Tag Archives: virome

December 12, 2025

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Animal microbiome

Human-derived fecal virome transplantation (FVT) reshapes the murine gut microbiota and virome, enhancing glucose regulation – Cervantes-Echeverría – PLOS ONE

TTSS-2 virulence drives inflammatory destruction of the gut epithelial barrier and modulates inflammatory response profiles in the Salmonella-infected mouse gut – Enz – PLOS Pathogens

Aspartic protease 2 from Trichinella spiralis excretion/secretion products hydrolyzes tight junctions of intestinal epithelial cells – Long – PLOS NTDs

Endosymbiont hijacking of acylcarnitines regulates insect vector fecundity by suppressing the viability of stored sperm – Weiss – PLOS Genetics

Development and validation of a quantitative real-time PCR assay for enumeration of Clostridium sporogenes in meat products – Schuller – PLOS ONE

Rooting for data: A FAIR research data management environment for Plant-Microbe collaboration – Dröst – PLOS Pathogens (Plant microbiome)

Prolonged starvation deepens quiescence in Vasa2/Piwi1-expressing cells of a sea anemone – Pascual-Carreras – PLOS Biology

Host–microbe interactions / Immunology

Gut bacteria induce heterologous immune priming in Rhodnius prolixus encompassing humoral and cellular responses – Gilliland – PLOS Pathogens

Dietary flavonoids may improve insulin resistance: NHANES + in vitro – Sui – PLOS ONE

Antiviral and immune-modulatory activities of STING agonists in persistent HBV infection – Wang – PLOS Pathogens

Endosymbiont metabolic manipulation affecting insect reproduction – Weiss – PLOS Genetics

Human clinical studies / Metabolism

Effects of risperidone on amino acid metabolism, glucose & kidney function – Oshima – PLOS ONE

Association between Anti-H. pylori IgG and coronary heart disease – Wang – PLOS ONE

Benefits of psychosocial support for adolescent mothers in Uganda – Nakyaze – PLOS ONE

Modifiable risk factors for inflammatory bowel disease in Kuwait – Alhasan – PLOS ONE

Exposure to polystyrene nanoparticles disrupts trophoblast mitochondrial homeostasis – Hao – PLOS ONE

Molecular mechanisms of lipid metabolism abnormalities driving sepsis & atrial fibrillation – Ou – PLOS ONE

Multi-dimensional analysis of global colorectal cancer burden (1990–2021) – Sun – PLOS ONE

Computational / Modeling

Identification of dynamic models of microbial communities – Paredes-Vázquez – PLOS Comp Biol

Accuracy limits of the Lotka–Volterra model in strongly coupled microbial systems – Mustri – PLOS Comp Biol

Plant, soil & ecological microbiome

High-resolution melting assays for discrimination of fungal pathogens in grapevine trunk disease – Azevedo-Nogueira – PLOS ONE

Rooting for data: FAIR data environment for plant–microbe collaboration – Dröst – PLOS Pathogens

Environmental health / Climate / Water

Bridging water, health and climate: A call to action – Hedke – PLOS Water

October 27, 2024

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Human and General Microbiome

Gut

A human gut Faecalibacterium prausnitzii fatty acid amide hydrolase – Jiye Cheng – Science

A ubiquitous mobile genetic element changes the antagonistic weaponry of a human gut symbiont – Madeline L Sheahan – Science

Exploring alterations of gut/blood microbes in addressing iron overload-induced gut dysbiosis and cognitive impairment in thalassemia patients – Kanokphong Suparan – Scientific Reports

Effects of bile acids on the growth, composition and metabolism of gut bacteria – Yi-Lei Peng – NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes

Gut-first Parkinson’s disease is encoded by gut dysbiome – Mário F Munoz-Pinto – Molecular Neurodegeneration

Metaproteomics reveals diet-induced changes in gut microbiome function according to Crohn’s disease location – Stefano Levi Mortera – Microbiome

Review: Examining the healthy human microbiome concept – Raphaela Joos – Nature Reviews Microbiology

Review: Host-pathobiont interactions in Crohn’s disease – Roberta Caruso – Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Early Microbiome

Species- and subspecies-level characterization of health-associated bacterial consortia that colonize the human gut during infancy – Samuel S Minot – Gut Microbes

Metal availability shapes early life microbial ecology and community succession – Joshua Soto Ocaña – mBio

Virome

Oral reovirus reshapes the gut microbiome and enhances antitumor immunity in colon cancer – Won Suk Lee – Nature Communications

Oral Cavity

Pooled analysis of oral microbiome profiles defines robust signatures associated with periodontitis – Assem Soueidan – mSystems

Animal Microbiome (Model and Non-Model Organisms)

Type VI secretion systems promote intraspecific competition and host interactions in a bee gut symbiont – Erick V S Motta – PNAS

