Corvallis, Ore.—The bacterial communities that live inside everyone are quite similar and stable when times are good, but when stress enters the equation, those communities can react very differently from person to person.

A microbiological version of the “Anna Karenina principle,” it’s a new paradigm suggested by scientists at Oregon State University—one that has key implications for a more personalized approach to antibiotic therapy, management of chronic diseases and other aspects of medical care. Microbiology Associate Professor Rebecca Vega Thurber and doctoral student Ryan McMinds contributed to the study published today in Nature Microbiology.

The principle gets its name from the opening line of the novel Anna Karenina by 19th century Russian author Leo Tolstoy: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

It turns out that this observation also applies to perturbed microbiotas of humans and animals.

“When microbiologists have looked at how microbiomes change when their hosts are stressed from any number of factors – temperature, smoking, diabetes, for example – they’ve tended to assume directional and predictive changes in the community,” said Vega Thurber, corresponding author on the perspective study funded by the National Science Foundation. “After tracking many datasets of our own we never seemed to find this pattern but rather a distinct one where microbiomes actually change in a stochastic, or random, way.”

Lead author Jesse Zaneveld of the University of Washington-Bothell collaborated with Vega Thurber and her student, McMinds, to survey the literature on microbial changes caused by perturbation. Together they found those stochastic changes to be a common occurrence, but one that researchers have tended to discard as “noise” rather than report.

“Thus we present the Anna Karenina principle for microbiomes,” Vega Thurber said. “When microbiomes are happy they are all similar in their composition but during stress or unhappiness they change in a multitude of distinct ways. This piece draws together diverse microbiome research. We think this is an important emerging paradigm for thinking about microbiome data. We present ways of identifying it and distinguishing it from other patterns.”

In addition to the literary reference, Vega Thurber offers a wintry metaphor to explain what she and her collaborators have discovered.

“When healthy our microbiomes look alike, but when stressed each one of us has our own microbial snowflake,” she said. “You or I could be put under the same stress, and our microbiomes will respond in different ways – that’s a very important facet to consider for managing approaches to personalized medicine. Stressors like antibiotics or diabetes can cause different people’s microbiomes to react in very different ways.”

Humans and animals are filled with symbiotic communities of microorganisms that often fill key roles in normal physiological function and also influence susceptibility to disease. Predicting how these communities of organisms respond to perturbations – anything that alters the systems’ function – is one of microbiologists’ essential challenges.

Full article: http://bit.ly/2v9YFzj

If you’ve got plenty of burgers and beers on hand and your own stomach is full, an uninvited guest at your neighborhood barbecue won’t put much strain on you.

But if you’re hungry and food and drink supplies are running low when the moocher shows up, it’s a different story.

New research shows a species of diatom, a single-celled algae thought to be asexual, does reproduce sexually, and scientists learned it’s a common compound – ammonium – that puts the ubiquitous organism in the mood.

The findings, published today by microbiologist Kimberly Halsey in PLOS One, may be a key step toward greater understanding of the evolution of sexual behavior and also have important biotechnology implications.

There was ample evidence of brilliance, innovation and creativity at the Celebrating Undergraduate Excellence (CUE) poster session held on May 19 in the Memorial Union Horizon Room. An amazing variety of undergraduate research and creative work taking place at Oregon State University was on display in the form of posters, art work and You Tube videos.

CUE showcased the projects of OSU undergraduates in all disciplines and fields of study. Over 100 students participated in the event. A total of 34 science majors presented their research on a wide range of topics.

A few of the deeply researched and informative science projects at CUE were: Corvid response to forest thinning in the Willamette National Forest; classroom experience for toddlers with developmental delays; accretion disk dependence on black hole size in binary black hole mergers; understanding metastatic growth through the traction force of human breast cells; and, charge mobility of organic semiconductors by using optical trapping.

Please see a complete list of undergraduate projects here.

CUE encourages presentation of ambitious, collaborative research projects, in which a student works alongside a faculty mentor and other researchers to create new knowledge. True Gibson, an Honors College junior studying biochemistry and biophysics, presented his research contributions to a National Science Foundation-funded project led by Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics Ryan Mehl.

Gibson's poster, "Increasing the Rate of an Ideal Bioorthogonal Ligation," explored his work in developing a stable set of chemical ingredients that will produce the desired reaction with biological processes in humans.

