Tag Archives: cancer

December 14, 2021

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Today’s digest contains several great recent papers, but in particular I’d like to highlight a Nature Methods paper on applying network biology approaches to the microbiome, and a Nature paper which disentangles the effects of drugs and disease on host and microbiome.

General microbiome

Fast and flexible analysis of linked microbiome data with mako – Röttjers & Faust – Nature Methods. 

Combinatorial, additive and dose-dependent drug–microbiome associations – Forslund et al. Nature 

Mammalian gut metabolomes mirror microbiome composition and host phylogeny – Gregor et al. – ISME 

Human gut microbiome

Microbial co-occurrence complicates associations of gut microbiome with US immigration, dietary intake and obesity – Wang et al. – Genome Biology

Signature changes in gut microbiome are associated with increased susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in MSM – Chen et al.  – Microbiome

Cognitive behavioral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome induces bidirectional alterations in the brain-gut-microbiome axis associated with gastrointestinal symptom improvement – Jacobs et al. – Microbiome. 

Human oral microbiome

Impact of sleep on the microbiome of oral biofilms – Sotozono et al. – PLOS One

Functional screening of a human saliva metagenomic DNA reveal novel resistance genes against sodium hypochlorite and chlorhexidine – Wigand et al. BMC Oral Health

Animal Experiments

The immunotoxicity, but not anti-tumor efficacy, of anti-CD40 and anti-CD137 immunotherapies is dependent on the gut microbiota – Blake et al. – Cell Reports Medicine

Colonization of gut microbiota by plasmid-carrying bacteria is facilitated by evolutionary adaptation to antibiotic treatment – Zhang et al. – ISME

Sexual dimorphism in glucose metabolism is shaped by androgen-driven gut microbiome – Gao et al. – Nature Communications

March 13, 2020

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Good moring y’all!

Today’s digest is relatively short, but rather diverse- from the potential characteristics of scientific tweets readers, through cancer microbiome and horses fecal transplants, as well as endophytes microbiomes in different biomes and plants. Also, if you’re still unfaimilar with the ‘Talking about Biotech’ podcast (by Kevin Folta), I highly recommend to add it to your list. The latest episode talks, of course, about the Corona outbreak, and if you’ll go a bit earlier you will find plenty interesring and insightful episodes.

And lastly- pls stay safe! in Israel, as in other parts of the world, conferences are being cancelled, group meetings are rescheduled and we were highly encouraged to work from home (go bioinformatics!). Remember- there is not a single experiment that is more important than your and your love ones health.

General microbiology

Quantifying and contextualizing the impact of bioRxiv preprints through social media audience segmentation, Jedidiah Carlson , bioRxiv

An optimised saliva collection method to produce high-yield, high-quality RNA for translational research, Roisin Sullivan, PLOS ONE

The Vibrio cholerae Type VI Secretion System: Toxins, Regulators and Consequences, Cristian V. Crisan, Env. Micro.

Human microbiome

Microbiome analyses of blood and tissues suggest cancer diagnostic approach, Gregory D. Poore , Nature

Changes in key vaginal bacteria among postpartum African women initiating intramuscular depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate, Bridget M. Whitney ,PLOS ONE

Animal microbiome

The fecal microbiota of healthy donor horses and geriatric recipients undergoing fecal microbial transplantation for the treatment of diarrhea, Caroline A. McKinney , PLOS ONE

Low mutational load and high mutation rate variation in gut commensal bacteria, Ricardo S. Ramiro, PLOS Biology

Marine microbiome

Diel, daily, and spatial variation of coral reef seawater microbial communities, Laura Weber , PLOS ONE

Short‐term changes in polysaccharide utilization mechanisms of marine bacterioplankton during a spring phytoplankton bloom, Greta Reintjes, Env. Micro.

Plant and Soil microbiome

The diversity and distribution of endophytes across biomes, plant phylogeny, and host tissues—how far have we come and where do we go from here?, Joshua G. Garrison, Env. Micro.