Gut bacteria facilitate leaf beetles in adapting to dietary specialization by enhancing larval fitness – Meiqi Ma – NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes

The dietary effects of two strain probiotics (Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactococcus lactis) on growth performance, immune response and gut microbiota in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) – Assel Paritova – PloS One

Effects of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CBT LP3 and Bifidobacterium breve CBT BR3 supplementation on weight loss and gut microbiota of overweight dogs – Jihee Choi – Scientific Reports

Maternal gastrointestinal microbiome shapes gut microbial function and resistome of newborns in a cow-to-calf model – Yimin Zhuang – Microbiome

Integrated analysis of metabolome and microbiome in a rat model of perimenopausal syndrome – Yanqiu Wei – mSystems

Maternal dysbiosis produces long-lasting behavioral changes in offspring – Jacob Hudobenko – Molecular Psychiatry

DNA metabarcoding analyses reveal fine-scale microbiome structures on Western Canadian bat wings – Chadabhorn Insuk – Microbiology Spectrum

Plant and Environmental Microbiome

Aquificae overcomes competition by archaeal thermophiles, and crowding by bacterial mesophiles, to dominate the boiling vent-water of a Trans-Himalayan sulfur-borax spring – Nibendu Mondal – PloS One

Metagenome-assembled genomes of Macrocystis-associated bacteria – Emily G Aguirre – Microbiology Resource Announcements

Metagenomic time-series reveals a western English Channel viral community dominated by members with strong seasonal signals – Luis M Bolaños – The ISME Journal

Volatile-mediated interspecific plant interaction promotes root colonization by beneficial bacteria via induced shifts in root exudation – Xingang Zhou – Microbiome

Other Microbes

Microbial community acclimation during anaerobic digestion of high-oil food waste – Yangqing Hu – Scientific Reports

The choice of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis impacted characterization of highly variable surface microbiota in dairy processing environments – Sarah E Daly – mSystems

Microbiome Analysis: Tools, Techniques and Resources

A single-stranded based library preparation method for virome characterization – Xichuan Zhai – Microbiome

Microbiome-based correction for random errors in nutrient profiles derived from self-reported dietary assessments – Tong Wang – Nature Communications

Fecal samples and rectal swabs adequately reflect the human colonic luminal microbiota – Julia Rode – Gut Microbes

Optimal 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis for oral microbiota to avoid the potential bias introduced by trimming length, primer, and database – Takahiko Nagai – Microbiology Spectrum

Moving Toward Metaproteogenomics: A Computational Perspective on Analyzing Microbial Samples via Proteogenomics – Franziska Singer – Methods in Molecular Biology

September 4, 2024

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

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

Human gut microbiome

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other human microbiome

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

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

Animal microbiome

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Plant, root & soil microbiome

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

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

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

Water & marine microbiome

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

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

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

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

Methods & techniques

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

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

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

July 31, 2024

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Human gut microbiome

The gut mycobiome signatures in long-lived populations – Lixia Pu et al – Cell iScience

Viral metagenomics combined with non-targeted serum metabolomics reveals the role of enteroviruses in a mouse model of coronary heart disease – Xiang Li et al – BMC Virology

Core microbiome-associated proteins associated with ulcerative colitis interact with cytokines for synergistic or antagonistic effects on gut bacteria – Ting Zhang et al – ISME Journal

Comparison between 16S rRNA and shotgun sequencing in colorectal cancer, advanced colorectal lesions, and healthy human gut microbiota – David Bars-Cortina et al – BMC Genomics

Effect of different delivery modes on intestinal microbiota and immune function of neonates – Chunhui Lai et al – Scientific Reports

Animal experiments

Effects of Akkermansia muciniphila on Gut Morphology, Antioxidant Indices, and Gut Microbiome of Mice Under Heat Stress – Caiyu Luo et al – Foodborne Pathogens and Disease

Gut microbiota mediates the anti-inflammatory effects of supplemental infrared irradiation in mice – Shijing Wang et al – Photochemistry and Photobiology

Short-chain fatty acids ameliorate imiquimod-induced skin thickening and IL-17 levels and alter gut microbiota in mice: a metagenomic association analysis – Yi-Ju Chen et al – Scientific Reports

Animal microbiome

Facultative endosymbiosis between cellulolytic protists and methanogenic archaea in the gut of the Formosan termite Coptotermes formosanus – Masayuki Kaneko et al – ISME Communications

Rodents consuming the same toxic diet harbor a unique functional core microbiome – Tess E. Stapleton et al – BMC Animal Microbiome

The plant-sucking insect selects assembly of the gut microbiota from environment to enhance host reproduction – Hong-Wei Shan et al – NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes

Alterations in captive Alexandrine parakeet (Palaeornis eupatria) gut microbiome and metabolome in response to dietary change – Xin Feng et al – Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology

Link between bacterial communities and contrasted loads in ectoparasitic monogeneans from the external mucus of two wild sparid species (Teleostei) – Judith Revault et al – BMC Animal Microbiome

