. Cristescu – Trends in Ecology & Evolution

“DNA-based species identification, known as barcoding, transformed the traditional approach to the study of biodiversity science. “

Human oral microbiome

Global analysis of saliva as a source of bacterial genes for insights into human population structure and migration studies – Karsten Henne – BMC Evolutionary Biology

“By focussing on the house-keeping gene gdh .., on the virulence gene gtf .. of mitis-streptococci and on the 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the Fusobacterium nucleatum/periodonticum-group we here tested the hypothesis that bacterial genes from human saliva have the potential for distinguishing human populations.’

Microbial community in persistent apical periodontitis: a 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis – M. N. Zakaria – International Endodontic Journal

“Whilst a diverse bacterial species were observed in the persistent apical lesions, some characteristic patterns of bacterial community were found in the symptomatic lesions. “

The Adenoid Microbiome in Recurrent Acute Otitis Media and Obstructive Sleep Apnea – Carolyn P. Ojano-Dirain – Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery

“Microbes are present on all adenoid specimens, however, the microbial profile differs between recurrent AOM and OSA.”

Human gut microbiome

Susceptibility to Campylobacter Infection Is Associated with the Species Composition of the Human Fecal Microbiota – Johan Dicksved – mBio

“Here we address this by prospectively studying the gut microbiota composition before, during, and after natural Campylobacter infection in exposed poultry abattoir workers.”

Eukaryote Culturomics of the Gut Reveals New Species – Nina Gouba, Didier Raoult, Michel Drancourt – PLOS ONE

“We further explored this repertoire using PCR-sequencing and culture in seven individuals living in four tropical countries. A total of 41 microeukaryotes including 38 different fungal species and three protists were detected. “

Review: Decade in review—gut microbiota: The gut microbiota era marches on – Francisco Guarner – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

“Research on the gut microbial communities harboured in the human gut is progressing rapidly owing to the availability of novel and reliable tools for analysis.”

Modulation of Fecal Clostridiales Bacteria and Butyrate by Probiotic Intervention with Lactobacillus paracasei DG Varies among Healthy Adults – Chiara Ferrario – Journal of Nutrition

“High-throughput 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing was used to characterize the fecal microbiota in healthy adults (23–55 y old) of both sexes, before and after 4 wk of daily consumption of a capsule containing at least 24 billion viable Lactobacillus paracasei DG cells”

Review: The gut microbiota, bacterial metabolites and colorectal cancer – Petra Louis, Georgina L. Hold & Harry J. Flint – Nature Reviews Microbiology

“In this Review, we discuss the relationship between diet, microbial metabolism and CRC and argue that the cumulative effects of microbial metabolites should be considered in order to better predict and prevent cancer progression.”

Changes of the human gut microbiome induced by a fermented milk product – Patrick Veiga – Nature Scientific Reports

“Our data challenge the view that microbes ingested with food have little impact on the human GM functioning and rather provide support for beneficial health effects.”

Gut Microbiome and Multiple Sclerosis – Pavan Bhargava, Ellen M. Mowry – Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports

“We examine the different sources of information linking the gut microbiota to multiple sclerosis and examine the future avenues for utilizing the knowledge of the gut microbiome to potentially treat and prevent multiple sclerosis.”

Microbial Modulation of Insulin Sensitivity – Muhammad Tanweer Khan, Max Nieuwdorp, Fredrik Bäckhed – Cell Metabolism

“The gut microbiota has emerged as an integral factor that impacts host metabolism and has been suggested to play a vital role in metabolic diseases such as obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.”

Gut Microbial Community Structure and Complications After Kidney Transplantation: A Pilot Study – Lee, John R – Transplantation

“We characterized bacterial composition by polymerase chain reaction amplification of the 16S rRNA V4-V5 variable region and deep sequencing using the Illumina MiSeq platform.’

Human genital microbiome

Association between cigarette smoking and the vaginal microbiota: a pilot study – Rebecca M Brotman – BMC Infectious Diseases

“Smokers had a lower proportion of vaginal Lactobacillus spp. compared to non-smokers.”

Pregnancy and birth

Human Breast Milk – The Magic In The Microbiome – Science20

“Ma et al (2014 submitted manuscript) recently postulated that the opportunistic pathogen such as Staphylococcus aureus, which has been confirmed to exist in the human milk microbiome, is normally suppressed by a network of beneficial bacteria coexisted in the breast milk microbiome, but may become source of infectious mastitis when the host environment permits.”