Tissue age, orchard location and disease management influence the composition of fungal and bacterial communities present on the bark of apple trees, Elena Arrigoni , Env. Micro.

Salmonella persistence in soil depends on reciprocal interactions with indigenous microorganisms, Jasper Schierstaedt , Env. Micro.

Bioinformatics

Random sampling in metagenomic sequencing leads to overestimated spatial scaling of microbial diversity, Qichao Tu , Env. Micro.

March 21, 2018

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A long digest today – lots of science on the gut, environment, and some interesting editorials on techniques, bioinformatics, and methodologies applied to microbiome studies.

General microbiome

[pre print] Oscillating bacterial expression states generate herd immunity to viral infection – Christopher J. R. Turkington – bioRxiv

Retraction: Microbiome restoration diet improves digestion, cognition and physical and emotional wellbeing – The PLOS ONE Editors – PLOS ONE

DNA metabarcoding uncovers fungal diversity of mixed airborne samples in Italy – Elisa Banchi – PLOS ONE

Mobile Technologies for the Discovery, Analysis, and Engineering of the Global Microbiome – Zachary S. Ballard – ACS Nano

Unraveling Interactions between the Microbiome and the Host Immune System To Decipher Mechanisms of Disease – Catherine A. Lozupone – mSystems

Making Millennial Medicine More Meta – Peter J. Turnbaugh – mSystems

Pregnancy and early life

Neonatal intestinal dysbiosis in necrotizing enterocolitis – Naomi-Liza Denning – Molecular Medicine

Prenatal and postnatal antibiotic exposure influences the gut microbiota of preterm infants in neonatal intensive care units – Zhi-Hui Zou – Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials

* The Effect of Early Limited Formula on Breastfeeding, Readmission, and Intestinal Microbiota: A Randomized Clinical Trial – Valerie J. Flaherman – The Journal of Pediatrics

Multi-site human microbiome

The Complex Interplay between Chronic Inflammation, the Microbiome, and Cancer: Understanding Disease Progression and What We Can Do to Prevent It – Heather Armstrong – Cancers

Human oral microbiome

Salivary microbial profiles in relation to age, periodontal, and systemic diseases – Ronaldo Lira-Junior – PLOS ONE

Human respiratory microbiome

Translating Lung Microbiome Profiles into the Next-Generation Diagnostic Gold Standard for Pneumonia: a Clinical Investigator’s Perspective – Georgios D. Kitsios – mSystems

Host-Microbe Interactions in Airway Disease: toward Disease Mechanisms and Novel Therapeutic Strategies – Emily K. Cope – mSystems

Human gut microbiome

The role of inflammation in temporal shifts in the inflammatory bowel disease mucosal microbiome – Christopher John Kiely – Gut Microbes

Species Level Description of the Human Ileal Bacterial Microbiota – Heidi Cecilie Villmones – Nature

* Systematic Bias Introduced by Genomic DNA Template Dilution in 16S rRNA Gene-Targeted Microbiota Profiling in Human Stool Homogenates – Francesco Multinu – mSphere

* Extensive impact of non-antibiotic drugs on human gut bacteria – Lisa Maier – Nature

In this issue: Effect of gut microbiome on mucosal immunity and enteric diseases – Kumar, Himanshu – International Reviews of Immunology

Characterization of intestinal microbiota in alcoholic patients with and without alcoholic hepatitis or chronic alcoholic pancreatitis – Dragos Ciocan – Nature

Clostridium difficile Exposures, Colonization, and the Microbiome: Implications for Prevention – Sara L. Revolinski – Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology

* Of Microbes and Minds: A Narrative Review on the Second Brain Aging – Riccardo Calvani – Frontiers in Medicine

Microbiome: Viral hormones activate human insulin signalling – Ashley York – Nature

Modulation of Gut Microbiota: A Novel Paradigm of Enhancing the Efficacy of Programmed Death-1 and Programmed Death Ligand-1 Blockade Therapy – Yiming Wang – Frontiers in Immunology

