Tag Archives: obesity

Microbiome digest, October 22, 2014

Posted on by

Microbes in the mouth of patients with heart disease, bile and gall bladder microbiome of pigs, precisely restoring resistance to Clostridium difficile infection, and networks between fungi and plants. And don’t forget the solar eclipse tomorrow PM for most of the US.

Human oral microbiome

Microbial Diversity Similarities in Periodontal Pockets and Atheromatous Plaques of Cardiovascular Disease Patients – Wagner Serra e Silva Filho – PLOS ONE

“Subgingival biofilm and coronary balloons used in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty were collected from 18 subjects presenting with generalized moderate to severe periodontitis and OCAA. DNA was extracted and the gene 16S was amplified, cloned and sequenced.”

Human gut microbiome

Dietary Patterns Differently Associate with Inflammation and Gut Microbiota in Overweight and Obese Subjects – Ling Chun Kong – PLOS ONE

“We aimed to characterize dietary patterns in overweight and obese subjects and evaluate the different dietary patterns in relation to metabolic and inflammatory variables as well as gut microbiota.”

Impact of diet and individual variation on intestinal microbiota composition and fermentation products in obese men – Anne Salonen – ISME Journal

“Here we report a comprehensive and deep microbiota analysis of 14 obese males consuming fully controlled diets supplemented with resistant starch (RS) or non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) and a weight-loss (WL) diet.”

Animal models of microbiome research

* Precision microbiome reconstitution restores bile acid mediated resistance to Clostridium difficile – Charlie G. Buffie – Nature

“..we determine that Clostridium scindens, a bile acid 7α-dehydroxylating intestinal bacterium, is associated with resistance to C. difficile infection and, upon administration, enhances resistance to infection in a secondary bile acid dependent fashion.”

* Changes in the Bacterial Microbiota in Gut, Blood, and Lungs following Acute LPS Instillation into Mice Lungs – Marc A. Sze – PLOS ONE

“Bacterial microbiota of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, blood, and cecum were determined using 454 pyrotag sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) at 4 through 168 hours post-instillation.”

Specific Microbiome Changes in a Mouse Model of Parenteral Nutrition Associated Liver Injury and Intestinal Inflammation – J. Kirk Harris – PLOS ONE

“Microbiome analysis in the PNALI mouse identified specific alterations within colonic microbiota associated with PNALI and further association of these communities with the lipid composition of the PN solution. “

Animal microbiome

Characterization of the bile and gall bladder microbiota of healthy pigs – Esther Jiménez – Microbiology Open

“We have studied, by culture-dependent techniques and a 16S rRNA gene-based analysis, the microbiota present in the bile, gall bladder mucus, and biopsies of healthy sows”

Characterization of Egg Laying Hen and Broiler Fecal Microbiota in Poultry Farms in Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia – Petra Videnska – PLOS ONE

“In this study we were therefore interested in the prevalence of selected antibiotic resistance genes and microbiota composition in feces of egg laying hens and broilers originating from 4 different Central European countries determined by real-time PCR and 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing, respectively. “

Plant microbiome

* Assembly of complex plant–fungus networks – Hirokazu Toju – Nature Communications

“The examined symbiotic network of a temperate forest in Japan includes 33 plant species and 387 functionally and phylogenetically diverse fungal taxa, and the overall network architecture differs fundamentally from that of other ecological networks. “

Soils and sediments

The long-term adaptation of bacterial communities in metal-contaminated sediments: a metaproteogenomic study – David C. Gillan – Environmental Microbiology

“Two freshwater sites, Férin and MetalEurop, differing by one order of magnitude in metal levels (MetalEurop: 3218 mg Zn kg−1; 913 mg Pb kg−1) were compared by shotgun metaproteogenomics. “

Bioinformatics / metabolomics

* Biogeochemical Typing of Paddy Field by a Data-Driven Approach Revealing Sub-Systems within a Complex Environment – A Pipeline to Filtrate, Organize and Frame Massive Dataset from Multi-Omics Analyses – Diogo M. O. Ogawa – PLOS ONE

“We propose the technique of biogeochemical typing (BGC typing) as a novel methodology to set forth the sub-systems of organismal communities associated to the correlated chemical profiles working within a larger complex environment. “

Estimating coverage in metagenomic data sets and why it matters – Luis M Rodriguez-R and Konstantinos T Konstantinidis – ISME Journal

“We demonstrate here how available solutions can determine the level of sequencing coverage obtained by metagenomic data sets and thus, guide their robust analysis and comparison.”

Immunology

* Fall issue of Stanford Medicine reports on the immune system’s balancing act

“If you want to understand the human immune system, try studying humans — not mice, urges Mark Davis, PhD, in a special report on the immune system in the new issue of Stanford Medicine magazine.”

