Tag Archives: sheep

Microbiome digest, November 12, 2014

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Another short installment of the Digest. Two studies on microbial DNA contamination in reagents and laboratories, and gut microbiome in Down Syndrome.
Human gut microbiome

* Gut Microbiome in Down Syndrome – Elena Biagi – PLOS ONE

* Superresolution Imaging Captures Carbohydrate Utilization Dynamics in Human Gut Symbionts – Krishanthi S. Karunatilaka – mBio

Microbiota Talks Cholera out of the Gut – Amanda J. Hay, Jun Zhu – Cell Host & Microbe

 

Animal microbiome

Comparative Metagenomic Analysis of Coral Microbial Communities Using a Reference-Independent Approach – Camila Carlos – PLOS ONE

The Effect of Antibiotics on Associated Bacterial Community of Stored Product Mites – Jan Kopecky – PLOS ONE

 

Metagenomic Insights into the RDX-Degrading Potential of the Ovine Rumen Microbiome – Robert W. Li – PLOS ONE

Plant microbiome

Functional Potential of Soil Microbial Communities in the Maize Rhizosphere – Xiangzhen Li – PLOS ONE

* Genome-wide association study of Arabidopsis thaliana leaf microbial community – Matthew W. Horton – Nature Communications

Environmental microbiome

A method for sampling microbial aerosols using high altitude balloons – N.C. Bryan – Journal of Microbiological Methods

Techniques

(preprint already featured here in July, but now officially out)
* Reagent and laboratory contamination can critically impact sequence-based microbiome analyses – Susannah J Salter – BMC Biology

* Diverse and Widespread Contamination Evident in the Unmapped Depths of High Throughput Sequencing Data – Richard W. Lusk – PLOS ONE

 

Reconceptualising the beta diversity-environmental heterogeneity relationship in running water systems – Jani Heino – Freshwater Biology

Microbes in the news

* Contaminomics: Why Some Microbiome Studies May Be Wrong – Ed Yong – National Geographic

* The Kitome: Dealing with the reagent microbiome – Pat Schloss – Mothur.org

DNA Extraction Kits Contaminated – Kerry Grens – The Scientist

Bik’s Picks

Serotonin lies at the intersection of pain and itch – Bethany Brookshire – ScienceNews

Rainbow palette found in Brooklyn’s contaminated water – Aviva Rutkin – New Scientist

This did not work on my cats, but feel free to try:
‘Cat Circles’, The Amazing Phenomenon In Which a Cat Will Always Sit Inside a Circle on the Floor – Lori Dorn – Laughing Squid

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Microbiome digest, October 15, 2014

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A seminar this Friday with Pat Schloss, but without HMP girl, aspartame and gut microbiome in a rat model, bacteria in arsenic contaminated soil, and inter-kingdom horizontal gene transfer.

Human oral microbiome

General Immune Status and Oral Microbiology in Patients with Different Forms of Periodontitis and Healthy Control Subjects – Jana Schmidt – PLOS ONE

“Subgingival plaque samples were taken from each individual and immediately cultivated for microbiological examination.”

Pregnancy and birth

* The vaginal microbiome, vaginal anti-microbial defence mechanisms and the clinical challenge of reducing infection-related preterm birth – SS Witkin – BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology

“Ascending bacterial infection is implicated in about 40–50% of preterm births. “

Animal models of microbiome research

* Low-Dose Aspartame Consumption Differentially Affects Gut Microbiota-Host Metabolic Interactions in the Diet-Induced Obese Rat – Marie S. A. Palmnäs – PLOS ONE

“Serum metabolomics analysis revealed aspartame to be rapidly metabolized and to be associated with elevations in the short chain fatty acid propionate, a bacterial end product and highly gluconeogenic substrate, potentially explaining its negative affects on insulin tolerance. “

Effect of dietary supplementation with resveratrol on nutrient digestibility, methanogenesis and ruminal microbial flora in sheep – T. Ma – Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition

“Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of resveratrol on methanogenesis and microbial flora in Dorper × thin-tailed Han cross-bred ewes. “

Soil microbiome

Changing precipitation pattern alters soil microbial community response to wet-up under a Mediterranean-type climate – Romain L Barnard – ISME Journal

“Here, we investigated the effects of extending winter rainfall into the normally dry summer period on soil microbial response to a controlled rewetting event”

Surface binding and intracellular uptake of arsenic in bacteria isolated from arsenic contaminated site – Neha Vishnoi, Sonal Dixit, D.P. Singh – Ecological Engineering

“The present study deals with the surface binding and uptake of arsenic (As) in two bacterial strains (Bacillus subtilis and Paenibacillus macerans) isolated from the As contaminated soil.”

Water microbiome

Effects of ecological engineered oxygenation on the bacterial community structure in an anoxic fjord in western Sweden – Michael Forth – ISME Journal

“We used molecular ecologic methods to study changes in bacterial community structure in response to the oxygenation in the Byfjord. “

Food microbiology

Assessment of the bacterial and fungal diversity in home-made yoghurts of Xinjiang, China by pyrosequencing – Haiyan Xu – Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

“The bacterial and fungal community diversity in 22 home-made yoghurt samples was analyzed by pyrosequencing. “

CRISPRs, phages, viruses

In Hopes Of Fixing Faulty Genes, One Scientist Starts With The Basics – Joe Palca – NPR Morning Edition

“That’s certainly true for Jennifer Doudna. She hasn’t won a Nobel Prize, but many are whispering that she’s in line to win one for her work on something called CRISPR/Cas9 — a tool for editing genes.”

Bioinformatics and metagenomics

* Inter-phylum HGT has shaped the metabolism of many mesophilic and anaerobic bacteria – Alejandro Caro-Quintero and Konstantinos T Konstantinidis – ISME Journal

“Here, we devised a novel bioinformatic pipeline, which minimized the effect of over-representation of specific taxa in the available databases and other limitations of homology-based approaches by analyzing genomes in standardized triplets, to quantify gene exchange between bacterial genomes representing different phyla. “

* Origins of major archaeal clades correspond to gene acquisitions from bacteria –
Shijulal Nelson-Sathi – Nature

“To investigate the origin of higher taxa in archaea, we have determined gene distributions and gene phylogenies for the 267,568 protein-coding genes of 134 sequenced archaeal genomes in the context of their homologues from 1,847 reference bacterial genomes.”

