This Week in Microbiology

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TWiM #166: Dark fermentation Dec 07, 2017

Show notes

Vincent and Elio discuss the reason for poor efficacy of one of the influenza virus vaccines, and using a hyperthermophilic anaerobe to produce hydrogen from fruit and vegetable wastes in seawater.

Hosts:

Vincent Racaniello and Elio Schaechter.

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Links for this episode

Glycosylation site on influenza H3N2 viruses (PNAS)
Biohydrogen production by Thermotoga (Waste Man)
Image credit
Letters read on TWiM 166

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TWiM #165: Pumping Copper Nov 30, 2017

Show notes

The TWiM team discusses the use of copper on exercise weights to reduce bacterial burden, and the mechanism of antigenic variation by which a fungus that causes severe pneumonia escapes the immune system.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson

Links for this episode:

Reducing bacteria on exercise weights with copper (Am J Inf Contr)
Antigenic variation in Pneumocystis jirovecii (mBio)
Letters read on TWiM 165

TWiM #164: Indiana Quorum Nov 16, 2017

Show notes

From Indiana University, Vincent speaks with Ankur, Julia, and Xindan about their careers and their work on horizontal gene transfer, quorum sensing, and chromosome organization in bacteria.

Guests: Ankur Dalia, Julia Van Kessel, and Xindan Wang

Watch the video version! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifGCe-qfnA0

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Links for this episode:

Dalia laboratory
Van Kessel laboratory
Wang laboratory
Indiana U Dept of Biology
Vibrio DNA uptake and chitin (Environ Micro)
Activation of quorum-sensing genes (Mol Micro)
Structural maintenance of chromosome complexes (Science)

TWiM #163: Saliva and sptR/S Nov 02, 2017

Show notes

This episode is all about saliva: how certain bacteria survive in it, and how swallowing saliva might cause intestinal inflammation.

Links for this episode:

Genes for the Streptococcus pyogenes fitness in human saliva (mSphere)
Swallowed bacteria drive colonic inflammation (Science)
Intestinal inflammation induced by oral bacteria (Science)
Human oral microbiome (J Bact)
T cell subsets (Nat Rev Imm)
Image credit

TWiM #162: Intracellular bacteria with flagella Oct 13, 2017

Show notes

The TWiM hosts and associated microbiomes review a fungus destroying salamanders in Europe, and genes for flagella in intracellular bacteria.

Hosts:

Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter.

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Links for this episode

Fungus killing fire salamanders (Nature)
Chlamydia with flagella (ISME J)
Flagellar movement in rickettsia (PLoS One)
Image credit
Letters read on TWiM 162

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

This episode is brought to you by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Part of the U.S. Department of Defense, the Agency's Chemical and Biological Technologies Department hosts the 2017 Chemical and Biological Defense Science & Technology Conference to exchange information on the latest and most dynamic developments for countering chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. Find out more at http://www.cbdstconference.com

TWiM #161: Eros, a bacterial aphrodisiac Sep 21, 2017

Show notes

From the TWiM team, a discussion of Hurricane Harvey microbiology, and a bacterial enzyme that induces eukaryotic mating.

Hosts:

Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter.

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Links for this episode

Tainted Houston floodwaters (NYTimes)
Peter Hotez on TWiP 29
FAQ: Microbiology of Built Environments, American Academy of Microbiology
Microbiomes of the Built Environment: A Research Agenda for Indoor Microbiology, Human Health, and Buildings, The National Academies of Sciences
Eukaryotic mating induced by bacterial enzyme (Cell)
Image credit: Arielle Woznica
Nicole King on TWiEVO 11
Letters read on TWiM 161

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

TWiM #160: On the road to virus Sep 08, 2017

Show notes

The TWiM team provides an update on Zika virus, and reveals a plasmid on the road to becoming a virus.

Hosts:

Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Michele Swanson.

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Links for this episode

Regional Zika update, Americas (PAHO, WHO)
FGCU, Zika (TWiV 454)
CDC Graphic of US zika cases as of May 2017
Archaeal plasmid travels cell to cell via vesicles (Nature Micro)
Letters read on TWiM 160

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

TWiM #159: Immunophage synergy Aug 31, 2017

Show notes

The TWiM team pays a tribute to Chris Condayan, and investigates the synergy between virus and the innate immune system for clearing bacterial pneumonia by phage therapy.

TWiM #158: The bottom line Aug 10, 2017

Show notes

The TWiM team considers a report on prokaryotic viral DNA in mammalian brain, and how diarrhea is beneficial, by clearing enteric pathogens.

Hosts:

Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter.

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Links for this episode

Prokaryotic viral sequence in the brain (PNAS)
Diarrhea clears enteric pathogens (Cell Host Microbe)
Tight junction biology (Turner Laboratory)
Letters read on TWiM 158

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or recorded audio) to twim@microbe.tv

TWiM #157: Back to the ancestor Jul 27, 2017

Show notes

The TWiMbionts explore the role of bacteria in the genesis of moonmilk, and how ancient host proteins can be used to engineer resistance to virus infection.

Hosts:

Vincent Racaniello, Michele Swanson and Elio Schaechter.

Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iPhone, Android, RSS, or by email. You can also listen on your mobile device with the Microbeworld app.

Become a patron of TWiM.

Links for this episode