This Week in Microbiology is a podcast about unseen life on Earth hosted by Vincent Racaniello and friends. Following in the path of his successful shows 'This Week in Virology' (TWiV) and 'This Week in Parasitism' (TWiP), Racaniello and guests produce an informal yet informative conversation about microbes which is accessible to everyone, no matter what their science background.
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On this episode of TWiM, using colicins to ferry DNA into cells through an iron transporter, and construction of highly efficient microbial fuel cells that produce more electrical current than previously observed. Links for this episode: Colicins used to ferry DNA into cells (mBio) Highly efficient microbial fuel cells (Science) Silver assists fuel cells (Science) Biological transport goes the extra mile (PNAS) Long distance transport in cable bacteria (PNAS) Columbia U pledges fossil free build...
TWiM explores the role of biofilms in infection by coronaviruses, and development of a Shigella vaccine using outer membrane vesicles derived from Salmonella Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Biofilms and coronaviruses (Appl Envir Micro) Outer membrane vesicle vaccine (Appl Envir Micro) TWiM Listener survey Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv...
On this episode, an electrochemical scaffold that delivers safe doses of hypochlorous acid to treat wound infections in humans, and a method for sampling and monitoring bacteria and viruses on surfaces using plain paper stickers. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello , Michele Swanson , and Michael Schmidt Links: E-scaffolds on TWiM 143 The EPS matrix (J Bact) Integrated HOCL-producing E-scaffold (AAM) Surface sampling bacteria with paper stickers (AEM) Surface sample viruses with paper stickers (Sci Rep) B...
TWiM reveals how temporal shifts in antibiotic resistance elements govern phage-pathogen conflicts, and the intracellular localization of toxin-antitoxin proteins in E. coli . Become a Patron of TWiM ! Links for this episode: Phage-pathogen conflicts (Science) A ‘Trap-Door’ Strategy for Mobile Element Escape (Front Micro) Location of toxin-antitoxin proteins (mBio) Babel-Jerusalem Bookstore Letters read on TWiM 249 Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with perm...
Mark Martin returns to TWiM to discuss ways to increase diversity in our field, and the discovery of Borgs, giant extrachromosomal elements with the potential to augment methane oxidation. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello , Elio Schaechter , Michele Swanson , and Michael Schmidt Guest: Mark O. Martin Subscribe to TWiM (free) on iTunes , Google Podcasts , Stitcher , Android , RSS , or by email. Become a Patron of TWiM ! Links for this episode: Unacknowledged privilege (Mol Biol Cell) Black Microbiologis...
TWiM explores whether ‘rewilding’ is a way to get back our missing gut microbes, and failure of bacteriophage therapy due to the production of neutralizing antibodies. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Gut microbiota through an evolutionary lens (Science) You’re missing microbes (NY Times) There is no ‘healthy’ microbiome (NY Times) Antibody limits bacteriophage therapy (Nat) Phage therapy on TWiEVO #44 Graham Hatfull on TWiV #87 TWiM Listener survey Music used on TWiM is composed ...
The TWiM folk explore disruption of a Burkholderia intracellular niche by a cell death program, and an increase in Brucella infectiousness after intracellular passage. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Disrupting intracellular niche (mBio) Intracellular passage increases infectiousness (Infect Immun) Type IV secretion systems (Front Micro) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@...
In this episode, how polysaccharides keep cyanobacteria afloat in the oceans so that they can carry out photosynthesis, and a symbiotic bacterium that protects honey bees from fungal infections. Become a Patron of TWiM ! Links for this episode: Bacterial blooms and polysaccharides (eLife) Social life of cyanobacteria (eLife) Bacteria that protect bees from fungi (mBio) First 21 days of a bee’s life (YouTube) antiSMASH (Nucl Acids Res) Delaney Miller’s website Music used on TWiM is composed and p...
Foodie TWiM reveals that bacteria in human saliva are major components of Ecuadorian indigenous beers, and an unusual E. coli that produces atypical light cream-colored colonies in chromogenic agar. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Saliva bacteria in indigenous beers (Peer J) Unusual behavior of E. coli ST59 (Appl Envir Micro) One Health (CDC) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to ...
