This episode: Cable bacteria around rice roots transport electrons and help prevent formation of methane! Thanks to Vincent Scholz for his contribution! Download Episode (5.7 MB, 8.3 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Vibrio alginolyticus News item Takeaways Transforming other things into methane is a great way to make a living for some kinds of microbes. These tend to live under still water, like in rice fields or wetlands, or in the guts of cattle. And while this methane could be use...
Aug 31, 2020•8 min•Ep. 431
This episode: Bacteria that can store sugar as glycogen have multiple advantages when food is only available sporadically! Download Episode (7.2 MB, 10.4 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Carnivore bocaparvovirus 3 Takeaways Almost all habitats experience some sort of change and fluctuation; very few are totally stable, depending on the timeframe. So strategies to change and adapt with changing conditions can greatly help an organism thrive. For example, methods of storing energy are ...
Aug 24, 2020•10 min•Ep. 430
This episode: Bacteria in soil produce smells to attract arthropods that eat them but also spread their spores! Download Episode (6.2 MB, 9.0 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Blotched snakehead virus News item Takeaways Soil, especially after a rain, often has a characteristic "earthy" smell. This soil smell is actually the result of certain bacteria producing a volatile chemical called geosmin. Many geosmin producers are in the Streptomyces genus, which produces a large variety of i...
Aug 17, 2020•9 min•Ep. 429
This episode: The skin microbes that people leave behind may be used to identify them, even after other people have touched the same surface! Download Episode (5.4 MB, 7.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Actinobacillus lignieresii Takeaways The microbial communities in and on our bodies are highly complex and highly varied between people; this complexity has raised the question of whether the microbes that people transfer onto things they touch could be used in forensics, to track t...
Aug 10, 2020•8 min•Ep. 428
This episode: Bacterial cells with their genomes removed can still be active and useful! Download Episode (10.2 MB, 14.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Rosavirus A Takeaways Microbes have amazing biochemical transformation abilities, creating and breaking down many compounds and proteins. This makes them great candidates for many purposes, in medicine, industry, and environmental remediation. In some of these purposes, though, there are risks associated with adding foreign microbes...
Aug 03, 2020•15 min•Ep. 427
This episode: A fungus paralyzes its tiny worm prey by acting on the worm's own sensory hairs! Download Episode (6.0 MB, 8.7 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Bat associated cyclovirus 9 Takeaways Not all predators are fast or agile; some are sneaky, or good trap builders, or just good chemists. The predator club includes animals but also plants and even fungi. For example, the oyster mushroom fungus can paralyze roundworms in the soil that touch its filaments, then degrade their bodi...
Jul 27, 2020•9 min•Ep. 426
This episode: This episode: A bacteriophage and bacterial predator can wipe out a population of bacteria that could develop resistance to each individually! Thanks to Laura Hobley, J. Kimberley Summers, and Jan-Ulrich Kreft for their contributions! Also a note: I will be taking a short break from podcasts while I rebuild my collection of awesome microbiology stories to talk about. Download Episode (6.8 MB, 9.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Blackbird associated gemycircularvirus 1 ...
Jun 22, 2020•10 min•Ep. 425
This episode: Certain bacteria can greatly affect the makeup of a microbial community, even if they quickly disappear! Thanks to Dr. Daniel Amor for his contribution! Download Episode (6.3 MB, 9.2 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Gadgets Gully virus News item Takeaways Microbial communities show more than just competition between species. Stable assemblies of many species can exist for long periods in places like the human gut, despite constant minor shifts in conditions. More major ...
Jun 15, 2020•9 min•Ep. 424
This episode: Helping insect-killing bacterial symbionts of nematodes evolve resistance to chemicals that major corn pests use to defend themselves! Download Episode (10.0 MB, 14.0 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Listeria virus PSA Takeaways Interactions between species and even kingdoms in nature can be complex and multilayered. This means that when we want to intervene to cause a particular outcome, there may be multiple points at which we can act, but the consequences may be hard...
Jun 08, 2020•14 min•Ep. 423
This episode: Producing both biodiesel and bioethanol fuels from cold-loving Arctic algae! Download Episode (8.7 MB, 12.6 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Royal Farm virus Takeaways Renewable fuels such as biofuels can allow existing infrastructure and vehicles to continue to operate in a more sustainable manner, which could reduce the cost and impact of switching to new/different systems of transportation like electricity. Economically competitive methods of producing biofuels are s...
