Tag Archives: metagenomics

January 18, 2022

Posted on by

Today’s digest contains interesting gut-brain axis articles, developments in bioinformatic multi-omic analyses, and some recent developments in long COVID research highlighted under non microbiome picks below. 

General microbiome

Substantial overlap between symptomatic and asymptomatic genitourinary microbiota states – Adu oppong et al. – Microbiome 

Human gut microbiome

Gut Ruminococcaceae levels at baseline correlate with risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhea – Gu et al. – iScience

Home or hospital birth: the neonatal microbiota perspective – Stojanov et al. – The Lancet Microbe

A pilot exploration of multi-omics research of gut microbiome in major depressive disorders – Zhao et al – Translational Psychiatry

Post-ischemic protein restriction induces sustained neuroprotection, neurological recovery, brain remodeling, and gut microbiota rebalancing – de Carvalho et al. – Brain Behavior and Immunity

Bifidobacterium breve CCFM1025 attenuates major depression disorder via regulating gut microbiome and tryptophan metabolism: A randomized clinical trial – Tian et al.  – Brain Behavior and Immunity

Gestational insulin resistance is mediated by the gut microbiome-indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase axis – Priyadarshini et al. – Gastroenterology

A natural polyphenol exerts antitumor activity and circumvents anti-PD-1 resistance through effects on the gut microbiota – Messaoudene et al. – Cancer Discovery

Virome

[Research Highlight] Virome holds back a vaccine – York – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Plant & Soil microbiome

Genome-Resolved Metagenomics Reveals Distinct Phosphorus Acquisition Strategies between Soil Microbiomes – Wu et al. – mSystems

Bioinformatics

M&Ms: a versatile software for building microbial mock communities – García-García et al. – Bioinformatics

GraphOmics: an interactive platform to explore and integrate multi-omics data – Wandy & Daly – BMC Bioinformatics

Aristotle: stratified causal discovery for omics data – Mansouri et al.  – BMC Bioinformatics

Non Microbiome Picks

The last few weeks has seen several big studies of ‘long COVID’ published, as well as a letter in The Guardian, which I wanted to highlight

Immunological dysfunction persists for 8 months following initial mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection – Phetsouphanh et al. – Nature Immunology

Long-term perturbation of the peripheral immune system months after SARS-CoV-2 infection – Ryan et al. BMC Medicine

Post-acute neurological consequences of COVID-19: an unequal burden – Nolen et al. – Nature Medicine 

Long COVID in children – Gurdasani et al. – The Lancet Child Adolescent Health
I’m leading a long Covid trial – it’s clear Britain has underestimated its impact – Amitava Banerjee – The Guardian

March 13, 2020

Posted on by

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.

November 2, 2019

Posted on by

Good Weekend morning for all!

Today’s digest is highly rich with plant and soil microbiome papers (notice a great Science paper regarding soil suppressiveness phenomena), as well as bacterial metabolism papers and more. Have a great and peaceful weekend!

Human and animal microbiome

Studying the gut virome in the metagenomic era: challenges and perspectives, Sanzhima Garmaeva, BMC Biology

Cortisol-induced signatures of stress in the fish microbiome, Tamsyn M Uren Webster, bioRxiv

Influence of pig gut microbiota on Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae susceptibility, Meera Surendran Nair, Veterinary Research

Natural variation in the contribution of microbial density to inducible immune dynamics, Derrick Jent, Molecular Ecology

Metabolism

The ecology and evolution of microbial metabolic strategies, Djordje Bajic & Alvaro Sanchez, Curr. Opin. In. Biotechnology

Is the enzymatic hydrolysis of soil organic phosphorus compounds limited by enzyme or substrate availability?, K.A. Jarosch ,SBB

Plant and Soil microbiome

Pathogen-induced activation of disease-suppressive functions in the endophytic root microbiome, Victor J. Carrio, Science

Drivers of the composition of active rhizosphere bacterial communities in temperate grasslands, Selma Vieira, ISME

Analysis of soil bacterial communities associated with genetically modified drought-tolerant corn, Jose G. Ibaraa ,Applid Soil Ecology

Phyllosphere of Submerged Plants in Bathing Lakes as a Reservoir of Fungi Potential Human Pathogens, Anna Biedunkiewicz, Microbial Ecology