Bik’s Picks

Genome sequence of a 45,000-year-old modern human from western Siberia – Qiaomei Fu – Nature

“the genomic segments of Neanderthal ancestry are substantially longer than those observed in present-day individuals, indicating that Neanderthal gene flow into the ancestors of this individual occurred 7,000–13,000 years before he lived. “

Sky spectacle: Partial solar eclipse coming Thursday – USA Today

“In the afternoon, a partial solar eclipse — where the moon covers a part of the sun — will be visible across much of the USA, barring any pesky clouds that could block the show.”

Go Giants! The Science of Baseball – Exploratorium

[hr]

Human microbiome digest, October 14, 2014

Posted on by

Preterm birth and pathogens, oral antibiotic changes skin microbiota, dynamics of tongue microbes, and detection of candidate phyla in the human mouth.

Pregnancy and birth

Microbiological Profile of PROM in a Tertiary Care Centre in Mangalore, Karnataka State –
Annie Rajaratnam – International Journal of Health Sciences and Research

“A total of 104 cases of PROM that presented after 37 completed weeks’ of gestation were screened for infections by wet mount, Gram stain & routine culture of high vaginal swabs.“

Epidemiologic Factors and Urogenital Infections Associated With Preterm Birth in a Midwestern U.S. Population – Agger, William A – Obstetrics & Gynecology

“Cervical and urine specimens were analyzed by microscopy, culture, and polymerase chain reaction for potential pathogens.”

Human Milk Glycomics and Gut Microbial Genomics in Infant Feces Shows Correlation between Human Milk Oligosaccharides and Gut Microbiota: A Proof-of-Concept Study – Maria Lorna Arao De Leoz – Journal of Proteome Research

“Serial fecal specimens from two healthy breast-fed infants were analyzed by bacterial DNA sequencing to characterize the microbiota and by mass spectrometry to determine abundances of specific HMOs that passed through the intestinal tract without being consumed by the luminal bacteria. “

Human skin microbiome

* Oral Antibiotic Treatment Induces Skin Microbiota Dysbiosis and Influences Wound Healing – Meiling Zhang – Microbial Ecology

“our data demonstrate that antibiotic treatment decreases the bacterial density and alters the bacterial composition in skin wounds, followed by a decrease in RegIIIγ expression, which may contribute to the delayed wound repair. “

Human oral microbiome

* Dynamics of tongue microbial communities with single-nucleotide resolution using oligotyping – Jessica L. Mark Welch – Frontiers in Microbiology

“We employed oligotyping to analyze, with single-nucleotide resolution, oral microbial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence data from a time course sampled from the tongue of two individuals, and we interpret our results in the context of oligotypes that we previously identified in the oral data from the Human Microbiome Project. “

Host-associated bacterial taxa from Chlorobi, Chloroflexi, GN02, Synergistetes, SR1, TM7, and WPS-2 Phyla/candidate divisions – Anuj Camanocha, Floyd E. Dewhirst – Journal of Oral Microbiology

“The objectives of this study were to create phyla-selective 16S rDNA PCR primer pairs, create selective 16S rDNA clone libraries, identify novel oral taxa, and update canine and human oral microbiome databases.”

Human gut microbiome

Environmental enteropathy and malnutrition: do we know enough to intervene? – William A Petri – BMC Medicine

“Environmental enteropathy (EE) is a poorly defined state of intestinal inflammation without overt diarrhea that occurs in individuals exposed over time to poor sanitation and hygiene.”

* Meta-analyses of human gut microbes associated with obesity and IBD – William A. Walters, Zech Xu, Rob Knight – FEBS Letters

“Here we test for indicator taxa and general features of the microbiota that are generally consistent across studies of obesity and of IBD, focusing on studies involving high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene (which we could process using a common computational pipeline). “

Diversity of Microflora in Colonic Mucus from Severe Ulcerative Colitis Patients Analyzed by Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism and Clone Libraries of Bacterial 16S rRNA Gene Sequences – I-Nung Huang – Advances in Microbiology

“Also in the clone library analysis, the number of operational taxonomic units (OTU) and the Shannon diversity index were reduced significantly in UC patients.”

The Influence of Whole Grain Products and Red Meat on Intestinal Microbiota Composition in Normal Weight Adults: A Randomized Crossover Intervention Trial – Jana Foerster – PLOS ONE

“Repeatedly data on microbiota were assessed by 16S rRNA based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE).”

Animal and bioreactor models of microbiome research

Assessing non-digestible compounds in apple cultivars and their potential as modulators of obese faecal microbiota in vitro – Luis Condezo-Hoyos – Food Chemistry

“Results showed that relative abundances of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Enterococcus, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, and Bifidobacterium in apple cultured faeces tended to resemble the abundance in faeces from lean mice with increased trend in the production of butyric acid. “

[hr]

Microbiome Digest, October 3, 2014

Posted on by

Antibiotics in the first 24 months of life associated with obesity, Giant Pandas are no cul-de-sac, and microbiome and inflammatory disease. And lots of weekend reads!

