General microbiology and science, August 25, 2014

Microbial networks, proteomics of Fusobacterium, ants carrying pathogens into hospitals, and what’s in your lab freezer?

Bioinformatics

Sparse and compositionally robust inference of microbial ecological networks – Zachary D. Kurtz – arXiv at Cornel University Library

“Here, we present SPIEC-EASI (SParse InversE Covariance Estimation for Ecological Association Inference), a statistical method for the inference of microbial ecological interactions from metagenomic datasets that addresses both of these issues. “

Metabolomics / proteomics

Modelling the Emergent Dynamics and Major Metabolites of the Human Colonic Microbiota – Helen Kettle – Environmental Microbiology

“We present here a first attempt at modelling microbial dynamics in the human colon incorporating both uncertainty and adaptation. “

Proteomics of Fusobacterium nucleatum within a model developing oral microbial community  – Erik L. Hendrickson – MicrobiologyOpen

“About 1210 F. nucleatum proteins were detected in single species F. nucleatum control samples, 1192 in communities with P. gingivalis, 1224 with S. gordonii, and 1135 with all three species.”

Techniques

* (Preprint) Sources of PCR-induced distortions in high-throughput sequencing datasets – Justus M Kebschull, Anthony M Zador – bioRXiv

We examined the effects of bias, stochasticity, template switches and polymerase errors introduced during PCR on sequence representation in next-generation sequencing libraries. “

More microbes

* Ants as vectors of pathogenic microorganisms in a hospital in Sao Paulo county, Brazil – Heros J Máximo – BMC Research Notes

“Ants in hospitals may carry both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and methods of controlling urban ants should be adopted and strictly adhered to, to minimize the risk of infection in hospital patients.”

Microbes in the news

What’s in your laboratory freezer? – Timothy J. Donahue – American Society of Microbiology

“I ask all microbiologists to make sure that you and your colleagues know what they have in the lab (freezer, refrigerator, store room, etc).”

* Hot Spring Bacteria Can Live Off Invisible Light Alone – Brian Stallard – Nature World News

“Researcher(sic) studying cyanobacteria in hot springs have discovered that the potentially harmful algae can live in near-darkness, absorbing far-red light and converting it into energy while releasing oxygen. “

Insect-borne bacteria destroy ancient Italian olive groves – Tom Kington – GulfNews

“The ancient olive groves of southern Italy, which provide much of the oil the country exports, are being destroyed by deadly, insect-borne bacterium that has already infected nearly half a million trees and has no known cure.”

Uncultured Bacteria (with video) – Serious Science

“Northeastern University Prof. Kim Lewis on great plate count anomaly, siderophores, and human microbiome”

#BacteriaHysteria

* How to Keep Bacteria Out of Your Child’s Lunchbox – FoodSafetyNews

“If possible, a child’s lunch should be stored in a refrigerator during school, but the lid should be left open so that cold air can better circulate and keep the food cold.”

* Chick-fil-A incorporates bacteria-killing copper into restrooms – The News Herald

“Seidel said that Chick-fil-A Owner and Operator Dallas Stoudenmire has realized his responsibility to keep customers bacteria free and is taking the right steps to do so.”

Science and publishing

Concerns Raised Online Linger – Kate Yandell – The Scientist

“The great majority of comments point out some kind of problem,” PubPeer moderators wrote in an e-mail to The Scientist.

Bik’s Picks

Eye implant developed at Stanford could lead to better glaucoma treatments – Bjorn Carey – Stanford News

“A tiny eye implant developed by Stephen Quake’s lab could pair with a smartphone to improve the way doctors measure and lower a patient’s eye pressure.”

Scientists grow an organ in an animal from cells created in lab – Science Daily

“The researchers have created a thymus — an organ next to the heart that produces immune cells known as T cells that are vital for guarding against disease.”

Mozzarella and cheddar are the perfect pizza toppers, according to science – Jenn Harris – LA Times

“Understanding the value of a pie spotted with perfectly crisp cheese, a group of scientists in New Zealand set out to find which cheeses create the perfect topping.”

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Non-human microbiome, August 19, 2014

A very diverse mix today: kangaroo, rumen, Daphnia, ticks, corals, rice, switchgrass, drinking water, acid mine drainage, rocks, soil microbiomes.

