@article {pmid38022583,
year = {2023},
author = {Liu, X and van Beek, N and Cepic, A and Andreani, NA and Chung, CJ and Hermes, BM and Yilmaz, K and Benoit, S and Drenovska, K and Gerdes, S and Gläser, R and Goebeler, M and Günther, C and von Georg, A and Hammers, CM and Holtsche, MM and Hübner, F and Kiritsi, D and Schauer, F and Linnenmann, B and Huilaja, L and Tasanen-Määttä, K and Vassileva, S and Zillikens, D and Sadik, CD and Schmidt, E and Ibrahim, S and Baines, JF},
title = {The gut microbiome in bullous pemphigoid: implications of the gut-skin axis for disease susceptibility.},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
volume = {14},
number = {},
pages = {1212551},
pmid = {38022583},
issn = {1664-3224},
mesh = {Humans ; Aged ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology ; *Pemphigoid, Bullous ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; Disease Susceptibility ; Pilot Projects ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; },
abstract = {Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune blistering disease that primarily affects the elderly. An altered skin microbiota in BP was recently revealed. Accumulating evidence points toward a link between the gut microbiota and skin diseases; however, the gut microbiota composition of BP patients remains largely underexplored, with only one pilot study to date, with a very limited sample size and no functional profiling of gut microbiota. To thoroughly investigate the composition and function of the gut microbiota in BP patients, and explore possible links between skin conditions and gut microbiota, we here investigated the gut microbiota of 66 patients (81.8% firstly diagnosed) suffering from BP and 66 age-, sex-, and study center-matched controls (CL) with non-inflammatory skin diseases (132 total participants), using 16S rRNA gene and shotgun sequencing data. Decreased alpha-diversity and an overall altered gut microbial community is observed in BP patients. Similar trends are observed in subclassifications of BP patients, including first diagnoses and relapsed cases. Furthermore, we observe a set of BP disease-associated gut microbial features, including reduced Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and greater abundance of pathways related to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) metabolism in BP patients. Interestingly, F. prausnitzii is a well-known microbiomarker of inflammatory diseases, which has been reported to be reduced in the gut microbiome of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis patients. Moreover, GABA plays multiple roles in maintaining skin health, including the inhibition of itching by acting as a neurotransmitter, attenuating skin lesions by balancing Th1 and Th2 levels, and maintaining skin elasticity by increasing the expression of type I collagen. These findings thus suggest that gut microbiota alterations present in BP may play a role in the disease, and certain key microbes and functions may contribute to the link between gut dysbiosis and BP disease activity. Further studies to investigate the underlying mechanisms of the gut-skin interaction are thus clearly warranted, which could aid in the development of potential therapeutic interventions.},
}

Humans
Aged
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology
*Pemphigoid, Bullous
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
Disease Susceptibility
Pilot Projects
gamma-Aminobutyric Acid

@article {pmid38020223,
year = {2023},
author = {Elshafey, N and Mansour, MAI and Hamedo, HA and Elnosary, ME and Hagagy, N and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, A and María Martínez-Espinosa, R},
title = {Phylogeny and functional diversity of halophilic microbial communities from a thalasso environment.},
journal = {Saudi journal of biological sciences},
volume = {30},
number = {12},
pages = {103841},
pmid = {38020223},
issn = {1319-562X},
abstract = {The El-Rawda solar saltern, located in North Sinai, Egypt, is formed through the process of water evaporation from the Bradawil lagoon. This evaporation leads to the precipitation of gypsum, halite minerals, and salt flats, which subsequently cover the southern and eastern areas of the lagoon. This study employed the shotgun metagenomic approach, the illumine platform, and bioinformatic tools to investigate the taxonomic composition and functional diversity of halophilic microbial communities in solar saltern. The metagenomic reads obtained from the brine sample exhibited a greater count compared to those from the sediment sample. Notably, the brine sample was primarily characterized by an abundance of archaea, while the sediment sample displayed a dominant abundance of bacteria. Both samples exhibited a relatively low abundance of eukaryotes, while viruses were only found in the brine sample. Furthermore, the comparative analysis of functional pathways showed many important processes related to central metabolism and protein processing in brine and sediment samples. In brief, this research makes a valuable contribution to the understanding of very halophilic ecosystems in Egypt, providing insights into their microbial biodiversity and functional processes.},
}

@article {pmid38017705,
year = {2023},
author = {Delavy, M and Sertour, N and Patin, E and Le Chatelier, E and Cole, N and Dubois, F and Xie, Z and Saint-André, V and Manichanh, C and Walker, AW and Quintana-Murci, L and Duffy, D and d'Enfert, C and Bougnoux, ME and Consortium, MI},
title = {Unveiling Candida albicans intestinal carriage in healthy volunteers: the role of micro- and mycobiota, diet, host genetics and immune response.},
journal = {Gut microbes},
volume = {15},
number = {2},
pages = {2287618},
doi = {10.1080/19490976.2023.2287618},
pmid = {38017705},
issn = {1949-0984},
mesh = {Humans ; *Candida albicans/physiology ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology ; Diet ; Immunity ; },
abstract = {Candida albicans is a commensal yeast present in the gut of most healthy individuals but with highly variable concentrations. However, little is known about the host factors that influence colonization densities. We investigated how microbiota, host lifestyle factors, and genetics could shape C. albicans intestinal carriage in 695 healthy individuals from the Milieu Intérieur cohort. C. albicans intestinal carriage was detected in 82.9% of the subjects using quantitative PCR. Using linear mixed models and multiway-ANOVA, we explored C. albicans intestinal levels with regard to gut microbiota composition and lifestyle factors including diet. By analyzing shotgun metagenomics data and C. albicans qPCR data, we showed that Intestinimonas butyriciproducens was the only gut microbiota species whose relative abundance was negatively correlated with C. albicans concentration. Diet is also linked to C. albicans growth, with eating between meals and a low-sodium diet being associated with higher C. albicans levels. Furthermore, by Genome-Wide Association Study, we identified 26 single nucleotide polymorphisms suggestively associated with C. albicans colonization. In addition, we found that the intestinal levels of C. albicans might influence the host immune response, specifically in response to fungal challenge. We analyzed the transcriptional levels of 546 immune genes and the concentration of 13 cytokines after whole blood stimulation with C. albicans cells and showed positive associations between the extent of C. albicans intestinal levels and NLRP3 expression, as well as secreted IL-2 and CXCL5 concentrations. Taken together, these findings open the way for potential new interventional strategies to curb C. albicans intestinal overgrowth.},
}

Humans
*Candida albicans/physiology
Genome-Wide Association Study
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology
Diet
Immunity

@article {pmid37973867,
year = {2023},
author = {Goossens, P and Spooren, J and Baremans, KCM and Andel, A and Lapin, D and Echobardo, N and Pieterse, CMJ and Van den Ackerveken, G and Berendsen, RL},
title = {Obligate biotroph downy mildew consistently induces near-identical protective microbiomes in Arabidopsis thaliana.},
journal = {Nature microbiology},
volume = {8},
number = {12},
pages = {2349-2364},
pmid = {37973867},
issn = {2058-5276},
support = {grant no. 024.004.014//Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research)/ ; grant no. OCENW.GROOT.2019.063//Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research)/ ; t no. OCENW.GROOT.2019.063//Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research)/ ; },
mesh = {*Arabidopsis/genetics/microbiology ; Plant Diseases/microbiology ; *Oomycetes/genetics ; *Arabidopsis Proteins ; *Microbiota ; },
abstract = {Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa) is an obligately biotrophic downy mildew that is routinely cultured on Arabidopsis thaliana hosts that harbour complex microbiomes. We hypothesized that the culturing procedure proliferates Hpa-associated microbiota (HAM) in addition to the pathogen and exploited this model system to investigate which microorganisms consistently associate with Hpa. Using amplicon sequencing, we found nine bacterial sequence variants that are shared between at least three out of four Hpa cultures in the Netherlands and Germany and comprise 34% of the phyllosphere community of the infected plants. Whole-genome sequencing showed that representative HAM bacterial isolates from these distinct Hpa cultures are isogenic and that an additional seven published Hpa metagenomes contain numerous sequences of the HAM. Although we showed that HAM benefit from Hpa infection, HAM negatively affect Hpa spore formation. Moreover, we show that pathogen-infected plants can selectively recruit HAM to both their roots and shoots and form a soil-borne infection-associated microbiome that helps resist the pathogen. Understanding the mechanisms by which infection-associated microbiomes are formed might enable breeding of crop varieties that select for protective microbiomes.},
}

*Arabidopsis/genetics/microbiology
Plant Diseases/microbiology
*Oomycetes/genetics
*Arabidopsis Proteins
*Microbiota

@article {pmid37973864,
year = {2023},
author = {Littlejohn, PT and Metcalfe-Roach, A and Cardenas Poire, E and Holani, R and Bar-Yoseph, H and Fan, YM and Woodward, SE and Finlay, BB},
title = {Multiple micronutrient deficiencies in early life cause multi-kingdom alterations in the gut microbiome and intrinsic antibiotic resistance genes in mice.},
journal = {Nature microbiology},
volume = {8},
number = {12},
pages = {2392-2405},
pmid = {37973864},
issn = {2058-5276},
mesh = {Humans ; Child ; Animals ; Mice ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics ; *Malnutrition ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Bacteria/genetics ; Micronutrients ; },
abstract = {Globally, ~340 million children suffer from multiple micronutrient deficiencies, accompanied by high pathogenic burden and death due to multidrug-resistant bacteria. The microbiome is a reservoir of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), but the implications of undernutrition on the resistome is unclear. Here we used a postnatal mouse model that is deficient in multiple micronutrients (that is, zinc, folate, iron, vitamin A and vitamin B12 deficient) and shotgun metagenomic sequencing of faecal samples to characterize gut microbiome structure and functional potential, and the resistome. Enterobacteriaceae were enriched in micronutrient-deficient mice compared with mice fed an isocaloric experimental control diet. The mycobiome and virome were also altered with multiple micronutrient deficiencies including increased fungal pathogens such as Candida dubliniensis and bacteriophages. Despite being antibiotic naïve, micronutrient deficiency was associated with increased enrichment of genes and gene networks encoded by pathogenic bacteria that are directly or indirectly associated with intrinsic antibiotic resistance. Bacterial oxidative stress was associated with intrinsic antibiotic resistance in these mice. This analysis reveals multi-kingdom alterations in the gut microbiome as a result of co-occurring multiple micronutrient deficiencies and the implications for antibiotic resistance.},
}

Humans
Child
Animals
Mice
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics
*Malnutrition
Drug Resistance, Microbial
Bacteria/genetics
Micronutrients

@article {pmid37888981,
year = {2023},
author = {Schönegger, D and Moubset, O and Margaria, P and Menzel, W and Winter, S and Roumagnac, P and Marais, A and Candresse, T},
title = {Benchmarking of virome metagenomic analysis approaches using a large, 60+ members, viral synthetic community.},
journal = {Journal of virology},
volume = {97},
number = {11},
pages = {e0130023},
pmid = {37888981},
issn = {1098-5514},
support = {GA 813542//EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (H2020)/ ; 871029//EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (H2020)/ ; ANR-19-CE35-0008-02//Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; *Virome/genetics ; *Benchmarking ; DNA Viruses/genetics ; Metagenome ; Virion ; Metagenomics/methods ; },
abstract = {We report here efforts to benchmark performance of two widespread approaches for virome analysis, which target either virion-associated nucleic acids (VANA) or highly purified double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs). This was achieved using synthetic communities of varying complexity levels, up to a highly complex community of 72 viral agents (115 viral molecules) comprising isolates from 21 families and 61 genera of plant viruses. The results obtained confirm that the dsRNA-based approach provides a more complete representation of the RNA virome, in particular, for high complexity ones. However, for viromes of low to medium complexity, VANA appears a reasonable alternative and would be the preferred choice if analysis of DNA viruses is of importance. Several parameters impacting performance were identified as well as a direct relationship between the completeness of virome description and sample sequencing depth. The strategy, results, and tools used here should prove useful in a range of virome analysis efforts.},
}

Humans
*Virome/genetics
*Benchmarking
DNA Viruses/genetics
Metagenome
Virion
Metagenomics/methods

@article {pmid37723360,
year = {2023},
author = {Xu, S and Zhang, X and Yang, Q and Li, J and Yu, Z},
title = {Identification of Microbial Community in Otomycosis by Metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing (mNGS): Potential Implication of Treatment with Terbinafine.},
journal = {Mycopathologia},
volume = {188},
number = {6},
pages = {995-1005},
pmid = {37723360},
issn = {1573-0832},
support = {82071039//Innovative Research Group Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; 82101215//Innovative Research Group Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; Terbinafine/therapeutic use ; *Otomycosis/drug therapy/microbiology ; Antifungal Agents/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Aspergillus/genetics ; Fungi/genetics ; *Microbiota ; },
abstract = {The present study was designed to identify the microbial community as well as to analyze its diversity by means of metagenomic Next Generation Sequencing (mNGS) in 17 patients with otomycosis treated with terbinafine in the Department of Otolaryngology of Shandong Provincial Hospital from June 2021 to June 2022, so as to evaluate the relationship between microbial community and terbinafine resistance. Those 17 patients were divided into two groups, i.e., Terbinafine Effective Group (TEG, n = 14 cases) and Terbinafine Resistance Group (TRG, n = 3 cases) according to the therapy effect, whose microbial community of secretion of external auditory canal was identified using mNGS. We found that the sequence of bacteria was significantly more than that of fungi and, whereas, the difference between the two groups of bacteria was not significant. There were significant differences in fungal community between the two groups. Aspergillus was the main pathogenic fungus of TEG patients while Malassezia was a dominant fungus in TRG patients. In conclusion, the results from this work indicate that Aspergillus terreusis is the main pathogenic fungus in this cohort of otomycosis patients and MNGS sequencing can offer comprehensive information about the microbial community of otomycosis. The fungus community dominated by Malassezia is more likely to be resistant to terbinafine, which provides certain guidance for clinical treatment of otomycosis with terbinafine.},
}

Humans
Terbinafine/therapeutic use
*Otomycosis/drug therapy/microbiology
Antifungal Agents/pharmacology/therapeutic use
High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
Aspergillus/genetics
Fungi/genetics
*Microbiota

@article {pmid38017389,
year = {2023},
author = {Tsakmaklis, A and Farowski, F and Zenner, R and Lesker, TR and Strowig, T and Schlößer, H and Lehmann, J and von Bergwelt-Baildon, M and Mauch, C and Schlaak, M and Knuever, J and Schweinsberg, V and Heinzerling, LM and Vehreschild, MJGT},
title = {TIGIT[+] NK cells in combination with specific gut microbiota features predict response to checkpoint inhibitor therapy in melanoma patients.},
journal = {BMC cancer},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {1160},
pmid = {38017389},
issn = {1471-2407},
support = {70112696//Deutsche Krebshilfe/ ; 70112696//Deutsche Krebshilfe/ ; 70112696//Deutsche Krebshilfe/ ; 70112696//Deutsche Krebshilfe/ ; 70112696//Deutsche Krebshilfe/ ; 70112696//Deutsche Krebshilfe/ ; 70112696//Deutsche Krebshilfe/ ; 70112696//Deutsche Krebshilfe/ ; 70112696//Deutsche Krebshilfe/ ; 70112696//Deutsche Krebshilfe/ ; 70112696//Deutsche Krebshilfe/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; *Melanoma/drug therapy ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; *Skin Neoplasms/drug therapy ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Prospective Studies ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Receptors, Immunologic ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Composition of the intestinal microbiota has been correlated to therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in various cancer entities including melanoma. Prediction of the outcome of such therapy, however, is still unavailable. This prospective, non-interventional study was conducted in order to achieve an integrated assessment of the connection between a specific intestinal microbiota profile and antitumor immune response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (anti-PD-1 and/or anti-CTLA-4) in melanoma patients.

METHODS: We assessed blood and stool samples of 29 cutaneous melanoma patients who received immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. For functional and phenotypical immune analysis, 12-color flow cytometry and FluoroSpot assays were conducted. Gut microbiome was analyzed with shotgun metagenomics sequencing. To combine clinical, microbiome and immune variables, we applied the Random Forest algorithm.

RESULTS: A total of 29 patients was analyzed in this study, among whom 51.7% (n = 15) reached a durable clinical benefit. The Immune receptor TIGIT is significantly upregulated in T cells (p = 0.0139) and CD56[high] NK cells (p = 0.0037) of responders. Several bacterial taxa were associated with response (e.g. Ruminococcus torques) or failure (e.g. Barnesiella intestinihominis) to immune therapy. A combination of two microbiome features (Barnesiella intestinihominis and the Enterobacteriaceae family) and one immune feature (TIGIT[+] CD56[high] NK cells) was able to predict response to ICI already at baseline (AUC = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.841-0.853).

CONCLUSIONS: Our results reconfirm a link between intestinal microbiota and response to ICI therapy in melanoma patients and furthermore point to TIGIT as a promising target for future immunotherapies.},
}

Humans
*Melanoma/drug therapy
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
*Skin Neoplasms/drug therapy
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/pharmacology/therapeutic use
Prospective Studies
Killer Cells, Natural
Receptors, Immunologic

@article {pmid38017305,
year = {2023},
author = {Singha, NA and Neihsial, R and Kipgen, L and Lyngdoh, WJ and Nongdhar, J and Chettri, B and Singh, P and Singh, AK},
title = {Taxonomic and Predictive Functional Profile of Hydrocarbonoclastic Bacterial Consortia Developed at Three Different Temperatures.},
journal = {Current microbiology},
volume = {81},
number = {1},
pages = {22},
pmid = {38017305},
issn = {1432-0991},
mesh = {Temperature ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics/metabolism ; *Microbial Consortia/genetics ; Hydrocarbons/metabolism ; Bacteria/genetics/metabolism ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; *Petroleum/metabolism ; Bacteroidetes/genetics ; },
abstract = {Microbial community exhibit shift in composition in response to temperature variation. We report crude oil-degrading activity and high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing (metagenome) profiles of four bacterial consortia enriched at three different temperatures in crude oil-amended Bushnell-Hass Medium from an oily sludge sediment. The consortia were referred to as O (4 ± 2 ℃ in 3% w/v crude oil), A (25 ± 2 ℃ in 1% w/v crude oil), H (25 ± 2 ℃ in 3% w/v crude oil), and X (45 ± 2 ℃ in 3% w/v crude oil). The hydrocarbon-degrading activity was highest for consortium A and H and lowest for consortium O. The metagenome profile revealed the predominance of Proteobacteria (62.12-1.25%) in each consortium, followed by Bacteroidota (18.94-37.77%) in the consortium O, A, and H. Contrarily, consortium X comprised 7.38% Actinomycetota, which was essentially low (< 0.09%) in other consortia, and only 0.41% Bacteroidota. The PICRUSt-based functional analysis predicted major functions associated with the metabolism and 5060 common KEGG Orthology (KOs). A total of 296 KOs were predicted exclusively in consortium X. Additionally, 247 KOs were predicted from xenobiotic biodegradation pathways. This study found that temperature had a stronger influence on the composition and function of the bacterial community than crude oil concentration.},
}

Temperature
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics/metabolism
*Microbial Consortia/genetics
Hydrocarbons/metabolism
Bacteria/genetics/metabolism
Biodegradation, Environmental
*Petroleum/metabolism
Bacteroidetes/genetics

@article {pmid38016054,
year = {2023},
author = {Ilinskaya, ON and Gafarova, LF and Kurdy, W and Kolpakov, AI and Yakovleva, GY},
title = {[Microbiome of therapeutic muds used in Tatarstan].},
journal = {Voprosy kurortologii, fizioterapii, i lechebnoi fizicheskoi kultury},
volume = {100},
number = {5},
pages = {27-35},
doi = {10.17116/kurort202310005127},
pmid = {38016054},
issn = {0042-8787},
mesh = {Tatarstan ; *Microbiota ; Bacteria/genetics ; Sulfides ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; },
abstract = {UNLABELLED: Therapeutic muds (peloids), which are widely used for body healing, improve metabolism and have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects due to enrichment with necessary microelements and biological active substances. However, the microbiological component of these effects is not well studied.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the microbiome of therapeutic muds, used in the Tatarstan Republic, by identifying spectrum of cultivated microorganisms, using molecular analysis of bacterial communities, and by determining their biodiversity and functional potential based on revealed genetic determinants.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study design of 5 peloids samples (local sapropels and peat deposits of swamp; 3 samples of Crimean sulfide muds) included three main techniques: isolation and taxonomic determination of cultivated microorganisms by time-of-flight mass-spectrometry; molecular analysis of peloids bacterial communities by 16S RNA high-throughput sequencing; identification of functional profiles of communities by their genetic determinant using Global Mapper tool on iVikodak platform.

RESULTS: Experimental studies have confirmed the safety of examined peloids, where non-pathogenic cultivated bacteria belonging mainly to Bacillus and Rhodococcus genera were dominant. Metagenomic analysis showed that Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were predominant in all samples in different ratios. It has been established, that there is both the internal biodiversity of each sample and difference between them. The functional profile of microbial communities was determined based on the identification of bacterial genes. It has been revealed that all communities have an ability to synthesize antibiotics, as well as to decompose dangerous xenobiotics - polyaromatic hydrocarbons, cyclic compounds, and dioxins.

CONCLUSION: Various microbial communities, which were identified in the therapeutic muds, contribute both to the clearance of toxicants in the peloids and to the antibacterial properties of the latter. The obtained priority results create a fundamental basis for the subsequent study of the role of peloids' microbiome of different origin in their healing action.},
}

Tatarstan
*Microbiota
Bacteria/genetics
Sulfides
Anti-Bacterial Agents

@article {pmid38010871,
year = {2023},
author = {Jinato, T and Sikaroodi, M and Fagan, A and Sterling, RK and Lee, H and Puri, P and Davis, BC and Fuchs, M and Gavis, E and Gillevet, PM and Bajaj, JS},
title = {Alterations in gut virome are associated with cognitive function and minimal hepatic encephalopathy cross-sectionally and longitudinally in cirrhosis.},
journal = {Gut microbes},
volume = {15},
number = {2},
pages = {2288168},
doi = {10.1080/19490976.2023.2288168},
pmid = {38010871},
issn = {1949-0984},
mesh = {Humans ; *Hepatic Encephalopathy ; Virome ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications ; Fibrosis ; Cognition ; },
abstract = {Cognitive dysfunction due to minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) adversely impacts patients with cirrhosis and more precise therapies are needed. Gut-brain axis changes are therapeutic targets, but prior studies have largely focused on bacterial changes. Our aim was to determine linkages between individual cognitive testing results and bacteria with the virome using a cross-sectional and longitudinal approach. We included cross-sectional (n = 138) and longitudinal analyses (n = 36) of patients with cirrhosis tested using three cognitive modalities, which were psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES), inhibitory control test (ICT), Stroop, and all three. Stool metagenomics with virome and bacteriome were analyzed studied cross-sectionally and in a subset followed for development/reversal of MHE repeated at 6 months (longitudinally only using PHES). Cross-sectional: We found no significant changes in α/β diversity in viruses or bacteria regardless of cognitive testing. Cognitively impaired patients were more likely to have higher relative abundance of bacteriophages linked with Streptococcus, Faecalibacterium, and Lactobacillus, which were distinct based on modality. These were also linked with cognition on correlation networks. Longitudinally, 27 patients remained stable while 9 changed their MHE status. Similar changes in phages that are linked with Streptococcus, Faecalibacterium, and Lactobacillus were seen. These phages can influence ammonia, lactate, and short-chain fatty acid generation, which are neuro-active. In conclusion, we found linkages between bacteriophages and cognitive function likely due to impact on bacteria that produce neuroactive metabolites cross-sectionally and longitudinally. These findings could help explore bacteriophages as options to influence treatment for MHE in cirrhosis.},
}

Humans
*Hepatic Encephalopathy
Virome
Cross-Sectional Studies
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Liver Cirrhosis/complications
Fibrosis
Cognition

@article {pmid37913618,
year = {2024},
author = {Lu, Z and Cheng, X and Xie, J and Li, Z and Li, X and Jiang, X and Zhu, D},
title = {Iron-based multi-carbon composite and Pseudomonas furukawaii ZS1 co-affect nitrogen removal, microbial community dynamics and metabolism pathways in low-temperature aquaculture wastewater.},
journal = {Journal of environmental management},
volume = {349},
number = {},
pages = {119471},
doi = {10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119471},
pmid = {37913618},
issn = {1095-8630},
mesh = {*Wastewater ; Denitrification ; Temperature ; Nitrogen/metabolism ; Carbon ; Pseudomonas/metabolism ; *Microbiota ; Bioreactors/microbiology ; Nitrification ; },
abstract = {Aerobic denitrification is the key process in the elimination of nitrogen from aquaculture wastewater, especially for wastewater with high dissolved oxygen and low carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio. However, a low C/N ratio, especially in low-temperature environments, restricts the activity of aerobic denitrifiers and decreases the nitrogen elimination efficiency. In this study, an iron-based multi-solid carbon source composite that immobilized aerobic denitrifying bacteria ZS1 (IMCSCP) was synthesized to treat aerobic (DO > 5 mg/L), low temperature (<15 °C) and low C/N ratio (C/N = 4) aquaculture wastewater. The results showed that the sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) packed with IMCSCP exhibited the highest nitrogen removal performance, with removal rates of 95.63% and 85.44% for nitrate nitrogen and total nitrogen, respectively, which were 33.03% and 30.75% higher than those in the reactor filled with multi-solid carbon source composite (MCSC). Microbial community and network analysis showed that Pseudomonas furukawaii ZS1 successfully colonized the SBBR filled with IMCSCP, and Exiguobacterium, Cellulomonas and Pseudomonas were essential for the nitrogen elimination. Metagenomic analysis showed that an increase in gene abundance related to carbon metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, extracellular polymer substance synthesis and electron transfer in the IMCSCP, enabling denitrification in the SBBR to be achieved via multiple pathways. The results of this study provided new insights into the microbial removal mechanism of nitrogen in SBBR packed with IMCSCP at low temperatures.},
}

*Wastewater
Denitrification
Temperature
Nitrogen/metabolism
Carbon
Pseudomonas/metabolism
*Microbiota
Bioreactors/microbiology
Nitrification

@article {pmid37902391,
year = {2023},
author = {Liu, L and Chen, Y and Shen, J and Pan, Y and Lin, W},
title = {Metabolic versatility of soil microbial communities below the rocks of the hyperarid Dalangtan Playa.},
journal = {Applied and environmental microbiology},
volume = {89},
number = {11},
pages = {e0107223},
pmid = {37902391},
issn = {1098-5336},
support = {T2225011//National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)/ ; ZDBS-SSW-TLC001//Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences/ ; IGGCAS-201904, IGGCAS-202102//Key Research Programs of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences/ ; },
mesh = {*Soil ; China ; Soil Microbiology ; *Microbiota ; Desert Climate ; },
abstract = {The hyperarid Dalangtan Playa in the western Qaidam Basin, northwestern China, is a unique terrestrial analog of Mars. Despite the polyextreme environments of this area, habitats below translucent rocks capable of environmental buffering could serve as refuges for microbial life. In this study, the hybrid assembly of Illumina short reads and Nanopore long reads recovered high-quality and high-continuity genomes, allowing for high-accuracy analysis and a deeper understanding of extremophiles in the sheltered soils of the Dalangtan Playa. Our findings reveal self-supporting and metabolically versatile sheltered soil communities adapted to a hyperarid and hypersaline playa, which provides implications for the search for life signals on Mars.},
}

*Soil
China
Soil Microbiology
*Microbiota
Desert Climate

@article {pmid38010636,
year = {2023},
author = {Gladyshev, NS and Baram, DV and Gorbunova, AV and Krivolapov, YA},
title = {[Transcriptome analysis of tissue microbiota diversity in tumor and non-tumor lymph nodes].},
journal = {Arkhiv patologii},
volume = {85},
number = {6},
pages = {26-30},
doi = {10.17116/patol20238506126},
pmid = {38010636},
issn = {0004-1955},
mesh = {Humans ; *Lymphoma, Follicular/diagnosis/pathology ; Hyperplasia/pathology ; Lymph Nodes/pathology ; Gene Expression Profiling ; *Microbiota/genetics ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Metagenomic studies in recent years have demonstrated that all tissues of the human body studied by genomic and transcriptomic sequencing methods, both in pathological processes and in normality, contain fragments of DNA and RNA from a variety of microorganisms. The composition of tissue microbiota and its relationship with development of pathological changes are still poorly understood, despite increasing number of studies in this area every year. In this study, gene expression of the lymph node microbiome in reactive follicular hyperplasia and follicular lymphoma was investigated.

