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The first study detailing the species within the gut microbiomes of many of Australia's iconic marsupial species is published in Microbial Genomics.

A new study, 'Genomic diversity and antimicrobial resistance of Vibrio cholerae isolates from Africa: a PulseNet Africa initiative using nanopore sequencing to enhance genomic surveillance', published in Microbial Genomics today outlines the findings from a collaborative workshop to strengthen local capabilities for disease surveillance.

International research team identify 35 viral genomes in Antarctic penguins, revealing how wildlife and viruses evolve together in extreme environments. The paper, titled 'Diversity of polyomaviruses and papillomaviruses in penguins from eastern and western Antarctica' is published in Microbial Genomics. 

Researchers from the University of Queensland reveal the relationship between levels of stress hormones and increased susceptibility to secondary infection in koalas with koala retrovirus (KoRV), an often fatal disease contributing towards their declining populations, in a new paper published in the Journal of General Virology.

• 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.

• These "extremophile" bacteria have managed to adapt and thrive in extremely pure heavy water, a very hostile environment for most known life forms.
• The discovery, published in Microbial Genomics, opens new perspectives in biotechnology, plastic degradation, and could aid the search for life in extreme environments in the solar system.

An international team of microbiologists from the Medical University of Graz, Austria, the DSMZ—German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany, and the University of Illinois, USA, has identified and described a previously unknown species of methane-producing archaea in the human gut: Methanobrevibacter intestini sp. nov. (strain WWM1085). In addition, a new variant of the species Methanobrevibacter smithii, which is referred to as GRAZ-2, was isolated. The scientists thus took another important step towards understanding the interaction between humans and the microbiome.

Researchers have isolated an ultrasmall bacterium belonging to a large phylogenetic group that includes various lineages of uncultivated bacteria — the CPR

• Researchers achieved the first successful isolation of ultrasmall bacteria parasitizing archaea.
• They visualized unique parasitic attachment of the bacterium on methane-generating archaea.
• Proposed new taxonomic classification for a massively diverse group of enigmatic bacteria, including the novel phylum Minisyncoccota.

The Microbiology Society is pleased to announce a new three year Publish and Read agreement from 2025 with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (also known as Peking Union Medical College), consistently ranked among the top medical schools in China. The Society’s model will support affiliated researchers by facilitating access to Society titles and fee-free Open Access (OA) publishing. This agreement was established in partnership with the Charlesworth Group, the Society’s representative agency in China.

• Citrus canker, a bacterial disease affecting orange and lemon orchards, has been the target of control and eradication programs in São Paulo state (Brazil) since the 1960’s.
• Despite the measures taken, a study points to the persistence, diversification, and adaptation of the causative bacteria over this period.
• Results indicate that strategies based on genetic knowledge of bacterial strains may be key to more effective control.

Sciety is pleased to welcome the open research platform Access Microbiology to its community, bringing public evaluation to the latest microbiology and virology research.

As part of its ongoing efforts to make Open Access (OA) publishing more equitable, the Microbiology Society is pleased to announce a new Article Processing Charge (APC) waiver agreement with Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL). The agreement, commencing in January 2025, will cover unlimited fee-free OA publishing in all Society titles for researchers across 33 developing and transition economy countries and territories.

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 from the Quadram Institute working together with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have established a human “lung-on-chip” model that recreates how SARS-CoV-2 infects lung cells, in a contained laboratory environment.
 

The Microbiology Society, one of the largest microbiology societies in Europe, is pleased to announce a new three-year Publish and Read offering with German consortium ZB MED – Information Centre for Life Sciences, available to its 400 member institutions and 2,000 hospitals. This agreement was established in partnership with HARRASSOWITZ, the Society’s representative agency in Germany.

Scientists at The University of Warwick have made a breakthrough which could help find new treatments for a deadly infection that can affect up to 40% of hospital patients using mechanical ventilators.

Researchers at University of Galway have developed a new, portable technology for on-the-spot testing of water quality to detect one of the most dangerous types of bacteria.

• 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.

The Microbiology Society welcomes the launch of the UK Government’s new National Action Plan (NAP) to tackle AMR for the period 2024 to 2029.

Researchers have discovered a new bacterial killer that can target common lung infection caused by Burkholderia bacteria that has exciting potential for biotechnological applications.