Beneficial microbes and compounds

Unearthing Lactococcus lactis and Scheffersomyeces symbionts from edible wood-boring beetle larvae as a bio-resource for industrial applications – Shadrick Kibet et al – BMC Microbiology

Plant, root, and soil microbiome

[OPINION] Microbiome Bioprospecting for Sustainable Agrobiome and Circular Bioeconomy – Dhananjaya Pratap Singh – Anthropocene Science

Host genetic variation and specialized metabolites from wheat leaves enriches for phyllosphere Pseudomonas spp. with enriched antibiotic resistomes – Qian Xiang et al – ISME Journal

Rhizosphere microbiome assembly, drivers and functions in perennial ligneous plant health – Morgane Duret et al – Microbiological Research

Diversity, composition and potential roles of sedimentary microbial communities in different coastal substrates around subtropical Okinawa Island, Japan – Kohei Hamamoto et al – BMC Environmental Microbiome

June 26, 2024

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Human gut microbiome

Microbial community-scale metabolic modelling predicts personalized short-chain fatty acid production profiles in the human gut – Nick Quinn-Bohmann et al – Nature Microbiology

Island biogeography theory provides a plausible explanation for why larger vertebrates and taller humans have more diverse gut microbiomes – Katherine Ramos Sarmiento et al – ISME Journal

Dietary fibre directs microbial tryptophan metabolism via metabolic interactions in the gut microbiota – Anurag K. Sinha – Nature Microbiology

Animal models

The zebrafish gut microbiome influences benzo[a]pyrene developmental neurobehavioral toxicity – Keaton Stagaman et al – Nature Scientific Reports

Modulation of gut microbiota composition due to early weaning stress induces depressive behavior during the juvenile period in mice – Itsuka Kamimura et al – BMC Animal Microbiome

Antibiotics affect the pharmacokinetics of n-butylphthalide in vivo by altering the intestinal microbiota – Xiangchen Li et al – PLOS One

Trilobatin ameliorates dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis in mice via the NF-κB pathway and alterations in gut microbiota – Nanbo Wang et al – PLOS One

Animal microbiome

Gut microbiota and immune profiling of microbiota-humanised versus wildtype mouse models of hepatointestinal schistosomiasis – K.A. Stark et al – BMC Animal Microbiome

Analysis of differences in the rumen microbiome and metabolic function in prepartum dairy cows with different body condition scores – Dewei Du et al – BMC Animal Microbiome

Improvement of insulin sensitivity by dietary fiber consumption during late pregnant sows is associated with gut microbiota regulation of tryptophan metabolism – Yang Li – BMC Animal Microbiome

Gut microbiota diversity in a dung beetle (Catharsius molossus) across geographical variations and brood ball-mediated microbial transmission – Hao-Yu Chen et al – PLOS One

Water & extremophile microbiomes

Metagenomic insights into Heimdallarchaeia clades from the deep-sea cold seep and hydrothermal vent – Rui Liu – BMC Environmental Microbiome

Metagenomic insights into microbial adaptation to the salinity gradient of a typical short residence-time estuary – Ziheng Wu et al – BMC Microbiome

Plant, root, & soil microbiome

Microbial consortium assembly and functional analysis via isotope labelling and single-cell manipulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degraders – Jibing Li – ISME Journal

Chemolithoautotrophic diazotrophs dominate dark nitrogen fixation in mangrove sediments – Shasha Wang et al – ISME Journal

Other microbes

Cellular interactions and evolutionary origins of endosymbiotic relationships with ciliates – Qi Song et al – ISME Journal

Bioinformatics & tools

Entourage: all-in-one sequence analysis software for genome assembly, virus detection, virus discovery, and intrasample variation profiling – Worakorn Phumiphanjarphak & Pakorn Aiewsakun – BMC Bioinformatics

Methods

Soft autonomous ingestible device for sampling the small-intestinal microbiome – Ruben Del-Rio-Ruiz et al – Cell Device

Microbiome digest, November 11, 2014

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Human oral microbiome

Physiological Adaptations of Key Oral Bacteria – C. W. Ian Douglas – Advances in Microbial Physiology

Human gut microbiome

Development and Survival of Th17 Cells within the Intestines: The Influence of Microbiome- and Diet-Derived Signals – Joseph H. Chewning – The Journal of Immunology

Gut Inflammation and Immunity: What Is the Role of the Human Gut Virome? – Alfredo Focà – Mediators of Inflammation

Animal microbiome

Faecal Microbiota of Forage-Fed Horses in New Zealand and the Population Dynamics of Microbial Communities following Dietary Change – Karlette A. Fernandes – PLOS ONE

The Effect of Phytochemical Tannins-Containing Diet on Rumen Fermentation Characteristics and Microbial Diversity Dynamics in Goats Using 16S rDNA Amplicon Pyrosequencing – B. R. Min – Agriculture, Food & Analytical Bacteriology

