BacterioFiles 407 - Fungus Facilitates Phototroph Feeding

Various Phomopsis fungi

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 soil better than the plants' own roots.

In this study, legume plants could form a partnership with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in its roots, but a fungus living inside the plant could enhance this partnership even more, increasing the amount of nitrogen acquired and influencing the community of microbes around the plant roots in ways favorable to all partners.

Journal Paper:
Xie X-G, Zhang F-M, Yang T, Chen Y, Li X-G, Dai C-C. 2019. Endophytic Fungus Drives Nodulation and N₂ Fixation Attributable to Specific Root Exudates. mBio 10:e00728-19, /mbio/10/4/mBio.00728-19.atom.

Other interesting stories:

• Diet could affect antibiotic impact on the gut microbiome
• Feeding gut microbes particular preferred foods can manipulate the community structure

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

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.

BacterioFiles 406 - Different DNA Destroys Disease Drivers

Neisseria gonorrhoeae colonies on agar
By Xishan01, CC BY-SA 3.0

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 as antibiotic resistance. But it turns out that the ability is also a secret weakness!

This study showed that when N. gonorrhoeae takes up DNA from harmless, commensal species of Neisseria in the body, the DNA is similar enough to be incorporated into the genome but different enough that it kills the pathogen. This effect also occurs with a serious pathogen in the same genus, N. meningitidis.

Journal Paper:
Kim WJ, Higashi D, Goytia M, Rendón MA, Pilligua-Lucas M, Bronnimann M, McLean JA, Duncan J, Trees D, Jerse AE, So M. 2019. Commensal Neisseria Kill Neisseria gonorrhoeae through a DNA-Dependent Mechanism. Cell Host Microbe 26:228-239.e8.

Other interesting stories:

• Kombucha could be good model system for studying microbial cooperation
• Antidepressants can modify bacterial metabolism of serotonin in the gut

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

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.

BacterioFiles 405 - Coated Colonizers Counteract Corrosion

Coated bacteria on a coated surface
Rijavec et al. 2019, Adv Sci 1901408

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. They colonize surfaces in biofilms that can be difficult to remove, a process called biofouling.

In this study, instead of trying to remove or prevent biofilms on surfaces, artificial biofilms were created by coating the surfaces and specially selected bacterial cells with polymers. This approach did not prevent colonization by other organisms in the sea, but preliminary results suggested that the community that did take up residence was not as corrosive as the communities found on uncoated steel.

Journal Paper:
Rijavec T, Zrimec J, Spanning R van, Lapanje A. 2019. Natural Microbial Communities Can Be Manipulated by Artificially Constructed Biofilms. Adv Sci 6:1901408.

Other interesting stories:

• Some microbe biofilms can protect outdoor metal sheets from corrosion
• How bacteria can be helpful for growing edible mushrooms (review)

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

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Android, or RSS. Support the show at Patreon, or check out the show at Twitter or Facebook.