BacterioFiles
The podcast for microbe lovers: reporting on exciting news about bacteria, archaea, and sometimes even eukaryotic microbes and viruses.
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490: Parasitoid Pox Partners
03/11/2024
490: Parasitoid Pox Partners
This episode: A virus partners with a parasitoid wasp to help exploit fruit fly victims! (7.7 MB, 11.2 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Actinomadura livida Takeaways Parasitoid wasps have an interesting lifestyle: they inject their eggs into the larvae of other insects, and their young hatch and grow up by consuming the host from the inside. Some of these wasps also inject a virus along with the egg, which supports the wasp offspring by suppressing the host immune system. Most of these parasitoid helper viruses are integrated into the host wasp genome and are translated and produced as needed, but in this study, an independently replicating entomopoxvirus serves as an example of a virus-wasp mutualism. The study explores how the virus can infect the wasp prey, and how it gets passed on to wasp offspring. Journal Paper: Coffman KA, Hankinson QM, Burke GR. 2022. . Proc Natl Acad Sci 119:e2120048119. Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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489: Soil Smell Synthesis Significance
01/29/2024
489: Soil Smell Synthesis Significance
This episode: Many organisms produce the smell of earth, geosmin, and many others can sense it–but why? (6.0 MB, 8.7 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Takeaways The smell of soil or earth is one of the most recognizable smells, and comes largely from a chemical called geosmin, produced by many different kinds of bacteria. Many animal species are sensitive to geosmin, some attracted by it and others repelled. But it is still not entirely understood what is the evolutionary benefit to the microbes that produce it, or the reason why different animals are sensitive to it in different ways. In this study, different geosmin-producing bacteria were paired with tiny bacteria-eating roundworms, nematodes, to see how the chemical affected their interactions. Production of geosmin affected the worms' movement, apparently inducing them to avoid colonies of the producing microbes in some cases, though the worms still sometimes fed on the bacteria. Adding geosmin to colonies of different bacteria did not affect the worms' behavior though, so other factors seem to be involved. Journal Paper: Zaroubi L, Ozugergin I, Mastronardi K, Imfeld A, Law C, Gélinas Y, Piekny A, Findlay BL. 2022. . Appl Environ Microbiol 88:e00093-22. Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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488: Social Slimes Synchronize Sorties
12/11/2023
488: Social Slimes Synchronize Sorties
This episode: Slime mold amoebas Fonticula alba have interesting and unique foraging and reproductive behaviors! (7.3 MB, 10.6 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Takeaways How did life develop from single-celled organisms acting independently into the complex, multicellular organisms we see and are today? Although it is difficult to look back through time to study how ancient organisms may have developed along this path, it is possible to investigate modern organisms that occupy a zone in between single-celled and multicellular, to see if we can get some hints to our own development, and also learn about some interesting microbes along the way! This study into the social amoeba, or slime mold, Fonticula alba, finds that the individual amoebal cells in a population join together into collectives and break apart into individuals at different stages of their complex life cycle, depending on the status of the bacteria around them that they forage as prey. The investigators tease out the various pathways taken by these amoebas. Journal Paper: Toret C, Picco A, Boiero-Sanders M, Michelot A, Kaksonen M. 2022. . Curr Biol 32:1961-1973.e4. Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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487: Probiotic Pulverizes Pathogen Persisters
11/20/2023
487: Probiotic Pulverizes Pathogen Persisters
This episode: A probiotic strain of E. coli can target and destroy pathogens that survive a treatment of antibiotics! (8.2 MB, 12 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Streptomyces griseoruber Takeaways Antibiotic resistance is becoming more and more of a problem as bacterial pathogens develop resistance to more and more drugs. For some people who develop an infection that is resistant to everything, it's as if they were living back in the days before antibiotics were discovered, when all they could do was pray for survival. New antibiotics are needed, but even more needed are new ways of approaching treatment of infections, using innovative approaches and combinations of therapeutics. In this study, a probiotic strain of Escherichia coli was used to target potentially pathogenic E. coli bacteria that can survive treatment with a particularly effective type of antibiotic, fluoroquinolones. This probiotic strain, called Nissle, delivers toxins directly to the survivors, preventing resistant pathogens from proliferating. Journal Paper: Hare PJ, Englander HE, Mok WWK. 2022. . J Appl Microbiol 132:4020–4032. Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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486: Biohybrid Bacteria Build Biomass
