This Week in Microbiology

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TWiM #127: Subway Snowblowers and Men in Black May 05, 2016

Show notes

The TWiM team explores microbes in snowblower vents on the ocean floor, and cleavage of antibody molecules by a Mycoplasma protease.

Image (right): Photograph of the 'Subway' snowblower vent on the sea floor at Axial Seamount, Juan de Fuca Ridge. Visible are white 'snow' in the vent and orange floc on the seafloor. Credit: Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility and the University of Washington

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

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 episode

Happy Birthday, Elio!
In the Company of Microbes
Snowblower vents (Front Micro)
Deep-sea snowblower vents video (YouTube)
Visions 11 cruise photos
Mycoplasma capture and cleave IgG (PNAS)
Snowblower image (large)
Letters read on TWiM 127

This episode is sponsored by ASM Agar Art Contest and ASM Grant Writing Course

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twim@microbe.tv

TWiM #126: I'm not scared of zebrafish and mice and bears (oh my!) Apr 22, 2016

Show notes

The microbiome of hibernating bears, and zebrafish as a model for bacterial sepsis feature in this animal-centric episode of TWiM hosted by Vincent, Michael, and Michele.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michele Swanson, and Michael Schmidt.

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 episode

Microbiome of hibernating brown bear and energy metabolism (Cell Rep)
Ten animals that hibernate (Cons Inst)
Zebrafish model of sepsis (mSphere)
Image credit
Letters read on TWiM 126

This episode is sponsored by ASM Agar Art Contest and ASM Microbe 2016

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twim@twiv.tv, or call them in to 908-312-0760. You can also post articles that you would like us to discuss at microbeworld.org and tag them with twim.

TWiM #125: A minimal cell operating system Apr 07, 2016

Show notes

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michele Swanson, and Michael Schmidt.

A deep sequencing study of commercially available probiotics, and design and synthesis of a minimal bacterial genome are the topics tackled by Vincent, Michael, and Michele on this episode of TWiM.

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 episode

Culture-independent surveillance of probiotics (mSphere)
Design and synthesis of a minimal bacterial genome (Science)
J. Craig Venter Institute
Image credit
Letters read on TWiM 125

This episode is sponsored by ASM Agar Art Contest and ASM Microbe 2016

TWiM #124: Fungal pirates Mar 24, 2016

Show notes

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michele Swanson, and Michael Schmidt.

Vincent, Michael, and Michele reveal how a fungal protease blunts the innate immune response and promotes pathogenicity.

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 episode

Michele on Flint Legionella outbreak (Detroit News)
Fungal mimicry of a mammalian aminopeptidase (Cell Host Micr)

This episode is sponsored by ASM Agar Art Contest and ASM Microbe 2016

TWiM #123: A microbial MAGE Mar 09, 2016

Show notes

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter.

Guest: Harris Wang

Harris joins Vincent, Elio, and Michael to describe multiplex automated genome engineering, a method for targeting many modifications in a population of bacterial cells.

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

MAGE - Multiplex automated genome engineering (Nature)
Genome-scale promoter engineering (Nat Methods)
Manipulating microbial communities in situ (Trends Genet)
Engineering human microbiomes (Meth Mol Biol)
Genome-scale engineering (Mol Syst Biol)
Economic framework of microbial trade (PLoS One)
Tardigrade t-shirt
Image credit

This episode is sponsored by Microbe Magazine Podcast and ASM Microbe 2016

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twim@twiv.tv.

TWiM #122: Mayonii, microRNAs and the microbiome Feb 25, 2016

Show notes

Vincent, Michele, and Michael reveal the discovery of a new species of the spirochaete that causes Lyme disease, and fecal microRNAs that shape the gut microbiome.

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 episode

Identification of a novel Borrelia species causing Lyme disease (Lancet Inf Dis)

Parasite wonders with Bobbi Pritt (TWiP 75)

Reported cases of Lyme disease (CDC)

Signs and symptoms of Lyme disease (CDC)

Multilocus sequence typing

Borrelia MLST database

American Academy of Microbiology FAQ Human microbiome

Host fecal microRNA shapes gut microbiota (Cell)

Image credit

C.U.R.E. the game

Live Tiny, Die Never - Tardigrade T-shirt

This episode is sponsored by Microbe Magazine Podcast and ASM Microbe 2016

TWiM #121: A plague of pathogens Feb 11, 2016

Show notes

Host: Vincent Racaniello

Special guests: Rebekah Kading and Wyndham Lathem

From the ASM Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research meeting, Vincent speaks with Rebekah and Wyndham about their work on Rift Valley Fever virus and other vector-borne pathogens, and the evolution and pathogenesis of Yersinia pestis, the agent of plague.

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

Rift Valley fever virus risk (Emerg Micr Inf)
Predicting Rift Valley fever virus transmission (PLoS NTD)
Culex in New York City (BioOne)
Early emergence of Y. pestis (Nature Comm)
Pneumonic plague (Trends Micro)

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

TWiM #120: Snakes in trouble Feb 02, 2016

Show notes

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Elio Schaechter.

Vincent and Elio marvel in the finding that a phage tail-like structure from a marine bacterium stimulates tubeworm metamorphosis, and reveal Ophidiomyces as a cause of snake fungal disease.

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

Tubeworm metamorphosis by phage tail-like structures (Science)
Cell enzyme becomes viral capsid protein (virology blog)
Snake fungal disease in the laboratory (mBioi)
Snake fungal disease in cottonmouths (PLoS Biol)
Snake fungal disease (pdf)
Image credit

This episode is sponsored by ASM Grant Writing Institute Online Webinar and 32nd Clinical Virology Symposium

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twim@twiv.tv.

TWiM #119: Power of one Jan 16, 2016

Show notes

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Michael Schmidt, and Elio Schaechter.

The microbophiles investigate the ratio of bacterial to human cells in our bodies, and how placing solar panels on a bacterium enables it to carry out photosynthesis.

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

Revised estimates of human and bacterial cells in the body (biorxiv)
Power of ten (Small Things Considered)
Solar-to-chemical production in bacteria (Science)
Letters read on TWiM 119

This episode is sponsored by ASM Grant Writing Institute Online Webinar and 32nd Clinical Virology Symposium

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twim@twiv.tv.

Thumbnail image: Cell structure of a gram positive bacterium. This vector image is completely made by Ali Zifan - Own work; used information from Biology 10e Textbook (chapter 4, Pg: 63) by: Peter Raven, Kenneth Mason, Jonathan Losos, Susan Singer · McGraw-Hill Education.

TWiM #118: Spore-drops keep fallin' on my head Jan 01, 2016

Show notes

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter and Michele Swanson

On the last episode for 2015, Vincent, Elio, and Michele discuss how soil amoeba hunt nematodes in packs, and the role of mushrooms as rainmakers.

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

Pack hunting by a common soil amoeba on nematodes (Environ Micro)
Mushrooms as rainmakers (PLoS One)
Mushroom by Nicholas Money
In the Company of Mushrooms by Elio Schaechter
Image credit
Letters read on TWiM 118

This episode is sponsored by ASM Microbe 2016 and ASM Biodefense

Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission.

Send your microbiology questions and comments (email or mp3 file) to twim@twiv.tv.

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