Pregnancy and birth

Association of Antibiotics in Infancy With Early Childhood Obesity – L. Charles Bailey – JAMA Pediatrics

“Cumulative exposure to antibiotics was associated with later obesity …; this effect was stronger for broad-spectrum antibiotics”

Human gut microbiome

Faecal microbiota composition and host–microbe cross-talk following gastroenteritis and in postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome – Jonna Jalanka-Tuovinen – Gut

“Using a phylogenetic microarray and selected qPCR assays, we analysed differences in the faecal microbiota of 57 subjects from five study groups”

Animal models of microbiome research

Dietary modulation of the microbiome affects autoinflammatory disease – John R. Lukens – Nature

“Here we show that the intestinal microbiota of diseased Pstpip2cmo mice was characterized by an outgrowth of Prevotella. “

Mammal microbiome

Giant pandas are not an evolutionary cul-de-sac: Evidence from multidisciplinary research
Fuwen Wei – Molecular Biology and Evolution

“The latest and most advanced research shows that giant pandas are successful animals highly adapted to a specialized bamboo diet via morphological, ecological and genetic adaptations and co-adaptation of gut microbiota.”

Plant microbiome

Multi-symbiotic systems: functional implications of the coexistence of grass–endophyte and legume–rhizobia symbioses – Pablo A. García Parisi – Oikos

“After five months, we quantified the number of nodules in Trifolium roots, shoot biomass of both plant species, and the contribution of atmospheric nitrogen fixation vs. soil nitrogen uptake to above ground nitrogen in each plant species. “

Microbes in the news

Young companies, big ideas – The 2014 edition of the CNN 10: Startups – CNN

“Her doubts were assuaged when supporters donated $350,000 to help launch her startup, uBiome. Now, two years later, uBiome is exploring an emerging field of human biology while giving users a glimpse into how their bodies work.”

No women, unfortunately! And they did not accept my application to be a judge either. MO BIO Laboratories, Inc. announces Microbiome Awards winners – PR NewsWire

“MO BIO Laboratories, Inc. is proud to announce the winners of the MO BIO Microbiome Awards, which provide young, extraordinary scientists with funding and recognition to carry out scientific work in the field of microbiome research.”

Super-bacteria are growing in space … and we’re the ones breeding them – Meera Senthilingam – CNN

“You might think of space as a germ-free environment, but microbes can be carried to space inside human gut flora as well as in food and water and once up there, can be expelled by humans in their breath.”

There’s a simple way to stop the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria – Melinda Mary Pettigrew – Washington Post

“The issue boils down to this: we use too many antibiotics. Studies show that up to half of all antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily.”

Across Indian zoos, rat pee spreading bacteria, killing big cats: Scientists – Priyangi Agarwal – The Times of India

“The leptospirosis bacteria, found in rodent urine, makes its way into blood samples of zoo animals and causes higher morbidity and mortality, scientists at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly have found. “

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

“Brazilian researchers in Rio de Janeiro have released thousands of mosquitoes infected with bacteria that suppress dengue fever. The hope is they will multiply, breed and become the majority of mosquitoes, thus reducing cases of the disease.“

Science, Publishing, and Career

Young, Brilliant and Underfunded – Andy Harris – New York Times

“The bulk of that money goes to researchers who are in many cases esteemed in their fields — but also, in many cases, beyond the age when most scientists make their most important contributions to their fields.”

Why women leave tech: It’s the culture, not because ‘math is hard’ – Kieran Snyder – Fortune

“Stories from 716 women who left tech show that the industry’s culture is the primary culprit, not any issues related to science education.”

Satire: Tips For Working With A Lab Partner – FakeScience

Bik’s Picks

Is this the end of autumn as we know it? – Stephanie Pappas – BBC Earth

“The study of the basic triggers of autumnal leaf changes, never mind the impact of climate change on these, is still in its infancy in part because scientists have traditionally focused their attentions on the seasonal changes in March and April than those later in the year.”

The Incredible Rubber Glove – Olga Khazan – The Atlantic

“Basic protective gear was revolutionary for 19th-century medicine, and health workers trying to stop Ebola are recognizing its importance all over again.”

This Is Why Your Voice Sounds So Frickin’ Weird To You – Macrina Cooper-White – The Huffington Post

“Have you ever listened to a recording of your own voice and thought, “Whoa. Do I really sound like that?” Well, it’s time to face the music. You really do.”

[hr]

Microbiome digest, September 24, 2014

Posted on by

[hr]

Today we will learn how to feed shit to flies, the gut microbes of Mexican monkeys, and soil microbes and climate change.