Microbial diversity in forestomach and caecum contents of the greater long-tailed hamster Tscherskia triton (Rodentia: Cricetidae) – Akio Shinohara – Mammalian Biology – Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde

The pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis disturbs the frog skin microbiome during a natural epidemic and experimental infection – Andrea J. Jani – PNAS USA

Gill bacteria enable a novel digestive strategy in a wood-feeding mollusk – Roberta M. O’Connor – PNAS USA

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities in a coral cay system (Morrocoy, Venezuela) and their relationships with environmental variables – M.M. Alguacil – Science of the Total Environment

Soil microbiome

Short-term parasite-infection alters already the biomass, activity and functional diversity of soil microbial communities – Jun-Min Li – Scientific Reports

Impact of short-term storage temperature on determination of microbial community composition and abundance in aerated forest soil and anoxic pond sediment samples – Franziska B. Brandt – Systematic and Applied Microbiology

Seasonal influence of climate manipulation on microbial community structure and function in mountain soils – Jérémy Puissant – Soil Biology and Biochemistry

Effect of organic and conventional practices on carbon-substrate utilisation by the soil microbial community in a ‘Cripps Pink’/M7 apple orchard – Andre H Meyer – South African Journal of Plant and Soil

* The Soil Biota Composition along a Progressive Succession of Secondary Vegetation in a Karst Area – Jie Zhao – PLOS ONE

Effects of salinization and crude oil contamination on soil bacterial community structure in the Yellow River Delta region, China – Yong-chao Gao – Applied Soil Ecology

Water microbiome

Community dynamics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes in an estuary reservoir – Zhen Sun – Scientific Reports

Microbial diversity and community structure across environmental gradients in Bransfield Strait, Western Antarctic Peninsula – Camila N. Signori – Frontiers in Microbiology

Metagenomics

Assessment of quality control approaches for metagenomic data analysis – Qian Zhou – Scientific Reports

PaperClip: rapid multi-part DNA assembly from existing libraries – Maryia Trubitsyna – Nucleic Acids Research

Microbial phylogeny

* Assessing the global phylum level diversity within the bacterial domain: A review – Noha H. Youssef – Journal of Advanced Research

Science, publishing, career

Crosspost: Using Google Scholar in Scholarly Workflows – Jonathan Eisen – microBEnet

Hilarious: Overly honest references: “Should we cite the crappy Gabor paper here?” – RetractionWatch – (Note: paper has been removed – see a screenshot here)

Microbes in the news

* Bacteria Hysteria? Deadly bacteria normally found in toilets was discovered in the microwave of these students – The Journal.ie

Bik’s Picks

Comparative analysis of the domestic cat genome reveals genetic signatures underlying feline biology and domestication – Michael J. Montague – PNAS USA

UCSF develops site to make sense out of sugar science – Erin Allday – SFGate

Found: The Ideal Fatness for Elephant Seals – Elizabeth Preston – Discover

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General microbiology and science digest, October 28, 2014

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Viruses in humans and caribous, metabolomics of losing weight, and microbes on rough surfaces.
Metabolomics

Impact of a 6-week very low-calorie diet and weight reduction on the serum and fecal metabolome of overweight subjects – Mette S. Schmedes – European Food Research and Technology

“NMR-based metabolomics was carried out on serum and fecal samples obtained from healthy female subjects pre- and post-weight reduction. “

Book with lots of plagiarized text (in at least 3 chapters), so not worth the $25 for the physical book, or even the free download:
Metabonomics and Gut Microbiota in Nutrition and Disease – Springer Link

Metagenomics

CheckM: assessing the quality of microbial genomes recovered from isolates, single cells, and metagenomes – Donovan H. Parks – PeerJ Preprints

“Here we introduce CheckM, an automated method for assessing the quality of a genome using a broader set of marker genes specific to the position of a genome within a reference genome tree along with information about the collocation of these genes. “

Viruses and phages

Expanding the Conversation on High-Throughput Virome Sequencing Standards To Include Consideration of Microbial Contamination Sources – Michael J. Strong, Zhen Lin, Erik K. Flemington – mBio

“We thank Ladner and colleagues for their conversation about standardizing viral genome sequences derived from high-throughput (HT) sequencing technology.”

Chlorovirus ATCV-1 is part of the human oropharyngeal virome and is associated with changes in cognitive functions in humans and mice – Robert H. Yolken – PNAS USA

“Unexpectedly, we identified DNA sequences homologous to virus ATCV-1, an algal virus not previously known to infect humans, in oropharyngeal samples obtained from healthy adults. “

* Preservation of viral genomes in 700-y-old caribou feces from a subarctic ice patch – Terry Fei Fan Ng – PNAS USA

“Using a viral particle-associated nucleic acid enrichment approach, we genetically characterized one complete DNA and one partial RNA viral genome from a 700-y-old fecal sample preserved in ice. “

Microbial Ecology

Trophic interactions induce spatial self-organization of microbial consortia on rough surfaces – Gang Wang, Dani Or – Scientific Reports

“A mechanistic model of cell-level interactions among multispecies microbial populations grown on hydrated rough surfaces facilitated systematic evaluation of how trophic dependencies shape spatial self-organization of microbial consortia in complex diffusion fields.”

