Article
Biology
Manupriyam Dubey, Noushin Hadadi, Serge Pelet, Nicolas Carraro, David R. Johnson, Jan R. van der Meer
Summary: The study investigated the effects of environmental connectivity on natural soil microbial communities and found that while overall community growth was similar in high and low connectivity environments, low connectivity led to reduced microbial diversity due to increased negative interspecific interactions. This suggests the importance of environmental connectivity for microbial community dynamics and has implications for future interventions and restoration efforts.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alexander W. McCumber, Yeon Ji Kim, Omoanghe Samuel Isikhuemhen, Robert M. Tighe, Claudia K. Gunsch
Summary: Using a pig model, the study showed that airborne bacteria make up the largest portion of the lung microbiome. Bacteria from bronchial samples can be correctly identified by their farm of origin, while those from alveolar samples are indistinguishable.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Review
Plant Sciences
Ko-Hsuan Chen, Jessica Nelson
Summary: Plant health depends not only on the condition of the plant itself, but also on the diverse community of microbes it harbors. Bryophytes, such as mosses and liverworts, are important model systems for studying plant evolution, development, physiology, and symbiotic interactions. Previous research focused on specific symbiont types for each bryophyte group, but recent studies have taken a broader view, acknowledging the coexistence of diverse microbial communities in bryophytes. This review integrates studies of bryophyte microbes from both perspectives to provide a holistic understanding of the existing research.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hua Zha, Jiafeng Xia, Shengjie Li, Jiawen Lv, Aoxiang Zhuge, Ruiqi Tang, Shuting Wang, Kaiceng Wang, Kevin Chang, Lanjuan Li
Summary: In this study, the effects of airborne microplastics (MP) and nanoplastics (NP) on the nasal and lung microbiota in mice were investigated through bioinformatic and statistical analyses. Both MP and NP were found to cause dysbiosis in the nasal microbiota, with MP having a stronger impact on the lung microbiota. Various bacteria were associated with MP and NP groups, with Staphylococcus and Roseburia being most associated with MP, and Prevotella and unclassified_Muribaculaceae being most associated with NP. Furthermore, SAR11_Clade_Ia and SAR11_Clade_II were associated with both nasal and lung microbiota in the MP group. The study highlights the need for further investigations into preventative and curable strategies for micro/nanoplastics-induced airway dysbiosis.
Article
Fisheries
Kentaro Imaizumi, Wanlapha Molex, Chakrit Jitnavee, Sataporn Direkbusarakom, Hidehiro Kondo, Ikuo Hirono
Summary: This study analyzed the bacterial and eukaryotic microbiota in shrimp aquaculture ponds. The results showed that the bacterial communities in the water were distributed uniformly and relatively stable, while the eukaryotic plankton in the water changed dynamically. The bacterial compositions in the digestive tracts of shrimp differed between ponds and locations.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Inumidun H. Oyebode, Allan C. Just, Jacques Ravel, Michal A. Elovitz, Heather H. Burris
Summary: Vaginal microbial communities can be dominated by anaerobic or Lactobacillus species. Anaerobic domination is a risk factor for preterm birth and is more common in Black populations. This study quantified the association between air pollution (specifically PM2.5) and anaerobic domination, and explored how racial disparities in PM2.5 exposure might explain racial differences in anaerobic domination prevalence.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Alberto Sola-Leyva, Inmaculada Perez-Prieto, Nerea M. Molina, Eva Vargas, Susana Ruiz-Duran, Irene Leones-Banos, Analuce Canha-Gouveia, Signe Altmae
Summary: Recent evidence suggests a link between microbial composition and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but the results are inconsistent. This systematic review aimed to gather current knowledge on microbes in different body sites of women with PCOS and analyze their diversity. The findings suggest that women with PCOS have lower microbial diversity in the gut, which may contribute to the development of PCOS. However, future studies should address the limitations of current research by using larger sample sizes, proper controls, and better study design.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOMEDICINE ONLINE
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Jianing Wang, Zhuo Pan, Jianshui Yu, Zheng Zhang, Yue-zhong Li
Summary: This study comprehensively investigated the global assembly mechanisms of microbial communities and effects of community-internal influencing factors using the Earth Microbiome Project (EMP) data set. It was found that deterministic and stochastic processes contribute approximately equally to global microbial community assembly, with deterministic processes generally playing a major role in free-living and plant-associated environments, and stochastic processes being the major contributor in animal-associated environments. The assembly of functional genes is mainly attributed to deterministic processes in all microbial communities.