TWiM continues its food arc with an examination of the effect of peroxyacetic acid spray on the microbiome and sensory properties of beef, and explores asymmetry of the cell division machinery during sporulation. Links for this episode: Effect of peroxyacetic acid on beef (Appl Envir Micro) Peracetic acid sterilization (CDC) Different cuts of beef (S. Clyde Weaver) Profiling the Poglianos ( TWiM 115 ) Cell division machinery asymmetry in sporulation (eLife) Kamala Sohonie by Kanika Khanna India ...
TWiM reveals the microbiome of sourdough starter cultures, and discovery of a novel family of prokaryotic nanocompartments involved in the metabolism of sulfur. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Sourdough starter microbiomes (eLife) Prokaryotic nanocompartments (eLife) TWiM Listener survey Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv...
TWiM explains how Vibrio biofilms are dispersed by polyamine signals, and the induction of inappetence by respiratory virus infection which causes alteration of the gut microbiome. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts , Spotify, Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Regulation of Vibrio biofilms by polyamines (eLife) Cyclic di-GMP (pdf) Respiratory virus infection induces inappetance (mBio) Letters read on TWiM 241 TWiM Listener surv...
TWiM reviews aspirin modulation of Fusobacterium nucleatum , a microbe that has been associated with colorectal cancer, and Elio tells us ‘What are vaccines’, a talk he recently gave to members of his community. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Elio’s What are Vaccines? ( pdf ) Jenner Museum Aspirin modulation of Fusobacterium (mBio) Fecal transplant for C. difficile (NEJM) Fecal microbiota transplantation (NEJM) Fecal microbiota transplant for dysbiosis (NEJM) Music used on TWiM...
The TWiM team reviews how variants of P. aeruginosa survive antimicrobial treatment, and a decrease in the antimicrobial resistance of the gut microbiome in the presence of the fungus C. albicans . Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Phoenix colony variants of P. aeruginosa (AAC) Candida and the gut microbiota (mSphere) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv...
Elio reveals his thoughts on the big themes of modern microbiology, followed by an analysis of the gut microbiome in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Parkinson’s disease gut microbiome (NPJ Parkinsons) Sequencing data as compositions (Bioinformatics) Gut microbiota in mouse Parkinson’s model (Cell) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microb...
To celebrate ten years, TWiM asks former hosts and guests to provide their thoughts on how microbiology has contributed to our understanding of the microbial world. Links for this episode: Neisseria LINES up: TWiM #1 Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv...
In this episode, hiring and training expectations for future biomedical life sciences faculty, and the roles of bacterial symbionts in deep-sea hydrothermal vent tubeworms. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Expectations for life sciences faculty (Life Sci Edu) Academic career readiness assessment (UCSF) Tubeworm bacterial symbionts (eLife) Traveling on the Alvin (Dark Life II) Image credit Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Sen...
In this episode, how DNA of giant viruses has contributed extensively to the genome of green algae, and inhibition of E. coli virulence by a metabolic product of arachidonic acid in the intestinal epithelium. Links for this episode: Giant viral DNA shapes genomes of green algae (Nature) James Van Etten Darwin’s Radio Arachidonic acid and E. coli virulence (mBio) How a pathogenic E. coli infection begins Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send...
The TWiM team reviews Salmonella colonization of three-dimensional miniature intestinal organs, and identification of a circadian clock in a non-photosynthetic prokaryote. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Salmonella colonization of enteroids (mBio) Circadian clock in nonphotosynthetic prokaryote (Science) Image credit Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology questions and comments to twim@microbe.tv...
The TWiM team reviews the movie Jezebel, played against the background of the yellow fever epidemic of 1853 in New Orleans, and prokaryotic viperins, ancestors of the eukaryotic enzymes that synthesize antiviral molecules. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Jezebel (Wikipedia) Prokaryotic viperins (Nature) A cell protein that synthesizes antivirals (virology blog) Dr. Aude Bernheim’s training...