OBJECTIVE: To study expression of lymph node microbiome genes in reactive follicular hyperplasia and follicular lymphoma.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The work included 38 biopsy samples of lymph nodes with follicular lymphoma of different cytological subtypes and 10 biopsy samples of lymph nodes with reactive follicular hyperplasia. Verification of diagnosis was carried out using standard histological, histochemical and immunohistochemical methods. Using sequencing method, the transcriptome was examined. Statistical analysis and data visualization were performed using the R programming language (version 4.2.1).

RESULTS: Tumor lymph nodes are characterized by large Simpson and Shannon alpha diversity values (p-value = 0.026465 and p-value = 0.007122, respectively). Two clusters were discovered, characterized by different levels of relative abundance of microorganisms.

CONCLUSION: It has been proven that diversity of microorganisms present in tumor tissue and their number are statistically significantly higher than corresponding indicators in the lymph nodes with follicular hyperplasia.},
}

Humans
*Lymphoma, Follicular/diagnosis/pathology
Hyperplasia/pathology
Lymph Nodes/pathology
Gene Expression Profiling
*Microbiota/genetics

@article {pmid38010080,
year = {2023},
author = {Luoto, R and Pärtty, A and Vogt, JK and Rautava, S and Isolauri, E},
title = {Reversible aberrancies in gut microbiome of moderate and late preterm infants: results from a randomized, controlled trial.},
journal = {Gut microbes},
volume = {15},
number = {2},
pages = {2283913},
doi = {10.1080/19490976.2023.2283913},
pmid = {38010080},
issn = {1949-0984},
mesh = {Infant ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology ; *Probiotics ; Prebiotics ; Breast Feeding ; *Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus ; },
abstract = {The aim of this study was to obtain insight into the composition and function of the deviant gut microbiome throughout infancy in children born moderately and late preterm and their response to microbiome modulation. We characterized the longitudinal development of the gut microbiome from birth to the age of 12 months by metagenomic sequencing in 43 moderate and late preterm children participating in a randomized, controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov/no.NCT00167700) assessing the impact of a probiotic (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, ATCC 53,103, currently Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG) and a prebiotic (galacto-oligosaccharide and polydextrose mixture, 1:1) intervention as compared to a placebo administered from 3 to 60 days of life. In addition, 9 full-term, vaginally delivered, breast-fed infants, who remained healthy long-term were included as references. Significant differences in taxonomy, but not in functional potential, were found when comparing the gut microbiome composition of preterm and full-term infants during the first month of life. However, the gut microbiome of preterm infants resembled that of full-term infants by 6 months age. Probiotic and prebiotic treatments were found to mitigate the shift in the microbiome of preterm infants by accelerating Bifidobacteria-dominated gut microbiome in beta diversity analysis. This study provides intriguing information regarding the establishment of the gut microbiome in children born moderately and late preterm, representing the majority of children born preterm. Specific pro- and prebiotics may reverse the proinflammatory gut microbiome composition during the vulnerable period, when the microbiome is low in resilience and susceptible to environmental exposure and simultaneously promotes immunological and metabolic maturation.},
}

Infant
Child
Female
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology
*Probiotics
Prebiotics
Breast Feeding
*Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus

@article {pmid38008755,
year = {2023},
author = {Teng, M and Li, Y and Zhao, X and White, JC and Zhao, L and Sun, J and Zhu, W and Wu, F},
title = {Vitamin D modulation of brain-gut-virome disorder caused by polystyrene nanoplastics exposure in zebrafish (Danio rerio).},
journal = {Microbiome},
volume = {11},
number = {1},
pages = {266},
pmid = {38008755},
issn = {2049-2618},
support = {42207335//National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; 2022QNRC001//Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST/ ; 41925031//National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars/ ; 2021YFC3201000//National Key Research and Development Program of China/ ; },
mesh = {Animals ; Polystyrenes/metabolism/toxicity ; Zebrafish ; Vitamin D/metabolism ; *Nanoparticles/metabolism/toxicity ; Microplastics/toxicity/metabolism ; Serotonin/metabolism ; Virome ; *Water Pollutants, Chemical/metabolism/toxicity ; Brain ; Cytochromes/metabolism ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Many studies have investigated how nanoplastics (NPs) exposure mediates nerve and intestinal toxicity through a dysregulated brain-gut axis interaction, but there are few studies aimed at alleviating those effects. To determine whether and how vitamin D can impact that toxicity, fish were supplemented with a vitamin D-low diet and vitamin D-high diet.

RESULTS: Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) accumulated in zebrafish brain and intestine, resulting in brain blood-brain barrier basement membrane damage and the vacuolization of intestinal goblet cells and mitochondria. A high concentration of vitamin D reduced the accumulation of PS-NPs in zebrafish brain tissues by 20% and intestinal tissues by 58.8% and 52.2%, respectively, and alleviated the pathological damage induced by PS-NPs. Adequate vitamin D significantly increased the content of serotonin (5-HT) and reduced the anxiety-like behavior of zebrafish caused by PS-NPs exposure. Virus metagenome showed that PS-NPs exposure affected the composition and abundance of zebrafish intestinal viruses. Differentially expressed viruses in the vitamin D-low and vitamin D-high group affected the secretion of brain neurotransmitters in zebrafish. Virus AF191073 was negatively correlated with neurotransmitter 5-HT, whereas KT319643 was positively correlated with malondialdehyde (MDA) content and the expression of cytochrome 1a1 (cyp1a1) and cytochrome 1b1 (cyp1b1) in the intestine. This suggests that AF191073 and KT319643 may be key viruses that mediate the vitamin D reduction in neurotoxicity and immunotoxicity induced by PS-NPs.

CONCLUSION: Vitamin D can alleviate neurotoxicity and immunotoxicity induced by PS-NPs exposure by directionally altering the gut virome. These findings highlight the potential of vitamin D to alleviate the brain-gut-virome disorder caused by PS-NPs exposure and suggest potential therapeutic strategies to reduce the risk of NPs toxicity in aquaculture, that is, adding adequate vitamin D to diet. Video Abstract.},
}

Animals
Polystyrenes/metabolism/toxicity
Zebrafish
Vitamin D/metabolism
*Nanoparticles/metabolism/toxicity
Microplastics/toxicity/metabolism
Serotonin/metabolism
Virome
*Water Pollutants, Chemical/metabolism/toxicity
Brain
Cytochromes/metabolism

@article {pmid38008735,
year = {2023},
author = {Xiao, X and Cui, Y and Lu, H and Wang, J and Yang, J and Liu, L and Liu, Z and Peng, X and Cao, H and Liu, X and Wei, X},
title = {Strontium ranelate enriched Ruminococcus albus in the gut microbiome of Sprague-Dawley rats with postmenopausal osteoporosis.},
journal = {BMC microbiology},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {365},
pmid = {38008735},
issn = {1471-2180},
support = {2018QDJZR12//Cultivating Project for Young Scholar at Hubei University of Medicine/ ; 2015QDJZR06//Cultivating Project for Young Scholar at Hubei University of Medicine/ ; JC2022002//Innovation Research Program for Graduates of Basic Medical College, Hubei University of Medicine/ ; AD18281029//Guangxi Natural Science Foundation/ ; WJ2021M052//Hubei Provincial Health and Health Commission Funded Projects/ ; WJ2019Q025//Hubei Provincial Health and Health Commission Funded Projects/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; Female ; Rats ; Animals ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; *Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal/drug therapy/metabolism ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Ruminococcus ; Lycopene/therapeutic use ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; *Osteoporosis/drug therapy/metabolism ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Gut microbiome is critical to our human health and is related to postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO). Strontium ranelate (SrR) is an anti-osteoporosis oral drug that can promote osteoblast formation and inhibit osteoclast formation. However, the effect of SrR on gut microbiome has been rarely studied. Therefore, we investigated the effect of oral SrR on gut microbiome and metabolic profiles.

RESULTS: In this study, we used ovariectomized (OVX) Sprague-Dawley rats to construct a PMO model and applied oral SrR for 6 weeks. The relative abundance of intestinal microbiome was investigated by 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) was used to analyze changes in metabolites of intestinal contents. Results demonstrated that 6-week oral SrR alleviated osteoporosis and significantly changed the composition of the gut microbiome and metabolic profiles of OVX rats. Ruminococcus, Akkermansia and Oscillospira were significantly enriched in the gut of OVX rats after 6-week oral SrR. Especially, the species R. albus showed the greatest importance by a random forest classifier between OVX and OVX_Sr group. The enrichment of R. albus in the gut was positively correlated with bone mineral density and the accumulation of lycopene and glutaric acid, which also significantly elevated after oral SrR.

CONCLUSIONS: We discovered that oral SrR can improve bone health while stimulate the accumulation of gut microbe R. albus and metabolites (lycopene and glutaric acid). The results suggested possible connections between oral SrR and the gut-bone axis, which may provide new insight into the treatment/prevention of osteoporosis.},
}

Humans
Female
Rats
Animals
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
*Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal/drug therapy/metabolism
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Ruminococcus
Lycopene/therapeutic use
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
*Osteoporosis/drug therapy/metabolism

@article {pmid38007474,
year = {2023},
author = {Liu, Y and Brinkhoff, T and Berger, M and Poehlein, A and Voget, S and Paoli, L and Sunagawa, S and Amann, R and Simon, M},
title = {Metagenome-assembled genomes reveal greatly expanded taxonomic and functional diversification of the abundant marine Roseobacter RCA cluster.},
journal = {Microbiome},
volume = {11},
number = {1},
pages = {265},
pmid = {38007474},
issn = {2049-2618},
support = {TRR51//Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/ ; TRR51//Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/ ; TRR51//Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/ ; TRR51//Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/ ; TRR51//Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/ ; 205321_184955//Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung/ ; 205321_184955//Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung/ ; 51NF40_180575//National Center of Competence in Research Quantum Science and Technology/ ; },
mesh = {*Roseobacter/genetics ; Seawater/microbiology ; Metagenome ; Phylogeny ; Oceans and Seas ; Metagenomics ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: The RCA (Roseobacter clade affiliated) cluster belongs to the family Roseobacteracea and represents a major Roseobacter lineage in temperate to polar oceans. Despite its prevalence and abundance, only a few genomes and one described species, Planktomarina temperata, exist. To gain more insights into our limited understanding of this cluster and its taxonomic and functional diversity and biogeography, we screened metagenomic datasets from the global oceans and reconstructed metagenome-assembled genomes (MAG) affiliated to this cluster.

RESULTS: The total of 82 MAGs, plus five genomes of isolates, reveal an unexpected diversity and novel insights into the genomic features, the functional diversity, and greatly refined biogeographic patterns of the RCA cluster. This cluster is subdivided into three genera: Planktomarina, Pseudoplanktomarina, and the most deeply branching Candidatus Paraplanktomarina. Six of the eight Planktomarina species have larger genome sizes (2.44-3.12 Mbp) and higher G + C contents (46.36-53.70%) than the four Pseudoplanktomarina species (2.26-2.72 Mbp, 42.22-43.72 G + C%). Cand. Paraplanktomarina is represented only by one species with a genome size of 2.40 Mbp and a G + C content of 45.85%. Three novel species of the genera Planktomarina and Pseudoplanktomarina are validly described according to the SeqCode nomenclature for prokaryotic genomes. Aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis (AAP) is encoded in three Planktomarina species. Unexpectedly, proteorhodopsin (PR) is encoded in the other Planktomarina and all Pseudoplanktomarina species, suggesting that this light-driven proton pump is the most important mode of acquiring complementary energy of the RCA cluster. The Pseudoplanktomarina species exhibit differences in functional traits compared to Planktomarina species and adaptations to more resource-limited conditions. An assessment of the global biogeography of the different species greatly expands the range of occurrence and shows that the different species exhibit distinct biogeographic patterns. They partially reflect the genomic features of the species.

CONCLUSIONS: Our detailed MAG-based analyses shed new light on the diversification, environmental adaptation, and global biogeography of a major lineage of pelagic bacteria. The taxonomic delineation and validation by the SeqCode nomenclature of prominent genera and species of the RCA cluster may be a promising way for a refined taxonomic identification of major prokaryotic lineages and sublineages in marine and other prokaryotic communities assessed by metagenomics approaches. Video Abstract.},
}

*Roseobacter/genetics
Seawater/microbiology
Metagenome
Phylogeny
Oceans and Seas
Metagenomics

@article {pmid38007438,
year = {2023},
author = {Al, KF and Joris, BR and Daisley, BA and Chmiel, JA and Bjazevic, J and Reid, G and Gloor, GB and Denstedt, JD and Razvi, H and Burton, JP},
title = {Multi-site microbiota alteration is a hallmark of kidney stone formation.},
journal = {Microbiome},
volume = {11},
number = {1},
pages = {263},
pmid = {38007438},
issn = {2049-2618},
mesh = {Humans ; *Kidney Calculi ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Oxalates/metabolism ; Metagenome ; Bacteria ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Inquiry of microbiota involvement in kidney stone disease (KSD) has largely focussed on potential oxalate handling abilities by gut bacteria and the increased association with antibiotic exposure. By systematically comparing the gut, urinary, and oral microbiota of 83 stone formers (SF) and 30 healthy controls (HC), we provide a unified assessment of the bacterial contribution to KSD.

RESULTS: Amplicon and shotgun metagenomic sequencing approaches were consistent in identifying multi-site microbiota disturbances in SF relative to HC. Biomarker taxa, reduced taxonomic and functional diversity, functional replacement of core bioenergetic pathways with virulence-associated gene markers, and community network collapse defined SF, but differences between cohorts did not extend to oxalate metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that multi-site microbiota alteration is a hallmark of SF, and KSD treatment should consider microbial functional restoration and the avoidance of aberrant modulators such as poor diet and antibiotics where applicable to prevent stone recurrence. Video Abstract.},
}

Humans
*Kidney Calculi
*Microbiota/genetics
Oxalates/metabolism
Metagenome
Bacteria

@article {pmid37956203,
year = {2023},
author = {Brunner, JD and Gallegos-Graves, LA and Kroeger, ME},
title = {Inferring microbial interactions with their environment from genomic and metagenomic data.},
journal = {PLoS computational biology},
volume = {19},
number = {11},
pages = {e1011661},
pmid = {37956203},
issn = {1553-7358},
mesh = {Humans ; *Genomics ; Metagenomics/methods ; Metagenome/genetics ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Microbial Interactions/genetics ; },
abstract = {Microbial communities assemble through a complex set of interactions between microbes and their environment, and the resulting metabolic impact on the host ecosystem can be profound. Microbial activity is known to impact human health, plant growth, water quality, and soil carbon storage which has lead to the development of many approaches and products meant to manipulate the microbiome. In order to understand, predict, and improve microbial community engineering, genome-scale modeling techniques have been developed to translate genomic data into inferred microbial dynamics. However, these techniques rely heavily on simulation to draw conclusions which may vary with unknown parameters or initial conditions, rather than more robust qualitative analysis. To better understand microbial community dynamics using genome-scale modeling, we provide a tool to investigate the network of interactions between microbes and environmental metabolites over time. Using our previously developed algorithm for simulating microbial communities from genome-scale metabolic models (GSMs), we infer the set of microbe-metabolite interactions within a microbial community in a particular environment. Because these interactions depend on the available environmental metabolites, we refer to the networks that we infer as metabolically contextualized, and so name our tool MetConSIN: Metabolically Contextualized Species Interaction Networks.},
}

Humans
*Genomics
Metagenomics/methods
Metagenome/genetics
*Microbiota/genetics
Microbial Interactions/genetics

@article {pmid37871442,
year = {2024},
author = {Tiwari, N and Santhiya, D and Sharma, JG},
title = {Significance of landfill microbial communities in biodegradation of polyethylene and nylon 6,6 microplastics.},
journal = {Journal of hazardous materials},
volume = {462},
number = {},
pages = {132786},
doi = {10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132786},
pmid = {37871442},
issn = {1873-3336},
mesh = {*Microplastics/metabolism ; Polyethylene/chemistry ; Plastics/chemistry ; *Microbiota ; Waste Disposal Facilities ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; },
abstract = {Plastic pollution, particularly microplastics, poses a significant environmental challenge. This study aimed to address the urgent need for sustainable solutions to manage plastic waste. The degradation of polyethylene microplastics (PEMPs) and nylon 6,6 microplastics (NMPs) were investigated using bacterial culture isolates, isolated from a municipal landfill site and identified through 16 S rDNA as well as metagenomics techniques.The study demonstrated for the first time along with degradation mechanism. The isolates identified as Achromobacter xylosoxidans and mixed culture species in dominance of Pulmonis sp. were used to degrade PEMPs and NMPs. Achromobacter xylosoxidans reduced microplastic's dry weight by 26.7% (PEMPs) and 21.3% (NMPs) in 40 days, while the mixed culture achieved weight reductions of 19.3% (PEMPs) and 20% (NMPs). The release of enzymes, laccase and peroxidases revealed C-C bond cleavage and reduced polymer chain length. The thermal studies (TGA and DSC) revealed changes in the thermal stability and transition characteristics of microplastics. The structural alterations on PEMPs and NMPs were recorded by FTIR analysis. Byproducts such as alkanes, esters, aromatic compounds and carboxylic acids released were identified by GC-MS. These results suggest the effectiveness of bacterial isolates in degrading PEMPs and NMPs, with potential for sustainable plastic waste management solutions.},
}

*Microplastics/metabolism
Polyethylene/chemistry
Plastics/chemistry
*Microbiota
Waste Disposal Facilities
Biodegradation, Environmental

@article {pmid37837778,
year = {2024},
author = {Wu, Z and Yu, X and Ji, Y and Liu, G and Gao, P and Xia, L and Li, P and Liang, B and Freilich, S and Gu, L and Qiao, W and Jiang, J},
title = {Flexible catabolism of monoaromatic hydrocarbons by anaerobic microbiota adapting to oxygen exposure.},
journal = {Journal of hazardous materials},
volume = {462},
number = {},
pages = {132762},
doi = {10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132762},
pmid = {37837778},
issn = {1873-3336},
mesh = {Benzene/metabolism ; Anaerobiosis ; Nitrates ; Hydrocarbons/metabolism ; Benzene Derivatives/metabolism ; Toluene/metabolism ; Xylenes/metabolism ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; *Microbiota ; Oxygen ; *Ammonium Compounds ; Carbon ; },
abstract = {Microbe-mediated anaerobic degradation is a practical method for remediation of the hazardous monoaromatic hydrocarbons (BTEX, including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) under electron-deficient contaminated sites. However, how do the anaerobic functional microbes adapt to oxygen exposure and flexibly catabolize BTEX remain poorly understood. We investigated the switches of substrate spectrum and bacterial community upon oxygen perturbation in a nitrate-amended anaerobic toluene-degrading microbiota which was dominated by Aromatoleum species. DNA-stable isotope probing demonstrated that Aromatoleum species was involved in anaerobic mineralization of toluene. Metagenome-assembled genome of Aromatoleum species harbored both the nirBD-type genes for nitrate reduction to ammonium coupled with toluene oxidation and the additional meta-cleavage pathway for aerobic benzene catabolism. Once the anaerobic microbiota was fully exposed to oxygen and benzene, 1.05 ± 0.06% of Diaphorobacter species rapidly replaced Aromatoleum species and flourished to 96.72 ± 0.01%. Diaphorobacter sp. ZM was isolated, which was not only able to utilize benzene as the sole carbon source for aerobic growth and but also innovatively reduce nitrate to ammonium with citrate/lactate/glucose as the carbon source under anaerobic conditions. This study expands our understanding of the adaptive mechanism of microbiota for environmental redox disturbance and provides theoretical guidance for the bioremediation of BTEX-contaminated sites.},
}

Benzene/metabolism
Anaerobiosis
Nitrates
Hydrocarbons/metabolism
Benzene Derivatives/metabolism
Toluene/metabolism
Xylenes/metabolism
Biodegradation, Environmental
*Microbiota
Oxygen
*Ammonium Compounds
Carbon

@article {pmid37384733,
year = {2023},
author = {Pinsky, ML and Clark, RD and Bos, JT},
title = {Coral Reef Population Genomics in an Age of Global Change.},
journal = {Annual review of genetics},
volume = {57},
number = {},
pages = {87-115},
doi = {10.1146/annurev-genet-022123-102748},
pmid = {37384733},
issn = {1545-2948},
mesh = {Animals ; Humans ; *Coral Reefs ; *Anthozoa/genetics ; Metagenomics ; Genome/genetics ; Biological Evolution ; Climate Change ; Ecosystem ; },
abstract = {Coral reefs are both exceptionally biodiverse and threatened by climate change and other human activities. Here, we review population genomic processes in coral reef taxa and their importance for understanding responses to global change. Many taxa on coral reefs are characterized by weak genetic drift, extensive gene flow, and strong selection from complex biotic and abiotic environments, which together present a fascinating test of microevolutionary theory. Selection, gene flow, and hybridization have played and will continue to play an important role in the adaptation or extinction of coral reef taxa in the face of rapid environmental change, but research remains exceptionally limited compared to the urgent needs. Critical areas for future investigation include understanding evolutionary potential and the mechanisms of local adaptation, developing historical baselines, and building greater research capacity in the countries where most reef diversity is concentrated.},
}

Animals
Humans
*Coral Reefs
*Anthozoa/genetics
Metagenomics
Genome/genetics
Biological Evolution
Climate Change
Ecosystem

@article {pmid37231976,
year = {2023},
author = {Gao, H and Jiang, F and Zhang, J and Chi, X and Song, P and Li, B and Cai, Z and Zhang, T},
title = {Effects of ex situ conservation on diversity and function of the gut microbiota of the Tibetan wild ass (Equus kiang).},
journal = {Integrative zoology},
volume = {18},
number = {6},
pages = {1089-1104},
doi = {10.1111/1749-4877.12726},
pmid = {37231976},
issn = {1749-4877},
support = {XDA23060602//Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences/ ; XDA2002030302//Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences/ ; 2021-ZJ-951Q//Qinghai Province Science and Technology Plan/ ; 2019QZKK0501//Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program/ ; 2019-SF-150//Qinghai Key R&D and Transformation Program/ ; LHZX-2020-01//Joint Grant from Chinese Academy of Sciences-People's Government of Qinghai Province on Sanjiangyuan National Park/ ; //Science and Technology Department of Qinghai Province Major Project "Sanjiangyaun National Park Animal Genome Program"/ ; },
mesh = {Animals ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Tibet ; Bacteria/genetics ; Animals, Wild/microbiology ; Equidae/genetics/microbiology ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; },
abstract = {Ex situ conservation is the main method for the protection of endangered wildlife. To explore the effect of ex situ conservation on the gut microbiota of the kiang (Equus kiang), metagenomic sequencing combined with bioinformatics analysis was used to investigate the composition and function of the gut microbiota of the kiang. The results showed that ex situ conservation not only protected wildlife, but also affected the composition and function of gut microbiota, as well as the health of animals. In the zoo, the ratio of the relative abundance of Firmicutes to that of Bacteroidetes (F/B) is higher, clusters of potentially pathogenic bacteria (such as Catonella, Catonella, and Mycoplasma) are more numerous, the abundance of resistance genes is higher, and the abundance of metabolic functions is increased. The dynamic changes of the gut microbiota also played an important role in the nutritional absorption, energy metabolism, and environmental adaptation of the kiang. Improving the rearing environment and increasing food diversity play important roles for increasing the diversity of gut microbiota, reducing the spread of potentially pathogenic bacteria, and reducing diseases. In the wild, especially in winter and in food-deficient areas, food supplementation can enhance the gut microbial homeostasis of wild animals and reduce the impact of crises. In depth studies of the gut microbial function of wildlife have important implications for improving ex situ conservation.},
}

Animals
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Tibet
Bacteria/genetics
Animals, Wild/microbiology
Equidae/genetics/microbiology
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics

@article {pmid36606497,
year = {2023},
author = {Tang, L and Yan, L and Jia, H and Xiong, Y and Ma, X and Chu, H and Sun, Z and Wang, L and Shalitanati, M and Li, K and Hu, D and Zhang, D},
title = {Gut microbial community structure and function of Przewalski's horses varied across reintroduced sites in China.},
journal = {Integrative zoology},
volume = {18},
number = {6},
pages = {1027-1040},
doi = {10.1111/1749-4877.12699},
pmid = {36606497},
issn = {1749-4877},
support = {2019JQ0318//the Beijing Forestry University Outstanding Young Talent Cultivation Project/ ; BX20190042//the Postdoctoral Innovative Talents Support Program/ ; 2020M670177//the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; Animals ; Horses ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; *Microbiota ; China ; },
abstract = {Host-associated microbiota can significantly impact host fitness. Therefore, naturally occurring variations in microbiota may influence the health and persistence of their hosts. This finding is particularly important in reintroduced animals, as they typically experience habitat changes during translocations. However, little is known about how microbiomes are altered in response to conservation translocation. Here, we accessed the gut microbiome of Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii) populations in China from three nature reserves (i.e. Xinjiang Kalamaili Nature Reserve, KNR; Dunhuang Xihu National Nature Reserve, DXNNR; and Anxi Extreme-arid Desert Nature Reserve, AENR) using 16s rRNA gene and metagenome sequencing. The results showed that the microbial composition and function differed significantly across locations, while a subset of core taxa was consistently present in most of the samples. The abundance of genes encoding microbe-produced enzymes involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, especially for glycoside hydrolases, was significantly higher in open-spaced KNR populations than in more confined AENR individuals. This study offers detailed and significant differential characters related to the microbial community and metabolic pathways in various reintroduced sites of Przewalski's horse, which might provide a basis for future microecological and conservation research on endangered reintroduced animals.},
}

Humans
Animals
Horses
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
*Microbiota
China

