Good morning (or afternoon, or evening, wherever you are in the world reading this,) Microbiome Digesters! Today’s post features a piece from Nature highlighting the ethical dilemmas and evolving approaches in Indigenous microbiome research. Indigenous peoples have historically faced exploitation through extraction of their lands, biological samples, and genetic data without proper consent. Researchers are re-evaluating their methods, shifting towards more respectful and collaborative practices that involve Indigenous communities in designing studies and ensuring they benefit from the findings. Check out the piece by Sam Jones for Nature to learn more.

An ethical way forward for Indigenous microbiome research – Sam Jones – Nature Outlook: The human microbiome

Human gut microbiome

Interplay between particle size and microbial ecology in the gut microbiome – Jeffrey Letourneau et al – ISME Journal

Unexplored microbial diversity from 2,500 food metagenomes and links with the human microbiome – Niccolò Carlino – Cell

A streamlined culturomics case study for the human gut microbiota research – Hyunjoon Park et al – Scientific Reports

Gut microbiota patterns associated with duration of diarrhea in children under five years of age in Ethiopia – Getnet Tesfaw et al – Nature Communications

Association of maternal gut microbial metabolites with gestational diabetes mellitus: evidence from an original case-control study, meta-analysis, and Mendelian randomization – Mengxin Yao et al – European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

The Microleaks study: 16S community profile and metagenomic shotgun sequencing signatures associated with anastomotic leak – Emily C. Hoedt et al – NPJ Gut & Liver

Targeted isolation of Methanobrevibacter strains from fecal samples expands the cultivated human archaeome – Stefanie Duller et al – Nature Communications

Characterization of gut microbiota in the Uyghur osteopenia population – Kunchen Teng et al – Scientific Reports

Spaceflight alters host-gut microbiota interactions – E. Gonzalez et al – NPJ Biofilms & Microbiomes

Other human microbiome

Bacterial association with metals enables in vivo monitoring of urogenital microbiota using magnetic resonance imaging – Sarah C. Donnelly et al – Communications Biology

Urine metabolomic profiles of autism and autistic traits – A twin study – Abishek Arora et al – PLOS One

Animal microbiome

Massive expansion of the pig gut virome based on global metagenomic mining – Jiandui Mi et al – NPJ Biofilms & Microbiomes

Marine sponge microbe provides insights into evolution and virulence of the tubercle bacillus – Sacha J. Pidot et al – PLOS Pathogens

Exploring the interactions between Nosema ceranae infection and the honey bee gut microbiome – Edmund Lau et al – Scientific Reports

Metagenomic characterisation of canine skin reveals a core healthy skin microbiome – Michaella J. Whittle et al – Scientific Reports

CHIKV infection drives shifts in the gastrointestinal microbiome and metabolites in rhesus monkeys – Hongyu Chen et al – BMC Microbiome

Effects of dietary restriction and one-carbon metabolite supplementation during the first 63 days of gestation on the maternal gut, vaginal, and blood microbiota in cattle – Sarah M. Luecke et al – BMC Animal Microbiome

Aloe arborescens supplementation in drying-off dairy cows: influence on rumen, rectum and milk microbiomes – Paola Cremonesi et al – BMC Animal Microbiome

Comparative genomics identifies key adaptive traits of sponge-associated microbial symbionts – Paul A. O’Brien et al – Environmental Microbiology

Plant, root & soil microbiome

Deciphering the role of rhizosphere microbiota in modulating disease resistance in cabbage varieties – Xingxing Ping et al – BMC Microbiome

Oak seedling microbiome assembly under climate warming and drought – Daniel Hoefle et al – BMC Environmental Microbiome

The ancestral environment of teosinte populations shapes their root microbiome – Christopher J. Barnes et al – BMC Environmental Microbiome

Water & marine microbiome

Prokaryotic-virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes throughout the global oceans – Funing Tian et al – BMC Microbiome

Global distribution, diversity, and ecological niche of Picozoa, a widespread and enigmatic marine protist lineage – BMC Microbiome

Microbial core communities in activated sludge plants are strongly affected by immigration and geography – Sofie Zacho Vertergaard et al – BMC Environmental Microbiome

The eukaryome of modern microbialites reveals distinct colonization across aquatic ecosystems – Anthony M. Bonacolta et al – NPJ Biofilms & Microbiomes

Methods & techniques

[PREPRINT] Domestic freezer storage: a solution for preserving stool microbiota integrity for at-home collection – Paula Momo Cabrera et al – bioRxiv

COVID-19 prevention behaviors and dietary habits among undergraduate students: A health belief model approach – Doreen Liou – PLOS One

A catalog of small proteins from the global microbiome – Yiqian Duan et al – Nature Communications