Evidence of Carbon Fixation Pathway in a Bacterium from Candidate Phylum SBR1093 Revealed with Genomic Analysis – Zhiping Wang – PLOS ONE

“A phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene reveals that the phylotypes within candidate phylum SBR1093 are primarily clustered into 5 clades with a shallow branching pattern. “

Metagenomic Approach Reveals Variation of Microbes with Arsenic and Antimony Metabolism Genes from Highly Contaminated Soil – Jinming Luo – PLOS ONE

“Metagenomic analysis revealed that microbes from 18 phyla were present in the 5 samples of soil contaminated with high As and Sb.”

More microbiology

* The Phylogeny of Everything, the Origin of Eukaryotes, and the Rules of Taxonomy: Death to Archaea, Bacteria, and Eucarya! Long live Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Eukaryota, and Prokaryota! – Judge Starling

“The molecular revelation based on orthologous ribosomal RNA sequences that prokaryotes are separable into two basic taxa—archaebacteria and eubacteria, and that these two taxa are approximately equidistant from eukaryotes, prompted Woese et al. (1990) to come up with a tripartite taxonomy of all life forms.”

Adhesion as a weapon in microbial competition – Jonas Schluter – ISME Journal

“We test the predictions of our model using the enteric pathogen Vibrio cholerae, which produces an extracellular matrix important for biofilm formation. “

Microbes in the news:

* Google Hangout on Friday: MicroSeminar: A new way of doing conferences – Pat Schloss

“You will not see HMP Girl, no quotes of specious statistics, no mention of obscure disease, and no venturing into the weeds of bioinformatics. I will be describing unpublished experiments from the lab where we have taken various sources of microorganisms and used them to colonize mice that lack their own microbiota.”

‘Grapes of Wrath’: Stomping out grape disease one vineyard at a time – Phys.org

“A Rochester Institute of Technology scientist and an RIT alumnus are close to completing the genetic blueprint, or microbiome, of grape crown gall tumor disease—the bane of vineyards worldwide. ”

Redefining Human: The Microbiome Documentary Series – Root House Studio – Kickstarter

“We know science documentaries can be painfully boring, so Redefining Human will use a variety of new techniques to turn this complex science into an informative and entertaining documentary series.”

What’s in my microbiome? – Richard Sprague

“To find out what’s in my microbiome now, I bought a $400 kit from the San Francisco company uBiome. “

Science, publishing and career

* Rise of the Rest: The Growing Impact of Non-Elite Journals – Anurag Acharya – Google / Arxiv

“Our analysis indicates that the number of top-1000 papers published in non-elite journals for the representative subject category went from 149 in 1995 to 245 in 2013, a growth of 64%.”

Review rewards – Welcome efforts are being made to recognize academics who give up their time to peer review – Nature Editorial

“A welcome movement is under way to publicly register and recognize the hitherto invisible efforts of referees.”

Overqualified or underqualified? – Carrie Arnold – Science

“As unemployment stretched from weeks into months, Milstein decided that her Ph.D. was working against her. “

 

Satire: Facebook Offers To Freeze Female Employee’s Newborn Children – The Onion

“Women deserve to have the option to postpone motherhood until they feel fully prepared, which is why Facebook will also cover the cryonic facility’s annual maintenance costs for as many years as our employees feel they need. “

Bik’s Picks

360-Degree View of the Tomato – Anna Azvolinsky – The Scientist

“Researchers have sequenced 360 varieties of the tomato plant to create a comprehensive map of the evolution of the fruit from its wild form to the modern varieties. “

Extinct giant kangaroos didn’t hop, they walked – Andy Coghlan – New Scientist

“They had faces like rabbits and some were 2 metres tall. But now it seems that an extinct giant kangaroo didn’t hop – it walked.“

 

Chimpanzees have favorite ‘tool set’ for hunting staple food of army ants – Science Daily

“New research shows that chimpanzees search for the right tools from a key plant species when preparing to ‘ant dip’ — a crafty technique enabling them to feast on army ants without getting bitten. “

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Non-human microbiome digest, October 6, 2014

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Microbiomes of cats with diabetes, vaginas of ewes and cows, chickens, hoopoes, Drosophila, sponges, plants, and subways.

Mammal Microbiome

* Faecal Microbiota of Cats with Insulin-Treated Diabetes Mellitus – Erin T. Bell – PLOS ONE

“Faecal samples were collected from insulin-treated diabetic and non-diabetic cats, and Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and quantitative PCR were performed on each sample. “

* Characterization of the vaginal microbiota of ewes and cows reveals a unique microbiota with low levels of lactobacilli and near-neutral pH – JD Swartz, M Lachman, K Westveer, T O’Neill, T Geary – Frontiers in Veterinary Science

“We amplified and sequenced the V3-V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA contents yielding a total of 907,667 high-quality reads. “

Avian microbiome

* The chicken gastrointestinal microbiome – Brian B. Oakley – FEMS Microbiology Letters

“In this mini-review, we provide an overview of the current state of knowledge of the chicken GI microbiome focusing on spatial and temporal variability, the presence and importance of human pathogens, the influence of the microbiota on the immune system, and the importance of the microbiome for poultry nutrition.”

Environmental Factors Shape the Community of Symbionts in the Hoopoe Uropygial Gland More than Genetic Factors – Magdalena Ruiz-Rodríguez – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“By disentangling the diversity of bacterial strains from the uropygium of hoopoes (Upupa epops) due to genetic relatedness or to a common environment, we explored the importance of horizontal (from the environment) and vertical (from parents) acquisition of antimicrobial-producing symbionts in this species.”

Insect Microbiome

Metagenome-Wide Association of Microbial Determinants of Host Phenotype in Drosophila melanogaster – John M. Chaston – mBio

“Monoassociation with bacteria that ectopically expressed a predicted oxidoreductase or gluconate dehydrogenase conferred reduced Drosophila TAG contents relative to the TAG contents in empty vector controls.”

Invertebrate microbiome

* Microbial Communities and Bioactive Compounds in Marine Sponges of the Family Irciniidae—A Review – Cristiane C. P. Hardoim and Rodrigo Costa – Marine Drugs

“The structure of these symbiont assemblages is shaped by the sponge host and is highly stable over space and time. “

Plant microbiome

Microbial genome-enabled insights into plant–microorganism interactions – David Guttman, Alice C. McHardy & Paul Schulze-Lefert – Nature Reviews Genetics

“… culture-independent community profiling methods, coupled with metagenomic and metatranscriptomic studies, have provided the first insights into the emerging field of research on plant-associated microbial communities.”

Soil microbiome

Site- and horizon-specific patterns of microbial community structure and enzyme activities in permafrost-affected soils of Greenland – Antje Gittel – Frontiers in Microbiology

“We assessed microbial community structure and diversity (SSU rRNA gene tag sequencing, quantification of bacteria, archaea and fungi), and measured hydrolytic and oxidative enzyme activities.”