Bacterial microbiome associated with the rhizosphere and root interior of crops in Saskatchewan, Canada, Jorge Cordero, Can. J. of Microbiology

Comparative metagenomics of two distinct biological soil crusts in the Tengger Desert, China, Jin-Yu Li , SBB

In planta bacterial multi-omics analysis illuminates regulatory principles underlying plant-pathogen interactions, Tatsuyas Nobori, bioRxiv

Air microbiome

Microbial communities in the tropical air ecosystem follow a precise diel cycle, Elena S. Gusareva, PNAS

Bioinformatics

Evaluating Bioinformatic Pipeline Performance for Forensic Microbiome Analysis, Kierra F. Kaszubinski, J. o. Forensic Sci.

Microbiome digest, September 25, 2014

Posted on by

[hr]

Asbestos and microbiome, human gut microbiome during a long stay in the hospital, gut microbiome of 15 mammals, Wolbachia in insects, microbiome of plant roots, and eukaryotes in Norwegian waters.

Human respiratory microbiome

Airways microbiota: Hidden Trojan horses in asbestos exposed individuals? – Dimitrios E. Magouliotis – Medical Hypotheses

“Here, we propose and discuss that certain proteins secreted by airways symbiotic microbiota create membrane pores to the airway epithelial cells, through which asbestos fibers can penetrate the lung parenchyma and reach the sub-pleural areas.”

Human gut microbiome

Membership and Behavior of Ultra-Low-Diversity Pathogen Communities Present in the Gut of Humans during Prolonged Critical Illness – Alexander Zaborin – mBio

“We analyzed the 16S rRNA amplicon composition in fecal samples of selected patients during their prolonged stay in an intensive care unit (ICU) and observed the emergence of ultra-low-diversity communities (1 to 4 bacterial taxa) in 30% of the patients.”

Mammal microbiome

Convergence of gut microbiomes in myrmecophagous mammals – Frederic Delsuc – Molecular Ecology

“Here, we expand upon previous mammalian gut microbiome studies … to characterize the composition of gut microbiota in 15 species representing all placental myrmecophagous lineages and their close relatives from zoo- and field-collected samples.

Insect microbiome

Symbionts Commonly Provide Broad Spectrum Resistance to Viruses in Insects: A Comparative Analysis of Wolbachia Strains – Julien Martinez – PLOS Pathogens

“We have investigated antiviral protection in 19 Wolbachia strains originating from 16 Drosophila species after transfer into the same genotype of Drosophila simulans. “

Plant microbiome

Niche and host-associated functional signatures of the root surface microbiome – Maya Ofek-Lalzar – Nature Communications

“Metagenomic (genetic potential) analysis identifies a core set of functional genes associated with root colonization in both plant hosts, and metatranscriptomic (functional expression) analysis revealed that most genes enriched in the root zones are expressed. “

Water microbiome

Deep-branching Novel Lineages and High Diversity of Haptophytes in the Skagerrak (Norway) Uncovered by 454 Pyrosequencing – Elianne S. Egge – Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology

“Nano- and picoplanktonic subsurface samples were collected monthly for 2 yr, and the haptophytes were targeted by amplification of RNA/cDNA with Haptophyta-specific 18S ribosomal DNA V4 primers. “

Microbes in the news

Intensive Loss of Gut Bacteria Diversity – Molly Sharlach – The Scientist

In a study published today (September 23) in mBio, researchers also fed ICU patients’ “ultra-low-diversity” gut microbes to C. elegans roundworms.

How Termites Evolved to Decompose Plant Matter: Gut Bacteria and Fungus – Catherine Griffin – Science World Report

“In order to better understand this interaction, the researchers analyzed plant decomposition genes in the first genome sequencing of a fungus-farming termite and its fungal crop, and bacterial gut communities.”

Science and Career

Scientists Are Not Trusted By Americans – Here’s Why – Science 2.0

“A paper in PNAS finds that Americans seem wary of researchers because they get grant funding and do not trust scientists pushing political and cultural agendas. “

Read The Nasty Comments Women In Science Deal With Daily – Macrina Cooper-White – Huffington Post

“Every day you’re faced with some comment, some snide remark, some inability to get a name on a research paper. “

Bik’s Picks

Water on Earth is older than the sun, scientists say – Deborah Netburn – Los Angeles Times

“Some of the water molecules in your drinking glass were created more than 4.5 billion years ago, according to new research.”