10/30/2023
486: Biohybrid Bacteria Build Biomass
This episode: Incorporating light-absorbing molecules into bacterial membranes can allow bacteria to use solar energy to transform nitrogen gas into fertilizer! (6.5 MB, 9.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Wheat dwarf virus Takeaways Turning nitrogen gas into biologically useful compounds, such as protein or ammonia for fertilizer, is an essential part of the global nitrogen cycle and therefore, for agriculture. Today much fertilizer is produced from nitrogen gas by a chemical process that requires large amounts of energy, contributing to global warming. But certain bacteria can perform the same process using special enzymes much more efficiently. In this study, a light-absorbing molecule was inserted into the cell membrane of some of these bacteria, allowing them to use light energy directly to power the nitrogen converting enzymes. These "biohybrids" were able to produce convert significantly more nitrogen gas and produce additional bacterial biomass from it, showing promise for using such an approach for more sustainable microbial fertilizer production. Journal Paper: Chen Z, Quek G, Zhu J, Chan SJW, Cox‐Vázquez SJ, Lopez‐Garcia F, Bazan GC. 2023. . Angew Chem Int Ed 62:e202307101. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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485: Small Cell Sculpts Sticky Snot Sphere
10/16/2023
485: Small Cell Sculpts Sticky Snot Sphere
This episode: A marine protist predator traps prey microbes in an attractive bubble of mucus, eats what it wants, and lets the rest sink, possibly sequestering significant amounts of carbon! (7.8 MB, 11.4 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Bat associated cyclovirus 1 Takeaways The oceans have a lot of unique, unexplored life in them. This is true on a macro level but even more on a microscopic level, with many different kinds of microbes of various groups with fascinating life strategies. And despite being microscopic, with enough of them around, they can affect the whole planet's climate in significant ways. In this study, one protist species gets most of its nutrients from photosynthesis, but what it can't get from the sun, it takes from prey microbes by force. To catch its prey, it creates an intricate bubble of mucus called a mucosphere, and waits for other microbes to swim into it, thinking it is food, and get stuck. Then the predator chooses the prey cell it wants and abandons the rest, letting them sink to the ocean floor and locking away the carbon they contain in the process. Journal Paper: Larsson ME, Bramucci AR, Collins S, Hallegraeff G, Kahlke T, Raina J-B, Seymour JR, Doblin MA. 2022. . Nat Commun 13:1301. Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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484: Bacteriophages Boost Brains
10/02/2023
484: Bacteriophages Boost Brains
This episode: Certain phages in the gut are linked with increases in performance on some cognitive tests! (7.5 MB, 10.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Streptomyces bikiniensis Takeaways Our gut microbiota includes a large number of viruses, mostly bacteriophages. These fall into two groups, the lytic kind that infects and reproduces itself immediately in a host, and the lysogenic kind that can integrate its genome into the host bacterial genome and remain dormant for long periods. In this study, a higher proportion of lysogenic phages was correlated with increased performance on cognitive tests in multiple species. In humans, men showed a small increase in some tests and women in others. In mice and fruit flies, transplant or ingestion of phages was linked to increased memory performance. Journal Paper: Mayneris-Perxachs J, Castells-Nobau A, Arnoriaga-Rodríguez M, Garre-Olmo J, Puig J, Ramos R, Martínez-Hernández F, Burokas A, Coll C, Moreno-Navarrete JM, Zapata-Tona C, Pedraza S, Pérez-Brocal V, Ramió-Torrentà L, Ricart W, Moya A, Martínez-García M, Maldonado R, Fernández-Real J-M. 2022. . Cell Host Microbe 30:340-356.e8. Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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483: Recycling Resources Raises Robustness
09/18/2023
483: Recycling Resources Raises Robustness
