Elena M. Turek

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that contaminating DNA is ubiquitous in commonly used DNA extraction kits and other laboratory reagents, varies greatly in composition between different kits and kit batches, and that this contamination critically impacts results obtained from samples containing a low microbial biomass.

TL;DR: DNA based methods offer better identification and quantification of microbial constituents of sputum than standard clinical culture and may help inform patient management strategies, and microbial characteristics showed poor correlations with clinical features including underlying disease, antibiotic use and exacerbations.

TL;DR: It is shown that ICS use is associated with lung microbiota disruption leading to proliferation of streptococcal genera, an effect that could be recapitulated in ICS-treated mice, and a central role for cathepsin D/cathelicidin in the suppression of antibacterial host defense by ICS in COPD.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that contaminating DNA is ubiquitous in commonly used DNA extraction kits, varies greatly in composition between different kits and kit batches, and that this contamination critically impacts results obtained from samples containing a low microbial biomass.

TL;DR: This article investigated airway bacterial communities in a general population sample of 529 Australian adults and found that the healthy airway microbiota in this population were contained within a highly structured ecosystem, suggesting balanced relationships between the microbiome and human host factors.