@article {pmid38006423,
year = {2023},
author = {Bhagchandani, T and Nikita, and Verma, A and Tandon, R},
title = {Exploring the Human Virome: Composition, Dynamics, and Implications for Health and Disease.},
journal = {Current microbiology},
volume = {81},
number = {1},
pages = {16},
pmid = {38006423},
issn = {1432-0991},
support = {(No. 61/06/2020/IMM/BMS)//Indian Council of Medical Research/ ; },
mesh = {Infant ; Humans ; Virome ; *Microbiota ; *Viruses/genetics ; *Bacteriophages/genetics ; Metagenome ; },
abstract = {Humans are colonized by large number of microorganisms-bacteria, fungi, and viruses. The overall genome of entire viruses that either lives on or inside the human body makes up the human virome and is indeed an essential fraction of the human metagenome. Humans are constantly exposed to viruses as they are ubiquitously present on earth. The human virobiota encompasses eukaryotic viruses, bacteriophages, retroviruses, and even giant viruses. With the advent of Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and ongoing development of numerous bioinformatic softwares, identification and taxonomic characterization of viruses have become easier. The viruses are abundantly present in humans; these can be pathogenic or commensal. The viral communities occupy various niches in the human body. The viruses start colonizing the infant gut soon after birth in a stepwise fashion and the viral composition diversify according to their feeding habits. Various factors such as diet, age, medications, etc. influence and shape the human virome. The viruses interact with the host immune system and these interactions have beneficial or detrimental effects on their host. The virome composition and abundance change during the course of disease and these alterations impact the immune system. Hence, the virome population in healthy and disease conditions influences the human host in numerous ways. This review presents an overview of assembly and composition of the human virome in healthy asymptomatic individuals, changes in the virome profiles, and host-virome interactions in various disease states.},
}

Infant
Humans
Virome
*Microbiota
*Viruses/genetics
*Bacteriophages/genetics
Metagenome

@article {pmid38003647,
year = {2023},
author = {Angelova, IY and Kovtun, AS and Averina, OV and Koshenko, TA and Danilenko, VN},
title = {Unveiling the Connection between Microbiota and Depressive Disorder through Machine Learning.},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
volume = {24},
number = {22},
pages = {},
pmid = {38003647},
issn = {1422-0067},
support = {20-14-00132//Russian Science Foundation/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; *Depressive Disorder, Major ; *Microbiota ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Metagenome ; },
abstract = {In the last few years, investigation of the gut-brain axis and the connection between the gut microbiota and the human nervous system and mental health has become one of the most popular topics. Correlations between the taxonomic and functional changes in gut microbiota and major depressive disorder have been shown in several studies. Machine learning provides a promising approach to analyze large-scale metagenomic data and identify biomarkers associated with depression. In this work, machine learning algorithms, such as random forest, elastic net, and You Only Look Once (YOLO), were utilized to detect significant features in microbiome samples and classify individuals based on their disorder status. The analysis was conducted on metagenomic data obtained during the study of gut microbiota of healthy people and patients with major depressive disorder. The YOLO method showed the greatest effectiveness in the analysis of the metagenomic samples and confirmed the experimental results on the critical importance of a reduction in the amount of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii for the manifestation of depression. These findings could contribute to a better understanding of the role of the gut microbiota in major depressive disorder and potentially lead the way for novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.},
}

Humans
*Depressive Disorder, Major
*Microbiota
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Metagenome

@article {pmid38001502,
year = {2023},
author = {Li, P and Hong, J and Yuan, Z and Huang, Y and Wu, M and Ding, T and Wu, Z and Sun, X and Lin, D},
title = {Gut microbiota in parasite-transmitting gastropods.},
journal = {Infectious diseases of poverty},
volume = {12},
number = {1},
pages = {105},
pmid = {38001502},
issn = {2049-9957},
support = {2020YFC1200100//the National Key R&D Program of China/ ; 2020YFC1200103//the National Key R&D Program of China/ ; 2021YFC2300800//the National Key R&D Program of China/ ; 2016YFC1200500//the National Key R&D Program of China/ ; 82202560//the National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; 82161160343//the National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; 82272361//the National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; 2021B1212040017//the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province/ ; 2022B1111030002//the R&D Program in Key Areas of Guangdong Province/ ; 22qntd4813//the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University/ ; B12003//the 111 Project/ ; 20201192//the 6th Nuclear Energy R&D Project/ ; NPRC-2019-194-30//the National Parasitic Resource Center and Ministry of Science and Technology/ ; },
mesh = {Animals ; *Parasites ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; Snails/parasitology ; Host-Parasite Interactions ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Gastropoda, the largest class within the phylum Mollusca, houses diverse gut microbiota, and some gastropods serve as intermediate hosts for parasites. Studies have revealed that gut bacteria in gastropods are associated with various biological aspects, such as growth, immunity and host-parasite interactions. Here, we summarize our current knowledge of gastropod gut microbiomes and highlight future research priorities and perspectives.

METHODS: A literature search was undertaken using PubMed, Web of Science and CNKI for the articles on the gut microbiota of gastropods until December 31, 2022. We retrieved a total of 166 articles and identified 73 eligible articles for inclusion in this review based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

RESULTS: Our analysis encompassed freshwater, seawater and land snails, with a specific focus on parasite-transmitting gastropods. We found that most studies on gastropod gut microbiota have primarily utilized 16S rRNA gene sequencing to analyze microbial composition, rather than employing metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, or metabolomic approaches. This comprehensive review provided an overview of the parasites carried by snail species in the context of gut microbiota studies. We presented the gut microbial trends, a comprehensive summary of the diversity and composition, influencing factors, and potential functions of gastropod gut microbiota. Additionally, we discussed the potential applications, research gaps and future perspectives of gut microbiomes in parasite-transmitting gastropods. Furthermore, several strategies for enhancing our comprehension of gut microbiomes in snails were also discussed.

CONCLUSIONS: This review comprehensively summarizes the current knowledge on the composition, potential function, influencing factors, potential applications, limitations, and challenges of gut microbiomes in gastropods, with a specific emphasis on parasite-transmitting gastropods. These findings provide important insights for future studies aiming to understand the potential role of gastropod gut microbiota in controlling snail populations and snail-borne diseases.},
}

Animals
*Parasites
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Snails/parasitology
Host-Parasite Interactions

@article {pmid38001408,
year = {2023},
author = {Chen, C and Zhang, Y and Yao, X and Yan, Q and Li, S and Zhong, Q and Liu, Z and Tang, F and Liu, C and Li, H and Zhu, D and Lan, W and Ling, Y and Lu, D and Xu, H and Ning, Q and Wang, Y and Jiang, Z and Zhang, Q and Gu, G and Sun, L and Wang, N and Wang, G and Zhang, A and Ullah, H and Sun, W and Ma, W},
title = {Characterizations of the multi-kingdom gut microbiota in Chinese patients with gouty arthritis.},
journal = {BMC microbiology},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {363},
pmid = {38001408},
issn = {1471-2180},
support = {Support [2020]4Y155//Science and Technology Program of Guizhou Province/ ; Platform and talent [2020]2202//Science and Technology Program of Guizhou Province/ ; 82260894//National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; 81902037//National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; GZEYK-B[2021]2//Scientific Research Project of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; *Arthritis, Gouty ; East Asian People ; *Microbiota ; *Mycobiome ; Bacteria/genetics ; },
abstract = {OBJECTIVE: The gut microbial composition has been linked to metabolic and autoimmune diseases, including arthritis. However, there is a dearth of knowledge on the gut bacteriome, mycobiome, and virome in patients with gouty arthritis (GA).

METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the multi-kingdom gut microbiome of 26 GA patients and 28 healthy controls, using whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing of their stool samples.

RESULTS: Profound alterations were observed in the gut bacteriome, mycobiome, and virome of GA patients. We identified 1,117 differentially abundant bacterial species, 23 fungal species, and 4,115 viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs). GA-enriched bacteria included Escherichia coli_D GENOME144544, Bifidobacterium infantis GENOME095938, Blautia_A wexlerae GENOME096067, and Klebsiella pneumoniae GENOME147598, while control-enriched bacteria comprised Faecalibacterium prausnitzii_G GENOME147678, Agathobacter rectalis GENOME143712, and Bacteroides_A plebeius_A GENOME239725. GA-enriched fungi included opportunistic pathogens like Cryptococcus neoformans GCA_011057565, Candida parapsilosis GCA_000182765, and Malassezia spp., while control-enriched fungi featured several Hortaea werneckii subclades and Aspergillus fumigatus GCA_000002655. GA-enriched vOTUs mainly attributed to Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, Podoviridae, and Microviridae, whereas control-enriched vOTUs spanned 13 families, including Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, Podoviridae, Quimbyviridae, Phycodnaviridae, and crAss-like. A co-abundance network revealed intricate interactions among these multi-kingdom signatures, signifying their collective influence on the disease. Furthermore, these microbial signatures demonstrated the potential to effectively discriminate between patients and controls, highlighting their diagnostic utility.

CONCLUSIONS: This study yields crucial insights into the characteristics of the GA microbiota that may inform future mechanistic and therapeutic investigations.},
}

Humans
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
*Arthritis, Gouty
East Asian People
*Microbiota
*Mycobiome
Bacteria/genetics

@article {pmid37999453,
year = {2023},
author = {Yan, Z and He, X and Ayala, J and Xu, Q and Yu, X and Hou, R and Yao, Y and Huang, H and Wang, H},
title = {The Impact of Bamboo Consumption on the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Giant Pandas.},
journal = {Veterinary sciences},
volume = {10},
number = {11},
pages = {},
pmid = {37999453},
issn = {2306-7381},
support = {2022NSFSC0131//Sichuan Science and Technology Provincial Department/ ; 2020CPB-C10//the independent project of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding/ ; 2021CPB-C14//the independent project of Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding/ ; },
abstract = {The spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment exacerbates the contamination of these genes; therefore, the role plants play in the transmission of resistance genes in the food chain requires further research. Giant pandas consume different bamboo parts at different times, which provides the possibility of investigating how a single food source can affect the variation in the spread of ARGs. In this study, metagenomic analysis and the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD) database were used to annotate ARGs and the differences in gut microbiota ARGs during the consumption of bamboo shoots, leaves, and culms by captive giant pandas. These ARGs were then compared to investigate the impact of bamboo part consumption on the spread of ARGs. The results showed that the number of ARGs in the gut microbiota of the subjects was highest during the consumption of bamboo leaves, while the variety of ARGs was highest during the consumption of shoots. Escherichia coli, which poses a higher risk of ARG dissemination, was significantly higher in the leaf group, while Klebsiella, Enterobacter, and Raoultella were significantly higher in the shoot group. The ARG risk brought by bamboo shoots and leaves may originate from soil and environmental pollution. It is recommended to handle the feces of giant pandas properly and regularly monitor the antimicrobial and virulence genes in their gut microbiota to mitigate the threat of antibiotic resistance.},
}

@article {pmid37999398,
year = {2023},
author = {Jahajeeah, D and Ranghoo-Sanmukhiya, M and Schäfer, G},
title = {Metabolic Profiling, Antiviral Activity and the Microbiome of Some Mauritian Soft Corals.},
journal = {Marine drugs},
volume = {21},
number = {11},
pages = {},
pmid = {37999398},
issn = {1660-3397},
support = {WS/MUS22-01//International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology/ ; },
mesh = {Animals ; *Papillomavirus Infections ; Aquatic Organisms ; *Anthozoa/chemistry ; *Microbiota ; Antiviral Agents/pharmacology/metabolism ; },
abstract = {Soft corals, recognized as sessile marine invertebrates, rely mainly on chemical, rather than physical defense, by secreting intricate secondary metabolites with plausible pharmaceutical implication. Their ecological niche encompasses a diverse community of symbiotic microorganisms which potentially contribute to the biosynthesis of these bioactive metabolites. The emergence of new viruses and heightened viral resistance underscores the urgency to explore novel pharmacological reservoirs. Thus, marine organisms, notably soft corals and their symbionts, have drawn substantial attention. In this study, the chemical composition of four Mauritian soft corals: Sinularia polydactya, Cespitularia simplex, Lobophytum patulum, and Lobophytum crassum was investigated using LC-MS techniques. Concurrently, Illumina 16S metagenomic sequencing was used to identify the associated bacterial communities in the named soft corals. The presence of unique biologically important compounds and vast microbial communities found therein was further followed up to assess their antiviral effects against SARS-CoV-2 and HPV pseudovirus infection. Strikingly, among the studied soft corals, L. patulum displayed an expansive repertoire of unique metabolites alongside a heightened bacterial consort. Moreover, L. patulum extracts exerted some promising antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and HPV pseudovirus infection, and our findings suggest that L. patulum may have the potential to serve as a therapeutic agent in the prevention of infectious diseases, thereby warranting further investigation.},
}

Animals
*Papillomavirus Infections
Aquatic Organisms
*Anthozoa/chemistry
*Microbiota
Antiviral Agents/pharmacology/metabolism

@article {pmid37996679,
year = {2024},
author = {Tilahun, L and Asrat, A and Wessel, GM and Simachew, A},
title = {Ancestors in the Extreme: A Genomics View of Microbial Diversity in Hypersaline Aquatic Environments.},
journal = {Results and problems in cell differentiation},
volume = {71},
number = {},
pages = {185-212},
pmid = {37996679},
issn = {0080-1844},
mesh = {Humans ; Phylogeny ; *Bacteria/genetics/metabolism ; Archaea/genetics/metabolism ; Sodium Chloride/metabolism ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Metagenomics ; },
abstract = {The origin of eukaryotic cells, and especially naturally occurring syncytial cells, remains debatable. While a majority of our biomedical research focuses on the eukaryotic result of evolution, our data remain limiting on the prokaryotic precursors of these cells. This is particularly evident when considering extremophile biology, especially in how the genomes of organisms in extreme environments must have evolved and adapted to unique habitats. Might these rapidly diversifying organisms have created new genetic tools eventually used to enhance the evolution of the eukaryotic single nuclear or syncytial cells? Many organisms are capable of surviving, or even thriving, in conditions of extreme temperature, acidity, organic composition, and then rapidly adapt to yet new conditions. This study identified organisms found in extremes of salinity. A lake and a nearby pond in the Ethiopian Rift Valley were interrogated for life by sequencing the DNA of populations of organism collected from the water in these sites. Remarkably, a vast diversity of microbes were identified, and even though the two sites were nearby each other, the populations of organisms were distinctly different. Since these microbes are capable of living in what for humans would be inhospitable conditions, the DNA sequences identified should inform the next step in these investigations; what new gene families, or modifications to common genes, do these organisms employ to survive in these extreme conditions. The relationship between organisms and their environment can be revealed by decoding genomes of organisms living in extreme environments. These genomes disclose new biological mechanisms that enable life outside moderate environmental conditions, new gene functions for application in biotechnology, and may even result in identification of new species. In this study, we have collected samples from two hypersaline sites in the Danakil depression, the shorelines of Lake As'ale and an actively mixing salt pond called Muda'ara (MUP), to identify the microbial community by metagenomics. Shotgun sequencing was applied to high density sampling, and the relative abundance of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) was calculated. Despite the broad taxonomic similarities among the salt-saturated metagenomes analyzed, MUP stood out from Lake As'ale samples. In each sample site, Archaea accounted for 95% of the total OTUs, largely to the class Halobacteria. The remaining 5% of organisms were eubacteria, with an unclassified strain of Salinibacter ruber as the dominant OTU in both the Lake and the Pond. More than 40 different genes coding for stress proteins were identified in the three sample sites of Lake As'ale, and more than 50% of the predicted stress-related genes were associated with oxidative stress response proteins. Chaperone proteins (DnaK, DnaJ, GrpE, and ClpB) were predicted, with percentage of query coverage and similarities ranging between 9.5% and 99.2%. Long reads for ClpB homologous protein from Lake As'ale metagenome datasets were modeled, and compact 3D structures were generated. Considering the extreme environmental conditions of the Danakil depression, this metagenomics dataset can add and complement other studies on unique gene functions on stress response mechanisms of thriving bio-communities that could have contributed to cellular changes leading to single and/or multinucleated eukaryotic cells.},
}

Humans
Phylogeny
*Bacteria/genetics/metabolism
Archaea/genetics/metabolism
Sodium Chloride/metabolism
*Microbiota/genetics
Metagenomics

@article {pmid37993724,
year = {2023},
author = {Gutiérrez-García, K and Whitaker, MRL and Bustos-Díaz, ED and Salzman, S and Ramos-Aboites, HE and Reitz, ZL and Pierce, NE and Cibrián-Jaramillo, A and Barona-Gómez, F},
title = {Gut microbiomes of cycad-feeding insects tolerant to β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) are rich in siderophore biosynthesis.},
journal = {ISME communications},
volume = {3},
number = {1},
pages = {122},
pmid = {37993724},
issn = {2730-6151},
support = {1541560, 1309425, 1906333//National Science Foundation (NSF)/ ; NAF/R2/180631//Newton Fund/ ; 169701, 179290, 177568, FON.INST./265/2016 285746,//Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (National Council of Science and Technology, Mexico)/ ; },
abstract = {Ingestion of the cycad toxins β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) and azoxyglycosides is harmful to diverse organisms. However, some insects are specialized to feed on toxin-rich cycads with apparent immunity. Some cycad-feeding insects possess a common set of gut bacteria, which might play a role in detoxifying cycad toxins. Here, we investigated the composition of gut microbiota from a worldwide sample of cycadivorous insects and characterized the biosynthetic potential of selected bacteria. Cycadivorous insects shared a core gut microbiome consisting of six bacterial taxa, mainly belonging to the Proteobacteria, which we were able to isolate. To further investigate selected taxa from diverging lineages, we performed shotgun metagenomic sequencing of co-cultured bacterial sub-communities. We characterized the biosynthetic potential of four bacteria from Serratia, Pantoea, and two different Stenotrophomonas lineages, and discovered a suite of biosynthetic gene clusters notably rich in siderophores. Siderophore semi-untargeted metabolomics revealed a broad range of chemically related yet diverse iron-chelating metabolites, including desferrioxamine B, suggesting the occurrence of an unprecedented desferrioxamine-like biosynthetic pathway that remains to be identified. These results provide a foundation for future investigations into how cycadivorous insects tolerate diets rich in azoxyglycosides, BMAA, and other cycad toxins, including a possible role for bacterial siderophores.},
}

@article {pmid37992406,
year = {2023},
author = {Jesser, KJ and Trueba, G and Konstantinidis, KT and Levy, K},
title = {Why are so many enteric pathogen infections asymptomatic? Pathogen and gut microbiome characteristics associated with diarrhea symptoms and carriage of diarrheagenic E. coli in northern Ecuador.},
journal = {Gut microbes},
volume = {15},
number = {2},
pages = {2281010},
doi = {10.1080/19490976.2023.2281010},
pmid = {37992406},
issn = {1949-0984},
mesh = {Humans ; Escherichia coli ; *Escherichia coli Infections/microbiology ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics ; Ecuador ; Case-Control Studies ; Diarrhea/microbiology ; },
abstract = {A high proportion of enteric infections, including those caused by diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC), are asymptomatic for diarrhea. The factors responsible for the development of diarrhea symptoms, or lack thereof, remain unclear. Here, we used DEC isolate genome and whole stool microbiome data from a case-control study of diarrhea in Ecuador to examine factors associated with diarrhea symptoms accompanying DEC carriage. We investigated i) pathogen abundance, ii) gut microbiome characteristics, and iii) strain-level pathogen characteristics from DEC infections with diarrhea symptoms (symptomatic infections) and without diarrhea symptoms (asymptomatic infections). We also included data from individuals with and without diarrhea who were not infected with DEC (uninfected cases and controls). i) E. coli relative abundance in the gut microbiome was highly variable, but higher on-average in individuals with symptomatic compared to asymptomatic DEC infections. Similarly, the number and relative abundances of virulence genes in the gut were higher in symptomatic than asymptomatic DEC infections. ii) Measures of microbiome diversity were similar regardless of diarrhea symptoms or DEC carriage. Proteobacterial families that have been described as pathobionts were enriched in symptomatic infections and uninfected cases, whereas potentially beneficial taxa, including the Bacteroidaceae and Bifidobacteriaceae, were more abundant in individuals without diarrhea. An analysis of high-level gene functions recovered in metagenomes revealed that genes that were differentially abundant by diarrhea and DEC infection status were more abundant in symptomatic than asymptomatic DEC infections. iii) DEC isolates from symptomatic versus asymptomatic individuals showed no significant differences in virulence or accessory gene content, and there was no phylogenetic signal associated with diarrhea symptoms. Together, these data suggest signals that distinguish symptomatic from asymptomatic DEC infections. In particular, the abundance of E. coli, the virulence gene content of the gut microbiome, and the taxa present in the gut microbiome have an apparent role.},
}

Humans
Escherichia coli
*Escherichia coli Infections/microbiology
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics
Ecuador
Case-Control Studies
Diarrhea/microbiology

@article {pmid37989857,
year = {2023},
author = {Licandro, H and Truntzer, C and Fromentin, S and Morabito, C and Quinquis, B and Pons, N and Martin, C and Blottière, HM and Neyraud, E},
title = {The bacterial species profiles of the lingual and salivary microbiota differ with basic tastes sensitivity in human.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {20339},
pmid = {37989857},
issn = {2045-2322},
support = {ANR-15-IDEX-0003//"Investissements d'Avenir" program, project ISITE-BFC/ ; ANR-15-IDEX-0003//"Investissements d'Avenir" program, project ISITE-BFC/ ; ANR-15-IDEX-0003//"Investissements d'Avenir" program, project ISITE-BFC/ ; ANR-15-IDEX-0003//"Investissements d'Avenir" program, project ISITE-BFC/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; *Taste Perception ; Taste ; Saliva ; Tongue ; *Microbiota ; },
abstract = {Taste perception is crucial and impairments, which can be linked to pathologies, can lead to eating disorders. It is triggered by taste compounds stimulating receptors located on the tongue. However, the tongue is covered by a film containing saliva and microorganisms suspected to modulate the taste receptor environment. The present study aimed to elucidate the links between taste sensitivity (sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness, umami) and the salivary as well as the tongue microbiota using shotgun metagenomics. 109 bacterial species were correlated with at least one taste. Interestingly, when a species was correlated with at least two tastes, the correlations were unidirectional, indicating a putative global implication. Some Streptococcus, SR1 and Rickenellaceae species correlated with five tastes. When comparing both ecosystems, saliva appears to be a better taste predictor than tongue. This work shows the implication of the oral microbiota in taste and exhibits specificities depending on the ecosystem considered.},
}

Humans
*Taste Perception
Taste
Saliva
Tongue
*Microbiota

@article {pmid37973916,
year = {2023},
author = {Liu, R and Zou, Y and Wang, WQ and Chen, JH and Zhang, L and Feng, J and Yin, JY and Mao, XY and Li, Q and Luo, ZY and Zhang, W and Wang, DM},
title = {Gut microbial structural variation associates with immune checkpoint inhibitor response.},
journal = {Nature communications},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {7421},
pmid = {37973916},
issn = {2041-1723},
mesh = {Humans ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Metagenome ; Bacteria/genetics ; *Neoplasms/genetics ; },
abstract = {The gut microbiota may have an effect on the therapeutic resistance and toxicity of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, the associations between the highly variable genomes of gut bacteria and the effectiveness of ICIs remain unclear, despite the fact that merely a few gene mutations between similar bacterial strains may cause significant phenotypic variations. Here, using datasets from the gut microbiome of 996 patients from seven clinical trials, we systematically identify microbial genomic structural variants (SVs) using SGV-Finder. The associations between SVs and response, progression-free survival, overall survival, and immune-related adverse events are systematically explored by metagenome-wide association analysis and replicated in different cohorts. Associated SVs are located in multiple species, including Akkermansia muciniphila, Dorea formicigenerans, and Bacteroides caccae. We find genes that encode enzymes that participate in glucose metabolism be harbored in these associated regions. This work uncovers a nascent layer of gut microbiome heterogeneity that is correlated with hosts' prognosis following ICI treatment and represents an advance in our knowledge of the intricate relationships between microbiota and tumor immunotherapy.},
}

Humans
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/pharmacology/therapeutic use
*Microbiota/genetics
Metagenome
Bacteria/genetics
*Neoplasms/genetics

@article {pmid37973815,
year = {2023},
author = {Lou, YC and Rubin, BE and Schoelmerich, MC and DiMarco, KS and Borges, AL and Rovinsky, R and Song, L and Doudna, JA and Banfield, JF},
title = {Infant microbiome cultivation and metagenomic analysis reveal Bifidobacterium 2'-fucosyllactose utilization can be facilitated by coexisting species.},
journal = {Nature communications},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {7417},
pmid = {37973815},
issn = {2041-1723},
support = {RAI092531A//U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)/ ; },
mesh = {Female ; Child ; Humans ; Infant ; *Bifidobacterium/genetics/metabolism ; Trisaccharides/metabolism ; Milk, Human/chemistry ; Oligosaccharides/metabolism ; *Microbiota ; },
abstract = {The early-life gut microbiome development has long-term health impacts and can be influenced by factors such as infant diet. Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), an essential component of breast milk that can only be metabolized by some beneficial gut microorganisms, ensure proper gut microbiome establishment and infant development. However, how HMOs are metabolized by gut microbiomes is not fully elucidated. Isolate studies have revealed the genetic basis for HMO metabolism, but they exclude the possibility of HMO assimilation via synergistic interactions involving multiple organisms. Here, we investigate microbiome responses to 2'-fucosyllactose (2'FL), a prevalent HMO and a common infant formula additive, by establishing individualized microbiomes using fecal samples from three infants as the inocula. Bifidobacterium breve, a prominent member of infant microbiomes, typically cannot metabolize 2'FL. Using metagenomic data, we predict that extracellular fucosidases encoded by co-existing members such as Ruminococcus gnavus initiate 2'FL breakdown, thus critical for B. breve's growth. Using both targeted co-cultures and by supplementation of R. gnavus into one microbiome, we show that R. gnavus can promote extensive growth of B. breve through the release of lactose from 2'FL. Overall, microbiome cultivation combined with genome-resolved metagenomics demonstrates that HMO utilization can vary with an individual's microbiome.},
}

Female
Child
Humans
Infant
*Bifidobacterium/genetics/metabolism
Trisaccharides/metabolism
Milk, Human/chemistry
Oligosaccharides/metabolism
*Microbiota

@article {pmid37919437,
year = {2023},
author = {Zahavi, L and Lavon, A and Reicher, L and Shoer, S and Godneva, A and Leviatan, S and Rein, M and Weissbrod, O and Weinberger, A and Segal, E},
title = {Bacterial SNPs in the human gut microbiome associate with host BMI.},
journal = {Nature medicine},
volume = {29},
number = {11},
pages = {2785-2792},
pmid = {37919437},
issn = {1546-170X},
mesh = {Humans ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics ; Body Mass Index ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; *Microbiota ; Bacteria/genetics ; },
abstract = {Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have provided numerous associations between human single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and health traits. Likewise, metagenome-wide association studies (MWASs) between bacterial SNPs and human traits can suggest mechanistic links, but very few such studies have been done thus far. In this study, we devised an MWAS framework to detect SNPs and associate them with host phenotypes systematically. We recruited and obtained gut metagenomic samples from a cohort of 7,190 healthy individuals and discovered 1,358 statistically significant associations between a bacterial SNP and host body mass index (BMI), from which we distilled 40 independent associations. Most of these associations were unexplained by diet, medications or physical exercise, and 17 replicated in a geographically independent cohort. We uncovered BMI-associated SNPs in 27 bacterial species, and 12 of them showed no association by standard relative abundance analysis. We revealed a BMI association of an SNP in a potentially inflammatory pathway of Bilophila wadsworthia as well as of a group of SNPs in a region coding for energy metabolism functions in a Faecalibacterium prausnitzii genome. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering nucleotide-level diversity in microbiome studies and pave the way toward improved understanding of interpersonal microbiome differences and their potential health implications.},
}

Humans
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics
Body Mass Index
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics
Genome-Wide Association Study
*Microbiota
Bacteria/genetics

@article {pmid37871736,
year = {2024},
author = {Chai, L and Song, Y and Chen, A and Jiang, L and Deng, H},
title = {Gut microbiota perturbations during larval stages in Bufo gargarizans tadpoles after Cu exposure with or without the presence of Pb.},
journal = {Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)},
volume = {340},
number = {Pt 2},
pages = {122774},
doi = {10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122774},
pmid = {37871736},
issn = {1873-6424},
mesh = {Animals ; Larva ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Lead/toxicity ; Bufonidae ; Bacteria ; },
abstract = {Cu and Pb are ubiquitous environmental contaminants, but there is limited information on their potential impacts on gut microbiota profile in anuran amphibians at different developmental stages during metamorphosis. In this study, Bufo gargarizans tadpoles were chronically exposed to Cu alone or Cu combined with Pb from Gs26 throughout metamorphosis. Morphology of tadpoles, histological characteristic and bacterial community of intestines were evaluated at three developmental stages: Gs33, Gs36, and Gs42. Results showed that Cu and Cu + Pb exposure caused various degrees of morphological and histological changes in guts at tested three stages. In addition, bacterial richness and diversity in tadpoles especially at Gs33 and Gs42 were disturbed by Cu and Cu + Pb. Beta diversity demonstrated that the bacterial community structures were influenced by both heavy metals exposure and developmental stages. Alterations in taxonomic composition were characterized by increased abundance of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes, reduction of Fusobacteriota, as well as decreased Cetobacterium and increased C39 at all three stages. Overall, response of gut bacterial diversity and composition to Cu stress depends on the developmental stage, while the altered patterns of bacterial community at Cu stress could be modified further by the presence of Pb. Moreover, predicted metabolic disorders were associated with shifts in bacterial community, but needs integrated information from metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses. These results contribute to the growing body of research about potential ecotoxicological effects of heavy metals on amphibian gut microbiota during metamorphosis.},
}

Animals
Larva
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Lead/toxicity
Bufonidae
Bacteria

@article {pmid37843556,
year = {2023},
author = {Zheng, X and Hu, N and Liu, J and Zhao, K and Li, H and Wang, J and Zhang, M and Zhang, L and Song, L and Lyu, Y and Cui, M and Ding, L and Wang, J},
title = {Cervicovaginal microbiota disorder combined with the change of cytosine phosphate guanine motif- toll like receptor 9 axis was associated with cervical cancerization.},
journal = {Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology},
volume = {149},
number = {19},
pages = {17371-17381},
pmid = {37843556},
issn = {1432-1335},
mesh = {Female ; Humans ; Toll-Like Receptor 9/genetics ; Phosphates ; *Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/genetics/metabolism ; *Uterine Cervical Dysplasia/metabolism ; Bacteria ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Carcinogenesis ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Convincing studies demonstrated that cervicovaginal microbiota disorder and toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) high expression were related to cervical carcinogenesis. However, the effects of cervicovaginal microbiota integration TLR9 in cervical cancerization are unclear. Based on the biological basis that unmethylated cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) motifs of bacteria could activate TLR9, we explored the effects of cervicovaginal microbiota disorder and CpG motif-TLR9 axis change in cervical carcinogenesis.