Jun 01, 2020•13 min•Ep. 422
This episode: Using phages to target gold nanoparticles to infecting bacteria, then using light to heat the nanoparticles just enough to kill the bacteria! Thanks to Raymond Borg and Huan Peng for contributing! Download Episode (10.6 MB, 15.4 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Pantoea agglomerans News item Takeaways Viruses that infect bacteria, bacteriophages, are often very good at overcoming bacterial defenses and killing them. This raises the possibility, and many times actuality, ...
May 25, 2020•15 min•Ep. 421
This episode: Simplified gut communities growing in bioreactors grow and metabolize reproducibly, with only moderate variations, even when individual members of the community are absent! Download Episode (8.2 MB, 11.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Citrobacter virus Merlin Takeaways The community of microbes in our guts is highly complex, with thousands of species all interacting with each other, with our own cells, and with the contents of our diet. Each region of the gut has a di...
May 18, 2020•12 min•Ep. 420
BacterioFiles is back! This episode: Measuring how quickly marine methane-consuming microbes become active when new methane enters an area! Download Episode (9.0 MB, 13.0 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Torque teno midi virus 6 Takeaways Oceans and the organisms living in them have a large effect on the planet, in terms of climate and gases they absorb from or release into the atmosphere. They are a source of much of a potent greenhouse gas, methane, but microbes living in ocean sed...
May 11, 2020•13 min•Ep. 419
This episode: A newly discovered species of bacteria consumes other bacteria as prey by engulfing them! Download Episode (8.7 MB, 12.6 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: SARS-CoV-2! This is the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19, the current pandemic. For more up-to-date information, please refer to the American Society for Microbiology , This Week in Virology , and other reputable sources. Stay healthy! Takeaways There are bacteria living almost every different lifestyle you can thi...
Mar 16, 2020•13 min•Ep. 418
This episode: A phage defends its genome against bacterial host defenses by building a wall to keep them out! Download Episode (7.0 MB, 10.2 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Myroides odoratus and M. odoratimimus News item Takeaways Parasites and their hosts are constantly in arms races with each other, each thriving best when it acquires new and more effective methods of attack, defenses, defenses against defenses, and so on. Bacterial defenses against viruses that infect them mostly...
Mar 09, 2020•10 min•Ep. 417
This episode: Earth's iron deposits could have been created by anaerobic light-harvesting microbes instead of those that make oxygen! Download Episode (9.3 MB, 13.5 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Streptomyces avidinii News item Takeaways In the ancient earth, the sun was dimmer, the world was colder, and oxygen was rare because photosynthesis had not yet evolved. Without oxygen to oxidize it, iron remained in its soluble, more accessible form, and many organisms took advantage of i...
Mar 02, 2020•14 min•Ep. 416
This episode: A global estimate of plants and their root fungi shows how agriculture may have greatly affected soil carbon storage over time! Download Episode (5.7 MB, 8.3 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Rhizobium virus RHEph4 News item Takeaways Even small organisms can have a big effect on the climate of the planet if there are enough of them. This includes trees, which are small relative to the planet, and also includes the fungi that attach to the roots of trees and other plants...
Feb 24, 2020•8 min•Ep. 415
This episode: Microalgae can produce hydrogen, but other metabolic pathways take priority, except when special engineered hydrogenase enzymes can overcome this limitation! Download Episode (8.4 MB, 12.2 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Alphapapillomavirus 11 Takeaways There are many options being explored as ways to replace fossil fuels. Electricity and batteries are good, but they have their limitations, especially for long-distance high-energy travel such as airplanes. Hydrogen is ...
Feb 17, 2020•12 min•Ep. 414
This episode: Some fungi only form fruiting bodies after forest fires; where do they hide the rest of the time? At least for some of them, the answer is: inside mosses! Thanks to Daniel Raudabaugh for his contribution! Download Episode (6.2 MB, 9.0 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Nocardia brevicatena News item Takeaways Forest fires can do a lot of damage, but life grows back quickly. Certain kinds of plant seed actually only germinate after a fire, and a similar thing is true of ce...
Feb 10, 2020•9 min•Ep. 413
This episode: Looking at the effects of almost doubling CO2 concentrations on the interaction between wheat varieties and beneficial fungi! Download Episode (8.1 MB, 11.8 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Lato River virus News item Takeaways As the world's population grows, feeding everyone will grow more challenging. Advances in technology in the past have made today's population possible, but future advances may be needed, especially in the face of an increasing concentration of car...