Article
Ecology
Brooke W. Bullington, Myung Hee Lee, Jane Mlingi, Ndalloh Paul, Christine Aristide, Emily Fontana, Eric R. Littmann, Crispin Mukerebe, Peter Shigella, Philibert Kashangaki, Samuel E. Kalluvya, Claudia J. de Dood, Govert J. van Dam, Paul L. A. M. Corstjens, Daniel W. Fitzgerald, Eric G. Pamer, Jennifer A. Downs
Summary: Schistosome infection has been found to influence the cervicovaginal microbiota in women, with associations to bacterial diversity and taxa linked to bacterial vaginosis and HIV. High-intensity infections were associated with more diverse bacterial communities, and follow-up observations showed an increase in alpha diversity in the infection groups compared to controls.
Review
Immunology
Elia Rosi, Prisca Guerra, Gianmarco Silvi, Giulia Nunziati, Ilaria Scandagli, Antonella Di Cesare, Francesca Prignano
Summary: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is an inflammatory skin disease and the role of bacteria in HS patients has been the focus of research. The bacterial composition in HS patients is different from that in healthy controls. The question of whether changes in microbial populations are the cause or reflection of HS development remains unanswered. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of different hypotheses explaining the bacterial role in HS pathogenesis.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Qi Wang, Yuanyuan Liu, Yi Su, Cheng Cheng, Bo Shang, Evgenios Agathokleous, Zhaozhong Feng
Summary: Elevated ozone concentration increases the diversity of phyllo-and endo-spheric microbial communities on rice leaves, and leaf chemical properties have a more pronounced effect on the endosphere bacterial community.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Riccardo Rosselli, Maura Fiamma, Massimo Deligios, Gabriella Pintus, Grazia Pellizzaro, Annalisa Canu, Pierpaolo Duce, Andrea Squartini, Rosella Muresu, Pietro Cappuccinelli
Summary: The study found that higher microbial diversity and richness were observed in airborne bacteria collected in September compared to May, regardless of sampling location or presence of dust outbreaks. During standard wind regimes without transcontinental outbreaks, a synchronized turnover of bacterial communities across different locations on the same island occurred. Changes in wind direction could temporarily alter community composition in one locality but not another, with community changes from African dust outbreaks observed only in the south-facing station.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kailee J. Reed, Isabelle G. Z. Kunz, Jessica A. Scare, Martin K. Nielsen, Philip J. Turk, Robert J. Coleman, Stephen J. Coleman
Summary: Horses, as hindgut fermenters, heavily rely on their cecum and large intestine microbiota for gut homeostasis and proper digestion. Our study found that while fecal microbiota may not accurately represent the proximal hindgut, it can offer insights into the microbial communities of the distal compartments in the equine large intestine. Additionally, the pelvic flexure appears to play a significant role in separating distinct hindgut populations.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jennifer M. Polinski, Mattie Rodrigue, Jason D. Meyer, Matthew J. Harke
Summary: This study focuses on hydrothermal vent plume waters above the Moytirra hydrothermal vent field and examines the biodiversity and metabolic activities of the microbial communities in the plume. The results reveal a rich diversity of microorganisms and suggest the importance of sulfur compounds as an energy source in these waters. The study also highlights the decreasing metabolic functions and quiescent stages of bacterial communities with distance from the vent source.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Susanne Jacksch, Christoph Konig, Dominik Kaiser, Mirko Weide, Stefan Ratering, Sylvia Schnell, Markus Egert
Summary: In this study, RNA sequencing was used to generate de novo transcriptomes of bacterial communities remaining on polyester and cotton fabrics washed in mild conditions in a domestic washing machine. The assemblies resulted in 22,321 Trinity isoforms and 12,600 Spades isoforms, which were further analyzed using Gene Ontology (GO) terms for molecular function, biological process, and cellular component. Differential gene expression analysis showed differences in the pairwise comparison of the two tissue types, with relatively similar annotation results between assemblies generated with the two different assemblers.
