A synthesis of bacterial and archaeal phenotypic trait data.

A synthesis of phenotypic and quantitative genomic traits is provided for bacteria and archaea, in the form of a scripted, reproducible workflow that standardizes and merges 26 sources. The resulting unified dataset covers 14 phenotypic traits, 5 quantitative genomic traits, and 4 environmental characteristics for approximately 170,000 strain-level and 15,000 species-aggregated records. It spans all habitats including soils, marine and fresh waters and sediments, host-associated and thermal. Trait data can find use in clarifying major dimensions of ecological strategy variation across species. They can also be used in conjunction with species and abundance sampling to characterize trait mixtures in communities and responses of traits along environmental gradients

The influence of the accessory genome on bacterial pathogen evolution

Bacterial pathogens exhibit significant variation in their genomic content of virulence factors. This reflects the abundance of strategies pathogens evolved to infect host organisms by suppressing host immunity. Molecular arms-races have been a strong driving force for the evolution of pathogenicity, with pathogens often encoding overlapping or redundant functions, such as type III protein secretion effectors and hosts encoding ever more sophisticated immune systems. The pathogens’ frequent exposure to other microbes, either in their host or in the environment, provides opportunities for the acquisition or interchange of mobile genetic elements. These DNA elements accessorise the core genome and can play major roles in shaping genome structure and altering the complement of virulence factors. Here, we review the different mobile genetic elements focusing on the more recent discoveries and highlighting their role in shaping bacterial pathogen evolution

Design for an Ipriflavone Multicenter European Fracture Study

In order to investigate the efficacy of ipriflavone (i.p.) on the prevention of vertebral fractures and the effect on bone mineral density (BMD) in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis, a large multicentric European study was designed and is presently ongoing. Included in the study were 460 Caucasian, nonobese postmenopausal women aged > 45 and or = 20% decrease in any anterior, central, or posterior T4-L4 vertebral height. Blinded vertebral X-ray readings and vertebral morphometry have been centralized in an independent Center, with standardized evaluation of two experts. Power calculations have been based on the hypothesis that 21% of placebo-treated patients would fracture within 3 years and that treatment with i.p. would lead to a 50% reduction in the incidence of fracture. Statistical tests have been designed to have a power of 80%, with a type I error equal to 5%. Secondary endpoints were changes in vertebral, radial, and femoral BMD. Centralized controls on 100% BMD scans would ensure the good quality of BMD readings. This study should verify the hypothesis that i.p. significantly decreases the risk of vertebral fracture in postmenopausal, osteoporotic women

Evolutionary perspectives on the human Gut Microbiome

The renewed interest in human gut microbiome research spawned by modern developments in metagenomics resulted in many fascinating new results, but confusion and seeming contradictions are still common in this nascent field. As for other subdisciplines of biology, evolutionary biology serves as a unifying principle in studying host-microbe interactions. However, the range of perspectives offered by evolution is often not considered or fully appreciated in human gut microbiome research. In this chapter we provide a broad overview of evolutionary perspectives on the human gut microbiome, which range from the origin of holobionts to strain-level microbial variation within a host’s lifetime