Behind the Paper
The real stories behind the latest research papers, from conception to publication, the highs and the lows
Filtered by: Microbiology
A compendium of 32,277 metagenome-assembled genomes and over 80 million genes from the early-life human gut microbiome
Given the specificity of early-life human gut microbiome regarding the microbial composition and functions, building a set of high-quality reference genomes from early life is desirable for a good microbial characterization, and discovering interactions between early-life gut microbiome and health.
The membrane-active polyaminoisoprenyl compound NV716 re-sensitizes Pseudomonas aeruginosa to antibiotics and reduces bacterial virulence
Infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa are difficult to threat for many reasons. Among them, P. aeruginosa shows intrinsic or acquired resistance to several antibiotics. It expresses virulence factors and adopts specific lifestyles, like biofilms, non-responsive to antibiotics.
Ferreting about
Formulation of RNA vaccines is critical for their success, here we explore a novel polymer in a ferret model
Biocrust cyanobacteria are susceptible to bacterial predation
Cyanobacteria found within biocrusts are pivotal to the development and health of these dryland microbial communities. Discovery of a biocrust-native predatory bacterium of cyanobacteria indicates there are internal and unknown disease factors these communities must contend with.
Body weight index indicates the responses of the fecal microbiota, metabolome and proteome to beef/chicken-based diet alterations in Chinese volunteers
This work highlighted the role of BMI as an important factor predicting changes in gut homeostasis in response to meat consumption. Compared with the chicken-based diet, the beef-based diet may induce more allergic and inflammation-related responses in high- and middle- BMI Chinese.
Staying alive: sinking Trichodesmium fixes nitrogen in the dark ocean
Sunlight extinguishes about 150 m in the ocean, retaining photosynthetic microbes such as the diazotrophic cyanobacteria in the surface ocean layer. Here we find that Trichodesmium, a key photosynthetic diazotroph, fixes nitrogen while sinking into the deep ocean down to 1000 m depth.