Quite a few of the accomplished science undergraduates who presented their research at CUE are URISC (Undergraduate Research Innovation, Scholarship & Creativity) and URSA Engage (Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and the Arts) scholars, who were able to pursue their research with faculty mentors with the help of the awards.

Celebrating Undergraduate Excellence is sponsored by the Division of Undergraduate Studies and organized by University Events.

The ocean sequesters massive amounts of carbon in the form of “dissolved organic matter,” and new research explains how an ancient group of cells in the dark ocean wrings the last bit of energy from carbon molecules resistant to breakdown.

Stephen Giovannoni, OSU distinguished professor of microbiology, and Zach Landry, former OSU graduate student and first author of the study published their findings in the American Society for Microbiology. Other collaborators include scientists at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, the University of Vienna, and Utrecht University.

The College of Science congratulates its 2017 SURE Science scholars who have received $5,500 each, for a total of $170,500! The SURE Science program offers students summer research opportunities across campus that can foster meaningful, scholarly connections early in their academic careers and help define their professional career path.

SURE Science is a program supported through the Undergraduate Research Frontiers Fund with generous philanthropic contributions from friends and alumni of the College. This year, thanks to the generous support of alumni and friends, the College was able to fund 31 undergraduate students, with an overall funding rate of 54%. The students, about 65 percent of whom are minority and first-generation college students, will receive $5,500 to conduct full-time summer research.

This spring the College of Science together with OSU’s Office of Research is launching the OSU Microbiome Initiative (OMBI), led by Sharpton. OMBI is an ongoing education and research program comprising OSU researchers from diverse disciplines who work together towards four shared goals: to understand how microbiomes operate and interact with their environment; to develop collaborations and partnerships with other research institutions and industry; to provide training in microbiome research methods; and to incentivize participation by underrepresented researchers.

This spring and summer, OMBI is hosting the following programs, with additional funding from the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Department of Microbiology.

Training Workshop, May 11, 2017

OMBI is hosting a hands-on training workshop on microbiome research techniques. Participants will learn methods and concepts related to the generation and analysis of microbiome data. This free workshop will be held May 11, 2017, in CH2M Hill Alumni Center in the Willamette Room 115. This year’s event has already reached capacity.

Award-winning science author talks microbiomes, May 11, 2017

British science writer Ed Yong, author of the New York Times bestseller on microbiomes I Contain Multitudes, will give a public talk about microbiome science from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. followed by Q&A in the Horizon Ballroom at the Memorial Union. A reception to welcome Ed Yong will be held at 5:30 p.m.

Microbiome Research Forum, May 12, 2017

OSU investigators, researchers, and students are invited to participate in a strategic forum regarding the state and future of microbiome research from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the CH2M Hill Alumni Center, Cascade Ballroom. Participants will hear presentations from internationally renowned micro biome experts. Trainees are also encouraged to participate in a poster session following the forum. Students and postdocs can compete for cash prizes! A celebratory evening reception will cap off the day at The Arts Center, Corvallis in downtown Corvallis, at 700 SW Madison Ave. from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Space is limited. Register today!

Mixing art + science

During the OMBI launch, microbiome-related art will be on display as part of OSU’s part of SPARK: A Yearlong Celebration of Arts and Science, featuring science, artwork, poetry readings, and musical performances across campus. Working in synergy, Department of Microbiology Head and glass artist Jerri Bartholomew and SPARK, created a groundbreaking exhibit, “To See the Unseen.” Participants are encouraged to experience the exhibit, which opened April 13 and runs through May 27. It explores how microbiota influence life within ourselves and on our planet.

A summer of microbiome research

In collaboration with professors Duo Jiang, Yuan Jiang, Yanming Di and Lan Xue, Sharpton is hosting an research experience for undergraduates (REU) in OSU’s Statistics Department. This undergraduate research experience offers students the opportunity to analyze gut microbiome DNA sequences and to use statistical methods to infer how bacteria influence human health.

Students receive an $8,000 stipend as part of the REU, which includes expenses for travel and lodging. The 10-week research and training opportunity runs June 19 through August 25. The launch of the Summer 2017 program has been highly successful and has reached capacity.

