ObjectiveThe initial colonisation of the human microbiota and the impact of maternal health on neonatal microbiota at birth remain largely unknown. The aim of our study is to investigate the possible dysbiosis of maternal and neonatal microbiota associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to estimate the potential risks of the microbial shift to neonates.DesignPregnant women and neonates suffering from GDM were enrolled and 581 maternal (oral, intestinal and vaginal) and 248 neonatal (oral, pharyngeal, meconium and amniotic fluid) samples were collected. To avoid vaginal bacteria contaminations, the included neonates were predominantly delivered by C-section, with their samples collected within seconds of delivery.ResultsNumerous and diverse bacterial taxa were identified from the neonatal samples, and the samples from different neonatal body sites were grouped into distinct clusters. The microbiota of pregnant women and neonates was remarkably altered in GDM, with a strong correlation between certain discriminatory bacteria and the oral glucose tolerance test. Microbes varying by the same trend across the maternal and neonatal microbiota were observed, revealing the intergenerational concordance of microbial variation associated with GDM. Furthermore, lower evenness but more depletion of KEGG orthologues and higher abundance of some viruses (eg, herpesvirus and mastadenovirus) were observed in the meconium microbiota of neonates associated with GDM.ConclusionGDM can alter the microbiota of both pregnant women and neonates at birth, which sheds light on another form of inheritance and highlights the importance of understanding the formation of early-life microbiome.

Seaweeds are essential for marine ecosystems and have immense economic value. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of the draft genome of Saccharina japonica, one of the most economically important seaweeds. The 537-Mb assembled genomic sequence covered 98.5% of the estimated genome, and 18,733 protein-coding genes are predicted and annotated. Gene families related to cell wall synthesis, halogen concentration, development and defence systems were expanded. Functional diversification of the mannuronan C-5-epimerase and haloperoxidase gene families provides insight into the evolutionary adaptation of polysaccharide biosynthesis and iodine antioxidation. Additional sequencing of seven cultivars and nine wild individuals reveal that the genetic diversity within wild populations is greater than among cultivars. All of the cultivars are descendants of a wild S. japonica accession showing limited admixture with S. longissima. This study represents an important advance toward improving yields and economic traits in Saccharina and provides an invaluable resource for plant genome studies.

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Background In gut microbiome studies, the cultured gut microbial resource plays essential roles, such as helping to unravel gut microbial functions and host-microbe interactions. Although several major studies have been performed to elucidate the cultured human gut microbiota, up to 70% of the Unified Human Gastrointestinal Genome species have not been cultured to date. Large-scale gut microbial isolation and identification as well as availability to the public are imperative for gut microbial studies and further characterizing human gut microbial functions. Results In this study, we constructed a human Gut Microbial Biobank (hGMB; homepage: hgmb.nmdc.cn) through the cultivation of 10,558 isolates from 31 sample mixtures of 239 fresh fecal samples from healthy Chinese volunteers, and deposited 1170 strains representing 400 different species in culture collections of the International Depository Authority for long-term preservation and public access worldwide. Following the rules of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes, 102 new species were characterized and denominated, while 28 new genera and 3 new families were proposed. hGMB represented over 80% of the common and dominant human gut microbial genera and species characterized from global human gut 16S rRNA gene amplicon data (n = 11,647) and cultured 24 “most-wanted” and “medium priority” taxa proposed by the Human Microbiome Project. We in total sequenced 115 genomes representing 102 novel taxa and 13 previously known species. Further in silico analysis revealed that the newly sequenced hGMB genomes represented 22 previously uncultured species in the Unified Human Gastrointestinal Genome (UHGG) and contributed 24 representatives of potentially “dark taxa” that had not been discovered by UHGG. The nonredundant gene catalogs generated from the hGMB genomes covered over 50% of the functionally known genes (KEGG orthologs) in the largest global human gut gene catalogs and approximately 10% of the “most wanted” functionally unknown proteins in the FUnkFams database. Conclusions A publicly accessible human Gut Microbial Biobank (hGMB) was established that contained 1170 strains and represents 400 human gut microbial species. hGMB expands the gut microbial resources and genomic repository by adding 102 novel species, 28 new genera, 3 new families, and 115 new genomes of human gut microbes.

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(2020) Therapeutic manipulation of gut microbiota by polysaccharides of Wolfiporiacocos reveals the contribution of the gut fungi-induced PGE 2 to alcoholic hepatic steatosis,

Adhesive hydrogels with self-healing and stretchability are expected to be used in a variety of fields including electronic skin, wound dressings, and wearable devices. Here, a novel strategy is exhibited to enhance the adhesiveness of hydrogels by introducing positively charged microgel into the hydrogel matrix of polydopamine inspired by the natural mussel adhesive mechanism. The synthesized hydrogels exhibit good adhesion not only on various organic and inorganic surfaces (such as polythene, polytetrafluoro­ethylene, rubber, ceramics, glass, and copper) but also on many biological tissue surfaces (e.g., heart, liver, lung, kidney, and hogskin). Compared with hydrogels only containing catechol moieties, the adhesion strength of microgel-containing hydrogels increased 8 times on glass substrates. In addition, the adhesive hydrogel also exhibits rapid self-healing and good stretchability due to the noncovalent interaction between the microgel and the hydrogel matrix. On the whole, doping microgel in the construction of multifunctional hydrogels substantially improved their adhesive ability on many types of surfaces.

The single-celled ciliate Paramecium bursaria is an indispensable model for investigating endosymbiosis between protists and green-algal symbionts. To elucidate the mechanism of this type of endosymbiosis, we combined PacBio and Illumina sequencing to assemble a high-quality and near-complete macronuclear genome of P. bursaria . The genomic characteristics and phylogenetic analyses indicate that P. bursaria is the basal clade of the Paramecium genus. Through comparative genomic analyses with its close relatives, we found that P. bursaria encodes more genes related to nitrogen metabolism and mineral absorption, but encodes fewer genes involved in oxygen binding and N-glycan biosynthesis. A comparison of the transcriptomic profiles between P. bursaria with and without endosymbiotic Chlorella showed differential expression of a wide range of metabolic genes. We selected 32 most differentially expressed genes to perform RNA interference experiment in P. bursaria , and found that P. bursaria can regulate the abundance of their symbionts through glutamine supply. This study provides novel insights into Paramecium evolution and will extend our knowledge of the molecular mechanism for the induction of endosymbiosis between P. bursaria and green algae.