Science Graphic of the Week: Three Ways to Visualize Our Melting Northern Ice Cap – Nick Stockton – Wired.com

“These three visualizations, by NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio, illustrate this steadily unfolding situation, which has nightmarish implications..“

Healthy food might be bad for patients – here’s why – Amanda Squire – The Conversation

“The truth is that healthy food as we think of it may not be what patients really need.”

Brazil releases ‘good’ mosquitoes to fight dengue fever – BBC News

“Brazilian researchers in Rio de Janeiro have released thousands of mosquitoes infected with bacteria that suppress dengue fever.”

[hr]

Microbiome digest, September 22, 2014

Posted on by

[hr]

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.”

[hr]

General microbiology and science, August 12, 2014

Posted on by

Prokaryotic Essential Genes, 10 years of next-generation sequencing, a short podcast on the Hadza microbiome, and Ebola.

 

Metagenomics

Protein Localization Analysis of Essential Genes in Prokaryotes – Chong Peng & Feng Gao – Nature Scientific Reports

“Here, a comprehensive protein localization analysis of essential genes in 27 prokaryotes including 24 bacteria, 2 mycoplasmas and 1 archaeon has been performed. “

Techniques

Review: Ten years of next-generation sequencing technology – Erwin L. van Dijk – Trends in Genetics

“Here we provide an overview of the evolution of NGS and discuss the most significant improvements in sequencing technologies and library preparation protocols.”

More Microbiology

CISAC experts tackle public health & policy questions on Ebola – Beth Duff-Brown – Stanford University

“We ask CISAC biosecurity experts to answer several questions about Ebola and the public health concerns and policy implications. “

Rapid and reagentless detection of microbial contamination within meat utilizing a smartphone-based biosensor – Pei-Shih Liang – Nature Scientific Reports

“An 880 nm near infrared LED was irradiated perpendicular to the surface of ground beef, and the scatter signals at various angles were evaluated utilizing the gyro sensor and the digital camera of a smartphone.”

Academic Minute Podcast: Microbiota of the Hadza Tribe – Alyssa Crittenden, UNLV

“My colleagues and I have, for the first time, characterized the hunter-gatherer gut microbiome– working with a population of foragers in East Africa, the Hadza of Tanzania.”

Women in Science

Why are the media so obsessed with female scientists’ appearance? –  Alice Bell – The Guardian

“Yet another profile of Susan Greenfield feels the need to dwell on her ‘long, youthfully blond hair’. Why are the media so rubbish at covering women in science?”

Bik’s Picks

Under- and over-water halves of Gyrinidae beetle eyes harbor different corneal nanocoatings providing adaptation to the water and air environments – Artem Blagodatski – Nature Scientific Reports

“In this study we analyze the micro- and nanostructure of the split eyes of two Gyrinidae beetles genera, Gyrinus and Orectochilus. “

Antarctic midge’s genome is smallest in insects to date: Bare-bones genome is adaptation to deep freeze – Science Daily

“Scientists who sequenced the genome of the Antarctic midge suspect the genome’s small size — the smallest in insects described to date — can probably be explained by the midge’s adaptation to its extreme living environment.”

[hr]

Human microbiome, July 29

Posted on by

Papillomaviruses in human skin, gastric mucosa in cancer patients, breast milk metabolome, microbiome of a human family, and more.

Skin microbiome

Deep sequencing extends the diversity of human papillomaviruses in human skin –
Davit Bzhalava – Nature Scientific Reports

“This deeper sequencing without prior PCR of a pool of 142 whole genome amplified skin lesions identified 23 known HPV types, 3 novel putative HPV types and 4 non-HPV viruses.”