Water microbiome

Illuminating Microbial Dark Matter in Meromictic Sakinaw Lake – Esther A. Gies – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“Here we describe diversity, abundance, and cooccurrence patterns of uncultivated microbial communities inhabiting the permanently stratified waters of meromictic Sakinaw Lake, British Columbia, Canada, using 454 sequencing of the small-subunit rRNA gene with three-domain resolution.”

Microbiome of the built environment

* Indoor-Air Microbiome in an Urban Subway Network: Diversity and Dynamics – Marcus H. Y. Leung – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“Overall, subway lines harbored different phylogenetic communities based on α- and β-diversity comparisons, and closer inspection suggests that each community within a line is dependent on architectural characteristics, nearby outdoor microbiomes, and connectedness with other lines. “

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Non-human microbiome digest, October 2, 2014

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Microbiomes of mares with colic, corals and ascidians, bacteria in plant seeds, ciprofloxacin in compost, and yeast in Turkish sausages.

Mammal microbiome

Diversity and Community Composition of Methanogenic Archaea in the Rumen of Scottish Upland Sheep Assessed by Different Methods – Timothy J. Snelling – PLOS ONE

“Sequences mapping to rumen 16S rRNA and mcrA gene references were extracted from Illumina metagenome data.“

* Temporal changes and the effect of subtherapeutic concentrations of antibiotics in the gut microbiota of swine – Devin B. Holman – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“In this study, the effect of two antibiotics on the swine gut microbiota over a 19-week monitoring period was investigated using Illumina-based sequencing. “

Changes in the faecal microbiota of mares precede the development of postpartum colic –
J. S. Weese – Equine Veterinary Journal

“Next generation sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was performed on samples from 13 mares that developed colic, 13 mares that did not display colic, and 5 non-pregnant controls.”

Bird microbiome

Correlations between changes in intestinal microbiota composition and performance parameters in broiler chickens – L. A. Rubio – Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition

“The composition of the intestinal microbiota was analysed by qPCR at different points of the intestinal tract, and a number of nutritional parameters were also determined.”

Insect microbiomes

Differential Genome Evolution Between Companion Symbionts in an Insect-Bacterial Symbiosis – Gordon M. Bennett – mBio

“To understand how symbiont genome degeneration proceeds, we compared the genomes of symbionts in two leafhopper species”

Metagenome-Wide Association of Microbial Determinants of Host Phenotype in Drosophila melanogaster – John M. Chaston – mBio

“.. we measured two microbiota-responsive host traits, development time and triglyceride (TAG) content, in Drosophila melanogaster flies monoassociated with each of 41 bacterial strains.”

Invertebrate microbiome

Quorum Sensing Signal Production and Microbial Interactions in a Polymicrobial Disease of Corals and the Coral Surface Mucopolysaccharide Layer – Beth L. Zimmer – PLOS ONE

“These findings demonstrate for the first time that AHLs are present in an active coral disease.”

The secret to a successful relationship: lasting chemistry between ascidians and their symbiotic bacteria – Eric W. Schmidt – Invertebrate Biology

Plant microbiome

Plants prepackage beneficial microbes in their seeds – Phys.org

“The researchers, from the University of Notre Dame, presented their findings today at the 5th ASM Conference on Beneficial Microbes.”

Cave microbiome

* Mycobiome of the Bat White Nose Syndrome Affected Caves and Mines Reveals Diversity of Fungi and Local Adaptation by the Fungal Pathogen Pseudogymnoascus (Geomyces) destructans – Tao Zhang – PLOS ONE

“This study was conducted in 2010–2011 in New York and Vermont using 90 samples from four mines and two caves situated within the epicenter of WNS. “

Soil and sediment microbiome

Differential distribution and abundance of diazotrophic bacterial communities across different soil niches using a gene-targeted clone library approach – Basit Yousuf – FEMS Microbiology Letters

“Differential occurrence of diazotrophs was studied by the nifH gene-targeted clone library approach.”

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Bacterial Diversity in Sediments of Sundarbans Using Parallel 16S rRNA Gene Tag Sequencing – Pijush Basak – Microbial Ecology

“The total sediment DNA was extracted and subjected to the 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing, which resulted in 117 Mbp of data from three experimental stations. “

Ciprofloxacin residues in municipal biosolids compost do not selectively enrich populations of resistant bacteria – Caitlin P. Youngquist – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“Regression analysis showed that growth of the susceptible strain of E. coli can be reduced given a sufficiently high concentration of ciprofloxacin (P<0.007), a result that is consistent with adsorption being the primary mechanism of sequestration. “

Biogeographic patterns in below-ground diversity in New York City’s Central Park are similar to those observed globally – Kelly S. Ramirez – Proceedings of the Royal Society B

“Here, we present an assessment of soil biodiversity and biogeographic patterns across Central Park in New York City that spanned all three domains of life, demonstrating that even an urban, managed system harbours large amounts of undescribed soil biodiversity.”

Water microbiome

Abundance and Dynamics of Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Integrons in Lake Sediment Microcosms – Björn Berglund – PLOS ONE

“Resistance genes sulI and ermB were quantified in the microcosm sediments with mean abundances 5 and 15 gene copies/106 16S rRNA gene copies, respectively. “

Microbial composition of the activated sludge of Moscow wastewater treatment plants
A. Yu. Kallistova – Microbiology

“FISH investigation revealed that aerobic sludge were eubacterial communities; the metabolically active archaea contributed insignificantly.”

Phytoplankton, bacterioplankton and virioplankton structure and function across the southern Great Barrier Reef shelf – Daniel M. Alongi – Journal of Marine Systems

“Phytoplankton, bacteria and virus dynamics are driven by across-shelf changes in water chemistry and hydrography.”

Food microbiology

Pulque production from fermented agave sap as a dietary supplement in Prehispanic Mesoamerica – Marisol Correa-Ascencio – PNAS

“A novel bacterial lipid biomarker approach is reported, which provides a new means of documenting the consumption of bacterially fermented alcoholic beverages in antiquity worldwide.”

Biodiversity of Yeast Mycobiota in “Sucuk,” a Traditional Turkish Fermented Dry Sausage: Phenotypic and Genotypic Identification, Functional and Technological Properties – Ismet Ozturk, and Osman Sagdic – Journal of Food Science

“The yeast isolates were determined as genotypic using 2 different polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods (rep-PCR and RAPD-PCR).”

