Polyphenol-Rich Fruit Beneficially Impact Cholesterol, Glucose, and Serum and Gut Metabolites: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Polyphenol-rich Aronia fruits have great potential as a functional food with anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, and hypoglycemic biologic activities. However, clinical intervention trials investigating the impact of Aronia fruit consumption on human health are limited. A randomized, controlled, double-blinded, parallel intervention trial was conducted using 14 human subjects who ingested either 0 mL or 100 mL of Aronia juice daily for 30 days.

Rats exposed to Alternaria toxins in vivo exhibit altered liver activity highlighted by disruptions in riboflavin and acylcarnitine metabolism.

Natural toxins produced by Alternaria fungi include the mycotoxins alternariol, tenuazonic acid and altertoxins I and II. Several of these toxins have shown high toxicity even at low levels including genotoxic, mutagenic, and estrogenic effects. However, the metabolic effects of toxin exposure from Alternaria are understudied, especially in the liver as a key target.

Metabolic impact of polyphenol-rich aronia fruit juice mediated by inflammation status of gut microbiome donors in humanized mouse model.

Background: The fruit is emerging as a health food owing to its high polyphenolic content and associated antioxidant activity. Antioxidant-rich foods, such as Aronia fruit, may counter inflammatory stimuli and positively modulate the gut microbiome. However, a comprehensive study characterizing the impact of Aronia fruit supplementation has not been completed.

Gut microbiome dysbiosis drives metabolic dysfunction in Familial dysautonomia.

Familial dysautonomia (FD) is a rare genetic neurologic disorder caused by impaired neuronal development and progressive degeneration of both the peripheral and central nervous systems. FD is monogenic, with >99.4% of patients sharing an identical point mutation in the elongator acetyltransferase complex subunit 1 (ELP1) gene, providing a relatively simple genetic background in which to identify modifiable factors that influence pathology.

Longitudinal analysis of the Five Sisters hot springs in Yellowstone National Park reveals a dynamic thermoalkaline environment.

Research focused on microbial populations of thermoalkaline springs has been driven in a large part by the lure of discovering functional enzymes with industrial applications in high-pH and high temperature environments. While several studies have focused on understanding the fundamental ecology of these springs, the small molecule profiles of thermoalkaline springs have largely been overlooked. To better understand how geochemistry, small molecule composition, and microbial communities are connected, we conducted a three-year study of the Five Sisters (FS) springs that included high-resolution geochemical measurements, 16S rRNA sequencing of the bacterial and archaeal community, and mass spectrometry-based metabolite and extracellular small molecule characterization.

Temporal metabolic response yields a dynamic biosignature of inflammation.

Chronic low-grade inflammation is a subclinical condition directly and indirectly linked to the development of a wide range of diseases responsible for the vast majority of morbidity. To examine mechanisms coupled to chronic disease, a group of overweight and obese human subjects without known inflammatory diseases participated in a high-fat meal challenge as an acute inflammation stimulus. Analysis of serum metabolites grouped by baseline cytokine levels revealed that single samples had little power in differentiating groups.

An emerging view of the diversity, ecology and function of Archaea in alkaline hydrothermal environments.

The described diversity within the domain Archaea has recently expanded due to advances in sequencing technologies, but many habitats that likely harbor novel lineages of archaea remain understudied. Knowledge of archaea within natural and engineered hydrothermal systems, such as hot springs and engineered subsurface habitats, has been steadily increasing, but the majority of the work has focused on archaea living in acidic or circumneutral environments. The environmental pressures exerted by the combination of high temperatures and high pH likely select for divergent communities and distinct metabolic pathways from those observed in acidic or circumneutral systems.