Editorial Material
Infectious Diseases
Dafna Yahav, Dana Yelin, Isabella Eckerle, Christiane S. Eberhardt, Jianwei Wang, Bin Cao, Laurent Kaiser
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Chaolin Huang, Lixue Huang, Yeming Wang, Xia Li, Lili Ren, Xiaoying Gu, Liang Kang, Li Guo, Min Liu, Xing Zhou, Jianfeng Luo, Zhenghui Huang, Shengjin Tu, Yue Zhao, Li Chen, Decui Xu, Yanping Li, Caihong Li, Lu Peng, Yong Li, Wuxiang Xie, Dan Cui, Lianhan Shang, Guohui Fan, Jiuyang Xu, Geng Wang, Ying Wang, Jingchuan Zhong, Chen Wang, Jianwei Wang, Dingyu Zhang, Bin Cao
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the long-term health consequences of discharged COVID-19 patients and associated risk factors, particularly disease severity. Patients with more severe illness during hospitalization showed more severe impaired pulmonary diffusion capacities and abnormal chest imaging manifestations, highlighting the need for targeted interventions for long-term recovery.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pei Li, Ruixuan Guo, Yan Liu, Yingtao Zhang, Jiaxin Hu, Xiuyuan Ou, Dan Mi, Ting Chen, Zhixia Mu, Yelin Han, Zihan Chen, Zhewei Cui, Leiliang Zhang, Xinquan Wang, Zhiqiang Wu, Jianwei Wang, Qi Jin, Zhaohui Qian
Summary: Bat coronavirus RaTG13 shares high genome similarity with SARS-CoV-2 and uses human ACE2 for entry. Various animal ACE2s, including Rhinolophus affinis bat ACE2, can act as entry receptors for SARS-CoV-2 and RaTG13. Mutagenesis analysis identified critical residues in spike proteins for recognition of host ACE2. These findings contribute to understanding coronavirus entry, host range, and virus-host coevolution.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lei Sun, Pan Li, Xiaohui Ju, Jian Rao, Wenze Huang, Lili Ren, Shaojun Zhang, Tuanlin Xiong, Kui Xu, Xiaolin Zhou, Mingli Gong, Eric Miska, Qiang Ding, Jianwei Wang, Qiangfeng Cliff Zhang
Summary: Research on the structure and interactions of SARS-CoV-2 RNA with host proteins has identified potential therapeutic targets and strategies for reducing viral infection, shedding light on new avenues for COVID-19 treatment.
Letter
Medicine, General & Internal
Zhiqiang Wu, Qi Jin, Guizhen Wu, Jian Lu, Mingkun Li, Deyin Guo, Ke Lan, Luzhao Feng, Zhaohui Qian, Lili Ren, Wenjie Tan, Wenbo Xu, Weizhong Yang, Jianwei Wang, Chen Wang
Article
Biology
Shiyou Zhu, Ying Liu, Zhuo Zhou, Zhiying Zhang, Xia Xiao, Zhiheng Liu, Ang Chen, Xiaojing Dong, Feng Tian, Shihua Chen, Yiyuan Xu, Chunhui Wang, Qiheng Li, Xuran Niu, Qian Pan, Shuo Du, Junyu Xiao, Jianwei Wang, Wensheng Wei
Summary: The outbreak of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has led to a global health crisis. Through genome-wide screening, novel host factors (LDLRAD3, TMEM30A, and CLEC4G) have been identified as functional receptors for SARS-CoV-2, playing critical roles in infection.
SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Changchang Cao, Zhaokui Cai, Xia Xiao, Jian Rao, Juan Chen, Naijing Hu, Minnan Yang, Xiaorui Xing, Yongle Wang, Manman Li, Bing Zhou, Xiangxi Wang, Jianwei Wang, Yuanchao Xue
Summary: Researchers have used vRIC-seq technology to reveal the tertiary structure of the SARS-CoV-2 genome in virions, finding an unentangled globule conformation. They also discovered the role of long-range duplexes and higher-order junctions in the sequential packaging of the viral genome, with some mutations potentially contributing to more stable duplex structures.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiaoman Liu, Fengwen Xu, Lili Ren, Fei Zhao, Yu Huang, Liang Wei, Yingying Wang, Conghui Wang, Zhangling Fan, Shan Mei, Jingdong Song, Zhendong Zhao, Shan Cen, Chen Liang, Jianwei Wang, Fei Guo
Summary: MARCH8 acts as an important player in the host anti-influenza virus defense by targeting M2 protein and inhibiting viral replication. The discovery that H1N1 influenza A virus has evolved to resist MARCH8-mediated ubiquitination and degradation sheds light on the inhibitory effects of MARCH8 on virus transmission within the human population.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Jianyuan Zhao, Yongxin Zhang, Minghua Wang, Qian Liu, Xiaobo Lei, Meng Wu, SaiSai Guo, Dongrong Yi, Quanjie Li, Ling Ma, Zhenlong Liu, Fei Guo, Jianwei Wang, Xiaoyu Li, Yucheng Wang, Shan Cen
Summary: Three compounds were identified to exhibit remarkable potency in inhibiting RNA synthesis driven by SARS-CoV-2 RdRp, showing potential for drug development against COVID-19.
