Feature Channels: Microbiome

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Reported in Nature Biotechnology, the known diversity of bacteria and archaea has been expanded by 44% through a publicly available collection of more than 52,000 microbial genomes from environmental samples resulting from a JGI-led collaboration involving more than 200 scientists around the world.

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Galactic cosmic and solar UV radiation, extreme vacuum, temperature fluctuations: how can microbes exposed to these challenges in space survive? An international team around Space Biochemistry group at the University of Vienna investigated how the space-surviving microbes could physically survive the transfer from one celestial body to another.

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A study of the relationships between cognition and the gut microbiome of captive zebra finches showed that their gut microbiome characteristics were related to performance on a cognitive assay where they learned a novel foraging technique. Researchers also identified potentially critical bacteria that were relatively more abundant in birds that performed better on this assay. This correlation provides some of the first evidence of a relationship between a bird's gut microbiome and its brain.

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Below are summaries of recent Fred Hutch research findings and other news with links for additional background and media contacts.

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ILSI North America, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the American Society for Nutrition collaborated on a webinar series capturing the exponential growth of research on the brain, the gastrointestinal tract, and the gut microbiome—a connection characterized as the ‘gut-brain axis.’ This series highlights some of the latest research on the gut-brain axis affecting the work of nutritionists, researchers and other food and nutrition professionals.

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A study recently published in Animal Microbiome outlines important first steps in understanding epidermal microbial communities in beluga whales, as well as their role in beluga health.

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Liver failure – often due to acetaminophen overdose – is fatal in 80% of cases. The labs of Profs. Ido Amit and Eran Elinav discovered three liver-cell subsets that contribute to disease progression, and found that depleting the microbiome acts on those subsets to reduce liver damage and increase survival rates. The research may lead to treatments for liver failure.

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A team of researchers from the Rogel Cancer Center received an $11.2 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study how to use the microbiome to limit complications of stem cell transplants for blood cancers and other diseases.

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Researchers found that bacteria essential to ripening cheese can sense and respond to compounds produced by fungi in the rind and released into the air, enhancing the growth of some species of bacteria over others. The make-up of the cheese microbiome is critical to flavor and quality of the cheese.

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For a honey bee, few things are more important than recognizing your nestmates. Being able to tell a nestmate from an invader could mean the difference between a honey-stocked hive and a long, lean winter. New research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that honey bees rely on chemical cues related to their shared gut microbial communities, instead of genetic relatedness, to identify members of their colony.

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Oni Basu, PhD, an assistant professor of genetic medicine at the University of Chicago, has received the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator Award. These awards are given to exceptionally creative scientists proposing high-risk, high-impact research at all career stages.

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Could a poo transplant one day be the secret of eternal youth?

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Strictly speaking, humans cannot digest complex carbohydrates -- that's the job of bacteria in our large intestines. UC Riverside scientists have just discovered a new group of viruses that attack these bacteria.

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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic sleep condition affecting more than one billion people worldwide.

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Toxicological Sciences features leading research in toxicology in the areas of biomarkers, environmental toxicology, and more in the September 2020 issue.

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Why do some people have severe reactions to COVID whereas others do not? Are there overlooked or unexplained factors in how people respond to the COVID virus connected to their gut microbiome? Could microbiome predict the severity of illness among those exposed to the virus?

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What causes some people to develop chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and metabolic syndrome while others stay healthy? A major clue could be found in their gut microbiome — the trillions of microbes living inside the digestive system that regulate various bodily functions.

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New research in mice suggests a protein found predominately in white blood cells helps keep gastrointestinal bacteria in balance and may protect against metabolic disorders.

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A new study in mice helps explain why gut microbiomes of breastfed infants can differ greatly from those of formula-fed infants.

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Each person’s gut virus composition is as unique as a fingerprint, according to the first study to assemble a comprehensive database of viral populations in the human digestive system.

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The human microbiota plays an important role in health and well-being by assisting in digestion, producing nutrients, resisting invading pathogens and regulating metabolism and the immune system.

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The National Institute on Aging has awarded a grant to researchers at New York University College of Dentistry to explore age-related, chronic low-grade inflammation and changes in the gut microbiome.