A palpable urgency is driving microbiome research globally. With chronic diseases on the rise, ever-increasing ecological disruptions, and a mounting need to improve plant and animal agricultural productivity, more and more scientists are looking to microbiomes for answers. While tiny in size, these communities of microscopic organisms have profound effects and may hold the key for an improved understanding of animal, plant and ecological health.

Coined more than 10 years ago, the term “microbiome” has worked its way into the nation’s dialogue and settled into the public’s consciousness. Consequently, support and funding for microbiome research has grown substantially.

Road to the White House and back

An assistant professor with joint appointments in microbiology and statistics at OSU, Thomas Sharpton brings expertise in two symbiotic areas that give him an edge and a wholly unique perspective on microbiomes.

In 2013, he collaborated with OSU’s Office of Research Development to connect faculty with broader impacts across OSU to each other. He developed a robust forum with 50-plus faculty, all of whom study microbial communities in some way.

When the White House issued a call for information on microbiomes in 2014, Sharpton was ready. He drafted a collective response based on the hard work of the broad-based faculty forum at OSU and submitted a paper. Six months later, the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) contacted him to inquire how much OSU was investing in microbiome research.

In May 2016, Sharpton was invited to the White House for the launch of OSTP's National Microbiome Initiative (NMI), a new $121 million federal program to maximize $500 million in philanthropic support from private foundations in order to study the microbes in humans, crops, soils, oceans and more. The initiative aims to coordinate research to understand microbiomes and restore damaged ones, and assistant professor and nationally recognized microbiome expert Sharpton is playing a key role.

A focus for research grants

The NMI is channeling its $121 million through various federal agencies, including approximately $16 million to the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund microbiome research that spans the spectrum of ecosystems, species and biological scales. Earlier this year, Sharpton received one of these NSF grants, a total of $520,000 to develop computational methods to identify which specific members of the microbiome are important to ecological and human health. Sharpton’s Lab is also actively exploring how changes in the operation of the gut microbiome broadly influence human and animal health and evolution.

In short, OMBI project, a virtual center for microbiome research and education, is playing a key role in supporting the National Microbiome Initiative's mission to foster the integrated and interdisciplinary study of microbiomes across different ecosystems. As a focal area of research, OMBI will help attract sustained external funding to OSU faculty, who have received $10 million in grants for microbiome studies in the last 21 months alone.

Part of OMBI's mission is also to educate the public and, along with the NMI, expand the microbiome workforce. To that end, this spring and summer, OMBI is hosting a number of events, some of which are free and open to the public. Click here for more information.

Note: this article is part of a mini-series on how OSU scientists are working to mitigate climate change. Read more here: Overview, Quantifying Risk and Sustaining Resources.

“When the voices of scientists are not heard, there is a price to pay.” ~ Janet Napolitano

Scientists have often been reluctant to step into politics, believing perhaps that it is better to let research speak for itself. But in an era of accelerating climate change combined with “alternative facts,” more and more scientists perceive an urgent need to move beyond their traditional comfort zone and speak out about the public value of research, not to mention the value of science itself.

Note: this article is part of a series on how Oregon State scientists are working to mitigate climate change. Read more: Warm Oceans need Cool Science (introduction), Informing Policy and Sustaining Resources.

In 2016, our planet reached the highest temperature on record for the third year in a row according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Analyzing big data to model our evolving future is mission critical in an era of potentially catastrophic global warming.

“Statistical analysis and data science are key to discoveries and innovation,” says Sastry G. Pantula, dean of the College of Science. New fields involved in big data like bioinformatics are often interdisciplinary and collaborative.

“Solving major complex issues …requires teams with a diversity of expertise across science, mathematics and statistics. An interdisciplinary cohort enhances depth in core areas, breadth of communication across various fields, and strength in statistical and computational skills,” adds Pantula. Scientists at Oregon State work with big data to tackle climate change on many fronts.

Big data for the next generation

Mathematician Juan M. Restrepo is Chair of the Focus Group on Climate in the American Physical Society. He works on improving weather and climate forecasts by combining data and weather models, and is presently focused on finding ways to compute statistics of rare and extreme weather events. Some of the methods developed in this line of research lead to adaptive ways to respond to disasters, such as flooding and hurricanes.