All Microbial Genomics articles
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NewsHow river DNA can track fish, frogs, fungi and human feces — all at once
A single scoop of water from an Irish river revealed evidence not only of Ireland’s only frog species, but also signs of the dreaded B. dendrobatidis fungus, marking the first time this devastating amphibian disease has been spotted in the country and exposing a previously unknown risk to Ireland’s frog population.
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NewsJ. Craig Venter, genomics pioneer and founder of JCVI and Diploid Genomics, Inc., dies at 79
The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) has announced that J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., the Institute’s founder, board chair, and chief executive officer, died in San Diego following a brief hospitalization for unexpected side effects that arose from treatment of recently diagnosed cancer.
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NewsA universal toolkit for editing bacterial DNA
A major collaboration involving nine labs has transferred a particularly useful DNA editing system from E. coli into 14 new species of bacteria, spanning three major branches of the bacterial family tree.
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NewsViruses found in Antarctic air, including some new to science
It may seem stark and lifeless, but the air around the remote sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia contains viruses, including some that are new to science. Using metagenomics, researchers discovered that South Georgia harbours a diverse and dynamic airborne viral community.
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NewsAncient tooth reveals the bacterium responsible for scarlet fever was not introduced to the Americas by Europeans
A research team has identified the Streptococcus pyogenes bacterium in a pre-Columbian Bolivian mummy and, for the first time, reconstructed the genome of this centuries-old pathogen.
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NewsHow soil microbes adapt to life in lakes
Researchers have analyzed the genome of bacteria living in Lake Zurich to conclude that microbes employ two different strategies to colonize new habitats. Some acquire new traits – but others reduce the size of their genome and lose some functions in order to successfully move to a new home.
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NewsMethod for amplifying the full genome of human papillomavirus 16 uses overlapping extension polymerase chain reaction
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a double-stranded circular DNA virus with a genome of approximately 7–8 kb. A new study aims to establish an overlapping extension polymerase chain reaction method for the amplification of the entire genome of HPV16.
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NewsHow microbes survive in the plastisphere
Trillions of persistent plastic particles of varying sizes are scattered throughout the world’s oceans, where they often accumulate in ocean gyres known as ‘garbage patches’. Two of these regions were the focus of research expeditions.
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NewsSoil bacteria break down toxic chemicals in the environment
Soil bacteria can help to break toxic aromatic compounds down. For one of these, Rhodococcus opacus 1CP, researchers have analyzed the genome and identified many potential metabolic pathways that the bacterium can employ to act as a ‘clean-up specialist’.
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NewsTracking bacteria’s protective armor could help find targeted vaccine targets
The first large-scale genetic study of E. coli’s protective armour has identified the five capsule types that are responsible for 70 per cent of all multidrug-resistant bloodstream infections in Europe.
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NewsNew findings on infection with the Epstein-Barr virus
Researchers have identified genetic and non-genetic factors that help the body fight the Epstein-Barr virus. Using a new technique, they were able to estimate the amount of EBV in the blood and find correlations in large health data sets – for example, an increased viral load in people with HIV infections, but also in smokers.
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NewsGolden Gate method enables rapid, fully-synthetic engineering of therapeutically relevant bacteriophages
Researchers have described the first fully synthetic bacteriophage engineering system for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this method, researchers engineer bacteriophages synthetically using sequence data rather than bacteriophage isolates.
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NewsEarly intervention of cyanobacterial risks starting from the genome?
A new study proposes using “~3 Mbp” as a threshold to establish a genome size-oriented proxy indicator for cyanobacterial risk early warning.
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NewsResearch reveals hidden diversity of E. coli driving diabetic foot infections
New research has shed light on the diversity and characteristics of E. coli strains that drive diabetic foot infections, providing the first comprehensive genomic characterisation of E. coli strains isolated directly from diabetic foot ulcers across multiple continents.
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NewsNew study reveals evolutionary and domestication history of button mushroom
A large-scale population genomic study has shed new light on the evolutionary and domestication history of the button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), one of the most widely cultivated edible fungi in the world.
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NewsScience army mobilizes to map US soil microbiome
A small army of researchers are working to catalog the vast and largely unknown soil microbiome of the United States. The project, one of the biggest microbiome studies ever attempted, has already resulted in the discovery of more than 1,000 new strains of bacteria and never-before-seen microbes.
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NewsAsia PGI and partners unveil preview of PathGen: New AI-powered outbreak intelligence tool
Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Asia PGI) has offered the first public preview of PathGen, an AI-powered sense-making and decision-making support platform of pathogen genomics and contextual data.
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NewsA new gateway to global antimicrobial resistance data
To support global AMR research, EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) has launched the AMR portal, a central hub that connects bacterial genomes, resistance phenotypes, and functional annotations, all in one place. The AMR portal ensures long-term availability, standardisation, and reusability of AMR data.
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NewsAncient viral DNA shapes modern human placentas
Researchers have uncovered how ancient viral DNA controls a gene linked to placenta development and pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening pregnancy disorder. The research could help identify pre-eclampsia risk much earlier.
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NewsCHIKVdb: A comprehensive genomic resource for chikungunya virus surveillance and outbreak response
Scientists have developed the Chikungunya Virus Database (CHIKVdb), a comprehensive genomic resource. CHIKVdb integrates 8,193 nucleotide sequences and 10,637 protein sequences from five major host categories across 99 countries, spanning 40 years.