Description of two novel species isolated from human nasal passages and skin.

Strains of two novel species were cultured from samples of human nostrils and skin collected in the United States and Botswana. These strains demonstrated growth on Columbia Colistin-Nalidixic Acid agar with 5% sheep blood and in liquid media (brain heart infusion and tryptic soy broth) supplemented with Tween 80, a source of the fatty acid oleic acid. Cells were Gram-positive, non-spore-forming, non-motile bacilli that showed catalase but not oxidase activity.

Metabolic capabilities are highly conserved among human nasal-associated species in pangenomic analyses.

Unlabelled: e species are globally ubiquitous in human nasal microbiota across the lifespan. Moreover, nasal microbiota profiles typified by higher relative abundances of are often positively associated with health. Among the most common human nasal species are , , and .

Genomic characterization of the species complex, a prominent member of the human skin microbiome.

Amplicon sequencing data combined with isolate whole genome sequencing have expanded our understanding of on the skin. Healthy human skin is colonized by a diverse collection of species, but predominates on many skin sites. Our work supports the emerging idea that is a species complex encompassing several distinct species.

Genomic characterization of the species complex, a ubiquitous member of the human skin microbiome.

is a predominant genus in the skin microbiome, yet its genetic diversity on skin is incompletely characterized and lacks a comprehensive set of reference genomes. Our work aims to investigate the distribution of species on the skin, as well as to expand the existing genome reference catalog to enable more complete characterization of skin metagenomes. We used V1-V3 16S rRNA gene sequencing data from 14 body sites of 23 healthy volunteers to characterize diversity and distribution across healthy human skin.

When does a Lotka-Volterra model represent microbial interactions? Insights from nasal bacterial communities.

To alter microbial community composition for therapeutic purposes, an accurate and reliable modeling framework capable of predicting microbial community outcomes is required. Lotka-Volterra (LV) equations have been utilized to describe a breadth of microbial communities, yet, the conditions in which this modeling framework is successful remain unclear. Here, we propose that a set of simple experiments-growing each member in cell-free spent medium obtained from other members-can be used as a test to decide whether an LV model is appropriate for describing microbial interactions of interest.

Quantifying Variation in Bacterial Reproductive Fitness: a High-Throughput Method.

To evaluate changes in reproductive fitness of bacteria, e.g., after acquisition of antimicrobial resistance, a low-cost high-throughput method to analyze bacterial growth on agar is desirable for broad usability.

Human nasal microbiota.

The human nasal passages host a distinct community of microbes. Katherine P. Lemon describes this distinct community, and why it matters so much for human health.

Dolosigranulum pigrum Cooperation and Competition in Human Nasal Microbiota.

Multiple epidemiological studies identify as a candidate beneficial bacterium based on its positive association with health, including negative associations with nasal/nasopharyngeal colonization by the pathogenic species and Using a multipronged approach to gain new insights into function, we observed phenotypic interactions and predictions of genomic capacity that support the idea of a role for microbe-microbe interactions involving in shaping the composition of human nasal microbiota. We identified community-level and phenotypic cooperation by specific nasal species. Also, inhibited growth , whereas robust inhibition of required both and a nasal together.

Construction of habitat-specific training sets to achieve species-level assignment in 16S rRNA gene datasets.

Background: The low cost of 16S rRNA gene sequencing facilitates population-scale molecular epidemiological studies. Existing computational algorithms can resolve 16S rRNA gene sequences into high-resolution amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), which represent consistent labels comparable across studies. Assigning these ASVs to species-level taxonomy strengthens the ecological and/or clinical relevance of 16S rRNA gene-based microbiota studies and further facilitates data comparison across studies.

Panel 4: Recent advances in understanding the natural history of the otitis media microbiome and its response to environmental pressures.

Objective: To perform a comprehensive review of otitis media microbiome literature published between 1 July 2015 and 30th June 2019.

Data Sources: PubMed database, National Library of Medicine.

Review Methods: Key topics were assigned to each panel member for detailed review.

Systematic evasion of the restriction-modification barrier in bacteria.

Bacteria that are recalcitrant to genetic manipulation using modern in vitro techniques are termed genetically intractable. Genetic intractability is a fundamental barrier to progress that hinders basic, synthetic, and translational microbiology research and development beyond a few model organisms. The most common underlying causes of genetic intractability are restriction-modification (RM) systems, ubiquitous defense mechanisms against xenogeneic DNA that hinder the use of genetic approaches in the vast majority of bacteria and exhibit strain-level variation.