This episode: Adding tags to proteins to increase their degradation can help engineered bacteria grow and survive better under various conditions! (7.3 MB, 10.4 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Lactococcus virus sk1 Takeaways Engineering bacteria with new genetic pathways allows us to use them in many new and promising applications. Some of these are industrial fermentations, growing large quantities of bacteria to use as catalysts for production of chemicals of interest, such as biofuels. But in other cases, engineered microbes can be most useful in less controlled environments, such as the soil. In these situations, the engineering can throw off their natural metabolic balance, making them less tolerant of the stresses of such environments. In this study, a solution to this issue was tested using protein tags that signal the bacterial enzymes to degrade the engineered proteins. A variety of tags allowed for a variety of rates of degradation, allowing engineers to tune in the ideal rate. Bacteria with these engineered tags grew better in nutrient limited conditions than those without. Journal Paper: Szydlo K, Ignatova Z, Gorochowski TE. 2022. . ACS Synth Biol 11:1049–1059. Other interesting stories: (paper) Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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482: Colony Concentric Clock Construction
09/04/2023
482: Colony Concentric Clock Construction
This episode: Single-celled bacteria can act independently to create patterns and structure in their biofilm communities! (9.6 MB, 14.0 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Dictyostelium discoideum Skipper virus Takeaways Large multicellular organisms like us have interesting mechanisms for using one set of genetic instructions present in all cells to form a large, complex community of many different types of cells with different structures and functions, all working together. Single-celled microbes do not have the same requirements for genetic or structural complexity, but they do often display interesting communal patterns and behaviors. In this study, bacteria growing in colonies on agar displayed a particular mechanism of pattern formation previously seen only in eukaryotes, called segmentation clock or clock and wavefront process. In this process, the cells in the colony are all acting individually without communication with each other, but nevertheless form a repeating ring structure in the colony as it grows, possibly allowing some measure of differentiation of cells that could help the community survive various challenges. Journal Paper: Chou K-T, Lee DD, Chiou J, Galera-Laporta L, Ly S, Garcia-Ojalvo J, Süel GM. 2022. . Cell 185:145-157.e13. Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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481: Hijacker-Host Sequence Swap
08/21/2023
481: Hijacker-Host Sequence Swap
This episode: Gene transfers between viruses and eukaryotes have happened many times throughout evolutionary history! (7.5 MB, 10.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Mycoplasma subdolum Takeaways As we’ve all seen recently, viruses can cause a lot of trouble. Their biology requires them to be parasites inside the cells of their hosts, and they can cause devastating disease, so it’s hard to think of them as having played important roles in the development of life on Earth, including our own evolution. However, this study found thousands of apparent historical transfers of genes from virus to host or from host to virus in the cells of all kinds of different eukaryotes. Some of these genes play important roles in the cell, helping to make them what they are. Journal Paper: Irwin NAT, Pittis AA, Richards TA, Keeling PJ. 2022. . Nat Microbiol 7:327–336. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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480: Bait Bottlenecks Bear Bacteria
07/03/2023
480: Bait Bottlenecks Bear Bacteria
This episode: Human-based food used as bait by hunters can reduce bears' gut microbe diversity! (5.9 MB, 8.6 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Actinomadura verrucosospora Takeaways Gut microbes are important for the health of most animals. In humans, many things can affect our gut microbe community, including diet, medications, and lifestyle. Eating a varied diet with diverse kinds of plant-based foods can maintain a healthy, functional community of many different kinds of microbe. However, eating mostly highly processed grain-based foods can reduce the diversity and functionality of the gut community. This is also true in bears. In this study, when bears consumed more processed, grain-based human foods via hunters leaving such foods out as bait, the gut communities in these bears had reduced diversity of microbes. The effects of this reduced diversity were not determined, but it is reasonable to assume it was not good for the bears’ overall health. Journal Paper: Gillman SJ, McKenney EA, Lafferty DJR. 2022. . J Mammal 103:339–346. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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479: Uncomplicated Critters Conquer Cancer