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Researchers studied different microbiomes to determine if the constituent species were equally good at breaking down leaf litter. The research helped to identify the microbial traits that might lead to related carbon storage or loss and found that the makeup of a soil microbiome is critical to the fate of carbon in soil.

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There is currently much interest in the gastrointestinal microbiota and its modulation as it relates to implications for host health. A notable aspect is the bidirectional communication between the gut microbiota and brain, referred to as the gut-brain-axis. Nutritional interventions have powerful effects on the gut microbiota but another significant and often overlooked factor is the influence of physical activity.

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A press conference on this topic will be held Tuesday, Aug. 17, at 1 p.m. Eastern time online at www.acs.org/fall2020pressconferences.

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Little is known about how ocean microbes affect climate. Now, scientists report that pollution can change molecules released to the atmosphere by ocean microbes. They present their results today at the American Chemical Society Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo.

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The August 2020 issue of Toxicological Sciences includes exciting advances in toxicology research. The edition features pieces on biotransformation, toxicokinetics, and pharmacokinetics; developmental and reproductive toxicology; and more.

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New mouse study on the lung microbiome could have implications for treatment of reduced oxygen levels in critically ill patients—including those with COVID-19.

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B cells are white blood cells that develop to produce antibodies.

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We may not think about it often, but our gut is home to a complex ecosystem of microorganisms that play a critical role in how we function.

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A new study shows how chronic psychological stress leads to painful vessel-clogging episodes—the most common complication of sickle-cell disease (SCD) and a frequent cause of hospitalizations. The findings, made in mice, show that the gut microbiome plays a key role in triggering those episodes and reveals possible ways to prevent them. The research was conducted by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and published online today in Immunity.

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A new UChicago study describes inter- and intra-species diversity within the Lachnospiraceae bacteria family.

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The Rutgers Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine and DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences have announced a new collaboration in the field of microbiome science they hope will improve cancer treatment.

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Children with type 1 diabetes have a less desirable gut microbiome composition which may play a role in the development of the disease, according to new research published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found that mice infected with Chikungunya virus get less sick and are less likely to transmit the virus to mosquitoes if they have healthy gut microbiomes.

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The individual mix of microorganisms in the human gastrointestinal tract provides vital clues as to how any future incidence of type 2 diabetes can be predicted, prevented and treated.

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A new study published in the journal New Phytologist from a research team led by environmental scientist Bala Chaudhary at DePaul University uncovered previously undiscovered patterns in the dispersal of mycorrhizal fungi that could help ecologists understand how these beneficial fungi travel.

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In a newly published experimental study, the consumption of dietary fibre from oat and rye brans supported the growth of beneficial gut microbiota, which in turn ameliorated cholesterol metabolism, enhanced gut barrier function and reduced hepatic inflammation.

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A new study finds antibiotic exposure during crucial developmental periods in early childhood alters digestive tract nerve function and bacterial colonies. The study is published in the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology.

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UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers report that stool microbiomes of NAFLD patients are distinct enough to potentially be used to accurately predict which persons with NAFLD are at greatest risk for having cirrhosis.

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The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation, an organization founded by Biocodex and committed to inspiring scientific projects that investigate the implication of microbiota in human health, has announced the open call for applications for its annual US research grant, now in its fourth year.

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Two scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are recipients of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science Early Career Research Program award. Federica Coppari and Erin Nuccio are among 76 scientists nationwide selected for the recognition. Under the program, typical awards for DOE national laboratory staff are $500,000 per year for five years.

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The role genetics and gut bacteria play in human health has long been a fruitful source of scientific enquiry, but new research marks a significant step forward in unraveling this complex relationship.

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In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers have determined that genetics may play a role in how wounds heal. Caleb Phillips, an assistant professor at Texas Tech University and director of the Phillips Laboratory in the Department of Biological Sciences, and doctoral student Craig Tipton led the study, “Patient genetics is linked to chronic wound microbiome composition and healing,” published Thursday (June 18) in the open-access, peer-reviewed medical journal PLOS Pathogens.

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A 2003 hypothesis says Parkinson’s disease is caused by a gut pathogen that could spread to the brain through the nervous system. No evidence was found until now; researchers report for the first time a significant overabundance of a cluster of opportunistic pathogens in the PD gut.

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A new study describes how poor oral health may worsen gut inflammation.