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Non-human microbiome digest, September 29, 2014

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Microbiome of house mice, rumen, fish species in the same pond, sponges and corals, coastal sediments, and mycobacteria and amoeba in drinking water.

Mammal microbiome

Gastrointestinal microbiota of wild and inbred individuals of two house mouse subspecies assessed using high-throughput parallel pyrosequencing – Jakub Kreisinger – Molecular Ecology

“Using 454 pyrosequencing, we performed 16S rDNA GTM barcoding for 30 wild house mice (Mus musculus) and wild-derived inbred strain mice belonging to two subspecies (M. m. musculus and M. m. domesticus)”

Study of methanogen communities associated with different rumen protozoal populations – Alejandro Belanche – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“Rumen protozoa were harvested from totally faunated sheep, and six protozoal fractions (plus free-living microorganisms) were generated by sequential filtration. “

Microbial profiles of liquid and solid fraction associated biomaterial in buffalo rumen fed green and dry roughage diets by tagged 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing – K. M. Singh – Molecular Biology Reports

“The rumen bacterial composition of both liquid and solid fraction was surveyed using pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene.”

Bacterial Community Composition and Fermentation Patterns in the Rumen of Sika Deer (Cervus nippon) Fed Three Different Diets – Zhipeng Li – Microbial Ecology

“The present study used 454-pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes to examine the relationship between rumen bacterial diversity and metabolic phenotypes using three sika deer in a 3 × 3 latin square design.”

Fish microbiome

* Do the intestinal microbiotas differ between paddlefish (Polyodon spathala) and bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) reared in the same pond? – X.M. Li – Journal of Applied Microbiology

“After 30 days of rearing, the intestinal microbiota of the two fish species was assessed by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes.”

Tending a complex microbiota requires major immune complexity – Keaton Stagaman – Molecular Ecology

“In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Bolnick et al. (2014a) sample the gut microbial community from 150 genetically diverse stickleback isolated from a single lake”

Insect microbiome

The bacterial microbiota of Stolotermes ruficeps (Stolotermitidae), a phylogenetically basal termite endemic to New Zealand – Nicola M. Reid – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“We identified core bacterial taxa involved in gut processes through combined DNA- and RNA (cDNA)-based pyrosequencing analysis of the 16S nucleotide sequence from five S. ruficeps colonies.”

Genetic groups and endosymbiotic microbiota of the Bemisia tabaci species complex in Japanese agricultural sites – A. Fujiwara – Journal of Applied Entomology

“Use of the cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence technique and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene sequencing detected five genetic groups”

Sponge and Coral microbiome

Phylogenetic signal in the community structure of host-specific microbiomes of tropical marine sponges – Cole G. Easson and Robert W. Thacker – Frontiers in Microbiology

“As part of the Earth Microbiome Project, we surveyed the microbiomes associated with 20 species of tropical marine sponges collected over a narrow geographic range.”

* Onset and establishment of diazotrophs and other bacterial associates in the early life history stages of the coral Acropora millepora – Kimberley A. Lema – Molecular Ecology

“Using an amplicon pyrosequencing approach, the diversity of both nitrogen-fixing bacteria and of bacterial communities overall was assessed through analysis of nifH and 16S rRNA genes, respectively. “

Biogeography rather than association with cyanobacteria structures symbiotic microbial communities in the marine sponge Petrosia ficiformis  – Ilia Burgsdorf – Forntiers in Microbiology

“16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing data of the microbial communities revealed that Chloroflexi, Gammaproteobacteria and Acidobacteria dominated the bacterial communities of all sponges analyzed. “

Soil and sediments microbiome

Interactive effects of C, N and P fertilization on soil microbial community structure and function in an Amazonian rain forest – Nicolas Fanin – Functional Ecology

“Changes in microbial community structure did not affect rates of general processes such as glucose mineralization and cellulose paper decomposition. “

* 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 .. were compared by shotgun metaproteogenomics.”

Effect of plankton-derived organic matter on the microbial community of coastal marine sediments – Paula Carpintero de Moraes – Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

“Analyses of molecular fingerprints of bacterial communities by denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis (DGGE) showed differences in bacterial community composition between both treatments and control just after algae addition. “

Rapid bacterial colonization of low-density polyethylene microplastics in coastal sediment microcosms – Jesse P Harrison – BMC Microbiology

“Sequencing of cloned 16S rRNA genes demonstrated that these communities were dominated after 14 days by the genera Arcobacter and Colwellia “

Water microbiome

Picky, hungry eaters in the cold: persistent substrate selectivity among polar pelagic microbial communities – Andrew D. Steen and Carol Arnosti – Frontiers in Microbiology

“The purpose of this study was to investigate potential factors preventing hydrolysis of pullulan in Svalbard fjord waters. “

Saltwater intrusion history shapes the response of bacterial communities upon rehydration – Tiffanie M. Nelson – Science of The Total Environment

“Bacterial community composition before and after treatment were measured using next generation sequencing of bacterial DNA. “

Diversity of marine microbes in a changing Mediterranean Sea – Gian Marco Luna – Rendiconti Lincei

“This review aims at summarizing the knowledge on microbial diversity in the basin, by focusing on prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) in pelagic and benthic habitats. “

* First evidence of amoebae – mycobacteria association in drinking water network – Vincent Delafont – Environmental Science & Technology

“Direct Sanger sequencing as well as pyrosequencing of environmental isolates demonstrated the frequent association of mycobacteria and FLA”

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Non-human microbiome digest, September 15, 2014

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Microbiomes of seals, sheep, pigs, raw milk, cheese, rubber, ocean, freshwater, acid mine drainage, deepsea basalt, and insects.

Mammal microbiome

Isolated faecal bacterial communities found for Weddell seals, Leptonychotes weddellii, at White Island, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica – Jonathan C. Banks – Polar Biology

“Here, we used 16S sequences obtained from clone libraries to characterise the faecal microbiota of Weddell seals breeding in McMurdo Sound and at White Island, Antarctica.”

Study of methanogen communities associated with different rumen protozoal populations – Alejandro Belanche – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“Rumen protozoa were harvested from totally-faunated sheep and six protozoal fractions (plus free-living microbes) were generated by sequential filtration. “

Temporal changes and the effect of subtherapeutic concentrations of antibiotics in the gut microbiota of swine – Devin B. Holman and Martin R. Chénier – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“In this study, the effect of two antibiotics on the swine gut microbiota over a 19-week monitoring period was investigated using Illumina-based sequencing.”

Development of a phylogenetic microarray for comprehensive analysis of ruminal bacterial communities – M. Kim – Journal of Applied Microbiology

“The utility of the RumenBactArray was tested using fractionated rumen samples obtained from sheep fed two different diets.”