New Insights into Human Nostril Microbiome from the Expanded Human Oral Microbiome Database (eHOMD): a Resource for the Microbiome of the Human Aerodigestive Tract.

The expanded Human Oral Microbiome Database (eHOMD) is a comprehensive microbiome database for sites along the human aerodigestive tract that revealed new insights into the nostril microbiome. The eHOMD provides well-curated 16S rRNA gene reference sequences linked to available genomes and enables assignment of species-level taxonomy to most next-generation sequences derived from diverse aerodigestive tract sites, including the nasal passages, sinuses, throat, esophagus, and mouth. Using minimum entropy decomposition coupled with the RDP Classifier and our eHOMD V1-V3 training set, we reanalyzed 16S rRNA V1-V3 sequences from the nostrils of 210 Human Microbiome Project participants at the species level, revealing four key insights.

A Pragmatic Study to Evaluate the Use of a Rapid Diagnostic Test to Detect Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis in Children With the Aim of Reducing Antibiotic Use in a UK Emergency Department.

Objective: Sore throat is a common presentation to the children's emergency department (ED), and many patients are likely prescribed antibiotics unnecessarily. We aimed to reduce antibiotic prescribing for sore throat in our UK ED through use of an established scoring system combined with a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) to detect group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis.

Methods: AB single-subject and diagnostic accuracy studies were used to measure both antibiotic prescribing rates over time and the performance of the McIsaac clinical score combined with RDT to screen for and treat GAS pharyngitis.

Pre-colonization with the commensal fungus Candida albicans reduces murine susceptibility to Clostridium difficile infection.

Clostridium difficile is a major nosocomial pathogen responsible for close to half a million infections and 27,000 deaths annually in the U.S. Preceding antibiotic treatment is a major risk factor for C.

Bacterial microbiota of the nasal passages across the span of human life.

The human nasal passages host major human pathogens. Recent research suggests that the microbial communities inhabiting the epithelial surfaces of the nasal passages are a key factor in maintaining a healthy microenvironment by affecting both resistance to pathogens and immunological responses. The nasal bacterial microbiota shows distinct changes over the span of human life and disruption by environmental factors might be associated with both short- and long-term health consequences, such as susceptibility to viral and bacterial infections and disturbances of the immunological balance.

Draft Genome Sequences of Strains UCD-KPL2534 and UCD-KPL2528 Isolated from an Indoor Track Facility.

We present here the draft genome sequences of strains UCD-KPL2534 and UCD-KPL2528, which were isolated at an indoor track facility in Medford, MA, USA (42.409716, -71.115169) from an exit door handle and settle dust, respectively.

Draft Genome Sequence of Curtobacterium sp. Strain UCD-KPL2560 (Phylum Actinobacteria).

Here, we present the draft genome sequence of the actinobacterium Curtobacterium sp. strain UCD-KPL2560, which was isolated from the running surface of an indoor track field house in Medford, MA, USA (42.409716°N, -71.

Staphylococcus aureus Shifts toward Commensalism in Response to Corynebacterium Species.

Staphylococcus aureus-human interactions result in a continuum of outcomes from commensalism to pathogenesis. S. aureus is a clinically important pathogen that asymptomatically colonizes ~25% of humans as a member of the nostril and skin microbiota, where it resides with other bacteria including commensal Corynebacterium species.

Corynebacterium accolens Releases Antipneumococcal Free Fatty Acids from Human Nostril and Skin Surface Triacylglycerols.

Unlabelled: Bacterial interspecies interactions play clinically important roles in shaping microbial community composition. We observed that Corynebacterium spp. are overrepresented in children free of Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), a common pediatric nasal colonizer and an important infectious agent.

Identifying personal microbiomes using metagenomic codes.

Community composition within the human microbiome varies across individuals, but it remains unknown if this variation is sufficient to uniquely identify individuals within large populations or stable enough to identify them over time. We investigated this by developing a hitting set-based coding algorithm and applying it to the Human Microbiome Project population. Our approach defined body site-specific metagenomic codes: sets of microbial taxa or genes prioritized to uniquely and stably identify individuals.