Scaling laws governing stochastic growth and division of single bacterial cells – Srividya Iyer-Biswas – PNAS USA

“Now, by using a unique combination of measurement and analysis technologies, together with mathematical modeling, we discover quantitative features that are conserved across physiological conditions. “

Microbes in the news

Gut feelings – Microbiome and mental health – Fabio Piccini – Wall Street International

“Might people suffering from certain forms of mental health problems benefit from a fecal transplant from someone with more happy-go-lucky bacteria? “

Small Things Considered: Bacteria Allow Woodrats to Eat Poison – Anne A. Madden – ASM blog

“Despite such dire consequences, woodrats ingest enough of these plant toxins to kill a lab rat. Every day. But the desert is not littered with woodrat corpses, so clearly they are able to detoxify this poisonous salad somehow. “

Saving The Bees Using Microscopic Bugs – RedOrbit

“Phages are the most abundant life form on the planet and each phage has a unique bacteria that it will attack,” said Sandra Burnett, BYU professor of microbiology and molecular biology. “This makes phage an ideal treatment for bacterial disease because it can target specific bacteria while leaving all other cells alone.”

Science, publishing, and career

Reputation and impact in academic careers – Alexander Michael Petersen – PNAS USA

“Here, we develop a framework for quantifying the influence author reputation has on a publication’s future impact.”

NPRs All Things Considered (Podcast, 5 min): Is ‘Leaning In’ The Only Formula For Women’s Success In Science? – Kelly McEvers – NPR

“Don’t wait to be invited or encouraged to make a career in science, engineering or technology, Frances Arnold advises the young women she teaches at the California Institute of Technology. “

Bik’s Picks

Doctors Making Housecalls: Better, Cheaper Care at Home? – Jennifer Ferris – MedPageToday

“In a little over a decade the practice has exploded in popularity — with Taavoni and more than 40 other providers in North Carolina innovating new ways to bring healthcare home.”

Oil platforms off California are among the most productive marine fish habitats globally –
Jeremy T. Claisse – PNAS USA

“Here, we find that fish communities living on the complex hardscape habitat created throughout the water column by the structure of oil and gas platforms off California have the highest secondary production per unit area of seafloor of any marine ecosystem for which similar estimates exist.”

Can Science Perfect Food? – Daniela Galarza – Eater.com

“A research team in Japan is blowing past molecular gastronomy to discover new ways of perfecting already flawless dishes.”

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Microbiome digest, October 17, 2014

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Resistance one year after antibiotic treatment, skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis, bacterial 16S rRNA load in the lungs, the rat oral microbiome, and microbes in cheese. And an exciting new discovery by Stanford scientists. Have a great weekend!

 

Multiple site human microbiome

Development of antimicrobial resistance in the normal anaerobic microbiota during one year after administration of clindamycin or ciprofloxacin – Mamun-Ur Rashid – Anaerobe

“Clindamycin or ciprofloxacin or placebo was given for 10 days in three groups. Skin, nasal, saliva, faeces sampling at day -1 and 11, 1, 2, 4 and 12 months.“

Shared microbiome in gums and the lung in an outpatient population – Patrick R. Schmidlin – Journal of Infection

“PCR to determine four periopathogens and seven less pathogenic species in both the periodontal pocket and bronchial protected specimen brush was used. “

Human skin microbiome

* Review: Role of the skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis – Alexander Salava and Antti Lauerma – Clinical and Translational Allergy

“Molecular genetics have dramatically changed our vision of the micro-organisms colonizing the human skin and recently well-documented changes in the skin microbiome in atopic dermatitis have become evident.”

Human respiratory microbiome

* The effect of long-term macrolide treatment on respiratory microbiota composition in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis: an analysis from the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled BLESS trial – Geraint B Rogers – The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

“Microbiota composition was determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing of sputum samples from participants in the BLESS trial”

A Comparison between Droplet Digital and Quantitative PCR in the Analysis of Bacterial 16S Load in Lung Tissue Samples from Control and COPD GOLD 2 – Marc A. Sze – PLOS ONE

“qPCR and ddPCR were performed on these samples using primers spanning the V2 region on the 16S rRNA gene along with negative controls. Total 16S counts were compared between the two methods.”

