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IMPACTT Newsletter | December 2021
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Welcome to our December 2021 newsletter. We hope you had a joyful, safe, and restful end to 2021 and a good start to 2022. Check out our updates from IMPACTT, recent publications, and upcoming events you won't want to miss out on!
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IMPACTT TEAM & NETWORK NEWS
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IMPACTT Mentorship Program
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Our 2022-2023 mentorship program cohort is accepting applications until 31 January, 2022. This program is designed for senior postdoctoral fellows and early-career researchers conducting microbiome research. Click here for more details and to apply, and please share widely among your network.
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NEW PUBLICATIONS
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New Publications in the Microbiome World
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Mizra et al., including Dr. William Hsiao (Platform 5 Co-Lead). Neurology. 22 December 2021
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Highlights: In this study, researchers performed metagenomic analysis of stool samples from people with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) and from healthy controls (n=20 per group). They found that the alpha diversity of enzymes and proteins were not different between the groups, but the gut microbiome's functional potential and microbial taxonomy were different.
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Conwill et al. Nature Microbiology. 06 January 2022
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Highlights: In this study, researchers asked the question of how different strains of the same bacterial species can coexist in a microbiome, using Cutibacterium acnes, the most abundant species on human skin, as an example. They found that C. acnes colonies within a single skin pore usually had identical genomes, but that different strains can coexists within short distances. The researchers propose that this low within-pore diversity is a result of pore anatomy imposing random single-cell bottlenecks, rather than fitness differences among strains.
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Valles-Colomer et al. Nature Microbiology. 30 December 2021
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Highlights: In many studies investigating vertical transmission of microbiome composition humans, the focus is on parents and children. In this study, researchers expanded their investigation to include multiple family cohorts (102 people from 24 families) spanning 3-5 generations. They found that microbial community composition was associated with both kinship and cohabitation, and detected potential (although rare) transmission events spanning several generations.
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Healy et al. Nature Microbiology. 23 December 2021
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Highlights: Changes in the infant gut microbiome can have lasting effects on growth, development, and health, but most studies of this nature focus on full-term babies. In this perspective paper, researchers compared the intestinal microbiome assembly of term and preterm (born before 32 weeks gestation) infants, with a particular focus on the clinical implications of preterm infant gut microbiome composition.
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Neu, Allen, & Roy. PNAS. 21 December 2021
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Highlights: In this perspective paper, the authors present a brief history of the concept of the 'core microbiome', which is widely used in the field of microbial ecology, referring to the set of microbes that are characteristic of a given environment. However, the way a core microbiome is defined can vary widely, with many of the metrics used being susceptible to bias, as discussed in the paper.
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New Publications from our IMPACTT Team
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Dr. Jayne Danska (Sex & Gender Lead)
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Rajakumar et al. Cell Reports Medicine. 21 Dec 2021.
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Dr. Paul Kubes (Platform 1 Co-Lead)
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Dunham-Snary et al. Redox Biology. 24 Dec 2021.
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Zindel et al. Nature Communications. 16 Dec 2021.
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Dr. Paul Kubes (Platform 1 Co-Lead) and Dr. Braedon McDonald (Education and Mentorship Co-Lead)
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Panda et al. JCI Insight. 15 Dec 2021.
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND REMINDERS
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Click here to see a list of upcoming events in the microbiome world.
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CALL FOR PAPERS
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Be a contributor to our microbiome community!
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