Gastric microbiome

Differences in Gastric Mucosal Microbiota Profiling in Patients with Chronic Gastritis, Intestinal Metaplasia, and Gastric Cancer Using Pyrosequencing Methods – Chang Soo Eun – Helicobacter

“Gastric mucosal biopsy samples were collected from 31 patients during endoscopy. After the extraction of genomic DNA, variable region V5 of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified. PCR products were sequenced using 454 high-throughput sequencer. “

Pregnancy and Birth

Breast milk metabolome characterization in a single phase extraction, multiplatform analytical approach – Alma Villaseñor – Analytical Chemistry

“We conducted this single-phase extraction procedure on a representative pool of BM, and characterized the metabolic composition using LC-QTOF-MS and GC-Q-MS for polar and lipidic metabolites. “

Effects of Bifidobacterial Supplementation to Pregnant Women and Infants in the
Prevention of Allergy Development in Infants and on Fecal Microbiota [PDF]- Tadao Enomoto – Allergology International

“Effects of Bifidobacterial Supplementation to Pregnant Women and Infants in the Prevention of Allergy Development in Infants and on Fecal Microbiota”

Gut microbiome
The dynamics of a family’s gut microbiota reveal variations on a theme – Patrick D Schloss – Microbiome

“Here we study a chronosequence of the gut microbiota found in eight individuals from a family consisting of two parents and six children ranging in age from two months to ten years old.”

Identifying Keystone Species in the Human Gut Microbiome from Metagenomic Timeseries Using Sparse Linear Regression – Charles K. Fisher – PLOS ONE

“Here we introduce an approach, Learning Interactions from MIcrobial Time Series (LIMITS), that overcomes these obstacles. LIMITS uses sparse linear regression with boostrap aggregation to infer a discrete-time Lotka-Volterra model for microbial dynamics. “

Antivirulence Activity of the Human Gut Metabolome – L. Caetano M. Antunes – mBio

“We found that a secreted molecule produced by clostridia acts as a strong repressor of Salmonella virulence, obliterating expression of the Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 as well as host cell invasion.”

 Metagenomic Identification of a Novel Salt Tolerance Gene from the Human Gut Microbiome Which Encodes a Membrane Protein with Homology to a brp/blh-Family β-Carotene 15,15′-Monooxygenase – Eamonn P. Culligan – PLOS ONE

“Herein, we report the identification and characterisation of a novel stress tolerance gene from the human gut metagenome. The locus, assigned brpA, encodes a membrane protein with homology to a brp/blh-family β-carotene monooxygenase. “

Review: Archaea and the human gut: New beginning of an old story [DOC]- Gaci N – World Journal of Gastroenterology

“Here we provide an updated census of the archaeal diversity associated to human GIT and their possible role in the gut physiology and health.”

 

Animal models of human microbiome and disease

Maternal high protein or prebiotic fiber diets affect maternal milk composition and gut microbiota in rat dams and their offspring – Megan C. Hallam – Obesity

“Fecal microbiota was analyzed in dams at parturition and 2 weeks post-partum and in offspring at 5 and 22 weeks along with cecal digesta at termination.”

[hr]

Microbiome digest, July 24

Posted on by

Introducing the crAssphage, an 84 bp BLAST from the past, archaea in the Savannah, metabolomics of racehorse microbiome, and X-raying headphones.

Human oral microbiome

Proceedings RoyalMolecular analysis of ancient caries – Marc Simón – Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences

“An 84 base pair sequence of the Streptococcus mutans virulence factor, known as dextranase, has been obtained from 10 individuals from the Bronze Age to the Modern Era in Europe and from before and after the colonization in America. “

Human gut microbiome

Nature CommunicationsA highly abundant bacteriophage discovered in the unknown sequences of human faecal metagenomes – Bas E. Dutilh – Nature Communications

“Here we describe the discovery of a previously unidentified bacteriophage present in the majority of published human faecal metagenomes, which we refer to as crAssphage.”

Gut family SchlossThe dynamics of a family’s gut microbiota reveal variations on a theme – Patrick D Schloss – Microbiome

“Using 16S rRNA gene and metagenomic shotgun sequence data, it was possible to distinguish the family from a cohort of normal individuals living in the same geographic region and to differentiate each family member”

Pregnancy and Birth

Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 05.53PM, Jul 24An unnecessary cut? – Sky Dylan-Robbins – The New Yorker

“The most common operating-room procedure in the United States is the Cesarean section. “

Animal microbiome

Equine Vet JournalCharacterisation of the faecal metabolome and microbiome of Thoroughbred racehorses – C. J. Proudman – Equine Veterinary Journal

“Faecal metabolome was characterised using thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS), with spectral analysis performed using AMDIS and compared against the NIST database. Taxonomic description of the faecal microbiota was achieved using error-corrected 454 pyrosequencing data from 16S rRNA gene amplicons”

