BacterioFiles 215 - Plasmid Pirates Piezophile Particles

Thermotoga
Credit: AJC ajcann.wordpress.com

This episode: Deep-sea thermophile bacteriophage is pirated by another scurvy genetic element!

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Show notes:
Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Viral remnants are important for human stem cells and development

One Clostridium (scindens) defies overgrowth of another (difficile)

Mosquito bacteria hurt dengue and malaria and mosquitoes

Mitochondria (and thus eukaryotes) might've come from a parasite

Studying phages that kill bee-killing bacteria

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

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BacterioFiles 214 - Cable-Chlorophyte Coop Conducts Current

Cable bacteria
Malkin and Meysman, 2015

This episode: Cable bacteria and algae set up electric grid in sediments!

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Show notes:
Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Daily rhythms are important for gut microbes and their hosts

Wild yeasts are very diverse in the smells they produce (paper)

Gut microbiome may be involved in alcoholism (paper)

Tiny tiny viruses can have very big effect on ocean carbon

Mouse lupus correlates with certain gut bacteria

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

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles 213 - Bird Bacteria Bolster Babies

Hoopoe
Image credit: Tony Armstrong

This episode: Hoopoes inoculate their eggs with protective bacteria!

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Show notes:
News item/Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Effects of whole grains vs. red meat on gut microbes (paper)

Pill form might be good method for fecal transplant

Algal protein discovery is relevant to biofuels but also cancer

Skin microbe produces potentially useful antibiotic

Archaea have taken many important genes from bacteria

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

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BacterioFiles 212 - Ghosts Get Good Guarding

Left: Not a ghost
Right: A ghost
Hjelm et al. 2015

This episode: Bacterial ghosts could make good vaccines for different things!

Download Episode (9.8 MB, 10.7 minutes)

Show notes:
Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

What would happen if all microbes suddenly disappeared?

Probiotics help protect children and pregnant women from heavy metal toxicity

Using virus-like particles to kill harmful algae (paper)

Yeast make nice beer scent to attract fruit flies

Algae-powered electric Grand Prix cars

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

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles 211 - Stenotrophomonas Summons Snare-Setting Saviors

Fungal trap
Wang et al. 2014

This episode: Bacteria in soil signal to fungi to save them from predatory roundworms!

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Show notes:
News blog/Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Bacteria eat photographs to make cool, creepy art

Microbial communities in NYC Central Park are as diverse as anywhere

Giant clams catch light just right to disperse it to their symbiotic algae

Changing yeast's environment can allow it to tolerate (and produce) more ethanol

Hydrothermal vent viruses seem to survive by helping hosts adapt (paper)

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

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BacterioFiles 210 - Archaea Acquired Alternative Abilities

This episode: Genes taken from bacteria may have been important for the evolution of distinct groups of archaea!

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Show notes:
Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Bacterial signals could tell cancer cells to stop causing problems

(Sulfite-free) wine could have helpful bacteria

Probiotic prevents chickens from carrying human pathogen (paper)

Plants keep helpful bacteria in their seeds

Bacteria are helping break down drugs in waterways

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

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This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.

BacterioFiles 209 - Myxococcus Menace Motivates Megastructures

Megastructure
(Müller et al. 2015)

This episode: Microbial predators in soil cause microbial prey to build fortifications!

Download Episode (8.8 MB, 9.5 minutes)

Show notes:
Journal Paper

Other interesting stories:

Using bacteria to produce adhesives that shellfish use underwater

Maintaining gut community may be important for surviving intensive care

Human gut might actually have some useful bacteria for biofuels too

Termites use mixture of fungal and bacterial symbionts

Bacteria help seeds sprout faster

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

Subscribe at iTunes, check out the show at Twitter, MicrobeWorld, or Facebook

This show features music from Mevio's podsafe Music Alley.