Human microbiome privacy risks associated with summary statistics.

Recognizing that microbial community composition within the human microbiome is associated with the physiological state of the host has sparked a large number of human microbiome association studies (HMAS). With the increasing size of publicly available HMAS data, the privacy risk is also increasing because HMAS metadata could contain sensitive private information. I demonstrate that a simple test statistic based on the taxonomic profiles of an individual's microbiome along with summary statistics of HMAS data can reveal the membership of the individual's microbiome in an HMAS sample.

Correction: Novel PCR Primers for the Archaeal Phylum Thaumarchaeota Designed Based on the Comparative Analysis of 16S rRNA Gene Sequences.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Genotypic Diversity and Population Structure of Vibrio vulnificus Strains Isolated in Taiwan and Korea as Determined by Multilocus Sequence Typing.

The genetic diversity and population structure of Vibrio vulnificus isolates from Korea and Taiwan were investigated using PCR-based assays targeting putative virulence-related genes and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). BOX-PCR genomic fingerprinting identified 52 unique genotypes in 84 environmental and clinical V. vulnificus isolates.

Environmental Variables Shaping the Ecological Niche of Thaumarchaeota in Soil: Direct and Indirect Causal Effects.

To find environmental variables (EVs) shaping the ecological niche of the archaeal phylum Thaumarchaeota in terrestrial environments, we determined the abundance of Thaumarchaeota in various soil samples using real-time PCR targeting thaumarchaeotal 16S rRNA gene sequences. We employed our previously developed primer, THAUM-494, which had greater coverage for Thaumarchaeota and lower tolerance to nonthaumarchaeotal taxa than previous Thaumarchaeota-directed primers. The relative abundance estimates (RVs) of Thaumarchaeota (RTHAUM), Archaea (RARCH), and Bacteria (RBACT) were subjected to a series of statistical analyses.

Novel PCR primers for the archaeal phylum Thaumarchaeota designed based on the comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences.

Based on comparative phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences deposited in an RDP database, we constructed a local database of thaumarchaeotal 16S rRNA gene sequences and developed a novel PCR primer specific for the archaeal phylum Thaumarchaeota. Among 9,727 quality-filtered (chimeral-checked, size >1.2 kb) archaeal sequences downloaded from the RDP database, 1,549 thaumarchaeotal sequences were identified and included in our local database.

Simultaneous detection of major enteric viruses using a combimatrix microarray.

Various enteric viruses including norovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus, and astrovirus are the major etiological agents of food-borne and water-borne disease outbreaks and frequently cause non-bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. Sensitive and high-throughput detection methods for these viral pathogens are compulsory for diagnosing viral pathogens and subsequently improving public health. Hence, we developed a sensitive, specific, and high-throughput analytical assay to detect most major enteric viral pathogens using "Combimatrix" platform oligonucleotide probes.

High level of bacterial diversity and novel taxa in continental shelf sediment.

The bacterial diversity of the continental shelf sediment in the Yellow Sea was investigated by the cloning and sequencing of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes. The majority of the cloned sequences were distinct phylotypes that were novel at the species level. The richness estimator indicated that the sediment sample might harbor up to 32 phylum-level taxa.

The phylogenetic affiliation of an uncultured population of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria harboring environmental sequences of amoA cluster-3.

We investigated the phylogenetic diversity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in Yellow Sea continental shelf sediment by the cloning and sequencing of PCR-amplified amoA and 16S rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis of the amoA-related clones revealed that the diversity of AOB was extremely low at the study site. The majority (92.

Group-specific PCR primers for the phylum Acidobacteria designed based on the comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences.

We performed a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the phylum Acidobacteria and developed novel, group-specific PCR primers for Acidobacteria and its class-level subgroups. Acidobacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences deposited in the RDP database were used to construct a local database then subsequently analyzed. A total of 556 phylotypes were observed and the majority of the phylotypes belonged to five major subgroups (subgroups 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6), which comprised >80% of the acidobacterial sequences in the RDP database.

Distribution patterns of the members of phylum acidobacteria in global soil samples.

The distribution pattern of the phylum Acidobacteria, a previously uncultured bacterial group, was investigated by molecular ecological analyses of global soil samples collected from pristine ecosystems across five continents. Acidobacterial 16S rDNAs were observed in almost all soil samples, and members of acidobacterial primer group A were detected in all samples that harbored the phylum Acidobacteria. Other primer groups, Y, G, and O, showed limited distribution patterns.

Rapid and sensitive detection of Listeria monocytogenes using a PCR-Enzymelinked immunosorbent assay.

A PCR-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PCR-ELISA) was developed for the rapid and sensitive detection of L. monocytogenes. PCR primers generating a 132-bp amplicon and a capture probe able to hybridize to the PCR amplicon were designed based on the L.

Members of the phylum Acidobacteria are dominant and metabolically active in rhizosphere soil.

A culture-independent survey was performed to search for 16S rRNA gene sequences representing dominant and metabolically active bacteria in rhizosphere soil. PCR- and reverse transcription-PCR-derived clone libraries were constructed from DNA and RNA directly extracted from the soil sample. Acidobacteria-related sequences occupied an unusually large proportion (>50%) of both rDNA- and rRNA-derived clone libraries.

Molecular and ecological analyses of microbial community structures in biofilms of a full-scale Aerated Up-Flow Biobead process.

Molecular and cultivation techniques were used to characterize the bacterial communities of biobead reactor biofilms in a sewage treatment plant to which an Aerated Up-Flow Biobead process was applied. With this biobead process, the monthly average values of various chemical parameters in the effluent were generally kept under the regulation limits of the effluent quality of the sewage treatment plant during the operation period. Most probable number (MPN) analysis revealed that the population of denitrifying bacteria was abundant in the biobead #1 reactor, denitrifying and nitrifying bacteria coexisted in the biobead #2 reactor, and nitrifying bacteria prevailed over denitrifying bacteria in the biobead #3 reactor.

Quantitative detection of microbial genes by using DNA microarrays.

To quantify target genes in biological samples using DNA microarrays, we employed reference DNA to normalize variations in spot size and hybridization. This method was tested using nitrate reductase (nirS), naphthalene dioxygenase (nahA), and Escherichia coli O157 O-antigen biosynthesis genes as model genes and lambda DNA as the reference DNA. We observed a good linearity between the log signal ratio and log DNA concentration ratio at DNA concentrations above the method's detection limit, which was approximately 10 pg.