05/22/2023
479: Uncomplicated Critters Conquer Cancer
This episode: Simple microscopic animals can survive extreme radiation by ejecting damaged cells that might otherwise become cancer! (7.3 MB, 9.2 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Takeaways Any multicellular organism with different types of cells needs some sort of cell regulation, to keep each cell type doing what it’s supposed to do for the good of the organism as a whole. We know what happens when this regulation fails and one type of cells starts multiplying out of control: cancer. However, cancer has never yet been observed in certain organisms, including the simple microscopic animal Trichoplax adhaerens. In this study, these animals are exposed to large amounts of radiation and then observed over years to see if they can develop cancer or have interesting mechanisms of resisting it. Journal Paper: Fortunato A, Fleming A, Aktipis A, Maley CC. 2021. . PLOS Biol 19:e3001471. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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478: Babies Bear Bacterial Birthright
04/24/2023
478: Babies Bear Bacterial Birthright
This episode: How family members share gut microbes across multiple generations! (7.3 MB, 10.7 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Dyozetapapillomavirus 1 Takeaways Our gut’s microbial communities can greatly influence our health, for good or bad. The makeup of these communities can be influenced by many factors, including genetics, health status, diet, and other aspects of the environment we live in. We’ve learned a lot about this topic recently, but there’s a lot more we still don’t understand. In this study, gut microbe samples from individuals spanning multiple generations in the same families were compared, to see how much influence family relationships and cohabitation could have on the gut communities. Both genetic relationship and living together had influences on which gut microbes different people shared. Journal Paper: Valles-Colomer M, Bacigalupe R, Vieira-Silva S, Suzuki S, Darzi Y, Tito RY, Yamada T, Segata N, Raes J, Falony G. 2022. . 1. Nat Microbiol 7:87–96. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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477: Hijackers Hitchhike on Hyphal Highways
03/27/2023
477: Hijackers Hitchhike on Hyphal Highways
This episode: Bacteriophages can hitch a ride on bacteria they don't infect to travel through soil on fungal filaments, potentially helping their carriers by infecting and killing their competitors! (7.1 MB, 10.3 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Takeaways For tiny bacteria, partially dry soil can be like a vast system of caverns, with particles of soil separated by air-filled spaces much bigger than individual bacteria. Not all bacteria can swim through liquid, and those that can’t simply try to thrive as best they can wherever they may be. But for those that can swim, fungi and other filamentous organisms can form bridges between soil particles that motile bacteria can swim across, reaching new places. In this study, phages were found to hitch a ride on bacteria they don’t normally infect, crossing fungus-like filaments to new places and infecting the bacteria they find there. The bacteria carrying them can also benefit from this interaction, since the phages help the carrier bacteria compete and establish a colony in the new location. Journal Paper: You X, Kallies R, Kühn I, Schmidt M, Harms H, Chatzinotas A, Wick LY. 2022. . 5. ISME J 16:1275–1283. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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476: Bamboo Breakdown Benefits Beetle Babies
03/13/2023
476: Bamboo Breakdown Benefits Beetle Babies
This episode: Beetles inoculate bamboo with a fungus that consumes the bamboo sugars to feed the beetle larvae! (7.7 MB, 11.2 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Saccharomyces cerevisiae virus L-BC (La) Video: Takeaways The structural polymers that make up plants, such as cellulose, can be difficult for many organisms to digest. Some kinds of bacteria and fungi can do it, and some animals (cows, pandas, termites) partner with these microbes to be able to eat otherwise indigestible plant material. This includes insects such as leaf-cutter ants that farm external gardens of microbes, providing them plant material and then eating the resulting microbial growth. In this study, the lizard beetle lays its eggs in bamboo and inoculates the walls of the bamboo with a fungus that provides food to the larvae. Chemical analyses suggest that the fungus only consumes the simple sugars in the bamboo rather than breaking down the tougher polymers, which raises questions about the evolution of this interaction. Journal Paper: Toki W, Aoki D. 2021. . Sci Rep 11:19208. Other interesting stories: (paper) Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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475: Modifying Mixed Microbiota
