This Week in Microbiology

The TWiM team marvels over the finding of a completely nitrifying Nitrospira , and horizontal gene transfer from Wolbachia into an animal genome. Links for this episode: Complete nitrification by Nitrospira bacteria (Nature one , two ) Enigmatic comammox (PhysOrg) Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (Ann Rev Micro) Tardigrade controversy (SciAlert) Horizontal gene transfer from Wolbachia to grasshopper (Pe...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Elio Schaechter  and  Michele Swanson The TWiMeriti reveal a Brazilian social bee that must cultivate a fungus to survive, and diet-mediated reduction in gut colonization by  Candida albicans . Links for this episode  Bee  cultivates fungus  to survive (Curr Biol) Diet reduces   C. albicans  gut colonization (mSphere) mSphere , a new open-access ASM journal Image cred...

Vincent visits the laboratories of Kit and Joseph Pogliano on the campus of the University of California, San Diego, where he learns about their work on the bacterial cytoskeleton, sporulation, and the effects of antibiotics on bacterial cells. Visit microbeworld.org/twim for complete shownotes including the special video version of this episode. Thanks for listening and watching!

Vincent, Elio, and Michele meet with Harry Mobley, Mary O’Riordan, and Vince Young at the University of Michigan, during the designation of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology as a Milestones in Microbiology site. They discuss how the laboratory has advanced the science and teaching of microbiology, and discuss faculty work on uropathogenic E. coli, induction of stress by bacterial infec...

Vincent meets up with Romney and Duncan at the 79th annual meeting of the Southern California branch of the American Society for Microbiology, where they talk about emerging technologies for antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and next generation sequencing and advanced molecular diagnostics. Visit microbeworld.org/twim to watch the video version and for complete shownotes including links mentio...

The TWiM team wonders why definitions in biology often change, and discuss how the small molecule terrein is important for the growth of a soil fungus. Image: Lesion formation on banana surfaces infected with Aspergillus terreus. Source Links mentioned:   ASM Undergraduate Research Capstone Program ASM Undergraduate Fellowship Program Regulation of terrein production in Aspergillus terreus Visit m...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Michael Schmidt , and Elio Schaechter. The TWiMitos discuss the reconstruction of a 1,000-year-old antimicrobial remedy, and using gallium as an antimicrobial in the battle for iron. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes , Stitcher , Android , RSS , or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app . Links for this episode  1,000 year old a...

The TWiM team focuses on the gut microbiome, from a single member, Akkermansia muciniphila, to the effect of antibiotics on its composition and colonization resistance against C. difficile. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on  iTunes ,  Stitcher ,  Android ,  RSS , or by  email.  You can also listen on your mobile device with the  Microbeworld app . Links for this episode  Agar art contest Akkermansia muc...

The TWiM cohort discusses the use of antimicrobial peptides to target specific bacteria in the microbiome, and how the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia selectively kills male hosts.   Links for this episode: Antimicrobial peptides to modulate microbial ecology (PNAS) Targeting specific bacteria in the oral microbiome (Trends Micro) How Wolbachia kills male hosts (PLoS Biol) Wolbachia phage on TWi...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Michael Schmidt ,  Elio Schaechter  and  Michele Swanson .     The professors of TWiM discuss a University of Wisconsin plan for rescuing biomedical research in the US, and results of a clinical trial in Bangladesh of an oral cholera vaccine. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on  iTunes ,  Stitcher ,  RSS , or by  email.  You can also listen on your mobile device with the  Mic...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello  and  Michael Schmidt . Vincent and Michael discuss the highly diverse microbiome of uncontacted Amerindians, and how the composition of human urine plays a role in the battle for iron. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on  iTunes , via  RSS feed , by  email  or listen on your mobile device with the  Microbeworld app . Links for this episode Microbiome of uncontacted Amerindians...

  Vincent and Michael speak with Katy Bosio about her research on pathogenesis, immunity, and vaccines against Franciscella tularensis , the causative agent of tularemia.

