Host-Microbe Biology
Methods and Protocols | Host-Microbe BiologyComplementing 16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing with Total Bacterial Load To Infer Absolute Species Concentrations in the Vaginal MicrobiomeMicrobiome studies primarily use 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to assess the relative abundance of bacterial taxa in a community. However, these measurements do not accurately reflect absolute taxon concentrations. We sought to determine whether the product of species’ relative abundance and total bacterial load measured by broad-range qPCR is an accurate proxy for individual species’ concentrations, as measured by taxon-specific...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyGenome-Scale Investigation of the Metabolic Determinants Generating Bacterial Fastidious GrowthXylella fastidiosa is one of the most important threats to plant health worldwide, causing disease in the Americas on a range of agricultural crops and trees, and recently associated with a critical epidemic affecting olive trees in Europe. A main challenge for the detection of the pathogen and the development of physiological studies is its fastidious growth, as the...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Gut Microbial Diversity of Newly Diagnosed Diabetics but Not of Prediabetics Is Significantly Different from That of Healthy NondiabeticsGut microbiota is considered to play a role in disease progression, and previous studies have reported an association of microbiome dysbiosis with T2D. In this study, we have attempted to investigate gut microbiota of ND, PreDMs, NewDMs, and KnownDMs. We found that the genera Akkermansia and Blautia decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in treatment-naive diabetics and were restored in KnownDMs on antidiabetic...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyDepletion of Blautia Species in the Microbiota of Obese Children Relates to Intestinal Inflammation and Metabolic Phenotype WorseningChild obesity constitutes a risk factor for developing insulin resistance which, if sustained, could lead to more severe conditions like type 2 diabetes (T2D) in adulthood. Our study identified previously unknown species whose depletion (Blautia luti and Blautia wexlerae) is associated with insulin...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyShotgun Metagenomics of Gut Microbiota in Humans with up to Extreme Longevity and the Increasing Role of Xenobiotic DegradationThe study of longevity may help us understand how human beings can delay or survive the most frequent age-related diseases and morbidities. In this scenario, the gut microbiome has been proposed as one of the variables to monitor and possibly support healthy aging. Indeed, the disruption of host-gut microbiome homeostasis has been associated with inflammation and intestinal permeability as well as a general decline in bone and cognitive...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyConsumption of Fermented Foods Is Associated with Systematic Differences in the Gut Microbiome and MetabolomePublic interest in the effects of fermented food on the human gut microbiome is high, but limited studies have explored the association between fermented food consumption and the gut microbiome in large cohorts. Here, we used a combination of omics-based analyses to study the relationship between the microbiome and fermented food consumption in thousands of people using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data. We found that fermented...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Gut Microbiota in Camellia Weevils Are Influenced by Plant Secondary Metabolites and Contribute to Saponin DegradationThe gut microbiome may play an important role in insect-plant interactions mediated by plant secondary metabolites, but the microbial communities and functions of toxic plant feeders are still poorly characterized. In the present study, we provide the first metagenome of gut bacterial communities associated with a specialist weevil feeding on saponin-rich and saponin-low camellia seeds, and the results reveal the correlation between...
Letter to the Editor | Host-Microbe BiologyAre Differences in the Oral Microbiome Due to Ancestry or Socioeconomics?
Author Reply | Host-Microbe BiologyReply to Kenyon, “Are Differences in the Oral Microbiome Due to Ancestry or Socioeconomics?”
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMetabolome-Informed Microbiome Analysis Refines Metadata Classifications and Reveals Unexpected Medication Transfer in Captive CheetahsMetabolome-informed analyses can enhance omics studies by enabling the correct partitioning of samples by identifying hidden confounders inadvertently misrepresented or omitted from carefully curated metadata. We demonstrate here the utility of metabolomics in a study characterizing the microbiome associated with liver disease in cheetahs. Metabolome-informed reinterpretation of metagenome and metabolome profiles factored in an...