02/27/2023
475: Modifying Mixed Microbiota
This episode: New techniques allow specific modifications in certain members of a complex community of microbes, without isolating them in pure culture first! (11.5 MB, 16.7 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Tomato golden mosaic virus Takeaways The technology for understanding and manipulating microbial genetics has come a long way in a short time. It used to take years even to sequence a small genome, and now thousands can be sequenced in just a few days. The technology to change and even create genetic sequences is also much further advanced now than just a few decades ago. But still, many analyses and modifications require a pure culture of a microbe to carry out. This study tested a method for modification of single or multiple species in a community of many. The method allows for identification of which species were successfully modified in targeted ways, and can allow the modified species to be extracted and studied individually. Journal Paper: Rubin BE, Diamond S, Cress BF, Crits-Christoph A, Lou YC, Borges AL, Shivram H, He C, Xu M, Zhou Z, Smith SJ, Rovinsky R, Smock DCJ, Tang K, Owens TK, Krishnappa N, Sachdeva R, Barrangou R, Deutschbauer AM, Banfield JF, Doudna JA. 2022. . 1. Nat Microbiol 7:34–47. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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474: Stalker Cells Stop Seafood Sickness
01/23/2023
474: Stalker Cells Stop Seafood Sickness
This episode: Predatory bacteria could protect lobster farms from disease-causing bacteria! (4.8 MB, 7 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Takeaways Antibiotics have done wonders for controlling bacterial pathogens. Many people have lived that would otherwise have died, and some industries have produced much more than they would have, particularly those involved in animal farming. However, more and more targeted pathogens are developing resistance to the antibiotics we have, and new ones are harder to discover, so alternative approaches are needed. Here, predatory bacteria take the place of antibiotics in a study on farmed spiny lobsters. These predators swim after and attach to prey bacteria, hollowing out their contents to use as nutrients to make more predators. They do not hurt the lobsters, but the study finds they do reduce the number of pathogenic prey organisms injected into the lobsters at the same time. Journal Paper: Ooi MC, Goulden EF, Smith GG, Bridle ARY 2021. 2021. . Microbiology 167:001113. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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473: Bacteriophage Bunks in Bacterial Barriers
12/26/2022
473: Bacteriophage Bunks in Bacterial Barriers
This episode: A bacteriophage that overcomes the bacterial CRISPR/Cas immune system by interrupting the CRISPR DNA with its own genome! (6.8 MB, 10 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Wenzhou mammarenavirus Takeaways Bacteria have many ways to resist being exploited by bacteriophage viruses, including the adaptable CRISPR/Cas system that uses a piece of viral nucleic acid sequence to target and destroy incoming phages. But phages also have many ways to evade and disrupt bacterial defenses. In this study, a phage is discovered that inserts its own genome into the CRISPR/Cas sequence in the bacterial genome, disrupting the bacterial defenses. To escape the defenses while it is doing this insertion, it carries genes for previously-unknown anti-CRISPR proteins. But inserting and removing a viral sequence from the bacterial genome is not always a clean procedure. Journal Paper: Varble A, Campisi E, Euler CW, Maguin P, Kozlova A, Fyodorova J, Rostøl JT, Fischetti VA, Marraffini LA. 2021. . 12. Nat Microbiol 6:1516–1525. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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472: Caulobacter Condensates Compartmentalize Kinase
11/21/2022
472: Caulobacter Condensates Compartmentalize Kinase
This episode: Bacteria can use blobs of disordered proteins to quickly adapt to new conditions! Thanks to Dr. Saumya Saurabh for his contribution! (10.9 MB, 15.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Drosophila melanogaster Micropia virus Takeaways Bacteria can adapt to environmental fluctuations via mechanisms operating at the various levels of the central dogma, or metabolism (stringent response). Recently, researchers at Stanford University discovered a mechanism that allows bacteria to sense and rapidly adapt to nutrient fluctuations by simply tuning protein self-assembly as a function of nutrient availability. Termed membraneless organelles or condensates, these proteinaceous assemblies can dynamically sequester key signaling enzymes within them in response to environmental cues. Biophysical adaptation mediated by organelles is fast, reversible, and facile; thereby representing a crucial step in the mechanistic understanding of microbial adaptation. Journal Paper: Saurabh S, Chong TN, Bayas C, Dahlberg PD, Cartwright HN, Moerner WE, Shapiro L. 2022. . Sci Adv 8:eabm6570. Other interesting stories: (paper) Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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471: Phage Fight Foils Fitness
