Global Microbiome Transition Network hints at origins and evolution paths of microbiomesThe Earth contains about one trillion species of microbes — only about one-tenth of which have been identified. A single human can house 100 trillion microbes, creating a single microbiome that serves an ecosystem of microbes.Microbes connect and transform in myriad ways, creating and combining and separati...

Microalgae are "simple" organisms of single cells, yet they pack a mighty potential punch when it comes to helping humanity achieve carbon neutrality, according to researchers from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Their metabolic activities play fundamental roles in global carbon cycling and convert carbon dioxide in...

​A new, extremely precise technique has been developed that allows the identification of the metabolic function and genome of soil bacteria one bacterial cell at a time instead of having to analyze millions all at once. The process should permit 'mining' of soil for bacteria of particular biological or industrial interest.Researchers from the Single-Cell Center at the Qingdao Institute of Bioe...

By combining the‘chassis’ of an oil-producing microalgae with genes from a Cuphea plant, scientists from Single-Cell Center, Qingdao Institute of BioEnergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) can turn the algae into a microbial cell factory that can produce various oils with different properties.The study was published in Metabolic Engineering onApril 3...

[Summary] A single-celled algae hasundergone genome surgery to remove non-essential parts. This can lead to a most efficient cellular factory for producing sustainable biofuels from sunlight and carbon dioxide.Researchers have stripped hundred-kilobase genomefroma type of oil-producingmicroalgae, knocking out genes non-essential for it to function. By doing so, they have created a "genome scalp...

Poor oral hygiene produces gum-disease bacteria and accelerates oral microbiome aging faster than previously thought.A new study shows that within 24-72 hours of the interruption of oral hygiene, there was a steep decrease in the presence of 'good oral bacteria' and the beneficial anti-inflammatory chemicals they are associated with. An increase of 'bad bacteria' typically present in the mouths...

Metagenomics - the study of genetic material from an environmental sample - is growing as species evolve or are discovered across the globe. To correlate the newly developed microbiomes with existing data sets, a team of researchers based in China has developed the Microbiome Search Engine 2 (MSE 2). Itwas published onJan. 19 in mSystems, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.Fig. ...

A new algorithm may reduce the need for expensive, time-consuming whole-genome sequencing computations to understand howamicrobiome functions. A team led byJINGGongchao of the Qingdao Institute of BioEnergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)and SU Xiaoquan of Qingdao University, published their approach, called Meta-Apo, on Jan. 6 in BMC Genomics.Fig. 1 Meta-A...

Cancer cells are smart when it comes to anti-cancer drugs, evolving and becoming resistant to even the strongest chemotherapies over time. To combat this evasive behavior, researchers have developed a methodnamed D2O-probed CANcer Susceptibility Test Ramanometry (D2O-CANST-R; Fig. 1) to see, at single-cell/organelle level, how pharmaceuticals induce cancer cell death and how cancer cells adapt....

Industrial oil-producing microalgae can use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into oils on a large scale. Therefore, it is a potential solution for the sustainable supply of food, nutrition and fuel for human society.To promote resource sharing and research cooperation for the synthetic biology and molecular breeding of industrial oil-producing microalgae, an international team l...