The vaginal microbiota associates with the regression of untreated cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 lesions

Emerging evidence suggests associations between the vaginal microbiota (VMB) composition, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN); however, causal inference remains uncertain. Here, we use bacterial DNA sequencing from serially collected vaginal samples from a cohort of 87 adolescent and young women aged 16–26 years with histologically confirmed, untreated CIN2 lesions to determine whether VMB composition affects rates of regression over 24 months. We show that women with a Lactobacillus-dominant microbiome at baseline are more likely to have regressive disease at 12 months. Lactobacillus spp. depletion and presence of specific anaerobic taxa including Megasphaera, Prevotella timonensis and Gardnerella vaginalis are associated with CIN2 persistence and slower regression. These findings suggest that VMB composition may be a future useful biomarker in predicting disease outcome and tailoring surveillance, whilst it may offer rational targets for the development of new prevention and treatment strategies

Helminth burden and ecological factors associated with alterations in wild host gastrointestinal microbiota

Infection by gastrointestinal helminths of humans, livestock and wild animals is common, but the impact of such endoparasites on wild hosts and their gut microbiota represents an important overlooked component of population dynamics. Wild host gut microbiota and endoparasites occupy the same physical niche spaces with both affecting host nutrition and health. However, associations between the two are poorly understood. Here we used the commonly parasitized European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) as a model wild host. Forty live adults from the same colony were sampled. Endoscopy was employed to quantify helminth infection in situ. Microbiota from the significantly distinct proventriculus (site of infection), cloacal and faecal gastrointestinal tract microbiomes were characterised using 16S rRNA gene-targeted high-throughput sequencing. We found increasingly strong associations between helminth infection and microbiota composition progressing away from the site of infection, observing a pronounced dysbiosis in microbiota when samples were partitioned into high- and low-burden groups. We posit this dysbiosis is predominately explained by helminths inducing an anti-inflammatory environment in the proventriculus, diverting host immune responses away from themselves. This study, within live wild animals, provides a vital foundation to better understand the mechanisms that underpin the three-way relationship between helminths, microbiota and hosts

Epiphytic Planctomycetes communities associated with three main groups of macroalgae

Planctomycetes, a unique group of widespread and understudied bacteria, are known to be associated with macroalgae. The temporal dynamics and the host-specific association of planctomycetal communities on Fucus spiralis, Ulva sp. and Chondrus crispus from two locations in the North Coast of Portugal were assessed both by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis with group-specific primers and 16S rDNA amplicon libraries. The epiphytic planctomycetal communities showed a significant association with the host macroalgal species independently of the geographical location and the season. This pattern was confirmed by clone libraries of winter and summer samples: we obtained 720 16S rRNA gene sequences that represented 44 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within the phylum Planctomycetes. Most of the OTUs belonged to Blastopirellula, followed by Rhodopirellula, Planctomyces, the Pir4 lineage and the uncultured class OM190 (this last one nearly 30% of the OTUs). Ulva sp. and C. crispus had more diverse planctomycetal communities than F. spiralis. Analysis of beta diversity showed that the planctomycetal microbiome was host specific. We hypothesize that the specific association of Planctomycetes and their macroalgal hosts is likely determined by nutritional molecules provided by the algae and the set of sulfatases inherent to each Planctomycetes species. © FEMS 2017.This work was partially supported by the Strategic Funding UID/Multi/04423/2013 through national funds provided by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), in the framework of the programme PT2020. The first author was financed by FCT [PhD grant SFRH/BD/35933/2007] and by a Marie Curie short term fellowship Ph.D. stipend in MarMic EST at Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen. The work was also partially supported by a US NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences INBRE award grant P20 GM103475 attributed to F. G-V

The Gut Microbiome May Help Address Mental Health Disparities in Hispanics: A Narrative Review

The gut–brain axis is the biological connection between the enteric and the central nervous systems. Given the expansion of the microbial sciences with the new human microbiome field facilitated by the decrease in sequencing costs, we now know more about the role of gut microbiota in human health. In this short review, particular focus is given to the gut–brain axis and its role in psychiatric diseases such as anxiety and depression. Additionally, factors that contribute to changes in the gut–brain axis, including the gut microbiome, nutrition, the host’s genome, and ethnic difference, are highlighted. Emphasis is given to the lack of studies on Hispanic populations, despite the fact this ethnic group has a higher prevalence of anxiety and depression in the US

Limited microbiome differences in captive and semi-wild primate populations consuming similar diets

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this recordGut microbial communities are shaped by a myriad of extrinsic factors, including diet and the environment. Although distinct human populations consistently exhibit different gut microbiome compositions, variation in diet and environmental factors are almost always coupled, making it difficult to disentangle their relative contributions to shaping the gut microbiota. Data from discrete animal populations with similar diets can help reduce confounds. Here, we assessed the gut microbiota of free-ranging and captive rhesus macaques with at least 80% diet similarity to test the hypothesis that hosts in difference environments will have different gut microbiomes despite a shared diet. Although we found that location was a significant predictor of gut microbial composition, the magnitude of observed differences was relatively small. These patterns suggest that a shared diet may limit the typical influence of environmental microbial exposure on the gut microbiota.National Institutes of HealthC&D FundEmch Fun

Comparative analyses of foregut and hindgut bacterial communities in hoatzins and cows

Foregut fermentation occurs in mammalian ruminants and in one bird, the South American folivorous hoatzin. This bird has an enlarged crop with a function analogous to the rumen, where foregut microbes degrade the otherwise indigestible plant matter, providing energy to the host from foregut fermentation, in addition to the fermentation that occurs in their hindguts (cecum/colon). As foregut fermentation represents an evolutionary convergence between hoatzins and ruminants, our aim was to compare the community structure of foregut and hindgut bacterial communities in the cow and hoatzin to evaluate the influences of host phylogeny and organ function in shaping the gut microbiome. The approach used was to hybridize amplified bacterial ribosomal RNA genes onto a high-density microarray (PhyloChip). The results show that the microbial communities cluster primarily by functional environment (foreguts cluster separately from hindguts) and then by host. Bacterial community diversity was higher in the cow than in the hoatzin. Overall, compared with hindguts, foreguts have higher proportions of Bacteroidetes and Spirochaetes, and lower proportions of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. The main host differences in gut bacterial composition include a higher representation of Spirochaetes, Synergistetes and Verrucomicrobia in the cow. Despite the significant differences in host phylogeny, body size, physiology and diet, the function seems to shape the microbial communities involved in fermentation. Regardless of the independent origin of foregut fermentation in birds and mammals, organ function has led to convergence of the microbial community structure in phylogenetically distant hosts