08/29/2022
471: Phage Fight Foils Fitness
This episode: A phage both kills bacterial pathogens and selects for reduced virulence! (6.3 MB, 9.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Takeaways Using bacteria-killing viruses to treat bacterial infections, or phage therapy, can be a good alternative to antibiotics in some situations when there are no effective antibiotics for a particular infection. But bacteria can evolve resistance to phages as well as antibiotics, often with little cost to their fitness. In this study, a phage not only could treat an infection by attacking the bacteria, but the bacterial hosts that do evolve resistance to the phage do so by getting rid of certain structures that help them to cause more serious infection. Thus, therapy with this phage may both reduce the bacterial load and also make those remaining less virulent. Journal Paper: Kortright KE, Done RE, Chan BK, Souza V, Turner PE. 2022. . Appl Environ Microbiol 88:e01514-21. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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470: Super Small Symbionts Soothe Symptoms
07/11/2022
470: Super Small Symbionts Soothe Symptoms
This episode: Tiny bacteria that live on larger bacteria reduce the inflammation and gum disease the bigger microbes cause in the mouths of mice! (6.3 MB, 9.2 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Actinomadura viridilutea Takeaways Even bacteria can be hosts to smaller symbionts living on them. Some kinds of these extremely tiny bacteria live in various parts of our bodies, and are sometimes associated with inflammation and the resulting disease. But being associated with something isn't necessarily the same as causing that thing. In this study, tiny bacteria living on other bacteria in the mouths of mice were found to reduce the inflammation caused by their bacterial hosts, resulting in less gum disease and bone loss in the jaw. Even when the tiny bacteria were no longer present, their former bacterial hosts were still less disruptive to the mouse mouth. Journal Paper: Chipashvili O, Utter DR, Bedree JK, Ma Y, Schulte F, Mascarin G, Alayyoubi Y, Chouhan D, Hardt M, Bidlack F, Hasturk H, He X, McLean JS, Bor B. 2021. . Cell Host Microbe 29:1649-1662.e7. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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469: Prophage Provides Partial Protection
04/04/2022
469: Prophage Provides Partial Protection
This episode: A virus lurking in a bacterial genome protects its host population from infection with other phages, by killing off infected cells! (7.6 MB, 11.0 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Takeaways Many bacteriophages just go in and gobble up all their host's resources to make a bunch of new viruses right away. Others play a longer game, splicing into and lurking in the host's genome across multiple generations until conditions are right to multiply more rapidly. It is beneficial to these latter kind when their host is resistant to the fast-killing variety, but how can bacteria be resistant to some phages but not others? In this study, one prophage (the phage genome integrated into the bacterial genome) carries a gene that does this in an interesting way. It prevents invading phages from replicating and kills the host cell so the infection can't spread, protecting the population (and all the other cells containing the prophage). It also contains an immunity element that allows the prophage to replicate itself without interference. Journal Paper: Owen SV, Wenner N, Dulberger CL, Rodwell EV, Bowers-Barnard A, Quinones-Olvera N, Rigden DJ, Rubin EJ, Garner EC, Baym M, Hinton JCD. 2021. . Cell Host Microbe 29:1620-1633.e8. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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468 - Commensal Can Kill Cholera
02/28/2022
468 - Commensal Can Kill Cholera
This episode: Harmless gut microbes resist cholera with good defense or better offense! (5.8 MB, 8.4 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Streptomyces corchorusii Takeaways The community of microbes in our guts is highly diverse, yet generally they all coexist relatively peacefully. Some pathogens can invade this community and cause massive disruptions. Cholera is a disease caused by a pathogen that injects its competing bacteria with toxins and disrupts the health of the gut, leading to very watery diarrhea that can quickly dehydrate victims. This study found that some microbes commonly found harmlessly existing in the gut can resist destruction by the cholera pathogen. One of these resists by striking back with its own toxin injection system; the other creates a barrier of slime around itself that keeps the invader's toxins from reaching it. Such resistant gut microbes could help to reduce the threat of diseases such as cholera. Journal Paper: Flaugnatti N, Isaac S, Lemos Rocha LF, Stutzmann S, Rendueles O, Stoudmann C, Vesel N, Garcia-Garcera M, Buffet A, Sana TG, Rocha EPC, Blokesch M. 2021. . Nat Commun 12:5751. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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467: Prion Pivots Productive Pathways