Human gut microbiome

* With pictures! Fecal microbiota transplantation: A ‘How-To’ guide for nurses – Sharyn Leis – Collegian

“However, to date, much of the literature addresses the procedure from a physician’s point of view, and can therefore be lacking in practical detail. As nurses are often the ‘unsung heroes’ of the procedure, it is timely to address the subject from a nursing perspective.”

The Intestinal Microbiota and Microenvironment in Liver – Hong-Di Ma- Autoimmunity Reviews

“But the interplay between the intestinal tract and the liver may explain the increased association with autoimmune liver diseases and inflammatory bowel diseases. “

Alterations of gut barrier and gut microbiota in food restriction, food deprivation and protein-energy wasting – L. Genton – Clinical Nutrition

“This review… highlights the complex interactions between the components of gut barrier in depleted states due to food deprivation, food restriction and protein energy wasting and shows that these interactions are multidirectional”

Application of next-generation sequencing to study ascitic microbiome in cirrhotic patients with or without spontaneous bacterial peritonitis – Ye Feng- Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection

“Both the 16S polymerase chain reaction approach and the whole genome shotgun approach were adopted for the next-generation sequencing technology. “

Chronic ethanol consumption alters intestinal microbiota impairing immune function – T. Barr – Alcohol

The gastrointestinal microbiome – functional interference between stomach and intestine – Loris R. Lopetuso – Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology

“This review focuses and speculates on the possible interactions between gastric microorganisms and intestinal microbiota and on the consequences of this interplay in modulating gut health.”

Animal models of microbiome research

Can Pre-Weaning Modulation of Intestinal Microbiota by Oligosaccharides or Amoxicillin Program Adult One in Rats? – Fanny B. Morel – Nutrition

“As revealed by a targeted qPCR approach, programming of adult intestinal microbiota seems to vary according to the nature of the pre-weaning microbiotal modulator.”

Animal microbiome

* Characterization of the rat oral microbiome and the effects of dietary nitrate – Embriette R. Hyde – Free Radical Biology and Medicine

“Demonstrates the utility of using metagenomics techniques to characterize the healthy rat tongue microbiome and to compare it to the healthy human tongue microbiome.”

Soil microbiome

High-Level Diversity of Tailed Phages, Eukaryote-Associated Viruses, and Virophage-Like Elements in the Metaviromes of Antarctic Soils – Olivier Zablocki – Applied and Environmental Microbiology

“The metaviromes of two distinct Antarctic hyperarid desert soil communities have been characterized.”

Food microbiology

Microbial communities involved in Kashar cheese ripening – Oğuz Aydemir – Food Microbiology

“The molecular classification and identification of 594 LAB isolates during Kashar cheese ripening were performed through (GTG)5–PCR fingerprinting of their genomic DNA followed by verification of the (GTG)5–PCR clusters obtained after numerical analysis through 16S rRNA gene sequencing of representative isolates. “

Characterization of the bacterial biodiversity in Pico cheese (an artisanal Azorean food)
Cristina Riquelme – International Journal of Food Microbiology

“Pyrosequencing of tagged amplicons of the V3–V4 regions of the 16S rDNA and Operational Taxonomic Unit-based (OTU-based) analysis were applied to obtain an overall idea of the microbiota in Pico cheese and to elucidate possible differences between cheese-makers (A, B and C) and maturation times.”

Metagenomics/Bioinformatics

Likelihood-Based Gene Annotations for Gap Filling and Quality Assessment in Genome-Scale Metabolic Models – Matthew N. Benedict – PLOS Computational Biology

“Here we develop an approach for applying genomic information to predict alternative functions for genes and estimate their likelihoods from sequence homology. “

Microbes in the news

‘Critical Conversation’ to focus on human microbiome – Sue Wuetcher – UB Reporter, University at Buffalo

“David Relman, the Thomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor and professor of microbiology and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, will speak on “Your Inner Self: The Human Microbiome in Health and Disease””

 

Bik’s Weekend Picks

Want to Ace That Test? Get the Right Kind of Sleep – Benedict Carey – New York Times

“Scientists now argue that a primary purpose of sleep is learning consolidation, separating the signal from the noise and flagging what is most valuable.”

‘Human face of science’: Researchers dance to raise funds for cancer study – RT.com

“Biomedicine scientists in Barcelona have released a music clip aimed at raising funds for medical research, as well as promoting their profession’s “human face.” The video’s release comes amid low levels of public interest in science throughout Spain.”

In science, popularity breeds unreliability – Tom Siegfried – Science News

“In recent decades, pressure to publish and seek publicity has distorted the scientific enterprise. Scientists need grants. Getting published raises the likelihood of getting those grants. “

Satire: Scientists Discover Two New Kinds Of Bird Poop – The Allium

“Scientists at Stanford University have revealed that they have discovered two new species of bird poop that defy classification. These are the first new species of poop that have been discovered in thirty five years. The findings have been reported this week in the journal Nature.”