Human microbiome general

Microbes Central to Human Reproduction – Gregor Reid – American Journal of Reproductive Immunology

“A meeting of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics held in Aberdeen, Scotland (June 2014), presented new views and challenged established concepts on the role of microbes in reproduction and health of the mother and infant. “

Mammal microbiome

The role of gut microbes in satisfying the nutritional demands of adult and juvenile wild, black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) – Katherine R. Amato – American Journal of Physical Anthropology

“..we examined differences in activity budget, diet, and the gut microbial community among adult male .., adult female .., and juvenile .. wild black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) across a ten-month period in Palenque National Park, Mexico “

Soil microbiome

Incorporating Soil Microbes in Climate Change Models – Joe Turner – The Scientist

“Without a solid understanding of how the soil microbiome contributes to atmospheric carbon, researchers are struggling to determine whether dirt-dwelling bacteria could impact—and be impacted by—climate change.”

Metabolomics

Metabolomic profiles and childhood obesity – Wei Perng – Obesity

“Principal components analysis was used to consolidate 345 metabolites into 18 factors and identified two that differed between obese .. and lean children “

Microbes in the news

A beginners guide to feeding shit to flies – Edan Foley – Frontiers blog

“The title pretty much sums this one up”

Meet my Microbiome – An Introduction to the bacterial zoo hidden in my colon – Edan Foley – Frontiers blog

“As detailed in the previous blog post, I fed a solution of my feces to axenic flies this summer.“

Giving Chickens Bacteria … To Keep Them Antibiotic-Free – Dan Charles – NPR The Salt

“Poultry companies are turning to probiotics as an alternative to antibiotics, which have become increasingly controversial.”

 Three Girls Won The Google Science Fair With A Bacteria-Based Plan To Solve The Food Crisis – Jessica Orwig – Business Insider

“Three young girls won the Google science fair on September 22 with their innovative way to feed the world: treat plants with bacteria to help farmers grow more food, faster”

Honeybees healing bacteria: The antimicrobial properties of honey – Jeremiah Yarmie – The Manitoban

“A research group from Lund University in Sweden has been investigating bacteria found in the honey-producing stomach of bees. “

Science and publishing

The Top Eleven Ways to Tell that a Journal is Fake – Shaili Jain – PLOS Blogs

“If you have ever published a scholarly paper, your email inbox is probably peppered with invitations to submit papers to new journals with plausible-sounding names. “

Women in Science

When words fail: women, science, and women-in-science – Jacquelyn Gill – The Contemplative Mammoth

“I don’t want to write about women in science today. I want to write about glaciers, or passenger pigeons, or the way the tilt of the earth is making the squirrels outside my window stash acorns”

Gender balance among University Research Fellows – Paul Nurse – UK Royal Society

“It was a great day for the 43 scientists who were awarded grants but I, like many Fellows, was personally very disappointed to see that only two of them were women.”

Bik’s Picks

Fossil Dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (Latest Oligocene, New Zealand) Expands the Morphological and Taxonomic Diversity of Oligocene Cetaceans – Yoshihiro Tanaka – PLOS ONE

“The New Zealand fossil dolphin “Prosqualodon” marplesi (latest Oligocene, ≥23.9 Ma) is here identified as a crown odontocete that represents a new genus, Otekaikea”

Review: The design and function of birds’ nests – Mark C. Mainwaring – Ecology and Evolution

“the design of birds’ nests is far more sophisticated than previously realized and that nests are multifunctional structures that have important fitness consequences for the builder/s.”

False memories could be a side-effect of human ability to learn rules – Science Daily

“New research suggests that individuals who are particularly good at learning rules and classifying objects by common properties are also particularly prone to false memory illusions.”

[hr]

Human microbiome, August 14, 2014

Posted on by

Culturing TM7, antibiotics early in life and obesity, preterm labor, breast milk, two articles by Carl Zimmer and one by Jop de Vrieze.

Pregnancy and Birth

Science has a special this week on Parenting, with a couple of relevant papers:

Preterm labor: One syndrome, many causes – Roberto Romero, Sudhansu K. Dey, Susan J. Fisher – Science

“We summarize the current understanding of the mechanisms of disease implicated in this condition and review advances relevant to intra-amniotic infection, decidual senescence, and breakdown of maternal-fetal tolerance.”

Nature’s first functional food – Trisha Gura – Science

“Building upon a century-old study that first indicated that milk nourished certain bacteria in infants, the new work has characterized the complexity of breast milk carbohydrates called oligosaccharides, or HMOs, that particularly nourish one species of beneficial bacteria.”

The taste of things to come – Emily Underwood – Science

“Indeed, studies in human infants and animals suggest that we may start to learn and love different flavors as early as in the womb.”

Human oral microbiome

Axenic Culture of a Candidate Division TM7 Bacterium from the Human Oral Cavity and Biofilm Interactions with Other Oral Bacteria – Valeria Soro – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“Successive rounds of enrichment in laboratory media led to the isolation of a pure culture of one of these candidate division TM7 phylotypes.”