12/27/2021
467: Prion Pivots Productive Pathways
This episode: Prions in yeast can allow better adaptation to changing conditions! (9.5 MB, 13.9 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Hepatovirus F Takeaways Prions can be deadly. They're misshapen proteins that cause a cascade of misfolding of similar proteins if they get into the nervous system, resulting in neurodegeneration in mammals. But in other organisms, they are not always so scary; some fungi use prions to regulate their behavior in varying conditions. In this study, a prion allows yeast to switch between a fast-growing lifestyle with shorter reproductive lifespan that can be beneficial in conditions where nutrients are often plentiful, and a slower-growing but more enduring lifestyle that helps in more scarce conditions. Journal Paper: Garcia DM, Campbell EA, Jakobson CM, Tsuchiya M, Shaw EA, DiNardo AL, Kaeberlein M, Jarosz DF. 2021. . eLife 10:e60917. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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466: Microbes Mining Mars Minerals
12/06/2021
466: Microbes Mining Mars Minerals
This episode: Bacteria are able to extract metals from rocks for industrial use, even in microgravity! (6.2 MB, 9.0 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Decapod ambidensovirus 1 Takeaways As humanity makes progress toward becoming an interplanetary species, consideration is needed on how travelers can survive and thrive in distant places. These methods may look very different from what works well on Earth, with differences in gravity, atmosphere, and access to resources. For example, mining for materials for construction may not be feasible using methods common on Earth. An alternative may be biomining, using microbes that can selectively extract and purify specific metals from minerals. In this study, the European Space Agency tested the ability of several microbes to extract vanadium from rocks in different gravity conditions, on the International Space Station. Two out of three microbes were able to extract twice as much vanadium as was extracted in the absence of microbes, both on a planet and up in space. Journal Paper: Cockell CS, Santomartino R, Finster K, Waajen AC, Nicholson N, Loudon C-M, Eades LJ, Moeller R, Rettberg P, Fuchs FM, Van Houdt R, Leys N, Coninx I, Hatton J, Parmitano L, Krause J, Koehler A, Caplin N, Zuijderduijn L, Mariani A, Pellari S, Carubia F, Luciani G, Balsamo M, Zolesi V, Ochoa J, Sen P, Watt JAJ, Doswald-Winkler J, Herová M, Rattenbacher B, Wadsworth J, Everroad RC, Demets R. 2021. . Front Microbiol 12:663. Other interesting stories: (paper) Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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465: Partners Produce Predator Prevention
11/22/2021
465: Partners Produce Predator Prevention
This episode: Bacteria living inside soil fungus produce toxins that can protect their host from tiny predators! (7.7 MB, 11.2 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Mycobacterium virus DLane Takeaways Soils have many different organisms cooperating and competing for resources. Some little worms called nematodes prey on fungi in the soil, while fungi may effectively defend themselves or strike back with toxins or traps that catch and kill the worms. On top of these interactions are other organisms that interact in various ways. In this study, bacteria living inside a kind of soil fungus produce toxins that defend the fungus against predatory nematodes. Journal Paper: Büttner H, Niehs SP, Vandelannoote K, Cseresnyés Z, Dose B, Richter I, Gerst R, Figge MT, Stinear TP, Pidot SJ, Hertweck C. 2021. . Proc Natl Acad Sci 118:e2110669118. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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464: Prodding Pollen's Popping Process
11/09/2021
464: Prodding Pollen's Popping Process