* Assessing the Influence of Vegan, Vegetarian and Omnivore Oriented Westernized Dietary Styles on Human Gut Microbiota: A Cross Sectional Study – Carmen Losasso – Frontiers in Microbiology

Nutritional preferences of human gut bacteria reveal their metabolic idiosyncrasies – Melanie Tramontano – Nature

Animal experiments

Characterization of shifts of koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) intestinal microbial communities associated with antibiotic treatment – Katherine E. Dahlhausen – PeerJ

Low dose brain estrogen prevents menopausal syndrome while maintaining the diversity of the gut microbiomes in estrogen-deficient rats – Sunmin Park – American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism

Oral supplementation of Bifidobacterium longum strain BR-108 alters cecal microbiota by stimulating gut immune system in mice irrespectively of viability – Yuko Makioka – Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry

Animal microbiome

Mapping the virome in wild-caught Aedes aegypti from Cairns and Bangkok – Martha Zakrzewski – Nature

Changes in Larval Mosquito Microbiota Reveal Non-target Effects of Insecticide Treatments in Hurricane-Created Habitats – Joseph P. Receveur – Microbial Ecology

Dissecting cause and effect in host-microbiome interactions using the combined worm-bug model system – Marina Ezcurra – Biogerontology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

[pre print] Diversity analysis and function prediction of rhizo- and endophytic bacterial communities of Senecio vulgaris L. (Asteraceae) in an invasive range – Dandan Cheng – PeerJ pre prints

Changes in the Metagenome of Prokaryotic Community as an Indicator of Fertility of Arable Soddy-Podzolic Soils upon Fertilizer Application – A. N. Naliukhin – Eurasian Soil Science

Assessing soil bacterial community and dynamics by integrated high-throughput absolute abundance quantification – Jun Lou – PeerJ

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria associated with avocado display antagonistic activity against Phytophthora cinnamomi through volatile emissions – Alfonso Méndez-Bravo – PLOS ONE

Composition and diversity of rhizosphere fungal community in Coptis chinensis Franch. continuous cropping fields – Xuhong Song – PLOS ONE

Genomic insights into the broad antifungal activity, plant-probiotic properties, and their regulation, in Pseudomonas donghuensis strain SVBP6 – Betina Cecilia Agaras – PLOS ONE

Water and extremophile microbiome

Microbial communities underpinning mesophilic anaerobic digesters treating food wastewater or sewage sludge: a full-scale study – Joonyeob Lee – Bioresource Technology

Bacteria from Antarctic environments: diversity and detection of antimicrobial, antiproliferative, and antiparasitic activities – Tiago R. Silva – Polar Biology

Responses of Salt Marsh Plant Rhizosphere Diazotroph Assemblages to Drought – Debra A. Davis – Microorganisms

Diversity and assembly patterns of activated sludge microbial communities: A review – Yu Xia – Biotechnology Advances

Temperature-induced changes in a microbial community under autotrophic denitrification with sulfide – Michal Sposob – Process Biochemistry

Metagenomic Exploration of Microbial Signatures on Periyar River Sediments from the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats – Aparna Chakkamadathil Rajeev – Genome Announcements

Occurrence and seasonal dynamics of RNA viral genotypes in three contrasting temperate lakes – Ian Hewson – PLOS One

Shifts in dissolved organic matter and microbial community composition are associated with enhanced removal of fecal pollutants in urban stormwater wetlands – Xiao Huang – Water Research

Effect of semi-permeable cover system on the bacterial diversity during sewage sludge composting – Tatiana Robledo-Mahón – Journal of Environmental Management

* Life at extreme elevations on Atacama volcanoes: the closest thing to Mars on Earth? – S. K. Schmidt – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Rapid alterations to marine microbiota communities following an oil spill – Brad J. Gemmell – Ecotoxicology

Microbial communities and their potential for degradation of dissolved organic carbon in cryoconite hole environments of Himalaya and Antarctica – Aritri Sanyal – Microbiological Research

