BacterioFiles 288 - Caulobacter's Copper Coping Capabilities

Caulobacter crescentus

This episode: Some bacterial species use multiple strategies within a single population to deal with environmental challenges!

Download Episode (8.9 MB, 9.7 minutes)

Show notes:
Journal Paper:
Lawarée E, Gillet S, Louis G, Tilquin F, Blastier SL, Cambier P, Matroule J-Y. 2016. Caulobacter crescentus intrinsic dimorphism provides a prompt bimodal response to copper stress. Nat Microbiol 1:16098.

Other interesting stories:

Bacteria help starved, developing rats get more nutrition from the same food (paper)

Creating gut microbe communities to resist pathogens (paper)

Predatory bacteria can treat infections in zebrafish larvae

Nitrogen is an important element for feeding the gut community

Bacterial enzymes artificially evolved to make carbon-silicon compounds

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

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BacterioFiles 287 - Producing Potent Pathogen Prophylaxes

Streptococcus pneumoniae
Credit: CDC/M.S. Mitchell

This episode: Polymer-coated bacteria make really good vaccines!

Download Episode (9.2 MB, 10 minutes)

Show notes:
News item

Journal Paper:
Li Y, Beitelshees M, Fang L, Hill A, Ahmadi MK, Chen M, Davidson BA, Knight P, Smith RJ, Andreadis ST, Hakansson AP, Jones CH, Pfeifer BA. 2016. In situ pneumococcal vaccine production and delivery through a hybrid biological-biomaterial vector. Sci Adv 2:e1600264.

Other interesting stories:

Fiber stops microbes from eating protective gut mucus

Potential new antibiotics predicted and discovered in human microbes

Bacteria communicate to work together against viruses

Root bacteria help protect plants against arsenic and infections

Fungus helps plants defend themselves against roundworms

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

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BacterioFiles 286 - Prokaryote Prevents Pregnancy Pathogen

This episode: Bacteria in mosquito cells can block transmission of Zika virus!

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Show notes:
News item

Journal Paper:
Aliota MT, Peinado SA, Velez ID, Osorio JE. 2016. The wMel strain of Wolbachia Reduces Transmission of Zika virus by Aedes aegypti. Sci Rep 6:28792.

Other interesting stories:

Modified bacteria change behavior as temperature changes

Ants' bacteria produce antifungal compounds (paper)

Gut microbes may be related to macular degeneration

E. coli could be used to make vaccines (paper)

Using bacteria to produce testosterone (paper)

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

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BacterioFiles 285 - Sultry Snow Cell Sun Screen

Red snow
By Will Beback, CC BY-SA 3.0

This episode: Algae growing in Arctic snow make red pigments that heat up their surroundings!

Download Episode (6.8 MB, 7.5 minutes)

Show notes:
News item

Journal Paper:
Lutz S, Anesio AM, Raiswell R, Edwards A, Newton RJ, Gill F, Benning LG. 2016. The biogeography of red snow microbiomes and their role in melting arctic glaciers. Nat Commun 7:11968.

Other interesting stories:

Bacterial species benefit from losing genes they don't need

Soil fungi help plants grow better in salty conditions (paper)

Bacterial predators actually help treat infection in rats

Some bacteria produce methane while harvesting phosphorus (paper)

Probiotics could help treat skin problems (paper)

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

Subscribe: iTunes, RSS, Google Play. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.