Characterization of the Fecal Microbiota of Pigs before and after Inoculation with “Brachyspira hampsonii” – Matheus O. Costa – PLOS ONE

“Fecal microbiota profiles were generated based on amplification and sequencing of the cpn60 universal target sequence from 89 samples from 18 pigs collected at −8, −5, −3 and 0 days post-inoculation, and at termination.”

Spatial heterogeneity of gut microbiota reveals multiple bacterial communities with distinct characteristics – Hsiao-Pei Lu – Scientific Reports

“We analyzed bacterial communities of six distinct gut sites (the food bolus and mucus layer of the proximal small intestine, cecum and distal large intestine), using wild folivorous flying squirrels.”

Insect microbiome

Dynamics of midgut microflora and dengue virus impact on life history traits in Aedes aegypti – Casey L. Hill – Acta Tropica

“Here we investigated the effects of the midgut microbial environment and dengue infection on several fitness characteristics among three strains of the primary dengue virus vector mosquito Aedes aegypti. “

Anterior Foregut Microbiota of the Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Explored Using Deep 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing from Individual Insects – Elizabeth E. Rogers – PLOS ONE

“Here, a survey of microbiota associated with the GWSS anterior foregut was conducted.”

The bacterial microbiota of Stolotermes ruficeps (Stolotermitidae), a phylogenetically basal termite endemic to New Zealand – Nicola M. Reid – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“We identified core bacterial taxa involved in gut processes through combined DNA- and RNA (cDNA)-based pyrosequencing analysis of 16S rRNA from five S. ruficeps colonies.”

Sponge and coral microbiome

Molecular diversity of fungal and bacterial communities in the marine sponge Dragmacidon reticulatum – Michel R. Z. Passarini – Journal of Basic Microbiology

“The present work aimed to investigate the diversity of bacteria and filamentous fungi of southern Atlantic Ocean marine sponge Dragmacidon reticulatum using cultivation-independent approaches.”

Host-specific microbial communities in three sympatric North Sea sponges – Mohd Azrul Naim – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“In this study, we assessed the diversity of the microbial communities hosted by three sympatric sponges living in a semi-enclosed North Sea environment using pyrosequencing of bacterial and archaeal 16S ribosomal RNA gene fragments.”

Plant microbiome

Micro-organisms in latex and natural rubber coagula of Hevea brasiliensis and their impact on rubber composition, structure and properties – M. Salomez – Journal of Applied Microbiology

“This review synthesizes the current knowledge on microbial populations in latex and natural rubber coagula of H. brasiliensis and the changes they induce on the biochemistry and technical properties of natural rubber during maturation.”

Soils, sediments, and rocks microbiomes

A role for biotic filtering in driving phylogenetic clustering in soil bacterial communities – Marta Goberna – Global Ecology and Biogeography

“Here, we used phylogeny-based methods to discern whether the coexistence of evolutionarily related soil bacteria results from abiotic and/or biotic filtering.”

Microbial community composition and in-silico predicted metabolic potential reflect biogeochemical gradients between distinct peatland types – Zuzana Urbanová and Jiří Bárta – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“..we investigated biogeochemical parameters and microbial community composition in a bog, a fen and two SSF using high throughput barcoded sequencing of the small ribosomal subunit (SSU) variable region V4.”

Deep-biosphere consortium of fungi and prokaryotes in Eocene subseafloor basalts – S. Bengtson – Geobiology

“We report here a consortium of fossilized prokaryotic and eukaryotic micro-organisms, occupying cavities in deep-drilled vesicular basalt from the Emperor Seamounts, Pacific Ocean, 67.5 m below seafloor (mbsf). “

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

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

Water microbiome

Spatial and seasonal variation in diversity and structure of microbial biofilms on marine plastics in Northern European waters – Sonja Oberbeckmann – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing analysis revealed that plastisphere microbial communities on PET fragments varied both with season and location”

Biogeographic patterns in ocean microbes emerge in a neutral agent-based model – Ferdi L. Hellweger – Science

“We quantify the role of neutral processes by simulating division, mutation, and death of 100,000 individual marine bacteria cells with full 1 million–base-pair genomes in a global surface ocean circulation model. “

Microbial gardening in the ocean’s twilight zone: Detritivorous metazoans benefit from fragmenting, rather than ingesting, sinking detritus – Daniel J. Mayor – BioEssays

“Here we speculate that this apparently counterintuitive behaviour is an example of ‘microbial gardening’, a strategy that exploits the enzymatic and biosynthetic capabilities of microorganisms to facilitate the ‘gardener’s’ access to a suite of otherwise unavailable compounds that are essential for metazoan life.”

Diversity and spatiotemporal dynamics of bacterial communities: physicochemical and other drivers along an acid mine drainage – Aurélie Volant – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“… biodiversity and spatiotemporal distribution of bacterial communities were characterized using T-RFLP fingerprinting and high-throughput sequencing. “

Diversity and activity of marine bacterioplankton during a diatom bloom in the North Sea assessed by total RNA and pyrotag sequencing – Anna Klindworth – Marine Genomics

“In this study we re-analyzed samples from the initial study by total community RNA (metatranscriptomics) and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing.”

Effects of High Hydrostatic Pressure on Coastal Bacterial Community Abundance and Diversity – Angeliki Marietou and Douglas H. Bartlett – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“Culturable high-pressure-surviving bacteria were obtained and found to be phylogenetically similar to isolates from cold and/or deep-sea environments. “

A high-throughput sequencing ecotoxicology study of freshwater bacterial communities and their responses to tebuconazole – Noémie Pascault – 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.”

Food Microbiology

Microbial Ecology Dynamics Reveal a Succession in the Core Microbiota Involved in the Ripening of Pasta Filata Caciocavallo Pugliese Cheese – Ilaria De Pasquale – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“Pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA targeting RNA, community-level physiological profiles made with Biolog EcoPlates, proteolysis, and volatile component (VOC) analyses were mainly used to characterize the manufacture and ripening of the pasta filata cheese Caciocavallo Pugliese.”

Tracing the origin of raw milk from farm by using Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA) fingerprinting of microbiota – Maria Feligini – Food Control

“A total of 64 markers within the range 279–756 bp were detected on the thirty-eight bulk milk samples, none of which was common to all the patterns. “

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Non-human microbiome, August 5, 2014

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Microbiome papers on giraffes, sheeps, sponges and corals, soybean, soil, seawater, and fungi found in vacuum cleaner dust.