Journal of MicrobiologyPyrosequencing-based analysis of fecal microbial communities in three purebred pig lines – Edward Alain B. Pajarillo – Journal of Microbiology

“Taxon-dependent and -independent analyses were performed to evaluate differences in the fecal bacterial communities and to identify bacterial genera that can be used to discriminate breeds, following high-throughput pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes. “

Environmental microbiome

Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 05.55PM, Jul 24Seasonal Effects in a Lake Sediment Archaeal Community of the Brazilian Savanna – Thiago Rodrigues – Archaea

“Here we describe for the first time the diversity of archaeal communities from freshwater lake sediments of the Cerrado in the dry season and in the transition period between the dry and rainy seasons, when the first rains occur. Gene libraries were constructed, using Archaea-specific primers for the 16S rRNA and amoA genes.”

Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 05.56PM, Jul 24Spatial patterns and links between microbial community composition and function in cyanobacterial mats – Mohammad A. Al-Najjar – Frontiers in Microbiology

“Similar clustering was found when the community composition of the mats’ cyanobacterial layers were compared by automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis, indicating a significant link between the microbial community composition and function. “

MicrobeNetNew Joint Initiative from the Knight and Sogin Labs as a Follow-up to the MoBEDAC Initiative – Embriette Hyde

“By the end of the funded period, standard 16S rRNA and ITS (fungal) analysis pipelines will be developed and made available to the MoBe community, 16S rRNA and ITS databases will be markedly improved, QIIME and VAMPS will be tightly integrated into a new database engine called QiiTA to facilitate analysis by all MoBe researchers, and two major training workshops will be offered. “

Dr. Bik’s PicksDNA

DNA mostly ‘junk?’ Only 8.2 percent of human DNA is ‘functional’, study finds – Science Daily

“This figure is very different from one given in 2012, when some scientists involved in the ENCODE (Encyclopedia of DNA Elements) project stated that 80% of our genome has some biochemical function.”

Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 05.58PM, Jul 24Sex differences in medicine – BeWell – Stanford University

“A man can be diagnosed with the same disease as a woman, and yet the course the disease takes in each could prove very different. And a treatment which works for one gender may prove ineffective for the other. “

corksIs Climate Change Ruining Wine Corks? – Kelly Dickerson – LiveScience

“Many people may only worry about corks when it’s time to pop the Champagne, but some experts are worried about wine cork quality, which has been mysteriously in decline for almost 20 years.“

Headphone x rayDoc X-Rays His Broken Headphones to Fix Them – Bahar Gholipour – LiveScience

“”Closed fracture of a speaker wire within its rubber/plastic sleeve is a rare headphone injury, usually due to a traction trauma,” Skalski wrote in his report of the case.”

[hr]

Microbiome and general science digest, July 11

Posted on by

Most recent results from American gut, a metagenomics pipeline, arsenic toxicity, polio and dengue vaccines, and pregnancy urine metabolomics to predict preterm birth.

Human gut microbiome

American GutAmerican Gut releases latest results and pipeline – Jeff Leach – American Gut

“The latest American Gut results are out and we’re very excited to share them with the American Gut community. We now have sequencing and analysis data from 3,238 participants, and as of today, this data equates to 101 million DNA sequences and 27 gigabytes of sequencing information.”

Screen shot 2014-07-11 at 04.27PM, Jul 11Place of upbringing in early childhood as related to inflammatory bowel diseases in adulthood: a population-based cohort study in Northern Europe – Signe Timm – European Journal of Epidemiology

“This study suggests a protective effect from livestock farm living in early childhood on the occurrence of IBD in adulthood, however only among subjects born after 1952. We speculate that lower microbial diversity is an explanation for the findings.”