METHODS: A total of 341 participants, including 124 normal cervical (NC), 90 low-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN1), 78 high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2/3) and 49 squamous cervical cancer (SCC), diagnosed by pathology were enrolled in the study. Here, metagenomic shotgun sequencing was used to reveal cervicovaginal microbiota characteristics, and TLR9 protein was detected by western blotting.

RESULTS: Our results showed that the diversity of cervicovaginal microbiota gradually increased along with the poor development of cervical lesions, showing the abundance of Lactobacillus crispatus and Lactobacillus iners decreased, while the abundance of pathogenic bacteria gradually increased. The level of TLR9 expression was gradually increased with cervicovaginal microbiota diversity increasing, the abundance of Lactobacillus decreasing, and we found a positive correlation dependency relationship (r = 0.384, P = 0.002) between TLR9 and GTCGTT motif content. Stratified analysis based on HPV16 infection, we found that the characteristics of cervicovaginal microbiota and increased TLR9 expression were also closely related to HPV16 infection.

CONCLUSIONS: Cervicovaginal microbiota dysbiosis might lead to the CpG motif increased, which was closely associated with TLR9 high expression, and ultimately might promote the progression of cervical lesions.},
}

Female
Humans
Toll-Like Receptor 9/genetics
Phosphates
*Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/genetics/metabolism
*Uterine Cervical Dysplasia/metabolism
Bacteria
*Microbiota/genetics
Carcinogenesis

@article {pmid37830742,
year = {2024},
author = {Wigren, MA and Johnson, TA and Griffitt, RJ and Hay, AG and Knott, JA and Sepúlveda, MS},
title = {Limited impact of weathered residues from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the gut-microbiome and foraging behavior of sheepshead minnows (Cyprinodon variegatus).},
journal = {Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A},
volume = {87},
number = {1},
pages = {1-21},
doi = {10.1080/15287394.2023.2265413},
pmid = {37830742},
issn = {1528-7394},
mesh = {Animals ; *Killifishes/genetics ; *Petroleum/toxicity ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; *Petroleum Pollution/adverse effects ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; *Microbiota ; *Cyprinidae ; Hydrocarbons ; Gulf of Mexico ; *Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicity ; *Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons ; },
abstract = {The Deepwater Horizon disaster of April 2010 was the largest oil spill in U.S. history and exerted catastrophic effects on several ecologically important fish species in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Within fish, the microbiome plays a key symbiotic role in maintaining host health and aids in acquiring nutrients, supporting immune function, and modulating behavior. The aim of this study was to examine if exposure to weathered oil might produce significant shifts in fish gut-associated microbial communities as determined from taxa and genes known for hydrocarbon degradation, and whether foraging behavior was affected. The gut microbiome (16S rRNA and shotgun metagenomics) of sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) was characterized after fish were exposed to oil in High Energy Water Accommodated Fractions (HEWAF; tPAH = 81.1 ± 12.4 µg/L) for 7 days. A foraging behavioral assay was used to determine feeding efficiency before and after oil exposure. The fish gut microbiome was not significantly altered in alpha or beta diversity. None of the most abundant taxa produced any significant shifts as a result of oil exposure, with only rare taxa showing significant shifts in abundance between treatments. However, several bioindicator taxa known for hydrocarbon degradation were detected in the oil treatment, primarily Sphingomonas and Acinetobacter. Notably, the genus Stenotrophomonas was detected in high abundance in 16S data, which previously was not described as a core member of fish gut microbiomes. Data also demonstrated that behavior was not significantly affected by oil exposure. Potential low bioavailability of the oil may have been a factor in our observation of minor shifts in taxa and no behavioral effects. This study lays a foundation for understanding the microbiome of captive sheepshead minnows and indicates the need for further research to elucidate the responses of the fish gut-microbiome under oil spill conditions.},
}

Animals
*Killifishes/genetics
*Petroleum/toxicity
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
*Petroleum Pollution/adverse effects
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
*Microbiota
*Cyprinidae
Hydrocarbons
Gulf of Mexico
*Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicity
*Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

@article {pmid37806995,
year = {2023},
author = {Rick, K and Byrne, M and Cameron, S and Cooper, SJB and Dunlop, J and Hill, B and Lohr, C and Mitchell, NJ and Moritz, C and Travouillon, KJ and von Takach, B and Ottewell, K},
title = {Population genomic diversity and structure in the golden bandicoot: a history of isolation, extirpation, and conservation.},
journal = {Heredity},
volume = {131},
number = {5-6},
pages = {374-386},
pmid = {37806995},
issn = {1365-2540},
mesh = {*Genetics, Population ; *Genetic Variation ; Ecosystem ; Metagenomics ; Genetic Drift ; Conservation of Natural Resources ; },
abstract = {Using genetic information to develop and implement conservation programs is vital for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Evaluation of the genetic variability within and among remnant populations can inform management of both natural and translocated populations to maximise species' adaptive potential, mitigate negative impacts of inbreeding, and subsequently minimise risk of extinction. Here we use reduced representation sequencing to undertake a genetic assessment of the golden bandicoot (Isoodon auratus), a threatened marsupial endemic to Australia. The currently recognised taxon consists of three subspecies distributed among multiple natural and translocated populations. After confirming the genetic distinctiveness of I. auratus from two closely related taxa, I. fusciventer and I. macrourus, we identified four genetic clusters within I. auratus. These clusters exhibited substantial genetic differentiation (pairwise FST values ranging from 0.18 to 0.65, pairwise DXY ranging from 0.1 to 0.168), reflecting long-term isolation of some populations on offshore islands and the influence of genetic drift. Mainland natural populations in the Kimberley region had the highest genetic diversity and the largest contribution to overall allelic and gene diversity compared to both natural and translocated island populations. A population translocated to Guluwuru Island in the Northern Territory had the lowest genetic diversity. Our data suggest that island populations can appear genetically unique due to genetic drift and this needs to be taken into account when considering genetic diversity in conservation efforts to maintain overall genetic diversity of the species. We effectively demonstrate how genomic information can guide practical conservation planning, especially when declining species are represented by multiple isolated populations.},
}

*Genetics, Population
*Genetic Variation
Ecosystem
Metagenomics
Genetic Drift
Conservation of Natural Resources

@article {pmid37776739,
year = {2023},
author = {Ji, M and Smith, AF and Rattray, JE and England, WE and Hubert, CRJ},
title = {Potential for natural attenuation of crude oil hydrocarbons in benthic microbiomes near coastal communities in Kivalliq, Nunavut, Canada.},
journal = {Marine pollution bulletin},
volume = {196},
number = {},
pages = {115557},
doi = {10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115557},
pmid = {37776739},
issn = {1879-3363},
mesh = {*Petroleum/metabolism ; Nunavut ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; Hydrocarbons/metabolism ; Canada ; *Microbiota ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; *Petroleum Pollution ; },
abstract = {Oil spilled in marine environments can settle to the seafloor through aggregation and sedimentation processes. This has been predicted to be especially relevant in the Arctic due to plankton blooms initiated by melting sea ice. These conditions exist in the Kivalliq region in Nunavut, Canada, where elevated shipping traffic has increased the risk of accidental spills. Experimental microcosms combining surface sediment and crude oil were incubated at 4 °C over 21 weeks to evaluate the biodegradation potential of seabed microbiomes. Sediments sampled near the communities of Arviat and Chesterfield Inlet were assessed for biodegradation capabilities by combining hydrocarbon geochemistry with 16S rRNA gene and metagenomic sequencing, revealing decreased microbial diversity but enrichment of oil-degrading taxa. Alkane and aromatic hydrocarbon losses corresponded to detection of genes and genomes that encode enzymes for aerobic biodegradation of these compounds, pointing to the utility of marine microbiome surveys for predicting the fate of oil released into Arctic marine environments.},
}

*Petroleum/metabolism
Nunavut
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
Hydrocarbons/metabolism
Canada
*Microbiota
Biodegradation, Environmental
*Petroleum Pollution

@article {pmid37741262,
year = {2023},
author = {Robinson, SL},
title = {Structure-guided metagenome mining to tap microbial functional diversity.},
journal = {Current opinion in microbiology},
volume = {76},
number = {},
pages = {102382},
doi = {10.1016/j.mib.2023.102382},
pmid = {37741262},
issn = {1879-0364},
mesh = {Humans ; *Metagenome ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Soil Microbiology ; Phenotype ; Drug Resistance, Microbial/genetics ; },
abstract = {Scientists now have access to millions of accurate three-dimensional (3D) models of protein structures. How do we leverage 3D structural models to learn about microbial functions encoded in metagenomes? Here, we review recent developments using protein structural features to mine metagenomes from diverse environments ranging from the human gut to soil and ocean viromes. We compare 3D protein structural methods to characterize antibiotic resistance phenotypes, nutrient cycling, and host-drug-microbe interactions. Broadly, we encourage the scientific community to look beyond global sequence and structure alignments by considering fine-grained descriptors such as distance to ligand, active site, and tertiary interactions between amino acid residues scaling to microbiomes. Finally, we highlight structure-inspired approaches to chart new areas of microbial protein-coding sequence space.},
}

Humans
*Metagenome
*Microbiota/genetics
Soil Microbiology
Phenotype
Drug Resistance, Microbial/genetics

@article {pmid37704113,
year = {2023},
author = {Gou, H and Su, H and Liu, D and Wong, CC and Shang, H and Fang, Y and Zeng, X and Chen, H and Li, Y and Huang, Z and Fan, M and Wei, C and Wang, X and Zhang, X and Li, X and Yu, J},
title = {Traditional Medicine Pien Tze Huang Suppresses Colorectal Tumorigenesis Through Restoring Gut Microbiota and Metabolites.},
journal = {Gastroenterology},
volume = {165},
number = {6},
pages = {1404-1419},
doi = {10.1053/j.gastro.2023.08.052},
pmid = {37704113},
issn = {1528-0012},
mesh = {Mice ; Animals ; Signal Transduction ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Dextran Sulfate/toxicity ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism ; Apoptosis ; Medicine, Traditional ; *Colorectal Neoplasms/chemically induced/prevention & control/metabolism ; Carcinogenesis ; Azoxymethane/toxicity ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND & AIMS: Pien Tze Huang (PZH) is a well-established traditional medicine with beneficial effects against inflammation and cancer. We aimed to explore the chemopreventive effect of PZH in colorectal cancer (CRC) through modulating gut microbiota.

METHODS: CRC mouse models were established by azoxymethane plus dextran sulfate sodium treatment or in Apc[min/+] mice treated with or without PZH (270 mg/kg and 540 mg/kg). Gut barrier function was determined by means of intestinal permeability assays and transmission electron microscopy. Fecal microbiota and metabolites were analyzed by means of metagenomic sequencing and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, respectively. Germ-free mice or antibiotic-treated mice were used as models of microbiota depletion.

RESULTS: PZH inhibited colorectal tumorigenesis in azoxymethane plus dextran sulfate sodium-treated mice and in Apc[min/+] mice in a dose-dependent manner. PZH treatment altered the gut microbiota profile, with an increased abundance of probiotics Pseudobutyrivibrio xylanivorans and Eubacterium limosum, while pathogenic bacteria Aeromonas veronii, Campylobacter jejuni, Collinsella aerofaciens, and Peptoniphilus harei were depleted. In addition, PZH increased beneficial metabolites taurine and hypotaurine, bile acids, and unsaturated fatty acids, and significantly restored gut barrier function. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that PZH inhibited PI3K-Akt, interleukin-17, tumor necrosis factor, and cytokine-chemokine signaling. Notably, the chemopreventive effect of PZH involved both microbiota-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Fecal microbiota transplantation from PZH-treated mice to germ-free mice partly recapitulated the chemopreventive effects of PZH. PZH components ginsenoside-F2 and ginsenoside-Re demonstrated inhibitory effects on CRC cells and primary organoids, and PZH also inhibited tumorigenesis in azoxymethane plus dextran sulfate sodium-treated germ-free mice.

CONCLUSIONS: PZH manipulated gut microbiota and metabolites toward a more favorable profile, improved gut barrier function, and suppressed oncogenic and pro-inflammatory pathways, thereby suppressing colorectal carcinogenesis.},
}

Mice
Animals
Signal Transduction
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Dextran Sulfate/toxicity
Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism
Apoptosis
Medicine, Traditional
*Colorectal Neoplasms/chemically induced/prevention & control/metabolism
Carcinogenesis
Azoxymethane/toxicity

@article {pmid37222264,
year = {2023},
author = {Carr, RM and Li, Y and Chau, L and Friedman, ES and Lee, JJ and Adorini, L and Erickson, M and Zaru, L and Shringarpure, R and MacConell, L and Bittinger, K and Li, H and Wu, GD},
title = {An integrated analysis of fecal microbiome and metabolomic features distinguish non-cirrhotic NASH from healthy control populations.},
journal = {Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.)},
volume = {78},
number = {6},
pages = {1843-1857},
pmid = {37222264},
issn = {1527-3350},
support = {P30 DK050306/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States ; R01 AA026302/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; R01 GM123056/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States ; },
mesh = {Humans ; *Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/complications ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications ; Fibrosis ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Bile Acids and Salts ; Feces/microbiology ; Biomarkers ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is great interest in identifying microbiome features as reliable noninvasive diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers for non-cirrhotic NASH fibrosis. Several cross-sectional studies have reported gut microbiome features associated with advanced NASH fibrosis and cirrhosis, where the most prominent features are associated with cirrhosis. However, no large, prospectively collected data exist establishing microbiome features that discern non-cirrhotic NASH fibrosis, integrate the fecal metabolome as disease biomarkers, and are unconfounded by BMI and age.

APPROACH AND RESULTS: Results from shotgun metagenomic sequencing performed on fecal samples prospectively collected from 279 US patients with biopsy-proven NASH (F1-F3 fibrosis) enrolled in the REGENERATE I303 study were compared to those from 3 healthy control cohorts and integrated with the absolute quantification of fecal bile acids. Microbiota beta-diversity was different, and BMI- and age-adjusted logistic regression identified 12 NASH-associated species. Random forest prediction models resulted in an AUC of 0.75-0.81 in a receiver operator characteristic analysis. In addition, specific fecal bile acids were significantly lower in NASH and correlated with plasma C4 levels. Microbial gene abundance analysis revealed 127 genes increased in controls, many involving protein synthesis, whereas 362 genes were increased in NASH many involving bacterial environmental responses (false discovery rate < 0.01). Finally, we provide evidence that fecal bile acid levels may be a better discriminator of non-cirrhotic NASH versus health than either plasma bile acids or gut microbiome features.

CONCLUSIONS: These results may have value as a set of baseline characteristics of non-cirrhotic NASH against which therapeutic interventions to prevent cirrhosis can be compared and microbiome-based diagnostic biomarkers identified.},
}

Humans
*Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/complications
Cross-Sectional Studies
Liver Cirrhosis/complications
Fibrosis
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Bile Acids and Salts
Feces/microbiology
Biomarkers

@article {pmid36862079,
year = {2023},
author = {Pino, V and Fajardo, M and McBratney, A and Minasny, B and Wilson, N and Baldock, C},
title = {Australian soil microbiome: A first sightseeing regional prediction driven by cycles of soil temperature and pedogenic variations.},
journal = {Molecular ecology},
volume = {32},
number = {23},
pages = {6243-6259},
doi = {10.1111/mec.16911},
pmid = {36862079},
issn = {1365-294X},
support = {//Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica/ ; //University of Sydney/ ; },
mesh = {*Soil ; Australia ; Temperature ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; Soil Microbiology ; *Microbiota/genetics ; },
abstract = {Declines in soil multifunctionality (e.gsoil capacity to provide food and energy) are closely related to changes in the soil microbiome (e.g., diversity) Determining ecological drivers promoting such microbiome changes is critical knowledge for protecting soil functions. However, soil-microbe interactions are highly variable within environmental gradients and may not be consistent across studies. Here we propose that analysis of community dissimilarity (β-diversity) is a valuable tool for overviewing soil microbiome spatiotemporal changes. Indeed, β-diversity studies at larger scales (modelling and mapping) simplify complex multivariate interactions and refine our understanding of ecological drivers by also giving the possibility of expanding the environmental scenarios. This study represents the first spatial investigation of β-diversity in the soil microbiome of New South Wales (800,642 km[2]), Australia. We used metabarcoding soil data (16S rRNA and ITS genes) as exact sequence variants (ASVs) and UMAP (Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection) as the distance metric. β-Diversity maps (1000-m resolution)-concordance correlations of 0.91-0.96 and 0.91-0.95 for bacteria and fungi, respectively-showed soil biome dissimilarities driven primarily by soil chemistry-pH and effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC)-and cycles of soil temperature-land surface temperature (LST-phase and LST-amplitude). Regionally, the spatial patterns of microbes parallel the distribution of soil classes (e.g., Vertosols) beyond spatial distances and rainfall, for example. Soil classes can be valuable discriminants for monitoring approaches, for example pedogenons and pedophenons. Ultimately, cultivated soils exhibited lower richness due to declines in rare microbes which might compromise soil functions over time.},
}

*Soil
Australia
Temperature
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
Soil Microbiology
*Microbiota/genetics

@article {pmid36564666,
year = {2023},
author = {Minkina, T and Sushkova, S and Delegan, Y and Bren, A and Mazanko, M and Kocharovskaya, Y and Filonov, A and Rajput, VD and Mandzhieva, S and Rudoy, D and Prazdnova, EV and Elena, V and Zelenkova, G and Ranjan, A},
title = {Effect of chicken manure on soil microbial community diversity in poultry keeping areas.},
journal = {Environmental geochemistry and health},
volume = {45},
number = {12},
pages = {9303-9319},
pmid = {36564666},
issn = {1573-2983},
support = {075-15-2019-1880//Government of the Russian Federation/ ; },
mesh = {Animals ; *Soil ; Chickens ; Manure ; Poultry ; Soil Microbiology ; Bacteria/genetics ; *Microbiota ; },
abstract = {The poultry industry is generating a significant amount of waste from chicken droppings that are abundant in microbes as well as macro- and micronutrients suitable for manure. It has the potential to improve the microbial activity and nutrient dynamics in the soil, ultimately improving soil fertility. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of chicken droppings manure (CDM) on the diversity of the soil microbiome in the free walking chicken's area located in Stefanidar, Rostov Region, Russia. The data obtained were compared with 16 s rRNA from control samples located not far from the chicken's free-walking area, but not in direct contact with the droppings. Effect of CDM on the physicochemical characteristics of the soil and changes in its microbial diversity were assessed by employing the metagenomic approaches and 16 s rRNA-based taxonomic assessment. The alpha and beta diversity indices revealed that the application of the CDM significantly improved the soil microbial diversity. The 16S taxonomical analysis confirmed Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Planctomycetes as abundant bacterial phylum. It also revealed the increase in the total number of the individual operational taxonomic unit (OTU) species, a qualitative indicator of the rich microbial community. The alpha diversity confirmed that the significant species richness of the soil is associated with the CDM treatment. The increased OTUs represent the qualitative indicator of a community that has been studied up to the depth of 5-20 cm of the CDM treatment range. These findings suggested that CDM-mediated microbial richness are believed to confer the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, along with key soil enzymes such as dehydrogenases and catalase carbohydrate-active enzymes. Hence, the application of CDM could improve soil fertility by nutrient cycling caused by changes in soil microbial dynamics, and it could also be a cost-effective sustainable means of improving soil health.},
}

Animals
*Soil
Chickens
Manure
Poultry
Soil Microbiology
Bacteria/genetics
*Microbiota

@article {pmid34995388,
year = {2023},
author = {Nappi, J and Goncalves, P and Khan, T and Majzoub, ME and Grobler, AS and Marzinelli, EM and Thomas, T and Egan, S},
title = {Differential priority effects impact taxonomy and functionality of host-associated microbiomes.},
journal = {Molecular ecology},
volume = {32},
number = {23},
pages = {6278-6293},
doi = {10.1111/mec.16336},
pmid = {34995388},
issn = {1365-294X},
support = {DP180104041//Australian Research Council/ ; FT130100828//Australian Research Council/ ; },
mesh = {RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Metagenome ; *Ulva/genetics ; *Rhodobacteraceae/genetics ; },
abstract = {Most multicellular eukaryotes host complex communities of microorganisms, but the factors that govern their assembly are poorly understood. The settlement of specific microorganisms may have a lasting impact on community composition, a phenomenon known as the priority effect. Priority effects of individual bacterial strains on a host's microbiome are, however, rarely studied and their impact on microbiome functionality remains unknown. We experimentally tested the effect of two bacterial strains (Pseudoalteromonas tunicata D2 and Pseudovibrio sp. D323) on the assembly and succession of the microbial communities associated with the green macroalga Ulva australis. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and qPCR, we found that both strains exert a priority effect, with strain D2 causing initially strong but temporary taxonomic changes and strain D323 causing weaker but consistent changes. Consistent changes were predominately facilitatory and included taxa that may benefit the algal host. Metagenome analyses revealed that the strains elicited both shared (e.g., depletion of type III secretion system genes) and unique (e.g., enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes) effects on the predicted microbiome functionality. These findings indicate strong idiosyncratic effects of colonizing bacteria on the structure and function of host-associated microbial communities. Understanding the idiosyncrasies in priority effects is key for the development of novel probiotics to improve host condition.},
}

RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
*Microbiota/genetics
Metagenome
*Ulva/genetics
*Rhodobacteraceae/genetics

@article {pmid37985845,
year = {2023},
author = {Ye, Q and Sun, S and Deng, J and Chen, X and Zhang, J and Lin, S and Du, H and Gao, J and Zou, X and Lin, X and Cai, Y and Lu, Z},
title = {Using 16S rDNA and metagenomic sequencing technology to analyze the fecal microbiome of children with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {20253},
pmid = {37985845},
issn = {2045-2322},
mesh = {Humans ; Child ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; *Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Macrolides ; *Microbiota ; Bacteria/genetics ; *Actinobacteria/genetics ; Eating ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; },
abstract = {To investigate the gut microbiota distribution and its functions in children with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). A total of 135 children were enrolled in the study, including 102 children with ARFID and 33 healthy children. Fecal samples were analyzed to explore differences in gut microbiota composition and diversity and functional differences between the ARFID and healthy control (HC) groups via 16S rDNA and metagenomic sequencing. The gut microbiota composition and diversity in children with ARFID were different from those in heathy children, but there is no difference in the composition and diversity of gut microbiota between children at the age of 3-6 and 7-12 with ARFID. At the phylum level, the most abundant microbes in the two groups identified by 16S rDNA and metagenomic sequencing were the same. At the genus level, the abundance of Bacteroides was higher in the ARFID group (P > 0.05); however, different from the result of 16SrDNA sequencing, metagenomic sequencing showed that the abundance of Bacteroides in the ARFID group was significantly higher than that in the HC group (P = 0.041). At the species level, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lachnospira eligens were the most abundant taxa in the ARFID group, and Prevotella copri, Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, and Ruminococcus gnavus were the top three microbial taxa in the HC group; there were no statistically significant differences between the abundance of these microbial taxa in the two groups. LefSe analysis indicated a greater abundance of the order Enterobacterales and its corresponding family Enterobacteriaceae, the family Bacteroidaceae and corresponding genus Bacteroides, the species Bacteroides vulgatus in ARFID group, while the abundance of the phylum Actinobacteriota and its corresponding class Actinobacteria , the order Bifidobacteriales and corresponding family Bifidobacteriaceae, the genus Bifidobacterium were enriched in the HC group. There were no statistically significant differences in the Chao1, Shannon and Simpson indices between the Y1 and Y2 groups (P = 0.1, P = 0.06, P = 0.06). At the phylum level, Bacillota, Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteriota were the most abundant taxa in both groups, but there were no statistically significant differences among the abundance of these bacteria (P = 0.958, P = 0.456, P = 0.473, P = 0.065). At the genus level, Faecalibacterium was more abundant in the Y2 group than in the Y1 group, and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.037). The KEGG annotation results showed no significant difference in gut microbiota function between children with ARFID and healthy children; however, GT26 was significantly enriched in children with ARFID based on the CAZy database. The most abundant antibiotic resistance genes in the ARFID group were the vanT, tetQ, adeF, ermF genes, and the abundance of macrolide resistance genes in the ARFID group was significantly higher than that in the HC group (P = 0.041). Compared with healthy children, children with ARFID have a different distribution of the gut microbiota and functional genes. This indicates that the gut microbiome might play an important role in the pathogenesis of ARFID.Clinical trial registration: ChiCTR2300074759.},
}