Human gut microbiome

Review: Host-microbial interactions in the metabolism of therapeutic and diet-derived xenobiotics – Rachel N. Carmody and Peter J. Turnbaugh – Journal of Clinical Investigation

“Here, we integrate results from classic and current studies of the direct and indirect impacts of the gut microbiome on the metabolism of therapeutic drugs and diet-derived bioactive compounds. “

Taking the Yuck Out of Microbiome Medicine – Carl Zimmer – National Geographic

“I can still remember the shock I felt when I heard about fecal microbiota transplants for the first time. It is not the sort of thing you forget.”

Our Microbiome May Be Looking Out for Itself – Carl Zimmer – New York Times

“But in the journal Bioessays, a team of scientists has raised a creepier possibility. Perhaps our menagerie of germs is also influencing our behavior in order to advance its own evolutionary success — giving us cravings for certain foods, for example.”

Animal models of microbiome research

Altering the Intestinal Microbiota during a Critical Developmental Window Has Lasting Metabolic Consequences – Laura M. Cox – Cell

Press coverage: Taking antibiotics early in life leaves mice prone to obesity – Jop de Vrieze

“A new study of mice shows that interrupting the development of gut microbial populations with low doses of antibiotics early in life disturbs their metabolism and boosts the risk of obesity later on.”

The Gut Microbiota and Developmental Programming of the Testis in Mice – Maha Al-Asmakh – PLOS ONE

“Interestingly, exposure of GF mice to Clostridium Tyrobutyricum (CBUT), which secrete high levels of butyrate, restored the integrity of the BTB and normalized the levels of cell adhesion proteins. “

[hr]

General microbiology and science, August 11, 2014

Posted on by

Single cell genomics, metagenomics and bioinformatics, primers for protozoa detection, and Bik’s Picks.
Microbial detection

Clinical PathoScope: rapid alignment and filtration for accurate pathogen identification in clinical samples using unassembled sequencing data – Allyson L Byrd – BMC Bioinformatics

“Clinical PathoScope is the only pathogen identification method currently available that can identify multiple pathogens from mixed samples and distinguish between very closely related species and strains in samples with very few reads per pathogen. “

Metagenomics

Recent advances in genomic DNA sequencing of microbial species from single cells – Roger S. Lasken & Jeffrey S. McLean – Nature Review Genetics

“With the advent of single-cell sequencing, genomes of uncultivated species are rapidly filling in unsequenced branches of the microbial phylogenetic tree.”

Employing whole genome mapping for optimal de novo assembly of bacterial genomes
Basil Britto Xavier – BMC Research Notes

“Utilising several assembly tools based on de Bruijn graphs like Velvet, SPAdes and IDBA, we demonstrate that at the optimal N50, mis-assemblies do occur, even when using the multi-k-mer approaches of SPAdes and IDBA. “

Protozoal components of microbiome

Design and Validation of Four New Primers for Next-Generation Sequencing To Target the 18S rRNA Genes of Gastrointestinal Ciliate Protozoa – Suzanne L. Ishaq and André-Denis G. Wright – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“PCR amplicons of 394 to 498 bases were generated from three primer sets, sequenced using Roche 454 pyrosequencing with Titanium, and analyzed using the BLAST database (NCBI) and MOTHUR version 1.29.”

Microbes in the news

What Causes Antibiotic Resistance? Video Answers This In Awesome Animation – Kevin Wu – Inquisitr.com

“Kevin Wu details the evolution of this problem that present a big challenge for the future of medicine in this amazing animated video uploaded on YouTube.”

Women in Science

Harassment in Science, Replicated – Christie Aschwanden – The New York Times

“The findings are depressingly similar to the data some colleagues and I collected this year from an online questionnaire sent to science writers. “

Bik’s Picks

Comparative population genomics reveals the domestication history of the peach (Prunus persica) and human influences on perennial fruit crops – Ke Cao – Genome Biology

“We perform large-scale resequencing of 10 wild and 74 cultivated peach varieties, including 9 ornamental, 23 breeding, and 42 landrace lines. We identify 4.6 million SNPs, a large number of which could explain the phenotypic variation in cultivated peach.”

Grizzly bears master healthy obesity – Meghan Rosen – Science News

“Though the animals beef up before hibernating, they may avoid diabetes by tweaking signals in fat cells, researchers report in the Aug. 5 Cell Metabolism.”

Natural light in office boosts health – Science Daily

“Office workers with more natural light exposure at the office had longer sleep duration, better sleep quality, more physical activity and better quality of life compared to office workers with less light exposure in the workplace, a study shows.”

[hr]

Human microbiome, July 28

Posted on by

Oral microbes balancing their budgets, bacteria see blue, why Obama likes to fist bump, Gardnerella, and oxygen gradients in the gut.