Built environment

Microbiome Profiles of Commercial Broilers Through Evisceration and Immersion Chilling During Poultry Slaughter and the Identification of Potential Indicator Microorganisms – John A. Handley – Frontiers in Microbiology

Food microbiology

Characterization of Bacteria in Nigerian Yogurt as Promising Alternative to Antibiotics in Gastrointestinal Infections – Anthony Opeyemi Ayeni – Journal of Dietary Supplements

Probiotics / prebiotics

Polyphenols’ Gut Microbiota Metabolites: Bioactives or Biomarkers? -Francisco A. Tomas-Barberan – Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry

* A Multi-strain Probiotic Reduces the Fatty Liver Index, Cytokines and Aminotransferase levels in NAFLD Patients: Evidence from a Randomized Clinical Trial – Nazarii Kobyliak – Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases

Bioinformatics

Species classifier choice is a key consideration when analysing low-complexity food microbiome data – Aaron M. Walsh – Microbiome

Data and Statistical Methods To Analyze the Human Microbiome – Levi Waldron – mSystems

* Discovery of enzymes for toluene synthesis from anoxic microbial communities – Beller HR – Nature

Techniques

Community Assembly Processes of the Microbial Rare Biosphere – Xiu Jia – Trends in Microbiology

* Metabolomics: A High-Throughput Platform for Metabolite Profile Exploration – Jing Cheng – Computational Systems Biology

[Patent] Spectrometric Analysis of Microbes – Zoltan Takats

* Development and evaluation of a culture-free microbiota profiling platform (MYcrobiota) for clinical diagnostics – Stefan A. Boers – European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases

Comparative analysis of four commercial on-farm culture methods to identify bacteria associated with clinical mastitis in dairy cattle – Jair C. Ferreira – PLOS One

Beyond Structure: Defining the Function of the Gut Using Omic Approaches for Rational Design of Personalized Therapeutics – Casey M. Theriot – mSystems

Synergy among Microbiota and Their Hosts: Leveraging the Hawaiian Archipelago and Local Collaborative Networks To Address Pressing Questions in Microbiome Research – Nicole A. Hynson – mSystems

Microbiomes In Natura: Importance of Invertebrates in Understanding the Natural Variety of Animal-Microbe Interactions – Jillian M. Petersen – mSystems

Microbial Eukaryotes: a Missing Link in Gut Microbiome Studies – Isabelle Laforest-Lapointe – mSystems

Microbes on the market 

DuPont Expands Microbiome Research Program, Adds Second Partnership with Fermentation Specialist

Science, publishing, and career

Biocodex Microbiota Foundation Awards Grants to Two Innovative Researchers in the Microbiome Field

Early-Career Systems Microbiology Scientists – Jack A. Gilbert – mSystems

Ed’s non-microbiology picks (can use your own name of course!) (cool non-microbiology science)

Self-employed people happier and more engaged at work, study finds

Health Care Spending in the United States and Other High-Income Countries

Ancient DNA Is Rewriting Human (and Neanderthal) History

Sturdy Insulator Made of Wood

How exercise in old age prevents the immune system from declining

Human microbiome, June 30

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Hypotheses about oral microbiota and disease, effect of rhinovirus infection on nasal microbiome,  the gut microbiome in children with diarrhea in low-income countries, primate vaginal microbiomes, and much more.

Oral microbiome (also see Probiotics and Biofilms in today’s General digest)

Screen Shot 2014-06-30 at 11.18.32 PMHistorical and contemporary hypotheses on the development of oral diseases: are we there yet? – Bob T. Rosier – Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

“In this comprehensive review, we describe how these different hypotheses, and the ideas around them, arose and test their current applicability to the understanding of the development of oral disease. Finally, we conclude that an all-encompassing ecological hypothesis explaining the shifts from health to disease is still lacking.”