Mammal microbiome

The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) rumen microbiome – Michael Roggenbuck, Cathrine Sauer, Morten Poulsen, Mads F. Bertelsen, Søren Johannes Sørensen – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“Here we investigated the microbial community of 7 wild-caught giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis), 3 of which were fed natural browse and 4 were fed Boskos pellets, leafy alfalfa hay and cut savanna browse, by characterizing the 16S rRNA gene diversity using 454 FLX high throughput sequencing. “

Two Different Bacterial Community Types Are Linked with the Low-Methane Emission Trait in Sheep – Sandra Kittelmann – PLOS ONE

“Bacterial community structures in 236 rumen samples from 118 high- and low-CH4 emitting sheep formed gradual transitions between three ruminotypes. Two of these (Q and S) were linked to significantly lower CH4 yields”

Invertebrate microbiome

Host-specific microbial communities in three sympatric North Sea sponges – Mohd Azrul Naim, Jose A. Morillo, Søren J. Sørensen, Waleed Abu Al-Soud, Hauke Smidt and Detmer Sipkema – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“In this study we assessed the diversity of the microbial communities hosted by three sympatric sponges living in a semi-enclosed North-Sea environment using pyrosequencing of bacterial and archaeal 16S ribosomal RNA gene fragments.”

Host-specific microbial communities in three sympatric North Sea sponges– Mohd Azrul Naim – FEMS Microbiology Ecology

“In this study we assessed the diversity of the microbial communities hosted by three sympatric sponges living in a semi-enclosed North-Sea environment using pyrosequencing of bacterial and archaeal 16S ribosomal RNA gene fragments. “

Disturbance to conserved bacterial communities in the cold water gorgonian coral Eunicella verrucosa – Emma Ransome – FEMS Microbial Ecology

“The bacterial communities associated with healthy and diseased colonies of the cold water gorgonian coral Eunicella verrucosa at three sites off the south-west coast of England were compared using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and clone libraries. “

Application of a new cultivation technology, I-tip, for studying microbial diversity in freshwater sponges of Lake Baikal, Russia – Dawoon Jung – FEMS Microbial Ecology

“The I-tip was developed as an in situ cultivation device that allows microorganisms to enter and natural chemical compounds to diffuse, thereby permitting the microorganisms to grow utilizing chemical compounds in their natural environment. “

Plant microbiome

Comparison of the Rhizosphere Bacterial Communities of Zigongdongdou Soybean and a High-Methionine Transgenic Line of This Cultivar – Jingang Liang – PLOS ONE

“Using 16S rRNA gene-based pyrosequencing analysis of the V4 region and DNA extracted from bacterial consortia collected from the rhizosphere of soybean plants grown in an agricultural field at the pod-setting stage, we characterized the populational structure of the bacterial community involved.”

Soil microbiome

Exploring the immediate and long-term impact on bacterial communities in soil amended with animal and urban organic waste fertilizers using pyrosequencing and screening for horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance – Leise Riber, Pernille Hasse Busk Poulsen, Waleed Abu Al-Soud, Lea Benedicte Skov Hansen, Lasse Bergmark, Asker Brejnrod, Anders Norman, Lars Hestbjerg Hansen, Jakob Magid andSøren Johannes Sørensen – FEMS Microbiology Immunology

“Soils were sampled in weeks 0, 3, 9 and 29 after fertilizer application. Pseudomonas isolates were enumerated, and the impact on soil-bacterial community structure was investigated using 16S-rRNA amplicon pyrosequencing.”

Microbial Diversity in Hummock and Hollow Soils of Three Wetlands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Revealed by 16S rRNA Pyrosequencing – Yongcui Deng – PLOS ONE

“Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) indicated that the microbial community structure differed between locations and microtopographies and canonical correspondence analysis indicated an association between microbial community structure and soil properties or geography. “

Seawater microbiome

Metaproteomics reveals differential modes of metabolic coupling among ubiquitous oxygen minimum zone microbes – Alyse K. Hawley, Heather M. Brewer, Angela D. Norbeck, Ljiljana Paša-Tolić, and Steven J. Hallam – PNAS USA

“Here we use metagenomic and metaproteomic methods to chart in situ metabolic networks linking key microbial players driving carbon and nutrient cycling in a seasonally stratified fjord, Saanich Inlet”

Sequencing on the Seven Seas – Rina Shaikh-Lesko – The Scientist

“Researchers have installed an advanced genomics lab facility aboard a boat to create a floating molecular testing facility for marine life sciences”

Microbiome of the Built Environment

Characterization of Fungal Communities in House Dust Samples Collected From Central Portugal—A Preliminary Survey – Ana C.A. Sousa – Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health

“A total of 28 samples were obtained from vacuum cleaner deposits from households located in central Portugal. DNA was extracted from dust samples and fungal communities were analyzed using a culture-independent polymerase chain reaction (PCR)– denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approach. “

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Non-human microbiome

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Microbiome of sheep, Drosophila on cherries, wild and sugar beets, sauerkraut, sake, and cheese. Sounds like a good meal.
Sheep microbiome

Pros and Cons of Ion-Torrent Next Generation Sequencing versus Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism T-RFLP for Studying the Rumen Bacterial Community – Gabriel de la Fuente – PLOS ONE

“We analysed the bacterial diversity in the rumen of defaunated sheep following the introduction of different protozoal populations, using both next generation sequencing (NGS: Ion Torrent PGM) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP).”

Insect microbiome

The bacterial communities of Drosophila suzukii collected from undamaged cherries
James Angus Chandler – PeerJ

“Using 16S rDNA PCR and Illumina sequencing, we characterized the bacterial communities of larval and adult D. suzukii collected from undamaged, attached cherries in California, USA. “

Evaluating Insect-Microbiomes at the Plant-Insect Interface – Clare L. Casteel, Allison K. Hansen – Journal of Chemical Ecology

“In this review, we critically evaluate the requirements for insect-associated microbes to develop synergistic relationships with their hosts, and we mechanistically discuss how some of these insect-associated microbes can target or modify host plant defenses.”

Saccharide breakdown and fermentation by the honey bee gut microbiome
Authors – Fredrick J. Lee – Environmental microbiology

“In order to better understand the contribution of the microbial community to food processing in the honey bee, we generated a metatranscriptome of the honey bee gut microbiome.”

Plant microbiome

Differences between the rhizosphere microbiome of Beta vulgaris ssp. maritima – ancestor of all beet crops – and modern sugar beets – Christin Zachow – Frontiers in Microbiology

“Therefore, we studied bacterial rhizosphere communities associated with the wild beet B. vulgaris ssp. maritima grown in their natural habitat soil from coastal drift lines (CS) and modern sugar beets (Beta vulgaris ssp. vulgaris) cultivated in CS and potting soil (PS) under greenhouse conditions.”