Oral microbiome

Bioinformatic investigation of the cost management strategies of five oral microbes – Keith J. Cross – Molecular Oral Microbiology

“For Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia, Prevotella intermedia, and Streptococcus sanguinis, the outer membrane/extracellular proteins are made up of a much larger percentage of lower average mass amino acids whereas cytoplasmic proteins are made up of a larger proportion of higher average mass amino acid residues.”

Code blue: Acinetobacter baumannii, a nosocomial pathogen with a role in the oral cavity – Ashley M. Richards – Molecular Oral Microbiology

“A. baumannii can sense blue light through a blue-light sensing using flavin (BLUF) domain protein, BlsA. The resulting conformational change in BlsA leads to changes in gene expression, including virulence genes.”

Skin microbiome

Study: Fist bumps are less germy than handshakes – Kim Painter – USA Today

“Whitworth and a colleague systematically tested the three greetings for a study published Monday in the American Journal of Infection Control.” (article not available yet – MD).

Vaginal microbiome

Gardnerella vaginalis Outcompetes 29 Other Bacterial Species Isolated From Patients With Bacterial Vaginosis, Using in an In Vitro Biofilm Formation Model – Patrícia Alvesa – Journal of Infectious Diseases

“Here, we isolated 30 BV-associated species and characterized their virulence, using an in vitro biofilm formation model. “

Long-term Effect of Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate on Vaginal Microbiota, Epithelial Thickness and HIV Target Cells – Caroline M. Mitchell – Journal of Infectious Diseases

“Vaginal microbiota of women using DMPA for up to 2 years were cultured. Mucosal immune cell populations were measured by immunohistological staining.”

Gut microbiome

Correlation Between Intraluminal Oxygen Gradient and Radial Partitioning of Intestinal Microbiota in Humans and Mice – L. Albenberg – Gastroenterology

“In humans, 16S rRNA gene analyses revealed an increased proportion of oxygen-tolerant organisms of the Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria phyla associated with the rectal mucosa, compared with the feces, indicating an effect of oxygenation on the microbiota. “

Patients with cystic fibrosis have a high carriage rate of non-toxigenic Clostridium difficile – M. P. Bauer – Clinical Microbiology and Infection

“In this case-control study, we found more carriers among CF patients than controls (47% versus 11%), but most strains carried by CF patients were non-toxigenic (77% versus 17%). “

Animal models of human microbiome and disease

Obese-type Gut Microbiota Induce Neurobehavioral Changes in the Absence of Obesity
Annadora J. Bruce-Keller – Biological Phychiatry

“Sequencing-based phylogenetic analysis confirmed the presence of distinct core microbiota between groups, with alterations in α- and β-diversity, modulation in taxonomic distribution, and statistically significant alterations to metabolically active taxa. “

[hr]

 

Microbiome digest, July 23

Posted on by

Just one post today. Invading oral bacteria found in liver cirrhosis patients guts, obesity, biofilms and dispersal, motile and electric bacteria, dengue, and Weird Al Yankovic.

General microbiome

Screen Shot 2014-07-23 at 7.12.37 PMRadio show: City Visions: Exploring the Human Microbiome

“City Visions host David Onek explores these questions and more with Bay Area leading researchers Katie Pollard of the Gladstone Institutes, Susan Lynch of UCSF, and Peter diLaura of Second Genome.”

Human gut microbiome

Nan Qin Nature GutAlterations of the human gut microbiome in liver cirrhosis – Nan Qin – Nature

“Here we characterize the gut microbiome in liver cirrhosis by comparing 98 patients and 83 healthy control individuals… Most (54%) of the patient-enriched, taxonomically assigned species are of buccal origin, suggesting an invasion of the gut from the mouth in liver cirrhosis. “

Lancet DiabetesObesity, inflammation, and the gut microbiota – Amanda J Cox – The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology

“In this Review, we provide evidence supporting perturbation of the intestinal microbiota and changes in intestinal permeability as potential triggers of inflammation in obesity.”

ParasitesOpinion: (Self-) infections with parasites: re-interpretations for the present
Julius Lukeš – Trends in Parasitology

“Here, we critically review cases in which humans were deliberately infected with parasites. Moreover, we summarize the contribution of (self-) infections and propose protist and helminth candidates, chosen on the basis of several criteria, to test as possible therapy for selected human diseases.”

General Microbiology

Screen Shot 2014-07-23 at 7.14.29 PMDispersed cells represent a distinct stage in the transition from bacterial biofilm to planktonic lifestyles – Song Lin Chua – Nature Communications

“Here we use single-nucleotide resolution transcriptomic analysis to show that the physiology of dispersed cells from Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms is highly different from those of planktonic and biofilm cells. “

Screen Shot 2014-07-23 at 7.15.00 PMBrownian motion? – Bacteria swim with bodies and flagella – Kevin Stacey – Brown University

“Using a new technique to track the swimming motion of a single bacterium, researchers have discovered that the movement of the bacterium’s body — not just thrust from the flagellum — allow movement through fluids.”