Animal models of human microbiome research

Antibiotic Treatment of Pregnant Non-Obese Diabetic Mice Leads to Altered Gut Microbiota and Intestinal Immunological Changes in the Offspring – N. Tormo-Badia – Scandinavian Journal of Immunology

“we found a differential clustering of gut microbiota in the offspring from NOD mothers treated with antibiotics during gestation compared with offspring from control mothers.”

Shifts in microbiota species and fermentation products in a dietary model enriched in fat and sucrose – U. Etxeberria – Beneficial Microbes

“The aim of the present study was to identify gut microbiota dysbiosis and associated metabolic changes produced in male Wistar rats fed a HFS diet for 6 weeks and compare it with the basal microbial composition.”

The short chain fatty acids, butyrate and propionate, have differential effects on the motility of the guinea pig colon – Norm R. Hurst – Neurogastroenterology & Motility

“We hypothesized that the effect of SCFAs on colonic motility varies with chain length and aimed to determine the effects of SCFAs on propagating and non-propagating contractions of guinea pig proximal and distal colon.”

Small Bowel Resection Induces Long-Term Changes in the Enteric Microbiota of Mice – J. Sommovilla – Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery

Bowel resection induces long-term changes in the microbial community of the murine ileum, but not at more distal sites of the gastrointestinal tract. “

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Microbiome digest, August 13, 2014

Nose, glycan, butyrate, microbes on plastics, seawater microbial mats, and plants with microbes.

Respiratory microbiome

The nasal cavity microbiota of healthy adults – Christine M Bassis, Alice L Tang, Vincent B Young and Melissa A Pynnonen – Microbiome

“In our initial analysis, we compared the bacterial communities of the nasal cavity and the oral cavity from ten of these subjects.”

Gut microbiome

Glycan Degradation (GlyDeR) Analysis Predicts Mammalian Gut Microbiota Abundance and Host Diet-Specific Adaptations – Omer Eilam – mBio

“Based on GlyDeR, we found a clear connection between microbial glycan degradation and human diet, and we suggest a method for the rational design of novel prebiotics.”

Microbial-Derived Butyrate: An Oncometabolite or Tumor-Suppressive Metabolite? -Scott J. Bultman, Christian Jobin – Cell Host & Microbe

“Dietary factors, microbial composition, and metabolism are intimately intertwined into a complex network whose activities influence important intestinal functions”

Review: Collateral Damage: Microbiota-Derived Metabolites and Immune Function in the Antibiotic Era – Christopher A. Lopez – Cell Host & Microbe

“A disruption of gut-associated microbial communities by antibiotic treatment can result in a depletion of microbiota-derived metabolites, thereby enhancing pathogen susceptibility, impairing immune homeostasis, and contributing to the rise of certain chronic inflammatory diseases”

Animal model of microbiome

Differential Modulation by Akkermansia muciniphila and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii of Host Peripheral Lipid Metabolism and Histone Acetylation in Mouse Gut Organoids
Sabina Lukovac – mBio

“The aim of this study was to characterize effects of the microbiota on host epithelium using a novel ex vivo model based on mouse ileal organoids.”

Plant microbiome

Phyllosphere Microbiota Composition and Microbial Community Transplantation on Lettuce Plants Grown Indoors – Thomas R. Williams, Maria L. Marco – mBio

We found that Romaine lettuce grown in the laboratory contained 10- to 100-fold lower numbers of bacteria than age-matched, field-grown lettuce.”

Fundamental Plant Chemicals Rooted in Bacteria – Jenna Iacurci – Nature World News

“A fundamental chemical pathway that all plants use to create the essential amino acid phenylalanine has now been traced to two groups of ancient bacteria, a new study reports.”

Water microbiome

Spatial and seasonal variation in diversity and structure of microbial biofilms on marine plastics in Northern European waters – Sonja Oberbeckmann – FEMS Microbial Ecology

“Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing analysis revealed that plastisphere microbial communities on PET fragments varied both with season and location, and comprised of bacteria belonging to Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria and members of the eukaryotes Bacillariophyceae and Phaeophyceae. “

Molecular Ecology of Microbial Mats – Henk Bolhuis – FEMS Microbial Ecology

“Here, we summarize some of the latest developments in metagenomic analysis of three representative phototrophic microbial mat types (coastal, hot spring and hypersaline).”

Microbes in the news

Wearable structure of bacteria references antique animal bone corsets

“in terms of the material, it is grown from acetobacter xylinum, a strain of bacteria that produces a microbial cellulose textile as it consumes glucose.”

Bik’s Picks

Google Maps Dives Underwater – Scientific American

Google has taken its ‘street view’ maps to a whole new level—namely, the ocean’s depths. “

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