Endophytic bacterial community of grapevine leaves influenced by sampling date and phytoplasma infection process – Daniela Bulgari – BMC Microbiology

“Metagenomic DNA was extracted from sterilized leaves and the endophytic bacterial community dynamic and diversity were analyzed by taxon specific real-time PCR, Length-Heterogeneity PCR and genus-specific PCR. “

Water microbiology

Core Functional Traits of Bacterial Communities in the Upper Mississippi River Show Limited Variation in Response to Land Cover – Christopher Staley – Frontiers in Microbiology

“In this study we characterized functional microbial diversity at 11 sites along the Mississippi River in Minnesota using both metagenomic sequencing and functional-inference-based (PICRUSt) approaches.”

Potential drivers of microbial community structure and function in Arctic snow – Lorrie Maccario – Frontiers in Microbiology

“We applied a metagenomic approach to nine snow samples taken over two months during the spring season. Fungi, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria were predominant in metagenomic datasets and changes in community structure were apparent throughout the field season.”

Soil microbiology

Nutrient addition dramatically accelerates microbial community succession – Knelman JE – PLOS ONE

“We evaluated soil properties and examined bacterial community composition in plots before and one year after fertilization.”

Food microbiology

Sauerkraut: bacteria making food – S.E. Gould – Lab Rat – Scientific American

“As the bacteria required for sauerkraut fermentation are found on the cabbage leaves, it’s a very easy and healthy dish to produce. All you need is cabbage! “

Indigenous bacteria and fungi drive traditional kimoto sake fermentations
Nicholas A. Bokulich – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“Results demonstrate a dynamic microbial succession, with koji and early moto fermentations dominated by Bacillus, Staphylococcus, and Aspergillus flavus subsp. oryzae, succeeded by Lactobacillus spp. and Saccharomyces cerevisiae later in the fermentations. “

Microbiota characterization of a Belgian protected designation of origin cheese, Herve cheese, using metagenomic analysis – V. Delcenserie – Journal of Dairy Science

“The aim of the study was to analyze the bacterial microbiota of Herve cheese using classical microbiology and a metagenomic approach based on 16S ribosomal DNA pyrosequencing. “

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Non-human microbiome, June 18

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Microbiomes of horses, sheep, chicken, plants in Chili, built environment and rocks.

General microbiomes of animals

Viral Metagenomics on Animals as a Tool for the Detection of Zoonoses Prior to Human Infection? – Sarah Temmam – Int J Mol Sci

“In this review, we summarize our current knowledge of viral diversity within such animals (in particular blood-feeding arthropods, wildlife and domestic animals) using metagenomics and present its possible future application for the surveillance of zoonotic and arboviral diseases.”

Horse microbiome

Screen Shot 2014-06-18 at 9.39.22 PMFaecal Microbiome of the Thoroughbred Racehorse and Its Response to Dietary Amylase Supplementation – Proudman C – Equine Veterinary Journal

“Amplicons for the V1-V3 region of the 16S rDNA gene were multiplexed and sequenced on the 454 resulting in ∼25,000 reads per sample. Differences in bacterial community structure were detected by linear discriminant analysis.”

Sheep microbiome

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.48.40 PMMethane yield phenotypes linked to differential gene expression in the sheep rumen microbiome – Weibing Shi – Genome Research

“Deep metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing demonstrated the presence of methanogens both in the highest and lowest methane-producing sheep, with a similar abundance of methanogens and methanogenesis pathway genes in high and low methane emitters. “

Chicken microbiome

ChickenSpatial heterogeneity and stability of bacterial community in the gastrointestinal tracts of broiler chickens – J. H. Choi – Poultry Science

“Bacterial communities in the different regions of gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of broiler chickens were analyzed by pyrosequencing approach to understand microbial composition and diversity. “

Squid microbiome

SquidThe real threat posed by discover of antibiotic- resistent bacteria found in squid – Robert Lawrence and Patrick Baron, Baltimore – Washington Post

“The Food and Drug Administration can, and should, do more to limit the misuse of antibiotics in the production of food animals, whether terrestrial or aquatic, in order to reduce the risk of accelerating antibiotic resistance.”

Plant microbiome

Bacterial community structure and detection of putative plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria associated with plants grown in Chilean agro-ecosystems and undisturbed ecosystems – Milko A. Jorquera – Biology and Fertility of Soils

“Soil microorganisms with phytase- and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase activities are widely studied as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Here, we explored the bacterial community structure and occurrence of putative PGPR in plants grown in agro-ecosystems and undisturbed ecosystems from northern, central, and southern Chile.”

Built Environment Microbiome

housesmicroBEnet: Lessons Learned from Building an Interdisciplinary Scientific Community in the Online Sphere – Holly M. Bik, David A. Coil, Jonathan A. Eisen – PLOS Biology

“The microbiology of the Built Environment network (microBEnet: http://www.microbe.net/) was formed as an experiment in interdisciplinary community building, with an overarching goal to facilitate and nurture the development of a new research field: the microbiology of the built environment (MBE). “

Water microbiome

Review: Emerging Strategies and Integrated Systems Microbiology Technologies for Biodiscovery of Marine Bioactive Compounds – Javier Rocha-Martin – Marine Drugs

“Recent advances in genomics, metagenomics, proteomics, combinatorial biosynthesis, synthetic biology, screening methods, expression systems, bioinformatics, and the ever increasing availability of sequenced genomes provides us with more opportunities than ever in the discovery of novel bioactive compounds and biocatalysts.”

From community approaches to single-cell genomics: the discovery of ubiquitous hyperhalophilic Bacteroidetes generalists – María Gomariz – ISME Journal

“Here we have characterized the temporal variation during 1 year of the microbiota of five ponds with increasing salinity (from 18% to >40%), by means of CARD-FISH and DGGE.”

Soil and rock microbiome

Mineral Microniches Control the Diversity of Subsurface Microbial Populations – Aaron A. Jones – Geomicrobiology Journal

“These results suggest that adaptations to specific rocks are retained even when the organism is displaced in time and space from an ancestral rock habitat.”

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More Microbiology and Science, June 5

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Today we’ll learn why koalas hug trees, how to grow plants taller using blood and bacteria, and how to (not) get sick in a veterinary hospital.