This episode: Certain nectar-dwelling bacteria can induce pollen to germinate to access their tasty proteins! (6.0 MB, 8.8 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Clostridium oceanicum Takeaways Nectar in flowers seems like it would be a great place for microbes to live, since it has so much sugar, but it's actually somewhat difficult to thrive solely in and on nectar. The carbon in sugar is only one essential element for life, and there's enough of it that it can be overwhelming to the osmotic balance of many microbes. Pollen could provide more nutrients in the form of protein and the nitrogen that comes with it, but it is difficult to penetrate its hard shell. In this study, certain kinds of bacteria that live in nectar were able to access more pollen protein than other microbes by inducing pollen to germinate, growing out of its shell, or burst and release the protein directly. These microbes only benefited from pollen that were still alive and able to germinate, and not from those that had been disabled. Journal Paper: Christensen SM, Munkres I, Vannette RL. 2021. . Curr Biol 31:4373-4380.e6. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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463: Selectively Stimulating Cell Squatters
09/20/2021
463: Selectively Stimulating Cell Squatters
This episode: Bacteria produce a compound that causes a phage lurking in the genome of a competing species to wake up and start killing that competitor! (8.2 MB, 12.0 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Takeaways Some bacteriophages infect and immediately destroy their hosts in a burst of new viruses, while others can be stealthier, integrating their genome into the genome of the host and remaining there quietly even over multiple generations of the bacteria. When something stresses the host, such as DNA damage, these integrated phages (prophages) become active and start producing new viruses, killing their host like the other kind does. In this study, one kind of bacteria release a chemical that wakes up phages in a competitor species of bacteria. This is helpful for competition, but even more interesting is that out of the six prophages in the competitor species, the chemical wakes up only one of them. Such selective phage induction could be interesting to study. Journal Paper: Jancheva M, Böttcher T. 2021. . J Am Chem Soc 143:8344–8351. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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462: Super Ciliate Symbiont Set
09/13/2021
462: Super Ciliate Symbiont Set
This episode: A eukaryote has symbionts living in it: green algae and also purple bacteria, a combo never seen before! (6.1 MB, 8.8 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Takeaways Having bacteria as endosymbionts is fairly common in life on Earth: almost all eukaryotes have them in the form of mitochondria and sometimes chloroplasts. These former bacteria somehow got inside the ancestral eukaryote, either as parasites or as prey, and ended up as integral parts of their host's metabolic functions. Some organisms, especially insects, obtained bacterial endosymbionts more recently, that help them balance their metabolic needs when living on limited diets. Algae have been known to be endosymbionts also, performing photosynthesis for their host. But in this study, a ciliate with both algae and purple photosynthetic bacteria as endosymbionts was discovered. Purple bacteria as symbionts is rare, and this combination has not been observed before. Interestingly, though algae produce oxygen through their photosynthesis, the ciliate prefers living in low-oxygen sediment at the bottom of a pond. The symbionts and their host seem to adjust their metabolisms as needed depending on the needs at the time; they may each perform photosynthesis, fermentation, or respiration if light, organic carbon, or oxygen are available. Journal Paper: Muñoz-Gómez SA, Kreutz M, Hess S. 2021. . Sci Adv 7:eabg4102. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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461: Ingrained Invader Inhibits Infectors
09/06/2021
461: Ingrained Invader Inhibits Infectors
This episode: Training a phage strain on bacteria can increase its ability to control those bacteria for much longer than an untrained phage! (5.7 MB, 8.3 minutes) Show notes: Microbe of the episode: Pepper yellow leaf curl Indonesia virus Takeaways With resistance to antibiotics spreading more and more among deadly bacteria, finding alternatives to treat infections is becoming more important. One option is phage therapy, using viruses that infect bacteria to weaken or wipe out pathogens, but this can be tricky. Sometimes it takes too long to prepare an effective population of phage for treatment, and sometimes the target pathogen evolves resistance to the phage too quickly In this study, a phage that was trained, or pre-evolved, to infect specific bacteria more effectively, was able to dominate the population consistently and prevent it from becoming fully resistant. For comparison, against an untrained strain of the same phage, the bacteria developed almost complete resistance after several days. Journal Paper: Borin JM, Avrani S, Barrick JE, Petrie KL, Meyer JR. 2021. . Proc Natl Acad Sci 118. Other interesting stories: Email questions or comments to . Thanks for listening! Subscribe: , , , or . Support the show at , or check out the show at or .
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