PeriodontitisThe inflammophilic character of the periodontitis-associated microbiota – George Hajishengallis – Molecular Oral Microbiology

“This Review discusses evidence that periodontitis-associated communities are ‘inflammo-philic’ (= loving or attracted to inflammation) in that they have evolved to not only endure inflammation but also to take advantage of it. “

Respiratory microbiome

Screen Shot 2014-06-30 at 11.19.43 PMCharacterization of the nasopharyngeal microbiota in health and during rhinovirus challenge – Allen EK – Microbiome

“Rhinovirus illnesses were induced by self-inoculation using the finger to nose or eye natural transmission route in ten otherwise healthy young adults.”

Gut microbiome

Screen Shot 2014-06-30 at 11.20.28 PMDiarrhea in young children from low-income countries leads to large-scale alterations in intestinal microbiota composition – Mihai Pop – Genome Biology

“We use high throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing to compare fecal microbiota composition in children under five years of age who have been diagnosed with moderate to severe diarrhea (MSD) with the microbiota from diarrhea-free controls. “

Structure of the gut microbiome following colonization with human feces determines colonic tumor burden – Baxter NT – Microbiome

“We transplanted fecal microbiota from three CRC patients and three healthy individuals into germ-free mice, resulting in six structurally distinct microbial communities. Subjecting these mice to a chemically induced model of CRC resulted in different levels of tumorigenesis between mice. “

Commensal bacteria directly suppress in vitro degranulation of mast cells in a MyD88-independent manner – Kazumi Kasakura – Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry

“Here, we show that heat-killed commensal bacteria suppressed degranulation of mast cells in vitro in a MyD88-independent manner.”

Screen Shot 2014-06-30 at 11.21.29 PMCo-occurrence of driver and passenger bacteria in human colorectal cancer
Jiawei Geng – Gut Pathogens

“Building on the driver-passenger model, we used 454 pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes associated with 10 normal, 10 adenoma, and 8 tumor biopsy samples, and found 7 potential driver bacterial genera and 12 potential passenger bacterial genera (7 being pro-inflammatory and 5 anti-inflammatory). “

Review: Intestinal Microbiota and the Efficacy of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in Gastrointestinal Disease – Olga Aroniadis – Gastroenterology & Hepatology

“The published revelations about the human microbiome are bringing the strength of science to clinical observation and enhancing the understanding of not only disease but also how much of a person’s daily function and health depends on the microorganisms living in intimate relationship with each cell in the body.”

Screen Shot 2014-06-30 at 11.22.43 PMDietary Intervention with Yoghurt, Synbiotic Yogurt or Traditional Fermented Sobya: Bio-Potency among Male Adolescents Using Five Bio-Markers of Relevance to Colonic Metabolic Activities – Laila Hussein – Food and Nutrition Sciences

“The mean fecal total lactobacilli counts increased (P < 0.05) three weeks after daily consumption of the three fermented supplements (P < 0.05), when compared to the pre-intervention levels. Similar trends were observed for genus bifidobacterium. On the contrary, enterobacteraceae counts were reduced in all the three groups consuming fermented supplements.”

Vaginal microbiome (also see pregnancy)

Screen Shot 2014-06-30 at 11.23.32 PMPrimate vaginal microbiomes exhibit species specificity without universal Lactobacillus dominance – Suleyman Yildirim – ISME J (uncorrected proof, link to Chapman Research)

“Our results indicated that all primates exhibited host-specific vaginal microbiota and that humans were distinct from other primates in both microbiome composition and extent of diversity”

Skin microbiome

New Molecular Techniques to Study the Skin Microbiota of Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Jean-Philippe Lavigne – Advances in Wound Care

“Molecular tools have better documented the composition and organization of the skin flora. Further advances are required to elucidate which among the many bacteria in the DFU flora are likely to be pathogens, rather than colonizers.”

General human microbiome 

Shrinkage of the human core microbiome and a proposal for launching microbiome biobanks – Abolfazl Barzegari – Future Microbiology

“This article suggests launching microbiome biobanks for archiving native microbiomes, supervising antibiotic use, probiotic design and native starter production, as well as advertising a revisit to native lifestyles.”

