Effects of parental care on skin microbial community composition in poison frogs.

Parent-offspring interactions constitute the first contact of many newborns with their environment, priming community assembly of microbes through priority effects. Early exposure to microbes can have lasting influences on the assembly and functionality of the host's microbiota, leaving a life-long imprint on host health and disease. Studies of the role played by parental care in microbial acquisition have primarily focused on humans and hosts with agricultural relevance.

Rookery through rehabilitation: Microbial community assembly in newborn harbour seals after maternal separation.

Microbial community assembly remains largely unexplored in marine mammals, despite its potential importance for conservation and management. Here, neonatal microbiota assembly was studied in harbour seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) at a rehabilitation facility soon after maternal separation, through weaning, to the time of release back to their native environment. We found that the gingival and rectal communities of rehabilitated harbour seals were distinct from the microbiotas of formula and pool water, and became increasingly diverse and dissimilar over time, ultimately resembling the gingival and rectal communities of local wild harbour seals.

Early prediction and longitudinal modeling of preeclampsia from multiomics.

Preeclampsia is a complex disease of pregnancy whose physiopathology remains unclear. We developed machine-learning models for early prediction of preeclampsia (first 16 weeks of pregnancy) and over gestation by analyzing six omics datasets from a longitudinal cohort of pregnant women. For early pregnancy, a prediction model using nine urine metabolites had the highest accuracy and was validated on an independent cohort (area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 0.

Short-Term Dairy Product Elimination and Reintroduction Minimally Perturbs the Gut Microbiota in Self-Reported Lactose-Intolerant Adults.

An outstanding question regarding the human gut microbiota is whether and how microbiota-directed interventions influence host phenotypic traits. Here, we employed a dietary intervention to probe this question in the context of lactose intolerance. To assess the effects of dietary dairy product elimination and (re)introduction on the microbiota and host phenotype, we studied 12 self-reported mildly lactose-intolerant adults with triweekly collection of fecal samples over a 12-week study period: 2 weeks of baseline diet, 4 weeks of dairy product elimination, and 6 weeks of gradual whole cow milk (re)introduction.

Characterizing the oral and distal gut microbiota of the threatened southern sea otter () to enhance conservation practice.

The southern sea otter () is a threatened sub-species in coastal ecosystems. To understand better the role of diet, monitor health, and enhance management of this and other marine mammal species, we characterized the oral (gingival) and distal gut (rectal and fecal) microbiota of 158 wild southern sea otters living off the coast of central California, USA, and 12 captive sea otters, some of which were included in a diet shift experiment. We found that the sea otter fecal microbiota was distinct from that of three other otter species, and that captivity does not significantly alter the community structure of the sea otter gingival or distal gut microbiota.

The human gut microbiome and health inequities.

Individuals who are minoritized as a result of race, sexual identity, gender, or socioeconomic status experience a higher prevalence of many diseases. Understanding the biological processes that cause and maintain these socially driven health inequities is essential for addressing them. The gut microbiome is strongly shaped by host environments and affects host metabolic, immune, and neuroendocrine functions, making it an important pathway by which differences in experiences caused by social, political, and economic forces could contribute to health inequities.

Microbiota assembly, structure, and dynamics among Tsimane horticulturalists of the Bolivian Amazon.

Selective and neutral forces shape human microbiota assembly in early life. The Tsimane are an indigenous Bolivian population with infant care-associated behaviors predicted to increase mother-infant microbial dispersal. Here, we characterize microbial community assembly in 47 infant-mother pairs from six Tsimane villages, using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of longitudinal stool and tongue swab samples.

Complete Genome Sequences of Six Lactobacillus iners Strains Isolated from the Human Vagina.

is a common member of the human vaginal microbiota, with a genome size smaller than that of other lactobacilli. Here, we report the complete genome sequences of six strains isolated from different vaginal swab specimens. Three strains were found to harbor ∼100-kbp plasmids, which were not known previously.

Replication and refinement of a vaginal microbial signature of preterm birth in two racially distinct cohorts of US women.

Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have suggested that the maternal vaginal microbiota contributes to the pathophysiology of PTB, but conflicting results in recent years have raised doubts. We conducted a study of PTB compared with term birth in two cohorts of pregnant women: one predominantly Caucasian ( = 39) at low risk for PTB, the second predominantly African American and at high-risk ( = 96).

Candidatus Mycoplasma girerdii replicates, diversifies, and co-occurs with Trichomonas vaginalis in the oral cavity of a premature infant.

Genital mycoplasmas, which can be vertically transmitted, have been implicated in preterm birth, neonatal infections, and chronic lung disease of prematurity. Our prior work uncovered 16S rRNA genes belonging to a novel, as-yet-uncultivated mycoplasma (lineage 'Mnola') in the oral cavity of a premature neonate. Here, we characterize the organism's associated community, growth status, metabolic potential, and population diversity.

Water-Soluble Osmium Complexes Suitable for use in Luminescence-Based, Hydrogel-Supported Sensors.