Humans
Child
Anti-Bacterial Agents
*Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
Drug Resistance, Bacterial
Macrolides
*Microbiota
Bacteria/genetics
*Actinobacteria/genetics
Eating
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics

@article {pmid37985659,
year = {2023},
author = {Mejia, ME and Mercado-Evans, V and Zulk, JJ and Ottinger, S and Ruiz, K and Ballard, MB and Fowler, SW and Britton, RA and Patras, KA},
title = {Vaginal microbial dynamics and pathogen colonization in a humanized microbiota mouse model.},
journal = {NPJ biofilms and microbiomes},
volume = {9},
number = {1},
pages = {87},
pmid = {37985659},
issn = {2055-5008},
support = {P30 DK056338/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States ; T32 GM136554/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States ; R01 DK128053/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States ; F31 AI167547/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States ; F31 HD111236/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States ; F31 AI167538/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States ; U19 AI157981/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States ; },
mesh = {Humans ; Female ; Animals ; Mice ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; *Escherichia coli/genetics ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Vagina ; *Microbiota ; Disease Models, Animal ; Streptococcus agalactiae/genetics ; },
abstract = {Vaginal microbial composition is associated with differential risk of urogenital infection. Although Lactobacillus spp. are thought to confer protection against infection, the lack of in vivo models resembling the human vaginal microbiota remains a prominent barrier to mechanistic discovery. Using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of C57BL/6J female mice, we found that vaginal microbial composition varies within and between colonies across three vivaria. Noting vaginal microbial plasticity in conventional mice, we assessed the vaginal microbiome of humanized microbiota mice ([HMb]mice). Like the community structure in conventional mice, [HMb]mice vaginal microbiota clustered into community state types but, uniquely, [HMb]mice communities were frequently dominated by Lactobacillus or Enterobacteriaceae. Compared to conventional mice, [HMb]mice were less susceptible to uterine ascension by urogenital pathobionts group B Streptococcus (GBS) and Prevotella bivia. Although Escherichia and Lactobacillus both correlated with the absence of uterine GBS, vaginal pre-inoculation with exogenous [HMb]mouse-derived E. coli, but not Ligilactobacillus murinus, reduced vaginal GBS burden. Overall, [HMb]mice serve as a useful model to elucidate the role of endogenous microbes in conferring protection against urogenital pathogens.},
}

Humans
Female
Animals
Mice
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
*Escherichia coli/genetics
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Vagina
*Microbiota
Disease Models, Animal
Streptococcus agalactiae/genetics

@article {pmid37982653,
year = {2023},
author = {Jang, Y and Kang, J-S and Bae, EH and Lee, J},
title = {Metagenome-assembled genomes of the GU0601 sample (the Han River, South Korea).},
journal = {Microbiology resource announcements},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {e0068823},
doi = {10.1128/MRA.00688-23},
pmid = {37982653},
issn = {2576-098X},
abstract = {We generated metagenome sequences of the GU0601 sample collected from the Han River and constructed metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) to identify their bacterial composition. We identified six MAGs belonging to Alphaproteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Flavobacteria.},
}

@article {pmid37867065,
year = {2023},
author = {Brookes, Z and Teoh, L and Cieplik, F and Kumar, P},
title = {Mouthwash Effects on the Oral Microbiome: Are They Good, Bad, or Balanced?.},
journal = {International dental journal},
volume = {73 Suppl 2},
number = {},
pages = {S74-S81},
doi = {10.1016/j.identj.2023.08.010},
pmid = {37867065},
issn = {1875-595X},
mesh = {Humans ; Mouthwashes/pharmacology ; Chlorhexidine/pharmacology ; Mouth ; *Anti-Infective Agents ; Bacteria ; *Microbiota ; },
abstract = {This narrative review describes the oral microbiome, and its role in oral health and disease, before considering the impact of commonly used over-the-counter (OTC) mouthwashes on oral bacteria, viruses, bacteriophages, and fungi that make up these microbial communities in different niches of the mouth. Whilst certain mouthwashes have proven antimicrobial actions and clinical effectiveness supported by robust evidence, this review reports more recent metagenomics evidence, suggesting that mouthwashes such as chlorhexidine may cause "dysbiosis," whereby certain species of bacteria are killed, leaving others, sometimes unwanted, to predominate. There is little known about the effects of mouthwashes on fungi and viruses in the context of the oral microbiome (virome) in vivo, despite evidence that they "kill" certain viral pathogens ex vivo. Evidence for mouthwashes, much like antibiotics, is also emerging with regards to antimicrobial resistance, and this should further be considered in the context of their widespread use by clinicians and patients. Therefore, considering the potential of currently available OTC mouthwashes to alter the oral microbiome, this article finally proposes that the ideal mouthwash, whilst combatting oral disease, should "balance" antimicrobial communities, especially those associated with health. Which antimicrobial mouthwash best fits this ideal remains uncertain.},
}

Humans
Mouthwashes/pharmacology
Chlorhexidine/pharmacology
Mouth
*Anti-Infective Agents
Bacteria
*Microbiota

@article {pmid37980332,
year = {2023},
author = {Zeamer, AL and Salive, MC and An, X and Beaudoin, FL and House, SL and Stevens, JS and Zeng, D and Neylan, TC and Clifford, GD and Linnstaedt, SD and Rauch, SL and Storrow, AB and Lewandowski, C and Musey, PI and Hendry, PL and Sheikh, S and Jones, CW and Punches, BE and Swor, RA and Hudak, LA and Pascual, JL and Seamon, MJ and Harris, E and Pearson, C and Peak, DA and Merchant, RC and Domeier, RM and Rathlev, NK and O'Neil, BJ and Sergot, P and Sanchez, LD and Bruce, SE and Kessler, RC and Koenen, KC and McLean, SA and Bucci, V and Haran, JP},
title = {Association between microbiome and the development of adverse posttraumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae after traumatic stress exposure.},
journal = {Translational psychiatry},
volume = {13},
number = {1},
pages = {354},
pmid = {37980332},
issn = {2158-3188},
support = {RF1 AG067483/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; U01 MH110925/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; },
mesh = {Adult ; Humans ; *Microbiota ; *Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/metabolism ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Feces/microbiology ; Biological Availability ; },
abstract = {Patients exposed to trauma often experience high rates of adverse post-traumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae (APNS). The biological mechanisms promoting APNS are currently unknown, but the microbiota-gut-brain axis offers an avenue to understanding mechanisms as well as possibilities for intervention. Microbiome composition after trauma exposure has been poorly examined regarding neuropsychiatric outcomes. We aimed to determine whether the gut microbiomes of trauma-exposed emergency department patients who develop APNS have dysfunctional gut microbiome profiles and discover potential associated mechanisms. We performed metagenomic analysis on stool samples (n = 51) from a subset of adults enrolled in the Advancing Understanding of RecOvery afteR traumA (AURORA) study. Two-, eight- and twelve-week post-trauma outcomes for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (PTSD checklist for DSM-5), normalized depression scores (PROMIS Depression Short Form 8b) and somatic symptom counts were collected. Generalized linear models were created for each outcome using microbial abundances and relevant demographics. Mixed-effect random forest machine learning models were used to identify associations between APNS outcomes and microbial features and encoded metabolic pathways from stool metagenomics. Microbial species, including Flavonifractor plautii, Ruminococcus gnavus and, Bifidobacterium species, which are prevalent commensal gut microbes, were found to be important in predicting worse APNS outcomes from microbial abundance data. Notably, through APNS outcome modeling using microbial metabolic pathways, worse APNS outcomes were highly predicted by decreased L-arginine related pathway genes and increased citrulline and ornithine pathways. Common commensal microbial species are enriched in individuals who develop APNS. More notably, we identified a biological mechanism through which the gut microbiome reduces global arginine bioavailability, a metabolic change that has also been demonstrated in the plasma of patients with PTSD.},
}

Adult
Humans
*Microbiota
*Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/metabolism
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Feces/microbiology
Biological Availability

@article {pmid37978289,
year = {2023},
author = {Wang, C and Yu, QY and Ji, NN and Zheng, Y and Taylor, JW and Guo, LD and Gao, C},
title = {Bacterial genome size and gene functional diversity negatively correlate with taxonomic diversity along a pH gradient.},
journal = {Nature communications},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {7437},
pmid = {37978289},
issn = {2041-1723},
mesh = {*Ecosystem ; *Biodiversity ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; Genome Size ; Proton-Motive Force ; Bacteria/genetics ; Soil/chemistry ; Genome, Bacterial/genetics ; Soil Microbiology ; },
abstract = {Bacterial gene repertoires reflect adaptive strategies, contribute to ecosystem functioning and are limited by genome size. However, gene functional diversity does not necessarily correlate with taxonomic diversity because average genome size may vary by community. Here, we analyse gene functional diversity (by shotgun metagenomics) and taxonomic diversity (by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing) to investigate soil bacterial communities along a natural pH gradient in 12 tropical, subtropical, and temperate forests. We find that bacterial average genome size and gene functional diversity decrease, whereas taxonomic diversity increases, as soil pH rises from acid to neutral; as a result, bacterial taxonomic and functional diversity are negatively correlated. The gene repertoire of acid-adapted oligotrophs is enriched in functions of signal transduction, cell motility, secretion system, and degradation of complex compounds, while that of neutral pH-adapted copiotrophs is enriched in functions of energy metabolism and membrane transport. Our results indicate that a mismatch between taxonomic and functional diversity can arise when environmental factors (such as pH) select for adaptive strategies that affect genome size distributions.},
}

*Ecosystem
*Biodiversity
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
Genome Size
Proton-Motive Force
Bacteria/genetics
Soil/chemistry
Genome, Bacterial/genetics
Soil Microbiology

@article {pmid37974103,
year = {2023},
author = {Khan, FA and Pandupuspitasari, NS and Huang, C and Negara, W and Ahmed, B and Putri, EM and Lestari, P and Priyatno, TP and Prima, A and Restitrisnani, V and Surachman, M and Akhadiarto, S and Darmawan, IWA and Wahyuni, DS and Herdis, H},
title = {Unlocking gut microbiota potential of dairy cows in varied environmental conditions using shotgun metagenomic approach.},
journal = {BMC microbiology},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {344},
pmid = {37974103},
issn = {1471-2180},
mesh = {Female ; Cattle ; Animals ; *Lactation ; Diet/veterinary ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Milk Proteins ; Gases ; Methane/metabolism ; },
abstract = {Food security and environmental pollution are major concerns for the expanding world population, where farm animals are the largest source of dietary proteins and are responsible for producing anthropogenic gases, including methane, especially by cows. We sampled the fecal microbiomes of cows from varying environmental regions of Pakistan to determine the better-performing microbiomes for higher yields and lower methane emissions by applying the shotgun metagenomic approach. We selected managed dairy farms in the Chakwal, Salt Range, and Patoki regions of Pakistan, and also incorporated animals from local farmers. Milk yield and milk fat, and protein contents were measured and correlated with microbiome diversity and function. The average milk protein content from the Salt Range farms was 2.68%, with an average peak milk yield of 45 litters/head/day, compared to 3.68% in Patoki farms with an average peak milk yield of 18 litters/head/day. Salt-range dairy cows prefer S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) to S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (SAH) conversion reactions and are responsible for low milk protein content. It is linked to Bacteroides fragilles which account for 10% of the total Bacteroides, compared to 3% in the Patoki region. The solid Non-Fat in the salt range was 8.29%, whereas that in patoki was 6.34%. Moreover, Lactobacillus plantarum high abundance in Salt Range provided propionate as alternate sink to [H], and overcoming a Methanobrevibacter ruminantium high methane emissions in the Salt Range. Furthermore, our results identified ruminant fecal microbiomes that can be used as fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) to high-methane emitters and low-performing herds to increase farm output and reduce the environmental damage caused by anthropogenic gases emitted by dairy cows.},
}

Female
Cattle
Animals
*Lactation
Diet/veterinary
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Milk Proteins
Gases
Methane/metabolism

@article {pmid37972203,
year = {2023},
author = {Zheng, L and Wang, H and Lin, J and Zhou, Y and Xiao, J and Li, K},
title = {Population genomics provides insights into the genetic diversity and adaptation of the Pieris rapae in China.},
journal = {PloS one},
volume = {18},
number = {11},
pages = {e0294521},
pmid = {37972203},
issn = {1932-6203},
mesh = {Humans ; Animals ; *Butterflies/genetics ; Metagenomics ; Biodiversity ; Temperature ; *Brassica ; Genetic Variation ; },
abstract = {The cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae), a major agricultural pest, has become one of the most abundant and destructive butterflies in the world. It is widely distributed in a large variety of climates and terrains of China due to its strong adaptability. To gain insight into the population genetic characteristics of P. rapae in China, we resequenced the genome of 51 individuals from 19 areas throughout China. Using population genomics approaches, a dense variant map of P. rapae was observed, indicating a high level of polymorphism that could result in adaptation to a changing environment. The feature of the genetic structure suggested considerable genetic admixture in different geographical groups. Additionally, our analyses suggest that physical barriers may have played a more important role than geographic distance in driving genetic differentiation. Population history showed the effective population size of P. rapae was greatly affected by global temperature changes, with mild periods (i.e., temperatures warmer than those during glaciation but not excessively hot) leading to an increase in population size. Furthermore, by comparing populations from south and north China, we have identified selected genes related to sensing temperature, growth, neuromodulation and immune response, which may reveal the genetic basis of adaptation to different environments. Our study is the first to illustrate the genetic signatures of P. rapae in China at the population genomic level, providing fundamental knowledge of the genetic diversity and adaptation of P. rapae.},
}

Humans
Animals
*Butterflies/genetics
Metagenomics
Biodiversity
Temperature
*Brassica
Genetic Variation

@article {pmid37935462,
year = {2023},
author = {Gaike, AH and Kalamkar, SD and Gajjar, V and Divate, U and Karandikar-Iyer, S and Goel, P and Shouche, YS and Ghaskadbi, SS},
title = {Effect of long-term oral glutathione supplementation on gut microbiome of type 2 diabetic individuals.},
journal = {FEMS microbiology letters},
volume = {370},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/femsle/fnad116},
pmid = {37935462},
issn = {1574-6968},
support = {//UGC/ ; //CAS/ ; //DST/ ; //Savitribai Phule Pune University/ ; //National Centre for Cell Science/ ; //IISER Pune/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; Glutathione ; *Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/drug therapy ; Dietary Supplements ; },
abstract = {The aim of this study was to check the effect of long-term oral glutathione (GSH) supplementation on alteration in gut microbiome of Indian diabetic individuals. Early morning fresh stool sample of diabetic individuals recruited in a randomized clinical trial wherein they were given 500 mg GSH supplementation orally once a day for a period of 6 months was collected and gut microbiome was analysed using high throughput 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing. Long-term GSH supplementation as reported in our earlier work showed significant increase in body stores of GSH and stabilized decreased glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Analysis of gut microbiome revealed that abundance of phylum Proteobacteria significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in individuals with GSH supplementation after 6 months compared to those without it. Beneficial dominant genera such as Megasphaera, Bacteroides, and Megamonas were found to be significantly enriched (P < 0.05), while pathogenic Escherichia/Shigella was found to be depleted (P < 0.05) after supplementation. Data clearly demonstrate that GSH supplementation along with antidiabetic treatment helps restore the gut microbiome by enriching beneficial bacteria of healthy gut and reducing significantly the load of pathogenic bacteria of diabetic gut.},
}

Humans
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
Glutathione
*Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/drug therapy
Dietary Supplements

@article {pmid37863223,
year = {2024},
author = {Jiménez-Volkerink, SN and Jordán, M and Smidt, H and Minguillón, C and Vila, J and Grifoll, M},
title = {Metagenomic insights into the microbial cooperative networks of a benz(a)anthracene-7,12-dione degrading community from a creosote-contaminated soil.},
journal = {The Science of the total environment},
volume = {907},
number = {},
pages = {167832},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167832},
pmid = {37863223},
issn = {1879-1026},
mesh = {Microbial Consortia ; Creosote ; Sand ; *Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons/metabolism ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; Carbon ; *Soil Pollutants/metabolism ; Soil Microbiology ; Soil ; },
abstract = {Genotoxicity of PAH-contaminated soils can eventually increase after bioremediation due to the formation and accumulation of polar transformation products, mainly oxygenated PAHs (oxy-PAHs). Biodegradation of oxy-PAHs has been described in soils, but information on the microorganisms and mechanisms involved is still scarce. Benz(a)anthracene-7,12-dione (BaAQ), a transformation product from benz(a)anthracene frequently detected in soils, presents higher genotoxic potential than its parent PAH. Here, using sand-in-liquid microcosms we identified a specialized BaAQ-degrading subpopulation in a PAH-contaminated soil. A BaAQ-degrading microbial consortium was obtained by enrichment in sand-in-liquid cultures with BaAQ as sole carbon source, and its metagenomic analysis identified members of Sphingobium, Stenotrophomonas, Pusillimonas, Olivibacter, Pseudomonas, Achromobacter, and Hyphomicrobiales as major components. The integration of data from metabolomic and metagenomic functional gene analyses of the consortium revealed that the BaAQ metabolic pathway was initiated by Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases (BVMOs). The presence of plasmid pANTQ-1 in the metagenomic sequences, identified in a previous multi-omic characterization of a 9,10-anthraquinone-degrading isolate recovered from the same soil, suggested the occurrence of a horizontal gene transfer event. Further metagenomic analysis of the BaAQ-degrading consortium also provided insights into the potential roles and interactions within the consortium members. Several potential auxotrophies were detected, indicating that relevant nutritional interdependencies and syntrophic associations were taking place within the community members, not only to provide suitable carbon and energy sources, but also to supply essential nutrients and cofactors. Our work confirms the essential role that BVMO may play as a detoxification mechanism to mitigate the risk posed by oxy-PAH formation during bioremediation of contaminated soils.},
}

Microbial Consortia
Creosote
Sand
*Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons/metabolism
Biodegradation, Environmental
Carbon
*Soil Pollutants/metabolism
Soil Microbiology
Soil

@article {pmid37806587,
year = {2024},
author = {Lin, X and Liu, Z and Wang, W and Duan, G and Zhu, Y},
title = {Effects of artificial sweetener acesulfame on soil-dwelling earthworms (Eisenia fetida) and its gut microbiota.},
journal = {The Science of the total environment},
volume = {907},
number = {},
pages = {167641},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167641},
pmid = {37806587},
issn = {1879-1026},
mesh = {Animals ; Soil ; *Oligochaeta/physiology ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Sweetening Agents/analysis ; *Soil Pollutants/analysis ; },
abstract = {Artificial sweeteners (AS) are the emerging contaminants with potential toxicity to living organisms. The effects of AS to soil typical invertebrates have not been revealed. In this study, the responses of earthworms (Eisenia fetida) and gut microbial communities to acesulfame-contaminated soils (0.1, 1 and 10 mg kg[-1]) were studied using transcriptomics, metabolomics and metagenomics analyses. The fresh weight of earthworms was significantly stimulated by acesulfame at concentrations of 1 mg kg[-1]. Sphingolipid metabolism, purine metabolism, cutin, suberine and wax biosynthesis pathways were significantly affected. At 10 mg kg[-1] treatment, the amount and weight of cocoons were significantly increased and decreased, respectively, accompanied by the significant disorder of ECM-receptor interaction, and carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms pathways. Lysosome pathway was significantly affected in all the treatments. Moreover, the acesulfame significantly increased the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Mucoromycota, and decreased Proteobacteria in the gut of earthworms. Our multi-level investigation indicated that AS at a relatively low concentration induced toxicity to earthworms and AS pollution has significant environmental risks for soil fauna.},
}

Animals
Soil
*Oligochaeta/physiology
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Sweetening Agents/analysis
*Soil Pollutants/analysis

@article {pmid37752498,
year = {2023},
author = {Fan, Z and Zhang, L and Wei, L and Huang, X and Yang, M and Xing, X},
title = {Tracheal microbiome and metabolome profiling in iatrogenic subglottic tracheal stenosis.},
journal = {BMC pulmonary medicine},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {361},
pmid = {37752498},
issn = {1471-2466},
support = {202201AY070001-277//the Special and Joint Program of the Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Department and Kunming Medical University/ ; 202201AY070001-265//the Special and Joint Program of the Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Department and Kunming Medical University/ ; 2022J0019//Science Research Foundation of Yunnan Provincial Education Department/ ; No. 82160016//the National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; No. YNWR-MY-2020-013//Famous Doctors of High-level Talent Training Support Program of Yunnan Province/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; *Tracheal Stenosis ; *Laryngostenosis ; Cicatrix ; Iatrogenic Disease ; *Microbiota ; Metabolome ; Carnitine ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: To study the role of microecology and metabolism in iatrogenic tracheal injury and cicatricial stenosis, we investigated the tracheal microbiome and metabolome in patients with tracheal stenosis after endotracheal intubation.

METHODS: We collected 16 protected specimen brush (PSB) and 8 broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) samples from 8 iatrogenic subglottic tracheal stenosis patients, including 8 PSB samples from tracheal scar sites, 8 PSB samples from scar-free sites and 8 BAL samples, by lavaging the subsegmental bronchi of the right-middle lobe. Metagenomic sequencing was performed to characterize the microbiome profiling of 16 PSB and 8 BAL samples. Untargeted metabolomics was performed in 6 PSB samples (3 from tracheal scar PSB and 3 from tracheal scar-free PSB) using high-performance liquid chromatography‒mass spectrometry (LC‒MS).

RESULTS: At the species level, the top four bacterial species were Neisseria subflava, Streptococcus oralis, Capnocytophaga gingivals, and Haemophilus aegyptius. The alpha and beta diversity among tracheal scar PSB, scar-free PSB and BAL samples were compared, and no significant differences were found. Untargeted metabolomics was performed in 6 PSB samples using LC‒MS, and only one statistically significant metabolite, carnitine, was identified. Pathway enrichment analysis of carnitine revealed significant enrichment in fatty acid oxidation.

CONCLUSION: Our study found that carnitine levels in tracheal scar tissue were significantly lower than those in scar-free tissue, which might be a new target for the prevention and treatment of iatrogenic tracheal stenosis in the future.},
}

Humans
*Tracheal Stenosis
*Laryngostenosis
Cicatrix
Iatrogenic Disease
*Microbiota
Metabolome
Carnitine

@article {pmid37971084,
year = {2023},
author = {Conteville, LC and Oliveira-Ferreira, J and Vicente, ACP},
title = {Heavy metal resistance in the Yanomami and Tunapuco microbiome.},
journal = {Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz},
volume = {118},
number = {},
pages = {e230086},
pmid = {37971084},
issn = {1678-8060},
mesh = {Humans ; Copper ; Nickel ; Silver ; *Metals, Heavy ; *Mercury ; Gold ; *Microbiota/genetics ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: The Amazon Region hosts invaluable and unique biodiversity as well as mineral resources. Consequently, large illegal and artisanal gold mining areas exist in indigenous territories. Mercury has been used in gold mining, and some has been released into the environment and atmosphere, primarily affecting indigenous people such as the Yanomami. In addition, other heavy metals have been associated with gold mining and other metal-dispersing activities in the region.

OBJECTIVE: Investigate the gut microbiome of two semi-isolated groups from the Amazon, focusing on metal resistance.

METHODS: Metagenomic data from the Yanomami and Tunapuco gut microbiome were assembled into contigs, and their putative proteins were searched against a database of metal resistance proteins.

FINDINGS: Proteins associated with mercury resistance were exclusive in the Yanomami, while proteins associated with silver resistance were exclusive in the Tunapuco. Both groups share 77 non-redundant metal resistance (MR) proteins, mostly associated with multi-MR and operons with potential resistance to arsenic, nickel, zinc, copper, copper/silver, and cobalt/nickel. Although both groups harbour operons related to copper resistance, only the Tunapuco group had the pco operon.