NewScientistBacteria that don’t need to eat: Meet the electric life forms that live on pure energy – Catherine Brahic – New Scientist

“Unlike any other living thing on Earth, electric bacteria use energy in its purest form – naked electricity in the shape of electrons harvested from rocks and metals. “

NatureCell communication: Stop the microbial chatter – Vivien Marx – Nature

“Bacteria can coat everything from thermal springs to teeth. Researchers are looking for antibiotics that can subvert the signalling that the microbes use to carve their niche.”

Dengue

Screen Shot 2014-07-23 at 7.19.32 PMSafety, immunogenicity and efficacy of a recombinant tetravalent dengue vaccine: A meta-analysis of randomized trials – Vivaldo G. da Costa – Vaccine

“..we conducted a meta-analysis to determine a more precise estimate of the overall parameters of safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of CYD-TDV. A data search was conducted in the PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and SciELO databases with defined selection criteria.”

Screen Shot 2014-07-23 at 7.19.57 PMKinome siRNA screen identifies novel cell-type specific dengue host target genes – Yong-Jun Kwon – Antiviral Research

“To identify novel human host cell targets important for dengue virus infection and replication, an image-based high-throughput siRNA assay screening of a human kinome siRNA library was conducted using human hepatocyte cell line Huh7 infected with a recent dengue serotype 2 virus isolate BR DEN2 01-01.”

Dr. Bik’s Picks

Bat polarizationA functional role of the sky’s polarization pattern for orientation in the greater mouse-eared bat – Stefan Greif – Nature Communications

“Here we demonstrate that the female greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) uses polarization cues at sunset to calibrate a magnetic compass, which is subsequently used for orientation during a homing experiment. “

Screen Shot 2014-07-23 at 7.20.54 PMScience and politics: Hello, Governor – Virginia Gewin – Nature

“When California’s governor enlisted the aid of two palaeoecologists, their careers took an unusual turn.”

Screen Shot 2014-07-23 at 7.21.49 PMYouTube distraction: Foil – Weird Al Yankovic music video

“fungal rot, bacterial formation, microbes, enzymes, mould and oxidation”

[hr]

 

Human microbiome, July 22

Posted on by

Transcriptome in periodontitis, metabolomic analysis of breath in IBD patients, cystic fibrosis microbiome, and Clostridium difficile.

Human microbiome general

Review: Deciphering the tête-à-tête between the microbiota and the immune system – Neeraj K. Surana and Dennis L. Kasper – Journal of Clinical Investigation

“In this Review, we discuss the current state of knowledge regarding the role of the intestinal microbiota in immunologic development, highlighting mechanistic principles that can guide future work.”

Meeting report: Human microbiome science: vision for the future, Bethesda, MD, July 24 to 26, 2013 – Jacques Ravel and many others – Microbiome

“This report summarizes the presentations but also describes what is needed for human microbiome research to move forward and deliver medical translational applications.”

Metabolomics

Metabolomic analysis of breath volatile organic compounds reveals unique breathprints in children with inflammatory bowel disease: a pilot study – N. Patel – Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics

“Exhaled breath was collected and analysed using a selective ion flow tube mass spectroscopy (SIFT-MS) to identify new markers or patterns of IBD.”

Metabolites related to gut bacterial metabolism, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha activation, and insulin sensitivity are associated with physical function in functionally-limited older adults – Michael S. Lustgarten – Aging Cell

“Collectively, these data suggest that gut microbial metabolism, PPAR-α activation, and insulin sensitivity may be involved in mechanisms that underlie physical function in functionally-limited older adults.”

Oral microbiome

Community-wide transcriptome of the oral microbiome in subjects with and without periodontitis – Ana E Duran-Pinedo – ISME J

“We report here the in situ genome-wide transcriptome of the subgingival microbiome in six periodontally healthy individuals and seven individuals with periodontitis.”

Respiratory microbiome

Predominant pathogen competition and core microbiota divergence in chronic airway infection – Geraint B Rogers – ISME Journal

“..we analysed 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing data generated previously from 60 adult bronchiectasis patients, whose airway microbiota was dominated by either P. aeruginosa or H. influenzae.”

Pyrosequencing reveals transient cystic fibrosis lung microbiome changes with intravenous antibiotics – Daniel J. Smith – European Respiratory Journal

“Microbial community profiles were derived through analysis of bacterial-derived 16S ribosomal RNA by pyrosequencing and changes over time were compared.”