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Microbiome digest, September 18, 2014

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It’s an exciting day at MicrobiomeDigest, with an Ig Nobel Prize awarded to the baby poop sausages paper, the Breaking Bad of gut microbiota, the microbiome of salami, and how bacteria can help in agriculture. Here we go:

Respiratory microbiome

Persistence of livestock-associated antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among industrial hog operation workers in North Carolina over 14 days – Maya Nadimpalli – Occupational & Environmental Medicine (see also below)

“Nasal carriage of livestock-associated S. aureus, multidrug-resistant S. aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus can persist among industrial hog operation workers over a 14-day period, which included up to 96 h away from work.”

Human gut microbiome

Breaking Bad – the two sides of gut microbiota in portal hypertension – Gautam Mehta and Rajeshwar P Mookerjee – Liver International

“In this issue of Liver International, Rincon and colleagues bring these threads together by exploring the effects of modulating gut flora on portal hypertension in the context of decompensated cirrhosis.”

Pregnancy and birth

Winners of the 2014 Ig Nobel Prize in Nutrition – ABC News

2014 IgNobel Prize in Nutrition: “Raquel Rubio, Anna Jofra, Belen Martin, Teresa Aymerich and Margarita Garriga, for their study of using infant fecal bacteria as potential probiotic starter cultures for fermented sausages.”

Plant microbiome

Why Tiny Microbes Mean Big Things for Farming – Peter Andrey Smith – National Geographic

“The soil-dwelling bacteria that we walk on every day are working their way into technologies that could help feed the world.”

Plant interactions with other organisms: molecules, ecology and evolution – Amy T. Austin and Carlos L. Ballaré – New Phytologist

“There are still many open questions regarding how plant interactions with other organisms are shaped by evolutionary forces over time. “

Food microbiology

Bacterial diversity in typical Italian salami at different ripening stages as revealed by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons – Justyna Połka – Food Microbiology

“Salame Piacentino PDO was analysed by HTS (Illumina) of 16S rRNA amplicons.”

Techniques

1-day bowel preparation with polyethylene glycol 3350 is as effective and safe as a 3-day preparation for colonoscopy in children – Serge A Sorser – BMC Research Notes

“There were no differences between the groups in efficacy of bowel preparation based on colonoscopic grading or the safety of the preparation.”

Viruses and phages

Metagenomic Analysis of Double-stranded DNA viruses in Healthy Adults – Kristine M. Wylie – BMC Biology

“We analyzed eukaryotic double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses, together with dsDNA replicative intermediates of single-stranded DNA viruses, in metagenomic sequence data generated by the HMP. “

see also: Your own personal virome – Biome – BioMedCentral

“If life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And if your bacterial DNA datasets give you viral DNA contaminants, you use them to study the virome. “

Bioinformatics

Estimating overannotation across prokaryotic genomes using BLAST+, UBLAST, LAST and BLAT – Gabriel Moreno-Hagelsieb and Brigitte Hudy-Yuffa – BMC Research Notes

“Despite faster programs miss sequence matches otherwise found by NCBI?s BLAST, the overannotation estimates are very similar and thus these programs can be used with confidence for this task.”

Antibiotic and resistance

Single-molecule sequencing to track plasmid diversity of hospital-associated carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae – Sean Conlan – Science Translational Medicine

“we performed comprehensive surveillance and genomic sequencing of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center patient population and hospital environment. “

U.S. Lays Out Strategy to Combat Crisis of Antibiotic Resistance – Sabrina Tavernise – NY Times

“The Obama administration on Thursday announced measures to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance”

Factory-Farm Workers Found to Carry High Levels of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria – Willy Blackmore – TakePart (see also above)

“While only one worker was found to be carrying MRSA after nostril swabs were tested, 86 percent carried staph bacteria associated with livestock—far higher than the general population. “

Microbes in the News

Microbirth: The Extra Question Every Expectant Mother Needs To Ask – Toni Harman – Huffington Post

“The doctor or midwife looks at the expectant mother blankly. “I’m sorry. I have never heard of the microbiome. And I’ve never heard of Microbirth.”

Science, publishing, and career

Rhubarb pie and science – Sandy Becker – Science Working Life

“When I am asked how I became a developmental biologist, I say, “Jim hired me for my rhubarb pie and my Phi Beta Kappa key, and the rest is history.””

Can Post-Publication Peer-Reviews Increase Research Transparency? – Liz Allen – Berkeley Bitts

“When Peer Review is done in the open by named individuals, we believe it should be more constructive and issues will surface more quickly.”

 

Bik’s Picks

Winners of the 2014 Ig Nobel Awards – ABC News

“The 2014 Ig Nobel winners, awarded Thursday at Harvard University by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine”

Europeans drawn from three ancient ‘tribes’ – Paul Rincon – BBC News

“The modern European gene pool was formed when three ancient populations mixed within the last 7,000 years, Nature journal reports.”