Feb 03, 2020•12 min•Ep. 412
This episode: Giant virus in newly discovered microscopic marine predator encodes several light-harvesting proteins! Download Episode (7.8 MB, 11.4 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Dolphin mastadenovirus A News item Takeaways Giant viruses are distinct in many ways from other viruses, even aside from their size. One way is the large number and variety of genes they carry in their genome. Though many of their genes are unknown in origin and function, many others appear to take the pla...
Jan 27, 2020•11 min•Ep. 411
This episode: Mice that got a microbe transplant from humans with higher physical function performed better in certain ways than mice receiving microbes from humans with lower physical function! Download Episode (6.7 MB, 9.8 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Stenotrophomonas maltophila News item Takeaways Our bodies and our microbe communities are closely interconnected, with effects going both ways. Studies had previously shown that making changes to the microbe communities of mice c...
Jan 20, 2020•10 min•Ep. 410
This episode: Microbes in low-oxygen zones in the ocean consume significant amounts of methane anaerobically! Download Episode (5.2 MB, 7.6 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Mojiang henipavirus News item Takeaways Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Fortunately there's not as much of it in the atmosphere, but even smaller amounts can have significant effects on the climate. One source of methane is low-oxygen zones in the ocean, where certain kinds of arc...
Jan 13, 2020•8 min•Ep. 409
This episode: Ocean bacteria brought up from the sea floor into the air can help create clouds! Download Episode (6.1 MB, 8.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Streptomyces thermodiastaticus News item Takeaways The ocean is an important player affecting the climate of the planet, in many ways. Its effects on clouds influence the amount of solar radiation reflected back into space or trapped as heat, and microbes play a role in this effect. Certain microbes make particles that form the...
Jan 06, 2020•9 min•Ep. 408
Probably the last episode of the year. See you in the next! This episode: Fungus living inside plants helps them form partnerships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria! Download Episode (5.9 MB, 8.5 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Prevotella intermedia Takeaways Plants are very good at acquiring carbon, but they can often use some help with other nutrients. Many form partnerships with microbes such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria or mycorrhizal fungi that can help gather nutrients from the soi...
Dec 23, 2019•9 min•Ep. 407
This episode: DNA from related species can kill certain pathogens when they incorporate it into their genome! Download Episode (7.9 MB, 11.5 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Ungulate tetraparvovirus 3 Paper summary (paywall) Takeaways Neisseria gonorrhoeae , the bacteria that cause gonorrhea, have the unusual ability of taking up DNA from their surroundings at any time and making use of it in their own genome. This helps them acquire useful traits that help them survive better, such ...
Dec 16, 2019•12 min•Ep. 406
This episode: Coating metal surfaces with artificial biofilms could help keep the surfaces corrosion-free even in the ocean! Download Episode (6.3 MB, 9.1 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Hymenopteran ambidensovirus 1 Takeaways The ocean can be a harsh place for metal surfaces. Between the water, the salt, and oxygen (near the surface), corrosion is a common reality. Microbes in the ocean can contribute to this too, degrading metal structures to obtain energy for their metabolism. Th...
Dec 09, 2019•9 min•Ep. 405
This episode: Another climate-related story: Cyanobacteria infected by viruses continue taking up nutrients from their environment, using it to make more viruses than would otherwise be possible! Download Episode (6.3 MB, 9.2 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Microcystis virus Ma-LMM01 News item Takeaways Though global warming is a global problem, accurate models for predicting where things are headed need to incorporate the activity of even the smallest organisms, if they're numerous...
Nov 25, 2019•9 min•Ep. 404
This episode: First episode of a climate-related arc! Considering microorganisms is important when predicting the amount of carbon coming from soil as temperature increases! Download Episode (4.7 MB, 6.75 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Streptomyces virus Zemlya News item Takeaways Soil as a whole has a big influence on the climate of the planet, by enabling the communities of organisms that live in it to interact and grow, taking up gases from the atmosphere and putting others back...
Nov 18, 2019•7 min•Ep. 403
This episode: Gut microbes can stimulate immune cells in mouse brains to fight off viral infections! Download Episode (9.0 MB, 13.0 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Streptoverticillium mobaraense News item Takeaways The central nervous system, including the brain, is a protected area of the body. Pathogens that get in can do a lot of damage, including memory loss, paralysis, and death, so there's a strict barrier in healthy people that keeps most things out of this area: the blood-br...
Nov 11, 2019•13 min•Ep. 402