The TWiM team reviews the microbiological safety of herbs in the United Kingdom, and how a peptide from the milkweek bug binds the ribosome and inhibits bacterial protein synthesis.   Links for this episode:   Microbes in whole-leaf herbs (J Appl Micro) Antimicrobial peptide blocks ribosome (Nat Struct Mol Biol) Bacterial protein synthesis (Micro Mol Biol Rev) Antimicrobial peptides (Nature) The b...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Michael Schmidt ,  Elio Schaechter  and  Michele Swanson .     The TWiM team discusses how measles vaccination protects against other infectious diseases, and links between bacterial biofilms and colon cancer. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on  iTunes ,  Stitcher ,  RSS , or by  email.  You can also listen on your mobile device with the  Microbeworld app . Links for this ep...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Michael Schmidt ,  Elio Schaechter  and  Michele Swanson .   The TWiM team is amazed by the ocelloid, and an evolutionary battle for iron between mammalian transferrin and bacterial transferrin-binding protein. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on  iTunes ,  Stitcher ,  RSS , or by  email.  You can also listen on your mobile device with the  Microbeworld app . Links for this e...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Michael Schmidt ,  Elio Schaechter  and  Michele Swanson .   The TWiM team discusses evidence that serotonin synthesis is regulated by spore-forming members of the gut microbiota. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on  iTunes , via  RSS feed , by  email  or listen on your mobile device with the  Microbeworld app . Links for this episode When  antibiotic resistance in vitro  fal...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Michael Schmidt ,  Elio Schaechter  and  Michele Swanson .   The TWiMers discuss how aroma helps disperse yeast cells on insect vectors, and evidence that MRSA is transmitted within households. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on  iTunes , via  RSS feed , by  email  or listen on your mobile device with the  Microbeworld app . Links for this episode Aroma promotes  yeast dispe...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello ,  Michael Schmidt ,  Elio Schaechter  and  Jo Handelsman .     The TWiM team celebrates 100 episodes with a Talmudic question, and discussion of how a single mutation alters bacterial host tropism. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on  iTunes , via  RSS feed , by  email  or listen on your mobile device with the  Microbeworld app . Links for this episode A single  mutation alters...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello Guests:  Maria Julia Marinissen ,  Edward H. You , and David R. Howell Vincent meets up with Maria, Edward, and David at the ASM Biodefense and Emerging Infections Research meeting to talk about alternative careers for scientists. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on  iTunes , via  RSS feed , by  email  or listen on your mobile device with the  Microbeworld app .   A video versio...

  The TWiM crew ponders the question of how a bacterium finds its middle when dividing, then divulge the transfer of interbacterial antagonism genes to eukaryotes, where they may function in innate defense.   Links for this episode:   Size independent symmetric division (Nat Commun) How does a bacterium find its middle ? (Nat Struct Biol) Genes transferred from bacteria augment eukaryotic defenses...

The TWiM team reveal how bacteria in a shipworm’s gills help digest wood in the gut, and an approach that identifies a new antibiotic from the soil.   Links for this episode:   Gill bacteria enable a novel digestive strategy (PNAS) Killing bacteria without resistance (Nature) An irresistable newcomer (Nature) Peptidoglycan synthesis animation 10 x 20 initiative (IDSA) Longitude Prize Visit microbe...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello . Special guest: Rob Knight Vincent meets up with Rob Knight to talk about the technology that has fueled his drive to sequence the Earth and its inhabitants. Check out the Microbeworld app . Links for this episode Microbes en masse (Nature) Obesity alters gut microbial ecology (PNAS) Sharing microbiome with dogs (eLife) Earth microbiome project (BMC Biology) Stability o...

Hosts:  Vincent Racaniello . Special guest:  Stanley Maloy Vincent meets up with Stan Maloy on the campus of San Diego State University to talk about his career in microbiology and his work as Dean of Science. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on  iTunes , via  RSS feed , by  email  or listen on your mobile device with the  Microbeworld app . Links for this episode:  Maloy lab Salmonella.org Microbial gene...

Vincent, Elio, and Michael discuss a symbiosis between a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria and a single-celled eukaryotic alga.   Links for this episode:   Unicellular cyanobacterium and alga symbiosis (Science) Diversity of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium and its host (Environ Micro) Talmudic Question #4 ( answer ) Talmudic Question #2 Coccolithophore (Wikipedia) Visit microbeworld.org/twim to view th...

  Vincent, Elio, and Michael reveal that a soil-dwelling nematode can recognize and respond to a bacterial quorum sensing molecule through a sensory neuron.