Mammal microbiome

Investigation of the microbial metabolism of carbon dioxide and hydrogen in the kangaroo foregut by stable isotope probing – Scott Godwin – ISME Journal

“Our results clearly demonstrate that the activity of bacterial reductive acetogens is a key factor in the reduced methane output of kangaroos”

Temporal dynamics of fibrolytic and methanogenic rumen microorganisms during in situ incubation of switchgrass determined by 16S rRNA gene profiling – Hailan Piao – Frontiers in Microbiology

“Here we investigated the temporal succession of microbial taxa and its effect on fiber composition during rumen incubation using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.”

Arthropod microbiome

Bacterial epibionts of Daphnia: a potential route for the transfer of dissolved organic carbon in freshwater food webs – Ester M Eckert and Jakob Pernthaler – ISME Journal

“We analysed the activity and identity of bacterial epibionts in cultures of Daphnia galeata and of natural daphnid populations.”

Evaluation of microbial communities and symbionts in Ixodes ricinus and ungulate hosts (Cervus elaphus and Ovis aries) from shared habitats on the west coast of Norway
Erik G. Granquist – Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

“Five different species; M. mitochondrii, W. pipientis, Borrelia spp., Rickettia spp. and A. phagocytophilum, were analyzed on a 7500 Fast Real-time PCR system (Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA), and carried out in separate 96-wells reaction plates. “

Coral microbiome

New insights into Oculina patagonica coral diseases and their associated Vibrio spp. communities – Esther Rubio-Portillo – ISME Journal

“….we have analysed the seasonal patterns of the culturable Vibrio spp. assemblages associated with healthy and diseased O. patagonica colonies. “

Bloom of the cyanobacterium Moorea bouillonii on the gorgonian coral Annella reticulata in Japan – Hideyuki Yamashiro – Nature Scientific Reports

“In addition to the cyanobacterium–shrimp interaction, the new trait of anchoring by the cyanobacterium into gorgonian coral may contribute to persistence of this bloom.”

Not just who, but how many: the importance of partner abundance in reef coral symbioses – Ross Cunning and Andrew C. Baker – Frontiers in Microbiology

“…we generate testable hypotheses regarding the importance of symbiont abundance by first discussing different metrics and their potential links to symbiosis performance and breakdown, and then describing how natural variability and dynamics of symbiont communities may help explain ecological patterns on coral reefs and predict responses to environmental change.”

Plant microbiome

Phylogeny and Functions of Bacterial Communities Associated with Field-Grown Rice Shoots – Takashi Okubo – Microbes and Environments

“Metagenomic analysis was applied to bacterial communities associated with the shoots of two field-grown rice cultivars, Nipponbare and Kasalath.”

Reviving of the endophytic bacterial community as a putative mechanism of plant resistance – Olga Podolich – Plant and Soil

“Based on the published results, we suggest that the endophyte-mediated stress tolerance or disease resistance can develop, if the plant hosts a sufficient diversity of ‘protective’ endophytes. “

The rhizosphere microbiota of plant invaders: an overview of recent advances in the microbiomics of invasive plants – Vanessa C. Coats, Mary E. Rumpho – Frontiers in Microbiology

“This review discusses recent advances in invasive plant biology that have resulted from microbiome analyses as well as the microbial factors that direct plant fitness and adaptability in natural systems.”

Kelp forest size alters microbial community structure and function on Vancouver Island, Canada – Jessica Liz Clasen and Jonathan B. Shurin – Ecology

“We investigated the response of microbial communities to variation in kelp abundance between regions with and without sea otter populations along the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada”

Soil, sediments, rocks

* Impact of fire on active layer and permafrost microbial communities and metagenomes in an upland Alaskan boreal forest – Neslihan Taş – ISME Journal

“We measured geochemistry, GHG fluxes, potential soil enzyme activities and microbial community structure via 16SrRNA gene and metagenome sequencing.”

Integrated Metagenomics and Metatranscriptomics Analyses of Root-Associated Soil from Transgenic Switchgrass – Archana Chauhan – Genome Announcements

“Here we report metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses of root-associated soil from COMT switchgrass compared with nontransgenic counterparts.”

Abiotic stress tolerance and competition-related traits underlie phylogenetic clustering in soil bacterial communities – Marta Goberna – Ecology Letters

“We examined the distribution of 15 traits and 3290 bacterial taxa in 28 plots. Communities showed a marked functional response to the environment. “

Elevated nitrate enriches microbial functional genes for potential bioremediation of complexly contaminated sediments – Meiying Xu – ISME Journal

“Here we analyzed sediment microbial communities from a field-scale in situ bioremediation site, a creek in Pearl River Delta containing a variety of contaminants “

Occurrence and expression of bacterial human virulence gene homologues in natural soil bacteria – Ditte A. Søborg – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“The presence and in vitro expression of homologues to 22 bacterial human virulence determinants amongst culturable soil bacteria was investigated.”

