BacterioFiles 308 - Predators' Projectile Prototypes

Nematodinium nematocyst cap

Gavelis et al. 2017

Science Advances

CC BY-NC 4.0

This episode: Eukaryotic ocean microbes have surprisingly diverse and complex ballistic weapons!

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Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Mycoplasma arginini

Cool videos of microbial weapons firing

Journal Paper:
Gavelis GS, Wakeman KC, Tillmann U, Ripken C, Mitarai S, Herranz M, Özbek S, Holstein T, Keeling PJ, Leander BS. 2017. Microbial arms race: Ballistic “nematocysts” in dinoflagellates represent a new extreme in organelle complexity. Sci Adv 3:e1602552.

Other interesting stories:

Astronaut Kate Rubin's experience as microbiologist in space (paywall)

Engineered nitrogen-fixing bacteria can reduce need for fertilizer (paper)

Diversity of bacterial communities on leaves linked with ecosystem productivity (paper)

Using parts of phages to do rapid detection of pathogens (paper)

Microbiome modification contributes to effect of diabetes medication

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

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BacterioFiles 307 - Simplified Stable Soil Symbiosis

Enterobacter cloacae

This episode: A stable community of only 7 bacteria around corn roots take on similar functions to the much more diverse soil community!

Download Episode (12.5 MB, 13.75 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Corynebacterium insidiosum

Journal Paper:
Niu B, Paulson JN, Zheng X, Kolter R. 2017. Simplified and representative bacterial community of maize roots. Proc Natl Acad Sci 114:E2450–E2459.

Other interesting stories:

Gut community correlates with inflammatory bowel disease treatment effectiveness

Bacteria-produced hydrogen in soil could feed other plant-benefiting microbes (paper)

Engineered bacteria could treat genetic disease by digesting things for people who can't (paper)

Engineered cancer-killing virus also delivers therapy directly to tumors (paper)

Using microbes to create clothing that adapts in color and ventilation (paper)

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

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BacterioFiles 306 - Microbes Moderate Metabolic Maladjustment

This episode: Microbes from obese mice seemed helpful in protecting other mice somewhat from an unhealthy lifestyle.

Download Episode (8.5 MB, 9.25 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Streptomyces thermoviolaceus

News item

Journal Paper:
Nicolas S, Blasco‐Baque V, Fournel A, Gilleron J, Klopp P, Waget A, Ceppo F, Marlin A, Padmanabhan R, Iacovoni JS, Tercé F, Cani PD, Tanti J-F, Burcelin R, Knauf C, Cormont M, Serino M. 2017. Transfer of dysbiotic gut microbiota has beneficial effects on host liver metabolism. Mol Syst Biol 13:921.

Other interesting stories:

Global warming could harm reptiles by disrupting their gut bacteria

Insect microbes that start causing disease but then stop when their numbers get higher

Microbes in sea spray affect the atmosphere and climate

How breastmilk bacteria affect infant's gut community

Sea sponge bacteria can produce toxic flame retardant chemicals

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

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BacterioFiles 305 - Defensive Disordered Desiccation

Tardigrade
Credit: Bob Goldstein
and Vicky Madden,
CC BY-SA 3.0

This episode: Tardigrades have an interesting way of surviving complete drying out: by producing proteins lacking a stable structure!

Download Episode (11.8 MB, 13 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Chandipura vesiculovirus

News item

Journal Paper:
Boothby TC, Tapia H, Brozena AH, Piszkiewicz S, Smith AE, Giovannini I, Rebecchi L, Pielak GJ, Koshland D, Goldstein B. 2017. Tardigrades Use Intrinsically Disordered Proteins to Survive Desiccation. Mol Cell 65:975–984.e5.

Other interesting stories:

Gut microbes are important for many bee bodily functions (paper)

Bacterium helps defend insects but makes plants sick

Bacteria can mutate faster or slower to adapt to their environment

Cyanobacteria respond to different colors of light in different ways (paper)(commentary)

Intense prolonged exercise could negatively impact the gut community

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

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BacterioFiles 304 - Phages Facilitate Photosynthesis

Prochlorococcus marinus

Credit: F. Partensky, CNRS, France

This episode: Viruses infecting cyanobacteria can produce proteins that actually help their host capture light better!

Download Episode (6.6 MB, 7.25 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Pseudomonas asplenii

News item

Journal Paper:
Gasper R, Schwach J, Hartmann J, Holtkamp A, Wiethaus J, Riedel N, Hofmann E, Frankenberg-Dinkel N. 2017. Distinct Features of Cyanophage-encoded T-type Phycobiliprotein Lyase ΦCpeT: The Role of Auxiliary Metabolic Genes. J Biol Chem 292:3089–3098.

Other interesting stories:

Many new antibiotics could be discovered in fungi

Finding bacteria to degrade triclosan in the environment

Microbes could affect gut chemotherapy treatment

Carbon nanotubes help bacteria produce more methane (paper)

Fecal transplant could be helpful for treating ulcerative colitis also

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

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BacterioFiles 303 - Sticky Skin Sows Cells

Caenorhabditis elegans
By Bob Goldstein, CC BY-SA 3.0

This episode: Roundworms in soil can carry with them bacteria they eat to grow new food, like farmers!

Download Episode (11.1 MB, 12.15 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Equid alphaherpesvirus 1

News item

Journal Paper:
Thutupalli S, Uppaluri S, Constable GWA, Levin SA, Stone HA, Tarnita CE, Brangwynne CP. 2017. Farming and public goods production in Caenorhabditis elegans populations. Proc Natl Acad Sci 114:2289–2294.

Other interesting stories:

Using modified CRISPR for quick detection of infections

Modifying cyanobacterium cell length to make extracting biofuels easier (paper)

Fusing phage proteins with antibodies to better target pathogens

Some amoebas can penetrate biofilms to feed on dangerous bacteria (paper)

Phages have some advantages over antibiotics

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

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BacterioFiles 302 - Message Moderates Microbe Mortality

Bacillus subtilis

By Y tambe, CCBY-SA 3.0

This episode: Even organisms as simple as viruses can communicate with each other!

Download Episode (12.7 MB, 13.9 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Sweet potato virus C

Commentary (paywall)
Great talk about bacterial communication by Dr. Bonnie Bassler

Journal Paper:
Erez Z, Steinberger-Levy I, Shamir M, Doron S, Stokar-Avihail A, Peleg Y, Melamed S, Leavitt A, Savidor A, Albeck S, Amitai G, Sorek R. 2017. Communication between viruses guides lysis–lysogeny decisions. Nature 541:488–493.

Other interesting stories:

Engineering gut bacteria to detect and report gut inflammation

Plants give fat to their root fungi in exchange for other nutrients

Gut microbe metabolite linked with lower risk of diabetes

Making bioelectrodes by embedding bacteria in glass (paper)

Using CRISPR to discover new drug-producing bacterial genes

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.