Posting Notes from NAS Microbes and Health Meeting here on my blog

I am going to be posting notes on the NAS Meeting on Microbes and Health Here























Elaine Holmes at #NASMH studying metabolomics & microbes vs. human hypertension & BMI & type II diabetes - strong IDing signals


Vaughan at #NASMH using "Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem" aka SHIME Reactor


@DavidSela There goes my 30 minutes of twitter fame ...


Vaughan at #NASMH performing human 'intervention study' using tea & grape/wine polyphenols - each person is their own control


Keijser at #NASMH using microarray to survey rRNAs from oral samples - calls this the "OC" chip


Elaine Holmes #NASMH "dosed up post docs w/ Chamomile tea" & compared metabolites & microbes (hard to prevent EToH consumption though)


Elaine Vaughan from UNILEVER at #NASMH discussing bioconversion of dietary polyphenols by gut microbiota


RT @Scitable Cucumber genome published http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_rel... Guide to pumpkin, melon and plant vascular system #UCDavis


Bart Keijser at #NASMH talking about exploring oral microbiota in kids - using traveling "dental bus" - every kids nightmare


Keijser at #NASMH - w/ array get correlations betw. oral health status & certain organisms - these may be new targets for intervention


Vaughan at #NASMH looking at polyphenol metabolites from grape/wine extract & black tea - steps by microbiota vary greatly


Elaine Holmes at #NASMH trying to correlate specific metabolites w/ specific organisms - very difficult


Keijser at #NASMH using 454 rRNA sequencing to compare oral microbiota over time in permanent vs. "deciduous" teeth


Elaine Holmes at #NASMH is talking about metabolomics of microbes - see here home page here http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/medicin...
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Elaine Holmes at #NASMH is talking about metabolomics of microbes - see here home page here http://www1.imperial.ac.uk/medicin...


Elaine Holmes at #NASMH looking at metabolites & microbes in model of bariatric surgery in rats


Elaine Holmes at #NASMH looking at metabolic profiles in different ethnic groups re; obesity epidemic


Elaine Holmes at #NASMH - using metabolomics of faecal H20 to compare normal & vancomycin treated mice


Elaine Holmes at #NASMH discussing study infecting germ free mice with microbiota from human babies http://www.nature.com/msb...


Elaine Holmes at #NASMH - metabolomics of urine from rats gives insight into gut microbiota (very cool)


Elaine Holmes at #NASMH - metabolomics of gnotobiotic (aka germ free) mice w/ and w/o colonization by microbes


R. Knight #NASMH discussing ecological "convergence" in microbial communities species assemblages


R. Knight #NASMH showing amazing study of microbes all over people's bodies (27 or so locations)


R. Knight #NASMH - comparison of mammal gut communities shows clustering by diet


R. Knight #NASMH "much as we love rRNA at Boulder we accept that we have to look at other parts of the genome"


R. Knight #NASMH - deep sequencing gives us samples of rare biosphere - though unclear what these rare organisms do


R. Knight #NASMH using 454 sequencing to survey microbial communities - expensive but saves money in long run


Knight #NASMH - UNIFRAC comparison of all communities suggests vertebrate gut communities are very unique


Getting reads for my talk at #NASMH


Knight at #NASMH says "hierarchical clustering as w/ microarrays" -good 2C my brother's work referred this way http://www.pnas.org/content...


Rob Knight at #NASMH discussing how UNIFRAC uses tree of life as organizing theme http://bmf2.colorado.edu/unifrac...


N. Moran #NASMH - aphid defense against parasitoids by H. defensa due to phage encoded toxins


Rob Knight - microbiome is good for personalized medicine b/c there is much variation between people


Rob Knight #NASMH discussing how van Leeuwenkoek was first to look at "Human Microbiome" using tooth scrapings


N. Moran #NASMH - many symbionts on border between bacteria & organelle - though more on the bacteria side


N. Moran #NASMH aphid resistance to parasitoid wasps due to presence of facultative symbiont H. defensa http://www.pnas.org/content...


# Rob Knight from CU-Boulder talking at #NASMH on 16s rRNA "enlightenment"


R. Knight #NASMH - was a major need for methods to compare rRNA data from different microbial communities


N. Moran #NASMH summary: symbioses major force in evolution, source of adaptation in changing envir, source of host constraints


N. Moran #NASMH comparing symbiont DNA repair genes: all missing some, some missing all, leads to incr. mutation rate & DNA biases


N. Moran #NASMH - once endosymbionts lose genes - never coming back b/c no lateral transfer - has profound effects on host ecology


R. Knight at #NASMH says next generation sequencing helps saves toothpicks previously used for colony picking


N. Moran #NASMH - accidental selection in lab for symbionts to lose heat shock response - see #PLoS Bio http://www.plosbiology.org/article...)


N. Moran #NASMH: organisms w/ small genomes lose non essential genes & also useful genes by drift b/c population sizes low



N. Moran #NASMH aphid resistance to parasitoid wasps due to presence of facultative symbiont H. defensa http://www.pnas.org/content...


# Rob Knight from CU-Boulder talking at #NASMH on 16s rRNA "enlightenment"


R. Knight #NASMH - was a major need for methods to compare rRNA data from different microbial communities


N. Moran #NASMH summary: symbioses major force in evolution, source of adaptation in changing envir, source of host constraints


N. Moran #NASMH comparing symbiont DNA repair genes: all missing some, some missing all, leads to incr. mutation rate & DNA biases


N. Moran #NASMH - once endosymbionts lose genes - never coming back b/c no lateral transfer - has profound effects on host ecology


Watching Nancy Moran, 1 of my favorite scientists, talk on symbioses at NAS Microbes&Health mtg (#NASMH) http://www.nasonline.org/site...


Nancy Moran at #NASMH: bacteria are incredibly diverse & plastic whereas animals are not so plastic & need some metabolic help


N. Moran #NASMH: in many symbioses host & symbiont phylogenetic trees are congruent -must be due to ancient associations


Nancy Moran defines symbiosis as I do: "members of more than 1 genetic lineage associate closely, often for mutual benefit" #NASMH


Nancy Moran: studies of symbionts used to be very hard b/c most cannot be cultured - molecular methods have revolutionized studies #NASMH



Nancy Moran is talking about symbioses

SHowing rRNA tree of life

Bacteria very diverse - in many ways - and very plastic and dynamic

Animals do not do this much

Essential roles of symbionts in animals - many examples

Giving props to Paul Buchner who documented associated involving bacteria buyt had not molecular methods and no culturing