CONCLUSION: The Yanomami and Tunapuco gut microbiome shows that these people have been exposed directly or indirectly to distinct scenarios concerning heavy metals.},
}

Humans
Copper
Nickel
Silver
*Metals, Heavy
*Mercury
Gold
*Microbiota/genetics

@article {pmid37968659,
year = {2023},
author = {Abouelkhair, MA and Roozitalab, A and Elsakhawy, OK},
title = {Molecular characterization of a reptarenavirus detected in a Colombian Red-Tailed Boa (Boa constrictor imperator).},
journal = {Virology journal},
volume = {20},
number = {1},
pages = {265},
pmid = {37968659},
issn = {1743-422X},
abstract = {The global decline in biodiversity is a matter of great concern for members of the class Reptilia. Reptarenaviruses infect snakes, and have been linked to various clinical conditions, such as Boid Inclusion Body Disease (BIBD) in snakes belonging to the families Boidae and Pythonidae. However, there is a scarcity of information regarding reptarenaviruses found in snakes in both the United States and globally. This study aimed to contribute to the understanding of reptarenavirus diversity by molecularly characterizing a reptarenavirus detected in a Colombian Red-Tailed Boa (Boa constrictor imperator). Using a metagenomics approach, we successfully identified, and de novo assembled the whole genomic sequences of a reptarenavirus in a Colombian Red-Tailed Boa manifesting clinically relevant symptoms consistent with BIBD. The analysis showed that the Colombian Red-Tailed Boa in this study carried the University of Giessen virus (UGV-1) S or S6 (UGV/S6) segment and L genotype 7. The prevalence of the UGV/S6 genotype, in line with prior research findings, implies that this genotype may possess specific advantageous characteristics or adaptations that give it a competitive edge over other genotypes in the host population. This research underscores the importance of monitoring and characterizing viral pathogens in captive and wild snake populations. Knowledge of such viruses is crucial for the development of effective diagnostic methods, potential intervention strategies, and the conservation of vulnerable reptilian species. Additionally, our study provides valuable insights for future studies focusing on the evolutionary history, molecular epidemiology, and biological properties of reptarenaviruses in boas and other snake species.},
}

@article {pmid37966591,
year = {2024},
author = {Heinrichs, ME and Piedade, GJ and Popa, O and Sommers, P and Trubl, G and Weissenbach, J and Rahlff, J},
title = {Breaking the Ice: A Review of Phages in Polar Ecosystems.},
journal = {Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)},
volume = {2738},
number = {},
pages = {31-71},
pmid = {37966591},
issn = {1940-6029},
mesh = {*Bacteriophages ; Ecosystem ; Biomass ; Biological Evolution ; Cell Death ; *Viroids ; },
abstract = {Bacteriophages, or phages, are viruses that infect and replicate within bacterial hosts, playing a significant role in regulating microbial populations and ecosystem dynamics. However, phages from extreme environments such as polar regions remain relatively understudied due to challenges such as restricted ecosystem access and low biomass. Understanding the diversity, structure, and functions of polar phages is crucial for advancing our knowledge of the microbial ecology and biogeochemistry of these environments. In this review, we will explore the current state of knowledge on phages from the Arctic and Antarctic, focusing on insights gained from -omic studies, phage isolation, and virus-like particle abundance data. Metagenomic studies of polar environments have revealed a high diversity of phages with unique genetic characteristics, providing insights into their evolutionary and ecological roles. Phage isolation studies have identified novel phage-host interactions and contributed to the discovery of new phage species. Virus-like particle abundance and lysis rate data, on the other hand, have highlighted the importance of phages in regulating bacterial populations and nutrient cycling in polar environments. Overall, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge about polar phages, and by synthesizing these different sources of information, we can better understand the diversity, dynamics, and functions of polar phages in the context of ongoing climate change, which will help to predict how polar ecosystems and residing phages may respond to future environmental perturbations.},
}

*Bacteriophages
Ecosystem
Biomass
Biological Evolution
Cell Death
*Viroids

@article {pmid37965618,
year = {2023},
author = {Ogola, HJO and Ijoma, GN and Edokpayi, JN},
title = {Sediment microbiome diversity and functional profiles of unprotected arid-tropical natural wetlands in South Africa revealed by shotgun metagenomics data.},
journal = {Data in brief},
volume = {51},
number = {},
pages = {109726},
pmid = {37965618},
issn = {2352-3409},
abstract = {The Limpopo province, located in the arid-tropical region in northeastern South Africa, is renowned for its diverse natural wetlands, some of which are currently unprotected. These wetlands play a crucial role in preserving biodiversity, purifying water, controlling floods, and supporting agricultural production for rural communities. Unfortunately, human activities such as agricultural effluents, run-offs, domestic wastewater, and plastics pollution, along with the impacts of climate change, are mounting pressures on these ecosystems. However, there is limited information on the microbial ecology of natural wetlands in this region, considering the changing anthropogenic activities. The data presented represents the first report on the microbial and functional diversity of sediment microbiomes associated with unprotected arid-tropical natural wetlands in South Africa. Metagenomic shotgun sequencing was performed on sediment samples from ten different wetlands using the Illumina NextSeq 2000 platform. Taxonomic profiling of 328,625,930 high-quality sequencing reads using the MetaPhlAn v3.0 pipeline revealed that Bacteria were the most abundant kingdom (54.5 %), followed by Viruses (0.40 %), Archaea (0.01 %), and Eukaryota (0.36 %). Among bacteria, the most prevalent taxa belonged to the phylum Proteobacteria, particularly the classes Gammaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria, which accounted for 83 % of bacterial sequences. The Terrabacteria group, consisting of the phyla Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, made up 3 % of the bacterial population. The abundance of these top bacterial taxa varied across different wetland samples, both at the genus and species levels. In addition, hierarchical clustering based on Bray-Curtis dissimilarity distances of fungal, protist, archaea, and virus species showed distinct clustering of sediment samples from different wetlands. Functional annotation of the metagenomes identified 1224-1702 enzyme classes, 84,833-198,397 gene families, and 280-400 pathways across the various wetland sediments. The data provide crucial baseline information on the microbial and functional diversity of sediment communities in arid tropical wetlands. This knowledge will contribute to a better understanding of these unique environments and can aid in their management and conservation efforts in rural South Africa.},
}

@article {pmid37964026,
year = {2023},
author = {Chen, X and Liu, J and Zhu, XY and Xue, CX and Yao, P and Fu, L and Yang, Z and Sun, K and Yu, M and Wang, X and Zhang, XH},
title = {Phylogenetically and metabolically diverse autotrophs in the world's deepest blue hole.},
journal = {ISME communications},
volume = {3},
number = {1},
pages = {117},
pmid = {37964026},
issn = {2730-6151},
abstract = {The world's deepest yongle blue hole (YBH) is characterized by sharp dissolved oxygen (DO) gradients, and considerably low-organic-carbon and high-inorganic-carbon concentrations that may support active autotrophic communities. To understand metabolic strategies of autotrophic communities for obtaining carbon and energy spanning redox gradients, we presented finer characterizations of microbial community, metagenome and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) in the YBH possessing oxic, hypoxic, essentially anoxic and completely anoxic zones vertically. Firstly, the YBH microbial composition and function shifted across the four zones, linking to different biogeochemical processes. The recovery of high-quality MAGs belonging to various uncultivated lineages reflected high novelty of the YBH microbiome. Secondly, carbon fixation processes and associated energy metabolisms varied with the vertical zones. The Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle was ubiquitous but differed in affiliated taxa at different zones. Various carbon fixation pathways were found in the hypoxic and essentially anoxic zones, including the 3-hyroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate (3HP/4HB) cycle affiliated to Nitrososphaeria, and Wood-Ljungdahl (WL) pathway affiliated to Planctomycetes, with sulfur oxidation and dissimilatory nitrate reduction as primary energy-conserving pathways. The completely anoxic zone harbored diverse taxa (Dehalococcoidales, Desulfobacterales and Desulfatiglandales) utilizing the WL pathway coupled with versatile energy-conserving pathways via sulfate reduction, fermentation, CO oxidation and hydrogen metabolism. Finally, most of the WL-pathway containing taxa displayed a mixotrophic lifestyle corresponding to flexible carbon acquisition strategies. Our result showed a vertical transition of microbial lifestyle from photo-autotrophy, chemoautotrophy to mixotrophy in the YBH, enabling a better understanding of carbon fixation processes and associated biogeochemical impacts with different oxygen availability.},
}

@article {pmid37877794,
year = {2023},
author = {Morissette, A and André, DM and Agrinier, AL and Varin, TV and Pilon, G and Flamand, N and Houde, VP and Marette, A},
title = {The metabolic benefits of substituting sucrose for maple syrup are associated with a shift in carbohydrate digestion and gut microbiota composition in high-fat high-sucrose diet-fed mice.},
journal = {American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism},
volume = {325},
number = {6},
pages = {E661-E671},
doi = {10.1152/ajpendo.00065.2023},
pmid = {37877794},
issn = {1522-1555},
support = {//Producteurs et productrices acericoles du Quebec/ ; },
mesh = {Male ; Animals ; Mice ; Sucrose ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; *Acer ; Mice, Obese ; Liver/metabolism ; Diet, High-Fat ; Sweetening Agents ; Digestion ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; },
abstract = {Overconsumption of added sugars is now largely recognized as a major culprit in the global situation of obesity and metabolic disorders. Previous animal studies reported that maple syrup (MS) is less deleterious than refined sugars on glucose metabolism and hepatic health, but the mechanisms remain poorly studied. Beyond its content in sucrose, MS is a natural sweetener containing several bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols and inulin, which are potential gut microbiota modifiers. We aimed to investigate the impact of MS on metabolic health and gut microbiota in male C57Bl/6J mice fed a high-fat high-sucrose (HFHS + S) diet or an isocaloric HFHS diet in which a fraction (10% of the total caloric intake) of the sucrose was substituted by MS (HFHS + MS). Insulin and glucose tolerance tests were performed at 5 and 7 wk into the diet, respectively. The fecal microbiota was analyzed by whole-genome shotgun sequencing. Liver lipids and inflammation were determined, and hepatic gene expression was assessed by transcriptomic analysis. Maple syrup was less deleterious on insulin resistance and decreased liver steatosis compared with mice consuming sucrose. This could be explained by the decreased intestinal α-glucosidase activity, which is involved in carbohydrate digestion and absorption. Metagenomic shotgun sequencing analysis revealed that MS intake increased the abundance of Faecalibaculum rodentium, Romboutsia ilealis, and Lactobacillus johnsonii, which all possess gene clusters involved in carbohydrate metabolism, such as sucrose utilization and butyric acid production. Liver transcriptomic analyses revealed that the cytochrome P450 (Cyp450) epoxygenase pathway was differently modulated between HFHS + S- and HFHS + MS-fed mice. These results show that substituting sucrose for MS alleviated dysmetabolism in diet-induced obese mice, which were associated with decreased carbohydrate digestion and shifting gut microbiota.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The natural sweetener maple syrup has sparked much interest as an alternative to refined sugars. This study aimed to investigate whether the metabolic benefits of substituting sucrose with an equivalent dose of maple syrup could be linked to changes in gut microbiota composition and digestion of carbohydrates in obese mice. We demonstrated that maple syrup is less detrimental than sucrose on metabolic health and possesses a prebiotic-like activity through novel gut microbiota and liver mechanisms.},
}

Male
Animals
Mice
Sucrose
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
*Acer
Mice, Obese
Liver/metabolism
Diet, High-Fat
Sweetening Agents
Digestion
Mice, Inbred C57BL

@article {pmid37866200,
year = {2023},
author = {Wang, X and Sun, T and Yan, S and Chen, S and Zhang, Y},
title = {Sediment microbial community characteristics in sea cucumber restocking area.},
journal = {Marine environmental research},
volume = {192},
number = {},
pages = {106233},
doi = {10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106233},
pmid = {37866200},
issn = {1879-0291},
mesh = {Animals ; Humans ; Geologic Sediments/chemistry ; *Sea Cucumbers/microbiology ; *Microbiota ; Bacteria ; Water ; Nitrogen ; },
abstract = {Variations of microbial species and functional composition in coastal sediment are usually taken as the results of the provision of supplementary nutrients affected by human activities. However, responses of microbiome stability to restocking biological resources remain less understood in coastal benthic systems without nutrient supplements. Here, combined with metagenomics and microbiome co-occurrence networks, the composition, function, and community stability of microbes were evaluated in a coastal area where sea cucumbers (Apostichopus japonicus) restocked after six months. Also, the physicochemical characteristics of sediments and bottom water were analyzed. We found the total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus of sediment did not change significantly in the restocking area after six months, whereas the concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in bottom water increased significantly. Moreover, the relative abundance of Nitrospina at the class level was increased significantly in the restocking area. Also, enzymes related to nitrate reduction and nitrous oxide reductase were increased in the restocking area. Of note, stock enhancement of sea cucumbers altered associations between bacteria rather than their composition. The elimination of negative associations and reduction of the potential keystone taxa in the restocking area indicated destabilized bacterial communities. Our work may contribute to elucidating the response of microbial stability to stock enhancement. This finding also suggests that microbial community stability can be considered as an indicator of ecological risk under the influence of stock enhancement.},
}

Animals
Humans
Geologic Sediments/chemistry
*Sea Cucumbers/microbiology
*Microbiota
Bacteria
Water
Nitrogen

@article {pmid37839685,
year = {2024},
author = {Xiang, F and Zhang, Q and Xu, X and Zhang, Z},
title = {Black soldier fly larvae recruit functional microbiota into the intestines and residues to promote lignocellulosic degradation in domestic biodegradable waste.},
journal = {Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)},
volume = {340},
number = {Pt 1},
pages = {122676},
doi = {10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122676},
pmid = {37839685},
issn = {1873-6424},
mesh = {Animals ; Larva ; *Microbiota ; Intestines ; *Diptera ; },
abstract = {Lignocellulose is an important component of domestic biodegradable waste (DBW), and its complex structure makes it an obstacle in the biological treatment of DBW. Here, we identify black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens L., BSFL) as a bioreactor for lignocellulose degradation in DBW based on their ability to effectively recruit lignocellulose-degrading bacteria. This study mainly examined the lignocellulose degradation, dynamic succession of the microbial community, gene expression of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), and co-occurrence network analysis. Investigation of lignocellulose degradation by BSFL within 14 days indicated that the lignocellulose biodegradation rate in the larvae treatment (LT, 26.5%) group was higher than in natural composting (NC, 4.06%). In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of microbiota, we conducted metagenomic sequencing of larvae intestines (LI), along with the LT and NC. The relative abundance of lignocellulose-degrading bacteria and CAZymes genes in LT and LI were higher than those in NC based on metagenomics sequencing. Importantly, genes coding cellulase and hemicellulase in LI were 3.36- and 2.79-fold higher, respectively, than that in LT, while the ligninase genes in LT were 1.82-fold higher than in LI. A co-occurrence network analysis identified Enterocluster and Luteimonas as keystone taxa in larvae intestines and residues, respectively, with a synergistic relationship to lignocellulose-degrading bacteria. The mechanism of recruiting functional bacteria through the larvae intestines promoted lignocellulose degradation in DBW, improving the efficiency of BSFL biotechnology and resource regeneration.},
}

Animals
Larva
*Microbiota
Intestines
*Diptera

@article {pmid37752615,
year = {2023},
author = {Jin, Z and Yang, Y and Cao, Y and Wen, Q and Xi, Y and Cheng, J and Zhao, Q and Weng, J and Hong, K and Jiang, H and Hang, J and Zhang, Z},
title = {The gut metabolite 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid rejuvenates spermatogenic dysfunction in aged mice through GPX4-mediated ferroptosis.},
journal = {Microbiome},
volume = {11},
number = {1},
pages = {212},
pmid = {37752615},
issn = {2049-2618},
support = {2022YFC2702600//National Key Research and Development Program of China/ ; 20220484160//Beijing Nova Program/ ; 7222208//Natural Science Foundation of Beijing Municipality/ ; },
mesh = {Mice ; Male ; Animals ; *Ferroptosis ; Semen ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology ; Fecal Microbiota Transplantation ; Spermatogenesis ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Aging-related fertility decline is a prevalent concern globally. Male reproductive system aging is mainly characterized by a decrease in sperm quality and fertility. While it is known that intestinal physiology changes with age and that microbiota is shaped by physiology, the underlying mechanism of how the microbiota affects male reproductive aging is still largely unexplored.

RESULTS: Here, we utilized fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to exchange the fecal microbiota between young and old mice. Cecal shotgun metagenomics and metabolomics were used to identify differences in gut microbiota composition and metabolic regulation during aging. Our results demonstrated that FMT from young to old mice alleviated aging-associated spermatogenic dysfunction through an unexpected mechanism mediated by a gut bacteria-derived metabolite, 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (3-HPAA). 3-HPAA treatment resulted in an improvement of spermatogenesis in old mice. RNA sequencing analysis, qRT-PCR and Western blot revealed that 3-HPAA induced an upregulation of GPX4, thereby restraining ferroptosis and restoring spermatogenesis. These findings were further confirmed by in vitro induction of ferroptosis and inhibition of GPX4 expression.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that the microbiome-derived metabolite, 3-HPAA, facilitates spermatogenesis of old mice through a ferroptosis-mediated mechanism. Overall, these findings provide a novel mechanism of dysregulated spermatogenesis of old mice, and suggest that 3-HPAA could be a potential therapy for fertility decline of aging males in clinical practice. Video Abstract.},
}

Mice
Male
Animals
*Ferroptosis
Semen
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
Spermatogenesis

@article {pmid37433373,
year = {2023},
author = {Huang, X and Chen, C and Xie, W and Zhou, C and Tian, X and Zhang, Z and Wang, Q and Chang, H and Xiao, W and Zhang, R and Gao, Y},
title = {Metagenomic Analysis of Intratumoral Microbiome Linking to Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Rectal Cancer.},
journal = {International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics},
volume = {117},
number = {5},
pages = {1255-1269},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijrobp.2023.06.2515},
pmid = {37433373},
issn = {1879-355X},
mesh = {Humans ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Metagenome ; Chemoradiotherapy/methods ; *Rectal Neoplasms/pathology ; Biomarkers ; *Microbiota ; Butyrates ; Treatment Outcome ; },
abstract = {PURPOSE: To assess taxonomic and functional characteristics of tumor-bearing microbiota and its association with response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (nCRT) in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.

METHODS AND MATERIALS: We performed metagenomic sequencing of biopsy tumoral tissues from 73 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer before nCRT. Patients were classified into poor responders (PR) and good responders (GR) according to response to nCRT. Subsequent investigation of network alteration, key community, microbial biomarkers, and function related to nCRT responses were carried out.

RESULTS: The network-driven analysis systematically revealed 2 co-occurring bacteria modules that exhibited opposite relationship with rectal cancer radiosensitivity. In the 2 modules, prominent alteration of global graph properties and community structure was observed between networks of PR and GR group. By quantifying changes in between-group association patterns and abundances, a total of 115 discriminative biomarker species linked to nCRT response were found, and 35 microbial variables were selected to establish the optimal randomForest classifier for nCRT response prediction. It yielded an area under the curve value of 85.5% (95% CI, 73.3%-97.8%) in the training cohort and 88.4% (95% CI, 77.5%-99.4%) in the validation cohort. In a comprehensive consideration, 5 key bacteria showed high relevance with inducing resistance to nCRT, including Streptococcus equinus, Schaalia odontolytica, Clostridium hylemonae, Blautia producta, and Pseudomonas azotoformans. One key hub including several butyrate-formation bacteria involving with driving network alteration from GR to PR indicate that microbiota-derived butyrate may also be involved in reducing the antitumor effects of nCRT, especially Coprococcus. The functional analysis of metagenome linked the nitrate and sulfate-sulfur assimilation, histidine catabolic process, and resistance to cephamycin to the reduced therapeutic response. It also linked to leucine degradation, isoleucine biosynthesis, taurine, and hypotaurine metabolism to the improved response to nCRT.

CONCLUSIONS: Our data offer novel potential microbial factors and shared metagenome function linked to resistance to nCRT.},
}

Humans
Neoadjuvant Therapy
Metagenome
Chemoradiotherapy/methods
*Rectal Neoplasms/pathology
Biomarkers
*Microbiota
Butyrates
Treatment Outcome

@article {pmid37963868,
year = {2023},
author = {Diebold, PJ and Rhee, MW and Shi, Q and Trung, NV and Umrani, F and Ahmed, S and Kulkarni, V and Deshpande, P and Alexander, M and Thi Hoa, N and Christakis, NA and Iqbal, NT and Ali, SA and Mathad, JS and Brito, IL},
title = {Clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes are linked to a limited set of taxa within gut microbiome worldwide.},
journal = {Nature communications},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {7366},
pmid = {37963868},
issn = {2041-1723},
support = {1DP2HL141007//U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH)/ ; 1R01AI151059//Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Division of Intramural Research of the NIAID)/ ; 1661338//National Science Foundation (NSF)/ ; OPP1161064//Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)/ ; GR108454-CON-80002144//NOMIS Stiftung (NOMIS Foundation)/ ; SCENERI//AXA Research Fund (Le Fonds AXA pour la Recherche)/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics ; Drug Resistance, Microbial/genetics ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Genes, Bacterial/genetics ; },
abstract = {The acquisition of antimicrobial resistance (AR) genes has rendered important pathogens nearly or fully unresponsive to antibiotics. It has been suggested that pathogens acquire AR traits from the gut microbiota, which collectively serve as a global reservoir for AR genes conferring resistance to all classes of antibiotics. However, only a subset of AR genes confers resistance to clinically relevant antibiotics, and, although these AR gene profiles are well-characterized for common pathogens, less is known about their taxonomic associations and transfer potential within diverse members of the gut microbiota. We examined a collection of 14,850 human metagenomes and 1666 environmental metagenomes from 33 countries, in addition to nearly 600,000 isolate genomes, to gain insight into the global prevalence and taxonomic range of clinically relevant AR genes. We find that several of the most concerning AR genes, such as those encoding the cephalosporinase CTX-M and carbapenemases KPC, IMP, NDM, and VIM, remain taxonomically restricted to Proteobacteria. Even cfiA, the most common carbapenemase gene within the human gut microbiome, remains tightly restricted to Bacteroides, despite being found on a mobilizable plasmid. We confirmed these findings in gut microbiome samples from India, Honduras, Pakistan, and Vietnam, using a high-sensitivity single-cell fusion PCR approach. Focusing on a set of genes encoding carbapenemases and cephalosporinases, thus far restricted to Bacteroides species, we find that few mutations are required for efficacy in a different phylum, raising the question of why these genes have not spread more widely. Overall, these data suggest that globally prevalent, clinically relevant AR genes have not yet established themselves across diverse commensal gut microbiota.},
}

Humans
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology/therapeutic use
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome/genetics
Drug Resistance, Microbial/genetics
*Microbiota/genetics
Genes, Bacterial/genetics

@article {pmid37960282,
year = {2023},
author = {Rohwer, N and El Hage, R and Smyl, C and Ocvirk, S and Goris, T and Grune, T and Swidsinski, A and Weylandt, KH},
title = {Ketogenic Diet Has Moderate Effects on the Fecal Microbiota of Wild-Type Mice.},
journal = {Nutrients},
volume = {15},
number = {21},
pages = {},
pmid = {37960282},
issn = {2072-6643},
support = {WE2908/13-1//Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/ ; GR1240/20-1//Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/ ; },
mesh = {Female ; Mice ; Animals ; *Diet, Ketogenic ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; *Neuroprotective Agents ; *Microbiota ; Diet, High-Fat ; Bacteria/genetics ; *Actinobacteria/genetics ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; },
abstract = {The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that has been reported to have neuroprotective effects. The health effects of KD might be linked to an altered gut microbiome, which plays a major role in host health, leading to neuroprotective effects via the gut-brain axis. However, results from different studies, most often based on the 16S rRNA gene and metagenome sequencing, have been inconsistent. In this study, we assessed the effect of a 4-week KD compared to a western diet (WD) on the colonic microbiome of female C57Bl/6J mice by analyzing fecal samples using fluorescence in situ hybridization. Our results showed distinct changes in the total number of gut bacteria following the 4-week KD, in addition to changes in the composition of the microbiome. KD-fed mice showed higher absolute numbers of Actinobacteria (especially Bifidobacteria spp.) and lower absolute levels of Proteobacteria, often linked to gut inflammation, in comparison with WD-fed mice. Furthermore, an increased abundance of the typically rare genus Atopobium was observed. These changes may indicate the possible anti-inflammatory effects of the KD. However, since the overall changes in the microbiota seem low, the KD effects might be linked to the differential abundance of only a few key genera in mice.},
}

Female
Mice
Animals
*Diet, Ketogenic
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence
*Neuroprotective Agents
*Microbiota
Diet, High-Fat
Bacteria/genetics
*Actinobacteria/genetics
Mice, Inbred C57BL

@article {pmid37956168,
year = {2023},
author = {Stegmüller, S and Qi, W and Torgerson, PR and Fraefel, C and Kubacki, J},
title = {Hazard potential of Swiss Ixodes ricinus ticks: Virome composition and presence of selected bacterial and protozoan pathogens.},
journal = {PloS one},
volume = {18},
number = {11},
pages = {e0290942},
pmid = {37956168},
issn = {1932-6203},
mesh = {Humans ; Animals ; *Ixodes/microbiology ; Switzerland/epidemiology ; Virome/genetics ; Nymph ; *Encephalitis, Tick-Borne/epidemiology ; *Tick-Borne Diseases ; *Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne/genetics ; },
abstract = {Ticks play an important role in transmitting many different emerging zoonotic pathogens that pose a significant threat to human and animal health. In Switzerland and abroad, the number of tick-borne diseases, in particular tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), has been increasing over the last few years. Thus, it remains essential to investigate the pathogen spectrum of ticks to rapidly detect emerging pathogens and initiate the necessary measures. To assess the risk of tick-borne diseases in different regions of Switzerland, we collected a total of 10'286 ticks from rural and urban areas in ten cantons in 2021 and 2022. Ticks were pooled according to species, developmental stage, gender, and collection site, and analyzed using next generation sequencing (NGS) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The metagenomic analysis revealed for the first time the presence of Alongshan virus (ALSV) in Swiss ticks. Interestingly, the pool-prevalence of ALSV was higher than that of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). Furthermore, several TBEV foci have been identified and pool prevalence of selected non-viral pathogens determined.},
}

Humans
Animals
*Ixodes/microbiology
Switzerland/epidemiology
Virome/genetics
Nymph
*Encephalitis, Tick-Borne/epidemiology
*Tick-Borne Diseases
*Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne/genetics

@article {pmid37906569,
year = {2023},
author = {Deng, Y and Yang, X and Chen, J and Yang, S and Chi, H and Chen, C and Yang, X and Hou, C},
title = {Jute (Corchorus olitorius L.) Nanocrystalline Cellulose Inhibits Insect Virus via Gut Microbiota and Metabolism.},
journal = {ACS nano},
volume = {17},
number = {21},
pages = {21662-21677},
doi = {10.1021/acsnano.3c06824},
pmid = {37906569},
issn = {1936-086X},
mesh = {Bees ; Animals ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Cellulose/pharmacology ; *Corchorus/genetics ; *Dicistroviridae ; Antiviral Agents/pharmacology ; },
abstract = {Natural plant nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC), exhibiting a number of exceptional performance characteristics, is widely used in food fields. However, little is known about the relationship between NCC and the antiviral effect in animals. Here, we tested the function of NCC in antiviral methods utilizing honey bees as the model organism employing Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), a typical RNA virus of honey bees. In both the lab and the field, we fed the IAPV-infected bees various doses of jute NCC (JNCC) under carefully controlled conditions. We found that JNCC can reduce IAPV proliferation and improve gut health. The metagenome profiling suggested that IAPV infection significantly decreased the abundance of gut core bacteria, while JNCC therapy considerably increased the abundance of the gut core bacteria Snodgrassella alvi and Lactobacillus Firm-4. Subsequent metabolome analysis further revealed that JNCC promoted the biosynthesis of fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids, accelerated the purine metabolism, and then increased the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and the genes involved in the Wnt and apoptosis signaling pathways against IAPV infection. Our results highlighted that JNCC could be considered as a prospective candidate agent against a viral infection.},
}

Bees
Animals
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Cellulose/pharmacology
*Corchorus/genetics
*Dicistroviridae
Antiviral Agents/pharmacology

@article {pmid37863066,
year = {2023},
author = {Colbert, LE and El Alam, MB and Wang, R and Karpinets, T and Lo, D and Lynn, EJ and Harris, TA and Elnaggar, JH and Yoshida-Court, K and Tomasic, K and Bronk, JK and Sammouri, J and Yanamandra, AV and Olvera, AV and Carlin, LG and Sims, T and Delgado Medrano, AY and Napravnik, TC and O'Hara, M and Lin, D and Abana, CO and Li, HX and Eifel, PJ and Jhingran, A and Joyner, M and Lin, L and Ramondetta, LM and Futreal, AM and Schmeler, KM and Mathew, G and Dorta-Estremera, S and Zhang, J and Wu, X and Ajami, NJ and Wong, M and Taniguchi, C and Petrosino, JF and Sastry, KJ and Okhuysen, PC and Martinez, SA and Tan, L and Mahmud, I and Lorenzi, PL and Wargo, JA and Klopp, AH},
title = {Tumor-resident Lactobacillus iners confer chemoradiation resistance through lactate-induced metabolic rewiring.},
journal = {Cancer cell},
volume = {41},
number = {11},
pages = {1945-1962.e11},
doi = {10.1016/j.ccell.2023.09.012},
pmid = {37863066},
issn = {1878-3686},
support = {P30 CA016672/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; U54 CA096300/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; },
mesh = {Female ; Humans ; Lactic Acid/metabolism ; *Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/radiotherapy ; Lactobacillus/genetics/metabolism ; *Microbiota ; Tumor Microenvironment ; },
abstract = {Tumor microbiota can produce active metabolites that affect cancer and immune cell signaling, metabolism, and proliferation. Here, we explore tumor and gut microbiome features that affect chemoradiation response in patients with cervical cancer using a combined approach of deep microbiome sequencing, targeted bacterial culture, and in vitro assays. We identify that an obligate L-lactate-producing lactic acid bacterium found in tumors, Lactobacillus iners, is associated with decreased survival in patients, induces chemotherapy and radiation resistance in cervical cancer cells, and leads to metabolic rewiring, or alterations in multiple metabolic pathways, in tumors. Genomically similar L-lactate-producing lactic acid bacteria commensal to other body sites are also significantly associated with survival in colorectal, lung, head and neck, and skin cancers. Our findings demonstrate that lactic acid bacteria in the tumor microenvironment can alter tumor metabolism and lactate signaling pathways, causing therapeutic resistance. Lactic acid bacteria could be promising therapeutic targets across cancer types.},
}