TWiM explores the use of a bacterial protein to make highly conductive microbial nanowires, and how modulin proteins seed the formation of amyloid, a key component of S. aureus biofilms. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode Amyloid formation for S. aureus biofilms (eLife) Highly conductive microbial nanowires (Nat Chem Biol) Uncovering Nature’s electronics (Nature) Activating Nature’s electrica...
Mark Martin returns to TWiM for a discussion of a predatory bacterium appropriately named Vampirococcus lugosii, and Elio reveals how bacteria can be used on the International Space Station to efficiently extract rare earth elements in microgravity. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Space Station biomining (Nat Comm) Reductive evolution in a predatory bacterium (bioRxiv) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used with permission. Send your microbiology...
TWiM 230 discusses innovative approaches to food safety and historical microbiology. The first segment details how zinc oxide nanoparticles in chicken packaging can effectively reduce Campylobacter contamination, a major foodborne pathogen, while addressing safety concerns about nanoparticle release. The second part delves into the study of ancient DNA from 16th-century Mexican epidemic victims, identifying Salmonella enterica Paratyphi C as a likely cause of the devastating cocoliztli outbreak, highlighting the power of metagenomic analysis in understanding historical pandemics.
In this episode of TWiM, the hidden biochemical diversity in soil-dwelling Actinobacteria that could lead to a second Golden Era of antibiotic discovery, and structures of glideosome components reveals the mechanism of gliding in apicomplexan parasites. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Cryptic or silent? (mBio) The Streptomyces chromosome (Ann Rev Gen) Engineering Nature’s Medicines (pdf) Apicomplexan glideosome (Comm Biol) Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald J...
Ninecia and Chelsey, two of the founders of Black in Microbiology, join TWiM to discuss the goals of the organization, then we reveal survival of Deinococcus bacteria for 3 years in space, an experiment that addresses the panspermia hypothesis for interplanetary transfer of life. Guests: Ninecia Scott and Chelsey Spriggs You can watch this episode at https://youtu.be/1o1hh0I4rio Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. L...
TWiM presents an episode for mycophiles: how bacteria disarm mushroom pathogens, and the role of the CARD9 protein in protective immunity against pulmonary cryptococcosis. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello , Elio Schaechter , Michael Schmidt and Michele Swanson Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Black in Microbiology How bacteria disarm mushroom pathogens (PNAS) A bacterial battleground (Science) CARD9 needed for fungal defense (mBio) OneHealth: Fungal pathogens (AAM) Image credit Music us...
TWiM presents two unusual microorganisms, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae , heard by Elio in an episode of Doc Martin, and Roseomonas mucosa , which is being used to treat atopic dermatitis. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Treating atopic dermatitis with R. mucosa (Sci Trans Med) Overview of sphingolipid metabolism (Adv Exp Med Biol) Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections ( MTM 118 ) Image credit Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ron...
The TWiM team explores how delivery of an enzyme into competitor cells leads to synthesis of (p)ppApp, depletion of ATP, deregulation of metabolic pathways, and cell death, and a refinement of our typical view of bacterial lag phase as a period of nonreplication. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello , Elio Schaechter , and Michael Schmidt Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Killing competitors by synthesis of (p)ppApp (Nature) Lag phase is a dynamic period (J Bact) Image credit Music used on T...
The TWiM team reveals the genetic mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls from sequencing of DNA, and 100 million year old living bacteria recovered from marine sediments. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello , Elio Schaechter , Michele Swanson and Michael Schmidt Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode: Elio’s Memoirs Genetic mysteries of Dead Sea Scrolls (Cell) 100 million year old bacteria under the sea (Nat Comm) Image credit Music used on TWiM is composed and performed by Ronald Jenkees and used wit...
The TWiMmers explore detection of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces in an ophthalmology examination room, the ability of stressed populations of Yersinia bacteria to survive antimicrobial treatment within host tissues, and how volatile organic chemicals produced by soil microbes attract arthropods which in turn disperse bacterial spores. Subscribe to TWiM (free) on Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts , Android , RSS , or by email. Become a patron of TWiM. Links for this episode SARS-CoV-2 RNA in ophthalmology...