ACS INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chi Zhang, Weiyun Li, Xiaobo Lei, Zhenfei Xie, Linlin Qi, Hui Wang, Xia Xiao, Jun Xiao, Yuxiao Zheng, Chen Dong, Xin Zheng, Shiyang Chen, Jianfeng Chen, Bing Sun, Jun Qin, Qiwei Zhai, Jinsong Li, Bin Wei, Jianwei Wang, Hongyan Wang
Summary: The study reveals that in viral infection, LPA suppresses interferon production through the LPA1 receptor, affecting immune responses. Additionally, LPA1 and ROCK1/2 may impact viral infections by promoting vascular leaking or lung fibrosis. Therefore, targeting the LPA1-ROCK module could be beneficial for treating SARS-CoV-2 or other virus infections.
Article
Cell Biology
Shaojun Zhang, Wenze Huang, Lili Ren, Xiaohui Ju, Mingli Gong, Jian Rao, Lei Sun, Pan Li, Qiang Ding, Jianwei Wang, Qiangfeng Cliff Zhang
Summary: Comparative analysis revealed common and virus-specific host responses, identifying vRNA-associated proteins that either promote or restrict viral infection. The study highlighted how SARS-CoV-2 hijacks the host factor IGF2BP1 to stabilize vRNA and enhance viral translation. Interactome-informed drug repurposing led to the identification of potential broad-spectrum antivirals, including Cepharanthine and Trifluoperazine, with efficacy against the emerging SARS-CoV-2 B.1.351 variant.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuehui Zhang, Limin Shang, Jing Zhang, Yuchen Liu, Chaozhi Jin, Yanan Zhao, Xiaobo Lei, Wenjing Wang, Xia Xiao, Xiuyuan Zhang, Yujiao Liu, Linlin Liu, Meng-Wei Zhuang, Qingkun Mi, Chunyan Tian, Jianwei Wang, Fuchu He, Pei-Hui Wang, Jian Wang
Summary: The study systematically investigates the interactions between 29 viral proteins and human cells, revealing key proteins involved in SARS-CoV-2 infection. It identifies the membrane protein ITGB1 as a mediator of viral entry and uncovers proteins that inhibit the interferon pathway. The research proposes potential drugs for COVID-19 treatment and provides valuable insights into viral infection mechanisms.
CELL CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhuo Zhou, Xinyi Zhang, Xiaobo Lei, Xia Xiao, Tao Jiao, Ruiyi Ma, Xiaojing Dong, Qi Jiang, Wenjing Wang, Yujin Shi, Tian Zheng, Jian Rao, Zichun Xiang, Lili Ren, Tao Deng, Zhengfan Jiang, Zhixun Dou, Wensheng Wei, Jianwei Wang
Summary: SARS-CoV-2 infection activates the host innate immune response through cytoplasmic DNA sensing pathway, involving cGAS and STING. Research shows that chromatin DNA can be transferred from the nucleus to the cytoplasm upon infection, triggering an immune alarm response. The study also highlights the essential roles of cGAS and STING in combating SARS-CoV-2, with potential therapeutic implications.
SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION AND TARGETED THERAPY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Danwei Yu, Yuanmei Zhu, Tao Jiao, Tong Wu, Xia Xiao, Bo Qin, Huihui Chong, Xiaobo Lei, Lili Ren, Sheng Cui, Jianwei Wang, Yuxian He
Summary: The study identified the critical role of the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) sequence of SARS-CoV-2 spike fusion protein in viral infectivity and developed novel lipopeptides with significantly improved inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2 fusion and infection. The new inhibitors also showed potent activity against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and cross-inhibited other human CoVs. Structural characterization revealed the mechanisms underlying the high binding and inhibition of the new inhibitors, providing important insights for peptide therapeutics development against SARS-CoV-2 and other CoVs.
EMERGING MICROBES & INFECTIONS
(2021)