Female
Humans
Lactic Acid/metabolism
*Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/radiotherapy
Lactobacillus/genetics/metabolism
*Microbiota
Tumor Microenvironment

@article {pmid37738973,
year = {2023},
author = {Liu, NN and Yi, CX and Wei, LQ and Zhou, JA and Jiang, T and Hu, CC and Wang, L and Wang, YY and Zou, Y and Zhao, YK and Zhang, LL and Nie, YT and Zhu, YJ and Yi, XY and Zeng, LB and Li, JQ and Huang, XT and Ji, HB and Kozlakidis, Z and Zhong, L and Heeschen, C and Zheng, XQ and Chen, C and Zhang, P and Wang, H},
title = {The intratumor mycobiome promotes lung cancer progression via myeloid-derived suppressor cells.},
journal = {Cancer cell},
volume = {41},
number = {11},
pages = {1927-1944.e9},
doi = {10.1016/j.ccell.2023.08.012},
pmid = {37738973},
issn = {1878-3686},
mesh = {Humans ; Animals ; Mice ; *Lung Neoplasms/genetics ; *Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells ; *Mycobiome ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Lung ; },
abstract = {Although polymorphic microbiomes have emerged as hallmarks of cancer, far less is known about the role of the intratumor mycobiome as living microorganisms in cancer progression. Here, using fungi-enriched DNA extraction and deep shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we have identified enriched tumor-resident Aspergillus sydowii in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). By three different syngeneic lung cancer mice models, we find that A. sydowii promotes lung tumor progression via IL-1β-mediated expansion and activation of MDSCs, resulting in suppressed activity of cytotoxic T lymphocyte cells and accumulation of PD-1[+] CD8[+] T cells. This is mediated by IL-1β secretion via β-glucan/Dectin-1/CARD9 pathway. Analysis of human samples confirms that enriched A. sydowii is associated with immunosuppression and poor patient outcome. Our findings suggest that intratumor mycobiome, albeit at low biomass, promotes lung cancer progression and could be targeted at the strain level to improve patients with LUAD outcome.},
}

Humans
Animals
Mice
*Lung Neoplasms/genetics
*Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells
*Mycobiome
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes
Lung

@article {pmid37652786,
year = {2023},
author = {Delavy, M and Sertour, N and d'Enfert, C and Bougnoux, ME},
title = {Metagenomics and metabolomics approaches in the study of Candida albicans colonization of host niches: a framework for finding microbiome-based antifungal strategies.},
journal = {Trends in microbiology},
volume = {31},
number = {12},
pages = {1276-1286},
doi = {10.1016/j.tim.2023.08.002},
pmid = {37652786},
issn = {1878-4380},
mesh = {Female ; Humans ; Candida albicans/genetics ; Antifungal Agents/pharmacology ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; *Microbiota ; Metabolomics ; Bacteria ; },
abstract = {In silico and experimental approaches have allowed an ever-growing understanding of the interactions within the microbiota. For instance, recently acquired data have increased knowledge of the mechanisms that support, in the gut and vaginal microbiota, the resistance to colonization by Candida albicans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen whose overgrowth can initiate severe infections in immunocompromised patients. Here, we review how bacteria from the microbiota interact with C. albicans. We show how recent OMICs-based pipelines, using metagenomics and/or metabolomics, have identified bacterial species and metabolites modulating C. albicans growth. We finally discuss how the combined use of cutting-edge OMICs-based and experimental approaches could provide new means to control C. albicans overgrowth within the microbiota and prevent its consequences.},
}

Female
Humans
Candida albicans/genetics
Antifungal Agents/pharmacology
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
*Microbiota
Metabolomics
Bacteria

@article {pmid37017243,
year = {2023},
author = {Dilmore, AH and Martino, C and Neth, BJ and West, KA and Zemlin, J and Rahman, G and Panitchpakdi, M and Meehan, MJ and Weldon, KC and Blach, C and Schimmel, L and Kaddurah-Daouk, R and Dorrestein, PC and Knight, R and Craft, S and , },
title = {Effects of a ketogenic and low-fat diet on the human metabolome, microbiome, and foodome in adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease.},
journal = {Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association},
volume = {19},
number = {11},
pages = {4805-4816},
pmid = {37017243},
issn = {1552-5279},
support = {R01 AG046171/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; U19 AG063744/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; RF1 AG059093/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; /NH/NIH HHS/United States ; U01 AG061359/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; RF1 AG057452/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; P30 AG072947/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; RF1 AG051550/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; RF1 AG0151550/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; /NH/NIH HHS/United States ; RF1 AG0151550/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; },
mesh = {United States ; Humans ; Adult ; *Alzheimer Disease/metabolism ; Diet, Fat-Restricted ; *Microbiota ; Metabolome/physiology ; Seizures ; Ketone Bodies ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/metabolism ; },
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: The ketogenic diet (KD) is an intriguing therapeutic candidate for Alzheimer's disease (AD) given its protective effects against metabolic dysregulation and seizures. Gut microbiota are essential for KD-mediated neuroprotection against seizures as well as modulation of bile acids, which play a major role in cholesterol metabolism. These relationships motivated our analysis of gut microbiota and metabolites related to cognitive status following a controlled KD intervention compared with a low-fat-diet intervention.

METHODS: Prediabetic adults, either with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or cognitively normal (CN), were placed on either a low-fat American Heart Association diet or high-fat modified Mediterranean KD (MMKD) for 6 weeks; then, after a 6-week washout period, they crossed over to the alternate diet. We collected stool samples for shotgun metagenomics and untargeted metabolomics at five time points to investigate individuals' microbiome and metabolome throughout the dietary interventions.

RESULTS: Participants with MCI on the MMKD had lower levels of GABA-producing microbes Alistipes sp. CAG:514 and GABA, and higher levels of GABA-regulating microbes Akkermansia muciniphila. MCI individuals with curcumin in their diet had lower levels of bile salt hydrolase-containing microbes and an altered bile acid pool, suggesting reduced gut motility.

DISCUSSION: Our results suggest that the MMKD may benefit adults with MCI through modulation of GABA levels and gut-transit time.},
}

United States
Humans
Adult
*Alzheimer Disease/metabolism
Diet, Fat-Restricted
*Microbiota
Metabolome/physiology
Seizures
Ketone Bodies
gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/metabolism

@article {pmid37952001,
year = {2023},
author = {Boulanger, N and Insonere, JL and Van Blerk, S and Barthel, C and Serres, C and Rais, O and Roulet, A and Servant, F and Duron, O and Lelouvier, B},
title = {Cross-alteration of murine skin and tick microbiome concomitant with pathogen transmission after Ixodes ricinus bite.},
journal = {Microbiome},
volume = {11},
number = {1},
pages = {250},
pmid = {37952001},
issn = {2049-2618},
support = {DOS0089132/00 & DOS0089133/00//Region Occitanie and French government/BPI France/ ; DOS0089132/00 & DOS0089133/00//Region Occitanie and French government/BPI France/ ; DOS0089132/00 & DOS0089133/00//Region Occitanie and French government/BPI France/ ; DOS0089132/00 & DOS0089133/00//Region Occitanie and French government/BPI France/ ; DOS0089132/00 & DOS0089133/00//Region Occitanie and French government/BPI France/ ; DOS0089132/00 & DOS0089133/00//Region Occitanie and French government/BPI France/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; Animals ; Female ; Mice ; *Ixodes/genetics/microbiology ; *Tick Bites ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; *Borrelia/genetics ; *Microbiota ; Nymph/microbiology ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Ticks are major vectors of diseases affecting humans such as Lyme disease or domestic animals such as anaplasmosis. Cross-alteration of the vertebrate host skin microbiome and the tick microbiome may be essential during the process of tick feeding and for the mechanism of pathogen transmission. However, it has been poorly investigated.

METHODS: We used mice bitten by field-collected ticks (nymphs and adult ticks) in different experimental conditions to investigate, by 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding, the impact of blood feeding on both the mouse skin microbiome and the tick microbiome. We also investigated by PCR and 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding, the diversity of microorganisms transmitted to the host during the process of tick bite at the skin interface and the dissemination of the pathogen in host tissues (blood, heart, and spleen).

RESULTS: Most of the commensal bacteria present in the skin of control mice were replaced during the blood-feeding process by bacteria originating from the ticks. The microbiome of the ticks was also impacted by the blood feeding. Several pathogens including tick-borne pathogens (Borrelia/Borreliella, Anaplasma, Neoehrlichia, Rickettsia) and opportunistic bacteria (Williamsia) were transmitted to the skin microbiome and some of them disseminated to the blood or spleen of the mice. In the different experiments of this study, skin microbiome alteration and Borrelia/Borreliella transmission were different depending on the tick stages (nymphs or adult female ticks).

CONCLUSIONS: Host skin microbiome at the bite site was deeply impacted by the tick bite, to an extent which suggests a role in the tick feeding, in the pathogen transmission, and a potentially important impact on the skin physiopathology. The diversified taxonomic profiles of the tick microbiome were also modified by the blood feeding. Video Abstract.},
}

Humans
Animals
Female
Mice
*Ixodes/genetics/microbiology
*Tick Bites
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
*Borrelia/genetics
*Microbiota
Nymph/microbiology

@article {pmid37951952,
year = {2023},
author = {Ma, B and Lu, C and Wang, Y and Yu, J and Zhao, K and Xue, R and Ren, H and Lv, X and Pan, R and Zhang, J and Zhu, Y and Xu, J},
title = {A genomic catalogue of soil microbiomes boosts mining of biodiversity and genetic resources.},
journal = {Nature communications},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {7318},
pmid = {37951952},
issn = {2041-1723},
mesh = {*Soil ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Metagenome/genetics ; Biodiversity ; Genomics ; Soil Microbiology ; },
abstract = {Soil harbors a vast expanse of unidentified microbes, termed as microbial dark matter, presenting an untapped reservo)ir of microbial biodiversity and genetic resources, but has yet to be fully explored. In this study, we conduct a large-scale excavation of soil microbial dark matter by reconstructing 40,039 metagenome-assembled genome bins (the SMAG catalogue) from 3304 soil metagenomes. We identify 16,530 of 21,077 species-level genome bins (SGBs) as unknown SGBs (uSGBs), which expand archaeal and bacterial diversity across the tree of life. We also illustrate the pivotal role of uSGBs in augmenting soil microbiome's functional landscape and intra-species genome diversity, providing large proportions of the 43,169 biosynthetic gene clusters and 8545 CRISPR-Cas genes. Additionally, we determine that uSGBs contributed 84.6% of previously unexplored viral-host associations from the SMAG catalogue. The SMAG catalogue provides an useful genomic resource for further studies investigating soil microbial biodiversity and genetic resources.},
}

*Soil
*Microbiota/genetics
Metagenome/genetics
Biodiversity
Genomics
Soil Microbiology

@article {pmid37951857,
year = {2023},
author = {Kang, DY and Park, JL and Yeo, MK and Kang, SB and Kim, JM and Kim, JS and Kim, SY},
title = {Diagnosis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis using the microbiome.},
journal = {BMC microbiology},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {336},
pmid = {37951857},
issn = {1471-2180},
mesh = {Humans ; *Colitis, Ulcerative/therapy ; *Crohn Disease/diagnosis/microbiology ; *Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/microbiology ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Bacteria/genetics ; Biomarkers ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disease resulting from dysregulation of the mucosal immune response and gut microbiota. Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are difficult to distinguish, and differential diagnosis is essential for establishing a long-term treatment plan for patients. Furthermore, the abundance of mucosal bacteria is associated with the severity of the disease. This study aimed to differentiate and diagnose these two diseases using the microbiome and identify specific biomarkers associated with disease activity.

RESULTS: Differences in the abundance and composition of the microbiome between IBD patients and healthy controls (HC) were observed. Compared to HC, the diversity of the gut microbiome in patients with IBD decreased; the diversity of the gut microbiome in patients with CD was significantly lower. Sixty-eight microbiota members (28 for CD and 40 for UC) associated with these diseases were identified. Additionally, as the disease progressed through different stages, the diversity of the bacteria decreased. The abundances of Alistipes shahii and Pseudodesulfovibrio aespoeensis were negatively correlated with the severity of CD, whereas the abundance of Polynucleobacter wianus was positively correlated. The severity of UC was negatively correlated with the abundance of A. shahii, Porphyromonas asaccharolytica and Akkermansia muciniphilla, while it was positively correlated with the abundance of Pantoea candidatus pantoea carbekii. A regularized logistic regression model was used for the differential diagnosis of the two diseases. The area under the curve (AUC) was used to examine the performance of the model. The model discriminated UC and CD at an AUC of 0.873 (train set), 0.778 (test set), and 0.633 (validation set) and an area under the precision-recall curve (PRAUC) of 0.888 (train set), 0.806 (test set), and 0.474 (validation set).

CONCLUSIONS: Based on fecal whole-metagenome shotgun (WMS) sequencing, CD and UC were diagnosed using a machine-learning predictive model. Microbiome biomarkers associated with disease activity (UC and CD) are also proposed.},
}

Humans
*Colitis, Ulcerative/therapy
*Crohn Disease/diagnosis/microbiology
*Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/microbiology
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Bacteria/genetics
Biomarkers

@article {pmid37947402,
year = {2023},
author = {Alexander, H and Hu, SK and Krinos, AI and Pachiadaki, M and Tully, BJ and Neely, CJ and Reiter, T},
title = {Eukaryotic genomes from a global metagenomic data set illuminate trophic modes and biogeography of ocean plankton.},
journal = {mBio},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {e0167623},
doi = {10.1128/mbio.01676-23},
pmid = {37947402},
issn = {2150-7511},
abstract = {Metagenomics is a powerful method for interpreting the ecological roles and physiological capabilities of mixed microbial communities. Yet, many tools for processing metagenomic data are neither designed to consider eukaryotes nor are they built for an increasing amount of sequence data. EukHeist is an automated pipeline to retrieve eukaryotic and prokaryotic metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from large-scale metagenomic sequence data sets. We developed the EukHeist workflow to specifically process large amounts of both metagenomic and/or metatranscriptomic sequence data in an automated and reproducible fashion. Here, we applied EukHeist to the large-size fraction data (0.8-2,000 µm) from Tara Oceans to recover both eukaryotic and prokaryotic MAGs, which we refer to as TOPAZ (Tara Oceans Particle-Associated MAGs). The TOPAZ MAGs consisted of >900 environmentally relevant eukaryotic MAGs and >4,000 bacterial and archaeal MAGs. The bacterial and archaeal TOPAZ MAGs expand upon the phylogenetic diversity of likely particle- and host-associated taxa. We use these MAGs to demonstrate an approach to infer the putative trophic mode of the recovered eukaryotic MAGs. We also identify ecological cohorts of co-occurring MAGs, which are driven by specific environmental factors and putative host-microbe associations. These data together add to a number of growing resources of environmentally relevant eukaryotic genomic information. Complementary and expanded databases of MAGs, such as those provided through scalable pipelines like EukHeist, stand to advance our understanding of eukaryotic diversity through increased coverage of genomic representatives across the tree of life.IMPORTANCESingle-celled eukaryotes play ecologically significant roles in the marine environment, yet fundamental questions about their biodiversity, ecological function, and interactions remain. Environmental sequencing enables researchers to document naturally occurring protistan communities, without culturing bias, yet metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing approaches cannot separate individual species from communities. To more completely capture the genomic content of mixed protistan populations, we can create bins of sequences that represent the same organism (metagenome-assembled genomes [MAGs]). We developed the EukHeist pipeline, which automates the binning of population-level eukaryotic and prokaryotic genomes from metagenomic reads. We show exciting insight into what protistan communities are present and their trophic roles in the ocean. Scalable computational tools, like EukHeist, may accelerate the identification of meaningful genetic signatures from large data sets and complement researchers' efforts to leverage MAG databases for addressing ecological questions, resolving evolutionary relationships, and discovering potentially novel biodiversity.},
}

@article {pmid37930060,
year = {2023},
author = {Tan, Y and Yu, P and Huang, D and Yuan, MM and Yu, Z and Lu, H and Alvarez, PJJ and Zhu, L},
title = {Enhanced Bacterium-Phage Symbiosis in Attached Microbial Aggregates on a Membrane Surface Facing Elevated Hydraulic Stress.},
journal = {Environmental science & technology},
volume = {57},
number = {45},
pages = {17324-17337},
doi = {10.1021/acs.est.3c05452},
pmid = {37930060},
issn = {1520-5851},
mesh = {*Bacteriophages/genetics ; Symbiosis ; Bacteria/genetics ; *Microbiota ; Metagenome ; },
abstract = {Phages are increasingly recognized for their importance in microbial aggregates, including their influence on microbial ecosystem services and biotechnology applications. However, the adaptive strategies and ecological functions of phages in different aggregates remain largely unexplored. Herein, we used membrane bioreactors to investigate bacterium-phage interactions and related microbial functions within suspended and attached microbial aggregates (SMA vs AMA). SMA and AMA represent distinct microbial habitats where bacterial communities display distinct patterns in terms of dominant species, keystone species, and bacterial networks. However, bacteria and phages in both aggregates exhibited high lysogenicity, with 60% lysogenic phages in the virome and 70% lysogenic metagenome-assembled genomes of bacteria. Moreover, substantial phages exhibited broad host ranges (34% in SMA and 42% in AMA) and closely interacted with habitat generalist species (43% in SMA and 49% in AMA) as adaptive strategies in stressful operation environments. Following a mutualistic pattern, phage-carried auxiliary metabolic genes (pAMGs; 238 types in total) presumably contributed to the bacterial survival and aggregate stability. The SMA-pAMGs were mainly associated with energy metabolism, while the AMA-pAMGs were mainly associated with antioxidant biosynthesis and the synthesis of extracellular polymeric substances, representing habitat-dependent patterns. Overall, this study advanced our understanding of phage adaptive strategies in microbial aggregate habitats and emphasized the importance of bacterium-phage symbiosis in the stability of microbial aggregates.},
}

*Bacteriophages/genetics
Symbiosis
Bacteria/genetics
*Microbiota
Metagenome

@article {pmid37837767,
year = {2023},
author = {Lyu, Y and Zhang, J and Chen, Y and Li, Q and Ke, Z and Zhang, S and Li, J},
title = {Distinct diversity patterns and assembly mechanisms of prokaryotic microbial sub-community in the water column of deep-sea cold seeps.},
journal = {Journal of environmental management},
volume = {348},
number = {},
pages = {119240},
doi = {10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119240},
pmid = {37837767},
issn = {1095-8630},
mesh = {*Ecosystem ; Water ; Geologic Sediments ; Archaea/genetics ; Bacteria/genetics ; *Microbiota ; Methane ; Sulfur ; Phylogeny ; },
abstract = {Methane leakage from deep-sea cold seeps has a major impact on marine ecosystems. Microbes sequester methane in the water column of cold seeps and can be divided into abundant and rare groups. Both abundant and rare groups play an important role in cold seep ecosystems, and the environmental heterogeneity in cold seeps may enhance conversion between taxa with different abundances. Yet, the environmental stratification and assembly mechanisms of these microbial sub-communities remain unclear. We investigated the diversities and assembly mechanisms in microbial sub-communities with distinct abundance in the deep-sea cold seep water column, from 400 m to 1400 m. We found that bacterial β-diversity, as measured by Sørensen dissimilarities, exhibited a significant species turnover pattern that was influenced by several environmental factors including depth, temperature, SiO3[2-], and salinity. In contrast, archaeal β-diversity showed a relatively high percentage of nestedness pattern, which was driven by the levels of soluble reactive phosphate and SiO3[2-]. During the abundance dependency test, abundant taxa of both bacteria and archaea showed a significant species turnover, while the rare taxa possessed a higher percentage of nestedness. Stochastic processes were prominent in shaping the prokaryotic community, but deterministic processes were more pronounced for the abundant taxa than rare ones. Furthermore, the metagenomics results revealed that the abundances of methane oxidation, sulfur oxidation, and nitrogen fixation-related genes and related microbial groups were significantly higher in the bottom water. Our results implied that the carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen cycles were potentially strongly coupled in the bottom water. Overall, the results obtained in this study highlight taxonomic and abundance-dependent microbial community diversity patterns and assembly mechanisms in the water column of cold seeps, which will help understand the impacts of fluid seepage from the sea floor on the microbial community in the water column and further provide guidance for the management of cold seep ecosystem under future environmental pressures.},
}

*Ecosystem
Water
Geologic Sediments
Archaea/genetics
Bacteria/genetics
*Microbiota
Methane
Sulfur
Phylogeny

@article {pmid37775319,
year = {2023},
author = {Ma, C and Li, Y and Mei, Z and Yuan, C and Kang, JH and Grodstein, F and Ascherio, A and Willett, WC and Chan, AT and Huttenhower, C and Stampfer, MJ and Wang, DD},
title = {Association Between Bowel Movement Pattern and Cognitive Function: Prospective Cohort Study and a Metagenomic Analysis of the Gut Microbiome.},
journal = {Neurology},
volume = {101},
number = {20},
pages = {e2014-e2025},
doi = {10.1212/WNL.0000000000207849},
pmid = {37775319},
issn = {1526-632X},
support = {R00 DK119412/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States ; R01 AG077489/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; R01 NR019992/NR/NINR NIH HHS/United States ; },
mesh = {Male ; Humans ; Female ; Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Follow-Up Studies ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Defecation ; Cohort Studies ; Cognition/physiology ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Little is known regarding the association between intestinal motility patterns and cognitive function in individuals who are baseline cognitively healthy. The gut microbiome may contribute to the association. We examined the association between bowel movement (BM) pattern and cognitive function and explored the role of the gut microbiome in explaining this association.

METHODS: In this prospective study, we leveraged 3 cohort studies, Nurses' Health Study (NHS), NHSII, and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS). Participants reported BM frequency and subjective cognitive function. In a subset of NHSII participants, we assessed cognitive function using an objective neuropsychological battery. We profiled the gut microbiome in a subset of participants using whole-genome shotgun metagenomics. General linear models, Poisson regression, and logistic regression were used to quantify the association of BM frequency with different cognitive measurements.

RESULTS: We followed 112,753 men and women (women: 87.6%) with a mean age of 67.2 years at baseline (NHS: 76 years, NHSII: 59 years, HPFS: 75 years) for a median follow-up of 4 years (NHSII and HPFS: 4 years, NHS: 2 years). Compared with those with BM once daily, participants with BM frequency every 3+ days had significantly worse objective cognitive function, equivalent to 3.0 (95% confidence interval [CI],1.2-4.7) years of chronological cognitive aging. We observed similar J-shape dose-response relationships of BM frequency with the odds of subjective cognitive decline and the likelihood of having more subsequent subjective cognitive complaints (both p nonlinearity < 0.001). BM frequencies of every 3+ days and ≥twice/day, compared with once daily, were associated with the odds ratios of subjective cognitive decline of 1.73 (95% CI 1.60-1.86) and 1.37 (95% CI 1.33-1.44), respectively. BM frequency and subjective cognitive decline were significantly associated with the overall gut microbiome configuration (both p < 0.005) and specific microbial species in the 515 participants with microbiome data. Butyrate-producing microbial species were depleted in those with less frequent BM and worse cognition, whereas a higher abundance of proinflammatory species was associated with BM frequency of ≥twice/day and worse cognition.

