Latest Articles
Methods and Protocols | Novel Systems Biology TechniquesEvaluating the Information Content of Shallow Shotgun MetagenomicsA common refrain in recent microbiome-related academic meetings is that the field needs to move away from broad taxonomic surveys using 16S sequencing and toward more powerful longitudinal studies using shotgun sequencing. However, performing deep shotgun sequencing in large longitudinal studies remains prohibitively expensive for all but the most well-funded research labs and consortia, which leads many researchers to choose 16S...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyInfluence of Feeding Type and Nosema ceranae Infection on the Gut Microbiota of Apis cerana WorkersThe gut microbiota plays an essential role in the health of bees. Scientific evidence suggests that diet and infection can affect the gut microbiota and modulate the health of the gut; however, the interplay between those two factors and the bee gut microbiota is not well known. In this study, we used a high-throughput sequencing method to monitor the changes of gut microbiota associated with both feeding types and...
Methods and Protocols | Novel Systems Biology TechniquesHigh-Throughput Miniaturized 16S rRNA Amplicon Library Preparation Reduces Costs while Preserving Microbiome IntegrityReduced costs of sequencing have tremendously impacted the field of microbial ecology, allowing scientists to design more studies with larger sample sizes that often exceed 10,000 samples. Library preparation costs have not kept pace with sequencing prices, although automated liquid handling robots provide a unique opportunity to bridge this gap while also decreasing human error. Here, we take advantage of an acoustic liquid handling...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMultiplatform Physiologic and Metabolic Phenotyping Reveals Microbial ToxicityThe gut microbiota is modulated physiologically, compositionally, and metabolically by xenobiotics, potentially causing metabolic consequences to the host. We recently reported that tempol, a stabilized free radical nitroxide, can exert beneficial effects on the host through modulation of the microbiome community structure and function. Here, we investigated a multiplatform phenotyping approach that combines high-throughput global...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyButyrate Producers as Potential Next-Generation Probiotics: Safety Assessment of the Administration of Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum to Healthy VolunteersThis study is the first to determine the safety and tolerance in humans of a butyrate-producing Clostridium cluster IV next-generation probiotic. Advances in gut microbiota research have triggered interest in developing colon butyrate producers as next-generation probiotics. Butyricicoccus pullicaecorum...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMultiple Sclerosis-Associated Changes in the Composition and Immune Functions of Spore-Forming BacteriaTo address the impact of microbiome on disease development, it is essential to go beyond a descriptive study and evaluate the physiological importance of microbiome changes. Our study integrates computational analysis with in vitro and in vivo exploration of inflammatory properties of spore-forming microbial communities, revealing novel functional correlations. We specifically show that while small differences exist...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyTranscriptionally Active Lung Microbiome and Its Association with Bacterial Biomass and Host Inflammatory StatusRecent studies of the microbiome proposed that resident microbes play a beneficial role in maintaining human health. Although lower respiratory tract disease is a leading cause of sickness and mortality, how the lung microbiome interacts with human health remains largely unknown. Here we assessed the association between the lung microbiome and host gene expression, cytokine concentration, and over 20 clinical features. Intriguingly, we...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceLoss of Bacitracin Resistance Due to a Large Genomic Deletion among Bacillus anthracis StrainsAnthrax is caused by Bacillus anthracis, an endospore-forming soil bacterium. The genetic diversity of B. anthracis is known to be low compared with that of Bacillus species. In this study, we performed whole-genome sequencing of...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceMachine Learning Reveals Missing Edges and Putative Interaction Mechanisms in Microbial Ecosystem NetworksDifferent organisms in a microbial community may drastically affect each other’s growth phenotypes, significantly affecting the community dynamics, with important implications for human and environmental health. Novel culturing methods and the decreasing costs of sequencing will gradually enable high-throughput measurements of pairwise interactions in systematic coculturing studies. However, a thorough characterization of all...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceMicrobial Functional Responses to Cholesterol Catabolism in Denitrifying SludgeSteroids are ubiquitous and abundant natural compounds that display recalcitrance. Biodegradation via sludge communities in wastewater treatment plants is the primary removal process for steroids. To date, compared to studies for aerobic steroid degradation, the knowledge of anaerobic degradation of steroids has been based on only a few model organisms. Due to the increase of anthropogenic impacts, steroid inputs may affect microbial...