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Microbial communities are groups of microorganisms that share a common living space. The microbial populations that form the community can interact in different ways, for example as predators and prey or as symbionts.
In mouse gut microbiome studies, the significance of the results for control and experimental groups varies at different time points during the day. As inconsistent results across studies might stem from variation in sample collection times, standardization is crucial for reliable comparisons.
Li, Yang, Zhou et al. delve into the impact of a ketogenic diet on mice and humans, highlighting microbial contributions to taurine-conjugated bile acids as crucial catalysts for the metabolic benefits of this diet.
The largest-ever study of alterations in the host’s microbiome and immune response during spaceflight shows shifts in the skin and oral microbiota during flight that are consistent across astronauts, with numerous changes in microbial gene expression that also correlate to host immune activity.
Allaband et al. analyse how timing of sample collection affects the conclusions that can be drawn from microbiome studies, which has implications for study design.
The role of neutrophils is increasingly being recognized in chronic inflammation and metabolic disorders. Here the authors show that visceral adipose tissue from individuals with obesity contains more neutrophils than in those without obesity and is associated with a distinct bacterial community.
Here, Brown et al show that sewage-associated antibiotics in wastewater treatment plants select for antibiotic resistance via horizontal gene transfer.
In mouse gut microbiome studies, the significance of the results for control and experimental groups varies at different time points during the day. As inconsistent results across studies might stem from variation in sample collection times, standardization is crucial for reliable comparisons.
Li, Yang, Zhou et al. delve into the impact of a ketogenic diet on mice and humans, highlighting microbial contributions to taurine-conjugated bile acids as crucial catalysts for the metabolic benefits of this diet.
This month’s Genome Watch highlights the use of genetic barcoding towards a better understanding of plant–microorganism interactions and colonization dynamics.
An article in Nature Communications reports a metabolic modelling-based framework to construct synthetic microbiomes that can degrade specific herbicides in soil.