DISCUSSION: Lower BM frequency was associated with worse cognitive function. The gut microbial dysbiosis may be a mechanistic link underlying the association.},
}

Male
Humans
Female
Aged
Prospective Studies
Follow-Up Studies
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Defecation
Cohort Studies
Cognition/physiology

@article {pmid37748599,
year = {2024},
author = {Teng, M and Zhao, X and Zhou, L and Yan, H and Zhao, L and Sun, J and Li, Y and Zhu, W and Wu, F},
title = {An integrated analysis of the fecal metabolome and metagenome reveals the distinct effects of differentially charged nanoplastics on the gut microbiota-associated metabolites in mice.},
journal = {The Science of the total environment},
volume = {906},
number = {},
pages = {167287},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167287},
pmid = {37748599},
issn = {1879-1026},
mesh = {Animals ; Mice ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Metagenome ; Microplastics ; Metabolome ; Polystyrenes ; Biomarkers ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; },
abstract = {Whether nanoplastics with differential charges cause intestinal impairment via distinct mechanisms remains unclear. We investigated the relationship between fecal metabolites and the gut microbiome, and potential biomarkers thereof, in mice following exposure to differentially charged polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs). Metagenomic analysis revealed that exposure to differentially charged PS-NPs resulted in alterations in the abundances of Bilophila_wadsworthia, Helicobacter apodemus, and Helicobacter typhlonius. A total of 237 fecal metabolites were significantly altered in mice that exhibited intestinal impairment, and these included 10 gut microbiota-related fecal metabolites that accurately discriminated impaired intestinal samples from the control. Additionally, the specific gut microbiome-related fecal metabolite-based model approach for the prediction of intestinal impairment in mice had an area under the curve (AUC) of 1.0 in the PS (without charge) group, an AUC of 0.94 in the PS-NH2 (positive charge) group, and an AUC of 0.86 in the PS-COOH (negative charge) group. Thus, the model showed promising evaluable accuracy for the prediction of intestinal impairment induced by nanoplastics in a charge-specific manner. Our study demonstrates that the fecal metabolome of mice with intestinal impairment following exposure to differentially charged nanoplastics is associated with changes in the gut microbiome. The identified biomarkers have potential application for the detection of intestinal impairment after exposure to negative, positive, or noncharged nanomaterials.},
}

Animals
Mice
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Metagenome
Microplastics
Metabolome
Polystyrenes
Biomarkers
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

@article {pmid37741388,
year = {2023},
author = {Zhou, T and Xiang, Y and Liu, S and Ma, H and Shao, Z and He, Q and Chai, H},
title = {Microbial community dynamics and metagenomics reveal the potential role of unconventional functional microorganisms in nitrogen and phosphorus removal biofilm system.},
journal = {The Science of the total environment},
volume = {905},
number = {},
pages = {167194},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167194},
pmid = {37741388},
issn = {1879-1026},
mesh = {*Ammonia/metabolism ; Nitrogen/metabolism ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Phylogeny ; Bacteria/genetics/metabolism ; Archaea/metabolism ; Nitrification ; *Microbiota ; },
abstract = {The conventional functional microorganisms for nitrogen and phosphorus removal, such as Nitrosomonas, Nitrobacter, Nitrospira and Candidatus Accumulibacter, were hotspots in past research. However, the role of diverse unconventional functional microorganisms was neglected. In this study, a biofilm system was developed to explore the potential role of unconventional functional microorganisms in nutrients removal. According to the results of microbial community dynamics and metagenomics, complete ammonia oxidizing (comammox) bacteria was 20 times more abundant than ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) at day 121 and its abundance of amoA gene was almost the same as AOB. Although Nitrospira dominated the nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), diverse unconventional nxrB-containing microorganisms, particularly Chloroflexi, also significantly contributed to the nitrite oxidation. Binning analysis showed that Myxococcota-affiliated Haliangium had the necessary genes owns by phosphorus-accumulating organisms (PAO) and was likely to be the primary PAO since its abundance (6.38 %) was much higher than other conventional PAO (0.70 %). Comparing metagenome-assembled genomes of comammox bacteria with AOB and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), it possessed potential metabolic versatility in hydrogen and phosphorus, which may be the primary reason for the positive effect of the alternating anaerobic and aerobic conditions on the enrichment of comammox bacteria. Collectively, our findings broaden the understanding on the microbial mechanism of nitrogen and phosphorus removal in biofilm system.},
}

*Ammonia/metabolism
Nitrogen/metabolism
Oxidation-Reduction
Phylogeny
Bacteria/genetics/metabolism
Archaea/metabolism
Nitrification
*Microbiota

@article {pmid37717754,
year = {2023},
author = {Jain, R and Gaur, A and Suravajhala, R and Chauhan, U and Pant, M and Tripathi, V and Pant, G},
title = {Microplastic pollution: Understanding microbial degradation and strategies for pollutant reduction.},
journal = {The Science of the total environment},
volume = {905},
number = {},
pages = {167098},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167098},
pmid = {37717754},
issn = {1879-1026},
mesh = {Humans ; Microplastics ; Plastics/chemistry ; *Environmental Pollutants ; Ecosystem ; *Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis ; Environmental Pollution ; *Microbiota ; Environmental Monitoring ; },
abstract = {Microplastics are ubiquitous environmental pollutants with the potential for adverse impacts on ecosystems and human health. These particles originate from the fragmentation of larger plastic items, shedding from synthetic fibers, tire abrasions, and direct release from personal care products and industrial processes. Once released into the environment, microplastics can disrupt ecosystems, accumulate in organisms, cause physical harm, and carry chemical pollutants that pose risks to both wildlife and human health. There is an urgent need to comprehensively explore the multifaceted issue of microplastic pollution and understand microbial degradation to reduce environmental pollution caused by microplastics. This paper presents a comprehensive exploration of microplastics, including their types, composition, advantages, and disadvantages, as well as the journey and evolution of microplastic pollution. The impact of microplastics on the microbiome and microbial communities is elucidated, highlighting the intricate interactions between microplastics and microbial ecosystems. Furthermore, the microbial degradation of microplastics is discussed, including the identification, characterization, and culturing methods of microplastic-degrading microorganisms. Mechanisms of microplastic degradation and the involvement of microbial enzymes are elucidated to shed light on potential biotechnological applications. Strategies for reducing microplastic pollution are presented, encompassing policy recommendations and the importance of enhanced waste management practices. Finally, the paper addresses future challenges and prospects in the field, emphasizing the need for international collaboration, research advancements, and public engagement. Overall, this study underscores the urgent need for concerted efforts to mitigate microplastic pollution and offers valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders involved in environmental preservation.},
}

Humans
Microplastics
Plastics/chemistry
*Environmental Pollutants
Ecosystem
*Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis
Environmental Pollution
*Microbiota
Environmental Monitoring

@article {pmid37714349,
year = {2023},
author = {Sun, Y and Hao, Y and Zhang, Q and Liu, X and Wang, L and Li, J and Li, M and Li, D},
title = {Coping with extremes: Alternations in diet, gut microbiota, and hepatic metabolic functions in a highland passerine.},
journal = {The Science of the total environment},
volume = {905},
number = {},
pages = {167079},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167079},
pmid = {37714349},
issn = {1879-1026},
mesh = {Animals ; Male ; Female ; Humans ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; Diet/veterinary ; *Microbiota ; Adaptation, Psychological ; *Passeriformes ; },
abstract = {In wild animals, diet and gut microbiota interactions are critical moderators of metabolic functions and are highly contingent on habitat conditions. Challenged by the extreme conditions of high-altitude environments, the strategies implemented by highland animals to adjust their diet and gut microbial composition and modulate their metabolic substrates remain largely unexplored. By employing a typical human commensal species, the Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus, ETS), as a model species, we studied the differences in diet, digestive tract morphology and enzyme activity, gut microbiota, and metabolic energy profiling between highland (the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, QTP; 3230 m) and lowland (Shijiazhuang, Hebei; 80 m) populations. Our results showed that highland ETSs had enlarged digestive organs and longer small intestinal villi, while no differences in key digestive enzyme activities were observed between the two populations. The 18S rRNA sequencing results revealed that the dietary composition of highland ETSs were more animal-based and less plant-based than those of the lowland ones. Furthermore, 16S rRNA sequencing results suggested that the intestinal microbial communities were structurally segregated between populations. PICRUSt metagenome predictions further indicated that the expression patterns of microbial genes involved in material and energy metabolism, immune system and infection, and xenobiotic biodegradation were strikingly different between the two populations. Analysis of liver metabolomics revealed significant metabolic differences between highland and lowland ETSs in terms of substrate utilization, as well as distinct sex-specific alterations in glycerophospholipids. Furthermore, the interplay between diet, liver metabolism, and gut microbiota suggests a dietary shift resulting in corresponding changes in gut microbiota and metabolic functions. Our findings indicate that highland ETSs have evolved to optimize digestion and absorption, rely on more protein-rich foods, and possess gut microbiota tailored to their dietary composition, likely adaptive physiological and ecological strategies adopted to cope with extreme highland environments.},
}

Animals
Male
Female
Humans
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
Diet/veterinary
*Microbiota
Adaptation, Psychological
*Passeriformes

@article {pmid37714338,
year = {2023},
author = {Liu, D and Gao, X and Huang, X and Fan, Y and Wang, YE and Zhang, Y and Chen, X and Wen, J and He, H and Hong, Y and Liang, Y and Zhang, Y and Liu, Z and Chen, S and Li, X},
title = {Moderate altitude exposure impacts host fasting blood glucose and serum metabolome by regulation of the intestinal flora.},
journal = {The Science of the total environment},
volume = {905},
number = {},
pages = {167016},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167016},
pmid = {37714338},
issn = {1879-1026},
mesh = {Humans ; Mice ; Animals ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Blood Glucose ; Propionates ; Glutamic Acid ; Altitude ; Escherichia coli ; Metabolome ; Glucose ; Fasting ; },
abstract = {Moderate altitude exposure has shown beneficial effects on diabetes incidence but the underlying mechanisms are not understood. Our study aimed to investigate how the human gut microbiome impacted the serum metabolome and associated with glucose homeostasis in healthy Chinese individuals upon moderate-altitude exposure. Faecal microbiome composition was assessed using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Serum metabolome was acquired by untargeted metabolomics technology, and amino acids (AAs) and propionic acid in serum were quantified by targeted metabolomics technology. The results indicated that the moderate-altitude exposed individuals presented lowered fasting blood glucose (FBG) and propionic acid, increased circulating L-Glutamine but decreased L-Glutamate and L-Valine, which correlated with enriched Bacteroidetes and decreased Proteobacteria. Additionally, the silico causality associations among gut microbiota, serum metabolome and host FBG were analyzed by mediation analysis. It showed that increased Bacteroides ovatus (B. ovatus) and decreased Escherichia coli (E. coli) were identified as the main antagonistic species driving the association between L-Glutamate and FBG in silico causality. Furthermore, the high-fat diet (HFD) fed mice subjected to faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) were applied to validate the cause-in-fact effects of gut microbiota on the beneficial glucose response. We found that microbiome in the moderate-altitude exposed donor could predict the extent of the FBG response in recipient mice, which showed lowered FBG, L-Glutamate and Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. Our findings suggest that moderate-altitude exposure targeting gut microbiota and circulating metabolome, may pave novel avenues to counter dysglycemia.},
}

Humans
Mice
Animals
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Blood Glucose
Propionates
Glutamic Acid
Altitude
Escherichia coli
Metabolome
Glucose
Fasting

@article {pmid37648438,
year = {2023},
author = {Lajoie, G and Kembel, SW},
title = {Data-driven identification of major axes of functional variation in bacteria.},
journal = {Environmental microbiology},
volume = {25},
number = {11},
pages = {2580-2591},
doi = {10.1111/1462-2920.16487},
pmid = {37648438},
issn = {1462-2920},
mesh = {*Ecosystem ; Phylogeny ; *Biodiversity ; Plants ; Bacteria/genetics ; },
abstract = {The discovery of major axes of correlated functional variation among species and habitats has revealed the fundamental trade-offs structuring both functional and taxonomic diversity in eukaryotes such as plants. Whether such functional axes exist in the bacterial realm and whether they could explain bacterial taxonomic turnover among ecosystems remains unknown. Here, we use a data-driven approach to leverage global genomic and metagenomic datasets to reveal the existence of major axes of functional variation explaining both evolutionary differentiation within Bacteria and their ecological sorting across diverse habitats. We show that metagenomic variation among bacterial communities from various ecosystems is structured along a few axes of correlated functional pathways. Similar clusters of traits explained phylogenetic trait variation among >16,000 bacterial genomes, suggesting that functional turnover among bacterial communities from distinct habitats does not only result from the differential filtering of similar functions among communities, but also from phylogenetic correlations among these functions. Concordantly, functional pathways associated with trait clusters that were most important for defining functional turnover among bacterial communities were also those that had the highest phylogenetic signal in the bacterial genomic phylogeny. This study overall underlines the important role of evolutionary history in shaping contemporary distributions of bacteria across ecosystems.},
}

*Ecosystem
Phylogeny
*Biodiversity
Plants
Bacteria/genetics

@article {pmid37501535,
year = {2023},
author = {Pavia, MJ and Finn, D and Macedo-Tafur, F and Tello-Espinoza, R and Penaccio, C and Bouskill, N and Cadillo-Quiroz, H},
title = {Genes and genome-resolved metagenomics reveal the microbial functional make up of Amazon peatlands under geochemical gradients.},
journal = {Environmental microbiology},
volume = {25},
number = {11},
pages = {2388-2403},
doi = {10.1111/1462-2920.16469},
pmid = {37501535},
issn = {1462-2920},
mesh = {*Bacteria/genetics/metabolism ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Metagenome ; Metagenomics ; Soil ; },
abstract = {The Pastaza-Marañón Foreland Basin (PMFB) holds the most extensive tropical peatland area in South America. PMFB peatlands store ~7.07 Gt of organic carbon interacting with multiple microbial heterotrophic, methanogenic, and other aerobic/anaerobic respirations. Little is understood about the contribution of distinct microbial community members inhabiting tropical peatlands. Here, we studied the metagenomes of three geochemically distinct peatlands spanning minerotrophic, mixed, and ombrotrophic conditions. Using gene- and genome-centric approaches, we evaluate the functional potential of the underlying microbial communities. Abundance analyses show significant differences in C, N, P, and S acquisition genes. Furthermore, community interactions mediated by toxin-antitoxin and CRISPR-Cas systems were enriched in oligotrophic soils, suggesting that non-metabolic interactions may exert additional controls in low-nutrient environments. Additionally, we reconstructed 519 metagenome-assembled genomes spanning 28 phyla. Our analyses detail key differences across the geochemical gradient in the predicted microbial populations involved in degradation of organic matter, and the cycling of N and S. Notably, we observed differences in the nitric oxide (NO) reduction strategies between sites with high and low N2 O fluxes and found phyla putatively capable of both NO and sulfate reduction. Our findings detail how gene abundances and microbial populations are influenced by geochemical differences in tropical peatlands.},
}

*Bacteria/genetics/metabolism
*Microbiota/genetics
Metagenome
Metagenomics
Soil

@article {pmid37403552,
year = {2023},
author = {Pioli, S and Clagnan, E and Chowdhury, AA and Bani, A and Borruso, L and Ventura, M and Tonon, G and Brusetti, L},
title = {Structural and functional microbial diversity in deadwood respond to decomposition dynamics.},
journal = {Environmental microbiology},
volume = {25},
number = {11},
pages = {2351-2367},
doi = {10.1111/1462-2920.16459},
pmid = {37403552},
issn = {1462-2920},
mesh = {*Fungi/genetics ; Forests ; Wood/microbiology ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Bacteria/genetics ; Cellulose ; },
abstract = {We investigated the changes in microbial community diversities and functions in natural downed wood at different decay stages in a natural oak forest in the Italian Alps, through metagenomics analysis and in vitro analysis. Alfa diversity of bacterial communities was affected by the decay stage and log characteristics, while beta diversity was mainly driven by log diameter. Fungal and archaeal beta diversities were affected by the size of the sampled wood (log diameter), although, fungi were prominently driven by wood decay stage. The analysis of genes targeting cell wall degradation revealed higher abundances of cellulose and pectin-degrading enzymes in bacteria, while in fungi the enzymes targeting cellulose and hemicellulose were more abundant. The decay class affected the abundance of single enzymes, revealing a shift in complex hydrocarbons degradation pathways along the decay process. Moreover, we found that the genes related to Coenzyme M biosynthesis to be the most abundant especially at early stages of wood decomposition while the overall methanogenesis did not seem to be influenced by the decay stage. Intra- and inter-kingdom interactions between bacteria and fungi revealed complex pattern of community structure in response to decay stage possibly reflecting both direct and indirect interactions.},
}

*Fungi/genetics
Forests
Wood/microbiology
*Microbiota/genetics
Bacteria/genetics
Cellulose

@article {pmid37213047,
year = {2023},
author = {Chaudhari, DS and Jain, S and Yata, VK and Mishra, SP and Kumar, A and Fraser, A and Kociolek, J and Dangiolo, M and Smith, A and Golden, A and Masternak, MM and Holland, P and Agronin, M and White-Williams, C and Arikawa, AY and Labyak, CA and Yadav, H},
title = {Unique trans-kingdom microbiome structural and functional signatures predict cognitive decline in older adults.},
journal = {GeroScience},
volume = {45},
number = {5},
pages = {2819-2834},
pmid = {37213047},
issn = {2509-2723},
support = {22A17//Florida Department of Health/ ; R56AG069676//National Institutes of Health, NIA/ ; R56AG064075//National Institutes of Health, NIA/ ; RF1AG071762//National Institutes of Health, NIA/ ; R21AG072379//National Institutes of Health, NIA/ ; U01AG076928//National Institutes of Health, NIA/ ; W81XWH-18-PRARP//Peer Reviewed Alzheimer's Research Program/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; Aged ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; Pilot Projects ; *Microbiota/genetics ; *Cognitive Dysfunction ; Bacteria/genetics ; *Dementia ; },
abstract = {The prevalence of age-related cognitive disorders/dementia is increasing, and effective prevention and treatment interventions are lacking due to an incomplete understanding of aging neuropathophysiology. Emerging evidence suggests that abnormalities in gut microbiome are linked with age-related cognitive decline and getting acceptance as one of the pillars of the Geroscience hypothesis. However, the potential clinical importance of gut microbiome abnormalities in predicting the risk of cognitive decline in older adults is unclear. Till now the majority of clinical studies were done using 16S rRNA sequencing which only accounts for analyzing bacterial abundance, while lacking an understanding of other crucial microbial kingdoms, such as viruses, fungi, archaea, and the functional profiling of the microbiome community. Utilizing data and samples of older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 23) and cognitively healthy controls (n = 25). Our whole-genome metagenomic sequencing revealed that the gut of older adults with MCI harbors a less diverse microbiome with a specific increase in total viruses and a decrease in bacterial abundance compared with controls. The virome, bacteriome, and microbial metabolic signatures were significantly distinct in subjects with MCI versus controls. Selected bacteriome signatures show high predictive potential of cognitive dysfunction than virome signatures while combining virome and metabolic signatures with bacteriome boosts the prediction power. Altogether, the results from our pilot study indicate that trans-kingdom microbiome signatures are significantly distinct in MCI gut compared with controls and may have utility for predicting the risk of developing cognitive decline and dementia- debilitating public health problems in older adults.},
}

Humans
Aged
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
Pilot Projects
*Microbiota/genetics
*Cognitive Dysfunction
Bacteria/genetics
*Dementia

@article {pmid37871298,
year = {2023},
author = {Kolodnitsky, AS and Ionov, NS and Rudik, AV and Filimonov, DA and Poroikov, VV},
title = {HGMMX: Host Gut Microbiota Metabolism Xenobiotics Database.},
journal = {Journal of chemical information and modeling},
volume = {63},
number = {21},
pages = {6463-6468},
doi = {10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00837},
pmid = {37871298},
issn = {1549-960X},
mesh = {Humans ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Xenobiotics/chemistry/metabolism/pharmacology ; *Microbiota ; Biotransformation ; Databases, Factual ; },
abstract = {The metagenome of bacteria colonizing the human intestine is a set of genes that is almost 150 times greater than the set of host genes. Some of these genes encode enzymes whose functioning significantly expands the number of potential pathways for xenobiotic metabolism. The resulting metabolites can exhibit activity different from that of the parent compound. This can decrease the efficacy of pharmacotherapy as well as induce undesirable and potentially life-threatening side effects. Thus, analysis of the biotransformation of small drug-like compounds mediated by the gut microbiota is an important step in the development of new pharmaceutical agents and repurposing of the approved drugs. In vitro research, the interaction of drug-like compounds with the gut microbiota is a multistep and time-consuming process. Systematic testing of large sets of chemical structures is associated with a number of challenges, including the lack of standardized techniques and significant financial costs to identify the structure of the final metabolites. Estimation of the compounds' ability to be biotransformed by the gut microbiota and prediction of the structures of their metabolites are possible in silico. However, the development of computational approaches is limited by the lack of information about chemical structures metabolized by microbiota enzymes. The aim of this study is to create a database containing information on the metabolism of drug-like compounds by the gut microbiota. We created the data set containing information about 368 structures metabolized and 310 structures not metabolized by the human gut microbiota. The HGMMX database is freely available at https://www.way2drug.com/hgmmx. The information presented will be useful in the development of computational approaches for analyzing the impact of the human microbiota on metabolism of drug-like molecules.},
}

Humans
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Xenobiotics/chemistry/metabolism/pharmacology
*Microbiota
Biotransformation
Databases, Factual

@article {pmid37418475,
year = {2023},
author = {Badr, AA and Fouad, WM},
title = {Comparative study of multiple approaches for identifying cultivable microalgae population diversity from freshwater samples.},
journal = {PloS one},
volume = {18},
number = {7},
pages = {e0285913},
pmid = {37418475},
issn = {1932-6203},
mesh = {*Microalgae/genetics ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics ; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics ; *Rivers/microbiology ; Egypt ; Microbiota ; },
abstract = {The vast diversity of microalgae imposes the challenge of identifying them through the most common and economical identification method, morphological identification, or through using the more recent molecular-level identification tools. Here we report an approach combining enrichment and metagenomic molecular techniques to enhance microalgae identification and identify microalgae diversity from environmental water samples. From this perspective, we aimed to identify the most suitable culturing media and molecular approach (using different primer sets and reference databases) for detecting microalgae diversity. Using this approach, we have analyzed three water samples collected from the River Nile on several enrichment media. A total of 37 microalgae were identified morphologically to the genus level. While sequencing the three-primer sets (16S rRNA V1-V3 and V4-V5 and 18S rRNA V4 region) and aligning them to three reference databases (GG, SILVA, and PR2), a total of 87 microalgae were identified to the genus level. The highest eukaryotic microalgae diversity was identified using the 18S rRNA V4 region and alignment to the SILVA database (43 genera). The two 16S rRNA regions sequenced added to the eukaryotic microalgae identification, 26 eukaryotic microalgae. Cyanobacteria were identified through the two sequenced 16S rRNA regions. Alignment to the SILVA database served to identify 14 cyanobacteria to the genera level, followed by Greengenes, 11 cyanobacteria genera. Our multiple-media, primer, and reference database approach revealed a high microalgae diversity that would have been overlooked if a single approach had been used over the other.},
}

*Microalgae/genetics
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics
RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics
*Rivers/microbiology
Egypt
Microbiota

@article {pmid37946302,
year = {2023},
author = {Shen, Z and Robert, L and Stolpman, M and Che, Y and Allen, KJ and Saffery, R and Walsh, A and Young, A and Eckert, J and Deming, C and Chen, Q and Conlan, S and Laky, K and Li, JM and Chatman, L and Kashaf, SS and , and , and Kong, HH and Frischmeyer-Guerrerio, PA and Perrett, KP and Segre, JA},
title = {A genome catalog of the early-life human skin microbiome.},
journal = {Genome biology},
volume = {24},
number = {1},
pages = {252},
pmid = {37946302},
issn = {1474-760X},
support = {UM1AI109565//Immune Tolerance Network/ ; GNT1146913//National Health and Medical Research Council/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; Infant ; *Microbiota/genetics ; Metagenome ; Bacteria/genetics ; Australia ; North America ; Metagenomics ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Metagenome-assembled genomes have greatly expanded the reference genomes for skin microbiome. However, the current reference genomes are largely based on samples from adults in North America and lack representation from infants and individuals from other continents.

RESULTS: Here we use deep shotgun metagenomic sequencing to profile the skin microbiota of 215 infants at age 2-3 months and 12 months who are part of the VITALITY trial in Australia as well as 67 maternally matched samples. Based on the infant samples, we present the Early-Life Skin Genomes (ELSG) catalog, comprising 9483 prokaryotic genomes from 1056 species, 206 fungal genomes from 13 species, and 39 eukaryotic viral sequences. This genome catalog substantially expands the diversity of species previously known to comprise human skin microbiome and improves the classification rate of sequenced data by 21%. The protein catalog derived from these genomes provides insights into the functional elements such as defense mechanisms that distinguish early-life skin microbiome. We also find evidence for microbial sharing at the community, bacterial species, and strain levels between mothers and infants.

CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the ELSG catalog uncovers the skin microbiome of a previously underrepresented age group and population and provides a comprehensive view of human skin microbiome diversity, function, and development in early life.},
}

Humans
Infant
*Microbiota/genetics
Metagenome
Bacteria/genetics
Australia
North America
Metagenomics

@article {pmid37946167,
year = {2023},
author = {Cecchini, L and Barmaz, C and Cea, MJC and Baeschlin, H and Etter, J and Netzer, S and Bregy, L and Marchukov, D and Trigo, NF and Meier, R and Hirschi, J and Wyss, J and Wick, A and Zingg, J and Christensen, S and Radan, AP and Etter, A and Müller, M and Kaess, M and Surbek, D and Yilmaz, B and Macpherson, AJ and Sokollik, C and Misselwitz, B and Ganal-Vonarburg, SC},
title = {The Bern Birth Cohort (BeBiCo) to study the development of the infant intestinal microbiota in a high-resource setting in Switzerland: rationale, design, and methods.},
journal = {BMC pediatrics},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {560},
pmid = {37946167},
issn = {1471-2431},
support = {Peter Hans Hofschneider Professorship//Stiftung Experimentelle Biomedizin/ ; },
mesh = {Child ; Infant ; Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Cohort Studies ; Birth Cohort ; Prospective Studies ; Switzerland/epidemiology ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Microbiota composition is fundamental to human health with the intestinal microbiota undergoing critical changes within the first two years of life. The developing intestinal microbiota is shaped by maternal seeding, breast milk and its complex constituents, other nutrients, and the environment. Understanding microbiota-dependent pathologies requires a profound understanding of the early development of the healthy infant microbiota.

METHODS: Two hundred and fifty healthy pregnant women (≥20 weeks of gestation) from the greater Bern area will be enrolled at Bern University hospital's maternity department. Participants will be followed as mother-baby pairs at delivery, week(s) 1, 2, 6, 10, 14, 24, 36, 48, 96, and at years 5 and 10 after birth. Clinical parameters describing infant growth and development, morbidity, and allergic conditions as well as socio-economic, nutritional, and epidemiological data will be documented. Neuro-developmental outcomes and behavior will be assessed by child behavior checklists at and beyond 2 years of age. Maternal stool, milk, skin and vaginal swabs, infant stool, and skin swabs will be collected at enrolment and at follow-up visits. For the primary outcome, the trajectory of the infant intestinal microbiota will be characterized by 16S and metagenomic sequencing regarding composition, metabolic potential, and stability during the first 2 years of life. Secondary outcomes will assess the cellular and chemical composition of maternal milk, the impact of nutrition and environment on microbiota development, the maternal microbiome transfer at vaginal or caesarean birth and thereafter on the infant, and correlate parameters of microbiota and maternal milk on infant growth, development, health, and mental well-being.

DISCUSSION: The Bern birth cohort study will provide a detailed description and normal ranges of the trajectory of microbiota maturation in a high-resource setting. These data will be compared to data from low-resource settings such as from the Zimbabwe-College of Health-Sciences-Birth-Cohort study. Prospective bio-sampling and data collection will allow studying the association of the microbiota with common childhood conditions concerning allergies, obesity, neuro-developmental outcomes , and behaviour. Trial registration The trial has been registered at www.

CLINICALTRIALS: gov , Identifier: NCT04447742.},
}

Child
Infant
Humans
Female
Pregnancy
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Cohort Studies
Birth Cohort
Prospective Studies
Switzerland/epidemiology

@article {pmid37944495,
year = {2023},
author = {Huang, X and Hu, M and Sun, T and Li, J and Zhou, Y and Yan, Y and Xuan, B and Wang, J and Xiong, H and Ji, L and Zhu, X and Tong, T and Ning, L and Ma, Y and Zhao, Y and Ding, J and Guo, Z and Zhang, Y and Fang, JY and Hong, J and Chen, H},
title = {Multi-kingdom gut microbiota analyses define bacterial-fungal interplay and microbial markers of pan-cancer immunotherapy across cohorts.},
journal = {Cell host & microbe},
volume = {31},
number = {11},
pages = {1930-1943.e4},
doi = {10.1016/j.chom.2023.10.005},
pmid = {37944495},
issn = {1934-6069},
mesh = {Humans ; *Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Metagenome ; Immunotherapy ; Bacteria/genetics ; *Neoplasms/therapy ; },
abstract = {The effect of gut bacteria on the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has been studied, but the relationship between fungi and ICI responses is not fully understood. Herein, 862 fecal metagenomes from 9 different cohorts were integrated for the identification of differentially abundant fungi and subsequent construction of random forest (RF) models to predict ICI responses. Fungal markers demonstrate excellent performance, with an average area under the curve (AUC) of 0.87. Their performance improves even further, reaching an average AUC of 0.89 when combined with bacterial markers. Higher enrichment of exhausted T cells is detected in responders, as predicted by fungal markers. Multi-kingdom network and functional analysis reveal that the fungus Schizosaccharomyces octosporus may ferment starch into short-chain fatty acids in responders. This study provides a fungal profile of the ICI response and the identification of multi-kingdom microbial markers with good performance that may improve the overall applicability of ICI therapy.},
}

Humans
*Gastrointestinal Microbiome
Metagenome
Immunotherapy
Bacteria/genetics
*Neoplasms/therapy