Tag Archives: microbiome

Drought causes lasting changes to the rice root microbiome

Posted on August 6, 2021 by Carolyn Beans

Beneficial microbes living in and around a crop’s roots could be powerful allies in the fight to keep plants alive through droughts, especially as climate change worsens. But before scientists can harness these microbial partners to make crops more resilient, … Continue reading →

Intensive agriculture changes the soil microbiome

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Amy McDermott

California rice farms dot the Sacramento Valley, converting native swampland into flooded paddies. The farms change California’s landscape both above ground and below it. A recent study shows in detail how rice plants shape the soil microbiome into a distinctive … Continue reading →

Categories: Agriculture | Microbiology | Tagged agriculture, disease, microbiome, rice, soil | 1 Comment

Mouse gut bacteria cure rotavirus infection, pointing to treatment for humans

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Natasha Gilbert

Despite available vaccines, over 200,000 children die annually from severe diarrhea cause by rotavirus, which infects intestinal cells. A recently published study, facilitated by a research team’s lucky break, suggests bacteria in the mouse gut microbiome could actually help prevent … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Mouse microbiome findings offer insights into why a high-fat, low-carb diet helps epileptic children

Posted on June 28, 2018 by Carolyn Beans

For nearly a century, doctors have found that a strict high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet can limit seizures in children with epilepsy when medications fail. But exactly how this ketogenic diet works has remained largely a mystery. Now, researchers at the University … Continue reading →

Journal Club: In the mouse gut, a bacteria-killing virus evolves to attack a new strain

Posted on November 30, 2017 by Carolyn Beans

In scientists’ quest to understand how gut microbes affect human health, bacteria take center stage. But bacteriophages, the viruses that attack the bacteria, are often overlooked, says microbiologist Luisa De Sordi of the Institut Pasteur in France. “We keep an … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Twin study elucidates environmental, genetic contributions to mouth microbiome and oral health

Posted on September 23, 2017 by Helen Shen

Some of the mouth’s microbial communities may promote good health, while others contribute to cavities, gum disease, and possibly even heart disease. Now, scientists are learning more about how genetic and environmental factors influence the mouth’s microbial makeup, and how … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Antibiotics alter the honeybee microbiome and increase bee death

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Carolyn Beans

Antibiotics could potentially disrupt the health-promoting microbes that make up the microbiomes in humans and other animals. But pinning down exactly how microbiomes and antibiotics affect human health is complicated by the sheer number of microbes involved. Evolutionary biologist Nancy … Continue reading →

Journal Club: Human genetics contributes to gut microbiome composition

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Jyoti Madhusoodanan

Microbial communities in the human gut are formed at birth and shaped over time by a person’s diet, and other aspects of lifestyle and environment. Now scientists have confirmed that human genetic sequence polymorphisms also play a key role in … Continue reading →

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Journal Club

Highlighting recent, timely papers selected by Academy member labs