Endolithic bacterial communities in rock coatings from Kärkevagge, Swedish Lapland – Cassandra L. Marnocha – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“Using 454 Roche pyrosequencing of the 16S rDNA gene, nine rock coating samples from three different coating mineralogies were sequenced.”

Biodegradation Potential of Organically Enriched Sediments under Sulfate- and Iron-Reducing Conditions as Revealed by the 16S rRNA Deep Sequencing – Tomoyuki Hori – Journal of Water and Environment Technology

“The effects of supplementation with sulfate and lepidocrocite (a crystalline Fe[III] oxide) on the structure and activity of the slurry microorganisms were examined by the combined physicochemical analyses and 16S rRNA deep sequencing. “

Soil bacterial diversity in degraded and restored lands of Northeast Brazil – Ademir Sérgio Ferreira Araújo – Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

“In this study we compare the structure and diversity of bacterial communities in degraded and restored lands in Northeast Brazil and determine the soil biological and chemical properties influencing bacterial communities. “

Biogeochemical environments of streambed-sediment pore waters with and without arsenic enrichment in a sedimentary rock terrain, New Jersey Piedmont, USA
A.C. Mumford – Science of the Total Environment

“The 16S rRNA gene and the As(V) respiratory reductase gene, arrA, were amplified from DNA extracted from streambed pore water at both sites and analyzed, revealing that distinct bacterial communities that corresponded to the redox conditions were present at each site. “

Water, wastewater, sludge microbiome

* A comprehensive insight into bacterial virulence in drinking water using 454 pyrosequencing and Illumina high-throughput sequencing – Kailong Huang – Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

“In order to comprehensively investigate bacterial virulence in drinking water, 454 pyrosequencing and Illumina high-throughput sequencing were used to detect potential pathogenic bacteria and virulence factors (VFs) in a full-scale drinking water treatment and distribution system. “

A high-throughput sequencing ecotoxicology study of freshwater bacterial communities and their responses to tebuconazole – Pascault Noémie – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“Pyrosequencing revealed that bacterial diversity was higher in the river than in the lakes and in previously-exposed sites than in pristine sites.”

Disturbance and temporal partitioning of the activated sludge metacommunity – David C Vuono – ISME Journal

“Bacterial small subunit (SSU) rRNA genes were surveyed from sludge samples resulting in a sequence library of >417 000 SSU rRNA genes. “

Review: Environmental bacteriophages: viruses of microbes in aquatic ecosystems – Télesphore Sime-Ngando – Frontiers in Microbiology

“The present chapter sought to review the literature on the diversity and functional roles of viruses of microbes in environmental microbiology,”

* Inter-species interconnections in acid mine drainage microbial communities
Luis R. Comolli and Jill F. Banfield – Frontiers in Microbiology

Here, we present cryogenic transmission electron microscope (cryo-TEM) 2D images and 3D tomographic datasets for archaeal species from natural acid mine drainage (AMD) microbial communities. “

A study on the microbial community structure in oil reservoirs developed by water flooding – Lin Junzhang – Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering

“This study was performed to identify the microbial community structures in 10 different types of water-flooded oil reservoirs on Sinopec Shengli Oil Field. “

Microbes of the built environment

* Microbial Existence in Controlled Habitats and Their Resistance to Space Conditions – Kasthuri Venkateswaran – Microbes and Environments

“In this review, we discussed the presence of microbes in space research-related closed habitats and the resistance of some microbial species to the extreme environmental conditions of space.”

Microbial Monitoring of Crewed Habitats in Space—Current Status and Future Perspectives – Nobuyasu Yamaguchi – Microbes and Environments

“In this review, the current status of microbial monitoring conducted in the International Space Station (ISS) as well as the results of recent microbial spaceflight experiments have been summarized and future perspectives are discussed.”

Food microbiology

Investigation of bacterial and fungal diversity in tarag using high-throughput sequencing
Zhihong Sun – Journal of Dairy Science

“This is the first study on the bacterial and fungal community diversity in 17 tarag samples (naturally fermented dairy products) through a metagenomic approach involving high-throughput pyrosequencing. “

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Non-human microbiome, July 17

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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