Review: Respiratory microbiota: addressing clinical questions, informing clinical practice – Geraint B Rogers – Thorax

“In this article, we set out the key principles underpinning microbiota research in respiratory contexts and provide practical guidance on how best such studies can be designed, executed and interpreted. “

Propionibacterium-Produced Coproporphyrin III Induces Staphylococcus aureus Aggregation and Biofilm Formation – Michael S. Wollenberg – mBio

“We observed that crude extracts of cell-free conditioned medium from Propionibacterium spp. induce S. aureus aggregation in culture. “

Gut microbiome

Reset of a critically disturbed microbial ecosystem: faecal transplant in recurrent Clostridium difficile infection – Susana Fuentes – ISME Journal

“Global composition and network analysis of the microbiota was performed in faecal samples from nine patients with recurrent CDI. Analyses were performed before and after duodenal donor faeces infusion, and during a follow-up of 10 weeks. The microbiota data were compared with that of the healthy donors. “

Review: Clostridium difficile and the microbiota – Anna M. Seekatz and Vincent B. Young – Journal of Clinical Investigation

“Both human and animal models have demonstrated the importance of the gut microbiota’s capability of providing colonization resistance against C. difficile.”

Vaginal microbiome

Primate vaginal microbiomes exhibit species specificity without universal Lactobacillus dominance – Suleyman Yildirim – ISME Journal

“We conducted comparative analyses of the primate vaginal microbiome using pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA genes of a phylogenetically broad range of primates to test for factors affecting the diversity of primate vaginal ecosystems. … humans were distinct from other primates in both microbiome composition and diversity.“

Semen microbiome

The Semen Microbiome and Its Relationship with Local Immunology and Viral Load in HIV Infection – Cindy M. Liu – PLOS Pathogens

“HIV infection was associated with decreased semen microbiome diversity and richness, which were restored after six months of ART.”

Antibiotic perturbation and microbiome

Bacteria, phages and pigs: the effects of in-feed antibiotics on the microbiome at different gut locations – Torey Looft – ISME Journal

“In this study, we defined the lumenal and mucosal bacterial communities from the small intestine (ileum) and large intestine (cecum and colon) plus feces, and characterized the effects of in-feed antibiotics (chlortetracycline, sulfamethazine and penicillin (ASP250)) on these communities. “

Impact of Antibiotics on the Intestinal Microbiota and on the Treatment of Shiga-toxin-Producing Escherichia coli and Salmonella Infections – Szych, Jolanta – Current Pharmaceutical Design

“This review evaluates the current literature based on the impact of antibiotics on the intestinal microbiota and the critical role of intestinal bacteria in controlling infection and subsequent clinical disease caused by STEC and Salmonella, and the transmissibility of these important pathogens”

[hr]

[hr]

Human microbiome, July 14

Posted on by

Ethnic variation in vaginal microbiomes, effect of chemotherapy on human milk, response of (murine) microbiota to infection.

Oral microbiome

Screen shot 2014-07-14 at 12.23PM, Jul 14Advancements toward a Systems Level Understanding of the Human Oral Microbiome – Jeffrey S. Mclean – Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

“This review will discuss some of the recent insights into the oral microbiome at a fundamental level, existing knowledge gaps, as well as challenges that have surfaced and the approaches to address them.”

Vaginal microbiome

Screen shot 2014-07-14 at 12.24PM, Jul 14Ethnic Variations in Cervical Cytokine Concentrations and Vaginal Flora During Pregnancy – Riana Dutt – American Journal of Reproductive Immunology

“Semi-quantitative vaginal cultures and concentrations of cervical cytokines were compared between Caucasian and non-Caucasian women.”

Gut microbiome

Screen shot 2014-07-14 at 12.25PM, Jul 14A functional metabolic map of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, a beneficial human gut microbe – Almut Heinken – Journal of Bacteriology

“In this study, we present an integrated, iterative approach of computational modeling, in vitro experiments, metabolomics and genomic analysis to accelerate the identification of metabolic capabilities for poorly characterized (anaerobic) microorganisms.”

Pregnancy and birth

Screen shot 2014-07-14 at 12.26PM, Jul 14Effect of chemotherapy on the microbiota and metabolome of human milk, a case report – Camilla Urbaniak – Microbiome

“Mature milk was collected every two weeks over a four month period from a lactating woman undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Mature milk was also collected from healthy lactating women for comparison. Microbial profiles were analyzed by 16S sequencing and the metabolome by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.”

Animal models

Clara Belzer miceDynamics of the Microbiota in Response to Host Infection – Clara Belzer – PLOS ONE

“Employing a murine model of infectious colitis with the pathogen Citrobacter rodentium, we generated a 2-month time-series of 16S rDNA gene profiles, and quantitatively cultured commensals, from multiple intestinal sites in infected and uninfected mice. “

Prune juice animal modelCarbohydrate-Free Peach (Prunus persica) and Plum (Prunus domestica) Juice Affects Fecal Microbial Ecology in an Obese Animal Model – Giuliana D. Noratto – PLOS ONE

“Fecal samples were obtained after 11 weeks of fruit or control juice administration. Real-time PCR and 454-pyrosequencing were used to evaluate changes in fecal microbiota. Over 1,500 different Operational Taxonomic Units at 97% similarity were detected in all rats.”

[hr]