Infection, host response, sepsis

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.35.13 PMGene Expression Profiles of Human Dendritic Cells Interacting with Aspergillus fumigatus in a Bilayer Model of the Alveolar Epithelium/Endothelium Interface – Charles Oliver Morton – PLOS ONE

“Two distinct sub-groups of dendritic cells (DC), monocyte-derived DC (moDC) and myeloid DC (mDC), were included in the model to examine immune responses to fungal infection at the alveolar surface”

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.52.36 PMDusp3 and Psme3 Are Associated with Murine Susceptibility to Staphylococcus aureus Infection and Human Sepsis – Qin Yan – PLOS Pathogens

“One QTL region on chromosome 11 containing 422 genes was found to be significantly associated with susceptibility to S. aureus infection. “

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.36.06 PMAn Individual-Based Model of Transmission of Resistant Bacteria in a Veterinary Teaching Hospital – Neeraj Suthar – PLOS ONE

“The model suggested that transmission resulting from contact with healthcare workers was common, and that certain transmission points (housing wards, diagnostics room, and the intensive care unit) presented higher risk for transmission than others (lobby and surgery). “

Dengue

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.36.42 PMInduction of Neutralizing Antibody Response against Four Dengue Viruses in Mice by Intramuscular Electroporation of Tetravalent DNA Vaccines – Eakachai Prompetchara – PLOS ONE

“This study evaluated neutralizing antibody (NAb) induction of a dengue tetravalent DNA (TDNA) vaccine candidate administered by intramuscular-electroporation (IM-EP) and the benefit of homologous TDNA boosting in mice.”

Circulating Levels of Soluble MICB in Infants with Symptomatic Primary Dengue Virus Infections – Daniel H. Libraty – PLOS ONE

“We found that serum levels of sMICB increased between pre-infection and acute illness among infants with symptomatic primary dengue virus infections”

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.37.27 PMImmature Dengue Virus Is Infectious in Human Immature Dendritic Cells via Interaction with the Receptor Molecule DC-SIGN – Mareike K. S. Richter – PLOS ONE

“We show that immature DENV is infectious in cells expressing DC-SIGN. Furthermore, we demonstrate that immature dendritic cells, in contrast to macrophage-like cells, do not support antibody-dependent enhancement of immature DENV.”

Viruses and Phages

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.39.02 PMThe distribution and impact of viral lineages in domains of life – Arshan Nasir

“the distribution of viral lineages follows an ancient, highly dynamic and ongoing process that impacts the evolution of organisms. New viral lineages often arise from existing ones and may cross species barriers to infect new hosts”

Alternative invention for shrimp bacterial pathogens wins patent – Times of India

“Dr Indrani Karunasagar, director, UNESCO Centre for marine Biotechnology and Associate Director of Research, has received the patent for “the process of preparing a consortium of bacteriophages for controlling luminous bacterial disease in shrimp larvae.” Like a virus, a lytic bacteriophage is a virus that infects and replicates within the bacteria and kills it. “

Microbial Ecology

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.53.35 PMThe microbial contribution to macroecology – Albert Barberán – Frontiers in Microbiology

“We highlight two idiosyncrasies of microorganisms that are fundamental to understanding macroecological patterns and their mechanistic drivers. First, high dispersal rates provide novel opportunities to test the relative importance of niche, stochastic, and historical processes in structuring biological communities. Second, high speciation rates potentially lead to the convergence of ecological and evolutionary time scales.”

More microbiology

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.40.05 PMInteractions between Bacillus anthracis and Plants May Promote Anthrax Transmission
Holly H. Ganz – PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases

“We found that B. anthracis increased the rate of establishment of a native grass (Enneapogon desvauxii) by 50% and that grass seeds exposed to blood reached heights that were 45% taller than controls.”

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.54.21 PMTo be or not to be associated: power study of four statistical modeling approaches to identify parasite associations in cross-sectional studies – Elise Vaumourin – Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

“We applied these four approaches to detect associations within two populations of multi-infected hosts: (1) rodents infected with Bartonella sp., Babesia microti and Anaplasma phagocytophilum and (2) bovine population infected with Theileria sp. and Babesia sp”

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.47.24 PMPCR performance of a thermostable heterodimeric archaeal DNA polymerase – Tom Killelea – Frontiers in Microbiology, Evolutionary and Genomic Microbiology

“Here we looked at the PCR performances of the proof-reading D-type DNA polymerase from P. abyssi, Pab-polD. Fragments, 3 kilobases in length, were specifically PCR-amplified in its optimized reaction buffer. Pab-polD showed not only a greater resistance to high denaturation temperatures than Taq during cycling, but also a superior tolerance to the presence of potential inhibitors. “

Arsenic metabolism

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.50.18 PMArsenic and old toenails – University of British Columbia

“We successfully recruited 35,000 Atlantic Canadians whose health will be tracked over the next 25 years, and the project will be a major resource for cancer prevention research. More than 22,000 participants provided blood and toenail clippings, which ended up being an official Guinness World Record.”

Marine Mammals (and turtles)

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.51.14 PMSatellite Tracking of Sympatric Marine Megafauna Can Inform the Biological Basis for Species Co-Management – Christian Gredzens – PLOS ONE

“Fast-acquisition satellite telemetry was used to track eleven dugongs and ten green turtles at two geographically distinct foraging locations in Queensland, Australia to evaluate the inter- and intra-species spatial relationships and assess the efficacy of existing protection zones. “

Dr. Bik’s Picks

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.48.40 PMThe sheep genome illuminates biology of the rumen and lipid metabolism – Yu Jiang- Science

“We have developed and analyzed a high-quality reference sheep genome and transcriptomes from 40 different tissues. We identified highly expressed genes encoding keratin cross-linking proteins associated with rumen evolution.”

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.55.17 PMMapping the Global Distribution of Livestock – Timothy P. Robinson – PLOS ONE

“This paper describes the current approach in detail and presents new global distribution maps at 1 km resolution for cattle, pigs and chickens, and a partial distribution map for ducks. These digital layers are made publically available via the Livestock Geo-Wiki (http://www.livestock.geo-wiki.org), as will be the maps of other livestock types as they are produced.”

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 9.02.51 PMCatfish ‘See’ Their Next Meal with Acid-Sensing Whiskers – Charles Q. Choi – LiveScience

“Catfish have evolved sensors on their whiskers that can help the animals hunt in the dark by detecting slight changes in water acidity, the first time such sensors have been seen in fish, researchers say.”

Screen Shot 2014-06-05 at 8.56.34 PMWhy Koalas Hug Trees – Tia Ghose – LiveScience

“Now, scientists have figured out why the iconic Australian marsupials hug trees: The trunks help the koala bears keep cool, according to a new study.”

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