Review: Blowing on Embers: Commensal Microbiota and our Immune System
Darina S. Spasova and Charles D. Surh – Frontiers in Immunology

“This review discusses the recent advances in this field, focusing on the close relationship between the adaptive immune system and commensal microbiota, a constant and abundant source of foreign antigens.”

Microbiome: Second Genome Is Finding Disease Mechanisms, Biomarkers, And Therapeutics – Wayne Koberstein – Life Science Leader

“We now understand that biological processes such as inflammation, barrier function, metabolism, and energy homeostasis are directly linked to our microbiome,” says Peter DiLaura, president and CEO of Second Genome.

Mayo Clinic and Whole Biome Announce Collaboration to Research the Role of the Human Microbiome in Women’s Diseases Using Unique Medical Laboratory Tests – DarkDaily

“This joint research effort will initiate a new field of clinical laboratory diagnostic tests that target the human microbiome”

Prokaryotes versus Eukaryotes: Who is hosting whom? – Guillermo Tellez – Frontiers in Veterinary Science

“Our aim here is to encourage empirical inquiry into the relationship between mutualism and evolutionary diversification between prokaryotes and eukaryotes which encourage us to postulate: Who is hosting whom?”

Animal models of microbiome and disease

Combination of Metagenomics and Culture Based Methods to Study the Interaction Between Ochratoxin A and Gut Microbiota – Mingzhang Guo

“Changes in functional genes of gut microbiota including signal transduction, carbohydrate transport, transposase, amino acid transport system and mismatch repair were observed.”

Functional divergence in gastrointestinal microbiota in physically-separated genetically identical mice – G. B. Rogers – Scientific Reports

“We report significant divergence in both the composition and metabolism of gut microbiota in genetically-identical adult C57BL/6 mice housed in separate controlled units within a single commercial production facility.”

Alteration of Gut Bacteria and Metabolomes After Glucaro-1,4-Lactone Treatment Contributes to the Prevention of Hypercholesterolemia – Baogang Xie – J. Agric. Food Chem

“Colonic flora test results reveal that the quantity of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in the intestines respectively increase by about 1.7- and 4.2-fold in rats treated with 1,4-GL compared with those in the control group. “

Pregnancy and birth

Oral presentation: The evolution of the vaginal microbiome throughout uncomplicated pregnancy in a UK population – M Chandiramani – Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed

“Vaginal swabs were collected at time points across gestation (8–12, 20–22, 28–30 and 34–36 weeks) and the postpartum period (6 weeks) from 43 women delivered at term. Resident bacterial communities were determined using the Illumina MiSeq platform generated from bar-coded amplicons of 16S rRNA gene fragments.”

Screen Shot 2014-06-30 at 11.26.14 PMGroup B Streptococcus β-hemolysin/Cytolysin Breaches Maternal-Fetal Barriers to Cause Preterm Birth and Intrauterine Fetal Demise in Vivo – Tara M. Randis – Journal of Infectious Diseases

“We used a new murine model to evaluate the contribution of the pore-forming GBS β-hemolysin/cytolysin (βH/C) to vaginal colonization, ascension, and fetal infection.”

Zinc and copper levels in low birth weight deliveries in Medani Hospital, Sudan –
Abass RM – BMC Research Notes

“Maternal zinc and copper levels, as well as cord copper levels, are lower in LBW newborns than in those with normal weight.”

Effective Biomarkers for Diagnosis of Neonatal Sepsis – Vineet Bhandari – Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

“The diagnostic utility of the following biomarkers seems to be most practical in the early (interleukin [IL]-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, neutrophil CD64), mid (procalcitonin) and late (C-reactive protein) phases of neonatal sepsis.”

Review: Association of Periodontal Disease and Pre-term Low Birth Weight Infants
Manjusha Varadan, Jaiganesh Ramamurthy – The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India

“The association of periodontitis as risk factor for pre-term birth has been in extensive research in the past two decades when a number of studies investigated this relationship.”

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