Pregnancy and birth

Urinary pretermUrinary metabolic profiles in early pregnancy are associated with preterm birth and fetal growth restriction in the Rhea mother–child cohort study – Léa Maitre – BMC Medicine

“Here we used an exploratory metabolic profiling approach (metabolomics) to investigate the association between birth outcomes and metabolites in maternal urine collected early in pregnancy as part of the prospective mother–child cohort Rhea study. “

Metagenomics

MedusaMetagenomic Data Utilization and Analysis (MEDUSA) and Construction of a Global Gut Microbial Gene Catalogue – Fredrik H. Karlsson, Intawat Nookaew, Jens Nielsen – PLOS Computational Biology

“Here we present the bioinformatics pipeline MEDUSA that facilitates analysis of metagenomic reads at the gene and taxonomic level. We also constructed a global human gut microbial gene catalogue by combining data from 4 studies spanning 3 continents. “

Proteomics

Proteomics Staph aureusGenomics and Proteomics Provide New Insight into the Commensal and Pathogenic Lifestyles of Bovine and Human-associated Staphylococcus epidermidis strains – Kirsi Savijoki – Journal of Proteome Research

“Pilot experimental infection studies indicated that while ATCC12228 was able to infect bovine host, the PM221 strain caused more severe clinical signs. “

Dengue

Demanou DengueEvidence of Dengue Virus Transmission and Factors Associated with the Presence of Anti-Dengue Virus Antibodies in Humans in Three Major Towns in Cameroon – Maurice Demanou – PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

“Sera were screened for anti-dengue virus IgG and IgM antibodies. Risk factors of seropositivity were tested using logistic regression methods with random effects.”

Carrasco DenguePredictive Tools for Severe Dengue Conforming to World Health Organization 2009 Criteria – Luis R. Carrasco – PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

“Higher risk of severe dengue (SD) was associated with female gender, lower than normal hematocrit level, abdominal distension, vomiting and fever on admission. “

Infection and host response

Screen shot 2014-07-11 at 03.35PM, Jul 11Development of Fatal Intestinal Inflammation in MyD88 Deficient Mice Co-infected with Helminth and Bacterial Enteropathogens – Libo Su – PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

“We found that MyD88 knockout mice co-infected with H. polygyrus and C. rodentium developed more severe intestinal inflammation and elevated mortality compared to the wild-type mice.”‘

Screen shot 2014-07-11 at 04.28PM, Jul 11Distinct Lipid A Moieties Contribute to Pathogen-Induced Site-Specific Vascular Inflammation – Connie Slocum – PLOS Pathogens

“our results point to a pivotal role for activation of the non-canonical inflammasome in P. gingivalis infection and demonstrate that P. gingivalis evades immune detection at TLR4 facilitating chronic inflammation in the vasculature. “

Dengue

Dengue vaccine lancetClinical efficacy and safety of a novel tetravalent dengue vaccine in healthy children in Asia: a phase 3, randomised, observer-masked, placebo-controlled trial – Maria Rosario Capeding – The Lancet

“Our findings show that dengue vaccine is efficacious when given as three injections at months 0, 6, and 12 to children aged 2–14 years in endemic areas in Asia, and has a good safety profile. “

Also see comment: Dengue vaccines: dawning at last? – Annelies Wilder-Smith – The Lancet

Poliovirus

Jacob John polioEffect of a single inactivated poliovirus vaccine dose on intestinal immunity against poliovirus in children previously given oral vaccine: an open-label, randomised controlled trial – Jacob John – The Lancet

“The substantial boost in intestinal immunity conferred by a supplementary dose of IPV given to children younger than 5 years who had previously received OPV shows a potential role for this vaccine in immunisation activities to accelerate eradication and prevent outbreaks of poliomyelitis.”

Also see comment: Polio endgame management: focusing on performance with or without inactivated poliovirus vaccine – Kimberly M Thompson – The Lancet

Microbes in the News

Screen shot 2014-07-11 at 04.28PM, Jul 11 1How Gross Is Your Phone? A Motherboard Science Experiment – Jason Koebler – Motherboard

“All I wanted to do was recreate a relatively simple study I had just written about. Instead, I ended up creating something vaguely dangerous, which mortified the director of a local DIY biology lab. Here’s what happens when you perform experiments on your coworkers.”

Arsenic metabolism

Screen shot 2014-07-11 at 04.29PM, Jul 11Lung tumors in mice induced by “whole-life” inorganic arsenic exposure at human-relevant doses – Michael P. Waalkes – Archives of Toxicology

“Breeder male and female CD1 mice were exposed to 0, 50, 500 or 5,000 ppb arsenic (as sodium arsenite) in the drinking water for 3 weeks prior to breeding, during pregnancy and lactation, and after weaning (at week 3) groups of male and female offspring (initial n = 40) were exposed for up to 2 years.”