Osmium transition metal complexes are of particular interest in luminescence-based sensing applications because of their longer wavelength absorptions and emissions, relative to similar ruthenium and rhenium complexes, that allow for inexpensive excitation and minimize interferences from autofluorescence when the sensor is used in biological samples. Reported here are the photophysical properties of a series of water-soluble osmium complexes suitable for use in hydrogel-based sensors: [Os(bpy)(sulf-dpp)]Cl, [Os(phen)(sulf-dpp)]Cl, [Os(dpp)(sulf-dpp)]Cl, and [Os(CO)Cl(sulf-dpp)], where bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine, phen is 1,10-phenanthroline, dpp is 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, and sulf-dpp is bathophenanthrolinedisulfonic acid disodium salt. The family of complexes showed minimal oxygen quenching, making them particularly well-suited for sensing applications in which oxygen concentration varies.

Marine mammals harbor unique microbiotas shaped by and yet distinct from the sea.

Marine mammals play crucial ecological roles in the oceans, but little is known about their microbiotas. Here we study the bacterial communities in 337 samples from 5 body sites in 48 healthy dolphins and 18 healthy sea lions, as well as those of adjacent seawater and other hosts. The bacterial taxonomic compositions are distinct from those of other mammals, dietary fish and seawater, are highly diverse and vary according to body site and host species.

Temporal and spatial variation of the human microbiota during pregnancy.

Despite the critical role of the human microbiota in health, our understanding of microbiota compositional dynamics during and after pregnancy is incomplete. We conducted a case-control study of 49 pregnant women, 15 of whom delivered preterm. From 40 of these women, we analyzed bacterial taxonomic composition of 3,767 specimens collected prospectively and weekly during gestation and monthly after delivery from the vagina, distal gut, saliva, and tooth/gum.

Microbiome assembly across multiple body sites in low-birthweight infants.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the composition and richness of bacterial communities associated with low-birthweight (LBW) infants in relation to host body site, individual, and age. Bacterial 16S rRNA genes from saliva samples, skin swabs, and stool samples collected on postnatal days 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, and 21 from six LBW (five premature) infants were amplified, pyrosequenced, and analyzed within a comparative framework that included analogous data from normal-birthweight (NBW) infants and healthy adults. We found that body site was the primary determinant of bacterial community composition in the LBW infants.

Genetically dictated change in host mucus carbohydrate landscape exerts a diet-dependent effect on the gut microbiota.

We investigate how host mucus glycan composition interacts with dietary carbohydrate content to influence the composition and expressed functions of a human gut community. The humanized gnotobiotic mice mimic humans with a nonsecretor phenotype due to knockout of their α1-2 fucosyltransferase (Fut2) gene. The fecal microbiota of Fut2(-) mice that lack fucosylated host glycans show decreased alpha diversity relative to Fut2(+) mice and exhibit significant differences in community composition.

Cohabiting family members share microbiota with one another and with their dogs.

Human-associated microbial communities vary across individuals: possible contributing factors include (genetic) relatedness, diet, and age. However, our surroundings, including individuals with whom we interact, also likely shape our microbial communities. To quantify this microbial exchange, we surveyed fecal, oral, and skin microbiota from 60 families (spousal units with children, dogs, both, or neither).

Biphasic assembly of the murine intestinal microbiota during early development.

The birth canal provides mammals with a primary maternal inoculum, which develops into distinctive body site-specific microbial communities post-natally. We characterized the distal gut microbiota from birth to weaning in mice. One-day-old mice had colonic microbiota that resembled maternal vaginal communities, but at days 3 and 9 of age there was a substantial loss of intestinal bacterial diversity and dominance of Lactobacillus.

Distinct distal gut microbiome diversity and composition in healthy children from Bangladesh and the United States.

Background: Our current understanding of the composition and stability of the human distal gut microbiota is based largely on studies of infants and adults living in developed countries. In contrast, little is known about the gut microbiota and its variation over time in older children and adolescents, especially in developing countries.

Methodology/principal Findings: We compared the diversity, composition, and temporal stability of the fecal microbiota of healthy children, ages 9 to 14 years, living in an urban slum in Bangladesh with that of children of the same age range in an upper-middle class suburban community in the United States.

Time series community genomics analysis reveals rapid shifts in bacterial species, strains, and phage during infant gut colonization.

The gastrointestinal microbiome undergoes shifts in species and strain abundances, yet dynamics involving closely related microorganisms remain largely unknown because most methods cannot resolve them. We developed new metagenomic methods and utilized them to track species and strain level variations in microbial communities in 11 fecal samples collected from a premature infant during the first month of life. Ninety six percent of the sequencing reads were assembled into scaffolds of >500 bp in length that could be assigned to organisms at the strain level.

Distinct cutaneous bacterial assemblages in a sampling of South American Amerindians and US residents.

The human skin harbors complex bacterial communities. Prior studies showing high inter-individual variation focused on subjects from developed countries. We therefore compared cutaneous bacterial communities of Amerindians in the Venezuelan Amazon with subjects in the United States.

The application of ecological theory toward an understanding of the human microbiome.

The human-microbial ecosystem plays a variety of important roles in human health and disease. Each person can be viewed as an island-like "patch" of habitat occupied by microbial assemblages formed by the fundamental processes of community ecology: dispersal, local diversification, environmental selection, and ecological drift. Community assembly theory, and metacommunity theory in particular, provides a framework for understanding the ecological dynamics of the human microbiome, such as compositional variability within and between hosts.