Search Results for: microbiolog

Author: Rogers, C.J.; Prabhu, K.S.; Vijay-Kumar, M. Description: Obesity is a major modifiable risk factor for the development of numerous types of cancer. Although many factors contribute to obesity-driven tumorigenesis, this review focuses on the functioning of the gut microbiota (the microbiome) as an environmental risk factor for certain types of cancers, and presents possible biological mediators. Obesity is a well-studied condition that is associated with microbiotal dysbiosis, which could result in several physiologic changes that may contribute to the relationship between obesity and cancer risk. These include altered microbial…

Author: Levin, B.R.; Bull, J.J. Description: Following a sixty-year hiatus in western medicine, bacteriophages (phages) are again being advocated for treating and preventing bacterial infections. Are attempts to use phages for clinical and environmental applications more likely to succeed now than in the past? Will phage therapy and prophylaxis suffer the same fates as antibiotics–treatment failure due to acquired resistance and ever-increasing frequencies of resistant pathogens? Here, the population and evolutionary dynamics of bacterial-phage interactions that are relevant to phage therapy and prophylaxis are reviewed and illustrated with computer simulations….

Author: Carney-Hinkle, E.E.; Tran, H.; Bundy, J.W.; Moreno, R.; Miller, P.S.; Burkey, T.E. Description: Litter performance and progeny health status may be decreased in progeny derived from primiparous sows but improve with increasing parity. The objective was to evaluate litter performance, the production and passive transfer of Ig, and fecal microbial populations in progeny derived from first parity (P1) compared with fourth parity (P4) dams. Litter performance was recorded for P1 (n = 19) and P4 (n = 24) dams including number of pigs/litter (total born, born live, stillbirths, mummified…

Author: Ji, Y.; Kong, X.; Li, H.; Zhu, Q.; Guo, Q.; Yin, Y. Description: The mammalian gut microbiota influences various metabolic and physiological processes. Substantial metabolic changes occur during a healthy pregnancy that may be related to microbiota composition dynamics. However, the effect of diet on intestinal microbiota composition and diversity during pregnancy remains unclear. We examined the ileal contents of Huanjiang mini-pigs at two pregnancy stages to determine the effects of dietary nutrient levels on such microbial communities. Animals received either a higher-nutrient (HN) diet formulated to meet US…

Author: Kubasova, T.; Davidova-Gerzova, L.; Merlot, E.; Medvecky, M.; Polansky, O.; Gardan-Salmon, D.; Quesnel, H.; Rychlik, I. Description: Different housing systems can be used in pig production and little is known about their effect on gut microbiota composition. In this study we characterized fecal microbiota by sequencing the rRNA genes in sows kept during gestation in conventional pens with a slatted floor and in enriched pens with a floor covered with deep straw. After farrowing, microbiota of 1- and 4-day-old piglets were also monitored. Microbiota of sows from the enriched…

Author: Ma, B.; Forney, L.J.; Ravel, J. Description: Vaginal microbiota form a mutually beneficial relationship with their host and have a major impact on health and disease. In recent years our understanding of vaginal bacterial community composition and structure has significantly broadened as a result of investigators using cultivation-independent methods based on the analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences. In asymptomatic, otherwise healthy women, several kinds of vaginal microbiota exist, the majority often dominated by species of Lactobacillus, while others are composed of a diverse array of anaerobic…

Author: Steen, E.J.; Kang, Y.; Bokinsky, G.; Hu, Z.; Schirmer, A.; McClure, A.; Del Cardayre, S.B.; Keasling, J.D. Description: Increasing energy costs and environmental concerns have emphasized the need to produce sustainable renewable fuels and chemicals. Major efforts to this end are focused on the microbial production of high-energy fuels by cost-effective ‘consolidated bioprocesses’. Fatty acids are composed of long alkyl chains and represent nature’s ‘petroleum’, being a primary metabolite used by cells for both chemical and energy storage functions. These energy-rich molecules are today isolated from plant and animal…

Author: Samson, J.E.; Magadan, A.H.; Sabri, M.; Moineau, S. Description: Bacteria and their viral predators (bacteriophages) are locked in a constant battle. In order to proliferate in phage-rich environments, bacteria have an impressive arsenal of defence mechanisms, and in response, phages have evolved counter-strategies to evade these antiviral systems. In this Review, we describe the various tactics that are used by phages to overcome bacterial resistance mechanisms, including adsorption inhibition, restriction-modification, CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR-associated proteins) systems and abortive infection. Furthermore, we consider how these observations have…

Author: Paerl, H.W.; Otten, T.G. Description: Cyanobacteria are the Earth’s oldest oxygenic photoautotrophs and have had major impacts on shaping its biosphere. Their long evolutionary history ( approximately 3.5 by) has enabled them to adapt to geochemical and climatic changes, and more recently anthropogenic modifications of aquatic environments, including nutrient over-enrichment (eutrophication), water diversions, withdrawals, and salinization. Many cyanobacterial genera exhibit optimal growth rates and bloom potentials at relatively high water temperatures; hence global warming plays a key role in their expansion and persistence. Bloom-forming cyanobacterial taxa can be harmful…

Author: Gajer, P.; Brotman, R.M.; Bai, G.; Sakamoto, J.; Schutte, U.M.E.; Zhong, X.; Koenig, S.S.K.; Fu, L.; Ma, Z.S.; Zhou, X.; Abdo, Z.; Forney, L.J.; Ravel, J. Description: Elucidating the factors that impinge on the stability of bacterial communities in the vagina may help in predicting the risk of diseases that affect women’s health. Here, we describe the temporal dynamics of the composition of vaginal bacterial communities in 32 reproductive-age women over a 16-week period. The analysis revealed the dynamics of five major classes of bacterial communities and showed that…