Dr. Bik’s Picks

Scorpions are master architects, according to new research – Science Daily

“The burrows made by scorpions follow a very sophisticated design, beginning with a short, vertical entrance shaft that flattened out a few centimeters below the surface into a horizontal platform, new research has found.”

Beach Sand Used To Make A Battery That Lasts Three Times Longer – Douglas Main – Popular Science

“Sink your toes into this: Beach sand can be used to make lithium-ion batteries that last three times longer than current models, according to a study published in the journal Scientific Reports.”

World Now “A Safer Place”, thanks to creation of Potential Pandemic Virus – The Allium

“Yes, I get your point that they could potentially kill millions of people and hospitalise millions more, causing untold human suffering and extraordinary economic damage, but think of all the advantages to the creation of these bugs”.

[hr]

General microbiology and science, June 25

Posted on by

Arsenic profiling in rats, Bacillus in space, and antibiotic resistance in populations. And Dr. Bik’s Picks featuring butterflies, mummies and unfeelability cloaks.

Microbes in space

Screen Shot 2014-06-25 at 10.31.28 PMBacillus anthracis-Like Bacteria and Other B. cereus Group Members in a Microbial Community Within the International Space Station: A Challenge for Rapid and Easy Molecular Detection of Virulent B. anthracis – Sandra P. van Tongeren – PLOS ONE

“In this study we show the presence of B. anthracis-like bacteria and other members of the B. cereus group in a microbial community within the human environment of the International Space Station and their preliminary identification by using conventional culturing as well as molecular techniques including 16S rDNA sequencing, PCR and real-time PCR. “

Metagenomics

Screen Shot 2014-06-25 at 10.31.54 PMElucidation of Operon Structures across Closely Related Bacterial Genomes – Chuan Zhou – PLOS ONE

“Here we developed a graph-based model to elucidate the diversity of operon structures across a set of closely related bacterial genomes.”

Antibiotic resistance

Screen Shot 2014-06-25 at 10.32.23 PMOptimization of lag time underlies antibiotic tolerance in evolved bacterial populations – Ofer Fridman – Nature

“Here we followed the evolution of bacterial populations under intermittent exposure to the high concentrations of antibiotics used in the clinic and characterized the evolved strains in terms of both resistance and tolerance. “

Arsenic metabolism

Screen Shot 2014-06-25 at 10.32.54 PMThe metabolomic profiling of serum in rats exposed to arsenic using UPLC/Q-TOF MS – Cheng Wang – Toxicology Letters

“The aim of this study is to determine the impact of chronic arsenic exposure on the metabolism of organism, and find the metabolites changes by using metabolomic techniques. “

Screen Shot 2014-06-25 at 10.33.15 PMInvestigation of arsenic species stability by HPLC-ICP-MS in plants stored under different conditions for 12 months – Clarice D.B. Amaral – Microchemical Journal

“For the As species here studied it can be concluded that lyophilization and cryogenic grinding strategies were the most suitable sample pretreatments for As speciation in plant tissue.”

Science and careers

Screen Shot 2014-06-25 at 10.33.54 PMLove in the lab: Close collaborators – Kerri Smith – Nature

“Romance often sparks between colleagues, and scientists are no different. Nature profiles four super-couples who have combined love and the lab.”

Dr. Bik’s Picks

Screen Shot 2014-06-25 at 10.35.06 PMMetagenomic Analysis Reveals Presence of Treponema denticola in a Tissue Biopsy of the Iceman – Frank Maixner – PLOS ONE

“Initially, the metagenomic data of the Iceman’s genomic survey was screened for bacterial ribosomal RNA (rRNA) specific reads. Through ranking the reads by abundance a relatively high number of rRNA reads most similar to T. denticola was detected. “

Screen Shot 2014-06-25 at 10.35.42 PMA magnetic compass aids monarch butterfly migration – Patrick A Guerra – Nature Communications

“Here we use flight simulator studies to show that migrants indeed possess an inclination magnetic compass to help direct their flight equatorward in the fall. “

Screen Shot 2014-06-25 at 10.36.07 PMAn elasto-mechanical unfeelability cloak made of pentamode metamaterials –
T. Bückmann – Nature Communications

“Here, inspired by invisible core-shell nanoparticles in optics, we design an approximate elasto-mechanical core-shell ‘unfeelability’ cloak based on pentamode metamaterials. “

[hr]