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In this month's Microbe Talk, Lilly chats with microbiologist Prof Wilhelmina Huston about what science knows so far about the relationship between the vaginal microbiome - the composition of microbes that live on and within the vagina - and sexual health, including her recent research investigating how the microbial composition of the vagina can impact susceptibility to painful conditions, like pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). We also cover current treatments and where the future of treatment of STIs and other sexual health disorders is headed.

• The first systematic review on the effects of bipolar medications on the gut microbiome furthers our understanding of the connection between the gut and the brain in patients treated for bipolar disorder. 
• By analysing existing datasets, researchers concluded that the health of the gut microbiome may predict a patient’s response to treatment with drugs. 
• The results of the study could pave the way for new personalised therapeutic strategies and inspire further studies and clinical trials focused on treatments with the microbiome in mind.

Microbes supporting the production of more metabolic energy could be key to the evolution of large brains.
 

• New research provides the first evidence that differences in gut microbiomes across species are linked to how energy is used in the body. This could have shaped human evolution of larger brains.
• The gut microbiome is a community of microorganisms in the digestive system. Previous research has linked changes in the gut microbiome to changes in host metabolism (the processes in the body that convert or use energy).
• The study found that mice given gut microbes taken from large-brained primates ate more and shifted their energy usage to glucose – the brain’s primary fuel source. Whereas the mice that were given gut microbes from smaller-brained primates stored the energy as fat.
• This change in energy utilization could be an explanation of how humans were able to evolve large brains relative to body size that are energetically expensive to maintain.

• Researchers have identified a significant change in composition and abundance of bacteria in study participants’ oral microbiomes after using a popular brand of alcohol-based mouthwash.
• The oral microbiome is the community of bacteria that live in the mouth, they help us digest our food and keep our mouth healthy.
• Researchers found that two species of opportunistic bacteria were significantly more abundant in the mouth after daily use of the alcohol-based mouthwash, Fusobacterium nucleatum and Streptococcus anginosus.
• These two bacteria have been previously linked to several diseases including gum disease and oesophageal and colorectal cancers.
• Although results show potentially damaging alterations to the microbiome, researchers urge that the study results do not mean that the general public should no longer use mouthwash.

In a first of its kind study, researchers have identified significant differences between the diversity of gut bacteria in grey squirrels compared to red squirrels which could hold the key to further understanding the ability of grey squirrels to outcompete red squirrels in the UK.

The results of new research into the effects of COVID-19 have suggested that a mild-to-moderate COVID-19 infection can lead to alterations of the upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiota, including a reduction in bacterial diversity and community structure that persists for at least several weeks after the initial infection.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, observed a relationship between the URT microbiota and the severity of COVID symptoms in their patients. They hope this could lead to new therapy methods to reduce the effects of COVID-19 in the future.
 

The first ever systematic review of its kind confirms that taking probiotics alongside antibiotics can protect against some of the negative impacts of antibiotics on the human gut microbiome. The review is reported in the Journal of Medical Microbiology, published by the Microbiology Society.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from five research institutes across the UK are developing a “world first” resource for research into the microbiomes of crops.

Antimicrobial resistance remains one of the most serious global challenges of our time, with far-reaching impacts on sustainable development, food security and public health. In 2019, an estimated 1.2 million people died as a direct result of antibiotic resistant infections – and the study estimates millions more deaths were indirectly linked. Researchers have now conducted the largest global study to date of antibiotic resistance genes in the human gut microbiome. They found a correlation between the abundance and diversity of resistance genes in healthy people not taking antibiotics and per capita antibiotic use in a country, demonstrating how the impacts of individual antibiotic consumption diffuse throughout the population.

Changes in protein or fibre content of a person’s diet can increase bacteria that are linked to colorectal cancer.

Certain species of bacteria, such as Fusobacterium nucleatum and Parvimonas micra have been linked to colorectal cancer based on enrichment in cancerous lesions. Avery Robinson, PhD Candidate at the University of Guelph, Canada, is investigating how diet affects bacterial metabolites produced by the microbiome.

Research published in the journal Microbiology has found that a unique type of algae, usually only seen on the shells of turtles, affects the surrounding microbial communities. It is hoped that these findings can be applied to support the conservation of turtles. Previous research has shown that a diverse microbiome can protect animals against infections.

Potentially harmful microbes overwhelm the healthy gut microbiota in intensive care patients, research has found. Research published in the journal Microbial Genomics assessed how the diversity and makeup of the gut microbiome varied during patients’ time in the intensive care unit (ICU). The gut microbiome is the complex community of bacteria and other microbes that reside in the gut, and plays an important role in health and wellbeing.

The makeup of the bacterial community that lives in the gut has been identified as a risk factor for bowel cancer. Research has found that the composition of the intestinal microbiome – the complex community of bacteria and other microbes that reside in the gut – can influence an individual’s chances of developing cancer in the bowel.

Researchers are concerned that attitudes to hygiene are being undermined by the hygiene hypothesis, and that this misleading misnomer could contribute to the spread of infectious disease.

Today at the Microbiology Society’s Annual Conference, researchers will show that the overall balance of the bacteria on a person’s skin, rather than the presence or absence of a particular bacterial strain, appears to be an important factor for acne development and skin health.