A study by researchers in Spain suggests that current metagenomic analyses of the microbiome can yield erroneous results, largely due to the incomplete databases that are used to identify microbial DNA sequences. A team led by Clemente Fernández Arias and Federica Bertocchini at the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas, Madrid, evaluated current microbiome analysis techniques on computer simulations of microbial communities in a report published on Feb. 8 in PLOS ONE.

A metabolite derived from the airway microbiome, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), could become a potential therapeutic candidate for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Researchers at South China Normal University (SCNU) have shown how IAA prevents lung function decline by reducing inflammation, apoptosis and emphysema through IL-22 in the interaction between macrophages and alveolar epithelial cells.