Bowl Half Empty: Dogs Can Be Pessimists – Richard Farrell – Discovery

“New PhD research out of the University of Sydney by Dr. Melissa Starling, from the school’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, sought to find out if dogs had underlying personalities that tended toward either optimism of pessimism.”

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Microbiome digest, August 20, 2014

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Ocular microbiome, life under ice, and gut microbiome and behavior.

Human ocular microbiome

Assessment of ocular surface microbiota in keratoconus patients – a pilot study – M Gajecka – Acta Ophthalmologica

“Culture-based microbiology methods are used in the investigation to preliminary examine the OS microbiota. Simultaneously, microbial genetic material is extracted from the eye swabs for further qualitative and quantitative analyzes using molecular biology methods (real-time PCR, NGS).”

Microbial detection in clinical samples

Elevated Levels of Circulating DNA in Cardiovascular Disease Patients: Metagenomic Profiling of Microbiome in the Circulation – Vasudevan Dinakaran – PLOS ONE

“This work was aimed to study the circulating human microbiome in CVD patients and healthy subjects.”

Animal models of microbiome

A Possible Link between Food and Mood: Dietary Impact on Gut Microbiota and Behavior in BALB/c Mice – Bettina Pyndt Jørgensen – PLOS ONE

“Behavioral changes were accompanied by a significant change in GM composition of mice fed a high-fat diet” “Denaturation gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was used to investigate differences in the composition of the GM.”

Mammalian microbiome

Metagenomic identification of novel enteric viruses in urban wild rats and genome characterization of a group A rotavirus – Jana Sachsenröder – Journal of General Virology

“Here, intestinal contents from 20 wild Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) collected in the city of Berlin, Germany, were subjected to metagenomic analysis of viral nucleic acids.”

Water microbiome

A microbial ecosystem beneath the West Antarctic ice sheet – Brent C. Christner – Nature

“Heterotrophic and autotrophic production data together with small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and biogeochemical data indicate that SLW is a chemosynthetically driven ecosystem inhabited by a diverse assemblage of bacteria and archaea. “

See also: Lakes under the ice: Antarctica’s secret garden – Douglas Fox – Nature

“Samples from a lake hidden under 800 metres of ice contain thousands of microbes and hint at vast ecosystems yet to be discovered.”

Bioinformatics

A Rank-Based Sequence Aligner with Applications in Phylogenetic Analysis – Liviu P. Dinu – PLOS ONE

“This paper introduces a method for assigning a set of short DNA reads to a reference genome, under Local Rank Distance (LRD). The rank-based aligner proposed in this work aims to improve correctness over speed. “

Viruses and phages (see also the rat/rotavirus paper above)

Unveiling viral–host interactions within the ‘microbial dark matter’ – Manuel Martínez-García – Nature Communications

“Using this method, we pinpoint viruses infecting the ubiquitous hyperhalophilic Nanohaloarchaeota, included in the so-called ‘microbial dark matter’ (the uncultured fraction of the microbial world).”

Microbes in the news

Archiving: Don’t let microbial samples perish – Noah Fierer and Craig Cary – Nature

“Microbial ecologists must coordinate to archive sample collections and genetic material.”

Microbiology: Microbiome science needs a healthy dose of scepticism – William P. Hanage – Nature

“To guard against hype, those interpreting research on the body’s microscopic communities should ask five questions”

Science, publishing and career

Editorial: Finding the root – The NIH is right to investigate whether bias makes grant awards unfair – Nature

“The idea that scientists who volunteer time and energy to review NIH grants could be biased against qualified minority researchers is a tough pill to swallow. “

Today’s YAMMM (Yet another mostly male meeting): pharma-nutrition #PN2015 – Jonathan Eisen – The Tree of Life

“Yay.  All men.  How wonderful.  Because, you know, there are no women working on the microbiome and nutrition right?  Ugg. “

 

Equally productive women are tenured less -Beryl Lieff Benderly – Science

“Women received tenure less often than men with equal productivity in three disciplines studied by Kate Weisshaar, a Ph.D. student in sociology at Stanford University.”

Bik’s Picks

Solar energy that doesn’t block the view – Science Daily

“Researchers have developed a new type of solar concentrator that when placed over a window creates solar energy while allowing people to actually see through the window. “

If Seals Hadn’t Introduced Tuberculosis To The New World, Europeans Would Have – Science 2.0

“A new study documents that again, finding isolated Mycobacterium pinnipedii from skeletons found in Peru which are at least 1000 years old. The pathogen is a relative of the TB bacterium that affects seals, so it likely that seals carried the pathogens from Africa to the Peruvian coast.”

Which Hot New Lab Coat Should You Buy This Season? – Fake Science

“We’ve found the hottest coats from Paris, Milan, and Batavia, Illinois and put them into our patented quiz. Take it and find out which lab coat will have you steaming up the beakers!”

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